File 3142/1903 'Hedjaz Railway' [‎56v] (119/488)

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There are also some 450 Italian, Greek, Montenegrin, and other Christian workmen,
who construct station buildings, bridges, tunnels, and other more difficrdt labour,
soldier labour being confined to simple earthwork, cuttings, and the laying of the^
permanent way.
Efforts have been made to instruct soldiers in masonry bridge work, with some
success, as a special bridging company can now construct culverts up to 10 feet.
The Medina garrison, comprising some 3,000 men, has recently commenced earth
work from Medina, under superintendence of Turkish Engineer officers, but no bridge^
work has been attempted, or rads laid.
It will probably be found impossible to dispense entirely with the Italian or European
workmen and contractors, and they will carry on their part of the work right up to
Medina, or even Mecca.
Tebuk, which has a plentiful water supply, is being made into a large depot,
similar to Maan.
Another depot will be made at El Ula (just south of Medain-i-Salih), a small town,
with a plentiful water supply, and finally a depot will be made in Medina.
All efforts are now being directed to reach Medina, and it is hoped in sixteen
months’ time, he., in September 1908, the line will be completed thus far.
It is not proposed to at once continue the line from Medina to Mecca, but to
complete other projects, such as the construction of a sheltered port at Haifa, the
construction of the Jeddah-Mecca line for the use of the Indian pilgrims, and some
short branches in Syria, which will be likely to pay and bring in revenue. When this
programme has been carried out, the construction of the Medina-Mecca line will be
considered further.
These proposals do not take into account the bitter hostility of the Arabs, and the
possibility of an attack by Ibn Rashid from Hail, which is only eight days’ march from
Akhdar or Muadhem, or by Ibn Saoud, the Emir of Nejd, both of whom see their
independence threatened by the advance of the line. Even now work has been
stopped temporarily at the Medina end, and several raids on the construction parties
have been made near Akhdar by hostile Arabs, while individual soldiers, who stray but
a short distance from their working parties, are robbed or killed.
Between Medina and Mecca the powerful tribe of the Beni Harb will not even
permit of the construction of the telegraph between those places, much less the
railway.
The policy of the Turks is to pay the various Sheikhs along the line an annual
subsidy to prevent attacks by their tribesmen, and this serves fairly well for the large
tribes of Ad wan and Beni Sakhr between Damascus and Maan, but those farther south
are more difficult to control, and have far more power of mischief.
Station buildings south of Tebuk are loopholed for defence, with a store of water
and provisions to resist attack.
In this connection must be noted the very large and increasing importation of
rifles in recent years into Syria and Arabia. The principal weapon thus imported
is the Martini.
The Druzes, the people of the Hauran, the Lebanon, and the great Bedouin tribes
south-east of Damascus, obtain rifles from Syrian ports, while the Bedouins of north
west Arabia get them in from numerous small inlets on the Red Sea coast.
The result of this has been that every Arab in the interior has his Martini with
belt full of cartridges which he is able to refill from local resources, and thus finds
himself as well armed as the Turkish troops.
This applies not only to Arabia, but also to the Hauran, the Lebanon, and the
districts close round Damascus.
Arab raiding parties from the Shammar or Nejd can cover great distances, 60 to
70 miles in the day by mounting two men on a camel, and these might readily attack
the scattered working parties on the railway, cut off the water supply, and destroy
depots before the slow moving infantry detachments could be concentrated.
Water being everything, and only found at long intervals, detachments would be
in danger of perishing of thirst.
Military Organization of Construction Works.
The parties at railhead comprise three battalions of Nizam infantry and two
railway battalions kept up to the full strength of 5,000 men by constant small drafts.