the caravan routes, would enter their territory, force them from their retreats, destroy their palm groves, carry off their cattle, and place garrisons in the principal oases—­even in Siwah itself.  For more than a century, however, it would seem that more active and numerically stronger populations had entered upon the stage.  A current of invasion, having its origin in the region of the Atlas, or possibly even in Europe, was setting towards the Nile, forcing before it the scattered tribes of the Sudan.  Who were these invaders?  Were they connected with the race which had planted its dolmens over the plains of the Maghreb?  Whatever the answer to this question may be, we know that a certain number of Berber tribes*—­the Labu and Mashauasha—­who had occupied a middle position between Egypt and the people behind them, and who had only irregular communications with the Nile valley, were now pushed to the front and forced to descend upon it.**

     * The nationality of these tribes is evidenced by the names
     of their chiefs, which recall exactly those of the
     Numidians—­Massyla, Massinissa, Massiva.

** The Labu, Laubu, Lobu, are mentioned for the first time under Ramses II.; these are the Libyans of classical geographers.  The Mashauasha answer to the Maxycs of Herodotus; they furnished mercenaries to the armies of Ramses II.

They were men tall of stature and large of limb, with fair skins, light hair, and blue eyes; everything, in fact, indicating their northern origin.  They took pleasure in tattooing the skin, just as the Tuaregs and Kabyles are now accustomed to do, and some, if not all, of them practised circumcision, like a portion of the Egyptians and Semites.  In the arrangement of the hair, a curl fell upon the shoulder, while the remainder was arranged in small frizzled locks.  Their chiefs and braves wore on their heads two flowering plumes.  A loin-cloth, a wild-beast’s skin thrown over the back, a mantle, or rather a covering of woollen or dyed cloth, fringed and ornamented with many-coloured needlework, falling from the left shoulder with no attachment in front, so as to leave the body unimpeded in walking,—­these constituted the ordinary costume of the people.  Their arms were similar to those of the Egyptians, consisting of the lance, the mace, the iron or copper dagger, the boomerang, the bow and arrow, and the sling.

[Illustration:  253.jpg A LIBYAN]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph.

They also employed horses and chariots.  Their bravery made them a foe not to be despised, in spite of their ignorance of tactics and their want of discipline.  When they were afterwards formed into regiments and conducted by experienced generals, they became the best auxiliary troops which Egypt could boast of.  The Labu from this time forward were the most energetic of the tribes, and their chiefs prided themselves upon possessing the leadership over all the other clans in this region of the world.*