98 Translation of the Toofut ul Kiram, [No. 158. 



death of Dahir. They called her a liar and stoned her, saying " You 

 have become one of the eaters of cows." The siege was prosecuted, 

 and the inhabitants of Alor soon began to suffer for want of food ; 

 they meditated surrender, Fuji began to think that there was no chance 

 of his succeeding, but a false hope prevented his withdrawing. They 

 say, that there was a sorceress in that place; they requested her to 

 give them intelligence of the death of Dahir, This woman, whose name 

 was Jokiu, asked for one night's delay, and after that she came into the 

 presence of Fuji with two green branches of Jow and Filful trees 

 and said, " I have searched every span of earth from Sirundip, and 

 have brought this reply, that if Dahir were alive I should certainly 

 have seen him ; do not entertain the idea, and do not heedlessly and 

 unprofitably doom yourself to destruction." When Fuji knew for cer- 

 tain from the sorceress, and became convinced of the death of Dahir, 

 he left the fort at night and fled to his brothers whom he had called 

 to him, but who had not yet arrived. In the morning the Allajis sent 

 the intelligence by letter to Mahamed Cassim, and called for a promise 

 Bin Cassim enters °^ P ar( ^ on *° r themselves ; they directed the holders of 

 Alor « the fort to open it, and Mahamed Cassim with his vic- 



torious army entered the city. He saw a large assemblage of the people 

 prostrating themselves in the place of worship ; he asked what they were 

 doing, he learnt that they were paying adoration to an idol, and entering 

 the temple he saw a well-formed figure of a man on horseback : he drew his 

 sword to strike him, but those who were near him cried out, " It is an 

 idol and not a living being." Making way for Mahamed Cassim he 

 advanced to the Idol, and taking off one of his gauntlets he said to the 



D . n , spectators, " See in the hand of the Idol there is this 



Bin Gassim reproach- r ' 



es the idolaters. ne gauntlet; ask him what he has done with the 



other." They replied, " What should an Idol know of these things." Bin 

 Cassim said, yours is a curious object of worship, who knows nothing 

 even of himself. They were ashamed at this rebuke. In short, after 

 the capture of Alor which was the capital of the country, the rest of the 

 dependencies became tranquil, all the inhabitants were grateful to Bin 

 Cassim*, and pursued their former avocations. He appointed Hurun 



* There is an apparent inconsistency in our author here, for he tells us that Alor 

 was taken by Bin Cassim when Dahir was overthrown, and does not account for the 

 Kajah's sons getting possession of it, and its being necessary to recapture it. Bin 



