volume 2 - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian History Workshop

278 Visits from Neighbouring Arabs.
neatest and completest bit of scavenging I ever saw
in that desert. In the evening the jackals came and
quarrelled over the bare bones, and for several nights
afterwards they came and drank out of our pails during
the night, and stole anything they could find to eat.
The owner of the camel worked for us until we could
send him and his belongings into Baghdad with our
tablets. Many neighbouring shekhs paid us visits, and
as long as they did so during the day I was very
glad to welcome them and to offer them coffee, even
though they interrupted work, and stayed a very long
time. But a few of them came with their followers
at night, and after their departure cooking pots, rugs,
pieces of carpet, etc., could not be found. One night
the horse of one of them got his feet entangled in the
tent ropes in the dark, and began to plunge and kick
violently. In freeing himself the horse backed into the
three large water-jars in front of the tent, and smashed
them, and all the water was wasted, and the whole
camp was without water until the next evening. On
another occasion the followers of one of the shekhs
quarrelled with some of our workmen, and in the free
fight which took place a paraffin lamp hanging to a pole
was knocked down, and it exploded and set fire to
some of the huts made of palm branches and reed mats.
The zaribah in which my horse^ was standing caught
fire, and as he was hobbled we only succeeded in saving
him with the greatest difficulty. He was nearly mad
with fright and screamed horribly, and it was impossible
to ride him for many days. After that episode I kept
a tent pitched down on the plain and received any night
visitors there. From the remarks made by one and
all of these shekhs I gathered that they did not view our
excavations favourably, and some of them said openly
that either the Baghdad Government or I ought to
pay them for permission to dig at Der. They could not
' Askar named him " Akbar," but my friends in Baghdad called
him " Museum " ; he cost £4 in M6sul in 1889, and he fetched £20
in Baghdad at the close of the excavations.