File 600/1905 Pt 1 'Aden Hinterland: Treaty with Dthala' [‎378r] (17/174)

ourselves His object has been to stir up the Kotaibis to outrages on the trade
country 3 t0 41611 b ® 10S Utterly crushed b y u s before we leave this
_ Finding, however, that his intrigues were of no avail, and that I was on the
point of receiving the submission of Mahomed Saleh, he sent his eldest son
Naser, secretly, to a place on the borders of the Kotaibi country with a view
to an mtemew with Mahomed Saleh. The sole object of this was undoubt-
edly to forestall me and to make peace, probably on the lines of a general
renunciation of all suzerain rights. * ”
refused^ meef Sheik^Naser! 1 be “ S already “ Cl ° 89 uommunication ™
I have mentioned this incident and have gone into the whole question at
future 8 iftheH^te’l 1 ^ U . be . one of ^^rahle importance to our
tuture m the Hinterland and also with a view to illustrating the different deereec
respectively Pla ° ed ° n the S ° 0d faith ° f the Amir “ dof Ma bomcd Saleh
tt 4 - As re ? ards tb e position occupied by the Kotaibis amongst the tribes of the
Hinterland on account of their territorial extent or numerical strength Imay
say at once that it is comparatively insignificant. The points, howeve?, on which
“ n ‘> ° p . lruo '} sufficient stress has not been laid are (a) what Influence have
the Kotaibis in Lower Yaffai.and (b) amongst the other Radfan tribes?
Lowe^Yaffaf^The ( f'h ^ be , r ' em,5mhered that the Kotaibis were originally
Ynfta!. Ihe Jnbes to the present day between the Kotaibis and the
Saleh'iTaddidon to tribal 0 ^ a ^ d i The Kotaibi Shtiikh ’ Mah °med
the Lower Yaffai Suhan. ’ B 3 8 friend of Abdalla bin Mohsin
othe/Radfan tribes ^nten l rea - S ° a t0 b i elieVe tbat tbe K!otaibis . assisted by
r b r t0 a o am attack the P os t at Sulek. At the same
time I received reliable information that a force of between 15,000 and 17 000
Sutian b0II1? e0 lected r0UBd A1 Khara . the head-quarters of the Lower Yaffai
The
Sulek.
. , . Thls I ascertained to have been due to reports spread bv
commrnieations r had t hee ° n ° f - att f? in = the Kotaib is. I foun P d that constant
Mohrin b d b paSS1Bg between Mabomed Saleh and Ahdalla bin
Since matters have come to a more satisfactory state between us there
has been little correspondence between these two Chiefs. ’
hrmto Z^ 0t f^ eCG / Sary f i° r m v e to remark 011 serious position in which we
should have found ourselves had this simultaneous attack taken place.
vroim The 'fi Sall ^ nt L P0iDt is , that a British force of about 1,200 men manv in-
ids^with only two camel battery guns, with an insufficient supply of food^and
Z m e 7l7 itsplf mi 68 y’T* ., furtb - SQ PPly of reinforcements,°wo^d
and mostly armed ^rlren°ch ml
in ^orciurthelwo^omthe 0 ^ " diVerSi0n 6Ten bad tbey 6uoceeded
ha ve^quotedjlfis instance 1 1 0 ‘show a to ^hS'erfent' H^f rieladliMS s^o^ othe^ rrise
mart pTs rhi-oug^both^Upper^n^Lwer'Yaffaj 8 ^
object undoubtedly was a simultaneous attack on Dthala and |