ENTERS IRAK ARABI. 
225 
for their deliverance. The wide country that now opened before 
us, appeared to be chiefly desert; and the exception consisted 
of a stretch of cultivated ground running along its southern 
boundary, and traversed by a meandering branch of the Diala 
river. Having got well down into the plain, the chawosh called 
a halt, to allow as many of his straggling flock to come in, as 
might have escaped worse treatment, than mere robbery, at the 
hands of the half-naked cavaliers we had seen in pursuit. During 
this muster, I thought fit to proceed with my own party; and 
on frequently looking back, we were glad to see numbers after 
numbers of the poor fugitives making their way over the faces of 
the hills, towards the welcome sight of their chief. After a ride 
of six miles across the arid champaign, we reached the village 
of Kanakee; happy to get under shelter from the glare of the 
sun on so hot a soil. 
Kanakee is said to be a place of considerable antiquity. It 
may, indeed, be called a little town ; its extent occupying to a 
considerable length both sides of the river, which is here pretty 
broad, flowing south-west, with a handsome bridge crossing its 
stream. Delightful gardens surround the town ; and there, for 
the first time, I beheld the date-tree, with other treasures of the 
vegetable world indigenous to Arabia. We are now, in fact, 
entered on the extensive regions of Irak Arabi; one of the most 
interesting portions of the globe, and which was also one of the 
most fruitful. It is so called by the Persians, in distinction from 
Irak Ajem ; the wide division of their empire to the north-east 
of the far-stretching Zagros; and even the short distance we had 
travelled within its boundary, presented a material difference 
both in the character of the country, and the aspect of its 
inhabitants. I have already mentioned the variation in its pro- 
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VOL. II. 
