Once more we were in the saddle, and the whole party felt that no more delay was permitted. To ride down the steep, slippery bed of the watercourse below the village seemed even a more trying affair than the ascent; but our companions seemed to take it as a matter of course, and our sturdy beasts accomplished the task bravely, though not without hard struggling, that would have strained the muscles of animals less strong and hardy. As always happens when the ground is looked at in the reverse direction, we espied, on retracing our track, several plants not before noticed, one or two of them certainly new. No botanist can resist such a temptation, even though he were flying for his life; and two or three times we dismounted to snatch a specimen or two, but were soon recalled to the necessity for pushing on. For the first time since we landed in Marocco, the evening sky was overcast with heavy dark clouds, and the last of twilight was fading fast when we reached the ford over the torrent. The banks are here overarched by poplars and other tall trees, and in the dim light the rapid stream seemed fiercer, and its roar more menacing, than when we crossed it in the morning. The passage was achieved; but not without a good deal of excitement among our followers, when one of the soldier’s horses slipped into a hole, and only after violent plunging and loud shouting of the natives, scrambled to the farther bank.
Without more trouble we ascended the slope on the western side of the valley, and reached the olive grove, to which we had given little attention when we passed through it in the morning. This now unexpectedly presented the most difficult, and even dangerous, stage of our excursion. Such faint glimmering of light as remained up to this disappeared under the trees, and gave place to absolute pitch darkness. The rough spreading boughs, all beset with the ragged, leafless, half-dead branchlets characteristic of old olive trees, stretched out on every side, at a height of four or five feet from the ground. There was no regular beaten track through the grove, but by day it was easy for man and horse to thread a way among the trees. The case was now very different. Our keen-sighted Shelluh followers were as much at a loss as we were. One or two men on foot went first, and we then followed, the train being brought up by the soldiers of our escort. For a while, by moving slowly and cautiously, nothing serious happened. The beasts seemed to understand the difficulty of the case, and as one or another of us rode against a branch, with head bent down to lessen the risk of mischief, they stopped at once, and even backed a step or two. Before long the cavalcade was separated by long gaps. A loud cry of pain, followed by the vociferations of the natives, brought the foremost to a full stop, and after a while we were once more near together. It was not altogether reassuring to be told by Ambak, when we asked the cause of the row, that one of the soldier’s eyes had been torn out. On this Ball determined to proceed on foot; but Hooker and Maw, after a few steps over the very broken ground, thought it better to remount, and rely on the sagacity of their four-footed companions.
In our awkward position the time seemed long; but at last we got through the olive grove, and found when we emerged from it that the night was even darker than before. It is well known to those who have made night excursions in mountain countries, that anything approaching absolute darkness, in places not overshadowed by trees or rocks, is very unusual. It may be impossible to distinguish one object from another; but the outline of opaque bodies against the sky is almost always traceable, and it rarely happens that a path is not in some degree distinguishable by its lighter hue from the surrounding rocks or vegetation. On this night, however, nothing whatever could be seen; and as we knew that the narrow track was carried for the next three or four miles along a very steep slope, precipitous in places, we felt that our difficulties were not yet over. The horses and mules, however, showed themselves deserving of the confidence placed in them. Ball, who led the way on foot, feeling his way with an alpenstock, had a narrow escape, as, misplacing his foot, he fell over the edge, but was luckily stopped by a dense mass of thorny bushes, from which he was rescued with a little trouble. We were heartily glad when, on reaching the spot where the track turns downward towards the river, we at last saw the lights of our camp glimmering through the trees. The roof of dark clouds overhead had by this time grown rather less dense; some faint light helped us down the steep slope, and a little before eleven o’clock we reached the welcome shelter of our tents. The case of the wounded soldier was first attended to. It was much less serious than we supposed; the eye was not much injured, but there was an ugly flesh wound on the face below it, where a jagged stem had torn through the upper part of the cheek. Wounds heal with remarkable readiness among the natives of this country, and after a few days nothing remained but a scar on the man’s face. A sheep, several fowls, eggs, and three large dishes of cooked food were soon forthcoming as the evening mona, and a rather late supper closed the proceedings of the day.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]See Ramusio, Delle Navigationi et Viaggi. Venetia: 1563. Vol. i. 12.
CHAPTER IX.
The Shelluh sheik bribed — Arrangements for stopping at Arround — Medical practice among the Shelluhs — Arabic correspondence — Unexpected difficulty — Strange fancies of the natives — Threatening weather — Our house at Arround — Gloomy morning — Saint’s tomb — Escape from our guides — Strange encounter — Snow-storm — Tagherot pass — Descent to Arround — Continuance of bad weather — Sacrifice of a sheep — Shelluh mountaineers — Fauna of the Great Atlas — Return to Hasni — Deplorable condition of our camp.
We had at last succeeded in breaking the charm that seemed to have hitherto kept us from the inner recesses of the Great Atlas; but we had done little more, and what we had as yet seen and handled of the vegetation of the higher region merely served to whet the appetite, and increase our natural voracity. Our talk on that night of our return to Hasni, and our first thoughts on the following morning, turned on the possibility of making the wretched village of Arround our base of operations for two or three days, as it was clear that only by starting from that point would it be possible to make a fruitful ascent of the higher ridges. During the day’s excursion, Hooker had ascertained a point of great practical importance. While mounting the slopes on the west flank of the valley, he noticed a path leading upwards towards a narrow ravine at its head, and learned in answer to his inquiries that this led to Sous—the great valley on the farther side of the main range. It was clear then, that, with Arround as a starting point, we should have the advantage of a beaten track as far as the crest of the ridge; and, even if this should not be very high, we might, from that point, ascend one of the adjoining summits.
The greater part of the following day, May 14, was devoted to putting our large collections into order; but meanwhile negotiations for carrying out our plan of sleeping at Arround were the most pressing business, and at length, after endless palavers, and discussing countless difficulties, were brought to the desired conclusion. Almost alone among the men in authority, whom we met in Marocco, the sheik of this valley seemed to have no special aversion to us as strangers and Christians. For very sufficient reasons he was longing for the moment that should see us and our escort depart from his district; but meanwhile he seemed anxious to keep on friendly terms, and do what he could to meet our wishes. We had already made him several presents; but here, as elsewhere in the country, we found that most of the articles we had provided for that purpose were little appreciated. Opera glasses, musical boxes, and even watches are of small account, unless with the comparatively civilised men who have lived in the coast towns or the great cities: cutlery is much more sought after, and some large sheath knives, of which we had a fair supply, were always highly acceptable; but fire-arms, not necessarily of modern make, are far more welcome than any other gifts. On this occasion we resorted to a strange engine of seduction. Before leaving London, Ball had happened to pick up, in an old curiosity shop, an antiquated weapon, of the size of a large horse pistol, with four barrels intended to be loaded and discharged all together. This, which we had called the ‘young mitrailleuse,’ had been the subject of many jokes during the journey, but was now with due solemnity presented to the sheik. The effect of our munificence was immediate and satisfactory, and the sheik was gained over to our cause. Fortunately, the efficiency of the ‘young mitrailleuse’ was not tested while we were in the country. It may probably have been since employed with deadly effect; but it is doubtful whether the victim would be the person against whom the four barrels may have been directed.