THE SOURCE OF THE NILS. 



339 



About twenty minutes before twelve o'clock we were 

 -about four leagues diftant from the ifland, as near as I 

 could judge upon a parallel. Having there taken my oh-* 

 fervation, and all deductions made, I concluded the latitude 

 of the north end of Jibbel Teir to be 15 38' north ; thirty- 

 two leagues weft longitude from Loheia, fifty-three eaft 

 longitude from Mafuah, and forty-fix leagues eaft of the 

 meridian of Jidda. Jibbel Teir, or the Mountain of the Bird,, 

 is called by others, Jibbel Douhan, or the Mountain of 

 Smoke. I imagine that the fame was the origin of our 

 tname of * Gibraltar, rather than from Tarik, who firft landed 

 in Spain ; and one of my reafons is, that fo cdnfpicuous 

 -a mountain, near, and immediately in the face of the moors 

 of Barbary, muft have been known by fome name, long be- 

 fore Tarik with his Arabs made his defcent into Spain. 



The reafon of its being called Jibbel Douhan, the 

 Mountain of Smoke, is, that though, in the middle of 

 the fea, it is a volcano, which throws out lire, and though 

 nearly extinguished, fmokes to this day. It probably 

 has been the occalion of the creation of great part of 

 the neighbouring iflands. Did it burn now, it would be of 

 great ufe to fhipping in the night, but in the earlieft hif- 

 tory of the trade of that fea, no mention is made of it, as in 

 a Hate of conflagration. It was - called Orneon in Ptolemy^ 

 the Bird-Ifland, the fame as Jibbel Teir. It is likewife call- 

 ed Sheban, from the white fpot at the top of it, which feems 

 to be fulphur, and a part feems to have fallen in, and to 



U u 2 * have 



* Jibbel Teir, the Mountain of the .bird ; corruptly, Gibraltar. 



