'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎129r] (262/470)

is a young man of about 30, of medium height and build, and looks strong and
capable. He says that he has completely broken relations with his tribe and wishes
to remain in this area. There is, to my knowledge, no present objection.
“ Inter-tribal Raiding.—'YYiis pastime has been indulged in as usual throughout
the summer, and, with the exception of one unfortunate raid by combined ‘Ajman
and Shammar on a trader’s caravan going from Kuwait to ‘Anizah, and some
annoyance given to Zubair traders on the caravan roads leading from Kuwait and
Nasiriyah by Mutair parties raiding in this district, it has been confined to old
standing feuds, irrespective of whether the tribes were friendly to us or not.
“ Shammar and “A]man joined hands against the Mutair, Subai 4 and Bani
Hajr of Najd. Some Shammar raided the Rawalah and ‘Anizah in the west and
north. The Dhafir, with the Sudaid and Toman 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. of Shammar, who were living
with them, devoted most of their attention to the ‘Anizah, but were also kept busy
by the Najd tribes, who were here in great force during July and August. From
all accounts the honours appeared to be even. Our tribes have in any case not
complained of their luck. The Beduin call this sport their trade and resent
interference in it. Attempts were made this year to suppress it, but with little
success. When threatened with loss of subsidies and food, the shaikhs promised
to cease altogether if the order was imposed on all concerned. The shaikhs are
inot in a position to stop it completely, but if the practice were discountenanced
and examples made of the culprits in some cases, it would gradually die out.
Another method of putting an end to it would be to prohibit the sale and
importation of arms and ammunition to Iraq. The Beduin have not more than
an average of 20 rounds per rifle, and when this is expended their raids will revolve
themselves into robbery with no fatal results. They might then be more easily
made amenable to useful occupations, such as policing and trade.
Zubair Town : (a) The Shaikh. —Shaikh Ibrahim ‘Abdullah is intelligent and
experienced in desert politics. He is tactful and winning in his manner towards
Europeans. He is not so towards his own people, and he is often arrogant and
overbearing in his dealings with them. He exercises the power vested in him to the
fullest extent, and he is feared in consequence, but has no influence with his people
beyond that. His aim is to keep the town and its inhabitants in its present unde
veloped state, and he has hitherto resisted all encroachments of modern progress.
He is an extremist in his religious views. He always takes care to veil his opinions
when in opposition to our policy, and I have had no difficulty in keeping on good
terms with him.
(b) Population. —The inhabitants are chiefly descendants of the group of
emigrants that came here from Najd about 250 years ago, and others that followed
in their train. Thev are of the Sunni sect, but not Wahhabi.
“ There are no" Europeans. Jews and Christians have been consistently dis
couraged from settling here. The people are intelligent above the average and some
of them have ideals worthy of note. Their want of enterprise, which is evident
everywhere, would appear to be due to lack of encouragement. The population
is not at present known, but is estimated to be about 8 to 10,000.
“ The old town is purely Arab in its construction and much of it is crumbling
into decay. A considerable addition was made to it during the 30 years preceding
the war, and this part, with its wide and well-aligned streets and large roomy houses,
is a credit to the administrators of that time. The old wall, which originally
surrounded the town, marks distinctly the division between the two periods.
“ (c) Trade. All the trade of the town is done in the market, which is composed
of the usual small shops with an open front, cramped into a few narrow closed-in
lanes. Rice, dates, &c., required for the desert are in stores bordering on open
spaces suitable for loading caravans.
“ (d) Industry. There are no productive industries in the town, and it owes
its existence to being the distributing centre for trade between the western desert
and Basrah. Beduin bring in their animals, wools, skins, &c., for sale, and take
their requirements, which are chiefly rice, dates, barley, coffee, and cloth. I here
are no evidences of wealth, nor of extreme poverty. The proportion of rich people
in the town is small. Street begging is unknown. There are few coffee-shops,
and no places of amusement.
“ (e) Water Supply. Water is scarce in Zubair. The sole source of supply
is Dirhamiyeh Wells. This is a natural basin an acre in extent situated 2 miles