parting, and accompanied him to the fhore, the Rais was farprised to see the respect paid to his little veffel as it paffed under their huge fterns, every one hoifting his colours, and faluting it with eleven guns. At a quarter past eight, on the eleventh, they were towed to their anchorage in the harbour of Konfodah. Konfodah means the town of the hedge-hog. It is a small village, confifting of about two hundred miferable houfes, built with green wood, and covered with mats, made of the doom, or palm-tree, lying on a bay, or rather a fhallow bason, in a defert waste 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. Fish is in perfect plenty; butter and milk in `great abundance; even the defert looks fresher than other deferts, which makes it probable that rain sometimes falls there. Konfodah is in latitude 19° 7′ north. It is one of the most unwholesome parts on the Red Sea, provifion is very dear and bad, and the water execrable. Goats flesh is the only meat, and that very dear and lean. The anchorage, from the castle, bears north-west a quarter of a mile diftant, from ten to feven fathoms, in fand and mud. At five in the afternoon of the 14th, they paffed Ras Heli, which is the boundary between Yemen, or Arabia Felix, and the Hejaz, or province of Mecca, the firft belonging to the Imam, or king of Sana, the other to the Shereef lately fpoken of. Mr. Bruce defired his Rais to anchor this night close under the Cape, as it was perfectly calm and clear, and, by taking a mean of five obfervations of the paffage of fo many stars, the moft proper for the purpose, over the meridian, he determined the latitude of Ras Heli, and confequently the boundary of the two ftates, Hejez and Yemen, or Arabia Felix and Arabia Deserta, to be 18° 36′ north. Every part of 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-coaft of it, and is not a sepa rate rate jurifdiction. It is called Tema in fcripture, and derives its name from Taami in Arabic, which fignifies the 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 those which may be found are gen. erally filent. On the 18th, at feven in the morning, they first discovered the mountains, under which lies the town of Loheia. The bay was fo fhallow, and the tide being at ebb, they could get no nearer than within about five miles of the fhore. Loheia is built upon the fouth-weft fide of a peninsula, surrounded every where, but on the east, by the fea. In the middle of this neck there is a small mountain which ferves for a fortress, 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 inténding to attack the town, generally affemble. At Loheia they had a very uneafy fenfation, a kind. of prickling came into their legs, which were bare, occafioned by the falt effluvia, or steams, from the earth, which all about the town, and further to the fouth, is ftrongly impregnated with that mineral. Fifh, and butchers meat, and indeed all forts of provifious, 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 fkins upon camels. There is also plenty of fruit brought from the mountains by the Bedowee, who live in the fkirts 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 Moorish government in Arabia or Africa; the people too are of gentler manners, the men, from early ages, being accustomed to trade. The women at Loheia are as folicitous to please as those of the most polished nations in Europe; and, though very retired, whether married or unmarried, they are not lefs careful of their drefs and perfons. At home they were nothing but a long shift of fine cotton cloth, fuitable to their quality. They die their feet and hands with henna, not only for ornament, but as an aftringent, to keep them dry from fweat; they wear their own hair, which is plaited, and falls in long tails behind. G2 Оп On the 27th, in the evening, they parted from Loheia, but were obliged to tow the boat out. About eleven they failed with a wind at north-east, and passed a cluster of islands on their left. After paffing some dangerous fhoals, on the 30th, at seven o'clock in the morning, with a gentle but steady, wind at west, they failed for the mouth of the Indian Ocean. The Rais became more lively and bolder as he approached his own coast, and offered to carry Mr. Bruce for nothing, if he would go home with him to Sheher, but he had already enough upon his hands. The coast of Arabia, all along from Mocha, to the Straits, is a bold coaft, clofe to which you may run without danger night or day. They continued their courfe within a mile of the shore, where in fome places there appeared to be finall woods, in others a flat bare country, bounded with mountains a confiderable distance. The wind freshened as they advanced. About four in the afternoon, they faw the mountain which forms one of the Capes of the Straits of Babelmandeb, in fhape refembling a gunner's quoin. The 31ft, at nine in the morning, they came to an anchor above Jibbel Raban, or Pilot's fsland, jult under the Cape, which, on the Arabian fide, forms the north entrance of the Straits. After getting within the Straits, the channel is divided into two, by the ifland of Perim, otherwife called Mehum. The inmoft and nothern channel, or that towards the Arabian fhore, is two leagues broad at moft, and from twelve to seventeen fathom of water. The other entry is three leagues broad, with deep water, from twenty to thirty fathom. From this, the coaft on both fides runs nearly in a north-west 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. On the 2d, at fun-rife, they faw land a-head, which they took to be the main; but, upon nearer approach, and the day becoming clearer, they found two low islands to the leeward, one of which they fetched with great difficulty. They found found there the flock of an old acacia-tree, and two or three bundles of wreck, or rotten sticks, which they gathered with great care; and all of them agreed, they would eat breakfast, dinner, and supper hot, inftead of the cold repast they had made in the Straits. They now made feveral large fires; one took the charge of the coffee, another boiled the rice; they killed four turtles, made ready a dolphin; got beer, wine, and brandy, and drank the King's health in earnest, which their regimen would not allow them to do in the Straits of Babelmandeb. While this good cheer was preparing, Mr. Bruce faw with his glass, first one man running along the coast westward, who did not stop; about a quarter of an hour after, another upon a camel, walking at the ordinary pace, who difmounted just opposite to them, and as he thought kneeled down to fay his prayers upon the fand. They had launched their boat immediately upon feeing the trunk of the tree on the ifland; fo they were ready; and Mr. Bruce ordered two of the men to row him on fhore, which they did. It is a bay of but ordinary depth, with ftraggling trees, and fome flat ground along the coaft. Immediately behind, is a row of mountains of a brownish or black colour. Mr. Bruce went on fhore at the place, and, after fome little intercourse with fome of the natives, whofe conduct was very fufpicious, he directed the Rais to ftand out towards Crab ifland, and there being a gentle breeze from the fhore, carrying an eafy fail, they ftood over upon Mocha town, to avoid fome rocks or iflands. While lying at Crab-ifland, he obferved two stars pafs the meridian, and by them he concluded the latitude of that ifland to be 139 245 North. The wind continuing moderate, but more to the fouthward, at three o'clock in the morning of the 3d, they paffed Jibbel el Ourée, then Jibbel Zekir; and having a steady gale, with fair and moderate weather, paffing to the westward of the island Rafah, between that and fome other iflands to the north-east, where the wind turned contrary, they arrived at Loheia, the 6th, in the morning. Loheia is in lat. 15° 40′ 52'!' north, and in long. 429 58'15eaft of the meridian of Greenwich. Every thing being prepared for our travellers' departure, they failed from Loheia on the 3d of September 1769, for Mafuah. The harbour of Loheia, which is by much the largest in the Red Sea, is now fo fhallow, and choaked up, that, unless by a narrow canal through which you enter and go out, there is no where three fathom of water, and in many places not half that depth. This is the cafe with all the harbours on the east coast of the Red Sea, while thofe on the west are deep, without any banks or bars before them. An Abyffinian, who died on board, and who had been buried upon their coming out from Loheia bay, had been feen upon the bowfprit 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 he had seen him, yet, after Mr. Bruce was in bed on the 7th, he complained ferioully to him of the bad confequences it would produce if a gale of wind was to rife, and the ghost was to keep his place there; he defired him to come forward and fpeak to him. "My good Rais, (faid Mr. Bruce) I'am exceedingly tired, and my head achs much with the fun, which hath been very violent to-day. You know the Abyffinian paid for his paffage, and, if he does not overload the fhip, (and I apprehend he fhould be lighter than when we took him on board) I do not think that in justice or equity, either you or I can hinder the ghost from continuing his voyage to Abyffinia, as we cannot judge what ferious bufinefs he may have there." The Rais began to bless himself that he did not know any thing of his affairs." Then (faid Mr. Bruce) if you do not find he makes the veffel too heavy before, do not moleft 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 disposition that you all are) he would be a greater incon. venience to you than his prefent poft." The Rais began again to blefs himself, repeating a verfe of the Koran; "bifmilla fheitan rejem," in the name of God keep the devil far from me. "Now, Rais, (faid Mr. Bruce) if he does us no harm, you will let him ride upon the bowfprit till he is tired, or till he comes to Mafuah; for I fwear to you, unless he hurts or troubles us, I do not think I have any obli |