. The story of Africa and its explorers. d nothing. The Aral) traders who passthrough the worst portion of the Sahara—namely, that between Morocco and Timbuc-too—have many stories to tell of such mis-haps. Thus a caravan proceeding fromTimbuctoo to Tafilet not finding water inone of the customary wells, perished to thenumber, it is said, of 2,000 people, besides1,800 camels—animals that are capable ofenduring thirst lonsfer than their of this sort account for themany human and other bones that liemingled together in various parts of thedesert. The plants and animals of this v
. The story of Africa and its explorers. d nothing. The Aral) traders who passthrough the worst portion of the Sahara—namely, that between Morocco and Timbuc-too—have many stories to tell of such mis-haps. Thus a caravan proceeding fromTimbuctoo to Tafilet not finding water inone of the customary wells, perished to thenumber, it is said, of 2,000 people, besides1,800 camels—animals that are capable ofenduring thirst lonsfer than their of this sort account for themany human and other bones that liemingled together in various parts of thedesert. The plants and animals of this vast regionare naturally, like the human inhabitants. THE INHABITANTS OF THE SAHARA. 87 largely confined to the oases.^ In these fertilespots the date-palm grows, and in some more civilised districts oranges, lemons,^aMmais^* peaches, figs, pomegranates, and similar fruits, and rice, millet, diirra,and other food crops are grown. Outside thenarrow limits of such verdure-covered spots,tamarisks, prickly acacias, and smaller drought-. ARAB TYPE. loving shrubs are about the only vegetation tobe seen, unless we except some coarse grasses,and one or two other peculiarly desert nearly every portion of the southern Sa-hara not altogether deprived of water or ofvegetation, the giraffe, now so narrowed inits range, was at one time common. It isnow much less frequent, though the ostrichmay be detected at intervals, with two orthree species of antelope and some wild wild ass and jackal are to be seen, withcrows, desert larks, the horned viper, and a few * Tristram^ The Great Sahara (1S<;0) is an excellentpopular work on the natural history of the region adjoin-ing Algeria, then little, now well known. other reptiles; but the lion never penetratesthe desert proper. The various tribes of Touaregs are thetrue inhabitants of the Sahara. These peoplebelong to the Berber stock (p. 7S),SO widely scattered qver the wholeof northern Africa. They constitute, thoughcivil
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