CH. XI. EXCUESION FEOM SEKSAOUA. 289 



was now served out very sparingly. Tea without milk 

 was often pleasant in the evening ; but cocoa, prepared 

 with milk in small tins, was much preferred for the 

 morning meal. 



The evening air was cool and pleasant, and, in spite of 

 the advancing season, the night almost cold, though the 

 height of our station, by the mean of two observations, 

 did not exceed 2,867 feet (874 m.). Even the horrible 

 howling of the dogs in a neighbouring village failed to 

 keep us from a good night's rest. 



The morning of May 27 broke brilliantly, and, though 

 the sun's rays were already hot, the thermometer in the 

 shade at 6 a.m. did not rise above 60° F. Another at- 

 tempt was made to induce the sheik to take us for an 

 excursion up the main valley ; but he held fast to his 

 declaration that the country in that direction was too 

 dangerous, and repeated his offer of the previous day to 

 lead us up the nearer mountain. Failing anything better, 

 we resolved to accept this. 



The declivity of the hiU immediately west of our camp 

 being much too steep for horses, we followed a circuitous 

 track, at first NW. and then SSW., chiefly along steep 

 slopes, on which, among other novelties, we first gathered 

 Erodium atlanticum, discovered in this district by ]M. 

 Balansa. After an ascent of some 1,500 or 1,600 feet the 

 track turned again nearly due west, and we found ourselves 

 on the southern slope of the mountain, which we now saw 

 to be almost completely detached from the main range of 

 the Atlas. The slightly convex ridge on which we stood 

 inclined gently to the south, forming the watershed be- 

 tween the Seksaoua valley and that of Imintanout which 

 adjoins it on the west. The slopes of the mountains en- 

 closing both those valleys are better wooded than usual in 

 the Atlas, some variety of evergreen oak being apparently 

 the prevailing tree. Behind us, as we stood facing the 

 great range, the mountain rose some 1,200 feet above our 

 present level, and as the sun was hot we did not inmie- 



ir 



