The Wahaby Chief
Had Been Aware Of The Importance Of This Station; And Having Succeeded,
After A Long Resistance, In
Overpowering the Beni Harb, who held the key
of the Northern Hedjaz, [In this enterprise he was assisted by Medheyan,
Formerly a chief of Harb, who had been deprived of his post by Djezy, a
fortunate rival. Medheyan was afterwards treacherously seized by the
Turks at Medina, and beheaded at Constantinople; and Djezy, a friend of
Mohammed Aly, was killed by the Turkish governor of Medina, for having
spoken too highly of his services.] thought it necessary to keep a
watchful eye over this valley, and there built several strong block-
houses or towers, in which the collectors of his revenues resided, and
where they deposited the taxes collected from the valley. All these
Bedouins were decidedly hostile to the Wahaby system: even now, though
free from their yoke, they load them with as many reproaches,
[p.308] as the Mekkans bestow praises on them. Before the Wababy
invasion, the Beni Harb had never known a master, nor had the produce of
their fields ever been taxed. The Sherif of Mekka certainly assumed a
nominal supremacy over them; but they were in fact completely
independent, and their Sheikhs seconded the Sherif's views so far only
as they were thought beneficial, or of pecuniary advantage to their own
people. The latter now complained greatly of the heavy taxation imposed
by the Wahabys, and said that, besides the money they were obliged to
pay into Saoud's treasury, the chief of all the Wahaby Sheikhs of the
Hedjaz, Othman el Medheyfe, had extorted from them many additional
sums. I thought the accuracy of this information doubtful; for I knew
that the Wahaby chief had always shown particular care in preventing
such acts of injustice in his officers, and punished those who were
guilty. They also told me that not only had their gardens and
plantations been taxed, but the very water with which they irrigated
them had been assessed at a yearly sum.
The dress of the people of Szafra consists of a shirt, and a short gown
of coarse Indian coloured calico, over which they wear a white abba of
light texture, the same as that worn by the Bedouins of the Euphrates,
near Aleppo, and which is similar to the dress of all the Beni Harb who
have become settlers; while the Bedouins of the tribe wear the brown and
white striped abba. The profits which they derive from the passage of
caravans, and their petty dealings, seem to have had a baneful influence
upon their character, for they cheat as much as they can: they are,
however, not destitute of commiseration and hospitality towards the poor
hadjys, who, in their passage, contrive to collect from the shops as
much as is necessary for their daily food. We here met several poor
pilgrims on their way to Medina, who had nothing to subsist upon but
what they obtained from the generosity of the Bedouins on the road.
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Page 227 of 350
Words from 117998 to 118503
of 182297
