"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الجزء II. ج. ج. لوريمر. ١٩١٥" [‎٢‎٤‎١‎٠] (١٢٦٢/٩٢٧)

2410
Gwadar to
Maqlab,
February
1864.
Delay at
Maqlab,
February-
March 1864.
capacity of Chief Electrician^ left Karachi on the 27th of January
186^ on the steamer " Coromandel ^ of the Bombay Marine, which had
been placed at his disposal.
On the 4th of February, a shore-end having been landed at Gwadar,
active operations commenced; the cable was payed out at the rate of
5 miles an hour from the Kirkham/' towed by the steamer "Zenobia"
and piloted by the Coromandel ^ ; at Ras Maidani the " RirkhamV'
load of cable was exhausted and her place was taken by the " Marian
Moore. ;; Jashk was reached on the 8th of February.
The expedition then crossed the Gulf of ''Oman and entered
Grhubbat Ghazirah or Malcolm Inlet, where a shore-end was landed on
the* 9th of February upon the isthmus of Maqlab, and communication
with Jashk was established ; it had originally been intended to locate the
station between Gwadar and Bushehr on the island of Larak ; but a site
in the neighbourhood of Maqlab had appeared preferable to Colonel
Stewart, probably as giving a shorter and more direct line. Thus was
completed the first section of the work, which so far had proceeded
without a hitch.
At this stage a month ; s delay intervened, due to political difficulties
with the uncouth Dhahuriyin of the villages adjoining Maqlab. Colonel
Disbrowe, Political Agent at Masqat, had visited the^ Malcolm and
Elphinstone Inlets in January 1864 and had spent a fortnight in making
a reconnaissance of the country and in opening relations with the
tribesmen. On the arrival, however, of the telegraph party, it was
found that no honest work could be got from the local Arabs at tail
rates; their cupidity was intolerable; and disorderly scenes 0 ^ c ^ e
between the inhabitants of rival villages, especially of Maqaqah and 11
who were competitors for employment. On the 1 5th of February Coione
Disbrowe joined Colonel Stewart at Maqlab, and, after some days spen
in fruitless negotiations with the Dhahuriyin, the two officers procee e
to Masqat to invoke the good offices of the Sultan of''Oman. There wa
some uncertainty as to the jurisdiction in which the district concerne
was situated, for some of the natives, repudiating the authority o
Sultan, professed to be subjects of the Shaikh of Sharjah, while o
claimed absolute independence.
After a week^s absence Colonel Stewart and Colonel
returned from Masqat on the " Coromandel."" The Sultan had assei ^
his claim to Maqlab and the adjoining country in unequivocal ^ ei . inS; ^
had furnished the telegraph party with authority to continue then op ^
tions and to deal with the tribesmen in his name; but
material assistance, and the British officers had still to^ rely c
on their own prestige and tact for the conclusion of a working al1 ?
ment. Meanwhile, however, the Dhahuriyin had grown more accus o
to the presence of the construction party, and various preiimm
difficulties had gradually settled themselves.
A land line was now carried across the narrow Maqlab
dividing the head of Malcolm Inlet from that of IChor -ash-Sham
Elphinstone Inlet, on which neck of land, had the conduct o
Or, perhaps, one the 13th.
r^s