36 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



further south, which would seem to attest that beyond 

 Djelpha the Romans never penetrated into the Sahara. 

 As I was in haste to get to Laghouat I did not sleep 

 at Djelpha, but pressed on as soon as dinner was over. 

 Near the " Assassination Rock," so named from several 

 dreadful murders having been committed there, we passed 

 through a small flight of locusts, and that was the only 

 incident worth mentioning, until tired and weary we beheld 

 the banner of France floating over the fortress of El 

 Aghouat, the pearl of the desert, the key of the Great 

 Sahara. Laghouat (Lar'ouat) or El Aghouat, according 

 as we prefix the French or Arab article, is the last French 

 outpost. So far civilization extends and no further; be- 

 yond is nominal submission of the " tribus indigenes," men 

 who, like the Chamba and the Touareg, trust to the fleet- 

 ness of their camels, and own no master. An exception 

 only must be made in the case of the Mzab, who are a 

 peaceful nation and the good allies of the French. 



Situated on the right bank of the river Mzi — I should 

 hesitate to say river, for it is only in wet seasons that there 

 is any water — Laghouat is, in fact, the first oasis. Twenty 

 thousand matchless palms encompass the town, forming a 

 noble belt of verdure, beneath which the vine, the fig, the 

 pomegranate, and the apricot interlace their foliage, ming- 

 ling in rank confusion. About half a mile to the north the 

 "river" forms a small marsh, which I found to be an ex- 

 cellent collecting ground. Nearly all the houses are white, 

 flat-roofed, and made of mud-bricks. The same materials 

 partition off the Arab gardens. In the centre of the town, 

 and half way between the two forts, is the Place de Randon, 

 named after Marshal Randon. It is a neat French square, 

 with a sort of bazaar on one side and the officers' club on 

 the other, embellished by about a dozen palms. Many of 

 the streets are entirely occupied by Arabs, and present a 

 very uninviting appearance. The heat inducing a natural 



