¡8 m¡¡1 || I and produce excellent fruits ; h a v in g the advantage o f various climates, according to the ascent towards the snow, which, contrasted with the verdure beneath, has a singular and picturesque effect. In many places the mountains are uninhabited, and form immense chasms, as if they had been rent asunder b y some convulsion o f n atu re ; this is the case throughout the ridge that intersects the plains which separate Marocco from Terodant. In this part is a narrow pass, called Bebawan,- having a chain o f mountains on one side, ascending almost peipendicu- l a r ly ; and on the other side, a precipice -as steep as Dover Cliff, but more than ten times the heighth. W h en the army which I accompanied to Marocco crossed this defile, they were obliged to pass rank and file, the c a v a lry dismounted: two mules missed their step, and were precipitated into the a b y s s : the path was not more than fifteen inches wide, cut out o f a rock o f marble, in some parts extremely smooth and slip pery, in others rugged. In the branches o f the Atlas east o f Marocco, are mines o f c o p p e r ; and those which pass through the province o f Suse produce, besides copper, iron, lead, silver, sulphur, and saltpetre : there are also mines o f gold, mixed with antimony and lead ore. T h e inhabitants o f the upper region o f Atlas, together w ith their herds (which would otherwise perish in the snow), liv e four months o f the year in excavations in the mountains; v iz . from November to February, inclusive. T h e climate o f Marocco is healthy and invigo ratin g; from March to September the atmosphere is sarcely eve r charged with c lo u d s ; and even in the ra in y season, v iz . from September till March, there is seldom a d a y wherein the sun is not seen at
27f 39
To see the actual publication please follow the link above