1847.] Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 303 



deserved little notice, but the heavy rains experienced this winter 

 throughout the Pachalic, have increased its importance. After passing 

 the Atheira, the river becomes more tortuous, a long reach extending 

 to the S. W. leads you to an opening of considerable extent, which I 

 am told is the mouth of the Sh'taitha, and supposed to be the old bed 

 of the Tigris (see note of xipril 2nd). We passed it at 6-15 and stood 

 towards Khan Tholiyah, in a northerly direction. Anchored for the 

 night at 6-32 near two islands which here bisect the stream. 



The alluvial soil now gives place to banks of pebbles and shingle, 

 occasionally mixed with conglomerate masses, but the high cliffs still 

 exhibit alluvium, mixed with many strata of sand, and in some places 

 red clay. A salt stratum is observed near the present margin of the 

 stream, in which sprigs of the Tamarisk flourish, but the rest is bare 

 and much eroded, not only by the Tigris, but from the numerous tor- 

 rents that find their way from the high lands contiguous to the Hamreen 

 range. The Hawis, or alluvial deposits, formed in the valley of the 

 Tigris, are now in a high state of cultivation. Obtained observations 

 both for longitude and latitude, the latter deduced from the M. A. of* 

 Antares was found to be 34° 00' 19" N. 



Sunrise, April 4th, from the masthead observed the true bearing of 

 Khan Tholiyeh to be N. 00° 45' W. At the same time the following- 

 angles right and left of it were taken by sextant ; angle right, high peak 

 of Dalahee on the great Lagros range 14° 25' ; angles left of the Khan, 

 Minaret in the village of Beled on the Dejeil 87° 32' ; Malwujeh, or 

 spiral tower above Samarrah 53° 16' ; Tomb of the Imams in Samarrah 

 55° 54'; Khan Mazrukji 63° 21'; Imam Syed Mahomed subtended an 

 angle of 43° 34' left of Beled, and the Minaret of Sumeichah village 52° 9' 

 left of Syed Mahomed. From this station,f the mouth of the old bed of 



* Both Dr. Ross and Capt. Lynch place the northern mouth of the old bed of the 

 Tigris about 20 miles further to the west ; but lam assured from very good authority, 

 that its true position is where I assigned it. There may however have been a branch 

 further to the westward, and it is hazardous to differ with two such observant travellers 

 as those I have quoted, but the nature of the soil changing from hard sandstone to allu- 

 vium in this vicinity, it is natural to infer that a deep and rapid stream like the Tigris 

 would select the first yielding soil it met with for a bed to convey its pent up waters to 

 the sea. 



t Observations (for longitude) of « Orionis, place this station 11' 16" west of Baghdad, 

 and as Khan Tholiyeh bore north, it also lies on the same meridian. 



