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TRAVELS

TO DISCOVER THi:

SOURCE OF THE NILE.

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TRAVELS

TO DISCOVER THE

SOURCE OF THE NILE,

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h- IN THE YEARS

I

176S, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773.

IN SIX VOLUMES.

BY JAMES BRUCE OF KINNAIRD, ESa F.R. S.

VOL. I.

opus aggredkr op'imnm caJibuSf atrox prallh^ (j'lJco-rT. ftdition'ihusy
Ijjfd etiain pace Janjum. Tacit. Lib. iv. Ann.

DUBLIN:

PRINTED BY WILLIAM SLEATER,

For p. V/ogan, L.White, P. Ryrue, W. Porter, W. Sleater,
J. Joi'vKs, J. Moore, B. Dornin, C. LEwiSi,|r. JONESi,

G. Dl'AT'KR, J. MlLLIKEN, AND K. WuiTE,
K . JJ C C . X C .

%

,^r

'?/^ -

tijmigBm^ !Hiwf i 'gji I caaaa

CONTENTS

OF THE

FIRST VOLUME.

Dedication. ,

Introduction, Page i

-w

BOOK I.

THE AUTHOR S JOURNEY AND VOYAGE FROM SIDON
TILL HIS ARRIVAL AT MASUAH.

C H A P. I.

Page

The Author faih from Sidon — Touches at Cy-
prus— Arrives at Alexandria — Sets out for
Rofetto— 'Embarks on the Niley and arrives -
at Cairo, - - - - i

C H A P. II.

Author's Reception at Cairo — Procures ^jUtters
from the Bey and the Greek Patriarch-r-"
Vijits the Pyramids — Obfervations on their
ConJlruCtion^ - - - 25

Vol. I. a CHAR

CONTENTS.

CHAP. III.

Page

Leaves Cairo — Embarks on the Nile for Upper

Egypt - Viftts Metrahenny and Mohannan —
Reafons for fuppofing this the Situation af
Memphis, - - - - 44

CHAP. IV.

Leaves Metrahenny — Comes to the IJIand Ha^
louan — Falfe Pyramid— Thefe Buildings end'
— Sugar Canes — Ruins of Aniinoplis — Re-
ception there, w - . jo

C H A P. V.

Voyage to Upper Egypt continued — Afhmounein,
Ruins there — Gawa Kibeer Ruins — Mr.
Norden mijiaken — Achmim — Convent of
Catholics — Dendera — Magnificent Ruins-—
Adventure with a Saint there, - 93

C H A P. VI.

Arrives at Furjhout — Adventure of Friar
Chriftopher — Vifits Thebes — Luxor and
Carnac— -Large Ruins at Edfu and Efne —
Froceeds on his Voyage, - - 1 i 6

CHAP. VII.

Arrives at^yene— Goes to fee the CataraSl — ■
Remarkable Tombs — -The Situation of Syene
•—The Aga propofes a vifit to Deir and Ibrim
-r-The Aether ret^trm to Kenne, - 154

CHAP,

CONTENTS.

CHAP. VIII.

Page
The Author fets out from Kenne — Crojfes the
Defert of the Thehaid—Vijits the Marble
Mountains — Arrives at Cojjeir on the Red-
Sea — Tranf anions there, - - 173

CHAP. IX.

Voyage to Jibbel Ztimrud — Returns to Cojfeir — •
Sails from Cojfeir — Jajfateen Ijlands — Ar^
rives at Tor, - - - an

C H A P. }(.

Sails from Tor — Paffes the Elanitic Gulf —
Sees Raddua — Arrives at Ta?nbo — Incidents
there — Arrives at fidda, if. - - 248

CHAP. XI.
Occurrences at Jidda — Vijtt of the Vizir —
Alarm of the Fadory — Great Civility of
the EngUJJj trading from India — Polygamy
— Opinion of Dr. Arbuthnot ill founded —
Contrary to Reafon and Experie?ice — Leaves
Jidda, ... - 275

-CHAP. XII.

Sails from Jidda — Konfodah — Ras Heli, Boun-
dary of Arabia Felix — Arrives at Loheia —
Proceeds to the Straits of the Indian Ocean —
Arrives there — Returns by Azah to Loheia, 306

CHAP. XIII.

^ails for Mafuah — PaJfes a Volcano — Comes to
Dahalac — Troubled with a Ghoji — Arrives
at Mafuah > - - • • 341

TO T M E ^

KING

S I R,

TH E ftudy and knowledge of the
Globe, for very natural and obvious
reafbns, feem, in all ages, to have been
the principal and favourite purfuit of
great Princes ; perhaps they were, at
.certain periods, the very fources of that
greatneis.

But as Pride, Ambition, and an im-
moderate thirfl of Conqueft, were the
motives of thefe refearches, no real ad-
vantage could poilibly accrue to mankind
in general, from inquiries proceeding upon
iuch deformed and noxious principles.

Vol. L a In

U DEDICATION.

In later times, which have been ac«
counted more enlightened, flill a worle
motive fucceeded to that of ambition;
Avarice led the way in all expeditions,
cruelty and opprefTion followed: to dif^
cover and to deftroy feemed to mean
the fame thing; and, what was ftill
more extraordinary, the innocent futferer
was filled the Barbarian ; while the
bloody, lawlefs invader, flattered himfelf
with the name of Chriftian.

With Your Majesty's reign, which,
on many accounts, will for ever be a
glorious sera in the annals of Britain,
began the emancipation of difcovery from
the imputation of cruelty and crimes.

It was a golden age, which united
humanity and fcience, exempted men of
liberal minds and education, employed
in the nobleft of all occupations, that of
exploring the diftant parts of the Globe,
from being any longer degraded, and
rated as little better than the buccaneer,
or pirate, becaufe they had, till then, in
ftianners been nearly limilar.

It

DEDICATION. iii

It is well known, that an uncertainty
had ftill remained concerning the form,
quantity, and coniiftence of the earth;
and this, in fpite of all their abilities
and improvement, met philofophers in
many material invefligations and delicate
calculations. Univerfal benevolence, a
diftinguifhing quality of Your Majefty,
led You to take upon Yourfelf the di-
re6lion of the mode, and furnishing the
means of removing thefe doubts and
difficulties for the common benefit of
mankind, who were all alike interefted
in uiem.

By Your Majefty's command, for thefe
great purpofes. Your fleets penetrated into
unknown feas, fraught with fubje6ts, equal,
if not fuperior, in courage, fcience, and
preparation, to any that ever before had
navigated the ocean.

But they polTeired other advantages, in
which, beyond all comparifon, they ex-
celled former difcoverers. In place of
hearts confufed with fantallic notions of
honour and emulation, which conftantly
a % led

IV DEDICATION.

led to blood fhed, theirs were filled with
the moft beneficent principles, with that
noble perfuafion, the foundation of all
charity, not that all men are equal, but
that they are all brethren ; and that being
fuperior to the favage in every acquire-
ment, it was for that very reafon their
duty to fet the example of mildnels,
compailion, and long-fiiffering to a fellow-
creature, becaufe the weakefl:, and, by no
fault of his own, the leaft inftru6led, and
always perfeftly in their power.

Thus, without the ufual, and moft
unwarrantable excelfes, the overturning
ancient, hereditary kingdoms, without
bloodfhed, or trampling under foot the
laws of fbciety and hofpitality. Your
Majefty's fubje6ts, braver, more powerful
and inftru6led than thole deftroyers of
old, but far more juft, generous, and
humane, erefted in the hearts of an
unknown people, while making thefe
difcoveries, an empire founded on peace
and love of the fubjeft, perfe6lly coniiftent
with thofe principles by which Your

Majefty

DEDICATION.

Vi

Majefty has always profefTed to govern;
more firm and durable than thofe efta-
blifhed by bolts and chains, and all thofe i
black devices of tyrants not even known
by name, in Your happy and united,
powerful and fiourifhing kingdoms.

While thefe great obje61s were fteadily
condu6ling to the end wliich the capacity
of thofe employed, the juftnefs of the
meafures on which they were planned,
and the conftant care and fupport of the
Public promifed, there ftill remained an
expedition to be undertaken which had
been long called for, by philofbphers of
all nations, in vain.

Fleets and armies were ufelefs; even
the power of Britain, with the utmoft
exertion, could afford no prote6tion there,
the. place was fo unhappily cnt off from
the reft of mankind, that even Your
Majefty 's name and virtues had never yet
been known or heard of there.

The fituation of the country was barely
kaown, no more : placed under the moft
inclement fkies, in part furrounded by

impenetrable •

Ivi DEDICATION.

M

impenetrable forefts, where, from the be-

, ginning, the beafts had eftablifhed a fbve-

reignty uninterrupted by man, in part by

vaft deferts of moving fands, where no-

thin^ was to be found that had the breath

f life, thefe terrible barriers inclofed men

1 more bloody and ferocious than the beafts

l^./themfelves, and more fatal to travellers

than the fands that encompalTed them ,:

and thus fhut up, they had been long

growing every day more barbarous, and

defied, by rendering it dangerous, the

curiofty of travellers of every nation.

Although the leaft conliderable of your
Majefty's fubje61s, yet not the leaft defir-^
ous of proving my duty by promoting
your Majefty's declared plan of difcovery
as much as the weak endeavours of a
flngle perfcn could, unprotected, forlorn,
and alone, or at times affociated to beg-=
gars and banditti, as they offered, I un-
dertook this defperate journey, and did
not turn an ell out of my propofed way
till I had completed it: It was the firft
difcovery attempted in your Majefty's

reign.

DEDICATION, vil

reign. From Egypt I penetrated into
this country, through Arabia on one fide,
palling through melancholy and dreary
deferts, ventilated with poifonous v/inds,
and glowing with eternal fun-beams,
whole names are as unknown in geogra-
phy as are thofe of the antediluvian world.
In the fix years employed in this furvey
I defcribed a circumference whole greater
axis comprehended tvv^enty-two degrees of
the meridian, in which dreadful circle
was contained all that is terrible to,, the
feelings, prejudicial to the health, or fatal
to the life of man.

In laying the account of thefe Travels
at Your Majefty's feet, I humbly hope I
have fhewn to the world of what value
the efforts of every individual of Your
Majefty's lubje6ls may be; that numbers
are not always necelfary to the perform-
ance of great and brilliant a6tions, and
that no difficulties or dangers are unfar-
mountable to a heart warm v/ith afieftion
and duty to his Sovereign, jealous of the
honour of his mafter, and devoted to the

^lory

Vlll DEDICATION.

glory of his country, now, under Your
Majefty's wife, merciful, and juft reign,
defervedly looked up to as G^ueen of
Nations V I am,

si,R,

YOUR MAJESTY*s

Moft faithful Subje6l,
And moft dutiful Servant

JAMES BRUCE.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 135 |

ever been made that could ferve the purpofe of a i
common knife, though we are at the fame time '
certain, it was of brafs the ancients made their
razors.

Thefe harps, in my opinion, overturn all the I
accounts hitherto given of the earliefl: ftate of mufic ^:
and mufical inftruments in the eait; and are alto-
gether in their form, ornaments, and compafs, an
inconteftable proof, flronger than a thoufand Greek
quotations, that geometry, drawing, mechanics,'
and mufic, were at the greateft perfedion when
this inflrument was made, and that the period
from which we date the invention of thefe arts,
was only the beginning of the ^ra of their refto-
ration. This was the fentiment of Solomon, a
writer who lived at the time this harp was painted.
" Is there (fays Solomon) any thing whereof it i
" may be faid. See, this is new ! it hath been *
" already of old time which was before us*."

We find, in thefe very countries, how a later
calamity, of the fame public nature, the conqueft
of the Saracens, occafioned a fimilar downfal of*
literature by the burning the Alexandrian library
under the fanatical caliph Omar. We fee how
foon after, they flouriflied, planted by the fame
hands that before had rooted them out.

The effefts of a revolution occafioned, at the
period I am now fpeaking of, by the univerfal
mundation of the Shepherds, were the deftrudion
of Thebes, the ruin of architedure, and the down
fal of aftroaomy in Egypt. Still a remnant wa
* Ecdes. chap. i. ver. 10.

I30 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

left in the colonies and correfpondents of Thebes,

though fallen. Ezekielf celebrates Tyre as being,

from her beginning, famous for the tabret and

liarp, and it is probably to Tyre the tafte for mufic

fied from the contempt and perfecution of the

> barbarous Shepherds; who, though a numerous

i nation, to this day neve^ have yet poflefTed any

'r fpecies of mufic, or any kind of mufical inftru-

nients capable of improvement.

Although it is a curious fubjed for reflexion,
it fhould not furprife us to find here the harp, in
fuch variety of form. Old Thebes, as we pre-
fently fliall fee, had been deftroyed, and was foon
after decorated and adorned, but not rebuilt by
Sefoflris. It was fome time betvi'een the reign of
Pvlenes, the firft king of the Thebaid, and the firfl
general war of the Shepherds, that thefe decora-
tions and paintings were made. This gives it a
prodigious antiquity ; but fuppofing it was a fa-
vourite inflrumeiit, confequently well underflood
at the building of Tyre* in the year 1320 before
Chriil, and Sefoflris had lived in the time of Solo-
mon, as Sir Ifaac Newton imagines; flill there
were 320 years fmce that inftrument had already
attained to great perfeftion, a fufficient time to have
varied it into every form,

Upon feeing the preparations I was making to
proceed farther in my refearches, my condudlors

f Ezek. chap, xxviii. ver. 13.

* Nay, prior to this, the h-irp is mentioned as a common
innrvimeiit in Abraham's time 137Q years before Chrift, Gen.
~.hap. xxxii. ver, 27.

lofl

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 145

The wind failing, we were obliged to flop in a
very poor, defolate, and dangerous part of the
Nile, called Jibbel el Silfelly, where a boom, or
chain, was drawn acrofs the river, to hinder, as
is fuppofed, the Nubian boats from eommitting
piratical practices in Egypt lower down the ftream.
The (tones on both fides, to which the chain v/as
fixed, are very vifible ; but 1 imagine that it was
for fifcal rather than for warlike purpofes, for
Syene being garrifoned, there is no pollibility of
boats paffing from Nubia by that city into Egypt.
There is indeed another purpofe to which it might
be defigned; to prevent war upon the Nile between
any two dates.

We know from Juvenal*, who lived fome time:
at Syene, that there was a tribe in that neighbour-
hood called Ombi, who had violent contentions
with the people of Dendera about the crocodile;
it is remarkable thefe two parties were Anthropo->
phagi fo late as Juvenal's time, yet no hillorian
fpeaks of this extraordinary fafl, which cannot be.
called in queftion, as he was an eye-witnefs and re-
fided at Syene.

Now thefe two nations who were at war had a-
bove a hundred miles of neutral territory between
them, and therefore they could never meet except
on the Nile. But either one or the other polfeffing
this chain, could hinder his adverfary from coming
nearer him. As the chain is in the hermpnthic
nome, as well as the capital of the Ombi, I fuppofd

* Juyen. Sat. 15. ver. 76.
Vol* I. C^ this

146 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

this chain to be the barrier of this laft ftafe, to hin-
der thofe of Dendera from coming up the river to
eat them.

About noon we pafTed Coom Ombi, a round
building like a caftle, where is fuppofed to have
been the metropolis of Ombi, the people laft fpo-
ken of. We then arrived at Daroo*, a miferable
manfion, unconfcious that, fome years after, we
were to be indebted to that paltry village for the
man who was to guide us through the defert, and
reftore us to our native country and our friends.

We next came to Shekh Ammer, the encamp-
ment of the Arabsf Ababde, I fuppofe the fame
that Mr. Norden calls Ababuda, who reach from
near CofTeir far into the defert. As I had been ac-
quainted with one of them at Badjoura, who defir-
ed medicines for his father, I promifed to call up-
on him, and fe<» their effeft, when I fhould pafs
Shekh Ammer, which I now accordingly did ; and
by the reception I met v/ith, I found they did not
expe<5l 1 would ever have been as good as my word.
Indeed they would probably have been* in the right,
but as I was about to engage myfelf in extenfive
deferts, and this was a very confiderable nation in
thefe tra6ls, I thought it was worth my while to
put myfelf under their prote£lion.

Shekh Ammer is not one, but a colledion of
villages, compofed of mifenible huts, containing,
»
* Idri'; Welled Hamran, our guide through the great defert,
dwelt in this village.

f The ancient Adei.

at

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. J^J

St this time, about ^ thoufand effedive men ; they
polTefs-few horfe, and are moftiy mounted on ca-
mels. Thefe were friends to Shekh Hamam, go-
vernor of Upper Egypt for the time, and ccnfe-
quently to the Turkiili government at Syene, as
alfo to the janiffaries there at Deir and Ibrini. They
were the barrier, or bulwark, againft the prodi-
gious number of Arabs, the Bifhareen, and others,
depending upon the kingdom of Sennaar.

Ibraham, the fonf who had feen me at Furfliout
and Badjoura, knew me as foon as I arrived, and,
after acquainting his father, came with about a do-
zen of naked attendants, with lances in their hands
to efcort me. I was fcarce got into the door of
the tent, before a great dinner was brought after •
their cuftom ; and, that being difpatched, it was a
thoufand times repeated, how little they expe£led
that I would have thought or inquired about them.

We were introduced to the Shekh, who was fick,
in a corner of a hutj where he lay upon a carpet,
with a cufliion under his head. This chief of the
Ababde, called Nimmer, /. e. the Tiger (though
his furious qualities were at this time in great mea-
fure allayed by ficknefs) alked me much about the
ftate of Lower Egypt. I fatisfied him as far as pof-
fible, but recommended to him to confine his
thoughts nearer home, and not to be over anxious
about thefe diftant countries, as he himfelf feemed,
at that time, to be in a declining (late of health.

* The Biihareen are the Arabs who live in the frontier be-
tween the two nations, They are the nominal fu bje(fts of
Sennaar, but, in faft, indifcreet banditti, at leaft as to ftrangers.

O z ^ Nimmer

148 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Nimmer was a man about fixty years of age,
exceedingly tormented with the gravel, which was
more extraordinary as he dwelt near the Nile ; for
it is, univerfally, the difeafe with thofe who tife
water from draw-wells, as in the defert. But he
told me, that, for the firil twenty-feven years of
his lif<2, he nevet had feen the Nile, unlefs upon
fome plundering party ; that he had been conftantly
at war with the people of the cultivated part 6i
Egypt, and reduced them often to the Hate of ftarv-
ing ; but now that he was old, a friend to Shekh
Hamam, and was refident near the Nile, he drank
of its water, and was little better, for he was already
a martyr to the difeafe. I had fent him foap pills
from Badjoura, which had done him a great deal
of good, and now gave him lime-water, and pro-
mifed him, on my return, to fhew his people how-
to make it.

A very friendly converfation enfued, in which
\^as repeated often, how little they expeded I would
have vifited them ! As this implied two things ; the
firft, that I paid no regard to my promife when given;
the other, that I did not efteem them of confe-
quence enough to give myfelf the trouble, I thought
it right to clear myfelf from thefe fufpicions.

'" Shekh Nimmer, faid I, this frequent repetition
*' that you thought I would not keep my word is
*' grievous to me. I am a Chriflian, and have lived
" now many years among you Arabs. Why did
" you imagine that I would not keep my word,
*' fince it is a principle among all the Arabs I have
" lived withj inviolably to keep theirs? When your

" fon

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. I49

** fon Ibrahim came to me at Badjoura, and told me
" the pain that you was in, night and day, fear of
" God, and defire to do good, even to them I had
" never feen, made me give you thofe medicines
- " that have eafed you. After this proof of my hu-
I " manity, what was there extraordinary in my
'' coming to fee you in the way f I knew vou not
" before ; but my religion teaches me to do good
*' to all men, even to enemies, without reward, or
*' without confidering whether 1 ever fhould fee
** them again/*

^' Now, after the drugs I fent you by Ibrahim,

**-tell me, and tell me truly, upon the fait b of an

" Arab, would your people, if they met me in the

" defeat, do me any wrong, more than 7iow, as I

\^" have eat and drank with you to-day ?"

The old manNimmer, on this rofe from his. car-
pet, and fat upright, a more ghaflly and more
horrid figure I never faw. " No, faid he, Shekh,
cur fed be thofe men of 7ny people, or others, that
ever iliall lift up their hand againft you, either in
the Defert or the Tell, /. f. the part of Egypt
which is cultivated. As long as you are in this
country, or between this and Coifeir, my fon (hall
ferve you with heart and hand ; one night of paii>
that your medicines freed me from, would not be
repaid, if I was to follow you on foot to MefTir, that
is Cairo."

I then thought it a proper time to enter into con-
verfation about penetrating into Abyllinia that way,
^nd they difcuifed it among themfelves in a very

friendly r

IXO TJ<AVELS TO DISCOVER

friendly, and at the fame time a very fagacious and
fenfible manner.

" We could carry you to El Haimer, (which I
underftood to be a well in the defert, and which I
afterwards was much better acquainted with to my
forrow.) We could conduft you fo far, fays old
Nimmer, under God, without fear of harm, all
that country was Chrifilan once, and we Chriftians
like yourfelf ". The Saracens having nothing in
their power there, we could carry you fafely to
Suakem, but the Bifhary are men not to be trufted,
and we could go no farther than to and you
among ilieiii, and they would put you to death,
and laugh at you all the time they were torment-
ing you i. Now, if you want to vifit Abyfilnia,
go by ColTeir and Jidda, there you Chrijlians com-
mand the country."

" I told him, I apprehended, the Kennoufs, about
the fecond cataraO:, above Ibrim, were bad peo-
ple. He faid the Kennoufs were, be believed,
bad enough in their hearts, but they were wretched
llaves, and fervants, had no power in their hands,
would not wrong any body that was with his peo-
ple ; if they did, he would extirpate them in a
day."

*' I told him., I was fatisfied of the truth of what
•'j'/as faid, and ai^ked him the beft way to Coffeir.
He faid, the beft way for me to go, was from

* They were Shepherds Indigence, not Arabs.

f i^n Lutlit in Hnplis fxc—^N'dc a charadler long ago

given to the Mcors.

Horace Ode^

KennC,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. Igl

Kenne, or Cuft, and that he was carrying a quan-
tity of wheat from Upper Egypt, while Shekh
Hamam was fending another cargo from his coun-
try, both which would be delivered at Coffeir, and
loaded there for Jidda.'*

" All that is right, Shekh, faid I, but fuppofe
your people meet us in the defert, in going to Cof-
feir, or otherwife, how fhould we fare in that cafe?
Should we fight?'* " I have told you Shekh alrea-
dy, fays he, Curfed be the man who lifts his hand
againft you, or even does not defend and befriend
you, to his own lofs, were it Ibrahim my own fon."
I then told him I was bound to Coffeir, and that
if I found myfelf in any difficulty, i hoped, upon
applying to his people, they would protect me, and
that he would give them the word, that I was
yagoube^ a phyfician, feeking no harm, but doing
good \ bound by a vow, for a certain time, to
wander through deferts, from fear of God, and
that they fhould not have it in their power to do
me harm.

The old man muttered fomething to his fons in
a dialect I did not then underfland ; it was that of
vhe Shepherds of Suakem. As that was the firfl
word he fpoke, which I did not comprehend, I took
no notice, but mixed fome lime-water in a large
Venetian bottle that was given me when in Cairo
full of liqueur, and which would hold about four
quarts ; and a little after I had done this the whole
hut was filled with people.

There were priejh and monks of their religion,
and the heads of f;\milips, fo that the houfe could

not

1^2, TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

not contain half of them. The great people among
them came, and, after joining hands, repeated a
kind of * prayer, of about two minutes long, by
which they declared themfelves, and their children,
accurfed if ever they lifted their hands againfl me
in the TcH, or Field, in the de/ert, or on the river ;
or, in cafe that I, or mine fhould fly to them for
refuge, if they did not protect us at the rifk. of
their lives, their families, and their fortunes, or,
as they empharically expreffed it, to the death of
the laii male child among them.

Medicines and advice being given on my part,
faith and protection pledged on theirs, two bufhels
of wheat and feven flieep v/ere carried down to the
boat, nor could we decline their kindnefs, as re-
fufmg a prefent in that country (however it is un-
derftood in ours,) is juft as great an affront, as
coming into the prefcnce of a fuperior without a
prefent at all.

I told them, however, that I was going up among
'Furks who were obliged to maintain me, the con-
fequence therefore will be, to fave their own, that
they will take your flieep, and make my dinner of
them ; ' you and I are Arabs, and know what Turks
are. They all muttered curfes between their teeth
at the name of Turk, and we agreed they fliould
keep the fheep till I came back, provided they
fhould be then at liberty to add as many more.

* TItis kind of oath was in ufe among the Arabs, or S//ep-
her.hi, early as the time of Abraham, Gen. xxi. 22, 23. xxvi.

This

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. J53

This was all underftood between us, and we
parted perfectly content with one another. But
our Rais was very far from being fatisfied, hav-
ing heard fomething of the feven fheep ; and as
we were to be next day at Syene, where he knew
we were to get meat enough, he reckoned thatthgy
would have been his property- To flifle all eaufe
of difcontent, hovN^ever, I told him he was to take
no notice of my vifit to Shekh Ammcr, and that
I would make him amends when I returned.

GHAF.

154 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

G H A Po VII.

Arrii}es at Syene — Goes to fee the CataraB — Re-
markable Tombs — The fihiation of Sye7ie — The
Aga propofes a Vifa to Deir and Ibrim — The
Author returns to KermS,

E failed on the 20th, with the wind favour-
ing us, till about an hour before fun-rife,
and about nine o'clock came to an anchor on the
ibuth end of the palm groves, and north end of thq
town of Syene, nearly oppofite to an ifland in
which there is a fmall handfome Egyptian temple,
pretty entire. It is the temple of * C?mphis, vi^here
formerly was the Nilometer.

Adjoining to the palm trees was a very good
comfortable houfe, belonging to Huffein Schour-
Batchie, the man that ufed to be fent from that
place to Cairo, to receive the pay of the janiflaries
ingarrifon at Syene, upon v/hom too 1 had credit
for a very fmall fam.

The reafons of a credit in fuch a place are three;
Firft, ii) cafe of ficknefs, or purchafe of any anti-
quities : Secondly, that you give the people an idea
(a very ufeful one) that you carry no money about
you : Thirdly, that your money changes i|s value,
■^lid. is not even current beyonifl'Efne.

* Si'rabOj lil>, xvii. p. 944.

HufTein

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 15^

Huflein was not at home, but was gone fome-
where upon bufinefs, but 1 had hopes to find him
in the courfe pf the day. Hofpitality is never
refufed, in thefe countries, upon the ilighteft pre-
tence. Having therefore letters to him, and ,
hearing his houfe was empty, we fent our people
and baggage to it.

I was not well arrived before a janiffary came,
in long Turkifli cloaths, without arms, and a white
wand in his hand, to tell me that Syene was a gar-
rifon town, and that the Aga was at the caftlc
ready to give me audience.

I returned him for anfwer, that I was very fen-
fible it was my firft duty, as a (Iranger, to wait -
upon the Aga in a garrifoned town of which he
had the command, but, being bearer of the Grand
Signior's Firman, having letters from the Bey of
Cairo, and from the Port of Janiflfaries to him in
particular .y and, at prefent being indifpofed and
fatigued, I hoped he would indulge me till the ar-
rival of my landlord ; in? which interim I (hould
take a little reft, change my cloaths, and be more
in the fituation in which I would wilh to pay my
refpefts to him.

I received immediately an anfwer by two janif-
faries, who infifted to fee me, and were accordingly
introduced while 1 was lying down to reft. They
faid that Mahomet Aga had received my menage,
that the reaCon of fending to me was not either to
hurry or difturb me ; but th-e earlier to know in
what he could be of fervice to me ; that he had-^
particular letter from the Bey of Cairo, in confe-

que nee

1^6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

quence of which, he had difpatched orders to
receive me at Efne, but as I had not waited on
the Cacheff there, he had not been apprifed.

After giving coffee to thefe very civil meffengers,
and taking two hours reft, our landlord the
Schourbatchie arrived ; and, about four o'clock in
the afternoon, v;e went to the Aga.

The fort is built of clay, with fome fmali guns
mounted on it; it is of ftrength fufficient to keep
people of the country in awe.

I found the Aga fitting in a fmall kloik, or
clofet, upon a ftone-bench covered with carpets.
As I was in no fear of him, I was refolved to walk
according to my privileges; and, as the meanefl
Turk vyould do before the greateft man in Eng*
land, I fat dov/n upon a cuihion below him, after
laying my hand on my breaft, and faying in an
audible voice, with great marks of refped, how-
ever, Salam aUcum ! to which he anfv.-ered, without
any of the ufual diflicuity, Alkum faiam ! Peace be
between us is the falutatiqn ; There is peaee between
m is the return.

After fitting down about two minutes, I again
g;ot up, and flood in the middle of the room before
him, faying. I am bearer of a hatefiierriffe, or royal
mandate, to yau, Mahomet Aga! and took th^
firman out of my bofora, and prefented it to him.
Upon thii he Rood upright, and all the reft of the
people, before fitting with him lik.e\f^; he bowed
Lis head upon the carpet, then put the firman to
Lis forehead, opened it, and pretended to read ii;;
but he kr.cv; well the cont-^nts, and I believe, be.

iides:^

fides, he could neither rePid nor write any language*
I then gave him the other letters from Cairo, which
he ordered his fecretarv to read in his ear.

All this ceremony being finifhed, he called for
a pipe, and coflee. I refufed the hrrt, as never ufmg
it; but I drank a dilli of coffee, and told him, that
1 was bearer of a confidential nieffcige from Ali Bey
of Cairo, and wifhed to deliver it to him without
Avitnefles, whenever he pleafed. The room v/a.;
accordingly cleared without delay, excepting his
fecretary, who was alfo going away, when I pulled
him back by the cloaths, faying, " Stay, if you
" pleafe, we (hall need you to write the anfwer/'
We were no fooner left alone, than I told the Aga,
that, being a flranger, and not knowing the dif-
pofition of his people, or wliat footing they were
on together, and being defired to addrefs myfeii
only to him by the Bey, and our mutual friends at
Cairo, I wifhed to put it in his power (as he pleafed
or not) to have witnelTes of delivering the fmall
prefent I had brought him from Cairo. The Aga
feemed very fenlible of this delicacy ^ and particu-
larly delired me to take no notice to my landlord,
the Schourbatchie, of any thing I had brought him.

All this being over and a confidence eilabliihed
with government^ I fent his prefent by his own fer-
vant that night, under pretence of defiring horfes
to go to the catara£l next day. The meffage was
returned, that the horfes were to be ready by ftx.
o'clock next morning. On the 2 ilt, the Aga fent
me his own horfe, with mules and affes for my
fervants, to ro to the catarad.

We

I£;S TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

We paffed oiit at the fouth gate of the town,
into the firft fmall fandy plam. A very little to our
left, there are a number of tomb-ilones with in-
fcriptions in the Cufic charafter, which travellers
erroneoufly have called unknown language, and let-
ters,'although it vi^as the only letter and langauge
known to Mahomet, and the mod learned of his
feft in the firfl ages.

The Cufic characters feem to be all written in
capitals, which one might learn to read much
more eafily than the modern Arabic, and they more
refemble the Samaritan. We read there — Abdul-
lah el Hejazi el Anfari — Mahomet Abdel Shems el
Taiefy el Anfari. The firft of thefe, Abdullah el
Hejazi, is Abdullah born in Arabia Petrea. The
other" is, Mahomet the flare of the fun, born in
Taief. Now, both of thefe are called Anfari^ which
many writers, upon Arabian hiftory, think, means,
horn in Medina ; becaufe, when Mahomet fled
from Mecca, the night of the hegira, the people of
Medina received him wdllingly, and thencefor-
ward got the name of * Anfari, or Helpers. But
this honourable name was extended afterwards to
all thofe who fought under Mahomet in his wars,
and after, even to thofe who had been born in his
lifetime.

Thefe of whofe tombs we are now fpeaking,
were of the army of Haled Ibn el Waalid, whom
Mahomet named, Saif UUah, the ' Sword of God/

* This word, improperly ufed and fpelled by M. de Volney,
has ooching to do with thefe Anfaris^

and

THE SOURCE OF THE NltE. 159

atid who, in thecalifat of Omar, took and deftroy-
ed Syene, after lofmg great part of his army before
it. It was afterwards rebuilt by the Shepherds of
Beja, then Chriflians, and again taken in the time
of Salidan, and, with the reli of £gypt, e-ver fince
hath belonged to Cairo. It was conquered by, or
rather furrendered to, Selim Emperor of the Turks,
in 1516, who planted two advanced pods (Deir
and Ibrim) beyond the cataract in Nubia, ■with
fmall garrifons of janiifaries liltewife, where they
continue to this day.

Their pay is iflfued from Cairo; fometimes they
marry each others daughters, rarely marry the
women of the country, and the fon or nephew,
or nearefl relation of each deceafed, fucceeds asja-
nilTary in room of his father. They have iofl their
native language, and have indeed nothing of the
Turk in them, but a propenfity to violence, rapine,
and injuilice ; to which they have joined the per-
fidy of the Arab, which as I have faid, they fom-e-
times inherit from their mother. An Aga corn-
mands thefe troops in the caftle. They have about
two hundred horfemen armed with firelocks; with
which, by the help of the Ababde, encamped at
Shckh Ammer, they keep the Bifhareen, and ali
thefe numerous tribes of Arabs, that inhabit the
Defert of Sennaar, in tolerable order.

The inhabitants, merchants, and common people
of the town, are commanded by a cacheff. There
is neither butter nor milk at Syene, (the latter
comes from Lower Egypt) the fame may be faid
of fowls. Dates do not ripen at Syene. thofe that

axf:

l6o THAVElS TO DISCOVEJl

are fold at Cairo come from Ibrim and Dongola,
There are good fifli in the Nile, and they are eafily
caught, efpecially at the cataraft, or in broken wa-
ter ; there are only two kinds of large ones which I
have happened to fee, the binny artd the boulti. The
binny 1 have defcribed in its proper place.

After pafTmg the tomb-ftones without the gate,
we came to a plain about five miles long, bordered
on the left by a hill of no confiderabie height, and
fandy like the plain, upon which are feen fome
ruins, more modern than thofe Egyptian buildings
v/e have defcribed. They feem indeed to be a mix-
ture of all kinds and ages.

The diftance from the gate of the town to Ter-
miffi, or Marada, the fmall villages on the cataract,
is exactly fix Englifli miles. After the defcriptioh
already given of this cataract in fome authors, a tra-
veller has reafon to be furprifed, when arrived on
its banks, to find that velfels fail up the cataract,
and confequently the fall cannot be fo violent as to
deprive people of their hearing *.

The bed of the river, occupied by the water, was
not then half a mile broad. It is divided into a.
number of fmall channels, by large blocks of gra-
nite, from thirty to forty feet high. The current,
confined for a long courfe between the rocky moun-
tains of Nubia, tries to expand itfeif with great
violence. Finding, in every part before it, oppofi-
tion from the rocks of granite, and forced back by
thefe, it meets the oppofite currents. The chafing

* Cicero de Somnio Scipronis.

of

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. l6l

^f the water againft thefe huge obftacles, the meet-
ing of the contrary currents one with another,
creates fuch a violent ebullition, and makes fuch a
noife and difhurbed appearance, that it fills the mind
with confufion rather than with terror.

We faw the miferable Kennoufs (who inhabit the
banks of the river up into Nubia, to above the
fecond cataraft) to procure their daily food, lying
behind rocks, with lines in their hands, and catch-
ing filh; they did not feem to be either dexterous
or fuccefsful in the fport. They are not bhck, but
of the darkeft brown; are not woolly-headed, but
have hair. They are fmall, light, agile people,
and feem to be mere than half-ftarved. I made a
fign that I wanted to fpeak with one of them ; but
feeing me furrounded with a number of horfe and
fire-arms, they did not choofe to truil themfelves.
I left my people behind with my firelock, and
went alone to fee if I could engage them in a con-
verfation. At firft they walked off; finding 1 per-
fifled in following them, they ran at full fpeed, and
hid themfelves among the rocks.

Pliny * fays, that, in his time, the city of Syene
was fituated fo direftly under the tropic of Cancer,
that there was a well, into which the fun (hone fo
perpendicular, that it was enlightened by its rays
down to the bottom. Strabo f had faid the fame.
The ignorance, or negligence, in the Geodefique
meafure in this obfervation, is extraordinary 5
Egypt had been meafured yearly, from early ages,

* Plin. lib. il. cap. 73. f Strabo, lib. xvii. p. 944.

' Vol. L R and

l6z TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

and the didance between Syene and Alexandria
Jfhould have been known to an elL From this in-
accuracy, I do very much fufpedl the' other meafure
Eratoflhenes is faid to have made, by which he
fixed the fun's parallax at lo feconds and a half^
was not really made by him, but _was fome old
Chaldaic, or Egyptian obfervation, made by more
inflruded aPcronomers which he had fallen upon^

The Arabs call it AfTouan, which they fay figni-
fies en'ightened', in allufion, I fuppofe, to the cir-
cumdance of the well, enlightened within by the
fun's being ftationary over it in June ; in the lan-
guage of Beja its name fignifies a circle, or portion
of a circle.

Syene, among other things, is famous for the firfl
attempt made by Greek aftronomers to afcertain
the meafure of the circumference of the earth.
Eratofthenes, born at Cyrene about ijG years
before Chrifl, was invited from Athens to Alex-
andria by Ptolemy Ev.ergetes, v/ho made him keeper
of the Royal Library in that city. In this experi-
ment two pofitions were aflumed, that Alexandria
and Syene were exadly 5000 flades dillant from
each other, and that they were precifely under the
fame meridian. Again, it v/as verified by the
experiment of the well, that, in the fummer folflice
' at mid-day, when the fun was in the tropic of Can-
cer, in its ^reateft northern declination, the well *
at that inllant was totally and equally illuminated;
and that no flile, or gnomon, ere£led on a perfed

* Strabo, lib. ii. p. 133.

plane.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE* 163

jplane, did cail, or project, any manner of fliadow
for 1 50 flades round, from which it was jullly
concluded, that the fun, on that day, was fd ex-
aftly vertical to Syene, that the center of its diili
immediately correfponded to the center of the bot-
tom of the well. Thefe preliminaries being fixed,
Eratoflhenes fet about his obfevvation thus:- —

On the day of the fummer fdlftice, at the moment
the fun was flationary in the meridian of Syene, he
placed a flyle perpendicularly in the bottom of a
half-concave fphere, which he expofed in open air
to the fun at Alexandria. Now, if that (lyle had
cad no Ihade at Alexandria, it would have been
precifely in the fame circumftance with a (lyle in
the well in Syene ; and the reafon of its not cafting
the fhade would have been, that the fun was diieOly
vertical to it. But he found, on the contrary, this
ftyle at Alexandria did cad a fliadow; and by mea-
furing the diltance of the top of this fbadow from
the foot of the ftyle, he found, that, when the fun
call no (hadow at Syene, by being in the zenith,
at Alexandria he projefted a fhadow; which fiiewed
he was diftant from the vertical point, or zenith>
7|^=7° 12', which was 3-Vth of the circumference
of the v/hole heavens, or of a great circle.

Ihis being fettled, the conclul;on was, that
Alexandria and Syene muft be didant fro;n each
other by the 50th part of the circumference of the
whole earth.

Now 5000 ftades was the diflance already af-

fumed between Alexandria and the well of Syene;

and all that was to be done was to repeat 5000

R 2 fiades

164 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Hades fifty times, or multiply 5000 flades by c;o,
and the anfwer was 250,000 (lades, which was the
total of the earth's circumference. This, admitting
the French contents, of the Egyptian ftadlum to
be juft, will amount to 11,403 leagues for the
circumference of the earth fought; and as our
prefent account fixes it to be 9000, the error will
be 2403 leagues in excefs, or more than one-fourth
of the whole fum required.

This obfervation furely therefore is not worth
recording, unlefs to fhew the infufficiency or im-
perfedion of the method ; it cannot deferve the
encomiums * that have been bellowed upon it, if
jullice has been done to Eratofthenes* geodefique
meafures, which I do not, by any manner of means,
warrant to be the cafe, becaufe the meafure of his
arch of the meridian feems to have been conduced
with a much greater degree of fuccefs and precifion
than that of his bafe.

On the 2 2d, 23d, and 24th of January, being
at Syene, in a houfe immediately eaft of the fmall
ifland in the Nile (where the temple of Cnuphis
is ftill (landing, very little injured, and which
fStrabo, who was himfelf there, fays was in the
ancient town, and near the well built for the obfer-
vation of the folftice) with a three-foot brafs qua-
drant, made by Langlois, and defcribed by tMonf.
de la Lande, by a mean of three obfervations of
the fun in the meridian, 1 concluded the latitude
of Syene to be 24° o' 45" north.

* Speftacle de la Nature. f Strabo, lib. xvii. p. 944.

X L'hiftoire d'aftionomie, de M. de la Lande, vol. i. lib 2.

And,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 165

And, as the latitude of Alexandria by a medium
of many obfervations made by the French acade-
micians, and more recently by Mr. Niebuhr and
myfelf, is beyond poflibility of contradiction 31°
1 1' 33", the arch of the meridian contained between
Syene and Alexandria, muft be 7^ 10' 48', or
]' 12" lefs than Eratoilhenes made it. And this is
a wonderful precifion, if we confider the imperfec-
tion of his inftrument, in the probable ihortnefs
of his radius, and difficulty (almoft infurmountable)
in diftinguifhing the divifion of the penumbra.

There certainly is one error very apparent, in
meafuring the bafe betwixt Syene and Alexandria;
that is, they were not (as fuppofed) under the
fame meridian; for though, to my very great con-
cern afterwards, I had np opportunity of fixing
the longitude at this firft vifit to Syene, as I had
done the latitude, yet on my return, in the year
1772, from aneclipfe of the firfl fatellite of Jupiter,
I found its longitude to be 33*^ 30'; and the lon-
gitude of Alexandria, being 30° 16' 7", there is
3° 14 that Syene is to the eaftward of the meri-
dian of Alexandria, or fo far from their being
under the fame meridian as fuppofed.

It is impoflibie to fix the time of the building
of. Syene; upon the moft critical examination of
its hieroglyphics and proportions, 1 fhould imagine
it to have been founded fome time after Thebes,
but before Dendera, Luxor, or Carnac.

It would be no lefs curious to know, whether
the well, which EratoRhenes made ufe of for one
gf the terms of the geodefique bafe, and his arch

of

l66 TRAVELS TO DI&CQYER

of the meridian, between Alexandria and SyenCj,
\vas coeval with the building of- that city, or whe-
ther it was made for the experiment. I fliould be
iriclined to think the former was the cafe ; and the
placing this city firft,, then the well under the
tropic, were with a view of afcertaining the length
of the folar year. In Ihort, this point, fo material
to be fettled, was the conlhmt objed of attention
of the firfl aftronomers, and this was the ufe of
the dial of Ofimandyas ; this inquiry was the oc-
cafion of the number of obeliilis railed in every
ancient city in Egypt. We cannot miftake this, if
v/e obferve how anxioufly they have varied the
figure of the top, or point of each obelifk ; fome-
times it is a very Iharp one ; fometimes a portion
of a circle, to try to get rid of the great impediment
that perplexed them, the penumbra.

The projedion of the pavements, condantly to
ihe northward, fo diligently levelled, and made
into exaft planes by large fl4b3 of granite, mofl
artificially joined, have been fo fubllantially fecur-
ed, that they might ferve for the obfervation of
this day ; and it is probable, the pofition of this
city and the ivell were coeval, the refult of in-ten?
lion, and tfoth the wcjks of thefe firfl aftrono-
mers, immediately after the building of Thebes«
If this was the cafe, we may conclude, that the fa6l
of the fun illuminating the bottom of the well in.
Eratofthenes's tim^e was a fupppfed one, from the
uniform tradition, that once it had been fo, the
periodical change of the quality of the angle, made
by the equator and ecliptic, not being then known,

an4

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 167

and therefore that the quantity of the celeftial arch,
comprehended between Alexandria and Syene,
might be as erroneous from another caufe, as the
bafe had been by affuming a wrong diftance on
the earth, in place of one exadly meafured.

There is at Axum an obelifk ereded by Ptolemy
Evergetes, th^ very prince who was patron to
Eratofthenes, without hieroglyphics, diredly facing
the fouth, with its top firft cut into a narrow neck,
then fpread out like a fan in a femicircular form,
with a. pavement curioufly levelled to receive the
fhade, and make the feparation of the true Ihadow
from the penumbra as diitind as poflible.

This was probably intended for verifs ing the
experiment of Eratofthenes with a larger radius,
for, by this obelifk, v/e mud not imagine Ptolemy
intended to obferve the obliquity of the ecliptic at
Axum. Though it was true, that Axum, by its
fituation, was a very proper place, the fun paffing
over that city and obelifk twice a-year, yet it was
equally true, that, from another circumftance,
which he might have been acquainted with, at iefs
expence of time than building the obeliik would
have coll him, that he himfelf could not make any
ufe of the fun's being tv/ice vertical to y\xum ;
for the fun is vertical at Axum about the 25th
of April, and again about the 20th of Auguft ;
and at both thefe feafons, the heaven is fo overcaft
v;ith clouds, and the rain fo continual, efpecially
21 mid-day, that it would be a wonder indeed if
Ptolemy had once feen t|ie fun during the months
he (laid there.

Though

l68 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Though Syene, by its fituatlon fhoiild be healthy,
the general complaint is a weakneis and forenefs in
the eyes ; and this not a temporary one only, but
generally ending in blindnefs of one, or both eyes;
you fcarce ever fee a perfon in the ftreet that fees
with both eyes. They fay it is owing to the hot
ivind from the defert ; and this I apprehend to be
true, by the violent forenefs and inflammation we
were troubled with in our return home, through
the great Defert to Syene.

"We had now finifhed every thing we had to do
at Syene, and prepared to defcend the Nile. After
having been quiet, and well ufed fo long, we did
not exped any altercation at parting ; we thought
we had contented every body, and we were per-
fedlly content with them. But, unluckily for us,
our landlord, the Schourbatchie, upon whom I
had my credit, and who had diftinguilhed himfelf
by being very ferviceable and obliging to us, hap-
pened to be the proprietor of a boat, for which, at
that time, he had little employment; nothing
would fatisfy him but my hiring that boat, inflead
of returning in that which brought us up.

This could by no means be done, without break-
ing faith with our Rais, Abou Cuffi, which I was
refolved not to do on any account whatever, as the
man had behaved honeftly and well in every refpeft.
The janiifaries took the part of their brother againfl
the ftranger, and threatened to cut Abou Cuffi to
pieces, and throw him to the crocodiles.

On the other part, he was very far from being
terrified. He told them roundly, that he was a

fervant

THE SOURCE CF THE NILE, l6g

fervant of Ali Bey, that if they attempted to take
his fare from him, their pay fhould be ftopped at
Cairo, till they furrendered the guilty perfon to do
him juftice. He laughed mod unaffectedly at the
notion of cutting him to pieces ; and declared, that,
if he was to complain of the ufage he met when he
went down to Lower Egypt, there would not be a
janiffary from Syene who would not be in much
greater danger of crocodiles than he.

I went in the evening to the Aga, and com-
plained of my landlord's behaviour. I told him
pofitively, but with great fhew of refpeci:, I would
rather go down the Nile upon a rqft, than fet my
foot in any other boat but the one that brought me
up. I begged him to be cautious how he proceed-
ed, as it would be juy Jiory, and not his, that
would go to the Bev. This grave and refolute ap-
pearance had the etle^l. The Schourbatchie was
fent for, and reprimanded, as were all thofe that
fided with him ; while privately, to calm all ani-
mofities againft my Rais, I promifed him a piece
of green cloth, which was his wiih ; and fo hear-
tily were we reconciled, that, the next day, he
made his feryants help Abou Cuffi to put our bag-
gage on board the boat.

The Aga hinted to m€^In converfation, that he
wondered at my departure, as he heard my inten-
tion was to go to Ibrim and Deir. I told him thofe
garrifons had a bad name ; that a Danifh gentle-
man, fome years ago, going up thither, with orders '
from the government of Cairo, was plundered,
and very nearly affailinjited, by Ibrahim, CachefF

of

I70 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

of Deir. He looked furprifed, fhook his head,
and feemed not to give me credit; but I periifted,
in the terms of Mr. Norden's * Narrative; and
told him, the brother of the Aga of Syene was
along with him at the time. " Will any perfon,
£aid he, tell me, that a man who is in my hands
ojice a month, who has not an ounce of bread but
what I furnifh him from this garrifon, and whofe pay
would be flopt (as your Rais truly faid) on the firft
complaint tranfmitted to Cairo, could aiTaflinate a
man with Ali Bey*s orders, and my brother along
with him? Why, what do you think he is? I fhall
fend a fervant to the CachefF of Dei^ to-morrow,
who (hall bring him down by the beard if he refu-
£&s to come willingly.** I faid, *' Theri times were
very much changed for the better; it was not
always fo, there was not always at Cairo a foye-
reign like Ali Bey, nor at Syene a man of bis pru-
dence, and capacity in commanding; but having
no bufmefs at Deir and Ibrim, 1 fliould not rifle
finding them in another humour, exercifmg other
powers than thofe he allowed them to have.'*

The 26th we embarked at the north end pf the
town, in the very fpot where I again took boat
above three years afterwards. We now no longer
enjoyed the advantage of our prodigious raain-fail ;
not only our yards were lowered, but our mafts
were taken out; ■<ind we floated down the current,
making the figure of a wreck- The current, pufh-
Ing againfl one of our fides, the wind direclly

* Vide Ml-. Norden'i Voysge up the Nile.

contrary.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. I'Jl

contrary, preffing us on the other, we went down
broad fide foremoji \ but fo fteadily, as fcarce to be
fenfible the veflfel was in motion.

In the evening 1 llopt at Shekh Ammer, and
faw my patient Nimmer, Shekh of the Ababde. I
found him greatly better, and as thankful as ever;
1 renewed my prefcriptions, and he his offers of
fervice.

I was vifited, however, v-ith a pretty fmart degree
of fever by hunting crocodiles on the Nile as I went
down, without any poffibility of getting near them.
On the 31ft of January we arrived at Negade,
the fourth fettlement of the francifcan friars in
Upper Egypt, for the pretended miffion of Ethiopia.
I found it to be in hx. 25° ^-^^ 2)^' . It is a fmall
neat village, c^overed with palm trees, and moftly
inhabited by Cophts, none of whom the friars have
yet converted, nor ever will, unlefs by fmall pen-
fions, which they give to the pooreft among them,
to be decov-ducks to the reft.

Oppofite to Negade, on the other fide of the
river about three miles, is Cus, a large town, the
ApppUonis Civitas Parva of the ancients There
are no antiquities at this place; but the caravan,
which v/as to carry the corn for Mecca, acrofs the
defert to Coifeir, was to affemble there. I found they
were not near ready ; and that the Arabs Atouni
had threatened they would be in their way, and
would not fuffer them to pafs, at any rate, and that
the guard commanded ^to efcort them acrofs the
defert, would come from Furfhout,. and therefore
I llioijld have early warning.

It

1"]% TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

It was the 2d of February I returned to Badjoura,
and took up my quarters in the houfe formerly
affigned me, greatly to the joy of Shekh Ifmael,
who, though he was in the main reconciled to his
friend, friar Chriftopher, had not yet forgot the
wounding of the five men by his mifcalculating
ramadan ; and was not without fears that the fame
inadvertence might, fome day or other, be fatal to
him, in his pleurify and afthma, or, what is ftill
more likely, by the operation of the tabange.

As I was now about to launch into that part of
my expedition, in which I was to have no furt ;er
intercourfe with Europe, I fet myfelf to work to
examine all my obfervations, and put my journal in
fuch forwardnefs by explanations, where needful,
that the labours and pains I had hitherto been at,
might not be totally lofl to the public, if I fhould
perifh in the journey I had undertaken, which,
every day, from all information I could procure,
appeared to be more and more defperate.

Having finiihed thefe, at leafl fo far as to make
them intelligible to others, 1 conveyed them to my
friends MeflVs. Julian and Rofa at Cairo, to remain
in their cuftody till I fhould return, or news come
that 1 was otherwife difpofed of.

CHAR

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, I73

CHAP. VIIL

'The Author fets out from Kenne — Crojjes the Defert
of the Thebaid — Vifits the Marble Mountains —
Arrives at Cojeir, on the Red Sea — Tranfadions
there*

T was Thurfday, the i6th of February 1769,
we heard the caravan was ready to fet out from
Kenne, the Casne Emporium of antiquity. From
Kenn6 our road was fir ft Eaft, for half an hour,
to the foot of the hills, which here bound the cul-
tivated land; then S. E. when, at 11 o'clock in
the forenoon, we paffed a very dirty fmall village
called Sherafta. All the way from Kenne, clofe on'
our left, were defert hills, on which not the lead
verdure grew, but a few plants of a large fpecies
of Solanum, called Burrumbuc.

At half paft two we came to a well, called Bir
Ambar, the well of fpices, and a dirty village of
the fame name, belonging to the Azaizy, a poor
inconfiderable tribe of Arabs. They live by let-
ting out their cattle for hire to the caravans that go
to Coffeir, and attending themfelves, when necef-
fary. It got its name, I fuppofe, from its having
formerly been a ftation of the caravans from the
Red Sea, loaded with this kind of merchandife
from India. The houfes of the Azaizy are oi a

very

174 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

tery particular conftruftion, if they can be called
lioufes. They are all made of potter-clay, in one
piece, in Hiape of a bee-hive ; the largefl is not
above ten feet high, and the greatefl: diameter fix.

There are no veftiges here of any canal, men-
tioned to have been ciit between the Nile and the
Red Sea. The cultivated land here is not above
half a mile in extent from the river, but the-inun-
dation of the Nile reaches much higher, nor has
it left behind it any appearance of foil. After paf-
fmg Bir Ambar, we pitched our tent about four
o'clock at Gabba *, a fnort mile from Cuft, on
the borders of the defert — here we palled the night.

On the 17th, at eight o'clock in the morning,
having mounted my fervants all on horfeback, and
taken the charge of our own camels, (for there
v/as a confafion in our caravan not to be de-
fcribed, and our guards we knew were but a fet
of thixsves) we advanced flowly into the defert.
There were: about two hundred men on horfeback,
armed with firelocks; all of them lions, if you
believed their word or appearance; but we w^ere
credibly informed, that fifty of the Arabs, at firft
fight, v/ould have made thefe heroes Hy without
any bloodlhed.

1 had not gone two miles before I was joined by
the Howadat Arab, whom I had brought with me
in the boat from Cairo. He offered me his fervice .
with great profeffions of gratitude, and told me,
that he hoped I would again take charge of his-

* It is no town, but fortie fand and a few bufhes, fo called.

money.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, I^g

Money, as I had before done from Cairo. It was
now for the firft time he told me his name, which
was Mahomet Abdel Gin, " the Slave of the Devil,
*' or the Spirit." There is a large tribe of that name,
many of which come to Cairo from the kingdom of
Sennaar ; but he had been born among the liowa-
dat, Gppofite to Metrahenny, where 1 found him.

Our road was all the way in an open plain, bound-
ed by hillocks of fand, and fine gravel, perfectly
hard, and not perceptibly above the level of the;
plain country of Egypt. About twelve miles dif-
tant there is a ridge of mountains of no confiderable
height, perhaps the moil barren in the world. Be-
tween thefe our road lay through plains, never
three miles broad, but without trees, jOhrubs, or
herbs. There are not even the traces of any living
creature, neither ferpent nor lizard, antelope nor
oflrich, the ufual inhabitants of the mod: dreary
deferts. There is no fort of water on the furface,
brackifh or fweet. Even the birds feem to avoid
the place as peflilentikl, not having feen one of any
kind fo much as flying over. The fun was burning
hot, and, upon rubbing two (licks together, in
half a minute they both took fire, and flamed; a
mark how near the country was reduced to a gene-
ral conflagration ! •> ; -

At half pad three, we pitched our tent near fome
draw-wells, which, upon tailing, we found bitterer
than foot. We had, indeed, other water carried
by camels in.flcins. This well-water had only onz
needful quality, it was cold, and therefore very
comfortable for refrefliin.e: us outwardly. This

unpleafant

'«3

.176 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

unpleafant ftation is called Legeta ; here we w,ere
obliged to pafs the night and all next day, to wait
the arrival of the caravans of Cus, Efnc, and part,
of thofe. of Kenne, and Ebanout.

While at the vi ells of Legeta, my Arab, Abdel
Gin, came to me with his money, which had en-
creafed now to nineteen fequins and a half. " What !
faid I, Mahomet, are you never fafe among your
countrymen, neither by fea nor land ?" "Oh, no^
replied Mahomet; the difference, when we were
on board the boat, was, we had three thieves only;
but, when ajfemhled here, we fliall have above three
thoufand. — But I have an advice to give you." —
'' And my ears,*' faid I, " Mahomet, are always
open to advice, efpecially in flrange countries." —
" Thefe people," continued Mahomet, " are all
afraid of the Atouni Arabs ; and, when attacked,
they will run away, and leave you in the hands of
thefe Atouni, who will carry off your baggage.
Therefore, as you have nothing to do with their
corn, do not kill any of the Atouni if they come, for
that will be a bad affair, but go afide and let me
manage. I will anfv/er with my life, though all
the caravan fhould be ftripped ftark- naked, and
you loaded with gold, not one article belonging
to you fnall be touched." I queftioned him very
particularly about this intimation, as it was an
affair of much confequence, and 1 was fo well fatif-
fied, that 1 refolved to conform (Iriftly.to it.

In the evening came twenty Turks from Carama-
nia, which is that part of Afia Minor immediately
on the fide of the Mediterranean oppofite to the

coaft

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 1/7

coaft of Egypt; all of them neatly and cleanly
drefled like Turks, all on camels, armed with
fwords, a pair of piftols at their girdle, and a fliort
neat gun ; their arms were in very good .order,
•with their flints and ammunition flowed in car-
tridge-boxes, in a very foldier-like manner. A few
of thefe fpoke Arabic, and my Greek fervant,
Michael, interpreted for the refl:. Having been
informed, that the large tent belonged to an.
Englifhman, they came into it without ceremony.
They told me, that they were a number of neigh-
bours and companions, who had fet out together
to go to Mecca, to the Hadje; and not know-
ing the language, or cuftoms of the ..people, they
had been but indifferently ufed fnice they landed at
Alexandria, particularly fomewhere (as I gueffed)
about Achmim ; that one of the Owam, or fwim-
ming thieves, had been on board of them in the
night, and had carried off a fmall portmanteau with
about 200 fequins in gold ; that, though a com-
plaint had been made to the Bey of Girge, yet no
fatisfaftion had been obtained ; and that now they
had heard an Englifhman vi^as here, whom they
reckoned their countryman^ they had come to pro-
pofe, that we fiiould make a common caufe to
defend each other againfl all enemies. — What they
meaned by countryman was this : —

There is in Afia Minor, fomewhere between
Anatolia and Caramania, a diftrift w^hich they call
Caz Dagli, corruptly Caz Dangli, and this the
Turks believe was the country from which the
Englifti firfl drew their origin j and on this account

Vol. L S ther

I'jS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER -

they never fail to claim kindred with the Englifh
wherever they meet, efpecially if they fland in
need of their affiflance.

I told them the arrangement I had taken with the
Arab. At firft, they thought it was too much confi-
dence to place in him, but I convinced them, that it
was greatly diminifhing our rifk, and, let the word
come to the worft, 1 was well fatisfied that, armed
as we were, on foot, we were more than fufficient
to beat the Atouni, after they had defeated the
clownifli caravan of Egypt, from whofe courage we
certainly had nothing to expert.

I cannot conceal the fecret pleafure I had in find-
ing the charader of my country fo firmly eftablifhed
among nations fo diftant, enemies to our religion,
and flrangers to our government. Turks from
Mount Taurus, and Arabs from the defert of Libya,
thought themfelves unfafe among their own coun-
trymen, but trufted their lives and their little for-
tunes implicitly to the diredtion and word of an
Englifhman whom they had never before feen.

Thefe Turks feemed to be above the middling
rank of people ; each of them had his little cloak-
bag very neatly packed up; and they gave me to
underftand that there was money in it. Thefe they
placed in my fervants tent, and chained them all
together, round the middle pillar of it ; for it was
ealy to fee the Arabs of the caravan had thofe pack-
a<res in view, from the firfl: moment of the Turk's
arrival.

We ftaid all the i8th at Legeta, waiting for the
jun6:ion of the caravans, and departed the 19th at

fix

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. I79

fix o'clock in the morning. Our journey, all that
day, was through a plain, never lefs than a mile
broad, and never broader than three; the hills,
on our right and left, were higher than the former,
and of a browniili calcined colour, like the ftones
on the fides of Mount Vefuvius, but without any
herb or tree upon them.

At half pafl ten, we pafTed a mountain of green
and red marble, and at twelve we entered a plain
called Hamra, where we firlt obferved the fand red,
with a purple caft, of the colour of porphyry, and
this is the fignification of Hamra, the name of the
valley* I difmounted here, to examine of what the
rocks were compofed ; and found, with the great-
efl pleafurej that here began the quarries of
porphyry, without the mixture of any other ftone j
but it was imperfeQ:, brittle, and foft. I had not
been engaged in this purfuit all hour, before we
were alarmed with a report that the Atouni.had
attacked the rear of the caravan ; we were at the
head of it. The Turks and my fervants were
all drawn together at the foot of the mountain, and
polled as advantageoufly as pofTible. But it foon
appeared that they were fome thieves only, who
had attempted to fteal fome loads of corn from
camels that were weak, or fallen lame, perhaps in
intelligence with thofe of our own caravans.

All the reft of the afternoon, we faw mountains
of a perfedly purple colour, all of them porphyry ;
nor has Ptolemy f much erred in the pofition of

+ Piol. Almag. lib. iv. Geograph. p. 104.

S 2 them-

l8o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

them. About four o'clock, we pitched our tent
at a place called Main el Mafarek. The colour of
the valley El Hamra continued to this ftation; and
it was very fmgular to obferve, that the ants, or
pifmires, the only living creatures I had yet ob-
ferved, were all of a beautiful red colour like the
fand.

The 20th, at fix o'clock in the morning, we left
Main el Mafarek, and, at ten, came to the mouth
of the defiles. At eleven we began to defcend,
having had a very imperceptible afcent from Kenne
all the way.

We were now indemnified for the famenefs of
our natural produftions yefterday; for, on each
fide of the plain, we found different forts of marble,
twelve kinds of which I felefted, and took with me.

At noon, w^e came to a plain planted v/ith acacia-
trees, at equal diflancds; fingle trees fpreading
broader than ufual, as if on purpofe to proportion
the refrefhment they gave to the number of travel-
lers who flood in need of it. This is a ftation of
the Atouni Arabs after rain. From our leaving
Legeta, we had no water that, hor the following
day.

On the right-hand fide of this plain we found
porphyry and granite, of very beautiful kinds. All
the way, on both fides of the valley, this day, the
mountains were of porphyry, and a very few of
ftone.

At a quarter pafl four, we encamped at Koraim,
a fmall plain, perfedly barren, confifling of fine

gravel.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. l8l

gravel, fand, and ftones, with a few acacia-trees,
interfperi'cd throughout.

The 2 1 ft, we departed early in the morning
from Koraim, and, at ten o'clock, we paffed feve-
ral defiles, perpetually alarmed by a report, that
the Arabs were approaching ; none of whom we
ever faw. We then proceeded through feveral de-
files, into a long plain that turns to the eaft, then
north-eafl, and north, fo as to make a portion of a
circle. At the end of this plain we came to a
mountain, the greateft part of which was of the
marble, verde antico^ as it is called in Rome, but by
far the moft beautiful of the kind I had ever feen.

Having paffed this, we had mountains on both
fides of us, but particularly on our right. The only
ones that I examined were of a kind of granite,
with reddifh veins throughout, with triangular and
fquare black fpots. Thefe mountains continued to
Mefag el Terfowey, where we encamped at twelve
o'clock ; we were obliged to bring our water from
about five miles to the fouth-eaft. This water does
not appear to be from fprings, it lies in cavities and
grottos in the rock, of which there are twelve in
number, whether hollowed by nature or art, or
partly by both is more than I can folve. Great and
abundant rains fall here in February. The clouds,
breaking on the tops of thefe mountains, in their
way to AbyfTmia, fill thefe eifterns with large fup-
plies, which the impending rocks fecure from eva-
poration.

It was the firft frefh water we tafted fince we left
the Nile j and the only water, of any kind fince wc

left

lS3 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

left Legeta. But fucli had been the forefight of
our caravan, that very few reforted thither, having
all laid in abundant flore from the Nile; and fome
of them a quantity fufficient to ferve them till their
return. This was not our cafe. We had water,
it is true, from the Nile ; but we never thought we
could have too much, as long as there was room in
our water-fkins to hold more; I therefore went
early with my camel-drivers, expeding to have
feen fome antelopes, which every night come to
drink from the well, having no opportunity to do
it throughout the day.

I had not concealed myfelf half an hour, above
a narrow path leading to the principal cave,
before I faw, firfl one antelope walking very (lately
alone ; then four others, clofely following him.
Although I was hid as long as I lay jflill, he feemed
to have difcerned me from the inftant that I faw
him. I fhould have thought that the fmell had difco-
vered me, had not I ufed the precaution of carrying
a piece of burnt turf along with me, and left one
with my horfe likewife ; perhaps it was this unufual
fmell that terrified him. Whatever was the caufe,
he advanced apparently in fear, and feemed to be
truded with the care of the flock, as the others
teftified no apprehenfion, but w^ere rather" fporting
or fighting wiih each other. Still he advanced
flower, and with greater caution ; but, being per-
fectly within reach, I did not think proper any
longer to riik the whole from a defire to acquire a
greater number. I fhot him fo juftly, that giving

one

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 183

one leap five or fix feet high, he fell dead upon
his head. I fired at the others, retiring all in a
croud; killed one likewife, and lamed another,
who fled among the mountains, where darknefs
protefted him. We were perfectly content with
Gur acquifition, and the nature of the place did
not prompt us to look after the wounded. We
continued at the well to aiFift our companions who
came in want of water, a duty with which necef-
fity binds us all to comply.

We returned near midnight with our game and
our water. We found our tents all lighted, which,
at that time of night, was unufual. I thought
it was on^ account of my abfence, and to guide
me the furer home. We were however furprifed,
when, coming within a moderate diflance of our
tent, we heard the word called forj I anfwered
immediately, Charlotte ; and, upon our arrival,
we perceived the Turks were parading round the
tents in arms, and foon after our Howadat Arab
came to us, and with him a meffenger from Sidi
HaiTan, defiring me to come inftantly to his tent,
while my fervants advifed me firft to hear what they
had to fay to me in mine.

I foon, therefore, perceived that all was not well,
and I returned my compliments to HaiTan, adding,
that if he had any thing to fay to me fo late, he
would-do well to come, or fend, as it was pad my
hour of vifiting in the defert, efpecially as I had not
eat, and was tired with having the charge of the
water. I gave orders to my fervants to put out all
the extraordinary lights, as that feemed to be a

mark

184 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

mark of fear ; but forbade any one to fleep, ex-
cepting thofe who had the- charge of our beafts,
and had been fetching the water.

I found that, while our people had been afleep,
two perfons had got into the" tent and attempted to
ileal one of the portmanteaus ; but, as they ^y;ere
chained together, and the tent-pole in the mid-
dle,- the noife had awakened my fervants, who had
feized one of the men ; and that the Turks had in-
tended inflantly to have difpatched him with their
knives, and with great difficulty had been prevented
by my fervants, according to my conflant orders, for
1 wifhed to avoid all extremities, upon fuch occa-
lions, when poffible. They had inde.ed leave to deal
with thq^r (ticks as freely as their prudence fug-
gefled to them; and they had gone, in this cafe,
fully beyond the ordinary limits of difcretion, ef-
pecially Abdel Gin, who was the firft to feize the
robber. In fhort, they had dealt fo liberally with
their (licks, that the thief was only known to be
living by his groans, and they had thrown him at
a fmall diftance, for any perfon to own him that,
pleafed. It appeared, that he was a fervant of Sidi
Hall'an, an Egyptian flave, or fervant to Shekh
Hamam, who conduced or commanded the cara-
van, if there was any condud: or cojiimand in it.

There were with me ten fervants, 'all complete-
ly armed, twenty-five Turks, who feemed worthy
to be depended upon, and four janiffaries, who
had joined us from Cairo, fo that there were of us
forty men perfedly armed, befides attendants on

the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 185

the cattle. As we bad people with us who knew
the wells, and alfo a friend who was acquainted
with the Atouni, nothing, even in a defert, could
reafonably alarm us.

With great difficulty we pulled down an old aca-
cia-tj-ee, and procured fome old-dried camels dung,
M'ith which we roafted our two antelopes : very ill-
roafted they were; and execrable meat, though
they had been ever fo well dreflfed, and had had the
belt fauce of Chriftendom. However, we were in
the defert, and every thing was acceptable. We
had fome fpirits, which finilhed our repaft that
night : it was exceedingly cold, and we fat thick
about the fire.

Five men with firelocks, and a number of Arabs
with lances, having come towards us, and being
challenged by the centinel for not giving the word,
were then defired to ftand, or they would be fired
upon. They all cried out, Salam Alicu?n! and I
intimated that any three of them might come for-
ward, but defired them to keep away the Arabs.
Three of them accordingly came, and then two
more. They delivered a meffage from Sidi Haifan,
that my people had killed a man ; they defired that
the murderer might be delivered to them, and that
I fliould come to his tent, and fee juflice done.
I told them, *' that none of my people, however
*' provoked, would put a man to death in my ab^
" fence, unlefs in defence of their own lives ; that,
" if I had been there, I fhould certainly have or-
?' dered them to fire upon a thief catched in the ad

«of

1 85 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

*' of ftealing within my tent; but, fince he was
** dead, I was fatisfied as to him, only expected
" that Sidi Haflan would give me up hi-s compani-
" on, who had fled; that, as it was near morning,
" 1 fliould meet him when the caravan decamped,
" and hear what he had to fay in his defence.
" In the mean time I forba le any perfon to come
" near my tent, or quarters, on any pretence what-
" ever, till-day light." Away they went murmur-
ing, but what they faid I did not underftand. We
heard no more of them, and none of us flept. All
of us, however, repeated our vows of (landing by
each other ; and we fmce found, that we had flood
in the way of a common practice, of flripping thefe
poor flrangers, the Turks, who come every year
this road to Mecca.

At dawn of day, the caravan was all in motion.
They had got intelligence, that two days before,
about 300 Atouni had watered at Terfowey; and,
indeed, there M'ere marks of great refort at the well,
where we filled the water. We had agreed not to
load one of our camels, but let the caravan go on
before us, and meet the Atouni firfl; that I only
fhould go on horfeback, about two hundred yards
into the plain from the tent, and all the refl follow
me on foot with arms in their hands,

Haffan, too, was mounted on horfeback, with
about a hundred of his myrmidons, and a number
of Arabs on foot. He fent me word that I was to
advance, with only two fervants ; but I returned
for anfwer, that I had no iutentioh to advance at

all;

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 187

all; that if he had any bufinefs, he fliould fay fo,
and that I would meet him one to one, or three to
fix, juft as he pleafed. He fent me again word,
that he wanted to communicate the intelligence he <
had of the Atouni, to put me on my guard. 1 re-
turned for anfwer, that I was already upon my
guard, againfl all thieves, and did not make any
diftinftion, if people were thieves themfelves, or
encouraged others to be fo, or whether they were
Atouni or Ababde. He then fent me a meilage,
that it was a cold morning, and wifhed I would
give him a difli of coifee, and keep thofe ftrangers
away. I therefore defired one of my fervants to
bring the coffee-pot, and direfting my people to
lit down, I rode up to him, and difmounted, as he
did alfo, when twenty or thirty of his vagabonds
came, and fat down likewife. He faid he was
exceedingly farprifed, after fending to me laft
night, that I did not come to him; that the whole
camp was in murmur at beating the man, and
that it was all that he could do to hinder his
foldiers from falling upon us, and extirpating us
all at once; that I did wrong to proteiSt thofe
Turks, who carried always money to Mecca for
merchandizes and defrauded them of their dues.

My fervant having juft poured out a difli of
coffee to give him, I faid, Stay, Sir, till we know
whether we are in peace. Sidi Haffan, if that is
the way of levying dues upon the Turks, to fend
thieves to rob them in my tent, you fliould ad-
vife me firft of it, and then we fliould have fet-
tled the bufmefs. With. regard to your preventing

people

l8S TRAVELS TO. DISCOVER

people from murdering me, it is a boaft fo ridi-
culous that I laugh at it. Thofe pale-faced fel-
lows who are about you muffled up in burnoofes
for fear of cold in the morning, are they capable
to look janiflaries in the face like mine ? Speak
lowly, and in Arabic,^ when you talk at this rate,
or perhaps it will not be in my power to return
you the compliment you did me lafl night, or
hinder them from killing you on the fpot. Were
ever fuch words fpoken ! faid a man behind; tell
me, mailer, are you a king? If Sidi Haffan, an-
fwered I, is your mafler, and you fpeak to me on
this occafion, you are a wretch; get out of my
fight; I fwear I will not drink a difii of couee
while you are here, and will mount my horfe
direftly.

I then rofe, and the fervant took back the coffee-
pot; upon which Haffan ordered h^s fervant out
of his prefence, faying, " No, no ; give me the
coffee if we are in peace;" and he drank it accord-
ingly. Now, fays he, pall is paft ; the Atouni
are to meet us at the * mouth of Beder ; your
people are better armed than mine, are Turks,
and ufed to fighting. I would wifh you to go fore-
mod, and we will take charge of your camels,
though my people have 4000 of their own, and
they have enough to do to take charge of the corn,

* The Arabs call thefe narrow pafles in the mountains
Fum, as the Hebrews did Pi, the mouth. Fum el Beder, is
thd mouth of Beder; Fum el Terfowey, the mouth or pafiage
of Terfowey; Piha Hhiroth, the moutji of the valley cut
through with ravines.

" And

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 189

*« And I,'* faid I, " if I wanted water or provifion,
would go to meet the Atouni, who would ufe me
well. Why, you don't know to whom you are
fpeaking, nor that the Atouni are Arabs of Ali
Bey, and that I am his man of confidence, going
to the Sherriffe of Mecca ? The Atouni will not
hurt us ; but, as you fay, you are commander of
the caravan, we have all fworn we will not fire a
fhot, till we fee you heartily engaged ; and then,
we will do our bed to hinder the Arabs from deal-
ing the Sherriffe of Mecca's corn, for bis fake only.**
They all cried out El Fedtah ! El Fedtah ! fo 1 faid
the prayer of peace as a proxy; for none of the
Turks would come near him.

Oppolite to where we were encamped is Terfo-
wey, a large mountain, partly green-marble, partly
granite, with a red blufh upon a grey ground,
with fquare oblong fpots. About forty yards within
the narrow valley, which feperates this mountain,
from its neighbour, we faw a part of the fufl or
fhaft of a monftrous obelifk of marble, very nearly
fquare, broken at the end, and towards the top.
It was nearly thirty feet long, and nineteen feet
in the face ; about two feet of the bottom were
perfedly infulated, and one whole fide feparated
from the mountain. The gully had been widened
and levelled, and the road made quite up to un-
derneath the block.

We faw likewife, throughout the plain, fmal!
pieces of jafper, having green, white, and red fpots,
called in Italy, *' Diafpo Sanguineo." All the

mountains

I^O TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

mountains on both fides of the plain feemed to be
of the fame fort, whether they really were fo or not,
I will not fay, having had no time to examine them.

The 2 2d, at half pall one in the morning, wc
fei out fuJ' of terror about the Atouni. We conti-
nued in a direction nearly eafl, till at three we came
to the defiles ; but it was fo dark, that it was im-
poiTible to difcern of what the country on each fide
confided. At day-break, we found ourfelves at
the bottom of a mountain of granite, bare like the
former.

We faw quantities of fmall pieces of various forts
of granite, and porphyry fcattered over the plain,
which had been carried down by a torrent, proba-
bly from quarries of ancient ages; thefe were
white, mixed with black fpots; red, with green
veins, and black fpots. After this all the moun*
tains on the right hand were of red marble in
prodigious abundance, but of no great beauty.
They continued, as the granite did, for feveral
miles along the road, while the oppofite fide was
all of dead-green, fuppofed ferpentine marble.

It was one of the moil extraordinary fights I ever
faw. The former mountains were of confiderable
height, v^athout a tree, or fhrub, or blade of grafs
upon them; but thefe now before us had all the
appearance, the one of having been fprinkled over
With Havannah, the other with Brazil fnuff. I
wondered, that, as the red is neareft the fea, and
the Ihips going down the Abyffinian coaft obferve
this appearance within lat. 26°, writers have not
imagined this was called the Red Sea upon that

account.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. I9I

account, rather than for the many weak reafons
they have relied upon.

About eight o'clock we began to defcend fmartly,
and, half an hour after, entered another defile like
thofe before defcribed, having mountains of green
marble on every fide of us. At nine, on our left,
we faw the highefl mountain we had yet pafTrd.
"We found it upon examination, to be compofed of
Terpentine marble; and, thro* about one-third of
the thicknefs, ran a large vein of jafper, green,
fpotted with red. Its exceeding hardnefs was fuch
as not to yield to the blows of a hammer ; but the
works of old times were more apparent in it, than
in any mountain we had feen. Dufts, or channels,
for carrying water tranfverfely, were obferved evi-
dently to terminate in this quarry of jafper : a proof
that water was one of the means ufed in cutting-

o

thefe hard flones.

About ten o'clock, defcending very rapidly,
with green marble and jafper on each fide of us,
but no other green thing whatever, we had the
firft profped of the Red Sea, and, at a quarter paft
eleven, we arrived at CoiTeir. It has been a won-
der with all travellers, and with myfelf among the
reft, where the ancients procured that prodigious
quantity of fine marble, with which all their build-
ings abound. That wonder, however, among
many others, now ceafes, after having pafled, in
four days, more granite, porphyry, marble, and
jafper, than would build Rome, Athens, Corinth,
Syracufe, Memphis, Alexandria, and half a dozen
fuch cities. It feemed to be very vifible, that thofe

openings

ig% TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

openings in the hills, which I call Defiles, were
not natural, but artificial; and that whole moun-
tains had been cut out at thefe places, to preferve
ii flope towards the Nile as gentle as poffible : this,
I fuppofe, might be a defcent of about one foot in
fifty at moft ; fo that, from the mountains to the
Nile, thofe heavy carriages, mud have moved with
as little draught as poffible, and at the fame time,
been fufficiently impeded by friclion, fo as not to
run amain, or acquire an increafed velocity, againft
which, alfo, there mud have been other provifions
contrived. As I made another excurfion to thefe
marble mountains from Coffeir, I will once for all,
here fet down what I obferved concerning their
natural appearance.

The porphyry fhews itfelf by a fine purple fand,
without any glofs or glitter on it, and is exceed-
ingly agreeable to the eye. It is mixed with the
native white fand, and fixed gravel of the plains.
Green unvariegated marble, is generally feen in
the fame mountain with the porphyry. Where the
two veins meet, the marble is for fome inches brit-
tle, but the porphyry of the fame hardnefs as in
other places.

The granite is covered with fand, and looks like
ftone of a dirty brown colour. But this is only
the change and impreffion the fun and weather
have made upon it ; for, upon breaking it, you
fee it is grey granite, with black fpots, with a red-
difh caft, or blulh over it. This red feems to fade
and fufFer from the outward air, but, upon work-
ing or polilliing the furface, this colour again

appears.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. I93

appears. It is in greater quantity than the por-
phyry, and nearer the Red Sea. Pompey's pillar
feems to have been from this quarry.

Next to the granite, but never, as I obferved,
joined with it in the fame mountain, is the red mar-
ble. It is covered with fand of the fame colour,
and looks as if the whole mountain were fpread
over with brick duft. There is alfo a red marble
with white veins, which I have often feen at Rome,
but not in principal fubjefts, I have alfo feen it in
Britain. The common green (called ferpentine)
looks as if covered with Brazil fnuff. Joined with
this green^ I faw two famples of that beautiful
marble they call Ifabella ; one of them with a yel-
lowifh call, which we call Quaker-colour; the
other with a blueilh, which is commonly termed
Dove-colour. Thefe two feem to divide the rel-
peOiive mountains with the ferpentine. In this
green, likewife, it was we faw the vein of jafper;
but whether it was abfolutely the fame with this
which is the bloody jafper, or bloodflone, is what
we had not time to fettle.

1 fhould firfl have made mention of the verde
antico, the dark green with white irregular fpots,
becaufe it is of the greateft value, and nearefl: the
Nile. This is produced in the mountains of the
plain green, or ferpentine, as is the jafper, and is
not difcoverable by the duft, or any particular co-
lour upon it. Firft, there is a blue fleaky flone,
exceedingly even and fmooth in the grain, folid,
and without fparks or colour. When broken, it is
Vol, T. T fomething

194 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fomething lighter than a flate, and more beauaful
than mofl marble; it is like the lava of volcanoes,
when polilhed. After lifting this, we come to the
beds of verde antico ; and here the quarrying is
very obvious, for it has been uncovered in patches,
not above twenty feet fquafe. Then, in another
part, the green flone has been removed, and ano-
ther pit of it wrought.

I faw, in feveral places in the plain, fmall pieces
of African marble fcattered about, but no rocks,
or mountains of it. I fuppofe it is found in the
heart of fome other coloured marble, and in ftrata,
like the jafper and verde antico, and, I fufpeft, in
the mountains of Ifabella marble, efpecially of the
yelloweft fort of it, but this is mere conjedure.
This prodigious ftore of marble is placed upon a
ridge, whence there is a defcent to the eaft or weftj
either to the Nile or Red Sea^ The level ground
and hard-fixed gravel are proper for the heaviefl
carriages, and will eafily and fmoothly convey any
weight whatever to its place of embarkation on
the Nile ; fo that another wonder ceafed how the
ancients tranfported thofe vafl: blocks to Thebes,
Memphis, and Alexandria.

Coffeir is a fmall mud-walled village, built upors
the fhore, among hillocks of floating fand. It is
defended by a fquare fort of hewn flone, with
fquare towers in the angles, which have in them
three fmall cannon of iron, and one of brafs, all in
very bad condition ; of no other ufe but to terrify
the Arabs, and hinder them from plundering the
town when full of corn, going to Mecca in time

of

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. I95

cf frtmlne. The walls are not high ; nor was it
neceflary, if the great guns were in order. But
as this is not the cafe, the ramparts are heightened
by clay, or by mud-walls, to fcreen the foldiers
from the fire-arms of the Arabs, that might other-
wife command them from the fandy hills in the
neighbourhood.

There are feveral wells of brackifh water on the
N. W. of the caltle, which, for experiment's fake,
I made drinkable, by filtering it through fand; but
the water in ufe is brought from Terfowey, a good
day's journey off.

The port, if we may call it fo, is on the foutli-
eafl of the town. It is nothing but a rock which
runs out about four hundred yards into the fea, and
defends the veflels, which ride to the weft of it,
from the north and north-eaft winds, as the houfes
of the town cover them from the north-weft.

There is a large enclofure with a high mud-
wall, and, within, every merchant has a ftiop or
magazine for his corn and merchandife: little of
this laft is imported, unlefs coarfe India goods, for
the confumption of Upper Egypt itfelf, fince the
trade toDongolaand Sennaarhas been interrupted.

I had orders from Shekh Hamam to lodge in
the caftle. But a few hours before my arrival,
Huftein Bey Abou Kerfli landed from Mecca, and
Jidda, and he had taken up the apartments which
were deftined for me. He was one of thofe Beys
whom AH Bey had defeated, and driven from Cairo.
He was called Abou KerJJ), i. e. Father Belly, from
T 2 being

igG TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

being immoderately fat ; his adterfity had brought
him a little into fhapes. My fervants, who had
gone before, thinking that a friend of the Bey in
power was better than an enemy outlawed, and
baniflied by him, had inadvertently put fome of
my baggage into the caftle juft when this potentate
was taking pofieffion. Swords were immediately
drawn, death and deflruclion threatened to my
poor fervants, who fled and hid themfelves till I
arrived.

Upon their complaint, 1 told them they had
a£i:ed improperly ; that a fovereign was a fovereigii
all the world over ; and it was not my bufmefs to
make a difference, whether he was in power or
not. I cafily procured a houfe, and fent a janiffary
of the four that had joined us from Cairo, with my
compliments to the Bey, defiring reftitution of my
baggage, and that he would excufe the ignorance
of my fervants, who did not know that he was at
Coifeir ; but only, having the firman of the Grand
Signior, and letters from the Bey and Port of ja-
niflaries of Cairo, they prefumed that I had a right
to lodge there, if he had not taken up the quarters.
It happened that an intimate friend of mine,
Mahomet Topal, captain of one of the large Cairo
flnps, trading to Arabia, was a companion of this
Huflein Bey, and had carried him to fee Captain
Thornhill, and fome of our Englifh captains at
Jidda, who, as their very laudable cuftom is, always
fhew fuch people fome civilities. He queflioned
the janiifary about me, who told him I was Englifli ;

that

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. I97

that I had the protedion I had mentioned, and that
from kindnefs and charity, I had furnifhed the
ftranger Turks with water, and provifion at my
own expence, when croffing the defert. He pro-
fefled himfelf exceedingly afiiamed at the behaviour
of his fervants, who had drawn their fabres upon
mine, and had cut my carpet and fome cords.
After which, of his ow^n accord, he ordered
his kaya, or next in command, to remove
from the lodging he occupied, and inftead of
fending back my baggage by my fervant, he di-
refted it to be carried into the apartment from
which the kaya had removed. This I abfolutely
refufed, and fent word, I underflood he was to be
there for a few days only; and as I might flay for
a longer time, I fhould only defire to fucceed him
after his departure, in order to put my baggage in
fafety from the Arabs; but for the prefent they
were in no danger, as long as he was in the town,
I told him, I would pay my refpeds to him in the
evening, when the weather cooled, I did fo, and,
contrary to his expeftations, brought him a fmall
prefent. Great intercourfe of civility pafled ; my
fellow-travellers, the Turks, were all feated there,
and he gave me, repeatedly, very honourable tefli-
monials of my charity, generofity, and kindnefs
to them.

Thefe Turks, finding themfelves in a fituation

to be heard, had not omitted the opportunity of

complaining to Huflein Bey of the attempt of the

■ Arab to rob them in the defert. The Bey afked

me.

198 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

me, If it happened in my tent ? I faid, It was in
that of my fervants. *' What is the reafon, fays
he, that, when you Engliih people know fo well
what good government is, you did not order his
head to be ftruck off. when you had him in your
hands, before the door of the tent?" — " Sir,"
faid I, " I know well what good government is ;
but being a flranger, and a Chriftian, I have no
fort of title to exercife the power of life and death
in this country ; only in this one cafe, when a man
attempts my life then I think I am warranted to
defend myfelf, whatever may be the confequence
to him. My men took him in the faft, and they
had my orders, in fuch cafes, to beat the offenders
fo that they fhould not fteal thefe two months
again ; They did fo ; that was punifhment enough

in cold blood." " But my blood," fays he,

'^ never cools with regard to fuch rafcals as thefe;
Go (and he called one of his attendants) tell Haf-
fan, the head of the caravan, from me, that unlefs
he hangs that Arab before fun-rife to-morrow, I
will carry him in irons to Furlhout."

Upon this meifage I took my leave ; faying only,
" HulTein Bey, take my advice; procure a vcffel
and fend thefe Turks over to Mecca before you
leave this town, or, be affured they will all be made
refponfible for the death of this Arab; will be
ilripped naked, and perhaps murdered, as foon as
vour back is turned." It was all I could do to get
them proteded thus far. This meafure was already
provided for, and the poor Turks joyfully embarked
next morning. The thief was not at all moieded ;

he

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. I99

he was fent out 01'' the way, under pretence that
he had fled.

Coflfeir has been miflaken by different authors.
Mr. Huet, Biftiop of Avranches, fays, it is the
Myos Hormos of antiquity; others, the Philoteras
Portus of Ptolemy. The fad; is, that neither one
nor other is the port, both being confiderably far-
ther to the northward. Nay, more, the prefent
town of Cofleir was no ancient port at all; old
Cofleir was five or fix miles to the northward.
There can be no fort of doubt, that it was the
Portus Albus, or the White Harbour ; for we find
the fteep defcent from Terfowey, and the marble
mountains, called, to this day, the Accaba, which,
in Arabic, fignjfies a fteep afcent or defcent, is
placed here by Ptolemy with the fame name,
though in Greek that name has no fignification.
Again, Ptolemy places * Aias Mons, or the moun-
tain Aias, jufl over CofTeir, and this mountain, by
the fame name, is found there at this day. And,
upon this mountain, and the one next it, (both
over the port) are two very remarkable chalky
chffs; which, being confpicuous and feen far at
iea, have given the name of the White Port,
which CofTeir bore in all antiquity.

1 found, by many meridian altitudes of the fun,
taken at the caflle, that CofTeir is in lat. 26^ 7'
51" north; and, by three obfervations of Jupiter's
fatellites, 1 found its longitude to be 34° 4' 15" eaft
of the meridian of Greenwich.

* Ptol. Geograph. lib. iv. p. 103,

The

200 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The caravan from Syene arrived at this time,
efcorted by four hundred Ababde, all upon camels,
each armed with tvi^o fhort javelins. The manner
of their riding u'as very whimfical; they had tvi^o
fmall faddles on each camel, and fat back to back,
v;hich might be, in their pradice, convenient
enough ; but I am fure, that, if they had been to
fight with us, every ball would have killed two of
them, what their advantage would have been, I
know not.

The whole town was in terror at the influx of fo
many barbarians, who knev/ no law whatever.
They brought a i coo camels loaded with wheat to
tranfport to Mecca. Everybody (hut their doors, and
I among the reft, whiifl: the Bey fent to me to remove
into the caiile. But I had no fear, and refolved
to make an experiment, after hearing thefe were
people of Nimmer, v^hether I could truft them in
the defert or not. However, 1 fent all my inftru-
ments, my money, and the bell of my baggage,
my medicines and memorandums, into a chamber
in the caftle: after the door was locked, and the
key brought to me, the Bey ordered to nail up
pieces of wood acrofs it, and fet a centinel to watch
it all day, and two in the night.

I was next morning down at the port looking
for fhells in the fea, when a fervant of mine came
to me in apparent fright and hurry. He told me
the Ababde had found out that Abdel Gin, my
Arab, was an Atouni, their enemy, and that they
had either cut his throat, or were about to do it ;

but.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 2CI

but, by the fury with which they feized him, in his
fight, he could not believe they would fpare him a
minute.

He very providently brought me a horfe, upon
which I mounted immediately, feeing there was no
time to be loft ; and in the fifhing-drels, in which I
was, with a red turban about my head, I galloped
as hard as the horfe could carry me through the
town. If I was alarmed myfelf, I did not fail to
alarm many others. They all thought it Vv'as fome-
thing behind, not any thing before me, that occa-
fioned this fpeed. I only told my fervant at palhng,
to fend two of my people on horfeback after me,
aad that the Bey would lend them horfes.

I was not got above a mile into the fands, when I
began to refled on the folly of the undertaking.
I was going into the dsfert among a band of fava-
ges, whofe only trade was robbery and murder,
where, in all probability, I fhould be as ill treated
as the man I was attempting to fave. But, feeing
a crowd of people about half a mile before me,
and thinking they might be at that time murdering
that poor, honeft, and fmiple fellow, all confide-
ration of my own fafety for the time vanifhed.

Upon my coming near them, fix or eight of
them furrounded me on horfeback, and began to
gabble in their own language. I was not very fond
of my fituation. It would have coft them nothing
to have thruft a lance through my back, and taken
the horfe away ; and, ^fter ftripping me, to have
buried me in a hillock of fand, if they were fo

kind

202, TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

kind as give themfelves-that laft trouble. However,
1 picked up courage, and putting on the bed ap-
pearance I could, faid to them fteadily, without
trepidation, "What men are thefe before?" The
anfwer, after feme paufe, was, they are men ; and
they looked very queerly, as if they meant to afk
each other. What fort of a fpark is this ? " Are
thofe before us Ababde, faid 1 ; are they from
Shekh Ammer i" One of them nodded, and grunt-
ed fullenly, rather than faid " Aye, Ababde from
Shekh Ammer." " Then Salam Alicum! faid I,
we are brethren. How does the Nimmer? Who
commands you here? Where is Ibrahim?"

At the mention of Nimmer, and Ibrahim, their
countenance changed, not to any thing fv/eeter or
gentler than before, but to a look of great furprife.
'I'hey had not returned my falutation, peace be
between us ; but one of them afked me who I was ?
" Tell me firft, faid I, who that is you have before?"
** It is an Arab, our enemy, fays he, guilty of our
blood." — " He is, replied I, my fervant. He is a
Howadat Arab, his tribe lives in peace at the gates
of Cairo, ia the fame manner your's at Shekh
Ammer does at thofe of Aflbuan." " I afk you.
Where is Ibrahim your Shekh's fon?" — " Ibrahim,
fays he, is at our head, he commands us here. —
But who are you?" — " Come with me, and fliew
ine Ibrahim, faid I, and I will fhew you who I am."

I paffed by thefe, and by another party of them.
They had thrown a hair rope about the neck of
Abdel Gin, who was almoft ftrangled already, and
cried out moll miferably, for me not to leave him.

I went

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 203

I went diredly to the black tent which I faw had a
long fpear thrufl up in the end of it, and met at the
door Ibrahim and his brother, and feven or eight
Ababde. He did not recoiled me, but I difmounted
clofe to the tent-door, and had fcarce taken hold
of the pillar of the tent, and faid Fiardnc*^ when
Ibrahim and his brother both knew me. " What!
faid they, are you Tagoube our phyfician, and our
friend ?" — " X.et me afk you, replied I, if you are
the Ababde of Shekh Ammer, that curfed your-
felves, and your children, if you ever lifted a hand
againft me, or mine, in the defert, or in the plowed
field : If you have repented of that oath, or fworn
falfely on purpofe to deceive me, here I am come
to you in the defert.'" " What is the matter, i^s
Ibrahim, we are the Ababde of Shekh Amitiief,
there are no other, and we ftill fay, Curfed be he,
whether our father, or children, that lifts his hand
againft you, in the defert, or in the plowed field.'*
*' Then, faid I, you are all accurfed in the defert,
and in the field, for a number of your people are
going to murder my fervant. They took him in-
deed from my houfe in the town, perhaps that is
not included in your curfe, as it is neither in the
defert nor x.h.Q plowed field.''* — I was very angry. —
" Whew ! fays Ibrahim with a kind of whiffle, that
is downright nonfenfe. Who are thofe of my
people that have authority to murder, and take
prifoners while I am here? Here one of you get
upon Yagoube's horfe and bring that man to me,"

*
* That is, I am under your prcteftion.

Then

204 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Then turning to me, he defired I would go into the
tent and fit down : " For God renounce me and
" mine, (fays he) if it is as you fay, and one of
" them hath touched a hair of his head, if ever bs
" drinks of the Nile again.'*

A number of people who had feen me at Shekh
Ammer, now came all around me; fome with
complaints of ficknefs, fome with compliments ;
more with impertinent queftions, that had no rela-
tion to either. At lad came in the culprit Abdel
Gin, with forty or fifty of the Ababde who had
gathered round him, but ■:io rope about his neck.
There began a violent altercation between Ibrahim,
and his men, in their own language. All that I
could guefs was, that the men had the worft of it ;
for every one prefent faid fomething harfli to them,
as difapproving the a£lion.

I heard the name of Haflan Sidi Haflan often in
the difpute. 1 began to fufpecl fomething, and
defired in Arabic to know what that Sidi Haflfan
was, fo often mentioned in difcourfe, and then the
whole fecret came out.

The reader will remember, that this Arab,
Abdel Gin, was the perfon that feized the fervant
of Haffan, the Captain of the Caravan, when he
was attempting to fleal the Turk's portmanteau
out of my tent; that my people had beat him till
he lay upon the ground like dead, and that Huflein
Bey, at the complaint of the Caramaniots, had
ordered him to be hanged. Now, in order to
revenge this, Haflan had told the Ababde that

Abde!

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 20^

Abdel Gin was an Atouni fpy, that he had deteded
him m the Caravan, and that he was come to learn
the number of the Ababde, in order to bring his
companions to furprife them. He did not fay one
word that he was my fervant, nor that 1 was at
Cofleir ; fo the people thought they had a very
meritorious facrifice to make, in the perfon of poor
Abdel Gin.

All pafled now in kindnefs, frefh medicines were
afked for the Nimmer, great thankfulnefs, and pro-
feffions, for what they had received, and a prodi-
gious quantity of meat on wooden platters very
excellently dreffed, and mod agreeably diluted
with frefh water, from the coldeft rock of Terfo-
wey, was fet before me.

In the mean time, two of my fervants, attended
by three of HuiTein Bey, came in great anxiety to
know what was the matter ; and as neither they nor
the Arabs chofe much each others company, I fent
them with a fhort account of the whole to the Bey ;
and foon after took my leave, carrying Abdel Gin
along with me, who had been clothed by Ibrahim
from head to foot. We were accompanied by two
Ababde, in cafe of accident.

I cannot help here accufmg myfelf of what,
doubtlefs, may be well reputed a very great fm. I
was fo enraged at the traitorous part which Haffan
had aded, that, at parting, I could not help fay-
ing to Ibrahim, " Now, Shekh, I have done every
thing you have defired, without ever expecting fee,
or reward J the only thing I now afk you, and it

h

206 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

is probably the laft, is, that you revenge me upon
this Haffan, who is every day in your power."'
Upon thisj he gave me his hand, faying, " He
fiiall not die in his bed, or 1 fhall never fee old

a-e. "

o

We now returned all in great fpirits to Cofleir,
and I obferved that my unexpedted connection
with the Ababde had given me an influence in that
place, that put me above all fear of perfonal dan-
ger, efpecially as they had feen in the defert, that
the Atouni were my friends alfo, as reclaiming this
Arab fhewed they really v/ere.

The Bey infifted on my fupping with him. At
his defire I told him the whole ftory, at which he
feemed to be much furprifed, faying, feveral times,
" MenuUah ! Menuliah ! Mucktoub !'* It is God's
doing, it is God's doing, it was written fo. And, when
I had finifned, he faid to me, " 1 will not leave this
traitor with you to trouble you further; I will oblige
him,, as it is his duty, to attend me to Furfhout."
This he accordingly did ; and, to my very great
furprife, though he might be alTured I had com-
plained of him to Shekh Hamam, meeting me the
next day, when they were all ready to depart, and
were drinking coffee with the Bey, he gave me a
flip of paper, and defired me, by that diredion,
to buy him a fabre, which might be procured in
Mecca. It feems it is the manufafture of Perfia,
and, though I do not underftand in the lead, the
import of the terms, I give it to the reader that
lie may know by what defcription he is to buy

an

THE SOURCE OF TttE NILE. 207

an excellent fabre. It is called Suggaro Tabanne
Harefanne Agemmi, /or 5/'^/ Rnffan of Furfhout.

Although pretty much ufed to ftifle my refent-
ment upon impertmences of this kind, I could not,
after the trick he had played me with the Ababdc,
carry it indifferently; I threw the billet befoi% the
Bey, faying to HalTan, " A fword of that value
would be ufelefs and mifemployed in the hand of a
coward and a traitor, fuch as furely you muft be
fenfible I know you to be/* He looked to the Bey
as if appealing to him, from the incivility of the
obfervation; but the Bey, withoutfcruple, anfwer-
ed, " It is true, it is true what he fays, Haflan; if
I was in Ali Bey's place, when you dared ufe a
ftranger of mine, or any flranger, as you have
done him, I would plant you upon a fharp (lake in
the market-place, till the boys in the town floned
you to death ; but he has complained of you in a
letter, and I will be a witnefs againll: you before
Hamam, for your conducl is not that of a Muffiil-
man.'*

While I was engaged with the Ababde, a veflel
was feen in dillrefs in the offing, and all the boats
went out and towed her in. It was the vefiel in
which the twenty-five Turks had embarked, w^hich
had been heavily loaded. Nothing is fo dreadful as,
the embarkation in that fea ; for the boats have no
decks ; the whole, from ftern to Item, being filled
choak-full of wheat, the wafte, that is the fiope of
the veflel, between the height of her Hem and ftern,
is filled up by one plank on each fide, which is all

that

268 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

that is above the furface of the waves. Sacks, tar-
paulins, or mats, are (Irowed along the furface of
the wheat upon which all the paffengers lye. On
the lead agitation of the waves, the fea getting in
upon the wheat, increafes its weight fo prodigioufly,
that, falling below the level of the gunnel, the water
rufhes in between the plank and that part of the
veflel, and down it goes to the bottom.

Though every day produces an accident of this
kind from the fame caufe, yet fuch is the defire of
gaining money in that feafon, which offers but once
a-year, that every fhip fails, loaded in the fame
manner as the lafl: which perifhed. This was juft
the cafe with the veffel that had carried the Turks.
Anxious to go away, they would not wait the figns
of the weather being rightly fettled. Ullah Kerim!
they cry, ' God is great and merciful;' and upon
that they embark in a navigation, where it needs
indeed a miracle to fave them.

The Turks all came alhore but one \ the young-
eft, and, according to all appearance, the beft, had
fallen over board, and perifhed. The Bey received
thetn, and with great charity entertained them all
at his own expence, but they were fo terrified with
the fea, as almoft to refolve never to make another
attempt.

I'he Bey had brought w^ith him from Jidda, a
fmall, but tight veffel belonging to *Sheher ; which
came from that country loaded with frankincenfe,
the commodity of that port. 1 he Rais had bufi-

* On the esft coaft of Arabia Felix, Syagrura Promontorium.

nefs

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. S09

nefs down the Gulf at Tor, and he had fpoken to
the Bey, to recommend him to me. I had no
bufmefs at Tor, but as we had grown into a kind
of friendfliip, from frequent converfation, and as he
was, according to his own word, a great faint, like
my lad boat-man, a charafter that I thought I could
perfectly manage, I propofcd to the Bey, that he
and I fhould contribute fomething to make it worth
this Captain's pains, to take our friends the Turks
on board, and carry them to Yambo, that they
might not be deprived of that bleffing which would
refult from their vifit to the Prophet's tomb, and
which they had toiled fo much to earn. 1 promif-
ed, in that cafe, to hire his vefiel at fo much a
month upon its return from Yambo; and, as 1 had
then formed a refolution of making a furvey of the
Red Sea to the Straits of Babelmandeb, the Rais
was to take his directions from me, till I pleafed
to difmifs him.

Nothing was more agreeable to the views of all
parties than this. The Bey promifed to ftay till
they failed, and I engaged to take him after he
returned ; and as the captain, in quality of a faint,
aifured us, that any rock that flood in our way in
the voyage, would either jump afide, or become
foft like a fpunge, as it had often happened before,
both the Turks and we were now aifured of a voy-
age without danger.

All was fettled to our mutual fatisfaction, when,
unluckily, the Turks going dow-n to their boat,
met Sidi Haflanj whom, with reafon, they thought

Vol. L U the

!SIO TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the author of all their misfortunes. The whole
twenty-four drew their fwords, and, without feek-
ing fabres from Perfia, as he had done, they would
have cut Sidi Haflan in pieces, but, fortunately for
him, the Turks had great cloth trowfers, like
Dutchmen, and they could not run, whilli he ran
very nimbly in his. Several piftols, however, were
fired, one of which Ihot him in the back part of the
ear; on which he fled for refuge to the Bey, and
we never faw him more.

CHAP.

THE SOURCE Ol' THE NILE. 2il

CHAP. IX.

Voyage to Jibbel Znmritd — Return to Coffeir — Saih
from CoJfeiT'—Jaffateen Ijlands — Arrive at Tor.

TH E Turks and the Bey departed, and with
the Turks I difpatched my Arab, Abdel Ginj
not only giving him fomething myfelf, but recorn~
mending him to my beneficent countrymen at
Jidda, if he Ihould go there.

I now took up my quarters in the caflle, and as
the Ababde had told ftrange flories about the
Mountain of Emeralds, I determined, till my cap-
tain jfhould return, to make a voyage thither. There
was no poflibility of knowing the diflance by
report J fometimes it was twenty-five miles, fome-
times it was fifty, fometimes it was a hundred,
and God knows how much more.

1 chofe a man who had been twice at thefe moun-
tains of emeralds ; with the beft boat then in the
harbour, and on Tuefday the 14th of March, we
failed, with the wind at North Eaft, from the har-
bour of ColTeir, about an hour before the dawn of
day. We kept coafling along, with a very mode-
rate wind, much diverted with the red and green
appearance of the marble mountains upon the coalt.
Our veiTel had one fail, like a flraw mattrefs, made
pf the leaves of a kind of palm-tree, which they

U 2 call

Sia TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

call Doo?n, It was fixed above, and drew up like
a curtain, but did not lower with a yard like at
fail ; fo that upon flrefs of weather, if the fail was
furled, it was fo top-heavy, that the fhip muft foun-
der, or the maft be carried a^vay. But, by way
cf indemnification, the planks of the veflfei were
fewed together, and there was not a nail, nor a
piece of iron, in the whole fhip ; fo that when you
flruck upon a rock, feldom any damage enfued.
For my own part, from an abfolute deteftation of
her whole conflruciion, I infilled upon keeping
clofe along Ihore, at an eafy fail.

The Continent, to the leev/ard of us, belonged
to our friends the Ababdv^. There was great plenty
of Ihell-fifh to be picked up on every Ihoal. I had
loaded the veffel with four Ikins of frefh water.,
equal to four hogfheads, with cords, and buoys
fixed to the end of each of them, fo that, if we
had been: fhipwrecked near land, as rubbing two
flicks together mads us fire, I was not afraid of
receiving fuccour, before we were driven to the laffe
extremity, provided we did not perifh in the fea,
of which I was not very apprehenfive.

On the 15th, about nine o'clock, I faw a large
high rock, like a pillar, rifing out of the fea. At
firft, I took it for a part of the Continent; but, as
we advanced nearer it, the fun being very clear,
and the fea calm, I took an obfervation, and as our
fituation was lat. 25° 6', and the ifiand about a
league diftant, to the S. S. W. of us, I concluded
its latitude to be pretty exactly 25^ 3 North. This

ifland

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 2iI3

ifland Is about three miles from the fhore, of an oval
form, rifmg in the middle. It feems to me to be of
granite; and is called, in the language of the coun-
try, Jibbel Siberget, which has been tranflated the
Mountain of Emeralds. Siberget, however, is a word
in the language of the Shepherds^ who, I doubt,
never in their lives faw an emerald ; and though
the Arabic tranflation is Jibbel ZiimnuU and that
word has been transferred to the jsmerald, a very
fine done, oftener feen fmce the difcovery of the
new world, yet I very much doubt, that either 5/r-
berget or Zumrud ever meant Emerald in old times.
My reafon is this, that we found, both here and in
the Continent, fplinters, and pieces of green pel-
lucni chryftaline fubftance; yet, though green,
they were veiny, clouded, and not at all fo hard
as rock-chryllal ; a mineral produdion certainly,
but a little harder than glafs, and this, I apprehend,
was what the Shepherds, or people of Beja, called
Siberget, the Latins Smaragdus, and the IVIoors
Zujnriid.

The i6th, at day-break in the morning, I took
the Arab of CoiTeir with me, who knew the place.
We landed on a point perfeftly defert ; at firft,
fandy like Cofleir, afterv/ards, where the foil was
fixed, producing fome few plants of rue or abfm-
ihium. We advanced above three miles farther in
a perfectly defert country, with only a few acacia-
trees fcattered here and there, and came to the foot
of the mountains. I afked my guide the name of
that place; he faid it was Saiel. They are never at
g iofs for a name, and thofe who do not underftand

the

:^I4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the language, always believe them. This would
have been the cafe in the prefent conjunfture. He
knew not the name of the place, and perhaps it had
no name, but he called it Stjiel, which fignifies a
male acacia- tree; merely becaufe he faw an acacia
growing there; and, with eq^ual reafon, he might
have called every mile Saiel, from the Gulf of Sue2:-
to the line.

We fee this abufe in the old Itineraries, efpeci-
ally in the * Antonine, from fuch a town to fuch a
town, fo many miles; and what is the next ftation?
(el/eggef^a) ten miles. This el feggera |, the Latin
readers take to be the name of a town, as Harduin,
and all commentators on the clalTics, have done.
But fo far from Seggera fignifying a town, it im-
ports juft the contrary, that there is no town there,
but the traveller mufl be obliged to take up his
quarters under a tree that night, for fuch is the
meaning of Seggera as a flation, and fo likewife of
Saiel.

At the foot of the mountain, or about feven
yards up from the bafe of it, are five pits or fh<>fts,
none of them four feet in diameter, called the
Zumrud Weils, from which the ancients are faid to
have drawn the emeralds. We were not provided
with materials, and little endowed with inclination,
to defcend into any one of them, where the air was
probably bad. 1 picked up the nozzels, and fome

* Itin. Anton, a Carth. p. 4.
+ So the next ftage from Syene is called Hiera Sycaminos,
a fycamore-tree, Piol. lib. 4. p. io8«
■ * fragments

THE SOURCE OF THE NIL^. Slg

fragments of lamps, like thofe of which we find
millions in Italy: and fome worn fragments, but
very fmall ones, of that brittle green chryflal,
which is the fiberget and bilur of Ethiopia, perhaps
the zumrud, the fmaragdus defcribed by Pliny,
but by no means the emerald, known fmce the dif-
covery of the new world, whofe firft charafter ab-
folutely defeats its pretenfion, the true Peruvian
emerald being equal in hardnefs to the ruby.

Pliny* reckons up twelve kinds of emeralds, and
names them all by the country where they are
found. Many have thought the fmaragdus to be
but a finer kind of jafper. Pomet aifures us it is
a mineral, formed in iron, and fays he had one to
which iron-ore was flicking. If this was the cafe,
the fined emeralds ftiould not come from Peru,
where, as far as ever has been yet difcovered,
there is no iron.

With regard to the Oriental emeralds, which
they fay come from the Eaft Indies, they are now
fufficiently known, and the value of each ftone
pretty well afcertained ; but all our induflry and
avarice have not yet difcovered a mine of emeralds
there, as far as I have heard. That there were
emeralds in the Eaft Indies, upon the firft difco-
very of it by the Cape, there is no fort of doubt j
that there came emeralds from that quarter in the
time of the Romans, feems to admit of as little;
but few antique emeralds have ever been feen; and
io greatly in efteem, and rare were they in thofc

* Plin. lib. xxxvii. cap. 5.

times.

ai6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

times, that it was made a crime for any artift to
engrave upon an emerald *.

It is very natural to fuppofe, that fome people
of the Eafl had a communication and trade with the
new world, before we attempted to fliare it with
tlifem; and that the emeralds they had brought
from that quarter, were thofe which came after-
terwards into Europe, and were all called the Ori-
ental., till they v/ere confounded with the f Peru-
vian, by the quantity of that kind brought into
the Eail Indies, by the Jews and Moors, after the
difcovery of the new Continent.

But what invincibly proves, that the ancients
and we are not agreed as to the fame {lone, is that
J Theophraftus fays, that in the Egyptian com-
mentaries he faw mention made of an emerald four
cubits (fix feet long,) which was fent as a prefent
to one of their kings ; and in one of the temples
of Jupiter in Egypt he faw an obelifk 60 feet high,
made of four emeralds: and Roderick of Toledo
informs us, that, when the Saracens took that city,
Tarik, their chief, had a table of an emerald
365 cubits, or 547v feet long. The Moorilli
hiftories of the invafion of Spain are fall of fuch
emeralds.

Having fatisfied my curiofity as to thefe moun-
tains, with?>ut having feen a living creature, \
retujned to my boat, where I found all well, and
an excellent dinner of fifh prepared. Thefe were

* Plin. lib. xxxvii. cap. 5.
f Tavernier vol. II. Voyao. i Theop.hraftus p£^s^»9»'i.

of

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. SI7

of three kinds, called BliTer, Surrumbac, and
Nhoude el Benaat. The firft of thefe feems to be
of the Oyfter-kind, but the fhells are both equally-
curved and hollow, and open with a hinge oa
the fide like a muffel. It has a large beard,
like an oyfler, which is not eatable, but which
Ihould be flript off. We found fome of thefe two
feet long, but the largeft I believe ever feen com-
pofes the baptifmal font in the church of Notre
Dame in Paris.* The fecond is the Concha
Veneris, with large projecting points like fingers.
The third, called the Breafls'of the Virgin, is a
beautiful Ihell, perfectly pyramidal, generally about
four inches in height, and beautifully variegated
with mother-of-pearl, and green. All thefe fifhes
have a peppery tafle, but are not therefore reckon-
ed the lefs wholefome, and they are fo much the
more convenient, that they carry that ingredient of
fpice along v/ith them for fauce, with which tra-
vellers, like me, very feldom burden themfeives.

Befides a number of very fine fhells, we picked
up feveral branches of coral, coralines, yuiferf,
and many other articles of natural hiftory. We
were abundantly provided with every thing; the
weather was fair ; and we never doubted it was to
continue, fo v/e were in great fpirjts, and only re-
gretted that we h^d not, once for all, taken leave
of Cofleir, and ftood over for Jidda.

In this difpofitipn we failed about three o'clock
in the afternooiij and the wind flattered us fo much,

f Clamps.
t It is a Keratophyte, growing at the bottom of the fea.

that

ilS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

that next day, the 17th, about eleven o'clock, we
found ourfelves about two leagues a-flern of a fmali
ifiand, known to the pilot by the name of Jibbel
Macouar. This ifland is at leafl four miles from
the iliore, and is a high land, fo that it may be
feen, I fuppofe, eight leagues at fea, but is gene-
rally confounded with the Continent. I computed
myfelf to be about 4' of the meridian diflant when
I made the obfervation, and take its latitude to be
about 24° 2' on the centre of the ifland.

The land here, after running from Jibbel Siber-
get to Macouar, in a diredtion nearly N. W. and S.
E. turns round in fhape of a large promontory,
and changes its direftion to N. E. and S. W. and
ends in a fmall bay or inlet ; fo that, by fanciful
people, it has been thought to refemble the nofe of
a man, and is called by the Arabs, Ras el Anf, the
Cape of the Nofe. The mountains, within land,
. are of a dufky burnt colour j broken into points,
as if interfecled by torrents.

The coafting velTels from Mafuah and Suakem
x^'hich are bound to Jidda, in the ftrength of the
Summer monfoon, (land clofe in fhore down
the coaft of Abyffinia, where they find a gentle
ileady eaft wind blowing all night, and a weft wind
yery often during the day, if they are near enough
the fhore, for which purpofe their veffels are built..

Befides this, the violent North-Eaft monfoon ra- '
" \dfig in the direftion of the Gulf, blows the water
out *bf the Straits of Babelmandeb into the Indian
Ocean, where, being accumulated, it preiTcs itfelf

backwards j

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 1219

backwards ; and, unable to jfind way in the middle
of the Channel, creeps up among the fliallows on
each coafl of the Red Sea. However long the voy-
age from Mafuah to Jibbel Macouar may feem, yet
thefe gentle winds and favourable currents, if I
may fo call thofe in the fca, foon ran us down the
length of that mountain.

A large veffel, however, does not dare to try
this, whilfl conflantly among flioals, and clofe on
a lee-fhore; but thofe fewed together, and yielding
without damage to the flrefs. Aide over the banks ^
of white coral, and even fometimes the rocks. Ar-
rived at this ifland, they fet their prow towards the
oppofite fhore, and crofs the Channel in one night,
to the coafl of Arabia, being nearly before the
wind. The track of this extraordinary navigation
is marked upon* the map, and it is fo well verified,
that no Ihip-mailcr need doubt it.

About three o'clock in the afternoon, with a
favourable wind and fair weather, we continued
along the coaft, with an eafy fail. We faw no ap-
pearance of any inhabitants ; the mountains were
broken and pointed, as before taking the direftion
of the coaft; advancing and receding as the fhor£
itfelf did. This coaft is a very bold one, nor was
there in any of the illands we had feen, fhoals or
anchoring places, unlefs upon the rock itfelf; fo
that, when we landed, we could run our boltfprit
home over the land.

* Vide tlie track of this Navigation laid down on the
Chart,

This.

S20 tRAVELS TO DISCOVER

This ifland, Jibbel Macouar, has breakers run-
ning off from it at all points ; but, though we hauir
ed clofe to thefe, we had no foundings. We then
went betwixt it and the fmali ifland, that lies S. S.
E. from it about three miles, and tried for found-
ings to the leeward, but we had none, although
almoft touching the land. About fun-fet, 1 faw a
fmall fandy ifland, which we left about a league to
the weftward of us. It had no flirubs, nor trees,
nor height, that could diftinguifh it. My defign
was to pufh on to the river Frat, which is reprefent-
ed in the charts as very large and deep, coming
from the Continent; though, confidering by its
latitude that it is above the tropical rains, (for it is
Hid down about lat. 21° 25), I never did believe
that any fuch river exifted.

In fa^, we know no river, north of the fources
of the Nile, that does not fall into the Nile. Nay,
I may fay, that not one river, in all Abyffmia,
empties itfelf into the Red Sea. The tropical rains
are bounded, and finifh, in lat. 16°, and there is
no river, from the mountains, that falls into the
defert of Nubia; nor do we know of any river
which is tributary to the Nile, but what has its rife
under the tropical rains. It would be a very fmgular
circumftance, then, that the Frat fhould rife in one
of the dryeft places in the globe, that it fhould be a
river at lead equal to the Nile; and fhould main-
tain itfelf full in all feafons, which the Nile does
not; laft of all, in a country where water is fo
iccfrce and precious, that it fliould npt have a town

or

THE SOURCE OF THE Nif E. ^2,1

or fetdement upon it, either ancient or modem,
nor that it fliould be reforted to by any encamp-
ment of Arabs, who might crofs over and traffic
with Jidda, which place is immediately oppofite.

On the i8th, at day-break, I was alarmed at
feeing no land, as I had no fort of confidence in
the fkill of my pilot, however fure I was of my la-
titude. About an hour after fun-fet, I obferved a
high rugged rock, which the pilot told me, upon,
inquiry, was Jibbel, (viz. a rock), and this was
all the fatisfadion I could get. We bore down up-
on it with a wind, fcant enough ; and, about four,
we came to an anchor. As we had no name for
that ifland, and I did know that any traveller hac^.
been there before me, I ufed the privilege by giving
it my own, in memory of having been there. The
fouth of this ifland feems to be high and rocky,
the north is low and ends in a tail, or Hoping bank,
but is exceedingly fteep to, and at the length of
your bark any way from it, you have no found-
ings.

All this morning fince before day, our pilot had
begged us to go no farther. He faid the wind had
changed ; that, by infallible figns he had feen to
the fouthward, he was confident (without any
chance of being miftaken) that in twenty-four
hours we (hould have a ftorm, which v/ould put
us in danger of fliipwreck; that Frat, which l-w:ant-
ed to fee, was immediately oppofite to Jiddl,, fi3^
that either a country or Englifh boat would run me
over in a night and a day, when I might procure
people who had connexions in the country, fo as

to

%%% TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

to be under no apprehenfion of any accident; but
that in the prefent track I was going, every man
that I {hould meet was my enemy. Although not
very fufceptible of fear, my ears were never fliut
againft realbn, and to what the pilot flated, I added
in my own breaft, that we might be blown out to
fea, and want both water and provifion. We,
therefore, dined as quickly as poffible, and encou-
raged one another all we could. A little after fix
the wind came eafterly, and changeable, with a
thick haze over the land. This cleared about nine
in the evening;, and one of the fneft and fteadiefl
gales that ever blew, carried us fwiftly on, direftly
for Coffeir. The Iky was full of dappled clouds,
fo that, though I, feveral times tried to catch a
ftar in the meridian, I was always fruftrated. The
wind became freiher, but ftill very fair.

The 1 9th, at day-break, we faw the land ftretch-
ing all the way northward, and, foon after, diftinO;Iy
difcerned Jibbel Siberget upon our lee-bow. We
had feen it indeed before, but had taken it for the
main-land.

After paffing fuch an agreeable night, we could
not be quiet, and laughed at our pilot about his per-
fect knowledge of the weather. The fellow fhook
his head, and faid, he had been miflaken before
now, and was always glad when it happened fo;
but Hill we were not arrived at Colfeir, though he
hoped and believed we fliould get there in fafety. In
a very little time the vane on the maft-head began
to turn, firil north, then eaft, then fouth, and
back again to all the points in the compafs } the Iky

was

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. (^23

was quite dark, with tliick rain to the fouthward
of us ; then followed a mod violent clap of thun-
der, but no lightning; and back again came the
wind fair at fouth-eaft. We all looked rather down-
caft at each other, and a general filence followed.
This, however, I faw availed us nothing, we were
in the fcrape, and were to endeavour to get out of
it the bed way we could. The veflel went at a
prodigious rate. The fail that was made of mat
happened to be new, and, filled with ftrong wind,
weighed prodigioufly. What made this worfe,
was, the mafts were placed a little forward. The
firfl: thing 1 afked, was, if the pilot could not lower
his main-fail ? But that we found impoflible, the
yard being fixed to the maft-head. The next ftep
was to reef it, by hauling it in part up like a cur-
tain ; this our pilot defired us not to attempt ; for
it would endanger our foundering. Notwithftand-
ing which, I defired my fervants to help me with
the haulyards ; and to hold them in his hand, only
giving them a turn round the bench. This in-
creafmg the veflel's weight above and before, as
fhe already had too much preiTure, made her give
two pitches, the one after the other, fo that I
thought fhe was buried under the waves, and a
confiderable deal of water came in upon us. I am
fully fatisfied, had fhe not been in good order,
very buoyaftt, and in her trim, flie would have
gone to the bottom, as the wind continued to blow
a hurricane.

I began now to throw off my upper coat and
trowfers, that 1 might endeavour to make fliore, if

the

2^4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the veiTel iliould founder, whllfh the fervants (eem^
ed to have given themfelves up, and made no pre-
paration. The pilot kept in clofe by the land, to
fee if no bight, or inlet, offered to bring up in ;
but we were going with fuch violence, that I waa
fatisfied we fliould overfet if we attempted this.— «
Every ten minutes we ran over the white coral
banks, which we broke in pieces with the grating
of a file, upon iron, and, what was the mofl terrible
of all, a large wave followed higher than our flern,
curling over it, and feemed to be the inftrument
deflined by Providence to bury us in the abyfs.

Our pilot began apparently to lofe his under-
ftanding with fright. I begged him to be fleady,
perfuaded him to take a glafs of fpirits, and defired
him not to difpute or doubt any thing that I C ould
do or order, for that I had feen much more terrible
nights in the ocean ; I affured him, that all harm
done to his veffel fhould be repaired when we
fhould get to Cofieir, or even a new one bought
for him, if his own was much damaged. He
anfwered me nothing, but that Mahomet was the
prophet of God. — Let him prophecy, faid I, as long
as he pleafes, but what I order you is to keep
fteady to the helm; mind the vane on the top of
the maft, and fteer flraight before the wind, for I
am refolved to cut that main-fail to pieces, and
prevent the mail from going away, and your velfel
from finking to the bottom. I got no anfwer to
this which I could hear, the wind was fo high,,
except fomething about the mercy and merit of Sidi
Ali el Genowi. I now became violently angry.

« D— n

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 0,%^

" D-^n Sidi Ali el Geno wi, faid I, you beaft, cannot
you give me a rational anfwer? Stand to your helm,
look at the vane ; keep the veffel ftraight before
the wind, or, by the great G — d who fits in hea-
ven, (another kind of oath than by Sidi Ali el Ge-
7iowi), I will fhoot you dead the firft yaw the fhip
gives, or the firft time that'\ou leave the (leerage
where you are (landing," He anfwered only, Ma-
loom, /'. e. very well. — All this was fooner done
than faid ; I got the main-fail in my arms, and,
with a large knife, cut it all to fhreds, which eafed
the veffel greatly, though we were flill going at a
prodigious rate.

About two o'clock the wind feemed to fail, but,
half an hour after, was more violent than ever. At
three, it fell calm. I then encouraged my pilot,
who had been very attentive, and, I believe, had
pretty well got through the whole lift of faints in
his calendar, and I aflured him that he Ihould re-
ceive ample reparation for the lofs of his mainfail.
We now faw diftindly the white cliffs of the two
mountains above Old Coffeir, and on the 19th, a
, little before fun-fet, we arrived fafely at the New.

We, afterwards, heard how much more fortu-
nate we had been than fome of our fellow failors
that fame night j three of the vefTels belonging to
Coffeir, loaded with wheat for Yambo, periflied,
with all on board of them, in the gale; among
thefe was the veffel that firft had the Turks on
board. This account was brought by Sidi Ali el
Meymoum el Shehrie, which fignifies ' Ali, the
Vol. I. X ape

"236 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ape or monkey, from Sheher/ For though he was
a faint, yet being in figure liker to a monkey, they
thought it proper to diftinguifh him by that to
which he bore the greateft refemblance.

We were all heartily fick of Coffeir embarkati-
ons, but the velTel of Sidi Ali el Meymoum, tho'
fmall, was tight and well-rigged ; had fails of can-
vas, and had navigated in the Indian Ocean; the
Rais had four flout men on board, apparently good
failors; he himfelf, though near fixty, was a very
aftive, vigorous little man, and to the full as good
a failor as he was a faint. It was on the 5th of
April, after having made my lafl obfervation of
longitu-de at Cofleir, that I embarked on board this
vcffel, and failed from that port. It was necelfary
f o conceal fram fome of my fervants our intention
of proceeding to the bottom of the Gulf, leftj
finding themfelveS' among Chriftians fo near Cairo,
they might defert a voyage of which they were Tick,
before it was well begun.

For the firfl two days we had hazy weather, with
little wind. In the evening, the wind fell calm.
We faw a high land to the fouth-wefl of us, very
rugged and broken, which feemed parallel to the
€oaft, and higher in the middle than at either end.
This, we conceived, was the mountain that divides
the coaft of the Red Sea from the eaftern part of
the Valley of E^ypt, correfponding to Monfalout
and Siout. We brought to, in the night, behind
a fmall low Cape, tho' the wind was fair, our
Rais being afraid of the JafFateen Iflands, which
we knew were not far a-head.

We

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 227

We caught a great quantity of fine fifli. this
night with a line, fome of them weighing fourteen
pounds. The beft were blue in the back, like a
falmon, but their belly red, and marked with blue
round fpots. They refembled a falmon in fhape,
but the fifli was white, and not fo firm.

In the morning of the 6th we made the JafFateen
lilands. They are four in number, joined by fhoals
and funken rocks. They are crooked, or bent,
like half a bow, and are dangerous for (hips failing
in the night, becaufe there feems to be a pafi'age
between them, to which, when pilots are attend-
ing, they negleft two fmall dangerous funk rocks,
that lie almoft in the middle of the entrance, in.
deep water.

I underftood, afterwards, from the Rais, that,
had it not been from fome marks he faw of blow-
ing weather, he would not have come in to the
JafFateen Iflands, but flood dirediy for Tor, run-
ning between the ifland Sheduan, and a rock
which is in the middle of the channel, after you
pafs Ras Mahomet. But we lay fo perfeftly quiet,
the whole night, that we could not but be grateful
Id the Rais for his care, although we had feen no
apparent reafon fbr it.

Next morning, the 7th, we left our very quiet
birth in the bay. and flood clofe, nearly fouth-eafl,
along-lide of the two fouthermofl Jaffateen Iflands,
our head upon the center of Sheduan, till we had
cleared the eaflermofl of thofe iflands about three
miles. We then pafTed Sheduan, leaving it to the
X 2 caflward

cazS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

eaflward about three leagues, and keeping nearly
a N. N. W. courfe, to range the weft fide of
Jibbel Zeit. This is a large defert illand, or rock,
that is about four miles from the main.

The palfage between them is practicable by fmall
craft only, whofe planks are fewed together, and
are not afteded by a ftroke upon hard ground ;
for it is not for want of water that this navigation
is dangerous. All the well coaft is very bold, and
has more depth of water than the eaft; but on
this fide there is no anchoring ground, nor ftioals.
It is a rocky fhore, and there is depth of water
every where, yet that part is full of funken rocks ;
which, though not vifible, are near enough the
furface to take up a large fhip, whofe deftruftion
thereupon becomes inevitable. This I prefume
arifes frf>m one caufe. The mountains on the fide
of Egypt and Abylfinia are all (as we have ftated)
hard ftone. Porphyry, Granite, Alabafter, Bafaltes,
and many forts of Marble. Thefe are all there-
fore fixed, and even to the northward of lat. i6°,
where there is no rain, very fmall quantities of
duft or fand can ever be blown from them into
the fea. On the oppofite, or Arabian fide, the
fea-coaft of the Hejaz, and that of the Tehama,
are all moving fands ; and the dry winter-monfoon
from ilie fouth-eaft blows a large quantity from
the deferts, which is lodged among the rocks on
the Arabian fide of the Gulf, and confined there
by the north-eaft or fummer-monfoon, which is in
a contrary diredion, and hinders them from com-
ing oyer, or circulating towards the Egyptian fide.

From

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. %Z()

Fromthis it happens, that the weft, or AbyfFmian

fide, is full of deep water, interfperfed with funken

rocks, unmafked, or uncovered with fand, with

which they would otherwife become iflands. Thefe

are naked and bare all round, and iharp like points

of fpears; while on the eaft fide there are rocks,

indeed, as in the other, but being between the

fouth-eafl monfoon, which drives the fand into its

coafl, and the north-weft monfoon which repels it,

and keeps it in there, every rock on the Arabian

fliore becomes an ijland^ and every two or thr.ee

iflands become a harbour.

Upon the ends of the principal of thefe harbours
large heaps of ftones have been piled up, to ferve
as fignals, or marks, how to enter; and it k in
thefe that the large veflels from Cairo to Jidda,
equal in fize to our 74 gun fliips, (but from the
cifterns of mafon-work built within for holding
water, I fuppofe double their weight) after navi-
gating their portion of the channel in the day, come
fafely and quietly to, at four o'clock in the after-
noon, and in thefe little harbours pafs the night,
to fail into the channel again, next morning at
fun-rrife.

Therefore, though in the track of my voyage tc^
Tor, I am feen running from the weft fide of Jib-
del Zeit a W. N. W. courfe (for I had no place for
a compafs) into the harbour of Tor, I do not mean
to do fo bad a fervice to humanity as to perfuade
large (hips to follow my track. There are two
ways of inftrucling men ufefully, in things abfo-

lutely

230 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER '

lutely unknown to them. The firfl is, to teach
them what they can do lafely. The next is, to
teach them what they cannot do at all, or, war-
ranted by a prefling occafion, attempt with more
or lefg danger, which fliould be explained and plac-
ed before their eyes, for without this lafl: no man
knows the extent of his own powers. With this
view, 1 will venture, without fear of contradiftion,
to fay, that my courfe from Coffeir, or even from
Jibbel Siberget, to Tor, is impoilible to a great
fhip. My voyage, painful, full of care, and dan-
gerous as it was, is not to be accounted a furety
for the lives of thoufands. It may be regarded as
a foundation for furveys hereafter to be made by
perfons more capable, and better protefted ; and
in this cafe will, I hope, be found a valuable frag-
ment, becaufe, whatever have been my confcien»
tious fears of running fervants, who work for pay,
into danger of lofmg their lives by peril of the fea,
yet I can fafely fay, that never did the face of man,
or fear of danger to myfelf, deter me from verify-
ing with my eyes, what my own hands have put
upon paper.

In the days of the Ptolemies, and, as I fhali
fhew, long before, the weft coaft of the Red Sea,
where the deepeft water, and moft dangerous rocks
arc, was the track which the Indian and African
fiiips chofe, when loaded with the richeft merchan-
dife that ever vefTels fmce carried. The Ptolemies
built a number of large cities on this coaft; nor
do we hear that fhips were obliged to abandon that
track, from the difafters that befel them in the

navigatioru

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. S3I

navigation. On the contrary, they avoided the
coaft of Arabia ; and one reafon among others,
is plain why they Ihould; — they were loaded with
the mofl valuable commodities, gold, ivory, gums,
and precious (tones ; room for ftowage on board
j.herefore was very valuable.

Part of this trade, when at its greatell perfedli-
on, was carried on in veffels with oars. We know
from the prophet Ezekiel *, 700 years before
Chrift, or 300 after Solomon had fmifhed his
trade with Africa and India, that they did not al-
ways make ufe of fails in the track of the monfoons ;
and confequently a great number of men muithave
been necelfary for fo tedious a voyage. A num-
ber of men being neceifary, a quantity of water
was equally fo ; and this muft have taken uf
great deal of ftowage. Now, no where on the
coafl: of AbyfTmia could they want water two days;
and fcarce any where, on the coafl of Arabia,
could they be fure of it once in fifteen, and from
this the weflern coafl was called Ber d Ajam f ,
corruptly Azamia, the country of water, in oppo°
fition to the eaftern fhpre, called Ber el Arab,
where there was none.

A deliberate furvey became abfoluteiy neceffary,
and as in proportion to the danger of the coafl
pilots became more fkilful, when once they had
obtained more complete knowledge of the rocks
and dangers, they preferred the boldefl fhore, be-

* Ezek. chsp. xxvii. 6th and 29th verfes,
f Ajan, in the language of the Shepherds, fignjfies rain-ixiater,

caufe

S3^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

caufe they could (land on all night, and provide
theinfelves with water every day. Whereas, on
the Arabian fide, they could not fail but half the
day, would be obliged to lie to all night, and to
load themfelves with water, equal to half their
cargo.

I now fhall undertake to point out to large fhlps,
the way by which they can fafely enter the Gulf of
Suez, fo as that they may be competent judges of
their own courfe, in cafe of accident, without
implicitly fuirendering themfelves, and property,
into the hands of pilots.

In the firil place, then, I am very confident,
that, taking their departure from Jibbel el Ouree,
fliips may fafely (land on all night mid-channel,
nntil they are in the latitude of Yambo.

The Red Sea may be divided into four parts, of
which the Channel occupies two, till about lat. 26^,
or nearly that of CoiTeir. On the welt fide it is
deep water, with many rocks, as I have already
faid. On the eafl: fide, that quarter is occupied by
iflands, that is, fand gathered about the rocks,
the caufes whereof I have before mentioned ; be-
tween which there are channels of very deep water,
and harbours, that proted the largeft fhips in any
winds. But among thefe, from Mocha down to
Suez, you muft fail with a pilot, and during part
of the day only.

To a perfon ufed to more civilized countries, it
appears no great hardship to fail with a pilot, if
you can get one, and in the Red Sea there are

plenty %

^.-y.-i

plenty; but thefe are creatures without any fort of
fcience, who decide upon a manoeuvre in a mo-
ment, without forethought, or any warning given.
Such pilots often, in a large Ihip deeply loaded,
with every fail out which flie can carry, in a very
inftant cry out to let go your anchors, and brinj
you to, all (landing, in the face of a rock, or fand.
Were not our feamen*s vigour, and celerity in
execution, infinitely beyond the (kill and forefight
of thofe pilots, I believe very few fliips, coming the
inward palfage among the iflands, would ever reach
the port in fafety.

If you are, however, going to Suez, without the
confent of the Sherriffe of Mecca, that is, not in-
tending to fell your cargo at Jidda, or pay your
euftom there, then you fhould take in your water
at Mocha ; or, if any reafon fhould hinder you
from touching that fliore, a few^ hours will carry
you to Azab, or Saba, on the Abyffinian coait,
whofe latitude I found to be 13° 5' north. It is
not a port, but a very tolerable road, where you
have very fafe riding, under the fhelter of a low
defert ifland called Crab Illand, with a few rocks
at the end of it. But it mud be remembered, the
people are Galla, the moil: treacherous and villa-
nous wretches upon the earth. They are Shepherds^
who fometimes are on the coafl in great numbers,
or in the back of the hills that run clofe along the
fhore, or in miferable villages compofed of huts,
that run nearly in an eaft and weft: direftion from
Azab to Raheeta, the largelt of all their villages-

234 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

You will there, at Azab, get plenty of water,
(heep, and goats, as alfo Ibme myrrh and incenfe,
if you are in the proper feafon, or will ftay for it.

I again repeat it, that no confidence is to be had
in the people. Thofe of Mocha, who even arc
abfolutely neceflary to them in their commercial
tranfadions, cannot truft them without furety or
hoftages. And it was but a few years before I
was there, the furgeon and mate of the Elgin Ead-
Indiaman, with feveral other failors, were cut oiF,
going on ftiore with a letter of fafe conduct from
their Shekh to purchafe myrrh. Thofe that were
in the boat efcaped, but mod of them were wound-
ed. A fhip, on its guard, does not fear banditti
like thefe, and you will get plenty of water and
provifion, though I am only fpeaking of it as a fta-
tion of neceffity.

If you are not afraid of being known, there is a
low black ifland on the Arabian coaft called Cama-
ran, it is in lat. 15° 39', and is diflinguifbed by a
white houfe, or fortrefs, on the wefl end of it,
where you will procure excellent water, in greater
plenty than at Azab ; but no provifions, or only
fuch as are very bad. If you fhould not wifh to
be feen, however, on the coaft at all, among the
chain of illands that reaches almoft acrofs the Gulf
from Loheia to Mafuah, there is one called Foofht,
where there is good anchorage; it is laid down in
my map in lat. 15° 59' 43" N. and long. 42° 27'
E. from aclual obfervation taken upon the ifland,
There is here a quaniity of excellent water, with a
faint or monk to take care of it, and keep the wells

c^.ean»

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 23$

clean. This poor creature was fo terrified at fee-
ing us come afhore with fire-arms, that he lay
down upon his face on the fand ; nor would he rife,
or lift up his head, till the Rais had explained to
me the caufe of his fear, and till, knowing I was
not in any danger of furprife, I had fent my guns
on board.

From this to Yambo there is no fafe watering
place. Indeed if the river Frat were to be found,
there is no need of any other watering place in the
Gulf; but it is abfolutely neceifary to have a pilot
on board before you make Ras Mahomet ; becaufe,
over the mountains of Auche, the Elanitic Gulf,
and the Cape itfelf, there is often a great haze,
which laits for many days together, and.many fhips
are conftantly loft, by miflaking the Eaftern Bay,
or Elanitic Gulf, for the entrance of the Gulf of
Suez ; the former has a reef of rocks nearly acrofs
it.

After you have made Sheduan, a large ifland
three leagues farther, in a direction nearly north
and by weft, is a bare rock, which, according to
their ufual careleifnefs and indifference, they are
not at the pains to call by any other name but
Jibbel^ the rock, ifland, or mountain, in general.
You fhould not come within three full leagues of
that rock, but leave it at a difiance to the weft-
ward. You will then fee ftioals, which form a
pretty broad channel, where you have foundings
from fifteen to thirty fathoms. And again, ftand-
ing on directly upon Tor, you have two other oval
lands with funken rocks, in the channel, between

which

23^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

which you are to fteer. All your danger Is here in
fight, for you might go in the infide, or to the
eaftward, of the many fmall iflands you fee toward
the fliore; and there are the anchoring places of
the Cairo veffels, which are marked with the black
anchor in the draught. This is the courfe beft
known and pra6;ifed by pilots for ihips of all fizes.
But by a draught of Mr. Neibuhr, who wmt from
Suez with Mahomet Rais Tobal, his track with
that large flilp v/as through the channels, till he
arrived at the point, where Tor bore a little to the
northward of eaft of him.

Tor may be known at a diftance by two hills
that ftand near the water fide, which, in clear
weather, may be feen fix leagues off. Juft to the
fouth-eaft of thefe is the town and harbour, where
there are fome palm-trees about the houfes, the
more remarkable, that they are the firft you fee on
the coaft. There is no danger in going into Tor
harbour, the foundings in the way are clean and
reo-ular ; and by giving the beacon a fmall birth
on the larboard hand, you may haul in a little to
the northward, and anchor in five or fix fathom.
The bottom of the bay is not a mile from the bea-
con, and about the fame diftance from the oppofite
fhore. There is no fenfible tide in the middle of
of the Gulf, but, by the fides, it runs full two
knots an hour. At fprings it is high water at Tor
nearly at twelve o'clock.

On the 9th v/e arrived at Tor, a fmall ftraggling
village, with a c*onvent of Greek Monks, belonging

to

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 237

to Mount Sinai. Don John de Caftro * took this
town when it was walled, and fortified, foon after
the difcovery of the Indies by the Portuguefe ; it
has never fince been of any confideration. It ferves
now, only as a watering-place for Ihips going to,
and from Suez. From this we have a diftin6l view
of the points of the mountains lioreb and Sinai,
which appear behind and above the others, their
tops being often covered with fnow in winter.

There are three things, (now I am at the north
end of the Arabian Gulf,) of which the reader will
expeft fome account, and 1 am heartily forry to
fay, that I fear I fhall be obliged to difappoint him
in all, by the unfatisfa6lory relation I am forced to
give.

The firft is. Whether the Red Sea is not higher
than the Mediterranean, by feveral feet or inches ?
To this I anfwer. That the fad has been fuppofed
to be fo by antiquity, and alledged as a reafon
why Ptolemy's canal was made from the bottom of
the Heroopolitic Gulf, rather than brought due
north acrofs the Ifthmus of Suez; in which laft
cafe, it was feared it would fubmerge a great part
of Alta Minor. But who has ever attempted to
verify this by experiment ? or who is capable of
fettling the difference of levels, amounting, as
fuppofed, to fome feet and inches, between two
points 1 20 miles diftant from each other, over a
defcrt that has no fettled furface, but is changing
its height every day ? Bcfides, fmce all feas are, in

* Vide his Journal publlfhed by Abbe Vertot.

faa.

£3^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fa 6!:, but one, what is it that hinders the Indian
Ocean to flow to its level ? What is it that keeps
the Indian Ocean up ?

Till this lad branch of the qneftion Is refolved,
I fhall take it for granted that no fuch difference
of level exifts, whatever Ptolemy's engineers might
have pretended to him ; becaufe, to fuppofe it fa61:,
is to fuppofe the violation of one very material law
of nature.

The next thing I have to take notice of, for the
fatisfaftion of my reader, is, the way by which the
children of Ifrael paffed the Red Sea at the time of
their deliverance from the land of Egypt.

As fcripture teaches us, that this palfage, where^
ever it might be, was under the influence of a
miraculous power, no particular circumfl:ance of
breadth, or depth, makes one place likelier than
another. It is a matter of mere curiolity, and
can only promote an iIlufl:ration of the fcripture,
for which reafon, I do not decline the confidera-
tion of it.

I fliall fuppofe, that my reader has been fuffici-
ently convinced, by other authors, that the land of
Goflien, where the Ifraelites dwelt in Egypt, was
that country lying eaft of the Nile, and not over-
flowed by it, hounded by the mountains of the
Thebaid on the fouth, by the Nile and Mediter-
ranean on the wePc and north, and the Red Sea
and defert of Arabia on the eaft. It was the Helio*
politan nome, its capital was On; from predilcdiou
of t!,e ktter O, common to the Hebrews, they
called it Go&en ; but its proper name was Gejheriy

the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 239

the country of Grafs, or Paflurage ; or of the Shep-
herds ; in oppofition to the rell of the land which,
was fown, after having been overflowed by the
Nile.

There were three ways by which the children of
Ifrael, flying from Pharaoh, could have entered
Paleftine. The firft was by the fea-coaft by Gaza,
Aflielon, and Joppa. This was the plainell and
nearefl: way ; and, therefore, fitteft for people in-
cumbered with kneading troughs, dough, cattle,
and children. The fea-coaft was full of rich com-
mercial cities, the mid-land was cultivated and
fown with grain. The eaftern part, neareft the
mountains, was full of cattle and fliepherds, as
rich a country, and more powerful than the cities
themfelves.

This narrow valley, between the mountains and
the fea, ran all along the eaftern ftiore of the Medi-
terranean, from Gaza northward, comprehending
the low part of Paleftine and Syria. Now, here a
fmall number of men might have pafled, under the
laws of hofpitality ; nay, they did conftantly pafs,
it being the high road between Egypt and Tyre,
and Sidon. But the cafe was different with a mul-
titude, fuch as fix hundred thoufand men having
their cattle along with them. Thefe muft have
occupied the whole land of the Philiftines, deftroyed
all private property, and undoubtedly have occafi-
oned fome revolution ; and as they were not now
intended to be put in poflTefllon of the land of pro-
mife, the meafure of the iniquity of the nations
being not yet full, God turned them afide from

going

240 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

going that way, though the nearefl, lefl they
" fliould fee war*," that is, left the people fhould
rife againft them, and deftroy them.

There was another way which led fouth-weft,
upon Beerflieba and Hebron, in the middle be-
tween the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. This
was the direftion in which Abraham, Lot, and
Jacob, are fuppofed to have reached Egypt. But
there was neither food nor water there to fuftain
the Ifraelites. When Abraham and Lot returned
out of Egypt, they were obliged to feparate by con-
fent, becaufe Abraham faid to his brother, " The
" land will not bear us bothj/*

The third way was liraight eaft into Arabia,
pretty much the road by which the Pilgrims go at
this day to Mecca, and the caravans from Suez to
Cairo. In this track they would have gone round
by the mountains of Moab, eaft of the Dead Sea,
and paiTed Jordan in the plain oppofite to Jericho,
as they did forty years afterwards. But it is plain
from fcripture, that God's counfels were to make
Pharaoh and his Egyptians an example of his
vengeance ; and, as none of thefe roads led to the
fea, thev did not anfwer the Divine intention.

About twelve leagues from the fea, there was a
narrow road which tiirned to the right, between
the mountains, through a valley called Badeah,
where their courfe was nearly fouth-eaft ; this val-
ley ended in a pafs, between two confiderable
mountains, called Gewoube on the fouthj and Jibbe!

* Exod. chap, xiii. ver. 17. f Gen. chap. xiii. ver. 6.

Attakah

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 0,^1

Attakah on the north, and opened into the lov/ flripe
of country which runs all along the Red Sea ;
and the Ifraelites were ordered to encamp at Piha-
hiroth, oppofite to Baal-zephon, between Migdol
and that lea.

It will be necefiary to explain thefe names. —
Badeah, Dr. Shaw interprets, the Valley of the
Miracle^ but this is forcing an etymology, for
there was yet no miracle wTought, nor was
there ever any in the valley. But Badeah, means
barren^ bare, and uninhabited; fuch as w^e may
imagine a valley between flony mountains, a defert
valley. Jibbel Attakah, he tranfiates alfo, the
Mountain of Deliverance. But fo far were the If-
raelites from being delivered on their arrival at this
mountain, that they were then in the greateft dlf-
trefs and danger. Attakah, means, however, to
arrive or co?ne up with, either becaufe there they
arrived within fight of the Red Sea ; or, as I am
rather inclined to think, this place took its name
from the arrival of Pharaoh, or his coming in
fight of the Ifraelites, when encamped between
Migdol and the Red Sea.

Pihahiroth is the mouth of the valley, opening
to the fiat country and the fea, as I have already
faid, fuch are called Af(5z//Z>j' ; in the Arabic, Fu?n;
as I have obferved in my journey to Coffeir, where
the opening of the valley is called Fum el Beder,
the mouth of the Beder; Fum el Terfowey, the
mouth of Terfowey, Hhoreth, the flat country along
the Red Sea, is fo called from Hhor^ a narrow Val-

VoL. I- Y lev

24^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER-

ley where torrents run, occafioned by fudden irre-
gular fhowers. Such we have already defcribed ont
the eaft fide of the mountains, bordering upon that
narrow flat country along the Red Sea, where
temporary iliowers fall in great abundance, while
none of them touch the weft fide of the mountains
or valley of Egypt. Pihahiroth then is the mouth
of the valley Badeali ; which opens to Hhoreth, the
narrow ftrlpe of land where fhowers fall.

Baal-Zephon, the God of the watch-tower, was,
probably, fome idoFs temple, which ferved for a
ngnal-houfe upon the Cape which forms the north
entrance of the bay oppofite to Jibbel Attakah,
where there is ftill a mofque, or faint's tomb. It
was probably a light-houfe, for the diredion of
fhips going to the bottom of the Gulf, to prevent
millaking it for another foul bay, under the high
land, where there is alfo a tomb of a faint called
Abou Derage.

The laft rebuke God gave to Pharaoh, by flay-
ing all the firft-born, feems to have made a ftrong
impreiTion upon the Egyptians. Scripture fays,
that the people were now urgent with the Ifraelites
to be gone, for they faid, " We be all dead men*.*'
And we need not doubt, it was in order to keep
up in tbeir hearts a motive of refentment, ftrong
enough to make them purfue the Ifraelites^ that
God caufed the Ifraelites to borrow, and take away
the jewels of the Egyptians; without fome new
caufe of anger, the late terrible chaftifement might

* Exod. ch. xii. ver. 33.

have

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^43

have deterred them. While, therefore, they
journeyed eallward towards the defert, the Egyp-
tians had no motive to attack them, becaufe they
went with permiffion there to facrifice, and Vv'ere on
their return to reflore them their moveables. But
when the Ifraelites were obferved turning to the
fouth, among the mountains, they were then fup-
pofed to flee without a view of returning, becaufe
they had left the way of the defert ; and therefore
Pharaoh, that he might induce the Egyptians to
follow them, tells them that the Ifraelites were
now entangled among the mountains, and the wil-
dernefs behind them, which was really the cai'e,
when they encamped at Pihahiroth, before, or
fouth of Baal-Zephon, between Migdol and the
fea. Here, then, before Migdol, the fea was di-
vided, and they paifed over dry Ihod to the v/ilder-
nefs of Shur, which was immediately oppofite to
them; a fpace fomething lefs than four leagues,
and k eafily accomplifhed in one night, without
any miraculous interpofitlon.

Three days they were without water, which
\Vould bring them to Ko rondel, where is a fpring
of bilackifh, or bitter water, to this day, which
probably were the waters of Mar ah*.

The natives dill call this part of the fea Banir
Kolzum, or the Sea of Deflrudlion; and juft op-
pofite to Pihahiroth is a bay, where the North Cape
is called Ras Mufa, or the Cape of MofeS, even
jaow. Thefe are the reafons why I believe the paf-

* Such is the tradition among the Natives.

Y 2 face

344 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER.,

fage of the Ifraelites to have been in this diredion.
There is about fourteen fathom of water in the
channel, and about nine in the fides, and good
anchorage every where ; the fartheft fide is a low
fandy coaft, and a very eafy landing-place. The
draught of the bottom of the Gulf given by Dodtor
Pococke is very erroneous, in every part of it.

It was propofed to Mr. Niebuhr, when in Egypt,
to inquire, upon the fpot. Whether there were not
fonie ridges of rocks, where the water was (hallow,
fo that an army at particular times might pafs
over ? Secondly, Whether the Etefian winds,
which blow ftrongly all Summer from the north
weft, could not blow fo violently againft the fea,
as to keep it back on a heap, fo that the Ifraelites
might have paffed without a miracle? And a copy
of thefe queries was left for me, to join my in-
quiries likewife.

But I muft confeft, however learned the gen-
tlemen were who propofed thefe doubts, I did not
think they merited any attention to folve them»
This pafifage is told us, by fcripture, to be a mira-
culous one; and, if fo, we have nothing to do
with natural caufes. If we do not believe Mofes,
we need not believe the tranfaftion at all, feeing
that it is from his authority alone we derive it.
If we believe in God that he made the fea, we mud
believe he could divide it when he fees proper
reafon, and of >that he muft be the only judge. It
is no greater miracle to divide the Red Sea, than
to divide the river of Jordan.

> If

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 245

If the Etefian wind blowing from the north-weft
in fummer, could heap up the fea as a wall, on the
right, or to the fouth, of fifty feet high, ftill the
difficulty would remain, of building the wall on the
left hand, or to the north. Befides, water ftanding
in that pofition for a day, muft have loft the nature
of fluid. Whence came that cohefion of particles,
that hindered that wall to efcape at the fides ? This
is as great a miracle as that of Mofes. If the Ete-
fian winds had done this once, they muft have
repeated it many a time before and fince, from the
fame caufes. Yet, * Diodorus Siculus fays, the
Troglodytes, the indigenous inhabitants of that
very fpot, had a tradition from father to fon, from
their very earlieft and remoteft ages, that once this
divifion of the fea did happen there, and that
after leaving its bottom fometime dry, the fea again
' came back, and covered it with great fury. The
words of this author are of the moft remarkable
kind. We cannot think this heathen is writing in
favour of revelation. He knew not Mofes, nor fays
a word about Pharaoh, and his hoft; but records
the miracle of the divifion of the fea, in words
nearly as ftrong as thofe of Mofes, froiii the mouths
of unbiafled, undefigning Pagans.

Were all thefe difficulties furmounted, what
could we do with the pillar of fire? The anfwer
is. We fhould not believe it. Why then believe
the paftage at all ? We have no authority for the
one, but what is for the other; it is altogether

*\Diod. Sic. Lib. ill. p. izi.

contrary

^46 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

contrary to the ordinary nature of things, and if
not a miracle, it muft be a fable.

. The caufe of the feveral names of the Red Sea,
is a fubje6l of more liberal enquiry. I am of
opinion, that it certainly derived its name from
Edam, long and early its powerful mailer, that
word fignifying Red in Hebrew. It formerly went
by the name of Sea of Edom, or Idumea ; fmce,
by that of the Red Sea.

. It has been obfcrved, indeed, that not only the
Arabian Gulf, but part of the Indian Ocean*, went
by this name, though far dilfant from Idumea.
This is true, but when we confider, as we fliall do
in the courfe of this hiftory, that the maders of
that fea were ftill the Edomites, who went from
the one fea diretSlly in the fame voyage to the other,
we Hiall not difpute the propriety of extending the
name to part of the Indian (^cean alfo. As for
what fanciful people f have faid of any rednefs in
the fea itfelf, or colour in the bottom, the reader
ma,y affure himfelf all this is fidion, the Red Sea
being in colour nothing different from the Indian
or any other Ocean.

There is greater difficulty in afiigning a reafon
for the Hebrew name, Yam Suph ; properly f^
called, fay learned authors, from the quantity of
weeds in it. But I mud confefs, in contradidlion

* Dionyfii Periegefis, v. 38. et Comment. Euftathii in
eundem. Strabo, Lib. xvi. p. 765. Agathenieri Geographia,
lib. ii. cap. ir.

f Jerov:e Loha, the greatell liar of the Jefuits, ch. iv. p. 46.
EngUfli tranflation,

ts

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 347

to thiSj that 1 never in my life, (and I have feen
the whole extent of it) faw a weed of any fort in
it: and, indeed, upon the flighted confideration, it
will occur to any one, that a narrow gulf, under
the immediate influence of monfoons, blowing from
-contrary points fix months each year, would have
too much agitation to produce fuch vegetables,
feldom found, but in flagnant waters, and feldomer,
if ever, found in fait ones. My opinion then is,
that it is from the * large trees, or plants of white
coral, fpread every where over the bottom of the
Red Sea, perfedlly in imitation of plants on land,
that the fea has obtained this name. If not, I
fairly confefs I have not any other conjecture to
Tnake.

No fea, or fliores, I believe, in the world, abound
more in fubjecls of Natural Hiftory than the Red
Sea. I fuppofe I have drawings and fubjeds of
this kind, equal in bulk to the journal of the whole
voyage itfelf. ^ut the vaft expence in engraving,
as well as other confiderations, will probably hin-
der for ever the perfedion of this work in this
particular.

* I faw one of thefe, v;hich, from a root nearly central,
threw out ramifications in a nearly circular form, meafurjng
tvventy-fix feet dianrieter every way.

CHAP.

Z48 TflAVELS TO DISCOVER

CHAP. X.

'Sail from Tor — Tafs the Elanhk Gulf — ^ee Raddua
— Arrive at 7^a?nbo — Incidents there-. — Arrive at
"Jidda*

jUK Rais, having difpatched his bufmefs,
was eager to depart; and, accordingly, on
the 11th of April, at day -break, we flood out of
the harbour of Tor. At fir ft, we were becalmed
in, at the point of the Bay fouth of Tor town, but
the wind frefliening about eight o'clock, we ftood
through the channels of the firft four fhoals, and
then between a fnialler one. We made the mouth
of a fmall Bay, formed by Cape Mahomet, and a
low fandy point to the eaftward of it. Our vefTel
feemed to be a capital one for failing, and I did
every thing in my power to keep our Rais in good
humour.

About half a mile from the fandy point, we
iliuck upon a coral bank, which, though it was
not of any great confiltence or folidity, did not
fail to make our mail iiod.^ As I was looking out
forward when the velTel touched, and the Rais
by me, I cried out in Arabic, " Get out of the
way you dog!'* the' Rais, thinking my difcourfe
directed to him, feemed very much furprifed, and
aiked, " what I meant?" " Why did you not teli
me, faid I, v/hen I hired you, that all the rocks

ill

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 249

in the fea would get out of the way of your velTel ?
This ill-mannered fellow here did not knozu his
duty ; he was lleeping 1 fuppofe, and has given us
a hearty jolt, and I was abufmg him for it, till you
fliould chaftife him fome other way '* He (hook
his head, and faid, " Well! you do not believe,
but God knows the truth; well now where is the
rock? Why he is gone.'* Hov^^ever, very pru-
dently, he anchored foon afterwards, though we
had received no damage.

At night, by an obfervation of two flars in the
meridian, I concluded the latitude of Cape Maho-
met to be 27° 54, N. It muit be underilood of the
mountain, or high land, which forms the Cape, not
the low point. The ridge of rocks that run along
behind Tor, bound that low fandy country, called
the Defert of Sin, to the eaftward,' and end in this
Cape, which is the high land obferved at fea ; but
the lower part, or fouthermoll extreme of the Cape,
runs about three leagues off from the high land, and
is fo low, that it cannot be feen from deck above
three leagues. It was called, by the antients, Pha-
ran Promontorium ; not bgcaufe there was a light-
houfe * upon the end of it, (though this may have
perhaps been the c^fe, and a very neceiTary and
proper fituation it is) but from the Egyptian and
Arabic word Farekf, which fignifies to divide, as
being the point, or high land that divides the Gulf
of Suez from the Elanitic Gulf.

* Anciently called Pharos.

f The Koran is, therefore, called El Fnrharu or the Divider,
or Diftinguilh'T between true fd'ah and h. rcfy.

I went

S50 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

I went afhore here to gather ihells, and fhot a
final] animal among the rocks, called Daman Ifrael,
or Ifrael's Lamb; I do not know why, for it has
no refemblance to the fheep kind. I take it to be
the fapban of the Hebrew Scripture, which we
tranflate by the coney. I have given a drawing,
and defcription of it, in its proper place *» I (hot,
Hkewife, feveral dozens of gooto, the lead: beauti*
ful of the kind 1 had feen, being very fmall, and
coloured like the back of a partridge, but very in-
different food.

The T 2th. we failed from Cape Mahomet, jufl
as the fun appeared We pafled the ifland of Ty-
rone, in the mouth of the Flanitic Gulf, which
divides it near equally into two; or, rather the
north-wefl fide is narroweft. The direction of
the Gulf is nearly north and fouth. I judge it to
be about fix leagues over. Many of the Cairo fhips
are loft in miftaking the entry of the Elanitic for
that of the Heroopolitic Gulf, or that of Suez;
for, from the ifland of Tyrone, which is not above
two leagues from the Main, there runs a firing of
iflands, which feems to make a femicircular bar acrofs
the entry from the point, where a fhip, going with
a fouth wind, would take its departure; and this
range of iflands ends in a fhoal with funken rocks,
which reaches near five leagues from the Main. It
is probable, that, upon thefe iflands, the fleet of
Rehoboam perifhed, when faihng for the expedition
of Ophirf.

^ See. Hie article Afhkoko in the Appendix,
f a Chroii. chap. xx. ver. 37.

I take

THE SOURCE OF THE KILE. 25I

1 take Tyrone to be the illand of Safpirene of
Ptolemy, though this geographer has erred a little,
both in its latitude and longitude.

We pafl'ed the lecond of thefe iflands, called
Senaffer, about three leagues to the northward,
fleering with a frefh gale at fouth-eafl upon a trian-
gular illand that has three pointed eminences upon
its Ibuth-fide. We paifed another fraall illand which
has no name, about the fame diftance as the for-
mer; and ranged along three black rocks, the
fouh-weft of the illand, called Sufange el Bahar^
or the Sea-Spurige. As our veflel made fome w^a-
ter, and the wind had been very flrong all the
ufternoon, the Rais v/anted to bring up to the lee-
ward of this iiland, or between this, and a cape of
land called Ras Selah ; but, not being able to find
foundings here, he {el fail again,. doubled the point,
and came to anchor under the fouth cape of a fine
ba,y, which is a (tation of the Emir Hadje, called
Kalaat el Moila.h, the Caftlc, or Station of Water.

We had failed this day about twenty-one leagues;
and, as we had very fair and fine weather, and were
under no fort of concern whatever, I could not ne-.
gleft attending to the difpofition of thefe iflands,
in a very fplendid map lately publiflied. They ar«
carried too far into the Gulf.

The 13th, the Rais having, in the night, reme-
died what was faulty in his veffel, fet fail about fe-
ven o'clock in the morning. We palTed a conical
liill on the land, called Abou Jubbe, where is the
iepulchre of a faint of that name. The mountains
here are at a confiderable diflance j and nothing

can

2^2, TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

can be more defolate and bare than the coaft. In
the afternoon, we came to an anchor at a place
called Kella Clarega, after having paffed an ifland
called Jibbel Numan, about a league from the
ihor^- By the fide of this Ihoal we caugKt a quan-
tity of good fifli, and a great number alfo very
beautiful, and perfe6tly unknown, but which,
when roafted, fhrank away to nothing except fkin,
and when boiled, diflblved into a kind of blueifh
glue.

On the f4th, the wind was variable till near ten
o'clock, after which it became a little fair. At
twelve it was as favourable as we could wifh ; it
blew however but faintly. We paffed firfl: by one
ifland furrounded by breakers, and then by three
more, and anchored clofe to the fhore, at a place
called Jibbel Shekh, or the Mountain of the Saint.
Here I refolved to take a walk on fiiore to flretch
my limbs, and fee if I could procure any game, to
afford us fome variety of food. I had my gun
loaded with ball, when a valt flack of gooto got
up before me, not five hundred yards from the
ffiore. As they lighted very near me, I lay down
among the bent grafs, to draw the charge, and
load with fmall (hot. While I was doing this, I
faw two antelopes, which, by their manner of
walking and feeding, did not feem to be frighten-
ed. I returned my balls into the gun, and refolved
to be clofe among the bent, till they fhould appear
before me.

I had been quiet for fome minutes, when I
heard behind me fomcthing like a perfon breathing,

on

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^53

on which I turned about, and, not without great
furprife, and fome little fear, faw a man (landing
jufl over me. I ftarted up, while the man who had
a little (tick only in his hand, ran two or three
(teps backwards, and then flood. He was almoll
perfeftly naked; he had half a yard of coarfe rag
only wrapt round his middle, and a crooked knife
lluck in it. I afked him who he was ? He faid he
was an Arab belonging to Shekh Abd el Macaber,
1 then defired to know where his mafter was? He
replied, he was at the hill a little above, with ca-
mels that were going to Yambo. He then, in his
turn, afked who I was ? I told him 1 was an Abyf-
linian flave of the Sherrilfe of Mecca, was going
to Cairo by fea, but wifhed much to fpeak to his
mafter, if he would go and bring him. The fa-
vage went away with great willingnefs, and he no
fooner difappeared, than I fet out as quickly as
pofTible to the boat, and we got her hauled out
beyond the fhoals, where we paifed the night. We
faw afterwards diftindlly about fifty men, and three
or four camels ; the men made feveral figns to us,
but we were perfedly content with the diftance
that was between us, and fought no more to kill
antelopes in the neighbourhood of Sidi el Abd
Macaber.

I would not have it inlagined, that my cafe was
abfolutely defperate, even if I had been known
as a Chriftian, and fallen into the hands of thefe
Arabs, of Arabia Deferta, or Arabia Petrea, fup-
pofed to be the moft barbafous people in the world,

as

254 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

as indeed they probably are. Hofpitality, and
attention to one's word, feem in thefe countries
to be in proportion to the degree in which the peo-
ple are favage. A very eafy method is known, and
followed with conflant fuccefs, by all the Chriftians
trading to the Red Sea from Suez to Jidda, to fave
themfelves if thrown on the coaft of Arabia. Any
man of confideration from any tribe among thd
Arabs, comes to Cairo, gives his name and defig-
nation to the Chriftian failor, and receives a very
fmall prefent, which is repeated annually if he
performs fo often, the voyage. And for this the
Arab promifes the Chriftian his prote£lion, fliould
he ever be fo unfortunate as to be fhipwrecked on.
their coaft.

The Turks are very bad feamen, and lofe many
fhips, the greateft part of the crew are therefore
Chriftians ; when a veffel ftrikes, or is afliore, the
Turks are all maffacred if they cannot make their
•way good by force; but the Chriftians prefent
themfelves to the Arab, crying Fiarduc, which
means, ' we are under immediate proteftion.* —
If they are afked, who is their Gaffeer, or Arab,
with whom they are in friendfhip? They anfwer,
Mahomet Abdelcader is our Gaffeer, or any other.
If he is not there, you are told he is abfent fo many
days journey off, or any diftance. This acquaint-
ance or neighbour, then helps yOu to fave' what
you have from the wTeck, and one of them \yith
his lance draws a circle, large enough to hold you
and yours. He then fticks his lance in the fand,
bids you abide within that circle, and goes and

brings

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 255

brings your GafFeer, with what camels you want,
and this GafFeer is obliged, by rules known only
to themfelves, to carry you for nothing, or very
little, wherever you go, and to furnifh you with
provifions all the way. Within that circle you are
as fafe on the defert coaft of Arabia, as in a citadel ;
there is no example or exception to the contrary
that has ever yet been known. There are many
Arabs, who, from fituation, near dangerous fhoals
or places, where ihips often perifli (as between
Ras Mahomet and Ras Selah, *Dar el Hamra, and
fome others) have perhaps fifty or a hundred Chrif-
tians, who have been [o protected : So that when,
this Arab marries a daughter, he gives perhaps his
revenue from four or five protected Chriflians, as
part of his daughter's portion. I had, at that very
time, a GafFeer, called Ibn Talil, an Arab of Harb
tribe, and I fliould have been detained perhaps
three days till he came from near Medina, and
carried me (had I be^n fhipwrecked) to Yambo,
where I was going.

On the 15th we came to an anchor at El Harf,
where we faw high, craggy, and broken mountains,
called the Mountains of RuddUa. Thefe abound
with fprings of water: all forts of Arabian and
African fruits grow here in perfe6lion, and every
kind of vegetable that they will take the pains to
cultivate. It is the paradife of the people of Yam-
bo j thofe of any fubflance have country houfes

* See the Map.
f EI Har figaifies extreme heat.

there;

^^6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

there; but, flrange to tell, they (lay there but
for a fliort time, and prefer the bare, dry and
burning fands about Yambo, to one of the fined
climates, and mod verdant plcafant countries, that
exirts in the world. The people of the place have
told me, that water freezes there in winter, and
that there are fome of the inhabitants who have
red hair, and blue eyes, a thing fcarcely ever feen
but in the coldell mountains in the Eaft.

The 1 6th, about ten o'clock, we paflfed a
mofque, or Shekh's tomb on the main land, on our
left hand, called Kubbet Yambo, and before ele-
ven we anchored in the mouth of the port in deep
water. Yambo, corruptly called Imbo, is an an-
cient city, now dwindled to a paltry village. —
Ptolemy calls it lambia Vicus, or the village Yam-
bia; a proof it was of no great importance in his
time. But after the conquefl: of Egypt under
Sultan Selim, it became a valuable flation, for fup-
plyin^ their conquers in Arabia, with warlike ftores,
from Suez, and for the importation of wheat
from Egypt to their garrifons, and the holy places
of Mecca and Medina. On this account, a large
caftle was built there by Sinan Baiha , for the an-
cient Yambo of Ptolemy is not that which is called
fo at this day. It is fix miles farther fouth; and
is called Yambo el Nachel, or, Yambo among the
palm-trees, a great quantity of ground being there
covered v/ith this fort of plantation.

Yambo, in the language of the country, fignifies
a, fountain or fpring, a very copious one of excel-
lent water being found there among the date trees,

and

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^^57

and it is one of the Rations of the Emir Hadje in
going to, and coming from Mecca. The advan-
tage of the port, however, which the other hap.
not^ and the proteftion of the caflle, have carried .
trading veflels to the modern Yambo, where there
is no water, but what is brought from pools dug
on purpofe to receive the rain when it falls.

There are two hundred janiflTaries in the caftle,
the defcendents of thofe brought thither by Sinan
Baflia ; who have fucceeded their fathers, in the
way I have obferved they did at Syene, and, in-
deed, in all the conquefts in Arabia, and Egypt.
The inhabitants of Yambo are defervedly reckon-^
ed* the mofl barbarous of any upon the Red Sea,
and the janizaries keep pace with them, in every
kind of malice and violence. We did not go
afhore all that day, becaufe we had heard a num-
ber of (hots, and had received intelligence from
fhore, that the janiflaries and town's people, for a
week, had been fighting together ; 1 was very un-
willing to interfere, wifhing that they might have
all leifure to extirpate one another, if pollible ; and
my Rais feemed mofl heartily to join me in my
wilhes.

In the evening, the captain of the port came on
board, and brought two janiflaries with him,
whom, with fome difficulty, I fufFered to enter the
veflel. Their firft demand was gun-powder, which
I pofitively refufed. I then afked them how many
were killed in the eight days they had been engag-

* Vide Irvine's letters.
Vol. L Z ed?

SgS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ed? They anfwered, with fome indifFcrence, not
many, about a hundred every day, or a few lefs or
more, chiefly Arabs. We heard afterwards, when
we came on fhore, one only had been wounded,
and that a foldier, by a fall from his horfe. They
infifted upon bringing the veffel into the port ; but
r told them, on the contrary, that having no bufi-
nefs at Yambo, and being by no means under the
guns of their caftle, I was at liberty to put to fea
without coming afliore at all; therefore, if they
did not leave us, as the wind was favourable, I
vs^ould fail, and, by force, carry them to Jidda.
The janiflaries began to talk, as their cuftom is,
in a very blullering and warlike tone ; but I, who
knew my intereft at Jidda, and the force in my own
hand; that my veflel was afloat, and could be
under way in an inftant, never was lefs difpofed to
be bullied, than at that moment. They alked me a
thoufand queftions, whether I was a Mamaluke,
whether I was a Turk, or whether 1 was an Arab,
and why I did not give them fpirits and tobacco ? To
all which I anfwered, only, that they Ihould know
to-morrow who I was; then I ordered the Emir
Bahar, the captain of the port, to carry them afhore
at his peril, or I would take their arms from them,
and confine them on board all night.

The Rais gave the captain of the port a private
hint, to take care what they did, for they might
lofe their lives ; and that private caution, under-
ftood in a different way perhaps than was meant,
had effed upon the foldiers, to make them with-
draw immediately. When they went away, I

begged

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 259

begged the Emir Bahar to make my compliments
to his mafters, Haflan and Huffein, Agas, to know
what time 1 fhould wait upon them to-morrow ; and
defired him, in the mean time, to keep his fokiiers
aftiore, as I was not diipofed to be troubled with
their infolence.

Soon after they went, we heard a great firing,
and Taw lights all over the town ; and the Rais
propofed to me to flip immediately, and fet fail,
from which meafure I was not at all averfe. But,
as he faid, we had a better anchoring place under
the mofque of the Shekh, and, befides, that there we
would be in a place of fafety, by reafon of the
holinefs of the faint, and that at our own choice
might even put to fea in a moment, or flay till to-
morrow, as we were in no fort of doubt of being
able to repel, force by force, if attacked, we got un-
der weigh for a few hundred yards, and dropt our
anchor under the Ihrine of one of the greatell faints
in the world.

At night the firing had abated, the lights dlmi-
hiftied, and the captain of the port again came oh
board. He was furprifed at miffing us at our for-
mer anchoring place, and ftill more fo, when, on
our hearing the noife of his oars, we hailed, and
forbade him to advance any nearer, till he ihould
tell us how many he had on board, or whether he
had foldiers or not, otherwife we fhould fire
upon them : to this he anfwered, that there were
only himfelf, his boy, and three officers, fervants
to the Aga. I replied, that three ftrangef's; were
Z a < too

QtSo TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

too many at that time of the night, but, fmce they
were come from the Aga, they might advance.

All our people were fitting together armed on
the forepart of the veffel ; I foon divined they in-
tended us no harm, for they gave us the falute
Sa/a?n Alicu?n! before they were within ten yards
of us. I anfwered with great complacency ; we
handed them on board, and fet them down upon
deck. The three officers were genteel young men,
of a fickly appearance, drefled in the fafliion of the
country, in long burrfoofes loofely hanging about
them, flriped with red and white ; they wore a
turban of red, green, and white, with ten thoufand
taffels and fringes hanging down to the fmall of
their backs. They had in their hand, each, a fliort
javelin, the fhaft not above four feet and a half
long, with an iron head about nine inches, and two
or three iron hooks below the fhaft, which was
bound round with brafs-wire, in feveral places, and
fliod with iron at the farther end.

They aiked me where I came from .? I faid, from
Conftantinople, laft from Cairo j but begged they
would put no more queftions to me, as I was not
at liberty to anfwer them. They faid they had
orders from their mafters to bid me welcome, if I
was the perfon that had been recommended to them
by the Sherriifc, and was Ali Bey's phyfician at
Cairo. I faid, if Metical Aga had advifed them
of that, then 1 was the man. They replied he had,
and were come to bid me welcome, and attend me
on fhore to their mafters, whenever I pleafed. I
, : begged

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^5l

begged them to carry my humble refpeSs to their
mafters; and told them, though I did not doubt
of their proteftion in any fhape, yet I could not
think it confident with ordinary prudence, to rifk
myfelf at ten o'clock at night, in a town fo full of
diforder as Yambo appeared to have been for fome
time, and where fo little regard was paid to dif-
cipline or command, as to figlit with one another.
They faid that was true, and I might do as I pleaf-
ed; but the firing that I had heard did not proceed
from fighting, but from their rejoicing upon mak-
ing peace.

In fhort, we found, that, upon fome difcuflion,
the garrifon and townfmen had been fighting for
feveral days, in which diforders the greateft part
of the ammunition in the town had been expended,
but it had fmce been agreed on by the old men of
both parties, that no body had been to blame on
either fide, but the whole wrong was the work of
a Camel. A camelj therefore, was feized, and
brought without the town, and there a number on
both fides having met, they upbraided the camel
with every thing that had been either faid or done.
The camel had killed men, he had threatened to
fet the town on fire ; the caniel had threatened to
burn the Aga's houfe, and the caftle; he had curfed
the Grand Signior, and the Sherriife of Mecca,
the fovereigns of the two parties; and, the only
thing the poor animal was interefted in, he had
threatened to deftroy the wheat that was going tp
Mecca. After having fpent great part of the after-
popn in upbraiding the ca?nel:, whofe meafure of

iniquity,

26Z TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

iniquity, it feems, was near full, each man thrull
him through with a lance, devoting him Diis ma^
nibus & Dirts, by a kind of prayer, and with a
thoufand curfes upon his head. After which, every
man retired, fully fatisfied as to the wrongs he had
received from the camel.

The reader will eafily obferve in this, feme tra-
ces of the *azazel, or fcape-goat of the Jews,
which was turned out into the wildernefs, loaded
with the fms of the people.

Next morning I went to the palace, as we call it,
in which were fome very handfome apartments.
There was a guard of janifTaries at the door, who,
being warriors, lately come from the bloody battle
with the ca7nel, did not fail to fliew marks of in-
folence, which they wilhed to be miftaken for
courage.

The two Agas were fitting on a high bench upon
Perfian carpets ; and about forty weli-drefled and
well-looking men, (many of them old) fitting on
carpets upon the floor, in a femi-circle round them.
They behaved with great politenefs and attention,
and alked no queflions but general ones ; as, How
the fea agreed with me? If there was plenty at
Cairo ? till I was going away, when the young^fl
of the Agas inquired, with a feeming degree of
diffidence, Whether Mahomet Bey Abou Dahab,
was ready to march ? As I knew well what this
queftion meant, I anfwered, I know not if he is
readv, he has made great preparations. The other

"5 Levit. ch^p. xvi. ver. 5.

, ' _ Aga

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 12,6s

Aga faid, I hope you will be a mefTenger of peace?
I anfwered, 1 intreat you to afk me no queftlons;
1 hope, by the grace of God, all will go well. —
Every perfon prefect applauded the fpeech ; agreed
to refpedl my fecret, as they fuppofed I had one,
and they all were inclined to believe, that I was a
man in the confidence o£ Ali Bey, and that his
hoftile defigns againft Mecca were laid afide; this
was juft what I wilhed them to fuppofe ; for it
fecured me againft ill-ufage all fhe time I chofe
to ftay there; and of this I had a proof in the
inftant, for a very good houfe was provided for
jne by the Aga, and a man of his fent to fhew
me to it.

I wondered the Rais had not come home with
me; who, in about half an hour after I had got
into my houfe, came and told me, that, when the
captain of the boat came on board the firfl time
with the two fpldiers, he had put a npte, which
they call tifiera^ into his hand, prelling him into
the Sherriffe's fervice, to carry wheat to Jidda,
and, with the wheat, a number of poor pilgrims
that were going to Mecca at the Sherriffe's expence.
Finding us, however, out of the harbour, and,
fufpefting from our manners and carriage towards
the janiiTaries, that vt?e were people who knew what
we had to trull to, he had taken the two foldiers
afhore with hiip, who were by no means fond of
their reception, or inclined to flay in fuch compa-
ny ; and. indeed, our drefies and appearances in the
boat were fully as likely to make ftrangers believe
we fhould rob them, as theirs were to imprefs us

with

2i64 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

with an apprehenfion that they would rob us. The
Rais faid alfo, that, after my audience, the Aga had
called upon him, and taken away the tifkcra^ tel-
ling him he was free, and to obey nobody but me;
and fent me one of his fervants to fit at the door,
with orders to admit nobody but whom I pleafed,
and that I might not be troubled with the people
of Yambo.

Hitherto all was well; but it had been with ma
an obfervation, which had conflantly held good,
that too profperous beginnings in thefe countries
always ended in ill at the laft. I was therefore
refolved to ufe my profperity with great temperance
and caution, make myfelf as flrong, and ufe my
ftrength as little, as it was pofTible for me to do.

There was a man of confiHerable weight in
Aleppo, named *Sidi Ali Tarabolouffi, who was a
great friend of Dr. Ruffel, our phyfician, through
whom I became acquainted with him. He was an
intimate friend and acquaintance of the cadi of
Medina, and had given me a letter to him, recom*
mending me, in a very particular manner, to his
protection and fervices. I inquired about this
perfon, and was told he was in town, directing the
diilribution of the corn to be fent to his capital.
Upon my inquiry, the news were carried to him
as foon almoft as his name was uttered ; on which,
being defirous of knowing what fort of man I was,
about eight o'clock in the evening he fent me ^

* Native of Tripoli : it is Turkilb.

■^Ifteffage,

THE SOURCE OF THE. NILE. 25^;

meflage, and, immediately after, I received a vifit
from him.

I was putting my telefcopes and time-keeper in
order, and had forbid admittance to any one; but
this was fo holy and fo dignified a perfon, that all
doors were open to him. He obferved me working
about the great telefcope and quadrant in my fhirt,
for it w^as hot beyond conception upon the fmallell
exertion. Without making any apology for the
intrufion at all, he broke out into exclamation,
how lucky he was ! and, without regarding me,
he went from telefcope to clock, from clock to qua-
drant, and from that to the thermometer, crying
Ah tibey Ah tihe! This is fine, this is fine! He
fcarcely looked upon me, or feemed to think I was
worth his attention, but touched every thing fo
carefully, and handled fo properly the brafs cover
of the alidade, which inclofed the horfe-hair with
the plummet, that he feemed to be* a man more
than ordinarily verfed in the ufe of aftronomical
inftruments. In (hort, not to repeat ufelefs matter
to the reader, 1 found he had ftudied at Conftan-
tinople, underftood the principles of geometry
-very tolerably, was mafler of Euclid fo far as it
regarded plain trigonometry ; the demonflrations
of which he rattled off fo rapidly, that it was im-
poflible to follow, or to underftand him. He knew
nothing of fpherics, and all his aftronomy refolved
itfelf at lad into maxims of judicial aftrology, firft
and fecond houfes of the planets and afcendancies,
v^ry much in the ftyle of common almanacks.

He

266 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

I

He defired that my door might be open to him
at all times, efpecially when I made obfervations;
he alfo knew perfectly the divifiop of our clocks,
and begged he might count time for me. All this
was eafily granted, and I had from him, what wa'?
moli ufeful, a hiftory of the fituation of the go-
vernment of the place, by which I learned, that the
two young men (the governors) were flaves of the
SherrifFe of Mecca; that it was impoflible for any
one, the molt intimate with them, to tell which of
the two was moft bafe or profligate; that they
would have robbed us all of the laft farthing, if
they had not been reftrained by fear; and that
iberewas a foreigner, or a frank, very lately go-
ing to India, who had difappeared, but, as he be-
liev d, had' been privately put to death in prifon,
for he had never after been heard of.

Though I cannot fay I relilhed this account, yet
I put on the very bell face poffible. " Here, in a
garrifon town, faid I, with very worthlefs foldiers,
they might do what they pleafed with fix or feven
flrangers, but I do not fear them; I now^ tell
them, and the people of Yambo, all and each of
them, they had better be in their bed fick of the
plague, than touch a hair of my dog, if I had one.'*
'' And fo, fays he, they know, therefore reft and
rejoice, and ftay as long with us as you can." " As
Ihort time as poffible, faid I, Sidi Mahomet; al-
though I do not fear \yicked people, I don't lov^
them fo much as to ftay long with them.'^

He then afked me a favour, that I would allow my
Rais to carry a quantity of wheat for him to Jidda;

which

Plate S_^_

,. 4ni/''^//ieU-^/nA j2A.nl Mo^e.id^

S-3i-ccas Sc'.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ':;67

which I willingly permitted, upon condition, that
he would order but one man to go along with it ;
on which he declared folemnly, that none but one
fiiould go, and that I might throw him even into
the fea, if he behaved improperly. However, af-
terwards he fent three ; and one who deferved often
to be thrown into the fea^ as he had permitted.
*' Nov/ friend, faid I, I have done every thing that
you have defired, though favours Ihould have begun
with you upon your own principle, as I am the
ftranger. Now, what I have to afk you is this, l)o
you know the Shekh of Beder Hunein ?" " Know
hini ! fays he, I am married to his Sifter, a daugh-
ter of ll^rb ; he is of the tribe of Harb.** " Harb
be it then (faid I) your trouble will be the lefs;
then you are to fend a camel to your brother-in-law,
who -w,'ill procure me the largeft, and moft perfect
plant poffifcjle of the Balfam pf Mecca. He is not
to break the ftem, nor even the branches, but t<>
pack it entire, with fruit and flower, if poflible,
and wrap it in a mat.*' He looked cunning, Ihrug-
ged up his (boulders, drew up his mouth, and put-
ting his finger to his nofe, faid," Enough, I know
all about this, you (hall find what fort of a man I
am, I am no fool, as you fhall fee.**

1 received this the third day at dinner, but the
flower (if there had been any) was rubbed off. I'he
fruit was in fever al ft ages, and in great perfe«Slion.
The drawing, and defcription from this * plant,
will, I hope for ever obviate all difficulty about its

* See the article EalcfTaa in the Appendix.

hiftory.

26S TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

hiftory. He fent me, likewife, a quart bottle of
the pure balfam, as it had flowed that year from
the tree, with which I have verified what the old
botanifts in their writings have faid of it, in its fe-
veral ftages. He told me alfo the circumftances I
have related in my defcription of the balfam, as to
the gathering and preparing of the feveral kinds of
it, and a curious anecdote as to its origin. He
faid the plant was no part of the creation of God
in the fix days, but that, in the laft of three very
bloody battles, which Mahomet fought with the
noble Arabs of Harb and his kinfmen the Beni
Koreifli, then Pagans at Beder Hunein, that Ma-
homet prayed to God, and a grove of balfam-trees
grew up from the blood of the flain upon the field
of battle ; and. that with the balfam that flowed
from them he touched the wounds even of thofe
that were dead, and all thofe predefined to be
good Muffulmen afterwards, immediately came to
life. " I hope, faid I, friend, that the other things
you told me of it, are fully as true as this, for they
will otherwife laugh at me in England." " No, no,
fays he, not half fo true, nor a quarter fo true,
there is nothing in the world fo certain as this.'*
But his looks, and his laughing very heartily,
fhewed me plainly he knew better, as indeed molt
of them do.

In the evening, before we departed, about nine
o'clock, I had an unexpected vifit from the young-
eft of the two Agas; who, after many pretended
complaints of ficknefs, and injundions of fecrecy,

at

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 0,6^

at laft modeftly requelled me to give him {qxuz.JIg'uj
poifon, that might kill his brother^ without fufpicion,
and after fome time fhould elapfe. I told him, fuch
propofals were not to be made to a man like me;
that all the gold, and all the filver in the world,
would not engage me to poifon the pooreft vagrant
in the (Ireet, fuppofmg it never was to be fufpeded,
or known but to my own heart. All he faid, was,
*' Then your manners are not the fame as ours."
I anfwered, dryly, " Mine, 1 thank God, are not,"
and fo we parted.

Yambo, or at leafl the prefent town of that
name, I found, by many obfervations of the fun
and flars, to be in latitude 24° 3' 2,5 north, and
in long. 38° 16' 30" eaft from the meridian of
Greenwich. The barometer, at its highefl, on the
23d of April, was 27° 8', and, the loweft on the
27th, was 26° 1 1'. The thermometer, on the 24th
of Aprit, at two o'clock in the afternoon. Hood
at 91°, and the lowelfc was 66° in the morning
of the 26th of fame month. Yambo is reputed
very unwholefome, but there were no epidemical
difeafes when I was there.

The many delays of loading the wheat, the de-
fire of doubling the quantity I had permitted, in
which both the Rais and my friend the cadi con-
fpired for their mutual intereft, detained me at
Yambo all the 27th of April, very much againft
my inclination. For I was not a little uneafy
at thinking among what banditti I lived, whofe
daily wifh was to rob and murder me, from which
they were reftrained by fear only; and this, a fit

of

a^^<> TRAVELS TO tUSCOVER

of cirimkennefs, or a piece of bad news, fuch as a
report of Ali Bey's death, rhight remove in a mo-
ment. Indeed we were allowed to want nothing.
A fheep, fotne bad beer, and foilie very good
wheat-bread, were deUvered to us evei-y day from
the Aga, which, with dates and honey, and a va-
riety of prefents from thofe that 1 attended as a
phyfician, made us pafs our time comfortably
enough 5 we \vent frequently in the boats to fifh
at fea, and, as I had brought with me three fiz-
gigs of different fizes, with the proper lines, I
feldom returned without killing four or five dol-
phins. I'he fport wdth the line was likewife excel-
lent. ¥/e caught a number of beautiful fifh from
the very houfe where we lodged, and forne few
good ones. We had vinegar in plenty at Yambo ;
onions, and feveral other greens, from Raddua;
and, being all cooks, we lived well.

On the 28 th of April, in the morning, I failed
with a cargo of wheat that did not belong to me,
and three paflengers, inftead of one, for whom only
I had undertaken. The wind was fair, and I faw
one advantage of allowing the Rais to load, was,
that he was determined to carry fail to make
amends for the delay. There was a tumblings
difagreeable fwell, and the wind feemed dying away.
One of our paflengers w^as very fick. At his re-
queft, we anchored at Djar, a i-ound fmall port,
whole entrance is at the north-eaft. It is about
three fathoms deep throughout, unlefs juft upon
the fouth fide, and perfedly Iheitered from every

wind.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^7 I

wind. We faw here, for the firil time, feveral
plants of rack tree, growing confiderably withia
the fea-mark, in fome places with two feet of water
upon the trunk. I found the latitude of Djar to
be 23^ 36' 9" north. The mountains of Beder
Hunein were S. S. W. of us.

The 29th, at five o'clock in the morning, we
failed from Djar. At eight, we pafled a fmall cape
called * Ras el Himma; and the wind turning ftill
more frefh, we paffed a kind of harbour called
Maibeed, where there is an anchoring place named
El Horma. The fun was in the meridian when
we paiTed this; and I found, by obfervation. El
Horma was in lat. 230 o' 30" north. At ten we
paffed a mountain on land called Soub ; at two,
the fmall port of Muftura, under a mountain whofe
name is Hajoub ; at half pafl four we came to an.
anchor at a place called Harar. The wind had
been contrary all the night, being fouth-eaft, and
rather frefh ; we thought, too, we perceived a cur-
rent fetting fliongly to the weflward.

On the 30th we failed at eight in the morning,
but the wind was unfavourable, and we made little
way. We were furrounded with a great many
fharks, fome of which feemed to be large. Though
I had no line but upon the fmall fizgigs for dol-
phins, I could not refrain from attempting one of
the largeft, for they were fo bold, that fome of
them, we thought, intended to leap on board. I
ftruck one of the mofl forward of them, jufl at the

* Cape Fever.

joining

ftj% TRAVELS TO DISCOl^ER

joining of the neck ; bu t as we were not pradlifed
enough in laying our line, fo as to run out without
hitching, he leaped above two feet out of the wa-
ter, then plunged down with prodigious violence,
and our line taking hold of fomething (landing in
the way, the cord fnapped afunder, and away
went the iliark. All the others difappeared in an
inflant; but the Rais faid, as foon as they fmelled
the blood, they would not leave the wounded one,
till they had torn him to pieces. I was truly forry
for the lofs of my tackle, as the two others were
really liker harpoons, and not fo manageable. But
the Rais, whom 1 had fludied to keep in very good
humour, and had befriended in every thing, was
nn oldharpooner in the Indian Oct:in, and he pul-
led out from his hold a compleat apparatus. He
not only had a fmall harpoon like my firft, but
better conflrucled. He had, iikewife, feveral hooks
with long chains and lines, and a wheel with a long
hair line to it, like a fmall windlafs, to which he
equally fixed the line of the harpoon, and thofe of
the hooks. Th'is was a compliment he faw I took
very kindly, and did not doubt it would be reward-
ed in the proper time.

The wind frefliening and turning fairer, at noon
we brought .to, within fight of Rabac, and at one
o'clock anchored there. Rabac is a fmall port in
iat. 22° 35' 30" north. The entry is E. N. E. and
is about a quarter of a mile broad. The port ex*
tends itfelf to the eafli, and is about two miles long.
The mountains are about three leagues to the

north.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^73

north, and the town of Rabac about four miles
north by eaft from the entrance to the harbour*
We remained all day, the firft of May, in the port,
making a drawing of the harbour. The night of
our anchoring there, the Emir Hadje of the pil-
grims from Mecca encamped about three miles off*
We heard his evening gun.

The paflengers that had been fick, now infifted
upon going to fee the Hadje; but as I knew the
confequence would be, that a number of fanatic
wild people would be down upon us, I told him
plainly, if he went from the boat, he fhould not
again be received ; and that we would haul out of
the port, and anchor in the offing ; this kept him
with us. But all next day he was in very bad
humour, repeating frequently, to himfelf, that he
deferved all this fof embarking with infidels.

The people came down to us from Rabac with
water melons, and lldns full of water. All (hips
may be fupplied here plentifully from wells near
the town ; the water is not bad.

The country is level, and feeraingly uncultivated,
but has not fo defert a look as about Yambo. 1
Ihould fufpeft by its appearance, and the freflinefs
of its water, that it rained at times in the moun-
tains here, for we were now confiderably within
the tropic, which pafles very near Ras el Himma,
whereas Rabac is half a degree to the fouthward.

On the 2d, at five o'clock in the morning, we
failed from Rabac, with a very little wind, fcarcely
making two knots an hour.

Vol. I. A a At

274 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

At half pad nine, Deneb bore eaft and by fouth
from us. This place is known by a few palm-trees.
The port is fmall, and very indifferent, at lead for
fix months of the year, becaufe it lies open to the
fouth, and there is a prodigious fwell here.

At one o'clock we paifed an ifland called Ham-
mel, about a mile off; at the fame time, another
ifland, EI Memiik, bore eaft of us, about three
miles, where there is good anchorage.

At three and three quarters, we paffed an ifland
called Gawad, a mile and a quarter fouth-eaft of
us. The main bore likewife fouth-eaft, diftant
fomething more than a league. We here changed
our courfe from fouth to W. S. W. and at four
o'clock came to an anchor at the fmall ifland of
l-ajack.

The 3d, we failed at half paft four in the morn-
ing, our courfe W. S. W. but it fell calm ; after
having made about a league, we found ourfelves
off Ras Hateba, or the Woody Cape, which bore
due eaft of us. After doubling the cape, the wind
freftiening, at four o'clock in the afternoon we
anchored in the port of Jidda, clofe upon the key,
where the officers of the cuftom-houfe immediately
took poffeffion of our baggage.

CHAR

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^'] ^

CHAP. XL

Occurrences at Jidda — Viftt of the Vizir — Alarjn of

the Fadory — Great Ciiulity of the Englijh trading

from India — Polygarny — Opinion of Dr. Arbuihnot

ill founded — Contrary i& Reafon and Experience —

Leave Jidda.

THE port of Jidda is a very extenfive one?,
confifling of numberlefs (hoals, fmall iflands,
and funken rocks, with channels, however, be-
tween them, and deep water. You are very fate
in Jidda harbour, whatever wind blows, as there
are numberlefs fhoals which prevent the water from
ever being put into any general motion; and you
may moor head and ftern, with twenty anchors
out if you pleafe. But the danger of being ioft,
I conceive, lies in the going in and coming out of
the harbour. Indeed the obfervation is here veri-
fied, the more dangerous the port^ the abler the pi'
lots, and no accidents ever happen.

There is a draught of the harbour of Jidda
handed about among the Englifh for many years,
very inaccurately, and very ill laid down, from
what authority I know not, often condemned, but
never corrected ; as alfo a pretended chart of the
upper part of the Gulf, from Jidda to IVTocha, full
of foundings. As I was fome months at Jidda,
kindly entertained, and had abundance of time^
A a 2 Captain

Itjb TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Captain Thornhill, and fome other of the gentle-
men trading thither, wifiied me to make a furvey
of the haibourj and promifed me the affiftance of
their officers, boats, and crews. I very willingly
undertook it to oblige them. Finding afterwards,
however, that one of their number, Captain New-
land, had undertaken it, and that he would be
hurt by my interfering, as he was in fome manner
advanced in the work, I gave up all further thoughts
of the plan. He w as a man of real ingenuity and
capacity, as w-ell as very humane, w^ell behaved,
alid one to whom I had been indebted for every
fort of attention.

God forgive thofe who have taken upon them,
very lately, to ingraft a number of new foundings
upon that miferable bundle of errors, that Chart
of the upper part of the Gulf from Jidda to
Mocha, which has been tofled about the Red Sea
thefe twenty years and upwards. One of thefe,
fmce my return to Europe, has been fent to me
new dreffed like a bride, with all its original and
mortal fms upon its head. I would beg leave to
be underllood, that there is not in the world a man
more averfe than I am to give offence even to a
child. It is not in the fpirit of criticifm I fpeak
this. In any other cafe, 1 w^ould not have made
any obfervations at all. But, where the lives and
properties of fo many are at flake yearly, it is a
fpecies of treafon to conceal one's fentiments, if
the publifhing of them can any way contribute to
fafety, w^hatever oifence it may give to unreafon-
able individuals.

Of

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. %"]"]

Of all the veflels in Jidda, two only had their log
lines properly divided, and yet all were fo fond of
their fuppofed accuracy, as to aver they had kept
their courfe within five leagues, between India and
Babelmandeb. Yet they had made no eftimation
of the currents without the * Babs, nor the differ-
ent very flrong ones foon after paiTmg Socotra;
their half-minute glaifes upon a medium ran 57";
they had made no obfervation on the tides or cur-
rents in the Red Sea, either in the channel or in
the inward paifage; yet there is delineated in this
map a courfe of Captain Newland's, which he
kept in the middle of the channel, full of iharp an-
gles and fhort flretches ; you would think every
yard was meafured and founded.

To the fpurious catalogue of foundings found in
the old chart above mentioned, there is added a
double proportion of new, from what authority is
not known; fo that from Mocha, to lat. 17° you
have as it were foundings every mile, or even lefs.
No one can call his eyes on the upper part of the
map, but muft think the Red Sea one of the moft
frequented places in the world. Yet I will aver,
without fear of being contradided, that it is a cha-
lafteriflic of the Red Sea, fcarce to have foundings
in any part of the channel, and often on both fides,
whilil afliore foundings are hardly found a boat-
length from the main. To this 1 will add, that
there is fcarce one illand upon which lever was,

* This is a coipmon failor's phrafe for the Straits of Ba-
beltnatideb.

where

i'rS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

V'here the boltfprit wa$ not over the land, while
there were no foundings by a line heaved over the
ftern. I muft then protefl againfl making thefe old
nioft erroneous maps a foundation for new ones,
3is they can be of no ufe, but muil be of detriment.
Many good feamen of knowledge and enterprife
have been in that fea, within thefe few years. Let
them fay, candidly, what were their inllruments,
what their difficulties were, where they had doubts,
Vihere they fucceeded, and where they were difap-
pointed? Were thefe acknowledged by one, they
would be fpeedily taken up by others, an ' reflified
by the help of mathematicians and good obfervers
on (ho re.

Mr. Niebuhr has contributed much, but we
iliould reform the map on both fides ; though there
is a great deal done, yet much remains flill to do.
I hope that my friend Mr. Dalrymple, when he
can afford time, will give us a foundation more
proper to build upon, than that old rotten one,
however changed in form, and fuppofed to have
been improved, if he really has a number of ob-
fervations by him that can be relied on, otherwifc
it is but continuing the delufion and the danger.

If fhips of war afterwards, that keep the chan^
nel, fhall come, manned with flout and able fea-
jnen, and expert young officers, provided with
lines, glaifes, good compafles, and a number of
feaatSj then we fhall know thefe foundings, at leafl
in part. And then alfo we ffiall know the truth of
\vhat I now advance, viz. that fhips like thofe emr-

ployed

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^^9

ployed hitherto in trading from India (manned and
provided as the beft of them are) were incapable,
amidfl unknown tides and currents, and going
before a monfoon, whether fouthern or northern,
of knowing within three leagues where any one of
them had ever dropt his founding line, unlefs he
was ciofe on board fome ifland, fhoal, remarkable
point, or in a harbour.

Till that time, I would advife every man failing
in the Red Sea, efpecially in the channel, where
the pilots know no more than he, to trurt: to his
own hands for fafety in the minute of danger, to
heave the lead at leall every hour, keep a good
look-out, and (horten fail in a frefh wind, or in
the night-time, and to confider all maps of the
channel of the Arabian Gulf, yet made, as matters
of mere curiofity, and not fit to trull a man's life
to. Any captain in the India fervLce, who had
run over from Jidda into the mouth of the river
Frat, and the neighbouring port Kilfit, which,
might every year be done for tol. Sterling extra
cxpences, would do more meritorious fervice to
the navigation of that fea, than all the foundings
that were ever yet made from Jibbel Zekir to the
ifland of Sheduan.

From Yambo to Jidda I had flept little, making
my memoranda as full upon the fpot as pofhble. I
had, befides, an aguifli diforder, which very
much troubled me, and in drefs and cleanlinefs was
fo like a Galiongy (or Turkiih feaman) that the
^ Emir Bahar was aftonifhed at hearing my fervants

* Captain of thi' port.

fay

SSO TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fay I was an Englifhman, at the time they carried
away all my baggage and inftruments to the cuf-
tom-houfe. He fent his fervant, however, with
me to the Bengal-houfe, who promifed me, in
broken Englifh, all the way, a very magnificent
reception from my countrymen. Upon his nam-
ing ail the captains for my choice, I defired to be
carried to a Scotchman^ a relation of my own^ who
was then accidentally leaning over the rail of the
rtair-cafe, leading up to his apartment. I faluted
him by his name ; he fell into a violent rage, cal-
ing me •villain^ thief ^ cheats and renegado rafcal;
and declared, if 1 offered to proceed a ft^p further,
he would throw me over itairs. I went away with-
out reply, hi§ curfes and abufe followed me long
afterwards. The fervant, my condudlor, fcrewed
his mouth, and fhrugged up his fhoulders, " Never
fear, fays he, I will carry you to the beji of them
all." We \Yent up an oppofite ftair-cafe, whilft I
thought within myfelf, if thofe are their India
manners, I fhall keep my name and fituation to
myfelf while I am at Jidda. I flood in no need of
them, as I had credit for looo fequins and more,
if I fhould want it, upon Youfef Cabil, Vizir or
Governor of Jidda.

I was conduced into a large room, where Cap-
tain Thornhill was fitting, in a white callico waift-
coat, a very high-pointed white cotton night-cap,
with a large tumbler of water before him, feem-
ingly very deep in thought. The Emir Bahar's
fervant brought me forward by the hand, a little
within the door j but I was not defirous of advanc-

ini

THE SOURCE OE THE NILE. ^S I

ing much farther, for fear of the falutation of be-
ing thrown down (lairs again. Me looked very
fleadily, but not flernly, at me; and defired the
fervant to go away and (hut the door. " Sir, fays
he, are you an Engliiliman?" — I bowed. — " You
furely are fick, you (hould be in bed, have you been
long fickr"--! faid, " long Sir," and bowed.-"- Are
you wanting a palfage to India?"— I again bowed.- —
" Well, fays he, you look to be a man in diftrefs ;
if you have a fecret, I fhall refped it till you pleafe
to tell it me, but if you want a palfage to India,
apply to no one but Thornhill of the Bengal Mer-
chant. Perhaps you are afraid of fomebody, if fo,
afk for Mr. Greig, my lieutenant, he will carry
you on board my iliip diredly, where you will be
fafe." — " Sir, faid I, I hope you will find me an
honeft man, I have no enemy that 1 know, either
in Jidda or elfewhere, nor do I owe any man any
thing." — " I am fure, fays he, I am doing wrong,
in keeping a poor man (landing, who ought to be
in his bed. Here! Philip! Philip!"- Phihp ap-
peared. " Boy," fays he, in Portuguefe, which, as
I imagine, he fuppofed I did not underfland,
" here is a poor Englifhman, that fhould be either
in his bed or his grave; carry him to the cook, tell
him to give him as much broth and mutton as he
can eat; t\iQ fellow feems to have been ftarved, but
1 would rather have the feeding of ten to India,
than the burying of one at Jidda."

Philip de la ( ruz was the fon of a Portuguefe
lady, whom Captain Thornhill had married; abov
pf great talents, and excellent difpofition, who

carried

2SZ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

carried me with great willingnefs to the cook. I
made as aukward a bow as I could to Capt. Thorn-
hill, and faid, " God will return this to your ho-
nour Tome day.*' Philip carried me into a court-
yard, where they ufed to expofe the famples of
iheir India goods in large bales. It had a portico
along the left hand fide of it, which feemed de-
figned for a (table. To this place I was introduced,
and thither the cook brought me my dinner. Se-
veral of the Englifh from the veffels, lafcars, and
others, came in to look at me; and I heard it, in
general, agreed among them, that I was a very

thief-like fellow, and certainly a Turk, and d n

them if they fhould like to fall into my hands.

I fell faft alleep upon the mat, while Philip was
ordering me another apartment. In the mean
time, fome of my people had followed the baggage
to the Cuflom-houfe, and fome of them (laid on
board the boat, to prevent the pilfering of what was
left. The keys had remained with me, and the
Vizir had gone to fleep, as is ufual, about mid-day.
As foon as he awaked, being greedy of his prey,
he fell immediately to my baggage, wondering that
fuch a quantity of it, and that boxes in fuch a cu-
rious form, Ihould belong to a mean man like me j
he was therefore full of hopes, that a fine oppor-
tunity for pillage was now at hand. He afked for
the keys of the trunks, my fervant faid, they were
with me, but he would go inftantly and bring
them. That, however, was too long to flay; no
delay could poffibly be granted. Accuflomed to
pilfer, they did not force the locks, but, very artilt

like.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. -283

like, took off the hinges at the back, and in that
manner opened the lids, -without opening the
locks.

The firft thing that prefented itfelf to the Vizir's
fight, was the firman of the Grand Signior, mag«:-
nificently written and titled, and the infcriptioii
powdered with gold duft, and wrapped in green
tatFeta. After this was a white fattin bag, addrell-
ed to the Khan of Tartary, with which Mr. Peyf-
fonel, French conful of Smyrna, had favoured me,
and which 1 had not delivered, as the Khan was
then prifoner at Rhodes. The next was a green
and gold filk bag, with letters direded to the
Sherriffe of Mecca ; and then came a plain crimfon
fattin bag, with letters addreifed to Metical Aga,
fword-bearer (or Selidtar, as it is called) of the
Sherriffe, or his great rainifter and favourite. He
then found a letter from Ali Bey to himfelf, written
with all the fuperiority of a Prince to a flave.

In this letter the Bey told him plainly, that he
heard the governments of Jidda, Mecca, and other
States of the Sherriffe, were diforderly, and that
merchants, coming about their lawful bufmefs,
were plundered, terrified, and detained. lie there-
fore intimated to him, that if any fuch thing hap-
pened to me, he fliould not write or complain, but
he would fend and punifh the affront at the very
gates of Mecca. This was very unpleafant lan-
guage to the Vizir, becaufe it was now publicly
known, that Mahomet Bey Abou Dahab was pre-
paring next year to march againfl Mecca, for fome
oflence the Bey had taken at the Sherriile. There

was

2S4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

was alfo another letter to him from Ibrahim Sika-
keen, chief of the merchants at Cairo, ordering
him to furnifli me with a thoufand fequins for my
prefent ufe, and, if more were needed, to take my
bill.

Thefe contents of the trunk were fo unexpefted,
that Cabil the Vizir thought he had gone too far,
and called my fervant in a violent hurry, upbraid-
ing him for not telling who I was. The fervant
defended himfelf, by faying, that neither he, nor
his people about him, would fo much as regard a
word that he fpoke; and the cadi of Medina's
principal fervant, who had come with the wheat,
told the Vizir plainly to his face, that he had given
him warning enough, if his pride would have fuf-
fered him to hear it.

All was now wrong, my fervant was ordered to
nail up the hinges, but he declared it would be
the lail action of his life ; that nobody opened
baggage that way, but with intention of ftealing,
when the keys could be got ; and as there were
many rich things in the trunk, intended as prefents
to the SherrifFe, and Metical Aga, which might
have been taken out, by the hinges being forced
off before he came, he wafhed his hands of the
whole procedure, but knew his mafter would com-
plain, and loudly too, and would be beard both
at Cairo and Jidda. The Vizir took his refolution
in a moment like a man. He nailed up the baggage,
ordered his horfe to be brought, and attended by
a number of naked blackguards (whom they call

loldiers)

TliE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^85

foldiers) he came down to the Bengal-houfe, on
which the whole factory took alarm.

About twenty-fix years before, the Englifh tra-
ders from India to Jidda, fourteen in number,
were all murdered, fitting at dinner, by a mutiny
of thefe wild people. The houfe has, ever fince,
lain in ruins, having been pulled down and forbid-
den to be rebuilt.

Great inquiry was made after the Englifh noble-
man, whom nobody had feen ; but it was faid that
one of his fervants was there in the Bengal-houfe;
I was fitting drinking coffee on the mat, when the
Vizir's horfe came, and the whole court was filled.
One of the clerks of the cuflom-houfe afked me
where my mailer was ? I faid, " In heaven." The
Emir Bahar's fervant now brought forward the
Vizir to me, who had not difmounted himfelf. He
repeated the fame queftion, where my mafler was?
I told him, I did not know the purport of his
queftion, that I was the perfon to whom the bag-
gage belonged, which he had taken to the cuflom-
houfe, and that it was in my favour the Grand Sig-
nior and Bey had written. He feemed very much
furprifed, and afked me how I could appear in fuch
a drefs? — " You cannot afk that ferioufly, faid I;
I believe no prudent man would drefs better, con-
fidering the voyage I have made. But, befides,
you did not leave it in my power, as every article,
but what I have on me, has been thefe four hours
at the cuflom-houfe, waiting your pleafure."

We then went all up to our kind landlord. Cap-
tain Thornhill, to whom I made my excufe, on

account

2^(5 TRAA^ELS TO DISCOVER

account of the ill ufage I had firft met with from
my own relation. He laughed very heartily at the
narrative, and from that time we lived in the great-
eft friendfhip and confidence. All was made up,
even with Youfef Cabil ; and all heads were em-
ployed to get the flrongeft letters poflibk to the'
Naybe of Mafuah, the king of Abyflinia, Michael
Suhul the minifter, and the king of Sennaar.

Metical Aga, great friend and protedor of the
Engliih at Jidda, and in effecl, we may fay, fold to
them, for the great prefents and profits he received,
was himfelf originally an Abyffinian flave, was the
man of confidence, and direded the fale of the
king's, and Michael's gold, ivory, civet, and fuch
precious commodities, that are paid to them in
kind; he furnifhed Michael, likewife, with returns
in fire-arms ; and this had enabled Michael to fub-
due AbyfTmia, murder the king his mailer, and
feat another on his throne.

On the other hand, the Naybe of Mafuah, whofe
ifland belonged to the Grand Signior, and was an
appendage of the government of the Bafha of Jid-
da, had endeavoured to withdraw himfelf from,
his allegiance, and fet up for independency. — >
He paid no tribute, nor could the Bafha, who
had no troops, force him, as he was on the Abyf-
fmian fide of the Red Sea. Metical Aga, however,
and the Bafha, at lad agreed; the latter ceded to
the former the iiland and territory of Mafuah, for
a fixed fura annually; and Metical Aga appointed
Michael, governor of Tigre, receiver of his rents.

The

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 287

The Naybe no foorier found that he was to account
to Michael, than he was glad to pay his tribute,
and give prefents to the bargain •, for Tigr6 was
the province from which he drew his fuftenancc,
and Michael could have over-run his whole terri-
tory in eight days, which once, as we (hall fee here-
after, belonged to Abyilinia. Mctical's power
being then univerfally acknowledged and known,
the next thing was to get him to make ufe of it in
my favour.

We knew of how little avail the ordinary futile
recommendations of letters were. We were vete-
ran travellers, and knew the flile of the Eaft too
well, to be duped by letters of mere civility. There
is no people on the earth more perfe^dy polite in
their correfpondencc with one another, than are
thofe of the Eaft; but their civility means little
more than the fame fort of expreflions do in Europe,
to fhew you that the writer is a well-bred man.
But this would by no means do in a journey fo
long, fo dangerous, and fo ferious as mine.

We, therefore, fet about procuring effeftive
letters, letters of bufmefs and engagement, be-
tween man and man ; and we all endeavoured to
make Metical Aga, a very good man, but no great
head-piece, comprehend this perfedly. My letters
from Ali Bey opened the affair to him, and firfl
commanded his attention. A very handfome pre-
fent of piftols, which I brought him, inclined
him in my favour, becaufe, as I was bearer of let-
ters from his fuperior, I might have declined be-
ftowing any prcfent upon him.

The

SSS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The Englifh gentlemen joined their influence,
powerful enough, to have accomplifhed a much
greater end, as every one of thefe have feparate
friends for their own affairs, and all of them were
defirous to befriend me. Added to thefe was a friend
of mine, whom 1 had known at Aleppo, Ali Zim-
zimiah, /. e. ' keeper of the holy well at Mecca,"
a poft of great dignity and honour. This man was
a mathematician, and an aflronomery according to
their degree of knowledge in that fcience.

All the letters were written in a flyle fuch as I
could have defired, but this did not fuffice in the
mind of a very friendly and worthy man, who
had taken an attachment to me fmce my firfl ar-
rival. This was Captain Thomas Price, of the Lion
of Bombay. He firft propofed to Metical Aga, to
lend a man of his own w^ith me, together with the
letters, and I do firmly believe, under Providence,
it was to this laft meafure 1 owed my life. With
this Captain Thcrnhill heartily concurred, and an
Abyilinian, called Mahomet Gibberti, was appoint-
ed to go with particular letters befides thofe I
carried myfelf, and to be an eye-witnefs of my re-
ception there.

There was fome time necefTary for this man to
make ready, and a confiderable part of the Arabian
Gulf dill remained for me to explore. I prepared,
therefore, to fet out from Jidda, after having made
a confiderable ftay in it.

Of all the new things I yet had feen, what moll
aRonifhed me was the manner in which trade was
carried on at this place. Nine fhips were there

from

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 289

from India ; fome of them worth, 1 fuppofe,
•2oo,oool. One merchant, a Turk, living at
Mecca, thirty hours journey off, where no Chrif-
tian dares go, whilfl the whole Continent is open
to the Turk for efcape, offers to purchafe the car-
goes of four out of nine of thefe fhips himfelf ;
another, of the fame caft, comes and fays, he will
buy none, unlefs he has them all. The famples
are fliewn, and the cargoes of the whole nine fliips
are carried into the wildeft part of Arabia, by men
with whom one would not wifli to truft himfelf alone
in the field. This is not all, two India brokers come
into the room to fettle the price. One on the part
of the India captain, the other on that of the
buyer the Turk. They are neither Mahometans
nor Chriflians, but have credit with both. They
fit down on the carpet, and take an India fhawl,
which they carry on their fhoulder, like a napkin,
and fpread it over their hands. They talk, in the
mean time, indifferent converfation, of the arrival
of fhips from India, or of the news of the day, as
if they were employed in no ferious bufmefs what-
ever. After about twenty minutes fpent in hand-
ling each other's fingers below the fhawl, the bar-
gain is concluded, fay for nine fhips, without one
word ever having been fpoken on the fubjedt, or
pen or ink ufed in any fhape whatever. There
never was one inflance of a difpute happening in
ihefe fales.

But this is not yet all, the money is to be paid.
A private Moor, who has nothing to fupport him

Vol. T, Bb .but

2,gO TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

but his character, becomes refponfible for the pay-
ment of thefe cargoes ; his name was Ibrahim,
Saraf, when I was there,/, e. Ibrahim the Broker.
This man delivers a number of coarfe hempen
bags, full of what is fuppofed to be money. He
marks the contents upon the bag, and puts his
feal upon the firing that ties the mouth of it. —
This is received for what is marked upon it, with-
out any one ever having opened one of the bags,
and, in India, it is current for the value marked
upon it, as long as the bag lafts.

Jidda is very unwholefome, as is, indeed, all the
eaft coafl of the Red Sea. Immediately without
the gates of that town, to the eaftward, is a defert
plain filled with the huts of the Bedoweens, or
country Arabs, built of long bundles of fpartum,
or bent grafs, put together like fafcines. Thefe
Bedoweens fupply Jidda with milk and butter.
There is no ftirring out of town, even for a walk,
unlefs for about half a mile, in the fouth fide by
the fea, where is a number of (linking pools of
ilagnant water, which contributes to make the town
very unwholefome.

Jidda, befides being in the mod unwholefome
part of Arabia, is, at the fame time, in the mofl
barren and defert fituation. This, and many other
inconveniencies, under which it labours, would,
probably, have occafioned its being abandoned
altogether, were it not for its vicinity to Mecca,
and the great and fudden influx of wealth from the
India trade, which, once a-year, arrives in this part,
but does not continue, palling on, as through a

turnpike.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^91

turnpike, to Mecca ; whence it is difperfed all over
the eaft. Very little advantage however accrues
to Jidda. The cuftoms are ail immediately fent
to a needy fovereign, and a hungry fet of relations, '
dependents and minifters at Mecca. The gold is
returned in bags and boxes, and pafi'es on as ra-
pidly to the fhips as the goods do to the market,
and leaves as little profit behind. In the mean
time, provifions rife to a prodigious price, and this
falls upon the townfmen, while all the profit of
the traffic is in the hands of flrangers; mod of
whom, after the market is over, (which does not
laft fix weeks) retire to Yemen, and other neigh-
bouring countries, which abound in every fort of
provifion.

Upon this is founded the obfervation, that of
all Mahometan countries none are fo monogam as
thofe of Jidda, and no where are there fo many
unmarried women, although this is the country of
their prophet, and the permiffion of marrying four
wives was allowed in this diflri£t in the firft in-
fiance, and afterwards communicated to all the
tribes..

But Mahomet, in his permiffion of plurality of
■wives, feems conftantly to have been on his guard,
againft fuffering that, which was intended for the
•welfare of his people, from operating in a different
manner. He did not permit a man to marry iwo,
three, or four wives, unlefs he could maintain
them. He was interefled for the rights arid rank
«f thefe women; and the man fo marrying was
B b 2 obliged

%^% TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

obliged to fhevv before the Cadi, or fome equiva-*
lent officer, or judge, that it was in his power to
fupport them, according to their birth. It was
not fo with concubines, with women who were
purchafed, or who were taken in war. Every-
man enjoyed thefc at his plcafure, and their peril,
that is, whether he was able to maintain them or
not.

From this great fcarcity of provifions, which Is
the refult of an extraordinary eoncourfe to a place
almoft deftitute of the neceffaries of life, few inha-
bitants of Jidda can avail themfelves of the privilege
granted him by Mahomet. He therefore cannot
marry more than one wife, becaufe he cannot
maintain more, and from this caufe arifes the
want of people, and the large number of unmar-
ried women.

When in Arabia Felix, where every fort of pro-
vifion is exceedingly cheap, where the fruits of the
ground, the general food for man, are produced
fpontaneoufly, the fupporting of a number of wives
cofls no more than fo many flaves or fervants ;
their food is the fame, and a blue cotton fhirt, a
habit common to them all, is not more chargeable
for the one than the othef. The confequence is,
that celibacy in women is prevented, and the num-
ber of people is increafed in a fourfold ratio by-
polygamy, to what it is in thofe that are monoga-
mous.

I know there are authors fond of fyfliem, enemiej
to free enquiry, and blinded by prejudice, who

contend

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 593

contend that polygamy, without difl:in6tion of cir-
cuinflances, is detrimental to the population of a
country. The learned Dr. Arbuthnot, in a paper
addrefled to the Royal Society*, has maintained
this ftrange doctrine, in a ftiil (tranger manner.
He lays it down, as his firft pofition, that in Jemi-
ne mafcid'mo of our firft parent Adam, there wa;S
imprefled an original neceffity of procreuiiig, ever
after, an equal number of males and females. The
manner he proves this, has received great incenfe
from the vulgar, as containing an unanfwe.able
argument. He fhews, by the cafting of three dice,
that the chances are almoft infinite, that an equal
number of males and females {hould not be born in
any year; and he pretends to prove, that every
year in twenty, as taken from the bills of mor-
tality, the fame number of males and females have
conftantly been produced, or at leaft a greater
proportion of men than of women, to make up for -
the havock occafioned by war, murder, drunken-
nefs, and all fpecies of violence to which women
are not fubje<5i.

I need not fay, that this, at leaft, fufficiently
fhews the weaknefs of the argument. For, if the
equal proportion had been in femine mafcuUno of
our firft parent, the confequence muft have been,
that male and female would have been invariably
born, from the creation to the i^nd of all things.
And it is a fuppofition very unworthy of the wif-
^om of God, that at the creation of man, he could

* Philofoph. Tranfad. Vol. 27. p. 186.

make

^94 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

iniake an allowance for any deviation that was t«
happen, from crimes, againft the commillion of
which his pofitive precepts ran. Weak as this is,
it is not the weakell part of this artificial argument,
which, like che v/eb of a fpider too finely woven,
whatever part you touch it on, the whole falls to
pieces.

After taking it for granted, that he has proved
the equality of the two fexes in number from the
bills of mortality in London, he next fuppofes, as
a confequence, that all the world is in the fame
predicament; that is, tha: an equal number of
males and females is produced every where. Why
Dr. Arbuthnot, an eminent phyfician (which furely
implies an informed naturalilt) fliould imagine that
thij inference would hold, is what I am not able to
account for. He (hould know, let us fay, in the
countries of the eaft, that fruits, flowers, trees,
birds, filh, every blade of grafs, is commonly dif-
ferent, and that man, in his appearance, diet, ex-
ercife, pleafure, government, and rehgion, is as
widely different ; why he fhould found the iffue of
an Afiatic, however, upon the bills of mortality in
London, is to the full as abfurd as to affert, that
they do not wear either beard or whifkers in Syria,
becaufe that is not the cafe in London.

I am well aware, that it may be urged by thofe
who permit themfelves to fay every thing, becaufe
they are not at pains to confider any thing, that
the courfe of mv argument will lead to a defence
of polygamy in general, the fuppofed dodrine of

' the

THE SOUUCE OF THE NILE. 295

the Thelypthora *. Such refieflions as thefe, unlefs
introduced for merriment, are below my animad-
verfion ; all I Ihall fay on that topic is, that they
who find encouragement to polygamy in Mr. Ma-
dan's book, the Thelypthora, have read it with
a much more acute perception than perhaps I have
done; and I fhall be very much miftaken, if poly-
gamy increafes in England upon the principles laid
down in the Thelypthora.

England, fays Dr. Arbuthnot, enjoys an equali-
ty of both fexes, and, if it is not fo, the inequality
is fo imperceptible, that no inconvenience has yet
followed. What we have now to inquire is, Whe-
ther other nations, or the majority of them, are
in the fame fituation ? For, if we are to decide by
this, and if we Hiould happen to find, that, in
other countries, there are invariably born three
women to one man, the conclufion, in regard to
that country, mufl: be, that three women to one man
was the proportion of one fex to the other, imprefled
at the creation in femine of our firft parent.

I confefs I am not fond of meddling with the
globe before the deluge. But as learned men feem
inclined to think that Ararat and Euphrates are
the mountain and river of antediluvian times, and
that Mefopotamia, or Diarbekir, is the ancient fi-
tuation of the terreilrial paradife, I cannot give
T)r. Arbuthnot's argument fairer play, than to
tranfport myfelf thither j and, in the fame fpot

* A late publication of Dr. Madan's, little underftood, as
jt would feem.

where

29^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVEll ' •

■where the neceffity was impofed of male and female
being produced in equal numbers, inquire how
that cafe ftands now. The pretence that, climates
and times may have changed the proportion can-
not be admitted, fmce it has been taken for grant-
ed, that it exifts in the bills of mortality in London,
and governs them to this day; and, fmce it was
founded on neceffity," which muft be eternal.

Now, from a diligent inquiry into the fouth,
and fcripture-part of Mefopotamia, Armenia, and
Syria, from Mouful (or Nineveh) to Aleppo and
Antioch, I find the proportion to be fully two
v/omen born to one man. There is indeed a frac-
tion over, but not a confiderable one. From
Latikea, Laodicea ad mare, down the coafl of
Syria to Sidon, the number is very nearly three,
or two and three-fourths to one man. Through
the Holy Land, the country called Horan, in the
Ifthmus of Suez, and the parts of the -Delta, un-
frequented by Itrangers, it is fomething lefs than
three. But, from Suez up the fhraits of Babel-
mandeb, which contains the three Arabias, the
portion is fully four women to one man, which, 1
have reafon to believe, holds as far as the Line,
and 30° beyond it.

The Imam of Sana* was not an old man when
I was in Arabia Felix in 1769; but he had 88
children then alive, of whom 14 only were fbns. —
The pried of the Nile had 70 and odd children;
of whom, as I rem-ember, above 50 were daugh-
ters.

* Sovereign of Arabia Felix, whofe capital is 5^;^.

It
>

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^^97

It may be 6bje£led that Dr. Arbuthnot, in quot-
ing the' bills of mortality for twenty years, gave
mod unexceptionable grounds for his opinion, and
that my fmgle aifertion of what happens in a fo-
reign country, without further foundation, cannot
be admitted as equivalent teftimony; and I am
ready to admit this objeftion^ as bills of mortality
there are none in any of thefe countries. I fliall
therefore fay in what manner I attained the know-
ledge which 1 have juft mentioned. Whenever I
went into a town, village, or inhabited place,
dwelt long in a mountain, or travelled journies
with any fet of people, I always made it my bufinefs
to inquire'^how many children they had, or their
fathers, their next neighbours, or acquaintance-
This not being a captious queftion, or what any
one would fcruple to anfwer, there was no intereft
to deceive; and if it had been poflible, that two
or three had been fo wrong-headed among the
whole, it would have been of little confequence.

I then afked my landlord at Sidon, (fuppofe him
a weaver,) how many children he has had? He
tells me how many fons, and how many daughters.
The next I afk is a fmith, a tailor, a filk-gatherer,
the Cadi of the place, a cow-herd, a huntet, a
fifher, in {hort every man that is not a ftranger,
from whom I can get proper information. I fay,
therefore, that a medium of both fexes arifmg
from three or four hundred families indifcrimi-
nately taken, (hall be the proportion in which one
differs from the other ; and this, I am confident,

will

2gS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

will give the refult to be three women to one man
in 50° out of the 90'^ under every meridian of
the globe.

Without giving Mahomet all the credit for abi-
lities that fome have done, we may furely fuppofe
him to know what happened in his own family,
where he muft have feen this great difproportion
of four women born to one man ; and from the
obvious confequences, we are not to wonder that
one of his firlt cares, when a legiflator, was to
rectify it, as it ftruck at the very root of his em-
pire, power, and religion. "With this view, he
enacted, or rather revived the law which gave li-
berty to every individual to marry four wives, each
of whom was to be equal in rank and honour,
without any preference but what the predilection
of the hufband gave her. By this he fecured civil
rights to each woman, and procured a means of
doing away that reproach, of dyi?ig without ijfue^ to
which the minds of the whole fex have always
been fenfible, whatever their religion was, or from
whatever part of the world they came.

Many, who are not converfant with Arabian
hiftory, have imagined, that this permlffion of a
plurality of wives was given in favour of men, and
have taxed one of the mod political, neceffary mea-
fures, of that legiflator, arifmg from motives merely
civil, with a tendency to encourage lewdn^fs, from
which it was very far diilant. But, if they had
confidered that the Mahometan law allows divorce
without any caufe affigned, and that, every day at

the

THE SOURCE 0"F THE NILE. 299^

the pleafure of the man; befides, that it permits
him as many concubines as he can maintain, buy
v.'ith money, take in war, or gain by the ordinary
means of addrefs and folicitations, — they will think
fuch a man was before fufficiently provided, and
that there was not the lead reafon for allowing
him to marry four wives at a time, when he was
already at liberty to marry a new one every day.

Dr. Arbuthnot lays it down as a felf-evident
pofition, that four women will have more childr-en
by four men, than the fame four women would
have by one. This aifertion may very well be dif-
puted, but [till it is not in point. For the queftion
with regard to Arabia, and to a great part of the
world befides, is. Whether or not four women
and one man, married, or cohabiting at difcretion,
fliall produce more children, than four women
and one man who is debarred from cohabiting;
with any but one of the four, the others dying
unmarried without the knowledge of man ? or, in
other words, Which Ihall have mod children, one
man and one woman, or one man and four wo-
men ? This queftion I think needs no difcuffion.

Let us no'.v confider, if there is any further
reafon why England Ihould not be brought as an
example, which Arabia, or the Eaft in general,
are to follow.

Women in England are commonly capable of
child-bearing at fourteen, let the other term be
forty -eight, whien they bear no more; thirty-four
years, therefore, an Eiiglifh woman bears children.

At

i

;0O TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

1 At the age of fourteen or fifteen they are objecEls
of our love ; they are endeared by bearing us
<;MIdren after that time, and none I hope will pre^
i tend, that, at forty-eight and fifty, an Englifh wo-
man is not an agreeable companion. Perhaps the
laft years, to thinking minds, are fully more agree-
able than the firft. We grow old together, we
have a near profped of dying together; nothing
can prefent a more agreeable pidure of focial life,
thari'rponogamy in England.

The^Arab, on the other hand, if Ihe begins to
bear children at eleven, feldom or never has a
child after twenty. The time then of her child-
bearing is nine years, and four women, taken alto-
gether, have then the term of thirty-fix. So that
the Englilh woman that bears children for thirty-
four years, has only two years lefs than the term
enjoyed by the four wives whom Mahomet has
allowed ; and if it be granted an Englifh wife may
bear at fifty, the terms are equal.

But there are other grievous differences. An
Arabian girl, at eleven years old, by her youth and
beauty, is the object of man's defire; being an
infant, however, in underflanding, fhe is not a
rational companion for him. A man marries there,
fay at t^venty, and before he is thirty, his wife, im-
proved as a companion, ceafes to be an objedl of
his defireSj and a mother of children; fo that all
the befl, and mod vigorous of his days, are fpent
with a woman he cannot love, and with her he
%vould be deflined to live forty, or forty-five years,

without

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 30!

without comfort to himfelf by increafe of family,
or utility to the public.

The reafons, then, againfl polygamy, which fub-
fifl: in England, do not by any means fubfift in
Arabia; and that being the cafe, it would be un-
worthy of the wifdom of God, and an unevennefs
in his ways, which we ihall never fee, to fubjedl
two nations, under fuch different circuraftances,
abfolutely to the fame obfervances.
NC 1 confider the prophecy concerning Ifhmael, and
his defcendants the Arabs, as one of the mod ex-
traordinary that > we meet with in tlie Old Tefta-
ment. It was alfo one of the earlieft made, and
proceeded upon grounds of private reparation.
Hagar had, not fmned, though fhe had fled from
Sarah with Ifhmael her fon into the wildernefs. In
that defert there were then no inhabitants, and
though Ifhmael's * fucceffion was incompatible
with God's promife to Abraham and his fon Ifaac,
yet neither Hagar nor he having fmned, juflice re-
quired a reparation for the heritage which he had
loft. God gave him that very wildernefs whicli
before was the property of no man, in which Ifli-
mael was to eredl a kingdom under the mofl im-
probable circumflances poflible to be imagined..
Hisf hand was to be againfl every man, and every
man's hand againfl him. By his fword he wa« to
live, and pitch his tent in th^face of his brethren.
Never has prophecy been fo completely fulfilled.
It fubfifled from the earliefl ages; it was verified

* Gen. ch. xv. ver. 18, f Gen, ch. xvi. ver. 12.

before

30^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

before the time of Mofes ; in the time of David
and Solomon ; it fubfifled in the time of Alexan-
der and that of Auguflus Casfar ; it fubfifted in the
time of JuRinian, — all very diftant, unconnefted
periods ; and I appeal to the evidence of mankind,
if, W'ithout apparent fupport or, hecellity, but what
it has derived from God*s promife only, it is not
in full vigour at this very day. This prophecy
alone, in the truth of which all forts of religions
agree, is therefore of itfelf a fufficient proof, with-
out other, of the Divine authority of the fcripture, ,:

Mahomet prohibited all pork and wine; two ar-
ticles which mufl: have been, before, very little
ufed in Arabia. Grapes, here, grow in the moun-
tains of Yemen, but never arrive at maturity
enough for wine. They bring them down for this
purpofe to Loheia, and there the heat of the cli-
mate turns the wane four before they can clear it
of its faeces fo as to make it drinkable; and we
know that, before the appearance of Mahomet,
Arabia w^& never a wine country. As for fwine,
I never heard of them in the peninfula of Arabia,
(unlefs perhaps wild in the woods about Sana,) and
it was from early times inhabited by Jews before
the coming of Mahomet. The only people there-
fore that ate fwine's flefh mufl have been Cjarif-
tians, and they were a fed of little account. Many
of thefe, however, do not eat pork yet, but all of
them were oppreffed and defpifed every-where, and
there was no inducement for any other people to
imitate them.

Mahomet

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 303

Mahomet then prohibiting only what was mere-
ly neutral, or indifferent to the Arabs, indulged
them in that to which he knew they were prone.

At the feveral converfations 1 had with the En-
glifh merchants at Jidda, they complained grievouf-
ly of the manner in which they were oppreifed by
the Iherriffe of Mecca and his officers. The duties
and fees were encreafed every voyage ; their privile-
ges all taken away, and a mod deflru6live meafure
introduced of forcing them to give prefents, which
was only an inducement to opprefs, that the gift
might be the greater. I alked them if I Ihould
obtain from the Bey of Cairo permiihon for their
ihips to come down to Suez, whither there were
merchants in India who would venture to under-
take that voyage? Captain Thornhill promifed,
for his part, that the very feafon after fuch per-
miffion (hould arrive in India, he would diipatch
his fliip the Bengal Merchant, under command of
his mate Captain Greig, to whofe capacity and
worth all his countrymen bore very ready teflimo-
ny, and of which I myfelf had formed a very good
opinion, from the feveral converfations we had
together. This fcheme was concerted between
me and Captain Thornhill only ; and tho' it rauft
beiconfefled it had the appearance of an airy ope,
(fmce it was not to be attempted, till I had re-
turned through Abyflinia and Nubia, againfl; which
there were many thoufand chances,) it was execut-
ed, notwithftaftding, in the very manner in which
it had been planned, as will be after ftated.

The

304 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The kindnefs and attention of my countrymen
did not leave me as long as I was on (bore. They
all did me the honour to attend me to the water
edge. If others have experienced pride and pre-
fumption, from gentlemen of the Eaft-Indies, I
was moll happily exempted from even the appear-
ance of it at Jidda. Happy it would have been for
jne, if I had been more negleded.

All the quay of Jidda was lined with people to
fee the Englifli falute, and along with my vefl'el
there parted, at the fame time, one bound to Ma-^
fuah, which carried Mahomet Abd el cader, Go-
vernor of Dahalac, over to his government. Daha-
hic ^ is a large ifland, depending upon Maiuah,
but which has a feparate firman, or commiffion,
renewed every two years. This man was a Moor,
a fervant of the Naybe of Mafuah, and he had been
at Jidda to procure his firman from Metical Aga,
while Mahomet Gibber d was to come with me,
and was to bring it to the Naybe. This Abd el
cader no fooner was arrived at Mafuah, than, fol-
lowing the turn of his country for lying, he fpread
a report, that a great man, or prince, whom he
left at Jidda, was coming fpeedily to Mafuah ; that
he had brought great prefents to the Sherriffe and
Metical Aga ; that, in return, he had received a
large fum in go/d horn the SherrifFe's Vizir, Youfef
Cabil; befides as much as he pleafed from the En-
glifh, who had done nothing but feaft and regale
him for the feveral m»onths he had been at Jidda j

* The ifland of the Shepherds.

and

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 305

and that, when he departed, as this great man waJl||^
now going to vifit the Imam in Arabia Felix, all
the Englifh Ihips hoifled their colours, and fired
their cannon from morning to night, for three days
fucceffively, which was two days after he had failed,
and therefore what he could not poffibly have feen.
The confequence of all this was, the Naybe of
Mafuah expefted that a man with immenfe trea-
fures was coming to put himfelf into his bands. I
look therefore upon the danger 1 efcaped there as
fuperior to all thofe put together, that I have ever
been expofed to : of fuch material and bad confe-
quence is the mofl: contemptible of all weapons,
the tongue of a liar and a fool !

Jidda is in lat. 28*^ o' i" north, and in long. 39°
16' 45^'' eafl of the meridian of Greenwich. Our
weather there had few changes. The general wind
was north-weft, or more northerly. This blowing
along the direction of the Gulf brought a great
deal of damp along with it; and this damp increa-
fes as the feafon advances. Once in twelve or four-
teen days, perhaps, we had a fouth wind, which
was always dry. The higheft degree of the baro-
meter at Jidda, on the 5th of June, wind north,
was 26° 6', and the loweft on the [8th of fame
month, wind north-weft, was 25'' 7'. The higheft
degree of the thermometer was 97° on the 12th
of July, wind north, the loweft was 78° wind '
north.

Vol. I. Cc CHAP.

SC^ TRAVilLS TO DISCOVEK

CHAP. xn.

Sails from Jidda — Konfodah — Ras Heli boundary of
Arabia Felix — Arrives at Loheia — Proceeds to the
Straits of the Indian Ocean — Arrives there — Re-
turns by A%ab to Loheia,

IT was an the 8th of July 1769 I failed from
the harbour of Jidda on board the fame veffel
as before, and I fuffered the Rais to take a fmall
loading for his own account, upon condition that
he was to carry no paffengers. The wind was fair,
and we failed through the Engliffi fleet at their
anchors. As they had all honoured me with their
regret at parting, and accompanied me to the fhore,
the Rais was furprifed to fee the refpeQ paid to
his little veffel as it paffed under their huge Herns,
every one holding his colours, and faluting it with
eleven guns, except the fhip belonging to my
Scotch friend, who fhewed his colours, indeed,
but did not fire a gun, only (landing upon deck,
cried with the trumpet, " Captain ' wilhes

Mr. Bruce a good voyage.'* I flood upon deck,
took my trumpet, and anfwered, " Mr. Bruce

wifhes Captain a fpeedy and perfed return

of his underflanding;" a wifh, poor man, that has
not yet been accomplifhed, and very much to my
regret, it does not appear probable that ever it will.

That

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 307

That night having paiTed a clufter of flioals, callejdt^fc
the Shoals of Safia, we anchored in a fmall ba^s
Merfa Gedan, about twelve leagues from the har-
bour of Jidda.

The 9th of July, v/e pafled another fmall road
called Goofs y and at a quarter pafl nine, Raghwan,
eaft north-eaft two miles, and, at a quarter pad ten,
the fmall Port of Sodi, bearing eaft north-eaft, at
the fame diftance. At one and three quarters we
palTed Markat, two miles dillant north-eaft by eaft;
and a rock called Numan, two miles diftant to the
fouth-weft. After this the mountain of Somma,
and, at a quarter paft fix, we anchored in a fmall
unfafe harbour, called Merfa Brabim, of which we
had feen a very rough and incorred defign in the
hands of tlie gentlemen at Jidda. I have endea-
voured, with that draught before me, to corred it
fo far that it may now be depended upon.

The 10th, we failed, at five o'clock in the mor-
ning, with little wind, our courfe fouth and by
weft ; I fuppofe we were then going fomething lefs
than two knots an hour. At half after feven we
pafled the illand Abeled, and two other fmall moun-
tains that bore about a league fouth-weft and by
weft of us. The wind freftiened as it approached
mid-day, fo that at one o'clock we went lull three
knots an hour, being obliged to change our courfe
according to the lying of the iflands. It came to
be about fouth fouth-eaft in the end of the day.

At a quarter after one, we pafled Ras el Afkar,

meaning the Cape of the Soldiers, or of the Army,

C c 2 Here

3o8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

^.j^ere "we faw fome trees, and, at a confiderable
diftance within the Main, mountains to the north-
eaft of us. At two o'clock we paffed in the middle
channel, between five fandy iflands, all covered
with kelp, three on the eafi: or right hand, and two
on the weft. They are called Ginnan el Ab'iad^ or
the White Gardens, 1 fuppofe from the green herb
growing upon the white fand. At half after two,
with the fame wind, we palfed an ifland bearing
eaft from us, the M^n about a league diftant. At
three we paflfed clofe to an ifland bearing fouth-weft
of us, about a mile off. It is of a moderate height,
and is called Jibbel Surreine. At half paft four,
our courfe was fouth-eaft and by fouth ; we paffed
two iflands to the fouth-eaft of us, at two miles,
and a fmaller, weft fouth-weft, a quarter of a mile
diftant. From this to the Main will be about five
miles, or fomething more. At fifty minutes after
four, came up to an ifland which reached to Kon-
fodah. We faw to the weft, and wefl fouth-wefl
of us, different fmall iflands, not more than half
a mile diftant. We heaved -the line, and had no
foundings at thirty-two fathom, yet, if any where,
I thought there we were to find flioal water. At
five o'clock, our courfe being fouth-eaft and by
fouth, we paffed an ifland a quarter of a mile to
the weft of us, and afterwards a number of others
in a row ; and, at half paft eight, we arrived at an
anchoring-place, but which cannot be called a
harbour, named Merfa Hadou.

The iith, we left Merfa Hadou at four o'clock
in the morning. Being calm, we made little way;

our .

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 369

our courfe was fouth fouth-eafl, which changed to
a little more eafterly. At fix, we tacked to Hand
in for Konfodah harbour, which is very remarkable
for a high mountain behind it, whofe top is ter-
minated by a pyramid or cone of very regular
proportion. There was no wind to carry us in ;
we hoifted out the boat which I had bought at
Jidda for my pleafure and fafety, intending it to
be a prefent to my Rais at parting, as he very well
knew. At a quarter pad: eight, we were towed
to our anchorage in the harbour of Konfodah.

Konfodah means the town of the hedge-hog*.
It is a fmall village, confiding of about two hun-
dred miferable houfes, built with green wood, and
covered with mats, made of the doom, or palm-
tree ; lying on a bay, or rather a iliallow bafon,
in a defert wafle or plain. Behind the town are
fmall hillocks of white fand. Nothing grows on
fhore excepting kelp, but it is exceedingly beautiful,
and very luxuriant ; farther in, there are gardens.
Fiili is in perfe£l plenty ; butter and milk in great
abundance ; even the defert looks freflier than
other deferts, which made me imagine that rain
fell fometimes here, and this the Emir tojd me was
the cafe.

Although I made a draught of the port, it is not
worth the publiftiing. For though in all probabi-
lity it was once deep, fafe, and convenient, yet there
is nothing now but a kind of road, under fhelter
of a point, or ridge of land, which rounds out into

* Of Porcupine,

the

3 TO TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the fea, and ends in a Cape, called Bus Mozeffcu
Behind the town there is another fmall Cape, upon
which there are three guns mounted, but with
what intention it was not poffible to guefs.

The Emir Ferhan, governor of the town, was
an Abyllinian fxave, who invited me on Ihore, and
we dined together on very excellent provifion,
drelFed according to their cuftom. He faid the
country near the ihore was defert, but a little within
land,, or where the rpots and gravel had fixed the
land, the foil produced every thing, efpecially if
they had any fnowers of rain. It was fo long
fmce I had heard mention of a (hower of rain, that
1 could not help laughing, and he feemed to think
that he had faid fomething wrong, and begged fo
politely to know what I laughed at, that I was.
obligv";d to confefs. " The reafon, faid I, Sir, is an
abfurd one. What paHed in my mind at that time
was, that I had travelled about iwo thoufand miles,
and about twelve months, and had neither feen nor.
heard of a fhower of rain till now, and though
you will perceive by my converfation that I under-
ftand your language well, for a ftranger, yet I de-
clare to you, the moment you fpoke it, had you
afked, what was the Arabic for a fhower of rain,
I could not have told you. I declare to you, upon
ray word, it was that which I laughed at, and
upon no other account whatever.'* " You are
going, fays he, to countries where you will have
rain and wind, fufBciently cold, and where the
water in the mountains is harder than the dry

land.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3H

land, and people (land upon it*. We have only
the remnant of their fliovvers, and it is to that we
owe our greatefl happinefs."

I was very much pleafed with his converfation.
He feemed to be near fifty years of age, was ex-
ceedingly well drelfed, had neither gun nor piftol
about him, not even a knife, nor an Arab fervant
armed, though they were all well drelfed ; but he
had in his court-yard about threefcOre of the fined
horfes I had for a long time feen. We dined jufl
oppofite to them, in a fmall faloon (trowed with
India carpets ; the walls were covered with white
tiles, which I fuppofe he had got from India ; yet
his houfe, without, was a very common one,
diftinguirned'only from the reft in the village by
its fize.

He feemed to have a more rational knowledge
of things, and fpoke more elegantly than any man
I had converfed with in Arabia. He faid he had
loft the only feven fons he had, in one month, by
the fmall-pox : And when I attempted to go away,
he wiihed I would ftay with him fome time, and
faid, that 1 had better take up my lodgings in his
houfe, than go on board the boat that night, where I
was not perfedly in fafety. On my feeming furprif-
ed at this, he told me, that iaft year, a veflel from
Ivlafcatte, on the Indian Ocean, had quarrelled
with his people; that they had fought on the (hore,
and feveral of the crew had been killed ; that they

* Yemen, or the high land of Arabia Felix, where water
freezes.

had

312 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

had obftinately cruized in the neighbourhood, ia
hopes of reprifals, till, by the change of the mon-
foon, they hadlofl their paiTage home, and fo
were neceffarily confined to the Red Sea, for fix
months afterwards ; he added, they had four guns,
which they called patareroes, and that they would
certainly cut us off, as they could not mifs to fall
in with us. This was the very worft news that I
had ever heard, as to what might happen at fea.
Before this., we thought all llrangers were our
friends, and only feared the natives of the coaft for
enemies ; now, upon a bare defencelefs fhore, wc
found ourfelves likely to be a prey to both natives
and ftrangers.

Our Rais, above all, was feized with a panic;
his country was jull adjoining to Ma'catte upon
the Indian Ocean, and they were generally at war.
He faid he knew well who they were, that there
was no country kept in better order than Mafcatte;
but that thefe were a fet of pirates, belonging to the
Bahareen; that their veffels were (lout, full of men,
who carried incenfe to Jidda, and up as far as Ma-
dagafcar ; that they feared no man, and loved no
man, only were true to their employers for the
time. He imagined (I fuppofe it was but imagi-
nation,) that he had feen a veifel in the morning,
(a lug-fail veffel, as the pirate was defcribed to be,)
and it was with difficulty we could prevail on the
Rais not to fail back to Jidda. 1 took my leave of
the Emir to return to my tent, to hold a confulta-
tion what was to be done.

Konfodah

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 313

Konfodah is in the lat. 19*^ 7' North. It is one
of the mod unwholefome parts on the Ked Sea,
provifion is very dear and bad, and the water, (con-
trary to what the Emir had told me) execrable.
Goats flefh is the only meat, and that very dear
and lean. The anchorage, from the caftle, bears
north-weH: a quarter of a mile ditlant, from ten
to feven fathoms, in fand and mud.

On the J 4th, our Rais, more afraid of dying by
a fever than by the hands of the pirates, confented
willingly to put to fea. The Emir's good dinners
haci not extended to the boat's crew, and they had
been upon fhort commons. The Rais's fever had
returned fince he left Jidda, and I gave him fome
dofes of bark, after which he foon recovered. But
he was always complaining of hunger, which the
black flefii of an old goat, the Emir had given us,
did not fatisfy.

We failed at fix o'clock in the morning, having
firft, by way of precaution, thrown all our ballafl
over-board, that we might run into ftioal water upon
the appearance of the enemy. We kept a good
look-out toward the horizon all around us, efpeci-
ally when we failed in the morning. I obferved we
became all fearlefs, and bold, about noon; but
towards night the panic again feized us, like chil-
dren that are afraid of ghofts ; though at that time
we might have been fure that all flranger veiTels
were at anchor.

We had little wind, and paiTed betwen various
rocks to the weftward, continuing our courfe S.
S. E. nearly, fomewhat more eaflerly, and about

-three

314 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

three miles diftant from the fhore. At four o'clock,
noon, we palTed Jibbel Sabeia, a fandy ifland, lar-
ger than the others, but no higher. To this ifland
the Arabs of Ras Heli fend their wives and chil-
dren in time of war ; none of the reft are inhabit-
ed. At five we palled Ras Heli, which is the
boundary between Yemen, or Arabia Felix, and
the * Hejaz, or province of Mecca, the firft be-
longing to the Imam, or king of Sana, the other
to the Sherriife lately fpoken of.

I defired my Rais to anchor this night clofe un-
der the Cape, as it was perfeftly calm and clear,
and, by taking a mean of five obfervations of the
• paiTage of fo many flars, the moil proper for the
purpofe, over the meridian, I determined the lati-
tude of Ras Heli, and confequently the boundary
of the two ftates, Hejaz and Yemen, or Arabia
Felix and Arabia Deferta, to be 18° t^6 north.

The mountains reach here nearer to the fea.
We anchored a mile from the fhore in 15 fa-
thoms, the banks were fand and coral ; from this
the coail is better inhabi'ted. The principal Arabs
to which the country belongs are Cotr^ fhi, Seba-
hi, Helali, Mauchlota, and Menjahi. Thefe are
not Arabs by origin, but came from the oppofite
coaft near Azab, and were Shepherds^ who v/ere
ftubborn enemies to Mahomet, but at laft convert-
ed; they are black, and woolly-headed. The
mountains and fmall iilands on the coaft, farther
inland to the eaftward, are in pofTeffion of the

* Arabia Deferta.

Jrlahih,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 315

Ilablh. Thefe are white in colour, rebellions, or
independent Arabs, who pay no fort of obedience
to the Imam, or the SherrilFe of Mecca, but occa-
fionally plunder the towns on the coaft.

All the fandy defert at the foot of the mountains
is called Tehama^ which extends to Mocha. But
in the maps it is marked as a feparate country from
Arabia Felix, whereas it is but the low part, or
fea-coa(l of it, and is not a feparate jurifdi6lion.
It is called Tema in fcripture, and derives its name
from Taaiiii in Arabic, which fignifiesthe fea-coaft.
There is little water here, as it never rains ; there
is alfo no animal but the gazel or antelope, and but
a few of them. There are few birds, and thofe
which may be found are generally mute.

The 15th, we failed with little wind, coafling
along the fhore, fometimes at two miles diftance,
and often lefs. The mountains now feemed high,
1 founded feveral times, and found no ground at
thirty fathoms, within a mile of the fliore. We
pafled feveral ports or harbours ; firft Merfa Amec,
• where there is good anchorage in eleven fathom of
water, a mile and a half from the fliore ; at eight
o'clock, Nohoudc, with an ifland of the fame
name; at ten, a harbour and village called Daha-
ban. As the fky was quite overcaft, I could get no
obfervation, though I watched very attentively,
Dahaban is a large village, where there is both
w^ater and provifion, but I did not fee its harbour.
It bore E. N. E. of us about three miles diflant.
At three quarters pafl eleven we came up to a high

rock.

3l6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

rock, called Koiumbal, and I lay to, for obfervation.
It is of a dark-brown, approaching to red ; is about
two miles from the Arabian fhore, and produces
nothing. I found its latitude to be 17° S7' north.
A fmall rock Hands up at one end of the bafe of
the mountain.

We came to an anchor in the port of Sibt, where
I v/ent aOiore under pre ence of feeking provifions,
but in reality to fee the country, and obferve what
fort of people the inhabitants were. The mountains
from Kotumbal ran in an even chain along the
coad, at no great diflance, but of fuch a height,
that as yet we had feen nothing like them. Sibt is
too mean, and too fmall to be called a village, even
in Arabia. It confifts of about fifteen or twenty
miferable huts, built of ft raw ; around it there is
a plantation of doom-trees, of the leaves of which
they make mats and fails, which is the whole ma-<
nufa6^ure of the place.

Our Rais made many purchafes here. The
Gotrujhi, the inhabitants of this village, feem to be
as brutifh a people as any in the world. They are
perfedly lean, but mufcular, and apparently flrong;
they wear all their own hair, which they divide
upon the crown bf their head. It is black and
bufliy, and, although fufficiently long, feems to
partake of the woolly quality of the Negro. Their
head is bound round with a cord or fillet of the
doom leaf, like the ancient diadem. The women
are generally ill-favoured, and go naked like the
men. I'hofe tlut are married have, for the molt

parts

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 317

part, a rag about their middle, fome of them not
that. Girls of all ages go quite naked, but feem
not to be confcious of any impropriety in their ap-
pearance. Their lips, eye-brows, and foreheads
above the eye-brow, are ail marked with ftibium,
or antimony, the common ornament of favages
throughout the world. They feemed to be perfedly
on an equality with the men, walked, fat, and
fmoked with them, contrary to the praftice of all
women among the Turks and Arabs.

We found no provifions at Sibt, and the water
very bad. We returned on board our veffel at fun-
'fet, and anchored in eleven fathom, little lefs than
a mile from the Ihore. About eight o'clock, two
girls, not fifteen, fwam off from ' the (hore, and
came on board. They wanted ftibium for their eye-
brows. As they had laboured fo hard for it, I gave
them a fmall quantity, which they tied in a rag
about their neck. I had killed three fharks this
day ; one of them, very large, was lying on deck.
I aiked them if they were not afraid of that fifh?
They faid, they knew it, but it would not hurt
them, and defired us to eat it, for it was good,
and made men ftrong. There appeared no fymp-
toms of jealoufy among them. The harbour of
Sibt is of a femicircular form, fcreened between
N. N. E. and S. S. W. but to the fouth, and fouth
weft, it is expofed, and therefore is good only in
fummer.

The 1 6th, at five in the morning, we failed from
the port of Sibt, but, the wind being contrary,

* were

$lS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

were obliged to fleer to the W. S. W. and it was
not till nine o'clock we could refume our true
courfe, which was fouth-eaft. At half pafl four in the
afternoon the main bore feven miles eaft, when we
paiTed an ifland a quarter of a mife in length, called
Jibbel Foran^ the Mountain of Mice. It is of a
rocky quality, with fome trees on the fouth end,
thence it rifes infenfibly, and ends in a precipice
on the north. At fix, v/e paflTed the ifland ' De-
rege, low and covered with grafs, but round like
a fhield, which is the reafon of its name. At half
paft fix Ras Tarfa bore E. S. E. of us, diflant
about twp miles ; and at three quarters after fix we
pafled feveral other iflands, the largeft of which is
called Sar offer. It is covered wkh grafs, has fmall
trees upon it, and, probably, therefore water, but
is uninhabited. At nine in the evening we anchored
before Djezan.

Djezan is in lat. 16" 45' north, fituated on a
cape, which forms one fide of a large bay. It is
built, as are all the towns on the coaft, with flraw
and mud. It was once a very confiderable place
for trade, but fmce coffee hath been fo much in
demand, of which they have none, that commerce
is moved to Loheia and Hodeida. It is an ufur-
pation from the territory of the Imam, by a Sher-
rifte of the family of Beni Haffan, called Booarijh.
The inhabitants are all Sherriffes, in other terms,
troublefome, ignorant f..natics. Djezan is one of
the towns moft fubjcd to fevers. The Farenteitf ,

* Derege, from that word in Hebrew.
\ It fignifies Pharaoh's worm.

or

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 319

or worm, is very frequent here. They have great
abundance of excellent fifli, and fruit in plenty,
which is brought from the mountains, whence alfo
they are fupplied with very good water.

The 1 7th, in the evening, we failed from Dje-
zan ; in the night we pafled feveral fmall villages
called Dueime, which I found to be in lat. 16*^ 12'
5" north. In the morning, being three miles diftant
from the fhore, we paiTed Cape Cofferah, which
forms the north fide of a large Gulf. The moun-
tains here are at no great diflance, but they are
not high. The whole country feems perfedly
bare and defert, without inhabitants. It is report-
ed tckbe the moil unwholefome part of Arabia
Felix.

On the 1 8th, at feven in the morning, we firft
difcovered the mountains, under which lies the
town of liOheia. Thefe mountains bore north
' north-eaft of us, when anchored in three-fathom
water, about five miles from the fhore. The bay
is fo fhallow, and the tide being at ebb, we could
get no nearer; the town bore ealt north-eaft of us.
Loheia is built upon the fouth-weil fide of a pen-
infula, furrounded every where, but on the eafl,
by the fea. In the middle of this neck there is a
fmall njountain which ferves for a fortrefs, and
there are towers with cannon, which reach acrofs
on each fide of the hill to the fhore. Beyond this
is a plain, where the Arabs intending to attack
the town, generally aifemble. The ground upon
w'hich Loheia flands is black earth, and feems to
have been formed by the retiring of the fea. At

Loheia

330 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Loheia we had a very uneafy fenfation, a kind of
prickling came into our legs, which were bare,
occafioned by the fak effluvia, or fleams, from the
earth, which all about the town, and further to
the fouth, is ftrongly impregnated with that mi-
neral.

Fiih, and butcher meat, and indeed all forts of
provifion, are plentiful and reafonable at Loheia,
but the water is bad. It is found in the fand at
the foot of the mountains, down the fides of which
it has fallen in the time of the rain, and is brought
to the town in (kins upon camels. There is alfo ,
plenty of fruit brought from the mountains by the
Bedovve, who live in the Ikirts of the town and
fupply it with milk, firewood, and fruit, chiefly .
grapes and bananas.

The . government of the Imam is much more
gentle than any Moorifh government in Arabia or
Africa ; the people too are of gentler manners, the
men, from early ages, being accuflomed to trade.
The women at Loheia are as folicitous to pleafe as
thofe of the moft polifhed nations in Europe; and,
though very retired, whether married or unmar-
ried, they are not lefs careful of their drefs and
perfons. At home they wear nothing but a long
Ihift of fine cotton-cloth, fuitable to their quality.
They dye their feet and hands with * henna, not
only for ornament, but as an aflringent, to keep
them dry from fweat : they wear their own hair,
■which is plaited, and falls in long tails behind.

* Ligiifirum iEgyptiacum Latifolium.

The

Flate 6.

»s-^fe^>'-- - = ^^

-^^IM*^?

j:

'^y^m/'- ef c^^n-a^-t^yri/H' ^^'h n / r^ /'uy/rij/i,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 32 I

The Arabians confider long and flraight hair as
beautiful. The AbylTinians prefer the fhort and
curled. The Arabians perfume themfelves and
their ihifts with a compofition of muik, amber^
greafe, incenfe, and benjoin, which they mix with
the fliarp horny nails that are at the extremity of
the fifh furrumbac; but why this ingredient is ad-
ded I know not, as the fmell of it, v/hen burnt,
does not at all differ from that of horn. They put
all thefe ingredients into a, kind of c.cnfer on char-
coal, and (land over the fmoke of it. The fmell
is very agreeable; but, in Europe, it would be a.
very expenfive article of luxury.

The Arab women are not black, there are eve!<
fome exceedingly fair. They are more corpulent
than the men, but are not much efleemed. — The
AbylTmian girls, who are bought for money, arc;
greatly preferred; among other reafons, becaufc
their time of bearing children is longer; few Ara-
bian women have children after the age of twenty.
At Loheia we received a letter from Mahomet
Gibberti, telling us, that it would yet be ten days
before he could join us, and dehring us to be.
ready by that time. This hurried us extremely^
for we were much afraid we fhould not have time
to fee the remaining part of the Arabian Gulf, to
where it joins with the Indian Ocean,

On the 27th, in the evening, we parted from
Loheia, but were obliged to tow the boat out. —
About nine, we anchored between an ifland call-
ed Ormook, and the land; about eleven wc let fail
Vol. L D d with

^%% TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

with a wind at north -eaft, and pafled a cluflet of
iflands on our left.

The 28th, at five o'clock in the morning, we
faw the fmall ifland of Rafab ; at a quarter after
fix we palTed between it and a large ifland called
Camaran^ where there is a Turkifh garrifon and
town, and plenty of good water. At twelve we
pafled a low round ifland, which feemed to confifl:
of white fand. The weather being cloudy, I could
get no obfervation. At one o'clock we were off
Cape Ifrael.

As the weather w^as fair, and the wind due
north and ileady, though little of it, my Rais faid
that we had better fl:retch over to Azab, than run
along the coafl: in the diredion we were now going,
becaufe, fomewhere between Hodeida and Cape
Nummel, there was foul ground, with which he
fliould not like to engage in the night. Nothing
could be more agreeable to me. For, though I
knew the people of Azab were not to be trufted,
\et there were two things I thought 1 might accom-
plifli, by being on my guard. The one was, to
learn what thofe ruins were that I had heard fo
much fpoken of in Egypt and at Jidda, and which
are fuppofed to have been works of the Queen of
Sheba, whofe country this was. The other was,
to obtain the myrrh and frankincenfe-tree, which
arow upon that coafl: only, but neither of which ~
had as yet been defcribed by any author.

At four o'clock we pafled a dangerous flioal,
which is the one 1 fuppofe our Rais was afraid of.

Ifx

f

« THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 333

If fo, he could not have adopted a worfe meafure,
than by flretching over from Cape Ifrael to Azab
in the night ; for, had the wind come wefterly,
as it foon after did, we fhoiild have probably been
on the bank ; as it was, we pafled it fomething lefs
than a mile, the wind was north, and we were
going at a great rate. At fun-fet we faw Jibbel
Zekir, with three fmall iflands, on the north fide
of it. At twelve at night the wind failing, we found
ourfelves about a league from the well end of Jib-
bel Zekir, but it then began to blow frefh from
the weft ; fo that the Rais begged liberty to aban-
don the voyage to Azab, and to keep our firft in-
tended one to Mocha. For my part, I had no
defire at all to land at Mocha. Mr. Niebuhr
had already been there before us ; and I was fure
every ufeful obfervation had been made as to the
country, for he had ftaid there a very confiderable
time, and was ill ufed. We kept our courfe, how-
ever, upon Mocha town.

The 29th, about two o'clock in the morning,
we pafled fix iflands, caHed Jibbel el Ouree; and
having but indifferent wind, we anchored about
nine off the point of the fhoal, which lies imme-
diately eaft of the north fort of Mocha.

The town of Mocha makes an agreeable appear-
ance from the fea. Behind it there is a grove of
palm-trees, that do not feem to have the beauty
of thofe in Egypt, probably owing to their being
expofed to the violent fouth-wefters that blow here,
and make it very uneafy riding for veflels; there
is, however, very feldom any damage done. The

D d 2 porr

334 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

port Is formed by two points of land, which make
a femi-circle. Upon each of the points is a fmall
fort; the town is in the middle, and if attacked
by an enemy, ihefe two forts are fo detached that,
they might be made of more ufe to annoy the town,
than they could ever be to defend the harbour.
The ground for anchorage is of the very belt kind,
fand without coral, which laft chafes the cables all
over the Red Sea.

On the 30th, at fevcn o'clock in the morning,
with a gentle but fleady wind at weft, we failed for
the mouth of the Indian Ocean. Our Rais became
more lively and bolder as he approached his own
coaft, and offered to carry me for nothing, if I
would go home with him to Sheher, but I had
already enough upon my hand. It is however, a
voyage fome man of knowledge and enterprife
fhould attempt, as the country and the manners of
the people are very little known. But this far is
certain, that there all the precious gums grow; all
the drugs of the galenical fchool, the frankincenfe,
myrrh, benjoin, dragons-blood, and a multitude of
others, the natural hiftory of which no one has yet
given us.

The coaft of Arabia, all along from Mocha to
the Straits, is a bold coaft, clofe to which you
may run without danger night or day. We con-
tinued our courfe within a mile of the ftiore,
where in fome places there appeared to be fmall
woods, in others a flat bare country, bounded
with mountains at a confiderable diftance. Our

wind

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 2^%^

wind frefhened as we advanced. About four in
the afternoon we faw the mountain which forms
one of the Capes of the Straits of Babelmandeb, in
fhape refembling a gunner^s quoin. About fix
o'clock, for what reafon I did not know, our Rais
infifted upon anchoring for the night behind a fmall
point. I thought, at firft, it had been for pilots.

The 31(1, at nine in the morning, we came to
an anchor above Jibbel Raban, or Pilots Ifland,
juft under Hhe Cape which, on the Arabian fide,
forms the north entrance of the Straits. We now
faw a fmall veflel enter a round harbour, divided
from us by the Cape. The Rais faid he had a de-
fign to have anchored there lafl night ; but as it
was troublefome to get out in the morning by the
wefterly wind, he intended to run over to Perim
jfland to pafs the night, and give us an opportu-
nity to make what obfervations we pleafed in quiet.

We caught here a prodigious quantity of the
fined fifli that I had ever before feen, but the filly
Rais greatly troubled our enjoyment, by telling
us, that many of the fifli in that part were poifon-
ous. Several of our people took the alarm, and
abftained; the rule I made ufe of in choofing mine,
was to take all thofe that were liked the fifli of our
own northern feas, nor had I ever any reafon to
complain.

At noon, I made an obfervation of the fun, juft
under the Cape of the Arabian ihore, with a Had-
ley's quadrant, and found it to be in lat. 12° 38'
30", but by many palfages of the dars, obferved

by

326 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

by my large aflronomical quadrant in the ifland of
Perim, all dedu£lions made, I found the true lati-
tude of the Cape Ihould be rather 12° 39' 20"
north.

Perim is a low ifland, its harbour good, front-
ing the Abyffinian fliore. It is a barren, bare rock,
producing, on fome parts of it, plants of abfyn-.
thium, or rue, in others kelp, that did not feem
to thrive ; it was at this time perfeftly fcorched
by the heat of the fun, and had only a very faint
appearance of having ever vegetated. The ifland
itfelf is about five miles in length, perhaps more,
and about two miles in breadth. It becomes nar-
rower at both ends. Ever fmce we anchored at
the Cape, it had begun to blow ftrongly from the
weft, which gave our Rais great apprehenlion, as,
he faid, the wind fometimes continued in that
point for fifteen days together. This alarmed me
not a little, left, by mifting Mahomet Gibberti,
we fhould lofe our voyage. We had rice and but-
ter, honey and flour. The fea afforded us plenty
of fifli, and I had no doubt but hunger would get
the better of our fears of being poifoned: with
water we were likewife pretty well fupplied, but
all this was rendered ufelefs by our being deprived
of fire. In fhort, though we could have killed
twenty turtles a-day, all we could get to make fire
of, were the rotten dry roots of the rue that we
pulled from the clefts of the rock, v/hich, with
much ado, ferved to make fire for boiling our
coffee.

the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3^7

The I ft of Auguft we ate drammock, made
with cold water and raw flour, mixed with butter
and honey, but we foon found this would not do,
though I never was hungry, in my life, with fo
much good provifion about me; for, befides the
articles already fpoken of, we had two fkins of
wine from Loheir, and a fmall jar of brandy,
which I had kept exprefsly for a feaft, to drink the
King's health on arriving in his dominions, the
Indian Ocean. 1 therefore propofed, that, leaving
the Rais on board, myfelf and two men Ihould
crofs over to the fouth fide, to try if we could get
any wood in the kingdom of Adel. This, how-
ever, did not pleafe my companions. We were
much nearer the Arabian fhore, and the Rais had
obferved feveral people on land, who feemcd to be
fifliers.

If the Abyflinian fliore was bad by its being de-
fert, the danger of the Arabian fide was, that we
fhould fall into the hands of thieves. But the fear
of wanting, even coffee, was fo prevalent, and the
repetition of the drammock dofe fo difgufting, that
we refolved to take a boat in the evening, with two
men armed, and fpeak to the people we Ijad feen.
Here again the R^^is's heart failed him. He faid
the inhabitants on that coaft had fire-arms as well
as we, and they could bring a million together,
if they wanted them, in a moment ; therefore we
fhould forfakePerim ifland for the time, and, with-
out hoilting in the boat, till vi^e faw further, run
with the veifel clofe to the Arabian fhore. There,

it

o

ZS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

it was conceived, armed as we were, with ammu-
nition in plenty, we Ihould be able to defend our-
felves, if thofe we had feen were pirates, of which
1 had not any fufpicion, as they had been eight
hours in our fight, without having made one move-
ment nearer us ; but I was the only perfon on
board that was of that opinion.

Upon attempting to get our vefTel out, we found
the wind ftrong againft us ; fo that we were oblig-
ed, with great difficulty and danger, to tow her
round the v^-eft: point, at the expence of many hard
knocks, which Ihe got by the way. During this
operation, the wind had calmed confiderably;
my quadrant, and every thing was on board ; all our
arms, new charged and primed, were laid, covered
with a cloth, in the cabin, when we found hap-
pily that the wind became due eaft, and with the
wind our refolution changed. We were but twenty
leagues to Mocha, and not above twenty-fi:ji: from
Azab, and we thought it better, rather to get on
our return to Loheia, than to flay and live upon
drammock, or fight with the pirates for firewood-
About fix o'clock, we were under weigh. The
wind being perfectly fair, we carried as much fail
as our vefl'el would bear, indeed, till her mafls
nodded again. But before we begin the account
of our return, it will be neceflary to fay fomething
of thefe famous Straits, the communication be-
tween the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

This entrance begins to fliew itfelf, or take a fliape
between two capes ; the one on the continent of

Africa,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 329

Africa, the other on the peninfula of Arabia. That
on the African fide is a high land, or cape, formed
by a chain of mountains, which run out in a point
far into the fea. The Portuguefe, or Venetians,
the firll Chriftian traders in thofe parts, have called
it Gardcfui, which has no fignification in any lan-
guage. But, in that of the country where it is
fituated, it is called Gardefan^ and means the
St7-aits of Burial, the reafon of which will be feen
afterwards. The oppofite cape is Fartack, on the
eaft coaft of Arabia Felix, and the diftance between
them, in a line drawn acrofs from one to another,
not above fifty leagues. The breadth between thefc
two lands diminiflies gradually for about 150
leagues, till at la(t it ends in the Straits, whofe
breadth does not fee m to me to be above fix leagues.
After getting within the Straits, the channel is
divided into two, by the ifland of Perim, otherwifc
called Mehun. Thz inmoft and northern channel,
or that towards the Arabian ihore, is two leagues
broad at moft, and from twelve to feventeen fathom
of water. The other entry is three leagues broad,
v.'ith deep water, from twenty to thirty fathom. From
this, the coaft on both fides runs nearly in a north-
weft direction, widening as it advances, and the
Indian Ocean grows ftraiter. The coaft upon the
left hand is part of the kingdom of Adel, and, on
the right, that of Arabia Felix. The palTage on
the Arabian ftiore, though the narroweft and fhal-
loweft of the two, is that moft frequently failed
through, and efpecially in the night ; becaufe, if
you do not round the fouth-point of the jfland, as

near

330 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

•near, as poffible, in attempting to enter the broad
one, but are going large with the wind favourable,
you fall in with a great number of low fmall iflands,
where there is danger. At ten o'clock, with the
wind fciir, our courfe almofl north-eaft, we paffed
three rocky ifiands about a mile on our left.

On the 2d, a"t fun-rife, we faw land a-head,
which we took to be the Main, but, upon nearer
approach, and the day becoming clearer, we found
two low iilands to the leeward ; one of which we
fetched with great difficulty. We found there the
ftock of an old acacia-tree, and two or three bun-
dles of wreck, or rotten flicks, which we gathered
with great care; and all of us agreed, we would
eat breakfaft, dinner, and fupper hot, inflead of
the cold repaft we had made. upon the drammock
in the Straits. We now made feveral large fires;
one took the charge of the coffee, another boiled
the rice; we killed four turtles, made ready a dol-
phin ; got beer, wine, and brandy, and drank the
King's health in earneft, which our regimen would
would not allow us to do in the Straits of Babel-
mandeb. While this good cheer was preparing, I
faw with my glafs, firft one man running along the
coafl weuward, who did not ftop; about a quarter
of an hour after, another upon a camel, walking at
the ordinary pace, who difmounted juft oppofite
to us, and, as I thought, kneeled down to fay his
prayers upon the fand. We had launched our
boat immediately upon fe^-ing the trunk of the tree
on the ifland ; fo we were ready, and I ordered two
of the men to row me on Ihore, which they did.

It

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 33 I

It is a bay of but ordinary depth, with ftrag-
gling trees, and feme flat ground along the coaft.
Immediately behind is a row of mountains of a
brownifli or black colour. The man remained
motionlefs, fitting on the ground, till the boat was
afliore, when I jumped out upon the fand, being
armed with a (hort double-barrelled gun, a pair of
piftols, and a crooked knife. As foon as the fa-
vage faw me afliorc, he made the bed of his way
to his camel, and got upon his back, but did not
offer to go away.

I fat down on the ground, after taking the white
turban off my head, and waving it feveral times
in token of peace, and feeing that he did not ilir,
I advanced to him about a hundred yards. Still
he flood, and after again waving to him v.'ith my
hands, as inviting him to approach, I made a fign
as if I was returning to the fhore. Upon feeing
this he advanced feveral paces, and flopt. I then
laid my gun down upon the land, thinking that
had frightened him, and walked up as near him as
he would fuffer me ; that is, till I faw he was
preparing to go away. 1 then waved my turban,
and cried, Sa/am, Salam. He (laid till I was
within ten yards of him. He was quite naked,
was black, and had a fillet upon his head, either
of a black or blue rag, and bracelets of white
beads upon both his arms. He appeared as un-
determined what to do. I fpoke as diftin6lly to
him as I could, Salam Alicum. — He anfwered fome-
thing like Salam, but what it was I know not.

I am.

33'w TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

I am, faid I, a ftranger from India, who came laft
from Tajoura in the bay of Zeyla, in the kingdom
of Adel. He nodded his head, and faid fomething
in an unknown language, in which I heard the
repetition of Tajoura and Adel. I told him I wanted
water, and made a fign of drinking. He pointed up
the coait to the eafiward, and faid, Raheeda^ then
made a fign of drinking, and faid Tybei, I now
found that he underftood me, arid aiked him where
Azab was ? he pointed to a mountain juft before
him and faid, Eh owah Azab Tybe, Hill with a
reprefentation of drinking.

I debated with myfelf, whether I fhould not
take this favage prifoner. He had three fliort
javelins in his hand, and was mounted upon a
camel. I was on foot, and above the ancles in
fand, with only two piftols, which, whether they
would terrify him to furrender or not, I did not
know ; I fhould otherwife, have been obliged to
have fhot him, and this I did not intend. After
having invited him a«? courteoufly as 1 could, to
the boat, I walked towards it myfelf, and, in the
way, took up my firelock, which was lying hid
among the fand. I faw he did not follow me a
ftep, but when I had taken the gun from the
f^round, he fet off at a trot as faft as he could, to
ihe weflward, and we prefently loll him among
the trees,

I returned to the boat, and then to dinner on
the ifland, which we named Traitor's Ifland, from
the fufpicious behaviour of that only man v>e had
fecn near it. This txcurfion loft me the time of

making

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 333

making my obfervation ; all the ufe I made of it
was to gather fome flicks and camel's dung, which
I heaped up, and made the men carry to the boat,
to ferve us for firing, ,if we fliould be detained.
The wind was very fair, and we got under weigh
by two o'clock.

About four we pafled a rocky ifiand with break-
ers on its fouth end, we left it about a mile to the
windward of us. The Rais called it Crab-ifland,
About five o'clock we came to an anchor clofe to
a cape of no height, in a fmall bay, in three fa-
thom of water, and leaving a fmall ifland juft on
our flern. We had not anchored here above ten
minutes, before an old man and a boy came down
to us. As they had no arms, I went afhore, and
bought a fkin of water. The old man had a
very thievifh appearance, was quite naked, and
laughed or fmiled at every word he faid. He
fpoke Arabic, but very badly ; told me there was
great plenty of every thing in the country whither
he would carry me. He faid, moreover, that there
was a king there, and a people that loved ftran-
gers.

The murder of the boat's crew of the Elgin
Eaft-Indiaman, in that very fpot where he was then
fitting and praifing his countrymen, came prefently
into my mind. 1 found my hand involuntarily
take hold of my piftol, and I was for the only time
in my life, ftrongly tempted to commit murder.
I thought I faw in the looks of that old vagrant,
one of thofe who had butchered fo many Englifli-
men in cold blood.

From

334 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

From his feadlnefs to come down, and being-
fo near the place, it was next to impoffible that
he was not one of the party. A little refleftlon,
however, faved his life ; and I afked him if he
could fell US a iheep, when he fald they were com-
ing. Thefe words put me on my guard, as I did
Hot know how many people might accompany them.
I therefore defired him to bring me the water to
the boat, which the boy accordingly did, and we
paid him, in cohol, or ftibium, to his wifhes.

Immediately upon this I ordered them to put
the boat afloat, demanding, all the time, where
were the fheep ? A few minutes afterwards, four
(tout young men came down, dragging after them
two lean goats, which the old man maintained to
me were Iheep. Each man had three light javelins
in his hand, and they began to wrangle exceed-
ingly about the animals, whether they were flieep
or goats, though they did not feem to underftand
one word of our hn^udgQj but the words Jheep
and goat in Arabic. In five minutes after, their
number increafed to eleven, and I thought it was
then full time for me to go on board, for every
one of them feemed, by his difcourfe and geftures,
to be violently agitated, but what they faid I could
not comprehend. I drew to the (hore, and then put
myfelf on board as foon as poffible. They feemed
to keep at a certain diflance, c/ying out Belled,
belled! and pointing to the land, invited me to come
afnore ; the old hypocrite alone feemed to have no
fear, but followed me clofe to the boat. I then
rcfolved to have a frtfe difcourfe u'ith him. " There

is

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 335

is no need, faid I to the old man, to fend for thir-
teen men to bring two goats. We bought the
water from people that had no lances, and we can
do without the Iheep, though we could not want
the water, therefore, every man that has a lanee
in his hand let him go away from me, or I will fire
upon him."

They feemed to take no fort of notice of this,
and came rather nearer. " You old grey-headed
traitor, faid 1, do you think I don't know what
you want, by inviting me on fhore ; let all thofe
about you with arms go home about their bufmefs,
or I will in a minute blow them all off the face of
the earth. He then jumped up, with rather more
agility than his age feemed to promife, and went to
where the others vi^ere fitting in a duller, and after
a little converfation the whole of them retired.

The old fellow and the boy now came down
without fear to the boat, when 1 gave them to-
bacco, fome beads, and antimony, and did every
thing to gain the father's confidence. But he flill
fmiled and laughed, and 1 faw clearly he had taken
jiis refolution. The whole burden of his fong was,
to perfnade me to come on fhore, and he mention-
ed every inducement, and all the kindnefs that
he would fhew me. " It is fit, you old rogue, faid
I, that, now your life is in my hands, you ihould
know how much better men there are in the world
than you. They were my country me?i, eleven or
twelve of whom you murdered about three years
ago, in the very place where you are now fitting,

and

33^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVfiR

and though I could have killed the fame tiumber
to-day, without any danger to myfelf, I have not
only let them go away, but have .bought and fold
with you, and given you prefents, when, accord-
ing to your own law, I Ihould have killed both

you and your fon. Now do not imagine,

knowing what I know, that ever you fhall decoy
me afhore; but if you will bring me a branch of
the myrrh tree, and of the incenfe tree to-morrow,
I will give you two fonduclis for each of them."
He faid, he would do it that night. " The fooner
the better, faid I, for it is now becoming dark.**
Upon this he fent away his boy, who in lefs than a
quarter of an hour came back with a branch in his
hand.

I could not contain my joy, I ordered the boat
to be drawn upon the fliore, and went out to receive
it ; but, to my great difappointment, 1 found that
it was a branch of Acacia, or Sunt, which we had
every where met with in Egypt, Syria, and Arabia^
I told him, this was of no ufe, repeating the word
Gerar, SaisI, Sunt. He anfwered Eh owah Sale/;
but being alked for the myrrh (mour), he faid it
vv^as far up in the mountains, but would bring it
to me if I would go to the town. Providence,
however, had dealt more kindly with us in the mo-
ment than we expefted. For, upon going afhore
out of eagernefs to get the myrrh, I faw, not a
quarter of a mile from us, fitting among the trees,
at lead thirty men, armed with javelins, who all
got up the moment they faw me landed. I called

to

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^^^'^.y

to the boatmen to fet the boat afloat, which they
immediately did, and I got quickly on board, near
up to the middle in water ; but as I went by the
old man I gave him fo violent a blow upon the
face with the thorny branch in my hand, that it
felled him to the ground. The boy fled, and we
rowed off; but before we took leave of thefe trai-
tors, we gave them a difcharge of three blunder-
buffes loaded with piftol-fliot, in the direction
where, in all probability, they were lying to fee the
boat go off.

I direded the Rais to (land out towards Crab-
ifland, and there being a gentle breeze from the
fhore, carrying an eafy fail, we flood over upon
Mocha town, to avoid fome rocks or iflands, which
he faid were to the weftward. While lying at Crab-
illand, I obferved two ffars pafs the meridian, and
by them I concluded the latitude of that ifland to
be 13° 2 45" North.

The wind continuing moderate, but more to the
fouthward, at three o'clock in the morning of the
3d, we paffed Jibbel el Ouree, then Jibbel Zekir;
and having a ffeady gale, with fair wea:her, paffmg
to the weflward of the ifland Rafab, between that
and fome other iflands to the north-eaft, where the
wind turned contrary, we arrived at Loheia, the
6th, in the morning, being the third day from the
time we quitted Azab. We found every thing well
on our arrival at Loheia; but no word of Mahomet
Gibberti, and I began now to be uneafy. The
rains in Abyffmia were to ceafe the 6th of next

Vol. I. E e month.

338 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

month, September, and then was the proper time
for our journey to Gondar.

The only money in the country of the * Iniam,
is a fmall piece lefs than a fixpence, and by this
the value of all the different denominations of fo-
reign coin is afcertained. It has four names. Com-
m^fli, Loubia, Muchfota, and Harf, but the firft
two of thefe are moft commonly ufed.

This money is very bafe adulterated filver, if
indeed there is any in it. It has the appearance of
pewter; on the one fide is written Olmafs, the
name of the Imam ; on the other, Emir el Mou-
meneen, t^rlnce of the Faithful, or True Believers:
a title, fird'taken by Omar after the death of Abou
Beer ; and fmce, borne by all the legitimate Ca-
liphs. There are likewife Half-commefhes, and
thefe are the fmailefl fpecie current in Yemen.

I VENETIAN SEQUIN, ------ 90")

1 FONDUCLI, - --------- 80 (

' 0 > COMMESHES.

t BARBA RY -SEQUIN, - ----- 80 I

I PATAKA, or IMPERIAL DOLLAR, 40 J

When the Indian merchants or velTels are here,
the fonducli is raifed three commeflies more, though
all fpecie is fcarce in the Imam's country, notwith-
ilanding the quantity continually brought hither for
coifee, in fdver patakas, that is, dollars, which is
the coin in which purchafes of any amount are paid.
When they are to be changed into commefhes, the
changer or broker gives you but 39 inflead of 40,
fo he gains 2\: per cent, for all money he changes,
that is, by giving bad coin for good.

♦ Arabia Felix, or Yemen,

The

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 339

The long meafure in Yemen is the peek of Stam-
boul, as they call it; but, upon meafuring it with
a ilandard of a Stainboul peek, upon a brafs rod
made on purpofe, 1 found it 26^- inches, which is
neither the Stambouline peek, the Hendaizy peek,
nor the el Belledy peek. The peek of Stainboul is
23^ inches, fo this of Loheia is a dillind: peek,
which may be called * Yemani.

The weights of Loheia are the rotolo, which
are of two forts, one of 140 drachms, and ufed in
felling fine, the other 1 60 drachms, for ordinary
and coarfer goods. This lad is divided into 1 6
ounces, each ounce into i o drachms ; 1 00 of thefe
rotolos are a kantar, or quintal. The quintal of Ye-
men, carried to Cairo or Jidda, is 1 1 3 rotolo, becaufe
the rotolo of thefe places is 144 drachms. Their
weights appear to be of Italian origin, and were
probably brought hither when the Venetians carried
on this trade. There is another weight, called
faranzala, which I take to be the native one of the
country. It is equal to 20 rotolo, of 160 drachms
each.

The cuftoms, which at Mocha are three per cent,
upon India goods, are five here, when brought di-
reftly from India ; but all goods whatever, brought
from Jidda by merchants, whether Turks or na-
tives, pay feven per cent, at Loheia.

Loheia is in lat. 15° 40' 52" north, and in long.
42° 58' i5"eaft of the meridian of Greenwich. —
The barometer, at its highefl: on the 7th day of

* That is, the Peek of Arabia Felix, or Yemen.

E e 2 Augufl:,

340 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Auguft, was 26° 9', and its lowed 26° i', on the
30th of July.- — The thermometer, when at its
higheft, was 99° on the 30th of the fame month,
wind north-eafl; and its lowefl was 81 ° on the 9th
of Augufl, wind fouth by eafl.

On the 31(1 of Augufl, at four o'clock in the
morning, I faw a comet for the firfl time. The
head of it was fcarcely vifible in the telefcope, that
is, its precife form, which was a pale indiflincl lu-
minous body, whofe edges were not at all defined.
Its tail extended full 10° . It feemed to be a very
thin vapour, for through it I diilinguifhed feveral
fears of the fifth magnitude, which feemed to be
increafed in fize. The end of its tail had loft all
its fiery colour, and was very thin and white. I
could diftinguifli no nucleus, nor any part that
Teemed redder or deeper than the reft ; for all was a
dim ill-defined fpot. At 4*^''". i' 24", on the morn-
ing of the 31ft, it was diftant 20° 40' from Rigelj
its tail extended to three ftars in Eridanus.

The rft of September Mahomet Gibberti arrived,
bringing with him the firman for the Naybe of
Mafuah, and letters from Metical Aga to * Ras
Michael. He alfo brought a letter to me, and ano-
ther to Achmet, the Naybe's nephew, and future fuc-
ceftbr, from Sidi Ali Zimzimia, that is, ' the keeper
of Iflimael's well at Mecca, called Zhnz'wi* In this
letter, Sidi Ali defires me to put little truft in the
Naybe, but to keep no fecret from Achmet his
nephew, who would certainly be my friend.

* Governor of the Province of Tigre in Abyffinia.

CHAP.

THE SOURCE OF THE >)IILE. 34I

CHAP. xin.

Sails for Mafuah — Yaffes a Volcano — Comes to Daha-
lac — Troubled ivitb a Ghoji — Arrives at Mafuah,

LL being prepared for our departure, we failed
from Lohela on the 3d of September 1769,
but the wind failing, we were obliged to warp the
veflTel out upon her anchors. The harbour of Lo-
I]eia, which is by much the largeft in the Red Sea,
is now fo fhallow, and choaked up, that, unlefs by a
narrow canal through which we enter and go out,
there is no where three fathom of water, and in
many places not half that depth. This is the cafe
W'ith all the harbours on the eaft-coaft; of the Red
Sea, while thofe on the weft are deep, without any
banks or bars before them, \yhich is probably
owing, as 1 have already faid, to the violence of
the north-weft winds, the o^ily conftant ftrong
winds to be met with in this Gulf. Thefe occafion
ftrong currents to fet in upon the eaft-coaft, and
heap up the fand and gravel which is blown in
from Arabia.

All next day, the 4th, we were employed at warp-
ing out our veflel againft a contrary wind. The
5th, at three quarters paft five in the morning, we
got under fail with little wind. At half paft nine,
Loheia bore eaft north-eaft abdut four leagues dif-

o

tant ; and here we came in fight of feveral fmall,

barren,

34^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

barren, and uninhabited iflands. Booarifh bore
fouth-vveft two miles off; Zebid one mile and a
half diilant, eaft and by north ; Amar, the fmail-
eft of all, one mile fouth ; and Ormook, fouth-
eait by eaft two miles.

The Arabs of the mountain, who had attempted
to iurprife Loheia in the fpring, now prepared for
another attack againft it, and had advanced within
three days journey. This obliged the Emir to draw
together all his troops from the neighbourhood ; all
the camels were employed to lay in an extraordi-
nary flock of water.

Our Rais, who was a ftranger, and without con-
nections in this place, found himfelf under great
difficulties to provide water enough for the voyage,
for we had but a fcanty provifion left, and though
our boat was no more than fixty feet long, we had
about forty people on board of her. I had indeed
hired the veifel for myfelf, but gave the Rais leave
to take fome known people paffengers on board, as
it was very dangerous to make enemies in the place
to which I was going, by fruftrating any perfon of
his voyage home, even though 1 paid for the boat,
and flill as dangerous to take a perfon unknown,
whofe end in the voyage might be to defeat my de-
iigns. We were refolved, therefore, to bear away
for an iiland to the northward, where the); faid the
water was both good, and in plenty.

In the courfe of this day, we pafled feveral fmall
iflands, and, in the evening, anchored in feven
fathom of water, near a flioal diilant four leagues

from

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 343

from Loheia. We there obferved the bearings and
diftances of feveral iflands, with which we were
engaged ; Fooflit, W. b. N. ^ north, four leagues ;
Baccalan N.V/.b.W. three leagues ; Baida, a large
high rock above the water, with white fleep cliffs,
and a great quantity of fea-fowl ; Djund, and Muf-
racken, two large rocks off the weft point off Bac-
calan, W.N. W. 4 weft, eleven miles; they ap-
pear, at a diftance, like a large heap of ruins:
Umfegger, a very fmall ifland, nearly level with
the water, W. N. W. -^ weft four miles diftant;
Nachel, S. E. ^ E. one league off; Ajerb S. E. b.
E, 4- fouth, two leagues; Surbat, an ifland S. E.
b. E. 4 fouth, diftant ten miles ; it has a marabout
or Shekh's tomb upon it : Dahu and Dee, two fmall
iflands, clofe together, N. W. ~ weft about eleven
miles diftant; Djua S. E. ^fouth; it is a fmall
white ifland four leagues and a half off: Sahar, W.
•;^ "north, nine miles oft'.

On the 6th, we got under fail at five o'clock in
the morning. Our water had failed us as we forefaw,
but in the evening we anchored at Fooflit, in two
fathoms water eaft of the town, and here ftaid the
following day, our failors being employed in filling
our fkins with water, for they make no ufe of calks
in this fea.

Foofht is an ifland of irregular form. It is about
five miles from fouth to north, and about nine in
circumference. In abounds in good fifh. We did
not ufe our net, as our lines more than fupplied us.
There were many kinds, painted with the moll

beautiful

344 /rRxWELS TO discovek

beautiful colours in the world, but I always obferv-
ed, the more beautiful they were, the worfe far
eating. There were indeed none good but thofe
that refembled the fifh of the north in their form,
and plainnefs of their colours. Foolht is low and
landy on the fouth, and on the north is a black
hill or cape of no confiderable height, that may be
feen' at four leagues off. It has two watering-places ;
one on the ead of the illand, where we now were,
the other on the v/eli. The water there is bitter,
but it had been troubled, by a number of little
barks, that had been taking in water juft before us.
The manner of filling their goat fkins being a very
fiovenly one, they take up much of the mud along
with it, but we found the water excellent, after it
had fettled two or three days; when it came on
boaid, it was as black as ink. It was incompara-
bly the beft water we had drank fmce that of the
Nile. '

This ifland is covered with a kind of bent grafs,
which want of rain, and the conflant feeding of the
few goats that are kept here, prevent from growing
to any height. The end of the ifland, near the
north cape, founds very hollow, underneath, like
Solfaterra, near Naples: and as quantities of pu-
mice ftones are found here, there is great appear-
ance that the black hill was once a volcano. Seve-
ral large (liells from the fiih called BiflTer, fome of
them twentv inches Icng, are feen turned upon
their faces, on the furface of large (lones, of ten
or twelve ton weight. Thefe fliells are funk into

the

^ THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 345

the flones, as if they were Into padc, and the uone
raifed round about, fo as to conceal the edge of
the Ihell; a proof that this (lone has, fome time
lately, been foft or liquified. For, had it been
long ago, the weather and fun would have worn
the furface of the fliell, but it feems perfectly en-
tire, and is fet in that hard brown rock, as the
fione of a ring is in a golden chafing.

The inhabitants of Foofiit are poor fifliermen, of .
the fame degree of blacknefs as thole between Heli
and Djezan ; like them too, they were naked, or had
only a rag about their waift. Their faces are neither
flained nor painted. They catch a quantity of fifh
called Seajan, which they carry to Loheia, and ex-
change for Dora and Indian corn, for they have no
bread, but what is procured this way. They alfo
have a flat fifh, with a long tail to it, whofe fl^in is
a fpecies of fliagreen, with which the handles of
knives and fwords are made. Pearls too are
found hCTfe,'*'but neither large nor of a good water,
on the other hand, they are not dear ; they are the
prodflce oft^arious fpecies of Ihells, all Bivalves *.

The town confifts of about thirty huts, built
with faggots of bent grafs or fpartum, andthefe are
fupported within with a few (licks, and thatched
with the grafs, of which they are built. The inha-
bitants feemed to be much terrified at feeing u.'?
come a-fhore all armed ; this was not done out of
fear of them, but, as we intended to flay on fliore
all night, we wiflied to be in a fituation to defend

* See the ankle Pearl in the Appendix.

ourfelves

3^6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ourfelves againfl boats of ftrollers from the main.
The faint, or Marabout, upon feeing me pafs near
him, fell flat upon his face, where he lay for a
quarter of sn hour; nor would he get up till the
guns, which I was told had occafioned his fears,
were ordered by me to be immediately fent on
board.

On the 7th, by an obfervation of the meridian
altitude of the fun, I found the latitude of Foofht
to be 75° 59' 4.3" north. There are here many
beautiful fhell-fifh; the concha veneris, of feveral
fizes and colours, as alfo fea urchins, or fea-eggs.
I found, particularly, one of the pentaphylloid
kind, of a very particular form. Spunges of the
common fort are likewife found all along this coaft.
The bearings and diftances of the principal iilands
from Foolht are:

Baccalan, and the two rocks Djund ) .,
and Mufracken, E. N. E. y4 1

Baida ro<;k, E. by N. 4 miles.
Sahar, - - S. E. 3 do.
Ardaina, W.N.W. 8 do.
Aideen, - - N.^-E. 9 do.

Baccalan is an ifland, low, long, and as broads
as Foofht, inhabited by fifhermen; without water
in fummer, which is then brought from Fooflit,
but in winter they preferve the rain-water in cif-
terns. Thefe were built in ancient times, wlien this
was a place of importance for the filhing of pearls,
and they are in perfetl repair to this day ; neither
the cement of the w'ork, nor the ftucco Tvithin,

having

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, CAl

having at all fuffered. Very violent fliowers fall
here from the end of Odlober to the beginning of
March, but at certain intervals.

AH the iflands on this eaft-fide of the channel
belong to the Sherriffe Djezan Booarifli, but none
are inhabited except Baccalan and Fooflit. This
lad ifiand is the moil convenient watering-place for
Ihips, bound up the channel from Jibbel Teir, from
which it bears N. E. by E. 1 E. by the compafs,
nineteen leagues diflant. It fliould be remembered,
however, that the weftern watering-place is moll
eligible, becaufe, in that cafe, navigators need not
engage themfelves among the iflands to the eaft-
ward, wh^re ihey will have uneven foundings two
leagues from the land; but, though they fhould
fall to the eaftward of this ifiand, they will have'
good aachorage, from nine to eighteen fathoms
water; the bottom being good fand, between the
town and the white rock Baida.

Having fupplied our great and material want of
water, we all repaired on board in the evening of
the 7th ; we then found ourfelves unprovided with
another neceffary, namely fire ; and my people be-
gan to remember how cold our flomachs were from
the drammock at Babelmandeb. Firewood is a
very fcarce article in the Red Sea. It is, neverthe-
lefs, to be found in fmall quantities, and in fuch
only it is ufed. Zimmer, an ifiand to the north-
ward, was known to afford fome; but, from the
time I had landed at Foofht, on the 6th, a trouble
of a very particular kind had fallen upon our vef-

fel.

34^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fel, of which I had no account till I had returned
on board.

An AbyfTmian, who had died on board, and
uho had been buried upon our coming out from
Loheia bay, had been feen upon the bokfprit for
two nights, and had terrified the failors very much ;
even the Rais had been not a little alarmed ; and,
though he could not directly fay that he had feen
him, yet, after I was in bed on the 7th, he com-
plained ferio'ifly to me of the bad confequences it
would produce if a gale of wind was to rife, and
the ghoft was to keep his place there, and defired
me to come forward and fpeak to him. " My
good Rais," faid I, " I am exceedingly tired, and
my head achs much with the fun, which hath been
violent to-day. You know the Abyffinian paid for
his paflage, and, if he does not overload the (hip,
(and I apprehend he Ihould be lighter than when
we took him on board) I do not think, that in
juflice or equity, either you or I can hinder the
ghoft from continuing his voyage to Abyflinia, as
we cannot judge what ferious bufinefs he may have
there.'* The Rais began to blefs himfelf that he
did not know any thing of his aft'airs. — " Then,"
faid I, " if you do not find he makes the veltel
too heavy before, do not moled him ; becaufe,
certainly if he was to come into any other part of
the fhip, or if he was to infift to fit in the middle
of you (in the difpofition that you all are) he would
be a greater inconvenience to you than in his
prefcnt poft." The llais began again to blefs him-

fcii.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 349

felf, repeating a verfe of the Koran; " bifmilla
" fheitan rejem," in the name of God keep the
devil far from me. *' Now, Uais," faid I, " if he
does us no harm, you will let him ride upon the
boltfprit till he is tired, or till he comes to Mafuali,
for I fwear to you, unlefs he hurts or troubles us,
I do not think I have any obligation to get out of
my bed to moleft him, only fee that he carries
nothing oft with him.

The Rais now feemed to be exceedingly offend-
ed, and faid, for his part he did not care for his
life more than any other man on board ; if it was
not from fear of a gale of wind, he might ride on

the boltfprit and be d n'd ; but that he had

always heard learned people could fpeak to ghofts.
Will you be fo good, Rais, faid I, to ftep forward,
and tell him, that I am going to drink coffee, and
ihould be glad if he would walk into the cabbin,
and fay any thing he has to communicate to me,
if he is a Chriflian, and if not, to Mahomet Gib-
berti. The Rais went out, but, as my fervant
told me, he would neither go himfelf, nor could
get any perfon to go to the ghoil for him. He
came back, however, to drink coffee with me. I
was very ill, and apprehenfive of what the French
call a Coup defoleil. " Go, faid I to the Rais, to
Mahomet Gibberti, who was lying jufl before us,
tell him that I am a Chrilf ian, and have no jurif-
diction over ghofts in thefe feas."

A Moor called Tafiie, well known to me after-
v-ards, now came forward, and told me, that

Mahomet

350 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Mahomet GibbertI had been, very bad ever fince we
failed, with fea-ficknefs, and begged that I would
not laugh at the fpirit, or fpeak fo familiarly of
him, becaufe it might very poffibly be the devil,
who often appeared in thefe parts. The Moor
alfo defired I would fend Gibberti fome coffee, and
order my fervant to boil him fome rice with
freih water from Foofht ; for hitherto our fifh and
our rice had been boiled in fea water, which I con-
ftantly preferred. This bad news of my friend
Mahomet banifhed all merriment, I gave therefore
the necefiary orders to my fervant to wait upon
him, and at the fame time recommended to Yafme
to go forward with the Koran in his hand, and
read all night, or till we fhould get to Zimmer,
and then, or in the morning, bring me an account
of what he had feen.

The 8th, early in the morning, we failed from
Fooflit, but the wind being contrary, we did not
arrive at our deftination till near mid-day, when
we anchored in an open road about half a mile
from the ifland, for there is no harbour in Bac-
calan, Fooflit, nor Zimmer. I then took my qua-
drant, and v/ent with the boat afliore, to gather
wood. Zimmer is a much fmaller ifland than
Fooiht, without inhabitants, and without water;
though, by the cifterns which fl:ill remain, and are
fixty yards fquare, hewed out of the folid rock,
we may imagine this was once a place of confe-
quence: rain in abundance, at certain feafons, fliill
falls there. It is covered with young plants of

rack

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3^1

rack tree, whofe property it is, as I have already
faid, to vegetate in fait water. The old trees had
been cut down, but there was a confiderable num-
ber of Saiel, or Acacia trees, and of thefe we were
in want.

Although Zimmer is faid to be without water,
yet there are antelopes upon it, as alfo hyasnas in
number, and it is therefore probable that there is
water in fome fubterraneous caves or clefts of the
rocks, unknown to the Arabs or fifhermen, with-
out which thefe animals could not fubfift. It is
probable the antelopes were brought over from
Arabia for the Sherriffe's pleafure, or thofe of his
friends, if they did not fwim from the main, and
an enemy afterwards brought the hyaena to dif-
appoint that amufement. Be that as it will, though
I did not myfelf fee the animals, yet I obferved
the dung of each of them upon the fand, and in
the cifterns ; fo the fad does not reft wholly upon
the veracity of the boatman. We found at Zim-
mer plenty of the large Ihell fifh called Bifler and
Surrumbac, but no other. I found Zimmer, by
an obfervation of the fun at noon, to be in latitude
16'' 7' North, and from it we obferved the follow-
ing bearings and diftances.

Sahaanah, -

dift.

9 miles.

- S. by W.

Foofht, - -

do.

8 do. -

N.W.byN.^W.

Aideen,

do.

7 do. -

E.

Ardaina, -

do.

2 do. -

E. by S.

Rahha,

do.

6 do. -

N. W.i^N.

Doohaarab -

do.

21 do. -

W. N. W.^W.

We

35^ TRxWELS TO DISCOVER

We failed in the night from Ziramer. When
we came nearer the channel, the illands were fewer,
and we had never lefs than twenty-five fathom
water. Ihe wind was conftantly to the north and
weft, and, during all the heat of the day, N. N.
Y\. At the fame time we had vifibly a ftrong cur-
rent to the northward.

The 9th, at fix o'clock in the morning, the
ifland Kapha bore N. E. by eaft, diftant about two
leagues, and in the fame direction we faw the tops
of very high mountains in Arabia Felix, which we
imagined to be thofe above Djezan; and though
thefe could not be lefs than twenty-fix leagues
diftance, yet I diftinguiflied their tops plainly, fome
minutes before fun-rife- At noon I obferved our
latitude to be 16^ 10' 3" north, fo we had made
very little way this day, it being for the mod part
calm. Kapha then bore E. i north, diftant thir-
teen miles, and Doohaarab N. N. W. five miles off.
We continued under fail all the evening, bu-t made
little way, and ftill lefs during the night.

On the 10th, at {"ewcn in the morning, I firfl: faw
Jibbel Teir, till then it had been covered with a
mift. I ordered the pilot to bear down diredly
upon it. All this forenoon our veffel had been
furrounded v/ith a prodigious number of fharks.
They were of the hammer-headed kind, and two
large ones feemed to vie with each other which
fliould come nearcft our veffel. The Rais had fitted
a large harpoon with a long line for the large fifii
in the channsil, and I went to the boltfprit to wait
far one of the iharks, after having begged the

Raisj,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 353

Rais, firfl: to examine if all was tight there, and if
the ghofl had done it no harm by fitting fo many
nights upon it. He (hook his head, laughing, and
faid, " The fharks feek fomething more fubftantial
than ghofts." " If I am not millaken, Rais, faid
I, this ghoft feeks fomething more fubdantial too,
and you fhall fee the end of it."

I ftruck the largefl: ihark about a foot from the
head with fuch force, that the whole iron was bu-
ried in his body. He Shuddered, as a perfon does
when cold, and (hook the (haft of the harpoon out
of the focket, the weapon being made fo on pur-
pofe ; the (haft fell acrofs, kept fixt to the line, and
ferved as a float to bring him up when he dived,
and impeded him when he fwam. No falmon fifher
ever faw finer fport with a fifii and a rod. He had
thirty fathom of line out, and we had thirty fathom
more ready to give him. He never dived, bul
failed round the veflel like a fhip, always keeping
part of his back above water. The Rais, who di-
rected us, begged we would not pull him, but give
him as much more line as he wanted ; and indeed
we faw it was the weight of the line that galled
him, for he went round the veffel without feeking
to go farther from us. At laft he came nearer,
upon our gathering up the line, and upon gently
pulling it after, we brought him alongfide, till we
faftened a ftrong boat-hook in his throat : a man
fwung upon a cord was now let down to cut his
tail, while hanging on the (hip's fide, but he was,
if not abfolutely dead, without the powet of doing

Vol. I. Ff - harm.

354 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

harm. He was eleven feet feven inches from his
fnout to his tail, and nearly four feet round in the
thickefl: part of him. He had in him a dolphin
very lately fwallowed, and about half a yard of blue
cloth. He was the largeft, the Rais faid, he had
ever feen, either in the Red Sea or in the Indian
Ocean.

About twenty minutes before twelve o'clock we
were about four leagues diftant from the ifland, as
near as I could judge upon a parallel. Having
there taken my obfervation, and all dedudions
made, 1 concluded the latitude of the north end of
Jibbel Teir to be 15° 38' north; thirty -two leagues
weft longitude from Loheia, fifty-three eaft longi-
tude from Mafuah, and forty-fix leagues eaft of the
meridian of Jidda. Jibbel Teir, or the Moun-
tain of the Bird, is called by others, Jibbel Dou-
han, or the Mountain of Smoke. I imagine that
the fame was the origin of our name of * Gibraltar,
rather than from Tarik, who firft landed in Spain;
and one of my reafons is, that fo confpicuous a
mountain, near, and immediately in the face of
the moors of Barbary, muft have been known by
fome name, long before Tarik with his Arabs
made his defcent into Spain.

The reafon of its being called Jibbel Douhan,
the Mountain of Smoke, is, that though, in the
middle of the fea, it is a volcano, which throws
out nre, and though nearly extinguilhed, fmokes
to this day. It probably has been the occafion of

* Jibbel Teir, the Mountain of the Bird; corruptly,

Gihruhar,

the ^

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 355

the creation of great part of the neighbouring
illands. Did it burn now, it would be of great ufe
to (hipping in the night, but in the earlieil hiftory
of the trade of that fea, no mention is made of it,
as in a (late of conflagration. It was called Orneoii
in Ptolemy, the Bird-Ifland, the fame as Jibbel
Teir. It is likewife called Sheban, from the white
fpot at the top of it, which feems to be fulphur,
and a part feems to have fallen in, and to have en-
larged the crater on this fide. The illand is four
miles from fouth to north, has a peek in form of
a pyramid In the middle of it, and is about a quar-
ter of a mile high. It defcends, equally, on both
fides, to the fea; has four openings at the rop,
which vent fmoke, and fometimes, in ftrong
foutherly winds it is faid to throw out fire. I'heie
w^as no fuch appearance when we paifcd it. The
ifland is perfectly defert, being covered with fulphur
and pumice (tones.

Some journals that I have feen are full of in-
draughts, whirlpools, and unfathomable depths,
all around this ifland. I mud however take the
liberty of faying to thefe gentlemen, who are other-
wife fo very fond of foundings as to diftribute them
all over the channel, that they have been unfortu-
nate in placing their unfathomable depths here,
and even foundings. It is probable thefe are oc-
cafioned by the convulfions in the earth made by
this volcano ; but the only indraught we faw was
a ftrong current fetting northward, and there are
foundings as far as three leagues eaft of it, in 33
fathom water, with a fandy bottom. Between this
F f 2 and

35<5 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

and the ifland Rafab you have foundings from 20
to 35 fathom, with fand and rocks; and on the
north-eafl: fide you have good anchoring, from a
league's diftance, till within a cable's length of the
fhore, and there is anchorage five leagues S. W.
by W. in twenty-five fathoms, and I believe alfo,
in the line from Loheia to Dahalac, the elFefts of
the comvulfions of this volcano. Such, at leafl:,
is the information I procured at Mafuah from the
pilots ufed to this navigation in fearch of ful-
phur; fuch was the information alfo of my Rais,
who went twice loaded with that commodity to
his own country at Mafcatte ; no other people
go there. Both Abyflinians and Arabians believe
that this is the entry or paffage by which the devil
comes up to this world.

Six leagues E. by S. of this ifland there is a dan-
gerous fhoal with great overfalls, on which a French
Ihip ftruck in the year 1751, and was faved with
very great difficulty. Jibbel Teir is the point from
which all our fhips, going to Jidda, take their de-
parture, after failing from Mocha, and paffing the
iflands to the fouthward.

We left Jibbel Teir on the 1 1 th with little wind
at wed, but towards mid-day it frefhened as ufual,
and turned northward to N. N. eaft. We were
now in mid-channel, fo that we flood on ftraight
for Dahalac till half paft four, when a boy, who
went aloft, faw four iflands in a diredion N. W.
by W.^ weft. We were ftanding on with a frefh
breeze, and all our fails full, when 1 faw, a little
before fun-fet, a white fringed wave of the well-
known

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 357

known figure of a breaker. I cried to the Rais
for God's fake to fliorten fail, for I faw a breaker
a-head, ftraight in our way. He faid there was
no fuch thing ; that I had miftaken it, for it was a
fea-gull. About feven in the evening we (truck
upon a reef of coral rocks. Arabs are cowards
in all fudden dangers, which they confider as par-
ticular direftions or mandates of providence, and
therefore not to be avoided. Few uncultivated
minds indeed have any calmnefs, or immediate re-
fource in themfeives when in unexpeded danger.
The Arab failors were immediately for taking the
boat, and failing to the iflands the boy had feen.
The AbyfTmians were for cutting up the planks and
wood of the infide of the veifel, and making her a
raft.

A violent difpute enfued, and after that a bat-
tle, when night overtook us, flill fall upon the
rock. The Rais and Yafme, however, calmed the
riot, when I begged the palTengers would hear me.
I told them, " You all know, or fhould know, that
the boat is mine, as I bought it with my money,
for the fafety and accommodation of myfelf and
fervants ; you know, likewife, that I and my men.
are all well armed, while you are naked ; therefore
do not imagine that we will fuffer any of you to
enter that boat, and fave your lives at the expence
of ours. On this veflel of the Rais is your de-
pendence, in it you are to be fav6d or to perifh ;
therefore all hands to work, and get the veifel off,
while It is calm ; if (lie had been materially da-
maged.

35B TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

inaged, flie had been funk before now." They all
feemed on this to take courage, and faid, they hoped
I would not leave them. I told them, if they would
be men, 1 would not leave them while there was
a bit of the vefl'el together.

The boat was immediately launched, and one
of my fervants, the Rais, and two failors, were
put on board. They were foon upon the bank,
where the two failors got out, who cut their feet
at firit upon the white coral, but afterwards got
firmer footing. They attempted to pufh the fhip
backwards, but fhe would not move. Poles and
handfpikes were tried in order to ftir her, but thefc
were not long enough. In a word, there was no
appearance of getting her off before morning,
when we knew the wind would rife, and it was to
be feared fhe would then be daflied to pieces. —
Mahomet Gibberti, and Yafine, had been reading
the Koran aloud ever fmce the veifel flruck. I
faid to them in paffing, " Sirs, would it not be as
wife for you to leave your books till yet get afhore,
and lend a hand to the people ?'* Mahomet an-
fwered, " that he was fo weak and fick, that he
could not ftand." But Yafine did not flight the
rebuke, he ilripped himfelf naked, went forward
on the veffel, and then threw himfelf into the fea.
He, firfl. very judicioufly, felt what room there was
for {lauding, and found the bank was of confider-
able breadth, and that we were (luck upon the
point of it ; that it rounded, flanting away after^
wards, and feemed very deep at the fides, fo the
people, Handing on the right of it, could not reach

■the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3^9

the veflel to pufh it, only thofe upon the point.
The Rais and Yafine now cried for poles and hand-
fpikes, which were given them ; two more men
let themfelves down by the fide, and flood upon
the bank. I then defired the Rais to get out a line,
come a-ftern with the boat, and draw her in the
fame direction tliat they pufhed.

As foon as the boat could be towed a-ftern, a
great cry was fet up that fhe began to move. A
little after, a gentle wind juft made itfelf felt from
the eaft, and the cry from the Rais was, Hoift the
fore-fail and put it a-back. This being immedi-
ately done, and a gentle breeze filling the fore-fail
at the time, they all pufhed, and the veffel Hid
gently off, free from the fhoal. I cannot fay I
partook of the joy fo fuddenly as the others did.
I had always fome fears a plank might have been
flarted; but we faw the advantage of a veffel being
fewed, rather than nailed together, as fhe not only
was unhurt, but made very little water. The
people were all exceedingly tired, and nobody
thought they could enough praife the courage and
readinefs of Yafme. From that day he grew into
confideration with me, which encreafed ever after,
till my departure from Abyfhnia.

The latitude of our place, at noon, had been
15° 32' 12". I redlified my quadrant, ^nd hung
it up. Seeing the clear of the Lyre not far from
the meridian, I was willing to be certain of that
dangerous place we had fallen upon. By two ob-
fervations of Litcida Lyrt^, and Lucida Aouila^ and

by

35o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

by a mean of both, I found the bank to be la lat.
15*^ 28' 15" north.

There was a circumdance, durmg the hurry of
this tranfaclion, that gave us all reafon to be fur-
prifed. The ghofl was fuppofed to be again feen
on the boltfprit, as if pufliing the veiTel alhore;
and as this was breaking covenant with me, as a
palTenger, 1 thought it was time fome notice Ihould
be taken of him, fmce the Rais had referred it en-
tirely to me. I inquired who the perfons were
that had feen him. .Two moors of Hamazen were
the firft that perceived him, and afterwards a great
part of the crew had been brought to believe the
reality of this vifion. I called them forward to exa-
mine them before the Rais and Mahomet Gibberti,
and they declared that, during the night, they had
feen him go and come feveral times ; once, he was
pufning againfl the boltfprit, another time he was
pulling upon the rope, as if he had an anchor
afhore; after this he had a very long pole, or
flick, in his hand, but it feemed heavy and flifF,
as if it had been made of iron, and when the vef-
fel began to move, he turned into a fmall blue
flame, ran along the gunnel on the larboard fide of
the Ihip, and, upon the veflel going otf, he difap-
peared. " Now," (aid I, '* it is plain by this change
of (hape, that he has left us for ever, let us there-
fore fee whether he has done us any harm or not.
Hath any of you any baggage flowed forwards ?'*
The flrangers anfwered " Yes, it is all there." Then
faid I, go forward, and fee if every man has ^ot

his

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 36I

his own. They all did this without lofs of time,
when a great noife and confufion enfued ; every
one was plundered of fomething, ftibium, nails,
brafs wire, incenfe and beads ; in (ho it, all the
precious part of their little (lores was ftolen.

All the palTengers were now in the utraoft de-
fpair, and began to charge the failors. " I appeal
to you, Yafine and Mahomet Gibberti, faid I,
whether thefe two moors who faw him ofteneit, and
were nioft intimate with him, have not a chance
of knowing where the things are hid; for in my
country, where ghofts are very frequent, they are
always aflifted in the thefts they are guilty of, by
thofe that fee and converfe with them. I fuppofe
therefore it is the fame with Mahometan ghofts.'*
" The very fame, faid Mahomet Gibberti and Ya-
fme, as far as ever we heard." " Then go, Yafme,
with the Rais, and examine that part of the fliip
where the moors flept, while I keep them here;
and take two failors with you, that know the fecret
places." Before the fearch began, however, one of
them told Yafme where every thing was, and ac-
cordingly all was found and reftored. I would not
have the reader imagine, that I here mean to value
myfelf, either upon any fupernatural knowledge, or
extreme fagacity, in fuppofmg that it was a piece
of roguery from the beginning, of which I never
doubted. But while Yafme and the failors were
bufy pufhing olf the velTel, and I a-ftern at an ob-
fervation, Mahomet Gibberti*s fervant, fitting by his
Wialler, faw one of the moors go to the repofitory of

the

S62, TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the baggage, and, after flaying a little, come out
with a box and package in his hand. This he told
his mailer, who informed me, and the ghoft finding
his aiTociates difcovered, never was feen any more.
The 1 2th, in the morning, we found that this
jQioal was a fand bank, with a ridge of coral rocks
upon it, which ftretches hither from Selma, and
ends a little farther to the northward in deep wa-
ter. At fun-rife the iflands bore as follow : —

Wowcan,

- diil.

5

miles

- S. S.E.AE.

Selma, -

- do.

3

do.

- S.

Megaida,

- do.

4

do.

- S. W.^S.

Zober, -

, do.

4

do.

- W.byS.^S.

Racka,

- do.

5

do.

- N. N. W.

Furfh, -

- do.

4

do.

- N.W.byN4N.

Thefe iflands lie in a femi-circle round this fhoal.
There were no breakers upon it, the fea being fo
perfedly calm. I fuppofe if there had been wind,
it would have broken upon it, as I certainly faw
it do before we ftruck; between Megaida and
Zober is a fmall (harp rock above the furface of
the fea.

We got under fail at fix in the morning, but
the- wind was yery fall decaying, and foon after
fell dead-calm. Towards eleven, as ufual, it frelh-
ened, and almofi: at due north. At noon I found
our lat. to be 15° 29' ^t," north, from which we
had the following bearings :-r-
Selma, .- dift. 5 miles, - S. E.|-S.
Megaida, - do. 4 do. - S. S. E.
'Zober, - - do. 2 do. - S.

Dubia,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 36.

JDubia, - ■

. dift.

5

miles.

- W.byS.iS.'

Racka,

do.

I

do.

- N. W.

BeyoLiine, -

. do.

5

do.

- N.W.byN.

Cigala,

. do.

6

do.

- N.

Furfti, - .

. do.

1
0

do. '

- N.E.byN.iN.

> — and the rocks upon which we ftruck, E. by S.^S.
fomething lefs than five miles ofF.

At four o'clock in the afternoon we faw land,
which our pilot told us was the fouth end of Da-
halac. It bore weft by fouth, and was diftant
about nine leagues. As our courfe was then wefl
by north, I found that we were going whither I
had no intention to land, as my agreement was to
touch at Dahaiac el Kibeer, which is the principal
port, and on the fouth end of the illand, where
the India fhips formerly ufed to refort, as there is
deep water, and plenty of fea-room between that
and the main. But the freight of four facks of
dora, which did not amount to ten fliillings, was
fufficient to make the Rais break his word, and
run a rifk of cancelling all the meritorious fervices
he had fo long performed for me. So certain is it,
that none of thefe people can ever do what is right,
where the fmallefl trifle is thrown into the fcale to
bias them from their duty.

At fix in the evening we anchored near a fmaU
ifland called Racka Garbia, or Weft Racka, in
four fathom of ftony ground. By a meridian alti-
tude of Lucida Aquil<z^ I concluded the lat. to be
15° 31' 30" north, and our bearings as follow: —

Dallacken,

'W»»

3^4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Dallacken, -

dift. 3

miles.

- N.E.4E.

Dalgroufht, -

do. 5

do.

- S.E.byE.-'-S.

Dellefheb, -

do. 6

do.

- E.N.E.AE.

Dubia, - -

do. II

do.

- E.byS.^S.

Racka Garbia,

do. 2

do.

- S.W.byiv.AS.

On the 1 3th, a little after fun-rife, we continued
our courfe weft, and a very little foutherly, with
little wind. At eight o'clock we paffed Dalgroufht,
north by eaft about a league diftance, and a new
jfland. Germ Maico, weft by north. At noon, I
obferved our latitude to be 15° 33' 13" north; and
our bearings as follow : —

Dallacken, -

dift.

6

miles,

- E. byS.

Racka, - -

do.

6

do.

- S. E. by S.

Germ Malco,

do.

6

do.

- S. S. W.

Dalgrouftit,

do.

4

do.

- E.N.E.

Dennifarek,

do.

7

do.

. N. N. W,

Seide el Arabi,

do.

4

do.

- W. byS.

Dahal Coufs,

do.

9

do.

- N. W. by N.

m

The fouth cape of the ifland of Dahalac, is called
jRas Sbouke, which, in Arabic, means the Cape of
Thorns, becaufe upon it are a quantity of funt, or
acacia, the thorny-tree which bears the gum-ara-
bic. We continued our courfe along the eaft fide
of Dahalac, and, at four o'clock in the afternoon,
faw Irw6e, which is faid to anfwer to the centre of
the ifland. It bore then fouth-weft of us four miles.
We alfo faw two fmall iflands, Tarza and Siah el
Sezan ; the firft, north by weft three miles ; the
fecond, north-eaft by eaft, but fomething farther.

After

i:

' THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 365

After having again violently ftruck on the coral
rocks in the entry, at fun-fet we anchored in the
harbour of Dobelew.

This harbour is in form circular, and fufficiently
defended from all v^^inds, but its entrance is too
narrow, and within, it is full of rocks. The bot-
tom of the whole port is covered with large ramifi-
cations of white coral, with huge black flones;
and I could no where obferve there were above
three fathom water, when it was full fea. The
pilot indeed faid there were feven, or twelve at
the mouth ; but fo violent a tide rufhed in through
the entrance, that no veffel could efcape being dri-.
ven upon the rocks, therefore I made no draught
of it.

Dobelew is a village three miles fouth-wefl of the
harbour. It confifts of about eighty houfes, built
of Hone drawn from the fea; thefe calcine like
fhells, and make good enough mortar, as well as
materials for building before burning. All the
houfes are covered with bent-grafs, like thofe of
Arabia. The 17th, I got my large quadrant afhore,
and obferved the fun in the meridian in that vil-
lage, and determined the lat. of its fouth-wefl: ex-
tremity, to be 15° 42' 22" north.

Irwee is a village fl:ill fmaller than Dobelew,
about four miles diftant. From this obfervation,
compared with our account, we computed the
fouthern cape of Dahalac, called Ras S/jouke, to be
in lat. 15° 27' 30"; and Ras Antalou, or the north
cap^, to be in lat. 15^ 54' 30" north.

The

S66 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The whole length of the ifland, whofe direftlon
is from north-weft to fouth-eaft, is thirty-feveii
miles, and its greateft breadth eighteen, which did
within a very little agree with the account the in-
habitants gave us, who made its length indeed
fomething moie.

Dahalac is by far the largeft ifland in the Red
Sea, as none, that we had hitherto feen, exceeded
five miles in length. It is low and even, the foil
fixed gravel and white fand, mixed with (hells and
other marine productions. It is deftitute of all
forts of herbage^ at leaft in fummer, unlefs a fmall
quantity of bent-grafs, juft fufficient to feed the few
antelopes and goats that are on the ifland. There
is a very beautiful fpecies of this laft animal found
here, fmall, fliort-haired, with thin black fharp
horns, having rings upon them, and they are very
fwlft of foot.

This ifland is, in many places, covered with
large plantations of Acacia trees, which grow to
no height, feldom above eight feet, but fpread
wide, and turn flat at top, probably by the influ-
ence of the wind from the fea. Though in the
neighbourhood of Abyifmla, Dahalac does not par-
take of its feafons : no rain falls here, from the
end of March to the beginning of October; but,
in the intermediate months, efpeclally December,
January, and February, there are violent fliowers
for twelve hours at a time, which deluge the ifland,
and fill the cifterns io as to ferve all next fummer;
for^^'there are no hills nor mountains In Dahalac,
and confequently no fprlngs. Thefe ciflerns alone

preferve

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 367

preferve the water, and of them there yet remain,
three hundred and feventy, all hewn out of the fo-
lid rock. They fay thefe were the works of the
Perfians ; it is more probable they were thofe of
the firfl: Ptolemies. But whoever were the con-
ftruftors of thefe magnificent refervoirs, they were
a very different people from thofe that now poffefs
them, who have not induftry enough to keep one
of the three hundred and feventy clear for the ufe
of man. All of them are open to every fort of ani-
mal, and half full of the filth they leave there, af-
ter drinking and walhing in them. The water of
Dobelew, and Irwee, tailed ftrong of mufk, from
the dung of the goats and antelopes, and the fmell
before you drink it is more naufeous than the tafte;
yet one of thefe cifterns, cleaned and fhut up with
a door, might afford them wholefome fweet water
all the year over.

After the rains fall, a prodigious quantity of
grafs immediately fprings up ; and the goats give
the inhabitants milk, which in winter is the prin-
cipal part of their fubfiftence, for they neither
plow nor fow. All their employment is to work
the veffels which trade to the different parts of the
coaft. One half of the inhabitants is.conftantly on ,
the Arabian fide, and by their labour is enabled to
furnifh with "^ dora, and other provifions, the other
half who (lay at home ; and when their time is ex-
pired, they are relieved by the other half, and fuppli-
ed with neceffaries in their turn. But the fuftenance
of the poorer fort is entirely fhell and other fifh.

* Milletj or Indian corn.

Their

36S TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Their wives and daughters are very bold, and ex-
pert fiflier-women. Several of them, entirely na-
ked, fwam off to our veffel before we came to an
anchor, begging handfuls of wheat, rice, or dora.
They are veiy importunate and (turdy beggars, and
not eafily put off with denials. Thefe miferable peo-
ple, who live in the villages not frequented by barks
from x-^rabia, are fometimes a whole year without
tailing bread. Yet fuch is the attachment to the
place of their nativity, they prefer living in this
bare, barren, parched fpot, almoft in want of ne-
ceH'aries of every kind, efpecially of thefe effential
ones, bread and water, to thofe pleafant and plen-
tiful countries on both fides of them. This prefer-
ence we muft: not call flrange, for it is univerfal:
A ftrong attachment to our native country, what-
ever is its condition, has been impreffed by Provi-
dence, for wife ends, in the breads of all nations;
from Lapland to the Line, you find it written pre-
cifely in the fame character.
• There are twelve villages, or towns, in Daha-
iac, little different in fize from Dobelew; each
has a plantation of doom-trees round it, which
furnifh the only manufadure in the ifland. The
leaves of this tree, when dried, are of a gloffy
white, which might very eafily be miftaken for
fattin ; of thefe they make balkets of furprifmg beau-
ty and neatnefs, ftaining part of the leaves with red
or blackj and working them into figures very ar-
tificially. I have known fome of thefe, refembling
fir av\ -balkets, continue full of water for twenty-
four hours, without one drop coming through.
I . They

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 2>^g

They fell thefe at Loheia and Jidda, the largeft of
them for four commefli, or fixpence. This is the
employment, or rather amufement of the men who
flay at home; for they work but very moderately
at it, and all of them indeed take fpecial care, not
to prejudice their health by any kind of fatigue
from induftry.

People of the better fort, fuch as the Shekh and
his relations, men privileged to be idle, and never
expofed to the fun, are of a brown complexion,
not darker than the inhabitants of Loheia. But
the common fort employed in fifliing, and thofe
who go conftantly to fea, are not indeed black, but
red, and little darker than the colour of new mo-
hogany. There are, befides, blacks among them,
who come from Arkeeko and the Main, but even
thefe, upon marrying, grow lefs black in a gene
ration. ^

The inhabitants of Dahalac feemed to be a sfim-
ple, fearful, and inoffenfive people. It is the only
part of Africa, or Arabia, (call it which you pleafe)
where you fee no one carry arms of any kind ;
neither gun, knife, nor fword, is to be feen in the
hands of any one. Whereas, at Loheia, and on all
the coafl: of Arabia, and more particularly at
Yambo, every perfon goes armed; even the por-
ters, naked, and groaning under the weight of their
burden, and heat of the day, have yet a leather belt,
in which they carry a crooked knife, fo monftroufly
long, that it needs a particular motion and addrefs
in walking, not to lame the bearer. This was not

Vol. L G g alwavs

37^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

always the cafe at Dahalac ; feveral of the Portu-
guefe, on their firft arrival here, were murdered,
and the ifland often treated ill, in revenge, by the
armaments of that nation. The men feem healthy.
They told me they had no difeafes among them,
unlefs fometimes in Spring, when the boats of Ye-
men and Jidda bring the fmall-pox among them,
and very few efcape with life that are infefted. I
could not obferve a man among them that feemed
to be fixty years old, from which I infer, they are
not long livers, though the air fhould be healthy,
as being near the channel, and as they have the
north wind all fummer, vv'hich moderates the heat.
Of all the iflands we had pafTed on this fide the
channel, Dahalac alone is inhabited. It depends,
as do all the reft, upon Mafuah, and is conferred
by a firman from the Grand Signior, on the Balha
of Jidda; and, from him, on Metical Aga, then
on the Naybe and his fervants. The prefent go-
vernor's name was Hagi Mahomet Abd el cader,
of whom I have before fpoken, as having failed
from Jidda to Mafuah before me, where he did me
all the diifervice in his power, and nearly procur-
ed my affallination. The revenue of this governor
confifts in a goat brought to him monthly by each
of the twelve villages. Every veflfel, that puts in
there for Mafuah, pays him alfo a pound of coffee,
and every one from Arabia, a dollar or pataka.
No fort of fmall money is current at Dahalac, ex-
cepting Venetian glafs-beads, old and new, of all
fizes and colours, broken and whole.

Although

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 37 I

Although this is the miferable (late of Dahalac
at prefent, matters were widely different in former
times. The pearl fifhery flourifhed greatly here,
under the Ptolemies ; and even long after, in the
time of the Caliphs, it produced a great revenue,
and, till the fovereigns of Cairo, of the prefent
miferable race of Haves, began to withdraw them-
felves from their dependency on the port (for even
after the reign of Selim, and the conquefls of
Arabia, under Sinan Bafha, the Turkifh gallies
were flill kept up at Suez, whilfl Mafuah and
Suakem had Bafhas) Dahalac was the principal
ifland that furnifhed the pearl hfhers, or divers.
It was, indeed, the chief port for the hfliery on the
foufhern part of the Red Sea, at Suakem was on
the north ; and the Bafha of Mafuah paffed part of
every fummer here, to avoid the heat at his place
of refidence on the Continent.

The fifhery extended from Dahalac and its
iflands nearly to lat. 10^, The inhabited iflands
furnifhed each a bark, and fo many divers, and
they were paid in wheat, flour, &c. fuch a portion
to each bark, for their ufe, and fo much to leave
with their family, for their fubfiftence; fo that a
few months employment furnifhed them with every
. thing neceffary for the refl of the year. The fifhery
was rented, in latter times, to the Bafha of Suakem,
but there was a place between Suakem, and the
fuppofed river Frat, in lat. 21*^ 28' north, called
Gungunnah, which was referved to the Grand
Signior in particular, and a fpecial officer was
appointed to receive the pearls on the fpot, and
G g 2 fend

373 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fend them to Conllantinople. The pearls found
there were of the largefl fize, and inferior to none
in water, or roundnefs. Tradition fays, that this
was, exclufively, the property of the Pharaohs, by
which is meant, in Arabian manufcripts, the old
kings of Egypt before Mahomet.

In the fame extent, between Dahalac and Sua-
kem, was another very valuable filhery, that of
* tortoifes, from which the fined fhells of that kind'
were produced, and a great trade was carried on
with the Eafl Indies, (China efpecially) at little
expence, and with very confiderable profits. The
animal itfelf (the turtle) was in great plenty, be-
tween lat. 18"^ and 20", in the neighbourhood of
thofe low fandy iflands, laid down in my chart.

The India trade flourifhed exceedingly at Sua-
kem and Mafuah, as it had done in the profperous
time of the Caliphs. The Banians, (then the only
traders from the Eaft Indies) being prohibited by •
the Mahometans to enter the Holy Land of the
Hejaz, carried all their velfels to Konfodah in
Yemen, and from thefe two ports had, in return,
at the firft hand, pearls, tortoife-fhell, which fold
for its weight of gold, in China; Tibbar, or pure
gold of Sennaar, (that from Abyffmia being lefs
fo) elephant's teeth, rhinoceros horns for turning,
plenty of gum Arabic, caffia, myrrh, frankincenfe,
and many other precious articles ; thefe were all
bartered, at Mafuah and Suakem, for India goods.
But nothing which violence and injuflice can ruin,

* See the article Tortoife in the Appendix.

ever

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3^3

ever can fubfift under Turkifh government. The
Bafhas paying dearly for their confirmation at
Conftantinople, and uncertain if they fhould hold
this office long enough to make reimburfements
for the money they had already advanced, had not
patience to ftay till the courfe of trade gradually
indemnified them, but proceeding from extortion
to extortion, they at laft became downright rob-
bers, feizing the cargo of the fhips wherever they
could find them, and exercifmg the mod ihocking
cruelties on the perfon they belonged to, flaying
the fadors alive, and impaling thofe that remained
iji their hands, to obtain, by terror, remittances
from India. The trade was thus abandoned, and
the revenue ceafed. There were no bidders at
Conftantinople for the farm, nobody had trade in
their heads when their lives were every hour in
danger. Dahalac became therefore dependent on
the Bafha of Jidda, and he appointed an *Aga,
who paid him a moderate fum, and appropriated
to himfelf the provifions and failary allowed for the .
pearl fifhery, or the greateft part of them.

The Aga at Suakem endeavoured, in vain, to
make the Arabs and people near him work without
falary, fo they abandoned an employment which
produced nothing but punifhment ; and in time, they
grew ignorant of the fifhery in which they once were
fo well (killed and had been educated. This great
nurfery of feamen therefore was loft, and the gal-
lies, being no longer properly manned, were either

* A Subaltern Governor.

given

374 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

given up to rot, or turned into merchant-fhips for
carrying the coffee between Yemen and Suez, thefe
veffels were unarmed, and indeed incapable of
armament, and unferviceable by their conftrudion ;
befides, they were ill-manned, and fo carelefsly and
ignorantly navigated, that there was not a year,
thjit one or more did not founder, not from llrcfs
of weather, (for they were failing in a pond) or
from any thing, but ignorance or inattention.

Trade took again its ancient courfe towards Jid-
da. The Sherriffe of Mecca, and all the Arabs,
were in^erefted to get it back to Arabia, and with
it the government of their own countries. That
the pearl fifhing might moreover, no longer be an
allurement for the Turkifh power to maintain itfelf
here, and opprefs then:, they difcouraged the prac-
tice of diving, till it grew into defuetude; this
brought infenfibly all the people of .the iilands to
the continent, where they were employed in coafl-
ing veffels, which continues their only occupation
to this day. This policy fucceeded; the princes
of Arabia became again free from the Turkifh
power, now but a (liadow, and Dahalac, Mafuah,
and Suakem, returned to their ancient mafters, to
which they are fubjecl at this inilant, governed in-
deed by Shekhs of their own country, and preferv-
ing only the name of Turkifh government, each
being under the command of a robber and affaffm.

The immenfe treafures in the bottom of the Red
Sea, have thus been abandoned for near two hun-
dred years, though they never were richer in ail

probability

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 375

probability than at prefent. No nation can now
turn them to any profit, but the Englifh Eafl: India
Company, more intent on multiplying the number
of their enemies, and weakening themfelves by
fpreading their inconfiderable force over new con-
quells, than creating additional profit by engaging
in new articles of commerce. A fettlement upon
the river Frat, which never yet has belonged to
any one but wandering Arabs, would open them a
market both for coarfe and fine goods from the
fouthern frontiers of Morocco, to Congo and
Angola, and fet the commerce of pearls and tor-
toife fhell on foot again. All this feGiion of the
Gulf from Suez, as I am told, is in their charter,
and twenty fiiips might be employed on the Red
Sea, without any violation of territorial claims.
The myrrh, the frankincenfe, fome cinnamon, and
variety of drugs, are all in the pofleffion of the
weak king of Abdel, an ufurper, tyrant, and Pa-
gan, without protection, and willing to trade with
any fuperior power, that only would fecure him a
miferable livelihood.

If this does not take place, 1 am pcrfuaded the
time is not far off, when thefe countries (hall, in
fome fhape or other, be fubjefts of a new mailer.
Were another Peter, another Elizabeth, or, bet-
ter than either, another Catharine to fucceed the
prefent, in an empire already extended to China ;
— w-ere fuch a fovereign, unfettered by European
politics, to profecute that eafy tafk of puHiIng thofe
mountebanks of fovereigns and ftatefmen, thefe
ftage-players of government, the Turks, into Afia,

the

37^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the inhabitants of the whole country, who in their
hearts look upon her already as their fovereign,
becaufe file is the head of their religion, would, I
am perfuaded, fubmit without a blow that inftant
the Turks were removed on the other fide of the
Hellefpont.

There are neither horfes, dogs, fheep, cows,
nor any fort of quadruped, but goats, alfes, a few
half-ilarved camels and antelopes at Dahalac, which
lail are very numerous. The inhabitants have no
knowledge of fire-arms, and there are no dogs, nor
beads of prey in the ifland to kill them 5 they catch
indeed fome few of them in traps.

On our arrival at Dahalac, on the 14th, we faw
fvvallows there, and, on the 1 6th, they were all
gone. On our landing at Mafuah, on the 19th,
we faw a few ; the 2 1 ft and 2 2d they were in great
flocks ; on the 2d of October they were all gone.
It was the blue long-tailed fwallow, with the flat
head ; but there was, likewife, the Englifh martin,
black, and darkifli grey in the body, with a white
breaft.

The language at Dahalac is that of the Shepherds ;
Arabic too is fpoken by moft of them. From this
ifland we fee the high mountains of Habejlo, run-
ning in an even ridge like a wall, parallel to the
coaft, and down to Suakem.

Before 1 leave Dahalac, I muft obferve, that, in
a wretched chart, in the hands of fome of the En-
glifn gentlemen at Jidda, there were foundings
marked all along the eaft-coaft of Dahalac, from

thirteen

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 377

thirteen to thirty fathoms, within two leagues of
the fliore. Now, the iflands I have mentioned oc-
cupy a much larger fpace than that; yet none of
them are fet down in the chart ; and, where the
foundings are marked thirty, forty, and even ninety
fathom, all is full of fhoals under water, with if-
lands and funken coral rocks, fome of them near
the furface, though the breakers do not appear
upon them, partly owing to the waves being ftea-
died by the violence of the current, and fomewhat
kept off by the ifland. This dangerous error is,
probably, owing to the draughts being compofed
from different journals, where the pilot has had
different ways of meafuring his di fiance ; fome ufmg
forty-two feet to a thirty-fecond glafs, and fome
twenty-eight, both of them being confidered as
one competent divifion of a degree; the diftances
are all too fhort, and -the foundings, and every
thing elfe, confequently out of their places.

Whoever has to navigate in the Abyfhnian fide
of the channel, will do well to pafs the ifland Da-
halac on the eaft fide, or, at leaft, not approach
the outmofl ifland, Wowcan, nearer than ten
leagues ; but, keeping about twelve leagues meri-
dian difl:ance weft of Jibbel Teir, or near mid-
channel between that and the ifland, they will then
be out of danger; being between lat. 15° 20' and
15^ 40', which laft is the latitude, as 1 obferved,
of Saiel Noora, and which is the northern ifland,
we faw, three leagues off Ras Antalou, the north*
moft cape of Dahalac.

Both

2,.J$ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Both at our entering into the port of Dobelew
on the r4th, and our going out of it on the 17th,
we found a tide running like a fluice, which we
apprehended, in fpite of our fails being full, would
force us out of our courfe upon the rocks. I ima-
gine it was then at its greateft ftrength, it now
being near the equinoftial full moon. The chan-
nel between Terra Firma and the illand being very
narrow, and the influence of the fun and moon
then nearly in the ■ equator, had occafioned this
unufual violence of the tide, by forcing a large
column of water through fo narrow a fpace.

On the 17th, after we had examined our veflel,
and found fhe had received no damage, and pro-
vided water (bad as it was) for the remainder of
our voyage, we failed from Dobelew, but, the wind
being contrary, we were obliged to come to an
anchor, at three quarters pafl four o'clock, in ten
fathom water, about three leagues from that port,
which was to the fouth-weft of us j the bearings
and diftances are as follow : —

Derghiman Kibeer,

dift.

10

miles, -

; W.S.W.

Deleda,

do.

7

do. -

~ W.byN.

Saiel Sezan,

do.

4

do. -

S.E.

Zeteban, - - -

do.

5

do. -

N. E.

Dahalac, - - -

do.

12

do. -

S.S. W.

Dahalhalem, - -

do.

12

do. -

N. W.byN.

On the r 8th, we failed, (landing off and on, with
a contrary wind at north-weft, and a ftrong current
in the fame direction. At hatf paft four in the
morning we were forced to come to an anchor. —

There

3 miles, -

S.W.

5 do. -

s.

4 do. -

E. N. E.

2 do. -

N.E.byN.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 379

There is here a very fnallow and narrow paffage,
which I founded myfelf in the boat, barely one
and a half fathom, or nine feet of water, and we
were obliged to wait the filling of the tide. This
is called the Bogaz, which fignifies, as I have be-
fore obferved, the narrow and fhallow paiTage. It
is between the iiland Dahalac and the fouth point
of the ifland of Noora, about forty fathom broad,
and, on each fide, full of dangerous rocks. The
illands then bore,

Derghiman Seguier, difl:.
Derghiman Kibeer, do.
Dahalhalem, - - do.
Noora, - - - do.

The tide now entered with an unufual force, and
ran more like the Nile, or a torrent, or ftreara
conduced to turn a mill, than the fea, or the
cfi'eds of a tide. At half pafl one o'clock there
was water ertough to pafs, and we foon were hur-
ried through it by the violence of the current,
driving us in a manner truly tremendous.

At half after three, we pafled between Ras An-
talou^ the North Cape of Dahalac, and the fmall
ifland Dahalottom, which has fome trees upon '^.
On this ifland is the tomb of Shekh* Abou Gafar,
mentioned by Poncet, in his voyage, who miflakes
the name of the faint for that of the ifland. The^
ftrait between the Cape and the ifland is a mile and
a half broad. At four in the afternoon, we an-

* Poncet's Voyage, tranflated into Rnglifh, printed for W.
Lewis ill 1709 in lamo, page izi.

chored

:2^^0 TRAVELS >TO DISCOVER

cbored near a fmall iiland called Surat. All be-
tween this and Dahalac, there is no water exceeding
feven fathom, till you are near Dahalac Kibeer,
whofe port has water for large veffels, but is open
to every point, from fouth-wefi: to north-weft, and
has a great fwell. f<'

All ihips coming to the weftward of Dahalac had
better keep within the ifland Drugerut, between
that and the main, where there is plenty of w^ater,
and room enough to work, tho', even here, there
are iflands a-head ; and clear weather, as well as a
good look-out, will always be neceffary.

On the fQth of September, at three quarters
paft fix in tb i^ morning, we failed from our anchor-
age near Surat. At a quarter paft nine, Dargeli,
an iiland with trees upon it, bore N. W. by W.
two miles and ahalf diftant; and Drugerut three
leagues and a half north and by eaft, when it fell
calm.

At eleven o'clock, we pafled the ifland of Der-
gaiham, bearing N. by Eaft, three miles diftant,
and at five in the afternoon we came to an anchor
in the harbour of Mafuah, having been * feventeen
days on our paflage, including the day we firft went
on board, though this voyage, with a favourable
wind, is generally made in three days ; it often
has, indeed, been failed in lefs.

The reader will obferve, that many of the iflands
begin with Dahal, and fome with Del, which lad

* This mufl: not be attilbiUed wholly to the weather. We
fpent much time in furvvying the illaiuls, and in obfervation.

is

^-

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:m^m

'.^ck'^.i^^i&jt.' j?i>L..

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