The drawback to camping was the difficulty in getting fresh water and
firewood. We generally carried bottles of fresh water with us, as even
when we were able to find a trickle of water in a river-bed, it was
frequently brackish or half salt.
[Illustration: "We were soon camped out on the desert, far from other
human habitations, in the glorious sunshine of North Africa."]
Then there were no trees or bushes with which to light our fire, so we
had to collect the smallest sticks and straws to act as "punk" and
loaded up any parched plants that we could find, and these, together
with twigs and branches of little thorn tufts, enabled us to make a
fire. It was not a big one, but then a Scout does not need a bonfire
to cook his food.
* * * * *
A FORTIFIED FARM.
We left the railway to face the open stony desert and arid rocky
mountains with the greatest keenness, in the bright sun and clear air
of Southern Algeria.
The last bit of civilisation that we saw was a French. colonist's
farm, fortified with a strong loopholed tower, in which the farmer and
his family could take refuge and stand a siege if the Arabs should
rise in rebellion.
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