492 Sir John Jackson [May 28, 



years ago no one knew you ; my people have been here since before 

 the time of Moses. Are you going to teach me how to carry earth." 

 Now, however, as you will see by the pictures, planks and barrows 

 are used by the natives. We also had a special difficulty to contend 

 with on account of the absence of good fuel of any description at or 

 near the site of the works. In two and three-quarter years, however, 

 we completed our task, the barrage was put across the new diversion 

 of the Euphrates, the original channel of the river dammed, the water 

 turned into the diversion, and head regulators built for the Hilla 

 branch. By reference to the plan it will be seen that no portion of the 

 new barrage was built in the original bed of the river. On account 

 of the importance of careful examination of foundations, we decided 

 to have the dam wholly constructed in the dry, and only when it 

 was entirely completed were the banks removed and the water 

 of the old Euphrates river allowed to flow in its new course. 

 The erection of the dam across the old river was a separate 

 affair, to which I will refer later. The work of the barrage 

 across the diverted river was built mainly of brickwork, with a 

 certain amount of cement concrete. The bricks were manufactured 

 on the site, and on the whole were very good. The lime came down 

 from the old quarries of Hit (some say the Hit of the Bible, in the 

 same neighbourhood from which no doubt the pitch referred to in 

 the building of Noah's Ark also came). The barrage has thirty-six 

 openings, each sixteen and a half feet wide, and there are two sluice- 

 gates in each opening, each gate being 16 ft. Gin. wide by 8ft. in 

 height. At one side of the barrage a lock has been built for the use 

 of river traffic of a width of about 2Q ft. and a length of about 

 325 ft., with a pair of gates in the middle dividing it into two 

 parts, each of which is 162 ft. in length. The Hilla head regulator 

 is very similar in construction to the main barrage, but it has only 

 six openings, each 9 ft. 10 in. wide. The main barrage raises the 

 ordinary summer level of the river some 16 ft., allowing ample 

 supply of water to flow into the Hilla Channel. The construction 

 of the dam formed across the old channel of the river to which 

 I have referred was a little peculiar, being built according to 

 a system which for many years had more or less been adopted by 

 the"^ Arabs. We made a series of long sausages (as they were termed) 

 of brushwood, brought from many miles up-stream. These were 

 constructed on the river bank and rolled into the water, floated into 

 position, and sunk by weights to the bed of the river. 



When I paid my visit to Bagdad, my chief assistant who accom- 

 panied me was Mr. Griffin Eady, M.Inst.C.E., who later took up the 

 position of our chief engineer and representative at Constantinople. 

 Since the commencement of the construction of the works, our chief 

 engineer and representative in Mesopotamia, having entire control of 

 the whole of the works, has been Mr. Arthur Noel Whitley, chiefly 

 assisted by Mr. Percy Warbrick, A.M.Inst.C.E., the chief of the 



