462 Translation of the Mohit, [Aug. 



Be it known to you that in some of the islands of the Maldives the 

 inhabitants hunt with dogs, bred to the purpose, the Orang-ootang 

 (Nisnaus) and eat it. The Nisnaus is an animal resembling a mon- 

 key, but endowed with speech; but generally monkeys are also 

 called Nisnaus. I have heard from the brother of Janum Hamza, 

 the late Intendant of Egypt, that coming one day on commercial 

 business at the extremity of Yaman, to a walled village, he alight- 

 ed at a house where two boys lying on the ground were crying, and 

 that out of commiseration he untied their fetters. The master of 

 the house, returning, laughed at it, and said, these are Nisnaus, which 

 we hunt. The next day the master of the house took his disbelieving 

 guest with him, and he saw the Nisnaus hunted by dogs. Some 

 Nisnaus emerge from the sea, their flesh is a great dainty ; that they 

 are endowed with the power of speech is even recorded in the books 

 of philosophers. 



Twenty-first Voyage, from Dili to Maskdt and Hormilz. 

 The time of performing this voyage is from the 10th of the Yazdajer- 

 dian year to the 60th, (7th Nov. — 27th Dec.) that is to say, from the 

 242nd day of the Jelalian year to the 290th ; but you must continually 

 go tacking, because the wind which is at this time of the year the mon- 

 soon Azib, blows very strong ; if it is impossible to pursue your course 

 tacking, you must wait till the wind grows favourable, in which case 

 you go till the Lyra 1 (?) is made by three inches and a half, and the land 

 is at hand ; because the interior pole is near the Arabian mountains ; 

 from thence you proceed true west to Saatari 2 *, or its neighbourhood. 

 If you set out on the 1 10th day of the Yazdajerdian year, which is the 

 340th of the Jelalian year, (7th Feb.) your way is W. N. W. till the 

 pole is eleven inches ; from thence true west till to Tib 3 , or its neigh- 

 bourhood ; but if you set out on the 1 50th or 160th day from the Yaz- 

 dajerdian Nawruz, which is the 15th or 25th of the Jelalian year (26th 

 March), then you proceed W. S. W. and S. W. by W. till you see the 

 island of Socotra : direct your course then towards the north pole till 

 Hausakiai, from thence to Daira (E. N. E.) towards the Arabian coast ; 

 if the wind grows strong before Socotra is in sight, the western wind 

 Kus you proceed tacking to N. W. by N. or N. W. or N. N. W. as you 

 can till you see Mottuk 4 , Khur 5 , or Muria G \. If these places are not 

 seen, you must take care of Ghabbai-tiri>§. In order to avoid it, you 

 put the head of the ship to the sea and go on. The sign that you 



* Swardi, near Muscat. f Hasek. 1 Curia Muria. § Cape Isolette ? 



