178 STRA Y PEA THERS FROM MANY BIRDS. 



and Achmed's formidable tube, speed uselessly after 

 them. We gradually ascend to the higher ground, 

 shooting a brace of birds as we go, from a quiet corner 

 of the scrub. Achmed insists on cutting the throats of 

 these and all the birds we shot, which I allow him to do 

 as they are not for specimens, because every true 

 Mohammedan is forbidden by the Koran to eat any 

 animal that has not met its death by the knife. Up 

 here the scenery though bare, is full of wild grandeur. 

 All round and above us are the lofty Aures, stretching 

 away as far as the eye can reach, peak upon peak, and 

 hill beyond hill. There to the north-east is the towering 

 peak of Djebel Chellia, the highest summit of the range, 

 and next to that the almost as lofty heights of Djebel 

 Mahmel, still covered with their winter blankets of 

 snow. It is mid-day now, and my Arab companion 

 spreads his long robe on the ground and commences to 

 say his prayers. Waving his arms in the air, muttering 

 exhortations to Allah in his native tongue, he throws 

 himself to the ground and is lost to all things but his 

 simple worship. While he is engaged in meditations 

 with Mahomet let us glance at the habits of the 

 Partridges. 



The Barbary Partridge is a thorough bird of the 

 wilderness, and can live comfortably in districts where 

 most other game birds would starve. Provided there is 

 water and even a small amount of cover it is able to live 



