'DIARY OF A TOUR IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND IN TURKISH ARABIA, DECEMBER, 1906 (WITH MAP)' [‎10r] (19/106)

13
ment in the hot weather, but one which
makes the light none of the best, whilst
the natural effluvia of the Arab are obtain
ed in a highly concentrated condition.
The date tracffi. Basra exists on its dates. For miles and
miles the banks of the river are fringed
with trees, and the quantity of dates
exported runs into hundreds of thousands of
tons. America, curiously enough, seems to
be the biggest customer. It is not a fruit
which at any time appealed much to me,
and after seeing and hearing something
of the methods of packing I shall hanker
after it still less. The date season proper
lasts roughly from September to the
end of December. During that time a
British gunboat is invariably stationed
in the Shatt-el-Arab, as piracy is by no
means entirely extinguished. This policing
by one power of the internal waterways
of another is at once curious and an elo
quent testimony to the general rottenness
of Turkish administration in outlying
provinces of the Empire. During the date
season there are often as many as a dozen
ocean-going steamers loading in the stream.
Labour difficulty. Labour is a difficulty and has to be brought
down from up river. High wages prevail,
and it is not unknown for unscrupulous
firms to entice away, by promises of
slightly higher pay, the coolies A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. brought
down with much trouble and expense
by another. There is considerable emu
lation to despatch the first ship-load of
dates, these commanding higher prices.
The skipper of the first boat gets a pre
mium. The talk of Basra business people
is all date. I think it would be no ex
aggeration to say, too, that dates are
the one subject of their dreams. But
except for the enthusiast, or the man
who is making his living out of their
exploitation, dates are not very interest
ing and I will say no more of them.
The limitations of Turkish rule. If further testimony were required as to
the slightness of the hold the Turks have on
these parts, the following few items may
serve. In a sentence one might say that
the extent of Turkish rule was limited to
the range of their rifles. A few days after
we arrived, the Mudir of Magil, about six
miles up the river, was murdered by the
Arabs, who appear to be most unruly.
During our stay in Basra a battle royal was
taking place one night on the left bank of
the Shatt-el-Arab. The incident, however,
did not appear to cause any surprise, being
common enough. The night before we left
for Bagdad an armed band of Arabs
attempted to hold up the house of some
American merchants, situated in an out
lying quarter. All the way up the river
we heard of the powerlessncss of the