1877.] 
47 
Sohar and el-Bereymi in 'Oman. 
where the detritus from the hills forms a little soil, remarkably arid and 
sterile, and is everywhere from Jehel Akhdhar to Ruus el- Jebal entirely 
unclothed with verdure, presenting one of the bleakest ranges it is possible 
to imagine. The large valleys contain a good deal of herbaceous, but very 
little ligneous vegetation. Among the trees and plants in the Wadi Jezze 
and in the plain beyond the range were noticed the rhamnus, screwpine, 
samar or acacia vera, acacia Arabia, two oleanders, calotropis Gr., castor-oil, 
and colocynth gourd, two or three euphorbias, the wild lavender, a rush 
much used for making mats called rasad ; the maranneh , (^y°) the narcotic 
plant noticed by Palgrave ; the rose-scented shirJceh, and much coarse grass 
in tufts. 
At Hail, which we reached in three hours from el-Khurus, and which 
is perhaps 35 or 40 miles from Bereymi, we halted for a short time for 
breakfast and to feed the camels, which were beginning to show symptoms 
of fatigue, for since the commencement of the journey we had been keeping 
up a jog-trot of from five to seven miles an hour, whenever the road render¬ 
ed it at all practicable. Our dromedaries were all pretty good, and were as 
sleek and well-shaped in appearance as they were swift and easy in going. 
’Oman camels are acknowledged the best in the world. The Sherif of Mecca 
rides none other, and last year he received a present of six from Seyyid Tur- 
ki, which were sent by sea to Jedda. They fetch from $100 to 150, if 
very superior, but the ordinary ones run from $30 upwards. Depth of chest 
is considered one of their chief points. The Bedouins of ’Oman, sometimes 
take their camels from el-Bereymi across Arabia to Nejd and el-Hejaz 
for sale. In ’Oman, Arabs ride behind the hump, the saddle being very small 
with a felt and sheepskin over it. The camel’s nose is not pierced, but a 
headstall with a chain nose-band and a thick camel hair rope forms the 
bridle. In Yemen, they sit in front of the hump, resting the feet on the 
neck of the animal, the saddle having a high pommel to give support. On 
leaving Hail, we entered the political boundary of Sohar, and proceeded 
down the Wadi Jezze by the side of running water, flowing at intervals as 
far as Mileyyeneh ; owing to the alternate porosity and rockiness of the 
bed, the stream rushes along at one place for some distance, then suddenly 
disappears to re-appear again as suddenly further on. Kan and Shikeyrf, 
Sahilah and Mileyyeneh, are successively passed and left behind, until at 
nightfall we reached our halting place not far from Sehlat, where the road 
branched off: to Jehel Grharabeh, a spot I was anxious to visit. During our 
march to-day we had been joined by two Sheikhs of the Na’fm tribe, who 
were taking two horses for sale to Sohar. One of these, a chestnut mare, 
was a very casty, well-formed, and pretty animal, and from the price put 
on her the Sheikhs seemed to have a very exalted idea of her value. We 
passed on the road several small parties of donkeys and camels laden with 
