THE "CITIES" OF KUFARA 205 



eastwards, but he knew nothing of southern Libya. Yet 

 he told the half savage tribesmen that in a wadi near 

 Taiserbo would be found an irak tree, from the wood 

 of which the Arabs make their primitive form of tooth- 

 brushes. The tree was duly discovered, the miracle 

 announced to the tribe and, later, Agil went north again 

 to Gebel Akhbar in Cyrenaica, to offer the allegiance 

 of his people to the great Senussi. Kufara, the original 

 sultanate of the Tebus, had become since the Zouia 

 conquest some two hundred and fifty years before, a 

 danger spot to every caravan, for it was a regular 

 stronghold of brigands who lived by plunder. 



It was a definite custom that all travellers, especially 

 merchants, passing through the oasis, should pay "darb," 

 a duty which varied according to the value of their 

 merchandise, otherwise the caravan would be attacked 

 and plundered. 



Before the coming of the Senussi there were only 

 palms in the oasis and the tribesmen were content with 

 the most primitive clothes, hardly better than those of 

 the skin-clad Tebus. It was Sidi el Mahdi who intro- 

 duced the jerd and the jubba. 



The dawn of civilisation came with the ekhwan sent 

 by Sidi Ben Ali, but the Mahdi made Kufara the wonder- 

 land it is to-day and by extensive planting started the 

 cultivation of grain, fruit and flowers. Sidi Idris owes 

 some of his influence among the Zouias to the fact that 

 he is the great Mahdi's son, though his own strong 

 personality counts for much in a land where striking 

 individuality is rare. Under the Senussi government 

 the Zouias were obhged to give up their organised 

 brigandage, but with such a long history of murder and 

 plunder behind them — half the tragedies of the Sahara 

 may be laid at their door — it is not to be wondered at 

 that they are still lawless and wild. Every man fears 



