HEDYSARUM ALHAGI. 
121 
with cropping. These plants have short and flexible 
leaves ; the thorn is short but very hard ; by the wise pro- 
vidence of Nature this plant, the only resource of the 
animals of the desert, has the property of remaining green all 
the year round, in spite of the burning east winds which so 
frequently prevail ; the camels though not very delicate 
would refuse the dry leaves. This plant is very tenacious 
of life, throws out long roots on the surface of the ground, 
and does not grow to the height of more than eighteen 
inches ; it is found in sandy places, and I have generally ob- 
served that it is most abundant on the west side of the hills. 
The roots are thick and serve for fuel ; the Moors use it to 
cook their provisions, and at sun-set the slaves went to 
collect it, to boil our scanty portion of rice with water and 
salt, to which they added melted butter for sauce ; this 
was our frugal supper. My portion was set apart for me in 
a little calabash : for the Moors did not chuse to eat with 
me after they had discovered that I had had the scurvy ; they 
held me in utter abhorrence. In spite of the pains which 
I took to study their habits and customs, they observed that 
I could never eat rice as they did, making it into a little 
ball in the hand and tossing it into the mouth ; when they 
meant to insult me, therefore, they always told me that I ate 
like a christian. 
Sidi-Aly, my guide, was a short man, about four feet 
high, with a wrinkled face, black mischievous-looking eyes, 
a little grey beard, a rather long chin, and a large mouth, 
which rendered him still more hideous : this man ate by 
himself that he might appear to be a person of importance. 
Thrusting his dirty hands, the chapped skin of which re- 
sembled a crocodile's scales, into a leather bottle, to take out 
some butter to put into our rice, he stirred our victuals about 
in this cleanly manner. Notwithstanding all the fine pro- 
mises of protection which he had made me at first, I soon 
found how little he was to be trusted. He refused me the 
