"D. Jean, who examined the nature of the water, and the qualities of the coasts as far as Suez, asserts, that far from being naturally red, the water is of the same colour as in other seas, and that the sand and the dust having nothing red in themselves could not give this tinge to the water. The earth of both countries, he says, is generally brown; it is even black in some places, and in others white. On the coasts of Suaquem, where the Portuguese had not penetrated, he saw three mountains streaked with red, but they were of a very hard rock, and the neighbouring country was of the common colour. "The truth is, that this sea is throughout of an uniform colour, which is easy to be demonstrated; but it must also be owned, that in some parts it appears to be red through chance, and in others green and white; the explanation of which phenomena is as follows: From Suaquem to Kossir, that is, for the space of 136 leagues, the sea is filled with shoals and rocks of coral; this name is given to them, by reason that their form and colour render them so extremely like coral, that it requires great circumspection not to be deceived. There are two sorts of them, the one white and the other red; in many parts they are covered with a kind of gum, or glue, of a green, and in others with a deep orange. Now the water of this sea is so transparent that the bottom may be seen at 20 fathoms deep, especially from Suaquem to the extremity of the gulph; it appears, therefore, to take the colour of the matters it covers; as for example, when the rocks are covered with a green gum, the water above appears of a deeper green than the rocks themselves; and when the bottom is only sand, the water appears white: so likewise when the rocks are coral, the water seems to be tinged with red; and as these last coloured rocks are more frequently met with there than any other, D. Jean concludes, that the name of the Red Sea was affixed to the Arabian Gulph in preference to the Green or White. He applauds himself on this discovery, because the method by which he ascertained it left him no room for doubt. He caused a float to be moored against the rocks in the parts which were not deep enough to permit vessels to approach them, and the sailors could often execute his orders with facility, without the sea being higher than the stomach at more than half a league from the rocks. The greatest part of the stones and pebbles they drew up, in those parts where the water appeared red, was also of that colour: in the water which appeared green, the stones were green, and if the water appeared white, the bottom was white sand, without any other mixture."