In the old days, before motor-cars had come into being, the caravan of some southern chief moving to his summer quarters in the north was a very noble sight. It consisted of some hundred camels bearing all his family and his household goods. The _bassour_ of the important ladies was draped about with the brilliant trappings of his tribe and was surmounted by a banner above which shone a brass crescent. All the men rode beautiful horses richly saddled, and the flocks spread themselves about the caravan as far as the eye could reach. Occasionally one sees this sight nowadays, but very rarely, and only in the far south where roads have not penetrated. To-day the Arab chief sends his family by rail or by car, and it is left to the shepherds to travel in their old-fashioned and picturesque style. There are, however, real nomads of great wealth who own hundreds of flocks and whose caravans are necessarily very large, but they do not go in for any kind of pomp. It is a most astonishing thing to meet one of the old heads of families, dressed so simply that he might be a humble workman, and realize that he is the owner of thousands of sheep which represent a fortune not to be sneered at in Europe. Here he lives, however, all his life on the desert with his fifty tents or so, his family and retainers growing up about him, but without the least desire to better himself or live in a house. Most of the _caïds_ of the south live this way, and those who inhabit the towns are exceptions, and are merely there for business reasons or because contact with Europe has made them soft. The camp of my shepherds, which consists of eight tents, comprising some fifty persons, is a very typical example of the average group of nomads. It moves according to the pastures; that is to say, it remains in a place as long as there is enough grazing in that area and then it moves on to the next feeding ground. The camp forms the center or headquarters, and in it dwell all the women and children. At dawn the shepherds get up, count the sheep and disperse into the Sahara, where they remain with the flocks until the evening, when they return to the camp. The sheep are again counted, and the evening meal is taken in each separate home. [Illustration: _Photographs by Mr. Julian Sampson_ A Water Carrier in Laghouat] [Illustration: Algerian Cavalryman] [Illustration: _Photographs by Mr. Julian Sampson_ Head Shepherd, the Author, the Kaïd Madam and the Calipha] [Illustration: Caravan Moving North] When I am there the head shepherd, and perhaps the head man of some neighboring camp, dine with me, and then all the other shepherds come and sit round my fire to smoke or tell stories till bed-time. The women, though unveiled, rarely appear and they are so silent that one hardly realizes they are there, but they prepare a very excellent meal and with apparently no materials weave all the tents and clothes for their menfolk.