On the third day, while our Sinaite Arabs were becoming anxious to return to their tents, Sheikh Hussein again made his appearance, accompanied by his son Mahommed, a fine young Bedawee, preparing, with no small precocity, to follow in the steps of his father. I inquired of him his age; "Allah knows," said he, "I do not." I suppose the vagrant habits of Bedaween life beget a total indifference to such matters. Mahommed and his father would have made a fine study for a painter, as they squatted together with all the wildness of the Desert visible in them. The behaviour of Hussein was quite as free from embarrassment on renewing the negociation, as if we had not, on the former occasion, so decidedly checked his rapacity. He assured us that every thing was now really adjusted between him and the rest of the assembled Sheikhs, and that the journey might be taken with perfect safety-that he was quite able to command our safe conduct. We looked suspicious, as he had before misinformed us; and besides we well knew that he only wanted our money, and just as much of it as he could squeeze out of us. Our desire to pass through Edom had certainly undergone some diminution since we had arrived at Akabah; and we knew that another route to Hebron was open to us, by retaining our Sinaite Arabs; so we replied, that if he would escort us for such a remuneration as he had been content with from other Englishmen, under similar circumstances, we were willing to put ourselves under his care. I reduced our proposals to writing-stipulating for safe conduct, for four thousand five hundred piastres, and five hundred more as backsheech on reaching Hebron, together with sundry other matters as to the time we should be allowed to stay, without molestation, among the remains of Petra, &c. This document was read over and explained to him in Arabic, and he appeared to make no strong objection to its contents; and said he would rather conduct us at a loss to himself, than that we should return with our Beni Saïds. We bade him consider the matter fully, and see us again at sunset. He returned some time after the hour appointed, saying he must have eight thousand piastres, and five hundred more as

192

TERMINATION OF SOJOURN AT AKABAH.

A quiet, calm, lovely night terminated our sojourn at Akabah. We went to our repose in that wild spot, with our hearts resting on the renewed mercies of God, and our hopes looking forth to the wilderness of Paran.

CHAPTER V.

THE DESERT;

FROM AKABAH TO DHAHERIYEH.

WILDERNESS OF PARAN-DEPARTURE FROM AKABAH-PLAIN OF DARFUREKHSTRANGERS-THE HAIWAT TRIBE-WADEY EL MUSHEHHEM-"THE WAY OF MOUNT SEIR"-WADEY EL G'SSAIM-ADVENTURE WITH THE TIYAHAH TRIBE-ADJUSTMENT OF DIFFERENCES EBODAH-'ABDEH-WADEY RUHAIBEH-REHOBOTII WADEY EL KHALUSEH-ELUSA-THE RETEMTHE BORDERS OF CANAAN BIR-ES-SEBABEERSHEBA DHAHERIYEHAGRICULTURAL PURSUITS-DISMISSAL OF THE BEDAWEEN.

ER

Ir was in the wilderness of Paran that Ishmael dwelt, when from the days of his youth he grew up and became an archer; and God was with the lad.' And it was in this "great and terrible wilderness," also, that for thirty-eight of their forty years, the people of Israel wandered. Hitherto we had trodden much in their footsteps, and perhaps pitched our tents on the very scenes of some of their encampments. A similar source of delightful satisfaction awaited us in the wilderness of Paran. We could not but feel a deepened sense of the reality of scripture narrative while journeying through these venerable localities. Indeed, the very habits of oriental life made me often feel as if I were actually living

1 Genesis xxi. 20, 21.

2 Deut. ii. 14. The whole of this part of the Desert is called by the Arabs Et Tih-that is "the wandering." The name Et Tih, as applied to this locality, is found both in Ediîsa and Abulfeda, who refer it to the wanderings of the children of Israel.

194

WILDERNESS OF PARAN.

in the bible period of the world. I suppose the manners of the Arabs have undergone little, if any, modification since Ishmael came to dwell in Paran. All the world about them has undergone change; but the descendants of Ishmael are unchanged.

The wilderness of Paran is generally understood to include the Desert and mountainous space lying between the wilderness of Shur, westward, or towards Egypt, and Mount Seir, or the land of Edom, eastward; between the land of Canaan, northwards, and the Red Sea, southwards; and thus it appears to have comprehended, really, the wilderness of Sin and Sinai, together with the adjoining tract, in which lay Kibroth-hattaavah and Hazeroth. This may be gathered, perhaps, from Deut. i. 19, where it is said "When we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which you saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites; and we came to Kadesh-barnea." The wilderness of Paran, in the large acceptation of the term above referred to, seems clearly to be the wilderness mentioned in this passage.

I feel greater difficulty in attempting to make intelligible my route through the wilderness of Paran, than through the other parts of the Arabian Desert which I have traversed; for in the first place, there is a hopeless discordancy of names in most of the maps, ancient and modern, that I have consulted; and, moreover, among the Arabs themselves, a similar want of agreement is observable on the same subject. And what is worse than all, many of the ancient scripture names of places have been entirely obliterated, and others are traceable with the greatest difficulty in an Arabic intermixture. It may, however, be sufficient for my present purpose, to mention that our route lay directly through the heart of the Wilderness of Paran, proceding first due west, then bearing upwards in a north-westerly direction, for full half the way; and thence, in a north-easterly course to Dhaheriyeh. As to the present names of the various places

DEPARTURE FROM AKABAH.

195

of our daily encampments, I can only give them according to their sound as pronounced by the Arabs.' This part of the Arabian Desert is far less visited by Europeans than others; indeed, it is comparatively unknown, except through the recent work of Dr. Robinson.

It was on the fourth of June that we recommenced our journey. The early morning sun had overspread the lovely gulph of Akabah and its mountain girdle, with unspeakable brilliancy, when we rose for the purpose of getting our caravan in marching order. The usual adjustments caused the usual delays; and it was not until nearly eight o'clock that we were fairly on our way.

Knowing the subtlety of the Arab character, and somewhat of their greediness of gain, I could scarcely repress the apprehension that some coup de main would be attempted against us by Sheikh Hussein and his Alocens, and that they would not allow us quietly to depart. We mounted, however, taking Jumar as our Sheikh, and one of the servantsleaving the rest of the escort to follow with as little delay as possible. Passing down from our encampment to the narrow shingly shore of the gulph, we could not well avoid coming in full view of the encampment of the Aloeens, from which a few shots, if judiciously directed from among the palm-clumps, might quietly enough have done great execution upon us. We had, however, sufficient reason for believing that IIussein would not rashly embarrass or injure a party of so powerful a tribe as that by which we were escorted, or offer real molestation to those under their care. Hussein

It is believed that many of the Arabs purposely give false names to places, in order to deceive. It is a prevailing notion among them, that Europeans visit their territories only for the sake of discovering and obtaining possession of hidden treasures, of which they suppose there are many.

2 During our stay at Akabah, Viscount Castlereagh arrived from Cairo, with a large escort, and upwards of fifty camels. On his Lordship's invitation, we united our caravans, and went forth with between sixty and seventy camels, and suitable escorts, &c.