Niebuhr, being now in a country where travelling was attended with no risk, and desiring, apparently, to escape from the society of his companions, hired an ass, and set out alone on an excursion to several neighbouring towns. This was succeeded by several other excursions, and at length he proceeded to the Coffee Mountains, a district which offers, perhaps, as many curious particulars to the observation of a traveller as any spot in Asia. These mountains could be ascended only on foot. The road, though rugged and broken, lay through coffee plantations and gardens, and to Niebuhr, who had just quitted the burning plains of the Tehama, afforded the most exquisite gratification. The prospects, moreover, which here meet the eye on all sides are rich and beautiful. They are precisely what the hills of Judea must have been before Sion had been profaned by the heathen, when every man, confident in the protection of the Lord, sat down tranquilly under his vine or under his fig-tree. The small chain of hills, called the Côte d’Or, which traverses nearly the whole of Burgundy from north to south, and is covered with vineyards to the summit, may probably represent to a European eye the ridge of the Coffee Mountains, except that the latter have necessarily a more woody appearance, and are beautified by numerous mountain streams, which frequently leap in long cascades from the rocks. The coffee-tree, which was at this time in full flower in many places, diffuses around an agreeable odour, and somewhat resembles the Spanish jasmin. The Arabs plant these trees so close that the rays of the sun can scarcely find their way between them, which prevents the necessity of frequent watering; but they have reservoirs on the heights from which they can, when necessary, turn numerous streamlets into the plantations.
From the Coffee Mountains they returned to Beit el Fakih, whence they shortly afterward departed on another short excursion. The natives, who carefully abstained from exposing themselves to the sun during the heat of the day, expressed their well-grounded astonishment that Europeans should be imprudent enough to hazard so dangerous a step; and our travellers were, in reality, at this very time laying the foundation of those fatal diseases which shortly afterward swept them away, Niebuhr only excepted; for I am persuaded that they might have returned, even in spite of their execrable diet and destructive habits of drinking, to brave the climate of Yemen, had they timed their journeys more judiciously.
By this time their appearance was tolerably oriental; the sun had bronzed their countenances, their beards had acquired a respectable length, their dress was exactly that of the country, and they had, moreover, adopted Arabic names. Even their guides no longer took them for Europeans, but supposed them to be members of the eastern church, who by forbidden studies had succeeded in discovering the art of making gold, and were searching among the lonely recesses of their mountains for some rare plant whose juices were requisite in their alchymical processes. Niebuhr’s assiduous observation of the stars considerably aided in strengthening this delusion, which upon the whole, perhaps, was rather beneficial to them than otherwise.
In the hilly districts of Yemen our traveller observed among the Arabs a peculiar mode of passing the night. Instead of making use of a bed, each individual crept entirely naked into a sack, where, without closing the mouth of it, the breath and transpiration kept him sufficiently warm. Niebuhr himself never tried the sack, but very soon acquired the habit, which is universal among the Arabs of Yemen, of sleeping with the face covered, to guard against the malignant effects of the dews and poisonous winds. Here M. Forskaal discovered the small tree that produces the balm of Mecca, which happening to be in flower at the time enabled him to write a complete description of it, which he did seated under its branches. The inhabitants, who knew nothing of its value, merely made use of it as firewood, on account of its agreeable odour.
Upon descending from these mountainous countries, where the climate is as cool and salubrious as in most parts of Europe, Niebuhr found the heat of the Tehama almost insupportable, and entering a little coffee-house, overwhelmed with fatigue, threw himself on his mat in a current of air, and fell asleep. This heedless action nearly cost him his life. He awoke in a violent fever, which hung about him for a considerable time, and reduced his frame to such an extreme state of weakness that the slightest exertion became painful. Von Haven, too, whose supreme delight consisted in brandy, wine, and good eating, and who seldom quitted his sofa, except for the purpose of placing himself before his gods at the dinner-table, now began to experience the impolicy of feeding like an ogre in the deserts of the Tehama, and very quickly fell a victim to his imprudence.
From Beit el Fakih they proceeded to Mokha, where, as at Cairo, Europeans were compelled to enter the city by a particular gate, on foot, as a mark of humiliation. Niebuhr found that he and his companions were here taken for Turks, and they were accordingly directed to the khan, or inn, where the Osmanlis usually took up their abode. Though they understood that there was an English merchant at Mokha, they judged it unnecessary, in the first instance, to make application to him, as they had everywhere else in Yemen been received with politeness and hospitality; and besides, they were somewhat apprehensive that, from their dress and appearance, he might be led to regard them as vagabonds or renegades. They therefore addressed themselves to an Arab merchant, by whom they were well received.
The people of Mokha made some pretensions to civilization, which is unfortunate, as the term, at least in the East, means custom-house officers, and insolence towards strangers. Our travellers, though no merchants, had large quantities of baggage, which, of course, was taken to the custom-house, before they could be allowed to enjoy the use of it. I have already observed, that although Niebuhr himself was a temperate, perhaps even an abstemious man, his companions set a high value on the gratification of their senses. Von Haven himself, who, as I have already observed, shortly afterward fell a victim to his indiscretion, was still among them, and it may therefore be easily imagined that the first articles they were desirous of obtaining from the custom-house were their cooking utensils and their beds. The Arabs, however, were differently minded. They allowed their curiosity to fasten upon the cases in which the natural history specimens were packed, and resolved to begin with them. Among these, unfortunately, there was a small barrel containing various fish of the Red Sea, preserved in spirits of wine. This M. Forskaal, who had collected these fishes himself, injudiciously requested the officers to allow to pass unopened. The request immediately roused all their suspicions. He might, for aught they knew, be a magician, who had confined the Red Sea itself in that barrel, for the purpose of carrying it off, with all its fishes, into Europe. It behooved them, therefore, to bestir themselves. Accordingly the barrel was the first thing opened; but when the operation had been performed, the result anticipated by the naturalist was produced, for so pungent, so atrocious a stink was emitted from the half-putrefied fish, that the authorities very probably apprehended them to be a troop of assassins, commissioned by the devil to administer perdition through the nostrils to all true believers. The custom-house officer, however, confiding in the protection of the Prophet, determined to brave the infernal odour, and in order to explore the abomination to the bottom, took out the horrid remains of the fish, and stirred up the liquor with a piece of iron. The entreaties of the travellers to have it put on one side probably caused them to be regarded as ghouls, who made their odious repasts upon such foul preparations. The Arab still stirred and stirred, and at length in an inauspicious moment upset the cask, and deluged the whole custom-house with its contents. Had Mohammed himself been boiled in this liquid, it could not have smelt more execrably; we may therefore easily imagine the disgust with which the grave assembly beheld it flowing under their beards, infecting them with a scent which it would take several dirrhems’ worth of perfume to remove. Their ill-humour was increased when, on opening another cask, containing insects, their nostrils were again saluted with a fresh variety of stink, which they inferred must possess peculiar charms for the nose of a Frank, since he would travel so far to procure himself the enjoyment of its savour. An idea now began to suggest itself to the Arabs, which still further irritated them, which was, that the insolent Franks had packed up these odious things in order to insult the governor of the city, at the expense of whose beard, it was not doubted, they intended to amuse themselves. This persuasion was fatal to many a cockleshell. They mercilessly thrust down a pointed iron bar through the collections, crushing shells, and beetles, and spiders. The worst stroke of all, however, was yet to come. This was the opening of a small cask, in which several kinds of serpents were preserved in spirits. Everybody was now terrified. It was suggested that the Franks had no doubt come to the city for the purpose of poisoning the inhabitants, and had represented themselves as physicians in order to commit their horrid crimes the more effectually. Even the governor was now moved. In fact, his anger was roused to such a pitch, that, though a grave and pious man, he exclaimed, “By God, these people shall not pass the night in our city!” The custom-house was then closed.
While they were in this perplexity, one of their servants arrived in great hurry and confusion, with the news that their books and clothes had been thrown out through the window at their lodgings, and the door shut against them. They moreover found, upon inquiry, that it would be difficult to discover any person who would receive into his house individuals suspected of meditating the poisoning of the city; but at length a man bold enough to undertake this was found. Such was their position when they received from the English merchant above alluded to an invitation to dinner. “Never,” says Niebuhr, “was an invitation more gladly accepted; for we not only found at his house a dinner such as we had never seen since our departure from Cairo, but had at the same time the good fortune to meet with a man who became our sincere and faithful friend. The affair of the custom-house was long and tedious; but at length, by dint of bribery and perseverance, their baggage, snakes and all, was delivered to them, and they even rose, in consequence of a cure attempted by M. Cramer on the governor’s leg, into high consideration and favour.”
Niebuhr was here again attacked by dysentery, and Von Haven died. This event inspired the whole party with terror, and having with much difficulty obtained the governor’s permission, they shortly afterward departed for the interior. They travelled by night, to escape the extreme heat of the sun, but soon found the roads so bad as to render this mode of journeying impracticable. The country during the early part of their route was barren, and but thinly inhabited; but in proportion as they departed from the shore the landscape improved in beauty and fertility. At the small city of Jerim, on the road to Sana, Niebuhr had the misfortune to lose his friend Forskaal, the best Arabic scholar of the whole party, and a man who looked forward with enthusiasm to the glory to be derived from the successful termination of their travels. The bigotry of the Mohammedans rendered it difficult to obtain a place of burial for the dead, who was interred in the European fashion; which, immediately after their departure, caused the Arabs, who imagine that Europeans bury treasures with their dead, to exhume the body. Finding nothing to reward their pains, they compelled the Jews to reinter him; and as these honest people complained that they were likely to have no remuneration for their labour, the governor allowed them to take the coffin in payment, and restore the body naked to the earth.
On the 17th of July, 1763, they arrived in the environs of Sana, and sent forward a servant with a letter, announcing their arrival to the chief minister of the imam. This statesman, however, who had previously received tidings of their approach, and was desirous of receiving them with true Arab politeness, had already despatched one of his secretaries to meet them at the distance of half a league from the city. This gentleman informed them that they had been long expected at Sana, and that, in order to render their stay agreeable, the imam had assigned them a country-house at Bir el Assab. While they were conversing with the secretary, and secretly congratulating themselves on their good fortune, they arrived at the entrance into their garden, where the Arab desired them to alight. They of course obeyed, but soon discovered that their guide had played them a trick in the manner of the people of Cairo, for he remained on his ass during the rest of the way, which was considerable, enjoying the pleasure of beholding a number of Franks toiling along on foot beside his beast. This put them out of humour, and their spleen was increased when, on arriving at their villa, they found that, however elegant or agreeable it might be, it did not contain a single article of furniture, or a person who would provide them even with bread and water.