The next thing to be done was to make an arrangement for enabling us to see something of the outer range of mountains immediately surrounding our camp, and after some debating it was agreed that on the following day we should ascend to the higher ridge of the considerable mass already referred to as rising to the west of our camp. Much nearer at hand, extending from behind our tents towards the opening of the main valley, a steep rocky ridge, only from 400 to 500 feet in height, promised to show us what we had hitherto seen little of, the rock vegetation of the lower region of the Atlas, and we readily made up our minds to devote the remainder of this day to its careful examination. There was, however, another matter of a practical nature requiring immediate attention. A glance at the map shows that in travelling along the skirts of the Atlas from Seksaoua to Mogador our route must lie through the district of Imintanout, and thence through the adjoining provinces of Mtouga and Haha. We had informed Mr. Carstensen of our intention to follow this line of route, and fixed the probable date of our return to Mogador at the 2nd or 3rd of June. During the last two days we had heard vague reports of disturbances going on in the provinces of Mtouga and Haha, and these were now confirmed and aggravated by the sheik of Seksaoua. War was actually raging, we were told, and the Governors had summoned all their people to arms. As was to be expected, the men of our escort, who clearly had no stomach for fighting of any kind, were becoming very uneasy at the idea of coming near to the seat of operations, and we apprehended that they might make an attempt to force us to diverge from our intended route and travel northward across the plain so as to rejoin the beaten road from Marocco to Mogador. Having ascertained that the distance from Seksaoua to the _kasbah_ of the Governor of Mtouga is no more than an easy day’s ride for men travelling without luggage, Kaïd el Hadj of Mogador with two of his men was despatched on a mission to Mtouga. He was to ascertain the truth as to the stories that had reached us, and to require the Governor, in case he considered extra protection necessary, to send additional soldiers to escort us through his territory, thus, as we hoped, committing us to keep to our intended route as far as Mtouga.