Evening star., 1920-02-28
SENSE OF HUMOR ONCE SAVED
LIFE OF THOMAS LAWRENCE
Attacked in Desert BY Turk
Allies, He Jokes With
Their Leader.
Uses Harsh Word Toward
Bandits and Calmly Rides
Off on Camel.
BY LOWELL THOMAS.


by arrangement with Asia, the America n
ma grzine on the orient.)
what was the secret of Col. Thomas
Lawrence's success in Forbidden
Arabia"
Old Auda Abu Tayi the Bedouin
Robin Hood. gave me the answer
Auda is the acme of everything
Arabic and the most famous old war
rlor of the desert. by the beard of
the prophet" he roared. this fair
haired SON of Allah can do everything
that we do even better than We do
II ourselves. He has the face and
hair Of Circassian beauty, the
physique of an 'oryx (Arabian ibex),
the courage of Abu Bekr and the wis
dom of Omar
When Lawrence left the coast of
Arabia and plunged into the desert
he shed his European clothing and
habit OF mind and became a Bedouir
II you can get an Arab to hugh YOU
can do almost anything yoI like with
him. Although the nomads Of Arabia
nave Keen sense of humor, thei-
ceremonious that if one simply trans
lates ordinary conversational English
direct into Arabic it delights the
desert peoples. Our everyday Ian
suase is far more sparkling and to
the point than theirs. To his ability
humor in pure Arabic Lawrence owes
his life
On one occasion when he was at
Azrak, village far out among the
shifting sand dunes. southeast of
Damascus. courier came with the
news that a great caravan of Syrian
merchants was on its way down to
the Arab base port Akaba. 800 miles
to the south. Realizing that there
were sure to be many Turkish spies
among the merchants in the caravan
Lawrence was determined to reach
Akaba ahead of it. The Arabs regard
1t as twelve day Journey from Az
rak to Akaba by camel and the Syr-
ian merchants already had a start on
him of nine days.
Had But One Equal.
Only Bedouin among Lawrence's fol-
lowers, a half breed Haurani, could
stand the latter's pace when he eX-
tended himself to the limit. The Hau-
rani was famous in the north Arabian
desert for his endurance On this par
ticular trek it took Lawrence and
that twelveday journey OF 300 miles
"a record for camel riding which
probably will stand for many years.
They nearly killed their camels and
rode twenty-five hours each daE.
Eighty miles south of Azrak. Law
renee and the haurani were racing
across the ridges, when suddenly a
dozen Arabs mounted on camels ap-
peared over the edge of sand dune
and rode down the slope at a gallop
to cut them off. AS they approached
they shouted out that they were jazz
Howeitats and friends. Thirty yards
distant the strangers dismountcd as
a suggestion to encourage Lawrence
and the haurani to do the same. but
the latter were on their guard and
recognized the Arabs as beni-sakhir
allies of the Turks and blood enemies
Of all the Bedouins cooperating with
King Hussein. The beni-sakhir had
heard that sold was passing NJ and
down this route AMI they were out
for loot
A great trade rSI.e netwe cen S:ria
and Arabia had been opened up dur
ing the war. and merchants OF Tiir-
key passed back arl forth through
from the British ~ Anaha. Law =
renee himself had started MS. Ee
made two clever uses IF cotton. tiis
as means of spreading propaga nda.
and, secondly. for luring all the gold
Out of Syria ard Turkey. The Eer-
have sold their souls fer cotton. That
commodity had become so scarce that
the Turkish military Irthorities al
lowed all merchants wno paid them
enough "baksheesh" to pass back
ward and forward through the lines.
lines.
In Akaba. Lawrence's Arabs, canou-
tagged as shopkeepers. preached the
Arab nationalist doctrines to the Syr-
ian merchants and filled them up to
the eyes with tales of allied victories.
which the latter carried home with
" n q
through the Ottoman empire. Law
renee also induced the merchants to
smuggle Zeiss field glasses down
from Constantinople. with which he
equipped his Arabian army.
/. Sense Of Humer Used.
AS the beni-sakhir came toward
him with their rifles cooked, Lawrence
laughed merrily. The brigades meant
to shoot him and his haurni.- but
this unexpected merriment mystified
them.
"Come near. want to whisper some
thing in your ear Lawrence re-
marked to their leader. Then bending
down from his saddle. he said. DO
you know what your name is"' The
amazed. and Lawrence continued: u
think your name must be Terra ce"
(Procurer).
In Arabia the most terrible of all
insults is to call q Bedouin Terrace.
1t is the, vilest epithet ever used by
one man toward another and usually
is followed by bloodshed. We have
no word in the English language
which compares with 1t. The beni-
sakhir was dumbfounded and visibly
nervous. What he could not under
stand was why any ordinary traveller
would dare to say such thing to him
in the open desert with all the odds
against him. But before the sheikh
had recovered from the shock. Law
renee added. pleasantly. May Allah
give you peace!" and calling to his
haurani. swung of across the sand.
The robbers, puzzled and bewildered,
stood motionless until the two had
ridden a hundred yards Then they
seemed to suddenly recover their
senses and started blazing away with
their rifles. But Lawrence and his
companion galloped over the nearest
bridge and escaped.
The members Of Lawrence's personal
bodyguard were chosen for their cour-
age and their endurance. No Bedo
was accepted who could not ride both
day and night. if necessary. and it was
regarded as quite the swell thing to
belong to the select band Of picked
men who lodged the heels of the blue
eyed, fair-haired young shereef. Law
renee never chose more than two
Bedos from one tribe. His theory was
that tribal jealousy would prevent
them from plotting against their lead
err He also paid them more than the
rest Of the Arab troops. In spite Of
their liberal allowances they spent
were eighty Bedouins in the body guard.
nd thew look cd like an oriental f7ow-