Page 268 - Records of Bahrain (5) (i)_Neat

256 Records of Bahrain
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fiehermen1 8 *barasties1 (palm huts) and ®ome at least of
them oro occupied throughout tho year, Howar suffers from
the abaenoe of a permanent water supply) since the cisterns
to which reference is made in the Bahrain counter-claim are
only full after heavy rain and aro oubjoot to lose both from

evaporation and from leakage. There waS) for Instance) heavy
rain in Hawar u month ago, filling tha cisterns to the brim,
but the local people informed me that this water would be
exhausted within threo montho. Water therefore, during much
of the year, hao to be brought across from Bahrain and this

naturally restricts the number of persons remaining there
permanently and makes it necessary for them to send their
goats (except a few in milk) and their cattle across to Bahrain,
Nevertheless a few people do remain there throughout the yenr,
though whether this is equally true of the past I cannot say.

8. Tho Bahrain Government claim, end the .'Shaikh of Oatar
denies, that there is good grazing for flocks and herds in
the Hawar main island. I can state, from personal knowledge,
that in this respect the Bahrain Government are right. After
good rain the island provides better pasturage than Bahrain
itself and oven this year, when the rain was very late, there

are still to-day botweon 60 and 100 animals in Hawar. This
point is of importance ns supporting the Bahrain statement
that Hawar is considerably more than a temporary refuge for
fishermen. Similarly it is quite true that the gypsum (or
JUss) which is found in Hawar is excavated under licence from

Bahrain. In point of fact on my recent visit to the island
the local Dawaoir complained that the Bahrain Government were
over-free with their licences end that the Juse reserves were
being rapidly exhausted.
9. Mention is also made in paragraph 9 of the Bahrain
Qounter-olalm of the pearling boats owned by the Dawaslr of
Hawar. I believe that Hawar owns only four, but these four

were /-