It is overgrown in parts with Desert vegetation, and
requires nothing but a regular supply of water to make it useful to
man. On the East it is bounded by a wall of rock, at whose base are
three wells, said to have been dug by the Caliph Harun. They are
guarded by a Burj, or tower, which betrays symptoms of decay.
In our anxiety to rest we had strayed from the Damascus Caravan amongst
the mountaineers of Shammar. Our Shaykh Mas’ud manifestly did not like
the company; for shortly after three P.M. he insisted upon our striking
the tent and rejoining the Hajj, which lay encamped about two miles
distant in the western part of the basin. We
[p.135] loaded, therefore, and half an hour before sunset found
ourselves in more congenial society. To my great disappointment, a stir
was observable in the Caravan. I at once understood that another
night-march was in store for us.
At six P.M. we again mounted, and turned towards the Eastern plain. A
heavy shower was falling upon the Western hills, whence came damp and
dangerous blasts. Between nine P.M. and the dawn of the next day we had
a repetition of the last night’s scenes, over a road so rugged and
dangerous, that I wondered how men could prefer to travel in the
darkness.
