Page 128 - Gulf Precis (III)_Neat

112
CHAPTER XXI.

Two Expeditious for Examination of the coal-fields near Sur. Trench
Intrigues. 1901.

023. In January 1901 Captain Cox brought to the notico of tho Govern­
ment of India the oxistcnco of coal-fields
Secret K., April 1901, Noi. 118- 122.
at Rafseh or ltufsheli near Sur.
Tho idea of a coal trade from this coast suggestod to Captuin Cox advan­
tageous possibilities iu throo directions:—
(i) It would bo an obviously couveniont sourco of supply for our coal
depots in tlicso waters.
(ii) It would considerably improve the indopondont financial position of
the Sultan.
(iii) It would bo tlio means of shedding, in somo degree, the light of
civilisation and publicity upon tho port of Sur, a spot which has
hitherto borno a time-honoured and unenviable notoriety as the
principal emporium for the supply of Negro slaves to meet the
demand for them in Eastern Arabia and the Persian Gulf.
Apart from tho above considerations, moreover, tlio existence of coal in
maritirao rango behind Sur and tho vicinity bad an indirect bearing on the
French flag question, and iu that connection to accentuate in no small degree
the undesirability of our allowing tho French or any other maritime power to
raiso a community or proteges, and thus gain a footing and influence on that
part of the coats of Oman.
624. On the raattor being referred to thorn, the Government of India,
consented to afford His Highness the ne­
Secret E., Au^u.t 1901, Noi. 171-202.
cessary assistance in determining tho
value of the seams, and decided to depute a mining expert to examine and
report upon them.
620. Tho two expeditions subsequently undertaken having already been
reported upon iu detail, it seoms unneces­
Secret E., September 1901, No*. 82-88.
sary to record more hero than a short out­
line of what occurred from the Gulf Residency Administration Report for
1901-02.
(First Expedition.)
627. On tho first occasion, the Geologist deputed was Dr. A. Von Krafft,
Ph. D., of the Geological Survey of India
Gulf ftdminiitratiou report for 1901-02.
who arrived iu Maskat on 10th April.
ATter waiting three days in the hope that tho arrival of ono of His Majesty’s
ships for duty in Maskat would have enabled him and Captain Cox to get down
to Sur expeditiously, they wore eventually obliged to leave by dhow on 14th
April.
62S. In tho first locality which they visited,—Kalhat, about 60 miles
south-east of Maskat,—they were received in the most friendly way by the
local tribesmen, but from the moment they entered the Musharifeh country near
Sur the party met with the utmost hostility and obstruction. It appeared that
tho disaffected community at that port had circulated among tho Sheikhs of
the Sharkiveh, fantastic and sinister misrepresentations of their motives in
exploring tho country, and tho Sultan's old enemies, Aysa-bia-Saleli (son and
successor of the rebel leader who led tho operations against Maskat in 1895)
and Uilal and Mohsin, tho sons of Amr, partly perhaps believing these stories,
and partly no doubt perceiving that a good opportunity was afforded them for
giving play to their enmity to the Sultan and making things unpleasant for
him, came down with a following from the Sharkivoh, and preached a petty
Jehad against them among tlio ignorant Musharifeh Bedouins through whose
country their route to the coal scams lay.