Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-08-25
GEN. PELLYS FEAT.
lis Visit in Uniform to the Fanatieal Ma
fiyes of Central Arabia.


tiyes of Central Arabia.
Gen. Sir Lewis Peliy. who died in En-
gland recently in his sixty-seventh
| year. did many things during his forty
years of Indian service that gave him
| reputation. but the most remarka BILE
and daring of his achievements was his
| Journey in 1868 to Riyadh. the Wahabi
capital of the great Wahabi people. in
| the center of Arabia. The Wallabis are
the fanatical Pur;tans of Moham-
mechanism. In 1867 they were tbs ter
ror of Ara bia- Their leaders, at the
| bead of small but reckless and daring
/ armed forces, controlled the policy of all
F., the smaller Arab states bordsI-Ig the
waters of the Persian gulf. At that
time Pclly was the British resident at
| Buchire. and was practically the
ruler OF the country. Wahabi power
was ali the while spreading and came
to be regarded us a great political dam
ger. Fclly watched it very closely.
| The country was rominally within the
! limits of his administration. He de-
/ cided that it was necessary for him to
pay visit to Riyadh. He SAID that
| Great Britain would be compelled to
| leave that region entirely if it could not
| come to some understanding or other
| with native power which was claim
ing the right to interfere directly with
the Arab populatio along the shores
Of the Persian gulf and its islands,
which was encouraging piracy to the
! in jury of trade.
Every body said that no one but a
Mohammedan could visit Riyadh and
return alive. Pelly said he believed he
could. and at any rate he intened to
risk it. At that time Palgrave was the
only European who had penetrated
central Arabia and returned IN safety.
He had incurred great dangers, but he
was disguised as n Mussulman and sue
ceeded in his dangerous enterprise.
Pelly did not assume any disguise. He
started for central Ara bia in the uniform
OF a British officer. accompanied by two
officers. an interpreter and domestic at
PENDANTS. After mis- long desert march.
lasting about month, he arrived at
Riyadh, boldly entered the town and
applied for an audience with the blind
amir. He had several interviews with
this potentate, and ostensibly was
treated with much kindness. He
found. however. that he was
regarded as a prisoner, though the
natives tried to put him comforta bly,
at his ease. They believed they had
him in their power, and they proposed
to play with him. as cat with mouse.
before they destroyed him. They had
not the slightest intention of permit
ting him to return to the coast.
Peliy's recourses. however, We're toe
much for them. He found some plausi-
bic pretext for going outside of the city
with his escort one day, and he never
returned. The natives pursued him.
but the superiority of his arms kept
them at distance. Before leaving the
capital his party had filled their water
skins. They accidentally discovered
after they left the city that the water
had been poisoned 1t was impossible
to drink drop of it without risking
their lives On the way to the sea they
suffered agonies of thirst, and the only
relief they had was the slight refresh
ment obtained by pouring the contents
of the water skins over their wrists.
The romantic daring of this expedition
has not often been eXceeded.-N. Y.