Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Larsa Salt Lake

On the night of April 4th and 5th, the expedition team camped at the foot of the sand dunes, where the terrain has obvious bulges, enclosing the depths of the small bay.There is no hiding place here.The team had already walked through the last trees of this desolate area, three or four kilometers away, between Nefta and the salt lake.This is the desert on the sand, beginning to show some signs of the vegetation of the completely dry Larsa Desert. The tent was erected.The wagons were loaded with supplies from Neftar, which would last many days for man and horse.In addition, the engineer went around Larsa and stopped at various oases. There are quite a lot of oases along the canal, where the fresh grass is extremely rich, and it is absolutely impossible to find it in the middle of the salt lake area.

This is what M. de Charley explained to Captain Ardigan and Lieutenant Viette under the tent before the dinner (which M. François prepared for him).The Larsa plan is on the table, allowing people to understand the terrain there.This salt lake, whose southern boundary is not far from the 34th parallel, spreads out in a circle to the north, traversing the region near the Oleus Mountains, adjacent to the town of Chebika.Its maximum length is exactly the 34th latitude, and it is estimated to be 60 kilometers, but its flooded area is only 1300 square kilometers, or as the engineer said, it is as large as the three or four thousand training grounds in Paris.

Lieutenant Viette reminded: "Hey, it's too big for the training ground, but it's average for a sea." "Of course, Lieutenant," replied Monsieur de Charley, "but if you add to the 6,000 square kilometers of the Milegil, this is 72 hectares of the Sahara Sea. And, as time goes on and as a result of Hydrogenesis, and eventually the sea will include the lagoons of Jared and Fejadi..." "I see, my dear friend," continued Captain Aldigon, "that you have always relied on the possibility. . . . Will there be a possibility in the future? . . . "

"Who can see the future?" replied M. de Charley. "To be sure, there have been some rather unusual things that have happened on our planet. I won't hide it from you. This idea does not bother me, but it sometimes attracts me. You must have heard that there is a place called Atlantis. How! It is not the Sahara Sea that is now appearing, but the Atlantic Ocean itself, and in a well-determined area; such catastrophes are not uncommon, and indeed occur in proportion; see the nineteenth century What happened in Insurand when Krakatoa erupted violently; so why shouldn't what happened yesterday not happen tomorrow?"

"The future is a huge doll box for human beings," Lieutenant Viette replied with a smile. "Exactly, my dear lieutenant," said the engineer decisively, "and as soon as this box of dolls is empty..." "Then the world will end," concluded Captain Altigon. Then, he put his finger on the plan, where the first canal with a length of 227 kilometers arrives: "Shouldn't a port be built here?" he asked. "It is there, on the shore of this little bay," replied M. de Charley, "and everything indicates that it will become one of the most troublesome ports in the Sahara. , houses and shops, warehouses and fortresses must be built. In addition, the town of Lahama on the easternmost edge of the Salt Lake was recognized and foreseen at the time of the original plan. It will become a coastal trade center. Although there will be changes, it The status as Gafsa's frontier port is presumably secure."

The engineer pointed out on the map that this town, whose location was at the tip of Larsa, was to become a commercial port in the center of Jared, a dream that had never been realized before.However, human ingenuity will soon make it a reality.This reality regrets only one thing, and that is that the first canal does not reach its gates.But people understand the reason why engineers must connect the salt lake with the depths of this little bay, which is now named Rudale Bay, and hope that this will be a new port-certainly of the largest port in the Sahara Sea. name. Captain Ardigan then asked M. de Charais whether it was his intention to send the expedition longitudinally through Larsa.

"No," replied the engineer, "it is the shores of the salt lake that I must visit. I hope to find here or there some valuable material of use to us, since it is at the construction site, though it is certainly not as good as it is now, and needs to be procured." s material." "Would the camel caravan not cross the salt lake?" Lieutenant Viette asked. "Across the salt lake, my dear lieutenant, though it is a weak and rather treacherous road, it is relatively short and not too difficult a walk along the dune-strewn shore. Yet this is the way we are heading towards The canal being built in the west direction, it goes up to the start of the second canal. Then, going back, after repairing the Margir border, we will be able to go along the northern border of Larsa, which is faster than coming back from Margir back to Gabes.

That was the plan adopted, and after the two canals had been surveyed, the engineers would make a detour around the perimeter of Xinhai. The next day, M. de Charley and two officers went at the head of the detachment. "Cut Hearts" bounced ahead, sending flocks of starlings into flight, fluttering away in frustration.We walked along the foundations under the high sand dunes that formed the surrounding area of ​​the salt lake.The concern is not that the water might spread out over the banks of the depression.The high bank of the depression, somewhat like the outer edge of the Gabes ridge, was able to withstand the pressure of the water and was absolutely safe from south of Jared.

The camp had been dismantled since early morning.According to the usual schedule, the march began again.The daily itinerary should not change a bit and keep an average distance of 12 to 15 kilometers between the two stations. What M. de Charais chiefly wanted to prove was whether the coast, which was about to resist the waters of the new sea, had no need to fear that the sea, over its edge, would encroach upon the adjoining country.Therefore, the team walked westward along the bottom of one dune after another along the salt lake.Moreover, from this perspective, it seems that people should not change the masterpieces of nature.Regardless of whether Larsa was a lake in the past, it has always been regarded as a lake, and the water led by the first canal from Gabes Bay to Larsa must be strictly contained within the prescribed boundaries.

Walking on the road, you can observe the vast depression.The surface of this dry basin in Larsa, gleaming in the sun, resembles a half-folded leaf of silver, crystal, or camphor.The eyes should not be facing the flashing place, and the eyes must be protected with sunglasses to avoid ophthalmia that often occurs under the scorching sun of the Sahara.The officers and their men were prepared for this intention.Sergeant Major Nicole even bought sturdy round glasses for his horse.However, it seems that the horse wearing glasses is not suitable.Somewhat comically, Heart Cut couldn't recognize the outlines of its companions after wearing the optics.As with Scramble, none of the horses wore the protective gear that is essential to their owners.

Moreover, the Saline Zone fully presents the features of these salt lakes, which dry up under the tropical heat in summer, but part of the water layer is drawn under the sand, expelling a load of gas, while the soil is full of uplifted Bags are like a field full of vole nests.Reaching the depths of the salt lake zone, the engineer called the attention of the two officers to the formation of red quartz sand mixed with sulfates and lime carbonates.This layer is covered by a salt frost formed by sodium carbonate and sodium chloride, a real salt crust.In addition, the Pliocene lands where the salt lake belt adjoins the lagoon are themselves rich in gypsum and salt. It is necessary to point out that in the years when the water in Larsa was not exhausted, the river still flowed there in winter.Sometimes the horses stopped at the edge of a lowland filled with a puddle of stagnant water as the covered dunes moved away. From a distance Captain Aldigun could see a cavalry of Arabs coming and going across the barren basin of the Salt Lakelands, but as his men approached the procession fled as quickly as it could on wings. There was only a flock of red orchid flamingos, whose plumage reminded them of the color of their uniform, and Cut Heart sprinted after them, but failed to catch the best representatives of these wading bird families. At the same time, it caused countless birds to soar from all directions, chirping across the sky, such as the deafening sparrows of the Jared area! However, following a circle around Larsa, the detachment had no trouble finding a bivouac that was not to be found in the heart of the depression.For this reason, after the water from the Mediterranean Sea is brought in, the salt lake will be completely submerged in water, while those places above the sea level of Malegir will still be exposed.So one went from oasis to oasis, more or less inhabited oases destined to become "Marsa", the port or cove of the new sea.In the Berber language, people call them "tua". In these oases, the soil is extremely fertile, there are many kinds of trees, palm trees and other trees, and there is no shortage of pastures. The comrades in arms no longer complain about the lack of fodder.These oases, however, soon pass away, and the land suddenly assumes its barren nature again.Immediately after, the place covered with dense green grass "Murland" suddenly turned into a flat land composed of gravel and sand - the Gravel Desert. However, it is also necessary to observe it, and the survey of the southern border of Larsa is not too tiring.When there was no cloud to relieve the sun's heat, the heat relentlessly tormented men and horses at the foot of the dunes.However, the Algerian officers and the North African cavalry finally adapted to the scorching sun. As for Mr. Dessaray, he was also an African bronzed by the sun, and the survey work just selected him to be the leader of the key project in the Sahara Sea . Speaking of dangers, they can only come from the "Khofra" sections across the salt lake belt, which are the most prominent depressions, where the soil is loose and there is no solid foundation.However, the fact that the expeditions were on this stretch of the road and that these lots would get caught in quicksand was a bit of a concern. "It is indeed dangerous," repeated the engineer, "and we had many opportunities to prove it when we dug the canal through the Tunisian lagoon." "Actually," added Captain Aldigan, "this is one of the troubles that Mr. Rudale had foreseen when he measured Larsa and Melagil... Didn't he say that he sometimes got stuck in salt water?" Sand up to the knees? . . . " "He only tells the truth," Mr. Descharais affirmed. "These depressions are full of holes, which the Arabs called 'sea eyes', and the depth sounders were unable to reach the bottom of the holes. So some accidents have been terrible. In a survey carried out by Rudale, a A cavalryman and his horse were engulfed in a crack through which his companions could not pull him out even by connecting twenty gun-cleaning rods..." "Therefore, we must be careful," Aldigon exhorted, "Don't be too cautious, my men are forbidden to leave the dunes unless we really notice the soil condition... I am always afraid that the devil 'Cut the Heart' is running around, I am Said it would disappear suddenly while crossing the lagoon. Nicole couldn't pull it up..." "If such misfortune had happened to his dog," declared Lieutenant Vieter, "how sad he would be!" "And 'scramble,'" added the captain, "it will die of pain!" "Plus, it's really a special friendship between two sincere animals," the engineer cautioned. "Special," said Lieutenant Vieter, "at least Orest and Pillard, Nisu and Elijah, Damon and Pythia, Achil and Bartraukler, Alexandra Del and Epheshon, Hergul and Piritus, are also of the same kind, and a horse and a dog..." "And alone, you may join, Lieutenant," concluded Captain Aldigon, "for Nicole, 'Rush' and 'Cut the Heart' have formed an inseparable group of friends, in which men act as A third person intervenes, and the animal is two!" What engineers say about the dangers of loose soil in the salt lake region is not alarmist.However, the camel caravan prefers to travel through the Malegir, Larsa and Fejdi regions. This road shortened their journey, and the travelers found easier paths in the flat land there.But the camel caravan did not need to rely on a guide who knew the lakeside areas like Jared like the back of the hand, and the camel caravan could avoid the dangerous swamp. Since the detachment set off from Gabes, it has not encountered a single Kafirah carrying goods, local products, and manufactured products from Biskra to Xiaoshazhou Bay, passing through this guard to Nefta, Gafsa, Tozeur People in lower Tunisian cities and towns such as Lahama and others wait impatiently to pass through.But under what circumstances did Aldigon make contact with a camel caravan on the afternoon of April 9? It was about 3 o'clock then.After walking the first part of the day, Aldigon and his men set out again in the scorching sun.They walked toward the terminal bend outlined by Larsa, a few kilometers from the westernmost point of Larsa.So the ground rose again.The three-dimensionality of the dunes is accentuated, and there is no way the incoming water could destroy the edge of the salt lake zone from this side. Going up, you can see a wider area in the northwest direction.The hollow glistened in the sun.Every gravel in this salt flat becomes a shining point.The newly dug second canal on the left connects Larsa with Malegir. The engineer and the two officers descended to the ground.The escort followed them leading the horses. After a while, everyone stopped on the platform of the dune. Lieutenant Viet stretched out his hand and said: "I seem to see a team active in the depths of the Salt Lake area..." "A party... or a herd of beasts," replied Captain Aldigon. "It's so far away that it's hard to tell," Mr. Deschalay added. What is certain is that just three or four kilometers away, a dense cloud of dust is rolling over the ground in Larsa.There was probably a herd of ruminants traveling north of Jared. Again, the dog was giving vague signals, which should at least be heeded, if not disturbing, to which the sergeant-major called: "Go! 'Cut the Heart' sniff it, listen to it... what's there?..." The dog barked ferociously, with its paws straight and its tail erect, ready to rush across the salt lake belt at any time. "Slowly, slowly!" said Nicole, drawing the dog close to her.As the smoke and dust vortex approached, the turmoil generated from the vortex became more and more intense.But it's hard to pinpoint why.In spite of all the bright lights, neither M. de Charley, nor the officers, nor anyone in the detachment could tell whether the commotion came from a caravan on its way, or from a herd of animals crossing this part of the Salt Lake to escape some danger. . After two or three minutes, not sure about that.Flashes shot out from the smoke, and there was a sudden explosion, the smoke mingling with the billowing dust. At the same time, the dog, which the owner couldn't hold down, broke free from the owner and barked wildly. "Shots!" Lieutenant Viet shouted. "Some camel caravan must have defended itself against the attack of the beast..." said the engineer. "It's more like resisting the looters," the lieutenant continued, "because the sound of the explosion seems to have an echo..." "Get on your horse!" Commanded Captain Aldigon. After a while, the North African cavalry arrived at the shore of Larsa and headed towards the place where the battle took place. It may have been imprudent, at least reckless, to involve a few members of the escort in this unexplained incident.Jared's gang of robbers may have been numerous.However, Captain Altigon and his detachment defied the danger.If—as it must be thought—the Tuaregs or nomads of the region attacked the Kafila, it would be honorable for a soldier to come to his rescue.So all galloped past the dog, and Nicole no longer managed to hold him, and they left the edge of the dunes and galloped across the salt lake region. Some people have said that a road of more than three kilometers does not show the distance, and two third parties can cross it within ten minutes.Gunfire continued to emanate from the left and right sides of the smoke vortex.However, a gust of wind blows from the southeast, and the vortex begins to disappear. Captain Aldigon was thus able to understand the nature of the fierce fighting. As we soon learned, it was indeed a camel caravan whose journey was blocked in the Salt Lake area five days ago. to Gabes. A camel team composed of about 20 Arabs leads 100 strong camels. In this way, they seized the time and hurried on their way.The camels went ahead with the sacks of dates, and the men who led the camels went behind, one of them urging the animals hoarsely. Until then, the camel team was still traveling in a good environment, and had just arrived at the westernmost point of Larsa, ready to go deep through Larsa under the leadership of an experienced guide.Unfortunately, after the camel caravan entered the initial slopes of the Debris Desert, 60 or so riders suddenly appeared behind the dunes. This is a gang of robbers, and they must have found some minimal excuse related to the Kafira personally.They let the camel-men flee, slaughtered them if necessary, seized the animals and their loads, and drove them to several distant oases in Jared, no doubt that this attack, like many others, was a Brutal, yet impossible to expose the perpetrators of the attack. The men of the camel caravan intended to make an unsuccessful resistance.They carried long guns and pistols, so they used these weapons.There were more attackers than camel caravans, and after 10 minutes of fighting, the Kafilas finally dispersed, and the frightened animals fled in all directions. Not long ago, Captain Aldigan heard an explosion.But his detachment was spotted, and the marauders stopped when they saw the cavalry coming to the rescue of the Kaphila. At this moment, Captain Aldigon roared: "go ahead!" The carbines in normal condition were taken from the backs of the North African cavalry to their hands and shoulders, and everyone rushed towards the gang like a tornado. As for the caravan, it was put in the back and guarded by the drivers. After everyone rescued the camel caravan, they came back to meet it. The robbers did not expect resistance.Didn't they feel strength, indeed courage, against the famous detachment which charged so bravely upon them?Do they obey an impulse other than a force of fear?They always fled to the northwest before Captain Aldigon and his men could get within reach. However, the order to shoot was given, and nearly a hundred guns rang out, hitting many fleeing gangsters, and they could be caught without too much danger. Still, the Sergeant Major proudly attested that 'Cut Hearts' had been baptized by gunfire, as he saw the dog's head bobbing from side to side and concluded that a bullet whizzed past its ear. Aldigon thought it was an inopportune time to pursue the assailant, who was fleeing at full speed on his fierce horse.Besides, they disappeared in a moment behind a lush mountain rising from the horizon.In this well-known area of ​​the gangsters, it was easy for them to escape to cover, and once there, it was very difficult to track them down.They will certainly not return, and the camel caravan heading east of Larsa will no longer worry about running into them. However, the rescuers arrived on time, and a few minutes later, the camel fell into the hands of these desert robbers. The engineer then asked the chief of the Kaphila how it happened, and under what circumstances the charioteers were attacked. "Then you know what tribe these bandits belong to?" asked Captain Aldigon. "Our guides decided to be Tuareg," replied the chief. "It is asserted that the Tuaregs have gradually abandoned the oases in the west and come to the east of Jared..." the engineer went on. "Oh! As long as there is a camel caravan crossing the salt lake area, there will be robbers who attack the camel caravan..." Lieutenant Viet reminded. "Maybe there is nothing to be afraid of after the flood has flooded the Salt Lake area," Mr. Deschalay claimed. So Aldigan asked the chief if the locals had heard of Adyar's escape. "Yes, Captain, this rumor has been circulating for a few days..." "Hasn't anyone denounced him around Larsa or Malegir?" "No, Captain." "Isn't he in command of the robbers?" "I can't be sure of that," argued the guide, "because I know him and can recognize him. . . These marauders were under his command. It's certainly possible. If you don't come, Captain, we may have been taken by them." Robbed, killed!..." "Now you can continue on your way without any danger..." said the engineer. "I think so too," replied the chief. "The rascals are going back to some town in the west, and in three or four days we'll be in Tozeur." So the leader gathered his men together.The camels that had run away had returned to the caravan, and the caravan was reorganized. No one was lost, but a few people were injured, but the injuries were not serious, and they could continue on their way.Then, after expressing his final thanks to Captain Aldigon and his comrades, the chief gave the signal to go.All the Kafilans are on the road again. After a few minutes, both people and animals disappeared at the turn of a "Tarph", that is, a sand spit lying along the salt lake. The shouts of the leader of Kafira urging the drivers gradually disappeared into the distance. When the engineer and the two officers gathered together after this consequential attack, they exchanged impressions or were otherwise apprehensive about what had just happened, and it was M. de Charley who spoke first. : "So, Adiyar is in the area again!" said the engineer. "We probably expected this," the captain replied. "We should expect us to complete the task of flooding the salt lake as soon as possible! This is the only way to eliminate these criminals in Jared!" "Unfortunately, a few years will pass before the waters of Gabes fill Larsa and Malegil..." Lieutenant Viette reminded. "Does anyone know?" said M. de Charley. During the second night, the camp was not disturbed by the Tuaregs, who were no longer in the vicinity. The next afternoon, April 10, the detachment stopped at the source of the second canal linking the two salt lakes.