c-22 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER' 



protected; and w this cafe \\ ill, I hope, be found a valuable 

 fragment, becaufe, whatever have been; my coufcientious 

 fears of running fervants, who work for pay, into danger of 

 lofing their lives by peril of the fea, yet I can fafely fay, that 

 never did. the face of man, or fear of danger to myfelf, deter 

 me from verifying with my eyes, what my own hands have 

 put upon paper. 



In the days of the Ptolemies, and, as I mall mew,- long 

 before, the weft coaftof the Red Sea, where the deepeft wa- 

 ter, and moft dangerous rocks are, was the track which the 

 Indian and African fhips chofe, when loaded with the richefl . 

 merchandise that ever veffels fince carried. The Ptolemies , 

 built a number of large cities on this coaft ; nor do we hear 

 that fhips were obliged to abandon that track, from the dif- 

 afters that befel them in the navigation. On the contrary, 

 they avoided the coaft of Arabia ; and one reafon, among 

 others, is plain why they mould ; — they were loaded with 

 the moft valuable commodities, gold, ivory, gums, and pre- 

 cious ftones ; room for ftowage on board therefore was very - 

 valuable. 



Part of this trade, when at its greateft perfection, was 

 carried on in veflels with oars. We know from the prophet 

 Ezekiel*, 700 years before Chrift, or 300 after Solomon had . 

 finifhed his trade with Africa and India, that they did not , 

 always make ufe of fails in the track of the monfoons ; and i 

 confequently a great number of men muft have been necef- 



fary 



• Ezek. chap, xxvii. 6th and 29th verfes. 



