capital of Fezzan, 39 G. miles more to the south-east, on a general
result of the authorities; amongst which Mr. Horneman’s is allowed
its due weight. Some other trifling changes have been made, in the
positions of Siwah, and of El Bareton, or Paratonium : but none of
them are more than shades of difference, in respect of the geography
at large.
The chief alteration is that of Mourzouk, which, by the former
accounts, was said to lie directly south from Mesurata: and this
alteration is grounded on the line of distance of Mr. Homeman,
which does not allow of so great an interval between Egypt and
Fezzan, as that position requires, by nearly 35 G. miles; which
after all, is no great proportion, in more than 800. ft is conceived
that Mr, Horneman’s time, although kept in a coarse way, ought
still to be preferred to the mere report of the bearing from Mesurata,
on a distance of seventeen or eighteen journies.
I shall begin by tracing in detail the route of Mr. Homeman
from Egypt to Fezzan, dividing it into four parts : 1. From Cairo
to Siwah: 3. Siwah to Augila: 3. Augila to Fezzan: and 4. Remarks
on the position of Mourzouk.
I. Cairo to Siwah.
Mr. Horneman’s time may be taken at about 123 hours,* which at
3,05 G. miles, the ordinary caravan rate, reduced to direct distance,
is equal to 252 G. miles. If taken at 2-E B. miles per hour, which
is the ordinary road distance, with an allowance of for inflexions,
* Mr. Homeman had the misfortune to lose his papers at Schiacha, three days
beyond S iw ah ; so that he must have written down the time, previous to that
(the Desert routes are remarkably straight,) we have 255. Now,
Mr. Browne’s route, along the sea coast from Alexandria, and
thence inland from the neighbourhood of Paratonium, gives about
3591, or 6A more than the lowest of these calculations ; 4f- more
than the highest. Mr. Browne’s rout lay first along the coast, 75 £
hours ; from whence he made a course of about S 19 W (true)
62A. hours, to Siwah, in the parallel of 29° 12' by observation. Considering
the sinuosities of thè coast, which he kept to, almost the
whole way, perhaps no iriore than 144, or 145 G. miles, ought to
be allowed in direct distance.
His station on the coast, at about 20 miles east of Paratonium,
should be in lat. 310 7', according to M. D’Anville ; so that the
bearing of S 19 W cuts the parallel of Siwah, in longitude 26° 24/:
and my former position of it, in the Geography of Herodotus,
p. 574, is 26° 21' 30". And as Mr. Horneman does not profess
to be perfectly accurate in his account of the time, (doubtless because
he had lost his papers) I shall adopt the position given by
accident, from recollection only. Between Cairo and Siwah, his time is given, as
follows:
Hours.
Cairo to Wady-el-Latron, or the Natron Valley, about - - 19
T o a sand hill, (supposed to be the ridge between the Natron Valley and
the bed of the Bahr-bela^ma) . r . - - ? , . . . . . . - 4
T o Muhabag - - - - - - a - 13
Mogara - - ' ' - , ; ’ ' - - ‘ 41:
Biljoradeck - - - - - - - 1 6
T o a station on the hills of Ummesogeir: said to be 40 hours, or more, say 41$
T o Ummesogeir - v - , - ,, — •.fn, , - - 5
Siwah - - :< - - - ■ - - * 20