No sea, or shores, I believe, in the world, abound more in subjects of Natural History than the Red Sea. I suppose I have drawings and subjects of this kind, equal in bulk to the journal of the whole voyage itself. But the vast expence in engraving, as well as other considerations, will probably hinder for ever the perfection of this work in this particular.
_Sail from Tor--Pass the Elanitic Gulf--See Raddua--Arrive at Yambo--Incidents there--Arrive at Jidda._
Our Rais, having dispatched his business, was eager to depart; and, accordingly, on the 11th of April, at day-break, we stood out of the harbour of Tor. At first, we were becalmed in, at the point of the Bay south of Tor town, but the wind freshening about eight o’clock, we stood through the channels of the first four shoals, and then between a smaller one. We made the mouth of a small Bay, formed by Cape Mahomet, and a low sandy point to the eastward of it. Our vessel seemed to be a capital one for sailing, and I did every thing in my power to keep our Rais in good humour.
About half a mile from the sandy point, we struck upon a coral bank, which, though it was not of any great consistence or solidity, did not fail to make our mast nod. As I was looking out forward when the vessel touched, and the Rais by me, I cried out in Arabic, “Get out of the way you dog!” the Rais, thinking my discourse directed to him, seemed very much surprised, and asked, “what I meant?” “Why did you not tell me, said I, when I hired you, that all the rocks in the sea would get out of the way of your vessel? This ill-mannered fellow here did not _know his duty_; he was sleeping I suppose, and has given us a hearty jolt, and I was abusing him for it, till you should chastise him some other way.” He shook his head, and said, “Well! you do not believe, but God knows the truth; well now where is the rock? Why he is gone.” However, very prudently, he anchored soon afterwards, though we had received no damage.
At night, by an observation of two stars in the meridian, I concluded the latitude of Cape Mahomet to be 27° 54´, N. It must be understood 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 sandy country, called the Desert of Sin, to the eastward, and end in this Cape, which is the high land observed at sea; but the lower part, or southermost extreme of the Cape, runs about three leagues off from the high land, and is so low, that it cannot be seen from deck above three leagues. It was called, by the ancients, Pharan Promontorium; not because there was a light-house[176] upon the end of it, (though this may have perhaps been the case, and a very necessary and proper situation it is) but from the Egyptian and Arabic word Farek[177], which signifies to divide, as being the point, or high land that divides the Gulf of Suez from the Elanitic Gulf.