cii. III. SAITI. 73 



We left the roads at 9 a.m. on the 25th, and were glad 

 to see for the first time the land rising in bold cliffs. The 

 headland seen a few miles south-west of Mazagan is Cape 

 Blanco ; but this projects little from the general outline of 

 the coast, which shows a tolerably uniform direction, rising 

 gradually towards the south-west, tUl we reach Cape 

 Cantin, the chief headland of this part of the Atlantic 

 seaboard. The summit is apparently about three hundred 

 feet above the sea, and the calcareous strata nearly hori- 

 zontal. Here the coast line, which from Cape Blanco had 

 kept the direction from north-east by east to south-west by 

 west, turns abruptly to the south. The cliffs recede a little 

 at first and form a slight curve, then rising to a second 

 headland some two hundred feet higher than Cape Cantin. 

 Beyond this the shore again recedes, and the land subsides, 

 where a slender stream has cut its way through the plateau 

 inland, and affords space for the little seaport town of 

 Saffi, or Asfi of the Moors. The coast line again rises on 

 the south side of Saffi, forming a steep escarpment some 

 three or four hundred feet in height, called the Jews' Eock, 

 about four miles from the town. 



Saffi is by far the most picturesque spot on the west 

 coast of Marocco. The extensive fortifications of the Por- 

 tuguese, high waUs and square towers, spreading along the 

 shore and up the broken declivity on which the town is 

 built, with several steep islets, whose rocks have been 

 gnawed into uncouth shapes by the Atlantic waves, pro- 

 duce, as seen from the sea, a striking effect. Though 

 fully exposed to the west, this port is better protected 

 from the north-east winds than any other on the coast, 

 except Mogador. Behind it lies the fertile province of 

 Abda, famed for its excellent breed of horses, and it is the 

 nearest port to the city of Marocco — about one hundred 

 miles distant — but the want of secure anchorage for ship- 

 ping neutralises these natural advantages. 



Our stay on this occasion was short, and soon after 

 dark we were again in motion. We spent pleasantly 



