On the morning of May 26 our first anxiety was to ascertain what might be our prospect of reaching from this point the head of the valley, and making another ascent of the main range. We had already heard rumours of disturbances among the native tribes in the upper part of the valley, so that our expectations of success did not run high; and when the sheik of the valley was forthcoming we were not much surprised to hear him declare that an excursion in that direction was utterly impracticable. We at once suspected Kaïd el Hasbi of practising his usual machinations to defeat our intentions; but with the difference that on this occasion there was probably some foundation in fact for the tales that were told us of conflicts between the neighbouring tribes, and of possible danger for travellers. With an escort furnished by the orders of the Sultan, and quite numerous enough to inspire respect among the rude mountaineers, there would have been no real risk in proceeding along the valley—or anywhere else in this part of the country—provided we could have reckoned on our men; but in the face of their refusal, there was no use in further pressing the point.
The next thing to be done was to make an arrangement for enabling us to see something of the outer range of mountains immediately surrounding our camp, and after some debating it was agreed that on the following day we should ascend to the higher ridge of the considerable mass already referred to as rising to the west of our camp. Much nearer at hand, extending from behind our tents towards the opening of the main valley, a steep rocky ridge, only from 400 to 500 feet in height, promised to show us what we had hitherto seen little of, the rock vegetation of the lower region of the Atlas, and we readily made up our minds to devote the remainder of this day to its careful examination.
There was, however, another matter of a practical nature requiring immediate attention. A glance at the map shows that in travelling along the skirts of the Atlas from Seksaoua to Mogador our route must lie through the district of Imintanout, and thence through the adjoining provinces of Mtouga and Haha. We had informed Mr. Carstensen of our intention to follow this line of route, and fixed the probable date of our return to Mogador at the 2nd or 3rd of June. During the last two days we had heard vague reports of disturbances going on in the provinces of Mtouga and Haha, and these were now confirmed and aggravated by the sheik of Seksaoua. War was actually raging, we were told, and the Governors had summoned all their people to arms. As was to be expected, the men of our escort, who clearly had no stomach for fighting of any kind, were becoming very uneasy at the idea of coming near to the seat of operations, and we apprehended that they might make an attempt to force us to diverge from our intended route and travel northward across the plain so as to rejoin the beaten road from Marocco to Mogador. Having ascertained that the distance from Seksaoua to the kasbah of the Governor of Mtouga is no more than an easy day’s ride for men travelling without luggage, Kaïd el Hadj of Mogador with two of his men was despatched on a mission to Mtouga. He was to ascertain the truth as to the stories that had reached us, and to require the Governor, in case he considered extra protection necessary, to send additional soldiers to escort us through his territory, thus, as we hoped, committing us to keep to our intended route as far as Mtouga.
About this time we became a good deal interested in one of the soldiers of our escort who had travelled with us throughout our journey. He was a large man, with black skin, but with hair and lips of less pronounced Negro type than we see among the natives of western equatorial Africa. When leaving Mogador he had an ulcerous sore on one hand, which was much swollen and almost useless. The sore, under Hooker’s treatment, was quite healed, and he was genuinely grateful for the benefit. Alone among the soldiers of our escort he did what he could to forward our desire to explore the mountain valleys; and of late, on more than one occasion, he had given useful information that helped us to defeat the petty intrigues of Kaïd el Hasbi. By our direction Abraham made some inquiry as to his previous history, and he quite readily told his story. He belonged, as it appeared, to one of the tribes that inhabit the skirts of the Great Desert on the south side of the Great Atlas. They led a predatory life, gaining an uncertain living by robbing travellers, and killing those who made resistance. After some years passed in this way, our friend seemed to have taken a dislike to the mode of life, and enlisted as a soldier in the service of the Sultan of Marocco. In his new position he had gained or developed some elementary notions of religion and morality, and he now expressed a strong opinion as to the impropriety of robbery and murder.
Here was a case such as is often cited by superficial travellers to show the absence of a moral sense among savage people. This man had no doubt robbed and murdered in his youth without the slightest compunction; but, given the conditions under which the ethical sense could be developed, the result was to produce an individual morally superior to the majority of those around him. The analogy, so well drawn by Reid, between the moral nature of man and the development of the plant from the seed holds good. External conditions are necessary; but they do not create the germ, without which no evolution can follow. The conditions vary from one individual to another. One requires to be fostered by many favourable influences; another, with stronger vitality, will bud forth under the least auspicious conditions. The assertion that there are human beings in whom it is impossible to awaken any sense of difference between right and wrong must be, at least, premature, until the world shall have reached a social condition in which each individual may be tried under appropriate conditions.
Our day’s botanising on the rocks near Seksaoua was successful beyond our expectations. Many conspicuous plants peculiar to Marocco were here seen for the first time. Several of these had been gathered by M. Balansa during the four days which he passed in the adjoining district of Keira, but were known to us only by name. That active and successful botanical traveller was able to collect so few specimens that in several cases no duplicates were available for distribution, and the specimens exist only in the rich herbarium of M. Cosson. Among other novelties we here saw for the first time Trachelium angustifolium of Schousboe, utterly unlike any other species of that ornamental genus; Teucrium rupestre and T. bullatum, both described by M. Cosson from Balansa’s specimens; and a single specimen of Elæoselinum exinvolucratum of Cosson, a fine umbelliferous plant, apparently very rare even in its native district. A very fine Brassica, standing five or six feet high, with a straight upright stem, set with candelabrum-like branches, was the most remarkable new plant found by us which had not already come in the way of M. Balansa.
The morning had been cool; the thermometer at 8 A.M. did not rise above 64° F., and the sky was overclouded; but as the day went on the sun blazed out with great power, and this was one of the hottest days we experienced. The heat was, of course, especially felt on bare rocks which became so hot that the hand could not bear them; and the soldier who had gone out by way of protecting us judiciously retired to the shade of a fig-tree at the foot of the hill. After some time, we separated and returned to the camp by different routes. A portion of the slope not far above our camp was altogether covered with broken blocks of moderate size obviously derived from the steeper crags above. This ground abounded in reptiles of various kinds, which were, however, so shy that it was not easy to get a favourable view of them. By sitting perfectly still for some minutes, Ball was partly successful in getting them to approach him. The most remarkable creature much resembled a miniature Iguanodon in form, being about eighteen inches long, with a row of thick conical processes projecting upwards along the back, and gradually diminishing towards the tail from about two inches in height between the shoulders. Numerous lizards were also seen; but no snakes, except a small black viperine species, seen gliding between the stones, actually under one foot, which fortunately did not touch or injure the animal.
By this time we were beginning to feel the effects of the unsatisfactory dietary to which we had been reduced during the four weeks since we left Mogador. It may seem unreasonable for men in health, plentifully supplied with fowls, sheep, and eggs, to complain of their food; but those who have experienced the difference between the meat of well-fed animals and the stringy tasteless fibre which is produced in such a country as this, will duly appreciate our longing for some variety. As the season advanced, and the herbage in the lower country became more and more parched, the sheep, always miserably thin, approached nearer and nearer to the condition of skeletons, covered with skin and ragged wool, and for some time back we had given up the attempt to eat any part, except the liver and kidneys broiled on short sticks; while the fowls had become equally distasteful. The keskossou, daily presented with the mona, was prepared with large quantities of rancid butter, to which, in spite of many experiments, we never could reconcile ourselves. Our attempts at obtaining any variety of diet were quite unsuccessful. Ducks and geese, being by Mohammedans considered unclean, were out of the question; and the turkey and guinea-fowl appear to be unknown to the domestic economy of the Moors. Our chief desideratum was fresh vegetables or fruit, but these were not to be obtained. Except in the neighbourhood of the coast towns, where they have been introduced by Europeans, none of our European vegetables are cultivated in South Marocco, except the cucumber and the pumpkin, and, owing to the want of the most elementary skill in horticulture, these seem to remain in season for a very short time; while the cultivation of fruit, at least in the districts we traversed, seems to be generally neglected. In this respect Marocco presents a striking contrast to most places with a somewhat similar climate in the Mediterranean region. Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, however low they may have fallen owing to corrupt and oppressive government, have retained some share in the inheritance of an ancient civilisation. We had carried with us sundry tins of preserved vegetables, of which green peas were by far the most acceptable; but our stores were now nearly exhausted, and our chief remaining luxury was portable soup, made with compressed vegetables and biscuits, which was now served out very sparingly. Tea without milk was often pleasant in the evening; but cocoa, prepared with milk in small tins, was much preferred for the morning meal.
The evening air was cool and pleasant, and, in spite of the advancing season, the night almost cold, though the height of our station, by the mean of two observations, did not exceed 2,867 feet (874 m.). Even the horrible howling of the dogs in a neighbouring village failed to keep us from a good night’s rest.
The morning of May 27 broke brilliantly, and, though the sun’s rays were already hot, the thermometer in the shade at 6 A.M. did not rise above 60° F. Another attempt was made to induce the sheik to take us for an excursion up the main valley; but he held fast to his declaration that the country in that direction was too dangerous, and repeated his offer of the previous day to lead us up the nearer mountain. Failing anything better, we resolved to accept this.