Page 177 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

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drowned, because neighbouring shaikhs had asked for them in
marriage, which he regarded as an insult.
At Asaloo, Bruce and Loch went ashore, and ‘waited on the
Shaikh, informing him that we had learnt that several pirate
vessels had taken shelter there, which must be given up and
destroyed*. As usual, there was difficulty in identifying the
pirates, but the Shaikh pointed out one ship which was taken
possession of. At Nabend, two more pirate vessels were found
to be in hiding. Two of these were taken and burnt, the other
two, although chased by the ships’ boats, managed to escape.
With five pirate dhows to their credit, the squadron crossed the
Gulf to Bahrain, arriving on January 21st.
When they approached the islands, Loch dispatched the Nautilus
ahead, to take up a position at the southern exit of the harbour,
which was between the two islands, to prevent any ships escaping.
The Eden and Curlew moved in towards Bahrain; they had no
pilots and, in spite of incessant soundings, the Eden ran aground
but was soon afloat again, ‘by throwing all the sails aback*. In
present days, even with the help of charts, it is not an uncommon
occurrence for ships to run aground when approaching the outer
anchorage off Manama which is three miles from the shore. But
there is now a new deep water anchorage on the south side of
Manama, where six ships can anchor alongside a pier. The Eden
and Curlew moved in to within musket shot of the beach, close
to where the Bahrain war vessels lay at anchor.
Two dhows, at anchor in the harbour, were recognised as be­
longing to the Joasmi, and a party was sent in the ship’s boats to
take possession of them, which they did without opposition. The
dhows were brought alongside the Eden. A message was then
sent to the Shaikh, ‘explaining my orders, and the absolute neces­
sity for destroying all vessels belonging to the pirates, thereby
cramping their future power in such a manner as to prevent their
holding their heads up*. At the same time, Loch sent a request
for horses, so that he and Bruce might ride out to Rafaa, about
eleven miles inland, to meet Shaikh Sulman and Shaikh Abdulla.
On his first visit, when he was investigating the case of ‘The
European Lady and her Niece*, Loch saw very little of Bahrain,
but this time, he stayed for a week, and went ashore several times.
His opinion of Manama was that ‘the aspect and situation of the
town was far superior to any I had seen in the Persian Gulph,
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