It was from hence that the Arabs, when they declared war against the Bashaw (which formerly happened very frequently), announced their rising to their allies and neighbouring tribes, by signals of a fire at night, and a smoke by day. Three poor Arabs followed us up the mountain, pointing out to us the most remarkable surrounding objects: they gathered for us some small black berries from a low thorny tree, with yellow flowers, which they called Dummagh ظمّاح or “brains,” and which had an astringent taste, somewhat resembling that of a ripe sloe, but the fruit was much smaller. They told us that the Arabs of Gharian always spoke with gratitude of the English Consul, who had once persuaded the Bashaw not to increase their tribute, as he intended. At noon we arrived at a cluster of nests called El Guasem القاسو about six miles from Beni abbās: all the habitations of this place are of the same kind as those already described; we, however, found a small uninhabited shed above ground, situated at the foot of a little turret, where we deposited our goods, and determined on passing the night. From the inscriptions which we found in this building, it must be about 150 years old. The present Bashaw, his father, grand and great grandfather, had all slept in the smoky corner, of which we now took possession. The turret itself is constructed in a mode common to many others in these mountains. At about half way down one of the subterranean passages, a hole is cut upwards in an awkward way through the rock into the first floor of the turret, which is even with the ground, and perfectly dark, except where here and there a small stone is pushed out to make way for the muzzle of a musket. From this floor is an ascent to one, two, or three stories, by means of pieces of stick placed in the walls. Each floor consists of branches of trees, most alarmingly elastic, and the door of entrance from one to the other is a small hole, through which a person has to force himself upwards. All these military buildings manifest a noble contempt of architectural skill, or neatness. On the side of a small hill near the village are caves of some magnitude, from which good millstones are procured. At this place we fared as we did the evening before, though the Chowse had a most vociferous conversation with the Sheikh before he could get any barley for the horses. We were well sheltered, and sufficiently warm, for we had a good fire in the centre of the hut, and slept at one end of it, while our people and the Chowse’s mare occupied the other. It rained very hard all night.