Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-09-17
.TR|POL| TAKES UP.
PLACE IN HISTORY
Of GREAT INTEREST

WASHINGTON, D. c., Sept. 16.-The
reported recent successes of the Turks
over the Italians focuses the war news
searchlight on Tripoli of Barbary, a
section of northern Africa which is de-
scribed as "a land of little promise in
war geography bulletin issued by the
National Geographic Society from
Washington today.
"Tripolitania occupies the land
along the Mediterranean Sea from
the Tunisian frontier to the Gulf Of
Sidra. From the coast southwark,
with an average width of 40 miles,
runs a plain called Jefara. At its
southern border rises with a steep as
cent a chain of mountains commonly
called Jebel, of which the most fam
Gus part is Jebel Charm. These noun
tains form a sort of tableland which
slopes slightly southwark till it reaches
Hamada-el Homra, fiat, rocky pla-
teap of about 10000 square miles,
covered with little red stones, abso-
lutely dry and arid. In the south Of
the Hamada is the land of Fezzan, a
collection of cases in a country of
dunes and desert. Fezzan forms a
wedge of sparsely inhabited land
into the great Sahara.
"The coast of Tripoli, which ex-
tends ever length of l 100 miles, Of
fers few natural harbors. The harbor
of Tripoli itself is dangerous, because
Of the many rocks which lie at the en-
trance. 1t is only on the eastern coast
of Cyrenaicia, which is sometimes
called the Marmarica, that we find two
harbors of the very best quality:
Bomba and Tobruk; but as neither has
hinterland, their value is more strat-
egica than commercial. Tobruk is
less than hundred miles distant from
the Egyptian frontier.
What is the population now inhab-
iting Tripolitania, that immense area
OF 100000 square miles (more than
half the size of the republic Of Mex
ico)? No exact census exists, but all
competent observers agree that it
hardly exceeds 100000. That means
about two inhabitants to the square
mile. The settled population inhabits
an area of $4,000 square miles-about
one-twenty-irst part of the whole
land.
I'm Tripoli every native calls him
self with pride an Arab. AS matter
OF fact certain number of Arabs
came into the country with the Moh-
ammedan conquest of North Africa in
the sixth century A. D. But the pen
insula of Arabia was never so densely
populated that it could send away
many emigrants. The Arabs conquer
ed North Africa and converted it's
population to their religion. A few Of
the conquerors remained in the coun-
try and these are still fairly pure rer-
resentatives of their race. they live
as nomads, or Bedouins, in tents, AMI
move with the season from one camp
ing ground to another. Their number
is difficult to estimate, but it is about
$4,000. The rest of the population, the
settled part, are Berbers; their blood
is mixed with that of Arabs, and also
of negroes. The negro element, which
we find everywhere in Tripoli, has it's
origin in the slave traffic of former
days, which brought thousands of Sud
anese to the coast of the Mediterran-
can.
Agriculture and cattle raising are
tie chief resources of Tripoli, but
they flourish only in small patches.
fertile land we find on a narrow strip
along the coast, in the region of Jobel
Charian and in Cyrenaica. The por-
duct is barley which in the last few
years has superseded wheat, olives,
figs and vines. Barley is shipped