THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES A VOYAGE UP THE PERSIAN GULF AND A JOURNEY OVERLAND FROM INDIA TO ENGLAND IN 1817 A VOYAGE vr THE PERSIAN GULF, AND A JOURNEY OVERLAND FROM INDIA TO ENGLAND, IN 1817. COVTAIinNO KOTICE8 OF ARABIA FELIX, ARABIA DESERTA, PERSIA, MESOPOTAMIA, THE GARDEN OF EDEN, BABYLON, BAGDAD, KOORDISTAN, ARMENIA, ASIA MINOR, ftc. Sec. By lieutenant WILLIAM HEUDE, OF THE MADRAS MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT. LONDON: Piiiilfil hy Smhan and SpotdcwooM, I*riiilcn> Street ; FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, rATJUMCnVt-MOW. 1819. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, miechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Gregg International Publishers Limited Printed from the original in Bath Municipal Library ISBN o 576 03324 3 Republished in 1970 by Gregg International Publishers Limited, VVcstmead, Farnborough. Hants, England Printed Offset in England by R. Kingshott & Co. Ltd., Aldershot, Hants. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL FITZWILLIAM, ^. ^. 4^ My Lord, On mv return overland from India, in the happy and peaceful leisure I enjoyed under the hospitable roof of the kind protector of my youth, the arrangement of the notes I had taken on my travels was first suggested by yourself, and by those learned friends whose acquaint- ance, with many favours, I am proud to hold at Yoiu* Lordship's hands. Had I therefore no previous obligations to acknow- ledge, a work that owes its birth to the condescending encouragement I then received, would naturally belong to the generous friend who brought me up, and to whom, 3014192 IV DEDICATION. with my kind aunt, Lady Charlotte Wentworth, I am indebted for those advantages which I enjoy. I shall not weary Your Lordship with the expression of that gratitude which lives within my breast, for as my thanks can but ill express the tribute of my heart, so in the placid and contented serenity of Your Lordship's demeanour, the pleasing recollections attendant on a life devoted to every good and every honourable purpose may easily be traced, as its own, and most assured reward. May that happiness. My Lord, be continued to the latest moment : the proud consciousness of inborn worth, would I know sooth the trial, if it were crossed with ad- versity. But that Your Lordship's happiness and health, with those of your amiable family, may prove as constant and permanent as your virtues have deserved, shall ever be felt the first, and most sincere wish, of Your Lordship's Most obedient And obliged humble servant, W. HEUDE. PREFACE. As this is the first time of my adventuring myself on the opinion of the public, I am not exactly aware of the degree of importance that can entitle a work to the advantages of a proemial discourse ; it is, therefore, more in deference to my readers than to the work itself, I esteem it necessary to premise, that a simple introduction is the end I have in view: whilst in the following pages, a plain narration of facts must have been my only purpose, had I consulted my own inclin- ations in describing what I have seen. Amongst the indulgent friends, however, whose kind encourage- ment suggested the undertaking, a very great variety of feelings o^ interest and curiosity, has led me to extend my views ; as I found I could not otherwise have embraced their different tastes, or satisfied their favourite enquiries. A presumption, of which I feel the weight, whenever I diverge from the direct course I had originally laid down for the arrangement of my notes, will, I trust, therefore, meet with some indulgence ; for if I have soared above my strength, it has only been in my anxiety to please. Bred in camps from my fifteenth year, I should not other- wise have ventured on the most distant approach to learned dis- quisition or historical relation : I hope, however, that where I have transgressed the bounds of my own diffidence, I shall not be found, on y| PREFACE. the whole, entirely incorrect. I have endeavoured to compensate the want of erudite knowledge, by the assiduousness of my researches. I performed the journey entirely alone, and under some disadvan- tage$, at a period when it was attended with additional hazards and di£5culties from the turbulence of the times ; but when these disad- vantages (as I must think) were amply compensated by the interest that belongs to one of those great struggles for authority, which it so seldom falls to the province of the traveller to witness and relate. In the preparation of my materials, I have been equally without assistance ; though I have availed myself of the best information I could obtain, whenever it has been conformable to my own observations ; but never otherwise. I advance few things, I believe, with confidence, that are not thus supported ; whilst, on the other hand, I trust I may avoid the mention of whatever I cannot personally vouch for, without incurring the imputation of absolute ignorance or neglect. In some parts of the following work, I may perhaps be thought to contradict myself, when I venture to report what was said to me in the Arabic, — a language, I must confess, I do not understand. It is re- quisite, therefore, I should premise, that I was generally accompanied by an Arab servant, who spoke Hindoostanee with considerable fluency ; and that, as I had previously amused myself at times by looking over my Persian vocabulary, I devoted the five months I spent in these provinces to the acquirement of the little Turkish I might require in cases of emergency. It was very little, most cer- tainly, that I could, afler all, boast of knowing of either of these languages : their afHnity to the Hindoostanee is not unknown ; but to the philologist it may be a matter of some interest to be informed, that it was in Koordistan I found my Hindoostanee of the greatest use ; one half or three-fourths of the proper names of things, in par- PREFACE. yii ticular, being very similar in both these dialects. That they are derived from the same root is beyond a doubt, and that the ear of the traveller is often assisted by the presence of the object that is named, may equally be allowed ; the fact, however, still remains the same ; and without any direct intercourse, or immediate connection of origin or history we are positively acquainted with, the Eoordish is to the full as similar to the Hindoostanee as the Persian has generally been esteemed. THE TRAVELLER. Bat me, not destined such delights to share, My prime of life in wandering spent and care ; Impell'd with steps unceasing to pursue Some fleeting good, that mocks me with the view : That, like the circle bounding earth and skies. Allures from far, yet, as I follow, flies; My fortunes lead to traverse realms alone. And find no spot of all the world my own. CONraNTS. CHAP. I. Introductory. — Observations on the present State of Malabar, and the Changes cflPected in the Condition of the Natives by the Establishment of British Authority. — Advantages and Evils attendant on the Change, &c. &c. Page i CHAP. II. Departure from Cannauore, Indian Pattamars. — Mangalore, Cadree Hills, Ancient Cells and remarkable Caves : inflexible Character of the Hindoo Anchorite ; Danger of Inter- ference. — Onore, Contai, Sedasseerghur, Goa, Geria, and Bombay ; present State of that Establishment, &c. &c. 9 CHAP. III. Departure from Bombay, Coast of Arabia Felix, Devil's Gap, Maskat, Excursion into the Interior, dangerous Situation of the Ship. — Voyage up the Gulf, Mutiny on board, Ormus, the Pirates, Madness of our Captain. — Arrival at Busheer, Observations made there; Karrack; Pearl Fishery; Arrival at Bussora: its present State, &c &c. 17 CHAP. IV. Departure from Bussora. — Voyage up the Shat ul Arab. — Koma. — The Garden of Eden. — Tlie Euphrates. — ITiree Weeks' Residence amongst the Bedooins. — Occur- rences in the Desert, and on the Road. — Wassut and Hye. — Meeting with the Arabian Army ; the Order of their March described. — Conduct of my Turk. — Arrival on the Site of Babylon. 52 CHAP. V. Babylon, Observations on its former State and present Nothingness. — Occurrences on the Road to Bagdad. — Seleucia. — Ctesiphon. — Canals. — Ruins. — Arrival at Bagdad. 92 C0NTKNT8. CHAP. VI. Arabia, Features of the Country; Dangers and Illusions of the Desert. — The Bedooins; their Character, Manners, Customs, Nobility, Treatment of Women, &c. &c. — Remarks on the Camel and the Arabian Horse; its Fitness for our Cavalry investigated. Page 116 CHAP. VII. Summary Review of the History of Bagdad, as a Pashalik of the Turkish Empire, from the Year 1638 (being the 1048 of the Hegira); when it was retaken from the Persians by Sultan Amurat : continued to the present Day. 138 CHAP. VIII. Prdiminary Observations. — Occurrences at Bagdad during our Stay. — Progress of the Siege.— Deposition and Death of Sayud Pasha. — Our Introduction to Daood EfFendi. — Description of the City, Government, Manners, characteristic Anecdotes, &c. &c. 160 CHAP. IX. Departure from Bagdad. — Journey into the Mountains of Koordistan. — Remarkable Pass into the Valley of Sullimaney. — Adventures on the Road. — Robbers. — Fight- Retreat of Heraclius through Koordistan. — Rivers. — Descent into the Plain. — IKoeesinjak. — Koordish Manners, Character, and Customs. — Arrival at Erbil. — Ceremony of opening and reading the Imperial Firman, and Proclamation of Daood Effendi. — Karakoosh ; and Arrival at MosuL 189 CHAP. X. Moaol; traces of ancient Nineveh, &c.&c. — Present State of this City and its Inhabitants. — Journey across the small Desert to Nisibin, and Occurrences on the Road. — Nisibin famous in the History of the Roman Wars. — Cassir Jehan ; Dara. — Arrival at Merdin. — Obfervations made there. — A short Account of the 2^zidees or Devil-worshippers. 217 CHAP. XI. Merdin to Constantinople, and Occurrences on the Road. 280 VOYAGE UP THE PERSIAN GULF. CHAPTER I. INTRODDCTORY. — OBSERVATIONS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF MALABAR, AND THK CHANGES EFFECTED IN THE CONDITION OF THE NATIVES BT tHE ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH AUTHORITY. — ADVANTAGES AND EVILS ATTENDANT ON THE CHANGE, &C. &C> A TRAVELLER is sometimes allowed to speak of himself; and as some of my readers will be apt to blame the choice of a journey over- land, and to prefer the snug cabin and complete accommodations of an Indiaman, to the desert and an Arab pad ; it may not be amiss to premise: That having entered the army at fifteen, and served a rough probation of thirteen years, I felt equal to an undertaking, which is commonly supposed to require a considerable degree of physical hardiness. The times, indeed, were extremely favourable ; and the last argument of princes having for once been attended with salutary effects, I commenced the journey under the auspices of a general peace, and nearly general tranquillity. Whenever the like coincidence of times and circumstances, of habits and inclinations, shall arise ; I trust the following representation of men and manners, of countries, and the peculiar incidents of a journey overland, will be allowed, at the worst, the humble merit of a strict adherence to truth, and fidelity of narration. B 2 MALABAR. My regiment was stationed at Cannanore at the time I obtained my furlough ; I shall therefore begin my journal with such cursory observations on the present state of Malabar, and the condition of its inhabitants under our government, as will not, I trust, entirely fail in conveying to others, the interest I personally feel. I write, indeed, only as I feel, noticing those objects especially that have peculiarly attracted my attention. Malabar, the usual appellation of the western coast of the penin- sula, though its parts are more particularly distinguished, is a country too well known and too often described, to render a hasty deline- ation acceptable to the well-informed. Its romantic beauties, its wealth, fertility, and general importance ; its lofty mountains, fruit- ful valleys, and populous towns ; might indeed deserve, and would abundantly assist, the highest descriptive powers of the pencil or the pen. Nature throughout, it would indeed appear, has been too much lost in the mightiness of the work, to spare a moment in soft- ening the stroke that marks sublimity. The mountain towers above the cloud, the abysm sinks into a fearful giddy depth. The loftiest wood crowns the boldest clift ; the chasm frowns, and the cataract, rushing impetuously, threatens destruction to the smiling vale that opens its bosom to receive its spell-bound, and now sportive streams. Watered by the mountain-rivulet, and diversified by every variety of landscape, the country below the Ghaut presents an aspect as smiling and delightful as the other is sublime ; a genial clime completes the perfection of the whole ; and if the rains are peculiarly severe, it must be allowed, the extremes of heat and cold are commonly more moderate than in equal or superior latitudes. Possessed of these advantages, and enriched by the variety and abundance of its productions, a considerable trade promotes the ge- neral industry ; and the revenues of Malabar, have accordingly been calculated to be more than adequate to the expenses of its civil and military establishments. Whilst, however, so many, and more accurate sources of information must be acknowledged to exist; it will, I trust, be allowed, the detail may be omitted, in favour of CHRISTIANS OF MALABAR. $ a cursory review of those changes, which have been the conse- quence of its original transfer, and present subjection to the British authority. The Malabar coast, once the scene of the proudest successes of Portugal ; is still inhabited by a motley race, the descendants of the motley progeny that claim an ambidextrous title to the honor of this once mighty name. Of these it may generally be observed, as of the native Christians of Malabar in general, that they are not quite so des- picable and profligate a race, as their brethren of the other coast have frequently been regarded. Indeed, a general aptitude to improvement appears throughout their character ; and if the persecutions they once endured be candidly considered, we may discern in that degree of I activity which they now display, the natural and unrepressed conse- I quences of a change of government and more assured security. It is not, however, from any established respectability of character* or from its numbers, that this doubtful race has acquired a prior claim to our attention ; the distinction is only due to the more per- ceptible effects of a change, that may eventually be attended with the most important consequences and improvements. The state of this, (and it is certainly a fast increasing] portion of the population, may evidently be deserving of the attention of the legislature ; it may approve itself eventually the fountain or the poison of our strength ; but as the enquiry is beyond my present purpose, I shall I content myself with marking the change. In India, where religion has been rendered subservient to the purposes of an artful policy ; where the book that inculcates par- ticular doctrines equally regulates the conduct of man in the most common offices of society ; where the Koran or the Vedahs, and the commentaries on both, contain the only rule of faith, the only law of inheritance, and of civil and criminal jurisprudence ; where religion, climate, and prejudice, combine for the stability of the work; it might naturally be supposed, that a change of masters, and the intro- duction of a foreign polity, could scarcely have been productive o£ those alterations which I think we may discern. We have seen* 4 NAIRS. where a neighbouring country was subdued; that the conqueror, gradually adopting, and imperceptibly assimilating himself to the manners and habits of his more polished subjects, became in time identified and lost, in the superior numbers of the subdued, and the controlling influence of a superior policy. The Chinese, however, it must be allowed, were always a more civilized nation than their Tartarian conquerors. With ourselves, from the beginning, it was certainly the reverse ; as I believe it will be acknowledged, that we entered India with those advantages, of lights more extended and improved, which secured us the ascendance in arts and manners, as well as in arms. Whilst in India, therefore, the natural tendency of a change of government, in respect to the manners and habits of the population, may have been assisted by the paramount influence of a superior nation and more cultivated race ; it is only in Malabar, perhaps, that the effect is fully visible, and beyond the cavils of scepticism itself. Throughout the British possessions in Malabar, the lordly Nam- boory no longer rules it (as has so often been described), the arbiter of fate. The injured patient supplicating Teear, no longer shrinks abashed from the stern gaze of his oppressor ; nor falls beneath his ruthless arm, for the venial transgression, of having encountered, or profaned by contact, this sacred personage. The haughty Mahomedan no longer reaps with the cimeter, to recruit his armies or to propa- gate his faith ; but, protected by an equal rule, a simple peaceful race enjoys the fruits of its labours in tranquillity, and is insensibly acquiring that share of wealth and consideration, which it so well deserves. Whilst the Nair, therefore, (who shrinks from an intimate connection with Europeans, as from pollution itself, ) is gradually retiring to the more peaceful labours of the fields, and progressively withdrawing himself from the vicinity of our settlements ; whilst the Mussleman is restrained in the exuberance of his pride, the inferior casts, it may be observed, generally improving in their condition, stimulated to exertion by security, and rising into comparative affluence, no longer brook those invidious and outward distinctions, which so long denoted their inferior consequence and abject state. INFERIOR CASTS. 5 The Nair has not lost much in being restrained in the violent and sanguinary assertion of his privileges ; and still less, though it may mortify his pride, in sharing with others those honorary dis- tinctions, he had once esteemed peculiar to himself Still exalted above the common race, and secured in his eminence by those rules that forbid intermarriages with an inferior cast, he enjoys a share of personal consideration, which, if he seeks it, may often lead to wealth and the highest offices. In the accumulation and display of this wealth, in common with the inferior casts, the Mahomedans, and the Moplars, he is no longer restrained by the prudential consideration of its insecurity ; and accordingly it may generally be observed, that as this security is felt, (giving life to industry and spirit to exertion,) a considerable degree of political liberty has been introduced (in respect to the superior classes) at the cost only of greater personal restraint. On the effects of this change, of this increase of civil freedom, at the expense of personal liberty, and as it affects public opinion or individual feeling, it is difficult to speak. The hour of adversity, perhaps, may solve the doubt ; but until it arrives, we may safely conclude, that whilst the man of wealth and the inferior orders rejoice in their security, the disaffected are chiefly those who, in the contrast, feel the distinctions of their birth abridged, without having arrived at that consideration which affluence so commonly bestows. To these, the road to wealth is still open and secure ; they may still pursue the path with very superior advantages : but, as they cannot so readily assimilate, they naturally feel degraded by that equal rule, which, (protecting all and overlooking particular distinctions,) they frequently arraign, as wanting in vigour and efficiency. That the perfection of our civil establishment, is far below the eminence which our military system has attained, is what I believe I may venture to assert, without deserving the imputation of partiality. Its defects, however, and the complaints which its imperfections may justify, should not in candour be attributed to any want of zeal or ability in those who are employed in this department. The civil servants of the Company, (I speak of the establishment in general,) with the advan- 5 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. tages of a superior and finished education, are frequently remarkable for their zeal, their application, and their industry. That exceptions may exist, where a lucrative situation and duty cannot arouse from a most shameful indolence, and stimulate to exertion, is a melancholy truth which I think we must allow. As this is not however the natural, though it may become the forced character, of this respect- able body, I believe we shall find the solution in the comparative imperfection and general insufficiency of the government they admi- nister, and the system they dispense. To what else can it be owing, I would demand, that whilst every thing which may depend on our mili- tary power is readily achieved, there should be so much wanting, so much undone, and so many improvements necessary to the interior perfection of our civil establishments? From whence do the difficulties of the collection so frequently arise ? Whence is it, that the cultivator so oft forsakes his fields, and refuses to cultivate ? Whence the daily necessity of calling in the aid, or requiring the presence of a military force, to insure the collection of the revenues, and the payments that are due by the zemindars ? Who, that has visited the civil stations, and beheld the crowds of naked wretches huddled together in their melancholy gaols, breathing a pestiferous atmosphere, could for a moment suppose, that the want of a police is still a general and a just subject of complaint ? He indeed, that had beheld these things, and numbered those thousands throughout India, who are doomed to chains and manacles ; might believe that delinquency itself had been rooted from the face of the earth, and removed (for the advantage of mankind] to these melancholy abodes. The picture is not exag- gerated, it is a faithful likeness ; and whilst such things are, if the fault is not in the agent, we may justly attribute these imperfections to the government itself. Peace, and security from foreign invasions, are indeed the great advantages the Company's possessions have obtained ; but these we owe to the vigour of our military policy, tq the efficiency o£ our military establishments, and to tJhe success ot our arms. MILITARY EFFICIENCY. 7 The greater perfection of our military system in India, arises from its simplicity, its unity, and greater vigour of action and execution. In all these requisites, our civil rule and civil polity, may be esteemed deficient. It must, however, be recollected, that our military system is original and self-derived, uncorrupted in the practice, by the introduction of any eastern theory ; unshackled in the execution, by the tolerance of any local prejudice of controlling influence. Our interior civil polity from the beginning, was grounded on a les3 assured foundation ; and as a total change in the military system is more easily effected, than any general alteration in the civil departments of the state, so in India, in particular, it became neces- sary to assimilate, and to conform the practice, to those received opinions, and to that general feeling, which custom, religion, and prejudice, had combined to perpetuate. Our civil regulations, accordingly, frequently betray the confusion, of an heterogeneous mass of crude materials ; equally wanting in simplicity and con- sistency of selection, in unity, vigour, and efficiency. In some districts, the amount of the collection is regulated by the produce of the earth, and varies accordingly ; in others, it is fixed. In some provinces it is paid immediately to the collector ; in others, through the zemindar. The practice of our civil courts is equally uncertain and incomplete, varying in its forms and slow in its effects ; the Koran, the Vedahs, and the commentaries on both, are equally esteemed as the rule of judgment ; and are again modified by special regulations, and the paramount superiority of our code in criminal affairs. The result may be surmised. Where simplicity and unity of action are essentially requisite, the police is equally wanting in vigour and effect ; whilst justice (naturally slow in the process) is frequently arraigned, as tardy in its operations, beyond the advantages of a competent redress. In speaking of those changes that have attended the perfect esta- blishment of a foreign government, and a change of masters, I have confined myself to Malabar and the western coast ; in attempting the ])arallel, however, that was necessary to the understanding of the g EFFECT OF CHANGE. feeling which these alterations have produced ; I have taken a partial view of British India in general, to avoid the invidiousness of those particular applications that might, though unintended, have been assumed. The picture, I trust, is neither forced, nor easily mis- understood ; as the enquiry (however pursued), may justly be esteemed of greater importance and interest, than a bare detail of facts, or a mere diary of events. CHAPTER II. DEPARTURE FROM CANNANORE, INDIAN PATTAMARS. — MANOALORE, CADREE HllJ..-., AN- cient cells and remarkable caves: inflexible character of the hindoo anchorite; danger of intekferen(i;. — ONORE, CONTAI, seedassekrghur, goa, geria, and bombay; pre.sknt s latl of that establishment, &c. &c. 1 HE violence of the monsoon in Malabar has commonly abated by the end of August or the middle of September ; and it was in Sep- tember that I took my passage on board a wretched pattamar, pro- ceeding to Mangalore. An Indian pattamar, is perhaps of all others, the most miserable, noisome bark that sails the seas. It is usually seasoned with quantities of rancid oil, covered with half- putrid salt fish, and affords no shelter beyond a few cajans, that are carelessly disposed to form a roof The future traveller may however, comfort himself with the certainty, that other opportunities are seldom wanting, if he has only the patience to wait for them. As this happened not to be my case, 1 suffered accordingly ; was drenched incessantly for fourteen hours, and after encountering a storm, that broke our yard and destroyed our rigging, arrived at Mangalore. Beyond what may have been said of it, by former travellers, Mangalore at present is chiefly to be noticed, as the principal em- porium of any direct trade that is carried on from the Persian Gulf to the dependencies of Madras. A great proportion of the Arabian and Persian horses from Bussora and Busheer, which are intended for that establishment, and the peninsula in general, are commonly landed at Mangalore ; a few of those rejected in the Bombay market are also imported ; whilst the Dekan in general, and its north- em provinces, are usually supplied through the medium of that presidency. A few bags of dates, copper from Diarbekir, pearls, and Turkois, are also brought ; and a direct intercourse subsisting with c 10 CADREE HILLS. Bombay and the northern ports, Mangalore may be esteemed a convenient point of departure, on account of the various facilities which it affords. The Cadree hills, and its caves, are the only objects deserving the notice of the traveller : the pagoda, which marks the holiness of the spot, is situated at the bottom of the hill, and provided with a number of tanks, for the performance of the necessary ablutions. On the ascent, and to the left of the road, a fountain issues from the rock, and pours forth a considerable stream of the purest water ; beyond this, and on the right, we passed a number of small caves or cells, which in their days had each their holy man, whose name they still retain. A narrow well on the summit of the hill was the next remarkable spot we visited ; remarkable, not in itself, but on account of the strange fancy a devotee once indulged, of suspending himself above its brink for near thirty years ; the only relaxation this miserable enthusiast allowed himself, was the occasional resting of his foot upon the rocks ; and certainly the print which it has worn sufficiently marks his perseverance and fanaticism, as it must have been the work of many years. The extreme summit is occu- pied by a number of small pagodas or cells, that are built of stones, and that are each eight or ten feet square ; it is below these, and half-way round the hill, that the principal cave has been excavated. It con- sists of two small apartments, besides recesses, that are joined by a short low passage, and entered by a narrow door. The Bramins informed us, that an inner and much larger cave had been closed up by the collector, some twenty years before, on account of the tigers and other wild animals it frequently concealed. An inspection of the rock convinced us to the contrary, and we retired as assured of this, as amused with the extravagance of their assertions regarding one of the passages ; which they informed us would lead to the famed Benares. The wily Bramin, in this, however, was perfectly correct ; the passage would lead to Benares, though it is a distance of many hundred miles : but any other semi-elliptical passage, with an entrance at either extremity, would do the same. HINDOO DEVOTEES. n Tlie Brarains are fond of allegory and obscure allusions that are ca- pable of various interpretations, exciting wonder without violating truth ; they are frequently unable to solve the metaphor, and adopt it in a literal sense ; but I believe a number of the wonders they relate, might be explained with equal facility. The spot I have described, is in my opinion chiefly deserving of attention, on account of the picture which we may form from it, of the manners and habits of the extraordinary community that must once have occupied those narrow cells, of which an ancient venerable Biragie is now the only tenant who pretends to superior sanctity. He came, as he informed us, from Be- nares, and had in his youth been a soldier of some celebrity ; he had viewed the pomp of war, and had reposed beneath the shadow of the spear ; he felt pleased in the relation, and age, that had unnerved his strength, had scarcely extinguished the lightning of his eye. His figure was commanding and dignified, and near a hundred summers had blanched his venerable locks. Holy was his calling, and sacred was the spot : fancy could scarce have dwelt in more romantic scenes. The penances, which our Hindoo devotees frequently impose upon themselves, to obtain superior sanctity, or to expiate some venial or imaginary sin, have been frequently described, but never (if I may judge from my own knowledge) exaggerated in the relation of the miseries they patiently endure when urged by the spirit of religious fanaticism. At our own presidency, it is generally known, that a Faqueer was formerly exhibited, whose clenched fist upheld above his head, had at last become so fixt in this attitude, that his arm could never again be brought to resume its natural position ; whilst his nails had actually grown through the palm of his hand, and encircled his uplifted arm down to the elbow. At the great pagoda of Jaggurnaut, I have also seen the Hindoo devotee stretched at his length on a plank thickly studded with iron spikes, the points of which formed the surface his body rested on. Another enthusiast I once met in my travels, was measuring his length from Benares to Jaggurnaut, a distance of 600 miles ; he had been three years on the journey, and had only advanced 100 miles within the year in this laborious exer- cise ; a friend of mine having met him on his road some months before. c 2 12 HINDOO DEVOTEES. They frequently expire in the endurance of these unnatural severities ; and I have heard of one, released much against his will when Colonel Harcourt took Cuttack, who had for twenty years been incarcerated in a small cell of masonry, only four feet high and two feet broad. Such is the spirit of a religion which our missionaries, with their pigmy strength, are endeavouring to overturn. Words, in fact, cannot ex- press the patience that is displayed in these voluntary expiations. We may turn away with disgust from those mistaken unnatural prin- ciples, which give occasion to the vow ; but it is impossible not to admire the firm resolution that is evinced in its fulfilment. When therefore these assuming and meddling intruders, many of whom are sprung from the lowest ranks of society, and are a disgrace to the calling which they profess, can display an equal degree of fortitude and faith in expiating their own transgressions, then, and not be- fore, may their labours in the vineyard be attended with success. Extended on his bed of iron, for years immovably fixed in the most uneasy position he can assume, the Hindoo devotee will until then maintain the superiority of the atonement he imposes upon himself; and, in utter derision, will boldly urge the test. Are they prepared for the trial ? With all their professions, will they abide the chanoe? or stand by the responsibility incurred, when religious frenzy shall burst asunder the bonds of opinion, and India shall be lost? The strong hold of our government in the East is religious tolerance; our conduct in this respect being frequently compared with that of the Mahomedans and the Portuguese ; and shall we lose the advantage of the comparison ? Shall we embrace the pillars of our strength to shake the edifice to the ground ; to destroy the work that is the glory of our times? Our religion certainly inculcates the obligation of endeavouring to convert to xcays of righteousucnH and peace; but the argument (if an argument were intended) might rest upon these grounds : That, in point of fact, the attempt at con- version in India is only productive of the most opposite results ; the outcast, embracing the mysteries of our faith, only that he may indulge with the greater freedom in those vices and corruptions, which are more especially forbidden by his own stricter rules. HINDOO DEVOTEES. 13 On the 3d of October, having fortunately joined company with an old acquaintance, we engaged for our passage on board a large pat- tamar, proceeding on a coasting voyage to 15on)bay ; taking the precaution of specifying the time when she '.vas to sail, the ports she was allowed to visit, and the length of her stay at each ; a precaution indispensable on all occasions of the kind, to avoid unnecessary delays. On the evening of the 4th, we left ]\hingalore, in virtue of our caution, as it was very certainly against the owner's will, who only wished to profit at our expense. On the 7th we encountered a brisk gale during the night, and were drenched to the skin of course. Having passed Onore, a station tor one company, on the 8th, we landed at Contai, a considerable town, formerly the residence of a judge ; here we met the conservator of the forrests. Major Gilbert, of the IJombay establishment, who entertained us with that liberal hospitality which, (though natural to this gentleman,) I am proud to say, is the virtue of our climes. He was on his tour to select timber ibr the C'ompany. who pay several agents for this purpose along this coast, where the very iinest teak in India is to he procured. Living almost constantly in the jungle, to superintend every thing himself, and scarcely c^ c r cheered with the company of his countrymen, this gentleman is one of the many who have sacrificed their health, with every other comlbrt, to the discharge of an important trust. I am sorry to say, however, when speaking of such liberal masters as ours have commonly proved themselves, that his services have not met with an adequate reward. His emoluments altogether are not above a tburth of the stipend allowed to civilians holding the like appoint- ments ; though most certainly, as the duties are the same, and his exertions perhaps the most active and well-directed of the whole, he may be esteemed, beyond a doubt, the most profitable servant the Company can boast in that immediate line. On the 11th we passed Seedasseerghur, a small fort, garrisoned by a company : this is our frontier station • on this coast ; the intermediate • It was the frontier station of the Madras establishment, when the author left India; within a few months after his departure, the greater part of Cocan has been subdued. 14 GO A. — BOMBAY. space between this and Bombay belonging in general to other powers. On the 12th we made Goa, once the capital of a mighty empire. It had risen, by valour and enterprise, in the brightest era of the dominion and fame of Portugal ; it fell, through the corruption of sloth and luxury, during the reign of superstition. It now contains more priests than soldiers, more churches than battlements ; no merchants, no trade, no manufactures ; though pride and bigotry enough to serve half the world besides. And we ought to keep it in our remembrance, that as we have risen by the like virtues, so we may fall, whenever we shall become equally base and degenerate. May it exist for ever in its present state, as a beacon to warn us from the rock ; as the light to merit in the path of honour; and as the check to the assumptions of power, in the arbitrary distribution of unmerited favors, or in withholding just rewards ! The glory of Portugal was levelled with the dust as soon as the simple virtues of a military life were neglected ; and when the corrupt influence of wealth and pa- tronage became too great ; and so may ours be, even though super- stition and bigotry should refuse their aid, or be repelled by the spirit of a religion that is only established on the conviction of the mind. Malwase, Gerriaghur, and Baucote, were the only other re- markable stations that we made in our course ; on the 16th we reached Bombay. Bombay, is one of those settlements, of which the situation, limits, antiquities, and climate, are so well known, that a description of it here would be entirely misplaced. There is another view of the subject, however, that may not be entirely without the charms of interest and novelty. It is the review of its former state only a few years since, with the comparison of the actual importance it lias now attained. So lately back as 1764, it is described by a learned fo- reigner, as a place that had risen very considerably within the twenty preceding years ; its population having increased within that time, firom about 70 to 140 thousand souls : it now contains full double this last amount ; Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, holding the pro- portions of 3, 4, and 6, towards each other in this respect. At STRENGTH OF BRITISH INDIA. 15 that period, according to the same anthority, the Company main- tained 17 companies of foot, 3 companies of artillery, and 3,000 sepoys on the island itself, for the service of Bombay, and its de- pendencies along the coast ; the whole of this force being then com- manded by an officer who held no higher rank than that of major ; and was only allowed the third voice in council, on those subjects that were connected with military affairs. At the present day, under the command of a general officer, and with several major-generals and brigadiers under him, the Bombay army includes 18 regular battalions, with the requisite proportion of Europeans, artillery, cavalry, and pioneers ; and without the late additions, or the enumer- ation of those regiments that belong more particularly to the King, though equally maintained by the Company. In 1764, there were 10 small cruizers belonging to the establishment, for the service of the coast ; we have now 18 of a superior size, notwithstanding some late reductions ; and might increase this number almost to any extent, either from our trade, which could abundantly supply the means of any sudden outfit, or from our docks, that have lately produced vessels of a most perfect and durable construction, capable of mounting 70 or 80 guns. Such has been the rapid advance of this single establishment, the smallest and least important by far of the three we hold ; the other two are not yet on the decline : a truth, which a population of fifty millions of obedient and industrious sub- jects, a well-disciplined and gallant army of 200,000 men, and a fleet mounting 3795 guns in the immediate service of the Company, will readily confirm. Such are the improvements that have taken place within the last fifty years ; such is the present aspect of our strength, when com- pared with its former state : the picture may bear the outward stamp of the vain boastfulness of pride ; but our Indian possessions have indeed attained that eminence, wherein they may trust their peace and security to that open display of our might, which shall repress the aspiring hopes of our enemies, and warn them off from the attack. The invasion of India has often soothed the waking dreanM of mad Ig SAFETY FROM INVASION. ambition ; but whenever the attempt is made, if we are only true to ourselves, as we may believe that success itself will be dearly pur- chased, we shall recollect, that it is not enough to be outwardly secure in the armour of our strength, but that it is necessary we should also guard with equal vigilance, against the inward bruise that brings decay. As yet we do not take the held, borne aloft on palankeens, or with bands of players and balliaders in our train, (as I found was gene- rally believed on our continent) : it may be asserted, however, that there is already too much influence allowed to those departments of the state, which the tenure of our possession had naturally placed in the inferior rank. The gown may rule the sword, and in its pride may even spurn at military deservings, where the civil ranks com- pose the fountain source of the general security : but where it is the reverse, as the assumption is unnatural, so it may stimulate to dangerous discontents ; or, at the best, may so entirely repress that ho- norable feeling of professional pre-eminence, which frequently remains in the midst of corruption and luxury ; that the very semblance of the military spirit shall be lost in the fallen and degenerate time-serv- ing slave. 1'lie Portuguese often fought with the most determined bravery, even when they led the army in their palankeens; but they had still their pride and their honor left, their rank and their dignity to support. The effeminate Pretorians could yet forsake the purple couch and the soft enjoyments of the bath, to encounter the hardy veterans of the Danube and the Rhine ; but they were still the Preto- rian bands, the Jovians and the Herculi of the day. My stay at Bombay was too short and busy to make very nu- merous acquaintances ; I had an opportunity, however, of observing, that if more retired habits generally prevail, than is usual at the other presidencies, it is not entirely without its share of attentive kindness and civility. Less profusion is displayed in their enter-r tainments than is common in Bengal ; the welcome, however, is not the less sincere ; and a bare introduction is frequently enough to secure those generous offices of friendship, which, in our colder climes, require the warmth of many a summer day, to be ripened into fruit. 17 CHAPTER III. DEPARTURE FROM BOMBAY, COAST OF ARABIA FELIX, OEVIL'S GAP, MASKAT. — EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR. DANGEROUS SITUATION OF SHIP. VOYAGE UP THE GULF, MUTINY ON BOARD, ORMUS, THE PIRATES, MADNESS OF OUR CAPTAIN. — ARRIVAL AT BUSHEER, OBSERVATIONS MADE THERE; KARRACK ; PEARL FISHERY; ARRIVAL AT BUSSORA : ITS PRESENT STATE, &C. &C. On Saturday, the 26th of October, 1816, I left Bombay, and bade adieu to those scenes which I often look back upon with a mingled feeling of pleasure and regret. It was a foreign land that I forsook, to return to my country and my relatives ; the anticipation was delights ful ; and yet, had early habit, and the recollection of many a dear and va- lued friend, their influence over the sentiments of a heart divided betwixt the sadness of remembrance and the cheerfulness of hope. The manner of my departure was somewhat sudden and unex- pected. The arrangements for a journey overland, I had been taught to believe completed, when I had disencumbered myself of every article but a few changes for the passage to Bussora, and had carefully inspected the condition of my arms. With arms to defend myself and without the inducement of a cumbrous equipage to excite at- tention or provoke cupidity, I thought myself secure ; and had been readily prepared. There were, however, certain arrangements, which, depending on others more immediately than on myself, were not so easily accomplished. Great was my wonder, therefore, and per- plexity, when about 10 on the morning of this day, I received information that our ship had sailed ; and coming out of my tent, actually beheld the Fuzil Kureem, under a press of canvass, and far beyond the bank. The situation in which I found myself may serve as a lesson to future travellers ; who, profiting by my experience, will even more carefully inform themselves regarding their com- mander, than concerning the worthiness of their bark. The oc- currence, otherwise, was scarcely worth the relation ; and yet it D 18 BUNDER BOATS. will be seen, that I should have had occasion more than once to repent the choice, had I not felt myself prepared for every chance that might present itself. My notice of embarkation having been for the ensuing Monday, so premature a flight was totally unex- pected, and equally unaccountable ; it was not, however, a moment for surmises and inquiries ; so I set my shoulder to the wheel, in- voking the assistance of the propitious deity, that helps those who exert themselves. To the kindness of a friend (whose attentions shall ever claim a grateful remembrance) I was indebted for the ease and celerity of my progress through the public offices. Within the hour, my certificates had been granted ; my accounts had been passed ; public introductions from government had been furnished me ; and with every wish for my health and safety from this esteemed and valued friend, I found myself at sea, in the Bunder boat. The Bunder boats, with their Lascars, belong to a regular establish- ment, under the charge of the master-attendant. Captain Keys; wliose obliging conduct on occasions of the kind has often been ex- perienced by others besides myself. The quickness of their sailing, the safety and strength of their construction, with the boldness and dexterity of the men employed in them, render them equal, if not superior on the whole, to every other variety of open boats that I have seen. On the present occasion, indeed, I enjoyed an opportu- nity of witnessing their performance to a considerable extent ; as we had a chace of four hours, and were nearly out of sight of land, before we reached the ship. My worthy commander, as I subse- quently found out, had formed a very erroneous opinion as to our condition and intents ; and having, poor man, entirely forgotten his passenger, and his engagements, had mistaken our boat for a dis- patch he was not anxious to receive. No wonder, therefore, that with the fear of the law before him, he had leant but a deaf at- tention to the signals which we made. On my coming on board, however, he introduced me to his mate, stammered out an awkward apology for his forgetfulness, and relieved, as he felt, from a load of care and apprehension, insisted on closing the labours of the day with a social glass in the cabin he occupied. TURKISH LINGUIST. 19 On the morning of the 27th, I had an opportunity of observing the accommodations and discipline of the ship, with the variety and different manners, of the motley crew which it conveyed. Described as an Arab ship, my readers of Bombay, or in the Persian Gulf, will have no difficulty in understanding the nature of her equipments ; for the information of others, however, who might dislike the trust- ing themselves to such an outset, I may add, that in our trade with the Persian Gulf, an Arab ship (as it is styled) is usually built and navigated on English principles ; being commanded by a European, with a mate or two under him ; which entitles the vessel to the protection of our flag. On the whole, therefore, the owners being Arab merchants, an Arab ship may be ranked amongst the inferior classes of our country trade ; and certainly affords, in respect to ac-~" commodations, a greater variety of comforts than its name might be supposed to indicate. / The Fuzil Kureem, be it then known, was an Arab ship of / 350 tons, with a crew of 50 Lascars, and 90 passengers on board ; / of these, 30 were Persians, stout, able, and turbulent ; the rest were I Arabs, Turks, Jews, and Gentiles, of every quality and degree, of ' \ every trade, and occupation that can be named. Merchants, and pil- grims to the holy tomb at Kurbullah ; horse-dealers, soldiers, gentle- men, and slaves ; they had reached Bombay from every part ; and, like the false doctrines which they professed, they were abroad again to taint the world with their follies and their vanities, their false , dogmas, and their presumptuous hopes. I shall not tire my reader by a particular narration of our daily progress ; " the proper study of mankind is man ;" and for this study, (the daily taking of an observation excepted,) I had certainly abundant leisure, and a most varied scope. The Nakadar, or super- cargo, (Sayed Kuder,) with another Turk or two, I soon found were men of considerable intelligence ; and had travelled with sufficient profit to communicate a variety of useful information. The fluency, indeed, with which one of the latter expressed himself in the Lingua Franca, and, as I understood, in French, certainly induced sus- picions it was natural to surmise from his conduct in general, and D 2 20 DEVIL'S GAP. appearance in particular. He was not the only one, I must confess, on whom, in the course of my travels, the suspicion of being an European in disguise might fix itself; but he left us too soon, as I shall have occasion to relate hereafter, to afford us the opportunity of pursuing the enquiry. He may be wronged, therefore, in this belief of his character and pursuits. There are others of this description, however, beyond a doubt, who, under the protection of a beard and a turban, land on our shores with perfect freedom, and traverse our dominions with entire security as peaceful travellers. Observations of longitude, I believe, were entirely beyond the skill of any one on board ; our commander at least informed me, they were totally un- necessary, as the coast of Arabia in due time would bring us up and indicate our course. During twelve days of patient endurance and confinement, we had nothing to relieve the dull insipidity of our course ; besides a dow and two small boats, which our people dig- nified, though with what justice I know not, with the appellation of pirates. The coast of Arabia, however, (to use our commander's own expression,) was at last to bring us up ; and on this day, the 7th, the prognostic was accomplished beyond a doubt ; the Devil's Gap, as this part of the coast is designated by mariners, being at sun-rise directly in front of our course. The Devil's Gap most certainly was not the most convenient land we could have made ; as it was sixty miles at least to leeward of Muskat, our destined port. Whether it derives its name (with our mariners) from the adverse winds and squalls it generally pours forth, or whether (as our Nakadar and our Turks asserted) these adverse winds themselves, and the dead calms which usually succeed, proceed from the wickedness and })rofligacy of the people of its shores, I shall not attempt to decide. Certain it is, however, that as abilities, information, and industry, more com- monly command success, than indolence and sloth ; so those who, like ourselves, may find their barks detained within the magic in- fluence of its surrounding shores, may chiefly blame themselves, and themselves only, (it being out of the usual course,) for the hindcrance it may oppose to their anxiety. During the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th, we found ourselves at sun-rise most commonly within the Gap ; LOSS OF TWO MEN. ^1 its bleak, barren prospect, had little in it to cheer our spirits ; and, like the worthy and celebrated Sinabad, I had begun to apprehend myself within certain magic bounds, which it required a spell of potent influence to destroy ; when, on the morning of the 12th, a breeze sprung up, and we resumed our course. Our greater luck in this instance was certainly owing to the length of the tack that we had made ; there were, however, a variety of opi- nions on this score, which, as a faithful narrator, I esteem it my duty to acknowledge and relate. True it is, as I have already hinted, that the length of our first tack from the shore had carried us beyond the shelter of the bay j but a Turk does not always reason as we do ; and there were others, and amongst these my friend the Nakadar, who had attri- buted our ill luck and detention, to the vices and crimes of some unknown individual amongst our passengers or crew. The finger of the Prophet was on the evil one, and whilst he remained amongst us, uncleansed of his sins, no good, it soomed, could be expected. A general ablution, therefore, had been proposed at an early hour on the morning of the 12th. The sea was at hand to cleanse a greater load of filth than we could boast amongst us, though we were by no means deficient ; and the experiment succeeded to admiration : an Arab and a Jew disappearing from our stern, almost at the moment that the breeze sprung up. The occurrence spoke for itself! " Ish aut Allah," said a grave Turk, stroking his beard ; " we have a fair wind ; they must have been bad men." It was the only observation the accident called forth from the worthy ancient ; and within the day it was forgotten, even by those who had exerted themselves most strenuously in behalf of the unfortunate pair. Such is man ! On the 12th, at noon, we made Maskat, and when coming in, saw twenty-fiv e_grabs, or small craft, sailing out for Bombay unden^ convoy of the Caroline, an Arab frigate of forty guns. Two otheo / large English-built vessels were in the cove ; whilst thirty or forty small craft were loading or unloading their cargoes of dates, salt, rice, and other goods of various kinds. Our vessel having mercantile, concerns of some importance to transact, a stay of some days was ref N^ 22 MASKAT. solved upon ; and notwithstanding the remonstances of his mates, our captain dropped anchor within musket-shot at most of the upper or northern battery : a choice of situation we had afterwards but too much reason to repent, as I shall have occasion to relate. Maskat, on the eastern coast of Arabia Felix, is situated in lat. 23* 38' N. and Ion. 57° 27' E. ; in the small but fertile province of Oman. Though spoken of by Arrian and known to the Greeks, it was not a place of any great importance, until the taking of Ormus in 1622 by the Persians ; when a number of its inhabitants took refuge there. Since that period, however, its position at the bottom of a cove remarkable for its safety, convenience, and good anchorage, has commanded and secured an _jextensive trade; for such we may well esteem that (in reference to its size) which employs jso many vessels as we found on our entrance in the cove. With the land of science and romance be- fore me, with so many objects to excite wonder and interest, as the traveller may discriminate, in the novelty of the prospect, or the re- collection which may improve his mind, and direct his enquiries, it may be readily believed I lost no time in visiting the shore. A small ^anoe was plying off our ship, the sight of a roobeea commanded its attendance, and within a few minutes, the African slaves that rowed it for their master had landed me on the beach. The custom-house, the palace, and its vicinity, the bazars and prin- cipal streets, were crowded with Arabs of every description and tribe ; with Jews, Hindoos, Belooches, Turks, and Africans. I was now amongst a race, of whom it has been written, " that every man's hand shall be against them, and their hand against every man ;" and every man's hand was armed : The Arabs, each after the manner of his tribe, or his own convenience, with a curved asgailee, a matchlock, or a pike ; the Beloochee soldiers, naked to the waist, with a crooked tofRmg, a knife, and a straight two-handed sword j the wild Bedooin might be distinguished from amongst the first, by a striped kerchief surrounded with lashes of whip-chord, and flying loosely round his head ; by a coarse shirt, a square striped cumlin over his shoulders, and a chubook j wild, and uncontrolled j with a quick burning eye. BEDOOINS AND BELOOCHEES. 23 an animated and restless countenance : he appeared the lord of the creation, and was even in his physiognomy the lawless robber of a desert land. The others beseemed, in truth, the condition which they filled ; bare-headed, and with their black luxuriant hair floating to the wind, perhaps to increase the terror of their appearance ; the deadly keenness of their look, seemed to indicate the savage servile instruments of that despot's will whose authority they served. It was amongst these, and every other variety that I have named, that I rambled ; a stranger and a wanderer ; every man's hand was armed ; and with steel that had been often used in every species of violence and strife. I met not, however, with the slightest rude- ness or insult, until I encountered some African slaves at work be- hind the town. These were perhaps impelled, by my outwardly unprotected state, and began observations, sufficiently pointed and insulting, to induce me to repel the application, and check their pre- sumption, by a display (as if by accident) of the pistols in my belt The sight was enough to repress their insolence. Unprotected strangers are often plundered by these miserable wretches on the outskirts of the city ; perceiving, however, that I was armed, and known to some who passed, they resumed their work ; whilst I re- turned to procure a guide and an interpreter, from the Company's agent in the town. With the guide furnished me by Golam Annundas, and another attendant, I resumed my rambles about 12 o'clock ; revisited the vaulted bazars already spoken of, two small villages in the vicinity, and a mosque, to which access was readily allowed. This is contrary to the usual practice of other Mahomedans. The people of Maskat, however, belong to the sect of Abadi, or Bojasi ; (sometimes called Kharejites *, by the Soonites and Sheeas, by way o( reproach ;) and are extremely tolerant. They are also equally plain in their manners, make little distinction in their conduct and deportment towards those of another religion ; and give no preference whatever to the • By Sale, in his Preliminary Discourse, &c. page 1 73. 24 SLAVE BEZAR. descendants of Mahomed and Aly, above other men of an equally ancient and respectable family. On my return in the evening, I passed through the slave-bazar, where three times a week slaves are exposed for sale, and disposed of by auction, or private contract. The sale had just commenced, as I stopped to view a scene that had at least the interest of novelty. Twenty or thirty young Africans, brought across the desert, and chiefly from the coast of Zanguebar, were ranged in rows on either side of the bazar, and according to their sex. They were, in ge- neral, handsomely trimmed (dressed is an improper term) for the occasion ; and appeared in truth perfectly resigned ; being cer- tainly in as clean and sleek a condition, (with a cloth girdle round their middle, for their only covering) as their owners or purchasers could have wished. The latter, indeed, in walking between the ranks, seemed extremely particular in handling and feeling the bodies and skins of their intended purchases ; extending their inspections to such minute particulars as quite astonished me ; who was by no means a connoisseur, in any animal more rational than a camel or a horse. A tall lusty Arab, who might evidently have claimed re- lationship with those whom he exposed, was parading a boy of ten or twelve, and crying out his price ; vociferating, with an impudence truly professional, his age and stature, his qualities and cast. " Forty dollars," said he to me, in Hindostanee, on observing my approach, " and he is yours ; yours to feed or starve, to work, or bring up as your child. Look up, you rogue," (addressing himself to the boy in Arabic,) " Look up, and see, will you be sold to the Faringee ? he is a rich man, and the lord of wealth." The child looked up, laughed, and still holding by his master's hand, was presented in the same manner to the various chapmen that appeared. He was bought, 1 believe, by an old Arab, whom I had observed critically nice in his selection of the young females that were exposed. The age of the reverend senior ought in candour to acquit him of all improper views in certain parts of his examination. After opening their eyes, however, a close inspection of their teeth might have CONDITION OF SLAVES. 25 induced me to believe his skill beyond that of our most learned Yorkshireman ; had it not been pointed out to me, that the teeth of many of these unfortunate creatures had been filed to a perfect point ; an improvement very great in their own opinion, but totally incon- sistent with an Arab's notions of female loveliness ; since, uniting this appearance with certain conceits they have formed from the fabulous tales of their country, they do not hesitate to pronounce those who are thus adorned to be perfect cannibals ; and avoid them accordingly. The mention of this subject, might naturally introduce and call forth observations on the present state of personal slavery, and its effects, in the Mahomedan countries that I have visited. Having sub- sequently, however, enjoyed more numerous and favourable oppor- tunities of judging of the condition of household slaves, and of the conduct of their masters in various climes, I shall not avail myself of the privilege of an author, or anticipate a subject that must belong to the more" extended views of improved observation and experience. At Maskat, it is certain, slaves are treated with a degree of humanity that would do honour to our clinics : the hardest work in which they are employed, is in the plying of the small canoes already noticed ; a task of no great labour, from those intervals of rest which it affords. They live at their master's, board and sleep under his roof, eating of his dish, and drinking o^ his cup ; and are never again exposed to public sale, unless they misbehave ; a good and faithful slave being so much valued, that when distress obliges his master to part with him, he disposes of him to some private friend, who esteems him the more for his approved fidelity. 13th. The length of our stay being uncertain, I determined to make the most of my time ; and after visiting the Imam the follow- ing day, to venture into the interior with such an escort as I could obtain, to visit some gardens and hot medicinal springs that were much spoken of Preliminaries were soon arranged, our Banian in- forming me, that such a dress, guide, and horse, as he could pro- vide me for a few piastres, would be the very best protection I could 26 VISIT TO IMAM. desire ; unless, indeed, I could command a host ; and trust to strength instead of prudence for my security. On the morning of the 14th, therefore, I went on shore, dressed in my uniform ; which I soon found entitled me to greater resj)cct and attention, than is commonly paid to that class of ship captains who usually visit these desert shores. I found no difficulty in obtaining access to the Imam, the attendants making way for me, and showing me through the outer court, to the open verrandah, where ho sat employed, surrounded by his secretaries, his nioonshees, and his slaves. Sayed Sayed (the name he bears) is a middle-aged man, of a personable appearance, and plain unaffected manners ; he had evidently been informed that I was a Ih'itish officer, and knew the purpose of my journey ; as, after paying me the compliment of rising from his seat on my entrance, and making those enquiries that are indispensable to good-breeding, he at once observed I was not the only officer belonging to the Company, whom he had seen at the outset or close of their journey home. In the conversation that followed, and wherein he mentioned the names of several officers whom he had seen ; and enquired after, with more good-humoured earnestness than ceremonious form ; he made me tliose offers of service, and paid me those national compli- ments, which he thought might gratify my pride, display the extent of his own knowledge regarding the nature ot' our power and naval superiority ; and finally impress me with enlarged ideas of his own importance in the scale : the man appearing for once, and only once, from under the urbanity and politeness of his general de- meanour. After adverting to the seizure of an ^Vrab slave ship by our government, as a matter that was of no importance, and might be easily arranged (evidently with a view of drawing forth my opinion as to the means) ; on observing that I was anxious to depart, for the prosecution of my intended tour ; he paid me the usual com- pliment of ordering Golab, renewed his offers of services, and wished me health and the Divine protection in my journey home : request- ing I would inform the Company I had seen him, and present his respects to our Shah Zada, George. EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR. 27 When I went to the Banian's, I found him conversing with two or three Arabs, one of wliom he presented to me, as my intended guide ; and having engaged him to furnish me with three horses for three days, for 20 piastres, I was desired by the Banian to rely entirely on liis fidelity ; and so began the business of the toilet, whilst he was dispatched for our steeds. On his return, we mounted, and commenced, as it proved, one of the most fruitless and harassing expeditions an unfortunate errant ever undertook. The country, in- land, bears the like barren, bleak, inhospitable appearance, with its rocky shores. Neither grass, shrubs, nor trees, are to be seen in the neighbourhood of Maskat ; with the exception of a few date-trees (near the fresh-water wells) to the south and westward of the town. As we rode on, however, and cleared the hills that surround the valley of Maskat, the rocks we trod upon were gradually exchanged for a firm red soil, that was equally barren and desolate ; my guide, and another Arab that accompanied him, appearing the while greatly sur- prised, that I could not imderstand a word of all they said. At about the tenth mile we found ourselves on very elevated ground, though we had no longer any of those abrupt and stony declivities to surmount, which had hitherto impeded the progress of our hacks. We had passed a few miserable tents and wretched huts, at a distance on either flank of our course ; we now came to a small village, where some women were at work, uncovered, and in the open air, who fled immediately on our approach, calling out, " Thieves ! thieves !" with all their might. We certainly presented no very in- viting appearance, my companions being two of the most ragged kerns that ever cried out " Stand" to a true man. I must confess, nevertheless, I thought this distrust no very favourable proof of the hospitality of the tribe ; as, however unexpected our intrusion might be, our demeanour certainly was peaceable enough ; and our num- bers too insignificant to occasion any just alarm. The ladies chose to be frightened, and the sex has claims to timidity, even in these desert wilds : we were constrained, therefore, to put up with the afiront, and to wait patiently until their cries had brought out some £ 2 28 EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR. of the men j when, after a short parley, we were allowed to dis- mount and rest a while. We had now been four hours on the road, having rode extremely slow ; and, as the day was far advanced, I had naturally supposed this would be our resting-place, and that some food would be offered us to recruit our strength : in this hope, however, I was most woefully disappointed ; not so much as a draught of water being produced to quench our thirst. My companions, in- deed, seemed to have no conception of any necessities of the kind ; and as they appeared to treat me as one that was deaf and dumb, expressing themselves entirely by signs, (perhaps to deceive our hosts, or for want of words,) I was constrained to humour the deception, for fear of the consequences that might have attended the detection. After we had halted about an hour, standing or sitting on the ground in the open air, an old man got up to accompany us on foot. The evening was now drawing on apace j but as my vocabulary extended only to single words, I could not even enquire into the probable duration of this most unpleasant adventure. I felt assured I might rely on the fidelity of my guide ; I must acknowledge, however, that as night came on, I began heartily to repent an undertaking attended with so many discomforts ; and that had not even the charms of in- terest or pleasing novelty, to sweeten the bitter draught of the disappointment I experienced in the solitude of these scenes. We rode on (I should think) about six hours more, my watch having been left behind for fear of accidents ; when, utterly disgusted with the fatigue 1 had undergone in this fruitless search of amusement, almost sick for want of food, and parched with thirst, we reached at last a more considerable village ; where my guide informed me by signs, it was intended we should spend the remainder of the night. As I had lost my dinner, so I went supperless to bed on the hard ground, in front of a large square building, belonging, as I understood, to the Imam of Maskat. When we rose in the morning, I induced my guide, with some dif- ficulty, by repeating the word constantly, and pointing to my mouth, to procure me a little water, with a few dates j a woman adding a small EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR. 29 piece of the blackest rye-cake I had ever seen to complete the meal, and refusing a piastre I offered her in return. I could now perceive we were in something like a considerable village ; the building we were near having a basin of water in the front, supplied by springs, with a few date and pomegranate trees around, to entitle it to the ap- pellation of a garden-house. As my curiosity, therefore, regarding this boasted retreat was perfectly satisfied ; when our frugal meal was over, and the horses were brought, I at once declined the signal of my guide to proceed farther west ; and to explain my meaning beyond a doubt, began to retrace our former course. We did not return exactly the way we came, taking, I believe, a shorter cut, and were only eight hours on the road ; but as it was extremely hot and sultry, and as I had had so little food or rest to recruit my strength, I was sufficiently fatigued and almost worn out, when we returned from this fruitless and adventurous jaunt the evening after we had set off. On the 16th, at 8 A.M., thfiLKusrpvy, an Arab ship, of 300 tons, and commanded by a Mr. W., cast anchor within the cove ; he was soon on board of us to receive his letters from Bombay, and to com- municate the news which he had brought from Bussora. The cutter he returned in afforded a convenient opportunity of a last visit to the shore during the swell, and I gladly availed myself of the offer, though scarcely recovered from the fatigues and disappointment of my last excursion. It was destined, I soon found, to be another day of disappointment and distress ; as I had scarcely begun my rambles before the swell and gale had increased into a perfect storm. Enter- taining but a very indifferent opinion of our captain's skill, I was anxious to return on board, lest I should again be left behind in the event of his going out to sea. The offer of a dollar procured me a canoe, which, after a while, however, was unable to proceed; the slaves declaring it was impossible that it should live in such a swell. The greater the danger, the more anxious I felt of course to get on board ; so, betwixt promises and threats, I forced them to venture a second attempt ; which must certainly have proved fatal to the whole of us, had we not been providentially rescued from our overloaded so DANGEROUS SITUATION OF SHIR and sinking canoe, by the people of the ship that had so fortunately arrived. In the launch so kindly sent to my assistance, I reached our vessel with considerable difficulty ; and found her in a state that might have induced my continuance on land, had 1 been previously aware of the fatal effects of our commander's obstinacy in anchoring so near the shore. The unfortunate man stood in tears, and quite besides himself, deploring his unhappy fate and his approaching loss ; whilst, in the midst of a tremendous sea, the vessel was drifting on towards a bluff-leeward rock, that almost overhung our stern. It required no very superior skill to perceive our situ- ation was somewhat dangerous ; turning to liis mate, however, v/ho stood smoking with the perfect nonchalance of a real seaman, I was informed we were not without our hopes : our anchor had dragged, and fastened two or three times in drifting, so might ultimately Jiold. The contrast between the conduct of the two might have ])roved entertaining at a moment of inferior interest : " Nothing can be done," continued the veteran, "• as li is impossible to get an anchor out ; it is not the first time by three, however, that I have been wrecked." In answer to my enquiries, for a cool calculating contempt of danger inspires confidence, as fear communicates ; he was pro- ceeding on the detail of his present intentions, and the manner of his former scapes, quoting latitudes, bearings, and logs, betwixt every v/hiff, when, after a pause, he exclaimed, " She holds ! so now for it ;" and seizing the lead and line, ran aft, with a spirit of alacrity that can only be equalled by the coolness he had evinced during the preceding momentous and alarming crisis we had escaped. I have related the anecdote at length, as extremely honourable to the character of a gallant tar. Our British sailors stand not in need of panegyric ; and yet, as no impending danger can well be more ter- rible in its appearance than that we had escaped ; so should the bold brave spirit that stands alone and undismayed amidst the shock of elements, be at least cheered with the hope, that amongst those few examples of a daring courage and humble worth which the pen res- POPULATION OF MASKAT. 31 cues from oblivion, his own firm endurance and brighter deeds may perhaps live in memory beyond the silence of the tomb. An im- pending fate, suspended over us, as it were, by the single thread of a good or evil destiny ; is frequently more awful, than the struggle and actual contact with death itself. We had been relieved from our more immediate apprehensions, but we passed a night of doubt and anxiety ; our only hope, riding by a single anchor, and the bluff rocks so close to our stern, that we seemed to vibrate, as we rose or fell, betwixt the stupendous cliff that overhung our vessel from above, and the sunken reef that threatened destruction from beneath. At length, however, the morning dawned, the sun shone forth in all its splen- dour, and all was peace; the sea excepted, which seemed even then to rise in rebellion to the milder spirit of the surrounding scene. In the course of this day the greater part of our passengers returned on board ; the Mamluk linguist already mentioned was, however, amongst the exceptions, on account (as it was said) of news he had received from Bussora, which induced Jiim to remain behind until the approaching departure of the next caravan that went across for (Mocha or Cossir. Before we leave Maskat it may not be improper to observe, it is only as the principal emporium of a considerable trade that we should esti- mate its worth ; its own particular exports being confined to dates of an inferior kind, seven or eight thousand bags of coffee, brimstone, *ruinos, a few horses and camels, besides the bullion which it pays for our In- dian commodities. The population of Maskat has been variously esti- mated J a constant bustle and activity, and a great influx of strangers, making it appear far greater than it is. .Judging, however, from the known population of other cities, in relation to their circumference, the height of the houses, manner of living, and space that is un- occupied, I think we may assert that, with resident strangers, it falls not short of 30,000 souls : should we allow a third of that number to Muttura, (which is large, but thinly peopled,) and estimate the sur- a*ounding villages on the whole at about a fourth, it accords with the * Ruinos is a plant used in the red dyes of the East. 32 HISTORY. — TR ADE. — CLIMATE. best information I could procure, and would increase the estimate to near 47,000 souls. In 1650, it was fortified by the Portuguese, who had been esta- blished there near 30 years ; and it has outwardly the appearance of considerable strength. Its batteries, however, considering the advantages that may be derived from a choice of position, are cer- tainly beneath the notice of a regular attack. I shall not, therefore, scruple to assert, in opposition to those notices which I have read, that the weakness of the profile, the elevation of the works in ge- neral, and the surrounding heights, would render them totally un- tenable, even were the artillery that defends the access in a more serviceable state. /The appearance of the town and buildings, in general, is somewhat mean. The trade, however, which it carries on as an emporium ; the shipping that frequents its port ; the number of people that resort there from every part of Arabia ; with its covered bazars, supplied with every variety of goods, in absolute profusion ; contribute, on the whole, to impress the mind with notions of its wealth, prosperity, and commercial activity. The climate, I believe, will scarcely need a com- \ment ; as a comparative statement, however, I may observe, that at noon, when the thermometer at sea was 82°, it was 86° in the cove, and 90 ' in the town. On the whole, therefore, it was not warmer than Bombay, at the same season of the year ; though in the months of June, July, and August, the weather is so hot, and the shumals so oppressive, that no person can walk the streets. In other respects it is not generally esteemed healthy ; but amongst a variety of fruits which a few gardens at the hot springs produce, the melon, grape, and pomegranate, may be enumerated as of the most delicate flavour and luscious quality. The latter, indeed, may truly be styled the fruit of Paradise ; and when the poet of Shiraze was so loud in asserting the superiority of those produced in his own native vale, he cer- tainly assumed an honour, which it belongs to the desert blast alone to mature and boast ; the heat of the shumals bursting the outward rind of the pomegranate, and drying up those astringent juices, which render the fruit in other parts of very inferior quality. REVOLUTIONS IN OMAN. 33 On the declension of the Portuguese empire in the East, Maskat was retaken by the Arabs, under Essoof Ben Aly, Prince of Norenvae j when the whole of the garrison, a few excepted, who turned Ma- homedans, were put to death. Since that period, it has been free, except for a while during the reign of Nadir Shah ; who, taking ad- vantage of the dissensions which then prevailed between Sultan Ben Mursheed and the Imam, Seif Ben Sultan, contrived to obtain pos- session of the place by a stratagem of his General's, Alirza Tacki Khan. The wily Persian had only been called in as an auxiliary ; but inviting the Imam to an entertainment, he plied him so abundantly with the waters of Shiraze, that oblivion, stealing into the strong . hold of reason, and overpowering mistrust, his signet was stolen from him, and affixed to an order for the delivery of the forts that command the town. The reign of the Persians, however, was of short duration, the two competitors dying immediately after this ; when Achmed Ben Saiid, governor of Soliar, expelled them by means somewhat similar, and was invested with the government by his grateful countrymen, for having delivered them from a foreign yoke. Saiid Ben Saiid, the present Imam, and the second son of this patriot, usually resides in a palace near the sea, that was once the cathedral clmrch of the Portuguese garrison. This Imam is a prince of considerable importance, entirely independent of the Porte, and divides this ])art of Arabia with the Prince of Mocha and the Wa- habees, though in unequal shares ; his authority, generally speaking, extending to the province of Oman only. If we may trust report, he\ can bring 7000 men into the field, partly Belooches and Sindeeans, \ from the neighbourhood of Tatta. It is, however, as a naval power \ chiefly, that Saiid Ben Saiid, the present Imam, should rank amongst / the surrounding tribes ; the people of Rass al Kymer, who can bring / some tiiousand horse into the field, having generally proved success- / ful (as in the last war when they killed his brother) in the various en- / counters that they have had. This navy, if I may use the expression, / \ consists of the Caroline, a frigate of 40 guns (as already mentioned), and J tolerablv ecjuipped ; two large vessels, that were formerly Indiamen ; 34 MUTINY ON BOARD. and about thirty, or thirty-five inferior craft. Respecting the strength of these, however, it would be difficult to speak with certainty ; as on occasions of this kind the information that can be procured from the merchants and officers of the place is liable to the greatest inaccuracy. With the advantage of a language sufficiently understood by many to communicate my thoughts. I ought certainly to have met with greater success in my enquiries than I can boast : I was, however, but too often disappointed and perplexed by the ignorance of some who appeared amongst the best informed, and by a wilful perversion of truth in others, who certainly could have no motive for the deception, except an inveterate habit, which is common, I think, (notwithstanding some good qualities,) to the people of the East. In my anxiety to reject error, and avoid lUK-crtainty, I may, therefore, hav'=i lost the occasion of recording information both useful and luminous ; the motive, however, will plead as my excuse ; and 1 shall resume my narrative. On the 18th, we left Maskat: at noon made our latitude by observ- ation, 24 ' 3' ; and in the evening, a shower of rain and a change of wind reduced the thermometer, almost at once, from 80" to 74" j the lowest it had yet fallen. On the 19th, at noon, the thermometer had only risen to 76' ; and in lat. 25' V at 3' p. m. we observed an eclipse of the sun ; which the Arabs, Persians, and Turks, amused themselves by viewing, as reflected in tubs of water on the cpiarter deck. The 20th might have proved a day of as little interest as the two preceding, had we not been disturbed at an early hour by a sudden rise amongst the Arabs and Persians we had on board. I was nc^t at first aware of the nature of the fray, but observing the mate to be struggling amongst them, and hearing the captain vociferate for liis sword, I thought it right to assist him and the ragged crew that officiated as sepoys, in driving the mutineers towards the poop ; an object we effected with ease, and hapj)ily without l)loodshed. On enquiry we subsequently found, that having had a trivial ([uarrel with some of our crew, the Persians had proceeded to inflict summary punishment, by attempting to strangle an unfortunate Lascar ; and ORMUS. S5 tliat the mate having presumed to interfere, they had suddenly risen upon him, with the intent of resenting the interposition on his own person by the like violence. After a night spent in irons, an exhibition at the grating the next morning was sufficient to cool the spirit of the proudest of them all ; so finding their turbulence and their threats were likely to prove, at the best, a scurvy joke, they most earnestly and pitiously requested to be forgiven and released. On the 21st, we made a low rocky island, and were presented with a view of Ormus, the Necrokin of the Tartars, the Armazia, Ormu- zium, or Organa of the ancients. The wonders and opulence of Ormus, are too nearly connected with the most glorious era in the history of Portugal, too intimately allied with the fame of those early daring adventurers, who pointed out the course we have since fol- lowed, to be entirely neglected or passed over in silence and indif- ference. It is, indeed, the office of the traveller, on all occasions like the present, to mark the change which time has wrought ; to fill up the landscape he holds to view with those retired scenes which are only visible and clear in the contrast the shade affords. In the eleventh century, on the rocky barren island of Gombroon, an Arab conqueror commenced a city, which subsequently became the capital of an empire ; extending on either side to the Persian and to the Arabian shores. The emporium of a trade connecting India with our climes, it afforded a more splendid and agreeable residence, than any eastern city of its time. Merchants from every quarter of the globe resorted there, outvying each other in a display of wealth and luxury. " Beautiful women, from all parts of Asia, instructed from their youth in all the arts of varying and improving the delights of voluptuous love, presented themselves in crowds, to court the stranger with pleasures and with smiles. The very air was im- pregnated with j)erfumes, and the ground overspread with carpets of the richest die." Such it was, like other cities of ancient cele- brity. It is now, however, as it had been, a miserable village on a barren shore ; with a few wretched Arabs to linger on the spot where F 2 36 JOASSMEE PIRATES. monarchs, foregoing their state, and yielding to soft enjoyment, might have loved to dwell. The history of its fall is known. It was con- quered by the celebrated Albuquerque, in 1507, but retaken by the Persians under Shah Abbas the Great, on the 25th of April, 1622 : after this period, a portion of its trade was transferred for a time to Bunder Abbas, where we had a factory granted us; the rest, with some of its wealthiest inhabitants, removing to Maskat, on the Arabian coast. On the following days, we were annoyed with adverse heavy gales ; anchored, and next encountered a pirate dow with two small boats off the island of Cain, their place of chief resort. On this occasion, however, as before, we came off with the fright ; proving much too strong for them to venture on the attack. Our ship, I was informed, had, on a former voyage, beaten off a score ; and I must indeed con- fess, it appears to me a reflection on our national character, and the title we arrogate as lords of the ocean, to allow such miserable, yet ferocious banditti to infest the seas, and beard us even to our face on our own element. Bound by no law, by no respect controlled, their wanton barbarous cruelty has set them beyond the pale of civilised intercourse, of mutual trust, and sacred confidence. And yet (though it must be acknowledged to our shame.) have we sent missions and framed treaties with barbarians, who have only been anxious to observe our strength, and to avail themselves of our security. Where war is carried on, under the observance of certain principles, that are acknowledged by civilised nations in general, the rule we trust to when unfortunate, should be the bond of mutual security and confidence. When, however, the barbarous mutilation or massacre of every prisoner is the immediate consequence of suc- cess, it is weakness, it is worse than weakness, it is a participation in their guilt, to delay for a moment the inflicting of such a punishment as these cruelties have deserved. The pirates of the gulf are composed of various Arab tribes ; the chief of these, the Joassmees of Rass al Kymer, being, however, inti- mately connected with the Wahabees, (a power already acknowledged,) our government has felt reluctant to engage in hostilities, and hence arises the impunity they boast Their fleet is said to consist of sixty THEIR HISTORY. g7 large, and between eight and nine hundred vessels of a smaller size ; with 18 or 19 thousand men on board. Their history reaches back to a very remote antiquity ; as the empire of the pirate king, seizing (as described in the Koran of Ebn Hankal *) on every valuable ship, is said to have been known prior to the deliverance from Egypt of the children of Israel. The Wahabees, in particular, first mentioned by Niebuhr -f-, are also noticed J, as springing from the province of Nedsjed ; where Moseillama, the great contemporary opponent of Mahomet, first propagated the doctrines of his faith. These are pro- bably the same with the Mobeyyidites, or the Sufid .Tamehghians, (as they are called by the Persians,) who were anciently followers of Hakem Ebn Hashem ; sometimes called Al Mokanna, and A I Borkai (or the veiled) by the Arabs. § Of this sect it is related, that in the reign of the Calif Al Mohdi, of the race of Abbas, Hakem Ebn Hashem, their prophet, gained a number of proselytes in Nakhshab and Kasli ; giving out that the Divinity resided in his person, and had descended to him from Adam, and through the prophets that had appeared. He acquired great power, but being at last besieged by the Calif's forces, he poisoned and burnt his wives, cJiildren, and concubines, and threw himself into the flames, in the 163d year of the Hegira, promising his followers he would again appear. The pirates of the gulf, at various times, have proved equally hos- tile to the trade of Portugal and our own ; some of their ships carry- ing as many as forty guns, with a crew of 300 men. In 1808, they seized the Hon. Company's cruiser, the Sylph, with the Persian se- cretary attached to our mission on board, and had proceeded to the murdering of the crew, when the dreadful work was arrested, and the survivors rescued, by the interposition of His Majesty's ship the Nereide ; which engaged and sunk the pirates, after a short, but well • Sir W. Ouselcy's Ebn Hankal, p. 12. 95. t Niebuhr's Travels, p. I7. 2VG. 302. ; Gibbon, VoL V. p. 277. § It is not perhaps generally known, that from the history of this impostor, Mr. Moore has tnken the «ri-ound-work for that part of his celebrated poem, which be styles " The Veiled Prophet." \ 58 THEIR HORRIBLE MASSACRES. contested fight Subsequent to this, the Minerva merchantman, Cap- tain Hopgood, was attacked by a fleet consisting of fifty-five ships and dows, carrying together upwards of 5000 men. After a distant fight of two days, the Arabs contrived to run her on board, and attacking from their poops, obtained possession of her decks. The issue of the contest is almost too horrible to obtain belief, or bear the relation. Covered with wounds, and sinking into death, Captain Hopgood per- ceived the impossibility of saving his ship ; he delivered his only re- maining pistol to one of his mates, with strict injunctions to proceed to the magazine, and to blow her up at the moment the Arabs should board. It had been glorious to their memory, and eminently advan- tageous to future navigators, (as holding forth a dreadful example of British resolution,) had the command been carried into effect. Once below however, the mate only thought of his own safety, and ran to hide himself; the boarding proved successful, and resistance was at an end. It was then the deliberate work of death began ; and with all those circumstances of a barbarous solemnity, and all those superstitious ceremonies, that were calculated to increase the horrors of the scene. The ship was purified, with water, with prayers, and perfumes. Singly and bound, the victims were then brought forth ; and whilst shouts of exultation, and Allah ! Akbar ! resounded from every side ; they were made to stretch their throats to receive the knife ; and were offered up, as a propitiatory sacrifice. Allah il Allah ! " There is no god, but God," and the scene closed. A single and muti- lated individual was alone spared, and landed at the next port, to convey the dreadful intelligence. In 1809, the patience of our government being exhausted, and our trade entirely suspended by their daring piracies, an expedition was fitted out under the command of Captain Wainwright and Colonel Smith ; when, a landing having been effected, Rass al Kymer was taken by storm, and fifty-three of their largest ships destroyed. Their other ports being subsequently attacked, the defence of Shinas, in particular, (by a General of Abdool Uzzeer's,) was extremely obstinate. Refusing quarter to their prisoners, they seldom expect it from their MADNESS OF OUR CAPTAIN. 39 enemies ; and when their walls had been demolished, and their bat^ tlements were nodding to their fall, they still persisted in die defence ; and rejecting the summons sent, threw back our grenades and shells before they had time to burst. Their undisciplined barbarous rage, it must however be confessed, was never calculated to resist the exer- tion of our force ; and the lesson they were then taught has had the effect of restraining their piracies for the few succeeding years that have elapsed. The want of timber to rebuild, may perhaps have oc- casioned a forced protraction of a state of inactivity so entirely foreign to the lawless predatory habits of these Arab tribes ; for in the year 1816, they certainly evinced a rising spirit of unlicensed depre- dation, which it may again be necessary to repress by force. A sea voyage, in general, is entirely devoid of interest ; confined within narrow bounds, with sea and sky for the only prospect, there is nothing to relieve that dull, insipid, monotonous existence, which has neither the charms of pleasure nor incident to occupy the mind. On the present occasion, however, we had certainly as many alarms, discomforts, and adventures within ourselves, as the knight of La Mancha could himself have wished. We had scarcely recovered from the fright occasioned by the rocks, the insurrection, and the pirates, when early on the morning of the 28th we were suddenly disturbed by a loud call from our commander, to rise and defend ourselves, or we should all be murdered instantly. A summons so terrific, it may be guessed, was not long unanswered. We had always slept with loaded arms since the first alarm : but almost before I could rise and seize my pistols and my sword, (it being dark,) the door of my cabin was burst open ; and, on rushing forth, I found myself attacked and grazed slightly in the side, by a sabre thrust. On closing and dis- arming my adversary, happily without any further hurt, he was dis- covered to be our unfortunate commander, who, his wits having entirely forsaken him, had imagined himself beset, and had alarmed us accord- ingly. Our situation was now as unpleasant and critical as the greatest lover of adventures could well have desired. Renewed attempts of the same nature obliged us to confine him : we were not sorry, 40 ARRIVAL AT BUSHEER. therefore, when on the 4lh we reached Busheer, after running twice a-ground in the attem])t. On our arrival at liuslieer we found that the resident was absent on a mission to the pirates of Rass al Kymer. The duties of liis office, however, with the courtesies of that hospitality which Mr. Bruce observes, had fallen into the hands of his assistant Dr. Shiiip ; from whom, as the only passenger on board, I certainly experienced every attention I could have wished. As we were likely to remain some time, I projected a visit to Shi raze and Shapoor, but being dis- appointed in my design, I amused myself with perambulating the bazars, riding over the country, and making those enquiries re- lative to the present state of Persia, and the history of Busheer in particular, which a traveller would naturally pursue. The ancient history of Persia was far better and more generally understood, than its present state was known, until the subject was taken up, with his usual ability, by General Sir J. Malcolm, our late ambassador at the Persian court. To the empire of the successors of Seleucus Nicator succeeded a Parthian race of kings, which warred with the Roman emperors with every variety of good and ill suc- cess. Under that difference of aspect, which the successful impos- ture of Mahomet occasioned, Tangrolipix, a Turk, and LIKihoon (or Ullah Khan) a Tartar, were each Ibunders of a dynasty of kings ; which the Turkoman and Sophian race were destined to succeed. On the death of Thamas Kooli Khan, usually styled Nadir Shah, (the General first, and next the deposer and successor of the last of these,) a state of anarchy ensued ; which, as in the histories of other states, renders it extremely difficult to preserve the order of succession and observe the dates ; several competitors having at once appeared, and been generally acknowledged or rejected, according to the influence attached to a momentary success. Alahomed Hassan Khan, however, the chief of these, and the head of the Cadjar tribe, a commander of high rank under Shah Thamas, the last of the Sophian race, esta- blished an authority which his descendants of the present dynasty have since resumed. Aga Mahomed Khan, his second son, defeat- BUSHEER. 41 ing Lootf Ali Khan, (the last and greatest of Kerim Khan's succes- sors,) and re-establishing an authority, which he has since transmitted to the present king ; the son of his elder brother, who had been killed in battle by the Turkomans. The intervening reigns of Kerim Khan, and of his kinsman Lootf especially, are on the present occasion more immediately deserving of attention, on account of the connection which exists between the events of their days and that cursory notice of the history of Bushcer which the traveller should not neglect Originally a Koordish robber, of a low tribe of the Zunds, Kerim Khan, rising by his personal valour to eminence, had defeated and killed Mahomed Hassan Khan, and established a power which maintained itself in the dependencies of Shiraze, during that temporary retirement from the honours of royalty, to which the princes of the present dynasty had been forced to submit. It is with Kerim Khan, therefore, that we shall commence that brief history of the place which its inferior importance may de- mand. Busheer, situated in the low province of Dashtistan, on a narrow neck of land from which the sea has apparently retired, is spoken of by Nearchus ; and is the scat of one of those petty inde- pendent states, which the Arabs have establishcxl and generally re- tained along the eastern borders of the Persian Gulf These it had been the policy of Kerim Klian to humble and destroy ; under Shaik Nasr, however, the grandfather of its present governor, may be placed the aera of its greatest prosperity and influence ; as it was on his promise, and by the exertions of his son, that Lootf Ali, the Persian monarch, was restored to the dignity which he had resigned on his father's death. The Arabs delight, even now, in the recollection of the fame and generosity of this worthy chief; whose hospitality had been such, that all the tribes of Dashtistan esteemed themselves obliged to fly to his standard, as soon as the camel appeared amongst them, carrying, (as a signal of war,) the vessels that halossus that had been arrested in its growth. He was extremely filthy, even for a Turk ; might have been the greatest liar on earth, had he not had another failing, that frequently checked him in the midst of all his boastings ; and prided himself, next to the quantity he could drink, and the number of miles he had ridden, on his character for discretion, and his knowledge of the world, — that is, of the road between Bussora and Bagdad, which he had travelled much oftener than he could always count. Since Aly Aga will figure as a principal character in the first part of the present narrative, I thought it necessary to introduce him with due formality to the notice of an indulgent reader. The first order he issued was, that I should prepare abundance of eatables (and drinkables, if I required them, as he never touched any thing of the kind) for the journey ; and be ready to leave the residency at four. At half past five, he presented himself; e(|uipped for the march in wide Turkish trowsers that reached up to his arm-pits, and were supported by a broad buff belt that contained a formidable battery, mounting three heavy pistols in the front, a carabine in the rear-face, with a long dagger and a sword ; ramrods, pouches, and cartridge rolls, a score on either flank. He was in a great hurry of course : preparations of so imposing a nature could demand no less ; and he was accordingly most peremptory in urging my departure, lest we should miss the tide. It was within half an hour of our usual din- ner-time ; and to exchange the comforts and sumptuous fare of the resident's table for a biscuit, the desert, and a muddy stream, was a mortification of the spirit and the flesh that could scarcely be en- dured. As on many occasions, however, when we are forced to yield to necessity, I was obliged to rest contented ; and so took my leave of my worthy generous host, and the kind circle that surrounded him, who expressed their kind wishes for our success and the safety in our course. The boat we embarked in was just large enough to hold two people at their length in the centre ; whilst the tVont and stern were 54 SHAT UL ARAB. taken up by my Arab servant, the boatmen, and a Turk on his way to join the vessel stationed off Korna, at the junction of the rivers. As our bark glided smoothly down the stream, passing the little date gardens on its bank, where many a wealthy lascivious Turk sat re- clining, in the full enjoyment of coffee, slothfulness, and his chu- book, my companions took leave of the various friends they met, with frequent appeals to God and Providence, in explanation of their destined course. " Ish Allah ! (God being willing, said my Turk, to some holy derwishes,) we intend going to Bagdad ; let us have the prayers of the faithful for our safety and success." " Faringee," said he to me, (with perfect assurance,) after he had counted piece by piece five feluce, the extent of his liberality, " I have given these holy men five roobeas on your account ; be you also generous, and give them a buckshish. Ish Allah ! (God being willing) we shall have their prayers and intercessions." I offered them a cruce, but not less than three could rid me of their importunities ; as I was of course expected to make up the difference between the real and ostensible liberality he had displayed. By the time we had reached the custom-house, which was about a mile or two from the residency, it was nearly dark ; and my Turk having gone on shore, under pretence of obtaining the necessary per- mits, \ was left alone in the boat to commune with myself, and ponder on the extraordinary journey I had before me, with the ad- ventures and mishaps I might expect. The night was beautiful and clear, displaying the full extent of the mighty waters we had em- barked upon. At a short distance, I could distinguish the two English brigs that had arrived, and mai'k the watches as they were set ; nearer, the Arab boats were constantly passing ; whilst the sturdy rowers kept time, as they plied their oars, to the mournful ditty of the bearded Charon at the helm. In these intervals of repose and contemplation, I frequently called to my Turk, whose voice I some- times heard amidst the noise of tongues and bursts of merriment: when, however, I could obtain an answer, it was only to inform me, that he was more impatient than myself; but that we must wait unty SHAT UL ARAR 55 his business had been dispatched, and the fortunate hour had ar- rived. As the night passed, the application was renewed, and checked with the like answer ; until at last I sunk from ray waking dreams on the Shat ul Arab, to still more visionary scenes in those unknown regions we sometimes traverse in our sleep. Early in the morning of the 18th, I was awoke by a tremendous explosion that shook our bark to its very centre, and seemed indeed the grand and concluding catastrophe of the visions of the night The day had broken in upon me : I found myself alone and in the boat, in a strange sequestered spot. My Turk, my servant, and the boatmen, had all forsaken me ; I called, and no answer was returned: I almost fancied myself in a dream, or awake to some unexpected and dreadful certainty ; when a second and a third explosion, which I easily distinguished as the signal guns for the break of day, dispelled the charm, and awoke the sleeping crew that were reposing on the shore. My rascally Turk, I found on enquiry, had got so drunk with his friends the holy derwishes at the custom-house, that in spite of the hurry he had been in, and his asserted anxiety to pro- ceed, he had been unable to move ; and had insisted on spending the night on shore in the desert just beyond the town. He was highly indignant when I reproached him with his conduct, and abused his unfortunate accusers, the Arabs, most violently ; stoutly denying the charge of inebriety, as he sipped his morning draught. At last, however, he condescended to return on board, and we resumed our course, the trackers being desired to work hard, to make up for the time that had been lost. At five P. M. we passed the tomb of Madee Sahebee Zuman, a descendant of the Prophet's, who has been dead upwards of a thou- sand years. The people expect he will return, mounted on a wild ass of the desert, when he will ride over the earth, subduing nations, and becoming the sovereign of the whole. A little further on the same, or Arabian, shore, we came to a high tower, which marks the tomb of Aly Ben Hassein, the nephew of the great Aly, and also a descendant of the Prophet's. Near this, having landed in the dusk 56 GARDEN OF EDEN. to cook, we had a very narrow escape of being plundered by the Arabs. We had scarcely lighted our fire under a bush, and begun the affairs of the kitchen, before a scout we had sent out gave the signal, and we were obliged to retreat ; pushing off our boats and standing out in the river, as the Arabs appeared, shouting, hallooing, and attacking us with stones ; whilst some presented their match- locks, and threatened destruction to the whole of us, to deter the boatmen from their exertions in getting out the boat. On the 19th, we reached Korna, at the junction of the Tigris and the Euphrates ; happily without any further mishap, and without passing any other remarkable object, besides a mud fort on the eastern bank of the river, built by Mahomed Aly Khan when he came from Shiraze to the attack of Bussora. Korna is only a small village, with a station for the collection of the customs on the river, and a Turkish gun-brig that protects the navigation from the pirates, and enforces the payment of these duties. The accompanying sketch will afford an imperfect idea of the grandeur of the scene exhibited by the junction of those two mighty rivers, which have been celebrated in history as the boundary of that happy fertile spot where our common father dwelt ; the Tigris and the Euphrates having generally been esteemed the southern* south-west, and south-east limits of the garden of Eden or Paradise. The confluence of two such majestic streams forming an inland gulf of great extent, is certainly an imposing sight : I could find nothing, however, (except in the contrast with the surrounding desert,) that could mark Korna as the fertile happy spot which had been assigned to man before his fall. The few trees, and the little culti- vation it may boast, are certainly as a garden in the midst of a barren, black, desolated wilderness : without this wilderness, however, it would be only a marsh overgrown with rushes, a few palms, and fifty or sixty miserable huts. At Korna, we were entertained by some Turks and Arabs in the service of the Motselim of Bussora, who are employed there in the collection of the revenue. They gave us the most dreadful, and KORNA. 57 certainly very exaggerated accounts of the dangers and difficulties we might expect to encounter in our journey to Bagdad ; and my worthy Turk failed not to improve the alarm which these descriptions might have been supposed to have occasioned, by insisting on our passing the night on board the Turkish vessel on the Shat ul Arab as the only place of safety that could be found. Whether he was himself fright- ened, or merely wished to enhance the value of his services, I know not ; but certainly, according to his own account, it would be im- possible to proceed on the ensuing day ; the intervening country being quite unsettled, and overrun with banditti, in consequence of the great contest near the capital. On board we went, however, in hopes of better prospects with the return of dawn ; and I was received by Aly AgJl the commander, a venerable Turk of sixty, with every kind and considerate attention that could be shown. On leading me into his state-cabin, he lamented the poorness of his fare and accommodations, and the want of an earlier intimation of my arrival ; as he feared, he said, I might feel offended at not having received the usual salute from his vessel ; adding, as a proof of his knowledge, and travelled breeding, that he knew our customs required this attention. The compliment was somewhat strained, unless he mistook me for an officer of much higher rank ; a compli- ment, however, never comes amiss, especially where it is accompa^ nied by that real and genuine kindness, which evinces, at the least, a wish to please. I knew the exact value and bearing of these apolo- gies, that were partly the effect of eastern politeness, and partly in- tended as a salvo to his own consequence and dignity, in offering such inferior fare. When the old man, however, kindly spread his best, and bade me partake of it ; when he ordered his best and only couch to be prepared for me, resigning the greater part of his cabin for my accommodation, I could not help feeling, that although a compliment and proffers of services are not always in this world proofs of sincerity, they may often enhance the favour, and double the obligation that is conferred. I 58 THE EUPHRATES. When all our attendants, except a little slave of his own, had withdrawn, he entered at once into what he prefaced as confidential communications, regarding the character of my guide. " I have known," said he, " many English officers and gentlemen ; I am sorry, indeed, to find you under the protection of so vile a caitiff, and profligate an infidel : he cares neither for the Prophet nor the law j and would drink this river dry, if it were not water ; but he is a ser- vant of the Motselims, so God be with him. God being willing, you may perhaps reach Bagdad ; it would have been better, however, had you been quite alone, than with such a wretch." I had already formed my opinion of the fellow's character : the hint was not lost ; and I was soon confirmed in the belief, that notwithstanding the real dangers of the road, I had more to apprehend from the folly and indiscretion of my guide, than from the unusual turbulence of the times. I arranged my plans accordingly, and from that day ge- nerally consulted with my Arab servant, in spite of all his complaints and all his threats of the evils I might entail upon myself. On the 20th, early in the morning, we went on shore, after making a small present to the slaves and servants, and returning many thanks to my worthy host. We breakfasted with some Arab shaiks in the village, and at ten set off. At two P. M. we passed a river branching off to the right. At three we passed Nar Antar, the usual residence of the shaik of the Montifics at certain periods of the year. The place may be known from a distance, by a small building not unlike one of our eastern pagodas on the left bank; and a custom- house, for the collection of the river duties, is established at Tuckt on the opposite shore. At six P. M., having made about twenty-four miles, we tied our boat to the left shore, near some huts, at a small place called Mahabut, rather more than half way from Nar Antar to Mansurie, and rested for the night. On the 21st, after passing Mansurie, which is a considerable town, with a custom-house subordinate to that at Korna, we came on a desert marshy tract entirely covered with bull-rushes on either side. Nothing can equal the dismal, melancholy aspect of the country we THE DESERT. 59 had now before us. The river, extending itself in the loose soil it wanders through, seems to flow in a still mournful unison with the dreary scene on either bank. A wretched Arab here and there, like the gleam of light that just renders darkness visible, reminds the traveller, at long intervals, of the dreadful solitude of his course. The savage, haggard appearance of the stranger, his cautious, mistrust&l looks ; the desolate waste he flies to from the narrow path, at the most distant sight of a fellow-creature ; equally impress the mind with the dreadful apprehension of impending harm. We passed through, however, without any accidents, or other alarms than those inspired by the mournful stillness of the scene, and the occasional apprehensions entertained, from a partial glimpse of some wretched creature, who was probably as terrified as ourselves at the unusual sight of his fellow-man. Late at night, we moored our bark opposite Abada, a village on the western shore ; and distant three-and-thirty miles i'rom our former resting place. On this occasion, I was desired by my trembling ser- vant, and no less frightened conductor, to remain within the boat ; as we were surrounded by various parties of the most lawless cruel tribes. I felt, however, so uncomfortable and fatigued from the con- finement of my situation, that after a while I followed them on shore ; where, crouched in the midst of fearful wretches like them- selves, I found them listening, in dreadful apprehension, to some aweful tale of the travellers we had met 1 had always suspected my Turk of wishing to magnify the dangers of the undertaking, in order to enhance the value of his services. The times and state of the country were certainly most unfavourable : I could easily perceive, however, that the whole of our group were frightened greatly beyond what the appearance of any immediate danger could justify ; as they even abstained from smoking, lest they should betray themselves to some passing scoute. I felt too cold, benumbed, and uncomfortable, to imitate the cautious conduct they observed ; so, after an attempt to persuade them to throw out sentries as videts, a duty no one would undertake, I quietly betook myself to my chubook, wrapped I 2 00 COOT AND SOOBSHOOK. up in my cumlin, and with my pistols and my sabre by my side. In this situation I found myself early in the morning ; stronger nerves, or the ignorance, perhaps, of our real danger, with the certainty that a man who had nothing to lose, and was perfectly armed, had not much to fear from such wretched foes, having secured me that quiet rest which my companions had neglected to enjoy. It was a cheerlul, yet solemn scene that I awoke to. The moon and stars that shine on the desert, as on our cultivated fields, were se- renely bright. My companions had cast off a portion of their fears ; and with the cheerful smile of mutual confidence, were enjoying coffee, the chubook, and the caleean. The hour of our departure, however, had approached, and we set off at break of day, separating with mutual civilities from merchants and travellers whom we had met on this barren spot. As we proceeded up the river on the 22d, passing several islands, and one or two inferior streams, we gradually left the marshy dreary fen, and entered on those more cheerful, cultivated scenes, which are always to be found in the neighbourhood of a town. On reaching Coot and Soobshook, my conductor w at on shore to hire the horses we should require on our further course, whilst he de- sired us to proceed in the boat to the custom-house; where we were received with great civility by the Turkish officers in the ser- vice of the Motselim, who are employed at this station in the col- lection of the revenue. They were in a small arched building on the bank of the river, and entertained us politely with coffee, par- taking with equal freedom of the excellent tobacco which I had brought. Our stay here was protracted to the 24th, during which time I was frequently amused, by observing the dexterity with which the women crossed the rapid stream astride on a frail bundle of the rushes they had cut, and brought on their heads for sale or the repairing of their huts. The smallest boys, on similar occasions, prove equally expert in taking their herds across, by shifting from back to back, and directing the course of their buffaloes as they COOT AND SOOBSHOOK. 61 float down the stream. For the delay we had experienced, I never could obtain a satisfactory reason ; my Turk observing a dig- nified silence on the subject, and indulging freely in a last sup of rakee in the interim : at last, however, in an interval of partial so- briety we got into the boat. On landing on the opposite shore, as soon as the horses were produced, I found my Turk was endeavouring to put me off with a less number than he had engaged to provide. The baggage was loading on those we were to ride, though besides a spare horse, in case of accidents, he ought certainly to have furnished one for my provisions and saddle-bags. So entirely, however, had he disre- garded these original stipulations, that, independently of my own packages, he was for loading my two horses with many useless articles of his own. On objecting to this in a peremptory tone, which he had not perhaps expected I would assume, he stormed and raved in the usual style ; but finding I was immovable, as the last resource, he declared I should have another ; but that as he should be obliged to return for it, I must of necessity consent to be delayed another day. I saw plainly that his declarations on this score were likely to be fulfilled; and being anxious above all things to proceed, and to make up for the three days we had lost, I came at once to the resolution of presenting my new whitney blanket (the bulkiest, though perhaps the most necessary article I had with me,) to one of our friendly hosts. I had occasion afterwards to repent this liberality, during the many cold and dismal nights I spent in the open air at the most inclement season of the year : it was, however, an act of necessity ; and I employed the few moments that were left, in a care- ful examination of the three unfortunate creatures that were doomed to carry with our weight, the disproportionate load of baggage my Turk was encumbered with. In appearance, certainly, in the prominence of their bones, and the leanness of their flesh, in the spavins, splints, and windgalls they were troubled with, our horses might have rivalled the mighty steed of a far more celebrated character. I could easily perceive, however, amidst all 52 MONTIFIC BEDOOINS. these blemishes and sores, that a negative preference in the choice might be adventured with perfect propriety. Out of the three, there were two certainly that were nearly blind, old, and broken kneed, though of the highest blood ; the third, therefore, I might well conjecture, was intended for the conveyance of the bulky person of my worthy chiouse : I formed my resolutions accordingly. He had pointed out the destined supporter of my weight and woes, the most miserable Rosinante the eyes of man ever rested upon, and was about to mount, (assisted by the shoves of half-a-dozen ragged laughing urchins,) when I called him back. " Aly Aga," said I, " do you think this horse you have given me will be able to carry me through the desert ?" — " God is great," said he, " and merciful. He is the very best horse you could wish to have. He is thin just now ; but if he were in condition, and in Mr. Colquhoun's stable, he would sell for more than half the horses he has there. Ish Alia ! God being willing, he will carry you to Bagdad." The appeal was enough to confirm me in my resolutions, Mr. Colquhoun having one of the finest studs I have ever seen ; so, walking up to the animal he had selected for himself) whilst he was appealing to the motley merry crew around us to vouch for the truth of all these follies, I sprang upon his horse's back, and ordering my servant to proceed, desired the astonished gaping reprobate to follow at his ease. The laugh was sadly against him on all sides. A Turk has no friends in the desert, and my servant joined heartily in the roar ; so putting on the best countenance he could on such an occasion, he flapped his heavy carcase on the poor wincing miserable jade I had left him, and followed us at the best walk the creature could exert In riding through the town, scattered along the banks of the river, we observed a brick-built mosque of considerable extent, with a small college attached to it for holy mendicants and derwishes. It was the only respectable brick-building we had passed since our departure from Bussora ; and a little beyond it, on the open space without the village, we reached the tent of Shaik Mahamood, brother of Shaik Ha- m'ood ; who, during the absence of the latter with the army, officiated SHAIK MAHAMOOiyS COURT. 63 as his deputy. He was also absent at the time of our arrival ; and to my great annoyance I found our progress was likely to be delayed until his return. I have since had reason to congratulate myself on the occurrence. Shaik Hamood is the chief of the Montifics, a prin- cipal tribe amongst the Bedooins of the desert, as described by Niebuhr ; I had, therefore, a favourable opportunity of observing their manners, if the expression may be used, at the court itself. Nothing can exceed the simplicity of living that may be observed in the tents of these eastern patriarchs. The pen cannot describe the unassuming courtesy, the open, generous hospitality of these lawless robbers of the desert, to the confiding traveller who throws himself on the honour of their tribes. During the temporary absence of his father, the eldest son of Shaik Mahamood (a handsome youth of 16) was presiding in his stead. He was sitting on a carpet, in a large open tent, with a numerous retinue of venerable bearded chiefs, sitting or standing (according to their rank and occupations) on either side. The furniture of the tent consisted of the carpets only which they were reposing upon ; whilst their more favourite coursers were picketed in the vicinity ; and a few tents and large droves of camels filled up the surrounding scene. On our introduction, the youth gracefully rose, and kindly beckoned me, with intuitive politeness, to his side. Secretaries were reading dispatches ; messengers were receiving their orders ; whilst the pipe and coffee filled up the intervening time, until the expected arrival of their chief: the patient, hardy warriors of the desert, watching attentively, but not meanly obsequious, each nod or smile of their favourite hope ; and offering their opinions and counsels with perfect freedom whenever the occasion required it. At last, a general buzz announced the long-expected approach of the great personage : the council rose, (the youth himself setting the example,) and went out to meet the group that was advancing towards the tent. In the midst of this Shaik Mahamood himself stood conspicuous, for his superior size, the dignity of his presence, and the warlike, imposing vigour of his make. He appeared just returned with a 64 SHAIK MAHAMOOD'S COURT. chosen band of followers from some secret and important excursion ; as the impatient, fretted steed could be yet distinguished leading off to his pickets, whilst the chief himself, with the smile of welcome and gladness on his open brow, seemed even yet to ponder on some mighty deed. When he had reached the tent, and had seated himself, we went through the ceremony of another introduction, which he noticed by a gracious inclination of the body ; without resigning, however, the more important cares that seemed to occupy his mind even in the performance of those grateful attentions which politeness must command. A momentary pause ensued, during which he was ap- parently withdrawing within himself, to consider the probable con- tents of the dispatches we had delivered, and the demeanour it would be proper to assume : after which, he beckoned us to sit down ; and the motion was followed by those who were entitled to a similar honour in the presence of their chief Every kind of business, apparently, is transacted in public ; those only being within immediate hearing, whose discretion and fidelity may be relied upon. Tiie reading of the letters we had brought from the Motselim of Bussora, with other matters, occupied a con- siderable time ; the Shaik turning round at intervals to the elders of the tribe, to make appropriate remarks, and affixing his seal as a sig- nature to the answers he had dictated in return. Though I could not understand what was said, (my servant, who acted as my inter- preter, being just then absent,) I could easily perceive he was per- fectly conversant with business, as he kept no less than three or four secretaries employed, whilst he conversed at times with those around. After a while, he informed us our passports and guides should be ready before the entertainment he wished us to partake of was con- cluded. This was a personage of too high a rank to have his invit- ation refused ; I was obliged, therefore, to rest contented with this additional delay. The preparations for the feast were certainly conducted in a style of profuse hospitality, which I was not prepared to expect. Three or A PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT. 65 four buffaloes* hides sown together, were spread upon the ground, in the midst of the large circle that had filled the tent, and ex- tending several feet beyond the outer wall. It was easy to perceive, from the grease and filth it was loaded with, that this delectable table-cloth had descended as an heir-loom in the family, for many successive generations : the guests, however, approached its wide cir- cumference with the appetites of hunters preparing for the chace. A long train of slaves and servants now appeared, extending from the private tents to the presence, and each bearing in his hands a mighty tray, loaded with coarse black rice, and the legs, heads, and bodies, of many a slaughtered sheep, which I had seen browsing in perfect tranquillity an hour or two before. I had soon occasion to perceive that their skill and care in the cookery was about equal to the simplicity of their manner of serving up. Large pieces of the skin, that had been neglected to be flayed, were hanging in loose folds or patches on many a goodly joint ; and the whole appeared, in truth, as if the animal had been torn to pieces, by the hungry dogs that now approached, waiting, at a respectful distance, their expected gleanings of the feast. The whole being quickly arranged, the " Bism Allah, Irrachman, Irrachim," or grace, was pronounced in an audible voice ; and the cliief, dashing his brawney fist into the nearest heap, set us an example I was constrained to follow from pure civility, and to avoid offence. A meeting of our worthy well-fed citizens, assembled to discuss the merits of a turtle or a venison-feast, could not have par- taken of such delicacies with greater glee and avidity than were dis- played by my worthy hosts in their joint attack on this simple fare. The utmost silence prevailed for a while, until the chief, having satisfied the first cravings of a keen appetite, looked round, and en- couraged his guests to persevere. I was so unlucky, at this moment, as to attract his attention ; when, observing me at a stand, my sto- mach being in a very critical unsettled state from all I had wit- nessed, he seized a remaining head with part of the neck and shoulders hanging to it, and fastening his claws in the cavities of the 66 MONTIFIC BEDOOINS. eyes, divided the morsel in two, and beckoned me to eat. I felt this as the concluding stroke to the sickly feeling that was stealing over all my faculties : after an attempt, therefore, I was obliged to resign my seat ; and the remaining guests, all rising in their turn, their places were supplied by some inferior company, f hat was only entitled to appear at the conclusion of the feast Whilst these also were withdrawing, the servants handed water round (as before dinner) to wash our hands ; and the hungry curs, that had been kept off with difficulty, now nished in with canine ferocity, attacking the bones, the wooden trays, and the hide itself. In a moment every thing was clear ; and coffee being handed round to all the guests, (the youth standing up respectfully behind his father, as during the whole of the entertainment, and presenting him with the cup,) we smoked the parting pipe, and prepared to mount. " Stranger," said the chief to me at parting, (as it was interpreted,) " I understand thou art a servant of the great Aly's. Thou art come a weary dangerous pilgrimage, and art arrived in the day of strife. When thou art presented to the Pasha, (as God being willing thou shalt reach Bagdad in safety, with the assistance of my guides,) tell him thou hast dwelt with the Montifics at Coot, in arms, and for the support of his cause. God being willing ! for he is great ; the son of the mighty Solyman shall not bend to a Georgian slave. Sayud Pasha," accompanying the word with one of those motions it was not easy to misunderstand ; " Sayud Pasha is the Pasha of the Montifics." This tribe has frequently infested the road from Bussora to Bagdad, possessing many of the villages from the first place to Ardje, and from Korna to the same ; and retiring to the desert whenever it was attacked by a superior force. At one time they went so far as to besiege Bussora itself : their insolence, however, was severely chastised by Solyman Kaichja, who succeeded afterwards to the pashalic of Bagdad ; and who, after the example of his father-in-law, the cele- brated Achmed Pasha, contrived frequently to attack them unex- pectedly with equal vigour and effect Achmed Pasha (it is MONTIFIC BEDOOINS. 67 related) having on one occasion been so fortunate as to take Shaik Shadun, the reigning chief, a prisoner, was so generous as to grant him his release, but with a strict injunction to conduct himself with greater regularity, and to pay his tribute at the appointed time. The same disorders, however, again prevailing, he sent his son-in-law Solyman Kaichja against them, with a small select force, which at- tacking their camp unexpectedly, had the address to seize their shaik a second time. The Arabs of the present day are still enthusiasts in their praise of the valour he displayed in his defence ; for when his lance and sword had failed, he fought it out with his battle-axe ; and even struck at his enemies with the heavy stirrups of his saddle when this weapon had been wrenched from him ; refusing, though a prisoner, after a desperate resistance, to yield to those humiliating conditions which the victor endeavoured to impose. " I am de- scended from a long chain of noble and warlike ancestors," the stern captive replied, enumerating their titles: " thou canst not name the sire * that gave thee birth, the mother that bore thee in her arms : the chance of war has made me thy prisoner, but shall not tarnish the honour of my tribe." A more generous foe had praised the spirit which adversity could not subdue : Solyman, however, struck off his head with a blow of his scimitar, and sent it to the presence. After this, the other shaiks thought proper to submit ; and eighteen of them presented themselves on the same day, believing their sub- mission would be accepted: Solyman, however, who thought such an opportunity could never again present itself, ordered their heads to be struck off; so weakening the tribes (in the loss of their chiefs) by this barbarous policy, that they remained tolerably quiet and submissive for a time. The Turks cite these campaigns of Soly- man's in testimony of their courage ; the Arabs, even to this day, with curses and abhorrence, as having been attended with the greatest and most wanton cruelties. ' Solyman Kaichja was :: Georgian by birth, and had been purchased in his youth by .Vchme