CM. A. INTRIGUES OF KAID EL HASBI. 245 



our Mogador captain, that Kaid el Hasbi had here once 

 more been scheming to frustrate the objects of our journey. 

 In announcing our arrival, he at once prejudiced the 

 (lovernor of Gurgouri against the intrusive Christians, 

 who had come to visit his district, and directly advised 

 him not to let us enter the mountain valleys. It is likely 

 that this conduct was as much prompted by a keen recol- 

 lection of the discomfort of his recent five days' stay in 

 the Ait Mesan valley, and the poorer fare there available, 

 as by mere fanatic dislike to Christians and strangers ; 

 but we all know how readily fanaticism allies itself with 

 the baser passions of human nature, and neither were 

 wanting in Kaid el Hasbi. In any case, it was only na- 

 tural that a local Governor should take his cue from the 

 man who seemed to be the personal representative of the 

 authorities in Marocco. 



If our soldiers were disappointed at missing a feast, 

 we were in no better humour at being foiled in what ap- 

 peared a hopeful project. We silently rode for nearly an 

 hour amidst well-cultivated fields and gardens before we 

 finally reached the banks of the Oued Nfys, at a village called 

 Nurzam. The channel was some 300 yards in width, cut 

 out from the soft limestone strata that rose on either side 

 in steep banks about thirty feet high ; while, in spite of 

 the recent rains, the stream was only about twenty yards 

 in width, and everywhere shallow. The day was so far 

 advanced that we could not linger here — a fact the more to 

 be regretted as we found, on the dry gravelly bed of the 

 stream, several, plants not before seen during our journey. 

 Among these were Salvia aigyptiaca, and a curious 

 Antirrhinum, nearly allied to, but different from, the 

 Algerian A. ramosissimum. 



On the west side of the Oued Nfys, the ground rises 

 gradually, but not nearly to so high a level as the plateau 

 of Sektana. The underlying rock throughout the space be- 

 tween this and the next valley descending from the Atlas 

 appears to be covered with a thick red earthy deposit, 



