Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/110

 these huts, on the right-hand side of al-Mabrak and to the east of the date palms, there grows a group of dûm palms (Fig. 32).

We remained in the šeʻîb of al-Mabrak from 6.25 to 7.28. Four men and two women came up to us and very willingly described to me the vicinity of Ḥaḳl, asking if one of them could accompany us as a guide. I selected a short, thickset man, named Farrâǧ ar-Rwêkbi (Fig. 33), to come with us to the nearest camp of the ʻImrân.

While I was negotiating for the guide, Ismaʻîn shot twelve ḳaṭa’ birds (a species of partridge), which were drinking from the fresh spring. Nowhere in this oasis are there any traces of old buildings, and, as there was absolutely no pasture in the vicinity for our camels, we could not remain in Ḥaḳl.

At 8.38 we went on to the left side of the šeʻîb and proceeded in a southeasterly direction across the undulating, bare, parched region of al-Haša’, which gradually merges into the elevation of Sahab aṭ-Ṭabaḳ. At 9.20 we had the palm groves of al-Ḥmejẓa and al-ʻEnâbijje on our right hand, in a deep notch; and we rode into the šeʻîb of al-Ḥmejẓa at the spot where it is joined by the šeʻîb of al-Emejḳ. At the head of the latter stands a small weli (shrine) of Sheikh Ḥmûd. The saint Ḥmûd is called the liberator of the prisoners, fakkâk al-maḥâbîs. If an Arab who has been imprisoned by the Turkish Government appeals to him, he will set him free, even though he may be in chains. It is seldom that he assists a Turk or a Črkas (Circassian).

At ten o’clock we descended into the šeʻîb of al-Ǧille, known as Umm Ǧurfejn in its middle part, where there was a settlement of liberated black slaves. Their chief was called Faẓlallâh. They live like the Arabs, breeding goats as well as a few sheep and camels. They comprise thirty-six families