File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎68r] (144/834)

— 519
ARABIA.
North-West.
Intelligence.
Railway Operations.
(a) Southern Section.—K Turkish 2nd Lieutenant of the
l/55th Regt., Mohammed Tewfik, captured near Stahl Antar late
in November, states that, at that date, there were a,bout 1,000
spare rails at Bueir station and varying stocks at other stations.
Broken rails were collected and remade at the Medain Salih
workshops. The train service was irregular, but had never been
interrupted for more than three days at a time. There are
plenty of repair gangs. As for food on the L. of C., only meat
was scarce, the sole supply being sheep furnished by Ibn Rashid.
The latter had a narrow escape on his return journey from
Medina, the line being cut just behind his train while it was in
Stahl Antar station. Another 2nd Lieutenant of the 2/55th
Regt., Ahmed Hamdi, has reported that, on November 11 , Ali’s
artillery wrecked the Bowat barracks and exploded all the rifle
ammunition there.
Major Cornwallis reports from Abu Markha that, owing
to recent heavy rains, broken culverts, temporarily filled in with
sand-bags, have had to be repaired afresh by the Turks. We
have had other confirmatory evidence of disastrous floods along
the railway line during the past month.
General,
Major Cornwallis writes (under date December 14) that,
when Sherif Ali was in camp at defer, messengers arrived from
Sheikh Aqab ibn Ajil, of the Abdah Shammar, maternal uncle of
Ibn Rashid, bringing a present of six horses and six camels
laden with semn, which are believed by Sherif Abdullah to have
been sent as an “ olive branch ” by Ibn Rashid himself. When
the latter was at Medina, Sherif Ali approached him through
intermediaries of whom Sheikh Aqab was one, but received an
evasive answer, in which Ibn Rashid said that being a guest at
Medina, he could not in honour come over then, but that, when
he should be again at el-Hejr (Medain Salih), he would see if he
could get out of the Turks’ hands. He is virtually a prisoner,
says Abdullah, (we have confirmatory evidence of the truth of
this) and has made one unsuccessful attempt to break out towards
Hail. Abdullah is inclined to accept his repentance, if definitely
offered, but only on the strict understanding that he takes the
field against the Turks. Failing that, the Sherifial family would
favour his supersession at Hail by Dhari ibn Fahd el-Ubeid, who
is now at Mecca : but they*are aware that the Shammar are not
very willing to see the llbeids preferred to the elder Abdullah
branch of the Rashid house, from which last have sprung all the