called^ by the Arabs, Ras Seni. 17 



this Report ; and amongft other very curious Accounts, rela- 

 ting to this Place, He told me a remarkable Circumftance, to 

 the great Difcredit and even Confutation, of all that had been 

 fo politively advanced, with Regard to the petrified Bodies of 

 Men, Children and other Animals. 



Some of the Janizaries, ( who, in colleftins the Tribute, a story of 



*-' a little Cu- 



travel over, every Year, one Part or other of this Diftrid o^p'^, being 

 Ras Sem,) promifed him, that, as an adult Perfon would be ^ p^tnkd 

 too heavy and cumberfome, they would undertake, for a cer-confu'i ot 

 tain Number of Dollars, to bring him, from thence, the Body "^ 

 of a little Child. After a great many pretended Difficulties, 

 Delays and Difappointments, they produced, at length, a little 

 Cupid, which they had found, as he learnt afterwards, amongft 

 the Ruins of Leptis : and, to conceal the Deceit, they broke 

 off the Quiver, and fome other of the diftinguifliing Chara- 

 £terifticks of that Deity. However he paid them for it, ac- 

 cording to Promife, 1000 Dollars or 15-0 Pounds Sterling, as 

 a Reward for their faithful Service and hazardous Undertaking : 

 having run the Rifque, as they pretended, of being ftrangled, 

 if they fliould have been difcovered, in thus delivering up, to 

 an Infidel, one of thofe unfortunate Mahometa?is, 



But, notwithftandins this Cheat and Impofition had made Thepretend- 



^-^ cd T 03.VCS of 



the Conjid delift, from fearching after the petrified Bodies of Bread, arc 

 Men and other Animals; yet there was one Matter of Fatt, 

 w hich ftill very ftrangely embarralTed him, and even llrongly 

 prevailed upon him to believe the current Report and Tradi- 

 tion. This was fome little Loaves of Bread, as he called them, 

 which had been brought to him from that Place. His reafoning 

 indeed thereupon, provided the pretended Matter of Fad; had 

 been clear and evident, wasjuft and fatisfa^tory ; for where 

 we find Loaves of Bread, there fome Perfons muft have been 

 employed in making them, as well as others, for whom they 

 were prepared. One of thefe Loaves, he had, among other 

 Petrifications ', very fortunately brought with him to Cairo ; 



I The Fragment of a petrified ?<«/»/ 7>ft', which is figured, p. jo. of my Excerpta, was 

 given mc by this Gentleman. It was broke off from a great Lump j and agrees exadly, 

 witli the Wood of the living Pahii Tree, in the Order and Quality of the Fibres ; which do 

 not run ftraight and parallel, as in other Trees ; but arc for the mofl: part oblique, or di- 

 verging from one another in an Angle of about lo degrees. It ftrikes Fire like a Flint; 

 and fo does a Fragment of the petrified Wood, which I found upon the Idhmus betwixt 

 Cairo and Suez. 



E where 



