Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/29

Rh down in the charts a little to the southward of Inancata. We bore away to round this, for which the. soundings proved an excellent guide, and soon after, seeing a point, which we supposed to be the northern end of Inancata Island, we came to an anchor in ten fathoms.

On the 19th, Mr. Green the first Lieutenant, and myself set out at day light, to look for the harbour and town of Sofala. After leaving the vessel we sailed straight for the point, which we conceived to be Inancata, having regular soundings decreasing as we advanced. On approaching the point we found breakers extending a considerable way from it, which we rounded in one and a half fathom, when the water became deeper, and a second point opened beyond, to which we directed our course. On reaching it the sea was perfectly smooth, to the beach, and we determined, in consequence, to land. A great number of curlews, and other birds were feeding by the water's edge, but they were so wild, that they flew away long before we were within gun-shot.

The point, on which we landed, was covered with brushwood, and small trees, consisting chiefly of such species, as grow in salt water, the most common kind being the rack of the Red Sea, of which Mr. Bruce has given a tolerably correct drawing. In every part of the thicket, the footsteps of numerous elephants might be seen, and we could plainly trace the recent ravages of these animals among the trees, many of which lay torn up by the roots, stripped of their bark, and their branches and leaves rudely twisted off, and trampled in the mire. At some little distance round the point, we discovered an old deserted shed, the remains of a fire, and some remnants of roasted fish, and cashew nuts left by the natives. Several trees near this spot had been burnt to the ground, and a kind of artificial entrenchment, seemed to have been made, for the purpose, no doubt, of keeping away elephants, and other wild beasts during the night. Soon afterwards we started a deer, which led us to conceive, that the natives were not at that time in the neighbourhood; still, however, having no particular object in view, we did not think it prudent to proceed, and therefore returned to the boat, after having collected a few specimens of plants, among which the following may be