square form, flanked at two angles with high towers, and enclosed by a ditch. The ground floor is occupied by the cattle, while the upper story, approached by a ladder which may be removed in time of danger, is disposed in as many chambers as there are families in the stronghold. Such are the means devised for their mutual protection by the local Haha Berbers, who are settled agriculturists exposed to the raids of the nomad Saharian Arabs, They, however, in their turn occasionally full on passing caravans, so that traders never venture to enter their territory unarmed or in small bodies. The various idan, or clans, constituting
the Haha confederacy, have been estimated by Alvarez Perez at two hundred and eighty thousand souls.
The well-watered and highly productive Sûs valley abounds in large villages surrounded by palm, olive, and orange groves. The district is entirely occupied by an industrious peasantry free from the razzias of marauding nomads. Formerly the well-defined basin of the Sûs constituted an autonomous state, whose inhabitants were noted in mediæval times for their industry, learning, and enterprising spirit.
At present they are known in the Mussulman world chiefly as strolling dancers, jugglers, and snake-charmers, who emigrate in large numbers to every part of Mauritania, and even at times find their way to Europe. They constitute a sort of guild, placed under the patronage of a "Saint" Mohammed-ben-Musa, whose name is always invoked before beginning their performances. From the Sûs country
