278 Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates. 



and ravines. Tlie plain, too, lies at an average 

 height of some hundred feet above the river, and is- 

 possessed of no water at its own level. Lastly,, 

 several intricate lines of hills must be cut throusfh. 

 The latter remarks apply with douljle force to any 

 more direct route across the desert. In winter, 

 indeed, there is a line of fresh-water pools, running 

 between Damascus and Ana, but these are de- 

 pendent for their existence entirely on the autumn 

 rains, and the rain does not always fall. In summer 

 they are dry. 



A much more serious objection to a desert rail- 

 w^ay, would be the impossibility of making practical 

 use of it, except in the temperate months. I 

 cannot think that many passengers would choose a 

 railway journey of a thousand miles under such 

 a sun as the Hamad boasts, between May and 

 October. The average maximum daily temperature 

 in the coolest house in Bagdad during June and 

 July is 107°, while the thermometer there sometimes, 

 goes up to 120°, and even 122°. The heat of the 

 desert would be far greater ; and, unless stations of 

 refuge were established, in which to pass the heat 

 of the day, summer travelling would be impossible 

 for Europeans. These and the road would have ta 

 be well guarded, as it is unlikely the Anazeh would 

 respect them. 



As a commercial scheme it must be considered^ 

 that though tlirough traffic for goods might be 

 abundant, and through passenger traffic in the 



