Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 1.djvu/412

302 the two states, Hejaz and Yemen, or Arabia Felix and Arabia Deserta, to be 18° 36' north.

mountains reach here nearer to the sea. We anchored a mile from the shore in 15 fathoms, the banks were sand and coral; from this the coast is better inhabited. The principal Arabs to which the country belongs are Cotrushi, Sebahi, Helali, Mauchlota, and Menjahi. These are not Arabs by origin, but came from the opposite coast near Azab, and were Shepherds, who were stubborn enemies to Mahomet, but at last converted; they are black, and woolly-headed. The mountains and small islands on the coast, farther inland to the eastward, are in possession of the Habib. These are white in colour, rebellious, or independent Arabs, who pay no sort of obedience to the Imam, or the Sherriffe of Mecca, but occasionally plunder the towns on the coast.

the sandy desert at the foot of the mountains is called Tehama, which extends to Mocha. But in the maps it is marked as a separate country from Arabia Felix, whereas it is but the low part, or sea-coast of it, and is not a separate jurisdiction. It is called Tema in scripture, and derives its name from Taami in Arabic, which signifies the sea-coast. There is little water here, as it never rains; there is also no animal but the gazel or antelope, and but a few of them. There are few birds, and those which may be found are generally mute.

15th, we sailed with little wind, coasting along the shore, sometimes at two miles distance, and often less. The mountains now seemed high. I sounded several times, and found no ground at thirty fathoms, within a mile of the