Page 149 - Life of Gertrude Bell

HAIL 135
had campccl for three nights on the top of the ziggurat which he,
Woolley, had excavated.
If Gertrude was not engaged in a unique or unprecedented
journey, she nevertheless put all her considerable resources of
endurance and initiative to the test. There were plenty of hazards
along the way. She took the path which leads west of Jauf, the
desert township which was the traditional home of the Shaalan
family, hereditary amirs of the great Anaiza tribal confederations
and paramount shaikhs of the Ruwalla, though the place had
until recently been occupied by Ibn Rashid’s men. The road took
her through the territory of the chief of the Howeitat tribe,
Shaikh Auda, by whom she was well received. She called at his
harm and was made to feel at home by the belligerent but likeable
ruffian who waged incessant war on Turks and fellow Arabs and
kept a careful count of his victims. She also found a starveling
family of Shammar on the way and allowed them to join her
caravan. A shaikh of the Wuld Suleiman barred her way at one
point until she surrendered a revolver and pair of Zeiss binocu­
lars, a small price to pay for safe passage in Wadi Sirhan; the
Howeitat men with her prevented any further extortion. The rest
of the route ran parallel with the much-used caravan road to Hail.
Only cold weather hindered their journey seriously. In mid-
February there was frost on the sand. As they neared Hail a
messenger came from the Amir Ibn Rashid to say that he was
with a raiding party and would not be able to welcome her to his
capital, but that his shaikhs would receive her. In sight of the first
mountain of Jabal Shammar, Jabal Irnan, Fattuh came to her and
said that a camel had sat down and could not be made to stir.
‘Muhammad, Fellah and I went back with some food for her,
thinking she might be weary of walking in the deep sand and that
with feeding and coaxing we could get her on, but when we
reached her we found her rolling in the sand in the death agony.
Muhammad said, “She is gone. Shall we sacrifice her?” I said,
“It were best.” He drew his knife and said, “In the name of God.
God is most powerful.” With that he cut her diroat... I am
deeply attached to all my camels and grieve over the death.’
\ On February 24th she wrote: ‘We are camped within sight of
Hail and I might have ridden in to-day, but I thought it better to
announce my coming and therefore I sent on Muhammad and
Ali and have camped in the plain a couple of hours or so from the
town ... I hope the Hail people will be polite. The Amir is away