Page 420 - Arabian Gulf Intellegence
P. 420

376                           UTTOOBEES.

                           applied to on the subject by the Resident, he disavowed thei
                                                                                       r proceed-
                           ings, and stated they had left his territories, but that he   would seize
                           them if they ever returned.
                             Nearly at the same time as the above occurrence, the ill-will so long
                           subsisting between the Ultoobee Shaikh and Rahmah bin Jaubir came to
                           an open rupture, in consequence of three men belonging to the latter
                           being put to death by the inhabitants of Bahrein, on a suspicion of their
                           having endeavoured to set fire to the town. In retaliation of this
                           proceeding, Rahmah seized a Bahrein boat, put one of the       crew to
                           death, and threw two others overboard. The
                                                                         presence of the English
                           cruisers (stationed off Demaum for the protection of the trade of Katecf
                           from the aggressions of Shaikh Rahmah), however, prevented the     two
                           chiefs from carrying on regular hostilities against each other, and as
                           they were not prepared for active warfare (Rahmah on account of the
                          smallness of his force, and the Uttoobee Shaikh owing to his apprehen­
                          sions for the safety of his trading vessels then absent in India), they  were
                          both well satisfied with the arrangement, and were proportionably
                          alarmed on the removal of our vessels of war, agreeably to the orders of
                          the Bombay Government. An attempt was made by both parties to have
                          a truce for some time proclaimed, but the British authority declined
                          interfering in any measures that did not tend to the re-establishment of
                          general tranquillity. Hostilities were accordingly carried on until the
                          end of 1826, when Shaikh Rahmah’s Buggalow was attacked by a
                          Bahrein vessel of equal size. After a desperate action of some hours,
                          finding that he had no chance of success or escape, Bin Jaubir set fire to
                          his magazine, and blew up himself, vessel, and crew.
                             In the month of May 1827, a daring act of piracy was committed on
                                                 a Bushire Buteel oft* Gunowa, while on her way
                              • a. d. 1827.
                                                 to Bunder Dillum with passengers and treasure,
                          by an individual of the Monasir Tribe, named Obed or Abdoolla bin
                           Mohunnah, who had lately taken up his residence in Biddah, under the
                           protection of Abdoolla bin Ahmed, the Chief of Bahrein. Several of
                           the people on board the Buteel were put to death, and the remainder,
                           after being completely stripped, were landed on the Persian Coast near
                          Bordakhan. Every exertion was made to trace and seize the perpetra­
                          tors of this outrage, as well as to recover the plundered property, but
                                                                                ascertained to be
                           with little success. The principal actors in it were
                                                                                         native of
                           the individual above mentioned, and Hussein bin Jassim, a
                           Bahrein; and subsequently a small portion of the stolen goods      was
                           found in that island, and restored to the owners. To our deman s or
                           the seizure and surrender of the above two individuals, a ^
                           Abdoolla replied that it was not in his power to do so, as they a
                           from his territories,—which was really the case.


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