Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/162

126 knew that they were thinking of us as spending the day within the walls of Jerusalem. A penultimate bottle of claret was produced from the "cellar," in which the memory of absent friends was duly honoured; and, as a conclusion to the feast. Hart produced a plum cake of home manufacture, specially reserved for this occasion. Such was the evening of Christmas Day as observed in The Ghôr in the year 1883, by a party of deserted Englishmen!

On the evening of the day following Sheikh Arari, of Wâdy Mùsa, came into our camp on a visit to Sheikh Ali, and I took the opportunity of making his acquaintance. The interview was of some interest to us from the fact that he is supreme over all the chiefs of the district about Petra and the mountainous region extending to Kerak and the shores of the Salt Sea. The interview was witnessed by parties of his own retainers on the one hand, and of the Ghawarneh on the other; and I determined to take the opportunity of pleading the cause of these quiet and oppressed people.

Sheikh Arari is a man of about forty-five years, of a countenance somewhat Israelitish, and quite devoid of any sinister expression. We both remained standing in the open air; and after the usual salutations and expression of pleasure on my part at making his acquaintance, the following conversation took place.

Sheikh Arari expressed his regret that some of his followers had given us annoyance the evening before we left our camp at the head of The Ghôr, but reminded me that after he had given his promise (to Major Kitchener) that we should not be further disturbed this had been faithfully kept.

I replied that I was quite aware of this, and thanked him for his consideration.

Sheikh Arari then said he was friendly to English travellers, and did not wish they should be put to any annoyance while passing through his territory.

I replied that English travellers were always ready to pay what was just and reasonable to the sheikhs through whose territories they happened to travel;—but nothing more. Arari replied he did not wish them to pay more than that.

I then said the Ghawarneh are our friends and hosts. We are camping on their ground, and we wish them to be fairly and kindly treated; that they ought to be paid for whatever was got from them