THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.
For eight days did the tempest rage, when, at the end of that time,
the wind dropped and the sky cleared, I found that we were quite
close to the shore, and off a headland beyond which the coast
stretched away indefinitely to the south. Continuing our course in
that direction, we came in sight of a mountainous island, richly
wooded and extremely picturesque. The glowing sun and the genial
temperature reminded us of our beloved Phœnicia; and so tempting
was the aspect of the place, that I resolved to disembark, not merely
as a matter of pleasure, but to look to the ships, which, after their
strain, required some examination.
We anchored in a charming bay, and were soon surrounded by canoes
full of savages, of whom the first characteristic that I noticed
was their low foreheads and yet elongated skulls. To my surprise,
they addressed us in the Libyan tongue, and proved to be the true
Garamantine or red Libyans. We were the first Orientals they had ever
seen on their shores; but one of their old men stated that he had
been to Rusadir, and had seen Phœnicians there. They received us
very kindly, and told us that their island was one of a group that
was situated to the west of Libya. Ignorant of navigation, they could
give me no information about distance; and all that I could make
out was that the coast of Libya extended far to the south, and was
inhabited by people of the same race as themselves; and that still
farther south there was a region where the men were like animals, and
perfectly black.
"That's a country worth seeing; I should like to catch a black man,"
said Bichri.
The residents, I observed, wore bracelets, necklaces, and earrings,
which were, I found, made of gold; and in reply to my inquiry whether
the gold was found in the island, they told me that they obtained it
both in nuggets and in dust from the Garamantines of the mainland,
who collected it by means of fleeces at the mouths of their rivers.
The people did not attach any great value to their gold, and were
quite ready to barter it away very freely for many things we had to
offer them; for instance, for some glass trinkets they gave me as
much gold dust as I could hold in the hollow of my hand, while for
such things as knives, lance-heads, or swords, they would give an
equal weight in gold. The delight of my people was unbounded, and I
had the utmost difficulty in preventing them from bartering away all
their weapons. Hannibal sold his helmet, crest and all; and Jonah
even parted with his trumpet, boasting that he could now have one of
pure gold, with which to play before the King; but so enchanted was
he with the country, that if the inhabitants would have accepted him
for their god he would have been quite ready to reside permanently
amongst them.
I spent a fortnight in purchasing gold and repairing the ships,
and an interesting period we all found it. The fertile soil was
productive of some of the finest fruits I had ever seen; one fruit in
particular with a scaly covering was very delicious. The valleys were
full of orange-trees of the growth of centuries, and the mountains
were clothed with magnificent woods, in which beautiful little birds
with yellow plumage were fluttering about, and singing exquisitely.
Bichri, who did not care about purchasing more than just enough gold
to ornament his belt and quiver, spent several whole days in these
woods with Dionysos, and succeeded in catching some of the bright
little songsters, which he secured in a cage; but his trouble was of
little avail, as they all died upon their passage.
As for Judge Gebal, he manifested such a keen appreciation of the
charms of the scenery that we had to keep him tied up to prevent his
running away; but the time for our departure necessarily arrived,
and, after the repairs were all completed, we reluctantly bade
farewell to the lovely archipelago, upon which I bestowed the name of
the Fortunate Islands.
[Illustration]
Once more at sea, I had no difficulty in determining my course.
All my party were eager to visit the wonderful gold-countries, and
Bichri persisted in saying that he should like to catch sight of
the black men; Himilco just at first protested against going in a
direction where wine would not be forthcoming, but his objection was
soon overruled, and he was contented with our resolution to sail
southward. What caused us much bewilderment as we advanced, was,
that not only did the sun rise higher over our heads, but the Cabiri
descended lower towards the horizon. Himilco complained that we were
sailing out of reach of the protection of the gods; I pondered the
matter, but kept my thoughts to myself.
After running some distance to the east, the coast resumed its
southerly direction; and then it was that the sun, which day by day
had gradually risen higher in the heavens, stood vertically over our
heads, and then began to change its position, shining at last upon
my left hand instead of upon my right. Evening after evening, too,
brought into view constellations that were quite unknown to us; and
so great was the amazement of all on board, that I resolved upon
holding a general consultation of officers and pilots, and the more
intelligent of the sailors, in order to discover a solution of the
mystery.
Hamilcar gave it as his opinion that the gods must have been making
some alterations in the face of the heavens; Hasdrubal suggested that
perhaps we had passed the bounds of our own world and entered upon
another; whilst Himilco avowed his suspicion that unless something
of that kind had occurred, the world must be round, and we were on
the other side of it. Absurd and outrageous as Himilco's conjecture
appeared to every one else, I confess it chimed in to a certain
degree with my own speculations, and set me reflecting that if it
were so it must be the sun and the stars that were standing still,
and the world that was moving round them. But, after all, Himilco was
much more inclined to believe in a prodigy than to entertain any of
these fanciful theories.
Pressed with inquiries as to what I intended to do, I announced
my resolution of continuing my course to the south; if ultimately
the coast should incline to the west (or what I presumed to be
the west), I should return to the Fortunate Islands; but if, as I
anticipated, it turned to the east, I should go on following it,
under the expectation of getting to the north at last, and reaching
Egypt by way of the Sea of Reeds. This scheme of circumnavigating the
entire land of Libya commended itself entirely to the judgment of my
pilots, but it quite baffled the comprehension of Hannibal and all
the landsmen.
When I spoke to Hannibal about arriving at Egypt, he looked quite
aghast, and exclaimed:
"Egypt! here are we sailing farther and farther away from the
Straits of Gades; and yet you talk about getting this way to Egypt.
Impossible!"
"Patience!" I said; "perhaps we may find you a short cut even yet!"
He shook his head dubiously; and even Hanno observed that the
mysteries of navigation were very abstruse, and that the studies
which he had pursued at Sidon did not enable him to solve these
enigmas.
"Ah! you should have travelled more, young man," said Himilco; "and
you should have learned to know the stars."
"I should think this voyage is travelling enough for any one,"
replied Hanno.
Chamai merely remarked that he was quite sure that they might
all rely with perfect confidence in my judgment. And thus the
consultation was brought to a close.
Many times did we approach the coast with the intention of landing;
but either it was utterly desolate, or it was so crowded with black
men, who yelled and assumed such a threatening attitude, that we
always postponed any attempt to go ashore. One night in particular,
as we were passing under a promontory that I had named "the chariot
of the gods," the noises we heard seemed of so threatening a
character that I deemed it prudent to put out a little further to
sea; but at length our provisions began to run short, and there
was nothing to be done but to venture on land. Bichri, patient and
enduring as he ever was, complained of living on salt fish; Jonah
murmured that there was short allowance for ourselves, and no fruit
for Gebal; and Hannibal regretted that we were losing our chance of
picking up gold. I was accordingly induced to lay to as soon as I
found a convenient opportunity.
Our anchorage was the estuary of a river apparently as large as the
Egyptian Nile; its banks were covered with thick woods; numbers of
crocodiles and hippopotamuses were visible in the water by its shore;
and great birds, uttering shrill and piercing cries, whirled around
above our heads.
For four days we wandered about without finding any sign of human
being; we obtained, however, an abundance of wild fruit, and shot
several buffaloes and antelopes, of which a great portion of the
flesh was carried on board and salted. On returning from one of the
foraging excursions, Bichri came running to me, looking utterly
woe-begone; he was followed by Dionysos, weeping bitterly, and Jonah,
gesticulating vehemently, and apparently as much agitated as himself.
"What's the matter, Bichri?" I asked.
"Gebal has gone!" he exclaimed; "he has been carried off by
Bodmilcar's monkeys."
I burst out laughing. In his indignation he looked as if he could
have annihilated me.
"I am sure they were Bodmilcar's!" he insisted; "creatures with long
tails; they took him away; he never would have gone with them of his
own accord."
Nothing I could do served to calm him; he would not be pacified until
I allowed him to take some men and go out again in search of his
lost favourite; but in the evening they all returned worn out with
fatigue, only to announce, as might have been expected, that their
search had been fruitless. There was no doubt the monkey had been
delighted to join the troop of his own tribe that was gambolling in
the woods. Bichri was very inadequately consoled for his loss by
bringing back a great black monster, which, after he had wounded it,
the men that were with him, in spite of the huge brute's desperate
defence, had succeeded in despatching with their pikes. It certainly
was a most formidable-looking creature, and I subsequently had it
stuffed, and it may now be seen in the temple of Ashtoreth in
Sidon. Bichri told us that after it had six or seven arrows in its
body it snapped a pike-staff in two as easily as if it had been a
reed; upon which Hannibal remarked that the strength that could break
asunder a pike-handle made of oak of Bashan must be prodigious.
[Illustration: IT SNAPPED A PIKE STAFF IN TWO.
_To face page 301._]
We were obliged to depart without finding any vestige of Gebal. After
sailing on for about a fortnight, our supplies again ran short, and
as we were discussing what steps we should take in consequence,
Hannibal interrupted us by shouting:
"A gaoul ahead!"
Every eye was bent in the direction to which we were pointed, and
sure enough there was a gaoul of Phœnician build; but on farther
scrutiny it was evident that it was all dismantled, and drifting at
the mercy of the waves.
"May be a ruse of Bodmilcar's," suggested Himilco.
Taking his hint, we approached very cautiously, and it was not until
we had thoroughly satisfied ourselves that there was no one on board
to answer our signals that we ventured close alongside. It was
perfectly deserted.
Gisgo said that he remembered having once abandoned his ship off the
Pityusai Islands, and that probably this was a similar case; but he
could not understand what current could have borne the gaoul to this
distant shore.
"Never mind where she comes from," I answered; "let us hope she may
prove a godsend."
Hannibal and Himilco, who went on board, brought back the welcome
intelligence that the hold was well freighted with corn and wine, the
whole of which we joyfully transferred to our own vessels, leaving
the empty hull again to the wind and waves. In the evening I caused
an offering to be made to Ashtoreth in acknowledgment of her manifest
interference on our behalf.
Next day we hove in sight of a lofty promontory, the top of which was
as flat as a table. A strong gale was springing up.
"Never mind the wind," cried Jonah. "What do I care for the wind
now? I've a purse full of gold; plenty to eat; plenty to drink; and a
red tunic before long. Tempests be hanged! Long live the King!"
The gale for some days increased in violence, and all attempts at
steering were quite useless. When, after eight days, the sea became
calmer, I could make out that the land was lying to our left. This
was according to my prognostications, and I followed the coast to
the north with renewed confidence, day by day becoming more and more
convinced that the sun was again rising in the heavens; and one
lovely night, about a fortnight afterwards, Himilco suddenly seized
my arm, and making me point to the northern horizon, exclaimed in a
voice trembling with excitement:
"See, the Cabiri!"
"Yes; true enough; there are the Cabiri," I answered, as full of
delight as he was himself. "We have accomplished an unheard-of
thing," I added; "we have circumnavigated Libya."
"And to-morrow," he said, "we shall have the sun once more on our
right; we are on our way to the Sea of Reeds."
"Aye, to the Sea of Reeds! and to Sidon, our own Sidon! Sidon the
glorious, Sidon the incomparable!"
There was none to witness; the crew were sleeping in their berths;
and in the fervour of our enthusiasm we threw ourselves into each
other's arms.
A month later, as we were taking in fresh water at the mouth of a
river, we fell in with some black men, who bore a marked resemblance
to the Ethiopians, who are often seen in Egypt. One of them could
speak a little Egyptian; he told me he had learnt it in Ethiopia,
which is subject to Pharaoh. His own country, he stated, was six
months' journey below the southernmost limit of Ethiopia; but he
could give no information whatever about its distance by sea.
These negroes called themselves Kouch, and having never seen any
Phœnicians, took us for Egyptians; but as soon as we explained
that so far from being subjects of Pharaoh we were enemies of the
Misraim, they welcomed us as friends, and treated us with the utmost
cordiality. They had evidently a great abhorrence of the Egyptians
on account of the cruel ravages that had been committed on their
northern boundaries.
For the next three months we never found a favourable wind to speed
us on our way. We employed our time in transacting business with the
Kouch, and in making hunting-expeditions into the interior of the
country. In the way of exchanges we procured gold, ivory, pearls,
and skins; and an immense success attended our hunting-excursions
in a region that was found to abound in elephants, rhinoceros, and
giraffes, as well as in smaller game. There was not one of us who had
not some trophy of our good fortune or our skill to exhibit. Bichri
killed a lion, with the skin of which he made himself a mantle, and
even little Dionysos brought down a panther.
At length the opportunity for which we had watched so eagerly
arrived, and we set sail once more. Ten days after our departure,
while a stiffish breeze was blowing from the north-east, I noticed
not very far ahead of us a large Phœnician gaoul, which appeared
to have sustained some damage, and to be drifting along under
the action of the wind. In answer to my signals, she gave me to
understand that she had lost some oars and her yard-arm, and that she
was in need of help. Always anxious to render assistance to a vessel
in distress, but yet fearful of treachery I immediately ordered out
my men, but meanwhile instructed Hannibal to have the catapults in
readiness; and thus prepared, the _Ashtoreth_ approached the gaoul on
one side, and the _Adonibal_ on the other, the _Cabiros_ following in
the rear.
There was no need for any apprehension on my part. As soon as we were
fairly within view of each other, the captain, standing on the stern,
raised his arms and shouted:
"By Baal Chamaim! it's Mago!"
"By Ashtoreth and all that's holy!" I exclaimed; "it is my cousin
Ethbaal!"
The recognition was a mutual pleasure; our ships were soon alongside,
and we were grasping each other's hands.
"How rejoiced I am to see you, Mago!" he repeated over and over
again; "Phœnicia has given you up in despair; every one mourned
you as lost. By Ashtoreth! you must have been saved by a miracle!"
And he put his hands upon my shoulders and long and keenly
scrutinised my face.
"Tell me two things," I said; "where am I? and what has brought you
here?"
Ethbaal seemed full of surprise; but said:
"Come, come; you are laughing at me. You must know well enough where
you are."
I assured him that I was in earnest in what I said, and repeated
my assertion that I was by no means aware of where I was; and when
Himilco informed him that we had come from a place where the Cabiri
could not be seen at all, and where the sun shone on the wrong side
of us, he looked as if he thought we had taken leave of our senses.
Nor did he appear to understand much better when Himilco went on to
expatiate upon having once drunk fish-oil, and having had no wine for
many months together.
"Mysterious!" muttered Ethbaal to himself; "here is Mago, close
to the entrance of the Sea of Reeds, only six days' voyage from
Ophir, and yet he comes from the south, after sailing four years ago
westward to Tarshish! Strange!"
He pondered awhile, and then addressed himself to me:
"Yes; you are close to the Sea of Reeds."
I uttered an exclamation of delight, and turning to my people cried
triumphantly:
"Was I not right? Did I not tell you that we were on our way to
Egypt? Lucky we did not turn back from the Fortunate Islands!"
Ethbaal appeared to be confirmed in his suspicion that I must be
mad, and declared his total ignorance of the Fortunate Islands:
"I have never heard of them!"
"No, nor yet of the Tin Islands; nor yet of Prydhayn; nor yet of the
river of the Suomi; nor yet of the chariot of the gods," exclaimed
Himilco. "Compared with us you are mere coasters, loafing about in
cockle-shells."
Genuine Sidonian as he was, my cousin could not brook any insinuation
against his seamanship, and colouring deeply at the slight which he
conceived was offered to him, he said in a tone of anger:
"Out upon your insolence! do you call a man a coaster who has made
the voyage to Ophir? do you call my gaoul a cockle-shell? Are you
mad, or are you drunk, you one-eyed fool?"
Himilco, recalled to a sense of propriety, changed his banter into
cajolery:
"Now then, my dear fellow, you can do a great deal better than bully
me. Haven't you a little wine on board? It would be a great boon to
give us a skin; we haven't tasted a drop this two months."
I interceded with Ethbaal, asking him to overlook what might seem
to be rudeness on the part of Himilco, and assured him that our
adventures had been so extraordinary that he must really pardon a
little bragging. He not only took my mediation in a good spirit, but
sent for a goat-skin of wine, which he himself handed to Himilco, in
token of forgiveness. Saying that he should make an offering with it
to the Cabiri, the pilot emptied so large a share of the contents
down his throat that his companions began to wonder when his draught
was coming to an end, and almost despaired of the wine lasting out
till it should come to their turn to partake of it.
"Glorious wine! wine of Arvad, Hannibal," he said, smacking his lips
as he removed the goat-skin from his mouth, and passed it to the
rest.
Gisgo and Hannibal clutched at the bottle together.
"Nay, nay, my friends," cried Ethbaal; "do not be fighting for the
wine. I have plenty more. My cargo is all wine which I am carrying to
Ophir."
"Could you not take me with you?" asked Himilco eagerly; "my services
are quite at your disposal."