Wed Feb 4. [4 February 1914] Clear cold morning and we rode off at
6.45 to the Khabra Musawid which we reached at {7.15} 8.10. At 6.55 I
climbed onto a rijm which marks the Khabra and took some bearings
onto J. Wai'leh, Thenit al Rilan, behind Wai'leh and Umm Inhaileh far
behind both. We saw too Mlaih and the Swaiwinat al Hawi. At the
khabra we were joined by Ghadi and his family and 2 baits of
Sherarat who are with us. We had crossed at 7.30 the sultaneh from
'Arfajeh to Mughanah. We watered our animals and filled the empty
skins. Our bearing now was onto the Abrak al Swaiwineh. We
crossed the low lying Nuqrat al Hamra, flat slabs of red sandstone,
ruined tells of the same and golden red sand between, and reached
the Abrak at 11.25. The Nuqrat stretches from the khabra to the
Abrak. Here I got bearings onto Shibliyyeh[?] Wai'leh, Tell Saifur and
J. al Sdar. We rode over the Swaiwineh, sandy hills, till 1.52 and then
dropped down into the Nugrat al Rshaidan. Before doing so I got a
bearing on the table topped Mlaih. We camped in the Nugrah in
deep sand, quite hard and holding our tent pegs, under a small
sandstone tell at 2.10. I got a bearing from the tell onto the sandy
hillocks called Tu's Nuqrat al Rshaidan. All the trees have greened.
The camels eat the whole way and we went slowly. The Nuqrah is
delightful with its grey green trees and red gold sand. Cloudy in the
afternoon and evening. Everyone in the best of spirits. The trees
have greened because of the early rains, the Matar al Thurriyyeh
["Thrui" written above] which fall in November. They say: [Half a line
of Arabic script] Ghadi spends most of his time drinking coffee in our
tent but they don't camp near us. Musuid told me he wanted to go with
me to the bilad where my father was the lord of hills of nihas and fahm,
that he might come back to the sheikhs and say he had visited my
father who had clothed him in lots of gold. Beautiful grey green of the
shrubs against the red gold sand. Some have put out colourless
flowers and some smell deliciously aromatic. "The wind smells of
amber" said 'Ali when we came into camp. Our Sherarat fellow
travellers bring us goats' milk.