CH. xm. A VISITOE TO TARUDANT. 341 



intimate relations with many of the natives. Emboldened 

 by custom, he had on one occasion joined a party of Moor- 

 ish merchants bound for Tarudant in Sous, and safely reached 

 that place. Something, however, either in his appearance, 

 or accent, or gesture excited suspicion ; it was noised 

 abroad that a Christian was in the town, and an excited 

 crowd soon gathered round the house in which he and his 

 companions were lodged. As the demeanour of the people 

 became more and more threatening, the travellers barri- 

 caded the entrance, and prepared to defend themselves by 

 force. After some hours, as evening was coming on, the 

 assailants became more determined, and proceeded to pile 

 up faggots round the building with the obvious intention 

 of burning the house with its inmates. Just as matters 

 were looking very serious, the Grovernor of the town made 

 his appearance with a party of soldiers ; the doors were 

 opened, and the Grovernor said to Mr. Jordan : ' You have 

 a horse, and you have from this till to-morrow morning to 

 put a wide space between you and Tarudant ; you had 

 better lose no time.' Protected by the soldiers, the Eng- 

 lishman rode out of the city, and made his way towards 

 Agadir by night, thence returning safely to Mogador. 



Tarudant was once a large and flourishing city, and its 

 gardens were famous throughout Marocco ; but, like the 

 rest of the country, it has fallen off from its former con- 

 dition, and is now a poor and decaying place. 



It is clear that in that part of the empire increasing 

 religious fanaticism has accompanied declining prosperity. 

 In the sixteenth century Tarudant was resorted to by 

 English and French merchants, and it was the seat of 

 active trade, and of manufactures in copper which was 

 extracted from mines in the neighbouring chain of the 

 Grreat Atlas. The population was apparently then alto- 

 gether of the native Berber stock. In the course of the 

 continued efforts made by successive Sultans to establish 

 their authority in the Sous province, the Moorish element 

 became more and more predominant in the towns, and 



