Tafilet; the narrative of a journey of exploration in the Atlas mountains and the oases of the north-west Sahara . dsomely dressed in spotless haiks of men are, as a rule, small of stature and wiry,with keen hungry eyes and fine features, and forma strange contrast in their appearance of cupidity andrascality to the honest ojDcn countenances of theBerbers. The odds being so vastly unequal in openwarfare, the latter race have almost desisted fromattacking the place—though the innate hatred of thetwo peoples finds ample scope in plundering one an-others caravans. Yet, rascals as are the
Tafilet; the narrative of a journey of exploration in the Atlas mountains and the oases of the north-west Sahara . dsomely dressed in spotless haiks of men are, as a rule, small of stature and wiry,with keen hungry eyes and fine features, and forma strange contrast in their appearance of cupidity andrascality to the honest ojDcn countenances of theBerbers. The odds being so vastly unequal in openwarfare, the latter race have almost desisted fromattacking the place—though the innate hatred of thetwo peoples finds ample scope in plundering one an-others caravans. Yet, rascals as are the Arabs ofAskura, one cannot help admiring the immense labourwith which they have dug the thousands of canalsthat irrigate the gardens, and the excellent mannerin which these are kept in repair. The love of gar-dening is found all over Morocco; but the tempera-ment of the race for sudden fits of economy, or lazi-ness, puts a stop on all progress in this direction,and on many occasions I have known Moors sinkwells and build irrigating canals, plant fruit-treesand hedges, only to allow the whole to fall into a. GARDENS. 141 state of ruin as soon as completed; and where oneyear I have seen flourishing gardens, the next theorange-trees are dried up from want of water andattention, and cattle are feeding on the leaves of theyoung fruit-trees. But there is also another reasonfor the constant ruined gardens one is continuallypassing when travelling in Morocco—namely, the factthat after the death of the owner the pro23erty isdivided, according to the sherd or native law, amongsthis heirs, who each singly wish to reap the entirebenefit without sharing in the expenses of keepingthe place in repair. I knew one most beautifulgarden, not twenty miles from Tangier, which wasonce the pride of the neighbourhood, and wdiich fromthe above cause is to-day a barren field, with hereand there the dried trunks of what were once orang-e-trees appearing from the soil. At Askura, however,things are d
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1895
