Sat. Jan 17. [17 January 1914] Up before 5 and we were ready by 6 though rather delayed by losing 2 hens which were found wrapped up in the men's tent! One of the camels also strayed and had to be looked for. I saw the Scorpion for the first time. Lovely day, but a small and provoking E. wind got up later. We marched all day over rolling country rather short of trees. Talib ibn Zebin joined us with an 'abd. Going to his people. He sleeps with us tonight. Sayyah talks very clear Arabic. We discussed dialects and M. [Muhammad] imitated the squeaky voice of the Gahtan. He had heard no ill of them. The Harb near the Hejaz [Hijaz] say ghadweh for bachir. Sayyah observed that the Ahl al Shimal wd not understand and I quoted the Mu'allaqat. Mustafa is a fellah from Abu Ghosh. He came with his family to Zizia 7 years ago and was looking for work at Umm al Kundum [Um el Kundum] where he was impressed into our service. He told his wife he was going as he passed through Zizia. We saw flehfleh growing today. In the morning encampments of Xians from Madeba [Madaba] with sheep. Later we saw a few herds of camels and flocks of sheep of the Sukhur. We took water from the Rujaimet 'Ali, an affluent of the Hammam and rode up the valley to the water parting. To the S. the land sails to the Sirhan [Sirhan, Wadi] said Sayyah. Shortly after crossing this we camped. Very nice upland, but few trees. Corrected Iskandar's map with M. His names are wild. He was here in 1909, the year of drought - manhush haltak al sehheh. Before we got to the water parting there was an upright stone in the middle of the wadi on which was the wasm of Hamad, cousin of Fawwaz. Sayyah said he fell here on the Ruwalla and Mit'ab ibn Gauj[?] who were there together. The 'Anazeh and the Sukhur are now ashab. 'Ali told the tale of Leachman's being stopped at Kwait [Al Kuwayt (Kuwait)]. Sayyah was with Shaikh Masa and was much interested in his map. Damascenes are indeed desert people. Sa'id ibn Faris was last autumn S. of Jauf [Jawf, Al (Al Jauf)] buying camels from the Sherarat and last spring at Tubal trading with the Arabs. Fellah's father was a Shammar. I asked if he was alive. He said Wain rah ba'd ma akhath al 'abdeh! But his uncles are in Nejd [Najd]. A train passed just as we set out this morning. Sayyah prays all the prayers when we are not actually on the road. Last night he got up and prayed in the tent at 8 o'clock while we were talking. His white robed figure rising and falling and the murmured Allah hu al akbar through our talk of Baghdad and Persia.