Page 239 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

200 TRAVELS IN OMAN. [di.

feathery shade, might frequently be seen an
Arab shepherd, with several enormous dogs

to aid him in his charge of the flock grazing
around ; but his pipe and crook are wanting:
their place is supplied by the matchlock and

spear.
At one hour we arrived (our course from

Suweik being w. | n.) at the straggling and
extensive Bedowin encampment of Kothra.

Their huts are constructed of cadjans, and in
order to shelter the inmates from occasional
showers, are mostly shaped like the roof of an

English barn.
I was told by our guide, Sayyid ibn Mat­

lock, that about four years ago, the Wahhabis,
in a predatory excursion, approached Kothra
by night, as was their usual custom, with a view

to burn it. However, partly owing to their

constant broils, and partly to the expectation
of an attack from another quarter on the same
evening, its inhabitants were well prepared ;

and it was not until they had beaten off the
enemy with considerable loss, that they dis­

covered who their real adversaries were.
Such is the dread inspired by the ravages of

these fanatics, that upon any rumour of their