at
others covered with pebbles and small stones.

All these zones beyond the Atlas are visited by only occasional showers,
or are entirely without rain, the vegetation depending upon irrigation
from wells. I do not go into further detail on this subject, because,
although our line of route was new, this stretch of country is tolerably
well known to the geographical reader.

I have omitted to mention, or to lay much stress on the fact, that we
were unable to procure sufficient camels at Tripoli to convey our goods
all the way to Mourzuk. We were compelled to leave three camel-loads
behind, in the first place, at Gharian; these were subsequently got on
to Kaleebah, and thence to Mizdah: but there the influence of Izhet
Pasha's circular letter entirely failed to procure for us three extra
camels, and we were compelled to push on to Mourzuk, leaving part of our
goods in the oasis. This circumstance caused me a great deal of
annoyance, both on the route and after our arrival, for it was a long
time before we got in all our baggage. However, it at last arrived, and
the delay only served to illustrate the difficulty of procuring
conveyance in these dismal countries, and to lead us into considerable
expense.

CHAPTER VI.

The Oasis of Fezzan--Population--Ten Districts--Their Denomination and
Condition--Sockna--Honn--Worm of the Natron Lakes--Zoueelah--Mixed
Race--Improvements in Mourzuk--Heavy Ottoman Yoke--Results of the
Census--Amount of Revenue--Military Force--Arab Cavaliers--Barracks--Method
of Recruiting--Turkish System superior to French--Razzias--Population of
Mourzuk--Annual Market--Articles of Traffic--Acting-Governor and his
Coadjutors--Story of a faithless Woman--Transit Duties in Fezzan--Slave
Trade--Sulphur in the Syrtis--Proposed Colony from Malta.

The Pashalic of Fezzan, although it occupies a considerable space upon
the map--advancing like a peninsula from the line of Barbary countries
into the Sahara--is in reality a very insignificant province. From all
that I can learn, its entire population does not exceed twenty-six
thousand souls, scattered about in little oases over a vast extent of
country. It is, in fact, a portion of the Sahara, in which fertile
valleys occur a little more frequently than in the other portions.
Immense deserts, sometimes perfectly arid, but at others slightly
sprinkled with herbage, separate these valleys; and are periodically
traversed by caravans, great and small, wh