Page 107 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

anchor was lost. On the 5th, the Eden arrived near the mouth
of the Shatt al Arab, two boats were sent out and anchored on
each side of the deep water channel, like buoys; the ship then got
under weigh and crossed the bar with a good wind and a favour­
able tide. There was still no sight of land on either side, and it
was not until she had sailed for some distance that the pilot pointed
out to Loch something black, apparently floating on the surface
in the distance, which at nearer view turned out to be a mass of
reeds, growing in places as high as twelve feet. The ship then
entered the part of the river where both banks were visible, and
Loch could see the walled villages surrounded by date groves and
plots of cultivation.
At one spot, there was a dangerous whirlpool where the river
and the sea met. ‘The ship had all sail set, running through the
water at the rate of five or six miles an hour, hustled along at
almost equal velocity by the flood tide, when, all of a sudden, she
was twisted round, in spite of the helm, and would have been
driven on shore, had not the anchor been instantly let go.’ Sev­
eral times the Eden had to send her boats ahead to take soundings,
and to station themselves on each side of the channel before she
could move on. As they sailed up the river, Loch saw a pack of
jackals chasing some animal, and a large lioness ‘going at a round
trot, and, as a dog docs at fault, putting her nose to the ground
every now and then.’ The lioness was not more that 200 yards
from the deck, but by the time a musket was produced and loaded,
she was out of sight. Nearer Basra, where a long narrow island
divides the river, the passage was so narrow that a ship lying at
anchor could not swing without touching one of the banks.
The Eden reached Basra at midnight on March 7th, and anchored
off the main wharf; there was ‘a beautiful bright moon’ which
shed its light on the houses of the city, the gardens and the date
palms. Early next morning, Loch learned from Taylor who had
been ashore, of the death of Her Majesty Queen Charlotte, which
had taken place on November 7th 1S18. The colours were struck
at half mast, and a salute of 30 one-minute guns was fired. Later
in the morning, Bruce and Taylor, with their wives and families
disembarked into a boat, known locally as a ‘snake’, under a
salute of 11 guns. Loch accompanied them to the British Resi­
dency which was in the centre of Basra on the main canal, and
there he stayed during the ship’s visit.
87