And I must not omit to tell you that all their cattle, including horses,
oxen, and camels, live upon small fish and nought besides, for 'tis all
they get to eat. You see in all this country there is no grass or forage
of any kind; it is the driest country on the face of the earth. The fish
which are given to the cattle are very small, and during March, April, and
May, are caught in such quantities as would astonish you. They are then
dried and stored, and the beasts are fed on them from year's end to year's
end. The cattle will also readily eat these fish all alive and just out of
the water.[NOTE 4]
The people here have likewise many other kinds of fish of large size and
good quality, exceedingly cheap; these they cut in pieces of about a pound
each, and dry them in the sun, and then store them, and eat them all the
year through, like so much biscuit.[NOTE 5]
NOTE 1. - Shihr or Shehr, with the article, ES-SHEHR, still exists on
the Arabian coast, as a town and district about 330 m. east of Aden. In
1839 Captain Haines described the modern town as extending in a scattered
manner for a mile along the shore, the population about 6000, and the
trade considerable, producing duties to the amount of 5000l. a year.
