42 AFRICAN WANDERINGS.

march soon fell into confusion. The soil was of a dark colour, ahd looked as if it had been rained on but yesterday, and this morning's sun had called up on its surface a coating of slime of an inch thick. The durra fields still threw out fresh shoots from their ten feet high stems. To the left extended an impenetrable forest of uschar (Asklepias procera), which, with its fresh narcotic green, its verdant hues, and white violet-tinged flowers, was a most pleasing and refreshing sight. After a ride of some three hours, we arrived at a settlement of a Kabyle of Soggilabs, under the Sheik Haddab, some thirty mat huts, enclosed in a seriba (thorn-hedge); a little distance to the east many tents and some Tokuls showed over the green stalks. The larger village is called Soggilab, from the race of that name. A crowd of men, each with the lance or sword, dressed and frizzed out like the other Arabs, were assembled to gaze at us and receive the Pascha, but still no cattle were to be seen ; it was plain enough they were all driven away. As far as eye could reach, all the ground was covered with a species of arborescent lucerne (loid) some five or six feet high, on which the camels feasted with delight. The richness of the soil is most evident, from the great luxuriance of all its herbage and shrubs ; running water there is none, but the twenty or twenty-five feet deep wells give good drinking water in copious supply. Of such wells I counted forty-eight, which denotes a considerable population. There were many birdsj especially pigeons ; but, as usual, very shy. Both to-day and yesterday I had shot some hares, smaller and brighter in colour than ours, and with much larger ears. Many lions were said to be about, and we were warned to refrain from hunting. A great part of the bushes were fired and burnt down, to give open space round the camp, as the inhabitants of Soggilab were not to be trusted ; and this conflagration made all so clear, that we did not require to kindle any lights at night.

4.th April. — To-day is a day of rest. Some horsemen from the village of Soggilab arrived to salute us ; their horses, mostly stallions, were small, but of great speed, seemingly a cross of the Arab breed. The saddles small, and of wood ; stirrups as ours, some having shoes fixed on them for the lance, as with our lancers. Our poor soldiers are without tents, having nothing to eat but belila, t. e.

durra boiled in water, without salt or grease ; even with us salt i?