THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^23 



down about lat. 21 25'), I never did believe that any fuch 

 river exifted. 



In fact, we know no river, north of the fources of the 

 Nile, that does not fall into the Nile. Nay, I may fay, that 

 not one river, in all Abymnia, empties itfelf into the Red 

 Sea. The tropical rains are bounded, and finifli, in lat. 1 6°, 

 and there is no river, from the mountains, that falls into 

 the defert of Nubia ; nor do we know of any river which 

 is tributary to the Nile, but what has its rife under the tro- 

 pical rains. It would be a very Angular circumflance, then, 

 that the Frat mould rife in one of the dryefl places in the 

 globe, that it mould be a river at leafl equal to the Nile ; 

 and mould maintain itfelf full in all feafons, which the Nile 

 does not ; laft of all, in a country where water is fo fcarce 

 and precious, that it mould not have a town or fettlement 

 upon it, either ancient or modern, nor that it mould be re- 

 forted to by any encampment of Arabs, who might crofs 

 over and traffic with Jidda, which place is immediately op- 

 polite.. 



On the 18th, at day-break, I was alarmed at feeing no 

 land, as I had no fort of confidence in the ikill of my pilot, 

 however fare I was of my latitude. About an hour after 

 fun-fet, I obferved a high rugged rock, which the pilot told 

 me, upon inquiry, was Jibbel, (viz. a Rock), and this was all 

 the fatisfaclion I could get. We bore down upon it with a 

 wind, fcant enough; and, about four, we came to an an- 

 chor. As we had no name for that iiland, and 1 did not 

 know that any traveller had been there before me, I ufed 

 the privilege by giving it my own, in memory of having 

 been there. The fouth of this ifland fcems to be high and. 



rocky,,' 



