At the head of the Syrtis the ground is depressed, and this
depression, our author supposes, continues to the Great Desert. Soon after
he left this barren country, he entered Cyrenaica, the site of Cyrene: that
most ancient and celebrated colony of the Greeks was easily ascertained by
its magnificent ruins. From Cyrene the army marched to Derna, and from this
to the gulf of Bomba, an extensive arm of the sea, where the expedition
terminated.
Such are the most recent discoveries in this portion of Africa.
The settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, originally established by the
Dutch, and at present in possession of the English, was naturally the point
from which European travellers set out to explore the southern parts of
Africa. Their progress hitherto has not been great, though, as far as they
have advanced, the information they have acquired of the face of the
country, its productions, the tribes which inhabit it, and their habits,
manners, &c. may be regarded as full and accurate. The principal travellers
who have visited this part of Africa, and from whose travels the best
information may be obtained of the settlement of the Cape, and of the
country to the north of it for about 900 miles, are Kolbein, Sparman, Le
Vaillant, Barrow, Lichtenstein, La Trobe, Campbell, and Burcheli. To the
geography of the east coast of Africa, and of the adjacent districts,
little or no addition has been made for a very considerable length of time.
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