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reporting the matter and asking him to deal with his brother, but Shaikh
Ahmad took no action. A few days later Shaikh ’Abdullah interfered with
his brother s chauffeur who had come into Kuwait to buy supplies, and
thereby delayed his return to camp. The next morning, the 14th Decem
ber, Shaikh Subah came into Kuwait and told Shaikh ’Abdullah that things
could not go on like that, and suggested that they should go together to the
Ruler and get their quarrel settled. Shaikh ’Abdullah agreed, and they
started off together to Shaikh Ahmad’s Palace outside the east of the town
in Shaikh Subah’s car. Just as they were leaving the town, however, a
fresh violent quarrel broke out, which resulted in Shaikh ’Abdullah, who
having come in from camp had his rifle with him, killing Shaikh ’Abdullah.
Shaikh Subah left his brother’s body in the road and drove straight back
to his camp, but was arrested the next morning and brought into Kuwait
and put in prison. His chauffeur and servant, who took no action at all
to stop the quarrel, were publicly flogged.
Condition of the Country.
Early in January messengers sent by the Shaikh of Kuwait with letters
to Ibn Sa’ud, complaining of a raid on his subjects by Ibn Shuqair in
December 1927, arrived back with a reply expressing regret and promising
restitution. They had been told that a force under Fahd bin ’Abdullah bin
Jiluwi which was being ordered up from Hasa would deal with Ibn Shuqair.
The promise, however, was never kept, as Tbn Shuqair temporarily evacuat
ed his village of Jiryah, and Ibn Jiluwi’s force was withdrawn in February.
On the evening of the 27th January news reached Kuwait that ’All bin
5 Ash wan, of the Aulad Wasil sub-section of the Buraih Mutair, with a
force of 350 camel riders and 50 horsemen, had raided the Kuwait
’Uraibdfi^ at Umm Ruwaisat, 38 miles north-west of Jahrah, killing three
men and carrying off a considerable number of camels and sheep.
All available cars in Kuwait were at once commandeered and sent out
to Jahrah the same night, with orders to proceed to Riqa’i, 90 miles further
to the west, south-west as soon as it was light enough to see, in the hope
of cutting off the raiders’ retreat.
This they succeeded in doing, and at 4-30 p.m. on the 28th January
fifteen cars out of twenty five which had left Kuwait arrived at Riqa’i—a
very creditable performance, seeing that there is no road beyond Jahrah
and all the cars were grossly overloaded, some carrying as many as nine
men. There they encountered the raiders and at once attacked them.
Althongh only numbering seventy five rifles, the Kuwait force was very
much bettor armed than the raiders, to whom moreover the motor car was
an entirely new factor in war. The result was that the Kuwait force in
flicted very heavy casualties on the enemy, and forced them to abandon a
considerable portion of the booty, their own casualties being light although
they included their commander, Shaikh ’Ali al-Khalffah, who was severely
wounded.
After the engagement proper was over, Shaikh ’Ali as-Salim, a very
gallant but hot headed youth who had been delayed by car trouble, arrived
on the scene and was much galled at finding himself too late for the engage
ment. In direct defiance of orders he insisted in pushing on, with the result
that he and his par*y were trapped in the Batin, where they fought till they
ran out of ammunition and were eventually butchered in cold blood. But
for this regrettable incident, the action of the Kuwait force would have been
an unqualified success.
As it was the Kuwait casualties on the 28th January were eleven killed
and eleven wounded, of whom one subsequently died, while the Mutair
certainly lost over thirty five killed. Four Kuwait cars had to be tempo
rarily abandoned but were brought in afterwards, and it is interesting to
note that one which had fallen into the Ikhwan’s hands was able to come
in under its own power. They had tried to render it unserviceable, but
beyond breaking the instruments on the dash board and wrenching on the
doors, they had done little harm to it.