Ohjervations &c. 229 



near the Ttttery 'Do/Jj ; that from Jihhel Woofgar^ in the Neigh- 

 bourhood of Con/ia?2tina\ the Mailah, that falls into the 

 Shott over againft Meffeelah ; th^Bareekah, as It paifes by Nic- 

 howJe\ and the River of Gor-bata, upon the Confines of the 

 Jereed; thefe, I fay, befides feveral lelTer Rills and Foun- 

 tains, are all of them either very fait or brackifli. The Water 

 of the River of Gor-hata is made very palatable, by (train- 

 ing, for a little Way, through fome contiguous Banks of Sand, 

 into little Pits, occafionally dug for that Purpofe ; but the o- 

 ther Rivers, having deeper Channels and running through a 

 richer Mould, are not capable of the like Filtration. How- 

 ever by long Ufe and Cuftom, the Arahs are very much re- 

 conciled to the Tafte; which indeed is not fo extraordinary 

 as the Pradice, 1 am told they have, of eating Cakes of Salt, 

 in the Valley of u4o[l in Ttedmont. 



The Salt Pits of Arzew lye furrounded with Mountains, The Saiinx 

 taking up an Area of about fix Miles in Compafs. They ap- 

 pear like a large Lake in Winter, but are dry in Summer, 

 the Water being then exhaled, and the Salts, left behind, 

 chriftalized. In digging, they pafs through different Layers 

 of this Salt ; whereof fome are an Inch , others more in 

 Thicknefs ; in Proportion, I prefume, to the Quantity of faline 

 Particles, the Water was impregnated with, before their re- 

 fpeftive Concretions. This whole Area is made up of a Suc- 

 cefiion of fuch Similar Strata^ heaped one upon another : and 

 in the fame Manner are the Salince betwixt Carthage and 

 the Guletta, thofe of the Shott, and of other Places either 

 bordering upon or lying within the Sahara. 



Jihhel Had-deffa is an entire Mountain of Salt , fituated TheMounta, 

 near the eaftern Extremity of the Lake of Marks. The Salt "^ ^''^'" 

 of it is of a quite different Quality and Appearance from That of 

 the SalirKe, being as hard and folid as Stone, and of a reddifh 

 or purple Colour. Yet what is wafhed down from thefe Pre- 

 cipices by the Dews, attaineth another Colour, becoming as 

 white as Snow, and lofing that Ihare of Bitternefs, which is 

 in the Parent-Rock-Salt. The Salt of the Mountains near 

 Lwotdiah and Jihhel Minifs, is of a grey or blewifh Colour; 

 and, without fubmitting to the like accidental Purification, as 

 at Had-de^a, is very agreeable to the Palate; thefirft, efpeci- 

 ally, being fold, 2it Algiers, for a penny an Ounce. 



Mmm Of 



