FEZZAN.
As we journey to the south, on the road to the Soudan, we find the great
oasis of Fezzan, which extends far into the midst of the Great Desert.
The rocky plateau of Hammada forms a natural defense for it on the
north, and the superstition of the native Bedouins serves as another
obstacle, in addition to those nature has placed along the road.
The Bedouins have a legend of the terrible _Djin_, who are doomed to
everlasting imprisonment in the stony Hammada. The Djin were formerly
the souls of a great people inhabiting this region. By reason of their
great number and strength they not only disdained all humanity, but
defied both law and justice, and made themselves feared by all of their
neighbors.
King Solomon sent them an apostle, who might bring them to worship one
God. They, however, not only spurned and mocked at the precepts and
religious ceremonies of the apostle, but put him to death.
Not satisfied, they in derision placed a pig in their temples in
imitation of the sacred niche which in the wall of the mosque indicates
the direction of Mecca.
These and other sacrilegious acts they committed, trusting that their
great isolation, and the vast distance which separated them from all
neighbors, would prevent any accounts of their impiety from reaching the
ears of the great Solomon.
It happened that there were many cranes in the land. These were so
scandalized at the impious acts that they sent one of their number as a
deputy to carry the news to the great prophet. Filled with indignation
at what had taken place, he sent a summons to the lapwing, his favorite
bird, commanding him to call together all the cranes upon the face of
the earth.
When they were assembled they formed so vast a number that they became
a great cloud, which threw the earth into shadow from Misda, near
Tripoli, to Murzuk, the capital of Fezzan.
Each crane held a stone in its beak. At a preconcerted signal all
dropped their loads upon the heads of the wicked infidels, whose souls,
set free, still wander over the solitary waste; while never has a crane
been able to fly through this space of torment.
Some writers trace a resemblance between this Mohammedan legend and the
story of the "Pigmies and the Cranes."
The northern part of the district consists for the most part of hills of
a perfectly bare sandstone. There are no rivers nor brooks among these
hills to irrigate the soil or to render it fertile. The southern part is
mostly a level waste of desert sand, of which only about one tenth is
capable of cultivation.
In the neighborhood of the villages of Fezzan, some ninety in number,
situated mostly in the wadies, or apologies for valleys, we find wheat,
barley, and other grains under cultivation. Camels and horses are raised
in great numbers, and many wild animals and birds of prey are frequently
found.
The inhabitants of Fezzan number about thirty-five thousand, and a
nomadic or wandering population of perhaps nine or ten thousand.
The inhabitants are of a mixed race. Their skin is brown and in many
respects they bear a strong resemblance to the negro. Their figures are,
however, much more finely formed and better proportioned.
Originally of the Berber tribes, they have gradually mingled with the
Arabs since the invasion of the country by them in the fifteenth
century. Hence the Arab characteristics and language are very marked in
their influence upon those of the original Berber tribes.
Generally speaking, the people are far behind the rest of the world in
civilization. They spend their time in cultivating their gardens and in
manufacturing the most indispensable necessaries of life.
Quite a large trade is carried on by means of caravans passing over the
routes between the interior of Africa and the coast section.
Murzuk is the capital of Fezzan. It is situated at the foot of a high
plateau surrounded by low dunes, or sand hills, thrown up by the wind.
While we can but admire the picturesque situation of the capital, yet,
even at first sight, we cannot fail to notice the great barrenness of
the scene. This impression is deepened rather than lessened after a few
days' sojourn in the town or in its immediate neighborhood.
Cultivation of the soil is simply impossible, except in the shade of the
date palms. Here, it is possible to raise only such fruits as the
pomegranate, fig, and peach. Vegetables are very scarce, and the milk of
the goat is the only kind that can be obtained, since there is no
pasturage for cows.
Murzuk is said to have a population of about twenty-eight hundred
people. These we find settled in and about the neighborhood of the
bazaar. The quarters of the city most distant from it are almost
deserted.
A broad street extends from the eastern gate to the citadel. This
peculiarity would seem to indicate that the town is more closely related
to negro-land than to the Arab territories on the north.
Murzuk is not inhabited by wealthy merchants. It is not so much the seat
of a large commerce, as it is a place of transit.