Another
Opinion Was That The Reflexion Of The Sun-Beams Gave A Red Colour To
This Sea.
Some hold that the red colour proceeds from the sand and
ground along the sea coast, and others that the water was red itself.
Of
these opinions every writer chose that he liked best. The Portuguese who
formerly navigated this sea affirmed that it was spotted or streaked
with red, arising as they alleged from the following circumstances. They
say that the coast of Arabia is naturally very red, and as there are
many great storms in this country, which raise great clouds of dust
towards the skies, which are driven by the wind into the sea, and the
dust being red tinges the water of that colour, whence it got the name
of the Red Sea.
[Footnote 334: By Dr. Hyde, in his notes on Peritsol, and Dr.
Cumberland, in his remarks on Sanchoniatho, and by other writers,
Erythros or Red is supposed to be a translation of Edom, the name
of Esau; whence it is conjectured that this sea, as well as the
country of Idumea, took their denominations from Edom. But this does
not seem probable for two reasons: First, because the Jews do not call
it the Red Sea but Tam Suf, or the Sea of Weeds; and, second,
the ancients included all the ocean between the coasts of Arabia and
India under the name of the Erythrean or Red Sea, of which the
Persian and the Arabian Gulfs were reckoned branches. - Ast. I. 129.
c.]
From leaving Socotora, till I had coasted the whole of this sea all
the way to Suez, I continually and carefully observed this sea; and
the colour and appearance of its shores, the result of which I shall now
state. First then, it is altogether false that the colour of this sea is
red, as it does not differ in any respect from the colour of other seas.
As to the dust driven by the winds from the land to the sea staining the
water; we saw many storms raise great clouds of dust and drive them to
the sea, but the colour of its water was never changed by these. Those
who have said that the land on the coast is red, have not well observed
the coats and strands: for generally on both, sides the land by the sea
is brown and very dark, as if scorched. In some places it appears black
and in others white, and the sands are of these colours. In three places
only there are certain parts of the mountains having veins or streaks of
a red colour; and at these places the Portuguese had never been before
the present voyage. These three places are all far beyond Swakem
towards Suez, and the three hills having these red streaks or veins are
all of very hard rock, and all the land round about that we could see
are of the ordinary colour and appearance. Now, although substantially
the water of this sea has no difference in colour from that of other
seas, yet in many places its waves by accident seem very red, from the
following cause. From Swakem to Kossir, which is 136 leagues, the
sea is thickly beset with shoals and shelves or reefs, composed of
coral stone, which grows like clustered trees spreading its branches
on all sides as is done by real coral, to which this stone bears so
strong resemblance that it deceives many who are not very skilful
respecting the growth and nature of coral.
This coral stone is of two sorts, one of which is a very pure white,
and the other very red. In some places this coral stone is covered
by great quantities of green ouze or sleech, and in other places it is
free from this growth. In some places this ouze or sleech is very bright
green, and in others of an orange-tawny colour. From Swakem upwards,
the water of this sea is so exceedingly clear, that in many places the
bottom may be distinctly seen at the depth of 20 fathoms. Hence,
where-ever these shoals and shelves are, the water over them is of three
several colours, according to the colour of these rocks or shelves, red,
green, or white, proceeding from the colour of the ground below, as I
have many times experienced. Thus when the ground of the shoals is sand,
the sea over it appears white; where the coral-stone is covered with
green ouze or sleech, the water above is greener even than the weeds;
but where the shoals are of red coral, or coral-stone covered by red
weeds, all the sea over them appears very red. And, as this red
colour comprehends larger spaces of the sea than either the green or
the white, because the stone of the shoals is mostly of red coral, I
am convinced that on this account it has got the name of the Red Sea,
and not the green sea or the white sea, though these latter colours are
likewise to be seen in perfection.
The means I used for ascertaining this secret of nature were these. I
oftentimes fastened my bark upon shoals where the sea appeared red, and
commanded divers to bring me up stones from the bottom. Mostly it was so
shallow over these shoals, that the bark touched; and in other places
the mariners could wade for half a league with the water only breast
high. On these occasions most of the stones brought up were of red
coral, and others were covered by orange-tawny weeds. Whether the sea
appeared green, I found the stones at the bottom were white coral
covered with green weeds; and where the sea was white I found a very
white sand. I have conversed often with the Moorish pilots, and with
persons curious in antiquities, who dwelt on this sea, who assured me
that it was never stained red by the dust brought from the land by the
winds:
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