Sat. March 14 [14 March 1914] Went on over the rolling ground seeing camels and herdsmen at long intervals. Our course was W. of N. on account of water. At 9.10 the ground was sandy. They call this Nefud [Nafud, An] though it is quite hard, the Aqrab is its name. There are 2 nazis (nazitani) explained Mashkhur called the Ajarib. We must have been in this ground for about 2 hours. Then we came out into Hamad again, the Dehannah [Dahna, Ad] which reaches up to the Batn. At 12.20 we reached 2 Abdeh tents where a shaikh called Khanus gave us milk and was very anxious that we should stay to dine, our camels should rest and feed and ghabab[?] ash Shems. We gave him tobacco. He walked on with us some way directing us to the Jelta water in the W. al Khadd [Khadd, Wadi al]. He wanted to go back, get his mare (rachib hal faras) and bring us a dabihah. He had been with the Amir at Jof [Jawf, Al (Al Jauf)]. There was some resistance for the Shammar lost 5 men. They took kiswa of dates, 'aish etc. We came into camp at 3.15 in a tributary valley of the Khabb, full of grass and flowering weeds, daisies etc. Also gaisum and ghutba - the flora of the Hamad [Hamad, Al] as 'Ali pointed at. Near us is a favourite camping ground of Muhammad's with a mesjid laid out in big stones, the S side and the mihrab. Hard by the rectangle of the coffee fire. Mashkhur was with 'Abd al Aziz when he was killed. When he rushed out against the enemy he cried Al bariah, jib al bariah wa ana akhu Nura. And some say that the 'abaid of Sultan killed him as he stood in the light of the fire, for they say that when Mit'ab was killed the 'abaid said We slew thy father and now we slay them. Sultan shot Mit'ab, Sa'ud Tallal and Faysal Mish'al. Sultan was unwilling to undertake the shooting of the Amir but Sa'ud said whoever kills Mit'ab, he will be Amir. Muhammad was at Hayyil [Hail]. He took refuge with Hamud (ana dakhilak). Then Sultan said "What do the people say? And they answered "That Muhammad is shaikh. They do not want the sons of 'Abaid." Thereupon he slew him. He had been in the Jebel Druze [Duruz, Jabal ad] fleeing from Abd al Aziz who wd have killed him. A al A was mazyun and mahbib, but the 8 years war in the Qasim ruined everyone. The camels had jarrab and the men were kept away from their tents and their families. Mashkhur was 10 days getting back to Hayyil. The battle field was to the left of the Qasim, i.e. W. He was with Muhammad when he raided Riyad [Ar Riyad (Riyadh)]. It is much bigger than Hayyil and the castle of the shaikhs splendid. Allah mabarak[?] fik. But the hills round are quite low like the hills here - no thullyan. He was rather anxious when he found that the Amir was really behind us and kept repeating what he would say to the shuyukh. He talked of my dirah, of our mines of gold "and we have nothing but this earth and if there is rain we eat and if there is drought we dry up and starve." He caught a hedgehog today, gunfid.