(eBook PDF) Patterns for College

Writing 14th Edition by Laurie Kirszner

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as freewriting, brainstorming, clustering, and journal writing. These
chapters also include numerous writing exercises to give students
opportunities for immediate practice.

Detailed Coverage of the Patterns of Development

In Part Two, “Readings for Writers,” Chapters 6 through 14 explain
and illustrate the patterns of development that students typically use in
their college writing assignments: narration, description, exemplification,
process, cause and effect, comparison and contrast, classification and
division, definition, and argumentation. Each chapter begins with a
comprehensive introduction that presents a definition and a paragraph-
length example of the pattern to be discussed and then explains the
particular writing strategies and applications associated with it. Next, each
chapter analyzes one or two annotated student essays to show how the
pattern can be used in particular college writing situations. Chapter 15,
“Combining the Patterns,” illustrates how the various patterns of
development discussed in Chapters 6 through 14 can work together in an
essay.

A Diverse and Popular Selection of Readings

Varied in subject, style, and cultural perspective, the sixty-eight
professional selections engage students while providing them with
outstanding models for writing. We have tried to achieve a balance
between classic authors (George Orwell, Jessica Mitford, E. B. White,
Martin Luther King Jr.) and newer voices (Bich Minh Nguyen, Zeynep
Tufekci, Marina Keegan) so that instructors have a broad range of readings
to choose from.

More Student Essays than Any Comparable Text

To provide students with realistic models for improving their own
writing, we include eighteen sample student essays.

Helpful Coverage of Grammar Issues

Grammar-in-Context boxes in chapter introductions offer specific
advice on how to identify and correct the grammar, mechanics, and
punctuation problems that students are likely to encounter when they work
with particular patterns of development.

Apparatus Designed to Help Students Learn

Each professional essay in the text is followed by three types of

8
questions. These questions are designed to help students assess their
understanding of the essay’s content and of the writer’s purpose and
audience; to recognize the stylistic and structural techniques used to shape
the essay; and to become sensitive to the nuances of language. Each essay
is also accompanied by a Journal Entry prompt, Writing Workshop topics
(suggestions for full-length writing assignments), and Thematic
Connections that identify related readings in the text. Also following each
essay is a Combining the Patterns feature that focuses on different patterns
of development used in the essay and possible alternatives to these
patterns. Each chapter ends with a list of Writing Assignments and a
Collaborative Activity. Many of these assignments and activities have
been updated to reflect the most current topics and trends.

Extensive Cultural and Historical Background for All Readings

In addition to a biographical headnote, each reading is preceded by a
headnote containing essential background information to help students
make connections between the reading and the historical, social, and
economic forces that shaped it.

An Introduction to Visual Texts

Every rhetorical chapter includes a visual text — such as a photograph,
a piece of fine art, or panels from a graphic novel — that provides an
accessible introduction to each rhetorical pattern. Apparatus that helps
students discuss the pattern in its visual form follows each image.

Thorough Coverage of Working with Sources

Part Three, “Working with Sources,” takes students through the
process of writing a research paper and includes a model student paper in
MLA style. (The Appendix addresses APA style and includes a model
APA paper.)

What’s New in This Edition

Engaging New Readings
The twenty-five new professional essays treat topics of current interest.
Isabel Wilkerson explores the history of “Emmett Till and Tamir Rice,
Sons of the Great Migration.” Josh Barro explains “Why Stealing Cars
Went Out of Fashion.” Karen Miller Pensiero shows us the “Photos That
Change History.” In all cases, readings have been carefully selected for

9
their high-interest subject matter as well as for their effectiveness as
teachable models for student writing.
Argumentation Chapter Updated
The argument chapter has been revised to focus on issues of particular
importance to college students. It includes two new debates (“Should
Public Colleges Be Free?” and “Does It Pay to Study the Humanities?”)
and one new casebook (“Do College Students Need Trigger Warnings?”).

With Bedford/St. Martin’s, You Get More

At Bedford/St. Martin’s, providing support to teachers and their
students who use our books and digital tools is our top priority. The
Bedford/St. Martin’s English Community is now our home for
professional resources, including Bedford Bits, our popular blog with new
ideas for the composition classroom. Join us to connect with our authors
and your colleagues at community.macmillan.com, where you can
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always by the power of Macmillan Learning. To learn more about or to
order any of the following products, contact your Bedford/St. Martin’s
sales representative or visit the website at macmillanlearning.com.

LaunchPad for Patterns for College Writing: Where Students Learn

LaunchPad provides engaging content and new ways to get the most
out of your book. Get an interactive e-Book combined with assessment
tools in a fully customizable course space; then assign and mix our
resources with yours.
Interactive Peer Review Worksheets allow students to type their
responses into a form that is easy to share with fellow students and
their instructor.
Reading Comprehension Quizzes for every selection in Patterns
help you quickly gauge your students’ understanding of the assigned
reading.

10
 Diagnostics and Exercise Central provide opportunities to assess
areas for improvement and assign additional exercises based on
students’ needs. Eight diagnostic quizzes — pre- and post-tests on
sentence grammar, punctuation and mechanics, reading skills, and
reading strategies — offer visual reports that show performance by
topic, class, and student as well as comparison reports that track
improvement over time. Use these reports to target additional
practice by assigning quizzes from the Exercise Central question
bank.
Pre-built units — including readings, videos, quizzes, discussion
groups, and more — are easy to adapt and assign by adding your
own materials and mixing them with our high-quality multimedia
content and ready-made assessment options, such as
LearningCurve adaptive quizzing.
LaunchPad also provides access to a gradebook that offers a clear
window on the performance of your whole class, individual
students, and even results of individual assignments.
Use LaunchPad on its own or integrate it with your school’s
learning management system so that your class is always on the
same page.
LaunchPad for Patterns for College Writing can be purchased on its own
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Choose from Alternative Formats of Patterns for College Writing

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Paperback To order the paperback edition, use ISBN 978-1-319-
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for any of the following products, contact your Bedford/St. Martin’s sales
representative or visit macmillanlearning.com.
LaunchPad Solo for Readers and Writers allows students to work on
whatever they need help with the most. At home or in class, students learn
at their own pace, with instruction tailored to each student’s unique needs.
LaunchPad Solo for Readers and Writers features:
Pre-built units that support a learning arc. Each easy-to-assign
unit is composed of a pre-test check, multimedia instruction and
assessment, and a post-test that assesses what students have learned
about critical reading, writing process, using sources, grammar,
style, and mechanics. Dedicated units also offer help for
multilingual writers.
Diagnostics that help establish a baseline for instruction. Assign
diagnostics to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement
on topics related to grammar and reading and to help students plan a
course of study. Use visual reports to track performance by topic,
class, and student as well as comparison reports that track
improvement over time.
A video introduction to many topics. Introductions offer an
overview of the unit’s topic, and many include a brief, accessible
video to illustrate the concepts at hand.
Twenty-five reading selections with comprehension quizzes.
Assign a range of classic and contemporary essays, each of which
includes a label indicating Lexile level to help you scaffold
instruction in critical reading.
Adaptive quizzing for targeted learning. Most units include
LearningCurve, game-like adaptive quizzing that focuses on the
areas in which each student needs the most help.
The ability to monitor student progress. Use our gradebook to see
which students are on track and which need additional help with
specific topics.
Additional reading comprehension quizzes. Patterns for College
Writing includes multiple-choice quizzes, which help you quickly
gauge your students’ understanding of the assigned reading. These
are available in LaunchPad Solo for Readers and Writers.
Order ISBN 978-1-319-14527-9 to package LaunchPad Solo for Readers

12
and Writers with Patterns for College Writing at a significant discount.
Students who rent or buy a used book can purchase access, and instructors
may request free access at macmillanlearning.com/readwrite.
Writer’s Help 2.0 is a powerful online writing resource that helps
students find answers whether they are searching for writing advice on
their own or as part of an assignment.
Smart search. Built on research with more than 1,600 student
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Trusted content from our best-selling handbooks. Choose
Writer’s Help 2.0, Hacker Version, or Writer’s Help 2.0, Lunsford
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all of their writing questions.
Diagnostics that help establish a baseline for instruction. Assign
diagnostics to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement
on topics related to grammar and reading and to help students plan a
course of study. Use visual reports to track performance by topic,
class, and student as well as comparison reports that track
improvement over time.
Adaptive exercises that engage students. Writer’s Help 2.0
includes LearningCurve, game-like online quizzing that adapts to
what students already know and helps them focus on what they need
to learn.
Reading comprehension quizzes. Patterns for College Writing
includes multiple-choice quizzes, which help you quickly gauge
your students’ understanding of the assigned reading. These are
available in Writer’s Help 2.0.
Writer’s Help 2.0 can be packaged with Patterns for College Writing at a
significant discount. For more information, contact your sales
representative or visit macmillanlearning.com/writershelp2.

Macmillan Learning Curriculum Solutions

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13
Whether you are considering creating a custom version of Patterns for
College Writing or incorporating our content with your own, we can adapt
and combine the resources that work best for your course or program.
Some enrollment minimums apply. Contact your sales representative for
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Instructor Resources
You have a lot to do in your course. Bedford/St. Martin’s wants to
make it easy for you to find the support you need — and to get it quickly.
Resources for Instructors Using Patterns for College Writing is
available as a PDF that can be downloaded from macmillanlearning.com.
Visit the instructor resources tab for Patterns for College Writing. In
addition to chapter overviews and teaching tips, the instructor’s manual
includes sample syllabi, suggestions for classroom discussion, and possible
responses for every question in the book.

NEW! A Student’s Companion for Patterns for College Writing

If your students need a little extra support, consider ordering A
Student’s Companion for Patterns for College Writing (ISBN 978-1-319-
12674-2). This text reinforces the most foundational elements in academic
writing. While recognizing and respecting students’ abilities, this
supplement breaks down the steps necessary to excel in college writing,
tackling time management; critical reading skills across print, digital and
professional genres; the essay-drafting process; and the essentials of
grammar. This companion, meant to supplement the coverage in Patterns
for College Writing, gives students the additional support they need to get
or stay on-level in the composition classroom. It is an ideal solution for
accelerated learning programs or co-requisite courses, while the deep
integration with Patterns makes it an ideal resource for any instructor who
wants students to build a strong foundation in academic writing.

Acknowledgments
As always, friends, colleagues, students, and family all helped this
project along. Of particular value were the responses to the questionnaires
sent to the following instructors, who provided frank and helpful advice:
Amelia Magallanes Arguijo, Laredo Community College; Victoria Bryan,
Cleveland State Community College; Thomas Chester, Ivy Tech
Community College; Anne Dearing, Hudson Valley Community College;

14
Jennifer Eble, Cleveland State Community College; Marcus Embry,
University of Northern Colorado; Ulanda Forbess, North Lake College;
Jan Geyer, Hudson Valley Community College; Priscilla Glanville, State
College of Florida; Scott Hathaway, Hudson Valley Community College;
Josh Miller, Cape Fear Community College; Janet Minc, University of
Akron Wayne College; Jennifer Ravey, Lamar University; Cheryl Saba,
Cape Fear Community College; Ana Schnellmann, Lindenwood
University; Dhipinder Walia, Lehman College; and Coreen Wees, Iowa
Western Community College. Additional thanks to Cedric Burroughs at
Marquette University for his valuable suggestions.
Special thanks go to Jeff Ousborne for his help with some of the
apparatus and for revising the headnotes and the Resources for Instructors.
Through fourteen editions of Patterns for College Writing, we have
enjoyed a wonderful working relationship with Bedford/St. Martin’s. We
have always found the editorial and production staff to be efficient,
cooperative, and generous with their time and advice. As always, we
appreciate the encouragement and advice of our longtime friend, Nancy
Perry. In addition, we thank Joan Feinberg, past president of Bedford/St.
Martin’s, for her support for this project and for her trust in us. During our
work on this edition, we have benefited from our productive relationship
with John Sullivan, Program Manager, Readers and Literature, who helped
us make this edition of Patterns the best it could be. We have been
especially lucky to work on this edition with our talented developmental
editor, Sherry Mooney, a real star. We are also grateful to Jessica Gould,
senior content project manager, and Lisa Kinne, managing editor, for their
work overseeing the production of this edition; John Callahan for the
attractive new cover; and associate editor Jennifer Prince for her
invaluable help with tasks large and small. We are fortunate to have
enjoyed our long and fulfilling collaboration; we know how rare a
successful partnership like ours is. We also know how lucky we are to
have our families to help keep us in touch with the things that really
matter.
Laurie G. Kirszner
Stephen R. Mandell

15
 Contents

Preface

Thematic Guide to the Contents

Introduction: How to Use This Book

Henry Louis Gates Jr., “What’s in a Name?”
Responding to an Essay
Responding to Other Kinds of Texts

PART ONE: The Writing Process

1 Reading to Write: Becoming a Critical Reader

Understanding Critical Reading
Determining Your Purpose
CHECKLIST: Questions about Your Purpose

Previewing
Highlighting
Brent Staples, Cutting and Pasting: A Senior Thesis by (Insert
Name)
Moisés Naím, The YouTube Effect
“Although international news operations employ thousands of

16
 professional journalists, they will never be as omnipresent as
millions of people carrying cellphones that can record video.”
Annotating
CHECKLIST: Questions for Critical Reading

Brent Staples, Cutting and Pasting: A Senior Thesis by (Insert

Name) (with sample annotations)
Reading Visual Texts
CHECKLIST: Reading Visual Texts

2 Invention
Understanding Your Assignment
Setting Limits
Length
Purpose
Audience
Occasion
Knowledge
CHECKLIST: Setting Limits

Moving from Subject to Topic

Questions for Probing
CHECKLIST: Questions for Probing

Freewriting
A Student Writer: Freewriting
Finding Something to Say
Brainstorming
A Student Writer: Brainstorming
Journal Writing

17
 A Student Writer: Journal Writing
Grouping Ideas
Clustering
A Student Writer: Clustering
Making an Informal Outline
A Student Writer: Making an Informal Outline
Understanding Thesis and Support
Developing a Thesis
Defining the Thesis Statement
Deciding on a Thesis
Stating Your Thesis
Implying a Thesis
A Student Writer: Developing a Thesis
CHECKLIST: Stating Your Thesis

3 Arrangement
Recognizing a Pattern
CHECKLIST: Recognizing a Pattern

Understanding the Parts of the Essay

The Introduction
CHECKLIST: What Not to Do in an Introduction

The Body Paragraphs

CHECKLIST: Effective Support

The Conclusion
CHECKLIST: What Not to Do in a Conclusion

Constructing a Formal Outline

18
 CHECKLIST: Constructing a Formal Outline

A Student Writer: Constructing a Formal Outline

4 Drafting and Revising

Writing Your First Draft
CHECKLIST: Drafting

A Student Writer: Writing a First Draft

Revising Your Essay
Revising with an Outline
Revising with a Checklist
CHECKLIST: Revising

Revising with Your Instructor’s Written Comments

Revising in a Conference
Revising in a Peer-Editing Group
CHECKLIST: Guidelines for Peer Editing

Strategies for Revising

A Student Writer: Revising a First Draft
Peer Editing Worksheet

Points for Special Attention: First Draft

The Introduction
The Body Paragraphs
The Conclusion
A Student Writer: Revising a Second Draft
Points for Special Attention: Second Draft
The Introduction
The Body Paragraphs

19
 The Conclusion
Working with Sources
The Title
A Student Writer: Preparing a Final Draft
SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY: Laura Bobnak, The Price of Silence
(Student Essay)

5 Editing and Proofreading

Editing for Grammar
Be Sure Subjects and Verbs Agree
Be Sure Verb Tenses Are Accurate and Consistent
Be Sure Pronoun References Are Clear
Be Sure Sentences Are Complete
Be Careful Not to Run Sentences Together without Proper
Punctuation
Be Careful to Avoid Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
Be Sure Sentence Elements Are Parallel
CHECKLIST: Editing for Grammar

Editing for Punctuation

Learn When to Use Commas — and When Not to Use Them
Learn When to Use Semicolons
Learn When to Use Apostrophes
Learn When to Use Quotation Marks
Learn When to Use Dashes and Colons
CHECKLIST: Editing for Punctuation

Editing for Sentence Style and Word Choice

Eliminate Awkward Phrasing
Be Sure Your Sentences Are Concise

20
 Be Sure Your Sentences Are Varied
Choose Your Words Carefully
CHECKLIST: Editing for Sentence Style and Word Choice

Proofreading Your Essay

Check for Commonly Confused Words
Check for Misspellings and Faulty Capitalization
Check for Typos
CHECKLIST: Proofreading

Checking Your Paper’s Format

CHECKLIST: Checking Your Paper’s Format

PART TWO: Readings for Writers

6 Narration
What Is Narration?
Using Narration
Planning a Narrative Essay
Developing a Thesis Statement
Including Enough Detail
Varying Sentence Structure
Maintaining Clear Narrative Order
Structuring a Narrative Essay
Revising a Narrative Essay
REVISION CHECKLIST: Narration

Editing a Narrative Essay

GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT: Avoiding Run-Ons

21
EDITING CHECKLIST: Narration

A Student Writer: Literacy Narrative

Erica Sarno, Becoming a Writer (Student Essay)
Points for Special Attention
Focus on Revision
A Student Writer: Narration
Tiffany Forte, My Field of Dreams (Student Essay)
Points for Special Attention
Focus on Revision
PEER EDITING WORKSHEET: NARRATION

Visual Text: Marjane Satrapi, from Persepolis II (Graphic Fiction)

Junot Díaz, The Money
“The summer I was twelve, my family went away on a
‘vacation’ — one of my father’s half-baked get-to-know-our-
country-better-by-sleeping-in-the-van extravaganzas — and
when we returned to Jersey, exhausted, battered, we found our
front door unlocked. . . . The thieves had kept it simple; they’d
snatched a portable radio, some of my Dungeons & Dragons
hardcovers, and, of course, Mami’s remittances.”
Ocean Vuong, Surrendering
“The task allowed me to camouflage myself; as long as I looked
as though I were doing something smart, my shame and failure
were hidden. The trouble began when I decided to be
dangerously ambitious. Which is to say, I decided to write a
poem.”
Bonnie Smith-Yackel, My Mother Never Worked
“From her wheelchair she canned pickles, baked bread, ironed
clothes, wrote dozens of letters weekly to her friends and her
‘half dozen or more kids,’ and made three patchwork
housecoats and one quilt.”

22
 Martin Gansberg, Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the
Police
“For more than half an hour thirty-eight respectable, law-
abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a
woman in three separate attacks. . . . Not one person telephoned
the police during the assault; one witness called after the
woman was dead.”
George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant
“But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating
his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied
grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it
would be murder to shoot him.”
Sherman Alexie, Indian Education (Fiction)
“The farm town high school I play for is nicknamed the
‘Indians,’ and I’m probably the only actual Indian ever to play
for a team with such a mascot.”
Writing Assignments for Narration
Collaborative Activity for Narration

7 Description
What Is Description?
Using Description
Understanding Objective Description
CHECKLIST: Using Visuals Effectively

Understanding Subjective Description

Using Objective and Subjective Language
Selecting Details
Planning a Descriptive Essay
Developing a Thesis Statement
Organizing Details

23
 Using Transitions
Structuring a Descriptive Essay
Revising a Descriptive Essay
REVISION CHECKLIST: Description

Editing a Descriptive Essay

GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT: Avoiding Misplaced and Dangling
Modifiers
EDITING CHECKLIST: Description

A Student Writer: Objective Description

Mallory Cogan, My Grandfather’s Globe (Student Essay)
Points for Special Attention
Focus on Revision
A Student Writer: Subjective Description
Mary Lim, The Valley of Windmills (Student Essay)
Points for Special Attention
Focus on Revision
PEER-EDITING WORKSHEET: DESCRIPTION

Visual Text: Ansel Adams,Jackson Lake (Photo)

Bich Minh Nguyen, Goodbye to My Twinkie Days
“For me, a child of Vietnamese immigrants growing up in
Michigan in the 1980s, Twinkies were a ticket to assimilation:
the golden cake, more golden than the hair I wished I had, filled
with sweet white cream. Back then, junk foods seemed to
represent an ideal of American indulgence.”
Suzanne Berne, Ground Zero
“Like me, perhaps, the people around me had in mind images
from television and newspaper pictures: the collapsing
buildings, the running office workers, the black plume of smoke
against a bright blue sky. Like me, they were probably trying to

24
 superimpose those terrible images onto the industrious
emptiness right in front of them.”
Marina Keegan, Stability in Motion
“My car was not gross; it was occupied, cluttered, cramped. It
became an extension of my bedroom, and thus an extension of
myself.”
Heather Rogers, The Hidden Life of Garbage
“There’s a reason landfills are tucked away, on the edge of
town, in otherwise untraveled terrain, camouflaged by
hydroseeded, neatly tiered slopes. If people saw what happened
to their waste, lived with the stench, witnessed the scale of
destruction, they might start asking difficult questions.”
E. B. White, Once More to the Lake
“Summertime, oh summertime, pattern of life indelible, the
fade-proof lake, the woods unshatterable, the pasture with the
sweetfern and the juniper forever and ever . . .”
Kate Chopin, The Storm (Fiction)
“They did not hear the crashing torrents, and the roar of the
elements made her laugh as she lay in his arms. She was a
revelation in that dim, mysterious chamber; as white as the
couch she lay upon.”
Writing Assignments for Description
Collaborative Activity for Description

8 Exemplification
What Is Exemplification?
Using Exemplification
Using Examples to Explain and Clarify
Using Examples to Add Interest
Using Examples to Persuade
Planning an Exemplification Essay

25
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
SECTIONS OF DWELLING IN MATMATA WHERE I LIVED.
(Large-size)
 PLAN.
(Large-size)

The courtyards measure, as a rule, between eleven and twelve

feet in depth and breadth.
The side caves are usually about twenty-seven feet long, but not
even half that in breadth; though I have seen them both larger and
smaller. These rooms are generally furnished with doors. The
passage also is, as a rule, closed at both the outer and the inner end
by means of a strong door or gate.
In the court is a fireplace intended for common use; in wet
weather the cooking is done in one of the underground rooms.
Further, there is often a tank into which water is conducted by pipes
from the earth’s surface. At the sides of the court stand large rush
baskets filled with corn, and sufficient space remains for fowls and
domestic animals, when, under special circumstances, such as
threatened danger, these are driven within.
 Here and there in the passages are recesses for stabling horses
and donkeys, which stand therefore in utter darkness.
In a cave chamber it is dark when the door is closed, otherwise
there is sufficient light.
The accompanying sketch shows some of the dwellings inhabited
by the Khalifa and his nearest relatives.
From the flat, smooth, open space grown with olive and palm
trees, leads the passage to the courtyard.
Dwellings I. and II. are united, and have but one entrance.
Through the gate (A) is the entrance to a cave passage, and thereby
to the first courtyard. Here are to be found the following chambers:
One for the horses, one for the sheep, one containing a tank,
another is a kitchen, and, lastly, a store.
From the first courtyard one passes through another cave
passage into courtyard No. II. This provides dwellings for all the
Khalifa’s sons with their wives and children, and for the mothers of
these sons.
The Khalifa himself resides at night in an adjacent cave in
company with his third wife, but both spend the day with the rest of
the family in courtyard No. II., where they cook and eat in common.
As far as I could ascertain, no domestics live here.
This courtyard is furnished with rush baskets for corn, and with a
fireplace.
Amar has two chambers, one for each of his wives; and his
mother has another close by, so they occupy a whole side of the
court.
Two chambers are used as barley stores.
Fatima, Mohammed’s mother, has a room, and beside it is
another to which Mohammed’s second wife was brought. Exactly
opposite lives Mohammed’s first wife, and, on the same side,
Mansur and his only wife.
Last of all comes the kitchen.
 I visited all these caves; each woman had her household pots and
pans prettily arranged on the inner wall of the chamber, as our cooks
do their brass utensils on their kitchen walls. Ranged on the sides
were various articles, while in the centre of the clay floor, adorned,
as a rule, with rush matting or with carpets, stood what appeared to
be a low table. This is the sleeping couch, on which carpets are
generally spread; on this the inmates sleep without undressing.
The whitewashed walls are bare but for the guns which are
sometimes hung there, as also keys, yarn, etc.
In Mohammed’s and Mansur’s rooms I saw some frightful framed
pictures, apparently supposed to represent the Prophet, and
evidently cheap rubbish bought at Gabés, corresponding in all
respects to the coloured prints of the Christ which we find in every
cottage in our country.
The comfortable cave rooms, and even the courtyard, were clean
and well kept. The fowls, indeed, had the run of yard No. II., but it
was evidently forbidden to cattle, which were restricted to the first
yard. By a long underground passage, provided with side recesses
for horses and donkeys, one entered yard No. III.; its chambers
included a large banqueting hall, the roof of which was composed of
two parallel vaults, supported where they met by a central row of
pillars. This hall occupied one entire side of the court, and opposite
to it were two rooms, used when I was there as guest-chambers; one
of these I occupied. They could also be utilised as corn stores; to this
end a shaft is dug from the surface, through the solid earth to the
dome, so that the corn may be poured down; and when the camels
bring the grain, it is unloaded near the mouth of the shaft.
Near the entrance to the passage are two rooms, also available
as stores for grain, but during my visit they were used as dwellings
for several male servants.
In yard No. IV. lived a negro family, who were entrusted with the
care of Mohammed’s and Amar’s two horses, and the two mules
belonging to the Khalifa and Mansur which were stabled there. There
was also a corn store, where the barley for the horses and mules
was kept, a writing-room, and a tank.
 These four yards were used indiscriminately by the Khalifa and
his household.
Now we come to the two other dwellings—V. and VI. In one lived
a cousin of the Khalifa; the other was occupied by an old fellow
called Uncle Srair Feteish, under the same conditions as the courts
already mentioned.
A little farther off was the dwelling occupied by the Khalifa and his
third wife; this was also composed of subterranean rooms, two on
either side. One of these chambers was occupied by the Khalifa and
his third wife, one by an Arab servant, another was used to keep
clothing in, a fourth as a kitchen, two others as stores for dates, and
the last as a writing-room.
Owing to his official position, the Khalifa has a certain amount of
correspondence, and therefore requires a proper place in which to
preserve documents. These are all written in Arabic characters; the
Berber alphabet being unknown in Hadeij, and but little, I believe, in
the whole of Southern Tunisia. Though in many villages the Berber
language is spoken, it is not in Hadeij, where it appears to be
forgotten in spite of the natives being Berbers.
The above-mentioned dwellings are far from being the only ones
possessed by the Khalifa, for both in Hadeij proper and in the
environs he owns several houses occupied by his retainers. He also
owns caves, reserved for his occasional use, in the vicinity of his
distant groves of palms and olives, when, as in harvest time, the
trees have to be watched.
The caves that I saw in the Matmata mountains were, with few
exceptions, of the same description. Of these exceptions may be
mentioned the caves I found in Sid ben Aissa. To these led
uncovered ways, so that one had a direct view into the courtyards
from the outside. Also at Beni Sultan I observed steps that sloped
from the upper surface to the courtyard. The rooms in this instance
were not so symmetrical; many of them were not excavated on the
same level as the court, but were raised a few steps above it. This
very irregularity rendered these caves more picturesque and
interesting than those of Hadeij.
 In the enclosures were several tanks, and in the rooms I saw
women spinning with wheels.
The approach to these houses was by means of steps cut in the
calcareous soil; where the steps terminated was a gate by which one
passed into a fine vaulted underground chamber, and thence into the
courtyard.
The Sheikh of Beni Sultan owned also an oil mill, erected in an
underground cave, that, with its vaults and colonnades, closely
resembled the crypt of a church. In one of these vaults I saw the mill,
which is worked by a donkey or a camel, and is composed of a large
round stone turning on a broad low stone cylinder. In a neighbouring
vault close by was erected a primitive oil press.
In Duirat, the most southern village of Tunisia, I found caves of a
rather different description. These were of the same dimensions as
the chambers already described, and were cut in the sides of cliffs.
Before the door of the caves an enclosure was frequently made, and
within this stood a house, through the centre of which was a passage
leading into the cave.
This style of building has the advantage that in summer the
natives can seek the shelter of the cave, where it is cooler than in
the house; and, again, should the house be attacked, they could
retire into the cave, the entrance being easy to defend.
That the dwellings are not all caves probably arises from the fact
that there is not always sufficient space in the mountains for the
many large chambers required to accommodate a number of people.
The cave is the original dwelling; the house followed as an
appendage. The hedged-in enclosure mentioned can be utilised as a
shelter for cattle.
Near Tatuin I noticed, in passing, a rock cave that was merely an
irregularly dug hole. It was inhabited.
In the mountains I discovered several of the same description, but
uninhabited; being occupied in harvest time, when the dates and
olives need guarding.
 At Tujan I saw, excavated in the cliffs, several ancient caves with
small terraces in front of them; they had long been abandoned as
dwellings.

MEDININ.

Lastly, I must touch briefly on a mode of building found on the

plains, in the villages of Metamer and Medinin, and evidently deriving
its origin from the cave.
Small, oblong, domed houses are built side by side in a square,
thus forming a complete citadel of exactly the same form as a cave
dwelling; the plan of cave construction having been copied
aboveground.
 BEDOUIN WOMEN GROUPED BEFORE THEIR HUT.

In Southern Tunisia there are numerous large villages, such as

Hadeij, Lasheish, Ben Aissa, besides some smaller, as, for instance,
Judlig, which are composed exclusively of cave dwellings.
Moreover, caves are found mingled with other dwellings in Beni
Sultan, Smerten, and Sguimi.
Cave dwellings therefore prevail in the valleys, and real houses
on the mountains.
Finally, the more primitive caves are found on mountain slopes,
as, for instance, at Duirat.
The villages that consist of houses are of stone or sun-dried
blocks of clay. They stand, as a rule, high on the mountains, and
much resemble those of the Kabail in Algeria, or the ancient French
villages on the mountains of Auvergne.
 CHAPTER VII

From Gabés to the Oasis of El Hamma —

The Shotts

Just after I had changed my clothes, the hotel waiter announced

that a sheikh wished to see me, who, when ushered in, proved to be
Mansur; following him came Hamed. They both looked so very
serious that I feared something had gone wrong; but Hamed,
observing my puzzled expression, whispered to me that Mansur had
come to invite me to the wedding feast.
After I had returned Mansur’s greeting, we both sat down, he on
the bed cross-legged, I on a chair, while Hamed showed some tact
by placing himself behind me to serve as interpreter, for Mansur
understood little French.
After an interchange of compliments, which were indubitably
sincere on either side, Mansur came to the point. His father, the
Khalifa, had desired him to say, that if I would go to Hadeij and be
present at the last great feast on the fifth day, he would regard it as a
proof of my friendship for him and for the Matmata; that I should be
treated as a brother, and if I would remain there many, many years I
should be welcome.
Mansur came again the following day to see me; with him and
Hamed I visited the villages of Jara and Menzel, where I intended
making purchases for our National Museum, and therefore required
their help.
 AT GABÉS.

In the great Sok (market-place) I bought agricultural implements,

hoes and spades,—which were made under my eye,—one of the
primitive ploughs and its harness of plaited esparto grass; and, lastly,
a collection of garments. Consequently there was much noise and
lively quarrelling, though it did not reach quite the same pitch as
recently in Lasheish.
In the afternoon I took a carriage with the British Vice-Consul
Galleja and his brother, Cesare Galleja, two exceedingly obliging
men, and drove to the village of Menzel, as I wished to obtain some
reliable information from an Arab there, about the marriage customs
of the country.
On our return we met the Khalifa of Gabés, who told us he was
also invited to the wedding at Hadeij, but had been obliged to refuse
as he could not leave Gabés, General Allegro being absent;
therefore in the interim, the government of the whole district fell
entirely on himself. He advised me to take with me a small bridal gift,
so the same evening I bought a fine haik.
The military officers at Gabés are nearly all unmarried. Those of
the same grade mess together—that is to say, they engage a cook
who provides for them.
The lieutenants of the 4th African Light Battalion and some other
officers invited me to dine at their mess. We were altogether a score
of men, and I spent a bright and pleasant evening amongst my new
African friends; and made acquaintances which were to be renewed
some days later in the south, whither several of them were
immediately proceeding.
This was the first, but not the last, time that I while in these
regions had the pleasure of replying to the toast of “To the Danish
soldier,” with “I drink long life to the French army,” with whom I
served eleven years ago when they were fighting in the south.
On the 22nd October, Hamed and I again left Gabés, starting with
the dawn at 5.30 a.m., and proceeding this time in a westerly
direction.
The Spahis had supplied me with a small but powerfully-built
brown horse, capable of pacing between five and six miles an hour
when so inclined. At first it wanted to hurry on, but I restrained it, and
we walked past the village of Menzel, and traversed the palm
groves, where the birds twittered, and the smoke from huts and tents
rose to the tree-tops. It was bitterly cold, and we wrapped our
burnouses closely about us. When we rode out of the oasis the sun
had risen, and cast our shadows in long lines on the undulating
golden-grey plain.
Far away to our right the rays of the sun were reflected from the
whitewashed walls of a Marabout’s tomb, built on a hillside. There
also stood the poste optique, which is in communication with another
on a mountain near Medinin, the southern military station.
 We allowed our horses to break into a hand gallop that refreshed
us in the beautiful morning, as, with a keen sense of enjoyment, we
followed the tracks that, with countless windings, led towards the
west.
There was little vegetation; the land lay before us barren and
desolate.

IN THE MOUNTAINS—ON THE ROAD TO AIN

HAMMAM.

Before reaching the summit of a slight rise we pulled up our

horses to a walk, and presently looked back from the top of the
eminence.
A haze hung directly over Gabés; the palms of the oasis extended
as far as the sea, and behind them glittered the bright waves. Away
towards the south we could distinguish the blue peaks of the
Matmata mountains. Here and there on the plain blue-grey smoke
rose into the air.
The heat of the sun became scorching, so we allowed our horses
to go at foot’s pace during the remainder of the way. In Africa one
finds but two paces—a walk, or rather an amble, and a gallop; but on
a long summer journey the gallop or canter is rarely used; Berber
horses, therefore, are trained to walk fast. It is expected of a cheval
de la plaine that he should be un bon marcheur, that is to say, that
he can be depended on to cover his five or six miles an hour, and to
keep up this pace the whole day long.
When we had ridden about a third of the way, we crossed the
river; near it is an ancient well that has been used since the time of
the Romans.
From the level of the ground was constructed a walled, paved,
and inclined passage; this was covered in, and terminated at the
spring, from which were built upright walls to the surface of the earth,
forming the well. Thus the water can either be drawn from the top or
carried up the steps.
During the next couple of hours we met only a few riders and
pedestrians.
A mountain plateau of no great height now showed before us, but
a little to our left. Towards the north it lost itself in the plain in a level
slope, over which wound the track.
On the hill the soil was washed or blown away, leaving the barren
flat rocks naked, and the horses had difficulty in keeping their footing
amongst the large rough stones. In one place the path wound on
either side of a small pile of stones. This heap was the length of a
man, and lay east and west. Hamed informed me that it covered the
remains of one who had been murdered on this spot many years
ago.
After a time we reached the highest point of our day’s journey, and
came upon a magnificent view.
The foreground was composed of a level, stony slope of dull-
yellow soil. Where it ended we saw a long, narrow, grey strip with a
tufted border; this is part of the palm grove of El Hamma oasis.
Beyond it, to the left—therefore to the south-west—ran a mountain
ridge, and farther on the right was a shining level plain, somewhat
white in appearance. This is the “shott” of El Fejej. It resembled the
sea when dead calm, and seemed as though it had flowed thence to
lose itself far away in the western horizon.
 North of the “shott” the mountains tower up in successive tiers,
the foremost, of a deep blue tint, contrasting sharply with the white
flat surface of the “shott.”
Beyond are paler blue peaks, and beyond them again the vague
outlines of far-distant mountains.
Shott Fejej is the most easterly of the “shotts” that extend in a
long line from the Sahara south of Biskra to the Mediterranean, thus
covering a track of between two and three hundred miles.
It is only separated from the Mediterranean by Le Seuil de Gabés,
a small strip of land about eleven miles wide.
A “shott” is low-lying land of which the soil is clay saturated with
salt; this in the rainy season is flooded by the overflow of the rivers,
and dries by evaporation. Seen from a distance, a shott has the
appearance of a lake, but on approaching it one is disappointed to
find that this glittering flat surface is only a crust of saltpetre.
Not only is travelling extremely dangerous on this sodden ground,
but the shott is stifling hot in summer, and in winter bitterly cold.
Drummond Hay told me that at the beginning of the year, he, with
only one servant and a guide, had ridden over Shott Jerid on his way
from Kebelli to Tozer. Though warmly clad, he was nearly frozen,
and his fingers could scarcely grasp the reins from the cold. The way
lay along a narrow path, and on either side was bog; a single false
step means death.
It is asserted that it is only in the centre of Shott el Jerid that there
is always water; but this is not apparent, as it is entirely covered by a
crust of salt, on which footsteps resound as they do when passing
over a vault. The water naturally flows to the lowest level; but when
the wind blows, it sweeps the water in various directions over the salt
crust; this breaks under the weight, and the level is thus altered. At
times there may be as much water in the shott as would reach to a
horse’s girths.
The crust is also occasionally forced up from below by water and
certain gases, and, rising, forms small conical mounds, giving the
impression of an impending volcanic eruption. These little mounds lie
like islands on the sea; but, in consequence of the reflection from the
surface, appear to be hills of some height, and are visible for many
miles around.
One of these, the largest, is called “Jebel el Malah” (the salt
mountain). It is only some twenty paces in diameter, and scarcely a
yard in height above the level of the shott, but looks from the
distance like a fair-sized hill. In the centre of this hill of salt was
formerly an old well, now filled up. It contained water of the same
quality as that still found in several other wells in the shott, which is
not more brackish than that found in the oases of the vicinity and
considered drinkable.
The caravan roads traverse the shotts, leading from verge to
verge amongst the oases. Some of these roads are very unsafe. The
traveller has to be most careful to avoid being bogged, or plunged
suddenly into a hole; as told of a whole Egyptian army, which,
according to tradition, found here its grave. Step by step must the
traveller work his way forward, perhaps through clouds of dust; whilst
a mirage may rise to tempt and deceive him. Should his guide make
the least mistake, or the camel or horse he rides step aside, all is
over.
According to custom, usage, and agreement betwixt the tribes,
the roads over the shotts are supposed to be defined by stones, or
felled palm trunks, placed at distances of about a hundred yards
apart; but in places these, which are called “Gmair,” are missing; in
others they are replaced by camel bones.
The Arabs relate frightful misfortunes that have befallen on these
tracks. Whole caravans have been known to have been swallowed
up by this treacherous earth crust, which at once closes over its
prey.
The land amidst the shotts is par excellence the home of the date-
palm. In the oases of Tozer and Nafta are found the best quality of
dates known. This clear transparent fruit is sold at £6 the
hundredweight. In El Hamma, on the other hand, the dates are not of
the best quality, the oasis being too near the sea, and the air,
therefore, too damp. This explains what one hears of the dates of
Gabés being sold at only twelve shillings the hundredweight, or one
tenth of the price of those from Nafta.
Many authors and explorers, both ancient and modern, have
imagined that in the basin of the shotts they had discovered the
Triton sea of Herodotus, believing the river bed of Wad Malah to be
the lower course of the Triton river, which connected that mysterious
lagoon with the sea.
Though this hypothesis has never been proved, Raudaire, captain
of the general staff, conceived in 1878 the bold project of
reconstructing the old Triton sea, by leading water into the immense
basin of the shotts. He thought it would be only necessary to dig
through the eleven miles of the wide chalky tract near Gabés to form
a large inland sea. From this scheme great advantages were to be
gained. The southern French frontier would be protected by a natural
barrier. The re-created Triton sea would soon be traversed by
shipping, thereby leading to mercantile relations being established
with regions and people hitherto unknown.
And what a change might result in the climate! The moisture
would create fruitful stretches of land, where colonists would flock in
numbers.
Alas! the project, vigorously supported at the outset by the
Government, proved untenable after further investigation in 1876.
Raudaire’s survey had not been accurate. The western shott did
indeed lie twenty metres below the sea-level, but the immense shotts
of “Jerid” and “Fejej” proved, on the other hand, to be as much
above it; so that the canal would have had to be prolonged nearly
one hundred and fifty miles, and even then only the first named of
these shotts would be submerged.
This unfortunate revelation did not dishearten either Raudaire or
his celebrated supporter, Lesseps; and, until the death of the former,
in 1885, he—Raudaire—defended his project with an energy and
determination worthy of a better cause, and in spite of the State
having wisely withdrawn its support. Lesseps still visited the ground
on several occasions, and positively asserted that at the cost of a
hundred and fifty millions of francs the scheme was feasible. From
past events it is sad to note that great minds like Lesseps’s often
have recourse to dubious expedients when they desire to lancer une
affaire.
All other learned authorities—geologists and scientific men, such
as Parnel, Letourneux, Doûmet-Adamson, and others—had, long
before, sharply criticised Raudaire’s fantastic project, and declared
that the sea had never in ancient times occupied the flats now filled
by the shotts. Indeed, Cosson further maintained that had this
proposed inland sea been successfully dammed, it would soon have
been imperatively necessary to fill it up again, so much opposed
would it have been to the general interest.
All were, moreover, agreed that it was highly improbable that the
climate would be influenced to any extraordinary degree; that, by
admitting the water, millions of date-palms would be destroyed, and
most of the springs which now fertilise the oases of the Jerid would
be tainted and spoiled by the salt water, thus causing the ruin of the
country; finally, the project would cost a thousand (in place of a
hundred and fifty) millions of francs.
Lesseps’s repeated assurances of the accuracy of his researches
were received very coldly, though this was before the occurrence of
the Panama affair.
Now the question is closed, and one hears nothing more of the
company formed in 1882 by the great Frenchman, pour la création
de la mer interieure. The old man’s prestige had been on the wane
for some years already. Yet the day will come when the memory of
his important works will obliterate the recollection of the errors of the
evening of his life, and history will again grant him the title which is
his due—that of “the great Frenchman.”
 CHAPTER VIII

The Oasis of El Hamma

On the southernmost border of this oasis lies a village built of

sunburnt stones, and of which the narrow lanes were almost
deserted when we passed through it.
The Khalifa lived on the outskirts towards the south, and when we
arrived he was squatting on a stone bench that ran the whole length
of the outer wall of his house. The shade was delicious beneath the
eaves of the broad roof supported by two rows of felled palm-tree
stems. I cannot help thinking that these were the origin of the pillars
of the ancients, and suggested to the Egyptians the design for the
columns of their temples, and, through them, those of the Greeks
and Romans in their magnificent temple halls.
Around the Khalifa were sitting, standing, or lying, groups of loud-
voiced men, all talking. He was holding a court of justice, which was
attended with the wrangling, jostling and thrusting, usual on such
occasions.
Crouched in front of him was a man, near whom were a woman
and child, and around them was gathered an interested, excited
crowd.
The woman, with outstretched hands, addressed the Khalifa,
speaking in a subdued voice and with the striking gestures peculiar
to Orientals. She was immediately interrupted by the man, who
shouted and gesticulated. Other men joined in. I saw arms and
clenched fists in constant motion, and was deafened by the noise
rising from every side.
The Khalifa, a man of about fifty, sat, mild and amiable, gazing at
the crowd with his deep black eyes. His fine figure was slight and
noble, and his features refined, with a slightly hooked nose and a full
beard, through which his fingers were occasionally passed. Now and
then a hidden fire flashed from his expressive eyes as he made a
remark. Then the shouts of the crowd would moderate, but only for a
moment, and again the storm broke loose.
At last it really grew too bad, and what I had expected for some
time came to pass—one of the Khalifa’s men punished the crowd
with a stick. Some retreated a little, others remained calmly seated,
and the inquisition recommenced, until again the demonstrations
became too violent.
Our arrival interrupted this scene for a time. I was kindly received
and shown to a dwelling on the first floor of a side wing.
When my baggage had been brought in, at his invitation I seated
myself beside the Khalifa on his carpeted bench, where we partook
of the “welcome” of coffee in tiny cups, whilst we discussed my
journey and my motives in undertaking it.
The man, woman, and child remained unmoved all the time, and
stared at us from the same spot where, probably, they had been for
hours. She was old, ugly, and wrinkled, and gazed vacantly before
her. The child, a pretty ten-year-old boy, looked inquisitively at me
with his fine black eyes, whilst the man drew his hood over his head
and hid his hands under his burnous, so that he appeared to be a
mere white bundle.
Thus they sat, resigned to their fate, the men around keeping
moderately quiet. If one or another became noisy, he was silenced
by one of the Khalifa’s attendants.
I begged the Khalifa to continue his judicial proceedings, and,
after some hesitation, he did so, leaving me seated on his carpet,
and going aside a little took his place beneath one of the pillars.
Whilst the flies swarmed in myriads about me, and the hubbub of
men’s voices buzzed in my ears, I leant against the wall and gazed
before me. From the subdued light beneath the shade of the eaves
my eyes scanned the sunlit plain which extended to the mountains.
To the right the palm tops on the southern edge of the great groves