an Sea,
through the Straits of Hormuz, and along the northern coast of the
Persian Gulf to the mouth of the Euphrates. No Greek had ever navigated
this sea before, and with the vessels of the period the enterprise was a
most dangerous one, as absolutely nothing was known about the coast to
be followed. But it was necessary, for Alexander wished to secure for
himself the command of the sea route between the mouths of the Euphrates
and Indus, so as to connect the western and eastern parts of his
kingdom. It was to supply the fleet with provisions and water that he
chose for himself the dangerous desert route along the coast. Of the
40,000 men who accompanied him on this march, no less than 30,000 died
of thirst! The high admiral, Nearchus of Crete, performed his task with
brilliant success. His voyage was one of the most remarkable ever
achieved on the oceans of the globe. The chart he compiled is so exact
that it may be used at the present day, though the coast has since then
undergone changes in some places and has been further silted up with
sand and made shallower.

Alexander would not let his fleet start on its adventurous voyage before
he was himself convinced of the navigability of the Indus and had
acquainted himself with the aspect of the great ocean. Accordingly he
sailed down the western arm of the Indus with the swiftest vessels of
the fleet--thirty-oared boats, and small triremes, or vessels whereon
the 150 naked oarsmen sat on three tiers of benches above one another
with oars of different lengths projecting through port-holes in the
hull. The vessels were protected by troops which followed them on the
bank.

In the midst of summer, when the river is at its highest level and
overflows the banks for miles, it is no pleasure excursion to steer
ungainly boats between banks of sand and silt without pilots. On the
second day a strong southerly storm arose, and the dangerous waves in
the whirlpools of the current capsized many vessels and damaged others.
Alexander made for the bank to look for fishermen who might act as
pilots, and under their guidance he continued his voyage. The river
became wider and wider, and the fresh salt breeze from the ocean became
ever more perceptible; but the wind increased, for the south-west
monsoon was at its height. The grey turbid water rose in higher billows
and made rowing difficult, for the oars either did not touch the water
or dipped too deeply into it. It was the flood tid