186 NEGOTIATION WITH A SHEIK. ch. viii. 



ranged from 56° to 60°. It will be seen that this country, 

 when made accessible to civilised Europe, will supply the 

 nearest approach yet discovered to the perfection of cli- 

 mate, whether for health or enjoyment. 



The morning of May 12 was in every sense a busy one. 

 During our afternoon ride of the day before, one of the 

 baggage mules, while following a narrow track along the 

 bank of a watercourse, had slipped into the stream, and 

 a large parcel of Hooker's plants had been thoroughly 

 soaked. Several hours of the night, and the early morn- 

 ing, were consumed in repairing the damage, by laying the 

 plants in dry paper, and drying in the sun that which was 

 wet. Then came the important affair on which our hearts 

 were mainly set. The sheik of the Ait Mesan valley had 

 arrived, and it was necessary by a judicious combination 

 of compulsion and conciliation to secure his co-operation 

 in our undertaking. It was true that the orders of his 

 superior. El Graoui, if duly conveyed by our escort, should 

 alone have sufficed for our purpose ; but we had already 

 learned that, by a mutual imderstanding between the 

 treacherous El Hasbi and the local authorities, our pro- 

 gress could at any moment be effectually barred. How 

 were we to detect and expose the falsehood of the stories 

 that were daily trumped up, and were seemingly accepted 

 for truth by our own attendants ? 



The sheik appeared sufficiently cordial, especially when 

 he was made to understand that, in case we were satisfied, 

 he should receive a handsome present ; and it was arranged 

 that our next camp should be fixed at a spot within reach 

 of the snow. 



When the time for our departiu-e drew near, a fresh, 

 but not quite unforeseen, cause for delay presented itself, 

 by the appearance in our camp of a crowd of native appli- 

 cants for medical advice. Before leaving England we had 

 been advised not to neglect the surest means for concili- 

 ating the good wiU of an African population, and had 

 fortunately provided ourselves with a sufficient stock of 



