Page 281 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

242 TRAVELS IN OMAN. [CH.

a language distinct from the other inhabit­
ants of the province ; but both opinions are

incorrect. Those I met with were of a darker
hue than the common race of Arabs, and
their language differs no more from that used

in Oman, than does the dialect of Yemen
from that of the Hejas. A colony of Per­

sians formerly settled in Kumza, and also in
Kasab Bay, where their descendants still
remain, and those who have seen them may

have originated the supposition.
The number of those who inhabit this

rocky wilderness is very considerable^—not
less, as far as I could estimate, than fifteen
thousand souls. Both the eastern and

western shores are lined with villages. The
Sheikh of Kasab can muster five thousand

men under his government: the Sheikh of
Bokh has nearly two thousand, and the

chiefs of the other towns in equal proportion.
They rear a small quantity of poultry within
their dwellings, including a few ducks, which

I never recollect seeing in any other part of
Arabia.