242 An Account of Mr. Broiuji's Travels 



furrounded by water, and there were no boats. Mr. Brown 

 foon foundjfrom the defcription, that ^r^/c/jie was not theOafis 

 of Amnion; but, conceiving it fomething gained to pafs far- 

 ther wefl:, he determined to proceed thither. For this pur- 

 pofe it was neceflary to ufe all poflible fecrecy, as the Siwefe 

 were bent on oppofing his farther progrefs. An agreement 

 was therefore made with two perfons of the poorer clafs of 

 the natives, for a few zechins, that they (hould conduft him 

 and his attendants to Arafcbi', and that, if what they fought 

 for was not there, they (liould proceed with them to the firft 

 watering place that they knew of direftly to the fouthward. 

 The remainder of the time he ftayed at Siwa was employed 

 in combating the difficulties raifcd about his departure ; and 

 it was not till Monday, the 1 2th of March, that he was en- 

 abled to commence his journey weft. 



The Oafis, which contains the town of Siwa, is about fix 

 miles long, and four and a half or five wide. A large pro- 

 portion of this fpace is filled with date-trees ; but there are 

 alfo pomegranates, figs and olives, apricots and plantains ; 

 and the gardens are remarkably flourifhing. The inhabi- 

 tants cultivate a confiderable cjuantity of rice, which, how- 

 ever, is of a reddifli hue, and different from that of the Delta. 

 The remainder of the cultivable land furniflies wheat enough 

 for the confumption of the inhabitants. Water, both fait 

 and frefli, abounds; but the fprings which furniih the latter 

 are moft of them tepid ; and fuch is the nature of the wa- 

 ter, air, and other circumitances, that ftrangers are often 

 affected with agues and malignant fevers. One of thofe 

 fprings, which rifes iicar the building before defcribed, is 

 obferved by the natives to be fometimcs cold and fomctimes 

 warm. After the rains the ground in the neighbourhood of 

 Siwa is covered with fait for many weeks. 



INIr. Brown, ha\ ing left his temporary refidence, proceeded, 

 himfelf and interpreter on horfeback, his original conduftor 

 on foot, and the two men he had hired each on an afs ; but 

 he had not gone far before one of the latter told him that it 



would 



