_THE ATTACK_
It did not prove an altogether easy task to collect in Leet all the
camels that we needed for our journey. Leet is a very small town with
a population numbering only a few hundred, and with no commercial
connections whatever. To facilitate matters with regard to our journey
I thought it advisable to pay my respects to the Sheikh of Leet. Never
before had a Christian entered his home.
The medium of our conversation was my dragoman. After the customary
felicitations had been exchanged, the Sheikh invited me to dine with
him. His house was a hut put together of boards and matting, and
without windows of any kind. Along two sides of the room stood divans
covered with skins. The walls were hung with weapons. The rest of the
furniture of the room consisted of smoking apparatus. Throughout the
entire time before dinner, cups of Mocha and of a sort of lemonade were
passed around. The coffee was of the Arabian variety, viz., in its
preparation the husks of the coffee bean, and not the beans themselves,
are boiled. The result is a bitter drink not at all palatable to
Europeans, but which, for the sake of politeness, must be swallowed
down under any circumstances. The preparations for the meal were begun
while we were sitting in the room. First of all, quite a large round
mat of woven straw was laid on the bare earth in the middle of the
room. Then servants brought in rice, which was heaped in a huge mound
in the middle of the mat. A few jars of mixed pickles completed the
course. Instead of sitting, we lay down at the table. Spoons were
provided, however. Soon we were all cheerfully doing our best to
diminish the mountain of rice. Meanwhile the meat course had arrived at
the front of the house. It consisted of a whole roast sheep, which,
as such, did not make its appearance on the table however. Knives and
forks there were none. Two servants, detailed for this special duty,
tore the roast sheep into pieces with their hands, and placed before
each one of us, on the mat, the piece that was intended for him. In the
course of the two days that we had to spend in Leet, we succeeded in
getting together about ninety camels. With this number we could begin
our march. The Sheikh assured us that we would meet with the others
en route on the following day. I purchased a large number of straw
mats and distributed them among my men. Later, these mats proved an
excellent protection against the heat of the sun. Our caravan left Leet
in the evening, and we began our march into the desert. Most of the
camels carried only burdens, especially water, ammunition, the machine
guns, and provisions. The water prospects for our journey were far from
favorable. I had to reckon with the possibility of traveling for days
without being able to replenish our water supply.
A journey on camels is necessarily a slow one. To begin with, the camel
is not a speedy traveler; furthermore, ours was a caravan of ninety
camels at the start, and later, of one hundred and ten. The camels on
which the officers rode were the only ones that were allowed to run
free. All the others were fastened together by ropes, the muzzle of
one being tied by a rope of about four meters' length to the tail of
the one in front of it. Naturally, the long line of camels thus formed
could not move with the rapidity of a single animal, since the rate
of progress of the whole line had to be kept down to the pace of the
slowest camel. Moreover, frequent halts had to be made, to re-adjust
packs that had slipped, to mend a broken saddle girth, to recover a
saddle that had slipped off, and for other like causes of delay.
We kept to a route that follows the coast, close by the sea. This
entire region is considered unsafe, robbery and attacks upon passing
caravans being the order of the day. From the time we left Leet,
our rifles were therefore kept loaded, and ready to shoot. We were
fortunate in that the nights were bright with the light of a full moon.
As a rule, we began the day's march at four o'clock in the afternoon,
and arrived at nine or ten in the morning at the place where we were to
rest. On an average, we spent about fourteen to eighteen hours a day in
the saddle. As camels are pacers, it is very fatiguing to ride them.
The water places that we passed were mere holes dug into the sand
of the desert, and were from fourteen to eighteen meters deep. With
leather bags, which we lowered into them, we dipped up the water. The
word water, in its European sense, is a misnomer, however, for this
evil-smelling, brown or black, thick fluid, swarming with insects. At
the bottom of some of the water holes a dead dog or sheep could be
seen. To use it unboiled was therefore utterly out of the question. It
frequently had a brackish taste also.
From Leet out, we were escorted by a Turkish officer and seven
gendarmes. In addition, we were always accompanied by the sheikh
of the district through which we happened to be passing, for it is
customary in these parts to take with one, as hostage, the person who
is responsible for the safety of the country. Such precautions are
not looked upon as being anything unusual here. In this way our march
proceeded without interruption of any kind until the thirty-first day
of March.
At about eleven o'clock on the morning of this day, we arrived at a
watering place which is but a day's march distant from Djidda, our next
objective point. At this water hole we found an officer and seventeen
gendarmes, who had been sent from Djidda to meet us and to bring us
the greetings of our Turkish allies and of the civil authorities
of Djidda. They had also brought us a liberal supply of water. We
camped at the water hole as usual, stretched our straw mats and woolen
blankets over the low thorny desert growth, and crawled under them far
enough to find protection for our heads at least from the scorching
heat of the sun.
The cooking was always the first thing undertaken after we had settled
down. Dry wood was gathered along the way by all of the men, and so a
fire was quickly started. On it our usual meal of rice and, if we were
lucky, of mutton, was soon prepared.
[Illustration: Map of Arabia]
When I saw the men who had been sent out from Djidda to meet us, I
supposed that the most dangerous part of our journey was behind us.
We were now getting into the vicinity of a town in which there was
stationed a Turkish garrison of about three hundred men, and I said
to myself that if seventeen men could come through unmolested from
Djidda to us, then surely we, a company of fifty men, would be able
to travel the same road to Djidda in safety.
This district is inhabited by a tribe that is composed wholly of direct
descendants of the Prophet, but which nevertheless is notorious for its
uncivilized ways, and its robberies. "Father of the Wolf" is the very
appropriate name by which this part of the country is known.
As usual, we began our onward march at four o'clock in the afternoon.
Our road now led us somewhat away from the sea. The country round about
consists wholly of flat sand drifts. Nowhere can one see farther ahead
than a distance of about four hundred meters. Hardly has one sand hill
been passed, before another looms up to shut out the view. The drifts
are overgrown with tufts of grass attaining a height of about two
feet. We were trotting slowly along in the moonlight when suddenly, to
our right, from beyond the usual course followed by caravans, there
appeared a number of Bedouins, about twelve or fifteen, riding in a
quick trot, and then vanished in the direction from which we had come.
This looked rather suspicious, for, as a rule, caravans do not depart
from the routes that have been trodden for thousands of years. Still
less is it customary to ride off into the desert at a quick trot in
the night-time. Our Turkish escort also took these men to be robbers,
and told us that there had been talk in Djidda of a band of robbers,
numbering about forty, by which this part of the country was infested.
As from Leet I had notified the authorities at Djidda, as well as those
at Mecca, of our coming, I had reason to believe that the whole country
round about was aware of our approach. Everybody knew, therefore, that
our company was not one of the usual merchant caravans with little
armed protection, but that, on the contrary, we were a company of fifty
well-armed men, who were, moreover, carrying with them four machine
guns. A rumor of forty roaming bandits caused me little disturbance of
mind, therefore. Nevertheless, that I might have my men better in hand,
and be prepared for any emergency, I took the precaution to divide our
one long line of camels into two lines of fifty each. The men were
given orders not to go to sleep on their camels, the rifles were all
examined, and everything was in readiness for prompt action. The orders
to my men were, once for all: "Rally to your commander."
The officers were riding at the head of the caravan. When the first
signs of the coming day began to appear behind the mountains that rose
on our right, from out the flat surface of the desert, I supposed that
all occasion for anxiety was now passed, as Bedouins never make their
attacks by daylight. So I slung my rifle across my saddle, unbuckled
my heavy cartridge belt, and rode slowly down the line to see whether
everything was in order.
I had got no farther than the middle of the caravan when I suddenly
heard a loud, shrill whistle that was instantly followed by a volley
of rifle fire. From every side it rained lead into our caravan
incessantly, and at close range. The hum and whistle of the bullets
made such a noise that the commands I shouted could not be heard. I
grabbed my rifle, held it high, jumped from my camel, and, followed by
my men, ran to the head of the caravan. Here the firing from both sides
was well under way. From out the dusk of the early morning came the
flash of the enemy's shots at a distance of about eighty meters. The
riflemen themselves we could not see, any more than they could probably
see us, when we lay on the ground. The tall forms of the camels, on
the other hand, must have been quite visible to the enemy, and it was
at these, most likely, that their fire was chiefly directed. The only
guide to the position of our foes was the flash of their shots. As we
were being fired at from every side, it was difficult to decide in
which direction to turn first. The larger number of my men was with me
at the front. A few of them had been given orders to remain with the
rear of the caravan.
The most important thing for us to do now was to get our most effective
weapons, the machine guns, into play. Of these, two were strapped
on camels at the head of the caravan, and two at the rear. In a few
minutes we had the machine guns in action, and hardly had their volleys
rattled over the enemy's lines, when silence reigned there. This turn
in affairs had evidently not been expected. We took advantage of this
lull in the enemy's fire to pull down the camels that were still
standing, so that they would not form so easy a target, to distribute
ammunition, and to get together.
The heaviest fire had poured down upon us from forward to the left, and
it was therefore in this direction that I now led my men. Our equipment
of fire-arms consisted, all told, of the four machine guns, thirteen
German, and three modern Turkish rifles, together with ten old Turkish
rifles that I had secured in Coonfidah to replace those lost with the
wrecked zambuk. Of these, the three modern Turkish rifles had been
distributed among the officers. In addition, we had twenty-four pistols
among us, which, however, could only be of service in an encounter at
close range. What the strength of the enemy was, we could not tell
as yet. There might be from sixty to eighty men firing rapidly, or
there might be many more who fired slowly. Their number was soon to be
revealed to us by the coming day. When it was fully light, we could
see that within our immediate vicinity the sand hills were black with
Bedouins.
My men behaved splendidly. Not one of them showed the least
perturbation in spite of the overwhelming superiority in numbers shown
by the enemy, of whom there must have been at least three hundred. With
one accord the bayonets appeared on all the rifles, although no order
to that effect had been given. During a moment of hesitation at the
very outset of the firing, which had now begun in good earnest, and
before I had fully decided what it was best to do, the answer to my
question came from the man at my right, who called to me.
"Well, what is it?" I asked.
"How soon are we going at it, sir?"
"At what?" was my question in reply.
"Why, at storming the enemy," came the answer from this
eighteen-year-old boy.
"Exactly, my man! You're right. Up! March, march!"
With a hearty cheer we were up, and rushing the enemy's line. No doubt,
such tactics were a novelty to Bedouins used to attacking a caravan.
At any rate, the enemy's fire ceased almost entirely. As our shining
bayonets came closer to our foes, they quickly took to flight, followed
by our rifle fire, which visibly thinned their ranks. First, we stormed
to our left, then to the front, and then to the right. It was not
necessary to follow the same tactics to the rear, as there the enemy
had disappeared entirely.
As a result, the narrow circle within which we had been hemmed in by
the enemy, had now been widened to one of about 1200 meters' distance
from us. The firing had stopped altogether. I now assembled my men
close by the caravan. The machine guns remained in position, in
readiness to keep off the enemy, as well as to attack them.
In spite of the close range at which the shots had poured in upon
us, we had, thank God, only one man wounded among the Germans of my
company. A little surprise was in store for me, however, when I looked
about me for my friends of the Arab escort. There is a German saying
which runs, "He counts his dear ones that are present, to find his six
increased to seven." In my case the situation was reversed. Instead of
twenty-four gendarmes, we now had only seven. There were no dead. The
missing were found when we reached Djidda. Nearly all of the Arabs we
still had with us had been shot in the leg. This was to be accounted
for by the circumstance that, instead of advancing toward the enemy,
they had run to cover among the camels. My men, who had lain in the
sand some thirty to forty meters distant from the camels, had escaped
the enemy's fire, which had passed over them. Our foes had aimed at the
camels, and so, before our Arabs could pull the animals to their knees,
to find complete shelter behind them, the enemy's bullets, in passing
between the legs of the camels, had found a mark in the limbs of the
heroes who had sought refuge there.
Of the enemy's losses we knew nothing at all. But, as we stormed past
the evacuated positions where they had lain, we counted fifteen dead.
It is the custom with Bedouins immediately to remove all weapons from
the bodies of their fallen comrades. As such had been the case with all
but one of the dead, only one of their rifles fell into our hands. It
was a breech loader of the most modern English construction, and was
gratefully added to our own equipment. All the distant sand hills were
still full of Bedouins, as we could see. In so far as possible, each
one of those who showed themselves within range of our rifle fire,
received his share of it, the moral effect produced being the principal
object in view for the time being.
We could not very well remain lying in the place where we were. I had
at first thought that we were dealing with a band of brigands, whose
purpose was the usual one, to capture the valuables we had with us.
I had therefore come to the conclusion that our assailants, who had
suffered considerable loss, had now thought better of their undertaking
and had abandoned it.
Quite a number of our camels had been shot. We took from their packs
everything that was most necessary to us, water especially, and,
discarding all the less useful things from the burdens of the uninjured
camels, replaced them with the indispensables.
I decided to leave the road usually traveled, and turn sharply to
the left in the direction of the sea, which I saw shimmering in the
distance. If we could reach it, it would afford us protection on one
side, leaving us free to face our foes in front and at our rear. It
was unfortunate that I could not make use of the machine guns while on
the march. Having no limbers with us, the guns had to be carried by
camels while we were on the march. To make the caravan more compact, it
was divided into from four to six lines, which traveled abreast. The
wounded were so placed on the camels that they hung on one side of the
animal, which thus afforded them some protection against the flying
bullets. Two of the four camels that carried machine guns were placed
at the head of the caravan, and the other two at the rear. An advance
guard of ten men in a widely extended skirmish line was sent out about
one hundred and fifty meters ahead of the caravan, while a like number
of men formed a rear guard at the same distance from it. As there were
only nine more men who carried rifles, these formed a protecting guard,
as best they could, for the two wings. The men who were armed with
pistols only, and so could take part in no engagement except one at
close range, remained near the caravan. Lieutenant Gerdts was placed in
command of the advance guard, Lieutenant Schmidt of the rear guard, and
Lieutenant Gyssling, of the flanks. Lieutenant Wellmann had charge of
the caravan itself, where Dr. Lang was also with the sick.
Slowly our company set forth, our flag carried before us. Our hope,
that the enemy would not trouble us again, was not to be realized. We
had hardly been ten minutes on the march when shots again poured in
upon us from every side. There was scarce a sign of our foes to be
seen. Their every movement at any distance of more than four hundred
meters was completely hidden by the sand hills. Ten to twenty dark
heads popping up with lightning rapidity from behind a sand hill here
or there, was all that we could see. Their appearance was always
followed the next instant by a volley of shot rattling about the
caravan, and before we could get the slightest opportunity to return
the fire, the heads had disappeared, and a shower of lead fell upon us
from another direction.
At first, strange to say, not one of our number was hit, although the
enemy's fire was so incessant that shots were constantly falling about
us, little pillars of sand marking the spot where they struck, while
sand and gravel was constantly flying in our faces. In a short time it
became evident that the greatest pressure was being brought to bear
upon our rear guard. At that end of the caravan the men had to turn
every few minutes to silence the enemy by a vigorous return of their
fire.
I was with the rear guard when a signal came from the front, reporting
that strong hostile forces had come in sight in the direction toward
which the caravan was moving. When I arrived at the front, I saw that
the whole horizon was black with Bedouins. At the same time came the
report from the rear that one of the camels carrying the machine guns
had been shot. The rear guard had halted, to protect the gun, and
Lieutenant Schmidt asked that fresh camels be sent to the rear, so that
he might shift the dead camel's load. I now heard the machine guns of
the rear guard firing. They had been unstrapped, set up, and brought
into action.
I now ordered the caravan to halt, an order which was by no means
easy to carry out, however, as most of the camel drivers had taken
advantage of the darkness to disappear along with the Arab gendarmes
at the beginning of the fight. While on my way back to the rear guard,
the report reached me that seaman Rademacher had fallen, and that
Lieutenant Schmidt was mortally wounded, shot through the breast and
abdomen. In the meantime the command of the rear guard had devolved
upon Lieutenant Wellmann, who had brought with him two camels from the
caravan, for the transport of the machine guns.
During our halt, the enemy's fire increased in severity, and a
vigorous engagement was soon in progress. Suddenly the firing ceased
altogether, and, as I looked about me for the cause, I saw two of the
Arab gendarmes, who had remained with us, running toward the enemy's
lines, waving large white cloths as they ran. At the same time a third
gendarme came to tell me that his comrades wished to parley with the
other side. Although this turn in affairs was in no way of my choosing,
it was nevertheless a welcome one, for it had now become evident
that this was no attack by a mere band of robbers, but one that was
thoroughly organized. As our assailants outnumbered us by at least ten
to one, it would have been folly to continue our march at the slow
gait of a camel's pace, on an open plain, under continued fire from
the enemy. Moreover, my most effective weapon of defence, the machine
guns, could not be used while on the march. Nor could our twenty-nine
rifles be employed to the best advantage, as there were too few of us
to make their fire effective in all the directions from which we would
be attacked. In the long run, we would have been shot down one after
the other.
We therefore took advantage of the pause in the battle, to fortify
ourselves. Hastily we constructed defence works out of camel saddles,
which we filled with sand, out of sacks of coffee, rice and other
provisions. We strengthened the rampart thus formed by filling it about
with sand, as best we could. The camels were placed all together in the
middle of the enclosed space, and loop holes were quickly got ready.
For want of better material, they were put together out of tin plates
and side arms. As all this was done in great haste, our constructions
were, of course, but temporary and incomplete. Our water bottles were
quickly buried deep in the sand, where they were least likely to be
damaged by the enemy's fire. Within our outer rampart we raised another
little fortress, the walls of which were about one meter and a half
high, and constructed of empty petroleum cans which we filled with
sand. Here were placed the sick who were unfit for duty, the wounded,
and the doctor.
As we had to reckon with the possibility of being fired upon from all
sides, and our rampart afforded us protection in front only, the camels
were so placed as to shelter us from the enemy's fire at the flanks and
rear. For our severely wounded, Lieutenant Schmidt, we made a stretcher
of rifles and a woolen blanket, on which he was carefully carried to
the inner fortress. The seaman, who had fallen, we buried where he fell.
The four machine guns were set up at the four corners of our defence
works, and protected as best they could be by hastily thrown up
ramparts of sand. The men armed with rifles were distributed at equal
distances along our fortifications. In the spaces between, were
stationed the men who were armed with pistols only, and the ammunition
was placed within easy reach. Our preparations were hardly completed
when the men bringing the enemy's conditions, returned. The demands
were that we surrender all arms and ammunition, our camels, all our
provisions and water. In addition we were to pay eleven thousand pounds
in gold. Upon compliance with these conditions we were to be allowed to
proceed unmolested. Well we might!
The parleying had at first been conducted through the dragoman who,
with his wife, had joined us at Coonfidah. He also was among the
wounded. Shot in the leg! When he went over to the enemy to negotiate,
he did not forget to take his wife with him. We did not see either of
them again until we met them in Djidda.
My answer ran: "In the first place, we have no money; in the second, we
are guests of the country--get your money in Djidda; thirdly, it is not
customary with Germans to surrender their arms."
Hereupon the firing began again. All the camel drivers who had so
far remained with us, and a number of the Arab gendarmes also, took
advantage of the truce to follow the example of the dragoman and his
wife, and disappear. The engagement lasted until darkness came on.
We lay very well protected behind our camel saddles and camels. We
returned the enemy's fire but sparingly, as our store of ammunition was
not large. Moreover, much of the ammunition that had gone down with
the wrecked zambuk, and had lain in the water until we fished it out
on the following morning, now missed fire. For this reason, I had all
the undamaged ammunition placed in readiness near the machine guns, so
that in a possible night attack at close range, I might feel sure of
my most effective weapons. The rest of the ammunition was distributed
among the rifles. We suffered no further losses during the day's
engagement. Several of our camels were shot, but we were none the less
protected for this, as a dead camel is quite as good a shield against
rifle balls as is a live one. We had eaten nothing during the entire
day. Nor could we think of doing so while the daylight lasted. No
sooner did one of us raise his head above our rampart of saddles, than
the enemy's fire was redoubled.
But our most strenuous work began with the coming of the night.
The moon did not rise until about an hour after sunset. During the
intervening hour the darkness was so intense that we could see hardly
forty or fifty meters ahead. Within our rampart everything was in
readiness to withstand a night attack by storm. All rifles and pistols
were loaded, the machine guns manned and ready for action, and the
men, with their weapons in hand, were kneeling just behind the rampart.
But nothing happened.
As soon as the moon had risen, and we could see as much as three
hundred meters ahead, we set to work to improve our position. First
of all, water was served to the men, and hard tack distributed. While
some of the officers and men remained on guard ready for action, others
set to work at deepening the trenches, an undertaking that proceeded
but slowly, as we had no proper tools for the work. Still others were
engaged in removing the dead camels from within our enclosure. The
intense heat caused putrefaction to set in very rapidly. The carcasses
swelled up, the tense hides burst, and the entrails exuded. As at this
season of the year the wind blows persistently from the north, we took
the dead camels to the southward of us, so that the stench might not
sicken us.
It was well into the night before we felt free to take a little rest.
The trenches were now so deep that they afforded ample shelter for
the men lying in them. We had thrown up mounds of sand on all sides,
in addition to the protection afforded us by the camels. Our rifles
and pistols had suffered considerably from the incessantly drifting
sand. They were now taken apart, a few at a time, cleaned and tested.
Then we wrapped our handkerchiefs around the locks, and stuffed small
bits of cloth into the muzzles to keep out the sand. All this care was
necessary to insure the efficiency of our weapons. That there might
always be some one on guard within our fortification, a part of the men
remained awake at their posts while the others slept with their loaded
rifles in their arms. There was always one officer awake. But nothing
of importance occurred during the night.
At nine o'clock that evening, Lieutenant Schmidt, the officer who had
been so terribly wounded, died. We dug a grave for him as deep as
possible in the middle of our camping place, and toward eleven o'clock
in the night, we four surviving officers ourselves bore our fallen
comrade to his grave. There could be no service at the burial. The
volley over his freshly made grave was fired by the enemy on the coming
morning.
I had brought with me from Hodeida an English-speaking Arab. During
the course of the night, as soon as the moon had risen, I sent this
man to Djidda, only a ten hours' march by camel distant from us, and
only eight by foot. I had found him to be a very reliable and sensible
man, and, as I learned later, he succeeded in making his way through
the enemy's lines, and took the report of our perilous situation to the
military authorities at Djidda.
Half an hour before sunrise I had all hands roused. If the enemy had
remained, there would, in all likelihood, be an attack made upon us
as soon as the day had fully come. For the sake of the moral effect,
it was my purpose to return their first fire with as heavy volleys as
possible. I wished to convince the enemy that we were fully prepared
for an attack, and that our fighting strength was undiminished.
What I had expected, happened. As the sun rose, our opponents opened a
lively fire upon us. We gave them a vigorous answer with full volleys,
and every head that showed itself received its share. This method of
procedure perceptibly dampened the fighting spirit of our opponents.
Their fire became noticeably weaker and more cautious. Our purpose was
achieved.
Just before sunrise all hands were served with a drink of water. During
the entire course of the day there was not another opportunity to give
them more. Not until after the sun had set could another drink be
given them. As we did not find it possible to cook anything even at
night, our store of hard tack was drawn upon, and every man stuffed his
pockets full.
The enemy fired upon us without intermission. But, as we were pretty
well protected, we returned their fire sparingly. That we were not
engaged in an ordinary encounter with robbers, but were facing a
thoroughly organized attack, now became doubly evident. From our
fortified camp we could plainly see two large zambuks lying at anchor
near the shore in the far distance. Between them and the Arabs who
were besieging us, a regular relief system was being carried on. A
large number of our foes must have come in these two ships. Others
had arrived by land, which was shown by the fact that far off in the
desert, near the horizon, a large number of camels could be seen
grazing. On this day, unhappily, two more of our men were severely
wounded. Of these, Lanig, a fireman, was shot through the breast and
abdomen, and died during the night. Unfortunately, we could give our
wounded but little aid, as all our medical stores were lost together
with the zambuk that foundered. All that we had left was the emergency
bandage packages that we had brought with us from the _Emden_, and a
few bottles of brandy.
The day brought forth nothing of special interest. A camel that had
escaped from our enclosure was shot by a stray bullet to leeward of
us, and the intense odor of decay that the wind brought with it was
a source of annoyance. Within our camp itself, some very unpleasant
guests had made their appearance. Hundreds and thousands of nasty
black beetles about the length of a man's thumb ran about everywhere,
carrying the camel dung all over the camp. Our trenches were alive
with these insects, and it mattered little how many we killed, for
new ones came to fill their places as fast as we killed them. Sleep
was impossible. They crawled into our clothing, and ran over our
faces. Aside from the annoyance they caused us, they brought a very
real danger to our wounded. The tetanus bacilli develop more readily
in horse and camel manure than in anything else, and the inevitable
result of this infection is the deadly lockjaw.
The burning heat of the sun made life intolerable during the day.
While firing, we could not wear our light-colored head-cloths, as they
afforded the enemy too good a target. The intense bright light dazzled
our eyes, and made our heads ache. Everything was so hot that we burned
our hands when, in firing, they occasionally touched the barrel of our
rifles. The grease-soaked camel saddles began to smoulder in the heat,
and a faint odor of smoke pervaded the whole camp. We got rid of this
annoyance, as best we could, by heaping sand upon the saddles. The
sand, carried by the never-ceasing wind, drifted over us incessantly.
All day long some of us were kept busy digging out the trenches that
had been half refilled with the drifting sand. It crept into our eyes,
our ears, our mouths, and our noses. Our eyes became inflamed from its
constant irritation. Dampened by sweat, it formed a thick coating on
our faces by which they were disfigured beyond recognition. High in the
air, just over our camp, circled from twenty to thirty great vultures.
With the approach of darkness everything within our camp was put
into a state of preparedness again. And again I sent a message to
Djidda,--this time by two Arab gendarmes disguised as Bedouins. As soon
as the moon had risen, those of us who were off duty lay down to rest.
The enemy ceased firing as it grew dark.
In the middle of the night we were suddenly wakened by shots fired by
some of our sentinels. In a twinkling everyone was at his post, ready
to repel the supposed attack. "Where are they?" I asked one of the
sentries. "Right here, at a distance of about forty meters some of them
were creeping along. There goes one now!" And off sped another bullet.
But our supposed enemies were only hyenas and jackals, which, scenting
prey, were sneaking about the camp, and making a meal of the dead
camels.
When that night was ended, the sun rose over the horizon for the third
time since the beginning of the fight. Our condition was critical.
We had heard nothing from the Turkish garrison although, provided my
messages had been received, relief might have reached us in the course
of the preceding day. We could hold out no longer than to the end of
this one day. By that time our supply of water would be exhausted,
although each man had been allowed but one small cup full each morning
and evening. Without water we were doomed. Whatever final action I
decided upon, must therefore be undertaken at once, before my men had
lost their strength. On that morning, I gave them orders to force their
way through to Djidda as soon as the sun had set, if no relief reached
us during the day. In this way I hoped that at least some of us would
get there. Whoever fell, must fall. The sick and the wounded could not
be taken with us. But it was not to come to that, thank God!
Toward noon of the third day a man waving a white cloth was seen coming
over to us from the enemy, who had ceased firing. I had him brought
within our camp, and asked him what he wanted. He replied that the
other side would withdraw the demand for our arms, ammunition, camels,
provisions, and water, if, instead, we would pay them twenty-two
thousand pounds in gold. I conjectured that our foes had learned of the
approach of the Turkish garrison, and that, in the customary way of the
country, they were trying to get out of us what they could.
I determined to draw out the interview as long as possible, in the hope
that the relief expected would arrive in the meantime, and the enemy
would then be caught between two fires. For this reason I pictured our
situation in as rosy a light as possible, and as though we could wish
for nothing better than to spend a summer vacation in the desert,
entertained by the music of whistling bullets about us. I pointed
to our empty water cans where they lay buried in the sand, and gave
the man to understand that we had water enough to last us four weeks
easily, that there was therefore no reason why I should make special
concessions, and furthermore, that we had an abundance of ammunition,
as he himself had reason to know. In fact the enemy ought to be
thankful that I had not come down upon them with my machine guns. The
medium of our conversation was a native of Morocco, a man who, at some
former time, had been made prisoner of war in Belgium, and, together
with a number of other Mohammedans, had been sent back to Turkey. From
there he had joined an expedition to Arabia, and had come to Coonfidah,
where I ran across him and took him with us. He understood a few words
of French.
The enemy's envoy did not seem especially elated by my
representations. He withdrew, only to return again in about half an
hour with a repetition of the selfsame terms. To gain time, I now told
him that I considered it highly important that I should confer with the
leader of our assailants in person, and I therefore besought him to
come to me, here in my camp. His apprehensive Highness did not come,
but sent, instead, the fierce threat that if we did not pay at once, we
should have "beaucoup de combat." I interpreted this to mean that for
him it was high time to get his train. So I expressed my surprise that
he did not regard what had occurred as "beaucoup de combat." To me it
had seemed to be such, I said.
Hereupon there blazed out from the enemy's lines a few more furiously
angry volleys, and then silence fell.
A quarter of an hour passed, and then another, and not a shot was
heard. Slowly and cautiously we raised our heads above our camel saddle
ramparts. Nothing to be seen! "Careful," I cautioned. "This is only
a ruse. Keep down! There is time enough. We can't get away from here
before evening in any case."
But when nothing at all happened, we first got up on our knees, then
on our feet, and then searched all about with our glasses. Nothing to
be seen! Whither our foes had vanished, we had not the least idea. The
sand hills of the desert, into which they had gone, concealed them from
our view. Apparently they had departed.
For the present I meant under any circumstances to remain where we
were. In the first place, I did not feel at all certain that the enemy
had really withdrawn, and that this was not merely a ruse to which
they had resorted. And secondly, we could not take up our march before
nightfall in any case.
About an hour after the firing had ceased, two men on camels appeared
in the distance. Their dress and richly caparisoned saddles proclaimed
them from afar to be no ordinary Bedouins. Waving a white cloth,
they came riding toward our camp. As a sign that we understood their
purpose, we raised our war flag. When the men had come to within fifty
meters of us, they dismounted. I sent my man from Morocco out to them,
to ask what they wanted. The answer was that they wished to speak with
the commander of the German troop. They had been sent by the Emir of
Mecca, who had been informed of the attack upon us, and was sending
troops to our relief.
This sounded very promising, but there was after all no surety that
it was really true. By this time my sojourn in Arabia had taught me
to be suspicious of everything. When I went out to meet the Arabs, it
was with drawn sword in hand, and behind me walked one of my men with
cocked rifle, ready to shoot. At the camp I left orders to stand ready
to fire, and, in case an attack upon me should be made, to shoot
without regard for my person. But again nothing happened.
The two Arabs assured me that Abdullah, the second son of the Emir of
Mecca, would soon arrive with a company of soldiers. And truly, in
about another half hour we could see in the distance about seventy men
riding toward us on camels, and carrying before them a dark red banner
emblazoned with verses from the Koran in golden lettering. They were
making a sort of music by the beating of drums, and were singing to
it. I regarded this proceeding as rather incautious, if, as I assumed,
these soldiers were about to enter into an engagement.
Coming toward me, Abdullah saluted. He brought me his father's
greetings, and expressed regret for what had occurred. He told me that
he had brought us water, and assured me that we could now march on to
Djidda in peace, as our assailants had withdrawn.
After I had distributed the water among my men, we proceeded to load
the packs on the camels. This was a wearisome undertaking, and one
that was accompanied by many difficulties, as getting camels ready to
march has as yet not been included in the training for service in the
Imperial navy. Quantities of provisions had to be left behind, as forty
of our camels had been shot.
Accompanied by the Emir's troops we left our camp. It was, no doubt, a
most unusual occurrence that a Christian should thus be riding through
the desert, side by side with the son of the Emir of Mecca, and under
the banner of the Prophet. A few minutes later we passed the abandoned
positions of our foes. The rascals had actually dug out regular
trenches for themselves.
We rode throughout the rest of the day. In the evening we camped beside
a spring. Here, for the first time in four days, we could eat a cooked
meal, wash ourselves, and lie down to rest. A circumstance of interest
was that the water was brought up from a well having a depth of
about forty meters, and yet its temperature was about thirty degrees
Centigrade.[4] As we lay in our camp, close by the shore of the sea,
we could see, in the darkness of the night, the restless play of a
search-light flashing over the surface of the water. Our friends, the
Englishmen off Djidda!