( If? ) 



nmch sand in tlie OiuhI d-Abiod, Init it alipeiur; to he rccotitly I.Idwii over, iind to 

 rest on si basis of rock and grave]. The vegetation is jjeculiar : thick tiifts of a 

 large grass (probably an Anr/ropoi/oi'), f^^il here and there a /r/.7//////w. Here and 

 everywhere in the south Grey Shrikes were absent, while f.nitiiis e.i-nibitor e/,ynn» 

 occurs everywhere in the north where Zizi/plius abounds. We found, however, an 

 old nest in one of the bushes here, which might liave been a Shrike's nest. Here, ou 

 the sand of the river-bed, however, Ahu'mon ulandiiJi's aiul AmmomnuM phoi'niriiniH 

 arenicolor were seen and promptly shot. The night was once more a wild and 

 unpleasant one ; a heavy gale was blowing, and we were covered with sand. Never- 

 theless we caught a few moths in a sheltered depression, and among them a new 

 species : Ghileiw liilyrrti, of whi('h a second specimen was caught in exactly the 

 same spot a fortnight later. 



On April 14 we made the longest march of our jonrney : over oU km., to 

 Foggaret-es-Zona, the tirst of the Tidikelt oases. After leaving the river-bed we 

 came upon a gravelly plain with many round stone-balls. At first we had to our 

 right and left many grotes(iuely sha])ed rocks and " gour" (flat-topped hills), but they 

 were soon left behind, and we came upon the barest ami most hopelessly lifeless 

 stretch ever seen. The jilain ajijieared to be endless; far in the distance we saw the 

 palms of Foggaret-es-/()iia, but tiiey seemed to be as far after hours and hours as 

 wlien we iiad lirst sighteil tliem at eleven o'clock, and it was i)ast five o'clock when we 

 reached the houses. The village is not large, but the houses are i)ecnliar, low, many 

 of the better ones crenellarcd i[uite ornamentally ; and the inhabitants wear mostly 

 garments like the Touareg, though they are Arabs and other Berbers. 



The surroundings are very dreary, as rain has — ajiparently — uot fallen to any 

 extent for many years, the last twenty years having been exceedingly dry. Whert; 

 Kohlfs, in I8ii4, saw much verdure and food for camels, and extensive thickets of 

 " Uhomran ' {'I'ldiidinmi ittnlntuiii), we found no trace of green, but dead roots and 

 twigs of bushes, said to have been " Dhomran " by our Arabs. I dug several of 

 these out, and found them dead to the roofs. 



The evening was cool, but we were troubled by gnats, and could not sleep in 

 tiie stuffy house which we liad entered in order to save the mounting of 

 our tent. 



At six o'clock the next morning we left Foggaret-cs-Zoua, and at eleven we 

 reached the pretty little oasis of Igosten. To our left we saw almost all the time 

 the palm-groves and houses of Foggaret-el-Arab, as it is now calh^l. 



Rohlfs was the first European who saw the oases of Tidikelt. He called the 

 •' Foggaret-el-Arab" of to-day " FognriL el-Arb" ; our Igosten of to-day he called 

 Gusten or Igesteu, and our Arabs also said generally " (iosteu," never " Igosten."' 

 We found Igosten very interesting. According to Deporter (18110) the districts of 

 Foggaret-es-Zoua and Igosten had 2, '.Jon inhabitants, of whom do were Zenata 

 {i.e. Berbers), 1,3(12 Arabs (of the tribes Onlad-Sidi-EI-Hadj-Mohamed, (Julad-Sidi- 

 Cheikh, Uulad-YaVch, Oulad-Zoummit, Gulad-Taleb-Ali, and Kel-Ahmelleu *j, 

 094 Harratiu (descendants of freed slaves), 2 70 Negroes and '-'O Touaregs. The 

 Touareg, however, are not, as a rule, sedentary in Tidikelt, but come in great 

 numbers in the autumn to buy dates and other necessaries ; the inhabitants are 

 mostly clad like Touareg, veiled in dark blue-black robes, so that only the eyes 

 and hands are visible, and many understand the language of the Touareg, the 

 interesting " Tomashek." 



* The latter said to be Tuuaieg by linhlts, though thcT call themselves Arab.-*. (J) 



