They Were
Literally "Out At Grass." It Is True That They Had A Scanty Supply
Of Milk From Goats, But They Were Living Almost Entirely Upon
Certain Grass Stems, Which Were Just In Season At That Time Of The
Year.
These, if not highly nourishing, are pleasant enough to the
taste, and their acid juices come gratefully to thirsty lips.
CHAPTER XV - PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN
And now Dthemetri began to enter into a negotiation with my hosts
for a passage over the river. I never interfered with my worthy
dragoman upon these occasions, because from my entire ignorance of
the Arabic I should have been quite unable to exercise any real
control over his words, and it would have been silly to break the
stream of his eloquence to no purpose. I have reason to fear,
however, that he lied transcendently, and especially in
representing me as the bosom friend of Ibrahim Pasha. The mention
of that name produced immense agitation and excitement, and the
Sheik explained to Dthemetri the grounds of the infinite respect
which he and his tribe entertained for the Pasha. A few weeks
before Ibrahim had craftily sent a body of troops across the
Jordan. The force went warily round to the foot of the mountains
on the east, so as to cut off the retreat of this tribe, and then
surrounded them as they lay encamped in the vale; their camels, and
indeed all their possessions worth taking, were carried off by the
soldiery, and moreover the then Sheik, together with every tenth
man of the tribe, was brought out and shot. You would think that
this conduct on the part of the Pasha might not procure for his
"friend" a very gracious reception amongst the people whom he had
thus despoiled and decimated; but the Asiatic seems to be animated
with a feeling of profound respect, almost bordering upon
affection, for all who have done him any bold and violent wrong,
and there is always, too, so much of vague and undefined
apprehension mixed up with his really well-founded alarms, that I
can see no limit to the yielding and bending of his mind when it is
wrought upon by the idea of power.
After some discussion the Arabs agreed, as I thought, to conduct me
to a ford, and we moved on towards the river, followed by seventeen
of the most able-bodied of the tribe, under the guidance of several
grey-bearded elders, and Sheik Ali Djoubran at the head of the
whole detachment. Upon leaving the encampment a sort of ceremony
was performed, for the purpose, it seemed, of ensuring, if
possible, a happy result for the undertaking. There was an
uplifting of arms, and a repeating of words that sounded like
formulae, but there were no prostrations, and I did not understand
that the ceremony was of a religious character. The tented Arabs
are looked upon as very bad Mahometans.
We arrived upon the banks of the river - not at a ford, but at a
deep and rapid part of the stream, and I now understood that it was
the plan of these men, if they helped me at all, to transport me
across the river by some species of raft. But a reaction had taken
place in the opinions of many, and a violent dispute arose upon a
motion which seemed to have been made by some honourable member
with a view to robbery. The fellows all gathered together in
circle, at a little distance from my party, and there disputed with
great vehemence and fury for nearly two hours. I can't give a
correct report of the debate, for it was held in a barbarous
dialect of the Arabic unknown to my dragoman. I recollect I
sincerely felt at the time that the arguments in favour of robbing
me must have been almost unanswerable, and I gave great credit to
the speakers on my side for the ingenuity and sophistry which they
must have shown in maintaining the fight so well.
During the discussion I remained lying in front of my baggage,
which had all been taken from the pack-saddles and placed upon the
ground. I was so languid from want of food, that I had scarcely
animation enough to feel as deeply interested as you would suppose
in the result of the discussion. I thought, however, that the
pleasantest toys to play with during this interval were my pistols,
and now and then, when I listlessly visited my loaded barrels with
the swivel ramrods, or drew a sweet, musical click from my English
firelocks, it seemed to me that I exercised a slight and gentle
influence on the debate. Thanks to Ibrahim Pasha's terrible
visitation the men of the tribe were wholly unarmed, and my
advantage in this respect might have counterbalanced in some
measure the superiority of numbers.
Mysseri (not interpreting in Arabic) had no duty to perform, and he
seemed to be faint and listless as myself. Shereef looked
perfectly resigned to any fate. But Dthemetri (faithful terrier!)
was bristling with zeal and watchfulness. He could not understand
the debate, which indeed was carried on at a distance too great to
be easily heard, even if the language had been familiar; but he was
always on the alert, and now and then conferring with men who had
straggled out of the assembly. At last he found an opportunity of
making a proposal, which at once produced immense sensation; he
offered, on my behalf, that if the tribe should bear themselves
loyally towards me, and take my party and my baggage in safety to
the other bank of the river, I should give them a teskeri, or
written certificate of their good conduct, which might avail them
hereafter in the hour of their direst need. This proposal was
received and instantly accepted by all the men of the tribe there
present with the utmost enthusiasm. I was to give the men, too, a
baksheish, that is, a present of money, which is usually made upon
the conclusion of any sort of treaty; but although the people of
the tribe were so miserably poor, they seemed to look upon the
pecuniary part of the arrangement as a matter quite trivial in
comparison with the teskeri.
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