‘Whilst the Sultan was digesting my memoranda on various affairs, we made an expedition to the slopes of the Atlas. My son reached the snow, but was obliged to beat a rapid retreat, as the mountaineers were in revolt against the Sultan. The Shloh tribes of the Atlas, who were submissive to the Sultan, were most kind and hospitable to us. They gave us all a hearty welcome, and I was delighted on finding that I was known to all these wild fellows as being a friend to the Moors and “a just man.” The valleys of the Atlas are very beautiful and fertile. The inhabitants live in two-storied houses, something like the Swiss, only very rude in form. They are a far superior race to their conquerors, the Arabs.’
As this letter shows, the hope which Sir John had entertained of returning with the Mission through the Atlas mountains and thence to Mogador was not completely fulfilled, as a rising of the tribes in that district rendered the expedition unsafe. Sid Musa however suggested that before leaving Marákesh, an expedition of a few days might be organised to visit ‘Uríka,’ on the slope of the Atlas nearest to the city. This was arranged, and on the morning of April 17 the party left Marákesh by the beautiful Bab el Mahsen, or Government gate, the fine old arch of which, built of red stone engraved with Arabic inscriptions, is said to have been brought by the Moors from Spain,—an improbable legend founded on the fact that Jeber was the architect. The narrative is given from Miss Hay’s Diary.
‘As we passed the Sultan’s palace, which, by the way, is said to contain a female population amounting to a thousand women (of all colours!), the standard-bearer lowered the banner as a mark of respect. This salute was also accorded when passing the tombs of “saléhin,” or holy men.
‘On this trip, as also on the subsequent return journey to Mogador, the usual red banner that precedes an envoy was replaced by a green one. This latter is the emblem of the Sultan’s spiritual authority, and there was a peculiar significance and compliment in its being sent to precede the Representative of Great Britain and of a Christian Sovereign. The Sultan also sent his own stirrup-holder, a fine old Bokhári, to attend Sir John, as he would his Royal Master, an office which the noble old man punctiliously fulfilled. He was always near Sir John’s person, prepared to alight and hold his stirrup when required, as he was wont to do for the Sultan. The old man had many a quaint tale to relate, and Sir John would sometimes summon him to his side and encourage him to talk of his recollections and experiences.
‘The valley of the Atlas, whither we were bound, was in sight due South. Our way at first lay across the plain and along the line of deep and dangerous pits that mark the track of the aqueduct which supplies Marákesh with water, said to come from the hills thirty miles distant. These pits are about twenty feet in diameter and of equal depth, and one of our party had a narrow escape one day, during a wild and general race across the plain, riding nearly directly into one of these chasms concealed by long grass. Fortunately the clever little Barb swerved, and, jumping, cleared the pit to one side.
‘Tradition states that formerly, in remote times, an aqueduct brought water underground direct from the Atlas to the city. This became blocked and damaged, but could not be repaired or cleared owing to its great depth below the surface. Therefore one of the ancient rulers, to collect the water it supplied, made great wells or reservoirs some fifteen miles from Marákesh, and closed all the fountains and springs in their vicinity. From these the present water supply was brought to the city, and originally flowed in through four hundred canals or aqueducts. These, Arabian historians relate, were the work of 20,000 Christian captives.
‘The greater extent of the plain was in grass, studded with thorny “sidder” bushes; but some crops of barley and beans looked flourishing, and here and there, where irrigation had been attempted by means of watercourses from the river “Ghemáts” vegetation was luxuriant beneath olive and other fruit-trees.
‘At about 4 p.m. the country assumed a more pleasing aspect as we passed the villages of the Shloh tribe of Mesfíwa. These Shloh, like the natives of Sus and Rif, are all of Berber race. Neither Phœnicians, Goths, Romans nor Arabs ever succeeded in bringing them completely under subjection, for they retreated before the conquerors to the mountains, and in these highland fastnesses maintained their independence. With the exception of a few tribes they owe no political allegiance to the Sultan, but acknowledge his spiritual suzerainty as the recognised head of the Mohammedan religion in Morocco, in virtue of his direct descent from the Prophet. They altogether differ in appearance from the Arabs, and no affinity can be traced between the Berber and the Arabic languages, excepting in words connected with the Mohammedan religion which were introduced when the Berbers adopted the creed of Islam. In place of tents the Shloh live in houses, of one or two stories, built of mud and stone without mortar, the earth of this district having the peculiar quality, when well beaten down, of being impermeable.
‘Learned writers have disputed the origin of the Berbers, but they seem to agree that they are not the aborigines of the country, but displaced another and more ancient race of inhabitants. One of the traditions of the Berbers is that their ancestors were driven out of Syria by the “Khalífa” of “Sidna Musa” (“our Lord Moses”), meaning Joshua, the lieutenant of Moses. Their country in the South of Morocco is called generally “Sus,” and the manner of their expulsion is related in yet another legend quoted from a commentary on the Koran.
‘God said unto David, “Banish the Beraber out of this land, for if they dwelt in hills of iron they would break them down.” Whereupon, says the story, King David placed the people on camels, in sacks called “gharaiar,” and sent them away. When they arrived at the Atlantic coast their leader called out, in the Berber tongue, “Sus”—which means let down, or empty out—so the exiles were canted out of their sacks, and the country is thence called “Sus” to this day!