Tuesday March 21. [21 March 1911] At 5.30 temp 54 Bar 29.8. We got
off at 6.10 and reached the foot of the Hamrin [Hamrin, Jabal] at 7.50.
They are low hills all sand and pebbles, but with something of the
character of hills, grass and flowers, for example blue borage just
coming into flower. No villages, but Arabs in tents with flocks. At 8.30
we got to a nuktah, Kirmizi Dara, where there is a tea house by the
road. I stopped to drink tea and photograph a Persian caravan.
Here I changed zaptiehs and got a very stupid man who rode with us
to Kesrabad (Kizil Robat of the maps) which we reached at 12.5. A
mean village, we rode straight through it, ordered corn and loaded
outside the town. The baggage animals set out again at 12.15 but I
stopped and lunched. A very nice Kurdish zaptieh came on with us
Muhammad; his home is near Kifri. We crossed the dry cutting of a
big old canal, banked up very high and rode on to the Jebel Bteiya(?)
less than an hour away. We camped at 3.5 at the nuktah of Yayi
Cheri[?] where there are 17 hayyal and a few fellahin. No fresh water
except rain water pools which last till autumn. The springs below the
nuktah are bitter salt. Muhammad had not heard the news of Nazim's
departure and listened to it with regret. He said the Arabs wd be very
mamnun, their hearts were heavy with fear of him. The road had been
very unsafe until the days of Muhammad Reshad. 7 months ago the
Hamawand were all powerful in these hills. Then the gend'armes
were ordered to smite[?] them and the men in the nuktah were
increased to 17. Since when you might carry a bag of gold along the
road, night or day. He had seen Nazim in Baghdad. He knew that
Nuri Beg was always writing against him. The Arabs camp in these
hills. "Are they khush nas?" said I "Khatun all men who have been
smitten on the head are khush nas." He said it seemed that
intelligence and knowledge ('akl and 'urafa) had all been given to us.
If we were here we wd remake the old canal and water all the land.
Riches come from work and here they don't work. "They will learn
please God" said I. "From whom?" said he. "From us" said I. A
charming camp in the valley among grass near the salt pools. The
gend'armes very friendly; so are their slugi dogs. A little rain. Much
bleating of sheep at nightfall when the flocks came in.