File 600/1905 Pt 2 'Aden Hinterland: Future Policy' [‎339v] (166/226)

We would urge you for
rSondLTwlthlhne^nd which the Great Government has now ordered
U9 ^We send. 0 y^uTthis letter by the hand of Haza Kasim Mukbil, the Duheni,
onr^ otp spnrl one cony of it to each of you.
Letter No. 846, dated the 10th February 1906.
From— Major-General H. M. Mason, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Aden ;
To—The Abdali Sultan.
We send you, oh friend, copy of a letter which we are to-day sending to
the Attifis and Yusufis concerning the recent postal robbery at Sheikh Othman.
2 The Mamais who are in here now are evidently savage and rather
ignorant people. We trust that they will commit no mischief on the roads.
Tt would be well to warn your soldiers to be on the alert.
3 Please write at once to the Rijai Sheikh to whom we have already
written ourselves that the murdered postman’s saddle should be at once restored
to us by Haidara bin Ahmed.
4 Please tell us all yon know of the existence of a blood feud between
the Attifi or Yusufi and the Ahl-al-Ban. The Attifis say that the son of
Rajeh Mohsi was killed by Ahmed Abd-al-Wahed and that Mahomed Obed
has his dagger and gun.
Said Jaffer^ Sheikh of El Mamaia, states upon oath:—I heard two days
after it happened that “ A1 Avatif ” had made a raid and attacked the Ahl-al-
Ban,” killing one man, and carrying off the Sirkeri mail-bags.
Then I went from Shireikh, where I was, to Kaviat-al-Kadthi where I found
the Attifi and Yusufi Sheikhs, but the rest of the elan had gone to the hills,
and, as the Sheikhs told me on my asking, had taken the mail-bags with them.
I pointed out to them the folly of what their tribesmen had done and said that
I was the friend of the British Government. As they did not hand over the
bags, I returned home and wrote a letter to Ali bin Saleh and Saleh ba Saleh
to the effect that until they returned the Government property none of their
tribe would be permitted to enter my country.
This was written on a Thursday, and the next day Sheikh Ali ba Saleh,
Saleh ba Saleh-am-Tholtain, and the Mansab of A1 Kadthi came to me with
two bags, one of which was empty and the other contained papers. After
counting the papers before Sheikh ismail and Abdu Burai, they handed them
over to me. I gave them a receipt for what they gave me ; the papers were
much torn and damaged, but the Sheikh said they had received them in that
condition from their young men. The Attifi Sheikhs also gave a letter contain
ing a list of papers handed over by them ; this I have delivered in the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
office, along with the bags and papers as received by me.
I have a copy of the receipt which I gave, which I can produce : I do not
remember the number of opened letters, but the number of unopened ones was
51. The camel is with Sheikh Ismail at A1 Kadthi, but I hear the Ahl-al-Ban
are going to ranson it for $50.
Before me,
(Signed) A. H. Mosse, Lieut.,
Assistant Resident and Magistrate, First Class.
Aden, Qth February 1903.