rs were unable
to prepare any food, and they could not even see thirty yards before
them. In the evening they encamped amid a plantation of palms, near
two wells of tolerably fresh water, at a short distance from Sockna.
Of this town, which is about half-way between Tripoli and Mourzouk,
Captain Lyon gives the following description:--

Sockna stands on an immense plain of gravel, bounded to the south by
the Soudah mountains, at about fifteen miles; by the mountains of
Wadam, about thirty miles to the eastward; a distant range to the
west, and those already mentioned on the north. The town is walled,
and may contain two thousand persons. There are small projections
from the walls, having loop-holes for musketry. It has seven gates,
only one of which will admit a loaded camel. The streets are very
narrow, and the houses are built of mud and small stones mixed, many
of them having a story above the ground-floor. A small court is open
in the centre, and the doors, which open from this area, give the
only light which the rooms receive. The water of Sockna is almost all
brackish or bitter. There are 200,000 date trees in the immediate
neighbourhood of the town, which pay duty; also an equal number, not
yet come into bearing, which are exempt. These dates grow in a belt
of sand, at about two or three miles distant from the town, and are
of a quality far superior to any produced in the north of Africa.
Owing to their excellence, they are sold at a very high price at
Tripoli. The adjoining country is entirely destitute of shrubs, or
any kind of food for camels, which are therefore sent to graze about
five miles off; while in the town, all animals are fed on dates.
Sheep are brought here from Benioleed, and are, in consequence of
coming from such a distance, very dear. In the gardens about three
miles from the town, barley, maize, and _gussob ohourra_ are
cultivated, as well as a few onions, turnips, and peppers. The number
of flies here are immense, and all the people carry little flappers,
made of bunches of wild bulls' hair tied to a short stick, in order
to keep those pests at a distance. The dates all being deposited in
store-houses in the town, may account in some degree for the
multitude of these insects, which in a few minutes fill every dish or
bowl containing any liquid.

The costume is here the same as that of the Bedouins, consisting
generally of a shirt and barracan, a red cap, and sandals. A few,
whose circumstan