Page 279 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

240 TRAVELS IN OMAN. [CH.

with impunity. Sheep are scarce. Both roam
over the rocks without an attendant, yet they

are taught to come at call, when it is neces-
sary to milk them. The distance to which

their owners will make themselves heard on
these occasions is very great, and they can
maintain, without difficulty, a distinct con­

versation across the coves, some of which are
half a mile in breadth.

The whole of this district is peopled by a
race, who speak a dialect differing from that
of the tribes in other parts of Om&n. They

are also remarkable for their extraordinary
attachment to their native wilds, and beyond

hiring themselves out for a few months in the
date harvest, on the Batna coast, and an oc­
casional visit to the Island of Larak, where a

small party of them reside to catch and cure
fish, they rarely quit their country. They

likewise keep aloof from all their neighbours,
and I have often inquired for them in the
town without success. Before the visit of

the surveying vessels they had never seen
an European, and they testified as much

surprise at the sight of looking-glasses,
watches, and other objects of curiosity, as