[Thu Aug 11 12:38:07 PDT 2016]
[Notes on the diary transcriptions:
In many of the diaries there are marginal notes in Arabic written in ink by the Baghdad historian Yaqub Serkis sometime after he received them from Alexander Svoboda probably in the late 1920s. Because these notes are a later addition extrinsic to Joseph Mathia Svoboda's writings, we have gathered them in an appendix where they are listed under unique identifiers--for example [A47_006_09:001]--recording the diary number, place in the diary, and numerical order. In this edition of the diaries, these identifiers are not linked directly to the notes in the appendix.
For some of the diaries, we have prepared minimal notes and glosses as well as extensive word lists. These are available from our website.
Images of the original diaries' content are archived on the University of Washington Libraries content management system ContentDM. See:
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For many of the diary transcription we have provided live links to the original diary pages invoked by clicking on the page numbers in our HTML display. Where links are not provided, one may refer to the original diary images in ContentDM.
In several of the diaries, pockets in the back covers hold a variety of memorabilia including newspaper clippings, pictures, and souvenirs. Some of the textual material has been transcribed and is visible in the HTML display. This was not done consistently but the contents of the pockets are displayed in the images in ContentDM.]
Nº 47
1897/98
[pg: 1]
Arabic
[pg: 2]
Light N.W. & fine weather at
at 8 am I came on board the
Steamer, Finished Alexanders
letter to be posted today;
I sent it to the Post Office and
had it registered, also wrote one
to Rezooki Korkis London
of Yesterday’s date~ At 10 ½
went home & had my breakfast
& returned at 12 ½~
We shipped a good deal of local
cargo & finished at 4 p.m.
All the cabins are engaged,
The river is standstill~
At 5 p.m. I went to my house
the carpenter has finished
his work & I paid him for
4 days~
I went over to Sister Medula
to dine with her: & while
there I received a letter from
my son Alexander by
the Damascus Post which
[pg: 3]
arrived this afternoon; it
is dated the 15 Octor, and
I read it before Medoola &
Grzesky; Alexander is very
well, he is learning the German
language well; he has
received my telegram in
which I informed him of
my arrival to Baghdad on
the 14th Octor, & he received it
the next day when he was
writing the letter;
At 9 I came home &
turned in~
Light N.W. & fine weather
at 4 am I came on board;
We are to wait for Mr. Bottomley
who is going down with us
to Basreh~
[pg: 4]
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 157 | 47030,, | 16043 ½ | 3,,2 |
At 7 AM. proceeded from Baghdad
the Steamer is very light, drawing
3,,2 Inches;~
Passed Gherrarah & the Tents are
still encamped the Christians
there are nearly 50 Tents~
At 9,,5 passed Diala river,
At 10,,25 passed Ctesiphon;
At 1 p.m. we rounded & came
to at Ledje for the Khalifah
coming up; We went on board
of her with Mr. Bottomley,
Mr. Braine, Reynolds & George
Cowley & his young brother,
to see Capt Cowley who is
coming up in her, on his
return from England in
the Arabistan, he looks well
the same as before; he gave
me a letter from my wife
Eliza from Basreh; the
Arabistan came out in 25
days from Marseilles a
a very good passage~
[pg: 5]
At 1,,35 P.M. we left and
went on~
We have altogether 128 ½
passengers, (4 in 1st 1st Class Eassa
Zheir & 3 females the family
of Ahmed Beg Zheir from Constple,
and 2 Jews in 2nd Class, & 5 also
in 2nd Class but counted as 2 ½
they are the Mère Marie Thérese
& an other Sister going as far
as Basreh accompanying
the daughter of Fetoohi Loca
& two other girls of Mossul
going to France to become nuns
they paid at ½ Passage)
Also Mr. Bottomley the Agent
to Basreh for business as
Mr. Taylor left for London
in the Afghanistan about
a week ago; & two deck
free~
At 4,,25 p.m. passed Baghdadieh
Fort~
At 6,,45 passed Azizieh,
At 8,,20 anchored for the night
[pg: 6]
at Toweel, cloudy weather &
light breeze~
Light S. Ely breeze & cloudy a
little; at 5,,20 am. proceeded
from Toweel;
At 9,,15 passed Memlah;
At 2 p.m. arrived at Coot, landed
22 ½ passengers & 58 packages
At 3 p.m. left Coot~ Took
6 passengers; Light S.Ely
with clouds and warm weather
Therm @ 3,,85˚~
At 7.20 came to Aboo
Dood for the night; fine
weather & clear moonlight
night 12 days old;
Light air & getting fine~
At 5,,45 AM. we got underway;
At 8,,45 l landed 4 passengers
and 8 packages at Ali Gherbi
and went on at 9; weather
got cloudy all over~ It got
fine at about 1 p.m. but it is
very warm~
At 5 P.M. arrived at Amara
landed 15½ passengers
[pg: 7]
and 81 packages; Took 4
Tons of Coal~ Weather very calm
& warm but fine~
At 6,,50 pm. we left Amara
fine moon light night & clear;
At 10.20 we anchored below
Kalat Saleh, fine clear weather,
Light n.w. & fine~ At 5,,45
am. we proceeded~ We took
17 passengers from Amara,
At 9,,5 passed Azair, they
have pulled down the Green
Dome to rebuild it new;
At 0,,5 p.m.. stopped at Gorna
landed 3 passengers and
20 packages, at 9,,20 p.m.
left Gorna~
At 5 P.M. passed the SS
Baghdad & Barge going up just
Opposite Rufail’s house
& I saw my wife Eliza
standing on the bank with
Rufail Tukyeh etc;
We anchored at Basreh
the SS. Arabistan, Mobile
& Dwina are here &
also the Rusafah & Mosul;
[pg: 8]
I went up to Rufail’s place,
& met Eliza there, I could not
keep myself from the tears on
seeing her without my son
Alexander, but got very sorry
on hearing from her the bad
account she gives me, and
behaviour of Ibrahim Gejou,
who has not yet furnished his
rooms & they use Alexander’s room,
he has got not servant cook &
feeding Alexander outside
@ 3 frcs per day, he has got a
wife for the second time since
a year & half & goes often to
her; he wanted to force
Eliza to pay him 150 frcs per
month to keep her in the
same room as that of Alexander
& feed her in fact she
says he is a lyar & a
swindle & space has nothing at
all & wants to make money
out of us; and she says
that Alexander must not
remain in Paris but he
should return soon, because
he will be spoilt & he
expends more money
[pg: 9]
than what I have allowed
him (200 frcs per month) he
is selling his postage stamps
& expending; she made
me so very sorry & broken
hearted that I lost all the
pleasure of talking with
her about anything else;
She has apparently expended
the 1010 frcs I had given
her at Marsilles and I shall
have to pay her passage
now to Jeboory Asfar of
31 1/2 £ Sterling. She has
bought some clothes and
perfumery etc for sale
she drew 40 £ Stg from
Rezooki Korkis to be paid
here by her to his brother,
she says they had fine weather
on the way out from Marseilles
except for two days it
was bad after leaving
Marseilles, & in the Red
Sea it was very calm &
awfully hot; she landed
in Bushire for few hours
[pg: 10]
With Andrews Dinha the
Engineer of the Persepolis~
S. Ely breeze & very foggy &
dampy: I have had no
sleep at all on account of
the mosquitoes that were in
great number & being so
out of humour on account
of Eliza's relating to me of
Alexander’s life in Paris;
At 7 ½ am. I came on
board, we are discharging
& loading cargo;~
Yousif Marine & Naoom Loca
called on me & also Fehmy
Bey the Nadir of the Six Contribution
he is here going to P. Said for
a change; Père Pierre also,
& Jeboory Asfar,~ Eliza
& Rufail & Rezooki came
on board & got Eliza’s kit
also the Boxes etc etc,
also Meneshi Gareh called
on me & Naoom Loca;
We have no 1st Class
Cabin passengers but
Eliza my wife~
[pg: 11]
We finished cargo by 3 p.m,
& got the mail~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 194 | 126,508 | 12640 1/4 | ? |
At 5,,30 P.M. got underway
& proceeded ship drawing
4 feet;~ fine weather &
light S. Ely breeze; Eliza
did not dine with us, she has a
bad cold & had eaten something at
Rufail’s house~ At 11,,10 passed Gorna
At 3,,30 AM. passed
Azair~ at 5 we came to the
shoal above Ghumeyjeh, there
is a boat aground in the channel
we took anchors out & hove
over~ At 7.30 got over and
proceeded easy~
Gave tickets and finished with
the passengers~
At 9,,45 the ship struck the
shaol bank below Abdulla
in Ali & broke 3 arms & floats
& we anchored to repair the
damage, At 11.30 proceeded,
At 1,,30 P.M. landed 5 passengers
& took one & went on at
[pg: 12]
1,,40~
We have altogether 124 ½
passengers none in 1st Class,
but 3 in 2nd Class; also besides
these 5 Tilkeflies free~
At 6,,15 arrived at Amara
landed 21 ½ passengers and
took in 7 Tons of Coal;
Shipped some cargo as Ghee &
Hides etc~
At 8,,15 left Amara fine
weather & S. Ely breeze;
Light S.Ely & fine; at 7 am.
landed one passenger at Ali
Gherbi & went on at 7,,5
The SS. Baghdad & Barge on
her way up, just went alongside
the village~
Gave tickets to 30 Amara
passengers;~
Picked one passenger from Sheikh
Saad at 12 AM~
At 6 p.m. arrived at Coot
landed 11 passengers & took
in Coal;
At 7,,45 left Coot~ Fine
[pg: 13]
Weather & light N.W. breeze &
cool~
Light S. Erly breeze & fine~
At 3,,10 am passed Memlah,
at 4 ½ grounded at Sheresh took
anchors out & hove off, fore &
aft the chain parted three times
of the stern anchor~
At 7,,50 got off & proceeded
Gave tickets to 38 ½ Coot passengers
At 2,,25 P.M. passed Azizieh;
At 4,,55 passed the S.S. Khalifah
going down at Gutnyeh~
At 5,45 passed Baghdadieh
Fort; modte n.w. wind & fine
cold weather~
Very Cold Weather, Fine clear
at 2,,30 am passed Ctesiphon,
At 4,,20 passed Diala
river,~ At 5.30 passed
Gherrarah, all the Christians
are out encamped yet, a
very sharp cold N.W. wind
blowing~
At 8 we landed the mails at
the Residency & steamed
to the Custom House, no
[pg: 14]
steamers are here~
Eliza & I landed and went home,
Yousif Korkis, Yacoob Tessy &
the sons of Toni Tessy came
to meet us at the beach &
went home with us, there
came my sisters, Grzesky,
& other people;~ Also
Henry who has arrived
from Hwedir by himself
in the carriage for a few
days & will return; they
were all glad to see Eliza,
Sisters Eliza & Medula
Grzesiky & Henry breakfasted
with us, & left in the afternoon,
weather is so unusually
cold & sharp N.W. wind,
we have not prepared any
rooms yet, & are sitting in
the divan & veranda in
this cold wind,
The river has risen about
one or two feet~
I found a letter here
[pg: 15]
from Alexander arrived
yesterday by Damascus
mail, dated the 22 Ulto,
he is very well & enjoying
& studying the German;
Eliza has got a bad cold on
the head & chest & is suffering
very much~
N.W. breeze & very cold
weather; it is so sudden
& so bitterly cold, the water
frose in some houses~
At 9 am I went to church
& then called on Chekury Andrea,
Yacoob Oossy, Eassayis,
Kass Phillippus etc; many
visitors came to visit Eliza
my wife~ I called on Sister
Eliza, Henry called on us,
It is very cold throughout the
day;~ This is very unusual
cold which came on so
soon & sudden; we are
not prepared for it yet,
[pg: 16]
Light n.w. & fine, bitterly
cold, dry weather; there
must have fallen snow
up the country~ at 8 am
I came on board; we are
discharging cargo; sent
money to the office & went
home,~ Henry came & breakfasted
with us; the weather is awfully
cold;~ I called with Henry on
Alice; I also called on Sister
Medula & came home; more
visitors are coming; it is
awfully cold~
The SS. Baghdad arrived at
about 2 p.m.~
Light N.W breeze & very cold
weather~ at 8½ am. I
came on board; the river is rising
a little; the cold is awful all
my hands are sore & chapped
I went home & at 2 p.m. I
called on Alice where Henry
was breakfasting, I took
him & went to call on
Colonel Lock the new English
Consul General whom I
[pg: 17]
had not seen yet, as he had
arrived here two or three days
before we started for Europe
in April; he is a nice person
& inquired from us about
the Archeological researches
& excavations in this part
of the country, as he wish
to have a digging in
some parts, I recommended
him to try Aboo Habba
the ancient zippara,
We then called on the new
French Vise Consul Monsr.
Roné & Mons Jacquerès the
Engineer in the Turkish Service
also on Mr. Hasse the young
German Chancellier or
Dragoman to Mr. Richarz
but he was asleep & so we
left our Cards; I then went
to Alice had tea, & called
on Capt Cowley & his wife,
I came home at 5 p.m.
Henry came to dine with
us found Antone Marine
[pg: 18]
his wife & children who came
to see Eliza & Artin my Nephew,
They left at 7 1/2~
Very Cold weather & we
are shivering; great quantity
of snow fell on the Antolian
Mountains~
Light N.W. & fine Very Cold
& freezing as before; at
8 1/2 am called on Henry
for few minutes & then
came on board;~ We
shipped some cargo; through
for the SS. Alphonse Parran
At 11 went home to breakfast
Henry called on us~
At 2 1/2 p.m. I came on board
wrote in the cargo we are
shipping; The river keeps rising
it rose in all 12 bricks or
about 2 feet; It is still very
cold~ At 5 p.m. went home
Antone Marine called on us,
he paid me his account of the
clothes I got for him from
Vienna Flors. 71.¾ & 12 frcs,
[pg: 19]
Henry is going out to Howedir
tomorrow morning at day break,
Very cold & fine weather;
Light N.W. & very cold weather
At 8 1/2 am I came on board,
The river is still rising it
rose 1/2 foot since yesterday;
We shipped a good lot of cargo,
also 550 Bales Wool of Yousif
Korkis~
I finished my letter for
Alexander up till today, I
begun it on the 5th & sent it to
the Post Office leaving today
for Damascus & had it
registered, also the one for
Rome for Gabriel Oossany
& Michail Baho of the 8th
Instt;~ went to breakfast
& came back at 1 P.M;
At 4 P.M. I received a letter
from Alexander of the 29th
Ulto, & a packet of Photograph
of his mother & himself
taken in Paris, by the Damascus
Post arrived today~
[pg: 20]
At 5½ I went home; Johny
my Nephew called, he has also
received a letter from Alexander
in todays Post which we
red~
Light N.W. & cold weather,
Light N.W. & fine; at 5 ½
AM I came on board;
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 143 | 129,556 | 22,341 1/2 | 4,,2 |
At 6,,15 AM we proceeded
Capt Cowley has resumed
his Command; & Mr.
Braine remains behind
to join his Steamer the
Khalifah as chief mate,
The river fell about 1/2 foot
this morning~
At 8,,10 grounded at Rustumyeh
Got an anchor aster out & hove
her stern out of the bank;
At 9 proceeded, at 9,,25
passed Diala
At 10,,40 passed Ctesiphon
At 3,,40 P.M. passed Baghdadieh
[pg: 21]
Weather became cloudy
& the cold weather has ceased
the Thermo is 60 at 4 p.m;
It has been so very cold
since Sunday last; On
board the SS. Comet they have
had it down to 22° at 4
am on the 16th & 25 at the
Residency Garden; this an
extraordinary occurrance,
Finished with the passengers
tickets we have altogether
102½ (one Jew in 1st Class &
2 Jews in the 2nd Class Cabin)
At 5,,50 passed Azizieh~
Cloudy weather;
At 7,35 we anchored at
Towil for the night; weather
became fine & clear;
Modte N.W. & fine Cold weather
At 5,,25 am the Khalifah
passed up~
At 6,,15 we proceeded,-
It became very cold & sharp wind
At 6,,45 the SS. Mossul &
Barge passed up~
[pg: 22]
At 9,45 passed Memlah,
At 10 landed 5 passengers
at Bughela & went on at 10,5
Fresh N.W. wind & very cold,
At 2,,10 p.m. arrived at Coot
landed 26 passengers and
46 packages~ Metty writes
to me to say that it took the
Khalifah 5 days to go down
they were detained 26 hours at
Ghumeyjeh aground, and
the SS. Mossul in
her way blocking her passage,
At 3 P.M. we proceeded, Took
8 passengers & 2 Bales~
At 3,,20 passed the SS.
Ressafah & Barge going
up~
At 7,5 we rounded & came
to at Sheikh Saad for the
night, & landed 9 Packages
and 1 passengers, Shipped
8 Bales Abbas & two passengers
We remained for the night,
Weather very fine & cold
[pg: 23]
Light N.W. & very fine and
Cold weather~ At 6 AM.
left Sheikh Saad;
At 9,,40 landed 4 Bales &
one passenger at Ali Gherbi,
went on at 9,,50~
The weather became a little
milder this Afternoon, I
have not felt it so since the
14th, I am suffering from it
very much, & yesterday I
cought a very bad cold
through changing my shirt
& exposing myself in the Cold
Wind~ It is 65˚ at 4 P.M
At 5,,45 P.M arrived at Amara
landed 20 ½ passengers and
36 packages;~
A crowd of people filled the
Ship, & passengers wanting 1st
Class Cabins, it is one Nejib Beg
a Clerk in the Serai of Basreh
who has married the daughter
of Mostapha Pasha the
Motserrif of Amara all
[pg: 24]
being Kurds of Suleimanieh,
& his wife & others in all 5 in
1st Class with their house Kit
& furniture came aft & filled
the quarter Deck;
The cold weather they say
here caused all the fish in
the marshes to be frozen to
death~
At 7,,20 we left Amara,
Fine cold weather~
At 10,,10 anchored at Kalat
Saleh~
Light N.W. & fine cold weather
At 6,,15 am. Got underway;
Gave tickets to 30 ½ passengers
from Amara (5 in 1st Class
Nejib Beg & 4 women)
Detained at the Elbow
20 minutes, in turning the Ship
below the point~
At 10,,5 passed Azair,
We have 6 Zaptyes as usual
from Amara every trip they
come up & down for no
purpose whatever;
[pg: 25]
At 1,,5 P.M. went alongside
At Gorna & landed 8 ½
passengers and 76 packages
I heard here that Rufail
Sayegh is up here above
Gorna on the Euphrates
looking after his property
for the last 8 days~
At 1,,55 left Gorna
At 6 landed 3 passengers at
Maghil (H. Mohsen of Maghil
& two followers) The SS. Phrat
came to pass up by this time,
Calm & fine weather & still
Cold; I do not feel well at all
My cold is all over my body &
bones & feel feverish~
At 6,,30 arrived in Basreh,
there is only the Persian St. Mobile
here; & the Mail Str Assyria
down in Quarantine; no one came
from Rufail’s place; I did not
go to them as I do not feel well,
We coaled Ship & discharged
some Cargo at night;
Light N.W. & fine weather
Not so cold as before~
[pg: 26]
I finished my letter for
Alexander via Bombay of
today’s date & told him all
from Baghdad till here, &
posted it~
At 12 I went up with Rezooki
Sayegh & landed at Asfar
saw Jeboory, also Mon De Sarzec
his wife & son who are still
living here & are going up
in a few days to Coot &
up the Hai to Tello to
dig; At 1 P.M. I returned
to the Ship Rezooki fetched
me;
The Str. Launch of the
Sheikh of Mahomerah
(now Mahomed son of
Sheikh Jaber) came up &
bringing the body of Sheikh
Mezel who was the Sheikh of
Mahomerah formerly & was
Shot by his brother in May
last & succeeded him to the
Governorship; It is to be
sent up with us to go to Kerbella
& be interred there
[pg: 27]
We have charged 100 Rps
for the body and 2 persons
in a 2nd Class Cabin @ 30 Besh
each & the Coffin also was
put inside~
Rezooki Angoorly Nessoory
Andrea the Shahbender
of the Custum House, Rezooki
Sayegh & Jeboory Asfar
called on me~
We finished the Cargo
at 6 ½ P.M.
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 145 ½ | 175,315 | 9,730 ¾ | 4,4 |
At 7,,15 P.M. we got under-
way, but soon after 5 minutes
it became foggy and had
to Anchor just opposite
Rufail’s place~
At 11.20 it cleared off
we proceeded~
At 4 AM landed 2
passengers at Gorna &
went on at 4,,5. Fine
weather & not so Cold
At 8,,10 passed Azair
[pg: 28]
Weather shifting, a light S. Erly
breeze & getting cloudy;
At 3,,5 P.M. landed a bundle
of specie at Kalat Saleh &
went on; weather is mild
& S. Erly breeze & cloudy a little
We have altogether 109 Passeng.
(3 in 1st Class, Mr. Bottomley
free not included; a Dr. Z
Yèronimakis a New Inspector
for the Quarantine of Baghdad
coming from Jedda to
replace Dr. Lubiez who is
dismissed by order from
Constantinople as well as
Dr. Malakis of Basreh &
his clerk Solon Calothi,
for some political affair
that is not yet ascertained,
Also Ezra Daniel the Jew
Apothecary; 12 in 2d Class
with the dead body of Sheikh
Mezel of Mahomerah who
was shot dead by his brother
Khazal) also 2 of
the Custom House Mamoor
free by Lynch Brothers;
At 7,50 arrived at
[pg: 29]
Amara landed 15 ½
passengers; the SS. Phrat is
here on her way up~ We
took in 10 Tons of Coal and
8 Bundles Hides. The river
has risen here about 2 feet;
The Phrat left at 10,,15~
At 10,,30 we left weather
Cloudy & light S. Erly breeze,
We passed the Phrat at 10.35.
10,,35~
S. Erly wind & cloudy weather,
At 7,,10 passed the S.S. Baghdad
& Barge going down~
Gave tickets to 13 Amara
passengers, also H. Abdulrezack
Khdery returning in 1st Class
free~
At 10 passed Ali Gherbi
fresh S. Erly & cloudy all over.
At 2,,30 P.M. passed Sheikh Saad
Cloudy weather, very few drops
of rain fell~
At 8,,45 P.M. arrived at
Coot, landed 2 passengers &
took in Coal~
At 10,,30 left Coot, weather
clearing up~
Detained few minutes
[pg: 30]
at Mehdi & Hamraya~
Light N.W. & fine Weather,
Clouds clearing up~ At
6,,20 AM passed Memlah;
Gave tickets to 22 ½ Coot
passengers;
At 2,,20 P.M. passed
Azizieh Village~ River is
falling about 1 foot;
At 5,,50 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh Fort;
At 6.15 Anchored for the SS.
Khalifah coming down, Sent
letters & Specie & Capt. Cowley
& Mr. Bottomley went on
board;~
I heard the Koorkies
noise flying off here from the
Sand bank, which I have
not seen for many years ago;
At 7,5 we proceeded; Mr.
Hamilton of Hotz & Co is returning
in the Khalifah; the Comet
has also left Baghdad
this morning going to
Basreh;~
[pg: 31]
Light N.W. & fine cold weather
At 3,,30 AM we Anchored at
Joorf el Batta, fearing a Shoal
here; at 6 ½ we landed
and at 6,,45 proceeded
on~ At 7,,5 landed a
dead Afghan passenger at
Ctesiphon & went on at 7,,10;
At 9,,30 passed Diala
River~
At 10,,55 landed a deck man
at Gherrara, Mr. Bomley also
landed & walked to Baghdad
I could not do it on account
of a bad corn I have in my
big toe since I came from
Aleppo;
At 11,,45 met the SS.
Comet coming down, we stopped
& gave her their mails, Colonel
& Mrs. Lock the Resident
on board going down, we
went on at 11,,55; But
at 0,,10 P.M. the Comet turned
round & steamed up following
us & we stopped, She sent
the boat & Demello came
[pg: 32]
bringing a wrong bag of
the Consul’s post & took
the right one & we went
on at 0,,20 P.M;
At 1,,30 landed Mails at
the Residency & went to the
Custum House, the Mossul
is loading & the Ressafah also
discharging cargo~ I went
home & saw Eliza, she has
worked hard in putting the
rooms to right, & is little
unwell; I found a letter
from Alexander arrived this
morning dated the 5 Instt;
he is very well & the cold
winter is setting in & snow
begun to fall; he asks me
to let him buy a thick
Coat; he also sends me a
packet of french Papers, etc,
Antone Marine came in
the evening; he asked us to
drive with him tomorrow,
because Jeboory Asfar’s wife
& children are going down
with us this time~
[pg: 33]
I hear that Yousif Sayegh
is very bad he has sunk
down for the last two or
three days~
Light N.W. & fine, not so cold
as yesterday~ at 8 ½ am
Eliza & I went to Church; I
heard here that poor
Yousif Sayegh died early
this morning at day break,
After Mass Antone Marine
& I went to his house, Many
people came; there is no
body of his family left in
the house he was the only
one living in the house,
his sister Catherina was
there, the body is to be enterred
at 2 P.M outside in the Christian
Cemetry, he was 51 years
Old, his two brothers Elias
(Père Augustine & John
are at Mossul with the
Monseigneur Altmayer)
I called on Mr. Julietti &
other people & came home
at 12 had breakfast,
[pg: 34]
The SS. Mossul left this
Morning~
At 1 1/2 P.M. Antone Marine
came & we called on Yousif
Korkis Tessy, & then went
to the house of Yousif Sayegh
& accompanied the body
to the Armenian Church,
Crowds of people were, all
the Priests, & christians
also Mr. Mashkow the
Russian Consul etc,
After the funeral they took
the body in a Mourning
Carriage outside~
I called on Alice & Sister
Emilia, at 6 Eliza &
I went over to Antone's
to dine, there were all the
Asfar's family, also Sedy
the wife of Jeboory Asfar
& her two children~
at 10 We came home
light breeze & fine
Light S. Erly & cloudy
a little, at 8 ¼ am
[pg: 35]
I came on board, the SS.
Ressafah went out and
the Mejidieh went inside
to discharge~
At 9 3/4 am the SS. Phrat
arrived from Basreh~
We are discharging Cargo~
At 11 1/2 went to Mr. Bottomley
for money & other business;
Came home at 12 1/2 Very
cloudy & blowing fresh S. Erly,
At 2 P.M. it began to rain
hard, it kept it on till 7 P.M.
this is the first good rain we
have had yet & must do good
to the desert which is still dry
I took a warm bath, the
Cold weather became very
mild;~
Light S. Westerly & cloudy
gloomy weather;
at 8 am I came on board
Paid the Ship's Company their
wages for this month;
The SS. Ressafah left this
Morning at 6 am~
At 11 I left the ship & went
home~
[pg: 36]
Called on Catterina Sayegh &
her sons in her father's house
(or brother Yousif) to condole
her on her brother Yousif's death
she is receiving the Visitors there
for the three days & came
home at 5; Light N.W. & fine
weather; I am painting
my house all the Pillars &
railings in Yellow & green,
Johny called in the evening
Light N.W. & foggy morning
called on Antone for 1/2 hour
& came on board; we are
still discharging cargo;
At 10 1/2 I went on shore called
in the Office & left with Alfred
Holland Mr. Braines pay
from 1 to 25 Decr at 25 £
Stg per month to be given to
him in the Khalifah~
I called on Sister Eliza &
on Alice & sister Emilia
came home at 12~
At 2 P.M. came on board
& worked we are shipping
Cargo a good lot~
At 5 P.M. Went home
[pg: 37]
Light N.W & few clouds &
dampy~ At 8 1/2 Am. I
came on board~
At 11 1/2 Went home to breakfast
& returned at 12 1/2, We have lots
of cargo being shipped~
I finished Alexander's letter
& sent it to the Post Office at
2 P.M. I also wrote to the
Bishop Bassil at Damascus
& to Michail Kerawany;
also to Signori Giovanni
Rottondi & Co at Novara
in Italy~
I worked Very hard today. We
shipped a lot of cargo & I
got so mad by the crowd of
people wanting their receipts &
paying etc~
At 5 1/2 P.M went home,
Weather cloudy a little &
light S. Erly breeze~
Nassoory Abood called for
1/2 hour~
[pg: 38]
Cloudy weather & light S. Erly
breeze~
It began to thunder
on the South East, with sharp
lightning at 4 am. and
worked it up with loud
thunders, & a heavy rain
came down at 4 1/2 for
1/4 hour & ceased~
At 5 1/2 I came on board,
the streets are very muddy
& slippery~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 170 ½ | 117430 | 23,486 | 3,,11 |
At 6,,10 AM. We proceeded
Clouds breaking up~
Ship drawing 3,,11 Inches,
At 8,,20 passed Diala River
Weather Cloudy all over &
overcast & dampy~
At 9,,45 passed Ctesiphon,
Clouds opening a little & having
some sunshine~
Finished with the Passengers
Tickets at noon, We have
in all 147 1/2 (4 in 1st Class
[pg: 39]
Mr. C. Richarz the German
Consul going to Basreh for
few days & also to meet two
German travellars coming
in the Alphonse Parran
he has 4 attendants; also
the Old Wife of Sheikh Jaber
of Mahomerah Khejja daughter
of Ummush Khan and
an other woman also was the
Wife of Sheikh Jaber, she is
the daughter of Aziz Agha,
both very elderly women,
also a Turk Rashid Effendi,
and one 2nd Class Yousif the
son of Mr. Nelson)~
At 3,,20 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh Fort~
At 5,,45 P.M. passed Azizieh;
Weather still cloudy, a light
N.W. breeze, moon 9 days Old;
At 7,,30 we anchored for
the night at Toweel~
at 8,,15 the S.S. Khalifah
passed up~
[pg: 40]
Very light N.W. air & thick fog
dampy weather~ It had
rained at 3 Am for a short
time~
At 10 fog cleared off
We got underway~
At 1,,40 P.M. passed Memlah;
lots of rain has fallen here about;
At 3,,45 grounded at
Umel Ajaj, took an anchor
ahead & hove off~ at
4,,30 proceeded~ Fine
Clear Weather~
At 7,,15 P.M. arrived at
Coot landed 20 passengers
and 86 Packages; I received
a packet of news paper from
Alexander via Bombay dated
the 24 Octor; we remained at
anchor for the night; Fine clear
weather~
Light N.W. & fine; at 6,,15 Am
left Coot; at 6,,30 anchored
it came on foggy; at 7,,30 it
cleared off we proceeded~
Took 9 passengers from
Coot~ At 8,,10 passed
[pg: 41]
the S.S. Baghdad & Barge going
up~
At 2,,45 P.M. passed
Ali Gherbi; At 6,,35 passed
Ali Sherghi, light N.W. & fine
Clear Weather, Moon 11 days
Old~ At 9,,30 anchored on
account of fog, at 10 proceeded
At 11 arrived at Amara
landed 22 1/2 passengers and
48 packages~
At 1,,15 Am left Amara, &
at 1,,30 had to anchor, the fog
came on again~ at 6 proceeded
Weather Cloudy & overcast &
Misty~ Took 12 passengers
from Amara (one in 1st Class;
Missakyan Effendi the Turkish
Civil Engineer of Basreh) and
7 Zaptyes guards as usual;
At 0,,50 P.M. passed Azair,
At 3,,40 stopped off Gorna
landed 2 passengers & 25 packages
Abdulamohsen Zheir & seven
persons came to go to Basreh
also his Belem, he told me
[pg: 42]
that Rufail is still here up
the Euphrates & down at Sweib;
We Went on at 4~
At 8,,20 P.M. arrived at Basreh
there are only here the S.S. Comet
which brough Colonel & Mrs.
Lock from Baghdad; the
Mossul & Ressafah &
Esther~
We coaled ship during the night;
Light N.W. & fine Weather;
We discharged & shipped Cargo;
The Mail St Kapurthala &
the S.S. Mushtery are in the
quarantine station;
At 10 1/2 I landed & Walked
in to Basreh, called on Rezooki
Angoorly, & Tookyeh, I also
called on Terrooza Wife of
Nessoory Andrea who is
the Shahbender her of the
Custum House; I then
went to Rezook's shop
& came back to his house
had Tea With Tookyeh
where Yousif Marine
[pg: 43]
also was there & we came
out together in his Bellem
to the ship; Weather getting
Cloudy; I finished my letter
of Alexander for the Indian
Mail Via Bombay &
gave it to Rezooki also
sent two boxes to Asfar
to be sent by the Alphonse
Parran one Case of seewt
Meats for Alexander
Containing 11 Cartoons of
Dates, 1 Tin Manna, 1
Tin Rahat Locum, 1 Box
Cartoon of Bonbons of Aleppo,
1 Box Wooden of preserved
Aleppo Abricots, & 5 frames
in silver which I put
with the Bonbons~ also
one small box containing
11 Cartoons of dates for
Mr. J. Khoury the french
Chancellier at Port Said,
Rezooki Sayegh came
& I gave him the two boxes
[pg: 44]
& the letter for Alexander,
also Nessoory Andrea,
Rezooki Angoorly etc,
Jeboory Asfar came to me,
I asked him to send the two cases
of dates etc by the Alphonse
Parran, he is very Obliging &
promised to do so with great
pleasure & free of freight;
he brought a Carmelite
father called Père Pièrre
Coming out Via Bombay
& escaped Quarantine at
Mahomerah~
We finished loading at 8 1/2
P.M.~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 145 | 185,435 | 7984 | 4,4 |
At 8,,45 P.M. left Basreh,
weather cloudy; The SS. Comet
also was to leave after us,
The Mossul had left at
about 4 1/2 P.M~ We passed
her on the way,
At 2,,45 Am passed
Gorna~ At 7 passed
Azair; Very Cloudy and
[pg: 45]
overcast weather, & light
S. Erly breeze~
At 1,,45 P.M. landed 2 and
took 1 passengers from Kalat
Saleh, Very Cloudy gloomy
with some light rain;
Thunder & Lightning and
drizzling rain & then came
on hard & thick; It lasted
more than 1/2 hour~
We have altogether 96
passengers from Basreh
(2 in 1st C Cabin, Rezooki son
of Beshoori Tessy Hotus Clerk
& a new Carmelite father
Père Pièrre coming from France
Via Bombay, took 2nd Class
but as Vartan's Sister is
in the 2nd Class free R. Ticket
we have put him in a 1st
Class) also 5 others free
2 Tilkeflies & 3 men caulkers
Weather Very Cloudy, dark
with S. Erly wind~
At 6 P.M. it began Again
to rain heavily;
[pg: 46]
At 6,,35 P.M. arrived at
Amara, landed 31 passengers,
Took in Coal, Lots of rain
has fallen here, all is wet &
Muddy~
At 8,,45 left Amara, Still
very cloudy, but the moon is
14 days old~
Light S. Erly & cloudy all
over gloomy weather~
At 7,,55 landed 2 passengers
at Ali Gherbi & took 7 and
went on at 8~ Gave tickets
to 19 1/2 Amara passengers,
and Isak Ezra Hyim in 1st
Class Retn Ticket by S Lynch co
free~
at about 3 P.M. the breeze
shifted to N.W. & Clouds breaking
up~ At Sunset it became
very fine & cold N.W. breeze;
At 7,,45 P.m. Arrived at
Coot landed 15 passengers
and took in Coal 7 Tons,
The S.S. Phrat is here on her
way down~
At 9,,20 left Coot~
[pg: 47]
At 2 am anchored, fog came
on, at 5 proceeded & again
came on the fog & anchored
after 1/2 hour;
At 8,,20 fog cleared off
we proceeded from Umel Ajaj;
We took 18 passengers from
Coot (one in 1st Class Colonel
Bekri Effendi the Bimbashi
of Haȋ, Sennyeh)~
At 11,,10 passed Memlah;
Very fine & clear weather;
At 6,,5 P.M. passed the SS.
Khalifah going down at
Brenij above Humenyeh;
Jeboory Asfar's wife & Children
must have been
on board; also Hannosh Asfar
At 7,,30 passed Azizieh
At 10,,40 passed Baghdadieh
Fort; fine clear weather;
Light N.W. & some clouds &
cold~ At 8 Am passed
Ctesiphon~
At 10,,15 passed Diala,
Sky covered with fog as if
it is snowing, it is Very Cold
[pg: 48]
too~
At 11,,30 I landed at Gherrara
& walked in to Baghdad, It
has also rained here~ I
arrived at 1 P.M. saw Eliza
but she is complaining again
from her old complaint and
palpitation & weakness of the
heart etc~ I found two
letters from Alexander of
the last two Damascus Post,
one dated the 12 Novr and
the other the 16th Novr. in the
last one a very long letter he
mentions of his having received
my first letter from Baghdad
of the 21 Octor, he is Very Well
& enjoying~ The Mejidieh
arrived at about 2 P.M;
Johny My nephew called &
dined with us,
Light N.W. & fine~ at 8 1/2
Am We Went to Church;
I then called on the Bishop
Aghnatius the Assyrian
who has come back from
Mossul on the 6 Instt.
by Order from Rome
[pg: 49]
to be reinstated to his diocese
here as before~ I
also called on Kesboor Maghak
Georgis Segman, Catterina
Yaghchi etc;
Henry & his family are
still in Howedir but is coming
I believe tomorrow~
at 2 P.M. Eliza & I called
on Sister Eliza, on Captn
& Mrs. Cowley, & on Alice
but she was not at home
I called on Mr. Bottomley
but was not at home,
we returned at 5, Antone
called on us for an hour,
Eliza was again ceased
with that distressing complaint
of nervousness & hysteria
at tea time till midnight
When she calmed down
I gave her some Ether, and
Brandy & water; she wept
& was then quiete~
Light or calm Air & fine
with few clouds~ at 8 1/2
am I came on board,
[pg: 50]
the Baghdad is inside loading,
I sent money to the Office,
at 11 went home, I worked
in putting my room to right
cleaning it & arranging all
the Kit till 6 P.M~
Henry & his family came
back from Howedir
this evening for good,
Light N.W. & fine~
Light air & fine Weather;
I called on Henry at 8 am
& then came on board,
The SS. Mossul has arrived
this morning at about 7 am;
At 10 went to the Office to see
Mr. Bottomley, for a mistake
in Mr. Braine's pay of last month,
came home at 11;~
Henry called on us for an
hour; I took a warm bath,
Weather fine & not cold
at all, light S. Erly breeze;
At about 1 am, it became
Very Cloudy with thunder
lightning & then a heavy
rain Came down With
hail for about 1/2 hour
[pg: 51]
& then it cleared up~
In the morning it became
very foggy~ I called
on Sister Medula
at 8 Am, & then came on
board, the Streets are very
Swampy & Muddy~
At 11 went on shore called
on Henry for few minutes &
came home breakfasted and
at 2 P.M. came on board;
At 4 1/2 P.M. the S.S. Comet
arrived from Basreh with
Colonel & Mrs. Lock on board,
At 5 I went home;
Henry, Menusha & Louisa their
daughter came to see us, Menusha
& Louisa have not seen Eliza
my wife yet since she arrived
from Europe; Artin also called
they left at 7 1/2~
Fine Clear Weather;
Light N.W. & fine cold weather
at 8 1/2 am I came on board,
worked in shipping cargo;
At 12 am I went to breakfast
and came back at 1 P.M.
I finished Alexander's
[pg: 52]
letter, also one to Mr. Böhm
& one to Bazin Savon & Co
at Port Said & sent the 3
letters to the Post for Damascus
leaving this evening;
At 5 P.M. I finished work
and went home~ Light
N.W. & Cold weather~
The SS. Ressafah arrived
at 8 P.M.~
At 10 while we were asleep,
the Postman came & brought
us Alexander's letter having
arrived this evening, dated
the 26 Ulto; he is very well,
& complains of the weather
being so cold & foggy, the
temperature always at zero,
or freezing point; We also
received a Christmas Card
from Miss Tanner from
London~
Light N.W. & fine cold
weather~ at 5 1/2 Am
I came on board~
The river is stationary
there is no rise~
[pg: 53]
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 147 1/2 | 58,801 | 16,784 1/2 | 3,4 |
At 6,,10 Am we proceeded,
ship is light drawing 3 feet 4
having 60,000 Okes of Cargo;
At 8,,15 passed Diala river
At 9,,45 passed Ctesiphon,
Gave tickets & finished with
the passengers; We have
altogether 121 (5 in 1st
Class, Dr. Lubiez & his son
Leon the latter paying deck
fare, Mr. Hiles of Muir
Tweedy also paying deck
and two Turks to Coot,
Bekry Effendi Bimbashi &
Sehmy Efendi, & two in
2nd Class Christians) 2 Deck free
At 2,,15 P.M. landed
one passenger Iskender Aziz
at Swera, The S.S. Khalifah
is here just opposite the
Village at anchor on her
way up, & I suppose repairing
some thing in her Engines,
At 2,,20 we went on;
[pg: 54]
At 3,,25 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh Fort~
At 5,,30 passed Azizieh
Fine clear & cold weather;
Dr. Lubiez is going to
Constantinople in the Alphonse
Parran from Suez, having
been dismissed the Service
& recalled as well as Dr.
Malakïs of the Basreh
Quarantine, no one knows
for Certain the exact cause,
all the staff of the Basreh
quarantine have also been
dismissed;~
Mr. Richarz the German
Consul was on board the
Khalifah returning, there
were also the two German
travellers & Mr. Parfit the
English Missionary coming
back with his New wife
having been marrȋed~
At 7,,20 we anchored at
Toweel; Fine clear weather;
Light N.W. & little cloudy &
Cold weather~
At 6,,15 Am left Toweel
[pg: 55]
At 10 AM. passed Memlah,
At 0,,30 P.M. passed the SS.
Phrat going up~
At 2,,50 arrived at Coot,
landed 47 1/2 passengers (2
Turks in 1st Class)~ and 92
packages,
At 4 P.M. left Coot, took
5 passengers~
At 8,,15 anchored at Sheikh
Saad for the night~
Light N.W. & fine; at 6,,15
am proceeded, took 2 passengers
from Sheikh Saad; It
became cloudy all over
a thick fog passing high
above & covered the whole sky,
At 9,,40 Am anchored
off Ali Gherbi & landed two
passengers & 20 packages
At 10 we went on; Weather
cloudy still all over;
At 6,,15 P.m. arrived at Amara
landed 16 passengers and 66
Packages, cloudy dark
night~ we finished the
[pg: 56]
discharge & hauled out and
remained for the night being
partly cloudy;
Weather keeps cloudy on some
parts~ At 4,,30 AM. left
Amara; hazy overcast Weather
& light N.W. breeze~ Took
13 1/2 passengers;
Detained at the Elbow &
below it where a Boat has Sunk
3 months ago, from 9,,45 till
10,,20~
At 11,,45 passed Azair,
Cloudy still all over;
At 2,,40 P.M. Went Alongside
at Gorna landed 102 packages
and 2 passengers~
At 3,,10 the SS. Baghdad
left down~
At 3,,35 We left Gorna,
Cloudy all over & S. Erly breeze,
At 4,,10 we passed the
Baghdad going down;
There are thunders & lightning
ahead of us toward Basreh,
& over us, but upwards to
the Northern parts it is clear
& fine~
[pg: 57]
At 7,,5 we were obliged to Anchor
it became very dark cloudy
with thunder & strong lightning
& a heavy rain came down
we must be at the bottom of
Kteban reach; It kept on
raining for some time & remained
cloudy & dark.
At 10 we weighed & proceeded
the Baghdad had passed down,
At 11,,20 arrived at Basreh,
It rained all the night;
Light S. Erly breeze, cloudy gloomy
weather, It rains still with
short interruption till 8 am,
We are shipping cargo; &
taking coal, but are not
going to leave till tomorrow
at 8 1/2 it began to rain again
with dark misty weather;
the wind also freshened up
from S. Est;
Rezooki Sayegh came to
me, Roofail has returned
from Gorna about 10 days
ago; I gave Rezooki the
3 Arabic Manuscript
Books packed & sealed
[pg: 58]
to post them for Alexander
Via Bombay to try &
sell them for me in Paris
& will also give him the
4 lottery of the Rumelian
Railway which had costed
me 28 T Liras packed
& Registered for Alexander
to sell them there & buy
instead some of the Paris
Exhibition lottery for
1900 @ 1 Napoleon each,
the postage will be very
high on these two packets
but cannot do otherwise,
Rufail came at 1 P.M.
I then went up with him
to Jeboory Asfar, saw
his Wife & children and
his father Who have come
down in the Khalifah,
I also gave Jeboory a small
case of Dates (about 11 cartoons)
to be sent to Bazin Savon
at Port Said for their own
use as a present from
Me, and the case of
[pg: 59]
sweetmeats & Dates for
Alexander to be forwarded
by Bazin dirrect to Paris
also a small case of
Dates for Mr. Joseph
Kouri a present from me,
all these 3 cases are to go
by the Alphonse Parran
leaving on the 26th Instt;
I got from Jeboory the
case of shoes for Eliza
which she had bought in
Paris & came out in the
Alphonse Parran and
I sent it on board the
Mejidieh; we remained
till 6 P.M. the weather
changed, the wind shifted to
a sharp & cold N.W.
& got fine, we went to
Rufail's place, the ground
is very muddy & dirty
weather cold; we dined
& I slept there~
Modte Cold N.W. Wind
& fine~ At 8 1/2 AM
[pg: 60]
I came on board, We
are shipping cargo;
I caught a very bad cold
since this morning~
Rufail came to me, also
Ali Beg Saîb the Mudir of
Tapo & Hassan Effendi
the Mooday el Umum,
Rezooki Angoorly etc,
We finished loading at
about 1 P.M.~
Yousif Marine wrote to
me a letter from Shaebyeh
and tells me that he wants
a bill from Jeboory Asfar
for 200 francs payable
to Alexander my son
as a Christmas present
from him & sends me a
letter for Jeboory, I sent
it to him & he sent me
a Cheque on Asfar frères
at Marseilles for the 200
frcs payable to Alexander
which I will enclose in
my letter to him;
The Alphonse Parran
leaves on the 26th~ The
mail Str Patna is in
[pg: 61]
Quarantine~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 255 | 196,676 | 14,724 1/2 | 4,6 |
At 3,,40 P.M. we left
Basreh, ship is deep drawing
4.6 Inches;
At 10,,15 landed 3 passengers
at Gorna & went on at 3,,20
Fine clear weather~
At 3,,30 AM. passed Azair
At 4. dropped anchor and
at 6,,30 proceeded; Light
N.W. & fine cold weather
At 11.30 landed 7½ Passengers
at Kalat Saleh & went on
Finished with the passengers
tickets we have altogether
199½ (one in 1st Class the
Reverend Dr. Sturrock an
English Missionary Doctor
coming to replace Dr.
Sutton who is going to
England for about 2 years
and one in 2nd Class free
by Lynch, Shooker Effendi
the Mudir of Custum of
Abool Khassib)
[pg: 62]
At 5,,10 P.M. arrived
at Amara landed 24
passengers, Took in 10 Tons
of Coal; shipped some Hides
& wool about 3500 Okes~
There has been a lot of rain
fallen here yesterday~
At 7,,10 P.M. left Amara,
we anchored at 10 for 1/2 hour
on account of fog & left again,
weather got cloudy~
Light N.W. & Cloudy weather
all over~
At 7,,20 AM landed 4
passengers at Ali Gherbi
& went on at 7,,25~
Gave tickets to 32½ Amara
passengers (one in 1st Class
a Turk FatHi Effendi)
S.Erly wind & cloudy~
At 7 P.M. arrived at Coot
landed 17½ passengers~
Took in Coal 8 Tons~
The river has risen about 3
feet, but has not got in
[pg: 63]
the Haî river yet & there is no
water there not even for a
Bellem to go in, and Monsr.
De Sarzec with his wife &
son who came up in the
SS. Mossul last time, are
still living here awaiting
for the rise to go through
the Hai to Tello to resume
his excavation for the French
Government~
At 9 P.M. we left Coot, Fine
clear weather~
Light N.W., it got little foggy
& we lost some time in easying
& stopping~
At 4,,45 AM had to
anchor at Bughela a
thick fog came on~ The
SS. Mossul & Ressafah are
here on their way down
they carry Soldiers to go
to Kweit as there is a
disturbance there among
the Arabs, between the
followers of the Sheikh of
[pg: 64]
Kweit Moobarak el Subah
& his brother's sons, as
his brother Mahomed was
Killed by the former 2 years
ago, the Arabs have split
in two parts,~
At 9,,5 fog cleared off
We proceeded, also the two
Steamers Mossul & Ressafah
steamed down~
Gave tickets to 26 Coot
passengers~
At 9,35 passed Memlah
At 10,,40 passed the S.S.
Khalifah going down at
the bottom of Sheresh;
At 5,30 P.M. passed
Azizieh~
As today being Christmas
Francis Capt Cowley’s Butler
made a Cake for me, as he
does every year, for my son
Alexander, but now he
is not here to join with us.
Weather very fine & clear and
New moon two days old
[pg: 65]
At 9,,15 P.M. passed Baghdadieh
Fort; Light N.W. & fine;
Light N.W. & little cloudy~
At 6,,50 AM passed Ctesiphon
River is falling a little~ It
became fine & clouds cleared
off~
At 9,,5 passed Diala
river~
At 10,,15 I landed at
Gherrara & walked in, a
pleasant fine day & mild
weather I got home by 11 ½
saw Eliza she is well,
many people have called
on us for the Christmas;
The Damascus Post has not
arrived yet since last
thursday, it is now four
days overdue, & so have no
letter from Alexander;
Visitors & Priests called;
The Mejidieh arrived at
12 AM~
Henry called on us for an
hour; I went to visit
the Assyrian Bishop Aghnatius
[pg: 66]
but was at church, I
called on Sister Medula,
& on Henry saw his wife
only, came home, Antone
Marine his wife & children
called, also Johny & Artin
& they left at 7 P.M~
Strong N.W. wind blowing
all the night~
Strong N.W. wind, fine &
Very Cold Weather;~
At 8 1/2 AM I came on
board, the SS. Phrat is
inside discharging; It
is fearfully cold the wind
is cutting & blowing hard
At 10 I went to the Office
to see Mr. Bottomley for
some Money for Officer's
Pay; I then called on Sister
Eliza & came home at
12~ At 1 P.M. Eliza & I
called on Catterina Yaghchi
& on Alice & Sister Emilia
I then went to call on
[pg: 67]
Eliza Erame & my wife
went to my Sister Eliza,
I heard that the Damascus
Post arrived this afternoon;
the man that was sent
out from here to see about
it found the Postman
dead in the desert somewhere
between Hit & Saglawyeh
on this side of the Euphrates
and the camel standing
near the dead man & the
Mail Bag~
At 6 1/2 P.M. the Postman
brought me Alexander's letter
a registered one, also a letter
from Nessoory Sayegh; he
has advanced Alexander
500 frcs; Alexander sends
us lots of Christmas Cards
for Henry, Louisa, Antone
Marine, Alice, Johnny
& Sister Medula~
Light N.W. & very cold,
it very bitter & severe;
[pg: 68]
Light N.W. & bitterly cold,
all the jars pots etc are
frozen to solid ice, I
am so shivering from it,
the Thermor. in my Verandah
was 26 this morning,
At 8 1/2 AM I called on Henry
& read them Alexanders
letters etc; he has also written
to Henry; at 10 I came
on board; the Phrat is still
inside along the steps;
At 11 the Mejidieh went inside
to discharge & the Phrat hauled
out~ At 12 I went home
and at 2 1/4 P.M. Came on board
to pay the Ship's crew their
wages for this month;
At 3 1/2 P.M. went on shore
called on Mons. & Madm. Dallow
the Jewish School master &
came home, it is bitterly
cold, Henry called on us
also Artin & they left at 7
Very Cold & fine weather
I am trembling from it;
[pg: 69]
Light N.W. & fine very cold
and the water froze, I feel
it worse than ever my hands
& feet are like ice~ At
8 1/2 AM I came on board;
I recieved a letter from
Monseigneur Altmayer from
Mossul answering mine
from Aleppo of the 24th Septr.
Weather changed a light S.Erly
breeze is prevailing & became
cloudy all over~ At
10 AM I went home, and
returned at 2 P.M~
We shipped some cargo~ At
4 1/2 went on shore to Sister
Medula where Eliza & Terrooza
wife of Antone Marine were
there, we then left & went
to Antone's & spent the evening
it is very cold, although
the breeze is S. Est & getting
cloudy, we left at 7
Very Cold & I am shivering
from it~
[pg: 70]
Weather cloudy, gloomy &
a drizzling rain since last
night; at 8 1/2 AM. I came
on board; it is still very
cold the streets are very
muddy & rain continues,
I finished Alexander’s letter
I enclosed Yousif Marine’s
Cheque for him of 200 frcs,
on Asfar Marseilles; and
sent it to the Post & had it
registered to Paris, I told
Alexander every thing from the
20 Instt up till today~
Went to breakfast at 11 1/2, raining
still & streets very muddy
I returned at 12 1/2 & worked
hard We got a lot of cargo,
Weather very wet & rainy
Many people Persians have
taken the Cabins,~
At 5 P.M. I went home,
I feel the cold very bitterly,
weather very cloudy & dark
& the rain begun to come
down continually~
[pg: 71]
Weather cloudy & rain
continue all the night;
At 5 am I came on
board, the streets swampy
& muddy~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 298 ½ | 75,173 | 25,641 | 3,7 |
Very cloudy gloomy overcast
weather, rain ceased~
At 6,,30 am we proceeded
light N.W. breeze~
At 7,, we took our Pilot
Mahmood from Kerradah
& went on at 7,,5~ It begun
to rain with a fresh N.W wind
Detained from 8 till 8,,40
at Gherrara for the Bridge to
be opened; awfully cold
N.W. Wind & cloudy still;
At 9,,20 passed Diala,
awfully cold wind blowing,
I cannot write, my hand are
nearly frozen~
At 10,,45 passed Ctesiphon,
bitterly cold & very cloudy
I finished with the passengers
[pg: 72]
Tickets~ We have altogether
254 (6 1/2 Persians in 1st Class
in 3 Cabins, H. Assad Khan,
& friends, and 4 Indians in
The 2nd C. Cabin)
At about 3 P.M. Clouds begun
to break off a little & got a
little sunshine; weather
is getting fine~
At 3,,55 passed Baghdadieh
it is still as cold as ice
the wind is so cold & cutting
Weather again became cloudy
all over~
At 6,,5 P.M.passed Azizieh
at 6,,25 passed the Khalifah
at Brenij, we gave her three
cheers in the whistle for
the New Year;
At 7.50 we anchored at
Toweel; it is bitterly cold
and with some clouds~
The wind blew throughout the
night a S. Easter, I could
not get warm in bed
[pg: 73]
It begun to Snow after
midnight, a phenomena
for this part of the world &
a great rarity, I never saw
it like this but once some
25 years ago; The whole
desert, banks of the river and
brush wood are covered with
it so white & picturesque,
The weather is cloudy all
over or thick fog hanging
At 6,,10 am we left Toweel,
all along the banks the
snow is covered, the clouds
are clearing off, the breeze
is from South East~
At 9,,45 passed Memlah
at 10 landed a passenger at
Bughela & went on at 10,,5,
Clouds again came on & covered
all over;
At 2,,20 P.M. arrived at Coot
landed 33½ passengers and
59 Packages; weather cleared
off & have sunshine now
Here also a heavy fall of
snow took place this
[pg: 74]
morning at about 3 am
& it melted during the day
the ground is very wet;
Mons de Sarzec & his wife
& son are still here, they have
not gone to Tellò~
At 3,,40 we left Coot,
fine weather & breeze still
from S. East~ Took 7
passengers (one in 1st class
the Clerk of Hotz & co, Debono)
At 7,,50 anchored at Sheikh
Saad & landed 13 packages
and took 12 passengers for
Amara, weather very fine
and awfully cold~
Light N.W & fine weather
at 6 AM left Sheikh Saad,
Terribly cold freezing and
frost on the banks~*
At 8 passed the S.S. Ressafah
going up, having very few
passengers about a dozen,
The Lohristan Mountains
are all covered with snow;
At 9,,20 anchored off Ali
Gherbi and landed [illegible]
[pg: 75]
and 32 packages, Took 3
passengers and left at 9,,50
Awfully cold & sharp wind
I never felt so cold before
than what I have had in
these cold days, the Thermor.
in my cabin now stands
at 45˚ & everything closed;
At 5,45 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 45½ passengers
and 79 packages;~ Here
too they have had some snow
yesterday & the cold is just as
severe~ We took 4 Tons of
Coal~
At 7,,45 left Amara
it is still bitterly cold & I am
shivering from it;~ Fine clear
weather and moon 10 days
old~
At 11 anchored above
Kalat Saleh; very cold & sharp
N.W breeze all the night~
Light N.W & bitterly cold,
At 6,,5 am proceeded, gave
tickets to 22½ Amara passengers,
Detained at the Elbow from
7,,50 till 8,,15~
[pg: 76]
At 8,,20 passed the S.S.
Mossul bound up~
At 9,,40 passed Azair
At 0,,35 P.M. anchored alongside
at Gorna & landed 65 Packages
& 2 passengers,
At 1 proceeded; the cold
is still cutting the wind is so
cold~
At 5,,15 P.M. arrived at
Basreh; fine, clear & cold
weather; I did not go to Rufail
as it is too cold to get up in
the Belem, There is only one
Steamer here consigned to
Gray Mackenzie & Co the "Fresco"
having brought out large cargo
for our Steamers & is leaving
tomorrow for Bombay to load
there~ We coaled ship at
night & took some cargo~
Light N.W air & cloudy
gloomy weather~ We
shipping & discharging cargo,
Rezooki Sayegh called on me,
I wrote a letter to Alexander
in English of today's date to
be sent via Bombay
[pg: 77]
I enclosed him the duplicate
Cheque for 200 frcs which
his Uncle Yousif Marine sends
him as a Christmas present
also a copy of the letter which
Monseigneur Altmayer wrote
to me from Mossul~
The mail St. Assyria is in
Quarantine leaving on the 6th.
It cleared up about 11 AM
& became fine;~ The cold
keeps severe yet, I am feeling
it terribly I never felt it so in
my life as I did in these cold
days~
Yousif Marine & Rufail
came to me as well as Rezooki
Angoorly, Nessoory Andrea &
Rezooki Sayegh to whom I
gave Alexander's letter to be
posted~
[pg: 78]
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 136 ½ | 220,646 | 9,637 ¼ | 4,9 |
At 7,30 we got underway
from Basure, light N.W & fine
cold weather, moon 12 day
old, Ship is drawing 4 feet 8,
Weather keeps very cold
still,~
The troops which came
down last time in the Mossul
& Ressafah 1200 men are
encamped on the opposite side
of the river at Lebany, and it
is probable that they will not
be sent down the Gulf to Kweit
& Katif as the Sheikh of Kater
Jassim el Thani has forwarded
to the Turkish Government
his submission~
At 1,,20 AM landed one
passenger at Gorna & took
one & went on~
At 6 passed Azair~
Weather became foggy like
clouds up above, it is bitterly
cold, it icreased all oround
us enveloped with the fog,
Finished with the passengers
[pg: 79]
tickets~ We have in all
96 (2 in 2nd Class; Nessoory the
son of Ilo & his sister, & one in
1st Class the Clerk of Kassim
Khedery paying 2nd Class)
At 0,,45 landed 2 passengers
at Kalat Saleh;
At 5,,55 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 15 passengers
and 2 Bales of through Baghdad
Cargo; Took in 10 Tons of Coal;
Shipped cargo (210 Tins Ghee
& 35 packages Skins etc)
At 8,,25 P.M. left Amara,
weather became cloudy
all over like fog;
S. Ely breeze, cloudy all over
Gloomy weather and raining
since midnight, the banks
are all wet
Gave tickets to 18½ Amara passengers
At 8,,30 stopped at
Ali Gherbi & took 5 passengers
and went on at 8,45~
It kept on having raining drizzly
nearly the whole day, weather
very cloudy & gloomy dark
[pg: 80]
with wind getting strong
by 3 P.M from the S. East,
It begun to rain again at, 4 P.M,
& kept it till night; it is awfully
wet, all the ship is so saturated
with water, the weather is very
cloudy & overcast, if it had not
been for the moon, we could
not have gone on~
at 8,,50 P.M. arrived at
Coot still raining; S. Est wind
landed 9 passengers, Took
19 Tons of Coal; Mons De Sarzec
sent to tell me that he wants to
to go up to Baghdad being ill
& if there is a Cabin for him;
he came only himself to go
up; his wife & son remain
at Coot;
At 11,,25 we left Coot,
Cloudy gloomy weather;
Light S. Ely Cloudy gloomy
overcast weather~
At 7,,30 am 7,,30 passed Memlah
Gave tickets to 17 Coot passengers
(2 in 1st Class Mons De Sarzec
and a Turkish Officer Husny
[pg: 81]
Effendi)~ Raining drizzly
all the time & very wet, this
is a very long & heavy rain
which kept it since the night
before last~
The S.S Phrat was at Coot
last night when we were there
she has also Troops about
400 taking down to Basreh,
At 10,,25 passed the
S.S. Mossul & Barge going up
at Sheresh~ Weather getting
foggy on the surface of the river
so thick that the banks can
scarcely be seen, no wind
to drive it away;
At 10,,45 it became so
thick the fog that nothing
could be seen at all and
we kept along the bank;
At 2 P.M. the fog lifted up
& a modte cold N.W breeze
blew, but it remained very cloudy
& dark~
At 4,,5 P.M. passed Azizieh
a heavy shower fell for few
minutes clouds are breaking
up a little on the North
& Eastern hemispheres,
[pg: 82]
The river has risen about
3 feet since we came down;
At 6½ it begun to rain
& weather got very cloudy
& gloomy;
At 8 P.M. passed Baghdadieh
Light N.W cloudy all over
& overcast~ at 5,,15 am
we anchored below Hudeitha
At 7,,30 proceeded still foggy
At 7,,45 passed the S.S.
Khalifah at anchor at
Hudeitha on account of
fog; at 8,,50 we also
anchored at Ctesiphon; The
Khalifah is close astern of us;
cold & chilly with modte N.W
wind & thick fog~
At 8,50 it got little better we
proceeded from Ctesiphon;
Detained at Jaffer in crossing
to the East bank from 10,,15
to 10,,30; still foggy and
cloudy;~ it became awfully
cold from 10 am the Thermometer
[pg: 83]
went down to 38° by noon
& keeps foggy & misty a very
exceptional weather, we have
had no sunshine for the last
three days;
At 12 passed Diala river
At 1,,20 P.M. landed a
Deckman at Gherrarah;
Weather getting fine and
the the fog clearing off,
At 3,,30 landed mails at
the Residency & went up to the
Custum House, the SS. Phrat
& Baghdad are inside; I
went home the streets are most
fealthy & muddy I never saw them
in such a state; I saw Eliza
she is well; found letters for
me from Alexander, the
Bishop Bassil of Damascus
& Nessoury Sayegh, all arrived
on Sunday the 2nd Instt;~
Weather has been here very
severe cold, snow and
rain, fogs & dampness such
as has not been seen for
a century~
[pg: 84]
Light N.W. & foggy, it cleared off
at 8 AM. The Mossul arrived
at 4 ½ AM. I went to the
Latin Church; I called to see
and congratulate the Superior
Père Marie Joseph whose
Celebration of his 40th Anniversary
Year in Baghdad took place
on 6th Instt with great ceremony
& the French Vice Consul
Mons Ronet had written &
obtained for him the Palmes
d’Officier d’Académie from
the french Government~
I also visited Habib Chiha,
Asfars, Antone Marine,
Sister Medula & came
home at 12;
Today is the Coronation
day (16th of Shaban) of the
Sultan Abdulhamid,
All the Consuls etc paid
Official Visits to the Waly
Atta Allah Pasha &
the Commander in Chief
Rejeb Pasha etc etc
[pg: 85]
Johny & his son Antone remained
& breakfasted with us, while
we were at Table, the Postman
came bringing me Alexander’s
letter of the 17 Decr which
arrived today (3 days later
it was due on Thursday) I
also received a letter from
Effie my niece from Cairo
(Mrs. Boucherot) and a
Christmas Card from Colonel
& Mrs. Mockler from London,
Alexander complains much
at the way his mother spoke
to me about him, he is touched
very much, of what I related
to him in my letter of the 18
Novr,~
Called on Eassayis with
Johny & then went to his
house saw Sister Eliza,
& also on Alice & Emilia
& I came home at 5 P.M
the streets are very muddy,
the weather keeps very
cloudy misty & no sun
at all, every thing is wet
[pg: 86]
the house & rooms are very
wet, we have never seen
such a weather yet in
Baghdad, it is like Europe;
Very light air & cold
weather, foggy & misty,
at 8 ½ AM I called on Menusha
Henry’s wife, & then came
on board, sent money to
the Office; while on board
Eliza sent to tell me that
a telegram has just come
from Alexander Paris &
wants to come home quick,
I went at 11 AM & found
this telegram dated the
7th Instt.
Svoboda Baghdad
Obtenu Situation dette
Publique Caire départ
necessaire 25 Janvier
repondez~
I was astonished to see
such a message, how
could I possibly let him
[pg: 87]
accept such a situation
without first knowing
on what condition & how
& who has asked him, or if
he has been applying for
it; We made up our mind
to send him this reply
Svoboda
22 Rue Duroc, Paris
Attendons maniere,
propositions poste,
Déféréz moment~
But the servant came
back to say that the line
is interrupted~ Antone Marine
& Artin my nephew came
in the evening, their opinion
was that this situation for
Alexander is a beneficial
one & should let him accept
it, but my telegram is
good & better to receive
first all particulars by
letter;~
Very cloudy & misty all
the time, it wont clear up
[pg: 88]
& very cold too~
Calm & thick fog and
mist, very dampy~
At 8 ½ AM called on Sister
Medula & then came on
board, we are still outside
the Baghdad is now gone
inside~ I sent my
telegram to Alexander
of 12 words & paid 7 frcs,
but the line is not working
perhaps tomorrow or
later, but it was left
with them~
I went home at 11, weather
keeps very cloudy & foggy
the whole day & it is very wet
& chilly~ At 2 P.M. Sister Medula
Menusha her daughter Louisa came
to us, also Alice with my
nieces Terrooza & Regina the
daughters of Sister Eliza,
also Michail Yaghchi called
& stayed till 5 P.M~
Very cloudy still we have
[pg: 89]
had no sun for the last
week or so~
The SS. Ressafah left at 10 AM
Light N.W. & foggy, the fog
is passing on & the sun
come out for few minutes
& it again became thick,
At 8 ½ AM I came
on board; the Mejidieh
is inside discharging;
At 11 I went home, weather
Keeps very cloudy & overcast
no sun & is very cold,
I called on Yacoob Pahlawan’s
family & at 2 P.M. Came
on board; We are shipping
& discharging cargo;
At 4 ½ P.M went home it is
raining drizzly for ½ hour;
At 7 it cleared off & became
fine~
Light N.W. & fine clear weather,
the first day we have seen
the sun & very cold~
At 8 ½ AM I came on
board, The S.S. Baghdad
left at about 7 ½ AM
[pg: 90]
I finished Alexander's letter
for today's post & enclosed for
him copies of N. Sayegh's letter
& mine to him~ I also
wrote to Miss Tanner from
my wifes part, & N. Sayegh's
letter~
At 11½ went to breakfast
& returned at 1 P.M; I sent the
letters to the Post Office & got the
one for Alexander registered,
We finished at 4½ P.M.
I went home~ Weather getting
cloudy a little~
Light air & cloudy weather
At 5½ AM I came on board
and learnt that the Steamer
will not leave till 9 AM.
on account of 7 Bundles of
Wool belonging to Lynch
which were shipped for
Amara last evening &
no pass had been taken from
the Custum House by Lynch's
man & they were taken on
shore, these bundles of wool
are to be pressed at Amara
[pg: 91]
in Lynch's Press by Tom
Tartt, Jejo Moorad and
the Blacksmith Rezooki
Georgis who are going down
with us to taste the Press,
by order from Lynch in
London, & we are to await
until the Custum House
people come to let us have
them; I went back home,
took Tea with Eliza and
came back at 8, cloudy
all over gloomy & foggy;
We could not get the 9 Bundles
of wool, the Custum House head
Clerk would not come because
it is friday so we leave without
them~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 138 | 119,461 | 19,289 ¼ | 3.10 |
At 10,,10 AM we left Baghdad
clouds breaking up and
getting fine a little N.W.
breeze; ship is light 3 feet 2
Weather cleared up by 10 &
became fine~
[pg: 92]
Gave tickets to the Passengers
We have altogether 113½
(6 in 1st Class; 3 Persians in
one large Cabin; Mons De Sarzec
returning to Coot, Mr. Ricky
an English Merchant of
Manchester who had come up
in the Afghanistan, and Tom
Tartt returning to Basreh
but will land at Amara,
and one in 2nd Class free
Khalaf Agha Mamoor of the
Custum House) we have also
two men from Lynch's Office
Jejo ibn Moorad & Rezooki
Georgis to Amara;
At 0,,15 P.M. passed Diala
At 0,,45 we rounded and
went alongside the bank
below Jaffer on West bank
to ship 1100 Bags of mash
of Eassa Khdery to Basreh
@ 5 GSP. per Bag of 80 Okes
At 3,,35 P.M. we finished
taking in the Mash having
shipped only 850 Bags~ We
left Jaffer & proceeded;
At 4,,35 passed Ctesiphon
[pg: 93]
At 7,,10 P.M. we anchored
at Ledje reach; fine clear
night & light N.W. breeze;
Light N.W. & very thick fog,
At 9,,10 fog cleared off, we
proceeded from Ledje;
(We have 18 persons free
in all, 10 men working for Amara
with Jejo Moorad & Rezooki &
others for Coot & Basreh by
S Lynch & co)~
At 12 AM passed Baghdadieh
Fort; fine clear weather,
At 1,,50 P.M. met the Khalifah
coming up at Raddat,
We stopped & sent 2 passengers
who wanted to return to
Baghdad the Mamoor Khalaf
Agha with free 2nd Class
ticket & his man; I sent
a letter to Henry, we went
on at 1,,50~
At 2,,10 PM. landed two
passengers at Azizieh;
went on at 2,,15,
[pg: 94]
My Assistant Clerk
Metty Yacoob, who was
put in my place during
my 6 months absence to
Europe, with an increase of
pay of 50 Beshlics per month
making his pay to 180 Besh.
and 90 Besh per month as
messing money, and after
my arrival to Baghdad, my
brother Henry had taken
leave of 2 months to go to
Hwedir, Metty was also
put in his place with the
same pay, until this trip
when Henry has gone back
to his ship, and Metty
returned to his place on
board here, drawing his
former pay of 130 Besh.
only per month~*
At 7,,15 passed Memlah
At 7,,55 anchored at Hamrayah
weather getting cloudy with
light S. Erly breeze;
Light S. Erly breeze, very cloudy
gloomy and raining drizzly
[pg: 95]
At 6,,20 AM we left Hamraya
Weather very cloudy & overcast
At 8,,30 grounded at the
bottom of Um el Ajaj, took an
anchor out & hove off and
went on at 9;~ Weather
rainy & cloudy~
At 11,,35 arrived at Coot,
landed 23½ passengers (Mons.
De Sarzec in 1st Class Cabin) and
95 packages; They have had
lots of rain here the ground is
very muddy~
At 1,,30 P.M. left Coot,
took 6 passengers~
At 4,,30 passed the Phrat
& Barge in tow bound up;
Very cloudy misty & gloomy
weather;
At 5,,50 we anchored at
Aboo Dood (below Sheikh Saad)
for the night, still daylight but
cloudy all over~ At 8 P.M.
it cleared up & became very
fine~
Light N.W. & fine clear
Weather & sunshine~
[pg: 96]
At 9,,20 landed Eleven
packages at Ali Gherbi and
went on at 9.35~
At 5,,35 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 24 passengers
and 31 packages; also 14
men of Lynch's (Mr. Tom
Tartt, Jejo Moorad, Rezooki
Georgis & 10 men to try the
Wool Press & return with
us~
At 7,,20 we left
Amara, fine clear weather,
and very cold~
At 10,,45 anchored above
Kalat Saleh~
Light N.W. & fine very cold,
freezing, At 6,,20 AM we
proceeded, the banks are
covered with frost & bitterly
cold~ The SS. Baghdad and
Barge are ahead of us going
down~ At 7¼ we passed
her~ Gave tickets to 18½ Amara
[pg: 97]
passengers
At 9,,40 passed Azair;
I have made a fire in my Cabin
in a small Iron mankal which
I bought in Baghdad, this is the
first time I have ever had fire
in my Cabin, the Thermometer
went up from 45 to 62˚~
At 0.25 P.M landed 24 Packages
and 2 passengers at Gorna,
went on at 1 P.M;~
At 3,,50 passed the SS.
Ressafah & Barge going
up at Kteban;
At 4,,50 arrived at Basreh
no steamers are here; The
mail Str Simla and the
Persian Str King Arthur are in
the Quarantine~ I went
up in Rufail's Belem called
on Jeboory Asfar for an hour,
there was his father Hannosh
& Naoom Loca & then went
up to Rufail's house where
Yousif Marine was there,
on our arrival at Basreh
I received a telegram sent
[pg: 98]
to me from Lynch Brothers’
Office, it is from my son
Alexander an answer to
my telegram I had sent
him on the 10th Instt; this was
transmitted to me from
Baghdad; it says~
“Différé Moment Fin
Fevrier~"
All here advise me to let him
go after I receive the full
particulars of this situation
in Cairo if advantageous;
I was so restless all the
night thinking about Alexanders
project of wishing to go to
Cairo~
Light N.W. & fine cold morning
At 8 AM I came down to
the Mejidieh; We are discharging
and loading ship;
The SS. Baghdad arrived last
night at about 7 P.M~
The weather has not been
so cold here throughout the day
[pg: 99]
The Turkish man of aur arrived
Yesterday from Katif bringing
back the Nakib Seyd Rejeb
Effendi who had gone down
to settle the disturbance between
Jassem el Thany & the Sheikh
of Kwet; the Turkish Troops
of about 1200 are still encamped
here on the opposite side at
Lebany waiting for Orders;
Rufail, Rezooki Angoorly,
Nessoory Andrea & Rezooki
Sayegh came to me & stayed
till sunset~
At 7 P.M. we finished loading
Cargo~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 238 | 261,148 | 14,533 ¾ | 5,,1 |
At 7.35 P.M got underway
& proceeded; fine clear weather,
Ship is very deep, drawing
5 feet of water;
At 1,,50 AM. landed one
passenger at Gorna~
[pg: 100]
At 7 passed Azair~
Modte N.W. & fine clear weather
Finished with the passengers
Tickets;~ The river has risen
here about~
At 1 P.M. landed 2 passengers
At Kalat Saleh & took 2
& went on at 1,,5~
We have altogether 157½
passengers (4 in 1st Class
the Hejjyeh Khejjeh Khan widow
of Shekh Jaber of Mahomerah
& her companion also the
widow of Sheihk Jaber, being
the daughter of Aziz Agha, who
went down with us on 2 Decr;
Also Mr. Cree the Clerk of Blockey
returning as he had gone down
in the Khalifah, and Mr. Mayle
Clerk of Muir Tweedie or the
Persian Gulf Trading Copy both
these are paying deck
fare & occupy 2 Cabins in
1st Class; & 3 Indians in
2nd Class)~
At 6,,45 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 19 1/2 passengers
and 6 packages (2 Bales
[pg: 101]
of through Bombay cargo)~
We took in 10 Tons of Coal;
At 9 P.M. left Amara
fine weather;~
Light N.W. breeze & very fine
cold weather & frosty~
Gave tickets to 3 Amara
passengers~ (Mr. Tom Tartt,
Jejo Moorad & 5 workmen
returning with us also)~
An old Indian woman
died last night on board
At 10,,20 AM landed one
passenger and the dead body
at Ali Gherbi & went on
at 10,,30~
Air shifted to a light S. Erly,
At 1,,15 P.M. passed
the S.S. Mossul & Barge going
down, having some Troops
and field Guns on board,
At 3,,30 P.M. we grounded
At Aboo Dood, had to heave
her off with a bower Anchor
and left at 4,,30~
At 5,,5 landed 3 passengers
[pg: 102]
at Sheikh Saad & went
on at 5,,10~
Light N.W. or Calm and
fine weather;
At 6,,40 we passed the SS.
Khalifah going down, I
have all the letters & Papers for
her, which I was leaving at
Amara last night, if it had
not been for AbdulKadur
Khdery who told me that she
will leave this morning as
a telegram had come from
the Mushir Pasha to the
Agent of the Senyeh saying so,
I knew at Basreh that
our time of departure from
Baghdad had been altered in
future to be every thursday
& must arrive at Basreh on
Saturday so as to catch the
Mail leaving on Sunday
for Bombay & has to await
for the arrival of the mail on
Tuesday & bring it up, that
is What Colonel Lock
had telegraphed down
[pg: 103]
and I read it~
At 11.15 P.M. passed
the SS. Ressafah & Barge
going up~
At 0,,45 AM arrived at Coot
landed 13 passengers; Took
15 Tons of Coal; many people
came wanting Cabins,
The German traveller Professor
Dr. Sachau, the friend
of Mr. Richarz returning from
Babylon via Shetra, and
Capt Cowley gave him the Cabin
which Francis the Butler
now occupies, also Khorshid
Effendi the Ex KaimaKam
Of Shetra & his family &
an other Turkish Officer
have occupied the Quarter
Deck Aft~
The Ressafah arrived at about
2 AM,
At 4.20 AM left Coot,
a very cold morning freezing
on the decks but the wind
is very light~
Gave tickets to 47 1/2 Coot
passengers (one in 1st Class
[pg: 104]
Professor Dr. Sachau
the German traveller & 5 followers
Zaptyes & Kawass & servants)
Khorshid Effendi & four
Women & Dr. Sarkis in the
Turkish Service are aft on
the quarter Deck with screens
rigged up for them paying
@ 1 1/2 Deck passage~
At 9.30 were detained
At Umel Ajaj in shoal water
could not pass, & while
there the big boat got a
hole knocked out in
her bottom by the rudder;
and begun to fill in; We repaired
her after anchoring & finished
by 11 ½; and tryed to get
over the Shoal, we went
alongside the West bank and
hauled the Launch out on
the bank to be repaired;
At 3 P.M. the S.S. Ressafah
came up and passed without
stopping taking close along
the Eastern bank~
At 5,,30 we finished and
[pg: 105]
proceeded from Umel Ajaj~
Very cold & fine weather
Light N.W. & fine Cold weather,
At 4 AM passed the Ressafah
on her way up~
At 8 passed Azizieh Village
River is falling;
At 0.20 P.M. passed Baghdadieh
Fort, very calm weather;
River is falling, about
2 feet;.
I saw new moon this
evening but it is new moon
yesterday by the Almanack;
Tomorrow is the fȋrst of
Ramazan the fasting month
A light S. Erly breeze came on
at sunset & begun to get Cloudy,
At 6,,30 we landed the Shoal
at Ledj & Could not pass, so
we anchored & sent to sound,
At 7.40 proceeded; it is
getting cloudy;
[pg: 106]
At about 2 AM passed
Ctesiphon; at 3,,15 we came
to the Shoal at Gusseiba &
anchored, weather cloudy
& S. Ely wind, We lost
about an hour below Ctesiphon
having grounded & hove off with
an anchor~
At 6,,30 we left Gusseiba;
At 9,,5 passed Diala river,
at 10,,35 landed a Deckman
at Gherrara with letters. I
could not land to walk in
as my feet are sore and
am suffering the chillblain
all my toes pain me &
swollen from the cold
Strong S. Erly wind and
cloudy~
At 1,,10 P.M. landed the
mails at the Residency & went
to the Custum House, the SS.
Phrat is alongside loading
& will leave tomorrow;
I went home found Eliza well,
I found two letters from
Alexander of the 24 & 31 Decr
[pg: 107]
both had arrived the day before
by Damascus Post; Alexander
mentions in his first letter
about his Situation at Cairo
that he had made the acquaintance
of Sherif Beg son of Moossa
Kadem Pasha who called
on us when we were in Paris
& while him & Ibrahim Gejou
were at his place, they met
the son of a Serkis Pasha
who is in Paris studying to
be a Doctor in Law, & he proposed
this Situation to Alexander
that he shall speak to
Nubar Pasha the former
Prime Minister of Egypt &
now in Paris retyred and
living on his large fortune,
I also received letters from
J. Bőhm, Rezooki Korkis etc
Johny & Artin called
in the evening for an hour
Very strong S. Erly wind
blowing awfully~
[pg: 108]
Strong S. Erly wind blowing
to half a gale~
At 8 am I called on Antone
Marine, his wife has
been confirmed of a son on
Saturday last the 15th Instt
they are thinking of calling him
Philip;
At 9 I came on board, the
river is very rough
& wind awfully strong;
We are discharging the
cargo into the Barge, as
the Phrat has not left
yet; At 10 I went to the Office
for some money etc. Mr. Bottomley
told me that we cannot
leave on thursday as the
ship cannot be discharged
& so will have to leave on
Friday;~ I called on Sister
Eliza & on Alice & Emilia
& came home at noon,
At 2 P.M. called on Menusha
& on Sister Medula &
[pg: 109]
Came home at 4, and
took a warm bath~ Weather
still very cloudy & S. Erly
wind~ The Ressafah has
arrived at about 5 P.M
S Erly wind & cloudy weather
all over overcast~ At
8½ am I went to see Edward
Blockey but he was asleep,
he was at a party given
by the English community at
Alfred Holland’s house till
late this morning~ I then
called on Sister Eliza and
at 9 went to Mr. Richarz
the German Consul with
my Passport to & Heimatschine
to have copies made
of them & legalized so as to
send them to J. Bőhm
at Vienna to try and
obtain a Passport for
my son Alexander, and
also to certify my Passport
as usual every year
[pg: 110]
I saw Dr. Hesse the
Chancellier who was sent
for from his house and I
gave him my Passport and
Heimatschine, and he promised
to let me have them next
trip when I come back;
I came on board at 10
the Mejidieh is alongside
discharging, the Phrat
left this morning;
At 11 went home, Sisters
Eliza & Emilia also Alice
called on us, I left them at
home & came on board at
2 p.m. worked in shipping
cargo, there is a lot of galls
skins & wool etc~
A Circular from Mr. Richarz
came round anouncing the
Birthday of the Emperor of Germany
tomorrow the 27th & will hold
a reception from 8 till 10
p.m. (as being a Ramadan
& the Turkish Officials are fasting)
At 5 p.m. I went home
Antone Marine called on us
[pg: 111]
in the evening for an hour;
S. Erly wind but fine~
Wind shifted to a sharp cold
n.w. wind & became fine,
At 8 1/2 AM I came on board,
I closed Alexander's letter, also
for Effie my niece; Blanche
Alexander's wife & Coll Mockler
At 11 1/2 went to breakfast,
saw Tooza widow of Georgis Asfar
then~ At 12 1/2 I came on
board~ We finished discharging
& loading by 4 p.m~
Weather got again cloudy,
but the wind is n. wester;
The river has fallen very
low; nearly to its lowest
level & current dead almost;
Today being the Birth
day of the Emperor of Germany
William, II, Mr. Richarz
is holding an Official reception
this evening from 8 to
10 p.m.; the Comet has
dressed ship; he sent his
Circular to all his protegées
[pg: 112]
& German subjects; he makes
it in the evening because
it is the Ramadan fasting
month on account of the
Turkish Officials~
At 5 p.m. I went home;
Took Eliza & went to Alice
with our dinner & we dined
with them, Johnny & Artin
came to spend the evening,
at 8 1/2 I went to call on
Mr. Richarz; the Turkish Band
was there playing, and great
many people called, the
Europeans; the Wali Atta
Allah Pasha, the Mushir
Rajah Pasha; Mr. Mashkow
the Russian Consul; Mons
Ronet the french Consul &
Colonel Lock & Dr. Ramzey
& Capt Baumont of the Comet
came while I was there,
At 10 I left, came to Alice
took Eliza & came home,
Richarz has had a supper
and a dance afterward
[pg: 113]
and some ladies went as
Danon & his wife; Ezra
Daniel & his wife & Dr.
& Mrs. Sutton etc~
Fine cold weather;
Light n.w. & fine cold weather
At 5 1/4 am I came on
board~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 99 | 135,279 | 20,801 1/4 | 4,,0 |
At 6.10 am we proceeded,
ship drawing 4 feet~
At 8.30 passed Diala river
Cold morning;
At 10 passed Ctesiphon;
we have in all 75 1/2 passengers
(2 in 1st Class Jews, & 2 Mahomedan
women in 2nd Class) Besides
we have 21 persons free,
Tom Tartt in 1st Class, & 18 men
for the Dock to work in the
Mejidieh & 2 Mossully women,
At 2.55 P.M. passed the
SS. Baghdad & Barge going up
At 3,,25 passed Baghdadieh
Fort~
[pg: 114]
At 5,,40 passed Azizieh-
Very cold wind & fine weather;
At 7,,30 we rounded and
came to at Toweel for the night,
modte N.W. & fine cold weather,
At 1,,30 AM. the Khalifah came
up, she stopped and sent us the
through specie, as she did not
catch the mail steamer, she
had left on Sunday morning
for Mahomerah & the mail
was only sent down to her in
G. Mackenzies steam launch, the
Khalifah having arrived on
Sunday evening, and left
on Tuesday evening and the
mail steamer had not arrived
then; I recieved Henry's letter
the Khalifah has 236,043 Okes
cargo; and Jew passengers about
60~ Very cold weather
At 6,,15 am we left Towil;
very cold weather, water has
frozen on deck~
At 9,,50 passed Memlah
At 11,,15 grounded, got off with
an anchor & went on at 0,,15
P.M.~ Still very cold
[pg: 115]
I am so shivering;
At 3,,30 P.M. arrived at
Coot landed 24 passengers
and 1 free & 75 packages~
Mr. De Sarzec with his wife
& son are still living here,
there is no water in the Hye
river to go down to Shatra
& Tallow~
At 4,,30 we left Coot, took
13 1/2 passengers;~
At 8,,35 we anchored at Aboo
Dood for the night; Light n.w.
& fine cold night~
Light n.w. & fine cold morning
At 6.30 am we proceeded
At 8 passed the SS. Mossul
& Barge going up~
At 9,,20 passed Ali Gherbi;
At 5,,45 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 20 1/2 Passeng.
and 53 Packages; They have
had lots of rain here a few
days ago until yesterday;
We took 4 Tons of Coal,
[pg: 116]
At 7,,30 we left Amara,
fine clear weather & moon light
night 8 days old~
At 11 we anchored above Kalat
Saleh~
Light n.w. & fine cold weather,
At 6.30 am we proceeded~
Gave tickets to 8 Amara
passengers (one in 1st Class, Perter
Effendi an employé in the Règie)
At 10 passed Azair~
At 0,,45 p.m. passed Gorna
Detained 10 minutes in Maghil
to get men, workmen Indians
to come down to do some work
in the Blosse Lynch~
At 4.50 we rounded and
went along side the Blosse
Lynch on the other side of
the river; I found my cabin
there very dirty & uncomfortable
no table to put my desk on,
the keys are all common made
here, & most of the cabins have
no keys; she is already
loaded with cargo~ I did
not go on shore to Rufail
as I am busy with the
[pg: 117]
shifting & taking down my
Kit~
Rufail & Rezooki came to
me & spent the evening till 10 P.M.
the mail str Karbella has left
yesterday morning, and the
next mail is due here tomorrow,
There is 10 days Quarantine
now established on all comers
from Bombay & other parts of
India, the Plague there has
increased in Bombay about
400 deaths per week;~
Light n.w. & fine cold and
frosty morning~ I began
early to shift my Kit to the
Blosse Lynch, my Kit does
not contain in the cabin, it
is so narrow & very uncomfortable
We are not leaving today,
the men are working in
altering the chocks forward
it is too high to weigh the
anchor;~
At 1 p.m. Yousif Marine & Rufail
came alongside & I went with
them to Basreh, Yousif
[pg: 118]
got the fever & shivering while
going in, we went to Angoorlee's
saw Tookyeh there & her little
son Yousif about 11 months old;
I then called on Terrooza the
wife of Nessoary Andrea &
then when to Angoorlee's shop
for some Kit I bought &
came back to Angoorlee's house
we had Tea & at 3 1/2 p.m. we
left Yousif also coming with
us, we came off to the Blosse
Lynch, people are still shifting
Kit from the Mejidieh, at
5 we crossed up to Jeboory
Asfar, but Yousif went up to
Rufails place as he has still
the fever & shiver, we stayed
there till 7 Oclock; the SS.
Baluchistan arrived in Bushire
this afternoon;~
I dined at slept at Rufail;
Light n.w. & fine cold weather
Light n.w. & fine cold weather
but so severe as before~
At 8 1/2 AM I came on board
with Rezooki~ We are lightning
the ship she was too deeply
[pg: 119]
loaded for this State of the
river;
At 10 1/2 AM the Mejidieh
left for Maghil to be docked
(Mr. Holdway our 3rd Mate who
has been shifted to go up the
Karoon to command the SS.
Shushan plying between
Ahwaz & Shushter as her
Captain, Mr. Plant is going
to England on a 6 months
leave) Mr. Holdway took the
Mejidieh up to Maghil, Mr.
Tom Tartt & Mr. Barlow
are to superintend the work;
Rufail came to me & passed
the day; also Rezooki Angoorly
Ali Beg Mudeer Tapo & Hassan
Effendi Mudai Umoom &
other Turks, they came also
to see the three Employes of
the Sennyeh going to establish
the headquarter of their Office
at Amara instead at
Basreh as it was until now,
They are the Inspector newly
arrived from Constple & came
down in the Khalifah with
the Assisstant my friend
[pg: 120]
Ibrahim Effendi who was
in Baghdad head Clerk of
the Sennyeh & Zekki Effendi
from here the Engineer of
the Sennyeh these 3 are
in 1st Class;
Weather is very mild &
not cold at all~ We have
two mails to take up of
last week & of the Khalifah,
our mail has not arrived
yet but I heard that she
is Aground at Faô~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 122 1/2 | 132,727 | 8,805 1/4 | 4,,4, |
At 4,,30 P.M. got underway
and proceeded; steamer
drawing 4 feet 4 Inches
Detained 10 minutes at
Maghil landing some men
of the working gang~
The Blosse is steaming
faster than the Mejidieh,
At 10,,50 passed Gorna
[pg: 121]
Light N.W. & fine weather,
At 3.30 AM passed Azair
At 3.40 anchored~
At 6 proceeded, Fine Weather
& calm not so cold~
We have altogether 71 1/2 Passengers
(4 in 1st Class the three people
of the Sennyeh, & Rabka the
wife of Eassayi, and one
in 2nd Class the Taboor Aghassy
Sherif Beg to Amara)
At 0,,15 P.M. landed 1 passenger
at Kalat Saleh;
At 4 P.M. arrived at Amara
landed 38 passengers with
the 3 1st Class of the Sennyeh
and one 2nd Class~
We shipped cargo, Ghee & hides,
about 7000 Okes, & took in 10 Tons
of Coal;
At 6,,10 we left Amara,
Light N.W. & fine weather,
it is not cold at all,~
Light N.W. & fine,~ At 5 AM
landed one passenger at Ali
Gherbi & took one & went on
at 5,,5~
[pg: 122]
At 7,,35 passed the SS. Ressafah
& Barge going down~
Gave tickets to 27 1/2 Amara Passengers,
Light S. Erly breeze & few light
clouds;
At 10,,15 landed 2 passengers
at Sheikh Saad & went on
at 10,,20~
I paid the Ship's company's
wages for Jany~
There is a rise in the river of
about 2 feet~ Weather is
getting bad, strong S. Erly wind
and cloudy thretening
weather~
At 4,,35 P.M. arrived at Coot
landed 10 1/2 passengers and
1 Bale~ Took in 10 Tons of
Coal; The son of Mr. De Sarzec
came to see me his name is
Henry, they are still here awaiting
for the rise of the river~
At 6,,20 we left Coot, the
wind shifted to light N.W. &
it begun to rain a little;
At 8,,45 anchored, it is still
raining lightly & cloudy but
not so dark~
[pg: 123]
At 9,,15 proceeded,
Light N.W. & fine weather~
At 3,,15 AM passed Memlah
At 6,,45 met the Khalifah coming
down at Deboony, we stopped
and sent the through specie of her
upward trip & ours;~
At 7,,15 we proceeded; I got a
letter from Henry, saying that they
left yesterday morning having
79,000 Okes Cargo; & 115 1/2 passengers
I gave tickets to 22 1/2 Coot
passengers~
Weather very mild & calm;
At 7,,45 we passed the S.S.
Baghdad & Barge going down;
At 11,,50 passed Azizieh,
At 3,,5 P.M. passed Baghdadieh,
River is falling again,
At 4,,40 landed a passenger
(booked for Baghdad) at Swera
Village & went on at 4,,45;
At 11 P.M. passed Ctesiphon
detained 1/4 hour at Hudeitha
Fine clear moonlight night
[pg: 124]
At 3 AM passed Diala
At 6,,30 landed mails at
the Residency, & went up to the
Custum House; the SS. Mossul
is alongside here, she has not yet
discharged,~ I went home,
saw Eliza she has not been well
having had fever for 2 or three
days; I found two letters from
Alexander of the 7th Jany and
one of the 14th all arrived at the
same time, he speaks about
his offer of appointment in
Egypt, the telegram I found
here is so inexplicable I
cannot make out the word
Grammaire, he sent it on the
3d Instt; which says,
"Grammaire
100 frcs repondez"
, I also
recieved two letters from Mr.
Böhm in answer to mine,
We went to church at 8 1/2
but I called first on Antone
Marine & then went to church
I then called on Catterina
Yaghchi, on Lazare Chanteduc,
the Assyrian Bishop &
on Feridah Shammas
Antone, to congratulate
[pg: 125]
her on the marriage of her
daughter Susan with Ferej
the son of Yousif Ferej who
is the assistant Clerk in the
Khalifah with Henry he has
remained here for a trip
and got married on last
Sunday the 30 Ulto; I came
home at 11;~ At 2 P.M. went to
call on Coll. Lock the English
Consul but he was out in
the desert; I called on Sister
Eliza, on Alice & Emilia, &
on Monsr. Ronet the french
Vice Consul but only found
Mons. Jacqerèz the Engineer
I came home at 6 Artin
my nephew called~
Light N.W. & fine night,
Modte N.W. & fine day, weather
mild; at 8 1/2 AM I came on
board the Blosse Lynch,
the Mossul is inside discharging
at 9 1/2 I went to see Dr. Hesse
the Dragoman of Mr. Richarz
the German Consul left in
charge of the Consulate, as
[pg: 126]
Mr. Richarz has left on Wednesday
last to Europe in Company
with the German Professor Dr.
Sachau & an other, they went
by land to Mossul on the
other side of the Tigris; I
took from Dr. Hesse my Passport
& the Heimatschine, & the
copies made out of these and
legalized by Richarz so as
to be sent to Mr. Böhm in
Vienna to obtain a Passport
for Alexander; my Passport
was also vised for this year,
and I had to pay him the fees
for all came to 130 G. S Piastes
I then left him & came to the
Office to Mr. Bottomley for some
money (200 Mejid) to pay the
rest of the crew but he had none,
I came home at 11 1/2, but I
am suffering awfully from
the pain in my stomach for
the last 6 days & I now
I feel worse & am very weak
I took a warm Bath at
3 P.M~ Johny my nephew
came & he dined with us
[pg: 127]
& went away at 9 P.M~
Light N.W. & fine cold but mild
weather; I suffered very much
from the pain of my stomach
last night~ At 8 1/2 AM I
called on Sister Medula &
then came on board, the
Mossul is still alongside
the Custum House~
I sent the following telegram
to Alexander at 10 AM
"Svoboda
22 Rue Duroc
Paris
Suspendèz, preparèz
depart Vienne Avril~"
As I could not make out the
meaning of the word in his
Telegram of the 1st Instt
Grammaire, (it may be the
Arabic manuscript he
calls it Grammaire, so
I said Suspend as I will
not part of it for 100 frcs;
I went home & wrote more
in Alexander's letter; called
on Menusha Henry's wife &
[pg: 128]
came at 12 Oclock~
At 2 1/2 P.M. I went to call on
Coll. Lock the English Consul
General; he enquired from me
all the old history of my father's
affair here in 1820 when Mr.
Rich the English Consul had
the dispute with Dowd Pasha
on account of my father' goods
& he red to me the report in
a book published by the Indian
Government of all the events
he asked me if I would come
one day & have dinner with
them; I left at 3 1/2 & came
home, took Eliza & went to
Sister Eliza & spent the evening,
there were Emilia, Alice,
Menusha, Louisa, Michail
& Yousif Yaghchi etc & we left
at 8 P.M~
Light N.W. & fine weather,
Light S. Erly air & very little cloudy
at 8 1/2 AM I came on board,
The Mossul is still inside
but the Blosse is discharging
into the Barge~
At 11 1/2 went home and
returned on board at 2 P.M.
[pg: 129]
We are still discharging into
the Barge, & the Mossul is
inside loading cargo to leave
tomorrow~
At 5 went home, Antone Marine
& his daughter Rosa & son Gabriel
called & left at 7;~ Strong
S. Erly breeze & little cloudy;
S. Erly breeze & cloudy a little,
The SS. Mossul left at 6 AM,
At 8 1/2 I came on board,
The Blosse went alongside
the wharf;
I closed Alexander's letter for
todays Post of Damascus:
I told him every thing regarding
his going to Vienna in April &
must give up the idea of the
job in Egypt for the present;
I also wrote a letter to Yousif
Serpos in Cairo~ I also wrote
a short letter to Mr. Böhm in
Vienna~
At 11 went to breakfast & returned
at 12, we have just commenced
to ship cargo~
At 4 P.M. the S.S. Phrat
& Barge arrived from Basreh,
My Cabin is placed in
[pg: 130]
a very bad & uncomfortable
place being near the Gangway
& the passage so small &
narrow that the people and
cargo are crammed near
my Cabin, I cannot write
or work, it is one of the worst
Cabins on board~
At 5 1/2 I went home~
Light S. Erly wind & fine,
At 5 1/2 AM I came on board
Light N.W. & fine~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 73 | 90,685 | 12,825 1/4 | 4, |
At 6. AM got underway;
the steamer is drawing 4 feet,
having 90,000 Okes~ Weather
Cloudy & hazy & S. Erly breeze
At 8,,15 passed Diala river;
At 9,,50 passed Ctesiphon~
Weather clearing up~
We have 59 1/2 Passengers (2
in 1st Class, a Christian Dowd
Selman, and Dr. Ramsay
the Residency Surgeon, paying
[pg: 131]
deck fare Return Ticket, &
one Mahomedah in 2nd Class)
At 1,,15 P.M. passed the
S.S. Khalifah at Jubeil
bound up, Hannosh Asfar
and Naoom Loca Were on
board~
At 3,,10 P.M. passed Baghdadieh
Fort~
At 5,,10 passed Azizieh,
At 6,,50 we anchored for the
night at Towil~
Light S. Erly & cloudy hazy
weather; At 5,,45 AM. we
proceeded~
At 9,,10 passed Memlah;
At 10,,30 grounded at Aboo
Hmar took an anchor out
& got off & left at 11,,10~
At 2,,15 P.M. arrived at Coot
landed 19 passengers and
74 Packages;
We passed the SS. Ressafah
going up at Um el Boomy
at 1 P.M.~
I received a letter from
[pg: 132]
Henry, the Khalifah had
left Basreh on Tuesday
evening, having about
223,000 Okes & about 60 Passng,
The Baluchistan had arrived
on Saturday evening the
5th & has to make 10 days
quarantine; The Mail Str.
Kilwa was there of last week
but her Mail had not arrived
when she left~
At 3,,45 We left Coot,
took 3 passengers~
At 6,,25 We Anchored for
the Night, it became dark
as it is very cloudy all
over;
At about 9 P.M. a Sudden
change of wind shifted from
S. Est to N. West blowing strong
and with very little rain fell;
it kept blowing throughout the
night, which cooled the atmosphere
Modte N.W. Wind & Cold
At 5,,15 AM we proceeded
from Um el Aroog~
At 8,,30 we anchored to
repair some part in the
[pg: 133]
Wheel where the exentric got
loose~
At 9. we proceeded~
Detained above Maghessil
in shoal water from 10 till
10,,15~
At 10,,35 passed Ali Gherbi,
fresh N.W. wind blowing;
At 6,,15 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 8 passengers
and 24 packages;
At 7,,20 we left Amara
Fine clear weather & light N.W.
breeze~
At 9. anchored at Aboo-
Sedra for the night~
Light N.W. & fine clear weather
At 5,,45 AM. left~* Took
10 1/2 passengers from Amara,
(Johny Birjoni in 1st Class)
Detained at the Elbow from
10 till 10,,20~
At 0,,35 P.M. passed Azair,
At 2,,20 passed Gorna;
landed 2 Basreh passengers
& went on at 2.25~
Light N.W. air and fine
[pg: 134]
Weather~
At 6.30 P.M. arrived at
Basreh; In passing Maaghil
at 6 found the Mejidieh in
Dock~
I went over to Rufail's house,
where I saw Tookyeh & Rezooki,
they are living out here for
the last few days;~
Light N.W. & fine at 8 1/2 AM
I left with Rezooki Angoorly
to the Blosse, called on
Jeboory Asfar on my way
to see about Eliza's passage
from Marseilles to Basreh
which appears that Strick
has answered to Jeboory's letter
of his unability of reducing
it less than £ Stg 31 1/2;
The Beluchistan is in the
quarantine & will be out
this evening after 10 days,
there are many passengers
in her to go up with us;
and many also in Basreh
all in 1st Class Cabins;
I received the little parcel of
Christmas present which
[pg: 135]
my son Alexander had sent to us
with Rezooki Rafi who was at
Marseilles & was coming out in
the Beluchistan, but as he did
not come, he must have given
it to her Captain Paramore
who has sent it to Lynch Brothers
I will open it in Baghdad;
in the presence of my wife,
Rufail, Rezooki & Rezooki
Angoorly, Nassoory Andrea
also came to me;
We finished cargo at 4 P.M.
but are to await for those
passengers coming out of the
Beluchistan at 9 P.M;
I wrote to Mr. Böhm & sent the
legalized copies of my Passport
& Heimathschine & registered
it, also a letter to Alexander
all of today's date & had them
posted Via Bombay~
At about 9 P.M all these
passengers commenced to Come
in from the Beluchistan
& quarantine Lazarette,
an awful Confusion
[pg: 136]
& crowds, I saw Capt
Paramore also came with
the passengers & Ladies;
he has brought out the Gun
which I had bought in
London from Jeffreys for
Johny my Nephew;~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 159 | 136,680 | 12,027 3/4 | 4.8 |
At 10,,35 P.M. We got under
way & proceeded, Ship is
drawing 4 feet 8 Inches;
Light N.W. & fine Weather,
Detained at Maghil 10 minutes
landing 3 workmen~ All
the cabins Aft are occupied
with 11 persons in 1st Class;
Weather begun to get a little
cloudy~
Light S. Erly breeze & cloudy,
At 4,,50 AM. passed Gorna;
At 9.50 passed Azair took
one passenger;
Finished With the passengers'
tickets, We have in all 120
[pg: 137]
(11 in 1st Class Cabins, they are
1 Inspector of Post Offices free with 2 Servts; Mr. Hanson;
1 Governt Engineer Mr. J. H. Veevers
going to inspect for the building
of new British Residency
1 President of Commercial Tribunal
Othman Saîb Effendi per
Beluchistan from Constple
paying @ 1/2 1 C. passage by LB.
3 Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Cooper
Inspector of the Tombac
(or Persian Tobacco Monopoly)
per Beluchistan from Constple
Miss Elise Koch, the future
Wife of Dr. Hesse, per Beluchistan
from Marseilles~
1 Perter Effendi (Armenian,) the
Inspector of Public debt from
Basreh~
3 Jacob Rigo & 2 ladies the
Merchant of feathers & Eggs
in Baghdad, per Beluchistan
---
11
And 2 Indians in the
only 2nd C. Cabin we have,
[pg: 138]
At 3 P.M. passed Kalat
Saleh, wind has shifted to
a fresh N.W. but it is hazy;
The Inspector of the Persian
Gulf Post Offices is called
Mr. Hanson, a very young
Man of about 24 years;
At 8 P.M. arrived at Amara
landed 24 1/2 passengers &
4 Bags Tobacco~ Cloudy
Weather; It became fine later
on~ We took 10 Tons of Coal
At 10,,20 left Amara, fine
clear weather;
Light N.W. & fine Weather,
Gave tickets to 25 Amara
passengers~
At 10 AM landed 4
passengers at Ali Gherbi &
Went on at 10,,10
Detained above Maghessil in
Shoal water from 10,,45 till
1.15 P.M. & had to heave her
off with an Anchor;
The Blosse Lynch is going very
slow this trip, as slow as
the Mejidieh, because Mr.
[pg: 139]
Follott our Chief Engineer has
cut down her steam, The
river Keeps very low yet, no
rise at all, & no rain for the
last month;
At 1.30 AM. arrived at
Coot, landed 13 passengers,
took in 10 Tons of Coal &
finished at 3 & we remained
for the night, it is getting a
little cloudy; but clear~
At 6 We left Coot, Took 13
passengers; weather became
cloudy all over like a haze
At 1,,30 P.M. passed Memlah
still cloudy all over;
At 2,,45 passed the S.S.
Phrat & Barge going down,
at the bottom of Sheresh (Summer)
Weather keeps cloudy all over
with a sharp N.W. wind and
cold;
At 6,,30 met the Khalifah
at Toweel, we stopped to send to
her the through specie for the
B.I. Mail Steamer, Capt Cowley
went also on board of her,
[pg: 140]
I received a letter from Henry,
The Khalifah has left this morning,
Dr. & Mrs. Sutton are on board
going to England for a year,
& 116 passengers, they have had
rain today for 3 hours but
lightly~
At 8,,40 We proceeded
weather clearing up a little;
At 11,,45 passed Azizieh;
N.W. Wind & fine Cold Weather
At 3,,15 AM passed
Baghdadieh~ At 5,,50
grounded at Swera just
opposite the new Village
at Jwemisseh, took a Stern
Anchor out & hove off,
At 7 proceeded, very Cold
Wind & fine;
At 11,,40 landed some of our
1st C. passengers, Mr. Cooper & his
wife, Othman Effendi Reis Tejara,
Miss Koch & the Inspector of Post
Offices Mr. Hanson at Safi
to walk across to Ctesiphon,
a second trip the boat took
Mr. Veevers the Governt Engineer
and We Went on at 11,,55~
[pg: 141]
The river is rising today
a little~
At 2,,20 P.M Stopped at
Ctesiphon & took in our
passengers & went on at 2.25
At 4,,45 passed Diala
river~ At 6 P.M. grounded
at Gherrarah after sunset and
walked in to Baghdad, the desert
is wet from yesterday's rain
it became dark as I got between
the Gardens, & when I got to
town the streets were very
muddy & dark so that I had
to feel my way & walk in the
mud, At 7 1/4 arrived home
saw Eliza well; I found
two letters here from Alexander
of the last two mails one
of the 21 & the second of the 28
Jany, in the latter one he
says that he had been unwell,
he had felt himself very billious
& had taken 3 pills from
a Doctor which worked him
about 10 times but the next
day, he vomited about 8 or
9 times all bile but he
[pg: 142]
felt then relieved & got
well; it appears he has
given up the idea of going
to Cairo; & will go to Vienna
as soon as the cold weather
is over~
The Blosse Lynch arrived at
8 1/4 P.M.~
Light N.W. & fine Weather
at 9 AM Eliza & I went to
Church, I then called with
Antone Marine, at Asfars,
to see Hannosh Asfar who
is unwell since yesterday,
he took Cold the day before
& is in bed very much Shaken
as he is over 78 years; We
then called on Mina Abood,
I called on Eliza Erame,
on Tantons, & the french
fathers;~ Antone called
on us & we went to visit
Polus Serkis, & Mily his brother
Naoom's wife; also on
Sister Eliza; I then went
to Call on Alice & Sister
Emilia, & came home at 5 1/2
[pg: 143]
Mons Ronet the french Vice
Consul & Mons Jacquerèz
the Engineer called on us at
6 P.M.~
We heard today that Ferida
Angoorly the mother of Rezooki
Angoorly & Toni died at
Basreh on Wednesday
She was very weak, she is
about 65 years old~
Light N.W. & fine mild
weather;
Light N.W. & fine weather
at 8 1/2 AM I came on
board; The Ressafah is inside
loading to leave tomorrow,
& the Baghdad comes in next,
we are discharging cargo
into the Barge, & then have
to go alongside the Ressafah
to take in some cargo, as
tomorrow is the Holyday of
Ramazan~ The Ressafah
went out at 11 & the Blosse
Lynch went along the Custum
House to load;
I went to the Office to
[pg: 144]
Mr. Bottomley for ₤ Sterling for
Feby's pay; Came home at
12, & at 1 1/2 P.M. Came on
board & worked in the Shipment
of Cargo; we shipped all that
was to come & finished by
4 P.M. as tomorrow is the
Holyday for Ramadan
I went home, & then called
on Toni Oossany (whom I had
seen at Deir & on Sarah
Oossany to Condole them on
the death of Ferida the Sister
of Sarah at Basreh~
Light N.W. & fine weather,
at 8 1/2 AM I went with
Artin my nephew to the
Serai to Visit the Mushire
Rejeb Pasha, but he was not
there, he is outside in the
Garden of Asfar;~ I called
on Menusha & on Sister
Medula & came home
at 11~ I took a Warm
Bath;
Today being the holyday
of Ramadan, no Custum
House Open; & I hear
[pg: 145]
that we are to leave on
Thursday instead of Friday
The Weather is very mild
& rather warm at noon;
Light N.W. & fine clear
weather;
Light N.W. & fine weather,
at 8 AM called on Sister
Eliza & then came on board
at 9 1/2~
The S.S. Ressafah left
yesterday morning for Basreh,
we are having some cabin
passengers~
I went home at 11 & came
Again at 2 P.M., we are out
in the middle of the stream
but getting some passengers
At 4 1/2 P.M. I went home;
I finished Alexander's letter
at home, & told him all about
his going to Vienna, & that
if he is short of money, he
can draw from Rezooki
Korkis about 500 frcs, I
left the letter with Eliza to
be posted tomorrow, also
[pg: 146]
one letter I wrote to Sigr.
Giuseppe Levante, the Austrian
Consular Agent in Alexandretta
regarding the feathers;
Light N.W. & fine weather,
Weather cloudy little~
At 5 1/2 AM I came on board
The SS. Mossul arrived at
about 4 AM.~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 138 | 64,602 | 12,821 1/2 | 3,,11 |
At 5,,50 AM we got under-
way & proceeded; Drawing
3,,11 Inches~ Weather
cloudy all over~
At 7,,45 passed Diala;
At 9 passed Ctesiphon~
Finished with the Passengers
Tickets, We have in all
125 (7 in 1st Class, an English
Officer traveller from Persia
Major C.S. Cumberland,
who has been eight year now
travelling for sports etc,
3 Persians 2 of them Ladies
also the Wives of Yacoob
[pg: 147]
and Yousif sons of Eassayi
to Basreh; and H. Abdulghani
Khdery with through Return
ticket to Amara & free,
and 2 in 2nd Class, an Assyrian
Priest, Kass Yousif ibn
Georjieh & his mother, going
to replace Kass Toma
Bahi~
Weather begun to rain lightly,
At 2,,15 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh, still raining drizzly,
At 3,,10 grounded at
Rmelat, took an anchor
out & hove off~ At 4,,5
proceeded, Very cloudy
& gloomy weather;
At 4,,45 passed Azizieh
but Yacoob Eassa was not
here, who had come down in
the Ressafah to await for
us at Swera & go down
with his wife he must
have been left further up,
as he thought the Blosse
was leaving on Friday;
At 6 P.M. we anchored
[pg: 148]
at Zeljeh (below Humenyeh)
rain still continues & weather
dark & cloudy; This rain
will do lots of good, as we are
in great want of it, the grain
keeps rising in price, wheat
had risen to 500 Piasters per
Wazna of 78 Constple Oke;
a thing which has never yet
occurred before~
It kept raining all the night
until nearly 3 AM. & remained
cloudy & gloomy~
At 5,,30 AM we left Zeljeh
Fresh N.W. Wind blowing &
cloudy~
At 9 passed Memlah,
Cloudy weather~
At 9,,45 Met the S.S. Khalifah
Coming up at Hamrayah,
we stopped & sent letters for
Dr. Ramsay the Residency
Surgeon, & went on at 9,,50
Henry writes to say that
they have about 55 passengers
& 221,000 Okes Cargo, he left
my letter & Papers at Coot,
[pg: 149]
At 1,,20 P.M. arrived at Coot
landed 7 passengers and
8 packages; Received Henry's
letter & my papers;
At 2.15 P.M. left Coot, took
4 passengers~ Mons De Sarzec
his wife & son Henri were
just leaving Coot in a boat
for Tellow, the Hai river
having risen about 5 feet
by the rise of the river we
have had few days ago;
Lots of rain has fallen
at Coot too~
At 5 3/4 it begun to rain &
became very Cloudy~
At 6,,5 anchored above
Sheikh Saad reach; Moon
4 days Old~ At 6 1/4 it
Ceased & clouds opened with
some stars & the moon are to
be seen~
Modte N.W. Wind & very fine
weather~
At 5.30 AM. We proceeded
from below Sheikh Saad;
At 8.20 passed Ali Gherbi,
[pg: 150]
At 3,,50 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 12 passengers
(H. Abdulghani Khdery in
1st Class free) and 4 packages,
Here too it rained yesterday
for about 4 hours~
At 4,,35 left Amara,
Took 9 passengers;
At 6,,20 we rounded and
Came to below Aboo Sedra,
fine clear weather, still day-
light & moonlight; a
pity we did not go as far
as Kalat Saleh~
Light N.W. & fine clear weather
At 5,,30 AM. we proceeded
The rise of the river has got down
here & the banks are about
2 feet above it~
Detained 15 minutes at Nafikh
for boats passing up~
Again detained at the Elbow
10 minutes, Ship going against
the bank
At 10,,10 landed 5 Persian
Jews at Azair with R. Tickets
& went on at 10,,15
At 1 P.M. landed 2 Passengers
[pg: 151]
at Gorna & went on at
1,,5 P.M.~
At 4,,50 arrived at Basreh,
found the mail Str Khandala
in quarantine & ready to start
early tomorrow morning,
also the S.S. Arabistan which
arrived yesterday~ I closed
Alexander's letter very quick
it is dated tomorrow & sent
it to the Post Office with our
mail, but Mr. Hatfield found
the Mail closed & he took
our parcel bags down to the
Khandala & gave the letter
to her Capt; Whitehead to
post it~ I went up to
Rufails at 5 1/2, called on my
way to G. Asfar & family
for an hour & then went
up to Rufail & Rezooki,
dined with them & slept;
Fine clear weather~
Modte N.W. & fine~ at 7 1/2
AM I came on board,
We are shipping cargo,
& discharging too;
The Turkish Commodore
[pg: 152]
Emin Pasha who was dismissed
from here or rather changed
to Salonik, has gone down
in the Baluchistan and the
new one arrived in his place,
called Ismail Beg~
At 10 am Yousif Marine &
Rufail came on board & we
went in to Basreh to the
sons of Angoorlies & their wives
Brijita & Tookyeh to
condole them on the death
of their Mother Ferida which
took place on the 17th from
weakness of constitution,
followed by a severe Bronchitis
she was about 65 or 66 years
old~ At 1 p.m. we
came out to the Blosse
Lynch; We are still shipping
cargo & loading deep,
The weather is getting very
mild here it is spring already
We finished the cargo at 5
P.M.;~ Having few passengers
Yousif Rufail & Rezooki
left me at 11, also Nassoory
Andrea~
[pg: 153]
The SS. Phrat is to leave soon
after us~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 144 1/2 | 159,010 | 9,065 | 4,,10 |
At 6 p.m. we got underway
and proceeded~ Ship drawing
4 feet 10 In~ Fine weather;
At 11,,50 passed Gorna~
Light n.w. & fine~ at 3 am
anchored & at 5,,15 proceeded
At 7,,5 took our 5 Return
passengers from Azair and went
on at 7,,15~
Finished with the passengers
tickets, We have in all 56
(2 in 1st Class a Turk Ismail
Beg head of the Mejlis at
Amara, & Yousif Shamoon
Naso to Baghdad and
one in 2nd Class Kass Toma
Bahi)
At 0,,15 p.m. landed a passenger
booked for Amara, at Kalat
Saleh & went on at 0,,20
At 5 p.m. arrived at Amara
landed 18 passengers (one
[pg: 154]
in 1st C. Ismail Beg) and
30 Bund of Tamarind,
We shipped about 50 Bund
of Lamb Skins & took 10
Tons of Coal; the sheep
are dying this year from
the bad pasturage and
the severe cold we have had
so that the young Lambs are
killed for the sake of
their skins~
At 7,,15 p.m. we left
Amara, weather begun
to change for the worse,
it is getting cloudy~
Light S.Erly & little cloudy~
At 3,,50 am. we anchored
At 5 proceeded; weather is
getting fine~ Took 45
passengers from Amara,
At 8,,55 am. landed 6
passengers at Ali Gherbi,
wind getting up & becoming
cloudy; At 9 went on
took 2 passengers~
Weather got cloudy all over
[pg: 155]
but wind still from S. East
I paid the ship's company
their wages for February;
At 2 p.m. landed 3 passeng
at Sheikh Saad & went
on fresh S. Erly wind, clouds
broke out;
At 8,,40 p.m. arrived at
Coot, landed 9 passengers &
took 8 Tons of Coal~
At 10,,20 left Coot~
S.Erly breeze but fine;
Fresh S.Erly wind and
clouds, at 6,,35 am passed
Memlah,~ Weather became
very squaly & thretening,
strong wind & clouds; &
swell in the river~ Took
36 1/2 passengers from Coot,
weather very cloudy and
blowing strong S. Erly wind
with some rain occasionally,
At 3 P.M. passed Azizieh,
very strong wind still blowing
& cloudy~
At 6,,20 P.M passed
[pg: 156]
Baghdadieh Fort; strong
S.Erly wind, with some clouds,
At 11 1/2 p.m. passed the
SS. Baghdad & Barge bound down
at anchor at Ledje reach;
At 3,,30 am passed Ctesiphon
At 4,,45 stopped at Gusseiba
in shoal water could not get
over being dark & cloudy,
we anchored~ At 5,,45
proceeded~ Weather became
very gloomy misty & overcast,
River is very low there
is no rise at all;
At 7,,25 passed Diala river,
At 7,,30 passed the S.S.
Khalifah bound down;
Light n.w. air & very misty
or foggy like weather;
At 8,,45 I landed at Gherrarah
& walked in to Baghdad; the
desert is wet with the rain
which fell yesterday for an
hour & the day before too,
but the streets were not so
muddy; I got home by 10
found Eliza well; there
[pg: 157]
are no letters from Alexander
arrived yet, two mails are
due, they say that the snow
on the Lebanon have detained
them;~ The Blosse arrived
at 11;
There is great scarcity
and dearnes of provision in
town, which is worth noting,
it is caused by the scarcity of
rain & the severe cold of this
winter which killed all the
vegetation & pasturage for
sheep & cattle & the price
rose steadily, although there
are great quantity of Grain
stowed away by the dealers
in hopes of getting the price
up & therefore making a good
profit, the Government do
not seem to take any steps to
avoid this, & force the people
& the sellers to dispose of the
provision at a reasonable
price, every kind of food
rose accordingly, The actual
price of provision & Grain
are now selling as
[pg: 158]
follows:
| Wheat the Wezna | 78 Constple | - |
| Oke ______ | R.P. 500 | - |
| Barley D D | -"- 240 | - |
| fresh mutton the Oke | 20 | - |
| Ghee, 20 Okes (1 mound) | " 700 | - |
| Eggs each 3 for | -"- 2 | - |
| Fowels from | 20 to " 30 | - |
| Patatoes the Oke | -"- 8 | - |
Fish very scarce & double the
price; & all other thing in
proportion, nearly double
its former value~
At 4 p.m. I called on Sister
Medula, I heard that the
Damascus Mail arrived
this afternoon;
Antone & Johny my nephew
called on us til 7 1/2 P.M;
At 9 1/2 the Postman brought
us two letters from Alexander
of the 4th & 11 Feby, both Posts
arrived at once which were
detained in Beyrout or Damascus,
Alexander is well, he
has recieved my letter of the 4th
Jany; via Bombay; also
my telegram in which I had
told him,
"Suspendèz preparèz
depart Vienne Avril"~
[pg: 159]
he is very much touched and
sorry about it, for he thought
that I was angry with him
about something, but he
will see later on from my
letters in which I explained to
him all;
Light S. Erly & fine weather
Light n.w. & fine weather;
at 8 1/2 am I came on board
the SS. Mossul is alongside
discharging & loading;
At 10 I called on Menusha,
I took a warm bath;~
Lots of theft & plunder are
taking place in town & outside,
the Arabs are plundering Keleks
& caravans; & theives robbing
houses & shops on account
of the scarcity~
Light n.w. & fine~ At 9 am
I went to church & then made
visits to many Christians
about 12 calls; I came
home at noon, & again went
to call; and by 2 P.M. Sister
Medula & Grzeski came
[pg: 160]
to us & we then went to call
on Dr. Hesse & his new wife
he married last trip when
we were here, they are living
in Mr. Richarz' House,
Eliza & I then called on Alice
& on Sister Eliza & came
home at 6~ At 7 1/2 Eliza
& I went over to Antone &
then, with his wife & daughters
& himself, Yousif Asfar
& Philip son of Habib Chiha
went to Eliahoo Denoos
the Seraf of the Residency by
invitation, for the Wedding
of his brother Noonoo, which
took place yesterday,
there were hundreds of people
Jews & Mahomedans, with
the Jews band, & the Native
Music; Mr. Demello, Rozario
the Postmaster, Gabriel
Thadeus & Marook the
Lawyer with their wives
were also there, but the
Ladies were separated from
us in other rooms,
[pg: 161]
I did not like this entertainment
at all, there is no taste in
it, neither head or tale~
We left at 11 1/2 & came to
our houses~ But I lost
my sleep & could not do
so all the rest of the night,
Light n.w. & fine~ At
8 am I called on Kerop
Seth, the brother of Gabriel
Seth whom we knew in
Paris & the brother of Kirikor
as he is here practising as a
lawyer~ Came on board
at 9, the Blosse is alongside
the wharf discharging, &
the Mossul outside of us
loading to start tomorrow;
I sent a telegram yesterday
to Alexander to allow him
to sell the manuscript Book
for 100 frcs, & my 4 Rumelian
Lotteries which costed me
140 frcs each, to sell them
at 105 frcs as he has been
offered & no more; so I
said
"Svoboda
[pg: 162]
22 Rue Duroc
Paris
Vendèz Livre, Lotterie,"
I paid 4.75 Frcs for it;
The S.S. Comet left for
Basreh this morning at 6 am
taking Coll. & Mrs. Lock down,
as Mrs. Lock is going to England
by the B.I. Copy St. to Kurrachi
I called on Menusha for 1/2
hour Sister Medula was there,
at 2 p.m. Eliza & I called on
Catherina Abood (Mad. Saccazan)
she said that her son Yousif
is now in Beyrout, and
that Chekoory Aboad her
brother is gone to Egypt for
a change for a short time,
we then went to Sister Medula
& stayed there till 7 1/2 P.M.
Light n.w. & fine weather,
Light n.w. & fine~ At 8 1/2 am
called on Sister Eliza
the SS. Phrat & Barge came
up at 9 (8 days from Basreh)
I also called on Shemooni
Korkis Tessy & on Yousif
[pg: 163]
Hannosh Tessy & came
home at 12~
At 2 p.m. my Sisters Eliza, Emilia
& Eliza's daughter Terooza called
on us & stayed till 5 P.M;
I went over to Dowd Ghazala
the Photographer to get some
views from him of the new
Bridge of the Kher, I then
called on the Reis Tejjara the
one who came up with us
last voyage Othman Saib
Beg, who has taken from us
the house of Rufail @ 26 Liras
per year;~ We called
on Antone Marine in the evening
with Eliza & came home
at 7 1/2;
S.Erly breeze & getting cloudy
Strong S.Erly wind & very cloudy
With Thunder Lightning
& rain since 2 Oclock
it ceased at 5, but the wind
& clouds are thretening &
squally;
At 8 am I came on board
the streets are wet, the river
is rough~ The wind increased
[pg: 164]
very strong with dust and
the river is very agitated~
The dust became so thick
& fine & could not see the
other side of the river~ I went
home at 11, all our rooms
are full of dust, it is blowing
as hard as it could~
At 2 p.m. came on board
we have very little cargo,
we shipped few packages
up to no. 6 only; The Jews
are in Holydays, their
shops are closed, it is the
Passover I think;~
At 4 1/2 p.m went home, it is
still blowing & the red fine
dust is very thick it has
penetrated every where, but
at 6 it begun to rain for
1 1/2 hour, the wind fell,
Light n.w. & little cloudy
weather unsettled yet,
the streets are very muddy
at 8 am I came on board,
The river rose this morning
about 1 foot;~
[pg: 165]
I finished Alexander's letter,
& told him that he can keep the
100 frcs sale of the Arabic book
also the balance of the sale
of the Lotteries of Rumelian
Railway which will be about
225 frcs after buying 10 shares
of the 1900 exhibition for Rufail
& Rezooki; & the 500 fr from
N. Sayegh, & 500 frcs bill
on R. Korkis, & 300 frcs in
Bank note I am going to
send him, so he will have
over 1600 frcs at his disposal;
My wife also wrote a letter
to N. Sayegh dated the 3 Instt;
by this post;
At 11 went to breakfast
& returned at 12~ We shipped
some cargo in all about
49000, Okes;
At 5 1/2 p.m. I went home;
Johny & Artin called on
us; & said that the Damascus
Post had arrived few hours
ago~
At 7 1/2 we received two
[pg: 166]
letters one from Alexander
dated the 18th Ulto & the
other from N. Sayegh
of the 15th Ulto; the latter has
remitted to my son the
balance of 500 frcs which
he had for me; Alexander
is well & thinks of leaving
for Vienna on about the
10 of April; he has sold
my 4 Rumelian Lotteries
for 416 frcs (@ 104 fr each)
& had to pay 14 frcs for
charges as stamp duty &
commission, so the balance
remain is, 402 frcs, they
had costed me 560 frcs;
@ 140 each I paid the
Ottoman Bank here;
Weather cloudy and
light n.w. breeze;
[pg: 167]
Light n.w. & cloudy weather
At 5 am I came on
board the Blosse;
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 227 1/2 | 51,602 | 16,197 | 3,,10 |
At 5,,30 am we proceeded
River had risen altogether
about 2 feet & is standstill;
At 7,,10 passed the S.S. Khalifah
going up just above Diala
At 7,,15 passed Diala,
At 8,,30 passed Cteciphon;
Gave tickets to the passengers,
we have altogether 204 1/2
(only 2 in 1st C. Cabin a Jew
Azoory Hyim & his son & servant
with free Return Ticket from
S. Lynch & co)~
At 1,,15 p.m. passed
Baghdadieh Fort; weather
still cloudy all over;
At 3,,5 passed Azizieh
At 6,,20 we grounded at the
top of Sheresh, took an anchor
[pg: 168]
out & hove her off; weather
cloudy in some parts, we
intend to run down to Coot;
At 7,,15 we got off & proceeded,
At 9,,10 passed Memlah,
At 10 passed the S.S. Ressafah
& Barge bound up~
At 1,,45 am arrived at
Coot, weather cloudy but
moonlight; Landed 25
passengers and 61 packages,
Recieved letter & Papers from
Henry; The Khalifah had
234,541 Okes, but not many
passengers;
At 5,,30 am we left Coot,
took 15 passengers;
At 12 am landed 2 of
Amara passengers at Ali
Gherbi & went on at 0,,5
p.m.; weather clearing up
& getting fine~
At 7,,10 p.m. arrived at
Amara landed 46 1/2 Passengers
and 93 packages~
Shipped 7 cases of Pelican
[pg: 169]
Feathers of AbdulKadur Khdery
At 9 left Amara~
At 10,,15 anchored above
Aboo Sedra;
Light n.w. & cloudy weather
At 5,,30 am proceeded,
Took 8 passengers from Amara
(2 women in 1st Class, family
of a Police Commissaire at Basreh
Kadem Effendi)
At 7,,20 passed Kalat Saleh;
At 8,,20 passed the S.S. Baghdad
& Barge going up;
At 10,,20 passed Azair;
S.Erly breeze & hazy~
At 1 p.m. landed 2 passengs.
at Gorna & went on at 1,,5
At 5,,15 arrived at Basreh,
the SS. Arabistan is up here she
has left quarantine; also the
Comet & Mossul; and in
the Quarantine down below
there are the Persian St. Mobile
and the SS. Tripoli for Gray
Mackenzie~ The mail
Str. Patna has left this
[pg: 170]
morning~ Rezooki Sayegh
came to me & we went
up to their house saw Rufail,
He has obtained a bill for
31 1/2 £ Stg; on London payable
to Strick & co for the passage
of Eliza from Marseilles to
Basreh & gave it to Jeboory
Asfar~ I dined with them
& slept~ A Strong S.Erly
wind is blowing all the
night~
Strong S.Erly wind,
a high flood tide came on
as usual in spring tides,
At 7 1/2 am I came on board
the Blosse, they are shipping
& discharging cargo;
The wind increased in force,
and the river very rough with
large high waves washing
over the sponsoons, especially
as the steamer is so far
off the bank nearly in mid-
stream, weather became
very cloudy;
I closed Alexander's letter
[pg: 171]
dated it up till today and
have to live it with Rezooki
to be sent on by the mail which
leaves this next Sunday the
20th. I enclosed for him a french
Bank note for 100 frcs, also
a Photo view of the reception
of the Russian Consul Mr.
Mashkow, where the Waly
Atta Allah Pasha & the
Commander in Chief Rejab Pasha
were there also Mons Ronet
the french consul etc etc &
I registered the letter;
The wind fell a little at about
2 p.m. as the flood tide begun
to make~
The Wali of Basreh called
Arif Pasha who was appointed
here in Novr 96 is dismissed
and going up with us and
all his women & 3 children
& lots of Kit; an other one
is appointed in his place
from Constantiple~
Wind shifted to n.w. and brought
dust & haze but by 5 it
[pg: 172]
cleared off & became fine;
Rufail, Rezooki & Rezooki
Angoorly, Ali Beg of the Tapo
called on me; a lot of people
came to see the Waly off;
We finished cargo by 5 p.m.
Flood tide made at 2 p.m.
we are waiting until it
turns Ebb; Weather is fine
& calm;~ Again Capt Cowley
said he wont start until the
moon rises~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 226 1/2 | 150,345 | 15,414 | 4,,10 |
At 0,,35 AM. We proceeded,
Ship drawing 4 feet 10 Inches;
weather rather warm~
At 7,,35 landed 4 passengers
at Gorna & went on at 7,,40
Modte n.w. Wind, getting
fine~
At 0,,30 p.m. passed
Azair~
We have altogether 145
passengers (12 in 1st Class,
they are the Wali of Basreh
Arif Pasha, his family of 7
women & 2 children
[pg: 173]
in all 9, even about 2 or three
are female servants had paid
for 1st Class occupying 3 double
bunks cabins; also a young
American merchant from
Philadelphia a Mr. Olberman,
and Mr. Veevers the Governt
English Engineers who had gone
up with us two trips ago &
came down in the Comet
with Coll. Lock; & a young
Missionary Mr. Barnyng
going to Amara, and one
Jew in 2nd Class Cabin, Huzkail
Ezra Elisha coming from
London) We have 7 Persians
with through tickets from
Bushire this time, they have
made their 10 Quarantine at
Basreh~
The Wali of Basreh has
been only about 16 months
there & now leaves with a
nice fortune made of nearly
30,000 TLiras, it is the largest
sum that any former Governor
had been able to squeeze
out from the Sheikhs and
merchants & other bribery
[pg: 174]
Detained 20 minutes at the Elbow,
River is rising & the n.w.
wind is cold, it has been
Colder during the day than
what it was this morning;
At 5,,50 p.m. landed 5 passengers
at Kalat Saleh & took
one & left at 5,,55; They
say here that there is a high
rise of the river coming
down~
We are not flying the flag
for the Waly Arif Pasha,
because we have no Turkish
flag, & he has not brought
also one with him;
At 11,,10 p.m. arrived at
Amara, landed 27½ passengers
(one 1st Class the Missionary
Mr. Barnyng) Took in 10 Tons
Coal & shipped some Skins
& Ghee; River is very high
here, a sudden rise came
on, & it is still rising~
[pg: 175]
At 1,,30 AM we left Amara,
light n.w. & fine Cool weather,
we are going slow, the
river has reached up to the
top of the bank~
Took from Amara 45
passengers, including Haji
Abdulghani Khdery in 1st Class
& servant with free Return Ticket
passage by S Lynch & Co;
At 9,,30 passed Ali Sherghi
just 8 hours from Amara,
At 3,,45 p.m. landed 2 passengers
at Ali Gherbi, took one and
went on at 3,,50, the river
is well high, they have irrigated
here through all the Canals,
& people are glad for having
got this rise;
We have made a Turkish
flag today on board and
hoisted it for the Wali
Arif Pasha~
At 8,,50 p.m. landed 3 Passengers
at Sheikh Saad & Went on
at 8,,55~
Weather fine clear & cold,
[pg: 176]
Light n.w. & fine cold weather
At 4 am arrived at
Coot, landed 9 passengers & 3
packages; Took in 10 Tons of
coal; Left Henry's letter &
manifests here; we shipped 24
packages of Lamb skins and
Copperware~ The river here
is at a standstill since last
night, the rise has only attained
about 4 feet below the bank,
they could not irrigate the
desert from the canals.~
At 5,,50 we left Coot,
Took 34½ passengers;
At 8,,20 passed the Baghdad
and Barge going up at
Umel Boomy~
At 1,,35 p.m. passed Memlah,
Weather getting cloudy;
River showing signs of falling
hereabout the banks are
about 5 feet above the river
We passed the S.S. Phrat
& Barge going down at 11,,45
am;
At 5,,30 p.m. passed the
S.S. Khalifah going down
[pg: 177]
at Um Sneyem, I saw Mr.
Jacqrèz & Mr. Delrieu the
two french Civil Engineers
going down to go to France,
S. Erly breeze & clouds are
working up;
At 10.30 P.M. passed Azizieh,
S. Erly breeze & little cloudy,
At 2,,30 AM passed Baghdadieh
Fort~ At 5,,35 landed
2 passengers Jews at Swerah
Village & went on at 5,,40~
Weather getting cloudy with
fresh wind from S. Et;
River has fallen about one
foot,~ The 2 passengers were
landed about half an hour
above Swera~ There is a
little rise of the River;
At 9.30 passed Bostan Kesreh
The wind is blowing very Strong
& cloudy all over; A thick
dust came on by 10½ through
the strong wind which is blowing
that the other side of the river
is scarcely visible
At 12 passed Ctesiphon
[pg: 178]
At 2,,40 p.m. passed Diala
River; the wind & dust have
fallen down a little;
At 4 p.m. I landed below
the Bridge, the steamer having
gone alongside the bank
to await the opening of the
Bridge & to land 2 Cows we
have on board from Basreh,
as they had opened the Bridge
on the other side of the river
& on our going to pass it,
we touched the sand bank
& were detained 1/2 hour,
I met a Sakka with his
donkey which I rode in
to town, arrived at Alice's
house, at 4,,45, went in for
10 minutes & came home,
saw Eliza, she gave me
a letter, from Alexander
having arrived yesterday
by Damascus Post dated
the 25 Ulto; also a letter
from Mr. J. Böhm from Vienna
of the 25th Ulto & a letter from
my niece Effie from Cairo
of the 20th Ulto~
[pg: 179]
Johny & Artin my nephews
called & they stayed & dined
with us, The Blosse Lynch
arrived at 6½ p.m.~ There
is only the Ressafah here,
Mr. Mashkow the Russian
Consul & his wife left Baghdad
yesterday via Deir and
Damascus
Mr. Grougloff who arrived
here via Persia is appointed
here as consul, he was here
about 4 years ago as Chancellier
or Acting Consul;
No rain has fallen here
in these days & the provision
and Grains are still very dear,
The river is falling;
Light S. Erly breeze & cloudy
gloomy all over; Today
is a Holyday of St Joseph,
I came on board at 8
am, wrote out my letters,
sent money to the Office and
at 10½ went home, People
are coming still to wish me
a good Holyday;~
[pg: 180]
I took a warm bath in the
afternoon, & people continue to
visit us, I am so enraged at this
beastly custum they have in
Baghdad, they are so fond of
visiting houses as if it was a
special duty they must do;
Weather is changing for the worse
S. Erly wind & cloudy, During
the night it rained a little,
and blew strong~
Strong S. Erly wind & very cloudy
at about 6 am it begun to
rain steadily; at 8½ I went
to church in the rain and
then called with Antone on the
french Priests, Habib Chiha,
Asfar, Catterina Yaghchi, it
is continually raining, came
home at 12, Rain ceased
at noon after 6 hours continual,
the streets are very swampy
& muddy~ At 2 p.m. I
called on Sister Medula,
on Menusha, Sister Emilia
& Alice & on Sister Eliza
came home at 6, very muddy
streets; weather clearing
up & getting fine~
[pg: 181]
At about noon I received
a Telegram from Alexandre
Paris, thus;
"Joseph Svoboda
Baghdad
Bonne fête
Alexandre
I was very glad to hear his news
I think the telegram was sent
on the 18th~
Light n.w. breeze~
Modte n.w. & foggy cloudy
weather; at 8 am I came
on board;~ Weather clearing
up & getting fine, The
Ressafah is still inside
discharging; & we are to
leave on Thursday;
At 10 went home weather
cloudy, it rained for 10 minutes,
Menusha & Louisa called
on us at 2 p.m.~
The S.S. Baghdad & Barge
arrived at 3½ p.m.~
Weather cloudy but
Light N.W. breeze~
[pg: 182]
Light n.w. & cloudy,
but clearing up; At 8
am called on Sister Eliza
& at 10 passed in Lynch's
Office & came on board,
The River is rising fast,
it rose about 3 feet & is
still rising~
Capt Cowley, Mr. Bottomly
& our Mate went down in
the Steam Launch of Lynch
& our big boat to the Kher
near the Island where a
Coal boat is sunk belonging
to the Company, to lash
her with a chain on to
the Poplar trees until the
low Season comes;
The Ressafah went out &
the Blosse Lynch went in
& commenced discharging
Cargo~
At 11 went home & returned
at 1½ p.m. There is very little
cargo to ship~ Weather
getting cloudy~
The river keeps rising~
[pg: 183]
At 4 p.m. I left the ship & called
on Sister Medula till 5½ & came
home; Polus Serkis & his nephew
Yacoob Naoom Serkis and
Yousif Georgi Asfar called on
us.~
S. Erly breeze & fine;
S. Erly breeze & cloudy weather,
At 7½ am I called on Antone
Marine and at 8½ I came
on board, found the river
had risen very high; it rose
3 feet since last night, there
is about 5 bricks more to
reach its proper high rise
for irrigation in this part
around Baghdad; This was
the highest it had Attained
last year & people could
not irrigate their cultivation,
The bridge is cut open
since yesterday evening,
The S.S. Ressafah and
Barge left at 6 am;
At 11 I went to breakfast &
came back at 12~
[pg: 184]
River keeps rising~
I closed Alexander's letter
for tomorrow's Post and dated
it tomorrow, also a letter
for Mr. J. Böhm & one for
Nessoory Sayegh & I sent them
to the Post Office~
The river is at a Standstill
since noon;
Our second Mate Mr. Hatfield
has received a letter from
the Agent of S Lynch & co (Mr.
Bottomly) in which they
complain in a very strong term
of his bad behaviour on
board with regard to an Accus-
ation by a Jewess prostitude
made against him in the Office,
and also his neglect once
in delivering the mail at
Basreh in Augt, & was given
to the Khalifah on her way
down, also in leaving the
steamer once when she
was on the point of starting
from Baghdad without
asking her Commander
[pg: 185]
and remained behind
on pretence of his being
ill etc, and therefore he
is discharged from the
Company's Service this time
on our arrival at Basreh
and is to proceed down to
Kurachi being the first
English Port~ Mr. Hatfield
has decidedly carried this
neglect of duty and the frequent
visits of bad women into his
cabin to excess, Otherwise
he is sober and of good
& mild temper, he certainly
has followed what other
officers are doing in both
steamers~
At 6 p.m. I went home,
S. Erly breeze but fine weather
At 5 am I came on
board, found the river
had fallen about 1 foot,
Our Anchor got buried
& jammed & had to live
[pg: 186]
it behind.
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 118 | 40,430 | 10,663 ¼ | 3,,8 |
At 6,,55 proceeded, after
living our anchor buried,
ship is light having 40,000
Okes only cargo~
At 8,,10 passed Diala river,
the rise has got well up to
nearly 2 feet from the banks
here about, all the canals
are irrigating; This is a
great blessing to the cultivators
but it is coming rather late,
Gave tickets & finished
with the passengers~
We have Altogether 95
(one in 1st Class Mr. Olberman
the same American young
Merchant who came up this
time with us)~ Three are
free included~
At 9,,5 met the Comet
coming up just at Ctesiphon
Coll Lock being on board,
also Capt Forbes the British
Consul of Basreh, she sent
her boat & took the Packet
for Coll Lock & we went
[pg: 187]
on at 9,,10, the Comet had
left Basreh on Friday~
At 9,,30 passed the S.S. Mossul
& Barge going up;
At 0,,50 p.m. passed Baghdadieh
Fort;~
At 2,,15 passed Azizieh;
At 3,,50 we stopped for the
Khalifah coming up just
in the middle reach of
Shedief, she whisseled us, &
sent her through specie on
board, as she got down on
Sunday evening and the
mail boat had left that
morning; I got Henry's letter
& my papers also a packet
of french papers from
Alexander from Paris;
At 4,,10 we weighed and
proceeded~ The Khalifah
is deep having over 227,000
Okes & over 200 passengers,
At 6 p.m. passed Memlah
weather getting cloudy
[pg: 188]
& very light S. Easter,
At 9,,20 p.m. arrived at Coot
landed 10 passengers & 77
packages; & remained for
the night; The river here has
reached nearly to the top of
the banks~
Light n.w. & fine~ At 5
am we left Coot, Took 14
passengers; The river has
flooded some parts of the
banks, and some embankments
are carried off & the water
is rushing into the desert;
The snow is still covering
the range of Lohristan hills
the higher range behind
the the lower one~
At 10,,30 passed Ali Gherbi
some Sudds broken just below
the Village & innondated all
the desert around the Tomb of
Ali Gherbi only the Tomb itself
is standing visible, but they
are closing them;
At 5 p.m. arrived at Amara
landed 19½ passengers &
59 packages; The Ressafah
[pg: 189]
is here just arrived on her
way down; weather cloudy
and light Erly breeze~
At 6,,25 left Amara, Took
12 passengers; Cloudy weather
warm & calm;
At 7,,30 we rounded and
anchored above Aboo Sedra,
Light S. Erly & cloudy a little
At 5,,15 am proceeded;
Detained 10 minutes below the
Elbow reach~
At 10 passed Azair~
At 0,,45 p.m. passed Gorna,
S. Erly wind and cloudy all
over~
At 5 p.m. arrived at
Basreh~ The mail Str. Simla
is in quarantine she arrived
this morning & leaves tomorrow
in the afternoon no other Steamers
are here, The Arabistan has
left about 6 days ago~
Rezooki Sayegh, R. Angoorly,
Nassoory Andrea etc
came to me~
[pg: 190]
We are not going to leave
tomorrow, being Sunday,
I went up with Rezooki to
their house, on the way called
on Asfar saw Jeboory &
his family; and after an hour
we went to Rufail where
we saw also Yousif Marine
dined & slept there~
Light S. Erly & cloudy weather
at 8 am I came on board;
we are discharging cargo;
At 11 am Yousif & Rezooki
came to me, I gave Rezooki
my letter Registered for Alexander
Paris & enclosed for him a
Bank note for 100 frcs, also
a letter for August Tonietti
& enclosed his mother's Photo;
2 Copies to Cairo~ I
then went in to Basreh with
them, We called on Tookyeh
& Rezooki Angoorly, also
on Ali Beg Mudir of
Tapo, & on Kass Yousif
Georjieh the Assyrian Priest
& came to Tookyeh we
[pg: 191]
had Tea & then came out
to the Ship, Rezooki Angurly
also came with us;
we are shipping Cargo;
At 5 p.m. I went up to Jeboory
Asfar to dine & sleep there.
Rufail has an invitation of
some Turkish friends to dine
& sleep also Yousif Marine,
Jeboory & his family had gone
in to Basreh to church, I sad
with Johny Birjony who is
still here & going up with
us to Amara~
The SS. Ressafah came
down last night,
The Mail Str Simla left
this afternoon; Our second
Mate Mr. Hatfield who has
been discharged this time in
Baghdad went down in
her to Kurachi; also Mr.
Jacquerez the french Engineer
left for France, but is
going to spend about 2
months in India & Egypt,
[pg: 192]
Light breeze & very cloudy
all over & gloomy; I had
tea at Asfar & came on
board at 8 am; Lots of
passengers are also coming
the Deck is getting full
& the Cabins too, People
from Bahrein & Bushire
are making their 10 days
Quarantine here and
allowed to proceed;
Roofail, Rezooki, Rezooki
Angoorly, Ali Beg of Tapo
and others came on board
We received the mail at 4 p.m:
and are waiting for the flood
tide to turn Ebb; & also the
wind blowing a N. Easter;
the ship is crowded with
passengers also the Cabins;
taken by Jews and Christians
Weather clearing up
& getting fine;
[pg: 193]
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 353 1/2 | 136,978 | 25,767 1/2 | 4,,10 |
At 8 P.M. we left Basreh
Light N. Erly breeze and
fine~ Weather Keeps warm
and sultry~
Light N.W. & fine~ At 2,,15
am. landed 6 passengers at
Gorna (one is Akif Effendi
the Kaimakam of Gorna an
old friend of mine, he is the
Grand son of the late learned
Mufty Mahmood el Aloosy)
Went on at 2,,20 took one
passenger~
At 8,,15 passed Azair
Finished with the Passengers
Tickets~
Detained opposite Ghumeyjeh
Canal, stuck near the bank
from 9 till 9.30 until got
off by a bower Anchor;
the River Keeps Very high
here overflowing some
parts of the Marshes;
[pg: 194]
At 2,,10 P.M. landed 6 Passengers
at Kalat Saleh & went on
at 2,,15 took 1 passenger;
We have altogether 244 1/2
passengers from Basreh,
(11 in 1st Class, they are Yacoob
Eassayi; Jemil Effendi son of
Abdulghany Effendi in the Police
Department; 2 Jewesses family
of Yacoob Khomara, Dowd
Haddouny; de Bona a
Clerk Maltese of Hotz & Co but
paying 2nd fare at Captain's
desire, Johny Birjony to Amara,
Hannosh, Lynch Brothers Clerk
his wife & brother in Law &
2 Servants free, a Jew
Azoori Hyim & his son with
free Ret Ticket from S Lynch
& Co; and one in 2nd Class the
Sister of Yacoob Ilo the
Clerk of Rezooki Angoorly)
We have great confusion in
the Saloon & Aft with this
sort of people; that I am
shut up in my cabin;
At 7,,40 arrived at Amara
landed 22 passengers (one
1st Class Johny Berjony)
[pg: 195]
We took 4 Tons Coal; Shipped
one Mare @ 12 Mejidies,
also 100 Bags of Rice of
Abdulkadur Khdery @ 2 Rps
per Bag of 80 Okes, & some
Skins & Ghee~
At 10 P.M. left Amara
Fine clear weather & light
N.W. breeze;
Light S. Erly & cloudy a little,
at 6,,30 am. passed Ali Sherghi,
The river has fallen about 1
foot since its highest rise;
Gave tickets to 37 Amara
passengers~
At 9,,20 passed the Baghdad
& Barge going down;
Wind shifted to Modte N.W.
& still cloudy~
At 1 P.M. landed 2 passengers
at Ali Gherbi & went on
at 1,,5~
At 6,,45 P.M. passed Sheikh
Saad~ Fine Clear Weather
& light N.W. breeze~
[pg: 196]
Light N.W. & fine weather,
River is rising~
At 3 AM arrived at Coot,
landed 20 1/2 passengers and
37 Tins Ghee & 7 packages Sugar
Took 10 Tons of Coal; A
great many passengers came
the Deck is full & have taken
their place on the lower Deck
& Sponsoons; the Captain wanted
to turn them out, but they
wont go, the Ship is very crowded
& deep~ The river rose
about 2 feet, but has not
attained its former rise,
At 6 we left Coot, Took
69 Passengers~
At 3 P.M. anchored at
Bughela above the Village
took a rope on shore and
hove on close to the bank
to repair the Starboard
wheel & put a float in it,
and also to bury a small
Jew Child died on board,
At 4,,20 proceeded~
At 4,,50 passed Memlah
[pg: 197]
At 5,,30 passed the S.S.
Khalifah at Summer
Going down, I saw Catherina
Yaghchi in her going to
spend few days with her
daughter Terrooza;~
At 11,,30 we anchored at
Shedief it became cloudy &
begun to blow fresh, and
then it rained a little with
some lightning & thunder,
Light S. Erly breeze & weather
clearing up;
At 5,,30 am we left Shedief,
River is standstill, this rise
has not attained to its former
rise of last week; it is
about 5 feet below the
banks~
At 10,,15 am passed
Azizieh, the river is rising
a little~
At 1,,20 P.M. passed
the S.S. Mossul & Barge going
down at Gutnyeh~
[pg: 198]
At 3,,15 passed Baghdadieh
Fort~
At 1,,35 am we anchored
below Temreh reach,
At 5,, Proceeded, weather
Cloudy a little, the river is
standstill, it is about 6 feet
below the bank; we are
going awfully slow;
At 7,,15 Passed Ctesiphon
At 10 passed Diala river,
At 11,,20 we went alongside
the bank at Gherrara Garden
to land the 2 Mares & a Donkey
We have about 100 passengers
landed also; I went also
& walked in to town,
arrived at about 0 3/4 P.M.
Saw Eliza, I found 2 letters
from Alexander of the 4
& 11 Ulto, both arrived by
the last mail of Thursday
he is well & getting ready
to start for Vienna by
the end of this month, and
is going to leave the
[pg: 199]
the lodgings with Ibrahim
Gejou at 22 Rue Duroc
& is going to take a room
in the Hotel of Pas de Calais
at Rue des St. Pères where
we were living before,
he has received the box of
sweet meats I sent him
by the Alphonse Parran
to Port Said~
The Blosse Lynch arrived
at 1,,45 P.M.~
I took a warm bath, it
is getting rather warm to
have fire in the Bath,
Light N.W. & fine weather
Light N.W. & fine~ At
7 1/2 am I called on Antone
Marine & then we went to
Church, I then called on
Eliza Erame; Sister Medula
& on Menusha & came
home at 12~ At 2 P.M.
called on Sister Eliza and
[pg: 200]
on Alice & Emilia & came
home at 5 1/2 P.M.
Light N.W. & fine weather,
rather warm in the room
at night~
Light N.W. & fine~ at 7 1/2
am Came on board, there
are no Steamers here, The
Blosse went alongside to
discharge cargo;~ I
went to the Office to Mr. Bottomly
for money pounds Sterlings &
took money also Mejidies
& TLiras to the Office;~
At 11 came home,
I wrote Alexander's letter
also a letter to Monseigneur
Altmayer at Mossul & sent
it by today's Post of Constple
in answer to his Card
he sent me to greet my
holyday of St. Joseph;~
At 5 P.M. Eliza & I went
over to my Sister Eliza to
dine there & spend the evening
sent for our dinner also;
Emilia & Alice came
[pg: 201]
there for an hour, we came
home at 10 P.M~
The river is rising today,
it has not reached its former
rise~
Light N.W. & hazy with
some clouds~
At 8 am came on board,
we are discharging, and
also shipping cargo; The
Jew will go into their holyday
on Thursday~ At 10 went
to call on Sister Medula &
then came home had
breakfast at 1 P.M. I
came on board~
We shipped some through cargo,
there is Vartan taking and
Mr. Reynolds the Chief Mate is
out Cricketing; I left at 5
Came home, Weather Cloudy
Antone Marine called, also
Eliahoo Denoos the Residency
Banker~
Light N.W. & cloudy all
over sultry~ At 8 am
I came on board~
[pg: 202]
Finished Alexander's letter
for tomorrow's Post, also a
letter for the Handels Museums
in Vienna;
We finished loading at 4 P.M.
having shipped a great deal
of cargo Mostly gallnuts,
I went home, at 5, Eliza
was at Church I also went
for a short time there were
Prayers & Service for the
Good Friday;~ Artin called
on us~ Weather cloudy,
Light N.W. & fine~
At 4 1/2 am I came on
board~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 209 | 105,064 | 18,868 | 4,,3 |
At 5 AM. We left Baghdad
At 6,,10 passed the SS. Ressafah
going up, below Gherrara
Bridge~
At 6,,45 passed Diala
River; Cold N.W. Wind and
fine Weather;
At 7.45 passed Ctesiphon
[pg: 203]
At 11 am landed 3 passengers
at Swera & went on at 11,,15.
At 11,,50 passed Baghdadieh,
We have altogether
162 1/2 Passengers including
Capt Forbes the English Consul
of Basreh in 1st Class and
two servants free passage,
(7 in 1st Class, Capt Forbes
Mr. Veevers the Engineer; The
Reis el Jeza for Basreh Jamal
Beg, Mahd. son H. Ahmed
Nema & a female, and
Naoomy son of Korkis Tessy
& Rezooki Beshoory with free
Retn. Ticket)
At 1,,30 landed a Bundle
of Specie at Azizieh & went
on at 1,,35;
At 3,,10 P.M. met the SS
Khalifah coming up at Shedief
She stopped & sent Capt.n
Forbe's Letters; I received a
letter from Henry, he says
that he has left my papers
& letters at Coot, the
[pg: 204]
Khalifah has 385 Passengs
in all & 230,000 Okes;
We went on at 3,,15;
At 5,,30 P.M. passed Memlah
At 7,,5 passed the SS. Baghdad
& Barge going up at
Um el Ajaji~ Light N.W.
& fine clear Weather,
Moon 17 days Old;
At 9,,10 arrived at Coot
landed 32 passengers (one free)
and 75 Packages, Received
Henry's letter & my Papers &
a packet of french papers sent
by Alexander, We finished
& remained for the night
Light N.W. & fine weather
At 4,,10 am we left Coot
took 21 1/2 passengers~
At 9,,50 landed 5 passengers
at Ali Gherbi & took 3 and
Went on at 10,,5;
Weather became Cloudy &
Sultry & warm~
At 3,,40 P.M. passed the
[pg: 205]
S.S. Mossul & Barge bound
up~
At 4,,40 P.M. Arrived
at Amara, landed 32
passengers and 34 Packages
The river keeps high here,
At 5,,45 left Amara
We took 15 Zaptyes with
us as escort this time
instead of 5 or 6 as usual,
the Khalifah had them
also this time, it is on
Account of the Arabs
of Hassan el Khayoon
Sheikh of the Beni Sudd
who is still at large
at Howeza & his nephew
who is imprisoned at
Nasryeh, Mehelhel they
say his Arabs came in
Mashoofs in the Marshes
some where above Gorna
and killed 5 men the
Guard of a mud Fort
[pg: 206]
& burnt the Huts etc;
We took 23 passengers~
At 6,,30 we rounded &
Came to for the night, in broad
daylight, weather cloudy
all over, Light N.W. breeze,
At 3 am it began to thunder
with lightning & it rained
for about one hour;
Weather remained cloudy
At 5 am we proceeded
from Above Aboo Sedra;
Fresh N. Erly wind blowing,
At 8,,50 got jammed at the
bank, in the Elbow the Wind
blowing strong & had to take
out an Anchor & hove her
off the bank; We found that
3 Arms of the Port Wheel were
bent & broken & had to
remain to repair them,
The Wind blowing a Strong
N. Et & then North all the
time; We are just in the
bend of the Elbow;~
At 5 P.M. they finished the
repair of the wheel; and
we tryed to get underway
but she touched the Shoal
[pg: 207]
at the lower Eastern point
of the Elbow & grounded
took ropes on the Opposite
bank from fore & Aft,
the Wind still blowing Strong
and the sun has set,
So we remained for the night;
It blew fresh N.W. through
the night till Midnight;
Easter Sunday Light N.W.
breeze & fine weather~
At 5 am we left the Elbow
the river has overflowed in
some parts & formed marshes,
At 6,,15 passed Azair,
The attack by the Arabs of
Hassan Khayoon a few days
ago as I have mentioned the
day before, was below Azair
& abov Hmeyan, on the
Guard of a mud fort and
Killed 4 Shebanas & one
Zaptyeh;~
At 9 landed 5 1/2 passengers
at Gorna & went on at 9,,5,
At 0,,45 P.M. arrived at
Basreh~ The Mail Steamer
[pg: 208]
"Patna" in quarantine &
will leave on Tuesday, she
has had 2 Cases of Plague
on board on her way up one
died at Bunder Abbass & the
Other a Lascar of the steamer
died on board; The SS. Afghanistan
is also here in Quarantine
arrived 2 days ago; I had
sent Alexander's letter to the
Post Office thinking the mail
was going to start today but
when I heard that she will
leave on Tuesday Morning
I took the letter back so as
to put the Bill I am taking
from Rufail for 200 frcs which
he owes me 161 1/2 for the
Paris Exhibition of 1900 & the
rest I am paying him, he
takes a Bill from Asfar in
Marseilles; Roofail & Rezooki
came on board & then we
went up called on Jeboary
Asfar I gave him the Bundle
of Carpet I am sending to
my niece Effie at Cairo to
the Care of Savon Bazin
[pg: 209]
at Port Said per S.S. Afghanistan
leaving Basreh on the
1st of May; We then went
up to Rufails house,
where I dined & slept with
them;
Light N.W. & fine Weather
at 7 am I came on board,
the Ship is getting crowded
with passengers all nearly
are Bahrenis pilgrims,
they filled the Deck & We are
packing them as close as possible,
at noon, the passengers who
were in quarantine of last
week's mail came also
about 100 of them, some are
Persians, Arabs etc, also
Mr. Berk & his wife who
was in Baghdad with
Püttmann the merchants
& had gone to Europe last
Year after we had left,
and married the Sister
of Dr. Hesse's Wife who had
come up with us about
three trips ago~
[pg: 210]
We finished the Cargo at 3 1/2
P.M., flood made about
4 1/2 a Very crowdy Ship
We have this time; Rufail
Rezooki & Rezooki Angourly
called for an hour; We
received the Mail at 4 1/2
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 582 | 100,586 | 36,130 1/2 | 4,,8 |
At 5 P.M. We proceeded from
Basreh, ship is drawing 4,,5
Flood tide just running up
with us;~ Light N.W. and
fine cool Weather; the deck
is crammed with passengers,
they are mostly all Bahrein
Arabs;~
At 10,,30 landed 5 passengers
at Gorna & went on at 10,,35
At 11,,40 We anchored
for the night~ Fine weather
& moon light night~
At 4,,30 am. we proceeded
Fine weather & light N.W. breeze,
At 7,,45 passed Azair
I finished with the
[pg: 211]
Passengers tickets;
We have altogether 434
passengers (7 in 1st Class,
Mr. & Mrs. Berk who came out
Via Bombay, he married the Sister
of Mrs. Hesse, Naoomy Korkis &
Rezooki Beshoory returning with
us with their free R. Ticket, and
Rezooki Beshoory's wife and
her Aunt paying, also the
Subadar of the Residency
Sipoys with through 2nd Class
but put him in 1st Class and
3 Bahrein women in 2nd Class
Cabin)~ 26 Sepoys with T. Tickets
At 0,,10 P.M. landed 4
passengers at Kalat Saleh
and went on at 0,,15~
At 5,,15 PM. arrived at
Amara landed 10 passengers
and the 15 Zaptyeh~
An awful crowd of Passengers
rushed on board with their
Kit Arabs Madans, Turks
& their Kit & Confusion so
pressed that it is undiscribable
& such that I never
[pg: 212]
saw the like of it, people
were throwing themselves
every where below; Wives
of Medan Sheikhs and their
followers all put down
in the passages everywhere,
The Mufettish of the Senyeh
Ahmed Yawer Effendi and
his followers & all his house
Kit furniture, Goats, Sheep,
and fowels, in great quantity,
he took a 1st Class Cabin
We were trampled under
foot; Nobody on board
seems to check the rush,
We shipped 6 Tons of Coal
& a lot of Cargo as Rice,
Skins, Tins of Ghee etc;
We took again 5 Tons more
of Coal so as not to stop at
Coot & go alongside, as we
cannot take any more
passengers~
At 8,,40 left Amara;
At 10,,45 We touched the shoal
bank & nearly grounded
[pg: 213]
but backed off & went on at
11~
Light N.W. & fine clear and
Cool Weather, The river is rising
it has reached the top of the
banks~ At 4,,45 passed
Ali Sherghi~
Gave tickets to the Amara
passengers; we have 146
(2 in 1st Class Cabin Ahmed
Yawer Effendi the Inspector of the
Senyeh & his wife)
At 11 am. landed 3 passengers
at Ali Gherbi & took one
& went on at 11,,5;
At 4,,10 P.M. passed Sheikh
Saad;
At 0,,20 AM arrived at
Coot, we did not go alongside
so as not to get any more
passengers, we landed 4
passengers in our Boat, I
sent Henry's letter & papers,
We went on at 0,,30 am
Light S. Erly breeze and
fine~ The river is falling
[pg: 214]
At 8,,55 passed Memlah,
We passed the S.S. Ressafah
& Barge going down at
2 1/2 am this morning;
At 3,,15 P.M. We met the
S.S. Khalifah coming down
We stopped and sent her our
Specie for Coot which we
did not deliver last night,
and we went on from
Zeljeh at 3,,25, I received
a letter from Henry, they
have only 30,000 Okes of Cargo
and 70 passengers; Henry
tells me that Rezooki
son of Maghak Kasperkhan
died on the 9th Instt from
an ulcer in the Stomach;
At 6,,15 P.M. passed Azizieh
the rest of the mud houses are
getting eaten away by the
river;
At 10,,15 P.M. passed Baghdadieh
Fort~ Light S. Erly breeze & fine,
At 6,,15 AM passed the
S.S. Mossul & Barge going up
[pg: 215]
she is about 19 days from Basreh
& the Khalifah passed her
yesterday noon at Baghdadieh,
River has fallen about
4 feet~ Clouds hanging
on~
At 8 passed Ctesiphon,
the river has fallen much
nearly 6 feet;
At 10.55 passed Diala
River~
Today is just one year
since we left Baghdad for
Europe with my wife and
son Alexander;
At 12 am I landed at Gherrara
and found a Donkey of Baghdad
of M? Berk Püttmam’s
Clerk came to meet Mr. Berk
I rode it in & got home
at 1 P.M. Very Warm all
the way, found Eliza well,
I found one letter from
Alexander of last Thursday’s
Post, dated the 18 Ulto,
he is well & writes of his
[pg: 216]
leaving for Vienna at
the end of this month, but
he prefers returning
by the desert Via Aleppo
as he dislikes the sea &
asks my permission to
allow him to do that. I
also received a letter from
Mr. Joseph Khoury from
Port Said thanking me
for the dates I sent him,
The Blosse Lynch arrived
at 2 P.M.~
At 3 Eliza & I went to Call
on Alice & Sister Emilia &
on Sister Eliza for the holydays
of Easter & we returned
at 5 ½~ Antone Marine
called on us for a Couple
of hours~
A New German Consul
Dr. Rozen has arrived here
in place of Mr. Richarz
he came on the 6th Instt -
Via Damascus, and
[pg: 217]
the rumour here is that
Richarz will not return
again to Baghdad~ At
7 P.M. the Postman came
& brought me Alexanders
letter by the Damascus
Post arrived this Afternoon
it is dated the 25 Ulto,
he is alright, but the weather
is still Very Cold and he
proposes to me to take a
different route to Vienna
he wishes to go Via Lyon,
Milan, Venice & so on
which Costs 148 francs
Light S. Erly & warm
weather, it is so warm in
the room to sleep;
S. Erly breeze & fine
but warm weather;
The SS. Mossul arrived
last night at 10 P.M.
At 7 am I came on
board, sent money
[pg: 218]
to the Office & I went
also to see Mr. Bottomley,
he has made a new tarif for
the Jews going to Azair this
year, the Passage there &
back will be 4 Mejidies
(15 Besh. instead of 13 Beshlics)
and a different tickets (White)
will be issued to them so as
to facilitate their finding
them out at once if they land
at any of the intermediate
places, where they have to
pay passage should they
be found there etc etc;
I came home at 11,
I took a warm bath without
the fire place been light, as
it is getting too warm
now;
Weather Cloudy, and
at 5 ½ P.M. a very hard shower
of rain came which has
innundated the house &
streets with thunder and
lightning for about 1/2
hour, & Kept Cloudy &
strong N.W. Wind;
[pg: 219]
at about 6 Dr. Rozen
the New German Consul
Came to Call on me, I
had never seen him yet
I found him Very nice person
affable and speaks french
and English very fluently,
also the Arabic very correctly
and spoke with Eliza, he
Comes Via Damascus &
Palmyra & Deir; He met
Mr. Richarz at Deir going
Via Aleppo & Alexandretta
to Constple he left after
1/2 hour & I promised to go &
visit him tomorrow~
Weather unsettled with Thunder
& Lightning in the distance
but got fine at night;
Modte N.W. & fine Cool weather
at 8 am Eliza & I went to
Church, I then called on the
french Priests, on Bishop Aghnatius,
Father Philippus; Selman
Durian, Keboor Maghak,
Yacoob Tessi; Sister Medula,
[pg: 220]
& took Artin & Grzeski & called
on Risha Maghak to Condole
him on the death of his
brother Rezooki who left a
wife & 4 children; Called
on Menusha Henry's Wife,
on Rezooki Serkis & on
Yacoob Pahlawan's family
came home had breakfast
At 2 ½ P.M. Called on Alice
& then went to visit Dr.
Rozen but he was out
riding; I left my card,
I called on Sister Eliza, &
at 4 called on Colonel
Loch the English Consul
General, had tea with him
& had long talks, he wishes
to know all sorts of
information from me,
I left at 5 ¾ & called on
Yousif & Michail Yaghchi
& came home;
Fine Cool Weather~
Modte N.W. & fine rather
Cold weather~ at 7 ½
[pg: 221]
am I came on board, we
finished discharge and
hauled off, & the Mossul
Went in to discharge;
At 10 I went home & wrote
my letter to Alexander for
Thursday's Post~ I wrote
a letter to Blanche the widow
of my brother Alexander at
Constple in answer to her
letter I received last voyage,
& sent it with today's Post
for Constple~ At 3 P.M. Eliza
& I called on Capt & Mrs. Cowley
but Cowley was asleep we
left at 5 ½ & called on Alice
& spent the evening till 8 P.M.
& came home; Fine Cool
weather~
The S.S. Baghdad left yesterday
for Basreh~
Light N.W. & fine Cool
weather~ At 7 ½ am. I
called on Sister Medula &
then came on board~
The Mossul is inside discharging
Cargo~
[pg: 222]
At 11 Went home and at
2 1/2 P.M. came on board, We
shipped very little Cargo,
At 4 Went home; Pere Marie
Joseph called on me; Antone
Marine called in the evening
till 8 ½~ Light N.W. and
fine Cool Weather~
River is rising today~
I had masons today in
repairing the wall on the
narrow street, & also in
my small house behind;
Light N.W. & fine Cool
Morning; At 7 ½ am. I
Came on board; We are
shipping Cargo~
I closed Alexander's letter for
Paris & made it registered as
it contains a letter from some
one from Europe with stamps
in it; also a letter for Mr. J
Böhm Vienna & sent them
to the Post Office~
River rose about 1/2 foot today,
at 11 went home; Shemooni
Korkis Tessy & her son Yousif's Wife
were there~ I breakfasted &
[pg: 223]
Came on board at 12 ½~
We shipped a good deal of
through cargo, but little of
local;~ At 5 ½ P.M. I
went home, took Eliza &
went over to Antone Marine
& passed the evening, at 8 ½
came home & had dinner
Light N.W. & fine Weather
Modte N.W. Wind & fine
Cool Weather, at 4 ½ am
I came on board~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 135 ½ | 50,799 | 10,712 2/4 | 3,,10 |
At 5 Am. we proceeded from
Baghdad~
At 6,,40 passed Diala
River~
At 7,,45 passed Ctesiphon,
Gave tickets to the passengers
At 11,,45 passed Baghdadieh
Fort~
We have 116 passengers,
(2 are in the 1st Class, the Jamadar
of the Sepoys of the Residency
[pg: 224]
having a 2nd C. ticket, and
Hannosh Kass Hanna Clerk
of Lynch free, and 2 women
in 2nd Class, the wife & sister
of an Armenian Clerk of Lynch
at Mahomera called Basil
his wife has free passage)
We have 24 Sipoys of the
Residency returning being
relieved~
At 1,,10 P.M. passed the
S.S. Khalifah going up at
Raddat;
At 1,,25 passed Azizieh
A very strong N.W. Wind is,
blowing~
At 5,,40 passed Memlah
Wind fell down;
At 8,,55 P.M. Arrived at
Coot landed 19 ½ passengers
and 56 Packages; I received
Henry's letters & My papers &
also a packet of news papers
from Alexander; The SS.
Khalifah had 180,750 Okes
and 361 passengers without
those from Coot, she had
10 in 1st Class the 3 wives
[pg: 225]
of Yacoob, Yousif & Artin
Eassayi, Mr. Wroblewsky
Inspector for Public Debt,
Mr. Vivien Inspector of the
Règie; The Kady of Basreh
& his wife Abdulkadur
Zheir; Ali Beg Zheir etc 10
in all, & also Capt. Sanders
of the Afghanistan going
free & sleeping in Capt
Hanslow's Cabin~ The
SS. Patna which was to
leave on the 12th (the day after
we had left) was detained
until the 18th having first
got permission to land
the passengers & then were
retaken on board and
sent back~
Light N.W. & fine Weather
at 4,,30 am we left
Coot, took 2 passengers,
At 10,,20 passed Ali
Gherbi~
At 5 P.M. arrived at Amara
landed 18 passengers &
[pg: 226]
81 packages~
At 4,,30 the SS. Ressafah
& Barge arrived from Basreh,
At 5,,50 We left Amara
took 16 ½ passengers~
At 6,,45 we anchored above
Aboo Sedra, Fine weather,
& new moon today~ We
have also 15 Zaptyes as
escort to Basreh;
Light N.W. & fine weather
At 4,,35 AM. We proceeded
At 6,,30 passed Kalat Saleh;
Detained 10 minutes at the Elbow
in turning the narrow bend;
At Hmeyan there are about
30 or 40 soldiers encamped
At 9,,35 passed Azair,
here also there are some
soldiers encamped, they were
sent from Basreh up in
the Ressafah on the 17th
they say about 200 were sent
to be distributed on the
stations to keep the road
safe~
At 0,,10 P.M. landed 6
[pg: 227]
passengers at Gorna and
Went on at 0,,15~
At 4 P.M. arrived at Basreh,
the SS. Afghanistan is up
here from the quarantine
after having passed 10 days,
The Mail Str; Kilwa
is in quarantine having
arrived today & leaves tomorrow
I went up to Rufail and
Rezooki, I saw there Rezooki
Angoorly & his brother Toni
they were going up to shoot
at Garmat Ali, & return
tomorrow~ I feel very bad
having changed my inside
woolen flannel this morning
& put on a Cotton one &
so got cold in the chest &
bones. I feel feverish &
coughing all the time with
much irritation in Chest,
I suffered much at night
besides there were plenty
of sand flies~
[pg: 228]
Very Calm & fine Weather
at 7 ½ am. Roofail Rezooki
& I left to come on board
& thence to go to town and
Visit Takoohy their Sister &
also Nessoory Andrea and
Catterina Yaghchi but we
learnt that the Blosse
Lynch leaves today, as
the Post Office will be opened
today to close the Bombay
Mail, & we want to
pass the Ressafah on her
way up because the
Moharrem Holyday falls
on next Sunday & the Custum
House will be closed for
four days; So I remained
on board; We are discharging
and shipping Cargo~
I sent Alexander's letter
to the Post with Rezooki it
is Registered I enclosed a
Bank note of 100 frcs for
him, it is dated today and
addressed it to Vienna
[pg: 229]
to the Care of Mr. Böhm,
I received a packet of
french news papers by
yesterday's Mail from
Alexander, dated from the
19 to the 25 March, he enclosed
2 packets of needles for
his mother as she had asked
him to send her~
The weather became very
warm today the Thermor
went up to 86 in the afternoon,
No body came to me except
Ali Beg Saib & Nessoory
Andrea~
The Kilwa left for Bombay
at 4 ½ P.M.~ We finished
Cargo at 4; Not having
many passengers~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 189 ½ | 164,551 | 13,670 ½ | 4,,11 |
At 5,,20 P.M. We left Basreh
& proceeded~
The SS. Baghdad and
Barge left about 1/2 hour
before us; we passed
[pg: 230]
her at 6 P.M. above Maghil,
Flood tide running up
with us; Weather keeps very
warm & Cabin calm~ Passed the Mossul going down @ 6.P.
At 11,,30 P.M. passed Gorna
Weather became little cooler,
At 1,,15 am we anchored
At 4,,30 proceeded, Very calm
& light S. Erly breeze, cloudy &
warm~
At 7 we passed Azair,
The Soldiers encamped here,
are making a place above
the Tomb on the bank, an
elevated place & throwing
earth to make it streight
so as to encamp there;
It is very warm in My
Cabin, being so close to
the Boiler & the sun striking
on it~
I finished with the Passengers
tickets; We have in all 148 ½
(2 in 1st Class, a Mahomedan
Seyd Ahmed, and Hayat
the Wife of Yousif Dyab
[pg: 231]
an Aleppine Lawyer in
Basreh, she was the wife
of Mr. Bore a Portuguese
apothecary died in Basreh
and one in 2nd Class the wife
of Polus Abbo~
At 11,,30 landed 5 passengers
at Kalat Saleh & went on
at 11,,35~
At 4,,30 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 9 passengers,
S. Erly breeze & warm
We took in 6 Tons of Coal,
and shipped some Cargo as
Hides & Tins of ghee about
5585 Okes~ Ibrahim Effendi
of the Senyeh came to me,
At 6,,5 We left Amara
took 14 passengers;
Light S. Erly breeze and Cloudy
all over, warm & the flies are
swarming in the ship &
my cabin is full~
At 7 am sent the boat
at Ali Gherbi & took 2 ½
[pg: 232]
passengers & went on
at 7,,10~ Weather Keeps
very cloudy & sultry warm
with a light wind from S.
or S. West; River has fallen
about 2 feet & is about 4
feet below the bank;
At 6,,45 P.M. arrived at Coot
landed 6 passengers; We
took 5 Tons of Coal~
Weather cleared up and
became fine~
At 7,,50 we left Coot;
At 10,,45 We anchored having
Got cloudy all around~
At 4 AM. proceeded~
Light S. Erly breeze & clouds
disappearing;
I took a dose of Castor
Oil this morning early at 4 ½
as I have felt billious and
bowels out of order, I had
not taken it for a year,
We took 24 ½ passengers
from Coot~
River is falling much,
[pg: 233]
At 9 Am passed Memlah,
Wind shifted to a fresh
N.W. but it is hazy~
At 5,,50 P.M. passed Azizieh
fine Clear Weather~
At 9,,40 passed Baghdadieh
Fort~ Light N.W. & fine
weather, Cool night;
Light N.W. & fine Cool weather
The river has fallen a good deal
it is about 10 feet below the
bank;
At 6,,35 passed Ctesiphon
At 7,,10 passed the S.S. Khalifah
at Menary, she looks to
have very few Jews for Azair,
At 9,, passed Diala, landed
our Khatrachi Hamza here
to go & get the horse of our
Pilot Mahmood to ride it
out to Meshed for a pilgrimage
tomorrow & will return
on Wednesday & We Went
on at 9,,5~
At 10 we passed the SS.,
Ressafah & Barge going
[pg: 234]
up just below the bridge
of Gherrarah, We had met
her at Amara on our way
down;
At 10,,20 landed a
Deckman at Gherrarah,
I did not land, as I feel
rather weak from the Castor
Oil I took yesterday & besides
I find the sun too not;
At 0 45 P.M. landed the Mail
at the Residency & steamed
to the Custum House, I
landed near the Residency &
Called on Sister Eliza for
few minutes & came home
saw Eliza, I got Alexander's
letter dated 31 Mch of
last weeks Post, he says that
he is leaving his lodging &
with Ibrahim Gejou on the
1st Instt & going to live in
the Hotel of Pas de Calais
in no. 59 Rue des St Pères where
we were living & he is very
well; I also received a
letter from R. Korkis &
[pg: 235]
one from Mr. J. Böhm
from Vienna he has received
the Copies of My Passport
legalized & Rezooki Korkis
has sent the 20 £ Stg to
Alexander;~
I called on Alice & Sister Emilia
for one hour~
The SS. Ressafah arrived
at 3 P.M.~
S. Erly Wind blew during
the night strong~
S. Erly breeze & warm weather,
at 7 am called on Menusha
& then came on board,
I went to the Office for some
pounds sterling for wages,
but I could not see Mr. Bottomley
he was at Coll Loch~
We are not leaving until
Friday next, at 11 came
home~ I took a warm
bath; weather unsettled
blowing S.W. & then shifted
to N.W. with a Squall
[pg: 236]
& dust; Antone Marine &
Artin my nephew called
on us; Johny my nephew
has obtained 15 days leave
of Absence on account
of his suffering from weakness
and has gone out for
a change to Aboo Ghureib
Felloojeh & then down
to Hilla~
The Chaldean Patriarch
Abed Yshoh has arrived
here on Monday last
from Mossul in a Kelek
to stay about 6 months
to finish the building
of the Church which was
begun since 4 or 5 years
& remained unfinished
for want of fund,
he is an Old Man of 75
& Very clever, speaking
several European languages
he has the decoration
[pg: 237]
of the Mejidieh Class, and
the Christians here made
a great pomp & show when
he came into town from
the Kellek at Moaddem
The Government sent an escort
of few Zaptyeh's to accompany
him, He called on the
Waly & Mushir & they
returned him the visit, he
leaves in the house of
Demarki which belonged
formerly;~
Modte N.W. & fine weather
at 8 am I came on board
the Blosse is discharging
Cargo, The river is rising;
I went on shore called on Sister
Eliza & came home,
Weather getting very warm,
unable to sleep in the room
& bear warm clothing;
I called on Grzesky but he
was going out to Madem
where my sister Medula
[pg: 238]
& Julietti's family are
leaving in a Garden for a
few days;~
Light N.W. & fine clear
weather; at 7 1/2 Am Eliza
& I went to church, but our
church's mass was getting
late, so Artin [crossed out] my nephew
& myself went to the Chaldean
Church & heard mass,
I then called on the Chaldean
Patriarch Abed Yshoa
I found him a nice person
very talketive & amusing,
I called on the Assyrian Bishop
his brother Elias has arrived
from Deir two days ago;
I called on Antone, Yacoob
Oossy, Dowd Khalaf, the
Eassayis as Yacoob & his
wife are going to start for
Europe Via Aleppo; on
thursday; called on Yousif
Hannosh Tessy and Yousif
Korkis; at 2 P.M. I
[pg: 239]
went to Sister Eliza & took
Artin & went to call on
the Mushir Rejeb Pasha
in the Garden of Moolla
Hamadi but he was not
there having gone out to
near Moaddem in the
morning & will be back
at sunset We left our
carols; we called on
Monsr. Ronèt the french
Consul & was not at home,
left our cards~ Called
on Alice & Sister Emilia
& then came home~
Light N.W. & fine;
S. Erly breeze & warm
morning~ at 7 am. I came
on board paid the Ships
company their wages for
April~
The new Waly for Basreh
Anis Pasha, arrived yesterday
down in Kelek from Mossul
[pg: 240]
he comes from Constanple Via
Aleppo, Urfa, Diarbekir &
Mossul; This is the same
Anis Pasha who was Governor
of Diarbekir 2 years Ago,
during the Armenian Massacre
there, encouraged by him
& he remained inactive,
& the french Consul there wired
to the french Ambassador
Mons Cambon, the latter
went immediately to the
Sultan & complained very strongly
& demanded the immediate
dismissal of Anis Pasha &
to stop the massacre, which
he did, & there was no further
bloodshed; Now he has been
appointed to Basreh, but the
English & french Governments
are opposed to it; The English
Ambassador Sir Philip
Currie protested strongly
to the Sultan regarding his
being appointed Wali at
Basreh~ This afternoon
Mr. Bottomley sent to tell me
[pg: 241]
that the Wali is going down
with us, & the Halai Beg &
Ali Beg son of Kassem Pasha
who came from Basreh to
meet him, had gone to the
office to engage Cabins and
wants me to reserve 5 Cabins
for him & his family and
svnt & to let him know the
amount of passage as per
List he sent me, I wrote
down the passage, they will
be about 20 persons~
At 2 P.M. called on Henry's
wife & came back at 4
The Nakib of Baghdad
Seyd Selman Effendi son of
Seyd Ali Effendi died this
morning at 6 am in his
Garden outside the town at
Kerradah, & his body brought
in to town & buried in the
Mosque of Sheikh Abdulkadur
el Ghelany, where his family
are buried, his illness is
through his habit of a Sedentary
[pg: 242]
life he spent & did nothing
but eat & sleep, he was so
fat, & his heart failed
to act; he was about 61 or
62 years Old; Great pomp
& ceremony took place during
his funeral in bringing
him from the Garden to town,
the desert was crammed
with people & all the Turkish
Pashas & Officials & Nobility
were out with some guards
escorting & number of carriages,
It is expected that his
brother Seyd Abdulrahman
Effendi will be appointed
Nakib here~
At 5 P.M. Eliza & I went to see
Sister Medula & Grzeski who
came in from the Moaddam
Garden today, Menusha &
Louisa also were there, at
8 we came home~
Light N.W. & fine Weather
Light N.W. & fine cool
morning; at 7 1/2 am I
called on Eliza Eram &
Adoola my cousins~
[pg: 243]
I also called on Antone
Marine for an hour &
came home~ The Chaldean
Patriarch Aleed Yshoa
called on us, he has been
to Europe & speaks french
& Italian but I think not
so well;~
Light N.W. & fine, but warm
during the day~
The Wali of Basreh Anis
Pasha is not going down
with us; he is going in
the Ressafah, & they are
going to allow her to discharge
her cargo tomorrow in
the Custum House so as
to leave on Friday morning;
Light N.W. & fine~ This
is the fourth & last day of
the Holyday of Moharrem
At 7 Am I came on board,
The Ressafah got alongside the
wharf & begun discharging
her Cargo~ River is falling,
At 10 I left & went to the
Telegraph & Post Office called
on Mr. Julieti the chief
[pg: 244]
Inspector, and saw Naoomi
Dimitry the Postmaster for
foreign posts to enquire the
cause why I did not receive
any letter but this last Post,
he said that most of the letters
had not arrived;~ I left &
came home~ The Assyrian
Bishop Called on us~
At 4 P.M. Eliza & I called on Sister
Eliza, there came Emilia and
Alice & we remained till 8 1/2
& came home;
Light N.W. & fine Weather;
Modte N.W. & fine; it was
cloudy during the night;
At 7 am I came on board,
I finished & closed Alexander's
letter to Vienna to be registered
by todays Damascus Post
also Effie's letter to Cairo dated
the 21 April which I had not
sent until I got Asfar's receipt
for the Carpet I sent her per
S.S. Afghanistan~ I sent
a small parcel of 6 Arabic
reed pens to Yacoob Eassayi
to take them to Alexander
to Vienna as he intends
[pg: 245]
passing through with his
wife, they leave on Saturday,
via Aleppo~
At 10 I went home to breakfast,
I received 2 letters from
Alexander by the arrival of
the Damascus Mail this
morning, of the 8 & 15 April,
also a packet of news papers;
Alexander had gone to live
in the Hotel at Rue des St Pères
where we were living, and
took a room at 60 frcs per
month, the one which Ibrahim
Gejou had; but he has left it
after few days as they wanted
to charge him 1/2 frc on
each candle & he took
a room at no 7 Boulevard
Strasbourg; Rezooki
Korkis had come to Paris
to spend Easter Sunday;
At 11 I came on board~
I wrote a short letter to Alexander
just telling him of the receipt
of his two letters~
We hauled out at 3, and
received the Mail & letters,
[pg: 246]
The ship is very light and
we have about 13,000 Okes;
Weather Cloudy & Modte
N.W. Wind;
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 161 | 17,062 | 12,436 | 3,,6 |
At 3,,45 P.M. left Baghdad
At 5,,5 passed the S.S. Baghdad
& Barge below Gherrara,
At 5,,30 passed Diala
River~
At 6,,30 passed Ctesiphon,
Finished with the passengers
tickets; Weather very warm
in the Cabin~ At 7 passed the Mossul going up.
We have an American
Missionary Mr. John Ainslie
his wife & 2 children and
the nun Miss Maclain
who came down from Mossul
& going to America,
also Madm. Paduani
& her daughter & a Jewess
to Azair all these in 1st
Class, also Yousif
[pg: 247]
Yaghchi going down free
to meet his mother
Catterina & his sister
Terrooza coming up in
the Khalifah, we have
Altogether 137 1/2 passengers,
At 10,,50 passed Baghdadieh
Fort~ Fine moonlight night
Light N.W. & fine~
At 0,,25 Am passed
Azizieh~
At 4,,30 passed Memlah,
At 5,,45 met the Khalifah
coming up at Mehd; We
stopped & sent Yousif Yaghchi
to her who came down to
meet his mother & sister,
we went on at 5,,50~
At 8,,25 Am arrived at
Coot landed 24 passengers
and 30 Packges; Received
Henry's letters & papers, &
a packet of french papers from
Alexander; the Khalifah
had 205,000 Okes & over
150 passengers~
[pg: 248]
At 9,,5 left Coot took
14 passengers~
At 0,,50 P.M. passed
Sheikh Saad;
At 3,,20 P.M. anchored
off Ali Gherbi & landed 1 Passenger
and 22 Packages~
At 4,,5 left Ali Gherbi took
one passenger;~
At 11 arrived at Amara
landed 28 passengers and
13 packages; shipped 21
Bales Pressed Hides through
to Marseilles for the SS. Kurdistan
for Asfar & Co;~ We hauled
out & remained for the night
At 3,,15 AM left Amara
took 8 passengers~
Light N.W. breeze & fine,
Detained at the Elbow
ship swung across the bite &
jammed her stern & bow
on each bank from
7,,45 to 8,,15~
At 9,,25 went Alongside at
Azair and landed 52 1/2
Jews (50 with R. Ticket)
The Soldiers about 100 of
[pg: 249]
them, are encamped farther up
the Tomb under 11 Tents pitched,
At 10,,10 we left, weather
became calm, & few clouds
on South & West;
At 0,,55 P.M. landed 4
passengers at Gorna (2 booked
for Basreh) went on at 1;
At 4,,45 landed Stores for
the Mejidieh at Maghil and
went on at 5; Very Warm
sultry & clouds~
At 5,,20 P.M. arrived at
Basreh, the Mail S. Assyria
and the SS. Brookside for
Hotz & Co are in Quarantine
having both arrived on Tuesday
Mr. Taylor arrived in the
Brookside & landed at
Mahomerah to finish
his quarantine & go up to
Ahwaz; but I heard that he
came up in the Malamir
to as far as the quarantine
& went back this morning
to Ahwaz & thence up
to Shushter & as far
[pg: 250]
as Ispahan & Teheran, to
construct the road for the
caravan & eventually a
railroad will be opened;
The Lynchs have appointed
him as head of their firm
in Basreh & Baghdad, and
a joint partner, with the
power of Authorization,
which he got registered in
the English Consulate;
As the Mail is closed, I
sent my letter to Alexander
of tomorrow's date with Vartan
& Capt Cowley who went
down to the Mail St. Assyria
with our mail & specie,
Yousif Marine who was in
Basreh came to me, & I went
with him in the Belem, I
landed at Asfar & he went
up to Shadeyeh, I found
Rufail & Rezooki there,
we spent about 2 hours &
then went to Rufails house
where we dined & I slept in
the room, but Rufail & Rezooki
are sleeping on the top of
the house; Weather very
[pg: 251]
Sultry warm & light breeze
S. Erly wind cloudy Sultry
& warm~ The mail Steamer
Assyria left early this morning
At 7 Am I came down
to the Blosse Lynch, we are
shipping cargo, & have to
leave tomorrow~
At 11 Rezooki & I went in to Basreh
called on Tookyeh & her husband
Rezooki & at 2 P.M. came out
to the steamer;~ At 4 we then
went up to Rufails house, and at
6 we all came to Jeboory Asfar
where we dined & returned at 10
P.M.; A fine Modte N.W.
wind is blowing, but there
are a lot of sandflies & some
mosquitoes~
Modte N.W. & fine Weather,
The steam Launches passed
up at 6 A.M. with all the
Basreh officials & nobility to
Meet the Waly Enis Pasha
coming down in the Ressafah,
but soon after they met her
at Maghil coming down
[pg: 252]
& they all returned in the Ressafah
which arrived at 6 1/2 AM
I came on board by this time
all the Troops turned out to
salute on this side of the
river & on the opposite side
where some are encamped;
We have finished loading
since Yesterday; No news
of the Mail Str . from Bushire,
& so we have no mail to
take up as the Khalifah
had taken ours too,~
A lot of people came on
board mostly all Christians
it appears that they are
all leaving Basreh, being
afraid of the fever, last
time with us & the time
before, & by the Khalifah
The families of the Clerks
of Lynch Brothers going
with us all in Cabins
Aft & free, With their servants
children etc etc~
Rufail Rezooki & R. Angoorly
& Ali Beg came on board
this latter has shipped
[pg: 253]
a Mare & Sais with us free,
through Mahd Pachiachi
who obtained a free passage
for them~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 266 | 160,386 | 19,864 | 5,,1 |
At 4,,45 P.M. We proceeded
from Basreh~ Ship is deeply
laden, Flood tide high but
slack; At Maghil landed
Mr. Richards the Acting Agent
for Lynch Brothers & others;
Very warm in my cabin
the heat from the Engineroom
is coming like a furnace,
My cabin being so close to
the Engineroom is the worst
in the ship; I am swetting
in my bed~
At 10,,50 landed 3 passengers
at Gorna & went on at 10,,55,
Light N.W. & breeze, but in
my cabin it is very warm,
I could not sleep Well;
At 3,,30 AM landed
3 passengers at Azair
[pg: 254]
and went on at 3,,35 , took
3 Jews with R Ticket (one
for Amara~
At 9 stopped for letters at
Kalat Saleh sent to Amara
by the Motserrif Mostapha Pasha
who came down here, & we
went on;
We have altogether 192
passengers from Basreh (6
are in the 1st Class, one Jew
Shamoon Daniel paying &
the 5 are free they are the
Wife of Rezooki Abdulahad
Clerk of Lynch Broth, two Sisters
& 2 servants Deck; and the
wife of Yousif Mossully Clerk of
L. Broths and his father both
in Cabin free, & 5 after
Deck free) We have 2 in
2nd Class, Naoomy Nemo and
his wife~
At 11,,30 ship went against
the East bank driven by the
wind, had to get an Anchor
out & hove her off & went on
at 0,,15 P.M. Very Strong
N.W. Wind is blowing;
[pg: 255]
At 3,,25 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 27 passengers,
took in 6 tons coal and
shipped a lot of Cargo~
At 5,,45 We left Amara
having shipped 332 packages
or 14445 Okes~ Gave
tickets to 34 1/2 passengers,
Modte N.W. & fine cool
night~
Light N.W. & fine Weather,
At 7,,50 Am landed 4
passengers at Ali Gherbi
& went on at 7,,55 took 4
passengers;~
Wind got up again a strong
N.W. but hot~
At 2 P.M. passed Sheikh Saad
Light breeze & fine cool weather
At 9,,15 P.M. arrived at
Coot landed 13 passengers
took no coal~
At 10 we left Coot; Fine
night & Modte N.W. breeze;
Modte N.W. & fine cool
morning~ Detained at
Shady in Shoal water
[pg: 256]
from 5 to 5,,15~
At 6 landed a passenger woman
at Bughela that had no passage
from Coot & went on at 6,,10
Gave tickets to 32 1/2 Coot
passengers;
At 6,,40 passed Memlah;
We passed the SS. Baghdad and
Barge going down at 3 1/2 AM
at Umel Ajaj~ At 7,,15 landed
a passenger above Memlah
who had no money to pay his
passage from Coot~
Wind getting up & blowing
fresh~
At 4,,15 P.M. passed Azizieh
Village which is now getting
fast eaten by the river & the
Mud houses are melting away,
The Wind has fallen a
little~
At 8 P.M. passed the
Fort of Baghdadieh; Light
N.W. & fine Cool weather;
Light N.W. breeze & fine Weather
quite cool this morning.
At 5,,25 AM. passed
[pg: 257]
Ctesiphon; The Khalifah
Could not have left yesterday,
At 6.30 AM passed the
S.S. Khalifah going down
at Zumbaranyeh Island
At 8,,20 passed Diala
river~
At 9,,50 went alongside at
Gherrarah landed a mare
from Ali Beg Saib Mudir of
Tapo free, to his brother
Hamdy Beg the Mufettish
Adlyeh in Baghdad, I
landed & walked in to
town; there is a nice cool breeze
but the sun became warm
toward noon, at 11 1/4 I arrived
home found Eliza well,
I found a letter from Alexander
dated the 22 April & arrived
yesterday, also two telegrams
from him, one dated the
3rd May & had arrived here on
the 6th in which he says
"Svoboda Baghdad,
Partirai 9 Voie Venice,
[pg: 258]
The second one dated the 9th
& arrived here on the 11th the
day before he says,
"Svoboda Baghdad
Parterai 15 telegrafiez Korkis
me versér 500, Soyez tranquille,
I suppose he wants the money
for the Bycicle which he must
have bought; I had written
to him not to buy one now,
as I had arranged with Johny,
my nephew to get two out
from London one for himself,
I did not know what to do,
and not having money,
just now to advance him
so I had to satisfy his wishes,
& I wrote to Yousif Korkis
to let me have a telegram
to his brother Rezooki to
advance Alexander 20 £
He sent me the following
telegram which I sent it
at once to be wired;
"Razkallah London
Pay Svoboda 20 pounds
(7 words paid 5 1/4 Frcs or G.S.P. 25) Korkis
[pg: 259]
The Blosse Lynch arrived
at 9,45 P.M.~The S.S. Mossul
is here alongside the C. House
Antone called in the evening
he told us the sad news
of the death of Mrs. Loch
the present Consul General,
She died in England from
an abcess in the liver soon
after she arrived or about
a month after her arrival
there from Baghdad, he
received a telegram this
morning, & he is awfully
cut up & sorry, she had
gone to see her two sons at
school & was returning in
September~
There is lots of fever in
Baghdad, every house
has got some body with
it, Antones children &
Henry's children are also
down with us; it is the change
of weather~
[pg: 260]
Light N.W. & fine cool
night, we are sleeping in
the big room yet ~
Light N.W. & fine weather
at 7 am I came on board,
The Cargo of the Khalifah having
been put into the Barge is
now getting discharged
I sent money to the office
& left the ship, Called on Menusha
Henry's wife & then went to
Naoomy Lasso the Dentist,
to make me two front teeth
he took the cast of them,
I came home; I took
a warm bath; weather
getting warm; no body has
yet gone to sleep on the top
of the house, on account
of the sickness, fever & some
sort of influenza~
Light Ely breeze & calm
weather ~ at 8 am Eliza &
I went to church, I then
called on the Assyrian Bishop
[pg: 261]
on Polus Serkis, Shekoory Andrea,
Sister Medula Menusha etc
Antone Marine Hannosh Asfar
& Habib Chiha called on us
also Johnny & Arlin & Chekoory
Sayegh;
At 2 P.M. I called on
Antone Marine & then we
went & called on Sister
Eliza & on Alice & Emilia,
I left Anton at Alice &
went to call on Dr. Rozen
the German Consul but
he was not at home, I left
my card, & came back to
Alice & we left at 6 ~
Light N.W. & fine weather,
At 1 1/2 am I came on board
the Blosse Lynch, she is alongside
the wharf to discharge;
The SS Mossul left at about
3 1/2 am this morning;
At 9 I went home found Sister
Medula there; ~
There are such a lot of fever
in Baghdad every house
[pg: 262]
is down with it; I feel so
very unwell with bones broken
& aching, head ache, drowsiness
& always inclining to lay
down & sleep; I feel so
feverish too, this is now
more than a week since I
have felt so ~
Eliza & I called on Catherina
Yaghchi; her daughter Terrooza
who came up with her
from Basreh in the Khalifah
has the fever; I called on
Eliza & Adoola my cousins
the latter is very unwell
with fever& diarrhea;
Artin called in the evening,
Light breeze & warm;
Colonel Loch sent me his
card & thanking for my
sympathy for his grief ~
Light or calm weather
At 4 1/2 am I came on board
we are discharging cargo,
[pg: 263]
I went home at 11; Weather
got very warm & calm
with light S. Ely breeze;.
My sisters Eliza & Emilia
also Alice & Terrooza called
on us this afternoon;
Weather kept very warm
through the night;
Light S. Ely breeze & warm
at 7 am I came on board,
I finished Alexander's
letter to Vienna for tomorrow's
post of Damascus & told
him every thing since
I left Basreh on the 9th;
I also wrote to R. Korkis
to London telling him about
the 500 frcs telegram sent
by his brother to pay Alexander
At 11 went to breakfast &
returned at 12;
I have carpenters at home
for the last 30 days working
in making me a new railings
on the top of the House
made Jawi wood;
[pg: 264]
The Damascus Post has just
arrived when Hamadi had
taken my letters to be posted
& he brings me only a Postal
Card from Alexander written
by him from the top of the
Eiffel Tower on Sunday the
24 April, where he had gone
to visit it for the last time,
& he sent me a list of the Lottery
in an Envelop, & no letter
from him, it must have
again been left behind
some where;
At 3 P.M. I received a
telegram from Alexander
from Vienna dated
yesterday he says
"Svoboda Baghdad
Arrived 17 Safely."
He must have left Paris on
the 10th via Milan, Turin &
Venice & arrived at Vienna
yesterday; a few minutes
after the Postman came
with Alexander's letter
a registered one
[pg: 265]
from Paris dated the 29
Ulto; he encloses letters
for Henry & Louisa, also for
Johny & Nassoory Bahoshy
At 5 P.M. we finished
loading; I went home
red the letters to Eliza of
Alexander, Johny called
on us & gave him his letter,
& we red them also~
Light S. Ely breeze and
warm~
Light S. Ely & fine; we are
still sleeping in the big
room, but Eliza is going
to the top of the house today
People have not yet gone
up, they are afraid of the
sickness & fever there is
so much now in town,
At 3 A.M. I came on
board
[pg: 266]
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 311 | 45,875 | 19,893 | 3.10 |
At 4 A.M. we got under
way & proceeded~ *
At 5,,50 passed Diala,
At 7 passed Ctesiphon ~
Very calm & warm weather,
Gave tickets to the passengers
We have altogether 261~
(2 in 1st Class only they are
travellers from Damascus & going
to Persia through the
Karoon & up to Shushter
a Mr. John Worne an
Englishman & a Monsier
Maurice Franchant,
and one in 2nd Class a Jew
Haroon Gareh). We have
48 Jews to Azair with Ret
Ticket besides 2 free Ret
passage by S Lynch & Co the
family of Yacoob Soofair
the banker ~
At 11,,35 passed Baghdadieh
[pg: 267]
Very Sultry hazy weather
with S. Ely breeze & warm,
At 1,,30 P.M passed
Azizieh; Cloudy hazy weather
At 1,,45 passed the S.S.
Khalifah going up deeply
laden & with many passengers
Jeboory Asfar's wife and
children are on board going
up to Baghdad to pass the
summer;
Wind blowing very strong S. Ely
with large swell in the river;
At 6,,15 P.M. passed Memlah,
still blowing strong & hazy,
At 10,,30 P.M. arrived at
Coot landing 37 passengers &
43 Packages; I received Henry's
letter & my papers, also a packet
of french papers from Alexander
The Khalifah had about 250
passengers. Asfar's family 7
persons all free; & 215548 Okes
of cargo she has two mails,
[pg: 268]
Light S. Erly & hazy Sultry
weather & warm~
At 4,5 Am we left Coot
took 10 passengers~
The wind again got up blowing
strong S. Erly, with clouds and
warm;
At 10,,45 passed Ali Gherbi;
blowing strong & cloudy hazy
weather~
At 6,,10 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 90 passengers
and 107 Packages~ We shipped
5 Bales Twist~ A few drops
of rain came down on arrival
& the weather Keeps hazy
with a light S. Erly breeze,
At 7,,30 We left Amara;
5 zaptyes came only with us
this time; At 7,,55 We Anchored
it being dark & misty with
fresh S. Erly Wind
At 3,,10 AM. We proceeded
Weather got Cool with
S.W. breeze~ Gave tickets
[pg: 269]
to 37 Amara passengers
(22 for Azair Jews)~
At 8,,50 arrived at Azair
landed 70 passengers (48
with Ret Tickets)
At 9,,35 We left Azair
light N.W. breeze & fine;
At 10,,15 passed the
SS. Mossul & Barge going up
at Hmeyan~
At 0,,25 P.M. landed 10
passengers at Gorna &
went on at 0,,35~
At 4,,10 landed stores for
the Mejidieh at Maghil and
went on at 4,,20;
At 4,,45 Arrived at Basreh
I closed Alexanders letter
of tomorrows date as the
mail leaves in the morning,
I sent it with Vartan to
the Mail Str Pachumba,
which is going away this
evening I believe~
I went up to Rufail & Rezooki
& then we went Jeboory
[pg: 270]
Asfar they played Tennis &
we spent a couple of hours,
he is by himself as his family
have gone to Baghdad~
Light air, but I slept in the
room below as I have a
bad cold today on my head
& nose~
Light Westerly air & fine
weather but is getting warm
At 7 1/2 A.M. Rezooki & I came
on board, & 8 1/2 we went in
to Basreh to Tookyeh,
and breakfasted with her and
the Angoorlies went out to
the shop of Rezooki Angoorly
& got some shoes etc~
At 2 1/2 P.M. we came out
to the ship had tea & then
went up to Roofail's place,
We then went to Jeboory Asfar
there came also Nassoory
Andrea we played Tennis
& dined there at 9 1/2 Rufail
Rezooki & I came to Rufails
house & slept; Light N.W.
breeze & warm in the
room~
[pg: 271]
Light westerly breeze and
cloudy weather~ at 6 1/2
A.M. I came on board,
Weather became very
warm & cloudy all over
one mass & so sultry,
The Thermor at noon is 90º~
Rufail, Rezooki, Rezooki Angoorly
Nessoory Andrea & Artin
Eassayi called on board,
We finished loading at
about 3 P.M~
At 5 we got the Basreh
Mail only, No Indian
Mail this time too, there
is no News of the Mail
Str. from Bushire~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 245 1/2 | 174,529 | 9,749 1/2 |
At 5,,15 P.M. We left Basreh
ship drawing 4,,10 Inches,
Very Cloudy sultry, Cabin
& warm weather, very
disagreable~ The clouds
[pg: 272]
keep on & the breeze is so warm
it fell down & became calm;
At 8,,5 we anchored it
being so dark & dusty by some
wind got up, I slept in my
cabin but the heat was
great~
At 12 it cleared up a little
we proceeded~
At 3,,50 Am landed 4
passengers at Gorna & took
one & went on; Cloudy
sultry & warm, with a
light S. Erly breeze~
Finished with the passengers
tickets;~
At 8,,30 arrived at Azair
landed 32 1/2 Jew passengers
and took some Return
ones, at 9 left Azair,
Light N.W. breeze & clouds
getting blown toward
the South~
We took 57 Return Jews
(27 1/2 of Blosse Lynch & 29 1/2 of
Khalifah) also Semha
widow of Menahem
[pg: 273]
son of Selman Daniel
in 1st Class paying, and 17 for Amara
We have altogether from
Basreh 123 Passengers (1
in 1st C. cabin paying deck
fare by S Lynch's the
Clerk of Blockey Hotz & co
Mr. Broomhead for a change
being unwell who had
gone down in the Khalifah,
and one Jewess in 2nd Class)
At 2 PM. landed 8
passengers at K. Saleh
& went on at 2,,5~
Wind shifted again to S. Ely,
& became warm & sultry;
At 7 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 30 1/2 Passengers
& 3 Bales, weather Cloudy
all over & light S. Erly breeze
with some Lightning down
the river on the Southern
horyzon~
We are shipping some
[pg: 274]
Tins of Ghee~
The Lightning kept Working
up & stretching to the
West & north with a thick
black clouds like a
range of high mountains
& the Lightning behind it,
the breeze also shifting
at the same time from
East to South & to West
& freshened up, bringing
the clouds over us, it
gave us no time to furl
the awnings when it
begun to blow a terrific
squall such as I never
witnessed; With thick
dust & rain & the strong
lightning, the Wind is
blowing from the opposite
side & played havoc
with the upper deck
riggings, all the awnings
[pg: 275]
Were torn away, stretchers
broke & stancheons bent
& were rattling on the
deck like so many sounds
of cannons, the passengers
Kit flew on shore &
most of it were picked
away by Arabs; the passengers
came down yelling &
crying; the thick dust
blinded us, the incessant
lightning & thunder
was a sight like a
hurricane at sea, it
lasted from 7 1/2 till 8 P.M.
& kept cloudy with thunder
& Lightning but the Wind
fell a little~ The rain
& dust made an awful mess
on board, it penetrated into
the cabins & some part of the
decks leaking~
We then took in 6 Tons of
coal & about 150 Tins of
[pg: 276]
ghee & finished at 10 & hauled
out & remained, it being
cloudy~
At 1,,55 A.M. We left Amara
clouds clearing off, but breeze
Again shifted to S. East
We have 22 1/2 passengers;
from Amara (one in lst
Class Abdulrezack Kudery
with free passage);
At 9 Am passed Ali Sherghi,
wind shifted to N.W. became
fine;
At 3 P.M. landed specie at
Ali Gherbi & went on at 3,,5,
Here too they have been
Visited by the squall of last
night;
At 10 P.M. passed the S.S.
Ressafah & Barge going down;
It is very warm in my cabin
on account of the Boiler being
so close to me~
At 3,,5 A.M. arrived at Coot
landed 14 1/2 passengers &
3 Bund Copper, Took in 6
Tons of Coal; Here too
[pg: 277]
they have had the squal & rain
it came at about the same
time as we had it at Amara,
At 4„30 we left Coot,
Took 24 1/2 passengers, The
weather became cool just
before sunrise~ Light N.W.
breeze & fine, We also shipped
23 Tins of Ghee~
At 11„30 landed a passenger
at Bughela & went on at 11„35
At 12 passed Memlah
At 4„15 P.M. passed the Khalìfah
going down at Shedeif (bottom
of the reach)~
At 8,,10 passed Azìzieh,
Light N.W. Cool Weather;
At 11„30 passed Baghdadieh
Light N.W. air & fine cool morning
At 5 A.M. passed Khenasseh
At 6 passed Bostani Kesreh,
River is getting low, about
10 feet below the bank~
At 8,15 passed Ctesìphon,
breeze shifted to S. Est, with
some clouds hanging about
[pg: 278]
At 10„30 passed Diala
river; getting warm & sultry;
At 11„45 landed a Deckman
with letters & some Jews at
Gherrarah & went on; The
Bridge of Gherrarah is Cut
open & looks damaged by
the late squall we had
at Amara;
At 2 P.M. landed Mails
at the Residency & steamed to
the Custum House, The Mossul
is here arrived last night at
12~ I went home found
Eliza in bed with fever and
influenza the same as every
body has got it~
The Monseigneur Altmayer
with Père Augustine have
arrived from Mossul in
Keleks last Monday Morning
the Christians & Priests went
out to meet him & the school
boys met him in the streets
With Music etc, He is
staying in his new house
[pg: 279]
which he had bought 3 years
ago the one alongside of
Capt Cowley's house now
occupied by Mons Rouet
the french consul and the
piece of ground behind
it is also his which he
wants to build;
The Capt of the SS. Comet
Beaumont died few days ago
from excessive drink they say,
he had the Delirium Tremors,
he was very young about 32
years & has only been
here about 6 or 8 months;
Here they have had a
very hard rain & blow of
strong wind, on Tuesday evening
the streets were all flooded,
Antone Marine & Artin
called on us~
Variable airs & cloudy
Weather~ at 7 Am I called
on Alice & sent to see if
the Mons. Altmayer was
at home, but he was
[pg: 280]
out riding at Gherrarah to
see the Ma Mêre encamped
there for the benefit of her
health; At 8 I came on
board~I At 9 1/2 I went again
on shore & called on Monseigneur
Altmayer & Père Augustine
they were very glad to see me,
We talked about my visiting
Europe etc; & left them &
came to the Office t1ook 53 [illegible]
from Mr. Bottomley while
in Office it came on to
rain heavily with thunder
for about 1/4 hour, at 11 1/2
came to the house, Eliza
& I are both suffering from
this influenza & do not feel
well at all~I took a warm
bath & felt a better
Light air & weather not settled
Light air & fine; at 7 Am
we went to church, The Delegate
Monsr. Altmayer celebrated
high mass with the Brass
band, the french Consul also
was there in Uniform,
[pg: 281]
At 8 1/2 we left I called on
Catterina Yaghchi, on Sister
Medula, Menusha on
Asfars where Sedy Jeboory's
wife & children are living
for the present, then on Antone
Marine & then we went
to call on Monsr. Altmayer
Antone, Yousif Asfar, Johny
my Nephew, & I went to
Cowley's house & took him
to call also on the Delagate
as he wished me to do so,
I then called with Antone &
Yousif Asfar on Mons Rouet
the french Consul in
the same house, and
then came home at 12,
At 2 P.M. I called on Sister
Eliza & on Alice & My sister
Emilia & came home at 5
The Monseigneur Altmayer
& Père Augustine called
on us at 6, he has brought
with him his 3 Horses and
a carriage in one Kellek,
[pg: 282]
also a Great quantity of
stores & provisions etc etc;
he intends staying here till
October & perhaps spends
the winter here till spring,
Light N.W. & fine, We
are sleeping down below
yet in the Verandah;
Light N.W. Wind and fine
weather, at 7 Am I came
on board & paid the Ship's
Company their wages for
May & finished at 10
Went home~ Weather got very
warm with a S. Erly breeze;
Adoola my cousin called on us;
We went up this evening
to sleep on the top of the house
for the first time; the breeze is
from the S. Est but fine & cool.
Light N.W. & fine; Today is
the 10th of Moharrem being the
mourning day for the Hassan
& Hussein among the Shia
sect~ at 7 1/2 A.M. I
[pg: 283]
came on board~ The Blosse
is alongside discharging
cargo~ The Mossul is also
loading a great deal of cargo
& Bales of wool~ at 4 1/2
I went home~
Light N.W. & fine Weather,
Light N.W. & fine weather,
The SS. Mossul & Barge left
at 4 A.M.~ Sister Emilia
called in the morning, I left her
at home & came on board
at 7 am. We are discharging
Cargo;
I finished Alexander's letter
to Vienna dated the 2nd for tomorrows
Post & took it to Eliza to
send it tomorrow, I also
wrote a letter to Mr. Böhm
& enclosed it in Alexander's,
I went home to breakfast
& returned at 11 1/2;~ Weather
very warm & light N.W.
We shipped over 350 Bales wool,
also Tanned skins, Galls etc
& finished at 5, Weather
became Cloudy & very
[pg: 284]
warm & calm~
At 5 1/2 P.M. I went home;
Johny & Artin called on us on
the top of the house till 8 1/4
P.M.~ Weather very unsettled
cloudy, hot & disagreable
Few drops of rain fell at 1
about midnight;
Light air & little cloudy,
at 3 1/2 Am I came on
board; Erly breeze with
clouds,~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 176 | 100,680 | 15,052 2/4 |
At 4 AM. got underway
& proceeded~ The Bridge of
Gherrerah has been put
across the river~
At 5,55 passed Diala
At 7,,5 passed Ctesiphon;
breeze shifted to N. Wester,
Finished with the passengers
tickets We have altogether
136 1/2 (2 in 1st Class an Indian
and the mother of Akif Effendi
[pg: 285]
KaimaKam of Gorna, and
one in 2nd Class Artin son
of Awanessian an Armenian)
also 2 caulkers free going
down to caulk the Mejidieh's
deck~
At 11,,45 Passed Baghdadieh,
At 0,,25 P.M. passed the
S.S. Khalifah going up at
the bottom of Gutnyeh
reach~
At 1,,30 P.M. passed Azizieh,
weather is getting cloudy all
over~
At 5,,50 passed Memlah
it is getting very cloudy;
At 9,,50 P.M. arrived at
Coot landed 50 passengers &
23 Packages, I received Henry's
letter & my English Papers;
Also a letter from Savon
Bazin from Port Said enclosing
a B of Lading for a case
containing the oil painting
sent to me by my niece
Effie Boucherot from Cairo
[pg: 286]
the freight comes to frcs 8,,50
from Cairo to P. Said, & £1,,12,,5 freight
At 4 AM. We left Coot, took
10 1/2 Passengers; The Khalifah
had 215,000 Okes & over 220
passengers (127 1/2 Return
Jews from Azair all that
remained there~
The SS. Ressafah had just
left Coot last night bound
up when we got there;
N. Erly wind blowing fresh
At 10,,30 Am passed Ali
Gherbi~
Henry writes to me that
Mr. Gladstone the Ex Premier
& Minister for foreign Affairs
has died on the 19th of May,
At 5,,30 P.M. arrived
at Amara landed 21 1/2
passengers & 48 packages
We began to Ship Pressed
Bales of Wool from Lynch's
wool Press, Finished shipping
of the wool of 274 Bales
all for Basreh to Asfar &
Kassim Khdery~
[pg: 287]
At 9 P.M. we left Amara,
Light N.W. & fine Cool
weather. I sleep still in
my cabin~
At 10,, We dropped Anchor
above Aboo Sedra~
Light N.W. & very fine
and Cool Weather~
At 4 A.M. proceeded,
Took 20 passengers from
Amara~ at 6 landed
4 passengers at Kalat Saleh
& went on~
At 9 passed Azair, there
are no Jews left here; only
the soldiers about 50 of them
encamped above the Tomb;
At 11,,45 landed 13 passengers
& 2 zaptyes free from Amara
at Gorna & Went on at 12;
At 4 P.m. arrived at
Basreh, the Mail Str Ambra
which arrived on Tuesday
(the day after the Khalifah
had left) is leaving just
[pg: 288]
now from the Quarantine,
I sent a short letter to my
son Alexander dated the
5th with Vartan to the Mail
steamer as the Post was closed,
The S.S. Koordistan is also
in Quarantine having arrived
on Saturday evening the
28 Ulto & will have to come
up here on the 7th~
I went over to Rufail &
Rezooki, saw there Tookyeh
& her husband Rezooki &
their child Yousif they are
spending some days there,
Tony Angoorly & his Wife
& children also came there,
I took Rezooki & Went over
to Jeboory Asfar where we
stayed & dined with him,
I showed Bazin's letter
to Jeboory & the B. of Lading
for the little case sent to
me by my niece Effie,
he said he cannot do any
[pg: 289]
thing with regard to the
freight charged as it must
have been entered &
passed in account with
London, & the case must
be lying among the
cargo for the Turkish
steamers, & will send to
look for it tomorrow;
We came back at 9 1/2
I slept below in a room
with windows opened &
there is a nice cool breeze,
all the rest slept on the
top of the house~
Light N.W. & fine Weather,
at 6 1/2 A.M. I came on
board; We are discharging
cargo & shipping too;
The N.W. Wind of Bareh
has now set in since yesterday
& the time is better & cooler
At 2 P.M. I went up to
Jeboory to see about my
[pg: 290]
Case from Cairo he told
one of his clerks to look for
it tomorrow & get it taken,
I had spoken to Nessoory
Andrea to clear it for me
in the Custum House~ I
then went up to Rufail, had
Tea with Tookyeh & Rezooki,
Roofail was up at Shaebyeh
at Yousif Marine~
At sunset Rezooki & I
went up to Jeboory Asfar,
we stayed to dine, Rezooki
went away at 9, but I
stayed & slept there in the
Verandah, nice cool
weather~
Modte N.W. & fine Cool
Weather, at 7 A.M. Rezooki came
down in his boat & we then
came to the Steamer,
Capt Cowley Rezooki and I
went up to the house of
Darby Andrewes, where all
their house Kit, furniture
crockery etc are put up
for sale to liquidate
[pg: 291]
their debts, they are under
the Charge of the British
Consul, as Darby had left
since last year & Andrewes
also left a month ago &
are indebted large sums
We picked some things &
Rezooky noted them down
as there will be an auction
on Friday next; We then
came on board~
Hamady came back from
the C. House & brought me
the Painting in a large frame
which Effie sent me also
a small water colour
picture for Henry, No duty
has been taken on them
they were passed as old
pictures by Nessoory Andrea,
Roofail, Rezooki, Rezooki
Angoorly etc called on board;
We received the Mails at
4 P.M~
[pg: 292]
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 196 1/2 | 159,214 | 12,079 3/4 | 4,,9 |
At 4,,45 P.M. We left
Basreh, Ship is drawing
4 feet 9 Inches;~ At 5,,15
stopped at Maghil landed
people & stores & went on
at 5,,30~ Modte N.W.
but my Cabin is as hot as
a furnace from the heat
of the Boiler;~ I gave tickets
to all the passengers~
I could not possibly stay
in my cabin or sleep for
the heat was awful and
the wind had fallen down,
I went to sleep up on the
upper deck which I found
nice & cool for the first
time I slept up~
At 11,,10 passed Gorna
At 2 P.M. we anchored,
plenty of mosquitoes are
on board~
At 4,,5 we proceeded
Light N.W. air & fine
At 5,,25 passed Azair
[pg: 293]
I sent to Jeboory Asfar
yesterday the little case
containing Jams (orange
blossom & Citron) my wife
had made for Alexander
to be sent to Vienna by
Mr. N. Homsy at Marseilles,
it will go by the Koordistan
leaving on about the 20'
Instt; I got a receipt from
Jeboory which I will send
to Homsy~
We have Altogether 106 1/2
Passengers, none are in the
cabins~
At 10,,30 landed 4 Passengers
at K. Saleh & took 4 & went
on at 10,,35;
Blowing fresh N.W. Wind
but not cool, Therm @ noon 92
& 96º at 4 P.M~
At 4,,5 P.m. Arrived at
Amara landed 23 passengers
& the 10 zaptyeh's, & 3 Cases
rivets for Lynch's Wool
Press~ We took 6 Tons
[pg: 294]
of Coal, & shipped 230 Tins
of Ghee & 26 Bales Lamb
Skins (about 5145 Okes)
At 6 P.M. left Amara
Took 43 Passengers~
Weather nice & cool, with moderate
N.W. Wind~
It blew fresh throughout the
night, & I felt it quite cool
towards morning on the upper
deck; The wind fell at sunrise
but remained cool & pleasant;
At 6,,55 AM landed 3 passengers
and took 2 from Ali Gherbi
& went on at 7~
Wind got up blowing
strong at 10 am and
hot, it is the proper Bareh
as they call it in Basreh,
(the strong N.W. Wind)
At 6,,50 P.M. arrived at
Coot landed 37 1/2 passengers
and 2 Bales; took 4 Bales
skins & a lot of passengers
At 7,,30 left Coot, Very
light air from N.W. & fine,
[pg: 295]
It is nice & cool on the top of
the house~
Light N.W. & fine cool
weather~
At 2,,50 Am. passed
Memlah, River is getting
low; We took 41 Passengers
from Coot~ (one in 2nd C Cabin)
There is no wind today, a
light N.W. breeze only~
At 10,,50 Am passed
Azizieh~
At 2,,15 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh Fort;
At 5 P.M. we met the
Khalifah coming down at
Jubeil (Dawar reach) she
has Colonel Loch the
Resident on board going
down to go by the mail
via Kurachi to England
on a 6 months leave, We
both anchored, Coll. Loch
Capt Hanslow & Henry &
Charley & the Engineer
Weber came on board
[pg: 296]
Coll. Loch red his letters
& Telegrams; the Khalifah
left at 11 A.M. they were waiting
for the Damascus mail until
it arrived; Henry tells me
that Eliza has the letter of
Alexander in which he
says that he has had a very
bad sore eyes on leaving
Paris & after 4 hours had
to return to Paris & go to
a doctor who took out a
piece of wood from his eye
& he returned on his journey
to Vienna I shall see
that in Baghdad~
At 5,,55 We left and
proceeded~
At 11,, passed Ctesiphon
At 1,,10 Am passed Diala,
Light N.W. & fine weather,
At 4,,10 passed the S.S.
Ressafah & Barge bound down
at the Kher~ Wind getting
up fresh~
At 4,,55 Am landed
[pg: 297]
the mails at the Residency
& steamed to the Custum
House, No steamer here
I went home & saw Eliza
she is well, I saw Alexanders
letters here one of last week
from Paris of the 13 May
one from Zurich & one
from Innsbrück, and
two from Vienna of the
20 May he is very well
in Vienna & has seen Mr.
Böhm~
Elias Jejo came to me to ask
about the 3 cases we brought
up this time with the cargo
of the Kurdistan, sent to
them by Ibrahim from
Paris, in one of them there
are some things sent to us
by Alexander few little
objects etc~ In the after
noon the wife of Elias Jejo
& her two daughters called
& remained till sunset,
[pg: 298]
Antone Marine called also
Johny & Artin my Nephews,
Modte N.W. Wind &
fine cool Weather;~
Modte N.W. & fine cool Morning,
at 7 Am I came on board,
the Blosse is alongside
the wharf; discharging cargo,
At 10 went home~
I took a warm bath; The weather
is hot during the day a warm
breeze blowing ; The
nights are very cool~
The wife & children of Jeboory
Asfar have hired the house
of Joojoo the Goldsmith close
to my house where Mr. Nelson
& DeMello were living, at
50 [illegible] per year~
Modte N.W. & fine cool
Weather~ at 7 1/2 Am. I
called on Terrooza & Catherina
her Mother & saw there
Père Augustine (Elias Sayegh
[pg: 299]
I then went to church and
with Johny & Artin called
on the Assyrian Bishop,
Habib Chiha, Sedy wife
of Jeboory Asfar, Eliza &
Adooly my cousins, Terooza
wife of Nessoory Andrea,
Sister Medula, Menusha
& Shekoory Sayegh,
At 2 1/2 P.M. I called on
Sister Eliza, on Alice &
Emilia; & with Johny went
to Visit the Monseigneur
Altmayer but was not
at home, we then called
on Mr. Bottomley then came
Mrs. Hall (the Clerk at Lynch's
Office) also Mr. & Mrs. Livingstone
& his wife's sister; I then
called on Dr. & Mrs. Hess
the German Chancelier in
their new little house
opposite Abdulrahman
Pachachi's house,
[pg: 300]
he told me that Dr. Rosen
the Consul is coming
back from Mendeli
where he had gone a month
ago; I came home at
6 1/4~ Light N.W. and
fine weather;
Light N.W. & fine Cool
weather~ at 7 am I
came on board;
Ibrahim Gejou has sent
3 Cases containing shoes
& perfumery etc to his
Brother Isak for sale,
& Alexander has also sent
some little things also
his portrait in them, &
I have to get them cleared
from the Custum House
Isak Gejou also Johny came
& we went to the Custum
House to clear the shoes &
Perfumery of Isak, & I was
astonished not to find
any of Alexanders articles
sent to me nor his
[pg: 301]
likeness, I do not know
what became of them &
Ibrahim wrote to his brother
that they were amongst
his Kit~ I went home
at 2 1/2 P.M. Eliza & I called
on Sedy wife of Jeboory Asfar
and on Mina Widow of
Naoom Abood, also on
Antone Marine but they
were not at home, We
came home at 6 1/2;
Modte N.W. & fine Weather,
Modte N.W. Wind but not
cool~ The S.S. Mossul &
Barge arrived at about 3 1/2
A.M. at 7 I called on
Menusha & then Came on
board~ The Mossul is inside
discharging~ At 9 I went
on shore called on Mahd Said
Shahbenders Office & told
him that I have sent by
the Koordistan leaving on
the 20 Instt, a little box
[pg: 302]
of Marmalade for my son
Alexander at Vienna to
the care of Mrs. N. Homsy
at Marseilles & I have written
to them to pay the freight
& expences to Vienna &
I will pay it to him here;
I went home; the Monseigneur
Altmayer & Pere Augustine
called on us~
Hot wind blowing; the
thermer. went up in the Verandah
to 108º~ At 3 P.M. I came
on board; We are shipping
Cargo; at 5 3/4 P.M. I went
home & then went to Catherina
Yaghchi to fetch Eliza &
go to Antone Marine, but
Captn & Mrs. Cowley called
on us & so we had to go
home, they left at 7~
Modte N.W. & fine weather
Modte N.W. but not refreshing
At 7 AM I came on
board; I finished Alexanders
letter for tomorrow's Post
[pg: 303]
also a letter for Effie
my niece at Cairo, also
a letter for Mr. N. Homsy,
At 11 went to breakfast,
& returned at 1 P.M.~
We shipped a good deal of
cargo about 96,000 Okes
Weather Very warm in
the Cabin~
At 6 P.M. Went home;
Eliza is unwell with Diarrhea
& colic in stomach since
this morning~ Johny
& Artin called on us till 8 1/2
Weather fine & cool
Light N.W. & fine Cool
Morning~ At 3 1/2 Am
I came on board~
[pg: 304]
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 152 | 126,455 | 20,413 1/2 | 4,,5 |
At 4 Am got underway
& proceeded~
At 6 passed Diala river;
At 6,,40 passed the S.S. Phrat
& Barge going up at Gusseiba
At 7,,10 passed Ctesiphon;
We have Altogether 127
passengers, (5 in 1st Class,
Mr. & Mrs. A.W. Livingstone
& Miss Coulman his wife's
sister & the Servant all paying
Deck fare by Mr. Bottomley's
Order; Hamdy Beg the
Mufettish Adlyeh brother of
Ali Beg Saib of Basreh, Going
to Coot & with him Abdul Kadur
Zheir & 2 of his Attendants
in 2nd Class Also to Coot)
and one Jewess free by SL. & Co;
At 11,,50 passed Baghdadieh
At 0,,45 P.M. met the
SS Khalifah coming up at
the top of [illegible] we stopped
& she also, as Mr. Livingstone
[pg: 305]
wanted to see the new Agent
Mr. Langridge coming out
to take his place Mr.
Richards the acting Agent
of Lynch Brothers also on
board they all came off
also Capt. Hanslow, Charley
Cowley & Henry; Henry has
left my papers & letter at
Coot; The wife of Padmani
& her two daughters are on
board going up (one is the
widow of Dr. Malakis
who comitted suicide at
Constantinople by Cutting
his throat with a razor)
she has 143 passengers and
205,000 Okes~
At 1,,50 P.M. We left &
proceeded~
At 2,,45 passed Azizieh;
fresh N.W. wind~
The river is getting low &
the steamer bumped today
on two or three places~
At 7,,20 passed Memlah
[pg: 306]
Light N.W. & fine Weather
At 11,,30 P.M. arrived
at Coot landed 38 packages
and 33 passengers (4 cabin
passengers Hamdi Beg & his
followers) Received my
papers & Henry's letter~
Light N.W. & fine Cool
Morning; At 4 Am we
left Coot; Took 15 Passenges
(one in 2nd C. Michail Raffi
of Jeboory Asfar to Basreh)
Detained aground at Aboo
Dood for the first time in
the season from 8,,35 to
8,,50~
At 10,,55 AM. landed 7
passengers at Ali Gherbi, took
2 & Went on at 11,,10~
About a month ago,
a Great quarrel had taken
place between the tribes of Hassan
ibn Jendeel of the Beni
Laam tribe & Magasis
located from Coot and
[pg: 307]
downward on the West bank
and both lost about 20
or 30 Men Killed; and now
all the Governors of the
surrounding districts have
gathered at S. Saad to
arrange the Matter and
collected the Sheikhs to
oblige them to give a
Guarantee for their future
Good behaviour, there were
Mostapha Pasha Motserrif
of Amara who came up
in the Khalifah, the Motserrif
of Nasryeh, Kaimakam
of Coot Jaffer Beg, of Hai,
Shetra etc & a Company
of troops encamped there;
At 4,,40 P.M. passed
the SS. Ressafah & Barge
going up;
At 6,,15 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 24 1/2 passengers
& 334 Packges (300 Bundles
of Hoop Iron for the
[pg: 308]
wool press of S. Lynch & Co,
We shipped 182 Bales
of Wool & 7 Tons of Ghee,
It is Awfully hot in my
Cabin; the Livingstones
are sleeping on the top
of the house; I slept in
my Cabin last night, it
was very warm in the first
part of the night, but as
the steamer was going
it became cooler;
At 9 P.M. We left Amara,
At 10,,15 anchored above
Aboo Sedra, I slept in the cabin
there was a nice breeze as long
as the steamer was going
but when she turned round
& anchored I awoke & fet it
very warm with some mosquitoes
which troubled me all the
night~
At 4 Am We proceeded
very light N.W. breeze~
We took 9 Passengers & 10 zaptyes
from Amara~
[pg: 309]
I wrote a letter to Alexander
dated tomorrow, for this mail
leaving tomorrow morning
Via Bombay~
At 9,,15 passed Azair;
very light air & is getting warm
At 0,,10 P.M. passed Gorna
it became very hot & Sultry,
At 3,,55 Arrived at Basreh
there is no Mail steamer,
the Khandalla is coming
up & she was at Fâo yesterday,
The SS. Koordistan is here loaded
& ready to leave;
At 5 1/2 P.M. the Mail Str.
Khandalla arrived to the
quarantine station;~ Rezooki
Sayegh Came down to me, he
says that Rufail is gone up
to Gorna to his property about
4 days ago; to collect some
Arrears of revenue due by
the Arab farmers;~
Mr. De Sarzec, his wife &
son have returned from
[pg: 310]
Tello by way of Nasryeh
about 6 days ago & are
living at G. Asfar they
are going away by next
mail boat via Bombay
At 6 Rezooki and I went up to
his house where I dined
with him & slept on top of
the house, light N.W. breeze
& cool night~.
Light N.W. & fine but not
so refreshing, at 6 1/2 A.M.
I came on board, I sent
for my papers & got my
[illegible]& a packet of french
papers & pamphlets sent
by Alexander, the last date
of the 15 May, ~
I have had a little diarrhea
last night from eating some
melons, I do not feel well
to go in to Basrah, Rezooki
came to take me but I
would not go, so we went
up to his place & spent
the day at 11 am. I laid
in & red the papers ~
[pg: 311]
At about 3 1/2 p.m. Roofail
came down from Neshwa
where he had gone about
some claim~
At 3 Rezooki & I went over
to Jeboory Asfar, he is not
going to send the box of
marmalade we made for
Alexander by the Koordistan
as she is not going to touch
at Marseilles & wants
to send it by the Godistan
chartered for Yousif Korkis
& the other merchants &
will be leaving Basreh
by the end of July ~ I saw
Mons. De Sarzec, he is going
to leave by next weaks
mail steamer via Bombay
We returned to Rufail
at 7 P.M. very calm
weather ~
Very calm & sultry weather
The S.S. Koordistan left
[pg: 312]
at about 3 1/2 A.M. also
the mail Str Khandalla
left at the same time;
The S.S. Mossul arrived at
about 4 A.M.;
At 6 I came on board
weather is very warm &
calm but at 10 a modte
N.W. breeze began to blow,
but my cabin is very
warm, especially when
they lit the fire in the
engineroom it became
like an oven & felt myself
very weak;
Rezooki & Roofail came
& Rezooki Angoorly etc,
We have been doing
nothing today the ship
is loaded, at last least we
took every thing that was
left in the Barge~
[pg: 313]
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 289 | 101,995 | 19,519 1/2 |
At 5 p.m. P.M. we got under
way, & proceeded;
fearfully warm in my cabin
from the Engine room, I
could not give tickets, &
had to go up on deck and
do it~ The weather is cool
with a modte N.W. wind
I slept on the top of the
house ~
At 10,,50 passed Gorna
At 0,,5 A.M. 0,,5 we dropped anchor
near Zechyeh ~
At 3,,30 proceeded, very
calm weather, a light
N.W. breeze springing up;
At 6,,10 passed Azair
finished with the passengers
tickets ~
We have altogether 207 1/2
(4 in 1st Class, Mr. Ovsinkoff
the Chancelier for the
[pg: 314]
Russian Consul, he speaks
french not so well, also little
Turkish & Russian; Yousif
Abdulahad nephew of
Aboo Shooker, our fireman
with his wife, and Seyd
Ahmed Effendi a clerk in
the quarantine of Baghdad,
and one in 2nd Class Artin
[illegible] and 9
workmen from the Dock
of Mejidieh, our passengers
are mostly pilgrims returning
from Mecca Persians &
some Arabs~
Detained at the Elbow
from 8 1/2 till 9 am. in
going round~
At 11,,50 landed 2 passengers
at Kalat Saleh & took 2
& went on at 12 ~
At 2 P.M. the new anchor
Launch which was built at
Basreh by our carpenter &
Blacksmith taking it in
tow astern of our anchor
Launch got filled with
[pg: 315]
water, we anchored to
bale her out & to collect the
planks which had floated
away ~ At 3,,10 we got
under way & went on ;
At 6,, P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 22 1/2
passengers & 14 packages
& a Quantity of date branches
for Lynch's wool Press;
We took 5 tons of Coal
& 70 packages hides & Ghee
& Copper~
At 7,,50 P.M. left
Amara, light N.W. air
& fine; It is very nice and
cool on the top of the house;
Light N.W. & fine cool
morning~ Gave tickets to
36 1/2 Amara passengers;
At 7,,20 A.M. landed
8 passengers at Ali Gherbi~ weather
calm & getting warm
& went on at 7,,30 took
5 passengers;~ weather
calm & getting warm
[pg: 316]
At 6,,30 p.m. P.M. arrived at
Coot landed 6 passengers,
Took in 5 tons of coal,
Modte N.W. wind ~
At 7,,55 left Coot~
very light air & fine ~
a fresh wind get up & blew
all the night, took 29 Passengers
At 1,,15 A.M. met the S.S.
Phrat & Barge bound down
at Anchor at Hamraya,
her boat came off to us with
6 passengers coming to meet
a friend of them Seyd Ahmed
Effendi Mutwelly of the
Tekyeh of Ras Gherayeh who
was at Mecca; we took them
and went on at 1,,20 ~
At 2,,50 picked 3 passengers
from Bughela came off in
a Goffa~
At 3,,20 A.M. passed Memlah
moderate cool N.W. wind,
an exceptionally cool
weather the wind is so
fresh & pleasant ~
At 11.15 passed Azizieh
[pg: 317]
At 1,,10 p.m. passed the
S.S. Khalifah going down
at the top of Rmelat reach
near the new house
now being built at the
bottom of Gutnyeh reach
belonging to Mahomed
Pasha Daghestany and
Abduljebbar the lawyer,
& just at the same place
where we met her as we
were going down~
Strong N.W. wind blowing
and cool~
At 2,,45 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh Fort;
At 4,,45 went alongside
the bank above Swera (opposite
Dawer) & landed 78 young
date trees of H. Abdulghany
Khdery on freight, for his
property there & went on
at 4,,55 ~
The day kept exceptionally
cool today; the water is very
cool all the day;
[pg: 318]
Wind fell before sunset & is
very cool & pleasant; moon
is 4 days old;~ I slept in
my cabin & found it very nice
& cool, ~At 11 passed Ctesiphon
Modte N.W. & very cool weather
At 1,,45 A.M. passed the
Diala, at 2,,30 stopped
below the Bridge of [illegible]
waiting for the bridge to
be opened, while here a Goffa
came with about 10 persons
coming from Baghdad to
meet Seyd Ahmed of the Tekyeh
Capt Cowley remained here
till day light; at 4 am
I landed & walked to town
Artin Awaness also walked
with me, it is very nice
& exceptionally cool weather
for this time of the season,
I arrived home at 5 1/2
saw Eliza alright but
little weak from last week's
diarrhea she had ~
The Blosse Lynch arrived
at 6 1/2~ I found
[pg: 319]
two letters from Alexander
from Vienna of last week's
post & yesterday dated
the of May & of this
month, also a Postal Card
of the 30 Ulto sent from the
top of the Khalenberg hill
where he had gone by himself
he is very well, taking
his German lesson from Dr.
Bayer, and goes to a large
merchants office, a very
extensive export firm he
is very glad of this place &
the Director is very satisfied
with him, he was recommended
to this large house by Mr.
Böhm, who also writes to
me a very nice letter &
telling me how he is looking
after Alexander~
found also a telegram
from Alexander dated
the 20th which arrived on the
21st asking us for money
[pg: 320]
he requires he says
Eliza Svoboda
Baghdad
Require hastly 500 advise
Korkis ~
His expenses for May bas been
very large 648 frcs, for his
travelling from Paris and
his attendance by the Doctor
to cure his eye etc; So I
could not possibly avoid
sending him as he may be
in great need; I went to
Yousif Korkis & asked him
to give me a telegram to
his brother Rezooki for
20 £ Stg which he did
as follows,
RazKallah London
[illegible] Svoboda Vingt Sterlin
Korkis
7 words which I sent to the
telegraph Office at 1 P.M.
& I paid frcs 5,,20~
At 3 P.M. I called on Alice
& Sister Emilia I & left
at 6 came home; Johny
& Artin called on us
[pg: 321]
in the evening~
very cool weather, we feel
it quite cold on the top of
the house & the water is as
cold as ice~
Modte Very Cool N.W.
breeze, quite cold in bed,
At 7 Am I called on Menusha
Henry's Wife & then came
on board; The S.S. Ressafah
is inside discharging cargo;
I went home at 10~ Had a
warm bath~
Light N.W. air & not so cool
Moon 6 days old~
Light N.W. & fine~ at
7 1/2 A.M. I called on Antone
Marine & then we went to
church, I then called on
Nessoory Andrea who has
come up from Basreh for 15
days leave & is going down
with us; Called on the Assyrian
Bishop, on the Chaldean
Patriarch Abed Ysho,
Catterina Yaghchi, Sister
[pg: 322]
Medula, Menusha &
came home at 12; at 2 1/2
P.M. called on Eassayee
brothers; Shemoony & her
sons of Korkis, on Sister
Eliza & Alice, came home
at 6~ Light air and
not so cool but pleasant,
Very light air or Calm,
at 4 1/2 A.M. We were up
Eliza & I went to Sister
Eliza there took Alice,
Terrooza Regina & Bella
daughter of Terrooza and
We got a Goffa & dropped
down to Asfar's Garden
where all the Asfars & family
are now out also Sedy
Wife of Jeboory Asfar,
there were the Monseigneur
Altmayer & Père Augustin
but they rode in to town
Eliza & I went to Asfar's
& the rest of my nieces
[pg: 323]
went to Tanton's family,
I also went then for few
minutes; they wont let
them return with me,
so I dispensed with the
Goffa, & I walked into
town with Yousif Asfar
left at 7 & arrived at home
at 7 3/4, at 8 1/2 I came
on board; We are discharging
Cargo~
At 10 I went to the Office to
Mr. Bottomley & took 52£ for
wages~ At 11 came home;
At 3 P.M. called on Menusha,
at 6 1/2 Went over to Sister
Eliza & spent the evening on
top of the house, my wife
& the daughter of Eliza, Terrooza
& Regina came back
from Asfar's Garden at 7,
We then went home at 9,
light N.W. & fine~
Light N.W. & fine weather
at 7 A.M. I came on board
to pay the ship's company
[pg: 324]
their wages;~
The S.S. Mossul arrived
at 2 AM; The Ressafah
is loading to leave tomorrow,
At 10 went home, Sister
Medula called on us~
At 3 P.M. I came on board,
We are shipping some cargo,
but most of it went to
the Ressafah, as Yousif
Korkis & two or three other
merchants here are getting
a steamer out for their cargo
the Goolistan chartered
by Rezooki Korkis from
Bucknal, @ 25 Shilling the
ton, whereas Asfar & Strick
are asking 35, & so they
have got a steamer and
are collecting all the cargo
they can, their agent in
Basreh is Kassim Khdery,
At 5 1/2 P.M. I went home,
took Eliza & went over to Antone
Marine & spent the evening on
the top of the house we
[pg: 325]
returned at 8 1/2~ Light N.W. &
cool a little~
Light N.W. & fine~ at
7 am Called on Menusha
being Henry's holyday today
of St Peter & St Paul~
I then came on board,
the Ressafah left this morning
at 3 1/2 A.M.~ The Mossul
went in to discharge cargo,
I finished Alexander's letter
for tomorrow's Post, I also
wrote to Mr. J. Böhm, and
to Blockey at Cheshnut;
We are shipping very little
cargo~
At 10 1/2 I went home,
Kass Philippus the Armenian
called on us;
Wind blowing fresh and
hot with dust; At 1 P.M.
came on board;~ We shipped
some cargo through & Local
It is very hot on my cabin
the wind being so hot too,
At 6 1/2 P.M. I went
[pg: 326]
home~
Modte N.W. Wind~ at
3 1/2 AM I came on board,
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 103 1/2 | 91,635 | 14,603 1/2 |
At 4 A.M. got underway
& proceeded~
At 6,, passed Diala river
At 7,,10 passes Ctesiphon
We have altogether 91 1/2
passengers (2 in 1st Class
Nessoory Andrea the Shahbender
of Basreh with free Return
ticket by Lynch Brothers and
a Turkish lady the daughter
of Said Pasha Motserrif of
Hassa)~
At 11,,50 passed the S.S. Khalifah
going up at Thaji just
above Baghdadieh Fort,
Toni Angoorly on board;
Fresh N.W. wind hot,
At 0,,5 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh Fort;
At 2 P.M. passed
[pg: 327]
Azizieh, hot wind blowing
this will soon evaporate
the river;
At 6,,35 passed Memlah;
Light N.W. & air is cooling down;
At 11,,5 P.M. arrived at Coot
landed 18 passengers and 71
packages; Received Henry's
letters & my papers, we remained
here for the night~
Light N.W. & fine weather,
At 4 Am we left Coot,
Took 2 passengers; The S.S.
Khalifah had little cargo
69400 Okes including 30 Tons
of Coal for Baghdad, there
is no cargo left at Basreh
for us to be shipped~
At 10,,50 anchored above
Ali Gherbi & landed 31
packages & 2 passengers,
Blowing a strong hot wind
At 11,,20 left & proceeded
At 6,,45 P.M. arrived
at Amara, landed 15 1/2
[pg: 328]
passengers & 69 Packges;
we shipped Bales of Wool
from Lynch Press & finished
at 9 & remained for the night;
Light N.W. & fine cool night
Light N.W. & cool morning
& very pleasant~
At 2,,30 A.M. left Amara,
At 4,,15 passed the S.S. Phrat
& Barge going up~
At 5,,45 landed 2 passengers
at Kalat Saleh; Went on at
5,,50~ We took 10 passengers
from Amara~
At 8,,45 passed Azair;
At 11, passed the S.S. Ressafah
& Barge going down, she
had left on Tuesday Morning
from Baghdad~
At 11,,35 landed 13 Packges
at Gorna & went on at
11,,45~ Light N.W. air
but heavy & not refreshing;
At 4 P.M. arrived at
Basreh, The SS. Arabistan
is here arrived 3 days ago;
[pg: 329]
also the Mail Str Amra
bringing the Mail of the
SS. Pemba which she met in
the Persian Gulf, & she leaves
tomorrow;
I wrote a letter to Alexander
Vienna Via Bombay dated
tomorrow & told him all about
his return Journey & a list
of the Stations from Alexandretta
to Deir etc etc~
Rezooki Came to me,
we then went up to Jeboory
Asfar to look for Alexander's
case which he had given
to Ibrahim Gejou to send
in his boxes of last trip
which I took up & was not
found; I found it in the
Baghdad Manifest for
the Turkish Steamers a box
Marked JJK & it is in the
Custum House, I obtained
a delivery order to take it
here tomorrow; as Jeboory
[pg: 330]
was very busy in Office
with lots of people calling,
so we left & went to Roofails
house, but he is up at
his Ground at Hedda
since yesterday; Rezooki
& I dined alone & slept
on top of the house; Very
light breeze & dampy,
The Ressafah came
down at 6 1/2 P.M.
Very light N.W. dampy
& disagreable Weather,
At 7 Am I came on
board, very warm in
my cabin, the sun just
striking at it;
The mail Str Amra left
this morning~
I sent Hamadi to the Custum
House to get me my case of
Alexander, he brought it
after having opened there
& examined & Nessoory
Andrea the Shahbender
sent only 20 1/2 GSP duty
[pg: 331]
on it, it contains the Photo
in colour full plate size
in a nice gilt frame of
Alexander standing a
very well taken likeness
he looks bigger and
many small objects he
has sent which he did
not require, also 10 Tubes
of Secotine Glue (5 for
Captain Cowley, some
perfumery for Johny my
Nephew, as Pomade &
scent etc about 1/2 dozn
pots & bottles & some
envelopes & note paper
for Alexander;~
At 11 Rufail came to
me & also Rezooki and
we went in to Basreh
to Tookyeh & also called
on Ali Beg Mudir of Tapo,
We returned to Tookyeh &
had tea & we left at
3 1/2 P.M. Came to the Steamer
& at 5 Went up to Rufails
at 6 We all went over
[pg: 332]
to Jeboory Asfar & dined
there, there was Nessoory
Andrea also who slept
there, at 10 we came
to our place, a very light
N.W. & rather dampy weather
The Mail St Pemba arrived
she had given the mail
to the Amra in the Gulf
which we have~
Light N.W. & fine~ at
7 Am came on board~
We are very light & having
no cargo to ship except
the Arabistans which was
very little;
Capt Cowley Went up to
Maghil to see the Mejidieh
in Dock; The Pemba
has only brought us 22 packages
which we took~
It became very warm and
wind fell~
Rezooki & Rufail came also
Ali Beg, Rezooki Angoorly etc
[pg: 333]
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 150 | 31,677 | 10,930 1/2 |
At 5,,10 P.M. We left Basreh
& proceeded~ It is very warm
and became dead calm
and very disagreable; I am mad
with my cabin so hot as fire
near the boiler I cannot stop
a minute in it; & we have
these Christian women Aft
the Wife of Andrawoos Dinha
the 2nd Engineer of the Persian
Str Persepolis in Bushire,
she is the daughter of Isak
Ferrany called Mina, and
her two children, & Katta
the sister of Isak Ferrany she
paid Lower Deck & Mina
in 1st Class; & they have two
servants~
At 11,, P.M. landed a passenger
at Gorna & went on, Moon
16 days old, a light N.W. breeze
sprung up~
Light N.W. & fine~ At 3,,5
AM. passed Azair
[pg: 334]
The weather is cooler,
I finished with the passengers
tickets~
At 8,,15 landed 4 passengers
at Kalat Saleh (Nejim Effendi
a New Kaimakam for
this place among them) Took
6 passengers & went on
at 8,,20~
A Modte N.W. Wind is blowing
We have altogether from
Basreh 76 Passengers
one in 1st Class (Mina wife
of Andrawus Dinha from
Bushire & one in 2nd class
the Man of Hotz called
De Bono going to Coot
& a Belem of Basreh with
him on which we charged
35 Rupees)~
wind freshened up toward
10 A.M.~
At 1 P.M. arrived at Amara
landed 24 passengers~
shipped some Hides & Tins
of Ghee~
At 2 P.M. left Amara
Took 26 passengers~
[pg: 335]
Strong hot wind blowing
At 7,,55 P.m. passed
Ali Sherghi~
Modte N.W. Wind & fine
At 0,,55 A.M. arrived at
Ali Gherbi went alongside
& shipped 86 Bales of Wool
of a Jew Yacoob Saleh~
We remained for the rest of
the night at anchor~
At 4,,5 Am left Ali Gherbi,
Wind freshening up, took
one passenger;
Detained 10 minutes below
Coot in shoal water;
At 3,,40 P.M. arrived
at Coot landed 8 passengers
& the Belem of De Bono
himself & followers & also
landed 2 Bales P. goods
shipped 31 Bales of Wool
At 5 P.M. left Coot,
Took 41 Passengers;
[pg: 336]
Detained 1/2 hour on a shoal
place at Um el Ajaj~
Modte N.W. & fine cool night
At 0,,40 Am passed Memlah
Wind freshening up;
At 8,,25 Am passed
Azizieh, wind moderate &
Cool;
At 11,,35 passed Baghdadieh
Fort~ At 0,,15 P.M. passed
the S.S. Khalifah going down
at Rwebyeh reach
At 5,45 P.M. passed Bostan
the wind has been hot today
At 8,,5 passed Ctesiphon
Very Calm Weather;
The S.S. Mossul passed
down this morning at 1 A.M.
at Summer~
At 10,,30 passed Diala
river, fine moonlight
night & pleasant weather
At 1,,30 Am we landed
the mails at the Residency
& went up to the
[pg: 337]
Custum House, The S.S.
Phrat is alongside here;
I went home at 3 Am
went on top of the house saw Eliza
& sat talking with her about
Alexander, there are two letters
here arrived one on the day of
my leaving this last Thursday
dated the 10 June & the second
one arrived yesterday dated
the 7th; I red them all; he
has sent me his Turkish
Passport (Murur Teskereh) asking
me to get him a new one for
this year to come on with it,
because he says that Böhm
told him he cannot get him
an Austrian Passport as the
Authority will then know
that he is in Vienna, and in
Septr there will take place
the Conscription for the
Soldiers, & he will be asked
to serve his time in the military
so he must leave Vienna
by the end of August to
come to Constantinople
[pg: 338]
I received a letter from Blockey
from Cheshnut the same
place he is living in~
I took a Cold bath~ At 3 P.M.
I called on Antone Marine in
the Residency;~
I hear that the Mushire
Rejeb Pasha is to be shifted
from here to Tripoli in Algeria
by an Order from Constantple
it is to the regret of every body
here Christians, Mahomedans
& Jews because he is one
of the best man in the Turkish
service, a very honest streight
forward man, a just and
wise administrator, he
belongs to the New School
& a liberal & open hearted;
The present Waly here Atta-
Allah Pasha who is a very
Old Man, Very fanatic &
lazy, & does no good to the
Welfare of the people and
the Country, hated by every
body, but a has a great
influence & being a relative
of the Sheikh ul Islam
[pg: 339]
and hates the Mushir in
his internal feelings, being
jealous of him because
every body likes the latter,
has been undermining him
and, the Sultan hates every
person in his service who has
such influence & liberality
with the nation;& frightened
by false rumour being
represented to him, that if
the Mushire is allowed to
be left in Baghdad where
his popularity is gaining
ground, he might eventually
gain his independence by
having all the Army Corps
siding with him as well as
the population, and it might
end by the dismemberment
of Irak Arabia from
the Turkish Dominion,
The population here had
telegraphed to Constple in
begging & praying the Porte
to let him remain here
[pg: 340]
as he has done no end of
good to the country; but
this step it appears has
made things worse, and
the Mushire even did not
like it at all, for this act
will confirm the Waly's
report against him; The
Mushir of Yemen also has
been changed & is appointed
here to replace Rejeb Pasha,
other Mushir's have been
also changed for equal
reasons, The Sultan gets so
alarmed now at the slightest
news he hears, though untrue
and false, at any person
in Authority taking a liberal
view in advancing Civilization
in his dominion;
I called on Sister Eliza where
Emilia & Alice also were &
came home at 5 1/2, found
Antone Marine there~
Light N.W. & fine but not
so cool & refreshing;
[pg: 341]
Yesterday being my Son
Alexander's birthday born
on the 7 July 1878 so he has
just finished his 20 years
I sent him today before
noon this telegram;
"Svoboda
Handelsmuseum
Berggasse
Vienna
Happy Birthday love
Svoboda"
I would have sent it before
only I was on the way from
Basreh~
Light N.W. & fine weather
at 6 1/2 Am I came on board,
The Phrat is inside discharging,
At 10 went home, had
a cold bath, the warm water
is unsupportable & it is
so hot to be able to resist
the warm water~
At Noon as we were at
breakfast, a telegram came
to me from Alexander
[pg: 342]
dated yesterday, it says
Svoboda Baghdad
Turquie Asie
Advantageous Affaire In
hand, require thousand florins
instruct Korkis ~
We knew it from his letters
that he was buying some goods
to be sold here, & they were
offered to him so very cheap,
I therefore went at once
to Yousif Korkis & asked
him to give me a telegram
to his brother Rezooki in
London for 90 £ Stg which
is little over 1000 florins
& he gave me this telegram
Korkis London
Payèz Svoboda Nonante
Sterling:~ Korkis
I sent it at once & was wired
off ~
Modte hot wind & dusty
it is very hot at noon,
[pg: 343]
Modte N.W. & fine ~
At 8 A.M. went to Church
& then called on Katerina Yaghchi
the Assyrian Bishop, to
Sedy wife of Jeboory Asfar,
on Chekoory Andrea,
Polus Serkis, [illegible] Magho,
Abood, Sister Medoola,
Menusha & came home,
found Mr. & Mrs. Bottomley
there had come to visit us
for the first time since we
arrived from Europe;
At noon Eliza & I went
over to Antone Marine
to breakfast there by invitation
there were Sedy wife of
Jeboory & children, & the
Asfars family ~
At 2 p.m. P.M. We left & I
called on the Delegate Monsgr.
Altmayer, on Alice &
Sister Eliza & came
home at 6 P.M.
[pg: 344]
Light N.W. & fine weather
a strong nasty wind
blew throughout the
night;
Fresh N.W. wind blowing
but warm; at 4 A.M. we were
up; we took our tea, as
proposed before, we are going
to Kadumain to visit my
friend the British Agent
Nawab Agha Mahomed, who
has had an accident last
month by falling down
from the top of his house to
the street a great hight &
fractured his arm etc;
Alice came to go with us
also Eliahoo [illegible] the
Jew Residency Banker,
I hired a carriage a sort
of Landeau for one Mejidie
& we started from the
Ras Ghereyeh to [illegible]
at 5 A.M. at 5 1/2 we
alighted at the bridge
[pg: 345]
of Moaddem & walked
across to Kadumain
went to Agha Mahomed's
house a fine building,
we sat in the Serdab &
he came to us, he is getting
on well, we had Tea ate etc,
My wife & Alice went to
see his family, after an
hour at 8 A.M. we left &
came to the train Carr
& started back to Baghdad
it took 3/4 hour to get to
the town the horses are going
so very slow; we took
a Goffa & dropped down
to Sister Eliza's house where
we stayed an hour & left
At 10 1/2 & came on board
for an hour & then went
home~ the Bishop
Aghnatius called on us;
Very hot day the wind
[pg: 346]
is so burning hot the
same wind has sat in
for the last few days;
Modte N.W. wind, but not
so cool & refreshing
At 7 A.M. called on Menusha
& then came on board,
the Phrat is loading, & we
are also but there is very
little cargo for us; I went
home at 10~ It is getting
very warm & hot~
At 3 P.M. I came on board
it is fearfully warm in the my
Cabin it cannot be resisted,
We shipped some cargo,
A very light & S.Ely breeze
sprung this afternoon and
became very warm and
oppressive~
At 5 I left the Ship went home
found Eliza & Adoola my
Cousins at 6 I went to
call on the Mushir Rejeb
Pasha to bid him good bye
fetched Artin my Nephew
[pg: 347]
who wanted to go with me,
but as we got to the garden
of Moolla Hamadi where
he spends the day, we saw
him leaving it to go to the
harem, (the house of Rezooki
Abood close by) so we walked
back with him to the door
& he excused himself as having
some business in the harem
we then wished him good
bye & came back to my
house; Johny also was here,
It is very warm sultry &
calm, everything is hot even
after sunset~
Very warm, light variable
Air from East & N. Est, a
thick mist on the horyzon,
So sweting in bed even in
the morning;~
At 7 A.M. I came on board
& I wrote & finished Alexander's
letter 6 sheets & told him
everything, enclosing his
[pg: 348]
old Turkish passport, also
a letter of recommendation
from Georgis Antone to his
friend at Constple. Nazaret
Kasbaryan, at Mostapha
Pasha Han, to advance
him about 30 L Liras should
he require, & other papers,
also wrote a letter to Mr. J
Böhm & enclosed it in that
of Alexander & told him all
about the passport for Alexander
& to facilitate his departure,
I sent a packet of samples
of silk pieces, Touls, Shales
cigarette papers & other
ordinary paper etc & gave
it to Yacoob Nearo to be
Posted via Damascus;
my letter is registered and
so is the parcel too;
The S.S. Phrat left at 4
A.M. for Basreh with Barge,
There are still lots of fever
at Baghdad & great mortality
[pg: 349]
amongst the children
dying from sudden fits
mostly amongst the Jews,
At 11 am I went home,
It is very warm & sultry, breeze
again shifted to S. Est;
At 2 P.M. came on board
We shipped some more cargo;
The heat is most intense
a light S. Ely air & very
close weather;
A 5 1/2 P.M. I went home,
My servant H. Hamadi
is not coming down with
us this time, he has got the
fever & has stayed in his
house, I engaged H. Mahomed
brother of Ferj to go down
with me~
The weather keeps very calm
& so hot misty like a
vapor with a light S. Ely
breeze but as hot as
fire~
[pg: 350]
It kept warm till about
2 A.M. when the moon rose
& a modte N.Ely wind
came on~
At 3 1/2 A.M.. I came on
board~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 90 | 82,548 | 13,732 |
At 4,,15 A.M. Got underway
& proceeded~ modte N.W.
wind but warm~
At 5 passed the S.S. Ressafah
& Barge going up, Mohsen
Pasha on board coming from
Basreh to act as Commander
in Chief temporarily in place
of the Mushir Rejeb Pasha
until the Mushir of Yemen
Fezi Pasha comes who has
been appointed in his place,
At 6,,15 passed Diala;
At 7,,15 passed Ctesiphon
At 8,, we grounded at Seyafyeh
above Temreh reach~
[pg: 351]
Sent the pilot to sound and
mark the channel;
At 8,,55 weighed & proceeded
wind blowing hot~
At 9,,5 p.m P.M. met the S.S.
Khalifah at the bottom of
Dawar reach she stopped
& sent her boat off with the
through specie she did
not catch the Bombay
mail boat, I got letters
& papers sent by Henry also
a letter from Alexander
from Vienna dated the
5 of June & a Packet of
French Papers~ We went
On at 0,,10 P.M.;
At1,,35 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh Fort~ very
hot weather; the wind fell
in the afternoon & became so
hot & oppressive;
At 3,,30 P.M. passed Azizieh;
We have altogether
76 ½ passengers (one only
in 2nd class a Mahomedan
[pg: 352]
Thabet Effendi with through
ticket for Bahrein~
Light S.Ely breeze or calm
& hot as a furnace~
Detained at [illegible]
in shoal water from 6,,15
P.M. to 6,,30; very calm
& warm weather Ther. in my
Cabin 108˚~
At 9 P.M. we anchored for
the night at Memlah; very
light air & warm weather;
Light N.W. breeze, & not cool
at all; at 4 am. We left
Memlah;
At 8,,20 am, arrived at Coot
landed 14 ½ passengers and
48 packages~ It is has been
very hot here too for the last
5 days, people are complaining
of it~
At 9,,45 left Coot,
the islands have all come
out of the water & the channel
is getting intricate~
Took 4 passengers from
Coot, wind N. Ely and
[pg: 353]
hot;
At 3 P.M. we passed the S.S
Phrat with Barge bound
down having left one day
before us; .Very hot N.W.
wind blowing, it is 114˚ degrees
outside of my Cabin;
At 4,,40 P.M. anchored off
Ali Gherbi & landed 21 Packages
At 5,,10 left Ali Gherbi
Modte but very hot N.W.
wind, Capt Cowley is always
down in the Saloon with
the Punka over his head &
wet towels on his head
& has brought a large box
of Ice about 40 okes &
is using it always;
It was very hot in the first
part of the night, the bed was
as hot as fire, but it became
cooler toward midnight,
At 1 Am arrived at Amara
landed 17 passengers &
66 packages~ Light N.W.
& cool weather; we shipped
[pg: 354]
199 Bales of wool from
Lynch’s Press~
At 3,,45 Am left Amara,
Light N. Ely breeze & cool,
there are clouds on the
Eastern Horyzon, the first
time appearing, from the
great heat~ Took 9 ½
passengers from Amara,
At 7 passed Kalat Saleh
there troops encamped here
on the opposite side, there
has been a disturbance
lately caused by the Motserrif
of Amara Mostapha Pasha
who came here to fill
his pocket from Sheikh
Seyhood (the runaway brigand
who had attacked the Khalifah,
& now made Sheikh and
reinstated by the Turks &
farmed lands here and
the Motserrif wanted to
exact more money from
him and his sons Faleh,
Kathem etc, the Motserrif
having taken one of the
[pg: 355]
sons & put him in prison, and
the father Seyhood came
and attacked the village
and fired shots from the
opposite side on the telegraph
office where the Motserrif
was sitting; he sent for
some troops, & the Khalifah
had been given 28 zaptyeh
guards instead of 10 as
usual, but we have only
11 this time from Amara,
At 8,,45 stopped to repair
the steering chain got broken
At 9,,40 left; weather
became very calm and
fearfully warm, hazy
& sultry~
At 10,,50 passed Azair,
We passed the S.S. Mossul
& Barge going up last night
At 10 ¾ P.M.~
At 1,,35 P.M.passed
Gorna~
[pg: 356]
At 5,,45 P.M. arrived
at Basreh, we suffered the
heat so moisty most
awfully as the breeze
was behind us,~
The Arabistan is up here
from the quarantine;
The Mail Str has left yesterday,
wha a bad arrangement the
B.I Steamers are making they
are always changing their
time; There is a steamer the
“Chatam” in quarantine with
Paraffin for the Maymerry;
The ship is burning hot;
it is impossible to get in
my cabin; I would not go
to Rufails place, because
they have all the Angoorlies
living there Tookyeh & her
husband and Tonie’s wife &
children etc; but I suffered
the heat most awfully,
even in bed on the upper
deck I could not breath,
Although there is a light
N.W breeze but it is so
[pg: 357]
Nasty, warm & moisty,
we discharged cargo at
night~
Light N.W. & sultry with
Some clouds on the Eastern
quarter; weather not
cool at all;
The S.S. Phrat came down
early this morning~
We are discharging & loading,
My letter for Alexander
of today’s date will have to
remain for next mail;
As G.R. Sayegh came to me
& would take me to go and
breakfast with him to Rufails
place saw Tookey & her
husband only remaining
there, but soon after I got
there some visitors came
to them, Yousif John his wife
& sister & the mother of
the Assyrian Priest, etc
& so I left immediately
& went to G. Asfar, he
[pg: 358]
was in Basreh & came out
at 12 ½ we breakfasted together
& I remained spending
the day, a fresh N.W wind
is blowing all the day
& it blew through strong too; at
5 P.M. Rufail and & Rezooki came
they played tennis &
then we went on top of the
house, Meneshi Gareh came
there too~ at 8 I went
to Rufail’s where I dined
& slept, a light N.W. &
cool night~
Light N.W breeze & nice
cool morning, but rather
dampy; I had tea with them
& left at 5 ¾ am & passed
on my way to Jeboory
Asfar. I took from him
70 T Liras being the interest
of my money 1000 T Liras
left with him for an other
year commencing from
the 1st Rabi Awal or 20th
Instant, the bond is in
[pg: 359]
Baghdad, which I will bring
down next trip, he deducted
what I owed him for the
freight on the box of painting
which Effie my niece
sent me from Cairo, and
Sawon Bazin of Port Said
had charged me £ 1,,18,,9
which came to 2 T Liras I
paid him, I then came
on board~ I closed the
letter for Alexander the
mail will leave Basreh on
the 23rd Instt; she is due here
tomorrow~
The S.S. Pemba arrived this
Morning at 7 am but she
did not bring the mail she
is an extra boat; & an
hour after one of the Persian
Steamers also arrived I
suppose the Henry Bolckow;
There is a Modte N.W. wind
today & is a pleasant day
except my cabin where not
a breath of air is in it
[pg: 360]
and I cannot stay in;
We have very few passengers
coming;
Rufail & Rezooki Sayegh
came to me at P.M.~
wind falling down a
little~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 105 | 61,638 | 9,781 ¾ | 4,, |
At 5,,15 P.M. we left
Basreh; Light N.W. but
my cabin is hot & I
am saturated with perspiration
It cooled at night & became
very nice & pleasant;
At 11,,30 we landed 4
passengers at Gorna and
went on at 11,,40~
Light N.W & cool night;
At 0,50 AM we anchored
at Zachyeh ~
At 4 proceeded, light N.W.
& cool weather ~
Finished the passenger’s
tickets yesterday, we have
only 48 ½ in all (3 in
[pg: 361]
1st class Cabins, Hyder
Beg son of the Defterdar
of Basreh & his mother,
and Rezooki son Beshoory
Tessy in Hotz’s employ)
At 6,,30 anchored below
Azair to repair the Tiller’s
cracked been carried away,
At 7. Proceeded ~
At 7.10 passed Azair,
Detained few minutes in
some places shoal by easying
and & stopping~ wind blowing
warm~
At 9,,15 P.M. landed
one passenger at Kalat
Saleh, Some Troops are
still here encamped;
The Defterdar of Basreh
(father of Hyder Beg who is
going up with us now with
his mother to Baghdad)
also Sherif Beg the Taboor
Aghassy & other Turkish
Officials & Arabs in
[pg: 362]
all 7 persons came on
board to go up with us to
the Canal Mejar (above
Aboo Sedra) for investigation
of the late disturbance
with Seyhood & his sons not
paying the debts etc, Capt
Cowley took them all free
At 0,,25 we went on;
At 1,35 the Aboo party
landed on the West bank, where
the Arabs are digging a new
canal for irrigation~
At 5 P.m arrived at
Amara landed 5 passengers
took 5 Bund skins ~
At 6 left Amara took
26 ½ passengers~ Modte
N.W. wind blowing and
nice cool weather;
Modte NW. but not cool;
At 4,,30 Am. went alongside
at Ali Gherbi , landed 7
passengers; and shipped
132 bales of wool, at 8 Paras
per Oke;
At 7.15 left Ali Gherbi
[pg: 363]
Very hot and scorching wind
blew throughout the day
The Therm at 4 was 109˚
At 5,,50 P.M. Arrived
at Coot landed 5 ½ passengers
We did not go alongside,
but lots of passengers
came off in Goffas; we
were told that the channel
here is blocked up, & we
have to drop down below
the village & steam up
on the other side of the
islands along the West
bank, at 6,,45 we dropped
down~ The Therm in my
cabin at 7 P.M. is 106˚
At 7,,30 we rounded and
passed Coot along the
West bank~ Modte
N.W. & fine cool weather;
Fresh N.W. wind blowing all
the night~ At 2 am we
grounded at Hamraya
[pg: 364]
Worked wind anchors
fore & aft~ At 5,,40 we
proceeded, strong wind
still blowing, I had to
come down to my cabin
at 3 A.M. from the wind
but it is not cool~
At 5,,50 passed Memlah
Gave tickets to 29 Coot
passengers;~ The river
is getting very low, and
every where are sand banks
appearing~
We were detained at Han Seniyeh
from 9 ½ till 10 in shoal
water by this time the
S.S. Ressafah & Barge came
to pass down.~ Very strong
wind blowing;
At 2,,10 P.M. passed Azizieh
Village which is falling in
ruins, being eaten by the
river~ Very hot wind
blowing 113˚ in my cabin;
At 2,55 P.M. passed the
S.S Khalifah at Reddat
going down, the wind
is awfully hot as fire
[pg: 365]
At 5,,35 Pm passed
Baghdadieh Fort;
I have asked Hyder Beg
The son of the Defterdar to
give me a letter of recommendation
for Alexander at Constple
& he gave me one to his
friend Saleh-id-Din Beg
in the Ministère de Finance
at Place Bayazid, which
I shall send to Alexander
to Vienna by the next post
of the 28 Instt~
At 12 P.M. grounded just
at Bostan in turning round
the reach, took anchor out
& hove off & remained at
anchor for the night;
the wind was just first fresh &
hot, I slept in one of the
cabins in the saloon, but
it was hot in the first part
& could not sleep;
Light N.W & fine cool
morning~
At 4.30 AM. We proceeded
[pg: 366]
from Bostan~
At 6, 45 am passed Ctesiphon
At 9 passed Diala river,
wind began to blow hot,
but not so strong & hot as
yesterday~
At 9,,40 the steering chain
been carried away, we
anchored for [r]epairs;
At 10,,40 proceeded, But a
stool fell overboard, & people
were sent on shore to pick
it & bring on board and
at 11 we went on;
At 11.45 landed a deckman
at Gherrana & went on
blowing hot strong wind
dusty & hot;
At 2 P.M. landed mails
at the Residency & went up
to the Custom house, the
S.S. Mossul is here alongside
I went home saw Eliza
she is well; I found two
letters from Alexander
one of last week dated
the 25 June of & the other
[pg: 367]
of yesterday’s post dated
the 1st Instant, he is very
well but is annoyed in
Vienna being so stranger
& says that Mr. Böhm
left on the 1st Instt for his
summer country stay
for about 2 months;
Alexander counts leaving
Vienna on the 30 of August
he has received the 500
frcs I sent him through
R. Korkis he has bought
some shoes about 100 pairs
for that sum; I also
received a letter from
R. Korkis dated 1 July;
Père Augustin (Sayegh)
called on us also Antone
Marine~
It is very hot here too;
the terrace is also very hot
& the bed like a furnace
[pg: 368]
Modte N.W & fine,
but warm weather;
At 6 ½ Am I came on board
but could not stay in my
cabin; the heat of the sun
making it as hot as fire
I went back, called on
Menusha; I went home
It is fearfully hot as fire
I took a cold bath; It
is so very warm all the
day & the night too;
Modte N.W & fine but warm
& disagreable; I went
to call on Catterina Yaghchi,
& then went to Church,
I called on the Bishop, on
Habib Chiha, Abduljebbar
Antone Marine, Sister
Medula etc. I came
home at 11~
Very hot day, Strong wind
& dusty~ Monseigneur Altmayer
called on us; in the
evening Johny called
for an hour;
[pg: 369]
Light N.W & fine with
some clouds on the Eastern
Horyzon~ At 7 Am. I called
on Sister Eliza & at 10 I
went to the office to Mr.
Bottomley about money &
pay etc~ Came on board
at 11; we are discharging
cargo; I went home at
12, Hot wind blowing.
At 3 P.M. I called on Alice
& Sister Emilia & then called
on Eliza & Adoola my cousins
& came home at 6. P.M
I found a telegram just
arrived from Alexander
from Paris sent on the 22
Instt; which made [me] startle
& astonished at his sudden
departure from Vienna for
Paris.
Svoboda Baghdad
Suis Paris raison Majeur
lettre suit~
[pg: 370]
We are very anxious to know
the cause of his return to
Paris & cannot make it
out, unless it be the cause
of the Military Service that
the authorities have heard
of his being there through
somebody, I suspect the
sons of Isak Lurion either
Faust or Edward, they
saw that he was in the
office of Olloi Schweizer
the General export merchant
& did this out of spite,
in fact we were mad
for having such a telegram
I then at once sent this
telegram to Ibrahim
Gejou (after having asked
his brother here to give
me his address) and wrote
out this and sent it at
7 P.M. to the telegraph Office
[pg: 371]
Gejon
3 Place Cambronne
Paris
Inquiét cause retour
Alexandre informèz
Svoboda
As Alexander had written
to me on the 1st Instt, that Mr.
Böhm had gone out of the
country for a month or so
& also Mr. Schweiger, &
he was left alone & lonely
in town not knowing any
body & perhaps the Police
there had enquired about him
& Alexander was frightened
& left Vienna for
Paris;~
Light N.W. & fine weather
I went at 6 ½ am to
Mr. Julietti, & explained to
him all & asked him
[pg: 372]
that should the answer of
my telegram come after
my leaving this place
to forward it on to me
at Amara~ I called
on Sister Medula & came
home wrote Alexanders
letter & came on board
at 8; The S.S Mossul left
this morning at 4 A.M.
At 8 ½ am the S.S Phrat
arrived;
I went home at 11, a very hot
wind still blowing, ~
Alice & Terrooza my nieces
called on us at 3 P.M. also
Sedy wife of Jeboory Asfar
and Terrooza wife of Antone
& himself also called in the
evening;
Light N.W air & fine
Light N.W. & fine cool breeze
At 7 am I came on board
we shipped some cargo,
[pg: 373]
The river is getting very low
I finished Alexander’s letter
I have not much & cannot
write to him any more
except about his return
to Paris & advised him to
return soon homeward
this letter I am sending
to Paris to the care of
Ibrahim Gejon; I also
wrote a letter to Böhm
Vienna expressing my most great
Astonishment at Alexander’s
return to Paris & asking
him whether it is on account
of the Military Service,
I also wrote to Mr. J. Kouri
at Port Saîd; Alexander’s
letter is registered~
At 11 ½ went home and
returned at 2 P.M. Weather
very hot, the wind is still
burning;
We shipped about 74,00
Okes Cargo (363 Bales wool
[pg: 374]
& about 50 Bales Skins etc)
At 6 P.M. went home~
Catterina Yaghchi was there;
Johny & Artin called in the
evening~
Light breeze & nice cool weather;
weather;
Light N.W & fine cool
morning~ at 3 ¾ A.M.
I came on board~
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 151 ½ | 94,955 | 15,455 2/4 | 4,,0 |
At 4,,20 Am got underway
& proceeded;
At 6,,25 passed Diala
river~
At 7,,50 passed Ctesiphon
Gave tickets & finished with
the passengers; We have
altogether 130 ½ (one in
1st class Jewad Effendi of
the Senyeh to Amara).
At 9,, 45 landed a passenger
at Khemasseh, Eliahoo
Somekh, having liquorice
[pg: 375]
collecting there~
At 1,,10 P.M. met the S.S.
Khalifah coming up just
at Bagdadieh Fort, she
stopped & sent us her through
specie (not having met
the Mail Steamer) I received
Henry’s letter & my papers
and a letter from Alexander
from Vienna dated the
19 of June; We went on
at 1,,15; Very Hot day
Thermr. @ 112˚ at noon;
At 3,,15 P/m P.M. passed Azizieh
Village; wind fell & became
calm,
At 7,,20 P.M. we grounded
at Sheresh, took an anchor
out & hove off, sent to sound;
We kept heaving on fore & aft
all the night, she wont move
until about midnight when
she floated & we remained
at Anchor~
Light N.W breeze & very
cool & pleasant night
[pg: 376]
Light N.W & very cool morning
At 4,,20 am. we proceeded,
At 5,,35 passed Memlah;
At 10,,10 anchored opposite
Coot on the Western bank &
sent down the Pilot to sound;
At 10,,50 proceeded but her
Stern touched the shoal and
she swang & grounded
just at the mouth of the
Hye Canal, took an
Anchor out astern & hove
her off; Very Calm and
warm day;
At 11,30 we weighed and
proceeded down after having
sounded; rounded the islands
below Coot & steamed
up & went alongside the
Custom House at 1,,5 P.M.
landed 44 ½ passengers &
127 packages, Calm weather
& light N. Ely breeze;
At 2,,55 we left Coot
took 5 passengers; S. Ely
light breeze & very hot;
At 7,,15 Anchored at Aboo=
Dood, a shoal place ahead
[pg: 377]
of us & Boats are aground
weather very calm and
warm sultry close; But
later at night it became
cooler on the top of the house,
At day break we weighed
& having sounded the place
we proceeded to it but
grounded, hove off and
again grounded, hove back
but sent to sound~
Slight N.W breeze sprung
up;~
At 7,,10 after having finished
sounding we proceeded form
Aboo Dood~
Breeze shifted to S. Ely, warm
and sultry~
At 10,,5 landed some vegetables
& watermelons at Ali Gherbi
From Capt Cowley to Khdeir
& went on at 10,,10~
At 1,,45 P.M. passed Ali Sherghi
Very hot & light S. Ely breeze,
At 4 ½ P.M. breeze shifting
round to West & N. West,
but is rather calm; again
it shifted to Southerly hot
[pg: 378]
breeze~
At 6 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 25 passengers
(1 in 1st class Jwad Effendi)
and 49 Packages~ We
shipped 156 Bales of Pressed
wool, the weather is awfully
warm with a light S. Eastly
breeze; this is the Bahoora
which has set in today
& will last about a week,
At 8.20 we left Amara
At 9,,50 anchored for the
night; the weather got a
little cooler~
Light Erly breeze & cool morning
At 4 am AM. We proceeded
At 5 passed the S.S Ressafah
& Barge full of Troops they
are returning from Basreh;
Gave tickets to 16 Amara
passengers~
It became so calm and
warm by 7 O clock that
I could no longer write &
was getting mad and
[pg: 379]
feel so weak that I do not
know what to do and
where to go, my heart fails
me and I am so sorry &
out of temper on account
of Alexander since he
telegraphed to me from
Paris on last Monday,
and I did not get the answer
at Amara last night
as Julietti had promised
to do so; I have to knock
off work for my cabin
is getting like a furnace;
At 10,,5 passed Azair,
Very calm & hot day’s;
At 1 am P.M. landed one passenger
at Gorna & went on~
Breeze from S.W very hot,
with few clouds on the west
horyzon~
At 5.30 P.M. arrived
at Basreh~ the S.S. Chatam
for Hotz is up here; the S.S
Goolistan got out by
Korkis Brothers is in
[pg: 380]
quarantine & the mail
steamer Khandalla
Fearfully hot & calm
as or light S. Erly breeze;
Rezooki came to take me to
them;
I received soon after we
arrived these telegrams all
in one cover the first is
from Ibrahim Gejon in
answer to mine which came
to Baghdad & was forwarded
on to here dated from
Paris 30th
Svoboda Basreh,
Alexandre ici question
Mariage~
The second from my wife
dated today~
Svoboda Basreh
Presence Alexandre
Paris question mariage,
Telegraphiez Consul
Baghdad, informez Ambassadeur
[pg: 381]
Paris arretèr mariage
repondèz
Elise
The third is also from my
wife dated today, two hours
later.
Svoboda Basreh
Altmayer telegraphed
Paris needfull; wiring
Ambassador risky.
Eliza,
This is a fine thing Alexander
is doing if what Ibrahim
says is true; I am at a loss
to find out the reality of
this news; but if it is true
Alexander must have been
doing a great fault and
foolishness; unless Ibrahim
has been working at it
all the time before he went
to Vienna – I went with
Rezooki called on Jeboory
conferred with him
[pg: 382]
We made out telegrams but
left them to consider, he
came to Rufail to dine
there, I went also, where
I saw Tookyeh & her husband
Rezooki we talked over
the matter, I am mad
from the sorrow & grief on
Alexanders doings,
had no sleep the whole
night thinking about the
matter;
Very light air from South &
S. West warm & sultry,
After tea I went over to
Jeboory, talked over the
matter, & Jeboory proposed
to wire to his friend Monsr
Sevelinge & also a friend
of Ibrahim Gejon to enquire
from him & reply, so
we made out these
following telegrams;
Sevelinge
7 Place Pèreire
Paris
[pg: 383]
Gejon télégraphia Svoboda
intention mariage son
fils informez vous realité
Prière insister départ
Bagdad telégraphièz
Asfar
I then made this telegram
Svoboda
3 Place Cambronne
Paris
Quittèr six Août pour
Marseille, Attendèz lettres
aussi instruction telegraphique
ulterieur relativement
itineraire
Svoboda
I also wrote this telegram
to my wife.
Svoboda Baghdad
Telegraphiani Alexandre
Necessaire
Svoboda
[pg: 384]
The whole 3 telegrams will
be sent on by Jeboory
today to be wired; I
Came on board; this news
has stunned me & made
me quite sick pulled down
as it is a thing that I never
expected it to come from
my only son that I hold so
dear & precious on earth,
my affection to him has
no limit & I have been
expecting to see him soon
& am sacrificing every
thing for him even my
health & existence
Roofail came to me during
the day but the heat so intense
in the cabin & every where
a light S. Ely moist warm
& disagreable~
We were told to await
for the mail boat which
left Bushire yesterday
until 10 P.m~
[pg: 385]
We are getting many
passengers mostly family
of Turkish Officers as
the Troops are going up
in the Mossul;
We finished loading at
4 P.M.~ Very warm night
& light S. Ely.
| Passengers | Okes | G. S. Piasters | Draft |
| 247 ½ | 84,457 | 13,334 ½ | 4,,4 |
The mail Steamer not having
arrived; At 10,,15 P.M. we
proceeded~ It got cooler
during the night;
Light S. Erly breeze~
At 4,,25 am landed two
passengers at Gorna and
went on at 4,,30~ It got
very warm & sultry as soon
as the sun rose;
At 8,20 passed Azair,
I finished with the passengers
tickets~
[pg: 386]
We have in all 152
passengers, none in the
cabins~ also 9 zaptyes
Detained 30 minutes
at Ghumeijeh in shoal,
also ½ hour at Elbow,
fearfully warm calm &
steamy, I never saw like
it, I am expecting every
now & then to get a stroke
of appoplexy, I can do
nothing no writing or
any thing else;
At 12 grounded above
the Elbow, took Anchor
ahead & hove off and went
on at 0.50 P.M.;
At 3,,50 P.M. landed 5
Passengers & 4 Bales of the
down trip at K. Saleh
and took 3 passengers &
went on at 4; Very calm
& hot weather;
It became very oppressive
in the afternoon so calm &
one is fainting~ I passed
[pg: 387]
all the day sitting on the
chair aft & nearly fainting
from the heat, a very light
Southerly breeze scarcely
put;
At 8.20 P.M. arrived
at Amara landed 41 ½ Passengers
& the 9 zaptyes & 2 Bales,
Took in 8 tons of coal,
At 10,25 left Amara,
It is still warm with very
light air, but about midnight
air shifted to N.W
Light N.W. air but Sultry
& not refreshing, gave
tickets to 39 ½ Amara
passengers; It became very
calm again;
At 1 A.M. the S.S Comet
passed down, she sent her boat
off for letters, she is going to
bring up Major Melville
who comes up to act as
Resident in Coll Loch’s
place who had gone on leave
[pg: 388]
See Diary No. 48
of 1898;
[pg: 389]
Jew Pilgrims to Azair Ret Tickets
| Blosse Lynch | Kalifah | ||
| Embarked | |||
| 1898 | 1898 | ||
| 5 May | --50 | 28 April | 25,, |
| 19" | --48 | 13 May | 96,, |
| --98 | -- of B. Lynch | --98 | |
| ---- | |||
| Total of B. Lynch / S. Khalifah} | 219 | ||
| Returned | |||
| 10 May | ---2 | 17 May | ---28 |
| 24 ,, | ---57 | 31,, | ---124 1/2 |
| --- | --- | ||
| 59 | 166 1/2 | ||
| 58 | |||
| --- | |||
| 214 1/2 |
[mdash]
31 Dec 1897
| 800 | Eliahoo Dennoos | - | - |
| 1000 | G. Asfar | - | - |
| 500 | Nawab Agha Mahomed | - | - |
| 100 | R. Sayegh | - | - |
| 350 | Cash with me, | - | - |
| __________ | - | - | |
| 2,750 | - | - |
31 March 98
| 1000 | G. Asfar | - | - |
| 1500 | Nawab Agha Mahomed | - | - |
| 100 | Rufail Sayegh | - | - |
| 1150 | at home | - | - |
| _________ | - | - | |
| 2750 | - | - | |
| __________ | - | - | |
| 100 | £ Sent to Alexander Vienna on 9 July 98, for Kit | - | - |
| __________ | - | - | |
| 2,650 | - | - |