184* DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
Calil. The greater part of this arid desert exhi- 
bits no traces of animal or vegetable life ; the birds 
shun its torrid atmosphere, the serpent and the li- 
zard abandon the sands, and the red ant, which re- 
sembles in colour the soil on which it lives, is al- 
most the only animal which seems to exist among 
the ruins of nature. At an ancient period, how- 
ever, these deserts were productive both of precious 
stones and of the precious metals. The Arabs 
still retain many traditions concerning the famous 
mine of emeralds, and both Agatharchides and 
Diodorus mention the mines of gold. 
In barbarous countries, the route of the wander- 
ing savage is sometimes across the pathless desert 
or the forest, but his constant residence is by the 
river, or along the shore of the sea. In the east- 
ern desert of the Thebaid there are no rivers, 
though the surface of the ground is furrowed by 
torrents, and we must descend to the shore of the 
Red Sea to look for the habitations of men. The 
flat country along the shore seems to have been for- 
merly denominated Hor or Horeth, signifying a 
valley or stripe of ground furrowed by torrents, and 
was the residence of the Horites or Troglodytes : 
Hence probably Pihahiroth, The Mouth of the Val- 
ley, the name of the station of the Israelites before 
they crossed the Red Sea, and situated at the nar- 
rowest part of the Gulf of Suez, where it does not 
exceed four leagues in breadth. The memory of 
