MOROCCO. 371 



can say witli safety at any time that there is a revolt "'oins^ on somewhere 

 in Morocco. In consequence of this miso-overnment the popuhition is 

 nowhere dense, not eveai iivthe most richly blessed ivoioiis. I believe 

 that the rate of density is not more than 50 lieads per s(|uare kilometer 

 in Abda, Avhicli is comparatively thickly settled, and in whicli one 

 comes npon a duar, though nsually a small one, every (juarter of an honr. 

 And I also believe that the estimate which ascribes a po])ulation of 

 8,000,000 probably comes pretty near the truth; but this is certainly 

 the maximnm. Only a portion of this popidation, however, is l)ound 

 together by political ties and yields to the authority of the Snltan. Of 

 the 000,000 square kilometers that I ascril)e to Morocco by far the 

 larger part belongs to what is in the conntry itself called Beled-es- 

 Ssiba, " the independent territory,"' npon which the Sultan at best 

 exercises inflnence as the religious head ; and only 180,000 s({uare kilo- 

 meters are comprised in Beled-el-JSIakhzen, '' the land of the chan- 

 cery,'' which includes the provinces acknowledging the authority of 

 the Sult.an. The kernel of the Beled-el-Makhzen is the Atlas Vor- 

 land, of abont 85,000 sqnare kilometers and containing 3,000,000 in- 

 habitants. 



In the hands of a European power which could develop the re- 

 sources of this conntry still lingering in mediaevalism and could make 

 its position count for all it is worth, Morocco might become a political 

 factor of the first rank — might, indeed, be capable of bringing about 

 a change in the distribution of power among the European States. 

 At the same time, the fact must not be disregarded that it would be 

 a long and difficult task to conquer the country. It would not I)e so 

 hard to conquer the Atlas Vorland, which is open country throughout 

 and easily accessible from the ocean, but all the more difficult to con- 

 quer the Atlas Mountain countries and the thickly populated Rif ter- 

 ritory. But little hel[) would be afi'orded by the existing division of 

 the mountain folk into a number of small tribes, which rule theu)- 

 selves democratically and are in a state of constant feud and vendetta 

 with each other, for their love of freedom is ungovernable and the 

 nature of the ground [iresents very great obstacles. This is especially 

 true of the natural route by which France could chain IMorocco to 

 herself, the valley mentioned in the early })art of this article, along 

 which at this very moment war operations are taking place, and which 

 will not be safe until the moiuitain folk to the north and the south, 

 the mighty tribes of Rhiata, Iliaina, and others, will have been com- 

 pletely conquered. 



And it is these very North-Moroccan Bei"l)ers that are uoav armed 

 with the best European breechloaders, which they obtained through 

 the smuggling that goes on from Spain and Gibraltar and. perhaps, 

 recently, from Algeria as well. It would seem as though the European 

 powers, well aware of the frightful danger to the world's peace in- 



