"تاريخ البحرية الهندية. (١٦١٣- ١٨٦٣)." [‎٤‎١‎٩] (٦٢٢/٤٣٨)

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
419
Residency Surgeon, and Lieutenant Dawes, finally left Koweit,
on the evening of the 17th of February Assistant-Surgeon
Colville was instructed to make geological and botanical
notes, and Lieutenant Dawes was appointed geographer, in
which capacity his talents as a scientific observer and ex^
celleut artist, would find congenial employment. They were
both specially directed by Colonel Pelly to use the utmost
caution, considering the extreme danger of travelling among
such bigoted Mahomedans. The natives of the party consisted
ofa Mosuli as Arabic interpreter, named George Lucas, who
passed himself off as a Mahomedan,and called himself Abdulla;
two sowars from the north-west of India, who acted as order
lies; a chuprassie from Calcutta, two Persian servants, and a
Portuguese cook, besides Arab camel men—in all about thirty-
three people. All the party wore the Arab u kuffieh" and " abba,'■ ,
though, of course, the Arab followers knew their leaders were
English officers. The only tent was a small " rowtie," and
they took a limited amount of preserved provisions, without
which they could scarcely have got on. Their guide was a
Shybeh, a most useful man, belonging to that singular tribe of
people, whose origin is unknown, but who are the only human
beings who can live on the Central Arabian desert in the hot
weather. The party was also accompanied by Aali, a Sheikh of
the Sebaa tribe, who agreed to assist them with his clansmen in
the desert, but proved of no use, and, having nearly involved
them in a skirmish with a tribe with whom he had a blood
feud, finally disappeared at Riadh, after having done
his best to get them into trouble with the Wahabee Ameer,
by giving a mendacious account of their doings in the
desert.
Colonel Pelly made the excuse of the Ramadhan fast to go
past their actual destination at Riadh, in order to visit Sedoos,
where there is a column of which they had heard much at
Koweit. This was their furthest western point. On the 4th
of March the party passed through El Ayahah, the ruins of the
town where Abd-ul-Wahab, the founder of the Wahabee sect,
was born. On the following day they passed Dereeyah, march
ing through the earthworks thrown up by the Egyptian army,
under Ibrahim Pasha, which defeated the Wahabees, captured
their towns, and, for a time, broke their power. The party
rode into Riadh in uniform, and remained there four days.
During the latter part of their stay, matters looked very
ominous for their safety, and, under Colonel Pelly's directions,
Lieutenant Dawes' sketches were burnt, as in the event of
matters corning to the worst, the party would have been com
promised by their detection. The English officers were well
received by the Ameer personally, but, being blind and very
infirm, he was much in the hands of Mahboob, the Wuzeer, and
JbL £ "2