"يوميّات رحلة من بلاد فارس إلى الهند عبر هراة وقندهار. وأيضًا تقرير رحلة إلى العاصمة الوهابية، الرياض في وسط الجزيرة العربية" [ظ‎‎١‎٠‎٩] (٢٦٨/٢١٨)

68
now passing 1 . Ho called the great desert of the south Temamah,
and spoke of Jebul Yebreen, in that direction, as of a once
fertile and well watered district, whereon of old times stood a
very extensive city. The city is now in ruins, the water courses
choked with sand, and the district comparatively desolate. He says,
however, that at certain seasons of the year his tribe proceed
there to gather dates, and for pasturage. His tribe have a cele
brated breed of horses known as the Al-e-Morrah; and this man told
me that ho possesses three fine specimens now grazing between
Kowait and Bahrein, which ho would be happy to part with. Ho
informed me, moreover, that he had travelled in Nejran and
Hadramaut; and spoke very highly of those regions. Our camels
to-day showed evident signs of knocking up. The heat and tho
absence of fodder during the past two days had told much on
them ; and I began to doubt whether they would do more than
carry us to the sea shore. This however, is saying a good deal for
them; for they would have marched some 900 miles in 30 days, in
clusive of tho period we halted at Riyadh, and during which
period, also, they had a further march to and from their grazing
ground and the capital.
95. Our encamping ground of last evening was on the
easternmost ridge of sand-hills, from which tho country fell sud
denly in steps of sand embankments, and then sloped more gradu
ally to tho base of a black range of hills. Here we found plenty of
drinkable water at the depth of about seven feet or so below the
surface. Leaving the wells we again ascended and opened on the
downs or rolling plains forming the commencement of the El Ahsa
regions. These are occasionally covered with sand, and in other
places soft and rotten with a sort of mouldering earth crust. For
the most part these places were strewn with stones, and resembled
in their general character the open plains of Summan. Our descent
to-day was the most marked and considerable of any we had yet
made. The temperature became comparatively Lot and muggy,
recalling the climate of the Persian Gulf. Our camels were much
distressed, and one or two gave in and laid down. We had been
already 12 hours in the saddle; and I had intended to travel an hour