Departure of the Expedition from Tripoly — Passage through
Tagiura — Fertile appearance of the latter — Its Mosque, and
actual remains — Tagiura considered as the site of Abrotonum
— Existence of a salt-water lake at Tagiura, consistent with
Strabo’s account of Abrotonum — Present tranquil condition of
the country in this neighbourhood contrasted with its dangerous
state in the time of Consul Tully — Sand-heaps to the eastward of
Tagiura — Remarks on their formation, and on the accumulation of
sand in other places — Dangers of the sand-storm considered —
Passage over the sandy tract to the eastward of Tagiura — Arrive
at Wady Ramleh — Stormy weather at that place — Take leave of our
European friends who had accompanied us from Tripoly — Continuance
of the gale — Arrive at Wady’m’Seyd — Attempt to pass,
without success, across the sand-hills to the coast. — Arrive
at Guadigmata — Position of Graphara, as laid down by Scylax,
considered. — Ancient remains discovered by Captain Smyth in the
neighbourhood of Wady’m’Seyd and Abdellata. — Remarks on these,
considered as the remains of Graphara — Scuffle with the Arabs at
Sidy Abdellati — Remains at that place indicative of an ancient
military station — Cross the range of Sélem — Extensive view
from its summit over the fertile plains of Lebida and Jumarr —
Rains still continue — Distress of the camels — Meet with the
English Consul on his return from an excursion to Lebida — Report
of a troop of marauding Arabs lying in wait for our party.
On the 4th of November our arrangements were completed, and we were
able to send the greater part of our baggage to the tents which
had been pitched in a garden without the town; on the following
morning we took a final leave of Tripoly, and set out on our journey
to Tagiura.
Our party consisted of three Europeans, who acted equally as
interpreters and servants, a Tchaous, or janissary, belonging to the
Bashaw, Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah, with five other Bedouin Arabs, and
three Arabs of Tripoly to look after the horses, making altogether
(ourselves included) eighteen.
After passing through the Messeah, or cultivated district in the
neighbourhood of Tripoly, and along the large Salt Marsh, mentioned
in Tully’s Memoirs, which was now completely covered with water,
we entered the scattered villages of Tagiura. They are surrounded
by gardens, yielding abundant crops of corn, fruit and vegetables,
and shaded by thickly-planted date and olive-trees, which are
equally valuable to the inhabitants. We find Tagiura described
by Leo Africanus as a country containing a good many villages,
or hamlets, and many gardens of date and other fruit trees; and
its present general appearance is probably little different from
that which it presented in the time of this geographer.
In consequence of a considerable emigration from Tripoly, this
country (he adds) became “assai nobile e civile;” but we
must confess that there are at present very little remains of its
importance, or extraordinary civilization; unless a large mosque,
of some apparent antiquity (highly reverenced by its Mahometan
population) and the good-humoured hospitality with which we were
received by the natives, may be considered as examples of both.
The people, however, appeared to be contented and happy, and
greeted us with many friendly salutations as we passed through their
highly-cultivated country. Some Roman columns, which are said to be
in the interior of the mosque, would seem to point out its vicinity
to an ancient site[1]; and if we must necessarily consider Tagiura
to occupy the position of any ancient town, we should suppose it
to stand on that of Abrotonum.
But it will be found, upon inquiry, that there are considerable
difficulties attendant on such a conclusion. For Abrotonum is stated
by Scylax to have been two days’ sail from Leptis Magna[2]; and
the distance between Tagiura and Lebida (already identified with
Leptis Magna) is no more than 59 miles.
The mean rate allowed by Major Rennell, for the sailing of the
vessels of the ancients, is 35 miles per day; so that the distance
between Leptis Magna and Abrotonum should, at this rate, be 70
miles. It is true that the rate of Nearchus, in the Red Sea and
in the Persian Gulf, as estimated by the same author, is no more
than 22½ and 30 miles; but this was occasioned by circumstances
not attendant on voyages in general, and must be considered (says
the Major) as an unusually low rate.
Another difficulty arises from the mention of Abrotonum as a _port_,
as well as a city, in the passage we have quoted from Scylax;
for Tagiura cannot be said to possess one.
It will here immediately occur to the reader, that Tripoly has a very
good port; and that the distance of that town from Lebida will answer
remarkably well with the distance of Scylax in question: for Tripoly
may be estimated at 67 miles from Lebida, which will be within three
of the 70 miles mentioned as the distance between Leptis Magna and
Abrotonum. Both these circumstances together will therefore appear
very strongly to favour the supposition that Tripoly is Abrotonum;
while a third, which we have already mentioned, _viz._, that Oea
is not stated to be a port by ancient writers, (at least, not that
we have been able to learn,) will contribute to strengthen the idea.
These facts would undoubtedly make it seem very probable that Modern
Tripoly is the Abrotonum of Scylax; but then the authorities of
D’Anville and Cellarius, and these are no slender authorities,
concur in placing that town on the site of Oea, as which we have
accordingly considered it[3].
We will not pursue the question further; but will leave our readers
to judge how far Abrotonum may be placed at Tagiura under the
circumstances which we have already stated; merely adding, that the
fertile plains of Tagiura are admirably calculated for the position
of a town, and that many a pleasant day has been spent among their
villages and gardens by the European inhabitants of Tripoly, who
often make parties to visit them.
We may at the same time contrast the present quiet state of Tagiura
with that in which it was found by Consul Tully a short time before
the accession of Sidi Yusuf. It was then considered necessary,
in visiting this place, although during what were called tranquil
times, that the party of the Consul, amounting to upwards of forty,
should be increased by the addition of several of the Bashaw’s
Chaouses; and it was afterwards reported to His Highness, that he
had had, notwithstanding this prudent precaution, a very narrow
and fortunate escape.
We found the roads to, and through, Tagiura in most places inundated
by the heavy rains which had fallen before the commencement of our
journey; a circumstance which, if it did not expedite our travelling,
had certainly the good effect of rendering it more pleasant, by
cooling the atmosphere and preventing the sand from flying. This was
the more fortunate, as the gardens to the eastward of the town are
bounded by a dreary tract of sandy desert, which we were obliged to
cross. The approach to it was indicated by numerous hillocks of sand
accumulated about the date-trees on the outskirts of the villages,
leaving their heads exposed, at various heights above the sand,
while some of them scarcely appeared above the summit. Judging
from the present appearance of Tagiura, we should imagine that
many gardens, situated on its eastern limits, have been completely
overwhelmed by these heaps.
Any object which is stationary would arrest the progress of sand
borne towards it by the violence of the wind; and the low enclosures
of Arab gardens in exposed situations might in a few years disappear
altogether.
We are not, however, inclined to attribute quite so much to the
overwhelming properties of sand, as many other travellers have done;
and we do not think that the danger of being actually buried will
appear, on consideration, to be altogether so great, to those who
are crossing sandy deserts, as writers of high respectability have
asserted. The sand which encounters a body in motion, would pass it,
we should imagine, without accumulation; and the quantity which
might even be heaped upon sleepers could scarcely be more than
they might easily shake off in waking. We shudder at the dreadful
accounts which have been recorded of whole caravans, and whole
armies, destroyed by these formidable waves of the desert; and
when our pity is strongly excited by such relations, we are seldom
inclined to analyze them very deeply. But a little reflection would
probably convince us that many of these are greatly exaggerated:
some, because the writers believed what they related; and some,
because they wished their readers to believe what they might not
be quite convinced of themselves.
In fact, we think it probable that they who have perished in deserts,
from the time of the Psylli and Cambyses to the present, have died,
as is usual, before they were buried, either from violence, thirst,
or exhaustion[4].
The idea in question has, however, become very general; and we
can neither attribute much blame to the reader who believes what
is related on respectable authority, or to the writer who simply
informs us of what he himself considers to be true. To him whose
only view is to excite interest by exaggeration, we may, at least,
say it seems to be superfluous: for the hardships and dangers of a
journey over the sandy desert may be fully sufficient to satisfy the
most adventurous, and to exhaust the most robust, without calling
up the airy forms of imaginary horrors, to lengthen out the line
of those which really present themselves[5].
But if the desert have terrors peculiar to itself, it has also its
peculiar pleasures. There is something imposing, we may say sublime,
in the idea of unbounded space which it occasionally presents; and
every trifling object which appears above its untenanted surface,
assumes an interest which we should not on other occasions attribute
to objects of much greater importance.
The little romance which its stillness and solitude encourage,
is at the same time grateful to the feelings; and one may here
dream delightfully of undisturbed tranquillity and independence,
and of freedom from all the cares, the follies, and the vices of
the world. Whenever the wind is cool, without being too strong,
the purity of the air is at once refreshing and exhilarating; and,
if his stock of water be not very low, the traveller feels disposed
to be well pleased with every thing[6].
Such was precisely the feeling with which our party entered upon
the tract of sandy desert before them. We were glad to escape from
the continual din and bustle which had attended our preparations at
Tripoly; and the very absence of harassing workmen and tradesmen was
alone a source of real satisfaction: the coolness of the sea-breeze
was unusually refreshing, at least, we persuaded ourselves that it
was so; and the anticipation of an interesting journey was acting
very strongly upon our minds.
After quitting the cultivated grounds of Tagiura, the traveller is
left to pursue his course (in going eastward) as his experience or
his compass may direct—there being no indication whatever of any
track in the sands of the wide plain before him. As our principal
object, in this part of our journey, was to obtain a correct
delineation of the coast, we pursued our route along the margin of
the sea; which from Tagiura to Cape Sciarra takes the form of a bay,
at the head of which lies Wady Ramleh. It was late in the afternoon
of the sixth when we reached the Wady, and came up with the party
who had preceded us in advance with the camels and heavy baggage.
Wady Ramleh, or Rummel (as it is sometimes pronounced, which
signifies, in Arabic, sandy river, or sandy valley), is a small,
but constant stream of pure water, which finds its way across the
desert from the mountains to the southward. The bed of the stream
is much below the surface of the soil; and judging from its width,
and the steep banks which confine it, we should conclude that at
the periods when the freshes come down from the mountains, Wady
Ramleh may be swelled into a considerable body of water. Here our
day’s journey finished, and we pitched our tents near the stream,
making them as comfortable as a stormy night would allow of for the
friends who had accompanied us from Tripoly[7]. On the following
morning the rain fell in torrents; and as the prospect afforded by
the weather was not very inviting, we would not allow our companions
to stray farther with us from home; but took our leave of them,
as we flattered ourselves, with mutual regret, and they retraced
their steps towards Tripoly, while we continued our journey to
the eastward.
The wind had by this time increased to a violent gale, and we were
very soon wet to the skin: but although such a state may not appear
to be at all times an enviable one, it was in fact very much so
on this occasion; for the clouds of sand which would have been
hurled in our faces by the wind, had the surface of the desert
been less wet, would have proved a much greater annoyance. With
this reflection we pursued our journey very contentedly, and our
Arab friends, composing Shekh Mahommed’s escort, appeared to be
equally well satisfied; for they soon began to open the several
budgets of songs with which an Arab is never unprovided, roaring
them out to the full extent of their well-practised and powerful
lungs, till they fairly drowned the noise of the gale.
At 10 A.M. we passed through Wady’m’Seyd, a small stream somewhat
inferior to Wady Ramleh, and soon entered upon the extensive plain
of Jumarr. Wady’m’Seyd may be termed the eastern limit of the
long sandy tract which stretches from thence far to the westward, and
passing to the southward of Tripoly, is bounded, in that direction,
by the Gharian mountains.
The sandy nature of the ground to the westward of Wady’m’Seyd
had latterly led us away from that part of the coast, and we now
endeavoured to regain the beach; but the sands were so soft that
our horses sank up to their saddle-girths, and our utmost efforts
to reach it were unavailing: we were in consequence obliged to
give up the attempt, and leave this portion of the coast line
incomplete. Among the sand-hills we found several patches of rocky
ground strewed with fragments of pottery, but no vestiges of building
were discernible. The plain of Jumarr, from the excellence of its
soil, would no doubt be extremely productive; but notwithstanding
this advantage, and its vicinity to the metropolis, a small part of
it only is cultivated, and but few Arab tents were to be seen. The
Gharian range may here be considered to be about seven miles from
the coast; and the heavy rains and torrents from the mountains have
made several large ravines in this neighbourhood, which crossed our
path in their passage to the sea: the most considerable of these
are Wady Terragadt and Wady Booforris. Soon after four o’clock
we reached Guadigmata, where we found a small Arab encampment,
and pitched our tents for the night.
It is in the neighbourhood of Guadigmata, between that place and
Wady’m’Seyd, that we must look for the Graphara of Scylax. For as
that city is described by the geographer as being midway between
Abrotonum and Leptis Magna, that is, a day’s sail from each—Guadigmata
being 26 miles from Lebida, and the whole distance from Lebida to
Tagiura 58½—it follows that the site of Graphara might be fixed three
miles to the westward of Guadigmata; which would place it at 29 miles’
distance from each of the cities in question, or half way between
Lebida and Tagiura [8].
There are, however, no remains to the westward of Guadigmata
(between that place and Wady’m’Seid) that we could perceive
in our route; but two miles beyond Guadigmata there are some
remains of building on a rising ground to the eastward of it,
which are too much buried under the soil to allow us to give any
satisfactory description of them. Two large upright stones, which
seem to have been the jambs of a gateway, are all that are now
standing; and not even the ground plans of other parts of these
remains could be obtained without excavation. We learnt, however,
from Captain Smyth that, in the neighbourhood of Wady’m’Seyd,
there is a small boat-cove resembling an ancient cothon; and near
it the ruins of several baths with tesselated pavements; which
must have been situated on that part of the coast which we were
not able to visit, for the reasons mentioned above. To the eastward
of these, another small port was also discovered by Captain Smyth
(formed by a point of land between the Wadies of Ben-z-barra and
Abdellata), at which the produce of the country is shipped off in
the summer. The mouth of the Abdellata is described by this officer
as forming a picturesque cove, and he observed on its left bank
(a little way inland) a village consisting of troglodytic caverns,
excavated in the sand-stone rock; many of which being furnished
with doors, are used by the natives instead of the usual matamores,
or subterranean storehouses, as granaries.
The former of the ports here described may possibly have been that
of Graphara required; but as there are more extensive remains in
the neighbourhood of that at Abdellata (or Abdellati), which we
shall presently have occasion to mention, we will not venture to
fix it as such decidedly.
On the day after our arrival at Guadigmata, the weather proving
still very bad, we did not proceed on our route; but spent the day
in examining and securing our baskets of provisions many of which
we found to have been wet through, and in making those other little
arrangements which, notwithstanding all precautions, are usually
found to be necessary a day or two after the commencement of a
long journey.
We continued our route on the following morning, and found the
country beyond become gradually hilly, and the road to be again
intersected by Wadys, or ravines, extending themselves from the
mountains to the sea[9]. By four we had arrived at Sidy Abdellàti:
so called from a celebrated Marábut, whose tomb, surrounded by
gardens and date-trees, stands conspicuous on the banks of one of the
Wadys. The country about it is everywhere well cultivated, the wells
are numerous, and the hills were covered with sheep and goats; but
notwithstanding the numerous flocks in our neighbourhood, we found
considerable difficulty in procuring a single lamb for our party.
While we were here a disturbance took place which had, at one time,
assumed rather an alarming appearance. Our camel-drivers had allowed
their beasts to stray over the cultivated grounds of the neighbouring
Arabs, who came to demand remuneration, or to revenge themselves,
in the event of not obtaining it, upon the owners of the camels[10]:
the latter, together with our Arab escort, formed a tolerably strong
party, and thinking themselves in a condition to do so, did not
hesitate to resist the demand; a scuffle accordingly took place,
in which many blows were exchanged, baracans torn, and knives and
pistols brought into action. The arrival of Shekh Mahommed put
an end to the fray before any serious consequences had ensued,
and he satisfied the assailants by reprimanding the camel-drivers,
and promising to make them keep their animals within bounds. We
were ignorant ourselves of the cause of the disturbance, and seeing
our party suddenly attacked, we naturally ran to their assistance,
which certainly would not have been the case had we known they
had been the aggressors. This made us more cautious afterwards,
as we found that our drivers took advantage of the strength of the
party to improve the condition of their camels.
The most conspicuous character in this disturbance was a trusty
black slave of our conductor the Dúbbah, who appeared to have
inherited from his master the art of raising his voice above that
of every other person. Having had his pistols wrested from him, he
was so hurried away by the violence of his passion as to seem quite
unable to give it sufficient vent; and had just raised his knife to
plunge it into an Arab, when he was prevented by one of our party,
who presented a musket at him and deprived him of his weapon;
for although he was fighting on our side, we were not of course
desirous that he should proceed to such unjustifiable extremes.
The remains of some strongly-built forts, of quadrangular forms,
occupying the heights which command the road, sufficiently point
out Sidy Abdellàti as an ancient military station; and indeed,
had we found there no vestiges of antiquity, we should have been
induced from the nature of the ground to look for some indications
of fortification; since the advantages of position, of soil, and
of water, which it possesses, are too great to have been overlooked
by the ancients.
About the tomb of the Marábut which we have mentioned above, there
are frequent traces of building; and the tomb itself is constructed
with the fragments of more ancient structures; while the beach
and its neighbourhood are strewed with a quantity of pottery and
glass. These ruins, although they now, with the exception of the
Marábut and the forts, consist only of loose stones and imperfect
ground-plans, appear to be more indicative of the site of an ancient
town than those which we have mentioned at Guadigmata; and, if
Graphara could be placed so near as twenty miles to Leptis Magna,
they might probably be considered as its remains. The quadrangular
forts which we have just mentioned as occupying the heights of Sidy
Abdellàti, might in that case have belonged to a station attached
to the town; and the port discovered by Captain Smyth at Abdellata
(mentioned above) may then be taken as the one intended by Scylax.
Without carrying the subject further, we may say, in conclusion,
that Sidy Abdellàti has undoubtedly been a strong military station,
whatever pretensions it may have to be considered as the site
of Graphara.
After leaving this place, the road led us, through the valley of
Selîn, to a tolerably wide stream called Neggázi, which, winding
between the hills, gave an unusual interest to the view. We continued
our route for a short time along its banks, and then ascended
the range of hills called Sélem, which branches off from the
Terhoona[11] range and extends to the sea. From the top of Sélem
there is an extensive view westward, over the plain of Jumarr,
as far as the sandy desert; and on the eastern side of the ridge
there is another view, equally imposing, over the plain of Lebida;
so that in spite of the torrents of rain which still continued to
deluge us, we could not help stopping occasionally to admire them.
From the summit of this range we noticed several remains of what
appeared to be towers, conspicuously situated on the peaks of
the hills to the northward; and which, from the strength of their
position, might have bid defiance to any attack that could be made
upon them: their situations appear to have been chosen with the
intention of their being easily distinguished one from another,
so as to answer the purpose of communication. The valleys of this
range are capable of the highest degree of cultivation, but their
fertility has only been partially taken advantage of by the Arabs of
the neighbourhood. In some of them we noticed vines and olive-trees
flourishing most luxuriantly between patches of ground producing
corn and vegetables. Descending on the eastern side of the range,
the road lies along the side of the mountain, and several ruins of
forts and tombs are conspicuous on either side of it: here also are
several remains of ancient wells, and we noticed one, in particular,
which had fragments of marble columns lying near it. During the
whole of this day the road was so slippery, in consequence of
the heavy rains, that our camels could with difficulty proceed:
they were continually falling under their burthens, and the alarm
which their unsteady footing occasioned them added greatly to the
distress of their situation. In the evening we pitched our tents in
a valley about a mile from Mergip tower, where we met the English
Consul on his return from an excursion to Lebida: he informed us
of a report which was in circulation at that place, of a troop
of marauding Arabs being in wait for our party two days south of
Mesurata. This report was corroborated by Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah,
who seemed inclined to make it of some importance.
We suspected, from the Shekh’s manner, that he had himself
circulated this story to enhance the value of his protection; and
we were determined in consequence not to appear to believe it. As we
did not however think it right to omit some precautions, in the event
of the report proving after all to be true, we requested the Consul
to mention it when he returned to the Bashaw; who might then take
whatever measures he should judge to be necessary on the occasion.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: This circumstance is however by no means conclusive,
even supposing the columns to be as stated; for Leo Africanus
informs us that modern Tripoly was built from the ruins of Leptis
Magna, after the final destruction of that city: and the columns
in question might as easily have been brought from Lebida, as the
materials employed in building the town of Tripoly.]
[Footnote 2: Απο Νεαπολεως, της Καρχηδονιων χωρας, Γραφαρα πολις. Ταυτη
παραπλους ἡμερας μιας. απο δε Γραφαρων, Αβροτονον πολις καὶ λιμην.
Ταυτη ὁ παραπλους ἠμερας μιας.]
[Footnote 3: Supposing Tripoly to be Oea, we must look for Abrotonum
in some place as near to that city as possible; for the distance
given by Scylax from Abrotonum to Leptis Magna will become more and
more perplexing as we continue to place it farther to the eastward
of Oea. Tagiura, under this supposition, is the site we should allow
to Abrotonum; but the difficulties which we have stated are against
such a conclusion, and we confess that we are unable to reconcile
the contending authorities[a].
Neither Sabrata nor Oea (as we shall hereafter mention) appear to
have existed in the time of Strabo: the first town which is mentioned
by that geographer to the eastward of the Lesser Syrtis, after the
lake Zuchis, and the town of the same name (famous for its purple
dye and its salted provisions), is that of Abrotonum in question[b].
No distance is given by Strabo from Zuchis to Abrotonum; but the
mention of a lake much smaller than that of Zuchis, immediately
before Abrotonum, (as will be seen in the quotation below,) is
consistent with the idea that Tagiura might be the place of the city
intended; for we have stated that there is a lake a little to the
westward of Tagiura; and although it is of tolerable size, it is
nevertheless much smaller than that of Zuchis, which is estimated
by Strabo at 400 stadia.]
[Footnote a: In Ptolemy we find Abrotonum placed to the westward of
Oea; and in Pliny to the eastward of Taphra (or Graphara) neither
of which positions tend to simplify the matter in question.]
[Footnote b: Μετα δε την Συρτιν Ζουχις εστι λιμνη . . . καὶ παρ᾽
αυτην πολις ομωνυμος . . . ειτ᾽ αλλη λιμνη πολυ ελαττων· καὶ μετα
ταυτην Αβροτονον πολις, καὶ αλλαι τινες. (Lib. 17. κεφ. Γ. § 18.)
It must be recollected that Strabo is passing from west to east,
and that this is also the course of the Expedition.]
[Footnote 4: The Psylli inhabited the southern parts of the Greater
Syrtis, and are said to have been altogether destroyed by clouds of
sand which overwhelmed them in their passage to the interior. The
Nubian army of Cambyses is thought to have experienced a similar
fate.—_Vide_ Herodotus, lib. iv.]
[Footnote 5: We would not here be thought to allude to any particular
writer; but merely to the general practice, which has obtained in
all ages, of exaggerating the effects of the sand-storm in desert
travelling; which, without amplification, is sufficiently obnoxious
in its genuine native dangers and inconveniences.]
[Footnote 6: These solitary enjoyments are by no means overdrawn;
every traveller accustomed to desert journeys must have experienced
them: and the late lamented Burckhardt has frequently been heard
to declare, that his most pleasant hours in travelling have been
passed in the desert.]
[Footnote 7: Lieut. Clapperton, Mr. Carstenson, and some other
friends from Tripoly, had rode with us thus far on our journey.]
[Footnote 8: That is, if we suppose Tagiura to be the site of
Abrotonum, as we have ourselves already admitted, under the
difficulties stated above, and in the absence of more decided
information than we have been able to obtain on the subject.]
[Footnote 9: From Guadigmata, two ruins (Selma and Ipsilàta) appear
conspicuous on high and pointed hills at the distance of about seven
miles; they seem to have been watch-towers commanding the plain;
but our guides could only tell us they were _Gussers_, a name which
they applied indiscriminately to ruins of every description.]
[Footnote 10: These were the camel-drivers themselves.]
[Footnote 11: The Terhoona range is a branch of the Gharian.]