224 Dv Beke 07i the Sources of the Nile 



sidered to have meant, not that he reached, during his voyage, 

 the lakes of the Nile themselves, but merely that he vpas 

 driven as far as the parallel of latitude in which those lakes 

 are situate ; and so indeed both Marinus and Ptolemy may 

 well have understood the matter, though it is not exactly so 

 expressed. 



From these and from the various other sources of infor- 

 mation to which he had access, the Greek geographer arrives 

 at the following results. 



In the eighth Chapter of his fourth Book,* when describing 

 the course of the Nile, he states that — 



The confluence of the Astapus [Blue River] EastofFerro. 



with the Nile is in . . . 61^ 0' long., and 12° 0' N. lat. 



That of the Astapus with the Astaboras 



[Takkazie] is in . . . 62° 30' ... 11" 30' ... 



[This error of causing the Astapus and As- 

 taboras to unite, proceeded from the idea 

 that Meroe was actually an island, whereas 

 it is only bounded by the two rivers on either 

 side.] 

 Then the spot where the Nile [White River] 



becomes a single stream, from the junction 



of the rivers flowing from the two upper 



lakes, is in . . . . 60° 



Of these lakes, the western one is in . 57° 



And the eastern one, in . . 65° 



Lake Coloe [Bahr Tsana, or the Lake of Dem- 



bea], from which the Astapus [Blue River 



or Abai] flows, is in . . 69° 



In the following Chapter,t the eastern coast of Africa is 

 described as stretching — 



Towards the east from Cape Rhaptum on the Barbarian Gulf (Barbaricus Sinus), 

 which is also called the Rough Sea on account of the shoals, as far as Cape 

 Prasum ; beyond which the country is unknown. 



Cape Prasum is in . . . 80° E. long. 15° 0' S. lat. 



Kear this latter, towards the north-east, is an 



island named Jlenuthias, which lies in . 85° ... 12° 30' 



Round the gulf dwell certain cannibal negroes 

 (^thiopes Anthropophagi) ; on the west of 

 whose country are the Mountains (hill-coun- 

 try) of the Moon, the snows of which are re- 

 ceived into the lakes of the Nile. 



* P. 113 (Edit. Bertii, p. 129). f P. 115 (Edit. Bertii, p. 131). 



