Wherever a well gushes forth in the Sahara, it brings life into the wilderness; the date-tree flourishes as far as its fertilising waters extend, and the wandering Arab changes into a sedentary cultivator of the soil. Thus the boring of Artesian wells on the desert confines of South Algeria has been the means of wonderful improvement, and if the French have too often marked their dominion in Africa by a barbarous oppression of the Arabs, they, in this respect at least, appear in the more amiable light of public benefactors. A boring apparatus was first landed at Philippeville in April 1856, and conveyed with immense difficulty to the Oasis Wad Rir at Tamerna. The work was begun in May, and on the 19th of June, a spring, to which the grateful inhabitants gave the name of the ‘Well of Peace,’ gushed forth. Soon after another source was tapped at Tamelhat, in the Oasis Temacen, and received the name of the ‘Well of God’s blessing.’ The beneficent instrument of abundance was now conveyed to the Oasis Sidi Rasched, fifteen miles beyond Tuggurt. Here the auger had scarcely reached a depth of 120 feet when a perfect stream gushed forth, which, according to the praiseworthy Arab custom, received the name of the ‘Well of Thanks.’ The opening of this wonderful source gave rise to many touching scenes. The Arabs came in throngs to witness the joyful spectacle: each of them poured some of the water over his head, and the mothers bathed their children in the gushing flood. An old scheik, unable to conceal his emotion, fell down upon his knees, and shedding tears of joy, fervently thanked God for having allowed him to witness such a day. The next triumph was the boring of four wells in the desert of Morran, where previously no spring had existed. In the full expectation of success, everything had been prepared to turn this new source of wealth to immediate use, and part of a nomadic tribe instantly settled on the spot, and planted 1,200 date-trees. A dreary solitude was changed, as if by magic, into a scene of busy life. These few examples suffice to show the vast services which Artesian wells are destined at some future time to render to many of the arid regions of Africa. Both in the Sahara and in the basin-shaped deserts, which extend, under various names, from the Cape Colony to the neighbourhood of Lake Ngami, there are, beyond all doubt, numberless spots where water, the fertilising element, may be extracted from the bowels of the earth. In the droughty plains of Australia also a vast sphere of utility is reserved to the Artesian wells. Here, also, they will subdue the desert, unite one coast to another by creating stations in the wilderness, and, with every new source which they call to life, promote both material progress and intellectual improvement. [Illustration: MIDDLE AND VALLEY LAKE CRATERS, MOUNT GAMBIER, SOUTH AUSTRALIA.] CHAPTER VI. VOLCANOES.