Feb. 20, 1879] 



NATURE 



369 



It is certain that the lower country was once completely 

 subject to Roman power and Roman institutions, and it 

 remains to be ascertained how far an organised government 

 survived the weakening of the central authority. That 

 the independent tribes of the Atlas may have been incon- 

 venient neighbours to the half-Romanised inhabitants of 

 the plain is more than probable, and that the forts should 

 have been erected to hold the former in check seems the 

 most likely conjecture as to their origin. Excavation, 

 whenever that may be practicable, will scarcely fail to tell 

 something of the original occupants of these buildings, 

 and to diminish our ignorance of a dark period of past 

 history. 



At sunrise on April 10 (a misprint for May 10) the ther- 

 mometer stood at 60°, and the travellers were in the best 

 of spirits for undertaking the work that seemed ready cut 

 out for them. They would explore the fine valley that 

 led directly from their camp station to the heart of the 

 great mountain chain, up until they reached the snow ; 

 but here comes the exciting portion of the narrative, and 

 the record of how their progress was checked, how they 

 were forced to return, what troubles they had with their 

 escort, how they camped in Ait Mesan Valley, and how 



Fort at Tasseremout. 



from thence they stole up into the snowy regions must be 

 read in the journal ; no abstracts would do the narrative 

 justice. On the highest summit reached a snow-storm 

 was encountered, and the cold was intense ; a thermo- 

 meter carried in the pocket marked 25° F., and the height 

 of the Tagherot Pass was determined to be about 11,484 

 feet above the sea. The snow continuing, all further 

 advance was impossible, and they descended again into 

 the valley, to the Plateau of Sektana, from whence there 

 was a glorious view of the Atlas, which was sketched by 

 Mr. Ball. Amsmiz was reached about May 19 ; the posi- 

 tion of the town reminded them of some of the villages in 

 Piedmont that stand at the openings of some of the in- 

 terior valleys of the Alps, or still more of similar places 

 on the Apennines of Central and Southern Italy ; and 

 from It they reached the poor village of Imintelli, where 

 they sojourned for tivo days. From Imintelli a desperate 

 and fortunately successful attempt was made to climb to 

 the summit of Djebel Tezah. 



" Hooker reached the summit about 2 p.m., and was re- 

 joined by Ball nearly half an hour later. Excepting some 

 light fleecy cumuli floating over the low country to the 

 north, at a lower level than the eye, the sky was cloud- 



less ; but in some directions a thin haze obscured the 

 details of the vast panorama. Our first glance was inevi- 

 tably directed towards the unknown region to the south, 

 and there, at a distance of fifty or sixty miles, rose the 

 range of Anti-Atlas, showing a wavy outline, with rounded 

 summits, and no apparent deep depression, rising, as we 

 estimated, to a height of from 9,000 to 10,000 feet above 

 the sea. The highest portion within our range of view, 

 and the only part with a somewhat rugged outline, bore 

 a few degrees west of due south, and corresponded in 

 position with the Djebel Aoulouse of the French map. 

 A somewhat darker shade traceable at some places on 

 the flanks of this dimly seen range, possibly indicated 

 the existence of forests, or at least of shrubs covering the 

 slopes. 



" WTien the first impulse of curiosity was partially satis- 

 fied, we began to take more careful note of our position, 

 and to study in detail a view which had been so long 

 denied to us. The first fact that struck us, was that the 

 peak on which we stood lies a considerable way north 

 of the watershed. The axis of the main chain, which 

 here subsides into undulating masses from 2,000 to 3,000 

 feet lower than Djebel Tezah, lay between us and the cen- 

 tral portion of the Sous valley, and, even if the 

 prevailing haze over the lower districts had not 

 f veiled the details, would probably have cut off 



" 7^ the course of the stream and the rich tracts 



3^=s that are said to fringe its banks. The higher 

 ^^ strata of the atmosphere, above the level of 

 about 7,000 {t^t, were, however, delightfully 

 clear towards the east and west, and every 

 feature of whatever portion of the main chain 

 lay within our range was easily traced even at 

 distances of thirty or forty miles. An extra- 

 ordinary change had occurred during the three 

 days since we had viewed the chain from 

 Sektana, covered in deep snow do\vn to the 

 level of about 7,000 feet, and showing only a 

 few crest? of precipitous rock here and there 

 protruding. The white mantle had now com- 

 pletely disappeared, and only long streaks of 

 snow filling the depressions of the surface now 

 seamed the flanks of the higher mountains, 

 leaving the summit ridges everywhere bare. 

 During the ascent of the northern face of the 

 mountain, we had kept close to one of these 

 long and comparatively narrow snow-slopes 

 that extended through a vertical zone of over 

 2,000 feet, with a breadth of some 300 to 400 

 feet, and we now saw a still longer and wider 

 strip of the same character, filling a shallow 

 trough below us, on the east face of the pezdc. Near to 

 the summit, and on the ridges leading to it, not a trace 

 of snow was to be seen, even in the crevices of the rocks, 

 where it would find partial shelter from the sun. 



" We now proceeded to survey the field of view, ia 

 order, if possible, to fix the positions of any conspicuous 

 summits. Looking due west, nothing approaching our 

 level lay between us and the dim horizon. A succession 

 of projecting spurs of the Atlas, dividing as many succes- 

 sive valleys, subsided into the plain ; the most prominent, 

 and that extending farthest from the main chain, being 

 the mountain above Seksaoua. Turning the eye a little 

 to the left, about west by south, we saw crowded together 

 many of the higher summits of the western portion of the 

 main range, which was here seen foreshortened, so that it 

 was impossible to judge of their true relative position. 

 The highest of these, seamed with snow, we judged to be 

 about twenty-five miles distant, and higher than Djebel 

 Tezah by 600 or 800 feet In nearly the same direction, 

 but only about ten miles distant, was a rugged projecting 

 peak, rising some 300 feet above our level, and very many 

 more of somewhat lower elevation were discernible in the 

 space between us and the more distant points. Between 



