File 600/1905 Pt 3 'Aden Hinterland: Situation; Withdrawal of Political Agent from Dthala; Treaties with Haushabi, Kotaibi and Alawi chiefs' [‎82v] (160/508)

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3 Vn'm nrul the Kotaibi Chief with the Abdali
were formally entered upon ^ h ” iL a s well as their consent to the demoli-
Sultan in which their re *P® ctlve t ' , 1 ’ This was hereafter to he ratified by me
tion of their Bars, were duly entered, uns
on the conclusion of the agreement. ^ a diiIerellce
2. Shortly afterwards, on my arn ^ to the priority of the demolition
s sw i“ Miai " s ,i “ u ““•
s tr r, warsassa tsijxsz.
1 had EcrtSaWk ..d ft. M'ta B* l-A u P ...n .1 «he
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in company with the demolition party of 81st Pioneers.
, 0 t i ie i,ni I met with considerable opposition. Sheikh Ah Nas nr,
». A..S ^.. -ja r“ o? tr iss»
R S . 500 into h \ s ha 1 n ^; li . J .^rUarTnd building another elsewhere ; that I
contingent on is ce , a f; his own special invitation to effect the demo-
!h^ m ^rtt»: 0 ^^ yob ec«in ;f Snft been previously raised at Lahej
l V noint hadbeen ceded by the Kotaibi in the interest of pence and good
will and that this further objection now raised was not only ridiculous u
obstructive and unfriendly.
5 At this iuncture, the Alawi contingent on the hill, comprising over 50
or 60 armed men and made up of Alawis. Dthambanes and Hajailis, began to
show sicns of hostility and to threaten severe measure if the demolition of the
Bar were effected without the Alawi’s permission which was to be accorded
only if the Rs 500 were forthwith produced and paid m. A Dthamban w
whom I expostulated drew a bead on me with his loaded carbine and had he
not been seized by his people, the situation would have become distin t y
awkward.
6 The Kotaibi, on the opposite bill at Bar Taiz, seeing the night coining
on and Dar-al-Kabtan still standing, feared I bad gone back on my word and
sent me a message that until I completed the demolition, our sepoys Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank. would
remain in their bands as hostages.
7. Sheikh Ali Nashir now decamped in a rage, leaving 30 men on the hill
and refusing me the necessary permission to demolish his Bar. I was therefore
constrained to cede to the Sheikh s request because
( 1 ) I should have placed the Pioneer’s demolition party in an awkward
predicament had the Bar been demolished forcibly, and because
(2) The Kotaibi’s treatment of our hostages depended on the rasing of
the Alawi Bar.
1 could not, with Bar-al-Kabtan standing, leave the country which would
then have become a veritable Pandemonium. It was now pitch-dark. I paid
the Ks. 500 and blew up the Bar. I then proceeded to the Kotaibi camp and
released the detenus.
8 . The Kotaibi Chief promised to sign the agreement the following day at
Al-Millah but instead of coming, he wrote to say that the crowds of Kotaibis,
who had now poured in, prevented his coming in just then. Were he to come
without their permission, they would believe he had taken the monetary presents
himself for his own use and they would at once create discord. That he must
therefore perforce postpone a while his appearance.
9. There may be a momentary hitch in these proceedings owing to the
proximity of Ramdthan observances, hut I feel sure that Mahomed Saleh has
every inducement to come in and sign his agreement and that he will come.
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