About 6 P.M. we reached the spot which was destined to be our head-quarters for several days. The site chosen was an olive grove, on a shelf of level ground about one hundred feet above the stream. The soil in the openings between the trees must have been lying fallow for some time, and was not so uncomfortably rough as the ploughed land on which we often had to pitch our tents. The two nearest villages are named Hasni and Tassghirt; but the former was taken by us as the name of the place that became to us a sort of temporary home. By the mean of four nearly concordant observations, compared with those at Mogador, the height of our camp was 4,205 feet (1,281·8 m.) above the sea. By the time we were installed in our tents it was nearly dark, but a much longer delay occurred before the _mona_ arrived from the neighbouring village. The interval was well employed in a negotiation with Si Hassan, the sheik of the valley, ending by an engagement on his part to conduct us on the following day ‘to the snow.’ With eager anticipation, we rose early on the morning of May 13, and soon made our arrangements for the day’s excursion. Abraham, with most of the escort, remained in charge of the camp, while three or four of the soldiers went with us, and Si Hassan with two or three wild-looking followers took charge of the expedition. During the past fortnight, our Mogador attendants, and especially Ambak, whose superior intelligence was conspicuous, had picked up enough of English to make the constant presence of a regular interpreter less necessary than it had been at first, though occasions were pretty frequent when the attempts at mutual understanding between us and the Shelluhs were evidently unsuccessful.