g Survey of Hanno," is one of the
few Phoenician documents that has lived through the long ages. In it
the commander of the expedition himself tells his own story. With an
idea of colonising, he left Carthage--the most famous of the
Phoenician colonies--with sixty ships containing an enormous number
of men and women.

"When we had set sail," says Hanno shortly, "and passed the pillars
(of Hercules) after two days' voyage, we founded the first city. Below
this city lay a great plain. Sailing thence westward we came to a
promontory of Libya thickly covered with trees. Here we built a temple
to the Sea-god and proceeded thence half a day's journey eastward,
till we reached a lake lying not far from the sea and filled with
abundance of great reeds. Here were feeding elephants and a great
number of other wild animals. After we had gone a day's sail beyond
the lakes we founded cities near to the sea."

Making friends with the tribes along the coast, they reached the
Senegal River. Here they fell in with "savage men clothed with the
skins of beasts," who pelted them with stones so that they could not
land. Past Cape Verde they reached the mouth of the Gambia, "great
and broad and full of crocodiles and river-horses," and thence coasted
twelve days to the south and again five days to the south, which brought
them to Sierra Leone--the Lion Mountain as it was called long years
after by the Portuguese.

Here Hanno and his party landed, but as night approached they saw flames
issuing from the island and heard the sound of flutes and cymbals and
drums and the noise of confused shouts.

"Great fear then came upon us; we sailed therefore quickly thence much
terrified, and passing on for four days found at night a country full
of fire. In the middle was a lofty fire, greater than all the rest,
so that it seemed to touch the stars. When day came on we found that
this was a great mountain which they called the chariot of the gods."
They had a last adventure before they turned homewards at what they
called the Isle of Gorillas. Here they found a "savage people"
(Gorillas) whom they pursued, but were unable to catch. At last they
managed to catch three. "But when these, biting and tearing those that
led them, would not follow us, we slew them and, flaying off their
skins, carried them to Carthage."

Then abruptly this quaint account of the only Phoenician voyage on
record stops. "Further," says the commander, "we did not sail, for
o