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

60 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
while another was despatched in advance to become the.
pilot on the second day. Thus the naval officers took it
by turns to survey the river and to pilot the vessel."
The detailed bearings of the river were taken by Colonel
Chesney from the steamer itself. At times exploring tours
and explanatory missions were sent to the neighboring
districts of the Arabs, while at the same time the survey
was carried on ashore by a chain
of ground trigonometrical
angles across the principal heights as they presented themselves.
In the early afternoon of May 21, 1836, the expedition
suffered a most serious loss, almost at the same spot
where many centuries before the apostate emperor Julian
had met with a similar misfortune. The weather suddenly
changed, " accompanied by a portentous fall of the barometer.
... In the course of a few minutes dense masses
of black clouds, streaked with orange, red, and yellow,
appeared coming up from the W. S. W., and approached
the boats with fearful velocity." Not far below the junction
of the river Khabur (the biblical Habor) with the
Euphrates, during a brief but fearful hurricane or simoom
of the desert, which, turning day into night, struck the two
boats with terrible force, the " Tigris," for the time being
the flagship of the little squadron, was capsized, and rapidly
went to the muddy bottom of the foaming river. Twenty
men, including Lieutenants Cockburn and R. B. Lynch
(brother of the commander of the " Tigris "), were drowned
in the Euphrates. Only fourteen of the crew were washed
by the high waves over the bank into a field of corn,
Colonel Chesney, the gallant leader, fortunately being
among the survivors. Few of the bodies, mostly disfigured
by vultures bevond recognition, were recovered and buried.
Among other things picked up " was Colonel Chesney's
Bible, to which great interest attached itself, as it had
alreadv gone to the bottom of the river when the Colonel