The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-21

side of the Hammada, also covers Ia -Se territory. It is a shallow depres- sion i'll the desert, spotted here and there by oases It lies just about eight hun dred miles north of Lake Chad, and the chief caravan routes to Kuka and Boruu pass through it.
 The trans-Sahara trade of the past has largely consisted of slaves, and slaves are carried from the Soudan by that route through the Fezzan to Tripoli to- day From here they are smuggled to Tunisia, Algeria and Turkey, finding ready market at the harems of those cities. They are often taken on the steamers as the nominal wives of their masters. No Mohammedan will tolerate an. inquiry into his family arrange ments, and such statement prevents in vestigation. Not long ago the number of slaves carried across the desert through the Fezzan amounted to as many as ten thousand per annum, and it is said that the route from there to Lake Chad can even now be followed by the bleaching bones of the human beings who have died on the way. The capital of the Fezzan is MurzulS, q gloomy city con taining about seven thousand people. It depends almost entirely upon the caravan trade.
 Chat and Ghadames.
 Another important caravan center is the oasis of Chat which lies in the bed of a dry river, and a third is Ghadames, in another dry river some distance away. Chat is famous for it's great fair. which Is held once a year. bringing together traders from all parts of the Sahara. In ordinary times the town has only about four thousand population. and the fair has to be held an a great plain outside. The city is surrounded by walls and en- tered only by gates. It's streets are dark passages, with houses built over them, so that going through 1t Is like travelling through the tunnels of a mine
 Gha-danl-es-I hesitate to write the word, 1t sounds so much like swearing Is another oasis center of about the same character as Chat. It has been trading place since the days of the Romans, and the caravans of the Fezzan Tuat, Tim buktu and Lake Chad all pass through 1t. Ghadames is twice big as Chat. It is surrounded by a wall three miles in length. but the people live In only one corner of the inclosure. The houses are box shaped and are so laid out that the women can walk from one to another on the roofs, which are reserved for their use.
 Captured by the Americans.
 Some of the most interesting parts of rs,Ion are along the Mediterranean sea. Here in Tripoli we have sixty thousand people. Farther eastward, in Barka, is the town of Benghazi, which was thriy- ing city in the days of the Phoenicians and Romans, and still further east Is Durnl, the only place on the African continent ever occupied by Americans. 4. was captured by our fleet in 1915, and the ruins of a battery which was then erected on the heights are still to be seen. l am told there are other tracts along the Mediterranean coast which might be cultivated, if properly handled, and that ths ruins of many Roman settlements still exist there, It is thought that re- zion that the khedve expects to build his railroad from Alexandria to Tripoli.
 The Products of the Sahara.
 The products of the desert are much larger than are generally supposed. The caravans which are now coming here bring quantities of ostrich feathers and also cotton, dates, tobacco and grain, as well as the ivory and gold dust of the Soudan. The output of the oases them selves is greater than that of any sim liar area on earth. As I have already said. these desert islands comprise all together a tract about twice big as tho astate of Vis-ssntat, ars =tfesy fsr sfi1i,.r, most every kind of grain. Outside of them there are vast tracts which are used for the grazing of millions of cam els, sheep and goats, as well as horses and cattle And of late years a new crop has been found which is bringing for tunes into the Sahara.