"الاتجار بالأسلحة في مسقط. ١٩٠٨-١٩٠٩." [و‎‎٤‎١] (١٢٨/٨٦)

45
Baluch Sirdar.
also the case with ammunition, unless large
extra supplies of cartridges are being taken.
As many as 1,500 rifles are sometimes car
ried in one dhow. The usual number is
1,000 rifles with a proportionate quantity
of ammunition. The nakhudas when they
have arms on board generally sail up the
Batinah coast and then seize a favourable
opportunity for making a dash across the
Gulf at night. There is a considerable trade
up and down the coast, as well as from one
shore to the other, and the nakhudas
get good information given them as to the
whereabouts and movements of gun-boats
by the skippers of other boats. Cases oc
curred this year where Arab nakhudas,
bringing over rifles without their owners,
secretly deposited 30 or 40 rifles in their
homes on the Arab Coast, so as to insure
themselves against eventual loss if their
dhows were captured by our gun-boats.
After getting the rifles safely across, they
went back for the remainder.
The trade was at its busiest early in March
and it appears that some method was
adhered to in shipping the arms across. The
Masqat merchants would not let the dhows
straggle across as they liked, but they were
kept collected along the Batinah coast, and
two or three started off at a time. As soon
as their arrival was safely reported, the
next party made a dash for it.
The dhows were mostly obtained from
Bunji. The following are some of the
principal nakhudas :—
Ibrahim, Ba’.uch of Bunji (ho brought across
3,000 rifles, while
our man was th re).
Mad Ghu'.am „ (brought over 2,600
rifle*).
Muhammad Wali „ »*
Jafar *> ”
Mulla »» ”
Khudadid »> »»
Haji » ”
Yusuf »» ”
7 . Our man was attached to a party which
remained at Zaravat and Jashk, and which
landed their arms at Bunji. H e consequent
ly only came in contact with Barkat Khan.
14 LB.