Jan. 19. I must begin a chronicle though Heaven knows where it will be sent off. We left 'Amman [(Rabbah)] on the 15th, I having given the authorities at 'Amman an assurance that the Ott. Govt. was not responsible for me. This amounted to little, for wherever I went without gendarmes the Govt. had the right to wash its hands of me. And I could not take gendarmes into the desert. I rode up that day to the farm of some Christians in the hills above Ziza [Jiza], where I was given a regal entertainment - Also Nimrud, the man who helped me in 1909, came up and spent the night there. I was delighted to see him. I must tell you I was in some trouble about my muleteers. The three men I had brought from Damascus [Dimashq (Esh Sham, Damas)] were very uncertain as to whether they would come on with me. I think they really dreaded the perils of the road. While we were at 'Amman, we had fetched another man from Damascus, a nephew of my old guide Muhammad; his name is Sa'îd. It was as well we did so, for on the 16th, just as I was starting the 3 Agail threw down their camel sticks and declared that they would not come. I had Sa'îd, and my negro camelherd, Fellah, an excellent boy: my hosts pressed into my service a Fellah, a peasant, on their farm (his name is Mustafa); and I engaged as third man an Agaili who had followed us from 'Amman in hope of getting work. His name is Ali, not to be confused with Ali Mansur[?], the postman guide of 1911 who is still with me and will never, I think, leave me. Besides these I have Salim, another nephew of Mohammad's, whom I took at first in Fattuh's place; he is an admirable servant and a very nice, well educated man; I like him immensely. And finally I have Fattuh, the lynch pin of the whole party. So we set out. My hosts provided me with 2 rafiqs, a man of the Sherârat of whom I have not seen much, and a man of the Beni Sakhr, Sayyâh, who is a delightful companion. They themselves rode with me till beyond Ziza and then by the Mecca [Makkah] railway, they, Nimrud and I, and various slaves and retainers made a hearty lunch and I parted from them with a deep feeling of gratitude. They clasped me by the hand, embraced Mohammad and Fattuh and set us forth with many deep voiced blessings. I crossed the Mecca railway and turned my face to Arabia. We rode all next day across the undulating country of the Beni Sakhr and passed occasional herds of camels and flocks of sheep. A young Shaikhling of the Sukhûr joined us, he and his slave, and spent the night with us. Guests, the sacred word. He was a charming boy, cousin to the great shaikh Hathmel, and he was very anxious to come on with us, he and his slave. Next day we went on our way over hills and wide shallow valleys entirely covered with flints and came in the afternoon to the Ummayad palace of Tubah. It had been sufficiently planned by Musil, but very insufficiently photographed and I spent a very profitable afternoon working at it. We camped among the ruins and found a good clear water pool in the sandy bed of the valley on which they stand, but the men were rather anxious that night, as the desert to the E. of us was "empty" ie there were no Sukhûr beyond us, and they feared the possibility of an 'Anazeh raiding party, making for the grazing camel herds we had passed in the morning. This thought did not, I need scarcely tell you, keep me awake - I should sleep but little in the next few weeks if I were to be disturbed by such things - and when I woke I found there had been no raiding party and my goods were safe and sound. It was 34° when we started before dawn, and 70° when we camped at 2 o'clock. It is difficult to adjust one's toilette to a thermometer which behaves in this fashion. We have ridden through a flint country all day, no water in the valleys and consequently no people. We brought our water with us from Tubah. We are camped in a dry valley bed not far from the great land mark of all this country, the 3 pointed hills which are called the Thlaithuwât; the blessing it is to have a point for my compass bearings is more than I can say! Since there is no water there is not much fear of raiders, but we keep watch for casual robbers, who if they found us watchful would turn in as guests and if they found us sleeping would lift our camels. Beni Adam! as Muhammad says, Sons of Adam! I listen all day as we ride, to tales of raid and foray. But it is a fine country this open desert, and I am enjoying myself mightily.

Jan 21. [21 January 1914] We rode all day across flint strewn desert on the 20th. At midday two camel riders came up behind us and proved to be Jad'an, the great shaikh of the Agaili and one of his men. They had spied us as we passed under the Thlaithuwât and taking us for a raiding party had followed us to see where we were going. "We took you for foes" said he. "No, praise be to God" said I "we are friends." So he rode on with us for an hour, for company, and then turned back to reassure his people. And we came at 2 o'clock to the last of the castles Ba'îr, as yet unplanned and unphotographed. I have spent the day here and all that can be got out of the ruins I think I have got. The plan is a very old type and the place may be 8th century. It is very famous on account of its wells, and in summer and autumn, if the Sukhûr are not camped here, all the ghazzus pass this way. I have therefore heard more raiding stories here than ever before, and I will tell you one. Muhammad, Sayyâh (my rafîq) and I were sitting on the edge of the biggest well, which is about 20 metres deep and M. observed that when he first knew Ba'ir this well was filled up. A party of the 'Isa had fallen here on the Sukhur and killed a horseman. The Sukhur killed of the 'Isa two camel riders. The 'Isa were thirsting and the Sukhur, before they made off, threw the two dead men and their camels into the well and rolled in a few big stones on top so that the 'Isa might not drink and follow them. "Harâm" said I "it is forbidden." "No" said Sayyâh "their thought was good." "The Arabs are devils" observed Muhammad. "Devils" said Sayyah. "They are the very devil" said I and with such conviction that Sayyâh looked up and laughed. You may take that as a good example of our usual conversation.

Fri. 23. [23 January 1914] We have marched for 2 days across exceedingly featureless country, indeed for most of today there was nothing on which to take a bearing but my camel's ears which are not a good line. We march for an hour or two across flint strewn uplands, glistening black, and then down and up the banks of a deepish valley - dry of course, and then onto the upland again. All the valleys here run approximately E. and W. Last night we had some rain and in the first deep valley to which we came there were small standing pools which the camels drank greedily. But the rain has scarcely touched the valley in which we are camped and I fear it has swung off E. and that we shall get no advantage from it. We are carrying water and since we are rather uncertain whether we shall reach pools tomorrow, we are using it sparingly. No baths and little washing of any kind. It has turned cold after the rain, not frosty, but a nipping wind - rather nice, however. Yesterday we picked up a stone with a Safaitic inscription, a great deal further S. that I expected to find such things. It is a desolate land - barren beyond all belief. But in the valleys we find dry bushes on which the camels pasture.

Sun. 25. [25 January 1914] We changed our course a little yesterday, for seeing how dry and barren the world was, we decided that the Sukhûr must have moved off east and that it was no good looking for them. We reached the western edge of the flint plateau and from a high point looked through my glasses at the broken hills of Tubaiq [Tubayq, At] to the south. Then we dropped down into a sandy valley and saw in the sand many foot prints of camels, coming and going. But what Arabs had found this way we did not know. We camped in a hollow, where our fires could not be seen, and 'Ali, Sayyâh and I went off scouting for Arabs. We climbed very cautiously up a high tell and from the shoulder surveyed the landscape through my glasses. But there was no soul in sight. Today we set off in a frosty dawn and marched on down the valley. Ali and I walked on for an hour and waited in a sandy hollow for the camels. The footprints were all round us in the sand. "They are fresh" said Ali. The valley ended in a wide open plain, set round with fantastically riven hills, black and rusty red as the volcanic stone had weathered. The light crept round them as we marched across the plain. They stood in companies watching us, and in the silence and emptiness were extraordinarily sinister. Suddenly Sayyâh called out "There is smoke." A tall spire of smoke wavered up against a black hillock. I must tell you that we were waterless and thirsty - the camels had not drunk for 4 days. We were not at all sure where we should find water, neither did we know in the least what Arabs had kindled the fire whose smoke we watched, but the concensus of opinion was that it must be a ghazzu - raiders. These are the interesting moments of desert travel. We decided that it was best to go up and see who was there; if they were enemies they would be certain to see us and follow us anyway; if they were friends they would give us news of the tribes and water. The latter question, however, we solved for ourselves. We found the big pool for which we had been looking. We watered the camels and leaving the men to fill the waterskins, Muhammad, 'Ali, Sayyâh and I went on to examine that questionable smoke. We crossed a little ridge, and on the further side saw flocks of sheep and the shepherds of the Howaitât who came up and greeted us and gave us news of their shaikhs. All was safe and we went on into the hills and camped. Tomorrow I hope we shall be guests of the Howaitât. The big camps cannot be far away for the only water in this district is the pool we found this morning, with the exception of one small well in the hills to the east. The Howaitât are great people. They raid all across to the Euphrates and have a resounding name for devilry and reckless courage.

Tues 27. [27 January 1914] Yesterday we rode into the hills. On our way we met a camel rider who told us that a very regrettable incident had occurred the night before. A man who was camping with the Sukhûr had attacked a small camp of the Howaitât - he had an old grudge against the dwellers in it - and carried off sheep. The Howaitat pursued him and killed him; in revenge his brother shot 3 of the pursuers and fled to the tents of the Sukhûr. This news caused my Sukhûr rafiq, Sayyâh, to feel very anxious as to the reception he might meet with in the tents of the Howaitat and I tried to comfort him (with some success) by assuring him that under no circumstances would I desert him. But all turned out well. We reached the tents of Harb, one of the shaikhs of the Howaitât, and were received with all kindness, Sayyâh included. Harb killed a sheep for us and we all dined with him that night. Towards the end of dinner another guest arrived, who proved to be Muhammad Abu Tayyi - the Abu Tayyi are the great shaikhs of the Howaitât. He is a magnificent person, tall and big, with a flashing look - not like the slender Beduin sitting round Harb's fire. He carries the Howaitat reputation for daredevilry written on his face; I should not like to meet him in anger. Today we have sent the camels down for water - all this country drinks from the pool at which we filled our water skins on Sunday and we dare not go on without a good provision. Accordingly I have had rather a long day in camp, sitting and talking to Harb and his people, drinking coffee, talking again, photographing - they love being photographed. I took a latitude at noon which is much to the good. Muhammad al Ma'râwi and his nephew Sa'id, my camel driver.
Sayyah goes back from here and I shall send this letter in the hope that it will ultimately reach a post and give you assurance that I am safe and flourishing. We take a Howaiti from here and as the Howaitât are all along our way we reckon we ought to be sufficiently protected. I have decided to go to Taimah [Tayma'] - you will see it in the map - so as to get news of Nejd [Najd] there. It is a town of Ibn Rashids. I count it some 8 easy marches from here. I expect I shall be able to write to you from there. Would you mind sending a p.c. to Domnul to say I am all right - Public Service Commission Camp India. In the doubt as to whether letters will make their devious way from here I do not write. Bless you both. Your loving daughter Gertrude.

I've bought an ostrich skin and 2 eggs. It's not a good skin unfortunatly, neither was it dear. If I see a better I shall buy it. They live out here, but I haven't seen a live one yet.