Page 250 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

XI.] COAST OF ARABIA. 231

Tusfin Pasha received a most signal defeat in
1811. The Arabs permitted his troops to
occupy the pass, and then destroyed them
with musketry and rocks hurled down from
above.
For the free passage of the Egyptian cara­
van Mohammed ’All treated at the conclusion
of the war ; and though he still furnishes the
Harb tribe with an annual present, a large

sum is nevertheless exacted from the Syrian
hajj on this spot, before they are permitted to
pass the defile.
Their principal Sheikh, Sooltan ibn Hasan,
has, for greater security, fixed his residence
near this spot. Possessed of vast personal
strength and undaunted courage, the fame of
this chief as a warrior furnishes a general
theme of discourse and admiration among the
neighbouring tribes. Such qualities, joined
to an intriguing disposition and considerable

political talent, render him the most powerful
chief in Hejaz. Several ineffectual attempts
have been made to inveigle him within the
grasp of the Pashd, but Ibn Hasan continues
to elude his artifices and despise his threats.
The dominions of the Harb tribe extend from