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THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

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By THE SAME AUTHOR.

 

Second Edition. Demy 8vo, cloth, price 18s.

THE GOLD-MINES OF MIDIAN
AND THE RUINED MIDIANITE CITIES.

A FORTNIGHT’S TOUR IN NORTH- WESTERN ARABIA.

With Numerous Jllustrations.
p—

ook, which must

¢¢ "There is a freshness about his [Captain Burton's] b
his latest con-

of all who turn to tie pages of this,

engross the attention
e.’—ATHENEUM.

tribution to geographical literatur

 

LoxpoN : C. KEGAN pPavL & Co., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE.

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THE LAND OF MIDIAN

(REVISITED).

  

 

BY J

RICHARD F. BURTON.
|

    
  

  
 

WITH MAP, AND ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD AND BY

   

CHROMO-LITHOGRAPHY.

   
   
   

IN TWO VOLUMES.

   

VOL. L
¢

   

LONDON :
C. KEGAN PAUL & CO., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE.

   

1879.

  
 

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To the Memory of

MY MUCH LOVED NIECE,

MARIA EMILY HARRIET STISTED,

WHO DIED AT DOVERCOURT,

NOVEMBER 12, 1878.

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¢¢ Gold shall be found, and found
In a land that’s not now known.”
MOTHER SHIPTON, A.D. 1448.

 

 
 

 

 

PREFACE.

A FEW pages by way of “ Forespeache.”

The plain unvarnished tale of the travel in
Midian, undertaken by the second Expedition,
which, like the first, owes all to the liberality and
the foresight of his Highness Ismail I., Khediv of
Egypt, forms the subject of these volumes. During
the four months between December 19, 1877, and
April 20, 1878, the officers employed covered some
2500 miles by sea and land, of which 600, not in-
cluding by-paths, were mapped and planned ; and
we brought back details of an old-new land which
the civilized world had clean forgotten.

The public will now understand that one and

the same subject has not given rise to two books.

I have to acknowledge with gratitude the many
able and kindly notices by the Press of my first
volume (“The Gold Mines of Midian,” etc. Messrs.
C. Kegan Paul & Co., 1878). But some reviewers
succeeded in completely misunderstanding the drift

——— -

 
 

X PREFACE.

of that avant courier. It was an introduction in-
tended to serve as a base for the present more
extensive work, and—foundations intended to bear
weight must be solid. Its object was to place
before the reader the broad outlines of a country
whose name was known to “every schoolboy,”
whilst it was a vox ef preeterca nihil, even to the
learned, before the spring of 1877. I had judged
advisable to sketch, with the able assistance of
learned friends, its history and geography; its
ethnology and archaeology; its zoology and mala-
cology ; its botany and geology. The drift was
to prepare those who take an interest in Arabia
generally, and especially in wild mysterious Midian,
for the present work, which, one foresaw, would be
a tale of discovery and adventure. Thus readers
of “ The Land of Midian (Revisited) ” may feel that
they are not standing upon ground utterly un-
known; and the second publication is shortened
and lightened—perhaps the greatest advantage of
all—by the prolegomena having been presented in
the first.

The purpose of the last Expedition was to
conclude the labours begun, during the spring of
1877, in a mining country unknown, or rather, fallen

into oblivion. Hence its primary “objective” was
mineralogical. The twenty-five tons of specimens,
brought back to Cairo, were inspected by good

3

 

 

PREFACE. x1

judges from South Africa, Australia, and California ;
and all recognized familiar metalliferous rocks. The
collection enabled me to . distribute the mining
industry into two great branches—(1) the rich
silicates and carbonates of copper smelted by the
Ancients in North Midian; and (2) the auriferous
veins worked, but not worked out, by comparatively
modern races in South Midian, the region lying
below the parallel of El-Muwaylah. It is, indeed,
still my conviction that “tailings” have been
washed for gold, even by men still living. We
also brought notices and specimens of three several
deposits of sulphur; of a turquoise-mine behind
Zibd; of salt and saltpetre, and of vast deposits of
gypsum. These are sources of wealth which the
nineteenth century is not likely to leave wasted and
unworked.

In geography the principal novelties are the
identification of certain ruined cities mentioned by
Ptolemy, and the “Harrahs” or plutonic centres
scattered over the seaboard and the interior. I
venture to solicit the attention of experts for my
notes on El-Harrah, that great volcanic chain whose
fair proportions have been so much mutilated by its
only explorer, the late Dr. Wallin. Beginning with
Damascan Trachonitis, and situated, in the parallel
of north lat. 28°, about sixty direct miles east of the
Red Sea, it is reported to subtend the whole coast

a aa ists

Naini

 
 

 

   

 

 

X11 PREFACE.

of North-Western Arabia, between El-Muwaylah
(north lat. 27° 39") and El- Yambu’ (north lat. 24° 5).
Equally noticeable are the items of information
concerning the Wady Hamz, the “ Land's End” of
Egypt, and the most important feature of its kind
in North-Western Arabia. Its name, wrongly given
by Wallin, is unknown to the Hydrographic Chart,
and to the erudite pages of my friend Professor
Aloys Sprenger, who, however, suspects with me
that it may be the mouth of the celebrated Wady
el-Kurd. For further topographical details the
reader is referred to the “Itineraries” of the Expe-
dition, offered to the Royal Geographical Society
of London.

Some of the principal sites were astronomically
determined by Commanders Ahmed Musallam and
Ndsir Ahmed, of the Egyptian navy. The task
of mapping and planning was committed to the two
young Staff-lieutenants sent for that purpose. They
worked well in the field ; and their sketches were
carefully executed whilst under my superintendence,
But it was different when they returned to Cairo.
The maps sent to the little Exposition at the Hippo-
drome (see conclusion) were simply a disgrace to
the Staff-bureau. My departure from Egypt caused
delay ; and, when the chart reached me, it was far
from satisfactory : names had been omitted, and

without my presence it could not have been printed.

  

   
  

tL

“

PREFACE. xiii

With the able assistance of Mr. William J. Turner,
of the Royal Geographical Society, who found the
work harder than he expected, it has been reduced
to tolerable shape. Still, it is purely provisional;
and, when mining operations shall begin, a far
more careful survey will be required.

As regards archaeology, the second Expedition
visited, described, and surveyed eighteen ruins of
cities and towns, some of considerable extent, in
North Midian, besides seeing or hearing of some
twenty large Mashghal, apparently the afeliers of
vagrant Gypsy-like gangs. This total of thirty-eight
is not far short of the forty traditional Midianite
settlements preserved by the medieval Arab geogra-
phers. Many others are reported to exist in the
central or inland region ; and fifteen were added by
the South Country, including the classical temple or
shrine, found upon the bank of the Wady Hamz
before mentioned. The most interesting sites were
recommended to M. Lacaze, whose portfolio was
soon filled with about two hundred illustrations, in
oil and water-colours, pencil ¢roguzs, and *“ sun-
pictures.” All, except the six coloured illustrations
which adorn this volume, have been left in Egypt.
His Highness resolved to embody the results of
our joint labours in a large album, illustrated with
coloured lithographs, maps, and plans, explained by
letter-press, and prepared at the Citadel, Cairo.

TRI him ae
 

 

SOT

TR

 

X1V PREFACE.

The Meteorological Journal was kept by myself,
assisted at times by Mr. Clarke. Mr. David Duguid,
engineer of the Muk/hbir, whose gallant conduct will
be recorded (Chap. VIII), and Commander Ndisir
Ahmed, of the Siundr, obliged me by registering
simultaneous .observations at sea-level. The whole
was reduced to shape by Mr. W. J. Turner, of the
Royal Geographical Society.

My private collection of mineralogical specimens
was deposited with Professor M. H. N. Story-
Maskelyne. The spirit-specimens of zoology filled
three large canisters: and the British Museum also
received a hare and five birds (Mr. R. B. Sharpe);
four bats (ZR/inopoma) and a mouse; six reptiles,
five fishes, thirty-five crustaceans, and about the
same number of insects: five scorpions, six leeches,
sixty molluscs, four echinoderms, and three sponges.
Dr. A. Giinther (Appendix III.) determined and
named two new species of reptiles. Mr. Frederick
Smith (Appendix III.) took charge of the insects.
Mr. Edward J. Miers, F.L.S., etc., described the
small collection of crustacex (Annals and Magazine
of Natural History for November, 1878). Finally,
Mr. Edgar A. Smith examined and named the
shells collected on the shores of the 'Akabah Gulf
and the north-eastern recess of the Red Sea.

The main interest of the little Jortus siccus was

the Alpine Flora, gathered at an altitude of five

ag

 

 

PREFACE. XV

thousand feet above sea-level. The plants were
offered to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, of Kew; and
Professor D. Oliver, of the Herbarium, has kindly
furnished me with a list of the names (Appendix
IV.). Mr. William Carruthers and his staff also
examined the spirit-specimens of fleshy plants (Ap-
pendix IV.).

Mr. Reginald Stuart Poole, Keeper of Coins and
Medals, and Mr. Barclay V. Head were good
enough to compare with their rich collections the
coins of ancient Midian found (Chap. IIL), for the
first time, at Maghdir Shu'ayb.* Some years ago,
Mr. Robert Ready, of the British Museum, had
bought from a Jew, Yusuf Kalafdt (?), a miscellane-
ous collection, which included about sixty of the so-
called Midianitic coins. But the place of discovery
is wholly unknown. The Assistant Keeper read a
paper “On Arabian Imitations of Athenian Coins,”
Midianitic, Himyaritic, and others, at a meeting of
the Numismatic Society (November 21, 1878); and
I did the same at the Royal Asiatic Society, Decem-
ber 16, 1878. The little “find” of stone implements,
rude and worked ; and the instruments illustrating
the mining industry of the country, appeared before

* My collection dates from between the first century B.C. and
the first century A.D. ; this can be gathered from comparison with
the coins of Alexander Jannaus and his successor, Alexander II.

The tetradrachm may belong to the reign of Alexander the Great,
or the ages preceding it.

——

 
 

 

hE LD 8 lr ie Pi

 

XV1 PREFACE.

the Anthropological Section of the British Associa-
tion, which met at Dublin (August, 1878), and again
before the Anthropological Institute of London,
December 10, 1878.

Finally, the skulls and fragments of skulls from

Midian were submitted to Professor Richard Owen,
the Superintendent of Natural History ; and my
learned friend kindly inspected the Egyptian and
Palmyrene crania which accompanied them. The
whole was carefully described by Dr. C. Carter
Blake, Ph.D., before the last-named sdance of the
Anthropological Institute (December 10, 1878).

The tons of specimens brought to Cairo were,
I have said, publicly exhibited there, and created
much interest. But the discovery of a mining-
country, some three hundred miles long, once im-
mensely wealthy, and ready to become wealthy once
more, is not likely to be accepted by every one.
Jealous and obstructive officials “did not think much
of it.” Rivals opposed it with even less ceremony.
A mild “ring” in Egypt attempted in vain to run
the Hdmdmdt and Dar-For mines (Chap. III.)
against Midian. Consequently the local Press was
dosed with rumours, which, retailed by the home
papers, made the latter rife in contradictory reports.
To quote one case only. The turquoise-gangue
from Zibd (Chap. XII.) was pronounced, by the

inexpert mineralogists at the Citadel, Cairo, who
Si

 

I

TE TT OEP

PREFACE. XVil

attempted criticism, to be carbonate of copper,
because rich silicates of that metal were shown
at the Exposition. No one seemed to know that
the fine turquoises of Midian have been sold for
years at Suez, and even at Cairo.

There was, indeed, much to criticise in the
collection, which had been made with a marvellous
carelessness. But we must not be hard upon
M. Marie. He is an engineer, utterly ignorant of
mineralogy and of assaying: he was told off to do
the duty, and he did it as well as he could—in
other words, very badly. He neglected to search
for alluvial gold in the sands. Every Wady which
cuts, at right angles, the metalliferous maritime
chains, should have been carefully prospected ; these
sandy and quartzose beds are natural conduits
and sluice-boxes. But the search for “tailings” is
completely different from that of gold-veins, and
requires especial practice. The process, indeed,
may be called purely empirical. It is not taught
in Jermyn Street, nor by the Ecole des Mines. In
this matter theory must bow to “rule of thumb:” the
caprices of alluvium are various and curious enough
to baffle every attempt at scientific induction.
Thus the “habits” of the metal, so to speak,
must be studied by experiment with patient labour ;
the most accomplished mineralogist may pass over

rich alluvium without recognizing its presence, where
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xviii PREFACE.

the rude prospector of California and Australia will
find an abundance of stream-gold. Evidently the
proportion of “tailings” must carefully be laid down
before companies are justified in undertaking the
expensive operation of quartz-crushing. Hence
M. Tiburce Morisot, a practical digger from South
Africa, introduced at Cairo by his compatriot,
M. Marie, to my friend M. Yacoub Artin Bey,
found a fair opportunity of proposing to his High-
ness the Khediv (October, 1878) a third Expedition
in search of sand-gold. The Viceroy, however,
true to his undertaking, refused to sanction any
“ interloping.”

The highly distinguished M. Ferdinand de Les-
seps, when en route to Paris, kindly took charge of
some cases of specimens for analysis. But the
poorest stuff had been supplied to him by M. Marie;
and the results, of which I never heard, were pro-
bably #i/. The samples brought to England, by
order of his Highness the Khediv, were carefully
assayed. The largest collection was submitted to
Dr. John Percy, F.R.S. Smaller items were sent
to the well-known houses, Messrs. Johnston and
Matthey, of Hatton Garden, and Messrs. Edgar
Jackson and Co., Associates of the Royal School
of Mines (fourteen samples). Finally, special obser-
vations were made by Mr. John L. Jenken, of Car-
rington, through Mr. J. H. Murchison, of “British

PREFACE. X1X

Lead Mines,” etc., etc., etc. ; by Lieut.-Colonel Ross,
the distinguished author of “ Pyrology;” and by
Lieut.-Colonel Bolton, who kindly compared the
rocks with those in his cabinet. M. Gastinel-Bey’s
analysis of the specimens brought home by the
first Expedition will be found at the end of Chap.

VIII.
The following is the text of Dr. Percy's

report :—

Metallurgical Laboratory, Royal School of Mines,
Jermyn Street, London, Dec. 13, 1878.

DEAR SIR, ct
I now send the results of the analytical examination of

the specimens which you submitted to me for that purpose. The
examination has been conducted with the greatest care, in the
metallurgical laboratory of the Royal School of Mines, by Mr.
Richard Smith, who, for the last thirty years, has been constantly
engaged in such work ; and in whose accuracy I have absolute
confidence. It is impossible that any one should have taken
greater interest in, or have devoted himself with greater earnest-
ness to, the investigation. I have almost entirely confined myself
to a statement of facts, as I understand that was all you required
for the guidance of his Highness the Khedive.

Section I.

Examination of the mineral specimens contained in the boxes marked as
under.

(An average representative sample of each specimen, of about six pounds
in weight, was prepared for examination from portions broken off, or other-

wise taken, by Mr. Richard Smith at the Victoria Docks. *)
No. 1. “Box 22,” Quartz from Mugnak (Makni). Quartz coloured

black and red-brown with oxides of iron. These were of two varieties,
marked 22a and 224 respectively.

* Here probably disappeared some fine specimens of silicate of copper,
which caused a delay of three months in the report.—R. F. B.

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XX PREFACE.

No. 2. The magnetic ironstone (22¢) was examined and found to
contain of—

Peroxide of iron (per cent.) av ... 85°29
Protoxide ,, »" “ we 033
Silica (quartz) ¥ 328

The oxides of iron together contain of metallic iron 668 per cent.
No. 3. The micaceous ironstone (224) was examined and found to

contain of—
Peroxide of iron (per cent.) - .. 9I'O

Silica " wee ort ie 5°52
The peroxide of iron contains of metallic iron 637 per cent.

No. 4. “Box No. 14,” Quartz from Mugnak, gave no results.

No. 5. “Box No. 27,” Iron from Mugnak, proved to be haematite
(which is magnetic), with some red-brown oxide of iron and quartz. It was
found to contain of—

Peroxide of iron (per cent.) i. . 75°46
Protoxide ,, ” - 4°09
The oxides of iron together contain of metallic iron 56°4 per cent.

No. 6. “Box No. 7,” Conglomerate from Mugnah, yielded no results.

No. 7. “Box No. 25,” Quartz from Mugnakh. This quartz, veined and
coloured black and red-brown with oxides of iron, was assayed with the
following results :—

Gold and Silver ta se eh ... None. *

Nos. 8 and 9. “Boxes Nos. 50 and 37,” t Quartz and red dust from Mug-
nak, yielded no results.

No. 10. “Box No. 37a,” Sulphur from Mugnak. Lumps of sulphur,
crystallized and massive, irregularly distributed through a white, dull, porous
rock. The latter was examined and found to be hydrated sulphate of lime
(gypsum), with a small quantity of magnesia ; some of the lumps of rock
were coloured with oxides of iron, and others intermixed with sand.

Nos. 11. and 12. ‘“ Boxes Nos. 3 and 6,” Black quartz and white quarts
from the Febel el-Abyaz, gave no results except a small portion of copper
pyrites in a lump of quartz (Box No. 6).

No. 13. “Box No. 47,” Quartz from El-Wedge (Wijh), gave only oxide
of iron. §

No. 14. “‘Box No. 5,” Red quartz from El-Wedge, a quartz with red-
brown oxide of iron and earthy substances, was assayed with the following
results :—

Gold (per statute ton = 3240 lbs.)
Silver ™ ‘he ‘ee ... Traces.

No. 15. “Box No. 10,” Mica schist from El-Wedge. This mica-schist
undergoing decomposition from weathering action, mixed with small lumps of
quartz, was assayed with the following results :—

Gold (per statute ton) es es ... 6 grains,
Silver ten Traces.

2 dwts. 15 grs.

 

* Messrs. Edgar Jackson found in the same box :—

Silver (per statute ton) ... 20z. 17 dwts. IT grs.
t+ “Box No. 37” yielded silver 13 dwts. 1°60 grs.
i “Box. No. 47”

LR ‘ey tee 12 ” 1

Eee

PREFACE. xx1

No. 16. “Box No. 32,” White quartz from EI-Wedge. This quartz
coloured with red-brown oxide of iron, mixed with mica-schist, was assayed
with the following results :—

Gold (per statute ton) 3 dwts. 22 grs.
Silver . vs: Traces.

.e

No. 17. ““Box No. 48,”* Red sulphur from Sharm Yihdrr, was found to
have the following composition, while it was free from ‘‘ native sulphur” :—

Peroxide of iron (per cent.) ... ‘er 44°30
Sand, clay, carbonates and sulphates of lime and
magnesia 14°90

Salts soluble in water, chiefly alkaline chlorides and
chlorites, and sulphates of lime and magnesia ~~ 29°70
Water - - .. oe ... 11°40

 

100°00
No. 18. “Box No. 48a,” Gypsum from Sharm Yihdrr. Partly semi-
transparent and granular, and partly dull white and opaque. It was found to be
hydrated sulphate of lime, or gypsum, with carbonate of lime, and some sand,
magnesia, and chloride of sodium.
No. 19. “Box No. 35,” Dust and stones from Sharmd, yielded no results.

Section 2.
Examination of the mineral specimens contained in a box sent from Egypt. As
the specimens were unlabelled, they were marked A, B,C,D,EPFG,
H, and I, respectively.

No. 21. A. “Copper ore.” A fair average specimen was prepared for
examination from the several lumps of ore and marked a.

a. Tt was submitted to analysis, and found to contain carbonates of lime
and magnesia ; silica, alumina, and oxides of iron ; and of—

Copper (metallic) op “ee «+ §'72 per cent.

5. A portion of the copper mineral, from which the rock or vein-stuff had
been detached as far as practicable, was found to consist of impure hydrated
silicate of copper (bluish-green chrysocolla) and carbonate of copper. It was
assayed and found to contain of—

Copper (metallic) “ vs 23'14 per cent.

No. 22. ““B.” A lump of soft, ochrey red-brown ironstone, coated with
a thin layer of greyish white substance. A fair average sample, inclusive of
this external layer, was prepared for examination, and was found to consist of—

 

Peroxide of iron (per cent.) ve ve .. 81°14
Water i. i. ce es ... 1I1'50
Silica .. es aes ” ... 307
Sulphuric acid, lime, magnesia, alumina ... 429

100°00

The peroxide of iron contains 56°8 per cent. of metallic iron. The greyish

white substance was found to consist of silica, alumina, sulphate of lime, and

a little oxide of iron and magnesia.

 

* In boxes Nos. 48 and 51 Mr. Jenken found silver 2 oz. 13 dwts. 8 grs.;

and 4 oz. §dwts. 12 grs,

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Xxil PREFACE.

No. 23. ““C.” Lump of red ironstone associated with sand and earthy
substances, containing

Peroxide of iron (per cent.)  ... ver ... 6809
Water ” Se "ee i wi 195
Silica and sand oe on “we 18°17
Lime, magnesia (in small quantity), alumina, car-
bonic acid, sulphuric acid (traces) ... ees I1'8I
100°00

The peroxide of iron contains 47°66 of metallic iron.

No. 24. “D.” Lump of white quartz said to contain visible gold. I did
not observe any, but found a few minute specks of pyrites, and partially
resembling mica.

No. 25. Lump of quartz associated with red-brown oxide of iron. It
yielded no results.

No. 26. Lump of rock in which the ¢‘ turquoise” occurs. There was a
thin layer of greenish blue turquoise mineral on one surface, and minute seams
of a similar substance throughout the specimen.

a. The layer of turquoise mineral, from which the rock or vein-stuff had
been detached as far as practicable, was found to contain phosphoric acid,
alumina, oxide of copper, oxide of iron, and water ; which occur in turquoise.

6. After the layer @ had been separated, a fair average sample of the rock
was found to contain 1°69 per cent. of metallic copper. It was also assayed and
found to be free from silver * and gold.

No. 27. “G.” A variety of jasper, having a somewhat polished, and
irregular and deeply indented surface, the result of sand-action. The fractured
surface was red, with patches of yellow. It was found to consist chiefly of
silica, coloured with oxides of iron.

No. 28. ““H.” Lump of ‘““sard,” of a pale-red flesh colour. A variety
of chalcedony. It was found to consist almost entirely of silica.

No. 29. “I.” Lumps of pure ironstone.

A small lump of metal, { supposed to contain antimony § and platinum, was
brought for examination by Captain R. F. Burton. It was submitted to
analysis, and found to be iron and combined carbon, or white cast-iron, con-
taining small quantities of lead, copper, and silver, and free from antimony,
platinum, and gold. It is evidently the product of a fusion operation. A few
““shots ” of lead were attached to the surface of the metal. ||

 

* In a fragment of similar ‘turquoise rock,” from the same site (Z#44), Dr.
L. Karl Moser, of Trieste, found silver.

t In a fragment of similar chalcedony, from the same site (Ab4’l-Mart), Dr.
Moser found specks of ‘free gold.”

1 This was the ‘“ splendid button” smelted at Makna.

§ The “button” was pronounced to be almost pure antimony in the Govern-
ment Establishment of Mines, Trieste.

| In “box No. 4” Messrs. Jackson found rough crystals of corundum ;
and a qualitative analysis of this sample and ‘““box No. 7” yielded quartz,
carbonate of lime, alumina, and oxide of iron.

 

aos

4
:

 

PREFACE. xxiii

Dr. Percy concludes the assays in these
words :(—

Three of the specimens (Nos. 14, 15, and 19) from the same
locality contain gold. The amount of gold, Lowever, is small.
I consider these indications of the presence of the precious metal
not altogether unsatisfactory ; and certainly to justify further ex-
ploration. My conviction is, that the ancients were adepts in the
art of extracting gold, and that, owing to the small value of human
labour, they could get out as much of the metal as could now be
done. They knew perfectly what was worth working and what
was not ; and 7 think it likely that what you have brought home, had
been rejected by the ancients as unworkable.* Further search may
lead to the discovery of workable stuff; but would doubtless require
a good deal of time, unless lucky accident should © “=rv 1c,

The specimens Nos. 2, 3, 5, 22, and 23 contain sufficient
iron to render them available as iron ores, provided they occur in
large quantity. The copper present in No. 212 is too small in
amount to render it available as a source of that metal.t If itis
practicable on a large scale, by hand-labour or other means, to
separate the “copper mineral” (as in 4), it would be sufficiently
rich in copper, provided the cost of the transit were not too
great.

The specimen No. 17 is only of scientific interest, as it
gives off an acid vapour when heated; and this substance may
have been used by the ancients in the separation of silver from
gold by the process termed “cementation.”

I remain, dear Sir, yours very truly,
(Signed) Jou~n Percy, M.D., F.R.S.
Lecturer on Metallurgy at the Royal School of Mines, London.

Capt. R. F. Burton, etc.

Upon this able report I would offer the following

* The italics are mine. Mr. Mathey remarks of the specimen containing
48 grains of gold per ton, ‘It would be worthless in its present condition; if,
however, it could be enriched by proper washing and dressing, and the cost in
labour, etc., be not too great, it might be made to give fair returns.”

t Analyses of copper ore from Midian at the Citadel, Cairo, gave in certain
cases forty per cent.

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XXiv PREFACE.

observations. We, who have travelled through a
country like Midian, finding everywhere extensive
works for metallurgy; barrages and aqueducts, cis-
terns and tanks; furnaces, fire-bricks, and scoriz ;
open mines, and huge scatters of spalled quartz, with
the remains of some eighteen cities and towns
which apparently fell to ruin with the industry that
founded and fed them ;—we, I say, cannot but form
a different and a far higher idea of its mineral
capabilities than those who determine them by the
simple inspection of a few specimens. The learned
Dr. Percy at once hits the mark when he surmises
that worthless samples were brought home; and
this would necessarily occur when no metallurgist,
no practical prospector, was present with the Expe-
dition. As will appear from the following pages,
all the specimens were collected @ cze/ ouvert, and
wholly without judgment.

I therefore expect that future exploration will
develop Midian as it has done India. The
quartzose outcrop called the “ Wynaad reef” (Ma-
dras Presidency) produced only a few poor penny-
weights per ton, two and seven being the extremes,
while much of it was practically unproductive.
Presently, in February, 1878, the district was visited
by Sir Andrew Clarke, of Australian experience,
member of the Viceregal Council. He invited Mr.
Brough Smyth, of Victoria, to explore and test

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PREFACE. ge

the capabilities of the country; and that eminent
practical engineer discovered, in an area of twenty-
five by thirteen miles, ninety outcrops, some yielding,
they say, two hundred ounces per ton of gold, fine
and coarse, “ with jagged pieces as large as peas.”
And British India now hopes to draw her gold
coinage from Wynaad.

I conclude this abstract of the book, which
would have been reduced in size had the mass of
matter permitted, with the heartfelt hope that the
grand old Land of Midian will not be without

attraction to the public of Europe.

RICHARD F. BURTON.

ATHENZUM CLUB,
December 16.

 

 

 
 

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CONTENTS.

PART I.

THE MARCH THROUGH MADYAN PROPER
(NORTH MIDIAN).

CHAPTER I. §

PAGE
PRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN veh ‘ie 3

CHAPTER II

THE START—FROM EL-MUWAYLAH TO THE “ WHITE MOUN-

 

i TAIN” AND ’AYNUNAH . . . ve 39
i CHAPTER IIL
i BREAKING NEW GROUND TO MAGHAIR SHU’AYB ... ee 79

CHAPTER IV.

NOTICES OF PRECIOUS METALS IN MIDIAN—THE PAPYRI

AND THE MEDIEVAL ARAB GEOGRAPHERS  ... we 112
CHAPTER V.
WORK AT, AND EXCURSIONS FROM, MAGHAIR SHU’AYB 136

CHAPTER VIL

To MAKNA, AND OUR WORK THERE—THE MAGANI OR
MAKNAWIS ... i. ” oes os we 173

 
 

HORS

XXViil CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIL

CRUISE FROM MAKNA TO EL-AKABAH  ... pe we 207

rE

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CHAPTER VIII.

CRUISE FROM EL-AKABAH TO EL-MUWAYLAH—THE SHIP-
WRECK ESCAPED—RESUME OF THE NORTHERN JOURNEY 247

TENET

 

 

PART II.

 

THE MARCH THROUGH CENTRAL AND
EASTERN MIDIAN.

| CHAPTER IX. 4 PART 1.

WORK IN AND AROUND EL-MUWAYLAH ... tor “ 273 =

BR RADA Bh + HORE te

CHAPTER X. ! THE MARCH THROUGH MADYAN
THROUGH EAST MIDIAN To THE HIsM{ ... . co 204 4 PROPER (NORTH MIDIAN).

 

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THE LAND OF MIDIAN
REVISITED.

CHAPTER IL

PRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN.

TurovcHOUT the summer of 1877 I was haunted
by memories of mysterious Midian. The Golden
Region appeared to me in the glow of primeval
prosperity described by the Egyptian hieroglyphs ;
as rich in agriculture and in fertility, according to the
old Hellenic travellers, as in its Centres of civili-
zation, and in the precious metals catalogued by
the Sacred Books of the Hebrews. Again I saw
the mining works of the Greek, the Roman, and the
Nabathzean, whose names are preserved by Ptolemy ;
the forty cities, mere ghosts and shadows of their
former selves, described in the pages of the mediz-

val Arab geographers; and the ruthless ruin which,

 

 

 
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4 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

under the dominion of the Bedawin, gradually crept
over the Land of Jethro. The tale of her rise and
fall forcibly suggested Algeria, that province so
opulent and splendid under the Masters of the
World; converted into a fiery wilderness by the
representatives of the “gentle and gallant” Turk,
and brought to life once more by French energy
and industry. And such was my vision of a future
Midian, whose rich stores of various minerals will
restore to her wealth and health, when the two
Khedivial Expeditions shall have shown the world
what she has been, and what she may be again.

I was invited to resume my exploration during
the winter of 1877-78, by the Viceroy of Egypt,
Ismail I., a prince whose superior intelligence is
ever anxious to develop the resources of his country.
His Highness was perhaps the only man in his own
dominions who, believing in the buried wealth of
Midian, had the perspicacity to note the advantages
offered by its exploitation. For the world around
the Viceroy pronounced itself decidedly against the
project. My venerable friend, Linant Pasha, sug-
gested a comparison with the abandoned diggings
of the Upper Nile; forgetting that in at least half
of Midian land, only the “tailings” have been
washed: whereas in the Bishari country, and through-
out the “ Etbaye,” between the meridians of Bere-
nike and Sawakin, the very thinnest metallic fibrils

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PRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. sj

have been shafted and tunnelled to their end in
the rock by those marvellous labourers, the old
Egyptians. In the Hamdmdt country, again, the
excessive distances, both from the Nile and from the
Red Sea, together with the cost of transport, must
bar all profit. Even worse are the conditions of Fay-
zoghld and Dadr-For; whilst the mines of Midian
begin literally at the shore.

Another Pasha wrote to me from Alexandria,
congratulating me upon having discovered, during
our first Expedition, “a little copper and iron.” Gene-
rally, the official public, knowing that I had brought
back stones, not solid masses of gold and silver,
loudly deplored the prospective waste of money;
and money, after the horse-plague, the low Nile, and
the excessive exigencies of the short-sighted creditor,
was exceptionally scarce. The truly Oriental view
of the question was taken by an official, whom I
shall call Arif Pasha—the “ Knowing One.” When
told that M. George Marie, the Government engi-
neer detailed to accompany the first Expedition,
had sent in official analyses with sample tubes of
gold and silver, thus establishing the presence of
auriferous and argentiferous rocks on the Arabian
shore, Son Excellence exclaimed, “Zmprudent jeune
homme, thus to throw away the chances of life! Had
he only declared the whole affair a farce, a flam,

a sell, a canard, the Viceroy would have held him

 

 

 
 

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6 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

to be honest, and would have taken care of his
future.”

Still, through bad report the Khediv, who had
mastered, with his usual accuracy of perception and
judgment, the subject of Midian and her Mines, was
staunch to his resolve ; and when one of his Euro-
pean financiers, a Controlenr Général de Dépenses,
the normal round peg in the square hole, warned
him that there were no public funds for such pur-
pose, his Highness warmly declared, oz 4z¢, that
the costs of the Expedition should be defrayed at his
own expense.

Meanwhile I had passed the summer of 1877 in
preparation for the work of the ensuing winter. A
long correspondence with many learned friends, and
a sedulous study of the latest geographers, especially
German, taught me all that was known of mining in
Arabia generally, and particularly in Midian. During
my six months’ absence from Egypt my vision was
fixed steadily upon one point, the Expedition that
was to come ; and when his Highness was pleased
to offer me, in an autograph letter full of the kindest
expressions, the government of Ddr-For, I deferred
accepting the honour till Midian had been dis-
posed of.

Unhappily, certain kindly advisers persuaded me
to make well better by a visit to Karlsbad, and a

course of its alkaline “ Fountains of Health.” Never

 

 

 

PRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 7

was there a greater mistake! The air is bad as the
water is good; the climate is reeking damp, like
that of Western Africa; and, as in St. Petersburg, a
plaid must be carried during the finest weather. Its
effects, rheumatic and neuralgic, may be judged by
the fact that the doctors must walk about with
pocketed squirts, for the hypodermal injection of
opium. Almost all those whom I knew there, want-
ing to be better, went away worse ; and, in my own
case, a whole month of Midian sun, and a sharp
attack of ague and fever were required to burn out
the Hexenschuss and to counteract the deleterious
effects of the “ Hygeian springs.”

At last the happy hour for departure struck ;
and on October 19, 1877, the Austro-Hungarian
Espero (Capitano Colombo) steamed out of
Trieste. On board were Sefer Pasha, our host of
Castle Bertoldstein; and my learned friends, the
Aulic Councillor Alfred von Kremer, Austrian
Commissioner to Egypt, and Dr. Heinrich Brugsch-
Bey. The latter gave me a tough piece of work in
the shape of his “Agypten,” which will presently be
quoted in these pages. It would be vain to repeat
a description of the little voyage described in
“The Gold-Mines of Midian.” The Dalmatian, or
first day; the second, or day of Corfu loved
and lost ; and the third, made memorable by Cepha-

lonia and the glorious Canale, all gave fine smooth

A —————— si EN

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8 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

weather. But the usual rolling began off still-vexed
Cape Matapan. It lasted through the fourth day,
or of Candia, this usula nobilis et amena—

“Crete, the crown of all the isles, flower of Levantine waters”

—while the fifth, or Mediterraneo-Alexandrian day,
killed two of the seventeen fine horses, Yuckers
and Anglo-Normans, which Sefer Pasha was con-
veying to Cairo.

On Thursday morning (October 235), after rolling
through the night off the old port Eunostus, which
now looks brand-new, we landed, and the next day
saw me at Cairo. Such was my haste that I could
pay only a flying visit to the broken beer-bottles,
the burst provision-tins, the ice-plants, and the
hospitable society of Ramleh the Sand-heap; and
my many acquaintances had barely time to offer
their congratulations upon the prospects of my “ be-
coming an Egyptian.”

My presence at the capital was evidently neces-
sary. A manner of association for utilizing the
discoveries of the first Expedition had been formed
in London by the Messieurs Vignolles, who knew

only the scattered and unofficial notices; issued,

without my privity, by English and continental

journals. Their representative, General Nuthall,
formerly of the Madras army, had twice visited

Cairo, in August and October, 1877, seeking a con-

 

PRELIMINARY —FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. q

cession of the mines, and offering conditions which
were perfectly unacceptable. The Viceroy was to
allow, contrary to convention, the free importation
of all machinery; to supply guards, who were not
wanted ; and, in fact, to guarantee the safety of the
workmen, who were perfectly safe. In return, ten
per cent. on net profits, fifteen being the royalty of
the Suez Canal, was the magnificent inducement
offered to the viceregal convoitise. 1 could not help
noting, by no means silently, this noble illustration
of the principle embodied in Siu vos non vobis. 1
was to share in the common fate of originators,
discoverers, and inventors: the find was mine, the
profits were to go—elsewhere. General Nuthall pro-
fessed inability to regard the matter in that light;
while to all others it appeared in no other. However,
after a few friendly meetings, the representative left
Egypt, with the understanding that possibly we
might work together when the exploration should
have been completed. His Highness, who had
verbally promised me either the concession or four
per cent. on gross produce, acted en prince, simply
remarking that the affair was in my hands, and that
he would not interfere with me.

I must not trouble the reader with the tedious
tale of the pains and the labour which accompany
the accouchement of such an Expedition. All practi-

cals know that to organize a movement of sixty men
10 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

is not less troublesome—indeed, rather more so—than
if it numbered six hundred or six thousand. The
Viceroy had wisely determined that we should not
only carry out the work of discovery by tracing the
precious metals to their source; but, also, that we
should bring back specimens weighing tons enough
for assay and analysis, quantitive and qualitive, in
London and Paris. Consequently, miners and
mining apparatus were wanted, with all the materials
for quarrying and blasting: my spirit sighed for
dynamite, but experiments at Trieste had shown
it to be too dangerous. The party was to consist
of an escort numbering twenty-five Suddn soldiers
of the Line, negroes liberated some two years ago;
a few Ma'danjiyyah (“mine-men”), and thirty Hag-
gdrah (“stone-men ” or quarrymen).

The Government magazines of Cairo contain
everything, but the difficulty is to find where the
dispersed articles are stored : there is a something
of red-tapeism; but all is plain sailing, compared
with what it would be in Europe. The express
orders of his Highness Husayn Kdmil Pasha,
Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of War, at
once threw open every door. Had this young prince
not taken in the affair a personal interest of the
liveliest and most intelligent nature, we might have
spent the winter at Cairo. And here I cannot

refrain from mentioning, amongst other names, that

" PRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 11

of Mr, Alfred E. Garwood, C.E., locomotive super-
intendent ; who, in the short space of four months, has
introduced order and efficiency into the chaos known
as the Buldk magazines. With his friendly co-
operation, and under his vigorous arm, difficulties
melted away like hail in a tropical sun. General
Stone (Pasha), the Chief of Staff, also rendered me
some assistance, by lending the instruments which
stood in his own cabinet de travail.*

Poor Cairo had spent a seedy autumn. The
Russo-Turkish campaign, which had been unjustifi-

ably allowed, by foreign Powers, to drain Egypt of

her gold and life-blood—some 25,000 men since the
beginning of the Servian prelude—not only caused
abundant sorrow to the capital, but also frightened

* «Little health” at Cairo prevented my choosing the instru-
ments ; and the result was that at last I had to depend upon my
pocket-set by Casella. Even this excellent maker's maxima
and minima failed to stand the camel-jolting. The barometer,
lent by the Chief of Staff (Elliott Brothers, 24), contained
amalgam, not mercury. The patent messrad, or odometer (Witt-
mann, Wien), with its works of soft brass instead of steel, was fit
only to measure a drawing-room carpet. M. Ebner sold us, at the
highest prices, absolutely useless maxima and minima, plus a
barométre aneroide, whose chain was unhooked when it left the
box. M. Siissmann, of the Muski, supplied, for fifty francs, a
good and useful microscope magnifying seventy-five times. The
watches from M. Meyer (““ Dent and Co. !”) were cheap and nasty
Swiss articles; but they were also subjected to terrible treat-
ment :—I once saw the wearers opening them with table-knives.
Fortunately M. Lacaze, the artist, had a good practical knowledge
of instruments ; and this did us many a good turn.

 
 

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12 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

off the stranger-host, which habitually supplies the
poorer population with sovereigns and napoleons.
The horse-pest, a bad typhus, after raging in 1876
and early 1877, had died out: unfortunately, so had
the horses; and the well-bred, fine-tempered, and
high-spirited little Egyptians were replaced by a
mongrel lot, hastily congregated from every breed-
ing ground in Europe. The Fellahs, who had ex-
pected great things from the mission of MM.
Goschen and Joubert, asked wonderingly if those
financiers had died; while a scanty Nile, ten to twelve
feet lower, they say, than any known during the last
thousand years, added to the troubles of the poor,
by throwing some 600,000 feddans (acres) out of
gear, and by compelling an exodus from the
droughty right to the left bank. Finally, when the
river of Egypt did rise, it rose too late, and brought
with it a feverish and unwholesome autumn. Briefly,
we hardly escaped the horrors of Europe—
‘“ Herbstesahnung ! Triste Spuren
In den Wildern, auf den Fluren !
Regentage, boses Wetter,” etc.

Meanwhile, in the Land of the Pharaohs, whose
scanty interest about the war was disguised by
affected rejoicings at Ottoman successes, the Pro-
phet gallantly took the field, as in the days of
Yusuf bin Ishdk. This time the vehicle of revela-

tion was the learned Shayhk (md?) Alaysh, who

PRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 13

was ordered in a dream by the Apostle of Allah
(upon whom be peace!) to announce the victory of
the Moslem over the Infidel; and, as the vision
took place in Jemddi el-Akhir (June), the first
prediction was not more unsuccessful than usual.
Shortly afterwards, the same reverend man again
dreamt that, seeing two individuals violently quarrel-
ling, with woies de fait, he had hastened, like a true
believer, to separate and to reconcile them. But
what was his surprise when the brawlers proved to
be the Sultan and the Czar, the former administer-
ing condign personal punishment to his hereditary
foe. This, the enlightened Shaykh determined, was
a sign that in September the Osmanli would be
gloriously triumphant. Nor was he far wrong. The
Russians, who had begun the campaign, like the
English in India, with a happy contempt both for
the enemy and for the elementary rules of war, were
struck with a cold fit of caution : instead of marching
straight upon and intrenching themselves in Adrian-
ople, they vainly broke their gallant heads against
the improvised earthworks of Plevna. And ignorant
Europe, marvelling at the prowess of the “noble
Turk,” ignored the fact that all the best “ Turkish”
soldiers were Slavs, originally Christians, renegades
of old, unable to speak a word of Turkish; pre-

serving their Bosniac family-names, and without one

drop of Turkish blood in their veins. Sulayman

  

 
14 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Pasha’s army was about as “Turkish” as are the
Poles or the Hungarians.

Not the less did Cairo develop the normal
season-humours of the Frank. Among the various
ways of “doing the Pyramids,” I registered a new
one : Mr. A——, junior, unwilling wholly to neg-
lect them, sent his valet with especial orde.s to
stand upon the topmost plateau. The “sécond
water” of irrigation made November dangerous ;
many of the “ Shepheards” suffered from the Ayén
el-Mulik, the “Evil of Kings” (gout), in the gloomy
form as well as the gay; and whisky-cum-soda be-
came popular as upon the banks of the Thames
and the Tweed. As happens on dark days, the
money-digger was abroad, and one anecdote de-
serves record. Many years ago, an old widow body
had been dunned into buying, for a few piastres,
a ragged little manuscript from a pauper Magh-
rabi. These West Africans are, par excellence, the
magicians of modern Egypt and Syria; and here
they find treasure, like the Greeks upon the shores
of the Northern Adriatic. Perhaps there may be
a basis for the idea; oral traditions and written
documents concerning buried hoards would take
refuge in remote regions, comparatively undisturbed
by the storms of war, and inhabited by races more
or less literary. At any rate, the Maghrabi Dar-
waysh went his ways, assuring his customer that,

PRELIMINARY —FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 15

when her son came of age, a fortune would be found
in the little book. And true enough, the boy, reach-
ing man’s estate, read in its torn pages ample
details concerning a Dafinah (hoard) of great value.
He was directed, by the manuscript, to a certain
spot upon the Mukattam range, immediately be-
hind the Cairene citadel, where the removal of a
few stones would disclose a choked shaft: the
latter would descend to a tunnel, full of rubbish, and
one of the many sidings would open upon the
golden chamber. The permission of Government
was secured, the workmen began, and the directions
proved true—“barring” the treasure, towards which
progress was still being made. Such was the legend
of Cairo, as recounted to me by my good friend,
Yacoub Artin Bey; I can only add to it, A/a/ko
A’alam !—Allah is all-knowing !

The sole cause of delay in beginning exploration
was the want of money; and this, of course, even the
Prince Minister of Finance could not coin. Egypt,
the fertile, the wealthy, the progressive, was, indeed,

at the time all but insolvent. At the suggestion of

foreigners, “ profitable investments,” which yielded

literally nothing, had been freely made for many a
year, and the sole results were money difficulties
and debt. The European financiers had managed
admirably for their shareholders; but, having

assumed the annual national income at a maximum,

 
 

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16 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

instead of a minimum, they had brought the goose
of the golden eggs to the very verge of death.
The actionnaires were to receive, with a punctuality
hardly possible in the East, the usurious interest of
six per cent., not including one per cent. for sinking
fund. Meanwhile, the officers and officials, military,
naval, and civil, had been in arrears of salary for
seven to fifteen months; and even the Jews refused
to cash at any price their pay certificates.

Nothing could be more unwise or unjust than
the exactions of the creditors. Men must live; if
not paid, they perforce pay themselves ; and thus,
of every hundred piastres, hardly thirty find their
way into the treasury. Ten times worse was the

condition of the miserable Felldhin, who were sell-

“ing for three or four napoleons the bullocks worth

fifteen per head. Thus they would tide over the
present year; but a worse than Indian famine was
threatened for the following. And the “ Bakkdl,” at
once petty trader and money-lender, whose interest
and compound interest here amount, as in Bombay,
to hundreds per cent., would complete the ruin
which the “low Nile” and the Christian creditor
had begun.

A temporary reduction of interest to three per
cent., with one per cent of amortization, should con-
tent the greedy shareholder, who seeks to combine
high profits with perfect security. During Novem-

 

 

 

.

PRELIMINARY —FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 17

ber, 1877, there were five M.P.’s at Shepheard’s ;
and all cried shame upon the financial condition of
the country. Sir George Campbell opened the little
game. In his “Inside View of Egypt” (Fortnightly
Review, Dec., 1877) he drew a graphic picture of the
abnormal state of poor Egypt; he expressed the
sensible opinion that, in the settlement, the claims
of the bond-holders have been too exclusively con-
sidered, and he concluded that no more payments of
debt-interest should be made until official arrears are
discharged.

At last the Phare d' Alexandrie (November 29,
1877), doubtless under official inspiration, put forth
the following article, greatly to the satisfaction of

the unfortunate employés : -

“Si nos renseignements particuliers sont exacts, le comité des
finances vient de prendre une excellente décision. Elle consiste
en ce que, aussitot argent pour le paiement du prochain coupon,
préparé, le ministere, avant tout autre, procédera au paiement des
appointements arriérés des employés.

“Nous apprenons, on outre, que S. A. le ministre des finances,
méme, a déclaré, motu proprio, que jusquau complet paiement
des arriérés dis aux employés, et dans le cas ou il se présenterait
une dépense de grande importance, prévue méme par le budget,
de ne pas en ordonner le paiement sans, au préalable, le som-
mettre a I'adhésion du comité.

“ Nous applaudissons de toutes nos forces a cette bonne nou-
velle d’abord, parcequ’elle affirme une fois de plus la scrupuleuse
exactitude qu'on apporte au paiement des coupons, ensuite elle
prouve le vif intérét qu'inspire au gouvernement la situation de
ses nombreux employés, enfin elle nous fait espérer qu’apres avoir
songé a eux, on s'occupera aussi a payer les autres sommes por-
tées et prévues au budget de l'année.”

VOL. IL C

 
 

 

18 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Accordingly, on December 2nd, the Prince Min-
ister of Finance took heart of grace, and distri-
buted among the officials one month’s pay, with a
promise that all arrears should presently be made
good. On the same day his Highness issued to the
Expedition 2000 napoleons, in addition to the 620
already expended upon instruments and provisions.
This was the more liberal, as I had calculated the
total at 1500: the more, however, the better. In
such work it is money versus time, the former
saving the latter ; and we were already late in the
year—it had been proposed to start on November
15th, and we had lost three precious weeks of fine
autumnal weather. The stores were equally abun-
dant: I wanted one forge, and received three.

Of course, many details had been forgotten; e.g,
a farrier and change of mule-irons, a tinsmith and
tinning tools, a sulphur-still, boots for the soldiers
and the quarrymen, small shot for specimens, and so
forth. I had carried out my idea of a Dragoman
with two servants; and the result had been a model
failure, especially in the most important department.
The true “Desert cook” is a man sui generis; he
would utterly fail at the Criterion, and even at
Shepheard’s ; but in the wilderness he will serve

coffee within fifteen minutes, and dish the best of

dinners within the hour after the halt.
Mr. Clarke and Lieutenant Amir worked with a

 

LPRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 19

will; and they were ably seconded by Colonel Al
Bey Robi and Lieutenant-Colonel (of the Staff) Mo-
hammed Bey Bdligh. But the finishing touch to
such preparations must be done by the master hand:
and my unhappy visit to Karlsbad rendered that
impossible. The stores and provisions were sup-
plied by MM. Voltéra Brothers, of Cairo: I cannot
say too much in their praise ; and the packing was

M. Gross, of Shepheard's,

was good enough to let me have a barrel of claret :

as good as the material.

which improved every week by travelling, and which
cost only a franc a bottle : it began as a bon ordi-
naire, and the little that returned to Cairo ranked
with a quasi-grand vin, at least as good as the four-
shilling Medoc. Finally, Dr. Lowe, of Cairo, kindly
prepared for us a medicine chest, containing about
410 worth of the usual drugs and appliances—calo-
mel, tartar emetic, and laudanum ; blister, plaster,
and simple ointment. *

A special train was made ready for Thursday,
December 6th; and, at ten a.m., after taking leave

* For Arabian travel I should advise aconite, instead of
Dover's powder ; Cockle’s pills, in lieu of blue mass ; Warburg's
Drops, in addition to quinine; pyretic saline and Karlsbad, besides
Epsom salts; and chloral, together with chlorodyne. “Pain
Killer” 1s useful amongst wild people, and Oxley’s ginger, with the
simple root, is equally prized. A little borax serves for eye-water,
and alum for sore mouth. I need not mention special medicines

like the ligueur Laville, and the invaluable Waldol (oil of the
maritime pine), which each traveller must choose for himself,

 
 

 

20 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of their Highnesses, who courteously wished me
good luck and God-speed, the Expedition found itself
under weigh. We were accompanied to the station
by many kind friends: my excellent kinsman Lord
Francis, and Lady F. Conyngham, Yacoub Artin
Bey, General Stone, and MM. George, Garwood,
Girard, and Guillemine.

The change from the damp air of Cairo to the
drought of the Desert was magical : light ailments
and heavy cares seemed to fall off like rags and
tatters. We halted at Zagdzig, remarking that this
young focus of railway traffic has become the eastern
key of Lower Egypt, as Benhd is to the western
delta; and prophesying that some day, not far dis-
tant, will see the glories of Bubastis revived. Here
we picked up my old friend Haji Wali, whom age—
he declares that he was born in the month Mizdn of
1797—had made only a little fatter and greedier.
We gave a wide berth to the future Alexandria,
Ismailiyyah, whose splendid climate has been tem-
porarily spoilt by the sweet-water canal of the same
name. The soil became literally sopped ; and hence
the intermittent fevers which have lately assailed it.
A similar disregard for drainage has ingeniously
managed to convert into pest-houses Simla and
other Himalayan sanitaria.

The day ended with running the train into the

Suez Docks, so as to embark all our impediments on

 

PRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 21

the next morning ; and I fondly expected Saturday
to see us sail. But the weather-wise had been true
in their forecasts. Friday opened with howling,
screaming gusts of southerly wind; and, during the
night we were treated to a fierce display of storm,—
thunder and lightning, and rain. The gale caused
one collision on the Canal, and twenty-five steamers
were delayed near the Bitter Lake; it broke down
the railway and sanded it up for miles, and it
levelled fifty English and forty Egyptian telegraph-
posts—an ungentle hint to prefer the telephone.
Saturday, the beginning of winter, opened with a
cold raw souther and a surging sea, which washed
over the Dock-piers; in such weather it was impos-
sible to embark ten mules without horse-boxes. On
Sunday the waves ran high, but the gale fell about
sunset to a dead calm; as usual in the Gulf, the
breakers and white horses at once disappeared ; and
the slaty surface, fringed with dirty yellow, imme-
diately reassumed its robes of purple and turquoise-
blue. The ill wind, however, had blown us some
good by deluging with long-hoped-for rain the now
barren mountains of Midian.

This “ Fortuna,” according to the people, sets in
with the fourth Coptic month, Kayhdk,* which

* It is Lane's “Kiyakh, ru/go Kiydk,” and Michell’s “Kyhak,

the ancient Khoiak,” or fourth month. The Copts begin their
solar year on our September 1o-11; and date from the 2nd of

 
 

 

22 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

begins the first Arba'in (“ Forty-day period”); and
the fourth day is known as the Zmtizay el-Faslayn,

or ‘“ Mixture of the two Seasons’—autumn and

Diocletian, or the Era of the “ Martyrs” (A.p. 284). It is the old
Sothic, or annus quadratus, which became the Alexandrine under
the Ptolemies ; and which Sosigenes, the Egyptian, converted into
the Julian, by assuming the Urbs condita as a point de départ, and
by transferring New Year's Day from the equinox to the solstice.

Thus Kayhdk 1, 1594, would correspond with December o,
A.D. 1877, and with Z{'l-Hijjah 4, A.H. 1294. On the evening of
Kayhdk 14 (December 22nd) winter is supposed to set in. The
fifth month, Tuba—Lane’s ¢ Toobeh,” and Michell’s “ Toubeh, the
ancient Tobi ”—is the coldest of the year at Suez, on the isthmus
and in the adjacent parts of Arabia ; rigorous weather generally
lasts from January 2oth to February 2oth. In Amshir, about early
March, torrents of rain are expected to fall for a few hours. The
people say of it, in their rhyming way, Admshir, Za'bib el-kathir—
‘“ Amshir hath many a blast ;” and

 

“ Amshir

Yakul 1i’l-Zara’ ¢ Sir!

Wa yalhak bi’l-tawil el-kasir.’
“ Amshir saith to the plants, ‘Go (forth), and the little shall
reach the big.” It is divided into three ’Ashardt or tens—r1.
’Asharat el’Ajiz (“of the old man”), from the cold and killing
wind El-Hustum ; 2. ’Asharat el’Anzah (“of the she-goat”), from
the blasts and gales ; and 3. ’Asharat el-Rd’f (‘‘ of the shepherd”),
from its change to genial warmth. Concerning Barmahat (zu/go
Baramhdt), of old Phamenoth (seventh month), the popular jingle
is, Rul el-Ghayt wa hit—* Go to the field and bring (what it
yields) ;” this being the month of flowers, when the world is green.
Barmiidah (Pharmuthi) | duk’h bl’ amiidal (* April! pound with
the pestle !”) alludes to the ripening of the spring crops; and
so forth almost ad infinitum. For more information see the
“ Egyptian Calendar,” etc. (Alexandria : Moures, 1878), a valuable
compilation by our friend Mr. Roland I. N. Michell, who will, let
us hope, prefix his name to a future edition, enlarged and enriched
with more copious quotations from the weather-rhymes and the
folk-lore of Egypt.

”n

 

 

PRELIMINARY —FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 23

winter. The storm is expected to blow three days
from the Azyab (south-east) or from the Shirs
(south-west). The qualities of the several winds are
described in the following distich :—

“ Mirfsi Shaytdn, wa Gharbi Wazirhu ;
Tiydb Sultan, wa Sharki Nazfrhu.”

“The south-wester’s a Satan, and the wester’s his minister ;
The norther’s a Sultan, and the easter’s his man.”

On the other hand, fair weather was predicted after
the first quarter of the moon (December 12th), ac-
cording to the saying of the Arab sailor: —

“ When the moon sleeps, the seaman may sleep ;
When the moon stands, the seaman must stand.”

The “sleeping” moon—undim or rdikid, also called
Vemdani—is that of the first quarter, which we mark
concave to the left; the “standing” moon is that of
the last.

Our stay at Suez was saddened by the sudden
death of Marius Isnard, who had acted cook to the
first Khedivial Expedition. The poor lad, aged only
eighteen, had met us at the Suez station, delighted
with the prospect of another journey; he had neg-
lected his health; and, after a suppression of two
days, which he madly concealed, gangrene set in,
and he died a painful death at the hospital during
the night preceding our departure.

On December 1oth we ran down from Suez Quay

 
 

24 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

in the Bird of the Sea (Tayr el-Bahr), the harbour
mouche, or little steam-launch, accompanied by the
Governor, Sa'id Bey, who has not yet been made
a Pasha; by Mr. Consul West ; by the genial Ra’if
Bey, Wakil el-Komandaniyyah or acting commodore
of the station; by Mr. Willoughby Faulkner, my
host at Suez; by the Messieurs Levick, and by
other friends. In the highest spirits we boarded
our ‘“gun-carriage,” the aviso Mukhbir (Captain
Mohammed Sirdj); and, after many mutual good
wishes, we left the New Docks at 6.10 p.m.

Nothing could be more promising than the
weather, a young moon mirrored in a sea smooth
as oil. The “Giver of Good News" (£/-Mukhbir),
however, for once failed in her mission. She had
lately conducted herself well upon a trial trip round
the Zenobia lightship (“ Newport Rock ”).* But the
two Arab firemen who acted engineers, worn-out
grey-beards that hated the idea of four months on
the barbarous Arabian shore, had choked the tubes
with wastage, and had filled the single boiler, taking

* This is a most interesting feature. According to Forskal
(Descriptiones xxix.), “ Suénsia litora, a recedente mari serius orta,
nesciunt corallia ;” and he makes the submaritime “ Cryptogama
regio animalis ” begin at Tor (Raitha) and extend to Gonfoda.
Near Suez is the Newport Shoal, which could be sailed over with
impunity twenty years ago, and which is now dangerous: it
resembles, in fact, the other reef at the entrance of the Gulf, where
the soundings have changed, in late years, from 7-714 fathoms to
3-3%. Geologists differ as to the cause—elevation or accretion
by current-borne drift.

a a
oT ;

 

 

 

 

 

PRELIMINARY —FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 25

care to plug up, instead of opening, the relief-pipe.
The consequence was that the engines sweated at
every pore; steam instead of water streamed from
the sides; and the chimney discharged, besides
smoke, a heavy shower of rain. The engine (John
Jameson, engineer, Newecastle-on-Tyne, 1866), a
good article, in prime condition as far as a literally
rotten boiler would allow, presently revenged itself
by splitting the air-pipe of the condenser from top
to bottom; and after two useless halts the captain
reported to me that we must return to Suez. What
a beginning! The fracture somewhat relieved the
machinery ; we did better work after than before
the accident, but we were ignobly towed into dock
by the ship’s boats.

A telegram with a proces-verbal was at once
sent off to the Prince; Said Bey and Ra'if Bey
hastened to our aid, and Mr. Williams, superin-
tending engineer of the Khediviyyah line, with the
whole of his staff, stripped and set to work at the
peccant tubes and air-pump. They commenced with
extinguishing a serious fire which burst from the
waste-room—Dby no means pleasant when close to
kegs of blasting-powder carefully sewn up in canvas.
They laboured with a will, and before sunset
Mr. Williams informed us that he would guarantee
the engines for eight days, when we were starting

on a dangerous cruise for four months. He also

 
 

 

 

26 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

supplied us with an Egyptian boiler-maker and with
eleven instead of sixty new tubes: we lost forty-
two of the old ones between Suez and EI-Muwaylah.
Before sunset we made a trial trip, the wretched old
kettle acting Zant bien que mal; we returned to re-
embark the soldiers and the mules, and we set out
for the second time at 5.30 p.m.

The Mukhber, 130 feet long, 380 tons, and 8o to
90 horse-power, under charge of the English or
rather Scotch engineer, Mr. David Duguid, who had
taken the place of the two Arab firemen, began with
7% knots an hour, 68 revolutions per minute, and
a pressure of g lbs. to the square inch. The con-
denser-vacuum was 26 inches (30 being complete) =
13 lbs. Next morning the rate declined to six
miles in consequence of the boiler leaking, and
matters became steadily worse. As a French writer
says of the genre humain, we were placed, not entre
le bien et le mal, but entre le mal et le pire. After
sundry narrow escapes in the Gulf of '’Akabah, we
were saved, as will be seen, by a manner of miracles.
Briefly, the Mukibir caused us much risk, heartburn,
and loss of time.

Seven a.m. (December 11th) found us crossing
the Birkat Fara'in — Pharaoh's Gulf —some sixty
miles from the great port. Its horrors to native craft
I have already described in my “ Pilgrimage.” Be-

tween this point and Ras Za'fardnah, higher up, the

  

 

 

 

PRELIMINARY —FROM TRIESTE 70 MIDIAN. 27

wind seems to split : a strong southerly gale will be
blowing, whilst a norther of equal pressure prevails
at the Gulf-head, and vice versd. Suez, indeed, ap-
pears to be, in more ways than one, a hydrographical
puzzle. When it is low water in and near the harbour,
the flow is high between the Straits of Jobal and
the Daedalus Light; and the ebb tide runs out
about two points across the narrows, whilst the flood
runs in on a line parallel with it. Finally, when we
returned, hardly making headway against an angry
norther, Suez, enjoying the ‘sweet south,” was
congratulating the voyagers upon their weather.
The loss of a good working day soon made itself
felt. The north wind rose, causing the lively
Mukhbir, whose ballast, by-the-by, was all on deck,
to waddle dangerously for the poor mules; and it
was agreed, nem. con., to put into Tor harbour. We
found ourselves at ten a.m. (December 12th) within
the natural pier of coralline, and we were not alone
in our misfortune ; an English steamer making Suez
was our companion. This place has superseded El-
Wijh as the chief quarantine station for the return
pilgrimage ; and I cannot sufficiently condemn the

change.* The day lagged slowly, as we
“Walked in grief by the marge of the many-voiced sounding sea.”

But we looked in vain for our “tender,” a Sambuk

* In Chap. X1V. we will return to this subject.

  
28 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of fifty tons, E/-Musakhil (Rais Ramazan), which
Prince Husayn had thoughtfully sent with us as
post-boat. She disappeared on the evening of the
11th, and she did not make act of presence until
the 16th, when her master was at once imprisoned
in the fort of EI-Muwaylah. Moreover, the owner,
Mohammed Bukhayt, of .Suez, who had received
£90 as advance for three months—others said 460
for four—provided her with only a few days’ provi-
sions, leaving us to ration his crew.

A wintry norther in these latitudes is not easily
got rid of. According to the people, here, as in the
'Akabah Gulf, it lasts three days, and dies after a
quiet noon ; whereas on the 13th, when we expected
an escape, it rose angrily at one p.m. I was much
cheered by the pleasant news of M. Bianchi, the
local Deputato di Sanita, who assured us that a
perniciense was raging at El-Muwaylah, and that it
was certain death to pass one night in the fort. The
only fire that emitted all this smoke was the fact that
during the date-harvest of North-Western Arabia,
July and August, agues are common; and that at
all seasons the well water is not “honest,” and is
supposed to breed trifling chills. In the Prairies of
the Far West I heard of a man who rode some
hundreds of miles to deliver himself of a lie.
Nothing like solitude and the Desert for freshen-

ing the fancy. Another individual who was much

 

 

PRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 29

exercised by our journey was Khwdjeh Konstantin,
a Syrian-Greek trader, son of the old agent of the
convent, whose blue goggles and comparatively
tight pantaloons denoted a certain varnish and
veneer. It is his practice to visit El-Muwaylah
once every six months; when he takes, in exchange
for cheap tobacco, second-hand clothes, and poor
cloth, the coral, the pearls fished for in April, the
gold dust, the finds of coin, and whatever else will
bring money. Such is the course and custom of
these small monopolists, who, at “ Raitha” and else-
where, much dislike to see quiet things moved.

At length, after a weary day of far niente, when
even le sommeil se faisait prier, we “ hardened our
hearts,” and at nine p.m., as the gale seemed to
slumber, we stood southwards. The Muk/bir rolled
painfully off Ras Mohammed, which obliged us with
its own peculiar gusts; and the ’Akabah Gulf, as
usual, acted wind-sail. A long défour was necessary
in order to spare the mules, which, however, are
much less liable to injury, under such circumstances,
than horses, having a knack of learning to use
sea-legs.

The night was atrocious ; so was the next morn-
ing; but about noon we were cheered by the sight
of the glorious mountain-walls of well-remembered
Midian, which stood out of the clear blue sky in

passing grandeur of outline, in exceeding splen-

 
 

 

30 ZHE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

dour of colouring, and in marvellous sharpness of

detail.
on us.
Three p.m. had struck before we found ourselves

in broken water off the fort of El-Muwaylah, where

our captain cast a single anchor, and where we had

Once more the “power of the hills” was

our first escape from drifting upon the razor-like
edges of the coralline reefs. In fact, everything
looked so menacing, with surging sea around and
sable storm-clouds to westward, that I resolved upon
revisiting our old haunt, the safe and dock-like
Sharm Ydhdrr. Here we entered without accident;
and were presently greeted by the Sayyid Abd el-
Rahim, our former Kaflah-bdshi, who had ridden
from El-Muwaylah to receive us. The news was
good : a truce of one month had been concluded
between the Huwaytdt and the Ma’dzah, probably
for the better plundering of the pilgrims. This
year the latter were many: the “ Wakfah,” or
standing upon Mount Ararat, fell upon a Friday;
consequently it was a Hajj el-Akbar, or “Greater
Pilgrimage,” very crowded and very dangerous, in
more ways than one.

I had given a free passage to one Sulaymdn
Aftdhi, who declared himself to be of the Beni
'Ukbah, when he was a Huwayti of the Jerdfin clan.

After securing a free passage and provision gratis,

when the ship anchored, he at once took French

 

 

 

 

 

ples iS

PRELIMINARY —FROM TRIESTE T0 MIDIAN. 31

leave. On return I committed him to the tender
mercies of the Governor, Sa'id Bey. The soldiers,
the quarry-men, and the mules were landed, and
the happy end of the first stage brought with it a
feeling of intense relief, like that of returning to
Alexandria. Hitherto everything had gone wrong :
the delays and difficulties at Cairo; at Suez, the
death of poor Marius Isnard and the furious storm ;
the break-down of the engine ; the fire in the waste-
room ; and, lastly, the rough and threatening gale

What did

the Wise King mean by “better is the end of a

between the harbour and El-Muwaylah.
thing than the beginning thereof”? I only hope
that it may be applicable to the present case. In
the presence of our working ground all evils were
incontinently forgotten ; and, after the unusual dank-
ness of the Egyptian capital, and the blustering
winds of the Gulf and the sea, the soft and delicate
air of the Midian shore acted like a cordial. For
the first time after leaving Alexandria, I felt justi-
fied in Zaper de [wil with the clearest of consciences.

The preliminary stage ended with disembarking
at the Fort, EI-Muwaylah, all our stores and .pro-
perties, including sundry cases of cartridges and five
hundred pounds of pebble-powder, which had been
stored immediately under the main cabin and its
imple-

eternal cigarettes and allumettes. The

ments, as well as the provisions, were made over

 
 

 

 

32 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

to the charge of an old Albanian, one Rajab Agha,
who at first acted as our magazine-man for a con-
sideration of two napoleons per month, in advance
if possible. This done, the Muk/bir returned into
the dock Ydahdrr, in order to patch up her kettle,
which seemed to grow worse under every improve-
ment. We accompanied her, after ordering a
hundred camels to be collected ; well knowing that
as this was the Bairam, 'Id, or “ Greater Festival,’
nothing whatever would be done during its three
days’ duration.

The respite was not unwelcome to me; it seemed
to offer an opportunity for recovering strength. At
Cairo I had taken the advice of a learned friend (if
not an “ Apostle of Temperance,” at any rate sorely
afflicted with the temperance idea), who, by threats
of confirmed gout and lumbago, fatty degeneration
of the heart and liver, ending in the possible rupture
of some valve, had persuaded me that man should
live upon a pint of claret per diem. How dan-
gerous is the clever brain with a monomania in
it! According to him, a glass of sherry before
dinner was a poison, whereas half the world, espe-
cially the Eastern half, prefers its potations prepran-
dially ; a quarter of the liquor suffices, and both
appetite and digestion are held to be improved by
it. The result of “turning over a new leaf,” in the

shape of a phial of thin “Gladstone,” was a lum-

 

TAT RE EN

PRELIMINARY —FROM TRIESTE 70 MIDIAN. 33

bago which lasted me a long month, and which
disappeared only after a liberal adhibition of “dif-
fusible stimulants.”

It required no small faith in one’s good star
to set out for a six weeks work in the Desert under
such conditions. = My consolation, however, was
contained in the lines attributed to half a dozen
who wrote good English :—

““ He either fears his fate too much,
Or his deserts are small,
Who dares not put it to the touch,
To gain or lose it all.”

This time, however, Mind was tranquil, whatever
Matter might suffer. As the novelist says, “ Light-
ing upon a grain of gold or silver betokens that
a mine of the precious metal must be in the neigh-
bourhood.” It had been otherwise with my first
Expedition: a forlorn hope, a miracle of moral
audacity ; the heaviest of responsibilities incurred
upon the slightest of justifications, upon the pinch of
sand which a tricky and greedy old man might
readily have salted. It reminds me of a certain
“ Philip sober,” who in the morning fainted at the
sight of the precipice which he had scaled when
“ Philip drunk.” I look back with amazement upon

No. 1.

  

 
 
 

 

34 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

NOTE.

The second Khedivial Expedition to Midian was composed of
the following officers and men. The European staff numbered
four, not including the commander, viz. :—

M. George Marie, of the Etat-Major, Egyptian army, an
engineer couverted into a geologist and mineralogist ; he was
under the orders of his Highness Prince Husayn Pasha.

Mr. J. Charles J. Clarke, telegraphic engineer, ranking as
major in Egypt, commissariat officer.

M. Emile Lacaze, of Cairo, artist and photographer.

M. Jean Philipin, blacksmith.

Besides these, Mr. David Duguid,—not related to “ Hafed,
Prince of Persia,”—chief engineer of the gunboat Mukihbir
(Captain Mohammed Sirdj), accompanied us part of the way on
temporary leave, and kindly assisted me in observing meteorology
and in making collections.

The Egyptian commissioned officers numbered six, viz. :—

Ahmed Kaptdn Musallam, commander in the navy, and rank-
ing as Sakuldghdsi (major). He had been first officer in the
Sinndr, and he was sent to make astronomical observations;
but he proved to be a confirmed invalid.

Of the Arkdn-Harb (Staff) were :—

Lieutenant Amir Rushdi, who had accompanied me before.

Lieutenant Yusuf Taufik.

Lieutenant Darwaysh Ukkadb, of the Piyddah or infantry. He
was also a great sufferer on a small scale.

Sub-Lieutenant Mohammed Farahdat, of the Muhandisin
(Engineers), in charge of the Laggdmgiyyah or Haggdrah (blasters
and quarrymen). He ended by deserting his duty on arrival at
Cairo.

The non-commissioned officers, all Egyptians, amounted to
seven i—

Bulik-amin (writer) Mohammed Sharkdwi (infantry).

Chawush (serjeant) ’Atwah El-Ashir{ (infantry).

Chawush (serjeant) Mabrik Awadh (quarryman) ; deserted at
Cairo.

Onbéshi (corporal) Higdzi Ammar (Staff).

Onbdshi (corporal) Mohammed Sulaymdn (infantry) ; also our
barber, and a good man.

ST

PRELIMINARY —FROM TRIESTE 70 MIDIAN. 35

Onbishi (corporal) Mahmud Abd el-Rahmdn (infantry) : I had
to put him in irons.

Onbdshi (corporal) Ibrahim Hedib.

There were three Nafar (privates) of the Staff :—

’Ali Brahim Ma’danji, generally known as Ali Marie, from the
officer whom he served ; a hard-working man, over-devoted to his
master. I recommended him for promotion.

Ramazdn Ramazdn,

Hasan Mohammed. He proved useful, as he brought with him
all the necessary tools for mending saddles.

The twenty-five privates of infantry were emancipated negroes,
a few being from the Stddn; composed of every tribe, it was a
curious mixture, good, bad, and indifferent. Some were slaves
who had been given, in free gift, by their owners to the Miri -
(Government), and men never part with a good “chattel,” except
for a sufficient cause. As will be seen, many of the names are
“fancy” :—

Sayyid Ahmed El-Tawil.

Yasuf Faragallah (Faraj-Allah).

Farag ’Ali.

Sa’i{d Hasan Bdshd. His owner was a Fellah called Hasan
Bashd—peasants often give this title as a name to a boy who is
born under fortunate circumstances. Said was a fat, jolly fellow,
a Sidi Bhdi from the Mrimd, or mainland of Zanzibar, who had
wholly forgotten his Kisawdhili. Corporal Mahmd was punished
for keeping him eighteen hours on guard. He was one of the
very few to whom I gave “bakhshish ” after returning to Cairo.

Sa’id El-Sa’id.

Mirsal Ginaydi.

Mabrak Rizk.

Abdullah Mohammed Zaghuil.

Sa’id Katab.

Faragallah Sharaf el-Din.

Farag Sdlih.

Surir Mustafa.

Saldmat el-Nahhds; an excellent and intelligent man, who
was attached to the service of M. Lacaze. He distinguished him-
self by picking up antiques, until his weakness, the Da e/-Farany,
found him out.

Farag Ahmed Bura’i.

 
 

   

36 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Farag Mohammed Amin.
Mirgdn Sulaymadn.

Abd el-Mauld.
Mohammedayn.

Mabrik Hasan Osmdn. : ;
Khayr Ramazan, a large and sturdy negro, from Dér-Waddj,

with long cuts down both sides of his face ; a hard-working and
intelligent soldier, who naturally took command of his fellows. I
made him an acting corporal, and on return recommended him for
promotion. :

Fadl ’Allah ’Ali el-Kholi, a Shillik, one of the worst tribes of
the Upper Nile, whom it is forbidden to enlist. He began by
refusing to obey an order, he pushed an officer out of his way,
and he struck an Arab Shaykh. Consequently, he passed the
greater part of the time in durance vile at the fort of El-Muwaylah.

Mirgan Yusuf ; flogged for insolence to his officer, January 19.

Abdullah Ibrahim.

Ibrahim Kattdb.

Mabrik Manstr Agwah.

The Boruji (bugler) Mersdl Abd Duny4, a “ character” who
retires for practice to lonely hills and vales. His progress is not
equal to his zeal and ambition.

The thirty quarrymen were all Egyptians, and it would be hard
to find a poorer lot; they never worked, save under compulsion,
and they stole whatever they could. I examined their packs
during the homeward cruise, and found that many of them had
secreted Government gunpowder :—

Ahmed Ashiri.

Ahmed Badr.

Ahmed el-Wakil.

Omar Sharkdwi.

5. Mustafa Husayn.

Ismail el Wal.

Ali Zalat.

Ali ’Abd el-Rahmdn.

Mustafa Salim.
10. 'Ali Bedawil.
Hanna Bishi.
Hamed Hanafi.
Hamed Wahlah.

 

BSS eT

Sy wm

a a A SR CRT

PRELIMINARY—FROM TRIESTE TO MIDIAN. 37

Mustafd Sa’dani (died of fever at El-Muwayldh).
15. Mahmid Gum’ah.

Abu Zayd Hassanah.

Ismail Dustki.

Sukk el-Fakih.

Isd el-Dimiki.

20. Ali Awadh.

Mohammed Sulayman.

Ibrahim Ali Mohammed.

"Ali Isa.

Mohammed 'Abd el-Z4hir.

25. “Ali Wahish.

Abbdsi Manstr (a tinman by trade, but without tools).

Gdlat Al

Usmdn Amir,

Alewd Ahmed.

30. Mohammed Ajfzah.

And lastly (31), the carpenter, Ali Sulaymdn; a “knowing
dodger,” who brought with him a little stock-in-trade of tobacco,
cigarette-paper, and similar comforts.

There were five soldiers, or rather matchlock-men, engaged
from the fort-garrison, El-Muwaylah :—

Husayn Bayrakddr ; a man who has travelled, and has become
too clever by half. He was equally remarkable as a liar and as a
cook.

Bukhayt Ahmed, generally known as El-Ahmar from his red
coat ; a Dinka slave, some sixty years old, and looking forty-five.
He was still a savage, never sleeping save in the open air.

Bukhayt Mohammed, popularly termed El-Aswad; a Fordwi
(Dar-Forian) and a good man. He was called ““ The Shadow of the
Bey.”

Ahmed Salih; a stout fellow, and the worst of guides.

Salim Yusuf.

The head of the caravan was the Sayyid Abd el-Rahim, ac-
countant at the Fort el-Muwaylah, of whom I have spoken before,
He was subsequently recommended by me to his Highness for the
post of Ndzir or commandant.

Haji Wali, my old Cairene friend, who lost no time in bolting.

There were also generally three Bedawi Shaykhs, who, by virtue
of their office, received each one dollar (twenty piastres) per diem.

  
 

 

38 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

The servants and camp followers were :—

Anton Dimitriadis, the dragoman ; a Bakkdl or small shop-
keeper at Zagdzig, and a tenant of Haji Wali.

Giorgi (Jorgos) Sifenus, the cook, whose main disadvantage
was his extreme and ultra-Greek uncleanliness.

Petro Giorgiadis, of Zante; a poor devil who has evidently
been a waiter in some small Greek café which supplies a cup per
hour.

These three men were a great mistake ; but, as has been said,
poor health at Cairo prevented my looking into details.

Yusuf el-Fazi, Dumdnji or quartermaster from the Mukhbir,
acting servant to Captain Ahmed, and a thoroughly good man. He
was also recommended for promotion.

Ahmed, the Safs or mule-groom; another pauvre diable, rascally
withal, who was flogged for selling the mules’ barley to the
Bedawin. He was assisted by the Corporal (and barber) Moham-
med Sulaymdn and by five quarrymen.

Husayn Ganinah; a one-eyed little Felldh, fourteen years old,
looking ten, and knowing all that a man of fifty knows. He was
body-servant to Lieutenant Yusuf.

As usual, the caravan was accompanied by a suttler from El-
Muwaylah, one Hamad, who sold tobacco, coffee, clarified butter,
and so forth. He was chaffed with the saying, Hamad fi bayt ak
—“Thy house is a pauper.”

Finally, there were two dogs: Juno, a Clumber spaniel, young
and inexperienced ; Pdiji, a pariah, also a pup.

Besides these two permanents, various casuals,” the dog
Brahim, etc., attached themselves to our camp.

 

Re emg

ie

Fen

 

b

CHAPTER II

THE START—FROM EL-MUWAYLAH TO THE ‘WHITE
MOUNTAIN’ AND 'AYNUNAH.

I vanpeEp at El-Muwaylah, described in my last
volume,® on the auspicious Wednesday, December
19, 1877, under a salute from the gunboat Muk/ibir,
which the fort answered with a rattle and a
patter of musketry. All the notables received us,
in line drawn up on the shore, close to our camp.
To the left stood the civilians in tulip-coloured garb ;
next were the garrison, a dozen Bdsh-Buzuks ez
bourgeors, and mostly armed with matchlocks; then
came our quarrymen in uniform, but without
weapons; and, lastly, the escort (twenty-five men)
held the place of honour on the right. The latter
gave me a loud “ Hip! hip! hurrah!” as I passed.
The tents, a total of twenty, including two four-

polers for our mess and for the stores, with several

* «The Gold-Mines of Midian,” etc. (London: C. Kegan
Paul & Co., 1873).

 
 

 

  

40 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

large canvas sheds—pdls, the Anglo-Indian calls
them—gleamed white against the dark-green fronds
of the date-grove; and the magnificent background
of the scene was the “Dibbagh” block of the
Tihdmah, or lowland mountains.

at once took place; during

)

The usual “ palaver’
which everything was “sweet as honey.” After
this pleasant prelude came the normal difficulties
and disagreeables—it had been reported that I
was the happy possessor of £22,000, mostly to
be spent at El-Muwaylah. The unsettled Arabs
plunder and slay; the settled Arabs slander and
cheat.

A whole day was spent in inspecting the soldiers
and mules; in despatching a dromedary-post to
Suez with news of our unexpectedly safe arrival, and
in conciliating the claims of rival Bedawin. His
Highness the Viceroy had honoured with an order
to serve us Hasan ibn Salim, Shaykh of the Beni
'Ukbah, a small tribe which will be noticed in a
future page. Last spring these men had carried
part of our caravan to 'Ayntnah; and they having
no important blood-feuds, I had preferred to employ
them. But Abd el-Nabi, of the Tagayat-Huwaytdt
clan, had been spoilt by over-kindness during my
reconnaissance of 1877; besides, I had given him
a bowie-knife without taking a penny in exchange.

In my first volume he appears as a noble savage,

 

THE “NOBLE SAVAGE.” 41

with a mixture of the gentleman ; here he becomes
a mere I'ellah-Bedawi.

The claimants met with the usual ceremony;
right hands placed on the opposite left breasts
—this is not done when there is bad blood—fore-
heads touching, and the word of peace, Saldm,”
ceremoniously ejaculated by both mouths. Then
came the screaming voices, the high words, and the
gestures, which looked as if the Kurbdj (“whip”) were
being administered. The Huwayti stubbornly re-
fused to march with the other tribe, whom, moreover,
he grossly insulted : he professed perfect readiness
to carry me and mine gratis, the while driving the
hardest bargain ; he spoke of “our land,” when the
country belongs to the Khediv; he openly denied
his allegiance; he was convicted of saying, “If
these Christians find gold, there will be much trouble
( fitnek) to us Moslems;” and at a subsequent time he
went so far as to abuse an officer. I had “Shaykh’d”
him (Shayyakht-ul), that is, promoted him in rank,
said the Sayyid 'Abd el-Rahim; and the honour
had completely changed his manners. “ Nasagghar-
fi” (We will “small” him), was my reply. The only
remedy, in fact, was to undo what had been done;
to cut down, as Easterns say, the tree which I had
planted. So he was solemnly and conspicuously
disrated ; the fee, one dollar per diem, allotted as

travelling and escort-allowance to the chiefs, was

  

 
 

 

42 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

publicly taken from him, and he at once subsided
into an ignoble Walad (“lad”), under the lead of
his uncle, Shaykh ’Aldyan ibn Rabf. The latter
is a man of substance, who can collect at least
two thousand camels. Though much given to
sulking, on the whole, he behaved so well that,
the Expedition ended, I recommended him to his
Highness the Viceroy for appointment to the
chieftainship of his tribe, and the usual yearly
subsidy. With him was associated his cousin,
Shaykh Furayj, an excellent man, of whom I shall
have much to say; and thus we had to fee three
Bedawi chiefs, including Hasan. The latter was a
notable intriguer and mischief-maker, ever breeding
bad blood ; and his temper was rather violent than
sullen. When insulted by a soldier, he would rush
off for his gun, ostentatiously light the match, walk
about for an hour or two threatening to “shyute,”
and then apparently forget the whole matter.

All wanted to let their camels by the day,
whereas the custom of Arabia is to bargain for the
march. Thus, the pilgrims pay one dollar per stage
of twelve hours ; and the post-dromedary demands
the same sum, besides subsistence-money and
“ bakhshish.” But our long and frequent halts ren-
dered this proceeding unfair to the Bedawin. 1

began by offering seven piastres tariff, and ended by

agreeing to pay five per diem while in camp, and

SPARE THE READER. 43

ten when on the road.* Of course, it was too much ;
but our supply of money was ample, and the Viceroy
had desired me to be liberal. In the Nile valley,
where the price of a camel is some £20, the average
daily hire would be one dollar : on the other hand,
the animal carries, during short marches, 700 Ibs.
The American officers in Upper Egypt reduced
to 300 Ibs. the 500 lbs. heaped on by the Suddni
merchants. In India we consider 400 lbs. a fair
load; and the Midianite objects to anything beyond

200 lbs.
I have no intention of troubling the reader with

a detailed account of our three first stages from El-

Muwaylah to the Jebel el-Abyaz, or White Mountain.
On December 21st, leaving camp with the most dis-
orderly of caravans—106 camels instead of 8o,
dromedaries not included—we marched to the mouth
of the Wady Tiryam, where we arrived before our
luggage and provisions, lacking even “ Adam's ale.”
The Shaykhs took all the water which could be
found in the palm-boothies near the shore, and
drank coffee behind a bush. This sufficed to give

me the measure of these “ wall-jumpers.”

* Assuming the sovereign at 97 piastres 4o parahs, this hire
would be in round numbers one and two shillings ; the shilling
being exactly 4 piastres 24 parahs. See Chap. VIL. for further
details.

t Besides a popular account of the stages in “The Gold Mines
of Midian,” a geographical itinerary has been offered to the
Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.

 
 

 

44 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Early next morning I set the quarrymen to
work, with pick and basket, at the north-western
angle of the old fort. The latter shows above
ground only the normal skeleton-tracery of coralline
rock, crowning the gentle sand-swell, which defines
the lip and jaw of the Wady; and defending the
townlet built on the northern slope and plain. The
dimensions of the work are fifty-five metres each
way. The curtains, except the western, where stood
the Bab el-Balkr (“Sea gate”), were supported by one
central as well as by angular bastions; the northern
face had a cant of 32° east (mag.); and the north-
western tower was distant from the sea seventy-two
metres, whereas the south-western numbered only
sixty. The spade showed a substratum of thick old
wall, untrimmed granite, and other hard materials.
Further down were various shells, especially éénitiers
(Zridacna gigantea); the harp (here called “Sirinbdz”),
and the pearl-oyster; sheep-bones and palm char-
coal ; pottery admirably “cooked,” as the Bedawin
remarked ; and glass of surprising thinness, iridized
by damp to rainbow hues. This, possibly the re-
mains of lachrymatories, was very different from the
modern bottle-green, which resembles the old Roman.
Lastly, appeared a ring-bezel of lapis lazuli; unfor-
tunately the “royal gem” of Epiphanus was without
inscription.

Whilst we were digging, the two staff-officers

  

BLESS THE STAFF BUREAU, CAIRO. 45

rode to the date-groves of Wady Tiryam, and made a
plan of the ancient defences—the results of the first
Khedivial Expedition had either not been deposited
at, or had been lost in, the Staff bureau, Cairo. They
found that the late torrents had filled up the sand-
pits acting as wells; and the people assured them
that the Fiumara had ceased to show perennial
water only about five or six years ago.

The second march was disorderly as the first:
it reminded me of driving a train of unbroken
mules over the Prairies; the men were as wild and
unmanageable as their beasts. It was every one’s
object to get the maximum of money for the mini-
mum of work. The escort took especial care to see
that all their belongings were loaded before ours
were touched. Each load was felt, and each box
was hand-weighed before being accepted : the
heaviest, rejected by the rich, were invariably left
to the poorest and the lowest clansmen with the
weakest and leanest of animals. All at first especially
objected to the excellent boxes—a great comfort—
made for the Expedition * at the Citadel, Cairo; but

* They were, perhaps, a trifle too long for small beasts :
seventy-seven centimetres (better seventy) ; and too deep, sixty,
instead of fifty-eight. The width (forty-six) was all right. The best
were painted, and defended from wet by an upper plate of zinc ;
the angles and the bottoms were strengthened with iron bands in
pairs ; and they were closed with hasps. At each end was a small
block, carrying a strong looped rope for slinging the load to the
pack-saddle ; of these, duplicates should be provided. In order

  

 
 

 

46 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

they ended with bestowing their hatred upon the
planks, the tables, and the long tent-poles. As a
rule, after the fellows had protested that their camels
were weighted down to the earth, we passed them
on the march comfortably riding—for “the 'Orbdn
can't walk.” And no wonder. At the halting-place
they unbag a little barley and wheat-meal, make
dough, thrust it into the fire, “break bread,” and
wash it down with a few drops of dirty water. This
copious refection ends in a thimbleful of thick, black
coffee and a pipe. At home they have milk and
Ghi (clarified butter) in plenty during the season,
game at times, and, on extraordinary occasions, a
goat or a sheep, which, however, are usually kept
for buying corn in Egypt. But it is a “caution”
to see them feed alle spalle altrua.

Nothing shabbier than the pack-saddles ; nothing
more rotten than the ropes. As these “ Desert
ships ” must weigh about half the sturdy animals of
Syria and the Egyptian Delta, future expeditions
will, perhaps, do well to march their carriage round
by El-’Akabah. The people declare that the ex-

periment has been tried, but that the civilized

to defend our delicate apparatus from excessive shaking, we
divided the inside, by battens, into several compartments. The
smaller cases of bottles and breakables should have been cut to
fit into the larger, but this had been neglected at Cairo. Finally,
not a single box gave way on the march : that was reserved for
the Suez-Cairo Railway, and for landing at the London Docks.

SPARE THAT TREE. 47

animal sickens and dies in these barrens; they for-
get, however, the two pilgrim-caravans.

At this season the beasts are half-starved. Their
“kitchen” is a meagre ration of bruised beans, and
their daily bread consists of the dry leaves of thorn-
trees, beaten down by the Makhbat, a flail-like
staff, and caught in a large circle of matting (El-
Khasaf). In Sinai the vegetation fares even worse :
the branches are rudely lopped off to feed the
flocks; only “holy trees” escape this mutilation,
With the greatest difficulty we prevented the Arabs
tethering their property all night close to our tents :
either the brutes were cold; or they wanted to
browse or to meet a friend : every movement was
punished with a wringing of the halter, and the
result may be imagined.

We slept that night at Wady Sharmd. Of this
ruined town a plan was made for “ The Gold-Mines
of Midian,” by Lieutenant Amir, who alone is
answerable for its correctness. We afterwards found
layers of ashes, slag, and signs of metal-working to
the north-east of the enceinte, where the furnace pro-
bably stood. The outline measures 1906 métres, not
“several kilometres; ” and desultory digging yielded
nothing but charcoal, cinders, and broken pottery.
It was not before nine a.m. on the next day that I
could mount my old white, stumbling, starting mule ;

the delay being caused by M. Marie's small discovery,

 
 

 

48 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

which will afterwards be noticed. We crossed both
branches of the Sharmd water; and, ascending the
long sand-slope of the right bank, we again passed
the Bedawi cemetery. [I sent Lieutenants Amir
and Yusuf to prospect certain stone-heaps which lay
seawards of the graves; and they found a little
heptangular demi-lune, concave to the north; the
curtains varying from a minimum length of ten to
a maximum of eighty metres, and the thickness
averaging two métres, seventy-five centimetres. It
was possibly intended, like those above Wady
Tiryam, to defend the western approach; and,
superficially viewed, it looks like a line of stones
heaped up over the dead, with that fine bird's-eye
view of the valley which the Bedawi loves for his
last sleeping-place.

Thence we passed through the dry ZBdb (“sea-
gap”), cut by a torrent in the regular line of the
coralline cliff, the opening of the Wady Melldh, off
which lay our Sambuk. Marching up the Wady
Maka'dah, our experienced eyes detected many
small outcrops of quartz, formerly unobserved, in
the sole and on the banks. The granite hills, here
as throughout Midian, were veined and dyked
with two different classes of plutonic rock. The
red and pink are felsites or fine-grained porphyries ;
the black and bottle-green are the coarse-grained

varieties, easily disintegrating, and forming hollows

FORTIFICATION ON THE CLIFF COMMANDING

Bedawi graves.

++

A

A=

/

THE RIGHT BANK OF WADY SHARMA.

 

+

+

VOL. I,

+

+
At + rT

+

+

+

WADY SHARMA.

49

Surveyed by Staff- Lieutenants Amir

   

and Yusuf.

 
 

 

50 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

in the harder granite. The ride was made charm-
ing by the frontage of picturesque Jebel "Urnub,
with its perpendicular Pinnacles upon rock-sheets
dropping clear a thousand feet; its jutting bluffs;
its three huge flying Buttresses, that seemed to
support the mighty wall-crest; and its many spits
and “organs,” some capped with finials that as-
sume the aspect of logan-stones. There was no
want of animal life, and the yellow locusts were
abroad; one had been seized by a little lizard
which showed all the violent muscular action of
the crocodile. There were small long-eared hares,
suggesting the Zeporide,; sign of gazelles appeared ;
and the Bedawin spoke of wolves and hyenas,
foxes and jackals.

We camped upon the old ground to the south-
west of the Jebel el-Abyaz; and at the halt our
troubles forthwith began. The water, represented
to be near, is nowhere nearer than a two hours’
march for camels; and it is mostly derived from
rain-puddles in the great range of mountains which
subtends maritime Midian. But this was our own
discovery. The half-Fellah Bedawin, like the shep-
herds, their predecessors, in the days of Abimelech
and Jethro, are ever chary of their treasure; the
only object being extra camel-hire. After eating
your salt, a rite whose significance, by-the-by, is
wholly ignored throughout Midian and its neigh-

 

 

CUVENT GARDEN.

G 87

IN

THOS KELL, LITH. 40, K

MOUNTAIN

EL - ABYAZ.

WHITE

THE

JEBEL

 
   

   
 
  

I en i a PS
*

  

fl

WE NEVER MENTION IT. 51

bourhood, they will administer under your eyes a
silencing nudge to an over-communicative friend.
The very children that drive the sheep and goats
instinctively deny all knowledge of the ZVemdiil
(“ pits’) and holes acting as wells.

At the head of the Wady el-Maka'dah we halted
six days (December 24—30) ; this delay gave us
time to correct the misapprehensions of our flying
visit. The height of the Jebel el-Abyaz, whose
colour makes it conspicuous even from the offing
when sailing along the coast, was found to be 350
(not 600) feet above the plain. The Grand Filon,
which a maunvars plaisant of a reviewer called the
“Grand Filon,” forms a “nick” near the hill-top,
but does not bifurcate in the interior. The fork is
of heavy greenish porphyritic trap, also probably
titaniferous iron, with a trace of silver,* where it
meets the quartz and the granite. Standing upon
the “old man” with which we had marked the top,
I counted five several dykes or outcrops to the east
(inland), and one to the west, cutting the prism from
north to south; the superficial matter of these in-
jections showed concentric circles like ropy lava.
The shape of the block is a saddleback, and the lay

* MM. Gastinel (Bey) and Marie give it per cent. :—

Titaniferous iron  ... ... 8650
Silica es ‘er ... T10°IO
Copper oh tre ... 3°40 (2} per cent.)

Silver “er TE EE {O00

 

   
    

sr

 
 

 

 

52 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

is west-east, curving round to the south. The for-
mation is of the coarse grey granite general through-
out the Province, and it is dyked and sliced by quartz
veins of the amorphous type, crystals being every-
where rare in Midian (?) The _filons and filets, vary-
ing in thickness from eight métres to a few lines, are
so numerous that the whole surface appears to be
quartz tarnished by atmospheric corrosion to a dull,
pale-grey yellow ; while the fracture, sharp and cut-
ting as glass or obsidian, is dazzling and milk-white,
except where spotted with pyrites—copper or iron.
The neptunian quartz, again, has everywhere been
cut by plutonic injections of porphyritic trap, veins
averaging perhaps two metres, with a north-south
strike, and a dip of 75° (mag.) west. If the capping
were removed, the sub-surface would, doubtless,
bear the semblance of a honeycomb.

The Jebel el-Abyaz is apparently the centre of
the quartzose outcrop in North Midian (Madyan
Proper). We judged that it had been a little worked
by the ancients, from the rents in the reef that out-
crops, like a castle-wall, on the northern and eastern
flanks. There are still traces of roads or paths;
while heaps, strews, and scatters of stone, hand-
broken and not showing the natural fracture,
whiten like snow the lower slopes of the western
hill base. They contrast curiously with the hard
felspathic stones and the lithographic calcazres bear-

THE “ WHITE MOUNTAINS.” 53

ing the moss-like impress of metallic dendrites;
these occur in many parts near the seaboard, and we
found them in Southern as well as in Northern
Midian. The conspicuous hill is one of four mame-
lons thus disposed in bird's-eye view; the dotted
line shows the supposed direction of the lode in the
Jibdl el-Bayzd, the collective name.

 

The Piton, or smallest of the quartz outcrops.

The Jebel el-Abyaz, the main cone and pivot of the group.
The crupper of the Jebel el-Abyaz.

The Jebelayn el-Mard, or two-headed outcrop, not seen
from camp, but bearing 71° and 96° (both mag.) from the main
cone.

PAN

On the plain to the north of the Jebel el-Abyaz
also, I found curdles of porphyritic trap, and parallel
trap-dykes, cutting the courses of large-grained grey
granite : as many as three outcrops of the former
appeared within fourteen yards. This convinced
me that the whole of the solid square, thirty kilo-
metres (six by five), where the quartz emerges, is
underlaid by veins and veinlets of the same rock.
Moreover, I then suspected, and afterwards ascer-
tained, that the quartz of the Jibdl el-Bayzd, as the

 
 

   

54 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Bedawin call this section, is not a local peculiarity.
It everywhere bursts, not only the plain between the
sea and the coast-range, but the two parallels of
mountain which confine it. on the east. In fact,
throughout our northern njarch the Arabs, under-
standing that its object was “Maru,” the generic
name for quartz,* brought us loads of specimens
from every direction. Nothing is easier than to
work the purely superficial part. A few barrels of
gunpowder and half a dozen English miners, with
pick and crowbar, suffice. Even our dawdling, feck-
less quarrymen easily broke and “spalled ” for camel-
loading some six tons in one day.

Our short se’nnight was not wasted; yet I had
an uncomfortable feeling that the complication of the
country called for an exploration of months and not
hours. Every day some novelty appeared. The
watercourses of the Ghdts or coast-range were
streaked with a heavy, metallic, quartzose black sand
which M. Marie vainly attempted to analyze. We
afterwards found it in almost every Wady, and
running north as far as El-’Akabah ; whilst, with few
exceptions, all our washings of red earth, chloritic
sand, and bruised stone, yielded it and it only. It
is apparently the produce of granite and syenite, and

* Hence, evidently, the derivation of the “ Marwah ” hill near
Meccah, and the famous “ Marwah” gold mine which we shall

visit in South Midian. The Arabs here use Jebel el-Mari and
Jebel el-Abyaz (plur. Jibal el-Bayzd) synonymously.

   

   

COMPLICATION OF METALS. 55

it abounds in African Egypt. I was in hopes that
tungsten and titaniferous iron would make it valu-
able for cutlery as the black sand of New Zealand.
Experiments in the Citadel, Cairo, produced nothing
save magnetic iron with a trace of lead. But ac-
cording to Colonel Ross, the learned author of
“ Pyrology, or Fire Chemistry,”* it is iserine or
magnetic ilmenite, titaniferous iron-sand, containing
eighty-eight per cent. of iron (oxides and sesqui-
oxides), with eleven per cent. of titanic acid.

The Arabs brought in fine specimens of hematite
and of copper ore from Wady Gharr or Ghurr, six
miles to the south of camp. Here were found two
water-pits in a well-defined valley ; the nearer some
ten miles south-west of the Jebel el-Abyaz, the
other about two miles further to the north-west ;
making a total of twelve. .About the latter there
was, however, no level ground for tents. A mile
and a half walking almost due north led to a veinlet
of copper 30 métres long by 0°30 thick, with an east-
west strike, and a dip of 45° south. This metal was
also found in the hills to the south. Crystalline
pyroxene and crystallized sulphates of lime apparently
abound, while the same is the case with carbonate of
manganese, and other forms of the metal so common

in Western Sinai. Briefly, our engineer came to

* Spon: London, 1875. A book opening a new epoch, and
duly neglected.

ss

  

   
 

 

 

56 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the conclusion that we were in the very heart of a
mining region.

We made a general »econnaisance (December 27th)
of a place whence specimens of pavonine quartz had
come to hand. Following the Wady ’Ifriyd round
the north and east of the White Mountain, we fell into
the Wady Siméklk (of “Wild Sumach”), that drains
the great gap between the Pinnacles and the But-
tresses of the 'Urnub-Tihdmah section. After riding
some two miles, we found to the south-east frag-
ments of dark, iridescent, and metallic quartz : they
emerge from the plain like walls, bearing north-
south, with 36° of westing and a westward dip of
15° to 20°—exactly the conditions which Australia
seeks, and which produced the huge “Welcome Nug-
get” of Ballarat. They crop out of the normal trap-
dyked grey granite, and select specimens show the
fine panacké lustre of copper. M. Marie afterwards
took from one of the geodes a pinch of powder
weighing about half a gramme, and cupelled a bright
dust-shot bead weighing not less than two centi-
grammes. Without further examination he deter-
mined it to be argentiferous, when it was possibly
iron or antimony. On the other hand, the silver
discovered in the Grand Filon by so careful and con-
scientious an observer as Gastinel Bey, and the fact
that we are here on the same line of outcrop, and at

a horizon three hundred feet lower, are reassuring.

SILVER. 57

This vein, which may be of great length and
puissance, I took the liberty of calling the “ Filon
Husayn,” from the prince who had so greatly favoured
the Expedition. Here we had hit upon the Negros,
or coloured quartzose formations of Mexico, in which
silver appears as a sulphure; and we may expect to
find the Colorado, or argillaceous, that produces the
noble metal in the forms of chlorure, bromure, and
iodure. The former appears everywhere in Midian,
but our specimens are all superficial, taken & cze/
ouvert. To ascertain the real value and the extent
of the deposits required exposure of the veins at a
horizon far lower than our means and appliances
allowed us to reach. If the rock prove argentiferous
I should hope to strike virgin silver in the capillary
or aborescent shape below. Above it, as on the

summit of the Jebel el-Abyaz, and generally in the

«“ Maru” hills and hillocks of North Midian, the dull
white quartz is comparatively barren; showing
specks of copper; crystals of pyrites, the “crow-
gold ” of the old English miner, and dark dots of
various metals which still await analysis.

Thus, I would divide the metalliferous quartzes

* So said the engineer. He relied chiefly upon M. Amedée
Burat, p. 229, “Gdologie Appliquée ” (Paris: Garnier, 1870), who
quotes the compte rendu of M. Guillemin, C.E. to the Exposition of
1867. The latter gentleman, who probably did not, like the former,
place Mexico in South America, makes the metalliferous lands
measure four-fifths of the total surface. I am much mistaken if
the same is not the casc with Midian.

 
 

 

 

58 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of this North-Midianite region into two chief kinds :
those stained green and light blue, whose chief
metallic element is copper, with its derivatives ; and
the iridescent NVegro, which may shelter the Colorado.
In South Midian the varieties of quartz are incom-
parably more numerous, and almost every march
shows a new colour or constitution.

About the Jebel el-Abyaz, as in many mining
countries, water is a serious difficulty. The principal
deposit lies some three miles east of the camping
ground in a Nakb or gorge, El-Asaybah, offsetting
from the great Fiumara, “ EI-Simdkh ;” and appa-
rently it is only a rain-pool. Throughout Midian, I
may say, men still fetch water out of the rock.
M. Philipin, whilst pottering about this place, saw
two DBeden (ibex) with their young, which suggests
a permanent supply of drink.*

However that may be, Norton's Abyssinian
pumps, for which I had vainly applied at Cairo,
would doubtless discover the prime necessary in the
Wadys, many of the latter being still damp and
muddy. Moreover, the ¢rible continue a grilles fil-
trantes, the invention of MM. Huet and Geyler,
introduced, we are told, into the mechanical treat-

ment of metals, a principle which greatly economizes

*¥ In “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” p. 171, I erroneously
asserted that the Beden does not extend to these mountains. The
second Expedition could learn nothing about the stag with large
branches vaguely spoken of by the Bedawin,

 

WANTED—A PUMP. 59

fluid. Founded upon the fact that sands of nearly
the same size, but of different densities, when mixed
in liquid and subjected to rapid vertical oscillation,
range themselves by order of weight, the heavier
sinking and not allowing passage to lighter matter,
the new sieve offers the advantages of a single and
simple instrument, with increased facility for treating
poor “dirt.” Finally, as I shall show, the country
is prepared by nature to receive a tramway; and the
distance to the sea does not exceed fourteen miles,
liberally computed. *®

Either the rain-water affected the health of the
party, or it suffered from the excessive dryness and
variations of the atmosphere, eight to nine hundred
feet above sea-level (aner. 29°10), ranging in the
tents between 92° by day and 45°at night, a piercing,
killing temperature in the Desert. Moreover, the
cold weather is mostly the unwholesome season in
hot lands, and vzce wersd.: hence the Arab proverb,
Hardrat el- Jebel, wa ld Bard-/d (“ Theheat of the hills
and not their cold”). Old Haji Wali lost his appetite,
complained of indigestion, and clamoured to return
home; Ahmed Kaptdn suffered from Su/é (*“lum-
bago ”) and bad headache ; whilst Lieutenant Yusuf

was attacked by an ague and fever, which raised the

* When “miles ” are given, I mean the statute of 1760 yards
as opposed to the geographical ; the latter equals 1’ (of a degree)
= 1 Italian or Arab = '{ German = 1!{ Roman = 10 stadia.

 
 

60 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

mouth thermometer to 102°—103°, calling loudly for
aconite. These ailments affected the party more
or less the whole way, but it was not pleasant to
see them begin so soon. When our work of col-
lecting specimens—three tons from the Jebel el-
Abyaz, and three from the Filon Husayn—was
finished, I resolved upon returning to the coast and
treating our loads at the Sharma water. We reached
the valley mouth on December 30th, and we greatly
enjoyed the change from the harshness of the inland
to the mildness of the seaboard air.

We stayed at Sharmd, much disliking its remark-
ably monotonous aspect, for another week, till
January 7, 1878. Yule, “the wheel,” despite the
glorious tree-logs and roaring fires, had been a
failure at the White Mountain. The Dragoman
had killed our last turkey, and had forgotten to
bring the plum-pudding from El-Muwaylah : there
was champagne, but that is not the stuff where-
withal to wash down tough mutton. New Year's
Day, on the other hand, had all the honours. Its
birth was greeted with a flow of whisky-punch,
wherein wine had taken the place of water; and we
drank the health of his Highness, the Founder of
the Expedition, in a bottle of dry Mumm. The
evening ended with music and dancing, by way of
“praying the Old Year out and the New Year in.”

Mersdl, the Boruji, performed a wild solo on his

 

JOLLY NEW YEARS DAY. 61

bugle; and another negro, Ahmed el-Shinndwi,
played with the Nd: or reed-pipe one of those
monotonous and charming minor-key airs—1I call
them so for want of a word to express them—
which extend from Midian to Trafalgar, and which
find their ultimate expression in the lovely Iberian
Zarzuela.* The boy Husayn Geninah, a small
cyclops in a brown felt calotte and a huge military
overcoat cut short, caused roars of laughter by his
ultra-Gaditanian style of dancing. I have also
reason to suspect that a jig and a breakdown tested
the solidity of the plank table, while a Jew’s harp
represented Europe. In fact, throughout the journey,
reminiscences of Mabille and the Music Halls con-
trasted strongly with the memories of majestic and
mysterious Midian. And, to make the shock more
violent, some friend, male salsus, sent me copies
of the cosmopolitan Spectator and the courteous
Mayfair, which at once became waste paper for
Bedawi cartridges.

Our Rosh hi Shanak (“New Year's Day”) was
further distinguished by the discovery of a vein and
outcrop of metalliferous quartz, about half an hour's
walk, and bearing nearly east (80° mag.) from camp.
We followed the Wady Sharmd, and found above

* Were I a wealthy man, nothing would delight me more than

to introduce London to Za Zarsuela, the Spanish and Portuguese
opera bouffe. Sir Julius Benedict tells me that it has reached Paris.

 
 

 

62 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

its “gate” the masonry-foundation of a square work ;
near it lay the graves of the Wild Men, one with
the normal awning of palm-fronds /Jonoris causa.
There were signs of stone-quarrying, and at one
place a road had been cut in the rock. Leaving
on the north the left side of the watercourse, with
its rushes (Secz7pus), and huge-headed reeds (Arundo
donax), its dates and Daums—the two latter often
scorched and killed by the careless Bedawi—we
struck into a parallel formation, the Wady el Wuday,
bone-dry and much trodden by camels. Arrived at
the spot, we found that the confused masses of hill,
subtending the regular cliff-line of the old coast, are
composed of grey granite, seamed with snowy quartz,
and cut by the usual bands of bottle-coloured por-
phyritic trap, which here and there becomes red.
Some of the heights are of greenish-yellow chloritic
felspar, well adapted for brick-making. The surface
of the land is scattered with fragments of white
silex and fine red jasper, banded with black oligistic
iron : this rock, close, hard, and fine enough to bear
cutting, appears everywhere in scatters and amongst
the conglomerates. Only one fossil was picked up,
a mould so broken as to be quite useless.

We also followed out M. Marie's find, to which
he had been guided by a patch of red matter, con-
spicuous on the road from Tiryam to Sharmd. For

forty minutes we skirted the seaward face of the

THE PUP “PAI” 63

old cliff, a line broken by many deep water-gashes
and buttressed by Gog, or high heaps of loose white
sand. We then turned eastwards or inland, ascended
a Nakb (“gorge”), and saw, as before, the corallines
and carbonates of lime altered, fused, scorified, and
blackened by heated injections; the grey granite
scored with quartz veins, running in all rhumbs; and
the porphyritic trap forming crests that projected from
the sands. The cupriferous stone struck east-west,
with a dip to the south ; the outcrops, visible without
digging, measured fifteen to twenty metres long, by
one to one and a half in breadth.

New Year's Day also restored to us the pup “P4iji.”
When quite a babe, it had walked up to me in the
streets of Cairo, evidently claimed acquaintanceship,
and straightway followed me into Shepheard's, where,
having a certain sneaking belief in metempsychosis,
I provided it with bed and board. During our third
march to the White Mountain, being given to
violent yelps, which startled both mules and camels,
the small thing had been left to walk, and had
apparently made friends with an Arab goatherd.
After nine days’ absence without leave, “ Pdiji” re-
appeared, wih dirty rags tied round its bony back
and wasted waist, showing an admirable skeleton,
and making the most frantic demonstrations of joy.
The loss of the poor little brute had affected all our

spirits : we thought that the hyenas and the ravens

 
 

 

64 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

had seen the last of it; and it received a warm
welcome home.

M. Lacaze, unlike the rest, took a violent fancy
for the Wady Sharmd : the water-scenery enchanted
him. His sketches were almost confined to the
palm-growth, and to the greenery so unexpected
in arid Midian, where, according to the old and
exploded opinion, Moses wrote the Book of Job.
The idea of Arabia is certainly not associated with
flowing rills, and waving trees, and rustling zephyrs.
Every morning I used to awake surprised by the
song of the Naiad, the little runnel whimpling down
its bed of rushes, stone, and sand; and the response
of the palms making music in the land-breeze.

Finally, on New Year's Day, Lieutenant Amir,
guided by Shaykh Furayj, and escorted by soldiers
and miners, made a three days’ trip to the Wady
"Urnub. There he surveyed a large isolated “Maru,”
or quartz-hill, some twenty-two to twenty-five direct
miles south-east of the main outcrop ; thus giving a
considerable extent to the northern mining-focus.
This feature is described as being four or five times
larger than the Jebel el-Abyaz (proper); and the
specimens of quartz and grey granite proved it to
be of the same formation. It showed a broken out-
line, with four great steps or dykes, which had
apparently been worked. In the basal valleys, and
spread over the land generally, was found a heavy

CAMEL-ARABS, COW-ARABS, ETC. 5

yellow sand, calcareous and full of silex: the guide
called it Awwal Hismd (the “ Hism4 frontier ”).
Our travellers returned by a parallel line,
southerly and more direct. In the Wady ’Urnub,
the Ma'dzah of the Salimdt clan received them
with apparent kindness, inwardly grumbling the
while at their land being “spied out;” and they
especially welcomed Furayj, who, being a brave
soldier, is also noted as a peacemaker. All the
men were armed, and wore the same dress as the
Huwaytdt ; like these, they also breed camels and
asses—that is, they are not cow-Arabs. Certain
travellers on the Upper Nile have distributed the
Bedawin into these two groups; add horse-Arabs
and ass-Arabs, and you have all the divisions of the
race as connected with the so-called “lower ani-

»
.

mals.” About three hours (= eleven miles) from
Sharma camp, some pyramids of sand were pointed
out in the Wady Ratiyah : the Bedawin call one of
them the Goz e/-Hanndn (“Moaning Sand-heap”).
They declare that when the Hajj-caravan passes, or
rather used to pass, by that way, before the early six-
teenth century, when Sultan Selim laid out his mari-
time high-road, a Nawuba/ (“ orchestra”) was wont to
sound within its bowels. This tale, which, by-the-by,
is told of two other places in Midian, may have been
suggested by the Febe! ¢/-Nakiis (“ Bell Mountain )

in Sinai-land ; but as the Arabs perform visitation

VOL. I. F

 
 

 

66 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and sacrifice to the “Moaning-heap,” the superstition
probably dates from ancient days. Ruins are also
reported to exist in the Jebel Fds, the southern
boundary of the 'Urnub valley ; and, further south,
in the Jebel el-Harb, I was told by some one whose
name has escaped me, of a dolmen mounted upon
three supports. Lieutenant Amir also brought
copper ore from the Wady 'Urnub, and from the Ras
Wady el-Mukhbir specimens of a metal which the
Arabs use as a £o%/ or collyrium. It proved, how-
ever, iron, not antimony ; and the same mistake has
been made in the Sinaitic Peninsula.

At Wady Sharmd we rigged up, under the
superintendence of M. Philipin, a trough and a
cradle for washing the black sands, the pounded
quartz of the Jebel el-Abyaz, and the red sands;
these latter had shown a trace of silver (igds5) to the
first Expedition. We mixed it with mercury and
amalgamed it in goatskins; the men moved them
to and fro; but, of course, the water evaporated, and
the mass speedily became dry. The upper or super-
ficial white yielded only, as far as our engineer
could judge, a little copper and bright knobs of
pyrites. The Negros, or iridized formations, of the
“Filon Husayn” on a lower horizon, gave the
dubious result already alluded to. All the experi-
ments were conducted in the rudest way. Of course,

a quantity of metal may have escaped notice ; and a

 

 

 

RUDE EXPERIMENTS 67

fair proportion of the powdered stone was reserved
for scientific treatment in Europe.

During our first trip we had found, upon the
right jaw of the Wady Sharmd, a ruined village of
workmen, probably slaves, whose éot/ans measured
some twelve feet by eight. They differ from the
Nawdmas, or “mosquito-huts,” as the word is gene-
rally translated, only in shape—the latter are circular,
with a diameter of ten feet—and they perfectly
resemble the small stone hovels in the Wady Mu-
kattab, which Professor Palmer (“Desert of the
Exodus,” p. 202) supposes to have been occupied
by the captive miners and their military guardians.
This time we ascended the coralline ridge which
forms the left jamb. At its foot a rounded and half-
degraded dorsum of stiff gravel, the nucleus of its
former self, showed a segment of foundation-wall,
and the state of the stone suggested the action of
fire. Possibly here had been a furnace. The sum-
mit also bears signs of human occupation. The
southern part of the buttress-crest still supports a
double concentric circle with a maximum diameter
of about fifteen feet; the outside is of earth, appa-
rently thrown up for a rampart behind a moat, and
the inside is of rough stones. Going south along
the dorsum, we found remains of oval foundations;
a trench apparently cut in the rock, pottery often an
inch and more thick, and broken handmills made of

 
 

 

68 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the New Red Sandstone of the Hismd. Finally, at
the northernmost point, where the cliff-edge falls
abruptly, with a natural arch, towards the swamp,
about one kilométre broad at the Ads, we came
upon another circle of rough stones. We were
doubtful whether these rude remains were habita-
tions or old graves ; nor was the difficulty solved by
digging into four of them: the pick at once came
upon the ground-rock. Hitherto these ruins have
proved remarkably sterile; the only products were
potsherds, fragments of hand-mills, and a fine lump
of white marble (Rukldm), supposed to come from
the Jebel el-Lauz.

Amongst our followers was a “Kdzi of the
Arabs,’ one Jabr bin Abd el-Nabi, who is a manner
of judge in civil, but not in criminal matters.
Before the suit begins the plaintiff, or his surety,
deposits a certain sum in coin, corn, or other valu-
ables, and lays his damages at so much. The de-
fendant, if inclined to contest the claim, pays into
court the disputed amount, and the question is
settled after the traditional and immemorial customs
of the tribe. This man, covetous as any other dis-
ciple of Justinian, was exceedingly anxious to obtain
the honorarium of a Shaykh, and he worked hard
to deserve it. Shortly before our departure from
Sharmd, he brought in some scorie and slag, broken

and streaked with copper—in fact, ekvolades. They

ST

 

 

 

 

COPPER. 69

are thinly scattered over the seaward slope of the
left jaw, where the stone nowhere shows a trace of
the mineral zz situ. As, however, the Expedition
had found native copper in three places, more or
less near the Jebel el-Abyaz, it was decided that the
ore had been brought from the interior.

We were again much puzzled concerning the
form of industry which gave rise to such a large
establishment as Sharmd. Agriculture was sug-
gested and rejected ; and we finally resolved that it
was a branch-town that supplied ore to the great
smelting-place and workshop of the coast, "Ayntnah,
and possibly carbonate of lime to serve for flux.

The distance along the winding Wady, between
the settlement and the sea westward, where the
watercourse ends in sand-heaps, is seven to eight
miles, and the coast shows no sign of harbour or of
houses. About three miles, however, to the north-
west is the admirable Bay of ’Ayninah, unknown to
the charts. Defended on both sides by sandspits,
and open only between the west and the north-west,
where reefs and shoals allow but a narrow passage,
its breadth across the mouth from east to west
measures at least five thousand metres, and the
length inland, useful for refuge, is at least three
thousand. At the bottom of this noble Ziman,
the Aolpos so scandalously abused by the ancients,

are three sandy buttresses metalled with water-
y

 
 

 

 

70 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

rolled stones, and showing traces of graves. Pos-
sibly here may have been the site of an ancient
settlement. The Arabs call the southern anchorage,
marked by a post and a pit of brackish water, El-
Musaybah or Musaybat Sharmd. Its only present
use seems to be embarking bundles of rushes for
mat-making in Egypt. The north-eastern end of
the little gulf is the Gad (Jad), or Mersd of El-
Khuraybah, before described as the port of 'Aynunah.

At the Musaybah I stationed our tender, the
Sambuik £/-Musakkil, which carried our heavy goods,
specimens by the ton ; rations and stores; forge,
planks, and crowbars. The sailors lost no time in
showing their rapacity. Every day they dunned us
for tobacco; and when we made a counter-demand for
the excellent fish which was caught in shoals, they
simply asked, “ What will you pay for it?” I impru-
dently left my keg of specimen-spirits on board this
ignoble craft, and the consequence was that it speedily
became bone-dry. The Musaybah bight is a direct
continuation of the Wady el-Melldh, which, joining
that of El-Maka'dah, runs straight up to the Jebel
el-Abyaz and to the Filon Husayn. These metal-
liferous quartzes cannot be further from the coast
than a maximum distance of fourteen miles, and the
broad, smooth watercourse, with its easy gradients,
points it out as the site of the future tramway. I

should prefer a simpler form of the “ Pioneer Steam-

ee

  

 

  
 

THE PIONEER LOW ROAD LINE FOR COAST OR COUNTRY ROADS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
  

Ali Ri

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TOA
ARN 5 Ny Py

 

dis 71.

BI

 
 
 
 
  
   

 
 

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all

  

1)

 

TRAMIVAYS. 71

 
  

Caravan or Saddleback-Railway System,” patented
by Mr John L. Haddan, C.E., formerly of Damas-
cus.* He recommends iron as the best material
delivered at

for the construction; and the cost,

Alexandria, would of exceed £1200, instead of
£3000 to £20,000 per kilometre, including the
rolling stock. As the distance from the port 1S
nothing, £300 per kilometre would be amply suffi-
cient for “fixing up ;” but I should reduce the price
to £3500 for the transport of some 50 tons per diem.
By proper management of the rails or the main rail,
it would be easy for trained camels to draw the
train up the Wady ; and the natural slope towards
the sea would give work only to the brake where
deratlments are not possible.

saw the crescent, when the

At Sharma we
Englishmen turned their money in their pockets,
and the Egyptian officers muttered a blessing upon
the coming moon. Every day we waxed more
weary of the place; possibly the memories of the
first visit were not pleasant. Many in camp still
suffered ; Bedawi,
'Alayan, died and was buried at 'Ayninah.
number of servants also made us uncomfortable.

The head Dragoman, whose memory was confined

uncle to Shaykh
The

and an old

 

apr os les des-

* Qee Le Pionnier, Chemin de Fer Abyssinten a
“The LEco-

seins de M. J. L. Haddan. Another valuable form 1s

nomical ” (Mr. Russcll Shaw).

    
 

   

  
72 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

to his carnet, forgot everything; and, had we
trusted to him, half the supplies would have returned
to Suez, probably for the benefit of his own shop at
Zagdzig. I soon found his true use, and always
left him behind as magazine-man, storekeeper, and
guardian of reserve provisions. He was also a
dangerous, mischief-making fellow ; and such men
always find willing ears that ought to know better.
Petros, the Zante man, was the model of a Zzpotenios
(an “anybody ”), who seemed to have been born
limp, without bones or brains. He was sent back as
soon as possible to Cairo. The worst point of these
worthies was, that they prevented, for their own
reasons, the natives working for us ; while they pre-
ferred eternal chatter and squabbles to working
themselves. So the Greek element was reduced to
George the cook, a short, squat, unwashed fellow,
who looked like a fair-Hercules out of luck; who
worked like three, and who loudly clamoured for a
revolver and a bowie-knife. His main fault, pro-
fessionally speaking, was that he literally drenched
us with oil till the store happily ran out. His com-
plexion was that of an animated ripe olive, evidently
the result of his own cookery. His surprise when
I imperatively ordered plain boiled rice, instead of
a mess dripping with grease; and when told to boil
the fish in sea water and to serve up the bouillon,

was high comedy. Doubtless he has often, since

 

 

RR TR RS x:

 

 

THE MAN OF GREASE. 73

his return, astounded his “ Hellenion ” by describing
our Frankish freaks and mad eccentricities.

The stationary camp also retained Lieutenant
Yusuf and MM. Duguid and Philipin, with thir-
teen soldiers and sixteen miners. The six camels
were placed under Gabr, Kazi e/-’Orbin,; and all
the stay-behinds were charged with washing the
several earths, with scouring the country for speci-
mens, and with transporting sundry tons of the
black sand before mentioned. Old Haji Wali, pro-
bably frightened by the Arabs, and maddened by
the idea that, during his absence in the thick of
the cotton season, the Fellahs of Zagdzig would
neglect to pay their various debts, began to
“ malinger ” with such intensity of purpose, that
I feared lest he would kill himself to spite us. The
venerable Shylock, who ever pleaded poverty, had
made some £300 by lending a napoleon, say, on
January 1st, which became a sovereign on February
1st; not to speak of the presents and “benevolences”
which the debtor would be compelled to offer his
creditor. So he departed for ElI-Muwaylah, whence
some correspondent had warned him that a pilgrim-
boat was about to start ; declaring that he was dying,
and trotting his mule as hard as it would go, the
moment a safe corner was turned. He stayed two

days on board the gunboat, and straightway re-

SOV] Cc ason :—we had
turned to Egypt and the cotton seaso

 
74 THE LAND OF MIDI/AN.

the supreme satisfaction, however, to hear that he
had gone through the long quarantine at Tor.
Yet after our return he reproached me, with in-
imitable coolness and effrontery, for not having
behaved well to him.

On the morning of January 7th, a walk of two
hours and twenty minutes (= seven miles) north-
wards, and mostly along the shore of the noble “ Mu-
saybat Sharmd,” transferred us to well-remembered
'Ayntinah. The sea in places washed over slabs of
the fine old conglomerates which, in this country,
line the banks and soles of all the greater Wadys :
these are the Cascallio of the Brazil, a rock which
is treated by rejecting the pebbles and by pounding
the silicious paste. The air was softer and less
exciting than that of Sharma; and, although the
vegetation was of the crapaud mort d amour hue—
here a sickly green, there a duller brown than April
had showed—the scene was more picturesque, the
“Gate” was taller and narrower, and the recollection
of a happy first visit made me return to it with
pleasure. Birds were more abundant : long-shanked
water-fowl with hazel eyes; red-legged rail; the
brown swallow of Egypt; green-blue fly-catchers;
and a black muscivor, with a snowy-white rump, of
which I failed to secure a specimen. We also saw
the tern-coloured plover, known in Egypt as Domeni-

cain, and red kingfishers. The game species were

 

 

 

 

 

 

/’

PRETTY 'AYNUNAHM. 75

fine large green mallard; dark pintail; quail, and
red-beaked brown partridge with the soft black eye.

New formations began to develop themselves,
and the sickly hues of the serpentines and the
chlorites, so rich in the New World, appeared more
charming than brow of milk or cheek of rose.”
There were few changes. A half-peasant Bedawi
had planted a strip of barley near the camping-
place; the late floods had shifted the course of
the waters; more date-trees had been wilfully
burned ; a big block of quartz, brother to that which
we had broken, had been carried off; and where
several of the old furnaces formerly stood, deep
holes, dug by the “money-hunter,” now yawned.
I again examined the two large fragments of the
broken barrage, and found that they were of uncut
stone, compacted with fine cement, which contained
palm-charcoal.

At ’Ayninah we gave only one day to work.
While M. Lacaze sketched the views, we blasted
with gunpowder more than half charcoal the A/a'dan
el-Fayriz (“ turquoise mine”), as the Arabs called it,
on the right side of the Wady. The colour and
texture were so unlike the true lapses Pharanitis that
we began to suspect, and presently we ascertained

from the few remaining fragments, it had been

* Chloritic slate is the matrix of gold in the Brazil and in
Upper Styria.

 
76 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

worked for copper,—the carbonates and the silicates
which characterize Cyprus. Presently good speci-
mens of the latter were brought to us from the Jebel
el-Fard’ by a Bedawi pauper, 'Ayd of the Tagaygat-
Huwaytdt tribe. These half-naked shepherds and
goatherds, who know every stone in the land, are
its best guides; not the Shaykhs, who, as a rule, see
little or nothing outside their tents. From our camp
the direction, as reported by Ahmed Kaptdn, was
102° (mag.), and the distance three miles. I after-
wards sent Lieutenant Yusuf from El-Muwaylah to
make a detailed plan.*

We also dug in an old pit amongst the Christian
graves to the south-east of the camp, and below the
left jamb of the “Gate.” Here also the Bedawin
had been at work ; and, when unable to work deep
enough, they told us wonderful tales of an alabaster
slab, which doubtless concealed vast treasures. In
Arabia, as in Africa, one must look out for what
there is not, as well as for what there is. After
spending a morning in sinking a twelve-feet shaft,
we came upon a shapeless coralline-boulder, which
in old times had slipped from the sea-face of the
cliff to the left of the valley. I ascended this height,
and saw some stones disposed by the hand of man;
but there were no signs of a large slave-miner settle-
ment like that on the other side of the B40.

* Chap. IX.

 

 

 

 

 

' A VNUNAH THE WORKSHOP. 77

In the afternoon Mr. Clarke led a party of
quarrymen across the graveyards to El-Khuraybah,
the seaport of 'Ayninah, and applied them to exca-
vating the floor of a cistern and the foundations of
several houses ; a little pottery was the only result.
It was a slow walk of forty minutes; and thus the
total length of the aqueducts would be three miles,
not “between four and five kilometres.” I had
much trouble and went to some expense in sending
camels to fetch a “ written stone” which, placed at
the head of every newly buried corpse, is kept there
till another requires it. It proved to be a broken
marble pillar with a modern Arabic epitaph. In the
G4d el-Khuraybah, the little inlet near the Gumruk
(“ custom-house ”), as we called in waggery the shed
of palm-fronds at the base of the eastern sandspit, lay
five small Sambutks, which have not yet begun
fishing for mother-of-pearl. Here we found sundry
tents of the Tagaygdt-Huwaytdt, the half Fellahs
that own and spoil the once goodly land ; the dogs
barked at us, but the men never thought of offering
us hospitality. We had an admirable view of the
Tihamah Mountains—Zahd, with its nick ;” the
parrot-beak of Jebel el-Shati; the three perpen-
dicular Pinnacles and flying Buttresses of Jebel
'Urnub : the isolated lump of Jebel Fas; the single
cupola of Jebel Harb ; the huge block of Dibbagh,

with its tall truncated tower ; the little Umm Jedayl,

 
78 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

here looking like a pyramid; and the four mighty

horns of Jebel Sharr.

I left ’Ayntinah under the conviction that it has
been the great Warshah (“workshop”) and embark-
ing-place of the coast-section extending from EI-
Muwaylah to Maknd ; and that upon it depended
both Wady Tiryam and Sharmd, with their respec-
tive establishments in the interior. Moreover, the
condition of the slag convinced me that iron and
the baser metals have been worked here in modern
times, perhaps even in our own, but by whom I

should not like to say.

|

 

ia
yi
i:
1
|
i

 

CHAPTER III.

BREAKING NEW GROUND TO MAGHAIR SHU’AYB.

ON January 9th we left 'Ayninah by the Hajj-road,
and passed along the Quarry Hill visited during
my first journey : the crest has old cuttings and new
cuttings, the latter still worked for Bedawi head-
stones. The dwarf pillar with the mysterious cup
is reflected by the Nubians, who hollow out the
upper part of the stela to a depth of eight or ten
inches without adding any ornament. Hence, per-
haps, the Sawahili custom of the inserted porce-
lain-plate.

After issuing from the stony and sandy gorge
which forms the short cut, we regained the Hajj-
road, and presently sighted a scene readily recog-
nized. Fronting us, the northern horizon was
formed by the azure wall of Tayyib Ism,* the

* Not Zayyibat Ism, as 1 wrongly wrote in “ The Gold Mines

of Midian,” misled by the Hydrographic Chart. None of the Beda-
win could explain the origin of the flattering title.

 
8o THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

“« Mountain of the Good Name,” backed by the far
grander peaks of Jebel Mazhafah: the latter rises
abruptly from the bluer Gulf of El-Akabah, and both
trend to their culminating points inland or eastward.
On our right followed the unpicturesque metal-
liferous heap of Jebel Zahd or 'Ayntiinah Mountain,
whose Bréche de Roland seems to show from every
angle ; its chocolate-coloured heights contain, they
say, furnaces and “ Mashghal,” or afeliers, where
the Mart (“quartz”) was worked for ore. In places
it is backed by the pale azure peaks of Jebel el-
Lauz. This “ Mountain of Almonds” is said to take
its name from the trees, probably bitter, which
flourish there as within the convent-walls of St.
Catherine, Sinai. They grow, I was told, high up
in the clefts and valleys; and here, also, are furnaces
both above and below. Of its white, sparkling, and
crystallized marble, truly noble material, a tombstone
was shown to me; and I afterwards secured a slab
with a broken Arabic inscription, and a ball appa-
rently used for rubbing down meal. The Lauz
appears to be the highest mountain in Northern
Midian-land ; unfortunately, it is to be reached only
27d Sharaf, two long stations ahead, and I could not
afford time for geographical research to the prejudice
of mineralogical. Its nearer foot-hill is the Jebel
Khulayf ; and this feature contains, according to the

Bedawin, seven wells or pits whose bottom cannot

§
i

RE BT Pe

 

a ——

 

GYPSUM. St

be seen. Between the “Almond Block” and its
northern continuation, Jebel Munifah, we saw a
gorge containing water, and sheltering at times a
few tents of the ’Amirdt Arabs; in the same block
we also heard of a Sarit or rock said to be written
over.

The regular cone of El-Makl4 ends the prospect
in the north-eastern direction. Looking westward,
we see the ghastly bare and naked Secondary forma-
tion, the Rughdim of the Bedawin, not to be con-
founded with Ruk/idm (“alabaster or saccharine
marble”). We afterwards traced this main feature of
the "Akabah Gulf as far south as the Wady Hamz.
It 1s composed of the sulphates of lime—alabaster,
gypsum, and the plaster with which the Tertiary
basin of Paris supplies the world ; and of the car-
bonates of lime—marble, chalk, kalkspar, shells, and
eggs. The broken crests of the Jibdl el-Hamrd,
the red hills backing Maknd,* and the jagged
black peaks of their eastern parallel, the Kalb el-
Nakhlah, look like plutonic reefs or island-chains
emerging from the Secondary sea. The latter, whose
bleached and skeleton white is stained, here and
there, by greenish-yellow sands, chlorite and serpen-
tine, stands boldly out from the chaos of purpling
mountains composing Sinai, and ending southwards

in the azure knobs of three-headed Tirdn Island.

* “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. XII.
VOL. L G

 
82 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

The country, in fact, altogether changed: quartz had
disappeared, and chlorite had taken its place.

We passed the night at El-’Usaylah, a Glader (or
“hollow ”) without drainage, which the sinking of
water cakes with mud and covers with an irregular
circle of salsolaceous trees, a patch of dark metallic
green. This “’Usaylah” is eaten by camels, but
rejected by mules. Here our post reached us from
Suez on the seventh day, having started on the
ond inst. A dollar was offered to the Bedawi, who
eyed the coin indignantly, declaring that it ought to
be a ginni (guinea). I had also given him some
tobacco, and repented, as usual, my generosity.

Next day we finished the last and larger part of
the second pilgrim-stage from El-Muwaylah. Our
Arabs had been “dodging ;” and, much disappointed
about converting a two days into a three days
march, they punished us by feeding their camels on
the road, and by not joining us till the evening. As
before, there was no game till we approached the
springs ; yet tufts and scatters of tamarisks, Samur
(Inga unguis) and Arak (Salvadora), looked capable of
sheltering it. And now, beyond the level and mono-

tonous Desert, we began to see our destination ;—

palms and tufty trees at the mouth of a masked
Wady.
ground of reddish-brown rock, the foot-hills and sub-
ranges of the grand block, “ El-Zanah,” to the north;

This watercourse runs between a back-

 

SA ———

 

THE “CAVES OF JETHRO” 33

and a foreground of pale-yellow, stark-naked gypsum,
apparently tongue-shaped. Above the latter tower
two sister-quoins of ruddy material, the Shigdawayn,
to which a tale hangs.

Presently we fell into and ascended the great
Wady ’Afal, which begins in the Hismd, or Red
After

receiving a network of Secondary valleys that enable

Region, east of the double coast-range.

it to flow a torrent, as in France, every ten to twelve
years, it falls into the Minat el-’Aydndt, a little port
for native craft, which will presently be visited. We left
this Wady at a bend, some two hundred metres wide,
called the “Broad of the Jujube,” from one of the
splendid secular trees that characterize North Midian.
Near the camping-ground we shall find another
veteran Zizyphus, whose three huge stems, springing
Here

both banks of the Ziumara are lined with courses of

from a single base, argue a green old age.
rough stone, mostly rounded and rolled boulders,
evidently the ruins of the water-conduits which
served to feed the rich growth of the lower 'Afdl.
The vegetation of the gorge-mouth developed itself
to dates and Daums, tamarisks and salsolacea, out of
which scuttled a troop of startled gazelles. We
turned the right-hand jamb of the “Gate,” and found
ourselves at the water and camping-ground of
Maghair Shu’ayb.

The general appearance of the station-basin is

 
84 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

novel, characteristic, and not without its charms,
especially when the sunset paints the plain with the
red, red gold, and washes every barren peak with the
tenderest, loveliest rosy pink. Under an intensely
clear sapphire-coloured sky rises a distant rim of
broken and chocolate-coloured trap-hills, set off by
pale hillocks and white flats of gypsum, here and
there crystallized by contact with the plutonics.
The formation mostly stands up either in stiff cones
or in long spines and ridges, whose perpendicular
wall-like crests are impossible to climb. The snowy
cliffs rest upon shoulders disposed at the © angle of
rest,” and the prevailing dull drab-yellow of the base
is mottled only where accidental fracture or fall
exposes the glittering salt-like interior. The gashes
:1 the flank made by wind and rain disclose the
core—grey granite or sandstone coloured by man-
ganese. The greater part of the old city was built
of this alabaster-like * material. When new, it must
have been a scene in fairy-land; Time has now
degraded it to the appearance and the consistence
of crumbling salt. The quoin-shaped hills of the
foreground, all uptilted and clifing to the north,
show the curious mauve and red tints of the many-
coloured clays called in the Brazil Zaxd. Even the
palms are peculiar. Their tall, upright crests of

* The so-called Oriental, stalactitic, or variegated alabaster of
Upper Egypt was nowhere hit upon.

 

 

 

MADIAMA. 85

lively green fronds, their dead-brown hangings,
and their trunks charred black by the careless
Bedawi, form a quaint contrast with the genteel,
nattily dressed, and cockneyfied brooms of Egypt and
the Hejaz. And that grandeur may not be wanting
to the view, on the east rise the peak and pinnacles
of the Almond Mountain (Jebel el-Lauz), whilst
northwards the Jebel el-Zdnah, a huge dome, forms
the horizon.

This place, evidently the capital of Madyan
Proper, is the Madiwdua which Ptolemy (vi. 7)
places amongst his “ Mesogeian towns” in north lat.
28° 15"; * and it deserves more than the two pages
of description which Riippell bestowed upon it. We
will notice its natural features before proceeding to
the remains of man. Here the Wady ’Afdl takes

)

the name of “ El-Bada.” Sweeping from west to

ast, it is deflected to a north-south line, roughly
speaking, by the gate of the Shigdawayn, twin-hills
standing nearly east and west of one another. Now
become a broad, well-defined, tree-dotted bed, with
stiff silt banks, here and there twenty to twenty-five
feet high, it runs on a meridian for about a mile,

* The Ptolemeian parallel is nearly right ; the place must not
be confounded with Modiana or Modolna (:2:d.), a coast-settle-
ment in north lat. 27° 45’, between Onne and the Hippos
Mons, Monte Cavallo.

+ I have no wish to criticize my able predecessor. His map,
all things considered, is a marvel of accuracy ; and the high praise
of Wellsted (ii. 148) only does it justice.

 
 

8
|

86 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

including the palm-orchard and the camping-ground.
It then turns the west end of the Jebel el-Safrd,
a mass of gypsum on the left bank, and it bends to
the east of south, having thus formed a figure of LZ
After escaping from the imprisoning hills, the
Fiumara bed, now about three-quarters of a mile
broad, is bisected longitudinally by a long and
broken lump of chloritic or serpentine sandstone;
and rises in steps towards the right bank, upon
which the pilgrims camp. Reaching the plain, the
Wady flares out wildly, containing a number of
riverine islands, temporary, but sometimes of con-
siderable size. It retains sufficient moisture to sup-
port a clump of palms—that which we saw from
afar ;—it bends to the south-east, and, lastly, it
trends seaward.

The “ Water of Bada'” springs from the base of
the hill El-Safrd, oozing out in trickling veins
bedded in soft dark mud. It can be greatly in-
creased by opening the fountains, and economized
by a roofing of mat: we tried this plan, which only
surprised the unready Arab. After swinging to the
left bank and running for a few yards, it sinks in
the sand; yet on both sides there are signs of
labour, showing that, even of late years, the valley
has seen better days. Long leats and watercourses
have been cut in the clay, and are still lined with the

white-flowered “ Rijlah,” whose nutritive green leaf

 

 

 

THE EX“ “HAPPY VALLEY, 87

is eaten, raw or boiled, by the Fellahs of Egypt: the
wild growth, however, is mostly bitter. On both
sides are little square plots fenced against sheep and
goats by a rude abattis of stripped and dead boughs,
Jujube and acacia. Young dates have been planted
in pits; some are burnt and others are torn; for
the Bedawi, mischievous and destructive as the
Cynocephalus, will neither work nor allow others to
work. The 'Us/hask or frond-and-reed huts, much
like huge birds’-nests, are scattered about in small
groups everywhere except near the water. Wherever
a collection of bones shows a hyena’s lair, the
hunters have built a screen of dry stone.

In fact, Maghdir Shuayb was spoken of as an
Arab “ Happy Valley.” But its owners, the Masd'id,
a spiritless tribe numbering about seventy tents, are
protégés of the Tagaygat. This Huwayti clan is
on bad terms with Khizr and 'Brahim bin Makbul;
and the brother Shaykhs of the "Imran, recognized by
the Egyptian Government, claim the land where they
have only the right of transit. Bedawi clans and
sub-tribes always combine against stranger families;

but when there is no foreign “war,” they amuse
themselves with pilling and plundering, sabring and
shooting one another. I believe that the palms
were roasted to death by the 'Imrdn, although the

Shaykhs assured me that the damage was done this

year, by a careless Mas’idi when cooking his food.
   

88 THE LAND OF MIDI/AN.

The tribe appears to be Egypto-Arab, like the
Huwaytdt and the Ma'dzah, having congeners
at Ghazzah (Gaza) and at Ras el-Wady, near
Egyptian Tell el-Kebir. Consequently Riippell is
in error when he suspects that die Musaitt are ein
Fudenstamm. The unfortunates fled towards the
sea and left the valley desolate about seven months
ago. Their Shaykh is dead, and a certain Agil bin
Muhaysin, a greedy, foolish kind of fellow, men-
tioned during my First Journey, aspires to the
dignity and the profit of chieftainship. He worried
me till I named a dog after him, and then he
disappeared.

The ruins, of large extent for North Midian, and
equal to those of all the towns we have seen put
together, begin with the palm-orchard on the left
bank. The Jebel el-Safrd shows the foundations of
what may have been the er. It is a double quoin,
the taller to the south, the lower to the north, and
both bluff in the latter direction. The dip is about
45°; the upper parts of the dorsa are scatters of
white on brown-yellow stone; and below it, where
the surface has given way, appear mauve-coloured
strata, as if stained by manganese. Viewed in pro-
file from the west, the site of El-Muttali,* as the
Arabs call the /lauteville, becomes a tall, uptilted

* The ¢ Muttal’’” (high town) when small is termed a Burj,
pyrgos, tower, Pergamus (2)

 

 

   

THE HAUTEVILLE. 89

 

wedge; continued northwards by the smaller feature,
and backed by a long sky-line, a high ridge of
plaster, pale coloured with glittering points.

This isolated “ Yellow Hill,” a “horse” in Ice-
landic parlance, rising about two hundred feet above
the valley-sole, is separated by a deep, narrow gorge
from the adjacent eastern range. The slopes, now
water-torn and jagged, may formerly have declined
in regular lines, and evidently all were built over
to the crest like those of Syrian Safet. The founda-
tions of walls and rock-cut steps are still found even
on the far side of the eastern feature. The knife-
back is covered with the foundations of what appears
to be a fortified Laura or Palace; a straight street
running north-south, with 5° west (mag.). It serves
as base for walls one metre and a half thick, open-
ing upon it like rooms: of these we counted twenty
on either side. At the northern end of the “horse,”
which, like the southern, has been weathered to a
mere spur, is a work composed of two semicircles
fronting to the north and east. A bastion of well-
built wall in three straight lines overhangs the per-
pendicular face of the eastern gorge: in two places
there are signs of a similar defence to the south, but
time and weather have eaten most of it away. The
ground sounds hollow, and the feet sink in the
crumbling heaps : evidently the whole building was

of Rughanm (gypsum); and in the process of decay
   

90 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

it has become white as blocks of ice, here and there
powdered with snow.

On the narrow, flat ledge, between the western
base of this Saf7é and the eastern side of the
Bada’ valley, lie masses of ruin now become mere
rubbish ; bits of wall built with cut stone, and
water-conduits of fine mortar containing, like that
of the Pyramids, powdered brick and sometimes
pebbles. We carried off a lump of sandstone bear-

“ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON ” (?), MAGHAIR
SHU AYB.

  
  
  

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A eo
WZ EN
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5 fo
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40 bh
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£15 BA
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ing unintelligible marks, possibly intended for a man
and a beast. We called it “St. George and the
Dragon,” but the former is afoot—possibly the
Bedawin stole his steed. There was a frustum or
column-drum of fine white marble, hollowed to act
as a mortar ; like the Moslem headstone of the same
material, it is attributed to the Jebel el-Lauz, where

ancient quarries are talked of. There were also

   

THE “STRAIT OF THE SHIELD.” 91

 
 
 
 

Makrikak (“rub-stones”) of close-grained red
syenite, and fragments of the basalt handmills used
for quartz-grinding. Part of a mortar was found,
made of exceedingly light and porous lava.

South-east of the /Jauteville falls in the now
rugged ravine, Klashm el-Muttalt’, “ Snout of the
high” (town). It leads to the apex of the coralline
formations, scattered over with fragments of gypsum,
here amorphous, there crystalline or talc-like, and all
dazzling white as powdered sugar. Signs of tent-
foundations and of buildings appear in impossible
places ; and the heights bear two Buz; or “ watch-
towers,” one visible afar, and dominating from its
mamelon the whole land. The return to the main
valley descends by another narrow gorge further to
the south-east, called .S/Za’é el-Darak, or ‘ Strait
of the Shield :” the tall, perpendicular, and over-
hanging walls, apparently threatening to fall, would
act Ztestudo to an Indian file of warriors. High up
the right bank of this gut we saw a tree-trunk
propped against a rock by way of a ladder for the
treasure-seeker, The Ska'é-sole is flat, with occa-
sional steps and overfalls of rock, polished like
mirrors by the rain-torrents ; the mouth shows re-
mains of a masonry-dam some fourteen feet thick by
twenty-one long ; and immediately below it are the
bases of buildings and watercourses.

Walking down the left bank of the great Wady,

 
02 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 

and between these secondary gorges that drain the
“Yellow Hill,” we came upon a dwarf mound of dark
earth and rubbish. This is the SZydgka/ (“mint and
smiths’ quarter”), a place always to be sought, as
Ba'lbak and Palmyra taught me. Remains of tall
furnaces, now level with the ground, were scattered
about ; and Mr. Clarke, long trained to find an-
tiques, brought back the first coins picked up in
ancient Midian. The total gathered, here and in
other parts of Maghdir Shu’'ayb, was 2358, of which
some two hundred were carried home untouched ;
the rest, treated with chloritic and other acids, came
out well. One was a silver oval which may or may
not have been a token. Eleven were thick discs,
differing from the normal type; unfortunately the
legends are illegible. The rest, inform bits of
green stuff, copper and bronze, were glued together
by decay, and apparently eaten out of all semblance
of money until the verdigris of ages is removed.

All are cast like the Roman “as”, before B.c. 217,
and some show the tail. The distinguishing feature
is the human eye; not the oz/a of Horus,* so well
known to those who know the Pyramids, but the last
trace of Athene’s profile. Two are Roman: a Nerva
with S.C. on the reverse ; and a Claudius Augustus,

bearing by way of countermark a depressed ob-

* The Masha’b or “ camel-stick” of all Arabia is that carried
by the Osiris (mummy), and its crook is originally the jackal-
headed Anubis.

 

   

CLASSICAL COINS. 93

     

long, of &% by #% (of inch), with a raised figure,

erect, draped, and holding a sceptre or thyrsus.
There is also a Constantius struck at Antioch. The
gem of the little collection was a copper coin, thinly
encrusted with silver, proving that even in those
days the Midianites produced “smashers” : similarly,
the Egyptian miners “did” the Pharaoh by inserting
lead into hollowed gold. The obverse shows the owl
in low relief, an animal rude as any counterfeit pre-
sentment of the ea yhavkdms "Abvvn ever found
in Troy. It has the normal olive-branch, but with-
out the terminating crescent (which, however, is not
invariably present) on the proper right, whilst the
left shows a poor imitation of the legend AGE(NH).
The silvering of the reverse has been so corroded
that no signs of the goddess’s galeated head are
visible. My friend, Mr. W. E. Hayns, of the Nu-
mismatic Society, came to the conclusion that it is
a barbaric Midianitish imitation of the Greek tetra-
drachm, which in those days had universal currency,
like the shilling and the franc. The curious bits of
metal, which also bear the owl, may add to our
knowledge of the Nabathean coins, first described,
I believe, by the learned Duc de Luynes.®

Another interesting “find” was a flat-bottomed,
thick-walled clay crucible of small size (212 inches

* The collection has been submitted to Mr. R. Stanley Poole,

who kindly offered them for inspection to the Numismatic Society
of London (Nov. 21, 1878).

   
 

 

04 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

high by 24% inches across the mouth), exactly re-

sembling the article picked up at Hamdmdt. The
latter, however, contains a remnant of litharge,
possibly showing that the old Egyptians worked
the silver, which may have been supplied by the

Colorado quartz.
I would here crave leave to make a short

excursus to the ancient Ophirs of Egypt Proper,
where, we are told by an inscription in the treasury
of Ramses the Great (fourteen centuries before
Christ), the gold and silver mines yielded per annum
a total of 32,000,000 mine = £99,000,000. Dr. H.
Brugsch-Bey first drew attention to Hamdmadt,
where, as he had learned from Diodorus (i. 49—iil.
12) and from the papyri, the precious metals had been
extensively worked. The “Wells of Hamdmit”
lie between Keneh on the Nile and Kusayr (Cosseir)
on the Red Sea: and the land is held by the
Ababdah Arabs, who have taken charge, from time
immemorial, of the rich commercial caravans. The
formation of the country much resembles that of
Midian; and the metalliferous veins run from north-
east to south-west. In Arabia, however, the ftlons
are of unusual size; in Africa they are small, the
terminating fibrils, as it were, of the Asiatic focus ;
while the Dark Continent lacks that wealth of iron
which characterizes the opposite coast.

By the courtesy of Generals Stone and Purdy

 

 

  

THE HAMAMAT HUMBUG. 05

I was enabled, after return to Cairo in May, 1878, to
inspect the collection. Admirably arranged in order
of place, and poor as well disposed, it is, neverthe-
less, useful to students; and it was most interesting
to us. The only novelty is asbestos produced in
the schist: the raw material is now imported by
the United States, and used for a variety of pur-
poses. It is said to exist in Mount Sinai; we found
none in Midian, where the schist formations are of
great extent, probably because we did not look for
it. The collection was made by Colonel Colston ;
and Mr. L. H. Mitchell, a mining engineer attached
to the Egyptian Staff, spent several weeks spalling
sundry tons of quartz. After finding a speck of
gold, the work was considered to be done. General
Stone, however, sensibly deprecated any attempt to
exploit the minerals: the country lacks wood and
water, and the expense of camel-transport from
Hamdmdt to Kusayr, and thence in ships to Suez,
would swallow up all the profits.

That Egypt was immensely rich in old days
we know from several sources. Appian tells us
that the treasury of Ptolemy Philadelphus con-
tained 740,000 talents; and assuming with Ebers *
the Egyptian at half the Afginetan, we have
the marvellous sum of (83,250,000. According

to Diodorus (i. 62), the treasury of Rhampsinit,

*  («

Aigypten,” etc., p. 269, et seq.

 

   
00 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

concerning which Herodotus (ii. 121, 122) heard a
funny story from his interpreter, contained 4,000,000
talents, equal to at least £450,000,000. This rich
king's treasure-house has been found portrayed in
the far-famed Temple of Medinat Habit: the mass
of wealth, gold, silver, copper, and spices, is enor-
mous ; and, while the baser metals are in bars, the
precious are stored in heaps, sacks, and vases.

The gold-mines of the old Coptos-plain, the
modern Kobt, south of Keneh, are preserved to
all time by the earliest known map. It has survived;
whilst those of the Milesian Anaximander (B.c. 610
—547), of Hekateus (04. B.c. 476), also from Miletus
and called the “ Father of Geography” (Ebers), and
of Ptolemy the Pelusian are irretrievably lost. A
papyrus in the Turin Museum contains a plan of
the mineral region spoken of in two stele, those
of Radesiyyah and Kuban, describing the supply
of drinking-water introduced into the desert between
Kuban and the Red Sea. Chabas* has published a
coloured facsimile of this map : the gold-containing
mountains are tinted red, and the words “Tu en
nub” (Mens awurcus) are written over them in

hieratics.

The only modern gold-workings of Egypt are

in the Mudiriyyat (Nomos) of IFamaka, the frontier

town, better known as Fayzoghli from its adjacent

* «Les Inscriptions des Mines d'Or,” etc. Paris, 1862.

GOLD IN UPPER EGYPT. 97

heights. The washings were visited lately (March,
1878) by my enterprising friend, Dr. P. Matteucci,
and M. Gessi. In old days this local Cayenne had
a very bad name; convicts were deported here
with a frightful mortality. It is still a station for
galley-slaves, and it has a considerable garrison, but
we no longer hear of an abnormal fatality. The
surface was much turned over by the compulsory
miners, and European geologists and experts were
sent to superintend them; at last the diggings did
not pay and were abandoned. But the natives do
by “rule of thumb,” despite their ignorance of
mineralogy, without study of ground, and lacking
co-ordination of labour, what the Government failed
to do. They have not struck the chief vein, if any
exist; but, during the heavy rains of the Khari
(“autumn”) in the valley of the Tumadt river, herds
of slaves are sent yearly to wash gold, and they
find sufficient to supply the only known coin—bars
or ingots.

Beyond the Siydghah, the left bank is gashed
by the ravines draining the south-eastern prolon-
gation of the “Yellow Hill.” Water cuts through
this rotten formation of rubbish like a knife into
cheese; forming deep chasms, here narrow, there
broad, with walls built up, as it were, of fragments,
and ready to be levelled by the first rains. The
lines of street and the outlines of tenements can

VOL. I. H

 
 

 

 

93 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

be dimly traced, while revetments of rounded boul-
ders show artificial watercourses and defences
against the now dried-up stream. The breadth of
this, the eastern settlement, varies with the extent
of the ledge between the gypsum-hills and the
sandy Wady ; the length may be a kilometre. The
best preserved traces of crowded building end with
the south-eastern spur of the Jebel el-Safrd. Beyond
them is a huge cemetery. The ancient graves are
pits in the ground ; a few still uncovered, the many
and all of them ignoring orientation.

yawning wide,
ont towards

Those of the moderns, on the contrary, fr
Meccah. The Bedawin of this country seem ever
to prefer for their last homes the most ancient sites;
they place the body in a pit, covered with a large
slab or a heap of stones, but they never fill in the
hollow, as is usual among Moslems, with earth.
The arrangements suit equally well the hyena and
the skull-collector ; and thus I was able to make a
fair collection of Bedawi crania.

At the south-eastern end of the outliers pro-
jected by the Jebel el-Safrd, where a gentle slope of
red earth falls towards the valley-bank, is the only
group of building of which any part is still stand-
ing. The site may be old, but the present ruins
are distinctly medieval, dating probably from the
days of the Egyptian « Mameluke” Sultans. Begin-

ning from below and to the south-west is a Hauz, or

 

   

 

  

THE FORT. 99

fl Siren) measuring twenty-six by nineteen and a half
ftignes, with a depth of nine to ten feet. The material
is er sandsione, cemented outside with mortar
conning the normal brick-crumbs and pebbles
and inside mixed with mud. At the arth anstors
and south-western corners are retaining buttresses
in fo saps, exactly like those in the inland fort of
ELVih at the two other angles are flichts of
stairs, and the sole is a sheet of dried i To
the south-east lies the remnant of a small circular
furnace, and on the north-north-east a broken wall
shows where stood the Bayt el-Saghir, or smaller
reservoir. A narrow conduit of cut stone leads, with
claborate zigzags, towards two Sakiyak (+ draw-
wells”) hollowed in the gypsum. The Southern
" ov of five metres ten centimétres, is poh
tlapidated ; and its at i
by a worn-out arch Er, a

ng Secondary
rock. Close to the north-west is the other, re-
Youd with cut stone, and measuring six métres in
diameter. It is an elaborate affair ; with a pointed
arch and a regular keystone, circular Sedid
or “walls for supporting the hauling-apparatus :
and minor reservoirs numbering three. On a de-
tached hillock, a few paces to the north, stands the
Fort which defended the establishment. The short
walls of the parallelogram measure fifteen métres

forty centim
3 etres; and the long, eighteen métres

  
100 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

sixty centimetres : the gate, choked by ruins, leads

to a small hall, with a masked entrance opening to
the right. There is a narrow room under the stone
steps to the west, and two others occupy the eastern
side. This Fort is to be restored for the better pro-
tection of pilgrims; and shortly after our departure
an Egyptian engineer, Sulayman Effendi, came from
Suez to inspect and report upon it.

According to local modern tradition this scatter
of masonry was the original site of the settlement,
called after the builder Bir el-Sa'idéni— the Well of
Sa2'{ddn.” For watering each caravan the proprietor
demanded a camel by way of fee; at last a Maghribi,
that is, a magician, refused to “ part;” betook himself
to the present camping ground, sank pits, and let
loose the copious springs. The old wells then dried
up, and the new sources gave to this section of the
great Wady "Afdl its actual name, Wady el-Bada'—
« of the innovation,” so hateful to the conservative
savage. Hence Riippell's “ Beden,” which would
mean an ibex.

On the opposite or right bank of the broad and
sandy bed, the traces of ancient buildings extend
to a far greater distance, at least to two kilometres.
They have been a continuous line of forts, cisterns,
and tenements, still marked out by the bases of long
thick walls; the material is mostly gypsum, leprous-
white as the skin of Gehazi. But here, and indeed

 

THE CITY OF THE LIVING.

generally throughout Midian, the furious torrents,
uncontrolled during long ages by the hand of man,
have swept large gaps in the masses of homestead:
and public buildings. Again the ruins of this section
are distributable into two kinds—the City of the
Living, and the City of the Dead.

The former, of considerable extent, hugs the
watercourse, and crowns all the natural spurs that
buttress the bed. Beginning from the north lie
two blocks of building considerable in extent: the
southern, called by the Arabs El-Malka, is a broken
parallelogram. Further down stream the bank
is a vast strew of broken pottery; and one place,
covered with glass fragments, was named by our
soldiers FE/-Khammdrakh—* the tavern” or “the
hotel.” As in ancient Etruria, so here, the people
assemble after heavy rains to pick up what luck
throws in the way. It is said that they often gather
gold pieces, square as well as round, bearing by way
of inscription “prayers” to the Apostle of Allah,
Some of us, however, had a shrewd suspicion that
the 7747, or “pure gold-dust,” is still washed from
the sands, and cast probably in rude moulds.

Behind, inland or westward of this southern
town, lies the City of the Dead. Unlike the pitted
graveyard to the north-east, the cemetery is wholly
composed of catacombs, which the Bedawin call

Maghdir (“caves”) or Bibin (“doors”). The sites

 
 

 

¥02 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

   

are the sides and mouths of four little branch-
valleys which cut through the hillocks represent-
ing the Wady-bank. The northernmost is known as
Wady el-Khurayk, because it drains a height of
that name: the others bear the generic term
Wady el-Safrd, so called, like the /Jauteville hill,
from the tawny-yellow colour of the rocks. The
catacombs, fronting in all directions, because the
makers were guided by convenience, not by cere-
monial rule, are hollowed in the soft new sandstone
underlying the snowy gypsum; and most of the
facades show one or more horizontal lines of natural
bead-work, rolled pebbles disposed parallelly by the
natural action of water. In the most ruinous, the
upper layer is a cornice of hard sandstone, stained
yellow with iron and much creviced ; the base, a soft
conglomerate of the same material, is easily cor-
roded ; and the supernal part caves in upon the
principle which is destroying Niagara. At each side
of the doorways is a Mastabak (‘stone bench”), also
rock-hewn, and with triple steps. The door-jambs,
which have hollowings for hinges and holes for bars,
are much worn and often broken; they are rarely
inclined inwards after the fashion of Egypt. A few
have windows, or rather port-holes, flanking the
single entrance. The peculiarities and the rare
ornaments will be noticed when describing each

receptacle ; taken as a whole, they are evidently rude

 

 

  

THE CI7IES OF THE DEAD. 103

 

and barbarous forms of the artistic catacombs and
tower-tombs that characterize Petra and Palmyra.
The “ Maghdir” may roughly be divided into

four topical groups. These are—the northern out-

CATACOMBS.

 

 

liers ; the “ Tombs of the Kings,” so called by our-
selves because they distinguish themselves from all
the others; the buttressed caves” (two sets) ; and
the southern outliers. The first mentioned begin

with a ruin on the right jaw of the Khurayk gorge:

 

 

    
 

THE LAND OF MIDIAMNMN.

TWO FRAGMENTS (CATACOMB No. 1).

THE INSCRIPTIONS. 105

it is dug in strata dipping, as usual, from north-west

to south-east: it faces eastward, and the entrance
declines to the south. All external appearance of
a catacomb has disappeared ; a rude porch, a frame

of sticks and boughs, like the thatched eaves of a

TWO FRAGMENTS (NORTHERN CATACOMB).

,

Bulgarian hut, stands outside, while inside signs of
occupation appear in hearths and goat-dung, in
smoky roof, and in rubbish-strewn floor. Over
another ruin to the west are graffitz, of which
copies from squeezes and photographs are here
given: there are two loculi in the southern wall;
and in the south-eastern corner is a pit, also
sunk for a sarcophagus. A hill-side to the south

of this cave shows another, dug in the 7awud or

 
 

 

106 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

coloured sandstone, and apparently unfinished : part
of it is sanded up, and its only yield, an Egyptian
oil-jar of modern make, probably belonged to some
pilgrim. Crossing the second dwarf gorge we find,
on the right bank, a third large ruin of at least
fourteen loculi; the hard upper reef, dipping at an
angle of 30°, and striking from north-west to south-
east, fell in when the soft base was washed away by
weather, and the anatomy of the graves is com-
pletely laid bare. Higher up the same Wady is a
fourth Maghdrak, also broken down: the stucco-
coating still shows remnants of red paint; and the
characters j—possibly Arab “ Wasm,” or tribe-
marks—are cut into an upright entrance-stone.

The precipitous left bank of the third gorge
contains the three finest specimens, which deserve
to be entitled the “ Tombs of the Kings.” Of these,
the two facing eastward are figured by Riippell
(p- 220) in the antiquated style of his day, with
fanciful foreground and background.* His sketch
also places solid rock where the third and very
dilapidated catacomb of this group, disposed at
right angles, fronts southwards. Possibly the facades

may once have been stuccoed and coloured; now

they show the bare and pebble-banded sandstone.

The southernmost, which may be assumed as

* In Zafel viii. (p. 387), he has added some cursory notes on
the Sepulcral-Monumente in dem Thale Beden.

THE “7T0MBS OF THE KINGS. 107

the type, has an upright door, flanked by a stone
bench of three steps. Over the entrance is a defaced
ornament which may have been the bust of a man:
in Riippell it is a kind of geometrical design. The
frontage has two parallel horizontal lines, raised to
represent cornices. Each bears a decoration re-

“TOMBS OF THE KINGS,” MAGHAIR SHU’AYB.

sembling crenelles or Oriental ramparts broken into
three steps ; the lower set numbers eight, including
the half ornaments at the corners, and the higher
seven. The interior is a mixture of upright recesses,
probably intended for the gods or demons; and of
horizontal loculi, whose grooves show that they had
lids. There is no symmetry in the niches, in the
sarcophagi, or in the paths and passages threading
the graves. The disposition will best be understood
from the ground-plans drawn by the young Egyptian

officers : their sketches of the facades are too care-

 
 

CR nH LL A i Lb

108 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

less and incorrect for use; but the want is supplied
by the photographs of M. Lacaze.

Above these three “ Tombs of the Kings” are
many rock-cavities which may or may not have been
sepulchral. Time has done his worst with them.
We mounted the background of a quoin-shaped
hill by a well-trodden path, leading to the remnants
of a rude Bury (“ watch-tower ”), and to a semicircle
of dry wall, garnished with a few sticks for hanging
rags and tatters. The latter denotes the Musallat
Shu'ayb, or praying-place of (prophet) Jethro; and
here our Sayyid and our Shaykh took the oppor-
tunity of applying for temporal and eternal blessings.
The height at the edge of the precipice which,
cliffing to the north, showed a view of our camp and
of Yubt’ and Shu’shd’ Islands, was in round numbers
450 feet (aner. 29°40-—28'94). From this vantage-
ground we could distinctly trace the line of the
Wady Maknd, beginning in a round basin at the
western foot of the northern Shigd Mountain and its
sub-range; while low rolling hills, along which we
were to travel, separated it from the Wady Bada'-
'Afdl to the south.

Two other important sets of catacombs, which I
will call the “buttressed caves,” are pierced in the
right flank of the same gorge, at the base of a
little conical hill, quaintly capped with a finial of

weathered rock. The material is the normal silicious

 

THE “BUTTRESSED CAVES.” 109

gravel-grit, traversed and clozsonné by dykes of
harder stone. Beginning at the south, we find a
range of three, facing eastward and separated from
one another by flying buttresses of natural rock.
No. 1 has a window as well as a door. Next
to it is a square with six open loculi ranged from
north to south. No. 3 shows a peculiarity—two
small pilasters of the rudest (Egyptian?) Doric,
the only sign of ornamentation found inside the
tombs; a small break in the south-western wall
connects it with the northernmost loculus of No. 2.
Furthest north are three bevel-holes, noting the
beginning of a catacomb; and round the northern
flank of the detached cone are six separate caves,
all laid waste by the furious northern gales.

The second set is carved in the bluff eastern end
of an adjoining reef that runs away from the Wady ;
it consists of four sepulchres with the normal but-
tresses. They somewhat resemble those of the
Kings, but there are various differences. No. 2
from the south is flanked by pilasters with ram’s-
horn capitals, barbarous forms of Ionic connected
by three sets of triglyphs: the pavement is of
slabs; there is an inner niche, and one of the
corners has apparently been used as an oven. On

a higher plane lies a sunken tomb, with a deep drop

and foot-holes by way of ladder ; outside it the rocky

platform is hollowed, apparently for graves. The

 
  
  
  

   
    
 
   
  
   
   
   
 
  

  

 

EE —

110 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

other three facades bear the crenelle ornaments ; the
two to the north show double lines of seven holes
drilled deep into the plain surface above the door,
as if a casing had been nailed on; while the northern-
most yielded a fragmentary inscription on the
southern wall. These are doubtless the “inscribed
tablets on which the names of kings are engraved,”
alluded to in the Jihan-numd of Haji Khalifah.®
Rounding the reef to the north, we found three
catacombs in the worst condition: one of them
showed holes drilled in the facade.

The southern outliers lie far down the Wady
'Afdl, facing east, and hewn in the left flank of a
dwarf gulley which falls into the right bank not
far from the site called by our men “the tavern.”
The group numbers three, all cut in the normal
sandstone, with the harder dykes which here stand
up like ears. The principal item is the upper cave,
small, square, and apparently still used by the
Arabs: in the middle of the lintel is a lump looking
like the mutilated capital of a column. The two
lower caves show only traces.

There is a tradition that some years ago a Frank
(Riippell ?), after removing his Arab guides, dug
into the tombs, and found nothing but human hair.
Several of the horizontal loculi contained the bones
of men and beasts: I did not disturb them, as all

* Wellsted, vol. ii., appendix.

Cia id

 

THE CAT4C0OMBS. ITY

   
  

appeared to be modern. The floors sounding hollow,

gave my companions hopes of “finds;” but I had
learned, after many a disappointment, how carefully
the Bedawi ransack such places. We dug into four
sepulchres, including the sunken catacomb and the
(southern) inscribed tomb. Usually six inches of
flooring led to the ground-rock; in the sarcophagi
about eight inches of tamped earth was based upon
nine feet of sand that ended at the bottom. The
only results were mouldering bones, bits of marble
and pottery, and dry seeds of the Kaff Maryam, the
Rose of Jericho (Anastatica), which here feeds the
partridges, and which in Egypt supplies children
with medicine, and expectant mothers with a charm.
As the plant is bibulous, opening to water and even
to the breath, it is placed by the couch, and its
movement shows what is to happen. The cave
also yielded specimens of bats (Riinopoma macro-
plyllum), with fat at the root of their spiky tails.

I have described at considerable length this
ruined Madidma, which is evidently the capital of
Madyan Proper, ranking after Petra. In one point
it is still what it was, a chief station upon the high-
way, then Nabati, now Moslem, which led to the
Ghor or Wady el-’Arabah. But in all others how
changed! “The traveller shall come; he that saw
me in my beauty shall come: his eyes shall search
the field ; they shall not find me.”

  

 

 

 
 

   

CHAPTER Vv.

NOTICES OF PRECIOUS METALS IN MIDIAN—THE PAPYRI
AND THE MEDIEVAL ARAB GEOGRAPHERS.

IN my volume on © The Gold-Mines of Midian,”
the popular Hebrew sources of information—the Old

Testament and the Talmud—were ransacked for the

benefit of the reader. It now remains to consult the

Egyptian papyri and the pages of the mediaeval
Arab geographers: extracts from the latter were
made for me, in my absence from England, by the
well-known Arabist, the Rev. G. Percy Badger.*
I will begin with the beginning.

Dr. Heinrich Brugsch-Bey, whose © History of
Egypt” is the latest and best gift to Egyptologists,

* All the useful matter has already been borrowed from
Abulfeda. Dr. Badger tells me that he looked through his
Jaridat el’Ajdib, wa Faridat el-Ghardib, by Sirdj el-Din Umar
ibn el-Wardi, A.H. 940 (= A.D. 1533—15 34), where he expected to
find, but did not find, notices of Madyan.

t Geschichte Zgyptens unter den Pharaonen. Nach den
Denkmihlern bearbeitet, von Dr. Heinrich Brugsch-Bey. Erste
deutsche Ausgabe. Leipzig: Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, 1877.
Already the Premitre Partie had appeared in French, “ Histoire

   

HIEROGLYPHICS I.

says Rameses, the King

(BC 1200)
0 4

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fined) p00 ~ 2

acpedied

WAS {rgd bad

ASR ’ (Li), o 4
saires aw, pays,

R

ll al - I~ x (1
oars (Ws) 2, ™, Tea

: mines

Cc Oo “=a 2,

) 111 on} 0; NW oO Ul
khomet  . a ai. enst =
de cuovre / a grandes | qui sont! dans
deo — A

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set sen au .
bokitd y  catte a p oad
P= V2 Am Pe |!
Lesh , P ‘ 28

) ctatent charges rz! ’
peo x A" -_ ~0
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[Chap. 1V.
          
      
    
     
    
        

  

HIEROGLYPHICS IIL

ha — J
Fess JY
tears Tom

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| étcient par npriadas paar a
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[Chap. IV.

 
      
      
   
       
    
    
     
   

HIEROGLYPHICS III

= > = $13

| por vhpte. oes Roman
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(Chap. TV.

 
 

oth a

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The following ws a list of the letters and the syllabic signs
which occur in this tnscroption.

HIEROGLYPHICS IV.

 teomemant/d gos re

 

3 mi

(vowel ) —t ‘0
E_ i. "2 - ) ted
Ilems) & t 2] - kem

(vowel) § th eT PT

Siem) J 2 De

(vowel)  Signes Sy pS
SE FER
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Fora

 

[Chap. TV.

    
   

Sy Uabic.
   

 

 

PT Sra

 

RHAMPSINITOS. 113

kindly drew my attention to an interesting passage
in his work, and was good enough to copy for me
the source of his information, the Harris Papyrus
(No. 1) in the British Museum.

The first king of the twentieth Dynasty, born
about B.c. 1200, and residing at Thebes, was
Rameses III., whose title, Ramessu pa-Nuter (or
Nutz), “Ramses the god,” became in the hands of the
Greeks Rhampsinitos. This great prince, ascending
the throne in evil days, applied himself at once to
the internal and external economy of his realm; he
restored the caste-divisions, and carried fire and
sword into the lands of his enemies. He trans-
ported many captives to Egypt; fortified his eastern
frontier; and built, in the Gulf of Suez, a fleet of
large and small ships, in order to traffic with Pun
and the “Holy Land,” * and to open communica-
d’Egypte, Introduction—Histoire des Dynasties i.—xvii ;” pub-
lished by the same house with a second edition in 1875. An
English translation of this most valuable compendium, whose
German is of the hardest, is now being printed in London.

* Pun, or Punt, the region on both sides of the Red Sea-
mouth, including El-Yemen and Cape Guardafui, was made holy
by the birth of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Dr. Brugsch-Bey shows
that one of the titles of the he-god was Bass, the cat or the
leopard (whence our “ Puss”) ; whilst his wife, Bast (#4e bissat or
tabby-cat of modern Arabic), gave her name to Bubastis (Pi-Bast,
the city of Bast). From the Osiric term (Bass) the learned
Egyptologist would derive Bacchus and his priests, the Bacchoi
and the Bacchantes, whose dress was the leopard’s skin. Could

Osiris have belonged to the race whose degenerate descendants
are the murderous Somal of modern days ?

VOL. I.

 

 
    
 

114 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

tion with the ¢Incense-country” and with the
wealthy shores of the Indian Ocean.

“ Not less important,” says our author (p. 594),
“for Egypt, which required before all things the
copper applied to every branch of her industry, was
the sending of commissioners, by land (on donkey-
back!) and by sea, to explore and exploit the rich
cupriferous deposits of ’Athdka (in the neighbour-
hood of the ’Akabah Gulf ?). This metal, with the
glance of gold, was there cast in brick-shape, and
was transported by sea to the capital.

“ The king also restored his attention to the
treasures of the Sinaitic Peninsula, which had
excited the concupiscence of the Egyptians since the
days of King Senoferu* (s.c. 3700). Loaded with
rich presents for the sanctuary of the goddess
Hathor, the protectress of Mafka-land, chosen
employés were despatched on a royal commission
to the peninsula, for the purpose of supplying the
Pharaoh’s treasury with the highly prized blue-green
copper-stones (Mafka, Tiirkisen ?).”

* Duly. Snefrou, “ he who makes it good ;” the ninth of the
third Dynasty ; the twenty-fourth successor of Mena (Menes) in
the papyri, and the twenty-sixth according to Manetho the priest.
He conquered the “Mafka-land,” as the Sinaitic Peninsula was then
called ; and Wady Maghdrah still shows his statue, habited in warrior
garb, with the proud inscription, “ Vanquisher of Stranger Races.”
This campaign lends some colour to my suspicion that Sindfir
Island, at the mouth of the Gulf el’Akabah, may preserve his name.

t The German Ziirkis, and the English and French Zurguoise,

are both evidently derived from Gemma Turcica, Western Turkis-
tan being considered the source of the finest stones.

 

DR. BRUGSCH-BEY. 115

‘These lines were published by Dr. Brugsch-Bey
before he had heard of my discoveries of metals
and of a modern turquoise-digging in the Land of
Midian. He had decided that “’Athdka ” lay to the
cast of Suez, chiefly from the insistance laid upon
the shipping ; sea-going craft would certainly not be
required for a sail of three or four hours. More-
over, as I have elsewhere shown, ¥ede/ "Atakak,
the “Mountain of Deliverance,” at the mouth
of the Wady Musd, was referred to the Jews at
some time after the Christian era, and probably
during the fourth and fifth centuries, when pilgrim-
ages to the apocryphal Mounts Sinai became the
fashion. .

During the summer of 1877, Dr. Brugsch-Bey
was kind enough to copy and to translate the
original document, upon which he founded his short
account of the “’Athdka” copper-mines. I offer it
to the reader in full.

The order of the alphabet is that adopted by
Dr. Brugsch-Bey. It relies for the first letter upon
the authority of Plutarch, who asserts that the
Egyptian abecedarium numbered the square of
five (twenty-five) ; and that it opened with d\ a,
which also expresses the god Thoth :—this is the
case with ( the leaf of some water-plant. The
sequence of the letters has been suggested by a

number of minor considerations: we begin with

 

ee —_ -—

 
 

116 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

the vowels, and proceed to the labial, the liquids,

and so forth.*
The sense of the highly interesting inscription,

in its English order, would be :—

“1 have sent my commissioners to the land ’Athdka; to the
(those) + great mines of copper (or coppers) { which are in this
place ('Athdka); and their (ze the commissioners’) ships§ were
loaded, carrying them (the metals) ; while other (commissioners
were sent and) marched on their asses. No! one never (/r-fot)
had heard, since the (days of the olden) kings, that these (copper)
mines had been found.|| The loads (ze. of the ships and the
asses) carried copper ; the loads were by myriads for their ships,
which went thence (Ze. from the mines) to Egypt. (After) happily
arriving, the loads were landed, according to royal order, under
the Pavilion,¥ in form of copper-bricks ; ** they were numerous
as frogs (in the marsh),tt and in quality they were gold (Vub) of
the third degree.fi I made them admired (by) all the world as

marvellous things.”

 

* The accompanying lithograph gives a list of the letters and
the syllabic signs which occur in the inscription.

t The article “ Na” is emphatic, #ze with the sense of #at or
those.

+ “Khomet” signifies, 1. Copper, 2. Metal generally, as
argent, etc.

§ “Mensh” is always applied to sea-going ships, as opposed
to Bari, Udu, Kerer, etc., riverine craft.

| “Kemi” signifies, 1. Found, 2. Found out, discovered.

€ That is, the royal pavilion at Thebes.

** The word “Deb” (brick) still survives in the Arabic 705,
and, perverted to the Iberian Adobe (Et-tob) it has travelled to
Mexico.

tt “ Hefennu,” as is shown by the ideograph to the right over
the three perpendiculars denoting plurality, may be either a frog
or a lakh (one hundred thousand).

t1 The Egyptians divided gold into four qualities—1, 2, 3, and
two-thirds. But it is not known whether No. 1 was the best, and
we can only guess that two-thirds alluded to some alloy.

 

COPPER IN MIDIAN. 117

The following lines upon the subject of Midian
are from the notes (p. 143) of Jacob Golius in
“ Alferganum” (small 4to. Amsterdam, 1669), a
valuable translation with geographical explanations.
Ahmad ibn Mohammed ibn Kathir el-Farghdni de-
rived his “lakab” or cognomen from the province of
Farghdn (Khokand), to the north-east of the Oxus ;
he wrote a work upon astronomy, and he flourished
about A.H. 184 (= A.D. 800).

“Ibidem (2 Madyan) Medjan sive Midjan, Antiqui
nominis oppidum in Maris Rubri littore, sub 29° grad. latitudine ;
ad ortum brumalem deflectens & montis Sine extremitate: ubi
fere sita Ptolemai Modiana, haud dubit eadem cum Midjan. A
Geographorum Orientalium quibusdam ad Agyptum refertur ; A
plerisq ; omnibus ad Higiazam : quod merito et recté factum.
Nullus enim est, qui Arabibus non annumeret Madianitas ; et
Sinam, que Madjane borealior, montem Arabie facit D. Paulus
Gal. iv. Midjan autem fuit Abrahami ex Kethura filius: unde
tribus illa et ab hac urbs nomen habent. Quam quidem tribum
coaluisse, sedibus ut puto et affinitate in unam cum Ismaélitis,
innuere videntur Geneseos verba. Nam conspirantibus in Josephi
exitium fratribus dicuntur supervenisse Ismaélitee ; transivisse
Midjanite ; ipse véditus ab Ismaélitis. Ceterum urbem Midjan
Arabes pro ea habent, quae in Corano vocatur (wax Madinat
Kash) : Xaib* enim illis idem est, qui Jethro dicitur Exod. iii. cujus
filiam Sipporam Moses uxoré duxit, cum ex Agypto profugisset in
terram Midjan; ubi Jethro princeps erat et Sacerdos. Autonomosia
illa Arabibus familiaris. Ita Hanoch (¢& 92) Aknikh) appe-
latus, Abraham (El-Khalil), Rex Saul (gill Talit), etc., licet
eorundem propria etiam usurpentur nomina. Et in ipsis Sacris
Libris non uno nomine hic Jethro designatur. Loci illius puteum +
Scriptores memorant fano circum extructo Arabibus sacrum, per-

* The same as the Shuayb of my pages.
T For a notice of “Moses” Well,” now quite forgotten by the
Arabs, sec Chapter VI.

 
    

    
  
  
 
  
 
   
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
   
  
    
  
     

 

118 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

suasis Mosem ibi Sipporam et sorores & pastorum injuriis
vindicasse ; prout Exod., cap. ii., res describitur. Sed primis
Muhammedici regni bellis universa fere, qua runc extabat, urbs
vastata fuit.”

El-Farghdni is followed by the Imdm Abu
'Abbds Ahmed bin Ydahyd bin Jdbir, surnamed
and popularly known as El-Baldzuri, who flourished
between A.H. 232 and 247 (= A.D. 846 to 861), and
wrote the Futidh el-Bulddn, or the “Conquests of
Countries.” His words are (pp. 13-14, M. J. de
Goeje’s edition; Lugduni Batavorum, 1866)—*It
was related to me by Abd Abid el-Kdsim bin
Salldm ; who said he was told by Ishdk bin Isa, from
Malik ibn Anas and from Rabfat, who heard from
a number of the learned, that the Apostle of Allah
(upon whom be peace!) gave in feoff (Iktdat) to
Bill bin el-Hdris el-Muzni, mines (Ma'ddin, i.e. of
gold) in the district of Furd (variant, Kurd).
Moreover, it was related to me by Amru el-Ndkid,
and by Ibn Saham el-Antdki (of Antioch), who both
declared to have heard from El-Haytham bin Jamil
el-Antdki, through Hammdd bin Salmah, that Abu
Makin, through Abd Ikrimah Mauld Bildl bin el-
H4ris el-Muzni, had averred ‘ The Apostle of Allah
(upon whom be peace !) enfeoffed the said Bildl with
(a bit of) ground containing a mountain and a (gold)
mine ; that the sons of Bildl sold part of the grant to
one "Umar bin Abd el-’Aziz, when a (gold) mine or,

according to others, two (gold) mines were found in

 

$ ih iY ES J 005 S00 al 55 or

EE —

 

MEDIEVAL GOLD-MINES. 110

it ; that they said to the buyer, Verily we sold to
thee land for cultivation, and we did not sell thee
(gold) mining-ground; that they brought the letter
of the Apostle (upon whom be peace!) in a (bound)
volume : that "Umar kissed it and rubbed it upon
his eyes, and said, Of a truth let me see what hath
come out of it (the mine) and what I have laid out
upon it’ Then he deducted from them the ex-
penses of working and returned to them the surplus.

And I was told by Musa’b el-Zubayri, from
Malik ibn Anas, that the Apostle of Allah (upon
whom be peace!) gave in feoff to Bildl bin Hdris
mines in the district of Fara’ (sz). There is no
difference of opinion among our learned men on this
subject, nor do I know any of our companions who
contradicts (the statement) that the (gold) mine paid
one-fourth per ten (= 214 per cent.) royalty (to the
Bayt el-Mdil, or Public Treasury). Musab further
relates, from El-Zahri, that the (gold) mine defrayed
the Zakdt or poor-rate: he also said that the pro-
portion was one-fifth (= 2 per cent.); like that
which the people of El-Irdk (Mesopotamia) take
to this day from the (gold) mines of El-Fara’ (sz),
and of Nejrdan, and of Z@'l-Marwah, and of Wady
El-Kura* and others. Moreover, the fifth is also
mentioned by Safdin el-Thauri, and by Abd Hanifah

*¥ For an account of these diggings, sce ““ The Gold-Mines of

Midian,” Chap. IX.

  

  
 

 

 

    
   
    
     
   
  
   
  
   
   
 
   
    
   
  
  
  
 
  
 

120 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and Abu Yusuf, as well as by the people of EI-

Irak.”
Follows on my list the celebrated Murdj el-

Dahab, or “Meads of Gold,” by El-Masidi, who died
in A.H. 346 (= A.D. 957), and whose book extends
to AH. 332 (= A.D. 943). Unable to find the trans-
lation of my friend Sprenger, I am compelled to
quote from “ Macoudi. Les Prairies d'Or,” texte et
traduction par C. Barbier de Meynard et Pavet de
Courteille. Société Asiatique, Paris, 1804, vol. 1ii.

pp. 301—305.

“Les théologiens ne sont pas d’accord sur la question de
savoir A quel peuple appartenait Chodib (Shuayb), fils de Nawil,
fils de Rawail, fils de Mour, fils d’Anka, fils de Madian, fils
d’Abraham, lami de Dieu, quoiqu’il soit certain que sa langue
¢tait Varabe. Les uns pensent qu'il appartenait aux races arabes
¢teintes, aux nations qui ont disparu, a quelque une de ces
générations passées dont nous avons parlé. Suivant d'autres, il
sagirait ici des descendants d’el-Mahd, fils de Djandal, fils de
Yassob, fils de Madian, fils d’Abraham, dont Chodib etait frere
par la naissance. De cette race sortit un grand nombre de rois
qui s'étaient dispersés dans des royaumes contigus les uns aux
autres ou séparés. Parmi ces rois il faut distinguer ceux qul
étaient nommés Aboudjed, Hawaz, Houti, Kalamoun, Cafas et
Kourichat* tous, comme nous venons de le dire, fils d’el-Mahd,
fils de Djandal. Les lettres de l'alphabet sont représentées pré-
cisément par les noms de ces rois, ou l'on retrouve les vingt-quatre
lettres sur lesquelles roule VP Aboudjed.+ 11 a été dit beaucoup

 

* This strange legend will be found copied into many sub-
sequent authors.

t El-Abjad, the oldest existing form of the Arabic alphabet; to
judge from its being identical with the Hebrew. It is supposed to
date from after the beginning of the Christian era, when the Himya-
ritic form fell into disuse, and it is now used in chronograms only.

 

 

 

MEDIEVAL ARAB GEOGRAPHERS. 121

d’autres choses a propos de ces lettres, comme nous I'avons fait
remarquer dans cet ouvrage ; mais il n’entre pas dans notre sujet
de rapporter ici tous les systemes contradictoires imaginés pour
Pexpliquer la signification des lettres.* Aboudjed fut roi de la
Mecque et de la partie du Hédjaz qui y confine. Hawaz et Houti
régnerent conjointement dans le pays de Wedd] (EI-Wijh), qui est
le territoire de Tayif, et la portion du Nedjd qui lui est contigué.
Kalamoun exergait la suzeraineté sur le royaume de Madian ; il y
a méme des auteurs qui pensent que son autorité s’étendait con-
jointement sur tous les princes et les pays que nous venons de
nommer. Le chatiment du jour de la nuée (Koran, xxvi. 189) eut
lieu sous le regne de Kalamoun. Chodib appelant ces impies 2 la
pénitence, ils le traiterent de menteur. Alors il les menaga du
chatiment du jour de la nuée, a la suite de quoi une porte du feu
du ciel fut ouverte sur eux. Chodib se retira, avec ceux qui
avaient cru, dans I'endroit connu sous le nom d’el Aikah, qui est
un fourré dans la direction de Madian. Cependant, lorsque les
incrédules sentirent les effets de la vengeance céleste, et que, con-
sumés par une chaleur terrible, ils comprirent enfin la vérité, ils se
mirent a la recherche de Choaib et de ceux qui avaient cru en lui.
Ils les trouverent abrités sous un nuage blanc, doucement rafraichi
par le zéphire, et ne ressentant en rien les atteintes de la douleur.
Ils les chasscrent de cet asile, s'imaginant qu’ils y trouveraient
eux-mémes un refuge contre le fléau qui les poursuivait. Mais
Dieu changea cette nuée en un feu qui se précipita sur leurs tétes.
Mountassir, fils d’el-Moundir el-Médéni, a parlé de ce peuple et a
déploré son triste sort dans des vers ou il dit :

“Les rois des enfants de Houti et de Cafas, qui vivaient dans

 

 

 

* L’auteur est doublement inexact en avancant que 1’ Aboud;ed
se compose de vingt-quatre lettres seulement, d’abord parce que
les six mots qu'il énumere ne renferment que vingt-deux lettres, et
en second lieu, parce qu'il oublie de citer les deux derniers mots
techniques, <5 et as, lesquels complétent les vingt-huit
lettres prises comme valeurs numériques (“Voyez I'Exposé des
signes de numération chez les Orientaux,” par M. Pihan, p. 199
et suiv.). To this I may add that the French translators have sadly
corrupted the words which should be Abjad, Hawwaz, Hutti,
Kaliman, Sa’fas, and Karashat ; whilst Sakhiz and Zuzigh are not
found in the Hebrew and cognate dialects.

F-—y

i

<
J E TT L.5 =.4 4

  

  

  
 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

opulence, et ceux de Hawaz, qui possédaient des palais et des
appartements somptueux,

“Régnaient sur la contrée du Hédjaz, et leur beauté était
semblable a celle des rayons du soleil ou a I’éclat de la lune ;

“Ils habitaient 'emplacement de la maison sainte, ils adou-
cissaient les meeurs de leurs compatriotes et gouvernaient avec
illustration et honneur. . . .

“Rien de plus curieux que l'histoire de ces rois, le récit de leurs
guerres, de leurs actes, de la maniere dont ils s’'emparerent de ces
contrées et établirent leur domination, apres en avoir exterminé
les premieres possesseurs. Ceux-ci étaient des peuples dont nous
avons parlé dans nos précédents ouvrages, en traitant ce sujet;
nous appelons attention dans ce livre sur nos premiers écrits, et
nous engageons le lecteur a les consulter.”

The next in order of seniority is the well-known
Idrisi (A.n. 531 = A.D. 1136). Dr. Badger's Arabic
copy not being paged, he has forwarded to me ex-
tracts from the French translation by M. P. Amadée
Jaubert (Paris, 1836), having first compared them
with the original :—

Tome 1. p. 5: “De cette mer de la Chine
dérive encore le golfe de Colzoum (Kulzum), qui
commence a Bab el-Mandeb,* au point ou se ter-
mine la mer des Indes. Il sétend au nord, en
inclinant un peu vers l'occident, en longeant les

rivages occidentales de I'lemen, le Téhdma, I'H¢é-

djaz, jusqu'au pays de Madian, d’Aila (£/-' Akabal), -

et de FFaran; et se termine a la ville de Colzoum,
dont il tire son nom.”
P. 142: “Les districts fortifiés, dependants de

* The “ Gate of Lamentation,” vulgarly and most erroncously
written, “ Babelmandel.”
)

EL-IDRISI 123

la Mecque, sont . . . Ceux qui sont sous la dépend-
ance de Médine sont . . . Madyan.”

P. 328: “Pour aller de Misr (Cairo) a Yetrib
(sic pro Yathrib), on passe par les lieux suivants,
Ailah (Aylah) Madian,” etc.

P. 333: “Sur les bords de la mer Colzoum est
la ville de Madian (z22z 077g. Madiyan) plus grande
qui Tabouk (Tabtk), et le puits ou Moise (sur qui
soit le salut!) abreuva le troupeau “de Jethro (El-
Shu’ayb). On dit que ce puits est (maintenant) a
sec [Note at foot: Je lis Mu'attilak comme porte
le MS. B., et non Miw'azzamalk,* lecon donnce par
le MS. A.]; et quon a élevé audessus une con-
struction. [eau nécéssaire aux habitants provient
de sources. Le nom de Madiyan (sz) dérive de
celui de la tribu a laquelle Jethro appartenait.
Cette ville offre tres peu de ressources et le com-
merce y est miserable.”

The following notice of Madyan is taken from the
Kitdb el-Bulddn (“ Book of Countries ”),f by Ahmed
ibn Abi Ya'kub bin Wddhih, surnamed El-Ya'kubi
and El-Kadtib (the writer); according to the Arabic

colophon it was completed on the morning of Satur-

* That is, “spoiled,” dry ; instead of “honoured,” respected.
The difference of the words is in the “ pointing ” of the third letter,
and the change of 7 and Z

Tt Not to be confounded with a cosmography of the same
name by Ahmed ibn Yahya el-Shd'ir. Cf. Jowrnal of the Royal
Geographical Society, vol. xx. of 1850, p. 343.

 
 

124 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

day, Shawwdl 21, AH. 607 (= AD. 1210). The
author gives (p. 129, T. G. J. Juynboll, Lugduni
Batavorum, 1861) a description of the route from
Misr (Egypt, here Cairo) to Meccah. The first ten
stages are—1. Jubb el-’Umayrah; 2. El-Kerkirah
(variant, Karkirah); 3. ’Ajrid, the well-known fort
on the direct Suez-Cairo line; 4. Jisr el-Kulzum,
where the Gulf was crossed; and, lastly, six Desert
marches (Mardkil) to Aylah.* The latter station
is described as a fine city upon the shore of the
Salt Sea, the meeting-place of the pilgrim-caravans
from Syria, Egypt, and the Maghrib (West Africa).
It has merchandise in plenty, and its people are a
mixed race (A#klét min el-Nds).f Here also are

sold the fine cloaks called Burdu habaratin, and

* This route, from Suez to El-’Akabah, probably one of the
oldest in this world, has been traversed perfunctorily by Burckhardt
and by Beke. It still wants a detailed survey, and even hieroglyphic
inscriptions may be expected. Beke’s map marks Hawdwit
(“ruins”) near one of his nighting-places, but apparently the
remains were not visited.

t The Syrian Hajj no longer pass through El’Akabah to
Maknd, but inland or eastward of it. The reason is made evident
in Chap. VII.

1 Thus the Khdld or Khari of the old Egyptians, meaning a
“mixed multitude,” were originally Phoenicians and domiciled from
earliest ages about Lake Menzdlah. So the “mixed multitude,”
or mingled people, which followed Israel from Egypt would be a
riff-raff of strangers. D’Herbelot says (sub voce Midian): “Quoyque
les Madianites soient reputez pour Arabes, neanmoins ils ne sont
pas du nombre des Tribus qui partageoient I’Arabie, et dont les
Auteurs nous ont rendu un compte exact dans leur Histoire et
dans leurs Genealogies; de sorte qu'il passe pour un peuple

KITAB EL BULDAN. 125

also known as the Burd of the Apostle of Allah*
(upon whom be peace!). He resumes, “And from
Aylah you march to Sharaf el-Baghl, and from the
latter to Madyan, which is a large and populous
city, with abundant springs and far-flowing streams

of wholesome water; and gardens of flower-beds.
Its inhabitants are a mixed race (A~Alit min el-

Nis). The traveller making Meccah from Aylah

étranger qui s'est établi parmi eux.” Yet, as we have seen by
the foregoing extracts, Madyan was reckoned within the territory
of El-Medinah, ze. the Hejaz.

Caussin de Perceval (“Essai sur I'Histoire des Arabs avant
I'Islamisme ”) regards the old Midianites as one of the “Races -
éteintes ;” and he makes them (vol. i. p. 23) descendants of
Céthura, Abraham’s second wife. In vol. ii. p. 232, he brings the
Banu-Djodhdm (Juzdm) from El-Yemen, and settles them in the
country of the ancient Midianites. He adds: “La region sur
laquelle ils étaient répandus avec leurs freres les Benou-Lakhm,-
et, je crois aussi, avec les familles Codhaites, de Bali (Baliyy) et de
Cayn, touchait par Pouest 2 la Mer Rouge, par le nord au pays
que les Romains appelaient troisieme Palestine, par le sud aux
déserts . . . par lest, enfin, au territoire de Daumat-Djandal
sur laquelle campaient les Benou-Kelb, tribu Codhaite, alors
Chrétienne, et alli¢e ou sujette des Romains.” In vol. iil. p. 1509,
he recounts from the Tarikh el-Kbamisi, and the Sirat el-Rasuil,
how Zayd made an expedition against the “Djodhdm (Juzdm)
established at Madyan on the coast of the Red Sea.” The
warrior captured a number of women and children who were
exposed for sale, but the “Prophet,” hearing the wails of the
mothers, ordered that the young ones should not be sold apart
from the parents.

* The “ Burd,” or *“ Burdah,” was worn by Mohammed, as we
know from a celebrated poem, for which see D’Herbelot, sub voce
“ Bordah.”

{ Michaud (“ Hist. des Croisades,” ii. 27) says: “Une fois

 
  

  
  
  
  
  
   
   
   
   
  
  
  
   
  
   
   
  
   
   
   
 

 

126 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

takes the shore of the Salt Sea, to a place called
'Aynind (variant, 'Uyiin, plural of Ayn, an eye of
water, a fountain): here are buildings and palm-
clumps, and seeking-places (Matalit: see Lane for
the authorities), in which men search for gold.”
Dr. Badger draws my attention to the last sentence,
which seems also to have been noticed by Sprenger
(Alt. Geog. p. 32).*

The following is from the Kitdb Asdr el-Bitad
(“ Book of the Geographical Traditions of Coun-
tries’), by the far-famed Zakariyyd bin Mohammed
bin Mahmud, surnamed El-Kazwini, who died A.H.
653 = A.D. 1255: —“ Madyan” (p. 173, edidit. F.
Woustenfeld, Gottingen, 1848) “is a city of the tribe
(Kaun) of Shu'ayb ‘upon whom be peace!) : it was
founded by Madyan, son of Ibrahim, the Friend (of
Allah), the grandfather of Shuayb. It exports the
merchandise of Tabik between El-Medinah and

qu'il (Saladin) fit maitre de la capitale (Damascus); son armée
victorieuse et or pur appelé Obreysum (Ubraysun ou Hubraysum)
qu'il tirait de Egypte, lui soumirent les autres cités de la Syrie.”
The question is whether this gold was not from Midian : my
friend Yacoub Artin Bey, who supplied me with the quotation,
thinks that it was.

* The most curious form, perhaps, which the ancient Midian-
itic tradition has assumed, was in the thirteenth century, when
the Russians believed that the Tartars, “with their four-cornered
faces,” were the ancient Midianites coming in the latter days to
conquer the world. Lieutenant C. R. Conder, R.E. (“ Tentwork
in Palestine,” Bentley, 1878), has done his best to rival this style
of ethnology by declaring that “the hosts of Midian” were, no
doubt, the ancestors of the modern Bedawin.

   

ELKAZWINI 12%

  

-

El-Shdm (Damascus). In it is the well whence
Musd (upon whom be peace!) watered the flocks of
Shu'dyb, and it is said that the well is of great
depth; and that over it is a building visited by
(pious) men. This settlement Madyan is subject
to the district of Tabarfyyah (Tiberias); and near -
it is the well, and at it a rock which Moses up-
rooted,* and which remains there to the present
day.”

The Imdm Abi'l-Abbds Ahmed ibn Ali Takiyy
el-Din, better known as “El-Makrizi,” wrote his
book El-Mawdiz w'el-I'tibdr fi’ Zikr el-Khitat w'el-
‘Asdr (“The Admonition and Examples in Com-
memorating Habitations and Traditions”) in a.m.
825(= A.D. 1421), during the latter part of the second
Mamlik dynasty ; and he brings down the history
to the reign of Kansu Ghori, whose fort we shall
see at El-’Akabah. He tells us (edition of Got-
tingen, 1848, Sahifah 48), “ The loftiest mountain in
Madyan is called Zubayr.f . . . It is also related

that amongst the settlements of the (Madyanite)

* Alluding to the legend that the shepherds, after watering
their flocks, rolled a great stone over the mouth of the well, so
that the contents might not be used by Jethro’s daughters. Musd
waxed wroth, and, weak as he was with travel, gave the stone
such a kick that it went flying full forty cubits from the spot.
See “ Desert of the Exodus,” Appendix, p. 539.

t A name now unknown to the Bedawin of Madyan. The
culminating peak is now supposed to be either the Shérr, the Jebel
el-Lauz, or the Jebel Zanah.

 
 

128 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

tribe are the villages of Petraea ( ysl), namely,
the Kurat (circuit) of El-Tor, and Fdrdn (Pharan),
and Rdyeh, and Kulzum, and Aylah (El-’Akabah)
with its surroundings; Madyan with its surroundings;
and Awid and Haurd (Leuke-Kdéme) with their sur-
roundings, and Badd * and Shaghab.”f He speaks
of many ruined cities whose inhabitants had disap-

peared : forty, however, remained ; some with, and

others without, names. Between El-Hejaz and
Egypt-Syria were sixteen cities, ten of them lying
towards Palestine. The most important were El-
Khalasah,} with its idol-temple destroyed by Mo-
hammed, and El-Sanitah, whose stones had been
removed to build Ghazzah (Gaza). The others were
El-Mederah, El-Minyah, El-A’'waj, El-Khuwayrak,
El-Birayn, EI-Mdayn, EI-Sebd, and El-Mu'allak. §
The Mardsid el-Ittild’ ’ald Asma el-Amkanat

wel-Bukd’ (“ Observations of Information on the

* The Badais of Ptolemy, which we shall presently visit.

+ A large ruin east of Zibd, also visited.

I For a notice of El-Khalasah, also called El-Khulusah, El-
Khulsah, or Zu'l-Khalasah, consult the art. “ Midian,” Smith’s
“Dict. of the Bible,” by E. S. Poole, vol. ii. p. 356. For the
Khalasah of the Negeb, “where Venus was worshipped with all
the licentious pomp of the Pagan ritual,” see Professor Palmer's
“ Desert of the Exodus,” p. 385. The text, however, alludes to a
ruin called El-Khulasah, one march from El-Muwaylah to the
east (Chap. VIIL).

§ El-Mederah is possibly Hasiyat el-Madrd, which, like El-
A’waj, El-Birayn, and Ma’in, is now included in Syria. El-
Mu’allak may be Jebel Yalak,—at least, so say the Bedawin.

 

 

 

DR. BADGER. 129

Names of Places and Countries”), which contains two
dates in the body of the work, viz. A.1. 997 (= A.D.
1589) and A.H. 1168 (A.D. =1755), and which is
probably compiled from El-Kazwini, says sub voce
Madyan, after giving the “ movement” of the word :
“It 1s a city of the tribe of Shu'ayb, opposite Tabuik,
and upon the sea of El-Kulzum, six stages (Marihil)
separating the two. It is larger than Tabuk, and in
it is the well whence Moses watered the flocks of
Shu'ayb.” Finally, it repeats that Madyan is under
the district of “ Tabariyyd” or Tiberias * (vol. iii.
p. 64, edidit. T. G. J. Juynboll, Lugduni Batavorum,
1854, e duobus Codd. MSS.).

[ conclude this unpopular chapter with some
remarks by Dr. Badger concerning the apparent
connection of Jethro and El-Medinah : § “It struck
me when studying ¢ Madyan,” which is the name of
a place as well as of a man,I that ‘ Ydthrib, the
ancient term of al-Madinah, might have served the

* In the last remark, also found in El-Kazwini{, the Madyan of
F1-Shu’ayb is referred to the district of Tiberias. Thus it would
belong to Syria, whilst the majority of geographers refer it to the
Hejaz, and a minority to Fl-Yemen,

t+ Alluded to in a note to p. 331 of “The Gold-Mines of
Midian,” etc.

I This means only according to Hebrew and Arabic tradition,
neither of them being, in this case, of much value. As I re.
marked before (“ The Gold-Mines of Midian,” p. 177), the hiero-
glyphic name of the land is Midi, in the plural Mddi-dn or
Midi-né ; on the other hand, we have no information concerning

the origin and derivation of Madi, except that it is not Egyptian.
VOL. L K

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

same double purpose. At all events, it was singular
to find a Ydthrib somewhere near Madyan, and
that the word was not far removed from the mn
(Yithro), the name given in Hebrew to Moses’ Midi-

anite father-in-law. I also note that the Septuagint
renders the Hebrew Yithro by 'Todép; the Peshito
by OIA (Yathrtin), which the new Arabic version

of the Bible, published at Bairut (Syria), follows;

making it es y= (Ydthran). The name in Hebrew
(Exod. iv. 18) is also written an (Yether).

“My theory is this. Firstly, there is no depend-
ence to be placed on the Masoretic points, especially
when affixed to names of places. Secondly, we
have no certain knowledge of the language used by
the Midianites in those ancient times. Their terri-
tory extended northwards towards Palestine, and
from their very intimate relations with the Israelites,
as friends and as enemies, both nations appear to
have understood each other perfectly. May not
their language, then, have been a dialect of the
Aramean ? * If so, the mn (Yithro) of the Bible
might have been aw» (Yithrab, Yathrib, etc.). In-
stances of the apocopated 13 (b) are common in the
Chaldean or Syro-Chaldaic at the present day;

* None of the tribes or families now inhabiting Midian repre-
sent the ancient Midianites ; and all speak the vulgar half-Fellah
Arabic, without any difference of accent or vocabulary from their
neighbours.

 

 

 

MR. FE. STANLEY POOLE. 131

e.g. Joud)aow, (Ydheb Alaha) is pronounced Yau-
Alaka ; >4v0a (Yashud'-yaheb) becomes Vasihua'-
yan, etc., the final Beth & (b) or the ao (heb) being
converted into a © (w). Hence why may not
ny (Yithro) have been originally 2am (Yithrab or
Yathrib) ? Of course, this is only a conjecture of
mine.”

Mr. E. Stanley Poole (loc. cit.) says that the
Arabs dispute whether the name “Medyen” be
foreign or Arabic; and whether “ Medyen” spoke
Arabic. He considers the absurd enumeration of
the alphabetical kings (El-Masidi, quoted above)
to be curious, as possibly containing some vague
reference to the language of Midian. When these
kings are said contemporaneously to have ruled
over Meccah, Western Nejd, Yemen, “Medyen,”
Egypt, etc., it is extremely improbable that Midian
ever penetrated into Yemen, notwithstanding the
hints of Arab authors to the contrary. Ydkit el-
Hamawi (born A.H. 574 or 575 = A.D. 1178-79, and
died A.H. 626 = A.D. 1228), in the Mu'jam el-Bulddn
(cited in the Fourn. of the Deutsch. Morgen. Gesell-
schaft), declares that a South Arabic dialect is of
Midian, and El-Mas'idi (apud Schultens, pp. 158-
159) inserts a Midianite king among the rulers of
Yemen. The latter, however, is more probable than
the former; it may be an accidental and individual,

not a material occurrence.

 
 

   
 
  
   
   
 
  
    
  
 
 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
       
  
   
   
   
     
 
  

 

132 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

The following list of ruins, some cities, others
towns, were all, with two exceptions (Nos. 2 and 18),
visited or explored by the second Khedivial Expe-
dition. The Mashghal, ateliers or subsidiary work-

shops, were in cases learned only by hearsay :—

1. Old ’Akabah (Aylah) Mashghal, up Valley el-Yitm. 3.

2. El-Hakl (pronounced ¢ Hagul”), the AykdAn of Ptolemy :
it was seen from the sea, and notes were taken of its ruins and
furnaces.

3. Nakhil Tayyib Ism, in mountain of the same name: its
ruined dam (?) and buildings were surveyed by Lieutenant Amir.

4. Maknd. Twice visited.

5. Maghdir Shu’ayb. Two afeliers inspected, and one heard
of on the Jebel el-Lauz: total, 3.

6. ’Ayninah. In Jebel Zahd (ruins and furnaces). 1.

7. Sharma. An atelier on the Jebel Fas, and another on the
Jebel Harb, both high up: total, 2.

8. Tiryam. An atelier in the Wady Urnub. 1.

9. Abu Hawdwit, near El-Muwaylah. Scorie found about the
fort of El-Muwaylah and near Sharm Yaharr. 2.

ro. Zibayyib in Wady Surr. Atelier Sayl Umm Laban
(Wady Sadr). 1.

ri. Khulasah.* Saw specimens of worked metal from Wady
Kh’shabriyyah, and the upper Wady Surr; also ruins in the Sayl
Abi Sha'r, south-west and seawards of the Shdrr block.

12. Ma el-Bada’, alias Diyar el-Nasdrd, in the upper Wady
Damabh.

13. Shuwdk, the Zdaxa of Ptolemy. Atelier in Jebel el-
Sant’. 1.

14. Shaghab, another large city mentioned by El-Makrizi.

15. Ruins of El-Khandaki. Broken quartz, and made road at
El-Kutayyifah ; two other ateliers in Wady Ruways to the west:
total, 3.

16. Unm Amil. Near it an atelier still called El-Dayr, or
the Convent. 71.

* See the preceding notes on El-Makrizi.

ES

 

CR e—

Terie RE

iE

EE ER ER

 

  
  

 

LIST OF RUINED 70 INS. 1

&
I

  

17. Zibd, old town ; Umm Jirmah to the north. 1.

18. Majirmah (pronounced M’jirmah), one day’s march south
of Ziba. Large ruins, supposed to have been the classical
Rhaunathos.

Thus, besides a total of eighteen ruins, more or
less extensive, twenty afeliers were seen or heard
of; making up a total of thirty-eicht—not far re-
moved from the forty traditional settlements of the
medieval Arab geographers.

In the plateau of New Red Sandstone called
El-Hismd, ruins and inscriptions are said to be
found at the Jebel Rawiydn, whose Wady is men-
tioned by Wallin (p. 308); at Rudfd, between the
two hills El-Rakhamatayn; and at sundry other
places, which we were unable to visit. Beyond the
Hisma I also collected notices of El-Kardyyd, large
ruins first alluded to by Wallin (p. 316).%

During our exploration of the region below El-
Muwaylah (my Southern Midian), and our cruise
to’ El-Haura, the following sites were either seen
or reported :—

1. Ruins in the Wady Dukhdn, south of the Wady el-Azlam :
north of E1-Wijh.

2. El-Nabaghah, in the Wady el-Marrah : north of El-Wijh.

3. Ruins, furnaces and quartz-strews, in the Fara’t Lebayyiz.

4. El-Wijh, the port of Strabo’s ¢ Egra” (?).

5. Inland fort of EI-Wijh ; an old metal-working ground.

6. The great mine and ruins, Umm el-Karayyat, everywhere
surrounded by atelier.

* The Ma’dzah spoke of Awnatir (arches, w.e. aqueducts) and

Drban (doors or catacombs).

 
  

 
   
  
  
  
  
   
  
    
    
  
 
  
  
   
  
  
 
 
    
  
  
   
 
  
  

 

 

134 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

7. El-LKubbah, a small isolated ruin to the east of No. 6.

8. El-Khaur, a working-place to the west of No. 6.

9. The large works called Umm el-Hardb, with two ruined
aleliers near them.

10. Aba’l-Gezdz, a working-place in the watercourse of the same
name, an upper branch of the Wady Salbah.

11. The fine plain of Badd, with the Mashghal el” Arayfit heard
of to the north.

12. Marwdt, ruins on a ridge near Badd, and signs of a settlement
in the valley. Inthe Wady Laylah, remains also spoken of.

13. Aba’l-Mard, probably the Zu'l-Marwah of Bildzuri; exten-
sive remains of buildings ; a huge reef of quartz, carefully worked,
and smaller ruins further down the valley.

14. The classical temple or tomb on the left bank of the
great Wady Hamz, dividing Southern Midian from El-Hejaz in
the Turkish dominions.

15. Large remains, in two divisions, at El-Haurd.*

Concerning the ateliers, details will be found in
the following pages. Many of them suggest a kind
of compromise between the camps and settlements

 

* I inquired in vain concerning the ruins near Sharm Burayt-
tah, south of Yambu’ in the Harb country. Wellsted, who visited
the site (1. xi.), conjectures them to be Niebuhr’s “ El-Jar.” He
makes that near the point “as large as Yembo, extending about
a mile in length, and half that space in breadth, with a square fort
in the vicinity, the remains of which have towers at the corners
and gates.” Near the middle on either side, the tall walls are six
feet thick, strong enough where artillery is unknown. At the
landing-place are a quay paved with large hewn stones, and a jetty
of solid masonry in ruins. The sailors dug and found only shape-
less fragments of corroded copper and brass; coloured glass, as
usual more opaque than the modern, and earthenware of the kind
scattered about Egyptian ruins. About one mile from the fort
were other remains, built of coral, now much blackened by ex-
posure; and similar constructions on the further side of the
Sharm could not be examined, as the Harb Bedawin were jealous
and hostile.

 

 

  

GYPSIES (2). 135

  

of the Stone Age, where, ¢.¢. at Pressigny and Grimes’
Graves, the only remnant of man is a vast strew of
worked silexes; and the wandering fraternity of
Freemasons who hutted themselves near the work
in hand. And I would here lay special stress upon
my suspicion that the ancestors of the despised
Hutaym may have been the Gypsy-caste that
worked the metals in Midian.

For the date of the many ruins which stud the
country, I will assume empirically that their de-
struction is coeval with that of the Christian
Churches in Negeb, or the South Country,® that
adjoins Midian Proper on the north-west. It may
date from either the invasion of Khusrau Andushira-
wan, the conquering Sassanian King Chosroes (A.D.
531—579); or from the expedition, sent by the
Caliph Omar and his successors, beginning in A.D.
651. But, as will appear in the course of these
pages, there was a second destruction; and that
evidently dates from the early sixteenth century,
when Sultdn Selim laid out his maritime road for
the Hajj-caravan. Before that time the Egyptian
caravans, as will be seen, marched inland, and often
passed from Midian to EI-Hijr.

* The name is from Gen. xx. 1, and it signifies the country
lying to the south of Palestine. See “The Negeb,” by the late
Rev. E. Wilton (London, 1863), and vol. ii. “ The Desert of the
Exodus,” so often alluded to in these pages.

 
CHAPTER V.
WORK AT, AND EXCURSIONS FROM, MAGHAIR SHU AYB.

By the blessing of Nebi Shu’ayb and a glance from
his eyrie, I at once suspected that the western Shigd
was the “Mountain on a mountain” alluded to by
Haji Wali; * and, on January 12, 1878, I ascer-
tained that such was the case. The old man had
given me a hand-sketch of the most artless, showing
a gorge between two rocks, a hill of two stages to
the left or west, and a couple of Wadys draining
it to the sea; one (Wady Maknd) trending north-
west, and the other (Wady "Afdl) south-west. The
word “Ishmah,” affixed to the northern part of the
route, is evidently the Hismd plateau, and not, as |
had supposed it to be, the Jebel Tayyib Ism.

Nor had we any difficulty in discovering Haji
Wali’s tree, a solitary Mimosa to the right of the
caravan-track, springing from the sands of the Shig-

dawayn gorge. The latter is formed by the sister-

* “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. 1X.

HAJ! WALL 137

blocks before alluded to. The western Shigd, on
the right of the Wady "Afdl, is composed of carbonate
of lime and sandstones dyed with manganese, the
whole resting upon a core of grey granite; the
formation 1s the same as the eastern feature, but
the lines of the latter are gentler, and the culmi-
nating tower is wanting.

The western Shigd, indeed, is sufficiently pecu-
liar. It is the southern apex of a short range,
numbering some four heads: the eastern flank dis-
charges the Wady Kizdz, which feeds the ’Afdl ; and
the western the Wady Maknd. The summit of the

broken and spiny cone is a huge perpendicular block,

apparently inaccessible as a tower, and composed of

the dull yellow ferruginous conglomerate called
“ El-Safrd:” the tint contrasts strongly with a long
line of bright white Aug/ane (gypsum), bisecting the
head of the Wady Maknd. Below the apex is a
thick stratum of manganese-stained rock : the upper
line, with a dip of 15° towards the main valley,
looks much like a row of bulwarks which had
slipped from the horizontal, while still bluff between
the north-east and east. Indeed, the shape is so
regular that M. Lacaze, at first sight, asked if it was
une construction.

As soon as the washing-trough was brought up
from Sharmd, we opened operations by digging a

trench, at least twelve feet deep, in the re-entering

 
138 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

angle of the bed close to the Mimosa tree. The
sand, pink above and chloritic yellow below, ended
in a thick bed of water-rolled pebbles, not in ground-
rock ; nor did it show the couch of excellent clay
which usually underlies the surface, and which, I
have said, is extracted through pits to make sun-dried
brick, swish, and other building materials. We also
secured some of the blood-red earth from the eastern

tail of the northern “Shigd,” the manganese-stained

Zaud and the gravelly sand washed out of the
Cascalhwo-gravel, the latter very promising. The
result of our careless working, however, was not
successful ; the normal ilmenite, black sand of mag-
netic iron, took the place of gold-dust. And this
unlooked-for end again made us suspicious of my
old friend's proceedings : the first occasion was that
of his notable “ malingering.” Had he bought a pinch
of “Tibr” (pure gold) from the Bedawin, and mixed
it with the handful of surface stuff? Had the assayer
at Alexandria played him a trick? Or had an
exceptionally heavy torrent really washed down
auriferous “tailings”? I willingly believe the latter
to have been the case; and we shall presently see
it is within the range of possibility. Traces of gold
were found by Lieutenant-Colonel W. A. Ross,
through his pyrological process, in the sandy clays
brought from the mouth of Wady Makn4.

Mecanwhile, despite our magnificent offers, the

 

 

GOLD-CHEST. 139

Arabs managed to keep inviolate their secret—if
they had one. An old man, now a rich merchant
and householder at Suez, had repeatedly declared
to Mr. A. G. K. Levick, that in his young days the
Bedawin washed gold in Midian, till the industry fell
into disrepute. During my last visit he was unfor-
tunately absent upon a pilgrimage; after our return
he asserted that he had sent for specimens of the
sand, but that it paid too little even for transport.
This Abd el-Hdmid el-Shdmi, interviewed, after
our return, by Mr. Clarke, declared more than once,
and still declares, that many years ago he obtained
from the Wady Zibd, behind the settlement, a cer-
tain quantity of reddish sand which appeared auri-
ferous. He roasted and washed the contents of
three small baskets called “ Coffas” * by Europeans ;
and this yielded a pinch of “what looked like pure
gold.”

In camp our men spoke freely of Tibr stored
in quills, carried behind the ear, and sold at Suez
—not at Cairo for fear of consequences. Yet
neither promises nor bribes would persuade the
poorest to break through the rule of silence. The
whole might have been a canard : on the other hand,
there was also a valid reason for reticence ; the open
mouth would not long have led to a sound throat.

So our many informants contented themselves with

* Kiifuh (43,48 or 4s..) In Persian means a basket or a coffin.
’ J

 
I40 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

telling us frequent tales of gold ornaments picked up
after rain; they showed us a ring made from a bit
found on the Tabik road, and they invariably assure
us that we shall find wondrous things—about the
next station.

At Maghair Shu’ayb we wasted a whole fortnight
(January 11—24, 1878) in vain works; and I after-
wards bitterly repented that the time had not been
given to South Midian. Yet the delay was pleasant
enough, after the month which is required to acquire,
or to recover, the habit of tent-life. The halting-day
was mostly spent as follows :—At six a.m., and some-
what later on cold mornings, the ZBoruji sounds
his réveillé— Kum, ya Habibi, sil el-Nawm (“ Rise,
friend! sleep is done”), as the Egyptian officers in-
terpret the call. A curious business he makes of it,
when his fingers are half frozen; yet Bugler Mersdl
Abu Dunya is a man of ambition, who persistently,
and despite the coarse laughter of Europeans, repairs
for quiet practising to the bush. We drink tea or
coffee made by Engineer Ali Marie, or by Quarter-
master Yusuf, not by Europeans; two camels supply
us with sweet milk; butter we have brought; and
nothing is wanted for complete comfort but bread.

We then separate to our work, after telling off
the quarrymen to their several tasks. Inveterate
idlers and ne’er-do-weels, their only object in life is

not to labour; a dozen of them will pass a day in

TENT LIFE. 141

breaking ten pounds’ weight of stone. They pound
in the style of the Eastern tobacconist, with a very
short stroke and a very long stay. At last they
burst the sieves in order to enjoy a quieter life.
They will do nothing without superintendence;
whilst the officer is absent they sit and chat, smoke,
or lie down to rest; and they are never to be en-
trusted with a water-skin or a bottle of spirits. The
fellows will station one of their number on the
nearest hill, whilst their comrades enjoy a sounder
sleep ; they are the greatest of cowards, and yet
none would thus have acted sentinel even in the
presence of the enemy. These useful articles all
expect a liberal “bakhshish” when the journey is
done, with the usual Asiatic feeling: they know
that they deserve nothing, but my “dignity ” obliges
me to largess. On this occasion it did not.

Those told off to dig prefer to make a deep pit,
because fewer can work together at it, rather than
scrape off and sift the two feet of surface which

yield “antikds.” They rob what they can: every

scrap of metal—stylus, manilla, or ring—is carefully

tested, scraped, broken or filed, in order to see
whether it be gold. Punishment is plentifully ad-
ministered, but in vain ; we cannot even cure their
unclean habits of washing in and polluting the foun-
tain source. Three Europeans would easily do the

work of these thirty poor devils.

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Mr. Clarke is our camp-manager in general : he
is also our jdger; he shoots the wild poultry, duck
and partridge, sand-grouse, and “ Bob White ” the
quail, for half our dinners; and the Arabs call him
the “Angel of Death belonging to the Birds.” He
failed to secure a noble eagle in the Wady ’Af4l,
whose nest was built upon an inaccessible cliff: he
described the bird as standing as high as our table,
and with a width of six to seven feet from wing to
wing. He also brought tidings of a large (horned ?)
owl, possibly the same species as the fine bird noted
at Sinai. The Arabs call it classically Bimah, and
vulgarly Umm Kuwayk (“ Mother of Squeaking”) :

the Fellahin believe that it sucks out children’s eyes,
and hence their name, “ Massdsah.” Here, as in

the Sinaitic Peninsula, “the owl and the hyena are
used as charms; and the burnt feathers of the
former, and the boiled flesh of the latter (superior
filth!), are considered as infallible specifics for
numerous disorders.” In other parts of Arabia the
hooting of the owl portends death; and the cry,
Fdat—fat, is interpreted, “ He is gone, gone.”

The two Staff-officers make plans and sketches
of the new places, or they protract their field-books,
working very hard and very slowly. I have but
little confidence in their route-surveys: sights are
taken from mule-back, and distances are judged by
the eye. True, the protractions come out well, but

TENT.LIFE. 143

this is all the worse, suggesting the process commonly
called “doctoring.” For the style of thing, however,
“dead reckoning” did well enough.

M. Lacaze is the most ardent. Accompanied by
his favourite orderly, Saldmat el-Nahhds, an intelli-
gent negro from Ddr-For, he sets out after breakfast
with a bit of bread, a flagon of water, a tent-umbrella,
and his tools, which he loses with remarkable punc-
tuality, to spend the whole day sketching, painting,
and photographing. M. Philipin is our useful man :
he superintends the washing-cradle ; he wanders far
and wide, gun in hand, bringing us specimens of
everything that strikes the eye; and he is great at
his forge : the Bedawin sit for hours, gazing atten-
tively as he converts a file into a knife, and illus-
trating the reverence with which, in early days, men
regarded Vulcan and Wayland Smith.

At eleven a.m. the bugle sounds 77/77 taakul /
(“Run and feed”), a signal for dgeuner a la fourchette.
It is a soup, a stew, and a Puldo (“ pilaff”’) of rice
and meat, sheep or goat, the only provisions that
poor Midian can afford, accompanied by onions and
garlic, which are eaten like apples, washed down
with bon ordinaire, followed by cheese when we
have it, and ending with tea or coffee. George the
cook proves himself an excellent man when deprived
of oil and undemoralized by contact with his fellow
Greeks. After feeding, the idlers, who have slum-

 
144 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

bered, or rather have remained in bed, between

eight p.m. and six to seven a.m., generally manage a

couple of hours’ siesta, loudly declaring that they
have been wide awake. One of the party seems to

live by the blessing of him who invented sleep, and

he is always good for half of the twenty-four hours
—how #/ey must envy him whose unhappy brains
can be stupefied only by poisonous chloral !

At two p.m., after drinking tea or coffee once more,
we proceed to another four hours’ spell of work. As
sunset and the cold hours draw near, all assemble
about the fire, generally two or three huge palm-
trunks, whose blaze gladdens the soul of the lonely
night-sentinel ; and, assembling the Shaykhs of the
Arabs, we gather from them information geographical,
historical, and ethnological. The amount of inven-
tion, of pure fancy, of airy lying, is truly sensational ;
while at the same time they conceal from us every-
thing they can; and, more especially, everything we
most wish to know. Firstly, they do not want us to
spy out the secrets of the land; and, secondly, they
count upon fleecing us through another season.
During the whole day, but notably at this hour,
we have the normal distractions of the Arabian
journey. One man brings, and expects “bakhshish”
for, a bit of broken metal or some ridiculous stone:
another grumbles for meat; and a third wants

tobacco, medicine, or something to be had for the

TENT LIFE. 145

asking. Iam careful to pay liberally, as by so doing
the country is well scoured.

Dinner, at seven p.m., is a copy of what was
served before noon. It is followed by another
sitting round the fire, which is built inside the mess-
tent when cold compels. At times the conversation
lasts till midnight; and, when cognac or whisky is
plentiful, I have heard it abut upon the Battle of
Waterloo and the Immortality of the Soul. Pzguet and
dearté are reserved for life on board ship. Our only
reading consists of newspapers, which come by camel-
post every three weeks; and a few “ Tauchnitz,”
often odd volumes. I marvel, as much as Hamlet
ever did, to see the passionate influence of the story-
teller upon those full-grown children, bearded men ;
to find them, in the midst of this wild new nature, so
utterly absorbed by the fictitious weal and woe of
some poor creature of the author's brain, that they
neglect even what they call their “meals;” allow
their “teas” to cool, and strain their eyesight poring
over page after page in the dim light of a rusty
lantern. Thus also the Egyptian, after sitting in
his café with all his ears and eyes opened their
widest, whilst the story-teller drones out the old tale
of Abi Zayd, will dispute till midnight, and walk
home disputing about what, under such and such
circumstances, they themselves would have done.

To me the main use of “ Tauchnitz” was to make

VOL. I L

 
146 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

Arabia appear the happier, by viewing, from the
calm vantage-ground of the Desert, the meanness
and the littlenesses of civilized life—in novels.

The marching-day is only the halting-day in
movement. By seven a.m. in winter and four a.m.
in spring, we have breakfasted and are ready to
mount mule or dromedary; more generally, however,
we set out, accompanied by the Sayyid and the
Shaykhs, for a morning walk. The tents and, most
important of all, the tent-table are left to follow
under the charge of the Egyptian officers, who
allow no dawdling. With us are the cook and the
two body-servants, riding of course: they carry
meat, drink, and tobacco in my big tin cylinder
intended to collect plants; and they prefer to give
us cold whilst we fight for hot breakfasts. After
resting between ten a.m. and noon in some shady
spot, generally under a thorn, we ride on to the
camping-ground, which we reach between two and
three p.m. This is the worst part of the day for
man and beast, especially for the mules—hence the
necessity of early rising.

The average work rarely exceeds six hours
(= eighteen to twenty miles). Even this, if kept
up day after day, is hard labour for our montures,
venerable animals whose chests, galled by the
breast-straps, show that they have not been broken
to the saddle. Accustomed through life to ply

MULES. 147

in a state of semi-somnolence, between Cairo and
the Citadel, they begin by proving how unintelligent
want of education can make one of the most intel-
ligent of beasts. They trip over every pebble, and
are almost useless on rough and broken ground ;
they start and swerve at a man, a tree, a rock, a
distant view or a glimpse of the sea; they will not
leave one another, and they indulge their pet dis-
likes : this shies at a camel, that kicks at a dog.
Presently Zamaddun, as the Arabs say, “urbanity,”
or, more literally, being “citified,” asserts itself, as in
the human cockney; and at last they become cleverer
and more knowing than any country-bred. They
climb up the ladders of stone with marvellous caution,
and slip down the slopes of sand on their haunches;
they round every rat-hole which would admit a hoof;
and they know better than we do where water is.
They are not always well treated ; the “galloping
griff” is amongst us, who enjoys “lambing” and
“bucketing ” even a half-donkey. Of course, the
more sensible animal of the two is knocked up;
whilst the rider assumes the airs of one versed in
the Laute dole. The only difficulty, by no fault of the
mules, was the matter of irons: shoeless they could
travel only in sand; and, as has been said, the farrier
was forgotten.

Amongst our recreant Shaykhs I must not

include Furayj bin Raffa el-Huwayti, a man of

 
148 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

whom any tribe might be proud, and a living proof
that the Bedawi may still be a true gentleman. A
short figure, meagre of course, as becomes the
denizen of the Desert, but “hard as nails,” he has
straight comely features, a clean dark skin, and a com-
paratively full beard, already, like his hair, waxing
white, although he cannot be forty-five. A bullet in
the back, and both hands distorted by sabre-cuts,
attempts at assassination due to his own kin, do
not prevent his using sword, gun, and pistol. He
is the "Agid of the tribe, the African “ Captain of
War;” as opposed to the civil authority, the Shayhk,
and to the judicial, the Kdzi. At first it is some-
what startling to hear him prescribe a slit weasand
as a cure for lying; yet he seems to be known,
loved, and respected by all around him, including
his hereditary foes, the Ma'dzah. He is the only
Bedawi in camp who prays. Naturally he is a
genealogist, rich in local lore. He counteracts all
the intrigues by which that rat-faced little rascal,
Shaykh Hasan el-’Ukbi, tries to breed mischief
between friends. He is a walking map; it would
be easy to draw up a rude plan of the country from
his information. He does not know hours and
miles, but he can tell to a nicety the comparative
length of a march; and, when ignorant, he has the
courage to say AM adri, “don’t know.” He never

asked me for anything, nor told a lie, nor even hid

SHAYKH FURAY]. 149

a water-hole. Willing and ready to undertake the
longest march, the hardest work, his word is Hazir
—“I'm here”—and he will even walk to mount a
tired man. Seated upon his loud-voiced little
Hijn,* remarkable because it is of the noble Bishdri
strain, bred between the Nile and the Red Sea, he
is ever the guide in chief. At last it ends with
Nadi Shaykh Furay; /— “Call Shaykh Furayj —
when anything is to be done, to be explained, to be
discovered. I would willingly have recommended
him for the chieftainship of his tribe, but he is not
wealthy ; he wisely prefers to see the dignity in the
hands of his cousin ’'Alaydn, who, by-the-by, is
helpless without him. He remained with us to the
end : he seemed to take a pride in accompanying
the expedition by sea to El-Haurd, and by land to
the Wady Hamz, far beyond the limits of his tribe.
When derided for mounting a pair of Government
“bluchers,” tied over bare feet; with bits of glaring

tassel-string from his camel-saddle, he quoted the

* Roaring when the rider mounts, halts, or dismounts, is con-
sidered a proof of snobbish blood among the Bishdrin : for some
months the camel-colt is generally muzzled on such occasions till
it learns the sterling worth of silence.

For an admirable description, far too detailed to place before
the general public, of the likeness and the difference between the
dromedary of the Bisharin and the Nu'mani and Maskati, the
purest blood of the Arabs, see pp. 145—154, “L’ Etbaye, etc.,
Mines d Or,” by my old friend Linant de Bellefonds Bey, now
Sulayman Pasha. Paris: Arthus Bertrand (no date).

 
150 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

proverb, “Whoso liveth with a people forty days

becomes of them.” We parted after the most
friendly adieu, or rather ax revoir, and he was
delighted with some small gifts of useful weapons :—
I wonder whether Shaykh Furayj will prove “milk,”
to use Sir Walter Scott's phrase, “which can stand
more than one skimming,

In such wild travel, the traveller's comfort
depends mainly upon weather. Usually the air
of Maghdir Shu’ayb was keen, pure, and invigor-
ating, with a distinct alternation of land-breeze by
night, and of sea-breeze by day. N othing could be
more charming than the flushing of the mountains
at sunrise and sunset, and the magnificence of the
windy, wintry noon. The rocky spires, pinnacles,
and domes, glowing with gorgeous golden light,
and the lower ranges, shaded with hazy blue,
umber-red, and luminous purple, fell into picture
and formed prospects indescribably pure and pellu-
cid. But the average of the aneroid (29°19) gave
an altitude of eight hundred feet; and even in
this submaritime region, the minimum temperature
was 42° F., ranging to a maximum of 85°F. in the
shade. These are extremes which the soft Egyptian
body, reared in the house or the hut, could hardly
support.

Darwaysh Effendi followed suit after Yusuf
Effendi; it was a study to see him swathed to the

 

CLIMATE. 151

nose, bundled in the thickest clothes, with an
umbrella opened against the sun, and with a soldier
leading his staid old mule. Bukhayt Ahmar and
several of the soldiers were laid up ; Ahmed Kaptdn
was incapacitated for work by an old and inveterate
hernia, the effect, he said, of riding his violent little
beast ; and a sound ague and fever, which continued
three days, obliterated in my own case the last evils
of Karlsbad. We had one night of rain (January 15),
beginning gently at 2.30 a.m., and ending in a heavy
downfall—unfortunately a pluviometer was one of
the forgotten articles. Before the shower, earth
was dry as a bone; shortly after it, sprouts of the
greenest grass began to appear in the low places,
and under the shadow of the perennial shrubs.
The cold damp seemed to make even the snakes
torpid : for the first time in my life I trod upon
one—a clairvoyante having already warned me
against serpents and scorpions. There were also
bursts of heat, ending in the normal three grey days
of raw piercing norther; and followed by a still
warmer spell. Upon the Gulf of El-’Akabah a
violent gale was blowing. On the whole the winter
climate of inland Midian is trying, and a speedy
return to the seaboard air is at times advisable,
while South Midian feels like Thebes after Cairo.
The coast climate is simply perfect, save and except
when El-Ayli, the storm-wind from 'Akabat Aylah,

 
152 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

is abroad. My meteorological journal was carefully
kept, despite the imperfection of the instruments.
Mr. Clarke registered the observations during my
illness ; Mr. Duguid and Ndsir Kaptdn made simul-
taneous observations on board the ships; and Dr.
Maclean kindly corrected the instrumental errors
after our return to Cairo. *

I had proposed to march upon the Hismd, or sandy
plateau to the east, which can be made from Mag-
hdir Shu’ayb without the mortification of a Nab, or
ladder of stone. Thereupon our Tagaygdt-Huwaytdt
Shaykhs and camel-men began to express great
fear of the 'Imran-Huwaytdt, refusing to enter their
lands without express leave and the presence of a
Ghaftr (“surety”). Our caravan-leader, the gallant
Sayyid, at once set off in search of ’Brahim bin
Makbul, second chief of the 'Imrdn, and recognized
by the Egyptian Government as the awocat,
spokesman and diplomatist, the liar and intriguer
of his tribe. This man was found near El-Hakl
(Hagul), two long marches ahead: he came in
readily enough, holding in hand my kerchief as a
pledge of protection, and accompanied by three
petty chiefs, Musallam, Sa'd, and Mubhaysin, all
with an eye to “bakhshish.” In fact, every naked-

footed “cousin,” a little above the average clansman,

* The contents worked into shape by Mr. William J. Turner,
of the Royal Geographical Society, appear in the Appendix.

 

 

ARAB TRICKERY. 153

would call himself a Shaykh, and claim his Mu-
shaéhirak, or monthly pay; not a cateran came
near us but affected to hold himself dishonoured
if not provided at once with the regular salary.
‘Brahim was wholly beardless, and our Egyptians
quoted their proverb, Sabil el-Kurid, wa ld Sabin
el- Ajriid— Better (see ill-omened) monkeys in the
morning than the beardless man.” As the corrup-
tion of the best turns to the worst, so the Bedawi, a
noble race in its own wilds, becomes thoroughly
degraded by contact with civilization. I remember
a certain chief of the Wuld Ali tribe, near Damascus,
who was made a Freemason at Bayrit, and the
result was that “brother” Mohammed became a
model villain.

By way of payment for escort and conveyance to
the Hismd, 'Brahim expected a recognition of his
claim upon the soil of Maghdir Shu'ayb, which
belongs to the wretched Masd'id. He held the true
Ishmaelitic tenet, that as Sayyidnd (our Lord) Adam
had died intestate, so all men (Arabs) have a right
to all things, provided the right can be established
by might. Hence the saying of the Fellah, “ Shun
the Arab and the itch.” Thus encouraged by the
Shaykhs, the “ dodges” of the clansmen became as
manifold as they were palpable. They wanted us
to pay for camping-ground ; they complained aloud

when we cut a palm-frond for palms, or used a

 
154 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

rotten fallen trunk for fuel. They made their sheep
appear fat by drenching them with water. The
people of the Fort el-Muwaylah, determined not to
déroger, sent to us, for sale, the eggs laid by our
own fowls. And so forth.

Presently "Brahim brought in his elder brother,
Khizr bin Makbul, about as ill-conditioned a “cuss”
as himself. Very dark, with the left eye clean gone,
this worthy appeared pretentiously dressed in the
pink of Desert fashion—a scarlet cloak, sheepskin-
lined, and bearing a huge patch of blue cloth between
the shoulders; a crimson caftan, and red morocco
boots with irons resembling ice-cramps at the heels.
Like ’Brahim, he uses his Bdkur, or crooked stick,
to trace lines and dots upon the ground ; similarly,
the Yankee whittles to hide the trick that lurks in his
eyes. Khizr tents in the Hismd, and his manners
are wild and rough as his dwelling-place ; possibly
manly, brusque certainly, like the Desert Druzes
of the Jebel Haurdn. He paid his first visit when
our Shaykhs were being operated upon by the
photographer : I fancied that such a novelty would
have attracted his attention for the moment. But
no: his first question was, Aysk’ Ujrati ?—*“ What
is the hire for my camels?” Finally, these men
threw so many difficulties in our way, that I was
compelled to defer our exploration of the eastern
region to a later day.

 

 

ORE-HUNTING. 155

After a week of washing for metals at Maghdir
Shu’ayb, it was time to move further afield. On
January 17th, the Egyptian Staff-officers rode up
the Wady ’Afdl, and beyond the two pyramidal
rocks of white stone, which have fallen from the
towered “Shigd,” they found on its right bank the
ruins of a small atelier. It lies nearly opposite
the mouth of the Wady Tafrigh, which is bounded
north by a hill of the same name; and south by the
lesser “ Shigd.” Beyond it comes the Wady Nimir,
the broad drain of the Jibdl el-Nimir, « Hills of the
Leopard,” feeding the ’Afdl : the upper valley is
said to have water and palms. After a “leg” to the
north-east (45 mag.), they found the ’Afdl running
from due north; and one hour (= three miles) led
them to other ruins on the eastern side of the low
hills that prolong to the north the greater “ Shigd.”
The names of both sites were unknown even to
Shaykh Furayj. The foundations of uncut boulders
showed a semicircle of buildings measuring 229 paces
across the horseshoe. They counted eleven tene-
ments—probably occupied by the slave-owners and
superintendents—squares and oblongs, separated by
intervals of from forty-five to ninety-seven or a hun-
dred paces. On the north-north-east lay the chief
furnace, a parallelogram of some twenty-three paces,
built of stone and surrounded by scatters of broken

white quartz and scoriee. These two workshops

 
156 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

seem to argue that the country was formerly much
better watered than it is now. Moreover, it con-
vinced me that the only rock regularly treated by
the ancients, in this region, was the metallic Mari
(quartz).

I had heard by mere chance of a “ White Moun-
tain,” at no great distance, in the mass of hills
bounding to the north the Secondary formations of
Maghdir Shu'ayb. On January 21st, M. Marie and
Lieutenant Amir were detached to inspect it. They
were guided by the active Furayj and a Bedawi
lad, Hamddn of the Amirdt, who on receiving a
“stone dollar ” (Ze. silver) could not understand its
use. Travelling in a general northern direction, the
little party reached their destination in about three
hours (= nine miles). They found some difficulty
in threading a mile and a quarter of very ugly road,
a Nakb, passing through rocks glittering with mica ;
a ladder of stony steps and overfalls, with angles
and zigzags where camels can carry only half-loads.

The European dismounted ; the Egyptian, who was

firm in the saddle, rode his mule the whole way.

We afterwards, however, explored a comparatively
good road, vz¢ the Wady Murdkh, to the seaboard,
which will spare the future metal-smelter much
trouble and expense.

The quartz mountain is, like almost all the others,

the expanded mushroom-like head of a huge fi/on or

 

MARVELS. 157

vein; and minor filets thread all the neighbouring
heights. The latter are the foot-hills of the great
Jebel Zanah, a towering, dark, and dome-shaped mass
clearly visible from Maghdir Shu'ayb. This remark-
able block appeared to me the tallest we had
hitherto seen; it is probably the “ Tayyibat Ism,
6000,” of the Hydrographic Chart. The travellers
ascended the Jebel el-Mari, trembling the while with
cold ; and from its summit, some fifteen hundred feet
above sea-level, they had a grand view of the sea-
board and the sea. They brought home specimens
of the rock, and fondly fancied that they had struck
gold: it was again that abominable “crow-gold”
(pyrites), which has played the unwary traveller so
many a foul practical joke.

During our stay at Maghdir Shuayb the camp
had been much excited by Bedawi reports of
many marvels in the lands to the north and the
north-east. The Arabs soon learned to think that
everything was worth showing: they led M. Lacaze
for long miles to a rock where bees were hiving. A
half-naked 'Umayri shepherd, one Suwayd bin Sa’id,
had told us of a Hajar masdiid (“closed stone”)
about the size of a tent, with another of darker
colour set in it ; the Arabs had been unable to break
it open, but they succeeded with a similar rock in
the Hismd, finding inside only Tibn (“tribulated

straw”) and charcoal. Another had seen a Azad»

 
158 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Dahab (“golden pot”), in the ’Aligan section of the
Wady el-Hakl (Hagul) where it leaves .the Hism4 ;
and a matchlock-man had brought down with his
“bullet a bit of precious metal from the upper part.
This report prevails in many places : it may have
come all the way from Pharaoh’s Treasury” at
Petra, or from the Sinaitic Wady Lejd. At the
mouth of the latter is the Hajar el-Kidr (“Pot-
rock”), which every passing Arab either stones or
strikes with his staff, hoping that the mysterious
utensil will burst and shed its golden shower.
Moreover, a half-witted Ma'dzi, by name Masd’id,
had tantalized us with a glorious account of the
“House of 'Antar” in the Hismd, and the cistern
where that negro hero and poet used to water his
horses. Near its massive walls rises a Hazbak
(“steep and solitary hillock”) with Dims or layers of
ashlar atop: he had actually broken off a bit of
greenstone sticking in the masonry, and sold it to
a man from Tor (Khwdjeh Kostantin ?) for a large
sum—two napoleons, a new shirt, and a quantity of
coffee. A similar story is found in the Badiyat
el-Tih, the Desert north of the Sinaitic Peninsula.
At the ruined cairns of Kharabat Lussan (the ancient
Lysa), an Arab saw a glimmer of light proceeding
from a bit of curiously cut stone. “This he carried
away with him and sold to a Christian at Jerusalem
for three pounds.” *
* «Desert of the Exodus,” p. 347.

 

 

RUINS AT IGAR MUAS. 159

Shaykh ’Brahim had also heard of this marvel;
but he called it the Hardb 'Antar (“Ruin of
'Antar”), and he placed it in the Wady el-Hakl,
about an hour's ride south of the Wady ’Afal.
Finally, a tablet in the Wady Hawwayi', adorned
with a dragon and other animals, was reported to
me ; and the memory of inscriptions mentioned in
the Jihan-numd was still importunate. Evidently
all these were mere fancies; or, at best, gross distor-
tions of facts. The Bedawin repeat them in the
forlorn hope of “bakhshish,” and never expect
action to be taken : next morning they will probably
declare the whole to be an invention. Yet it is
never safe to neglect the cry of “wolf”: our most
remarkable discovery, the Temple at the Wady
Hamz, was made when report promised least.

Accordingly, on January 24th, I despatched, with

Shaykhs Khizr and 'Brahim as guides, Mr. Clarke

and the two Staff-lieutenants towards El-Rijm, the
next station of the pilgrim-caravan. Riding up the
Wady ’Afdl, they reached, after an hour and three-
quarters, the ruins known as Igdr Muds—a name of
truly barbarous sound. The settlement had oc-
cupied both banks, but the principal mass was on
the left : here two blocks, separated by a hillock, lay
to north-east and south-west of each other. Ap-
parently dwelling-places, they were composed of a

masonry-cistern and of fourteen buildings, detached

 
160 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

squares and oblongs, irregular both in orientation
and in size; the largest measuring eighty by fifty
metres, and the smallest five by four. The material
was of water-rolled boulders, huge pebbles without
mortar or cement. There were no signs of a
furnace, nor were the usual fragments of glass and
pottery strewed about. To the north and running
up the north-north-eastern slope stood a line of wall
two metres broad and three hundred long : it ended
at the south-western extremity in five round towers
razed to their foundations. It was suggested that
this formed part of a street, laid out on the plan
of the Jebel el-Safrd, the lauteville of Maghdir

Shu’ayb. On the right bank of the Wady appeared
a heap of stones suggesting a Burj. Fine, hard,

compact, and purple-blue slate was collected in the
ruins ; and the red conglomerates on either side of
the watercourse suggested that Cascalo had been
worked.

After riding their dromedaries some three hours,
halts not included, the travellers were asked why
they had not brought their tents. “Because we
expect to return to camp this evening!” Then it
leaked out that they had not reached half-way to the
“closed stone,” while the dragon-tablet would take
a whole day. Unprepared for a wintry night in the
open, some twelve hundred feet above sea-level, they
rode back at full speed, greatly to the disgust of the

 

 

MIDIANITE TRIBES. 161

Arabs, who, at this hungry season, rarely push their
lean beasts beyond three and a half to four miles an
hour. Lieutenant Amir, who is invaluable in the
field, would have pressed forward: not so the
European.

I did not see Shaykhs Khizr or Brahim for
many a day; nor did we attempt any more zecon-
naissances to the north of Maghdir Shu’ayb.

Not the least pleasant part of our evening’s work
was collecting information concerning the origin of
the tribes inhabiting modern Midian; and, as on such
occasions a mixed multitude was always present,
angry passions were often let rise. As my previous
volume showed, the tribes in this Egyptian corner
of North-Western Arabia number three—the Huway-
tat, the Makndwi, and the Beni 'Ukbah; the two
former of late date, and all more or less connected
with the Nile Valley. Amongst them I do not
include the Hutaym or Hitaym, a tribe of Pariahs
who, like the Akhddm (“serviles”) of Maskat and
Yemen, live scattered amongst, although never inter-
marrying with, their neighbours. As a rule the
numbers of all these tribes are grossly exaggerated,
the object being to impose upon the pilgrim-cara-
vans, and to draw black-mail from the Government
of Egypt. The Huwaytdt, for instance, modestly
declare that they can put 5000 matchlocks into the
field : 1 do not believe that they have 500. The

VOL. I. M

 
162 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Ma’dzah speak of 2000, which may be reduced in
the same proportion; whilst the Baliyy have intfo-
duced their 37,000 into European books of geo-
graphy, when 370 would be nearer the mark. I
anticipate no difficulty in persuading these Egypto-
Arabs to do a fair day's work for a fair and moderate
wage. The Bedawin flocked to the Suez Canal,
took an active part in the diggings, and left a good
name there. They will be as useful to the mines;
and thus shall Midian escape the mortification of
the “red-flannel-shirted Jove,” while enjoying his
golden shower.

I first took the opportunity of rectifying my
notes on the origin of the Huwaytdt tribe.* Accord-
ing to their own oral genealogists, the first fore-
father was a lad called ’Alaydn, who, travelling in
company with certain Shurafd (“descendants of the
Apostle”), and ergo held by his descendants to have
been also a Sherif, fell sick on the way. At El-
’Akabah he was taken in charge by ’Atiyyah, Shaykh
of the then powerful Ma'dzah tribe, who owned the
land upon which the fort stands. A “clerk,” able
to read and to write, he served his adopted father by
superintending the accounts of stores and provisions
supplied to the Hajj. The Arabs, who before that
time embezzled at discretion, called him El-Hu-
wayti (“the Man of the Little Wall”) because his

* “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. VI.

MIDIANITE TRIBES 163

learning was a fence against their frauds’ He was
sent for by his Egyptian friends; these, however,
were satisfied by a false report of his death : he mar-
ried his benefactor’s daughter; he became Shaykh
after the demise of his father-in-law ; he drove the
Ma'dzah from El-’Akabah, and he left four sons,
the progenitors and ¢ponymi of the Midianite Hu-
waytdt. Their names are 'Alwdn, 'Imrdn, Suway'id,
and Sa’id ; and the list of nineteen tribes, which I
gave in “ The Gold-Mines of Midian,” is confined
to the descendants of the third brother.

The Huwaytdt tribe is not only an intruder, it is
also the aggressive element in the Midianite family
of Bedawin; and, of late years, it has made great
additions to its territory. If it advances at the
present rate it will, after a few generations, either
“eat up,” as Africans say, all the other races or,
by a more peaceful process, assimilate them to its
own body.

We also consulted Shaykh Hasan and his cousin
Ahmed, alias Abi Khartim, concerning the origin

of his tribe, the Beni 'Ukbah. According to our

friend Furayj, the name means “Sons of the Heel”
(Akab) because, in the early wars and conquests of
El-Islim, they fought during the day by the Mos-

lems’ side; and at night, when going over to the

Nazarenes, they lost the “spoor” by wearing their
sandals heel foremost, and by shoeing their horses

 
164 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the wrong way. All this they indignantly deny ;
and they are borne out by the written genealogies,
who derive them from “ Ukbah, the son of Magh-
rabah, son of Heram,” of the Kahtdniyyah (Joc-
tanite) Arabs, some of the noblest of Bedawi blood.
They preserve the memory of their ancestor 'Ukbah,
and declare that they come from the south ; that is,
they are of Hejdzi descent, consequently far more
ancient than the Huwaytdt. At first called “ El-
Musdlimah,” they were lords of all the broad lands
extending southward between Shdmah (Syria) and
the Wady Ddmah below the port of Zibd ; and this
fine valley retains, under its Huwayti occupants, the
title of 'Ukbiyyah—'Ukbah-land. Thus they still
claim as 4/i/, or “unalienable property,” the Wadys
Gharr, Sharmd, 'Ayntnah, and others; whilst their
right to the ground upon which Fort el-Muwaylah is
built has never been questioned.

The first notable event in the history of the
Beni 'Ukbah was a quarrel that arose between them
and their brother-tribe, the Beni "Amr. The ‘Ayn
el-Tabbdkhah,* the fine water of Wady Madyan,

now called Wady Maknd, was discovered by a

Hutaymi shepherd of the Beni 'Alj clan, while tend-
ing his flocks; others say that the lucky man was
a hunter following a gazelle. However that may

* In “The Gold-Mines of Midian” (passim) this “Spring of
the She-Cook ” appeared as the “She-Cork !” :

THE BEN! UKBAH. 105

be, the find was reported to the Shaykh of the
Musdlimah (Beni 'Ukbah), who had married 'Ayay-
fah, the sister of Ali ibn Nejdi, the Beni "Amr chief,
whilst the latter had also taken his brother-in-law’s
sister to wife. The discoverer was promised a jznu
or Sabdtak (“date-bunch”) from each palm-tree; and
the rivals waxed hot upon the subject. The Musa-
limah declared that they would never yield their
rights, a certain ancestor, 'Asaylah, having first
pitched tent upon the Rughdmat Maknd, or white
“horse” of Maknd. A furious quarrel ensued, and,
as usual in Arabia as in Hibernia, both claimants
prepared to fight it out.

To repeat the words of our oral genealogist, Furayj:
« Now, when the wife of the Shaykh of the Musdli-
mah had heard and understood what Satan was
tempting her husband to do against her tribe, she
rose up, and sent a secret message to her brother
of the Beni 'Amr, warning him that a certain person
(Fulin) was about to lay violent hands on the
beautiful valley of El-Madyan. Hearing this, the
Beni Amr mustered their young men, and mounted
their horses and dromedaries, and rode forth with

inoline arms: and at midnight they found their
> DS ) SD

opponents asleep in EI-Khabt,* the beasts being ~

tied up by the side of their lords. So they cut the

* A region to the north-west of ’Ayninah, afterwards visited
by Lieutenant Yusuf. Sce Chap. IX.

 
106 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

cords of the camels, they gagged the hunter who
guided the attack, they threatened him with death
if he refused to obey, and they carried him away
with them towards Maknd.

“When the Musdlimah awoke, they discovered
the deceit, they secured their beasts, and they
hastened after the enemy, following his track like
Azrail. Both met at Maknd, when a battle took
place, and Allah inclined the balance towards the
Beni Amr. The Musalimah, therefore, became
exiles, and took refuge in Egypt. And in the flow
of days it so happened that the Shaykh of the
Beni ’Amr awoke suddenly at midnight, and heard
his wife, as she sat grinding at the quern, sing this
quatrain :—

“If the handmill (of Fate) grind down our tribe

We will bear it, O Thou (Allah) that aidest to bear !

But if the mill grind the foeman tribe,
We will pound and pound them as thin as flour.’

Whereupon the Shaykh, in his wrath, seized a
stone, and cast it at his wife, and knocked out one
of her front teeth. She said nothing, but she took
the tooth and wrapped it in a rag, and sent it
with a message to her brother, the Shaykh of the
Musélimah. Now, this chief was unable to revenge
his sister single-handed, so he travelled to Syria,
and threw himself at the feet of the great Shaykh
of the Wuhaydi tribe, who was also a Sherif

THE BENI 'UKBAH. 167

« The Wuhaydi despatched his host together
with the warriors of the Musdlimah, and both went
forth to do battle with the Beni "Amr. The latter
being camped in a valley near ’Ayninah, tethered
their dogs and, some say, left behind their old
people,* and lit huge bonfires; whence the name
of the place is Wady Umm Nirdn (‘the Mother
of Fires’) to this day. Before early dawn they
had reached in flight the Wady ’Arawwah of the
Jibdl el-Tihdmah. In the morning the Musdlimah
and the Wuhaydi, finding that a trick had been
practised upon them, followed the foe, and beat
him in the Wady ’'Arawwah, killing the Shaykh.
And the chief of the Musédlimah gave his widowed
sister as wife to the Wuhaydi, and settled with
his people in their old homes. The Beni "Amr
fled to the Hismad, and exiled themselves to Kerak
in Syria, where they still dwell, owning the plain
called Ganan Shabib. There is now peace between
the Beni 'Ukbah and their kinsmen the Beni
'Amr.”

The second event in the history of the tribe,
the “Tale of Abu Rish,” { shall also be told in the

* Such an act would disgrace an Arab tribe, and of course it
is denied by the Beni 'Ukbah. We visited this valley, which 1s
one of the influents of the Wady ’Ayninah, during the first Ex-
pedition (“The Gold-Mines of Midian,” p. 165).

+ The modern Beni 'Ukbah ignore the story of Abd Rish, not
wishing to confess their obligations to the Huwaytat.

 
168 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

words of Furayj:-—“After the course of time the
Beni ’Ukbah, aided by the Ma'dzah, made war
against the Shurafd, who were great lords in those
days, and plundered them and drove them from their
lands. The victors were headed by one Saldmah, a
Huwayti who dwelt at El-’Akabah, and who had
become their guest. In those ages the daughters
of the tribe were wont to ride before the host in
their Hawddig (‘camel-litters’), singing the war-song
to make the warriors brave. As Saldmah was the
chief Mubdriz (‘champion in single combat’), the
girls begged him to wear, when fighting, a white
ostrich feather in his chain-helmet, that they might
note his deeds and chant in his name. Hence
his title, Abi Rish—the ‘Father of a Feather.’
The Sherifs, being beaten, made peace, taking the
lands between Wady Ddmah and El-Hejaz; whilst
the Beni 'Ukbah occupied Midian Proper (North
Midian), between  Ddmah’ and ‘ Shdmah’ (Syria).
“Abd Rish, who was a friend to both victor
and vanquished, settled among the Sherifs in the
Sirr country south of Wady Ddmah. He had
received to wife, as a reward for his bravery, the
daughter of the Shaykh of the Beni 'Ukbah ; and
she bare him a son, 'Id, whose tomb is in the
Wady Ghdl, between Zib4 and El-Muwaylah. On
the Yaw el-Subii'} (‘seventh day after birth ), the
mother of 'Id followed the custom of the Arabs ;.

THE BEN! 'UKBAH. 169

and, after the usual banquet, presented the babe to
the guests, including her father, who made over
Wady ’'Ayntnah in free gift to his grandson. Now,
’Id used to lead caravans to Cairo, for the purpose
of buying provisions ; and he was often plundered
by the Ma'dzah, who had occupied by force the
Wadys Sharmd, Tiryam, and Surr of Le
« This ’Id ibn Saldmah left, by a Huwayti
woman, a son 'Alaydn, surnamed Abid Takikah
(‘ Father of a Scar’) from a sabre-cut in the fore-
head : he was the founder of the Tugaygdt-Huway-
tit clan, and his descendants still swear by his
name. Once upon a time, when leading his cara-
van, he reached the Wady "Afdl, and he learned that
his enemies, the Ma'dzah, and the black slaves who
garrisoned El-Muwaylah, were lurking in the Wady
Marayr. So he placed his loads under a strong
guard ; and he hastened, with his kinsmen of the
Huwaytdt, to the Hisma, where the Ma'dzah had
left their camels undefended : these he drove off, and
rejoined his caravan rejoicing. The Ma'dzah, hear-
ing of their disaster, hurried inland to find out the
extent of the loss, abandoning the black slaves, who,
nevertheless, were still determined to plunder the
Kidfilakh. ’Alayén was apprized of their project; 2,
reaching the Wady Umm Gehaylah, he left bis
caravan under a guard, and secretly posted fifty

matchlock-men in El-Suwayrah, east of the hills

 
170 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of El-Muwaylah. He then (behold his cunning |)
tethered between the two hosts, at a place called
Zila’h, east of the tomb of Shaykh Abdullah,* ten
camel-colts without their dams. Roused by the
bleating, the negro slaves followed the sound and
fell into the ambush, and were all slain.

“’Alaydn returned to the Sirr country, when his
tribe, the Huwaytdt, said to him, ‘Hayya (up ) to
battle with these Ma'dzah and Beni "Ukbah ; either
they uproot us or we uproot them!’ So he gathered
the clan, and marched to a place called El-Bayz4,t
where he found the foe in front. On the next day
the battle began, and it was fought out from F riday
to Friday; a truce was then made, and it was cove-
nanted to last between evening and morning. But
at midnight the enemy arose, left his tents pitched,
and fled to the Hismd. ’Alaydn followed the fugi-
tives, came up with them in the Wady Sadr, and
broke them to pieces. Upon this they took refuge
in Egypt and Syria.

“After a time the Beni 'Ukbah returned, and

obtained pardon from ’Alaydn the Huwayti, who

imposed upon them six conditions. Firstly, having

lost all right to the land, they thus became ‘brothers’
(se. serviles). Secondly, they agreed to give up
the privilege of escorting the Hajj-caravan. Thirdly,

*¥ The tomb on the hillock north of El-Muwaylah.
t South-east of El-Muwaylah.

Qe

RUBS BSS sins

THE BENI 'UKBAH. 171

if a Huwayti were proved to have plundered a pil-
grim, his tribe should make good the loss; but if
the thief escaped detection, the Beni 'Ukbah should
pay the value of the stolen property in coin or in
kind. Fourthly, they were bound not to receive as
guests any tribe (enumerating a score or so) at
enmity with the Huwaytdt. Fifthly, if a Shaykh of
Huwaytdt fancied a dromedary belonging to one of
the Beni 'Ukbah, the latter must sell it under cost
price. And, sixthly, the Beni 'Ukbah were not
allowed to wear the "44d or Arab cloak.” *

The Beni 'Ukbah were again attacked and
worsted, in the days of Sultan Selim, by their here-
ditary foe, the Ma’dzah. They complained at Cairo ;
and the Mamlik Beys sent down an army which
beat the enemy in the Wady Surr. They had many
quarrels with their southern neighbours, the Baliyy :
at last peace was made, and the land was divided,
the Beni 'Ukbah taking the tract between Wadys
Damah and El-Muzayrib. Since that time the tribe
has been much encroached upon by the Huwaytat.
It still claims, however, as has been said, all the
lands between EI-Muwaylah and Maknd, where they
have settlements, and the Jebel Harb, where they
feed their camels. They number some twenty-five

* These hard conditions were actually renewed some twenty-
five years ago.

 
I72 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

to thirty tents, boasting that they have hundreds:

’

and, as will appear, their Shaykh, Hasan el-’Ukbi,
amuses himself by occasionally attacking and plun-
dering the wretched Makndwis, or people of Maknd,
a tribe weaker than his own.

CHAPTER VI.

TO MAKNA, AND OUR WORK THERE—THE MAGANI

OR MAKNAWIS.

AFTER a silly fortnight at old Madidma, I resolved to

march upon its seaport, Maknd, the Makva of Ptolemy,

which the people call also “ Madyan.” * We set out
at seven a.m. (January 25th); and, after a walk of
forty-five minutes, we were shown by Furayj a
Gadi, or shallow basin of clay, shining and bald as
an old scalp from the chronic sinking of water. In
the middle stood two low heaps of fine white cement,
mixed with brick and gravel; while to the west we
could trace the framework of a mortared Fiskiyyal
(“cistern”), measuring five metres each way. The ruin
lies a little south of west (241° mag.) from the greater
“ Shigd ;” and it is directly under the catacombed hill
which bears the “ Praying-place of Jethro.” A tank

* For ample notices on this subject, see “The Gold-Mines
of Midian,” Chap. XII. In p. 337, however, I made the mistake of

supposing Maknd to be the capital, instead of the port of the
capital. The true position is north lat. 28" 24".

 
174 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

in these regions always presupposes a water-pit, and
there are lingering traditions that this is the “ Well
of Moses,” so generally noticed by medieval Arab
geographers. It is the only one in the Wady
Maknd, not to mention a modern pit about an hour
and a half further down the valley, sunk by the Beda-
win some twenty feet deep: the walls of the latter
are apparently falling in, and it is now bone-dry.
But the veritable “Moses” Well” seems to have been
upon the coast; and, if such be the case, it is clean
forgotten. True, Masd'id, the mad old Ma’4zi, at-
tempted to trace a well inside our camp by the
seashore ; but the Beni 'Ukbah, to whom the land
belongs, had never heard of it.

After marching about six miles, we entered a
gorge called Umm el-Bibdn, “the Mother of Gates,”
formed by the stony spurs of the Wady bank : the
number of birds and trees, especially in the syenitic
valleys, showed that water could not be far off, At
10.10 a.m. a halt was called at the half-way place, a
bay or hollow in the left cliff, El-Humayrah— the
Little Red”—an overhanging wall of ruddy grit some
eighty feet high, with strata varying in depth from
a few lines to as many fathoms, all differing in
colour, and all honeycombed, fretted, and sculptured
by wind and rain. Above the red grit, weathered
into a thousand queer shapes, stood strata of

chloritic sand, a pale yellow-green, and capping it

70 MAKNA, 175

rose the usual dull-brown carbonate of lime. Large
fossil oysters lay in numbers about the base, sug-
gesting a prehistoric feast of the Titans. Amongst
them is the monstrous 77idacna (gigantea), which
sometimes attains a growth of a yard and a half;
one of these is used as a dénitier at the church of
Saint Sulpice, Paris. Amongst the layers were
wavy bands of water-rolled crystals, jaspers, blood-
stones, iron-revetted pebbles, and “almonds,” which,
in the Brazil, accompany and betray the diamond.*
We had no time to make a serious search; but,
when the metals shall be worked, it will, perhaps, be
advisable to import a skilled prospecter from the
Brazil or the Cape of Good Hope.

At noon we met the “heaven-sent, life-sustaining
sea-breeze ;” and now the broad and well-marked
Wady Maknd, with its rosy-pink sands, narrowed to
a gut, flanked and choked on both sides, north and
south, by rocks of the strangest tricolour, green-
black, yellow-white, and rusty-red. The gloomy
peak, which had long appeared capping the heights
ahead, proved to be the culmination of a huge up-
thrust of porphyritic trap. DBottle-green when seen
under certain angles, and dull dead sable at others,
it was variegated by cliffs and slopes polished like

dark mirrors, and by sooty sand-shunts disposed at

* For historical notices of the diamond in North-Western
Arabia, see ““ The Gold-Mines of Midian,” p. 168.

 
176 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the natural slope. Crumbling outside, the lower
strata pass from the cellular to the compact, and are
often metalliferous when in contact with the quartz:
at these Salbandes the richest mineral deposits are
always found. Set in and on the black flanks, and
looking from afar like the gouts of a bloodstone, are
horizontal beds, perpendicular spines, and detached
blocks of felsitic porphyry and of rusty-red syenite,
altered, broken, and burnt by plutonic heat. In
places, where the trap has cut through the more
modern formations, it has been degraded by time
from a dyke to a ditch, the latter walled by the
ruddy rocks, and sharply cut as a castle-moat.
And already we could see, on the right of the
Wady, those cones and crests of ghastly, glaring-
white gypsum, which we had called “the Hats.”
These gloomy cliffs, approaching the maritime
plain, sweep away to the south, and melt into the
“Red Hills” visited on our first excursion. They
are known as the Jebel el’ Aédayn—of the Two
Slaves :” this, perhaps, is the Doric pronunciation
of the Bedawin for Aédin—*slaves.” Presently
we sighted the familiar features of the seaboard,
described in my first volume, especially the Rughd-
mat el-Margas to the north ; and westward the Gulf
of "Akabah, looking cool and blue in the Arabian
glare. After five hours and thirty minutes (= seven-
teen miles and a half) in the saddle we reached Makn4.

 

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AT MAKNA. 177

I had thought of encamping near the « Praying-place
of Moses,” a fine breezy site which storms would
have made untenable. As at Sharmd, camels must
turn off to the right over the banks when approach-
ing the mouth of the Wady Madyan, whose bed is
made impassable by rocks and palm-thicket. We
then proposed to pitch the tents upon the valley
sands within the “ Gate,” but this was overruled by
the Sayyid, who told grisly tales of fever and ague.
Finally, we returned to our former ground, near the
old conglomerates and the mass of new shells, which
ledge the shore of the little harbour. Approaching
it, we were delighted to see the gunboat Mukhbir

steaming up, despite the contrary wind, from Sharm

Y4hdrr ; she was towing the Sambuik, which brought
from ’'Ayntnah Bay our heavy gear, rations, and
tools. This was a stroke of good luck : already we
were on half rations, and provant for men and mules
threatened to run short.

Our week at Maknd (January 25—February 2)
justified the pleasant impression left by the first
visit, and enabled us to correct the inaccuracies
of a flying survey. This “Valley of Waters,” with
its pink and yellow (chloritic) sands, is bounded on
the right near the sea by a sandbank about one
hundred feet high, a loose sheet thinly covering the
dykes of syenite and the porphyritic trap which in
places peep out. Possibly it contains, like the left

VOL. I. N

 
 

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178 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

flank, veins of quartz, lowered by corrosion, and con-
cealed by the sand-drift spread by the prevalent
western winds. The high-level abounds in detached
springs, probably the drainage of the Rughdmat
Maknd, the huge “horse” or buttress of gypsum
bearing north-east from the harbour. The principal
veins number three. The uppermost and sweetest
is the Ayn el-Tabbdkhah; in the middle height is
El-Tuydri (Umm el-Tuytr), with the dwarf cataract
and its tinkling song ; whilst the brackish ‘Ayn el-
Fara'l occupies the valley sole. Besides these a
streak of palms, perpendicular to the run of the
Wady, shows a rain-basin, dry during the droughts;
and, higher up, the outlying dates springing from
the arid sands, are fed by thin veins which damp
the rocky base. Hence, probably, Dr. Beke identi-
fied the place with the “ Elim” of the Exodus: his
artist's sketch from the sea (p. 340) .is, however,
absolutely unrecognizable.

The high-level spring and the middle water rise
in sandy basins; course down deeply furrowed beds
of grit; and, after passing through a tangle of
vegetation, a dense forest of palms, alive and dead,
and open patches sown with grain, wilfully waste
their treasures in the upper slope of the right bank.
This abundance of water has developed a certain
amount of industry; although the Bedawin tear

to pieces the young male-dates, whose tender green

  

 

 

 

 

AT MAKNA. 179

growth, at the base of the fronds, supplies them
with a “chaw.” A number of artificial runnels has
been trained to water dwarf barley-plots, whose
fences of date-fronds defend them from sheep and
goats; and further down the bank are the fruit-
trees which first attracted our attention.

The low-level water consists of two springs.
The upper is the "Ayn el-’Arydnah, springing from
the sands under the date-trees which line the right
and left sides: apparently it is the drainage of a
gypsum “hat,” called El-Kulayb, “the Little Dog fine
in their Doric the Bedawin pronounce the word
Galéib. Further down the bed, and divided by a
tract of dry sand, is the 'Ayn el-Fara’{, which also
rises from both banks, forms a single stream,
sleeps in deep pellucid pools like fairy baths among
the huge boulders of grey granite, and finally sinks
before reaching the shore. When these waters
shall again be regulated, as of old, they will prove
amply sufficient for the vegetable and the mineral.
Anton, the Greek, who everywhere saw the shop,
was so charmed with the spot, that he at once laid
out his establishment: here shall be the hotel;
there the billiard and gambling room, and there the
garden, the kiosk, the éuvette—in fact, he projected

a miner's paradise.
On the crest of this right bank, above the vege-

tation, lies the traditional Musallat Musé (“ Moses’

 

    
 

 

 

 

  

180 THE LAND OF MIDIANM.

Oratory”), of which the foundations, or rather the
base-stones, are zz situ. The larger enceinte mea-
sures, without including two walls projecting from
the north-east and north-west angles, an oblong of
thirty-seven by twenty-five feet ; and, as usual with
Midianite ruins, it has been built of all manner of
material. The inner sanctum opens to the west,
the northern and southern basement-lines only re-
maining : the former is composed of eight blocks of
gypsum resembling alabaster, five being larger than
the others ; and the southern of three. Upon these
the Bedawin still deposit their simple ex-votos, oyster
and other shells, potsherds, and coloured pebbles. *
The left or opposite bank, which wants water, is
formed by the tall conglomerate-capped cliffs, which
support the “ Muttali’” or /Jawuteville, and by the
warty block called Jebel el-Fahisit. In “The
Gold-Mines of Midian” (Chap. XII.) it is called El-
Muzayndi, an error of my informants for El-
Muzeudi : the latter is the name of the small red
hill north of our camp. I again visited the high
town, which is about a hundred feet above the
valley : presently it will disappear bodily, as its base
is being corroded, like the Jebel el-Safrd of Maghdir

Shu’ayb. The walls still standing form a long room

* Dr. Beke’s artist made a plan of this rude affair (p- 349),
and nothing can be worse. The Egyptian Staff-officers drew the

ruin correctly ; but the poor remains by no means deserve the
honour of a wood-cut.

 

   
  
  
  
  
   
  
   
  
   

 

  
 

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To.

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MAKNA (REVISITED). 181

running north-south ; and the two adjoining closets
set off to the north-east and south-east. This sadly
shrunken upper settlement covers the remnant of
the rocky plateau to the east: there are also traces
of building on the southern slopes. Ruined heaps
of the usual material, gypsum, dot and line the
short broad valley to the north, which rejoices in
the neat and handy name, Wady Majré Say! Febel
el-Marii. Here, however, they are hardly to be
distinguished from the chloritic spines and natural
sandbanks that stud the bed. The only antiquities
found in the “ Muttali’” were a stone cut into
parallel bands, and the fragment of a basalt door
with its pivot acting as hinge in the upper part:
it reminded me of the Graeco-Roman townlets in
the Haurdn, where the credulous discovered “ giant
Cities” and similar ineptitudes. Our search for
Midianite money was in vain ; Mr. Clarke, however,
picked up, near the sea, a silver “ Taymur,” the
Moghal, with a curiously twisted Kufic inscription.
(A.H. 734).

The ’Ushash or frond-huts of the Makndwi and
the Beni 'Ukbah were still mostly empty. At this
season, all along the seaboard of North-Western
Arabia, the Bedawin are grazing their animals in
the uplands, and they will not return coastwards till
July and August supply the date-harvest. The
village shows the znconséguence of doors and wooden

   

  
 

 

 

aaa HEE 5

  
  
  
  
  
  
   
   

 

182 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

keys to defend an interior made of Cadjan, or “dry
date-fronds,” which, bound in bundles, make a good
hedge, but at all times a bad wall. One of its
peculiar features is what looks like a truncated and
roofless oven; in this swish cylinder they pound
without soaking the date-kernels that feed their
camels, sheep, and goats. A few youths, however,
who remained in this apology for a “deserted
village,” assisted us in night-fishing with the lantern ;
and they brought from the adjoining reefs the most
delicate of shell and scale fish. The best were the
langoustes (Palinurus vulgaris), the clawless lobsters
called crawfish (crayfish) in the United States, and
the agosta or aragosta of the Adriatic: it was con-
founded by the Egyptian officers with “Abt Ga-
lambo,”* the crab (Cancer pelagicus). The echinidae
of various species, large-spined and small-spined, the
latter white as well as dull-red, were preserved in
spirits.f Amongst the excellent fish, the Marjdn
(a Sczena) the Sultan el-Bahr, the Palamita (Scomzber),
the Makli (red mullets, Augil ceplalus), and the Biri,
were monstrous animals, with big eyes and long

* The word is corrupted from Jam, “ the side,” alluding to the
animal’s gait ; we did not find the true lobster (Homarus vulgaris),

the astica of the Adriatic, whose northern waters produce such-
noble specimens.

+ The spirit-tins, prepared for me at Trieste, were as most
things there are, very dear and very bad ; after a short use they
became full of holes. So the bowie-knives, expressly made to
order at old Tergeste, proved to be of iron not of steel.

  

 

  
  
  
   
   
 

 

 

RECONNAISSANCES. 183

beaks like woodcocks ; some of these were garnished
with rows of ridiculously big teeth. I failed to
procure live specimens of small turtle, and yet the
huts were full of carapaces, all broken and eight-
ribbed. One species, the Sakar, supplies tortoise-
shell sold at Suez for 150 piastres per Ratl or pound;
the Bisdh, another large kind without carapace, is
used only for eating : both are caught off the reefs
and islets. An eel-like water-snake (Marrina =
Murena Oplis) showed fight when attacked. The
Arabs do not eat it, yet they will not refuse the
Shaggoalk, or large black land-snake.

The enforced delay at Maknd gave us the
opportunity of making careful reconnaissances in its
neighbourhood. During the last spring I had heard
of a Jebel el-Kibrit (“sulphur-hill”) on the road to
'Ayntnah, but no guide was then procurable.
Shortly after our return, a Bedawi named Jdzi
brought in fine specimens of brimstone, pure crystals
adhering to the Secondary calcaire, and possibly
formed by decomposition of the sulphate of lime.
If this be the case we may hope to find the mineral

generally diffused throughout these immense forma-

tions: of course, in some places the yield will be

richer and in others poorer. Further investigation
introduced us, as will be seen, to two southern
deposits, without including one heard of in Northern
Sinai. All lie within a short distance of the sea,

&E of aX

       

      

  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

184 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

and all are virgin: the Bedawin import their sul-
phur from the “Barr el’Ajam,” the popular name
for Egypt, properly meaning Persia or any non-
Arab land. Thus, in one important article Midian
rivals, if not excels, the riches of the opposite
African shore, where for a single mine thirty millions
of francs have been demanded by way of indemnity.
Betimes on January 26th, a caravan of four camels,
for the two quarrymen and the guide, set off south-
wards, carrying sacks, tools, and other necessaries.
They did not return till the morning of the third
day; Jdzi had lost the road, and the Bedawin
rather repented of having been so ready to disclose
their treasures. Of course, our men could not
ascertain the extent of the deposits; but they
brought back rich specimens which determined me
to have the place surveyed. Unfortunately I had
forgotten a sulphur-still; and the engineer vainly
Stiemped to extract the ore by luting together two
iron mortars, and by heating them to a red heat.
The only result was the diffusion of the sulphur-
crystals in the surrounding gypsum. This discovery
gave me abundant trouble; the second search-party
was a failure; and it was not till February 18th that
I' could obtain a satisfactory plan of the northern
Jebel el-Kibrit.
At Maknd I was much puzzled by the presence of
the porous basalt, which had yielded to the first

 

VOLCANIC OUTBREAKS. 185

Expedition a veinlet of “electron ” gold and silver
mixed by the hand of Nature. The plutonic rock,
absent from the Wady Maknd, appears in scatters
along the shore to the north. Our friend Furayj
knew nothing nearer than El-Harrah, the volcanic
tract bounding the Hismd on the east, and distant
some five days’ march. This was going too far;
querns of the same material, found in all the ruins,
suggested a neighbouring outcrop. ~~ Moreover,
during the last spring, I had heard of a mining site
called Nakhil Tayyib Ism, the “Palm-orchard (of
the Mountain) of the Good Name,” in the so-called
range to the north of Makna.

Lieutenant Amir was despatched (January 27th)
to seek for basalt, with a small dromedary-caravan,
under the lead of Shaykh Furayj. After winding
for about two hours along the shore, which is cut
by the broad mouths of many a W ady ; and whose
corallines, grits, and limestones are weathered into
the strangest shapes ; he left to the right (east) the
light-coloured Jebel Sukk. On the southern side of
the Wady (Sukk) which drains it to the sea, a
hill of the porous stone which the Arabs call “Hajar
el-Harrah” appeared. The specimens brought home,
si vera sunt exposita, if they be really taken from
an outcrop, prove that volcanic centres, detached,
sporadic, and unexpected, like those found further

north, occur even along the shore. As will after-

a“
 

136 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

wards appear, another little “ Harrah” was remarked
by Burckhardt (“Syria,” p. 522), about one hour and a
quarter north of Sinaitic Sherm. He says, “ Here,
for. the first and only time, I saw volcanic rocks yn
and he considers that their extension towards Ras
Abu (?) Mohammed may have given rise to the
name Mélava Jpn. Wellsted,* who apparently had
not read Burckhardt, makes the same remark. The
many eruptive centres in the limestones of Syria and
Palestine were discovered chiefly by my late friend,
the loved and lamented Charles F. Tyrwhitt-Drake.
It would be interesting to ascertain the relation which
they bear to the great lines of vulcanism in the far
interior, the Haurdn and the Harrah, subtending
the coast mountains. And Dr. Beke, another friend
now no more, would have been delighted to know
that his “ True Mount Sinai” was not unconnected
with a volcanic outbreak.

Beyond the Wady Sukk, a bad rough path leads
along the base of the Tayyib Ism Mountain; then
the cliffs fall sheer into the sea, explaining why
caravans never travel that way. Yet there was a
maritime road, for we know that Abt Sufydn, on his
way from Syria to fight the battle of “Bed” (AH. 2),
passed by a roundabout path for safety, along the
shore of Midian. Thus compelled, the track bends
inland, and enters a Nak, a gash conspicuous

* “Travels,” Vol. II. Chap. IV.

“ NAKHIL TAYYIB ISM” 187

from the Gulf, an immense caiion or conloly thas
looks as if ready to receive a dyke or vein. Curious
to say, a precisely similar formation, prolonged
the south-west, cuts the cliffs south of Marsa Daha
in the Sinaitic Peninsula. The southern enagce
to the gorge bears signs of human hi a
parallelogram of stones, 120 paces by 91, has been
partially buried by a land-slip (?); and there are

remnants of a dam measuring about a hundred
About three hundred yards

metres in length (?).
higher up, te appears in lindane, pr
clumps grow on both sides of it. Hare, owever,
all trace of man is wanting; the winter torrents
must be dangerous ; and there is no gions for sheep.
The crevasse now becomes very wild; the Pass
narrows from fifty to ten paces, and, in one section,
a loaded camel can hardly squeeze through; whilst
the cliff-walls of red and grey granite (?) ver Same
two thousand feet above the thread of path. Water
which, as usual, sinks in the sand, is abundant
enough in three other places to supply a large can
van: and two date-clumps were passed. Hence, i
all here told be true, the “ Nakhil (palm-plantation)
Tayyib Ism ” reported to the fist Espodion, .

After covering sixteen miles in five hours, the
caravan had not made more than half the distance

I anchor-
to the Bir el-Mdshi, where a small Marsa, or anc

* (Confirmed by Dr. Beke, p. 533.

 

a I i Saat —

wy

 
 

 

 

188 THE LAND OF MIDIAN,

age-ground, called Z/-Suway/il (“the Little Shore”),
nestles in the long sand-slope between the mountain
Tayyib Ism and its huge northern neighbour, the
Mazhafah block. From this “ Well of the Walker,”
a pass leads to the Wady Marshd, where, according
to certain Bedawin, are found extensive ruins and
Btbin (“doors”), or catacombs. The whole is, how-
ever, an invention; our Sayyid had ridden down
the valley during his journey to El-Hakl.

On the next day another reconnaissance was
made. I had been shown fine specimens of quartz
from the Eastern highlands ; moreover, a bottle of
“bitter” or sulphur-water from the Wady Mab'ig,
the “oblique” or “crooked” valley, mentioned in
“The Gold-Mines of Midian,”* had been broucht
to us with much ceremony. Those who tasted it
indeed, were divided as to whether it smacked more
of brimstone or of ammonia. Accordingly, Mr.
Clarke and Lieutenant Yusuf walked up the Wady
Maks, and ascended the Mab'tig, where the mineral
spring proved to be a shallow pool of rain-water
much frequented by animals, camels included.
Search for the “ Mardi” was more successful : they
found a network of veins in the sandstone grits (?)
of the Jebel Umm Lasaf; and they thus established
the fact that the “white stone” abounds to the east
as well as to the south of Makna.

* P. 351.

 

 

“THE JUDGE'S PASS.” 189

Meanwhile we were working hard at the Jebel
el-Fahisdt, the great discovery of the northern
journey. I had been struck by the name of the
watercourse to the north of the /lauteville, Wady
Majrd Sayl Jebel el-Mari—*the Nullah of the
Divide of the Torrent (that pours) from the Moun-
tain of Quartz.” Moreover, a Makndawi lad, Id bin
Mohsin, had brought in fine specimens of the Negro
or iridescent variety, offering to show the place.
Lastly, other Bedawi had contributed fine specimens
of Mardi, with the grey copper standing out of it
in veins. On the evening of January 27th we
walked up the picturesque mouth of the Makna
valley. After passing the conglomerate “ Gate,” and
the dwarf plantations on both sides above it, we
reached in forty-five minutes the spot where the
lower water, "Ayn el-Fara'i, tumbles over rocks of
orit and granite. On the left bank, denoted by
a luxuriant growth of rushes, is an influent called
Sha’b el-Kazi, or “the Judge's Pass.” * Ascending
it for a few paces, we struck up the broad and open
Fiumara, which I shall call for shortness “Wady
Majrd.” The main trunk of many branches, it is
a smooth incline, perfectly practicable to camels;
with banks and buttresses of green-yellow chloritic

sands, and longitudinal spines outcropping from the

* 1 am doubtful about this name, which the Bedawi apply to
more than one place.

 
 

 

  

190 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

under surface. It carries off the surplus water from
the north-western slopes of that strange wavelike
formation, the Jebel el-Fahisdt, which bounds the
right (southern) bank of the Wady Maknd. Pre-
sently we sighted the Jebel el-Mary, the strangest
spectacle. The apex of the gloomy porphyritic trap
is a long spine of the tenderest azure-white, filmy
as the finials of Milan Cathedral, and apparently
melting into thin air. Its crest seems abnormally
tall and distant; and below it a huge grey vein,
horizontal and wavy, cuts and pierces the peaklet of
red rock ; and is cut and pierced, in its turn, by
two perpendicular dykes of porphyritic trap, one
flanking the right and the left shoulders of the
low cone. When standing upon the /Jauteville
during my first visit, I had remarked this “ white
Lady” of a vein, without, however, attaching to it
any importance.

After a quarter of an hour's walk up the Wady
Majrd, we came to the sandy base of the rocky
Fahisdt; and climbed up a torrent-ladder with drops
and stiff gradients, which were presently levelled for
the convenience of our quarrymen. A few minutes’
“swarming” placed us upon the narrow knife-like
ridge of snowy quartz, so weathered that it breaks
under the hand: this is the aerial head which from
below appears so far. The summit, distant from

our camp about one direct mile and a quarter, gives

 

  

 

 

VIEW FROM SUMMIT OF FAHISAT. 191

  

355° to the Gypsum-hill, Ras el-Tdrah, on the
shore; 358° to the palm-clump nearest the sea,
and due north (360° all magnetic) to the tents,
which are well in sight. The altitude is about
six hundred feet (aner. 29°40).

The view from this summit of the Fahisdt is
charming as it is extensive. Westward and broad-
stretching to the north-west lies the fair blue gulf
that shows, on its far side, the broken mountains of
the Sinaitic Peninsula. Northwards, at our feet,
stretch the palm-groves of Maknd, a torrent of ver-
dure pouring towards the shore. A little to the left,
sheltered from the boreal wind by the white gypseous
ridge, Ras el-7Tdrak (“the Head that surrounds”),
and flanked at both ends by its triangular reefs,
the Sharm Maknd, the past and future port of the
mines, supports the miniature gunboat, no larger
than a “cock,” and the Sambiik dwarfed to a buoy.
Beyond the purpling harbour, along the glaring
yellow shore, cut by broad Wady-mouths and
dotted here and there with a date-clump, the coral-
lines, grits, and sandstones are weathered to the
quaintest forms, giant pins and mushrooms, columns
and ruined castles. These maritime lowlands are
bounded on the north by heights in three distinct
planes: the nearest is the Jebel Sukk, low and white;
farther rises Tayyib Ism, a chocolate-coloured mass

studded with small peaks; while the horizon is

 

  

   
 

 

  

192 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

closed by the grand blue wall, the Jebel el-Mazhafah.
In places their precipices drop bluff to the sea; but
the huge valley-mouths separating the two greater
ridges, have vomited a quantity of sand, forming
the tapering tongue and tip known as the “ Little
Shore.” Turning to the east and the south-east
we have for horizon the Wady el-Kharaj (El-
Akhraj?), backed by its immense right bank of
yellow gypsum, which dwarfs even the Rughdmat
Maknd ; and over it we catch sight of the dark and
gloomy Kalb el-Nakhlah, a ridge which, running
parallel with and inland of the Fahisdt, will be
worked when the latter is exhausted.

We at once recognized the value of this dis-
covery when, reaching the tents, we examined the
quartz, and found it seamed and pitted with veins
and geodes containing Colorado, earthy and crum-
bling metallic dust, chlorure, iodure, and bromure of
silver, with various colours, red, ochre-yellow, and
dark chocolate-brown. It stained the fingers, and
was suspiciously light—z'zmporte. 1 must regret that
here, as indeed throughout the exploration, all our
specimens were taken from the surface: we had
not time to dig even a couple of feet deep. The
lad ’Id almost fainted with joy and surprise when
the silver dollars were dropped into his hand, one
by one, with the reiteration of “Here's another

for you! and here's another!” This lavishness

a ET ii oR

TR ON TAAT oRaa lh

  

SILVER / 193

served to stimulate cupidity, and every day the
Bedawin brought in specimens from half a dozen
different places. But the satisfaction was at its
height when the crucible produced, after cupellation,
a button of “silver” weighing some twenty grammes
from the hundred grammes of what the grum-
bling Californian miners had called, in their wrath,
«“ dashed black dust; ” * and when a second experi-
ment yielded twenty-eight grammes (each fifteen
grains and a half) and ten centigrammes from 111
grammes, or about a quarter of a pound avoirdu-
pois. In the latter experiment also, the cu/ot came
away without the litharge, which almost always
contains traces of silver and antimony. Hence we
concluded that the proportions were 30: 110—a
magnificent result, considering that 1214 : 100 Is
held to be rich ore in the silver mines of the
Pacific States. The engineer was radieux with

* Strictly speaking, the dust of the Nevada country was oxide
of silver.

t+ M. Burat (“ Géologie Appligée,” i. 8) gives the following
minima proportions in which metal may be worked on a grand
scale, of course under the most favourable circumstances. The
extremes are o°25 (iron), and o-oooo1 (gold); and antimony, bis-
muth, cobalt, and nickel are neglected, because the proportions
vary so much.

Iron, 025 | Tin, 0005 (}% per cent.)
Zinc, 0°20 | Silver, o'coo5 (4 per 1000)
Lead, o'o2 (two per cent.) Gold, 000001 (150000
Copper and mercury, oor
This table is recommended to the many “profane” who do not
believe a rock to be auriferous or argentiferous, unless they can see
the gold and silver with the naked eye.

YOL. 1. 0

 

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194 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

)

pride and joy. The yellow tint of the “ buttons’
promised gold—two per cent.? Three per cent.?
Immense wealth lay before us: a ton of silver is
worth 250,000 francs. Meanwhile—and now I take
blame to myself—no one thought of testing the find,
even by a blow with the hammer.

Alas! THE “SPLENDID BUTTONS” PROVED TO BE
IRON, CONTAINING ONLY TWO AND A HALF GRAMMES
OF SILVER TO ONE HUNDRED KILOGRAMMES.*

I can afford to make merry on the absurd
mistake, which at the time filled the camp with
happiness. The Jebel el-Fahisit played us an
ugly trick ; yet it is, not the less, a glorious metal-
liferous block, and I am sure of its future.

The rest of our time at Maknd was given to the
study of this discovery. The great quartz-wall or
vein runs nearly due north and south, with a dip
of 5° west; it has pierced the syenite, forming a
sheet down one peak, spanning a second, and
finally appearing in an apparently isolated knob, that
bore from the apex 215" (mag.) The upper part,
like that of the Jebel el-Abyaz, is apparently sterile :

* The button, when assayed by the official mining office at
Trieste, was pronounced to be antimony! It was extracted from
ruddle (red ochre) and limonite (brown ochre or hydrous oxide of
iron) : both are sesquioxides (Fe,O,) which become dark when
heated and change to magnetic oxide (Fe,O,). M. Marie is pro-
bably the first who ever “ran down” iron oxide with lead. No
wonder that Colonel Ross pronounced his c#/ot a marvellous
alloy.

 

gi

 

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Asa

  

THE JEBEL EL-MARU. 195

at a lower horizon it becomes panacké,; and at last
almost all is iridescent—in fact, it is the Filon
Husayn, still richer in veins and geodes. The filets
and fibrils of dust are exposed to sight in the
flanks, and near the base of the great quartz-vein :
we should never have been able to remove the

barren upper capping.

QUARTZ-CONE IN THE FAHISAT.

 

Every day’s work brought with it some novelty.
The Jebel el-Mart, the centre or focus of the for-
mation, was found to push out veins to the north,
extending within a few yards of the Wady Maknd’s
mouth. Here, however, the quartz imbedded in
grey granite appears -cupriferous, producing fine
grey copper (7); and the same is the case to the
east of the Fahisit block. Other green-tinged
veins were found bearing 205° (mag.) from our
camp. There is also a quartz-hill whose valley-
drain, about a mile and a third long, leads down
to the sea, about two minutes’ walk south of the

southern clump of * tabernacles” occupied by

 

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196 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the Makndwis. The dust is richest, as usual, at
the walls where the vein is in immediate contact
with the heat-altered granites, whose red variety,
containing very little mica, becomes quasi-syenitic.
Certain of the Expedition thought that the Fahisdt
showed signs of having been worked by the an-
cients: my eyes could see nothing of the kind.
And here, as in other parts of our strange country,
there is a medley, a confusion of different formations.

On February 2nd, the day before we left Makn4,
the Arabs brought in heavy masses of purple-black,
metalliferous rock, scattered over the gorges and
valleys south of the Jebel el-Fahisdt; while others
declared that they could point out a vein 22 situ.
Our engineer declared it to be argentiferous galena,
but it proved to be magnetic iron. His assays were
of the rudest : he broke at least one crucible per day,
lamenting the while that he had been supplied with
English articles, instead of creusets de Bourgogne.

And no wonder! He treated them by a strong

blast in a furious coal-fire without previous warming
a.

His muffle was a wreck, and such by degrees
became the condition of all his apparatus. How-
ever, as we sought, so we found: hardly a Bedawi
lad in camp but unpouched some form of metallic
specimens. The Shaykhs declared that the wealth
of “ Kdrin” must have been dug here; and I vainly

told them that the place of punishment of Korah,

THE STORM. 197

Dathan, and Abiram is still shown by Christians in
the Convent of Mount Sinai.*

On January 28th, after a ruddy and cloudy sunset,
El-Ayli, the ’Akabah wind, beginning at eleven p.m.
gave us a taste of his quality. These northers are
the Tyrants of the Gulf; which, comparatively un-
broken by capes and headlands, allows them all their
own way, carrying a strong swell, and at times huge
waves, to meet the tide inflowing from the Red Sea.
The storm began with a rush and a roar, as if it
came from above. The gravel, striking the canvas,
sounded like hail or heavy rain-drops ; it then kicked
down at one blow the two large tents: they had
been carefully pitched above the reach of water,
when wind only was to be guarded against. For-
tunately most of our goods were packed, in expecta-
tion of embarking on the morrow ; but the fall broke
all the breakables that were not under cover, and
carried newspapers and pamphlets, including—again,
alas |—the Réseau Pentagonal of Elie de Beaumont,
over the plain southwards till arrested by the heights
of Jebel el-Fahisat. This Bora, as it would be called

on the Adriatic, makes the air exceptionally cold

* Karin was a pauper cousin of Musd, who had learned
alchemy from Kulsum, the Lawgiver’s sister. The keys of his
treasure loaded forty mules ; and his palace had doors and roof of
fine gold. As he waxed fat he kicked against his chief, who as
usual became exceeding wroth, and prayed that the earth might
swallow him.

 
  

  
  
   
   
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
 

 

198 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and raw before dawn : it appears to abate between
noon and sunset, and it is most violent at night : it
either sensibly increases or lessens in turbulence
with moonrise ; and it usually lasts from three to
seven days. We rigged up one of the native huts
with the awning of a tent, till it looked very like a
Gypsy dwelling, and in patience we possessed our
souls, grumbling horridly like Britons.

Poor Captain Mohammed of the A/ukibir, who
had already escaped one shipwreck, was in mortal
terror: he at once got up steam, and kept his
weary vigil all night. He was perfectly safe, as the
northern reef, under which the Sambik Musallil
rode easily as if in smooth water, and the headland,
Ras el-Tdrah, formed a complete defence against
the Ayli, while the natural pier to the south would
have protected him from its complement, the
Azyab or “south-easter.” But it would have been
very different had the storm veered to the west, and
the terrible Gharbi set in. The port of Maknd,
which has been described in “The Gold-Mines of
Midian,”* can hardly be called safe; on the other
hand, its floor has not been surveyed, and a single
brise-lame seawards would convert it into a dock.
I should propose a gallegiante, a floating breakwater,
tree-trunks in bundles strongly bound together with

iron cramps and bands, connected by stout rings and

* Pp. 337—339.

TSS

    

THE STORM. 199

staples and made fast by anchors to the bottom.
And, at any rate, on the Sinaitic shore opposite, at
the distance of thirteen knots, there is, as will
appear, an admirable harbour of refuge.

Next day the cloud-veil lifted ; and the mountains
of Sinai and Midian, which before had been hidden
as if by a November fog in London, again stood out
in sharp and steely blue. I proposed to board the
gunboat. Afloat we should have been much more
comfortable than ashore in the raw, high, and dusty-
laden wind. The Egyptian officers, however, quoted
the unnautical Fellah's favourite saws, El-barro birr
li-Ahlifii— Earth is a blessing to those upon her "—
Zirtat el-Fimdl, wa ld tasbil el-Samak—* The roar
of the camels and not the prayer * of the fish;”
and the sailors’ saying, Kalb el-Barr, wa ld Saba’ el-
Bahr—« Better be a dog ashore than a lion afloat.”
The public voice was decidedly against embarking ;
so two more days of gale were spent in adding to
our collection of mineralogy. On the other hand,
the Sayyid and the three Shaykhs were amions
for a speedy return to EI-Muwaylah, where the Hajj-
caravan was expected on Safar 10 (= February
11th), and where their presence would be officially
required.

On the last day of January I boated off to the

# «Tashfh” literally means uttering Subhan Allak ]—¢ Praise
be to Allah!”

   

    

    

ns —————
 

 

 

  

200 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Mulehbir several tons of the specimens collected
during the northern march; including the iron,
the sulphur, and the fine white gypsum, crystalline
and amorphous, which forms the Rughdmat Makna.
Lieutenant Yusuf and M. Philipin were directed to
remain in camp until they should have collected and
placed upon the seashore, ready for embarkation on
our return, one ton of white quartz, three tons
(= one cubic metre) of the iridescent variety, and
four boxes half full of the “silver” (iron) dust whose
veins and pockets seam the Negro. They were also
to wash in the cradle two tons of the pounded
Cascallo (conglomerate gravel); one ton of the
green-yellow chloritic or serpentine sand forming
the under surface of the Wady Maknd, reduced to four
Girbaks or “ water-sacks ;” and five tons of the dark
metal (zof argentiferous galena). After that they
were to visit the northern Sulphur-hill; estimate its
contents; trace, if possible, its connection with
adjoining formations; map the country and prospect
for wood, water, and harbour. Lastly, they were
ordered to march with the whole camp, including
our mules, upon El-Muwaylah, and there to await
my return.

The three normal days of El-Ayli had come and
gone; still the Fortuna * did not fall. The water,

* It is curious how this goddess has extended, through the
Dalmatian “ Fortunale” and the Slav “ Fortunja” of the Bosnian

  

spe pe

A AO

THE MAKNA PEOPLE. 201

paved with dark slate, and domed with an awning
of milky-white clouds, patched here and there with
rags and shreds of black wintry mist that poured
westward from the Suez Gulf, showed us how ugly
the Birkat ’Akabah can look. As in Iceland also,
the higher rose the barometer, the higher rose the
norther ; the latter being a cold dry wind is, conse-
quently, a heavy wind. And when the sky was
comparatively clear and blue, the display of cirri
was noticeable. In some places they formed filmy
crosses and thready lozenges ; in others the wrack fell
into the shape of the letter Z ; and from the western
horizon the curl-clouds shot up thin rays, with a
common centre hid behind the mountains of Sinai,
affecting all the airs of the sun.

Before leaving Maknd I must give an account of
its peculiar tribe, concerning which “ The Gold-Mines
of Midian ”* contained sundry inaccuracies. These
men are not the “pauper descendants of the wealthy
Midianites ;” they cannot boast of ancient race or of
noble blood: and their speech differs in nothing
from that of the Arabs around them. There can be

no greater mistake than to suppose that they

peasants, to Turkey, Egypt, and even Arabia. Applied to a
violent storm, perhaps it is a euphuism for the Latin word In the
sense of good sign or omen ; so in Propertius—

“ Nulla ne placate veniet fortuna procelle.”

* P. 341.

Wy

W

2 8.5

 
 

202 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

represent in any way the ancient Nabathaans. In
features, complexion, and dress they resemble the
half-settled Bedawin around them ; and, like these,
they show a kind of connection with the Sinaitic
tribes. The Magdni,* to whom only the southern
clump of huts at Maknd belongs, call themselves
Fawd’idah, Zubdidah, and Ramdzdni, after families
of the Juhayni stock; and the Fawd'idah have, by
descent, some title to the name. They are, however,
considered to be Aladdamin (“serviles”), like the
Hutaym race, by their neighbours, who give the
following account of their origin.

An Egyptian silk-seller, who accompanied the
Hajj-caravan, happened to fall asleep at Kubdzah,
between the stations of ’Ayninah and Maghdir
Shu'ayb. His companions went their ways, and he,
like a “bean-eater” as he was, fearing to follow
them alone, made for Maknd. Having married
and settled there, and seeing in the fertility of
the soil a prospective spec., he sent to his native
country for Fellahin—cultivatenrs and peasants—
who were collected from every part of Pharoah-land
and its neighbourhood. The new-comers were
compelled to pay one-half of their harvest, by way
of £l-Alkhdwal (“the brother-tax ”), in token of sub-
jugation, to the Beni 'Ukbah, the owners of the soil.
They have gradually acquired A/7/k (“legal title”) to

The singular is Makndwi, pronounced Magndwi.

THE MAKNA PEOPLE. 203

the ground. According to some, they first settled at
Makn4 in the days of the Beni Amr, whom they
subsequently accompanied to the Hismd, when
flying from the victorious Musdlimah. After peace
was patched up, they were compelled to make over
one-fourth of the date-harvest as £/-Akhdwal to the
'Imrdan-Huwaytdt and to the Ma'dzah; whilst the
Tagaygat-Huwaytdt claimed a Bursk, or “mat of
fine reeds,” as a poll-tax from every head of man.
Under these hard conditions they are left un-
molested; and everything taken from them is
restored by the Shaykhs who receive tribute. They
have no chief, although one Sdlim ibn Juwayfili
claims the title,

Before 1866 the Magdni numbered about a
hundred tents: the Wady Maknd was then, they
say, a garden; and its cultivators were remarkable
for their goodness and hospitality to strangers. But
in that year a feud with the Beni 'Ukbah was
excited, as often happens, by the belli teterrima causa,
the women quarrelled with one another, saying,
“Thy husband is a slave to my husband,” and so
forth. The little tribe, hoisting two flags of red and
white calico with green palm-fronds for staves, dared
the foe to attack it; after a loss of four killed and
sundry wounded, all ran away manfully, leaving their
goods at the mercy of the conqueror. Shaykh

. Hasan el’Ukbi was assisted by the Ma'dzah in

 
 

204 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

looting the Magdni huts, and in carrying off their
camels, while Shaykh Furayj vainly attempted
conciliation. Shortly afterwards the Makndwis went
in a body to beg aid from Hammdd el-Sofi, Shaykh
of the Turdbin tribe, which extends from Ghazzah
(Gaza) westwards to Egypt. Marching with a host
of armed followers, he took possession of the palm-
huts belonging to the Beni’Ukbah, when the owners
fled in turn, leaving behind their women and chil-
dren. Furayj hastened from ’Ayntinah to settle the
quarrel ; and at last the Sofi said to him, “ Whilst I
protect the Magdni, do thou protect the Beni
"Ukbah.” Whereupon the latter returned from their
mountain-refuge to El-Muwaylah. The Magdni at
the present time are mostly camped about ’Ayntnah ;
and only some fifteen head, old men, women, and
boys, who did not take part in the fight, and who
live by fishing, remain at Maknd under the protec-

tion of the Beni 'Ukbah.

waste and the fields are mostly unhoed.

Hence the waters are

Such is the normal condition of Arabia and the
Arabs. What one does the other undoes; what
this creates, that destroys. Professor Palmer tells
us, “Another misconception is that all Arabs are
Fear of the
terrible vendetta, the blood feud and the &6/ut-geld,

amounting to about eight hundred dollars, prevents

habitual thieves and murderers.” *

* Loc. cit. p. 79.

 

THE MAKNA PEOPLE. 205

the Bedawin, here as elsewhere, slaying any but
strangers. The traveller's experience, however, was
chiefly of the Towarah or Sinaitic Bedawin, a race
which, bad as bad could be in the early quarter of
the present century, has been thoroughly tamed and
cowed by the “fear of Allah and the Consul.”
And the curse pronounced by the Jews against their
brother Ishmael, “his hand shall be against every
man,” etc., must, as was known even in the days
of Gibbon, be taken with many a grain of salt.

Yet the Bedawin of Midian have till late years
been a turbulent “mixed multitude,” and are ready
to become troublesome again. It is only by building
forts and by holding the land militarily, that the
civilized can hope to tame this vermin. I repeat,
however, my conviction that the charming Maknd
Valley is fated to see happy years; and that the Wild
Man who, when ruled by an iron hand, is ever ready
to do a fair day's work for a fair wage (especially
victuals), will presently sit under the shadow of his
own secular vines and fig-trees.

About midnight on February 2nd, the tempestuous
northerly gale, which had now lasted four days and
five nights, ceased almost suddenly: the signs of
the approaching calm were the falling of the mer-
cury, the increased warmth of the atmosphere, and
the shifting of the wind towards the east. All hailed

the change with joy. The travellers looked forward

     

|

   
  

 

 

206 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

to ending their peregrinations, while the voyagers,
myself included, hoped safely to steam round the
Gulf el-’Akabah, and to trace, as correctly as pos-
sible, the extent, the trend, and the puissance of the

quartz-formations. At Cairo Mr. Consul Rogers

told me he had found them in large quantities
veining the red grits of Petra; and I thought it
possible that the “white stone” may extend under

the waters of "’Akabah into the peninsula of Sinai.

 

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CHAPTER VIL
CRUISE FROM MAKNA TO EL-'AKABAH.

Tis “Red Sea in the Land of Edom” (1 Kings ix. 26)
is still, as Wellsted entitles it, “a vast and solitary
Gulf.” It bears a quaint resemblance to that eastern
fork of the northern Adriatic, the Quarnero, whose
name expresses its terrible storms; while the Suez
branch shows the longer stretch of the Triestine
bifurcation. Yamm Elath or Eloth, as the Hebrews
called El-’Akabah, has, by the ‘upheaval of the
land, lost more of its fair proportions than its
western sister. It was at one time the embouchure
of the Jordan, extending up the Wady el-’Arabah
to the Asphaltite Lake (Dead Sea), before the
former became, so to speak, a hill and the latter a
hole. This view dates from olden times. ‘Si
suppone,” says Cornelius a Lapide,® “che sia un

* The passage was brought to my notice by my excellent
friend, Mr. James Pincherle of Trieste. In the “ Atlante Storico e
Geografico della Terra Santa, esposto in 14 Tavole e 14 Quad

storici della Palestina,” republished (without date) by Francesco
Pagnoni of Milan, appears an annexed commentary by Cornelius

- To Ch

    

 
 

 

208 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

sollevamento che accadde, mentre un abbassamento
formava il Mar Morto; e che il Giordano si gettasse
nel Golfo Elanitico ( Yamm Ailath), cid ¢é nel Mar
Rosso, prima della destruzione di Sodoma.” For the
latter date we have only to read, *“ When a move-
ment of depression sank the lower Jordan Valley,
and its present reservoirs, the Tiberias Lake and the
Dead Sea, to their actual level.” There is nothing
marvellous nor unique in the feature, as it ap-
pears to those suffering from that strange malady,
“« Holy Land on the Brain.” The Oxus and the
Caspian show an identical formation, only the
sinking has been on a smaller scale.

Wellsted was unfortunate, both in his weather
and in his craft. To encounter a “sea of breakers”
and “northerly gales with a high and dangerous
swell” in a wretched “bugald” (ze. Sambiik), and
in that perfect tub, the Palinurus, was somewhat like

tempting Providence,—if such operation be possible.

3 Lapide. The latter, Cornelius Van den Steen (Corneille de la
Pierre), born near Liege, a learned Jesuit, profound theologian,
and accomplished historian, was famous as a Hebraist and
lecturer on Holy Writ. He died at Rome March 12, 1637 ; and
a collected edition of his works in sixteen volumes, folio, appeared
at Venice in 1711, and at Lyons in 1732. It is related of him
that, being called to preach in the presence of the Pope, he began
his sermon on his knees. The Holy Father commanded him to rise,
and he obeyed ; but his stature was so short that he appeared to
be still kneeling. The order was reiterated ; whereupon Zacchzus,
understanding its cause, said modestly, “ Beatissime Pater, ipse

fecit nos, et non ipsi nos.”

 

 

|

 

 

CRUISE FROM MAKNA TO EL’ AKABAH.

Lv

©9

No wonder that “in this Gulf, in a course of only
ninety miles, the nautical mishaps were numerous
and varied.” The surveyor, however, neglected a
matter of the highest interest and importance,
namely, to ascertain whether there be any difference
of level between the heads of the Suez and the
'Akabah waters. The vicinity of continuous mari-
time chains, varying from six to nearly nine thousand
feet, suggests an amount of attraction (theoretically)
sufficient to cause a sensible difference of plane. It
would be well worth while to run two lines of
survey, one from El-’Akabah to Suez, and the other
down the eastern flank of the Sinaitic Peninsula.
The Mulklhbir, like the Palinurus, promised a
certain amount of excitement. Her boiler, I have
said, was honeycombed ; it was easy to thrust one's
fist through it. Mr. David Duguid, the engineer,
who on one occasion worked thirty-six hours at a
stretch, had applied for sixty new tubes, and he
wanted one hundred and fifty: we began with
two hundred and forty; we lost, when in the Gulf,
from three to nine per diem, a total of seventy-
five: and the work of the engine-room and the
ship's carpenters consisted in plugging fractures
with stays, plates, and wedges. Presently the steam-
gauge (manométre) gave way, making it impossible
to register pressure ; the combustion chamber showed
a rent of eighteen inches long by one wide, the result

VOL. IL. P

 

     

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210 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of too rapid cooling ; and, lastly, the donkey-engine
struck work. Under these happy circumstances
bursting was not to be expected ; breaking down was,
a regular collapse which would have left us like a log
upon the stormy waves. A new boiler might have
cost, perhaps, £9oo, and the want of one daily en-
dangered a good ship which could not be replaced for
£gooo. I therefore determined upon a “Safar Khor-
fyyah,” that is, steaming by day and anchoring at night
in some snug bay. It was also agreed, nen. con., to
tow the Sambtk Z/-Musak/lii/, in order that, should
accidents happen, it might in turn act tug to the
steamer ; or even, at a pinch, serve us as a lifeboat.
Nothing becomes Maknd better than the view
on leaving it. A varied and attractive picture this,
with the turquoise-blue of the deep water, the purple
and leek-green tints of the shoaly and sandy little
port, and the tawny shore dotted by six distinct
palm-tufts. They are outliers of the main line, yon
flood of verdure, climbing up and streaming down
from the high, dry, and barren banks of arenaceous
drift, heaped up and filmed over by the wind, and,
lastly, surging through its narrow “Gate,” with the
clifflets of conglomerate forming the old coast. Add
the bluff headland of the Ras el-Tdrah to the north
of the harbour, and behind it the Ruglhdmat Maknd,
the greenish-yellow, flat-backed “ horse” of Madyan,

which, shimmering in the sunset with a pearly lustre,

  

 

 

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VIEW.

 

THE NOBLE

forms the best of landmarks. Finish to the south
of the Wady with the quaint chopping outlines of
the Jebel el-Fahisit, resembling from afar a huge
alligator lying on the water; with the similar but
lower forms to the north of the valley, both reflected
in the Jibdl el-Hamra (the Red Hills), whose curtains
of green-black trap are broken by sheets of dull
dead-white plaster. Cap the whole with the mighty
double quoin of gypseous Jebel el-Kharaj, buttress-
ing the eastern flank of its valley, and with the low,
dark metal-revetted hills of the Kalb el-Nakhlah, a
copy of the Fahisit. Throw in the background,
slowly rising as you recede from the shore, a curtain
of plutonic peaks and buttresses, cones, quoins,
cupolas, parrot-beaks ; with every trick of shape,
from the lumpy Zahd to the buttressed and pinnacled
'Urnub; with every shade of mountain-tint between
lapis-lazuli and plum-purple. Dome the whole with
that marvellous transparent sky, the ocean of the
air, that spreads loveliness over the rugged cheek of
the Desert ; and you have a picture which, though
distinctly Arabian, you can hardly expect to see In
Arabia.

From the offing, also, we note how the later
formations, granite and syenite, seamed with a net-
work, and often topped by cones, of porphyritic trap,
have upthrust, pierced, and isolated the older Second-

aries. We traced this huge deposit of sulphates and

ir

     

   
 

 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

carbonates of lime from the southern Wady Hamz,
through the islets at the mouth of the Birkat’Akabah,
all along the shore of North Midian. Here it
crosses diagonally the northern third of the ’Akabah

Gulf, and forms the north-eastern base of the Sinaitic
Peninsula; whilst eastward it stretches inland as far
as Maghdir Shu'ayb. The general disposition sug-
gests that before the upheaval of the Ghits, the
Jibal el-Tihdmah, this vast gypseous sheet was a
plain and plateau covering the whole country, till a
movement of depression, caused by the upheaval of
the igneous mountains, sank in it the Gulf of
‘’Akabah. At present the surface is here flat, there hilly
like huge billows breaking mostly to the north, and
reaching an altitude of twelve hundred feet above
the surface. Hence the lines stretching north-south,
the Fahisdt, the Red Hills, and the Kalb el-Nakh-
lah, look like so many volcanic island-reefs floating
in a sea of greenish-yellow. Secondaries.

Like the old Irish post-horse, the difficulty and
danger of our “kettle ” consisted in starting it: two
tubes at once burst, and a new hole yawned in the
boiler ; moreover, our anchor had been thrown out
in a depth of seventy-three feet. Zwnfin/ At nine
a.m. (February 3rd) we stood straight for the Sinaitic
shore, distant thirteen miles (direct geographical),
and in three hours we made the Sharm, Marsd or

Minat el-Dahab—the “ Golden Anchorage, Cove, or

THE PORT OF GOLD. 213

Port.”* Another hour was spent in steaming south-
wards to the Dock-harbour, wrongly so called in the
charts ; the pilots, and the many Sambuiks that take
refuge in it, know the place only as Mindt Gindi
(Jindi). The northern baylet, preferred when
southerly winds blow, is simply the embouchure of
the Wady Dalat (“Fiumara of Gold”). The name is
properly applied to the sub-maritime section of the
valley draining the eastern flanks of the so-called
Mount Sinai. This great watercourse breaks through
the Ghdts which, always fringing similar peninsulas,
peak to the south. It reaches the Gulf at a shallow
sag marked by a line of palms, the centre of three:
they are fed by their several Nullahs, and are
watered with the brackish produce of sundry wells.
The statio malefida is defended to the north by a
short sandspit and a submerged reef; and south-
wards by a projection of sandstone conglomerate.
The latter, running from north-east to south-west,
subtends this part of the coast, and serves to build
up the land; after a few years the dédiris swept
down by the watercourses will warp up the shallows,
dividing shore from outlier. Such, in fact, scems to
be the general origin of these sandspits ; beginning
as coralline reefs, they have been covered with con-
glomerates, and converted into Zerra firma by the
rubbish shot out by the Wady-mouths.

* The name and other points connected with it have been
noticed in “ The Gold-Mines of Midian,” p. 338.

   

 
   

  

   
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 

 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

The southern port, “Gina,” is formed by a
bend in the reef which sweeps round from east
to south-west like a scorpion’s tail. The natural
sea-wall, at once dangerous and safety-giving, pro-
jects, to the south and south-east, dzadolitos of
black rock visible only at high tide: inshore the
sickle-shaped breakwater runs by east to south-west,
becoming a “sandy hook,” and enclosing a basin
whose depth ranges from seven to twelve fathoms.
Its approach from the south is clean; and the
western opening is protected by the tall screen of
coast cliffs, the Jebel el-Ginai, whose deep-black
porphyritic gorge seemingly prolongs that of Midi-
anite Tayyib Ism. This is a section of the Jibdl
el-Samghi, the coast-range which extends as far
north as the Wady Watir. The Dock-port, so use-
ful when the terrible norther blows, has an admirable
landmark, visible even from Sindfir Island, and con-
spicuous at the entrance of the Gulf. Where the
sandy slopes of South-Eastern Sinai-land end, appears
a large white blot, apparently supporting a block,
built, like a bastion, upon a tall hill of porphyritic
trap. We called this remnant of material harder
than the rest, Burj el-Dakab— “the Tower Hill
of Dahab.” I have been minute in describing the
Golden Harbour : scant justice has been done to it
by the Hydrographic Chart, and it will prove valu-

able when the Maknd mines are opened. Ahmed

 

TR, TS

THE PORT OF GOLD. 215

Kaptin vainly attempted soundings—he was too
il to work. Wellsted’s identification of the site

with Ezion-geber (ii. ix.), and the reef with the

rock-ledge which wrecked Jehosaphat's fleet, has
one great objection—no ruins are known to exist
near it.*

The formation of this part of Sinai, as far as
we can see from the shore, reflects, in wilder forms
and more abrupt lines, the opposite coast of Midian :
there is, however, the important difference that the
Secondaries and the quartz-veins, there so important,
are here wanting. The skeletons of mountain and
hill appear as if prolonged under water. The
ruddy syenite is dyked and veined by the familiar
network of green-black porphyritic trap ; the jilons
are disposed in parallels striking north-south, with
a little casting ; the dip is westerly (about 35° mag.),
and the thickness extends to hundreds of feet, often
forming a foundation for the upper cliff. The sub-
acrial parts are the same warty and pimply growth
which appears on the other side. Nothing could
be more wearisome to the Alpine climber than such
a country : he would scale the peaks and ridges for
fifty feet, to descend thirty on the other side; and
the frequent Wadys, ankle-deep in loose sand, gene-
rally end in steep stony coxlozrs. The watercourses,

whose broad mouths are scattered with thin green,

* See “ The Gold-Mines of Midian,” p. 338.

Mas.

    

  

}
Po

       
 

 

 

  

216 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN. 3 WRETCHED BEDAWIN. 217

contain pebbles and rolled quartzes, including fine J The people were by no means communicative.
specimens of the crystallized variety. An elderly man, with a red turban and sword by
We landed, after an hour's row in the gig, at side, hurried away from us when we addressed him,
the central or main line of palms; and on the banks leaving his middle-aged wife to follow with a babe
of Wady Dahab, here a full mile wide, we found on shoulder and a boy in hand: she also refused to
the works of man, like those of Nature, a copy of speak, waving her hand by way of reply to every
Maknd. The date trees and clumps are hedge- ] question. At last a semi-civilized being, acquainted
closed ; two scatters of 'Uskas/ (tabernacles) show with the Convent of St. Catherine, Selim bin Husayn,
round towers of rough stone, broken and patched of the Muzaynah tribe, satisfied our curiosity in view
with palm-frond ; and, further north of the Golden of tobacco, and offered a rudely stuffed ibex-head for
Valley, a few old Arab graves have been weathered : a shilling. In the evening our fishermen visited the
into mere heaps of large stones. These are the | reef, which supplied admirable rock-cod, a bream (?)
Kubur el-Nasdrd (“ Nazarene’s Graves”) of Burck- iq called Sultan el-Bahr, and Marjdn (a Sciena); but
hardt,* a name apparently forgotten by the present ] they neglected the fine Sirinjak (“ sponges”), which
generation. We vainly sought and asked after J here grow two feet long. The night was dark and
ruins: of old, however, “Dizahab” might have served painfully still, showing nought but the youngest of
to disembark cargo which, by taking the land-route moons, and the gloomiest sillouncttes of spectral
northwards, as the Christian pilgrims still do from i mountains.
El-Nuwaybi’, would avoid the dangerous head- : We set out at seven a.m. on the next day, when
waters of El-’Akabah. Nor could we believe with an Azyab or south-easterly wind was promised by the
Pococke § that the place derived its name from the damp air, the slaty sea, and the gloomy nimbi on the
mica shining like gold; his theory is stultified by the hill-tops. A small party landed after two hours’
fact that mica is by no means a prominent feature, steaming, in search of quartz, which proved to be
even had the Ancients been so ignorant as to be | chloritic sandstones and limestones. In the broad
deceived by it. valley they found a few Muzayni families, with their

camels, sheep, and goats. These unfortunates had

* FE T'ywavale 3 7 ~n -
“Travels in Syria, etc.,” p. 524.
T In “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” p. 338, this name became,
by virtue of the author's cacography, * Beoche.”

no tents, sleeping under the trees; they were des-

perate beggars, and, although half-starved, they asked

 

 

  
 

218 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

a napoleon for a kid, declaring that such was its
price at the quarantine station of Tor. Here the
errors of the Hydrographic Chart, which have been
copied literally by the latest and best popular books,
such as Professor Palmer's «“ Desert of the Exodus,”
began to excite our astonishment. For instance, Ras
Kusayr (“the Short One”) becomes Ras Arser—what
a name for a headland! A good survey will pre-
sently become a sine gud non. Unfortunately Ahmed
Kaptan was suffering so much that I could not ask
him to make solar observations ; while the rest of
us had other matters in hand. It was a great dis-
appointment, where so much useful work remains to
be done.

Hereabouts the sterile horrors of the hideous
Sinaitic shore seem to reach their climax. The
mountains become huge rubbish-heaps, without even
colour to clothe their indecently nude forms; and
each strives with its neighbour for the prize of repul-
siveness. The valleys are mere dust-shunts that
shoot out their rubbish, stones, gravel, and sand, in
a solid flow, like discharges of lava. And, as Jebel
Mazhafah, on the opposite coast, is the apex of the
visible eastern Ghdts, so beyond this point the
Sinaitic sea-chain of mountains begins to decline
into mere hills, while longer sand-points project sea-
wards. Such is the near, the real aspect of what,

viewed from Maknd, appears a scene in fairy-land,

CR 5 aide

A HIDEOUS LAND. 219

decked and dight in heavenly hues of blue and

purple and rosy light—

“ Where the bald blear skull of the Desert
With golden mountains is crowned.”
The first sign of a change of formation appeared
near the “ Lower (southern) Nuwayb? ” (* the Little
Spring ”), which the chart calls “ Wasit.” Here the
shore shows blots of dead-white and mauve-red, in
which our engineer at once detected quartz. Seeing
it prolonged in straight horizontal lines, and the red
overlying the white, I suspected kaolin and the normal
7 aud (coloured clays): my conjecture was confirmed
on the next day. Hereabouts, Wellsted (ii. 151)
also remarked the colouring of the hills, which
resemble those of “Sherm ;” some of a deep-blue
tinge, and others streaked with a brilliant red and
violet. We then doubled a long sandspit running
out to sea eastward, and forming, on the north, a
deep bay well protected from the souther ; whilst
several lines of reef and shallow to the north defend
it from the angry Bora. This anchorage is known
to the pilots as “Wdsit;” and it occupies the
southern half of the bay, the northern half and its
palm-groves being called the “Upper Nuwaybi.”
About “Wdsit” the date-palms are scattered, and

the large sand-drifts ever threaten to bury them

alive. Behind it yawns the great gash, * Wady
I

Watir,” which shows its orand ines even from the

 
 

220 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

opposite side of the gulf: this is the route by which
Christian pilgrims from Syria make the Sinai
monastery, rounding on camels the northern end
of El’Akabah. The main valley receives from the
north the Wady el-’Ayn, which can be reached in
half a day. From the south, distant one whole
march, comes the Wady el-Hazrah. This is doubt-
less the Hazeroth of the Exodus, meaning the fenced
enclosures of a pastoral people; and a modern
traveller figures and describes it as ‘the most
beautiful and romantic landscape in the Desert.”
At least, so said the lately shipped guide, Mabruk
ibn Sulayyim el-Muzayni.

After a run of six hours and thirty minutes
(= thirty miles), we cast anchor off Wisit: there
was nothing to see ashore, save some wretched
Muzaynah, two males and three females, helpmates
meet for them, living like savages on fish and
shell-molluscs ; drinking brackish water, and sleep-
ing in the “bush,” rather than take the trouble to
repair the huts. They have no sheep, but a few
camels; and, by way of boats, they use catamarans
composed of two palm-trunks: their home-made
hooks resemble the schoolboy’s crooked pin. Yet
these starvelings would not fetch specimens of the
white stuff, distant, perhaps, two direct miles of

cross-cut, seen near Nwwaybs, and still visible.

They also refused, without preliminary “ bakhshish,”

 

   

POVERTY NO VIRTUE. 221

to show or even to tell where certain ruins, concern-
ing which they spoke or romanced, are found in

their hills. And yet there are theologians who

would raise Poverty, the most demoralizing of all
conditions, to the rank of an ecclesiastical virtue.”
At 6°30 a.m. on the next day, the Mukhbir stood
eastwards to avoid the northern reef. Presently we
passed the “ Upper Nuwaybi’,” a creeklet to the
north-west of Wisit, with a straggling line of palms
fed by the huge Wady Muzayrij. From this point
to the 'Akabah head all the coast is clean of man.
The Jibdl el-Samghi now become the Sinaitic 720d!
¢l-Shafak (“Lip Mountains ”), the latter stretching
northwards to the Hajj-road, and forming the
western wall of the 'Arabah valley, whose name they
assume (Jibdl el- Arabalk). The scene abruptly
shifts. A mottle of clouds sheds moving shadows
over the hill-crests, and relieves them from the
appalling monotony of yesterday. Brilliant rainbow
hues, red, green, mauve, purple, yellow and white
clays, gleam in the lowlands, and form dwarf bluffs ;
while inland, peering above the granites, the syenites,
and the porphyries of the coast, pale quoins and
naked cones again show the familiar Secondary
formation of Midianitish Maknd. We were not
surprised to hear that sulphur had been found in
the gypsum of these eastern Ghats of Sinai, when

a Jebel el-Kibrit, approached by the Wady Suwayr,

  
 
 

 
 

 

 

222 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

was pointed out to us. The natural deduction is
that the brimstone formation is, like the turquoise,
the copper, and the manganese, a continuation of the
beds that gave a name to Mafka-land ; while the
metalliferous strata round, in horseshoe-form, the
head of El-’Akabah, and run down the Arabian
shore, till they become parallel with those subtending
the seaboard of Africa.

The view of the eastern or Midianite coast was
even more varied and suggestive. Far inland, and
tinged light-blue by distance, rose the sharp, jagged,
and sawlike crests of El-Sharaf, under which the
Hajj-caravan wends its weary way, thus escaping
the mountains which dip perpendicularly into the
sea. Then come the broad and sandy slopes, here
and there streaked with dark ridges, spanned by the
Sulténi or Sultan's high-road, and stretching from
the Gulf to the inner heights. The latter are no
longer a double parallel chain: they bend from
south-south-east to north-north-west, and become
the Jibdl el-Shard’, anciently “ Mount Seir;” in fact,
the eastern retaining-wall of the great Wady 'Arabah.
Evidently they are primary, but a white and purple
patch, visible from afar, suggested a Secondary
remnant. Several of the peaks, especially the blue
block El-Yitm, appeared to be of great height; we
all remarked its towering stature and trifid head-

piece, apparently upwards of five thousand feet high,

   

   

PHARAOH'S ISLAND.

 

before we had heard the tale attached to it. Abreast
of us and on the shore, lie the large inlet and little
islet El-Humayzah : the surveyors have abominably
corrupted it to “Omeider.” North of it a palm-

grove, lining the mouth of a broad Wady which

snakes high up among the sands and stones, de-
notes the Hajj-station, El-Hakl (Hagul), backed by
tall arenaceous buttresses.

After six hours (= twenty-two knots and a half),
we anchored in the deep channel, about three-quarters
of a kilométre wide, that separates the Sinaitic
mainland from the northern one of the only two
islands known in the 'Akabah Gulf, a scrap of rock
crowned with picturesque grey ruins. The Jezirat
Fara'in of the maps, the Isle of Pharaoh, concerning
whom traditions are still current, it is known to the
'Akabites only as Jebel el-Kala'Ze or © Fort-hill : ”
hence El-Graa in Laborde, and Jezirat El-Otireich
in Arconati.® Burckhardt alone mentions that the
ruins are known as El-Dayr— the Convent.” This
human lair is encircled by barrier-reefs of coralline,
broad to the south-west and large in scattered places :
eastward they form a shallow wall-like ledge, beyond
which blue water at once begins. The island-forma-
tion is that of the opposite coasts, Midian and Sinai,

grey granite dyked with decaying porphyritic trap,

* « Diario in Arabia Petrea” (1865) di Visconte Giammartino
Arconati. Roma, 1872.

 
 

 

 

224 THE LAND OF MIDIANMN.

and everywhere veined with white and various-
coloured quartzes. The shape is a long oval of
about three hundred and twenty by one hundred
and fifty-two metres ; a saddleback with two stony
heads, the higher to the north, rising a hundred
feet or so above sea-level. Pommel and cantle are
connected by a low seat, a few yards of isthmus; and
the three divisions, all strongly marked, bear build-
ings. The profile from east and west shows four
groups : to the extreme north a tower, backed by the
castle donjon, on the knob of granite here and there
scarped ; the works upon the thread of isthmus ; and
the walls and bastions crowning the southern knob,
which, being lower, is even more elaborately cut to
a perpendicular.

We landed upon the eastern side of the islet-
rock, where the trunk of a broken mole is covered
in rear by a ruined work. Here, being most liable
to attack, the fortifications are strongest ; whereas on
the west side only a single wall, now strewn on the
ground, with square Zz; at intervals, defends the
little boat-harbour. The latter appears at present
in the shape of a fish-pond, measuring sixty by forty
metres ; sunk below sea-level, fed by percolation, and
exceedingly salt. To the east of this water, black
cineraceous earth shows where the smith had been at
work : we applied the quarrymen to sift it, without

other results but bits of glass, copper, and iron nails.

 
   

  
   

PHARAOH'S ISLAND.

The pier leads to a covered way, enabling the
garrison safely to circulate round the base of the
islet. Behind it a path, much broken and cumbered
by débris of the walls, winds up the southern face of
the northern hill, which supports the body of the
place: it meets another track from the west, and a
small work defends their junction. Below it, outside
the walls, we found a well sunk about eight feet in
the granite, and cemented with fine lime, the red
plaster in places remaining. Above this pit a
Mihrdb, or prayer-niche, fronting Meccah-wards
(more exactly 175° mag.) shows the now ruinous
mosque : the Bedawi declare that it was built by a
« Pasha.” Higher again, upon a ferreplein, are lines
of tanks laid out with all that lavishness of labour
which distinguishes similar works in Syria: it is,
however, difficult to assign any date to these con-
structions. The cisterns were explored by Mr.
Clarke and Lieutenant Amir, who dug into and
planned them. They descended by ropes, although
there are two flights of steps to the west and the
south-west. The tanks are built up from the base
with blocks one foot nine inches long : seven inches
deep of rubbish were cleared away before reaching
the floor, composed of black stones bedded in layers
of cement above and below, and resting upon the
ground-rock. The diggings yielded only big pieces
of salt fallen from the walls, and a broken handmill

VOL. I. Q

 
 

 

 

226 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of basalt. The sides are supported by pilasters of cut
stone, and the crown by four pillars in a double
row : the dividing arches, according to the plan, are

not symmetrical. Hard by, measuring twelve

métres by twelve, is the quarry whence the stone
was taken; and near it stands the normal Egyptian
pigeon-tower, with its nest-niches.
The donjon or body is defended by an enceinte,
.opening northwards upon a large yard, where,
doubtless, the garrison mustered, and whence a flight
of steps leads to the wicket. The inside of the works
shows the roofless party-walls still standing ; and the
ground is scattered over with the remains of many
different races : there are drums of columns and frag-
ments of marble pillars, but no sign of an inscription.
Even in the upper ramparts two epochs are distinctly
traceable, the medieval and the modern. The lower
ashlar, mostly yellow orit, is cut and carefully
cemented ; the upper part is generally of rough dry
stone, the plutonic formations of the islet heaped up
with scanty care. The embrasures are framed with
decaying palm-trunks; the loop-holes belong partly
to the age of archery; and nothing can be ruder
than the battlements placed close together, as if to
be manned by bowmen, while in not a few places
there are the remains of matting between the
courses. At the highest part we found another

carefully cemented Sekrzy, or underground cistern,

A A Gl

ABLE SE

Gr AE ER i

     

  
  

PHARAOH'S ISLAND. 227

 

with two sharp-topped arches divided by a tall

column, Saracenic certainly and not Doric: * above
it a circular aperture, arched round with the finest
bricks, serves to lighten the superstructure. It
communicates to the north with a Hammam, whose
plan is easily traced by the double flues and earthen-
ware tubes, well made and mortared together. Here
we found inscribed on the plaster, “ Arona Linant
22 Mars 1846.” .

The southern knob of the islet supports similar
but inferior constructions, still more ruinous withal :
its quarry is on the lower slopes, and its granitic base
has also been scarped seawards. Two stout walls,
twelve feet thick below and six above, crossing the
length of the rock from north to south, here meet
in a Burj which shows signs of fine tiles on an
upper floor; whilst a third wall forms a southern
spine bisecting the tail of the « Jezirat.” The castle
is much more dilapidated than when sketched by
Riippell, the first Frank who visited El-’Akabah, in
1826. His illustration (p. 214) of Ruinen auf der
Insel Emwrag shows a single compact building in
good preservation, the towers being round, when all
are square; and it is garnished with the impossible
foreground and background of his epoch ; the former,
enlivened with a Noah's-Ark camel, being placed

quite close, when it is distant some ten miles. In

* Wellsted, 11. 143.

 
 

228 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the German naturalists time, the now desolate island
was occupied by dz Emradi, a tribe which he
suspected to be
queerest tales: I presume they are the ’Imrdm-
Huwaytdt of El-Hakl and the Hismd. Wellsted’s
short description (ir. ix) is still correct as in 1833.

The castle is evidently European, built during
the days when the Crusaders held El” Akabah ; but it
probably rests upon Roman ruins; and the latter,
perhaps, upon Egyptian remains of far older date.
It protected one section of the oldest overland route,
when the islet formed the key of the Gulf-head.
It subsequently became an eyrie whence its robber
knights and barons—including possibly “John, the
Christian ruler of ’Akabah” (a.p. 630), and, long after
him, madcap Rainald de Chatillon (a.n. 1182)—could
live comfortably and sally out to plunder merchants
and pilgrims. The Saracenic buildings may date, as
the popular superstition has it, from the reign of
Salah el-Din (Saladin) who, in A.D. 1167, cleared his
country of the Infidel invader by carrying ships on
camel-back from Cairo. Later generations of
thieves, pirates, and fishermen naturally made it
their refuge and abode. I hardly anticipate for it
great things in the immediate future, although it has
been proposed for a coal-depot.

After a day given to tube-tinkering with tom-

pions, stays, plugs, plates, and wedges, to the dis-

Jewish, and of which he told the -

 

 

 

  

70 EL°AKABAH. 229

traction of the ship's carpenter and blacksmith,
steam was coaxed up; and, at 9.15 a.m. (February
»th), we ran northwards through the deep narrow
channel, rounding the upper end of the Pharaohnic
‘Jet. Here the encircling wall is defended by two
square Burj, to the north-east and to the north-
west, flanking what is probably the main entrance.
On the Sinaitic mainland to port, the broad mouth
of the Wady el-Masri leads to the Nakbd, the
rocky Pass which, so much dreaded till repaired by
Abbds Pasha, is popularly said to be described in
E10 Ababakh—¢ the Steep.” The Bedawin, however,
declare that the locale is so called because the Gulf
here “heels” (Ya'kkab ¢l-Bakr), that is, comes to
an end. At the head of the sea, the confused mass
of the Sinaitic mountains range themselves in line
to the west, fronting its sister wall, the grand block
El-Shard’ (Seir) ; while in the middle lies the
southern section of the « Ghor,” the noble and
memorious Wady cl’ AKabah, supposed to have
given a name to Arabia.* The surface-water still
rolls down it after rains; and the mirage veiling
the valley-sole prolongs the Gulf-waters far to the
north, their bed in the old geologic ages. The

* «Ghor” is the whole depression including the Jordan and
the Dead Sea, while El’Akabah is its southernmost section. In
older maps this gulf is made to fork at the north—a topographical

absurdity. I have also fallen into a notable blunder about the
Jebel el-Shard’, in “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” note t, p. 175.

    

      
 

 

230 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

view was charming to us; for the first time since
leaving Suez we saw the contrast of perpendicular
and horizontal, of height and flat. Nothing could
be more refreshing, more gladdening to the eye,
after niente che montagne, as the poor Italian de-
scribed the Morea, than the soft sweeps and the level
lines of the hollow plain : it was enjoyable as a heavy
shower after an Egyptian summer. On the next
day also, the play of light and shade, and the hide
and seek of sun-ray and water-cloud, gave the view
a cachet of its own. I am sorry to see that scientific
geologist, Mr. John Milne, F.G.S.,* proposing to cut
through the two to five hundred feet of elevation
which separate the Gulf from the Dead Sea, some
thirteen hundred feet below water level. Does he
reflect that he simply proposes to obliterate the
whole lower Jordan ? to bury Tiberias and its lake
about eight hundred feet under the waves? in fact,
to overwhelm half the Holy Land in a brand-new
nineteenth-century deluge, the Deluge of Milne ?
All were delighted at having reached our north-
ernmost point, without another visit from EI-Ayli.
After one hour and thirty-five minutes (= seven
miles) the MM ukhbir anchored, in twelve fathoms of
water, a couple of hundred yards off the fort and
its dependent group of brown-grey mud buildings,

* See Appendix, p. 537, ‘Geological Notes,” etc., in Dr.
Beke’s “ Sinai in Arabia.”

   

     

EL°AKABAH. 231

half concealed by the luxuriant palms. The roads
are safe enough : here the north wind has not yet
gained impetus ; the south-easter is bluffed off by
a long point; and in only the strongest Gharbi
(“ westers”) ships must run for refuge under the
cliffs of Sinai.

This is not the place to enter into the history of
Elath, Ailat, Ailah, Alana, ’Akabah, or ’Akabat-
Aylah : Robinson (i. 250-254) and a host of others
give ample and reliable details. Suffice it to say
that the site is mentioned in the Wanderings (Deut.
ii. 8), which must not be confounded with the
Exodus. It is subsequently connected with the
gold-fleet (1 Kings ix. 26, etc.); and, conquered by
Rezin, king of Syria (B.C. 740), it was permanently
lost to the Jews (2 Kings xvi. 6). Under the
Romans, this great station upon the “Overland”
between the southernmost Nabathean port, Leuke
Koéme, and Petra, the western capital, was a Pree-
sidium held by the Tenth Legion; and a highway
connected it with Gaza (Ghazzah), measuring one
hundred and twenty direct miles, when the Isthmus
of Suez numbers only ninety-five. In Christian
times it had a prince and a bishop; and, under
Mohammed and the early Moslems, it preserved
an importance which lasted till the days of the
Crusaders. [El-Makrizi describes its ruins, and here

places the northern frontier of the Hejaz: in his
 

232 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

day “Madyan” was thus a section of the Tihdmat
el-Hejaz, the maritime region of the Moslems’
Holy Land. |

A group of camels had gathered on the shore;
and inland lay a mob of pilgrims, the Hajj el-
Maghdribah, numbering some three thousand North-
West Africans ; an equally large division had already
preceded them to Suez. Letters from Egypt assured
us that cholera had broken out at Meccah and
Jeddah, killing in both places ninety-eight per diem.
Here the pilgrims swore by their Allah that all were,
and ever had been, in perfect health; it is every
man’s business to ignore the truth, to hide the sick,
and to bury the dead out of sight. Hard swearing,
however, did not prevent the Hajj undergoing a
long quarantine before entering Suez. The English
journals had reported another disaster: “ Now that
the Sultdn’s power is collapsing, the most powerful
Bedaween tribes are rising because their subsidies
are withheld. For weeks the great pilgrim-traffic of
autumn (? add the other three seasons) was arrested
by them; and even between Medina and Mecca the
road is unsafe.” Of this I could hear nothing.

We awaited, on board, the departure of the
pauper and infected “ Mogrebbins : ” when the place
was clear we fired a gun, and, after an answer of
three, I received the visits of the fort officials. They
were civility itself; they immensely admired our

OLD EL’AKABAH. 233

two “splendid buttons” of poor iron; and they
privily remarked, with much penetration, that the
colour was that of brass: they were, in truth, far
wiser than we had been. With them came Moham-
med ibn Jad (not Ijit) el’Alawi (of the ’Alawiyyin-
Huwaytdt), who styles himself “Shaykh of El-
'Akabah :” he is remarkable for frank countenance,
pleasant manners, and exceeding greed. He was
gorgeously arrayed in an overall (Aébdyak) of red silk
and gold thread (Gasab), covering a similar cloak of
black wool : besides which, a long-sleeved Egyptian
caftdn, striped stuff of silk and wool, invested his
cotton Kamis and Libds (“bag-breeches”). To his
A'kél or “fillet” of white fleecy wool hung a talis-
man; his Kul (“riding-boots ”) were of red morocco,
and his sword-scabbard was covered with the same
material. The Arab ever loves scarlet, and all
varieties of the sanguine hue are as dear to him as
to the British soldier.

We held sundry long confabs with Shaykh
Mohammed, who seemed to know the neighbour-
hood unusually well. He declared that there were
ruins but no trees at "Ayn el-Ghadydn, distant one
day’s march up the Wady el-’Arabah, and lying
near the western wall. This is the place first identi-
fied by Robinson, who says nothing about the
remains, with Ezion-geber, while Dean Stanley

(‘“ Sinai,” etc., p. 85) opines that we have no means

    

     
    
   
   
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
   
  
   
  
   
 

 

     
 

234 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of fixing the position of the “Giant's shoulder-
blade.” * Josephus (“Antiq.,” viii. 6, 4) places it near
Alana; and the present distance from the sea, like
that of Heroopolis (Shaykh el-Ajrid 2) from Suez,
may show the rise of the Wady el-’Arabah within
historic times. The Shaykh assured wus that
“ Mard” was to be found everywhere among the
hills east of El-’Akabah, and Mr. Milne (Beke,
p. 405) brought from the very summit of the “ true
Mount Sinai” (Jebel el-Yitm) a “fine piece of
quartz, the same kind of stone as the Brazilian
pebbles of which they make the best spectacles.”
We carried off a specimen of native copper from
the Sinaitic Jebel and Wady Raddddi, some six
hours to the north-west of the fort: it is found
strewed upon the ground but not in veins (?). The
stone looked so new that we concluded it to be

the work of later generations; and the traces of

smelting furnaces at old Elath confirmed the idea.

Shaykh Mohammed, who boasted that his tribe
could mount five hundred horses—by which under-
stand five—offered his safeguard to the Hismd, three
easy marches, without pass or c/zmax, up the Wady
Yitm to the east, and behind the range El-Shard’,
He made the region begin northwards at one day
south of EI-Ma’dn, the fort lying to the east-south-east

of Petra; and he confirmed the accounts of Mabruk,

* See “ The Gold-Mines of Midian,” pp. 338, 339.

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FIL’AKABAH. 235

the guide, who was never tired of expatiating upon

its merits. The fountains flow in winter, in summer

the wells are never dry; the people, especially the
Huwaytdt, are kind and hospitable ; sheep are cheap
as dirt. At Jebel Saur a Maghrabi magician raised
a Kidr Dakab (“golden pot”); but, his incense
failing at the critical moment, it sank before yielding
its treasures.

Pointing north-eastwards to the majestic pile in
the Shard’ or Seir Mountains, the Jebel el-Yitm,*
a corruption of El-Yatim, the Shaykh told us a tale

that greatly interested us. It appears, I have said,

a remarkable formation from whose group of terminal
domes and pinnacles the tomb of Aaron on Mount
Hor is,f they say, visible; and it is certainly the

* This Yitm, which Bruckhardt first wrote El-Ithem, unfor-
tunately gave Dr. Beke an opportunity of finding, in his “ Wady
el-Ithem,” the “ Etham of the Exodus.” (See “The Gold-Mines
of Midian,” pp. 359—361). The latter has been conclusively
shown by Brugsch-Bey in his lecture, “La Sortie des Hébreux
d’Egypte ” (Alexandrie : Mourts, 1874), p. 31, to be the great fort
of Khatom, on the highway to Phcenicia. The roots AZatam,
Asham, Tam, like the Arabic “ Khatm” (pl), signify to seal
up, close ; and thus AZatom in Egyptian, as Atham, Etham in
Hebrew, means a closed place, a fortress. Wallin calls the “ Yitm,”
which he never visited, “Wadi Lithm, a cross valley opening
through the chain at about eight hours (twenty-four miles) north of
’Akabd ”—possibly Lithm is a misprint, but it is repeated in more
than one page.

t Dr. Beke, who afterwards changed his mind, would identify
Hor, the burial-place of Aaron, with Horeb of the Rock (“ Orig.
Biblicze,” 195). He then adopted (‘Sinai in Arabia,” p. 77)
the opinion of St. Jerome (“De Situ,” etc., p. 191), “ Mihi autem

 
 

 

236 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

highest visible peak of the grand wall that forms the
right bank of the Wady Yitm. Thus it is but one
of a long range ; and the Bedawin visit it, to make
sacrifice, according to universal custom, at the tomb
of a certain Shaykh Bdkir. Here, some years ago,
came an old man and a young man in a steamer
(Erin) belonging to his Highness the Khediv : the
former told the Arabs that in his books the height
was called the Jebel el-Niir (“ Mountain of Light”),
a title which apparently he had first applied to the
Febel el-Lanz; and the latter climbed to the moun-
tain-top. After that they went their way.

I quite agree with my lamented friend, Dr. Beke,
that it is an enormous blunder to transfer Midian,
the “ East Country,” to the west of El-’Arabah, and
to place it sout/z of the South Country (El-Negeb,
Gen. xx. 1). I own that it is ridiculous to make
the Lawgiver lead his fugitives into a veritable cz/-
de-sac, then a centre of Egyptian conquest. Evi-
dently we have still to find the “true Mount Sinai,”
if at least it be not a myth, pure and simple. The pro-
found Egyptologist, Dr. Heinrich Brugsch-Bey,
videtur quod duplice nomine mons nunc Sina, nunc Choreb
vocatur.” Wellsted (ii. 103) also makes Horeb synonymous with
«“ Wilderness of Sinai.” Professor Palmer (118) translates Horeb
by “ground that has been drained and left dry:” he would include
in it the whole Desert of Sinai, together with “the Mountain ;”
whilst he warns us that the monks call the whole southern portion

of their mountain “ Horeb.” Others confine “ Horeb” to Jebel
Mus4, and even to its eastern shoulder.

 

   
  

  
  
  

aL gn se rb

   
    
 

 

 

 
 

   

observes that the vulgar official site lies to the south

  

“ MOUNT SINAL” 237

of and far from the line taken by the Beni Israil, and
that the papyri show no route leading to it; whilst
many have remarked that the Sinai of the Exodus is

described as a single isolated mountain or hill, not
as one projection from a range of heights.* I would
also suggest that the best proof of how empirical is
the actual identification, will be found in the fact
that the Jews—except only the Rev. Jos. Wolff
(1821)—have never visited, nor made pilgrimages
to, what ought to be one of their holiest of holy
places. This crucial point has been utterly neg-
lected by the officers of the Ordnance Survey of
Sinai. It is evident that Jebel Serbal dates only
from the early days of Koptic Christianity; that
Jebel Musd, its Greek rival, rose after the visions of
Helena in the fourth century ; whilst the building of
the convent by Justinian belongs to A.p. 527. Ras
Sufsafah, its rival to the north, is an affair of yester-
day, and may be called the invention of Robinson ;
and Jebel Katerina, to the south, is the property of
Riippell. Thus the oft-quoted legends of the

Sinaitic Arabs are mere monkish traditions, adopted

* For the Mount or Mountain see Exodus xix. 2, 12, 20, 23;
also xxxil. 19; Qgut. iv. 11, and v. 23; Heb. xii. 18. Josephus
(“‘ Antiq.,” 11. ii. 1) speaks of it similarly as a “mountain,” and
describes it with all the apparatus of fable ; while his compatriot
and contemporary, St. Paul (Epist. to the Galatians 1v. 25), calls it
only “ Mount Sinai in Arabia,” Ze. east of Jordan.

 

 
 

 

238 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

by Ishmaelitic ignorance. The great Lawgiver

probably led his horde of fugitive slaves over the
plains of El-Negeb and EI-Tih, north of the so-called
Sinaitic mountain-blocks, marching in small divisions
like those of a modern Bedawi tribe ; and we know
from the latest surveys that the land, now alternately
a fiery or frozen wilderness, was once well supplied
with wood and water. The “true Mount Sinai” is
probably some unimportant elevation in the Desert
named by moderns after the Wanderings.

Dr. Beke, I am persuaded, is right in denying
that Mount Sinai occupies the site at present assigned
to it; but I cannot believe that he has found it in
the Jebel el-Yitm, near El’Akabah. His © Mount
Bdrghir” is evidently a corruption of the * Wali” on
the summit, Shaykh Bdkir—a common Arab name.
His “ Mountain of Light” is a term wholly unknown
to the Arabs, except so far as they would assign the
term to any saintly place. The “sounds heard in
the mountain like the firing of a cannon,” is a legend
applied to two other neighbouring places. All the
Bedawin still sacrifice at the tombs of their Santons :
at the little white building which covers the reputed
tomb of Aaron, sheep are slaughtered and boiled
in a huge black cauldron. The “pile of large
rounded boulders” bearing “cut Sinaitic inscrip-

)

tions” (p. 423) are clearly Wasim : these

tribal-marks, which the highly imaginative M. de

 

    
     

    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

   

Ti cab Eire

  
 
   

THE “TRUE MOUNT SINAL” 239

Saulcy calls “planetary signs,” are found through-
out Midian. The name of the Wady is, I have
said, not El-Ithem, but El-Yitm, a very different
word. Lastly, the “ Mountain Eretéwa,” or “Er-
téwa” (p. 404), is probably a corruption of £/-Zaur
(El-Hisma), the inaccessible wall ” of the plateau,
which Dr. Beke calls Jebel Hismd. My old friend,
with his usual candour and straightforwardness,
honestly admitted that he had been “egregiously
mistaken with respect to the volcanic character of

rr»

(the true) ‘ Mount Sinai. But without the erup-
tion, the “fire and smoke theory,” what becomes
of his whole argument ?* Save for the death of my
friend, I should have greatly enjoyed the comical
side of his subject; the horror and disgust with
which he, one of the greatest of geographical inno-
vators, regards a younger rival theory, the exodist
innovation of Dr. Heinrich Brugsch-Bey. The latter
is the first who has rescued the “ March of the Chil-
dren of Israel” from the condition of mere guess-
work described by the Rev. Mr. Holland.

Under the guidance of our new acquaintances,
we rowed to the site of Elath, which evidently
extended all round the Gulf-head from north-east
to north-west. Linant and Laborde (“Voyage de
I'Arabie Petrée,” etc.,, Paris, 1830) confine it to

the western shore, near the mouth of the Wady

* See Atheneum, February 8th and 15th, 1873.
 

  

ws laa

eastward lies

 

240 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

cl’ Arabah, and make Ezion-geber to face it—as
suggested by the writings of the Hebrews. Dis-
embarking at the northern palm-clump, we inspected
El-Dér, the old halting-place of the pilgrim-caravan
before New ’Akabah was founded. The only ruins®
are large blocks under the clearest water, and off
a beach of the softest sand, which would make the
fortune of a bathing-place in Europe. Further
an enclosed date-orchard called El-
Hammdm : the two pits in it are said to be wells,
but I suspect the treasure-seeker. Inland and to
the north rise the mounds and tumuli, the sole

. remains of ancient Elath, once the port of Petra,

or

 
 
  

which is distant only two dromedary marches.
During rain-floods the site is an island : to the west
flows the surface-water of the Wady el-’Arabah, and
castward the drainage of the Wady Yitm has dug
a well-defined bed. A line of larger heaps to the
north shows where, according to the people, ran the
city wall: finding it thickly strewed with scoriz, old
and new, I decided that this was the Szydghal or
« smiths’ quarter.” Between it and the sea the
surface is scattered with glass, shards, and slag: 1
inquired in vain for “written stones,” and for the
petroleum reported to exist in the neighbourhood.
Shaykh Mohammed declared that of old a chain
stretched from the Pharaohnic island-castle to the

# They were heard of by Burckhardt (“ Syria,” p. 510).

     
     
   
      
    
     
    
     
      
     
    
     
      
     
   
   
    
      
     
     
    
      
     
    

  

dR

ea a

    
     
   
   
     
       

Jebel el-Burayj or Kasr el-Bedawi on the Midianite
shore: this chain is a Zzeu commun of Eastern legends.
The “Bedawi's Castle” is mentioned by Robinson and
Burckhardt (““ Syria,” p. 510), as lying one hour south
of El”Akabah. Moreover, the Wady Yitm, whose
upper bedshows two ruins, was closed, at the narrow
above the mouth, by a fortified wall of stone and
lime, thus cutting off all intercourse with the interior.
The Bedawin declare it to be the work of King
Hadid (Iron), who thus kept out the Beni Hildl of
El-Nejd. We were shown large earth-dams, thrown
across the embouchure of the torrent to prevent the
floods injuring the palm-groves of New ’Akabah.
These may date from ancient days, when the old
city here extended its south-eastern suburb; as
usual, they have become a cemetery, modern and
Moslem ; and on the summit of the largest the holy
Shaykh el-Girmi (Jirmi) still names his ruined tomb.

Walking round the eastern bay, where the ubiqui-
tous black sand striped the yellow shore, we observed
that the tide here rises only one foot,” whereas at
Suez it may reach a metre and a half to seven feet.
According to the chart, the springs attain four feet
at “Omeider” (El-Humayzah), some nineteen direct

knots to the south; and in the Sharm Ydhdrr we

: Beke (p. 446), on February 6th, estimated the rise of the tide
at ’Akabah head to be three to four feet. This is greatly in excess
of actuality ; but, then, he was finding out some rational way of
drowning “ Pharaoh and his host.”

VOL, 1.

    

  

 
   
  
 

 

 

242 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

found them about one metre. Presently we entered,
by wooden doors with locks and keys, the care-
fully kept palm-groves, walled with p#s¢ and dry
stone. Wells were being sunk ; and a depth of nine
to ten feet gave tolerably sweet water. Striking
the broad northern trail which leads to the Wady
Vitm and to the upper El-’Arabah, still a favourite
camping-ground of the tribes,* we reached the
modern settlement, which has something of the
aspect of a townlet, not composed, like El-Muwaylah,
of a single house. The women fled at our approach,
2s we threaded the alleys formed by the mud
tenements.

The fort is usually supposed to have been
built by Sultdn Selim I., in A.D. 1517, OF three years
before his death, after he had subdued the military
aristocracy of the Mamluks, who had ruled Egypt
for three centuries. Much smaller than that of El-
Muwaylah, it is the normal affair : an enceinte once
striped red and white; curtains flanked by four

* Those living further north, the ' Ammarin and the Liydsinah,
are unmitigated scoundrels and dangerous ruffians : amongst the
former Shaykh Saldmah ibn ’Awwad with his brother, and among
the latter Ibrahim el-Hasandt, simply deserve hanging. In Edom,
too, Abd el-Rahmdn el’Awar (“the One-eyed”), Shaykh of the
Fellahin, is ¢ wanted ;” and the ’ Alawin-Huwaytdt would be greatly
improved were they to be placed under Egyptian, instead of
Syrian, rule.

t+ Dr. Beke’s artist (p. 374) has produced a work of imagination,
especially in the foreground and background of his “Migdol or

Castle of Akaba.”

oobi a_i

 

FORT EL’ AKABAL. 243

Burj, all circular, except the new polygon to the
north-west; and a huge, gloomy main-gateway
fronting north, and flanked by two bastions. On
the proper right side is a circle of stone bearing,
without date, the name of “Sultdn Selim Khan el-
F4tih,” who first laid out the pilgrim-route along the
Red Sea shore. Inside the dark cool porch a large
inscription bears the name * El-Ashraf Kanstr (sz)*
E1-Ghori,” the last but one of the Circassian Mamluk
kings of Egypt, who was defeated and slain by the
Turkish conqueror near Aleppo in A.D. 1501. Above
it stand two stone shields dated A.H. 992 (= A.D. 1583
—1584). In the southern wall of the courtyard isthe
mosque, fronted by a large deep well dug, they say,
during the building of the fort: it still supplies the
whole Hajj-caravan with warmish sweet water. On
the ground lies a good brass gun with Arabic
inscription and numerals ; and the towers, command-
ing the little kitchen-gardens outside the fort-wall,
are armed with old iron carronades. The garrison,
consisting of half a dozen gunners and a few Bdsh-
Buzuks, looks pale, bloodless, and unwholesome :
the heats of summer are almost unsupportable ; and

'Akabah has the name of a “little hell.” Moreover,
they eat, drink, smoke, sleep, chat, quarrel, and

never take exercise: the officers complained sadly

* i C ‘ C
Commonly written Kansiih (Kansooh) and corrupted by
Europeans to Campson (like Sampson) Goree.

    

  

    
 

 

 

 

244 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

that T had made them walk perhaps a mile round the
bay-head. And yet they have, within two days of
sharp ride, that finest of sanitaria, the Hisma, which
extends as far north and south as they please to go.
I at once made arrangements for a drome-
dary-post to Suez, and wrote officially to Prince
Husayn Pasha, requesting that his Highness would
exchange the Mukhbir for a steamer less likely to
drown herself. Moreover, the delay at Maghdir
Shu'ayb had exhausted our resources; and the
Expedition required a month's additional rations for
men and mules. The application was, it will ap-
pear, granted in the most gracious manner, with
as little delay as possible; and my wife, who had
reached Cairo, saw that the execution of the order
was not put off till the end of March. Messrs.
Voltéra Brothers were also requested to forward
another instalment of necessaries and comforts ; and
they were as punctual and satisfactory as before.
For this postal service, and by way of propitiatory
present, Shaykh Mohammed received ten dollars, of
which probably two were disbursed. We therefore
parted fast friends, he giving me an especial invitation
to his home in the Hismd, and I accepting it with the
firm intention of visiting him as soon as possible.
Meanwhile Mr. Clarke and Ali Marie were
busy with buying up such stores as El-’Akabah

contains ; and the officers of the fort, who stayed

      

  
   
  
  

     

 

  

  
   
   
  
  

i i ot TE

 

  
   
  
  
  
    
  
   
  
   
  
  
 
  
  
 

 
     

Sr ——— "Nth, .
EAA NR ER A As wr Ba

EL’ AKABAH. 245

with us to the last, were profuse in kind expres-
sions and in little gifts which, as usual, cost us
double their worth. In these lands one must
expect to be “done” as surely as in Italy. What
the process will be, no one knows till it discloses

itself; but all experts feel that it is in preparation.

NOTE ON THE SUPPLIES TO BE BOUGHT AT
EL-AKABAH.

The following is a list of the stores with their prices. It must
be borne in mind that the Hajj-caravan was passing at the time
we visited El”Akabah.

A large sheep cost half a napoleon ; the same was the price of
a small sheep, with a kid.

Fowls (seventy-one bought), thirteen pence each; pigeons,
sixpence a head.

Eggs (sixty), two for threepence.

Tobacco (8 1bs.), coarse and uncut, but welcome to the Beda-
win, one shilling per pound.

Samn (“liquefied butter” for the kitchen) also one shilling per
pound. This article is always dear in Arabia, but much cheaper
than in Egypt. ‘

Pomegranates (fifty), four shillings a hundred.

Onions (one kantdr or cwt.), one sovereign.

Thin-skinned Syrian raisins, fivepence per pound.

Dried figs, twopence halfpenny per pound.

Matches (sixteen boxes), three halfpence per box.

A small quantity of grain may be bought. Lentils (Reza-
lente Arabica) are to be had in any quantity, and they make an
admirable travelling soup. Unfortunately it is supposed to be a
food for Fellahs, and the cook shirks it—the same is the case with
junk, salt pork, and pease-pudding on board an English cruiser.
Sour limes are not yet in season ; they will be plentiful in April.
A little garden stuff may be had for salads. The list of deficiencies
is great ; including bread and beef, potatoes, 'Réki, and all forms
of “diffusable stimulants.”

    

  
 

:

‘was once worth a piastre ; now this «coin of the realm

 

246 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Here, as at Cairo, the piastre is of two kinds, metallic
(debased silver) and non-metallic. Government pays in the
former, which is called SagZ (“ coin”); and the same is the
term throughout Egypt. The value fluctuates, but 97% may be
assumed = one sovereign (English), and one hundred to the Egypt-
ian “lira.” The second kind, used for small purchases, is not
quite half the value of the former (205 : 100) ; In North-Western
Arabia it is called Ayaz (“white”), and Zarifa (““ tariff”) ; the latter
term in Cairo always signifying the Sag’ or metallic. The dodges
of the Shroffs, or “money-changers,” make housekeeping through-
out Egypt a study of arithmetic. They cannot change the value
of gold, but they “rush” the silver as they please ; and thus the
« dollar-sinko ” (ze. the five-franc piece), formerly fetching 19°10,
has been reduced to 18:30. The Khurdah, or “ copper-piastre,”
” has been
so debased, that it has gradually declined through 195 to 500
and even 650 for the sovereign. Moreover, not being a legal
tender, it is almost useless in the market.

As regards the money to be carried by such expeditions, any-
thing current in Egypt will do. The Bedawin prefer sovereigns
when offered five-franc pieces, and vice versa. The Egyptian
sovereign of 100 piastres (metallic) or 250 current” must not
be confounded with the Turkish = 87:30 (curr. 175°20 to 180).
The napoleon averages 77°6 (curr. 160) ; the dollar varies accord-
ing to its kind; the shilling is 3°35 (curr. 10), and the franc
3°35 (curr. 8). It is necessary to lay in a large quantity of small
change by way of “bakhshish,” such as ten and twenty parah

bits (40= 1 piastre).

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
  
 
     
    

  
 
 
 

  

CHAPTER VIII

CRUISE FROM EL-AKABAH TO EL-MUWAYLAH—THE

SHIPWRECK ESCAPED—RESUME OF THE NORTHERN

    
  
 

JOURNEY. .

I RESOLVED upon hastening back with all speed to
El-Muwaylah, finishing, by the way, our work of
quartz-prospecting on the 'Akabah Gulf. Thus far
it had been a success; we heard of “ Mart” in all
directions. But all had not gone equally well. We
had already on two occasions been prevented by
circumstances from visiting the mysterious Hismd,
and we now determined to devote all our energies
to its exploration.

Two heavy showers having fallen during the dark
hours, on February 8th Aurora looked as if she had
passed a very bad night indeed. The mist-rack
trailed along the rock slopes, and rested upon the
Wady-sands ; the mountains veiled their heads in

clouds, and—

“ apd :
Above them lightnings to and fro ran coursing evermore,
Till, like a red, bewildered map, the skies were scribbled o'er.”

   

  
 

    
    
     
    
    
     
       
        
           
         
    
   
   
   
   
    
  
     

 

"Wl on

 

 

248 THE LAND OF MIDIAMNMN.

Meanwhile, in the north-west and south-west we
saw—rare thing in Arabia !—Iris holding two perfect
bows at the same time, not to speak of “wind-
dogs.”  Zephyrus, the wester, here a noted bad
character, rose from his rocky couch strong and
rough, beating down the mercury to 56° F.: after
an hour he made way for Eurus; and the latter was
presently greeted by Boreas in one of his most
boisterous and blustering moods.

We steamed off, with only a single stoppage for
half an hour to cool the engine-bearings, at 7.30 a.m. ;
and, after one mile we passed, on the Arabian side,
a ruin called Kasr el-Bint— the Girl's Palace.”
Beyond it lies the Kasr el-Bedawi, a/zas El-Burayj
(“of the Little Tower or Bastion”), the traditional
holding-pier of the great chain. When Wellsted
(ii. 146) says, “Here (ze. at the Kasr el-Bedawi), I
am told, there is a chain extending from the shore to
a pier built in the sea "—he evidently misunderstood
the Arabs. The eastern coast of El-’Akabah begins
with an abrupt mountain-wall, like that which subtends
the whole of the Sinai shore, till it trends south of
the Minat el-Dahab. After three miles the heights
fall into a stony, sandy plain, which rises regularly as
a “rake,” or stage-slope, to the Shard’ (Seir) range,
which closes the horizon. After two hours and forty-
five minutes we passed into the fine, open, treacherous

Bay of “ Hagul” (£/-Hakl), distant thirteen knots

  
 

 

Bi ba i ais SE

THE CRUISE SOUTHWARDS. 249

rom El’Akabah Fort, to which it is the nearest
caravan-station. On the north-east, and stretching
eastward, are the high “horse,” or dorsum, and the
big buttresses of the long, broad Wady, which comes
winding from the south-east. They appear to be a
body of sand ; but, as usual on this coast, the super-
ficial sheet, the skin, hardly covers the syenite and
porphyritic trap that form the c/larpente. Between
west and south, a long spit, high inland, and falling
low till where its sandstone blufflet meets the sea,
proves to be the base of a large and formidable reef,
which extends in verdigris patches over the blue
waters of the bay. It is not mentioned by Wellsted
(ii. 149), who describes “ Ha'gool on the Arabian
shore,” as “a small boat-harbour much exposed to
the northerly winds.” The embouchure of the
Wady nourishes four distinct clumps of date-trees,
well walled round; a few charred and burnt, the
most of them green and luxuriant. These lines are
broken by the channels which drain the surface-
water; and between the two western sections ap-
pear the ragged frond-huts. Not a soul was seen
on shore.

The wind blew great guns outside the bay, and
the inside proved anything but calm. As the water
was fifty-eight fathoms deep near the coast, our
captain found no moorings for his ship, except to

the dangerous reef ; and we kept drifting about in

       
 

  
  

 
 

 

250 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

a way which would have distracted sensitive nerves,
I had been told of ruins and tumuli at El-Hakl,
which denote, according to most authorities, the
Mesogeian town ’Aykd\n (Ancale): Ptolemy (vi. 7,
27) places this oppidum Mediterrancum between
Mdkna or Maina (Madyan), and Madidma (Maghdir
Shu’ayb), the old capital.

Unwilling, however, to risk the safety of the
gunboat, where nothing was ‘to be expected beyond
what we had seen at El-’Akabah, I resolved, after
waiting half an hour, not to land. The Sambik
received a cargo of quarrymen and sacks, in order
to ship at Maknd the “argentiferous galena” and
other rocks left by Lieutenant Yusuf and M. Phili-
pin upon the shore; and, that done, she was directed
to rejoin us at Tirdn Island. As long as the
norther coursed high, she beat us hollow; in the
afternoon, however, when the gale, as usual, abated,
she fell off, perhaps purposely, not wishing to pass
a night in the open. By sunset her white sail had
clean disappeared, having slipped into some snug
cove.

The Arabian shore is here of simpler construc-
tion than that of Sinai; consequently the chart has
had a better chance. The Mukhbir resumed her
way southwards in glorious weather, a fresh breath
blowing from the north; and fleecy clouds varie-

gating the sky, which was almost as blue as the

 
   
 
    
  
  
  
   
   
  
  
 

Er pe pet --

   
  
  
    
   
  
 
   
  
 
 
  

  
 

 

THE STORMY NIGHT. 251

 
   
 

waves. After six miles and a half from El-Hakl and
nearly twenty from El-Akabah, she ran to the west
of El-Humayzah Island, the “ Omasir” of Wellsted
(ii. 149), between which and the mainland is a well-
sheltered berth. It is a great contrast with the
« Hill of the Fort,” the Pharaohnic rock, this lump
some eighty feet high, built of Secondary gypsum
and yellow serpentine like the coast behind it.
Gleaming deadly white, pale as a corpse in the
gorgeous sunshine, and utterly bare, except for a
single shrub, it is based upon a broad, dark-coloured
barrier-reef. Local tradition here places the Kasr
¢l-Bedawiyyah, * Palace of the Bedawi Woman
(or Girl),” but we saw neither sign of building nor
trace of population in the second island which the
Gulf el-’Akabah owns.

We then passed sundry uninteresting features,
and night fell upon us off Jebel Tayyib Ism, where
familiar scenes began to present themselves. The
captain had already reduced speed from four and a
half to three knots, his object being to reach the
Bughdz or “Gulf-mouth” after dawn. Butas midnight
drew near it became necessary to ride out the furious
gale with the gunboat’s head turned northwards.
M. Lacaze, a stout-hearted little man, worked half
the night at the engine, assisting Mr. Duguid.
About four a.m. (February gth) a lull in the storm

allowed her to resume her southerly course; but

      

 

    
 

252 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

two hours afterwards, an attempt to make the
Maknd shore, placing her broadside on to the wind,
created much confusion in the crockery and com-
motion among the men. Always a lively craft, she
now showed a Vokes-like agility; for, as is ever the
case, she had no ballast, and who would take the
trouble to ship a few tons of sand? At such
moments the engine was our sole stand-by: had it
played one of its usual tricks, the Muk/ibir, humanly
speaking, was lost; that is, she would have been
swamped and water-logged. As for setting sail, it
was not till our narrow escape that I could get the
canvas out of stowage in the hold.

As the morning wore on the Gulf became even
rougher, with its deep and hollow waves; they
seemed to come from below, as if bent upon hoisting
us in the air. The surface-water shivered; and the
upper spray was swept off by the north wind, which
waxed colder and more biting as we steered sun-
wards. The Sinaitic side now showed its long
slopes ; and at 9.45 a.m. we passed the palms of the
Nebiki anchorage, some six miles from the “ Gate.”
On the shore of Midian, south of the dark Fahisdt
Mountains, four several buttresses of gypsum, de-
creasing in size as they followed one another east-
wards, trended diagonally away from the sea. This
part of the Arabian coast ends in a thin point: the
maps call it “ Ras Fartak;” and the pilots “ Shaykh

   

  

   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
 

SI id -

THE UGLY MOUTH. 253

Hamid,” * from a holy man’s tomb to which pious
visitation is made. The other land-tongue, adjoining
to the south, is known as the Umm Rus, or “ Mother
of Heads.” I cannot find out whence Riippell
borrowed his “Omel Hassanie” (Umm el-Hassani?).

As we approached the ugly gape of the formid-
able Gulf, the waves increased in size, and coursed
to all directions, as if distorted by the sunken reefs.
The eastern jamb is formed by Tirdn Island; the
western by the sandy Ras Nasrdni, whose glaring
tawny slope is dotted with dark basaltic cones,
detached and disposed like great ninepins. Beyond
this cape the Sinaitic coast, as far as Ras Mohammed,
the apex of the triangle, is fretted with little indent-
ations; hence its name, £/-Shurim—“the Creeks.”
Near one of these baylets, Wellsted chanced upon
“yolcanic rocks which are not found in any other
part of the peninsula:” this sporadic outbreak gives
credibility to the little “Harrah” reported to be
found upon the bank of the Midianitish “Wady
Sukk.” A hideous, horrid reef, dirty brown and
muddy green, with white horses madly charging the
black diabolitos, whose ugly heads form clevaux de
Jfrise, a stony tongue based upon Tirdn Island, and
apparently connected from the eastern coast behind,
extends its tip to mid-channel. The clear way of

the dreaded Bughdz is easily found in the daytime :

* Not Hamid, as some mispronounce the word.

   

    
    

   
 

 

254 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

at night it would be almost impossible ; and when
Midian shall be “rehabilitated,” this reef will require
a Pharos.

Adieu, small spitfire of a Gulf! The change
from the inside to the outside of the Birkat el-
'Akabah was magical. We at once glided into
summer seas, a mosaic of turquoise and amethyst,
fanned by the softest of breezes, the thermometer
showing on deck 63° F. Perhaps the natural joy
at our lucky escape from “making a hole in the
water” caused the beauties of the weather and the
glories of the scenery to appear doubly charming.
Our captain might have saved fifteen miles by taking
the short cut north of Tirdn Island, under whose
shelter we required a day for boiler-tinkering. His
pilot, however, would not risk it, and we were com-
pelled, nothing loth and little knowing what we did,
to round for a second time the western and southern
shores.

The « Hill of Birds,” which some have identified
with the classical Island of Isis,* shows a triune
profile, what the Brazilians call a Moela or “gizzard.”
Of its three peaks the lowest is the eastern; and
the central is the highest, reaching seven hundred,
not a thousand, feet. Viewed from within the Gulf,
it is a slope of sand which has been blown in sheets
up the backing hills. The ground plan, as seen
* «The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. XII.

 
  
 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
   
  
  
  

 

  
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
 

    

     

BIRD ISLAND. 248

from a balloon, would represent a round head to the
north, a thin neck, and a body rudely triangular, the
whole measuring a maximum of five miles in length:
the sandy northern circlet, connected by the nar-
rowest of isthmuses, sweeping eastward, forms the
noted port. The material is the normal Secondary
formation, sulphates and carbonates of lime support-
ing modern corallines and conglomerates of shell.
Horizontal lines of harder stone are disposed in
huge steps or roads that number three to six on the
flank of the western peak: the manganese-coloured
strata which appeared at Maghdir Shu’ayb, and in
the rent bowels of the Ruglhamat Makna, are con-
spicuous from the south. The whole has been
upheaved by syenite, which, again, has been cut by
dykes of plutonic stone, trap and porphyry.

At two p.m. we anchored in a roadstead to the
south-east of the island, open to every wind except
the norther. I had sent Lieutenant Amir and sun-
dry quarrymen ashore, to inspect what looked like
a vein of sulphur. They delayed two hours, instead
of a few minutes; the boiler was grumbling for rest,
and, not wishing to leave them adrift in an open
boat, I imprudently consented to await them in a
roadstead where the coast was dangerous, instead of
proceeding, as had been intended, to the fine land-
locked port, nature-hollowed in the eastern side of

the island. The old captain pitifully represented to

 

 
 

 

256 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

me that his crew could not row ; and this I found to
be generally the case : ten miles with the oar would
be considered a terrible corvée by the Egyptian
man-o’-war’s man.

After blowing off steam, we at once went a-fish-
ing. The only remarkable result was the discovery
that this corner of the Red Sea is a breeding-ground
for sharks: we had not seen one in the Gulf of
El’ Akabah, where last April they swarmed. Here,
however, the school contained all sizes and every
age, and they regarded us curiously with their cat's
eyes, large, dark, and yellow-striped down the middle.
A small specimen, that had just cut its teeth, was
handed over to the cook, despite his loudly expressed
disgust. The meat was somewhat mealy and short-
fibred ; but we pronounced in committee the sea-
dog to be thoroughly eatable when corrected by
pepper, garlic, and Worcester sauce. The corallines
near the shore were finely developed: each bunch,
like a tropical tree, formed a small zoological museum;
and they supplied a variety of animalcule, including
a tiny shrimp. The evening saw a well-defined halo
encircling the moon at a ‘considerable distance ; and
Mr. Duguid quoted the Scotch saw—

“ A far-awa’ bruch’s a near-awa’ blast.”
The blast was nearer than we expected; and,
during the rest of the journey, the “bruch” rarely

if ever deceived us. Yet the night was not much

 

oh

BSS

ERR RIS

i a

ie AR

BIRD ISLAND. 257

disturbed by the furious northerly gusts, showing
that the storm which we had escaped was raging in
the still-vexed ’Akabah.

Next morning we landed to the south-west of
Tirdn’s easternmost peak, with a view of prospecting
and adding to our collections. On the shore, about
three hundred feet from the sea, is a bank of dead
shells which are not found on the northern or sandy
end of the island : near the water most of them are
tenanted by pagur: (“hermits”). We caught a
number of crabs and small fish, and we carried off
a single rock-oyster: as yet we had not found out
that the Ustrida—the vulgar form of the Hellenic
and classical “ Istiridiyd "—abounds in these seas.
After thirty minutes’ walk up the southern plane of
the prism, composed of gypseous and coralline rocks,
veins of white petrosilex resembling broken columels,
streaks of magnetic black sand, and scatters of grit
and harder stones, we reached the summit of the
little ridge. It afforded a fine bird's-eye view of
the splendid middle port; of the false harbour; of
the real shoal to its south-east, and of the basin
which seems to form Sindfir Island.

We now bent to the south-west. Here the surface
is much cut and broken by sandy Wadys, dotted
with a few straggling plants : to our right was a Goz
or inclined arenaceous bank, where the south wind

had sifted the sand from the gravel, disposing the

VOL. I. S

      

      
  

       
     

 
 

258 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 
 
   

BIRD ISLAND. 250

   

former in the hollows, and the latter on the crest of
the ripples. Presently we reached a strange forma-
tion which, seen from the east, appears a huge vein,
red and rusty, beginning close to the sea, and cross-
ing the body of the island from south to north,
while a black cone is so disposed that its southern
front simulates a crater. A narrow gorge opens
upon a semicircular hollow lined with ochraceous or
ferruginous matter ; in fact, part of the ftlon, which
sends off fibrils in all directions. The confusion of
formations was startling. The floor was here of
white petrosilex, there of grey granite, variegated
with squares and lozenges, drops and pineapples, red,
green, neutral tinted, and disposed by oxides of iron
and copper in natural designs that looked artificial.
Scattered over the bed of the upper ravine beyond
the hollow, were carbonates of lime, ruddy brown
and chocolate-hued, here a pudding-stone, there
porous like basalt : the calcareous sulphates were
both amorphous and crystalline, the latter affected by
contact with plutonic matter. The walls of the gash
Mis showed a medley of clay éreccias, disposed in every
fii imaginable way ; and divided by horizontal veins of
heat-altered quartz. A few paces further led to the
head of the ravine, where a tumble of huge rocks,
choking the bed, showed that the rain-torrents must

   

had walked to the large central harbour, hoping there
to hit upon sweet water and some stray Hutaym
fishermen, who would show us what we wanted,
They did not find even the vestige of a hut. The
two exploring parties saw only three birds in the
“Isle of Birds,” and not one of the venomous snakes
mentioned at “ Tehran” by Wellsted (ir. ix.), and
described as “measuring about thirty inches, of a
slender form, with black and white spots.” We also
utterly failed to discover the sulphur which was once
abundant and the naphtha which, according to the
same authority, was produced here in considerable
quantities, and was used “by the Arab mariners to
pay their boats.”

    
    
    
   
   
   
   
   
      
     
   
   
     
   
   
    
    
   
   
    
     

The evening was exceptionally fine and calm :
and we expected on the morrow (February 11th) a
quiet return to El-Muwaylah. Yet a manner of
presentiment induced me to summon the engineer !
and his native assistants, and to promise the latter a
liberal “bakhshish,” if by hard work at the boiler
| all night, and by rigging up the ship’s pump |
en of a donkey-engine, they could steam off at |
i awn,

    
     
     
     
    

 

    
   
    
    
     
    

: Unexpectedly, about four a.m., a violent sandy
and misty wester began to blow; and all fancied
that we had set sail to the south. Quite the con-
trary! The engine was still under repair. The
Mutkhbir was being tossed and rolled by the inshore

      
   
   
    

at times be violent.
Meanwhile, Mr. Clarke and Lieutenant Amir

    

   
    
260 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

set, and the sequel is quickest told by an extract

from my “Penny” :-—

“Written in sight of Death. Wind roaring furiously for
victims : waves worse. No chain can stand these sledge-hammer
shocks. Chain parts,* and best sheet-anchor with it. Bower and
kedge anchors thrown out and drag. Fast stranding broadside on :
sharp coralline reef to leeward, distant 150 yards. Sharks!
Packed up necessaries. Sambik has bolted, and quite right too !
Engine starts some ten minutes before the bump. Engineer
admirably cool ; never left his post for a moment, even to look at
the sea. Giorgi (cook) skinning a sheep : he has been wrecked
four times, and don’t care. Deck-pump acting poorly. Off in
very nick of time, 9.15 a.m. General joy, damped by broadside
turned to huge billows. Lashed down boxes of specimens on
deck, and wore round safely. Made for Sindfir, followed by
waves threatening to poop us. Howling wind tears mist to shreds.
Second danger worse than first. Run into green water: fangs
of naked rock on both sides within biscuit-throw ; stumps show
when the waves yawn. Nice position for a band-box of old iron !
With much difficulty slipped into blue water. Rounded south end
of spit, and turned north into glorious Sindfir Bay. Safe anchor-
age in eight fathoms. Anchor down at 10.15 a.m., after one hour
of cold sweat. Distance seven miles on chart, nine by course:
Mukhbir never went so fast ; blown like chaff before wind. Faces
cleared up. All-round shaking of hands ; ¢ Kl-Hamdu 1'1ldhi,’ fol-

lowed by a drink. Some wept for joy.”
The engine, or rather the engineer, had saved

* The chain did zof part. The anchor was afterwards fished
up by divers from El-Muwaylah, and its shank was found broken
clean across like a carrot. Yet there was no sign of a flaw. Mr.
Duguid calculated the transverse breaking strain of average
anchor-iron (8) inches X 4 = 22 square inches), at 83; tons;
and the tensile breaking strain at 484 tons, or 22 tons to the
square inch ; while the stud-length cable of 1} inch chain, 150
fathoms long, would carry, if proof, 24 tons. Captain Mohammed
was persevering enough, after the divers had failed, to recover
his chain when on his cruise homewards ; and the Rais of the

Sambiik was equally lucky.

A

 

   

THE NARROW ESCAPL. 261

us: as the saying is, it was touch and go—the

nearest thing I ever did see. Had the rotten old
boiler struck work for five minutes when we were
clearing out of Tirdn, or steaming along Sindfir
shore, nothing could have kept the ship afloat.
Those who behaved best, a fireman, a boy who
crept into the combustion-chamber to clear it, and
helmsman who, having been at Liverpool, spoke
a little English, were duly “bakhshish’d. The
same reward was given by mistake to the boiler-
maker, Mohammed Sa’id Hadddd, who had malin-
gered, instead of working, through the night.
At Suez he had the impudence to ask me for a
Shahddah (“testimony ”) to his good character. On
the whole the conduct of the crew was worthy of
all praise.

In a decently equipped English steamer we
should have laughed at this storm, and whistled for
more wind ; but the condition of the Mukhbir quite
changed the case. The masts might have rolled
out, or she might have sprung a leak at any
moment. And supposing that we had escaped the
crash upon the reef, the huge waves, and the schools
of sharks, our situation would have been anything
but pleasant. The Island of Tirdn, as has been
shown, is a grisly scrap of desert: it has no sweet
water; and its three birds would not long have

satisfied thirty hungry men. It is far from the

   

  

  
 
     
   

  
 

 

 

262 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

mainland ; the storm, which lasted through two
days, was too violent for raft or boat to live, and
at so early a season native craft are never seen on
these seas. Briefly, a week might have elapsed
before our friends at El-Muwaylah, who were
startled by the wildness of the wind, could have
learned our plight, or could have taken measures to
relieve the castaways.

Sinafir Island, which we have to thank for
giving us hospitality on two occasions, consists
mainly of a bay. Viewed by the norma vert:-
calis, it is shaped like an ugly duckling, with an
oval (Wellsted says a circular) body of high ground
disposed north-east to south-west; and with head
and neck drooping westward so as to form a mighty
pier or breakwater. The watery plain within is
out of all proportion to the amount of terra firma.
The body-profile shows straight-backed heaps of
gypsum, some two hundred feet high, which become
quoin-shaped about the middle of the isle: these
hillocks are connected by low strips of sand grow-
ing the usual vegetation, especially the pink Statice
pruinosa.

Presently our Sambuik, which had also lost
chain and anchor before she could run out of the
storm, appeared to the north-west of the bay; and
a pilgrim-craft, bound for Suez, was our companion

in good fortune. A party landed to examine Sinifir,

RA SA Si Gi)

 

3 ni eS SE Te i Se

  

SINAFIR ISLAND. 263

which still shows signs of a junction with Tirdn. In
days when the Secondary formation was an unbroken
street, the whole segment of a circle, extending from
Sharm Ydhdrr to northern Sinai, must have been
dry land ; these reefs and islands are now the only
remnants. The islet itself seems lately to have been
two : the neck and head are one, and the body is
another; an evident sea-cliff marks the junction,
and what appears like a Wady below it, is the
upraised sea-bed of coralline. To the north-west,
and outside this strip, lies the little port defended by
a network of reefs, in which our Sambik had first
taken refuge. The bay-shore bears traces of more
than one wreck ; and in the graveyard used by the
native sailor, an open awning of flotsam and
jetsam looks from afar like a tumble-down log-hut.
The number of reefs and shoals shown by stripes of
vivid green water promised excellent fishing, and
failed to keep its promise.

At length, after a third wasted day, we managed,
despite a new hole in the old boiler, to steam out of
hospitable Sindfir at 6.30 a.m. on the auspicious
Wednesday, February 13. The appearance of the
Mulkhbir must have been originale enough: her
canvas had been fished out of the hold, but in the
place of a mainsail she had hoisted a topsail. We
passed as close as possible to the islet-line of

Secondary formation, beginning with Shu'shu’, the

  

TT,

Son ——o— i SE

  

      
       
     
       
     
     
     
     
     
     
       
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 

 

 

264 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

wedge bluff-faced to south : the Palinurus anchored
here in a small bight on the north-east side,
between two reefs, and narrowly escaped being
wrecked by a northerly gale. At 10.45 a.m. we
were alongside of Bardhkdn, a double feature, lumpy
and cliffy, connected by a low sandy isthmus: the
eastern flank gives good shelter to native crafts.
Lastly came Yubt’, the compound quoin, the loftiest
of the group, upwards of 350 feet high, with its
low-lying neighbour W4dlih. These islets have
classical names, as I have before mentioned,* and
appear once to have been inhabited: even at
Yubt, the least likely of all, we heard from several
authorities of a deep rock-cut well, covered with a
stone which the Arabs could not raise.

And now we were able to cast an intelligent
glance in review of the scenes made familiar by our
first or northern march. The surpassing purity of
the transparent atmosphere, especially at this season,
causes the land to look as near at twenty as at ten
miles ; and thus both distances, showing the horizon
with the utmost distinctness, appear equally close to
the ship. Beginning towards El-’Akabah, the Jebel
el-Zdnah behind Maghdir Shu’ayb, and its mighty
neighbour, the Jebel el-Lauz, form the horizon of
mountains which are not the least amongst the

giants. Southwards appear the Jibdl el-Tihdmah,
* «The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Ch. XII. p. 317.

     

VIEW FROM THE SEA. 265

the noble forms of the seaboard, the parallel chains
noting the eastern boundary of Madyan (Proper);
while behind them the Jibdl el-Shafah, reduced to
blue heads and fragments of purple wall, are evi-
dently disposed on a far more distant plane.

As regards the Jibdl el-Tihdmah, I have regis-
tered ad nawseam the names of the eight several
blocks into which, between El-Zahd north and El-
Shérr south, the curtain, rising from a sea-horizon,
seems to divide itself. Every one consulted gave
me a new or a different term ; and apparently sea-
men and landsmen have their separate nomenclature.
Thus, the pilots call the F4s, Harb and Dibbagh
blocks, Jibdl el-Musaybah, Tiryam, and Ddmah, after
the Wadys and main valleys that drain them. The
Bedawin, again, will name the whole block after the
part most interesting to them: thus the tower-like
formation characterizing Jebel Dibbagh was often
called “Jebel el-Jimm,” and even this, as will after-
wards appear, was not quite exact.”

We fired a gun off El-Muwaylah, where our
camp, ranged in long line, looked clean and natty.
At five p.m. we were once more at home in our old
quarters, the Sharm Ydahdrr: the day's work had
numbered fifty direct geographical miles between
Sindfir and El-Muwaylah, with five more to our
dock.

* See Chap. X.

      

 
    

 

|e
it
He E

 

  

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

RESUME.

Our journey through Madyan Proper (North
Midian) had lasted fifty-four days (December 19,
1877, to February 13, 1878). During nearly two
months the Expedition had covered only 105 to 107
miles of ground : this, however, does not include the
various by-trips made by the members, which would
more than double the total ; nor the cruise of two
hundred miles round the Gulf of ’Akabah, ending
at El-Muwaylah. The total of camels employed
varied from 106 to 61, and their hire, including
“ bakhshish” and all minor charges, amounted,
according to Mr. Clarke, to £316 14s. 3d.

This section of North Midian may be described
as essentially a mining country, which, strange to say
of a province so near Egypt, has been little worked
by the Ancients. The first Khedivial Expedition
brought back specimens of free gold found in basalt,
apparently eruptive, and in corundophyllite, which
the engineer called greenstone porphyry: silver
appeared in the red sands, in the chloritic quartz,

and in the titaniferous iron of the Jebel el-Abayz ;

the value being 265 to 300 francs per ton, with

traces in the scorie. The second Expedition failed
to find gold, but brought back argentiferous galena
in copper-stained quartz, and possibly in the ochra-
ceous red veins seaming the Secondary gypsum ;

  
 

 

RESUME. 267

with silicates and carbonates of copper: select
specimens of the latter yielding the enormous
proportion of forty per cent. In this northern
region the great focus of metallic deposit appears
to lie between north lat. 28° 40" and 27° 50’; that
is, from the Jebel Tayyib Ism, north of Maknd, to
the southern basin which contains the Jebel el-
Abyaz or “White Mountain.” Its characteristics are
the argentiferous and cupriferous ores, whereas in
South Midian gold and silver were worked; and
the parallelogram whose limits are assigned above,
might be converted into a Northern Grant. Con-
cerning the immense abundance of gypsum, and the
sulphur which is suspected to be diffused throughout
the Secondary formation, ample details have been
given in the preceding pages.

The principal ruins of ancient settlements, and
the ateliers, all of them showing vestiges of metal-
working, numbered eight : these are, beginning from
the south, Tiryam, Sharmd, 'Aynunah, the Jebel el-
Abyaz, Maghdir Shu’ayb, Maknd, Tayyib Ism, and
El’Akabah. Maghdir Shu'ayb, the Madidma of
Ptolemy, is evidently the ancient capital of the dis-
trict. It was the only place which supplied Midian-
itish (Nabathaan) coins. Moreover, it yielded
graffiti from the catacombs; fragments of bronze
which it will be interesting to compare by assay
with the metal of the European prehistoric age;

    

   
 

 

268 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and, finally, stone implements, worked as well as
rude.

I will end with a few words concerning the
future industry of North Midian.

For the success of these mines the greatest
economy will be necessary. The poorest ore can be
treated on the spot by crushing and washing, where
no expenditure of fuel is required. The richer stone,
that wants roasting and smelting, would be shipped,
when worth the while, from North Midian to Suez:
there coal is abundant, and the deserted premises
of Dussaud-Bey, belonging to the Egyptian Govern-
ment, would form an excellent site for a great wsine
centrale. Finally, the richest specimens—especially
those containing, as many do, a medley of metals—
would be treated with the least expenditure, and the
greatest advantage, at Swansea or in other parts
of England, where there are large establishments
which make such work their specialty.

The following analyses of the specimens brought
home by the first Khedivial Expedition, were made
at the Citadel, Cairo, by the well-known chemist,
Gastinel-Bey, in conjunction with M. George Marie,
the engineer attached to the Expedition :—

ANALYSES (MM. GASTINEL-BEY AND GEORGE MARIE OF CAIRO)
oF ROCKS BROUGHT HOME BY THE FIRST KHEDIVIAL.
EXPEDITION.

(All by Voie Seche.)

Gold (assay on 100 grammes)—

1. In basalt (lava ?).

  

i pA

   

 

RESUME.

2. In serpentine.
(None in white quartz.)
Silver—
1. In Filon Husayn, 1555 = 265 to 300 francs per ton
(very good).
2. In red sands, j5.600 (= 20 francs per ton).
3. In scorie, traces.
(None in white quartz or in the black sands.)
Copper—
1. In’AynGnah quartz, 41% per 100.
2. In Filon Husayn, 214 to 3°40 per cent.
(Filon Husayn = Titaniferous iron, 86°50
Silica, 10°10
Copper, 3°40.
3. In chloritic slate, 1°40 per cent.
(Chloritic slate of Maknd =
Silica, go'50
Carbonate of lime, 5°60
Oxide of iron, 2°30
Copper, 1°40.)
Sulphur (Jebel el-Kibrit of El-Muwaylah)—
4 per cent. above.
g ditto below.
Lead everywhere.
» Calamine (zinc) very rich.

      
 

PART II.

THE MARCH THROUGH CENTRAL
AND EASTERN MIDIAN.

 

Sali ea
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

CHAPTER IX.

WORK IN AND AROUND EL-MUWAYLAH,

  

WE arrived at El-Muwaylah too late to meet the
Hajj-caravan, which, home returning, had passed hur-
riedly through the station on February oth. This
institution has sadly fallen off from its high estate
of a quarter of a century ago. Then commanded
by an Amir el-Hajj— Lord of the Pilgrimage "—
in the shape of two Pashas (generals), it is now
under the direction of a single Bey (colonel). The
“ True Believers,” once numbering thousands, were
reduced in 1877-78 to some eight hundred souls, of
whom only eighty appeared at El-Muwaylah ; and
the peculiar modification of modern days is that the
Mahmal is escorted only by paupers. Yet the actual
number of the Hajis who stand upon Jebel ’Arafit,
instead of diminishing, has greatly increased. The
majority prefer voyaging to travelling; the rich
hire state-cabins on board well-appointed “ Infidel ”
steamers, and the poor content themselves with
“ Faithful ” Sambuks. Indeed, it would seem that all

VOL. 1, T

 

 

 
  
274 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the present measures, quarantines of sixty days (!)
and detention at wretched Tor, comfortless enough
to make the healthiest lose health, are intended to
discourage and deter “ palmers ” from proceeding by
land. If this course be continued, a very few years
will see the venerable institution represented by
only the Mahmal and its guard. The late Sa'id
Pasha of Egypt once consigned the memorial litter
per steam-frigate to Jeddah : the innovation saved
Ghafr (“blackmail ’) to the Bedawin; but it was not
approved of by the Moslem world.

The Hdjis were so poor that they had nothing
for barter or for sale. Happily, however, there was
a farrier amongst them, and Lieutenant Yusuf took
care that our mules were properly shod. M. Philipin
had been a mardchal ferrant, but a kick or two had
left him no stomach for the craft. Our two fellow-
travellers, with the whole camp, had set out from
Maknd on February 6th, and marched up the great
Wady el-Kharaj. Along the eastern flank of the
Jebel el-Fahisat, the “Iron Mountain,” they found
many outcrops of quartz, a rock which appears
sporadically all the way to the northern soufricre.
In two places it was green-stained, showing copper,
while in another hydrated oxide and chromate of
iron (hematite) * abounded. After a stage of four

* Lieutenant-Colonel Bolton kindly compared the specimens
with those in his cabinet. The first, which was accompanied by

 

THE NORTHERN SULPHUR-HILL. 275

hours and twenty minutes they left the caravan,
struck off to the west, accompanied by Shaykh
Furayj, and reached their destination. Here, how-
ever, they met with accidents: the mules bolted,
followed by the Shaykh’s dromedary, and they
were obliged to hurry off for fear of losing the
caravan, now well ahead of them. Thus, when I
had ordered Lieutenant Yusuf to make a detajled
plan of the formation, he had spent exactly ten
minutes on the spot, and he appeared not a little
proud of his work.

This young officer was not a pleasant companion.
He had doubtless received his orders, but he carried
them out in a peculiarly disagreeable way, taking
notes of all our proceedings under our eyes. Together
with Lieutenant Amir, he began to make a collec-
tion of geology : both, being utterly innocent of
all knowledge, imitated us in picking up specimens ;
mixed them together without notes or labels : and,
on return to Cairo, duly presented them at the
Citadel. This was all that was required. The
papers were “written to” and reported as follows :
“Closer examination has shown that the ‘turquoises’

brought to Cairo are merely malachite (!) ; and that

the existence of any such quantity of gold as would

(quartz, resembled the produce of Orenburg. A Peruvian mine-
proprietor had pronounced it to be “ Rosicler ” silver. The mag-
netic sand bore a tantalizing resemblance to the highly auriferous
black sand of Ekaterinburg,

 
 

276 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

pay for the working is, to say the least of it, very
doubtful.” *

The whole camp, indeed, was seized with a
mania for collecting : old Hdji Wali again gathered
bits of quartz, which he once more presented as gold-
stone to his friends and acquaintances at Zagdzig ;
and Anton, the dragoman, triumphantly bore away
fragments bristling with mica-slate, whose glitter he
fondly conceived to be silver.

Lieutenant Yusuf was presently despatched with
three soldiers, three quarrymen, Jdzi, the Arab
guide of a former visit, and eight camels, to bring
back specimens of the copper silicate to the south of
’Ayntinah, and to make a regular survey of the
northern solfatara. He set out early on February
18th, and after twenty-one hours of caravan-march-
ing reached the Jebel el-Fara’. Here the outcrop is
bounded north by the Wady el-Fara’, and south by
the Wadys el-Marikhah and Umm Nirdn, the latter
forming the general recipient of these Nullahs. The
Jebel is about 120 feet high, of oval form, stretching
1750 metres from north-north-west to south-south-
east. The rich silicate (not carbonate) of copper,
which disdains a streak and affects the file, is found,
as usual with this ore, only in one part of the valley
to the south-west, some thirty-five feet above the

* Correspondence of the Sheffield Telegraph (May 18), copied
into the Globe of May 25, ete, etc., etc.

 

SILICATE OF COPPER. 279

sole : it 1s a pocket, a “circumscribed deposit,” as
opposed to a “true vein” or a “ vein-fissure.” The
adjoining rocks contain carbonates of iron and
copper, and the ore-mass is apparently carbonate of
lime. This second visit generally confirmed the
report of Ahmed Kaptan, except that there were no
signs of working, as he had supposed. The travellers
passed the whole of February 20th at the diggings,
made a plan, and sent back two camel-loads (four
sacks) of the gangue, in charge of a soldier, to the
Fort of El-Muwaylah.

On the next day the little party made for the
Wady ’Ayninah, and, striking to the left of the
straight line, crossed the maritime country, here a
mass of Wadys, including our old friend the ’Afdl.
This highway to the northern Hisma falls, I have
said, into the Minat el-’Aydndt, a portlet useful to
Sambtiks : its sickle-shaped natural breakwater,
curving from west to south, resembles that of
Sinaitic Marsa el-Gindi, and those which are so
common in Western Iceland. On February 22nd, a
very devious path, narrow and rocky, lasting for one
hour, led them, about noon, to the northern Jebel
el-Kibrit. The distance from El-Muwaylah is about
sixty-six miles; and the country west of a line
drawn from ’Ayndnah to Maknd was, before this
march, utterly unknown to us, consequently to all

the civilized world.

 
 

 

278 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Lieutenant Yusuf’s two journals checking each
other, his plan and his specimens enable me to
describe the northern deposit with more or less
accuracy. The Sulphur-hill is a long oval of four
hundred metres (east-west), by a maximum of one
hundred and eighty (north-south); but it extends
branches in all directions: the mineral was also
found in a rounded pifon, a knob on the Wady
Musayr, attached to the north-eastern side. The
flattened dome is from fifty to sixty feet high, and
the pzton one hundred and forty. The metal under-
lying a dark crust, some twelve to fifteen centimétres
thick, appears in regular crystals and amorphous
fragments of pure brimstone pitting the chalky
sulphate of lime: blasting was not required; the
soft material yielded readily to the pick. This
gypseous or Secondary formation was found to
extend, not only over the adjacent hills, but every-
where along the road to Maknd. The important
point which now remains to be determined is, I
repeat, whether sulphur-veins can be found diffused
throughout these non-plutonic rocks.

Lieutenant Yusuf fixed his position by climbing
the adjacent hills, whence Sindfir bore 190° and
Shu'shu’ 150° (both magnetic); while greater ele-
vations to the west shut out the view of lofty
Tirdn, and even of the Sinaitic range. The nearest
water in the Wady el-Nakhil to the north-east was

 

 

 

SULPHUR. : 279

reported to be a two hours’ march with loaded
camels (= five miles). Several little ports, quite
unknown to the Hydrographic Chart, were visited.
These are, beginning from the north, the Minat
Hamdan, lying between Maknd and Dabbah; a
refuge for Sambiks defended, like that of old
“ Madyan,” by rising ground to the north. About
three miles and a quarter further south is the Sharm
Dabbah, the “Sherm Dhaba, good anchorage” of
the Chart : this mass of reefs and shoals may have
been one of the “excellent harbours” mentioned by
Procopius. It receives the Wady Ska'é o-Gann
(Jann), “the Watercourse of the Demons’ (]Jdnn)
Ravine,” flowing from a haunted hill of red stone,
near which no Arab dares to sleep. From that
point the travellers struck nine miles and a half to
south-east of Ghubbat Suwayhil: this roadstead,
used only by native craft, lies eastward of the long
point forming the Arabian staple of the Gulf el-
'Akabah’s gate, where the coast-line of Midian bends
at a right angle towards the rising sun. Adjoining
it to the east, and separated by a long thin spit, is
the Ghubbat el-Wagab (/aj6), the mouth of the
watercourse similarly named: it is also known to
the Katirah or “smaller vessel,” and about a mile up
its bed, which comes from the north-east, there is a
well. According to Jdzi, the guide, this Glubbal

(“gulf”), distant only four to five hours of slow
 

280 THE LAND OF MIDIAN,.

marching from the Sulphur-hill, will be the properest
place for shipping produce. In another eastern
feature, the Wady Giydl (¥4yi/), distant some eleven
miles and a half from 'Ayndnah and ending in a
kind of sink, there is a fine growth of palms, about
a quarter of a mile long, and a supply of “wild”
(brackish) water in wells and rain-pools. These
uninteresting details will become valuable when
the sulphur-mines of North Midian are ripe for
working.

From the Ghubbat el-Wagab, the path, easy
travelling over flat ground, strikes to the north-east :
and, fourteen miles and a half beyond, joins the
‘Ayntinah highway. On February 26th, at the end
of nine days’ work, Lieutenant Yusuf returned to
El-Muwaylah with two sacks of sulphur-bearing
chalk which justified his previous report. As will
appear, the Expedition was still travelling through
the interior : after a halt for rest at head-quarters,
he rejoined us on our northward route from Zibd,
and I again found useful occupation for his energies.

Upon our happy return “home,” ze. Sharm
Ydhdrr, preparations for a march upon the Hismd
were at once begun. My heart was firmly fixed
upon this project, hoping to find an “unworked
California” to the east of the Harrah volcanoes ; but
the Shaykhs and camel-men, who did not like the

~ prospect of a rough reception by the Ma'dzah

 

 

  
 

WORK IN AND AROUND EL-MUWAYLAH. 281

bandits, threw sundry small stumbling-blocks in our

path. It was evidently useless to notice them so
far from the spot; they would develop themselves
only too well as we approached the tribal frontier.
While these obstacles were being cleared away, we
carefully examined the little dock that had so often
given us shelter in the hour of need; and I set a
small party to work at the central Jebel el-Kibrit,
which had been explored by the first Expedition.
Sharm Ydhdrr is the usual distorted T, a long
channel heading in a shorter cross-piece: it is formed
by the confluence of four valleys, all composed of
corallines and conglomerates of new sandstone.
Those to the north and the north-west show distinct
signs of upheaval ; the two eastern features, known
as the Wady el-Harr (“the Hot Watercourse ”), of
which Ydldrr appears to be a corruption, bear
marks of man’s hand. The dock is divided into an
outer and inner “port” by a projecting northern
point which is not sufficiently marked in the Chart
(enlarged plan). At this place, where the tide
rises a full metre, the crew of the AMukhbir had
built a jetty of rough boulders, by way of passe
lemps and to prevent wading. Native craft lie
inside, opposite the ruins of a stone house: the
existence of a former population is shown by the
many graves on the upper plateau. In the northern

Wady el-Hdrr, also, we picked up specimens

 

 
282 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of obsidian, oligistic iron, and admirably treated
modern (?) slags showing copper and iron ; evidently
some Gypsy-like alelier must once have worked
upon the Wady Ydhdrr. The obsidian also has
apparently been subjected to the artificial fire ; and
a splinter of it contains a paillette of free copper.
What concerned us most, however, was the dis-
covery of oysters, which, adhering to the reefs pro-
jected under water from the rocky northern cliff,
formed a live conglomerate ; and from the present
time forwards we found the succulent molluscs in
almost every bay. Those to the south, where the
shallows overlie sand and mud, are not so good.
At this season the Ustrida is flat, fleshy, and full-
sized ; the shell has a purple border, and the hinge-
muscle of the savage, far stronger than that of the
civilized animal, together with its exceeding irregu-
larity of shape, giving no purchase to the knife,
makes oyster-opening a sore trouble. We tried fire,
but the thick-skinned things resisted it for a long
time ; and, when they did gape, the liquor had dis-
appeared, thereby spoiling the flavour. The “ beard ”
was neither black, like that of the Irish, nor colour-
less, as in the English oyster. The Bedawin, who
ignore the delicacy, could not answer any questions
about the “ spatting season "—probably it is earlier
than ours, which extends through June; whether

also a close time is required, as in England to

 

 

 

   

OYSTERS. 283

August 4th, we could not guess. The young pro-
bably find a natural “culch” in the many shells,
cockle and others, that strew the rock, sand, and clay.

Knowing that my gallant friend, Admiral McKil-
lop (Pasha) of Alexandria, takes great interest in
“ ostreoculture,” I sent him from Suez a barrel of the
best Midianites. The water had escaped by the care-
lessness of the magazine-man : enough, however, re-
mained alive to be thrown into the harbour Eunostos,
where they will, I hope, become the parents of a fine
large progeny of “natives.” Similarly we had laid
in a store of forty-two langoustes (crayfish) for pre-
sentation at Court, and to gladden the hearts of
Cairéne friends : our Greeks placed the tubs in the
sun and so close to the funnel, that, after about three
hours, all the fine collection perished ignobly.

We will now proceed to the central Jebel el-
Kibrit; a superficial examination of which by the
first Expedition* proved that the upper rock yielded
four, and the lower nine, per cent. of tolerably pure
brimstone. The shortest cut from the dock-harbour
lies up the southern Wady Harr, with its strangely
weathered sandstone rocks, soft modern grits that
look worm-eaten. Amongst them is a ledge-like
block with undermined base projecting from the left
bank : both the upper and the lower parts are scat-

* “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. XI. It was then visited
from its creek, Sharm Jibbah.

 
 

284 THE LAND OF MIDIAN,

tered over with asm, or Arab tribal marks. On
our return from EI-Wijh we found this sandstone
tongue broken in two : the massive root remained
zn situ, but the terminal half had fallen on the
ground. This was probably the work of an earth-
quake which we felt at Sharm Dumayghah on
March 22nd.* The track then strikes the modern
Hajj-road, which runs west of and close to the
Sulphur-hill; the line is a succession of water.
courses,f and in Wady Khirgah we found blocks of
the hydrous silicate, corundophyllite which may be
Serpentine : it is composed of a multitude of ele-
ments, especially pyrites. After an hour and a
quarter's sharp walking, we hit the broad Wady el-
Kibrit, hich rounds its Jebel to the south-east, and
which feeds the Wady el-Jibbah, itself a feeder of
the Sharm Jibbah. The latter, which gave us
shelter in the corvette Siundr (Captain Ali Bey), is
a long blue line of water bounding the western base
of the Sulphur-hill.

This central Zuwwayyil el-Kibrit is an isolated
knob, rising abruptly from Wady-ground ; measuring
some 240 feet in height, and about 880 métres in
diameter, not including its tail of four vertebra

* Chap. XIV.

t A water-rolled fragment of this rock is called Korundo-
geschieb by Dr. L. Karl Moser, Professor of Natural History at the
Gymnasium of Trieste, who kindly examined my little private
collection of “show things.”

 

 

 

THE CENTRAL SULPHUR-HILL. 285

which sets off from north-west to south-east. Viewed
from the north it is, as the Egyptian officers re-
marked, a regular Zaram (“ pyramid”), with a kid-
ney-formed capping of precipitous rock. Drinkable
water, like that of the Wady el-Ghdl, is said to be
found in the Wady el-Kibrit to the north-east : and
the country is everywhere tolerably wooded. The
Bedawin brought us small specimens of rock-crystal
and fragments of MNegro-quartz, apparently rich in
metal, from a neighbouring “ Maru.” They placed
it amongst the hill-masses to the east and south :
and we afterwards found it for ourselves. *

Our middle Sulphur-hill differs essentially from
the other two deposits, the northern near Maknd,
and the southern near EI-Wijh, in being plutonic and
not sedimentary. One would almost say that it
smokes, and the heat-altered condition of the granite,
the greenstone, and other rocks, looking as if fresh
from a fire, suggests that it may be one of the
igneous veins, thrown westward by the great vol-
canic region, El-Harrah. In parts it is a conglome-
rate, where a quantity of quartz takes the place
of chalk and gypsum. Other deposits are iron-
stained and have the appearance of the decomposed
iron pyrites which abounds in this neighbourhood.
Usually the yield is the normal brimstone-yellow,
yet some of the beds are deep red, as if coloured by

* Chap. XII,
286 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

ochre or oxide of iron : this variety is very common
in the solfataras of Iceland; and I have heard of it
in the Jebel Mokattam, near Cairo. The colour is
probably due to molecular changes, and possibly
shows greater age than the yellow.

M. Philipin was directed to take charge of Ser-
geant Mabruk, the nine quarrymen, and the Bedawi
owners of two camels to carry his boring-irons,
forge, and water from El-Muwaylah. I advised him
to dig at least forty feet down all round the pyra-
mid, wherever surface-indications attracted notice :
old experience had taught me that such depth is
necessary before one can expect to find brimstone-
beds like those of Sicily. The borings brought up
sulphur from fourteen meétres; beyond these, six
were pierced, but they yielded nothing. In and
around the pyramid M. Philipin sank five pits ; the
northernmost shaft, half-way up the hill, gave
crystals of the purest sulphur.

If the depth of the deposit be not great, the
surface extent is. The pyramid evidently forms the
apex of a large vein which strikes north-south.
The field consists of this cone with its dependencies,
especially the yellow cliffs to the north and the
south, facing, in the latter direction, a large plain
cut by the Wady el-Kibrit. Moreover, a vein of
the red variety, about three kilometres long by

twenty-five to thirty métres broad, lies to the south-

 

 

 

SULPHUR-HILL NEAR EL-MUWAYLAH. 287

east near a gypsum hill : the latter also yields the
crystallized salt which so often accompanies sulphur,
and heaps of gigantic half-fossilized oyster-shells are
strewed about it.

M. Philipin here remained sixteen days (Feb-
ruary 18—March 35), during our absence in the
East Country; on return we found our good black-
smith much changed for the worse. Whilst in hard
work he had been half-starved, the Jerdfin Bedawin
of the neighbourhood having disappeared with
their flocks; he had been terribly worried by the
cameleers, and he had been at perpetual feud with
the miserable quarrymen. I never saw a man less
fitted to deal with (two-legged) “natives.” The
latter instinctively divined that he would rather work
himself than force others to work; and they acted
accordingly.

The Expedition was thus divided into four, three
working parties and one of idlers. Anton and Petros
were left behind to do nothing as magazine-men.
Lieutenant Darwaysh (the linesman) who was too
weak to ride, and Sub-Lieutenant Mohammed (the
miner) who was too old to travel, had charge of the
sick ; both found the far niente equally sweet. On
February 17th I again bade adieu to the gunboat
Mukhbir, and marched with the largest party upon
our camp at El-Muwaylah, distant about six miles

(= one hour and forty-five minutes). The path

 

 
 

288 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

from Sharm Ydhdrr crosses the hard sands of the
maritime plain, metalled with the natural macadam
of the Desert. The stone is mostly dark silex, the
“hen’s liver” of the Brazil, and its surface is kept
finely polished, and free from “patina,” by the
friction of the dust-laden winds. The line is deeply
gashed by short, broad gullies: the Hajj-road,
running further east, heads these ugly Nullahs. The
third and largest channel is Wady Surr, the great
valley of El-Muwaylah, which may be regarded as
the southern frontier of “ Madyan” (Proper): we
shall trace it to its head in the Hismad.

I had left the camp-pitching at El-Muwaylah to
the Egyptian officers, who naturally chose the site
nearest the two northern wells; a wave of ground
hot by day, cold at night, windy and dusty at all
times; moreover, the water was near enough to be
horribly fouled. No wonder that in such a place
many of the men fell ill, and that one subsequently
died—our only loss during the four months’ march.

On February 18th we proceeded, under the mis-
guidance of a Bdsh-Buzik of the fort, Ahmed Sdlih
el-Mal'tin, to inspect a neighbouring ruin called 44
Hawdwit— “the Father of (Dwelling-) Walls.” Wallin
(p. 30) declares that, “ finding no mention made of
Muweilih in Arab manuscripts, nor traces or tradi-
tions among the existing generation in the land,
pointing to a high antiquity,” he is inclined to con-

RUINS NEAR EL-MUWAYLAH. 289

sider it a town of modern origin, in fact the growth
of the Egyptian pilgrimage. His error is excusable,
He was a passing traveller; and I well remember that
for a whole year the true name of a hill immediately
behind our house at Damascus remained unknown
to me: we had called it after our own fashion, and
the term had at once been adopted by all our over-
polite native friends. Indeed, this is one of the
serious difficulties to be encountered, throughout the
East, by the scrupulous traveller whose greatest fear
is that of misleading others. The Expedition had
paid four several visits to El-Muwaylah, and had
never heard a word about ruins, when I happened
to read out before the Shaykhs assembled at Mag-
hdir Shu’ayb a passage from El-Makrizi treating of
the destroyed cities of Madyan. They at once men-
tioned half a dozen names lying within short dis-
tances of the “little salt.” Amongst them was Abs
Hawdwit, literally meaning “tenement walls,” but
here applied, in the short form Hawdwit, to ruins
in general.

Had “Wali Hdji,” as Wallin was called by the
Bedawin, looked only ten feet beyond the north-
castern tower of the fort, near the ruins of a modern
Mastabalk (“ masonry bench ”), he would have found
long-forgotten vestiges of ovens and slags containing
copper and iron. The same will prove to be the

case about the inland defence of EI-Wijh; in fact, all

VOL. I. U

 
 

290 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

these works seem for obvious reasons to have been
built upon sites that have been utilized long before
their modern day. El-Muwaylah was probably a
more important place than it is at present, when the
reef-harbour, which now admits native craft only by
a gap to the south-west, had not been choked by
shoals. The sandy soil wants only water to produce
a luxuriant perennial growth, and every garden can
have its well. But more life is wanting; a man
heaps up a thorn-hedge, or builds a swish-wall of
the brick-clay underlying the Wady, and he forgets
only to lay out the field within. Local history does
not, it is true, extend beyond two hundred years or
so, the probable date of Shaykh Abdullah's vene-
rated sepulchre, a truncated parallelogram of cut
coralline on the Wady Sughayyir to the north of the
settlement. Yet this “little salt” is too remarkable
a site to have remained unoccupied. Possibly it is
the ““Irmos Kaun,” the Horse Village (and fort ?),
which Ptolemy (vi. 11) places in north lat. 26” 40’
(true 27° 40’), whilst his ““Irmos "Opos ” would be the
glorious Shdrr, correctly consigned to north lat.
27° 20. This argues an error of nearly sixty miles
by the geographer or his copyists. But Chapter XII.
will attempt to show that the latitude of Zdaxa, the
modern Shuwdk, is also one degree too low. So on
the East African coast Ptolemy places his Aromata

Promontorium, which can only be “ Guardafui,”

)
gr 5
\ ) A i
1
: i

RUINS NEAR EL-MUWAYLAH. 291

between north lat. 5° and 7°, whereas it lies in north
lat. 11° 41’ 4°.

The Awwal Hawdwit, or first ruins, begin on the
right bank of the Surr after one mile and three-
quarters from camp; and bear north-east (55° mag.)
from the minaret of El-Muwaylah Fort. The posi-
tion is a sandy basin, containing old Bedawi graves,
bounded by a low ridge forming a boulder-clad
buttress to the Wady, while the circuit of the two
may be a mile and a half, A crumbling modern
tower, crowning the right bank, and two Makrikak
(“rub-stones ”) were the principal remains. The
situation must have been well chosen in the days
when the heights were wooded, and the Wady
was a river. We afterwards mapped the body of
the place, lying about three miles from the fort,
showing the Yubd’ bank to north-west (298° mag.) ;
and nearly due west (260° mag.) El-Muwaylah’s only
house, the Sayyid’s. The site is a holm or island
in the Wady Surr, which here runs east-west, and
splits : the main line is the southern, and a small
branch, a mere gully, occupies the northern bed-side,

The chief ruin is an oblong of twenty métres by
sixteen, the short ends facing 195° (mag.); the whole
built of huge pebbles. The interior is composed of
one large room to the north, with sundry smaller
divisions to the south, east, and west. Defence
was secured by a wall, distant 142 métres, thrown

 
 

 

202 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

across the whole eastern part of the islet: outside it
are three large pits, evidently the site of cisterns.
The people also told us of a well, the Br el-Ash-
gham, which has long been mysteriously hidden.
Immense labour has also been expended in revetting
the northern and southern banks, both of the islet
and the smaller branch-bed, for many hundreds of
yards with round and water-rolled boulders, even on
a larger scale than at Maghdir Shu'ayb. What all
this work meant we were unable to divine. Perhaps
it belonged to the days when the seaboard of
Midian was agricultural ; and it was intended as a
protection against the two torrents, the Wadys el-
Zila’ and Abu Zabah, which here fall into the
northern bank.

The 18th of February also made itself memor-
able to the second Expedition. M. Marie was
strolling near the old furnaces to the north-east of
the fort where, in 1877, he had picked up an aurife-
rous specimen, unfortunately lost before it reached
Cairo. Here he again found a fragment of serpen-
tine, broken and water-rolled into the semblance of
half a globe ; it showed crust and stains of iron, filets
of white quartz, and a curve (——) of bright yellow
dots, disposed like the chainlet of an aneroid. There-
upon, we gravely debated whether these were the re-
mains of a vein, or had been brought to the surface

by the rubbing and polishing of the stone in water.

 

GOLD-STONE AT EL-MUWAYLAH. 203

I could not but remark that the interior, which ap-
peared pyritiferous, did not show the slightest trace
of precious metal. Still the discovery gave fresh
courage to all our people. The trophy was shown
to every Bedawi, far and near, with the promise of
a large reward (fifty dollars) to the lucky wight who
could lead us to the rock zz s¢ztu. The general voice
declared that the “gold-stone” was the produce of
Jebel Malayh (Malih): we afterwards ascertained
by marching up the Wady Surr that it was not. In
fact, the whole neighbourhood was thoroughly well
scoured ; but the results were zz. In due course
of time the tarnishing and the disappearance of the
metal reduced my scepticism to a certainty : the
“gold dots” were the trace of some pilgrim or
soldier's copper-nailed boot. It was the first time
that this ludicrous mistake arose, but not the last—
our native friends were ever falling into the same
trap.

Amongst the minor industries of the Fort el-
Muwaylah must be reckoned selling gazelles. The
Bedawin bring them in, and so succeed in taming
the timid things that they will follow their owner
like dogs, and amuse themselves with hopping
upon his shoulders. When thus trained, “Ariel”
is supposed to be worth half a napoleon. The wild
ones may be bought at almost every fort, as Ziba or

E1-Wijh.

 
 

CHAPTER X.

THROUGH EAST MIDIAN TO THE HISMA.,

Tue Land of Midian is by no means one of the late
Prince Metternich’s “geographical expressions.” The
present tenants of the soil give a precise and prac.
tical definition of its limits. Their A472 Madyan
extends from EI-’Akabah north (north lat. 29° 28)
to El-Muwaylah with its Wady, EI-Surr (north lat.
27° 40). It has thus a total latitudinal length of
108 direct geographical miles.* South of this line,
the seaboard of North-Western Arabia, as far as El-
Hejaz, has no generic name. The Bedawin are
contented with such vague terms, derived from some
striking feature, as “ the Lands of Z1bd,” “ of Wady
Salmd,” “of Wady Ddmah,” “of EI-Wijh,” to
denote the tract lying between the parallels of El-

* Let me at once protest against the assertions contained in an
able review of “The Gold-Mines of Midian ” (Pall Mall Gazette,
June 7, 1878). The writer makes ancient Midian extend from the
north of the Arabic Gulf (EI-Akabah ?) and Arabia Felix (which?
of the classics or of the moderns ?) to the plains of Moab ”—
exactly where it assuredly does not now extend.

 

 

THROUGH EAST MIDIAN TO THE HISMA. 295

Muwaylah and of Wady Hamz (4) in north
lat. 25° 55" 15”. Thus the north-south length of the
southern moiety would be 105 direct geographical
miles, or a little less than the northern; and the
grand total would be 213 miles.

The breadth of this Egyptian province is de-
termined by the distance from the sea to the mari-
time mountains. In Madyan Proper, or North
Midian, the extremes would be twenty-four and
thirty-five miles. For the southern half these
figures may be doubled. Here, again, the Bedawin
are definitive as regards limits. All the Tihdmah
or “lowlands” and their ranges belong to Egypt;
east of it the Daulat Sidm, or Government of Syria,
claims possession.

I have taken the liberty of calling the whole
tract Midian; the section above El-Muwaylah
(Madyan Proper) I would term “North Midian,”
and that below it “South Midian.” In the days of
the ancient Midianites the frontiers were so elastic
that, at times, but never for a continuity, they em-
braced Sinai, and were pushed forward even into
Central Palestine. Moreover, I would prolong the
limits eastward as far as the Damascus-Medinah
road. This would be politically and ethnologically
correct. With the exception of the Ma’dzah country,
the whole belongs to Egypt; and all the tribes,

formerly Nabathaan, are now more or less Egypto-

 
 

296 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Arab, never questioning the rights of his Highness
the Viceroy, who garrisons the seaboard forts. Of
the other points, historical and geographical, I am
not so sure. My learned friend, Aloys Sprenger,
remarks: “Let me observe that your extending the
name ‘Midian’ over the whole country, as far
south as the dominions of the Porte, appears to me
an innovation by which the identity of the race
along the shore of the Gulf of 'Akabah, and of the
coast down to Wajh and Hawrd, is prejudged,
Would it not be better to leave Midian where it
always has been, and to consider Bad * the centre
of Thamuditis, as it was at the time of Pliny and
Ptolemy, and as it continued to be until the Balee
(Baliyy), and other Qodha’ (Kudd’) tribes, came
from Southern Arabia, and exterminated the Tham-
dites ?” This is, doubtless, a valid objection : its
only weak point is that it goes too far back. We
cannot be Conservatives in geography and ethnology;
nor can we attach much importance, in the nine-
teenth century, to a race, the Beni Tamud, which
had wholly disappeared before the seventh. On the
whole, it still appears to me that by adopting my
innovation we gain more than we lose ; but the
question must be left for others to decide.
In our days, two great Sultinis or “highways ”
bound Madyan the Less and Midian the Greater.

* Described in Chap. XV,

 

 

“MIDIAN.” 297

The western, followed by the Hajj el-Misri (Egyp-
tian caravan), dates from the age of Sultdn Selim
Khan the Conqueror; who, before making over
the province to the later Mamlik Beys, levelled
rocks, cut through ridges, dug wells, laid out the
track, and defended the line by forts. Before that
time the road ran, for convenience of water, to the
east or inland: it was, in fact, the old Nabathzaan
highway which, according to Strabo, connected
Leuke Kome with the western capital, Petra.
Further east, and far beyond the double chain of
maritime mountains, is the highway followed by the
Hajj el-Shdmi (Syrian or Damascus caravan), which
sets out from Constantinople, musters at Damascus,
and represents the Sultan. On both these main
lines water is procurable at almost every station ;
and to them military expeditions are perforce limited.
The parallelogram between the two, varying in
breadth, according to Wallin, from go to 120 miles
(direct and geographical), is irregularly supplied in
places with springs, wells, and rain-pits, which can
always be filled up or salted by the Bedawin.

The main body of the Expedition, Mr. Clarke,
MM. Marie and Lacaze, Ahmed Kaptan, and Lieu-
tenant Amir, set out from El-Muwayldh at 6.30 a.m.
(February 19th), escorted by the Sayyid and the three
salaried Shaykhs, including our friend Furayj. The

Remingtons numbered ten, and there were also ten

 
 

298 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

picks, of whom five waited upon the mules; of the
sixty-one camels six were dromedaries, and as the
road grew lighter our beasts of burden increased,
somehow or other, to sixty-four. The caravan now
loads in twenty minutes instead of five hours ; and
when politiké, or fear of danger, does not delay
us, we start in a quarter of an hour after the last
bugle-sound. This operation is under charge of
Lieutenant Amir, who does his best to introduce
Dar-Forian discipline: the camels being first charged
with the Findtis (“ metal water-barrels ”), then with
the boxes, and lastly with the tents.

After passing the ruins of Abi Hawdwit, we
began at 9.15 a.m. to exchange the broad Wady Surr
of the flat seaboard, with its tall banks of stiff drab
clay, for a gorge walled with old conglomerates, and
threading the ruddy and dark-green foot-hills of the
main Ghdt. As in the Wady el-Maka'dah and
other “winter-brooks,” the red porphyritic trap,
heat-altered argil, easily distinguished by its fracture
from the syenites of the same hue, appeared to be
iron-clad, coated with a thin crust of shiny black or
brown peroxide (?). This peculiarity was noticed
by. Tuckey in the Congo, by Humboldt in the
Orinoco, and by myself in the Sio Francisco river ;
[ also saw it upon the sandstones of the wild
‘mountains east of Jerusalem, where, as here, air

and not water must affect the oxide of iron. In

 

 

WADY SURR. 209

both cases, however, the cause would be the same,
and the polish would be a burnishing of Nature on
a grand scale.

After six very slow miles we halted, for rest and
refection, at a thread of water in the section of the
Surr which receives the Wady el-Najil. The sides
were crowded with sheep and goats, the latter,
as in the Syrian lowlands, almost invariably black ;
and the adjoining rocks had peculiar attractions for
hares, hawks, and partridge. In these upland
regions water is almost everywhere, and generally
it is drinkable ; hence the Bedawin naturally prefer
them to the coast. An umbrella-shaped thorn-tree,
actually growing on a hill-top, and defined by the
sky-line, excited our wonder and admiration; for
here, as in Pontus—

“ Rara, nec hac felix, in apertis eminet arvis
Arbor, et in terra est altera forma maris.”
Indeed, throughout our journey this spectacle always
retained its charms, aiding Fancy to restore the
barrens to what they had been in the prosperous
days of yore.

The Wady Surr now began to widen out, and to
become more riant, whilst porphyry was almost the
only visible rock. After a total of ten “dawdling ”
miles, marching almost due east, we found our tents
pitched in a broad and quasi-circular basin, called

£EL-Safl (“the level ground of’) Febel Malik (“Mount

 
 

300 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Pleasant ”?), which the broad-speaking Bedawin
lengthen to Malays. Our camel-men had halted
exactly between two waters, and equally distant
from both, so as to force upon us the hire of extra
animals. We did not grumble, however, as we
were anxious to inspect the A /7dn (“furnaces”) said
to be found upon the upper heights of the Sharr
— of these apocryphal features more hereafter.
Fresh difficulties! The Jerdfin-Huwaytdt tribe,
that owns the country south of the Surr, could
not be reached under a whole day of dromedary-
riding: in reality they were camped a few fur-
longs off, but anything to gain £8 per diem for
doing nothing! Two Bedawi shepherd-lads pro-
mised to act guides next morning, and duly failed
to appear, or, more probably, were forbidden to
appear. They had also romanced about ruins,
fountains, palms, and rushes in the Wady el-Kusayb,
the south-eastern influent. At night Ahmed el-
'Ukbi, surnamed 4b Khartiim, arrived in camp :
he had travelled more than once to Tabuk, carrying
grain, and though he had failed as a merchant, he
retained his reputation as a guide. As regards the
furnaces, he also, like Furayj, could speak only from
hearsay. Opinions were divided in camp: | saw
clearly that a stand was being made to delay us
for four or five days; and, despite grumbling, I re-
solved upon deferring the visit till our return from
the interior.

 

 

RUIN-HUNTING IN EAST MIDIAN. 30r1

The first march had led us eastward, instead
of north-eastward, in order to inspect the Wady
Surr. From the seaboard, this line, which drains
the northern flank of the Shdrr Mountains, appears
the directest road into the interior. We shall pre-
sently see, however, why the devious northern way
of the Wady Sadr has become the main com-
mercial route connecting EI-Muwaylah with Tabuk.*
During the evening we walked up the Wady Surr,
finding, in its precipitous walls, immense veins of
serpentine and porphyritic greenstone, but not a
speck of gold. The upper part of the Fiumara
also showed abundant scatters of water-rolled stones,
serpentines, and hard felspars, whose dove-coloured
surface was streaked with fibrils and at times
with regular veins of silvery lustre, as if brought
out by friction of the surface. I offered a consider-
able sum to a Jerdfin Bedawi if he would show the
rock zz situ ; he was evidently ignorant of it, but,
like others, he referred us to Jebel Malih.

The whole of the next day (February 20th)
was spent in northing. Leaving the noisy braying
caravan to march straight on its destination, we set
out (6.15 a.m.) up the Wady Guwaymarah, guided
by Hasan el-’Ukbi, who declared that he well knew

the sites of the ruined settlements El-Khulasah

* This place is noticed in “The Gold-Mines of Midian,”
Chap. X.

 
 

 

302 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and El-Zibayyib. After walking half an hour we
turned eastward into a feeder of the Surr, the Wady
el-Khulasah, whose aspect charmed me : this drain
of the inner Jedayl block was the 7gplica of a
Frumara in Somali-land, a broad tree-dotted flat
of golden sand, bordered on either side by an
emerald avenue of dense Mimosas, forming line
under the green-stone hills to the right, and the
red-stone heights to the left. The interior, we
again remarked, is evidently more rained upon, and
therefore less sterile and desolate, than the coast and
the sub-maritime regions; and here one can well
imagine large towns being built. At last, after
walking about an hour and a half (= four miles and
a half) towards the Shdrr, with our backs turned
upon our goal, the rat-faced little intriguer, Hasan,
declared that he knew nothing about EIl-Khulasah,
but that Zibayyib lay #kere/ pointing to a bright-
red cliffy peak, “ Abd'l-bdrid,” on the left bank of
the Wady, and to others whose heads were blue
enough and low enough to argue considerable
distance. He had intended his cousin Gabr to
be the real guide, and to take to himself all the
credit; but I had sent off the parlous “judge” in
another direction.

Mr. Clarke, whose cantering mule had no objec-
tion to leave its fellows, rode off with the recreant

Hasan, whilst we awaited his return under a tree.

 
 

EL-ZIBAYYIB. 303

Instead of hugging Abd’l-bdrid, behind which a
watercourse would have taken him straight to his
destination, he struck away from the Wady el-
Khulasah. Then crossing on foot, and hauling his
animal over, a rough divide, he fell, after six miles

instead of two, into the upper course of the

Wady Surr, which he reported to be choked with

stones, and refusing passage to loaded camels—as
will afterwards appear, the reverse is the case.
The ruins of El-Zibayyib lie at a junction of three,
or rather four, watercourses. The eastern is the
Surr, here about five hundred yards broad, forming
a bulge in the bed, and then bending abruptly to the
south; a short line from the south-west, the Wady
Zibayyib, drains the Abd’l-bdrid peak; and the
northernmost is the Wady el-Safrd,* upon which
the old place stands @ ¢/eval. The western part is
the larger and the more ruinous. The thin line, three
hundred yards long by thirty broad, never shows
more than two tenements deep, owing to the hill
that rises behind it: here the only furnace was
found. The eastern block measures one hundred
yards by forty; both are razed to their basements,
resembling the miners’ settlement on the Sharmd

cliff. They attract attention only by their material,

* I am not certain of this name, as several variants were given
to me. For historical notices of the ruined town of Khulasah,
see Chap. IV.

 
 

 

 

304 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

red boulders being used instead of the green por-
phyries of the hills; and the now desolate spot
shows no signs of water or of palm-groves.

Mr. Clarke rejoined us after a couple of hours,
having lost the dog ‘Brahim : under a sudden change
of diet it had become too confident of its strength,
and thus it is that dogs and men come to grief. We
retraced our steps down the Wady el-Khulasah,
whose Jebel is the crupper of the little block Umm
Jedayl. The lower valley shows a few broken
walls, old Arab graves, and other signs of ancient
habitation ; but I am convinced that we missed the
ruins which lay somewhere in the neighbourhood.
One Sulaymdn, a Bedawi of the Seldlimah-Huwaytdt
tribe, who had been rascalized by residence at El-
Muwaylah, was hunted up by the energetic Sayyid ;
hoping, as usual, that no action would be taken upon
mere words, he declared that El-Khulasah stood on
the top of a trap-lump. We halted to inspect it, and
Lieutenant Amir rode the S/aytinak, his vicious
little she-mule, up and down steeps fit only for a
goat. Again all was in vain.

We then travelled over granite gravel along the
western foot-hills of Umm Jedayl, in which a human
figure or statue had been reported to me: now,
however, it became a Saréit, or “upright stone.”
Along the flanks of the chief outlier, the Jebel el-
Ramzah, distinguished by its red crest and veins,

 

SAYL WADY EL JIMM. 305

the slope was one strew of quartz, whole and broken:
like that which we had seen to the north, and which
we were to see on our southern journey. Despising
the “rotten water” offered in two places by the
Umm Jedayl, we pitched camp on the fine gravel of
the Sayl Wady el-Jimm. Here I heard for the first
time, after sighting it for many weeks, that the latter
is the name, not of a mountain,® but of a Ska'é or
“gully” in the Jebel Dibbagh where waters “ meet.”
The Wady Kh'shabriyyah, separating the Umm
Jedayl from its northern neighbour, the Dibbagh,
looks like a highway ; but all declare that it is closed
to camels by a'r, or stony ground.” Of its ruins
more when we travel to the Shdrr. This day's
march of four hours (= ten miles and a half) had
been a series of zigzags—north, north-east, west,
and again north.

After a cool, pleasant night we set out at 6.30 a.m.
(February 21st), across the broad Say/, towards
a bay in the mountains bearing north-north-west,
the mouth of the Wady Zenndrah. Entering the
block, we made two short cuts to save great bends in
the bed. The first was the Sha’b el-Liwéwi’, the
Werwi of Wallin (p. 304)—wild riding enough ; the

path often winding almost due east, when the general

* In “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. V., occur several
differences of nomenclature, which may or may not be mistakes.
They are corrected in my * Itineraries,” part ii. sect. 2.

VOL. I. X

 
 

 

 

300 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

direction was north-north-east. We saw, for the
first time, pure greenish-yellow chlorite outcropping
from the granite. The animals were apparently
hibernating, and plants were rare; we remarked
chiefly the sorrel and the blue thistle, or rather wild
artichoke, the Shauk el-Jemel, a thorn loved by
camels (DBlepharis edulis), which recalled to mind
the highlands of Syria. The second short-cut, the
Wady el-Ga’agah, alias Sawdwin, was the worse
of the two: the deep drops and narrow gutters in
the quartz-veined granite induced even the Shaykhs
to dismount before attacking the descents. This is
rarely done when ascending, for their beasts climb
like Iceland ponies. One of M. Lacaze’s most
effective ¢roguis is that showing monture and man
disappearing in the black depths of a crevice. Some
of the hill-crests were weathered with forms resem-
bling the artificial. At the mid-day halting-ground
we saw a stone-mother nursing a rock-child, which
might still be utilized in lands where “ thaumaturgy”
is not yet obsolete.

Our course thence lay eastward up the easy bed
of the Fiumara, an eastern section of an old friend,
the Wady Tiryam ; it now takes the well-known name
“Wady Sadr,” and we shall follow it to its head in
the Hismd. The scene is rocky enough for Scot-
land or Scandinavia, with its huge walls bristling in

broken rocks and blocks, its blue slides, and its

 

WADY SADR. 307

polished sheets of dry watercourse which, from afar,
flash in the sun like living cataracts. On the
northern or right bank rises the mighty Harb,
whose dome, single when seen from the west, here
becomes a Tridactylon, splitting into three several
heads. Facing it, the northernmost end of the
Dibbagh range forms a truncated tower, conspicuous
far out at sea: having no name, it was called by us
Bury Jebel Dibbagh. A little further to the east
it will prove to be the monstrous pommel of a dwarf
saddleback, everywhere a favourite shape with the
granite outcrop.

MM. Clarke and Lacaze, who had never before
seen anything higher that the hillocks of the Isle of
Wight or the Buttes de Montmartre, were hot upon
ascending the almost perpendicular sides of the
Bury, relying upon the parallel and horizontal
fissures in the face, which were at least ten to
twenty feet apart. These dark marks, probably
stained by oxide of iron, reminded me of those
which wrinkle the granitic peaks about Rio de
Janeiro, and which have been mistaken for “hiero-
glyphs.”

The valley-sole is parti-coloured ; the sands of
the deeper line to the right are tinctured a pale and
sickly green by the degradation of the porphyritic
traps, here towering in the largest masses yet seen ;

while the gravel of the left bank is warm, and lively

 
 

308 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

with red grit and syenitic granite. Looking down
the long and gently waving line, we feel still con-
nected with the civilized world by the blue and
purple screen of Sinai forming the splendid back-
ground. Everything around us appears deserted ;
the Ma'dzah are up country, and the Beni 'Ukbah
have temporarily quitted these grazing-grounds for
the Surr of EI-Muwaylah. We camped for the night,
after a total march of eleven miles, at the Sayl
e/-Nagwak, a short Nullah at the foot of a granite
block similarly named; and a gap supplied us with
tolerable rain-water.

On the next day (February 22nd) we left the
“ Nagwah ” at seven instead of six a.m., and passed
to the right a granitic outcrop in the Wady bed, a
reduced edition of the Aury. After an hour's slow
walking we were led by a Bedawi lad, Hasan bin
Husayn, to a rock-spur projected northwards from
the left side and separating two adjacent Say/s or
“’torrent-beds,” mere bays in the bank of moun-
tains. A cut road runs to the top of the granite
tongue, which faces the westernmost or down-stream
outbreaks of the huge porphyritic masses on the
other side of the Wady Sadr. The ridge itself is
strewed with spalled stone, quartz broken from the
veins that seam the granite, and with slag as usual
admirably worked. Not a trace of human habita-

tion appears, nor is there any tradition of a settle-

 

 

THE SHAFAH RANGE. 309

ment having existed here; consequently we con-
cluded that this was another afe/zer of wandering
workmen. Below the rock-tongue we found for the
first time oxydulated iron and copper, either free or
engaged in trap and basaltic dykes: the former
metal, also attached in layers to dark-red ver-
meilled jasper, here appears streaked with white
quartz.

Resuming our ride, we dismounted, after four
miles, at the half-way JZakattak (“halting-place”):
it is a 7rond-point in the Wady Sadr, marked from
afar by a tall blue pyramid, the Jebel el-Ga'lah
(Ja'lah). We spent some time examining this
interesting bulge. Here the F#bdl el-Tthdmalk end,
and the eastern parallel range, the F2bdl e/-Shafal,
begins. The former belong to the Huwaytdt and
to Egypt; the latter, partly to the Ma'dzah and to
Syria. The geographical frontier is well marked by
two large watercourses disposed upon a meridian,
and both feeding the main drain, the Sadr-Tiryam.
To the north the Wady Sawddah divides the
granitic Harb from the porphyritic Jebel Sawddah ;
while the southern Wady Aylin separates the
Dibbagh from the Jebel Aylin, a tall form dis-
tinctly visible from the Upper Shdrr. The rest
of our eastward march will now be through the
Shafah massif. It resembles on a lower scale the

Tihdmah Ghdts; but it wholly wants their variety,

 
310 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

their beauty, and their grandeur. The granites,
which before pierced the porphyritic traps in all
directions, now appear only at intervals; and this,
I am told, is the case throughout the northern,
as we found it to be in the southern, prolongation of
the “Lip "-range. At the same time there is no
distinct geographical separation between the two
parallels; and both appear, not as if parted by
neutral ground, but rather as topographical con-
tinuations of each other.

While breaking our fast and resting the mules, a
few shots ringing ahead caused general excitement :
we were now on the edge of the enemy's country.
Presently three of the Ma'dzah came in and ex.
plained, with their barking voices, that their people
had been practising at the Ns/izn (“target”); which
meant “We have powder in abundance.” One of
them, at once dubbed £/-Nasuis (“ the Satyr”) from
his exceeding monstrous ugliness—a baboons muzzle
with a scatter of beard—kindly volunteered to guide
us, with the intention of losing the way. The
dialogue that took place was something as follows :—

What are your names ?

A. Nadakal wa nashrab! Our names are * We
eat and We drink!”

Where do we find water to-day ?
Furayj ejaculates, “ The water of the Rik4b !”

A. No, by Allah! The Arabs will never allow

 

  

ZHE THIEVES. 311

you to drink! You should be killed for carrying off
in Dumais (“skins”) the sand of the Wady Jahd

(alluding to Lieutenant Amir’s trip).

We did not pay much heed to these evil signs.
Ahmed el-’Ukbi had been sent forward to obtain
a free pass from the chiefs, and we hardly expected
that the outlying thieves would be daring enough
to attack us.

Resuming our way, in a cold wind and a warm
sun, up the upper Wady Sadr, we threaded the
various bends to the south and south-east, with a
general south-south-eastern direction. The normal
dark-green traps and burnished red porphyries and
orits were sparsely clad with the Siaw/at and the
Yasar trees, resembling the Salvadora and the
Zamarix. The country began to show a few
donkeys and large flocks of sheep and goats; the
muttons have a fine “tog,” and sell for three
dollars and a half. The women in charge, whose
complexions appeared notably lighter than those of
the seaboard, barked like the men. They were
much puzzled by a curious bleating which came
from the mules; and hurriedly counted their kids,
suspecting that one had been purloined, whilst they
had some trouble to prevent the whole flock follow-

ing us. All roared with laughter when they found

that Mr. Clarke was the performer.
We crossed two short cuts over long bends in

 

 
LN

 

 

 

312 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the Wady; and at the second found a pot-hole of
rain-water by no means fragrant, except to nostrils
that love impure ammonia. It has a grand name,
Muwal (for Miydh) e/-Rikib (“the Waters of the
Caravan”); and we made free with it, despite the
morning's threats. We again camped in the valley
at an altitude of 2200 feet (aner. 27°80) ; and,
though the thermometer showed 66° F. at five
p-m., fires inside and outside the mess-tent were
required. A wester or sea-breeze, deflected by the
ravines to a norther, was blowing ; and in these
regions, as in the sub-frigid zones of Europe, wind
makes all the difference of temperature. During
the evening we were visited by the Ma’dzah Beda-
win of a neighbouring encampment : they began to
notice stolen camels and to wrangle over past times
—another bad sign.

Setting out on a splendidly lucent morning (6.45
a.m., February 23rd), when the towering heads of
Harb and Dibbagh looked only a few furlongs
distant, we committed the imprudence of preceding,
as usual, the escort. Our men had become so timid,
starting at the sight of every wretched Bedawi, that
they made one long for a “rash act.” After walking
about a mile and a half, we passed some black tents
on the left bank, where the Sadr enters a narrow
rocky gorge ; and suddenly about a dozen varlets

were seen scampering over the walls, manning the

 

 

STOPPED IN THE PASS. 313

Pass, and with lighted matches threatening to fire.
Then loud rang the war-song—

“ Hill el-Zawdib, hilla-h4 ;
W’abdi Nuhddak kulla-hg !”

“Loose thy top-locks with a loosing (like a lion’s mane);
And advance thy breast, all of it (opponite pectora without
shrinking).”

Other varieties of the slogan are :—

“O man of small mouth (xn misérable)!
If we fail, who shall win? ”

And—

“By thy eyes (I swear), O she-camel, if we go (to the attack)
and gird (the sword),
We will make it a day of sorrow to them, and avert from our-

selves every ill.”

We dismounted, looked to our weapons, and
began to parley. The ragged ruffians, some of them
mere boys, and these always the readiest to blow the
matches of guns longer than themselves, began with
high pretensions. They declared that they would
be satisfied with nothing less than plundering us;
they flouted Shaykh Furayj, and they insulted the
Sayyid, threatening to take away his sword.

Presently the escort and the Arab camel-men
were seen coming up at the double. The Ma'4zah
at once became abject; kissed our heads and de-
clared “there was some mistake.” I had already
remarked, whilst the matchlock-men were swarming
up the Wady-sides, that the women and children

 
 

314 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

remained in camp, and the sheep and goats were
not driven off. This convinced me that nothing
serious had been intended: probably the demon-
stration was ordered from head-quarters in order to
strike us with a wholesome awe,

The fellows gently reproached us with travelling
through their country without engaging (and paying)
Glafir—* guides and protectors.” So far, as owners
of the soil, they were “in their right; ” and manning
a pass is here the popular way of levying transit dues.
On this occasion the number of our Remingtons
sufficed to punish their insolence by putting the men
to flight, and by carrying off their camels and flocks :
but such a step would have stopped the journey,
and what would not the “ Aborigines Protection
Society” have said and done? I therefore hired
one of the varlets, and both parties went their ways
rejoicing that the peace had not been broken.

The valley, winding through the red and green
hills, was dull and warm till the cool morning easter,
which usually set about eight a.m., began to blow.
The effect of increasing altitude showed itself in
the vegetation. We now saw for the first time
the Kiddd (Astragalus), with horrid thorns and a
flower resembling from afar the gooseberry : it is
common on the Hismd and in the South Country.
The Kahld (Zckium), a bugloss, a borage-like plant,

with viscous leaves and flowers of two colours,—

 

 

FLOWERS. 315

the young light-pink and the old dark-blue,—every-
where beautified the sands, and reminded me of the
Istrian hills, where it is plentiful as in the Nile Valley.
The Jarad-thorn was not in bloom ; and the same
was the case with the hyacinth (Dipcads erythiraeum),
so abundant in the Hismd, which some of us mis-
took for a “ wild onion.” The Zayti (Lavandula) had
just donned its pretty azure bloom. There were
Reseda, wild indigo, 7ribulus (terrestris), the blue
Aristida, the pale Stipa, and the Bromus grass, red
and yellow. The Ratam (spartium), with delicate
white and pink blossoms, was a reminiscence of
Tenerife and its glorious crater; whilst a little higher
up, the amene Cytisus, flowering with gold, carried
our thoughts back to the far past.

Presently the great FYumara opened upon a
large basin denoting the Ras (“head”) Wady Sadr .
native travellers consider this their second stage
from El-Muwaylah. In front the Jibdl Sadr ex-
tended far to the right and left, a slight depression
showing the A/uraytal, or * Pass,” which we were to
ascend on the morrow. Buttressing the left bank
of the broad watercourse was the dwarf hill of which
we had been told so many tales. By day its red
sands gleam and glisten like burnished copper;
during the night fire flashes from the summit: in
truth, its sole peculiarity is that of being yellow

amongst the gloomy heights around it; whilst the

 
 

 

 

 

316 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Wady el-Safrd, higher up to the left, discharges from
its Jebel a torrent of quartz and syenite, gravel and
sand. Abu Khartim, the author of the romance,
was among the party: he only smiled when com-
plimented upon the power of his imagination.

This was a day of excitement: even the mules
kept their ears pricked up. After a short nine miles
we had camped below the Jebel Kibdr, and we had
remounted our animals to ascend a neighbouring hill
commanding a bird's-eye view of the Hismd plain.
There was evidently much excitement amongst the
Bedawi shepherds around us; and presently Ahmed
el-'Ukbi, our messenger, appeared in sight, officially
heading the five chiefs of the Ma'dzah, who were
followed by a tail of some thirty clansmen. Only
two rode horses, wretched garrons stolen from the
Ruwald, the great branch of the Anezah, which
holds the eastern regions ; the rest rode fine sturdy
and long-coated camels, which looked Syrian rather
than Midianite.* We returned hurriedly to make
arrangements for the reception : our Shaykhs could
not, without derogating, go forth to meet the
strangers; but the latter were saluted with due
ceremony by the bugler and the escort, drawn up in
line before the mess-tent.

After the usual half-hour’s delay, the “ palaver,”

* To this breed belonged the beast which carried me on the
first Expedition.

 

 

PALAVER WITH THE CHIEFS. 317

to speak A fricanice, “ came up,” and M. Lacaze had
a good opportunity of privily sketching the scene.
The Shaykh, Mohammed bin ’Atiyyah, who boasts
(falsely) that he commands more than half the two
thousand males composing the tribe, is a tall, sinewy
man of about fifty, straight-featured, full-bearded,
and gruff-voiced : his official style of speaking from
the throat, a kind of vaccine low, imitated in camp
for many a day, never failed to cause merriment.
His costume rose to the height of Desert-fashion,
described when pourtraying Shaykh Khizr the
'Imrdni; his manners were those of a gentleman
below the Pass, and above it he became an unmiti-
gated ruffian, who merited his soubriguet El-Kalb
(“the Hound”). On one side sat his son Sdlim, a
large, beardless lad, who had begun work by present-
ing us with a sheep—Giorgi (cook) said it cost us
£40. On the other was his eldest brother and
alter ego. the wrinkled Sagr (Sakr) has been a
resident at Cairo, and still boasts that he received
the “tribute” of a horse from the Viceroy, whom he
affects to treat as an equal or rather an inferior.
The others were old Sagr’s ill-visaged son Ali,
and, lastly, a cunning-eyed villain, ’Abayd bin Sdlim,
the rightful heir to the chieftainship. which, however,
he had been unable to keep. All the Shaykhs were
dressed in brand-new garments and glaring glossy
Kiiftyalks (“head-kerchiefs ’) ; they trade chiefly with
 

 

 

 

318 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Mezdrib in the Haurdn; and, during the annual
passage to and fro of the Damascus caravan, they
await it at Tabuk, and threaten to cut off the road
unless liberally propitiated with presents of raiment
and rations. The Muritibalk (honorarium) contri-
buted by EI-Shdm would be about one hundred
dollars in ready money to the headman, diminish-
ing with degree to one dollar per annum : this would
not include “free gifts” by pilgrims. The Ma'4dzah
are under Syria, that is, under no rule at all; and
they are supposed to be tributary to, when in reality
they demand tribute from, the Porte. In fact,
nothing can be more pronounced than the contrast
of the Bedawin who are subject to Egypt, and those
supposed to be governed by the wretched Ottoman.

During the palaver all outside was sweet as
honey, to use the Arab phrase, and bitter as gall
inside. The Ma'dzah, many of whom now saw
Europeans for the first time, eyed the darnetd (hat)
curiously, with a certain facial movement which
meant, “ This is the first time we have let Christian
dogs into our land!” They were minute in obsery-
ing the escort, and not a little astonished to find
that all were negroes—in the old day Egyptian
soldiers, under the great Mohammed Ali Pasha and
his stepson, Ibrahim Pasha, had made themselves
a terror to the Wild Man. “What had now become

of them ?” was the mental question. When asked

 

RUFFIAN CHIEFS OF THE HISMA. 319

whence they had procured the two horses, they
answered curtly, Min Rabbind— From our Lord,”
thus signifying stolen goods; and, like medieval
knights, they took a pride in avowing that not one
of their number could read or write. Finally a tent
was assigned to them ; food was ordered, and they
promised us escort to their dens on the morrow.

During the raw and gusty night the mercury
sank to 38° F., the aneroid (26°91) showing about
three thousand feet above sea-level : and blazing
fires kept up within and without the tents, hardly
sufficed for comfort. On the morning of February
24th

“Over the wold the wind blew cold ;”

and the Egyptian officers all donned their gloves.
The early hours were spent in a last struggle with
our Shaykhs, who now felt themselves and their
camels hopelessly entering the lion's lair. The sole
available pretext for delay was that their animals

could never carry the boxes and tents up the Pass:

but, though very ugly reports prevailed concerning

the reception of Ahmed el-’Ukbi, and the observa-
tions that had been made last night, not a word was
suffered to reach my ears until our retreat had been
resolved upon. Such concealment would have been
inexcusable in a European; in the East it is the
rule.

At 7.15 a.m. we struck the camp at Jebel Kibar,

 

 
320 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and moved due eastward towards the Pass. This
north-eastern Khuraytah (Co/) is termed the
Khuraytat el-Hismd or el-Jils, after a hillock on
the plateau-summit, to distinguish it from the similar
feature to the south-west : the latter is known as the
Khuraytat el-Zibd or el-7dhamd, the local pronun-
ciation of Tihdmah. About two miles of rough and
broken ground lead to the foot of the ladder. The
zigzags then follow the line of a mountain torrent,
the natural Pass, crossing its bed from left to right
and from right again to left: the path is the rudest
of corniches, worn by the feet of man and beast ; and
showing some ugly abrupt turns. The absolute
height of the ascent is about 450 feet (aner. 2670
—26°25) and the length half a mile. The ground,
composed mostly of irregular rock-steps, has little
difficulty for horses and mules; but camels laden
with boards (the mess-table) and long tent-poles
must have had a queer time—I should almost
expect after this to see an oyster walking up stairs.
Of course, they took their leisure, feeling each stone
before they trusted it, but they all arrived without
the shadow of an accident; and the same was the
case during the two subsequent descents.

We halted on the Sati e¢/-Nakb (“the Pass-
top”) to expect the caravan, and to prospect the
surrounding novelties. Heaps and piles of dark

trap dotted the summit like old graves; many of the

 

WASM, OR ARAB TRIBE MARKS.

"Wasm” ar Fl-Khuraytah ( Chapt. X )
Shardrat- Hataym. EL -Awagy’ &l, Sabi 2

3 —t z is

On road to Lenen Amel L “
7. )
b | | ~ goon . Written Stone
and at the Dayr | |!
Near the Sharr | IT wv Vv

(Chapt TL) Nr” (Chapt 211) ¥

Loe) Ji 2 DF

[7]
Near EL-Wigh (Chapt XVI)

Lv mE]

=

 

(Bird & snake)

At Ayn El-Earr :
FA apy Ral + 4g
MI

At Sharm Ydharr, Chef type
( Chapt IX)

T (Du Cametsick,) A {
\ TT N 1 Te (11

TT camel) A HR
4 = a KS

imc T= A

3

 

 
 

 

 

WASM. 321

stones were inscribed with tribal marks, and not a
few were capped with snowy lumps of quartz de-
tached from their veins in the porphyry. This
custom, which appears universal throughout Midian,
has many interpretations. According to some it
denotes the terminus of a successful raid; others
make it show where a dispute was settled without
bloodshed ; whilst as a rule it is an expression of
gratitude : the Bedawi erects it in honour of the
man who protected or who did a service to him,
saying at the same time, Abyaz ’alayk yi Fuldn—
“White (or happy) be it to thee!” naming the
person. Amongst these votive stones we picked
up copper-stained quartz like that of '‘Ayninah, fine
specimens of iron, and the dove-coloured serpentine,
with silvery threads, so plentiful in the Wady Surr.
The Wasm in most cases showed some form of
a cross, which is held to be a potent charm by the
Sinaitic Bedawin ; and on two detached water-rolled
pebbles were distinctly inscribed IH and VI, which
looked exceedingly like Europe. Apparently the
custom is dying out: the modern Midianites have
forgotten the art and mystery of tribal signs (17; usin).
In many places the people cannot distinguish between
inscriptions and “Bill Snooks his mark,” and they
can interpret very few of the latter.

Looking westward through the inverted arch
formed by the two hill-staples of the Khuraytah, and

VOL. 1. Y

 
 

 

322 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

down the long valley which had given us passage,
the eye distinguishes a dozen distances whose several
planes are marked by all the shades of colour that
the most varied vegetation can show. There are
black-browns, chocolate-browns, and light umber-
browns; bright-reds and dull-reds; grass-greens
and cypress-greens; neutral tints and French greys
contrasting with the rosy pinks, the azures, the
purples, and the golden yellows with which distance
paints the horizon. From a few feet above the
Col-floor appear the eastern faces of the giants of
the coast-range; and our altitude, some 3800 feet,
gave us to a certain extent a measure of their grand
proportions.

We now stand upon the westernmost edge of the
great central Arabian plateau, known as El-Nejd
(“the Highlands”), opposed to El-Tihdmah, the low-
land regions. In Africa we should call it the “true”
subtending the “false” coast; delightful Dahome
compared with leprous Lagos. This upland, run-
ning parallel with the «Lip “-range and with the
maritime Ghats, is the far-famed Hismd. It pro-
bably represents a remnant of the old terrace which,
like the Secondary gypseous formation, has been
torn to pieces by the volcanic region to the east, and
by the plutonic upheavals to the west. The length
may be 170 miles; the northern limit is either close
to or a little south of Fort Ma’dn; and we shall see

 

 

 

THE HISMA. 323

its southern terminus sharply defined on a parallel
i the central Shérr, not including « El foo >
An inaccessible fortress to the south, it is Apron
on te south-west by difficult passes, easily defended
against man and beast. Further north, however
the Wadys Afi] near El-Sharaf, El Hak] (Ha al),
4 El-Yitm at EI’Akabah, are easy lines i
Wa'r (“stony ground ") or Naké (“ravines”).

The Hismd material is a loose modern sand-
Sone, showing every hue between blood-red rose
pink, and dead, dull white : again and enh fra
ants had been pointed out to us near the coast in
ruined buildings and in the remains of handmills

and rub-
stones. Possibly the true coal-measures

me _ Ca
: ay underlie it, especially if the rocks east of Petra
e, as some travellers stat
e, a reg
Some i | gion of the Old, not
o sed. According to my informants, the
ismd has no hills of quartz, a rock which appears
ev r AN 2
erywhere except here; nor should I expect the
region to be metalliferous.
- We ascended the Jebel cl-Khuraytah, a trap
illock
oo some 120 feet high, the southern jamb of the
Shuraytah gate: the summit, where stands a ruined
Bury measuring fourteen metres in diameter gives
"i ol - ’ °
a striking and suggestive view. After hard dry

living on grisly mountain and unlovely Wady, this

y or a short notice of this region, hitherto unvisited b
“uropeans, see Chap. XVIII. X

 

 

 
324 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

fine open plain, slightly concave in the centre, was a
delightful change of diet to the eye —the first enjoy-
able sensation of the kind, since we had gazed
lovingly upon the broad bosom of the Wady el-
’Arabah. The general appearance is that of Eastern
Syria, especially the Haurdn : at the present season
all is a sheet of pinkish red, which in later March
will turn to lively green. On this parallel the
diameter does not exceed a day’s march, but we see
it broadening to the north. Looking in that direc-
tion over the gloomy-metalled porphyritic slopes
upon which we stand, the glance extends to a
manner of sea-horizon; while the several planes
below it are dotted with hills and hill-ranges, white,
red, and black, all dwarfed by distance to the size of
thimbles and pincushions. The guides especially
pointed out the ridge El-Mukaykam, a red Hack
upon red sands, and a far-famed rendezvous for aid
and 7azzia. Nearer, the dark lumps of El-Khayrani
rise from a similar surface; nearer still lie the two
white dots, El-Rakhamatayn; and nearest is the
ruddy ridge Jebel and Jils el-Rawiyan, comtalning,
they say, ruins and inscriptions of which Wallin did
not even hear.

The eastern versant of the Hismd is marked
by long chaplets of tree and shrub, disposed along
the selvage of the watercourses; and the latter
are pitted with wells sunk after the fashion of the

 

 

 

EL-HARRAH. 2%

Bedawin. In this rhumb the horizon is bounded by
El-Harrah, the volcanic region whose black porous
lavas and honey-combed basalts, often charged with
white zeolite, are still brought down even to the
coast to serve as mortars and handmills. The
profile is a long straight and regular line, as if
formed under water, capped here and there by a
tiny head like the Syrian Aulayb Haurdn: its
peculiar dorsum makes it distinguishable from afar,
and we could easily trace it from the upper heights
of the Shdrr. It is evidently a section of the
mighty plutonic outburst which has done so much
to change the aspect of the parallel Midian sea-
board. Wallin’s account of it (p. 307) is confined to
the place where he crossed the lava-flood ; and he
rendered Z/-Harrak, which in Arabic always applies
to a burnt region, by “red-coloured sandstone.”

The Bedawin far more reasonably declare that
this Harrah is not a mere patch as it appears in
Wallin’s map, a narrow oblong not exceeding sixty
miles (north lat. 27°28"), disposed diagonally from
north-west to south-east. According to them, it is a
region at least as large as the Hismd; and it ex-
tends southwards not only to the parallel of El-
Medinah, but to the neighbourhood of Yambu.
The upper region has two great divisions: the
Harrat-Hismd or zie Harrah par excellence, which

belongs to the Ma'dzah, and which extends south-

 
 

 

 

326 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

wards through El-Sulaysilah as far as the Jaww.
The latter region, a tract of yellow sand, dotted
with ruddy hills, apparently a prolongation of the
Hismd, separates it from the Harrat el’ Awayraz, in
which the Jebel el-Muharrak lies.* This line of
volcanism is continued south by the Harrat el- Mu-
shrif (P.N. of a man); by the Harrat Sutil Fayda,
and, finally, by the Harrat el-Buiayr:: the latter
shows close behind the shore at El-Haurd, in nearly
the same latitude as El-Medinah, where we shall
presently sight it. There is great interest and a
general importance in this large coast-subtending
eruptive range, whose eastern counterslope demands
long and careful study.

Sweeping the glance round to south, we see the
southern of the two Jilsayn, tall mounds of horizon-
tal strata, with ironstone in harder lines and finial
blocks. This is the Jils el-Ddim, so distinguished
from the northern Jils el-Rawiydn. The lower edge
of the Hismd swells up in red and quoin-like masses,
the Jibdl el-Zawiyah, and then falls suddenly, with a
succession of great breaks, into the sub-maritime
levels. During our next ten days’ travel we shall be
almost in continuous sight of its southern ramparts
and buttresses. Far over the precipices lie the low

yellow sands of the Rahabah, a/zas the Wady Ddmah;

* For a note on the ¢ Burnt Mountain,” so well known at El-
Wijh, see Chap. XVIII.

 

 

 

TO THE HISMA. 327

and behind it rises the sky-blue mountain block,
which takes a name from the ruins of Shaghab and
Shuwdk,

We breakfasted upon the Khuraytah crest; and
Mr. Clarke set out to shoot the fine red-legged
“Greek” partridges (caccabis) that haunt the hill-
tops, whilst the rest of us marched with the caravan
to the nearest camping-ground. About a mile from
the Co/, and lying to the west of the Jils el-Rawiydn,
it is supplied with excellent drinking-water by the
Miyil el-Fedayd, lying nine hundred to a thousand
On the other hand, fuel,

here a necessary of life, was wanting ; nor could the

metres to the south-east.

camels find forage. Thus we were camped upon

The Ma'dzah
Shaykhs, who vainly urged us forwards, showed a

the western edge of the Hismd.

uspicious disappointment at our not reaching their
Juarters on the far side, where, they said, a camel
was awaiting to be slaughtered for our reception.
Meanwhile, we were enjoying the reverse of
hospitality. The Bedawin evidently now held that
Their ex-
Not satisfied
with “eating us up,” with a coffee-pot ever on the

all which was ours had become theirs.

cessive greed made them imprudent.

fire, with demanding endless tobacco, and with
making their two garrons devour more barley than
our eight mules, they began to debate, aloud as

usual, how much ready money they should demand.

 
 

 

 

 

 

  

328 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

This was at last settled at four hundred dollars;
and the talk was reported to me by the Bdsh-Buzik
Husayn, whom they had compelled to cook for them.
“At the same time unpleasant discussions were begin-
ning: “This man stole my camel!” “That man
killed my father,” already took the form of threats;
in fact, I almost repented having brought the Hu-
waytdt and their camels into the trap. Still they all
respected Furayj, as might be seen by their rising
and making room for him whenever he approached
the fire.

At last an evil rumour arose that the Ma'dzah
had determined to supply us with transport, and
had sent messengers in all directions to collect the
animals. This step looked uncommonly like a
I was sorely disappointed,

The state of affe’

gathering of war-men.
for more reasons than one.
rendered a distant march to the east highly unadvis-
able. The principal object of this journey had been
to investigate the inland depth of the metalliferous
deposits; in fact, their extent from west to east.
Their north-south length would be easily ascer-
tained, but the width would still remain unknown.
The “Land of Midian,” through which we have
been travelling, has evidently been worked, and in
places well worked ; thus the only chance of finding
a virgin California would be in the unknown tracts

lying to the east of the “ Harrahs.” Too bad to

 

 

  

   

INSCRIPTIONS. 329

be thwarted in such a project by the exorbitant
demands of a handful of thieves !

The disappointment was aggravated by other
considerations. From all that I had heard, the
Hismd is a region full of archeological interest.
Already we were almost in sight of the ruins of
Rudfd, lying to the north between the two white dots
El-Rakhamatayn. Further eastward, and north of
the pilgrim-station Zat-Hajj, are the remains of
Kardyyd, still unvisited by Europeans. Finally, I
had been shown, when too late to inspect the place,
a fragment of a Nabathzan inscription, finely cut in
soft white sandstone: * it had been barbarously
broken, and two other pieces were en route. The
stone is said to be ten feet long (?), all covered with
“writings,” from which annalistic information might
be expected : it lies, or is said to lie, about two hours’
ride north of our camp, and beyond the Jils el-
Rawiydn famed for Hawdwit. At first I thought
of having it cut to portable size: but second
thoughts determined me to leave it for another visit
or for some more fortunate visitor. Lastly, we were
informed, a few weeks afterwards, that the Ma'dzah
Shaykhs had carried it off to their tents—I fear
piecemeal.

* It was afterwards exhibited at the Hippodrome, Cairo, and
was carefully photographed by M. Lacaze. Others said that it
came from the east of our camp, near the Jils el-Ddim.

 
 

 

330 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

It was not pleasant to beat a retreat; but, under
the circumstances, what else could be done ? No one
was to be relied upon but the Europeans, and not
all even of #hem. The black escort, emancipated
slaves, would have run away at the first shot ; except
only Acting-Corporal Khayr. And when I told the
officers assembled at mess that we should march
back early next morning, the general joy showed
how little they relished the prospect of an advance.
Then came out in mass the details—many doubtless
apocryphal—which should have been reported to
me, and which had carefully been kept secret. The
Ma’dzah, when our messenger first notified our visit,
had declared that they would have no Nazarenes in
their mountains; that they did not care a fico for
Egypt. Why had not “ Effendind ” written to them?
they were his equals, not his subjects! It was then
debated whether they should not raise a force of
dromedary-men to fall upon us. Some of them
proposed to summon to their aid the rival chief, Ibn
Hermds; but the majority thought it would be
better to reserve for themselves the hundred dollars
per diem, of which they proposed to fleece us.

Of course, everything around us was intrigue ;
the Mdayat taht el-Tibn (“water under the straw”)
of the Arab saying. Furayj, it is true, looked
serene, and privately offered me to fight the affair
out; but he was alone in the idea. The Sayyid was

 

 

ROW IN THE HISMA. 331

tranquil, as usual; Hasan the 'Ukbi wore an un-
pleasant appearance of satisfaction, as if he had
been offered a share in the plunder of the Huwaytdt;
and ‘Alaydn, a brave man on his own ground, could
hardly conceal his dejection. I might, it is evident,
have seized Shaykh Mohammed, placed a pistol to
his ear, and carried him off a prisoner; but such
grands moyens must be reserved for great occasions.
The worst symptoms in camp were that the Ma’dzah
at once knew the whole of my project; while the
Egyptian officers were ever going to their tents, and
one stayed talking with them till near midnight.

February 25th was a day of humiliation. I aroused
the camp at 4.30 a.m., and at once gave orders to
strike the tents and load. The command was obeyed
in double quick time; but not before Shaykh
Mohammed had visited us to propose a march to
his home in the east. He was not comfortable ;
probably his reinforcements had still to arrive : his
face was calm, as the Eastern’s generally is ; but his
feet trembled, and his toes twitched. I drily told
him of our changed plans, and he left us in high
dudgeon. The tragi-comedy which followed may
be divided into six acts :—

1. The Ma’dzah mount their horses and camels :
I walk up to them, and expostulate about so abrupt
a departure without even drinking a friendly cup of

coffee.

 
 

 

332 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

2. They dismount, and squat in council round
the fire, sending on three dromedary-riders to crown
a hill commanding the pass. The “burning ques-
tion” is now whether armed clansmen are or are
not lurking behind the heights.

3. Shaykh Mohammed comes forward, and
demands blackmail to the extent of two hundred
dollars. I offer one hundred dollars.

4. Our hosts break off the debate in a towering
rage ; refuse coffee, and declare that the caravan of
“ Effendind” (the Viceroy) shall not be loaded.
Mohammed's feet twitch more violently as the camels
are made to kneel.

5. The caravan shows too much emotion. 1
pay the two hundred dollars into the chief’s hands.
He at once demands his SZaraf (“honour”) in the
shape of a Kiswak, or handsome dress, and, that
failing, an additional twenty-five dollars for each of
the five headmen. I promise that a robe shall be
sent from El-Muwaylah.*

6. The caravan sets out for the Pass, when the
three dromedary-riders open with the war-cry : it
is stopped with much apparatus by the Shaykhs,

who affect to look upon it as dangerous.
# # # # #

We now marched without delay upon the Co/
which was reached at 8.15 a.m.; Mohammed bin

* Tt was duly committed to the charge of our Sayyid.

 

 

 

 

AU REVOIR / 333

'Atfyyah having meanwhile disappeared. We de-
scended the Khuraytat el-]Jils in twenty-six minutes
and dismissed the remainder of our Ma’dzah _
at the foot. I vainly offered them safeguard to El-
Muwaylah, which they have not visited for the
last dozen years ; all refused absolutely to pass their
own frontiers.

Aw revorr Mohammed ibn ’Atiyyah and com-
pany !

Having broken our fast and sent forward the
caravan, we at once began to descend the southern
Pass, the Khuraytat el-Zibd. Here the watershed
of the Wady Surr heads; and merchants object to
travel, by its shorter line, because their camels must
ascend two ladders of rocks, instead of one at the
top of the Wady Sadr. The Co/ was much loncer
and but little less troublesome than its northern
neighbour ; the formation was the same, and forty-
five minutes placed us in a gully, that presently
widened to a big valley, the Wady Dahal or El-
Khuraytah. We reached it at 12.30 p.m., and laid
down the distance from the summit of the northern
Col at about five miles and a quarter. The air felt
tepid, the sun waxed hot; drinking-water was
found on the left of the bed, and a hole in the
sole represented a spring, which the people say Is
perennial : we were dismounting to quench our

thirst at the latter, when Juno plunged into it

)

 
 

 

 

 

  

334 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and stood quietly eyeing us with an air of intense
satisfaction.

We spent that night at a place lower down the
Wady Dahal, known as the Jayb el-Khuraytah
(* Collar of the Col”). The term “ Jayb ” is locally
applied to two places only; the other being the
Jayb el-Saliwwah, which we shall presently visit.
A larger feature than a Wady, it reminds us of a
Norfolk “broad,” but it is of course waterless.
Guards were placed around the camp; and a whole-
some dread of the Ma'dzah kept them wide awake.
The only evil which resulted was that none dared
to lead our mules to water; and the poor animals
were hardly rideable on the next day.

Of the Hismd in its present state, we may say
as of Ushant, Qui voit Quessant, voit la mort.
Nothing can be done towards working the mines of
Midian until this den of thieves is cleared out. It

is an asylum for every murderer and bandit who can
a centre of turbulence which
Under the sham

 

make his way there
spreads trouble all around it.
rule of miserable Sham (Syria), with its Turkish
Wialis, men like the late Rdshid Pasha, matters can
only wax worse. Subject to Egypt, the people
will learn discipline and cease to torment the land.
Happily for their neighbours there will be no
difficulty in reducing the Ma’dzah. They are sur-

rounded by enemies, and they have lately been

  

 

 

 

3
4
3,
:
1
3
i
A
i
%
4
"

k

THROUGH EAST MIDIAN FROM THE HISMA 335

obliged to pay “brother-tax” to the Ruwald as a
flofshre against being plundered : the tribute con-
sists of one piece of hair-cloth about twenty cubits
long. On the north, as far as El-Ma’dn, they meet
the hostile Beni Sakr (Jawdzi), under the Shaykh
Mohammed ibn Jdzi; southwards the Baliyy, com-
mended by Shaykh ’Afndn, are on terms of blood ”
with them; eastward stand the "Anezah and the
warlike Shardrdt-Hutaym, who ever covet their two
thousand camels : westward lie in wait their here
diary foes, the Huwaytdt. Shaykh Furayj he
tactician, has long ago proposed a general CAE
of his tribesmen by a simultaneous movement
the Wadys Surr, Sadr, Urnub, and ’Af4]- thew
seemed to have some inkling of his intentions, as choy
hastened to conclude with him a five months’ 'Atwalk
of “truce.” Finally, a small disciplined force, march-
he con, and opera wih ne prend to
ating 1 the Huwaytdt on
the west, would place this vermin between two fires.
| The tale of my disappointment may conclude
with an ethnological notice of those who caused it
Tne Ma’dzah is a Syro-Egypto-Bedawi clan
originally Arab, or rather Syrian, but migratory 2s
are all Arabs. It now extends high up the valle r
of the Nile, and it is still found in the Wady og
(of Suez) and on the Za'fardnah block. Even in

 
 

 

 

336 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

professional robbers; and their treachery is vg
trolled by the Bedawi law of honour —they wil ot
bread and salt with the traveller whom they ining
to murder. For many years it oi unsafe to visit
the camps within sight of Suez, until a oy
residence at head-quarters taught the Shaykhs
manners. The habitat in Arabia etches from he
Wady Musd of Petra, where they 4s Kinsmen
the Tiydhah, the Bedawin of he Tihdasonis on
through Ma’édn as far as the Birkat el-Mu’azzamabh,
south of Tabik. Finally, they occupy the greater
part of the Hismd and the northern Harrah. |
According to Mohammed el-Kalb, these bandits
own the bluest of blue blood. Their forefather was
one Wail, who left by his descendants two great
tribes. The first and the eldest books a name from
their Ma dz (“he-goats”); while the junior called them-
selves after the Anndz (“she-goats”) : from the latter
sprung the great Anezah family, which Hg A
largest and the choicest provinces of the Arabian

> the
peninsula. ~~ Meanwhile genealogists ignore

a would divide the tribe into two, the
Ma'4zah and the “Beni ’Atiyd:” of the latter in
Midian I could hear nothing except that they repre-
sent the kinsmen of the Shaykh’s family. We ind
« Benoo Ateeyah” in maps like ht of Crichton’s
(1834), where the Ma'dzah are laid down further

 

 

rem anmmm

THOUGH EAST MIDIAN FROM THE HISMA 337

south; and northwards the Beni ‘Atiyyah are a
powerful clan who push their 7wzzias as far as the
frontiers of Moab. My informants declare that the
numbers of fighting men in the Midianite division
of the race may be two thousand (two hundred ?),
and that they are separated only by-allegiance to
two rival Shaykhs. The greater half under Ibn
Hermds, is distributed into five clans, of whom the

first, ’Orbdn Khumaysah, contain two septs. Under

NABATHAAN INSCRIPTION FROM EL-HISMA.

 

Mohammed ibn ‘Atfyyah (£/-Kalb) they number

also five divisions. Amongst them are the Subit or

Beni Sabt, “Sons of the Sabbath,” that is, Saturday ;
whom Wallin suspects to be of Jewish origin, relying,
it would appear, principally upon their name. The
ringing of the large bell suspended to the middle

pole of the tents at sunset, “ to hail the return of the

camels and the mystic hour of descending night,”

is an old custom still maintained, because it, confers
a Barakat (“blessing”) upon the flocks and herds.

Certainly there is nothing of the Beda

wi: in this
VOL. I. i

Z

 
 

 

338 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 
 
  
 
  

practice, and it is distinctly contrary to the traditio
of El-Islam; yet many such survivals hold their
ground amongst the highly conservative Wild Men,
and they must be looked upon only as local and

tribal peculiarities.

END OF VOL. L

 

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.,

 

 
 

 

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

Second Edition. Demy 8vo, cloth, price 18s.
THE GOLD-MINES OF MIDIAN
AND THE RUINED MIDIANITE CITIES.
A ForRTNIGHT'S TOUR IN NORTH- WESTERN ARABIA.
With Numerous Illustrations.

“There is a freshness about his [Captain Burton's] book, which must

engross the attention of all who turn to the pages of this, his latest con-
tribution to geographical literature.” —ATHEN/EUM.

LoNDON : C. KEGAN PAUL & Co., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE.

 

 

 

 

 
 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN

(REVISITED).

’

RICHARD F. BURTON.

WITH MAP, AND ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD AND BY
CHROMO-LITHOGRAPHY.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. IL

LONDON: :
C. KEGAN PAUL & CO., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE
18709.

 
(The rights of translation and of reproduction are rese

re ed.)

CONTENTS.

PART II.

THE MARCH THROUGH CENTRAL AND
EASTERN MIDIAN.

(Continued.)

CHAPTER XI.

THE UNKNOWN LANDS SOUTH OF THE HISMA—RUINS OF
SHUWAK AND SHAGHAB ves vos

CHAPTER XII.

FROM SHAGHAB TO ZIBA—RUINS OF EL-KHANDAK{ AND
/
UMM AMIL—THE TURQUOISE MINE—RETURN TO EL-
MUWAYLAH ... vee oy ve

CHAPTER XIII.
A WEEK AROUND AND UPON THE SHARR MOUNTAIN—
RESUME OF THE MARCH THROUGH EASTERN OR
CENTRAL MIDIAN

CHAPTER XIV.
DOWN SOUTH—TO EL-WIJH—NOTES ON THE QUARANTINE
—THE HUTAYM TRIBE

ren “or sor

a Aa 7
140419

 
CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV.

THE SOUTHERN SULPHUR-HILL—THE CRUISE TO EL-HAURA

—NOTES ON THE BALIYY TRIBE AND THE VOLCANIC
CENTRES OF NORTH-WESTERN ARABIA

see coe

CHAPTER XVI.

OUR LAST MARCH—THE INLAND FORT—RUINS OF THE
GOLD-MINES AT UMM EL-KARAYAT AND UMM EL-
HARAB ..

ve oe

CHAPTER XVII.

THE MARCH CONTINUED TO EL-BADA — DESCRIPTION
THE PLAIN BADAIS

OF

een eee

CHAPTER XVIII.

COAL A “MYTH”—MARCH TO MARWAT—ARRIVAL AT THE
WADY HAaMmZ

CHAPTER XIX.
THE WADY HAMZ—THE CLASSICAL RUIN—ABA'L-MART,
THE MINE OF

“ MARWAH ”—RETURN TO EL-WIJH—
RESUME OF THE SOUTHERN JOURNEY

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX IL

DATES OF THE THREE JOURNEYS (NORTHERN, CENTRAL,

AND SOUTHERN) MADE BY THE SECOND
EXPEDITION

KHEDIVIAL

“ee vee

APPENDIX IL

EXPENSES OF THE EXPEDITION TO MIDIAN, COMMANDED
BY CAPTAIN R. F. BURTON, H.B.M. CONSUL, TRIESTE

CONTENTS.

APPENDIX III.

PRESERVED PROVISIONS AND OTHER STORES, SUPPLIED BY
MESSRS. VOLTERA BROS., OF THE EZBEKIYYAH, CAIRO

APPENDIX 1V.
BOTANY AND LIST OF INSECTS

[XX]

APPENDIX V,
METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL

INDEX

 
PART II.

THE MARCH THROUGH CENTRAL
AND EASTERN MIDIAN.

(Continued)

 

 
 

 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN
REVISITED.

CHAPTER XI.

THE UNKNOWN LANDS SOUTH OF THE HISMA-—RUINS

OF SHUWAK AND SHAGHAB.

WE have now left the region explored by Europeans;
and our line to the south and the south-east will
lie over ground wholly new. In front of us the
land is no longer Ar: Madyan : we are entering
South Midian, which will extend to El-Hejdz. As
the march might last longer than had been ex-
pected, I ordered fresh supplies from El-Muwaylah
to meet us in the interior zd Zibd. A very small
boy acted dromedary-man; and on the next day he

reached the fort, distant some thirty-five and a half

direct geographical miles eastward with a trifling of

northing.
We left the Jayb el-Khuraytah on a delicious

 
4 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

morning (6.15 a.m., February 26th), startling the
gazelles and the hares from their breakfast graze.
I'he former showed in troops of six; and the latter
were still breeding, as frequent captures of the long-
eared young proved. The track lay down the
Wady Dahal and other influents of the great Wady
Sa'liwwah, a main feeder of the Ddmah. We made
a considerable ddfour between south-south-east and
south-east to avoid the rocks and stones discharged
by the valleys of the Shafah range on our left. To
the right rose the Jibdl el-Tihdmah, over whose
nearer brown heights appeared the pale blue peaks
of Jebel Shdrr and its southern neighbour, Jebel
Sa'ldwwah. |

At nine a.m. we turned abruptly eastward up
the Wady el-Sulaysalah, whose head falls sharply
from the Shafah range. The surface is still Hisma
ground, red sand with blocks of ruddy grit, washed
down from the plateau on the left; and, according
to Furayj, it forms the south-western limit of Ze
Harrah. The valley is honeycombed into man-
traps by rats and lizards, causing many a tumble,
and notably developing the mulish instinct. We
then crossed a rough and rocky divide, Arabice a
Majrd, or, as the Bedawin here pronounce it, a
“ Magrah,”* which takes its name from the tor-

mented Ruways ridge on the right. After a hot,

* The word is explained in my “ Itineraries,” part ii. sect. 3.

 

 

THE “LITTLE STEP”

unlively march of four hours (= eleven miles), on
mules worn out by want of water, we dismounted
at a queer isolated lump on the left of the track.
This Febel el-Muraytbal (“of the Little Step ") 1s
lumpy grey granite of the coarsest elements, whose
false strata, tilted up till they have become quasi-
vertical, and worn down to pillars and drums, crown
the crest like gigantic columnar crystallizations. We
shall see the same freak of nature far more grandly
developed into the “Pins” of the Shdrr. It has
evidently upraised the trap, of which large and small
blocks are here and there imbedded in it. The
granite is cut in its turn by long horizontal dykes of
the hardest quadrangular basalt, occasionally pud
ding’d with banded lumps of red jasper and oxydu-
lated iron : from afar they look like water-lines, and
in places they form walls, regular as if built. The
rounded forms result from the granites flaking off in
curved lamin, like onion-coats. Want of homo-
geneity in the texture causes the granite to degrade
ito caves and holes: the huge blocks which have
fallen from the upper heights often show unexpected
hollows in the under and lower sides. Above the
water we found an immense natural dolmen, under
which apparently the Bedawin take shelter. After

El-Muraytbak the regular granitic sequence dis-

appears, nor will it again be visible till we reach

Shaghab (March 2 nd).

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

About noon we remounted and rounded the
south of the block, disturbing by vain shots two fine
black eagles. I had reckoned upon the “Water of
El-Murayt'bah,” in order to make an exceptional
march after so many days of deadly slow going.
But the cry arose that the rain-puddle was dry. We
had not brought a sufficient supply with us, and
twenty-two miles to and from the Wady Dahal was
a long way for camels, to say nothing of their
owners and the danger of prowling Ma'dzah. In
front water lay still farther off, according to the
guides, who, it will be seen, notably deceived us. So
I ordered the camp to be pitched, after recon-
noitring the locale of the water; and we all pro-
ceeded to work, with a detachment of soldiers and
quarrymen. It was not a rain-puddle, but a spring
rising slowly in the sand, which had filled up a
fissure in the granite about four feet broad; of these
crevices three were disposed parallel to one another,
and at different heights. They wanted only clearing
out ; the produce was abundant, and though slightly
flavoured with iron and sulphur, it was drinkable,
The thirsty mules amused us not a little : they smelt
water at once; hobbled as they were, all hopped
like kangaroos over the plain, and with long ears
well to the fore, they stood superintending the
operation till it was their turn to be happy.

Our evening at the foot of El-Ruways was

 

NOBLE VIEW. 7

cheered, despite the flies, the earwigs, and the biting
Ba'izah beetle, which here first put in an appearance,
by the weird and fascinating aspect of the southern
Hismd-wall, standing opposite to us, and distant
about a mile from the dull drab-coloured basin, El-
Majrd. Based upon mighty massive foundations of
brown and green trap, the undulating junction being
perfectly defined by a horizontal white ine, fe
capping of sandstone rises regular as if bid in
courses, with a huge rampart falling perpendicular
upon the natural slope of its glacis. This beunding
curtain is called the Zawur el-Shafak, the “inacces-
sible part of the Lip-range.” Further eastward the
continuity of the coping has been broken and
weathered into the most remarkable castellations :
you pass mile after mile of cathedrals, domes, spires,
minarets, and pinnacles; of fortresses, dungeons,
bulwarks, walls, and towers ; of platforms, buttresses,
and flying buttresses. These Girdgir (]irdjir), as the
Bedawin call them, change shape at every new point
of view, and the eye never wearies of their infinite
variety. Nor are the tints less remarkable than the

forms. When the light of day warms them with its

e buildings wear the brightest hues
gorgeous glaze, the building 2 a
of red concrete, like a certain house near Princes
Ig [lively pink and

Gate, set off by lambent lights of lively pi
balas-ruby, and by shades of deep transparent

purple, while here and there a dwarf dome or a
)

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

tumulus gleams sparkling white in the hot sun-ray.
The even-glow is indescribably lovely, and all the
lovelier because unlasting : the moment the red disc
disappears, the glorious rosy smile fades away, leaving
the pale grey ghosts of their former selves to gloom
against the gloaming of the eastern sky. I could
not persuade M. Lacaze to transfer this vividity
of colour to canvas: he had the artist's normal
excuse, “ Who would believe it ?”

The next morning saw the Expedition afoot at
six a.m., determined to make up for a half by the
whole day’s work so long intended. The track
struck eastward, and issued from the dull hollow,
Majra el-Ruways, by a made road about a mile and
a half long, a cornice cut in the stony flanks of a
hill whose head projected southwards into the broad
Wady Hujay! (“the Little Partridge”). This line
seems to drain inland; presently it bends round by
the east and feeds the Wady Ddmah.* Rain must
lately have fallen, for the earth is “ purfled flowers,”
pink, white, and yellow. The latter is the tint pre-
vailing in Midian, often suggesting the careless
European wheat-field, in which “shillock” or wild
mustard rears its gamboge head above the green.
Midian wants not only the charming oleander and
the rugged terebinth, typical of the Desert; but also
the “blood of Adonis,” the lovely anemone which

lights up the Syrian landscape like the fisherman's

 

PERFUMED FLOWERS.

scarlet cap in a sea-piece. This stage introduced

us to the Hargul (Harjal, Riazya stricta), whose

perfume filled the valley with the clean smell of

the henna-bloom, the Eastern privet—Mr. Clarke
said “wallflowers.” Our mules ate it greedily, whilst
the country animals, they say, refuse it: the flowers,
dried and pounded, cure by fumigation “pains in
the bones.” Here also we saw for the first time
the quaint distaff-shape of the purple red Masrir
(Cynomortum coccineum, Linn.), from which the Be-
dawi “cook bread.” It is eaten simply peeled and
sun-dried, when it has a vegetable taste slightly
astringent as if by tannin, something between a
potato and a turnip; or its rudely pounded flour is
made into balls with soured milk. This styptic, I
am told by Mr. R. B. Sharpe, of the British Museum,
was long supposed to be peculiar to Malta ; hence
its pre-Linnean name (Fungus Melitensis).* Now
it is known to occur through the Mediterranean to
India. Let me here warn future collectors of botany
in Midian that throughout the land the vegetable
kingdom follows the rule of the mineral: every
march shows something new; and he who neglects
to gather specimens, especially of the smaller flowers,
in one valley, will perhaps find none of them in
those adjoining.

A denser row of trees lower down the Wady

* See Appendix IV. “ Botanical Notes.”

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Hujayl led to the water of Amddn (Middn ?), about
an hour and a half from our last nighting-place ;
yesterday it had been reported six hours distant.
High towering on our left (north) rose three huge
buttresses of the Girdgsr». In front stood a mar-
vellous background of domes and arches, cones and
ninepins, all decayed Hismd, blurred and broken by
the morning mist, which could hardly be called a
fog; and forming a perspective of a dozen distances.
Now they curve from north-east to south-west in
a kind of scorpion’s tail, with detached vertebrae
torn and wasted by the adjacent plutonic outcrops ;
and looking from the west they suggest blood-red
islets rising above the great gloomy waves of trap
and porphyry. This projection will remain in sight
until we reach Shuwdk ; and in places we shall see
it backed by the basalts and lavas of the straight-
lined Harrah.

Presently turning sharp to the right (south-east),
we struck across a second divide, far more shallow than
the first; and fell into the northern basin of the great
Ddmah valley, also known as El-Rahabah, “the
Open ; "—the Rekobotl (“ spaces”) of the Hebrews.
Like yesterday's, the loose red sand is Hismd; and
it is also scattered with Harrah lava. After a four
hours’ ride we halted to enable the caravan to come
up. Our Shaykhs were bent upon making twelve

miles the average day's work; and their “little

AN ARABIAN ARCADIA.

game’ was now to delay as much as possible.
Here we again found flocks of sheep and goats
tended by young girls, who ran away like ostriches,
and by old women who did not: on the contrary,
Sycorax enjoyed asking the news and wrangling over
a kid. The camels throughout this country seem to
be always under the charge of men or boys.

Here began our study of the great Wady
Ddamah, whose fame as an Arabian Arcadia extends
far and wide, and whose possession has caused many
a bloody battle. We now see it at its best, in early
spring morning, when

“ The landscape smiles
Calm in the sun, and silent are the hills
And valleys, and the blue serene of air.”

This notable feature is a FHaddidaZ (“frontier-
divider”), which in ancient days separated the 'Uk-
biyyah (*“ Ukbah-land ”) to the north from the Bala-
wiyyah (“ Baliyy-land ”) south. The latter still

claim it as their northern limit; but the intrusive

Egypto-Arabs have pushed their way far beyond this

bourne. Its present Huwayti owners, the Sulay-
miyyin, the Sulaymat, the Jerdfin, and other tribes,
are a less turbulent race than the northerns because
they are safe from the bandit Ma'dzah: they are more
easily managed, and they do not meet a fair offer
with the eternal Yaftak ’Alla/i— Allah opens.” *

* « Opens,” Ze. the door for a higher price: it is the usual
formula of refusing to scll.

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN,

The head of the Ddmah, a great bay in the
Hismd-wall to the east, is now in sight of us; and
we shall pass its mouth, which debouches into the
sea below Zibd. This tract is equally abundant in
herds (camels), flocks, and vegetation: in places a
thin forest gathers, and the tree-clumps now form a
feature in the scenery. The sole, a broad expanse
of loose red arenaceous matter, the washings of the
plateau, is fearfully burrowed and honeycombed ; it
is also subject, like its sister the Sadr, to the fre-
quent assault of “devils,” or sand-pillars. That it is
plentifully supplied with water, we learn from the
presence of birds. The cries of the caravan, the
“ knock-kneed ” plover of Egypt, yellow-beaked and
black-eyed, resounded in the more barren belts. A
lovely little sun-bird (Neclarinia ose ?), which the
Frenchmen of course called colibri, with ravishing
reflections of green and gold, flashed like a gem
thrown from shrub to shrub: this oiscau mouche
is found scattered throughout Midian; we saw
it even about El-Muwaylah, but I had unfortu-
nately twice forgotten dust-shot. ~The Lg ptian
Rakham (percnopter), yellow with black-tipped
wings; a carrion-eater, NOW so rare, and the common
brown kite, still so common near civilized Cairo,
soared in the sky ; while the larger vultures, perching
upon the rock-ridges, suggested Bedawi sentinels.

The ravens, here as elsewhere, are a plague : flights

IVADY DAMA, 13

of them occupy favourite places, and they prey upon

the young lambs, hares, and maimed birds.

We advanced another five miles, and crossed to
the southern side of the actual torrent-bed, whose
banks, strewed with a quantity of dead flood-wood
entangling the trees, and whose flaky clays, cracked
to the shape of slabs and often curling into tubes of
natural pottery, show that at times the Hismd must
discharge furious torrents. We camped close to the
Ddmah at the foot of the Jebel el-Balawi; the water,
known as Mdyat el-Febayl (“of the Hillock”), lay
ahead in a low rocky snout: it was represented as
being distant a full hour, and the mules did not return
from it till three had passed; but thirty minutes
would have been nearer the truth. The Nile-
drinkers turned up their fastidious noses at the
supply, but Lieutenant Amir, who had graduated in
the rough campaigning-school of the Sudan, pro-
nounced it “regular.”

The nighting-place on the Ddmah was as pretty
and picturesque as the Majrd was tame and un-
couth. While the west was amber clear, long stripes

o, crimson, flaming cloud, to the south and

of purpling,
the east, set off the castled crags disposed in a semi-
circle round the Wady-head; and the “ buildings”
appeared art-like enough to be haunted ground, the
domain of the Fata Morgana, a glimpse of the City of

Brass built by Shaddad, son of "Ad. When the stars

 
14 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

began to glitter sharp and clear, our men fell to
singing and dancing ; and the boy Husayn Ganinah
again distinguished himself by his superior ribaldry.
Our work was more repectable and prosaic, firing a
mule with a swollen back.

Within a mile or so of us stood some Bedawi
tents, which we had passed on the march : they
were deserted by the men, here Sulaymdt, who
drive their camels to the wilds sometimes for a
week at a time. An old wife who brought us a goat
for sale, and who begged that Husayn, the Bish-
Buzik, might pass the night with her, in order to
shoot an especially objectionable wolf, had a long
tale to tell of neighbouring ruins. She also reported
that near the same place there is a well with steps,
into which the Arabs had descended some seven
fathoms; presently they found houses occupying the
galleries at the bottom, and fled in terror.

Lieutenant Amir was sent to sketch and survey
the site next morning; and he was lucky enough to
be guided by one Sa’id bin Zayfullah, the Sulaymi,
whose prime dated from the palmy days of the
great Mohammed Ali Pasha. He acknowledged as
his friends the grandfather, and even the father, of
our guide Furayj; but the latter he ignored, looking

upon him as a mere Walad (“lad”). Moreover, he
remembered the birth of Shaykh Mohammed ’A fan,
chief of the Baliyy, which took place when he him-

EE

]
¥

RR

Sb

HOUSES OF THE NAZARENES. 15

self had already become a hunter of the gazelle.*
According to him, the remains are still known as the
Dir (“house”) or Dzydr (“houses”) El-Nasdré—
“of the Nazarenes,” that is, of the Nabathazans. The
former term is retained here, as in Sinai, by popular
tradition ; and the latter is clean forgotten through-
out Midian.

Riding down the Wady Ddmah to the south-
west, Lieutenant Amir came upon a spring in a
stone-revetted well near the left bank: this Ayn
el-Bada’ is not to be confounded with the Badf’
water, or with the Badd plain, both of which we
shall presently visit. A strew of broken quartz
around it showed the afelier, and specimens of
scattered fragments, glass and pottery, were gathered.

The settlement-ruins, which the guide called El-

* Chap. XVI

t The Saturday Review, in a courteous notice of my first
volume (May 25, 1878), has the following remarks :—* The Arabs
talk of some (?) Nazarenes, and a ‘King of the Franks, having
built the stone huts and the tombs in a neighbouring cemetery
(Ayniinah). But there can be no local tradition worth repeating
in this instance.” Here we differ completely ; and those will agree
with me who know how immutable and, in certain cases, imperish-
able Arab tradition is. The reviewer, true, speaks of North
Midian, where all the tribes, except the Beni ’Ukbah, are new.
Yet legend can survive the destruction and disappearance of a
race : witness the folk-traditions of the North-Fastern Italians and
the adjacent Slavs. Here, however, in South Midian we have an
ancient race, the Baliyy. And what strengthens the Christian
legend 1s that it is known to man, woman, and child throughout
the length and breadth of the land.

 

 
16 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Kantarah, lie further down upon a southern influent
of the main line: they are divided into two blocks,
one longer than the other. Lieutenant Amir made
a careful plan of the remains, and then pushed
forward to Shuwdk by the direct track, westward of
that taken by the caravan. He arrived in camp,
none the worse for a well-developed “cropper ;” his
dromedary had put its foot in a hole, and had fallen
with a suddenness generally unknown to the cameline
race.

By way of geographical exercitation, we had all
drawn our several plans, showing, after Arab state-
ment, the lay of Shaghab and Shuwdk, the two ruins
which we were about to visit. Nothing could be
more ridiculous when the sketch-maps came to be
compared. This was owing to the route following
the three sides of a long parallelogram; whilst the
fourth is based upon the Wady Ddmah, causing con-
siderable complication. And, the evcursus ended,
all were convinced that we had made much southing,
when our furthest point was not more than five miles
south of Zibd (north lat. 27° 20).

We quitted the great valley at six a.m. (February
28th), and struck up the Wady Shuwdk, an influent
that runs northwards to the Ddmah’s left bank. On
the stony ground above the right side of this Fiumara
lay six circles of stones, disposed in a line from

north-east to south-west : they may have been ruins

THE CAMEL-RIDER. 17

of Hufrakh (“ water-pits”). As we rose the Nullah
surface was pied with white flowers, the early
growth which here takes the place of primroses. I
had some difficulty in persuading our good friend
Furayj, who had not seen the country for fifteen
years, to engage as guide one of the many Bedawin
camel-herds : his course seemed to serpentine like
that of an animal grazing—he said it was intended
to show the least stony road-—and, when he pointed
with the wave of the maimed right hand, he de-
scribed an arc of some 9o°. The Sulaymi lad caught
the nearest camel, climbed its sides as you would a
tree, and, when the animal set off at a lumbering
gallop, pressed the soles of his feet to the ribs, with
exactly the action of a Simiad; clinging the while,
like grim Death, to the hairy hump.

After some six miles we attempted a short cut, a
gorge that debouched on the left bank of the Shuwak
valley. It showed at once a complete change of
formation : the sides were painted with clays of
variegated colours, crystallized lime and porphyritic
conglomerates, tinted mauve-purple as if by man-
ganese. Further on, the path, striking over broken
divides and long tracts of stony ground, became
rough riding : it was bordered by the usual monoto-
nous, melancholy hills of reddish and greenish trap,
whose slaty and schist-like edges in places stood

upright. On the summit of the last Co/ appeared
C

VOL.IL

 

 
18 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the ruins of an outwork, a large square and a central
heap of boulder-stones. Straight in front rose the
block that backs our destination, the Jebel el-Sanf’,
or “ Mountain of the Maker,” the artificer par excel-
lence, that is, the blacksmith: it is so called from a
legendary shoer of horses and mules, who lived there
possibly in the days before Sultdn Selim. It is
remarkable for its twin peaks, sharp-topped blocks,
the higher to the east, and called by the Bedawin
Naghar and  Nughayr. The guides spoke of a
furnace near the summit of these remarkable cones ;
excellent landmarks which we shall keep in sight
during several marches. At length, after ten miles
of slow work, we saw before us, stretched as upon
a map, the broad valley with its pink sands; the
Daum-trees, the huge 'Ushr or “ Apple of Sodom,”
the fan-palm bush, and the large old Jujubes—here
an invariable sign of former civilization—which in-
formed us that there lay fair Shuwdk.

The dull gorge introduced us to what was then
a novelty in Midian; but we afterwards found it
upon the cold heights of the Shdrr, where it supplied
us with many a dainty dish. This was the Shinndr *
(caccabis), a partridge as large as a pheasant, and
flavoured exactly like the emigrant from Phasis.

* In Sinai “Shinndr” is also applied to a partridge, but I
am unable to distinguish the species—caccabis, Desert partridge,
(Ammoperdix heyi, the Arab Hajl), or the black partridge (Franco-
linus vulgaris).

THE GIANT PARTRIDGE. 19

The coat, the clock ! clock ! and the nimble running
over the rocks, ever the favourite haunt, denote the
“perdix.” The head is black, as in the C. melano-
cephala of Abyssinia, and the legs and feet are red
like the smaller “ Greek ” caccabis that inhabits the
Hismd ; the male birds have no spurs, and they are
but little larger than their mates. There seems to
be no difficulty in keeping them; we bought a hen
and chicks caged at EI-Wijh, but whether they lived
or not I neglected to note. Here, too, we learned the
reason why the falcons and the hawks (Falco milous,
I. gentilis, etc.) are so fierce and so well-fed. The
tyrant of the air raises the partridge or the quail by
feinting a swoop, and, as it hurries away screaming
aloud, follows it leisurely at a certain distance.
Finally, when the quarry reaches the place intended
—at least, the design so appears—the falcon stoops
and ends the chase. The other birds were ring-
doves, turtles, and the little “butcher” impaling,
gaily as a “gallant Turk,” its live victim upon a
long thorn.

Shuwdk, which lies in about north lat. 27° 15,
can be no other than the Zdaka placed by Ptolemy
(vi. 7) in north lat. 26° 15’; and, if so, we must add

one degree to his latitudes, which are sixty miles too
low.* According to Sprenger (“ Alt. Geog.,” p. 23),
Soaka and Badals do not fit into any of the Alex-

* Chap. IX. has already noticed Ptolemy's short measure.

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

andrian’s routes; and were connected only with their
ports Rhaunathos (M'jirmah ?) and Pheenicon Vicus
(Zibd ?). But both these cities were large and im-
portant centres, both of agriculture and of mining
industry, forming crucial stations on the great
Nabathzan highway, the overland between Leuke
Kéme and Petra. The line was kept up by the
Moslems until Sultdn Selim’s superseded it; and
hence the modern look of the remains which at first
astonished us so much. The tradition of the Hajj-
passage is distinctly preserved by the Bedawin : and
I have little doubt that metal has been worked here
as lately, perhaps, as the end of the last century.
But by whom, again, deponent ventures not to say,
even to guess.

The site of Shuwdk is a long island in the
broad sandy Wady of the same name, which, as has
been remarked, feeds the Ddmah. Its thalweg has
shifted again and again: the main line now hugs
the southern or left bank, under the slopes and
folds of the Jebel el-Sdni’; whilst a smaller branch,
on the northern side, is subtended by the stony
divide last crossed. At the city the lay of the valley
is from north-east to south-west, and the altitude is
about seventeen hundred feet (aner. 28:28). The
head still shows the castellations of the Hismd.,
Looking down-stream, beyond the tree-dotted bed
and the low dark hills that divide this basin from

 

 

 

SHUWAK. 21

the adjoining Wady to the south, we see the tall
grey tops of the Jebel Zigldb (Zijldb) and of the
Shakbd-Gdamiras—the “ashen-coloured (Peak) of
Gdmirah "—the latter being the name of a valley.
Both look white by the side of the dark red and
green rocks; and we shall presently find that they
mark the granite region lying south and seaward of
the great trap formations. We were not sorry to
see it again—our eyes were weary of the gloomy
plutonic curtains on either side.

At Shuwdk we allowed the camels a day of rest,
whilst we planned and sketched, dug into, and
described the ruins. A difficulty about drinking-
water somewhat delayed us. The modern wells,
like those of the Haurdn, are rudely revetted pits
in a bald and shiny bit of clay-plain below the
principal block of ruins: only one in the dozen holds
water, and that has been made Wa/ksk (“foul”) by
the torrent sweeping into it heaps of the refuse and
manure strewed around. The lower folds of the
Sani’ block also supply rain-pools; but here, again,
the Arabs and their camels had left their marks.
The only drinkable water lies a very long mile
down the southern (left) bank, above the old aque-
duct, in a deep and narrow gorge of trap. The
perennial spring, still trickling down the rocks, was
dammed across, as remnants of cement show us,

in more places than one. There are also signs of

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

cut basins, which the barrages above and below once
divided into a series of tanks. Up the rough steps
of the bed the camel-men drove their beasts ; and
the name of a Gujriti maker, printed upon a sack
of Anglo-Indian canvas, had a curious effect among
such Bedawi surroundings.

At last we sank a pit some five feet deep in a
re-entering angle of the northern or smaller branch
we lined it with stone down-stream, where the flow
made the loose sand fall in, and we obtained an
ample and excellent supply. Doubtless it was
spoiled, as soon as our backs were turned, by the
half-Fellah Jerdfin-Huwaytit, to whom the place
belongs. The sea-breeze during the day was high
and dust-laden, but we passed a cool delicious night
upon the clean sweet sand, which does not stick or
cling. At this altitude there is no fear of bugs and
fleas—the only dread is Signor “ Pediculus.” |

We will begin, with our surveyors, at the valley
head, and note the ruins as we stroll down. This
section, Shuwdk proper, is nearly a mile and a half
long, and could hardly have lodged less than twenty
thousand souls. But that extent by no means repre-
sents the whole ; our next march will prolong it along
the valley for a total of at least four miles. The
material is various—boulders of granite and syenite ;
squares of trap and porphyry ; the red sbisioncs
of the Hism4 ; the basalts of the Harrah ; and the

 

SHUWAK. 23

rock found #72 situ, a brown and crumbling grit,
modern, and still in process of agglutination. The
heaps and piles which denote buildings are divided
by mounds and tumuli of loose friable soil, white
with salt,—miniatures of Babylon, Nineveh, and Troy.
On either flanks of the river-holm the periodical
torrents have done their worst, cutting up the once
regular bank into a succession of clay buttresses.
On the right side we find a large fort, half sliced
away, but still showing the concrete flooring of a
tower. About the centre of the length are the
remnants of a round Burj, blocks of buildings,
all levelled to the foundations, lie to the north-west,
and on the west appear signs of a square. Perhaps

the most interesting discovery is that of catacombs,

proving a civilization analogous to Maghdir Shu'ayb,
but ruder, because more distant from the centre.
The “caves” are hollowed in a long reef of loose
breccia, which, fronting eastward, forms the right
bank of the smaller branch. They are now almost
obliterated by being turned into sheep-folds ; the

roofs have fallen in, and only one preserves the

traces of two loculi.
The arrangements touching fuel and water in

this great metal-working establishment are on a
large scale. The biggest of the A/rdn (“furnaces”)
lies to the north-west, near the right bank of

the valley: all are of the ordinary type, originally

 
24 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

some five or six feet high, to judge from the bases.
They are built of fire-brick, and of the Hisma
stone, which faces itself into a natural latex. We
dug deep into several of them; but so careful had
been the workmen, or perhaps those who afterwards
ransacked these places, that not the smallest tear of
metal remained: we found only ashes, pottery, and
scoriee, as usual black and green, the latter worked
sub-aerially ; many of them had projections like
stalactite. Round the furnaces are strewed carbo-
nate of lime, stained black with iron, like that of
Sharmd; and a quantity of the chlorite-enamelled
serpentine still used in the Brazil as a flux.

Quartz was absent, and we were at a loss to
divine what stone had been worked. At last we
observed near the catacombs sundry heaps of pinkish
earth, evidently washed out: and our researches in
the South Country afterwards suggested that this
may have been the remains of the micaceous schist
whose containing quartz was so extensively worked
at Umm el-Hardb. Moreover, a short study of
Shaghab threw more light on the matter.

Water also had been stored up with prodigious
labour. We could easily trace the lines of half a
dozen aqueducts, mostly channelled with rough
cement, overlying a fine concrete: some of them
had grooved stones to divert the stream by means of
lashers. The Fisktyyal or “tanks,” as carefully built,

 

SHUWAK. 25

were of all sizes; and the wells, which appeared to
be medieval, were lined with stones cut in segments
of circles: we shall see the same curve in Sultdn
Selim’s work near Zibd. The greatest feat is an
aqueduct which, sanded over in the upper part, sub-
tends the left side of the valley. It is carefully but
rudely built, and where it crosses a gully, the “ hori-
zontal arch” is formed of projecting stone tiers,
without a sign of key. This magnum opus must
date from the days when the southern part of
the Wady was nearly what it is now.

About a mile and a quarter below our camp, the
Wady, which broadens to a mile, shows on the left
bank a wall measuring a thousand metres long,
apparently ending in a tank of 110 feet each way.
Around it are ruined parallelograms of every size,
which in ancient times may have been workshops
connected with the buildings in the island higher up.
The torrents have now washed away the continua-
tion, if ever there was any; and, though the lower
remnants are comparatively safe upon their high
ledge, the holm is evidently fated to disappear.

I did not learn till too late that a single day's
march southwards from the Wady Shuwdk, along
the old main line of traffic, leads to the Wady Nejd,
upon whose upper course is the plain of Badd ; and
which, after assuming four different names, falls, as

will be seen, into the sea about thirty-five miles

north of EI-Wijh.

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

We left Shuwdk considerably posed, puzzled, and
perplexed by what it had shown us. A little pottery
had been picked up, but our diggings had not pro-
duced a coin or even a bit of glass. The evidences
of immense labour are the more astonishing when
compared with the utter absence of what we call
civilization. The Greek and Latin inscriptions of
the Hauranic cities declare their origin : these, abso-
lutely unalphabetic, refuse a single hint concerning
the mysterious race which here lived and worked,
and worked so nobly. And, finally, who were the
Moslems that succeeded them in a later day, when
the Hajj-caravan, some three centuries and a half
ago, ceased to march by this road ? How is it that
the annalists say nothing of them ? that not a vestige
of tradition remains concerning any race but the
Nazarenes ?

From Shuwdk to the Wady Ddmah there are
two roads, a direct and an indirect; the latter passing
by the ruins of Shaghab. The caravan begged hard
to take the former, but was summarily refused. At
six a.m. we rode down the Shuwdk valley, again
noting its huge constructions, and then striking
away from it to the left, we passed over a short
divide of brown hill, where the narrow Pass was
marked only by Bedawi graves. The morning
showed a peculiar rainbow, if a bow may be called

so when no rain appeared; a perpendicular stripe,

 

 

 

EXCEPTIONAL RAINBOW. 27

brilliant enough, and lasting at least twenty minutes.
The cloud behind it had no skirt, no droop—in fact,
no sign of dissolution; and what made it the stranger
was that this “bull's-eye” lay north of, and not
opposite to, but quite near, the rising sun. We
shall note another of these exceptional rainbows at
El-Bad4.*

After marching some seven miles to the south

with westing, we saw inform heaps to the left : half

an hour afterwards, boulder-encircled pits of a
brighter green on the right, the ZVemdil el-Md
(“artificial cisterns”) of the Arabs, announced that we
were reaching Shaghab. The caravan punished us
by wasting five hours on the way, in order to force
a halt; and by camping at the wrong place, when
I objected to the delay. It brought with it, how-
ever, a fine young Beden (ibex), killed by one of
the Bedawin; and we determined to stuff, to bury,
and to bake it, Arab fashion, under the superinten-
dence of the Bdsh-Buzik Husayn. Unfortunately
it was served to us on the next day cold, whereas
it should have been eaten at once, piping hot. The
meat was dark, with a beefy rather than a gamey
flavour, palatable, but by no means remarkable.
There were loud regrets that a cuisse de chevreuil
had not been muarinée ; in fact, an infect odour of

the Quartier Latin everywhere followed us; and

* Chap. XVIL

 
28 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

when a guide told us the pattern lie, that we should
not reach Umm ’Amir before the fourth day, the
poor “Frogs” croaked, and croaked audibly as dis-
mally. Their last bottle of ordinaire was finished :
Gabr, the Kdzi, had come into camp, bearing a long
official Arabic document from Lieutenant Yusuf, but
not a single Journal de Genéve, there was no news
of a steamer being sent with rations and forage from
Suez: briefly, c'dtazt embétant—to use the milder of
the two favourite synonyms.

The ruins of Shaghab are built upon a more
complicated site than those of Shuwdk. The posi-
tion is charming. The Wady Shaghab, flowing to
the south, here spreads out in a broad bulge or
basin open to the west. Down-stream we see a

«

gate ” formed by the meeting of two rocky tongue-

tips, both showing large works. Beyond these nar-

rows the valley bends to the south-west and feeds
the Wady Aznab, which falls into the sea south of
the Ddmah. The mass of the ruined city lies upon
the left bank, where a high and artificial-looking
remblar of earth masks an eastern influent, the
Wady el-Aslah (Athlak), or “of the Kali-plant.” It
drains the mountain of the same name, and the
Jebel Zigldb (Zzldb), the cones of pale granite
visible from Shuwdk; and upon its broad mouth
the old settlement stood @ cheval. A little north of

west rises profiled the great Shdrr, no longer a

 

 

SHAGHAB. 29

ridge with a coping of four horns, but a tall and
portly block, from whose summit spring heads and
peaks of airy blue-pink. Slightly east of north
the twins Naghar and Nughayr, combining to form
the “ Mountain of the Maker” (Jebel el-Sdni’),
tower in the shape of a huge pyramid. Lastly, a
regular ascent, the Mayra el- Wighir, fronts the city,
sloping up to the west-north-west, and discloses
a view of the Jibdl el-Tihdmah: this broad in-
cline was, some three centuries ago, the route of the
Hajj-caravan.

We walked down the Shaghab valley-bed, whose
sides, like those of the Ddmalh, are c/evaux de frise of
dead wood. The characteristic rock is a conglome-
rate of large and small stones, compacted by hard
silicious paste, and stained mauve-purple apparently
by manganese: we had seen it on the way to
Shuwdk ; and the next day's march will pave the
uplands with it. The wells in the sole are distinctly
Arab, triangular mouths formed and kept open by
laying down tree-trunks, upon which the drawer of
water safely stands. On the right bank up-stream no
ruins are perceptible ; those on the left are consider-
able, but not a quarter the size of Shuwdk. Here
again appear the usual succession of great squares :
the largest to the east measures 500 metres along the
sides ; and there are three others, one of 400 mctres
by 192. They are subtended by one of many

 
30 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

aqueducts, whose walls, two feet thick, showed no
signs of brick : it is remarkable for being run under-
ground to pierce a hillock ; in fact, the system is
rather Greek or subterranean, than Roman or sub-
aerial. Further down are the remains apparently of
a fort: heaps of land-shells lie about it; they are
very rare in this region, and during our four months’
march we secured only two species. *

Still descending, we found the ancient or
mediaeval wells, numbering about a dozen, and in
no wise differing from those of Shuwdk. At the
gorge, where the Wady escapes from view, Lieu-
tenant Amir planned buildings on the lower right
bank, and on the left he found a wall about half a
mile long, with the remains of a furnace and quartz
scattered about it. This stone had reappeared in
large quantities, the moment we crossed the divide :
the pale grey of the Jebel Zigldb and its neighbours
was evidently owing to its presence; and from this
point it will be found extending southwards and sea-
wards as far as El-Hejaz. He brought with him
a hard white stone much resembling trachyte, and
fragments of fine green jasper.

A cursory inspection of Shaghab removed some
of the difficulties which had perplexed us at Shuwik
and elsewhere. In the North Country signs of
metal-working, which was mostly confined to the

¥ Helix desertorum (Forsk.) and Helix (sp. incert.)

EMBLEM OF MIDIAMNMN. 31

Wadys, have been generally obliterated; either
washed away or sanded over. Here the industry
revealed itself without mistake. The furnaces were
few, but around each one lay heaps of Negro and
copper-green quartz, freshly fractured ; while broken
handmills of basalt and lava, differing from the rub-
stones and mortars of a softer substance, told their

own tale.
At Shaghab, then, the metalliferous “Mardi”

brought from the adjacent granitic mountains was
crushed, and then transported for roasting and wash-

ing to Shuwdk, where water, the prime necessary in

these lands, must have been more abundant. Pos-
sibly in early days the two settlements formed one,
the single Zdaka of Ptolemy; and the south end
would have been the head-quarters of the wealthy.
Hence the Bedawin always give it precedence—
Shaghab wa Shuwdik, moreover, we remarked a
better style of building in the former; and we picked
up glass as well as pottery.

As a turkey buzzard (vulture) is the fittest
emblem for murderous Dahome, so I should propose
for Midian, now spoiled and wasted by the Wild
Man, a broken handmill of basalt upon a pile of

spalled Negro quartz.

 
 

 

CHAPTER XII

FROM SHAGHAB TO ZIBA—RUINS OF EL-KHANDAKI AND
UMM AMIL—THE TURQUOISE MINE—RETURN TO EL-

MUWAYLAH.

Leaving Lieutenant Amir to map the principal
ruins, we followed the caravan up the Majrd el-
Widghir, the long divide rising to the west-north-
west. The thin forest reminded me of the wooded
slopes of the Anti-Libanus about El-Kunaytarah :
there, however, terebinths and holm-oaks take the
place of these unlovely and uncomfortable thorn-
trees. They are cruelly beaten—an operation called
Ll-Rama’—by the Bedawi camel-man, part of whose
travelling kit, and the most important part too, here
as in Sinai, is the flail (Murmdr or Maklhbat) and
the mat to receive the leaves: perhaps Acacias and
Mimosas are not so much bettered by “bashing” as
the woman, the whelp, and the walnut-tree of the
good old English proverb. After three miles we
passed, on the left, ruins of long walls and Arab

o————

THE OLD PILGRIMAGE ROAD. 33

Wasm, with white memorial stones perched on
black. In front rose the tall Jebel Tulayh, buttress-
ing the right or northern bank of the Ddmah ; and
behind it, stained faint-blue by distance, floated in
the flickering mirage the familiar forms of the
Tihdmah range, a ridge now broken into half a
dozen blocks. I had ordered the caravan to march
upon the Zwwayl el-Sik, but, after one hour and
fifteen minutes, we found the tents pitched some
three miles short of it, on a bleak and ugly wave of
the Wéghir. The Shaykhs swore, by all holy things,

* that this was the veritable Tuwayl; and a Bedawi,

who declared that he knew where water lay in the
neighbourhood, refused to show it sans the pre-
liminary bakhshish.” Mashallah! It is a noble
race.

Early next morning (six a.m., March 3rd) we
followed the right bank of the Wady el-Khandaki,
which runs north with westing. Beyond it lay the
foot-hills of gloomy trap leading to the Jebel el-
Rayddn, a typical granitic form, a short demi-pique
saddleback with inwards-sloping pommel like the Pao
d’Assucar of picturesque Rio de Janeiro. Here as
elsewhere, the granites run parallel with and seaward
of the traps. The Tuwayl el-Stk is nothing but an
open and windy flat, where the Hajj-caravan used to
camp : an adjoining ridge, the Hamrd el-Tuwayl,
shows spalled quartz, asm and memorial stones.

VOL. IL D

 
 

 

34 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

The principal formation here is the mauve-purple
conglomerate before described.

After riding nine miles we came unexpectedly
upon a large and curious ruin, backed by the broad
Wady Ddmah gleaming white in the sun. The first
feature noticed was a pair of parallel walls, or rather
their foundations, thirty-five feet apart, and nearly
a kilométre in length: it looked like a vast Zangar.
To the left lie three tracings of squares; the central
is a work of earth and stone, not unlike a rude
battery ; and, a few paces further north, a similar
fort has a cistern attached to its western curtain.
Heaps of rounded boulders, and the crumbling
white-edged mounds which, in these regions, always
denote old habitations, run down the right bank of
the Wady el-Khandaki to its junction with the
Damah. For want of a better name I called this
old settlement AK/ardbit (the « Ruins of”) el-Kian-
dakt, and greatly regretted that we had not time
enough to march down the whole line of the Damah.

Half an hour more placed us at the great Wady,
whose general direction is here west with a little
southing, and which still merits its fame as an
Arabian Arcadia. The banks were thickly bordered
with secular tamarisks (7. orientalis), those hardy
warriors with the Hebrew-Arabic name As/ (Athl),
that battle against wind and weather, as successfully
at Dovercourt (Essex) as at Haydardbdd (Sind).

VEGETATION. 35

The tint was the normal grey-green, not unlike
that of the traps in arridre plan. The clumps
sheltered goats, sheep, and camels ; and our mules
now revel every day on green meat, growing fatter
and fatter upon the Aristida grass, the Panicum, the
Hordeum murinum, and the Bromus of many varieties.
Fronting us rose the twin granitic peaks of Jebel
Mutaddn, one with a stepped side like an unfinished
pyramid. They are separated from the Ddmah by
a rough and stony divide; and ruins with furnaces
are reported to be found in their valley-drain, which
feeds the great Wady 'Amud.

We halted, after some sixteen to seventeen miles,
at the water El-Ziyayb, slightly brackish but relished
by our animals; and resumed our way in the cool
sea-breeze at one p.m., passing the Jebel Tulayh on
the north bank. The track then left the Damah
and turned up a short broad bed to the north-west.
On the right rose a block of syenite, ruddy with
orthose, all rounded lumps and twisted finials; it
discharged a quantity of black sand that streaked
the gravel plain. At four p.m. we camped on a
broad divide, El-Kutayyifah, where an adjacent S/%a’é,
or “fold,” supplied fresh rain-water. The march had
been long (seven hours = twenty-two miles); and
the Shaykhs and camel-men looked, the Sayyid said,
as if they had “smelt Jehannum.”

This divide, also called the Jayb el Sa'ldwwabh,

 
 

 

36 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

with granites to the east, and traps mixed with
granites on the west, shows signs of labour. Hard
by, to the south-west, some exceptionally industrious
Bedawi, of the Jerdfin-Huwaytdt, had laid out a
small field with barley. In the evening we walked
westward to the hills that bound the slope; and
came upon a rock-cut road leading to an atelier,
where “Marti” has been spalled from the stone
in situ. Some specimens had a light-bluish tinge,
as if stained by cobalt, a metal found in several
slags ; and there were veins of crystalline amethyst-
quartz, coloured, said the engineer, by chlorure of
silver (?). The filons and filets cut the granite in
all directions; and the fiery action of frequent trap-
dykes had torn the ground-rock to tatters. The
western side of El-Kutayyifah also showed modern
ruins.

The guides reported, as usual when too late, that
to the west-south-west lies a Nakb, called Abi'l-
Marwakh (“Father of the Quartz-place”), whose
waters flow 724 the Mutaddn to the’ Amud valley. For
some days I had cold shudders lest this Pass, thus
left unvisited, might be the Z\W'l-Marwabh, the classical
« Méchoura,” one of the objects of our Expedition.
The alarm proved, however, as will be seen, false.
A Bedawi youth also volunteered a grand account
of three “written stones;” a built well surrounded
by broken quartz ; and, a little off the road from El-

70 UMM AMIL. 37

Kutayyifah to Umm Amil, the remains of E/-Dayr
(“the Convent”). As Leake well knew, the latter is
«a name which is often indiscriminately applied by
the Arabs to ancient ruins.” The lad said they were
close by, but the Garéb (“near”) and the Gurayyib
(* nearish ”) of the Midianite much resemble the
Egyptian Fellah's 7akt el-Wish, © Under the face”
—we should say “nose”—or Zukt e/-Ka'b, “ Under
the heel.” They may mean a handful of miles. As
he refused to guide us, we secured the services of an
old shepherd, who, objecting to sleep in camp, caused
abundant trouble and delay next morning.

From this divide two roads lead to the ruins of
Umm Amil : one makes a considerable detour up
a branch-valley in order to avoid an ugly Pass on
the direct line. I again refused the camel-men per-
mission to proceed by the indirect route, well
knowing that they would do their best to miss us.
On March 4th, at six a.m. a long descent and a
similar rise led us to a Col, which presently became
a broad open plain, 2100 feet above sea-level
(aner. 28:85). Tents were scattered about the
valleys ; the lads tended their goats, and we greatly
admired one fellow who had fallen asleep in the hot
ascending steams. Here the old guide halted us,
and declared that on the top of the dark trap-block
to the left (south) was a Mashghal, or work-place,”
with a strew of quartz and nothing else. Thus ended

 
 

 

38 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the “built well.” Descending to a lower plane,
bounded in front by low rolling hills, I sent Lieu-
tenant Amir to examine the “Convent” and the
“written stones.” He came up with us at the halt,
having been led over a rough divide by an abomi-
nable path; and he had seen only a few ruined
heaps and three Arab Wusim. Moreover, he
had not dared to show disappointment before the
old shepherd, who would probably have bolted in
fear, and left him to find his own way.

Meanwhile the caravan continued its course
down the broad smooth Wady Ruways, on whose
left side was a large atelier, with broken walls and
spalled quartz of the Negro variety. Here we
found, for the first time, the handmills made of the
hardest grey granite, so beautifully worked further
south; they explained the fine and carefully polished
tube which had been brought to the first Expedition
at Zibd.* Several of these articles were all but
whole, an exception in this land of “’clasts.” We
then struck over the stony divide to the left, towards
a fine landmark—a Atm, or “block,” shaped like
a seal cut en cabochon : its name is the barbarous-
sounding Khurm el-Badariyyah. During the ascent,
which was easy, we passed a second strew and
scatter of the white stone broken into small pieces.
From the Co/, reached at 9.45 a.m., a descent, vile

* See “The Gold Mines of Midian,” Chap. II.

UMM AMIL. 39

for camels not for mules, presently landed us in the
Wady Umm Amil. The left bank of the hideous
narrow gorge showed a line of wells or water-pits,
made, said Furayj, by the Mutakaddimin (veteres),
__the Ancients who were probably Medieval.
Crossing the torrent-gully we left on its right bank
the ruins of large works, especially the upper paral-
lelogram. After a thirteen miles’ ride we halted at
ro.40 a.m. under a rock on the left side, opposite
three couthless heaps of water-rolled stones sur-
rounded by fine quartz. By far the poorest thing
we had yet seen, this “ town” had been grandiosely
described to the first Expedition at Zibd. Many
blessings were heaped upon the head of Amil and
his mother : the name, however, as the Sayyid sug-
gested, is evidently a corruption of Mu dmil— the
workman, the employé”* 1 would conjecture that
here the slave-miners were stationed, Old Zibd being
the master's abode: our caravan entitled it £7/-
Lomdn—-«the bagnio, the prison for galériens” On
the coast-town I procured some specimens of heavy
red copper which had been dug out of a ruined
furnace ; the metal is admirable, and it retrieves to
a certain extent the lost reputation of Umm Amil.
At noon we resumed a hot ride down the ugly,

rocky watercourse, both of whose banks showed

* So in Moab the ruins of “ Méron » or Mérou of the Greeks
has degenerated into Umm Rasds, ¢ the Mother of Lead.”

 
 

 

40 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

long lines of ruins. Presently, crossing a divide
marked by two stone-heaps, we fell into the broader
but equally unpicturesque Wady Salma. It is on
about the same parallel as Ziba (north lat. 27° 20);
and more than the usual allowance for the error of
low latitude must be admitted if we would identify
it with the Mediterranean kduy of Ptolemy (vi. 7),
2dMpa, in north lat. 26° or fifteen miles south of
Séaka.

Wady Salmi is the smallest and the northern-
most of the three basins which we have just visited ;
the central being the Ddmah, and the southern
Wady Shaghab-Aslah-Aznab. Steaming south-
wards we shall note the mouths of all these water-
courses. We presently passed on the right bank
the debouchure of the Wady Ruways, and left there
a guard to direct the caravan, in case it should
disobey orders, and march up to Umm Amil. Here
the valley gave forage to a herd of milch-camels,
apparently unguarded ; each had her foal, some new-
born, others dating from January or February.
After one hour and forty-five minutes (= six miles)
we camped on the fine sands that floor the dull line
hemmed in by tall masses of red and green trap.
The adjacent scatter of Arab wells in the bed is
known as the Md el-Badf'ah. I carefully inquired
concerning ruins in the neighbourhood; and we

climbed the torrent-sides to command a (very

FINE VIEW. 41

limited) bird's-eye view of the hills. According to
the guides, there are no remains of the “old ones”
nearer than Umm Ami.

Setting out early next morning (5.45 a.m., March
sth), after half an hour down the Wady Salmd, we saw
its lower course becoming a mere gorge, constricted
by two opposite rocks. On the left bank, above this
narrow, lies a group of Arab graves, which may
have been built upon older foundations. The right
side here receives the Wady Haraymal (“Little
Peganum-plant”), the Hardimil of the broad-speak-
ing Bedawin. As we struck up its dull ascent, the
southern form of the Shdrr-giant suddenly broke
upon us, all glorious in his morning robes of ethereal
gauzy pink. The foreshortened view, from the south
as well as the north, shows a compact prism-formed
mass which has been compared with an iceberg.
The main peak, Abd Shendzir, here No. 4 from
the north, proudly bears a mural crown of granite
towers, which it hides from El-Muwaylah; and the
southern end, a mere vanishing ridge at this angle,
but shown ez face to the seaboard abreast of it,
breaks into three distinctly marked bluffs and
heads.”

A divide then led upwards and downwards to
the Wady Abd Rikayy, remarkable only for warm
pools, and crystal-clear runnels, springing from the

* Their names will be given in Chap. XIIL

 
 

42 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

sole. The fringings of white show the presence
of salt; the shallows are covered with the greenest
mosses, and beetles chase one another over the
depths where the waters sleep. The lower course
takes the name of Wady Kifdfi, and discharges into
the sea north of the Wady Salmi, with which it
has erroneously been united, as in Niebuhr's Se/nd
wa Kafdfa. According to the Kitib Chelebi, who,
over two centuries ago, made the “Kabr Shaykh
el-Kifafi ” the second pilgrim-station south of El-
Muwaylah, a certain Bedawi chief, EI-Kifdfi, was
killed with a spear, and his tomb became a place of
pious visitation. It is said still to exist between the
Wadys Salmd and Kifafi. A third divide to the
north led along the eastern flank of the Jebel Abu
Rish, which exposes its head to the sea; and, reach-
ing the Co/, we had the pleasure of once more
greeting the blue cove that forms the port of Ziba.
We then descended into the Wady Sidrah, whose
left bank is formed by the Safré¢ Zibd—* the Yellow
(hill) of Zibd.” This small outlying peak is clad in
the gaudiest of colours, especially a vivid citron-
yellow, set off by red and rusty surroundings, which
are streaked with a dead chalky-white. The citizens
declare that it is absolutely useless, because it does
not supply sulphur. During our day’s halt at Zibd,
M. Marie brought from it quartz of several kinds;

| the waxy, the heat-altered, and the blue, stained

 

ZIBA. 43

with carbonate of copper. Possibly this metal may
be abundant at a lower horizon.

The “Valley of the (one) Jujube-tree,” after
narrowing to a stony gut, suddenly flares out into the
Wady Zibd, the vulgar feature of these regions, pro-
vided with the normal “ Gate” some three hundred
yards broad. Beyond it, the flat surrounding the
head of the cove is remarkably well grown with
palms, clumps of the Daum, and scattered date-
trees, of which one is walled round. Hence I am
disposed to consider Zibd the ®owikwr kopy, or
Pheenicon Vicus, of Ptolemy : although he places it
in north lat. 26° 20), or between Sharm Dumayghah
and El-Wijh, when it lies in north lat. 27° 20. 1
have already protested against the derivation of the
word—which is written “Dhoba” by Wallin, “Deba”
by Niebuhr, and “Zibber” by the Hydrographic
Chart—proposed by my learned friend Sprenger.®
His theory was probably suggested by El-Yakiit (iii.
464), who, in the twelfth century, describes “ Dhabba”
as “a village on the coast, opposite to which is a
settlement with flowing water, called Badd : the two
are separated by seventy miles.” An older name for
the station is Bir el-Sultdni—the “Well of the Sultdn”

(Selim ?) : we shall presently inspect these remains.

* A. G., p. 24. See “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. XI.
Sprenger spells the word either with a Zid or a Za: I have
discussed the question in my “ Itineraries,” part ii. sect. 4.

 
 

 

44 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Itineraries also give Kabr el- Tawdshi, “the Eunuch’s
Tomb ;” and this we still find near the palms at the
head of the inner baylet. It is a square measuring
six paces each way, mud and coralline showing traces
of plaster outside. Like Wellsted (11. x.) we failed
to discover any sign of the Birkat (“tank”) men-
tioned in a guide-book which Burckhardt quotes;
nor had the citizens ever heard of a “reservoir.”
The camping-ground of the pilgrims lies between
the “ Gate” and the cove-head. Around the wells
sat at squat a small gathering of the filthy
“ Moghrebin” (Allak yakharrib-hum !) About 260
of these ruffians were being carried gratis, by some
charitable merchant, in a Sambdk that lay at the
harbour-mouth. A party had lately slaughtered a
camel, of course not their own property; and yet
they wondered that the Bedawin shoot them. They
showed their insolence by threatening with an axe
the dog Juno, when she sportively sallied out to
greet them; and were highly offended because, in
view of cholera and smallpox, I stationed sentries
to keep them at a distance. Had there been con-
tagious disease among them, it would have spread
in no time. They haunted the wells, which were
visited all day by women driving asses from the
settlement ; even the single old beggar of Zibd—
unfailing sign of civilization—was here; and the
black tents of the Arabs, who grazed their flocks at

 

ZIBA. 45

the cove-head, lay within easy shot of infection. On
the evening of the next day, when the Sambik made
sail, the shouting and screaming, the brawling,
cudgelling, and fighting, heard a mile off, reminded
me of the foul company of Maghrabis on board the
Golden Wire.

“ Sultdn Selim’s Well ” has now grown to four, all
large and masonry-lined. That to the south-east is
dry; travellers are confined to the western, whose
strong coping they have managed to tear down;
whilst the northern shows hard old kerb-stones,
deeply grooved and rope-channelled like that of
Beersheba. We breakfasted at the head of the
inner bay, whilst the Sayyid rode forward to meet
his brother Mahmuid, who had kindly brought us
the news from El-Muwaylah. Here we could see
the townlet covering a low point projecting into the
Sharm; a few large and some small tenements
formed the body, whilst the head was the little
Burj built, some fourteen years ago, upon the tall
sea-bank to the north. It bore, by way of welcome,
the Viceroy's flag.

The camp was pitched upon the northern shore
of the inner cove, behind the new town, and shel-
tered by the tall sea-cliff: here stood Old Zibd,
whose stones, buried for ages under the sand, are
now dug up to build its successor. I thought better
of the settlement and of the port after visiting them

 
 

 

46 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

a second time. We had looked forward to it even as
to a petit Paris: so Damascus and the Syrian cities
appear centres of civilization to Westerns coming
from the East—not from the West. It is far supe-
rior, especially in the article water, to El-Muwaylah ;
it exports charcoal in large quantities, and it does a
thriving business with the Bedawi. Here are signs
of a pier, and a mosque is to be built. The fish is
excellent and abundant ; lobsters are caught by night
near the reef, and oysters in the bay when the tide
is out. We succeeded, at last, in having our batterze
de cuisine properly tinned, and we replenished our
stores.* As at El’Akabah, “Hashish” may be
bought in any quantity, but no 'Rdki—hence, per-
haps, the paleness and pastiness of the local com-
plexion—and yet our old acquaintance, Mohammed
el-Musalmdni, is a Copt who finds it convenient to
be a Moslem. He aided us in collecting curiosi-
ties, especially a chalcedony (agate) intended for a
talisman and roughly inscribed in Kufic characters,
archaic and pointed like Bengali, with the Koranic
chapter (xcii.) that testifies the Unity, “ Kul, Huw’
Allah) etc. As regards the port, Wellsted (11. x.)
is too severe upon it: “At Sherm Dhobd the
anchorage is small and inconvenient, and could
only be made available for boats or small vessels.”

Dredging the sand-bar and cutting a passage in

* See the end of this Chapter for a list.

ZIBA. 47

the soft coralline reef will give excellent shelter
and, some say, a depth of seventeen fathoms.

Our first care was to walk straight into the sea,
travelling clothes and all. I then received the
notables, including Mohammed Seldmah of EI-Wijh,
and at once began to inquire about the Hebel el-
Fayriz. The chief trader pleaded ignorance: he
was a stranger, a new-comer; he had never been
out of the settlement. The others opposed to me
hard and unmitigated lying: they knew nothing
about turquoises; there were no such stones; the
mines were exhausted.

And yet I knew that this coast is visited for
turquoises by Europeans; and that the gem has
been, and still is, sold at Suez and Cairo. Mr.
Clarke had many uncut specimens at Zagdzig, em-
bedded in a dark gangue, which he called “por-
phyry,” as opposed to the limestone which bears
the silicate of copper. Upon our first Expedition,
we had noticed a splendid specimen, set in a Bedawi
matchlock ; and the people of El-’Akabah praised
highly the produce of the Jebel el-Ghdl. Lastly,
I happened to have heard that an Arab lately
brought to Zibd a turquoise which sold there for
£3. Evidently the mine, like the gold-sands be-
fore alluded to, would be carefully hidden from
us. This reticence explained how, on our first visit,

the two Staff-officers sent to prospect the diggings

 
 

 

48 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

had been misdirected to a block lying north of the
townlet, the “ Red Hills,” alias the Jebel el-Shegayg.

Shortly after I left Egypt an Italian, Sig. F—-m
returned to Suez from El-Muwaylah, with some fine
pearls worth each from £20 to £30, and turquoises
which appeared equally good. He was then bound
for Italy, but he intended returning to Midian in a
month or two. These are the men who teach the
ready natives the very latest © dodges ;” such as
stimulating the peculiar properties of the pearl-
oyster by inserting grains of sand.

I also collected notes concerning the ruins of
M'jirmah, of which we had heard so many tales.
The site, they said, is a branch of the Wady Azlam,
the first of the three marches between Zibd and El-
Wijh, and seven and a half hours’ sail along the
coast. This watercourse shows, above the modern
Hajj-station, the ruins of a fort built by Sultdn
Selim : Wellsted (11. x.) also mentions a castle lying
three miles inland. From the head of the Sharm
Dumayghah, seventy to seventy-two knots south of
El-Muwaylah, Shaykh Furayj pointed out to us the
pale-blue peaks of the Jebel Zafar :* in the upper
part of its Wady, the 'Amud Zafar, a southern
branch valley of the Azlam, lies the ruin. He made
it six hours’ march from the seaboard. It was an
ancient gold-mine (?), whose house-foundations

* See Chap. XIV.

 

THE STORM. 49

and a “well with steps” still remain. “ M’jirmah,”
which must not be confounded with the “ Umm
Jirmah,” an atelier that we shall visit to-morrow,
has been identified with the ‘Pavwdfov kdun (Rhau-
nathi Pagus) of Ptolemy (north lat. 25° 40). We
will return to this subject when steaming down
coast.

Our day of rest ended, at seven p.m., with a
heavy storm of wind and rain from the north: the
sun had been unusually hot for some days, and the
sky looked ugly in the evening. As usual, all assured
us that the clouds contained wind, not rain. Despite
which, when the mess-tent had been nearly blown
down, owing to our men being unwilling to leave
their warm retreats, a heavy drenching downfall set
in, and continued till eleven p.m. After a short
lull, wind and rain again raged at midnight; and
then the gale gradually blew itself out. The next
two mornings were delightfully brisk and bracing;
and deep puddles dotted the rocks.

On March 7th the caravan marched straight
northwards, by the Hajj-road, along the shore to
its camping-ground, an affair of two hours, while
M. Marie and I set off for the turquoise mine.
Furayj, who had never passed that way, engaged as
guide one Sulaym el-Makrafi; and this old drome-
dary-rider’s son had been sent on to bring into
camp all the Fayrziz he could find. Crossing at

VOL. II. E

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

50

six a.m. the broad pilgrim-track, we struck eastward
at a place where the Secondary gypsum subtends the
old coralline cliff. After three-quarters of an hour,
we traversed the Wady Zahakdn, the southernmost
Pass over the Sharr (proper); and presently we
ascended a branch that falls into the right bank.
As we advanced, it became a rock-walled, stone-
soled tunnel ; winding, contracting and widening,
rising and flattening, and generally interesting, com-
pared with the dull flat breadth of such features as
the Wady Salmi. The overfalls of rock and the
unfriendly thorn-trees, selfishly taking up all the
room, necessitate frequent zigzags up and down
the rocky, precipitous banks. After a number of
divides we entered the Wady Hdshshah, which was
wider and good for riding; and at 8.30 a.m. we
passed into the Wady Umm Jirmah.

In this broad basin we found none of the ruins
so often reported ; but immense quantities of broken
quartz showed the Mashghal or atelier. The material
was distinguished, from all the outcrops hitherto
observed, by its pretty pink, stained with oxide of
iron: it appeared in large ramifications mostly
striking east-west, and in little pzons dotting the
valley sole and sides. A subsequent visit to
Wady Umm Jirmah found many furnaces sur-
rounded by well-worked scorie ; of these, specimens

were secured.

 

 

THE TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN. 51

After another half-hour, we dismounted at the
watershed of the Wady el-Ghdl, where the old
guide lost no time in losing his head. The Jebel
‘el-Ghdl, whose folds fall into its watercourse, is
a detached block, rising nearly due south of the
“Sharp Peak,” as the Chart calls Aéz Kusayb,
the northernmost horn of the Shdrr; while the
Ghdl cove, breaking the sea-cliff, bears 270° (mag.)
from the summit. The hill, which may measure
250 feet above sea-level (aner. 29°75), is composed
of porphyritic trap and of the hardest felspars,
veined with chocolate-coloured quartz, the true
gangue. While we examined the formation, Furayj
and old Sulaym, who became more and more
“moony,” ransacked the block in all directions, and
notably failed to find a trace of mining. Evidently
Athor, the genius of the “Turquoise Mountain,” was
not to be conquered by a coup de main, so 1 de-
termined to tire her out. :

After building a stone-man on the finial of the
Jebel el-Ghdl, and a short rest in the north-western
Wady, we remounted and struck seawards. Some
ugly divides led us, after half an hour, to a broad
Fiumara, well grown with palm-bush, the veritable
Wady el-Ghdl. From this point a total of four
miles, and a grand total of fourteen, led us to the
camp : it had been pitched at the Mahattat el-Ghdl,

on the north bank, where the ¢winter-torrent,”

 
 

 

52 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

falling into the cove, has broken through the sea-
cliff.

Here the best of news was in store for us. Lieu-
tenant Yusuf, who had this morning rejoined the
Expedition, brought our mails from the Sambuik,
which I had ordered by letter at El-’Akabah ; and
reported that his Highness's frigate Suundr, an old
friend, would relieve the lively Mukhbir in taking
us to our last journey southwards. Rations for men
and mules, and supplies for ourselves, all were
coming. We felt truly grateful to the Viceroy and
the Prince Minister for the gracious interest they
had taken in the Expedition ; and we looked for-
ward with excitement to the proper finish of our
labours. Without the third march, the exploration
of Midian would have been Aétar, as the Arabs say,
«tail-less ;” that is, lame and impotent in point of
conclusion.

But I would not be beaten by the enemy upon
the subject of the lapis Pharanitis mine. During
the course of the day, a Jerdfin Bedawi, Selim ibn
Musallim, brought in scorie of copper and iron; and
on the morrow I sent him as guide to Lieutenant
Yusuf, with an escort of two soldiers and eight
quarrymen on seven camels. After three days’
absence (March 8—10) the officer rejoined us and
reported as follows: —

Leaving the Mabhattat el-Ghdl, he rode up its

i

 

THE TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN. 53

watercourse, and then turned southwards into the
long Wady Umm Jirmah. After seven miles and a
half (= direct five and three-quarters), he came upon
the Febel el-Fayriic.

no great height, showing many signs of work,

It 1s a rounded eminence of

especially three or four cuttings some twenty metres
deep. A hillock to the north-west supplied the
scoriee before mentioned. Lieutenant Yusuf blasted
the chocolate-coloured quartzose rock in four places,
filled as many sacks, and struck the pilgrim-road in
the Wady el-Mu'arrash, leaving its red block, the
Hamrd el-Mu'arrash, to the left. His specimens
were very satisfactory ; except to the learned geolo-
gists of the Citadel, Cairo, who pronounced them to

Dr. L. Karl Moser, of

Trieste, examined them and found crystals of tur-

be carbonate of copper !

quoise, or rather “johnite,” as Dana has it, em-
bedded in or spread upon the quartz. One specimen,
So much for the Ziba

or southern turquoise-diggings.

moreover, contained silver.

Our journey ended on March 8th with a dull
ride along the Hajj-road northwards. Passing the
creek Aba Sharir, which, like many upon this
coast, is rendered futile by a wall of coral reef,
we threaded a long flat, and after two hours
(= seven miles) we entered a valley where the
Secondary formation again showed its débrzs. Here

is the Mahattat el-Husan (“the Stallion’s Leap”),

 
 

 

54 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

a large boulder lying to the left of the track,
and pitted with holes which a little imagination
The name of the
noble animal was £/-Mashihir ; that of its owner is,

may convert into hoof-prints,

characteristically enough, forgotten by the Arabs :
it lived in the Days of Ignorance; others add, more
vaguely still, when the Beni 'Ukbah, the lords of
the land, were warring with the Baliyy. The gorge
was then a mere cutting, blocked up by this rock.
LEl-Mashlhiir “negotiated” it, alighting upon the sur-
face like a Galway hunter taking a stone wall; and
carried to Wady Tiryam its rider, whose throat was
incontinently cut by the foeman in pursuit. The
legend is known to all, and the Bedawin still scrape
away the sands which threaten to bury the boulder :
it has its value, showing that in regions where the
horse is now unknown, where, in fact, nothing but a
donkey can live, noble blood was once bred. The
same remark is made by Professor Palmer (“The
Desert of the Exodus,” p. 42) concerning the Man-
gaz [isin Abi Zend (“Leap of the Stallion of
the Father of Adultery”), two heaps of stone near
the Sinaitic Wady Gharandal. There, however, the
animal is cursed, while here it is blessed: perhaps,
also, the Midianite tradition may descend from a
source which, still older, named the “I177os kop. Is
this too far-fetched ? And yet, peradventure, it may
be true.

EE Se i i i A es So No

STORES AT ZIBA. 55

We then fell into the Wady Jibbah ; passed the
Jebel el-Kibrit, examined M. Philipin’s work, and,
led over a very vile and very long “short cut,” found

ourselves once more on board the Mukhibir.

 

NOTE ON THE SUPPLIES PROCURABLE AT ZIBA.

The chief stores are :—

Rice (good Yemani), per A7s, or bag of five and a half
Kaylah (each twenty-one Ratl = eighteen pounds), four to six
dollars.

Durrah (Sorghum), per Ardebb (each = twelve Kaylah), seven
and a half to eight dollars.

Dukhn (millet), not common, per Ardebb, eight dollars.

Wheat, always procurable, per Ardebb, ten to twelve dollars.

Barley, always procurable, per Ardebb, five to six dollars.

'Adas (lentils, Revalenta Arabica), per Ardebb, ten to twelve

dollars.
Samn (liquified butter), per Ratl, seven and a half to eight

dollars.

Coffee (green), per pound, eighteen-pence.

’Ajwah (pressed dates), Too to 110 piastres per Kantar (= 100
Ratl).

Eggs, thirty-five to the shilling.

It is generally possible to buy small quantities of Hummus
(lupins or chick-peas), Kharrub (carob-pods), “hot” and coarse
tobacco for the Arabs, and cigarette-paper, matches, etc.

 
 

 

CHAPTER XIII.

A WEEK AROUND AND UPON THE SHARR MOUNTAIN—
RESUME OF THE MARCH THROUGH EASTERN OR

CENTRAL MIDIAN.

For months the Jebel Shdrr, the grand block which
backs El-Muwaylah, had haunted us, starting up
unexpectedly in all directions, with its towering
heads, that shifted shape and colour from every
angle, and with each successive change of weather.
We could hardly leave unexplored the classical
“ Hippos Mons,” the Moslem’s £/-Zshdrak (‘the
Landmark”), and the Bullock's Horns of the pro-
saic British tar.* The few vacant days before
the arrival of the Swnndr offered an excellent op-
portunity for studying the Alpine ranges of maritime
Midian. Their stony heights, they said, contain
wells and water in abundance, with palms, remains
of furnaces, and other attractions. Every gun was
brought into requisition, by tales of leopard and

* «Irwin’s Voyage,” 1777.

 

TO THE SHARR. 57

ibex, the latter attaining the size of bullocks (!) and
occasionally finding their way to the fort: —it was
curious to hear our friends, who, as usual, were
great upon “le shport,” gravely debating whether
it would be safe to fire upon le léppard. 1 was
anxious to collect specimens of botany and natural
history from an altitude hitherto unreached by any
traveller in Western Arabia ; and, lastly, there was
geography as well as mineralogy to be done.

The Hydrographic Chart gives the Mountain
a maximum of nine thousand * feet, evidently a
clerical error often repeated—really those Admi-
ralty gentleman are too incurious: Wellsted, who sur-
veyed it, remarks (11. x.), “ The height of the most
elevated peak was found to be 6500 feet, and it
obtained from us the appellation of ¢ Mowilahh High
Peak ’”—when there are native names for every
head. We had been convinced that the lesser is
the true measure, by our view from the Hisma
plateau, 3800 feet above sea-level. Again, the form,
the size, and the inclination of the noble massif are
wrongly laid down by the hydrographers. It is a
compact block, everywhere rising abruptly from low
and sandy watercourses, and completely detached

from its neighbours by broad Wadys—the Surr to

* This was probably a misprint originally, but it has been
repeated in subsequent editions. Hence it imposed upon even
such careful workmen as the late Lieutenant Henry Raper, “ The
Practice of Navigation,” etc., p. 527, 6th edition.

 
 

 

58 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

the north and east, while southwards run the Ku-
wayd and the Zahakdn. The huge long-oval prism
measures nineteen and a half by five miles (= ninety-
seven and a half square miles of area); and its lay
is 320° (mag.), thus deflected 40° westward of the
magnetic north. The general appearance, seen in
profile from the west, is a Pentedactylon, a central
apex, with two others on each side, tossed, as it
were, to the north and south, and turning, like cliens
de faience, their backs upon one another.

Moreover, the Chart assigns to its “Mount
Mowilah” only two great culminations— Sharp
Peak, 6330 feet,” to the north; and south of it,
“ High Peak, 9ooo.” The surveyors doubtless
found difficulty in obtaining the Bedawi names for
the several features, which are unknown to the
citizens of the coast; but they might easily have
consulted the only authorities, the Jerdfin-Huwaytdt,
who graze their flocks and herds on and around the
mountain. As usual in Arabia, the four several main
“horns” are called after the Zumaras that drain them.
The northernmost is the Abi Gusayb (Kusayb) or
Ras el-Gusayb (the “Little Reed”), a unity composed
of a single block and of three knobs in a knot ; the
tallest of the latter, especially when viewed from the
south, resembles an erect and reflexed thumb—hence
our “Sharp Peak.” Follows Unum el-Furit (the

« Mother of Plenty”), a mural crest, a quoin-shaped

|
|
4
|

 

ITEMS OF THE SHARR. 59

wall, cliffing to the south: the face, perpendicular
where it looks seawards, bears a succession of scars,
upright gashes, the work of wind and weather and
the body which supports it is a slope disposed at
the natural angle. An Zunominatus, in the shape
of a similar quoin, is separated by a deep Co/, appa-
rently a torrent-bed, from a huge Beco de Papagaio—
the “ Parrot’s Bill” so common in the Brazil. This
is the Abit Shendzir or Shaykhdnib (the “ Father of
Columns”) ; and, as if two names did not suffice, it
has a third, Ras el-Huwayz (“of the Little Cistern”).
It is our “ High Peak,” the most remarkable feature
of the sea-fagade, even when it conceals the pair of
towering pillars that show conspicuously to the
north and south. From the beak-shaped apex the
range begins to decline and fall; there is little to
notice in the fourth horn, whose unimportant items,
the Ras Lahydnah, the Jebel Malih, and the Umm
Gisr (757), end the wall. Each has its huge white
Wady, striping the country in alternation with dark-
brown divides, and trending coastwards in the usual
network.

The material of the four crests is the normal grey
granite, enormous lumps and masses rounded by
degradation ; all chasms and naked columns, with
here and there a sheet burnished by ancient cata-
racts, and a slide trickling with water, unseen in the

shade and flashing in the sun like a sheet of crystal.

 
 

60 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

The granite, however, is a mere mask or excrescence,
being everywhere based upon and backed by the
green and red plutonic traps which have enveloped
it. And the prism has no easy inland slopes, as a
first glance suggests; instead of being the sea-wall of
a great plateau, it falls abruptly to the east as well
as to the west. The country behind it shows a per-
spective of high and low hills, lines of dark rock
divided from one another by Wadys of the usual
exaggerated size. Of these minor heights only one,
the Yebel el-Sakhdrak looks down upon the sea,
rising between the Dibbagh-Kh’shabriyyah block to
the north, and the Shédrr to the south. Beyond
the broken eastern ground, the ruddy Hismd and
the gloomy Harrah form the fitting horizon.

After this much for geography, we may view the
monarch of Midianite mountains in the beauty and
the majesty of his picturesque form. Seen from
El-Muwaylah, he is equally magnificent in the flush
of morning, in the still of noon, and in the evening
glow. As the rays, which suggested the obelisk,
are shooting over the southern crests, leaving the
basement blue with a tint between the amethyst and
the lapis lazuli, its northern third lies wrapped in
a cloak of cold azure grey, and its central length
already dons a half-light of warmer hue. Mean-
while, the side next the sun is flooded with an aerial

aureole of subtle mist, a drift of liquid gold, a gush

 

 

THE PICTURESQUE SHARR. 61

of living light, rippling from the unrisen orb, decreas-
ing in warmth and brilliancy, paling and fading and
waxing faint with infinite gradations proportioned to
the increase of distance. Again, after the clear
brooding sheen of day has set off the “stark strength
and grandeur of rock-form contrasted with the
brilliancy and sprightliness of sea,” the sinking sun
paints the scene with the most gorgeous of blazon-
ings. The colours of the pale rock-skeleton are so
faint that there is nothing to interfere with the perfect
development of atmospheric effects: it is a white
sheet spread to catch the grand illumination, lambent
lights of saffron and peach-blossom and shades of
purple and hyacinth. As indescribably lovely is
the after-glow, the zodiacal light which may have
originated the pyramid; the lively pink reflection
from the upper atmosphere ; the vast variety of tints
with which the greens and the reds, the purples and
the fiery crimsons of the western sky tincture the
receptive surface of the neutral-hued granites; and
the chameleon-shiftings of the dying day, as it
sinks into the arms of night. Nor less admirable
are the feats of the fairy Refraction. The mighty
curtain seems to rise and fall as if by magic: it
imitates, as it were, the framework of man. In
early morning the dancing of the air adds many a
hundred cubits to its apparent stature: it is now

a giant, when at midnight, after the equipoise of

 
 

 

62 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

atmospheric currents, it becomes a dwarf replica of
its former self.
#* # * # # *

I had neglected to order overnight the camels
from EIl-Muwaylah, a penny-wise proceeding which
delayed our departure. It was nearly nine a.m.
(March 13th) before we left the AMukhbir, whose
unhappies still sighed and yearned for the civil-
ization and dissipation of Suez; landed at the
head of the Sharm Ydhdrr, and marched up the
Wady Harr. We were guided by two Jerafin,
Sulayman ibn Musallim and Farj ibn ’Awayz; the
former a model hill-man, a sturdy, thick-legged, huge-
calved, gruff-voiced, full-bearded fellow, hot-tempered,
good-humoured, and renowned as an ibex-hunter.
His gun, marked Lazari Coitinaz,” was a long-
barrelled Spanish musket, degraded to a matchlock :
it had often changed hands, probably by theft, and
the present owner declared that he had bought it
for seventy dollars—nearly £15! Yet its only
luxury was the bottom of a breechloader brass
cartridge, inlaid and flanked by the sharp incisors
of the little Wabar, or mountain coney. These
Bedawin make gunpowder for themselves ; they find
saltpetre in every cavern, and they buy from Egypt
the sulphur which is found in their own hills.

After a few minutes we left the Harr, which
drains the tallest of the inland hillock-ranges, and

 

THE “ MOANING MOUNTAIN. 63

the red block “ Hamrd el-Maysarah ;” and we struck
south-east into the Wady Sanawiyyah. It is a
vulgar valley with a novelty, the Zumrat Faraj.
This cairn of brick-coloured boulders buttressing
the right bank has, or is said to have, the Memnonic
property of emitting sounds— Yarn is the Bedawi
word. The boomings and bellowings are said to be
loudest at sunrise and sunset. The “hideous hum”
of such subterraneous thunderings is alluded to by
all travellers in the Dalmatian Island of Melada,
and in the Narenta Valley. The marvel has been
accounted for by the escape of imprisoned air un-
equally expanded, but “a veil of mystery hangs
over the whole.” The valley-sides of dark trap
were striped with white veins of heat-altered argil ;
the sole with black magnetic sand; and patches of
the bed were buttercup-yellow with the Handdn
(dandelion), the Cytisus, and the Zaram (Panicum
turgidum) loved by camels. Their jaundiced hue
contrasted vividly with the red and mauve blossoms
of the boragine El-Kahld, the blue flowerets of the
Lavandula (E1-Zayti), and the delicate green of the
useless  asphodel (Z£/-Borag), which now gave a
faint and shadowy aspect of verdure to the slopes.

* See an excellent description of the phenomenon in that
honest and courageous work, “Through Bosnia and the Herze-
govina on Foot,” by Arthur J. Evans, B.A., F.S.A. London :

Longmans, 1877.
t There is, however, nothing to prevent its being eaten.

 
 

 

64 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Although the rise was inconsiderable, the importance
of the vegetation palpably decreased as we advanced
ot four miles we reached the Wady-head, and
wasted a couple of hours awaiting the camels that
carried our supplies. The path then struck over a
stony divide, with the Hamrd to the left or north,
and on the other side the Hamra el-Mu’arrash, sade
familiar to us by our last march. The latter ends in
an isolated peak, the Jebel Gharghir, which, 0 our
return, was mistaken for the sulphur-hill of Jibbah.
Presently we renewed acquaintance with the Wady
el-Bayzd, whose lower course we had crossed south
of Sharm Yahérr : here it is a long and broad, white
and tree-dotted expanse, glaring withal, and sub-
tending all this section of the Sharr’s sea-facing bass,
We reached, after a total of eight miles, the F2bdl el-
Kawdim, or “the Perpendiculars,” one of the features
which the Bedawin picturesquely call the Auldd el-
Sharr (“Sons of the Shdrr "). The irae heads,
projected westwards from the Umm Furit peak
and then trending northwards, form a lateral valley,
a bay known as Wady el-Kdimah. It 1s a ple-
turesque feature with its dark sands ond ii grit,
while the profile of No. 3 head, the Ban Abu
R4ki’, shows a snub-nosed face in a judicial wig, the

trees forming an apology for a beard. 1 thought of

« Buzfuz Bovill.”

 

THE “SORES OF THE SHARR” 65

We camped early, as the Saf% el-Shdrr (the
“Plain of the Shdrr”) and the lateral valley were

found strewed with quartzes, white, pink, and deep
slate-blue. The guides had accidentally mentioned a
“Jebel el-Mard,” and I determined to visit it next
morning. The night was warm and still. The
radiation of heat from the huge rock-range explained
the absence of cold, so remarkable during all this
excursion—hence the African traveller ever avoids
camping near bare stones. Dew, however, wetted
our boxes like thin rain: the meteor, remarked for
the first time on March 1 3th, will last, they say,
three months, and will greatly forward vegetation.
It seems to be uncertain, or rather to be influenced
by conditions which we had no opportunity of study-
ing : at times it would be exceptionally heavy, and
in other places it was entirely absent. Before even-
ing new contract-boots, bought from the Mulehbr,
were distributed to the soldiers and all the quarry-
men, who limped painfully on their poor bare feet :
—next day all wore their well-hidden old boots.
Early on March 14th we ascended the Wady el-
Kdimah, which showed a singular spectacle, and read
us another lecture upon the diversity of formation
which distinguishes this region. An abrupt turn
then led over rough ground, the lower folds of the
Umm Furit, where a great granite gorge, the Nakb
Abd Sha'r, ran up to a depression in the dorsum,

VOL. II. 7

 
 

66 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

an apparently practicable Co/. Suddenly the rocks
assumed the quaintest hues and forms. The quartz,
slaty-blue and black, was here spotted and streaked
with a dull, dead white, as though stained by the
droppings of myriad birds: there it lay veined and
marbled with the most vivid of rainbow colours—

Hm

 

reds and purples, greens and yellows, set off by the
pale chalky white. Evident signs of work were
remarked in a made road running up to the Jebel
el-Mart (proper), whose strike is 38° (mag.), and
whose dip is westward. It is an a7éfe, a cock’s-comb

of snowy quartz some sixty feet high by forty-five
broad at the base; crowning a granitic fold that

 

THE ENCHANTED CASTLE. 67

descends abruptly, with a deep fall on either side,
from the “ Mother of Plenty.” This strangely
isolated wall, left standing by the denudation that
swept away the containing stone, had been broken
by perpendicular rifts into four distinct sections ; the
colour became whiter as it neared the coping, and each
rock was crowned with a capping that sparkled like
silver in the sudden glance of the “cloud-compelling”
sun. The sight delighted us; and M. Lacaze here
made one of his most effective ¢croguzs, showing the
explorers reduced to the size of ants. As yet we had
seen nothing of the kind; nor shall we see a similar
vein till we reach Abu¢’l-Marwah, near our farthest
southern point. I expected a corresponding forma-
tion upon the opposite eastern versant: we found
only a huge crest, a spine of black plutonic rock,
As we rode back
down the “ Valley of the Perpendiculars,” the aspect

intensely ugly and repulsive.

of the Jebel el-Mari was épdtant—to use another
favourite camp-word. Standing sharply out from
its vague and gloomy background made gloomier
by the morning mists, the Co/, whose steep rain-cut
slopes and sole were scattered with dark trees and
darker rocks, this glittering wall became the shell of
an enchanted castle in Gustave Doré.

Returning to our old camping-ground after a
ride of three hours and thirty minutes (= nine miles),

we crossed two short divides, and descended the

 
68 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Wady el-Kusayb, which gives a name to “Sharp
Peak.” Here a few formless stone-heaps and
straggling bushes represented the ruins, the gardens
of palms, and the bullrushes of the Bedawi shepherd
lads.* Our tents had been pitched in the rond-
point of the Wady Surr, which before had given us
hospitality (February 19th), on a Saf% or high
bouldery ledge of the left bank, where it receives
the broad Kusayb watercourse. The day had been
sultry ; the sun was a “rain sun,” while the clouds
massed thick to the south-west; and at night the
lamps of heaven shone with a reddish, lurid light.
The tent-pegs were weighted with camel-boxes
against the storm ; nevertheless, our mess-tent was
levelled in a moment by the howling north-easter—
warm withal—which, setting in about midnight,
made all things uncomfortable enough.

Whilst the caravan was ordered to march
straight up the noble Wady Surr, we set off next
morning at six a.m. up the Wady Malih, the north-
eastern branch of the bulge in the bed. A few Arab
tents were scattered about the bushes above the
mouth ; and among the yelping curs was a smoky-
faced tyke which might have been Eskimo-bred :—
hereabouts poor 'Brahim had been lost, and was
not fated to be found. A cross-country climb led to
the Jebel Malih, whose fame for metallic wealth

* See Chap. X.

 

THE WADY DAUMAH. 69

gave us the smallest expectations—hitherto all our
discoveries came by surprise. A careful examination
showed nothing at all; but a few days afterwards
glorious specimens of cast copper were brought in,
the Bedawi declaring that he had found them
amongst the adjoining hills. In the re-entering
angles of the subjacent Wady the thrust of a stick is
everywhere followed by the reappearance of stored-
up rain, and the sole shows a large puddle of
Perhaps the Malayh
of the Bedawin may mean “the salt” (M4lih), not
“the pleasant ” (Malih). Malih, or Mallih, is also the

name of a plant, the Reaumuria vernice of ForskAl.

brackish and polluted water.

Resuming our ride up the torrent-bed, and cross-
ing to the Wady Daumah (of the “Single Daum-
palm”), we dragged our mules down a ladder of rock
and boulder, the left bank of the upper Surr. The
great valley now defines, sharply as a knife-cut, the
northernmost outlines of the Shdrr, whose apex,
El-Kusayb, towered above our heads. Thorn-trees
are abundant ; fan-palm bush grows in patches; and
we came upon what looked like a flowing stream
ruffled by the morning breeze : the guides declared
that it is a rain-pool, dry as a bone in summer.
Presently the rocky bed made a sharp turn; and its
“Gate” opened upon another widening, the meeting-
place of four Wadys, the northern being the Wady
Zibayyib that drains ruddy Abd’l-barid.

 
 

70 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

After a short halt to examine the rude ruins
reported by Mr. Clarke,* we resumed the ascent of
the Surr, whose left bank still defines the eastern edge
of the Shdrr. The latter presently puts forth the
jagged spine of black and repulsive plutonic rock,
which notes the Sha’b Makhl, the corresponding
versant of the Nakb Aba Shar. The Bedawin, who,
as usual, luxuriate in nomenclature, distinguish
between the eastern and western faces of the same
block, and between the Wadys of the scarp and the
counter-scarp. For instance, the eastern front of
the Ras el-Kusayb is called Abi Kurayg (Kurayj).
This is natural, as the formations, often of a different
material, show completely different features.

A little further on, the continuity of the right
bank is broken by the Wady el-Hdmah. It receives
the Wady Kh’shabriyyah, which, bifurcating in the
upper bed, drains the Dibbagh and the Umm Jedayl
blocks ; and in the fork lie, we were told, the ruins of
El-Fara’, some five hours’ march from this section of
the Surr. At the confluence of El-Hdmah we found
the camels grazing and the tents pitched without
orders: the two Shaykhs were determined to waste
another day, so they were directed to reload while
we breakfasted. Everything was in favour of a long
march; the dusty, gusty north-easter had blown itself
out in favour of a pleasant southerly wind, a sea-
breeze deflected from the west.

* Chap. X.

 

ASCENT OF THE SHARR. 71

After marching three miles we camped at the
foot of the ridge to be ascended next morning : the
place is called Saflat d-Mu'ayrak from a slaty
schistose hill on the eastern bank. The guides
declared that the only practicable line to the summit
was from this place; and that the Shabs (Cols)
generally cannot be climbed even by the Arabs—I
have reason to believe the reverse. Musallim, an
old Bedawi, brought, amongst other specimens from
the adjacent atelier, the Mashghal el-Mu'ayrah, a
bright bead about the size of No. 5 shot: in the
evening dusk it was taken for gold, and it already
aroused debates concerning the proper direction of
the promised reward, fifty dollars. The morning
light showed fine copper. Here free metal was dis-
tinctly traceable in the scorie, and it was the first
time that we had seen slag so carelessly worked.
Not a little merriment was caused by the
ostentatious display of “ gold-stones,” marked by
M. Philipin’s copper-nailed boots. Sulaymdn, the
Bedawi, had killed a Wabar, whose sadly mutilated
form appeared to be that of the Syrian hill coney :
these men split the bullet into four; “pot” at the
shortest distance, and, of course, blow to pieces any
small game they may happen to hit.

Early on March 16th we attacked the Shdrr in a
general direction from north to south, where the
ascent looked easy enough. On the left bank a

 
 

 

72 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

porphyritic block, up whose side a mule can be
ridden, is disposed in a slope of the palest and most
languid of greens, broken by piles of black rock so
regular as to appear artificial. This step leads to a
horizontal crest, a broken wall forming its summit:
it is evidently an outlier; and experience asked,
What will be behind it? The more distant plane
showed only the heads of the Siendzir or “Pins,”
the two quaint columns which are visible as far as
the Shdrr itself. This lower block is bounded,
north and south, by gorges; fissures that date from
the birth of the mountain, deepened by age and
raging torrents : apparently they offered no passage.
In the former direction yawns the Rushih Abd
Tindzib, so called from its growth—the Tanzub-tree*
(Sodada decidua); and in the latter the Sha’b Umm
Khéargah (Khdrjah). I should have preferred a
likely looking Nakb, south of this southern gorge,
but the Bedawin, and especially Ab# Klhartiim, who
had fed his camels and sheep upon the mountain,
overruled me.

The ascent of the outlier occupied three very
slow hours, spent mostly in prospecting and collect-
ing. At nine a.m. we stood 3200 feet above sea-
level (aner. 26°79), high enough to make our tents
look like bits of white macadam. What most struck

* Not to be confounded with the luguminous “ Tanib” men-
tioned by Forskal (“ Flora,” etc., p. 197).

farted 1 3. cl oa

LUROPEAN VEGETATION. 73

us was the increased importance of the vegetation,
both in quantity and quality ; the result, doubtless,
of more abundant dew and rain, as well as of shade
from each passing mist-cloud. The view formed a
startling contrast of fertility and barrenness. At
every hundred yards the growths of the plain be-
came more luxuriant in the rich humus filling the fis-
sures, and, contrary to the general rule, the plants,
especially the sorrel (Rumer) and the dandelion
(7 araxacum), instead of dwindling, gained in stature.
The strong-smelling Ferula looked like a bush, and
the Sar/Z grew into a tree: the Arar, * a homely
hawthorn (hawthorn-leaved Z/us), whose appear-
ance was a surprise, equalled the Crategus of Syria ;
and the upper heights must have been a forest of
fine junipers (Habibah = Juniperus Phaenicea), with
trunks thick as a man's body. The guides spoke
of wild figs, but we failed to find them. Our
chasseurs, who had their guns, eagerly conned over
the traces of ibex and hyenas, and the earths, as
well as the large round footprints, of un leopard ;

but none of the larger animals were seen. The

* The word classically means the cypress or the juniper-tree :
in Jeremiah, where it occurs twice (xvii. 6 and xlviii. 6), the
Authorized Version renders it by “heath.” It is now generally
translated “savin” (Juniperus sabina), a shrub whose purple
berries have a strong turpentine flavour. When shall we have a
reasonable version of Hebrew Holy Writ, which will retain the
original names of words either untranslatable or to be translated
only by guess-work ?

 
 

 

74 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Bedawi matchlock has made them wary; chance
might give a shot the first day: on the other hand,
skill might be baffled for a month or two—I passed
six weeks upon the Anti-Libanus before seeing a
bear. The noble Shinndr-partridge again appeared;
an eagle’s feather lay on the ground; two white
papillons and one yellow butterfly reminded me
of the Camarones Mountain; the wild bee and
the ladybird-like Ba’dzah stuck to us as though
they loved us; and we were pestered by the at-
tentions of the common fly. The Egyptian symbol
for “Paul Pry” is supposed to denote an abundance
of organic matter: it musters strong throughout
Midian, even in the dreariest wastes; and it ac-
companies us everywhere, whole swarms riding upon
our backs.

The only semblance of climbing was over the
crest of brown, burnished, and quartzless traps.
Even there the hands were hardly required, although
our poor feet regretted the want of Spartelles.* Here
the track debouched upon an inverted arch, with a
hill, or rather a tall and knobby outcrop of rock, on
either flank of the keystone. The inland or east-
ward view was a map of the region over which we
had travelled; a panorama of little chains mostly

* In Cairo generally called Zspadrilles, and sold for 1°25
francs. Nothing punishes the feet at these altitudes so much as
leather, black leather.

 

THE TIHAMAH RANGE. 75

running parallel with the great range, and separated
from it by Wadys, lateral, oblique, and perpendicular.
Of these torrent-beds some were yellow, others pink,
and others faint sickly green with decomposed trap ;
whilst all bore a fair growth of thorn-trees— Acacias
and Mimosas. High over and beyond the monarch
of the Shafah Mountains, Yebel Salkhiérak, whose
blue poll shows far out at sea, ran the red levels of
the Hismd, backed at a greater elevation by the
black-blue Harrah. The whole Tihdmah range,
now so familiar to us, assumed a novel expression.
The staple material proved to be blocks and crests
of granite, protruding from the younger plutonics,
which enfolded and enveloped their bases and backs.
The one exception was the dwarf Umm Jedayl, a
heap composed only of grey granite. The Jebel
Kh'shabriyyah in the Dibbagh block attracted every
eye; the head was supported by a neck swathed as
with an old-fashioned cravat.

The summit of the outlier is tolerably level, and
here the shepherds had built small hollow piles of
dry stone, in which their newly yeaned lambs are
sheltered from the rude blasts. The view west-
wards, or towards the sea, which is not seen, almost
justifies by its peculiarity the wild traditions of built
wells, of a “ moaning mountain,” and of furnaces upon
the loftiest slopes: it is notable that the higher we
went, the less we heard of these features, which at

 
 

 

76 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

last vanished into thin air. Our platform is, as I sus-
pected, cut off from the higher plane by a dividing
gorge ; but the depth is only three hundred feet, and
to the south it is bridged by a connecting ridge.
Beyond it rises the great mask of granite forming
the apex, a bonier skeleton than any before seen.
Down the northern sheet-rocks trickled a thin
stream that caught the sun’s eye ; thus the ravine is
well supplied with water in two places. South of it
rises a tempting Co/, with a slope apparently easy,
separating a dull mass of granite on the right from
the peculiar formation to the left. The latter is a
dome of smooth, polished, and slippery grey granite,
evidently unpleasant climbing ; and from its land-
ward slope rise abrupt, as if hand-built, two isolated
gigantic “ Pins,” which can hardly measure less than
four hundred feet in stature. They are the remains
of a sharp granitic comb whose apex was once the
“ Parrot’s Beak.” The mass, formerly mammilated,
has been broken and denticulated by the destruction
of softer strata. Already the lower crest, bounding
the Shab Umm Khdrgah, shows perpendicular
fissures which, when these huge columns shall be
gnawed away by the tooth of Time, will form a new
range of pillars for the benefit of those ascending
the Shdrr, let us say in about A.D. 10,000. Such
are the “Pins” which name the mountain; and

which, concealed from the coast, make so curious a

M. PHILIPIN. 7

show to the north, south, and east of this petrified
glacier.

After breaking their fast, MM. Clarke, Lacaze,
and Philipin volunteered to climb the tempting Col.
None of them had ever ascended a mountain, and
they duly despised the obstacles offered by big rocks
distance-dwarfed to paving-stones; and of sharp
angles, especially the upper, perspective-blunted to
easy slopes. However, all three did exceeding well:
for such a “forlorn hope” young recruits are better
than old soldiers. They set out at eleven a.m., and
lost no time in falling asunder; whilst the quarry-
men, who accompanied them with the water-skins,
shirked work as usual, lagged behind, sat and slept
in some snug hollow, and returned, when dead-
tired of slumber, declaring that they had missed the
“ Effendis.”

M. Philipin took singly the sloping side of the
connecting ridge; and, turning to the right, made
straight for the “ Pins,” below which was spread a
fleck of lean and languid green. The ascent was
comparatively mild, except where it became a sheet
of smooth and slippery granite ; but when he reached
a clump of large junipers, his course was arrested
by a bergschrund, which divides this block —evidently
a second outlier—from the apex of the Shdrr, the
“Dome” and the “ Parrot’s Beak.” It was vain to
attempt a passage of the deep gash, with perpen-

 
 

 

78 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

dicular upper walls, and lower slopes overgrown
with vegetation ; nor could he advance to the right
and rejoin his companions, who were parted from
him by the precipices on the near side of the Col.
Consequently, he beat a retreat, and returned to
us at 2.30 p.m., after three hours and thirty
minutes of exceedingly thirsty work : the air felt
brisk and cool, but the sun shone pitilessly, unveiled
by the smallest scrap of mist. He brought with
him an ibex-horn still stained with blood, and a
branch of juniper, straight enough to make an ex-
cellent walking-stick.

The other two struck across the valley, and at
once breasted the couloir leading to the Co/, where
we had them well in sight. They found the ascent
much “harder on the collar” than they expected:
fortunately the sole of the huge gutter yielded a
trickle of water. The upper part was, to their naive
surprise, mere climbing on all fours; and they
reached the summit, visible from our halting-place,
in two hours. Here they also were summarily
stopped by perpendicular rocks on either side, and
by the deep gorge or crevasse, shedding seawards
and landwards, upon whose further side rose the
« Parrot's Beak.” The time employed would give
about two thousand feet, not including the ascent
from the valley (three hundred feet); and thus their
highest point could hardly be less than 5200 feet.

MM. CLARKE AND LACAZE. 79

Allowing another thousand for the apex, which they
could not reach,* the altitude of the Shirr would be
between 6000 and 6500 feet.

The shadows were beginning to lengthen before
the two reappeared, and the delay caused no small
apprehension ; the Sayyid showed a kindly agitation
that was quite foreign to his calm and collected
demeanour, when threatened by personal danger.
To be benighted amongst these cruel mountains
must be no joke; nor would it have been possible
to send up a tent or even mouth-munition. How-
ever, before the sun had reached the west, they
came back triumphant with the spoils of war. One
was a snake (Zchis colorata, Giinther), found bask-
ing upon the stones near the trickle of water. It
hissed at them, and, when dying, it changed colour,
they declared, like a chameleon—that night saw it
safely in the spirit-tin. They were loaded with juni-
per boughs, and fortunately they had not forgotten
the berries ; the latter establish the identity of the
tree with the common Asiatic species. M. Lacaze
brought back several Alpine plants, a small Helix
which he had found near the summit, and copious
scrawls for future croguis—his studies of the “ Pins”
and the “ Dome” were greatly admired at Cairo.

* The explorers laid this down at a few hundred feet. But
they judged from the eye; and probably they did not sight the
true culmination. Unfortunately, and by my fault, they were not
provided with an aneroid.

 
 

_

 

80 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Ere the glooms of night had set in, we found
ourselves once more at the tents. Only one man
suffered from the ascent, and his sunstroke was
treated in Egyptian fashion. Instead of bleeding
like that terrible, murderous Italian school of
Sangrados, the Fellahs tie a string tightly round
the head; and after sunset—which is considered
de rigueur—they fill the ears with strong brine.
According to them the band causes a bunch of veins
to swell in the forehead, and, when pressed hard, it
bursts like a pistol-shot. The cure is evidently
effected by the cold salt-and-water. The evening
ended happily with the receipt of a mail, and with
the good news that the Siundr corvette had been
sent to take the place of E/l-Mukhbir, the un-
fortunate. Once more we felt truly grateful to the
Viceroy and the Prince who so promptly and so
considerately had supplied all our wants, and whose
kindness would convert our southern cruise into a
holiday gfe, without the imminent deadly risk of
a burst boiler.

We set out in high spirits on the next morning
(6.15 a.m., March 17th), riding, still southwards, up
the Surr: the stony, broken surface now showed that
we were fast approaching its source. Beyond the
Umm Khdrgah gorge on the western bank, rose a
tall head, the Ras el-Rukablyyak, and beyond it
was a ravine, in which palms and water are said to

 

us oi a

PE

A CHARMING HALTING-PLACE. 81

be found. The opposite side raised its monotonous
curtain of green and red traps, whose several projec-
tions bore the names of Jebel el-Wu'ayrah—the hill
behind our camping-ground—]Jebel el-Ma’in, and
Jebel Shdhitah. A little beyond the latter de-
bouched the Darb el-Kufl (“Road of Caravans”),
alias Darb el-Ashdrif (“Road of the Sherifs”), a
winding gap, the old line of the Egyptian pilgrims,
by which the Sulaymiyyin Bedawin still wend their
way to Suez. The second name, perhaps, conserves
the tradition of long-past wars waged between the
Descendants of the Apostle and the Beni 'Ukbah.*
The broad mouth was dotted with old graves, with
quartz-capped memorial-cairns, and, here and there,
with a block bearing some tribal mark. The
Wady-sole grew a ““stinkhorn” held to be poisonous,
and called, from its fetor, “Faswat el-Agtiz”
(Cynophallus impudicus) : one specimen was found
on the tip of an ibex-horn, and the other had been
impaled with a stick. After two hours and thirty
minutes (= seven miles) we sighted the head of the
Wady Surr proper, whose influents drain the
southern AKluraytak or Hismd Pass. Here the
amount of green surface, and the number of birds,
especially the blue-rock and the insect-impaling
“butcher,” whose nests were in the thin forest of
thorn-trees, argue that water is not far off. The
Ras Wady Surr is a charming halting-place.

* See Chap. V.
VOL. II. G

 
 

 

yo.

82 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Our Arabs worked hard to gain another day.
The only tolerable Pass rounding the southern Shdrr
was, they declared, the Wady Adjar, an influent of
the Wady Zahakdn, near Zibd. The Col el-Kuwayd,
now within a few yards of us, is so terrible that the
unfortunate camels would require, before they could
attempt it, at least twenty-four hours of preparatory
rest and rich feeding; and so forth. However, we
pushed them on with flouts and jeers, and we our-
selves followed at eleven a.m.

The Pass proved to be one of the easiest. It
began with a gradual rise up a short broad Wady,
separating the southernmost counterforts of the
Shérr from the north end of the Jebel el-Ghurdb.
This “ Raven Mountain” is a line of similar but
lower formation, which virtually prolongs the great
« Landmark,” down coast. The bottom was dotted
with lumps of pure “Maru,” washed from he upper
levels. We reached the summit in forty minutes,
and the seaward slope beyond it was a large outcrop
of quartz #n situ, that assumed the nest ag
pearance,—a dull, dead chalky-white, looking as if
heat-altered or mixed with clay. The rock-ladder
leading to the lower Wady Kuwayd, which hos an
upper branch of the same name, offered no difficulty

to man or beast; and the aneroid showed its height

{ . . r ran,
to be some 470 feet (28:13—28°50). The caray

having preceded us, revenged itself by camping at

EE

Es

 

FIRST DAY OF KHAMSIN. 83

the nearest pool, distant nineteen and a half direct
geographical miles from our destination.

This day was the first of the Alanisin or, as
M. Loufti (?), a Coptic student, writes it, “ Khama-
sin,” from Kama (“warm”) and Sina (“air”).* The
Midianites call it Z/-Dufiin, the hot blasts, and
expect it to blow at intervals for a couple of months.
This scirocco has been modified in Egypt, at least
during the spring, apparently by the planting of
trees. About a quarter-century ago, its regular
course was three days: on the first it set in ; the
second was its worst; and men knew that it would
exhaust itself on the third. Now it often lasts only
a single day, and even that short period has breaks.

The site of the camp made sleep well-nigh im-
possible

 

a bad preparation for the only long ride of
this excursion. Setting off at dark (4.20 a.m., March
18th), we finished the monotonous Wady Kuwayd,
which mouths upon the rolling ground falling coast-
wards. The track then struck to the north-west,
across and sometimes down the network of Wadys
that subtends the south-western Shdrr—their names
have already been mentioned. As we sighted the
cool green-blue sea, its horizon-line appeared pro-

* For the usual interpretations see Chapter I. The Egyptians,
like other nations, often apply their own names, which have a
meaning, to the older terms which have become unintelligible.

Thus, near Cairo, the old goddess, Athor el-Nibi (“of the
Gold”), became As» el-Nab: (* the Footprint of the Apostle”).

 
 

 

84 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

digiously uplifted, as if the Fountains of the great
Deep were ready for another Deluge. I remembered
the inevitable expressions of surprise with which
young Alpinists and ballooners, expecting the rim
of the visible circle to fall away, see it rising around
them in saucer-shape. The cause is simply that
which breaks the stick in water, and which elevates
the Shdrr every morning— Refraction.

After a march of seven hours (= twenty-two
miles), we debouched, vid the Wady Harr, upon our
old Sharm, the latter showing, for the first time
since its creation, two war-steamers, with their
“tender,” a large Sambik. The boats did not long
keep us waiting; and we were delighted to tread
once more the quarter-deck of the corvette
Sinndgr. Captain Ali Bey Shukri’s place had been
taken by Captain Hasan-Bey, an Osmanli of Cavala
who, having been forty-eight years in the service,
sighed for his pension. He did, however, everything
in his power to make us feel “at home;” and the
evening ended with a fantasia of a more pronounced

character than anything that I had yet seen.®

RESUME OF THE MARCH THROUGH EASTERN OR
CENTRAL MIDIAN.

Our journey through Eastern or Central Midian
lasted eighteen days (February 19—March 8), with
* « The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. XL

 

 

RESUME OF SECOND MARCH. 85

an excursion of six (March 13—18) to its apex, the

mighty Shdrr, which I would add to our exploration

of Central Midian. Despite enforced slow marches
at the beginning of the first section, we visited in
round numbers, according to my itinerary, 197 miles:

Lieutenant Amir’s map gives a linear length of 222
miles, not including the offsets. The second part
covered fifty-five miles, besides the ascent of the
mountain to a height of about five thousand feet :
the mapper also increased this figure to 59 24. Thus
the route-line shows a grand total of 252 to 281 24 in
direct statute miles. The number of camels engaged
from Shaykhs 'Alaydn and Hasan was sixty-one ;
and the hire, according to Mr. Clarke, represented
£147 6s. 64., not including the £40 of which we
were plundered by the bandit Ma'dzah. The ascent
of the Shdrr also cost £40, making a grand total of
£187 6s. 6d.

The march to the Hismd gave us a fair idea of
the three main formations of Madyan, which lie
parallel and east of one another :—1. The sandy
and stony maritime region, the foot-hills of the
Ghdts, granites and traps with large veins and out-
crops of quartz; and Wadys lined with thick beds
of conglomerate. 2. The Jibdl el-Tihdmah, the
majestic range that bounds the seaboard inland,
with its broad valleys and narrow gorges forming

the only roads. 3. The Jibdl el-Shafah, or interior

 
 

 

 

86 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

ridge, the “lip” of North-Western Arabia ; in fact,
the boundary-wall of the Nejd plateau.

The main object of this travel was to ascertain
the depth from west to east of the quartz-formations,
which had been worked by the Ancients. I had also
hoped to find a virgin region lying beyond El-Har-
rah, the volcanic tract subtending the east of the
Hismd, or plateau of New Red Sandstone. We
ascertained, by inquiry, that the former has an extent
wholly unsuspected by Dr. Wallin and by the first
Expedition ; and that a careful examination of it is
highly desirable. But we were stopped upon the
very threshold of the Hismd by the Ma'dzah, a tribe
of brigands which must be subjected to discipline
before the province of Madyan can be restored to
its former status.

This northern portion had been visited by Dr.
Wallin ; the other two-thirds of the march lay, I

believe, over untrodden ground. We brought back

details concerning the three great parallel Wadys; °

the Salm4d, the Ddmah, that “Arabian Arcadia,” and
the 'Aslah-Aznab. We dug into, and made draw-
ings and plans of, the two principal ruined cities,
Shuwdk and Shaghab, which probably combined to
form the classical Sdaxa ; and of the two less im-
portant sites, El-Khandaki and Umm Amil.

The roads of this region, and indeed of all

Midian, are those of Iceland without her bogs and

 

RESUME. 87

snows : for riding considerations we may divide
them into four kinds :—

1. Wady—the Fiumara or Nullah; called by
travellers “ winter-brook ” and “dry river-bed.” It is
a channel without water, formed, probably, by secular
cooling and contraction of the earth’s surface, like the
fissures which became true streams in the tropics,
and in the higher temperate zones. Its geological
age would be the same as the depressions occupied
by the ocean and the “massive” eruptions forming
the mountain-skeleton of the globe. Both the
climate and the vegetation of Midian must have
changed immensely if these huge features, many of
them five miles broad, were ever full of water. In
modern days, after the heaviest rains, a thin thread
meanders down a wilderness of bed.

The Wady-formation shows great regularity.
Near the mouth its loose sands are comfortable to
camels and distressing to man and mule. The
gravel of the higher section is good riding; the
upper part is often made impassable by large stones
and overfalls of rock; and the head is a mere
coulotr. Flaked clay or mud show the #lalweg
and the honeycombed ground, always above the
line of highest water, the homes of the ant, beetle,
jerboa, lizard, and (Grd?) rat, will throw even the
cautious camel.

2. Ghadir—the basin where rain-water sinks. It

 
 

 

 

88 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

is mostly a shining bald flat of hard yellow clay, as
admirable in dry as it is detestable in wet weather.

3. Majrd—here pronounced “Maghrdh” *—the
divide ; literally, the place of flowing. It is the best
ground of all, especially where the yellow or brown
sands are overlaid by hard gravel, or by a natural
metalling of trap and other stones.

4. Wa'r—the broken stony surface, over which
camels either cannot travel, or travel with difficulty :
it is the horror of the Bedawi; and, when he uses
the word, it usually means that it causes man to dis-
mount. It may be of two kinds; either the Majrd
proper (“divide”) or the Nakb (“pass”), and the
latter may safely be left to the reader’s imagination.

The partial ascent of the mighty Shdrr gave an
admirable study of the mode in which the granites
have been enfolded and enveloped by the later
eruptions of trap. Nor less curious, also, was it to
remark how, upon this Arabian Alp, vegetation
became more important ; increasing, contrary to the
general rule, not only in quantity but in size, and
changing from the date and the Daum to the strong-
smelling Ferula, the homely hawthorn, and the tall
and balmy juniper-tree. There is game, ibex and
leopard, in these mountains; but the traveller, unless
a man of leisure, must not expect to shoot or even
to sight it.

* See Chap. XI.

EE

CHAPTER XIV.

DOWN SOUTH—TO EL-WIJH—NOTES ON THE QUARAN-

TINE—THE HUTAYM TRIBE.

THERE remained work to do before we could leave
El-Muwaylah. The two Shaykhs, ‘Alaydn and Hasan
el-'Ukbi, were to be paid off and dismissed with due
ceremony ; provisions were to be brought from the
fort to the cove; useless implements to be placed
in store; mules to be embarked—no joke without
a pier! —and last, but not least, the ballastless
Mukhbir was to be despatched with a mail for
Suez. The whole Expedition, except only the sick
left at the fort, was now bound southwards. The
Sayyid and our friend F urayj accepted formal in-
vitations to accompany us: Bukhayt, my “shadow,”
with Husayn, ckef and romancer-general, were
shipped as their henchmen ; and a score of soldiers
and quarrymen represented the escort and the
working-hands. Briefly, the Sinndr, though fret-

ting her vitals out at the delay, was detained

 
 

 

 

90 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

two days (March 19—20) in the Sharm Ydhdrr.
Amongst other things that consoled us for quitting
the snug dock, was the total absence of fish. At this
season the shoals leave the coast, and gather round
their wonted spawning-grounds, the deep waters
near the S/Za'6 (“reefs”), where they find luxuriant
growths of seaweed, and where no ships disturb
them.

Bidding a temporary adieu to our old fellow-
voyagers on board the Mukhbir, including the ex-
cellent engineer, Mr. David Duguid, we steamed
out of the quiet cove, at a somewhat late hour
(6.30 a.m.) on March 21st; and, dashing into the
dark and slaty sea, stood to the south-east. or
two days the equinoctial weather had been detest-
able, dark, cloudy, and so damp that the dry and
the wet bulbs showed a difference of only 4°—5°.
This morning, too, the fire of colour had suddenly
gone out ; and the heavens were hung with a gloomy
curtain. The great Shdrr, looming unusually large
and tall in the Scandinavian mountain-scene, grey of
shadow and glancing with sun-gleams that rent the
thick veils of mist-cloud, assumed a manner of
Ossianic grandeur. After three hours and a half we
were abreast of Zibd, around whose dumpy tower all
the population had congregated. Thence the regular
coralline bank, whose beach is the Sab, runs some

distance down coast, allowing passage to our ugly old

WADY *AMUD. or

friend, Wady Salmd. The next important mouth is
the Wady Amid, showing two Sambiiks at anchor
and a long line of vegetation like the palm-strips of
the "Akabah Gulf: this valley, I have said, receives
the Mutaddn, into which the Abd Marwah gorge
discharges. ®

It would appear that this “’Amdd” represents
the “Wady el-Atinid,” a name utterly unknown
to the modern Arabs, citizens and Bedawin, at
least as far south as El-Haurd. Yet it is famed
amongst medieval geographers for its fine haven
with potable water; and for its flourishing city,
El-Idrisi
settles the question of its site by placing it on
the coast opposite the island E/-Na'midn (Nu'mdn)
but can El-Idrisi be trusted ? Sprenger (p. 24),
induced, it would appear, by similarity of sound,
and justly observing that in Arabic the letters

where honey was especially abundant.

Ayn and Ghayn are often interchanged, would
here place the ‘Pawvdfov kun (Rhaunathi Vicus) of
Ptolemy (north lat. 25° 40’). According to my friend
also, the Ras Abt Masdrib, the long thin pint
north of which the Wady Ddmabh, half-way to the
Wady Azlam, falls in, represents the Xepoovyoos
"Akpa (Chersénesi Extrema) on the same parallel.
I cannot help suspecting that both lie further south

—In fact, somewhere about El-Haurd.}

* Chap. XII. T Chap. XV.

 
 

 

92 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Here the maritime heights, known as the 7z64/
(“ Mountains ” of the) 77hdmat-Balawiyyak (of “the
Baliyy tribe”), recede from the sea, and become
mere hills and hillocks ; yet the continuity of the
chain is never completely broken. At noon we
slipped into the channel, about a mile and a half
broad, which separates the mainland from the Jebel
(“ Mount”) Nu'mdn, as the island is called : so the
Arabs speak of Febel (never Fezirat) Hassdni.* The
surface of the water was like oil after the cross seas
on all sides, the tail of an old gale which the Arab
pilots call Bakr madfiin (“buried sea”), corre-
sponding with the Italian mar vecchio. On our
return northwards we landed upon Nu'mdn, whose
name derives from the red-flowered Euphorbia ve-
tusa ; bathed, despite the school of sharks occupying
the waters around; collected botany, and examined
the ground carefully. Like the Dalmatian Archipe-
lago, it once formed part of the mainland, probably
separated by the process that raised the maritime
range. The rolling sandy plateau and the dwarf
Wadys are strewed with trap and quartz, neither of
which could have been generated by the new sand-
stones and the yellow corallines. It has two fine
bays, facing the shore and admirably defended from
all winds; the southern not a little resembles
Sinadfir-cove.

*¥ Chap. XV.

 

NUMAN ISLAND. 0

The “top,” or dwarf plateau, commands a fine
view of the coast scenery ; the “Pins” of the Shdrr ;
the Mutaddn Mountain, twin ridges of grey white
granite, and, further south, the darker forms of Ray-
din and Ziglib. Here, during springtide, the Hu-
waytdt transport their flocks in the light craft called
Katirak, and feed them till the pasture is browsed
down. We made extensive inquiries, but could hear
of no ruins. Yet the islet, some three to four miles
long by one broad, forming a natural breakwater to
the coast, is important enough to bear, according to
Sprenger, a classical name, the Tywayévovs Nyoos
(Timagenis Insula) of Ptolemy. If this be the case,
either the Pelusian or his manuscripts are greatly in
error. He places the bank in north lat. 25° 45,
whilst its centre would be in north lat. 27° 5"; and
the sixty miles of distance from the coast, evidently
the blunder of a copyist, must be reduced to a
maximum of three.

Passing another old friend, the Aslah-Aznab,
down whose head we had ridden to Shaghab, about
two p.m. we steamed along the mouth of the W ady
Azlam, the Ezlam of Wellsted,* which he unduly
makes the southern frontier of the Huwaytdt, and
the northern of the Baliyy tribes. Beyond it is the
gape of the once populous Wady Dukhdn—of “the

* Vol. ii. Chap. X. I have also quoted him in “The Gold-
Mines of Midian,” Chap. VI.

 
 

 

94 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

(furnace ?) Smoke "—faced by a large splay of tree-
grown sand. Ruins are reported in its upper bed.
Beyond Marsd Zubaydah (not Zebaider), the sea is
bordered by the red-yellow coast-range; and the
fretted sky line of peaks and cones, “horses” and
“hogs’-backs,” is cut by deep valleys and drained
by dark “gates.” The background presents a long,
regular curtain of black hill, whose white sheets
and veins may be granite and quartz. We were
then shown the Minat el-Marrah, one of the many
Wady-mouths grown with vegetation ; and here the
ruins El-Nabagah (Nabakah) are spoken of. At
four p.m. we doubled the Ras Labayyiz (not Lebay-
fad), a long flat tongue projecting from the coast-
range, and defending its valley to the south. In
the Fara't or upper part, some five hours’ march
from the mouth, lie important remains of the Mutak-
kadimin (“ancients”). The report was confirmed by
an old Arab Bédsh-Buztk at EI-Wijh; he declared
that in his youth he had seen a tall furnace, and a
quantity of scorize from which copper could be ex-
tracted, lying northwards at a distance of eighteen
hours’ march and five by sea.

The next important feature is the Wady Salbah,
the 7velbak of the Chart, up whose inland con-
tinuation, the Wady el-Nejd, we shall travel. Here
the coast-range again veers off eastward; and the

regular line is cut up into an outbreak of dwarf

 

 

THE FINE PORT. 93

cones, mere thimbles. Above the gloomy range
that bounds it southwards, appear the granitic peaks
and “Pins” of Jebel Libn, gleaming white and pale in
the livid half-light of a cloudy sunset. After twelve
hours’ steaming over seventy to seventy-two knots
of reefy sea, we ran carefully into the Sharm
This lake-like, land-locked cove
is by far the best of the many good dock-harbours

Dumayghah.*

which break the Midian coast. Its snug retreat
gave hospitality to half a dozen Juhayni Sambuiks,
fishers and divers for mother-of-pearl, riding beyond
sight of the outer world, and utterly safe from the
lighthouse dues of EI-Wijh.

I resolved to pass a day at these old quarters of
a certain Hdji "Abdullah. The hydrographers have
given enlarged plans of Ydhdrr and Jibbah, ports
close to each other; while they have ignored the far
more deserving Sharm Dumayghah. Distant only
thirty miles of coasting navigation, a line almost
clear of reefs and shoals, it is the natural harbour
for the pilgrim-ships, which ever run the danger of
being wrecked at EI-Wijh; and it deserves more
notice than we have hitherto vouchsafed to it. The
weather also greatly improved on the next day
(March 22nd): the cloud-canopy, the excessive

*¥ My “Pilgrimage” (Vol. I. Chap. XI.) called it “ Sherm
Damghah 7: it is the “ Demerah” of Moresby and the “ Demeg”
of ’Ali Bey el’Abbdsi (the unfortunate Spaniard Badia).

a.

 
 

 

 

96 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

moisture, and the still sultriness which had afflicted
us since March 19th, were in process of being swept
away by the strong, cool, bright norther.
The survey of the Egyptian officers shows an
oval extending from north-west to south-east, with
four baylets or bulges in the northern shore. The
length is upwards of a knot, and the breadth twelve
hundred yards. It may be described as the crabs
chure of the Wady Dumayghah, which falls into its
head, and which, doubtless, in olden times, when the
land was wooded, used to roll a large and turbulent
stream. As is often seen on this coast, the entrance
is defended by a natural breakwater which appears
like a dot upon the Chart. Capped with brown
crust, falling bluff inland, and sloping towards the
main, where the usual stone-heaps act as sea-arks,
this bank of yellowish-white coralline, measuring
310 metres by half that width, may be the remains
of the bed in which the torrents carved out the port.
The northern inlet is a mere ford of green waist
my “Pilgrimage” made the mistake of placing a
fair-way passage on either side of the islet. The
southern channel, twenty-five fathoms deep and
three hundred métres broad, is garnished on both
flanks with a hundred métres of dangerous shallow,
easily distinguished by green blazoned upon blue.
The bay is shoal to the south-east; the best anchor
age for ships lies to the north-west, almost touching

DUMAYGHAH HARBOUR. 97

land. A reef or rock is reported to be in the middle
ground, where we lay with ten fathoms under us : it
was seen, they say, at night, by the aid of lanterns ;
but next morning Lieutenants Amir and Yusuf were
unable to find it. Native craft usually make fast in
three fathoms to a lumpy natural mole of modern
sandstone, north of the entrance: a little trimming
would convert it into a first-rate pier.

At this place we landed to prospect the country,
and to gather information from the Sambuk crews
before they had time to hoist sail and be off. The
owners of the land are nof Juhaynah, the «Wild
Men” with whom the Rais of the Goldens Wire had
threatened us in 1853. The country belongs to the
Baliyy; now an inoffensive tribe well subject to
Egypt, mixed with a few Kura’an-Huwaytdt and
Kardizah-Hutaym. The fishermen complained that
no fish was to be caught, and the strong tides, set-
ting upon the stony flank of the mole, had broken
most of the shells, not including, however, the
oysters. The usual eight-ribbed turtle appeared to
be common. On the sands to the north, M. Lacaze
picked up a large old and bleached skull, which
went into my collection; we failed to find any
neighbouring burial-ground. Striking inland, how-
ever, towards the dotted square, marked “ Fort
(ruin) ” in the Chart, we came upon an ancient ceme-
tery to the north of the bay, and concluded that

VOL. II. fi

 
 

 

98 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

these graves had been: mistaken for remains of
building.

We then bent eastward towards the Jibdl el-
Salbah, and examined the two dwarf valleys which,
threading the heights, feed the Wady Dumayghah.
That to the south showed us a perfectly familiar
formation ; conglomerates of water-rolled pebbles in
the lower levels, and hills of the normal dark por-
phyries, with large quartz-seams of many colours
trending in every direction. The mouth of the
northern gorge was blocked by a vein of finely
crystallized carbonate of lime, containing geodes and
bunches. The taste is astringent, probably from the
alumina ; and it is based upon outcrops of a sandy
calcaire apparently fit for hydraulic cement. The
only novelty in the vegetation was the Fashafk-tree,
a creeper like a gigantic constrictor, with sweet
yellow wood somewhat resembling liquorice.

Signs of Arab everywhere appeared, but there
were no tents. Consequently we were unable to
ascertain the extent of the water-supply—an im-
portant matter if this is to become the port of El-
Wijh. The Sambuiks might bring it, but the people
on shore would be dependent upon what they can
find. The Hajj-road, running some miles inland,
is doubtless supplied with it. Even, however,
were the necessary wanting, the pilgrim-ships, whilst
taking refuge here, could easily transport it from the

 

THE SEAQUAKE. o

south. Shaykh Furayj pointed out to us the far
northern blue peaks of the ’Amudd Zafar, in whose
branch-Wady lie the ruins of M’jirmah. The day
ended with a sudden trembling of the ship, as
if straining at anchor; but the crew was again
performing fantasia, and the earthquake or sea-
quake rolled unheededly away. Apparently the
direction was from north to south: I noted the hour,
9-10 p.m., and the duration, twenty seconds. Accord-
ing to the Arabs the Zz/zzla/ is not uncommon in
Midian, especially about the vernal equinox : on this
occasion it ended the spell of damp and muggy
weather which began on March 19th, and which
may have been connected with it.

The survey soundings were not finished till
nearly eight a.m. (March 23rd), when the old cor-
vette swung round on her heel ; and, with the black
hills of Salbah to port, resumed her rolling, rollick-
ing way southwards. Her only ballast consisted of
some six hundred conical shot, or twelve tons for
a ship of eight hundred. After one hour of steam-
ing (= seven miles) we passed the green mouth of
the Wady ’Antar, in whose Zstab/ (“stable ”), or
upper valley-course, the pilgrimage-caravan camps.
It drains a small inland feature to the north-east, the
true “ Jebel "Antar,” which the Hydrographic Chart
has confounded with the great block, applying,
moreover, the term /s/aé/ to the height instead

 
 

 

100 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of the hollow. This Jebel Libn, along which we
are now steaming, is a counterpart on a small scale,
a little brother, of the Sharr, measuring 3733
instead of 6000 to 6500 feet. We first see from the
north a solid block capped with a mural crown of
three peaks. When abreast of us the range becomes
a tall, fissured, and perpendicular wall : this apical
comb, bluff to the west, reposes upon a base sloping,
at the angle of rest, to the environing sandy Wady.
To complete the resemblance, even the queer
“« Pins” are not wanting ; and I should expect to find
in it all the accidents of the giant of El-Muwaylah.
The complexion of the Libn, which the people
pronounce “Libin,” suggests grey granite profusely
intersected with white quartz: hence, probably, the
name, identical with Lebanon and Libanus—* the
Milk Mountain.” The title covers a multitude of
peaks: the Bedawin have, doubtless, their own
terms for every head and every hollow. The
citizens comprehensively divide the block into two,
ELAl (“the Upper”) being its southern, and £7/-
Asfal (“the Lower”) its northern, section. It is said
to abound in water; and a Nakki/ (““date-grove”)
is described as growing near the summit. The Hu-
taym, who own most of it, claim the lover and hero-
poet, 'Antar, as one of their despised trtbe—hence,
probably, his connection with the adjoining mountain
and “ the stable.”

 

LEBANON IN MIDIAN. 101

“Jebel Libin” is the great feature of the Tihdmat-

Balawiyyah ; for many days it will appear to follow
us, and this is the proper place for assigning its rank
and status to it. About El’ Akabah, the northern
head of the Ghdts or coast-range, we have pro-
spected the single chain of ¥ebel Shard; the “Saar
of the tribes of the Shasu” (Bedawin)* in the
papyri, and the Hebrew Mount Seir, the “ rough ”
or “rugged.” Further south we have noted how
this tall eastern bulwark of the great Wady el-
‘Arabah bifurcates ; forming the S/4a/fa/ chain to the
east, and westward of it, in Madyan Proper, the
Fibal el-Tihamak, of which the Sharr is perhaps
the culmination. We have noted the accidents of
the latter as far as Dumayghah Cove, and now we
descry in the offing the misty forms—how small they
look |—of the Febel el-1Ward, the Fibal el-Safhak ;
the two blocks, south of the Wady Hamz, known as
the 776d/ e/-Ré/, and their neighbours still included
in the Tihdmat-Balawiyyah. Lastly, we shall sight,
behind El-Haurd, the A4é# Ghurayr and a number
of blocks which, like the former, are laid down, but
are not named, in the Chart.

Beyond El-Haurd the chain stretches southwards
its mighty links with smaller connections. The first
is the bold range Jebel Radwal, the “ Yambo Hills”
of the British sailor, some six thousand feet high and

* See “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. VII.

 
 

 

102 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

lying twenty-five miles behind the new port.* Pass-
ing it to léft on the route to El-Medinah, I heard
the fables which imposed upon Abyssinian Bruce:
« All sorts of Arabian fruits grew to perfection on
the summit of these hills; it is the paradise of the
people of Yenbo, those of any substance having
country-houses there.” This was hardly probable
in Bruce's day, and now it is impossible. The
mountain is held by the Beni Harb, a most turbulent
tribe, for which see my “ Pilgrimage.”t Their head
Shaykh, Sa'd the Robber, who still flourished in
1853, is dead ; but he has been succeeded by one of
his sons, Shaykh Hudayfah, who is described with
simple force as being a “dog more biting than his
sire.” Between these ill-famed haunts of the Beni
Harb and Jeddah rises the Febel/ Subk, “a mountain
remarkable for its magnitude” (4500 feet), inhabited
by the Beni Subh, a fighting clan of the “Sons of
Battle.”

The largest links of these West-Arabian Ghdts
are of white-grey granite, veined and striped with
quartz; and they are subtended inland by the por-

* The old being the classical 'TapBla dun (Iambia Vicus),
in north lat. 24°. This is Yambd’ el-Nakhil, in Ptolemy’s time a
seaport, now fifteen miles to the north-east (north lat. 24° 12’ 3?)
of the modern town. The latter lies in north lat. 24° 5' 30” (Well-
sted, ii. 11), and, according to the Arabs, six hours’ march from
the sea.

t Vol. I. pp. 364, 365.

THE WEST ARABIAN GHATS. 103

phyritic traps of the Jibdl el-Shafah, which we shall
trace to the parallel of El-Hamz, the end of Egypt.
I cannot, however, agree with Wellsted (11. xii.) that
the ridges increase in height as they recede from the
sea’; nor that the veins of quartz run horizontally
through the “dark granite.” The greater altitudes
(three to six thousand feet) are visible from an
offing of forty to seventy miles; and they are con-
nected by minor heights: some of these, however,
are considerable, and here and there they break into
detached pyramids. All are maritime, now walling
the shore, like the Tayyib Ism; then sheering away
from it, where a broad “false coast” has been built
by Time.

These western Ghdts, then, run down, either in
single or in double line, the whole length of occi-
dental Arabia; and, meeting a similar and equally
important eastern line, they form a mighty nucleus,
the mountains of El-Yemen. After carefully in-
specting, and making close inquiries concerning, a
section of some five hundred miles, I cannot but
think that the mines of precious ores, mentioned by
the mediaeval Arabian geographers, ® lay and lie in
offsets from the flanks either of the maritime or the
inland chain; that is, either in the Tihdmah, the
coast lowlands, or in the El-Nejd, the highland
plateau of the interior.

* “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. IX.

 
 

 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

104

What complicates the apparently simple ground
is the long line of volcanic action which, forming
the eastern frontier of the plutonic granites and of
the modern grits, may put forth veins even to the
shores of the ’Akabah Gulf and the Red Sea.* The
length, known to me by inquiry, would be Thon
three degrees between north lat. 28° and 25, the
latter being the parallel of El-Medinah; others make
them extend to near Yambu, in north lat. 24° 5.
They may stretch far to the north, and connect, as
has been suggested, with the Syrian centres of erup-
tion, discovered by the Palestine Exploration. 1
have already explained how and why we were
unable to visit “the Harrah” lying east of the
Hismd ;: but we repeatedly saw its outlines, and
determined that the lay is from north-west to south-
east. Further south, as will be noticed at El-Haur4,
the vertebre curve seawards or to the south-west ;
and seem to mingle with the main range, the moun-
tains of the 77kdmat-F akaniyyalt (“of the Juhaynah”).
Thus the formation assumes an importance which
has never yet been attributed to it; and the five
several “ Harrahs,” reported to me by the Bedawin,
must be studied in connection with the mineralogical

deposits of the chains in contact with them. It must

*¥ Chap. VI. describes one of the sporadic (?) outcrops near
Tayyib Ism; and Chap. IX notices the apparently volcanic sulphur-
mount near El-Muwaylah.

t See Chap. IX.

EL-WIJH tos

not be forgotten that a fragment of porous basalt,
picked up by the first Expedition near Maknd,
yielded a small button of gold. *

Dreadfully rolled the Siundr, as she ran close in-
shore before the long heavy swell from the north-west,
and the old saying, Bon rouleur, bon marchenr, is cold
consolation to an active man made to idle malgré lui.
This section of the coast, unlike that to the north,
is remarkably free from reefs. A little relief was
felt while sheltered by the short tract of channel
between the mainland and the shoals. But the
nuisance returned in force as, doubling the Ras
Muraybit (not Marabat), we sighted the two towers
of EI-Wijh, both beflagged, the round Bury of the
fort, and the cubical white-washed lighthouse
crowning its rocky point. And we were quiet once
more when the Sinndr, having covered the thirty
miles in four hours and thirty minutes, cast anchor in
the usual place, south-east of the northern jaw. The
main objection to our berth is that the prevailing
north wind drives in a rolling sea from the open
west. The log showed a total of 102 miles between
the Sharms Ydhdrr and EI-Wijh, or 107 from the
latter to EI-Muwaylah.

“ EI-Wijh,” meaning the face, a word which the
Egyptian Fellah perverts to “ Wish,” lies in north

lat. 26° 14. It is the northernmost of the townlets

* “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. XII.

 
 

 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

106

on the West Arabian shore, which gain importance
as you go south; eg., Yambd, Jeddah, Moet, and
Aden. It was not wholly uncivilized during my
first visit, a quarter of a century ago, when I suc-
ceeded in buying opium for feeble patients. Distant
six stations from Yambt@, and ten from El-Medinah,
it has been greatly altered and improved. The
pilgrim-caravan, which here did penance of quaran-
tine till the last two years, has given it a masonry
pier for landing the unfortunates to encamp upon
the southern or uninhabited side of the cove. A tall
and well-built lighthouse, now five years old, boasts
of a good French lantern, wanting only soap and
decent oil. Finally, guardhouses and bakehouses,
already falling to ruins like the mole, and oi
establishment for condensing water, still kept in
working order, are the principal and costly novelties
of the southern shore.

The site of EI-Wijh is evidently old, although
the ruins have been buried under modern buildings.
Sprenger (p. 21) holds the townlet to be the port of
“ Egra, a village” (E/-Hajar, or “the town, the town-
let” ?) “in the territory of Obodas,” whence, accord-
ing to Strabo (xvi. c. 4, § 24), Zlius Gallus embarked
his baffled troops for Myus Hormus.* Formerly he
believed El-Atinid to be Strabo’s “ Egra,” the haven
for the north; as El-Haurd was for the south,

* See “The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. VIIL

 

PROFESSOR SPRENGER. 107

and EIl-Wijh for the central regions. Pliny (vi.
32) also mentions the “ Tamudzi, with their towns of
Domata and Hegra, and the town of Badanatha.” It
is generally remarked that “ Egra” does not appear
in Ptolemy’s lists ; yet one of the best texts (Nobbe,
Lipsia, 1843) reads "Eypa, instead of the Negran”
which Pirckheymerus (Lugduni, MDXXXV.) and others
placed in north lat. 26°.

My learned friend writes to me—¢ EI-Wijh, on
the coast of Arabia, is opposite to Qocayr (El-
Kusayr), where &lius Gallus landed his troops. We
know that ‘Egra’ is the name of a town in the
interior, and it was the constant habit to call the
port after the capital of the country, e.g., Arabia
Emporium = Aden. We have now only to inquire
whether EI-Wijh had claims to be considered the
seaport of El-Hijr.” This difficulty is easily settled.
El-Wijh is still the main, indeed the only, harbour in
South Midian; and, during our stay there, a large
caravan brought goods, as will be seen, from the
upper Wady Hamz.

Under the influence of the quarantine, EI-Wijh,
the town on the northern bank of its cove, has
blossomed into a /Zawuteville, dating from the last
dozen years. The ancient éasseville, probably the site
of many former settlements, is now used chiefly for
shops and stores. Another and a more pretentious
mosque has supplanted the little old Zswziyak

 
 

 

108 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

(“chapel”) with its barbarous minaret, whose finial,
a series of inverted crescents, might be taken for
a cross; while a ¥dmz’ or “ cathedral,” begun in the
upper town, has stopped short through want of
funds. Some of the best houses now extend to-
wards the northern point. As usual in Arab settle-
ments, they are long, tall claret-cases of coral-rag
and burnt lime: flat-roofed, whitewashed in front,
and provided with wooden doors and shutters.
Lastly, on the slope still appears the smoky coffee-
shed that witnessed the memorable encounter
between its surly proprietor and “Saad the Devil.” *

Stony ramps, stiff as those of Gibraltar, connect
the low with the high town, the cool breezy new
settlement upon the crest of the northern cliff,
whose noble view of the Jebel Libn and the palm-
scattered Wady el-Wijh were formerly monopolized
by the fort and its round tower. This work, only
sixty-five years old, now stands so perilously near
the undermined edge of the rock-cornice, that some
day it will come down with a run. It is used by
the garrison, and serves as a jail; but lately a
Bedawi prisoner, like a certain Mamlik Bey,
jumped down the precipitous cove-face and effected
his escape. Behind it are the “ Doctors’ Quarters,”
empty and desolate, because the sanitary officers
have been removed. They are sheds of white-

* « Pilgrimage,” Vol. I. Chap. XI.

 

EL WIJH. 205

washed boarding, brought from the Crimea, like
those of the Suez Canal; and comfortably dis-
tributed into Harem, kitchens, offices, and other
necessaries,

The inhabitants of EI-Wijh may number twelve
hundred, without including chance travellers and
the few wretched Bedawin, Hutaym and others,
who pitch their black tents, like those of Alexandrian
“Ramleh,” about and beyond the town. The
people live well; and the merchants are large
and portly men, who evidently thrive upon meat
and rice. Flesh is retailed in the bazar, and
mutton is cheap, especially when the Bedawin are
near ; a fine large sheep being dear at ten shillings.
Water is exceptionally abundant, even without the
condenser’s aid. The poorer classes and animals
are watered at the pits and the two regular wells
near the valley’s mouth, half an hour's trudge from
the town. The wealthy are supplied by the inland
fort, which we shall presently visit: the distance
going and coming would be about four slow hours,
and the skinful costs five Khurdah, or copper
piastres = three halfpence. The inner gardens grow
a small quantity of green meat: water-melons are
brought from Yambd' (?); opium and Hashish
abound, but no spirits are for sale since the one
Greek Bakkdl, or petty shopkeeper, “made tracks.”

He borrowed from a certain Surtir Selimah, negro

 
 

 

110 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

merchant and head miser, 150 napoleons, in order
to buy on commission certain bales of cotton ship-
wrecked up coast; he left in pledge the keys of
his miserable store, which, by-the-by, la loz refuses
to open; he was never seen again, and poor rich
Surtr is in the depths of despair.

One of the small industries of EI-Wijh is the
pearl trade. Mr. Clarke bought for £4 (twenty
dollars) a specimen of good round form but rather
yellow colour; and presently refused £5 for it. Those
of pear-shape easily fetch thirty-six to forty dollars.
Turquoises set in sealing-wax are sold cheap by
the returning Persian pilgrims: the Zi el-Bahr
(“Sea-wolf”), an Egyptian cruiser, had carried off the
best shortly before our arrival. The people speak
of an 'Aktk (“carnelian”) which, rubbed down in
vinegar, enters into the composition of a favourite
philtre—we could not, however, find any for sale.
On our return, an 'Anezah caravan of some ninety
camels, driven by a hundred or so of spearmen and
matchlockmen, came in loaded with valuable San
or clarified butter: the fact suggests that the time
has come for establishing a Gumruk (“custom-
house”) at EI-Wijh. Another source of wealth will
be El-Melldhak, “the salina,” along which we shall
travel : every man who has a donkey may carry off
what he pleases, and sell to pilgrims and Bedawin
the kilogramme for four piastres copper (= one

 

EL-WIJH. ™

piastre currency = five farthings). This again
should be taken in hand by Government; and
regular “salterns,” like those of Triestine Capo-
distria, would greatly increase the quantity. Nothing
can be better than the quality except rock-salt.
There is another salina about one hour down the
coast, formed by a reef, near the Ras el-Ma'llah.
The afternoon of arrival was spent in receiving
visits. The Mukdfiz or “civil governor,” Hasan Bey,
calls himself a Circassian: he is a handsome old
man, whose straight features suggest the Greek
slave, and who served in the Syrian campaigns
under Ibrahim Pasha. Forty years ago he left his
home; he has been here six years, and yet he
knows absolutely nothing of the interior. He ought
to reside at the inland fort, but he prefers the har-
bour-town; and he had not the common-sense to
ride out with us. He shows his zeal by inventing
obstacles; for instance, he suggests that the Bedawin
should leave, during our journey, hostages at the
fort : this is wholly unnecessary, and means only
piastres. The Yuzbishi, or “military commandant,”
Sid-Ahmed Effendi, has charge of the forty-five
regulars, half a company, who garrison the post and
outpost. The chief merchant, who afterwards volun-
teered to be our travelling companion, is Mohammed
Shahddah, formerly Wakil (“agent ") of the fort, a
charge now abolished by a pound-foolish policy : he

 
 

112 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

is an honest and intelligent, a charitable and com-
panionable man, who has travelled far and wide
over the interior, and who knows the tribes by heart.
I strongly recommended him to his Highness the
Viceroy. His brothers, Bedawi and Ali Shahddah,
are also open-handed to the poor ; very unlike their
brother-in-law Surdr Seldmah, formerly a slave to
the father of Mohammed Seldmah whom we had
met at Zibd. The list of notables ends with the
Sayyid Ibrahim El-Mara’i, and with the sturdy Abd
el-Hakk, pearl and general merchant. All recognized
our friend the Sayyid, whom even the “gutter-boys”
saluted by name ; and, although the Arab manner is
blunt and independent, all showed perfect civility.
It is needless to say that our late work, and our
future plans, were known to everybody at EI-Wijh
as well as to ourselves; and that the tariffs of pay
and hire, established in the North Country, at once
became the norm of the South.

Our favourite walk at old “Egra” was to the quar-
antine-ground and the lighthouse. The situation of
the town is by no means satisfactory, and the heavy
dews of April, wetting the streets, cause frequent
fevers. [En revanche, nothing can be more healthy
or exhilarating than the air of the tall plateau to the
south of the cove. The quarantine-ground, with its
grand view of the mountains inland, ends seawards

: 1 >
in the Pharos that commands an horizon of blue

 

QUARANTINE AT EL -WIJH. 113

water. The latter, according to the charts, is one
hundred and six feet above sea-level, and is theo-
retically visible for fourteen miles; practice would
reduce this radius to ten, and the least haze to six
and even five.

The lighthouse-charges are strongly objected to
by the skippers of Arab fishing-boats, although very
small in their case. Square-rigged vessels pay per
ton twenty parahs (tariff): thus it costs a ship of
five hundred tons £2 10s. (Turkish). The keeper,
under Admiral M’Killop (Pasha), a young Greek
named “ Gurji,” as “ George ” here sounds, is assisted
by a Moslem lad, Mohammed Effendi of Alexandria.
They serve for three years, and they look forward to
the end of them. The former also superintends the
condensing establishment: this office is a sinecure,
except during the three months of pilgrim-passage.
The machine can distil eighteen tons per diem; and
there is another water-magazine, an old paddle-
wheeler moored to the beach under the town.
Behind the establishment lies the pilgrim-cemetery,
frequented by hyenas that prowl around the light-
house, threatening the canine guard. I found a new
use for this vermin’s brain : it is administered by the
fair ones at EI-Wijh to jealous husbands, upon
whom, they tell me, it acts as a sedative.

El-Wijh has been heard of in England as the
prophylactic against the infected Hejaz. It is admi-

VOL. IL. I

 
 

 

114 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

rably suited for quarantine purposes, and it has been
abolished, very unwisely, in favour of “Tor harbour.”
The latter, inhabited by a ring of thievish Syro-
Greek traders; backed by a wretched wilderness,
alternately swampy and sandy, is comfortless to an
extent calculated to make the healthiest lose health.
Moreover, its climate, says Professor Palmer (p. 222),
is very malarious : “owing to the low and marshy
nature of the ground, there is a great deal of miasma
even in the winter season.” Finally, and worst of
all, it is near enough to Suez for infection to travel
easily. A wealthy pilgrim has only to pay a few
gold pieces, his escape to the mountains is winked
at; and thence he travels or voyages comfortably to
Suez and Cairo. Even without such irregularities,
the transmission of contaminated clothing, or other
articles, would suffice to spread cholera, typhus, and
smallpox. Tor is, in fact, an excellent medium for
focussing and for propagating contagious disease ;
and its vicinity to Egypt, and consequently to
Europe, suggests that it should at once be abolished.
At first I lent ear to the popular statement at
El-Wijh ; namely, that the visiting doctors and the
resident sanitary officers naturally prefer the shorter
to the longer voyage, and the nearer station to that
further from home. Moreover, inasmuch as, if
inclined to be dishonest, they find more oppor-

tunities in the north, it was their interest to transfer

 

THE DANGERS OF TOR. 115

the establishment to Tor. The local authorities, the
people assured me, were induced to report that the
single fort-well had run dry; that the condensers had
proved a failure, and that the old steamer-magazine,
into which they had poured brine, was leaky and in-
efficient. But what was my astonishment when, after
return to Cairo, I was told that the change had been
strongly advocated by the English Government ?
The objections to EI-Wijh are two, both equally
invalid. The port is dangerous, especially when
westerly winds are blowing: ships during the pil-
grimage-season must bank their fires, ever ready to
run out. True; but it has been shown that Sharm
Dumayghah, the best of its kind, lies only thirty
knots to the north. The second, want of water, or
of good water, is even less cogent. We have seen
that the seaboard wells supply the poorer classes
and animals; and we shall presently see the Fort-
wells, which, in their day, have watered caravans
containing twenty to thirty thousand thirsty men
and beasts. So far from the condensers being a
failure, the tank still holds about twenty tons of dis-
tilled water, although it gives drink to some thirty
mouths composing the establishment. Finally, the
old steamer has done its duty well, and, like the pro-
verbial Marine, is still ready to do its duty again.*

* In “The Gold Mines of Midian” (Chap. IV.) I unconsciously
re-echoed the voice of the vulgar about “the harbour being bad
and the water worse ” at EI-Wijh.

 
 

 

116 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Thus the expense of laying out the quarantine-
ground at EI-Wijh has been pitifully wasted. That,
however, is a very small matter; the neglect of
choosing a proper position is serious, even ominous.
Unlike Tor, nothing can be healthier or freer from
fever than the pilgrims’ plateau. From EI-Wijh,
too, escape is hopeless : the richest would not give
a piastre to levant; because, if a solitary traveller
left the caravan, a Bedawi bullet would soon pre-
vail on him to stop. This, then, should be the first
long halt for the “compromised” travelling north-
wards. When contagious disease has completely
disappeared, the second precautionary delay might
be either at Tor or, better still, at the “ Wells of
Moses” (Uyun Misd), near the head of the Suez
Gulf: here sanitary conditions are far more favour-
able ; and here supplies, including medical comforts,
would be cheaper as well as more abundant. Briefly,
it is my conviction that, under present circumstances,
« Tor” is a standing danger, not only to Egypt, but
to universal Europe.

The coast about EI-Wijh is famed for shells; the
numerous reefs and shoals favouring the develop-
ment of the molluscs. We were promised a heavy
haul by the citizens, who, however, contented them-
selves with picking up the washed-out specimens
found everywhere on the shore: unfortunately we
had no time to superintend the work. A caseful

 

SHELLS. 117

was submitted to the British Museum, and a few
pioved interesting on account of their locality. The
list printed at the end of this chapter was kindly
supplied to me by Mr. Edgar A. Smith, superinten-
dent of the Conchological Department.

I will conclude this chapter with a short notice
of the Hutaym or Hitaym, a people extremely
interesting to me. They are known to travellers
only as a low caste. Wellsted (1. xii.) tells us that
the “Huteimi,” whom he would make the descendants
of the Ichthyophagi described by Diodorus Siculus
and other classics, are noticed by several Arabian
authorities. “In one, the Kitab el-Mush Serif *
(Musharrif ?), they are styled ¢ Hootein,’ the descend-
ants of ‘Hooter,’ a servant of Moses.” He also
relates a legend that the Apostle of Allah pro-
nounced them polluted, because they ate the flesh
of dogs. Others declare that they opposed Moham-
med when he was rebuilding the A2'da/; and thereby
drew upon themselves the curse that they should be
held the “basest of the Arabs.” These tales serve
to prove one fact, the antiquity of the race.

The Hutaym, meaning the “ Broken” (tribe),
hold, in Midian and Egypt, the position of Pariahs
like the Akhddm (“serviles”), or Helots, of Maskat

* This style of writing reminds me of the 7c alla (Inshallah!)
in the pages of a learned “war correspondent ’—a race whose
naive ignorance and whose rare self-sufficiency so completely per
verted public opinion during the Russo-Turkish war of rs

 
 

118 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and El-Yemen. No clan of pure Arabs will inter-
marry with them; and when the Fellahs say, 7ata-
hattim (= tatamaskin or tatazall?), they mean,
« Thou cringest, thou makest thyself contemptible
as a Hutaymi.” Moreover, they must pay the dis-
honouring Akhdwat, or brother-tax,” to all the
Bedawin amongst whom they settle.

The Hutaym are scattered as they are numerous.
They have extended, probably in ancient times, to
Upper Egypt, and occupy parts of Nubia; about
Sawdkin they are an important clan. They number
few in the Sinaitic Peninsula and in Midian, but
they occupy the very heart of the Arabian Penin-
sula. Those settled on Jebel Libn, we have seen,
claim as their kinsman the legendary 'Antar, who
was probably a negro of the noble Semitic stock.
A few are camped about El-Wijh; and they be-

come more important down coast. In the eastern

regions bordering upon Midian, they form large and
powerful bodies, such as the Nawdmisah and the
Shararat, whose numbers and bravery secure for
them the respect of their fighting equestrian neigh-

bours, the Ruwald-’Anezah.
Like other Arabs, the Hutaym tribe is divided

to a multitude of clans, septs, and families, each
under its own Shaykh. All are Moslems, after the
Desert pattern, a very rude and inchoate article.
Wellsted knew them by their remarkably broad

 

THE HUTAYM TRIBE. 119

chins: the Bedawi recognize them by their look;
by their peculiar accent, and by the use of cornin
peculiar words, as Harr! when donkey-drivin
The men are unwashed and filthy ; the women i
abroad unveiled, and never refuse themselves, I am
told, to the higher blood. |

The Arabs of Midian always compare the Hu-
taym with the G/agar (Ghajar) or Gypsies of Egypt;
And this is the point which gives the outcasts a Se
ing interest. I have not yet had an opportunity of
carefully studying the race; nor can I say whether
it shows any traces of skill in metal-working. Mean-
while, we must inquire whether these Helots, now
so dispersed, are not old immigrants of Indian
descent, who have lost their Aryan language, like the
Egyptian Ghajar. In that case they would repre-
sent the descendants of the wandering tribes who
worked the most ancient ae/zers. Perhaps they may
prove to be congeners of the men of the Bronze
Age, and of the earliest waves of Gypsy-immigration
into Europe.

NOTE.

A list of the shells collected by the second Khedivial Expedi
tion on the shore of Midian and the Gulf of ’Akabah, b gr
A. Smith, Esq., British Museum. BY Beer
I. GASTROPODA.
1. Conus textile, Zznné.
2 »  Sumatrensis, Hwass.
3. yy  catus var., Hwass.

 
 

120

 

10.
4
IIA.
12.
3
14.
15.
16.

18.
10.
20.
21.
22.
23
24.
25.
20.
27.
28.
20.
30.
31.
32.
33:
34-
35

37
38.
39
40.
41.

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Conus larenatus, Hwass.
hebreeus, Linné.
ividus (?), Hwass.

,  ceylanensis, Hwass.
Terebra maculata, Line.
dimidiata, Linné.
consobrina, Deshayes.

,  (Impages) caerulescens, Lamarck.
Pleurotoma cingulifera, Zamarck.
Murex tribulus, Linn.

,,  (Chicoreus) inflatus, Lamarck.
Cassidulus paradisiacus, Keeve.

Nassa coronata, Lamarck.
pulla, Zinné.

»

”

”»

»

”»

Engina (Pusiostoma) mendicaria, Lamarck.

Cantharus (Tritonidea) sp. juv.
Purpura hippocastanum, Lamarck.
Sistrum arachnoides, Lamarck.
fiscellum, Chemnitz.

,,  tuberculatum, Blainville.
Harpa solida, 4. Adams.
Fasciolaria trapezium, Lamarck.
Turbinella cornigera, Lamarck.
Dolium (Malea) pomum, Zzzzé.
Triton maculosus, Zeeve.
aquatilis, Reeve.

,, (Persona) anus, Lamarck.
Natica (Polinices) mamilla, Zinné.
» ’ albula (?), Récluz.
,, (Mamilla) melanostoma, Lamar.
Solarium perspectivum, Lznné.
Cypraea arabica, Linné.
pantherina, Zznné.
camelopardalis, Perry.
carneola, Linné.
,,  scurra, Chemnitz.
erosa, Linné.
, tabescens (?), Solander.
caurica, Linné.
talpa, Linné.

»

»

 

SHELLS FROM MIDIAN. 121

418. Cypraea lynx, Linné.

42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.

75-

Cerithium tuberosum, Fabricius.
Turritella torulosa (?), Kiener.
Strombus tricornis, Lamarck.

o gibberulus, Zinné.
28 floridus, Lamarck.
" fasciatus, Born.

Pterocera truncatum, Zamarck.
Planaxis breviculus, Des/kayes.
Nerita marmorata, Reeve.
»  quadricolor, Gmelin.
ys» Yumphii, Récluz.
Turbo petholatus, Zznné.
»  chrysostoma var. (?), Linné.
Trochus (Pyramis) dentatus, Forskdl.
»  (Cardinalia) virgatus, Gmelin.
ys (Polydonta) sanguinolentus, Chemnitz.
»  (Clanculus) pharaonis, Linné.
ss», (Monodonta) sp.
Patella variabilis (?), Krauss.
Chiton sp.
Bulla ampulla, Zznné.

IT. CONCHIFERA.

Dione florida, Lamarck.
ss SP.
Tellina staurella, Lamarck.
Paphia glabrata, Gmelin.
Chama Riippellii, Reeve.
Arca (Barbatia) sp.
,» (Senilia) sp.
Cardium leucostoma, Born.
Venericardia Cumingii, Desiayes.
Modiola auriculata, K7auss.
Pectunculus lividus, Reeve.
’ pectenoides, Deshayes.
Avicula margaritifera, Zznné.
Tridacna gigas, Linné.

 
 

 

CHAPTER XV.

THE SOUTHERN SULPHUR-HILL-—THE CRUISE TO EL-
HAURA—NOTES ON THE BALIYY TRIBE AND THE
VOLCANIC CENTRES OF NORTH-WESTERN ARABIA.

O~ the day of our arrival at EI-Wijh I sent a
hurried letter of invitation to Mohammed ’Afndn,
Shaykh of the Baliyy tribe ; inviting him to visit the
Expedition, and to bring with him seventy camels
and dromedaries. His tents being pitched at a
distance of three days’ long march in the interior, I
determined not to waste a precious week at the end
of the cold season; and the party was once more
divided. Anton, the Greek, was left as storekeeper,
with orders to pitch a camp, to collect as much
munition de bouche as possible, and to prepare for
this year’s last journey into the interior. MM. Marie
and Philipin, with Lieutenant Yusuf, Cook Giorji,
and Body-servant Ali Marie, were directed to march
along the shore southwards. After inspecting a third
Febel el-Kibrit, they would bring back notices of

 

THE EXPEDITION DIVIDES. 123

the Wady Hamz, near whose banks I had heard
vague reports of a Gas» (Kasr), “palace” or “castle,”
built by one Gurayyim Said. Meanwhile, the rest
of us would proceed in the Snir to El-Haurj,
a roundabout cruise of a hundred miles to the south.

M. Philipin lost time in shoeing very imperfectly
his four mules; and M. Marie, who could have
set out with eight camels at any moment, delayed
moving till March 26th. The party was composed
of a single Bdsh-Buzik from the fort, and two
quarrymen : the Ras Kadfilah was young Shaykh
Sulaymdn bin 'Afndn—of whom more presently—
while his brother-in-law Hammdd acted guide. At
6.40 a.m. they struck to the south-east of the town,
and passed the two brackish nits or wells, Bir el-
Isma’il and El-Sanndsi, which supply the poor of
the port. Thence crossing the broad Wady el-Wijh,
they reached, after a mile’s ride, Wady Mellé/ak, or
“the salina.” It is an oval, measuring some eighteen
hundred yards from north to south: the banks are
padded with brown slush frosted white; which, in
places, “bogs” the donkeys and admits men to the
knee. Beyond it lie dazzling blocks of pure crys-
tallized salt; and the middle of the pond is open,
tenanted by ducks and waterfowl, and visited by
doves and partridges. At the lower or northern
end, a short divide separates it from the sea; and
the waves, during the high westerly gales, run far

 
 

 

124 THE LAND OF MIDIAN .

  
  

inland : it would be easy to open a regular com-
munication between the harbour and its saltern.
The head is formed by the large Wady Surrah,
whose many feeders at times discharge heavy tor-
rents. The walls of the valley-mouth are marked,
somewhat like the Hdrr, with caverned and cor-
niced cliffs of white, canary-yellow, and light-pink
sandstone.

They then left to the right the long point
Ras el-Ma'llah, fronting Mardinah Island. Here,
as at El’Akabah and Maknd, sweet water springs
from the salt sands of the shore; a freak of drainage,
a kind of “Irish bull” of Nature, so common upon the
dangerous Somali seaboard. The tract leads to the
south-east, never further from the shore than four or
five miles, but separated by rolling ground which
hides the main. For the same reason the travellers
were unable to sight the immense development of
granite-embedded quartz, which lurks amongst the
hills to the inland or east, and which here sub-
tends the whole coast-line. They imagined them-
selves to be in a purely Secondary formation of
gypsum and conglomerates, cut by a succession of
Wady-beds like the section between El-Muwaylah
and 'Ayntnah. Thus they crossed the mouths of
the watercourses, whose heads we shall sight during
the inland march, and whose mid-lengths we shall

pass when marching back to EI-Wijh.

 
 
 

     
 

MINERS SCRIBBLES. 125

These exceedingly broad beds are divided, as
usual, by long lines of Nature-metalled ground. The
first important feature is the Wady Surrah, which
falls into the Wady el-Wijh a little above the
harbour-pier : its proper and direct mouth, £/-G4'/%
(K&'h), or “the Hall,” runs along-shore into the
Melldhah. It drains the Hamiratayn, or “ Two
Reds ;” the Hamirat Surrah in the Rughdm or
Secondary formation, and the granitic mass Hamirat
el-Nabwah, where the plutonic outbreaks begin.
Amongst the number of important formations are :—
the Wady el-Miyiéh, which has a large salt-well
near the sea, and down whose upper bed we shall
travel after leaving Umm el-Kardydt; the Wady el-
Kurr, whose acquaintance we shall make in the
eastern region; and the Wady el’ Argalk ('Arjah).
The latter is the most interesting. Near its head
we shall find knots of ruins, and the quartz-reef
Abd’l-Mari ; while lower down the bed, on the
north-east side of a hill facing the valley, Lieu-
tenant Yusuf came upon a rock scrawled over with
religious formule, Zawakkaltu al’ Alla (“1 rely
upon Allah”), and so forth, all in a comparatively
modern Arabic character. The inscriptions lie to
the left of the shore road, and to the right of the
pilgrim-highway ; thus showing that miners, not
passing travellers, have here left their mark.

After riding five hours and forty minutes
 

 

126 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

_ seventeen miles) the party reached the base of
the third sulphur-hill discovered by the Expedition
on the coast of Midian. Also known as the
Tuwayyil el-Kibrtt, the “Little-long (Ridge) of Brim-
stone,” it appears from afar a reddish pyramid rising
about two miles inland of an inlet, which is said to
be safe navigation. Thus far it resembles the
Jibbah find: on the other hand, it is not plutonic,
but chalky like those of Maknd and Sinai, the crystals
being similarly diffused throughout the matrix. In
the adjoining hills and cliffs the Secondaries and the
conglomerates take all shades of colour, marvellous
to behold when the mirage raises to giant heights
the white coast-banks patched with pink, red, mauve,
and dark brown. Moreover, the quarries of mottled
alabaster, which the Ancients worked for construc-
tions, still show themselves.

The travellers slept at the base of the 7: uwayyil.
Next morning M. Philipin proceeded to collect
specimens of the sulphur and of the chalcedony-
agate strewed over the plain, and here seen for the
first time. M. Marie and Lieutenant Yusuf rode
on to the banks of the Wady Hamz: and, after
three hours (= nine miles), they came upon the
« Castle” and unexpectedly turned up trumps. I
had carelessly written for them the name of a ruin
which all, naturally enough, believed would prove to
be one of the normal barbarous Hawdwft. They

THE VOYAGE SOUTH. 127

brought back specimens of civilized architecture ;
and these at once determined one of the objectives
of our next journey. The party returned to EI-
Wijh on the next day, in the highest of spirits, after
a successful trip of more than fifty miles.

Meanwhile I steamed southwards, accompanied
by the rest of the party, including the Sayyid,
Shaykh Furayj, and the ex-Wakil, Mohammed
Shahddah, who is trusted by the Bedawin, and who
brought with him a guide of the Fawd'idah-Juhay-
nah, one Rdjih ibn 'Ayid. This fellow was by no
means a fair specimen of his race : the cynocephalous
countenance, the cobweb beard, and the shifting,
treacherous eyes were exceptional; the bellowing
voice and the greed of gain were not. He had a
free passage for himself, his child, and eight sacks
of rice, with the promise of a napoleon by way
of “bakhshish;” yet he complained aloud that he
had no meat to break his fast at dawn—an Arab of
pure blood would rather have starved. He shirked
answering questions concerning the number of his
tribe. “ Many, many!” was all the information we
could get from him; and his Arabic wanted the
pure pronunciation, and the choice vocabulary,
that usually distinguish the Juhayni pilots. Arrived
at his own shore, he refused to make arrangements
for disembarking his rice ; he ordered, with bawling

accents and pointed stick, the sailors of the man-

   

  
 

 

728 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of-war to land it at the place chosen by himself;
and he bit his finger when informed that a sound
flogging was the normal result of such impudence.
We set out at 4.30 p.m. (March 24th); and
steamed due west till we had rounded the northern
head of El-Raykhah, a long low island which,
lying west-south-west of El-Wijh, may act break-
water in that direction. Then we went south-
west, and passed to port the white rocks of Mar-
dinah Isle, which fronts the Ras el-Ma’llah,
capping the ugly reefs and shoals that forbid tall
ships to hug this section of the shore. It is de-
scribed as a narrow ridge of coralline, broken into
pointed masses two to three hundred feet high,
whose cliffs and hollows form breeding-places for
wild pigeons : the unusually rugged appearance is
explained by the fact that here the “Jinns”
themselves with hurling rocks at one another.
Before night we had sighted the Ras Kurkumah,
so called from its “Curcuma” (turmeric) hue, the
yellow point facing the islet-tomb of Shaykh Mar-
bat.* Upon this part of the shore, I was told, are
extensive ruins as yet unvisited by Europeans, the
dangerous Juhaynah being the obstacle. To the
south-east towered tall and misty forms, the Ghats
of the Tihdmat-Jahaniyyah. Northernmost, and
prolonging the Libn, that miniature Shdrr, is the

amuse

* Not Shaykh Hasan el-Maréabit—< Pilgrimage,” Vol. I. Chap. XI.

 

BALLAST DISDAINED. 129

regular wall of the Jebel el-Ward ; then come the
peaks and pinnacles of the Jibdl el-Safhah; and
lastly, the twin blocks EI-Rdl, between which
passes the Egyptian Hajj when returning from El-
Medinah. Faint resemblances of these features
sprawl, like huge caterpillars, over the Hydro-
graphic Chart, but all sprawl unnamed.

By way of extra precaution we stood to the
south instead of the south-east, thus lengthening to
one hundred and twenty knots the normal hundred
(dir. geog. sixty-eight) separating EI-Wijh from the
Jebel Hassani. Moreover, we caught amidships a
fine lumpy sea, that threatened to roll the masts out
of the stout old corvette. As the Szundr, which
always reminded me of her Majesty's steamship
Zebra, is notably the steadiest ship in the Egyptian
navy, the captain was asked about his ballast. He
replied, “1 have just taken command, but I don't
think there is any; the engine (El-iddah) is our
Saburra "—evidently he had never seen the hold.
This state of things, which, combined with open
ports, foundered her Majesty's sailing frigate Lury-
dice, appears the rule of the Egyptian war-navy. I
commend the consideration to English sailors.

The steering also was detestable ; and the man
at the wheel could not see the waves—a sine quad
non to the mariner in these latitudes, who broaches

’»

to” whenever he can. A general remark: The

VOL. IL K

 
 

 

 

130 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Egyptian sailor is first-rate in a Dakabiyyak (Nile-
boat), which he may capsize once in a generation ;
and ditto in a Red Sea Sambi, where he is also
thoroughly at home. The same was the case with
the Sultan of Maskat's Arabo-English navy: the
Arabs and Sidis (negroes) were excellent at working
their Mtepe-craft; on frigates they were monkeys,
poor copies of men. Our European vessels are
beyond and above the West Asiatic and the African.
He becomes at the best a kind of imitation Jack
Tar. He will not, or rather he cannot, take the
necessary trouble, concentrate his attention, fix his
mind upon his “duties.” He says “Inshallah;” he
relies upon Allah; and he prays five times a day,
when he should be giving or receiving orders. The
younger generation of officers, it is true, drinks
wine, and does not indulge in orisons whilst it should
be working ; but its efficiency is impaired by the
difficulties and delay in granting pensions. The
many grey beards, however carefully dyed, suggest
an equipage de vétérans.

The consequence of yawing and of running half-
speed by night was that we reached Jebel Hassdni
just before noon, instead of eight a.m., on the 25th.
The island, whose profile slopes to the south-east-
ward, is a long yellow-white ridge, a lump of coral-
line four hundred feet high, bare and waterless in

summer : yet it feeds the Bedawi flocks at certain

  

JEBEL HASSANI. 131

seasons. It is buttressed and bluff to the south-
west, whence the strongest winds blow; and it is
prolonged by a flat spit to the south-east, and by a
long tail of two vertebra, a big and a little joint,
trending north-west. Thus it gives safe shelter
from the Wester to Arab barques; * and still forms
a landmark for those navigating between Jeddah,
Kusayr, and Suez. Its parallel runs a few miles
north of the Daedalus Light (north lat. 24° 55’ 307) to
the west: and it lies a little south of El-Haurd on the
coast, and of El-Medinah, distant about one hundred
and thirty direct miles in the interior. If Ptolemy's
latitudes are to be consulted, Jebel Hassdni would be
the Timagenes Island in north lat. 25° 40; and the
corresponding Chersonesus Point is represented
by the important and well-marked projection “ Abu
Madd,” which intercepts the view to the south.
After rounding the southern spit, we turned to
north-east and by east, and passed, with a minimum
of seven fathoms under keel, between Hassdni the
Giant and the dwarf Umm Sahr, a flat sandbank
hardly visible from the shore. This is the only
good approach to the secure and spacious bay that
bore the southernmost Nabathzan port-town : there

* «Ppilgrimage,” Vol. I. Chap. XL, where it is erroneously called
““ Jebel Hasan ;” others prefer Hasdni—equally wrong. Voyagers
put in here to buy fish, which formerly was dried, salted, and sent
to Egypt; and, during the Hajj season, the Juhaynah occupy a
long straggling village of huts on the south side of the island.

   
 

132 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

are northern and north-western passages, but both
require skilful pilots; and every other adit, though
apparently open, is sealed by reefs and shoals.
With the blue and regular-lined curtain of Abu el-
Ghurayr in front, stretching down coast to Ras Abi
Madd, we bent gradually round to the north-east
and east. We then left to starboard the settlement
El-Amlij, a long line of separate ’Uskash, the usual
Ichthyophagan huts, dull, dark-brown wigwams.
They were apparently deserted ; at least, only two
women appeared upon the shore, but sundry Kati-
rahs and canoes warned us that fishermen were
about. We ran for safety a mile and three-quarters
north of the exposed Ras el-Haurd ; and at 1.30 p.m.
(= twenty-one hours) we anchored, in nine fathoms,
under the Kutdat el-Wazamah. The pea-green
shallows, which defended us to the north and south,
had lately given protection to the Khediviyyah™
steamer E/-Hidayyidah, compelled by an accident to
creep along-shore like a Sambuik.

* There are now no less than three lines of steamers that
connect the western coast of Arabia with the north. The first is
the Egyptian Company, successively called Mejidiyyah, Aziziyyah,
and Khediviyyah, from its chief actionnaire: the packets, mostly
three-masted screws, start from Suez to Jeddah every fortnight.
Secondly, the Austro-Hungarian Lloyd which, with the subvention
of £1400 per voyage, began in 1870 to ply monthly between
Constantinople, Port Sa’{d, Suez, Jeddah, and Hodaydah: it has
been suspended since the beginning of the Russo-Turkish war.

Thirdly, the British India Steam Navigation Company sends every
three weeks a ship from London 77d the Canal to Jeddah, Hoday-

EL-HAURA, THE WHITE VILLAGE. 133

El-Haurd is not found either in the charts, or in
Ptolemy's and Sprenger’s maps. It lies in north
lat. 25° 6, about the same parallel as El-Medinah ;
and in east long. (Gr.) 37°13 30".* Wellsted (11. x.)
heard of its ruins, but never saw it: at least, he says,
«In the vicinity of El-Haurd, according to the
Arabs, are some remains of buildings and columns,
but our stay on the coast was too limited to permit
our examining the spot.” He is, however, greatly
in error when he adds, “Near this station the
encampments of the Bill (Baliyy) tribe to the south-
ward terminate, and those of the Joheinah com-
mence.” As has been seen, the frontier is nearly
fifty miles further north. He notices (chap. ix.) the
« White Village” to differ with Vincent, who would
place it at El-Muwaylah ; but he translates the
word (ii. 461) “the bright-eyed girl,” instead of
Albus (Vicus). He quotes, however, the other
name, Dir el-ishrin (“ Twentieth Station”), so called
because the Cairo caravan formerly reached it in a
score of days, now reduced to nineteen. He seems,
finally, to have landed in order to inspect “a ruined
town on the main,” and to have missed it.

dah, and Aden. A fourth is proposed; Bymen’s (Winan’s ?)
steamers are establishing a London-Basrah (Bassorah) line, in
whose itinerary will be Jeddah.

* The observation was taken on board the Siundr, by the
first lieutenant, Nasir Effendi Ahmed : of course I am not answer-
able for its correctness, although te latitude cannot be far out.
Thus the difference of parallel between it and El-Wijh (north lat.
26° 14) would be sixty-eight direct geographical miles.

   

    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
 
  
 
   
   
  
    
    
 

 

134 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

According to Sprenger, the “White Village, or
Castle,” was not a Thamudite, but a Nabathaan port.
Here Zelius Gallius disembarked his troops from
Egypt. Strabo (xvi. c. 4, § 24) shows that Aevky)
kdpm was the starting-place of the caravans which,
before the Nile route to Alexandria was opened,
carried to Petra the merchandise of India and of
Southern Arabia. Thence the imports were passed
on to Phcenicia and Egypt: —these pages have
shown why the journey would be preferred to the
voyage northward. He is confirmed by the “Periplus,”
which relates (chap. xix.) that “from the port, and
the castellum of Leuke Kéme, a road leads to Petra,
the capital of the Malicha (£/-Malik), King of the
Nabathaeans : it also serves as an emporium to those
who bring wares in smaller ships from Arabia
(Mocha, Miiza, and Aden). For the latter reason,
a Perceptor or toll-taker, who levies twenty-five per
cent. ad valorem, and a Hekatontarches (centurion),
with a garrison, are there stationed.” As the Nabatae
were vassals of Rome, and the whole region had
been ceded to the Romans (Byzantines) by a chief
of the Beni Kudd’ tribe, this Yuzbdshi or “ military
commandant” was probably a Roman.

El-Haurd, like most of the ruined settlements
upon this coast, shows two distinct “ quarters;” a
harbour-town and what may be called a country-

town. The latter, whose site is by far the more

RUINS OF EL-HAURA. 135

picturesque and amene, lay upon a long tongue
of land backing the slope of the sea-cliff, and
attached to the low whitish hillocks and pelons
rising down south. It is now a luxuriant orchard of
emerald palms forming three large patches. Behind
it swells a dorsum of golden-yellow sand; and the
horizon is closed by ranges of hills and highlands,
red and white, blue and black. Our eyes are some-
what startled by the amount of bright and vivid
green: for some reason, unknown to us, the shore
is far more riant than the northern section; and the
land might be called quasi-agricultural. The whole
coast seems to be broken with verdant valleys; from
the Wady el-’Ayn, with its numerous branches beau-
tifying the north, to the Wady el-Daghaybaj in the
south, supplying water between its two paps.

On the evening of our arrival, we landed in a
shallow bay bearing north-north-east (30° mag.) from
the roads where the corvette lay at anchor; and
walked a few yards inland to the left bank of the
Wady el-Samnah, the unimportant Fiumara draining
low hills of the same name. The loose sand is
everywhere strewed with bits of light porous lava,
which comes from the Harrat el-Buhayr, a bluff
quoin to the north-west. About El-Haurd, I have
said, the volcanic formations, some sixty miles in-
land on the parallel of El-Muwaylah, approach the

coast.

  
 

  

  
 
 
  
    
  
   
   
  
   
  
 
 
   
   
  
  
  
      
 

 

   

136 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

We were guided to the ruins by the shouts of
sundry Arabs defending their harvest against a dan-
gerous enemy, the birds—rattles and scarecrows
were anything but scarce. Apparently the sand
contains some fertilizing matter. A field of dry
and stunted Dukhn (Aolcus Dochna), or small millet,
nearly covers the site of the old castle, whose out-
line, nearly buried under the drift of ages, we could
still trace. There are two elevations, eastern and
western ; and a third lies to the north, on the right
side of the Wady Samnah. Scatters of the usual
fragments lay about, and the blocks of white coral-
line explained the old names—Whitton, Whitworth,
Whitby. The Bedawin preserve the tradition that this
was the most important part of the settlement, which
extended southwards nearly four miles. The dwarf
valley-mouth is still a roadstead, where two small
craft were anchored ; and here, doubtless, was the
corner of the hive allotted to the community’s work-
ing-bees. An old fibster, Hidmid el-F4'idi, declared
that he would bring us from the adjacent hills a
stone which, when heated, would pour forth metal
like water—and never appeared again. It was
curious to remark how completely the acute Furayj
believed him, because both were Arabs and brother
Bedawin.

Next morning we set out, shortly after the red
and dewy sunrise, to visit the south end of Leuke

  

JEUKE KOME. 137

Kéme. The party consisted of twenty marines
under an officer, besides our escort of ten negro
« Remingtons:” the land was open, and with these
thirty I would willingly have met three hundred
Bedawin. Our repulse from the Hismd had rankled
in our memories, and we only wanted an opportunity
of showing fight. After rowing a mile we landed,
south-east of the anchorage (127° mag), at a modern
ruin, four blocks of the rudest masonry, built as a
store by a Yambd’ merchant. Unfortunately he had
leased the ground from the Fawd'idah clan, when
the Héamidah claim it: the result was a “ faction
fight ”--and nothing done.

A few minutes’ walking, over unpleasantly deep
sand, placed us upon the Hajj-road. It is paved,
like the shore, with natural slabs and ledges of soft
modern sandstone ; and, being foot-worn, it makes a
far better road than that which connects Alexandria
with Ramleh. The broad highway, scattered with
quartz and basalt, greenstone, and serpentine,
crossed one of the many branches of the Wady
el’Ayn : in the rich and saltish sand grew crops of
Dukhn, and the Halfd-grass (Cynosurus durus) of the
Nile Valley, with tamarisk-thickets, and tufts of fan-
palm. On its left bank a lamp-black vein of stark-
naked basalt, capped by jagged blocks, ran down to
the sea, and formed a conspicuous buttress. The

guides spoke of a similar volcanic outcrop above

 
 

 

138 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Point Abd Madd to the south; and of a third close
to Yambd’ harbour.

An hour of “stravaguing” walk showed us the
first sign of the ruins: wall-bases built with fine
cement, crowning the summit of a dwarf mound to
the left of the road; well-worked scorize were also
scattered over its slopes. We now entered the date-
orchards conspicuous from the sea: on both sides of
us were fences of thorn, tamped earth, and dry
stone; young trees had been planted, and, beyond
the dates, large fields of Dukhn again gave an agri-
cultural touch to the scene. Flocks of sheep and
goats were being grazed all around us; and the
owners made no difficulty, as they would have done
further north, in selling us half a dozen.

We then entered the Wady Haurd, where the
caravan camps. It is a cheery charming site for
rich citizens, with its plain of rich vegetation every-
where, say the natives, undermined by water; its
open sea-view to the west; its mound of clean yellow
sand behind, extending to the rocky horizon ; and its
pure fresh breezes blowing from the Nejd with an
indescribable sense of lightness and health and en-

joyment. In fact, it has all the accessories of an
“eligible position.” At the third or southern palm-
patch, we found the only public work which remains
visible in the great Nabathazan port. It was
formerly a Adriz, the underground-aqueduct so

 

LEUKE KOME. 139

common in Persia: and it conducted towards the
sea the drainage of the Jebel Turham, a round
knob shown in the Chart, which bears south-east
(121° mag.) from the conduit-head. The line has
long ago been broken down by the Arabs; and the
open waters still supply the Hajj-caravan. The
'Ayn (“fountain”) may be seen issuing from a i
cavern of white coralline : the water then hides itself
under several filled-up pits, which represent the old
air-holes ; and, after flowing below sundry natural
arches, the remains of the conduit-ceiling, it emerges
in a deep fissure of saltish stone. Irom this part
of its banks we picked up fair specimens of saltpetre.
The lower course abounds in water-beetles, and is
choked with three kinds of aquatic weeds. After
flowing a few yards it ends in a shallow poe),
surrounded by palms and paved with mud, which
attracts flights of snipes, sandpipers, and sand-
grouse. |
The turbulent “ Dog's Sons” * were mostly in
the upper lands; but a few wretched fellows, with
swords, old spears, and ridiculous matchlocks, as-
sembled and managed to get up a squabble about
the right of leading strangers into “our Conair ”
(Bildd-nd). The doughty Rdjih ibn ’Ayid, who,
mounted upon a mean dromedary, affected to be

* Beni Kalb: so the Juhaynah were called in the Apostle’s

day.

 
140 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

chief guide, seemed to treat their pretensions as a
serious matter, when we laughed them to scorn.

He and all the other experts gave us wholly dis-

couraging details concerning a ruin represented to

lie, some hours off, in the nearest of the southern
Harrah. According to them, the Kasr el-Bint
(“ Maiden’s Palace”) was in the same condition as
El-Haurd ; showing only a single pillar, perhaps the
“columns” to which Wellsted alludes. We could
learn nothing concerning the young person whose
vague name it bears; except that she preferred
settling on the mainland, whereas her brother built
a corresponding castle upon the islet Jebel Has-
sdni.* He is locally called Warakat ibn Naufal, a
venerated name in the Fatra/, or “interval,” between
Jesus and Mohammed ; he was the uncle of Kha-
dijah the widow, and he is popularly supposed to
have been a Christian. Here, as at other places, I

inquired, at the suggestion of a friend, but of course

in vain, about the human skeleton which Ibn

Mujdwar, some six centuries ago, found embedded
in a rock near the sea-shore.

Such is the present condition of the once famous
emporium Leuké Kéme. We returned along the
shore to embark; and, shortly after noon, the old

corvett ime:
e of Crimean date again swung round on her

" :
The site was probably near the Shaykh’s tomb, where there
are wells which in winter supply water.

 

THE BALIYY TRIBE. 141

heel, and resumed her wanderings, this time north-
wards. The run of eighteen hours and fifteen minutes
was semicircular, but the sea had subsided to a
dead calm. The return to E1-Wijh felt like being
restored to civilization ; we actually had a salad of
radish leaves—delicious !

Our travel will now lie through the Baliyy
country, and a few words concerning this ancient
and noble tribe may here be given. Although they
apparently retain no traditions of their origin, they
are known to genealogists as a branch of the Beni
Kud4’, who, some fifteen centuries ago, emigrated
from Southern Arabia, and eventually exterminated
the Thamudites. 1 have noted their northern and
southern frontiers: to the north-east they are
bounded by the vicious Ma'dzah and the Ruwald-
'Anezahs, and to the south-east by the Alaydan-
'Anezahs, under Shaykh Mutlak. Like their
northern nomadic neighbours, they have passed
over to Egypt, and even the guide-books speak of
the “Billi” in the valley of the Nile.

The Baliyy modestly rate their numbers at four
thousand muskets, by which understand four hun-
dred. Yet they divide themselves into a multitude
of clans: our companion, the Wakil Mohammed
Shahddah, can enumerate them by the score; and I
wrote down the twenty-three principal, which are
common both to South Midian and to Egypt. The

 
 

 

142 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

chief Shaykh, Mohammed 'Afndn ibn Ammar, can
reckon backwards seven generations, beginning from
a certain Shaykh Sultdn. About ten years ago he
allowed the tribe to indulge in such dangerous
amusements as “cutting the road” and plundering
merchants. It is even asserted, privily, that they
captured the fort of E1-Wijh, by bribing the Turkish
Zopyz (“head gunner”), to fire high—Ilike the half-
caste artilleryman who commanded the Talptr
cannoneers at Sir Charles Napier’'s Battle of
“ Meeanee.” A regiment of eight hundred bayonets
was sent from Egypt, and the Shaykh was secured
by a Hilakh, or “stratagem;” that is, he was pro-
mised safe conduct : he trusted himself like a fool,
he was seized, clapped in irons, and sent to jail in
the Citadel of Cairo. Here he remained some
seven months 22 carcere duro, daily expecting death,
when Fate suddenly turned in his favour; he was
sent for by the authorities, pardoned for the past,
cautioned for the future, and restored to his home
with a Muritibak (“regular pension”) of eight
hundred piastres per mensem, besides rations and
raiment. The remedy was, like cutting off the
nose of a wicked Hindi wife, sharp but effective.
Shaykh °Afnan and his tribe are now models of
courtesy to strangers; and the traveller must
devoutly wish that every Shaykh in Arabia could
be subjected to the same discipline.

 

THE BALIYY TRIBE. 143

The Baliyy are a good study of an Arab tribe

in the rough. The Huwaytdt, for example, know

their way to Suez and to Cairo; they have seen

civilization ; they have learned, after a fashion, the

outlandish ways of the Frank, the Fellah, and the

Turk-fellow. The Baliyy have to be taught all

these rudiments. Cunning, tricky, and © dodgy,” as
5 all the Wild-Man-race, they lie like the “ childish-
foolish,” deceiving nobody but themselves. An
instance : Hours and miles are of course unknown
to them, but they began with us by affecting an
extreme ignorance of comparative distances; they
could not, or rather they would not, adopt as a
standard the two short hours’ march between the
Port and the inland Fort of EI-Wijh. When, how-
ever, the trick was pointed out to them, they at
once threw it aside as useless. No pretext was too
flimsy to shorten a march or to cause a halt—the
northerners did the same, but with them we had a
controlling power in the shape of Shaykh Furayj.
And like the citizens, they hate our manner of
travelling : they love to sit up and chat through half
the night : and to rise before dawn is an abomination
to them.

At first their manners, gentle and pliable, con-
trast pleasantly with the roughness of the half-breds,
Huwaytdt and Makndwi, who have many of the
demerits of the Fellah, without acquiring the merits

 
 

144 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of the Bedawi. As camel-men they were not
difficult to deal with; nor did they wrangle about
their hire. Presently they turned out to be “poor
devils,” badly armed, and not trained to the use of
matchlocks. Their want of energy in beating the
bushes and providing forage for their camels, com-
pared with that of the northerners, struck us strongly.
On the other hand, they seem to preserve a flavour
of ancient civilization, which it is not easy to
describe ; and they certainly have inherited the
instincts and tastes of the old metal-workers: they
are a race of born miners. That sharpest of tests,
the experience of travel, at last suggested to us that
the Baliyy is too old a breed ; and that its blue
blood wants a “racial baptism,” a large infusion of
something newer and stronger.

 

NOTE ON THE “HARRAHS” OF ARABIA.

THE learned Dr. J. G. Wetzstein, in the appendix to his ¢ Reise-
bericht,” etc.,* records a conversation with A. von Humboldt and
Carl Ritter (April, 1859), respecting the specimens which he had
brought from the classical Trachonitis. Their appearance led the
latter to question whether the latest eruptions of the Harrat R4jil,
as it is called from an adjoining valley, may not have taken place
within the historic period ; and he referred to Psalm xviii. as
seeming to note the occurrence, during David’s reign, of such a
phenomenon in or near Palestine. Humboldt deemed it probable
that the Koranic legend (chap. iv.) of the Abyssinian host under

* This is the volume which I have translated : see also Dr. Beke’s papers
in the Athenwum (February 8 and 15, 1873).

 

VOLCANOLS IN ARABIA. 145

Abraha destroyed by a shower of stones baked in hellfire, referred,
not to small-pox as is generally supposed, but to an actual volcanic
eruption in Arabia.

« With what interest would that great man have learnt,” writes
Dr. Wetzstein, © that, as I was turning over the leaves of Yakiit’s
¢ Geographical Lexicon,’ only a few days ago, I found that the
Arabians knew of the existence of twenty-eight different volcanic
regions between Haurdn and Bab el-Mandeb !” Later still,
Dr. Otto Loth published an elaborate paper “On the Volcanic
Regions (Harras) of Arabia, according to Yakut” (thirteenth
century), in which these eruptive sites are nearly all identified and
described.

“ Among the numerous volcanoes thus found to exist within
the Arabian Peninsula,” remarks Dr. Beke,* “the only one re-
corded as having been in activity within the historic period is the
Harrat-el-N4r (¢ Fire Harra’), situate to the north-east of Medina,
in the neighbourhood of Khaibur (Khaybar), in about 26° 30’
north lat., and 40° east long. ; which, being traditionally said to
have been in an active state six centuries before Mohammed, had
actually an eruption in the time of the Prophet's successor, Omar.
To the north-west of this ¢ Fire Harra’ lies that known as the
¢ Harra of (the tribe of) Udhra’ (Azrd) : again, to the north of this
is the ‘ Harra of Tabik, so called from the station of that name
on the Hajj-road from Damascus to Mekka, the position of which
is in about 28° 15’ north lat. and 37° east long. ; and beyond this
last, further to the north, and consequently between it and the
northernmost Harra of the Radjil, or Trachonitis, is the Harra
Radjla. . . . Its designation, which means ‘rough,’ ¢pathless,’
seems to indicate its peculiarly rugged surface, and to lead to the
inference that it is an immense field of lava.” He cites Irby and
Mangles (“ Travels in Egypt,” pp. 115, 116; reprinted by Murray,
London, 1868), describing their route between Kerak and Petra,
on the east side of the Ghor or Wady ’Arabah. “We noticed
three dark volcanic summits, very distinguishable from the land.
The lava that had streamed from them forms a sort of island in

the plain.”
Hence my late friend concluded that his “true Mount Sinai”

* See ““ Mount Sinai a Volcano” (Tinsleys). For a list of Yakuat's vol-
canoes, see Dr. Beke, ¢ Sinai in Arabia,” Appendix, p. 535.

VOL. II.

 

 
 

 

 

 

146 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

was the focus and origin of this volcanic region; and that the
latter was the ‘great and terrible wilderness” (Deut. i. 19)
through which the children of Israel were led on their way to
mysterious Kadesh-Barnea. Thus, too, he explained the “pillar
of the has by day,” and the “pillow of fire by night” (Exod.
Xlil. 21).

 

 

 

a —

CHAPTER XVI.

OUR LAST MARCH—THE INLAND FORT—RUINS OF THE
GOLD-MINES AT UMM EL-KARAYAT AND UMM EL-

HARAB.

Acaix there were preliminaries to be settled before
we could leave EI-Wijh for the interior. Shaykh
Mohammed ’Afndn had been marrying his son; and
the tale of camels came in slowly enough. On the
day after our return from El-Haurd the venerable
old man paid us a visit aboard Szzndr. He declares
that he was a boy when the Wahhdbi occupied
Meccah and El-Medinah—that is, in 1803-4. Yet
he has wives and young children. His principal
want is a pair of new eyes; and the train of thought
is, “7 can’t see when older men than myself can.”
The same idea makes the African ever attribute his
sickness and death to sorcery: “ Why should 7 lose
life when all around me are alive ? "—and this is the
idea that lies at the bottom of all witch-persecution.
Two pair of spectacles were duly despatched to him

after our return to Cairo; and M. [.acaze there

 

 
 

 

148 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

exhibited a capital sketch of the picturesque, white-
bearded face, with the straight features and the nut-
cracker chin, deep buried in the folds of a huge red
shawl.

The son, Sulaymdn, has been espoused to a cousin
older, they say, than himself; and he seems in no
hurry to conclude the marriage. He would willingly
accompany us to Egypt, but he is the father’s
favourite, and the old man can do nothing without
him. A youth of about eighteen, and even more
handsome than his sire, he has the pretty look, the
sloping shoulders, the soft snaky movements, and the
quiet, subdued voice of a nice girl. During the first
marches he dressed in the finery of the Bedawin—
the brilliant head-kerchief, the parti-coloured sandals,
and the loose cloak of expensive broadcloth. The
“ toggery ” looked out of place as the toilettes of the
Syrian ladies who called upon us in laces and blue
satins amid the ruins of Ba'lbek. Although all the
hired camels belonged, as is customary, to the tribe,
not to the Shaykh, the latter was accompanied by
the usual “Hieland tail ;”
Hammad and Nadji, the latter our head-guide,
addicted to reading, writing, and lying; by his
favourite and factotum, Abdullah, an African mu-
latto, Muwallid or “house-born;” and by his Wakil
(“agent ”), a big black slave, "Abdullah Mohammed,

by his two nephews,

ready of tongue and readier of fist. Lastly, I must

Pend®

a Eee TE

IE ag ST

 

 

 

 

 

THE START. 149

mention one ’Audah ’Adayni, a Huwayti bred in the
Baliyy country, a traveller to Cairo, passing intelli-
gent and surpassing unscrupulous. Confidential for a
consideration, he told all the secrets of his employers,
and it is my firm conviction that he was liberally
paid for so doing by both parties of wiseacres.

The immediate objective of this, our last march,
was the Badd plain, of which we first heard at
Shaghab. I purposed subsequently to collect speci-
mens of a traditional coal-mine, to which his
Highness the Viceroy had attached the highest im-
portance. Then we would march upon the Méchoura
of the ancients, the medieval El-Marwah or Zu
Marwah, the modern Marwdt-cumz-Abd’l- Mar.
Finally, we would return to EI-Wijh, zz4 the Wady
Hamz, inspecting both it and the ruins first sighted
by MM. Marie and Philipin,

On Friday, March 29th, I gave a breakfast, in
the wooden barracks, to the officers of the Sinndr
and the officials of the port. After which, some
took their opium and went to sleep ; while others,
it being church-day, went to Mosque. We ran
out of El-Wijh at 1.45 p.m., our convoy consisting
of fifty-eight camels, forty-four of which were loaded;
seven were dromedaries, and an equal number
carried water. All had assured us that the rains of
the two past years had been wanting : last winter

they were scanty; this cold season they were zz/. In

 
 

 

 

150 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

truth, the land was suffering terribly from drought.
Our afternoon was hot and unpleasant : about later
March the Hawd e/’- Uwwar, a violent sand-raising
norther, sets in and lasts through a fortnight. It
is succeeded, in early April, by the calms of El-
Nidm (“the Blessings”), which, divided into the
Greater and the Less, last forty days. After that
the summer— Fekannum /

From the raised and metalled bank, upon which
the Bur; stands, we descended to the broad mouth
of the Wijh valley, draining the low rolling blue-
brown line of porphyritic hillocks on the east. To
our right lay the sparkling, glittering white plain
and pool, £/-Melléhak, « the salina.” After an hour
and a quarter of sandy and dusty ride, we passed
through a “gate” formed by the Hamirat-Wijh, the
red range which, backing the gape of the valley and
apparently close behind the town, strikes the eye
from the offing. Here the gypsum, ruddy and
mauve, white and black, was underlaid by granite
in rounded masses; and the Secondary formation
is succeeded by the usual red and green traps.
Though this part of our route lies in EI-Tihdmabh,
which, in fact, we shall not leave, we are again
threading the Wady Sadr of the northern Shafah-
range. A pleasant surprise was a fine vein of

sugary quartz trending north-south: at that period

we little suspected the sub-range to the south—per-

TERR

 

 

 

THE INLAND FORT EL-WIJH. 151

haps also the northern—of being, in places, one
mighty mass of “ white stone.”

After covering six miles in an hour and three-
quarters, exaggerated by the guides to three, we
suddenly sighted the inland fort. Its approach is
that of a large encamping-ground, and such, indeed,
it 1s; the Egyptian pilgrim-caravan here halts on
the fourth day from EI-Muwaylah. The broken,
untidy environs, strewed with bones and rubbish,
show low mounds that mean ovens; stone rings,
where tents are pitched; and the usual graves,
amongst which a reverend man, Shaykh Salih, rests
in a manner of round tower. The site is, in one
point at least, admirably well-chosen, a kind of
carrefour where four valleys and as many roads
meet ; and thus it commands the mouths of all
the gorges leading inland.

Riding up to the fort, we were welcomed by its
commandant, Lieutenant Ndsir Ahmed, a pecu-
liarly good specimen of his arm, the infantry. His
garrison consists of thirteen regulars, whose clean
uniforms show discipline, and whose hale and hearty
complexions testify to the excellence of the water
and the air. The men are paid annually by the
treasurer of the Hajj-caravan. They are supposed
to be relieved after seven years; but they have
wives and families : and, like the British soldier in

India half a century ago, they are content to pass

 
 

 

 

152 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

their working lives in local service. The com-
mandant showed us over his castle, which was in
excellent order ; and brewed coffee, which we drank
in the cool porch of the single gate. He then led
us about the neighbourhood, and ended with in-
viting the Sdyyid, Furayj, and the Wakil Moham-
med Shahddah to a copious feast.

The fort is the usual square, straight-curtained
work of solid masonry, with a circular bastion at
each angle, and a huge arched main-entrance in the
western facade. It is, in fact, one of the buildings
that belong to the solid, sturdy age of Sultdn Selim,
and of the Sinndn Pasha so well known about Damas-
cus. An inscription, with an illegible date, bears
the name of Ahmed ibn Taylin, the founder of the
Taylunide dynasty, in A.D. 868—884: this is another
proof that the Mamlik Soldans were lords of the
soil ; and that, even in the ninth century, South
Midian was a province, or a dependency, of Egypt.
Moreover, we picked up, to the north-east of the
work, old and well-treated scorie, suggesting a
more ancient settlement. Perhaps it was the locale
preferred by the proprietors of the slaves who
worked the inner mines, hidden from view and
from the sea-breeze by the hills.

The castle being perfectly commanded by the
heights behind, the circular towers to the east have

crests raised in that direction, giving them a spoon-

 

THE INLAND FORT. 153

shape, and a peculiar aptitude for arresting every
cannon-ball coming from the west. The Bedawin,
however, have no great guns; and apparently this
shelter has been added since Wellsted's day.* To
the curtains are attached the usual hovels, mat, palm-
leaf, and walls of dry stone or mud, which here,
as at Palmyra, inevitably suggest wasp-nests. The
northern side is subtended by three large cisterns,
all strengthened at the inner angles by the stepped
buttresses first noticed when we were exploring
Maghdir Shu'ayb.

Up the valley and behind the fort, or to the north-
east, lie the palm-plantations, the small kitchen-
gardens, and the far-famed wells which, dug by
Sultdn Selim and repaired by Ibrahim Pasha in a.n.
1524 (?), supply the Hajj-caravan. The sandy bed,
disposed east-west, is streaked, dotted, and barred
with walls and outcrops of the hardest greenstone
porphyry ; and those which run north-south must
arrest, like dykes, the flow of water underground.
One of these reefs is laboriously scraped with Bedawi
Wusim, and with Moslem inscriptions compara-
tively modern. The material is heavy, but shows no
quartz; whereas the smaller valleys which debouch
upon the northern or right bank of the main line,
display a curious conformation of the “white stone,”
contorted like oyster shells, and embedded in the

trap.

* Vol. IL. p. 187.

 
 

154 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Of the six wells, revetted with masonry and
resembling in all points those of Zib4, four, including
L-Tawilak, the deepest, supply brackish water; and
the same is the case with a fifth inside the fort, close
to the chapel of his Holiness, Shaykh Abubakr.
The water, however, appeared potable; and perhaps
cleaning out and deepening might increase the quan-
tity. The sweet element drunk by the richards of
El-Wijh comes from the Bir el-Za fardniyyak (of
Saffron”), and from its north-eastern neighbour, £/-
‘Ajwalk (“the Date-paste ”). The latter measures
four or five fathoms; and the water appears under
a boulder zz situ that projects from the southern
side. ~The reader will now agree with me that
EI-Wijh is not too drouthy for a quarantine-ground.

The plots of green meat lie about the water,
sheltered from the burning sun by a luxuriant growth
of date-trees. The Egyptian is the best man in the
world for dabbling in mud; and here, by scraping
away the surface-sand, he has come upon a clayey
soil sufficiently fertile to satisfy his wants. The
growth is confined to tobacco, potatoes, and cabbages,
purslain (Portulaca, pourpier), radishes, the edible
ITibiscus, and tomatoes, which are small and green.
Lettuces do not thrive; cucumbers and water-melons
have been tried here and up country; and—man
wants little in Midian.

We set out early on the next day (5.30 a.m.,

 

 

THE «“ WRITTEN ROCK” I

Ut
Un

March 30th) in disorderly style. The night had been
cool and comfortable, dry and dewless; but the
Shaykhs were torpid after the feast, and the escort
and quarrymen had been demoralized by a week of
sweet “do-nothing.” Striking up the Wady el-
Wijh, which now becomes narrow and gorge-like,
with old and new wells and water-pits dotting the
sole, we were stopped, after half an hour's walk, by a
“ written rock ” on the right side of the bed. None
of the guides seemed to know or, at any rate, to care
for it; although I afterwards learnt that Admiral
M’Killop (Pasha), during his last visit to EI-Wijh,
obtained a squeeze of the inscriptions. Wellsted
(11. x.) erroneously calls this valley “Wadi el-Moyah,”
the name of a feature further south—thus leading
me to expect the find elsewhere. Moreover, he has
copied the scrawls with a carelessness so prodigious,
that we failed at first to recognize the original. He
has hit upon the notable expedient of massing
together in a single dwarf wood-cut (Vol. II. p. 189)
what covers many square feet of stone; and I was
fool enough to republish his copy.®

A tall, fissured rock, of the hardest porphyritic
oreenstone, high raised from the valley-sole, facing
north-west, and reducible to two main blocks, is
scattered over with these “inscriptions,” that spread

in all directions. Most of them are Arab IW usin,

* «The Gold-Mines of Midian,” p. 213.

 

 
156 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

others are rude drawings of men and beasts, amongst
which are conspicuous the artless camel and the
serpent ; and there is a duello between two funny
warriors armed with sword and shield. These efforts
of art resemble, not a little, the “ Totem ” attempts of
the “ Red Indians” in North and South America.
There are, however, two scrapings evidently alpha-
betic, and probably Nabathaean, which are offered to
the specialists in epigraphy: six appear in Well-
sted’s illustration, especially that with a long line
above it, near the left and lower corner of the cut.
M. Lacaze and I copied the most striking features
in our carnets,; he taking the right or southern side
and leaving the other block to me. But the results
did not satisfy us; and on April 10th I sent him
with M. Philipin to make photographs. The latter,
again, are hardly as satisfactory as they might be,
because the inscriptions have not been considered
the central points of interest. We shall pass during
our present journey many of these Oriental “ John
Joneses” and “ Bill Browns:” they will suggest
the similar features of Sinaitic Wady Mukattib,
which begot those monstrous growths, “ The One

)

Primaval Language” and “The Voice of Israel

from Mount Sinai.” *

* As regards these and similar graffiti see (Atheneum, March
16, 1878) an excerpt from the last Comptes Rendues of the Acad.
des Inscript. et B. Lettres, Paris. The celebrated M. Joseph
Halévy attacked in their entirety (about 680) the rock-writings in

 

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[Chap. XVI

 
 

 

 

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THE “ WRITTEN ROCK” 157

From the “written rock” the caravan travelled
westward up an easy watercourse, El-Khaur,”
distinguished as £/-Shimdli (“the Northern”): it
winds round by the north, and we shall descend
it to-morrow. The mule-riders left the Wady el-
Wijh, which extends some two hours eastward, and
struck to the east-south-east. The bridle-path, run-
ning up the left bank of an ugly rocky torrent, the
Wady Zurayb, presently reaches a plateau undu-
lating in low rises. Burnt with heat, almost bare of

trees, and utterly waterless, it is the model of a

the Safi desert, south-east of Damascus. The German savants,
mostly attributing them to the Sabd tribes, who immigrated from
Yemen about our first century, tried the Himyaritic syllabaries
and failed. M. Halévy traces them to the Beni Tamuid (Thamu-
dites), who served as mercenaries in the Roman army, and whose
head-quarters we are now approaching. They contain, according
to him, mostly proper names, with devotional formula, similar to
those of the Sinaitic inscriptions and the Kufic and later epigraphs
which we discovered. For instance, “By A., son of B., in
memory of his mother ; he has accomplished his vow, may he be
pardoned.” The language is held to be intermediate between
Arabic and the northern Semitic branches. Names of the Deity
(El and Loo or La’?) are found only in composition, as in Abd-
El (‘ Abdallah, slave of El”); and the significant absence of the
cross and religious symbols remarked in the Syrian inscriptions,
denotes the era of heathenism, which lasted till the establishment
of Christianity, about the end of the third century. “At that time,”
M. Halévy says, “ Christianity became the official religion of the
Empire ; doubt and scepticism penetrated amongst those Arabic
tribes which were the allies of Rome, and amongst whom, for a
certain time, a kind of vague Deism was prevalent until the day
when they disappeared, having been absorbed by the great migra-
tions which had taken place in those countries.”

 
 

   

158 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

mining country : elevate it from five hundred to nine
thousand feet, and it would be the living (or dead)
likeness of a Peruvian cerro. The staple material,
porphyritic trap, shows scatters of quartz and huge
veins, mostly trending north-south : large trenches
made, according to the guides, by the ancients, and
small cairns or stone piles, modern work, were also
pointed out to us.

Crossing the heads of sundry watercourses, we
fell into the Wady Umm el-Kardydt : * it begins, as
is here the rule, with a gravelly bed, nice riding
enough ; it then breaks into ugly rocky drops and
slides, especially at the hill shoulders, where thorn-
trees and other obstacles often suggest that it is
better to dismount; and, finally, when nearing the
mouth, it becomes a matured copy of its upper self
on an enlarged scale. Presently we turned to the
left over a short divide, and stared with astonish-
ment at the airy white heap, some two hundred
feet high, which, capped and strewed with snowy
boulders, seemed to float above our heads. The
Wady-bed at our feet, lined along the left bank
with immense blocks of similar quartz, showed the
bases of black walls—ruins. “Behold Umm el-Kara-

ydt!” exclaimed Ndji, the guide, pointing with a

* Some call it so ; others Umm Kardydt : I have preferred the
former—‘ Mother of the Villages,” not “of Villages "—as being
perhaps the more common.

 

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UMM EL-KARAVAT 159

wave of the arm, his usual theatrical gesture, to the
scene before us. We could hardly believe our eyes :
he had just assured us that the march from the fort
is four hours, and we had ridden it in two hours
and fifteen minutes (= six miles and a quarter).
Dismounting at once, and ordering the camp to
be pitched near the ruins, we climbed up the south-
castern face of the quartz-hill, whose appearance
was a novelty to us. Instead of being a regular,
round-headed cone, like the Jebel el-Abyaz for
instance, the summit was distinctly crateriform. The
greater part of the day was spent in examining it,
and the following are the results. This Jebel el-
Mari showed, for the first time during the whole
journey, signs of systematic and civilized work. In
many parts the hill has become a mere shell. We
found on the near side a line of air-holes, cut in the
quartz rock, disposed north-south of one another ;
and preserving a rim, sunk like that of a sar-
cophagus, to receive a cover. Possibly it was a pre-
caution against the plunder which ruined Brazilian
Gongo Soco. The Arabs have no fear of these
places, as in Wellsted’s day, and Abdullah, the
mulatto, readily descended into one about twelve
feet below the surface. Messrs. Clarke and Marie
explored the deepest by means of ropes, and declared
that it measured sixty feet. They had to be ready

with their bayonets, as sign of hyenas was common ;

 
 

  

160 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and the beast, which slinks away in the open, is apt,
when brought to bay in caverns, to rush past the
intruder, carrying off a jawful of calf or thigh.

This pit had two main galleries, both choked
with rubbish, leading to the east and west; and the
explorers could see light glimmering through the
cracks and crevices of the roof—these doubtless
gave passage to the wild carnivors. In other parts
the surface, especially where the earth is red, was
pitted with shallow basins; and a large depression
showed the sinking of the hollowed crust. Negro
quartz was evidently abundant ; but we came to the
conclusion that the rock mostly worked was, like
that of Shuwdk, a rosy, mauve-coloured schist, with
a deep-red fracture, and brilliant colours before they
are tarnished by atmospheric oxygen. It abounds in
mica, which, silvery as fish-scales, overspreads it in
patches; and the precious metal had probably been
sought in the veinlets between the schist and its
quartz-walling. In two pieces, specks, or rather
paillettes, of gold were found lightly and loosely
adhering to the “Mard;” so lightly, indeed, that

they fell off when carelessly pocketed. Veins of

schist still remained, but in the galleries they had
been followed out to the uttermost fibril.

Reaching the crateriform summit, we found that
the head of the cone had either “caved in,” or had

heen carried off bodily to be worked. Here traces

 

 

 

THE “MOTHER OF THE VILLAGES. 161

of fire, seen on the rock, suggested that it had been
split by cold affusion. A view from the summit of
this burrowed mound gave us at once the measure
of the past work and a most encouraging prospect
for the future We determined that the Marwal or
“ quartz-hill ” of Umm el-Kardydt was the focus and
centre of the southern mining region, even as the
northern culminates in the Jebel el-Abyaz. Further
experience rejected the theory, and showed us half
a dozen foci and centres in this true quartz-region.
The main hill projects a small southern spur, also
bearing traces of the miner. The block of green
trap to the south-west has a capping and a vein-
network of quartz: here also the surface is artifi-
cially pitted. Moreover, there are detached white-
yellow pitons to the north-east, the east, and the
south ; whilst a promising hillock, bearing nearly due
north, adjoins the great outcrop. All have rounded
conical summits and smooth sides, proving that they
are yet virgin ; and here, perhaps, I should prefer to
begin work.

At our feet, and in north lat. 26° 13, lies the
settlement, in a short gravelly reach disposed north-
west to south-east; and the bed is enclosed by a rim
of trap and quartz hills. The ruins lie upon a fork
where two gorges, running to the east and the
north-east, both fall into the broad Wady el-Khaur,
and the latter feeds the great Wady el-Miyik, the

VOL. 11. A

  
162 THE LAND OF MIDIANMN.

« Fiumara of the Waters,” of which more presently.
The remains on the upper (eastern) branch-valley
show where the rock was pulverized by the number
of grinding implements, large and small, coarse and
fine, all, save the most solid, broken to pieces by
the mischievous Bedawi. Some are of the normal
basalt, which may also have served for crushing
grain ; others are cut out of grey and ruddy granites:
a few are the common Makrikal or “rub-stones,” and
the many are handmills, of which we shall see ad-
mirable specimens further on. One was an upper
stone, with holes for the handle and for feeding the
mill : these articles are rare. [I also secured the
split half of a ball, or rather an oblate spheroid, of
serpentine with depressions, probably where held by
finger and thumb; the same form is still used for
grinding in the Istrian island of Veglia. This is
one of the few rude stone implements that rewarded
our careful search.

The north-eastern, which is the main Wady, has
a sole uneven with low swells and falls. It was dry
as summer dust: I had expected much in the way
of botanical collection, but the plants were not in
flower, and the trees, stripped of their leaves, looked
“black as negroes out of holiday suits.” Here lie the
principal ruins, forming a rude parallelogram from

north-east to south-west. The ground plan shows

the usual formless heaps of stones and pebbles,

 

 

 

 

RUINS. 163

with the bases of squares and oblongs, regular and
irregular, large and small. There were no signs of
wells or aqueducts; and the few furnaces were be-
trayed only by ashen heaps, thin scatters of scorie,
and bits of flux—dark carbonate of lime. Here and
there mounds of the rosy micaceous schist, still
unworked, looked as if it had been washed out by
the showers of ages. The general appearance is
that of an ergastulum like Umm Amil: here per-
haps the ore was crushed and smelted, when not
rich enough to be sent down the Wady for water-
working at the place where the inland fort now is.
The quarrymen, placed at the most likely spots,
were ordered to spall rock for specimens : with their
usual perversity, they picked up, when unwatched,
broken bits of useless stuff; they spent the whole
day dawdling over three camel-loads, and they pro-
tested against being obliged to carry the sacks to
their tents. Meanwhile N4dji, who had told marvel-
lous tales concerning a well in the neighbouring
hills, which showed the foundations of houses in its
bowels, was directed to guide Lieutenant Amir.
He objected that the enormous distance would be
trying to the stoutest mule, and yet he did not blush
when it was reached after a mile’s ride to the south-
west (240° mag.). It proved to be a long-mouthed
pit, sunk in the trap hill-slope some four fathoms

deep, but much filled up; and, so far from being

 
164 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

built in, it had not even the usual wooden platform.
Eastward of it, and at the head of the Wady
Shuwaytanah, “the Devilling,” lay a square ruin like
a small Mashghal of white quartz: here also were
three stones scribbled with pious ejaculations, such
as Ya Allah! and Bismillak, in a modern Kufic
character.

Umm el-Kardydt, “the Mother of the Villages,”
derives her title, according to the Baliyy, from the
numerous offspring of minor settlements scattered
around her. We shall pass several on the next
day's march, and I am justified in setting down the
number at a dozen. The Wady el-Kibli, the southern
valley, was visited by Lieutenants Amir and Yusuf
on April gth, when we were encamped below it at
Abd’l-Mari.* After riding about six miles to the

north-north-west, down the Wady el-Mismah and

up the Wady el-Argah, they reached, on the left

bank of the latter, the ruins known as Mari el-
Khawr. The remains of the daughter are those of
the “ mother.” There are two large heaps of quartz
to the north and to the south-east of the irregular
triangle, whose blunted apex faces northwards : the
south-eastern hill shows an irregular Fa» (“ pit”) in
the reef of white stone, leading to a number of little
tunnels.

I lost all patience with Wellsted, f whose blunders

See Chap. XIX. Vol. II. Chap. X.

 

WELLSTED. 165

concerning the Umm el-Kardydt are really surpris-
ing, even for a sailor on camel-back. He reaches
the ruins after ten miles from the fort, when they
lie between twelve and thirteen from EI-Wijh. He
calls the porphyritic trap “dark granite.” He makes
the grand quartz formation “limestone, of which the
materials used for constructing the town (coralline !)
appear to have been chiefly derived.” He descends
the “caves” with ropes and lights; yet he does not
perceive that they are mining shafts and tunnels,
puts d'azr, adits for the workmen, and pits by
which the ore was “brought to grass.” And the
Hydrographic Chart is as bad. It locates the inland
fort six miles and three-quarters from the anchorage,
but the mine is thrust eastwards ten miles and a
quarter from the fort; the latter distance being, as has
been seen, little more than the former. Moreover, the
ruins are placed to the north, when they lie nearly
on the same parallel of latitude as EI-Wijh. Ahmed
Kaptdn fixed them, by solar observations, in north

!

lat. 26° 13, so that we made only one mile of

southing. It ignores the porphyritic sub-range in
which the “Mother of the Villages ” lies: and it
brings close to the east of it the tall peaks of the
Tihdmat-Balawiyyah, which, from this point, rise
like azure shadows on the horizon. Finally, it
corrupts Umm el- Kardyit to Feyrabat. * Impossible,
but true!”

 
166 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

The night at the ruins was dry and cool, even
cold ; disturbed only by the coughing of the men,
the moaning of the camels, and the bleating of the
sheep. We would willingly have spent here another
day, but water and forage were absolutely wanting ;
and the guides assured us that even greater marvels,
in the shape of ruins and quartz-reefs, lay ahead.
We set out shortly after five a.m. (March 31st) : the
morning was pearly and rosy ; but puffs of a warmer
wind announced the Dufin (local Khamsin), which
promised us three days of ugly working weather.
Leaving Umm el-Kardydt by the upper or eastern
valley-fork, we soon fell into and descended its
absorbent, the broad (northern) Wady el-Khaur.
Upon the right bank of the latter rose the lesser
“Mountain of Quartz,” a cone white as snow, looking
shadowy and ghostly in the petit jour, the dim
light of morning. For the next two hours (= seven
miles) we saw on both sides nothing but veins
and outcrops of “Mart,” worked as well as un-
worked. All was bare and barren as the gypsum :
the hardy ’Aushaz (Lycium), allied to the tea-tree, is
the only growth that takes root in humus-filled
hollows of the stone.

Presently the quartz made way for long lines
and broad patches of a yellow-white, heat-altered
clay, often revetted with iron, and passably aping
the nobler rock: from one reef I picked up what

 

WADY “OF THE CUPOLA 167

appeared to be trachyte, white like that of Shaghab.
The hill-casing of the valley forms no regular line;
the heaps of black, red, and rusty trap are here
detached and pyramidal, there cliffing as if in
presence of the sea. The vegetation improved as

we advanced; the trees were no longer black and

heat-blasted; and we recognized once more the
dandelion, the thistle, the senna, the Aristida grass,

and other familiar growths. Tents, shepherds, and

large flocks of goats and kids showed that water
was not distant; and, here in Baliyy-land, even the
few young women seemed to have no fear of the
white face.

After a slow, dull ride in the burning and sickly
wind, we crossed the head of our former route,
Wady Zurayb the Ugly, and presently entered the
Wady e/-Kubbal (“of the Cupola”), where our im-
mediate destination rose before us. It is a grisly
black saddleback, banded with two perpendicular
stripes of dark stone that shines like specular iron;
and upon its tall northern end, the pommel, stands
a small ruin, the oft spoken of “Dome.” Sketches
of paths wind up the western flank; but upon this
line, we were assured, no ruins are seen save a
few pits. So we rounded the block by the north,
following the broad Wady to the Mdyat el-Kubbah,
water-pits in the sand whose produce had not been

libelled when described as salt, scanty, and stinking.

 
168 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

The track then turned up a short, broad branch-
Wady, running from south to north, and falling
into the left bank of the “Dome Valley:” a few yards
brought us to a halt at the ruins of EIl-Kubbah.
We had pushed on sharply during the last half of
the way, and our morning’s ride had lasted four

hours (= thirteen miles).

The remains lie in the uneven quartzose basin
at the head of the little lateral watercourse : they
are built with good cement, and they evidently
belong to the race that worked the “ Mother of the
Villages ;” but there is nothing to distinguish them
except the ruins of a large Sdkiyal (“draw-well ”),
with its basin of weathered alabaster. We were
perplexed by the shallow conical pits in the por-
phyritic trap, to the east and west of the “Dome
Hill ;” the ground is too porous for rain cisterns,
and the depth is not sufficient for quarrying. The
furnaces showed the normal slag; but the only
“metals” lying around them were poor iron-clay,
and a shining black porphyry, onyxed with the
whitest quartz. There were, however, extensive
scatters of Negro, which had evidently been brought
there ; and presently we found large heaps of
rosy-coloured, washed-out schist.® These explained

the raison d’étre of this dreary and dismal hole.

* This rock, assayed in England, produced no precious metal.
As has been said, gold was found in its containing walls of quartz.

THE “ DOME.” 169

Meanwhile the juniors ascended the rocky
“ Kubbah ” hill, which proved to be a small matter
of 120 feet (aner. 29°34) above the valley-sole
(aner. 2946). The “Dome” was nothing but a
truncated circle of wall, porphyry and cement, just
large enough to hold a man; the cupola-roof, if
there ever had been one, was clean gone; and
adjoining it yawned a rock-cut pit some fifteen feet
deep. I came to the conclusion that here might have
been a look-out where, possibly, the “bale-fire” was
also lit. The “ascensionists” brought back a very
healthy thirst.

We rested till noon in the filmy shade of the
thorn-trees. The caravan was at once sent forward
to reach the only good water, lying, said the guides,
many a mile beyond. We had made up our minds
for a good long march ; and I was not a little vexed
when, after half an hour, we were led out of the
Wady el-Kubbah, whose head, our proper line, lies
to the north, into its eastern influent, the Wady
el-Dasnah. Here, after an afternoon “spell” of
forty-five minutes (= two miles and a half), and a
total of four hours and forty-five minutes (= fifteen
miles and a half), a day nearly half wasted, we
found the tents pitched. The heat had strewed
the Wady with soldiers and quarrymen; and the
large pit in the bed, supplying “water sweet as

the Nile,” showed a swarm of struggling blacks,

OO

 
170 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

which the Egyptian officers compared with A/fdrét
or “demons;” we with large pismires. A sentinel
was placed to prevent waste and pollution at
the Mdyat el-Dasnah, whose position is in north
lat. 26° 27.

April Fools’ day was another that deserved to be
marked with a white stone. I aroused the camp at
3.30 a.m,, in order that the camels might load with
abundance of water: we were to reach the springs
of Umm Gezdz, but a presentiment told me that
we might want drink. At that hour the camp was
a melancholy sight: the Europeans surly because
they had discussed a bottle of cognac when they
should have slept; the good Sayyid without his
coffee, and perhaps without his prayers; Wakil

Mohammed sorrowfully attempting to gnaw tooth-

breaking biscuit; and the Bedawin working and

walking like somnambules. However, at 5.10 a.m.
we struck north, over a low divide of trap hill, by a
broad and evidently made road, and regained the
Wady el-Kubbah : here it is a pleasant spectacle
rich in trees, and vocal with the cooing of the turtle-
dove. After an hour's sharp riding we reached its
head, a fair round plain some two miles across, and
rimmed with hills of red, green, and black plutonics,
the latter much resembling coal. It was a r¢plica
of the Sadr-basin below the Hismd, even to the

Khuraytak or “Pass” at the northern end. Here,

 

THE LIBN RANGE. 171

however, the Col is a mere bogus; that is, no raised
plateau lies beyond it.

We crossed a shallow prism and a feeding-basin:
an ugly little gorge then led to the important Wady
Sirr. We are now in the hydrographic area of the
Wady Nejd,* which, numbering influents by the
dozen, falls into the Salbah (Z%albak) of Sharm
Dumaghah. The Sirr, though still far from its
mouth, is at least three miles broad ; and the guides
speak of it as the As/ el-Balawtyyah, or “ Old Home
of the Baliyy.” The view from its bed is varied and
extensive. Behind us lies the Tihdmat-Balawiyyah,
the equivalent of the Ghdts of North Midian, from
the Zahd to the Shdrr. The items are the little
Jebel 'Antar, which, peeping over the Fiumara’s
high left bank, is continued south by the lower
Libn. The latter attaches to the higher Libn,
whose triad of peaks, the central and highest built
of three distinct castellations, flush and blush with
a delicate pink-white cheek as it receives the hot
caresses of the sun. We are now haunted by the
Libn, which, like its big brother the Shdrr, seems
everywhere to accompany us.

Beyond the neutral ground, over which we are

travelling, appear in front the pale-blue heights

* This is the valley confounded by Wallin and those who
followed him (e.g. Keith Johnston) with the Wady Hamz, some
forty miles to the south.

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

172

bordering the Wady Nejd to the north-west, and
apparently connected with the Febelaynr el-Fayy in
the far north (30° mag.). To the north-east the
view is closed by the lumpy Febel el-Kurr (the
Qorh of Arabian geographers ?) ; followed south-
wards by the peaked wall of the Febel el- Ward, and
by El-Safhah with its “ Pins.” For the last eighteen
miles we had seen no quartz, which, however, might
have veined the underground-rock. The sole of the
Sirr now appeared spread with snow, streaked and
patched with thin white paint; the stones were
mostly water-rolled, the discharge of valleys draining
from afar. The ground was unpleasantly pitted and
holed ; the camels were weak with semi-starvation
and the depressing south-wester; Lieutenant Amir
put his dromedary to speed, resulting in a nose-
flattening fall ; and the Sayyid nearly followed suit.
This is our second day of Klamsin, yet on the
northern slope of the great frumara we meet the
cool land-wind. Either it or the sea-breeze generally
sets in between seven and eight a.m., when the stony,
sandy world has been thoroughly sunned. The
short divide beyond the far bank of the Sirr is
strewn with glittering mica-schist that takes the
forms of tree-trunks and rotten wood ; and with
dark purple-blue fragments of clay-slate looking as
if they had been worked. A counterslope of the

same material, which makes excellent path-metal

UMM EL-HARAB. 173

placed us in the Wady Rubayyigh (“the Little
Rabi : or “Green-grown Spring”), a short and
propardonally very broad branch draining to the
Sirr. Here large outcrops of quartz mingled with
the clay slate. A few yards further it abutted upon
a small gravelly basin with ruins and a huge white
veef of “ Mary,” which caused a precipitate dismount-
ing. We had marched only four hours (= thirteen
miles) ; but the loss of time has its compensations
Our Arabs, who consider this a fair day’s work, will

now, 1
, In hopes of a halt, show us every strew of
quartz and every fragment of wall. They con-

gratulated us upon reaching a part of their country

absolutely unvisited by Europeans.

The site of our discovery was the water-parting
of the Wady Rubayyigh with the Wady Rabigh
both feeders of the Sirr; this to the north, that to
the south. The ruins, known as Uwe el-FHarib
’ Mother of Desolation,” are the usual basement.
fistes : they lie in the utterly waterless basin, our
camping: ground, stretching west of Mari Rubay-
yigh, the big white reef. This “ Mother” bears
nearly north of Umm el-Kardydt, in north lat
26° 33° 36” (Ahmed Kaptdn): her altitude wis
made upwards of a thousand feet above sea-level
(aner. 28-92).

At Umm el-Hardb we saw for the first time an

open mine, scientifically worked by the men of old

 
174 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

They chose a pear-shaped quartz-reef ; the upper
dome exposed, the converging slopes set and hidden
in green trap to the east and west, and the in-
visible stalk extending downwards, probably deep
into Earth's bowels. They began by sinking, as we
see from certain rounded apertures, a line of shafts
striking north-north-east (45°50 mag.) to south-
south-west across the summit, which may measure
one hundred and twenty yards. The intervening
sections of the roof are now broken away; and a
great yawning crevasse in the hill-top gives this
saddleback of bare cream-coloured rock, spangled
with white where recently fractured, the semblance
of a “comb ” or cresting reef.

We descended into this chasm, whose slope
varies from a maximum of 45° to a minimum of 36°
at the south. The depth apparently did not exceed
thirty feet, making allowance for the filling up of
centuries : but in places the hollow sound of the
hammer suggested profounder pits and wells. 1
should greatly doubt that such shallow sinking as
this could have worked out any beyond the upper
part of the vein. Here it measures from six to
eight feet in diameter, diminishing to four and a half
and even three below. The sloping roof has been
defended from collapse by large pillars of the rock,
left standing as in the old Egyptian quarries ; it
shows the clumsy but efficient practice that preceded

 

OVENT GARDEN

STC

ANG

THOS KELL LITH.40,¥

HARAB.

EL

=
=

 
 

THE “ MOTHER OF DESOLATION. 175

timbering. The material worked was evidently the
pink-coloured and silver-scaled micaceous schist ; but
there was also a whitish quartz, rich in geodes and
veinlets of dark-brown and black dust. The only
inhabitants of the cave, bats and lizards (Gongylus
ocellatus, L., etc.), did not prevent M. Lacaze making
careful study of the excavation ; the necessity of
brown shadows, however, robs the scene of its
charm, the delicate white which still shimmers under
its transparent veil of shade. Similar features exist
at El-Muwaylah and El-Aujah, in the wilderness of
Kadesh: but those are latomie,; these are gold
mines, *

Another sign of superior labour is shown by the
quartz-crushing implements. Here they are of three
kinds : coarse and rough basaltic lava for the first
and rudest work; red granite and syenitic granite
for the next stage; and, lastly, an admirable hand-
mill of the compactest grey granite, smooth as glass
and hard as iron. Around the pin-hole are raised
and depressed concentric circles intended for orna-
ment ; and the “dishing ” towards the rim js regular

as if turned by machinery. We have seen as yet

nothing like this work ; nor shall we see anything

superior to it. All are nether millstones, so carefully
smashed that one can hardly help suspecting the
kind of superstitious feeling which suggested icono-

* See the illustration, “ Desert of the Exodus,” p. 306.

 
176 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

The venerable Shaykh 'Afndn showed a

oncerning the labours of the

clasm.

touching ignorance C

ancients ; and, when lectured about the Nabat

(Nabathzans), only exclaimed, “Allah, Allah |”

In the evening we ascended the porphyry hills
to the north of the little camping-basin ; and we
found the heights striped by two large vertical bands
of quartz. The eastern vein, like the Jebel el-Mart,
has a north-east to south-west strike (45° mag.); the
western runs east-west with a dip to south. From
the summit we could see that the quartz-mountain,
as usual an exaggerated vein, is hemmed in on both
sides by outcrops and hills of trap, black, green, and

yellow, which culminate eastward in the Jebel el-

Gurab (Furdb). We had a fine bird's-eye view of
the Wady Rébigh, and of our next day's march
towards the Shafah Mountains: the former was
white with quartz as if hail-strewn. Far beyond its

right bank rose an Asli hab, or “ grey head,” which
it will prove

seemed to promise quartzose granite :
an important feature. Before sleeping, I despatched
to EI-Wijh two boxes of micaceous schist and two

bags of quartz, loads for a pair of camels.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE MARCH CONTINUED TO EL-BADA—DESCRIPTION
OF THE PLAIN BADAIS.

Are the exciting scenes of the last three days
ihiis stage was dull riding, and consequently, I
it will be dull reading as well as writing. We
off afoot betimes (5.10 a.m.) in the still warm morn-
ing that augured AYamsin: the third day was now
telling heavily on man and beast. A walk of ten
minutes led down the rough line of the little water-
course draining the Mari Rubayyigh to the Wad
Rdabigh. At a re-entering angle of the on
a shallow pit was sunk ; the sand became moist and
red, and presently it was underlaid by a rubble of
porphyritic trap. Nothing more!

We then crossed the Wady Rdbigh, another of
the short broad valleys which distinguish this section
of South Midian. The bed sides, especially the
right, are heaps and mounds of snowy quartz, with

glittering crowns of block and boulder: all prove t
VOL, II. k 8
y

 
178 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

be veins in the grey granite, whose large coarse
elements are decomposed by weather, The dark
and rusty walls of the valley also discharge the
white stone in shunts and shoots: here and thers
they might be mistaken for Goz (“ ry
heaped up by the wind, except that hose are £8
in thin vegetation, whereas the * Mardi” is mostly
mother-naked. We halted here for rest and to
examine these features : despite the Klamsin, the
Great Gaster became querulous; hunger was now
the chief complaint, and even the bon ordinaire had
lost much of its attraction. A harmless snake was
killed and bottled ; its silver robe was beautifully
banded with a line, pink as the circles of the “cobra

coral.” which ran along the whole length of the

back. It proved to be a new species; and Dr,

Giinther named it Zamends elegantissimas. |
Beyond the Rabigh, we ascended a lateral valley,

whence a low divide led to the Wady el-Bahrah

(“of the Basin”), another feeder of the Sirr. It was
also snow-white, and on the right of the path lay
black heaps, Hawdwit, © ruins’ not worth the delzy
of a visit. Then began a short up-slope with a

longer counterslope, on which we met a party of

1 u
Huwaytat, camel-men and foot-men going to buy
grain at EI-Wigh. Another apparition was a spear-
man bestriding a bare-backed colt; after recon-

noitring us for some time, he yielded to the tempta-

SHEPHERD-DOGS. 20

tions of curiosity. It afterwards struck us that,
mounted on our mules, preceded and followed by
the Shaykhs riding their dromedaries, we must have
looked mighty like a party of prisoners being
marched inland. The horseman was followed by a
rough-coated, bear-eared hound of the kind described
by Wellsted* as “ resembling the English mastiff”—
he did not know how common is the beast further
north. The Alb gasir (jasur) or “bold dog,”
also called Kalo el-himz, or “the hot” (tempered),
is found even amongst the Bedawin to the east of
the Suez Canal; but there the half-bred is more
common than the whole-blood. It is trained to tend
the flocks ; it never barks, nor bites its charges; and
it is said to work as well as the shepherd-dog of
Europe,

The Wady Mulaybij shows fine specimens of
mica doré in the quartz-vein streaking the slate: it
deceived all the caravan, save those who tested it
with their daggers. The bed, after forming a basin,
narrows to a sandy gut, smooth and pleasant riding ;
and, after crossing several valley-heads, the path de-
bouches upon the Wady A444/-Gezaz. This “Father
of Glass,” though a day and a half’s march from the
sea, is even broader than the great Sirr to which it
is tributary. Its line, which reminded us of the

Dédmah, is well marked by unusually fine vegeta-

* Vol. II. Chap. X.

 
180 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

tion: and the basin bears large Gl of HL
scattered Daum-trees, the giant asclepiad PL S ik
thickets of tamarisk and scatters of the wild 2 2 :
plant, whose use is unknown to the Ais, I a
wells up abundantly from a dozen shallow pits, 0 fy
new, in the sand of the southern or left bank.
the flow is apparently arrested by a tall ie '
coarse granite, red with orthose, and slice y

iking north-south. |
or il had been only four slow he ]
but we were compelled to await the OE Ww i"
did not arrive till after noon. It had passe >
by the Wady Rabigh, into and up the Fat ore
Glass” in fact, it had described an easy semicir °
while we had ridden in a series of zi1gzags, > ’
rough and difficult short cuts. A delay fae
necessary for our mappers to connect gio
with their itinerary of the central region. oo "i
the Wady Mulaybij had Gr he ” J

of Jebel Raydan;

es x pon] ot his sudden return home.

r camp in the Abd'l-Gezdz, the Zigldb block

oy o.); and the
Oo

h (350 ma
{ Shaghab bore nearly nort
: ining Jebel el-Aslah, also a blue cone on the

horizon, rose about two degrees further north. |
After the big mess-tent had been duly blown

iscipli minis-
down, and the usual discipline had been ad
« The Gold-Mines of Midian,” Chap. XIL

adjo

* Described In

RUINS AT THE “FATHER OF GLASS.” 181

tered for washing in the drinking-pool ; we crossed
to the left of the Wady by way of an evening
stroll, and at once came upon an atelier of some
importance. The guides seemed to ignore its
existence, so we christened it Mashghal Ab&l-Gezéz.
On the slope of a trap-hill facing the Wady el-
Ghamis, the southern valley which we had last
crossed, stood a square of masonry scattered round
with fragments of pottery, glass, and basalt. Below
it, on the “mesopotamian” plain, lay the founda-
tions of houses still showing their cemented floors,
The lowlands and highlands around the settlement
looked white-patched with mounds, veins, and scat-

ters of quartz. The evening was stillness itself

broken only by the cries of the Katis, which are
now nesting, as they flocked to drink ; and the night
was cool—a promise, and a false promise, that the
Khamstn had ended on its ysual third day.

The next morning (April 3rd) showed us El-
Badd, the whole march lying up the Wady Ab4'l-
Gezdz, which changes its name with every water,
The early air was delightfully fresh and brisk, and
the cattle stepped out as if walking were a pleasure :

yet the Arabs declared that neither camels nor mules

had found a full feed in the apparently luxuriant vege-
tation of the Fiumara-bed. The tract began badly
over loose sandy soil, so honeycombed that neither
man nor beast could tread safely: the Grd: (]irdi),

 
182 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

or “field rat,” is evidently nocturnal like the jerboa;

during the whole journey we never saw a specimen
of either. A yellow wolf was descried skulking
among the bushes, and a fine large hare was
shot ; porcupine-quills were common, and we picked
up the mummy of a little hedgehog. The birds
were swift-winged hawks and owls, pigeons and

ring-doves ; Crows again became common, and the

water-wagtail was tame as the Brazilian thrush,
Fodo de Barros: it hopped about within a few feet
of us, quite ignoring the presence of Frenchmen
armed with murderous guns. 1 cannot discern the
origin of the pseudo-Oriental legend which declares
that the “crow of the wilderness” (raven) taught
Cain to bury his brother by slaying a brother crow,
and scraping a grave for it with beak and claw.
The murderous bird then perched upon a palm-tree,
whose branches, before erect, have ever drooped, and
croaked the truth into Adam's ear: hence it has ever
been of evil augury to mankind. The hoopoe, which
the French absurdly call cog de montagne, also trotted
by the path-side without timidity ; and the butcher-
bird impudently reviewed the caravan from its
vantage-ground, a commanding tree. The large
swift shot screaming overhead ; and the cries of the
troops of Merops, with silver-lined wings, resembled
those of the sand-grouse.
After some five miles the “Father of Glass”

APPROACH TO EL-BADA. 183

changed his name to 44% Daunak (of the “one The
ban Palm”). Porphyritic trap lay on both sides of *
To the right rose the Jebel *Ukbal, whose gre Son
(£L-Ask hab) we had seen from the heights dain
Umm el-Hardb : the whole range of four heads
fogning the south-western rim of the Badd Sor
is known as £/°Akitil. Below these blocks dhe
Wady-sides were cut into buttresses of yellow
clay, powdered white with Sadkk, or bd ure
salt.” Charred circlets in the sand showed a
Alles had been burned: the ashes, packed in
skins, are shipped at EI-Wijh for Syria, where
they serve to make soap. The Bedawin call it
Aslak (Athlah); the Egyptians Ghassilak (“the
Washes "), because, when rubbed in the hands
iis succulent shoots clean the skin. Camels ert
it, Wheieas mules refuse it, unless halt.starved
This plant apparently did not extend all up the
Wady. The water, where there is any, swings
under the left bank; an ample supply had been
promised to us, with the implied condition that we
should camp at this AMalattat el’ Urban (“ Halting-
place of the Arabs”), after a marching day of
two hours! Seeing that we rode on, the Baliy
declared that they had searched for the two rine
pal pools, and that both were dry, or rather had
been buried by the Bedawin. But, with character.

stic futility, they had allowed me to overhear their

 
 

   

184 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

and the word was passed to the

conversation ;
e filled themselves and their

soldiers, who at onc
water-skins.
Hitherto we had been marching south of east.
where the pretty green Wady el-Surim
left bank, we turned a corner, and
great plain of

Presently,
falls into the
sighted in front, or to the north, the
Badd. The block, E1-’Akdbil, had projected a loop
of some ten miles to be rounded, whereas a short
cut across it would not have exceeded three. And

now the Wady Abd Daumah abruptly changed for-

The red and green traps of the right side

mation.
own by its rounded

made way for grey granite, kn
cks on the sides and summit, by its false

bulging blo
hat strewed

stratification, by its veins of quartz t
the sand, and by its quaint weathering—one rock
exactly resembled a sitting eagle; a second was
a turtle, and a third showed a sphinx in the rough.
The Badd plain is backed by a curtain so tall

that we seemed, by a common optical delusion,

to be descending when we were really ascending
rapidly.
Anxiety to begin our studies of the spot made

the ride across the basin, soled with rises Ccom-

fortably metalled, and with falls of sand unpleasantly
loose and honeycombed, appear very long. The
where men camp, with its two date-

palm-clump,
est, receded as it were. At

trees towering over the r

 

  

THE PAILM-TREES OF EL-BADA 182
. 5

last, ii a total of four hours and forty-five minutes
(= sheren miles), we dismounted at the celebrated
ae before the ugly Khamsin arose and
: .° : pn dull, as though all its colours
| The dates form a kind of square with a shar
triangle to the south, upon the left bank of oe
thalweg, which overflows them during floods bo
enceinte is the normal Arab “snake-fence "of ee
and barked branches, which imperfectly defends i
niSories of young trees and the plots of Klubbayzal
(“edible mallows”) from the adjoining campin Gon)
of bald yellow clay. The wells, inside and ay
the enclosure, are nine ; three stone-revetted. and oe
rest mere pits in the inchoate modern No
The trees want thinning; the undergrowth is "
dense as to be impenetrable; but the heads are all
carefully trimmed, the first time we have seen sucl
iidusiy in Midian. The shade attracts vi rs
Mg the Zckis: and 1 was startled by i
0 ey warble of the Bulbul—a nightingale in
The next day was devoted to inspecting this far-
famed site, with the following results. We have
already seen a Bada’ (gay) and a Badfa
whilst there is a Badi’ah (xxv) * further rn
are now at a Badd (lon) which fulfils all the con-

* Chap. XVIII.

 
 
186 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

ditions required by the centre and head-quarters of
« Thamuditis.” The site of the Bijat. Badd, ‘the
Wide Plain of Badd,” as it is distinguished by the
Arabs, represents, topographically speaking, a bulge
in the Wady Nejd, before it becomes the Wady Abu
Daumah, between the Shafah Mountains to the
east and the Tihdmah range seawards. The lati-
tude is 26° 45 30° = o° 31’ 30" north of El-Wijh.*
From its centre, a little south of our camping-place,
the Jebel Zigldb of Shaghab, distant, according to
Y4kut, one march, bears 32° and the Aslah (Athlah)
cone 30° (both mag.): it lies therefore south of

Shuwdk, with a little westing. The altitude is

upwards of twelve hundred feet above sea-level

(aner. 28:72). The size of the oval is about nine
statute miles from north to south, where the main
watercourse breaks; and twelve miles from east to
west, giving an area of some 108 square miles.
The general aspect of the basin suggests that of
El-Haurd ; the growth is richer than the northern,
but not equal to that of the southern country. The
ruins belong to the Maghdir Shuayb category, and
the guides compare the /fZawdwit with those of
~Maddin Salih.

Such is the great station on the Nabathaan over-
land highway between Leuke Kome and Petra;

* Ahmed Kaptdn’s observation of Polaris. The Badais (Bades)
of Ptolemy is in north lat. 25° 30".

PTOLEMY’S “ BADAIS.” 187

the commercial and industrial, the agricultural and
mineral centre, which the Greeks called Badatls ; the
Romans, Badanatha (Pliny, vi. 32); and the medieval
Arab geographers, Badd Ya'kib, in the days when
the Hajj-caravan used to descend the Wadys Nejd
and the “ Father of Glass.” Now it is simply El-
Badd : the name of the “ Prophet” Jacob, supposed
to have visited it from Egypt or Syria, being clean
forgotten.

The rolling plain is floored with grey granite,
underlying sandstones not unlike coral-rag, and still
in course of formation. Through this crust outcrop
curious hillocks, or rather piles of hard, red, and iron-
revetted rock, with a white or a rusty fracture—these
are the characteristics of the basin. The lower
fevels are furrowed with their threads of sand, beds
of rain-torrents discharged from the mountains; and
cach is edged by brighter growths of thorn and fan-
palm. The fattening Salib grass is scattered about
the water; the large sorrel hugs the Fiumara-sides ;
the hardy ’Aushaz-thorn (Zycium), spangled with
white bloom and red currants, which the Arabs say
taste like grapes, affects the drier levels: and Tanzubs,
almost all timber when old, become trees as laroe
as the Jujube. ’

The Bijat is everywhere set in a regular rim of
mountains. The Shafah curtain to the north is

fretted with a number of peaks, called as usual after

 
188 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

their Wadys ; * the west is open with a great slope,
the Wady Manab, whose breadth is broken only by
the “Magrdh” Naza'dn, a remarkable saddleback
with reclining cantle. It is distant a ride of two
hours, and we have now seen it for three marches.
A little south of east yawns the gorge-mouth of the
Wady Nejd, the upper course of the Abd'l-Gezdz:
a jagged black curtain, the Jebel Dausal, forms its
southern jaw. Further south the Tihdmah Moun-
tains begin with the peaky Jebel el-Kurr, another
remarkable block which has long been in sight. Its
neighbour is the bluff-headed Jebel el-Widsil of Mar-
wat: whilst the trap-blocks, already mentioned as
the Jibdl el-’Akabil, finish the circle.

The better to understand the shape of the ruins,
we will ascend the irregular block which rises a few
furlongs to the north-east of the palm-orchard. It
has only three names: 'Araygat Badd (“ Veinlet
of Badd”); Zeba'yat Badd, “the Low-lying (Hill) of
Badd :” and Shakth el-Bim, ‘the Ash-coloured
(Hill) of the Owl.” 1 will prefer the latter, as we
actually sighted one of those dear birds on its western
flank. It is an outcrop of grey granite, pigeon-holed
by weather, and veined by a variety of dykes. Here
we find greenstone breccia’d with the blackest horn-

* The barbarous names, beginning from the west, are Jebels
Sehayyir, Unkd (“of the griffon”), Mardkh (name of a shrub),
Genayy (Jenayy), El-Hazzah, El-Madhanah, Buza’'mah, and

Urnuwah.

MINERS INSCRIPTIONS. 189

blende ; there huge filons of hard, red, heat-altered
clays, faced with iron, whilst the fracture is white as
trachyte ; and there filets of quartz, traversing large
curtains and sheets of light-coloured argils. This
was evidently the main quarry: the sides still show
signs of made zigzags; and the red blocks and
boulders, all round the hill, bear the prayers and

INSCRIPTION AT EL-BADA.

pious ejaculations of the Faithful. The characters
range between square Kufic, hardly antedating four
centuries, and the cursive form of our day. Some
are merely scraped; others are deeply and laboriously
cut in the hard material, a work more appropriate for
the miner than for the passing pilgrim.

From the ruined look-out on the summit the

shape of the city shows a highly irregular triangle

of nine facets, forming an apex at the east end of

 
190 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

our “ Owl's Hill :” the rises and falls of the ground
have evidently determined the outline. The palm-
orchard, whose total circumference is five hundred
and thirty-six métres, occupies a small portion of its
south-eastern corner ; and our camping-place, further
east, was evidently included in the ancient enceinte.
The emplacement, extending along the eastern bank
of the main watercourse, is marked by a number of
mounds scattered over with broken glass and pottery
of all kinds: no coins were found, but rude bits of
metal, all verdigris, were picked up north of the
palm-orchard. Here, too, lay queer fish-bones, with
tusks and teeth, chiefly the jaws of Scaride and
Sparide (seabreams).*

Descending the Shahib el-Bim, and passing a
smaller black and white block appended to its south-
south-western side, we now cross to the left bank of
the main drain. Here lies the broken tank, the
normal construction of El-Islam’s flourishing days.
It is a square of thirty-two metres, whose faces and
angles do not front the cardinal points. At each
corner a flight of steps has been; two have almost

disappeared, and the others are very shaky. The

* Dr. C. Carter Blake examined the four brought home, and
identified No. 1, superior pharyngeal bone and teeth (Scarus);
No. 2, inferior bone and teeth of a large fish allied to ZLabrus or
Chrysophrys ; No. 3, left side, pre-maxillary, possibly same species ;
and No. 4, lower right mandible of Spherodon grandoculis,
Riippell.

THE RUINS OF BADA. 191

fans, originally stone-paved, is now a sheet of hard
silt, growing trees and bush : dense Tanzub-clumps
(Sodada decidua), with edible red berries, sheltering
a couple of birds’-nests, suggested a Wy
between the present and the past. At the east end
is the Makhzan el-Mayalk, or “smaller reservoir,” an
oblong of 7:80 by 6:60 métres : the waggon-tilt roof
has disappeared, and the fissures show brick within
the ashlar. Along the eastern side are huge stand-
ing slabs of the coarse new sandstone with which
the tank is lined : these may be remains of a conduit.
Around the cistern lies a ruined graveyard, whose
yawning graves supplied a couple of skulls. A
broken line of masonry, probably an aqueduct, runs
south-south-east (143° mag.) towards the palms:
after two hundred metres all traces of it are lost.
The mining industry could not have been a
prominent feature at Badd, or we should have found,
as in Shaghab and Shuwaik, furnaces and score.
Yet about the tank we lit upon large scatters of
spalled quartz, which, according to the Baliyy, is
brought from the neighbouring mountains. Some
of it was rosy outside : other specimens bore stains
of copper; and others showed, when broken, little
pyramids of ore. Tested in England, it proved to
be pure lead, a metal so rare that some metallurgists
have doubted its existence: the finds have heen

mostly confined to auriferous lands. The blow-pipe

 
192 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

soon showed that it was not galena (the sulphide),
but some of it contained traces of silver. Without
knowing the rarity of these specimens, certain Ameri-
can officers at the Citadel, Cairo, compared them with
the true galenas of the Ddr-Forian mines, called
Mahattat el-Risés (the “Deposit of Lead”), in the
Wady Gotam, three days north-east of the capital
 El-Fashr. The African metal is rich. Large quan-
tities, analyzed by Gastinel Bey, gave fifty per cent.
of lead, and of silver fifty dollars per ton; but the
distance from any possible market will reserve these
diggings for the use of the future. Some were
sanguine enough to propose smelting the metal at
Khartim, where Risds is ever in demand ; and

: “ ”»
accordingly, for a time Dar-For was “run, by a

mild “ring,” against Midian.

The plain, I have said, is everywhere broken by
piles of stone forming knobby hills. Leaving the
outlined sphinx to the right, we ascended a second
block, which rises on the west of the chief water-
course, further down than the Owl's Hill.” This
Tell el-Ahmar (“Red Hill”), alias Ja'dat Badd (the
« Curved Hill of Badd”), is a quoin of grey granite
bluff to the south-west. The north-eastern flank
chows the normal revetment of ruddy and black
heat-altered grit, which gives a red back to the pale-
sided, drab-coloured heap. Over the easy ascent 1s

run a zigzag path; half-way up it passes piles of stone

THE RUINS OF BADA. 103

that denote building, and it abuts at the summit
upon one of those “look-outs” which are essentially
Arab.

Again, to the south-east of the palms is the
Huzaybat Badd, the “ (Isolated) Hillock of Badd,” a
low ridge of naked grey granite, much scaled and
pigeon-holed. On the plain to its north stretch
regular lines of stone, probably the remnants of a
work intended to defend the city’s eastern approach.
South of the AHuzaybak appear the usual signs of an
atelier : these workshops are doubtless scattered
all around the centre; but a week, not a day, would
be required to examine them. On the very eve of
our departure the guides pointed northwards (350°
mag.) to a “ Mountain of Mari,” called El-Arayfdt,
and declared that it contained a Zarfbat el-Nasira,
or “enclosure made by the Nazarenes.” 1 offered a
liberal present for specimens; all, however, swore
that the distance ranged from two to three hours of
dromedary, and that no mounted messenger could
catch us unless we halted the next day.

The Bedawin, still relegated to the upper
country, were sending their scouts to ascertain if the
water-supply was sufficient in Badd plain. The
adjacent valleys were dotted with she-camels and
their colts. The adult animal here sells for twelve
to thirty dollars. During the cotton-full in Egypt,
and the cotton-famine of the United States, they

VOL. II. 0

 
194 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

fetched as many pounds sterling at the frontier; and
the traders of EI-Wijh own to having made two
hundred per cent., which we may safely double. I
asked them why they did not import good stallions
from the banks of the Nile; and the reply was that
of the North Country—the experiment had ended
in the death of the more civilized brutes. This is
easily understood : the Baliyy camel seems to live
on sand.

The camp was visited by a few Bedawi stragglers,
and the reports of their immense numbers were
simply absurd. The males were not to be distin-
guished, in costume and weapons, from their neigh-
bours : and the “females” were all dark and dressed
in amorphous blue shirts. At last came an old man
and woman of the Huwaytdt tribe, bringing for sale
a quantity of liquefied butter. They asked a price
which would have been dear on the seaboard ; and
naively confessed that they had taken us for pil-
grims,—birds to be plucked. But sheep and goats
were not to be found in the neighbourhood : yester-
day we had failed to buy meat; and to-day the
young Shaykh, Sulaymdn, was compelled to mount
his dromedary and ride afar in quest of it. The

results were seven small sheep, which, lean with

walking, cost eleven dollars ; and all were slaughtered

before they had time to put on fat.
During our stay a pitiable object, with a hide-

THE WOUNDED ROBBER. 195

bandaged lower leg, often limped past the tents;
and, thinking the limb broken, I asked the history
of the accident. Our hero, it appears, was a
doughty personage, famed for valour, who had lately
slipped into the Juhayni country with the laudable
intention of “lifting” a camel. He had, indeed,
“taken his sword, and went his way to rob and
steal,” under the profound conviction that nothing
could be more honourable—in case of success. He
was driving off the booty, when its master sallied
out to recover the stolen goods by force and by
arms. Both bared their blades and exchanged cuts,
when the Baliyy found that his old famberge was
too blunt to do damage. Consequently he had the
worse of the affair; a slicing of the right hand
forced him to drop his “silly sword.” He then
closed with his adversary, who again proved himself
the better man, throwing the assailant, and at the
same time slashing open his left leg. The wounded
man lay in the “bush” till he gathered strength to
“dot and go one” homewards. Amongst these tribes
the Dzyat, or “blood-money,” reaches eight hundred
dollars ; consequently men will maim, but carefully
avoid killing, one another.

The evening of our halt, with its lurid haze and
its ominous brooding stillness, was distinguished by
a storm, a regular Arab affair, consisting of dust by

the ton to water by the drop. This infliction of the

 
196 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

«fearful fiend, Samiel, fatal to caravans,” began in
the west. A cloud of red sand advanced like a
prairie-fire at headlong speed before the mighty
rushing wind, whose damp breath smelt of rain; and
presently the mountain-rim was veiled in brown and
ruddy and purple earth-haze. A bow in the eastern
sky strongly suggested, in the apparent absence of a
shower, refraction by dust—if such thing be possible.
We were disappointed, by the sinister wind, in our
hopes of collecting a bottle of rain-water for the
photographer; nor did the storm, though it had all
the diffused violence of a wintry gale, materially
alter the weather. The next two nights were brisk
and cool, but the afternoons blew either the Klam-
stn (“ south-wester ”) or the Azyab (“south-easter”).

The only Bedawi tradition concerning the Bada
plain is the following. Many centuries ago, some
say before the Apostle, the Baliyy held the land,
which was a valley of gardens, a foretaste of Irem ;
the people were happy as the martyrs of Paradise,
and the date-trees numbered two thousand. The
grove then belonged to a certain Ibn Mukarrib, who
dwelt in it with his son and a slave, not caring to
maintain a large guard of Arabs. Consequently he
became on bad terms with the Ahdmidah-Baliyy
tribe, who began systematically to rob his orchard.
At last one of a large plundering party said to him,
« O Ibn Mukarrib! wilt thou sell this place of two

LEGEND OF EL-BADA. 197

thousand (trees), and not retreat (from thy bar-
gain) 7” He responded “Buy!” (ze. make an
offer). The other, taking off his sandal, exclaimed,
“ With this!” and the proprietor, in wrath, rejoined,
“1 have sold !

Ibn Mukarrib then arose and went forth, with
his son and the slave, to the place whence came the
water (that fed the palms): this he closed up, and
fared towards the north. One day it so happened
that the three were sitting under the shade of a
Marakh-tree and eating its berries. Quoth the sire
to the son, “ Say, which is the sweeter, the eating of
the Marakh fruit or the dates of our orchard?”
And the youth rejoined, “ O my father! far sweeter
is the eating of the fruit of our palm-yard ;” when
his sire at once arose and slew him with the sword
(to wipe away the disgrace of such want of man-
liness).

Then Ibn Mukarrib turned to the slave, and
asked him the question which he had asked of his

son. Whereupon the slave replied in this quatrain :

“ Eating wild grain in the house of respect ;
And not eating dates in the house of contempt :
And walking in honour but a single day ;
And not sitting in disgrace for a thousand years !”

Ibn Mukarrib, pleased with these words, forthwith
adopted the slave ; both marched to the north and
dwelt there till the end of their days. The palm-

 
198 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

trees, deprived of irrigation, all died; and Bujat-

Bad4, the beautiful, became a wilderness. About

twenty years ago, the wells were reopened and the

dates were replanted. So much for the past: as for
the future, we may safely predict that, unless occupied
by a civilized people, the Badd plain will again see
worse times. Nothing would be easier than to re-
build the town, and to prepare the basin for irriga-
tion and cultivation ; but destruction is more in the

Bedawi line.

 

CHAPTER XVIIL

COAL A “MYTH ’—MARCH TO MARWAT—ARRIVAL

AT THE WADY HAMZ.

Berore leaving Badd I was careful to make all
manner of inquiries concerning stone-coal ; and the
guides confirmed the suspicions which had long
suggested themselves. His Highness the Viceroy
had laid great stress upon the search: the first
question to me on return was whether the fuel had
been found; and a shade of disappointment appeared
when the answer distinctly declared it a myth.

This coal, it appears, is an old story. My learned
friend Sprenger wrote to me (June 13, 1877): “It
is likely that west of Marwa, on the way to Hawrad
(which lies on the sea-shore), coal is found: I con-
fess that the prospect of discovering much coal in
Arabia does not appear to me very great; still it
would be worth while to make inquiries.” Subse-
quently (December 8, 1877), he gave up all hopes

of the pure mineral, but he still clave to bituminous

 
 

      

200 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

schist. [El-Mukaddasi (p. 103),* treating of the
marvels of the land, has the following passage un-
connected with those which precede and succeed
it —«A fire arose between El-Marwat and El-
Haurd4, and it burned, even as charcoal (el-Fahm)
burns.” Probably Sprenger had read, “and it
(the stone) burned as charcoal burns,” suggesting
that the houses and huts were built of inflammable
material, like the bituminous schist of the Brazil ;
and that the Arabs were surprised to find them
taking fire. Evidently, however, the text refers to
an eruption in one of the many Harrahs or volcanic
districts.  El-Mukaddasi describes the ‘houses
artful (fariktn, alluding to the Thamidites in the
Koran, xxvi. 149), and made of admirable stone
(alabaster ?) ; over the doors were knots ( Ukid),
and ornaments ( Zuri/), and carvings (Nukiish)

Landing at EI-Wijh, I at once consulted our
intelligent friend, the Wakil Mohammed Shahddah.
He had sent for a camel-load of the stuff, which, he
declared, would not burn, although it had burned
his money. He then travelled in person to the
Jebel el-Muharrak (“Burnt Mountain”), five short
marches inland from El-Badd plain, and behind

its northern curtain, the Jibdl el-Shafah. According

”
.

* The MS. of this geographer was brought to light by Pro-
fessor Sprenger, and Part I. has been published by Professor de
Goeje in his “Bibliotheca Geographarum Arabicorum,” here
alluded to.

 
   

 

    

FAIL TO FIND COAL. 201

to him, El-Muharrak is part of the great Harrah ;
and the unexplored Jaww, which lies north (?) of
it, is a prolongation of the Hismd plateau, here
belonging to the Balawiyyalk or Baliyy-land. The
mountain is tall and black, apparently consisting of
the “coal.” Near its summit lies the Bir el-Shif4’
(“ Well of Healing”), a pit of cold sulphur-water,
excellent for the eyes; and generally a “ Pool of
Bethesda,” whither Arabs flock from afar. At Abd'l-
Gezdz, Mohammed destroyed all our surviving hopes
by picking up a black stone which, he declared,
belonged to El-Muharrak. It was schist, with a
natural fracture not unlike coal, and weathered into
the semblance of wood : unfortunately it was hard as
iron, and it did not contain an atom of bitumen.

At Badd old Shaykh ’Afndn, whose tents are
now pitched one day ahead of us, was taken into
consultation upon the subject. He confirmed these
statements of the MW aki/, adding that the Shafah
Mountains are a mere ridge, not the seaward walls
of a plateau, and that the land east of them is
exactly that which we have already traversed. He
had bathed in the sulphur-water; he spoke of brim-
stone being picked up on the hill-flanks, and he had
heard of EI-Kohl (stibium, collyrium, antimony) being
found about El-Muharrak.*

* We have seen (Chap. II.) that the Arabs of Midian mistake

iron for antimony; and the same is the case in the Sinaitic
Peninsula.

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN,

These details, apparently authentic, did not
tempt me to waste precious time upon El-Muharrak.
I do not yet despair, as has been said, of finding
coal in Arabia; but we must hardly expect volcanic
ground to yield it.

Our preparations for a march southwards were
made under difficulties. The Baliyy evidently like
the prospect of some £6 per diem; and do #ot
like the idea of approaching the frontier, where
their camels may be stolen. Every silly, childish
pretext was used to suggest delay. We ought not
to move without seeing the “ Nazarenes’ Ruin” at
El-Arayfit. Again, I had sent a certain Salim, a
cousin of the Shaykh, with orders for fresh sup-
plies from EI-Wijh: he was certain to miss us if
we marched. Still again, old ’Afndn’s dromedary
had a thorn in the foot—u. s. w.

Nevertheless, an order was given for the return
march on April 5th.

No matter how philosophical the traveller may

be, I defy him not to feel some emotion when,

his Desert work being duly done, he throws his leg
over the saddle, and turn the animal's head home-
wards—towards London. Such was our pleasant
predicament ; for, though the dé/our would be con-
siderable, and the delay still more so, I could
distinguish the bourne at the far end of the very

long perspective.

BR RRL

HOMEWARD BOUND. 203

We were now in excellent marching order, not,
however, including the mules, of which two had
broken down with sore backs, and the others were
breaking fast. The révei/l¢ sounded at 3 to 3.30
p-m.; the “general ” followed at four; and the start
took place immediately afterwards. The camels
are wretched animals, that work equally badly full
and fasting : when hungry, they break their halters
to graze along the path; and when gorged they are
too lazy to go beyond a saunter of two miles an
hour. Yet they can work well when pushed: the
man Salim came up with us on the evening of
the fourth day, after a forced march of thirty-two
hours.

We took the track which crosses the Bijat-Bada
to the south-east. For a short way it was vilely
rat-eaten ; presently it issued upon good, hard,
stony ground; and, after four miles, it entered the
Wady el-Marwdt. This gorge, marked by the Jebel
Wisil, a round head to the north, is a commonplace
affair of trap and white clay; broad, rough, and
unpicturesque. The sole shows many piles of dry
stone, ruins of “boxes,” in which the travelling
Arab passes the night, whilst his camels are tethered
outside. The watercourse heads in a Aluraytak,
the usual rock-ladder; we reached it after eleven
miles’ riding.  Ndji, the sea-lawyer of the party,

assured us that we had not finished a third of the

 
pdb A RT, yen.

204 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

way, when two-thirds would have been nearer the

truth.
The Wady sides and head showed traces of hard

work, especially where three veins of snowy quartz
had been deeply cut into. The summit of the Co/
some 2100 feet above sea-level, carried a fine reef
of “Mari,” measuring eight feet at the widest, and

KUFIC INSCRIPTION FROM MARWAT (CARRIED
TO CAIRO.)

trending 332° (mag.) Around it lay the usual bar-
barous ruins, mere basements, surrounded by spalled
stone : from this place I carried off a portable Kufic
inscription. The view down the regular and tree-
dotted slope of the Wady el-Marwit, as far as the
flats of Badd, was charming, an Argelez without its

over-verdure.

BEAUTIFUL "AYN EL-KURR. 205

From the Co/ two roads lead to our day’s des-
tination. The short cut to the right was reported
stony : as most of our mules were casting their
irons and falling lame, I avoided it by the advice
of Furayj, thereby giving huge offence to old
'‘Afndn. We followed the long slope trending to
the Wady el-Kurr, which drains the notable block
of that name. Seeing the Wakil, and the others in
front, cutting over the root to prevent rounding a
prodigiously long tongue-tip, I was on the gu: vive
for the normal dodge; and presently the mulatto
Abdullah screamed out that the ANakb must be
avoided, as it was all rock. We persisted and found
the path almost as smooth as a main .road. The
object was to halt for the night at a neighbouring
water-hole in the rocks; and, when their trick failed,
the Baliyy, with a naive infantine candour, talked
and laughed over their failure, sans vergogne and
within earshot.

Despite the many Zawdbaks (“dust-devils”),
this was one of our finest travelling days. After the
usual ante-meridian halt, we pushed on down the
valley, meeting only a few donkey-drivers. At 2.15
p-m. (seven hours = twenty miles and a half), we
reached the beautiful "Ayxz e/-Kurr, some ten direct
miles east of the Wady Rdbigh; and the cara-
van was only one hour behind us. This Wady
is a great and important affluent of the Wady

 
206 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

el-Miy4h already mentioned. The reach where 7
camped runs from north to south; and the ge

of porphyritic trap, red, green, yellow, and white
with clay, almost envelops the quartz-streaked
oranite. The walls are high enough to give shade
Deen eight a.m. and 2.15 p.m. ; and the level sole
of the cleanest sand is dotted, near the right side,
with holes and pools of the sweetest water. Here
“green grow the rushes,” especially the big-headed
Kasbd (Arundo donax); the yellow-tipped Namas
or flags (Scirpus holoschenus) form a dense thicket;
the 'Ushr, with its cork-like bark which makes the

best tinder, is a tree, not a shrub; and there are

large natural plantations of the saffron-flowered,

tobacco-like Veréascum, the Arabs Uzn el-Humar
(“ Donkey’s Ear”). Add scattered clusters of date-
trees, domineering over clumps’ of fan-palm ; and,
lastly, marvellous to relate, a few hundred feet of
g Re r xpected
greensward, of regular turf—a hairy not exp
in North-Western Arabia—a paradise for frogs and
toads (Bufo vulgaris), grasshoppers, and white
pigeons ; and you will sympathize with our enjoy-
>
ment at the Ayn el-Kurr. In such a place exten-
sive ruins of the “Old Ones” were to be expected.
Apparently there is no trace of man beyond Wasm
on the rocks: a few old Bedawi graves in a dwarf
Wady inflowing from the west; a rude modern

watercourse close above its mouth, and Arab

THREATS OF A RAZZIA. 20%

fences round the trimmed dates and newly set palm
shoots. -

During the afternoon the Shaykhs came to us
with very long faces. At this season, and as long
as the Baliyy are in the Shafah uplands, the almost
deserted frontier districts, which we are about to
enter, suffer from the Gawum, or razzia, of the
neighbouring ’Anezah and the Juhaynah ;—the two
tribes, however, not mixing. The bandits, number-
ing, they say, from fifty to sixty, mounted on horses
and dromedaries, only aspire to plunder some poor-
devil-shepherd of a few camels, goats, and muttons.
They never attack in rear; they always sleep at
night, save when every moment is precious for
“loot "-driving ; and their weapons, which may be
deadly in the narrows, are despicable in the open
country.

I suspected at first that this was another “ dodge ”
to enhance the services of our Arabs, but the amount
of risk we were to run was soon found out by con-
sulting Furayj. He said that we must march in
rear of the caravan for a day or two; and that such
attacks were possible, but only once in a hundred
cases. There might have been treachery in camp;
the Egyptian officers suggested that a Baliyy scout
could have been sent on to announce the approach
of a rich caravan. Accordingly, I ordered an even-

ing review of our “ Remingtons ;” and chose a large

 
TT nnn,

208 THE LAND OF MIDIANMN.

mark purposely, that the Bedawi lookers-on might
not have cause to scoff. The escort redeemed many
a past Jiche, by showing that their weapons had
been kept bright and clean, and by firing neatly
enough. The Baliyy, who had never seen a breech-
loader, were delighted ; but one of our party so dis-
liked the smell of powder, that he almost quarrelled
with me for bringing him into such imminent deadly
risk. He was hardly to be blamed ; his nerves had
been terribly shaken by a viper killed in his tent.

Next morning (April 6th) saw the most un-
pleasant of our marches. The young Shaykh Sulay-
mdn, accompanied by his cousin Sdlim, set out in
the dark as élaireurs. they were supposed to lead
eight or ten of the best matchlock-men, whereas I
doubt whether the whole camp contained that total.
Presently it appeared that they were alone, and the
farce was hardly kept up through the next day. At
5.15 a.m. we followed them, marching mzlitairement,
as my friend Sefer Pasha had strongly advised at
Cairo. It is no joke to follow starveling beasts
whose best speed seldom attains two miles and a
half per hour. However, the effect was excellent:
never had there been so little straggling ; never had
the halting-places been reached in such good time
and good order.

A pleasant surprise awaited us in the grandest
display of quartz that we had yet seen. The descent

QUARTZ-FIELDS AND QUARTZ-HILLS. 209

of the Wady el-Kurr seemed to be as flat, stale, and
profitless as possible, when “ Mari” appeared on the °
left side in mounds, veins, and strews. Presently
we turned south, and passed the brackish well, El-
Hufayrah (“the Little Pit”), in a bay of the left
bank, distant about eight miles from our last camp.
Here the whole Wady, some two miles broad, was
barred with quartz, in gravel of the same rock, and in
veins which, protruding from the dark schist, sug-
gested that it underlies the whole surface. Nothing
more remarkable than the variety of forms and tints
mingling in the mighty mass—the amorphous, the
crystallized, the hyaline, the burnt; here mottled and
banded, there plain red and pink, green and brown,
slaty and chocolate, purple, kaolin-white ; and, rarest
of all, honeycomb-yellow. The richest part was at
the Mayra el-Kabs/k (“ Divide of the Ram ”), where
we alighted and secured specimens.

From this point the Wady el-Kurr flows down
the right side of its valley, and disappears to the
west ; while the far side of the Majré shows the
Wady Gdmirak (Kdamirah), another influent of
the Wady el-Miydh. Various minor divides led to
the Wady el-Laylah, where ruins were spoken of by
our confidant, ’Audah, although his information was
discredited by the Shaykhs. Quartz-hills now ap-
peared on either side, creamy-coated cones, each

capped by its own sparkle, whose brilliancy was set
VOL. II P

 
210 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

off by the gloomy traps which they sheeted and
topped. In some places the material may have
been the usual hard, white, heat-altered clay; but
the valley-sole showed only the purest “Mard.” The
height of several hills was nearly double that of
the northern Jebel el-Abyaz; and the reef-crests
were apparently unworked.

After the march had extended to seven hours
(= 18 miles), there were loud complaints about its
length, the venerable ’Afndn himself begging us to
spare his camels—which, being interpreted, meant
spoiling our pockets. I therefore gave orders to
camp in the broad and open Wady Laylah. We
were far from water, but the evening was pleasant,
and the night was still more agreeable.

At five a.m. next day (April 7th) we rode up
the Wady Laylah, which gave us another surprise,
and an unexpected joy, in the shifting scenery of the
Jibdl el-Safhah. The “ Mountains of the Plain,” so
called because they start suddenly from a dead level,
are a section of the Tihdmat-Balawiyyah range ; yet
they are worthy links of a chain which boasts of a
Shérr. Rising hard on our left, beyond the dull
traps that hem in the Wadys, these blocks, especially
the lower features, the mere foot-hills, assume every
quaintest z#zuance of hue and form. The fawn-grey
colour, here shining as if polished by “slickensides,”
there dull and roughened by the rude touch of Time,

 

 

THE “MOUNTAINS OF THE PLAIN

is a neutral ground that takes all the tints with
which sun and moon, mist and cloud, paint and
glaze the world : changeable as the chameleon’s, the
coating is never the same for two brief hours. The
protean shape, seen in profile and foreshortened
from the north or south, appears a block bristling
with “ Pins” and points, horns and beaks. Viewed
from the east the range splits into a double line,
whose ranks have never been “dressed” nor sized :
whilst a diagonal prospect so alters their forms and
relations that they apparently belong to another
range.

The background, lying upon the most distant

visible plane, is the white-streaked and regular wall
of the Jebel el-Ward, which we have already seen
from the sea. Its northern foot-ranges are the pale-
white and jagged "A fay», whose utter isolation makes
it interesting ; and the low and long, the dark and
dumpy Jebel 7ufayyak. It is separated by a broad
valley from its southern neighbour, the Febel el-
Ughlub, or EI-Ghalab as some call it. This typical
block consists chiefly of a monstrous ¢ Parrot’s
Beak” of granite, continued by a long dorsum to
the south. Its outliers number four. These are,
first, the Umm Nalash, two sets of perpendicular
buttresses pressed together like sausages or cigars.
Then comes the Zala't Muhajjak, a broken saddle-

back, whose cantle {from the south-east appears split

 
212 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

into a pair of steeple-like boulders—an architect of
Alexander the Great's day would have easily cut
and trimmed them into such towers as the world
has never seen. Follows the Umm el-Natikal,
bristling like the fretful porcupine, and apparently
disdaining to receive the foot of man; while the
last item, the Febel el-Khausilak, has outlines so
thoroughly architectural that we seem to gaze upon
a pile of building.

About five miles behind or south of El-Khausilah
runs the Wady Hamz. Thus the two blocks, El-
Ward and El-Ughlub, form the Safhah proper. The
line is continued, after a considerable break, by the
two blue and conical peaks in the Tihdmat-]Jahaniy-
yah, known as the Febelayn el-Rdl. They are
divided and drained to the Wady Hamz by the
broad Wady el-Sula’; and the latter is the short cut
down which the Egyptian Hajj, returning north-
wards from El-Medinah, debouches upon the mari-
time plain of South Midian,

The Wady Laylah, draining both the Shafah
and the Tihdmah ranges, including the block EI-
Ward, assumes, as usual, various names: we shall
follow it till it is received into the mighty arms of
the Wady Hamz, some three miles from the sea.
After riding eight hours, we sighted the long
line of Daum-palms which announce the approach
to El-Birkah, “the Tank.” Here the huge Fiumara,

 

THE RIVERINE RUM. 213

sweeping grandly from north-east to south-west,

forms a charming narrow and a river-like run about

a mile and a half long—phenomenal again in sun-
scorched Arabia. The water, collecting under the
masses of trap which wall in the left bank, flows
down for some distance in threads, a czel ouvert, and
finally combines in a single large blue-green pool
on the right side. A turquoise set in enamel of the
brightest verdure, it attracts by its dense and shady
beds of rushes a variety of water-fowl—one of our
Bedawin killed a black-headed duck with a bullet,
which spoilt it as a specimen. About the water-run
are dwarf enclosures, and even water-melons were
sown ; unhappily the torrent came down and carried
all away.

We halted near the upper spring at 8.20 a.m.,
after the usual accident which now occurred daily
about that hour. On this occasion Lieutenant Yusuf’s
shoe stuck in the stirrup when he was dismount-
ing from an unsteady mule; the animal threw him,
and he had a somewhat narrow escape from being
dragged to death. Man and beast would have
lingered long over the pleasures of watering and
refection, but I forced them onwards at nine a.m.,
whilst the hot sun-rays were still tempered by the
cool land-breeze. The threads of water and the
wet ground extended some two kilometres beyond
the Birkat. Further on was another fine “gate,”

 
 

  

214 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

whose eastern or right jamb was the Jibdl el-Tibgh,
fronting the Wady M’jirmah. The narrows showed
two Arab wells, with the usual platform of dry
trunks that make a footing round the mouth. There
was no break in the continuity of the quartz : the
black trap enclosed, here sheets, there veins, and
there almonds in puddings.

At the halting-place a “cerastes ” (Zckis carinata,
Merr.), so called from the warty hollows over the
eyes (?), was brought to me in a water-bag; the
bearer transferred it to the spirit-bottle by neatly
thrusting a packing-needle through the head. The
pretty specimen of an amiable, and much oppressed,
race did not show an atom of vice. I cannot con-
ceive what has’ caused the absurd prejudice against

snakes, even the most harmless. Perhaps we must

trace it to the curious resemblance of the profile,

with the flattened forehead, the steely bright eye,
the formidable biting apparatus, and the vanishing
chin, to the genus woman, species Lorette. It is
hard to imagine that this little beast, which some
one called a “Cleopatra’s hasp,” could be fatal: its
small bag can hardly contain a couple of drops.
Yet the vox populi is distinctly against me.

The Shaykhs were anxious to push on for
another half-hour, where, they declared, a rain-hole
is found in the next ravine, the Sha'b el-Kahafah.

  

 

   

HOW WATER-SECRETS ARE KEPT. 215%

    

But we had been privily told of another further

down the valley, at the Sha’b el-Hdrr ; and, although

we much wanted a bottleful for photography, we
determined to run the risk. The result is curious,
showing how jealously water-secrets are kept in
these lands. The next thing I heard was that the
water had waxed salt; then it had dried up; and,
lastly, it was in the best condition, the truth being
that there was none at all. Consequently we
were compelled to send back four camels and two
cameleers from our next camping-ground to the
Kahafah. Venerable ’Afndn made many a difficulty,
and an uncommon favour, of risking the plundering
of the dromedaries and the lives of his caterans
by a razzia. The fellows set off after nightfall
towards the upper ravine, distant some two hours’
slow march : they must there have had a pleasant,
refreshing sleep ; and they did not return, doubtless
by order, till late next morning. This gave the
Shaykhs a good opportunity of fearing greatly for
the safety of their people, and of delaying our
march as much as possible.

Resuming the road at 2.30 p.m., we entered the
western prolongation of the Wady el-Birkah. Here
it becomes the Wady Abd” Agdg (Ajdj), and pre-
serves that name till it anastomoses with the Hamz.
There have been some wells in the bed; but all are

 
-
ss Memiiaeea

216 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

now filled up, and water must be carried from El-
Birkah. We camped at a noble reach, garnished
with a mimic forest of old tamarisks, whose small
voices, united in chorus, passably imitated the
mighty murmur of the sea. Our day’s march had
covered a score of miles; hard work, considering
the condition of the mules.

After a splendid night, we set out London-wards
at five a.m., April 8th, delayed, as has been said,
by the politiké of the Shaykhs. Moreover, one of
the party, whose motto should have been /falt's
maul, had remarked that the camels appeared fewer
than before—another reason for stopping to count
them. Half an hour placed us at a lower and a
grander carrefour, abounding in fuel and seducing
with tamarisk-shade : its water is known as the
Mdyat el-Badf'ah. Presently the hilly encasement
of the Wady el-’Ajij ended with El-’Adrd, a red
butte to the left, and the Jebel el-Yakhmim on the
right. This knob was copiously veined with quartz,
of which a prodigious depot, explored on the next
day, exists in the heights behind it. The Wady
now flares out; we have done with the Tihdmah
Mountains, and we are again in maritime South
Midian.

Although we were standing some four hundred
feet above the wasserspiegel, there was no view of

   

 
   

THE SEA/ 217

the sea, and we had to cross a wave of ground
before we pulled off our hats to Father N eptune, as
he lay smiling in front of us. There was nothing
monotonous in the scene. The mirage raised high
in air the yellow mound of Ras Kurkumak (“ Tur-
meric Head”), which bounded the water-line to the
south. Nearer, but still far to the left, ran the high
right bank of the Wady Hamz, sweeping with a
great curve from north-east to west, till it stood
athwart our path. Knobby hills were scattered over
the plain; and on our right rose El-Juwayy, a black
mound with white-sided and scarred head, whose
peculiar shape, a crest upon a slope, showed us once
more the familiar Secondary formation of North-
Western Arabia. Thus the gypsum has been traced
from the Sinaitic shore as far south as the Wady
Hamz.

We rode sharply forwards, impatient to see the
classical ruins, leaving the caravan to follow us. The
Grd: (“sand-rat”) had ceased to burrow the banks ;
but the jerboa had made regular rabbit-warrens. At
half-past seven we crossed a winding and broad-
spreading track, the upper Hajj-road, by which the
Egyptian Malkmal passes when returning from El-
Medinah 27d the Wady Hamz. A few yards further
on showed us a similar line, the route taken by the
caravan when going to Meccah 272 Yambd’, now
distant five marches. The two meet at the Wady
  
 
 

  

o>

218

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

  

 
 

Wafdiyyah, to the north-east of the Abdl-Maru
range, which we shall visit to-morrow.

Shortly after 10 a.m. we crossed the deepest vein
of the Wady Hamz, urged the mules up the stifr
left bank, and sprang from the saddle to enjoy a
first view of the Gasr (Kast) Gurayyim Sa'td.

 
 
    
   
   
 
 

CHAPTER XIX.

  
 
 

  

THE WADY HAMZ—THE CLASSICAL RUIN—ABA'L-MART,

THE MINE OF ‘“ MARWAH "—RETURN TO EL-WIJH—

   

RESUME OF THE SOUTHERN JOURNEY.

   
  
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
    

Berore describing the Palace of Sa’id the Brave,
I must devote a few lines to a notice of the Wady
Hamz.

The Wady Hamz, which has been mentioned as
the southern frontier of Egyptian Midian, and the
northern limit of the Ottoman Hejaz, is the most
notable feature of its kind upon the North-Western
Arabian shore. Yet Wallin has unjustifiably de-
scribed and inscribed it “Wady Nejd,” confusing it
with a northern basin, whose mouth, the Salbah
(Z/albalk), we passed before reaching Sharm
Dumayghah. He appears to identify it with the
classical Wady el-Kura. Sprenger clean ignores
the name, although he mentions its branches; and
of course it is utterly neglected by the Hydrographic

Chart. This main approach to the Arabian interior

  
     

 

 

220 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

is not a fissure, like the vulgar Wadys, but rather an
opening where the Ghits, or maritime chain, break to
the north and south. Distant one long or two short
marches from EI-Wijh, its mouth is in north lat.
25° 55’; and it is said to head fifteen days inland, in
fact beyond El-Medinah, towards which it curves
with a south-easterly bend. It receives a multitude
of important secondary valleys; amongst which is
the Wady el-’'Uwaynid, universally so pronounced.
I cannot help thinking that this is Z/-Adnid of
El-Mukaddasi, which El-Idrisi (erroneously?) throws
into the sea opposite Nu'mdn Island. If my con-
jecture prove true, we thus have a reason why this
important line has been inexplicably neglected.
Another branch is the Wady el-'Is, Sprenger’s
“ Al-Ys” (pp. 28, 29), which he calls “a valley in
the Juhaynah country,” and makes the northern
boundary of that tribe.

Ethnologically considered, the lower Wady
Hamz is now the southern boundary of the Bala-
wiyyah (Baliyy country), and the northern limit of
the Jahaniyyah, or Juhaynah-land: the latter is popu-
larly described as stretching down coast to Wady
Burmah, one march beyond Yambu’ (?). Higher
up it belongs to the Alayddn-’"Anezahs, under
Shaykh Mutlak—these were the Bedawin who,
during our stay at the port, brought their caravan to

E1-Wijh.

Both tribes are unsafe, and they will wax

 

   

THE GREAT WADY HAMZ. 221

worse as they go south. Yet there is no difficulty
in travelling up the Hamz, at least for those who
can afford time and money to engage the escort of
Shaykh Mutlak. A delay of twelve days to a fort-
night would be necessary, and common prudence
would suggest the normal precaution of detaining,
as hostage in the seaboard settlement, one of his
Alayddn cousins. Water is to be found the whole
way, and the usual provisions are to be bought at
certain places.

The following notes upon the ruins of the Wady
Hamz were supplied to me by the Baliyy Bedawin
and the citizens of EI-Wijh. Six stages up the lower
valley, whose direction lies nearly north-east, lead
to EI'Ild, Wallin’s “Ela,” which belongs to the
'Anezah. Thence a short day, to the north with
easting, places the traveller at #adain (not Madyan
nor Medinat) Sdlih—“the czzzes of Sdlih.” The site is
described to be somewhat off the main valley, which
is here broken by a Nakb (?); and those who
have visited both declared that it exactly resembles
Nabathean Maghdair Shi'ayb in extensive ruins and
in catacombs caverning the hill-sides.

Also called EIl-Hijr, it is made by Sprenger
(p. 20) the capital of Thamuditis. This province
was the head-quarters of the giant race termed the
“Sons of Anak” (Joshua xi. 21); the Thamudeni
and Thamuda of Agatharkides and Diodorus ; the

   
 

222 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Tamudzi of Pliny; the Thamydite of Ptolemy ;
and the Arabian Tamuid (Z%amid), who, extinct
before the origin of El-Islam, occupied the seaboard
between El-Muwaylah and EI-Wijh. Their great
centre was the plain El-Badd; and they were de-
stroyed by a terrible sound from heaven, the Beth-
Kol of the Hebrews, after sinfully slaughtering
the miraculously produced camel of EI-Sdlih, the
Righteous Prophet (Koran, cap. vii.). The explora-
tion of “Sdlih’s cities ” will be valuable if it lead
to the collection of inscriptions sufficiently numerous
to determine whether the Tamid were Edomites,
or kin to the Edomites; also which of the two races
is the more ancient, the Horites of Idumaa or the
Horites in El-Hijr.

And now to inspect the Gas». The first sensa-
tion was one of surprise, of the mental state which
gave rise to the Italian’s—

“ Dear Columns, what do you here ?

‘Not knowing, can’t say, Mynheer !’”
And this incongruous bit of Greece or Rome, in the
Arabian wild, kept its mystery to the last : the more
we looked at it, the less we could explain its pre-
sence. Not a line of inscription, not even a mason’s
mark—all dark as the grave; deaf-dumb as “the
olden gods.”

The site of the Gas is in north lat. 25° 55" 15"; *

* Ahmed Kaptdn’s solar observation.

GROUND PLAN OF THE TEMPLE, WADY HAMZ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Chap. XIX.

  
     
    
 

CAPITALS AND COLUMNS OF THE TEMPLE, WADY HAMZ.

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THE “PALACE. 223

and the centre of the Libn block bears from it 339°
(mag.). It stands upon the very edge of its Wady’s
left bank, a clifflet some twenty-five feet high, sloping
inland with the usual dark metal disposed upon loose
yellow sand. Thus it commands a glorious view of
the tree-grown valley, or rather valleys, beneath it;
and of the picturesque peaks of the Tihdmat-Bala-

-wiyyah in the background. The distance from the

sea is now a little over three miles—in ancient days
it may have been much less.

The condition of the digging proves that the
remains have not long been opened: the Baliyy
state less than half a century ago; but exactly when
or by whom is apparently unknown to them. Before
that time the locale must have shown a mere tumulus,
a mound somewhat larger than the many which
pimple the raised valley-bank behind the building.
A wall is said to have projected above ground, as at
Uriconium near the Wrekin.* This may have sug-
gested excavation, besides supplying material for the
Bedawi cemetery to the south-west. The torrent
waters have swept away the whole of the northern
wall, and the treasure-seeker has left his mark upon
the interior. Columns and pilasters and bevelled
stones have been hurled into the Wady below ; the
large pavement-slabs have been torn up and tossed

* Written in pleasant memory of two visits to Uriconium, the
favourite “find ” of poor Thomas Wright, under the guidance of
our steadfast and hospitable friend, Mr. Henry Wace, of Brook-
lands, Shrewsbury.

 
   

 

224 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

about to a chaos; and the restless drifting of the
loose yellow Desert-sand will soon bury it again in
oblivion. The result of all such ruthless ruining

VIEW OF THE GASR (LOOKING EAST).

 

Compare with photographs of the Tell Hum Synagogue, Capernaum.

VIEW OF THE GASR (WEST WALL).

Ad

 

 

was simply null. The imaginative Ndji declared, it
is true, that a stone dog had been found ; but this
animal went the way of the “iron fish,” which all at

   

 

  

SKETCHES OF THE SHRINL. 225

    
    

———

El-Muwaylah asserted to have been dug up at El-

    
 

Wijh—the latter place never having heard of it.
Wallin (p. 316) was also told of a black dog which

    
     
    
  
  
   
 

SITTING ON THE RUINS OF EAST WALL.

 

 

haunts the ruins of Kardyyd, and acts guardian to its
hidden treasures. Years ago, when I visited the
mouth of the Volta river on the Gold Coast, the

VOL. 1I. Q

    
       
  

  
 

 

226 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

negroes of Cape Coast Castle were pleased to report
that I had unearthed a silver dog, at whose appear-
ance my companion, Colonel de Ruvignes, and
myself fell dead. But why always a dog ?

The “Palace” is a Roman building of pure
style ; whether temple or nympheum, we had no
means of ascertaining. The material is the Rughdm
or alabaster supplied by the Secondary formation ;
and this, as we saw, readily crumbles to a white
powder when burnt. The people, who in such
matters may be trusted, declare that the quarries are
still open at Abid Makhdrir, under the hills embosom-
ing Abdl-Mard. We should have been less sur-
prised had the ruin been built of marble, which
might have been transported from Egypt; but this
careful and classical treatment of the common

~ country stone, only added to the marvel.

It must have been a bright and brilliant bit of
colouring in its best days—hence, possibly, the local
tradition that the stone sweats oil. The whole
building, from the pavement to the coping, notched
to receive the roof-joists, is of alabaster, plain-white
and streaked with ruddy, mauve, and dark bands,
whose mottling gives the effect of marble. Perhaps
in places the gypsum has been subjected to plutonic
action ; and we thought that the coloured was pre-
ferred to the clear for the bases of the columns.
The exposed foundations of the eastern and western

Er — “on eas
- am ANT
Ae as te Envi

THE SHRINE. 227

walls, where the torrent has washed away the
northern enceinte, show that, after the fashion of
ancient Egypt, sandstone slabs have been laid under-
ground, the calcaire being reserved for the hypzthral
part. The admirable hydraulic cement is here and
there made to take the place of broken corners, and
flaws have been remedied by carefully letting in
small cubes of sound stone. There are also cramp-
holes for metal which, of course, has been carried off
by the Bedawin : the rusty stains suggest iron.

The building is square-shaped, as we see from
the western wall, and it evidently faced eastward with
25° (mag.) of southing. This orientation, probably
borrowed from the Jews, was not thoroughly adopted
in Christendom till the early fifth century, when it
became a mos. The southern wall, whose base-
ment is perfect, shows everywhere a thickness of
0'95 centimetre, and a total length of 8 metres
30 centimetres. At 2 métres 87 centimetres from
the south-western corner is a slightly raised surface,
measuring in length 2 métres 15 centimetres. Mr.
James Fergusson supposes that this projection,
which directly fronts the eastern entrance, was the
base of the niche intended for the image. On each
side of the latter might have been a smaller colo-
nette, which would account for the capital carried
off by us to Egypt. Thus, adding 2 metres 87 centi-
métres for the northern end swept into the valley,

   

  
  
 

ve Sn

       

.
»
»
 

 

228 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

we have a length of 7 metres 89 centimetres; and
the additional half thickness of the east wall would
bring it to a total of 8 metres 30 centimetres.

The shrine was not 722 ants, and the site hardly
admits of a peristyle; besides which, excavations
failed to find it. That it might have had a small
external afrium is made probable by the peculiarity
of the entrance. Two rounded pilasters, worked
with the usual care inside, but left rough in other
parts because they could not be seen, were engaged
in the enceinte wall, measuring here, as elsewhere,
0'95 centimetre in thickness. Nothing remained
of them but their bases, whose lower diameters were
0'95 centimetre, and the upper 0°65; the drums
found elsewhere also measured 0°65. The interval
between the lowest rings was 1 metre 63 centi-
metres ; and this would give the measure of the
doorway, here probably a parallelogram. Lying on
the sand-slope to the north, a single capital showed
signs of double brackets, although both have been
broken off: * the maximum diameter across the top
was 0°60 centimetre, diminishing below to o°50 and
0°44, whilst the height was o'40. The encircling
wall was probably adorned with pilasters measuring
0°62 centimetre below, 0°45 above, and o'r1 in

height: they are not shown in the plan; and I leave

* The capital was also transported to Cairo; it could not have
been voluted as there were only two projections.

   

 

THE SHRINE. 229

experts to determine whether they supported the
inside or the outside surface. Several stones, pro-
bably copings, are cut with three mortice-joints or
joist-holes, each measuring o'15 centimetre, at
intervals of o'14 to o'I5.

In the tossed and tumbled interior of this mazson
carvée the pavement-slabs, especially along the
south-western side, appear in tolerable order and not
much disturbed ; whilst further east a long trench
from north to south had been sunk by the treasure-
secker. The breadth of the free passage is 1 metre
92 centimetres ; and the disposal suggested an inner

REMAINS OF THE GASR (TAKEN TO CAIRO).

 

peristyle, forming an zmpluviun. Thus the cube
could not have been a /eroin or tomb. Four bases
of columns, with a number of drums, lie in the heap
of ruins, and in the torrent-bed six, of which we
carried off four. They are much smaller than the
pilasters of the entrance; the lower fori of the bases
measure 0°60 centimetre in diameter, and 0°20 In
height (to 0°90 and 0°25), while the drums are 0°45,

instead of 065. It is an enormous apparatus to

       
  
  
 

 

 

230 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

support what must have been a very light matter of
a roof. The only specimen of a colonette-capital
has an upper diameter of 0°26, a lower of o'17, and
a height of 0°16.

Although the Meccan K7'bak is, as its name
denotes, a “cube,” this square alabaster box did not
give the impression of being either Arab or Naba-
thaean. The work is far too curiously and con-
scientiously done; the bases and drums, as the
sundries carried to Cairo prove, look rather as if
turned by machinery than chiselled in the usual
way. I could not but conjecture that it belongs
to the days of such Roman invasions as that of
/lius Gallus. Strabo * tells us of his unfortunate
friend and companion, that, on the return march,
after destroying Negrdnt (Pliny, vi. 32), he arrived
at Egra or Hegra (EI-'Wijh), where he must have
delayed some time before he could embark “as much
of his army as could be saved,” for the opposite
African harbour, Myus Hormus. It is within the
limits of probability that this historical personage }

* Lib. xvi. c. iv. § 24. The MSS. differ in the name of the
“village situated on the sea;” some call it Egra, others Negra,
after the inland settlement; and the commentator Kramer remarks,
Mire corrupta est hee ultima libri pars.

T North lat. 26° which would correspond with that of the
Abd’l-Mard ruins.

} My friend Sprenger strongly protests against Alius Gallus,
begging me to abandon him, as the Romans must long have held
the whole coast to El-Haurd, their chief settlement.

THE SHRINE. 231

might have built the Gas, either for a shrine or for
a nympheum, a votive-offering to the Great Wady,
which must have cheered his heart after so many
days of “Desert country, with only a few watering-
places.” Perhaps an investigation of the ruins at
Ras Kurkumah and the remains of Maddin Sdlih
may throw some light upon the mystery. In our
travel this bit of classical temple was unique.

Mr. Fergusson, whose authority in such matters
will not readily be disputed, calls the building a small
shrine; and determines that it can hardly be a tomb,
as it is hypethral. The only similar temple known
to him is that of “Soueideh” (Swwaydal), in the
Haurdn (De Vogiié, “Syrie Centrale,” Plate IV.).
The latter, which is Roman, and belonging to the
days of Herod Augustus, has a peristyle here
wanting : in other respects the resemblance is
striking.

M. Lacaze photographed, under difficulties such
as bad water and a most unpleasant drift of sand-

dust, the interior of the building, the stones lying in

the Wady below, and the various specimens which
we carried off for the inspection of his Highness the
Viceroy. Meanwhile we “pottered about,” making
small discoveries. The exposed foundations of the
north-western wall, where the slabs of grit rest
upon the sands of the cliff, afforded signs of man in
the shape of a jaw-bone, with teeth apparently

 
 

 

232 THE LAND OF MIDIAN,

modern; and above it, in the terreplein, we dug
down upwards of a yard, without any result beyond
unearthing a fine black scorpion. The adjoining
Arab graveyard, adorned with the mutilated spoils
of the classical building, gave two imperfect skulls
and four fragments. We opened one of the many
mounds that lie behind the Gass, showing where
most probably stood the ruined town ; and we found
the interior traversed by a crumbling wall of cut
alabaster—regular excavation may some day yield
important results. A little to the south-west lies
a kind of ossuary, a tumulus slightly raised above
the wavy level, and showing a central pit choked
with camels’ bones: at least, we could find no
other.

And here I was told the Arab legend by the
Wakil; who, openly deriding the Bedawi idea that
the building could be a “ Castle,” opined that it was
a Kanisakh, a “Christian or pagan place of worship.”
Gurayyim Sa’id, “ Sa'id the Brave,” was an African
slave, belonging to an Arab Shaykh whose name is
forgotten. One day it so happened that a razzie
came to plunder his lord, when the black, whose
strength and stature were equal to his courage and,
let us add, his appetite, did more than his duty.
Thus he obtained as a reward the promise of a
bride, his master’s daughter. But when the day
of danger was past, and the slave applied for the

SAID THE BRAVE. 233

fair guerdon, the Shaykh traitorously refused to
keep his word. The Brave, finding a fit oppor-
tunity, naturally enough carried off the girl to the
mountains; solemnly thrashed every pursuing party;
and, having established a “reign of terror,” came
to the banks of the Wady Hamz, and built the
« Palace” for himself and his wife. But his love for
butcher’s-meat did not allow him to live happily ever
after. As the land yielded little game, he took to
sallying out every day and carrying off a camel,
which in the evening he slew, and roasted, and ate,
giving a small bit of it to his spouse. This extrava-
gance of flesh-diet ended by scandalizing the whole
country-side, till at last the owner of the plundered
herds, Diy4b ibn Ghénim, one of the notables cele-
brated in the romance called Sirat Abid Zayd,*
assembled his merry men, attacked the Gurayyim,
and slew him. Wa’ s' salam!
Here Egypt ends. We have done our work—

« And now the hills stretch home.”

I must, however, beg the reader to tarry with me
awhile. The next march to the north will show

* For a specimen of the superficiality which characterizes
Lane’s “ Modern Egyptians,” and of the benefits which, despite
the proverbial difficulty of changing an old book into a new one,
an edition, much enlarged and almost rewritten, would confer
upon students, see Vol. ITIL. Chap. XXI. Instead of a short abstract
of all this celebrated story, we have only popular excerpts from
the first volume.

   

  

 
   
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
   
 
  
     

§ ven
-
“»
 

234 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

him what I verily believe to be the old gold-mine
lying around El-Marwah. It acquires an especial
interest from being the northernmost known to the
mediaeval geographers.

El-Mukaddasi (vol. I. p. 101), in an article kindly
copied by my friend, the Aulic Councillor, Alfred Von
Kremer, says, “ Between Yambu’ and El-Marwah are
mines of gold;” adding (“ Itinerary,” vol. i. p. 107)
the following route directions: “And thou takest
from El-Badr (‘the New Moon’) * to El-Yambd’
two stages; thence to the Ras el-’Ayn (?),7 one
stage ; again to the mine (subaudy, of gold), one stage ;
and, lastly, to El-Marwah, two stages. And thou
takest from El-Badr to El-J4r} one stage; thence
to El-Jahfah (?), or to El-Yambd’, two stages each.
And thou takest from El-Jiddah (Jedda) to EI-J4r, or
to El-Surrayn (?), four stages each. And thou takest
from El-Yasrib (Jatrippa or El-Medinah) to El-
Suwaydiyyah (?), or to Batn el-Nakhil (?), two stages
each ; and from El-Suwaydiyyah to El-Marwah, an
equal distance (ze. four marches); and from the
Batn el-Nakhil to the mine of silver, a similar dis-
tance. And if thou seek the Jdddat Misr,§ then

* On the maritime road between Meccah and El-Medinah,
celebrated for the apostolic battle which took place in A.H. 2.

T The names marked with interrogations are unknown to all
the Arabs whom I consulted ; they are probably obsolete.

{ Identified by Niebuhr and Wellsted with certains ruins south
of Yambid’. See Chap. IV.

§ The straight path, the highway to Egypt or Cairo.

THE GOLD-MINE “ MARWAH” 235

take from El-Marwah to El-Sukyd * (?), and thence
to Badd Ya'kib,f three marches; and thence to
El-’Adnid, one march.” Hence Sprenger would
place Z@l-Marwah “four days from EI-Hijr, on
the western road to Medina;” alluding to the western
(Syrian) road, now abandoned.

And now for our march. On the finest possible
morning (April 9th), when the world was all ablaze
with living light, I walked down the Wady Hamz.
It has been abundantly supplied with water ; in fact,
the whole vein (ttalweg) subtending the left bank
would respond to tapping. The well EI-Kusayr, just
below the ruin, though at present closed, yielded till
lately a large quantity: about half a mile to the
westward is, or rather was, a saltish pit surrounded
by four sweet. Almost all are now dry and filled
up with fuel. A sharp trudge of three-quarters of
an hour leads to the Bir e/-Gurnak(Kurnah), the
“ Well of the Broad,” in a district of the same name,
lying between the ruin and the shore. It is a great
gash in the sandy bed : the taste of the turbid pro-
duce is distinctly sulphurous; and my old white
mule, being dainty in her drink, steadfastly refused
to touch it. The distinct accents of the Red Sea
told us that we were not more than a mile from its
marge.

* Elsewhere called Sukyat Yezid, a name now forgotten.
+ I have remarked that the name of the Patriarch Jacob is no
longer connected with the Badd plain.

 

vers

-
av

 
236 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

We then struck north-east, over the salt maritime

plain, till we hit the lower course of the Wady Umm
Gilifayn (Jilifayn). It heads from the seaward base
of the neighbouring hills; and its mouth forms a
Mars4, or anchorage-place,” for native craft. A little
to the north stands tbe small pyramidal 7uwayyi/
el-K1brit, the “little Sulphur Hill,” which had been
carefully examined by MM. Marie and Philipin. A
slow ride of eight miles placed us in a safe gorge
draining a dull-looking, unpromising block. Here
we at once found, and found zz situ for the first
time, the chalcedony which strews the seaboard-flat.
This agate, of which amulets and signet-rings were
and are still made, and which takes many varieties
of tints, lies in veins mostly striking east-west; and
varying in thickness from an inch to several feet.
The sequence is grey granite below, the band of
chalcedony, and above it a curious schistose gneiss-
formation. The latter, composing the greater part
of these hills, is striped dark-brown and yellow ;
and in places it looks exactly like rotten wood. The
small specimens of chalcedony in my private col-
lection were examined at Trieste, and one of them
contained dendritic gold, visible to the naked eye,
Unfortunately the engineer had neglected this most
important rock, and only a few ounces of it, instead
of as many tons, were brought back for analysis.

A short and easy ascent led to a little counter-

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THE GOLD-MINE “ MARWAH” 237

slope, the Majrd Mujayrak (Mukayrah), the
whitening sides spoke of quartz. We rode ow
towards a granite island where the bed mouths into
the broad Wady Mismadh, a feeder of the Wady
'Argah. Here, after some ten miles, iii ne
N4ji, who thus far had been very misty 18 0
matter of direction, suddenly halted and, in his
showman style, pointed to the left bask of i
watercourse, exclaiming, “Behold Abd Mon!
(the «“ Father of Quartz”). It was another surprise,
and our last, this snowy reef with jagged rust, 2
least 500 métres long, forming the finest ye
an exposed filon we had as yet seen; but—the
first glance told us that it had been worked. | .
We gave the rest of the day to studying ne
blasting the quartz-wall. It proved to be the rs
vein in grey granite, running souih-norih and rac :
ally falling towards the valley-plain. Fiore a 3 i
white outlier disappears below the surface, ting
again in files upon the further side. The dip -
easterly : in this direction a huge sirew of ra
and rubbish covers the slope which serves as ee
to the perpendicular reef. The Negro quartz, which

must have formed half the thickness, had been

carried bodily away. If anything be left for the

; d
moderns it is hidden underground : the stone, blaste

{ ast
in the little outlier, looked barren. Not the le

: Ta on
curious part of this outcrop is the black thread of iro

ves S

 

 
 

238 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

silicate which, broken in places, subtends it to the
ast: some specimens have geodes yielding brown
powder, and venal cavities lined with botryoidal
quartz of amethystine tinge. In other parts of the
same hills we found, running along the « Maru,”
single and double lines of this material, which looked
uncommonly like slag.

The open Wady Mism4h showed, to the east of
our camp, the ruins of a large settlement which has
extended right across the bed: as the guides seemed
to ignore its existence, we named it the Khardbat
Abd'l-Marii. Some of the buildings had been on a
large scale, and one Square measured twenty yards.
Here the peculiarity was the careful mining of a
granitic hillock on the southern bank. The whole
vein of Negro quartz had been cut out of three
sides, leaving caves that simulated catacombs. Fur-
ther west another excavation in the same kind of
rock was probably the town-quarry. The two lieu-
tenants were directed next morning to survey this
place, and also a second ruin and reef reported to
be found on the left bank, a little below camp.

We have now seen, lying within short distances,
three several quartz-fields, known as—Marwalk, “ the
single Place or Hill of Marg” (quartz); Marwit,
“the Places of Quartz;” and Ab&'l-Marii, the “Father
of Quartz ;” not to speak of a Naké Abu Marwak *

* Schweinfurth (the Atheneum, July 6, 1878) speaks of a
“Wadi Abu Marwa (‘Quartz Valley’)” south of the Galalah block,

 

a Te

EL-MARWAH. 239

further north. The conclusion forced itself upon
me that the name of the celebrated Arab mine Z7'/-
Marwah or El-Marwak, the more ancient Méyovpa
(Mochura), which Ptolemy places in north I 24° 30),
applied to the whole district in South Midian, and
then came to denote the chief place and centre of
work. To judge by the extent of the ruins, and the
signs of labour, this focus was at Umm el-Kardyit
(the “Mother of the Villages”), which, tg has been
shown, is surrounded by a multitude of miner-towns
and ateliers. And the produce of the “diggings”
would naturally gravitate to El-Bada, the great
commercial station upon the Nabathzan “Over-
land.”

Thus E/-Marwak would signify “the Place of
Mard,” or “Quartz-land,” even as Ophir means “Red
Land.” A reviewer of my first book on Midian
objects to the latter derivation ; as “ Seetzen, among
others, has conclusively shown that Ophir, the true
translation of which is ‘riches,’ is to be looked for
in Southern Arabia.” Cornu! But I question the
“true translation ;” and, whilst owning that one
of the Ophirs or “Red Lands” lay in the modern
Yemen, somewhere between Sheba (Saéd) and Ha-
vilah (K%auldn), 1 see no reason for conchuding thai
this was the only Ophir. Had it been a single
large emporium on the Red Sea, which Collected the
produce of Arabia and the exports of India and of

ct ———

 

 
 

240 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

West Africa, the traditional site could hardly have
escaped the notice of the inquiring Arabian geo-
graphers of our Middle Ages. The ruins of a port
would have been found, and we should not be com-
pelled theoretically to postulate its existence.

* * * * *

And now nothing remained but to escape as
quickly as possible from the ugly Wady Mismdh ;
with its violent, dusty wester, or sea-breeze, and its
sun-glare which, reflected and reverberated by the
quartz, burned the grass and made the trees resemble
standing timber.

April 10th saw the last of our marches, a hurry
back to the stable, a sauve gui pent. The camel-men,
reckless of orders, began to load and to slip away
shortly after midnight. Ali Marie, who, as usual,
had lost his head, when ordered to enjoin silence
gave the vain and vague direction, “Tell the Arabs
to tell the camels not to make so much noise.”
Even the bugler sounded the ‘general ” of his own
accord ; and the mules, now become painfully intel-
ligent, walked as if they knew themselves to be
walking homewards. Our last stage lay over the
upper skirts of the maritime plain which has already
been noticed. At 10.15 a.m., after riding five hours
and thirty minutes (= seventeen miles), we found
ourselves once more upon the seaboard. Our kind
host, Captain Hasan Bey, came to meet us in his

  

 

RESUME OF LAST JOURNEY. 241

gig: the quarter-deck had been dressed with flags,
as for a ball; and before twelve bells struck, we
had applied ourselves to an excellent breakfast in
the gun-room of our old favourite, the Sizndr. The

auspicious day of course ended with a fantasia.

RESUME OF OUR LAST JOURNEY.

We had left the Sharm Yahdrr on March 21st,
and returned to it on April 13th; a total of twenty-
four days. Our actual march through South Midian,
which had lasted thirteen days (March 29—April
10), described a semicircle with EI-Wijh about the
middle of the chord. The length is represented by
170 miles in round numbers : as usual, this does not
include the various offsets and the by-paths explored
by the members ; nor do the voyages to El-Wijh
and El-Haurd, going and coming, figure in the
line of route. The camels varied from fifty-eight
to sixty-four, when specimens were forwarded to
the harbour-town. The expenditure amounted to
£92 13s, including pay and “bakhshish” to the
Baliyy Shaykhs, but not including our friends the
Sayyid, Furayj, and the Wakil Mohammed Sha-
hédah.

This southern region differs essentially from the
northern, which was twice visited, and which occu-
pied us two months, mostly wasted. Had we known
what we do now, I should have begun with the

VOL. IL R

 

an ———

   

F, ves Sn

   

 

a
242 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

south, and should have devoted to it the greater
part of our time. Both are essentially mining coun-
tries; but, whilst the section near Egypt preserves
few traces of the miner, here we find the country
carefully and conscientiously worked. The whole
eastern counterslope of the outliers that project
from the Ghdt-section known as the mountains of
the Z77hdmat-Balawtyyak, is one vast outcrop of
quartz. The parallelogram between north lat. 26°,
including the mouth of the Wady Hamz, and north
lat. 27°, which runs some fifteen miles north of the
Bada plain, would form a Southern Grant, sufficiently
large to be divided and subdivided as soon as judged
advisable.

If the characteristics of North Midian (Madyan
Proper) are its argentiferous, and especially its
cupriferous ores, South Midian worked chiefly gold
and silver, both metals being mentioned by the
medieval geographers of Arabia. Free gold in
paillettes was noticed by the Expedition in the

micaceous schists veining the quartz, and in the

chalcedony which parts the granite from the gneiss.
The argentiferous Negro quartz everywhere abounds,
and near the ruins of Badd lie strews of spalled
“Mari,” each fragment showing its little block of
pure lead. Saltpetre is plentiful, and a third “ Sul-

phur hill” rises from the maritime plain north of
the Wady Hamz.

RESUME. 243

The principal ruins and afeliers number five ;
these, beginning from the north, are the Umm
el-Kardyat, the Umm el-Hardb, the Bujat-Badd, the
Khardbat Abd’'l-Mard, and the old Nabathean port,
El-Haurd. Amongst them is not included the gem
of our discovery, the classical shrine, known as Gasr
Gurayyim Sa’id, nor the minor afeliers, E1-Kubbah,
Abd’l-Gezdz, and the remains upon the Marwat
ridge. Good work was done by the Egyptian
Staff-officers in surveying the fine harbour of El-
Dumayghah, so well fitted as a refuge for pilgrim-
ships when doing quarantine; and I venture upon
recommending, to the English and Egyptian Govern-
ments, my remarks concerning the advisability of at
once re-transferring the station to EI-Wijh. It is
now at Tor; and, as has been said, it forms a
standing menace, not only to the Nile Valley, but
to the whole of Europe.

Whilst abounding in wood, the Southern Country
is not so well watered as are Central and Northern
Midian. On the other hand, the tenants, confined to
the Baliyy tribe, with a few scatters of the despised
Hutaym, are milder and more tractable than the
Huwaytdt. As I have remarked, they are of ancient
strain, and they still conserve the instincts of their
predecessors, or their forefathers, the old mining
race. It will be necessary to defend them against

the raids and incursions of the Juhaynah, or “ Sons

   

a ———r————

   

 

 

   
 
 

244 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of Dogs,” who border upon them to the south, and
from the Alayddn-’Anezah to the south-east; but
nothing would be easier than to come to terms with
the respective Shaykhs. And the sooner we explore
the Jaww, or sandstone region in the interior, with
its adjacent “ Harrahs,” the better for geography
and, perhaps not less, for mineralogy. The great
ruins of Maddin Salih upon the Wady Hamz still, I

repeat, await the discoverer.

   

CONCLUSION.

Tue next day saw us at EI-Wijh, dispensing pay
and “bakhshish” to the companions of our Desert
march ; and shipping the men and mules, with the
material collected during the southern journey. The
venerable Shaykh ’Afndn and his Baliyy were not
difficult to deal with; and they went their way
homewards fully satisfied. We exchanged a friendly
adieu, or rather an ax revoir, with our excellent
travelling companion, Mohammed Shahddah; and I
expressed my sincere hopes to find him, at no
distant time, governor of the restored Quarantine-
station.

On the morning of April 12th we set out
betimes, and anchored for the night in one of the
snug bays of Jebel Numan. The next day placed
us at the Sharm Yahdrr, where the process of
general distribution happily ended. Here the final
parting took place with the gallant companions of
our four months’ travel. Shaykh Furayj, delighted
with the gift, in addition to his pay, of a Styrian

ves

   

  
 
 

ea
 

 

246 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

skean-dfin and an Austrian Werndl-carbine, at once
set off to rejoin the tribe up-country; while the
Sayyid steadfastly stayed with us to the last. These
men had become our friends; and my sorrow at
leaving them was softened only by the prospect of
presently seeing them again.

Immediately after my return to Cairo I strongly
recommended the Sayyid for promotion, in these
words :—*“ First and foremost is the Sayyid Abd
el-Rahim, the head of a noble family, settled for
generations at ElI-Muwayldh, where he is now Kdtzb
(‘accountant’) to the Fort. He knows thoroughly
the whole Land of Midian; he is loved and
respected by all the Arabs, and both he and his
are devoted to the Government of your Highness.
Evidently it would be advantageous to promote such
a man to the post of governor of the place—a post
which will presently become of high importance,
and which is actually held by an old officer, almost
bed-ridden.

“The second is Shaykh Mohammed Shahddah,
of EI-Wijh, a man of family and position ; known
far and wide, and made generally popular by his
generous and charitable actions. He was formerly
Wakil, or ‘agent, to the Fort el-Wijh, until that
office was abolished. The port will presently have
its custom-house ; and I propose forwarding to her

Britannic Majesty's Government my notes upon the

  

———— x

   

RETURN TO CIVILIZATION. 247

 

subject of the Quarantine-station, which has impru-
dently been transferred from Arabia to Tor, in the
Sinaitic Peninsula. Meanwhile it would, I venture
to suggest, be most advantageous if Mohammed
Shahddah were named governor of his native place.”

The Expedition, in its urgent desire to return
northwards, was not seconded by weather. Despite
an ugly gale, the Sizndr boldly attempted giving the
slip to Arabia on April 16th, but she was beaten
back before she reached El-Muwaylah. After
another stormy day, we again got up steam; and,
fighting hard against adverse winds and waves,
greatly to the distress of the unfortunate mules and
gazelles, we reached Suez on April 20th.

At Suez my wife had been awaiting me for long
weeks, preferring the simplicity of the Desert to
the complex life of Cairo. Some delay was again
necessary in order to telegraph our arrival, to apply
for a special train, and to sort and pack in the
travelling-cases our twenty-five tons of specimens.
As often happens, the return to civilization was in
nowise cheery. Everything seemed to go wrong.
For instance, the Dragoman despatched to town
from the New Docks in order to lay in certain
comforts, such as beef and beer, prudently laid out
the coin in a brand-new travelling suit intended for
his own service. Such an apology for a dinner
had not been seen during the last four months
 

 

248 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

of wild travel—unpleasant when guests have been
bidden to a feast! The night at the Docks, also,
was a trifle mortuary, over-silent and tranquil : all
hands, officers and men, who could not get leave
to sleep ashore, simply took leave—I believe myself
to have been for a time both captain and crew of
the Siundr. And, lastly, we heard that both our
dog-companions, Juno and Pdiji, had died of some
canine epidemic.

The next day ended our halt at Suez, with visits
to slop-shops and a general discussion of ckoppes.
The old hotel, under the charge of Mr. and Mrs.
Adams, had greatly improved by the “elimination ”
of the offensive Hindi element; and my old friends
of a quarter-century’s standing received me with all
their wonted heartiness. Sa'ild Bey was still a Bey,
but none the less jovial and genial; Captain Ali
Bey, who had commanded the Szzndr, was now act-
ing commodore; and my only regret was having
again missed Colonel Gordon (Pasha).

April 22nd convinced us that, even in these pro-
saic regions, our misadventures and accidents had
not reached their fated end. A special train had
been organized by Hanafi Effendi for eight a.m.
About ten miles from Suez one of the third-class

)

carriages began “running hot;” and, before we
could dismount, the axle-box of a truck became a

young Vesuvius in the matter of vomiting smoke,

  

 

 

 

THE TRAIN ON FIRE. 249

I ordered the driver, who was driving furiously, to
make half speed; but even with this precaution
there were sundry stoppages ; and at the Naffishah
station, where my Bolognese acquaintances still
throve, we could not be supplied with a change of
“ rolling-stock.” About Tell el-Kabir, the brake-
van also waxed unsafely warm ; but it reached Zaga-
zig without developing more caloric. Briefly, we
caught fire three times in one morning.

These accidents must always be expected, where
spare carriages are placed for months upon sidings
to become tinder in the sun; and where the cracks
and crevices of the woodwork fill up with the sili-
cious sand of the Desert, an admirable succedaneum
for flint and steel. One consolation, however,
remained to us: the Dragoman, brand-new clothes
and all, was left behind at Suez. His last chef
d'wuvre of blundering has already been noticed Fo
the barrel of Midianitish oysters sent to Admiral
M’Killop (Pasha) had been so carelessly headed up,
and so carefully turned topsy-turvy, that the result
was, to use my friend's words, they could be nosed
from the half-way station. The “Kyrios” had pro-
bably passed a Bacchanalian night with his Hellenic
friends, and he subsequently made act of presence
at Cairo with a very British-looking black eye. His
accident at Suez was a bit of “poetical justice,”

¥ Chap. IX.

 

  
 
 

ves S
Vey

     

—
Ce
 

   

250 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

which almost convinced one of the “moral govern-
ment.”

A succulent breakfast & la fourchette, in the
charming garden of our friend M. Vetter, of Zagdzig,
duly discussed, we again went “on board,” amusing
the lookers-on by our naive enjoyment of the Nile-
valley: they had not been in Arabia, and they found
the “emerald-green” dusty and yellow. We reached
Cairo at 5.30 p.m. More troubles! Ten minutes
after arrival we found ourselves in possession, in
sole charge of the gare. The train was loaded with
Government property, officers, soldiers and escort,
mules, boxes and bags of specimens whose collect-
ing had cost money. Yet station-master, agent, and
employés at once went their ways, declining even to
show the room allotted to our goods, although a
telegram from the railway authorities had advised
me that one had been made ready. The assistant-
agent, when at last hunted up, declared, before
vanishing once more, that the porters for whom we
applied were busy loading cotton, and that we must
e'en do the best we could for ourselves. So the
waggons were shunted and unloaded by their
tenants, and the minerals were deposited under a
kind of shed whose key was not forthcoming. We
failed to find even a light, till the local train from
Suez was announced ; and, when it began whistling,
the officials, who had returned like rats from their

 

 

 

MISMANAGED RAILWAYS. 251

holes, gave us peremptory directions to shunt again.
This time, however, I had the game in my hands;
and replied by taking due precautions against being

turned out.
At first the soldier-escort worked as well as

could be expected ; but the numbers fell off every
quarter of an hour, till we were left with a very
select party; the only recipients, by-the-by, of
« bakhshish.” The Sub-Lieutenant Mohammed
Effendi mounted a donkey the moment he stepped
out of the R.R. carriage; and, utterly disregard-
ing so vexatious a frivolity as asking leave, rode
off to his home at Torah. His example was
followed by the Sergeant Mabrik Awaz. And
yet both these men had the impudence to call
upon me at the hotel, and to apply for especial
Shahddaks, or “testimonials” of good conduct. In
short, we were detained at the station for three
mortal hours, working with our own hands. If this
be a fair specimen of European management in
Egypt, and I am told that it has now become worse,
much worse in every way, the sooner we return to
Egyptian mismanagement the better. The latter is,
at any rate, cheap and civil.

On the next day the Viceroy graciously sent his
junior Master of Ceremonies, his Excellency Tonino
Bey, to welcome me back; and I was at once

honoured with audiences at the Khedivial Palace,

———

    
  
 
 
 

ve" ™
ve,

LS
 

252 i THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Abidin, and by Prince Husayn Kdmil Pasha at
Gizah (F#zak). The Khediv was pleased to express
satisfaction with my past exertions, and ordered
several measures to be carried out at once. Amongst
them was a little exhibition of mineralogy and archae-
ology, maps and plans, sketches and croguis, at the
Hippodrome.

I need hardly say that his Highness at once saw
the gist of the matter. Many concessions had
been applied for, even from Australia; but the
Viceroy determined that, before any could be
granted, careful analyses of the specimens must be
made, at his Highness’s private expense, in London.
M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, of world-wide fame,
volunteered, in the most friendly way, to submit
échantillons of the rocks to the Parisian Académie
des Sciences, of which he is a distinguished member.
The Viceroy was also pleased spontaneously to
remind me of, and to renew, the verbal promise
made upon my return from the first Expedition to
Midian ; namely, that I should be honoured with a
concession, or that a royalty of five per cent. on
the general produce of the mines should be the
reward of discovery. The young Minister of
Finance, Prince Husayn Kdmil Pasha, after cour-
teously congratulating me upon the successful result
of our labours, put as usual the most pertinent of

questions,

 

 

 

EXHIBITION AT CAIRO. 253

The opening of our little Exposition was delayed
by sundry difficulties. The Greek Easter set in
with its usual severity about later April. A general
shop-shutting, a carouse unlimited, catholic, universal;
and, despite stringent police orders, a bombardment
of the town by squibs and crackers, were the
principal features of the fe. The 29th was the
classical Stamm el-Nastm, or “the Smelling of the
Zephyr,” a local May-day religiously kept with
utter idleness. Mr. W. E. Hayns and I utilized it
by going a flint-hunting on the left bank of the
Nile.* Then the terrible “ May coupon” gave
immense trouble and annoyance to the rulers ; who,
so far from making merry with the lieges, had to
work in person between five a.m. and midnight.
After such exertion as this, rest was of course
necessary. Subsequently, a grand review monopo-
lized one day; another was spent by the Court in
despatehing the young Prince Fudd to Switzerland ;
and yet another was given to his Highness the
Prince Hasan Pasha, Commander-in-Chief of the
Egyptian auxiliaries, who, on the conclusion of the
war, had returned to Cairo en route for Europe.

Briefly, it was not before May oth that the
Khediv, accompanied by the Prince hiritier,

* A paper describing our “finds” was read before the Anthro-
pological Section of the British Association Meeting at Dublin on

August 21, 1878, and subsequently before the Anthropological
Institute of London (December 10, 18738).

   

n—————

 

ewww

   

   
 

av
 

 

254 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Taufik Pasha, found leisure personally to open the
Exhibition—the first, by-the-by, ever honoured with
the Viceregal presence. Despite all my efforts, the
rooms, which should have been kept clear till his
Highness had passed through, were crowded at an
early hour. The maps prepared at the Citadel by
[ieutenants Amir and Yusuf, with the aid of three
extra hands, were very imperfect, half finished at the
last moment, and abounding in such atrocities as
“ Quorh ” for “ EI-Wijh.” The engineer, M. Marie,
when asked aloud, and with all publicity, by the
Khediv whether he was sure that such and such
specimens contained gold, shirked a direct reply,
evasively declaring that “ Midian is a fine mining
country.” He had pointed out to me the precious
metal during our exploration of Umm el-Kardyit ;
but such is the wretched result of “knowing the
people,” instead of telling the truth like a man.
And one of the many jealous, a mild Mephisto.
whispered in the Viceregal ear, “ There can’t be
much gold there, or ces messieurs would have said
more about it.”

Despite these small contretemps the Exhibition™
was pronounced a success, and served, as such things

* The following was the announcement offered to the
public :—

“La collection minéralogique et archéologique rapportée par le

Capitaine Burton, de sa seconde Expédition au pays de Midian,
est exposée dans les salles de Hippodrome, avant d’étre envoyée

 

    

THE EXHIBITION. 255

do, for a nine days’ wonder. Several travellers from
England and Australia took the opportunity of in-
specting the rocks; and I was much encouraged to
find the general opinion so highly favourable.
Locally there were dissidents, but this must be
expected where interests differ.

Meanwhile his Highness kept me hard at work.

a Exposition Universelle de Paris, sous la direction de M. G.
Marie, ingénieur des mines.

“La salle du sud renferme les croquis et les aquarelles faits par
M. E. Lacaze.

“La partie du nord commence avec Akabah, point extréme
atteint par Expédition ; elle contient les résultats du premier
voyage de I'Expédition, c’est-a-dire: Shermd, Djebel el-Abiat,
Aynouneh, Moghair-Schuaib, Mokna et Akabah.

“ Le mur de lest contient tout ce qui se rapporte a la seconde
exploration, c’est-a-dire ’'Hismd et le grand massif du Sharr.

“ Le mur du sud contient les principaux points de vue pris au
sud du pays de Midian: Wedje, la forteresse, la montagne de
Omm-el-Kardydt, travaillée par les anciens, la mine de Omm el-
Harab, le temple antique, etc., etc.

“Sur la table sont les médailles et la collection anthropologique
fait par le Capitaine Burton.

“La salle du nord contient la collection géologique et minéra-
logique faite par M. G. Marie ; les minéraux sont classés suivant
Pordre des pays parcourus, c’est-a-dire en commencant a Akabah
et finissant au Ouadi Hamz, frontiere du Hedjaz.

“Tout autour de la salle sont rangées les vingt caisses contenant
les échantillons que Son Altesse le Khédive envoie en Angleterre
pour y étre analysés. Pres de la porte de lest sont placés les
restes du temple de 'Ouadi Hamz, les moulins pour écraser le
quartz, les briques réfractaires, et enfin les inscriptions Naba-
théennes.

“Dans les loges de I'Hippodrome, derriere les deux salles, sont
déposés environ quinze tonnes d’échantillons, destinés a étre
analysés par une Commission locale, nommée par Son Altesse le
Khédive.”

 
 

ves Ss

 

  

  
 
 

av
 

 

 

256 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

I was directed to draw up a concise general descrip-
tion of the province; to report upon the political
and other measures by which the Midian country
would be benefited; and, lastly, to suggest the
means which, in my humble opinion, were best cal-
culated for successfully working the mines. In
former days the Viceroy would at once have under-
taken the task, and probably would have sent
down five thousand men to open the diggings.
Now, however, the endless trickery of European
adventurers and speculators has made a wise pre-
caution absolutely necessary. During the last
audience, his Highness ably and lucidly resumed
the history of the past measures, and the steps
which he proposed for the future. The first
Khedivial Expedition had been simply one of ex-
ploration, sent to ascertain whether the precious
metals really existed. The second was intrusted
with the charge of laying down the probable limits
of the mining formation; and of bringing back
varied specimens, in quantities sufficient for scien-
tific analysis. The third and next step would be
to organize a Compagnie de Recherche, with the
object of beginning a serious exploitation. The
future thus settled, I was kindly and courteously
dismissed, with a desire that I should take charge
of the specimens, and personally superintend the
work of assaying. Mr. Charles Clarke received pay

  

RETURN 70 TRIESTE. 257

and leave for three months, and was ordered to

convey the boxes by “long sea.”

On May 10th we left Cairo in company with our
friend Mr. Garwood, C.E. At Alexandria a great
repose fell upon my spirit; it was like gliding into
a smooth port after a storm at sea. All the petty
troubles and worries of Cairo; the cancans, the in-
trigues, the silly reports of the envious and the jealous,
with the buzz and sting of mosquitoes; the weary
waiting ; the visits of “friends” whose main object
in life seemed to be fuer le ver ; and the exigencies
of my late fellow-travellers, who, after liberal pay
and free living for four months, seemed determined
to quarter themselves upon the Egyptian Govern-
ment for the rest of their natural lives;—-all these
small cares, not the less annoying because they
were small, disappeared like magic at the first
olimpse of blue water. I had barely time to pass
an afternoon at Ramleh, “the Sand-heap,” with an
intimate of twenty-five years’ standing, Hartley John
Gisborne, an old servant of the Egyptian “Crown,”
for whom new men and new measures have, I re-
gret to see, made the valley of the Nile no longer
habitable.

The next Sunday placed us on board the Austro-
Hungarian Lloyd's screw-steamer Austria (Capitano
Rossol). As usual, the commander and officers

did all they could to make their voyagers comfort-

S

VOL. II.

. ween

       
  
 
 

ve,

av

 
 

258 THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

able; the Company did the contrary. At this
spring season, true, the migratory host of un-
feathered bipeds crowds northwards; even as in
autumn it accompanies the birds southwards. But
when berths are full, passengers should be refused ;
and if the commercial director prefers dead to
live goods, travellers should be duly warned. The
accommodation would have been tolerable in a
second-class or third-class English steamer, which
charges fifteen shillings to a sovereign per diem;
here, however, we were paying between £2 and £3.

The Alexandrian agent had been asked to lodge
us decently. My wife found herself in a cabin
occupied by two nurses. I was placed in a manner
of omnibus, a loose box for six, of whom one was
an Armenian and two were Circassians from Daghi-
stin—good men enough, but not pleasant as bed-
room fellows. No extra service had been engaged
for an extra cargo of seventy-two; that is, forty-two
first, and thirty second class. There were only
three stewards, including the stewardess; and the
sick were left to serve themselves. At least half a
dozen were required ; and, in such places as Trieste
and Alexandria, a large staff of cooks and waiters
can always be engaged in a few hours. On board
any English ship some of the smartest and handiest
seamen would have been converted into temporary
attendants—here no one seemed to think of a pro-

 

 

J
i
1
is
i
i
LE
&

THE COMFORTLESS AUSTRIAN LLOYD'S. 259

ceeding so far out of the usual way. There was
only one, instead of three or four cooks; and the
unfortunate had to fill a total of one hundred and
thirty-five mouths, the crew included, three times a
day. The other tenant of the close and wretched
little galley lay sick with spotted typhus; and, after
barbarous neglect, he died on the day following our
arrival at Trieste—I did not hear that the surgeon
of the screw-steamer Austria had met with his
deserts by summary dismissal from the service. The
Austro-Hungarian Lloyd's was once famed for good
living ; over-economy and high dividends have now
made the cuisine worse than the cheapest of fables
d'hdte. Provisions as well as their preparation were
so bad that Sefer Pasha, an invalid, confined him-
self to a diet of potatoes and eggs.

Add the quasi-impossibility of obtaining a bath ;
the uncleanliness of the offices: the hard narrowness
of the sofas ; the small basins, or rather bowls, and
the tiny towels like napkins; the clamorous pets of
the small fry, cats and dogs; the crowding of second-
class passengers on the quarter-deck; and the noise
of the Armenian lady beating her maid, who objected
to the process in truly dreadful language : throw in
an engine which, despite the efforts of her energetic
English engineer, Mr. Wilkinson, managed only
nine instead of eleven and a half knots an hour; an

ugly north-easter off Cape Matapan, bringing tropi-

   

————— Sr —

 

 

ver

 

Le
 

   

260 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

cal downfalls of rain; and a muggy Scirocco off Istria,
when we breathed almost as much water as air: and
I think that the short entry in my journal, “horridly
uncomfortable,” was to a certain extent justified by
the conduct of the poor’ Austria. Yet the Austro-
Hungarian Lloyd's boasts a dividend of seven per
cent. She shall see no more of my money: until
she mend her ways I shall prefer the Genoese
Rubattino.

But, as the Persian poet has it, In ntz bug’ zared—
“ Even these things pass away.” At Corfu we were
cheered by once more meeting Sir Charles Sebright,
who looked hale and hearty as of yore. When
we reached Trieste, his Excellency Baron Pino von
Friendenthall, accompanied by the most amiable of
“better halves,” came off in his galley, happily un-
conscious of typhus; and carried us away without
the usual troubles and delays of landing in harbour
bumboats. Friendly faces smiled a welcome ; and,
after an absence of some seven months, I found
myself once more in the good town which has given
us a home during the last five years.

At Trieste I was delayed for some time, awaiting
the report that the specimens collected by the Expe-
dition had arrived at their destination, the ware-
houses of the London Docks. Mr. Clarke met with
obstacles at Suez; and, consequently, did not reach
England till June 20th, after twenty-three rough

 

 

 

HOME. 261

days. As her Majesty's Foreign Office had been
pleased to accord me two months of leave to Eng-
land, I determined to make the voyage by “long
sea.” Both suffering from the same complaint, want
of rest and of roast-beef, as opposed to 7rosbif, we
resolved to ship on board the English steamer
Hecla, of the B. and N. A. R. M. S. P. Company,
the old Cunard line, famous for never having lost a
life, a ship, or a letter. We left Trieste on July 7,
1878, in charge of our excellent commander, Captain
James Brown; and, after a cruise of twenty days,
vi@ Venice, Palermo, and Gibraltar—a comfortable,
cheery, hygienic cruise in charming weather over
summer seas—we found ourselves once more (July
26th) in the city of the Liver.

. ven

         
   
 

av
  
  
    
 
  
 
     
    

 

I0 sy
14

   
 

* *

December 19, 1877,

 

21,
i

i 22 29

i 23 3)

30 2

January 7, 1878,

8

9 »

10 5

25 »

j February 3

 

 

OO o~y On hn

   

DaTeEs oF THE THREE JOURNEYS (Northern, Central, and
Southern) made by the Second Khedivial Expedition.

(December 19, 1877, to February 13, 1878.)

December 6, 1877, left Cairo.

APPENDIX IL

re Ot

FIRST JOURNEY.

left Suez.
reached El-Muwaylah (Sharm Yadhdrr) on the
“Day of ’Arafdt.”

* *
landed at El-Muwaylah.
marched upon Wady Tiryam.

” , Wady Sharm.

ss ,» Jebel el-Abyaz.
returned to Wady Sharma.
marched upon ’Ayniinah.
halted at ’Ayntnah.

’ Wady el’ Usaylah.
reached Maghdir Shu’ayb.
marched upon Maknd.
embarked for the Marsd Dahab in the Sinaitic

Peninsula.
to the anchorage of El-Nuwaybr’.
anchored at Pharaoh’s Island.
halted » 4
steamed to El’Akabah town.
ran down Gulf el-Akabah.
anchored under Tiran Island.
halted at Tirdn Island.

#* *
     
 
   
 
 

264

 

  

12
> iol 13

  
 
  
  
 
  

18

  
  

19
20
21
23
24
25

   
    
    
  

26

27
28
March 1

8

”

”

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

February 11, 1878 ran from wrecking to Sinifir Island.

halted at Sinadfir Island.
returned to El-Muwaylah (Sharm Yéhdrr).

SECOND JOURNEY.

(February 17, 1878, to March 8, 1878.)

2

February 17, 1878, walked to ruins of Abdi Hawdwit.

marched upon the Safh Jebel Malfh in the
Wady Surr.

camped in the Sayl Wady el-Jimm.

marched upon El-Nagwah.

reached the head of the Wady Sadr.

camped below the Co/, “ El-Khuraytah.”

reached the Hisma.

descended the two Passes and camped in the
“ Jayb el-Khuraytah.”

marched upon the Majrd el-Ruways.

Wady Dédmabh.

n » 5 ruins of Shuwdk.

halted at the ruins of Shuwdk.

visited the ruins of Shaghab and camped at
the Majrd el-Wdghir.

visited the ruins El-Khandak{ and camped at
the plain El-Kutayyifah.

marched down the Wady Salmd and camped
at the M4 el-Bad{’ah.

reached Zibd town.

halted at Zib4.

visited the turquoise-diggings of Zibd and
camped at the Mdyat el-Ghal.

returned to El-Muwaylah (Sharm Yahdrr).

” » »

COMPLEMENTARY EXCURSION TO THE SHARR MOUNTAIN,

March 13, 1878, camped in the Wady el-Kdimah.

I4
I5
16
17
18

 
  
 

 

»

»

»

»

»

Wady el-Kusayb.
Safhat el-Wu’ayrah.

2 »

» »

up the Shdrr.
camped in the Wady Kuwayd.
returned to El-Muwaylah (Sharm Yaharr).

a "=I,

| 22
23
24
25
26

the 28th.)

29
30

 

April

By aT

I,
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

I0

| ;

APPENDIX I. 263

THIRD JOURNEY.

(March 21, 1878, to April 10, 1878.)

»

»

»

March 21, 1878, left Sharm Ydhdrr and made the Sharm

Dumayghah.
halted at El-Dumayghah.
anchored in harbour of EI-Wijh.
set out in the Szzndr southwards.
anchored at El-Haura.
halted ” "

(On March 26th MM. Marie and Philipin marched from
El-Wijh to the Wady Hamz, and rejoined head-quarters on

March 27, 1878, returned to EI-Wijh.

left E1-Wijh and camped at inner fort.

to Umm el-Kardydt (ruins and mine).

visited ruins of El-Kubbah; camped in Wady
Dasnabh.

1878, to Umm el-Hardb (ruins and mine).

»

’»”

»

»

»

”

”»

»

»

camped in the Wady Abd’l-Gezdz.
’ ” plain of Bad4.
halted at the ’ ”
camped at the Ayn el-Kurr.
,, in the Wady Laylah.
2 ,, Wady Abd’l’Ajaj.
to the ruins of the Gasr Gurayyim Sa’id
(classical temple).
to the Abd’l-Mard (Marwah mine).
return to EI-Wijh.

THE RETURN TO EGYPT.

April 12, 1878, steamed northwards to Nu'man Island.

I3
18
I9
20
22

 

”»

’”

»

»»”

»»

reached El-Muwaylah (Sharm Yihdrr).
left EI-Muwaylah, night at sea.

in Gulf of Suez.

reached Suez.

Cairo.

»

ves
ve,

av

  
   
 
   
  
    
   
    
  
   
   
        

APPENDIX 11.

    

 

Brought forward . 791 7 9
El-Muwaylah, December 16th, to return, Yelnuaty
13th :(—
Journey to north * oi Sos on “300 14 3
. i Post service ... at ye » 4 8 0
: . Cost of sheep t ... i’ .. .. 3214 ©
: Sundries § ... ~ - 20 7 |
APPENDIX II. Five foot-soldiers’ salaries coe vrs hs “ 4 © |
Eastern journey to the Hismd § i. os 187 6 6
A Post service . . . yor 3 3 o 2;
TT 3 Cost of sheep t ... i. i. i” 11 19 © ;
F Sundries : oe § II © ot
EXPENSES OF THE EXPEDITION TO MiIDIAN, commanded by Sambuk from Suez, as per contract ... 9 4 © (
Captain R. F. Burton, H.B.M. Consul, Trieste. Soldiers from fort 3 o ©
i ... he 4 11 6
> CA1ro, November 1, 1877. aps | + 1
: 4 sd 1 Thirty pairs of boots for widiors q i. . 6 o o {
Sum received from Egyptian Finance ... «.« 1977 12 © i Sundries  ... oo i. i. I 0 ©
. \ Journey to south ** > es 92 13 ©
AMOUNTS PAID OUT BY ORDER OF CAPTAIN BURTON. | Cost of sheep t B N B . A316 DO
: 4 sd | Post service i. . ce es 2 0 © ;
Hotel bills for five persons (thirty-six days) wo 149 6 9 . Sundries 1... Nn n » ... 18 3 6
Advanced to members of Expedition up to date J Special payments :—
(May 3:d) =, - 74 12 3 Sayyid ’Abd el-Rahim Effendi ... .. 16 0 o
Cost of provisions for journey to Midian, fourteen Bukhayt . I 12 ©
persons .. 314 8 ¢ Husayn C12 oo
Cost of tools, chemicals, instrament, canteen, etc. 185 19 © Shaykh Furayj . .. 4 0
Medicine chest from Dr. Lowe " ’ot 10 10 © y salary for twenty-five days 5 o o
Journey to Suez from Cairo, December 6th, 1878 :— Expenses at Suez, unloading, etc., and hotel bills for
Hotel bill for eleven persons (three days) ... 33 3 6 len persons  ... vr or 39 7 ©
Tobacco for presents to Bedawin i. 6 8 o Post and telegrams o vos ‘es 1 16 o
Sundries . » N . 1g10 6 Suez to Cairo . . ' 4 ros 1 12 6
Telegrams and post service pss do 3 9 ©° Carried forward ... £1658 1 7
£791 7 9 | * Starting with a hundred camels and three Shaykhs.
+ For all hands. t Includes *‘bakhshish.”
* M. Marie, £35 125.; Haji Wali, £23; M. Philipin, £12 45.; M, A § Sixty-one camels, four Shaykhs. | Fifty camels, three Shaykhs.

Lacaze, £3 16s. 2 9 Got from Mukhbir. ** Fifty-eight camels, three Shaykhs.

      

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Brought forward

Expenses at Cairo up to date May 5, 1878 :—
Unloading, cartage, and preparing for Exhibition
Salaries of persons engaged from Cairo and Mu-
waylah :—
Anton Dimitri, Giorgi, and Petro * - 93 17
Magazine-man at El-Muwaylah t as i 6 8

Sais from Suez, engaged through governor } 9 o
Mr. Clarke’s salary §

6
0
0
o

180 o

| 1971 12 6
In hand for small expenses not yet sent in for pay-

ment 5 19 6

a————

£1977 12 ©
Sent in May 6, 1878.

(Signed) CHAS. CLARKE.

(Countersigned) RICHARD F. BURTON.
Commanding Expedition.

* Six months’ pay. t Four months. I Four months and a half,
§ Employed on special service.

 

APPENDIX III.

PRESERVED PROVISIONS AND OTHER STORES, supplied by Messrs.
Voltéra Bros., of the Ezbekiyyah, Cairo. }

L &

19
14
I9
I0

95 okes potatoes, at 54.

670 ,, best rice, at 834.

152 ,, sugar, at 1134. per kilog.

6o ,, ground coffee, at 4s. 64.

120 tins milk, at 14s. ...

120 bottles pickles :

15 tins butter (of 1 1b.), at 2s. 64.

60 okes oil, at 2s. 64. ... o

6 heads English cheese (607 lbs.), at 1s. 5.
160 okes dried French beans, at 10d.

6o ,, maccaroni and paste ...

54 , onions, at 74. II
10 , garlic, at 10d. 8
so packets candles . i. cn 2 10
5 okes cavendish tobacco, at 12s. i. _ o
6 , tobacco (Turkish), at 24s.

120 bottles soda-water, at 87. per dozen ..

20 ,, Syrups, at 2s.

50 ,, vinegar

10 dozen beer, at 11s.

15 bars soap, at 1s. 64.

20 pots mustard, at 1s. 64....

6 bottles curry, at 1s. 64.

20 Ibs. table raisins

10 large bottles pepper, at 2s.

i
AN ~ aX

BO

Oo
Oo
17
I0
10
13
Oo

O ~ WW OP 9 = OO WW ow
Lo

O 0 OO &0 00 OO O0O0O+H& NOHO NO OO

Carried forward

 
  

 

 

 

   

270 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Brought forward
10 small packets salt, at 1s.
5 large ’ +. at 1s 64,
6 bottles sauces, at s. 124.
12 ,, lime-juice, at 2s. 6d.
12 umbrellas, at 4s.

12 bottles blacking, at 1s. or wing tasciiptions)...

6 lanterns, at 1s. 64.

12 large tins sardines, at 1s. 64.
2 corkscrews, at 1s. 34.

2 opening knives

101 okes of biscuits, at 1s.

1 case Mumm’s champagne

1 , cognac, XX

1 ,, whisky

1 tin plum-pudding

10 packets matches, at 1s. 24. ..
8 barrels flour, at £3 :
4 okes Curani (Kordni) tobacco, at 26s
3o lbs. tea, at 4s.

24 tins green peas, at 1s.

18 ,, haricots verts, at 1s.
18, ” flageolets, at 1s.
18 ,, champignons, at 1s. 24.
18 ,, macedoine, at 1s.

8 ,, carrots, at 1s.

16 ,, asparagus (large), at 3s.
53% lbs. ham, at 1s. 64.

100 bottles ’Réki, at 2s.

100 tins meats, at 1s. 64. ...

4 dozen pints beer, at 8s.

7 empty tins for coffee, at 1s. 04.
17 , bags

4 okes packing rope, at 2s.

i » Isinglass

2 bottles spices ...

10 nutmegs..

Carried forward

i

O O = NU OO O OC ON MWMO OO ®

2

O O OOO OW ~~ OH NO O = 00 ~~ Ww Hh

NS

  

bf —

—
X= 00H OH O = NN OVOOUL WH BN

my
OO 0 «0 ™®

ee
O NN O

oo]
= NW 00h

16

©O OO ON NO O OW OO OO OO OO 0 0 WOO OO OW OO NOD OO 0 O00 0 SO WX

~3

I a

 

mk Rie cu #

5 lS el

APPENDIX 111.

Brought forward
1 packet starch ..
1 oke twine
2 okes nails, at 10d.
1 box cigarette papers
Kitchen utensils...
Empty bags
Packing

Total

ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES.

so bottles 'Raki, at 2s.

95 okes potatoes, at 54.

16 lbs. tea, at 4s.

so tins preserved meats, at 1s. 6d
20 ,, green peas, at Is.

12 ,, haricots verts, at 1s.

12 ,, champignon, at 1s. 24. ...
6 ,, first size asparagus, at 4s.
10 ,, butter (11b.), at 2s. 8a....
36 Ibs. English cheese, at 1s. 64.
60 okes maccaroni

126 ,, onions, at 7d.

20 packets candles
so boxes matches, at 1s. 24. dos
5 bars soap, at 1s. 64.

12 bottles sauces, at 1s. 24.

6 large bottles pepper, at 2s.

10 small packets salt, at 1s.

5 bottles lime-juice, at 2s. 64.
108 okes hard biscuits, at 1s.

2% ,, snuff ee

16 lbs. ginger-root, at 1s. 64.

2 doz. whisky, at 36s.

2 ,, Martel’s cognac

6 bottles absinthe, 2s. 64.

Carried forward

0

Oo
NO 0COCOoo™

 

£209

 

~~ 0 0 MLW om oLlN

Ww

wot O O O O OO 0 = WL WwW

-

0 +

—t

—
NW OO = NW O°

Gy

fo
O

17

“
.

oO

19

I5

12

14

14

13

14
12
I0
12

10

ur

nN
~~
—t

OC OC CVO ONO I RR

 

~

J

 

O OO 0 OO OOO OOOO ONO O WO O 0 O00 0 0 0X

   

ves
   
 
 
 

Brought forward

5 bottles Oxley’s essence of ginger, at 4s.

5 , pyretic saline, at 3s. 04.
! 3 boxes seidlitz powders, at 2s.
. 1 bottle aconite
4 ron tea and coffee kettles
2 empty tins for tea
Packing vrs
Carts, 2s. ; railway fare, 82s.

Total

 

 

   
 
   

THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

HSH = O = OO O O =~

16

17

14

I0

13

£59

Fe,

O OO OO OO SHO NOY

a
-

é
|
5
:
f
:

 

AE iach is ter Tm Rai vor Sn

APPENDIX 1V.

BOTANY AND LIST OF INSECTS.

SectioN I.

ProFESSOR D. OLIVER'S List oF DRIED PLANTS presented by
Captain Burton to the Herbarium, Royal Gardens, Kew,

September, 1878.

 

 

Anastatica hierochuntina, L.  Kaff maryam

Morettia parviflora, Boiss. Eaten by cattle.
Thagar ; Gaf’ad

Matthiola oxyceras, DC. forma g oracilis. " Ani-
mals eat. Hazd ; Muhawwil

Malcolmia wgyptiacs, Spr.
Tarbeh ...

Zilla myagroides, F. Silla.

Biscutella Columne, Ten. .. es

Diplotaxis Harra? AHdrrak. Eaten by cattle

Diplotaxis acris, Boiss. ii crassifolia,
Gay) ... Ere

Sisymbrium erysimoides, Desf. Salih. Eaten
by camels and ese. ors ses

Farsetia Burton, Oliv. sp. nov. Ghurayra

Schimpera arabica, H. nd St.

Enarthrocarpus lyratus, F., vel E. strangulatus,
Boiss  ..

Capparis Sodada, Br. (Sodada decidua, Forsk.).
Zanzub. Red berries eaten

Cleome chrysantha, Dcne. Mashteh. Pounded

and drank for worms, etc.

Animals eat.

Camels eat

VOL. II.

Nu’'man Isle.

 

 

 

 

Midian.
, | oo |
S| 5 |g
3 2 |B
A R
U ] —] —
| |
—| 11
{ |
|
I ee
TU me
wis | J fo
we] X |ow
|
Lf
n
I I |X
I | I |—
I | | —
|
I | —] —
   

    

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.
APPENDIX 77.

0
~
Ut

 
 

i
|
i
|
|

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Midian. 1 ov BA aay

5 | ye. : | 3 Midien.

EEE s | ET Ter

ae J 213]
Cleome arabica, L. ’ Ubaysé. Eaten by animals | — | —|—1 : vt enn mens vaste
Papaver Decaisnei, H. and St. g ot] = 1 Trianthema (?). (Imperfectspecimen.) Rumayh. | | | |
Ochradenus baccatus, Del. Gurzi. A large | | Jaen by sheep and cattle or eo |= — |=] 1
tree ; eaten by cattle ~ foe] 2 fl 1 | Aizoon canariense, L. Da'@’d. Grain pounded |

Reseda (Cryaten) canescens, ‘L.  Zunabdn. | { and eaten pre sm § ite Ln |

Eaten by cattle - =r] [= Gisekia pharnaceoides, L. lp feta
Reseda, an R. stenostachya (? ), Boiss. Khizdnm. | Cucumis prophetarum, L. Locality mislaid.

Eaten by animals = N a] 1 Jo Coty ledon umbilicus, IL. Jorma oe |e | 1 | ee 2
Helianthemum Lippii, Pers. Kazim. Cattle eat | — 1 | — k unpIe. lla arabica, Boiss. ujaylet el- Glurdb lo
Silene villosa, Forsk. ’Abaysé. Too much (Little Crow’s-foot). Sheep eat. Locality | -y

coated with sand to serve as food for animals | —| 1 | —|— suey. |
Gypsophila Rokejeka, Del. Co =] 1 | Pimpinella (Zragium palmetorum? St. and H.). |
Polycarpaea fragilis, Del. Makr i 1 | —|—|— Very young... ~~ .. i. vee |= 11 |—

Portulaca oleracea, L. : we |= ||| Ferula (? sp., leaf only). Ka/kk. Animals eat. |
Hibiscus micranthus, L. fil forma. * Khusiyat | High up on Shar. ~~ |
Rashid. Eaten by animals ll —1 1 lx Grammosciadium scandicinum, Boiss. sp. 707. — |=] 11
Abutilon fruticosum, G. and P. (Sida denticu- | i Medicago laciniata, All... or ee. | — — 1 —
lata, Fres.). a | -1q Taverniera wmgyptiaca, Boiss. (ex descr). Shi-
Abutilon muticum, Don : i. ——|—] 1 } brig. Eaten by animals . Loe foe | eee
Erodium laciniatum, Cav. Garnd. Eaten by i Indigofera spinosa, Forsk.  Skibrig. Camels |

cattle . rl] 3 eat. Good fodder ||
Monsonia nivea, Gay i i. — 1 [=~ — i Indigofera paucifolia, D. |_| 1 |—|—
Geranium mascatense, Boiss. /Zidwd. Eaten | i Indigofera (stunted specimen, may be I paci- |

by man and beast =r |= Jolia) . "Afr. Animals eat a vee |=] 1 |] —
Erodium cicutarium, L. . — 1 |=] i Tephrosia Apollinea, DC.  Dalsam; Tiwil | |
Tribulus terrestris, L. Katbeh i. — 1 | 11 Animals eat |—| rr 1
Zygophyllum simplex, L. BN Nn lf] = ) Genista (Retama) monosperma, , Del. vr ji y |e]
Zygophyllum album, L.  Gallim. Camels eat | 1 | — |— | — Lotononis Leobordea, Bh. uréat. Faten | |
Zygophyllum cocci ineum, forma (2. pro- | | i by cattle .. — 11 |—

pinguum, Dene.).  Murdkd. Animals eat SE ; Trigonella stellata, Forsk. (7: nie icrocarpa, Fres.) (1) 1}
Fagonia cretica, L. var. (ZF. glutinosa, Del). | Onobrychis (? ), possibly O. Ptolemaica. (Barren | |

Shikd'd (North Midian) ; Darmel (Nwman) 1 | 1 |—|— } specimen) — 1 |= —
Fagonia mollis, Del. Wardgd; and young plant | Astragalus sparsus (?), Dene, —_ 1 | —|—

of same = Zarag. Animals eat ... vee |— 1] T|- : Astragalus Siebert, DC. Gldlke/. Dry and |
Fagonia Brent DC. Jamdeh. Animals | | bi pounded root mixed with clarified butter.

eal Co | —|— : Drunk as a restorative i. ver |=] }—]1
Dodonaea viscosa, L. Var. (D. arabica, H. and | Astragalus Forskahles, Boiss. A7ddd. Camels |

St). Athab i» [—|—]| 1 |— cat . | — 1 |]
Rhus oxyacanthoides, Dum. ’Arar |— =| 1 |— 3 Cassia obovata, Coll. Senna . — 11 1
Neurada procumbens, L. Sa’adin. Eaten by | Iphiona scabra, DC. Zafra/. Camels eat — Op

man and beast. Mountain region r=] 3 Pulicaria undulata, DC. ARabul. Fine per-

Trianthema pentandra, L. f —|—|—] 1 fume : os i" —
Blumea Bovei, DC. (5. abyssinica, Sch.)

 

  
 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 

 

 

 

Nu’man Isle.
South.

 

 

 

Ifloga spicata, Forsk. Zenaymeh. Animals eat
Asteriscus pygmaeus, C. and Dur. wor
Anvilleea Garcini, DC. (fide Boissier). Nukud.
Eaten by camels and sheep , oe
Anthemis, an A. deserti (?), Boiss. Galwdin.
Camels eat: also called Gurrays, pounded
and eaten with dates
Matricaria (Chamaemelum) auriculata (Boiss.)
Senecio Decaisnei, DC. Umm lewinayn
Senecio coronopifolius, Desf.
Calendula agyptiaca, Desf. por wp
Calendula agyptiaca (?)
Calendula, an var. aegyptiaca ¢) Vo oi
Echinops spinosus, L. Akkishir. Eaten by
camels, sheep, and asses ors
Zoegea purpurea, Fres. Rubayydn. Cattle eat
Centaurea sinaica, DC. Yemrdr. Eaten by
sheep, asses, etc. os mp
Picridium tingitanum, Desf. forma. Huwwd ;
Tiz el- Kalbeh ; El Hauddn. Eaten by man

and animals ... -
Urospermum picroides, Desf. ... or
Microrhynchus nudicaulis, Less. ’Azid
Pterotheca bifida, F. and M. ... ee

Picris, conf. P. Sahara, C. and K.

Picris cyanocarpa, Boiss. i. ‘ee

Callipeltis cucullaria, Stev. ’'Zkrish. Cattle
eat. North or Central Midian.

Crucianella membranacea, Boiss. vee

Galium capillare, Dene... rer ree

Salvadora persica, L. El- Arik

Rhazya stricta, Decne. Harjal. Eaten only by
mules. Very fragrant ... -

Daemia cordata, R. Br. i”

Steinheilia radians, Dcne. ZFaka’ ... Jor

Convolvulus Hystrix, V. Skzbrim. Root used
as a purgative. Animals eat upper part of
plant  ... yo

Cuscuta, conf. C. brevistyla, A. Br. ...

Withania somnifera, Dun. Shajarat el- Dib

Lycium europeum, L. ’'Aushaz. Faten by
animals =.

  

—f

rye. ora sm cea aoe eo

 

 

CATs SR a

 

   

  
 

APPENDIX IV.

 

  

 

Nu’man Isle.
Middle. | & |

|

 

Solanum coagulans (?), Forsk. var. (A small
fragment only)

Hyoscyamus pusillus, 1 Say krin... oh

Heliotropium arbainense, Ires.  Ralldb.
Cattle eat ere wrt fer

Trichodesma africanum, R. Br.  Almim.
Camels and other animals eat wot

Echium longifolium C) Del. Kall. Animals
eat

Anchusa Miller, Ww.

Anchusa Milleri (?)

Anchusa Milleri (?)

Gastrocotyle (Anchusa hispida, Forsk.). Karir.
Camels eat pes

Arnebia hispidissima, A. DC. Fayni Animals
eat . ces

Lithospermum callosum, V. .. oe

Lindenbergia sinaica, Bth. Ma/lliZ. Cattle eat

Verbascum (in bud), an V. sinaiticum (?), Bth.

Verbascum, sp. nov. Sammd ... re

Herpestis Monniera, Kth. ANafa/. Animals
eat ..

Veronica Anagallis, L.

Linaria agyptiaca, Dum. ” vie

Linaria macilenta, Dene. Zwuraymat el-Himar.
Eaten by animals we

Linaria (§ Elatinoides), sp. imperfect

Linaria simplex (?), DC.

Linaria Hzelava, Chav. (fide Boissier) :
Blepharis edulis, Pers. (Acanthodium spicatum,
Del). Shauk el-Jemel. Camels fond of it
Lavandula Shranogiala, Poir. Zayteh. All

animals eat veo
Mentha lavandulacea, W. Habag. Animals
do not eat. Pounded and mixed with fresh
dates, “good for stomach ”
Salvia egyptiaca, L.
Salvia deserti, Dcne. pe oe:
Salvia, an S. deserti (?). Ja@'adek. Pounded in
water and snuffed up nose es
Otostegia, var. O. scariose (?), Bth. (vel O.
repanda, Bth.) Ghlassch. Sheep eat

young specimens

 
 

   

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 

 

Statice axillaris, Forsk. Annim. Camels eat
Plantago Psyllium, L. Nezi’a/. Animals eat
Plantago amplexicaulis, Cav.  Yanameh. Ani-
mals eat “i vhs
Aerwa javanica, Jass. Rayl. Cattle eat
Chenopodium murale, L. ? ors
Chenopodium murale, I. ? (Small seedlings.)
Nafal. Cattle eat “or
Atriplex dimorphostegia? K. and K. Roghol.
Animals eat ’ ..
Echinopsilon lanatum, Mog. Garay'd.
Suzeda sp. (?). (Small fragment.) vos
Suzda sp. (?). (Barren fragments, insect punc-
tured?) ’As/d. Forage plant -
Sueda monoica ? Forsk. Zwraygd. Forage
plant  .. ce
Saison (?), cf. S. longifolia, F. Hams Camels
Craniion (?) (barren specimen), near C.
feetidum. Aka/rit. Animals eat :
Rumex vesicarius, L. (&. roseus, Del.). Ham-
mdz. Animals eat o.
Emex spinosus, Camp.
Crozophora tinctoria, Juss. ina dich. Not
eaten : es
Euphorbia cornuta, Pers. ’Atir .
Euphorbia scordifolia, Jacq. Glarghir. Ani-
mals eat oie . bs "
Euphorbia (Anisophyllum) granulata, Schf.
Rugaygeh. Animals eat i,
Eupl orbia (Anisophyllum) granulata, for ma (? ).
Lubayneh. Cattle eat foe
Juniperus pheenicea, L. At four thousand feet
on Sharr. Trunk thicker than a man’s body.
Halibeh
Parietaria alsinifolia, Del. $44
Forskidhlea tenacissima, L.. Zissdk. Animals
eat . -s ‘es ‘er
Asphodelus fistulosus, L. (var. tenuifolius, Bker.).
Borak. Only eaten by animals when very
hungry. Asses eat
Bellevalia flexuosa, Boiss.

North.

Nu'man Isle.

Middle.
South.

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

 

bt
i

|

—F

 

TE aed

      
     

 

APPENDIX 77.

 

 

Dipcadi erythreeum, Webb

Gagea reticulata, R. and S.

Juncus maritimus, L. ar

Scirpus Holoschaenus, L. Namas. Sent to
Egypt for mats ”

Cyperus eongomenmny Rottb. (Young speci-
mens) . a

Chloris villosa, Pers.

Afluropus repens... . o's

Tricholeena micrantha, Schrad.  Glazwar.
Eaten by camels, etc. ers eas

Panicum turgidum, Forsk. Zarram. Good
fodder ...

Arundo Donax, L. Kasbd

Polypogon monspeliensis, Desf. Khdfir. Sheep
eat .

Stipa tortilis, Desf. Pehmeh. Animals eat

Aristida caerulescens, Desf. Shdrib el-Kalb.
Animals eat

Hordeum maritimum, L.

Pappophorum, an P. phleoides 0) R. and S.
Neil. Sheep eat

Barren specimen. Indeterminab le. Grass

Grass (?). Root and leaves. Aas/mil. Animals
eat . Co

Typha (?). Root and fragments of leaves. Bird:

Grass. Fragmentary. Za'ch. Cattle eat

Chara feetida, Braun. ’/shnik ce

A barren fragment of undershrub, with opposite
fleshy leaves with recurved margins. A;id.
Eaten by animals. Doubtful

 

Nu'man Isle.
North.
yl |
South ;

|
|

D. OLIVER.
 

280 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.,

SEctioN II.

The spirit-specimens submitted to Mr. William Carruthers,
of the British Museum, are described by him as follows :—

1. Phallus impudicus, Linn. (in Arab. Faswat el’Ajdiz). The
common *stinkhorn,” extremely common in some districts of
England, and obtruding on the notice of every one from its detest-
able odour. It is widely distributed over America and Africa, as
well as Europe, but I find no record of its occurring in Asia.

2. Zulostoma mammosum, Fr. Also British, but not so common.
Widely distributed.

3. Lhelipea lutea, Desf. A dark, fleshy broom-rape, with scaly
leaves. We have one species of the same genus in England.
They are parasitic on the roots of plants; and the Midianite
species, which is found in North Africa, Egypt, and Arabia, grows
on the roots of a Chenopodium.

4. Cynomorium coccineum, Mich. A fleshy, leafless plant, also
a root-parasite. It was called by old writers Fungus Melitensis, and
was of much repute in medicine. It is known from the Hima-
layas to the Canary Islands, and is said by Webb, in his history
of the Canaries, to be eaten in the Island of Lancerotte.

5. Damia cordata, R. Br. A spiny shrub, with roundish leaves
and small sharp-pointed fruit, found in Egypt and Arabia.

6. Capparis galeata, Fres., with large fruit, long and pear-shaped.
This caper is well known ; from Syria and Egypt.

(Signed) ~~ W. CARRUTHERS.

Ee a ee

O© 003 On

 

APPENDIX IV. 281

INSECTS COLLECTED IN MIDIAN BY CAPTAIN BURTON.

({dentified by Mr. Frederick Smith, of the British Museum.)

COLEOPTERA.

Geodephaga.

. Anthia 12 guttata.

Melolonthide.

. Schizonycha reflexa.
. Pachydema.

Dynastide.

Heteronychus.

Curculionide.

. Cleonus arabs.

Heteromera.

. Mesostenanear punctipennis.
. Adesmia.

. Akis Goryi?

. Mylabris.

 

IO.

II.
12.

13.
14.
15.

16.

17.
18.

10.
20.

(Signed)

 

Lemiptera.

Nepa rubra.

Mantide.

Eremiaphila arenaria, No,
Blepharis mendica.

Orthoptera.

Acocera.
Acridium peregrinum.
Pcecilocera bufonia.

Scorpionidea.

Androctonus funestus.

’s leptochelys.
3 quinquestriatus.
Arachnida.

Galeodes arabs

Clubiona Listeri spirit.

FREDX. SMITH.
   
    

Yairi RRR I

   
   
  
  
 
    
  
    
   
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
    
  
 
   
  
 
   
   

APPENDIX V.

 

283

November is the month of the “second water” irrigation about
Cailro.

December is pleasant.

January is cold and sometimes wet.

February is stormy, and even foggy with sand-mist.

March is windy, but on the whole a good month, except for
Khamstn, which begins about March 2oth.

April begins to feel warm (April 29, 1878, Shamm el-Nasim).

The winter presents a marvellous contrast to that of England,
which can often show one hour and five minutes’ sunlight in the

 

APPENDIX V,

 

¥
0
iE
i
¢

METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL . twenty-four, or 28 per cent. of its possible duration. :
(December 19, 1877, to April 17, 1878). Tue TIDES In
i
METEOROLOGICAL NOTES oN TRAVELLING IN MIDIAN. in El’Akabah are like Suez: first of month, flood, 6—12 a.m. \
! and p.m.; ebb, the rest. But at Suez the tides rise one metre,
Midian follows the rule of Syria—travel in the spring. The 5 and at times two metres ; at El’Akabah (February 7), one foot.
» best time on the seaboard is during the months of March, April, : For the instruments zo used in this Expedition, see Chap. L
and May. In the mountains and the Hismd plateau, April, May, : p. II.
and June are the most favourable. In Syria (Damascus) the The barometre aneroid sold by M. Ebner was partially repaired
autumn is dangerous: the finest travelling weather is in March to by M. Lacaze, and served for Mr. David Duguid’s observations.
May. The second best season is between October and December. ] My pocket set by Casella (maker to the Admiralty and Ord-
January and February are cold ; the latter also (sometimes) i nance) consisted of—

rainy. ] One watch aneroid (compensated, 1182).

March is stormy at first (ZZ Uwe), but afterwards gets ] Two sets wet and dry bulb thermometers (one broken).
warmer (£/-Ni’dm). Dews now begin, and last some three months: :
they wet everything like a sharp shower, and make the air feel
SOppYy.

In July the first dates come in. Fevers are prevalent during
this month, and also during August and September.

October 1s a month of heat and drought.

In November the first cold occurs.

December is the coldest month.

One set maxima and minima thermometers, Nos. 12,877 and
12,900.
Two pocket hygrometers not numbered.

NOTES oN TRAVELLING IN Lower EcypT.

September 1s very bad—all should escape who can. Fruits
everywhere ; sun hot; air damp with irrigation water, white fogs,
and other horrors.

October 1s a good month, the weather being neither too hot
nor too cold.
 

 

   

rte SE Eb pt

284

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

OBSERVATIONS TAKEN DURING FIRST MARCH BETWEEN DECEMBER
19, 1877, AND FEBRUARY 18, 1878

December 19, 1877, compared ship’s (Muk/bir) mercurial barometer,
758 millimetres, with my aneroid by Casella (29°85) = 765 millimetres ;
difference in ship’s, + oo7 millimetre.

January 31, 1878, returned on board Mukhbir at Makna.

Ship’s

mercurial barometer, 773 millimetres ; my aneroid by Casella, 764 milli-
métres ; difference in ship’s, + oog millimetre.

 

Date. | Time.
|

__Aneroid.

Inches.

: | Dry
Milli. | Ther: | Bulb,

Wet
Bulb.

Hygr. Remarks.

 

Dec. 19.

Dec. 20.

 

7 a.m,

Noon.

3 p.m.

 

29°85

29°80

29°09

 

765 | 76° | —

757 77 -

a" 86° _

 

 

 

 

58° | On deck of gunboat Mukhbir, at
Sharm Yaharr, steaming to El-
Muwaylah. Morning ugly.
Strong land-breeze, turned to
Azyab (“‘south-easter”’). Waves
rising. Dark-blue clouds to
windward.

In big tent on shore, open east and
west. Wind high. Everything
feels damp ; looks gloomy ; moun-
tains almost hidden by clouds.
Landscape that of Europe. No
sun nor sunshine all day. }

In my small tent. Clearing to wind-
ward (north). Wind veering to
north. Moon nearly full. High
fleecy clouds. Sea high. No
sun all day.

54

51

 

Azyab (the wet wind) generally lasts two or three days; veers round by west to north.
Land green (all brown); grass plentiful (not

Much rain has already fallen (Arab lies).

a blade to be seen).
four hours, then clears.

torrents (Sayl).

7 a.m.

|
Dec. 21. 6.35 a.m. |

Noon.

3 p.m.

 

AT EL-MUWAYLAH

30°02

30°48

30°05

|

I

763 | 71° | — |
764 = 76° -
| |
|
763 | 77° | —

Rains here December 15th to February 1sth; downfall one hour to
On December 8th, violent rain for one hour; filled all the

 

40° | In small tent open to east. Morning
clear. Few fleecy clouds: cool

and bright. ¢ Misri” from north-

. west ; cold and rain. Co
32° | Hot intents, cool in breeze. “ Misri’

high and strong sea. Atr.ro p.m.
heavy clouds ; expected rain—few
heavy drops.

AND RAs WADY TIRYAM,

© | Inside tent. Full moon and clear.

Dawn, 6 a.m.; night, 6.30.
Speckled clouds.
48° | Under umbrella. Air clear. Mottled
| clouds on mountains. Sea hori-
zon,
30° | ““ Misr.”
black cloud over sea.
rain: Arabs said no.
| persed.

35

Low white bank of clouds.
High cirri from west. Big
Suspected

Cloud dis-

   

   

a Eres a |

§
#
2

a SEER

SS

APPENDIX V.

285

 

Date.

Time.

~ Aneroid,
Inches. | Milli.

| Dry
Ther. | 5 1b.

Wet |

Bulb. Hygr. Remarks.

 

|

 

Dec. 22.

Dec. 23.

Dec. 24

Dec. 25. |

 

7 a.m.

Noon.

4 p.m.

 

| |
30'01 760
30°14 to

3000 | 763

AT Ras

8°

[ 82°

72

 

|
|
|
J

 

WaADY TIRYAM.

— | 32° | Cold night. Clear morning. Cold

| sunrise. Dry north-wester. In-
|

|

|

|

the sand. Very dry.
Very dry. Straight streaks of cirri
everywhere.
| At Wady Sharm4, on sand protected
from west wind Bright moon,
| showed halo.

struments on paper, resting on
22°

oO

17

Kayhak 14 begins the Coptic winter, properly speaking evening of 13th; after sunset

1 hour 51 minutes,

2.30 p.m. |

Arrived at the

4 p.m.

7 a.m.

Noon.

3.10 p.m.

 

|

 

|
}
¢

29°12 | 740

29'10 738

29'c0 | 737

29'c0 | 737

 

75°

61°

64°

64°

Sea-breeze and land-winds regular to-day and throughout the month.

AT WADY SHARMA.

|
|
|

Sm |

|

— ©

| 19° | Instruments on box standing on sand.

| Moon with halo at night. Red
sunrise, grey clouds. Mountains
blue-grey, brightly defined. Be-
fore dawn moon two halos, large
and small. Fleecy clouds. Nine

| a.m. clear, sun hot.

|

!

— 25° | Under rock in upper Wady Sharma.
Streaky cirri. Sunhot ; air cool.
Little sea-breeze, kept off by

hills.

 

“ White Mountain,” and stayed there a week.

— 28° | At Jebel el-Abyaz, on box behind tent
sheltered from wind. Air quite
still ; streaky cirri. Camp Jebel
el-Abyaz, say, 8oo feet above sea.
| Felt very dry.

|

AT JEBEL EL-ABYAZ.

—- |

63°

64° |

 

|
|
|
|
|

© | In mess tent on mess table. Cold.

Mottled clouds east and zenith.
Grey bank to sea reddened by
sunrise, like storm clouds. Rain
here from Azyab (‘‘ south-east”).

Sunrise at Cairo, 6.55 a.m.
Suspended instruments. Grey day ;
cold breeze from east. Cold
comes only from wind; when
no breeze, very mild. Getting
greyer and colder. Very like

rain—heavy clouds.

Wind west, cold and raw. Air grey
and cold. Evening cold; clouds
dispersed, sun came out. Wind

to west, inclining to north.

— 29

33°

 

Small thermometer shows higher than Casella’s because in brass case ; not so well exposed

to air.

7 a.m.

Noon.

3 p.m.

29'10 | 739

29°20

 

29°16 741
| |
|

 

29° | Morning cool and clear.
55° | 21°
breeze from sea
strong.

Very clear, still, and hot.
(west).

Swarms of flies.

Slight
Sun

: Dry

bulb in sun, 73°; wet, 60°.

54° | 15° | Cool and gentle breeze from sea, dis-

persing the swarms of flies. At

| times ‘‘sand-devil” from north-

{ west,

All this day’s observations taken on writing table in large tent. Night cold : cold severest

after two a.m. and before sunrise.
to east, a Barri (*‘ land-breeze "').

feet (29°20 — 28°85 = 0°33).

 

Sky :
Height of Jebel el-Abyaz above tents, by aneroid = 350

it night perfectly clear. Wind from north turning

v

ves ns
ve,

.-.v
 

 

286

THE LAND OF MIDIAN,.

 

Aneroid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 Ye Dry | Wet |
Date, Time. | Inches. | Milli. Ther Bulb, Bulb. ‘Hyer. | Remarks.

Dec. 26. | 7.15 a.m. | 29°21 | 743 | 48° | 46° | 43° | 22° | Intent. Sky perfectly clear.

| | {

Noon. 29°26 — | 76° | 77° | 55° | 6° | Sun very hot. Air quite still. Fleecy
| | clouds from west over the sun.

4-45 p.m. | 2023 | 743 | 73° | 69° | 355° | 8° | Sun cooler. Air perfectly clear.
|
Dec.27.| 7am. | 2916 | 740 | 5° | 49° [43° 5'| 3° | In tent. Morning cold and clear:
| few flecks of cloud to east. Air
feels intensely dry.
12.30p.m.| 2923 | 743 | 77° | 74° | 38° | 9° | Fine cirri high up. Sky blue. Sun
| veiled at times. Very little wind,
a breath from north.
3-20 pm. | 56°16 | 742 | 8° | 77° | 56° | 6° | Sky with filmy white clouds, thicker
| at west. Sun hidden ; very hot
{ | | at noon (rain-sun ¥). Not a bre: ith
of air. Sense of intense dryness.
| | Ink evaporates at once. Cool
breeze started up shortly after
| 3.30 p.m. from west, then clouds
| thickened. Thermometer fell 4°.

Cool evening ; quite clear. Fevers and feverish colds begin to show themselves in camp.
Minimum thermometer during night—No. 1, 45°; No. 2, 46° ; French, 154° (Centigrade).

Dec. 28 7 a.m. | 29'10 | 739 | 55° | 53° | 46° | 10° | In tent. Still. Neither warm no
| cold. Mottled clouds.

Noon. | 29°13 740 | 78° | 72° | 358° 4° | Clouds thin. Sun very hot (rain-
sun?). Light breeze from north-
| | west.

3 p.m. 29°10 | 739 | 79° | 72° | 58° — | Feels intensely dry. Hot, close.
leavy clouds, and purple to
| | west. Gusts from west.

No wind. Morning and evening very mild. At eight p.m. dark cloud mov ing from south-
west to mountains. Drops of rain; then stars. Minimum thermometers during night, both
48°. None of the maximum will act.

Dec.29.| 7am. | 29'10 | 738 58° | 58° 54° g° | In tent. Cool, clear, Blue-pink in
| west. Light sea-breezes from
| west. Must be awfully hot in
| summer. In closed tent at eleven
| | | | a.m., 92°,

Noon. 29'13 | — | 77° | 75° | 60° | 10° | Nice b reeze from sea (west), bending
~ | | to north,

4pm. | 2900 | 739 | 82° | 79° | 59° 5° | Warm and quite still.

Mean of nineteen aneroid observations at Jebel el-Abyaz = 29°13.

MARCH FROM JEBEL EL-ABYAZ TO WADY SHARMA.

Dec. 3>.| 7 a.m. 29°10 | 739 | 56° | | 7° Clear, still. No speck of cloud. Moon

| | Vin (sleeping = ({).

5 p.m. 29'88 | 758 | 66° | — | — 8° | Air quite clear. C amped at Sharma.

Change to shore pleasant au d
soft.

Noon on journey; sun very hot. Evening still. Violent weather at night; cold and
comfortless. Abated somewhat after sunrise.

AT SHARMA, IN Bic TENT OPEN NORTH AND SOUTH.

Dec.31.| 7am. | 29°88 | 758 | 50° | — | — | 7° | Wind cold and dusty. Sky perfectly
| clear. A few light mist-clouds on
| _. mountain-wall,

Noon. | 29°94 | 760 | 75° | 73° | 58° | 6° | Wind still. Sun much warmer.

|

3 p.m. 20°00 | =— 74° | 71° | 58° 3° | Wind cool ; some dust.

Clouds about sunset sailing out of Suez Gulf, formi ing archipelago of sky islets. Dark
bank to south. Minimum thermometer at nis ght = 42°

 

 

ee

a eas

i RR

—e

pi lo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

iz
APPENDIX 7. 28%
Aneroid. Srl v | We
Date. Time. | Inches. s. [Milli Ther. 3 ve | Bulb. Hyer. Remarks.
| | | | |
AT SHARMA, IN Bic TENT OPEN NORTH AND SOUTH (about 100 feet
’
above i oA
Jan. 1. | 7am. 29'go0 | 7 53° | 0° | 45° | 10° | Clear, fine, quite still. Nice breeze
| | el began about nine a.m.
Noon. | 23°97 — | 71° | 69° | 357° | | Cold. North wind high. Light
|
clouds to west ; the rest clear.
p.m. 29°94 | 760 | 73° | 72° | 61° | 4° | Clouds to west from Suez sea.
3
High wind fell be fore midnight. Cold —sat in tent. Flies troublesome everywhere.
Minimum at night, 42° — 43°
Ar WADY SHARMA, IN Bic TENT.
Jan 2. 7am, 29°98 761 | 53° — | = | 10°]
| | | |
3pm. | 3000 | 762 | 76° | 72° | 58° | 3° | Cool breeze from north. No signs of
| | | i clouds. Sun hot and air cool.
Evening no wind, no clouds. At night high cold wind from east, seems to pierce clothes.
Lasted till morning and sun well up. Minimum thermome ter, No. 1== 45°; No. 2 = 46°.
Jan, 3. | 7am. | 29'92°| 760 58° | 57° | 47° | 3° | Dawn comfortless. Cold. _ Fire in
| | tent. Sand blowing. Air highl
ghly
| electrical.
Noon. | 29°go | 762 | 77° | 76° | 61° 2° | Wind still. Hot sun.
{ | | | |
3 p.m. 20°91 | 750 | 76° | 74° | 58° | 4° | Hot sun. Gentle breeze. Warm in
| | tent.
Night very cold. Minimum thermometers, No. 1 = 40°; No. 2 = 41°,
Jan. 4. » 2983 | — | 52° | 50 - | |
Noon. | 29°93 | 760 | 81° | 80° | 60° | 3° | Decidedly hot. No breeze.
| | | :
3pm. | 29°g0 — 78° | 75° | 63° | o° | Very hot and still.
In evening few fleecy clouds to south-west. Appearance of Azyad. Minimum ther-
mometers at night, No. 1 = 36°; No. 2 = 38°.
AT WADY SHARMA.
Jan.s. | sam. | 29'90 -— 48° | 45° | 43° 6° | Pink clouds south-west and south-
| east. (irri everywhere.
Noon. | 2987 | 761 | 79° | 79° | 67° 3° | Hot and still. Clear; few cirri.
3 p.m. 29°96 | 760 | 74° | 71° | 60° 0° | Cool wind. Cold in shade. Cirri to
| | south, at times over the sun.
Very cold at night. Saw new moon ; set in fire. Planets veiled in mist. Moon Adz
| (points upwards == =).
Jan. 6. 7.20 a.m. 29°04 7600 53° 51° 46° 8° Still, clear. Light breeze about
| 10.30 a.m.
| Noon. | 298 | 761 | 82° | — | — | 4
wg | = 0 — — | © ‘le nd hot. Sunset, red cirri
.m. 29°96 6r | 76 | 3° | Clear an ’ : .
4P | 299 | Water very cold. Moon clear.
Jan. 7. | 20%08 8 52° — — | 18° | At Sharma. Cool and raw. Few
4 ” | 99 73 | clouds to south and south-
| west.
SY esc. ET |
Noon. | 30°08 | 764 | 78° — | — | 26° | At ’Ayn@nah, in big tent. Fresh
| ° | | | | wind from north. Air much
| { damper ; more pleasant.
Strong wind at night from nortl
AT "AYNUNAH.
4 1 | =<© — 22° | Morning still—windless. Breath from
am. | 3011 63 5 — [| 22° | ] g
Jan. 8. 7 | 2 | 7 | ° east. Warm and pleasant.
Noon. 30°02 | 767 77° 74° | 61° | 13° | Quite clear and dry. Gusts of wind.
| Flies very bad, even in the waste.
3pm. | 30°15 767 77° 76° 63° | 7° |

|

Cold high wind at night.

 

 
    

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 

 

 

Dry | Wet |

 

: __Aneroid. | |
Date. Time. Inches. | Milli. (Thee, Bulb. | Bulb. (Hyer Remarks.
| | |
LEFT ’AYNUNAH.
Jan. 9. | 7 a.m. 30°04 - 63° | — — | 10° [| Outside tent. Light clouds every-

Noon.

4 p.m.

Jan. 10. | 6.45 a.m.

Cool pleasant night.

29°91 | 759 | 80°

29°87 | 758 | 53°

29'85 | — | 56°

 

3 p.m.

Jan. 11. | 7 a.m.

Noon.

3 p.m.

Jan. 12. 7 a.m.
Noon.
3 p.m.

Night
thermome

Jan. 13. | 7am.

 

Noon.

 

20°30 | 745 | 77°

| where at dawn. Morning warm
| and close.
on — | 48° | At El-'Usaylah. Sky covered with
clouds. Sun coming out.
23° | In tent at El” Usaylah. No wind.

Rain in Mount Sinai (?).

 

po — | 15° | Observations in open. Cold north
wind. Clear and cirri.
poe — | 1° | At Maghdair Shu’ayb, under a tree.

 

Night cold. High wind ; shook the tents.

AT MAGHAIR SHU’AYB.

29°37 | 747 | 60°
29°40 | 748 | 82°

 

| 2938 | 747 | 84°
As a rule, at Maghair Shu’ayb we had land-breezes ; cold from north and east. Sea-
breezes during day, after noon.

29°35 | 746 | 59
29'46 | 747 | 83°
29°30 | 746 | 83° |

|
ter, 52°.

29°38 | 745 | 65°

 

29'27 | 744 | 87° |

 

 

3 p.m.

 

29'20 | 743 | 85° |

1 20°

|
-) o-] g

. | —po Still. Air hot.

[ In open, on box.

In tent.

ee en 3° | In tent. Cool. Cirri. At two a.m.
| cool fresh wind from north.
— oe 5° In tent. Hot sun. Light clouds.

|=
|
81° | 64° | —¢° In tent. No sun, no wind. Thin
| clouds.

warm ; wind towards morning. Mosquitoes in tamarisks of Wady. Minimum

wind. Felt warm. Sun came out
strong at ten a.m.

0

oe He" —~ 4° | Outside tent, on box. Cloudy ; little
|

87° |

|
|

67° | =9° | In big tent. Heat like summer.
| Flies troublesome, travel on our
|. backs. }
85° | 65° | — 15° Very hot. Thin clouds. Sea-breeze.

 

Very hot and sultry weather : Arabs say portends rain. Wind (generally) from north in

| morning ;
Jan. 14. | 7am.
| |
2,30 p.m.

Jan. 15. ”

Noon.

3 p.m.
Cold n

 

Jan, 16. | 7 a.m.

Noon.

about 4.30 a.m.

afternoon from sea.
0
| 740 | 63° |

|

|
29'15 | — | 814° |

29,01

29°00 | w— | 71%
|

{ |
| |
29'06 | 737 | 76°

«©

29°06 | 738 | 75

 

3 p.m.
Night

 

 

 

ights and mornings.
29°20 — | 48°
2905 | — | 69° |
29°25 | = | 69°

fine and clear.

  

Stars and moon very bright.

63° | 55° o® | In tent. Land-breeze set in. Ex-
| pected heavy rain, and pitched
camp higher up.

79° | 68° | 0° | Taken by Mr. Clarke.

Rain began 2.30 a.m. (Jan. 15), small drops, then heavy, lull, and again heavy; ended
A little wind from south-west rose after rain.
The last rain was on December 7— 10, 1877 ; violent storms accompanied it.

[o]

| By Mr. Clarke at Maghdir Shu’ayb.

Sky all covered ; little clear to

west. Mist all over north. Things

feel damp.

73° | 65° | 30° | All cloudy. After rain, sultry heat of
: noon quite disappeared.

75° | 62° | 25° | Still cloudy. Cool.

70° | 66° | 30

45° | 42° | 18° | Norain. Cold. Little wind. Cloudy.
{ | No wind.

65° | 54° 3° | Sun hot. Cool breeze from north as
{ usual. No clouds.

65° 52° 12°

   

ae

A

H
i
3
3
1!

a

APPENDIX V.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

; Aneroid. ow iwe tl |
Date. | Time. | puches. | Milli, | Ther: | guib, | Bulb. Hyer: Remarks.
oO O | Q

Jan. 17. | 7 am. 29°30 | — | 42° |

3 p.m. 29°25 oe 81° | 79° | 62° 8° | Night cool. Hardly any wind.
i
Jan. 19. | 7 am. 29°15 — | 53° | 52° | 45° | 16° | In tent. Cold wind from north.
| Noon. 29°17 — 8:° | 79° | 63° | o° | Sun hot. Cool breeze from north.
} ) | o | Sky clear.
3 p.m. 29't5 | — | 8° | 77° | 60° | 5° |

 

42° | 39° | 17
N : o 5 . breeze.
oon. 29°36 | 745 69 66 54° | 18° | Fine stiff breeze from north-east.

3 p.m. 29°34 | 745 | 73° P

 

70 59° | 16° | Fine breeze falling.

morning. Wind rose about four a.m.

wind.

Noon. 29°30 —— 79° | 79° | 63° | 16° | Same weather.

Jan. 18. [ 7.30 a.m. | 29°28 | 745 55° | 55° | 50° | 26° [ In tent. Cool, clear. Gentle land-

 

Remarkably warm pleasant night.

 

 

Jan. zo. | 7 a.m. 2905 | — | 50° | 48° | 45° | 19° | In tent. No wind. Air sharp.
|. ; > | | 1s :
Noon. 29'10 — | 79° | 75° | 63° | 12° | Light wind (south-west). Sun hot.
} | | Sky clear,
3 p.m. 29°10 — | 732 | 73° | 60° | 8° | Cool and pleasant.

Jan. 21. |

Jan. 22,

Jan, 23.

Jan. 24.

  

. IL

 

Curious moonrise. Thin clouds like volcanic smoke, separated into cirri like sheep-skin :
all said sign of heat. Night still and warm. Few stratified clouds to west.

o°

| from north-east. High clouds.
} | __. Worse near Gulf.

5° 16° | High cold wind, continuous. Bright

sun. Sky intensely blue and

8 a.m. 29°13 | 740 | 56° | 54° | 5
Noon. 5

| 2920 | 743 | 68° | 66°
| | {

| | |
4.15 p.m. | 29°22 744 | 66° | 65° | 53°

2

clear.

8° | Cool. High wind.

Strong wind at night ; fell about midnight ; gusts at times. Very cold. Bad weather at
Sharm Yahirr. Fortuna (‘strong wind”) began January 21st, ended January 23rd: the
| next gale was on night of January 28th. As a rule, the people say, black clouds show that
| the wind will increase ; light clouds the contrary.

|
|
|
|

| 20° In tent. Cold raw wind (EZ-Ayli)
|
|
{

|
|
|
|

O

7 a.m, 29'32 | 745 | 50 49° | 45° | 15° | Cold and cloudy. E/-Ayli continues.

|
|
~ | A ao | .

Noon. 29°36 | 748 | 66° | 62° | 52° 11° | High cold north-easter rose about
| 11.30. Sun warm. Air cold.

Heavy purple clouds to north and west. Night still; occasional gusts. Eight p.m.
| quite still. Mukibir delayed by bad weather.

0 end 0

7.20 am. | 29°39 | 748 | 50 50 45
|

19° | Gusts and calm. Nimbi to west.
(High north wind set in.
| Cold in shade, hot in sun. High wind.

|
Noon. 29°40 | 747 66° | 64° | 54 14°
|
|

4 p.m. - | = 6° | Wind still high. Dust.

Night alternately gusty and still. Warm. Mukkbir steamed back to her anchorage,

|
66° | 65° | 52°

| Sharm Yaharr.

7 a.m, 2929 | 745 | 55° | 52° | 47° | 15° | Gentle breeze from north. No clouds
—sign of no wind.
1.30 p.m. _—- — | 83° | 78° | 68° | 10° | The normal hot, windless, cloudless
| . ay. i
3 p.m. - — | 78 74 62° 7° | Pleasant sea-breeze. Sun hot; air

coolish.

 

Night warm and pleasant.

Clear morning. Very cold. Land

Fine clear night, moon nearly full. No clouds. Not cold. Cool at night and towards

   
 
 

  
    
 

290 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 

 

 

 

Date. | Time. Toco. [MIE Ther. a 4 | ik) tye Remarks.
: MAGHAIR SHU’AYB To MAKNA (March).
Jan. 25.| 7 am. 29°30 oe 61° | — oe 15° | On box. Fine, and perfectly clear.

y © | — _ — d to Wady Makn4, riding
| | ans Raa or 7” gs ae. Rite about noon,
j strong. Shortly after noon heavy
clouds (from north and west)
hid the sun.

3 p.m. 30°06 _— 71° | — _ 23° | Arrived at Maknd, on box.

Warm pleasant night. Appearance of rain. Wind from north. Moon clouded.

 

 

AT MAKNA.

i i . Noon hot. Evaporation
Land and sea breezes regular. Morning and evening cool. ’
Wind Healthy near shore ; feverish up the valley. Damp air from neighbourhood of
Mount Sinai.

2 © _. — | 21° | Cloudy. Heavy white waves on
Jor. a6] gaan f gov | gs “ ir: Wind west; dangerous
for ships. .
12.30 p.IM.| 30°07 = 80° | 77° | 62° | 21° | Sun hot; sky clear. Light fleecy
.30 p.m.| 3

| clouds on Sinai.
| 18° | Air and sun hot. Clear. Sea-breeze.
No gale.

3.30p.m.| 3004 | 743 | 82° | 80° | 70°

Rain probably during the day in Sinai. Muttali’, or “fort,” of Makna showed aneroid
760 (29)-
© | 55° | 35° | In tent. Fine, clear; nice land-

breeze. Rush of wind at two a.m.
Wind at four a.m. Loud noise of

Jan. 27.| 7 am. 30°02 — | 60° | 59

 

 

reef. }
, Pp ° | 68° 8° | In big tent, opening to south. Quite
hep. Re i. 0 7 ’ ? «Jom and bright. No clouds.
Slight sea-breeze.
3 p.m 30°02 - 80° | 76° | 70° | 26° | Hot and still.
.m. 3

 

Night glorious. No wind. Only sigh and sound of reef.

| ‘98 | © | «3 | «0 | 30° | Perfectly stilland clear. Light land-
Jan. 28.| 7 a.m. | 29798 58 58° | 53° | 30 | Sly } . -
| | 30° © 3° | 66° | 22° | Weather breaking. ouds forming
| $243 p70.) 30%08 | — 0 7 | = everywhere. High horizontal
| | | cirri. North wind, whistling
over country.
3 p.m | 29'08 | — 8° | 79° | 67° | 20° | Packed up wetand dry bulbs.

i irri : : id w S § faghdir Shu’ayb
streaky cirri of red colour: all said wind. Same as at N
ad A p.m. £-Ayli (north wind from Akabat-Aylah?) came dow n upon
a : rush. Gravel like drops of rain. Tents at once on the ground. Sky still clear—stars
|

shining.
‘02 | — 62° _ | —- 19° | In tent-hut. Wind violent. Cold
Jan 29, | 753M. | 3002 | | | and raw between moonrise and
| sunrise. } LAD pitts
30" pe 81° | — | — | 13° | In tent-hut. Wind (Z/-Ayli) gusty
| Noon 3004 | and violent. Sky quite clear.

 

i 7 ir (“ t cold”). Wind fell about three p.m.
T say this gale denotes end of Zamharir (‘‘ great cc / ee P.
Mi Wind then increased, and became very violent at night (10-11 p.m.) ; seems
| to beat down from above. Summit of quartz-hills, 2 obs. = 29°40.

Mountains perfectly

| . [ 62° | — ee ° | In tent-hut.

Jan. 30.1 7 aA. 305 To o M clear. Fleecy clouds to north
| and south, sailing from west to
| | east.

3 p.m 30°06 — | 72° | -— ee 15° | Clear and fine. Wind falling.
o IST. 2 |

i i ight; its worst about
Wind fell during afternoon and evening, but rose again at night; was at its worst abo
| eleven p.m.

 

 

SSSR

ET HARE AEA Se Ee

nn

APPENDIX V. 251

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

; Aneroid. | Dry | Wet | |
Date. Time. Inches. witli, | Ther. Bulb. | Bulb. Hygr.| Remarks.

Jan. 31. | 7 a.m. 30°06 oe 6° | — oe 22° | In tent-hut. Wind worse ; signs of
blowing everywhere. Light
clouds north and south. Mottled
clouds (cirri, mackerel-back).
Gusts violent after sunrise.

Noon. 30°08 po 7° | er 19° | In cabin on board Mukhbir. Wind

violent. Sky clear. White clouds,
as yet wind increasing. Sand
and dust, but mountains clear.

3 p.m. 30°09 — 78° | — — | 22° | On board Mukhbir. Wind violent.

| Sky covered with grey clouds.
| At sunset, gleams to west and round horizon ; heavy to north. Hoped for rain, but none
| came. Fires alight all night. Very bad night ; perhaps the worst yet seen. Chain dragging.
| At nine p.m. sky clear, but wind worse.
| AT MAKNA, ON BOARD “ MUKHBIR.”

Feb. 1.| 7am. | 3008 roe 70° | — os 21° | Wind worse than ever. Dark cirri
to south. Mountains clear on
all sides.
| Noon. | 30%06 — 74° | 70° | 63° | 21° | Wind very bad, turning to east Q.
| Cirri everywhere : to west formed
| | ascending rays like sun, extend-
ing to zenith; to east were
| crosses and lozenges.

3 p.m. 3004 | — — | 70° | 65° | — | Wind still bad. White clouds have
| thickened to south, and thinned
| | to north. Bases of mountains

| | | blurred (by dust?) ; summits
clear.
At sunset wind lighter. Dark clouds to south, going westward from Suez. Cirri overhead,
presently disappeared ; also about the horizon. At night fine zodiacal light. Wind increased.
Observations in main cabin throughout voyage.
Feb. 2. 7am. | 3000 | — | 69° | 70° | 65° | 22° | Perfectly clear. Wind worse.
|

Noon. | 30°00 — 78° | — x 21° | Clear sky; only cloud, thin white

| strata to north.

3 p.m. 20'04 | — 75° | 73° | 63° | 19° | No clouds. Wind milder. Barometer

| falling (sign of wind ceasing ?).
| | Wind getting warmer, and bend-
| | ing east.
Wind less in evening, and warmer; ceased about midnight; lasted from eleven p.m.,
January 28, to midnight, February 2 = five days and five nights. Zodiacal light.
Feb. 3. 7am. | 29°93 en 56° | 65° | 56° | 20° | On deck (wet and dry bulbs in main
cabin). Fresh breeze from east.
| Fleecy clouds south and east.

Noon. | 296 —_— | 2° | —- | — 25° | On deck. Fine breeze from north.

In evening cirri to west and east. Black dots in regular lines. Night at Minat Jinai.
Very fine and clear; young moon and Venus. Deadly still. Zodiacal light seen every night
in the ’Akabah Gulf: not outside it.

Feb. 4. | 7 a.m. 29'92 | — | 74° | 70° | 67° | 24° En route to Nuwaybi’, along Sinai

| shore. Morning grey; light
| clouds everywhere. Dull brassy
| sunrise. Water dark. Wind
south, felt very damp. Sinai
hills clouded over: cirri strata
high up; nimbi in fragments

| below.

Noon. 29°86 pe 74° 73° | 68° | 28° | Under awning on board ; going north.

Sickly sun. Cirri to east.
3 p.m. 29'8 | — | 75° | 73° | 66° | 26° | Main cabin. South wind strong,
increased after noon. Clear hori-
zon then. Sea foaming: wind
| became very strong, and raised
| ! | water about sunset, then fell.

A regular day of south wind, blasts, mists, and gusts ; calmed down in evening. Quiet
night. All day cirri and strata high up from west. Wasit sand forming cloud.

 

 

 
   

  

 
  
     

Feb. 6.

  
 

Feb. 7.

  
 

 

 

 

 

Feb. 8.

deck.

[| Averold, | Dr
; A Nero. fo y Wet
Time. |Tnches. | Milli. TPT | Bulb. | Bulb.

7 a.m. 30°00 | — | 72° | 68° | 60°

Noon. 20°04

 

 

|
|
|

3pm. | 29°97 | — | 75° | 70° | 59

 

 

 

|
|
|

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 

     
   

 

Remarks.

9° | En route to Kala’h (Jezirat Fara’un
of maps), in main cabin. Wind
north. Clouds on hill-tops and
to north—effects of yesterday.
East mountains misty; west
clear. Mottle of clouds.
7° | On deck, steaming north. Dry and
wet bulbs in main cabin. Clouds
—light cumuli to north, east, and
west ; south clear. Wind north,
light.
© | In main cabin off island El-Kala’h.
Violent gusts from west, down
valleys—deflection of south wind,
lasted only few minutes. Cloudy
and clear.

19

 

 

Night clear. Violent gusts from south, lasting a few minutes, then still.

’

ON BOARD ‘* MUKHBIR,’

7 a.m. 30'12 —_ | 70° 66° | 59°
|
|
Noon. 3010 | — | 79° | 65° 59°
3 p.m.

|

|

A few drops of rain morning and evening.
0

57

oz | — | 66° | 68° | 6°
|

6 a.m. 3013 | — | — 62°

{ | |
|
|

3 p.m. 30°10 - 71° | 66° | 62°

|

Drops of rain at sunset.

oFF IsLAND ErL-KALA'H.

15° | In main cabin. A regular raw and
gloomy English morning. Clouds
everywhere—drops of rain. Wind
| south, deflected west. Gusts at
times. All felt damp and uncom-
fortable.

 

| 21
| of sun. Clear to south. Wind
J north, mild.

Pleasant quiet night.

In main cabin. Still; fresh air; no
wind. Heavy clouds from west,
covering east-west mountains.
West mottled ; north and south
clear.
| 25° | In main cabin. Cool breeze. Hot
sun. Cloudy and clear.

26° | In main cabin. Sky all covered with

| clouds. Wind from north, gusty.
Jarometer rising.

© | In main cabin. Sky covered ; gleams

| 19°

 

Wind west. Heavy rain twice at night ; after midnight wetted
Rain at ’Akabah from west, with clouds and winds.

From EL-AKABAH, GOING SOUTH.

Rise of tide off El-’Akabah town, one foot.

7 a.m. | 30°20 — | 56° | 63° | 61°
| EE
Co]

Noon. | 20°15 — | 65° | 64° | 57°

| |

3 p.m. | 30°16 — | 67° | 65° | 38°
|

|
|

At sunset red cirri. Wind increased g

| night. Wind and water high. At midnight

a.m.,

32° | On deck. Dry and wet bulbs in main

cabin. At sunrise heavy purple
clouds drifting over plain, cover-

ing hills on both sides. Cold,
raw, wet wind. Rain on Sinai
to north-west and south-west.

Saw rainbow. Wind gradually

turning to east (favourable). Play

of light and shade over plains
and hills.

In main cabin. Glorious day. Blue
sky; bluer sea. Strong breeze.
Cloudy and clear.

25° | In main cabin. After noon wind
gradually fell, and sky cleared ;
became much warmer. Steamer

(five and a half knots) beat the

{ sailing tender. North perfectly

clear; south and east, fleecy

clouds. Sun clear and warm.

reatly. Waves following us, high and hollow. Bad
?), rode with head to gale. February gth, four
turned south. Six a.m. stood for Makna (right angles, and nearly ‘‘ turned turtle ”).

    

APPENDIX V.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aneroid.
. risen iis. pe Dr
Date. Time. Inches. | Milli. Ther. Bulb, we Hygr. Remarks.
| |
ON BOARD ‘* MUKHBIR.”
Feb. 9. | 7am. 30'22 — — | 64° | 26° | 26° | In main cabin, off Sharm Dabbah.
Sky quite clear. North wind
| colder than ever, yet we are
| going south. Beginning of dan-
Rous gale Wi J5ied till
} ebruary 13th. Ugly hollow sea.
I p.m. 30°15 — _- 66° | 58° | 28° | In main 44 ou of SAkabah Gulf
| Passed into a summer sea.
Under lee of Tirin. On deck
. | 63° (F.).

3 p.m. Zor | -— - | 69 59° 27° | In main cabin, rounding south of Je-
zirat Tiran. Sky all clear, ex-
| cept wind cirri over’Akabah Gulf

} and to west.
Ince Be a ro on: and for {10m Jed sign! Before midnight gusts began.
Incegase y 10). ur a.m. very violent north wind from El-
Feb. 10. 7am. | 3007 | — | — 69° | 65° | 30° | In cabin of Mukhbir, south of Tiran.
| | Water ruffled. Clouds every-
| where. Rain on the coast. Felt
| Lo | raw. Mottled sky.

Noon. | 30°03 | — | — 72° 64° | 38° | In cabin at Tirdn. Sun out at nine

| | | a.m. Clouds and clear. Windy
| | sky. Cirri to west and north-
west. Dark clouds to leeward.

3 p.m. 29°94 | _ oe 74° 65° | 25° | In cabin at Tirdn. Rain-storm to
| | south-west. Wind north. Sky
| | | | | cloudy and clear. Cool breeze,

| | not high.

At four p.m. a few large drops fell. Heavy rain at El-’Akabah and on east coast
Sand-veil over Sinaitic shore. Six p.m., wind gusty. Rain-clouds all over coast. Wind
becoming warm. At 1.15 a.m. (February 11), terrible rush and fall of rain. Wind westing
Nid at first. Five a.m., hard Gharbi, threatening Azyab. All mist—could hardly see the
shore. ’

Feb. 11.) 7 am. | 29°82 | . ne 71° | 67° | 35° | To windward of Tirin. Howling
| west wind. Sun like pale cheese.

| | | | Aneroid falling. After seven

a.m. the storm broke, and we

| | | | narrowly escaped a wreck in two

| places, Tiran and Sindfir. Crisis

i | | of gale.

Noon. 29°80 on — | 70 60° | 30 In Sindfir port, main cabin. Wind

| | west, bending to south on fall-
| ing.

3 p.m. 28'20 en —-— | 72° 65° 24° | In main cabin. Mist and sand.

English sun. Wind west and
| | | warm. Sea green and breaking.
At five p.m. the sand-mist began to clear off. Wind died away, then turned north and
north-north-east. Light scud over moon, going slowly. Patches of blue, and stars. Baro-
meter rising fast. Perfectly still night till midnight, when it began to blow, about the setting
of the moon. At Suez, during the gale, red dust prevented ships seeing one another ; and at

| Cairo trees were uprooted. , ’

AT SINAFIR ISLAND.

Feb. 12. > 3013 | — | — 68 62° | 31° | In main cabin. At 3.30 a.m. a violent
| | Ayli, like that of El-’Akabah,
began to blow. Gusts and shiver-

. | | ol ~ ing water. Swept off all sand-fog.

| Noon. 30'r7 | — | — 73° | 64° | 27° | In main cabin. Howling wind. Sea
less, because of ebb. Breeze
| fresh. Sky clear to south; few
| white clouds to north-east and
A i A west. Sun bright and warm.

| 3 p.m. 30'14 | =-— pn 75° 65° | 24° ' In cabin. Wind violent as ever, and

| cold from north.
During the night the wind blew from all possible directions; north-east, and at one time

due west.

    
 
   

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 

Date. Time.

  

 

 

 

|

 
 
 

Feb. 13. ’ 30°18

   
 
  
  
  

Noon. 30°12

   

3 p.m. 30'10

 
 
 

 

 

Red sunset.

 
  
  
  

Feb. 14.| 7 a.m. 30°06

   
 
 

Noon. 30°04

 
  
  

3 p.m. 30°02

  
 
  

 

  

Feb 15. ”

 

|

 

 

 

 

 

Aneroid.
Inches. | Milli,
|

 

30'to | — w——

Noon. 3013 | — | 72
|

3 p.m. | 3014 | — | 75

Cold north-west breeze at five p.m.
tain—foot, 30°14 ; top, 29°90; difference "24 = 250 feet.

Splendid night. Not a sign of .
like that of Bombay, caused by fish ?). Finest weather yet seen.

Noon. | 30°16 | n
|

Dry | Wet
Ther. | puib. | Bulb.

| | | J
LEFT SINAFIR FOR SOUTH.

— — | 66° | 60° | 36° | In main cabin. Howling north wind

till four a.m., then milder. Hardly

a speck of cloud. Fresh cool air

from north. Sea very blue. All

sail set. Mist-clouds on tallest
peaks of coast-range. Wind
diminished as we went south.

Cirri everywhere, zenith and on

horizon.

° | 26° | On deck. Soft pleasant air; before
cold and hard. Influence of El-
*Akabah. Thermometer on deck

| 69° (F.).

62° | 20° | On board. Sky milky everywhere

with cirri. Wind north-west,

| going west.

Distant halo round moon—cleared off soon (a good sign), and not well

Hygr. Remarks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

marked. Light westerly gale (No. 2).

AT SHARM YAHARR.

© | In cabin (open). Splendid morning.
Wind west, set in hard before
noon. Milk - and - water sky.
a have been kept at Sini-

r

| — 64° | 58° | 22
| _ 71° | 60° | 20° | West wind increased. Sky clear ; but
|

 

s—

Sharr Mountains cloudy —con-
densing moisture.

a. oe 71° | 60° | 20° | In cabin. North-west wind strong.

Moved ship. Heavy black clouds

on mountains.

 

ON BOARD ‘ MUKHBIR” AT SHARM Y AHARR.

66° | 58° | 30° | In cabin.
| { |
p — | = | 35° | Incabin.
| 26° | On deck. Clouds above the moun-
| | tains.

Sea high. Aneroid observations at Sulphur Moun-

0

Feb. 16. | 7.30 a.m. | 30.23 | = en 63° | 55° | 20° | In cabin. Aneroid unusually high.
Clear and cloudy at mountains.
Cool air and light breeze.
12.50 p.m.| 30°23 | — "0 64° | 55° | 20° | Cool. Wind north. In cabin.
3 p.m. j0'20 | — - 66° | 56° | 18° | In cabin. Cool. No clouds.

cloud. Cool. White streak on the water (milky sea,

ON BOARD ¢«« MUKHBIR.”
Cool, clear, splendid.

| at eleven a.m.
23° | In cabin. Sky clouded all the after-
| noon—did not see the sun. Moon
veiled—not a nice look.

— | 66° | = — | 15° | In cabin. i
Forenoon warm and still. Sea
| lo | glassy.

749° | — — | 20° | In cabin. Sea-breeze came up strong
|
|

 

or

   

 
    

APPENDIX V. 208

 

 

 

he] | Dry |
Inches. Mill. hes Bulb, oy Hygr.

| | J |
IN MESS-TENT, OPEN TO EAST.

we 61° wos - 14°

Date. Time.

 

 

Remarks.

 

 

 

Feb. 18. 6 0 a [ OQ 00 1d a 1 I -b
«3 a.m. 3 0 n clear a reeze
C d . nd Ze.

 

Noon. 30°04 — 8°
— — o
7 33° | Sea-breeze setting ; land - breeze
stopped, Sky perfectly clear.
_ Sun hot. No end of flies.
| | Fierce and violent west wind—a
| | | Gharbi, or exaggerated sea-
breeze? Sky quite clear.

Night quite still. Cold wind stopped at nine p.m. rather suddenly

 

 

nl — | 22°

 

| 3 p.m. 30°04 | a 78°
| |
|

 

OBSERVA J
TIONS TAKEN DURING SECOND MARCH TO THE Hisma

PLATEAU, SoU
AU, TH-EASTERN  Mipi
> AN, BETWEEN FEBR
AND MARCH 8, 1878. ah

3 Oo

On return compared aneroids :—
French ... .

er 762 millime
My Casella 703 millimetres.

+. 7062

 

 

 

 

 

 

white clouds. Cold land-br i

/ ouds. and-breeze in Wad

6 20° | At SDA} O04 son hrases at eleven a.m. y Sur we
| | | old 3: y Malayh (Malik), in big tent. Feels as if

Night perfectly still, except a gust about midnight
ght.

74° | 23 | At Wady Surr, under tree in sea-breeze. Clear sky, few

2”
Difference co. "OOI
- —————— ”
| A | oo TT
Date. | Ti { neroid. | m |
| ime, | Inches. | Ther. Hygr. Remarks
|
Feb. 19. | 6.20 a.m. | ‘07 |
«| 6:20am. | 3007 | 65° | 23° | In bi ;
g tent at EI-Muw - i
ol or | ig ter uwaylah. Cool land-breeze. Sky quite
|

|
|
|
|
|

3.40 p.m. | 29°60
|

| | | In big tent at Safh Wady Malayh. Clear and fine.

Feb. = 6.25 a.m. | 29°53 | 60° | 21°
11.20 a.m. | 29°40 | 73° | 43°
{ 42 |

| Under tree at bas
ase ; tra .
A Dresze. se of western Ghats, Fine cool sea-
t Sayl Wady el-Jimm ‘6 .
¥ : water- ”
Cold sea-breeze. (* water-gathering ”). Hot sun

 

|
|

3pm. | 294 | 78° | 17°
|

Night cold, with land-breeze.

 

6.15a.m. | 29°38 | 64° i
3 4 7° | In big tent at Sayl Wady el-Jimm. Clouds to north and

|
:
1a. 5, | | east; air damp. High wi 1s
| 45 p.m.| 2882 71° | 25° | On march up RIND, 7 wind and clouds.
Sky quite AS . % Ber Antal Cold sea:Drsuzs,
| N ar; warm, wful east wi y
amon. | 30 | 0 | go | rn th ais me Core gb
| | a ent at -Nag » 1 7 “3

al nik gwah, in Wady Sadr. Sun hot;

Night cold, but not so cold as we expected

 
296 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

eps E

. Aneroid.
Date. | Time. |'[, ches. Ther. |Hydr. Remarks.

——————

6 a.m. 28°86 | 56° 8°
.50 a.m. : 65° o | Under tree in Wady Sadr; say 1600 feet high. White
gi ies’ Bobs 3 $ clouds. West wind (sea-breeze deflected to north)
blowing. Here cold comes from wind.
2 3° | In big tent at Amwah el-Rikab, Wady Sadr.
cumuli and cirri. West wind deflected to
Fire in tent. Night cold, clear, and still.

In big tent at El-Nagwah.

Feb. -

north. At

3 p.m. 27'80 74
A few gusts

At four p.m. cold and clouds;
five p.m. thermometer in tent 66°.
about midnight.

AT HEAD OF WADY SADR.
p 5° | In big tent, foot of Ghats. Weather lovely—clear, fine,
and cold. At eight a.m. sun warm, then cold wind.

1.30 p.m. | 2688 72° 5° | In big tent. Cold easterly gale.
2° | In small tent, same place.

Cold ; thermometer 38°.
0 | At head of Wady Sadr.

oO

Feb. 23. | 6.30 a.m. 27'80 | 53

4 p.m. 26°90 | 65°
Violent wind at midnight.

© | To summit of Khuraytat el-Jils (Pass). Above the Pass,
aneroid 26°25; below, 26°70: difference, ‘55 = 45° feet.

|
|
| Walked down in twenty-six minutes.
|
|

o Perfectly clear of clouds. Sun
hot.
n big tent on Hisma plateau (short descent to camping-

ground). Air clear ; sun hot.

© | In the open, under shade.
° | I

- 2

Very cold when sun sets. Gusts from east at night.
ON HisMA PLATEAU.

Feb. 25.| 6.30 a.m. | 26°30 42° | 3° | In big tent.
| ° |

74° | 12

17°

l12.30 p.-m.| 27°84 °o | At foot of Khuraytat el-Jils. Still, no wind ; no clouds.
3.30 p.m. | 27°83 | 78° No wind ; no clouds.
Night splendidly clear and still.
6 a.m. 27°72 | 64° 2° | In big tent on Hism4 plateau. Glorious orange-coloured
dawn. Mild north wind. Moon in last quarter. At
eight a.m. good breeze from north; at eleven a.m.
| cool and pleasant breeze from cast. ]
| 70° |= 8° | On march in Shafah Mountains. Hot sun. Cold wind.

Felt warm.

| 28'30 | 85° |— 4° | Camp Majra el-Ruways.
| | breeze in gusts.

|

Night glorious at foot of the two Passes.

6 a.m. 28'10 |
head quite clear;

east. At 8.30 a.m. win

sky cloudy. .
ady Damah, under tree. Fine
d south.

80° o | At El-Rahabah, head of W

28°48
sea-breeze. High white strata to north-east an

Wady Déamah.

Under thorn-tree at
n board Mukhbir.

s p.m. | 2856 | 76° |= 5°
Night very cold. Not a sign of dew till we returned o
At Wady Déimah, on box in open.
| at 8.45 a.m.
1 p.m. ‘19 | 70° | 19° Under tree at
| Bits of cumuli from south.
and dust (sand-devils) scouring

Feb. 28.| 6am. | 28°50 | 44°

—- 0
|= 5

|

At two p.m. furious wi

|
also deflected to west by Pass gorge.
| in Wadys Surr, Sadr, Damah, Shuwik, and Salma.
71° 16° | In big tent.

| 3 p.m. | 28°19
the rest very still.

A few gusts during early part of night; Cold and clear.

 

In small tent. Strong west

| 65° |= 4° [ On ground outside tent at Majra el-Ruways. Sky over-
a few flecks to south, low clouds to

d south. Sun at first hot; then

No clouds elsewhere. . .
Fleeting cirro-cumuli.

Clouds and sea-breeze

Shuwik ruin. Thermometer in sun, ol
n

up valley from south,
“’Sand-devils’

APPENDIX V,

a spb a oe

 

Remarks.

Date. Ti Aneroid.
| 7'™M€ Inches. Ther. |Hydr.

 

AT SHUWAK RUIN

barrage (dam), aneroid 28 36. >
In small tent. Noon hot. W ind gusty not regular and
In small tent. Sky clear y alr still and S ultr y.

In bi 4 i
ig tam ot Twin, Airstill. Clouds to east. Afi
Was 9 ottled, windy strize. At seven a. ‘ol
| So out rain; thin cloud north of a Te
; tar streak, brilliant enough : ek ry
lo ines ugh: lasted twenty
J | | | AaZhol In, Sea-breeze at eleven a.m. CI
— | | in nn? il cy np Ragen
| | | | at Majra el-Waghi ild s
th Night windless except few et ghaca, ee
| i pl occa ts. S i
| ra i Seah ? Soaay onal gusts. Stars veiled. Grand zodiacal light (
lar. 3.| 6am. | 28 |
| -m. | 55 | 66° 14° j
4 At Majra el-Wighi i
| -Wighir, outside tent. S 7 3 mi
| | | north, ¢ mackerel’s back” to oy ik —,
oi | ors | | Und a.m. in Wady Damah. Rie a
| 1 or ies AW ady Déamah. Cool wind from south-west
: - - / - .
| | eo | | . southwest » getting gradually darker to west and
| | | t ) -Kuta ; rif:
" yyifah (cam ;
| be Ny | ind (camp) under a tree. Cool south-west
| u | | | Horth wind. Sea-breeze at nine a i
In3oa.m.| 29°33 o | “l-Kutayyifah. pind
| | | | In shade of rock, Umm Amil
4 p.m. 29°63 | I 11
| n small tent at M4 e I’ /
| | mall z a el-Badi’h, Wady S a ; i
susan | a | | | gale : dust-laden sea-breeze up ~ Soma, Sou, suff
a.m, | 50 50° 3° j |
i. | 13 At Mi el-Badi’h, on box in open ai i
+5 12.30 p.m. | 3006 | 84° |= 3° | A Zink nb uth. a
3” | At Zib4, in big tent, open east and west, fronting the }
st, g ay.

|
| 2.45 p.m. 0 ° | | i
| 3000 | 829 [+4 4° | At Ziba, in small tent.

|
|

AT Z1BA v
LIBA, IN .
Mar. 6.| 6 a.m. 2092 | 61° ’ CAMP (our second halt).

“ I bi 1 1
) = . © «© y “ol «
I n oni tent R ther he 1V clouds to east and eisewhere

Sea-breeze began at ten a.m.

|
Noon. 04 8 | I | It b rt a Ld? y Rair -S
30 | 6° 0 ”
| 1 5 ent. Air dull and I 'Y.
| 1€eavy aim-sun.

| WI, 3000 | 81° | 3° | Sky quite cl
Storm at sunset. H or |
[ sunset, eavy c 5 risi
i se Heavy clouds rising over arch from west to h: i
| from north-west. Gusts last ay gale ; nearly blew down tents Rushi a
| midnight ; then blew itself oh Fai Fell about eleven p.m Ros aE oe his vi
: ut. Followed by cold air. Rain lasted ": on Ho Yolo
. Re asted about one hour ; d
; damped

the ground and lef de I P SD ” « «
» t 0 k holl WSs I tnin mn
cp uddle mn the roc 0 . Nev cr had thunder and lig 1
8

[ ‘rr Q v A ba I , * Id 1 A fe » ] dst , t
a | )
MV 6 a.m. 31 12 50 |= I At Z1 Jd, on box C « al.
ar > 5 | . 0 And clear £ CW clouds to wes

I1.3o a.m. | 29°'g6 | 5 |
jfr3oa.am. | 29°96 | 74° [+ 19°] At Je Yi 3
Night and morning ¢ 9"| At Jebel el Ghdl, in shade in the open. Fine west wi
ung cold. On summit of Jebel el-Ghal, aneroid ¢ west wind.
dl, aneroic 20°75.

|
Mar. 8 6 a . | 3 5 “x
. a.m | 00
| 4 | I II At May at el ( hal (camp), on box

March 8th 18 the 3 h S S r rv 10
M : 1 } : ot (last day of) Imshir (F eb ua y y 04
arc ot \ 1 he st of Barmahat (March) See a I. I . 22.

In the car y d: ys of Bar mahat 1e :Xpe y 2" De stroved
| be of Ad ‘ th y EXT ect the Hus 7 or nolent wind which dest i
| Afte sev 11g 1tS and € £ It davs beg ns the Yara el- wuz, or ( d Ss . |
BY ven 1 I 2 a] I 1a 5 b § i $ B rd ol. Ag ‘ ‘ 1

> £ ay ) mans cold.

On Barmahit 12 larch 2 1S th >» - ‘“ . y i

> (N .

: \ 0) e Intikdl l. S/ 7S equino r whic I
o ¢ ans, or vernal 1 1 1

} } qt nox ; afte WV t+

 
    

208 THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

/ ’r
)
OBSERVATIONS TAKEN ON BOARD « MUKHBIR” IN SHARM YAHARR,

BETWEEN MARCH 8 AND MARCH I2, 1878.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/
i |
: . D | Wet XS.
Date. Time. Anerold Ther. Bulb. Bulb. Hygr. Remarks
| | | - . / 5 .
Mar. 8. | 12.40 p.m.| 30°08 | 74° | ee pt 18° Main cabin, Mukhbir.
Mar. 9.| 7 a.m. 30'10 | 20° | 69° | 62° | — | In cabin.

 

 

{

12.30 p.m. | 30°13 D gi | 64° | - | Quite clear. Fresh sea-breeze.

3 p.m 30’ | 75 74° | 64° | — | Clouds white and streaky everywhere.

5 i ntains, especially the Sharr; elsewhere clear. Red
Bot ilsand pos A Lubhbir rales wet in morning. Moon
hot—sign of coming storm.

773 millimetres.

In the evening clou
sunset, grand. At night dew heavy on board
with kind of half halo round her. Night very

Oo

At ompared ship’s (# wkhbir) mercurial barometer 3
AeoiEcomp LY aneroid by Casella ‘or ww. 765 same millimetres.
And (Mr. Duguid’s) aneroide . 765
Difference — 008 millimetres.
On December 19, 1877, ship’s difference + 007 ”
Difference we + 0OI ’
g o: ° ° | — | bin. Clouds on Shérr like flights of
Mar. so. 6.30 P.M. | 35°02 75% | 9 o Bo gw low-lying banks to south. Morn-

 

 

ing slightly muggy : no breeze. .
In cabin. Gentle sea-breeze. Sky quite

 

 

| | ”
» | 76° © | Go pe
| Noon. 30°12 | 7 75 | vy
3 p.m. 30°11 76° | 76° | 66° — | Cool, pleasant sea-breeze.
Fine night, pleasant and cool.
3 -
Mar. 11. 6 a.m 30°10 | 73° 68° 65° — | In cabin. Splendid morning.
.m. | |
| i 3 75 breeze cool
. " 8° | 642 | — | In cabin. Glorious day; sea
Noon. 30°10 0 4 | A fresh,

| 3.30 p.m. | 30°05 | 28° | 77° 6° | = In cabin. Sea-breeze lively and strong.

| - .
: — ° ° — | In cabin. Warmish. Splendid sunrise on
Baz re 7am. 3004 67 6 Sharr ; cold to north, warmer tints in
centre, and glowing red-yellow flush to
o P — | In cabin. Fine cool sea-breeze.

3 p.m. 3003 | 78° | 77
Tides high and low (March) pier shows difference ©

| south.
| length of Sharm Yéaharr.

 
  
  
 

   
  

f three feet in rise, about the mid-

      
  
 
   
   
  
    
    
  
 
 
  
   
   
    
 
   
   

APPENDIX V. 209

OBSERVATIONS TAKEN DURING EXCURSION (SECOND MARCH) ON
AND AROUND THE SHARR MOUNTAIN, BETWEEN WEDNESDAY,
MarcH 18, AND MoxDAY, MArcH 18, 1878.

The distance traversed comprised 59 miles.

On return compared aneroids :—
French (left on board Mukkibir) ... 758 millimetres.
My Casella ... woh oe .« %506 ”

Difference ... ve 002 7

 

|
Date. | Time. rches. Ther. -_ Remarks.
| S. | » «

 

Mar. 13.| 6.20 a.m. | 29°96 | 66°
Seathresee at 10.45. At Wady Sanawiyyah aneroid

29.60.
13° | Under tree (acacia, but shady). Grand sea-breeze from
| one to three p.m.

Warm night under the Shérr, stones retaining heat. Moon misty. Very heavy dew, like
rain ; wetted boxes ; saw for the first time inland. Will last for some three months, and
must greatly assist vegetation.

29°30 68° | 28° | In big tent. All the sky clouded over as if rain coming.
Sea-breeze 10.30.
88° | 28° | Camp at Safh Wady Kusayb. Cloudy and sultry all day.
Little sun, except from nine till eleven a.m. Rain-
| heat ; seems to threaten rain.

86° | 23° | In big tent. Sultry—feels like storm.

23° | On deck of Mukhbir. Cool land-breeze ; hot at nine a.m.
|
|

 

|

3 p.m. | 29'26 | 82°

|

 

Mar. 14.| 6 a.m.

Noon. 29°60

 

 

3 p.m. | 29'56
At night, violent storm of wind from north-east, with nasty warm gusts. The people call
it Sabdih, probably for Sabi, the ‘‘Zephyr »_the Bad-i-Saba of poetry; also £/-Farawi,
because it blows at night. Big tent down in a moment, as at Makni. N.B.—No wind-
| storm on the coast. At foot of Abd Sha’ar Pass, aneroid 28'80; at foot of quartz-vein
| (wall), 28°50.
Mar. 1s. | 6 a.m. 29'so | 76° |+ 1° | In big tent at Safh Wady Kusayb, north-east wind still
blowing. No dew in morning.

 

 

|11.452.m.| 29722 | 93° |= 5° | In Wady Surr. Curious windy cirri to west. Wind blew

| itself out in Wady Surr.” Pleasant sea-breeze from
south.

| 3p.m | 28°93 | 100° |= 14°| In big tent at Safhat el-Wu’ayrah, Wady Surr. Cloudy.

| | Wind from south, a deflected sea-breeze.

ASCENDING SHARR MOUNTAIN.

On box outside tent. Morning grand; still, clear, warm,
and dry. At seven a.m., going uphill, aneroid 28°20; at
7.35, half-way up, 27°70. .

Mar, 16. 6a.m. 29°86 | 70° |+ 2°

 

|
— | Under rock. Pleasant sea-breeze from north-east. Sun
hot ; day quite clear.
| Shade of rock, summit of outlier. Strong wind from west.

Noon. 26°70 | 82°

 

3pm. | 2676 | 86° |+ 3°
Mean of two observations on summit of outlier, 26°79 = 3,200 feet above sea-level.

9 a.m. 26'83 63° [+ 3° |
|
|
|

EN ROUTE TO THE COAST.

Mar. 17.. 9am. | 28°36 | 80° |+ 3° | Under tree. Very hot sun that tired all. Breeze at
8.30 a.m.
| 11am. | 28°76(?) 93° — | Same place. At summit of
Pass el-Kuwayd, Aneroid | Very small descent to 28°50,
28°13; in Wady Rewaye, | say 400 feet.

| 28'20.

3.40 p.m. | 28°65 | 90° = 9 In big tent.
 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 

in}
vai Ther. Remarks.

Inches. |
| | |
ON THE RETURN MARCH TO SHARM YAHARR.

Mar. 18.) 4.20 a.m. | 2863 | 73° |— 4° | Complete change of climate. No KZamstn to-day. Fine
sea-breeze in puffs at 9.30 a.m. ; came up strong about

Date. | Time. Hygr.

 

 

noon.
11.45 a.m.| 29°43 | 91° |+ 5° | Under tree in Wady el-Bayza.

On March 17th began what our Egyptians called the K/amstn, and the Arabs Z7-Dufiin
(Bedawin, Dafin) generically ; and specifically Dufiin el-Surdyyd (‘of the Pleiades”).
Sky dark without clouds. At night, yellow clouds over moon. Gusts alternately hot and
cold. Highly electrical ; few could sleep at night. Tents left open. It was followed by
damp and gloomy weather, which the Arabs attribute to the /nfikdl el-Shams (‘vernal
equinox”). This began on March 19th, and lasted till the 22nd. Aneroid falls lower than we
have yet seen it.

 

OBSERVATIONS TAKEN ON BOARD SCREW-STEAMER ‘‘ SINNAR,” BETWEEN
MARCH 18 AND MARCH 20, 1878.

 

 

 

 

 

like that of Europe.

| ( | | { |
ey |
. |Aneroid. Dry | Wet Hvar. | R Kk
T.| Remarks.
Date. Time. | Inches. Ther. Bulb. | Bulb. | Y8 |
i | | { ' . . .
Mar. 18.| 3 p.m. 29°91 | 84° | — | 24° | In main cabin. A few light clouds.
| | . . .
Mar. 19.| 7 a.m. | 29'83 | — | 70° | 64° — | Under deck awning. Morning still, calm,
RR | | and muggy. Clouds everywhere. Pre-
| sently cool land-breeze came up. Regu-
| lar Kamsin at eight a.m.
Noon. | 29'8o = 79° | 71° | — | In captain’s cabin. Cloudy and cool.
{ { | |
| 2976 | | 70° | 70° | — | I tain’s cabin. Afternoon sultry. Wind
.m. 2076 | — | 79° | 70° | n captain's cz :
3p | %97 | Azyab, and from south. Seems to
| | | | threaten a storm. Heavy clouds from
| west and north-west. Ce
Mar.20.! 7am. | 2982 | — | 75° | 71° — | In captain’s cabin. Sultry, “juicy” morn-
| | ing.
| | | > .
Noon. | 29'75 | — | 76° | 70° | — | Dark and cloudy. Cool wind from south-
| west.
4 p.m | 29°80 | | 26° | 68° | — | In captain's cabin. Sultry air; no breeze ;
— nasty and damp. Cloudy all over. A
storm somewhere (Alexandria? Suez?).
| Swell on sea, breaking on south reef;
| comes from north-west. Weather looks
|

|
| |

About eight p.m. a cool draught from north. No moon or stars. Expect it to end either
in a gale or in heavy rain. It ended on morning of March 22nd, with a fine north wind ; and
at g.10 p.m. with slight earthquake.

 

 

 
 

APPENDIX VV. 301

OBSERVATIONS TAKEN ON BOARD SCREW-STEAMER ‘‘ SINNAR,” DURING
VOYAGE FROM SHARM YAHARR TO EL-WijH, EL-HAURA, ETC.,
BETWEEN MARCH 21 AND MARCH 29, 1878.

 

 

os} |
bors. | Dry | Wet

 

 

 

Date. | Time. [yy cp. | Bulb. | Bulb, | HY" Remarks,
|
STEAMING SOUTH.
Mar. 21. 7 a.m, 29°76 | — 75° 71° — | In captain’s cabin. Aneroid very low. Wind

 

south-west. Ugly, gloomy weather.

Mountains misty. Very slight roll in

sea—became heavy in afternoon—mzar

vecchio (Bakr wmadfin). Bursts of

half sun after nine a.m.

2984 | — 77° | 71° | — | Aneroid rising. At noon sea quite calm and
oily. Shortly after, sea-breeze from west
set in. About one p.m. made sail ; roll-

ing began. More sun. Sails down. At

two p.m. rolling heavy, cross sea (mar
vecchio).

Damp increases.

 

|
|
|
|
|
|

 

 

| 3.30pm. | 29°85 76° 1 73° | —
After five p.m. sky clearer and weather finer, but still dark to south. Stars veiled.

IN MARSA DUMAYGHAH.

 

Mar 22 | 6.15 a.m. | 29°92 rm 73° | 66° | — | In cabin. Morning cool. Wind north.
Total change of weather. Sky clear,
| except cirri, and wind increased. White
| | | “horses” outside. All nature gay.
Noon. | 30°or — 79° | 65° | — | In cabin. Damp disappeared.
3p.m. | 30°90 = 74° | 64° | — | Fine, strong, bright sea-breeze. North wind,

| threatening to blow hard. Cloudy and
| | clear. Windy sky.
At g.10 p.m. earthquake from north to south; lasted twenty seconds ; followed by strong

north wind, which lasted only a short time. So end the Equinoctials.

2 — | At Dumayghah. In cabin. Glorious morn-
ing ; cool, calm, bright. Zephyr from

| north. At noon a few wind-clouds and

cirri to north and west. Very heavy

rolling (mar wecchio) from north-west.
Long waves.

— | At EI-Wijh, Pleasant, cool north wind.
Afternoon cloudy and cold, as if wind
came through rain.

 

Mar 23. 6am. | 3000 | — | 70° | 61
| | |
|
|
|

74° | 65°

Cleared in the evening. Saw stars.

3 p.m. 29°98 —
|

 

|

 

|

AT EL-WIJH, IN PORT.

 

Mar. 24.) 5.45 a.m. | 29°04 | — | 7° 68° - In is Grey, cloudy morning. No
{ i cold.
| 3 p.m. | 29'98 | — { 74° | 65° | — | In cabin. Fine north breeze. Warm sun.

|

| | Air cool. Wind-clouds to east : the rest

blue. Sky wondrous clear.

At 4.30 p.m. left EI-Wijh, and steamed nearly due south-west. Fine breeze and long
waves from north-west. Wind and waves fell. Rolled horridly from seven p.m. to midnight :

no ballast ; very bad steering : then turned south-east, and movement somewhat improved.
| Very heavy dew. Zodiacallight clear.

IN CABIN AT SEA.

Mar, 25.) 7.30 a.m. | 30704 | -- | 73° | 68° — | Marvellous fine morning. Wind north.
| Glorious day.
ree Near El-Haura. Lovely day. Steady north
breeze.

12.15 p.m. 30°01 — 75° | 64

4 p.m. 29°97 — | 77° | 69 —_—

  

   

   
THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

 

 

Wet

 

 

 

 

7 a.m.
11.45 a.m.

3 p.m.

6.30 a.m.

1 p.m.

7 a.m.

6 p.m.

 

 

 

Weather fine, yet glass falling.

and hoarseness. Wind-clouds, but ¢

20°87
29'98
29°85
29°89

29°97
29°97

28°78

 

 

 

 

 

RETURNING
— | 73° | 68°
wo 78° 70°
_ 78° 72°
— | 704° | 68°
— | 708° | 67°
gp { — | —

|
74° | — | —

!

Fine day on seaboard —not much gale.
Ship’s barometer, 6 a.m., 30°7

noon, 30°7
3 p-m., 30°7

 

wl

Aneroid. Dry Renndic,
Time. [1p ches. | TPeT | Bulb. | Bulb.
|
NEAR EL-HAURA.
: Pp — _ I bin. Red morning, warm and still.
i nT ! Zo oily. Light mists. Venus throws
shadow. Very heavy dew—all wet.
15 p.m.| 29.01 ne 74° | 70° — | Same place. Warm sun ; cool breeze from
Ihsan 90 north. .
3.20 p.m. | 29°87 = 78° | 74° At sea. Cirri and wind-clouds to east and

nearly everywhere.

Damp air. Hence (possibly) many have colds, coughs,
lear to north. Dew very heavy.

NorTH TO EL-WI1JH.

In captain’s cabin. Dew-clouds everywhere.

Air very damp.

| Air still and pleasant.
Day decidedly hot and damp. Aneroid very
low

In cabin. Dew wetted tents and decks like

heavy shower. Sky all dew; air feels
soppy. Violent wind from north-west.
Ship rolling.

In cabin. Strong, cold north wind. Men

coughing like cries of camels. Sky
very clear. This kind of storm is called
Hawwd el! Uwwah (‘‘last storm of
March”), and blows fourteen days.
Followed by EI-Ni'dm el-Kabir
(““ greater”), and El-Saghir (‘‘less”);
continues forty days.

At Fort E1-Wijh, two hours’ journey up the

valley.

Wind north-west. Night cool, but no dew.

Ther. (F.) 64°.
3 76°
”» 76

.
OQ

 

APPENDIX V.

  
   
   

OBSERVATIONS TAKEN DURING THIRD MARCH, FROM EL-WIijH TO
EL-BADA AND BACK, BETWEEN MARCH 30 AND APRIL 11, 1878.

Compared ship’s (Szznar) mercurial barometer, 3o0'07 (64° F.),
with anerold, 3o-or1 ; difference, aneroid,—o-06.

On return compared ship’s (Sizndr) mercurial barometer, 29°99,
with aneroid, 29°86 ; difference, aneroid,—o"13.

Date.

i . |
Time | Inches.

{Aneroid.

Ther.

 

Dry | Wet

Bulb. | Bulb.

Remarks.

 

Mar. 30.

Mar. 31.

April 1. |

 

5.30 a.m. | 29°70

Noon. | 29°55

|

3.15 p.m. | 29°50

Cool and pleasant night.

 

64°
O

90

86°

in excellent condition.

5 a.m. 29°44

11.10 p.m.| 29°46

3 p.m. 29°30

 

Night cool.

”» 29°30

9.30 a.m. | 28°96

12.30 p.m.| 28°92

3pm. | 2888

This is second day of Kkamsin.
little. At 2.5 p.m. nearly blew tent down.

   

 

«©

45

QO

94

63°

 

 

No sign of dew.

 

 

 

 

Oo

 

 

 

| At Fort El-Wijh, on box before tent. Cold

and cloudy morning. Moon and stars
veiled.

| In camp at Umm el-Kardyit—deep valley.

Puffs of sea-breeze from south. Strong
sun.

| In big tentat Umm el-Kardyit—Iat. 26° 13’.

Sun very hot. Fresh and strong sea-
breeze from east (?).

Climate healthy. Garrison at Fort EI-Wijh

In big tent at Umm el-Kardyat. Very clear,
still morning. West pink. At sunrise
wind, and hot and cold puffs (south-east
and land-breeze).

At Wady el-Kubbah, under tree. Very hot.
Wind shifting from east to west (sea-
breeze). Stones in sun so hot that they
cannot be held. At noon regular K/an:z-
sn ; air sandy.

Top of Jebel el-Kubbah, aneroid
29°34; in valley below, aneroid 29°46
(477); height, 120 feet.

At Madayat el-Dasnah. Hot west wind.
Thermometer in big tent, unwalled.

At Madyat el-Dasnah. Morning pleasant,
still, and quite clear. No sign of dew
or Khamstn. Hygrometer exceedingly
dry. Sun rosehot. Slight breeze from
eight a.m. to 8.30 a.m., when the rocks
and stones have become thoroughly
heated. Very refreshing: cools head;
stops perspiration.

At foot of Mart Rébigh, in shade of rock.

| At Mari Rébigh, under big tent awning.

About noon a medley of winds; hot
blasts of A/kamsin from south-west,
suddenly changed to north.

°| At Mart Rébigh. Hot sun. Wind in puffs,

mostly south-west. No sand in air.
Stones in sunshine too hot to hold ; yet
there are flies.

Comes up about ten a.m. ; wind either too much or too

 
THE LAND OF MIDIAMN.

 

 

 

 

Third day of Kiamstn.

valley with electrical whirl.
Night still and cool.

 

 

 

| and at Shuwék (single).
| tions at El-Bada, 2872.
; nights cool and pleasant.

 

Night cool, but not cold.
April 7.| 4.15 a.m. | 28°80

 

Nie
|

s——

All animals wok and worn out.
Gives feeling of faintness and awful thirst.
Evening lowering.
Threatening clouds east cand west.

Neither warm nor cool.

At four p.m. in west a dust like general or prairie fire.
intervals—could not catch any for photographs.
black cloud rising from east to west.
then storm came down upon us.
(no rain), half the arc. Wind then turned north and felt cold and rainy. Heavy cloud-b: ank
Forms of mountains crept out of the brown and purple mist, half dust, half rain,
All wed storm. No rain for two years has fallen here.
Cool and pleasant night, with dew.
After leaving E I-Bada mornings and evenings delightful ; sun warm

- | -

Though all prophesied Azyab or *
i Cold wind at one a.m., - whic h all compl: ined.
At ’Ayn el-Kurr, on box outside tent.
clouds to south. N i "
> at seven a.m. ; true at ten a.m.
Cloudy forenoon.
In Wady el-Kurr.

   
   

At foot of Mart Rubayyigh in Wady R4bigh.
Morning perfectly still.
ance of Alamsin. Light horizontal

At Aba Gezaz valley, under tree.
bothered by small flies.

J In big tent, which was again blown down.

Wind comes up later—r11.30

“Devils” (Zawdbak) rose high in

Wind or rain clouds from west and north.

 

At Abid Gezaz valley. Morning cool (sign
Khamstn gone). Sun pleasant.
wind-clouds to north and east.

. pleasant, cool land-breeze from

south.
At El-Bad4, under palm-tree.
Milky sky, all white.
In big tent. Regular Klhamstn—very nasty.

 

Colds and coughs disappeared.
AT Ex. BADA.

| On box outside tent. Traces of dew. White

Looked regularly like a Kla-

Air muggy. White
View poor ; ; like rain.
bloat from south-west.
west and north. Drops of rain fell three

times between one p.m. and three p.m.

A few drops of rain fell at long
g Broad parallel veins of white, red, and
Puffs of cold wind came on, soon growing to blasts ;

No thunder or lightning. Kind of *“ dust-bow ”’

Rainbows at El-’Ak: abah (double)
Mean of six aneroid observa-

S | In big tent at Bada.
change after rain.
under shade of rock.
Strong north wind.

” this was perhaps the finest of all our days.

At Wady Laylah,
windy as usual. Puffs from west (sez

2), cold. Sky quite clear.

| In big tent at Wady Laylah.
especially bright.
Breeze at eight a. m.

| In Ww Vady Birka it, , under rock.

Cool west hig Good
"Sky and sun clear—sun
Hot in sheltered bends.
At Aba’l- Avg 4, under tamarisks.

Lucifer like a little

   

 

APPENDIX V. 305

 

|
Aneroid. | Ther. Dry | Wet

Date. Time. Inches. Bulb. | Bulb. Hyer. Remarks.

 

April 8. | 5a.m. 29°55 60° — — | 427°| Outside tent at Ab4’l-’Ajaj. Cool morning ;
Yampa: at eight a.m. before breeze

Noon. 29'94 | 83° | — — | 22° | At = temple (£2. Gasr), Wady Hamz. Sand-
dust with sea-breeze, terrible at temple
and around it. Eyes filled, clothes
covered. Saw mirage—well defined for
first time.

3 p.m. 20'90 | 52 wenn — | + 20° | At Wady Hamz. Hygrometer damp on ac-
; count of sea-breeze.

Aprilg.| 4 a.m. 29'92 | 70° — — | 425°] Still, clear, and beautiful, like all these
mornings. Hot sun. ‘Blue sea, glassy
near the shore. Puffs of wind from

 

from north-east. Heat strongly reflected

from quartz. Vegetation dreadfullydry;
plants look dead. Two bad years.

3 p.m, 29 74 92° —- — | =18°| In big tent at Aba’l-Marti. Another nasty

east.
Noon. 29'g0 | 96° or | — | = 8° | In big tent at Wady Misméh. Cool breeze

afternoon. High west wind—sea-breeze,
not Kamstn ; tent almost blown down.
Dust dreadful.

 

Evening charming. Night admirably cool.

 

 

 

April 10.| 4.20 a.m. | 29°74 — - es | 0° | In big tent at Abd’l-Mari. Splendid morn-
ing ; few strize in east. Will be hot.
4.30 p.m. | 20.95 oo 76° | 73° | — | On board Sinndr, captain’s cabin. Plea-

sant afternoon. Cool sea-breeze.

ON BOARD * SINNAR.”

 

 

 

Aprilir.) 6am. | 2986 | — 70° 66° | — | In captain’s cabin. Felt damp strongly after
i the Desert.
12.30 p.m.| 29°87 | — 78° | 74° | — | All complaining of heat (white heat) ; damp
is the cause. No sea-breeze to speak of.
[— 79° | 7 5° — | White clouds everywhere. Curious wind-
clouds, not a little like comets.

! 3.15 p.m. 29'83

| Heavy dew. Streets of EI-Wijh wet.

OBSERVATIONS TAKEN ON BOARD SCREW-STEAMER “ SINNAR,” EN ROUTE
FROM EL-WIJH TO SUEZ, FROM APRIL 12 TO APRIL 17, 1878.

 

| Azioroia,
Inches.

Dry | Wet
| Bulb. | Bu | Remarks.

 

Date. Time.

 

|
April 12.| 6.20 am. | 29°89 | 78° 73° | £n route to El-Muwaylah, captain’s cabin. Red sun-
rise. Clouds thin all about horizon. Looks like regu-
| lar Khamsin day. Feels exceedingly damp.
© | 70° | In dead calm. Sea oily, like mirror. No winds. Thin
| white clouds everywhere.
In captain’s cabin. Wretched day at EI-Wijh and ashore.
Very muggy.

At wight a “bruch” (halo) of clouds round moon, and far from it. Expect storm.

“ Bruchs ” round moon on 13th, 14th, and 15th.

April 13., Noon. 29'84 | 78° | 70° | Anchored before EI-Muwaylah. No dew in morning, and
clouds everywhere. No sun seen. Very hot at noon.
White clouds everywhere. Smoke of steamer hangs
low. Mountains look very high. Muggy. Fine
drinkytite. . i
3 p.m. 29'80 | 83° | 73° | At Sharm Yéaharr. Hot and sweaty. Light west wind
rose after noon ; soon fell.

At night clouds and “ bruch.” Clear to north, thick to south.

12.20 p.m. 29°80 79

 

3.35 pam. | 29'78 | 81° 76°

 

VOL. II.
     
 
             
       
         
   

306 THE LAND OF MIDIAN. APPENDIX V. 307

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           
       
       
         

 

       
         
     
       
   
       
         

 

 

Thermo-
. Aneroid.| Dry | Wet { . Aneroid.| meter.
Date. | Time. [yy ches. | Bulb. | Bulb. Reristies Date. | Time. “Mi | Centic Remarks.
metres. | grade.
April 14.] 6.30 a.m. | 29°82 78° | 72° | At Sharm Yahirr. Nasty muggy morning. Light north |
breeze set in. i
12.40 p.m. | 2988 | 82° | 75° ON BOARD.
3 p.m. 29'85 | 83° | 76° | Warm and cloudy. Jan. 19. Sinrlce. 763 nt
/ Weather threatening. The same storm that found us at Makn4 last year. Soon. 700 z=,
April 15. » — — | — | Water flooded pier, and waves broke on shore. Jan. 20.] Sunrise. #64 210
21. 2 o
: - — | — | Ran to El-Muwaylah. Had to return to Sharm Yahirr. Noon. 762 25
April 16. P RT rious ct fom west (Gharbi) began about nine a.m. Nightfall. 762 28° | Hot.
April17.| Noon. | 20'98 | 77° | 65° | In captain’s cabin, Sharm Yaharr, Jan. 21. | Sunrise. 763 23° | Bad weather at Sharm Yahirr. :
. 5 - Noon. 763 24° - ys
3p.m. | 29°92 | 76° | 65 i Sunset. 767 25° :
Wind changed to north. Weather became cool and pleasant. Gale still, but shows signs J Suns ’ .
bating. rs an. 22. unrise. 760 | 19 Mulkhbir delayed by bad ther. oq
of On Te 18th weather somewhat abated. Stopped at El-Muwaylah to drop Sayyid 'Abd Noon. 768 | 24° y y bad weather op
el-Rahim ; and steamed off for Suez, where we arrived on 2zoth. Voyage very slow in teeth ;,
of north wind. Yet at Suez had had south wind for some days, and congratulated us upon Jan. 24. Noon. 767 24°
the fact. Mr. Duguid steamed out of Yaharr for Makni. Anchored off Sinafir Island

Jan. 25. | Sunrise. 767 23° Reached Makna.
Noon. 766 24°
Sunset. 765 25°

 

           
     
       
       
       
           
       
    
  
    
   
  
   
   
    
 
  
  
    
     
 

Jan, 26. | Sunrise. 764 23° On board Mukhbir.

Stoo, 763 27°
t.

OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BY MR. Davip DUGUID, BETWEEN JANUARY § hse 3 | *3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

an. 27. | Sunrise. 6 22° | Ditto.
AND FEBRUARY 1, 1878. Jan. 07 Noon. 78 | 5%
Sunset. 763 27°
(He used the French aneroide and the Centigrade thermometer bought at Cairo.) Jon o8 | Sumise. | 5 21° | Ditto.
Noon. 762 24°
Sunset. 762 22°
. + | Thermo- Jan, 29. | Sunrise. 763 20° | Ditto.
Aneroid.
‘ A ter. Noon 62 22°
Date. Time, Milli- | Foret Remarks. . 7 i
matres. Donst- Sunset. 762 23
Jan, 30. inte, 766 20° Ditto.
J oon. 764 24
Jan. 8. | Noon. 768 25° | At Sharmd camp. Sunset. 765 24°
Jan. g. Noon. 768 25° Ditto. Jan. 31. Sunrise, 765 22° Ditto.
. oon, 764 23
Jan. 10. | Noon. 761 26° | Ditto. Sunset. 764 23°
Jan. 11. | Noon. 763 19° | Ditto. Feb. 1. Sunsise, 765 21° Ditto.
. oon, 764 22
Jan. 12. | Noon. 763 19° | Ditto.
Jan. 13. Noon. 760 30° Ditto. Very hot.

Oo

an. 14. | Daylight. 760 20

da: 4 o 75s | 250 | Very hot.
8 p.m. 758 23° |

Jan. 15. ? 757 21°

? 757 | 255 | Hot.
Nightfall. 759 20°

Daylight. 762 18° | Mr. Duguid marched from Sharmi to El-Muwaylah.

 

Jan. 16
Jan. 17. | Sunset. 768 25° | On board Mukhbir at Sharm Yaharr.

Jan. 18. | Sunrise. 766 22° | On board Mukhbir.
@ 766 23° Ditto.
Sunset. 764 28° | Ditto. Hot

 

 

 

 

   
    
 

308

 

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

OBSERVATIONS TAKEN ON BOARD SCREW-STEAMER ‘‘ MUKHBIR,” BY

Mr Davip DUGUID (DURING OUR SECOND JOURNEY), BETWEEN
FEBRUARY 18 AND MARCH 8, 1878.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Aneroid. Thema:
Date. Time. Milli- Cent Remarks.
metres.
grade.
Feb. 18. 7 a.m. 764 18° | Clear sky. Light breeze.
Noon. 763 23° | Same weather.
5 p.m. 764 23° | Clear sky. Good breeze.
Feb 19. 7 a.m, 764 20° | Clear sky. Light wind.
Noon. 764 23° | Light wind. Few clouds in east.
5 p.m. 764 24° | Clear sky. Light wind.
Feb. 20. 7 a.m. 765 20° Clear sky. Light east wind.
Noon. 765 21° Clear sky. Light north-west wind.
5 p.m. 764 23° Clear sky. Light east wind.
Feb. 21. 7 a.m. 765 20° White clouds all round. Light east wind.
Noon. 766 23° Few clouds to south. Light north-west wind
Feb. 22. 7 a.m. 765 20° Few clouds to east. Light west wind.
Noon. 764 22° Few clouds to east. Good north-west breeze.
5 p.m. 764 22° Few clouds to west. Light north wind.
Feb. 23 7 a.m. 764 19° Clouds to south-west. No wind.
| Noon. 765 21° Clouds to east. Light north-west wind.
| 5pm. 765 22° Few clouds to east. Light north-west wind.
| |
Feb. 24. | 7 a.m. 767 19° | Clear sky. No wind. }
| Noon. | 768 22° Clear sky. Light north wind.
| 5pm. | 768 24° | Same weather.
Feb.25 | 7a.m. 769 20° | Clear sky. Light east wind.
Noon. 769 22° | Clear sky. Light west wind.
5 p.m. 768 24° | Clear sky. No wind.
Feb. 26 7 a.m. 766 20° Clear sky. Light east wind.
5 p.m. 766 20° | Same weather.
Feb. 27 7 a.m. 762 20° Few clouds to south. Light north-east wind.
Noon. 762 23° | Clear sky. Light north wind.
5 p.m. 761 25° | Clear sky. Light west wind.
Feb. 28. 5 p.m. 764 23° | Heavy clouds to west. Strong west wind.
1 N m 6 20° Few clouds in south. Light north wind.
Mer 3 Noon. ; v4 23° | Clear sky. Good north-west breeze.
ls p.m. 765 22° Few clouds to west. Light wind from west.
|
Mar. 2. | i. 765 20° | Clouds all round. Light east wind.
Noon. 765 23° Clouds all round. Light west wind.
| 5 p.m. 764 24° Clouds all round. Light north wind.
Mar. 3. | 7am. 762 20° Few clouds to east. No wind.
Noon. 763 22° Few clouds to south. Good north-west breeze.
| 5 p.m. 763 23° | Few clouds to north. Good west breeze.
Mar. 4. a.m. 6 21° Clear sky. Light breeze from east.
$ | Bm Teh 23° | Clearsky. Light breeze from west.
| 5p.m. 767 | 24° | Clear sky. Light breeze from north.

 

     

 

APPENDIX V.

 

meter.

 

Date. Time. Milli- Centi Remarks
. enti- X
metres. grade.

Mar. 5. 7 a.m, 764 20° Clear sky. Light east wind.

Noon. 764 22° Clear sky. Good breeze from east.

5 p.m. 762 25° | Light clouds all round. North-west wind.
Mar. 6. 7 a.m. 763 20° Heavy clouds to east. Light east wind.

Noon. 763 23° A few clouds to east. Light west wind.

5 p.m. 762 24° Dark clouds all round. Strong west wind. At ten p.m. gale

from west, with some flashes of lightning.

Mar. 7. 7 a.m. 766 19° Clouds to south. Wind north.

Noon. 767 | 22° Clear sky. Good breeze from north-west.

5 p.m. 766 24° | Clear sky. Wind north.
Mar. 8. 7 a.m. 765 19° Clear sky. Light east wind.

Noon. 763 23° Clear sky. Light west wind.

 

 

 

 

 

OBSERVATIONS TAKEN ON BOARD SCREW-STEAMER ‘ MUKHBIR,” BY
MR. Davip DUGUID (DURING OUR WEEK IN EL-SHARR), BETWEEN
MARCH 13 AND MARCH 19, 1878.

 

|

 

 

 

 

 

Aneroid. LReH0
Date. Time. | Milli- | 0 Remarks.
metres. ent.
| grade.
| [
Mar. 13.| Noon. 762 25° | Clear sky. Good breeze. Wind west.
3 p.m. 761 26° | Clear sky. Light breeze. Wind west.
Mar. 14. 6am. 762 21° | Light clouds all over. Wind east. Light breeze.
| Noon. 764 24° Same cloudy weather, but wind from east (?).
3 p.m. 763 26° | Light clouds all round. Wind west and light.
Mar. 1=.| 6 a.m. 21° | A few clouds to south. Wind east and light.
an 18 321 Jo 26° | Light clouds all round. Moderate breeze from west,
3 p.m. 760 274° | Same weather.
Mar. 16. 6 a.m. 760 24° | A few clouds to south. Light east wind.
Noon. | 760 26° | Clear sky. Wind south-west, Light breeze.
3pm. | 759 29° | Clear sky. Wind west. Very light breeze.
Mar. 17. 6 a.m. 759 24° | Clear sky. Light breeze from east.
Noon. 760 26° | Clear sky. Wind west. Very light breeze.
3 p.m. 760 27° | Same weather.
Mar. 18... 6a.m. 760 23° | Same weather, but wind west.
| Noon. ee — Clear sky. Wind west. Very light breeze.
Mar, 19. 6am. 759 23° | Few clouds to north. Wind east, and very light.
Noon. 758 20° | Clouds to north-west. Good breeze from west.
3 p.m. 758 29° | Clouds all round. Wind south-west. Good breeze.
pd
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Fine weather.

Wind west.

Wind north-east.

Remarks.
Never saw barometer so low.
, fine but damp.

Fine day.
Fine day. Damp and north-west wind from

Fine day.
h-west at sunset,

and fine.
from noon to sunset.
noon io sunset.

y
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Wind north-west from noon to sunset,

Air very damp from noon to sunset.
Damp from noon to sunset.

Wind north-west all day.
Wind north.

Red clouds at sunset.
Gale of wind at El-Wijh from north-east, began at seven p.m. Ship under shelter. Rain
From noon to sunset

for half an hour,

White clouds to north-east.
Damp from noon to sunset.

Wind north-east.
Damp.

Wind north-west.
Wind north-west.
Wind north-west.
Fine day.

Wind north-west.
Same weather.
Wind north.
Fine day.

Wind north-east.

Dr
D

Wind north.
Wind nort
Wind north.
Wind east.
Fine day.
Wind east.

Wind east.
Damp.

 

 

Heavy clouds, wind, and gale all day from north-west.

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April 2.
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April 6.
April 7

April 8.
April g.
April 10.

 
 

  

INDE X.

ree een

A

Aaron, 1. 235

Ababdah Arabs. i. 94

Aba’l-barid, i. 302

Abbas Pasha, i. 229

’Abd el-Hamid el-Shami, i. 139

el-Nabi, i. 40

Aborigines Protection Society, i. 314

Abu Rish, Tale of, i. 160

Shendzir, i il. 41

Abu’l-Abbas Ahmed ibn ’Ali  akiyy
el-Din, i. 127

Ab{’l-Marwah, ii. 36

Alius Gallus, ii. 106

Agil bin Muhaysin, i. 83

"AykdAn, i. 250

Ahmed ibn Abi Ya’k{ib bin Wadhih,

i. 123
—— ibn Mohammed ibn Kathir el-
Farghani, i i 117.

—— ibn Yahya el-Sha’ir, i. 123

— el-’Ukby, i. 300, 316, 319

ibn Taylun, i il. 152

—— Kaptan, i. 59, 76, 215, 218,

 

 

 

297

’Akabah, El, i. 207, 227, 242

Gulf, i. 26, 29

’Alayan, i. 331.

ibn Rabi’ a, i. 42

Shaykh, ii. 89

Alaysh, Shaykh, i. 12

Algeria, i. 4

Ali Bey Robi, i. 19

Marie, i. 244 ; ii. 240

¢ Almonds,” i. 175

Amir, Lieutenant, i. 47, 156, 185,
225, 255, 258, 275, 297, 298, 304,
311; ii. 15, 38, 163, 254

Amshir (month), i i. 22

Anaximander, i. 90

Ancale, i. 250

Antimony, ii. 20I

Appian, i. 95

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arabs, habits of, i. 40

’Arif (Pasha), i. 5

Aromata Promontorium, i. 290
Aslah-Aznab, ii. 93
’Athaka, i. 114

"Abfvn, Oca yAavkames, i. 93
Athor, ii. 83

Austria (ship), il. 257
Awwal Hisma, i. 65

Ayan el-Muldk, i. 14
’Ayn{inah Bay, i. €9, 75, 78

B
Bacchus, i. 113

| Bada’, El, i. 85; il. 149, 177, 181

Badais, ii. 19, 177, 187
| Badger, i. 122, 129

 

 

, G. Percy, 1. 112

Balazuri, El, i. 118

Baliyy, ii. 15, 97, 141 ; ii. 123, 243

Barahkan, i. 264

Barghir, Mount, i. 238

Bast, i. 113

Beardless men, i. 153

Beaumont, Elie de, i. 197

Bedawi tribes, i. 87, 205, 327, 336

Bedawin, i. 50, 65

Beke, Dr., i. 178, 186, 187, 234, 235,
2306, 238, 241 ; il. 144, 145

Beni ’Atiya, i. 336

'Ukbah, i. 161, 163

Birds, i. 74; il. 12, 18, 182

Bir el-Sa’idani, i. 100

el-Sultani, ii. 43

Birkat Fara’(n, i. 26

 

 

| Bishari country, i. 4

Blake, Dr. C. Carter, ii. 190
Bolton, Lieut.-Colonel, i. 274
Book of Job, i. 64

Botany, 1i. 9

Brahim bin Makbdl, i. 152

Brugsch-Bey, Heinrich, i. 7, 94, 112,

115, 235, 236, 239

 
 

 

314 INDEX.

Bukhayt, ii. 89

Burat, M. Amedée, i. §7, 193
Burckhardt, i. 223, 241
Burton, Mrs. R. F., ii. 247

C

Cairo, i. 8, 10, 275

Camel equipment, i. 4

hire, i. 42

Campbell, Sir George, i. 17

Candia, i. 7

Carruthers, W., ii. 281

Cascalho, i. 74, 161

Catacombs, i. 103

Cephalonia, i. 7

Chabas, i. 96

Xepodvymoos "Axpa, ii. 91

Clarke, Mr., i. 77, 92, 142, 152, 159,
181, 188, 225, 244, 258, 297, 302,
307, 311, 327; ii. 9, 70, 77, 79
110, 159, 256

Coal, ii. 199

—— mine, ii. 149

Coins, i. 92, 181

Colston, Colonel, i. 95

Conder, C. R., i. 126

Congo river, i. 298

Cookery, Arab, i. 72

Corfu, 1. 7

Courteille, Pavet de, i. 120

Crustacea, i. 182, 257, 283

 

D

Dalmatia, i. 7

Damah valley, ii. 10

Dar, El, i. 240

Dér-For, i. 6 ; ii. 192
Darwaysh, i. 287

—— Effendi, i. 150

Desert cook, a, i. 18
D’Herbelot, i. 124

Diodorus, i. 95 ; ii. 221
Dizahab, i. 216

¢ Dome,” The, ii. 169
Drake, C. F. Tyrwhitt, i. 186
Duel, a, ii. 195

Duguid, David, i. 209, 251 ; ii. 90
Dynamite, i. 10

E

Eagle, an, i. 143

Ebers, i. 95

Egra, ii. 100, 107
Egypt, condition of, i. 17

 

    

Egyptian sailors, ii. 130
Elath, i. 231, 239
Elim, i. 178
El-Muwaylah, i. 30, 31, 39
| El-Ziyayb, ii. 35
¢¢ Enchanted Castle,” ii. 67
Engine, accident to, i. 25
Eretowa, i. 238
- Espero (ship), i. 7
-Etbaye, i. 4
Eunostus, i. 8
Evans, Arthur J., ii. 63
Expedition, list of, i. 34
+ Ezion-geber, i. 215

F

Famaka, i. 96

Faulkner, Willoughby, i. 24

¢¢ Father of Glass,” ii. 181

Fellahs, i. 12

Fish, i. 182, 217

Fish-bones, ii. 190

“ Fortuna” wind, 21

Freemason, a, i. 153

Friendenthall, Baron Pino, ii. 260

Fu’ad, Prince, ii. 253

Furayj bin Rafi’a el-Huwayti, i. 42,
147, 165, 185, 313, 330; ii. 39, 49,
99, 143, 241, 245

G

Garwood, Mr., ii. 257
Gasr of El-Bada, ii. 224
Gazelles, i. 293
Gessi, M., i. 97
Ghadirs, ii. 87
Ghor, The, i. 229
Giant cities, i. 180
Ginai, i. 214
Giragir, ii. 7
Gisborne, Hartley John, ii. 257
Goeje, Professor, il. 200
. Golden region, i. 3
+ ¢¢Gold-stone,” i. 293
Golius, Jacob, i. 117
Gordon, Colonel (Pasha), ii. 248
Goz el-Hannan, i. 65
Graffiti, i. 105
Graves, i. 98
Gross, Mr., i. 19
Guillemin, M., i. 57

H
Haddon, John L., i. 71

Haji ’Abdullah, ii. 95
Wali, i. 20, 59, 73, 270

 

 

Hajj-caravan, i. 273

Halévy, Joseph, ii. 157
-Hamamat country, i. §
Hanafi Effendi, il. 248

Harr, ii. 62

Harrah, El, i. 325

, The, ii. 104

Harrahs, ii. 144

‘Harris papyrus, i. 113
Hasan Bey, ii. 84, 240
el-’Ukbi, Shaykh, i. 331, ii. 8
Haura, El, ii. 133 y 3 ?
Hayns, W. E., i. 93; ii. 253
Hazeroth, i. 220

Hela (ship), ii. 261
Hekateeus, i. 96

Herodotus, i. 96

Hippos Mons, ii. 56

Hisma, i. 83, 133, 294, 323, 334; ii. 3
Horeb of the Rock, i. 235
Huet and Geyler, i. 58
Humayrah, El, i. 174
Humboldt, i. 298

A. von, ii. 144

Husayn, ii. 89

Kamil Pasha, ii. 252
Pasha, i. 244

Hutaym, ii. 243

tribe, ii. 117

Huwaytat, i. 161; ii. 93, 243
Huwayti clan, i. 87; ii. 11
Hyzena’s brain, ii. 113

 

 

 

 

 

 

I

lauBla dun, ii. 102
Ibn Mukarrib, ii. 196
Igar Muas, i. 159
Insects, list of, ii. 281
Inscriptions, i. 80, 104, 158, 329; ii.
155, 189, 204
*Imwwos kdun, i. 290; ii. 54
“Irmos dpos, i. 290
Ishmaelitic tenet, i. 153
Ismail L, i. 4
Ismailiyyah, i. 20

J

Jabr bin Abd el-Nabi, i. 68
Jacob, ii. 235

Jaubert, Amadée, M. P., i. 122
Jayb el-Khuraytah, i. 334; ii. 3
—— el-Sa’luwwabh, ii. 35

Jebel el-Abyaz, i. 50, 52

— el-Balawi, ii. 13

INDEX.

 

  

Jebel el-Fahisat, i. 189
— el-Fayrigz, ii. §3
el-Ghal, ii. 51
el-Harb, i. 66
el-Khuraytah, i. 323
el-Kibrit, i. 283
el-Lauz, i. 80
el-Mar, i. 190
el-Murayt’bah, ii. §
el-Nakus, i. 65
el-Ramzah, i. 304
el-Raydan, ii. 33
el-Salbah, ii. 98
el-Sani’, ii. 18
el-Yitm, i. 238
Fas, i. 60
Hassani, ii. 131
Katerina, i. 237
Khulayf, i. 80
Kibar, i. 319
Mazhafah, i. 80
Munifah, i. 81
Musa, i. 237
Radwah, ii. 101
Sahharah, ii. 75
Serbal, i. 237
Tayyib Ism, i. 251
Tulayh, ii. 33, 35
Zahd, i. 80

Zanah, i. 157
Jerafin Huwaytat, ii. 36
Jerome, St., i. 235
Jews, pilgrimages of, i. 237
Jibal el-Bayza, i. 53
— el-Hamr3, i. 81
— ¢l-Salbah, ii. 98
Johnston, Keith, ii. 171
Josephus, i. 234
Juhaynabh, ii. 97, 243

ELLE T TELE

 

 

 

 

K

Kabr el-Tawéshi, ii. 44
Kartin (Korah), i. 197
Kasr el-Bint, i. 248
Kayhak (month), i. 21
Kazwini, El, i. 125
Khaluy, i. 124

Khamsin, ii. 83, 172
Khandaki, El, ii. 32
Kharabat Aba’l-Mard, ii. 238
el-Khandaki, ii. 34
Khashm el-Muttali’, i. 91
Khayr, i. 330

Khediv, i. 6 ; ii. 252
Khizr bin Makbl, i. 154
Khulasah, El, i. 303, 304
Khuraybah, El, i. 77

 
 

 

316 INDEX.

Khuraytah, i. 320

Khuraytat el-Ziba, i. 333

Khurm el-Badariyyah, ii. 38
Khwajeh Konstantin, i. 29
Kremer, Alfred von, i. 7; ii. 234
Kufic inscription, ii. 204
Kutayyifah, El, ii. 35

L

Lacaze, M., i. 64, 75, 108, 143, 251,
297, 300, 307, 317, 329; 1. 77, 79
97, 147, 156, 175, 255

Lane, ii. 233

Lapide, Cornelius a, i. 207

Lawsuits amongst Arabs, i. 68

Leake, ii. 37

Lebanon in Midian, ii. 101

Leopards, ii. 57

Lesseps, Ferdinand de, ii. 252

Leuke Kéme, i. 297 ; ii. 137

Levick, A. G. K,, i. 139

Libn, Jebel, ii. 100

Linant Pasha, i. 4

Linant and Laborde, i. 239

Liverpool, ii. 261

Loth, Dr. Otto, ii. 145

Loufti, M., ii. 83

Lowe, Dr., 1. 19

Luynes, Duc de, i. 93

M

Ma’4zah, i. 160, 313, 318, 328, 335

M4 el-Badi’ah, ii. 40

Mabrik ’Awaz, ii. 251

Magoudi, i. 120

Madain Salih, ii. 244

Madiama, i. III

Madidpua, i. 85

Magani, i. 202

Maghéir Shu’ayb, i. 79, 83, 87, 140,
150, 155 3 ii. 92, 244

Maghrah, ii. 88

Mabhattat el-Ghal, ii. §1

el-Husan, ii. 53

Majra, ii. 88

el-Ruways, ii. 8

Makla, El, i. 81

Makna, i. 173

Mdxkva, i. 173

Maknawi, 1. 161

Makrizi, El, i. 127, 231

Malachites, i. 275

Marie, M., i. 5, 56, 62, 156, 194, 247,
297; ii. 42, 49, 123, 120, 149, 159,
236, 254

 

 

  

 

Marsa, i. 212

Marwabh, ii. 149

El, ii. 234

—— hill, i. 54

Masd’id, i. 87

Mas’adi, El, 1. 120

Matteucci, Dr. P., i. 97

McKillop (Pasha), i. 283; ii. 113, 155,
249

Meals, i. 144

Medicines for Arabian travel, i. 19

Medinat Hab, i. gb

MéAava dp, i. 180

Méron, ii. 39

Mesogeian towns, i. 85

Meteorological Journal, ii. 282

Metternich, Prince, i. 204

Meynard, C. Barbier de, i. 120

Michaud, i. 125

Michell, Roland N., i. 22

Midian, i. 3, 4, 29, 101, 223, 206, 2904

Miletus, i. 90

Milne, John, i. 230, 234

Minat el-Ayanat, i. 83

el-Dahab, i. 212

Mitchell, L. H., i. 95

Méchoura, ii. 36

Mdxovpa, ii. 239

Modiana or Modofina, i. 85

Moghrebin, ii. 44

Mohammed, i. 287

—— "Afnan, Shaykh, ii. 147

—— Bey Baligh, i. 89

—— bin Atiyyah, i. 317, 333

Capt., 1. 198

—— Effendi, ii. 251

el-Kalb, i. 330

Selamah, ii. 47

—— Shahadah, ii. 200

— Shaykh, i. 331

Moses, his kick, i. 127

Mountains of the Plain, ii, 211

Mowilah, Mount, ii. §7

Mukaddasi, El, ii. 200, 234

Mukhbir (steam vessel), i. 24, 26, 39,
177, 209, 250, 261

Musaybah bight, i. 70, 75

Music and dancing, i. 61

Muttal?’, i. 88

Muwaylah, El, i. 30, 31, 39, 154,
259, 265, 273, 289, 333; il. 32, 247

Muzayni families, i. 217

Myus Hormus, ii. 107

 

 

 

 

 

N

Nabathaean coins, i. 93
Nabatheeans, i. 295

Nakb Abu Sha'r, ii. 65

INDEX.

Nasir Ahmed, ii. 151
Nawamis, i. 67

+ Nebi Shu’ayb, i. 136

Negeb, i. 135
Ned, El, i. 322

* Niebuhr, ii. 43, 234

>

Norton’s Abyssinian pumps, i. 58
Nu’'man, ii. 92
Nuthall, General, i. 8

O

Oliver, D., ii. 273

+ Ophir, ii. 239

Orinoco river, i. 298
Osiris, 1. 113
Oysters, i. 257, 282

P

Pagnoni, Francesco, i. 207

Palmer, Professor, i. 67, 128, 204,
218, 230; ii. 114

Palm-trees of El-Bada, ii. 185

Partridges, i. 327; ii. 18, 74

Perceval, Caussin de, i. 125

Philipin, M., i. 58; ii. 55, 71, 77,
123, 126, 149, 150, 230

* Pheenicians, i. 124

Powikwy kdun, ii. 43
Pierre, Corneille de la, i. 208
Pihan, M., i. 121
Pincherle, James, i. 207
Plants, i. 314, il. 273
Pliny, ii. 107, 222
Pontus, i. 299

Poole, E. S., i. 128, 131
R. Stanley, i. 93
Proverbs, i. 199
Ptolemy, ii. 49, 239
Philadelphus, i. 95
the Pelusian, i. 96
Pun, or Punt, i. 113
Purdy, General, i. 94

 

 

 

Q

- Quartz, i. 54

wall, ii. 04

 

R

Rainald de Chatillon, i. 228
Rainbow, ii. 20
Rajih ibn ’Ayid, ii. 127

 

|
|
|
|
|
|

Rameses III., i. 113
Ramses the Great, i. 94
Raper, Lieutenant, ii. 57
Ras el-Ma’llah, ii. 124
el-Rukabiyyah, ii. 80
Fartak, i. 252

—— Mohammed, i. 29
Muraybit, ii. 105
—— Sufsafah, i. 237
Wady Surr, ii. 81
‘Pavvdfov kdun, ii. 49, 91
Rehoboth, ii. 10

Rezin, i. 231

 

 

 

 

| Rhampsinit, i. 95

Rhampsinitos, i. 113

Rijm, El, i. 159

Ritter, Carl, ii. 144

Robinson, i. 231, 233, 237, 241

Rogers, Colonel, i. 2

Ross, Colonel, i. 55, 148, 194

Riippell, i. 85, 88, 106, 111, 133, 227,
251, 253

Ruvignes, Colonel de, ii. 226

S

Saddles and ropes, i. 46
Safhat el-Mu’ayrah, ii. 71

| Sa’id Pasha, 274

 

Salah el-Din, i. 228
SdAua, ii. 40

Salma, Wady, ii. 40

Salt, ii. 110

Sio Francisco river, i. 298
Sath el-Nakb, i. 320
Saturday Review, ii. 15
Savin, ii. 73

Sayl el-Nagwabh, i. 308
—— Wady el-Jimm, i. 305

| Sayyid, ii. 79, 241, 245
. Schweinfurth, ii. 238

Scientific instruments, i. II
Sebright, Sir Charles, ii. 260
Seetzen, ii. 239

Sefer Pasha, 1. 7; ii. 208, 259
Selim, Sultan, ii. 153

I i. 242

ibn Musallim, ii. §2
Senoferu, i. 114

Sha’b el-Darak, i. 91
Shaghab, ii. 3, 27

Sharks, i. 256

Sharm, 1. 210

Dumayghah, ii. 48, 95
Yaharr, ii. 241
Sharma, i. 60

Sharpe, R. Bowdler, ii. 9
Sharr, ii. §6, 61

 

 

 

 

  

  
   

 

318

 
 

Shaw, Russell, i. 71
Shaykh ’Afnan, ii. 176, 245
—— Furayj, i. 41. See Furayj
Mohammed, i. 234, 240, 244
Shells, list of, ii. 119
Shigd, i. 136
Shuwaik, ii. 3, 23
valley, ii. 16
+ Sinéfir Island, i. 262
Sinai, i. 215, 295
—— Mount, i. 230
Sinndr (ship), ii. 80, 129, 247
Sirat Abu Zayd, ii. 233
Smith, Edgar A., ii. 119
Smith, Frederick, ii. 281
Snake, a, ii. 178
Snakes, like women, ii. 214
Sdaxa, ii. 19, 31, 860
¢¢ Spartelles,” ii. 74
Sprenger, Aloys, i. 134, 200, 219,
221, 235, 296 ; ii. 43, 91, 100
Stanley, Dean, i. 233
Steam lines in Arabia, ii. 132
Steen, Cornelius van den, i. 208
St. George and the Dragon, i. 90
Stinkhorn, ii. 81
Stone, General, i. 11, 94
-Stones, legends of, i. 157
Strabo, i. 297 ; ii. 100
Suez, i. 27; ii. 247
Sulaym el-Makrafi, ii. 49
Sulayman, i. 304
— Aftahi, i. 30
—— Pasha, i. 13
- Sulphur deposits, i. 278
. — Hill, 1. 285
Sunstroke, remedy for, ii. 80
Supplies to be bought at El-’Akabah,
1. 245
Syrian Hajj, the, i. 124

 

 

 

« Tamudeei, ii. 222

+ Tartars, i. 126

Taufik Pasha, ii. 254
Tayyibat Ism, i. 79, 157
Thamuditis, ii. 221

Tibr, i. 139

Tiuayévous Nijoos, ii. 93
‘Titaniferous iron, i. §I
Tonino Bey, ii. 251

Tor harbour, i. 27; ii. 154
Travelling, notes on, ii. 282
Treasure of Cairo, i. 15

- Tridacna gigantea, i. 175
Tuckey, i. 298

Turkish army, the, i. 13

 

INDEX.

 

 
  
  

+ Turquoises, i. 114 ; ii. 47
Turtle, eight-ribbed, ii. 97
Tuwayl el-Suk, ii. 33

U

Umm Amil, ii. 32, 37

—— el-Harab, ii. 173

—— el-Karayat, ii. 159, 104
Jedayl, i. 304
Uriconium, ii. 223

Usaylah, El, i. 82

 

Vv

Vetter, M., ii. 250

Viceroy of Egypt, i. 4 ; ii. 2§7
Vignolles, Messrs., i. 8
Vincent, ii. 133

Volta river, ii. 225

Voltéra Brothers, i. 19, 244

Ww

Wace, Henry, ii. 223
Wady Aba Rikayy, ii. 41
— 'Afal, i. 83, 155
— *Amud, ii. 91
Azlam, ii. 93

= Dahab, i. 216
Daumabh, ii. 69
Dumayghah, i. gb
—— el-’Ajaj, ii. 216
—— el-Ghal, ii. 51

— el-Hamabh, ii. 70
— el-Is, ii. 220

—— el-Kaimabh, ii. 65
—— el-Khandaki, ii. 33
—— el-Khurayk, i. 102
—— el-Kubbah, ii. 167
—— el-Maka’dah, i. 48, 51, 298
—— el-Marwat, ii. 203
—— el-Safra, i. 303
—— el-Sulaysalah, ii. 4
—— el-Wuday, i. 62
— Guwaymarah, i. 301
Hamz, ii. 120, 212, 219
Hashshah, ii. 50
—— Jahd, i. 311

—— Kh’shabriyyah, ii. 70
—— Kuwayd, ii. 83
—— Laylah, ii. 210
—— Majra, i. 189

—— Malih, ii. 68

—— Mismabh, ii. 240
—— Mukattab, i. 67

 

 

 

 

 

INDEX. 319

Wady Nimir, i. 155

Rabigh, ii. 177

—— Ruways, ii. 38

—— Salbabh, ii. 94

~——— Sharma, i. 47, 49, 60, 67
—— Sidrah, ii. 42

—— Simakh, i. 56

Surr, i. 298, 299

—— Tafrigh, i. 155

—— Tiryam, i. 43

—— Umm Jirmah, ii. 50
~~ "Urnub, i. 64, 65, 66
Zahakan, ii. 50

Wadys, il. 87

Wakil Mohammed Shahadabh, ii. 241,

 

 

 

245
Wallin, i. 289, 297, 330; ii. 43, 86,
219, 225
Wa'r, ii. 88
Wasit, i. 220
Wasm, i. 284, 321; ii. 33
Wellsted, i. 85, 208, 215, 219, 230,
249, 251, 253, 259; ii. 44, 46, 57,
93, 103, 117, 133, 153, 154, 155,
159, 104, 108, 178, 234
~ Wetzstein, Dr., ii. 144, 514

Wijh, El, ii. 89, 105, 241, 245
Wilkinson, ii. 259

Wilton, Rev. E., i. 135

Wine, use of, i. 32

Wrekin, the, ii. 223

Wright, Thomas, ii. 223
Wusum, i. 238, 284, 321 ; ii. 155

Y

Yakat el-Hamawi, i. 131; ii. 43

Yemen, El, ii. 103

Yusuf, Lieutenant, i. 59, 188, 275,
278 ; ii. §2, 126, 213, 254

Z

Zagazig, i. 20, 276; ii. 249

Zakariyya bin Mohammed bin Mah-
mad, i. 126

+ Ziba, ii. 32, 39, 45

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CONTENTS OF THE VARIOUS VOLUMES

IN THE COLLECTED EDITIONS OF

MR. TENNYSON'S WORKS.

ann Ap meen

THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY EDITION,

COMPLETE IN SEVEN OCTAVO VOLUMES.
Cloth, price 10s. 64. per vol.; 12s. 64. Roxburgh binding.

  
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
    
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
  
 
     
    
   
     
  
   
  
   
  
  
  
     

CONTENTS.
Vol. I..MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. Vol. IV..IN MEMORIAM and MAUD.
II.— MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. V.—IDYLLS OF THE KING.
III.—PRINCESS, AND OTHER VI.—-IDYLLS OF THE KING.
POEMS. VII.-DRAMAS.

Printed in large, clear, old-faced type, with a Steel Engraved Portrait of the Author, the set complete, A
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* * The handsomest Edition published.

THE AUTHORS EDITION,

IN SIX VOLUMES. Bound in cloth, 38s. 6d.

 

: CONTENTS.
Vol. -EARLY Joxms and ENGLISH | Vol. IV.—THE PRINCESS and MAUD. 6s.
Wa V..ENOCH ARDEN and IN
II.—LOCKSLEY HALL, LUCRE-
TIUS, and other Poems, 6s. MEMORIAM. Gs.
1II.—THE IDYLLS OF THE KING, VI.—QUEEN MARY and HAROLD
complete. 7s. 6d. 7S.

This Edition can also be had bound in half-morocco, Roxburgh, price 1s. 6d. per vol. extra.

THE CABINET EDITION, |

COMPLETE IN TWELVE VOLUMES. Price 2s. 6d. each.

 

CONTENTS.

Vol. L.—EARLY POEMS. Illustrated with | Vol. VL—IDYLLS OF THE KING. Illus-
a Photographic Portrait of Mr. trated with an Engraved Portrait of
Tennyson. ‘ Elaine,” from a Photographic Study

by Julia M. Cameron.
VII.—IDYLLS OF THE KING. Con-
IL—ENGLISH IDYLLS, and other taining an Engraving of ‘Arthur,’
POEMS. Containing an Engraving from a Photographic Study by Julia
of Mr. Tennyson's Residence at M. Cameron.
Aldworth, VIIL—THE PRINCESS. With an En- RB «
graved Frontispiece.
III.—LOCKSLEY HALL, and other IX.— MAUD and ENOCH ARDEN.
POEMS. With an Engraved With a Picture of ‘Maud,’ taken
Picture of Farringford. from a Photographic Study by Julia

M. Cameron.
X.—IN MEMORIAM. With a Steel

 

IV.—LUCRETIUS, and other POEMS. Engraving of Arthur H. Hallam
Containing an Engraving of a Scene engraved from a picture in possession
in the Garden at Swainston. of the Author, by J. C. Armytage.

XI.—QUEEN MARY: a Drama. With

V.—IDYLLS OF THE KING. With Frontispiece by Walter Crane.
an Autotype of the Bust of Mr. XII.—HAROLD: a Drama. With Frontis-
Tennyson by T. Woolner, R.A. piece by Walter Crane.

* * These Volumes may be had separately, or the Edition complete, in a handsome ornamental
case, price 32s.

THE MINIATURE EDITION,

IN THIRTEEN VOLUMES.

CONTENTS.
Vol. .—POEMS. Vol. VI.—IDYLLS OF THE KING.
1I.—POEMS, | VIII.—IN MEMORIAM.
I1I1.— POEMS. IX.—PRINCESS.
1IV.—IDYLLS OF THE KING. X.—MAUD.

V.—IDYLLS OF THE KING. | XI.—ENOCH ARDEN.
VI.—-IDYLLS OF THE KING. XII.—QUEEN MARY.
Vor. XIII.— HAROLD.
Bound in imitation vellum, ornamented in gilt and gilt édges, in case, price 42s.
This Edition can also be had in plain binding and case, price 36s.

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