Υπερ δε ταυτης, καὶ των Συρτεων, Ψυλλους, καὶ Νασαμωνας, καὶ των Γαιτουλων τινας· ειτα Σιντας, καὶ βυζακιους, μεχρι της Καρχηδονιας . . . (Lib. 2. p. 131.)
[28]Πασα δ᾽ ἡ απο Καρχηδονος μεχρι στηλων εστιν ευδαιμων.
[29]Libyphœnices vocantur qui Byzacium incolunt. Ita appellatur regio CCL. M. P. circuitu, fertilitatis eximiæ, &c.—(Nat. Hist. Lib. v. c. 4.)
[30]The interpretation which follows (in this part of Signor Della Cella’s work) of a passage which he has quoted from Scylax, and the adoption which he there proposes of the word ποταμος instead of πολις, do not seem to rest, we fear, on any better foundation. (See Viaggio da Tripoli, &c., p. 48—9.)
The concluding words εστι δε ερημος, rather appear to relate to the desert tract between Lebida and Tagiura, than to the country in the neighbourhood of the Cinyphus.
CHAPTER V.
Arrival at Zelīten — Description of the Village and District of that name — Harbour of Zelīten — Remains in its neighbourhood probably those of the Cisternæ Oppidum of Ptolemy — Tomb of the Marábūt Sidy Abd el Salám — Respect shewn to it by our party in passing before it — General appearance of these Structures — Arab credulity and superstition — Leave Zelīten — Remains between it and Selīn — Arrive at Selīn, the Orir, apparently, of Signor Della Cella — Proceed to Zoúia — Ports called by the Arabs Mersa Gusser and Mersa Zoraig — Arrive at Mesurata, the Western Boundary of the Greater Syrtis — Description of the Town and District of Mesurata — Account of them by Leo Africanus — Visit from the Shekh of Mesurata — Splendid Costume and Equipage of the Shekh compared with that of our Bedouin Guide, Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah — Allusion to the report mentioned at the end of the Third Chapter — Great demand for Medicine at Mesurata — Considerate conduct of Mr. Campbell — Speedy success of his treatment in many difficult cases — Miraculous cure of a young Arab woman by an itinerant Sherīf and Marábūt — Detention of the party at Mesurata — Observations on Cape Mesurata, considered as the Cephalas Promontorium of Strabo — Remarks of Signor Della Cella on this subject — Alterations proposed by that gentleman in the punctuation of a passage in Strabo descriptive of the Promontory — Actual appearance of the Promontory sufficiently consistent with the account of Strabo — Well-founded Remarks of Signor Della Cella on the extension of the Gharian Chain, &c. — Extensive View from the Sand-hills at the back of Mesurata — Singular contrast presented by the view over the dreary wastes of the Syrtis compared with that over the plain of Mesurata — Hot wind, and swarm of locusts accompanying it — Alarm of the Arabs of Mesurata — Precautions adopted by them on the occasion — Destructive consequences (mentioned by Shaw) resulting from the visit of a flight of Locusts which he witnessed — Remarks of Pliny on the same subject — Arrival of the Camels, and departure from Mesurata.
On our arrival at Zelīten, we found barley and oil in abundance, and much cheaper than in the neighbourhood of Tripoly; we availed ourselves, accordingly, of the favourable state of the market, to replenish our supply of these articles with the produce of the district of Cinyps. Herodotus thought it necessary to observe, in describing the fortunate region here alluded to, that “it rained in this part of Libya[1]”—and we had also, in this instance, full reason to acknowledge the accuracy of the father of history: for our stock of provisions was so much damaged by the rain which had attended our passage through the country, that we found it necessary to expose it a second time to the sun, before we ventured to secure it more effectually in the baskets.
The village of Zelīten contains from three to five hundred souls (as Shekh Benzahir, who presides there, informed us); and we were indebted to him, besides, for the honour of a visit, and a present (no less valuable) of some excellent Fezzan dates, which are thought to be superior to those of the country. The district of Zelīten, he further informed us, which extends from Wad’ el Kháhan to Selin, contains no less than fifteen villages and ten thousand inhabitants. The houses are built with mud and rough stones, the mud, on most occasions, preponderating, as it generally does in Arab buildings; the roofs are formed of mats and the branches of the palm-tree, on which is laid a quantity of earth. The villages of Igsaiba, Fehtir, Irgīg, and Snūd, all smaller than Zelīten, but built after the same fashion, may be said to be appendages to that place. Each of these villages, as well as Zelīten itself, is surrounded by plantations of date-trees and olives, and presents a tolerable show of cultivation. The produce is more than the inhabitants consume, and the overplus, together with straw mats and earthern jars, manufactured in the place, are disposed of to Bedouin traders, or carried to other markets for sale. There are two springs of very good water near Zelīten, which supply a small pond; and in this place the ladies of the place are accustomed to wash and cleanse their wool, their clothes, and, occasionally, themselves, before they fill their jars for home consumption.