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[Page 162]
carrying capacity, I should say would be about two mosquitos to the square mile. The Red sea looks small on the map a mere gutter, but we sailed for 2 days, and hardly saw land. It is a very calm sea, almost like a lake, hardly a ripple on its surface and of a deep indigo color, but I have heard it said that in summer it is covered with a fine film of dust, off the Arabian and Egyptian deserts, hence perhaps its name. Just before we reached the island of Perim, one could see the coasts of Yemen (Arabia), gradually sloping up from the sea, in what looked like pasture land, or sandy slopes, ending further back in those strange, wild looking ranges evidently of volcanic origin like the islands. In the evening we passed the British naval station of Perim, which guards the straits of Babel el Mandeb (Hell's Gates) Perim was like the other islands mentioned, not a sign of green, just black volcanic earth and rock everywhere. Rain is a stranger here. We got through Babel el Mandeb, about 4 oclock of the 10th and out into the swell of the Arabian sea. "HellsGate" is an old English name given to the strait, because in olden times ships that went into the Red sea were often becalmed and many sailors died of the heat, before a wind came to shift the boat. One must say that it was very hot for winter time, in summer undoubtedly the name of Hell's Gates would be more appropriate than that of of Babel el Mandeb. Things are very quiet on board, the only humour we have, is when some messorderly falls downstairs, with a bucket of soup or greasy water, and when an extra large wave sweeps through the porthole, and nearly drowns those in the vicinity. In each case we clap our hands like kids and yell. Then there is the food to growl about, 2 or 3 times the soup has been like the water strained off the cabbage. They also tried to get one on us by cutting out the prunes for tea, and giveing them to us