"تقرير إداري عن المقيمية السياسية في الخليج العربي والوكالة السياسية في مسقط عن الفترة ١٨٨٤-١٨٨٥." [ظ‎‎١‎٣] (١٣٠/٢٢)

20
ADMINISTEATION EEPOET OF THE PERSIAN GULF POLITICAL
shelves, they rig out poles by means of which they fish for sharks ; but it is a dan 0 eio P
tion, and several are said to perish annually by falling* off into the sea beiOW.
At night the fires lighted in the caves by the natives give the promontory a smgulai
appearance, and it is the only indication of the face of the cliff being inhabited, as t e ei
and caves are invisible from the sea during the day-time.
At Nishton, where the Dragon next anchored, one of the headmen was found to be
Salim-bin-Barukeyn, the Mahra who had succoured the Knight of the Bath's crew in June
1883 near Ras Sankireh. The old man expressed himself as being grateful for the liberal
treatment he had received from the owners of that vessel and the attention shown him in
Bombay, and observed that from being a poor fisherman he had become a merchant and a
headman of his village. The fame of Salim -bin-Barukeyn s good fortune has spread ever}
where along the coast, and has had an excellent effect; it is believed that the Aiabs will e
more inclined in future, after observing the liberality shown in these two instances^ to succoui
any Europeans who may happen to be wrecked on the shores of Southern Arabia.
The Jiry appears to have struck on a bank or reef off the point of Nishton Bay in
about two fathoms, and to have subsequently rolled off into deeper water; the crew, having
suffered from drinking the brackish water at Nishton, were carried on by the Arabs aftei a
few days to Dhaboot, 9 miles further to the north, where they remained until they embaiked
in the bugla for Muscat. The Makaddam of Dhaboot, Sheikh Awadth, is a fine-looking old
man, and seemed much gratified at the recognition by Government of his kindness to the
sailors. Two of the headmen of Nishton, Sheikhs Muhammad and Moosa, who happened to
be here, received their presents at the same time as Sheikh Awadth.
A few miles further up the Bay of El Kamar is Gheither, a small village of 30 houses,
but where a good deal of trade is done, as it is the terminus and depot of an impoitant icad
leading to the interior of Hadhramant. From Gheiter to Tereem passing through Ainat is
counted fifteen days'* journey, and the chief halting-place is Minar, about 6(J miles from the
sea. The road is level all the way.
Damkot, the next place visited by the Dragon, is a small Mahra town of about 100
houses built at the foot of a ravine at the bottom of this bay. There are about 300 inhabit
ants, and there is some little trade, but the people seemed very poor ; they have no dates or
corn, and possess only a few camels, goats, and cattle. The exports are frankincense, ghi, and
sardine oil. The Makaddam, a decrepit old man, said he remembered the boats of the Palinurus
being engaged in surveying the coast half a century ago. and had seen no ship here since then.
None of the people had ever seen a steamer before, and they had in fact shown evident signs of
alarm at the Dragon's approach, some clustering together, and others scampering away up
the hills at the back; but they were soon reassured. The ravine or gorge which is named
Showeyta divides the town into two parts and forms below a long lagoon or creek, the upper
part of which is sweet, becoming salt as it nears the sea. The ancient burial-ground lies
between the town and the sea ; it is very extensive and believed to be pre-Islamitic. The graves
are nearly circular and 10 or 13 feet in diameter.
Passing Has Sajar, which marks the southern limit of the territories of the Sultan of
Muscat, the Dragon arrived at Sallala and anchored off there on the 19th December. The
district of Dhofar, according to some, includes the whole tract lying between Ras Eesoot and
Ras Noos, consisting of a maritime plain 85 miles long, enclosed by the lofty range of Jebel
Samhan, which touches the sea at these points. But the application of the name is more usually
restricted to the rich alluvial plain between Resoot and Thakah. This plain, which is of half-
moon shape, is 30 miles in length, with an extreme breadth of about 14, and is formed by
the curvature of the hill range ; the coast-lines subtending this arc lying due east and west and
having a sharp turn or bay at Resoot and Merbat, which form sheltered harbours for vessels in
the south-west and north-east monsoons respectively. It is one of the most fertile and
favoured districts on the southern coast of Arabia, and its chequered history shows that it has
ever been a coveted possession. Extensive ruins of towns and forts scattered over its surface
are an attestation of a former populousness and importance that have long since passed away.
Dhofar contains at present five separate towns, all of them near the sea—Okad, Sallala, El
Hafah, El Dahareez, and Thakah. The Governor and his garrison reside at Sallala. Numer
ous wadies or water-courses intersect the plain, some of which, are well wooded and grassy
while others form small fresh-water lakes. The range about Merbat rises to an elevation of
3,000 or 4,000 feet, and is thickly wooded to the summit with tamarind and acacia, frankin
cense and bdellium, dragon's-blood and other gum-resinous trees, and affords pasturage to herds