Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/408

 works of the army was that of road-making, and Algeria may be said to have been reduced far more by the construction of strategical routes than by force of arms. Even still thousands of military convicts are employed on these works, jointly with Calabrian, native, and other navvies, yet the system of main highways has not yet been completed. Between Tunisia and Marocco a single route, running through Suk-Ahras, Guelma, Setif, the Mitija and Shelif valleys, and Tlemcen, serves to connect the lateral roads branching off towards the interior, or northwards to the coast. The coast route, intended to connect La Calle with Nemours, is still interrupted by numerous gaps, representing over one-half of the whole distance.

Several important communes also are still accessible only on foot or on horseback, and the important town of Jijelli still remains completely isolated for want of any carriage roads.

Railway operations began in 1860, and the first section was opened in 1862. At present the total development, exclusive of the single lines used for carrying alfa, is nearly 1,200 miles. But the great central artery, between Tunis and Marocco, is not yet completed, a break occurring (1885) south of Kabylia, between El-Ashir and Palestro, in the direction of Marocvo, while the locomotive stops at Ain-Temushent, within 60 miles of the frontier. Several seaports, such as Nemours,