. The gateway to the Sahara; observations and experiences in Tripoli. thousand and one nights. But of the morrow of the Tripolitans ? Through drought, inertia, and unbearabletaxation, Tripolis agricultural resources barelykeep her inhabitants from starvation. Her cara-van trade is leaking out to the south by way ofthe Niger, and what little intermittently tricklesnorthward is unstable because of the insecurityof the routes. Thus the great decrease in herleading exports reflects unfavorably on the gen-eral commercial prosperity of Tripoli, but moresaliently emphasizes the need of developing her
. The gateway to the Sahara; observations and experiences in Tripoli. thousand and one nights. But of the morrow of the Tripolitans ? Through drought, inertia, and unbearabletaxation, Tripolis agricultural resources barelykeep her inhabitants from starvation. Her cara-van trade is leaking out to the south by way ofthe Niger, and what little intermittently tricklesnorthward is unstable because of the insecurityof the routes. Thus the great decrease in herleading exports reflects unfavorably on the gen-eral commercial prosperity of Tripoli, but moresaliently emphasizes the need of developing heragricultural resources. Turkey seems not onlyindifferent but averse to improvements of anykind, apparently not wishing to encourage eithernative or foreign interests, thereby attractingattention to the country. Yet with a jealous eyeTurkey guards this province—perhaps that shemay continue to squeeze from the flat, leathernmoney pouches of the Arabs more miserable ver-ghi and tithes; perhaps that she may maintaina door between Constantinople and the hinter- [294]. THE DESERT land of Tripoli, through which to secretly re-plenish her supply of slaves. Along the rough trails back in the plateaulands and the mountains of the Jebel Tarhunaand the Gharian, I have occasionally run acrossgreat broken-down coflFer-dams. Along thecoast I have ridden for the greater part of aday over the fine-crumbled remains of Romantowns, now and again clattering over the tessel-lated pavement of all that was left of some Ro-man villa which had overlooked the blue ex-panse of the Mediterranean. The dams tell ofthe previous conservation of vast water supplieswhich once irrigated the fertile hills and pla-teaus upon which a great Roman and nativepopulation depended. Other evidence is notwanting which tells us that in those days muchof the land was thickly wooded, largely culti-vated, and populated. It is claimed that since those days great cli-matic changes must have occurred to so alter theface of the l
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