Fri. Feb 17 [17 February 1911] At 4.45 Bar 27.6 Temp 30?. Off at 5.5. It
was excruciatingly cold with a strong SE wind. We rode nearly all day
SE or S, at 11.30 we turned a little more E and then SE again. We
crossed the W. Sweib et Tawil, which runs into the Swab [Sawab,
Wadi as], at 8.5 and after that rode over an absolutely flat board the
whole day, guiding ourselves by rijm. 10.40-10.55 lunch. The wind
veered more to the S. the sun grew hot, we shed our fur coats and the
lizards came out. Also lots of mirage. Abu Zaid was terrified of
ghazus of tribes he did not know coming up from the S. to raid the
Bedu round Ka'ra. 'Ali assured him we were under the protection of
God. "Life of God! what is this talk? The command is to God! We are
in the Shamiyyeh [Shamiyah] where no one is safe, Face of God!" So
we kept a sharp look out for some time and thanks to the mirage took
every rijm[?] and bit of rising ground for a man on a camel. 'Ali hoped
to meet encampments of the Slubba and at one time thought he saw
them, but it was mirage. Most bewildering. Muhiyy ed Din asked me
where America was before it was discovered and that was rather
bewildering too. 'Ali says the well of Ka'ra is 10 arms lengths deep - it
is I suppose Kiepert's Brunnen 12 metre tief. No water or old burak
between Khuweimat and Ka'ra. The flat plain was the Ard el Herri. N
of us (but we did not see it) are the Abu Sabi'a Gurtat (Kurtat?) where
there is water after rain. We camped at 3.5 near the Khabra el
Melussa which is a wide open stretch of muddy shallow water (most of
it now dry) lying to the S. of the Biyar al Melussa [Bir al Mulusi] which
are 5 hours away due north. These last are about 3 metres deep.
Ka'ra is 10 to 12 deep and always has good water. From the Biyar el
Melussa east to Bir el Ghussi 2 hrs and from there to the Biyar of Qa'ra
21/2 hours north. The W. Semhan to N of us leads into the Ka'ra. The
Arabs call fire E M[?] Nawa'fi. Abu Zaid went with Ibn Soktam
(Ruwalla) to C'ple [Istanbul (Constantinople)] to take 10 horses to Abd
ul Hamid. Ibn S. got £800 and the sheikh £100. They stayed 80 days.
When they arrived on the German boat lots of servants sent to meet
them "Ma'na thathathin abd." He went again by himself with horses
from Ibn Soktam. He thinks Abd ul H was rijal but Allah Subham wa
Taala it was a good thing he was deposed. He neglected the
askariyeh and the daula. He rejoices over the pay and clothes of the
soldiers now. They are dressed ....... Sami Pasha. Thermom. over 50
before sunset. A little rain. Bar 27.