Detroit evening times., 1942-06-14


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and are administered 10 by dam zEUA
sells with compilations like N
rubies and pearls.
Many of Sir Hamads fellow "a
believers accustomed as they u
are to wringing a hard liveli-
hood from the desert. look for g;
ward to these delights so eager ~ RI
ly that death holds no terrors HX
for them, VIII
Sir Hamad may have felt Wv
differenuy--not because he was
afraid to die but because life
had already given him Just about everything
the Koran promised In the afterlife, except
possibly the rivers Of wine and lack OF head
aches.
AS the wealthiest of all Sheiks. with an
Arabian Nights palace, called The Noun
tain Of the Mist" and an Island Of Pearls,
both very much a part Of this world. the
Mohammedan Paradise may have seemed a
little tame TO Sir Hamsd.
Bahrein is the more common
name Of the island In the Persian
Gulf which he ruled over. with the
knowledge consent and protection
of Great Britain. 1t is called the
Island OF Pearls because off it's
shores lie the worlds richest pearl
fisheries, yielding annually about
$4,000 900 in income, much of which
found it's way into Sir Hamad's pockets.
Unto everyone that hath shall be given.
and he shall have in abundance" says the
, Bible and never was this truth more vividly
illustrated than in the case of the ruler Of
Bahrein.
When he first came TO power. there seemed
to be only one thing he did not have enough
of - water. Strangely enough. his island
lacked an adequate supply of drinking water.
He set about looking for one ana In the
course Of the search turned up not only
source Of water but also a second source Of
income almost as rich as the pearl fisheries.
Previously. the thirsty natives had had to
depend on few primitive wells and strange
phenomenon discovered by accident during a
pearing voyage. The Persian Gulf is as
thoroughly salt as the Atlantic Ocean-or so
1t was believed until one day pearl diver
came up with the startling announcement
that some so feet under the surface he had
struck pool OF pure fresh water.
His story was investigated and found cor
rect. In fact, there were many such pools
bordering the island. Science later explained
them by saying that fresh water percolated
beneath the sea floor from the Arabian high
lands hundreds Of miles away.
1t was held that these pools were what ac-
counted for the superiority Of the Bahrein
pearls, the assumption being. perhaps, that
since an oyster has TO be irritated to produce
a pearl, the more irritated he is, the better
the pearl. And oysters don't like fresh water.
The natives didn't care about the scien-
tific why's and wherefores. They just accept
ed the pools and the better pearls as miracles
wrought directly for their benefit by Allah.
And from then on the pearng dhows returned
TO port carrying both their customary cargo
of precious gems and also goatsltins full of
drinking water
During the stormy seasons however, the
salt water would be mixed with the fresh, so
| the supply was not always dependable. It
was to insure against such accidents that Sir
Hamad, temporarily suppressing his dislike
of all things "new-fangled," particularly in
ventions, commissioned an American COM
pany to employ modern well-digging methods
in search Of a constant water supply.
The company struck not only water but
also, right in the Sheik's backyard OIL
Sir Hamad's good fortune in this life was
not attributable to chance alone, however. He