volume 2 - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian History Workshop

222 The Circassians at Tall 'A' far.
letter by suggesting that the British Press should be
informed of Ayub's proceedings in the Sinjar, and I
expressed the hope that he would show my letter to
the correspondent of The Times in Constantinople.
The Ka'im MakSm managed to send the letter to Sir
William White and a month later I received from him
in Baghdad a telegram through the British Consul
saying, " England is a Power friendly to Turkey ; Tvirkey
is a Power friendly to England. The policy of Turkey
in respect of the Yazidis must not be attacked by the
servant of a Power friendly to Turkey. I do not see
my way to interfere in the matter, and if you write
to the Press you will embarrass me. Keep me well
informed by telegraph, but otherwise be silent. I have
sent you the permit for excavations at Der, but fear
trouble and disappointment for you."
In the course of the evening the two soldiers who
had escorted us from Der az-Zur came and told me that
the officer to whom they had reported their arrival
had ordered them not to escort me to Mosul. I said,
" Very well, let him supply me with two others." They
then told me that the officer would not allow any of
his men to go to Mosul because the Shammar and the
other tribes were fighting, and that the " Tcherkass,"
or Circassians, had attacked Tall 'A'far during the past
week and killed many of the people there. The roads
to Mosul were not safe, they added, and their officer
would himself come to me the following day and prohibit
my departure. I gave them each a gift and they departed.
Just after they had gone Muhammad came
and told me that Ayub had sent a man to him who
wanted to buy our camels, and who told him that if
he would not sell them they would be taken from us
by force. When I told the Ka'im Makim these things
he agreed with us that the sooner we left Sinjar the
better. I said that I wanted to buy food before we left,
but he objected to any delay, and we arranged to leave
the town before daybreak. It was quite clear that
Eyub and the officer were working together to get us
stranded at Sinjir, but they failed. The Ka'im Makam