'History of the imâms and seyyids of 'Omân by Salîl-ibn-Razîk, from A.D. 661-1856; translated from the original Arabic, and edited with notes, appendices, and an introduction, continuing the history down to 1870, by George Percy Badger, F.R.G.S., late chaplain in the Presidency of Bombay.' [‎96] (257/612)

90
THE IMAMS OF OMAN.
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Yemen. He came one year, as was his wont, and sold and
bought, and made much gain. When about to return home
he was seen by an Arab of ezh-Zhahirah leaving the market
with two bags of money on his shoulder. The Arab's
cupidity being excited, he followed the merchant stealthily
until he was out of er-Rastak and saw him put up for the
night in the plain called Shaab-el-Merkh, and stole the two
bags while the owner was asleep. He then rode off quickly
on his camel to an Arab named Salim-bin-Huwaishil, a sharp
fellow, whom the Imam had made Tracker 1 to the Beit-el-
Mal, and who resided at 'Araar, of er-Rastak. The robber
hailed this man during the night, and told him what he had
done to the Yemeny, and then offered him one of the bags
of money, pressing him to take it. Salim reflected for some
time, but finally accepted it, and said : " Go your way, and
should the Imam order me to follow up your footprints I
will deceive him." So the robber galloped his camel and at
sunrise reached the village of Wadam, where he sold the
camel to one of the Arabs of the place, and then hiring a
small craft embarked in it for Mekran.
1 Literally, " whom the Imam had appointed Ii-kass-il-dthar, '' that is,
for following the footprints or traces. Wonderful stories are told by the
Arabs of the success of these Pathfinders ; but the wonder is diminished
in some degree when it is remembered that the Bedawin tribes generally
have distinctive marks, called Uthrah, made with an iron instrument
called Mintharah, upon the under part of their camels' feet, in order to
be able to follow their footprints on the ground. The custom of having
men specially trained for this purpose appears to have prevailed in Sind
during the rule of the Amirs, and is, I believe, still retained as a part of
our police system in that province. " The Zemindars of villages," writes
Lieut. Hugh James in his Re-port on the Perguna of Chandookah, in
Upper Sind, " took care to have at least one tracker with them, and
these were brought up to their business from boyhood, and were gene
rally very expert: thefts have been traced after an interval of time had
elapsed, and at a distance from the place of perpetration, almost incre
dible,—through the running stream, over the newly-ploughed field,
through standing corn, over the hard soil of the desert, through the
crowded town, and along the high road, the criminal was hunted down."
Bombay Oovernment Selections, No. xvii. p. 741.
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