Page 46 - The Tigris Expedition

In the Garden of Eden

leftover from an early administration, a relic to be cranked like an
old Ford. If 1 finally got through and thought I had London, the
whole rcsthousc joined me to listen and shout into the mouthpiece
until we learnt that the faint squeak we heard was from the poor
operator in Qurna across the street, who desperately tried to tell us
that the line to Basra was broken, so nothing doing today. An
English engineer came all the way from Basra to comfort me with
the news that he was entrusted by Baghdad to put up a modern line.
Ready next year. Good news! - for those who were to come long
after we had gone.
The oil boom which had initiated a building explosion and the
massive importation of all kinds of goods from the outside world,
also enabled all imported products to be bought up as soon as they
arrived, and the vast fleet of tankers and cargo ships that entered the
river mouth were far too many for the port facilities. Ships of all
nations were anchored in the open bay for two, three, or even four
months, waiting for a turn to come up the river and deliver their
cargo. Everything from Indian timber and bamboo to Danish
butter or American frozen chicken would be swept away from the
lumber yards or grocers’ shelves before I could lay a hand on it. If I
ordered anything to be sent to Iraq by ship it might get stuck at
anchor in the gulf. I saw only one solution. Everything I needed for
the expedition had to be assembled in one place and from there sent
overland to Iraq by chartered road transport.
So I chose Hamburg. In three days German friends helped
complete the purchase of every thing required, apart from the berdi
reeds. A ropery set aside its orders for nylon cables and twisted
many miles of assorted hemp-rope for our bundles and rigging.
Two thirty-foot ash legs for our straddle-mast were hewn to shape
by a genuine boat-builder of the old school, who also hand-carved
two twenty-five foot rudder-oars and a dozen rowing-oars with
extra long shafts that could be sawn progressively shorter as the tall
reed-ship settled deeper in the water. An equally genuine and
conscientious sail-maker hand-sewed two square sails from Egyp­
tian cotton canvas; they tapered from top to bottom as in pre-
European times. One was bigger and thinner than the other,
intended for good weather only. We needed bamboo for the
super-structure. A rain collector was also required, flags and signal
lights, kerosene lamps for illumination, primus-stoves, and pots
and pans for the kitchen. Also fishing gear. And a tiny inflatable
rubber dingy with a 6-hp outboard motor for the cameraman to
film us at sea.
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