862 Geological Specimens from the Persian Gulf. [No. 4, 



down to a fresh spring under the sea in five fathoms of water and 

 filled their jars returning with them to the surface. Such I take 

 to be " travellers' tales." All the springs that I know of, (and be- 

 tween us, Lieuts. Whish, Stifle, and myself, I think we visited most 

 of them), were situated on the reefs, many of which with the reefs 

 were left dry at low water. 



" There is one about 10 miles N. W. of Manama (which is the 

 name of the principal town of Bahreyn), close to which H. M. 

 Schooner, " Maid," anchored, and from it supplied herself with water. 

 They took in 700 gallons of good sweet water from it in one day. 

 The spring is about three feet under the sea, and the way they 

 managed was by putting a tube into it, to which a short piece of hose 

 was joined, and the water rising in the tube, was thus conveyed 

 through the hose directly into the boat which lay along side, where 

 it was received into casks which had been brought for the purpose, 

 without further trouble. 



" Again, there is the island of Maharag, close to the N. E. point of 

 Bahreyn, on which is the large town of Maharag with six or seven 

 villages, all of which obtain their freshwater from springs under the 

 sea or nearly so, situated on the great reef which surrounds the island. 

 At low tide the inhabitants walk out to them and fill their vessels. 

 Proceeding round the island northwards, from Maharag, we first come 

 to one of these springs, on a low flat, rocky islet opposite the village 

 of Biseytin, where it is situated in a basin which purifies itself as the 

 tide falls but is over-flown at high water. A mile further on, are three 

 or four others of good sweet water, all of which are also covered at 

 high tide. The inhabitants of the village of El Dir obtain their 

 supply entirely from these. Further round the island still and op- 

 posite the village of Gallali are two more springs on the reef; in these 

 we found that the Arabs had placed bamboos, through which the 

 water was bubbling up ; there are also the remains of a building here, 

 in the sea, but on the reef close to the springs. Still further round 

 about a mile or two to the south, on the reef, is a slab of rock called 

 " Bii Shahin" where there are more fresh springs. Then a short dis- 

 tance S. E. of the fort of Maharag is another, still under the sea, at 

 least at high water, it is called " Bii Mahah." Beside it is an old 

 tower and it supplies Maharag chiefly. Thus the island on which 



