Africa by Élisée Reclus/Volume 2/Chapter 11
CHAPTER XI.
THE SAHARA.
HE term Sahara (Sah'rā) meaning a vast plain, waste, or wilderness, appears to have no very precise value. It is a geographical expression applied by various writers to an aggregate of regions to which very different superficial areas are assigned. In its general acceptation it comprises the almost waterless and very sparsely inhabited zone which separates the Barka plateaux and the Mauritanian uplands from the countries watered by the Senegal, the Niger, the affluents of Lake Tsad, and the headstreams of the White Nile. But where are we to draw the line of separation between the "Greater Africa" and the region which has been called the "Lesser Africa"? According to some writers, its northern limit skirting the foot of the Atlas merges eastwards in the shores of the Syrtes, thus embracing the whole of Tripolitana and coinciding at one point with the Mediterranean seaboard. But account is more usually taken of the political frontiers traced to the south of the Barbary States, and many tracts which in their physical aspect and climate present features common to both zones, are thus excluded from the Sahara and comprised in the Mediterranean basin.
Extent — Population.
The natural limits of the Sahara are indicated both by the nature of the soil and the shifting phenomena of its climate. Wherever regular rains cease to fall, the desert begins. But no fixed barriers can be assigned to the movement of the moisture-bearing clouds. In their relation to the arid zone they advance to a greater or less distance, gaining or losing ground according to the cycles of years or centuries. Where no precise boundaries are laid down by mountain ranges such as the Atlas, or by river valleys such as the Nile, the transition from the Sahara to the surrounding regions is effected through intervening zones of varying breadth. Nor have all the frontier lands yet been accurately explored, so that its outlines can only be approximately indicated on the maps.
In its widest extent the Sahara covers an area almost as large as Europe, itself. From east to west, that is, from the banks of the Nile to the Atlantic seaboard, it stretches for a distance of 3,000 miles, with a mean breadth of perhaps 900 or PB00RES8 OF DI8C0'^BT. 411 1,000 miles north and south, from the foot of tho Atliu* to tbo Sudan. Yet, com- paratively short us is tho journey in this direction, how lulx>riuus and full of dangers for caravans slowly advancing under a fierce sun, in the midst of blinding sands, beguiknl by tho glittering mirage, tormented by the fear of finding dricd-up springs at the next watering station ! Excluding the oases of Burka and Kufra, Tripolitana and Fezzan, the smaller " Saharas " of TuniHia, Algeria, and Marocoo, together with the grassy zone skirting the fertile regions of the Sudan, the super- ficial area of the Great Desert may be roughly estimated at 2,480,000 squam miles. The whole population of the various oases, isolated uplands and humid depressions scattered over this vast extent is supposed not to exceed five hundred thousand souls. Progress of Discovery. As in the days of Herodotus and Strabo, the journey across the Sahara is always a laborious undertaking, probably even more so now than ut that epoch, tho ground having become more arid, rivers having dried-up, ond forests disappeared during the last two thousand years. The descriptions of the old writers are doubt- less exaggerated, as they needs must be at a time when explorers were unaided by scientific instruments, and when their reports, passing from mouth to mouth, at last merged in fable. Libya, south of the Mediterranean, was regarded as a land of fire, uninhabitable by men, beasts, or plants, whore the very soil was calcined. Nevertheless, journeys of exploration and military exixKlitions made itevident that these " torrid " regions were not inaccessible. Herodotus relates the adventures of the five young Nasomous who had ventured into the desert in the direction of tho zephyr, and who after many days' journey reached a city in the country' of the Blacks, situated on a great river. But whether this was the Niger at its great bend in the Timbuktu district, or Lake Tsad, near the mouth of the Komadugu, or some other affluent, cannot now be determined. In any case, these Libyan pioneers had crossed the Sahara, judging at least by the direction followe<l by them, and the detailed account they give of the river peopled with crocodiles and flowing from west to east. Without getting so far, the Roman captains had also penetrated far to the south, for Cydamus and Garama still preserve the remains of their moimments, and Suetonius Paulinus had surveyed the valley of the Wod Guir, probably a tributary of the stream reached by the Nasomons. But how many other armies, how many caravans, were long ago lost in the wilderness, consmned by the burning sun, like the running waters gradually absorbed in their sandy beds ! Since the close of the last century, when the Society for the Exploration of Africa was founded in England, the routes of European travellers across the Sahara have been carefully traced on the map. Even those of Jewish and Arab tradere have been followed and attached to the network of scientific exploration. Tbo Sahara has already been traversed at several jwints from north to south ; but no traveller has yet made the complete journey in the direction of its length from the banks of the Nile to the shores of the Atlantic. The reader will remember the 416 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. expedition of RoUlfs and his associates, who after vainly attempting to perform the first stage of this route from the Dukhul to the Kufra oasis, were comi)elled to stop short and turn northwards bt^twoon the parallel lines of dunes leading to the Siwah oasis. Even the coast of the Sahara between Capes Bojador and Blanco is <.'ne of the least known on the African seaboard, although now annexed to the possessions of a European power. The few meshes of the network traversed by explorers occupy altogether an extend of little over 200,000 square miles. Consequently when we speak of the Sahara, we cannot exclaim with Columbus, " How small is the earth ! " While elsewhere the world grows less, subdued by steam ; while highways are everywhere being constructed and the transport service accelerated, the Sahara remains as difficult of access, as formidable as ever. If the ocean links opposing continents, the desert almost completely separates the neighbouring lands. North and south of the int<^rvening sands, the animal and vegetable kingdoms differ spetifically, and the races of mankind present the sharpest contrasts in their origin, appearance and usages. On the Mediterranean seaboard, as in Europe, the populations have been fre([uently renewed by great waves of migration : Vandals have come from the west after making the circuit of a continent ; Arabs have penetratetl from the east after skirting the shores of the Inland Sea; but across the Sahara from north to south there have been no great movements of population, nor even any conquests by a single military expedition. Here the modifications of type, insti- tutions, and customs have been effected by a slower process of penetration between the northern and southern borderlands. The slaves imported from Sudan have modified the Berber type in ^lauritania, giving rise to the Haratins of the Marocco oases, the Atryas of Twat and Ghadames, the Ruaghas of Algeria. The Arab traders and ijiissionaries have in their turn changed the religion and government of the Sudanese populations. Physical Aspect. The Sahara is not a dried- up marine basin, as was supposed by geologists before the nature of its soil and the inequalities of its relief were' as well understood as they now are. Even the low-l^-ing tracts stretching south of the French possessions, where some of the depressions are actually below the Mediterranean level, have certainly been dry land throughout the Quaternary epoch. Beyond this Berber .H(>ction of the desert no remains of marine origin have anywhere been found. The chalk and sjuidstone formations, the granites, gneiss, porphyries, and bosalte cropj)ing out on its rugged surface show no traces except of weathering by the action of sun, wind, and rains. Throughout its whole extent the Sahara is a continental region, presenting certain marked contrasts in its physical aspect, and containing considerable tracts to which the term desert can scarcely be properh' opplied. Like the other parts of Africa, the Sahara has its highlands, its valleys, and running waters, although n^ainly consisting of vast uniform plateaux, stony wastes, and long ranges of dunes rolling away beyond the horizon, like the billows of a shoreless sea. Here is the PIIYSIOAL ASPECT. 417 true ^nWcmens, a ro^^ion <io«tituto of floworinf^ plants or fihrubii, without birdii or buttorflios, exiH)^c<l only to tho blind fonx»« of bout un<l tbt» windH. Arnmlin^ to a suinmury estinmto, the horizontul und ruvinod plutouux occupy uUmt half of ita whole extent; a ninth is covered with sandu, while the rest i» shurcd by the rocky highlundM, steppes, crtKlcd depressions, ouscs, und strips of cultivated borderlanda. Zittel estinuitcs its nicun elevation alnive the sea at 1,1(K) feet. Notwithstanding the difTerenccs of relief, a character of unity is imported to the Sahara throughout its whole extent, chiefly by the scarcity or complete abaenco of water everywhere except in the hilly districts, where the higher summita pene> trate to tlie upjxT atmospheric currents. For the origin of the Sahara has to bo sought, not in the ground itself, but in the aerial regions above. Its creation must evidently be traccnl to the same causes that have given rise to analogous desert wastes in the Asiatic continent. It is, in fact, merely a western prolongation of the almost treeless tracts which traverse Mongolia, Kashgaria, Turkestan, Irunia, und Arabia, interruptwl at long intervals by watercourses fringed with trees, or by mountain ranges and vcrtlant upland valleys. To the prevailing dry winds is due this long desert zone with its ])arallcl strips of bordering stepjH^lands, obliquely crossing the eastern hcmisphert> for a space of some 7,000 or 8,000 miles. To these Asiatic and African wastes Humboldt has given the collective name of " track of the polar winds," as if the aerial currents which in the tropics become the trade winds regularly followtnl the line tractnl in white sands across the two continents. This view, however, is not ipiite cornvt. The general atmospheric movement from the North. Pole towanls the equatorial regions does not follow such an oblique direction as is here indicatetl. Although deflected towards the soutli-west by the rotation of the glob« it is far frtmi being always regularly directed east and west along the axis of the Sahara, i>arallel with the equator. The mettH)roli>gical obst>rvations made in the Saham itself and on it* borders show that the normal direction is from the Mediterranean southwards. Except in the eastern parts, and in the Tuareg territory, when however, they are very variable, the pn>vailing wiiuls are not those whieh come from the east or north-cast after losing nearly all their moisture on the long journey across the Asiatic continent. Nevertheless the direction of the prevailing currents in the Sahara sufiiciently explains its arid character. In Asia the i)olar winds, whose moisture lias In^en jmnipitattMl on the Altai, Tian-Shan, Turkestan, and Anatolian highlands, bring little or no rain to east China, Irania, and Arabia. For the same reason the dry winds from Kurope are unable, during the short jmssuge across the Mediterranean, to take up a sufficient quantity of vai^ur to supply the African continent. Their slight store is exhausted on the northern uplands, leaving little for the southern regions of the Sahara, where scarcely any rain fulls except iu the month of August, when the sun is at its zenith. The general aspect of the desert bears evidence of great changes, which can be due only to the action of water. Large wadics with their bunks and flats preserve the record of running streams in these now arid regions. I)e*^p gorges excavated iu the rocky plateaux also speak of the erosions caused by torrents ond streami, 418 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. which have carried away the soil, distributing it in thick alluvial deposits over the plains. Then flourished the forests whose petrified stems are still visible in many parts of the desert ; then lived the elephant and rhinoceros figured on the sculptured rocks in the Fezzan, Algerian, and Marocco highlands ; then the caravan routes were slowly traversed by pack oxen, since replaced by the camel. The rivers frequented by the crocodile are now dry, and all the large fauna have dis- appeared with the forests which afforded them a refuge. Nothing remains except a few flowing springs, and to obtain water, wells must be sunk in likely spots well known to the skilled eye of the nomad. But even this water is mostly brackish and disagreeable to the unaccustomed palate of the traveller. On arriving at the Dibbela wells, the first on the route from Lake Tsad to Fezzan, the people coming from the south, where good waters abound, always fall ill. But arriving from the north, after they have gradually become habituated to the taste of the desert waters, those of Dibbela seem well flavoured. The same phenomena of desiccation observed in the steppes and deserts of Central Asia and South Russia, have taken place in the regions south of the Atlas, only here the zone of regular rains appears, perhaps by a process of compensation, to have been enlarged at least in the southern districts of the Sahara. The Dunes. But however this be, the changes now going on are due almost exclusively to the action of sun and winds, and to the alternating temperatures. The great geological transformation of solid rock to shifting dunes is entirely the result of meteoric agencies. As soon as the softer rocks present an aperture through which the outer air can penetrate, the work of disintegration has begun. Dolomites, gypsums, and sandstones begin to crumble, and are slowly changed to sand or dust, the surface of the rock gradually corroded, leaving here and there the harder core, which thus develops into pyramids or pillars standing out in the midst of the sands. The argillaceous strata are attacked in the same way, every- where crumbling away except where preserved by the binding action of the roots of tamarisks and other shrubs. Once disintegrated, all this debris, whether of gypsum, limestone, silicious, or clay origin, immediately begins to move. "Wafted far and wide by the winds, it contributes to form in the depressions those argillaceous deposits which resemble the " yellow earth " of China, but which, for lack of the vivifying waters, are unable to yield the rich crops of that region. The particles of quartz, varying in size, are also borne from station to station, and deposited in the form of dimes, which are incessantly modified and displaced by the diverse action of the aerial currents. Thus the dunes are obviously of recent or contemporary formation, due to the peculiar influences of the Saharian climatic conditions. The hypothesis has been advanced that, after being formed by the disintegra- tion of the rocks, the dunes remain on the spot. They certainly do not travel as rapidly as might be supposed by those who have seen how they are at times blown THE EEOS— lOUIDI. 419 ubout by the storm, filling the atmosphere with dciiHe clouds that darken the sun. In the presence of these sundNtonns, almost as dang(>rouH as those of snow, the trav(;ller rwulls the lej^'nds of caravans and whole armies swallowed up by the udvuncing billows of siind. But after the storm has |)assed the general aspect of the landscajx? is found to have undergone little change. The hillocks are still in their places, and seem to have been scarcely modified in their main outlines. But a single day counts for little in the history of the earth, and even during the contemporary period examples arc not wanting to show that if most of the sand- hills remain or reform in the same place, others occasionally get shifted. The guides often point to hillocks occupying the site of some former depression along the caravan route. That such dinplacements must take place is evident, unless we suppose a perfect equilibrium of the atmospheric currents. But such an equi- librium does not exist, because the winds blowing from the Mediterranean are known to predominate in the Sahara. In many districts the exposed spaces reveal a rocky ground, evidently of different geological origin from that of the surface sands. Thus the chalk plateau south of the Mzab territory is covered here and there with dunes brought from the great western reservoir of sands. East of El-Golea M. Rolland recognised two such shifting ridges about 30 miles long, with a mean breadth of over 2 miles. But such formations cannot be developed in all places, the direction of the sands being necessarily influenced by the relief of the plateaux, the valleys and depres- sions, the aerial currents. Shifting from dune to dune under the action of the wind, the fine particles of dust are at times swept into heaps, like the drift snow in sheltered spots. But elsewhere simdhills are met which have been permanently fixed or bound together by the roots of trailing plant.>», and near the oas««8 it might be possible to arrest the progress of the dunes by planting drin and other species which flourish in such a soil. The Ekgs — Iguidi. The principal sandy regions are the great Libyan desert, between the Eg}'ptian oases and the Tibesti highlands, the two Ergs, or " veins " of the Berber Sahara, the Edeyens of the Tuareg territory, the Iguidi, west of the AVe<l Saura, the Maghtir and Adafer dunes, and others surrounding the Juf, north-west of Timbuktu. Of all these sandy regions, the best known is the eastern Erg, comprised between the Wed Igharghar basin and the Red IlamAda, which has been several times traversed by Euroi>ean travellers pniceeding to Ghadames. Here the slow progress of the dunes lies in the direction from north-west to south- east, as shown by the present position of the great ridges relatively to the original centres of disintegration. In the western Erg the movement is eastwards to the chalk plateaux ; in the Wed High and in Wargla, northwards to the Oijses ; in Iguidi, nuiinly from tbe north-west to the south-east, under the influence of the oceanic roonsoona. According to M. Duveyrier, the normal direction for the whole of the Siihan would appear to be from the north-east to the south-west, in accordance with the general course of the trade winds.
In the eastern Erg some of the crests are much higher than those of the French dunes on the Gascony coast. The Ghurd El-Khadem, measured by MM. Largeau, Say, and Lemay, has a height of 450 feet, and others are said to reach 490 feet, within 40 of that measured by Vogel near the "Lake of Worms," in
Fezzan. Duveyrier saw sandhills in the eastern Erg over 660 feet high, aud Largeau speaks of one attaining a vertical elevation of 1,650 feet. But their extreme altitude cannot be determined until the Sahara has been more completely surveyed. Seen from the neighbouring hills, those of the Erg present the appearance of enormous ocean waves suddenly solidified.
Besides the troughs between the sandhills, in several places deep depressions have been developed, resembling the craters of volcanic cones. Such is the 
flooded and fringed with sedge. In the vicinity is a similar formation partly choked with sand. In several places stony concretions aro found, attesting the former presence of mineral springs which have long disappeared. But among the stones scattered over certain regions of tho Subara there are many the origin of which has not yet been explained. Such aro the crystals in the form of pyramids, stars, or crosses, the chaplets, “fish scales,” and blackish nodules varying in size from a cherry to a hen’s egy, hollow inside or filled with sand. Such also are those vitrified silicious tubes usually about 12 inches long and terminating in a sort of hurd core. They occur in such large numbers in the southern parts of the Air district that they cannot be regarded as of meteoric origin. The Sahara is altogether a vast field in which geologists have still many things to discover.
Tn the Iguidi and certain parts of the Erg districts the phenomenon of the “singing sands” is not unfrequently heard, as on the slopes of the Serbal in the Sinai highlands, and elsewhere in the Asiatic deserts. The deepest silence is often suddenly broken by a vibrating sound like that of a distant trumpet, lusting a few seconds, then dying away, and again breaking out in another direction. This is no hallucination, for it is heard by animals as well as men, many of whom, ignorant of the cause, are stricken with fear by this mysterious “ music of the sands.” The effect is evidently due to the crumbling or frietion of myriads of molecules from time to time yielding to upward pressure. But it still remains to be explained why the phenomenon is not heard in all parts of the sandy regions, but restricted to certain districts. This, aguin, may perhaps be due to the different constitution or crystallographic nature of the vibrating particles.
CLIMATE OF THE Satara.
These vast sandy tracts are the best evidence of the extreme dryness of the climate. As observed by Carl Ritter, “ The Sahara is the south of the world,” although situated entirely north of the equator, and although Mascat, Aden, Tajura, and some other spots on the surface of the globe have a higher average temperature. A characteristic feature of its climate is the enormous oscillation between the extremes of heat und cold. While the sands are heated to a tempera- turo of 170° F., and even 190° F. in the sun, or from 136° F. to 146° F, in the shade, the radiation at night lowers the glass to 26° or 28°, that is, from four to six degrees below freezing-point. Such is the intense dryness of the atmosphere that fogs are ulmost unknown, although a slight dew gathers occasionally on the plants about sunrise, either after rainy days or during any abrupt lowering of the temperature. In this atmosphere destitute of humidity, arms never rust and flesh never becomes putrescent. Heavy showers are extremely rare, and in the Tuareg country ten or twelve years pass before the watercourses are flushed and vegetation renewed by a tropical downpour.
Limited north and south by two zones of regular rainfall, the Sahara presents no fixed laws for the recurrence of its meteorological phenomena. It forms a sort 422 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. of neutral zone, in which the normal succession of the aerial currents is suspended. One of the most dreaded winds is the sirocco, which blows from the south, often accompanied by whirlwinds of sand. These dense volumes of reddish dust sweep over the desert like sheets of flarae and with the velocity of tornadoes, now rising into the upper regions, now grazing the surface of the ground. The Caravan Routes. The moving sands, the long stony hamadas, the torrid heats followed by sudden returns of cold, the pestiferous winds, the dust-storms, the " cloudless skies and shadeless earth," the vast distances, the long intervals between the wells — at times dried up, at times held by hostile tribes — all tend to enhance the perils of the route, and to explain the solemn earnestness with which caravans equip themselves for the journey across the wilderness. The profession of guide, hereditary in certain . families, constitutes a sort of priesthood, for this person holds in his hands not only his own life, but that of all committing themselves to his guidance. At the departure of the caravan he meets with homage, mingled with entreaties ; on its safe arrival he is overwhelmed with thanks. In the most monotonous regions he is familiar with the slightest landmarks indicating the route to follow. The smallest plant, traces on the sands invisible to others, the atmospheric currents, all help to direct him along the right track or warn him of impending danger. He consults the fleecy cloudlet, and in the neighbourhood of the oases follows with the eye the long flight of the swallow and other birds of passage. Even unaided by sun and stars, he knows the right direction, and unerringly points to the precise quarter of the horizon leading to the wayside stations, and to the habitations of man on the verge of the desert. When he belongs to a race with complexion grey as the sands, or red as the soil of the hamada, he lays his garments aside and rolls naked on the ground, the better in this disguise to reconnoitre passing strangers and ascertain whether they be friend or foe. He knows the exact position of every oasis, of every pool or puddle, of every spring or well ; the path along the trackless desert is traced in his memory from station to station, and when compelled to fallow a new route experience must aid him in determining the right course. It happens at times that well-known highways become lost, either by the invading sands filling up the wells, or by hostile hordes seizing the stations along the route. Then the memory of the abandoned tract gradually fades into vague tradition, and in the popular imagination it becomes an earthly Eden. Thus was pictured the " Little Wau," before this long-lost oasis was rediscovered by the Arab explorer, Mahommed Tarhoni of Zella. The natives of Tibesti have lost the route followed by their forefathers across the Libyan desert to Egypt, and still speak of some delightful intervening oasis, where the sparkling waters murmur beneath the shade of the palm groves. On the other hand, the caravans of Wadai struck out fresh trade routes towards Tripoli tana in the years 1811 and 1813, although these highways have remained noglected for many decades. But even were the journey across the Sahara everyNATUEAL DIVISIONS— ENNEDI—WAJANOA. 4t8 where less laborious, the desert routes niuMt become every year lets frequented, since the trade of Europe has begun to penetrate into the ijitcrior of the continent by the great arteries of the S(>negal and Niger. By these changes the desert must, so to say, remain outflanked until the Twat oasis becomes attached to the pn>jectod railway system between the French possessions on the Me<literranean and Atlantic seaboards. At present the total yearly traffic across the Sahara can scarcely exceed £80,000. However shrewd and careful the guides, however patient and enduring the camels, disasters are still unfortunately far from rare. Whoever strays from the path is lost. A prey to hunger and the still more terrible thirst, he is presently seized by some master-thought overriding all reflection ; in his hallucination he fancies himself at the bottom of some dark pit, or ceaselessly climbing some steep hillside. When at last he lies down, his eyes are closed in death, and his IkkIv, around which rises a little dune, becomes rapidly dried up. To ensure their mutual safety, the members of the caravan must keep close together, or at least within sight and hearing of each other. Any lagging behind may prove instantly fatal, as was sho^Ti in such a terrible way during the second expedition sent by the French to Wargla for the purix)se of surveying the route of the future trans-Saharian trunk line. According to the customs and institutions of the various tribes inhabiting the oases and confines of the desert, this necessary sense of solidarity in the caravan is differently understood. In many lierber clans, accustomed to self- government and recognising no master, the group of travellers constitutes a common jemlLa or assembly, in which each gives his advice and fulfils his s{)ecial function for the common good. But the Arab convoy is ruled despotically. Here the khebir is master, and all must obey. Under bis ortlers are the Hhnmh who interpret his will, the fshunf who watch the land, a hhoja who " keeps the log," a crier who announces all decrees, a muezzin who calls to prayer, and a priest who " reads the service." Natural Divisions — Enxedi — Wajaxoa. The natural divisions of the Great Desert are indicated by such mountain ranges or uplands as Tibesti, Tassili, and the Jebel Ahaggar. Were there a suffi- ciently heavy rainfall, these highlands would constitute water-partings for so many distinct fluvial basins draining to the Nile, to the Syrtes, to the Atlantic or the Niger. The eastern basin, specially designated by the name of the Libyan desert, has probably no uplands except some isolated sandstone rocks md sandhills, such as those lying along the route of travellers between the great bt»nd of the Nile and Kordofan. No mountains have anywhere been detected on the distant western horizon, nor have any watercourses been found indicating the presence of high ranges likely to attract niin-bearing clouds. Judging from the natural incline of the borderlands round the margin of this vast basin left still a blank on our map, it would appear to slope gently northwards in the direction of the Egyptian oasea. But the Dar-For highlands, many of whose crests exceed 3,500 feet, are con424 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. tinued towards the north-west by a low ridge separating the Nile basin from the waters flowing in the direction of Lake Tsad. Here begins the line of hills and plateaux which crosses the desert obliquely for a distance of about 1,200 miles, as far as the Twat oases and the Wed Saura. A first group of rocks and hills constitutes the land of Ennedi, known also by other names to the Arab and native travellers. Its valleys, which give rise to a few wadics, are inhabited by members of the formerly powerful Zoghawa nation, who also roam the stepjKJS of North Dar-For, and who in the twelfth century ruled over the whole region comprised between the Nile Valley and the highway from Fezzan to Bornu. A few thousands of the Dar-For Baele or Bideyat people also occupy several of the Ennedi valleys, where some Tibbu tribes from the north-west are tolerated by the rulers of the land. But no European traveller has yet pMie- trated to Ennedi, which is known only from the reports of native traders. North-westwards the line of uplands is prolonged in the direction of the axis of the Sahara, enclosing the Wajanga (Wanjanga, Wanja, Onja) oasis, which has also not yet been visited by any European explorer. It is known from the accounts of traders that the surrounding hills are quarried for the rock-salt contained in them. From the Wajanga oasis the tableland slopes gently northwards in the direction of the palm groves of Kufra. TlBESTl — BORKU. The range of mountains known to the natives by the name of Tu, that is, the " Rocks," and usually called Tibesti by the Arab travellers, to the inhabitants of the southern plains of Borku presents the appearance of a regular rocky cliff bounding the northern horizon. This range, which is about 300 miles long, or 420 including its less elevated offshoots, was known only by name till the year 1869, when Nachtigal undertook a dangerous journey to its northern district The attempt which he subsequently made to approach it from another direction, and there more accurately determine its physical constitution, proved unsuccessful. He however came within sight of the mountains, and was at least able from a distance to survey some of their chief crests. In southern Tibesti the principal mountain group is Kussi, which, according to Nachtigal, probably exceeds 8,300 feet in absolute elevation. He was informed by the natives that here the water freezes almost every year, and that the local breed of camels are covered with a thick coat, like those of the Mediterranean seaboard. The dominating summit is a cone of volcanic appearance, and, following the descriptions of his informers, Nachtigal speaks of a " natron grotto," which also contains large deposits of sulphur. Two thermal springs also flow at the foot of the mountain. The Tarso, a northern group of hills traversed by Nachtigal, certainly contains a large number of volcanoes. In this district Tibesti rises above the surrounding plains in the form of abroad tableland about 3,300 feet high, and of very ea^ access,
above which are scattered numerous end, or hills, some isolated, others disposed in 
Mount Tussideh, the culminating cone in this district, rising to an elevation of over 8,300 feet, shows on one of its slopes a secondary cone which formerly emitted
smoke. Near the southern talus, about 1,000 feet below the summit, lies the mouth of a crater, which according to Nachtigal has a circumference of "three or four hours," with a depth of over 160 feet. From the level surface of the ground at its mouth the fall is sudden at first, then diminishing gradually towards the bottom. Ridges of black lava converging from tho circumference to the centre are separated from each other by intervening lines of saline efflorescence, resembling the streaks of snow in.the crevasses of a mountain cirque. The centre of the crater is occupied by a small volcanic cone, which also terminates in a basin filled with a whitish substance called "natron" by the Tibbus. The volcano and the crater at its foot are not the only indications of former igneous action in the district, now almost quiescent since the disappearance of the ancicnt inland waters that washed the western foot of the hills. A thermal spring, famous throughout the eastern Sahara, flows in a ravine east of the main range, some thirty miles to the south of Bardai, the chief oasis in Tibesti. This spring, known as the Yerikeh, or "Fountain," in a pre-eminent sense, is said to be so hot, and to emit such continuous jets of steam, that it cannot be approached. The reports of explosions are also incessantly heard in the midst of the vapours. Nachtigal was not permitted to visit this hot spring, which was described by the
natives as their "only wealth." They doubtless feared he might obtain by magic art the gold mines supposed to be concealed by the jins in the neighbouring rocks. The cavities in the immediate vicinity are filled with deposits of sulphur.
Althovgh the breadth of the Tibesti range cannot yet be determined, it seems certain that towards the central part it shows a development of over 60 miles transversely to its axis, from the plain of Borku to the Libyan desert. On the whole, the southern slopes are less abrupt than those on the opposite side. Here begins the broad plain which stretches away without perceptible incline in the direction of the Kufra oases. Towards the north-west the range is interrupted by wide depressions, separating from each other some groups of steep or even inaccessible rocks. One of these, to the north-west of Tarso, is composed of sandstone blocks, which assume the most varied architectural forms — Roman amphitheatres, Byzantine churches, frowning fortresses. Interspersed among these more regular structures, which have a mean elevation of about 200 feet, are the fantastic outlines of men and animals.
Farther on, along the same north-westerly prolongation of the Tibesti range, rise the mountains of Abo, 1,830 feet high, followed successively by those of Afafi, CLDCATE— FLORA— FAUNA. 427 whoso highest peaks attain an altitude of 2,320 feet, and, lastly, those of Tummo, standing at about the same elevation. The last-named, however, form rather a hani4da intcrsectetl by watercourses, than a group of mountains in the strict eenae of tlie term. Tummo, which merges in the southern plateau of Fezzan, constitutes a limestom- tableland, overlaid by a layer of blackish sandstone. It is furrowed in all directions, and cut up into separate blocks, which assume the appearance of towers. The tabular surface of the plateau, covered here and there with a layer of cby and shingle, is almost pt^rfectly level, with a slight general incline in the direction from north-east to south-west. Through the Biban, or " Gates," one of the depressions in the Tummo uplands, runs the most frequented trade route across the desert, leading from Murzuk in Fezzan to Kuka on the west shore of Lake Tsad. Caravans coming from the south usually sjx^nd several days in this delightful sjwt, where all find abundance of pure fresh water, springing in five streams from the foot of a sandstone cliff. The steep sides of the rocks are here covered with names and inscriptions, and round about the camping-grounds have been accumulated vast quantities of camel droppings, yielding an inexhaustible supply of fuel for the passing convoys. Towards the west the Tibesti hills fall gradually down to the plains. But in the south-west the surface is broken by sandstone heights of fantastic form, leading to the deep valleys of Borku, whose main axis runs panillel with that of the Tilx»8ti highlands. The lowest parts of these longitudinal depressions stand at an absolute elevation of scarcely 6G0 feet. They are separated by intervening white, red, or violet limestone rocks from the Bahr-el-Ghazal, or " Sea of Gazelles," till recently a vast lacustrine basin, but now dried up. Even some parts of Borku belong to this depression, which communicated through a narrow channel with Lake Tsad, forming between the river basins draining towards the sea, the Nile, Niger, and Congo, the true centre of the African continent. Sweet or brackish waters bubble up in the hollows of the Borku district; but some of the valleys have no springs visible on the surface, which is often covered with alum. The oases are also threatened, by some ranges of sandhills, formed by the disintegration of the sur- rounding sandstone rocks. Climate — Flora — Fauna. Most of these rocks are bare and arid, without scrub or mosses. But for the little rain that yearly falls the whole country would be absolutely uninhabitable. The clouds gather chiefly in the month of August : consequently Tibesti Ix'longsin respect of its climate to the Sudanese zone, the slight rainfall occurring in summer when the sun is at the zenith. Rains of a few hours' duration suffice completely to flood the narrow rocky valleys, where nothing is lost by infiltration. The torrent born of a shower rushes wildly down the slopes, in its impetuous course sweeping away the domestic animals, goats, sheep, at times even the camel. After it has passed, the valley again becomes dry, but the pure water is retained in the fissures of the rocks and in deep caverns, around which arc grouinxi the habitations of man 428 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. and his cattle. A little grass and a few shrubs spring up in the hollows, wherever the moisture can be stored ; acacias also of various species, and one or two other plants, develop here and there a few thickets of stunted growth. In Tibesti is found the northern limit of the higlik, or "elephant tree " {balanites uEgt/ptiaca), and of the bifurcating dum-palm. The date grows in a few favoured ravines, but yields an indifferent fruit, never in sufficient abundance for the local requirements. In a few places where the rocky soil is covered with a little vegetable humus, the natives cultivate wheat, the Egyptian durra, and the dukhn of Kordofan. The poverty of the Tibesti fauna corresponds with that of its flora. The only wild animals are the hyaena, jackal, fox, sable, the wadan and other antelopes, besides some cynocephali, who feed on the acacia, and are respected by the Tibbu hunters, believing them to be " bewitched human beings." The ostrich has become rare ; but above the hilltops still hover the vulture and raven, while flocks of doves whirl round the bare rocks. Swarms of pigeons also frequent the thickets of Borku. But domestic animals are necessarily rare in a region where the few human habitations are scattered over a vast area. Amongst these oxen appear to have been formerly included, for Nachtigal discovered sculptures representing them led by bridles twined round their horns. Now, however, the ox has entirely dis- appeared, and only a few horses still survive in the Domar Valley, south of the main range. There is an excellent breed of camels, resembling those of the Ahaggar Tuaregs, with long legs, swift and surefooted in climbing rocky hills, but more difficult to feed than those on the Mediterranean coastlands. They are well cared for by the Tibbus, who also possess a hardy breed of asses, some slughi- hounds, and short-haired goats of good stock. The broad-tailed sheep of Egypt and eastern Mauritania is unknown in Tibesti, where it is replaced by a magnificent species with long legs and tail, covered with a thick coat of black fleecy wool. Of their skins the natives make splendid winter robes. Inhabitants of Tibesti — The Tibbus. The Tibbus, or rather Tubus, according to Nachtigal, are the " Men of Tu," that is, of the rocks, and their Arab name, Tubu Reshadeh, is merely a repetition of the same designation, Reshad having the meaning of *' rock," or " mountain." The Tibbus, called also Tedas in the north, are in fact essentially rock-dwellers, and a large number are even troglodytes, inhabiting natural caverns, or else spaces amid the boulders roofed in with branches of the palm or acacia. The Tibbus range over a vast extent of the Eastern Sahara, where they are the dominant race from the southern part of the Kebabo oasis in Kufra to Fezzan, and from Wajanga to Kawar, on the route between Murzuk and Kuka. Their domain thus exceeds 200,000 square miles in extent. The race appears to have undergone a general displacement in the direction from north to south. At least they formerly possessed the Kufra oases, where they now hold only a few poor tributary villages; their settlements have also become rare in Fezzan, whereas in the south their
emigrants have established themselves in large numbers in Kanem and Bornu. 
But over nince the name has Ikhti known to the Arabii, the crntreof their power have been the mountains of Tib<>Hti, the eountry of •• rocks." In these highland! they have dwelt probably from the remotest times, for no warlike expeditions erer jH>netrate to these isolated uplands. Here they are surrounded on all sides by deserts of difficult access, far removed from all the great caravan routes, and holding out little attraction to aggressive or marauding tribes. For any other iMwple suddenly transiwrtod to these barren highlands existence would be absolutely imi)ossible, 86 deficient is the countrj' in supplies. Even for the natives, certain valleys, amongst others those opening towards the north-west, are quite uninhabitable. In this arid region scarcity is the normal condition for months together. After the summer rains the goats find the necessary pasture, and then yield in abundance the milk which forms the staple food of the Tedas. They also gather the berries of certain plants, raise a few crops, and collect the fruit of the dum-palm, elsewhere held in small account. Nor is even the coloquintida de8pi8<Hl, which mixed with various ingredients to remove its bitterness, is ground to a flour and kneaded with dates, in this form constituting one of their chief alimentary resources. During the date season the Tedas resort to the palm groves to gather the " fallings," which are the common property of all, or to purchase provisions in exchange for animals, arms, and woven goods. Meat they rart^y cat, never killing their animals except when old, diseased, or wounded ; but then the whole carcass is consumed. After being dric^ in the sun, it is pounded with stones so as to crush the bones and soften the sinews. The very skins are eaten, and during Nachtigal's visit the shoes stolen from him while asleep serve<l to regale some daring thieves. Condemned by the scarcity of supplies to a life of extreme frugalit}', the Tedas can nevertheless occasionally consume enormous quantities of footl without any inconvenience ; but such gastronomic exploits are censured by all who pride themselves on their good manners. Almost constantly living on such a frugal diet, the natives of Tibesti are naturally far from stout ; nevertheless all are robust and surprisingly agile. The stranger is amazed to sih) them bounding along, and keeping jmce with the swiftest camels during forced marches of several days. Mostly of middle size, ttey are perfectly proportionetl in all their limbs, except the hands and feet, which seem rather too small. The complexion is lighter than that of the blacks of the southeni ])lains, nor do their features present the flat nose, thick liiw, or other marke<l ciiaracteristics of the true Negro. The hair is longer and less crisp, and the beard fuller than that of the Sudanese peoples. Their women are charming while still in the bloom of youth, unrivalled amongst their sisters of North Africa for their physical beauty, pliant and graceful figures. Amongst these hardy highlanders diseases are rare, the Guinea worm, the Abyssinian tenia, the leprosy so common amongst the Arabs, the affections of the liver so prevalent in most hot countries, infectious fevers and dysentery, st) dreaded on the African coastlands, being disorders almost unkno^-n in Tibesti. They are also exempt from syphilis, scrofula, rickets, and all epidemics except small-jjox. Without being absolutely unknown, diseaaee of the chest are at all evenU extremely 4B0 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. rare, probably more so than amongst any other people, thanks to their forced sobriety and life of hardship, passed mostly in the open air. The Tedas resist hunger for days together ; when lost in the desert without food or water, they pass the day in the shade, travelling only at night. If they come upon the bone of a camel it is pounded to a sort of paste, which they mix with blood drawn from the veins of their mounts. Their last resource, when the stupor of hunger begins to creep over them, is to lash themselves firmly to the back of the animal and trust to its instinct to discover the nearest camping-ground. No less remarkable than their physical strength and beauty is the shrewdness and intelligence of the Tibbus. Necessity, the great educator, has developed their mental faculties while sharpening their senses. They find their way across the trackless Avilderness by a sort of inspiration quite unintelligible to the European, and in all ordinary transactions they display surprising tact and skill, combined with great eloquence, cunning, and invention. Those who settle as traders in the surrounding oases easily get the better of their Negro or Arab competitors. Even their characteristic personal vanity never leads them so far as to lose sight of the main chance. The severe struggle for existence has rendered them harsh, greedy, and suspicious, sentiments reflected in their hard features and cruel expression. " Everyone for himself," seems to be stamped on the countenance of the Tibbu, who is seldom seen to laugh or unbend with his associates. The national feasts are not, like the Negro merrymakings, enlivened with song and dance, but serve rather as the pretext for rival extempore recitations and verbal contention. The Tibbu is always distrustful ; hence, meeting a fellow-countryman in the desert, he is careful not to draw near without due precaution. At sight of each other both generally stop suddenl}'^ ; then crouching and throwing the litzam over the lower part of the face in Tuareg fashion, they grasp the inseparable spear in their right, and the shangermangor, or bill-hook, in their left hand. After these preliminaries they begin to interchange compliments, inquiring after each other's health and family connections, receiving every answer with expressions of thanksgiving to Allah. These formalities usually last some minutes, during which time they take the opportunity of studying their mutual appearance, and considering the safest course to be adopted towards each other. In their usages the Tibbus betray the various influences of the different races — Negroes, Arabs, Tuaregs — with whom they come in contact. Like the Shilluks of the White Nile, they mark the temple with a few scars ; like the Tuaregs, they wear the veil, in any case required by an existence passed in the dusty and parching atmosphere of the desert ; lastly, with the religion of the Arabs they have also adopted many customs of that race. But fundamentally they seem very probably to belong to the true Negro stock. They are the kinsmen of the Dazas, who dwell farther south in Borku and in the districts bordering on Lake Tsad. The two languages are related, and also closely allied to that of the Kanuri, who occupy the western shores of the lake, constituting a distinct linguistic family, of which the dialects of the Baeles and Zoghawas on the Dar-For frontier are outlying members. Of this group the oldest and most archaic appears to be that spoken by the Tedas, or northern Tibbus, who may consequently be regarded as the typical representatives of the race. In any case they are the least mixed, the inhabitants of Tibesti being perfectly homogeneous, and entirely free from intermixture with Arab or Berber immigrants, But this remarkable race, one of the most important in North Africa, at least for the extent of its domain, and altogether one of the most characteristic groups in the human family, is numerically one of the most insignificant on the continent. According to Nachtigal, the whole nation can scarcely comprise more than twenty-eight thousand souls, of whom not more than twelve thousand are scattered over the extensive Tibesti uplands.
The Dazas of Borku are even still less numerous than the kindred Tedas of Tibesti, although their territory might support a far larger population. Nachtigal estimates them at five thousand at the utmost, while the nomads of the same region, mostly belonging to the Bulgeda nation, may number, perhaps, from five thousand to seven thousand. Partly agriculturists, partly stockbreeders, the Dazas and Bulgeda differ little from the Tibesti highlanders. Like them they are thin, energetic, and intelligent, usually exempt from disease, but less favoured with physical beauty. In this respect they form, from the ethnological standpoint, the transition between the Tibbus and the true Negroes bordering on Lake Tsad. Their speech also resembles that of the Tibbus, Zoghawas, and other branches of this group. The Duzas score the temples with two vertical incisions scarcely 482 NORTH-WEST AFRICA.
differing in appearance from those used by the neighbouring peoples, yet sufficient
for the experienced eye to recognise their true origin. The Dazas have also
the custom of removing the uvula and the first incisors from their children at a
very early age.
Both Tibbus and Dazas are supposed to have been converted to Mohammedanism
about two or three centuries ago. They are very zealous Mussulmans, and recite
the daily prayers with great regularity. At the time of Nachtigal's visit in 1869,
they had already been brought under the influence of the Senusiya, and some of
them had undertaken the difficult journey to the Wau oasis in order to visit the
branch of the order there stationed, consult them on questions of dogma, and appeal
to their decision on points of law. If the Dazas are frequently described as pagans
by the neighbouring tribes, the reason is because under this term of reproach the
good followers of the Prophet feel themselves justified in plundering them without
remorse and reducing them to slavery. At the same time there can be no doubt
that a few superstitions — that is to say, some survivals of the older religions — still
persist amongst them. Thus sacrifices continue to be made in honour of the
springs ; spells, also, of pagan origin, besides verses from the Koran and amulets
derived from their Semitic neighbours, are still in use ; while many of their religious
observances resemble those practised by the heathen populations of Sudan. The
blacksmiths are much dreaded as potent magicians, and at the same time regarded
as outcasts. No Tibbu with any sense of self-respect would ever give his daughter
in marriage to a worker in iron, or even condescend to treat him as a friend. The
word " smith " is one of the most insulting in the language ; but it is never
applied to those following this industry, the people being careful not to abuse
or oll'end them in any way through fear of some supernatural vengeance.
The Tibbu social system is not based on the principle of equality. Every
village has its dardai, or chiefs, its maina, or nobles, and its common folk. At
the Simie time, the upper classes have practically very little power, the unwritten
law of custom being the true sovereign. They neither keep any troops to enforce
their decrees, nor maintain any system of taxation by which they might surround
themselves with sycophantic retainers. But they act as judges in all cases not
requiring to be settled by the law of vendetta ; they also discuss questions of peace
and war, and their counsel is generally received with respect. The only privilege
enjoyed by many of the nobles over their inferiors is the empty glory of being able
to boast of their " blue blood."
Nor is the family governed more despotically than the community. The wife,
who is generally distinguished for the domestic virtues of order, cleanliness, good
management, and fidelity, is held as an equal by her husband. Even the polygamy
authorised by Islam is seldom practised, although temporary emigrants usually
contract a second alliance in foreign lands. Marriage is commonly preceded by a
long period of betrothal, which is held to be as binding as the marriage tie itself.
At the death of the groom the betrothed is united to his brother or nearest relative.
As amongst the Kafirs and several other African peoples, the change of state
produced by marriage is an event of such importance that all must keep the secret, TOPOOBApnr. OS
the wife cspcciully being forbidden by social etiquette to make the remotest allunion
to the subject. She neither uddresses her husband in public, nor eatii with hira ;
nor has ho on his part any longer the right to let his glance fall on his father-in-
law or mother-in-law. In fact, he ignores his wife's rebtious, and is even required
to change his name, like those guilty of murder.
Topography.
The chief centre of population in Tibesti is Bnrdai, situated in a vallev on the
north-cast slope of the mountmns, about the middle course of an euneri, or wadv,
which after receiving several tributaries flows northwards in the direction of Wau.
The thermal waters of the famous Veiikeh, or " Fountain," belong to the basin of
this torrent. Around Bardai stretch the most extensive palm groves in Tibesti ;
hence this district is visited by nearly all the Tedas in search of dates. They also
frequent the surrounding hills with their flocks, and most of their traders hold
commercial relations with Murzuk in Fezzan. Others migrate to the southern
oases of Borku and the neighbouring territories ; but they have lost the route to
the mysterious Wadikur oasis, which lay live days' journey to the south-west
of Kufra, and which is described in legend as abounding in a rich vegetation.
Like all the oases the route to which has been forgotten, it is a " paradise
lost."
In Borku, oases fed by sweet or brackish waters fill all the depressions, and
yield better dates than those of Tibesti. The dum-palm also flourishes, and several
Sudanese plants might here be successfully cultivated. But at the time of
Nachtigul's visit the gardens were mostly ubaiidoniHl, the palm groves in many
places invaded by the sands, the villages forsaken by their inhabitants, and their
huts made of matting overturned by the wild beasts. The Aulad-Slimans, and
even the Tuaregs of the western steppes and the 2klahamids of "NVaday, pay regular
visits to these oases, plundering the granaries, capturing women and children,
slaying all who resist their attacks. Thus deprivixl of all their clTccts, the Dazas
either set to work again, or else take to marauding in their turn in order to collect
enough money to ransom their enslaved families, whom fresh razzias may presently
again sweep into bondage. Their existence is that of wild beasts beset on all sides
by hunters.
In Borku the largest and best-defended oasis is Wun, which lies in one of the
southern river valleys draining through the Bahr-el-Ghazal basin to Lake Tsad.
At the palm groves of Wun bt^gins a line of little-known oaaos stretching away
between two parallel mountain ranges towards the north-west.
The Oases along thr Fezzan and Lake Tsad Roitb.
The great caravan route between Murzuk and I^ke Tsad, which must sooner or
later be replaced by the locomotive, is the most imiwrtant of all highwajrt oitMaing
the Sahara from north to south. Here the space between the two cultivated 484 NORTH-WEST AFRICA.
is not only shorter than in nny other part of the desert, Fezzan being distant less
than GOO miles from Kaueni, but it is also occupied by several oases, such as the
Kawar group, following in succession along the route. Hence this commercial
highway forms a natural parting line between the eastern section of the desert, of
which Tibesti is the central mass, and the western division, occupied by the heights
of Air. Nor is the ethnological limit between the Tibbu and Tuareg populations
far removed from this chain of oases. It oscillates a little to the west, shifting to
and fro with the vicissitudes of the chronic warfare maintained by the hostile
border tribes.
After crossing the " Gates " leading southwards from the southern plateaux of
Fezzan, the caravans enter a reddish plain, which slopes imperceptibly in the
direction of the south. The Gates stand at an elevation of about 2,160 feet, or 1,250
above Lake Tsad (S)10 feet), towards which the trade route runs almost in a straight
line, and which is distant 570 miles. But this absolute incline of 1,2-jO feet is
unequall}' distributed. Relatively more considerable in the northern part of the
plateaux, it gradually falls almost to a dead level in the central region of the desert,
where a uniform altitude of from 1,170 to 1,330 feet is maintained across four
degrees of latitude. The undulating plateau rolls away in great billows, above
which api)ear on the horizon regular tables of sandstone and limestone formation.
Here and there in the dreary waste are seen a few groups of arid cliffs, which seem
burnt up or still burning, so fiercely are the solar rays reflected from the glowing
surface. The few hollows occurring in the rocky or argillaceous ground between
the cliffs or sandhills contain somewhat more moisture than the surrounding
spaces, and here are found the only pernument or temporary wells occurring along
the track of the caravan route.
The largest of these depressions are occupied by a few oases, such as that of
Yat, called by the Arabs Suhiya, or the " joyful," which runs east and west for a
distance of 12 miles, and nearly 2 north and «oulh. The traveller arriving from
the vast plains absolutely destitute of vegetation might be tempted to speak of Yat
as a " forest," so striking is the contrast presented by its thickets of wild dates,
acacias, and grassy glades with the surrounding sands. The diim-palm also grows
in great abundance in this oasis, where it reaches its northern limit in this direction.
The Yeggeba oasis south-west of Yat is much smaller and less peopled, while
that of Siggedim, although abounding in dates, was no longer inhabited at the time of
Naehtigal's ^'isit in 1870. But that of Jebado, situated to the north-west, is occupied,
like Yat, with Teda and Kanuri communities. It has been once only visited by a
European in 1862, when this last station of the Tedas and their Kanuri kinsmen in
the direction of the west was traversed by Beurmann.
Kawar.
Kawar, separated by a stony hamada from Yeggeba, stretches in the direction
from north to south for a distance of about 50 miles. The caravan route traverses
It from end to end between a long avenue of palms interrupted here and there by sands and rocks. Immediately to the east stretches a rocky ridge parallel with the oasis, and in some places rising to a height of 330 feet. Perhaps from this ridge Kawar takes its Teda name of Enneri Tugheh, or the "Valley of Rocks." Most of the twelve hamlets dotted over the depression belong to the Tibbus, They Fig. 104. — Kawar Oasis.
stand at the foot of a sandstone block with vertical walls, which serves as a place of refuge in case of sudden attack, The stronghold is pierced with galleries and underground chambers used as stores for provisions. Cisterns are also excavated in the live rock, and a sort of stairs or inclined plane formed with trunks of palms gives access on the outside to the summit of the citadel.
The villages, inhabited chiefly by Kanuri immigrants, are built in the same manner as the towns of Huaussa, being regularly laid out with houses lining the straight streets, and the whole surrounded by a common enclosure. Thus was constructed, probably in the eleventh century, the town of Dirki or Dirko, capital of the entire oasis. Garu, a more populous place at the southern extremity of Kawar, is also built in the style of the Sudanese towns, and most of its inhabitants are of Kanuri origin.
The beauty of the Teda type has not been impaired by crossings. In the Kawar oasis the women are distinguished by the same regular features and well-balanced forms as their Tibesti sisters; but they have over and above a graceful carriage, soft expression, and charming smile. The feasts are more cheerfully celebrated, the processions und cavalcades more sumptuous than in the eastern highlands, Nor are the customs the same along this great caravan route as in the more sterile and secluded Native hills of the race. The dardai, who more frequently takes the title of mai, or "king," exercises real authority over his subjects, But he finds a rival power in the person of the mkaddem of the Senûsiyas, who resides at the convent of Shimedru, not far from the capital.
436 NOETH-WEST AFEICA. The inhabitants of Kawar are also subject to other masters, the redoubtable Aulad-Sliman Arabs, who after long sojourning on the steppes of the Tripolitana coast, have sought other pastures and other fields of plunder in the neighbourhood of Lake Tsad. Hereditary foes of the Tibbus, they often suddenly sweep down on the Kawar oases, slaying the men, carrying off women and children, and retiring laden with booty. The villages remain unpeopled for a time, but a short period of peace suffices for fresh immigrants to come and occupy the empty houses. At the time of Nachtigal's visit the dwellings scattered over various parts of the oasis would have afforded homes for a population of six thousand ; but all the inhabitants numbered no more than two thousand three hundred. The Bilma Salt Pans. It cannot be said that immigrants are attracted to the oasis by its fertile soil or abundant crops. The dates of its palm groves are of poor quality, and the inhabi- tants scarcely venture to occupy themselves with field operations. But the advantages derived from the transit trade through this important station, midway between Murzuk and Kuka, are sufficient inducement to settlers, notwithstanding the dangers they run from Arab marauders. Kawar also possesses a local treasure, which secures it customers from a large part of the Sudan. These are its saline lakes, many of which surround the capital towards the centre of the oasis and one of which swarms with "worms" {^arteinia adneyi^XiikQ the Bahr-el-Daud in Fezzan. But the most productive salines are those situated in the Bilma district, that is, the northern part of the oases, in which is situated the town of Garu. Here the salt basins are very shallow, and divided into compartments by clay walls, like the '* bosses " in the French saline lagoons. Through the effect of evaporation, crystals are formed on the surface of the water, which mingling with the sand and dust brought by the winds, soon constitute a greyish incrustation differing Httle in appear- ance from the surrounding soil. On the bottom is precipitated another layer of salt, which is collected and divided into lots according to its quality, for the use of men and animals. Afterwards it is fashioned into blocks of various forms, a camel-load of which is bartered for about four shillings' worth of corn. In the Sudan markets this price is increased at least thirtyfold. No doubt, in the various regions of Sudan salt can be procured by the combustion of certain plants and by several other processes. But they are all so tedious and difficult, and the yield is of such a poor quality, that the chief supply naturally comes from the desert. No region of the Sahara contains larger deposits of excellent salt than the Bilma district, which accordingly attracts buyers from far and wide. In order to welcome the strangers, the native women receive them by throwing handfuls of salt over their clothes, as if to say, " The best of the land for you ! " According to Nachtigal, seventy thousand camels come every year for their load of salt at the Bilma salines, and some of the salt caravans, such a^ those of the Tuareg traders with Haussa, comprise as many as three thousand pack animals. The Tedas have a monopoly of the transport between the Kawar oasis DIliUELA— AOADEM. 487 and the Tibcsti country, while the trade with Kancin and Bomu in in the handa of the kindred Daza tribes. Hut uU the regionn west and north-west of Kawar are supplied by the Tuureg curuvun inorchuntH, who exercise a sort of suzerainty over the inhubit^intt) of the uusis, even furbiddiu)^ them to cultivate wheat, in order to keep them ulwuys de{)endent ou themselves for this indispi^uHiible commodity. East and west of Kawur caravan stations and settlements occur only at long intervals. The first vilIugt>H of Tibesti lie 240 miles to the east ; the distance ia 500 miles to Ilhat in the north-west and 420 to Agades in the Air district. On the difficult route to this place, which tru versos a stony and watcrh'sn hamachi, the chief station is the Aflram oasis, an out]x)st of the Tibbus towards the west. But immigrants from Bornu also share the narrow settlement in the desert with them. Di HHEi.A — Agadem. The region intervening between Kawur and the border zone of Sudan is one of the most desolate in the Sahara. Here dune follows dune, rolling away in great waves some 50 feet high, and uU dis]X)st><l from east to west, that is, in the same direction as the regular winds of the desert. The boundless waste of shifting sands is interrupted only at one point by the Kau Tilo, or " Isolated Ilock." After passing the small oasis of Zau, the caravan again enters the limitlesa region of dunes, where for a space of 60 miles the convoys are continually ascend- ing and descending the interminable series of sandhills. Here esiMHsially the camel, constantly appearing and di8ai)pearing, like a storm-tossed vessel, may best be called the " ship of the desert." The southern limit of this region of dunea is marked by the rocks of Dibbela, where the English explorer Warrington perished. This point already lies beyond the limits of the Sahara properly so called, and the traveller now enters the zone of steppes everywhere skirting the northern verge of the well-watered Sudanese regions. Here grass grows in abundance, at first in the depressions between the undulations of the land, then on the rising grounds them- selves. The grey or yellowish tints of the desert give place to the verdant huea of vegetation, and iu the Agadem oasis is met the first tree which is neither a palm nor an acacia. This is the tundub (rappariM sodadit), distinguished by ito twisted and gnarled trunk and its widespread hanging branches. Few regions iu the world more abound in animal life than this zone of Saharian steppe lands. Here the gazelles graze together in flocks of tens and hundreds, and in many places the traveller might fancy himself in the midst of a vast park well stocked with domestic animals. He fw.ls that he ha« already crossed the desert. Jebel Ahagcar and SiRRouNDixo Plateau (North Tvareg Domain). West and north-west of the " Gates " traversed by the route between Fezian and Lake Tsad, the main axis of the Sahara is prolonged through a line of rugged rocks, which gradually rise to heights of from 4,000 to 5,000 feet The ravincd 488 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. plateau thus developed is probably the region described by the inediajval Arab writers under the name of the Jebel Tan tana. South of Rhat a narrow breach in the plateau opens a way for travellers proceeding in the direction of Air. Nowhere does nature assume a more forbidding and inhospitable aspect than in these wild mountain gorges. The absolute nakedness of these escarpments, the sombre glitter of the blackish sandstone rocks, the fantastic outlines of the heights, without a blade of grass or tuft of moss, all forms a picture of desolation producing on the wayfarer a sense of awe far more impressive than the endlass waste of sands them- selves. In the midst of these jagged cliffs, and especially in the Janet district, lying west of the breach, a few cavities are filled with water, and according te native report several of them harbour crocodiles. South of the plateau the route descends rapidly towards the plain through a series of dangerous inclines flanked at first by sandstone walls, and farther south by granite cliffs. Recent Expeditions. West of the breach, which was traversed by Earth and his associates, the mountains and plateau are scarcely known except from the reports of the natives. Nevertheless the northern outskirts of this region have been visited by Duveyrier, and since his memorable exploration of 1860, by the two peaceful expeditions commanded by Flatters. Laing also skirted the same highlands in the year 1822, at the time of his journey across the Sahara to Timbuktu. But his journal was lost, and none of his observations ever reached Europe. Rohlfs travelled over nearly the same ground as the English explorer, but from the opposite direction, between Twat and Ghadames. The unfortunate events attending the two expeditions to the Tuareg country under the direction of Flatters, which were equipped to cross the desert from north to south, are still fresh in the memory. The first, organised at Wargla in 1880, deviated from the route laid down beforehand, and ended by taking the road to Rhat, without, however, reaching that oasis. Worn out by the dilatory negotiations with the Tuareg chiefs, and finding all their supplies and money exhausted at this early stage of the journey, the members of the expedition were obliged to return. A second mission, composed partly of the same officers, started the following year in the direction of the desert. It penetrated farther south, beyond the district of North Tassili ; but it ended in disaster. The caravan, divided into detached groups, following each other at intervals of several miles, had been secretly pursued to the west by a constantly increasing horde of Tuaregs ; traitors had insinuated themselves into the presence of the leaders, offering to serve as guides, and every preliminary measure was taken for a preconcerted attack. At the fatal moment Flatters, overtaken while almost alone, is killed with one of his com- panions, the camel-drivers make off, and the whole body of Tuaregs fall upon the convoy approaching from a distance. The fifty-nine survivors of the first ' onslaught were compelled to break up the camp during the night, and begin their retreat in the direction of Wargla, 480 miles distant in a straight line, and 720 following the chain of wells. All the French members of the expedition perished in this disastrous retreat, and thirteen men only reached Wargla, after a fearful march of over two months, during which they had at times nothing to drink but blood, and nothing to eat except human flesh. Nevertheless the fact that the fugitives were able to fight some successful engagements along the route, and gain many stations before being overwhelmed, is a sufficient proof of the possibility of conducting an expedition successfully across the Tuareg territory. A caravan
properly supplied with provisions, and keeping carefully on its guard, might certainly traverse the country from end to end. Those whom circumstances had turned into traitors and marauders would remain faithful in the presence of superior forces.
North Tassili and Tademait Uplands.
The plateau in which is gradually merged the Janet mountain range, is known by the name of Tassili, a Berber word accurately indicating the aspect of the land. This Tassili, qualified as "Northern," or "of the Azjars," to distinguish it from other plateaux lying to the south of Ahaggar, consists of extremely rugged uplands, whose main axis runs in the direction from south-east to north-west, along the line of the system beginning in Tibesti. The escarpment of the plateau, limited to the south-west by the quaternary alluvia which constitutes the Saharian plains, seems to be continued in the same normal orographic direction.
Towards the centre of this escarpment rises a group of heights, designated, like so many others in this region, by the name of Adrar, or "the Mountains," in a preeminent sense. According to Duveyrier, Mount In-Esokal, culminating point of the system, and rising to a height of over 5,000 feet, is certainly a volcanic crest,
whose lavas have spread over the underlying Devonian formations of the plateau. Towards the west the Tassili is cut up into isles and islets, while on the north side the depressions of the wadies penetrate like gulfs and inlets into the mountain mass. The plateau is thus divided into a number of fragments, each of which is known by a separate name to the local Tuareg tribes.
Egueleh, the block lying nearest to the Wed Righ, is encircled on the east, north, and west by the Edeyen, or "Sands." The Khanfusa eminence (1,940 feet), the first Devonian rock occurring on the route from Tugurt to Ideles, in the
Ahugpar highlands, is also a fraj^ent of this broken plateau. West of the depressions, through which formerly flowed the wators of the Igharghar river system, other rugged plateaux belong to the same Devonian formation ; but they are no longer disjMJsed in the direction of the Eu«t Sahara highlands. The Mudir, which forms the waterpurting between the Wed Igharghar and the rivers of Twal, develops a long triangular mass in the direction of the west. Towards the eastern extremity of this plateau rises the Ifettessen jieak, which, like the great crest of the Adrar system, is supix)sed by Duveyrier to be a volcanic cone. North of the Devonian plateaux, which follow successively from the neighbour- hood of Rhat to and beyond Insalah, all the rocky formations rising above the alluvial plains, or which are not covered by the sands, belong to the chalk systems. Such is the Tinghert plateau, that is, the "Limestone," a long Lamada, which forms the western and south-western prolongation of the •* Red Hamada " of Trijwlitana. Such is also the Tademait, which develops a sort of circular rampart round the north side of the Twat oases, and unites with the plateau of El-Golea in the Algerian Sahara. Towards the south and west the Tademait tenninates in bold hemllandn and steep cliffs, presenting an effectual barrier to the encroaching sands. Rut on the opposite declivity the hanuula slopes towanls the north-east, and is here furrowed with ravines, which are (K-casionally flooded with torrents flowing to the Wed ^fiya. In this direction the zone of nnky uplands has in many places been invaded by the advancing dunes. Altogether the cretaceous formations in the regions to the south of Algeria are disjxjsed in the form of a vast horseshoe, sweeping round the basins of the Wed Miya and Lower Igharghar. Jebp:l Ah.vggar. The chalk formations of Tinghert and Tademait and the Devonian plateaux of Muidur and the Northern Tassili are followed in the south by the crystalline rocks of the Ahaggar system, enclose<l by i.«w)latod rocky groups of the same origin. Towards the east rise the Antief hills, whose highest peaks, from 0,000 to over 6,000 feet, were observed by Barth during his journey from Rh4t to Agades ; in the north the Eguereh plateau, where the nonnal granite rocks show faults of volcanic origin ; in the north-we.st the bnlcn, or " crest " of Ahenet, which is continued in the direction of the Twat oases. Viewed as a whole, the central group, of circular form, present* a circumference of over 360 miles, consisting of suiKTimix>sed plateaux, which rise in successive stages from altitudes of 1,600 or l.SOO feet to over 6.600 fwt above sea- level in the region of winter snows. According to our maps, which arti for the most part a reproduction of that traced on the sands by the Targui sheikh, Othraan, for his friend Duveyrier, the Ahaggar is dominated in the centre by the cubninating plateau of Atakor, crowned by the twin Watellan and Hikcna peaks. The whole system terminates northwards in the Tifedest headland, whoae hist spur, the volcanic cone of Udan, by the natives commonly called the " Noee of Ahaggar," rises abruptly above the surrounding (iuatemar>' alluvial fonnationa. 60— AF 442 NORTH- WEST AFRICA. Other summits also, including perhaps the two culminating peaks, are probably of volcanic origin, lavas and ashes spread over the underlying granite rocks. For a long time the belief, based on the reports of the Tuaregs, prevailed that the Ahaggar also contained deposits of " black stones that burn," that is to say, coal. But these burning stones would appear to be certain porous lavas, which are filled with oil and lit up like lamps. The southern Ahaggar has not yet been visited by any European explorers, and still remains as little known as the plateau bordering it on the south, which is indicated on our maps by the name of the Southern Tassili, or Tassili of the Ahao'gars. From the reports of the Tuaregs it is known to be a rocky region, waterless, and destitute of vegetation, carefully avoided by the caravans and nomads. The camels which stray into these desolate uplands are said by the natives to perish of want, or else revert to the wild state, for no one will expose his life by going in search of them. The Ahaggar Waterparting. Lying in the very centre of the Sahara, the Jebel Ahaggar would constitute a waterparting for the surrounding fluvial basins, if the rainfall were copious enough to develop perennial streams beyond the limits of these highlands. Nevertheless there can be no doubt that the running waters descending from the Ahaggar Mountains lose themselves beyond the upland valleys in sandy beds, which, under different climatic conditions, formed the channels of large rivers draining in various directions. Northwards flowed the affluents of the Wed Igharghar ; to the south were collected all the streams which, through the common bed of the Tafassasset, went to swell the volume of the Niger ; the western valleys of the Tighehert, Tarhit, and other rivers belonged to the Messaura hydrographic system. It is still uncertain whether the basin of the Messaura drained to the Atlantic, as was supposed by Duveyrier, making its way to the Wed Draa through all the obstacles opposed by the dunes of Iguidi, or else is a tributary of the Tighehert and Niger, as might seem more probable from recent information regarding the general slope of the land. But according to the barometric measurements taken by Rohlfs in the Twat oasis, the Tighehert or Teghazert could never at any time have reached the Niger. To do so its waters would have to ascend o'er 330 feet in a space of about 480 miles. At the same time the data supplied by a traveller, whose rapid observations cannot be compared with those of other explorers, can, scarcely be accepted as offering a final solution of the question. The problem of the drainage of the Messaura basin, one of the most important in African geography, cannot therefore be regarded as yet solved. The Igharghar Basin, Even the Igharghar basin, although already explored by numerous travellers, is itself still insufficiently known ; nor can it yet be said with certainty to» belong altogether to the system of the Algerian shotts. There can be no doubt that a Wed Igharghar takes its rise on the northern declivity of the Jebel Ahaggar, LAKE lOHABO. 448 flowing as a perennial stream round the eoAtom foot of the Udan plateau. Then, after receiving some uffluentH from the Eguereh (liiitrict, it« course i« continued between the Northern Tubsili und the Iruwen Mountains down to the alluviul pluinn which stretch north of the Devonian plateaux. So far it« course is quite clear, and its slope perfectly regular. Near the Temassinin zawya, at the southern foot of the zone of chalk formations, its betl stands at an absolute altitude of l,'2o0 feet. Here it is joined, if not by the waters, at least by the fonnerly fl(Midi-<l valleys, which have their source in the central depressions of the Northern Tujwili plateau. The main outlines of these affluents of the Igharghar, the We<ls Ighurgharen and Issawan, are clearly indicated by chains of dunes, high banks, windings, and serpentine meanderings in the sands. Further north is also distinctly seen a breach or gorge traversing the region of cretaceous formations. But further on the incline soon becomes indistinct. It becomes uncertain whether its course is continued northwards, and it is impossible to say in whut direction the wuter would flow were the depressions again flooded. Nor in this section of the WchI Igharghur hu« any current been seen in the memory of man. What at first seems to look like a river- bed running between banks, with a breadth varying from 1 to G miles, becomes further on completely merged in the surface of the surrounding desert. It is a mere succession of hollows interrupted by sandhills, and in many places the vulky has been entirely closed by the shifting stmds. According to Duveyrier, the junction of the Ighargharen and Ighurghar is effected by un underground channel flowing beneath the dunes. Lake Miiiaro. Numerous lakes are scattered over the cavities in the Northern Tassili district, and in the outer cirques, where the torrents take their rise. Duveyrier haa suggested that these lakes are old craters of extinct volcanoes, where the waters have gradually collected. But this cannot at all events be the case with the meres usually designated by the name of " Lake " Miharo, and even by the natives sjwken of as ki/n; or " seas." These flooded depressions, which were visittnl in the year 187G by Von Bary under the escort of a Tuareg from Rhat, are nothing more than the hollows in the channel of a wady, where the water remains throughout the year. AVhen it flows in sufficient abundance from the hillside, these pools become united in one basin, which during the dry season is again broken up into a number of separate jxinds. In the vicinity rise some gastnjus springs, which the natives have named Sebarhbarh, or the " Garglings," from the bubbles incessantly rising from the bottom and bursting on the surface. According to Von Bary. the water of these springs, without reaching the boiling-ix.int, as asserte<l by the Tuaregs, is slightly thermal, with a normal temi)erature excetnling 200^^ F. The German explorer saw no crocodUes in the Miharo ponds, but detected very distinct traces of thdr presence. These saurians, which are much dreade<l by the surrounding nomads, do not appear to exceed G or 8 feet in length, judging at least from the imprint of their feet. 444 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. Lake Menghuo. To the north-west, and on the same slope of the plateau, in the valley of the Wed Tijujelt belonging to the Ighargharen basin, is situated " Lake" Menghug, which was visited by the first expedition under Flatters in the year 1880. This is a pond, which in average seasons has a length of about 1,100 yards, with a breadth of over 300 feet, and a depth of 12 or 13 feet. But in the dry season it falls about 10 feet, and then becomes a simple spring resembling the Sebarhbarh. After heavy rains it again rises, flooding a vast cirque of dunes and watering the roots of the surrounding tamarisks. The French officers saw no crocodiles here, but they captured some very large fishes, all belonging to species which are also found in the waters of the Nile and Mger. Further evidence is thus afforded of the former existence of a much more humid climate than now prevails. Large rivers flowed across vast tracts which at present are sandy wastes ; the aquatic animals passed from river basin to river basin, whereas now they are confined to narrow limits, and threatened with total extinction should the waters become evaporised during exceptionally dry seasons. The Amadghor Saline. On the opposite slope of the Tassili, between that plateau and the Ahaggar highlands properly so called, is situated an extensive sebkha, which was formerly a great lacustrine basin. The overflow of the lake drained either south-eastwards through the "Wed Tafassasset, or northwards to the Wed Igharghar. This saline depression lies almost exactly on the line of waterparting between the Mediterranean and the Niger basin. The Amadghor, as it is called, was visited for the first time by Europeans during the second expedition commanded by Flatters. But the fatal end of that mission has deprived geographical science of the maps and reports relating to this part of the route. It is known, however, that the Amadghor plain is very extensive, a march of five days being required to traverse it. The saline, being fed by the streams flowing from the Eguereh valleys and from the Jebel Ahaggar, probably receives a considerable quantity of water. The salt here deposited is of excellent quality, and suflBcien^ might be procured to supply a population of many millions. But the exploitation of the saline has had to be abandoned, in consequence of the incessant tribal warfare carried on by the surrounding Ahaggar and Azjar peoples. For the same reason the great fair formerly held in this district has been replaced by that of Rhat. There can be no doubt, however, that the restoration of peace in these regions would have the effect of restoring its commercial importance to the Amadghor sebkha, and again constitute it a centre of trade and market for the caravans journeying between the Sahara and Sudan. Flora and Fauna. , The relative abundance of water in the Jebel Ahaggar naturally imparts a considerable variety to the flora of this region. In the better watered valleys the TIIE MEHABI CAMEL. 446 acacias, especially those yielding gum arabic and other essences, derelop %'rritublc' forests. In the neighbourhood of I^uke 3Iihuro, Von Bary even fonnd thickets of trees matted together by creeping plants in a dense mass of impenetrable verdure. The least shower suffices in a few hours to clothe the naked soil i^-ith a carpet of rich grassy vegetation. Duveyrier tells us that ho saw vast arid tracts thus covered in a single day with the softest herbage after a rainy night. Within seven days the young grass, called " spring " by the Tuaregs, is already advanced enough to supply fodder for the herds. Amongst the common plants of the district montion is made of the fulczlez, a species of henbane, whose toxic properties increase in direct relation to the altitude of the ground on which it grows. Almost harmless in the low-lying valleys, it becomes dangerous on the lower terraces, and a deadly poison on the highlands, but not for ruminating animals. Its foliage fattens the camel and gout, but is fatal to the horse, ass, dog, and man. The cultivated flora of the Tuaregs com- prises a very limited number of species : two trees only, the date and fig; the vine, and four kinds of cereals, wheat, barley, sorgho, and millet. The lion does not appear to survive in the Ahaggar uplands, which are also free from the presence of the panther, wild boar, buffalo, rhinoceros, and hipi>o- potamus ; but the Tuaregs are familiar with the sight of wolf and hyscnu. Un the plateaux and in the plains surrounding the Jebel Ahaggar antelopes are numerous, while herds of wild asses are met on the north Tassili uplands. They are too swift to be followed in the chase, but a few are occasionally captured by means of snares. The wild ass is said to attack and kill the domestic species. The Mehari Camel. The margins of the sebkhas and the wooded depressions are enlivened by the flight of a few rare birds, belonging to a very limited number of species. The traveller may journey for a whole week in certain districts of the Sahara without meeting a single winged creature. The Tuaregs have for domestic animals the horse, uss, sheep, goat, slughi greyhound, and even the ostrich. Duveyrier saw one of these tame ostriches, which was tethered like cattle left on the grazing grounds. IJut the Tuaregs' special care is the camel, their most belovetl com- panion, without whose aid they would find it imijossible to supjjort existence in the vost arid spaces stretching across the Sahara from the Wed Kigh to the Niger. It is owing to the camel that the Targui has adopted a nomad in preference to an agricultural life. In many of the upland valleys in the :lhaggar highlands, the inhabitants might be able to live on the produce of the land. But the owner of a camel finds it impossible to settle down in one place. He is compelled, according to the seasons and rainfall, to move about in search of the pasturage most suitable for his camels. The herds consist especially of pack animals, which are occasionally t«quipped for rapid marauding and other expe<litions. But those intended for speed con- stitute a special variety, the so-called mehari, in Berber arhe/am, which is distin446 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. guislied by its great height, the grace and elegance of neck and legs, remarkable swiftness, and aiuazing endurance. Even when suffering pain, the raehari utters no cry, for fear of betraying his master. In summer, when on the march and loaded, he can hold out without food for seven days ; in winter he remains two months on the grazing-grounds without requiring to be watered. While the pack animal usually advances at the rate of from 2 to 3 miles an hour, or about 15 miles for a day's march, the mehari easily gets over the same number of leagues in the same time. Foureau mentions the case of an Insalah sheikh who covered a distance of about 180 miles in two days, mounted on one of these mehari. The breeding of camels occupies such a large portion of the life of the Targui, that dozens of terms have been developed to designate the mehari at all ages, in every condition of health or disease, every shade of colour, every state of work or repose. The animal is trained with the most sedulous care both for war and the course, and there are few more beautiful sights than that of a troop of mehari equipped for an expedition, or drawn up in order of battle. The animal with out- stretched neck and his rider with upraised spear seem at a little distance to form a single living being of strange and formidable appearance. The mehari reserved for the use of the women are taught to amble to the soimd of music. When the Tuareg women came to salute the members of Flatters' mission, one of them played some of the national airs on a kind of mandolin, while her mount accompanied the cadence with regular steps executed with surprising accuracy. The Targui always directs the movements of the animal by means of his bare feet. Seated on the high saddle, his back resting against the support, his legs crossed round a sort of cruciform pummel, he presses the camel's neck to the right or left with his feet, thus keeping both arms free to handle his weapons. Hence iu battle his aim is always directed against his opponent's feet. These once maimed, the animal obeys no longer, and ceases to act in concert with his rider. Formidable in war, and indispensable for all purposes of transport, the camel contributes also to the support of the natives. Its milk is almost the only nutri- ment of the family during the grazing season ; its hair is used to make cordage ; its droppings serve as manure for the palms, or else, when dried, as a valuable fuel. It is also at times led to the shambles, its flesh being reserved for the enter- tainment of distinguished guests. Lastly its skin, one of the very best of its kind, is utilised for the manufacture of tents, trappings, harness, and household fittings. For the Targui, the camels are thus a source of inestimable wealth. But they arq relatively far from numerous, the most opulent of these highlanders rarely owning a herd of more than fifty head. The Tuareg Berbers. In the country of the Tuaregs, as well as in Tripolitana, Fezzan, And the Algerian Sahara, stone implements, and other objects dating from prehistoric times, have frequently been found. Travellers have also discovered ancient burial-places, TUB AZJAB CONFEDERATION. 447 which have been rci)outc-dly riflod by treasuri'-hunti-ni. Hut it can be no longer deU»rmine<l to what populations are to be attributed tht-se reinuin* of bygone times. From lime out of mind the Central Sahara has alwayi* Ixtn roamed by the Tuareg Berbers, who were certainly in jWHwe-yiion of the land when the Arabs pene- trated westwards to Mauritania, and foun<l tln'nis«'lve8 for the firHt time face to face with these children of the desert. It was the Arabs who gave them the name of Tuareg, that is to say, " Abandoned," - Forsaken of God," in connoquencc, «y the Arab writers, of the resistance long offered by these "Sabosan or fetish |x»oplc8 " to the progress of Islam. The Tuaregs, wLo did not accept the teachings of the Prophet till the third century of the Ilegira, call themselves Imohagh, Imosharh, Imajirheu, according to the various dialects. The term is identical with that of the Amzighs of the Jurjura highlands in Algeria, and of tlie Imazighen of Marocco, all these forms being derived from a common root involving the idea of freedom, pr^md indepen- dence of all control. Their origin, however, is manifold, for they are " mingled together and interwoven like the tissue of a tent-cloth, in which camel hair and sheep's wool are so combine<l in one texture, that the ex|H'rt alone can distinguish between the hair and the wool." Thus sjx^aks Sheikh Brahim Uld Sidi, reputed the most learned of all Tuaregs. By their alliances, the great Berber families of the Central Sahara, perhaps originally of Sunheja stock, may claim the title of Arabs, and even of Shorfa, lx>ing indirectly connected with the jx-digree of the Prophet. The Imohaghs are divided into a vast number of tribes grouixnl in four great confiKlerations — the Azjars and Ahaggars or Hoggars in the north ; the Kel-Owi and Awellimiden in the south. Collectively the Tuareg race occupies alK)ut one half of the Sahara, and the Temahag (Temasheg, Tamazight), as the national language is calle<l, is spread over a fourth part of the continent, from the oasis of Jupiter Ammtm (Siwah) to the shores of the Atlantic. This term Temahag is itself probably to bo identified with that of the Tamahu people mentioned on the old Egyptian monuments of Edfu. The Azjar Confeder.tiox. Of the four confederations, that of the Azjars, occupying the north-eastern section of the vast Tuareg domain betwetm Fezzan and Algeria, takes the foremost rank, not in numerical superiority or wealth, but in general culture and refinement, as shown by the encouragement it offers to international trade. Thanks to the friendly influence of the Azjars, European travellers have been able to i)enctrat« into the interior of the Sahara, and study the physical and social conditions of that region. Of all Tuareg ixniples, the Azjars show the greatest tendency to abandon the nomad for a settled life. One of their tribt^s, the Tin-Alkums, called Tizilkura by Richardson, have even already taken up their residence in some oases cultivated by themselves in the neighbourhood of Murzuk and of Hh&t. Formerly the most powerful Azjar tribe was that of the Imanans, or^Sultons," so-called because to them belonged the amanokal, or sovereign of all the northern Tuareg peoples. But at present the dominant tribe is that of the Oraghens, whose territory comprises the valleys of the Wed Ighargharen, Miharo, and Janet. The most civilised appear to be the Ifoghas, who are specially regarded as the allies of France, owing to the protection they extend to all European travellers in their country. Sheikh Othman, a member of this tribe, was the person who accompanied Luing to Insalah, and collected his papers. On three other occasions the
same sheikh escorted French travellers through his territory, amongst others Duveyrier, to whom we are indebted for so much valuable information on the physical and social condition of this region. The was also the first man of his nation to leave the desert and make a journey to Europe. The Ifoghas enjoy great influence in their character of marabuts and dealers in amulets; in this capacity they are met in all the northern regions of the Tuareg country.
The confederation of the Ahaggars, the Hoggars of the Arabs, is far more warlike and consequently much more dreaded than that of the Azjars. Inhabiting
mountainous region, whither no one dares to pursue them, their tribes take 450 NOETH-WEST APEIOA. refuge in these inaccessible recesses, where they defend themselves as in a strong- hold, and whence they can conveniently sweep down on the surrounding districts. The ruling tribe of the Ahaggars are the Kel-llhelas, who occupy the central parts of the plateau, the rallying-place of the whole confederation. The authority of its amghar, or chief, is also acknowledged by all the other tribes throughout these highlands. The Northern Imohaghs. Nearly all the Ahaggars are pastors, a very small number occupying themselves with agriculture. Duveyrier estimates at thirty thousand at the utmost all the northern Tuaregs, or a little over a thousand persons per tribe. The territory roamed over by them has a superficial area of about 400,000 square miles, being in the proportion of one square mile to every thirteen persons. Most of the Tuaregs are of tall stature, with slim figures and robust constitu- tion. Naturally of fair complexion, they acquire a bronze tint in the sun. But although differing little from southern Europeans in colour and the regularity of their features, they can always be distinguished by their slow but somewhat jerky gait, long stride, and haughty carriage of the head. Duveyrier compares their attitude to that of the ostrich or of the camel, and attributes it to the habit of con- stantly carrying a lance. Some of the Tuaregs have blue eyes, and amongst the women this colour of the iris is considered a great mark of beauty. Amongst the Imohaghs no sickly persons are met. The feeble, the infirm, those subject to rickets and other con- stitutional ailments, are soon carried off, while by the law of " the survival of the fittest " those who remain are the better able to endure a life of hardship and resist the ravages of disease. Hence centenarians are by no means rare amongst them. The Tuaregs are doubtless indebted to their extremely temperate habits for their excellent health. Amongst other terms of reproach they heap upon the Arabs is that of being " great eaters." While on the march they themselves take one meal only during the day, and two while sojourning under the tents. Corn, dates, and figs, the berry of the salviulora peraica, some herbs, and a little meat, form their frugal faie. By traditional usage they are forbidden the use of birds or fish, the flesh of these animals being reserved for the exclusive enjoyment of the marabuts. Their most ordinary complaints are rheumatic affections and ophthalmia, disorders easily explained by the habit of sleeping on the sands during the night, and by their constant exposure to the action of the solar rays reflected from the dunes. Amongst the populations of the desert, the features connected with the organ of vision differ from those characteristic of the inhabitants of the oases. . Extremely dense eyebrows overshadow the ball of the eye, which is small and deeply sunk in the socket, with very long lashes, a whitish circle separating the cornea from the sclerotic. The whole presents a slightly reddish tint, due to the suffused state of the blood-vessels. • In order to protect the sight from the glare of the solar rays, and at the same time guard against the dust constantly rising from the sands, the Tuaregs have THE NORTIIEBN IMOHAOIIS. 45I the habit of veiling the face. The ciwtom hus at hut become a sort of roligioito rite amongst the men, who do not lay aside the veil even during the night. The reason they give for this custom is that the mouth, the organ through which nourishment is received into the Ixwly, should be concealed. Like the Tibbos and most of the other Suhuriaii iK'opU'H, they have from time immemorial been desig- nated by their Arab neighbours as the Ahl-el-Litzam, or " Veiled People/* The nobles and wealthy classes usually wear a black veil, while those of the lower castes, amongst wliom Xegro blcMxl sometimes prevails, have made choice of white. Thus in tlie eyes of the Arabs the nation is divided into two clasps, the " lihK-ks" and the " Whites," and this distinction is precisely the reverse of that which would have to be made if based on the natural colour of the skin. The women never veil the face, except as a mark of res|)e<'t in the presence of strangers. Like the Arabs, the northern Tuaregs shave the hair, retaining fnnn the fore- head to the nape a sort of crest, which helps to support the veil at a sufficient height to allow the air free circulation round the head. When old enough to carry arms, the men begin to wear a bracelet of green serjx^ntine on the right ann, in order, as they say, to give greater jxiwer to the biceps in dealing a blow with the sword. The Targui also never lay aside the long dagger, which is fixed by a leathern strap to the left fore-arm. The usual weapons are the lance and the sword, although they now also make use of the rifle, stigmatised as the " weapon of treason." The face is never tattooed, but hands, arms, and countenance are dyed blue by means of powdered indigo. The rest of the body is clothed in the same colour by the blue cotton blouse and breeches, a costume very much like that of the ancient Gauls. The women in their turn paint themselves yellow with ochre. Thus, although naturally white, the Tuareg men seem to be of a blue and the women of a yellow colour. No one washes, water being sup|K)sed to render the skin more sensitive to the sudden changes of temi)erature. The ablutions prescribed by the Koran are all perfonned in a perfunctory manner with a little sand or a pebble. The moral character of the Tuaregs has IxH'n described perhaps in too flattering colours by Duveyrier, who naturally felt grateful for the loyal assistance alTonled him by the trusty Sheikh Othman, one of the chiefs of the Ifogha tribe. On the other hand, the disastrous termination of Flatters' expe<lition and the horrors attending it have inducwl public opinion to look on all Imohaghs indiscriminately as a cruel, grasping, depraved race of cowanls and traitors. But it would be unfair to involve all alike in the censure perhaps justly applied to some. It is certain that, as a nation, the Tuaregs are endowed with many high qualities. They are brave, faithful to the pledged wonl given to Mohan^medans like themselves, tenacious of the honour of their friends. The Targui marauder, who will make a journey of ten days on his mehari camel in order to carry off the cattle from some hostile tribe, will refrain from touching any deposits made by caravans along the trade routes. The debtor and his heirs never forget their obligations, just as the injured persons and their children never neglect to avenge the outrage. The traditions of the matriarchal state are still preserved amongst the northern Tuaregs. According to the unwritten code called by the Arabs the Bcni-Ummia, 462 NOETH-WEST AFEICA. or law of the " Mother's Son," the eldest son of the eldest daughter is always privileged in the transmission of property. At the death of a family chief, whether noble, raarabut, tributary, or serf, his effects are divided into two parts, the " property of justice," acquired by labour, and the " property of injustice," obtained by armed force. The former is equally distributed amongst all the children without distinction of age or sex ; the latter reverts entirely to the eldest son of the eldest daughter. By this ingenious arrangement the power of the great feudal families is safeguarded. When a conquered territory has to be distributed amongst the tribes, it is assigned to the " dowager ladies " of the nobility. Such is the traditional law, which appears to have been followed by all the Sanheja communities in North Africa before the Mohammedan conquest, and which has also been preserved by several other Berber peoples, as well as by the Tuaregs. Amongst the Imohaghs the child always follows in the maternal line, their traditional law being inspired by the sentiment embodied in the familiar saying, *■ It is a wise child that knows its owTi father." The son of an enslaved father and mother of noble rank is noble; the son of a noble father and female slave is a slave. In other respects in the ordinary social relations, the woman is man's equal, and in many cases his superior. She disposes of her own hand, the parents intervening only to prevent misalliances. She administers her personal fortune without being called upon to contribute to the household expenses, hence is generally more wealthy than her husband ; she brings up and controls the children ; in all festive gatherings the place of honour is ceded to her, and at table for her are reserved the choice pieces. But custom forbids her to take tea or coffee, delicacies set apart for the men. She is often admitted to the discussions of the tribal council, and at times even exercises the functions of sheikh, in this position enjoying double honours as chief and wife. In spite of the Koran, the Tuareg women have set their faces against polygamy, and no instance has been recorded of a noble or warrior who has ventured to take a second wife. Divorce is permitted, but the new bride will never cross the husband's threshold until the fate of the repudiated wife has been formally dis- posed of. Premature marriages, such as prevail amongst the Arabs, are unknown, and when the Targui woman takes to herself a husband, ustlally at about the age of twenty, she fully knows her own mind and knows how to make her rights be respected. Like her husband, she may mount the mehari and journey across the desert to visit kindred and friends, without being called upon to account for her movements to anyone. But she rarely abuses this absolute freedom of action ; for according to Duveyrier's expression, the Targui woman, " very tenacious of her rights, is equally mindful of her duties." Nevertheless, infanticide, consequent upon illicit intercourse, would appear to be by no means an unknown crime in the neighbourhood of Bhat. Nor are the Tuareg ladies at all prohibited by custom from having, Hke the chatelaines of mediaeval times, devoted admirers of the opposite sex, in whose honour they embroider veils or compose ditties. At the entertainments they give of an evening, singing and accompanying themselves on THE NORTUERN IMOHAOHS. 468 the tobol or drum, and rcbazn, a kind of fiddle, they reserve a place of honour for those they wish to favour, and in this matter no one will ever venture to qoeation their choice. The Imauan women, distinguished by the title of " Royal," are the most noted throughout the Tuareg country for thoir musical talent and poetic elegance of their improvisations. Hence the men, arrayed in their finest bravery, are attracted from far and wide to the entertainments given by these dames. Next to warfare, the Tuuregs know no greater pleasure than that derived from their musical feasts. When vanquished in battle, the la^t insult hurled at them is that they will no longer be welcomed by the songs of their women. Besides cultivating the national poetry and music, the Tuareg women have also preserved the treasure of science. Amongst the Azjars nearly all can read and write, while scarcely one-third of the male population have acquired these rudi- mentary accomplishments. To the women belongs also the task of giving instruc- tion in grammar, language, and the national Tefinagh characters, which differ little from those found iuscrilted on the Thugga stone, a monument as old us the Carthaginian epoch. Nearly always travelling at night, the men are |x.'rfectly familiar with the form and motions of the heavenly Ixnlies. They are also past masters in the subject of local topography ; but beyond these branches of know- ledge they know little, and leave all other studies to the women. When Duveyrier brought Ilanoteau's Tvmashpk Gnunwir into the country, a perfect ferment was created in the feminine world. All the ladies were eager to see, handle, and study this marvellous work, which glorified their" langimge, and moreover contained collections of fables, poetry, and histories, with some of which they were unacquainted. This grammar, with some other works of the same cla&s, and fragments of the Bible published in London, constitute at present the whole body of Teraahag literature. The Berber translation of the Koran which was formerly completed in Marocco, is stated by Ibn-Khuldun to have been destroyed in order to prevent the word of Allah from being subjected to human criticism and interpretations. All the writings possessed by the Tuaregs are in Arabic, in which language all correspondence is carried on, and all spells and incantations composed. Like the kindred Kabyles of the Jurjura highlands, the Imohaghs of the Tassili and Ahaggar countries show little zeal for the Mohammedan faith. The duty of prayer they leave to the niarabuts, and few amongst them are ever found who practise the least religious observance. But, on the other hand, many rite« dating from times anterior to the spread of Islam have held their ground amongst them. The cross is in the eyes of the Imohaghs a sacred emblem, and the celestial beings are still called angelm by them. The Targui entert^iins great fear of ghosts and spirits He is careful not to weep for the dead, lest his tears may bring them back to life. After the interment, the tents are struck and the encampment changed, in order to put as much space as possible between the living and the dead. The father's name is not given to the son, as it is by the Arabs, but dies with the man who bore it. The marabuU alone, who have been assimilated in reUgion to the Arabe, have adopted their practice in this respect. But their silent and unconscious influence, as might be expected, is naturally tending to spread Arab ideas and usages amongst the Tuareg populations. When the marabuts are appealed to as judges or umpires, their decisions are framed in conformity with Koranic principles; but the internal administration of the tribes and families is organised exclusively according to
the national traditions. The sentences pronounced by the sheikhs are usually fines and the bastinado, imprisonment and capital punishment never being legally imposed. In cases of personal injury, the duty of blood vengeance devolves on the outraged party.
The Twat Oases.
Twat, properly so called, is merely a narrow plain skirting the east side of the Saura (Messaura, Messaud) river valley above the point where this stream is lost EXPLOUATION OF TWAT. 45| in the winds or mountain Ror^«. But in ordinary language, tho terra Twut, which in Berber means "the ()a«eM," is applied collectively to all the palm grovM 8cattere<l over tho desert lK»tvcH>n the Tuareg country and the region of tho great western dunes. The Ourara district, round the north side of which thene MmdhilU develop a vast amphitheatre, thus forms part of Twat.as does uUt the strip of hind supplied with moisture by the underground waters of the Sauru between Karza« and Taurirt. Lastly, the Tidikelt oases, constituting the most extensive group of cultivated territory in the whole region, is include in the same country of Twat It may be statotl in a general way that Twat comprises the wh«»le region of Quaternary alluvia which sweeps in crescent form round tho west and south aides of the extensive cretaceous Tadomait plateau. Its natural limits on the north sidoar« formefl by the dunes of the Western Erg ; on the west, Ix'yond the Wwl Saura, by the Iguidi sands ; on the south by the Devonian plateau of Muidir. The plains thus limited are, however, divided into isolated cultivable tracts by intervening stony hamadas and ranges of sandhills. Exploration op Twat. The conimercial relations are so frequent between Mauritania and Twat, the natural centre of trade of the western Sahara, that the fullest dttails reganling this region have easily been obtained through the reports of the native traders. But hitherto very few European travellers have j)enetrattHl to these isolated Mussulman communities. Under the escort of the Ifogha Sheikh Othtnan, Laing visited Twat in the year 1S'2C, at a time when its inhabitants had not yet any grounds for fearing that their territory might possibly be occupied by any Euroj)ean Power. In l^<t)l the French officers Colonieu and Burin, while traversing the zone of great dunes south of the province of Oran, entered the Ourara district. But all farther advance in this direction was barred, and they were comi)elled to retrace their steps north* wards without accomplishing their mission. Gerhard Bohlfs was somewhat more successful, having managed in IS(>4 to spend over a month in tho Twat oases, disguistnl, however, as a Mussulman, and envoy of the Sherif of Wezzan. He had also taken the pn-caution of giving himself an iilustriou's gonealopy, tracing his descent back to the royal race of the Aba.ssides. The faithful accordingly assembled to kiss the hem of his garment, and spread abroad the fame of his miraculous cures. He was even rejKjrted to have restored their sight to the blind. Ten years afterwards, M Soleillct, coming from the north, also presented himself Ix^fore Insalah : but In-ing neither one of the Abassides, nor yet a follower of the Prophet, he sought in vain for i)ennission to enter the oases, and was fain to return with his four companions to El-Golea. Three Roman Catholic missionaries, who followed the same route in the year 1876, were murdere<l on the way, before getting so far as Twat. Apart from the hostility of the natives, the route itself presents but few physical difficulties. From El-Golea to Timimun in the Gurura district, the traveller need but follow the beaten track between the region of great dunea and the western 456 NOETH-WEST AFEICA. escarpment of the cretaceous plateau, along the depression of the Wed Meguiden, occupied by the Quaternary alluvia of the Saharian formations. Even along the direct route across the plateaux from El-Golea to Tidikelt he meets wells, planta- tions, and pasturages at stated intervals. No dunes occur on the first day's march south of El-Golea, except for a short distance of 2| miles, and the tracks across the hamadas and other wastes destitute of vegetation are all carefully indicated by a regular system of landmarks. For a great part of the way, the Mejebel, that is, the main caravan routes, are kept clear of stones and other obstructions for a normal width of from 20 to 30 feet. All the pebbles, shingle, and boulders that formerly strewed the ground have been carefully removed and disposed in rough walls right and left of the highway. This great work, which must have required a vast amount of labour, dates from an unknown epoch. By the Shaanba tribe it is attributed to a mythicaj being named Ben Buur, who is supposed to have flourished at a time when Twat was still uninhabited. Flora, Fauna, and Inhabitants of Twat. The products of Twat differ in no respect from those of the other districts in the Central Sahara lying at the same altitude and under the same climatic condi- tions. In all these oases, as in those of Marocco and Eastern Mauritania, the date- palm is the characteristic plant ; but with the exception of a few choice varieties, it yields a fruit of inferior quality to that of the Suf and Tafilelt districts. But although the palms of Twat are generally of small size, the wood is better and more durable than that of the western plantations. In the shade of their tufted foliage the natives cultivate wheat, barley, and beshna, the latter yielding two crops in the year. In the orchards are also grown pomegranates and some grapes, but in small quantity, these fruits being generally dried up by the sun before arriving at maturity. The inhabitants of Twat also raise various kinds of vegetables in their well- watered gardens. But the yearly produce is insufficient for the local wants, so that the natives have to supplement their stores with supplies of various kinds from the Algerian agricultural districts. A part of the land is also reserved for the culti- vation of industrial plants, such as cotton, henna {^Lawsoniji inennis), and korunka (^calotropis procera^, a shrub, the wood of which supplies the charcoal employed in the manufacture of gunpowder. Opium, which the natives of Twat smoke with avidity, is cultivated especially in the northern districts, while tobacco is one of the chief products in those of the south. The domestic animals are the same as in the other oases, but less numerous. In Twat the camel is man's chief associate, both as a pack-animal and for riding. Horses, fed like the asses, on damaged dates, are very rare, while horned cattle are completely absent. The sheep, covered like the goats with a coat of hair, resemble those of Tibesti, and full-grown poultry are no bigger than the chickens of Western Europe. According to Rohlfs, the first inhabitants of Twat would appear to have been THE OURARA AND TDUMUX OASia 4«7 the Tuaregs, as is still attested by the names of the different species of dates, which are all in the Temahug language. Like the highlanders of the Aures and Ahaggar regions, thenc Tuarogs had becm brought under the influence of Uonian and Byzantine civilisation, judging at leant from the local names of the months, which are all the same uh those of the Imtin calendar. In Twat there are, mon«over, still found some Tuareg communities of pure stock, speaking the national Herber language exclusively, and dwelling in palm huts or under the tent. Even among the natives who call themselves Arabs, s<ime are undoubtedly Berbers. Such are the Kel-Mellels, who are settled in Insulah, and who through a sentiment of vanity claim to be descended from the family of the Prophet. Other Berbers, who like most of those living in Munn-co belong to the Shluh branch of the race, constitute the substratum of the {)opulation in the various oases, and still speak a dialect differing little from the Berber language current throughout Western Mauritania. • The Arabs also are represented in Twat by various marabut and other tribes. But Arabs and Berbers have all alike a strong strain of Negro bhjod. Few persons are met with fair or even swarthy complexion, nearly all being very durk or black, with broad features, but pleasant smile and soft expression. The women, who do not go veiled, like their Mussulman sisters in the Tell districts, are very graceful and converse freely with the men. The people of Twat have the kindly disposition of the Negro, and are generally esteemed for their commercial probity, respect for strangers, love of peace, and other good qualities of the heart. But they are fanatics of an extremely narrow type, their religious zeal exceeding that of all other Mohamme<lan populations in North Africa. NotwithsUinding the poverty of the country, as much as i**2,000 is said to be yearly collected as pious offerings for the emissaries of the Sherif of Wezzan, besides considerable sums contributed to other marabuts for religious purposes. The Senftsiya onler has recently established settlements in several of the Twat oases. This region is, on the other hand, closetl for the present to the French, not only on political grounds, but also because they belong to the hated Christian sect. The Gurara and Timimix Oasis. Gurara, in Berber Tigururin or Tijurariu, comprises the northern division of Twat, consequently the district which in commercial matters deiomU most on the neighbouring colony of Algeria. In a geographical sense, it forms even a direct southern extension of that region, for the waters of its oases are derived by under- ground channels from the Oeryville uplands. The various rivers flowing in the direction of the desert, stub as the Wed-en-Nnmus, the Wed-el-Gharbi, the W«l Seggwer, the Wed Zergun, and all the intermediate affluent*, disapiK^ar beneath the sands of the Erg desert ; but the streams continue to flow in subterranean bed*, again coming to the surface south of that region of shifting dunes. The gazelle- hunters and Shaanba marauders, studying the direction taken by these river vaUey^ 61 -A.F have discovered at intervals certain feij, or cavities, corresponding with the underground passage of the waters.
The overflow of moisture oozes up in an extensive sebkha, or saline depression, which takes the form of a crescent in a southern gulf of the sea of sands. At times travellers find some difficulty in traversing this saline plain, owing to the soft or bogey nature of the ground. Round about the sebkha, which stretches north and south for a distance of some 60 miles, are disposed the oases and erected the fortified ksurs, to the number of about eighty. They appear to have been formerly even still more numerous, for here and there are met the vestiges of ruined villages in
the midst of now-abandoned plantations, which still yield a few dates without artificial irrigation.
The inhabitants of Gurara, a name by which is more specially understood the district lying north and east of the sebkha, belong for the most part to the Zenata branch of the Berber race. The Meharsa tribe, however, which occupies the northern oasis of Tin-er-Kûk, is of Arab descent, and families of the Ulâd Sidi Sheikh confederacy frequently pitch their tents in this oasis round about the palm groves of the town of Tabelkusa.
In the Sherwin oasis, which lies west of the sebkha, the population, noted for its valour, is also to a large extent Arab. The whole group of oases encircling the THE OURARA AND TIMIMUN OASIS. 4M depression conUius altogether several million i>alm-trcc«, over eight hnikdrad thousand being comprised in the seven ksurs of Ikldut, or Deiduii, which belong to the Zwu tribe. South of the 8i>bkha the rcMul runs almoAt uninterruptedly beneath the shade of the overhanging foliage for a distance of or lO miles. The gardens of Guram are not watered by wati'rs Mowing on the surface, but by fogarats (feggaguir), that is to say, galleries tapped at intervals by wells analogous to those of Persia and Afghanistan. To the numerous sebkhas scattered over the plain round the margin of the principal depression, are probably mainly duo the much dreaded fevers which prevail in the oases during the summer months. These marsh fevers, unknown in the rest of the Twat country, are by the natives called ikhriid, or " exterminating malady." The chief oasis skirting the east side of the great sebkha is that of Timimun. Here stands, surrounded by crenellated walls, the most populous town in Gurara. and even in the whole region. It is usually regarded as the capital of Twat, and the resident sheikh is one of the most powerful persons in the country. A neigh* bouring convent Ix^longing to the Tijaniya order also enjoys considerable influence over the surrounding i)opulations. Timimun is one of the three great marts of Twat, and is more frequented than any other by caravans from Algeria. Never- theless this town does not appear destined to lie on the route of the future Trans> sahariun railway. The sandy waste which stretches to the north of the Gurara oases obliges travellers to muke a detour, either to the east through El-Golea, or to the west through Beni-Abbas, Karzas and the valley of the Wed Saura. Bent-Abbas, an imix)rtant centre of the caravan trade, is the Brst oasis of the Wed Saura below Igli and the confluence of the upper tributaries. The vilbge, which has a permanent ix)pulation of six hundred souls, is almost buried amid the surrounding dunes. Nowhere else in the whole ifussulman world can a mon* striking example be found of the power of the religious confrateniities. Five different orders are here represented, all claiming and receiving contributions from the faithful. One of these orders has its mother-house at Karza», some (JO miles farther down. Situated on the left bank of the Wed Saura, in the narrow valley formed by this watercourse between the two sandy wastes of Erg to the east and the Iguidi dunes to the west, Karzas constitutes, like Beni-Abbas, an indisi>en8able station for travellers and caravans descending from the higher valleys of the upper basin in Marocco and Algeria, or returning northwards from the lower Twat oaaett. Thus lying on the great highway of the desert, Karzas would be exposed to attacks from every quarter, had it not been created a sort of neutral town by the unanimous consent of the surrounding i>opulation8. Being incapable of defence it is never attacked by anyone. Encircled by no walls, it welcomes as guests all presenting themselves at the convent gates, few of whom, however, arrive empty- hande<l. The marabuts of Karzas not only enjoy the revenues derived from their planU- tions, which develop a vast garden along the Wtnl Saura, and which yield dates of exceUent quality, including one variety found nowhere clise, but they alao keep 460 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. large herds, which graze freely on the surrounding steppes and dunes, the animals marked as the property of the order being respected by all. The confraternity also derives large profits from trade, its members being the chief agents in main- taining the commercial relations between Algeria and Twat. Nearly all the Karzas marabuts marry before the age of fifteen. The direction of the community is not a hereditary office, as in all other monastic establishments. The dignity is not transmitted from father to son, but passes by right to the doyen, or oldest member of the establishment. TJlad-Raffa, Tsabit, and Tamentit. Amongst the centres of population which follow in succession beyond Karzas in the Saura basin, one of the most important is TJlad-Raffa, which is quite as populous as the marabut town. It is inhabited by a branch of the Ghenenma, or Ghenauema tribe, the Rlnema of Rohlfs, a Mussulman community noted for its indifferent observance of the prescribed rites. The Rhamadan fast is kept by them not in their own persons, but by proxy, the custom being to hire substitutes willing to mortify the flesh on their behalf for a consideration. Most of them are wretchedly poor, largely supporting themselves by plunder, for nearly all the cultivated tracts in this valley are in the hands of a few opulent owners. The absorption of the land in great domains is the curse of these oases, as of so many more civilised regions. The area of arable land might here be greatly enlarged, for although little water is visible in the channel of the Saura, the central parts are at least always moist, and the underground reservoirs might easily be tapped by sinking wells a few feet deep along its bed. Even below Ulad-Raffa, the sandstone hills hemming in the stream, and whose base forms a sort of barrage, drive the water to the surface. In this defile, says Fum-el-Khink, are situated some gueltas, or permanent meres, always flooded with a fluid, which although somewhat brackish is nevertheless drinkable. South of the gorge some fogarats, fed by the subterranean waters, have been successfully sunk in several places, and vast marshy tracts occupy the depressions between the sandhills lying to the west of the Wed Saura. One of these sebkhas is commanded by the fortress of El- JJgwarta, peopled by branches of the Beraber and Zenata tribes. Farther west, about midway between Wed Saura and Tafilelt, another sebkha is skirted by an oasis containing five or six thousand palms, dotted with the hamlets of Tahelbelt. South of the great Gurara sebkha, the oases are grouped more closely together between the western escarpments of the .plateau and course of the Wed Saura, which here takes the name of Messaud. Here the Augwerut (Wagwerut, Ugwerut) oasis, inhabited by the Kenafra and the Ulad Abd-el-Mulat tribes, stretches for about 18 miles along the foot of a range of heights pieroed with underground galleries and wells. The chief town comprises two distinct quarters, <S//flr<?/and the zaw^'a of Sidi Aomar.
The Tsabit oa«i9, altliouj^h Irwi cxtoniii%e. enjoys fp^ter oommerdal and strategic iiniK)rtanco, thaiikH to itn situation on the greet caravan route. Uriuken, iu capital, is still one of the most |)opulous towns in Twat, although in the yew 184«, during a civil war between the oases it lost half of its inhabiUnUand palm grorei^ Towanls the mwxXi follow in succession thooaaefl of Sba, Buda, and Tiinini. At the time of Itohlfs' visit, the group of twenty hnmlets constituting Timmi wm the most flourishing in the whole of Twat. Adrar, its capital, which poMMMs • permanent market, enjoys this advantage in common with Timimun in the Ourars district, and the town of Tmnentit, which lies 6 miles farther south, at the farther side of a saline depression where no water is ever colUn-ted. Tamentit, the largest town in Twat, fonns an inde|)en{U'nt republic, administered by a jomaa, or assembly of notables, and a sheikh. The population is not only Mussulman, but mainly conijKJsed of a Taibiya confraternity, which sends iU offerings regularly to the Shcrif of Wezzan in Marocco. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Tamentit are of Jewish descent, like those of several other dis- tricts in Twat. Forcibly converted into fierce Mohammedan fanatics, and almost assimilated to the Negro type by the intermixture of races, they have at least preserved their Hebrew origin, the characteristic qualities of tact in the adminiNtra- tion of affairs, and much skill in the exercise of all the industries. Their jewellers, armourers, locksmiths, boot and shoe makers, and tailors, have opened workshops in the bazaar, and the quality of their ware yields iu no respect to that of their brethren in the large towns of Algeria and Marocco. TiLl.ll.lN — TiniKELT IXSALAII. In the courtyard of the citadel at Tamentit the natives show with pride a " stone fallen from heaven," a black jwlished block, which is probably a meteorite. According to the local tradition, it was formerly a mass of solid silver, but was afterwards changed to iron, doubtless in consequence of the depravity of mankind. South of Tumentit, where the oases take the name of Twat in a more s|MH^ial sense, the plantations are grouped under the general denominations of Jilad iSali and Blad Reggan. They are continued southwards along the course of the Wed Messaud as far as Tilhilin and Taurirt, at the confluence of another wed descending from the eastern plateaux. This district is one of the most densely inhabittnl in the whole region of palm groves. But farther on all cultivation gives place to the de«ert, in the midst of which the river disappears, either absorbed in a salme depreMion, as Hohlfs was assured by the natives of Twat, or else in a gi>rge through which it effects a junction with the Teghazert, another stream flowing from the southern slopes of the Ahaggar highlands. According to M^f. Pouyanne and Sabatier, who have collected reports from a large number of the inhabitants, this watercourse, interrupted only by a range of sandhills which may be traverseil in less than two hours, would apiK»arto belong to the fluvial basin of the Niger, its confluence with that river being through a succession of marshy depressions alternately dr}' and flooded. But in this direcdirection there are no more human habitations, nothing being met except at long intervals the camping-grounds of the Tuareg nomads. Such are Inzize, Timissau and some other places, where a little water can be had.
The groups of oases, however, begin again east of the Twat district properly so called, beyond an intervening stony tract about 7 miles broad. Here are grouped the settlements of Tidikelt, Aulaf, Titt, and Akebli, the last-named noted throughout the whole of the Sahara as a market for black slaves, and as a general rendezvous for travellers and caravans proceeding southwards to the Sudan. In the neighbourhood are some alum mines, worked by the natives.
In this district the most important palm groves are those of Insalah (the Ain-Salah, or "Fountain of Peace" of the Arabs), which lie in the northern part of the Tidikelt oasis. Here several villages follow from north to south along the
margin of a sebkha at the foot of a range of sandhills, which skirts the east side of the saline. An underground channel tapped by wells, in which is collected the water oozing through the sands, yields a sufficient supply for the plantations. The area of cultivated land has even recently been greatly extended at the expense of the sebkha and of some unproductive thickets of shrubs.
In Twat, as in the rest of the Sahara, the land belongs to whoever sinks a well, keeps it in repair, and "quickens" the soil; But works of this sort can be undertaken only by the whole tribe acting in concert, or by the more powerful chiefs, who can employ forced or voluntary labour. In the Insalah oasis the system of great domains generally prevails, The sheikh and other members of his family own severally many thousands of palms, and surround themselves with hundreds of retainers, who eat their bread and champion their cause. In Twat, however, there AIR, AND COUNTRY OF THE AWELLIMIDEN BEBBEBa 4tfa are also some small hoMinji^s, which are highly cultivated, and aji thriftily adinini*- tered as the arable lands in the Yang-tne-Kiang valley. In the northern part of the Insalah oasis is situated the village of Hrliana or Miliann, to which M. Soleillot i)enetrate<l in the year 1873. But the chief centra of population, Ksar-el-Arub, or Ksor-el-Arb, lies further south. Hero resides the sheikh, a very potent personage, thanks to his great wealth, to the heroic traditions of the Bujuda family, of which he is the representative, to the patronage he is able to exercise over the neighbouring Tuareg tribes, and to the protection he affords to passing caravans. Air, asd Cointry of the Awei.umidfx Berhers. In the centre of the region stretching from the Tibesti highlands westwards to the great bend of the Niger, rise the uplands of Air (in Arabic Ahir*), surrounded on all sides by sandy wastes and rocky plateaux, and forming a distinct orographic system, with its main axis disposed in the direction from north to south. This rugged region, the Asben or Absen of the Negroes and undoubtedly the Agesimba of Ptolemy, has hitherto been visited only by one Eurojx'an expetlition, that conducted by Richardson, Burth, and Overweg in the year iMoO. These explorers, advancing southwards from llbat, had crossed the central crest of the Sahara by the jagged Azjar plateau and the gorge of Egueri. Then leaving the region of sandstone formations, they entered that of the granites, taking a south-westorly and southern direction in order to reach the wells of Asiu, one of the most impor- tant watering-places in the desert. Here converge all the main routes from (ihadaraes, Tibesti, Twat, and Agades. On the level plain are sunk four wells, yielding an abundant supply of water, but ferruginous and of a disugrtruble flavour. Two of these wells belong to the Azjar Tuaregs, while the two others are regarded as the property of the natives of Air. According to an intertribal convention, which, however, is no longer observed, the respective owners of the waters are bound to refrain from all acts of hostility beyond the limits of their own territories. It was south of the line of demarcation, consequently in the Air domain, that Barth and his fellow-travellers, although under the protection of Mohammedan escorts, were attacked and plundered by the Azjars, in violation of the tenns of this agreement. The Air highlands cover a considerable extent of ground. From the Tidik Valley, opening to the north-west of the northeni group of hills, like a moat encir- cling a citadel, as far as the Baghsen mquntains, southern limit of the whole region, the distance in a stmight line is about I'iO miles. From east to west the breadth varies from 40 to (U) miles, while the superficial area of the whole system may be estimated at G,000 sqtiaie miles. Granite api)ears to be the prevailing formation, although Barth and his companions also noticed some sandstones, and in these highlands, as well as in those of Tibesti, some basalt nrcks also occur. Ili:iing in the midst of the Saharian plains, which here lie at a mean elevation of from 1,600 to 2,000 feet al>ove sea-level, the heighte of Air exceed, in some of • Ahir, incorrectly but deaitfuedly for the reMon giTon by Barth, i. p. 336.— Kd. 464 NORTH-WEST AFEICA. their crests, an absolute altitude of 5,000 feet. The loftiest peak, towering in pyramidal fonn towards the north-western extremity of the system, is Mount Tengik or Timge, to which Barth assigns an estimated height of from 5,500 to 6,000 feet. Towards the centre is Mount Eghellat, with an altitude of perhaps 4,400 feet ; and the two terminal groups of Doghem and Baghsen attain at least the same elevation. While traversing a deep gorge along the foot of the basaltic Doghem rocks, Barth at first supposed that this mountain was even the culminating point of the whole orographic system. In the interior and roimd the contour of the Air highlands there nowhere occur any upland valleys comparable to those of the European Alpine regions. They are for the most part savage gorges and ravines developing a sort of shebka, or " thread," like the beds of the torrents in the Mzab country. But these ravines, which are flushed by foaming waters after the heavy rainfalls of September and October, do not form river basins lower down. They either disappear, absorbed in the vast sandy wastes or in the surrounding hamadas, or else end abruptly in some rocky cirque, where the rain water, collected in teinporary lakes, gradually evaporates. Taken collectively, the Air uplands present the general aspect of mountain masses which the running waters have not yet cut into a regular range, with its lateral ridges, offshoots, and transverse valleys. Hence, as in Fezzan, the depres- sions are the only spaces available for cultivation, the intermediate cliffs presenting nothing but arid escarpments. Flora, Fauna, and Inhabitants of Air. In their vegetation the Air highlands are not an exclusively Saharian region, some of the plants here flourishing already attesting the proximity of Sudan. The more fertile hollows are clothed with veritaWe forests, in which varieties of the mimosa family form the prevailing feature. Thickets of the dum-palm are also common, while the grazing-grounds are sufficiently extensive to enable the inhabitants to occupy themselves with the breeding not only of camels but also of zebus, which are used both as mounts and as beasts of burden. On all the grassy heights goats browse in multitudes ; but there are no' sheep, and horses are extremely rare. Most of the villages have their cluster of date-trees and their fields of mallet (pennisetum ti/phaideum) ; but the tracts brought under cultivation are far less extensive than might be the case. While in Sudan the ground is carefully tilled with the hoe and weeded, the few natives of Air who occupy themselves ^"ith agriculture still make use of the plough. The great majority of the " Asbenava,'* as they are called, devote themselves to stock-breeding and to trade, relying to a great extent on the inhabitants of Sudan for the necessary supply of cereals. The lion, which seems to have disappeared from the eastern highlands of the Sahara, is still frequently met in Absen, and occasionally even in packs. It belongs apparently to a different species from that of Senegal, being destitute of FLORA, FAUNA, AND LVHABITANTS OF AIE. 401 mane, like the variety still surviving in Western India. The leopard, althoogh loss common, is more feared by the natives. Hyenas are very nrv, while the jackal prowls in numerous iwcks niund al! the campin^-f^rounds. The wild boar has its lair in the thickets, and monkeys boldly venture uraid the clumps of trees in close proximity to the human habitations. Various species of antelojies, some indi^^^nous in Northern Sahara, some originally from Sudan, roam over the surrounding plains, and ixjnetrRto into the mountain gorges. The feathered tribe is represt'uted only by a small number of 8|x;cic8, but each species by myriads of individuals. Of the species the most common are the turtle-dove and guinea-fowl. Although relatively to the rest of the Sahara, the Air uplands may bo said to abound in animal life, they might be almost described as a lifeless region conipare<l with the s<juthern wme of steppes bordering on the Sudan, and separated from Asben by the bare and arid Almdarjen plateau. These steppes, says Barth, are the true home of the giraffe, and of the beautiful long-horned leucoryx antelope ; here the ostrich is met in large flocks, and the ground is burrowed in long galleries by the earth-hog {onjcleropm (ri/tiopicH*)^ an animal which never leaves its hole in the daytime, and is consequently rarely seen by the natives. Like its flora and fauna, the native population of Air gives evidence of the constant struggle and crossing of species between the Sahara and Sudan. In thin debatable laud between the two regions, the Berber and ^«egro races have long contended for the supremacy. The ancient Goberawa, who are traditionally said to have been its former masters, would appear to have been black Berbers, constituting one of the aristocralic families of the Negro Haussa nation. These seem to have been followefl by other coiKjuerors of Berber origin, descending from the northern highlands. Such were the Kel-Gheres, that is to say, " People of Gheres," and the Itissan, who arc classed by Ibn-Khaldun amongst the tribes of the {wwerful Sanheja confederation. But all these former invaders are now ninked amongst the vanquisluxl. Driven from the Air highlands during the first half of the present century, they withdrt>w in the direction of the western and south-western plains, here occupying a territory ceded to them by the Awellimiden confederacy. The Kel-Ghen^s and Itissan tribes are distinguished amongst the Berber jx>oples especially for their strength, beauty, and graceful carriages The complexion is comparatively s{)eaking fair, and they pride themselves on the purity of their blood. They have also a great reputation for courage, and although far less numerous than the present occupants of the Asben uplands, they enjoy the advantage of being nea.-ly all horsemen, whereas their hereditary foes mostly employ camels in the batth-tield. "Warriors mounted on horses have naturally much greater freedom of action, and can mau<ruTe far more rapidly than those using the clumsy •' ship of the desert," The present rulers of Air, or Asben, calletl Asbenava (Asbenawa) by the Sudanese peoples, give themselves the designation of Kel-Owi^ that is, " Men of Owi," from a place supposed to be the cradle of their race, but the site of which has not yet been determined by the historian. They are undoubtedly of Berber origin. 466 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. and their home lies somewhere to the north of Air. They even form part of the famous Auraghen nation, and might almost claim to be " Africans " in a pre- eminent sense, if it be true, as many learned authorities suppose, that the name of the continent has been taken from these Auraghen, or Aiu'ighas.* But, however this be, the Auraghen are not of pure Berber stock. According to the local tradition, the Kel-Owi undertook at the time of the conquest, about the year 1740, to spare the lives of the black natives ; an alliance was even contracted with them, the Berber chief engaging for himself and his posterity that the head of the new dynasty should always marry a black wife. Most of his followers did the same, and at present the Kel-Owi, while remaining Awellimiden, or " veiled,'* like the other Tuaregs, have for the most part a very dark complexion. In their features also, as well as in their moral qualities, they betray a marked resemblance to the Haussa Negroes of Sudan. Like them they are of a bright cheerful dis- position, kind and friendly to strangers. The race of slaves has mingled with that of freemen, say the Tuaregs, who have preserved the purity of their blood, and who give to the Kel-Owi the opprobrious name of Ikelan, or " Slaves." The Auraghiye, or old Berber language, spoken by them, has also been corrupted by a mixture of Ilaussa words and expressions, and most of the Kel-Owi even speak both languages. Some amongst these Berbers have even forgotten altogether their mother-tongue. Such are the people of Agades, in the region south-west from Air, who are comprised within the zone of Songhai (Sonhrai) speech, the Negro language current in Timbuktu. On the other hand, the old matriarchal customs have been preserved amongst the Kel-Owi Berbers. In Asben the husband does not lead the bride to his home, but follows her to that of her parents. Property also and power are transmitted not from father to son, but in the female line from the uncle to the sister's son. Analogous customs are retained amongst some other Berber tribes, as well as amongst the Negro populations of Sudan. Topography of Air. Selufiat and Tintaghoda, the two northern villages of Air, inhabited by marabuts, are mere collections of hovels covered with the foKage of the dum-palm, which has here its northern limit. Although the residence of a secondary amanokal, Tintellust is little better in appearance. It lies at an altitude of 1,920 feet on a wed by which the Timge mountains are completely separated from the southern Boundai group. In the neighbourhood dwell the noblest families of the Kel-Owi nation. The Tintellust valley is described by Barth as a broad sandy channel, bare of herbage and only lined with bushes along its border. At the time' of his visit it was the residence of the powerful chief Annur, and a little farther south stands the sandhill selected as the camping- ground of the English expedition. Doubtless this sandhill will ever be memorable in the annals of the AsbenaMW. as the " English Hill," or the " Hill of the Christians." t
- Carette, " Origine et Mijrration des principalea tribus de I'Afrique.'*
t BantB. " Travels," i. p. 31. Tintellust is surpassed in population by two other places in Air: to the southeast Tafidet, a group of three villages, one of which is the residence of a prince enjoying a high reputation for sanctity; and to the south-west Assodi, which is said to have been formerly a very large town, containing about a thousand houses and seven mosques, At present scarcely more than eighty of its houses are inhabited.
South of this place the caravan route passes the imposing Mount Tehereta, whose steep slopes terminate in a double cone. The route then skirts the west side of the lofty Doghem escarpments, beyond which it penetrates into the beautiful Auderas valley, probably the most southern place in Central Africa where the plough is used. Here Barth saw three slaves yoked to a plough and driven like 468 NOETH-WEST AFRICA. oxen by their master. To the north of the gorge leading from the valley, a gloomy cirque of rocks is occupied by a famous msid, or place of prayer, a pre-eminently holy spot, founded to commemorate the conversion of the pagan Haussa people to the faith of Islam. The sacred enclosure consists of stones regularly disposed round a space about 65 feet long, within which a shady acacia marks the place where the imaum raises his hand in prayer. No good Mussulman coming from the north ever neglects to offer his thanks to Allah when passing by this msid or makara, which is known throughout the Sahara under the name of makam esh- S/ieikh ben Abd el Kerim, the " Shrine of Sheikh ben Abd the Gracious." Formerly the capital of Asben was Tiiishaman., a city of learned men and merchants, now mentioned only as a village in ruins. Its trade and population have been shifted some 24 miles farther south, to the famous town of Agades, the most populous in the whole of the Sahara. According to the local tradition, this place had formerly as many inhabitants as Tunis, and Earth's careful measure- ments have shown that the superficial area of the ancient city was large enough to contain as many as fifty thousand souls. The epoch of the great prosperity of Agades was about the beginning of the sixteenth century, at which time it was the chief mart of the Saharian border zone, trading directly with Timbuktu and all the principal towns of the Sudan. Destroyed by the Tuaregs at the end of the last century, it has again risen from its ruins, and at the time of Earth's visit contained from six hundred to seven hundred inhabited houses. The total population is at present about seven thousand, including the family chiefs and traders, and others visiting the place on business. Foreign merchants are also settled at Agades, especially natives of Twat, the most skilful dealers in the Sahara. They are engaged exclusively in the retail trade, and as brokers in connection with the importation of cereals from the Sudan. The diverse origin of its inhabitants and their varied commercial relations with all the surrounding lands have made Agades a polyglot city, where are currently spoken the Aurighiye (Berber), Haussa, and Songhai languages. Arabic is scarcely understood, except by the lettered classes, who form here a numerous corporation. Nearly three hundred children attend the mosques, where their instruction is mainly confined to the recitation of verses^ from the Koran. Agades lies at an altitude of about 25,000 feet, on the edge of a sandstone and granite plateau, whose waters, springing from great depths, yield a certain quantity of salt. In several quarters the town presents the aspect of a heap of ruins, mounds consisting exclusively of refuse and debris surrounding many of the inhabited houses. The only remarkable monument in the place is the " Tower," pre-eminently so-called, about 95 feet high, and serving the double purpose of a minaret and a watch-tower. The shaft bulges out towards the centre, like the trunk of a deleb palm-tree, and gradually tapers towards the summit, where it is not more than about 8 feet in width. Like most of the houses in Agades, it is built entirely of claVv and in order to strengthen a building so lofty and of so soft a material, its four walls are united by thirteen layers of boards of the dilm-tree, crossing the whol§ tower in its entire length and width, and projecting on each ADOBAOH. 4m Hide from 3 to 4 feet, while at the same time affording the only rooaoA of getting to the top. Agades has but few industricH. and these are mostly left to the women. Ther do all the louthcr work and weuvo all tha rug«, and the choeae made by them ia highly prizwl throughout the Sahara. The local trade in still very active, the transjwrt of salt esix^cially fonning an in)|)ortant branch of the businew of the place. By the Kcl-Uheres and other IJerber tribes of the district are organiaed all the caravans, which have to proceed to Hilma for the supply and afterwards convey it to the Sudan, where it is sold at the rate of from forty thousand to sixty thousand cowries per camel-load. The salt caravan never numbers less than thrre thousand camels. At the time of Barth's visit the medium of exchange in the Agades market was neither gold nor silver, nor shells nor bales of cloth, but only the grains of millet {pentuHetitm). But forty years have elapsed since the great explorer traversed this region, and forty years often see many changes in the customs and institutions of a people. Adgilgh. West of Air, and beyond the steppes inhabited by the Kel-Gheres and Iti« Berbers, a region of uplands, never yet visited by a single European traveller, occupies a superficial area of at least HO, 000 square miles. Its very name of Adgbagh, or Adrar, makes it probable that this vast tract does not consist of a series of level or uniform plateaux, but that it must be intersectixi by lofty mountain ranges. These heights, forming a group of highlands comparable to those of Ahaggar and Tibesti, rise to the north and north-ejist of the great bond described by the course of the Niger west of the deep sandy valley, through which percolate the waters of the Wed Tafassasset, known by the name of the Ballul Basso in its lower course, near its confluence with the Niger. The southern slope of the Adghagh highlands is already comprised within the zone of regular rainfall. Here the moisture-bearing south winds, arrested by the mountain ranges, precipitate a considerable quantity of water, often in the form of hail, on the upland valleys. The Adghagh orographic system thus belongs in ita higher regions to the Sudan, in its lower slopes to the Sahara. The whole district abounding in pasture lands and forest vegetation along the river valleys, might become an " African Switzerland," udaptwl not only for camel- breeding, but also for cattle-farming. Hundreds of thousands of an industrioua peasantry might also find employment in cultivating the alluvial tracU at the mouth of all the mountain gorges.* But at present the country is in the possession of the Tuaregs, whose varioua tribes are comprised under the general designation of Awellimiden, and who, according to the national tradition, came originally from the region of the Soharian Sahel. Their ancestors ai)iK>ar to have roamed over the western plaina, inter- • Pouyanne, " Note wr r^Ubii-emeat de la citft. de U i*gton oo«jd« «itrt k Tooat •! Tta- bouctoo." 470 NOETH-WEST AFRICA. mingled with the Ulad-Delim nation, 'with whom they had contracted numerous alliances. After making themselves masters of the Adghagh highlands and of the surrounding plains, they united with other Berber or with Nigritian tribes ; then breaking away from their mountain fastnesses, and crossing the Niger, they penetrated far into the Sudan, where they reduced more than one Negro kingdom. But they have been partly subdued in their turn, at least in an ethnological and linguistic sense. Many have been assimilated in physical appearance to the Haussa Negroes, while their Berber speech has been largely affected by words and expressions borrowed from the Nigritian languages of Sudan. Travellers speak vaguely of communities not yet converted to the Mohammedan faith, who are supposed to occupy the Adghagh uplands, interspersed amongst the Awellimiden tribes. These aborigines take the name of Daggatun, and speak the same Berber dialect as the Tuaregs ; but their complexion is lighter, and they marry exclusively amongst themselves. No Targui, however poor, would ever consent to give his daughter in marriage to the wealthiest heir of the Daggatuns. These pagans have no rights except through the mediation of some Targui patron, who in return for their tribute consents to become their ** shield." But when the tribe sets out on a marauding or warlike expedition, the Daggatuns become the shield, being always placed in front. According to the Jewish traveller, Mardochai, these retainers of the Awellimiden are Jews, if not in religion at least by descent, and like their kindred elsewhere, occupy themselves chiefly with the retail traffic. Being animated by little zeal for the faith, and remiss in the observance of the prescribed prayers and fasts, the Awellimiden have neither schools nor mosques. Their religious centre is in the Sudan, their marabuts being the Bakkai of Timbuktu, to whom they remit their offerings, and from whom they receive the interpretation of the Koran and all new institutions. Thus the ancient matri- archal custom, according to which the inheritance passes to the sister's sons, ha8 now been abolished among the marabuts of the Awellimiden, surviving only in the civil population. In other respects the usages of the southern Tuaregs differ little from those of their northern kindred. Like them they dwell in leather tents or under matting, and the nation is divided into a noble class, and the imrhad, or caste of enslaved workers. Manual labour is held in contempt, and their chief occupation is incessant warfare with their neighbours, whether these be of kindred stock, like the Kel-Gheres and Itissan tribes, or of aUen race, like the riverain populations of the Niger Valley.