Wed March 10. [10 March 1909] All off at 7.5. A soldier called
'Abdullah came from Abu Kemal [Abu Kamal] and we carried off 'Ali
with us. They neither of them knew the road in the Jezireh [Jazirah, Al]
so we took with us my guide of yesterday, 'Isa. We turned inwards
within the cultivation and I presently saw another patch of cultivation
which is watered from the standing water in the old canal which they
now call the Werdiyyeh. The water no longer flows into it out of the
Euphrates from above but when the river rises "at the time of the
flowering of the pomegranate - fi illu muddah" it comes up by the
mouths of the Werdiyyeh. We crossed over 3 of them, up two of them
the water flows; the outer and deepest is called the Werdiyyeh - we
crossed it at 7.55. Moreover the Dawwarin flows into the Euphrates at
Ersi not at Sahihiyyeh [Qal'at as Salihiyah (Dura Europus)], so the
peasants affirm. We crossed over it at 8.25. It runs outside the
cultivation just under the high desert ground and I have heard reports
of its having watered this country all the way from Salihiyyeh so
probably the peasants are right. Almost immediately after crossing
the Dawwarin we climbed up onto the Chahf ([Arabic characters]) of
Ersi and rode over it till 10.15 when we descended into the plain by a
rocky steep path. At 9.45 we got to a group of mounds (ruins of tower
tombs) on the edge of the Chahf and saw below us the village and
cultivation of Er Rabat. All the edge of the Chahf had the mounds of
ruined tower tombs along it; there were some also inside, on the
plateau, invisible from below, but not very many. The marl or
whatever it is, it is white and crystallised lies like a pavement, shining
on the ground. From the plateau on which we were riding the Chahf
rises a step inland, so we could not see what lay beyond. The
ground below onto which we descended is covered with tamarisk. It
is called Ga'at ed Delaim. It must once all have been cultivated for I
saw the loop of a water course round it. There were some tents of the
Delaim by the river. We turned then up onto the stony high ground
and at 12 I stopped to lunch on it till 12.15. We left El Gaim [Qaim, Al]
to the right passing opposite to it at 12.30 - by this means the soldiers
were unable to return! About 1 we joined the baggage and got down
again to the river. We cut across and reached at 1.50 an
encampment of 'Anazeh by the river opposite to a Hawijeh which
Kiepert calls I. Nimmala. These 'Anazeh are 'Amarat the young
sheikh here is the son of Ibn Haddul's sister; the negroes are his
slaves. There were a few tents of the Silman in the Shamiyyeh
[Shamiyah] behind Al Gaim. There are no more of them here. There
is an old man here who carried the post from Damascus [Dimashq
(Esh Shams, Damas)] to Baghdad. He has also been often to Hail
and An Ziad[?]. He says the Sirhan route is easier than that from
Baghdad. The young sheikh's name is 'Afan. He rides with us
tomorrow and another for they dare not go on alone on account of the
return journey. They say the Yezid raid down from the Sinjar every
year. This is the warmest day we have had - 83? in the shade where
we camped. A warm night too. Little blue irises like those by the road
sides in Greece.