Vegetation of Ourika valley — Destruction of the native trees — Our progress checked — Enforced return — Shelluh village — Ride from Ourika to Reraya — Trouble with our escort — A friendly Shelluh sheik — Native desire for medical advice — Characteristics of the Shelluhs — Zaouia of Moulaï Ibrahim — Camp in Aït Mesan valley — Excursion to the head of the valley — Reach the snow — Night travelling in the Atlas.

At sunrise, on April 10, the thermometer stood at 60°, and in this delightful climate we were in the best spirits for undertaking the work that seemed to be ready cut out for us, by exploring the fine valley that led directly from our station to the heart of the great mountain chain. Our expectations were, indeed, somewhat damped by the discussions that had already taken place with the Vice-Governor and with Kaïd el Hasbi. They did not deny that we might travel some way up the valley, but asserted that it would not be practicable for us to ‘reach the snow.’

It was impossible to leave the spot where we encamped without giving a little time for collecting some of the very interesting plants that grew close at hand. Foremost amongst these was a leguminous shrub that seems destined to become an ornament to the gardens of Europe. This—Adenocarpus anagyrifolius, of Cosson—was first found in 1867, by M. Balansa, and seems to be common, especially near the banks of streams, between 3,000 and 5,000 feet above the sea level throughout this part of the Great Atlas. The long racemes of bright yellow flowers were conspicuous from a distance, and we afterwards found the pods, densely covered with black glands, but nowhere containing ripe seed. Another new bush belonging to the same natural order was also seen for the first time—Hedysarum membranaceum, of Cosson. Unlike the other, this is rare, and seems to be limited to the lower zone at the foot of the mountains. We failed to find either flower or fruit, though M. Balansa gathered both, perhaps at a lower level, in May 1867. We also collected fine specimens of two new and very distinct species, first seen on the preceding day—Lotononis maroccana, Ball, and Lotus maroccanus, Ball.

Soon after 8 we got under way, and, after a short ride along the right bank, reached the stream above the part where the water is carried off for irrigation purposes. It was now seen to be a rapid torrent, from twenty to forty yards in width, and nearly two feet deep. For some distance the narrow floor of the valley was nearly flat, and the moist soil was covered with poplars and willows, and a dense undergrowth of grasses and herbaceous flowering plants. Among these were two large Ranunculi, and a gigantic orchid, growing four or five feet high, only a variety of our common Orchis latifolia.

The vegetation became still more interesting when we left the flat bottom of the valley, and began to ascend on drier ground, between tangled masses of bushes that formed a sort of thick hedge on either side of the track. For the first time in South Marocco, we saw two species of Clematis—C. cirrhosa and C. Flammula,—along with several other Mediterranean species; but our minds were especially exercised by a little bush with slender twigs and pinnate leaves, which, in default of flower or fruit, we were at first unable to refer to its place in the natural system. It turned out to be a curious species of ash, first found in the plateau region of Southern Algeria, appropriately named by M. Cosson Fraxinus dimorpha. As long as it remains a bush, with numerous twiggy stems, the leaflets are blunt and rounded; but when it becomes a shrub, with a stout trunk, it throws out leaves that approach in form those of the flowering ash. We nowhere saw it in this condition in Marocco, and only by the help of Algerian specimens could we have suspected the identity of the two forms. Among many thorny bushes we saw here one, first gathered the day before, near Tasseremout, which Hooker at once pronounced to be a Celastrus. This was first found in the South of Spain, and described as C. europæus by M. Boissier, but is in truth one of the many forms of C. senegalensis, a widely-spread tropical species, that extends from India to the west coast of Africa.

Among other novelties, we here saw, for the first time, a little annual stonecrop (Sedum modestum, Ball), that nestles in hollow places under large stones, or about the roots of trees; but the most curious trophy of our day’s work was a miniature bramble, lying flat on earthy banks, with small, mostly undivided leaves, and very few minute prickles. It is possible that the imperfect fruits that we saw had been dried up by the sun; but it seems more likely that this belongs to the group of dry-fruited brambles—the genus Dalibarda of some botanists—hitherto known only in America and Eastern Asia.

We passed near to several villages; but, as a rule, the valley tracks in the Great Atlas are carried on one side, and do not approach near to the houses. The valley grew narrower as we advanced, and the moderately steep slopes on either hand were covered with small trees of Callitris, and Juniperus phœnicea, none of them more than about thirty feet in height. If this country were administered by people capable of taking thought of its future prosperity, the former tree might undoubtedly become an important source of wealth. The beauty of the wood, if it were only allowed to attain a sufficient size, would always secure a ready market, even though it never reached the extravagant price which, under the name of citrus wood, it obtained in the days of Imperial Rome. The only use which it serves in Marocco is the production of gum Sandrac, of which a small quantity is exported to Europe.

The destructive practice of setting fire to the brushwood is the sole cause that prevents the northern slopes of the Great Atlas from being clothed with valuable timber. The motive is not only the desire to obtain pasture for sheep and goats, but also to deprive an enemy of cover for ambush during the frequent skirmishes that occur between neighbouring tribes. The olive, carob, and walnut, which are planted in the main valleys, and produce annual crops, are carefully protected; but the notion of looking forward to future profit after an interval of thirty or forty years would be absolutely unintelligible to a native of this country. By a very rude process, the natives extract from the trunks and branches of Juniperus phœnicea a sort of tar which is said to be a useful application in wounds and sores of men and animals.

As we continued to advance, the valley narrowed almost to a defile, and the track, carried along rather steep slopes, became difficult for laden animals, though not worse than one commonly meets in high mountain countries, nor nearly so bad as some that we afterwards traversed in the Atlas. Presently, Abraham announced that Kaïd el Hasbi declared the track too bad for farther progress of the baggage mules. As it was apparent that the valley widened out a short way ahead, and that the mauvais pas would soon come to an end, we turned deaf ears to the remark, and rode doggedly on for a short distance farther, encouraged by the view in front, which disclosed a long reach of valley, running deep into the heart of the great chain. Shortly after, those who were in front became aware that a vehement discussion was going on at the centre of our scattered line. The energy of our interpreter was taxed to the utmost in striving to render the emphatic sentences that were exchanged between Hooker and Kaïd el Hasbi, supplemented by the pantomimic gestures of the latter.

The gist of the argument was to the effect that even if we did go some way farther, at the risk of our baggage animals rolling down into the torrent—one of them had already slipped, and had a narrow escape—our progress to the head of the valley was out of the question, as the people there were in full revolt, and would not recognise the authority of the Sultan. We were inclined at the moment, and afterwards, to believe that this was a lie trumped up for the occasion; but the story might possibly be true, and, whether it were so or not, it was clearly impossible for us to proceed against the positive and determined opposition of our escort. With feelings of bitter disappointment we dismounted, and ordered that the baggage should return to a village near which we had passed an hour before, while we climbed to the top of a projecting spur of the mountain, commanding a view of the upper valley. For the moment, our interest in the vegetation yielded to the attractions of the scenery, and our curiosity as to the nature of the great mountain chain that rose steeply before us, seamed with snow that nowhere formed wide fields of névé, but lay in hollows and ravines forming long vertical streaks throughout the upper zone of several thousand feet in height. About two miles ahead of us the valley forks, the main branch from SSE. receiving a tributary from the S. or SSW. On a lofty spur between the two streams stood a village, conspicuous from a distance.

To be turned back at the very moment when the main object of our journey lay before our eyes, and that on pretexts that we utterly disbelieved, was sufficiently aggravating; and it was not in the most cheerful humour that, about mid-day, we retraced our steps down the valley, and, yielding to the suggestions of our escort, halted at the olive grove beside the village which we had noticed during our ascent. This was the first Shelluh village that we had been able to inspect nearly, and it was of the same type which we afterwards found throughout the mountain region. Unlike the Arabs, the Berebers always use stone for building when it is available. The walls are thick and solid below, but rudely constructed, and the upper portions are sometimes put together with mud and small pieces of stone. There is usually an upper story extending over the whole or part of the ground floor, and the roofs are flat and made tolerably water-tight with mortar or cement. In structure and appearance they reminded Hooker of the village houses of the mountaineers of Bhotan.

We collected a good many specimens during the afternoon, but were able to add little to the list of species already noted in the valley. The most important business in hand was to bring to book our enemy Kaïd el Hasbi—for so we began to consider him—and ascertain clearly whether he did or did not mean to carry out the orders of the Sultan, and convey us to some point within reach of the upper regions of the mountains. When pressed on this point, he distinctly declared that from Reraya—the next adjoining district to the west—we should be able to ‘reach the snow;’ and with that assurance we had to satisfy ourselves, and give such orders that the next evening should find us in the desired district.

The name of the village was differently noted by the members of the party; Assghin, as it is entered in Hooker’s notes, by an observation taken this afternoon, with the thermometer in the shade at 72° Fahr., stands at 3,427 feet (1,044·4 m.) above the sea. Up to this our observations had been reduced on the assumption that the pressure at sea level was exactly 760 millimetres; but henceforward we had the advantage of direct comparison with observations recorded twice a day at Mogador.

The evening was fine, but flashes of lightning were seen to the SE. after dark, and during the night fresh snow fell on the higher ridges, which looked brilliant on the early morning of April 11, but rapidly melted under the mid-day sun. We started rather late, about 8 A.M., and by 10.30 had returned to the site of our former camp in the broad bed of the stream below Achliz. Here our ill-humour was increased by a long and quite unnecessary delay. As a rule, a light luncheon was all that was consumed at our mid-day halt, the men being content with some fragments of the mona of the previous night. But our greedy soldiers had requisitioned a further mona, nominally on our behalf, from the adjoining village, and were determined not to move forward until it was supplied. When Hooker happened to surprise our Mogador Kaïd in the act of secreting a quantity of tea and sugar, the old fellow in self-defence began to narrate the misdeeds of his colleague, and so gave us a clearer notion than we before had of the sort of abuses that pervade the whole fabric of Moorish administration. It is true that one is told that the value of goods requisitioned in this way by Government officers is allowed to the villages as payment on account of taxes; but the poor country people tell a different tale, and it is probable that any allowance made on this head is quite inadequate.

It was 2.30 P.M. when we were at last able to start, and, as we knew that there was still some distance to travel, we had but very little time for botanising during the afternoon ride. Our way lay for more than two hours along the base of the hills, whose forms were much of the pattern usually seen where a high mountain rises from a plain country. The ridges dividing the main valleys gradually diminish in height as they recede from the axis, and ultimately are weather-worn into eminences of a more or less conical form, which project to an unequal distance towards the plain.

Towards five o’clock we began to ascend to a low pass connecting a long projecting spur to the right with the main mass of the hills on our left. Up to this we had seen a good many scattered blocks of sandstone, but nowhere forming mounds. We now came on limestone— showing traces of fossils. The hills hereabouts were bare of trees, with a thick growth of palmetto, bushy Labiatæ, Helianthemum, and perennial grasses, except where, under tillage, they produce good crops of red-bearded wheat. From the first pass we descended rather steeply to cross a narrow torrent bed, and reascend to a second somewhat higher pass, reached at 6 P.M., which we found to be 3,590 feet (1,094·3 m.) above the sea, or just 700 feet above the river at the mouth of the Ourika valley. The country here appears to be fully peopled. We saw several villages, and one or two quadrangular buildings of larger size, probably the dwellings of local sheiks. We had during most of the way wide views over the plain of Marocco, and were able to distinguish the city itself, with the great tower of the Koutoubia and the extensive palm groves on its western side. Slight undulations of the ground are not perceptible when seen from above; but it was quite clear to us that nothing deserving to be called a hill breaks the uniformity of the gentle slope with which the plain subsides from the base of the Atlas to the region traversed by us on our road from Mogador.

The monotony of the march was diversified by another furious quarrel between the officers of our escort. Whatever may have been the pretext, the cause was doubtless the mutual ill blood arising from the disputes over their respective shares of the spoil obtained from the villagers. Not content with volleys of guttural abuse, and seemingly ferocious threats, they appeared intent on serious mischief, and proceeded to unpack their long guns. Luckily these were securely wrapped up in complicated covers of red cloth, and, before the combatants were ready for action, prudence once more restrained valour, and the storm passed away in sullen growlings and mutterings of future vengeance. It sometimes struck us that if there were such things as professional brigands in Marocco, we might have been robbed or murdered with perfect safety before one of the guns of our escort had been extracted from its case, and made ready for use.

Indignant, as we were, at the rapacity of our escort, we assured ourselves, when we came to know more of the country, that there is a great deal of human nature among the Moors, as there is amongst most of the people that travellers make acquaintance with, and that the conduct of the soldiers and their officers was pretty much what might be expected from any other men put in the same position. The pay of a captain in the regular army is equivalent to 4s. 2d. per month, and that of the men not nearly enough to support life, even allowing for the frugal habits of the people. It is only natural that when the opportunity is offered, along with the certainty of impunity, they should make the most of it, as they certainly do. In some places, as we afterwards learned, they were not satisfied with the large supplies that they requisitioned, but demanded and obtained money from the village authorities.

From the summit of the second pass, the track descends about 400 feet into a broad valley, well wooded with olive, carob, and other cultivated trees.

Soon after seven o’clock we reached a convenient spot on flat ground, beside a rapid stream, near a village called Tassilunt. The scenery here was very picturesque, although we had no view of the higher part of the chain. The nearer mountains were of a deep red colour—probably sandstone—contrasting finely with the rich green of trees and shrubs that covered most of the slopes. The floor of the valley here, as in most parts of the range that we visited, is chiefly devoted to olive cultivation, poor crops of grain being raised beneath the trees.

The sheik of the village soon presented himself, and before long an abundant mona was brought to the tent door, and laid, according to custom, at Hooker’s feet. Five large dishes of cooked meat and keskossou, and piles of wheaten cakes, were designed to stay or to whet the appetites of the party; while a sheep, twelve fowls, fifty eggs, and five pounds of butter formed a provision for their future wants. When it is remembered that nearly as much more cooked food was supplied in the morning, it may be imagined that the tax on the resources of a poor mountain village was not trifling.

We had now entered the district of Reraya, which is under the rule of El Graoui, represented by one or more deputies. The whole population, excepting some miserable-looking Jews, is Shelluh; but here, as everywhere among the Berebers, these are divided into tribes or clans, who are often at feud, and always jealous and suspicious of each other. There is generally a superior chief or sheik, having a wide, but ill-defined authority over the whole clan; but among those that recognise the Sultan’s paramount temporal as well as spiritual supremacy, this is subordinate to that of the Governor. In this part of the Great Atlas, the clans, as well as the districts named after them, preserve the Shelluh patronymic of Aït; but the Bereber tribes of the high ranges E. and SE. of Fez have generally adopted the Arabic Beni, as with the powerful tribes, Beni Mtir and Mghill. One of the many difficulties of the geographer in this country arises from the practice of naming each district from the tribe that inhabits it, and the fact that, either from compulsion, or a taste for migration, it is not uncommon for a tribe to remove from one valley to another. The next valley to that where we now were was called at this time Aït Mesan; but if the Aït Mesan should take possession of some neighbouring valley, or be driven out by a stronger tribe, the traveller who visits the country some years hence may find the Aït Mesan valley in quite another place from that which we have described.

Our chief anxiety now, was to ascertain that the promise held out, of penetrating to the inner recesses of the Great Atlas in the district of Reraya, was to be realised. We were told that in the next adjoining valley we should reach a place only two hours’ journey from the snow, and that the sheik of that valley had been summoned, and would arrive on the next morning. At the same time, whether from ignorance or a design to mislead us, El Hasbi’s language was decidedly vague and confused, and, after the experience of the last few days, there was no reason to feel the slightest confidence in his assurances. Hooker therefore decided on bringing matters to a point by informing El Hasbi that if any further difficulty was made, he should despatch a courier with letters for El Graoui and the Viceroy at Marocco, saying that the commander of our escort has failed to carry out the Sultan’s orders, and requesting that another should be sent in his place. As this was the last thing to suit El Hasbi’s book, he became profuse in assurances of devotion to our wishes, and for some days, at least, we had no reason to suspect him of further machinations to defeat our plans.

In point of fact, a courier was sent on the following day with a letter for El Graoui. It was desirable to obtain the direct sanction of the authorities for our intention to remain several days in the district we had now reached, and to make it understood that this would be essential for the object of our journey.

A further topic requiring some previous arrangement arose from Maw’s desire to return to England as soon as possible, after effecting the desired ascent to the higher region.

Our camp, which stood at 3,160 feet (963·1 m.) above the sea, was in a pleasant and sheltered position, and the temperature was thoroughly enjoyable. The relative coolness of the nights was not, indeed, so remarkable here as in the plain, for the actual temperature was pretty much the same, while that of the shade of day, which at this season, there usually rises somewhat over 80° Fahr., rarely exceeded 70° in the lower zone of the Great Atlas, however powerful might be the direct rays of the sun for several hours in each day. Towards dawn the air was usually keen, often almost cold; and at the hour which, when possible, was selected for observation—about one hour after sunrise—Fahrenheit’s thermometer, as well in the plain as in the main valleys of the Atlas, usually ranged from 56° to 60°. It will be seen that this country, when made accessible to civilised Europe, will supply the nearest approach yet discovered to the perfection of climate, whether for health or enjoyment.

The morning of May 12 was in every sense a busy one. During our afternoon ride of the day before, one of the baggage mules, while following a narrow track along the bank of a watercourse, had slipped into the stream, and a large parcel of Hooker’s plants had been thoroughly soaked. Several hours of the night, and the early morning, were consumed in repairing the damage, by laying the plants in dry paper, and drying in the sun that which was wet. Then came the important affair on which our hearts were mainly set. The sheik of the Aït Mesan valley had arrived, and it was necessary by a judicious combination of compulsion and conciliation to secure his co-operation in our undertaking. It was true that the orders of his superior, El Graoui, if duly conveyed by our escort, should alone have sufficed for our purpose; but we had already learned that, by a mutual understanding between the treacherous El Hasbi and the local authorities, our progress could at any moment be effectually barred. How were we to detect and expose the falsehood of the stories that were daily trumped up, and were seemingly accepted for truth by our own attendants?

The sheik appeared sufficiently cordial, especially when he was made to understand that, in case we were satisfied, he should receive a handsome present; and it was arranged that our next camp should be fixed at a spot within reach of the snow.

When the time for our departure drew near, a fresh, but not quite unforeseen, cause for delay presented itself, by the appearance in our camp of a crowd of native applicants for medical advice. Before leaving England we had been advised not to neglect the surest means for conciliating the good will of an African population, and had fortunately provided ourselves with a sufficient stock of common medicines. Even an ordinary traveller, with no more knowledge of medicine than the elementary notions possessed by most educated persons, may safely apply simple remedies in many of the cases of sickness that commonly occur among uncivilised people; but in our case there was no occasion for rash experiments, as Hooker’s medical knowledge and skill were more than sufficient for the needs of the patients who flocked in considerable numbers to ask for advice. From this time forward, except in one or two places where the people were withheld by the bigotry of the authorities, this became one of the daily demands upon his time and patience.

To judge from our own observation of the Shelluh people, and the experience of French travellers among the Kabyles, it seems probable that a traveller having some knowledge of the Bereber language, and a little medical skill, who could once make his way among the independent tribes of East Marocco, might safely explore the unknown portions of the Great Atlas. The first condition would be, that he should be able to overcome or evade the obstacles that would be put in his way by the Moorish authorities; and the second, that he should avoid treating any case that was likely to have a fatal termination. The position of an infidel stranger who might be supposed to be accessory to the death of a native of one of these wild tribes would doubtless be very perilous. The only branch of natural history that could be followed by a traveller under such conditions would be botany. In collecting plants he would be supposed to be following his proper avocation; whereas the slightest attention given to stones or minerals would be set down to a search for treasure.

The Shelluh population of the Great Atlas is strikingly different from the Arab stock, but scarcely to be distinguished in appearance from the cognate Bereber races, the Riff mountaineers of North Marocco, and the Kabyles of Algeria. Long faces, of a deep sallow complexion, high cheek-bones, eyes closely set and not so dark as those of the Moors and Arabs, are the prevailing types. The hair is cut short, and the use of the turban seems to be confined to the women. The men, when they use an upper garment, wear a black cloak or large cape of goat’s hair or camel’s hair, into which is inserted on the back an angular patch of red woollen stuff. Their character seems even more different from the Arab type than their aspect. The Arab hates work, takes to it occasionally from necessity, but passes his time so far as he can between talk, story-telling, and song, and dreamy contemplation, in which he is helped by the habitual use of kief, prepared from Indian hemp, the local substitute for tobacco. The Shelluh, on the contrary, is active and hardworking. He has some natural fitness and acquired skill in agriculture. His intelligence is readier for all practical purposes; and, in spite of difficulties of language, which generally involved a double process of interpreting between us and the natives, we found it much easier to obtain information on any matter of interest than from the Arabs. Intense curiosity was always shown by them in our proceedings, and a circle of people from the nearest village, standing hand-in-hand, generally encompassed our camp.

During the morning Maw amused and interested the people by showing a little practice with a small English rifle. The long flint-lock guns and bad gunpowder used in this country form such ineffective weapons that the people cannot conceive the possibility of every shot telling. This accounts for the fact that in the frequent skirmishes that arise between neighbouring tribes so little damage is usually done. Several hundred men may spend the day in firing at each other; a vast quantity of ammunition may be consumed; but the list of casualties on both sides seldom exceeds half a dozen killed and wounded.

At 11 A.M. we left our camping ground, and began to ascend the valley, soon approaching the banks of the stream, which was everywhere easily fordable. In places where it has cut a channel through sandstone rock there was space to ride along the bed, and we here found several rock-plants of some interest. The most conspicuous was the European Catananche cærulea, not before seen by us, but extremely common in the interior valleys of the Great Atlas, growing two or three feet high in the warm zone, and dwindling to a few inches in colder and exposed stations. Of greater interest was Selaginella rupestris, a species of club-moss that makes the round of the world in the tropics, but is very rare outside those limits.

Before long we began to ascend the slopes on the western side of the valley. The hill was covered with a dense growth of shrubs and low bushes, in great part evergreen, and had more the characteristic aspect of the region surrounding the shores of the Mediterranean than anything we had seen since leaving Tangier. But, although there were several identical species, the differences were very marked, and a single glance sufficed to show that we were far removed from the flora of North Marocco. The arbutus was the sole representative of its natural order, and no heath extends to the Great Atlas. The oak-scrub, in this and the neighbouring valleys, is all formed of some form of the evergreen oak, Quercus lusitanica, Q. coccifera, and the allied forms being all absent. The Alaternus is common to both regions, but a narrow-leaved form of Rhamnus oleoides is here more common. Seven species of Cistus that adorn the hills in North Marocco are on the slopes of the Great Atlas reduced to two, and those the least conspicuous. On the other hand, the number of bushy Labiatæ was here largely increased, and included many peculiar species not known to grow elsewhere; and there were many Umbelliferæ, of which several were not yet sufficiently advanced for recognition. Of Leguminosæ, which everywhere play a conspicuous part in the flora of this region, the most striking novelty was a new Coronilla (C. ramosissima, Ball), that forms a low bush, with very numerous slender intricate branches, covered at this season with rather small yellow flowers. In the midst of so much that was strange to the eye, it was pleasant to see two familiar European orchids, Orchis pyramidalis and Ophrys apifera.

There was something comical in the effect of our long cortège, with the escort swollen to-day by the addition of three sheiks of the valley, winding solemnly up the slope of the mountain, but thrown every now and then into general excitement by the appearance of some unpretending plant. The order ‘catch him flower’ would then issue to the native attendants, or one or other of the travellers would set foot to ground the better to inspect it. But any sense of incongruity between the pomp and circumstance of our mode of travelling and the simple nature of our favourite occupation was lost on the natives. To them one pursuit of civilised man is as unintelligible as another, and they can conceive no other serious occupation for men not forced to labour than war or hunting. It is a curious instance of the survival of barbarous instincts, that a good many people in our own islands, who imagine themselves to belong to the upper classes of society, have scarcely advanced a step beyond the mental condition of the Shelluh mountaineer.

We passed a village where we noticed some rude oil mills; and, after an ascent of about a thousand feet, reached the summit of the ridge dividing the valley we had left from the long and important one, the upper part of which is known, from the tribe that inhabits it, as Aït Mesan. It is very difficult to trace the course of the streams that flow northward from this part of the Great Atlas, because they are so extensively diverted into irrigation channels that the natural bed is often dry, except after heavy rain. According to Beaudouin’s map the streams from this and several adjoining valleys all flow to the Oued Tensift by the east side of the city of Marocco. This we were led to believe an error in that map. It is probably true of the Ourika river and its affluents; but our own observation, confirmed by the statements of the natives, led us to think that all the streams from the Reraya district flow north-westward after entering the plain, and unite with those from the districts of Gurgouri and Amsmiz to form the river Oued Nyfs, which we had passed at Misra ben Kara; the same name, variously pronounced Oued Enfist or Oued Enfisk, being applied to several of the separate torrents above referred to. It will be remarked that the name Oued Enfist is merely an anagrammatic form of Oued Tensift, the main river that drains all this portion of the Great Atlas; and it is a question whether the natives do not apply the same name, with the usual laxity as to the order of the consonants, to all the affluents of the principal stream.

After descending some way on the western side of the ridge, we came in sight of a large village perched on the summit of a hill, on the opposite side of the stream that ran at a great depth below us. This we soon learned to be Moulaï Ibrahim, a zaouia, or sanctuary, much venerated in all this part of Marocco, governed by a sherreef, belonging to the family of the saint whose tomb is the chief building of the village. This semi-independent sherreef gave permission to M. Balansa to remain in the village for some days in 1867; but just as that active traveller was prepared to attempt to penetrate into the interior of the chain, an order from El Graoui made it necessary for him to depart, and follow the direct way to Marocco. As we came in sight of the zaouia, each of our troop, Shelluh as well as Moor, commenced to recite prayers, and then, after prostrating himself on the ground, with his face towards the sanctuary, proceeded to add a stone to certain heaps that stood beside the track. The Berebers, in general, are said to be very lax in conforming to the precepts of the Koran, but they are as assiduous in their show of reverence for saints and sanctuaries as the Moors themselves, and it would appear that this is the only practical form in which their religion exhibits itself.

On the summit of the ridge, which may be about 4,500 feet above the sea, the rock is a grey schist, often shaly in texture, with the strike about east and west, and clipping at a high angle approaching the vertical. These beds may perhaps be identical with the schists, sometimes containing mica, and sometimes more calcareous in composition, which we afterwards found at the head of the Amsmiz valley, and with the rock, described as micaceous schist, seen by Washington in his ascent from Tasseremout. Our course now lay about due south, parallel to that of the torrent which ran at a considerable depth below us. At Moulaï Ibrahim this, according to M. Balansa, is called Oued Ghaghaia, but we never heard any similar designation for it. The difficulty of seizing the shades of more or less guttural sounds from the mouths of the natives makes it not improbable that the word Ghaghaia of M. Balansa is the same that we agreed in writing Reraya, and that the name may mean that this is the stream draining the district of Reraya.

On this ridge we found that curious grass, Lygeum Spartum, characteristic of Sicily and Southern Spain, where it is much used for making fine basket-work, but not seen elsewhere in Marocco. Soon after we lit upon a single specimen of a very fine plant of the artichoke family, evidently distinct from all those described, but unfortunately not yet in flower. It has been provisionally named Cynara Hystryx (Ball). The next find was not less interesting—an Oriental Echinospermum (E. barbatum of Lehmann) that extends from the Punjab to Asia Minor and the Caucasus, but had not before been seen in Africa.

About two o’clock we left behind us the rough irregular ground over which we had been riding, and found ourselves in a broad open valley, with a level floor, half a mile or more in width, at the head of which rose some fine snow-seamed peaks. As we advanced towards the main chain, our suspicion that the dividing ridge and the higher peaks were at once more distant and more lofty than had hitherto been supposed, was more and more confirmed; and we were soon able to certify that M. Balansa’s expectation that any of the higher points might be reached in a single day from Moulaï Ibrahim was based on miscalculation of the scale of these mountains.