File 2869/1906 Pt 2 'Arms traffic: Mekran Coast and Baluchistan. Correspondence (1908-9)' [‎259r] (526/554)

11
“rJE •SttiStS! Sl “ lb — “* “"«
Coast. g ad g0ne t0 Ah Fu Jaira on the Ash Shemailja
6. I left Ras-al-Khaima at 8 pm and 15 , ^ at-u
Mr. Bill might catch the slow mail'for A t Bund f r Abbas . ^ order that
Rodent. Having dispatched the renort hv thp t d f ° rvva + !' d a re l } . ort b 7 her to ^e
f f d ede M h ^ t0 A1 ^whor/l«ct^ e :t 0 7 n ufk 0 ' A^lso^e
fr ed f ■ *!!' G “ih e
i pj • r» ’ . &UI : L LO Jias 'ai-Jvnaima, had then returned to FniairA Knf horl
left again five days previously for A1 K'liQn..».r. 4 . 1 , r» i ^ -rujaira, out nau.
xf s “ a jtea
diseJbake 6 /M^m ^ n ° 0n f ° r MuSCat ’ Where 1 arrived at 7 A ' M - the 15th, and
(Signed)
I have, &c.
WALTER HOSE.
In closure 8 in No. 1.
(Confidential) lieutenant-Commander Hose to Commander Litchfield.
Six*
’ r ttavi? i . , " ReMreastfi at Muscat, November
H f ^ tb e honour to report that on mj arrival at Muscat on the 15th instant I
was requested by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. to embark the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. dragoman and proceed to
Sm, and make investigations re the arrival there of an agent of the Mad Mulfah, named
Hamed-bin-Shirwa, with a consignment of rifles for final transport to Somaliland
2. In accordance with this request, I left Muscat at 10 p.m, the 16th, and arrived
at Sui at daylight on the 17th. I landed at T’SO with the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. dragoman, Said
Maliommed, and, with my interpreter, Hadji Abdullah, I went first to see the Hindoo
Banyan Merchant of Indian extraction. Geviam, who had sent the news of the arrival of Hamed-bin-Shirwa at Sur, and
ivas told by him that the “Somali ’ had sailed that morning about 3 a.m. On beino-
pressed tor proof of this, he produced several witnesses, whose evidence, however
seemed somewhat contradictory. Still, the majority of the evidence was in favour of his
aving sailed, and that, taken with the Banyan’s positive assurances of the fact, induced
me to get away in chase, since, if the statement was true, it was of the utmost
importance to get away without delay; and, if it were false, any other inquiries
concerning Mamed could be prosecuted on my return.
3. 1 got away at 10T5 and proceeded full speed round Ras-al-Hadd, and at 2 p.m.
overhauled four bedans which I stopped and boarded. It turned out that these had left
bur at / a.m., and consequently it seemed impossible that if Hamed had left Sur at
3 a.m., as stated by Geiram, that I could overhaul him before dark ; also, the nakhodas
and crews of bedans said they had seen Hameds boat in the Khor at Sur the previous
evening, and weie inclined to think he had not sailed before them that morning. On
this I ileteimined to return to Sur, and got there at 5 p.m. I then landed again with
Said Mahommed and Hadji Abdullah and interviewed Geiram a second time. He
informed me that he had ascertained positively in the meantime that Hamed’s bedan
vvas still in the Khor; that he had started out that morning, but the sight of the
“Redbreast” had driven him in again. The latter part of this statement I found to be
absolutely untrue when I saw the unprepared state of the bedan for any voyage. I went
to her after leaving the “ Banyan Merchant of Indian extraction. .” She was entirely empty, and was lying alongside
another Somali boat two-thirds laden with rice and dates. The owner and nakhoda of
this boat, a Somali named Mahmud Mahommed, appeared on the scene and claimed
ownership to Hamed’s boat as well, saying he bought her from Salah-bin-Sheikh, of Sur,
a few days ago. I had the cargo of Mahmud’s boat (sambuk) overhauled, but found
nothing suspicious.
L After my examination of the boats I went to visit Sheikh Abdullah-bin-Salim,
who assured me he had come from Jaalan to Sur entirely over this arms running affair,
and had issued orders to the effect that none of his people were to countenance it or to
allow any arms to leave the place. He was leaving Sur again the next day, but promised
to leave some one to see his orders carried out.
5. AVhile with Sheikh Abdullah a man called Jumma-bin-[?] arrived, and told
Said Mahommed that Hamed-bin-Shirwa had imported 400 rifles into Sur, and now had
them hidden in the house of one Nasr-bin-Khamis, in West Sur; that Hamed had