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ander was in danger of losing his life, from a wound he received at the capture of a small city. The Sydracae, we have said, are fabled to be allied to Bacchus.
Near Patalene is placed the country of Musicanus, that of
Sabus, note whose capital is Sindomana, that of Porticanus, and
of other princes who inhabited the country on the banks of
the Indus. They were all conquered by Alexander; last of
all he made himself master of Patalene, which is formed by
the two branches of the Indus. Aristobulus says that these
two branches are distant 1000 stadia from each other. Nearchus adds 800 stadia more to this number. Onesicritus reckons each side of the included island, which is of a triangular
shape, at 2000 stadia; and the breadth of the river, where it is
separated into two mouths, at about 200 stadia. note He calls the
island Delta, and says that it is as large as the Delta of
Egypt; but this is a mistake. For the Egyptian Delta is
said to have a base of
Onesicritus says, that the greatest part of the coast in this quarter abounds with swamps, particularly at the mouths of the river, which is owing to the mud, the tides, and the want of land breezes; for these parts are chiefly under the influence of winds blowing from the sea.
He expatiates also in praise of the country of Musicanus, and relates of the inhabitants what is common to other Indian tribes, that they are long-lived, and that life is protracted even to the age of 130 years, (the Seres, note however, are said by some
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Strabo, Geography (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose] [word count] [lemma count] [Str.].