38 
Friday, January 2d. 
We did the same as on Thursday. 
The navigation of the Red Sea is dreadful. We sail- 
ed almost continually between banks and rocks, above 
and under water; so that we were obliged to have a 
guard of four or five men upon the prow, who ex- 
amined the course attentively, and who cried to the 
steersman to steer to the right or left. But should they 
commit an error, or discover the shoal too late, or too 
near the ship; or should the steersman, who cannot see 
them, not keep far enough off; or, in keeping too far, 
strike the ship upon a neighbouring bank,- which had 
not been observed; and should he misunderstand the 
cry, as sometimes happens; or should the wind or cur- 
rent prevent him from changing his direction, during 
the interval which takes place between the discovery 
of the rock and the arrival of the vessel at the place of 
danger; the ship would be dashed to pieces, and all 
would be lost. What chances to run between life and 
death, at every instant, in this hazardous navigation! 
It is on these accounts that there are so many ship- 
wrecks every year in this sea, which appear to check 
the audacity of voyagers: but what is the fear of death 
to the desire of amassing of riches. The Arabian ves- 
sels, which convey the valuable productions of the 
Indies, of Persia, and of Arabia, continually navigate 
this sea, that devours so many victims, and may per- 
haps be the cause of their destruction. 
To guard in a certain degree against danger, these 
ships have a false keel under the real one, which, when 
they strike, lessens the shock a little, and if the 
weather is not rough, saves the vessel. On the other 
hand, the immense cotton sail, nearly an inch thick, 
and of a bad shape, requires the same manoeuvre as if 
