File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎13v] (35/834)

■feast.
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— 426 —
were practically all either old age or a type of diarrhoea. I
think there is little doubt that this clean bill of health was hugely
due to the improved quarantine arrangements at Jeddah and the
greatly improved medical arrangements made at Mecca and Muna.
General.
The number of pilgrims arriving by sea at Jeddah was small
(some 2,030, excluding Takruris from the Sudan) ; but the
arrangements for quarantine, landing, housing, etc. worked
smoothly and the charges made were—as far as has been
ascertained—in accordance with the liing s schedule of fees.
Names of various important chiefs who attended the Pilgrimage
w ill be given in a full report to be forwarded later. It is
satisfactory to know from Husein Puhi that, on practically every
occasion on which King Husein addressed assemblies of Chiefs
and Arabs during the Pilgrimage, he emphasized the fact that
Great Britain was the firm and true friend of the Arabs and that
without her assistance the Revolt would have been impossible.”
ARABIA.
North-West.
Intelligence.
Raids on the Railway.
(a) Northern Section .— The most important operation
during the past week has been the siege on October 18-19,
capture on the 20 th, and retention till the 21 st, of “ Hill Post 4,”
about half-way between Dhat el-Haj and Bir Hurmas stations, by
an Arab force, drawn from Beni Atiyah, Huweitat, Rowalla, and
Sherarat tribesmen. This is one of the intermediate posts lately
established, where stations are twenty kils. apart or more. With
what strength it was held we do not know. The only in
dication is that its garrison, together with the first force sent to
its relief, totalled 180 men, of whom 103 were killed or
captured. The Arabs seized the post, together with a detach
ment sent at midnight from Bir Hurmas, in a relief train,
which they derailed. They held on firmly to the Post,
but beyond destroying a few rails in three different places
and about a kilometre of telegraph wire, did no demolition,
probably for lack of explosives. It does not appear that they
had any European officer with them, and their commander was
probably Mursuq et-Teheimi. To have paralysed the Hejaz
railway for three days is very much to his credit. The Turks
did not report “ All clear” till late on the 22nd. The enemy had
shown great concern about the affair and, after the G.O.C. Maan
had declared himself unable to help owing to his Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Musa
expedition {see below), Ahmed Jemal Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , though no longer at