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.
A PILGRIMAGE TO NEJD.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
— ♦—
With Map and 12 Illustrations , 2 vols., crown 8 vo, 21.9.
THE BEDOUIN TRIBES OF THE EUPHRATES.
B} t Lady Anne Blunt. Edited, with a Preface and some
Account of the Arabs and their Horses, by W. S. B.
“ The grand-daughter of Lord Byron lias here given us a hook which, if it
does not show that she inherits gifts of the same order as those of her pro¬
genitor, speaks plainly as to the possession of other endowments of no common
order.”— IVeek.
“ Lady Anne Blunt can describe with light touches and good effect as well
as any English lady that ever aspired to sit in Lady Mary Wortley Montague’s
saddle. Wherever you take her she is entertaining, and conjures up strong
pictures of Bedouin life. Lady Anne’s sketches are admirable, and add much
to the pleasantness of the narrative.”— Tablet.
“ We have read Lady Anne Blunt’s book with a kind of enjoyable amazement.
We feel that a review can give but a faint idea of the varied interest of the
book. It has matter for every reader. Here are humour, adventure, sport,
information about things that are to most people altogether unfamiliar.”—
Saturday Review.
“ Its portraits are drawn without effort, and with unconscious skill, while
from the clear and vivid presentment of the appearance of the country, its
nature and resources, the reader sees that these are in rough but evident har¬
mony with the life and character of its inhabitants.”— Athenceum.
“ Lady Anne Blunt and her husband have every taste and qualification for
the life of the desert; and very few indeed are the travellers who have seen so
much of desert life in Arabia. Lady Anne’s book is at times spirited, always
unaffected, and in its utter simplicity, resembles Bedouin life.”— Academy.
“Lady Anne Blunt fitly completes a triad of desert travellers of the gentler
sex, with Lady Hester Stanhope and Lady Duff Gordon, uniting the vigour of
the one with the femininity of the other. But any comparison between them
is impossible, and indeed Lady Anne’s work is quite sui generis, no faint praise
in these days of many books.”— Field.
“ It is pleasant, among the numbers of wearisome books of travel which are
showered upon the public at the present day, to meet with one which is written
in a lively and interesting style, and which describes a comparatively unvisited
and highly remarkable people. Lady Anne Blunt has a ready and picturesque
pen : her diary is neither monotonous nor egotistical; it never sinks to a mere
itinerary, but is constantly enlivened by bright description and anecdote."—
G itardian.
“ A charming and spirited narrative of life among the Bedouins. The journey
to Dcyra on the Euphrates occupies ten days, inclusive of halts ; it is told i»
plain language, and without straining at effects, is full of useful information
on the nature of the country and character of the people, and may be taken as
a fair specimen of the whole book.” —Fall Mall Gazette.
t
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2018 with funding from
Princeton Theological Seminary Library
https://archive.org/details/pilgrimagetonejd02blun
PORTRAIT OF MR. BLUNT (BY MOLONY).
{Frontispiece,
A PILGRIMAGE TO NEJD,
THE CRADLE OF THE ARAB RACE.
A VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE ARAB EMIR, AND
“ OUR PERSIAN CAMPAIGN.”
By LADY ANNE BLUNT.
AUTHOR OF “THE BEDOUIN TRIBES OF THE EUPHRATES.”
IN TWO VOLUMES.—VOL. II.
WITH MAP, PORTRAITS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS FROM
THE AUTHOR’S DRAWINGS.
SECOND EDITION.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET,
1881 .
[All Rights reserved.}
CONTENTS TO YOL. II.
CHAPTER XII.
Xejd horses—Their rarity—Ibn Saoud’s stud—The stables at Ila’il
Some notes of individual mares—The points of a Ncjd head—
The tribes in the NefMs and their horses—Meaning of the
term “ Nedji ”—Recipe for training.
CHAPTER XIII.
Mohammed loses his head—A ride with the Emir—The mountain
fortress of Agde—Farewell to Hail—We join the Persian Haj—
Ways and manners of the pilgrims—A clergyman of Medina .
CHAPTER XIV.
We go in search of adventures—Taybetism—An hyaena hunt—How
to cook locusts—Hawking—The reservoirs of Zobeydeh—Talcs
and legends—A coup dc theatre —Mohammed composes a kasid.
CHAPTER XV.
Muttlak Ibn Aruk and the Ketkerln—Their horses—We are adopted
by the tribe—The Haj again—Ambar sends round the hat—A
forced march of one hundred and seventy miles—Terrible loss
of camels—Ncjef.
PAGE
1
18
49
Contents
vm
CHAPTER XVI.
PAGE
The Shrines of the Sliias—Bedouin honesty—Legend of the Tower
of Babel—Bagdad—Our party breaks up.101
OUR PERSIAN CAMPAIGN.
- 4 -
CHAPTER I.,
New plans and new preparations—We leave Bagdad for Persia—
Wild boar hunting in the Wudian—A terrible accident—We
travel with a holy man—Camps of the Beni Laam—An alarm. 113
CHAPTER II.
We are betrayed into the hands of robbers—Ghafil and Saadun—
We diplomatise—A march across “ No-man’s-land ”—Night
terrors—We claim protection of a Persian prince . . .141
CHAPTER III.
A prince in exile—Tea money—Bafts on the Kerkha—Last words
with the Beni Laam—Kerim Khan—Beautiful Persia—We
arrive at Dizful.102
CHAPTER IV.
Pleasures of town life—The Khani’s court—Bactiari shepherds—
Sliustar—Its palace, its river, and its garden—A telegraph
clerk.17G
Contents.
IX
CHAPTER V.
PAGE
Illness and misery—A Persian escort—The Shah’s Arab subjects—
Earn Hormuz and its nightingales—Night marching—Deserted
villages—How they collect taxes in Persia—Bebahan . . 194
CHAPTER VI.
A last rush through the sun—We arrive at Dilam on the Persian
Gulf—Politics of the Gulf—A journey “ in extremis”—Bashire
—The End
223
APPENDICES.
-4-
Notes on the Physical Geography of Northern Arabia . 235
Historical Sketch of the Rise and Decline of Wah¬
habism in Arabia.251
Memorandum on the Euphrates Valley Railway, and
its Kindred Schemes of Railway Communication
between The Mediterranean and The Persian Gulf. 271
k
I
' r
i
- !m
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. II.
•-*-
Portrait of Mr. Blunt (by Moi.ony) . . . Frontispiece.
PAGE
I bn Rashid’s Mares . to face 16
Hami5d Ibn Rashid.17
Pilgrimage leaving Hail. to face 46
Edible Locust ..48
Reservoir of Zobeydeh. tojace 80
Persian Pilgrims in front of the Haj.100
Meshiied Ali. to face 110
Ariel, an Anazeh Mare.140
Canora. 161
SUAGRAN.193
Granite Range of Jebel Siiammar (effect of Mirage) to face 234
Fortress of Agde. to face 266
Rock Inscriptions and Drawings in Jebel Siiammar . . 285
7
I
y ^
V
A
PILGRIMAGE TO NEJD.
CHAPTER XII.
“ Jenetrouvai point en eux ces formes que jem’attendaisaretrouver dans
la patrie de Zeid el Kheil.”— Guarmant.
Nejd horses—Their rarity—Ibn Saoud’s stud—The stables at Hail
Some notes of individual mares—The points of a Nejd head—
The'tribes in the Nefuds and their horses—Meaning of the
term “Nejdi ”—Eecipe for training.
A chapter on the horses we saw at Hail has
been promised, and may as well be given here.
Ibn Rashid's stud is now the most celebrated in
Arabia, and has taken the place in public estimation
of that stud of Feysul ibn Saoud's which Mr. Pal-
grave saw sixteen years ago at Riad, and which he
described in the picturesque paragraphs which have
since been constantly quoted. The cause of this
transference of supremacy from Aared to Jebel
Shammar, lies in the political changes which have
occurred since 1865 , and which have taken the
leadership of Central Arabia out of the hands of the
Ibn Saouds and put it into those of the Emirs of
Hail.
VOL. II.
B
2
A Pilgrimage to Nejd,
[CH. XII.
Mohammed ibn Rashid is now not only the most
powerful of Bedouin sheykhs, but the richest prince
in Arabia; and as such has better means than any
other of acquiring the best horses of Nejd, nor have
these been neglected by him.
The possession of thoroughbred mares is always
among the Arabs a symbol of power ; and with the
loss of their supreme position in Nejd, the Ibn Saouds
have lost their command of the market, and their stud
has been allowed to dwindle. The quarrels of the
two brothers, Abdallah and Saoud, sons of Feysul,
on their father’s death, their alternate victories and
flights from the capital, and the ruin wrought on
them both by the Turks, broke up an establishment
which depended on wealth and security for its main¬
tenance ; and at the present moment, if common
report speaks true, hardly a twentieth part of the
old stud remains at Riad. The rest have passed
into other hands.
That Feysul’s stud in its day was the best in
Arabia is probable, and it may be that no collection
now to be found there has an equal merit; but
there seems little reason for supposing that it dif¬
fered in anything but degree from what we our¬
selves saw, or that the animals composing it were
distinct from those still owned by the various
Bedouin tribes of Nejd. All our inquiries, on the
contrary (and we spared no occasion of asking ques¬
tions), tend to show that it is a mistake to suppose
that the horses kept by the Emirs of Riad were a
OH. XII.]
Ibn SaoucTs stud.
3
special breed, preserved in the towns of Aared from
time immemorial, or that they differed in any way
from those bred elsewhere in Central Arabia. They
were, we were repeatedly assured, a collection re¬
cruited from the various tribes of the Nefuds,—a
very fine collection, no doubt, but still a collection.
Every Bedouin we have asked has laughed at the
idea of there being a special Nejd breed , only
found in Aared. In answer to our questions we
were informed that in Feysul’s time emissaries from
Biad were constantly on the look-out for mares
wherever they could find them ; and that the Emir
had often made ghazus against this and that tribe,
with no other object than the possession of a par¬
ticular animal, of a particular breed. The tribe
from which he got the best blood, the Hamdani
Simri and the Kehilan el-Krush, was the Muteyr
(sometimes called the Dushan), while the Beni Khaled,
Dafir, Shammar, and even the Anazeh, supplied
him with occasional specimens. Abdallah ibn Saoud,
his successor, still retains a few of them, but the bulk
of the collection was dispersed, many of the best pass¬
ing into the hands of Metaab and Bender, Moham¬
med ibn Rashid's predecessors. Mohammed himself
follows precisely the same system, except that he
does not take by force, but on payment. He
makes purchases from all the tribes around, and
though he breeds in the town, his collection is con¬
stantly recruited from without. Were this not the
case, no doubt, it would soon degenerate, as town-
4
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XII.
bred horses in Arabia, being stall-fed and getting
no sort of exercise, are seldom fit for much. There
is a false notion that the oases, such as those of
Jebel Shammar and Aared, are spots especially
adapted for the rearing of horses, and that the
sandy wastes outside contain no pasture. But
the very reverse of this is the case. The oases in
which the towns stand, produce nothing but date
palms and garden produce, nor is there a blade
of grass, or even a tuft of camel pasture in their
neighbourhood. The townspeople keep no animals
except a few camels used for working the wells, and
now and then a donkey. Even these must be fed
either on corn or dates, which none but the rich can
afford. Horses are a luxury reserved only for princes,
and even the richest citizens do their travelling from
village to village on foot. Longer journeys are
performed on dromedaries brought in from the
desert for the purpose, which are either the property
of Bedouins or held with them by the citizens on
shares.
The Nefuds, on the other hand, contain pasture
in abundance, not only for camels, but for sheep and
horses, and it is in the NefMs that all these are
bred. Ibn Rashid goes every spring with the bulk
of his live stock to the desert, and leaves them
during part of the summer with the tribes, only a
few animals being reserved for use in the town.
It cannot be too strongly insisted upon, that the
upper plateaux of Nejd, where the towns and villages
cn. xii.]
Stables at Hail.
5
are found, are a stony wilderness almost entirely
devoid of vegetation, while the Nefuds afford
an inexhaustible supply of pasture. The want
of water alone limits the pastoral value of these,
for the inhabited area is necessarily confined
to a radius of twenty or thirty miles round each
well,—and wells are rare. These facts have not,
I* think, been hitherto sufficiently known to be
appreciated.
With regard to Ibn Kashid’s collection at Hail
we looked it over three or four times in the stables,
and saw it out once on a gala day, when each
animal was made to look its best. The stables
consist of four open yards communicating with each
other, in which the animals stand tethered each to a
square manger of sun-dried brick. They are not
sheltered in any way, but wear long heavy rugs
fastened across the chest. They are chained by one
or more feet to the ground, and wear no headstalls.
It being winter time and they ungroomed, they were
all in the roughest possible condition, and, as has
been mentioned, our first impression was one of dis¬
appointment. When at Hail they are given no
regular exercise, remaining it would seem for weeks
together tied up thus, except for a few minutes in
the evening, when they are led to drink. They
are fed almost entirely on dry barley. In the
spring only, for a few weeks, they eat green
corn grown on purpose, and then are taken
to the Nefud or on ghazus. It is surprising that
6
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XII.
they should be able to do their work under such
conditions.
The first yard one enters in going through the
stables, contained, when we saw them, from twenty-
five to thirty mares. In the second were twenty
more, kept in a certain kind of condition for service
in case of necessity; but even these get very little
exercise. As they stand there in the yard, slovenly
and unkempt, they have very little of that air of
high breeding one would expect; and it requires
considerable imagination to look upon them as indeed
the ne plus ultra of breeding in Arabia. We made
the mistake, too common, of judging horses by con¬
dition, for, mounted and in motion, these at once
became transfigured.
Here may follow some descriptions of particular
animals, written after one of our visits to the stud ;
these will give a better idea of them than any
general remarks. In our notes I find :—
“ 1. A chestnut Kehilet el-Krush with three white
feet (mutlak el-yemin), 14 hands, or 14*1, but very
powerful. Her head is plainer than most here—it
would be thought a good head in England—lean
and rather narrow. She has too heavy a neck,
but a very fine shoulder, a high wither, legs like
steel, hind quarter decidedly coarse, much hair
at the heels. More bone than breeding, one is
inclined to say, seeing her at her manger, though
moving, and with the Emir on her back, one must
CH. XII.]
The last of her race.
7
be very captions not to admire. She is Moham¬
med’s favourite charger, and of the best blood in
Nejd. Ibn Rashid got this strain from Ibn Saoud’s
stables at Riad, but it came originally from the
Muteyr.”
“ 2. A bay Hamdanieh Simri, also from Ibn
Saoud’s collection, a pretty head, but no other dis¬
tinction. N.B. This mare is of the same strain as
our own mare Sherifa, but inferior to her.”
“ 3. A grey Seglawieh Sheyfi, extremely plain at
first sight, with very drooping quarters, and a head
in no way remarkable, but with a fine shoulder.
This Seglawieh Sheyfi has a great reputation here,
and is of special interest as being the last of her
race, the only descendant of the famous mare bought
by Abbas Pasha, who sent a bullock cart from Egypt
all the way to Nejd to fetch her, for she was old,
and unable to travel on foot. The story is well
known here, and was told to us exactly as we heard
it in the north, with the addition that this mare of
Ibn Rashid’s is the only representative of the strain
left in Arabia.” *
“4. A dark bay Kehilet Ajuz, quite 14*2, one
white foot, really splendid in every point, shoulder
quarter and all; the handsomest head and largest
eye of any here. She has ideal action, head and
* Abbas Pasha’s Seglawieh is reported to have had two foals
while in Egypt; one of them died, and the other was given to the
late King of Italy, and left descendants, now in the possession of
the present king.
8
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XII.
tail carried to perfection, and recalls Beteyen ibn
Mershids mare, but her head is finer. She belongs
to Hamud, who is very proud of her, and tells
us she came from the Jerba Shammar. It sur¬
prises us to find here a mare from Mesopotamia;
but we are told that interchange of horses between
the southern and northern Shammar is by no means
rare.”
“ 5. A dark brown Kehilet Ajuz, no white except
an inch in breadth just above one hoof, lovely head
and thoroughbred appearance, and for style of gallop¬
ing perhaps the best here, although less powerful
than the Emir’s chestnut and Hamud’s bay. It is
hard to choose among the three.”
“ Of the eight horses, the best is a Shueyman
Sbah of great power, head large and very fine. He
reminds us of Faris Jerba’s mare of the same strain
of blood; they are probably related closely, for he
has much the same points, forequarter perfect, hind-
quarter strong but less distinguished. He was bred,
however, in Nejd.”
<c A grey Seglawi Jedran, from Ibn Nederi of the
Gomussa Anazeh, is a poor specimen of that great
strain of blood; but the Bedouin respect for it pre¬
vails here though they have now no pure Seglawi
Jedrans in Nejd. It is interesting to find this horse
valued here, as the fact proves that the Anazeh
horses are thought much of in Nejd. The more one
sees of the Nejd horses here, the more is one con¬
vinced of the superiority of those of the Anazeh in
CH. XII.]
Comparisons.
9
the points of speed, and, proud as every one here is
of the 4 kheyl Nejdi,’ it seems to be acknowledged
that in these points they are surpassed by the
Anazeh horses.”
/
“ Our own Anazeh mares are looked upon as
prodigies of speed.
“ In comparing what we see here, with what we
saw last year in the north, the first thing that strikes
us is that these are ponies, the others horses. It is
not so much the actual difference in height, though
there must be quite three inches on an average, as
the shape, which produces this impression. The
Nejd horses have as a rule shorter necks and shorter
bodies, and stand over far less ground than the
Anazehs. Then, although their shoulders are un¬
doubtedly good and their withers higher than one
generally sees further north, the hind-quarter is
short, and if it were not for the peculiarly handsome
carriage of the tail would certainly want distinction.
Their legs all seem to be extremely good ; but we
have not seen in one of them that splendid line of
the hind leg to the hock which is so striking in the
Anazeh thoroughbreds. Of their feet it is difficult
to judge, for from long standing without exercise,
all the Emir’s mares have their hoofs overgrown.
Their manes and tails are thicker than one would
expect.
“ In their heads, however, there is certainly a
general superiority to the Anazeh mares, at least in
all the points the Arabs most admire, and we were
10
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XII.
both struck, directly we saw them, with the diffe¬
rence.”
As I may fairly assume that few persons out of
Arabia have an idea what are there considered the
proper points of a horse’s head, I will give here a
description of them :
First of all, the head should be large, not small.
A little head the Arabs particularly dislike, but the
size should be all in the upper regions of the skull.
There should be a great distance from the ears to
the eyes, and a great distance from one eye to the
other, though not from ear to ear. The forehead,
moreover, and the whole region between and just
below the eyes, should be convex, the eyes them¬
selves standing rather “ dfleur de tSte.” But there
should be nothing fleshy about their prominence,
and each bone should be sharply edged; a flat fore¬
head is disliked. The space round the eyes should
be free of all hair, so as to show the black skin
underneath, and this just round the eyes should be
especially black and lustrous. The cheek-bone should
be deep and lean, and the jaw-bone clearly marked.
Then the face should narrow suddenly and run down
almost to a point, not however to such a point as
one sees in the English racehorse, whose profile
seems to terminate with the nostril, but to the tip of
the lip. The nostril when in repose should lie flat
with the face, appearing in it little more than a
slit, and pinched and puckered up, as also should the
CH. XII.]
Heads and tails.
11
mouth, which should have the under-lip longer than
the upper, “like the earners,” the Bedouins say.
The ears, especially in the mare, should be long,
but fine and delicately cut, like the ears of a
gazelle.”
It must be remarked that the head and the tail
are the two points especially regarded by Arabs in
judging of a horse, as in them they think they can
discover the surest signs of his breeding. The tails
of the Nejd horses are as peculiar as their heads,
and are as essential to their beauty. However
other points might differ, every horse at Hail had
its tail set on in the same fashion, in repose
something like the tail of a rocking horse, and
not as has been described, “ thrown out in a
perfect arch.” In motion the tail was held high
in the air, and looked as if it could not under any
circumstances be carried low. Mohammed ibn
Aruk declared roundly that the phenomenon was an
effect, partly at least, of art. He assured us that
before a foal is an hour old, its tail is bent back
over a stick and the twist produces a permanent
result. But this sounds unlikely, and in any case
it could hardly affect the carriage of the tail in
galloping.
With regard to colour, of the hundred animals in
the Hail stables, there were about forty greys or
rather whites, thirty bays, twenty chestnuts, and
the rest brown. We did not see a real black, and
of course there are no roans, or piebalds, or duns,
12
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XII.
for these are not Arab colours. The Emir one day
asked us what colours we preferred in England, and
when we told him bay or chestnut he quite agreed
with us. Nearly all Arabs prefer bay with black
points, though pure white with a very black skin
and hoofs is also liked. In a bay or chestnut, three
white feet, the off fore-foot being dark, are not
objected to. But, as a rule, colour is not much re¬
garded at Hail, for there as elsewhere in Arabia a
fashionable strain is all in all.
“ Besides the full grown animals, Ibn Rashid's
yards contain thirty or forty foals and yearlings,
beautiful little creatures but terribly starved and
miserable. Foals bred in the desert are poor
enough, but these in town have a positively sickly
appearance. Tied all day long by the foot they
seem to have quite lost heart, and show none of the
playfulness of their age. Their tameness, like that
of the “fowl and the brute," is shocking to see.
The Emir tells us that every spring he sends a
hundred yearlings down to Queyt on the Persian
Gulf under charge of one of his slaves, who sells them
at Bombay for £100 apiece. They are of course
now at their worst age, but they have the prospect
of a few months grazing in the Nefud before
appearing in the market."
“ On the whole, both of us are rather disappointed
with what we see here. Of all the mares in the
prince's stables I do not think more than three or
four could show with advantage among the Go-
CH. XII.]
Rarity of horses.
13
mussa, and, in fact, we are somewhat alarmed lest
the Emir should propose an exchange with us for
our chestnut Eas el-Fedawi which is greatly ad¬
mired by every one. If he did, we could not
well refuse.”
With regard to Nejd horses in general, the
following remarks are based on what we saw and
heard at Hail, and elsewhere in Arabia.
First, whatever may have been the case formerly,
horses of any kind are now exceedingly rare in Nejd.
One may travel vast distances in the Peninsula
without meeting a single horse or even crossing a
horse track. Both in the Nefud and on our return
journey to the Euphrates, we carefully examined
every track of man and beast we met; but from the
time of our leaving the Roala till close to Meshhed
Ali, not twenty of these proved to be tracks of
horses. The wind no doubt obliterates footsteps
quickly, but it could not wholly do so, if there were
a great number of the animals near. The Ketherin,
a true Nejd tribe and a branch of the Beni Khaled,
told us with some pride that they could mount a
hundred horsemen, and even the Muteyr, reputed to
be the greatest breeders of thoroughbred stock in
Nejd, are said to possess only 400 mares. The horse
is a luxury with the Bedouins of the Peninsula, and
not, as it is with those of the North, a necessity of
their daily life. Their journeys and raids and
wars are all made on camel, not on horse-back;
and at most the Sheykh mounts his mare at the
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XII.
14
moment of battle. The want of water in Nejd
is a sufficient reason for this. Horses there are
kept for show rather than actual use, and are
looked upon as far too precious to run unnecessary
risks.
Secondly, what horses there are in Nejd, are bred
in the Nefuds. The stony plateaux of the interior
contain no suitable pasture except in a very few
places, while the Nefuds afford grass, green or dry,
the whole year round. The Muteyr, the Beni
Khaled, the Dafir, and the Shammar, are now the
principal breeders of horses in Nejd, but the Anazeh
are regarded as possessing the best strains, and
the Anazeh have disappeared from Nejd. They
began to migrate northwards about two hundred
years ago, and have ever since continued moving by
successive migrations till all have abandoned their
original homes. It may be that the great name
which Nejd horses undoubtedly have in the East,
was due mainly to these very Anazeh, with whose
9
horses they are now contrasted. The Bisshr Anazeh
were settled in the neighbourhood of Kheybar, on
the western edge of the Nefud, the Boala south of
Jof, and the Amarrat in the extreme east. These
probably among them supplied Nejd horses in
former times to Syria, Bagdad, and Persia, and
some sections of the tribe may even have found
their way further south ; for the Ibn Saouds
themselves are an Anazeh family. So that then,
probably, as now, the best strains of blood were
oh. xii.] Arab Recipe for rearing a colt.
15
in their hands. To the present day in the north
the Anazeh distinguish the descendants of the
mares brought with them from Nejd as “Nejdi,”
while they call the descendants of the mares
captured from the tribes of the North, “ Shimali ”
or Northerners.
The management and education of horses seems
to differ little in Nejd from what it is elsewhere
among the Arabs. But we were surprised to find
that, in place of the Bedouin halter, the bit is used
at Hail. At first we fancied that this was in
imitation of Turkish manners ; but it is more likely
to be an old custom with town Arabs. Indeed the
Bedouins of the Sahara, no less than the Turks, use
the ring bit, which may after all have been an in¬
vention of Arabia. Bad as it is for the mouth, it
is certainly of use in the fancy riding indulged
in at Hail, the jerid play and sham fighting.
Among the Bedouins of Nejd the halter alone is
used.
Of anything like racing we could learn nothing.
Trials of speed are no longer in fashion, as they must
have been once, and skill in turning and doubling is
alone of any value. That some tradition, however,
of training still exists among the Arabs, the following
recipe for rearing a colt seems to prove. It was
given us in answer to our description of English
racing and racehorses, and probably represents a
traditional practice of Arabia as old as the days of
Mahomet.
i6
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XII.
AEAB EECIPE EOE EEAEINGr A COLT.
“ If,” said our informant, “ you would make a
colt run faster than his fellows, remember the
following rules:—
“‘ During the first month of his life let him be
content with his mother’s milk, it will be sufficient
for him. Then during five months add to this
natural supply goat’s milk, as much as he will
drink. For six months more give him the milk of
camels, and besides a measure of wheat steejDed in
water for a quarter of an hour, and served in a nose¬
bag.
“ ‘ At a year old the colt will have done with milk ;
he must be fed on wheat and grass, the wheat dry
from a nose-bag, the grass green if there is any.
“ ‘ At two years old he must work, or he will be
worthless. Feed him now, like a full-grown horse,
on barley; but in summer let him also have gruel
daily at midday. Make the gruel thus :—Take a
double-handful of flour, and mix it in water well
with your hands till the water seems like milk ;
then strain it, leaving the dregs of the flour, and
give what is liquid to the colt to drink.
“ ‘ Be careful from the hour he is born to let him
stand in the sun; shade hurts horses, but let
him have water in plenty when the day is hot.
“ c The colt must now be mounted, and taken by
his owner everywhere with him, so that he shall see
IBN RASHID'S MARES.
CH. XII.]
“ Yalta !”
17
everything, and learn courage. He must be kept
constantly in exercise, and never remain long at his
manger. He should be taken on a journey, for work
will fortify his limbs.
“‘At three years old he should be trained to
gallop. Then, if he be of true blood, he will not be
left behind. Yalla! ’ ”
HAMUD IBN RASHID.
VOL. II.
C
CHAPTER XIII.
“ Babel was Nimrod’s hunting box, and then
A town of gardens, walls, and wealth amazing,
Where Nabuchodonosor, king of men,
Reigned till one summer’s day he took to grazing.”
Btboh.
“ . . . . Oh how wretched
Is that poor man that lives on princes’ favours.”
Shakespeabe.
Mohammed loses his head—A ride with the Emir—The mountain
fortress of Agde—Farewell to Hail—We join the Persian Haj—
Ways and manners of the pilgrims—A clergyman of Medina.
I have hinted at a mystification in which we
found ourselves involved a few days after our
arrival at Hail, and which at the time caused us no
little anxiety. It had its origin in a piece of child¬
ishness on Mohammed’s part, whose head was
completely turned by tbe handsome reception given
him as an Ibn Aruk by the Emir, and a little
too, I fear, by our own spoiling. To the present
day I am not quite sure that we heard all that
happened, and so forbear entering upon the matter
in detail; but as far as we could learn, Mo¬
hammed’s vanity seems to have led him to aggran¬
dise his own position in the eyes of Ibn Kashid’s
court, by representing us as persons whom he
had taken under his protection, and who were in
CJT. XIII.]
A mystification.
19
some way dependent on him; boasting that the
camels, horses, and other property were his own,
and our servants his people. This under ordinary
circumstances might have been a matter of small
consequence, and we should not have grudged him a
little self-glorification at our expense, conscious as
we were of having owed the success of our journey
hitherto, mainly to his fidelity. But unfortunately
the secondary role which he would thus have as¬
signed to us, made our relations with the Emir not
only embarrassing, but positively dangerous. Our
reception at first had been cordial to a degree that
made it all the more annoying to find, that when we
had been four days at Hail, we no longer received
the attentions which had hitherto been paid us. The
presents of game ceased, and the lamb, with which
we had hitherto been regaled at dinner, was replaced
by camel meat. Instead of two soldiers being sent
to escort us to the palace, a slave boy came with a
message. On the fifth day we were not invited to
the evening party, and on the sixth Wilfrid, calling
at the palace, was told curtly that the Emir was not
at home. We could not imagine the cause of this
change, and Mohammed, usually so cheerful and so
open-hearted, had become moody and embarrassed,
keeping almost entirely with the servants in the
outer house. Hanna, the faithful Hanna, began to
hint darkly that things were not well, and Abdallah
and the rest of the Mussulman servants seemed
unwilling to do their duty. We remembered
20
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
that we were among Wahhabi fanatics, and we
began to be very much alarmed. Still we were far
from guessing the real reason, and it was not till we
had been a week at Hail that Wilfrid, happening
to meet the Emir's chief slave Mubarek, learned
from him how matters stood. It w’as no use being
angry; indeed Mohammed's conduct was rather
childish than disloyal, and the denouement would
have not been worth mentioning except as an
illustration of Arab manners and ways of thought,
and also as explaining why our stay at Hail was cut
shorter than we had originally intended it to be ;
and why, instead of going on to Kasim, we joined
the Persian pilgrimage on their homeward road to
Meshhed Ali.
Matters of course could not rest there, and on
returning home from his interview with Mubarek,
Wilfrid upbraided Mohammed with his folly, and
then sent to the palace for Mufurraj, the master of
ceremonies, and the same dignified old gentleman
who had received us on our arrival, and having ex¬
plained the circumstances bade him in his turn explain
them to the Emir. The old man promised to do this,
and I have no doubt kept his word, for that very even¬
ing we were sent for once more to the palace, and re¬
ceived with the old cordiality. It is, too, I think
very creditable to the arrangements of the Hail court,
that no explanations of any sort were entered into.
Mohammed, though put in his proper place, was
still politely received; and only an increase of
CH. XIII.]
Mohammed*s vanity.
21
amiable attentions made ns remember that we bad
ever bad cause to complain. As to Mohammed, I
am bound to say, that once the fumes of bis vanity
evaporated, be bore no kind of malice for what we
bad been obliged to do, and became once more the
amiable, attentive and serviceable friend be bad
hitherto been. Ill-temper is not an Arab failing.
Still the incident was a lesson and a warning;, a
lesson that we were Europeans still among Asiatics,
a warning; that Hail was a lion s den, though for-
tunately we were friends with the lion. We began
to make our plans for moving on.
I have said little as yet about the Persian pilgrim¬
age which, encamped just outside the walls of Hail,
had all along been a main feature in the goings on
of the place. On a certain Tuesday, however, the
Emir sent us a message that he expected us to come
out riding with him, and that he would meet us at
that gate of the town where the pilgrims were. It
was a fortunate day for us, not indeed because we
saw the pilgrims, but because we saw what we would
have come the whole journey to see, and had almost
despaired of seeing,—all the best of the Emir’s
horses out and galloping about. We were delighted
at the opportunity, and made haste to get ready. In
half an hour we were on our mares, and in the
street. There was a great concourse of people all
moving towards the camp, and just outside the town
we found the Emir’s cavalcade. This for the moment
absorbed all my thoughts, for I had not yet seen
22
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
any of the Hail horses mounted. The Emir,
splendidly dressed but barefooted, was riding a
pretty little white mare, while the chestnut Krushieh
' followed him mounted by a slave.
All our friends were there, Hamud, Majid and
the two boys his brothers, with a still smaller boy,
whom they introduced to us as a son of Metaab, the
late Emir, all in high spirits and anxious to show off
their horses and their horsemanship ; while next
the Emir and under his special protection rode the
youth with the tragical history, Naif, the sole
remaining son of Tellal, whose brothers Moham¬
med had killed, and who, it is whispered, will
some day be called on to revenge their deaths.
Mubarek too, the white slave, was there, a slave in
name only, for he is strikingly like the princely
family in feature and is one of the richest and most
important personages in Hail. The rest of the party
consisted of friends and servants, with a fair sprink¬
ling of black faces among them, dressed in their
best clothes and mounted on the Emir’s mares. Con¬
spicuous on his beautiful bay was Hamud, who, as
usual, did us the honours, and pointed out and ex¬
plained the various persons and things we saw. It
was one of those mornings one only finds in Nejd.
The air brilliant and sparkling to a degree one
cannot imagine in Europe, and filling one with
a sense of life such as one remembers to have
had in childhood, and which gives one a wish
to shout. The sky of an intense blue, and the
CH XIII.]
Jei'id play.
23
hills in front of us carved out of sapphire, and the
plain, crisp and even as a billiard table, sloping
gently upwards towards them. On one side the
battlemented walls and towers of Hail, with the
palace rising out of a dark mass of palms almost
black in the sunlight; on the other the pilgrim
camp, a parti-coloured mass of tents, blue, green,
red, white, with the pilgrims themselves in a
dark crowd, watching with curious half-frightened
eyes the barbaric display of which we formed a
part.
Presently the Emir gave a signal to advance, and
turning towards the south-west, our whole party
moved on in the direction of a clump of palm-trees
we could see about two miles off. Hamud then sud¬
denly put his mare into a gallop, and one after another
the rest of the party joined him in a sham fight,
galloping, doubling, and returning to the Emir, who
remained alone with us, and shouting as though
they would bring the sky about their ears. At last
the Emir could resist it no longer, and seizing a
jerid or palm stick from one of the slaves, went off
himself among the others. In a moment his dignity
and his town manners were forgotten, and he
became the Bedouin as;ain which he and all his
family really are. His silk kefiyehs were thrown
back, and bare-headed with his long Bedouin plaits
streaming in the wind and bare-legged and bare¬
armed, he galloped hither and thither; charging
into the throng, and pursuing and being pursued,
24
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
and shouting as if he had never felt a care, and never
committed a crime in his life.
We found ourselves alone with a strange little
personage whom we had already noticed riding
beside the Emir, and who seemed even more out of
place in this fantastic entertainment than ourselves.
I hope at least that we looked less ridiculous than
he did. Mounted on a sorry little kadish, and
dressed in the fashion of European children fifty
years ago, with a high waisted coat, well pleated at
the skirt, trousers up to his knees, and feet shod
with slippers, a little brown skull cap on his head,
and a round shaven face, sat what seemed an over¬
grown boy, but what in reality was a chief person
from among the Persian pilgrims. It was Ali Koli
Khan, son of the great Khan of the Bactiari, who
for his father's sake was being treated by the Emir
with all possible honour. He, with the rest of the
Haj, was now on his way back from Mecca, and it
was partly to impress him with the Emir’s magnifi¬
cence that the present party had been arranged.
We did not long stay alone, for in a few minutes
the galloping ceased, and we then went on sedately
as before, and in due time arrived at the palm trees,
which, it turned out, were the Emir’s property, and
contained in a garden surrounded by a high wall.
Here we were invited to dismount, and a carpet
having been spread under the trees, we all sat down.
Slaves were soon busy serving a luncheon of sweet¬
meats,—boys were made to climb the lemon trees,
CH. XIII. 1
Ali Koli Khan.
25
and shake down the fruit, and coffee was handed
round. Then all the party said their prayers except
ourselves and the Persian, who, as a Shiah, could not
join in their devotions, and we mounted again and
rode home. This time we too joined in the gallop¬
ing, which speedily recommenced, our mares fully
enjoying the fun, and in this way we scampered back
to Hail.
On the following day Wilfrid called on Ali Koli
Khan in his tent, going there with Mohammed, now
once more a reasonable companion and follower.
Indeed in the Persian camp assumptions of nobility
on Mohammed’s part would have been quite thrown
away, for the Persians care nothing for Arabian
nobility, and treat all alike as Bedouins and bar¬
barians. Ali Koli, though only a younger son, was
travelling in state, having his mother with him, and
a multitude of servants, male and female, besides his
liemeldciria or contractor, and the Arabs managing
his beasts. His major-domo and interpreter was a
magnificent personage, and his followers, dressed in
felt tunics and skull caps, gave him the appearance
of being an important chief. His tent was of the
Turkish pattern, well lined and comfortable, with
fine Persian carpets on the floor, and a divan.
There Wilfrid found him sitting with a friend,
Abd er-Rahim, the son of a merchant of Kermanshah,
who is also British consular agent there. The young
Persians were very amiable; but the contrast of
their manners w r ith those of the ceremonious Arabs
26
[CH. XIII.
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
struck Wilfrid at once. There were none of those
elaborate compliments and polite inquiries one gets
used to at Hail, but rather a European sans gene in
the form of reception. They made Wilfrid comfort¬
able on the divan, called for tea, which was served in
a samovar , and at once poured out a long history of
their sufferings on the pilgrimage. This they did in
very broken Arabic, and with an accent irresistibly
absurd, for the Persians speak with a drawl in their
intonation, wholly foreign to that of the Arabs.
Ali’s natural language, he says, is Kurdish, but being
an educated person, and an officer in the Shah’s
army, he talks Persian equally well. In Persia, Arabic
plays much the part in education which Latin did in
Europe before it was quite a dead language. Both
he and Abd er-Rahim were loud in complaints of
everything Arabian, and in spite of Mohammed’s
presence, abused roundly the whole Arab race, the
poverty of the towns, the ignorance of the citizens,
and the robberies of the Bedouins, also the
extortionate charges of the Arab hemeldarias,
contractors for camels, and the miseries of desert
travelling. “ Was ever anything seen so miser¬
able as the bazaar at Hail; not a bag of sweet¬
meats to be had for love or money, the Arabs
were mere barbarians, drinkers of coffee instead of
tea.” Every now and then, too, they would break out
into conversation in their own language. AYilfrid,
however, liked Ali Koli, and they parted very good
friends, with an invitation from both the young
CH. XIII.]
The secret stronghold.
27
Persians to travel on with them to Meshhed on the
Euphrates, where the Persians always end their
pilgrimage by a visit to the shrines of Ali and
Huseyn. This seemed an excellent opportunity, and
having consulted the Emir, who highly approved of
the plan, we accordingly decided to travel with the
Haj as soon as it should start.
Our last days at Hail were by no means the least
pleasant. As a final proof of his goodwill and
confidence, the Emir announced that we might pay
a visit to Agde, a fortress in the mountains some
miles from Hail, and which he had never before
shown to any stranger. I do not feel at liberty to
say exactly where this is, for we were sent to see it
rather on parole, and though I hope Ibn Rashid
runs no danger of foreign invasion, I would not
give a clue to possible enemies. Suffice it to say
that it lies in the mountains, in a position of great
natural strength, made stronger by some rude
attempts at fortification, and that it is really one of
the most curious places in the world.
One approaches it from the plain by a narrow
winding valley, reminding one not a little of the
wadys of Mount Sinai, where the granite rocks rise
abruptly on either hand out of a pure bed of sand.
On one of these is engraved an inscription in Arabic
which we copied and which though not very legible
may be read thus :—
“ Hadihi kharabat Senharib.”
“ This (is) the ruin of Senacherib (’s building).”
28
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[cil. XIII.
Such at least is its meaning in the opinion of Mr.
Sabunji, a competent Arabic scholar, though I will
not venture to explain on what occasion Senacherib
made his way to Nejd, nor why he wrote in Arabic
instead of his own cuneiform.
Inside the defences, the valley broadens out into
an amphitheatre formed by the junction of three or
four wadys in which there is a village and a palm
garden. Besides which, the wadys are filled with wild
palms watered, the Arabs say, “ min Allah/' by Pro¬
vidence, at least by no human hand. They are
very beautiful, forming a brilliant contrast of green
fertility with the naked granite crags which over¬
hang them on all sides. These are perhaps a
thousand feet in height, and run down sheer into the
sandy floor of the wadys, so that one is reminded in
looking at them of that valley of diamonds where
the serpents lived, and down which the merchants
threw their pieces of meat for the rocs to gather, in
the tale of Sinbacl the Sailor. No serpents how¬
ever live in Agde, but a population of very honest
Shammar, who entertained us with a prodigality
of dates and coffee, difficult to do justice to. We
had been sent in the company of two horsemen
of the Emir s, Shammar, who did the honours, as
Agde and all in it are really Ibn Rashid's private
property. These and the villagers gave us a deal
of information about the hills we were in, and
showed us where a great battle had been fought by
Mohammed's father and his uncle Obeyd against
CH. XIII.]
The Webber.
29
the Ibn Ali, formerly Emirs of the Jebel. It would
seem that Agde was the oldest possession of the Ibn
Eashids, and that on their taking Hail the Ibn Alis
marched against them, when they retreated to their
fortress, and there gave battle and such a defeat to
the people of Kefar that it secured to the Ibn
Eashids supreme power ever after. They also
showed us with great pride a wall built by Obeyd
to block the narrow valley, and made us look at
everything, wells, gardens, and houses, so that we
spent nearly all the day there. They told us too of
a mysterious beast that comes from the hills by
night and climbs the palm trees for sake of the
dates. “ As large as a hare, with a long tail, and
very good to eat/' They describe it as sitting on
its hind-legs, and whistling, so that Wilfrid thinks
it must be a marmot. Only, do marmots climb ?
They call it the Webber.
We had a delightful gallop home with the two
Bedouins, (Mohammed was not with us,) of whom
we learned one of the Shammar war songs, which
runs thus :—
“ Ma arid ana erkobu delul,
Lau zeynuli shedadeha,
Aridu ana hamra shenuf,
Hamra seryeh aruddeha.”
thus literally translated :—
“ I would not ride a mere delul.
Though lovely to me her shedad (camel-saddle);
Let me be mounted on a mare,
A bay mare, swift and quick to turn.”
30
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
They were mounted on very pretty ponies, but
could not keep up with us galloping. If we had
been in Turkey, or indeed anywhere else but in
Arabia, we should have had to give a handsome tip
after an expedition of this kind; but at Hail
nothing of the sort was expected. Both these
Shammar were exceedingly intelligent well man¬
nered men, with souls above money. They were
doing their duty to the prince as Sheykh, and to us
as strangers, and they did it enthusiastically.
The level of Agde is 3,780 feet above the sea,
that of Hail 3,500.
This was, perhaps, the pleasantest day of all those
we spent at Hail, and will live long with us as a
delightful remembrance. On the following day we
were to depart. Mohammed, while we were away,
had been making preparations. Two new camels
had been bought, and a month’s provision of dates
and rice purchased, in addition to a gift of excellent
Yemen coffee sent us by the Emir. Our last inter¬
view with Ibn Rashid was characteristic. He was
not at the kasr, but in a house he has close to the
Mecca gate, where from a little window he can
watch unperceived the goings on of the Haj
encamped below him. We found him all alone, for
he has lost all fear of our being assassins now, at
his window like a bird of prey, calculating no doubt
how many more silver pieces he should be able to
make out of the Persians before they were well
out of his clutches. Every now and then he
CH. XIII.]
We leave the lion’s den.
3i
would lean out of the window, which was partly
covered by a shutter, and shout to one of his
men who were standing below some message with
regard to the pilgrims. He seemed to be enjoy¬
ing the pleasure of his power over them, and it is
absolute.
To us he was very amiable, renewing all his
protestations of friendship and regard, and offering
to give us anything we might choose to ask for,
dromedaries for the journey, or one of his mares.
This, although we should have liked to accept the
last offer, we of course declined, Wilfrid making a
short speech in the Arab manner, saying that the only
thing we asked was the Emir’s regard, and wishing
him length of days. He begged Mohammed ibn
Kashid to consider him as his vakil in Europe
in case he required assistance of any kind, and
thanked him for all the kindness we had
received at his hands. The Emir then proposed
that we should put off our departure, and go with
him instead on a ghazu or warlike expedition he
was starting on in a few days, a very attractive
offer which might have been difficult to refuse had
it been made earlier, but which we now declined.
Our heads, in fact, had been in the jaws of the
lion long enough, and now our only object was to
get quietly and decorously out of the den. We
therefore pleaded want of time, and added that our
camels were already on the road; we then said
good-bye and took our leave.
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
32
There was, however, one more visit to he paid, this
time of friendly regard more than of ceremony. As we
rode through the town we stopped at Hamud’s house
and found him and all his family at home. To
them our farewells were really expressions of regret
at parting, and Hamud gave us some very sound
advice about going on with the Haj to Meshhed
Ali, instead of trying to get across to Bussora.
There had been rain, he said, on the pilgrim road,
and all the reservoirs (those marked on the map as
the tanks of Zobeydeh) were full, so that our
journey that way would be exceptionally easy,
whereas between this and Bussorah, we should have
to pass over an almost waterless region, without
anything interesting to compensate for the difficulty.
But this we should see as we went on —the first
thing, as I have said, was to get clear away, and it
would be time enough later to settle details about
our course.
Majid was there, and received from Wilfrid as a
remembrance a silver-handled Spanish knife, where¬
upon he sent for a black cloth cloak with a little
gold embroidery on the collar and presented it to
me. It was a suitable gift, for I had nothing of the
sort, indeed no respectable abba at all, and this one
was both dignified and quiet in appearance. Majid
at least, I am sure, regrets us, and if circumstances
ever take us again to Hail, it would be the best
fortune for us to find him or his father on the
throne. They are regarded as the natural heirs to
CH. XIII.]
View of Jebel Shammar.
33
the Sheykhat, and Ibn Rashid’s does not look like a
long life.
After this we mounted, and in another five
minutes were clear of the town. Then looking
back, we each drew a long breath, for Hail with all
the charm of its strangeness, and its interesting
inhabitants, had come to be like a prison to us, and
at one time when we had had that quarrel with
Mohammed, had seemed very like a tomb.
We left Hail by the same gate at which we had
entered it, what seemed like years before, but instead
of turning towards the mountains, we skirted the
wall of the town and further on the palm gardens,
which are its continuation, for about three miles
down a ravine-like wady. Then we came out on the
plain again, and at the last isolated group of ithel
trees, halted for the last time to enjoy the shade,
for the sun was almost hot, before joining the
pilgrim caravan, which we could see like a long line
of ants traversing the plain between us and the
main range of Jebel Shammar.
It was, without exception, the most beautiful
view I ever saw in my life, and I will try to
describe it. To begin with, it must be understood
that the air, always clear in Jebel Shammar, was
this day of a transparent clearness, which probably
surpasses anything seen in ordinary deserts, or in
the high regions of the Alps, or at the North
Pole, or anywhere except perhaps in the moon.
For this is the very centre of the desert, four
VOL. II. D
34
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
hundred miles from the sea, and nearly four
thousand feet above the sea level. Before us
lay a foreground of coarse reddish sand, the
washing down of the granite rocks of Jebel Aja,
with here and there magnificent clumps of ithel,
great pollards whose trunks measure twenty and
thirty feet* in circumference, growing on little
mounds showing where houses once stood—just as
in Sussex the yew trees do—for the town seems to
have shifted from this end of the oasis to where it
now is. Across this sand lay a long green belt of
barley, perhaps a couple of acres in extent, the
blades of corn brilliantly green, and just having
shot up high enough to hide the irrigation furrows.
Beyond this, for a mile or more, the level desert
fading from red to orange, till it was again cut by
what appeared to be a shining sheet of water
reflecting the deep blue of the sky—a mirage of
course, but the most perfect illusion that can be
imagined. Crossing this, and apparently wading in
the water, was the long line of the pilgrim camels,
each reflected exactly in the mirage below him with
the clots of blue, red, green, or pink, representing
the litter or tent he carried. The line of the
procession might be five miles or more in length;
we could not see the end of it. Beyond again rose
the confused fantastic mass of the sapphire coloured
crags of Jebel Aja, the most strange and beautiful
* We measured one, a pollard, thirty-six feet round the trunk
at five feet from the ground.
CH. XIII.]
The Haj caravan.
35
mountain range that can be imagined — a lovely
vision.
When we had ^sufficiently admired all this, and I
had made my sketch of it, for there was no hurry,
we got on our mares again and rejoicing with them
in our freedom, galloped on singing the Shammar
song, “ Ma arid ana erkobu delul lau zeynoli sheda-
deha, biddi ana hamra shenuf, hamra seriyeh
arruddeha,” a proceeding which inspired them more
than any whip or spur could have done, and which
as we converged towards the Haj caravan, made
the camels caper, and startled the pilgrims into the
idea that the Harb Bedouins were once more upon
them. So we went along with Mohammed following
us, till we reached the vanguard of the Haj, and
the green and red banner which goes in front of
it. Close to this we found our own camels, and
soon after camped with them, not ten miles from
Hail in a bit of a wady where the standard was
planted.
Our tents are a couple of hundred yards away
from the Haj camp, which is crowded together for
fear of the dangers of the desert. The pilgrim
mueddins have just chanted the evening call to
prayers, and the people are at their devotions. Our
mares are munching their barley, and our hawk (a
trained bird we bought yesterday for six mejidies of
a Bedouin at Hail), is sitting looking very wise on
his perch in front of us. It is a cold evening, but
oh how clean and comfortable in the tent!
36
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
February 2.—It appears after all that only about
half the Haj left Hail yesterday. There has been a
difficulty about camels some say, others that I bn
Rashid will not let the people go, an affair of money
probably in either case. So we had hardly gone
more than two miles before a halt was ordered by
the emir el-haj, one Ambar, a black slave of Ibn
Rashid’s, and the camels and their riders remained
massed together on a piece of rising ground for the
purpose we think of being counted. The dervishes,
however, and other pilgrims on foot went on as
they liked, and so did we, for we do not consider
ourselves bound by any of the rules of the Haj
procession, and Abdallah has orders to march our
camels well outside the main body. There was no
road or track at all to-day, and we went forward on
the look-out for water which we heard was some¬
where on ahead, crossing some very rough ground
and wadys which were almost ravines. We have
become so used to the desert now, that from a long
distance we made out the water, guessing its
position from the white colour of the ground near
it. The whiteness is caused by a stonelike deposit
the water makes when it stands long anywhere ;
and in this instance it lay in a sort of natural
reservoir or series of reservoirs in the bed of a
shallow wady. These must have been filled some
time during the winter by rain, and we hurried on
to fill our goat skins at them while they were still
clean, for the pilgrims would soon drink up and
CH. XIII.]
Unpleasant habits.
37
pollute them. They are but small pools. We found
Awwad already there, he having been sent on in
front with a deliil to make sure of our supply, and
the process of filling the skins was hardly over
before the dervishes who always march ahead of the
Haj began to arrive. They have an unpleasant
habit of washing in the water first, and drinking it
afterwards, which we are told is part of their
religious ritual.
The wind has been very violent all day with a
good deal of sand in it, but it has now gone down.
Our course since leaving Hail has been east by
north, and is directed towards a tall hill, Jebel
Jildiyeh, which is a very conspicuous landmark.
Our camp to-night is a pleasanter one than yester¬
day’s, being further from the pilgrims, and we have
a little wady all to ourselves, with plenty of good
firewood, and food for the camels.
February 3.—Though fires were lit this morning
at four o’clock as if in preparation of an early start,
no move has been made to-day. Half the pilgrim¬
age they tell us is still at Hail, and must be waited
for. Wilfrid went to-day into the camp to find our
friend Ali Koli Khan, but neither he nor Abd er-Ra-
him, nor anyone else he knew had arrived.
The Persian pilgrims, though not very agreeable
in person or in habits (for they are without the sense
of propriety which is so characteristic of the Arabs),
are friendly enough, and if we could talk to them,
would, I dare say, be interesting, but on a superficial
38
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[OH. XIII.
comparison with the Arabs they seem coarse and
boorish. They are most of them fair complexion ed,
and many have fair hair and bine eyes ; but their
features are heavy, and there is much the same
difference between them and the Shammar who
are escorting them, as there is between a Dutch
cart-horse and one of Ibn Rashid’s mares. In spite
of their washings, which are performed in season and
out of season all day long, they look unutterably
dirty in their greasy felt dresses, as no unwashed
Arab ever did. Aw wad and the rest of our people
now and then get into disputes with them when
they come too near our tents in search of firewood,
and it is evident that there is no love lost between
Persian and Arab.
My day has been spent profitably at home re-
stufhng my saddle, which was sadly in want of it.
Mohammed has become quite himself again, no airs
or graces of any kind, and, as he says, the air of
Hail did not agree with him. He seems anxious
now to efface all recollection of the past, and has
made himself very agreeable, telling us histories con¬
nected with the Sebaa and their horses, all of them
instructive, some amusing.
February 4.—Another day’s waiting, the pilgrims
as well as we ourselves impatient, but impatience is
no good. Wilfrid, by way of occupying the time,
went off on a surveying expedition by himself, with
his mare and the greyhounds. He went in a straight
line northwards, towards a line of low hills which
Surveying.
39
<JH. XIII.]
are visible here from the high ground. They are
about twelve miles off. He met nobody except a
couple of Bedouins on deluls, going to Atwa, where
they told him there is a well. They looked on him
and his gun with suspicion, and did not much like
being cross-questioned. After that he found the
desert absolutely empty of life, a succession of level
sandy plains, and rough ridges of sandstone. The
hills themselves, which he reached before turning
back, were also of yellow sandstone, weathered
black in patches, and from the top of the ridge he
could make out the Nefud, like a red sea. He
galloped to the ridge and back in three hours.
The ride was useful, as it enabled him to get the
position of several of the principal hills, Yatubb,
Jildiyeh, and others, and to mark them on his chart.
He did not say where he intended' to go, but as it
happened, he returned before there was time for me
to become anxious.
In the meanwhile, Awwad and Abdallah had been
giving the falcon a lesson with a lure they have
made out of one of the nosebags. The bird seems
very tame, and comes to Awwad when he calls it,
shouting “ AslTo, aslTo,” which he explains is the
short for its name, Basham, a corruption of the word
rctshmon , which means shining like lightning. We
may hope now with Basham’s assistance to keep
ourselves supplied with meat, for hares are in plenty.
In the afternoon visitors came, some Shammar
Bedouins of the Ibn Duala family, who have
40
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
preferred to camp beside ns, as more congenial
neighbours to them than the Persians. They are on
their way from Hail to their tents in the Nefud with
a message from the Emir that more camels are
wanted ; and they are going on afterwards with the
Haj as far as Meslihed Ali, or perhaps to Samawa
on the Euphrates, to buy rice (tummin), and wheat.
It is only twice a year that the tribes of Jebel
Shammar can communicate with the outside world ;
on the occasion of the two Haj journeys, coming and
going. It is then that they lay in their provision
for the year. The eldest of these Ibn Duala, a man
of sixty, is very well-mannered and amiable. He
dined with Mohammed and the servants in their
tent, and came to sit with us afterwards in ours.
We are in half a mind to leave this dawdling Haj,
and go on with him to-morrow. But his tents lie
some way to the left out of our road.
Besides the Ibn Dualas, there are some poor
Bedouins with their camels crouched down in our
wady to be out of sight. They are afraid of being
impressed for the Haj, and at first it was difficult to
understand why, if so, they should have come so
close to it. But they explained that they hoped to
get lost in the crowd, and hoped to have the advan¬
tage of its company, without having their camels
loaded. They, like everybody else, are on their way
to Meshhed to buy corn.
There is a report that the Emir is coming from
Hail to-morrow, and will travel three days with the
pH. XIII.]
Inscriptions.
4i
pilgrimage, going on afterwards, nobody knows
where, on a ghazu. This would be tiresome, as now
we have wished him good-bye we only want to get
away.
February 5.—We have moved at last, but only
another ten miles, to a larger wady, which seems to
drain the whole country, and which they call Wady
Hanasser (the valley of the little fingers), why so
called I cannot say. Here there are numerous wells,
and a large tract of camel pasture, of the sort called
rimh. There are a good number of hares in this
cover, and we have had some coursing with our
greyhounds, aided by a sort of lurcher who has
attached himself to us. The servants call him
“ Merzug,” which may be translated a “ windfall ”
literally a gift from God, an unattractive animal,
but possessed of a nose.
Two hours after starting we came to a curious
tell standing quite alone in the plain. It is, like all
the rest of the country now, of sandstone, and we
were delighted to find it covered with inscriptions,' 5 '
* Mr. Eassam, who has been digging at Babylon, informs me that
these inscriptions are in the ancient Phoenician character. It would
seem that the Phoenicians, who were a nation of shopkeepers, were
in the habit of sending out commercial travellers with samples of
goods all over Asia; and wherever they stopped on the road, if
there was a convenient bit of soft rock, they scratched their names
on it, and drew pictures of animals. The explanation may be the
true one, but how does it come that these tradesmen should
choose purely desert subjects for their artistic efforts—camels,
ostriches, ibexes, and horsemen with lances. I should have
fancied rather that these were the work of Arabs, or of whoever
42
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[on. xiii.
and pictures of birds and. beasts of tlie sort we bad
already seen, but much better executed, and on a
larger scale. The character, whatever its name, is
a very handsome one, as distinct and symmetrical
as the Greek or Latin capitals, and some of the
drawings have a rude, but real artistic merit. They
cannot be the work of mere barbarians, any more
than the alphabet. It is remarkable that all the
animals represented are essentially Arabian, the
gazelle, the camel, the ibex, the ostrich. I noticed
also a palm tree conventionally treated, but nothing
like a house, or even a tent. The principal subject
is a composition of two camels with necks crossed,
of no small merit. It is combined with an inscrip¬
tion very regularly cut. That these things are very
ancient is proved by the colour of the indentations.
The rock is a reddish sandstone weathered black, and
it is evident that when fresh, the letters and draw¬
ings stood out red against a dark back-ground, but
now many of these have been completely weathered
over again, a process it must have taken centuries in
this dry climate to effect.
We were in front of the Haj when we came to
this tell (Tell es Sayliyeh), and we waited on the
top of it while the whole procession passed us, an
hour or more. It was a curious spectacle. From
the height where we were, we could see for thirty or
forty miles back over the plain, as far as Jebel Aja,
represented the Arabs, in days gone by, anyhow of people living
in the country. But I am no archieologist.
CH. XIII.]
The procession.
43
at the foot of which Hail lies. The procession,
three miles long, was composed of some four
thousand camels (nor was this the whole Haj), with
a great number of men on foot besides. In front
were the dervishes, walking very fast, almost
running; wild dirty people, but amiable, and quite
ready to converse if they know Arabic ; then, a
group of respectably dressed people walking out of
piety, a man with an immense blue turban, we
believe to be an Afghan; a slim, very neat-looking
youth, who might be a clerk or a shopkeeper’s
assistant, reading as he walks a scroll, and others
carrying leather bottles in their hands containing
water for their ablutions, which they stop every now
and then to perform. Sometimes they chant or
recite prayers. All these devotees are very rude to
us, answering nothing when we salute them, and
being thrown into consternation if the greyhounds
come near them lest they should be touched by
them and defiled. One of them, the youth with the
scroll, stopped this morning at our fire to warm his
hands as he went by, and we offered him a cup
of coffee, but he said he had breakfasted, and turned
to talk to the servants, his fellow Mussulmans, but
the servants told him to move on. Among Arabs,
to refuse a cup of coffee is the grossest offence, and
is almost tantamount to a declaration of war. The
Arabs do not understand the religious prejudices of
the Shiyite Persians.
Some way behind these forerunners comes tlaeberaJc,
44
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
or banner, carried in the centre of a group of mounted
dromedaries magnificently caparisoned and moving
on at a fast walk. These most beautiful creatures
have coats like satin, eyes like those of the gazelle,
and a certain graceful action which baffles descrip¬
tion. Not even the Arabian horse has such a look of
breeding as these thorough-bred camels. They are
called naamiyeh , because one may go to sleep
while riding them without being disturbed by the
least jolting.
The berak, Ibn Rashid’s standard, is a square of
purple silk with a device and motto in white in the
centre, and a green border. It is carried by a
servant on a tall dromedary, and is usually partly
furled on the march. Ambar, the negro emir el-
Haj, generally accompanies this group. He has a
little white mare led by a slave which follows him,
and which we have not yet seen him ride.
After the berak comes the mass of pilgrims,
mounted sometimes two on one camel, sometimes
with a couple of boxes on each side, the household
furniture. The camels are the property of Bedouins,
mostly Shammar, but many of them Dafir, Sherarat,
or Howeysin. They follow their animals on foot,
and are at perpetual wrangle with the pilgrims,
although, if they come to blows, Ibn Rashid’s police
mounted on dromedaries interfere, deciding the
quarrel in a summary manner.
A Persian riding on a camel is the most
ridiculous sight in the world. He insists on
CH. XIII.]
Bedouins and Persians .
45
sitting astride, and seems absolutely unable to
learn the ways and habits of the creature he rides;
and he talks to it with his falsetto voice in a language
no Arabian camel could possibly understand. The
jokes cut on the Persians by the Arabs never
cease from morning till night. The better class of
pilgrims, and of course all the women except the
very poor, travel in mahmals or litters—panniers,
of which a camel carries two—covered over like a
tradesman's van with blue or red canvas. One or
two persons possess tahteravans , a more expensive
kind of conveyance, which requires two mules or
two camels, one before and one behind, to carry it.
In either of these litters the traveller can squat or
even lie down and sleep. The camels chosen for
the mahmals are strong and even-paced; and some
of these double panniers are fitted up with a certain
care and elegance, and the luxuries of Persian rugs
and hangings. A confidential driver leads the camel,
and servants sometimes walk beside it. One of the
pilgrims keeps a man to march in front with his
narghileh, which he smokes through a very long
tube sitting in the pannier above. There are a few
horses, perhaps about half a dozen. One, a white
Kehilan Harkan, was bought the other day by a
rich pilgrim from a Shammar Bedouin of the escort.
This horse seems to be thoroughbred as far as can
be judged from his head, tail, and pasterns ; the
rest of him is hidden by a huge pollan , or
pack-saddle, with trappings, in which his new
46
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIII.
owner rides him. I have seen no others worth
mentioning.
The whole of this procession defiled before ns as
we sat perched on the Tell es Sayliyeh just above
their heads.
We have made some new acquaintances, Hejazis
from Medina, who came to our tent to-day and sat
down in a friendly way to drink coffee with us.
The Hejazi, though accounted pure Arabs, are
almost as black as negroes, and have mean squat
features, very unlike those of the Shammar and other
pure races we have seen. They are also wanting in
dignity, and have a sort of Gascon reputation in
this part of Arabia. These were extremely out¬
spoken people. The chief man among them, one
Saleh ibn Benji, is keeper of the grand mosque
at Medina, and is now travelling to collect alms in
Persia for the shrine. He told us that although
quite willing to make friends with us here and
drink our coffee, he could not advise us to go to
Medina. Not but what Englishmen as Englishmen
were in good repute there ; but it was against their
rule to allow any except Mussulmans inside the
town. If we came as Mussulmans it would be all
very well, but as Nasrani it would not do. He
himself would be the first to try and compass our
deaths. They had found a Jew in Medina last year
and executed him; and the people were very angry
because the Sultan had sent a Frank engineer to
- survey the district, and had given out that he was
THE MECCAN PILGRIMAGE LEAVING HAIL.
CH. XIII.]
Plain speaking is best.
47
a Moslem. The rule only applied to the two holy
cities, Mecca and Medina, not to the rest of the
country. The Mussulman subjects of the Queen
who came from India were (even though Shias) always
well received ; so should we be if we conformed to
Islam. The Persians, though tolerated by the Hejazi,
were disliked as Persians as well as heretics, and often
got beaten in Medina. He (Saleh) was going to
collect money from them, as they were fools enough
to give it him, but he did not care for their
company. He would sooner travel with us. We
might all go together on this tour through Persia.
One thing he could not understand about the Eng-
lish Government, and that was, what earthly interest
they had in interfering with the slave trade. We
said it was to prevent cruelty. But there was no
cruelty in it, he insisted. “ Who ever saw a negro
ill-treated ? ” he asked. We could not say that we
had ever done so in Arabia; and, indeed, it is
notorious that with the Arabs the slaves are like
spoiled children rather than servants. We had to
explain that in other countries slaves were badly
used; but as Saleh remained unconvinced, we could
only wind up with a general remark, that this inter¬
ference with the slave trade was a “ shoghl hukm,”
a matter concerning the Government, and no affair
of ours. He seemed pretty well informed of what
was going on in the world, having heard of the
Russian war, though not the full circumstances of
its termination ; and of the cession of Cyprus, as to
48
A Pilgrimage to Nejd
[CH. XIII.
which he remarked, that the English Queen has
been given Kubros as a bakshish by the Sultan.
His last words were, “ Plain speaking is best. I
am your friend here ; but, remember, not in Medina,
on account of religion.”
EDIBLE LOCUST.
CHAPTER XIY.
“ Come, Myrrha, let us go on to the Euphrates.”— Bxrox.
AYe go in search of adventures—Taybetism—An hyaena hunt—How
to cook locusts—Hawking—The reservoirs of Zobeydeh—Tales
and legends—A coup de theatre —Mohammed composes a kasid.
February 6.—We are tired of loitering with the
Haj, and besides, do not care to see more of Ibn
Rashid, who is expected to-day. It is always a
good rule not to outstay your welcome, and to go
when you have once said good-bye. So, finding
no indication of a move in the pilgrim camp
this morning, we decided on marching without
them. We have not gone far; indeed, from the
high ground where we are camped we can see the
smoke of the camp rising up at the edge of the
plain. There is capital pasture here ; and we have
a fine wide prospect to the south and west; Jebel
Jildiyeh being now due south of us, and Jebel Aja
west by south, Hail perhaps forty miles off; to the
north the Nefud, and behind us to the east from the
ridge above our camp, we can look over a subbkha
six or seven miles distant, with the oasis of Bekaa or
Taybetism (happy be its name) round its shores.
The place had always been called Bekaa, we are
told, till a few years ago, when the name was
VOL. II. E
50
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CE. XIV.
thought unlucky, and changed, though I cannot
quite understand why, for the word means a place
where water can collect.
We flew our falcon to-day, and, after one or two
disappointments, it caught us a hare. The wadys
are full of hares, but the dogs cannot see them in
the high bushes, and this was the only one started
in the open. We have encamped early, and are
enjoying the solitude. The moon will be full to¬
night ; and it is provoking to think how much of its
light has been wasted by delay. The moon is of
little use for travelling after it is full.
February 7.—Though we did not move our camp
to-day, we had a long ride, and got as far as the
village of Taybetism, which is worth seeing. It is
a very curious place, resembling Jobba as far as
situation goes. Indeed, it seems probable that most
of the towns of Nejd have in common this feature,
that they are placed in hollows towards which the
water drains, as it is in such positions that wells
can be dug without much labour. Like Jobba,
Taybetism has a subbklia, but the latter is altogether
a more important oasis, for the palm-gardens reach
nearly round the lake, and though not quite con¬
tinuous, they must have an extent of four or five
miles. The houses seem to be scattered in groups
all along this length, and there is no special town.*
* It was to Taybetism that Abdallah ibn Saoud fled ten years
ago when he was driven by his brother out of Aared, and from it
that he sent that treacherous message to Midhat Pasha at Bagdad
which brought the Turks into Hasa and broke up the Wahhabi
Empire.
CR. XIV.]
Geology.
The geology of the district is most interesting. At
the edge of the subbkha the sandstone rocks form
strange fantastic cliffs, none more than fifty feet
high, but most fanciful in form. Some, shaped like
mushrooms, show that the subbkha must at one
time have been an important lake, instead of the
dry semblance of a lake it now is. We measured
the largest of these, and found it was forty feet in
length by twenty-five in width at top, with a stalk
of only five feet, the whole mass resting on a high
pedestal. Other rocks looked as though they had
been suddenly cooled while boiling and red hot,
with the bubbles petrified as they stood. There
were broad sheets of rose-coloured stone like straw¬
berry cream with more cream poured into it and
not yet mixed, streaked pink and white. Here and
there, there were patches of Nefud sand with the
green Nefud adr growing on them, and clusters
•of wild palms and tamarisks with a pool or two
of bitter water. The subbkha, although quite
dry, looked like a lake, so perfect wvas the mirage,
of clear blue water without a ripple, reflecting
the palms and houses on the opposite shore. We
went round to some of these, and found beautiful
gardens and well-to-do farms with patches of green
barley growing outside. These were watered from
wells about forty-five feet deep, good w T ater, which
the people drew for our mares to drink. We passed,
but did not go into a large square kasr belong¬
ing to Ibn Rashid, vdiere a dozen or so of dervishes
52
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIV.
from tlie Haj were loafing about. They asked us
for news—whether the Emir had come, and whether
the Haj was still waiting. These were most of
them not Persian dervishes, though Shias, but from
Bagdad and Meshhed Ali, people of Arab race.
On our way back we crossed a party of Shammar
Bedouins, with their camels come for water from
the NefM, which is close by. They gave us some
lebben to drink, the first we have tasted this year.
There were women with them. We also met a man
alone on a very thin delul. Mohammed made some
rather uncomplimentary remarks about this animal,
whereupon the owner in great scorn explained that
she was a Bint Udeyhan, the very best breed of
dromedaries in Arabia, and that if Mohammed should
offer him a hundred pounds he would not sell her,
that she was the camel always sent by Ibn Bashid
on messages which wanted speed. He then trotted off
at a pace which, though it appeared nothing remark¬
able, soon took him out of sight.
Awwad and Ibrahim Kasir have been back to the
Plaj camp for water, and have brought news that the
Emir has actually arrived, and a message from him,
that if we go on to the wells of Shaybeh he will meet
us there.
February 8.—We have marched fifteen miles to¬
day from point to point, making a circuit round
Taybetism and are now encamped at the top of the
Nefud. A Shammar boy of the name of Izzar with
three deluls came back from the Haj camp yester-
tch. xiv.] Hunting gazelles. 53
-day with Aw wad, and he undertakes to show ns the
way if we want to go on in front. He would sooner
travel with us than with the Haj, as his beasts are
thin, and he is afraid of their being impressed for
the pilgrims. He wants to drive them unloaded to
Meshhed, so that they may grow fat on the way, and
then load them for the home voyage with wheat.
He talks about six or seven days to Meshhed; but
Wilfrid insists that we are not twenty miles nearer
Meshhed than when we left Ha'il, as we have been
travelling almost due east, instead of nearly due
north, and there must be four hundred miles more
to go. This should take us twenty days at least.
But the servants will not believe. We shall see who
is right. They and Mohammed are very unwilling
to go on before the Haj, but now that we have got
this boy Izzar we are determined not to wait. If
we delay we shall run short of provisions, which
would be worse than anything. Already, Awwad
.says, the pilgrims are complaining loudly that they
.shall starve if they are kept longer waiting in this
way. They have brought provisions for so many
days and no more, and there is no place now where
they can revictual. “ The Haj,” added Awwad, “ is
.sitting by the fire, very angry.”
Our march to-day was enlivened by some hunting,
though with no good result. Sayad and Shiekha
coursed a herd of gazelles, and succeeded in turning
them, but could not get hold of any, though one
passed close to Mohammed, who fired without effect.
54
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIV.
They made off straight for the Nefud. The falcon
was flown at a houbara (frilled bustard), but the
bustard beat him off, as he is only a last year’s bird,,
and not entered to anything but hares. Basham,
however, is an amusement to us and sits on his
perch at our tent door. This spot is pleasant and
lonely, within a hundred yards of the edge of the
Nefud.
February 9.—Having sent Izzar to a high point
for a last look back for the Haj and in vain, we
have given them up and now mean to march
straight on without them. It is however annoying
that we are still going east instead of north, coast¬
ing the NefM I suppose to get round instead of
crossing it; but we dare not plunge into it against
Izzar’s positive assurance that the other is the only
way. Soil sprinkled with jabsin (talc), and in
places with the fruit of the wild poisonous melon.
Passed the well of Beyud (eggs) thirty feet deep.,
and travelled six and a half hours, perhaps eighteen
miles, to our present camp absolutely without inci¬
dent. Looking at the stars to-night, Mohammed
tells me they call Orion’s belt “ mizan ” (the
balance), and the pole star “ el jiddeh ” (the kid).
We now have milk every day from Izzar’s slie-
camel, a great luxury.
February 10.—At eight o’clock we reached the
wells of Shaybeh. There are forty of them close
together in the middle of a great bare space, with
some hills of white sand to the north of them. The
CH. XIV.]
A hycena .
55
wind was blowing violently, drifting the sand, and
the place looked as inhospitable a one as could well
be imagined, a good excuse for over-ruling all
notions of stopping there, “ to wait for the Emir.’'
Shaybeh stands on the old Haj road which passes
east of Hail, making straight for Bereydeh in
Kasim, and the reason of our travelling so far east
is thus explained. Now we have turned at right
angles northwards, and there is a well-defined track
which it will be easy enough for us to follow, even if
we ]ose our Shammar guide. After leaving the wells,
we travelled for some miles between ridges of white
sand, which the wind was shaping “ like the snow
wreaths in the high Alps/’ The white sand, I
noticed, is always of a finer texture than the red,
and is more easily affected by the wind. It carries,
moreover, very little vegetation, so that the mounds
and ridges are less permanent than those of the
Nefud. While we were watching them, the wind
shifted, and it was interesting to observe how the
summits of the ridges gradually changed with it, the
lee side being always steep, the wind side rounded.
We gradually ascended now through broken ground
to the edge of a level gravelly plain, beyond which
about four miles distant we could see the red line of
the real Nefud. AVe had nearly crossed this, when
we sighted an animal half a mile away, and
galloped off in pursuit, Mohammed following. I
thought at first it must be a wolf or a wild cow, but
as we got nearer to it, we saw that it was a hyaena,
56
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIV.
and it seemed to be carrying something in its
mouth. The dogs now gave chase, and the beast
made off as fast as it could go for the broken
ground we had just left, and where it probably had
its den, dropping in its hurry the leg of a gazelle,
the piece of booty it was bringing with it from the
Nefud. The three greyhounds boldly attacked it,
Sayad especially seizing it at the shoulder, but they
were unable to stop it, and it still went on doggedly
intent on gaining the broken ground. It would
have escaped had not we got in front and barred
the way. Then it doubled back again, and we
managed to drive it before us towards where we
had left our camels. I never saw so cowardly a
creature, for though much bigger than any dog, it
never offered to turn round and defend itself as a
boar or even a jackal would have done, and the
dogs were so persistent in their attacks, that Wilfrid
had great difficulty in getting a clear shot at it,
which he did at last, rolling it over as it cantered
along almost under the feet of our camels. Great
of course were the rejoicings, for though Mohammed
and Awwad affected some repugnance, Abdallah
declared boldly and at once, that hyaena was “ khosh
lahm,” capital meat. So it was flayed and quar¬
tered on the spot. I confess the look of the
carcass was not appetising, the fat with which it
was covered being bright yellow, but hyaenas in the
desert are not the glioul-like creatures they become
in the neighbourhood of towns, and on examination
CH. XIV.]
Locusts.
57
tlie stomach was found to be full of locusts and fresh
gazelle meat. Wilfrid pronounces it eatable, but I,
though I have just tasted a morsel, could not bring
myself to make a meal off it. I perceive that in spite
of protestations about unclean food, the whole of
this very large and fat animal has been devoured
by our followers. I am not sure whether Mo¬
hammed kept his resolution of abstaining.
Locusts are now a regular portion of the day’s
provision with us, and are really an excellent article
of diet. After trying them in several ways, we have
come to the conclusion that they are best plain
boiled. The long hopping legs must be pulled off,
and the locust held by the wings, dipped into salt
and eaten. As to flavour this insect tastes of vege¬
table rather than of fish or flesh, not unlike green
wheat in England, and to us it supplies the place of
vegetables, of which we are much in need. The red
locust is better eating than the green one.* Wilfrid
considers that it would hold its own among the
hors (Voeuvre at a Paris restaurant; I am not so
sure of this, for on former journeys I have resolved
that other excellent dishes should be adopted at
home, but afterwards among the multitude of luxu¬
ries, they have not been found worth the trouble of
preparation. For catching locusts, the morning is
the time, when they are half benumbed by the cold,
and their wings are damp with the dew, so that they
*.Red is said to be the female and green the male, but some say
all are green at first and become red afterwards.
58
A Pilgrimage to Nejd\
[CH. XIT.
cannot fly; they may then be found clustered in
hundreds under the desert bushes, and gathered
without trouble, merely shovelled into a bag or
basket. Later on, the sun dries their wings and they
are difficult to capture, having intelligence enough to
keep just out of reach when pursued. Flying, they
look extremely like May flies, being carried side-on
to the wind. They can steer themselves about as
much as flying fish do, and can alight when they
like ; in fact, they very seldom let themselves be
drifted against men or camels, and seem able to cal¬
culate exactly the reach of a stick. This year they
are all over the country, in enormous armies by
day, and huddled in regiments under every bush by
night. They devour everything vegetable; and are
devoured by everything animal: desert larks and
bustards, ravens, hawks, and buzzards. We passed
to-day through flocks of ravens and buzzards, sitting
on the ground gorged with them. The camels
munch them in with their food, the greyhounds run
snapping after them all day long, eating as many as
they can catch. The Bedouins often give them to
their horses, and Aw wad says that this year many
tribes have nothing to eat just now but locusts and
camels’ milk; thus the locust in some measure
makes amends for being a pestilence, by being him¬
self consumed.
We are encamped to-night once more in the
Nefud, amongst the same herbage, and at the edge
of one of the same kind of fuljes, we were accus-
CH. XIV.]
A fabulous snake .
59
tomed to on our way from Jof. This Nefud, how¬
ever, is intermittent, as there are intervening tracts
of bare ground, between the ridges of sand which
here very distinctly run east and west. The sand
is not more than eighty feet deep, and the fuljes are
insignificant compared with what we saw further
west.
February 11.—Some boys with camels joined us
last night, Bedouins from the Abde tribe of
Shammar, on their way to meet the Haj, as they
have been ordered up by Ibn Rashid. They have
given us some information about the road. Ibn
Duala is five days’ journey on; but we shall find
the Dafir, with their Sheykh, Ibn Sueyti, on the
second day. Ibn Sueyti, they say, has a kind of
uttfa like Ibn Shaalan’s, but it is pitched like a
tent when a battle is to be fought. The Ajman y
near Queyt, have a real uttfa with ostrich feathers
and a girl to sing during the fighting. * They also
narrated the following remarkable tale.
There is, they say, in the desert, five days’ march
from here to the eastwards, and ten days from Suk
es Sliiokh on the Euphrates, a kubr or tomb, the
resting-place of a prophet named Er Refay. It is
called Tellateyn el Kharab (the two hills of the
ruins), and near it is a birkeh or tank always full of
water. The tomb has a door which stands open,
but round it there sleeps all day and all night a
huge snake, whose mouth and tail nearly meet,
* Compare Mr. Palgrave’s account.
6o
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[cir. xiv.
leaving but just room for anyone to pass in. This
it prevents unless the person presenting himself for
entrance is a dervish, and many dervishes go there
to pray. Inside there is a well, and those who
enter are provided (“ min Allah ’’) for three days
with food, three times a day, but on the fourth they
must go. A lion is chained up by the neck inside
the kubr.
The birkeh outside is always full of water, but its
shores are inhabited by snakes, who spit poison into
the pool so that nothing can drink there. But at
evening comes the ariel (a fabulous antelope), who
strikes the water with his horns, and by so doing
makes it sweet. Then all the beasts and birds of
the desert follow him, and drink. The Sheykh of
the Montefyk is bound to send camels and guides
with all dervishes who come to him at Suk-es-Shiokh
to make the pilgrimage to Refay. The boys did
not say that they had themselves seen the place.
We are not on the high road now, having left it
some miles to the right, and our march to-day has
been mostly through Nefrid. The same swarms of
locusts everywhere, and the same attendant flocks of
birds, especially of fine black buzzards, one of
which Abdallah was very anxious to secure if
possible, as he says the wing bones are like ivory,
and are used for inlaying the stocks of guns and
stems of pipes. But he had no success, though he
fired several times. Wilfrid was more fortunate,
however, in getting what we value more, a bustard.
€H. XIV.]
Fire v. water.
61
and the very best bird we ever ate. Though they
are common enough here, it is seldom that they
come within shot, but this one was frightened by
the hawk, and came right overhead.
About noon, we came to a solitary building,
standing in the middle of the Nefud, called Kasr
Torba. It is square, with walls twenty feet high,
and has a tower at each corner. It is garrisoned by
four men, soldiers of Ibn Rashid’s, who surlily
refused us admittance, and threatened to fire on us
if we drew water from the well outside. For a
moment we thought of storming the place, which
I believe we could have done without much dif¬
ficulty, as the door was very rotten and we were all
very angry and thirsty, but second thoughts
are generally accepted as best in Arabia, and on
consideration, we pocketed the affront and went on.
Soon afterwards, we overtook a young man and
his mother, travelling with three deluls in our
direction. They were on the look-out, they said,
for their own people, who were somewhere in the
Nefud, they didn't quite know where. There are
no tracks anywhere, however, and they have stopped
for the night with us. Very nice people, the young
fellow attentive and kind to his mother, making her
a shelter under a bush with the camel saddles.
They are Shammar, and have been on business to
Hail.
February 12.—Our disappointment about water
yesterday, has forced us back on to the Haj road
62
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. X1Y.
and the wells of Khuddra, thirteen or fourteen miles
east of last night’s camp. We had, however, some
sport on our way. First, a hare was started and the
falcon flown. The Nefud is so covered with bushes,
that without the assistance of the bird the dos;s
could have had no chance, for it was only by
watching the hawk’s flight that they were able to
keep on the hare’s track. It was a pretty sight, the
bird above doubling as the hare doubled, and the
three dogs below following with their noses in
the air. We made the best of our way after them,
but the sand being very deep they were soon out of
sight. Suddenly we came to the edge of the Nefud,
and there, a few hundred yards from the foot of the
last sand-bank, we saw the falcon and the grey¬
hounds all sitting in a circle on the ground, watching
a large hole into which the hare had just bolted.
The four pursuers looked so puzzled and foolish,
that in spite of the annoyance of losing the game,
we could not help laughing. Hares in the desert
always go to ground. Mohammed and Abdallah
and Aw wad were keen for digging out this one, and
they all worked away like navvies for more than
half an hour, till they were up to their shoulders in
the sandy earth (here firm ground), but it was in
vain, the hole was big enough for a hyaena, and
reached down into the rock below. Further on,
however, we had better luck, and having run
another hare to ground, pulled out not only it, but
a little silver grey fox, where they were both
CH. XIV.]
Coursing . 63
crouched together. I do not think the hares ever
dig holes, but they make use of any they can find
when pressed. We also coursed some gazelles.
There are fourteen wells at Khuddra, mere holes
in the ground, without parapet or anything to mark
their position, and as we drew near, we were rather
alarmed at finding them occupied by a large
party of Bedouins. It looked like a ghazii, for
there were as many men as camels, thirty or forty
of them with spears ; and the camels wore shedads
instead of pack saddles. They did not, however,
molest us, thouodi their looks were far from asree-
able. They told us they were Dafir waiting like
the rest for the Haj ; that their Sheykh, Ibn Sueyti,
was still two days’ march to the eastwards, beyond
Lina, which is another group of wells something
like these ; and they added, that they had heard of
us and of our presents to the Emir, the rifle which
fired twelve shots, and the rest. It is extraordinary
how news travels in the desert. I noticed that
Mohammed when questioned by them, said that he
was from Mosul, and he explained afterwards that
the Tudmur people had an old standing blood feud
with the Dafir in consequence of some ghazii made
long before his time, in which twenty of the latter
were killed * This has decided us not to pay Ibn
Sueyti the visit we had intended. It appears that
there has been a battle lately between the Dafir
* Compare Fatalla’s account of the war between the Mesenneh
and the Dafir near Tudmor at the beginning of the present century.
64
A Pilgrimage to Nejd\
[CH. XIY.
9
and the Amarrat (Anazeh), in which a member of
the Ibn Haddal family was killed. This proves that
the Anazeh ghaziis sometimes come as far south as
the Nefud. These wells are seventy feet deep, and
the water when first drawn smells of rotten eggs ;
but the smell goes off on exposure to the air.
The zodiacal light is very bright this evening; it
is brightest about two hours after sunset, but though
I have often looked out for it, I have never seen it
in the morning before sunrise. It is a very remark¬
able and beautiful phenomenon, seen only, I believe,
in Arabia. It is a cone of light extending from the
horizon half-way to the zenith, and is rather
brighter than the Milky Way.
February 13.—We have travelled quite twenty-
four miles to-day, having had nothing to distract our
attention from the road, and have reached the first
of the reservoirs of Zobeydeh.
To my surprise this, instead of being on low
ground, is as it were on the top of a hill. At least,
we had to ascend quite two hundred feet to get to it,
though there was higher ground beyond. It is built
across a narrow wady of massive concrete, six feet
thick, and is nearly square, eighty yards by fifty.
The inside descends in steps for the convenience of
those who come for water, but a great rent in the
masonry has let most of this out, and now there
is only a small mud-hole full of filthy water in the
centre. We found some Arabs there with their
camels, who went away when they saw us, but we
CH. XIV.]
Tale of Solomon.
65
sent after them to make inquiries, and learnt that
they were Beni Wahari, a new artificial compound
tribe of Sherarat, Shammar and others, made up by
Ibn Rashid with a slave of his own for their Sheykh.
They are employed in taking care of camels and
mares for the Emix. They talk of eight days’
journey now to Meshhed Ali, but Wilfrid says it
cannot be less than fifteen or sixteen.
Mohammed, who has been very anxious to make
himself agreeable, now he is quite away from Hail
influences, has been telling us a number of stories
and legends, all more or less connected with his
birthplace Tudmur. He has a real talent as
a narrator, an excellent memory, and that most
valuable gift, the manner of a man who believes
what he relates. Here is one of his tales, a fair
specimen of the extraordinary mixture of fable and
historic tradition to be found in all of them :
Suliman ibn Daoud (Solomon, son of David) loved
a Nasraniyeh (a Christian woman), named the Sitt
Belkis,* and married her. This Christian lady
wished to have a house between Damascus and Irak
{Babylonia), because the air of the desert was good,
but no such a house could be found. Then Solomon,
who was king of the birds as well as king of men,
sent for all the birds of the air to tell him where he
should look for the place Bellas desired, and they all
.answered his summons but one, Nissr (the eagle),
* Bellas is the name usually given by tradition to the Queen of
■Sheba.
VOL. 11.
F
66
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIW
who did not come. And Solomon asked them if
any knew of a spot between Damascus and Irak, in
the desert where the air was good. But they
answered that they knew of none. And he counted
them to see if all were there, and found that the
eagle was missing*. Then he sent for the eagle, and
they brought him to Solomon, and Solomon asked
him why he had disobeyed the first summons. And
Nissr answered, that he was tending his father, an
old eagle, so old that he had lost all his feathers, and
could not fly or feed himself unless his son was-
there. And Solomon asked Nissr if he knew of the
place wanted by Belkis; and JSTissr answered that
his father knew, for he knew every place in the
world, having lived four thousand years. And
Solomon commanded that he should be brought
before him in a box, for the eagle could not fly.
But when they tried to carry the eagle he was so-
heavy that they could not lift him. Then Solomon
gave them an ointment, and told them to rub the*
bird with it and stroke him thus, and thus, and
that he would grow young again. And they did
so, and the feathers grew on his back and wings,
and he flew to Solomon, and alighted before the
throne. And Solomon asked him, “ where is the
palace that the Sitt Belkis requires, between
Damascus and Irak, in the desert where the air is
good \ ” and the eagle answered, “ It is Tudmur,
the city which lies beneath the sand/' And he
showed them the place. And Solomon ordered the
c h. xiv.] Tales of ghosts . 67
jinns to remove the sand, and when they had done
so, there lay Tudmur with its beautiful ruins and
columns.
Still there was no water. For the water was
locked up in a cave in the hills by a serpent twenty
thousand double arms’ length long, which blocked
the mouth of the cave. And Solomon called on the
serpent to come out. But the serpent answered
that she was afraid. And Solomon promised that
he would not kill her. But as soon as she was half
way out of the cave (and they knew it by a black
mark on her body which marked half her length),
Solomon set his seal upon her and she died. And
the jinns dragged her wholly out and the water ran.
Still it was poisonous with the venom of the
serpent, and the people could not drink. Then
Solomon took sulphur (kubrit) and threw it into
the cave, and the water became sweet. And the
sulphur is found there to this day.
Mohammed says also that ghosts (afrit) are very
common among the ruins at Tudmur—also (more
curious still) that there is a man at Tudmur more
than a hundred years old, and that when he reached
his hundredth year he cut a complete new set of
teeth, and is now able to eat like a young man.* 7
So he beguiled the evening.
February 14.—We have passed more birkehs in
better repair than the first, and being now in the
* I have since been told by dentists that the fact of a third set
of teeth being cut in old age is not unknown to science.
6 S
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIV.
neiglibourliood of water, find a good many Bedouins
on the road. Jedur (the Shammar with the mother,
with whom we are still travelling, and whom we
like particularly) knows everybody, and it is well
that he is with us, as some of these Bedouins are
rough looking fellows with liang-dog countenances
(especially the Dafir and the Sellem), which we
don’t quite like. To-day, as Wilfrid and I were
riding apart from our caravan, a number of men ran
towards us without any salaam aleykum and began
calling to us to stop. But we did not let them get
within arm’s length, and bade them ask their
questions from a distance. We shall have to keep
watch to-night The road is now regularlv marked
O O v
out with a double wall, which we are told was built
by Zobeydeh to hang an awning from, so that the
pilgrims might travel in the shade. But this must
be nonsense. It is more likely that it is merely the
effect of the road having been cleared of the big
stones which here cover the plain.
Since writing this a curious thing has happened.
We encamped early inside a ruined birkeh and had
just got all in order for the night, when we perceived
six men on dromedaries riding down from the north¬
east, straight towards us. There was much specu¬
lation of course amongst us, as to who they might
be, honest men or robbers, Shammar or Dafir.
ch. xiv.] Lost for a hundred years .
69
They evidently were not a mere party of camels for
the Haj, as each delul was mounted by a man with
a lance, and they came on at a trot. They rode
straight to where we were, made their camels kneel
down, took off khurjs and shedads and then
arranged their bivouac for the night. Then they
came up to our tents and accosted Mohammed and
the servants, who of course invited them to sit down
and drink coffee. Mohammed presently came to us
and whispered that he felt convinced they were
Dafir, but that we should presently know for certain.
They sat down and began talking on general subjects,
as the custom is till coffee has been served, but
afterwards Mohammed asked them whence they had
come and whither they were going. They answered
that they were Ivetherin, sent by their Sheykh to
Hail on business, and explained further that their
object was to find a certain relative of their Sheykh’s
whom he had heard of as being a guest at Ibn
Rashid’s and to invite him to their tents. Perhaps
we might have heard of him, his name was Mo-
hammed ibn Aruk. And their Sheyklfis name ?
Muttlak ibn Aruk! Here is a coup dc theatre!
Mohammed’s long-lost relation, the third brother of
the three who left Aared in the eighteenth century
and parted company at Jof, has been discovered in
his descendant, whose servants are at this moment in
our camp. Imagine the joy of Mohammed and the
triumph of so appropriate an occasion for reciting
once more the kasld Ibn Aruk. The rhymes of
7o
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CII. XIV.
that well-known legend, recited by Mohammed and
responded to by the new comers in chorus, were
indeed the first intimation we had of what had
happened. Then the Ketherin ambassadors were
brought to our tent and their story told. Now
all ideas of Bussorah and Meshhed Ali and the
Haj are abandoned, and, for the moment, there
is no other plan for any of us but an immediate
visit to these new relations. One of the Keth¬
erin has already started off homewards to announce
the joyful event, and the rest will turn back with us
to-morrow. Muttlak’s tents are not more than a day’s
journey from where we now are, and we shall see
these long-lost cousins to-morrow before the sun
goes down. “ Yallah,” exclaimed Mohammed, beam¬
ing with joy and pride.
February 15.—We made a late start, for Moham¬
med has ]ost his head again and is playing the fine
gentleman, as he did at Hail, afraid or ashamed to
be seen by his new acquaintances doing any sort of
work. Instead of helping to pack or load the
camels, he would do nothing but sit on the ground
playing with his beads, and calling to Aw wad to
saddle his delul,—airs and graces which, I am glad
to see, are thrown away on the Ketherin, who, as
Bedouins, care little for the vanities of life. Even
when started, we did not get far, for it began to
thunder and lighten, and presently to rain heavily,
so that Wilfrid ordered a halt at half-past ten.
W T e have now come to the great birkehs which
vCH. XIV.]
A Kasid.
7 l
.are full of water. They stand in a valley called
the Wady Roseh, from a plant of that name
which grows in it, and is much prized as pasture
for both camels and horses. There are two tanks
near us, one round, the other square, and both
•of the same fashion as the first we saw. We have
been examining the construction and find that the
walls were originally built hollow, of stone, and
filled up with concrete. This is now as hard as
granite, and has a fine polish on the surface. The
water is beautifully clear and good. The largest of
the tanks is sixty-four yards by thirty-seven, and
perhaps twelve feet deep. There is a ruined khan
of the same date close by, and Wilfrid has discovered
an immense well ten feet wide at the mouth and
very deep. All these were constructed by Zobeydeh,
the wife of the Caliph ldaroun er-Rashid, who nearly
•died of thirst on her way back from Mecca and so
had the wells and tanks dug. Wilfrid believes that
no European has visited them before, though they
.are marked vaguely on Chesney’s map. A wild
day has ended with a fine sunset. Dinner, not of
stalled ox, nor of herbs, but of boiled locusts and
rice, with such bread as we can manage to make of
flour well mixed with sand.
Mohammed, who has been in the agonies of poetic
^composition for a week past, has at last delivered
himself of the following kasid or ballad, which I
believe is intended as a pendant to the original Ibn
Aruk kasid, with which he sees we are bored.
72
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XIV-
KASID IBN AKUK EL JED1DE.
Naharrma min esh Sham, el bel&d el bayide,
Nemshi ma el wudian wa el Beg khalawa.
Wa tobeyt aela Jof, dar jedide.
Yaaz ma tilfi ubrobok khalawi.
Nah arret ’Abu Turki, aalumi bayide,
D&bakha lil khottar heyle semane.
Ya marh&ba bil Beg wa es Sitt Khatun.
Talobbt bintu gal jaatka atiye.
Wa siaghahu min el Beg khamsin mi a.
Ivhatun, ya bint el akram wa el juwddi.
Khatun, ya bint el Arnava wa el kebar.
Ya Bobb, sel^mli akhui el Beg wa es Sitt Khatun.
Ya Bobb, wasalhom diyar essalami,
Wa dar el Ajjem wa belad hade Hanud,
Wa yetobb a&l bahur sebba khalawi,
Wa yetobb a&la Londra wa yekellem efnun,
Wa yehdgg el sahlbe aala ma sar jari.
NEW BALLAD OF IBN AEIJK.
I went out from Damascus, the far-off country.
I marched through the lone valley, with the Beg alone.
I lighted down at Jof, at a new built dwelling.
Dear are the souls it shelters. “ Guests,” he said, “ sit down.” 7
“ See, Abu Turki, see,” I called, “thy kinsmen.”
“ Bring first for these,” he cried, “a fatted lamb.
“Welcome, 0 Beg, welcome O Lady Khatun,
“ Welcome, 0 distant kinsman, to your home.”
I asked him for his daughter. “ Take her dowerless.”
“ Her dower be these, five thousand,” said the Beg.
Lady, 0 daughter of the great the generous !
Lady, O daughter of a princely line !
0 Lord, keep safe my brother and the Khatun.
Grant them to reach the dwellings of repose.
Guide them through Persia and far Hind and lead them
By all the seven seas in safety home.
Let them once more behold their friends and London.
Let them relate the things that they have done.
CHAPTER XY.
“ Here lie I down, and measure out my grave.
Farewell, kind master.”— Shakespeare.
Muttlak Ibn Aruk and the Ketherin—Their horses—We are-
adopted by the tribe—The Haj again—Ambar sends round the-
hat—A forced march of one hundred and seventy miles—
Terrible loss of camels—Nejef.
February 16.—Two Aslan Shammar of the
Jezireh came last night, and recognised ns as
O 7 o
having been in Ferhan Pasha’s camp, last year, in
Mesopotamia,—a very pleasant meeting, though we
have no distinct recollection of either of them.
They gave us all the latest Jezireh news in politics.
Ferhan and his brother Faris are now at open war,
though Ferhan is no fighter himself, and leaves the
conduct of affairs to his eldest son, Aassa, All the
Shammar of the Jezireh are with Faris, except
Ferhan’s own tail, and the Abde, and the Asslan,
Muttany’s men, and our old friend Smeyr ibn-
Zeyclan. It is true also that Faris is now friends
with Jedaan. All this we are glad to hear.
This morning, Jedur and his mother left us, a&
they are not going any further our way. I like
them both, and should have been glad to give the
mother some small remembrance of our journey
together, but, as Arabs do, they went away without
74
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XV.
raying good-bye. Our march to-clay was a short
one, nine or ten miles, still down the Wady Roseh,
where water has actually been running since the
late storm, and where there are pools still here and
there, and a large swamp full of ducks, storks, and
.snipe,—the first water above ground we have seen
.since the Wady er-Rajel, nearly two months ago.
There is capital grass, too, in the wady, a few inches
high, which our hungry mares enjoy thoroughly.
As we were stopping to let them and the camels
graze on a particularly inviting spot, suddenly we
perceived about thirty delul riders coming over the
hill to our right. Although it was probable that
this was Muttlak, we all prepared for defence,
making the camels kneel down, and seizing each
his best weajDon,—Wilfrid the rifle, I the gun,
.and Mohammed his large revolver. Awwad stood
ready, sword in hand, and Abdallah squatted with
his long gun pointed towards the new-comers; the
rest, except Izzar, who possesses a sword, had only
sticks, but made a formidable appearance.
There was no need, however, for alarm, for, pre¬
sently, one of the approaching party detached liim-
.self from the rest, and trotting his dromedary
towards us, saluted us in a loud voice, and we saw
that it was Hazzam, the man who had gone on to
announce our coming to Muttlak. In another five
minutes the Sheykh himself had dismounted. There
was of course a great deal of kissing and embracing
.between Mohammed and his new found relations.
Oil. XV.]
True gentlemen.
75
and Wilfrid came in for a share of it. Muttlak is a
charming old man, very quiet and very modest, but
possessed of considerable dignity. He has an ex¬
pression of extreme kindness and gentleness which
is very attractive, and we already like him better
than any of Mohammed’s Jof relations. Unlike the
I bn Aruks of Jof and Tudmur, this branch of the
family has remained Bedouin, and unmixed by
any fellahin alliances. Mohammed’s rather vulgar
pretensions to birth and dignity have fallen,
ashamed before the simplicity of this good old
man, the true representative of the Ibn Aruks of
Aared, and though the kasid has been trotted
out once more, and the family genealogy stated
and compared, it has been with modesty and
decorum, and the sadness which befits decayed
fortunes. There can be no question here who
shall take the upper place, the Sheykh himself
being always ready to take the lowest. To us he is
charming in his attentions, and without false dignity
in his thanks for the small presents* we have made
him. He is to stay with us to-night, and then he
will take us to his tents to-morrow.
Muttlak has brought us three sheep for a present.
He has with him a very handsome falcon, a lanner
like ours, but larger.
February 17.—We left our camp in the Wady
Eoseh, where Muttlak told us there was better
pasture than we should find with him, and rode off
* Presents of honour always given to a sheykh.
I 6
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XV,
on our mares to pay him a morning visit and return
at night. Muttlak has with him his own little
mare, the counterpart of himself, old and without
other pretension than extreme purity of descent.
She is a kehilet Omm Jerass (mother of bells), and
was once in Ibn Saoud’s stables. It is difficult to*
describe her, for her merits are not on the surface
I am sure nine out of ten English dealers would pass
her over, if they saw her at Tattersall’s or Barnet
Fair, as an insignificant little pony. She is very
small, hardly over 13 hands, for even Mohammed’s*
mokhra looks tall beside her, chestnut with four
white feet and a blaze, a good but not a pretty head,
and, but for a proud carriage of the tail, no style or
action; an old brood mare never ridden except on
state occasions like the present, for on ordinary oc-
casions no Arab of Nejd thinks of riding anything;
but a delul. As Muttlak said, very gravely, “ When
God has given you a mare that is asil, it is not that
you should ride, but that she should breed foals.”
The old man stuck to his delul, and the little mare
was ridden by his cousin Shatti, who went with us,,
and gave us some valuable information by the way.
The Ketherin, like all the tribes of Nejd, were for¬
merly under Ibn Saoud. They are a branch of the-
Beni Khalid, who, in their turn, are a branch of the
Beni Laam, an ancient and noble tribe, of which
the main stock is still found between Aared and
Katif, while another branch settled some centuries
ago beyond the Tigris, on the Persian frontier. The
■CH. XV.]
Horses of the Duskan.
77
Ketherin are now few in number and decayed in
circumstances, but Shatti informed us, with some
pride, they can still turn out a hundred kliayal
on occasion ; that is to say, if they are attacked
and obliged to fight. This shows more than
anything the small number of horses possessed by
the tribes of Nejd. I asked Shatti which of the
tribes still under Ibn Saoud are now most in repute
as breeders of horses ; and he told me the Muteyr
or Dushan (for it seems they have both names), who
could turn out four hundred horsemen. Their best
breeds are Kehilan Ajuz, Kehilan el-Krush, Abeyan
Sherrak, Maneghy Hedruj, and Rabdan Kesheyban,
They have no Seglawis at all; the Krushiehs of
Ibn Rashid came originally from them, Feysul having
bought them from the tribe. It must not, how¬
ever, be supposed, he said, that all the Dushan mares
were asil. The Dushan, like every other tribe in
Nejd and elsewhere, has “ mehassaneh,” or half-
/
breds, what the Anazeli would call “ beni ” or “ banat
liossan; ” that is to say, animals with a stain in
their pedigree, and therefore not asil, though often
nearly as good and as good-looking. Their own
breeds (that is to say, the Ke therm’s) are principally
Wadnan, Rishan, Rabdan, and Shueyman. As we
got near the Ketherin tents we met two men on
a delul, leading a love]y little bay colt, one of the
prettiest I ever saw, which Shatti told us was a
Wadnan Horsan.
After nearly three hours’ riding we arrived at
78
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XV.
the buyut shaar (houses of hair), and were soon
being hospitably entertained. It is the custom here,
as it is in the Sahara, that the Sheykh should receive
illustrious strangers, not in his own tent, but in a
special tent set up for the purpose. It was a poor
place, little more than an awning, but the welcome
was hearty and sincere. Here all the principal
people of the tribe assembled as soon as the news of
our arrival spread, and a feast was prepared of tum-
min and fresh butter, and naga's milk. The Arabs
never kill a lamb except for the evening meal.
After this entertainment I went to visit Muttlak’s
family, and on my return I found Wilfrid inspecting
the mares which we had already seen grazing near the
tents. There were half-a-dozen of them, fair average
animals, but nothing first-rate, or so handsome as the
Wadnan colt, nor any over fourteen hands high. We
were looking at these rather disappointedly, when
Hazzam ibn Aruk, Muttlak’s brother, rode up on a
really beautiful mare, which he told us was aSeglawieh
Jedran, the only one left in Nejd. He added that
they had been obliged to conceal the name of her
breed for some years on account of the danger
incurred of her being taken by force. In former
times, when the Wahhabis were all powerful, any
famous mare ran great risk of being seized for the
Eiad stables. Ibn Saoud would declare war with a
tribe merely as an excuse for robbing it of its mares.
Ibn Eashid, at the present day, put great pressure
on the owners of valuable mares to make them sell ;
CH. XV.]
Horses fed on locusts ,
7 9 *
but lie paid for what he took. This mare had been
often asked about both for Ibn Rashid, and for 1
Nassr el-Ashgar, Slieykh of the Montefyk, who (or
rather his brother Fahad now) has the best collection
of horses after Ibn Rashid and Ibn Saoud. She is a
fine bright bay, muttlak-el-yemin, snip on the nose ;
has a splendid way of moving when ridden, action
like Hamud’s mare at Hail, handsome rather than
racing. The head is good, the eye bright and large,
the forehead rather flat, the jowl deep; the wither
high and back short, quarters round, like all the Nejd
horses, sinews good, and hoofs large and round.
HazzanTs mare is under fourteen hands, but
stands over much ground, and ought to be up to
weight, being wonderfully compact. We had some
hopes at one moment of being able to purchase her,
and for a good price and money down I think it
might have been done, for they are all most anxious
to oblige us. But we have no money and our
cheque on Bagdad would be difficult for them to
cash. The Ketherin are this year in great distress,
as there was no autumn rain, and until a month ago
nothing that horses can eat. They are without com
or even dates, and but for the locusts, which have
been abundant all the winter, they must have starved.
Indeed locusts are still their main article of food, for
man as well as beast. Great piles of these insects,
dried over the fire, may be seen in every tent.
Amid a general chorus of good wishes, we at last
took our leave of these good people. “You,” they
So
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XV.
said to Wilfrid, “shall be our Sheykh whenever you
return to us. Muttlak will not be jealous. We
will make war for you on all your enemies, and be
friends with your friends.” Muttlak himself has
promised that there shall be a general council to¬
night to decide whether the tribe shall move north-
wards as has been proposed, or not, and that if it is
decided that it shall be so, he will join us to-morrow
morning, and travel with us to Meshhed to make
arrangements with the intervening tribes, whose con¬
sent must first be obtained. It is strange what
friendship we have made with these simple-hearted
people in a few hours. We are the first Europeans
they have seen, and they look upon us as beings of
a superior world.
As we came back to the crest of the hill over¬
looking Wady Boseli, we saw away to the south a
smoke rising—the Haj.
February 18.—We had walked down to the
birkeh to try and stalk some ducks when the first
runners of the Haj arrived, and presently the Haj
itself, now swelled to double its former size, swept
past us down the Wady. At the same moment
Muttlak appeared on his dehil ready to go with us.
This gave us great pleasure. He has got the con¬
sent of his tribe, and what is of more importance of
the women of his family, to go with us to Meshhed
Ali, and see what arrangements can be made with
*
the Anazeli Sheykhs for a migration of the Ketherin
northwards. Such migrations have, I fancy, taken
RESERVOIR OF ZOBEYDEH.
CH. XV.]
Degrees of piety.
Si
place in all ages among the Bedouins of Arabia,
the want of pasture constantly driving them out¬
wards from Central Arabia to the richer deserts of
Syria and Mesopotamia. In this way the Sham-
mar and the Anazeh obtained their present inheri¬
tance of the Hamad and the Jezireh, and thus in
still earlier times the Tai abandoned Hejd.
Muttlak’s equipment for the journey is of the
simplest kind, the clothes in which he stands. He
and a single attendant are mounted together on an
old black dromedary, the Sheykh perched on the
saddle, and his man kneeling behind, their only
weapon a stick, and they guide the delul with a
rope passed through a hole in his nostril, a primitive
arrangement. “ There,” we said to Mohammed,
“that is how your ancestors left Nejd.” The old
man is very pious; unlike the Anazeh and other
tribes of the north, these Bedouins of Nejd say their
prayers regularly, and profess the Mussulman creed,
and Muttlak’s first act on dismounting; this evening;
in camp, was to go apart with his attendant and
pray. Mohammed and Abdallah still say their
prayers occasionally, though with less and less
fervour as the distance from Hail grows greater.
Awwad’s devotion is of a very varying quality,
sometimes quite imperceptible, at others almost
alarming. I have noticed that any special stress
of "work in loading the camels of a morning, or
pitching the tents at night, is sure to call forth a
burst of spiritual fervour. At such times his la-
VOL. II. G
82
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[cir. xv.
ilaha-illa-llah goes on for a prodigious length of
time, and may be heard a quarter of a mile off.
Ambar, the negro emir-el-haj, has brought a polite
message for us from Ibn Basliid. He came with
the Haj as far as Khuddra, and then went back to
Hail, so we have lost nothing by not going with
him on his intended ghazu.
Having camped early we sent Abdallah and
Hanna to the Haj to find out our Persian friends
there, and invite them to dine with us, as we had
killed a sheep, and just before sunset they arrived,
Ali Koli Khan, Huseyn Koli Khan, and Abd er-
Baliim of Kerman shah. We seated them all on a
carpet outside our little tent, for it is a warm even¬
ing, and then the dinner was served. But much to
our vexation, for we had carefully arranged the
entertainment, they refused to eat anything, first
saying that they had already dined, and afterwards
admitting that the Mollahs in whose company they
were travelling, had forbidden their eating with us
during the Haj. They were very polite, however, and
made all sorts of apologies, and even took one
mouthful each to avoid being positively rude. Ali
said that but for his mother’s Moll ah, he would have
asked us to dine with him, for he has a good cook,
but under the circumstances it cannot be. Huseyn,
who is the son of an ex-vizier, pretended to speak
French, but the only complete phrase which he had
at command, and which seemed borrowed from a
copy-book, was, “ L’Arabe est charlatan.” This he
ch. xv.] A Camel contractor. 83
repeated in and out of season, whenever there was a
pause in the conversation. These Persians were as
loud as ever in their complaints against the Arabs,
and being now out of his dominions, did not spare
the Emir, whom they accused of having plundered
them terribly. They also had much to tell of the extor¬
tions of the hemeldaria, or contractors for the Haj.
It appears that each pilgrim, when he starts for
Mecca, puts himself into the hands of an Arab con¬
tractor, generally a native of Meshhed Ali, who
undertakes to provide him with transport, either in
the shape of riding dromedaries, or litters, or even
in some cases, mules or horses. He does this for a
sum of money down, accepting all risks, and is bound
to replace any animal that breaks down or dies on the
road, with another at a moment’s notice. It is a very
speculative business, as if all goes well with the Haj,
the hemeldaria makes a fortune, whereas if things go
badly, he may lose one. In some years great
numbers of camels die, and then the contractors are
ruined; but generally they make a very good thing out
of it, as their charges are enormous. At any rate
they seem very rich, and ride about themselves on the
finest dromedaries in the Haj, and wear the finest
clothes. There are twenty of these contractors now
with the Haj, who divide the two thousand Persian
pilgrims amongst them. Besides the Persians there
are about a hundred Shias from Bagdad and Bussorah,
but these do not mix much with the Persians, and
a body-guard of about a thousand Bedouins, Ibn
84 A Pilgrimage to Nejct. [ch. xv.
Rashid’s people. In all, over three thousand per¬
sons, with five thousand camels. It must be like the
journey of the children of Israel to Mount Sinai.
Ali Koli Khan left Hail with the Emir, nearly
a week after we did, so we did not need to be in
any hurry, but I think we were right to get clear
away while we could.
February 19.—An early start before sunrise,
though there were stragglers till seven o’clock. We
were the last to go, but we had sent our camels on
as there was good grass, and we wanted our mares to
have a comfortable feed. Occasionally one of the
pilgrims would come and sit down a moment by our
fire to warm his hands. We have now quite left the
Nefud, and are travelling over broken stony ground.
The Haj marches fast, quite three miles an hour, and
there is no stopping on the way. We are halted
this evening at the last of the reservoirs of Zobeydeh,
the Birkeh Jemaymeh (Jemima’s pool). Here there
are considerable ruins and a very large well.
The boy Izzar has left us, I am sorry to say, and
he is sorry too. He was very serviceable and
pleasant, and we lose with him his naga’s milk,
which we have been drinking fresh every morning.
(N.B. We will never travel again without a she
camel for milk.) But his deluls have been im¬
pressed for the Haj. We gave him three mejidies
(about ten shillings) for his ten days’ service, which
brought down blessings on our heads. I do not
think he expected anything.
OH. XV.]
Extortion.
February 20.—Again the Haj has come to a
stancl-still, to the renewed wrath of the pilgrims.
It is now twenty days since they left Hail and not
more than half the journey has been accomplished.
There are two hundred miles more of road,
and their provisions, calculated for three weeks,
are all but run out. What makes this new delay
the more aggravating to them is that it has been
ordered by the negro Ambar, so that he may send
the hat round for a private contribution to his own
benefit. He has made it known that two mejidies
a head is what he expects, and that he will not
move till the sum is forthcoming. This will be a
nice little purse for him, something like eight
hundred pounds, and we maintain a fleet in the
Eed Sea to suppress the slave trade, out of motives
of humanity! The Persians are powerless to resist,
for without the black man’s order, not a camel
would move. We, as Ibn Rashid’s guests, are
exempted from all toll or tax whatever, but we
want to get on. Fortunately we laid in a whole
month’s provisions at Hail.
The day has been a very hot one, and we have
had the tent propped up all round, so that it re¬
sembles a gigantic umbrella. It is pitched on a
hill overlooking the Haj, and has attracted a good
many visitors. The first of them was a certain
Seyd Mustafa, a native of Shustar in Persia, but
speaking Arabic well. He is travelling as inter¬
preter with Ali Koli Khan, and has given us some
86
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
fen. xv.
Lm
information about the country between Bagdad and
his own town. Ali Ivoli has several times proposed
that we should go on with him from Bagdad, to pay
a visit to his father in the Bactiari mountains, and
Wilfrid is very much bent on doing this.
He himself is going round by the river to Bus-
sorah, and then up the Karun to Shustar, a plan
which would not suit us; but Seyd Mustafa says
lie will go with us by land, though it is a very
difficult country to get through. The frontier
between Turkey and Persia is occupied by the Beni
Laam who recognise neither the Sultan nor the Shah.
The Beni Laam however, ought to receive us well
from our connection with the Ibn Aruks, and a visit
to them would almost complete our acquaintance
with the Arab tribes north of Nejd.
Next two poor women came, an old and a young'
one, dressed alike in white rags. They are from
Bagdad, and have made the pilgrimage barefoot
and begging their bread. One of them carries a tin
mug, into which somebody had just thrown a hand¬
ful of barley. I gave them a loaf of bread, with
which they went away invoking blessings on me.
They seem perfectly contented and happy.
Then we had a visit from some Bagdadis; one
had been a soldier, the others shopkeepers. They
were pilgrims, however, now, and not on business,
as most of the Arabs here are.
Next a Dafir boy, with a lamb and a skin of
fresh butter to sell, the butter mixed up with date-
CII. XV.]
Very much aged.
87
skins and hair, and coloured yellow with a plant
called saffron. After much haggling (for stinginess
in a purchaser inspires respect) we bought the lamb
and the butter for a mejidie—four shillings.
Next a Jinfaneh Shammar, with a bay horse, also for
sale, a Kehilan Ajuz fourteen hands, with good jowl,
good shoulder, and tail well carried, but rather
small eye, thick nose, and coarse hind quarter—
altogether strong with plenty of bone—aged, very
much a<md ! We do not want him.
o
Then an Ibn Duala,with a Wadneh mare, also bay,
thirteen hands three inches, or fourteen hands—
pretty head, with projecting forehead, very good
jowl, good shoulder, but thick nose and coarse hind-
quarter, rather high on the legs, with a good deal of
hair on the fetlocks. They all seem to have the
same faults.
I asked the Jinfaneh Shammar about the well of
Wakisa, marked on Chesney’s map as eight hundred
feet deep, but he laughed and said, “ forty of these,”
holding out his arms, and Muttlak confirmed the
statement ; this would make it two hundred and
forty, a much more probable depth.
Wilfrid in the meanwhile had been with Seyd
Mustafa and Mohammed to the Haj, and had had
tea with Huseyn Ivoli Khan. They also called on
Ambar and Ali Koli Khan; but both were out.
Most of the pilgrims were lying on their backs
asleep in the sun. It was very hot.
Ambar’s little white mare has been brought to
33
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XY.
graze near our tents, for as usual we liave chosen
the best pasture for our camp. The slave with her
says she is a Krushieli. She is a flea-bitten grey,
very old and very small, but for her size powerful,
with a good head, though not a handsome one, a very
fine shoulder with high wither, the usual Nejd liind-
quarter and manner of carrying the tail, legs like
iron. To complete the picture, I must mention one
knee swelled, all four feet much out of shape with
long standing in the yard at Hail,'and very hairy
heels. There are with the Haj several yearling-
colts bought by the hemeldaria for sale at Bagdad,
scraggy little things more like goats than horses.
The sun has brought out a huge tarantula from the
sand close to our tent. It is the first venomous
reptile I have seen on the journey.
February .21.—Ambar seems determined to
make up for lost time, and he has hurried the Haj
on all day so that we have done over thirty miles.
Our road has been through broken ground, the Wady
el-Buttn (the valley of the stomach), where we saw
a fox and some hares. One of these last the dogs
caught after a long course, and another was run
to ground. Abd er-Baliim, the Kermanshahi, rode
with us a part of the day, mounted on the most
lovely clelul that was ever seen ; she is of a bright
chestnut colour, with a coat like satin, a light
fine mane rather darker than the rest, eyes more
beautiful than those of the gazelle, and a style
of going which I have not seen equalled by any
Denounced from the pulpit.
89
CH. XV.]
other camel. This delul can canter and gallop as
well as trot, and kept up with us very fairly when
we were chasing the hare, though of course she could
not really command a horse’s pace. Abder-Rahim
and Ali Koli Khan now both ride cleluls, and have
dressed themselves up in Arab fashion, all silk and
gold, the mean-looking little Kurd being thus trans¬
formed into a fine gentleman. Their saddles,
bridles, and trappings are also very gay, got up
regardless of expense. They hired their cleluls of
Ibn Rashid for the journey, I forget exactly for
what sum, but it was a good deal of money. The
Persians will not eat hare ; and Ali Koli Khan,
who is travelling with a private chaplain, would not
join us in our sport. Indeed he seems now to keep
rather aloof from us, but Abel er-Rahim has no such
scruples. We hear that a sermon was preached
yesterday in camp, against the sin of holding inter¬
course with kaffirs.
This has been a long, tedious march, two of our
camels being; tired. We have come to the end of
our provision of flour for them, and there is really
very little they can eat on the road. Wilfrid makes
it still a hundred and forty miles to Meshlied.
February 22.—We travelled yesterday through a
low-lying district, bounded by cliffs a little in the
style of Jof (it is all called d buttn , the stomach),
and this morning, soon after starting, we reached the
end of it, and had to ascend two or three hundred
feet, the last akabah or ascent being very steep.
90
A Pilgrimage to Nejd:
[CH. XV.
Here there was a great confusion, as the road was
narrowed to a single track, and the Haj had to go
almost in single file, instead of in line, its usual way
of travelling. The steepness of the cliff proved too
much for more than one camel, tired as they were
with yesterday's march and want of food. Among
them poor Shenuan, the ugly camel of our string,
gave in. He is not old, but has long been ailing,
and for the last week has carried nothing but his
pack-saddle, and been nothing but a trouble to us,
still it cost us a pang to abandon him. He has had
mange from the very beginning of our journey; in
fact, he was the only camel of those originally
purchased by Mohammed for us, to which we
demurred at the outset. Our objections were over¬
ruled by Mohammed's arguments, that Shenuan's
youth and strength would enable him to get over
the effects of mange, but he never prospered, and
did not recover from the fatigue of the Nefud. Poor
fellow, he was very loath to be left behind, and
struggled on till he came to this hill, which was
too much for him. We left him, I am glad to say,
in a bit of wady where there was some grass, but I
fear his chance is a small one. Camels seldom
recover when they get past a certain stage of
exhaustion. They break their hearts, like deer, and
die. Poor Shenuan ! I shall not easily forget his
face, looking wistfully after his companions as they
disappeared over the crest of the hill. He is the
first of our small party that has fallen out of the
CH. XV.]
Shennan abandoned.
9i
ranks, and we are depressed with the feeling that
he may not be the last.
At the top of the cliff we came to a perfectly
level plain, strewn with fine flints, and across this
we have travelled all day. Its height above the
sea is 1460 feet, and w r e find that ever since leaving
Shaybeh, where the road turned north, we have
been descending at an average rate of about ten
feet per mile, but the descent is not regular, because
of these cliffs which we have come to, which have
all been, in a sense, contrary to the general declivity
of the ground. About mid-day we came to a great
pool of rain-water, at which the camels drank and
the goat-skins were filled, a very welcome accident.
Our march to-day was twenty-four miles.
February 23.—The flinty plain is called Ma¬
li amiy eh, and with the Buttn forms a neutral ground
between the Shammar and the Anazeh, who are
here represented by the Amarrat, their Sheykh Ibn
Haddal. It w T as somewhere about here that the
battle was fought the other day, in which the
Dafir got the best of it, and some of the Ibn
Haddal were killed. The consequence of its being
thus neutral is, that the Maliamiyeh is covered with
dry grass of last year, uneaten by any flocks, a
great boon to us ; for there is no fresh grass yet.
Beyond the Mahamiyeh we came again to hills,
amongst which we found the wells of Sherab. and
O 7
beyond this again the ground sloped downwards
until we came to a regular valley, which we
92
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CII. XV.
followed in its windings all the afternoon. This is
the Wady Shebekkeh, which narrows in one place
almost to a ravine. There water had evidently
flowed not long am and we found some beautiful
clear pools, beside which the Haj is camped. W T e
ourselves are some two miles further on, where
there is better pasture. The Haj camels are getting
terribly thin. These forced marches (we came
twenty-eight miles to-day) are telling on them, and
their owners are complaining loudly. The pilgrims
having only hired the camels, of course care nothing
for their welfare, and will not let them graze as
they go, because riding a camel which eats as it
goes is rather tiresome. Then in the evening the
tents have to be pitched in some spot where a large
camp can stand altogether, irrespective of considera¬
tions of pasture, the poor camels often having to go
two or three miles to their food. We manage
better, and always choose our spot for their sakes
more than our own. Two of our camels neverthe¬
less are tired, but our camels are loaded far more
heavily than those of the pilgrimage.
To-night we have had a long and serious talk
with Muttlak about the Ketherin tribe, in which
we now consider we have an interest. He promises
that he will really come north as soon as he can
make arrangements with the Sebaa, and we have in
return promised him that we will set up a “house
of hair ;; with them, and keep a few nagas and a
mare or two, and a small flock of sheep. This
cir. xv.] Ibrahim s joke. 93
would be very agreeable, and serve as a pied d terre
in the desert, quite independent of all the world.
February 24.—Another aJcabah had to be climbed
to-day—another long winding road followed across
another open plain. The wonder is why the road
should wind where there is no obstacle to avoid
and no object to reach by a circuit. But such is
always the case. Everybody seemed cross with the
hard work, enlivened only by an occasional course,
in which the hare sometimes ran right in among; the
pilgrims, when there was a scrimmage with the
dervishes for possession of the quarry. The der¬
vishes, who are mostly from Bagdad, are ready
to eat hare or anything else they can get, indeed
everybody is at starvation point. The only cheerful
one of our party is the stalwart Ibrahim, who has
come out again now as a wag. To-day, as we were
marching along, we passed a fat Persian on a very
little donkey, whom Ibrahim began chaffing, but
finding the Persian did not understand him, he ran
up, and seizing hold, lifted donkey and man in his
arms. I could not have believed it possible, had I
not seen that the donkey’s four legs were off the
ground. The Persian did not seem to understand
this joke better than the rest, but they are stolid
people, and have had a long breaking in and
experience in patience during the last four months.
We have found a peaceful spot for the night,
with plenty of pasture and plenty of “jelleli” for
fuel. The sun has set, but in the clear cold sky
94
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XV.
there is a nearly new moon, which gives a certain
amount of lisfht.
O
Wilfrid is making plans for spending the spring
in Persia, and the summer in India, regardless of
such news as may meet us at Bagdad from England
or elsewhere. Such plans, however pleasant as
they are in the planning, cannot be counted on.
Much may have happened in the three months
since we have been cut off from all communication
with Europe, or indeed any part of the world out of
Arabia, and even the traveller most detached from
all affections or thoughts of his distant home is
liable to be seized by a sudden longing for green
fields with buttercups and daisies. The passing
note of a bird or the scent of a flower may be
enough to upset a most admirably contrived plan.
February 25.—Twenty-seven miles of march
yesterday, and thirty to-day.
The camels cannot last at this pace, but the Haj
is pushing on now because the men are starving
It is said that to-morrow we may reach Kasr
Buheym, the first outpost of the Euphrates district,
and there they may find supplies, but it must still be
a long distance off, if our reckoning is not altogether
incorrect. Wilfrid has kept a dead reckoning now
ever since we left Damascus, calculating the
direction by the compass, and the distance of each
day’s march by the pace of the camels, and in the
thousand miles we have travelled, it may well be a
little out—but according to it we should now be
CH. XV.]
The Banner.
95
forty-seven miles from Meshhed Ali, which should
be to the north-west, not to the north of our present
position.
The weather has become cold, and all day long a
bitter wind blew in our faces. The vegetation has
changed. In one place we saw some acacias, the
first trees since we left Hail, and some of those
broom bushes which bear a flower smelling sweet like
the flower of the bean, and called here by the Arabs,
“ gurrtheh.” The acacias have given their name to
the wady, Wady Hasheb (the Valley of timber).
We had a good view of the berak unfurled
to-day, and a respectable-looking pilgrim, who
lives, he tells us, in the mosque of Abd-el-Kader
at Bagdad, pointed out to us the motto and device
in the centre of it; the sword, he says, is the
sword of God, and under it is written “ La ilaha
ilaTlahi, wa Mohammed rasuluhu ” (There is no God
but God and Mohammed is his prophet). On the
other side of the flag is written “ Nasron min
Allahi wa fathon karlbon ” (Victory is from God and
success is near).
February 26 .—This has been a long and hard day,
over ten hours, and the whole time beating against
a wind which cut through everything, the sky
darkened with sand, driving right in our faces.
We have however reached Kasr Ruheym, and all
our camels are still alive. Many of the pilgrims'
camels, sixty or some say seventy, lay down and
died on the road. The beautiful thoroughbred
o
96
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[cil. XT.
deldls cannot stand the cold, which is very unusual
at this latitude so late in the season, and their
owners are in despair. All the Haj is furious with
Ambar, not the Persians only, but the Bedouin
escort and the camel owners, for his dawdling
marches at first, and his forced ones afterwards. In
the last six days w r e have marched a hundred and
seventy miles, the greater part of the Haj on foot,
and almost fasting. What would an English army
say to that % Yet not one of the men—nor even of
the poor women—who have had to trudge along
thus, has been left behind. For ourselves we have
had no extra fatigue, for the change from camel-back
to horse-back and back again is of itself a rest.
Khrer, my delul, lias very even paces, so that one is
not soon tired riding him.
We are here in clover, not actually at the Kasr,
but in sight of it, encamped at the edge of a running
stream! The stream rises here and is said to be
perennial. There is a quantity of coarse sword grass
growing beside it, and everything looks green and
pretty to eyes wearied of desert scenes. A pair
of francolins, disturbed by the sudden invasion of
their resting-place, which they doubtless thought
safely secluded from the world, are flying backwards
and forwards, put up continually by the grazing
camels, and are calling to each other from the bushes.
This shows that we are approaching the Euphrates.
There is a village near the Kasr, about two miles
from where we are ; and a good many fellahin on
•CII. XV.]
Lost in the storm.
97
donkeys and horses have arrived with provisions for
sale, but they have not brought a twentieth part of
what is wanted for the Haj. A cry of “stop thief"
already announces that we have returned to the Turk¬
ish Empire ! It has not been heard since we left
Mezarib.
February 27.—No abatement of the wind, but
less sand. It appears that our acquaintances, Ali
Koli Khan and Abd er-Kahim are missing, lost in
yesterday s storm. They rode with us part of the
afternoon, and then, hearing that Ruheym was not
far off, they started away on their deliils in front of
the Haj at a trot, and of course being Persians, lost
their way, for the Persians are helpless people in the
desert. The sand was very thick at the time, and
they must have got out of the track. Ambar has
sent people to look all over the country for them,
but without result. They never reached Ruheym,
and it is feared that they may have perished of cold
in the night.
This delayed the Haj from starting early, and at
one time it was given out that no move at all would
be made to-day, which would have suited us well, as
there was plenty of camel pasture at Ruheym, and
two of our animals were quite at the end of their
strength. But at eight o’clock the drum beat, and
we were obliged to load and be off, for now that we
had entered Turkish territory, there was danger on
the road, and all must keep together. Ibn Rashid’s
protection would no longer avail.
VOL, II.
H
9 8
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[cn. xy.
The march was tedious, on account of the weari¬
ness of the camels, though cheered by the sight of the
gilt dome of Meshhed Ali, shining like a star across
the blue sea of Nejef, itself a lovely apparition. The
sea of Nejef (or as the Arabs call it, the Shenet-
Ibn Haddal), is the counterpart of the Birket el-Korn
in the Egyptian Fayum, an artificial lake, formed by
cutting a canal from the Euphrates ; it is about
twenty miles long, by six or seven broad. It is
probably of Babylonian origin, though the Arabs
say it was made by an Ibn Haddal ancestor of the
present Amarrat Sheykhs, so that his camels might
have a drinking pool. The Ibn Haddal were, till
comparatively lately, lords of the whole of this dis¬
trict, and levied tribute on Meshhed Ali and Huseyn.
The town stands upon the eastern shore above a fine
line of limestone cliffs, and remained in sight all day
long, as we wound slowly round the lake. It was a
beautiful sight as far as nature was concerned, but
made horrible by the sufferings of the poor dying
camels, which now lay thick upon the road, with
their unfortunate owners, poor Bedouins perhaps
with nothing else in the world, standing beside
them, luggage and bedding strewn about, which the
pilgrims were trying to carry off on their heads,
seeing the journey so nearly over.
Many of the camels had rushed into the lake, to
drink, and lain down there, never to get up again.
Others could just move one foot before the other,
following at the rate of perhaps a mile an hour, with
ch. xy.] Mismanagement . 99
hopeless glazed eyes, and poor emaciated bodies
bare of all burden, even of the shedad. We who
started late because we were not ready, and had
thought to remain quiet at Euheym, passed all
these, amongst others our friend Izzar, the
Shammar boy, who was weeping over his deluls—•
two out of the three were dead. All were loud in their
execrations of Ambar, and one or two of Ibn Rashid
himself, whom they held responsible for part of the
delay. Ibn Rashid’s government is less popular in
the desert than in the towns, especially on account
of his conduct of the Haj. He impresses the camels
and men at a fixed rate, ten mejidies, and gives no-
compensation for losses. They say, however, that
Ambar runs some risk of losing his head, when all
his mismanagement becomes known at Hail, and I
confess I think he deserves it.
At last we got to the akabah , or ascent, where
the road leads up the cliff, and here the camels lay
down by scores, among the rest our beautiful camel,
Amud (the pillar), so called from his great height.
He was younger than the rest, except poor Shenuan,
and had been out of sorts for several days past. A
camel that lies down under such circumstances, seldom
rises again. It is not the labour, but the want of
food that kills; and unless food can be brought to
the exhausted animal, lie never gets strength to rise.
Between five and six hundred must have perished
thus to-day.
At the top of the akabah Meshhed Ali lay
H 2
IOO
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[CH. XV.
close before us, a long line of magnificent old walls
witli twelve round towers, all of burnt brick, the
only building appearing over them being tlie mosque
with its cupola of burnished gold, and its four
minarets. The whole was reddened by the after¬
noon sun, and the dome looked like a sun itself.
Through a crowd of dirty children perched on the
tombs of the vast burying-ground which, on this
side, stretches for some distance from the w T alls of
the city; we approached the gate of Meshhed Ali.
These disorderly ragamuffins shouted jeers and
rude remarks at the pilgrims, and threw stones at
our dogs, and we were glad when, turning an angle
of the wall, we reached the camping ground, a
short distance from the north-eastern corner of the
city, and found ourselves at peace, with leisure to
reflect that our pilgrimage is over.
PERSIAN TILGKIMS IN FRONT OF THE HAJ.
CHAPTER XYI.
“Nos gaillards pelerins
Par ruonts, par vaux, et par chemins,
A la fin arriverent.”— La Fontaine.
Tlie Shrines of the Shias—Bedouin honesty—Legend of the Tower
of Babel—Bagdad—Our party breaks up.
Meshhed Ali (the shrine of Ali), or Nejef as it is
more correctly called, is an ideal Eastern City,
standing as it does in an absolute desert and bare of
all surroundings but its tombs. It is nearly
square, and the circuit of its walls is broken by only
one gate. These walls are of kiln-burnt brick, and
date from the time of the Caliphs, and are still in
excellent preservation. They are strengthened at
intervals by round towers, all very massive and
stately. So high are they, that they completely hide
every building inside them, with the single exception
of the great Mosque of Ali, whose glittering dome
of gold shows like a rising sun above them.
Inside, the houses are closely packed; but there
is more symmetry in their arrangement than in most
Asiatic towns, as the bazaar leads in a straight line
from the gate to the Mosque, which stands in the
centre of the town. The shops are good, or appeared
so to our eyes unused to the things of cities. I did
102
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[cil. XVI.
not myself venture far inside, as tlie streets were
very crowded, and we did not wish to attract un¬
necessary notice just then at the time of the pilgrim¬
age ; but Wilfrid describes the facade of the Mosque
■as the richest he has seen, a mass of gold and mosaic
work like some highly chased reliquary. He would
not go inside for fear of offending our pilgrim friends,
and left it to the rest of our party to recount the
.splendours of the tomb.
This tomb of Ali is held by the Sliias as at least
as holy as the Caaba at Mecca, and it is an article of
pious belief with them that any Moslem buried
within sight of the dome is certain of salvation.
The consequence is that pilgrims from all parts of
the Sliia world, and especially from Persia, come to
Nejef to die, and that immense numbers of corpses
nre sent there for interment. Burial fees in fact con¬
stitute the chief revenue of the place.
This city and Kerbela, where there is the sister
shrine of Huseyn, are inhabited by a number of Ma¬
hometan subjects of Her Majesty, from India, who
have settled in them from religious motives, but re¬
main under the protection of the British Resident at
Bagdad. They live on good terms with the Arabs,
but do not mix much or intermarry with them, and
retain their own language. As is natural in cities of
pilgrimage, all classes are ostentatiously religious,
and we were amused at listening to the devout ex¬
clamations of the blacksmith who came to shoe our
horses. “ Ya Ali, ya Huseyn, ya Ali, ya Moham-
CH. XVI.]
Our resources exhausted.
103
med,” at every stroke of the hammer. They are all,
moreover, bitterly hostile to Turkish rule, having the
double motive of national and religious antipathy to
support them. Both Meshhed Ali and Kerbela are
kept strongly garrisoned, but in spite of everything
have constantly revolted within the last forty years.
When we were at Meshhed, the Turkish Caimakam
had four companies of infantry under his orders ; and
the garrison of Kerbela, the head quarters of the
district, was far larger.
Kerbela, which lies fifty miles north of Meshhed
Ali, is physically quite unlike its rival. It is un¬
fortified, and instead of standing in the desert, is sur¬
rounded by palm gardens, like the towns of Nejd.
It is a richer and more populous city than Meshhed,
but to a traveller it is less interesting as having
nothing distinctive in its appearance. The Hindieh
canal, which supplies it with water from the
Euphrates, makes it the centre of the most consider¬
able agricultural district of the Bagdad pashalik.
Meshhed, on the other hand, has little besides its
shrine to depend on.
We were now very nearly at the end of our
resources, both of money, and strength, and patience ;
.and, without more delay than was absolutely neces-
sarv to refit our caravan, we set out for Bagdad.
O11 the evening preceding our departure, a curious
incident occurred.
A young Bedouin came to our tent and introduced
himself as a Shammar from the Jezireh, one of
104
A Pilgriviage to Nejd.
[CH. XVI.
Faris’s men whom we had met the year before on
the Khabur. He hailed the “ Beg ” at once as
brother to his master, and mentioned the incident of
the loan of ten pounds made by ns to Faris. This
sum he offered on his own responsibility to repay us
now, and, seeing that we were rather out at elbows,,
he pulled out the money from his sleeve and almost
forced it upon us. He had been sent by Faris to buy a
mare from the Montefyk, and had the purchase money
with him,—he knew Faris would wish him to repay
the debt. Though we would not take the money,,
the honesty and good feeling shown greatly pleased
us, and we were glad of an opportunity to send
messages to Faris, Tellal, and Rashid ibn Ali, who
it appeared was still with the northern Shammar.
This same night, too, Muttlak left us. It was a
grief to us to say good-bye, and he, more visibly
touched even than we were, shed tears. He had found,
he said, men of the Amarrat at Meshhed, who had
promised to arrange his business with the Sebaa for
him, and so he would go home. He had come
quite two hundred miles with us, and we could not
ask him to do more. He had, however, somethino*
behind the reasons which he gave us for his going ;
Mohammed, his cousin, had grown jealous of liis-
position with us, and, we have reason to suspect,
made things uncomfortable for the old Sheykh when
we were not present, in a way we could not prevent.
Besides this, there was a story of a blood-feud
between the Ketlierin and the Maadan, a tribe which
CH. XVI.]
Tale of Nimrod,
105
lives between Nejef and Kerbela; this may have
helped to deter Muttlak from going on with us, for
he is essentially a man of peace, but there could have
been no danger for him in our company. Be it as it
may, he came that night to dine with us for the last
time, and could eat nothing, and when we asked
him why, he said it was from sorrow, and that he
must say good-bye. It was evident that he spoke
the truth, and I am sure that no word of the
blessings which he heaped upon our heads, and of
his promises to keep our memory green in his heart,,
was more than what he felt. Muttlak is not a
man of words. Wilfrid kissed the old Sheykh, and
his servant kissed our hands, and they got on their
old black delul, and rode quietly away the way they
came, and we saw them no more.
Three days of easy travelling brought us to Kerbela,.
for we did not care to push on fast, and four days
more to Bagdad. One incident only of our route
need be mentioned. As we were passing the neigh¬
bourhood of Birs Nemrud, the reputed tower of Babel,
we stopped for the night at some tents belonging to
the Messaoud, a half fellahin tribe of the left bank
of the Euphrates, where they were growing barley
on some irrigated land. The Sheykh, Hajji et-Teyma
was away, but his son Fuaz entertained us, and after
dinner related the history of Nimrod, the founder of
the tower. Nimrod, he said, was an impious man,,
and thought that the sun was God. And in order
to make war on him he built this tower, but finding
[CH. XVI.
106
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
that he could not reach him thus, he had a plat¬
form constructed with a pole in the middle, and to
each corner of the platform he chained an eagle, and
on the pole he hung a sheep, and the eagles wishing
to reach the sheep, flew up with the platform and
Nimrod who was standing on it. And when Nimrod
thought himself near enough, he shot an arrow at the
sun. And God to punish him destroyed the tower.
The Yezidis worship Nimrod and Shay tan there to
this day.
Beyond Kerbela our road lay through culti¬
vated land till we reached the Euphrates, which we
crossed by the bridge of boats at Musseyib. Then
we found ourselves among Babylonian mounds,
canals, and abandoned fields, the unvarying
features of Irak. ■ These brought us at last to
Bagdad, where by a strange fatality we arrived once
more in floods of rain, and where, again, we were
welcomed in the hospitable four walls of the Eesi-
dency. On the 6 th of March we slept once more
in beds, having been without that luxury for
almost three months.
Here, therefore, ends our pilgrimage to Nejd,
which, in spite of some difficulties and some hard¬
ships, was accomplished successfully without any
really disagreeable incident, and here, if we had
been wise, our winter’s adventures would have
ended too. We had been lucky beyond our expecta¬
tions in seeing and doing all we had proposed as
the objects of our journey, and hardly a day of the
CIL XVI.]
Our pilgrimage ends.
107
eighty-four we had spent in Arabia had been un¬
interesting or unromantic. What followed was
neither profitable nor agreeable, and might well
have been left undone.
At Bagdad our party necessarily broke up.
Among the letters awaiting us at the Consulate, was
one for Mohammed ibn Aruk which obliged his
instant return to Tudmur. Great events had occurred
there in his absence, and for a moment we felt a pang
of regret at having kept him so long away from his
duties and his interests at home. The politics of
Tudmur are a little complicated. Mohammed's father,
Abdallah, is not the legitimate Sheykh of the town,
the true head of the Ibn Aruk family there being
his cousin Faris. Abdallah, however, has for some
years past enjoyed Government support, and is the
Turkish nominee. The town has consequently been
divided into two factions, 4 ' headed respectively by
Faris and Mohatnmed, the latter representing his
father, who is too old for such quarrels, and as long as
the Turks were supreme at Tudmur, Mohammed’s
party had it all their own way. Not, however, that
either faction wished any good to the Sultan, for
during the Kussian war Mohammed was one of the
foremost in refusing the contingent demanded of
the Tudmuri for the Turkish army, but family
quarrels are fierce among the Arabs, and they take
advantage of all the help they can get alike from
* An incomplete account of this state of things is given in
“ Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates.”
io8
A Pilgrimage to Nejd.
[oh. xvi.
friend or enemy. So Mohammed supported Turkish
policy in his native town, and was in turn supported
by the Turks. But after the surrender of Plevna,
and the destruction of the Sultan's army in the
Balkans, Tudmur was abandoned to its own devices,
and Faris once more asserted his right to the
sheykhat, though parties were so evenly balanced
that nothing serious for some time occurred, and
only on one occasion Faris and Mohammed ex¬
changed shots, without serious result. It was in
defiance of remonstrances on the part of his father
and all his friends that Mohammed had come with
us, and the moment he was gone war had broken
out. A messenger, it appears, had arrived to recall
him not a week after he started with us from
Damascus, and now another letter announced that
blood had been shed. This was sufficient reason for
our journey together coming to an end, and Mo¬
hammed, though piously ready to accept accom¬
plished facts with an “ Allah kerim,” was evidently
in a hurry to be off. Even if we had wished it, we
could not ask him to go further with us now. But we
did not wish it. The episode of his foolish behaviour
at Hail, forgive it as we would, had left a certain
gene between us, which he was conscious of as well
as ourselves, and, though he had done much since
then to atone for it, we all felt that it was best to
part. Still there was something mournful in his
leaving us on so forlorn an errand, and he, as Arabs
do, shed tears, owning that he had behaved in that
€H. XVI.]
Our army disperses .
109
instance ungratefully to us, and protesting his
devotion. We on our side made him as comfort¬
able as we could with letters of recommendation to
Yalys and Consuls, whose protection he might have
need of, and with what arms and ammunition we
could spare. And so he and Abdallah, and Awwad
the robber, went their way on four of our cleluls,
which we gave them for the journey, and we saw
them no more.
We had hoped to induce Hanna to go on with
us, for he in all our difficulties had never failed us,
and with his cousin the Tawil had helped us loyally
when others had been cross or unwilling—but
Hanna was home-sick, and the Tawil would not
desert him. So one day they joined a caravan of
muleteers on the point of starting for Mosul, and
left us with many tears and blessings ; and the
little army with which we had crossed the desert
was finally dispersed.
Note. We heard nothing of Mohammed for nearly a year, and
then heard that he was in prison. Prompted by a conscientious
motive, of which those who have read thus far will need no expla¬
nation, he rendered himself liable to the action of Ottoman justice.
A man of the Faris faction was found slain at Tudmur, and the
relations of the deceased pointed out Mohammed’s as the hand
which had fired the shot. The Turks had just re-occupied the
town and were anxious to make an example, so Mohammed was
put in chains and sent to Deyr. There he found means to send us
news of his misfortune, and Wilfrid had the satisfaction of being
able to fulfil his brotherly obligation by interceding with the Pasha
on his behalf, and eventually by procuring his release.
MESHHED ALI
\
*
ft
PART II.
-♦-
/
OUE PERSIAN CAMPAIGN.
OUR PERSIAN CAMPAIGN.
CHAPTER I.
“ Duo ilium sequor? In Persas.” —Plautus.
“ Hnlas ! diseit-elle, faut-il que je perisse sous les pattes d’une araign.ee,
moi qui viens de me tirer des griffes d’un lion? ”— Fables d’JSsope.
New plans and new preparations—We leave Bagdad for Persia
—Wild boar hunting in the Wudian—A terrible accident—
We travel with a holy man—Camps of the Beni Laam—An
alarm.
Amongst the letters awaiting our arrival at
Bagdad, we had found an invitation from Lord and
Lady Lytton to spend the summer, or part of it,
with them at Simla. It seemed that this would
be an opportunity, which might never again occur,
of going on to India by land, a plan which might
be made to include a visit to the Bactiari mountains,
where our acquaintance of the pilgrimage, Ali Koli
Khan, had his home. Ali had often talked to us of
his father, and of a wonderful stud of thoroughbred
Arabians possessed by his family, and the prospect
of seeing these, and a tribe reputed to be the most
powerful in Persia, was an attraction that could not
be denied. He had indeed proposed to travel there
VOL. IT. I
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. I.
114
with us, and introduce us himself to his people, and
if circumstances had been propitious, no doubt we
might have accomplished this part of our journey
comfortably enough. Unfortunately, when we took
leave of the Haj at Meshhed Ali, our friend was not
there for us to concert arrangements with him, nor
even to wish him good-bye. He had been lost in
the sandstorm, already mentioned as having occurred
on the last day but one of the pilgrimage ; and
though before going on to Kerbela we had received
news of his safety, we had no opportunity of meet¬
ing him. The consequence was that he neither
came with us, nor gave us so much as a letter to
his father; and in the end we started alone, a
mistake we had ample reason to repent. The plan
of travelling from Bagdad to India by land appeared
to me of doubtful wisdom under the circumstances ;
but Wilfrid’s thirst for exploration was not yet
slaked. He argued that spring was just beginning,
and a spring journey through Persia must of neces¬
sity be the most delightful thing in the world, and
that we could at any moment get down to some
port of the Persian Gulf, if the weather became too
hot for us. Our means of transport were ready.
We should find some difficulty in disposing of our
camels at Bagdad, and had better make use of
them; and though we were now without servants,
servants might easily be found. Thus, in an evil
day, and without due consideration of the diffi¬
culties and dangers which were before us, we deter-
OH. I.]
The force of circumstances.
1 15
mined to go on. A final circumstance decided the
matter beyond recall. Captain Cameron, the African
traveller, arrived at Bagdad, with the object of sur¬
veying a line for an Indo-Mediterranean railway
from Tripoli to Bushire, and thence to the Indus,
having already made the first stages of his survey ;
and Wilfrid now proposed to assist him in the more
serious part of his undertaking. It was agreed
between them that they should take different lines
from Baoxlad, and meet again either at Bushire or
Bender Abbas, thus comparing notes as to the most
practicable railway line from the Tigris to the Persian
Gulf. Captain Cameron was to follow the left bank of
the river as far as Amara, and then to strike across the
marshy plains to Ah was and Bender Dilam, while
we should keep further east, skirting the Hamrin
;and Bactiari hills. So presented, the project sounded
useful, if not agreeable, and acquired a definite
object, which, if it ran us into unnecessary dangers,
served also to carry us through them afterwards.
The expedition was accordingly a settled thing.
Our preparations were made, unfortunately, with
as little reflection as the decision. On arriving at
Bagdad, we had, as has been mentioned, said good¬
bye to Mohammed and the camel-men, and had,
moreover, allowed Hanna and Ibrahim, who were
homesick, or tired of travelling, to depart. The
•difficulty now was how to replace them. It is
always a dangerous experiment to begin a serious
journey with untried followers, and it was our first
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. I-
116
misfortune that we were obliged to do this. Colonel
Nixon, as he had done last year, kindly lent us a
cavass ; but, alas ! Ali, the intelligent fat man who-
had been of such assistance to us in our Mesopo¬
tamian tour, was not fit to leave Bagdad. He was
lying ill of a fever, and could not be disturbed. The
cavass given us was consequently a stranger, and
might be good or bad, useful or useless, for anything
we knew. It was necessary, too, that somebody
should know Persian, and we engaged a Persian
cook, Ramazan by name, highly recommended, but
equally untried. A young Bagdadi next volunteered
as groom, and, lastly, the Sheykh of the Agheyls, an
old friend, sent two of his men as camel-drivers.
None, however, of these attendants, the two last
excepted, had seen each other before, nor knew any¬
thing of our way of travelling or our way of life.
We did not even start together, as it would have
been wise to do. The country round Bagdad is
bare of pasture for many miles, and we thought to
better matters for our camels by sending them on
some marches down the river, intending to join
them later with our baggage by boat, a most
unfortunate arrangement, for the men being stupid
timorous fellows, seem, when left to themselves, to
have lost their heads, and instead of obeying their
orders, which were to travel slowly, pasturing the
animals as they went, drove them without halting
to the village we had named as a meeting-place, and
kept them there, half-starved in dirty stables, till we
<CII. I.]
Fatal negligence .
ii 7
came, a piece of negligence which cost us dear.
When we joined them, one, the black deliil, was
already missing, dead they informed us; and a
.second, Shayl, a camel which, when we left Da¬
mascus, had been a model of strength and good
looks, was so reduced as to be unfit for further
travelling, while the remaining six were but a shadow
of their former selves. Only Hatheran, the giant
leader, who had saved our fortunes in the Nefud,
was still fit for a full load; and to him once more we
had mainly to trust during all that was to come.
It is difficult for those who have never owned
camels to imagine how much attached one becomes
to these animals on a long journey, and what
a variety of character they possess. Each one
of ours had its name, which it knew well, and
its special quality of courage, or caution, or
docility. Wilfrid’s white deliil, “ Helweh ” (sweet¬
meat), was gentle and obedient; the Meccan,
■“ Hamra,” thoughtless and vain; “ Ghazal,” affec¬
tionate, but rude and inclined to buck (poor thing,
she was far from bucking now) ; “ Hatheran, ”
especially, was a camel of character. He was
evidently proud of his strength and his superior
understanding, and possessed a singular indepen¬
dence of opinion which compelled respect. It
was his pride to march ahead of the rest, who ac¬
cepted him as guide, and followed his lead on all
doubtful occasions. He cared little for the beaten
track, choosing his ground as seemed best to him.
11 s
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. I.
and always for good reasons. He was never impa¬
tient or put out, and in difficulties never lost his*
head. He could carry twice the load of the others,
and could walk faster, and go longer without water..
At the same time, he considered himself entitled
to extra rations when we made up the evening meal,
and would leave us no peace till he was satisfied..
I mention these things now, for feeding and driving
and tending these camels was to be our chief occu¬
pation during the rest of our journey, and on them
depended the safety of our march, and, in great
measure, of our lives. I say it with no little
vanity, that, starting under the unfavourable cir¬
cumstances we did, we nevertheless marched our
camels without accident five hundred miles over
mountain and plain, through swamps and streams
never before traversed by camels, and across nine
large rivers, one of them bigger than the Rhine; and
that we brought them in to their journey's end fat
and well. I must not, however, forestall matters.
On the 20th of March, having thus sent on our
camels with the Agheyls, we embarked on board an
English river steamer, with our servants, our horses,
our greyhounds, and Rasham, the falcon who had
followed our march from Hail, and were taken
down about eighty miles to a point of the river
below Kut, where several streams run into the Tigris
from the east, thus giving the district the name of
AVudian (streams).
It was a cheerless start, for all down the river we-
CH. I.]
A cheerless start.
119
steamed through driving rain, till at last the steamer
was brought to, amid the downpour, in front of a
bare round bank, and we were invited to descend
There was nothing but mud and a few bushes to be
seen for miles, and it seemed impossible we should
step out of the luxury of a civilised English cabin
into what seemed a mere slough, and that without
means of transport further than the bank, for of
camels and men there was nothing at all to be
seen. But the die was cast; this was the place
we had agreed on, and, without more ado, we
landed, first our horses and then our baggage, and
then ourselves. While this was in operation, some
Arabs had appeared on the scene, and to one of
them, an old man in a green turban, Captain
Clements, before he said good-bye, confided us.
Seyd Abbas, he told us, was an old acquaintance,
and an honest man; and though the rest, it was
easy to see, were of the lowest order of fellahin
Arabs, we were fain to be content with this assurance
and make what friends we could, at least with the
old man. Sitting disconsolately on our camel bags
in the rain, we then made our last farewell to all on
board, and having; watched the steamer till it
steamed out of sight, set ourselves in earnest to the
work that was before us.* I resume my journal :
“ The tent was soon rigged up on a piece of
* Just a year afterwards, poor Captain Clements, being in
command of the Kalifeh, was attacked off Korna by an Arab
ghazu, and while gallantly defending his vessel, was shot through
the lungs.
120 Our Pe 7 'si an Campaign. [ch. i.
sounder ground than the rest, and the horses
fettered and turned out to graze. My new mare,
Canora, so called after the Canora or Nebbuk tree
which grows in the Eesidency yard, is certainly a
great beauty, and attracts much, too much, atten¬
tion, from the rather thievish-looking people of this
place. Wilfrid has been to the encampment, which
is about half a mile off, with Seyd Abbas, and has
made friends with their chief people, but he has no
agreeable impression of those he has seen. They
appear to be, he says, a mixed collection of fellahm
from all the Iraki tribes, and can lay no claim at
all to good birth. Their Sheykh alone, for Seyd
Abbas is not their Sheykh, claims gentility as
coming from the Beni Laam, but we do not like
his looks. The Beni Laam, Seyd Abbas tells us,
are three days’ journey from here, and there is war
goingon amongst them just now, owing to a quarrel
between their Sheykh, Mizban, and one of his
brothers. He gives ratliep a terrible picture of
them, and has been trying to dissuade us from going
further; but we think that with the letters we have
for Mizban, there can be no difficulty. The Beni
Laam are, at any rate, a true Bedouin tribe, not
fellahln, like the people here. Old Hajji Mohammed
(the cavass) stayed with me while Wilfrid was away.
He was once in the army, and insisted on standing
sentry in the rain in spite of all I could do to make
him sit down under the flap of the tent. He has
evidently small confidence in the people here.
Oil. I.]
Grinding the poor.
I 2 I
Some fowls have been brought from the camp,
and there are sticks enough to make a fire. Now
we shall see what our Persian cook can do. If the
camels were here, our being detained would not so
much matter. We heard of them at Kut as we
passed by in the steamer, but that is twenty-five
miles off, and with this rain it is impossible to say
when they may arrive.
March 22.—The weather has cleared, and we can
see the Hamrin hills to the east, not so very far off.
The country is less hideous than it seemed yesterday
in the rain. This place is a sort of peninsula or
island, formed by two rivers, which come from the
Hamrin hills and fall into the Tigris. These seemed
to be joined higher up by a canal, so that the space
inside is cut off from the desert. It is partly a
swamp, partly a thicket of guttub bushes, with here
and there patches of cultivation made by fellahm.
These call themselves Saadeh, but Seyd Abbas says
they come from all parts. He himself is brother
to the Sheykh of Ali Ghurbi, a village on the
other side of the Tigris. There are no villages at
all on this side after Kut, and this island of Wudian
is the only inhabited spot. The fellahm are very
poor, and complain bitterly of the government,
which ruins them. They are completely under the
thumb of the Turks, now that the government has
steamers on the river, and the tax-gatherers take
(if we may believe them), about two-thirds of their
crops. They have also to pay ten beshliks (francs)
122
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. T.
for each tent, half a beshlik for each sheep, two
beshliks for each buffalo they keep, and a capitation
tax of two and a half beshliks besides. Moreover,
they are visited now and then by zaptiehs, who take
their horses from them if they do not manage to hide
them away, on the pretence that they cannot afford
to keep them, while Mizban makes them pay tribute
for protection too, or rather for the right of being
left alone. The government does absolutely nothing
in return for what it takes. They are indeed in a
wretched plight, and one wonders why they take all
this trouble of cultivation for so little, but perhaps it
is a choice between that and starvation.
The great feature of Wudian is its wild-boars.
These literally swarm in the fields, trotting about
in open day-light, and doing exactly as they like.
The people are afraid of them, and keep out of their
way, and no wonder, for they are gigantic beasts.
A man who was at our tents to-day, shewed us a
terrible wound he had received from one which
charged him quite without provocation. The people
have only their short spears to protect themselves
with. The beasts come almost inside the camp, and
Wilfrid found one this afternoon fast asleep under a
bush, within ten yards of the path which leads to
the tents. The people passing along, went a long-
way round so as not to disturb it, for it lay quite
exposed to view. Seyd Abbas begged him to
destroy some of them, and Wilfrid has ridden out on
Ariel, and taken the Winchester rifle to see what he
ch. i.] Boar hunting. 123
can do. I have felt feverish, and have stayed at
home drying the things which had got wet.
The people here are all Shias, and very fanatical,,
and Seyd Abbas as a descendant of the Prophet enjoys,
a high position among them. Among the Anazeh
and Shammar, the Bedouins think nothing of saints
and seyyids, but here they have everybody at their
feet. Bashaga, the Sheykh, though a Beni Laam and,
as such, a “ gentleman/’ is not nearly so important
as the old man in the green turban. The latter has
been talking to me this morning and promises to
take us to Mizban s camp, if we insist on going,
though he advises strongly not. He says that with
him we shall be safe, as they also have a great res¬
pect for Seyyids, and besides he has married into
Mizban s family. Seyyid or not, he eats and drinks
with us freely; so we feel a certain amount of con¬
fidence in him.
Wilfrid has returned triumphant. He was not
more than two hours and a half away, and he has
killed five boars and a sow. Ariel behaved won¬
derfully, following the pigs without any need of
urging, and without flinching when they charged.
It seems to have been splendid sport. Amongst
the victims was the old boar that had been seen
asleep, and which charged most viciously. It is
lucky the dogs were not taken, as they would certainly
have got hurt. The Arabs are highly delighted at
the result, and we hope it may put us on better terms
with them. They have dragged one of the corpses,
Our Persian Campaign .
[ch. r.
I 24
n disgusting object, to the bank of the river, intend¬
ing, they say, to send it to the British Resident at
Bagdad by the next steamer. No news, alas, of
the camels.
March 23 .—A fearful storm in the night, and the
whole place under water. Wilfrid went out early
to try and get news of the camels, riding Job, the
grey horse we bought of Col. Nixon. He did not
get far, for the streams are so swollen that they are
impassable, at least for one who does not know the
fords; and Job is a rather timid horse to get into
difficulties with. He is young, and fairly bolted
when a pig jumped up from out of a bush near him.
We are both going out now for some more boar¬
hunting. I should enjoy it better if I was sure we
should ever get away from this swampy place.
.Ag#
TP W TV* w
We have had a great misfortune. Ariel is
badly wounded. We went out to-day, a large party,
people on foot with spears and hoes, and one or two
on sorry little mares. It was a beautiful day after
the rain, birds singing in all the bushes, francolins
calling, hoopoes flying about, and woodcocks start¬
ing from guttub thickets. The island was half
under water, and droves of pigs, boars, sows and
little ones, turned out of the bushes, where they gene¬
rally lie in the day-time, were grunting and trotting
and splashing about everywhere. We singled out
a great red boar, and all gave chase, but the ground
was heavier than yesterday, and we had a longish
CH. I.]
Gored by the boar.
125
gallop to come up to him. It was difficult, too, to
keep to the boar we had chosen, where there were
so many. At last he charged, and was hit, but not
enough to stop though it turned him, and then we
had another gallop, and another shot rolled him over.
The people on foot, who were following them, rushed
in, but just as they got near him up he jumped, and
bolted towards some deep water, where there was a
high guttub bush. I was in front, and Wilfrid
shouted to me to turn him, which I would have done
if I coukl, but instead, he turned me, coming at me
with a savage grunt and a toss of his head which I
knew was dangerous. Then he plunged into the deep
water, but instead of going on, suddenly changed his
mind, and came back to where the bush was on the
land, and before we were aware, had charged right
in among us. Wilfrid turned his mare, but, alas,
not fast enough, firing as he turned. To my horror,
I saw the hideous beast catch Ariel and give her a
toss, such as I have seen in the bull-ring given by a
bull. He seemed to lift horse and rider clean off the
ground. Ariel staggered away, while the boar lay
down, and was soon after dispatched by the Arabs.
We meanwhile had torn off our kefiyehs and
scarfs, and were trying to staunch a ghastly wound
in the poor mare's leg. The leg was ripped up
inside from the hock to the stifle, and an artery had
been cut. For a lone; while it was all in vain.
We could not stop the flow, and no words can de¬
scribe our misery as we watched the blood pouring
126
Our Persian Campaign.
[ch. r.
fast upon the ground. We were in despair, for
besides the fact of her being thus precious in race,
we are much attached to the mare for her own sake,
as who would not be, for Ariel is the noblest and
best and gentlest creature that ever was. She has
a pathetic look in her eyes, and is absolutely patient
under her suffering. We have now some hope of
her recovery, but Wilfrid fears she must be aban¬
doned, for the sinew is cut bare, and she cannot put
her foot to the ground.
While we were engaged in tending her, suddenly
the camels appeared. It would have given us
immense pleasure a few hours ago. Now all seemed
indifferent. Their presence, however, enabled us to
bring our camp here, where the mare is.
March 24.—This certainly is an ill-starred
journey. The stupid Agheyls have so neglected
our camels that Abdeh is dead, and Shayl unable
to go further. Nor are the rest in much better
case. We had some discussion this morning about
giving up our present plan, and taking the next
steamer which passes by for Bussora where we could
make a fresh start. This would have been the best
chance of saving the mare. But we decided to push
on, and accordingly we left Wudian this morning,
fording the canal, which is about four feet deep, for¬
tunately without accident, and marching slowly in a
south-east direction across a perfectly level plain. 0 urs
is a melancholy caravan, for poor Ariel walks with
great difficulty, her leg being terribly swollen ; but
CH. I.]
Distress about the mare.
12 7
she lias such courage that we hope she may yet pull
through. It was a choice of evils, bringing or leaving
her; for leaving her would mean that we should never
see her again. Bashaga could not be trusted with
her, nor any of the Arabs of AVudian except Seyd
Abbas, and he has come with us. Seyd Abbas is
mounted on a sorry little white kadish, and his son
Hassan, who has come too, marches on foot. "Wil¬
frid is mounted now on Job, and Hajji Mohammed
on the hamra. Thus we have travelled about ten
miles. The plain is here for the most part abso¬
lutely bare alluvial soil, like that of Irak, but
mixed with saltpetre, and so producing nothing.
Here and there, however, there is a swamp, with a
little show of verdure, and we have encamped in the
middle of a patch of thistles, the first bit of pasture
we have come to. AVe have met no one, but there
are some tents now at a distance, with camels feed¬
ing, supposed to belong to the Beni Laam. Hajji
Mohammed has been to the tents, but he does not
seem to know how to manage among the Bedouins,
and has come back empty-handed, declaring that
the owners were rude to him. AVe ought, I sup¬
pose, to have gone ourselves, but we are in such dis¬
tress about the mare that we do not like to leave
her. AVe have been dressing her wounds with
Holloway’s ointment, as she lies on her side at our
tent door. The thistles are of the spotted sort, and
all the animals, including Ariel, seem to enjoy them.
March 25.—AA r e hoped that Ariel was better ■
128
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. I,
she had eaten well over-night, and though very
stiff this morning, was able to start with us; but
after travelling a couple of miles, she staggered and
fell down, and though she got up again, she again
fell. The third time she refused to move, the
pain being too great, and there she lay on her
side as if dead. It was useless to try to bring her
further, and as we happened to be passing within
half a mile of the tents we had seen yesterday, it was
agreed that Hassan, Seyd Abbas’ son, should stop
with her and get her gradually to them, and so back
to Wudian. AVe have promised him a handsome
reward if he succeeds in recovering her and sending
her back to Bagdad, and he has protested he will do
everything he can. All the same, I do not doubt
that we have bid good-bye to Ariel for ever. She
lifted up her beautiful head as we took leave of her,
and seemed to understand what was happening, for
Arab horses understand things as people do. Wil¬
frid brought her a bucket of water, which she drank,
and then she laid her head upon the ground again,
and we went away. *
Travelling without her to-day has seemed un¬
natural. It is impossible to enjoy looking at the
sunshine or the Hamrin hills, though these have been
* What became of Ariel we shall never know. At first reports
came to Bagdad that she was alive and recovering; then news that
she was dead; and then, when someone was sent to inquire, it
was discovered that Seyd Abbas and Bashaga and all the Arabs
had deserted and were gone. We hope still she may be with
them..
CH. I.]
Our cook a failure .
129
very beautiful. We are again encamped in the open
plain not ten miles from these hills, and three or
four perhaps from the river, which we have been
marching almost parallel with.
A new complication has arisen in the behaviour
of Ramazan, the cook, who has proved so insubor¬
dinate that he is to be sent about his business.
Seyd Abbas is to go to-morrow to Ali Ghurbi on
the river, to make purchases of rice and dates for
us, and he will take Ramazan with him, as also the
groom, who declares he has got fever, caught in the
Wudian swamps, and will go no further. Thus our
party is melting away at the outset; but w~e are
in the meanwhile to go on, with a young man Seyd
Abbas brought with him from last night’s tents, to
a large camp of the Beni Laam, which is said to be
just under the hills, and wait there till the Seyyid
joins us.
March 26 .—Four hours’ march has brought us
to the hills. As we got near them, w T e found the
usual signs of a Bedouin encampment, distant
flocks of sheep and then shepherds, all moving
with that exaggerated, mysterious appearance of
speed the mirage gives. We galloped on to re¬
connoitre from a tall tell in front of us, and soon
made out the camp. There was a stream of water
just below, and the tell and the plain near it were
covered with something like turf, while the hill
sides were visibly green with grass. A shepherd
told us that the camp was Musa’s, the sheykh we
VOL. II. K
130
Our Persian Campaign .
[CH. I,
were in search of; and, waiting till the camels came
up with us, we went on there.
Musa ibn Sollal was absent, and we were
directed to his brother Akul’s tent. We found him
fast asleep in a corner of the tent, but he woke up
when we entered, and received us politely. He told
us that the Sheykli had gone to Amara, at a sum¬
mons from the mutesserif of that town, to meet his
brother Mizban, and have their quarrel made up. It
seems that Musa, Akul and Homeydi, all sons of one
mother, are making war against their half-brother,
Mizban, who is head of the Ibn Sollal family, as
well as principal Sheykh of all the Beni Laam;
and the quarrel is now a serious affair, for
Mizban has killed one of Musa s sons. There can
be little chance of its beiug patched up by Turkish
intervention, for the present mutesserif is weak
“ like a lady,” they say, and not at all the man to
deal with a blood-feud.
Akul is an elderly man, with a grey beard, and
devoted to children. He has been doing: his best to
entertain us, as w T ell as to amuse a little group of
small children who came clustering around him
when he awoke. His tent is a poor one, small and
hot like a stewpan; and we escaped from it the
moment we could with propriety go to our own,
pitched only a few yards off—too few, alas ! for
comfort, for the people here, though well-behaved,
cannot resist their curiosity to “ farray”
These Beni Laam must be counted as true Be-
C1I. T.]
Pedigrees.
x 3 r
douins, as none of them are fellah in, or would lift a
finger to till the ground, for which purpose they
employ such low tribes as our friends the Saadeli
and the Abiad. But they are quite different from
any other true Bedouins I have visited, not only in
manners but in looks; and there seems to be
among them a great mixture of races. Seyd Abbas
has told us that they intermarry with Persian
and Kurdish tribes, and that they also receive
and adopt into their own tribe vagabonds from
no one knows where ; and this account is fully
borne out by their appearance. Mixed descent
may be read in their faces. Neither do they, as
far as I can make out, lay much claim to good
breeding, except in the ruling family, Ibn Sollal,
which is proud of its ancestry in the male line.
Akul and his brother Homeydi, who visited us in
the evening, talked a great deal about their Nejdean
descent. According to their own account they (the
Ibn Sollal) came from Nejd twelve generations
ago ; and I do not doubt the correctness of the tra¬
dition ; but their Arabian blood has since become so
much diluted with foreign additions, that in Nejd
itself they would not be accepted as nobly born.
They do not deny their marriages with the daughters
of the neighbouring lands, but seem to think it a
matter of no consequence. They will even marry
with townspeople and Bagdadis; and we heard
on board the steamer of a relative of Mizban’s
married to a certain Jazin Sabunji, a tradesman in
132
Our Persian Campaign .
[CH. I..
Bagdad. His brother, Ahmet Sabunji, had, on the-
strength of the connection, given us a letter to add!
to our packet of introductions to Mizban.
The horses here seem to be of small account.
Fifteen or twenty mares, wearing the usual iron
shackles, are grazing about a mile off, some with
foals by their sides, all standing in water above-
their fetlocks. We walked round to examine them,
and saw one good-looking white mare that may be-
thoroughbred, and also abay somewhat better than the-
rest, but they are inferior animals. A foal was born
last night, and was being removed with its mother,
a wretched little creature, to the dry ground at the
camp. There were no camels to be seen. They and
the sheep are at pasture at a considerable distance.
A couple of Bagdad sheep-dealers have come by
with a large flock just purchased from Mizban's
people. Their description is glowing of the w r ealtli
and grandeur, and excellent reception to be met
with at the great Sheykhs tents. They are travel¬
ling quietly, and apparently without precaution or
fear of being attacked by the ghaziis, so much
talked about. But I suppose they know what they
are doing.
Several women came to see me, accompanied by
some children, two or three of whom were really
beautiful, one little boy especially. Their visit soon
attracted a crowd, for everybody who passed stopped
to join the circle in front of our tent. They were
good-humoured and rather encroaching and forward,.
CU. I.]
A thunderstorm.
133
•but kept in clieck by a middle-aged man with a big
.stick, who undertook the office of master of the
ceremonies. His method was rough and ready ;
•every now and then to effect a complete dispersion
of the party by rushing into the midst of them and
dealing out blows on every side without distinction
of age or sex. The visitors then ran away in all
•directions laughing, and almost immediately re¬
turned more gay and merry than before. One young
Jady, Basha by name, proposed to accompany us on
our journey, and my answer, “ Marhaba, fetch your
mare and come/’’ brought down on her endless chaff.
A few small presents have made Musa very
.amiable, and he has sent us a guard for our tents.
There is, it would seem, some apprehension of attack
on the part of the hostile section of the tribe who
nre not far off, and a ghazti from Mizban is much
talked of. So the conference of the two brothers at
Amara does not prevent their followers from carry¬
ing on the war.
March 27.—Nothing worse happened during the
night than a thunderstorm. Wilfrid started early
on Job to try and find old Seyd Abbas, of whom
nothing was heard yesterday. He went alone, and
■cantered for about ten miles in the direction of the
river, but finding a large marsh between him and
it, and, moreover, that Ali Ghurbi was beyond the
river, he returned. He met, he tells me, a number
of Arabs whom he believes to have been Mizban s
people. They made some show of trying to circum-
*34
Our Persian Campaign.
[cir. i.
vent him, but were too ill-mounted to be dangerous.
At midday the Seyyid arrived with two donkey
loads of provisions from the village. We had all
but given him up for lost, and in our dearth of
friends, we now begin to feel something like affection
for him, seeing him return.
We have made so little progress this week that
we could not consent to stay another night with
Musa, and have come on, in spite of tempestuous
skies and alarming rumours of a ghazu, which is
said to be on the march from Mizban’s. We have,
however, hitherto, escaped all these dangers. The
thunderstorms, though rattling like artillery, right,
left, in front, and behind us, spared us overhead;
and we have seen no living soul all the after¬
noon. It is a wild, strange piece of country, but
covered in places with excellent pasture, so that
we have the satisfaction of seeing our dear camels
growing fat beneath our eyes. We have stopped
for the night at the edge of an enormous red
morass, the haunt of innumerable birds. There
are two little tells close by, and a pool of rain
water erood to drink. We have now left the neisli-
bourhood of the Tigris for good, so that these
swamps have nothing to do with it. They seem
to be caused by small streams running from the
Hamrin Hills, and caught in this great flat plain.
The railway, in Wilfrid’s opinion, if it is ever made,
ought to run along the foot of the hills where the
ground is sounder. It is difficult, however, to ima-
CH. I.]
Unconscious of danger.
135
gine the use of a railway in such an uninhabited
country.
The tells where we are, are called Doheyleh ; but
there is nothing in the shape of a village anywhere
this side the Tigris, nor are there any Bedouins
except these Beni Laam.
March 28.—A good morning’s march has brought
us safely to Mizban’s. It seems that after all we
ran some danger last night, for a ghazu was really
out between the two Beni Laam camps, and we
find Mizban’s people in commotion. A few miles
from the camp we were met by a body of horsemen
advancing in open order, who, as soon as they saw
us, galloped at full speed towards us, and seemed
as if intending to attack. But Seyd Abbas rode
forward to meet them on his old grey kadish and
waved his cloak and shouted to them to stop. “ It
is I,” he called, “ Seyd Abbas/' Whereupon the
horsemen pulled up, and dismounting, kissed the
old man’s hand. They were a ghazu, they told us,
from Lazim, MizbaiTs eldest son, and they were
following on the track of some robbers from Musa’s,
who had carried off seventeen camels in the night.
They cross-questioned Seyd Abbas as to Musa’s
whereabouts, but the old man would not let out the
secret. It would have been a breach of the hos¬
pitality he had just received from Musa. They did
not stop long, however, to talk, but went on their
way, leaving a couple of the party only to show us
to Mizban’s tent.
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. I.
136
The tents of the Beni Laam are peculiar. Instead
of being, like every other Arab tent we have seen,
set on a number of poles each of different height,
these are shaped like regular pent-houses, with gable
roof and walls. Such, at least, is Mizban’s mudif,
a construction corresponding with the Jcahwah of
a town house, and used only for reception. The
living tents arc smaller, and the word beyt house
here applies only to the harim. The mudif is a
fine airy room, very pleasant in the hot weather we
are beginning to have. It is pitched close to the
river Tibb in the middle of a very large camp, several
hundred tents, and looks imposing enough. The
country all round is very bare and trodden down,
having been exposed last night to a fearful hail storm,
which has wrecked all the vegetation. The hailstones,
they say, were as big as dates.
The Tibb is much swollen, and flowing through a
deep cutting, looks anything but easy to cross,—a
turbid yellow river cutting its way through the
alluvial plain without valley of any sort, so that you
do not know it is there until you come close to it.
It is about fifty yards wide.
At the door of the mudif we alighted, and pre¬
sently made the acquaintance of our host—not
Mizban, for he, as we heard before, is away at
Amara, but his son Beneyeh—a rather handsome
but not quite agreeable looking youth, whose
forward, almost rude manners show him to be, what
he no doubt is, a spoilt child. We have been
«CH. I.]
Beneyeh.
137
rather reserved with him in consequence, and have
left to Hajji Mohammed the task of explaining our
name and quality, and delivering the letters which
we have with us for his father. Beneyeh is not the
eldest son, and I do not quite understand why he
•does the honours of his father’s tent instead of
Lazim. It is difficult to know exactly how to treat
him; but we think it better to be on the side of
politeness, so we have sent him the cloak intended
for the Sheykh, and have added to it a revolver, with
which he seems pleased. We are so completely in
liis hands for our further progress, that we must do
what we can to secure his good will. I have paid
.a visit to the harim, and have been well received by
Beneyeli’s mother, Yeddi, a fat jovial person, young-
looking for her age. She is very proud of her son,
.and the evident cause of his spoiling. Her step¬
daughter Hukma, and daughter-in-law Basi, are both
rather pretty ; though the latter, like the mother-in-
law, shows signs of foreign blood, being inclined to
fat, and being red-haired and fair complexioned.
The occasion of my visit to them was a distressing
•one. We had hardly retired to our own tent when a
loud explosion was heard, and immediately afterwards
.a man came running to us to beg us to come, for an
accident had happened. In the storm last night some
gunpowder belonging to Beneyeh had got wet, and
.a slave had been set to dry it at the fire in the
women’s tent, with the result of a blow up and
. fearful burning of the unfortunate creature. They
138
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. I,
wanted us, of course, to cure him; and we gave
what advice we could, but with little chance of
success. The poor slave lay groaning there behind
a matting all the time I was in the tent, but Yeddi
and the rest chattered, and laughed, and screamed,
regardless as children. Sick people get little peace
in the Desert.
vtg. >lg.
*3v vp 'is* vr» 7F
Wilfrid believes he has arranged matters with
Beneyeh, who came to dine with us this evening,
and talked matters over afterwards with Seyd Abbas
He declared at first that a journey across the frontier
into Persia was out of the question, that nobody had
ever been that way, that the Beni Laam were at war
with the Ajjem (Persians) and could not venture into*
the neighbourhood of Dizful, or any town of Persia,
and that his father was away, and he had no men
to spare as escort. After much talking, however,
and persuasion on the Seyyid’s part, he has agreed
to start with us to-morrow with thirty horsemen and
see us safely to the camp of one Kerim Khan, chief
of a Kurdish tribe, which lives on the river Kar-
keria, beyond which Persia proper begins, and
that he will take £10 for his trouble. The sum
is hardly excessive if he fulfils his part of the
bargain, for the country between Turkey and
Persia has the reputation of being quite impractic¬
able, not only from the robber bands which inhabit
it, but from the rivers which must be crossed. Hajji
Mohammed is very gloomy about the whole matter.
CII. I.]
139
A night attack.
In the middle of our conversation a fearful hubbub
arose in the camp round, followed by some shots-
and the galloping of horses, and Beneyeh exclaim¬
ing, “ A ghazu, a ghazu! ” jumped up and rushed
out of the tent. Our first thought was to put out
the candle, and our second to stand to our arms and
look outside. In the dim starlight we could sec
what seemed to be a fight going; on inside and
round the mud if: and though night attacks are
very unusual in the desert, we were convinced an
enemy was sacking the camp. Though the quarrel
was no affair of ours, and we should probably be in
little danger had it been daylight, now in the dark¬
ness we could not help feeling alarmed. Wilfrid
served out cartridges, and gave the order that all
should kneel down so as to be prepared for action if
the tide of battle should come our way, an arrange¬
ment which resulted only in Hajji Mohammed's
letting off his gun by accident, and very nearly
shooting one of the Agheyls. The mares had their
iron fetters on, and with the keys in our pockets we
knew they could not be lost. Still it was an
anxious moment. At the end of a quarter of an
hour, however, Beneyeh came back in great excite¬
ment to say that a ghazu had come from Musa’s,
and that some camels had been driven away; that the
hubbub in the tent was not fighting, but preparation
to fight; and that he was come to borrow a rifle as he
and his friends w’ere starting in pursuit. Wilfrid gave
him one of the guns and offered to ride with him 011
140
Our Persian Campaign .
[ch. r.
Ins expedition, but Seyd Abbas, who had all the
time been cheering us with an assurance that “it
was not our affair/’ would not hear of this ; and, after
a long discussion, it was decided that we should all
stay together, as indeed is only prudent. I do
not believe the gliazu has been anything very
serious; for, though Beneyeh and some of his men
have galloped off in the supposed direction of the
enemy, by far the greater number have remained,
preferring shouting and singing to actual fighting.
They are now cliaunting in chorus “ Aduan—Mizban
(enemies—Mizban) —Aduan—Mizban,” and striking
their spears on the ground to beat time. A great
fire has been lit and is blazing in the mudff, and
the dark figures passing and repassing in front of it
make the whole thing wild and savage in the
o o
•extreme.
ARIEL, AN ANAZEII MAKE.
CHAPTER II.
Gloucester. “ ’Tis true that we are in great danger,
The greater therefore should our courage be.”
Shakespeare.
“ La plus mauvaise rencontre dans le desert est celle de Thomme.”
Guaemaxi.
We are betrayed into the hands of robbers—Ghafil and Saadun—
We diplomatise—A march across “ No-man’s-land ”—Night
terrors—We claim protection of a Persian prince.
March 29.—The event of last night, though in
truth it was less alarming than it seemed, made us
anxious not to remain longer at MizbaiTs than could
be helped. Wilfrid accordingly no sooner saw
Beneyeh this morning, than he began to urge our de¬
parture on him, as it had been arranged over-night.
The young man was in a bad humour, his pursuit of
the ghazu having been either unsuccessful, or, as
we suspect, never seriously made; and at first
he would hear of nothing but that we should go
back to Amara, instead of crossing the frontier,
which he again declared to be impracticable. He
was put out, moreover, because we did not allow
him to keep the gun which he had borrowed in
the night; and but for old Seyd Abbas, whom
he is bound to treat with respect, I doubt if he
would have kept to his bargain with us. I begin
142
Our Persian Campaign .
[(’II. IT.
to regret now that he at last allowed himself to be
persuaded, for we seem to have got into a very
awkward pass.
Our troubles to-day began early. First of all we
had to say farewell to Seyd Abbas, our last connect¬
ing link with respectability. The old man said he
dared not go further; that in the country where we
were going his condition as a seyyid would not be
respected, nor could he do more for us than wish us
well through it. He washed his hands, in fact, of
the whole proceeding, and protested that he had
gone farther than he ought in bringing us thus far.
We could not indeed find fault with him for wishing
to return, and thanking him heartily for all, and so
recommending him once more to see to Ariel, we let
him go. Since then all has gone wrong. We had
first the river to cross, a not very easy proceeding,
for the banks were of mud, and the water up to our
horses shoulders. Still, nothing untoward happened
till we had all got over. Then the two Agheyls, our
camel-drivers, declared that they too would go no
further. The journey into Persia frightened them,
they said, as well as Seyd Abbas, and though they
gave a variety of reasons besides, it always came
back to this, that they did not like to die in a
foreign land. It was no use arguing with them
that they should not die, and that we would provide
handsomely for their return to Bagdad by sea ; no
offers could move them, nor even the threat of their
Sheykh’s displeasure, which we held in terrorem
ch. ii.] All goes wvoiig. H3
over them. It was impossible to be really angry,
yet our case is a forlorn one without them. To-day
we and Hajji Mohammed have had to load and
drive the camels ourselves, for he is the only
servant left us, and Beneyeh and his Arabs would
do nothing, contenting themselves with galloping
about and shouting out their unaskecl-for advice.
It was very annoying.
Beneyeh’s manner has changed alarmingly.
Finding us practically in his power, now we have
crossed the Tibb and cannot retreat, he has become
most insolent, trying all day to pick a quarrel with
us about the revolver we gave him, and which he
has put out of order by his clumsiness, and asking
for one thing and another belonging to us exactly
like a rude, ill-bred child. Wilfrid was obliged to
speak sharply to him and bid him be ashamed of
himself, as his manners are those of an Iraki
fellah, not of a SheyklTs son. Still he went on,
now asking for Wilfrids sword, now proposing to
buy my mare, impertinences both, till, on being
told he was a fool, he rode on in a huff with
his men. There were nine of them, and one
only remained with us, an older man who seemed
ashamed of his young chief, and with whom
we got on more pleasantly. Still it is a disagree¬
able prospect to have to travel with such rascals all
the way to Persia. The party are tolerably
mounted, the Beni Laam having a few asil mares,
principally of the Wadnan breed, and at Mizban’s
144
Our Persian Campaign .
[ch. ir.
camp there was a horse which they called a Nusban,
a name new to us.
The country, after passing the Tibb, is a fine
rolling down, with capital pasture in the hollows,
so that to our other difficulties we are fortunately
spared that of anxiety about our camels. It is
worth something to see them feeding on rich green
grass as they go, making up at last for their long
winter’s fast.
At two o’clock we sighted some tents, where we
found Beneyeh with his men, waiting for a dinner
of lamb which was being prepared. Hungry as we
were, we should have much preferred passing on
unfeasted, for we are now suspicious of our host,
and feel anxious when away from our horses. Still
there was no refusing, or seeming to doubt or be
afraid, and we joined with as good a grace as we
could in the rather rude entertainment. The meal
lasted upwards of an hour, and when we were ready
to start there were still delays, so that it was dark
before we reached the camp which was to be our
resting-place for the night. The late rains have put
much of the low-lying country under water, and we
are now in a broad valley, formerly, one may guess,
a rich agricultural district, but long deserted. We
passed about sunset the mounds of an ancient city,
which are not marked on any of our maps, and
which the people here call Jereysiat; and near
these we came upon the camp where we now are.
What its inhabitants are we do not yet know.
CH. II.]
Kurdish robbers.
145
Dakher, the chief man, is, it would seem, a Beni
Laam, but the rest have more the appearance of
outlaws than of respectable Bedouins. They have
the most evil countenances of any people we have
met on any of our travels, and Hajji Mohammed
says roundly they are Kurdish robbers. Dakher
and his brother Ghafil look capable of any treachery.
They have a soft manner, with great flabby faces, and
a black look in their eyes, which, with their rows of
glittering white teeth, give one a shudder. They
received us at first with some show of hospitality
in their “ mudif,” which was a large one; but
thou Mi a fire of log's was blazing in the middle,
and pots were standing round, nobody gave us
coffee, a very disagreeable omen ; and when 1 asked
just now for water, they would not bring it me
in one of their own pans, but took ours. They are
Shias, probably, and rude on principle. We have-
pitched our tent the best way we could in the dark,
and piled up all our luggage inside, for every
man here looks like a thief—I might say like a
murderer.
March 30.—Last night, before we lay down to
sleep, Beneyeh came to our tent with Dakher, and
began bullying again and begging, but Wilfrid would
give him nothing except the sum of £10 agreed on,
for which he promised, and Dakher promised, that
thirty khayal should go on with us to Dizful, a
distance of about ninety miles. Beneyeh himself
refused to go, saying that Ajjem (Persia) was not
VOL. II. L
146 Our Persian Campaign. [cn. n.
his country, but Dakher should go for him, or
Ghafil. This was a distinct breach of agreement.
O
but we were only too pleased to get rid of him, and
Wilfrid, after some show of expostulation, accepted
the substitute. Then Beneyeh made a pretence of
writing letters to certain khans or chiefs of the
frontier tribes, but I suspect these are not worth
much, for having no seal of his own with him, the
young jackanapes signed the letters with a seal lent
him by a bystander, an irregular and rather sus¬
picious proceeding, but we made no remark, being
thankful at any price to be freed from his company.
With the grimace of one who has played a success¬
ful trick he pocketed the money, and then, without
•saying good-bye, mounted and rode off, our only
friend, the middle-aged man, to our sorrow following
him.
We were now left alone with Daklier and his
•crew, who safc round us while with infinite labour
we loaded our camels. Poor old Hajji Mohammed
in his rusty uniform, with his sword dangling
between his legs, was anything but an efficient
•camel-man, and in spite of the best will in the world
things proceeded slowly. It was as much as we could
get out of Dakher that he should tell one of his
sulky fellows to lend an occasional hand to the
work, and keep the rest from getting in our way.
The help was given grudgingly, and in obedience
rather to Wilfrid’s command, for he was now obliged
to talk loud, than of good-will. Dakher, however,
CH. II.]
. A coward and traitor.
14 7
kept up a semblance of politeness, being still our
host, a position sacred even in the eyes of the most
abandoned, and when his brother Ghafil appeared,
announcing himself as our escort, we were suffered
to depart.
Once on our horses, and with the camels driven
in front of us, we felt more at case ; yet all were not
a little anxious. We should, I think, have turned
back now but for the recollection of Beneyeh and
the river Tibb behind us, evils we knew of while
the unknown evils before us seemed preferable.
For a while, too, we flattered ourselves with the
idea that Ghafil was to be our only company,
and for a mile or two the illusion lasted, and we
were reassured. There is something, besides, in a
very bright morning’s march through a beautiful
country, for we were close to the hills, which pre¬
vents one feeling anxious, and whatever its inhabit¬
ants may be, this frontier-land of Persia looks
like a Garden of Eden, with its grass and flowers
knee deep in every hollow.
Ghafil is another and a worse edition of Dakher,
having, over and above his brother’s vices of coun¬
tenance, a most abominable squint. His face looks
always like a thunder-cloud, and the smiles on it
(for he smiles sometimes, showing a wonderful set
of white teeth from ear to ear) are like the smiles
•of a wild beast. He has, too, a sort of cat’s
manner, soft and cowardly, but very offensive. At
starting, and as long as he was alone with us, he
148
Our Persian Campaign.
[ch. ir..
seemed amiable enough, but at the end of about an
hour we came up with the rest of the party in whose
company we were to travel, and then his demeanour
changed. These were not horsemen, or an escort
at all, but a collection of the most extraordinary
vagabonds we have ever seen. There were about
forty of them, with about twice as many beasts,
camels, and oxen, which they were driving before-
them loaded with empty sacks. Amongst them
were two women on foot, and there was a single
horseman heading the procession, mounted on a
little white mare. We asked them where they
were going, and they answered, “ To Dizful, to*
buy corn,” and then in return plied us with a
hundred questions. Many of these were not a
little impertinent, but by parrying some, and affect¬
ing not to understand the rest, we managed to
hold our own, even returning some of their small
wit with interest on themselves. Hajji Mohammed,
however, noor man, was soon sinolecl out as a
special butt for their mirth. His old uniform coat
they found supremely absurd, and he was as merci¬
lessly chaffed about his tailor as if he had been
amongst a party of roughs 011 the Epsom Downs,
while he had not the sense always to keep his
temper. There was, besides, something more than
mere high spirits in their wit. He was a Suni, and
they were Shias, and religious bitterness made them
bitter. From words at last they seemed rapidly
coming to blows, when Wilfrid interfered, making his
on. ii.]
A conspiracy.
149
horse curvet amongst them, and dispersing them for
.a while. But they soon returned, and it was all we
could do to prevent the poor cavass from being
maltreated. One called on him to dismount and
give him a ride, another to let him have a shot
with his gun, and a third to fill him a pipe of
tobacco, to none of which demands the unfortunate
Hajji knew how to give the proper refusal. “ Ya
Hajji,” “ Ya Hajji,” was the perpetual cry all the
morning long; “ Where is your pipe ? where is your
tobacco ? Quick, I am thirsting for a smoke.”
Ghafil in the meanwhile would do nothing; or could
do nothing in the way of control, sitting on his
camel gloomily in silence, or talking in an under¬
tone with a great one-eyed rascal, more villainously
hideous than himself. The position was often
almost unbearable, and only the doctrine of patience
which we had learned in Arabia, and a constant-
show of good humour to the crowd, made it toler¬
able. In the course of the afternoon, however, we
managed to get upon some sort of friendly terms
with two or three of the rabble, so that by the even¬
ing, when Ave. stopped, we had established a little
party among them in our favour. This, I believe,
was the means of preventing a worse disaster,
for it is nearly certain that Ghafil and the more
.serious of the party meant us deliberate mischief.
About an hour before sunset we came to a broad
river, broader and deeper than the Tibb, and here
Ghafil decreed a halt. If we had been a strono-
o
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. II,
150
enough party to shift for ourselves, and if we could
have crossed the river alone, we should now have
gone on and left our persecutors behind; but in
our helpless state this was impossible, and we had
no choice but to dismount. It was an anxious
moment, but I think we did what was wisest in
showing; no si mi of distrust, and we had no sooner
stopped than we gave one a horse to hold, and another
a gun, while we called on others to help us unload
the camels, and get out coffee and provisions for a
general feast. This seemed to most of them too
good an offer to be declined, and we had already
distributed a sack of flour and a sack of rice
amongst them, which the two women had promised
to bake into loaves for the whole party, when
Ghaffl and the one-eyed man, who had been down
to look for a ford, arrived upon the scene. They
were both very angry when they saw the turn
things had taken, and were at first for forbidding;
O j o
the people to eat with us, alleging that we were
kaffirs (infidels), so at least the people informed us
later, but this was more than they could insist on.
They would not, however, themselves eat with us
or taste our coffee, and remained apart with those
of the party which had not made friends with us..
The women were on our side, and the better sort of
the young men. Still it was a terribly anxious-
evening, for even our friends were as capricious as
the winds, and seemed always on the point of
picking an open quarrel. Later, they all went
CH. II.]
Attempt to murder.
I 5 I
away and left us to our own devices, sitting round
a great bonfire of brushwood they had built up,
“ to scare away lions,” they said. We managed to
rig up our tent, and make a barricade of the camel-
bags in such a way that we could not be surprised
and taken at a disadvantage. I did not shut my
eyes all night, but lay watching the bonfire, with my
hand on my gun. Hajji Mohammed once in the dark¬
ness crept out and got near enough to overhear some¬
thing of their talk, and he assures us that there was
a regular debate as to whether and when and how
we should be murdered, in which the principal
advocate of extreme measures was the one-eyed
man, a great powerful ruffian who carried a sort
of club, which he told us he used to frighten the
lions, beating it on the ground. The noise, he
declared, sounded like a gun and drove them away.
With this tale of horror Hajji Mohammed re¬
turned to comfort us; nor was it wholly a delu¬
sion, for in the middle of the night, Wilfrid being
asleep, and Hajji Mohammed, whose watch it was,
having fallen into a doze, I distinctly saw Ghafil,
who had previously come under pretext of lions or
robbers to reconnoitre, prowl stealthily round, and
seeing us all as he thought asleep, lift up the flap of
the tent and creep under on Wilfrid’s side. I had
remained motionless, and from where I lay I could
see his figure plainly against the sky. As he
stooped I called out in a loud voice, “ Who goes
there % ” and at the sound he started back, and
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. II.
1^2
slunk away. This woke Hajji Mohammed, and
nobody slept again, but I could see Ghafil pro wling
like an hyaena round us the best part of the night. *
Hajji Mohammed lias behaved very well, though
lie owns himself much frightened. So am I, only I
•conceal my alarm better than he does. Indeed I am
.sure that putting on a bold face is our only chance
■of safety, for nothing but cowardice now prevents
Ghafil and his set from attacking us. We are well
.armed, and he knows he could not do it with im¬
punity. As long as we are on horseback, I believe
we run no great risk, but the night is a disagreeable
time. If we had only open desert in front of us we
■could set them all at defiance.
March 31 .—The morning broke tempestuously,
and we were afraid the river might have risen in
the night, a complication which would have pro¬
bably decided our fate ; but though the clouds lay
black and heavy on the hills there was no flood.
After trying several places, all of which proved too
deep, our akid, the man on the white mare, found a
ford, if such it can be called, for the water was over
his mare’s back, and all the party followed him.
The robbers, for so I now call them, passed easily
enough, for their camels were unloaded, but ours
barely managed it. The current was very strong,
and though Hatheran and the strongest of them
•came on boldly, two of them stopped in the middle
* This part of the journal was written at irregular moments when
•order was not possible. It has been pieced together since.
CH. II.]
Diplomacy .
153
and seemed on the point of turning down and being
swept away, when Wilfrid rode back below them,
into the deep water, and drove them on. It was
nervous work to watch them, seeing nothing of rider
J o o
and horse but their heads, but Job swam very well,
and the camels were saved and all got safely over.
This incident proved a fortunate one, for it impressed
the better sort of the robbers with an idea of our
determination, and there was again a party in our
favour. It was fortunate that it was so, for we
were no sooner across than Ghafil and the one-
eyed monster, Saadun, came forward with a more
menacing manner than they had yet dared to
show, and said we should proceed no further. It
w T as plain enough what they meant, but we affected
not to understand them, and declaring in a
cheerful tone that it was a charming spot to
stay in, with plenty of grass and water for the
beasts, at once consented to a halt. Wilfrid begged
Ghafil to sit down and smoke a pipe with him, and
when the man sulkily demurred, insisted on it.
“ Now, Ghafil,'” he said, “ here you are my guest, as
we have been yours ; what can I do for you to make
you happy V’ “ Wallah, ya Beg/'’ interposed Saadun,
“you have done nothing for him or any of us, and
now you must.” “Must? Indeed, I shall be too
delighted. Tell me only in what I can assist you—
what it is that Ghafil wants.” Ghafil then began a
long history about his dignity as Slieykh of the
expedition, and the disgrace it was to him to have
i54
Our Persia7i Campaign.
[CH. II,.
received no cloak of honour from the Beg, and the
insult that he had thus received from us—at all
which Wilfrid expressed the greatest possible pain
and surprise. # “ There has been some mistake here/’
he said ; “I would not for the world that anyone
should be treated with less respect than was his
due by me. The disgrace would be mine ; ” and he
made a show of taking off his own cloak to give
him ; still Ghafil seemed dissatisfied. “ No, no, it
is not that,” said Saadun, in a stage whisper, “ what
the Sheykh wants is money—money, do you
see?—money for all of us.” “And is it possible,”
exclaimed Wilfrid, “that you have all remained
unpaid ?—that Beneyeli gave you nothing of what
he received from me ?—that you have been working
for me, 4 balash,’ for nothing ? This is indeed a
disgrace. Come, Saadun, let us talk this matter
over and repair the mistake.” He then took the
one-eyed man by the arm and led him aside for a
private conference, while Ghafil sat on gloomily
with me. Wilfrid’s first care, when he got the
Kurd alone, was to square him with a present
of ten krans (francs) for his own account, and
a promise of twenty more when we got to the
Kerkha, judging rightly that this fellow was in
fact our most dangerous enemy. Then he in¬
trusted him with negociating the rest of the black
mail with Ghafil. We were prepared now for
* AVe trust this duplicity maybe pardoned us in consideration of
the straits we were in.
CH. II. ]
Black mail.
155
almost any demand, for we were completely in
tlieir power, and had a sum of nearly £100 with
us, besides property to the value of perhaps as
much more. We were consequently no little
relieved when Saadun returned with a demand of one
hundred krans, and a silk abba, in return for Ghafil’s
protection. This, after much affected reluctance to
part with so enormous a sum, and a declaration
at one moment that rather than pay we would stay
where we were for a month, we at last produced—
giving the robber the very silk abba which had
been one of Ibn Rashid’s presents to us in Nejd—
a white silk one, embroidered with gold, but the
only one we had ; which being done we were suffered
to proceed. The truth of the matter probably is
that Gliafil dared not drive us to extremities,
partly from physical fear, for we soon had proof
sufficient of his cowardice, and partly because many
of his men would not have joined him in a deed of
violence. Bloodshed is a thing no Arab willingly
consents to, however low his morality, especially
where a guest, or one who has been a guest, is in
question; and though the mongrel Kurds and
Persians, who made up more than half the band,
would have abetted him, the rest would not. One
of the women, too, was GhafiTs wife, and the women
were openly friends with us. Another consideration
may have been that we were entering now upon an
enemy’s country, for the Dueri is the limit of Beni
Laam authority, and our men were too miserable
156
Our Persian Campaign.
[<JH. II.
cowards not to count upon us for something in
case of attack. Part of our agreement with Ghafil
was that we were to fight for him in case of
need against the Persians, a promise we readily
gave. The atmosphere now was somewhat cleared,
and we started afresh under rather better conditions.
The teasing of Hajji Mohammed continued, but we
ourselves were treated with respect, and the one-
eyed Kurd even occasionally lent a hand in driving
the camels, in company with a youth clothed in
green, who had hitherto been one of our worst
persecutors.
The whole party proceeded cautiously, avow¬
ing without the slightest shame their immense fear
of the Ajjem (the Persians), whom they expected to
meet at every turn of the road. Beyond the Dueri
we found ourselves in a beaten track, which winds
up and down over an undulating bit of desert, the
last ripple of the Hamrin hills which are now behind
us. The akid usually rode on in front to spy out
possible enemies, and all had orders to keep to¬
gether. Ours, however, was such a noisy party,
that one would have thought its passage could have
been heard for miles round. The bullocks were
getting tired and required a great deal of driving,
and the shouting and screaming reminded one of an
O O
Irish fair. So we went on without a halt till three
o’clock, when a halt was ordered in a hollow, where
we were out of sight of enemies, and where there
was a quantity of wild celery, and another edible
CH. II.]
An attack expected.
157
plant called “ hakallah,” which we found good, for
we had eaten nothing all day. Not far off were
some sand mounds, with tufts of what looked very
like ithel, but we dared not leave our camels to
inspect them. The halt was only for half-an-
liour; then with shouts of “ Yalla yalla, erkob,
erkob,” the mob went on.
We stopped again suddenly about an hour before
sunset, and this time in alarm. The akid, who
had ridden to the top of a low hill, was seen waving,
as he came back, his abba, and instantly the cry
arose, “ El Ajjem, el Ajjem.” In an instant every¬
body was huddled together in a hollow place, like a
covey of partridges when they see a hawk, and we
were entreated, commanded to dismount. A few
hurried words with the akid confirmed the terrible
news of danger to the band, and all seemed at their
wits’ end with terror. “ How many horsemen ?—•
how many \ ” we inquired. “ Five,” was the
answer, “ but there are more behind; and then these
are the Ajjem!” “And if they are the Ajjem,
and only five of them, are you not forty of you
here and able to fight ? ” “ No, no ! ” they
screamed, “ you do not understand. These horse¬
men are Persians—Persians; every one of them
capable of killing five of us.” I did not think men
could be so craven-hearted. A few of the least
cowardly now crept up to the hill-top and one by
one came back to report; the number of horsemen
seen rose rapidly from five to fifteen and even-
Our Persian Campaign .
[GH. II.
153
tually to fifty. When the last number was reached,
the coward Ghafil, who had kept well in the middle
of the mob, so as to be in the least possible danger,
came to us with his softest and most cringing
manner, forgetful of all his bullying, and begged us
to be sure and do our best in the battle which was
imminent. “ You should stand in front of the
others/’ he said, “ and shoot as fast as you can, and
straight, so as to kill these Ajjem—dead you un¬
derstand—it is better to shoot them dead. You,
khatiin, know how to shoot, I am sure—and you
will not be afraid/’ We could not help laughing
at him, which shocked him dreadfully. Presently a
man came rushing up to say the enemy was coming,
and again there was unutterable confusion. The
boy in green had begged some percussion caps of
Wilfrid for his gun, and had been given fifty, and
this now led to a wrangle, as he refused to share
his prize with the rest. Everybody was trying to
borrow everybody else’s gun or spear or bludgeon,
for they were very rudely armed, and nobody would
stand in front, but everybody behind. The women
alone seemed to have got their heads, while Ghafil,
white in the face, walked nervously up and down.
We and the cavass stood a little apart from the rest,
holding our horses, ready to fire and mount, and
Wilfrid occupied the interval of expectation with
giving me instructions what to do if we got
separated in the fray. I was too well mounted to
be overtaken, and was to make for the Kerkha
CH. II.]
The enemy draws off.
159
river, which we knew could not be, far away to the
east, and put myself under the protection of the
first Persian khan I should meet there ; if possible,
Kerim Khan, to whom I had a letter in my pocket,
and who is a vakil of the Persian Government.
We hoped, however, that we might be able to keep
together, and beat off the enemy. Wilfrid called
out to Ghafil, “You must tell me when to fire,”
but Ghafil was too frightened to reply. Several of
the men, however, called out, “ Shoot at anybody
you see—everybody here is an enemy.” The camels
had been made to kneel down, and the cattle had
1
been huddled together; only a few of all the
mob looked as if they really meant to fight. They
were silent enough now, talking only in whispers.
So we remained perhaps for half-an-hour; then
somebody ran up the hill again to look, and
Wilfrid, tired of waiting, proposed that we should
eat our dinner, as we had had nothing all day. I
got some bread and a pomegranate out of the deliil
bag, and we were soon at work, much to the
disgust of the rest, who were shocked at our levity
in such a moment. Presently there was another
alarm and the people called to me to come inside
their square, meaning kindly I think, but of course
we would do no such thing, being really much safer
where* we were with our mares. Still no enemy
came, and when we had finished our meal we tied
our horses’ halters to our arms and lay down in our
cloaks ; we were very tired and soon were sound
i6o
Our Persian Campaign.
[ch. ir.
asleep. Nothing more was heard of the enemy that
night.
But our troubles were not to end here. We
were hardly comfortably asleep, before a tremendous
crash of thunder roused us and a downpour of rain.
On putting our heads out of our cloaks we saw our
valiant escort rigging up our servants’ tent for
themselves. They were terribly afraid of getting
washed in the rain, and were shrieking to us to
come inside too, indignant at Wilfrid’s “ ma
yukhalif ” ( ££ never mind ”), with which he had
already treated their remonstrances on other
occasions. Indeed, “ ma yukhalif ” had now
become a sort of nickname with them, and no dis¬
honourable one, I think, for the person concerned.
We neither of us could think of joining them in the
tent, but having managed to get a couple of horse-
rugs from the delul bag, we covered ourselves
over again and went to sleep ; Sayad and Shiekha
creeping in under them to keep us company. All
of a sudden the rain stopped, and before we were
well aware, the mob was again on the march. It
was pitch dark, and we were within an ace of being
left behind, a circumstance which perhaps we
should have hardly regretted. Still, now we felt
that our position with the robbers was such, that
we ran less danger in their company than alone ;
and we all hurried on together. Ghafil was polite
again; and the rest, feeling, I suppose, that the
journey was nearly over, and their power over us
on. il]
Persia.
161
vanishing, even made us offers of assistance. A
long, weary night march we had, and at dawn
found ourselves descending rapidly into a broad
plain, knee deep in pasture. This was the valley
of the Kerkha ; and as it grew light we became
aware of a long line of mounds, with two kubbrs or
shrines in front of us, which Ghafil told us were
the ruins of Eywan. At seven o'clock we saw
tents within the circuit of the ancient city, and
some shepherds in conical felt caps, and sheepskin
dresses, the costume of the Bactiari and other tribes
of Kurdish origin. AVe were in Persia.
Ghafil now went forward to announce our arrival
to Sirdal Khan, the chieftain at whose tents we
now are. But I must leave further details for to¬
morrow.
CANORA.
VOL. II.
M
CHAPTER III.
“ Henceforth in safe assurance may ye rest,
Having both found a new friend you to aid,
And lost an old foe that did you molest,
Better new friend than an old foe is said/’
Faebt Queen - .
A prince in exile—Tea money—Rafts on the Kerkha—Last words
with the Beni Laam—Keriui Khan—Beautiful Persia—We
arrive at Lizful.
Sirbal Khan is a Shalizade, or member of the
Koyal family of Persia, many of whom are to be found
living in official, and even private capacities in
different parts of the kingdom. He himself had
fallen into disgrace with the Court many years ago,
and had been exiled from Persia proper, a mis¬
fortune which led to his taking up his residence
with a section of the semi-dependent Seguand tribe
of Lurs, where he became Khan or Chieftain.
Both in looks and in manner, he stands in striking
contrast with the people round him, having the
handsome, regular features, long nose and melan¬
choly, almond-shaped eyes of the family of the
Shah, which, I believe, is not of Persian origin, and
a certain dignity of bearing very different from the
rude want of manners of the Lurs. These would
seem to be of Tartar origin, coarse-featured, short¬
faced men, honest in their way and brave, but
OH. III.]
Sir da l Khan .
163
•quite ignorant of those graces of address which
■even the worst Arabs are not wholly without.
Sirdal, when he arrived among the Lurs, was
possessed of considerable wealth, which he invested
in flocks and herds, and until a short time before
our visit he was living in Bedouin magnificence.
But his enemies it would seem still pursued him,
-and not satisfied with his disgrace, molested him
oven in his exile. By some means, the rights of
which we did not learn, they managed to instigate
against him a rival chief, one Kerim Khan, who,
under Government sanction, made a successful raid
upon his flocks, stripping the unfortunate prince of
everything, and driving hini and his tribe across
the Kerkha river into the No Man's Land, which
lies between Persia and Turkey, and which we had
just crossed. In this position he has been obliged
to maintain himself as he could, making terms with
Mizban and the Beni Laam, who are his nearest
neighbours westwards. The river Kerkha is con¬
sidered the boundary of Persia, and as it is a large
and rapid river, nearly half a mile across, he is in
comparative safety from the east. Ghafil, therefore,
as a Beni Laam, was on friendly terms with him,
though it was easy to see that he despised and had
no kind of sympathy with him or the ruffians of
his band. By Hajji Mohammed’s advice, and to
secure ourselves against further risks at their hands,
we accordingly placed ourselves at once under the
Khan’s protection. Hajji Mohammed fortunately
164
Our Persian Campaign.
[<JH. Ill,
knows both Persian and Kurdish, and soon ex¬
plained to Sirdal the circumstances of our position,,
and he, delighted to meet once more with respect¬
able people, readily assented. He received us with
great kindness, made us comfortable in bis tent,
which, in spite of his poverty, was still more
luxurious than any found among the Arabs ; having
partitions of matting worked in worsted with birds-
and beasts, carpets, and a fire, and gave us what
we were much in want of, an excellent break¬
fast of well served rice and lamb. Then, when
we had pitched our own tent just outside, he
provided us with an efficient guard of Lurs, who
soon sent our robber acquaintance of the last
few clays about their business. There is no love
lost between them and the Arabs. Presently I
received a visit from the Khan’s wife, whom he
has lately married, and his mother, a well-bred
person with perfect manners, and a refined,
pleasing face. She was in black, in mourning
she explained for a son; she has five sons,
including the Khan, whose brothers live with
O 7
him. A crowd of Seffuand ladies came in her
o
company, and an Arab woman who had been nurse
to one of the Khan’s children, and who served me
as interpreter. Ghafil’s wife, too, one of the poor
women who had travelled with us, came in and
joined the conversation. She is loud in her com¬
plaints of Ghafil, who treats her ill. He is now
very polite, and presented himself during the after-
<CH. III.]
Persian ladies.
165
noon at our tent as if nothing had happened, with a
little girl named Norali in his arms whom he told
us was his niece, he having a sister here married to
•one of Sirdals men. I had a carpet spread for the
ladies outside our tent, for it could not have held
them all, and they sat round me for an hour or
more, curious and enquiring, but exceedingly polite.
They admired especially my boots and gloves,
which I pulled off to show them. One of them,
turning up my sleeve, exclaimed at the whiteness of
my wrist. At the end of an hour the elder lady
rose, and wishing me affectionately good morning,
took her leave, the rest following.
We then had a pleasant day of peace and a
sound night's rest, hardly disturbed by the ferocious
shouting and singing of our guard, which, under
other circumstances, might have been frightening.
Anything more wild and barbarous than their
chaunting I never listened to, but to us it was
sweet as music, for we knew that it was raised to
scare our jackals, the Beni Laam.
April 2.—Next day we crossed the Kerkha.
When we saw the size of the river, swollen with
melted snow and running eight miles an hour, and
ns wide as the Thames at Greenwich, we felt
thankful indeed for having met Sirdal Khan.
Here there would have been no fording possible,
and we, or at least our goods, would have been at
the mercy of our robber escort. The Khan, how¬
ever, agreed for a sum of money, 100 krans
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. IIT«"
166
(nothing in Persia is done for nothing, either by
prince or peasant), to have ns ferried over with our
baggage to the Persian shore, and our camels and
horses swum after us. Hospitality is not a virtue
real or pretended with the Persians, and the Khan r
prince as he was and a really charming man,,
explained to Hajji Mohammed without affectation,
that sixty of the one hundred krans he would count
as “tea money/' or as the Spaniards would say r
“ruido de casa,” payment for board and lodging..
To this, however, we were indifferent, and appre¬
ciate none the less his kindness and good manners..
Pie rode with us himself to the river on a well-bred
Arabian mare he told us was “asil,” as it well
might be, and saw that all things in the matter of
the rafts were done as they should be. At first we
rode through the mounds of Eywan, which are
disposed in a quadrangle fronting the river, and where
we found plentiful remains of pottery; then past
the kubbr of I forget what Mohammedan sainf
facing a similar kubbr on the eastern bank; then
across some fordable branches of the river and
islands clothed with guttub and canora trees, to
the main body of the Kerkha, where we found a
raft preparing. The canora bushes had fruit on
them, which the Khan politely picked, and gave me
to eat, little yellow fruits, pleasantly acid, like
medlars, and with stones inside.
r The passage of the river was a tedious, not to say
difficult, process, the single raft being composed of
CH. III.]
Crossing the Kerkha .
167
twenty skin s only, and very crank. We found besides,
to our disgust, and also waiting to take advantage
of our passage, our late disagreeable companions,
Ghafil, the one-eyed Kurd, and all the rest, who
presently began a loud argument with the Lurs as
to who should pilot our camels through the water,
a ticklish duty, which required both knowledge of
the animals and skill in swimming, to perform
successfully. At first we were naturally in favour
of the Lurs, and unwilling to trust any part of our
property with the mongrel Arabs; but when it
came to the point of testing their capabilities, the
Lurs broke lamentably down, being hardly able to
manage the camels even on dry land, so by the
Khan’s advice we let the Bedouins manage the
business, which I must say they performed with no
little courage and skill. It takes two men to
swim a camel safely. First of all the beast must
be unloaded to the skin. Then a cord is tied to
the tail for one man to hold by, and another
mounts on his back. Thus he is driven into the
water, and pushed on gradually till he loses his
legs. The man on his back then floats off down
stream of him, and holding with one hand bv the
hump, splashes water in the camel’s face to keep his
head straight, while the other urges him from
behind. The camel seems heavier than most
animals in the water, showing nothing but the tip
of his nose above the surface, and he is a slow
swimmer. It was an anxious quarter of an hour
168
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. III.
for us while they were crossing, and great was the
speculation among the bystanders as to the result.
“Yetla,” “ma yetla,” “lie does it,” “he doesn’t,”
were the cries as they were carried down the river.
The strongest pushed fairly straight across, but
those in the worst condition seemed borne helplessly
along till camel and men and all disappeared out
of our sight,—and we had already given them up
as lost, when we saw them emerging quite a mile
down upon the bank. Then we ourselves and the
luggage were put across, the mares swimming with
us, though they got across much quicker than we
did. The raft was hardly eight feet square, a
rough framework of tamarisk poles lashed together
on twenty goat skins. Our luggage went first, with
Hajji Mohammed perched on the top of it, booted
and cloaked, and loaded with gun and cartridge
bag, sublimely indifferent, though an accident
would have sent him like lead to the bottom. We
ourselves were more prudent, and divested our¬
selves of every superfluous garment before taking
our seats, which we did in the company of our dogs
and bird, and of Ghafil’s wife, who nearly upset us
at starting by jumping in from the shore upon us.
Our feet were in the water all the way, and our
hearts in our mouths, but by the mercy of Provi¬
dence, we finally reached land amid a chorus of
such “betting on the event” as had accompanied
the camels. The last creature of our party was the
little liainra mare, which Sirdal’s servant had been
cir. iii.]
Last threats.
169
holding, and which, slipping her halter, came
bravely across alone.
Just across the river lives Kerim Khan, Sirdal's
enemy, a Kurdish chief in government pay. To
him we had letters, and nothing more remained but
to go to his camp, and ask his help to forward us
to Dizful.
Our former enemies now came round us like a
swarm of gnats, begging and praying us to let them
be of some use. They wanted to tack themselves
on to our party, and so go to Dizful in safety, under
cover of our companionship; for it appears that they
dare not go further than this without protection.
The Persian authorities here are apt to imprison any
of the Beni Laam who enter their district, and these
people therefore seldom venture beyond the Kerkha,
or just this side of it. Even so, they are sometimes
caught: we saw a Beni Laam last night who had just
arrived at the Seguand camp on his way home after
three or four months' imprisonment at Dizful, be¬
sides having to pay a fine of one hundred and fifty
krans. He was accused, no doubt justly, of sheep
.stealing, and he told us that several others of
Mizban’s people are at this moment in jail at Dizful.
The elder Ghafil finding that nothing could be
got from us by persuasion, tried a little of his old
blustering and threats, but several of Kerim Khan's
p>eople were standing by, and he was powerless
here, so we had the pleasure of giving him a piece
of our mind before he retired. His younger name-
i ;o
Our Persian Campaign.
[cir. nr.
sake, the man in green, could not contain his rage
at our escape, and openly expressed his regret that
we had not been killed in the wilderness as had
been intended. After this little scene we saw no
more of either of them, for though we afterwards
heard of them in Kerim Khan's camp, they never
dared come back into our presence.
There now came forward to welcome us a funny
little boy with half-shut eyes, riding a good-looking-
chestnut mare. He dismounted, introduced himself
as the Khan's son, and invited us to his father's
tents. These he said lay close by, but we were not
yet at the end of this day’s difficulties. A network
of irrigation, and a deep muddy canal had to be
passed, and the camels which had so successfully
escaped the dangers of the river, were again nearly
perishing, and more ignobly, in the mud. The
Kurds on this side the river were useless to assist
us, as in their ignorance of camels they only made
matters worse, and but for the sudden reappearance
of the one-eyed giant, who had been once our
greatest enemy, I think we should have all stuck
fast. But now he made amends for part of his
misdeeds and ill-designs by lending a powerful
hand. He and Wilfrid between them unloaded the
camels, and carried the luggage over on their heads
up to their waists in holding mud, and then
dragged through the camels. The boy, meanwhile,
had gone to fetch help from his father; and we
were hardly across, when he reappeared, still on his
CH. III.]
Kerim Khan.
171
chestnut mare, a Kehileh Harkan, he told us, from
the Beni Laam, for all the tribes here get their
horses from the Arabs. And then we saw a
cavalcade approaching, and in the midst a portly
figure on an old grey mare, whom the boy
introduced to us as the Khan.
Kerim Khan is, after Husseyn Koli Khan of the
Bactiari, the most powerful chief of Luristan. His
tribe occupies most of the district formerly known
as Susiana, and from his camp on the Kerkha the
ruins of Susa, now merely mounds, were visible.
The land east of the river is very fertile, and being
moreover well irrigated, is mostly under cultivation.
Though living in tents, these Lurs can hardly be
called nomadic, for their camps are permanent ones,
at least for many months together. The one where
we now found ourselves was in appearance quite as
much a village as it was a camp, the tents being
pitched close together in rows, and from their pent
house shape looking exceedingly like houses. In
the centre of the camp is a large open space, within
which the sheep and cattle of this section of the
tribe are driven at night. These, however, are not
numerous, for Kerim Khan’s people are cultivators
of the soil, rather than shepherds. We noticed
many good-looking horses about, procured, they
told us, mostly from the Beni Laam.
The tent in which we were lodged was a most
elaborate construction. Its roof was of the same
material as that used by the Arabs, goat’s hair
Our Persian Campaign .
[cii. III.
7
cloth, but the side walls were of carpet stuff, with
intervals of open grass matting, through which the
air circulated pleasantly. It had, besides, a regular
door, while inside were some handsome Persian
carpets spread near a lighted fire, which we soon
made use of to dry our clothes, for we were wet
through, with the rivers and canals we had crossed.
The Lurs themselves differ even more from the
Arabs, than their habitations from Bedouin tents.
They have none of the Bedouin dignity of manner,
and their dress is a mean one, a square coat of
felt, and a little felt skull-cap, from under which
their black hair curls up in a single greasy wave.
Their voices, too, to one coming from among the
Arabs, sounded exceedingly absurd, as they have a
sort of sing-song intonation, and are pitched so
high as to be almost in falsetto. This with the
drawl, which we had noticed before in Ali Koli
Khan, made us at first inclined to laugh. Kerim
Khan keeps his people in excellent order, and no
crowding round us or importunate questioning was
permitted. The great man himself, though far from
dignified in appearance, was well-mannered, and
when he came, after having first sent us breakfast,
to see us in our new tent, conversed politely, first a
few words of Arabic, and afterwards in Kurdish,
which Hajji Mohammed interpreted. We told him
of our adventures, and of our intended visit to
the Bactiari chieftain, with whom he was well
acquainted, and of our journey from Hail with Ali
CII. III.]
Tea money.
173
Koli Khan, liis son. I am not sure that he
altogether believed us, when Hajji Mohammed
added, that we were persons of distinction travel¬
ling for amusement. In Persia, it is the custom
to judge strangers entirely by the appearance they
make, and we, travelling in our poor Arab clothes,
and accompanied by a single servant, gained less
credit in his eyes than we should have found with
Arabs, who care nothing for externals. He pro¬
mised, however, to send us on with two horse¬
men on the following day to Dizful, and thence,
if we would, to the Bactiari. In a private con¬
ference, however, later with the cavass, he imposed
his conditions. We were to pay him ten tomams
(four pounds sterling), as “ tea-money,” an exorbi¬
tant demand, which we were nevertheless obliged to
accede to. Hospitality here is never given gratis,
nor has anyone much shame of begging, for even our
little friend and first acquaintance here, the boy on the
chestnut mare, though his father is evidently a very
rich man, spares no occasion of asking money, “ for
his bride,” he says. Gold is what he likes best.
April 3.—The Khan and his son rode with us for
half a mile this morning, to see us started on our
way to Dizful. He has given us two horsemen as
he promised, so at least we have something for our
money, and they seem respectable people. We had
hardly ten miles to go, and the road, for there was
a road, was in tolerable order, and the men helped
us drive our camels according to such lights in
1 74
Our Persian Campaign.
[CII. III.
camel driving as they possessed. At first, we made
a circuit, so as to cross the canal at a place where
there was an old stone bridge, and in so doing we
passed not two miles from Shush, the ancient Susa.
Wilfrid would have liked to visit the mound, but I
was impatient to get on, and in fact there is nothing
above-ground by all accounts to see. Then we
travelled through a beautiful plain, bounded by the
splendid line of the Bactiari mountains, still covered
almost to their base with snow, a refreshing sight,
for the sun was now very hot. At their foot, we
could make out the town of Dizful, indistinctly at
first, and then clearly, while all around us lay well-
cultivated fields of waving corn just turning yellow.
Here and there grew shady canora trees, and there
were many rills of water. Now and then, too, a
village shaped like a fortress, with a surrounding
wall of sun-dried bricks, on the roofs of which storks
had built their nests, and were clattering with their
bills. In the fields, we heard francolins calling and
quails; and the roadside was gay with flowers, red,
blue, and yellow. Several times we stopped in the
shade of a tree, and let the horses and camels graze
on the crops, for so our horsemen insisted we should
do, and there was no hurry. Travellers here are
probably too scarce for grazing rules to be enforced
against them. Nor did the peasants we met seem
to mind. We were in Persia at last, and the
country seemed very delightful.
At eleven o’clock, we came to a large village by
ch. nr.]
Dizful.
175
the side of a broad shallow stream of transparent
water, flowing over a bed of pebbles, and overhung
by shady trees. A group of women were washing
their clothes, and the road was full of country
people on foot and donkey-back, crossing the ford.
A pretty picture, such as we had hardly seen since
we left Syria. This, and a second river which we
passed presently, are called the Bellaru, and cover
with their various branches nearly a mile of country.
The water in them was cold enough to make a
pleasant coolness in the air, coming like the Kerkha
water from the snows. Then at two o’clock, we
found ourselves close to Dizful, set picturesquely
on the great river Diz, which is spanned by a fine
old bridge of squared masonry, the work of ancient
times. The town itself occupies some high ground
beyond the river, that is to say on its left bank,
but on this side, there is not a single house. The
bridge is the main feature. It has twenty-one
arches, some pointed, some round, with buttresses
to break the stream. It is very much out of
repair, there being one hole in it big enough for
a camel to fall through. It would seem to belong
in part to the age of the Persian monarchy, in
part to that of the Caliphs, but I have not sufficient
knowledge of architecture to feel sure about this.
In any case, here we are at Dizful, and once
more under a settled government, with police and
soldiers, and all the other blessings of civilisation at
our call. We may be thankful that it is so.
CHAPTER IV.
“ In Kanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-house decree.
Where Alph the sacred river ran,
Through caverns measureless by man,
Down to a sunless sea.”
COLEBIDGE.
Pleasures of town life—The Khani’s court—Bactiari shepherds—
Shustar—Its palace, its river, and its garden—A telegraph
clerk.
April 4.—Dizful, though still alive with a
population of 30,000 persons, and a certain amount
of traffic, for it is the corn market of the tribes
westwards on the Ottoman frontier, and eastwards
on the Bactiari, now possesses but the shadow of
its past prosperity, if we may judge from the
neglected condition of its magnificent bridge and
the ruined walls which remain to mark its former
circumference. Between these and the limit within
which the present inhabited town has shrunk, lies
a widish strip of unoccupied land. Here we have
our camp in a hollow out of sight from the road,
and here we had hoped to remain unnoticed and
undisturbed. But alas, it was Fridav, and the whole
population turned out at daybreak, and there was
no chance of escaping discovery. All the inhabi¬
tants of Dizful, men, women, and children, have
been idling about, holiday-making in their best
CII. IV.]
Pigeon ■ flying ,.
177
clothes all clay long, with apparently nothing to
do but stare at us. I am sure they consider the
arrival of a party of strangers as a God-send, for
from early dawn until an hour ago, at the asr
when the governor sent three soldiers to disperse
them, they have literally swarmed round our tent
like their own flies. Not content, as Arabs are, with
looking on from a reasonable distance, these
Persians persist in trying to thrust their way inside
the tent, and not succeeding, they sit down in rows
so close to it that we cannot stir without pushing
somebody away. Besides, they cannot look with
their eyes; they must touch everything with their
fingers, and they must laugh and talk, and have
answers to all their foolish questions. They mean
no harm, but it is very tiresome, and has hindered
us not a little in our repairs and preparations.
The camel saddles and bags wanted mending, the
camels had to be doctored for mange, with an
ointment which had first to be mixed, the horses
to be shod, the stores looked through, purchases to
be made of rope and provisions, and all this with
several hundred persons at one’s elbow ; each ready
with advice and interference.
Our appearance, I have no doubt, is a great
temptation to them, for there can be few things
more unutterably dull than one of their festivities.
Pigeon-flying is here as much the fashion as it is
at Aleppo, and there is the same element of
gambling in the performance. The birds are let
TOT.. II. N
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. IV.
178
loose from their separate dovecots, and allure each
-other home ; such at least is the explanation given
us of the excitement shown in watching them.
Whoever gets most birds from his neighbour wins.
Then there are dervishes and seyyids in green
clothes who go about selling sugar-plums and
collecting alms ; and a few of the richest have
horses on which they gallop about. We, how¬
ever, in our Arab dresses, are a perplexity and
an endless source of inquiry to all; and our dogs,
and our falcon, and our camels, excite almost
as much interest as they might in Hyde Park or
the Champs Elysees. We should have done far
better to stay the other side of the river, where
there is an honest bit of desert much more in keep¬
ing with our establishment, and where nobody
comes. Rasham, too, to add to our troubles, got
loose and flew wildly about over the crowd, and
could not be caught till Wilfrid climbed to the top
of a tower there was in the city wall, and lured
him down. We were almost at our wits’ end with
the mob when the governor’s guard arrived, and
restored order. I profit by the quiet thus secured,
and by the last hour of daylight, to write my
journal.
Besides the vulgar populace, several polite and
well-to-do inhabitants have called on us ; the most
agreeable of them, a party of four, came in the
morning, and afterwards spent the day sitting
under the shade of the ruined wall close by, where
•cir. iv.]
Visit f rom a lady .
179
Wilfrid returned their visit. In the afternoon
they came again. They were Ardeshir Khan, a
very dignified and very fat man; Pasha Khan,
next in dignity and fat; Yusef Khan, thin and
very dark ; and lastly, Aga Shukr Allah, red-haired
and speaking a little Arabic, and thus able to con¬
verse with us and interpret for his friends.
The wife of one of these gentlemen sent to
propose to come and see me, and on my accepting,
.arrived immediately with a score of attendants.
We sat together on my carpet, which I ordered
to be spread near the tent; but with the best will
in the world, our conversation was but halting ;
Hadji Mohammed is not a fluent dragoman, and
lie grows deafer every day. A seyyid also called
on us and brought his little girl, named Kliatun,
a, funny little thing of five, to whom I gave a silver
kran ; then some rather ill-mannered persons calling
themselves Sabasans.*
Two or three people have been riding about on
horseback; one on a very handsome little bay
horse, said to be of Nejd origin, brought back by
a pilgrim, as it is the fashion for pilgrims who can
afford to do so, to bring back a colt from Nejd.
This year’s pilgrims they tell us have not yet
returned, and we are the first to announce their
arrival at Meslihed Ali. We hoped to have heard
something here of our friend Ali Koli Khan, but
are disappointed. He intended to go by water
* Christians of St. John, see “Bedouin Tribes.”
i8o
Our Persian Campaign .
[CH. IV,
from Bagdad to Moliammra or All was, and so to
Shustar and liome—the usual route, in fact—for
ours is not a road travelled by respectable people,
Dizful communicates with the outer world only by
Shustar. It is of no use, however, waiting for
Ali Ivoli. We cannot spare the time, and must pay
our visit to Husevn Koli Khan now or not at
j
all. No one can tell us exactly where to find the
Bactiari chief, some saying he is at Shustar, some
at Teheran, while all agree that some of his people
are encamped between this and Shustar, and to
Shustar we consequently mean to go.
Our last visit was from the governor or deputy-
governor, who being, we suspect, not quite sober,
(for the Persians drink wine) behaved so oddly that
Wilfrid had to beo; him to take himself off there
and then. On the whole, our day's rest at Dizful
has been hardly a pleasant one.
April 5.—Shaking the dust of this very tiresome
city from our feet, we resumed our march to-day.
We are depressed at the poor reception we have
received after all in Persia, the country we have
heard of so long as famed for its politeness, but
perhaps we ourselves are to blame. Hajji Mo¬
hammed tells us we should have travelled in a
different way, and he is probably right. The
Persians, he says, judge only from what they see,
and have no idea that people travelling without
servants can be respectable. We should have come
with a retinue, an escort of fifty men and half as
iOH. IV.]
Bacticcri dogs .
181
many servants. Then we should have been feted
everywhere. But it is too late now, and we must
travel on as we can.
We took the Shustar road this morning, a well-
travelled track, passing at first through corn-fields
and villages, and then across a fine plain of grass.
The soil here looks richer than any I have ever
seen in any part of the world, and it is well-watered
and wooded with canora trees. We are marching
parallel with the mountains, a lovely range crowned
with snow, and quite 8000 to 10,000 feet above the
sea. Immediately to our right, a wonderful square-
topped hill stands out in front of the main range ;
a diz, or fortress, the people call it. We have
passed several encampments of Bactiari; wild¬
looking people, who when you ride up to their
tents, run at once to their guns as though they
expected constantly to be attacked. They are
guarded by some of the most ferocious dogs I
ever saw, which were with difficulty prevented
from attacking Skieklia and Sayacl. Their masters,
however, are not inhospitable when things are
explained, and we had several basins of milk offered
us on the way. From them we have learned
that the Khani, as they call their chief, is some¬
where on the road, and the prospect has cheered
us not a little. To-night we are encamped all
alone, except for the company of an old Arab and
his wife, who joined us on the road—Chaab Arabs
they call themselves—who have been useful, help-
182
Our Persian Campaign.
[ch. ly¬
ing ns with the camels. There are many Bedouin
Arabs, it appears, in this part of Persia. We have
got a sheep to-night, and are to have a feast.
April 6.—The Bactiari tents are like those of the
Arabs, but the men are dressed as I have described
the Seguand, and Kerim Khan’s people. They keep
horses, and carry lances or guns, but I saw no horses-
which seemed well-bred. Early in the morning a man
came from one of their tents, and told us that the
Khani had passed the night not ten miles from where
we were, at a place called Obeyd, which our two
guides from Kerim Khan knew well. It lay off the
high-road to the left, just under the square-topped
hill we noticed yesterday. Though anxious now to get
on to Sliustar, where alone we can procure servants
(and they are a necessity we feel more and more
every day), we could not of course forego our
visit to Ali Ivoli’s father, and taking a line in the
direction pointed out, struck out to the north some¬
what back from our yesterday’s line of march. It
was a rough bit of travelling over broken rocky
ground, cut up here and there with streams. Very
beautiful, however, for in every hollow there grew
real turf brilliantly green, and sprinkled over with
borage flowers and anemones ; and wherever there
was a pool of water, frogs were croaking among the
weeds. Our progress was slow, for Assad, one of
our men, had bought a donkey at the camp, with a
new born foal, and as the foal could not walk, he
carried it before him on his horse. Pie was
cn. iv.]
Huseyn Koli Khan . 1S3.
continually letting it slip off, and stopping to hoist
it up again. Towards nine o’clock, we came to a
ridge of limestone, overlooking a wide valley
out of which the square crag v T e had been following
rose like a wall of masonry, five hundred feet or
more ; beyond which again, lay the snow range of the
Bactiari. While we were looking and admiring, we
heard shots fired, and knew that there must be a
camp in the valley, the Khani’s, we hoped, and
so it proved. But before descending, the two
Persians insisted upon going through an elaborate
furbishing of themselves and their clothes. There
was a little pool close by, and there they washed
and combed themselves, and then washed their
clothes, spreading them afterwards on the rocks to
dry. We in the meanwhile found a bit of shade
under a rock and slept. It was about noon when
we woke and went down to the valley, where we
presently saw a large building, the fort of Obeyd,
with half-a-dozen white canvas tents grouped round
it. This was Huseyn Koli Khan’s travelling
camp, and the fort w T as also his. It is modern and
in good repair, a square building flanked with
towers, surrounding a courtyard.
In the middle of the camp stood the Khani’s re¬
ception tent like a great umbrella, for the side walls
were taken down for the heat. There Huseyn
Koli sat in state surrounded by a kind of court.
Huseyn Koli Khan is the greatest chieftain of
all Western Persia. He is said to be able to put
Otir Persian Campaign.
pH. IT.
284
20,000 horsemen into the field, and this may very
well be true, as the whole of the south-western
slopes of the mountains are occupied by his tribe.
In person he is imposing without being particularly
good-looking; he is a thick-set rather heavy man,
with a broad face, brown beard and hair, and I
think grey eyes. He reminds me of a picture I
have seen somewhere of Ghenglris Khan, or another
Mongul prince, from whom it is not altogether
impossible he may be descended. His manner is
very straightforward and plain, and he gives one
the impression of being altogether an honest man.
He received us very cordially, made us sit down by
him in the middle of his courtiers who were
standing obsequiously round him, and gave us
some cups of excellent tea.
The manner of tea-making in Persia deserves
notice, inasmuch as the tea is there put into the
boiling water, while with us the boiling water is
poured on the tea; and tea made in the Persian
fashion is without the bitter taste too often the
result of our method.
We spent an hour or two thus with the Khan,
giving him the latest news of his son, who it
appears is expected daily now from Ahwas, and
learning much about the road which still lies
between us and Bushire. The Khan is on his way
to Teheran, where he has rank under the Shah as
a general in the army, so is unable to invite us
to visit him in the mountains where his home is,
cir. iv.]
An excellent dinner.
185
and where he keeps the stud of Arab mares for
which his name is famous. This would be more
unfortunate if we did not now recognise the neces¬
sity of getting without further delay to the coast.
The weather in the last two days has become
suddenly hot, and it would be folly to allow our¬
selves to be caught by the summer with so long a
march before us. Besides, we are hardly in such
travelling order as to allow of great experiments.
In spite of all our exertions, and all our offers of
high wages, we cannot get any one to drive our
camels. The fact is, the camel is almost as strange
a beast here as he would be in England, and camel-
drivers about as scarce. So we are to go to Shustar
to-morrow accompanied by a confidential man of the
.Khanis, who will put us into good hands.
We had a grand debate on returning; to our tent
whether or not to send presents to our host; but on
Hajji Mohammed’s advice, and rather against our
own judgment, at last did so. But our host would
receive nothing, saying that it was for him to do
honour to his guests, and that he wanted nothing.
He has sent us a most excellent dinner now,
consisting of half-a-dozen really well-cooked dishes,
things we had not tasted since we left Bagdad.
There is also a live lamb to take with us to¬
morrow, and two large boxes of sweetmeats made of
fruits and flowers.
April 7.—Our visit to Huseyn Ivoli Khan,
though a disappointment in some ways, for it was
Our Persian Campaign.
[cil. IT.
186
but a morning call, lias been none the less a good
fortune to us. The confidential man vvdiom the
Khan sent with us brought us early into Shustar,
and through his intervention we are now com¬
fortably established in a really delightful place,
the deserted palace of the Sliahzade, or Prince
Governor of the province, which is to us as a haven
of repose, fortress and palace and garden in one.
But all this requires description.
Shustar from the river is extraordinarily like
Dizful. The Karkeria, on which it stands, is the
Diz over again, but I think a larger river; and
there is a stone bridge apparently of the same date.
The bridge of Shustar is a fine work. It is the
broadest I have ever seen out of Europe, for one
might drive a coach across it but for the holes •
O 7
and it is quite fifty feet high above the water. The
most singular feature of it is that it is built in a
zigzag, and that it has immense piers to the but¬
tresses, some of which seem to have held water¬
wheels. The parapet is very low, and the whole
thing so much out of repair, that crossing it as we
did, in a hurricane of wind, we were rather nervous
about the camels. Below it is an immense weir,
over which the river falls with a deafening roar.
A fine arched gateway shuts it off from the city,
and just above stands the castle, where we are.
Shustar seems a larger town than Dizful, but it
is said to be less flourishing. They both have great
empty spaces within the walls, and plenty of ruins.
CII. IV.]
Kalat of Shustar.
187
The kalat is an immense rambling place, enclosing
a number of different buildings. First, there are
rows of vaulted buildings, intended probably for
barracks, with a large outer court, full just now of
green pasture, a sort of mallow, on which we have
turned our camels out to graze. These outbuildings
are two storeys high, with loop-holes to shoot out
of. From the outer court a paved causeway leads
up to a narrow gate, the entrance of an inner castle,
built round a large square court, with trees and
flower-beds in the middle. From this again a flight
of fifteen steps leads up to a terrace, garden, and
pavilion three storeys high. This last is the ham-
mam, and is the building specially placed at our
disposal. The Shahzade is absent, and the only in¬
habitants of his kalat are a garrison of about a
dozen soldiers, but they live in the outer circle of
buildings, and will not disturb us. The prince-
governor’s absence is a disadvantage to us, although
we profit by it to inhabit his house, for our letters
are to him, and we do not know what sort of wakil
he has left here. To-day, however, we have seen
nobody, and have been very happy and content in
the coolness and peace of all around. Only the
river makes a distant roar, far below, for from the
terrace one looks sheer down at least eighty feet to
the water.
April 8.—This spot is like a thing in a fairy
tale. Our pavilion contains several rooms on the
ground-floor, grouped round a central piece where
[CH. IV.
'188 Our Persian Campaign.
there is a fountain ; and above this is a gallery with
more empty rooms round it. We live on the
ground-floor, and our windows open on to a narrow
terrace with a low stone parapet, from which one
can throw a stone down into the river. The
Karkarla makes a sharp bend just above Shustar,
round what looks like the most beautiful park, a
level greensward with immense dark green shady
trees, standing as if planted for ornament. Here
we sit, and late in the evening and early in the
morning I see a pair of pelicans swimming or flying
below. The terrace communicates with the garden,
which is gay with poppies, pink and lilac and
white, in full bloom. There is a little tank, and a
row of stunted palm-trees, where rollers, green and
blue birds like jays, sit, while swifts dart about
catching muscjuitoes and flies, only a few hundred,
alas, out of the millions that torment us. For there
is no rose without a thorn, nor is this lovely kiosk
and garden full of blooming poppies without its
plague. The flies and muscjuitoes are maddening,
and to-day the heat of summer has burst upon us.
After a hot night, the day dawned hotter still, and
a sultry wind blew up dark clouds, till now the sky
is black all round.
Towards evening we had thunder and lightning,
but hardly a drop of rain ; and to-night the air is
heavy as lead. I am getting anxious now about
the heat. I wish we could get away, either to the
hills or the sea; but I fear we shall be detained
CH. IV.]
A wretched day.
189
some days. The storm has prevented the Shall-
zade’s wakil from paying us the visit he announced
this morning, and we cannot even prepare to go on
without seeing him; we are, in fact, dependent on
his assistance. We sent him our letter for the
Shalizade early this morning, and Hajji Mohammed
brought back word that he was coming immedi-
ately; but we have been waiting all day, and he
has not come. What is still more tiresome is the
unfortunate circumstance that no letter has come
for us from the British Consul at Bussora. This
puts us into an awkward position ; we had given
out that we expected the letter, and it is worse to
say that one expects such a letter and not to get
it, than never to have mentioned it.
Several visitors have been to see us, two or three
merchants, a doctor, and others ; they all, on hear¬
ing we had not received the countenance we had
expected, looked on us somewhat doubtfully, in
spite of our talking about our letter of recommen¬
dation to the Shalizade. However, we shall see
what the wakil says to-morrow.
April 10.—This is the evening of our fourth day
at Shustar, and we are not absolutely sure of start¬
ing, though we hope to get away to-morrow morn¬
ing. . . . Yesterday was a wretched day. The
night before last Wilfrid was suddenly taken ill, and
though the attack has now passed off, it has left
him weak. A serious indisposition makes all minor
difficulties seem trifles; but these become impor-
190 Our Persian Campaign. [ch. iv.
tant when they cause delay, and we have been in
much trouble about getting servants.
This town life is certainly not healthy in the
great heat (and summer has come upon us in
earnest) ; and every day wasted will make travel¬
ling more difficult, and the heat greater. We hope,
however, that we have settled all with the governor,
but until we are actually off I shall not be at ease.
The wakil has reluctantly promised us an escort
for Bebahan, protesting that the country between
it and Shustar is so unsafe, that he cannot
guarantee our safety, but he may at the last mo¬
ment recall his promise. And we are still without
a servant, except a little man who takes the
camels out to graze in the morning, and brings
them home at night. This little man says he will
go with us, but I doubt his doing so when the
moment comes; so many people have offered their
services and then backed out, amongst them the
so-called “ Slieykli ” Mohammed, our acquaintance
of the mill and not a slieykli at all, only a zellem
of Oliaab extraction, and a householder of Shustar.
But we do not like him, nor any of the candidates,
except two soldiers, and these we cannot have, as
they belong to the small garrison of the kalat, and
the governor refuses to give them leave.
The governor lias been very suspicious of us, and
thrown all the obstacles he could in our wav. He
d
came yesterday, fortunately not till Wilfrid was
better and able to receive him, and was evidently
CH. IV.]
At our wits end.
191
indisposed to further our wishes. His manner,
though extremely polite, showed that he was deter¬
mined we should go to Aliwas, not Bebahan. He
strongly urged us to give up all notion of taking
the Bebahan road; the country was unsafe; no
escort short of a thousand men would suffice to get
us through, and that number he had not at his dis¬
posal ; and besides, we should be wanting in respect
to the Shahzade if we did not go aud present our
letter to him ; we were really bound to go to Ah-
was, where we should find him. As to a letter
from the English balioz (consul) at Bussora, no
such communication had been received; and he
the wakil, knew nothing about us. He could only
repeat that he would do nothing for us except for¬
ward us to Aliwas. He positively refused an escort
for any other object.
Things were in this position when the wakil left,
and we were at our wits’ end, when fortunately,
a young gentleman called who belongs to the
telegraph office, Mirza Ali Mohammed, of Shiraz,
<c captain of telegraphs,” who talks a little Arabic,
and a little French. It then occurred to Wilfrid
to telegraph to the Legation at Teheran, re¬
questing that the government there should be
asked to order the wakil of Shustar to give us
an escort to Bebahan. The captain of telegraphs
carried off this message, which he had written
and translated into Persian for us, and the money
for its transmission; but this morning he returned
192
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. IV.
the money, with news that the telegram could not
be sent. The fact is he dared not send it without
informing his superior, who declined to let it go.
But it has had its effect. The governor has no
pretext now for doubting our respectability, for
suspicious characters would not want to communi¬
cate with the central government at Teheran. So in-
stead of a thousand, we are to have an escort of six
men and a sergeant to accompany us to Bebahan.
It has been unwillingly granted, and I shall not be
surprised if it should even yet be withdrawn.
Later. -—There seems to have been a storm some¬
where ; the air is clear, and we hope for less oppres¬
sive weather. But the foretaste of heat we have
had, is a warning. We have talked over our plans,
and agreed to give up all idea of pushing on to
Bender Abbas, and to be satisfied with reaching
Bushire. There can be no difficulty in finding
Captain Cameron, for he will be obliged to pass be¬
tween Bebahan and the sea, but we must make
haste or he will have crossed our line before we can
get to the coast. His intention was to keep as-
near to the coast as possible, so that we ought to
meet him near or at Bender Dilam.
Three or four respectable merchants of Shustar
have waited upon us this evening, and given us
much friendly advice about the dangers of travel in
which we do not much believe. They shook their
heads when Wilfrid remarked, that surely under the
administration of the Shahzade and his excellent
cir. iv.]
Good advice.
193
wakil, the country must be safe, and assured us
that the wakil was perfectly justified in dissuading
us from our undertaking. It would be much safer
to go to Ah was. Another, Hajji Abdallah, had with
him a letter in English from an English firm at
Bushire, which he begged us to translate. It was
far from complimentary, and we had some difficulty
in disguising it under a form of Arabic politeness.
He, too, was loud in his dissuasion of our journey.
Our visitors shewed no sign of going away, and I
believe they would have sat on all through the
night talking, had we not dismissed them. Hajji
Abdallah's last words were an entreaty to recon¬
sider our decision, and abandon the foolish plan of
going to Bebahan. He has once been that way he
says, and would not for the world go again; there
are not only dangerous wild tribes, but mountain
passes and impassable rocks. We listened un¬
moved, and in fact we had no choice.
SHAG HAN.
VOL. II.
CHAPTER V.
“ Solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.”
Tacitus.
Illness and misery—A Persian escort—The Shah’s Arab subjects—
Earn Hormuz and its nightingales—Night marching—De¬
serted villages—How they collect taxes in Persia—Bebahan.
Friday , April 11.—It would be easy to quote
unlucky starts on Fridays, and I am afraid this is
one. Wilfrid is ill again, a passing fatigue we hope,
from loading the camels this morning in the hot
sun, and riding all day long in it. He is lying
down now in the tent and trying to rest, but the
flies are intolerable.
Our plan in leaving Shustar was to go with our
escort, seven soldiers on foot, armed six with
matchlocks and one with a narghileh, to Ram
Hormuz, a small town eighty miles on the road to
Bebahan, and there get a reinforcement from the
Ferraz-bashi or deputy governor of the place for
the other eighty miles. This sounded well enough,
but already our escort has deserted us, and we are
alone.
After delays of all sorts, for till the moment of
starting we were still without servants, we got our
camels loaded, and about ten o’clock rode out of the
CH. V.]
A new servant .
195
palace gate and through the streets of Sliustar, and
over a stone bridge, which spans the second of the
two branches of the river on which the town stands,
and into the open country beyond. It was terribly
hot, and the whole country is a plague of flies, which
buzz about one all day long, and settle on one's
head at night.
Our camels have profited by the mallows in the
court of the palace to such an extent that they are
all fat and frisky, and we had some trouble in
loading them. But, at the last moment, we had an
unexpected offer of assistance. A young Arab?
dressed in a green calico jlbbeh, suddenly appeared
upon the scene, and volunteered his services. He
had a pleasant face, so that we were taken with
him at once. He told us that he was a nativn of
some village on the Tigris near Bagdad, and that
he had been impressed by the Turks for their navy,
in which he had served three years, that he had
then managed to desert while in port at Bussorah,
and had fled across the border to Mohamrah. He
had since earned his bread by working as horse-
keeper for one of the Bawiyeh sheykhs, and later,
tiring of that, in service with different Persians at
Sliustar. His idea now, was to get down to the sea
once more, and he begged us to take him with us
to Bushire. By accident Hajji Mohammed knew
something of some of his relations at Bagdad, and as
such a person was exactly what we most wanted, we
accepted him at once, on his own. terms. This young
196
Our Persian Campaign.
[CII. V..
fellow’s coming has been an advantage to ns in more
o o
ways than one, for it had the immediate effect of
inducing another of the crowd who were witnessing
our departure to volunteer, and a little red-haired
Persian in blue frock and trowsers, came forward
to enlist in our service. Thus we are no longer
wholly dependent on our old cavass and on our¬
selves.
As soon as we were outside the town, our ser¬
geant and the six soldiers began to give themselves
airs of military importance, advancing in front of
us in skirmishing order, and enjoining us to keep
close together, although the country had a quite
peaceable appearance, the road much frequented by
country people on donkeys, unarmed and peaceable
folks. The track led through undulating ground
chiefly barren, here and there a patch of cultivation,,
often between high banks. Our brave defenders
here shewed their zeal by running up to the tops
of the steepest and highest of these banks, firing off
their guns at random, generally in the air, but one
of the shots hit a lizard sitting in its hole. Their
energy, however, cooled as the heat increased ; and
towards noon, they were satisfied to trudge along-
with only an occasional diversion to look out for
enemies. By a quarter to one o’clock, they all
seemed tired, and we too were glad to halt for three
quarters of an hour, under a large shady canora tree,
in the midst of a field of oats. Here we ate our
luncheon, while the animals fed on the oats. Wil-
CH. V.]
A relapse .
197
frid complained a little of the sun, but it was not
till we had gone on again for a couple of hours that
he acknowledged he felt really ill. We were just
turning off the track to the north, to go to the tents
of a certain Hassan Khan, known to the soldiers,
when he said he could have gone no further. The
tents were not a mile from the road, but getting
there was almost too much for him. We found
them set in a circular enclosure, fenced in by a
hedge of branches, like a new made Sussex fence,
and evidently intended to last longer than a true
Bedouin camp ever does. Here there are about a
dozen small tents, half hair, half matting. Outside
the enclosure, a few mares and foals grazing, among
them one rather nice filly, Wadneh Hursan they say,
and animals of all sorts, cows, sheep, and goats
have been brought inside the hedge for the night.
Wilfrid is extremely tired. The rest seems to
have done him no good. He complains of his head
and of pains all over. I hope fatigue and the heat
are sufficient to account for his feeling ill. I dread
a return of the attack he had at Shustar. I wish
we had not left the town. This is a forlorn spot to
be ill in, and though at Shustar we should be no
better off, as far as concerns getting out of the
country, there would be a few more comforts, and a
chance of sending for help to Bussora. If he gets
worse we shall be in an almost hopeless position.
Every place seems frightfully far off the moment
there is a difficulty about moving ; to get back to
198
Our Persian Campaign .
[CH. v~
Shustar would be almost as impracticable as to go
on to Earn Hormuz. Seven hours’ travelling seems>
now an impassable gulf. I have arranged a sort of
mosquito net for Wilfrid against the flies, but it
only keeps them out for a time, and then a few
manage to get inside it, and it has all to be re¬
arranged. But now it is nearly sundown, and the
flies will go to sleep at dark ; and if the night is
cool he may get some sleep.
Everybody here is fortunately kind. Hassan
Khan, the chief, is away at Shustar, but his brother
Kambar Aga received us well. He has good manners,
speaks Arabic pretty fairly, and has been telling me
about his tribe, a section of the Bawiyeh of Ajjem y
as distinguished from the Bawiyeh of the Ottoman
dominions. The people and their chief seem to be
very poor. Kambar professes himself ready to
accompany us to-morrow to another camp not far
off, and on our line of march, that of Hajji Salman,
an Arabic-speaking tribe ; this is fortunate, as our
escort has deserted. They probably never meant to
come further than this, but however that may be,
they have in fact abandoned us and gone home to
Shustar. In the middle of the day, while we were
sitting under the canora tree, they demanded money,,
and Hajji Mohammed foolishly, without asking us,
gave them as much as they ought to have had for
the whole journey to Earn Hormuz, and as a conse¬
quence, having secured their pay, and with no further
motive for taking trouble they departed. Their
cir. v.]
A hopeless position.
199
company is no loss, they were disagreeable and tire¬
some, but they were of value as a mark of govern¬
ment protection, and in that respect it is unfortunate
that they have left us.
Escort or no escort I care not, if only Wilfrid
would get better, and he seems no better.
Saturday evening , April 12.—Wilfrid alarmingly
ill all night. He got rapidly worse, and then
seemed unconscious of all around; it seemed hope¬
less, but now he has rallied, and I think the worst
is over. Still I have made up my mind not to look
beyond the necessity of the moment, and indeed
these twenty-four hours blot out past and future.
I don’t know why I write a journal. He cannot sit
up yet, though he says he shall be able to travel
to-night. I don’t know what to think, but the
wish to move is something gained ; a short time
ago he could hardly speak, and if he really has
turned the corner, a few hours may make a great
difference. He now says that by travelling at night
only, he shall be able to go on.
Ghada, our new Arab, has behaved very well. I
hardly know what I should have done without
him to keep the fire up all night, and help to
make medicines and beef-tea. In the evening and
night I tried everything I could think of out of our
small stock of medicines, and in vain. The sun rose
and blazed fiercely, and the flies swarmed as before.
But in the afternoon the illness took another turn,
and now, at any rate, the danger seems to be past.
200
Our Persian Campaign.
[cil. V.
To please Wilfrid, though I doubt his being
able to travel, I have packed up everything and
got the tents down, and each separate load put
ready ; for to carry out the plan of night-travelling,
we must load after dark, that is, by the light of a
very small moon, when it rises about one o’clock.
We are then to be off, Wilfrid to ride his delul, and
we are to get as far as we can ; I have got cold tea
and beef-tea in bottles, to be accessible at any
moment. He has remained lying down on his
rugs and pillow, the only things not yet packed,
which, when the time comes, will be put on his
delul.
Kambar Aga and his tribe are good people.
Nothing could be kinder than they have been.
Hassan Khan has sent a third brother from Shustar,
Aga Ibrahim, who is to accompany us with six
of his men to Hajji Salman’s camp.
April 13.—Wilfrid was able to travel for four
hours, and though much exhausted seems really
none the worse. We reached the Salamat camp
about six this morning. We hope to set out
presently—about sunset.
The moon rose last night towards one o’clock,
but owing to the slowness of everybody the loading
took more than an hour. They all wanted to wait
till the moon should be high in the sky before
starting. We first struck across the plain of pasture
and scrub to get back to the track, and then
pursued oar way along it eastwards. At half-past
CH. V. ]
Kindness of the Arabs.
201
five we saw some tents to the south, but these our
guides said were the wrong ones. An hour later
met two zellems, who told us the contrary, but too
late for us to return ; and they added that they
came from a camp of Salamat Arabs an hour or so
further east. It was already hot, but we pushed
on, the road good and level, splendid pasture, hills
to the left, an interminable plain in front and to
the right, extending to the Karkaria and beyond it.
Some tents were pointed out to us, said to be on
the opposite bank of the river. We reached the
Salamat camp, Sheykli Abeyeh, at eight o’clock.
A few fairly good-looking but very small mares
are to be seen. The camp has been evidently on
the spot for weeks, and is accordingly unsavoury,
more like a village than a camp.
We have, or rather had, for I write while waiting
to start, our tent on a small tell separated by a dip
in the ground from the Salamat encampment.
The ground here is covered with a horrid little
spiked grass, like miniature barley to look at,
which pricks through everything. Its barbed thorns
are like fish-hooks, very difficult to extract, and all
our clothes and bedding are full of them.
Wilfrid spent the day lying down in the tent,
able to talk though tired. The people here are not
ill-bred, and they have even been kind to us.
Their Sheykli, Abeyeh, with several of his friends,
and relations, came to see us soon after our arrival.
Abeyeh told us that his tribe belongs to the Ahl es-
202
Our Persian Campaign.
[oh. V.
Shimal, and lie knows all about the tribes of the
Hamad and their horses. His brother Rashid
showed us a very beautiful grey colt, which he
offered to exchange for our hamra mare, who is
suffering from a sore back. The colt is too young,
or might have been worth taking ; the owner says
he would not part with it but that the Shahzade
has intimated an intention of buying it. The
Shahzade is, it seems, in the habit of purchasing all
the good-looking horses he hears of, and does not
pay for them, but he does not take mares; this, at
least, is the tale told to us. Our mare, though
thoroughbred, is in such wretched condition that
the Shahzade would hardly care to seize her.
Abeyeh readily agreed to escort us to Ram
Hormuz with six khayal, Rashid proposed to ac¬
company us on foot as camel driver, and Aga
Ibrahim (from Hassan Khans), also offers to go on.
It is five o’clock, time to pack. * * * Eight
o’clock. Wilfrid felt so ill an hour a^o that all
O
these arrangements seemed to be vain. But he is
better, and now we are off.
April 14.—Our new plan of travelling by night
seems to answer well. Wilfrid was able to go on
from nine till five o’clock. He is recovering
though reduced to the extreme of thinness. The
heat during the day is insufferable, and even if
there had been no cause of anxiety, we could hardly
have continued marching by day. The flies v are
intolerable, they follow us, and are found every-
CH. V.]
The “ Scorpion ” our gzcidc.
203
where ; at night when we are riding they are sitting
in swarms upon our heads, and if driven off, perch
again in spite of darkness. However, in the dark
they are quiet unless disturbed, which is some small
relief. Last night our track went a good deal up
and down, crossing small ravines and watercourses,
and pools and ditches full of water. Sometimes we
waded through tall grass, splendid stuff, growing
quite wild and uncared for. The moon serves
us hardly at all, but we could see dimly by starlight.
The constellation of the Scorpion is now our guide,
rising as it does in the south-east. I have slept little
lately, and once last night I fell fast asleep on
horseback, and woke with a start at a sound of
munching. It was my mare grazing eagerly
knee-deep in wild oats. Where the camels were I
could not see, but heard them soon afterwards some
way off ahead. Wilfrid bore up as long as he could,
till at five o’clock he said he could not go a yard
further, and we camped for the day, pitching the
tent on a tell commanding all surrounding tells. Our
escort objected to this halt. “ The Shirazi will
come down from those hills and rob us,” said
Abeyeh, “and the town of Earn Hormuz is only
three or four hours further. Let us go on.” His
objection was natural ; this is very exposed ground,
and close to us on the north rises a range of crags,
from which the Shirazi robbers may be watching us.
But perched on the tell we get a little air, and this
is worth some risk. Besides, they have not come
204
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. V.
jet, and we shall be gone presently. Abeyeli
argued in vain; if there had been legions of robbers
in sight, I don’t think Wilfrid would have moved.
He was indeed unfit to stir, and has been lying on
the ground under the shade of the tent ever since.
A halt like this is not much of a rest; the heat is
too overpowering, the flies too troublesome. Beyond
the rocky range we see high snow peaks, very
tantalising in this furnace, and looking the other
way, there is just below us a fine piece of meadow
land on the banks of a running stream. In all the
hollows there is rich pasture. Abeyeh and his men
have kept a good look-out, some posted about on
heights, and the rest watching the mares hobbled,
and turned loose to graze.
It is four o’clock ; the heat lessening, and Wilfrid
says he is ready to go on. We must pack. * *
April 15.—We have at last reached Ram
Hormuz, or as it is pronounced “ Ramuz.” We left
our bivouac on the tell at five o’clock yesterday
afternoon. Wilfrid tried riding on horseback, but
found the effort too great, and had to give it up and
mount his delul. Our way lay through more long
grass, and ditches, and water. I, as sleepy as the
night before, was constantly dozing off and waking
suddenly in the middle of some long dream, unable
to remember where I was. There is nothing so
painful as this struggle with sleep, and it lasted all
night long. At last we came suddenly in sight of
some camp fires about half a mile away to our right,
cir. v.]
A gallop.
205
and Abeyeli, fearing to advance further, ordered
a halt. There was danger, he said, in coming on an
encampment unawares, lest we should be taken for
enemies. We did not stop to argue, but with
delight obeyed, and in a few minutes were sound
asleep upon the ground—nor did we wake till day
was already breaking.
A discussion now arose what further was to
be done. The tents, we were informed, belonged to
the Khaims, an Arab tribe, half Bedouin, half
fellah, and Abeyeli was for spending the day
with them. But the sound sleep had done Wilfrid
good, and as it grew light we could see the palm
groves of Ram Hormuz, apparently ten miles off, and
we knew that there we should get refuge from the
sun. So leaving the rest to follow or not as they
would—we got on our horses and started at a gallop,
Shiekha and Sayad bounding on in front of us
delighted at this unexpected run. At first there
was no road, and we got entangled in a series
of watercourses, but scrambling through these we
reached a footpath where the going was good, and
presently overtook a party of Arabs, men and women,
riding in on donkeys to market at the town. They
all expressed themselves much pleased to see us, taking
us to be Arabs like themselves, and here in Persia
they always seem delighted to meet their country¬
men. They pointed us out the town, for there was
more than one grove of palms, and in the mirage
which hid everything as the sun rose, we had lost
206
Our Persia7i Campaign.
[CII. V.
sight of it. At lialf-past six we stopped at the
ferraz-basln s door, and in another minute were
sitting in a cool court-yard under the shade of a
wall, waiting till the respectable functionary, our
host, had finished his devotions.
On the sio’ht of our letters from the governor of
Shustar he made us very welcome—conversing
through the medium of his secretary, who knows
Arabic. Carpets were brought, and tea made—the
most delicious draught we ever tasted in our lives
—flavoured with orange and some acid fruit. The
gallop has cured Wilfrid, and he says he shall not
be ill as;ain.
O
Our caravan having arrived, we have moved out¬
side the town, for the ferraz-bashi’s house is not
big enough to hold us all, and are encamped on
a little mound overlooking the gardens which skirt
Earn Hormuz. I wish I could describe the beauty
of this place. Eound us lie a few acres of green
wheat, in which quails and francolins are calling,
and through which a little stream of running water
winds. Close by, on another mound, stands a
beautiful little kubbr, the tomb of some saint, and
on either side gardens half run wild, a delicious
tangle of pomegranate, fig, and vine, with here and
there lemon and peach, and groups of palm. The
pomegranates now are in full flower, and so are the
roses, and every thicket is alive with nightingales.
It is nearly sunset, and groups of blue-gowned
Persians are coming across the fields from the town,
CK. T.]
Ram Hormuz.
20 7
to wash and say tlieir prayers at the stream and the
kubbr. The town itself is half hidden in the
gardens, but shows picturesquely through, backed
by a range of crimson hills, scored and lined with
blue shadows. We have been following the edge of
these hills all the way from Shustar. They are the
same which are supposed to hold the Sliirazi robbers
our Arab escort feared so much.
The position of the Arabs here is a miserable
one. At war with these Shirazi, and pillaged by
the Government which does nothing to protect
them, they still cling to their little bits of cultiva¬
tion wherever there is water near the hills. They
are half the vear nomadic, oping south and west
Avith the flocks, but in the spring return to the
hills, plough up a few acres, and gather in a crop if
possible before the tax-gatherer has found them
out. The Persian Government is weak, and the
garrison of Earn Hormuz is generally only sufficient
for its duty of holding the toA\m, but every noAv
and then a reinforcement arrives frcm Alnvas or
Fellahieh and then a raid is made under pretext
of a collection of arrears, and horses and cattle are
driven off in payment. This seems to be the plan
throughout the province. We asked Abeyeh and
the Kharnis Sheykh who came with him to-day to
our camp, why they put themselves into this
government trap by coming to the hills, when they
might remain unmolested in the plain, or go where
they would. “ It is the soil/' they exclaimed,
208
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. V.
“the soil which is so rich. Where should we find
another like it ? ” Indeed, the whole of this side of
Persia seems meant to be a garden. Unlike the
plains of Bagdad, which never can have been
cultivated except with irrigation, the land here
grows crops as in Europe, watered by the rain
from heaven. The range of Bactiari hills by
attracting clouds gives it this rare advantage.
Bam Hormuz itself must have been a great city
once. Its position at a point where several rivers
meet, and at the foot of a gorge, leading through
the mountains to Shiraz, makes it naturally a place
of importance, but it is little more now than a
market for the Bedouin tribes and a military
station.
The ferraz-bashi has been very amiable to us,
though, like everyone else, averse to our further
progress in the direction of Bebahan. The road, he
says, is most unsafe, every village at war with its
neighbour, and he dares not send troops with us
even if he had them. There is, however, in the
town, a certain potentate of the district first to
be traversed, one Mohammed Jafar, Khan of the
village of Sultanabad, who can protect us if any one
can. To him Ave are to be recommended, and
perhaps he will go on with us to-morrow. Abeyeh
and his men, alas, can go no further. They are
Arabs, and honest men, and camel drivers, and we
have bid them good-bye with regret. But the
people further on are Persian, and Persian and
CH. V.]
The Ferraz-bashi.
2 og>
Arabian are everywhere at odds. The idea is not
agreeable of plunging into a hornet’s nest, such as
the country beyond us is described to be, but there
is no help for it; to return is impossible.' Every
day becomes more and more fearfully hot, and our
only hope now is the sea.
April 16.—We are refreshed by a good night’s-
rest, such as we have not had since leaving; Shustar..
The ferraz-bashi called again this morning, walking
out in the cool of sunrise, with a rose in his hand,,
to pay us his compliment. It seems to be the
fashion among the Persians to go about with flowers,,
which they present to each other as polite offerings,,
and just now it is the season of roses. Plis Excel¬
lency informed us that Kaicl Mohammed Jafar
would be ready to start for Sultanabad at the asr
(about half past three), so we have made all our pre¬
parations for departure. Although the heat has been
great, 96° at coolest, I have managed to make a.
sketch of Earn Hormuz, but nothing can do justice
to its beauty. We have been more pleasantly
received here, than anywhere else in Persia, and I
feel sure we might make friends with the people if
only we could speak their' language. Travelling
without knowing; the language, is like walking; with
O O CD ' O
one’s eyes shut.
April 17.—Mohammed Jafar arrived soon after
four, and immediately we started. It was of
importance that no time should be lost, for we had
a river to cross, the Jerrahi which comes down
VOL. II.
p
.2 10
Our Persian Campaign .
[CH. V.
here from the mountains, and runs into the Persian
'Gulf, at Fellahieli. The country, till we came
to it, was a difficult one for camels, being a very net¬
work of irrigation, with the channels crossed by
"treacherous little bridges. But the camels managed
it all without accident. The river, of which we
crossed two branches, flows over a bed of gravel,
and was nowhere over our horses’ girths. The
w T ater very cold, with melted snow, so that a
•delicious breeze of iced air followed the current.
It was now past sundown, and we were anxious to
be clear of the inclosed ground, before it should be
.absolutely night; but the Kaid, tiresome man, had
made an arrangement with some friends at a little
village beyond the river to dine with them, and
then go on in the night, a plan which did not at all
.suit us. Indeed it was impossible for us, with our
camels, to halt in such a spot, where we could not
have prevented them trampling the standing corn,
and where we should have been helpless after dark.
iSo declining, as politely as we could, the hospitality
offered, we left the Kaid to take his meal with his
four horsemen, and pushed on alone. A villager
was sent to show us the way, for we were not a
mile from open ground, and night was falling and
•every minute precious, and we were resolved to
reach it if we could. Eoad, however, it soon
.appeared there was none, for to reach the village,
the Kaid had taken us away from the main path,
and as it grew darker we got more and more
cir. v.]
Mohammed Jafar.
211
entangled, in dykes and ditches. At one moment
things seemed almost hopeless with ns, a deep canal
barring all further progress, and the villager who
had brought us to this pass, profiting by the
'Confusion, having run away. Fortunately ’Wilfrid
perceived this flight in time, and riding after him
.fired his pistol in the air, and brought him back,
when, under the compulsion of fear, he showed us
where to cross. It was a poor ford, and some of
the loads got wet, but beyond it we were on hard
ground, and able now to wait in patience till the
Raid and his men should come. Our shot seemed
to have disturbed their feast, and we had not long
to wait. Then we marched on in silence and utter
darkness, but over a good road, till half-past one in
this morning, wdien a loud barking of dogs
announced our arrival at Sultanabad.
Here the Kaid has a house to which he at once
retired, leaving us to lie down in our cloaks, with
our camels and horses, till daylight. He would
willingly have invited us in, but we dare not leave
our beasts and property, and now we have pitched
our tent for the day, looping it up as usual, like an
umbrella, to get every breath of air. When day
dawned, we saw the Raids house on one side of us,
with three bio- canora trees overshadowing its
entrance, and a walled garden at the back of it; on
the other side the village with its barley fields and
splendid grass crops. The houses of the village,
built of sun-dried brick, are in a cluster together,
2 I 2
Our Persian Campaign.
[cir. t .
about two hundred, yards from our mound ; in front
of them two or three black tents. The Raid's*
house is of considerable size, and appears to contain
several court-yards. Sultanabad is itself a poor,
mean-looking place, but if Hajji Mohammed is to be
believed, a very nest of brigands, any one of whom
for one single kran would kill a man, a real strong¬
hold of robbers, and as such keeping the neighbour¬
ing country in terror. But I don’t know what to
think, for Hajji Mohammed believes every tale he
hears, and the horsemen have been cramming him
all the way along with stories of Mohammed Jafar’s
exploits, to enhance their chiefs importance. How
he does what he likes in the teeth of the govern¬
ment, who dare not punish him for having killed
several of the Shahzade’s people only a couple of
years ago, how only he and his Sultanabadis can
travel safely on the Bebalian road; and one can
hardly blame poor Hajji Mohammed for expecting
us to lead him into mischief, for we have before
done so, and he thinks us reckless of danger. He
is always lecturing us on prudence, though he
himself is an odd combination of caution and
rashness ; he once at a critical moment wanted to
stuff his revolver into an inaccessible bag, merely
because the strap of the belt belonging to it was
broken ; another time he would have given his gun
to a stranger to carry, had we not prevented his
doing so. We spent this morning drinking tea and
eating eggs and butter and a kid, and spreading wet
•CII. V.]
Greedy servants.
213
things to dry. Fortunately no serious damage lias
been done, and the fierce sun soon dried every¬
thing. A breeze sprang up, too, which helped the
■drying, and drove away the flies.
Hajji Mohammed was commissioned in the course
of the morning to negociate terms with the Kaid,
who had been already sounding the cavass as to
how much money could be got from us. He has
really done it very well, and arranged that at
Bebahan we are to pay the Kaid one hundred
Frans. The great man at first asked for an abba
or a cashmere shawl, but here Hajji Mohammed
seems to have spoken with proper firmness.
We want to start at half-past four, and ought to
pack now, but the servants are dawdling over the
remains of the kid; they will not move till they
have devoured the last morsel. Besides, they have
not several girths to mend before w 7 e can load.
April 18 .—We had a great deal of trouble to
start at all yesterday afternoon, and after a difficult
march we have got no farther than the village
of Jazun, about fifteen miles, which was reached at
five a.m. this morning. At this rate we shall be a
month getting to Bebahan, especially if the pass
over the range of rocky hills we must cross, is as
rugged as report says.
It turned out that the Kaid himself did not
intend to start with us, but to send his nephew
with four people on foot, and follow himself with
the four horsemen. He stood by as' we loaded, and
Our Persian Campaign.
[ch. v.-
214
then wished ns good evening. When all was ready
he asked us the favour to take with us a bundle of
brown wool for Bebahan, and as it was not heavy
we agreed. While Wilfrid turned to look at this
package, a villager took the rifle off his delul, but
hastily put it back on Wilfrid’s shouting “ Stop*
thief,” and ran off accompanied by the little crowd
which had gathered round us, no doubt equally
guilty at heart, and expecting blows. Then we*
started—it was about half-past five, a fine evening*
with a breeze, which, alas, died away at sunset,
after which for two hours the air was extremely
sultry. The Sultanabad field crops had to be
crossed, but they were on dry land, with only a few
easy ditches. Then we came to ground like a
park, formerly cultivated, but now abandoned to
nature; canora trees dotted about like handsome
hawthorn trees, as if planted for ornament, the
grass all crops run wild, splendid oats and barley
now in the ear. Here and there an abandoned
village, the walls gleaming red in the setting sun.
Some of these were inhabited not very long since,,
and we were told various tales regarding them
from one place the inhabitants had gone away of
their own accord quite lately to escape the tax-
gatherer’s next visit, leaving their corn standing
from another they had been driven by fire and
sword, the soldiers burning the village after
sacking it.
After about two hours we crossed the river AbnT
CII. v.]
The River A bill Far is.
215
Faris; it is not many yards wide nor is it deep, but the-
banks are steep and overgrown with trees and thick
bushes. A narrow and nearly perpendicular path
leads down to the ford. The camels have become
skilful, and managed the scramble admirably
Shakran now carries our personal baggage, he lias,
completely recovered, and is the cleverest of them
alL Hajji Mohammed sat imperturbable on Wilfrid's,
delul, and nearly got his head caught in the tangle
of branches. After this we had another water or’
two to cross in the dark, the approaches to which
were always announced by the croaking of frogs;
then the chirping of grasshoppers replaced the
croaking, and we were again on hard ground, the
country a good deal up and down and broken up
into ravines and fissures caused by rains. At ten
o'clock, as far as we could make out by starlight, we
were on good flat pasture land, real pasture not
crops, and trees growing in groups as in a park,
with a low ridge on the left. Here we halted for
an hour to eat, and thought to have a nap ; but
Mohammed Jafar, who after all joined us some time
before, would not hear of this. It would be-
dangerous; the Shirazi would swoop down from
those hills to the north. He altogether declined
remaining longer than necessary, and there was an
earnestness in his manner that brought conviction
with it; lie really believed in the danger he talked
of. The night was fine, and it would have been a
pity not to make use of it; we pushed on over good
i2 16 Our Persian Campaign . [ch. v.
ground for an Lour, and after that through mud,
-ditches, and frogs; about one o’clock a wide ditch
‘Completely barred further progress. We had for a
good while been again among crops, so rank that
wading through them was hard work, and on
reaching this ditch, we all groped about, trying to
find a passage for the camels. There was no sort of
track; the horsemen had, in fact, got off the road
.and could not find it again, but there was no
difficulty as to general direction, the Scorpion being
our guide. Here, however, wo were stuck fast by
irrigation works, for at this particular spot the ditch
was impracticable for camels, and all efforts in the
dark to hit upon a ford were vain. The horsemen
had already got across, and wore shouting to us to
follow ; indeed, they had for the last hour guided us
in a hap-hazard way by shouts and singing. One of
them sang remarkably well, and kept up a sort of
refrain:
But now they screamed, shouted, and sang to no
purpose. We refused to waste any more time
in a useless search, and sat down to w T ait for
daylight. One of the khayal then returned and sat
with us till four a.m. talking all the while to Hajji
Mohammed about the Shirazi. We lay down and
went to sleep. By half-past four we had found a
CH. V.]
Jazun.
2 I 7
passage through the mud and water of the canal,
and beyond it got on to desert ground, on which
we passed several small detached oasis-like palm
gardens. Half an hour’s march further took us to
Jazun.
Jazun is the only village left of many which once
existed between Sultanabad and Bebahan, and whose
ruins we have passed. They were deserted only a few
years ago; the governors of the province, who found
it impossible to collect taxes from them, having
solved the difficulty by destroying them. This
village is now a collection of little lliud houses on
O
the left bank of a natural stream of running water.
It is surrounded by fields and groups of palm trees.
Our horses are tethered out by long ropes fastened
to palm trees, to feed on green barley; the camels
are further off with Shaft. Shaft is an excellent
worker, but he does not speak a word of Arabic,
or I should tell him how well satisfied we are with
him. We ourselves have encamped on the high
bank backed by the stream, so that the villagers,
who are a tiresome set of people, can only
approach us on one side.
Jazun as well as Sultanabad, belongs to the family
of Mohammed Jafar. He has been sitting here
talking to us through Hajji Mohammed. He tells
us that his family, although they now no longer
talk Arabic, are of the Safeyeh tribe, and came
originally from Nejd, bringing their horses with
them ; and that a beautiful little white mare his
Our Persian Campaign .
[CH. V„
2l8
nephew rides, and which we admired yesterday
evening, is a Hamdanyeh Simri. This mare is very
small, 13.2 at most, hut almost perfect; the head
very fine with black nose, black round the eyes as
if painted, jebha prominent, and mitbakh ex¬
tremely fine ; tail properly set on and carried, a good
style of going, bones rather small, but legs appar¬
ently wiry and strong. One of the men rides a
chestnut mare said to be Ivehileh Sheykhah, about
14 hands, with four white feet, handsome head, and
mitbakh. Mohammed Jafar mentioned that the
particular breeds now possessed by his tribe are
Hamdani Simri, Abeyan, Hadban, Wadnan, Me-
leyhan, Seglawi and Kehilan. His own grey mare
does not look thoroughbred, and he did not say
anything about her. Mohammed Jafar now in¬
formed us that his nephew would proceed to Beba-
han with us while he himself must go home, and he
wished to have the whole sum of one hundred
krans paid to him at once. After some talk he
agreed to take seventy krans as his share, the rest
to be given to his nephew at the end of the
journey. He certainly gets the lion's share, but
beggars cannot be choosers, and we are dependent
on his goodwill to pass us through this part of the
country, so that on the whole we ought to be glad
that he has not asked mere. We are altogether in
a false position, too weak to insist upon our own
terms, and our best plan is to march as fast as we
can to Bebalian. Unfortunately there are not only
CH. Y.]
Threatened danger,
o
219
crags to cross, but the Kurdistan river has to be
forded.
April 19.—A disagreeable twenty-four hours has
passed, and we have scaled the crags, and escaped
from the Jazun people, who, it seems, had some evil
design. But there is still the Kurdistan river
between us and Bebahan.
We managed to set out from Jazun soon after
two o’clock in the afternoon, getting at once off the
plain on to broken ground, which became more and
more broken till at seven o’clock, when we halted,
we were involved in a confused mass of hills
apparently tossed together at random. We had
crossed several small streams in deep ravines, and
one narrow ledge of rock at the head of a ravine,
which would have been unpleasant in the dark.
Saw three or four gazelles, luckily not perceived by
the greyhounds, for we cannot stop for sport. Sand-
grouse, beebirds, plovers, and doves abounded. By
seven o’clock we had done about ten miles and
ascended over 600 feet, and Wilfrid proposed to
halt for some hours. I was pleased, not liking
passes and steeps in the dark, and we still had
the pass itself before us, but Abdallah Khan, the
Kaid’s nephew, remonstrated and protested danger.
Wilfrid, however, gave a peremptory order to
unload the camels and we sat down to drink tea
and make a frugal meal, and proposed afterwards
to make aliek for the camels, as they have had a
tiring march and cannot feed now in the night.
o o
220
Our Persian Campaign .
[gh. y.
Before we had done eating Hajji Mohammed
came to announce that forty Jazunis were following
to attack and plunder us. Shafi, he said, had
found this out, and told him, and he added that
the welled Abdallah Khan had also been told of
the plot and warned by the villagers not to stay
with us. He called the youth, who confirmed the
tale, as did all the others, the four men on foot who
had come all the way with Abdallah. It seems
probable that an attack really was contemplated,
for Shafi could gain nothing by inventing such a
story. But, as Wilfrid suggested, it may have been
only a way of “ expressing the polite feelings of the
inhabitants of Jazun.” He however agreed that
we ought to be on the watch and start as soon as
possible—at this moment it w^as really impossible.
Guns and revolvers were placed ready and sentinels
posted, and Abdallah earnestly assured us he would
stand by us. I think he would, he had been a
much better guide than his uncle and was
besides always ready to help and to wait for the
camels at difficult places. After all this agitation,
nothing happened except one or two false alarms,
and I don’t think I ever slept a sweeter sleep than
between nine and two o’clock this night—no mus-
quitoes and no flies.
It took us more than an hour to load in the dark,
and we were not off till past three o’clock ; at first
feeling our way in single file, led by Abdallah, along
a very broken and steep road. For part of the way
€11. V.]
Beb ahan.
22 1
we had a little assistance from a red crescent moon.
At a quarter to six. we had gained the highest point
of the ridge, between 1G00 and 1700 feet above the
. G \
sea, making about 900 feet ascent from Jazun. Here
there was at last an open view, down towards the
Kurdistan river, with the palm village of Kaikus
plainly visible, and other palm villages beyond the
river, and still further something vague, said to be
Bebahan.
A gradual descent brought us on to a strip of
plain, swarming with cuckoos, beebirds, doves, frail-
colins, and sandgrouse, and dotted with canora
trees, singly or in clumps, here and there fields-
of corn.
The sight of a mound commanding air, if air there
should be, decided us to halt, and here we now are,
waiting for the decline of day to set out again and
ford the river. This plain by the river is hardly
more than three hundred feet below the top of the
pass we came over this morning.
Sunday, April 20.—Bebahan has been reached
at last. Our final march, though not a long one,
took us till towards midnight to accomplish, for we
had the Kurdistan river to cross. This was the
deepest of any we had forded, and there was a long
delay in choosing a safe place ; and then the water
was up to our saddle bows, and running almost like
a mill race. But the camels are now so used to
water in every form from mud to torrents, that all
inarched bravely through, a portion only of the
222
Our Persian Campaign .
[oh. V.
luggage getting wet. Unfitted though the country
has been in many ways for camels, we may never-
theless congratulate ourselves with the thought that
with no other beasts of burden could we have got
our luggage across the rivers at all. Loaded mules
must have been swept away.
The Kurdistan forms the boundary on this side of
the cultivated plain of Bebahan. Beyond it, we
found ourselves travelling entirely between corn¬
fields, and along a broad highway towards the
capital of Khusistan. When two hours from the
town we sent on Hajji Mohammed to announce us
to the governor, but the governor was already
asleep, and it was with some difficulty that we were
admitted by the guard within the gate ; nor was it
possible in the utter darkness of the night to choose
our ground within for camping. In the first open
place we stopped, and as we were, lay down and
slept (we care little now, how or where it is we lie,
the ground is always soft as a feather-bed). Then,
with the first light, we went on through the town
and stopped again in front of the Serai. Here I
have been writing my journal and sketching the
picturesque old palace, with its tottering minarets
covered with storks’ nests. “ The Shahzade is still
sleeping,” say the sentries, “ and will not be
awakened.”
CHAPTER VI.
“ Last scene of all.
A mere oblivion.”—S hakespeaee.
A last rush through the sun—We arrive at Dilam on the Persian
Gulf—Politics of the Gulf—A journey “in extremis ”—Bushire
—The End.
The rest of our journey was little better than a
feverish dream of heat and flies. After a day spent
at Bebahan, where we were hospitably entertained
by the Shahzade, Alitesham ed-Daulah, a Persian
nobleman of real good breeding, we recommenced
our weary march, thinking only now to get down
to Bushire alive.
The kind invitations of our host could not detain
us, nor the polite attentions of his wives, nor the
amiable visits of merchants, calendars, and other
idle persons, who thronged our lodgings from dawn
to dusk. The truth is Bebahan was like a furnace,
and we felt that it was more than our strength
would stand, to prolong our sufferings over another
week. The lowlands of Persia, bordering on the
Persian Gulf, are one of the most oven-like regions
of the world, and though Bebahan lies nearly 1400
feet above the sea, it shares the climate of the Gulf.
224
Our Persian Campaign.
Fch. yi.
We had now, besides, nothing further to fear in the
way of robbers or marauders, and prepared our¬
selves for a last desperate rush through the sun to
Bushire. The distance was hardly more than a
hundred and twenty miles, but between Bebahan
and Dilam there lay a region of hills, worse, accord¬
ing to report, than any we had yet passed, and
absolutely impassable for camels. Still we had good
reason to feel confident in the climbing powers of
our beasts, and could not think of leaving them
behind. Accordingly the next day we started, our
courage well screwed to the sticking point of en¬
durance, and under escort of three of the Shah-
zade’s horsemen.
We set off at six in the afternoon, making the best
of what daylight yet remained to get well started
on our road. The difficulties are almost always
greater close to the town, and once fairly on the
beaten track, our camels would have no temptation
to wander. From Bebahan to Dilam there are two
considerable lines of ridges or hills—steps, as it
were, and extremely precipitous ones, down to the
sea coast. At first it was easy going for the
camels, but presently, about an hour after dark, we
found ourselves in broken ground, where, after
stumbling on till half-past nine, we were brought to
a dead halt by finding ourselves at the brink of a
deep gulf, in which the road seemed to disappear.
This made it necessary we should wait till daylight,
and we lay down with our camels on the road, and
ch. vi.] Calling the camels . 225
slept soundly till the first streak of dawn at lialf-
past four. Then we discovered we had left the
road, though only a few yards, and that the fissure
before us was a sufficient reason for the halt we had
made. The chief formation of these hills is not
rock but clay, which being entirely without vegeta¬
tion except in favoured spots, is furrowed into
ravines and fissures by the action of the rain,
making the district impassable except along the
beaten track. We had risen some hundred feet
from Bebahan, and so had nearly reached the
summit of the first pass, where to our joy we
saw something far away which we knew by instinct
must be the sea. This raised our spirits, and we
began our descent at once.
The path was very precipitous, and looking
down from the edge it looked impossible that a
camel should get down the thousand feet of zigzag
which one could, see plainly to the bottom. In some
places rocks jutted out of the soil, making awkward
narrow passes, and in others there were drops of
three feet and more. Our horses of course made no
difficulty, but watching the camels was nervous
work, knowing as we did how little could be done
to help them. Still we did what we could, going
in front and calling them u Hao-lrao,” according to
Bedouin fashion, which they understand so well.
They know us now and trust in us, and so came
bravely on. Even the Mecca delul and the Safra,
the young and giddy ones, have learned sobriety.
VOL. II. Q
226
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. AT..
Three liours exactly it took to get down, and with¬
out accident. Another hour brought us to Zeytun,
a pretty village on the river Zorah, with palm
gardens and a good patch of cultivated land.
At the river we stopped, exhausted already by
the sun and overcome by the sight of the cool
running water. Here we lay frizzling till the-
afternoon.
At four we crossed the river, as broad but a little-
less deep than the Kurdistan (both have gravelly
bottoms), and resumed our inarch. A last cup of
the ice-cold water Avas indulged in, but it could not
slake my thirst, which nothing now can cure, though
as a rule we drink nothing till the evening. Our
march was a repetition of last night’s, a long stumble
half asleep along a break-neck road ending as before
in an “impasse,” and the rest of the night spent on the
ground. We are plagued now, especially in these
night halts, where we cannot see to choose a bed,
with the horrible little spiked grass. Every bit of
clothing we have is full of these points. These and
the flies make it impossible to sleep by day, and we
are both very weary, Wilfrid almost a skeleton.
April 23.—At a quarter past three, we again
went on, by the light of a false dawn, the Scorpion,,
still in front of us. We know exactly now the rising
of these stars in the south-eastern sky. The ascent
this time was longer and more gradual, and the
descent shorter than the former one, but quite as
difficult. This second ridge is considerably lower
CH. VI.]
Bender Dilam.
than the first, and at the foot of it our path fol¬
lowed a sort of valley in which we found a few
pools of water. Then suddenly the gorge opened
and we found ourselves at eight o’clock in the
plain, with a village near us, and about eight miles,
away Dilam and the sea, simmering like melted lead
to the horizon.
Eight miles, it sounds an easy march; but the
heat, which now on the sea coast is more insuffer¬
able than ever, stopped us half way, and again we
rigged up our tent on the plain, and lay under it
till evening. Then we rode into Dilam. Our first
question was for Captain Cameron, whose road
should here have joined our own; but no Frank or
stranger of any kind had passed that way.'"'
Dilam, like most maritime villages on the north-
eastern shore of the Persian Gulf, is inhabited by
people of Arab race, who have carried on a mixed
trade of commerce and piracy there from time im¬
memorial. Of the two, the piracy seems to have been
the more profitable trade, for since its suppression
by the English or rather Indian navy, the villages
have languished. The Arab idea of piracy by
sea, is exactly the same as that of ghazus by land.
Any stranger not in alliance with the tribe, or
under its protection, is held to be an enemy, and
* Captain Cameron never started at all from Bagdad on the
expedition planned between us. Letters received, after we bad left,
recalled him to India, and he went there by steamer down the
Tigris and Persian gulf.
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. VI.
'2 2 8
his goods to be lawful prize. The greater part,
however, of the armed expeditions, formerly made
in the Gulf were directed by one tribe or village
ngainst another tribe or village, and were called
in Arabic ghazds no less than if they had been
made by land. The British Government, however,
naturally found these ideas antiquated and the
practice inconvenient, and in the interests of its
commerce undertook, thirty or forty years ago, to
keep the police of the Gulf. It compelled the
Sheykhs of the various towns and villages to enter
into what is called the Truce of the Gulf, and piracy
has disappeared. Expeditions henceforth, if made at
all, were to be made by land, and armed vessels, if
met by an English cruiser, were confiscated. This
sealed the fate of the coast villages, for the com¬
merce of the Gulf alone being insufficient to support
them, their inhabitants took up new quarters
further inland, and from sailors became cultivators
of the soil. The sea-port villages, where ports there
are, still live on but poorly, and where there are no
ports, the coast is abandoned. Dilam possesses no
regular port, except for small boats, but the anchor¬
age is good, and I believe the roadstead is considered
one of the best in the Gulf. It has been talked of
ns the terminus of an Indo-Mediterranean railway.
Dilam now is a poor place of perhaps two hundred
houses, but there are a few well-to-do people in it
who presently came out to pay us their respects. The
English name is well known on the coast, and there
CH. VI.]
A Beluch guard.
229
was no danger now of any lack of courtesy. We
were besieged at once with hospitable offers of enter¬
tainment for man and beast, but as usual preferred
our camp outside the town. This we placed on
a strip of sand dunes fronting the sea, and dividing
it from the level plain which runs inland ten miles
to the foot of the hills. This strip was scattered
over with thorn bushes, in one of which a pair of
cormorants were sitting. Our visitors remonstrated
with us on choosing such a spot, assuring us that
it was full of poisonous snakes, but this no doubt
was nonsense. Among the rest came a wild¬
looking man with a gun, who told us he was a
Beluch, and sent by the governor of Dilam as a.
guard, to protect us during the night. He had
been in Turkish service, and was now in the*
Persian. This was our first meeting with any¬
thing Indian. We liked the man. In the evening,,
when it was dark and all were gone, Wilfrid gave
himself the luxury of bathing in salt water.
We had now done what few if any Europeans,
had done before,—come all the way by land from
the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf: our journey
had been over two thousand miles.
April 24.—There was now a great debate
whether we should go on still by land for the other
hundred miles which remained to us before we
could reach Bushire, or whether, selling our camels
here at Dilam, we should hire a sefineh, or native
boat, to convey us with our things by sea. Wilfrid
230
Our Persian Campaign.
[CH. VI.
was much taken with this last idea, thinking that the
arrangement would save us from another week's
toil in the overwhelming heat; but to me the
sight of the rickety boats in which we should have
had to trust ourselves and our horses to the mercy
•of the winds and waves, was sufficient to make me
rejoice that the negociation about a sea journey
failed. Then it was decided to march on as before.
There seemed something sad, too, in abandoning our
•camels here, and taking to the ships of the sea
where they could not follow us; and though we
knew our parting from them was anyhow at hand,
it was a respite to take them on. We had got,
from our long care of them, to take great pride in
their condition, and they were now fat and free
from mange, a triumph of management which only
those who have travelled far and loved their camels
will understand.
On the afternoon of the 24th, having spent just
twenty-four hours at Dilam, we struck our tents,
and be^an our last march.
The country bordering the Persian Gulf is here
a dead fiat, little, if anything, raised above the
level of the sea. It is very barren, and impreg¬
nated for the most part with saltpetre, while here
and there broad tidal creeks intersect it, wherever
a stream runs into it from the hills. These formed
the only obstacle to our march, and we travelled
more easily now by night, for there began to be a
moon.
-CH. VI.]
231
A broken leg.
I hurry over these last days, indeed the heat and
the march absorbed all our faculties and thought.
Our plan was to start about three o’clock in the
afternoon, when usually a light breeze sprang up
from the south-east, and travel on till the moon
set, or till some creek barred passage for the night;
then sleep upon the ground till dawn, and on
again till eight. By that hour the sun had be¬
come a fierce and importunate thing, beating as if
with a weight upon our heads; and, choosing a place
where there was some show of pasture, we unloaded
and turned out our beasts to graze, and then rigged
up the tent and lay gasping under it in the breathless
air, supporting life with tea. Hajji Mohammed now
was only capable of tea-making. In all things else
he had become idiotic, sitting half back on his beast,
or in the tent, ejaculating: “ Allah kerim,” God is
generous. Our tempers all were severely tried, and
we could do little now to lie]p each other. Ghada
and Rahim, Arab and Persian, were at daggers
drawn. The horses’ backs for the first time were
getting sore, and the dogs were run nearly off
the soles of their feet. Shiekha and Sayad in a
course in which they killed a gazelle were injured,
the former having cut her feet badly on the glazed
edges of some dry cracked mud she had galloped
over. Lastly, and this was a terrible grief, one of
the camels being badly loaded had slipped its pack
and in the fall Rasham had been crushed. The
falcon’s leg was broken, and for the last three days
252
Ozir Persian Campaign.
[CH. VI.
of our journey, it seemed impossible lie should live,
clinging as lie was obliged to do by one leg to the
saddle. It was all like a night-mare, with no re¬
deeming feature but that we knew now the end was
close at hand.
On the 25th we reached Gunawa, on the 26th
Bender Bik and on the 27th, Bohalla, where we
crossed the river, and then marching on without
halting through the night, we forded a shallow arm
of the sea, and found ourselves the next morning
about dawn upon the edge of the Khor, or salt lake
of Bushire. As the sun rose Bushire itself was be¬
fore us, and our long march was at an end.
It was now necessary to abandon our nomadic
life, and shipping all our goods in a “ baggara,” and
leaving the unloaded camels to be driven round at
low tide to the neck of the Bushire peninsula, we
put ourselves and our dogs and bird on board, and
with a fresh breeze ran in two hours to the custom¬
house landing. There, taken for Arabs, we had
long to wait, but in the end procuring porters,
walked in procession through the streets to the
Residency. When we arrived at the door of the
Residency, the well-dressed Sepoys in their smart
European uniforms, barred us the door with their
muskets. They refused to believe that such vaga¬
bonds, blackened with the sun, and grimed with
long sleeping on the ground, were English gentle¬
folks or honest people of any sort.
APPENDIX.
GRANITE RANGE OF JEBEL SHAMMAR. EFFECT OF MIRAGE.
APPENDIX.
NOTES ON THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF
NORTHERN ARABIA.
-*-
Arabia between latitude 34° and latitude 29°, may be
described in general terms as a plain of sand-stone grit,
or gravel, unbroken by any considerable range of hills,
or by any continuous watercourse, if we except the Wady
Hauran, which traverses it in the extreme north and in
rainy seasons forms a succession of pools from the Harra,
east of Jebel Hauran, to the Euphrates. This stony plain
is known to the Bedouins as the Hamad or “ Plain ” par
excellence ; and though for the most part destitute of peren¬
nial pasture, or of water above ground, there are certain dis¬
tricts in it better provided which form their winter quarters.
Such are the above mentioned Wady Hauran, the resort of
the Bisshr Anazeli, and the Wady-er-Bothy, of the Daffir,
and Shammar. A few wells would seem to exist on the line
of certain ancient routes, traversing the Hamad from various
points on the Euphrates, and these form centres of attrac¬
tion to the tribes. But their immediate neighbourhood is
invariably barren, having been pitilessly browsed down for
centuries. Routes of this sort connect Kaf with Shedadi,
Meskakeh with Suk-esh-Sliiokh, and Jof with Maan. But the
236 Notes on the Physical Geography [appendix.
best frequented of them and that best supplied with water
is the great Haj road from Meslihed Ali to Jebel Shammar,
called the road of Zobeydeh. On this wells and reservoirs
were constructed in the 9tli century, by the widow of
Harun-el-Rashid, and khans, for the convenience of pil¬
grims, the ruins of which still exist.
The Hamdcl , starting from the level of the Euphrates,
rises rapidly for a few miles through a district much inter¬
sected by ravines, to an upper plateau, which thenceforward
has a fairly regular slope upwards towards the west and
south of 8 to 10 feet per mile. The drainage of the plain
would not, however, seem to he continuous towards the
river; but to terminate in certain sandy hollows, known by
the name Buttn Jdf or Bekka, all signifying belly or re¬
ceptacle, which may in former times have been lakes or
small inland seas. These do not now at any time of the
year hold water above ground, but at the depth of a few
feet below the surface it may he found in wells. Such
are the Buttn on the Haj road, in which the Wady-er-
Rothy terminates, the oases of Taibetism and Jobba in the
south, and I believe that of Teyma in the west; but the
most remarkable of them all is without comparison the
so-called Wady and Jof of Sirlian.
The Wady Sirlian bisects northern Arabia in a line
parallel with the Euphrates and with the coast lines of the
Peninsula, that is to say, nearly from N.W. to S.E. Im¬
mediately east and north of it the Hamad reaches its
highest level, 2,500 feet above the sea; and the cliffs
bounding it on this side are rather abrupt, corresponding,
as I am inclined to think, with the general formation of
the plain. This consists of a series of shelves set one
above the other, with their edges opposed to the general
slope; a formation very evident on the Haj road, where the
traveller from Nejd, though in reality descending at a
general rate of more than eight feet to the mile, is tempted
APPENDIX.]
Of Northern Arabia.
2 37
to fancy himself on an ascending road, owing to the fre¬
quent Akabas or steep cliffs he has to climb. I am
inclined, therefore, to believe that the Wady Sirhan and the
Jof receive their drainage principally from the west, and
that there is a second great watershed to the plain in the
volcanic region, which, according to Guarmani, continues the
Hauran ridge southwards to Tabuk. East of the Wady
Sirhan I was struck by the absence of large tributary wadys
such as one would expect if the area drained was a wide
one. The Wady Sirhan, however, in the days when it was
an inland sea, must have received contributions from all
sides. It lies as a trough between two watersheds in the
plain, and may have been supplied from Jebel Aja in the
south, as it is still supplied from Jebel Hauran in the
north. Its general level below 7 that of the adjacent plain
eastwards, is about 500 feet, and the plain may rise again
still higher to the w 7 est.
Be this as it may, one thing is clear, namely, that the
Wady w’as and is the great central receptacle of the plain,
and corresponds pretty closely wdtli its neighbour, the
still existing Head Sea, while the Wady-er-Kajel entering
it from the north, holds towards it the position of the
Jordan. Water in the Wady Sirhan is found at a nearly
uniform level of 1850 feet; and this rule applies to that
part of it wdiich is known as the Jof as w r ell as to the rest.
The abundance of water obtainable from its v T ells along a
line extending 300 miles from the frontier of Syria, to
within 200 of the frontier of Nejd, points out Wady
Sirhan as the natural high road of Northern Arabia, and
such it must from the earliest times have been. It is
probable that in the days when Arabia w 7 as more populous
than now 7 , villages existed in it at intervals from Ezrak to
Jof. At present, the w r ells of these only remain, if w r e
except the twin oases of Kaf and Ithery, still preserved
in life by the salt lakes which supply them with an article
238 Notes on the Physical Geography [appendix.
of trade. These are but poor places, and their population
can hardly exceed two hundred souls.
Jof and Meskakeh are still flourishing towns, hut I have
reason to think their population has been over estimated
by Mr. Palgrave. I cannot put the total number of houses
in Jof at more than 500, nor in Meskakeh at more than
600, while 100 houses are an ample allowance for Kara
and the other hamlets of the Jof oasis. This would give
us a census of hardly 8,000 souls, whereas Mr. Palgrave
puts it at 40,000. I do not, however, pretend to accuracy
on this point.
With regard to the geology of the Hamad and the
adjacent districts north of the Nefud, I believe that
sandstone is throughout the principal element. In the
extreme north, indeed, limestone takes its place or conglo¬
merate ; but, with the exception of a single district about
100 miles south of Meshhed Ali on the Haj road, I do not
think our route crossed any true calcareous rock. The
cliffs which form the eastern boundary of the Wady Sirhan
are, I think, all of sandstone, south at any rate of Jebel
Mizmeh, as are certainly the hills of Jof and Meskakeh,
the rocks of Aalern and Jobba, and all the outlying peaks
and ridges north-west of Hail. These have been described
as basaltic or of dark granite, the mistake arising from
their colour which, though very varied, is in many instances
black. The particular form of sandstone in which iron
occurs, seems indeed to acquire a dark weathering with
exposure, and unless closely examined, has a volcanic look.
I do not, however, believe that south of latitude 31° the
volcanic stones of the Haura are really met with; unless
indeed it be west of the Wady Sirhan. Jebel Mizmeh, the
highest point east of it, is alone perhaps basaltic. The
whole of the Jof district reminded me geologically of the
sandstone formation of Sinai, both in the excentric outline
of its rocks, which are often mushroom shaped, and in
APPENDIX.]
Of Northern Arabia .
2 39
tlieir colour, where purple, violet, dark red, orange, white
and even blue and green are found, the harder rock assum¬
ing generally an upper weathering of black. I can state
positively that nothing basaltic occurs on the road between
Jof and Jebel Aja. Of Jebel Mizmeh I am less certain, as
I did not actually touch the stone, but, if volcanic it he, it
is the extreme limit of the Harra southwards. The tells
of Kaf I certainly took to be of basalt when I passed
them. But I did not then consider how easily I might be
mistaken. On the whole I am inclined to place latitude
81° as the boundary of the volcanic district east of the
Wady.
The bed of the Wady Sirhan is principally of sand,
though in some places there is a clayey deposit sufficient
to form subbkhas, or salt lakes, notably at Kaf and Ithery.
About three days’ journey E.S.E. of Ithery, I heard of
quicksands, but did not myself cross any ground holding
water. The sand of the Wady Sirhan, like that of all the
hollows both of the Hamad and of northern Nejd, is nearly
white, and has little to distinguish it from the ordinary
sand of the sea shore, or of the Isthmus of Suez. It is
far less fertile than the red sand of the Nefud, and is more
easily affected by the wind. The gliada is found growing
wherever the sand is pure, and I noticed it as far north as
Kaf. In some parts of the Wady which appear to hold
water in rainy seasons, there is much saltpetre on the
surface, and there the vegetation is rank, but of little value
as pasture. In the pure white sand, little else but the
gliada grows. Wady Sirhan is the summer quarters of the
Slierarat.
The Harra is a high region of black volcanic boulders
too well known to need description. It begins as far north
as the latitude of Damascus, and stretches from the foot of
the Hauran hills eastward for some fifty miles, when it
gives place to the Hamad. Southwards it extends to Kaf,
240 Notes on the Physical Geography [appendix.
and forms the water shed of the plain east of the Wady
Sirhan. According to Guarmani, it is found again west of
the Wady, as far south as Tebuk. The eastern watershed
of the Harra would seem with the Jehel Hauran to feed
the Wady-er-Kajel, a bed sometimes containing running
water, and on its opposite slope the Wady Hauran which
reaches the Euphrates. The Harra is more plentifully
supplied with water than the Hamad, and has a repu¬
tation of fertility wherever the soil is uncovered by the
boulders.
The Nefud .—A little north of latitude 29°, the Hamad,
which has to this point been a bare plain of gravel
broken only by occasional hollows, the beds of ancient seas,
suddenly becomes heaped over with high ridges of pure red
sand. The transition from the smooth hard plain to the
broken dunes of the Nefud is very startling. The sand
rises abruptly from the plain without any transition what¬
ever; and it is easy to see that the plain is not really
changed hut only hidden from the eye by a super-incum¬
bent mass. Its edge is so well defined that it is hardly an
exaggeration to say that with one foot a man may stand
upon the Hamad, and with the other on the Nefud; nor is
there much irregularity in its outline. The limit of the
sand for several hundred miles runs almost evenly from
east to west, and it is only at these extremities that it
becomes broken and irregular. Such, at least, I believe
to be the case; and if, as seems probable, the whole
drift of sand has been shaped by prevailing easterly
winds, the phenomenon is less strange than might be
thought.
The great Nefud of Northern Arabia extends from the
wells of Lina in the east to Teyma in the west, and from
the edge of the Jof basin in the north to the foot of Jebel
Aja in the south. In its greatest breadth it is 150 miles,
and in its greatest length 400 miles, but the whole of this
-APFENDIX.]
Of Northern Arabia.
241
Is not continuous sand. The extreme eastern portion
(and perhaps also the extreme western) is but a series of
long strips, from half a mile to five miles in breadth,
running parallel to each other, and separated by intervening
strips of solid plain. Nor is the sand everywhere of equal
depth ; the intermittent Nefuds are comparatively shallow,
and would seem to hear a certain proportion in depth to
the breadth of the strips. Thus the highest sand ridge
crossed by the Haj road is barely eighty feet, while others
are hut fifty and twenty feet. The continuous Nefud on the
other hand, between Jof and Hail, has a depth of at least
two hundred feet. The intermittent ridges may possibly
suggest an explanation of the original formation of the mass.
It would seem as if the wind acting upon the sand drove it at
first into lines, and that, as these grew broader and deeper,
they at last filled up the intervening space, and formed
themselves into a continuous mass at their lee end. If
this he the case, the intermittent ridges show the direction
in which the solid mass of sand is advancing, the direction,
that is, contrary to that of the wind. I leave this
deduction, however, to more competent persons than
myself to draw, contenting myself with recording the
fact.
The red sand of the Nefud is of a different texture from
the ordinary white sand of the desert, and seems to obey
mechanical laws of its own. It is coarser in texture and
far less volatile, and I am inclined to think that the
ordinary light winds which vary sandy surfaces elsewhere
leave it very little affected. A strong wind alone, amounting
to a gale, could raise it high in the air. It is remarkable
that whereas the light white sand is generally found in low
hollows, or on the lee side of hills, the red sand of the
Nefud has been heaped up into a lofty mass high above
the highest part of the plain. The Hamad where the
Nefud begins is 2,200 feet above the sea. No traveller
VOL. 11.
it
242 Notes on the Physical Geography [appendix;
can see this desert of red sand for the first time without,
acknowledging its individuality. It is as little like the
ordinary sand dunes of the desert, as a glacier is like an
ordinary snow field in the Alps. It seems, like the glacier,,
to have a law of being peculiar to itself, a law of increase,
of motion, almost of life. One is struck with these in-
traversing it, and one seems to recognise an organism.
The most remarkable phenomenon of the Nefud are the'
long lines of horse-hoof shaped hollows, called fuljes, with
which its surface is pitted; these are only observable-
where the sand has attained a depth of from 80 to 100 feet,,
and are consequently seldom found in the intermittent
portion of the Nefud; while it is remarkable that in the
very centre of all, where it might be supposed the sand was
deepest, the fuljes are less deep than towards the northern
and southern edges, while the lines in which they run
become more regular. Indeed, for some miles on either
side of Aalem, which marks the centre of the Nefud, there
are no large fuljes ; but their strings are so regular as to
form, with the intervening spaces, a kind of shallow ridge
and furrow running nearly east and west, and not altogether
unlike, on a gigantic scale, those ridges in which meadows
are sometimes laid down in England. From the top of
Aalem this formation was very distinct.
The fuljes themselves are singularly uniform in shape,,
though varying in size. They represent very closely horse
tracks on an enormous scale, that is to say a half-circle,
deep at the curved end or toe, and shelving up to the level
of the plain at the square end or heel. The sides of the
APPENDIX.]
Of Northern Arabia.
243
former are as precipitous as it is in the nature of sand to
be, and they terminate abruptly where they meet the floor
of the fulj. This floor, sloping downwards towards the toe
at an angle of about 70°, and scored with water-courses
converging to a centre, roughly represents the frog, so that
in plan the whole hollow would appear as in the woodcut
A; while in section it would appear as in woodcut B. It
is necessary, therefore, in entering
a fulj on horseback, or with camels,
to approach it from the east; but
on foot one can slip down the sand
at any point. I noticed that just
west of the deep fuljes there is
generally a high mound of sand,
B
which adds considerably to their apparent depth and to the
delusion of their being artificial in their origin, as though
the saiid scooped out has been thrown up by a digger.
The size and depth of the fuljes varies greatly; some
are, as it were, rudimentary only, while others attain a
depth of 200 feet and more. The deepest of those I
measured proved to he 280 feet, including the sand hill,
which may have been 60 feet above the general level of the
plain; its width seemed about a quarter of a mile. At
the bottom of these deep fuljes, solid ground is reached,
and there is generally a stony deposit there, such as I have
often noticed in sandy places where water has stood. This
bare space is seldom more than a few paces in diameter.
I heard of, but did not see, one which contained a
well. The wells of Shagik do not stand in a fulj, but
in a valley clear of sand, and those of Jobba in a broad
244 Notes on the Physical Geography [appendix.
circular basin 400 feet below tbe level of the Nefud. The
fuljes, I have said, run in strings irregularly from east to
west, corresponding in this with their individual direction.*
They are most regularly placed in the neighbourhood of
the rocks of Aalem, but their size there is less than either
north or south of it. The shape of the fuljes seems
unaffected by the solid ground beneath, for at the rocks of
Ghota there is a large fulj pierced by the rocks, but which
otherwise retains its semicircular form.
The physical features of the Nefud, whether they be
ridges or mounds or fuljes, appear to be permanent in their
character. The red sand of which they are composed is less
volatile than the common sand of the desert and, except on
the summits of the mounds and ridges, seems little affected
by the wind. It is everywhere, except in such positions,
sprinkled over with brushwood gliada trees and tufts of
grass. The sides of the fuljes especially are well clothed,
and this could hardly be the case if they were liable to
change with a change of wind. In the Nefud between
Jobba and Igneli I noticed well defined sheep tracks ascend¬
ing the steep slopes of the fuljes spirally, and these I was
assured were by no means recent. Moreover, the levelled
track made according to tradition by Abu Zeyd is still dis¬
cernible in places where cuttings were originally made.
Sticks and stones left in the Nefud by travellers, the bones
of camels and even their droppings, remain for years
uncovered, and those who cross do so by the knowledge of
landmarks constantly the same. I am inclined to think,
then, that the Nefuds represent a state of comparative re¬
pose in Nature. Either the prevailing winds which heaped
them up formerly are less violent now than then, or the fuljes
are due to exceptional causes which have not occurred for
* The exact direction of these strings it is difficult to determine accu¬
rately ; but perhaps E. by S. and W. by N. may be accepted as nearest
the truth.
APPENDIX.]
Of Northern Arabia .
245
many years. That wind in some form, and at some time,
has been their cause I do not doubt, hut the exact method
of its action I will not affect to determine. Mr. Blandford,
an authority on these subjects, suggests that the fuljes
are spaces still unfilled with sand; and if this be so,
the strings of fuljes may in reality mark the site of such
hare strips as one finds in the intermittent Nefuds. It is
conceivable that as the spaces between the sand ridges
grew narrower, the wind blocked between them acquired such
a rotatory motion as to have thrown bridges of sand across,
and so, little by little, filled up all spaces but these. But
to me no theory that has been suggested is quite satis¬
factory. What cause is it that keeps the floors of the
deeper fuljes hare; floors so narrow that it would seem a
single gale should obliterate them, or even the gradual
slipping of the sand slopes above them ? There must be
some continuous cause to keep these hare. Yet where is
the cause now in action sufficient to have heaped up such
walls or dug out such pits ?
Another strange phenomenon is that of such places as
Jobha. There, in the middle of the Nefud, without
apparent reason, the sand is pushed high hack on all sides
from a low central plain of bare ground three or four miles
across. North, south, east, and west the sand rises round
it in mountains 400 and 500 feet high, hut the plain itself
is hare as a threshing-floor. It would seem as if this red
sand could not rest in a hollow place, and that the fact of
Jobha’s low level alone kept it free. Jobba, if cleared of
sand all round, would, I have no doubt, present the same
feature as Jof or Taibetism. It would appear as a basin
sunk in the plain, an ancient receptacle of the drainage
from Mount Aja. Has it only in recent times been sur¬
rounded thus with sand ? There is a tradition still extant
there of running water.
Jebel fShammar .—A little north of latitude 29°, the
246 Notes on the Physical Geography [appendix.
Nefud ceases as suddenly as it began. The stony plain
reappears unchanged geologically, hut more broken by the
proximity of a lofty range of hills, the Jehel Aja. Between
these, however, and the sand, there is an interval of at least
five miles where the soil is of sandstone, mostly red, the
material out of which the Nefud sand was made, hut mixed
with a still coarser sand w T ashed down from the granite
range. This rises rapidly to the foot of the hills. There, with
little preliminary warning, we come upon unmistakeable
red granite cropping in huge rounded masses out of the
plain, and rising to a height of 1000 and 1500 feet. The
shape of these rocks is very fantastic, boulder being set on
boulder in enormous pinnacles ; and I noticed that many of
them were pierced with those round holes one finds in
granite. The texture of the rock is coarse, and precisely
similar to that of Jebel Musa in the Sinai peninsula, as is
the scanty vegetation with which the wadys are clothed.
There are the same thorny acacia, and the wild palm, and
the caper plant as there, and I heard of the same animals
inhabiting the hills.
The Jebel Aja range has a main direction of E. by N.
and W. by S. Of this I am convinced by the observations
I was able to take when approaching it from the N.W.
The weather was clear and I was able to see its peaks run¬
ning for many miles in the direction mentioned. With
regard to its length I should put it, by the accounts I heard,
at something like 100 miles, and its average breadth may
possibly be 10 or 15. In this I differ from the German
geographers, who give Jebel Aja a direction of N.E. by
S.W., on the authority I believe of Wallin. But as they
also place Hail on the southern slope of the hills, a gross
error, I do not consider the discrepancy as of any impor¬
tance.
Of Jebel Selman I can only speak according to the
distant view I had of it. But I should be much surprised
.APPENDIX.]
Of Northern A rabia .
247
to learn that any portion of it passed west of the latitude
■of Hail. That portion of it visible from Hail certainly lies
to the S.E., and at an apparent distance of 30 miles, with
no indication of its being continued westwards. It is by
.all accounts of the same rock (red granite) as Jebel Aja.
Between Jebel Selman and the Nefud lie several isolated
hills rising from broken ground. All these are of the
sandstone formation of the Hamad, and have no geological
connection with Aja or Selman. Such are Jebels Jildiyeh,
Yatubb, and Jilfeh, Jildiyeh the tallest having a height of
perhaps 3800 feet above the sea, or 300 above Hail.
Hail lies due east of the extreme eastern buttress of
Jebel Aja, and not south of it as has been supposed. Both
it and Kefar, as indeed all the towns and villages of the
district, lie in a single broad wady, draining the south¬
eastern rocks of Aja, and sweeping round them northwards
.to the Nefud. The height of Hail is 3,500 feet above the
.sea, and the plain rises southwards behind it, almost im¬
perceptibly. The small isolated hills close to the town,
belong, I think, geologically to the granite range. The
main drainage of the plain south of Ha'il would seem to be
received by the Wady Hannasy, whose course is north,
so that the highest part of the plain is probably between
Aja and Selman, and may be as much as 4,000 feet above
the sea. This, I take it, is the highest plateau of Arabia—
ns Aja is its highest mountain, 5000 to 5600 feet,—an all
.sufficient reason for including Jebel Shammar in the term
Nejd or Highland.
I feel that I am taking a very serious liberty with
geographers in placing Hail 60 miles farther south than
where it is found in our modern maps. I consider, however,
that until its position has been scientifically determined, I
am justified in doing this by the fact, that my dead
reckoning gave it this position, not only according to the
vout journey, but by the return one, measured from Meshhed
248 Notes on the Physical Geography [appendix..
Ali. I am so much in the habit of measuring distances by
a rough computation of pace and time, that I doubt if I
am much out in the present instance. On this, however, I
forbear to dogmatise.
I had hoped to conclude this sketch with a list of plants-
found in the Nefud. But our small collection has proved
to be so pulverised by its journey, that Sir Joseph Hooker,
who kindly undertook to look over it, has been able to
identify hardly half-a-dozen specimens.
Of wild animals, I have ascertained the existence of
the ostrich, the leopard, the wolf, the fox, the hyaena, the
hare, the jerboa, the white antelope, and the gazelle in the
Nefud; and of the ibex and the marmot in Jebel Aja.
Of these it may be remarked that the ostrich is the most
valuable and perhaps the most rare ; I had not the luck to-
see a single wild specimen, though once a fresh egg was
brought me. Neither did I see, except in confinement, the
white antelope (Oryx beatrix), which is the most impor¬
tant quadruped of the Nefud. This antelope frequents
every part of the red sand desert, and I found its track
quite one hundred miles from any spring, so that the
Arabs may be pardoned for affirming that it never drinks.
The hare too is found and plentifully throughout; but the
gazelle haunts only the outskirts within reach of the hills
or of wells where the Arabs are accustomed to water their
flocks. The same may be said of the wolf, the fox, and the
hyaena, which seem fairly abundant. The tracks of these
grew frequent as we approached Jebel Aja, and it may be
assumed that it is there they have their lairs, making use
of the Nefud as a hunting ground. The Jebel Aja, a
granite range not less than 5,500 feet above the sea ?
furnishes the water required by these animals, not indeed
in streams, for none such are found in the range, but in
springs and natural tanks where rain water is stored.
These seem by all accounts to be fairly numerous; and if
APPENDIX.]
Of Northern Arabia.
249
so, the ancient tradition of a wild horse having also been
found in the Nefud, may not he so improbable as at first
sight it seems. There is certainly pasture and good
pasture for the horse in every part of it. The sheep of
the Nefud requires water but once in a month, and the
Nefud horse may have required no more.
Of reptiles the Nefud boasts by all accounts the horned
viper and the cobra, besides the harmless grey snake called
Suliman, which is common everywhere. There are also
immense numbers of lizards.
Birds are less numerous, hut I noticed the frilled
bustard Houbara, and one or two hawks and buzzards. A
large black buzzard was especially plentiful. The Bedouins
of Nejd train the Lanner falcon, the only noble hawk they
possess, to take hares and bustards. In the Nefud, most
of the common desert birds are found, the desert lark, the
wheatear, and a kind of wren which inhabits the ghada and
yerta hushes.
Of insects I noticed the dragon-fly, several beetles, the
common house-fly, and ants, whose nests, made of some
glutinous substance mixed with sand, may be seen under
these hushes. I was also interested at finding, sunning
itself on the rocks of Aalem, a specimen of the painted lady
butterfly, so well known for its adventurous flights. This
insect could not well have been bred at any nearer point
than Syria or the Euphrates, respectively 400 and 300
miles distant. Fleas do not exist beyond the Nefud, and our
dogs became free of them as soon as we reached Hail.
Locusts were incredibly numerous everywhere, and formed
the chief article of food for man, beast, and bird. They
are of two colours, red and green, the latter being I believe
the male, while the former is the female. They both aro
excellent eating, hut the red locust is preferred.
Sand-storms are probably less common in the Nefud
than in deserts where the sand is white, for reasons already
2 50 Notes 07 i Physical Geography . [appendix.
named; nor do the Bedouins seem much to dread them.
They are only dangerous where they last long enough to
delay travellers far from home beyond the time calculated
on for their supplies. No tales are told of caravans over¬
whelmed or even single persons. Those who perish in the
Nefud perish of thirst. I made particular inquiries as to
the simoom or poisonous wind mentioned by Mr. Palgrave,
but could gain no information respecting it.
In the Jebel Aja an ibex is found, specimens of which I
saw at Hail, and a mountain gazelle, and I heard of a
leopard, probably the same as that found in Sinai. The
only animal there, which may be new, is one described to
me as the Webber, an animal of the size of the hare, which
climbs the wild palms and eats the dates. It is described
as sitting on its legs and whistling, and from the description
I judged it to be a marmot or a coney (hierax). But Lord
Lilford, whom I spoke to on the subject, assures -me it is
in all probability the Lophiomys Imhausii.
W. S. B.
LOPHIOMYS IMHAUSII.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE RISE AND DECLINE
OF WAHHABISM IN ARABIA.
Compiled principally from Materials supplied by Lt.-Colonel
E. C. Ross, H.M.’s Resident at Busiiire.
- *-
At the beginning of last century, Nejd, and Arabia
•generally, with the exception of Oman, Yemen, and Hejaz,
was divided into a number of independent districts or town¬
ships, each ruled by a tribal chief on the principle already
explained of self-government under Bedouin protection.
Religion, except in its primitive Arabian form, was almost
forgotten by the townspeople, and little if any connection
was kept up between them and the rest of the Mahometan
w 7 orld.
Li 1691, however, Mohammed Ibn Abd-el-Wahhab,
founder of the Wahhabi sect, w 7 as born at Eiyanah in Aared,
his father being of the Ibn Temim tribe, the same which
till lately held power in Jebel Shammar. In his youth he
went to Bussorah, and perhaps to Damascus, to study
religious law, and after making the pilgrimage to Mecca
nnd Medina returned to his native country, and soon after
married in the village of Horeylama near Deriyeh. There
and at Eyaneh he began his preaching, and about the year
1742 succeeded in converting Mohammed Ibn Saoud, Emir
of Deriyeh, the principal town of Aared.
The chief features of his teaching were :—
1st. The re-establishment of Mahometan beliefs as taught
252 Historical Sketch of the Rise and [appendix,.
by the Koran, and the rejection of those other beliefs
accepted by the Snnis on tradition.
2nd. A denial of all spiritual authority to the Ottoman
or any other Caliph, and of all special respect due to
sherifs, saints, dervishes, or other persons.
3rd. The restoration of discipline in the matter of prayer,
fasting, and pilgrimage.
4th. A strict prohibition of wine, tobacco, games of
chance, magic, silk and gold in dress, and of tombstones
for the dead.
Ibn Abd-el-Wahhab lived to an advanced age at Deriyeh,
and died in 1787.
Mohammed Ibn Saoud, the first Wahhabi Emir, be¬
longed to the Mesalikh tribe of Anazeh, itself an offshoot
of the Welled Ali of western Nejd (deriving, according to
the account of the Ibn Saouds themselves, from the Beni
Bela* Wail, through Maane Ibn Babiia, king of Nejd, Hasa,
and Oman in the 15th century). He embraced the tenets
of Abd-el-Wahhab, as has been said, in the year 1742, and
was followed in his conversion by many of the inhabitants
of Deriyeh and the neighbouring districts, who at last so
swelled the number of Ibn Saoud’s adherents, that he be¬
came the head of the reformed religion, and according to
the Wahhabi pretensions the head of all Islam. Guided
by the counsels of Ibn Abd-el-Wahhab, and carried for¬
ward on the w’ave of the new teaching, he gradually estab¬
lished his authority over all Aared and eventually over the
greater part of Nejd. His hardest contests there were with
the people of Biad, who, under their Sheykh, Mohammed
Ibn Daus, long held out, and with the Ibn Ghureyr (Areyr
or Aruk), Sheykhs of the Beni Khaled. These latter, who
owned the districts of Hasa and Katif, though forced to
tribute, have always been hostile to the Ibn Saouds, and
are so at the present day. Another opponent, bitterly
hostile to the new religion, was the Emir’s brother, Theni-
- aitendix .] Decline of Wahhabism in Arabia. 253
yan, whose descendants still belong to the anti* Wahhabi
faction in Aared. Mohammed Ibn Saoud died in 1765 and
w r as succeeded by his son Abdel Aziz.
Abd-el-Aziz Ibn Saoud, a man of energy and ambition,
completed the subjugation of Nejd and Hasa, and carried
the Wahhabi arms as far northwards asBussorali, and even
it would seem to Mesopotamia and the Sinjar Hills. These
latter raids so greatly alarmed the government of the Sul¬
tan, that in 1798 a Turkish expeditionary force was sent
by land from Bagdad into Hasa, under the command of one
Ali Pasha, secretary to Suliman Pasha the Turkish Valy.
It consisted of 4000 or 5000 regular infantry, with artillery,
and a large contingent of Bedouin Arabs collected from the
Montefik, Daffir, and other tribes hostile to the Wahhabi
power. These marched down the coast and took posses¬
sion of the greater part of Hasa, but having failed to reduce
Hofhuf, a fortified town, were returning northwards w T hen
their retreat was intercepted by Saoud, the Emir’s son, who
took up a position under the walls of Taj. A battle was
then imminent, hut it was averted by the mediation of
the Arab Sheyklis, and Ali Pasha was allowed to continue
his retreat to Bussorah, while Saoud retook possession of
Hasa and punished those who had submitted to the Turks.
This affair contributed much to the extension and renown of
the Wahhabi power; and offers of submission came in from
all sides. The Emir, nevertheless, thought it prudent to
endeavour to conciliate the Turkish Yaly, and despatched
horses and other valuable presents to Bagdad.
The Wahhabi State was now become a regular Govern¬
ment, with a centralised administration, a system of tax
instead of tribute, and a standing army which marched
under the command of Saoud Ibn Saoud, the Emir’s eldest
son. The Emir, Abd-el-Aziz himself, appears to have been
a man of peace, simple in his dress and habits, and ex¬
tremely devout. Saoud, however, was a warrior, and it was
254 Historical Sketch of the Rise and [ appendix .
through him that the Wahhabis pushed their fortunes.
There seems, nevertheless, to have been always a strong
party of opposition in the desert, where the Bedouins clung
to the traditions of their independence and chafed under the
religious discipline imposed on them. Kasim and Jebel
Shammar, both of them centres of Bedouin life, never
accepted the Wahhabi tenets with any enthusiasm, and the
people of Hasa, an industrious race standing in close com¬
mercial relations with Persia, accepted the rule of the Ibn
Saouds only on compulsion. Southern Nejd alone seems
to have been fanatically Wahhabi, but their fanaticism was
their strength and long carried all before it.
In 1799, Saoud made his first pilgrimage to Mecca, at
the head of 4000 armed followers, and in the following year
he repeated the act of piety. Passage through Nejd, how¬
ever, seems to have been forbidden to the Shiah pilgrims
whom the Wahhabis regarded as infidels, and a violent
feeling was roused against the Wahhabis in Persia and in
the Paslialik of Bagdad, where most of the inhabitants are
Shiahs. It ended in the assassination of the Emir Abd-el-
Aziz by a Persian seyyid from Kerbela in 1800, at the age
of 82 years. (Colonel Ross gives 1808 as the date of this
event, hut, according to members of the Ibn Saoud family
themselves, it happened three years earlier ; a date which
accords better with other events.)
In 1801, a first expedition was despatched against Oman
under Selim-el-Hark, one of Saoud’s lieutenants; and in
the same year Saoud himself, to avenge his father’s murder,
marched northwards with 20,000 men to the Euphrates,
and on the 20tli of April sacked Kerbela, whence, having
put all the male inhabitants to the sword and razed the
tomb of Husseyn, he retired the same afternoon with an
immense booty. The success of this attack, made in the
name of a reformed Islam upon the stronghold of the
Shiah heretics and within the nominal dominions of the
appendix.] Decline of Wahhabism in Arabia . 255 .
Sultan, spread consternation throughout the Mussulman
world.
In 1802 the island of Bahreyn was reduced to tribute,,
and the Wahhabi power extended down the Eastern coast
as far as Batinah on the Sea of Oman, and several of the
Oman tribes embraced the Wahhabi faith, and became
tributary to Ibn Saoud.
In 1808, a quarrel having occurred between the Wah¬
habi Emir and Ghalib the Sherif of Mecca, Saoud marched
into Hejaz with a large army, reduced Taif, and on the 1st
of May entered Mecca, where he deposed the Sherif and
appointed a Governor of his own. He did not, however,
appear there as an enemy but as a pilgrim, and his troops
were restrained from plunder, the only act of violence per¬
mitted being the destruction of the large tombs in the city,
so that, as they themselves said, “ there did not remain an
idol in all that pure city.” Then they abolished the taxes
and customs; destroyed all instruments for the use of
tobacco and the dwellings of those who sold hashish or who-
lived in open wickedness. Saoud returned to Nejd, having
received the submission of all Central Arabia, including the
holy city of Medina. This may be considered as the zenith
of the Wahhabi power. Law and order prevailed under a
central government, and the Emir on his return to Deriyeli
issued a proclamation promising strict protection of life,
property, and commerce throughout his dominions. This
fortunate state of things continued for several years.
In 1807 Saoud once more marched to the Euphrates
and laid siege to Meshlied Ali, but failed to capture that
walled town and was forced to retreat.
In 1809 he collected an army of 30,000 men with the
intention of attacking Bagdad, but disturbances having
broken out in Nejd he abandoned his intention and marched
instead with his army on pilgrimage to Mecca, whence he*
returned home by Medina, now annexed to his empire.
256 Historical Sketch of the Rise and [appendix.
In Oman tlie Wahhabi arms continued to gain ground,
and their name seems first to have become known in India
in connexion with piratical raids committed on the Indian
Sea. This led to an expedition undertaken in 1809 by the
English against Ras-el-Kheymah on the Persian Gulf.
But in spite of this, the Wahhabis advanced next year to
Mattrah, a few miles only from Muscat, and to Bahreyn,
■which was occupied by them and received a Wahhabi
governor.
In 1810 Saoud invaded Irak, and in 1811 his son
Abdallah arrived close to Bagdad on a plundering raid,
while another Wahhabi army, under Abu Nocta, a slave of
the Emir’s, invaded Syria and held Damascus to ransom.
In Syria, indeed, for some years tribute had been paid by
the desert towns of the Hauran and the districts east of
Jordan to Nejd; and it seemed probable that the new
Arabian Empire would extend itself to the Mediterranean,
and Abd-el-Wahhabi’s reformation to all the Arab race. A
coalition of the Northern Bedouins, however, under Eddrehi
Ibn Sliaalan, Slieykh of the Roala, saved Damascus from
Ahu Nocta, and after sustaining a defeat from them on the
Orontes the Wahhabi army returned to Nejd.
The danger, however, to orthodox Islam w r as now
recognized, and in the same year, 1811, the Ottoman Sultan,
urged by his Suni subjects to recover the holy places of
Arabia to orthodox keeping, resolved on serious measures
against Nejd. Matters had been brought to a crisis the
year before by an act of fanaticism on the part of Saoud
which had roused the indignation of all sects in Islam
against him. On the occasion of a fourth pilgrimage
which he had then made, he had caused the tomb of the
prophet to be opened at Medina and the rich jewels and
precious relics it contained to be sold or distributed among
his soldiers, an act of sacrilege which it was impossible to
tolerate. The Sultan was reminded that one of the claims
appendix.] Decline of Wahhabism in Arabia. 257
on which his ancestors of the House of Ottoman rested
their tenure to the Caliphate was that they possessed the
Holy Places, and he was called upon to assert his pro¬
tectorate of Mecca and Medina by force. It is probable,
indeed, that only the great interests at stake in Europe
during the previous years of the century had delayed
vigorous action. The invasion of Egypt by Napoleon, and
the disorganisation of the Turkish Empire resulting from
it, had contributed not a little to the Wahhabi successes.
Now, however, Egypt was under the rule of Mehemet Ali,
and to his vigorous hands the Sultan entrusted the duty of
punishing the Ibn Saouds. The absence of the Emir’s
armies in the north gave a favourable opportunity to the
Egyptian arms, a force of 8000 men was despatched
to Hejaz, and Mecca was occupied by Tusun Pasha without
resistance. On advancing inland, however, beyond Taif,
Tusun was met by Abdullah ibn Saoud, and defeated in the
desert with the loss of half his army; nor was he able to
do more than hold his own in Mecca until relieved from
Egypt.
In 1818, Mehemet Ali, impatient of his son’s failure,
went in person to Arabia, and seized Glialib the Sherif,
whom he suspected of Wahhabism, at Mecca and sent
him prisoner to Cairo. Tusun was again entrusted with
the command of an expedition destined for Nejd, but
was again met and defeated beyond Taif in the spring of
1814.
In April 1814, while preparations were being pressed
for a renewal of the campaign, Saoud Ibn Saoud the Wah¬
habi Emir, died, and Abdallah, his son and recognized
successor, was acknowledged without opposition, chief of
the Wahhabis.
In January 1815, Mehemet Ali inflicted a first serious
defeat on the Wahhabi army, and Tusun having occupied
Medina advanced into Kasim, in northern Nejd, where
VOL. II.
s
258 Historical Sketch of the Rise and [appendix.
he took possession of Bas, at that time capital of the
district.
Negotiations were opened from that point with the
Emir Abdallah who had retired with his army to Aneyzeh ;
and these resulted to the astonishment of every one (for
Abdallah still had a powerful army) in'the Emir’s sub¬
mission.
It is probable that in thus yielding, Abdallah felt his
position in Nejd insecure. The Bedouins though subdued
had never accepted the Wahhabi rule but on compulsion,
and many of them were openly siding with the Turks,
while his late defeat had destroyed much of his soldier’s
prestige. Be that as it may, the Emir agreed to the follow¬
ing stringent terms at Aneyzeh.
1st. He acknowledged as suzerain the Sultan of Turkey.
2nd. He agreed to give hostages for future conduct,
and even, if required, to present himself in person at
Constantinople.
3rd. He would deliver over Deriyeh, his capital, to a
governor appointed by the Sultan ; and
4th. He would restore the jewels plundered from
Medina on the occasion of his father’s visit in 1810.
On these conditions peace was concluded between the
Emir and Tusun, and Abdallah gave the hostages required.
He did not, however, give over Beriyeli, but proceeded on
the contrary to prepare it for a siege. Neither did Mehemet
Ali, when he learned that Abdallah refused to come to
Egypt in person, nullify the peace. Tusun was recalled,
and Ibrahim, his second son, appointed commander of the
army in Arabia in his stead.
In September 1816 Ibrahim Pasha left Egypt at the
head of a considerable force and proceeded to the scene of
action.
The first encounter seems to have taken place at Ma’
Wiyah, where Abdallah ibn Saoud attacked the Egyptian
appendix.] Decline of Wahhabism in Arabia. 259
army and suffered a signal defeat. On this occasion
Ibrahim Pasha put to death all prisoners taken. The
pasha then advanced with 4000 infantry and 1200 cavalry,
besides contingents of the friendly Arab tribes, Beni-
Khaled, Muteyr, ’Oteybali, Harb, and Suhool against Bas,
which was held by a Wahhabi garrison. Before this town
Ibrahim Pasha suffered a serious check, and after besieging
it for three and a half months, and losing 3000 men, he
was obliged to agree to an armistice and abandon the siege.
The Egyptian general, however, masking Bas, continued to
advance eastwards on ’Aneyzali and the Emir retired
south to Bereydah. After six days’ bombardments, the forts
■of ’Aneyzah surrendered, and the entire district of Kasim
then submitted to the Egyptian commander. Abdallah
retired on Shakrah, a town in the district of Woshem, and
Ibrahim Pasha took Bereydah, where he halted two months
for reinforcements. During this time the pasha succeeded
in detaching from the Wahhabi cause many of those
Bedouins who still remained faithful to Ibn Saoud.
Among the first to join the Egyptians had been Feysul-el-
Dawish, Sheikh of the Muteyr, who, animated by an
ancient feud with the Ibn Saouds, was readily persuaded
by Ibrahim with the promise of being installed Governor
of Nejd, a promise which the pasha had no intention of
fulfilling.
Having received at Bereydah a reinforcement of 800
men, and two guns, as well as supplies of provisions and
ammunition, Ibrahim Pasha was able to continue his
advance on Shakrah at the head of 4500 Turkish,
Albanian, and Moorish troops in addition to Arab con¬
tingents. About 10,000 camels accompanied the force, and
the infantry soldiers were usually mounted two and two on
camels. The Emir Abdallah meantime retired on his
capital, wasting the country before the enemy, and sending
the surplus cattle and flocks to Hasa. This was in the latter
260 Historical Sketch of the Rise and [appendix.
part of December, 1817. In tlie following month the
Turkish army appeared before Shakrah, which was regu¬
larly approached under the direction of a French engineer,
M. Yaissiere, and capitulated on the 22nd of January, 1818.
The lives of the garrison were spared, but they were
deprived of their arms, and had to engage not to serve
again under the Wahhabi Emir. Some time after, when
Deriyeli had fallen, Ibrahim Pasha caused the fortifica¬
tions of Shakrah to be demolished.
Abdallah ibn Saoud had now retreated to Deriyeli
and before following him up to the capital Ibrahim
Pasha judged it advisable to turn aside from the direct
route to take the town of Dhoramah. At that place he en¬
countered a spirited resistance, several of his men being
killed. In revenge for this, the male inhabitants were put
to the sword, the town pillaged and destroyed, and the
women given up to the brutality of the Turkish soldiery.
Only the governor and his guard, who had shut themselves
in a citadel, were suffered to escape with their lives.
Detained by rains, it was March before Ibrahim Pasha
advanced on Deriyeli which town he invested in April
with a force of 5500 horse and foot and twelve pieces
of artillery, including two mortars and two howitzers.
Shortly after, reinforcements and convoys of supplies
reached the Turkish camp from Medina and Busrali. The
siege operations were for some time conducted without
any success to the Turkish arms, and in the latter part
of the month of May an explosion having occurred
by which the pasha lost all his spare ammunition,
his position became extremely critical. Indeed, the in¬
domitable personal courage and good example of Ibrahim
alone saved the army from disaster. The troops suffered
much from dysentery and ophthalmia, and the Wahhabis
thought to overwhelm the besiegers by a sortie in force.
The attack was however repulsed and the opportunity lost
appendix .] Decline of Wahhabism in Arabia. 261
to the besieged ; for soon after the engagement caravans
with fresh supplies of ammunition and provisions reached
the Egyptian camp, and then reinforcements of infantry
and cavalry. News was also received of the approach
of Khalil Pasha from Egypt with 3000 fresh troops.
Early in September the Emir sent a flag of truce to
request an audience of the pasha. This was accorded, and
the Wahhabi chief was kindly received, but was informed
that the first and indispensable condition of peace was the
attendance of Abdallah in person at Cairo. The Emir asked
twenty four hours for reflection, which delay was granted,
and at the expiration of the time he returned to the pasha’s
camp and intimated his willingness to fulfil the condition
imposed, provided Ibrahim would guarantee that his life
would be spared. Ibrahim Pasha replied that he had no
authority himself to bind the Sultan and the Viceroy on
fthat point, but that he thought both were too generous to
put him to death. Abdallah then pleaded for his family
•and prayed that Deriyeh and his adherents there should be
•spared. These terms were conceded and a peace concluded.
The ill-starred Emir at once set out on his journey under
a strong escort, and on reaching Cairo, was courteously
received by Mehemet Ali, who forwarded him to Con¬
stantinople with a strong appeal for his pardon. The
government of the Porte was, however, implacable: Abd¬
allah ibn Saoud was paraded ignominiously through the
streets of the capital for three days, and then, with his
companions in captivity, was publicly beheaded.
Thus ends the first epoch of the Wahhabi rule in
Nejd. During the twenty-three years which followed the
destruction of Deriyeh, Nejd continued to be a province of
Egypt; sometimes occupied by Egyptian troops, some¬
times tributary only. When Ibrahim Pasha first appeared
in Nejd, he commanded the sympathies of a great part of
the population, and especially in Jebel Shammar, Kasim,
262 Historical Sketch of the Rise and [appendix..
and Hasa, where lie was received rather as a deliverer from
the Wahhabi yoke, than as a foreign conqueror. No*
Turkish army had previously been seen in Central Arabia
and the Arabs of the interior, when not fanatically biassed,,
had no special hatred of them. But the Turkish and
Albanian troops left in garrison by Ibrahim soon excited,
by their cruelties the enmity of the people ; and as early
as 182*2 a first massacre of a Turkish garrison occurred at
liiad, the new capital of Nejd (for Deriyeli was never
rebuilt). This was followed in 1828 and 1824 by a
successful rising of the Arabs under Turki ibn Saoud (see
pedigree), and the re-establishment of his family as
sovereign in Aared. Turki seized Iliad, drove out the
Egyptian troops still remaining in Nejd, and as leader of a
popular movement against the foreigner, was recognized
Emir by most of the tribes of Central Arabia.
For ten years—1824 to 1834—Turki consolidated his
power in Nejd, Hasa, and even Oman, the whole coast of
the Persian Gulf to Bas-el-Had acknowledging him and
paying tribute. He, however, himself paid tribute to the
Government of Egypt, which accorded countenance to liis.
action in Arabia.
In 1834, Turki ibn Saoud was assassinated by a relative,
Meshari, who was in turn put to death by Turki’s son,
Feysul, now recognised Emir in his father’s stead.
In 1838, Feysul, having neglected or refused to pay
tribute to Egypt, Mehemet Ali sent a force under Jomail
Bey to depose him, and to establish Klialid, a rival claimant
of the Ibn Saoud family, as Emir at Biad. Feysul then
fled to Hasa, and Klialid, supported by a portion of the-
people of Aared and by reinforcements from Egypt under
Khurshid Pasha, usurped the throne, but was shortly set
aside by the Egyptian commanders, who established Egyptian
government throughout Nejd. Feysul meanwhile had sur¬
rendered to them, and been sent prisoner to Cairo. The-
appendix.] Decline of Wahhabism in Arabia. 2 63
second Egyptian occupation of Nejd lasted for two years.
Then the greater part of the troops were recalled, and
Klialid left as Valy for the Turkish government.
In 1842, Abdallah ibn Tlieneyan ibn Saoud headed a
revolt against Khalid, who with his few remaining Egyptian
troops was ejected from Riad; and Feysul, having escaped
from his prison in Cairo, reappeared in Aared, and was every¬
where acknowledged as Emir. From this time neither the
Egyptian nor the Turkish government have exercised any
authority in Nejd.
Under Feysul, whose reign lasted after his restoration
for twenty-three years, nearly all the former territories of
the Wahhabi empire were re-conquered. Oman in 1845
was reduced to tribute; Hasa was forced to accept Wah¬
habi governors, and in Feysul’s last years Kasim also was
conquered. Jebel Shammar, which on the overthrow of the
first Nejd empire by Ibrahim Pasha had reverted to inde¬
pendence under the Ibn Ali family of the Beni Temim, was
now also annexed nominally to the Wahhabi state. With
Feysul’s help, Abdallah ibn Rashid, Sheykh of the Sham-
mar, established himself at Ha'il, and paying tribute to the
Emir acknowledged his sovereignty. Only in Bahreyn
were his arms unsuccessful, and that owing to the support
given to the Bahreyn sheykhs by England.
I 11 the later years of his life Feysul became blind, and
the management of affairs fell to his son Abdallah, who by
his fanaticism and his cruelty alienated the Bedouin popula¬
tion from his standard, and prepared matters for a third
intervention on the part of the Turks.
Before narrating, however, the last episode of Arabian
misfortune and Turkish annexation, it will be necessary to
explain briefly the views and pretensions of the Ottoman
Sultans with respect to Arabia.
The first appearance of the Turks in the peninsula dates
from 1524, when Selim I., having conquered Egypt and
264 Historical Sketch of the Rise and [appendix.
usurped the Caliphate, till then held by members of the
Abbaside family, took military possession of the holy places,
Mecca and Medina, and annexed Yemen to his dominions. Be¬
yond the districts immediately bordering on the Red Sea,
however, no part of Arabia proper w*as at that time claimed
by the Sultans ; and in the following century a national
insurrection drove them even from these, so that with the
exception of the pilgrim roads from Cairo and Damascus,
the Turks made no pretension of being masters in the
Peninsula.
Ibrahim Pasha’s expedition had been made not in asser¬
tion of a sovereign right, but as an act of chastisement
and retaliation on a hostile sect; and once the Wahhabi
government crushed, little care had been taken in retaining
Nejd as a possession. The sultans were at that time far
too anxiously occupied with their position in Europe to
indulge in dreams of conquest in Asia, and were, from a
military point of view, too weak for unprofitable enter¬
prises not absolutely necessary. But at the close of the
Crimean war the Turkish army w r as thoroughly re¬
organised, thanks to the English loan, which made its
equipment with arms of precision possible; and the Sultan,
finding himself in the possession of unaccustomed power,
used it for the reduction first of the outlying districts of
the Empire which had shaken off his yoke, and next of
those tribes on its borders which appeared easiest of con¬
quest. The frontier lands of Syria and Kurdistan were
thus brought back into subjection, the Euphrates and
Tigris valleys, independent since the days of Tamerlane,
were occupied in force, and Irak was once more placed
under the Imperial system of tax and conscription. The
Suez Canal was opened, and Arabia, accessible hitherto by
land only, was now for the first time within easy reach of
Constantinople. With the sense of increased power, born
of full coffers and an army ready and equipped for action,
appendix.] Decline of Wahhabism in Arabia. 265
new dreams of conquest came to tlie Imperial government.
The Sultan remembered what he seemed to have forgotten,
that he was heir to the Arabian caliphate, and his Ministers
of the day based on this fact a claim to all Arabia. The
garrisons of Mecca and the Hejaz were increased, an expe¬
dition was despatched against Yemen, and Midhat Pasha, a
man of a restless, unquiet temper, was appointed Governor of
Bagdad, with orders to watch his time for extending the
Sultan’s influence in any direction that might seem to him
advisable. The opportunity soon came.
In 1865 Feysul ibn Saoud died, and the Wahhabi State
which under him had regained so much of its former
power, was once more weakened by internal dissension.
Feysul left two sons, Abdallah and Saoud, the former a
strict Wahhabi, but the latter holding liberal opinions,
national rather than religious. Each put himself at the
head of a party ; Abdallah of the townsmen in Aared who
were still fanatically attached to the reformed doctrine, and
Saoud of the Bedouins. For a while they divided Feysul’s
inheritance between them, but coming to blows the
younger brother forced the elder to fly from Aared, and
Saoud established himself there as sole Emir. Jebel
Shammar meanwhile and Kasim became completely inde¬
pendent, and Hasa and the rest of the maritime districts
refused any longer to pay tribute.
I 11 1871 Abdallah, turned out of Aared, made his way
with a few followers to Jebel Shammar, where Metaab Ibn
Rashid was then Emir, and from that asylum (for he was
treated there as a guest) put himself into communication
with Midliat at Bagdad. Midhat, who saw in this circum¬
stance an opportunity such as he had been instructed to
seek, readily responded ; and at once issued a proclamation
in which the sovereign power of the Sultan over Nejd was
assumed, and Abdallah referred to as Caimakam or Deputy
Governor of that province. It was notified, moreover, that
266 Historical Sketch of the Rise and [appendix.
a Turkish force would be despatched from Bagdad “ to
restore order, and to maintain the said Caimakam against
his rebellious brother.”
After some opposition on the part of the Indian Govern¬
ment, which for many years had insisted upon absolute
peace being maintained in the Persian gulf, a rule which
had been agreed to by all the chiefs of the Arabian coast,
including the people of Hasa and the Wahhabi government,
and which had been attended with excellent results, a
military expedition was despatched by sea to Hasa. It
consisted of 4000 to 5000 Turkish regulars, under Nazfi
Pasha, and disembarked at Katif in the month of June.
Abdallah in the meantime had returned to Nejd, and
having collected a body of adherents, in union with the
Beni Kahtan tribe, attacked Saoud from the west; but was
defeated and took refuge in the Turkish camp.
Dissensions nevertheless broke out in Biad and forced
Saoud to take the field against a third rival, Abdallah ibn
Turki, at whose hands he sustained a defeat, and he was
in his turn forced to retire to Katr. The Turks had now
occupied all the seaboard of Hasa, and the inland fort and
town of Hofhuf, whence they entered into communication
with this Abdallah ibn Turki, whom they named Mudir of
Biad, “ pending the arrival there of Abdallah ibn Feysul; ”
but before the end of the year, Midhat announced that in
consequence of a petition received by the Sultan from the
principal inhabitants of Nejd* the Ibn Saoud family had
ceased to reign, and that the country should henceforth be
administered by a Turkish Governor. Nafiz Pasha was
appointed in the same announcement Muteserrif or Governor
of Nejd, and Abdallah w^as entirely put aside. The Emir
Abdallah thereupon fled from the Turkish camp in Hasa
to Biad.
* This seems to have been a forgery.
FORTRESS OF AGDE.
appendix.] Decline of Wahhabism in Arabia . 267
In 1872 Baouf Pasha, who had succeeded Midliat at
Bagdad, opened negotiations with Saoud, and induced him
to send his brother Abderraliman to Bagdad, where I 10 was-
retained a prisoner till 1874.
In the same year Saoud returned to Biad, and once more
ejected his brother Abdallah, who retired to Queyt, leaving
Saoud in undisturbed possession till his death in 1874.
In 1873, the Turkish regular troops were withdrawn,
and Bizi ibn Arear, Sheykli of the Beni Khaled and here¬
ditary enemy of the Ibn Saouds, was left in Hasa as Ottoman
Governor, with a garrison of zaptiehs.
In 1874, Abderraliman, brother of the Emir Saoud,
having been released from Bagdad, raised a revolt in Hasa,
and was joined by the A1 Mowak, Ajman and other
Bedouin tribes, with whom he marched on Hofliuf and
besieged Bizi there with his garrison, many of whom were
slain. Whereupon Nassr Pasha was sent from Bussora
with a battalion of regulars, by sea to Hasa, at the news
of whose approach Abderraliman retired to Biad. Nassr
then marched on Hofliuf and relieved the garrison, which
were shut up in the fort; but gave the town to pillage.
For several days the Turkish soldiers and their auxiliaries
indulged in indiscriminate massacre and plunder of the
inhabitants; men, women and children were shot down,
and women were openly treated with the brutality peculiar
to such occasions. It is said in extenuation that the
Turkish officers remonstrated with the Pasha, but that he
replied that it was necessary to make an example.
Shortly after this the Emir Saoud died at Biad, it has
been said of poison ; and in 1875 Abdallah returned to-
Nejd, where he found Abderraliman, his half brother, estab¬
lished. The brothers, after some disputing, came to an amic¬
able arrangement with respect to the chief power, Abdallah
holding the title of Emir, and Abderrahman of chief
minister. Such is now the state of things at Biad. Over-
268 Historical Sketch of the Rise and [appendix.
tures from the Turkish Government have been lately
opened with the Emir, on the basis of his becoming Go¬
vernor of Nejd as Turkish nominee, but have met with
no response. Abdallah, it would seem, exercises little
authority out of Riad, and none whatever out of Aared.
He represents the party of Wahhabi fanaticism there,
which is rapidly declining, and there are schemes on foot
among the Bedouins and certain members of the Ibn
Saoud family, for starting a new pretender in the person
of one of the sons of Saoud, and claiming the protection of
England. The power of the Ibn Saoud family in Arabia
may, however, be considered at an end.
Hasa and the seaboard from Katr to Queyt is now held
by the Turks, under whose system of stirring up tribal
feuds among the Arabs, the commercial prosperity of the
coast is rapidly disappearing. Piracy, under the protec¬
tion of the Ottoman flag, has once more become the mode
of life with the coast villagers, and intrigues have been
opened with the Sheykhs of the districts eastwards, to
induce them to accept similar protection on the promise of
similar license.
Meanwhile all that is truly national in thought and
respectable in feeling in central Arabia, is grouping itself
around Mohammed Ibn Rashid, the Emir of Jebel Sham-
mar, and it is to Hail that we must look for a restoration,
if such be possible, of the ancient glories and prosperity of
the Nejd Empire.
W. S. B.
PEDIGREE OF THE IBN SAOUDS, EMIRS OF NEJD.
appendix.] Decline of Wahhabism in Arabia. 269
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2 jo Rise and Decline of Wahhabism . [appendix
PEDIGREE OF THE IBN RASHIDS, Emirs of Jebel Shammae.
Abdallah Ibn Rashid, of the
Abdeh Tribe of Shammar, de¬
scendants of Kahtan (Joktan), 1st
Emir of Jebel Shammar, 1835 (?),
having deposed the family of Ibn
Ali of the Beni Temim.
Tellal, 2nd Emir, Metaab, 3rd Emir, Mohammed, 5thEmir, Hamud.
1843; stabbed him- 1807; died 1870. 1872; the reigning
self, and died 1867. | Emir. Has no
A Son. children.
Bender, 4th Emir, Beddr, put to death Naif, born 1861. Majid.
1870; stabbed by by Mohammed,
his uncle Me- 1872.
hammed, 1872.
I
A Son.
Obetd Ibn Rashid,
died 1871.
MEMORANDUM ON THE EUPHRATES VALLEY
RAILWAY,
And its Kindred Schemes op Railway Communication between
The Mediterranean and The Persian Gulf.
- ^ —.
Haying now completed tlie whole journey by land be¬
tween Alexandretta and Busbire, the extreme points
usually mentioned as terminuses for a Perso-Mediterranean
Railway, and being, in so far, capable of estimating the real
resources of the countries such a railway would serve, I
make no apology for the few remarks I here offer on tlie
subject. I do so with tlie more confidence because I
perceive that of the many advocates these railway
schemes have bad, not one has taken the trouble of thus
travelling over tlie whole distance, and that nearly all
calculations made regarding them, are based on a survey of
a part only of tlie road. It is seldom indeed that those
who write or speak about a Euphrates valley railway,
have done more than cross that river at Bir, or that they
carry tlieir arguments much beyond a choice of the most
suitable Mediterranean port for a terminus, a kind of
reasoning sufficient, no doubt, for tlie purpose before them,
but in reality misleading. I believe, that one and all of
these schemes are based upon a deficient knowledge of the
facts.
A railway of this sort, to Englishmen, is naturally
attractive, and presents itself to them in a double aspect,
political and commercial. Politically it lias been repre-
Memorandum on the
[appendix.
2 72
sented as an alternative route for troops to India, more
expeditious than that by Suez ; commercially as a scheme
that will open up a rich hut neglected country to the
operations of trade.
With regard to the first I would remark first that, having
gone through the calculation carefully, I find that four days
is the total saving between London and Calcutta which
a line of railway from Scanderun or Tripoli to Bushire
would effect, an advantage quite inadequate to the risk of
transhipment, and the fatigue of a long desert journey;
secondly that the Persian Gulf is both hotter and less
healthy than the Red Sea, and that the Syrian ports of the
Mediterranean are peculiarly liable to fever; and thirdly
that such a line could he used for the conveyance of
English troops, by permission only of whatever power might
be in possession of Asia Minor.
When I was in India last summer I made acquaintance
with a great number of British officials, and I was at some
pains to learn from them their views on this “alternative
route.” I will not say that their answers to my questions
were invariably the same, hut I think I am making no mis¬
take in affirming, that the consensus of intelligent opinion
among them is wholly adverse to the notion. “ The
Euphrates route,” say they, “wouldbe of exceedingly little
use to us. The mails, to he sure, would go that way, and
we should get our letters from England three or four days
sooner; hut, politically speaking, the mails are a matter
of less consequence than they were. Nowadays all official
work of real importance is transacted by telegraph, and
when the mails come in afterwards, their interest has been
forestalled. It would matter little at Simla or Calcutta
whether they had taken three weeks or a fortnight on
the road. Trade would certainly benefit somewhat in this
way, hut Government very little. As regards the sending
of troops overland, there could he no question of it, as long
appendix.] Euphrates Valley Railzvay. 273
as the Suez route was open ; and if England cannot keep
the Suez route open, she had better give up India at once.
No Secretary at War would be so ill-advised as to send
troops, with the risk of cholera and over-fatigue, by the
land journey as long as they could be marched on hoard at
Plymouth, and landed fresh at Bombay.” “Not even in
case of a new mutiny?” I asked. “Not even in a mutiny.
People in England have no idea of the meaning of a thou¬
sand-mile railway journey in desert countries. For six
months in the year no passengers would go that way, except,
maybe, an occasional officer on a three months’ furlough.
We should not take our wives and children there at any time.
The extra trouble and expense have prevented most of us
from making use of the Brindisi line, which really saves us
a week and avoids the Bay of Biscay; so we certainly should
not face the Persian Gulf for the sake of four days. Tho
Persian Gulf is hotter than the Pied Sea.” Lastly, as to
the strategical importance of the Euphrates and Tigris
districts to India, I found that these were considered, even
by the extremest advocates of conquest, quite out of our
line of march for many years to come. The veriest
Russophobe could not be made to believe, that a modern
army would attempt a march through any passes in Asia
Minor, or down any Euphrates valley, on India.
It may therefore be dismissed from our calculations that
India stands in need of a railway from the Mediterranean to
the Persian Gulf. The political advantage, if advantage there
he, would lie solely with Turkey, or with whatever power
may eventually become master of Armenia and Kurdistan.
As a commercial speculation, the Euphrates railway
scheme is, I believe, equally delusive. The additional cost
and risk of transhipment would be an effectual bar to
through traffic; while local traffic alone, would be in¬
sufficient to secure the financial success of the line. The
Euphrates and Tigris valleys are often represented as rich
VOL. II. t
Memorandum on the
[appendix.
274
agricultural districts, waiting only the hand of the immigrant
to become again what they were in classic and even mediaeval
times. It is argued that if, in the twelfth century, the
Euphrates valley boasted such towns as Rakka, Karkesia,
and Balis, such towns may exist again, and that a railway
carried by that route to Bagdad, would surely revive the
ancient wealth of a naturally wealthy district. But such an
argument speedily vanishes on an examination of the facts.
1st. The Euphrates and Tigris valleys neither are nor
ever were rich agriculturally. As corn-growing districts
they cannot compare with the hill country immediately
north of them, with northern Syria, the Taurus, or Kur¬
distan. They lie out of the reach of the regular winter
rains, which cling to the hills, and for this reason are
almost entirely dependent on irrigation for their fertility.
At best, the Euphrates and Tigris valleys, through which
a railway would pass, are inconsiderable strips of good
land, hemmed in closely by a barren desert, and incapable
of lateral extension or development. They are isolated,
and have long ceased to lie on the track of commerce. At
the present day they contain no place of importance, with
the exception of the pilgrim shrines of Kerbela and
Meshhed Ali, and the decayed city of Bagdad, nor along
the greater part of their extent, more than a few villages,
depending for their subsistence on the date-palm. They
are, moreover, subject to the caprices of their great un¬
manageable rivers, which at flood time wreck half the
valleys. The Euphrates for 150 miles, passes without
alluvial belt of any kind, through a quite inhospitable
desert, while lower down it loses itself in marshes at least
as valueless. The Tigris, from Mosul to Bagdad, boasts but
three inconsiderable villages, and from Bagdad to Bussorali,
a poor half dozen. The Montefik country on the lower Eu¬
phrates, and the island enclosed within the Hindiyeh Canal,
are the only important corn-growing districts now existing.
appendix.] Euphrates Valley Railway.
2/5
2nd. The great plain of Irak, the ancient Babylonia, is
not only uncultivated now, but for the most part is un-
cultivable. Avast portion of it has been overflowed by the
rivers, and converted into a swamp, while the rest is more
absolutely barren than even the desert itself. It would
seem that the water of the Tigris contains saltpetre in solu¬
tion, and the plain below Bagdad, in the neighbourhood of
the river, is in many places covered with a saltpetrous
deposit, the result of over-irrigation in ancient days. The
soil would seem to have been in some sort worked out.
I believe, moreover, that from the denudation since ancient
times of Armenia, from which the two rivers flow, their
floods have become more sudden, and the water supply less
calculable, and that the vast irrigation works from the
Euphrates, which would be necessary before the fertility of
Irak could be restored to what it then was, would still be
liable to excessive flood and drought.
The ancient agricultural wealth of Babylonia was a purely
artificial thing, depending upon a gigantic system of irriga¬
tion which has no parallel in anything now found in the
world. When these vast works were begun is not known ;
but it must have been in an age of mankind when Asia
was densely peopled and human labour cheap. Indeed,
we may feel sure that only compulsory labour could have
carried them out at all, for they would have ruined any
treasury at any rate of wages. This can hardly be done
again. There are no captive nations now to be impressed;
no treasury capable of providing the funds. We see India,
with its really great population, and its comparatively great-
wealth, sinking under the burden of irrigation works; and
the miserable Arabs of Irak cannot be called on to square
their shoulders and carry this far greater load. With all
our knowledge, too, of engineering, there would still be
some risk of failure; for the Euphrates and the Tigris are
not rivers to be trifled with, as Midliat Pasha found to his
T 2
276 Memorandum on the [ appendix .
cost. I think it more than probable that in the day of
Babylonian greatness, the flooding of both rivers was more
regular and less subject to disasters of drought and excess
than now. As I have said, the denudation of Armenia
accounts, perhaps, for the destruction of Irak. In any case
it is certain, that at the present moment the full energies
of the existing population are required to preserve their
footing, not to make new conquests on the river. Now,
as I am writing, Lower Mesopotamia is expecting famine
from the failure of the Tigris, for not an acre of wheat can
be sown without its flooding. Last year all hands were at
work damming out the Euphrates. These matters are
worth considering.
3rd. In treating this question of Euphrates Yalley com¬
munication, it seems to be forgotten that not only the cir¬
cumstances of the Yalley itself are changed, but those of
all the world of Asia adjoining it.
To understand the present position of Mesopotamia and
its adjacent lands, we must consider the history of their
ruin. In the days of ancient Borne, not only the shores of
the Mediterranean, African as well as European, but also
all Western Asia, were a densely peopled empire. Even
the lands beyond Boman jurisdiction were full of great
cities, from Armenia, through the central plateau of Asia,
to the edge of China. Land was everywhere taken up and
everywhere of value, while a great surplus population was
constantly being pushed out into poorer and still poorer
districts by the struggle of life, until hardly a habitable
corner of the old world remained unoccupied.
It is not surprising, then, that, with such a necessity for
elbow room, the Euphrates and Tigris Yalleys were early
seized upon, and that at a later date, even poorer regions of
the desert were conquered from sterility, and forced into the
work of producing food. As long as Babylonia, and the
kingdoms which succeeded it, maintained their fertility,
appendix.] Euphrates Valley Railway. 277
these valleys lay on the highway between them and Asia
Minor. Even so lately as the twelfth century, Benjamin of
Tudela, a Spanish Jew, found numerous large towns still
flourishing in Upper Mesopotamia. Palmyra, at that day,
was still a commercial city, containing with other in¬
habitants a population of two thousand Jews. On the
Upper Euphrates he mentions five towns, and on the Tigris
two or three. It must not, however, for a moment be sup-
jiosed that these cities owed their wealth in any but a very
small measure to agriculture. Palmyra and El Haddr, the
two most important, never could have had more than a few
cultivated acres attached to them, while the towns on the
rivers, though making full use of the alluvial valleys, were
essentially commercial. The high road between Aleppo
and Bagdad then passed down the Euphrates as far as
Kerkesia (Deyr?), whence striking across Mesopotamia to
El Haddr, it joined the Tigris at Tekrit. Along this line
cities were found at intervals, much as the posting-houses
used to he found upon our own highways, and with the
same reason for their existence. They gradually died, as
these died, with the diversion of traffic from their route.
Palmyra and El Haddr, which (to continue the posting-
house metaphor) had no paddocks attached to them, were
the first to disappear; and then one by one the river towns,
which for a time had still struggled on with the aid of
their fields, died too. In the thirteenth, and again in the
sixteenth centuries, the terrible scourges of Mongul and
Ottoman conquests passed over Asia, and swept the regions
surrounding Mesopotamia clear of inhabitants. All
Western Asia was at this time ruined; and the first result
was the abandonment of outlying settlements, which only
the stress of over-population elsewhere had ever brought
into existence. The Tigris and Euphrates were gradually
abandoned, and only the richest districts of Armenia,
Kurdistan, and Syria retained. The Ottoman system of
278
Memorandum on the
[APPENDIX,
misgovernment lias done the rest; and now at the present
day there is no surplus population eastwards nearer than
China, which could supply the deficiency. Until Persia
and Armenia are fully occupied, it is idle to expect the com¬
paratively waste lands of Mesopotamia and the river hanks
to invite immigration. Russia may some day assimilate
Asia Minor, and Asia Minor may some day again become
populous, hut until that is done Mesopotamia must wait.
On the other hand, Europe is as little likely to send
emigrants to the hanks of the Euphrates. With such
large tracts of good land on the southern shores of the
Mediterranean and in Syria, unoccupied, there is nothing to
tempt agriculturists to poorer lands so far away. Mesopo¬
tamia has hardly a climate suited to northern Europeans,
while Italians and Maltese (the only southern nations with
a surplus population) find openings nearer home. It is
equally idle to talk of coolies from India, or coolies from
China. These only emigrate, on the prospect of immediate-
high wages, to countries where labour commands its full
price, and capital is there to employ it. As mere emigrants
in search of land they will not come.
4tli. Although South-western Persia, through which the
last 400 miles of a railroad to Busliire might he made to-
pass, has not suffered from the same physical causes which
have ruined Babylonia, its present condition as regards
population, production, and existing wealth, are hardly less
unfortunate. The government of Persia, which burlesques
all that we most complain of in Turkey, has succeeded in-
reducing the production of a district, one of the wealthiest
in natural advantages of all Asia, practically to nothing.
With the single exception of a tract of cultivated land lying
between Dizful and Shustar, and another between Dilam
and Bushire, the railway would pass through a country at
present uninhabited even by wandering tribes possessed
of pastoral wealth. The policy of the Persian government
appendix.] Euphrates Valley Railway. 279
in its dealings with Arabistan lias been to depopulate, as the
shortest and easiest mode of governing it, and the policy
has been successful.
Still I consider, that a railway run along the edge of the
Bactiari hills, would have a far better chance of attracting
population towards it, than one in the Euphrates or Tigris
valleys. The soil is naturally a very rich one, and the
winter rainfall sufficient for agricultural purposes. Where-
ever cultivation exists it is remunerative, and the soil has
not been worked out, as is the case in the plains. The line
would doubtless serve the better peopled districts of
Shirazd and Luristan; and Bebaban, Sliustar and Dizful,
would become once more important entrepots for the
wealth of the interior. With the security a railway would
give, immigrants might even gradually arrive, and it is
conceivable that the district might in the course of years
be reclaimed, for it is well worth reclaiming, but the
prospect is a distant one.
On the whole I would suggest that all calculations as to
traffic should be based strictly on existing circumstances.
It may be, that the present population and production are
sufficient for the support of a railway, (I myself consider¬
ably doubt it), but investors should trust to these only.
The future has only delusions in store for them. It is idle
to quote the precedent of those American railways, carried
through waste places, which have speedily attracted popu¬
lation, and through population, wealth. I 11 Asia there is
no surplus population anywhere to attract. Moreover there
are existing circumstances of misgovernment, which no
system of railways can cure, and till these are changed, it is
idle to hope for other changes. Railways in Europe or in
America, serve the interests of the people. In Turkey or in
Persia they would serve the interests of their rulers only.
That readers may judge what the actual condition is, of
the lands lying between the Mediterranean and the Persian
28 o
Memorandum on the
[appendix.
Gulf, I have put in tabular form the amount of cultivated
and uncultivated land, of pasture and desert, afforded
by the various lines of route which have been suggested for
a railway. These are :
1 .—The Palmyra Ponte , bob miles. wiles.
Tripoli to Homs, partial cultivation . . .70
Homs to Palmyra, a pastoral desert . . . . 120
Palmyra to Hitt, uninhabited desert . . . 250
Hitt to Seglawieh, partial cultivation . . . . (35
Seglawieh to Bagdad, alluvial plain, uncultivated, )
for the most part uninhabited . . . )
Total under partial cultivation . .135
,, desert or pastoral . . . . 420
Total .... goo
This route has nothing to recommend it except its short¬
ness. It would pass through but one considerable town,
Homs; it would serve no important agricultural district,
and could count upon no local traffic. The greater part of
its course is without water, fuel, inhabitants, or possibility
of development. It would require considerable cutting and
bridging (for ravines), and would have little strategical
value.
2. — The Euphrates Valley Route , 625 miles. Miles.
Lattakia or Alexandretta to Aleppo, cultivation . 100
Aleppo to Deyr, pastoral . . . . . . 210
Deyr to Abu Carnal, pastoral, partly cultivated . 70
Abu Carnal to Hitt, desert, with palm oases . . 130
Hitt to Seglawieh, partial cultivation ... 65
Seglawieh to Bagdad, alluvial plain, uncultivated, )
and mostly uninhabited . . . . \ ^
Total cultivated and partly cultivated . 235
,, desert or pastoral . . . 390
Total
. 625
appendix.] Euphrates Valley Railway.
281
This line passes through one town of eighty thousand in¬
habitants, Aleppo, and two small towns, Deyr and Ana,
besides a few villages. It could count on very little local
traffic; Deyr might export a little corn, Ana a few dates.
Except in the northern portion it is not a sheep district.
It has the advantages of water and fuel, but these would be
to a certain extent neutralised if, as is probable, the line
should have to pass along the desert above, instead of in
the valley. In either case the construction would not be
'without expense, the river with its inundations causing
constant obstruction below; while the desert above, is much
broken with ravines. It could hardly pay the whole of its
working expenses. Its principal advantage is, that in case
of its being continued from Seglawieh to Bussorali, some
miles would be saved, or a branch line might be made to
Kerbela. The Euphrates line is strategically of advantage
to Turkey, mainly as a check on the Bedouin tribes.
3.— The Mesopotamian or Tigris Valley Route, 700 miles.
Miles.
Alexandretta or Lattakia to Aleppo, cultivation . 100
Aleppo to Orfa, cultivation . . . . ..120
Orfa to Mosul, by Mardin, partial cultivation . . 250
Mosul to Bagdad by the right bank of the Tigris,
pastoral ........ 230
Total cultivated and partly cultivated . 470
,, pastoral . . . . . . 230
Total . . . . .700
This line has the advantage of passing through no abso¬
lutely desert district. It would be well watered through¬
out, and in the Tigris Talley would have a supply of fuel.
It would, as far as Mosul, serve four large towns with an
aggregate population of two hundred thousand inhabitants,
besides numerous villages, and a nearly continuous agri-
282 Memorandum on the [appendix.
cultural population. Its stations would serve as depots
for the produce of Upper Syria, Armenia, and Kurdistan
from the north, and of a fairly prosperous pastoral district
from the south. Below Mosul, however, there would be
but two small towns, Samara, and Tekrit, and hardly a vil¬
lage. The engineering difficulties of this route, in spite of
several small rivers besides the Euphrates (which all three
lines would have to cross), would probably be less than in
the others. Upper Mesopotamia is a more even plain than
the Syrian Desert, and southwards is but little intersected
with ravines. This route is strategically of immense im¬
portance to Turkey, and is perhaps the best. I would,
however, suggest, that commercially, a better line would be
from Mosul by Kerkuk to Bagdad. This would continue
through cultivated lands, and is the route recommended by
the very intelligent Polish engineer, who surveyed it some
years ago.
Beyond Bagdad the routes to the Persian Gulf would
be—
Miles.
1. Bagdad to Queyt by right bank of Euphrates,
serving Kerbela, Meshhed Ali, and the district
of Suk-esh-Shiokh . . . . . . 460
Or to Bussorak ....... 400
This could be continued from Seglawieh, thereby saving
fifty miles. It would serve two fairly flourishing agricul¬
tural districts, and should pass along the edge of the
desert where the ground is nearly level. Queyt is a good
port as to anchorage, but has no commercial importance.
Bussorah is a river port much circumscribed by marshes.
Miles.
2. Bagdad to Mokamra by the left bank of the Tigris 320
This would be a difficult line to make, on account of the
marshes, and would pass through a nearly uninhabited
country. It has no advantage but its shortness.
appendix.] Euphrates Valley Railzuay.
28
o
Miles.
3. Bagdad to Bushire, aloDg the edge of the Hamrin
Hills to Dizful, then by Shustar, Bam Hormuz,
and Dilam.570
This line would be an expensive one, on account of the six
large rivers it would have to cross, hut it presents no other
engineering difficulties. It should keep close under the
Hamrin Hills to avoid marshy ground near the river. It
is uninhabited as far as Dizful, though the soil is good
and well watered. Dizful and Shustar are important com¬
mercial towns, being the principal markets of South
Western Persia; the district between them is well culti¬
vated. Beyond Shustar to Dilam there is hut one in¬
habited place, Ram Hormuz (or Ramuz). There are a few
villages along the shore of the Persian Gulf to Bushire, hut
very little cultivation. This route might he shortened by
taking a direct line from Ali Gliurbi on the Tigris to
Dilam, hut it would then pass wholly through uninhabited
country, swampy in places. On the whole I prefer the
Dizful-Shustar route, as having better commercial pros¬
pects. These towns would supply no little traffic.
Bushire is an important place, and would make the best
terminus for a railway on the Gulf. I cannot, however,
recommend any of these lines south of Bagdad as commer¬
cially promising for a railway.
W. S. B.
ROCK INSCRIPTIONS AND DRAWINGS IN JEBEL SIIAMMAR.
50 Albemarle Street, London,
December 1880.
MR. MURRAY’S
LIST OF WORKS
IN
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I
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|
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tiquities. Home and Colonial Library.
Dr. Wm. Smith’s Atlas of Ancient Geography.
2
Mr. Murray s List of Works.
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History, Regimental Records, etc. By
Sir F. W. Hamilton. Illustrations. 3
vols. 8 vo, 63s.
History of the Royal Artil¬
lery. Compiled from the Original Re¬
cords. By Major Francis Duncan,
R.A. 2 vols. 8vo, 18s.
The English in Spain. The
True Story of the War of the Succession
in 1834-1840. Compiled from the Re¬
ports of the British Commissioners with
Queen Isabella’s Armies. By Major
Francis Duncan, R.A. Illustrations.
8vo, 16s.
Wellington’s Supplementary
Despatches and Correspondence. Edited
by his Son. 15 vols. 8vo, 20s. each. An
index. 8vo, 20s.
Wellington’s Civil and Political
Correspondence, 1819-1831. 8 vols. 8vo,
20s. each.
Young Officer’s Companion;
or, Essays on Military Duties and Quali¬
ties, with Examples and Illustrations
from History. By Lord De Ros. Post
8vo, 9s.
Lives of the Warriors of the
Seventeenth Century. By Gen. Sir
Edward Cust. 6 vols. post 8vo.
1 st Series .— The Thirty Years’War,
1600-48. 2 vols. 16s. 2 d Series .— The
Civil Wars of France and England.
1611-75. 2 vols. 16s. 3*/ Series .— Com¬
manders of Fleets and Armies, 1648-
1704. 2 vols. 18s.
Annals of the Wars of the
i8thand 19th Centuries, 1700-1815. Com¬
piled from the most Authentic Histories
of the Period. By Gen. Sir E. Cust.
Maps. 9 vols. fcap. 8vo, 5s. each.
Deeds of Naval Daring; or,
Anecdotes of the British Navy. By
Edward Giffard. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d.
in Domestic Economy , etc.
25
RURAL AND DOMESTIC ECONOMY, ETC.
A Popular Account of the In¬
troduction of Peruvian Bark from South
America into British India and Ceylon,
and of the Progress and Extent of its
Cultivation. By Clements R. Mark¬
ham. With Maps and Woodcuts. Post
8 vo, 14s.
Plain Instructions in Gardening;
with a Calendar of Operations and Di¬
rections for every Month. By Mrs.
Loudon. Woodcuts. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d.
A Geographical Handbook of
Ferns. By K. M. Lyell. Post 8vo,
7s. 6d.
Alpine Flowers for English
Gardens. How they may be grown in
all parts of the British Islands. By W.
Robinson. Illustrations. Crown 8vo,
7s. 6d.
Sub-Tropical Garden ; or,
Beauty of Form in the Flower Garden,
with Illustrations of all the finer Plants
used for this purpose. By W. Robinson.
Illustrations. Small 8vo, 5s.
Modern Domestic Cookery,
Founded on Principles of Economy and
Practice, and adapted for private families.
By a Lady. Fcap. 8vo, 5s.
Thrift : a Book of Domestic
Counsel. By Samuel Smiles. Small
8vo, 6s.
Duty : a Companion Volume
to Self-Help, etc. By Samuel Smiles.
Small 8vo, 6s.
Royal Agricultural Journal
(published half-yearly). 8vo.
Bees and Flowers. By Rev.
Thomas James. Fcap. 8vo, is. each.
Music and Dress. By a Lady.
Fcap. 8vo, is.
Choice of a Dwelling ; a
Practical Handbook of Useful Informa¬
tion on all Points connected with Hiring,
Buying, or Building a House. Plans.
Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
A Small Country House. Brief
Directions on the Planning of a Residence
to cost from2000 to 7000. By Robert
Kerr. Post 8vo, 3s.
FIELD SPORTS.
Dog-breaking; the most Ex-
peditious, Certain, and Easy Method.
By General Hutchinson. Woodcuts.
8vo, 7s. 6d.
My Boyhood: a Story of
Country Life and Sport for Boys. By
H. C. Barkley, Civil Engineer. With
Illustrations by A. C. Corbould. Post
8vo, 6s.
Wild Sports and Natural His¬
tory of the Highlands. By Charles
St. John. New and Beautifully Illus¬
trated Edition, Crown 8vo. 15s. ; or
cheap ed., post 8vo, 3s. 6d.
The Chase—The Turf—and
the Road. By Nimrod. Illustrations.
Crown 8vo, 5s.; or coloured plates, 7s. 6d.
Salmonia; or days of Fly-Fish¬
ing. By Sir Humphry Davy. Wood-
cuts. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d.
Horse - Shoeing; as it is, and
as it should be. By William Douglas.
Plates. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Five Years’ Adventures in the
far Interior of South Africa with the
Wil<J Beasts and Wild Tribes of the
Forests. By R. Gordon Cumming.
Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 6s.
Sport and War. Recollections
of Fighting and Hunting in South Africa,
from 1834-67, with an Account of the
Duke of Edinburgh’s Visit. By General
Sir John Bisset, C.B. Illustrations.
Crown 8vo, 14s.
Western Barbary, its Wild
Tribes and Savage Animals. By Sir
John Drummond Hay. Post 8vo, 2s.
Sport in Abyssinia. By Earl
of Mayo. Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 12s.
26
Mr. Murray s List of Works
EDUCATIONAL WORKS.
DR. WM. SMITH’S
DICTIONARIES.
A Dictionary of the Bible ; Its
Antiquities, Biography, Geography, and
Natural History. Illustrations. 3 vols.
8vo, 105s.
A Concise Bible Dictionary.
For the use of Students and Families.
Condensed from the above. With Maps
and 300 Illustrations. 8vo, 21s.
A Smaller Bible Dictionary.
For Schools and Young Persons.
Abridged from the above. With Maps
and Woodcuts. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.
A Dictionary of Christian An¬
tiquities. The History, Institutions, and
Antiquities of the Christian Church.
With Illustrations. 2 vols. medium 8vo,
£3 : 13 :6 -
A Dictionary of Christian Bio¬
graphy, Literature, Sects, and Doctrines.
From the Time of the Apostles to the
Age of Charlemagne. Vols. I. & II.
Medium 8vo, 31s. 6d. each.
A Dictionary of Greek and
Roman Antiquities. Comprising the
Laws, Institutions, Domestic Usages,
Painting, Sculpture, Music, the Drama,
etc. With 500 Illustrations. Medium
8vo, 28s.
A Dictionary of Greek and
Roman Biography and Mythology, con¬
taining a History of the Ancient World,
Civil, Literary, and Ecclesiastical, from
the earliest times to the capture of Con¬
stantinople by the Turks. With 564
Illustrations. 3 vols. medium 8vo, 84s.
A Dictionary of Greek and
Roman Geography, showing the Re¬
searches of modern Scholars and Travel¬
lers, including an account of the Political
History of both Countries and Cities, as
well as of their Geography. With 530
Illustrations. 2 vols. medium 8vo, 56s.
A Classical Dictionary of
Mythology, Biography, and Geography.
With 750 Woodcuts. 8vo, 18s.
A Smaller Classical Dictionary.
Abridged from the above. With 200
Woodcuts. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.
A Smaller Dictionary of Greek
and Roman Antiquities. Abridged from
the larger work. With 200 Woodcuts.
Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.
A Latin - English Dictionary.
Based on the works of Forcellini and
Freund. With Tables of the Roman
Calendar, Measures, Weights, and
Monies. Medium 8vo, 21s.
A Smaller Latin-English Dic¬
tionary. With Dictionary of Proper
Names, and Tables of Roman Calendar,
etc. Abridged from the above. Square
i2mo, 7s. 6d.
An English-Latin Dictionary,
Copious and Critical. Medium 8vo, 21s.
A Smaller English-Latin Dic¬
tionary. Abridged from the above.
Square i2mo, 7s. 6d.
A Mediaeval Latin-English Dic¬
tionary. Founded on the Work of
Ducange. Illustrated and enlarged by
additions, derived from Patristic and
Scholastic Authors, Mediaeval Histories,
&c., Ancient and Modern. By E. A.
Dayman, B.D., and J. H. Hessels.
[In Preparation.
MARKHAM’S HISTORIES.
A History of England, from
the First Invasion by the Romans. With
Conversations at the end of each Chap¬
ter. By Mrs. Markham. With 100
Woodcuts. T2mo, 3s. 6d.
A History of France, from the
Conquest by the Gauls. With Conver¬
sations at the end of each Chapter. By
Mrs. Markham. Woodcuts. i2mo,
3s. 6d.
A History of Germany, from
the Invasion of the Kingdom by the
Romans under Marius. On the Plan of
Mrs. Markham. With 50 Woodcuts.
i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Little Arthur’s History of Eng¬
land. By Lady Callcott. Continued
down to the year 1872. With 36 Wood-
cuts. i6mo, is. 6d.
in General Education.
27
MURRAY’S
STUDENT’S MANUALS.
A Series of Historical Class Books
for advanced Scholars. Forming a
complete chain of History froiti the
earliest ages to modern times.
Student’s Old Testament His¬
tory, from the Creation to the Return
of the Jews from Captivity. With an
Introduction by Philip Smith. Maps
and Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s New Testament His¬
tory. With an Introduction connecting
the History of the Old and New Testa-
1 ments. By Philip Smith. Maps and
Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s Manual of Ecclesias¬
tical History of the Christian Church,
from the Times of the Apostles to the
full Establishment of the Holy Roman
Empire and the Papal Power. By Philip
Smith. Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s Manual of English
Church History, from the Time of Henry
VIII. to the Silencing of Convoca¬
tion in the 18th Century. By Canon
Perry, M.A. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s Ancient History of
the East. Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia,
Media, Persia, Phoenicia, &c. By Philip
Smith. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s History of Greece,
from the Earliest Times to the Roman
Conquest; with the History of Literature
and Art. By Dr. Wm. Smith. Wood-
cuts. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s History of Rome,
from the Earliest Times to the Establish¬
ment of the Empire ; with the History of
Literature and Art. By Dean Liddell.
Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s History of the Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire. By
Edward Gibbon. Woodcuts. Post
8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s History of Modern
Europe. From the End of the Middle
Ages to the Treaty of Berlin. Post 8vo.
[In Preparation.
Student’s History of England
from the Accession of Henry VII. to
the Death of George II. By Henry
Hallam. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s Hume: a History of
England from the Invasion of Julius
C^sar to the Revolution in 1688. New
edition. Continued to the Treaty of
Berlin, 1878. By J. S. Brewer. With
7 Coloured Maps and Woodcuts. Post
8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s History of Europe
during the Middle Ages. By Henry
Hallam. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s History of France,
from the Earliest Times to the Establish¬
ment of the Second Empire, 1852. By
Rev. W. H. Jervis. Woodcuts. Post
8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s Manual of Ancient
Geography. By Canon Bevan. Wood-
cuts. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s Manual of Modern
Geography, Mathematical, Physical, and
Descriptive. By Canon Bevan. Wood-
cuts. ^ Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s Manual of the Geo¬
graphy of India. By Dr. George
Smith. Post 8vo.
Student’s Manual of the English
Language. By George P. Marsh.
Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s Manual of English
Literature. By T. B. Shaw. Post 8vo,
7s. 6d.
Student’s Specimens of English
Literature. By T. B. Shaw. Post
8vo, 7s. 6d.
Student’s Manual of Moral
Philosophy. By William Fleming.
Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
DR. WM. SMITH’S
SMALLER HISTORIES.
A Smaller Scripture History of
the Old and New Testaments. Wood-
cuts. i6mo, 3s. 6d.
A Smaller Ancient History of
the East, from the Earliest Times to the
Conquest of Alexander the Great.
With 70 Woodcuts. i6mo, 3s. 6d.
A Smaller History of Greece,
from the Earliest Times to the Roman
Conquest. 74 Woodcuts. i6mo, 3s. 6d.
A Smaller History of Rome,
from the Earliest Times to the Establish¬
ment of the Empire. Woodcuts. i6mo,
3s. 6d.
A Smaller Classical Mythology.
With Translations from the Ancient
Poets, and Questions on the Work. With
90 Woodcuts. i6mo, 3s. 6d.
A Smaller Manual of Ancient
Geography. 36 Woodcuts. i6mo, 3s. 6d.
A Smaller History of England,
from the Earliest Times to the year
1868. With 68 Woodcuts. i6mo, 3s. 6d.
A Smaller History of English
Literature ; giving a Sketch of the Lives
of our chief Writers. i6mo, 3s. 6d.
Short Specimens of English
Literature. Selected from the chief
Authors, and arranged chronologically.
i6mo, 3s. 6d.
28
Mr. Murray s List of
v
DR. WM. SMITH’S EDUCATIONAL WORKS.
ENGLISH COURSE.
A Primary History of Britain
for Elementary Schools. Edited by
Dr. Wm. Smith. i2mo, 2s. 6d.
A School Manual of English
Grammar, with Copious Exercises. By
Dr. Wm. Smith and T. D.* Hall.
Post 8vo, 3s. 6d.
A Primary English Grammar
for Elementary Schools. Exercises and
Questions. By T. D. Hall. i6mo, is.
A Manual of English Composi¬
tion. With Copious Illustrations and
Practical Exercises. By T. D. Hall.
i2tno, 3s. 6d.
A School Manual of Modern
Geography, Physical and Political. By
John Richardson. Post 8vo, 5s.
A Smaller Manual ’of Modern
Geography, for Schools and Young Per¬
sons. Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
LATIN COURSE.
The Young Beginner’s First
Latin Book ; Containing the Rudiments
of Grammar, Easy Grammatical Ques¬
tions and Exercises, with Vocabularies.
Being Introductory to Principia Latina,
Part I. i2mo, 2s.
The Young Beginner’s Second
Latin Book ; Containing an Easy Latin
Reading Book,?with an Analysis of the
Sentences, Notes, and a Dictionary.
Being Introductory to Principia Latina,
Part II. i2mo, 2s.
Principia Latina, Part I. A
First Latin Course, comprehending Gram¬
mar, Delectus, and i Exercise Book, with
Vocabularies. VWith Accidence adapted to
the Ordinary Grammars, as well as the
Public School Latin Primer. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Appendix to Principia Latina,
Part I. ; Additional Exercises, with
Examination Papers. i2mo, 2s. 6d.
Principia Latina, Part II. A
Latin Reading Book, an Introduction to
Ancient Mythology, Geography, Roman
Antiquities, and History. With Notes
and Dictionary. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Principia Latina, Part III. A
Latin Poetry Book, containing Easy
Hexameters and Pentameters, Eclogse
Ovidianse, Latin Prosody, First Latin
Verse Book. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Principia Latina, Part IV.
Latin Prose Composition, containing the
Rules of Syntax, with copious Examples,
and Exercises. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Principia Latina, Part V.
Short Tales and Anecdotes from Ancient
History, for Translation into Latin Prose.
i2mo, 3s.
A Latin-English Vocabulary :
arranged according to subjects and ety¬
mology ; with a Latin-English Dictionary
to Phsedrus, Cornelius tNepos, and
Caesar’s “ Gallic War.” i2mo, 3s. 6d.
The Student’s Latin Grammar.
Post 8vo, 6s.
A Smaller Latin Grammar.
Abridged from the above. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Tacitus. Germania, Agricola,
and First Book of the Annals. English
Notes. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
GREEK COURSE.
Initia Grseca, Part I. A First
Greek Course: comprehending Grammar,
Delectus, and Exercise-book. With
Vocabularies. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Appendix to Initia Grseca,
Part I. Being additional Exercises,
with Examination Papers and Easy
Reading Lessons, with the Sentences
analysed, serving as an Introduction to
Part II. i2mo.
Initia Grseca, Part II. A
Greek Reading Book, containing Short
Tales, Anecdotes, Fables, Mythology,
and Grecian History. Arranged in a
systematic progression, with Lexicon.
i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Initia Grseca. Part III. Greek
Prose Composition : containing a Syste¬
matic Course of Exercises on the Syn¬
tax, with the Principal Rules of Syntax,
and an English-Greek Vocabulary to
the Exercises. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
The Student’s Greek Grammar.
By Professor Curtius. Post 8vo, 6s.
A Smaller Greek Grammar.
Abridged from the above. i2mo, 3s. 6d
Greek Accidence. Extracted
from the above work. i2mo, 2s. 6d.
Elucidations of Curtius’s Greek
Grammar. Translated by Evelyn
Abbott. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Plato. The Apology of So¬
crates, the Crito, and Part of the Phsedo ;
with Notes in English from Stallbaum, and
Schleiermacher’s Introductions. i2mo,
3s. 6d.
School and Prize Books.
29
FRENCH, GERMAN, AND ITALIAN COURSE.
French Principia, Part I. A
First French Course, containing Gram¬
mar, Delectus, Exercises, and Vocabu¬
laries. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Appendix to French Principia,
Part I. Being Additional Exercises and
Examination Papers. i2mo, 2s. 6d.
French Principia, Part II.
A Reading Book, with Notes, and a
Dictionary. i2mo, 4s. 6d.
Student’s French Grammar:
Practical and Historical. By C. Heron-
Wall. With Introduction by M. Littre.
Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
A Smaller Grammar of the
French Language. Abridged from the
above. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
SCHOOL AND
A Child’s First Latin Book,
comprising a full Praxis of Nouns, Ad¬
jectives, and Pronouns, with Active
Verbs. By T. D. Hall. i6mo, 2s.
King Edward VI.’s Latin Ac¬
cidence. i2mo, 2s. 6d.
King Edward VI.’s Latin Gram¬
mar. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Oxenham’s English Notes for
Latin Elegiacs. Designed for early pro¬
ficients in the art of Latin Versification.
i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Hutton’s Principia Grseca : an
Introduction to the study of Greek, com¬
prehending Grammar, Delectus, and
Exercise Book, with Vocabularies. i2mo,
3s. 6d.
Buttman’s Lexilogus; a Critical
Examination of the Meaning and Ety¬
mology of Passages in Greek Writers.
8vo, 12 s.
Matthiae’s Greek Grammar.
Revised by Crooke. Post 8vo, 4s.
Horace. With ioo Vignettes.
Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Practical Hebrew Grammar;
with an Appendix, containing the Heb¬
rew Text of Genesis I. VI. and Psalms
I. VI. Grammatical Analysis and Voca¬
bulary. By Rev. Stanley Leathes.
Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
First Book of Natural Philo¬
sophy: an Introduction to the Study of
Statics, Dynamics, Hydrostatics, Light,
Heat, and Sound. By Prof. Newth.
Sm. 8vo, 3s. 6d.
German Principia, Part I. A
First German Course, containing Gram¬
mar, Delectus, Exercises, and Vocabu¬
lary. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
German Principia. Part II. A
Reading Book, with Notes^and a Dic¬
tionary. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
Practical Grammar of the Ger¬
man Language, with an Historical de¬
velopment of the Language. Post 8vo,
3s. 6d.
The Italian Principia, Part I.
A First Course,'containing a Grammar,
Delectus, Exercise Book, with Vocabu¬
laries, and Materials for Italian Conver¬
sation. By Signor Ricci. 12010, 3s. 6d.
Italian Principia, Part II. A
Reading-Book, containing Fables, Anec¬
dotes, History, and Passages from the
best Italian Authors, with Grammatical
Questions, Notes, and a Copious Ety¬
mological Dictionary. i2mo, 3s. 6d.
PRIZE BOOKS.
Elements of Mechanics, includ¬
ing Hydrostatics. By Prof. Newth.
Sm. 8vo, 8s. 6d.
Mathematical Examples. A
Graduated Series of Elementary Exam¬
ples in Arithmetic, Algebra, Logarithms,
Trigonometry, and Mechanics. By Pro¬
fessor Newth. Small 8vo, 8s. 6d.
Progressive Geography. By
J. W. Croker. i8mo, is. 6d.
Hisop’s Fables, chiefly from
Original Sources, by Rev. Thos. James.
With 100 Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
Gleanings in Natural History.
By Edward Jesse. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d.
Philosophy in Sport made
Science in Earnest; or Natural Philo¬
sophy inculcated by the Toys and Sports
of Youth. By Dr. Paris. Woodcuts.
Fcap. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
Puss in Boots. By Otto Speck-
ter. Illustrations. i6mo, is. 6d.
The Charmed Roe. By Otto
Speckter. Illustrations. i6mo, 5s.
Hymns in Prose for Children.
by Mrs. Barbauld. Illustrations.
Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d.
A Boy’s Voyage Round the
World. By Samuel Smiles. Illustra¬
tions. Small 8vo, 6s.
30
Mr. Murray s List of Works.
The Home & Colonial Library.
Class A—BIOGRAPHY, HISTORY, &c.
1. Drinkwater’s Gibraltar. 2s.
2. The Amber Witch. 2s.
3. Southey’s Cromwell and Bun-
yan. 2s.
4. Barrow’s Sir Francis Drake. 2s.
5. British Army at Washington. 2s.
6. French in Algiers. 2s.
7. Fall of the Jesuits. 2s.
8. Livonian Tales. 2s.
9. Conde. By Lord Mahon. 3s. 6d.
10. Sale’s Brigade in Affghanistan. 2s.
11. Sieges of Vienna. 2s.
12. Milman’s Wayside Cross. 2s.
13. Liberation War in Germany. 3s. 6d.
14. Gleig’s Battle of Waterloo. 3s. 6d.
15. Steffens’ Adventures. 2s.
16. Campbell’s British Poets. 3s. 6d.
17. Essays. By Lord Mahon. 3s. 6d.
18. Gleig’s Life of Lord Clive. 3s. 6d.
19. Stokers and Pokers. By Sir
Francis Head. 2s.
20. Gleig’s Life of Munro. 3s. 6d.
Class B—VOYAGES and TRAVEL.
1. Borrow’s Bible in Spain. 3s. 6d.
2. Borrow’s Gipsies of Spain. 3s. 6d.
3. 4. Heber’s Indian Journals 7s.
5. Holy Land. Irby& Mangles. 2s.
6. Hay’s Western Barbary. 2s.
7. Letters from the Baltic. 2S.
8. Meredith’s New S. Wales. 2s.
9. Lewis’ West Indies. 2s.
10. Malcolm’s Persia. 3s. 6d.
11. Father Ripa at Pekin. 2s.
12. 13. Melville’s Marquesas 7s.
14. Abbot’s Missionary in Canada. 2s.
15. Letters from Madras. 2s.
16. St.John’s Highland Sports. 3s. 6d.
17. The Pampas. Sir F. Head. 2s.
18. Ford’s Spanish Gatherings. 3s. 6d.
19. Edwards’ River Amazon. 2s.
20. Acland’s India. 2s.
21. Ruxton’s RockyMountains. 3s6d
22. Carnarvon’s Portugal. 3s. 6d.
23. Haygarth’s Bush Life. 2s.
24. St. John’s Libyan Desert. 2s.
25. Letters from Sierra Leone. 3s. 6d.
DR. WM. SMITH’S ANTCIENTT ATLAS.
AN ATLAS OF ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY, Biblical and Classical.
Intended to illustrate the ‘ Dictionary of the Bible,’ and the ‘ Dictionaries
of Classical Antiquity.’ Compiled under the superintendence of WM.
SMITH, D.C.L., and GEORGE
£6 : 6s.
x. Geographical Systems of the Ancients.
2. The World as known to the Ancients.
3. Empires of the Babylonians, Lydians,
Medes, and Persians.
4. Empire of Alexander the Great.
5. 6. Kingdoms of the Successors of Alex¬
ander the Great.
7. The Roman Empire in its greatest extent.
8. The Roman Empire after its division
into the Eastern and Western Empires.
9. Greek and Phoenician Colonies,
xo. Britannia.
11. Hispania.
12. Gallia.
13. Germania, Rhaetia, Noricum.
14. Paeonia, Thracia, Moesia, Illyria, Dacia.
15. Italy, Sardinia, and Corsica.
16. Italia Superior.
17. Italia Inferior.
18. Plan of Rome.
19. Environs of Rome.
20. Greece after the Doric Migration.
GROVE, LL.D. Folio, half-bound,
21. Greece during the Persian Wars.
22. Greece during the Peloponnesian War.
23. Greece during the Achaean League.
24. Northern Greece.
25. Central Greece—Athens.
26. Peloponnesus.—With Plan of Sparta.
27. Shores and Islands of the ./Egean Sea.
28. Historical Maps of Asia Minor.
29. Asia Minor.
30. Arabia.
31. India.
32. Northern Part of Africa.
33. ./Egypt and ./Ethiopia.
34. Historical Maps of the Holy Land.
35. 36. The Holy Land. North and South.
37. Jerusalem, Ancient and Modern.
38. Environs of Jerusalem.
39. Sinai.
40. Asia, to illustrate the Old Testament.
41. Map, to illustrate the New Testament.
42. 43. Plans of Babylon, Nineveh, Troy,
Alexandria, and Byzantium.
Index.
3 i
INDEX.
Abercrombie’s Works - 20
Acland’s India 8
Admiralty Manual - 16
Hssop’s Fables 22
Agricultural Journal - 25
Albert (The) Memorial - 18
-Speeches 21
Army Lists 24
Austin’s Jurisprudence - 20
Barbauld’s Hymns - 29
Barclay’s Talmud 15
Barkley’s Turkey 10
-My Boyhood - - 25
Barrow’s Autobiography 8
Barry’s (Sir C.) Life - 7, 20
- (Canon), Witness for
Christ 15
-(E.) Architecture -, 19
Bates’River Amazon - 11
Bax’s Eastern Seas - 8
Bees and Flowers 25
Belcher’s (Lady)‘Bounty’ 10
Bell’s (Sir Charles) Letters 6
Bell’s Tower of London 4
Bertram’s Harvest of the
Sea - - - 17
Bible Commentary - 2
Bigg Wither’s Brazil - n
Birch’s Ancient Pottery 18
Bird’s Sandwich Islands 10
- Japan 9
—— Rocky Mountains - 11
Bisset’s Sport in Africa 9, 25
Blackstone’s Comments - 20
Blomfield’s (Bp.) Memoir 6
Blunt’s Works - - 15
-(LadyA.), Bedouins,
&c. 10
Borrow’s Works - n, 22
Boswell’s Johnson - 7
Brewer’s Studies - 4, 6, 22
British Association - 16
Brugsch’s Egypt 3
Bunbury’s Geography - 11
Burbidge’s Borneo 10, 17
Burckhardt’s Cicerone 12, 19
Burn’s Nav. & Mil. Terms 24
Burrows’ Constitution - 20
Buttmann’s Works - 29
Buxton’s Memoirs, &c. - 6
-Political Handbook 20
Byles on Religion 15
Byron’s Life 7
-Poetical Works - 23
Campbell’s Chancellors
and Chief-Justices - 8
-Lord Bacon 6
-Napoleon 7
-Life ... §
Carnarvon’s Athens - to
-Agamemnon 23
Cartwright’s Jesuits 4, 16
Cathedral (The) - - 15
Cathedrals of England 4, 19
Cesnola’s Cyprus - 10, 18
Chaplin’s Benedicite - 16
Chisholm’s Polar Seas - 11
Choice of a Dwelling 20, 25
Church and the Age - 15
Churton’s Poetical Works 23
Classic Preachers - - 15
Clode’s Military Forces 24
-Martial Law - - 20
Coleridge’s Table-Talk - 22
Cookery 25
Cooke’s Sketches - - 19
Cook’s Sermons 16
Crabbe’s Life and Works 23
Crawford’s Argo - - 23
Cripps on Plate - - 18
CrokePs Geography - 29
-Stories lor Children 29
Crowe’s Flemish Painters 19
-Painting in Italy - 19
-Titian - - - 7, 19
Cumming’s South Africa 9, 25
Curtius’ Works - - 21
Cust’s Annals of the Wars 24
Darwin’s Works - - 17
-Erasmus, Life - 8
Davy’s Consolations - 21
-Salmonia - - 25
De Cosson’s Blue Nile - 9
Dennis’ Etruria 19
Dent’s Sudeley - - 5
Derby’s Homer 23
Derry’s Bampton 15
De Ros’s Young Officer 24
Deutsch’s Talmud - 21
Dilke’s Papers of a Critic 22
Douglas’s Gunnery and
Bridges - - - 8, 24
-Horse-Shoeing - 25
Ducange’s Dictionary - 27
Du Chaillu’s Africa - 9
Dufferin’s High Latitudes 11
-Speeches, &c. 20, 22
Duncan’s Artillery - 5, 24
Durer, Albert - - 7, 19
Eastlake’s Essays - 6
Eldon’s Life 8
Elgin’s Letters 7
Ellis’s Madagascar - 9
-Memoir - - - 6
Ellis’s Catullus - 23
Elphinstone’s India - 5
Elphinstone’s Turning - 17
Elton’s, E., Africa - 9
Elze’s Byron 7
English in Spain - - 5, 24
Essays on Cathedrals - 15
Fergusson’s Architec¬
tural Works - - 19
Forbes’ Burmah 8
Forsyth’s Hortensius - 20
-Novels and Novelists 21
Foss’Biographia Juridica 8
Frere’s India and Africa 21
Galton’s Art of Travel 11
Geographical Journal - 11
George’s Mosel & Loire xi
Gibbon’s Roman Empire 3, 27
Giffard’s Naval Deeds - 24
Gill’s Ascension - 9, 16
-River of Golden Sand 8
Gladstone’s Rome 16
-Essays - - 20, 22
Gleig’s WaterloQ 5
-Washington 5
Glynne’s Churches - 19
Goldsmith’s Works - 23
Gomm’s, Life 7
Grey’s Wm. IVth - - 6
Grote’s Histories 3
-Works - - 20, 21
-Life 7
-Mrs. - - - 7
Hallam’s England - 4
-Middle Ages - - 4
-Literary History - 22
-Remains - - 23
Hall’s English Grammar 28
-First Latin Book - 28
Hamilton’s Guards - 5, 24
Hamilton’s Rheinsberg - 6
Handbooks for Travellers x 2,14
Hatch’s Aristotle - - 21
Hatherley on Scripture - 15
Hayward’s Statesmen - 6
Head’s Engineer 24
-Burgoyne 7
-Bubbles from Nassau 11
-Stokers and Pokers 22
Heber’s Poetical Works 15, 23
Herries’ Life - - 6
Herschel’s Memoir - 8
H oil way’s Norway - 11
Home and Colonial Library 30
Homer, Iliad, Odyssey - 23
Hook’s Church Dictionary 14
Kook’s (Theodore) Life 7
Hope’s, B., Worship - 16
Houghton’s Monographs 6
-Poetical Works - 23
Houstoun’s Wild West - 11
Hutchinson’s Dog-Breaking 25
Hutton’s Principia Graeca 29
Jameson’s Ital. Painters 7,19
Jennings’ Field Paths and
Rambles - - 11, 22
Jervis’s Gallican Church 4, 15
Jesse’s Gleanings - - 17
Jex-Blake’s Sermons - 16
Johnson’s (Dr.) Life 7
J ulian’s Dictionary of
Hymnology - - 14
Junius’ Handwriting - 22
Kerr’s Country House 20, 25
King Edward Vlth’s
Grammars - - - 29
Kirk’s Charles the Bold 4
Kirkes’ Physiology - 17
Kugler’s Italian Schools 19
-German Schools - 19
Lane’s Modern Egyptians,
, , . 4
Lawrence s Reminiscences
32
Index .
Layard’s Nineveh 9
Leathes’ Heb. Grammar 29
Leslie’s Hbk. for Painters 19
Levi’s British Commerce 21
Lex Salica - - 21
Liddell’s Rome - - 3, 27
Lispings from Low Lati¬
tudes 22
Little Arthur’s England 26
Livingstone’s Travels - 9
-Life - - - 6
Livingstonia 9
Loch’s China 5
Lockhart’s Spanish Ballads 23
Loudon’s Gardening - 25
Lyell’s Works - 17, 18
Lytton’s Julian Fane - 6
M‘Clintock’s Arctic
Seas - - - 11
Macdougall’s Warfare - 24
Macgregor’s Rob Roy - 10
Madras, Letters from - 8
Mahon’s Belisarius - 7
Maine’s (Sir H. S.) Works 21
Malcolm’s Persia - - 10
Mansel’s Lectures - - 21
-Bampton Lectures - 15
-Letters, Reviews, &c. 21
Marco Polo’s Travels - 9
Markham’s Histories - 26
-Chinchona 25
Marryat’s Pottery - 18
Masters in Theology - 15
Matthise’s Greek Gram. 29
Mayo’s Sport in Abyssinia 9, 25
Meade’s New Zealand - 10
Melville’s Typee and Omoo 10
Meredith’s New So. Wales 10
Michel Angelo - ■ 7, 19
Middleton’s Rembrandt 19
Millington’s Land of Ham 15
Milman’s Histories - 4, 16
-St. Paul’s - - 5, 14
-Christianity - - 4, 16
-Latin Christianity - 4, 14
-Fall of Jerusalem - 23
-Horace - - - 7, 23
—— (Bishop) Life of - 6
Mivart’s Essays. - - 20
-The Cat - - 17
Moore’s Life of Byron - 7
Moresby’s New Guinea 10
Mossman’s Japan - - 8
Motley’s Histories - 4
-Barneveld - 4, 6
Mounsey’s Satsuma Rebel¬
lion 8
Mozley’s Predestination 15
Muirhead’s Vaux-de-Vire 23
Murchison’s Siluria - 18
-Memoirs 8
Music and Dress - - 25
Musters’ Patagonians - 11
Napier’s English Battles 5
Nautical Almanack - 24
Navy List - - - 24
New Testament - - 14
Newth’s Works on Science 16
Nicholls, Sir G., Poor Laws 21
Nicolas’ Historic Peerage 5
Nile Gleanings (Stuart) 3, 9, 18
Nimrod 2 z
Nordhoff’s Communistic
Societies - - 11, 20
Northcotes’s Note-Book 5
Owen’s Modern Artillery 24
Oxenham’s Latin Elegiacs 31
Palgrave’s Taxation - 21
Palliser’s Monuments - 22
Parkyns’ Abyssinia - 9
Peel’s Memoirs 6
Percy’s Metallurgy - 16
Periy’s St. Hugh - - 6
Philip’s Literary Essays 22
Philosophy in Sport - 16
Pope’s Works - - 23
Porter’s Damascus - 10
Prayer-Book - - 14
Privy Council Judgments 21
Puss in Boots - - - 29
Quarterly Review - 21
Rae’s Barbary - - 9
Rassam’s Abyssinia - 9
Rawlinson’s Herodotus 3
-Ancient monarchies 3
-Russia in the East 10, 20
Redcliffe (Lord S. de), East¬
ern Question - - 20
Reed’s Shipbuilding, &c. 16
- Japan 9
Rejected Addresses - 23
Reynold’s Life 7
Ricardo’s Works - - 21
Robertson’s Church His¬
tory - - - 4 ,15
Robson’s School Archi¬
tecture - - 19
Robinson’s Palestine 10, 15
-Physical Geography 18
-Alpine Flowers - 25
-Sub-Tropical Garden 25
Rowland’s Constitution 20
-Laws of Nature - 20
St. James’ Lectures - 15
St. John’s Wild Sports - 25
-Libyan Desert - 9
Saldanha’s Memoirs - 7
Sale’s Brigade in Afghan¬
istan - - - - 5
Scepticism in Geology - 18
Schliemann’s Troy and
Mycenae - - 9, 18
Schomberg’s Odyssey - 23
School and Prize Books - 29
Scott’s Architecture - 19
Seebohm’s Siberia - 11, 17
Selborne on the Liturgy 4, 15
Shadows of Sick Room - 15
Simmons’ Court-Martial 20
Smiles’ Popular Biographies
and Works 5, 6, 8, 18, 22, 25,
Smith (Dr. G.), Geography
of India - - - 8
Smith (P.) Ancient History 3,4
Smith’s (Dr. Wm.) Diction¬
aries 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 26
Smith’s (Dr. Wm.) Ancient
Atlas - n, 27
-Educational Course 3, 28
-Smaller Histories 16, 29
Somerville’s Life - - 8
-Physical Sciences, &c.
16, 18
Stael, Madame de - - 7
Stanhope’s Histories - z
-Pitt ... 6
-Miscellanies - - 22
-Retreat from Mos¬
cow - - - 5, 22
Stanley’s Sinai - - 10
-Bible in Holy Land . 10
-Eastern, Jewish, and
Scottish Church - - 4, 16
-Canterbury - - 4
-Westminster Abbey 5
-Sermons in East - 16
-Bp., Memoir 6
-Arnold - - - 6
-Corinthians - - 16
-Christian Institutions 15
Stevens’s Madame de Stael 6
Stephens’s Chrysostom - 6
Stories for Children - 29
Street’s Architecture of
Spain and Italy - - 19
Stuart’s Nile - - 3, 9, 18
Student’s Manuals 14, 26, 28
Sumner’s Life - - 6
Swainson’s Creeds - 15
Swift’s Life 7
Sybel’s French Revolution 5
Symonds’ Records of the
Rocks 18
|
Temple’s India - 8, 21
Thibaut’s Musical Art 19
Thielmann’s Caucasus 10
Thomson’s Sermons 15, 16
Titian’s Life and Times 7, 19
Tocqueville’s France - 5
Tomlinson’s Sonnet - 23
Tozer’s Turkey & Greece 10
Tristram’s Land of Moab 10
-Great Sahara 9
Truro, Bp. of. The Cathe¬
dral, &c. 15
Turkey, Lady’s Life in - 10
Tyler’s Primitive Culture 21
Tylor’s Hist, of Mankind 21
Vambery’s Travels - 8
Van Lennep’s Asia Minor 9
-Bible Lands - - 15
Vatican Council - - 16
Virchow’s Freedom of
Science - - - 18
Weigall’s Princess Char¬
lotte 6
Wellington’s Despatches 5, 24
White’s N aval Architecture 24
Whymper’s Matterhorn - 11
Wilberforce’s Life 6
Wilkinson’s Egyptians - 3
Wilson’s Life and Diary 7
-Dr. John, Life of - 6
Wilson’s Michel Angelo - 7, 19
Wood’s Oxus 8
Words of Human Wisdom 22
Young’s Nyassa - - 9
Yule’s Marco Polo - - 8
-A. F., Crete - - 21
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