The Land of Midian — Volume 1 eBook

I could not but remark that the interior, which appeared pyritiferous, did not show the slightest trace of precious metal.  Still the discovery gave fresh courage to all our people.  The trophy was shown to every Bedawi, far and near, with the promise of a large reward (fifty dollars) to the lucky wight who could lead us to the rock in situ.  The general voice declared that the “gold-stone” was the produce of Jebel Malayh (Malih):  we afterwards ascertained by marching up the Wady Surr that it was not.  In fact, the whole neighbourhood was thoroughly well scoured; but the results were nil.  In due course of time the tarnishing and the disappearance of the metal reduced my scepticism to a certainty:  the “gold dots” were the trace of some pilgrim or soldier’s copper-nailed boot.  It was the first time that this ludicrous mistake arose, but not the last—­our native friends were ever falling into the same trap.

Amongst the minor industries of the Fort el-Muwaylah must be reckoned selling gazelles.  The Bedawin bring them in, and so succeed in taming the timid things that they will follow their owner like dogs, and amuse themselves with hopping upon his shoulders.  When thus trained, “Ariel” is supposed to be worth half a napoleon.  The wild ones may be bought at almost every fort, as Ziba or El-Wijh.

Chapter X.

Through East Midian to the Hisma.

The Land of Midian is by no means one of the late Prince Metternich’s “geographical expressions.”  The present tenants of the soil give a precise and practical definition of its limits.  Their Arz Madyan extends from El-’Akabah north (north lat. 29 28’) to El-Muwaylah with its Wady, El-Surr (north lat. 27 40’).  It has thus a total latitudinal length of 108 direct geographical miles.[EN#149] South of this line, the seaboard of North-Western Arabia, as far as El-Hejaz, has no generic name.  The Bedawin are contented with such vague terms, derived from some striking feature, as “the Lands of Ziba,” “of Wady Salma,” “of Wady Damah,” “of El-Wijh,” to denote the tract lying between the parallels of El-Muwaylah and of Wady Hamz (Arabic) in north lat. 25 55’ 15.  Thus the north-south length of the southern moiety would be 105 direct geographical miles, or a little less than the northern; and the grand total would be 213 miles.

The breadth of this Egyptian province is determined by the distance from the sea to the maritime mountains.  In Madyan Proper, or North Midian, the extremes would be twenty-four and thirty-five miles.  For the southern half these figures may be doubled.  Here, again, the Bedawin are definitive as regards limits.  All the Tihamah or “lowlands” and their ranges belong to Egypt; east of it the Daulat Sham, or Government of Syria, claims possession.