Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

356 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
long stay he was greatly hampered in
his movements through
the repeated illness of his servants, while at the same time
cholera was reported to be advancing from Nasriye and
Hilla.
It really never reached the camp, but the mere anticipation
of a possible outbreak of the dreaded disease
weighed heavily upon him.
Moreover, the Arabs were frequently
on the war path. Sometimes the whole region
around Daghara and Suq el-'Afej
was in a state of great unrest
and excitement, no less than fifteen or sixteen petty wars
being carried on between the various tribes within one year.
One day the 'Afej quarrelled with the Elbuder, who lived to
the south of the swamps, about disputed lands. Another time
the Hamza were at loggerheads with Hajji Tarfa over revenues
from certain rice fields.
Then again the former fought
with the Behahtha on some other matter. And at the beginning
of December, 1893, wnen tne capital
of the sanjak
was transferred from Hilla to Diwaniye, to protect the newly
acquired crown property of the Sultan near Daghara and
Suq el-'Afej, and to reduce the rebellious 'Afej to submission,
an unusually hot battle took place between the latter
and the Behahtha, in which seventy-one warriors were slain.
Though the sound of firing could often be heard in the
trenches of NufTar, these turmoils never threatened the
safety of the expedition in a serious way, and they affected
its efficiency directlv only in so far as it became sometimes
difficult
to find a neutral messenger to carry the weekly mail
through the infested territory, or to obtain suitable substitutes
for native basket men, who in obedience to the summons
of their shaikhs would suddenly throw down their
peaceful implements, seize their clubs and antiquated matchlocks,
improvise a war-song, and with loud yells run away to
the assistance of their fighting comrades.
It unfortunately happened also that in
the years 1894 and
1895 tne 'Afej swamps, always a favorite place of refuge,
a regular land of Nod (Gen. 4: 16), for dissatisfied ele-