Page 113 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

having been warned by Colquhoun not to show themselves, for
‘there was a great probability of our being shot at, and if so, there
was little chance of detecting the culprit, which would make the
likelihood of our being fired at more certain’. Loch and his offi­
cers, two of the midshipmen and ‘old Moffath’, were not im­
pressed by the procession which Loch describes as follows:
‘The Motsalcum (Governor) proceeded with his guards and
regular troops immediately in his rear.’ The Governor’s body­
guard were in uniform, they wore red jackets, seamed with black
cord, full blue Turkish trousers, and white turbans, and carried
English muskets and black ammunition boxes and belts. These
were followed by a rabble of irregular Arab troops, behind them
came the populace. ‘There was a constant firing of musketry,
beating of tom-toms, yelling, whooping, and a sort of song of the
country, similar to that of the jugglers once in England, and a sort
of dance, finished by a loud yell, often extremely indecent.’ The
trouble over the affair of‘The Turkish Idiot’ seems to have ended
with the return of the Governor, who probably arranged for
compensation to be paid to the unfortunate man’s relatives.
During his visit, Colquhoun told Loch the story of a man from
Kuwait who had asked for protection in the Residency, from fear
of being seized owing to his being able to turn base metal into
gold. Colquhoun who, according to Loch, was something of a
chemist, decided to test the alchemist. The man was given a
piece of lead, which he placed with certain ingredients in a
crucible over a fire. After the lead was melted, it was allowed
to harden again, and when removed, it appeared to be a piece of
gold. Colquhoun sent it down to the bazaar, where it was tested,
and found to be gold: he had watched the process with the greatest
care, but was unable to detect the trick. Although he was scepti­
cal about the alchemist, Colquhoun allowed him to take refuge
in the Residency, but when the man went back to the bazaar to
collect his belongings, he disappeared. He was seized by some
men who had come to Basra from Kuwait, with the express
purpose of kidnapping ‘the Golden Goose’, and he was carried off
in a boat, never to be heard of again.
There seemed to be prevalence of amateur alchemists in Basra,
for a few days before Loch sailed, another so-called alchemist
came to call on Colquhoun, who received him with Loch, Bruce
and Taylor. ‘After sitting for awhile in the most awkward man-
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