Page 381 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

354
COAST OF NUBIA. [OH.

of the vessel being considerably endangered,
amidst the numerous rocks and shoals that
surrounded us. By night we were generally
- secured to the lee side of a reef, trusting to
good fortune for no change in the almost un­
varying northerly breezes.

The interior of Sherm Hilei’b is not likely to
prove of service to shipping, as the entrance
runs to the northward, and is very confined ; it
would, in a north-wester, be therefore difficult
to reach the anchorage. Bagalas from the
Arabian coast occasionally visit Hile’ib to pro­
cure camels, sheep, horse-hair, &c., but the
extreme dread the Arab mariner entertains
of crossing the sea prevents any general com­
munication between the two coasts. Since
the Nubians here are either indifferent to,

or ignorant of the value of money, and are
content to receive a scanty supply of grain,
I tobacco, and trinkets, in exchange for what
they furnish, the few hardy enough to dare
the passage are amply repaid by the profits
they obtain.
H At a short distance from the beach on the
1 south-west side of the bay, in the bed of a

W- torrent, entirely dry at the period of our visit,

m