The place where Marius encamped before the taking of Capsa was to the east, at the foot of the mountain, and answers the description locum tumulosum, as it agrees in distance. These hillocks are continued to the brink of the river, after passing the dry bed of which there is a plain of about 500 yards broad, and over this, on a small eminence to the west, is situated Gaffsa.
On the night of the 29th, and all the next day, we were followed by five of the Nememchah, who had not the courage to attack us, but on our arrival at El-Hamma, about 22 miles, they fell suddenly upon some people herding sheep and drove them off in triumph.
We lay here on the 30th; it is a small, mud-walled date village; five miles further is Tozer. It is the largest of the date towns, the residence of a Cayd, the chief of all the Jereed. It is the ancient Tisurus, but nothing now remains of the old town but three broken columns of cippolino, whose capitals were Corinthian, but are now consumed entirely. It is the greatest mart in Barbary for woollen goods, such as haicks, burnooses, baracanes, &c. Its next commodity is dates, with which it furnishes the Bedouins throughout the kingdom. 20,000 camels are annually loaded here with this fruit. Here the caravan arrives from Timbuctoo in . . .[258] days bringing gold of Tibar and negroes. Here also did formerly arrive the caravans of the Gaddemsees, but being plundered and waylaid by the Nememchah, they now direct their course to Nefzowah.
From Tozer to Wurglah is about ten days with camels; thence to Tripoli ten days.
The second of January (1766), arrived at El-Hamma or Tegeuse,[259] another set of villages about six miles east of Tozer.
Tozer is better situated than any of the date towns, by a number of springs which break out above a mile west of the town, and immediately form several considerable streams, which are divided by the hour amongst the inhabitants as of old; between the palm trees are gardens of figs, vines, and herbs. In some places, and chiefly at Tigeuse, the ground between the trees is laid out in small beds, about five feet long and two broad, sown with wheat, which is here very scarce and only brought when the camp comes in November, when the Dreedy and other clans attend, and bring this in exchange for dates and manufactures.
The third of January passed the Lowdeah or Palus Tritonides, about three miles below Tegeuse, the large lake of water called the Lake of Marks, because in the passage of it there is now a row of large trunks of palm trees set up to guide travellers in the road which crosses it.
Dr. Shaw has settled very distinctly the geography of this place and those about it. It is the Palus Tritonidis,[260] as he justly observes.
This was the most barren and unpleasant of my journeys in Africa, barren not only from the nature of the soil, but from its having no remains of antiquity in the whole course of it.
From entering the water to the small island half-way to Fatnassa, the route is entirely through water, equal in saltness to the sea, the depth is never above seven inches after passing this. It is chiefly dry for the other ten miles of the distance to Fatnassa, but never more than one inch where the water is deepest; it has a fine gravelly bottom. I measured four hundred feet on each side of the signals; the breadth nowhere seven miles.