280 HISTORY OF TKE WAHABEES. 



bees, as Deraiah was of the northern. Their leader 

 at this time was a widow, named GhaUa, whose 1ms- 

 band had been one of the principal men of the place. 

 She was possessed of great wealth, which was dis- 

 tributed liberally among all the poor of the tribe who 

 were willing to fight against the Turks. The Egyp- 

 tian soldiers entertained the most absurd notion of 

 her powers as a sorceress, and believed that she had 

 the faculty, by means of certain personal favours, 

 of rendering the Wahabee chiefs invincible. 



In the beginning of November, 1813, Toussoun 

 was despatched from Taif v/ith 2000 men, and on 

 his reaching Taraba the troops Avere immediately 

 ordered to attack the place. The Arabs defended 

 their walls with great spirit, being animated by the 

 presence and exhortations of the heroic widow. 

 The assailants were easily repulsed ; and next day 

 they commenced their retreat, closely pressed by 

 the Bedouins, who harassed them so severely that 

 they were obliged to abandon their baggage, tents, 

 arms, and provisions. Upwards of 700 men were 

 slaughtered in the flight ; many more died of hunger 

 and thirst ; and the whole must have been annihi- 

 lated but for the intrepidity of the celebrated Thomas 

 Keith, who with a handful of horsemen retook a 

 piece of artillery, which he pointed so v/ell that he 

 gave the fugitives time to cross the defile before the 

 enemy could advance. After a variety of hardships 

 and hairbreadth escapes, Toussoun arrived at Taif 

 with the wreck of his army ; and for eighteen 

 months all hostile operations in the field were sus- 

 pended. 



As Alihad seen every expedition into the interior 

 fail, except that against Medina, a naval armament, ac- 

 companied by 1500 soldiers and numerous transports 

 with provisions, under the command of Hossein Aga 

 and Zaim Oglu, was fitted out at Jidda, and directed 

 to make an attack on Confode, which for five years 

 had been in the possession Pf tlie Sheik Tami, chief 



