Page 96 - Arabian Gulf Intellegence

54 PIIELEECIII.

They possess fifteen or sixteen Buggalows, that trade to Bussora, and
from forty-five to fifty small boats, made from the date branch
exclusively for fishing. They appear poor and miserable, and state the
island to be unhealthy, much subject to fevers, which carry ofF consi­
derable numbers of children. The town boasts of a few straggling date
trees, that yield little or no fruit, and outside are a few cultivated
patches, the soil a kind of loamy sand, similar to Karrack, in which
they rear a few onions, melons, and a small quantity of wheat occa­
sionally. These patches are irrigated from numerous wells of water,
good during the rains, but at other times indifferent. The inhabitants
depend entirely on other places for supplies, but possess a few flocks.
The highest part of the island is Said Sadoo, or tomb on a mound.
I took a theodolite with me on purpose to measure its height, but finding
it so insignificant a spot, estimated it at thirty-five feet above high-
water mark.
I do not consider the place adapted for a coal depot except for small
iron steamers, drawing less than seven feet water when laden;
steamers of this description might frequent the western small Bunder,
and lie within three hundred yards of the shore : they could be easily
laden by boats, as there is sufficient water close to the beach for boats
to land and embark cargo at any time of the tide.