Geography and Travel. 
eastern than in its wester 
pal valley, that of Atar, 
and is the most thickly-populated part of the oasis. The greatest 
height of these hills is not more than 125 metres and most are much 
lower. The shifting sand-dunes which surround the whole of the 
oasis have penetrated between the two principal ranges of hills until 
they reach the walls of the towns of Uadan and Xingueti. The 
hills of Adar contain pines (/*. maritimus) and several other kinds 
of trees, with spiny shrubs and herbage which grows even among 
the sand. Gazelles and other antelopes, foxes, hares, porcupines, 
etc., are among the wild animals. The natives have herds of oxen 
and buffaloes and flocks of sheep and goats; they cultivate wheat, 
barley, millet, sorgum, maize, cucumbers, etc., and tobacco; but 
have no olives, figs, or oranges. Their principal article of food is the 
date. Everywhere in the Sahara there is water beneath the sur- 
face, often at a slight depth. The oasis is salubrious; and the tem- 
perature varies from 4 to 40 degrees, centigrade. The inhabitants 
of Adrar are Berbers, and some preserve the type tolerably pure, 
though as a whole they are mixed with Arab and Negro. They 
are divided into four castes, sacerdotal, warrior, plebeian, and slaves; 
the noble or warrior class being the owners of the soil. The civil 
and religious head of this people is a hereditary sovereign, but the 
real power in each tribe is in the hands of an assembly of notables. 
A hundred slaves form the bodyguard of the king, who resides in 
Atar. Most of the natives belong to the mussulman sect of the 
Dyilani, whose religious head or Great Makkaddem resides at 
Xingueti, the most populous town of the oasis, contains from 3 to 
4,000 souls; Atar 2,000 to 2,500; Uyeft about 1,500, while Uadan, 
which in the XVI. century was the capital, has greatly decayed. 
There is another Adrar, the Adrar Sutuf, about which less is known. 
The district next the coast and between the two Adrars is known 
as Tiris, and its inhabitants are shepherds and guides of caravans. 
In this country there are some curious rocks that are wider at the 
top than at the bottom, looking like basaltic monuments. At some 
pomts the basalt is formed into great arcades like those of an aque- 
duct. The districts called Skarna and Semmur form the drainage 
area of the Seguia-el-Hamra, which may be called a river though it 
has no perennial flow. Yet the Seguia is never entirely dry and 
there must be springs at certain points; it has many affluents, and 
the whole basin is humid and very productive. The indolent in- 
habitants are more given to the chase than to cultivation. 
The most powerful tribes are those of the Erguibat, who reside 
m the upper part of the river. This tribe sends caravans in all 
directions, some having as many as a thousand camels guarded by 
two to three hundred armed men. The small commercial town of 
Tenduf belongs to the tribes of the Tadyacant. 
