B,euter's representative has interviewed Mr. Dodson, a young Englishman who
has just returned after a five months journey in the hitherto forbidden Hinterland of Tripoli. The expedition had been organised for scientific purposes, but proved rich in results other than those directly appealing to the natu- ralist. Such, for example, was the discovery of a fine Roman reservoir still in use beyond Sofejin, and extensive Roman buildings at the Bonjem oasis. Mr. Dodson. who penetrated across the desert to Murzuk, some six hundred miles south of Tripoli, describes how in the dried-up torrent-beds great patches of brilliantly coloured flowers were found of the " everlasting " variety ; while on the road to Murzuk he crossed the Jibil Soda or Black Mountains ;consisting of great slabs of perfectly black stone, and passed through a petrified forest, the trees in which varied in circumference from 7 ft. to a few inches. "Every branch was lying prone, and this, together with the presence of marine shells, showed that this part of the Great Sahara had at one time been submerged." These valuable observations were not achieved without great discomforts, privations, and dangers while traversing the desert, —once the horses stampeded in a dust-storm in mid-desert, and were not recovered for two days ; at another time the escort mutinied ; while at Murzuk Mr. Dodson and his party were imprisoned for five days. Mr. Dodson is evidently of the stuff of which the true explorer is made. It was originally intended that the limit of the expedition should be Sokna, and a less adventurous leader would have turned back from thence ; but as the results then attained had not been all that could be wished from the naturalist's standpoint, Mr. Dodson resolved to push on to Murzuk, some three hundred miles south, and was rewarded by the sight of the petrified forest, the Black Mountains, and other wonders.
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