None Of My Guides Knew What Business I Had There, But They
Supposed That I Had Some Verbal Message To Deliver To The Turkish Aga,
Who Was At The Head Of The Garrison.
Ayd es Szaheny [Arabic], the old
robber, soon found out that my guide Szaleh knew little of the road, and
still less of the Arab tribes before us.
He plainly told him that he
would not be able to ensure either my safety or his own, in passing
through their districts, and reproached him for having deluded me with
false assurances. There appeared to be so much good faith and sense in
all the old man said, and I found him so well informed respecting the
country, that I soon determined to engage him to join us; but as we were
to descend the next morning by the same road to the sea-shore, I
deferred making him any overtures till we should arrive there.
The Wady Boszeyra is enclosed by gray granite rocks, out of which the
Towara Arabs sometimes hew stones for hand mills, which they dispose of
to the northern Arabs, and transport for sale as far as Khalyl. It is
very seldom that any Arabs pasture in the district we had traversed,
from Wady Sal. The Towara find better pasturage in the southern and
south-western parts of the peninsula, and as its whole population is
very small, the more barren parts of it are abandoned, and especially
this side, where very few wells are found.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 631 of 870
Words from 171312 to 171564
of 236498
