e knew the
sources of it; and Etearchos said that once there had come to him men of
the Nasamonians (this is a Libyan race which dwells in the Syrtis,
and also in the land to the East of the Syrtis reaching to no great
distance), and when the Nasamonians came and were asked by him whether
they were able to tell him anything more than he knew about the desert
parts of Libya, they said that there had been among them certain sons of
chief men, who were of unruly disposition; and these when they grew up
to be men had devised various other extravagant things and also they
had told off by lot five of themselves to go to see the desert parts
of Libya and to try whether they could discover more than those who had
previously explored furthest: for in those parts of Libya which are by
the Northern Sea, beginning from Egypt and going as far as the headland
of Soloeis, which is the extreme point of Libya, Libyans (and of them
many races) extend along the whole coast, except so much as the Hellenes
and Phenicians hold; but in the upper parts, which lie above the
sea-coast and above those people whose land comes down to the sea, Libya
is full of wild beasts; and in the parts above the land of wild beasts
it is full of sand, terribly waterless and utterly desert. These young
men then (said they), being sent out by their companions well furnished
with supplies of water and provisions, went first through the inhabited
country, and after they had passed through this they came to the country
of wild beasts, and after this they passed through the desert, making
their journey towards the West Wind; and having passed through a great
tract of sand in many days, they saw at last trees growing in a level
place; and having come up to them, they were beginning to pluck the
fruit which was upon the trees: but as they began to pluck it, there
came upon them small men, of less stature than men of the common size,
and these seized them and carried them away; and neither could the
Nasamonians understand anything of their speech nor could those who were
carrying them off understand anything of the speech of the Nasamonians:
and they led them (so it was said) through very great swamps, and after
passing through these they came to a city in which all the men were in
size like those who carried them off and in colour of skin black; and
by the city ran a great river, which ran from the West towards the
sunrising, and in it were seen crocodiles.

33. Of the