THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



271 



were wont to sit on the rocks and lure 

 mariners to disaster with their smiles. 

 Possibly the Socotran women were the 

 Circes and the Sirens, so fatal to the old 

 Greek sailors ; but if so, their charms 

 have sadly deserted them since, or the 

 sailormen of that day were even more 

 impressionable than sailors are now. 



We returned from our visit to the capi- 

 tal along the banks of the khor, or lagoon, 

 that winds its placid way through the 

 palms. Strangely enough, a strip of sand 

 not more than 50 feet wide divides its 

 sweet waters from the brine of the sea. 

 There are several of these silted-in la- 

 goons along the coast, and that eminent 

 traveler, the late Theodore Bent, thinks 

 they are the remnants of ancient harbors 

 in which the smaller ships of those times 

 easily found shelter. 



Nothing could be lovelier than the sight 

 of slender Socotran cattle grazing knee- 

 deep among the grasses and the palm 

 branches that line the banks of these 

 khors. Clouds massed above and moun- 

 tains near behind ; long shadows dappling 

 the water, and the sun turning to gold the 

 tawny flanks of the cattle makes a picture 

 of pastoral beauty rare to behold in this 

 part of the East. 



the sultan's deliberate aeeront 



By the middle of the next afternoon 

 it was apparent to every one that the Sul- 

 tan's continued "indisposition" was in- 

 tended as a deliberate affront. He had 

 no intention of receiving us. The thing 

 seemed inexplicable, as Socotra is under 

 British protection, and the Sultan, as the 

 recipient of a bounty of 350 dollars a 

 year, is liege to the British Resident at 

 Aden. Nevertheless, there it was ; such 

 an affront as official dignity could not 

 dare overlook in this ceremonial East. 

 Worst of all, it was quite impossible for 

 the party to attempt its camping trip in 

 the mountains without the Sultan's aid. 

 He had been notified of the visit weeks 

 before, and we had expected him to meet 

 us with camels, carriers, sheep, and all 

 the impedimenta required for such a trip. 

 We found nothing ready and our host 

 supremely indifferent. Reluctantly, Gen- 

 eral Bell ordered our whole adventure 

 to be abandoned and the captain to weigh 

 anchor. 



But for many months I had been en- 

 deavoring to get to Socotra to secure 

 some frankincense trees for the Bureau 

 of Plant Industry at Washington, and all 

 my hopes of success had been centered 

 on this trip. I knew I should never have 

 a like opportunity again. As the result 

 of my urgent importunities General Bell 

 generously consented to keep the ship in 

 harbor another 24 hours while I made a 

 quick bolt into the mountains to find my 

 trees, if possible. 



Twenty-four hours is very little time 

 in which to penetrate a mountain wilder- 

 ness and bring back any sort of game, 

 especially a rare tree, but there was no 

 choice, and some quick action was neces- 

 sary. 



BLOWS AND HONEYED PROMISES FOR THE 

 ARABS 



Captain Arthur Mitchell, of the Royal 

 Garrison Artillery, at Aden, elected to 

 accompany me, and Major Jacob hurried 

 his invaluable interpreter, Ali Hussain, 

 off to find us camels and guides. An 

 hour later we were ashore with all our 

 baggage and provisions. By the aid of 

 a tongue that fairly dripped honeyed 

 promises of "baksheesh," and ship's bis- 

 cuit, Ali Hussain had assembled a small 

 regiment of camels and donkeys and their 

 drivers. 



Bedlam ensued. Each man wished only 

 to throw the smallest parcel he could find 

 on his beast, rope it and sneak away. 

 There were not even enough parcels to go 

 around. The Sahibs were a golden har- 

 vest, sent by Allah, for the especial en- 

 richment of camel men. Ali was every- 

 where, bestowing here a kick, there a 

 smile, and sometimes both together; but 

 without the aid of Major Jacob, a master 

 of the r Arab and his vitriolic speech, I 

 doubt if we should have ever got started. 



In the end, our relatively small amount 

 of baggage, servants, guides, drivers, and 

 interpreters were bestowed upon six 

 camels, five donkeys, and twelve men! 

 It was an enormous robbery, but the 

 Socotrans had a complete grasp of the 

 situation. Our head guide, a fat Arab 

 rascal, who .had not felt a rupee in his 

 hand probably for a year, demanded 15 

 rupees, or about $5, per day for himself 

 and his servant! He got it, too. Yet 



