Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/394

340 now divested themselves of their chain armour, which was made in the shape of a shirt with a high collar, coffee was handed to them, and the wounded man was invested with a cloak of honour as a reward for his bravery. News was then brought that the Sayeh were not likely to listen to the terms proposed, and this intelligence threw a fresh gloom over the assembled Arabs. Sufoog was evidently thinking what was to be done, and from some signs which passed between them I concluded that the heads of the Shammar had determined upon a fresh battle with their neighbours. Not relishing the idea of mixing in an affray of this nature I repaired to our tent determined to make an effort to leave the encampment.

As soon as we got our mules together I sent to inform Sufoog that we were about to start: he still protested against our departure, but finding me decided he at length gave his assent. He then presented Mrs. Badger and myself with a horse, and gave one also to our Greek servant. The Armenian pedlar, who professed to be a judge in such matters, discovered several defects in the animal offered to me, and pressed me to refuse it. I endeavoured to show the fellow the impropriety of such a course, but not satisfied with this he went to Sufoog himself and told him that I was discontented with his present. The Sheikh then came out, and after examining the creature, which it appears he had just purchased from one of his tribe for several camels and sheep, pronounced it sound and good in every respect. We now strung the three horses together, mine being the hindmost, and started from the encampment. We had not proceeded more than a couple of miles, when the former owner, disgusted that a horse of his should have been decried, came quietly in the rear of our caravan, loosed the horse from its fellow, jumped on his back, and before we were hardly aware of his presence plunged into the desert and was soon out of sight. We were too glad to have escaped from the encampment to think of returning, so leaving the horse to the Arabs we continued our journey towards Harrân.

The following account of the different streams in this district may not be uninteresting to geographers. The Jullâb rises at a place called Deeb Hisâr to the east of the Garamoosh range, runs in a southerly direction, and is met a little south of