Having satisfied my curiosity as to these mountains, without having seen a living creature, I returned to my boat, where I found all well, and an excellent dinner of fish prepared. These were of three kinds, called Bisser, Surrumbac, and Nhoude el Benaat. The first of these seems to be of the Oyster-kind, but the shells are both equally curved and hollow, and open with a hinge on the side like a mussel. It has a large beard, like an oyster, which is not eatable, but which should be stript off. We found some of these two feet long, but the largest I believe ever seen composes the baptismal font in the church of Notre Dame in Paris[162]. The second is the Concha Veneris, with large projecting points like fingers. The third, called the Breasts of the Virgin, is a beautiful shell, perfectly pyramidal, generally about four inches in height, and beautifully variegated with mother-of-pearl, and green. All these fishes have a peppery taste, but are not therefore reckoned the less wholesome, and they are so much the more convenient, that they carry that ingredient of spice along with them for sauce, with which travellers, like me, very seldom burden themselves.
Besides a number of very fine shells, we picked up several branches of coral, coralines, yusser[163], and many other articles of natural history. We were abundantly provided with every thing; the weather was fair; and we never doubted it was to continue, so we were in great spirits, and only regreted that we had not, once for all, taken leave of Cosseir, and stood over for Jidda.
In this disposition we sailed about three o’clock in the afternoon, and the wind flattered us so much, that next day, the 17th, about eleven o’clock, we found ourselves about two leagues a-stern of a small island, known to the Pilot by the name of Jibbel Macouar. This island is at least four miles from the shore, and is a high land, so that it may be seen, I suppose, eight leagues at sea, but is generally confounded with the Continent. I computed myself to be about 4´ of the meridian distant when I made the observation, and take its latitude to be about 24° 2´ on the centre of the island.
The land here, after running from Jibbel Siberget to Macouar, in a direction nearly N. W. and S. E. turns round in shape of a large promontory, and changes its direction to N. E. and S. W. and ends in a small bay or inlet; so that, by fanciful people, it has been thought to resemble the nose of a man, and is called by the Arabs, Ras el Anf, the Cape of the Nose. The mountains, within land, are of a dusky burnt colour; broken into points, as if intersected by torrents.
The coasting vessels from Masuah and Suakem which are bound to Jidda, in the strength of the Summer monsoon, stand close in shore down the coast of Abyssinia, where they find a gentle steady east wind blowing all night, and a west wind very often during the day, if they are near enough the shore, for which purpose their vessels are built.
Besides this, the violent North-East monsoon raking in the direction of the Gulf, blows the water out of the Straits of Babelmandeb into the Indian Ocean, where, being accumulated, it presses itself backwards; and, unable to find way in the middle of the Channel, creeps up among the shallows on each coast of the Red Sea. However long the voyage from Masuah to Jibbel Macouar may seem, yet these gentle winds and favourable currents, if I may so call those in the sea, soon ran us down the length of that mountain.
A large vessel, however, does not dare to try this, whilst constantly among shoals, and close on a lee-shore; but those sewed together, and yielding without damage to the stress, slide over the banks of white coral, and even sometimes the rocks. Arrived at this island, they set their prow towards the opposite shore, and cross the Channel in one night, to the coast of Arabia, being nearly before the wind. The track of this extraordinary navigation is marked upon[164] the map, and it is so well verified, that no ship-master need doubt it.
About three o’clock in the afternoon, with a favourable wind and fine weather, we continued along the coast, with an easy sail. We saw no appearance of any inhabitants; the mountains were broken and pointed, as before taking the direction of the coast; advancing and receding as the shore itself did. This coast is a very bold one, nor was there in any of the islands we had seen, shoals or anchoring places, unless upon the rock itself; so that, when we landed, we could run our boltsprit home over the land.
This island, Jibbel Macouar, has breakers running off from it at all points; but, though we hauled close to these, we had no soundings. We then went betwixt it and the small island, that lies S. S. E. from it about three miles, and tried for soundings to the leeward, but we had none, although almost touching the land. About sun-set, I saw a small sandy island, which we left about a league to the westward of us. It had no shrubs, nor trees, nor height, that could distinguish it. My design was to push on to the river Frat, which is represented in the charts as very large and deep, coming from the Continent; though, considering by its latitude that it is above the tropical rains, (for it is laid down about lat. 21° 25´), I never did believe that any such river existed.
In fact, we know no river, north of the sources of the Nile, that does not fall into the Nile. Nay, I may say, that not one river, in all Abyssinia, empties itself into the Red Sea. The tropical rains are bounded, and finish, in lat. 16°, and there is no river, from the mountains, that falls into the desert of Nubia; nor do we know of any river which is tributary to the Nile, but what has its rise under the tropical rains. It would be a very singular circumstance, then, that the Frat should rise in one of the dryest places in the globe, that it should be a river at least equal to the Nile; and should maintain itself full in all seasons, which the Nile does not; last of all, in a country where water is so scarce and precious, that it should not have a town or settlement upon it, either ancient or modern, nor that it should be resorted to by any encampment of Arabs, who might cross over and traffic with Jidda, which place is immediately opposite.