370 



NATURE 



[Feb. 20, 1879 



S.W., and S.S.E., the range of Anti-Atlas, rising behind 

 the broad Sous valley, bounded the horizon. 



" At our feet, and cutting oflf from view the course of 

 the river Sous, the mountain mass that here forms the axis 

 of the main chain presented the appearance of a troubled 

 sea of a light ferruginous colour, declining gradually in 

 elevation from W. to E. At a distance of about eight 

 miles E.S.E. of Djebel Tezah it sinks to an estimated 

 height of little over 7,000 feet, at the head of the main 

 branch of the Oued Nfys, and offers the only apparently 

 easy pass over the main chain which we had yet seen.' 

 The rocky sunburnt flanks of the mountains were dotted 

 •with trees of dark foliage, doubtless some form of the 

 evergreen oak, up to a height of about 8,000 feet above 

 the sea, for the most part solitary, sometimes in clumps, 

 but nowhere forming a continuous forest. The numerous 

 feeders of the Oued Nfys had cut deep ravines in the 

 flanks of the mountains, and were lost to sight, except 

 where gleams of silver light shot upwards from the deeper 

 valleys amid the walnut trees that fringed their banks. 

 Numerous hamlets were seen, some perched upon project- 

 ing ridges, some lying in hollows and girdled with a belt 

 of emerald-green crops. 



"It was impossible not to speculate on the condition of 

 these primitive mountaineers, who have since the dawn 

 of history preserved their independence. Leo Africanus, 

 speaking of the very district now overlooked by us, which 

 he calls Guzula, says that the people were in his day 

 molested by the predatory Arabs and by 'the lord of 

 Marocco ;' but they successfully resisted all encroachments, 

 and no attempt is now made to assert the Sultan's autho- 

 rity among them, or to enforce tribute. Something they 

 have doubtless gained in material, and still more in moral, 

 welfare by stubborn resistance to alien rule ; but the pros- 

 perity that is sometimes attained by tribes subject to the 

 semi-feudal rule of chiefs, and among whom intestine 

 feuds are rooted in immemorial tradition, is usually short- 

 lived. 



" Our hope of getting further knowledge 'as to the 

 eastern extremity of the Sous valley, and the orographic 

 relations between the Atlas and Anti- Atlas ranges was 

 not to be satisfied. Djebel Tezah, as we found, stands some 

 way north of the axis of the chain, while the great mass 

 that rose over against us between E.N.E. and E.S.E., 

 extending to the head of the Ait Mesan valley, sends out 

 massive buttresses to the south, and by these our view of 

 Anti-Atlas was cut off to the S.E. On one of these 

 western projecting buttresses we could distinguish a large 

 village belonging to the district of Tifinout, and standing 

 at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet. Turning our eyes to 

 the north of true east, many of the higher summits of the 

 chain were seen rising above the intervening ranges, the 

 most distant probably belonging to the Glaoui group, east 

 of Tasseremout. Once more we came to the conclusion 

 that throughout the portion of the Great Atlas chain 

 visible from the city of Marocco, between the easternmost 

 feeders of the Oued Tensift and those of the Oued Nfys, 

 there are no prominent peaks notably surpassing the 

 average level. Many of them must surpass the limit of 

 13,000 feet above the sea, but it is not likely that any one 

 attains the level of 13,500 feet. The last object that at- 

 tracted our attention in the panorama, in a direction 

 about east by north, was an isolated mass, forming a bold 

 promontory on the northern side of the chain, of which a 

 rough outline is here given. 



" When the engrossing interest of the distant view had 

 so far subsided as to let us pay attention to nearer objects, 

 we were struck by the unexpected appearance of consider- 

 able remains of dwellings on a platform of level ground, 

 only a few feet below the actual summit of the mountain. 

 About a dozen rude stone dwellings, all in a ruinous con- 



' This is apparently the pass spoken of by Leo Africanus as leading from 

 near Imizmizi (Amsmiz?) to the region of Guzula (the northern branch of the 

 Sous valley). He says it is called Burris, that word meaning downy, because 

 snow frequently falls there.— See " Ramusio," vol. i. p. 17, B. 



dition, with chambers sunk a couple of feet belov the 

 level of the ground, and the roofs fallen in, had at some 

 former period been here erected ; but we saw no traces of 

 recent occupation. It seemed most probable that they 

 were intended as shelter for herdsmen, who had di-iven 

 their flocks in summer to this lofty station. 



"As we lingered on the topmost point of the mountain, 

 the intense silence of the scene was broken by the distant 

 scream of a large grey eagle that soared over our heads, 

 and then sailed away southward over the Sous valley, 

 making the deep stillness still more sensible than before." 



No wonder that after the excitement of such a day, 

 which only ended when their quarters were reached at 

 half-past eight at night, the travellers let their collections 

 rest in the collecting boxes and portfolios for the night, 

 and after supper fell themselves to sleep. 



Wars among the native tribes at last drove our authors 

 to the necessity of returning to Mogador, passing through 

 the wonderfully singular defile of Ain Tarsil, which is 

 like a trench some thirty to fifty feet wide and the same 

 deep, running for a length of nearly three miles. Four 

 days were spent on the occasion of the second visit to 

 Mogador, and Sir Joseph Hooker reached London with 

 his collections in safety on June 21. 



Having in this notice exceeded the space at our dis- 

 posal, we can only quite incidentally allude to the very 

 valuable appendices to this volume, which treat of the 

 geography, geology, and flora of the districts visited. 



Since we some years ago closed the pages of " Pal- 

 grave' s Personal Narrative of a Year's Journey through 

 Central and Eastern Arabia," we have not perused a more 

 delightful or instructive book of travels than this account 

 of a tour in Marocco. From the well-known acquire- 

 ments and great experience of the authors we expected 

 much, and we have not been disappointed. The journal is, 

 without doubt, especially pleasant reading to a botanist, 

 but the geographer will find in it much to interest him, 

 the politician will find in the description of the state of 

 things now existing in such a country material for some 

 serious thought, while the literary taste of every reader 

 will be gratified by the excellent manner in which the 

 narrative is written. 



REORGANISATION OF THE AMERICAN 

 SURVEYS 

 A LL well-wishers of the progress of geographical and 

 -^ geological research will welcome the intelligence 

 that in the official estimates for the present year just pre- 

 sented to Congress the complete remodelling of the 

 surveys carried on by the United States has been recom- 

 mended to be immediately undertaken. The Report 

 recently made by the National Academy of Sciences, to 

 which attention was lately called in these pages (Nature, 

 vol. xix. p. 213), seems to have been adopted simpiiciter. 

 The Engineer Department is henceforth to be charged 

 with no surveys save such as may be required for military 

 purposes. The surveys of mensuration are to be placed 

 under one organisation, and a new Geological Survey of 

 the United States is to be instituted. Of course the 

 changes are at present only recommended for adoption 

 by the Committee on Appropriations, and there may be a 

 stmggle over some of the proposals. We hear indeed 

 that the Engineers are leaving no point in their defence 

 unguarded and are preparing for what is called a " heavy 

 fight." For their own sakes as well as for the cause of 

 scientific progress we cannot wish them success. ^ 



They object to the constitution of the Academy's Coni- 

 mittee on the ground that only one of the members of it 

 knows anything practically of surveying. And this objec- 

 tion will no doubt be urged with force and persistence m the 

 debates in Congress. But surely they can hardly expect 

 to throw dust in the eyes of the legislature by such a 

 flimsy argument. The Committee, as we formerly pointed 



