'Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia, including a journey from Bagdad by Mount Zagros, to Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, researches in Ispahan and the ruins of Persepolis, and journey from thence by Shiraz and Shapoor to the sea-shore. Description of Bussorah, Bushire, Bahrein, Ormuz, and Muscat, narrative of an expedition against the pirates of the Persian Gulf, with illustrations of the voyage of Nearchus, and passage by the Arabian Sea to Bombay.' [‎499] (530/582)

SOUNDINGS Measurements of the depth of a body of water. .—DISPATCHES TO BOMBAY.
499
which had been already refused at Ras-el-Khyma were to be made.
This town was known to bear about south-west from our point of
departure from the latter, at the distance of forty miles; but from
an unnecessary fear of approaching the shore, the squadron had all
steered out west-south-west, after the example of the Commodore;
in consequence of which, we had no land in sight when daylight
appeared.
In leaving our inner anchorage at Ras-el-Khyma, and steering
west-south-west to the offing, our soundings Measurements of the depth of a body of water. were by no means so
regular as in the course of our approach from the outer anchorage
to the shore had been. We first gradually deepened to three and
a half fathoms, and had then four and four and a half at a cast, re
turning again to three, and immediately deepening to five, which
proved the existence of overfalls, or ridges and banks, in the
bottom. Beyond ten fathoms, we deepened more regularly to
twelve, thirteen, fifteen, seventeen, eighteen, twenty, and twenty-
one, at intervals of an hour between sun-set and midnight; and
then shoaled again to twenty, eighteen, seventeen and a half, seven
teen, and sixteen and a half, in hourly intervals from midnight until
sun-rise, without once altering our course from west-south-west, and
having gone on an average of three knots per hour, or about forty
miles by the log, during the whole run. The land-breeze dying
away at an early hour, we all lay becalmed; and, from inattention
and bad steerage, were so widely separated from each other, as to
be scarcely able to distinguish any signals made. The Commo
dore, growing impatient of this delay, sent his boat from a dis
tance of at least three miles, in the calm, to communicate his
intention of sending off the Vestal from hence to Bombay with
dispatches relative to the issue of the negotiation at Ras-el-Khyma,
and to desire Mr. Bruce to prepare for that purpose with all
possible speed. This, indeed, was a measure which ought to have
been done in the opinion of all, except the immediate leaders
themselves, on the first day of our anchoring at Ras-el-Khyma,
wben the ship to be dispatched would have gone off with a fine
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