Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-12-20
THE sEReERs OF MOROCCO.
Nomads Who Move Their Tents With
the Coming Of Spring.

Nomdos VINO moNe inoir ohts WIFI
the Coming Of Spring.
Let us suppose that the winter rains
are over, and that the plains are green
with the young rising sun, writes
Walter Harris. In Scribners. Plough
ing and work are finished for the
wear, and within the circle Of brown
tents-some two dozen In number-all
Is life and activity. Men and women
are gathering together the few house
hold goods they possess, or pulling up
he pegs that hold their tent
dwellings, in place. Pots and pans of
timed, copper or rough red earthen-
ware are piled about, and strips OF
mating are being rolled up. The
children are chasing the fowls to and
fro in their endeavors to capture them;
the fiocks and herds browse nearby.
tended by sunburnt boys, and every
thing speaks Of an early move.
Then the tents themselves are struck
and rolled up. and the loading Of the
beasts of burden commences. Every
animal capable Of bearing a load is
pressed into service. Cows and bull
locks, mares, mules and donkeys-
even men and women-share joyfuily
in the labor. for spring has come and
the shade Of the giant cedar trees
awaits the shepherds and hunters
and cattle thieves. Life for the Ber-
bers commences then, and for few
months, in the impenetrable hills and
forests they can pass their existence
unhampered by Arab neighbors and
far beyond the reach Of grasping Of
ficialdom.
Then move Is made. and one and
all. singing as they go, the procession
starts of. Men on horseback-their
wiry little steeds as mudstained and
ragged as the saddles they bear-lead
the way. Fine little creatures they are
with all the grace of movement found
only In the savage. Their long, toga-
like "haiks' and straight heavy white
cloaks add to their picturesque ap-
pearances. Nor are their features de-
void Of beauty, for. though the suns
OF summer and the tempests Of win
ter score and mark their faces at an
early age they fail to obliterate the
pleasant smile and glittering eye that
are so typical Of the race.
The women follow on foot, or per-
haps, on donkey back, strange, under
grown, huddled-up figures, wrapped In
long striped shawls, and with their
heads tied in h&ndkerchiefs Of many
colors, and CATERS Of knitted wool or
leather on their legs. What little
beauty nature has bestowed upon
them they manage most successfully
to conceal under the strange dicta Of
Berber fashions. Their compilations
are stained and striped with red hen
ma" dye; their noses and chins are
tattooed in patterns Of dark blue, and
even the antimony with which they
encircle their eyes Is so carelessly and
coarsely put on as to give them the
appearance Of a recent scrimmage. Un-
tidy, unkempt and none too clean. the
Berber women offer few Of the at
fractions apparent in the men, VINO,
though often sadly in want Of wash
ing, are handsome, frank and full OF
spirit, with a mirth that Is infectious.
With the women are the children, half
naked little savages, some tied on the
back of friendly cow, some running
races by the roadside, and others
again, still at the breast. And SO 70
the forest.
Although the nomad Berbers are by
far the most wild Of all the race, II Is
perhaps the sedentary division OF the
people who offer to the traveller the
most attractive features. more espec-
tally from the strange castles tn@y
build and inhabit. The greater part OF
these are to be found only on the
southern side Of the main chain OF the
Atlas mountains, district which the
writer has been the only Englishman
to visit.
Although on the northern slopes
few examples Of this curious architec-
ture exist, they can be counted almost
on the fingers, and even they do not
offer all the peculiar characteristics 70
be found farther to the south, where
whole villages Of betowered and bat-
tlemented castles call to mind the
feudal times. Nor is the life OF the
people unlike what existed in Engiish
in the eleventh and twelfth centuries
for every tribe and subdivision OF
tribe Is at war, and even when, rarely
enough, peace prevails among the
tribes, every householder seems 10
seize the opportunity to wage war On
his neighbor.