CHAPTER XX.
THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.
For eight days did the tempest rage, when, at the end of that time, the wind dropped and the sky cleared, I found that we were quite close to the shore, and off a headland beyond which the coast stretched away indefinitely to the south. Continuing our course in that direction, we came in sight of a mountainous island, richly wooded and extremely picturesque. The glowing sun and the genial temperature reminded us of our beloved Phœnicia; and so tempting was the aspect of the place, that I resolved to disembark, not merely as a matter of pleasure, but to look to the ships, which, after their strain, required some examination.
We anchored in a charming bay, and were soon surrounded by canoes full of savages, of whom the first characteristic that I noticed was their low foreheads and yet elongated skulls. To my surprise, they addressed us in the Libyan tongue, and proved to be the true Garamantine or red Libyans. We were the first Orientals they had ever seen on their shores; but one of their old men stated that he had been to Rusadir, and had seen Phœnicians there. They received us very kindly, and told us that their island was one of a group that was situated to the west of Libya. Ignorant of navigation, they could give me no information about distance; and all that I could make out was that the coast of Libya extended far to the south, and was inhabited by people of the same race as themselves; and that still farther south there was a region where the men were like animals, and perfectly black.
"That's a country worth seeing; I should like to catch a black man," said Bichri.
The residents, I observed, wore bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, which were, I found, made of gold; and in reply to my inquiry whether the gold was found in the island, they told me that they obtained it both in nuggets and in dust from the Garamantines of the mainland, who collected it by means of fleeces at the mouths of their rivers.
The people did not attach any great value to their gold, and were quite ready to barter it away very freely for many things we had to offer them; for instance, for some glass trinkets they gave me as much gold dust as I could hold in the hollow of my hand, while for such things as knives, lance-heads, or swords, they would give an equal weight in gold. The delight of my people was unbounded, and I had the utmost difficulty in preventing them from bartering away all their weapons. Hannibal sold his helmet, crest and all; and Jonah even parted with his trumpet, boasting that he could now have one of pure gold, with which to play before the King; but so enchanted was he with the country, that if the inhabitants would have accepted him for their god he would have been quite ready to reside permanently amongst them.
I spent a fortnight in purchasing gold and repairing the ships, and an interesting period we all found it. The fertile soil was productive of some of the finest fruits I had ever seen; one fruit in particular with a scaly covering was very delicious. The valleys were full of orange-trees of the growth of centuries, and the mountains were clothed with magnificent woods, in which beautiful little birds with yellow plumage were fluttering about, and singing exquisitely. Bichri, who did not care about purchasing more than just enough gold to ornament his belt and quiver, spent several whole days in these woods with Dionysos, and succeeded in catching some of the bright little songsters, which he secured in a cage; but his trouble was of little avail, as they all died upon their passage.