to
travel "officially," as it were, in Morocco is a fatal mistake. It means
a written permission from the Sultan, an army of followers, a commotion
wherever a halt is made, and a great deal of hospitality. The Sultan does
not encourage Europeans to travel out of the ordinary line of route, on
account of the superstitious and fanatical spirit of his people, which
would be roused to wrath against him, were he to countenance the invasion
of their sacred land by infidels. Consequently, when he gives a permit,
he writes upon the document to the effect that the Christian is committed
to the care of Kaid So-and-so, and Kaid So-and-so is to see that no ill
happens to him.

When the Christian traveller arrives at the district belonging to this
kaid, through which he wishes to pass, he goes to the castle and delivers
the permit. The kaid reads it, and knows what it means: the Sultan only
wishes the Christian to be kept to frequented roads. Therefore the
Christian is offered every hospitality, and the kaid almost weeps as he
explains that it is impossible for the traveller to proceed--the
tribesmen are dangerous, are in revolt along the line the Christian
wishes to go. The traveller says he will take his chance. His servants,
primed by the kaid, refuse to go with him on the score of the danger. If
he manages to get away with one trusty follower, the kaid sends soldiers
after them, fetches them back to the castle--to save their lives, he
says, and his own life, which would be forfeited if a hair of their heads
was injured. The Christian, after his rebellious conduct, may be forced
to return discomforted to the coast towns, or he may be allowed to march
on in another direction, keeping on the beaten track. Thus the Moorish
Government will politely frustrate enterprising spirit on the part of the
infidel. But if the traveller is content with other than a royal
progression through the country, if he will travel quietly and without
ostentation, dressed according to the habits of the people, and be
prepared to "rough it," the chances are, that he may get to places which
he could never have reached while impeded by a Government escort.

But the way above all others to travel in Morocco is to secure the help
of a missionary and to go with him. Medicine is the golden key which
opens every gate; and a Moor will do anything for a _tabiba_ (doctor),
which is what a missionary practically is to him. The missionary arrives
at a remote village,