'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [‎138v] (282/540)

(bapgage camels), 8 " thaluls " (riding camels), 3 hawks a greyhound and 11
sheep for meat. Am leaving two Bedouins-— Mathoor and Mahomed bin Aamir
behind for the first two posts with orders for the former to meet me at Hafar on
the 12th February and the latter at Rigai on the 16th February,
30th January, —Cloudy morning looking like rain, but we started, the
loading up showing more method than on my first trip last November.
Left the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at 9"3o A. M. and cleared the town in half-an-hour
going due south. The road is a well-defined track with first half of march
absolutely bare, but later we came on some grass, weeds and " arafij grazing.
Camped at 2-45 in a patch of good arafij " just short of Malha with Burgan,
Wara and Maadaniyat Hills all visible. Marching of the " hamla " not parti
cularly good as hardly settled down to work on the first day. Rain came on in
the evening and this probably means a late start to-morrow.
21 st January.—Zzxdi joined us with the two hawks. ^ Rain most of the
night and as tents sopping wet decided to halt, but sun coming out dried^ up
things rapidly so we managed to march at noon. Passed Malha wells in a
little over an hour. The remains of what apparently was once a hut just above
the wells are known as Kasr-i-Malha. Got to the top of Wara Hill about 4 P.M ,
whence fine view. Hill seems to be a curious out-crop of some kind of lime
stone rock jutting up 80 to 100 feet in an otherwise flat or very slightly undu
lating plain. After another hour's march camped at 5 P.M., about north-west
from Burgan Hill and not far from one of my previous camps. " Hamla"
marching fairly.
1st February. —Sent on two men and water-camels ahead to Subaihiya
wells to fill up every available water-skin as probably no more water until As-
Safa 6 or 7 days hence. Owing to heavy dew last night could not get off until
9-30 A M., and loaded up skins, leaving at noon south-west for As-Safa which is
said to be 41 hours hence Zaid very keen we should go due west to strike the
"jada" (main road) direct to As-Safa which he says starts from At-Towil a
little west of Wara' Hill, I don't agree, as I want to fix Thamila-ut-Turki, which,
from my previous tour, round here, seems to be wrongly-placed on Knox's map,
and Khalaf says it is almost in our track if we make a bee-line from Subaihiya
for As-Safa. Found Thamila-ut-Turki after nearly three hours' march to be a
little off our road to left; it must be quite 10 miles south-east of the position
Knox gives it, but I got bearings to Burgan and Wara and an approximate
bearing to Grain Hill (invisible) which with careful dead reckoning should fix it
tolerably accurately. From this Thamilat at which the wells had fallen in and
there was no water we bore a little more to our right and eventually reached, at
4-10 P.M., the top of the ridge dividing Ash-Shag from the eastern drainage and
camped after another | hour's march. Camels marching neither good nor bad.
Zaid managed to lose the Shaikh's Hurr hawk " Barkat " the first time he put
her up, but succeeded in getting one hubara with the Shihan which we used for
completing " Jumlah's" training.
2nd February. —Marched at 9-20 A .M., and soon sighted Fowaris Hill
about south-south-east. Continued descending steadily into the Shigaig, after
crossing which and rising a little over the ridge between this valley and Ash-Shag
passed a little south of another of my previous camps. At this point the Shag
is very difficult to define beyond that it lies between the ridge just mentioned
and stops as soon as one reaches the bare gravel where the A1 Garaa waste
begins. This we did at 1-20 P M. Soon we had lost all marks and there was
absolutely no track nor a vestige of anything by which to know direction except
the sun. We were steering about south-west and my compass showed Khalaf
held his course very steadily. The camels began to march better after leaving
the u arafij " grazing of Ash-Shag, the Bedouin reason being that they are
anxious to get on to the next grazing. We camped at 4 -ao P.M., on the bare
plain with not a scrap of life, animal or vegetable, visible to the horizon which
was a dead level line all round giving exactly the effect of being at sea. Fortu
nately we had carried some firewood with us and that eked out with camel-
dung made the cooking-fire.
yd February. —Marched at 8-45 keeping about the same direction
with a shade less south in it. Halted a few minutes for the ''asr" prayer and