MY QUEST OF THE ARAB HORSE 



cellency Chikeb Bey, then the Turkish Ambas- 

 sador, and after a very pleasant conversation 

 with him (he fortunately is a horseman of the 

 highest order) he assured me that while to get 

 mares from the desert was almost impossible, 

 still he would make an earnest appeal and 

 would cable to Constantinople. 



After a few days he received a cablegram in 

 return which gave me the first ray of hope, for 

 it inquired how many horses I wanted. There 

 was some discussion then as to the number I 

 should ask for. After consideration I con- 

 cluded that while six was a modest number, 

 generally when you went beyond six you 

 said twelve and that just to break the monot- 

 ony of such a system I had best ask for six 

 or eight. This was done and the Sultan left 

 it just as I had put it, "six or eight," and to my 

 utter astonishment, as well as the Ambassa- 

 dor's, granted the Irade.* 



*In a letter dated December 28, 1906, from Lady Ann Blunt, 

 the most distinguished traveler and authoress of the Arabian 

 Desert, commenting upon my success in procuring such an 

 Irade, the Lady has this to say: "There has always existed a 

 prohibition to export horses from Turkish territory, but of late 

 I believe it has been made more stringent, and the permission 

 given to you must have been due to great judgment and skill 

 on the part of the American Embassador. I doubt if at the 

 present time any other diplomat would have a like success." 

 I believe that the liberal permit was granted more through 



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