ACROSS THE SAHARA

Otago Witness, Issue 3619, 24 July 1923, Page 24

ACROSS THE SAHARA

RECENT MOTOR EXPLOIT. M. CITROEN’S NARRATIVE. FEW ADVENTURES ENCOUNTERED. M. Citroen, whose caterpillar motor car crossed the Sahara- Desert a few months a £°, is now in London, busy with projects *' , . r “’ e future of the motor car industry. -Lne Queen made a journey over rough coun.L Aldershot in a Citroen-Kegresse caterpillar car very similar to that which crossed the desert. . The Sahara will never develop big cit ies,” said M. Citroen in an interview. “The desert itself may prove attractive to tourlsts when once it is opened up. There tho life is delightful—always fine weather. A splendid light, gorgeous natural colouring a.nd a peacefulness of habit which makes one indifferent to the absence of telegraphs ana telephones. If stations are established tor the supply of gasoline no aeroplane need fear the journey. It is a wonderful country, very different ,°, n \ vast plain of flat sand which oonstitutes the popular notion of the Sahara. mountains reach a height of 10,000 ft. Me did not climb them. We found it easy to go between, along the courses of the dead rivers. It was a comfortable journey to Timnuctoo, and we met with few adventures. \e saw no lions, and we encountered no bands of robbers. As a matter of fact, the days of the robber-bands, 40 or 50 of them on camels, need be a peril no longer. Camels travel slow. A few caterpillars armed with guns could soon disperse the bands. The game we encountered was nothing more formidable than antelopes and gazelles. THE M r ALKERS OF THE DESERT. ‘ln spite of their reputation, the Arabs Of file desert are a simple-minded folk. A member of the party chopped a pair of gloves, and they were returned to him by a native, to whom lie gave two sous. To his consternation he learnt afterwards that the native had walked 25 miles with the gloves, following the track of the car. He tried to redeem matters, but he could not find tho native again. “A French colonel on the edge of the desert told me that he gave a letter to a native and asked him to deliver it a long way off, saying that he would get 20 francs or , Id® trouble. The letter was delivered, fj?“ the messenger returned for his 20 francs. 'Lut,' said the colonel, ‘that was to be paid to you when you delivered the message. X said so in the letter.’ ‘Bein, monsieur!’ replied tlie messenger; and he did the journey all over again to collect the money—48 days °* walking altogether for 20 francs. Hie project of a railway across the Sahara is not practicable at present. All tiie money that France can spare just nowmust go to the restoration of devastated aieas Dut it would be easy to establish aeroplane and caterpillar car routes, especially as three organisations intend to mark out land routes, including one from Morocco to “L I S® rla and one towards Lake Tchad. ‘ \\ ith aeroplane stations on the way it would be possible to fly the desert ar.d then fly tho narrowest part of tlie Atlantic, to iernampueo—about five days from Paris to South America. One of the obvious airiiues would be from Touggourt or Morocco to Eouaren, near Timbuctoo, some 1600 miles. AMERICAN LACK OF NOVELTY. <5 “J r hav ® returned from the United States, where I visited six motor car faetories which are responsible for 90 per cent. ° f -I , ” lanufac,ur e of motor cars of the Lmted States, and 85 per cent, of the manufacture of the world. "I spent three days with Mr Henry Ford. He showed me all over his factories, and tr.ed to explain the reason for America’s pre-eminence m the industry. In the United States a workman can buy a small motor car with the wages of some 60 days’ work. In Europe a motor car may cost 500 days of a workman’s wages. Consequently one American in eight owns a car, which has to be renewed after four or five years. In England there is one car for 90 people in Trance one for 130 people. TJut, to my mind, the Americans are behind m inventiveness and in new ideas. J heir cars are all alike. They are so standardised in their habits that they make nothing with a novel attractiveness. Colour all the same, build all the same, design all the same, nothing which makes you feel that your car is your very own. The Americans were not much interested in my caterpillar cars. In this, as in some other tilings, they are ten years behind. I find that the tractor-car is dropping out in America. The farmer does not know what to do with it if it goes wrong. So he is reverting to horses, he does understand.- ’