During the following day the column reached successively Oued-el-Adam, Oued Fekka, Ali Ben Aioun, Oued Souenia, and at last, on the 19th of November, Oued Miredba, in sight of Gafsa. In Arabic _bir_ means a well, and _oued_ a river, but never did names cover a more cruel deception. The _oueds_ passed were generally waterless, and the _birs_ contained undrinkable brine. During the march both the men and the horses suffered greatly from thirst, but although many of the beasts died, the health of the troops remained unexpectedly good. On the following day the camp was pitched among the 25,000 palm-trees which grow on the oasis upon which Gafsa is built. The town consists of some hundreds of small houses built of dried earth, and contains two mosques, besides a hot spring, the water of which has a warmth of 32° Réaumur, and around which are some Roman ruins. At Gafsa no resistance was experienced. The troops of the Frechich tribes and the principal men of the city alike made their submission. The most remarkable thing to be seen at Gafsa (always excepting the luxuriant groves of palm-trees) is the tower of its principal mosque, which is far more out of the perpendicular than the celebrated “leaning tower” at Pisa. In the little citadel there were only nine very old cannons of no use whatever. The 3000 or 4000 inhabitants of the place are nearly all unhealthy, many of them covered with boils, and suffering from every form of eye disease. The presence of serpents and scorpions in numbers complete the list of the natural disadvantages of Gafsa. Among the palms are some olive groves and plantations of fruit trees. After a short rest at Gafsa, a strong flying column was formed, under the command of General De la Sougéolle, who arrived the same day at the oasis of Ain Guettar, nearly twenty miles farther to the south-east. On the 23d of November the camp was pitched near the height of Djebel Oun Ali. From this point the great salt marsh- lakes, or _chotts_, fifty miles away, were visible across an arid desert. No water was to be found, and as there was no prospect of meeting with any for two days, it was resolved to return at once to Gafsa. Even then many of the animals remained without water, and the soldiers were obliged to drink from the holes in the rocks on the mountain side. On the 27th of November a second flying column was formed at Gafsa, under the command of General De Gislin. The object of his march was to occupy some villages the inhabitants of which had threatened to attack the oasis of Ain Guettar, where the Arabs had submitted to the terms imposed upon them. On the 28th of November a reconnaissance in force, under General Bonie, marched on Lakab, a large village eighteen miles from Ain Guettar. The arrival of the French was evidently a surprise, but the Arabs defended themselves for a time with admirable courage. They finally fled, with a loss of thirty-five killed and many disabled. In this attack two French Hussars were mortally