volume 2 - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian History Workshop

Departure from Mosul. 253
to take ten days to float down to Baghdid, the provisioning
of the raft needed careful attention. I paid a farewell
visit to the WS.li Pasha, and at the same time asked him
to send a couple of soldiers on our raft to protect us,
but he declined to do so, saying that he dared not risk the
lives of his men by sending them on such a dangerous
journey.
On December 9th we began to arrange our raft,
and found that we had to make room for a considerable
load. The manuscripts filled two large cases, and
Kuyunjik fragments and miscellaneous antiquities many
cases more. Then several merchants and others who
had shown me kindness and helped me in various ways,
sent me packages either from themselves or their friends
which they wished to be delivered at Takrit, Samarra,
and Baghdad. One merchant who was specially recommended
to me asked me to take down to Baghdcid some
cases of indigo (a valuable consignment which was quite
differently described on the outside of the boxes!), and
two men to look after them. Nimrud's luggage contained
many small " value parcels " and letters, and as
everybody must have known that we were carrying
letters and parcels for nothing, and so helping to defraud
the Postal Department of Mosul, I expected some trouble
from the Nazir of the Post Office before we left, but I
was reassured when just before leaving I received from
this of&cial a very kind letter of farewell, to which was
added the request that I would take certain account
books which he sent with the letter, and hand them over
to the Nazu: of the Post Office at Baghdad. At length
the last good-byes were said, and on the afternoon of
December loth we embarked on our raft. Dr. Wishart,
Nimrud, two custodians of the indigo, two or three men,
specially recommended by the indigo merchant, and
myself ; and the raftsmen untied the mooring-rope and
we pushed out into the stream. At that moment the
air became filled with the piercing shrieks and wailings of
the kinsfolk of Nimrud and his child-wife, and these were
renewed again and again until we were quite a mile below
the town.. I asked Nimrud where his wife was, and he