Page 635 - PERSIAN 1 1873_1879 Admin Report1_Neat

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residency AND AIL'SKAT POLITICAL AGENCY FOR 1878-79.
Miu&at, and an account of the journey willi sketch-map of the route was
published in the transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society.
In 18G5 Lieutenant-Colonel Disbrowc, Political Agent at Muskat,
accompanied by Lieutenant Powell, I. N., made a journey from Dibba to
lias-el-Khvma, and a sketch-map of the route by Lieutenant Powell was
lithographed in Bombay. Colonel Disbrowe also travelled along the
Hat inch coast about this’time, but I am not aware whether be made any
geographical notes of his jouruey. Here the record of the labours of
pa>t explorers in 'Oman comes to an end.
The Peninsula of Arabia, large as it is, is still so much a terra ini-
coguila and so little attractive to geographers that separate maps of it
are very rarely to be found iu Atlases. The map of Arabia engraved
by J. AValleer for the Honourable East India Company in 1S4>9 is a
splendid work as regards general execution and as an exposition of
tlie then existing state of geographical knowledge of the country, and
it is projected on a larger scale than any other maps of Arabia probably
ever produced. It is now, however, of little value, beiug much behind
present requirements. A new edition on a similar scale would be most
useful. The most correct and complete map of Arabia now extant, I
believe, though on a very small scale, is that of Kiepcrt, dated 1872.
It contains a sectional map of 'Oman on a larger scale. Of particular
maps A1 ellstcd’s is the first to be mentioned in point both of time and
value. It is still the ground plan upon which we must work until some
explorer enables us to supersede it. The next is that of the Reverend
Mr. Badger, given in his " Imams and Scyyids of ;Omiu.;; This is
certainly an advance on AVcllstcd's as regards orthography, but it added
little or nothing to our geographical information. The latest map of
Ommi is Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Ross*, compiled for official use and
lithographed in Bombay. This comprises the distribution of the tribes
and much additional information, obtained from native sources, not given
in former maps. It is on a much larger scale than the two preceding, and
j> the most generally useful and reliable map we have to refer to. I
have been for some time collecting geographical information regarding
the country and hope before veiy long to be able to submit the result.

(Sd.) S. B. MILES, Lieut,-Colonel,
II, B, 21.’s Boh Heal Agent and Consul,
JJuiIal.