On
Getting Into Abdul Curia, They May Anchor On The West Side In Seven Or
Eight Fathoms, Under The Low
Land; or, if they cannot get to anchor,
should keep close hauled in the night to the southward, lest the
Wind
and northerly current put them too much to leeward before day.
Notwithstanding the monsoon, the winds do not blow steadily, being
sometimes S. by W. and S.S.W. but seldom to the east of south.
[Footnote 166: These two numbers unquestionably relate to the longitude
and latitude respectively, though strangely expressed. The true lat. is
13 deg. 20'N. and long. 53 deg. E. from Greenwich. - E.]
"Socotora is an island not far from the mouth of the Red Sea, being the
Dioscuria or Disoscordia of the ancients, in lat. 13 deg. 20' N. It was
governed when we were there by a sultan, named Amir Ben-said, son of the
king of Fartaque, in Arabia Felix, which lies between the latitudes of
15 deg. and 18 deg. N. on the coast of Arabia. This king was in peace with the
Turks, on condition of assisting them with 5000 men when required, and
then these troops to be paid and maintained by the Turks, to whom he
paid no other acknowledgement. Near to the sea about Dofar, there is
another petty Arab sovereign, whom he of Fartaque dare not meddle with,
because he is under the protection of the Grand Signior.
"The sultan of Socotora came down to meet us at the shore, accompanied
by 300 men, and had a tent set up for his accommodation. He was on
horseback, as were two of his principal attendants, and a third on a
camel, the people running before and behind him shouting. He had two
companies of guards, one composed of his own subjects, and the other
consisting of twelve hired Guzerates, some armed with Turkish bows, some
with pistols, and some with muskets, but all having good swords. He had
also a few kettle-drums, and one trumpet. He received the general in a
courteous manner, and was so absolute, that no person could sell any
thing except himself. His people sat about him very respectfully; his
clothes were of Surat cloths, made in the Arabian fashion, with a
cassock of red and white wrought velvet, and a robe of which the ground
was cloth of gold. He wore a handsome turban, but his legs and feet were
bare.
"Every night these people all stand or kneel towards the setting sun,
the zerife throwing water on their heads, being all Mahomedans. The
king's town, named Tamara, is built of stone and lime, all whited over,
the houses built with battlements and pinnacles, and all flat-roofed. At
a distance it looks well, but within is very poor. Mr Boughton had leave
to see the king's house, and found it such as might serve an ordinary
gentleman in England. The lower rooms were used as warehouses and
wardrobe, a few changes of robes hanging about the walls, and along with
them were some twenty-five books of their law, religion, history, and
saints lives. No person could be permitted to go up stairs to see his
three wives, or the other women; but the ordinary sort might be seen in
the town, their ears all full of silver rings. In the mosque the priest
was seen at service. Mr Boughton had for his dinner three hens, with
rice, his drink being water, and a black liquor called cahu, [coffee]
drank as hot as could be endured.
"On a hill, a mile from Tamara, there is a square castle, but we could
not get leave to see it. The inhabitants are of four sorts. The first
are Arabs, who have come in by means of conquest, who dare not speak in
presence of the sultan without leave, and kissing his hand. The second
sort are slaves, who kiss his foot when they come into his presence, do
all his work, and make his aloes. The third sort are the old inhabitants
of the country, called Bedouins, though I think these are not the oldest
of all, whom I suppose to have been those commonly called Jacobite
Christians: For, on Mr Boughton going into a church of theirs, which the
Arabs had forced them to abandon, he found some images and a crucifix,
which he took away. The Mahomedans would not say much about these
people, lest other Christians might relieve or support them. These
Bedouins, having had wars with the Arabs, live apart from them in the
mountains. The fourth kind of people, or original natives, are very
savage, poor lean, naked, and wear their hair long. They eat nothing but
roots, ride about on buffaloes, conversing only among themselves, being
afraid of all others, having no houses, and live more like wild beasts
than men, and these we conjecture to have been the original natives of
the place.
"The island is very mountainous and barren, having some beeves, goats,
and sheep, a few dates and oranges, a little rice, and nothing else for
the food of man. All its commodities consist of aloes, the inspisated
juice of a plant having a leaf like our house-leek. The only manufacture
is a very poor kind of cloth, used only by slaves. The king had some
dragon's blood, and some Lahore indigo, as also a few civet cats and
civet. The dead are all buried in tombs, and the monuments of their
saints are held in much veneration. The chief of these was one Sidy
Hachun,[167] buried at Tamara, who was slain about an hundred years
before we were there, and who, as they pretend, still appears to them,
and warns them of approaching dangers. They hold him in wonderful
veneration, and impute high winds to his influence." - T.R.
[Footnote 167: Sidy, or Seid, signifies a descendant or relative of
Mahomet, and Hachem, a prophet. - E.]
The 31st of August we sailed from Socotora.
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