. The gateway to the Sahara; observations and experiences in Tripoli. early all these peo-ple profess Mohammedanism, and intermarryingto some extent has gone on for centuries. The Berber race is best represented in Bar-bary by the wild Kabyles of the Atlas, and in theheart of the Sahara by the fierce Tuaregs. Moorand Bedaween best typify the Arabs; the Mooris a town-dwelling Arab, the Bedaween a no-mad. Of the Blacks there are two classes, thebond and the free. On the rocky slopes of the mountains, amongthe parched, thorny shrubs, sparse tufts of rank,yellowed grass, and poisonous milk plants,
. The gateway to the Sahara; observations and experiences in Tripoli. early all these peo-ple profess Mohammedanism, and intermarryingto some extent has gone on for centuries. The Berber race is best represented in Bar-bary by the wild Kabyles of the Atlas, and in theheart of the Sahara by the fierce Tuaregs. Moorand Bedaween best typify the Arabs; the Mooris a town-dwelling Arab, the Bedaween a no-mad. Of the Blacks there are two classes, thebond and the free. On the rocky slopes of the mountains, amongthe parched, thorny shrubs, sparse tufts of rank,yellowed grass, and poisonous milk plants, can betraced the nocturnal wanderings of the hyena,by the huge doglike tracks he has left; there, too,the jackal howls as the moon lifts over a moun-tain crag; or the terrific roar of the lion suddenlybreaks the stillness of the night, as though toshake the very mountains from their foundationsand send their great boulders crushing down onsome sleeping Arab douar [village] which, per-chance, lies at their base, like a great glow-worm in its stilly whiteness. [282]. THE DESERT In the sunshine, low down among the patchesof halfa and grasses of the plains, the swallowseternally skim and the wild gazelle feeds. Here,too, the jerboa nibbles at the roots and grains,and the sand grouse and crested Desert lark hideaway their nests from the watchful eyes of kitesand falcons which here and there stain highagainst the clear vault on outstretched and again in barren stretches the lone sandlily nods its blossom in the soft wind, and littleDesert snails hang like racemes of white flowerbells to the under side of the tamarisk bushesand blades of rank Desert grass. The daily aspect of the Sahara is the reverseof that of our country, for in the Desert the land-scape is generally light against the sky, which incolor so nearly complements the orange sand as tointensify greatly the contrast. When day breakson the Sahara, the sun shoots long shafts ofroseate light through the interstic
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