Page:The Burton Holmes lectures; (IA burtonholmeslect04holm).pdf/199

 "A WAYSIDE INN"

EUROPEAN HOUSES FOR THE SAHARAN WILDERNESS

valuable lessons of all kinds. True, these nomads of the Sahara have been very balky scholars, and many are the severe and even cruel chastisements to which their mistress has subjected them,—her conscience clear like that of a mother punishing rebellious children for their own future good. The camels of another caravan northward bound are freighted with huge sacks of dates; and dates, we know, are the wealth of Sahara. Without the date-palm, life in Sahara would be almost impossible; without the date-palm the commerce of the Algerian desert would amount to nothing; there would be no need for these long caravans, the occupation of the Arab and the camel would be gone. But the culture of the date-palm is, and will long remain, the most important interest of both the native and the colonist. This traffic in dates has assumed proportions that are surprising to the traveler. We meet every day dozens of similar caravans, and every one is bearing tons of dates to Biskra. Our route lies through one of the most