Page 81 - The Tigris Expedition

The Tigris Expedition

surprise or awe; it had sounded as if approbation had come from
the mightiest of all Mesopotamian gods, the sun-god who struck
thunder and lightning with his hand-mace. Black clouds were
approaching from the horizon. Even those of us who were not
superstitious almost felt a shiver down the spine at this timely
comment from the weather-god.
A screw on the borrowed ‘come-along’ system broke and had to
be replaced by a piece of nail, so it took an hour to pull the
newly-named Tigris through the broken wall to the critical hump
where the slope began to run steeply down to the river. We had
tried to ease this rather sharp incline by filling in more soil, but the
current immediately carried the lower part away. As the Tigris
reached the hump we all held our breath. Would the sixty-foot reed
bundles and the thin steel sledge they rested on stand the strain
when half the ship balanced unsupported on the hump?
To our relief the giant tilted over like one massive block and
began to slide downhill by its own weight. The bow hit the water at
the foot of the steep slope with a splash. Thousands of j ubilant
voices rose to a crescendo of triumph as the broad bow was lifted up
by the water and began to float in the river, high as a rubber duck,
while most of the ship was still up on dry land.
What uplift, what buoyancy! I ran close behind to ensure that all
ropes were held tight to prevent the unrigged body from disappear­
\\ ing down the river. Then the stern suddenly stopped just at the
h moment when the bow rose on the water. I heard a terrible crash of
breaking timber and saw the steel beams twist like spaghetti under
the broad body of the ship. The jubilant sound of applause sank to a
deep murmur of lament, mingled with screams of despair as the
\
broad vessel slowly settled on the solid ground like a rebellious
hippopotamus refusing to enter water.
There it sat. Firmly aground. Bow launched and afloat in the
river and stern solidly planted up among the crowds in the Garden
of Eden.
An army of volunteers ran to try to help push the vessel down
into the river. In vain. Only a few could get their shoulders to the
high stern that curved steeply into the air, and those who tried to
push along the sides sank into loose earth and river mud.
We began to dig beneath the vessel to inspect the damage and try
to let the water in under the stern. Our idea was close to that of the
wise prophet and the mountain: if our ship did not want to come to
the river, then the river had to come to our ship.
The dignitaries saluted politely and left with the police. One by
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