this place in 1610, but it was re-taken by Muley Ishmael in 1689.  The climate is soft and delicious.  In the environs, cotton is cultivated, and charcoal is made from the Araish forest of cork-trees.  El-Araish exports cork, wool, skins, bark, beans, and grain, and receives in exchange iron, cloth, cottons, muslins, sugar and tea.  The lions and panthers of the mountains of Beni Arasis sometimes descend to the plains to drink, or carry off a supper of a sheep or bullock.  Azgar, the name of this district, connects it with one of the powerful tribes of the Touaricks; and, probably, a section of this tribe of Berbers were resident here at a very early period (at the same time the Berber term ayghar corresponds to the Arabic bahira, and signifies “plain.”)

The ancient Lixus deserves farther mention on account of the interest attached to its coins, a few of which remain, although but very recently deciphered by archeologists.  There are five classes of them, and all Phoenician, although the city now under Roman rule, represents the vineyard riches of this part of ancient Mauritania by two bunches of grapes, so that, after nearly three thousand years, the place has retained its peculiarity of producing abundant vines, El-Araish, being “the vine trellices;” others have stamped on them “two ears of corn” and “two fishes,” representing the fields of corn waving on the plains of Morocco, and the fish (shebbel especially) which fills its northern rivers.

Strabo says:—­“Mauritania generally, excepting a small part desert, is rich and fertile, well watered with rivers and washed with lakes; abounding in all things, and producing trees of great dimensions.”  Another writer adds “this country produces a species of the vine whose trunk the extended arms of two men cannot embrace, and which yields grapes of a cubit’s length.”  “At this city,” says Pliny, “was the palace of Antaeus, and his combat with Hercules and the gardens of Hesperides.”

Mehedia or Mamora, and sometimes, Nuova Mamora, is situate upon the north-western slope of a great hill, some four feet above the sea, upon the left bank of the mouth of the Sebon, and at the edge of the celebrated plain and forest of Mamora, belonging to the province of Beni-Hassan.  According to Marmol, Mamora was built by Jakob-el-Mansour to defend the embouchure of the river.  It was captured by the Spaniards in 1614, and retaken by the Moors in 1681.  The Corsairs formerly took refuge here.  It is now a weak and miserable place, commanded by an old crumbling-down castle.  There are five or six hundred fishermen, occupying one hundred and fifty cabins, who make a good trade of the Shebbel salmon; it has a very small garrison.  The forest of Mamora, contains about sixty acres of fine trees, among which are some splendid oaks, all suitable for naval construction.