They Eat Very Little Bread, Living
Upon Dates, Butter, And Flesh Meat.
Besides the game which they hunt in
the neighbourhood, they eat camels flesh almost daily, and they even
devour the ostriches and wild dogs, the former of which are sold to them
by the Arabs Sherarat.
They preserve their dates in large earthen jars
for the use of the great Arab tribes which often pass here; of these the
Rowalla come almost every year: before the time of the Wahabi, the El
Hessene and Beni Szakher likewise visited the Djof.
The Felahein of the Djof are called Karaune [Arabic], a name which in
the neighbourhood of Damascus is given to all Syrians or those who are
presumed to be of Syrian origin. Although Fellahs, the people of the
Djof intermarry with Arab girls, whence it happens that many Arabs of
Shammor and Serhan have settled here and become Fellahs; and they
continue notwithstanding, to be looked upon in their respective tribes
by the heads of families, as proper husbands for their daughters. The
workmen or artificers [Arabic], on the contrary, never can marry Arab
girls, nor even the daughters of the Fellahs, their immediate
neighbours; they intermarry exclusively amongst themselves, or amongst
the workmen who have settled in the Bedouin encampments.
Every Souk has a Sheikh or chief; the name of the present grand Sheikh
is Ibn Deraa [Arabic]. It is about twenty years since they were
converted to the Wahabi creed. Their grand Sheikh collects the tribute
or Zika [Arabic], for Ibn Saoud, and lodges it in a particular house;
after taking from it the necessary expense for entertaining strangers,
or for provisions for Wahabi corps which pass by, he sends the remainder
to Saoud. The people of the Djof are all armed with firelocks; they have
no horses.
At Souk Mared is an ancient tower of remarkable structure. Its height, I
was told, is greater than the Minaret near my lodgings at Damascus,
which I should compute at about forty-five feet. Its basis is square, it
rises in steps and ends in a point; I had already heard at Aleppo from
some travelling Turks, that there were in the desert, towards Deraye,
pyramids like those of Cairo; by which they probably meant the Souk
Mared. The door of the tower is about ten feet high and eight broad; but
it is half filled up. The Kasr gate of Salamia,[FN#2] which is of wood
with iron bars, has been transported here by the Arabs to serve as a
gate for the tower. [p.664] The inside is not paved. There are three
floors, and staircases leading from one to the other. There are very
small windows in the sides of the tower, which seem rather to have been
destined for loop holes for musquetty. The walls of the tower are built
of large square white stones, and are in good preservation. The two
floors one over the other are not vaulted. On the top of the tower a
watchman constantly resides, to give notice of the arrival of strangers.
To the E. and somewhat to the S. from Djof, three hours, begins the
plain called Eddhahi or Taous [Arabic], a sandy desert full of small
hills or Tels, from which it derives the name of [Arabic]. Although
there is no water in the plain, a tree is very abundant which the Arabs
call Ghada [Arabic], about eight feet high; the people of Djof burn it
as fire wood. Near the trees grows in spring a kind of grass, which in
summer soon dries up, it is called Nassy [Arabic], and resembles wheat.
Wild cows [Arabic] are found here. My man told me that they resemble in
every particular the domestic cow. The Arabs Sherarat kill them, eat
them, and make of the leather targets, which are much esteemed [Arabic].
Of their horns the people of Djof make knife handles. Wild dogs, Derboun
[Arabic], of a black colour, are likewise met with here; the Arabs kill
and eat them. It is principally in the Dhahy that ostriches breed, and
great quantities of them are killed there. This desert is moreover
inhabited by a large lizard called Dhab [Arabic], of one foot and a half
in length with a tail of half a foot, exactly resembling in shape the
common lizard, but larger. The Arabs eat them in defiance of the laws of
their prophet; the scaly skin serves them instead of a goat skin to
preserve their butter in. These Arabs likewise eat all the eagles
[Arabic] and crows which they can kill. The plain of Eddhahi continues
for three days camel’s march (with a caravan it would take six days),
without any water, extending as far as the chain of mountains called
Djebel Shammor [Arabic] which runs in an easterly direction five or six
days journey. From where it ends to Deraye, the seat of Ibn Saoud, are
ten days more. The Djebel Shammor is inhabited by the Arabs Shammor,
many of whom have become Fellahs, and live in villages in these
mountains. They are true and faithful Wahabis.
[FN#2] Salamia is a ruin eight or ten hours S.E. of Hamah.
[p.665] APPENDIX. No. V.
A Route to the eastward of the Castle El Hassa.
FROM Kalaat el Hassa, towards E.S.E. continues the already mentioned
Wady el Hassa. Passing the Tel Esshehak, two days journey from it, you
meet with a great number of Tels, in the midst of which there is a well
of good spring water called Byr Bair [Arabic]; near it is a tombstone,
said to be the burial place of the son of Sultan Hassan. From Bair
eastwards the Wady and its vicinity are called the district of Hudrush
[Arabic]; it is without water, with the exception of the rain water
which collects in the low grounds. The Hudrush extends for two days, as
far as the country called Ettebig [Arabic]. From the beginning of
Hudrush the Wady makes a bend to the N. and describing a half circle,
again returns in the Tebig to its original direction.
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