Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 1.djvu/440

328 wind. At half past nine, Loheia bore east north-east about four leagues distant; and here we came in sight of several small, barren, and uninhabited islands. Booarish bore south-west two miles off; Zebid one mile and a half distant, east and by north; Amar, the smallest of all, one mile south; and Ormook, south-eaft by east two miles.

Arabs of the mountain, who had attempted to surprise Loheia in the spring, now prepared for another attack against it, and had advanced within three days journey. This obliged the Emir to draw together all his troops from the neighbourhood; all the camels were employed to lay in an extraordinary stock of water.

Rais, who was a stranger, and without connections in this place, found himself under great difficulties to provide water enough for the voyage, for we had but a scanty provision left, and though our boat was no more than sixty feet long, we had about forty people on board of her. I had indeed hired the vessel for myself, but gave the Rais leave to take some known people passengers on board, as it was very dangerous to make enemies in the place to which I was going, by frustrating any person of his voyage home, even though I paid for the boat, and still as dangerous to take a person unknown, whose end in the voyage might be to defeat my designs. We were resolved, therefore, to bear away for an island to the northward, where they said the water was both good, and in plenty.

the course of this day, we passed several small islands, and, in the evening, anchored in seven fathom and a half of water, near a shoal distant four leagues from Loheia. We

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