It consists in a pair of quadrangular pillars erected on a common basis, which is fixed into the ground, and measures 3 ft. 1⁵⁄₁₂′ in length, and 2 ft. 10′ in width. The two pillars which measure 2 feet on each side, being 1 ft. 7²⁄₁₀′ asunder, are 10 feet high. The western pillar has three quadrangular holes on the inside, while the corresponding holes in the eastern pillar go quite through; the lowest hole is 1 ft. 8′ above the ground, and the second 1 ft. ½′ higher up, and so the third above the second. The holes are 6 in. square.

Over these pillars, which at present lean to one side, is laid another enormous stone about 6 feet 6½ inches long, and of the same width as the pillars, so that the whole structure bears a surprising resemblance to the most conspicuous part of the celebrated Celtic ruins at Stonehenge[19] and other ruins in Malabar[20], about the religious purpose of which not the least doubt remains at present. But besides these, there are other very curious stones of different workmanship, and destined evidently for different purposes; some of them are large, flat, and quadrangular, very peculiarly worked, and adapted, probably, to sacrifices. One of them is three feet in length and breadth, but with a projection on one side, as is represented in the woodcut, and 1 ft. 2′ high. On the surface of this stone, and parallel to its sides, is carved a channel 4⁸⁄₁₀ inches broad, forming a quadrangle; and from this a small channel branches along the projecting part. Several stones of similar workmanship lie about. There is also the remnant of an enormous stone 3 feet 7½ inches at the back and across, but rounded off at the corners, looking like a solid throne, excepting that on the upper side there is an excavation measuring 1 ft. 3²⁄₁₀ in. at the back, 9⁶⁄₁₀ inches on the front, and 1 ft. 1²⁄₁₀ in. across, and about 10 inches deep, with a small opening. This stone looks very peculiar, and probably formed an altar.

These ruins are certainly very remarkable. Any one who looks at them without prejudice or preconceived opinion, will be impressed with the belief that they belonged to a place of worship; though how this peculiar structure could be adapted to religious purposes, I will not undertake to decide. It is well known, that the most ancient idols were mere pillars or stones, not only of a round or conical shape, as symbols of the procreative power of nature, but even of a square form. It is also well known, from the example of the columns in On or Heliopolis, of the two celebrated columns, Yakín and Boʿaz, in front of the temple in Jerusalem, and from that of the two pillars of the Phœnician Hercules in Gades, that the power of the Deity was often represented by a pair. A pair of massive columns or pillars, covered with a similarly massive impost, may well serve to represent symbolically the firmness and eternity of the cosmical order, while the name of the chief deity of the pagan Berbers, ʿAmún, may possibly have the original meaning of “the Founder, Supporter.” But I will not enter here into such conjectures; I will only say that my distinct impression on the spot was, that the structure was a rude kind of sun-dial, combining the vertical with the horizontal principle. That it could not be intended as a common doorway, even if it were connected with another building, is evident from the narrowness of the passage; but it may have had the purpose of serving as a sort of penitential or purgatory passage in consecrating and preparing the worshippers[21], previous to their offering sacrifices, by obliging them to squeeze themselves through this narrow passage, the inconvenience of which was increased by the awful character attributed to this cromlech. Even in Christian and Mohammedan countries religious ordeals of a similar kind are not unknown; and a very analogous custom in the celebrated mosque of Kairowán may well have its origin in the older pagan practice of the aborigines. However this may be, the religious character of the whole structure can scarcely be doubtful, from the nature of the flat stone, the channel in which was certainly intended to carry off the blood of the victim.[22]

It must strike the observer, in regarding these ruins, that while they are so rude in principle, their style of execution evidently bears traces of art; and I think it not improbable that the art may be ascribed to Roman influence. We shall further on see another specimen of these curious pillars combined with the ground-plan of an almost regular Roman temple. But from whatever quarter this artistical influence may have proceeded, there cannot be the least doubt that the character of the structure is, on the whole, not Roman, but indicates quite another race; and if we take into regard what I have just said about the influence of art visible in this structure, and that such influence could scarcely proceed from any other quarter than that of the Carthaginians or the Romans, we must attribute these remains to the Berber race, who, during the historical period, were the exclusive possessors of these inland regions. Analogous structures have been found, however, not only in England and Ireland on the one side, and in several parts of India, principally in the Nilgherries, on the other, but also in Circassia, Southern Russia, on the South Arabian coast, and in the Somali country. This analogy might certainly be explained by a similarity of principle in the simple religious rites of rude people; but there may be also in these curious remains a confirmation of the theories of Sir Henry Rawlinson respecting the wide extension of the Scythians. But while, with regard to other tribes, from the Dravidian group in Southern India to the Celtic in Ireland, such a connexion of origin seems to be confirmed by analogy of language, there exist but very few points of analogy between the Berber and the Central Asiatic languages, except by means of the Coptic. In every respect, however, it may be better to call such remains by the general name of Scythian than by that of Druidical, which certainly can be justified only with regard to the north-west of Europe.

These remarkable ruins are at a short distance from the foot of a fortified hill, which is crowned with ancient fortifications of hewn stone, to which are added later works of small stones. Other ruins of cut-stone buildings lie about; and on an eminence at a little distance eastward is a small castle belonging to the earlier times of the Arabs, while on the highest top of the hilly chain behind the Arab encampment, and which is called Gábes, are likewise ruins. The ruins of a whole village, partly built of regularly-cut stone, and even exhibiting the ornament of a column, were found the next morning near our encampment, which our people had placed on the slope of the hills bordering the plain towards the north-east.

All these ruins are evident proofs that the fertile plain Elkeb, and the adjoining one, called Madher, were once well cultivated and thickly inhabited. Their situation is very favourable, as the direct road from Tripoli to Beni Ulíd and Sokna, by way of the valley Melgha, passes close by. We had here descended to an average height of about one thousand feet above the level of the sea.

February 18th.During the night there was heavy rain, which lasted till morning, and delayed our starting till rather late. After about a mile and a half’s march, we ascended a little from the plain to the undulating pastures of the Dháhar Tarhóna, which soon became enlivened by the tents and herds of the Megaigera, and where I was glad to see at length a few cows. The ground, though scantily covered with herbage, was dotted with lilies, which my companion called balúdt, though this name is generally understood to signify the ash-tree. Our guide from Meruán informed me here that the water of this district takes its course not towards the north, as might be expected, but towards the south-east, running from hence to Temásla, on this side of Beni Ulíd, thence into the Wadi Merdúm, and thence into Wadi Sofejín, which, as is well known, descends towards Tawárgha. A little further on we left, on a small eminence to the left, another hanshír surrounded by cultivated ground. It had been an inconsiderable place, built chiefly of small stones; but even here two enormous pillars or slabs were to be seen standing in the midst of the rubbish. There were two holes in each of these pillars, going quite through, and widening on one side.

At half-past nine o’clock, when passing the Hanshír Bu-Trehébe, at a distance of more than two miles on our left, we had a fine retrospective view of the various peaks of the Ghurián range, while on our left a lower range approached more and more, with two summits rising from it to a greater elevation. About noon we passed another site, called Hanshír Suán, where are the remains of a large castle, with an inner and outer fortification, built of small stones, but in a very neat and regular style. The country, chiefly owing to the murkiness of the sky, had begun to assume a very sombre character, and was crossed by stripes of red sand, which, however, affords the best soil for the growth of the pumpkin; but in the afternoon it improved greatly, showing fine pasture-ground and ample corn-fields and, among the ruins of ancient times, the rare example of a well-proportioned and neatly-worked Ionic capital, which I found at the border of a ravine. Further on, upon a detached low rock, which had been hewn into rectangular walls, and surrounded with a ditch, were seen ruins of cut stone, very similar in appearance to those of Kasr Jahalíyeh, near Gargash. We at length found traces of living beings, in an Arab encampment situated in a green hollow, where we learnt that the Kaïd or governor of Tarhóna, whose residence we were in search of, was at present encamped near the spring called ʿAin Shershára.

The country gradually assumes a more diversified aspect, agreeably succeeding its former monotony. A considerable mountain-range, with manifold crags, peaks, and ravines, approaches from S.S.W., and, turning N.E., presents an insurmountable barrier to an advance in that direction, while the plain sweeps nicely in a concave towards its foot; but it is quite bare and desolate, and only now and then is seen a poor remnant of the large olive-grove, consisting, according to the statement of our shoush, of 10,000 trees, which Bey ʿAbd Allah, in Masráta, my host on my former journey, had ventured to plant here five years ago. My people maintained, whether correctly or not I cannot say, that the strong gales which prevail in this plain did not allow the young olive-tree to thrive. I think the failure is due rather to the character of the inhabitants, who, unaccustomed to this branch of culture, have not paid the necessary attention to the young trees.

Having passed a small wadi, we came in sight of the encampment of the governor, which stretched out in front of us in a well-chosen situation at the southern foot of a small cone. A Turkish officer’s green tent, pitched a little in advance, was surrounded by several smaller ones, while another group of twelve Bedwín tents, in a higher position up the slope of the mount, contained the household. The governor received us in a very friendly but rather affected manner, which seemed peculiar to him, and might even be thought becoming in a man who has assisted his country’s foes in exterminating all the members of his family, formerly one of the foremost in the country. His friends, who try to represent him as an honest man, say that he was forced to the deed, after having once entered into Turkish service. This man, Bel Kásem el Lohéshi Mahmúdi, has since played a conspicuous part in the present revolution; for he it was who led the Turkish force last year against Ghóma, his near relative but most bitter enemy, who, having been a prisoner in Trebizond for many years, suddenly made his escape from thence during the Russian war, and, issuing from the Tunisian frontier, appeared in Jébel Yéfren. El Lohéshi was routed, and taken prisoner, and, according to the first report, slain by the successful rebel. When we visited El Lohéshi, he had occupied his new post only for the last year, having been before governor of the Jebel. During all the period he had been in Tarhóna, he assured us he had not moved his encampment from this place; which I can well understand, as it is a very pleasant spot. His principal business, of course, consists in collecting the tithes, in registering which he was busily employed. He knew very little of the province under his government; and it was to other men that I had to look for information.

Having pitched our tent near that of the governor, we proceeded to make ourselves acquainted with the locality, and, a few paces north from our encampment, stumbled upon the famous brook called ʿAin Shersher, or ʿAin Shershára, which, proceeding from the junction of three springs, forms here a cascade of about twenty-five feet over the firm calcareous rock. Running west a short distance, it then turns north and, breaking through the mountain-slope in a deep picturesque glen, takes the direction of the Wadi Ramle, which, however, it only reaches during great floods.

It seems as if this pleasant spot had already been a favourite residence in the Roman times, as is amply shown by the fine ruins of a large building of hewn stone, which the torrent has rent asunder and scattered on both sides. From this place, ascending the side of a very wild ravine, we reached the height which overlooks the Bedwín encampment, and on the morning of the following day made a more distant excursion to the mount called Bu-tauwíl, about three miles north, which was represented to us as affording a very distant prospect, and the name of which seemed to promise more than ordinary elevation.

As to the view we were rather disappointed; yet we were well repaid for our trouble from the character of the country traversed, and the unexpectedly pleasing aspect of the terrace spread out at the western foot of the mountain, which must have formed a favourite retirement in the time of the Romans, so literally strewn is it with the ruins of buildings of hewn stone. In descending it, about 300 feet below the summit, we first came to a Roman tomb, 8 ft. 7 in. long, and 7 ft. 9 in. broad, rising in two stories, the lower being about ten feet high from the base to the moulding, and ornamented with pilasters at the corners. A little further on, to the west, was another tomb, just on the brink of the slope into the valley below; but it has been destroyed, and at present the chief interest attaches to a monumental stone, which most probably stood upright on its top, and fell down when the monument went to pieces, so that it now lies in a merely casual position on the floor of the sepulchre, which has been repeatedly rifled by greedy hands. This stone is 7 ft. 2 in. long, and has on one side, in high relief, the figure of a man, of natural size, clothed in a toga. The workmanship is good, and certainly not much later than the time of Severus. Close at hand are other ruins lying about; and further west are several groups of buildings. Three olive-trees and a palm-tree adorned this beautiful retired spot.

Having returned to our encampment, I and my companion resolved to separate for a few days, Overweg wishing to examine the neighbourhood of the ʿAin Shershára for geological purposes, while I was rather bent upon executing the original plan of our route all round the mountain-range. We agreed to meet again at the castle called Kasr el Jefára in the plain near the sea-shore. We borrowed another tent from the governor for Mr. Overweg during his stay at this place, while I procured a horseman, with whom, together with Ibrahim, our shoush, and one of the camel-drivers, I was ready for starting an hour before noon; for the heat of the sun was not much to be dreaded at this season of the year. Overweg accompanied me as far as Kasr Dóga.[23]

Winding along narrow ravines, after about one mile’s march we passed, on an eminence to our right, another specimen of large pilasters with an impost, and ruins of buildings of large square stones close by. After much winding, we cleared the narrow channel ascending the hills, which were covered with halfa; but here too there was not a single tree to be seen, and my guide said that there were no olive-trees in the Tarhóna except in Máta, a place situated between Mount Bu-tauwíl and Kasr Jefára, from which the tribe Máta derives its name. I have noticed before, as remarkable, the three olive-trees near Bu-tauwíl. It was about one o’clock in the afternoon when we came in sight of the Roman monument called Kasr Dóga; and its brown colour almost induced us to conclude that it was of brick; but on approaching nearer, we found that it was built of hewn stone. We were astonished at the grand dimensions of the monument, as it appeared evident that it was originally a mere sepulchre, though in after times blocked up by the Arabs, and converted into a castle.

The front of the monument faces the south with ten degrees of deviation towards the west. The whole body of the building, rising upon a base of three steps, measures 47 ft. 6 in. in length, and 31 ft. 4 in. in breadth. The entrance or portal, equidistant from both corners, was 12 ft. 6 in. wide; but it has been entirely blocked up with hewn stone, so that it is now impossible to get into the interior of the monument without great labour, and only a glimpse can be obtained of a kind of entrance-hall of small dimensions. Of the interior arrangement, therefore, nothing meets the view; but on the top of the solid mass of building, rising to a height of 28 ft. 10 in., the ground-plan of the third story, which has been demolished to obtain materials for closing the entrance, is distinctly visible. Here the vestibule measures 10 ft. 10 in., the wall of the interior chamber or cell being adorned with two columns, which are no less than 3 ft. 10 in. apart: the inner room itself measures 22 ft. 4 in. in length within the walls. The monument, although more massive than beautiful, is a fair proof of the wealth of this district in ancient times. Opposite to it, on a limestone hill of considerable elevation, is another specimen of the cromlech kind in good preservation, besides other ruins. In the hollow at the S.E. side of the sepulchre there are six deep and spacious wells sunk in the rock.

Here my companion left me, and I continued my route alone, passing through a well-cultivated tract, till I reached an encampment of the Welád Bu-Séllem, where we pitched our tent. Here I met a cousin of Haj ʿAbd el Hádi el Meráyet, who had once been master of half the Tarhóna district, but was made prisoner by the Turks, and sent to Constantinople. This man also reappeared on the stage last year.

Wednesday, February 20th.We set out early in the morning, the country continuing flat as far as the chapel of Sidi ʿAli ben Salah, which, standing on a hill, is a conspicuous object for many miles round. At a short distance from this chapel, I observed the ruins of a castle built of large square stones taken from older buildings; it measures 42 feet in every direction, and exhibits a few bad but curious sculptures, among others an ass in relief. Around are the ruins of a small village, and flat stones of immense size, similar in workmanship to those described above, but no upright pillars.

Beyond the chapel of the saint the country became more hilly, and after some time we entered a ravine joining the Wadi Gedaera, which exhibited the remains of three broad and firmly-constructed dikes, crossing the ravine at the distance of about 800 yards from each other. They were built of small stones, and were evidently intended to exclude the water from the lower part of the valley. Another eight hundred yards below the innermost dike, the ravine widens out into a fine verdant hollow, stretching from west to east, and provided with several wells. On a detached hill rising in the midst of this basin, is situated the Kasr Dawán, built partly of older materials of hewn stone, partly of small stones, and probably of the same age as the dikes. The whole floor of the basin is strewn with ruins; and a considerable village seems to have extended round the castle: where the ground was free from stones, it was covered with ranunculuses. Altogether, this spot was interesting—the stronghold of a chieftain who appears to have had energy and foresight, but whose deeds are left without a record.

As soon as we emerged from this ravine the whole character of the country changed, and through a pleasant valley we entered a wider plain, bordered in the distance by a high range of mountains, among which the Jebel Msíd, crowned with a zawíya or convent, is distinguished by its height and its form. It is rather remarkable, and of the highest interest as regards the ancient history of the civilization of these regions, that the two most conspicuous mountains bordering Tarhóna, one on the west the other on the east side, should bear the same name, and a name which bears evident testimony to their having been places of worship in ancient times. Both of them have grandeur of form; but the western one is more regularly dome-shaped.

The fine pasturage which this plain affords to the cows of the Mehaedi enabled their masters to regale us with fine fresh sourmilk, which interrupted our march very pleasantly. On the site of an ancient village, near the margin of a small torrent, I found the following curious specimens of upright pilasters, together with the impost, remarkable for their height as well as for the rough sculpture of a dog, or some other animal, which is seen on the higher part of one of them. About 700 yards beyond the torrent called Ksaea, we had on our right a large building of hewn stone about 140 yards square, besides six pairs of pilasters together with their imposts; but some of them are lying at present on the ground. These structures could never have been intended as doors or passages; for the space between the upright stones is so narrow, that a man of ordinary size could hardly squeeze his way through them. Other ruins are on the left.

Here we entered the mountain chain which forms the natural boundary between the district of Tarhóna and that of Meselláta, and at the present time separates scenes of nomadic life from fixed settlements. The highest part of the chain round the Jebel Msíd remained on our left, while the heights on the right decreased in elevation. The chain has little breadth; and we had hardly reached its crest when the country that presented itself to our view had quite a different appearance from that just left behind, presenting among other objects the castle of Meselláta, surrounded by an olive-grove. In this spot ancient sites and modern villages with stone houses are intermixed, while thick olive-groves enliven the whole, and constitute the wealth of the inhabitants.

Having passed a village called Fatír, lying in a ravine that runs S.W., we soon descried, in a hollow at the southern foot of the Kasr Sʿaade (a small ancient fortress), the first olive-plantation and the first orchards belonging to Meselláta. From this place onward they succeed each other at short intervals. Having passed a small eminence, with a fine olive-grove in the hollow at its foot, we entered the beautiful and well-inhabited plain of Meselláta. Here a great deal of industry was evinced by the planting of young cuttings between the venerable old olive-trees, or ghúrs Faraón as the Arabs call them. My shoush affirmed that the inhabitants of Meselláta are the most industrious and diligent people in the whole regency, taking good care of their plantations, and watering them whenever they need it. The whole country has here a different character from that of Tarhóna, the naked calcareous rock protruding everywhere, while in Tarhóna the plains generally consist of clayey soil. This district is only about one thousand feet above the sea, while the average height of the Jébel (Yéfren) and the Ghurián is about two thousand feet. Here the olives had been collected a month ago; in the former districts they remained still on the tree.

Cheered by the spectacle of life and industry around us, we continued our pleasant march, and having crossed an open space of rough rocky ground filled with cisterns, we reached the castle of Meselláta, an edifice of little merit, built with square stones from old ruins, and lying at the northern end of the village Kúsabát, which properly means “the Castles.” While my people were pitching my tent behind the castle, on the only spot which would allow of the pegs being driven into the ground, I went to pay a visit to Khalíl Aghá, who resided in the castle; but I found it to be so desolate and comfortless that I left it immediately, taking with me the sheikh Mesʿaud and a shoush named Ibrahím Tubbát, in order to view the Kalʿa or Gellʿah, a very conspicuous object, visible even from the sea. Keeping along the western side of the village, which consists of from 300 to 400 cottages[24] built of stone, and occupies a gentle slope towards the south, the highest point of which, near the mosque, is 1250 feet[25] above the level of the sea, we reached a pleasant little hollow adorned with gardens, which being fenced with hedges of the Indian fig-tree, rendered the spot extremely picturesque. From hence we ascended the naked calcareous eminence, from the top of which the fortress overlooks a great extent of country. Going round its demolished walls, from east to west, I was able to descry and to take the bearings of a great number of villages belonging to the district of Meselláta, some of them peeping out of olive-groves, others distinguishable only by the smoke rising up from them.

The fortress itself is evidently a work not of Mohammedans, but of Europeans, and was most probably constructed by the Spaniards in the first half of the 16th century. It is built in the form of a triangle, one side of which, running N.W. and S.E., measures about 108 yards; another, running E.N.E. and W.S.W., measures 78½ yards, and the third, S. 5 W. and N. 5 E., 106½ yards. At the corner between the first and the second wall, is a polygonal bastion; between the second and third a round bastion, and a small one also between the third and the first wall. Descending from the fortress, I went with Mesʿaud through the village, the dwellings of which are built in a much better style than is usual in the regency. It is also stated that, in comparison with the rest of the country, its inhabitants enjoy some degree of wealth, and that the market is well supplied.

Thursday, February 21st.I rose at an early hour, in order to continue my route, and entered a very pleasant country, rendered more agreeable in appearance by the fineness of the morning. Winding along through hilly slopes covered with luxuriant corn-fields and wide-spreading olive-trees, we reached at half-past eight o’clock an interesting group of ruins consisting of immense blocks, and amongst them one like the flat quadrangular stones represented above, but having on its surface, besides the little channel, a large hole; also a block of extraordinary dimensions, representing a double altar of the curious massive sort described above. Close to these remarkable ruins, in a fine corn-field, is a small castle, situated upon a natural base of rock, in which subterranean vaults have been excavated in a very regular way. Towards the south, at the distance of about half an hour’s march, the large castle of Amámre rises into view. We then reached the fine plantation of Rumíyeh, while on a hill to the left lie other scattered ruins.

We met a good many people going to the Thursday market at Kúsabát. Further on, near another little grove, we found a small encampment of the Jehawát, a tribe which claims the possession of this whole district. We then passed a castle irregularly built of large square stones about twelve yards square. Having crossed a hollow, we obtained a good view over the country, in which the “Merkeb Sʿaid n ʿAli (the most advanced spur of this chain towards the coast) formed a distinguished point, while we had already reached the last low breaks of the mountain-country towards the east. Meanwhile the greater dimensions of the ruins remind the traveller that he is approaching the famous remains of Leptis. I found here, a little to the right of our path, near a Bedwin encampment, the ruins of a temple of large proportions, called Sanem ben Hamedán, and of rather curious arrangement, the front, which faces the north and recedes several feet from the side-walls, being formed by double ranges of enormous stones standing upright—they can scarcely be called pilasters,—while the inner part is ornamented with columns of the Ionic order. The whole building is about 40 paces long, and 36 broad; but the architectural merit of its details is not sufficient to repay the trouble of exact measurements. About a thousand yards further on, to the east, are the ruins of another still larger monument, measuring about 77 paces in every direction, and called by the Arabs Kasr Kérker. It has several compartments in the interior—three chambers lying opposite to the entrance, and two other larger ones on the east side. Nearly in the middle of the whole building, there is a large square stone like those mentioned above, but having on one of its narrow sides a curious sculpture in relief.

The camels having been allowed to go on, I hastened after them with my shoush as fast as my donkey could trot, and passed several sites of ancient villages or castles, and numerous fine hollows with luxuriant olive-trees. I scarcely ever remember to have seen such beautiful trees. The country continues undulating, with fertile hollows or depressions. We reached the camels at Wadi Lebda, which I found perfectly dry.

Close to our left we had cultivated ground and ruins. Near the sea-shore, the spacious and pleasant site of Leptis spread out on the meadow-land, while a little further on rose a small ridge, on the top of which is situated the village Khurbet Hammám. After we had passed a pleasant little hollow, the plain became for a while overgrown with thick clusters of bushes; but on reaching the plantation of Swail, an almost uninterrupted line of villages stretched along the sahel (sea-shore) amid corn-fields and groves of olive and date-trees. According to my shoush, a great deal of corn is cultivated also in the valleys behind this plain; and numerous well-trodden paths were seen leading from the sahel into the hilly country on its southern side. After plentiful rains, this part of the plain is inundated by the waters of the Wadi Bondári, which is called after the general name of the low range bordering the plain. Having passed several little villages of the sahel, and paid my due tribute of veneration to “el Dekhaele” (the oldest and tallest palm-tree in the whole district), a little before five o’clock in the afternoon I reached the village called Zawíya Ferjáni, where we pitched our tent in the stubble-field near a date-grove, and rested from our pleasant day’s march, experiencing hospitable treatment from our hosts.[26]

The country hereabouts is regarded as tolerably healthy, but ʿAbd e’ Saʿade, a village a little further eastward, has suffered greatly from malignant fevers, which are attributed to the unwholesomeness of the waters of the Wadi Kʿaám, as I noticed on my former journey[27]; hence the population has become rather thin, and industry has declined. At some distance from the wadi, cultivation ceases entirely, and, instead of groves and gardens, a wide and wild field of disorder and destruction meets the eye. This rivulet, which is identical with the Cinyps, was in great vogue with the ancients, who knew how to control and regulate its occasional impetuosity. Immense walls, which they constructed as barriers against destructive inundations, remain to testify to their activity and energy. Of these one group, forming a whole system of dikes, some transverse, some built in the form of a semicircle, is seen near the spot, where a beautiful subterranean aqueduct which supplied Leptis issues from the wadi; another enormous wall, 650 yards long, and from 4 to 4½ yards thick, stands about three quarters of a mile higher up the valley. But with the details of all these works, though to me they appeared so interesting that I measured them with tolerable exactness, I will not detain the reader, but shall hasten to carry him back to Tripoli.

Having started in the afternoon from the mouth of the wadi, I re-entered Zawíya ʿAbd el Ferjáni from the rear, but finding that my people had gone on to Leptis, I followed them, after a little delay, by the way of Wadi Súk, where every Thursday a market is held (“Súk el khamís,” a name applied by Captain, now Rear-Admiral, Smyth to the neighbouring village), and then over the open meadow-plain, having the blue sea on my right, and came up with my people just as they were about to pitch my tent at the foot of an enormous staircase leading to some undefined monument in the eastern part of the ancient city of Leptis.

February 23rd.During the forenoon I was busily employed in a second investigation of some of the ruins of Leptis, which have been so well described and illustrated by Admiral Smyth. Near the small creek called Mirsá Legátah, and a little east of the chapel of the Merábet ben Shehá, a small castle has been lately built by the Turks, about a hundred paces square. It has quite a handsome look with its pinnacles and small bastions.

Leaving the site of this celebrated city, we proceeded, early in the afternoon, through a diversified hilly country, till we reached the high hill or mount of Mérkeb[28] Sʿaid-n-ʿAli, which is visible from a great distance. This I ascended in order to correct some of my positions, particularly that of el Gellʿah in Meselláta, but found the wind too violent. Passing an undulating country, over-grown with the freshest green, and affording ample pastures to the herds of numerous Arab encampments, I pitched my tent near a small dowar of the Beni Jéhem[29], who treated us hospitably with sour milk and bazín.

February 24th.The country continued varied, hill and dale succeeding each other; but beyond Kasr Aláhum (an irregular building of a late age), it became more rough and difficult, especially near the steep descent called Negási. Soon after this we descended into the plain, not far from the seashore, where we crossed several flat valleys. From the Wadi Bú Jefára[30], where a small caravan going from Zlíten to the town overtook us, a monotonous plain, called Gwaea mtʿa Gummáta, extends to the very foot of the slope of Meselláta. Having traversed the desolate zone called el Míta mtʿa Terúggurt, whence may be descried the “úglah” near the shore, the residence of my old friend the sheikh Khalífa bú-Ruffa, we reached the broad and rock-bound valley Terúggurt itself, probably the most perfect wadi which this part of the coast exhibits. To my great satisfaction, I met Overweg at the Kasr Jefára.

K. Jefára is also called Karabúli, from the name of a Mamlúk who, in the time of Yusuf Basha, built here a sort of convent or chapel. It is rather a “funduk,” or caravanserai, than a “kasr,” or castle, and the gates are always left open; but its situation is important, and it is the residence of a judge or kaíd. A battle between Ghóma and the Turks was fought in 1855 at no great distance from it. The country around is a monotonous plain, enlivened only by three small clusters of palm-trees towards the north. The following morning we proceeded, and encamped on the eastern side of Wadi Raml. On Tuesday we returned to Tripoli well satisfied with our little excursion, and convinced that the Regency of Tripoli is not by any means so poor and miserable as it is generally believed to be.

---

CHAP. IV.

DEPARTURE FOR THE INTERIOR. — ARRIVAL AT MIZDA. — REMAINS OF A CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

Meanwhile the instruments provided by Government had arrived, and proved in general well adapted for their purposes.[31] But the tents and arms had not yet reached us; and I thought it better to provide a strong, spacious, and low tent, which, even after the government tents arrived, did not prove superfluous, although perhaps rather too heavy. All tents intended for travellers in hot climates should be well lined, and not high. Those which we received were quite unfit for the country whither we were going, and while they were so light that they could hardly withstand a strong blast of wind, they scarcely excluded the sun, particularly after a little wear and tear. All the tents ought also to have top-ropes, which can alone secure them in a tornado such as are common in those climates. Mr. Richardson was soon obliged to provide himself with another tent, so that in the course of our journey we had altogether five tents, but generally pitched only two, or, where we encamped for a greater length of time, four.

Mr. Overweg and I sustained a heavy loss in the secession of our black servant Ibrahím, who might have proved of great service to us in the interior, as he spoke the Bórnu and Bagrímma languages, and had himself wandered about a good deal in those little-known districts between Mándara and Bagírmi. But he declared that he could not remain in our service along with our servant Mohammed ben Belál, the son of a liberated Góber slave, who was a very clever but unscrupulous and haughty fellow, and bore the character of a libertine. But another cause of detention was the protest of his wives, who would not allow him to go unless he divorced them. We tried every means of settling the matter, but without success; so that we had only two servants, one of whom, Mohammed e’ Zintáni, the lad I have mentioned before, would certainly not go further than Fezzán.

At length all was ready for our outset, except the boat, which caused Mr. Richardson a great deal of trouble, as it had been divided in Malta into two pieces instead of four. I proposed that we should pitch our tents for some days at ʿAin Zára, in order that we might be duly seasoned for our long journey. I would advise every traveller, who would calculate upon all the means of ensuring success, to adopt a similar course. A few days’ stay in his tent will familiarize him with the little store which is henceforward to form his principal, if not his only resource, and will enable him to bear the heat of the sun with ease.

It was late in the afternoon of the 24th of March, 1850, when Overweg and I, seated in solemn state upon our camels, left the town with our train, preceded by the consul, Mr. Crowe, in his carriage, by Mr. Reade, and by Mr. Dickson and his family, of whom we took a hearty leave under the olive-trees near Kasr el Haeni. We then continued our route, and in fine moonlight pitched our tent on the border of ʿAin Zára.

This locality takes its name from a broad swampy hollow or depression to the south, thickly overgrown with reeds and rushes. At present no one lives in it; the wells are filled up with earth, and the date-trees, cared for by nobody, are partly overwhelmed by the sand which has accumulated in large mounds. Still it is an attractive spot, having just a little of cultivation and a little of sandy waste. A few olive-trees spread their fresh cool shade over a green meadow, forming a very pleasant resting-place. It was at this very spot that, in August 1855, on my joyful return, I again met Mr. Reade the vice-consul, and passed a night there.

Here we remained encamped till Friday the 29th. In the afternoon of the 27th, Mr. Frederic Warrington, who wished to escort us for a few days, came out, accompanied by the American consul Mr. Gaines, and brought us the satisfactory news, that on the following Friday Mr. Richardson would move from the town, and that we should meet him at Mejenín. I and my countryman required eight camels for our luggage, besides the two which we rode ourselves, and which were our own. I should have preferred having a donkey for myself, as it would have enabled me to go with ease wherever I liked; but in Tripoli there are no donkeys strong enough for such a journey, and a horse, including the carriage of barley and water for him, was too expensive for the means then placed at my disposal. But I had been so fortunate as to procure an excellent Arab camel of the renowned breed of the Bú-Saef, which was my faithful companion as far as Kúkawa; and Mr. Warrington had made me a present of a handsome Ghadamsi saddle or basúr, with pillows and Stambúli carpet, so that I was comfortably mounted.

Friday, March 29th.After a great deal of trouble (the camel-drivers and our men being as yet unaccustomed to our unwieldy luggage), we at length succeeded in making a start. After leaving the olive-trees and the little palm-grove of ʿAin Zára, we very soon entered deep sand-hills, which sheltered us from the strong wind; and after more than two hours we came upon pasture-grounds, which furnished our camels with a variety of herbs and gramineæ, such as the shʿade, the shedíde, and various others unknown to me. The progress of an Arab caravan (where the camels march each after its own inclination, straying to the right and to the left, nipping here a straw, and there browsing on a bush) must be rather slow in districts where the stubborn animal finds abundance of food. This way of proceeding is extremely tedious and fatiguing to the rider; and to obviate it the Tawárek, the Téb, and the people in the interior fasten all the camels one behind the other. Owing to our slow progress, the sun was almost setting when we overtook Mr. Warrington, who had pitched his tent on a fine pasture-ground near Bir Sbaea. The last hour and a half’s ride from the well Jenáwa lay along well-cultivated and flourishing corn-fields extending along the narrow wadi of Mejenín[32], and intermingled with a rich profusion of flowers, principally the beautiful blue “khobbés.”

Saturday, March 30th.Having indulged for some hours in the quiet enjoyment of a fine morning and an open green country, I went with the shoush to look after Mr. Richardson’s party. After an hour’s ride through luxuriant corn-fields, and pasture-grounds enlivened by the horses of the Turkish cavalry, we found Mukni, the sailor, and all Mr. Richardson’s baggage; but he himself had not yet come up. I could not persuade the people to remove to our encampment; so I returned, after having paid a visit to the binbásha of the cavalry, who had been stationed here for the last seventeen years. He had contrived to procure himself a cool retreat from the sultry hours, by forming a regular tank, about two feet and a half square, in the midst of his tent, and keeping it always full of water.

In the afternoon I made a long excursion with my Zintáni through the plain, beyond the chapel of Sidi Bargúb, in order to buy a sheep; but though the flocks were numerous, none of the shepherds would sell, as pasturage was abundant and everyone had what he wanted. In 1846, when I first visited the regency, the people were starving, and selling their camels and everything they possessed to procure food.

Sunday, March 31st.Foggy weather indicated that rain was approaching; and just in time Mr. Richardson with his party arrived, and pitched his enormous lazaretto tent opposite our little encampment. Mr. Reade also had come from the town, in order to settle, if possible, the misunderstanding with our servant Mohammed, and see us off. It is an agreeable duty for me to acknowledge the many services which this gentleman rendered us during our stay in Tripoli. Our whole party was detained here the following day by the heavy rains; and Overweg and I were happy to get hold of the black servant of the ferocious pseudo-sheríf mentioned by Mr. Richardson, when that troublesome fellow was sent back to town, as we were much in want of another servant.

April 2nd.We fairly set out on our expedition. The country became more diversified as we approached the defile formed by the Bátes and Smaera, two advanced posts of the mountain-chain, while the varied forms of the latter, in high cones and deep abrupt valleys, formed an interesting background. But the country hereabouts is cultivated with less care than Wadi Mejenín; and the ground being more stony, presents of course more obstacles than the latter, while both districts are inhabited by the same tribes, viz. the Urgáat and the Akára. Even here, however, in the circle formed by the surrounding heights, was a fine extent of plain covered with corn-fields. Just at the entrance of the pass there is a well, where the road divides; and after a little consultation, we took the western branch, as our people feared that on the eastern we should not find water before night. Changing, therefore, our direction, we seemed awhile to keep off entirely from the mountain-range till we reached the wide but very rugged and rocky Wadi Haera, which it was our object to reach at this spot, in order to fill our water-skins from the pools formed by the rains. The wadi, indeed, looked as if it sometimes bore in its floods a powerful body of water; and a considerable dike had been constructed in the early times of the Arabs, extending for two hundred paces from the wadi eastward; but it has fallen to ruin, and the path leads now through the breach.

Resuming our march, after a good deal of delay, we turned sharp off towards the mountains, and at an early hour encamped on a very pleasant spot adorned with numerous sidr-trees (Rhamnus Nabeca); but instead of enjoying it in quiet, Overweg and I felt disposed to direct our steps towards a hill called Fulíje, about half an hour’s walk eastward, which promised to be a convenient point for obtaining correct angles of the prominent features of the chain, and proved to be so in reality. Having executed this task, therefore, we returned to our companions well satisfied, and spent the evening in the comfortable tent of Mr. Warrington. We had now reached the slope of the chain, where some of our people supposed that the boat would cause difficulties; but it could not well do so after being cut into quarters, which fitted to the sides of the camels rather better than the large quadrangular boxes. The most troublesome parts were the long oars and poles, which caused the camel much exhaustion and fatigue, by constantly swaying backwards and forwards.

The ground, soon after we had started the next morning, became stony, and, at three miles distance, very rugged and intersected by a number of dry watercourses. The landscape was enlivened not only by our own caravan, composed of so many heterogeneous elements, but also by some other parties who happened to be coming down the slope: first, the Kaimakám of the Jébel, then a slave caravan, consisting of about sixty of these poor creatures, of whom the younger, at least, seemed to take a cheerful interest in the varied features of the country. The Wadi Bú Ghelán, where the ascent commences, is here and there adorned with clusters of date-trees. In about an hour the first camels of our party reached the terrace of Beni ʿAbbás; and till the whole had accomplished the ascent, I had leisure to dismount from my tractable Bú-saefi, and to sit down quietly under a fine olive-tree near the chapel of the Merábet Sámes, watching them as they came up one by one, and cheered by the conviction that the expedition was at length in full train. The country was here hilly, and the path often very narrow and deeply cut in the marly soil. Further on, Overweg and I, together with our shoush, turned off a little to the right from the great caravan-road, and, passing through fine corn-fields interspersed with flowers of different kinds, reached the village Gwásem, lying at a short distance from the eastern foot of Mount Tekút, where we were treated with sour milk by a friend of our companions. When we had overtaken our caravan, I found time to pay a visit to the Roman sepulchre[33], and ascertained that the base measured 24 ft. in every direction, the principal body of the monument, containing the sepulchral chamber, having fallen in entirely. From this point we began to ascend the second terrace, and reached the level of the plateau at two o’clock in the afternoon. The country had now a much more interesting appearance than when I was here two months before, being at present all covered with green corn. Having started in the direction of the castle, we descended, a little before reaching it, along the shelving ground towards Wadi Rummána, and encamped on the spot where the troups usually bivouac.

Here we remained the following day, when, in order to settle formally the demands of our camel-drivers, we had all our things accurately weighed by the officials of the castle. The little market did not grow busy till ten o’clock. The chief articles for sale were three head of cattle, one camel, some sheep and goats, a few water-skins, some barley, a few eggs, and sandals; but at noon it was moderately thronged. In the afternoon we paid a visit to several subterranean dwellings, but were disappointed in not getting access into an entirely new structure of this kind, formed of a much harder sort of clay. Our cheerful friend Mr. Warrington, in order to treat our party before he separated from it for a length of time which nobody could foresee, got an immense bowl of kuskus prepared, seasoned in the most savoury manner; and our whole party long indulged in the remembrance of this delicate dish as a luxury beyond reach. The site of our encampment was most pleasant: below us the wadi, rich with varied vegetation; while towards the north the Tekút, with its regularly-shaped crater towering proudly over the lower eminences around, formed a most interesting object.

Friday, April 5th.Though busy at an early hour, we did not get off till late; for many things were still to be settled here. We separated from Mr. Warrington; and of the three travellers I was the only one whom he was ever to see again.

Our path was at first very winding, as we had to turn round the deep indentation of the Wadi Rummána, after which it took a straighter course, passing through several villages, with their respective olive-groves, till we reached Bu Sriyán, where the cultivation of the olive-tree ceased entirely for some distance, and the country became more open. Here we made another considerable deviation from our southerly direction, and followed a wide valley with much cultivated ground. Having reached the village Sémsa, situated upon an eminence to our right, we turned off eastward into a very pleasant ravine with an olive-grove, and then began the steep ascent towards the height Kuléba[34], which forms the passage over this southern crest of the plateau. While the camels in long rows moved slowly onwards, with their heavy loads, on the narrow and steep rocky path, I, allowing my camel to follow the rest, ascended directly to the village, which is situated round the eastern slope, and is still tolerably well inhabited, although many a house has fallen to ruin; for it has a considerable extent of territory; and owing to its situation as the southernmost point of Ghurián, the inhabitants are the natural carriers and agents between the northern districts and the desert. On the highest crest, commanding the village, there was formerly a castle; but it has been destroyed by the Turks.

Having descended a little into the barren valley, we encamped, at two o’clock in the afternoon, on the slope of the western hills, near the last scanty olive-trees, and not far from the well, from which we intended to take a sufficient supply of water to last us till we reached Mizda. While our people, therefore, were busy watering the camels and filling our water-skins, Overweg and I, accompanied by two of the inhabitants of the village, who had followed us, ascended a conspicuous mount, Jebel Toëshe, the highest in the neighbourhood, on the top of which a village is said to have existed in former times. We took several angles; but there is no very high point about Mizda which could serve as a landmark in that direction.

Saturday, April 6th.The country through which we were marching, along irregular valleys, mostly of limestone formation, exhibited scattered patches of corn for about the first three miles, after which almost every sign of cultivation suddenly ceased, and the “Twél el Khamér,” stretching from N.W. to S.E., about two miles distant on the right, formed, as it were, the northern boundary of the naked soil. On its slope a few trees of the kind called radúk by the Arabs were seen from the distance. We then entered desolate stony valleys, famous for the bloody skirmishes which are said to have once taken place there between the Urfílla and the Welád Bu Séf, in the time of ʿAbd el Jelíl. Refreshing, therefore, was the aspect of Wadi Ranne, which, extending from E. to S.W., was overgrown with green herbage, and had two wells.

A little beyond, near the hill, or rather slope, called Shʿabet el Kadím, the latter part of which name seems, indeed, to have some reference to antiquity, we found the first Roman milestone, with the inscription now effaced; but further on, Mr. Overweg, who went on foot and was far behind the main body of our caravan, succeeded in discovering some milestones with inscriptions, which he regretted very much not being able to show to me. Hereabouts commences the region of the batúm-tree, which, with the fresh green of its foliage, contributes a good deal to enliven and adorn some favoured spots of this sterile, gravelly tract. To the left of our path were some remarkable basaltic cones, starting up from the calcareous ridge. The ground was strewn with numerous flint-stones. About four o’clock P.M. I went to look at a curious quadrangular and regularly-hewn stone, three feet in breadth and length, but only eight inches thick, which was standing upright at some distance from the caravan. It was evidently meant to face the west; but no trace of an inscription was to be seen. About a mile further on we encamped at the foot of the western chain, which rose to a height of about 300 feet, and formed a narrow cleft with the eastern chain, which at this point closes upon it. In this corner (which collects the humidity of two valleys), besides several batúm-trees, a little corn had been sown. Panthers are said to be numerous in this region.

The next day we directed our march towards the pass, crossing the dry beds of several small torrents, and a broader channel bordered by plenty of batúm-trees. After an hour’s march, we had reached the summit of the pass, which now began to widen, the heights receding on each side, and a more distant range bounding the view. We found in the holes of the rocky bottom of Wadi Mezummíta, which we crossed about half-past eight, several pools of rain-water, affording us a most refreshing drink; but it was quite an extra treat, owing to recent heavy rains which had fallen here, for in general the traveller cannot rely on finding water in this place. The ground becoming very stony and rugged, our progress was excessively slow—not above half an English geographical mile in seventeen minutes. The hills on our right displayed to the view regular layers of sandstone. Another long defile followed, which at length brought us to a plain called Wadi Lilla, encompassed by hills, and offering several traces of former cultivation, while other traces, further on, bore testimony to the industry of the Romans. A small herd of goats, and the barking of a dog, showed that even at present the country is not wholly deserted. In our immediate neighbourhood it even became more than usually enlivened by the passage of a slave-caravan, with twenty-five camels and about sixty slaves, mostly females.

After having passed a small defile, we at length emerged into the north-west branch of the valley of Mizda, called here Wadi Udé-Sheráb, the channel of which is lined with a considerable number of batúm-trees. Crossing the stony bottom of this plain, after a stretch of three miles more we reached the western end of the oasis of Mizda, which, though my fancy had given it a greater extent, filled me with joy at the sight of the fine fields of barley, now approaching maturity—the crop, owing to the regular irrigation, being remarkably uniform—while the grove of date-trees encompassed the whole picture with a striking and interesting frame. So we proceeded, passing between the two entirely-separated quarters, or villages, distinguished as the upper, “el fók,” and the lower, “el utah,” and encamped on the sandy open space a little beyond the lower village, near a well which formerly had irrigated a garden. People going to Tripoli encamp at the other end of the oasis, as was done by a caravan of Ghadamsi people with slaves from Fezzán, on the following day.

Mizda, most probably identical with the eastern “Musti kome” of Ptolemy, appears to have been an ancient settlement of the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa, the Berbers, and more particularly of a family or tribe of them called “Kuntarár,” who even at present, though greatly intermixed with Arabs, have not entirely forgotten their Berber idiom. The oasis lies in the upper part of Wadi Sofejín, or rather a branch of it, stretching out from SW. to NE., which has in some parts a great breadth. The natural advantage, or productive principle, of the locality seems to lie in the circumstance that the humidity carried down by the Wadi Sheráb is here arrested by a hill, and absorbed by the clayey soil. This hill is of a lengthened form, and consists entirely of gypsum. From its summit, which affords the best prospect of the whole locality, I made a view of the western village; while from a more elevated height further west, called Madúm, I made the accompanying sketch of the whole locality.