Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/267

Rh check them by local information as much as possible. Many more names could also be collected by a more lengthy stay in the country.

I had the names written down in Arabic, so that the spelling is as correct as possible; but I have reason to believe the localities were not always correctly shown.

On the 31st December I left Tel abu Hareireh with four Arabs of the Huweitât tribe of Egypt that had been sent to us at the Dead Sea with a letter from Sir E. Baring describing the disasters in the Soudan.

The rest of the party went on to Gaza to undergo quarantine.

As the El Arish road was well known, I determined to march direct on Ismailia, thus striking out a new line, and passing through much more interesting country. One of my party, Abu Suweilim, had been employed by Sir C. Warren in hunting the murderers of Professor Palmer, and was one of the most energetic useful Arabs I have ever met: he had been the road we were about to take fifteen years before; the others did not know the road at all, and were of the usual Bedouin type, lazy and greedy.

Passing over a plain of cultivated ground, with numerous Arab tents, the inhabitants of which were busily employed in ploughing, and which had been already surveyed, about one o'clock I came to Wâdy Fara; this is a large and deeply cut wâdy, and contained a good deal of water. Just below the crossing there is a prominent mound called Tel el Fara, and before descending there are some traces of ruins and foundations of buildings called Kh. el Fara, but nothing of importance was left. An hour beyond the valley is a well-known tent called El Khudra, where for the last ten years a merchant from Gaza has traded with the Arab tribes, and doubtless does a good business, as many of the Arabs dare not show themselves in Gaza. The trader was a Bulgarian, and was so delighted at hearing his native tongue spoken that he would take no pay for the provisions of coffee, dates, and a saddle-bag I bought; he said he often had dangerous times with the Arabs, but that he bought a protection from the most powerful of the neighbourhood, and always obtained restitution of anything stolen.

We pushed on over open country until dark, when we made our camp fire on an open plain with a number of Bedouin's fires blazing round us. I was passed as Abdullah Bey, an Egyptian official journeying back to Egypt after having been to Jerusalem, and although it was only begun