Note 2 — Chapter III
Reading edition
Ben Alli, a native of Morocco, who was lately in England, and of whom an account is given in the Introduction to Chapter IV. relates, that in proceeding from Fezzan to Gharien, on his way to Tripoli, he was met by several parties of Arabs, who were robbers by profession, and who rendered the rout so dangerous, that every individual in the caravan was obliged to carry a gun, a brace of pistols, and a yatagan or sabre. He describes the country as partially cultivated; and remarks, that it is furnished with few springs, and is wholly destitute of rivers.
By his account, the distance from Fezzan to Gharien is that of a journey of sixteen days.
He represents the rout from Gharien to Tripoli as a sandy desart, and its length as that of a seven days journey.