Page:The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea.djvu/136

 in the autumn; it is the purest of all, and is of a white color. The second gathering takes place in the spring, incisions being made in the bark for that purpose during the winter; this, however, is of a red color, and not to be compared with the other incense."

And of the storage of all the incense of the country in the capital, Pliny gives a further account (XII, 32):

"The incense after being collected, is carried on camels' backs to Sabota, of which place a single gate is left open for its admission. To deviate from the high road while carrying it, the laws have made a capital offense. At this place the priests take by measure, and not by weight, a tenth part in honor of their god, whom they call Sabis; indeed, it is not allowable to dispose of it before this has been done; out of this tenth the public expenses are defrayed, for the divinity generously entertains all those strangers who have made a certain number of days' journey in coming thither. The incense can only be exported through the country of the Gebanitae, and for this reason it is that a certain tax is paid to their king as well.

"There are certain portions also of the frankincense which are given to the priests and king's secretaries: and in addition to these, the keepers of it, as well as the soldiers who guard it, the gate-keepers and various other employees, have their share as well. And then besides, all along the route, there is at one place water to pay for, at another fodder, lodging of the stations and various taxes and imposts besides; the consequence of which is, that the expense for each camel before it arrives at the shores of our sea (the Mediterranean) is 688 denarii; after all this, too, there are certain other payments still to be made to the farmers of the revenue of our empire.

"Hence a pound of the best incense sells at 6 denarii, of the second quality at 5, and of the third quality at 3 denarii."

27. To Cana on rafts.—This was the Dhofar, or "Sachalitic" frankincense, as distinguished from that of the Hadramaut valley, which would naturally go by camel direct to Sabbatha. Pliny (VI, 34) doubts the story of the inflated rafts, derived, he thinks, from a fancied resemblance to the name given the African tribe using them—Ascitae; the Greek word askos meaning "bladder." But the Ascitae, as already shown, were from Asich (§33) and were the founders of Axum. And the inflated raft is authentic, being the well-known kelek, a type still in use on the Euphrates, whence the migrating Arabs no doubt brought it to the south coast. This is probably, also, the "cargo-ship" of §33, sent from Cana to Masira Island for tortoise-shell.