TCD MS 3416 page 5
[April 1916]
comfortable; I found myself however, sleeping over a trap leading from the engine room, and I awoke in the night feeling very ill & discovered that my liver had been evidently slowly frying – a very unpleasant experience.
We arrived at Baghlat next day, & were there met by a howling mob of Arabs, who celebrated the Turkish success by raising their hands over their heads, at the same time raising first one foot and then the other and yelling Hoo Lah – Hoo Lah. It was but a few months before, that they had greeted us in a similar manner during our advance to Azizieh. The Arab is a coward by nature & a cut throat, always ready to take the part of whichever side may gain a temporary success in order to loot and ravage the loser.
At Azizieh we were obliged to shop for want of coal. A small quantity of this was obtained next morning for the “Kalifa”, a large river steamer, which, at the outbreak of war, belonged to Messrs Lynch Bros but was seized by the Turks. We were then able to continue our journey by using the scanty supply of coal and some liquorice sticks which had also been obtained. At