The land here, after running from Jibbel Siberget to Macouar, in a direction nearly N. W. and S. E. turns round in shape of a large promontory, and changes its direction to N. E. and S. W. and ends in a small bay or inlet; so that, by fanciful people, it has been thought to resemble the nose of a man, and is called by the Arabs, Ras el Anf, the Cape of the Nose. The mountains, within land, are of a dusky burnt colour; broken into points, as if intersected by torrents.
The coasting vessels from Masuah and Suakem which are bound to Jidda, in the strength of the Summer monsoon, stand close in shore down the coast of Abyssinia, where they find a gentle steady east wind blowing all night, and a west wind very often during the day, if they are near enough the shore, for which purpose their vessels are built.
Besides this, the violent North-East monsoon raking in the direction of the Gulf, blows the water out of the Straits of Babelmandeb into the Indian Ocean, where, being accumulated, it presses itself backwards; and, unable to find way in the middle of the Channel, creeps up among the shallows on each coast of the Red Sea. However long the voyage from Masuah to Jibbel Macouar may seem, yet these gentle winds and favourable currents, if I may so call those in the sea, soon ran us down the length of that mountain.
A large vessel, however, does not dare to try this, whilst constantly among shoals, and close on a lee-shore; but those sewed together, and yielding without damage to the stress, slide over the banks of white coral, and even sometimes the rocks. Arrived at this island, they set their prow towards
