File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎5v] (19/834)

41 o
were to go where, when, and as I wanted. In an endeavour to
get over the difficulties caused by Audah Abu Tayi’s pretensions,
I appointed Sheikh Salem Alayan (Dumaniyah) to be O.C.
Bedouins, and asked for only Dumaniyah and Darausha tribesmen,
about forty in all. This number would have been enough to deal
with a wrecked train, and easy to handle in the Fasoa district,
(for which I was bound), where the wells are small. However
the enormous haul of booty in the train blown up early in
September near Mudowwarah had completely turned the heads of
the Huweitat, and hundreds clamoured and insisted on taking
part in my new expedition. We had a great deal of difficulty,
and in the end 1 accepted nearly 100 Darausha, and fifty
Dumaniyah, including every Sheikh in the two sub-tribes. All
others were refused.
A feature of the Huweitat is that every fourth or fifth man
is a sheikh. In consequence the head sheikh has no authority
whatever, and as in the previous raid, I had to be O.C. of the
whole expedition. This is not a job which should be undertaken
by foreigners, since we have not so intimate a knowledge of Arab
families, as to be able to divide common plunder equitably. On
this occasion, however, the Bedouins behaved exceedingly well,
and everything was done exactly as I wished ; but during the
six days’ trip 1 had to adjudicate in twelve cases of assault with
weapons, four camel-thefts, one marriage-settlement, fourteen
feuds, two evil eyes, and a bewitchment. These affairs take up
all one’s spare time.
We marched up Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Hafri (which drains into el-Gaa, N.E.
of Rum, a central basin into which W. Hisma and W. Rabugh
also pour) to its head near Batra, where w 7 e watered with some
difficulty owing to scarcity of supply, and the numerous Arab
families at the well. The area between Batra and the railway is
% full of Arab tents. From Batra we marched on October 3 to
near kilo. 475, where I meant to mine; but we found Turkish
guard posts (of fifteen to twenty-five men) too close to the
suitable spots. At nightfall, therefore, we went away to the south,
till midnight, when we found a good place, and buried an
automatic mine at kilo. 500'4. The nearest Turkish post was
2,500 m. away on the south. On the north there was no post for
nearly 4,000 yards. The mine-laying took the five of us two
hours, and then we retired 1,500 yards from the line and camped.
On the 4th no train passed. On the 5th a water-train came down
from Maan at 10 a.m., and went over the mine without firing it.
I waited till mid-day and then, in two hours, laid an electric
mine over theautomatic. The Turks patrolled the line twdce dail y,
but one may- usually reckon on their all sleeping at noon. We
then disposed the Arabs to attack the train when it should come
and waited till the morning of October 6 for one to arrive.
The line here crosses a valley on a bank twenty feet hhdi
and 500 yards long. The bank is pierced by three small bridges’
at intervals of about 200 yards. We laid our mines overthe