[Un-numbered file] 'Diary of Colonel Hamilton's Visit to Nejd 1918' [‎71r] (141/206)

. - 30-
Czx?
formerly resided at Kowait. His first cousin
was the Ameer of Tharmidah when it held out
against Bin Saud who heseiged it. The cousin was
put to death for his resistance. Gardens of Thar
midah delightful:water in wells 60 feet Below
surface. Saw 2 wells one with 9 and one 10
"buckets working; each waterskin drawn By Bullock,
cow or donkey with a short,steep run down on
Both sides.
Wells here mostly worked By cattle curing
hours of day only. Some few wells worked by
camels as in Kasim. Plenty of maize and Bajra
(Dukha) and Dux, some lirne-trees-Melons, Pumkins,
and vegetables grow in profusion: air delightful
people look very much of the cultivating class
add are said to Be mostly "Beni Tamim, Outside
stalls in ruins. At the Ameer, ABdur uahman’s
house had coffee,tea and dates and then went
and spent an hour or two looking at wells and
chatting in gardens with Hullah ABdullah,Amar
and Thami, Thami has had 12 wives,all except
2 he says were girls,tne other 2 oeing grown
women. He did not keep any of them long, ihe
lad who was with us was the Ameer’s servant very
poor, said his only chance of getting a woman
was. to go/on a raid with Bin S a ud -Otherwise he
would remain a poor,wifeless wretch to the end
of his days.
The Ameer is a man of about 50 years old
and a regular type of townbred Arab most friend
ly. There seem to Be a good many of the Akhwan
about here. My "Salam-Aleks" were not infre
quently ignored.
There has Been some hot air in camp;
Ali-al-'fnowahi has Been growling against Abdul
Aziz Bin Hassoon and the latter and the Hulla
are not on good terms. Thami-al-Bair shouted