The south cape of the island of Dahalac is called Ras Shouke, which, in Arabic, means the Cape of Thorns, because upon it are a quantity of sunt, or acacia, the thorny-tree which bears the gum-arabic. We continued our course along the east side of Dahalac, and, at four o’clock in the afternoon, saw Irwée, which is said to answer to the centre of the island. It bore then south-west of us four miles. We also saw two small islands, Tarza and Siah el Sezan; the first, north by west three miles; the second, north-east by east, but something farther. After having again violently struck on the coral rocks in the entry, at sun-set we anchored in the harbour of Dobelew.
This harbour is in form circular, and sufficiently defended from all winds, but its entrance is too narrow, and within, it is full of rocks. The bottom of the whole port is covered with large ramifications of white coral, with huge black stones; and I could no where observe there were above three fathom water, when it was full sea. The pilot indeed said there were seven, or twelve at the mouth; but so violent a tide rushed in through the entrance, that no vessel could escape being driven upon the rocks, therefore I made no draught of it.
Dobelew is a village three miles south-west of the harbour. It consists of about eighty houses, built of stone drawn from the sea; these calcine like shells, and make good enough morter, as well as materials for building before burning. All the houses are covered with bent-grass, like those of Arabia. The 17th, I got my large quadrant a-shore, and observed the sun in the meridian in that village, and determined the lat. of its south-west extremity, to be 15° 42´ 22´´ north.
Irwee is a village still smaller than Dobelew, about four miles distant. From this observation, compared with our account, we computed the southern cape of Dahalac, called Ras Shouke, to be in lat. 15° 27´ 30´´; and Ras Antalou, or the north cape, to be in lat. 15° 54´ 30´´ north.
The whole length of the island, whose direction is from north-west to south-east is thirty-seven miles, and its greatest breadth eighteen, which did within a very little agree with the account the inhabitants gave us, who made its length indeed something more.
Dahalac is by far the largest island in the Red Sea, as none, that we had hitherto seen, exceeded five miles in length. It is low and even, the soil fixed gravel and white sand, mixed with shells and other marine productions. It is destitute of all sorts of herbage, at least in summer, unless a small quantity of bent grass, just sufficient to feed the few antelopes and goats that are on the island. There is a very beautiful species of this last animal found here, small, short-haired, with thin black sharp horns, having rings upon them, and they are very swift of foot.
This island is, in many places, covered with large plantations of Acacia trees, which grow to no height, seldom above eight feet, but spread wide, and turn flat at top, probably by the influence of the wind from the sea. Though in the neighbourhood of Abyssinia, Dahalac does not partake of its seasons: no rain falls here, from the end of March to the beginning of October; but, in the intermediate months, especially December, January, and February, there are violent showers for twelve hours at a time, which deluge the island, and fill the cisterns so as to serve all next summer; for there are no hills nor mountains in Dahalac, and consequently no springs. These cisterns alone preserve the water, and of them there yet remain three hundred and seventy, all hewn out of the solid rock. They say these were the works of the Persians; it is more probable they were those of the first Ptolemies. But whoever were the constructors of these magnificent reservoirs, they were a very different people from those that now possess them, who have not industry enough to keep one of the three hundred and seventy clear for the use of man. All of them are open to every sort of animal, and half full of the filth they leave there, after drinking and washing in them. The water of Dobelew, and Irwée, tasted strong of musk, from the dung of the goats and antelopes, and the smell before you drink it is more nauseous than the taste; yet one of these cisterns, cleaned and shut up with a door, might afford them wholesome sweet water all the year over.
After the rains fall, a prodigious quantity of grass immediately springs up; and the goats give the inhabitants milk, which in winter is the principal part of their subsistence, for they neither plow nor sow. All their employment is to work the vessels which trade to the different parts of the coast. One half of the inhabitants is constantly on the Arabian side, and by their labour is enabled to furnish with [206]dora, and other provisions, the other half who stay at home; and when their time is expired, they are relieved by the other half, and supplied with necessaries in their turn. But the sustenance of the poorer sort is entirely shell and other fish. Their wives and daughters are very bold, and expert fisher-women. Several of them, entirely naked, swam off to our vessel before we came to an anchor, begging handfuls of wheat, rice, or dora. They are very importunate and sturdy beggars, and not easily put off with denials. These miserable people, who live in the villages not frequented by barks from Arabia, are sometimes a whole year without tasting bread. Yet such is the attachment to the place of their nativity, they prefer living in this bare, barren, parched spot, almost in want of necessaries of every kind, especially of these essential ones, bread and water, to those pleasant and plentiful countries on both sides of them. This preference we must not call strange, for it is universal: A strong attachment to our native country, whatever is its condition, has been impressed by Providence, for wise ends, in the breasts of all nations; from Lapland to the Line, you find it written precisely in the same character.
There are twelve villages, or towns, in Dahalac, little different in size from Dobelew; each has a plantation of doom-trees round it, which furnish the only manufacture in the island. The leaves of this tree, when dried, are of a glossy white, which might very easily be mistaken for sattin; of these they make baskets of surprising beauty and neatness, staining part of the leaves with red or black, and working them into figures very artificially. I have known some of these, resembling straw-baskets, continue full of water for twenty-four hours, without one drop coming through. They sell these at Loheia and Jidda, the largest of them for four commesh, or sixpence. This is the employment, or rather amusement of the men who stay at home; for they work but very moderately at it, and all of them indeed take special care, not to prejudice their health by any kind of fatigue from industry.
People of the better sort, such as the Shekh and his relations, men privileged to be idle, and never exposed to the sun, are of a brown complexion, not darker than the inhabitants of Loheia. But the common sort employed in fishing, and those who go constantly to sea, are not indeed black, but red, and little darker than the colour of new mahogany. There are, besides, blacks among them, who come from Arkeeko and the Main, but even these, upon marrying, grow less black in a generation.