FROM LONDON TO AUSTRALIA BY AEROPLANE 



289 



squalid stalls, where shadow, deep 

 shadow, is essential to effect a successful 

 sale. 



I looked out of my window before 

 turning- in. A myriad spires, misty and 

 intangible, pointed to a heaven brilliant 

 with stars ; a faint breeze drifted in from 

 the desert. The atmosphere was laden 

 with mystery and enchantment. I felt 

 contented. The skies promised sunshine, 

 and henceforth the weather would be 

 good ! 



Conceive my dismay when, on awaken- 

 ing- with the morning, I discovered heavy 

 rain falling; still further was I dismayed 

 to find the aerodrome surface rapidly be- 

 coming soft, and the wheels of the Vimy 

 sinking in. As there was no sign of the 

 weather clearing up, we greased our tires 

 to assist their passage through the sticky 

 clay, started up the engines, and, to my 

 unspeakable relief, the Vimy moved 

 ahead. 



But the take-off was not lacking in ex- 

 citement. The propellers sucked up 

 water and mud, whirling it in all direc- 

 tions (we happened to be included in one 

 of them), and so we rose into the air, 

 once more to be cut by the lash of the 

 elements. To my intense relief, the 

 storm did not extend more than a score 

 of miles beyond Damascus. 



A MUD VILLAGE ON PALMYRA^S RUINS 



We were now heading for Tadmur ; 

 again the desert extended before us — a 

 rolling expanse of dreary gray sand over 

 which it was some satisfaction to speed 

 at eighty-five miles per hour. Tadmur is 

 a miserable village of mud huts that has 

 sprung up amidst the noble ruins of an- 

 cient Palmyra. The modern bazaars are 

 built for shelter among the ancient col- 

 umns and fragmentary walls of the Tem- 

 ple of the Sun. These magnificent ruins 

 are the bleached skeletons of a glorious 

 past, austere and dignified even in the 

 squalor and meanness that surround 

 them. From Tadmur the route lay east 

 to Abu Kemal, on the Euphrates. 



Shortly after leaving Tadmur we ob- 

 served an encampment consisting of sev- 

 eral hundred black goat-hair tents, and 

 gathered around them were vast herds of 

 camels. As we were flying low at the 

 time, our sudden appearance caused a 

 stampede, not only among the beasts, but 



also the occupants of the tents. They 

 decamped, evidently terror-stricken. We 

 subsequently learned that the camels 

 were the spoils of a victorious raid. Per- 

 haps the raiders thought we were the 

 Judgment ! 



FOLLOWING THE EUPHRATES 



On reaching Abu Kemal we turned 

 southeast, following down the course of 

 the Euphrates. It was a pleasant change, 

 after the interminable desert, to pursue 

 the lazy course of the great river and to 

 pass again over fertile tracts and numer- 

 ous villages. 



The most remarkable of these villages 

 is Hit, not only on account of the ancient 

 city which lies buried here, but because 

 there are several bitumen springs, from 

 which this valuable commodity oozes in 

 vast quantities. Practically every native 

 who owns a boat on the Euphrates has 

 copied Noah, who was commanded to 

 "pitch the ark within and without with 

 pitch." 



On leaving Abu Kemal we encoun- 

 tered strong head winds, which dimin- 

 ished our speed considerably. I was be- 

 coming anxious as to whether we could 

 reach Bagdad before dark, as I was not 

 keen to make a night landing there. 



The sun was fast sinking in the west, 

 and as we flew over Ramadie it dipped 

 below the horizon. I decided that there 

 would not be time to do the forty miles 

 to Bagdad before dark. We selected a 

 suitable landing ground among some old 

 trenches, close to a cavalry camp, and 

 landed. 



We had landed on the old Ramadie 

 battlefield, which was one of the notable 

 sites of the Mesopotamian campaign. 

 Soon after landing the C. O. of the In- 

 dian cavalry regiment came out to greet 

 us, and proffered the hospitality of his 

 camp. 



We were delighted to learn there was a 

 small supply of aviation petrol here, and 

 we obtained sufficient to carry us through 

 to Basra without having to land at Bag- 

 dad. An Indian guard was mounted 

 over the machine, and the Vimy was 

 securely lashed down for the night. 



The O. C. of the ioth Indian Lancers 

 and his staff were thoroughly pleased to 

 meet us, and over the excellent dinner 



