Page 139 - Gulf Precis (III)_Neat

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monsoon having by tliis time commenced, communication by native crnft with E
Maskat or elsewhere was impossible owing to the heavy sea running, and a
messenger sont overland never arrived, so there the unfortunate mariners had
to remain until tho season oponed again. For four months the ship's company
and passangors consisting of 350 men, one lady and two children wore encamped
on tho strand along sido of tho smouldering ship in rough tents made of awn­
ings, oto., and provisioning themselves from the ship's stores. During that
timo thoy appear (from tho account given to the press by the Commander) to
have boon trouted with surprising humanity by tho wild Gara and Mahri
tribesmen who inhabit that inhospitable coast. After they had beon there a
short time tho news of their shipwreck reached tho Sultan’s Governor at
Dhofar, and ho at oneo joined thorn in person and gave them tho protection of
his presenoo unlil tho monsoon sea subsided, and it was possible for him to hire
dhows to take the party to Maskat. In duo course, on 12th Soptorabcr, he
procured three dhows and the whole of the shipwrecked persons after storing a
large quantity of provisions in the dhows left in them for Maskat escorted by some
representatives of tho Wall. On the voyage thither, they wore encountored by
the Russian merchantman Trouver homeward bound, taken on board, and safely
landed at Aden a few days later. It is interesting to note that tho Admiral
Oueydon was ultimately raised by tho salvage steamer of the Perim coal
company and reached Perim safely at tho end of December, at which time she
is said to have been still smouldering, seven months after she caught fire !
575A. As there were allegations made that the wreck had been pillaged
by tho natives and the Sultan was uneasy
Secret £., January 1904, Noa. 239-248 (No. 245).
on the matter, its was arranged to send
H. M. S. Sphinx to tho scone of tho wreck. The Sphinx visited the place
in October 1903. 11 was fouud that tho allegations about pillage wero unfounded.
676 B. In April 1904 there were rumours that a large French man-of-
war and four torpedo-boats were seen at
Secret E., Juno 1904, Nos. 143-148.
Dhofar. The Rear Admiral G. Atkinson
Willes, however, wired on 17th May 1904*:—
‘'French cruiser and four tarpodo boats left Jibuti after coaling on tho 1st April and
arrived on 18th April Colombo, whence they sailed for Saijou on 14ih and 24th April. They
cann-'t therefore have touched at Dhofar/'
575 C. On 8th September 1804 Captain Grey telegraphed that the French
Consul had informed the Sultan on 7th
8<cret E., Janaary 1905, Noa. 453*476.
idem that a French ship of war, with
some torpedo boats, en route for Bombay, would in a few days visit Merbat and
Robat. His Majesty’s ship Porpoise, which was on its way to Maskat was order­
ed to visit Merbat and ascertain the movements of the French ship and torpedo
boats. The Porpoise proceeded to the place accordingly in October, and from its
Commander’s reports (see Naval Commandor-in-Chief’s letter dated 21st Novem­
ber 1904), it appears that the Descartes and eight French torpedo-boats, which
arrived in Bombay on 10th November 1904, left Jibuti on 31st October and
apparently oalled only at Makalla, for coaling the torpedo-boats, and did not pay
a visit to Merbat and Robat, but that a French cruiser and four torpedo-boats
anchored off Merbat about seven months ago for four hours, but did not com­
municate and left after coaling the torpedo-boats.”
676 D. No name of the French cruiser is given. It must have been prob­
ably the same ship which was reported to have been seen otf the coast of Dhofar
in April 1904, whioh report, was, however, considered by the naval Commander-
in-Chief as unfounded.
576 E. In Major Grey’s opinion the visit of the French man-of-war to the
places in question could not have a politi­
cal object. Commander Gibbons, R. N.,
H. M. S. Merlin informed him that torpedo-boats must coal between Jibuti
and Bombay, and that the Bay of Ghabbet-ol-Hashisp (Robat) appears to offer
facilities for this during the S. W. monsoon, and is moreover a good point from