BSY_FB_28-026

January Thursday 26 1905

Umm idj-Djimâl 8:30 A.M. Temp 32 ° Baro S 27.34 " L. 27.70

1 in of ice during Clear, Calm moonlight night. Temp.
before daylight was 20 °F. - Ground frozen.

Calm to light S.E. air clear.

Some muleteers? whom we sent to the village of Simdj
to-day report that they were told that the Druse who were here on
the 21st inst. came for the purpose of raiding us expecting to rob us of
all our horses & mules & all the gold that they believed we had taken
out of the ground, but that they were afraid of the consequences at
the last minute and backed out. They were told by our Beduin guide
that we were armed with guns that could fire ten shots to their one.

While surveying one of the deserted streets of the city to-day
I was surrenly? aroused by the report of a gun close to me. Upon
investigating I found an Arab hunting a bird. It seems as if
there was more shooting of guns in this country than in any other
I have seen, this experience, being only one of many similiar? ones.
Having already been shot twice in my life I am rather "gun-shy".

We worked in the dining tent as usual after dinner until 11 o'clock
and then took a smoke and had a little social chat. Then bidding each
other good night, we came outside to go to our respective sleeping tents.
The night was clear and calm and freezing cold. There was not a sound
as the moon slowly peeped from behing a clusted? of ruined walls to
the east, throwing its pale white light on the canvass of our little
cluster of tents, pitched at the south end of a large open place surrounded
by ruins, which we call "the park". We stopped a moment to admire the
scene, when softly through the air came the strains of the Pilgrims