Page:The journal of the Royal Geographic Society of London. Volume 34, 1864. (IA s572id13663720).pdf/352

142 The main support of the inhabitants is from a twofold source—commerce and fishery. The former is (or rather was, for it declines daily), of great activity and an extended circle; an uninterrupted stream of trade flowing between Bahreyn and the coasts of ’Oman, of Persia, of Sinde, of India, besides Kateef, Abou-Shahr, Koweyt, and Basrah. Even at the present time, when this activity is much slackened, large sailing-ships, some constructed in the island itself, others at Linja, on the Persian coast, others at Koweyt or in India, are continually coming in and going out of the harbour; bales of goods landed or embarked, sailors, custom-house officers, porters, merchants, crowd the quay: it is a busy scene. The various branches of the market-place are thronged by Persians, Nejdeans, Omanites, Mogols, Sindians, Indians, negroes, till the narrow alleys are well-nigh choked up. There are here alone more shops and artisans in cloth and metal than in all the towns of Upper Nejed put together, and they would be much more numerous yet were they better encouraged.

Coffee-houses, prohibited in the Nejed by Wahhabee scrupulosity, here abound, and are filled by merchants, sea-captains, and all who desire a rendezvous for business or the news of the day. The mosques are, though for other reasons also, proportionately neglected. Drums and fifes, singing-bands, and noisy marriage processions, go about in the day and break the silence of night, to the delight of the “Baharineh” (as the inhabitants of the island are styled) and the great indignation of the Wahhabee stranger, somewhat out of his element here.

Meanwhile a large proportion of the population is employed in the pearl-fishery. Hundreds and hundreds of boats from the sea-coast towns and hamlets ply the shallow waters around the island, from April to November, and meet with great success. On these boats the local government levies a sort of poll-tax, besides a fixed duty on the pearly harvest, and of the sum thus collected a rated quota is transmitted to ’Oman. The principal market for pearls is at Bagdad and among the Jews of that city, who enjoy an almost exclusive monopoly of the trade.

Fish of all kinds abounds off the coast, and constitutes the chief article of food in the island: Mackarel, flounders, lobsters, crabs, shrimps, and the rest, are here incredibly cheap. I found the average prices in the fish-market at about one-twentieth of those at Beyrouth. On the other hand, mutton and beef are dear and bad. Camels’ flesh, so common an article of consumption in Nejed, is here almost unknown, and no great loss either.

The climate is remarkably mild, never cold, and seldom oppressively hot; its prevailing feature is great dampness. It is in consequence not very healthy; indeed, few places afforded me a better field for medical practice during my journey than