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Copyright © 2018 by Seth J. Gillihan
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ISBN: Print 978-1-93975-485-1 | eBook 978-1-93975-486-8
QUICK-START GUIDE
Is this book for you? Read the statements below and
check the box if that statement often describes how you
feel.
❑ I dread the next anxiety attack.
❑ I have trouble sleeping.
❑ I worry needlessly about many things.
❑ I feel tense and anxious and I have a hard time
relaxing.
❑ Certain objects or situations terrify me.
❑ I avoid things I need to do because they make me
anxious.
❑ I feel extremely nervous in some social situations or
avoid them if I can.
❑ My angry responses seem overblown for the situation.
❑ I don’t understand why I feel so angry.
❑ My anger has caused problems in my relationships.
❑ I can’t get interested in things I used to enjoy.
❑ I feel like I have nothing to look forward to.
❑ I struggle to concentrate and make decisions.
❑ I don’t like myself.
❑ It’s hard to find the energy and motivation I need.
If you checked several of the boxes, you can benefit from
this book. Read on to learn about CBT and how you can
take part of the therapeutic process into your own hands.
For Marcia, with love and gratitude for
sharing this life with me.
Contents

Foreword
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE Your CBT Starter Guide
CHAPTER TWO Goal Setting
CHAPTER THREE Activate Behavior
CHAPTER FOUR Identify and Break Negative Thought
Patterns
CHAPTER FIVE Identify and Change Your Core Beliefs
CHAPTER SIX Maintain Mindfulness
Stay on Task: Push Through
CHAPTER SEVEN
Procrastination
CHAPTER EIGHT Work Through Worry, Fear, and Anxiety
CHAPTER NINE Keep Calm: Manage Excessive Anger
CHAPTER TEN Be Kind to Yourself
CONCLUSION Keeping It Going
Resources
References
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Foreword

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a powerful

psychological treatment, is rooted in a coherent,
comprehensive theory of emotions as well as the behaviors
connected to those emotions. The theory can guide the
discovery of the sources of each individual person’s
emotional difficulties. Just as important are the tools of CBT,
derived from the theory, that practitioners have developed
over the past 40 years. This great variety of techniques
allows therapists to tailor their interventions to the specific
needs and preferences of each patient. So how can the
power of CBT, which would seem to require a skilled
therapist to help patients identify their unique patterns and
to select and adapt the right tools, be conveyed in book
form? Enter Dr. Seth Gillihan, who in clear and plain yet
elegant language is able to connect with any reader who
wants to understand and address his or her own barriers to
good mental health.
The soothing and confident voice behind this book is one
I know very well. In 2005, Seth became the 50th PhD
student at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) whom I
taught and supervised in a yearlong practical course in CBT.
Over the past 35 years I have been privileged to teach the
principles and practice of CBT to some of the most
impressive and motivated young professionals one could
hope to meet. Their level of talent and knowledge, along
with their commitment to learn, continues to amaze me. But
Seth left a lasting impression on me for his wisdom and
ability to connect to individuals from all backgrounds and
walks of life. He possesses an unparalleled ability to convey
the best of what I learned from my own mentors, Drs.
Steven Hollon and Aaron T. Beck, and he has added
extremely useful insights of his own.
 I first encountered Seth's gift as a helping professional
while watching video recordings of his therapy sessions,
reading his case notes, and hearing his crystal-clear
descriptions of the successes—and hiccups—he and his
clients experienced as they worked together. I now see the
same Seth Gillihan, with vastly more experience, who has
“warmed up” to the current project by authoring Retrain
Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks, a fine
workbook, and also coauthoring a practical and sensitive
guide for individuals and the families of those who suffer
from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
His newest book is a delightful read, which is no small
accomplishment given the seriousness of the subject matter
and his honest, realistic treatment of the problems he
addresses. The book manages to cover a lot of ground, in
detail, and yet remain “simple,” as its title suggests. It
draws even further upon Seth’s strengths, including an
unmatched ability to organize and structure material, which
makes it easy to grasp and retain the many nuggets found
within its pages. Unique to this book is the rhythm that Seth
establishes at the outset and carries though each chapter,
spelling out how to address unhelpful thinking, how to use
behaviors to alter problematic patterns, and finally, how to
attend to, and be mindful of, the important things in our
lives. I was so impressed by this rhythm that I now include it
in my own teaching: Think, Act, and Be. What could be
simpler? And yet the ideas these words reflect are rich and
powerful enough to produce seismic positive shifts in the
lives of clients in therapy. They can do the same for readers
of this book.
Even if a reader does not have difficulties in all the areas
covered in the book (sadness, worry, fear, anger,
procrastination, self-criticism), I highly recommend the
sections on three topics in particular: procrastination, anger,
and “safety behaviors.” The insights Seth provides about
these often-puzzling yet all-too-common patterns are really
interesting! And if nothing else, his characterizations of
these patterns can help the reader understand a bit better
how they trip up friends, colleagues, or family members.
Most of us procrastinate, yet we do not have insight into
the sources of or the processes behind procrastination.
Anger, inappropriate or excessive versions of which are all
too common, can be understood. This is half the battle in
getting anger under our control or in helping a partner who
is in its grip. Finally, safety behaviors prevent those with
unrealistic fears or compulsive behaviors from breaking free
and enjoying what life has to offer. Reading Seth’s analysis
of these patterns is revelatory and engaging. This is a great
example, well explained, of the progress made by
psychologists in our understanding of “what makes people
tick.”
Some readers will turn to this book to brush up on the
principles and practices of CBT they had encountered in
personal therapy or in another form. Others will learn about
CBT for the first time and find all they need to free
themselves from unnecessary and unproductive emotional
distress and be set on a path to better living. This book can
also serve as a much-needed first step for those with more
severe problems who have considered taking antidepressant
or antianxiety medications or who have tried them and not
found them to be helpful, as well as for those who haven't
been able to find a therapist they are ready to work with.
Many such people will find everything they need within
these pages. There will also be others who will begin to
learn about the sources and remedies for emotional
difficulties that have held them back and kept them from
enjoying life, and this will motivate them to seek
appropriate professional guidance or help. They can carry
what they have learned from Seth and from engaging in the
exercises in this book into individual or group therapy if that
is the right next step.
Let me sum up by reflecting on how lucky I was to have
had the opportunity to contribute to Seth’s growth as a
psychologist. It is now your luck that you have encountered
this truly helpful and (I'll say it again) really interesting
guide to common emotional problems and effective ways to
overcome them. I urge you to take advantage of this bit of
luck and set yourself on a path to better living.
Robert J. DeRubeis, PhD.
Samuel H. Preston Term Professor in the Social Sciences and Professor of
Psychology
School of Arts and Sciences
University of Pennsylvania
Introduction

At some point, all of us will find ourselves in the tight grip

of overwhelming emotions. It might be a feeling of anxious
dread, depression that drains the color from life, panic that
strikes at the most inopportune times, frequent and
excessive anger, or other experiences that grip our minds
and hearts. When we’re knocked off balance emotionally,
we need tried and tested ways to regain our footing and find
relief as quickly as possible.
Early in my clinical training, I learned that some types of
treatment have a lot more evidence to back them up,
especially cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). My first
therapy supervisor encouraged me to pursue specialized
training in CBT, which led me to the University of
Pennsylvania, a school with a rich history in cognitive and
behavioral treatments. As I focused on treatment for
depression during my doctoral training, I saw how
depression bends our thinking in harmful directions, and
how CBT can retrain our thoughts to serve us better. I also
learned that building more rewarding activities into our lives
could have powerful antidepressant effects.
When I finished my PhD, I was excited to take a faculty
position at the university’s Center for the Treatment and
Study of Anxiety, which had developed many of the best
treatments for anxiety. During my four years there, I
received intensive experience in treating debilitating
anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and trauma. I saw
hundreds of lives changed by treatment programs that
helped people face their fears head-on. While I was there I
learned that focusing our attention on the present with
openness and curiosity is a powerful way to break the grip
of anxiety and depression. This mindfulness-based approach
has gained sufficient research support to warrant its status
as the “third wave” of CBT, alongside cognitive and
behavioral techniques.
Over the past two decades as a student, researcher,
therapist, and supervisor, two things have stood out to me
about effective treatments. Number one, they’re simple: Do
enjoyable activities. Think helpful thoughts. Face your fears.
Be present. Take care of yourself. None of these approaches
is shocking or complicated. I’ve strived to capture that
simplicity in the chapters ahead. When we’re struggling, we
typically don’t have the time, desire, or energy to wade
through page after page of research findings or study a
treatise on the esoteric nuances in the field. We need
straightforward options we can use right away.
Number two, they’re not easy. I’ve learned that despite
the simplicity of these effective treatments, they still require
work. It’s hard to do more of what you love when you’re
depressed and unmotivated, hard to face your fears when
you’re fighting back panic, hard to train an overactive mind
to rest in the moment. That’s where you’ll find the power in
CBT—to provide not just a goal to work toward, but
manageable techniques and a systematic plan to get you
there.
In my previous book, Retrain Your Brain, I provided a
structured seven-week plan to manage anxiety and
depression in a workbook format. You’ll find this book is
similar in its simplified approach as I present the most
essential parts of the treatments. But in contrast to Retrain
Your Brain, this one is designed for those who don’t
necessarily need to complete a whole workbook. Instead,
this book offers a collection of quick and highly accessible
research-based techniques that can be used as needed to
manage various struggles.
I’ve designed this book to be useful for those who have
never heard of CBT, who are currently working with a
therapist, or who have used CBT in the past and want a
resource to return to for periodic refreshers. Whatever your
prior knowledge of CBT, I hope you will come back to this
book as often as necessary. We all need reminders of what
keeps us feeling our best.
I do mean all of us. I want to assure you that I’m not
writing this book from some ivory tower, safely surrounded
by abstract theories. Like everyone I’m engaged in the joys
and struggles of being alive. I’m excited to provide you with
a guide that will truly make understanding CBT simple.
I hope this book is helpful to you so that nothing gets in
the way of living a life you love.
CHAPTER ONE
Your CBT Starter Guide
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has emerged in recent
decades as the best-tested approach for managing a wide
range of psychological conditions. In this chapter, we’ll
explore what CBT is, how it was developed, and what makes
it so effective. We’ll also consider how it can help with
specific issues like depression and anxiety.

CBT: The Beginnings

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a solution-focused form of
psychotherapy, designed to reduce symptoms and boost
well-being as quickly as possible. As the name suggests,
CBT includes both a cognitive component, which focuses on
changing problematic patterns of thinking, and a behavioral
component, which helps develop actions that serve us well.
These building blocks of CBT were developed somewhat
independently. Let’s look at each of these approaches
before reviewing how they were joined together.

BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
In the first half of the twentieth century, psychoanalysis was
the most common form of talk therapy for psychological
conditions. This approach was based on Sigmund Freud’s
theory of the mind and often involved meeting regularly
with a therapist for several years and exploring one’s
childhood and upbringing.
While countless people benefited from psychoanalysis
and similar treatments, other human behavior specialists
began looking for ways to provide relief more quickly. They
were inspired by recent discoveries about how animals
(including humans) learn, and began to apply these
principles to treat conditions like anxiety and depression.
These efforts led to the development of behavior therapy
by individuals like psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe and
psychologist Arnold Lazarus. Wolpe and others found that
straightforward changes in one’s behavior could bring relief.
For example, people with phobias could conquer their fears
by gradually facing what scared them. Thanks to these
developments, a person no longer had to spend years on a
couch excavating childhood events—a few sessions of
targeted work could provide lasting relief.

COGNITIVE THERAPY
Not long after the advent of the first behavioral therapies,
other mental health specialists proposed a different
explanation for psychological struggles. Psychiatrist Aaron T.
Beck and psychologist Albert Ellis both put forward the idea
that our thoughts have powerful effects on our feelings and
behaviors. Accordingly, they posited that our misery arises
from our thoughts. For example, it was believed depression
was driven by overly negative beliefs about oneself and the
world (e.g., “I’m a failure”).
According to Beck and other developers of cognitive
therapy, treatment first needed to identify the offending
thoughts and then work to replace them with ones that are
more accurate and helpful. With practice, people could
develop ways of thinking that promote positive feelings and
behaviors.

COMBINING BEHAVIORAL AND

COGNITIVE THERAPIES
While behavioral and cognitive therapies were developed
somewhat independently, in practice they are
complementary. Indeed, it wasn’t long after their
development that the two strands were integrated into CBT.
Even Aaron T. Beck, the father of cognitive therapy,
renamed his signature treatment approach “cognitive
behavior therapy” in line with the inclusion of behavioral
techniques in what was formerly called cognitive therapy.
This integration is good news for people in need of
treatment and who can now receive a more complete
treatment package.

Combining these therapies also helps us see how our

thoughts, feelings, and behaviors fit together (see the
preceding figure). For example, when we’re feeling highly
anxious, we tend to have thoughts about danger, and those
thoughts will increase our anxiety. These thoughts and
feelings in turn will make us more likely to avoid what we
fear, which will reinforce our anxiety. Once we understand
these connections, it’s easier to find ways to feel better.

A THIRD WAVE: MINDFULNESS-BASED THERAPY

In the 1970s, Jon Kabat-Zinn, who was trained as a
molecular biologist, began testing a new program called
mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), based in
practices that have been around for thousands of years.
Mindfulness is grounded in the idea that we can relieve
Another random document with
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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