Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/483

 ILEOH—OOUULIN. 8»7 uiul Sudan. Most of them cull thciiiflclvcs Guezzulu, or Jelula, a term HiAlogoiM to the Gucshtula of Kubyliu, uud jwasibly identical with the Numidian Qotala) of ancient writers. Of all these petty maritime states the most important, although not the brgoKt, is that commonly known as "the kingdom of Sidi Ilesham," from a recently rcigning^sheikh, in whose family the supreme power is still centred. In virtue of its genealogical relations it even claims a right to the imperial crown. The pro|)or name of the district is Tazzerult, which is also that of -a stream flowing from the slopes of the Little Atlas. The natives cultivate barley and wheat, and also work some local mines ; but their chief pursuit is the breeding of canaels, j>artly exixirted, partly employed by them in the caravan trade across the Sahara. Every three years a large mugar, or fair, is held near the zawya of Sidi-Uamod-ben-Musa, ancestor of the reigning prince, and on these occasions as many as four or five thousand camels are collected on the spot. The present sheikh has removed the former interdict excluding the Jews from this market, and in order to attract trade to his territory he even holds himself personally responsible for the public security, indemnifying traders plundered on the route through the unsettled districts of the Awaras and other marauders. Tlegh — Ogulmin. Ueghy capital of Tazzerult, standing, according to Lenz, at an elevation of 1,530 feet, is largely inhabited by Sudanese ^Negroes. Tlie army of the sheikh, who is himself a black, is composed entirely of slaves from every part of Sudan, including even some Fulahs. As in Nigritia, blue garments are the prevailing colour, and, like the Tuarcgs, the men go partly veiled, while the women walk abroad uncovered. Towards the source of the Wed Tazzerult an isolated volcanic cone is crowned by the impregnable stronghold of Agaiiir, marking the southern limit of " tht^ king- dom of Sidi Ilcshara," here conterminous with the territory of the Mejud Herbers. The waters descending from the southern slope of the Anti-Atlas flow to the Wed Nun, whose basin is divided into several i)etty states, the chief of which near the coast usually takes the name of the river itself. The natives have for centuries been dreaded by the fishermen from the Canaries and other mariners, all vessels running aground on these inhospitable shores being reganled as legitimate prize, and the crews mostly enslaved. Ogulmin, capital of the state, and usually known as Wed-Nun, stands at an elevation of probably over 3,000 feet, too high for dates to ripen. Beyond the oasis encircling the town nothing is visible except an amphitheatre of bare arid hills, said by the natives to abound in silver and copper ores. Ogulmin is one of the chief trading stations between Mogador and Timbuktu ; but it is above all a great dejKit for slaves from Sudan. To Mogador, besides slaves, it sends ostrich feathers, a little gold dust, horses and mules of good stock, and sheep. It belongs to the Ait Hassan tribe, with whom the local Jews are said to live on a footing