VOL. XXV, No. 1 WASHINGTON JANUARY, 1914 THE NATIONAL HERE AND THERE IN NORTHERN AFRICA BY FRANK EDWARD JOHNSON Author of "The Mole Men: An Account of the Troglodytes of Southern Tunisia" (October, 1911), "The Sacred City of the Sands" (December, 1911), and "The Greek Bronzes of Tunisia" (January, 1912), etc., in the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE. I THE MOUNTAIN-CLIMBING TROGLO S DYTES OF TUNISIA IDI HADJ, the Holy Man, or Marabout, and his five sons were most hospitable people, and we had gotten to know each other well during my stay at the Cadhi's. There was seldom an evening when the venerable old "pilgrim," with his long, white, flowing beard and his green turban, did not drop in to have dinner with the Cadhi. Our table could only seat eight, and it was always full; sometimes a sheik from the hinterland of Tripoli or a Touareg chief who had come for provisions. Many had never sat in a chair at a table before or had seen knives, forks, and spoons in use. They would watch the Cadhi and copy him. With them a great platter of native wheat is brought in with a half or a whole sheep or lamb. The eldest son of the hosts cuts it into long strips; it is then pulled to pieces with the fingers, and each one takes from the huge dish the portion directly in front of him. Any dainty morsel is carefully put in front of the guest of honor. One or two bowls, or loving cups, are filled with water and passed around when one is thirsty. All the Troglodyte strongholds are wild and difficult of approach; hence lay their security in time of war. Their warriors could see the enemy approaching for many miles, unless they came by night, and then the zigzag path that led up to the great walls was too dangerous, for a stumble meant sudden death on the rocks hundreds of feet below. Guermessa, the ancestral home of Sidi Hadj and his five sons, is one of the wildest and most difficult Troglodyte towns to reach. It is situated on the top of a sugar-loaf mountain, the sides of which rise precipitously for hundreds of feet (see page 6). The narrow zigzag trail has been worn smooth by centuries of hard use, and the surface of the rock is like polished marble. It is even difficult for the mountain goats, born and bred at Guermessa; therefore, how much more difficult for man and beast! The inhabitants of Guermessa are a fierce, warlike race, who look with sus |