HERE AND THERE IN NORTHERN AFRICA 



19 



They build, with great care, water-tight 

 cisterns, for wells and springs are not at 

 all frequent in this country, and rain 

 water is greatly valued for drinking pur- 

 poses. In some parts there is actually 

 not enough spare water even to brush 

 one's teeth, and I do not believe the ani- 

 mals ever get sufficient to drink. 



This condition has naturally led to the 

 introduction of a breed of animals that 

 can live fairly well on very little water. 



Last May Brebisch and Mohammed 

 took me to a Troglodyte town perched 

 on the top of a table-land, and here in the 

 bowels of the earth I saw a huge mosque, 

 with great Gothic-like arches carved out 

 of massive rock. Besides having caves 

 in the rocks, they had skyscrapers made 

 of rhofas (artificial caves of hardened 

 mud) superposed one upon another to a 

 height of from 8 to 12 stories. 



Wild-looking Troglodytes, fully armed, 

 were guarding this stronghold when we 

 rode up, but as the Cadhi was known and 

 greatly loved by my companions, we re- 

 ceived a warm welcome. 



I was stupidly induced to climb to the 

 top of the rhofas to see the remarkable 

 panorama. It seems to me that at last 

 the missing link has been found, for cer- 

 tainly no beings ever climbed as agilely, 

 except monkeys, as did these Troglo- 

 dytes. 



The climbing up was far more simple 

 than the coming down. I longed to be 

 a member of that curious brotherhood of 

 the Aissaiouas that jump from great 

 heights without hurting themselves. The 

 little stone steps put in here and there 

 had been worn by centuries of use until 

 they sloped downward and projected only 

 about three or four inches, so one could 

 hardly get a foothold. Undressing as 

 much as I could, throwing my shoes and 

 clothes to the ground, and praying to 

 Allah to guard me in the perilous mo- 

 ments, I descended as best I could, slowly 

 and painfully, but finally in safety. 



There is wild excitement in going over 

 an unknown country and not being sure 

 whether one can bring up at the right 

 place before dark. Heat, thirst, and dan- 

 ger are forgotten in the glorious land- 

 scape, with its iridescent colors. 



Mohammed and Brebisch were most 

 picturesque, with their great straw hats, 



about four feet in diameter (see photo, 

 page 5), decorated with embroidered 

 gazelle leather, creamy white silken ber- 

 nouses waving in the wind, and the gaily 

 colored trappings of the Arab saddle and 

 bridle, with solid silver mountings and 

 massive silver stirrups. Mohammed was 

 mounted on a dark-gray Arabian stallion, 

 and Brebisch rode a pure white horse, 

 about five years old and full of spirit. 



Each boy carried shotguns and pistols. 

 They did not care where they went and 

 would never take a dare. It was useless 

 to caution them. They would reply that 

 Allah would take care of them, and he 

 certainly did. Brebisch was always hum- 

 ming a weird tune in a minor key, and 

 good-natured, no matter what happened. 



In this part of the country messages 

 are sent by runners, very thin, strong, 

 wiry men, without an ounce of fat, who 

 think nothing of a 30-mile run before 

 breakfast. 



We usually paused on our journey 

 before the sun became too hot, and ate 

 lunch in the cool of a Troglodyte cave. 

 The lunch always consisted of cous-cous 

 (native wheat prepared so that it looks 

 like fine grains of rice), with vegetables 

 when they were to be had — there were 

 never any here — and steamed with a lamb 

 or an entire sheep, cooked whole. 



One of my favorite dishes was chuck- 

 chucks, made of fried eggs, cooked with 

 oil, and dried red peppers. The bread 

 was always excellent — made of barlev or 

 millet. There were always quantities of 

 dried dates at a meal. 



the: dance oe the hair 



One evening Brebisch came in, all ex- 

 citement, and said that we were to attend 

 a betrothal ceremony about 9 o'clock. 



Walking down by the light of the full 

 moon, we were guided directly to the 

 place by the shrill sounds of the native 

 bagpipes and tom-toms (a species of 

 drum), that were making a fearful din. 



In the courtyard of a large fonduk 

 (or inn) were gathered together a motley 

 array of Arabs, Sudanese, Berbers, Tou- 

 aregs, and weird creatures, dressed in the 

 skins of small animals, with frightful, 

 grinning masks, and bones and skulls 

 dangling here and there. They were the 

 dancers from Timbuktu, and were mak- 



