92 HERODOTUS. [CHAP.
enormous1. At the same time, his knowledge of that country
was very limited; it did not in fact extend beyond the Indus. The
lands further to the east he regarded as sandy wastes, which were
uninhabited2—an idea which may have arisen from exaggerated
reports of the desert tract which lies beyond that river. The
Indians with whom he was acquainted were of
aces> different races, speaking different languages, and
some of them were nomads. Hence it is evident that he included
among them the aborigines as well as the Hindus, and this would
account for the barbarous customs which he ascribes to some of
them. On the other hand, the abstinence from animal food
which he attributes to certain tribes, and their unwillingness to
put any live animal to death, are tenets of the Brahmans8.
, „ „ Among the products of the country, besides gold,
and Products. . .,
he mentions cotton, which he describes as a kind
of wool that grows wild on trees, and is superior in beauty and
quality to the wool of sheep, and is used by the natives for making
clothes4. He had also heard that crocodiles were found in the
Indus, which he believed to be the only river in the world besides
the Nile that produced them8; yet, strange to say, he omits all
mention of elephants.
*"•-" We have already seen that Herodotus had thoroughly explored
! Egypt, and had ascended the Nile as far as Ele-
, The Nile
•Valley. phantine, which lies immediately below the First
i-—-—• Cataract The cataract he describes without ex-
aggeration, saying that, owing to the rising of the ground, "it is
necessary to attach a rope to the boat on each $ide, as men
harness an ox, and so proceed on the journey6." At that point,
however, anything like an accurate knowledge of the Nile valley
on his part comes to an end, for the information which he gives
was obtained by hearsay. The next important station which he
o^ mentions was the city of Meroe, the capital of the
Aethiopians, the ruins of which have been dis-
covered to the northward of Khartoum, between that place and
Berber. Notwithstanding its remote position, it was known to
1 3- 95* * 3. 98. « 3. too.
4 3-10& 5 4- 44- . • «• 29.