Thurs Ap 22. [22 April 1909] Rode of [sic] at 6.10 to the khan where I
photographed and took notes for half an hour. We left at 6.55. At 8.15
we got to Sheramiyyeh, a konak on the Tigris bend. Here we watered
our horses and left the river. Rode up the Wady Sheramiyyeh, Sihl
esh Sharamiyyeh it is called, where we caught up the baggage. The
water here is a small salt stream coming from the Jebel Thirthar 10
hours away in the desert. We found Salih riding with a young Sayyid
from Kal'at Shergat [Sharqat] who called me always Malikeh. The
plain quite flat with cups in it filled with a little grass. On our right the
barren ridge of the J. Makhur [Makhul, Jabal]. We saw some Deleim
tents to the left. Khethar complained of the lack of pay (6 months now)
and clothes. Once when he was accompanying a zabit who got £T8 a
month the Z. made him always pay for the coffee though he only gets
100 ps. "Wain thawaneh lirat[?] wa wain nuet[?] kursh!" but "Allah
manjud." At 10.45 we got to a mound called El Khirbeh. At 11.45 I
stopped at a little pile of stones, a nishan, and lunched till 12.5 when
the baggage came up. At 1 we came to a ghadir where there was a
pool of rain water. Here we filled our water skins. At 2.20 we crossed
the deep and narrow Wady Widyan egh[?] Ghamik and turned up to
the hills. We got into camp at 2.30 in a delightful sheltered place
below the spring which is slightly, but very slightly sulphurous and has
a little pitch in it. We are carrying our drinking water. I walked up the
ridge and found blue larkspurs and other things, among them a little
gentian not very blue. Back at 3.30 to tea. The father of monkeys is
with us. We saw the new moon 3 days old.