Page 294 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

XVI.] TRAVELS IN OMAN. 255

some days afterwards by the Honorable Com­
pany's sloop of war, Elphinstone. Nowise
daunted, the pirates awaited her approach,

prepared for boarding ; and it was not until
they received a broadside of round and

grape from the sloop’s 32-pounders through
their flimsy sides, that they became aware

of the power of the foe they had defied.
As they were but a few yards from each
other, the slaughter was very great. The

commander of the Arab vessel was subse­
quently taken to India, tried there in the

Supreme Court, and sentenced to fourteen
years’ transportation. The first part of this

affair was intelligible enough to the several
tribes along the coast, for we had no repe­
tition of such attempts ; but the sentence,

which was carried into effect, puzzled them
sorely ; and during my travels I was repeat­

edly warned not to venture near to or within
the territories of this tribe, as they had
threatened to retaliate, by boiling in oil, the

first European they could lay hands on.
Here, as in other parts of Arabia, I have

found great difficulty in ascertaining the
amount of the population. Little reliance