18 
HISTORY OF THE SHEIK OF BUSHIRE. 
summons to his followers in these emergencies was equally characteristic 
and effectual. He mounted two large braziers of Pillau on a camel, 
and sent it to parade round the country. The rough pace of the 
animal put the ladles in motion, so that they struck the sides of the 
vessels at marked intervals, and produced a most sonorous clang. As 
it traversed the Dashtistan , it collected the mob of every district; every 
one had tasted the Arab hospitality of the Sheik , and every one remem¬ 
bered the appeal, and crowded round the ancient standard of their 
chief, till his camel returned to him surrounded by a force sufficient to 
repel the threatened encroachments. In every new emergency the 
camel was again sent forth, and all was again quiet. 
The territory, therefore, of Bushire, and the neighbouring district, 
remained under the rule of the Arabs, unviolated by the successive 
Princes, who have conquered and retained so large a portion of the 
rest of Persia. But Abdullah Resoul, the grandson of Sheik Nasr, 
inherited the office only of his predecessor, and possessed no qualities 
which could command the affections and the services of his people; 
and though at the time of our landing the government was vested in 
him as the descendant of the ancient possessors, it was obviously im¬ 
probable that Bushire , which had now become the principal port of 
Persia, would be suffered to remain long under the administration of a 
young Arab, of sluggish, dissolute, and unwarlike habits. 
In the evening of the l6‘th Oct. (the day after our landing), the Sheik 
of Bushire , escorted by several of the principal men of the town, paid 
a visit to the Envoy. They had not sat long, when a man came in and 
whispered something in the ear of one of the visitants, which caused 
the Sheik to arise, take a hasty leave, and gallop at full speed into the 
town. The Government of Shiraz had sent a body of men to seize 
him. He had just time to reach Bushire before the party of Shiraz 
horsemen could overtake him. He immediately mustered all his little 
force, planted a guard on the walls, and himself kept constant watch at 
the gates. He had indeed anticipated the probable designs of the 
Court of Shiraz; and, though now apparently resolved on the last 
