i^o MEMOIRSoftie 
both wheat and barley^ hitherto the ^ral^s refort, when they 
have committed any robbery about Aleppo, or Hama^ and here 
they divide the fpoil. July 21ft, the merchants rofe at 4 o'clock: 
in the morning, and riding two hours fouthwards, they came 
to a ruinous place, called Sriadsen-j from hence going S. E. 
in four hours more they came to a well called Coftalj moft part 
of their way, thro' the defart, they were troubled with great 
numbers of rat-holes, like coney-boroughs, which, by the fink- 
ing in of the earth, very much difcommoded their horfcs and 
mules ^ thefe rats have at the ends of their tails a bufh of hair, 
and the ^rabs eat them all, excepting one part; from this 
well they arofe about four in the afternoon, and began to 
afcend Imall hills, covered with trees, which, for the moft 
part, were the fmall piilacho's, which the ^r^^i pickle with 
falt,^ but eaten green are good to quench thirft^ they travelled 
on tor three hours up the hills, where they pitched that night, 
having no other water, but what they carried with them j and 
at night they had a fmall Ihower of rain, a thing unufual in 
that country at that time of the year, jfuly 2 2d, they rofe by 
two in the morning, and travelling E. S. E. they came to a 
well called G'hor. July 1'^^^ they rofe by one in the morning, 
and travelling for the moft part to the eaft, they came to a 
large plain ; and after proceeding in this plain for two or three 
hours, they cfpied an Arab, driving towards them his camel 
at full fpeed, fo they fufpedled he had been lent as a fpy- 
being come up to them, he told them he was of Tadmor, and 
that his prince, the Emir uMelkaniy had that day made friend- 
fliip with Hatnet Shideed another prince, and that together 
they had 400 men 3 fo he kept company with the merchants 
for an hour or two, and enquired of their Muleteers, whether 
they were not ''Turks in difguife 5 for they travelled with a ban- 
diero, the imprefs being a Hanjarr, or 'Turkijh dagger, and a 
half moon 5 and he could hardly believe the)[ were Franks^ 
wondering that they could thus travel in the delert out of mere 
curiofity- being once near to Tadmor, he went a little before 
them, and on a fuddcn run full fpeed towards the ruins ; upon 
this the guide told the merchants, he was gone to acquaint the 
ylr^rswho they were, and that they ought to fufped^ and pre- 
pare for the worft5 fo they difmounted 20 of their fervants, 
each having a long gun and piftol at his girdle, and placed 
them a brcaft before them, the merchants themfclves on horfc- 
back, followingat a fmall diftance behind, witii carabines and 
piftols 5 
