Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/481

 PARUDANT— AOADTR-SAKIKT-EL-HAMRA. 805 accordinp^ to certain local MuHsulmaii prophecies, in one day to go forth the Muhdi, who is de.stiiKHl to renew the fuce of the eurth, uinl who " shull (111 flu* world with as much rightcou8nc8« as it is now fillod with wickedness." Tarudant. Officially the "Wed Sfts belongs to the empire, ond the Sultan's envoys are here received with honour. Nevertheless most of the tribes are still inde|)endent, and the only effect of the suzerain's intervention, who dividen in onler one day to rule, is to increase their internal feuds and foment a perj)etual state of intestine warfare. The natives are for the most part Berbers of somewhat mixed origin, although the Awaras, one of the largest confederations, call themselves Arabs. They comprise seven tribes occupying the southern slope of the Atlas in the immediate vicinity of the Bibawan pass. Like the Huhus of the opposite declivity, they dwell in strong- holds erected on isolated bluffs and headlands, whence a view is commanded of the approaching enemy, or of peaceful caravans inviting attack. The Shtuga con- federation, which holds the whole region between the Atlantic and Tarudant, consists exclusively of Berber tribes. Tarudant, capital of the Sds basin, lies a little to the north of the river, in a vast plain which rises gradually towards the hills occupied by the Awaras, and towards the southern escarpments of the Atlas. According to Hohlfs, Tarudant covers a larger area than Fez ; but far more gardens and olive groves than groups of habitations are comprised within its irregular enclosures flanked by earthen towers at intervals of 200 or 300 feet. Towards the centre, however, vegetation gives place to a real town, with narrow winding streets comnianded on the north-east by a strongly built citadel. Its chief industries are leather-dressing, weaving, dyeing, and especially copjxjrware for the markets of Kuka, Kano, and Timbuktu in the Sudan. This industry was originally created by the copper mines of the neigh- bouring Atlas hills to the north ; but at present nearly all the crude metal is imported from England. The sugar plantations, which in the time of Leo Airicanus constituted the chief wealth of Tarudant, have long ceased to exist. Agadir — Sakiet-el-Hamra. The natural outport of the Siis basin is Agadir, standing a little to the north of the estuary which forms the best harbour on the Marocco seaboard. The inlet is sheltered from the east and north winds on the north-west by CaiK) Gher (Jcbel Ait-Wakal), the extreme headland of the Atlas range. At the head of the bay another cape, formetl by a i)rojecting lateral ridge, encloses the harbour proper, completely protecting it from the open surf. A group of huts at the foot of this ridge is supplied with water by a copious spring, and the port is commanded by an agadir, or "rampart," whence Agadir-ne-Irir, or "Capo Rampart," the full designation of this seaport. Held by the Portuguese since the beginning of the sixteenth century, and by