r
members of this tribe, to proceed to Wargla or El
Wad. .
It was not until our arrival at Tougourt that I
discovered that in order to proceed to either of these
places it would be necessary to obtain the permission
of the French Government. I was given to
understand that this, especially in the case of
Wargla, was not easy to obtain. As there appeared
to be some doubt as to my getting permission to go
to either place, I considered it advisable, on the
principle of asking for twice as much as one wants
in the hope of getting a half, to apply for permission
for both. I accordingly laid my papers, my passport
and permis-de-chasse, before the authorities, who
promised to forward my application to headquarters
in Algiers, and to acquaint me with the result of
their application.
We were all, I think, rather glad of an opportunity
of taking a rest. Aissa declared that our
march by double stages had reduced his camel to a
skeleton; but I was unable myself to see any very
appreciable difference in his appearance.
The morning after our arrival El Haj was sent
to take the camel out into the desert to a patch of
scrub some miles off to graze, while I took Aissa
down into the oasis to have a look at the palms.
We neither of us felt inclined to do much walking,
for we were both horribly stiff after our long and
slippery journey of the day before; moreover, the
fierce sun, which was blazing down from the cloudless
sky, caused a glare from the white sand which
was anything but pleasant.