29266
COLONEL T. K. LAWREJNVE, THJB MYSTERY MAN OF AKAJBiA
A STAR BOOK
WITH LAWRENCE
IN ARABIA
By
LOWELL THOMAS
Original Photographs
Taken by H. A. Chase r. R. G. s.
And by the Author
GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING CO., INC.
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
Copyright, 1024, by
THE CENTURY Co.
CL
PRINTKD IN XT, 8. JL.
FOREWORD
Surely no one ever offered a volume to the public
who was quite so deeply indebted to others, and I
have long looked forward to the opportunity of ex-
pressing my gratitude. To do this I must turn back
the pages of time to the days when, accompanied by
my photographic colleague, Mr. Harry A. Chase, and
two other assistants, I left America to gather infor-
mation and secure a pictorial record of the various
phases of the struggle that was then in progress all
the way from the North Sea to far-off Arabia.
We had set forth early in 1917 and were expected
to return at the end of a year or so to help in the work
of stimulating enthusiasm for the Allied cause. The
late Mr. Franklin K. Lane, secretary of the interior,
suggested that I resign from the faculty of Prince-
ton University in order to undertake this. To
Secretary Lane, Secretary Daniels of the Navy De-
partment, and Secretary Baker of the War Depart-
ment, who were responsible for our becoming at-
tached successively to the various Allied armies, I am
indebted for the opportunities which enabled me to
obtain the material for this volume. This was before
a special appropriation had been set aside for such
work; as a result of Secretary Lane's suggestion,
viii FOREWORD
eighteen distinguished private citizens supplied the
funds for the undertaking.
Mr. Chase and I have just concluded a three-year
tour of the world, during which I have shown the
pictorial record and narrated to several million people
the story which we brought back of Allenby's con-
quest of the Holy Land, and the hitherto unknown
story of Lawrence and the war in the Land of the
Arabian Nights. The generous praise and innumer-
able courtesies which have been extended to us dur-
ing this tour have been received by us on behalf of
these eighteen nameless gentlemen. For it is to
them that the credit is due. In Europe, Americans
are commonly regarded as mere worshipers of Mam-
mon; yet these financiers are typical American busi-
ness men, and if this book proves to be a contribution
of value because it happens to be the only written
fragmentary record of the most romantic campaign
in modern history, then the credit belongs to these
unselfish, anonymous gentlemen of Chicago. For
had it not been for them, the story of Colonel Law-
rence's achievements in Arabia might never have been
told, and might never have become widely known
even among his own countrymen.
To Colonel John Buchan, who in those days was
one of the mysterious high priests of the Ministry
of Information, I am indebted for the permit that
got me out to Palestine at the time when other mis-
sions were not allowed there, and at the time when
Allenby, Britain's modern Coeur de Lion, was leading
FOREWORD i*
his army in the most brilliant cavalry campaign of
all time. I also am deeply indebted to the great
commander-in-chief himself, and likewise to the chief
of his intelligence staff, Brigadier-General Sir Gil-
bert F. Clayton. It was they who were responsible
for our being the only observers attached to the
Shereefian forces in Holy Arabia.
During the time that Mr. Chase and I were in
Arabia, I found it impossible to extract much infor-
mation from Lawrence himself regarding his own
achievements. He insisted on giving the entire
credit to Emir Feisal and other Arab leaders, and to
his fellow-adventurers, Colonel Wilson, of the Sudan,
ISTewcombe, Joyce, Dawney, Bassett, Vickery, Corn-
wallis, Hogarth, Stirling, etc., all of whom did mag-
nificent work in Arabia. So to them I went for
much of my material, and T am indebted to various
members of this group of brilliant men whom Gen-
eral Clayton used in his Near Eastern Secret Corps.
Eager to tell me of the achievements of their quiet,
scholarly companion, they refused to say much about
themselves, although their own deeds rivaled those of
the heroes of "The Arabian Nights."
To the Right Hon. Lord Riddell, and to Mr.
Louis D. Froelick, editor of "Asia," I am grateful
for the encouragement which led me to believe that I
should attempt the delightful task of recording what
little I know of this romance of real life. I owe a
special debt to Miss Elsie Weil, former managing
editor of "Asia"; also to Captain Alan Bott, M.C.,
x FOREWORD
R.A.F. (Contact) ; to my colleague, Mr. Dale
Carnagey, the American novelist; and to my wife
for it was their invaluable cooperation that finally en-
abled me to prepare this volume.
There are others infinitely better qualified than I
to give the world a full account of the Arabian Revo-
lution. For instance, Commander D. G. Hogarth,
the famous Arabian authority who played a promi-
nent advisory part, could easily do this. It is to be
hoped that his archaeological work and duties as
curator of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford will
not prevent him from preparing a final official his-
tory. But it is to Lawrence himself that we must
look for the inside story of the war in the Land of
the Arabian Nights.
Unhappily, no matter how much unselfish work a
man does for his country, and no matter how modest
he is, there are always people hovering about on the
side-lines ready to tear his record to pieces. For
instance, there are those who say that Lawrence has
received altogether too much "publicity'' through me.
They piously declare that this is not in accordance
with military ethics. There may be something in
this, though I doubt it. But if there is, the blame
should all be mine.
There is no question that the praise I have given
him has embarrassed him exceedingly. Indeed, had
he realized when I was in Arabia that I one day
would be going up and down the world shouting his
praises, I have n't the slightest doubt that he would
FOREWORD xi
have planted one of his nitroglycerine tulips under
me, instead of under a Turkish train! However,
not only did Lawrence little dream that I might one
day be "booming him," as he describes it, but it had
never even occurred to me that I should be so doing.
The conspirators who were largely responsible for
my coming to England were Sir William Jury, for-
merly of the Ministry of Information, and Major
Evelyn Wrench, of the English Speaking Union,
and, more particularly, Mr. Percy Burton, the Lon-
don impresario formerly associated with Sir Henry
Irving, and Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson. It
was Mr. Burton who came to me in New York and
inveigled me into agreeing to appear for a season at
Covent Garden Royal Opera-House, London, with
my production, "With Allenby in Palestine and
Lawrence in Arabia."
Another "bazaar rumor" that has been going the
rounds is to the effect that Colonel Lawrence has
renounced Christianity and turned Mohammedan.
This also is the offspring of some feverish imagina-
tion! From what I saw of Lawrence I rather be-
lieve that he is a better Christian than the most of us.
In his introduction to a new edition of Doughty's
classic "Arabia Deserta" he says of that great Ara-
bian traveler: "He was book-learned, but simple
in the arts of living, trustful of every man, very si-
lent. He was the first Englishman they had met.
He predisposed them to give a chance to other men
of his race, because they found him honourable and
xii FOREWORD
good. So he broke a road for his religion. They
say that he seemed proud only of being Christian,
and yet never crossed their faith/' The tribute he
pays to Doughty might be applied equally appropri-
ately to himself*
L, T.
CONTENTS
JUAPTEB PA<3B
I A MODERN ARABIAN KNIGHT 3
II IN SEARCH OF A LOST CIVILIZATION . . ... 11
III THE ARCHAEOLOGIST TURNED SOLDIER ... 33
IV THE CULT OF THE BLOOD OF MOHAMMED . . 47
V THE FALI/ OF JEDDAH AND MECCA .... 58
VI THE GATHERING OF THE DESERT TRIBES . . 77
VII THE BATTLE AT THE WELLS OF ABU EL LISSAL . 90
VIII THE CAPTURE OF KING SOLOMON'S ANCIENT
SEAPORT 99
IX ACROSS THE RED SEA TO JOIN LAWRENCE AND
FEISAL 109
X THE BATTLE OF SEIL EL HASA 129
XI LAWRENCE THE TRAIN- WRECKER 137
XII DRINKERS OF THE MILK OF WAR 149
XIII AUDA ABU TAYI, THE BEDOUIN ROBIN HOOD . .155
XIV KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK TENTS 164
XV MY LORD THE CAMEL 174
XVI ABDULLAH THE POCK-MARKED, AND THE STORY
OF FERRAJ AND DAOUD . . . . - - .181
XVII AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH 188
XVIII A ROSE-RED CITY HALF AS OLD AS TIME . . .199
XIX A BEDOUIN BATTLE IN A CITY OF GHOSTS . 219
XX THE RELATIVE IN MY HOUSE ........ 230
xiii
xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTEB PAGB
XXI THROUGH THE TURKISH LINES IN DISGUISE . . 240
XXII THE GREATEST HOAX SINCE THE TROJAN HORSE 253
XXIII A CAVALRY NAVAL ENGAGEMENT AND LAW-
RENCE'S LAST GREAT RAID 261
XXIV THE DOWNFALL OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE . . 272
XXV LAWRENCE RULES IN DAMASCUS, AND THE
TREACHERY OF THE ALGERIAN EMIR . . . 288
XXVI TALES OF THE SECRET CORPS .... .301
XXVII JOYCE & Co., AND THE ARABIAN KNIGHTS OF THE
AIR 309
XXVIII FEISAL AND LAWRENCE AT THE BATTLE OF PARIS 321
XXIX LAWRENCE NARROWLY ESCAPES DEATH; ADVEN-
TURES OF FEISAL AND HUSSEIN 333
XXX LAWRENCE FLEES FROM LONDON, AND FEISAL BE-
COMES KING IN BAGDAD 345
XXXI THE SECRET OF LAWRENCE'S SUCCESS . . . 364
XXXII THE ART OF HANDLING ARABS 374
XXXIII LAWRENCE THE MAN ........ 390
WITH LAWRENCE IN
ARABIA
CHAPTER I
A MODERN ARABIAN KNIGHT
ONE day not long after Allenby had captured
Jerusalem, I happened to be in front of a
bazaar stall on Christian Street, remonstrat-
ing with a fat old Turkish shopkeeper who was at-
tempting to relieve me of twenty piasters for a hand-
ful of dates. My attention was suddenly drawn to a
group of Arabs walking in the direction of the Da-
mascus Gate. The fact that they were Arabs was
not what caused me to drop my tirade against the
high cost of dates, for Palestine, as all men know, is
inhabited by a far greater number of Arabs than
Jews. My curiosity was excited by a single Bedouin,
who stood out in sharp relief from all his companions.
He was wearing an agal, kuffieh, and aba such as are
worn only by Near Eastern potentates. In his belt
was fastened the short curved sword of a prince of
Mecca, insignia worn by descendants of the Prophet.
Christian Street is one of the most picturesque and
kaleidoscopic thoroughfares in the Near East.
4 WITH LAWRENCE IN ARABIA
sian Jews, with their corkscrew curls, Greek priests in
tall black hats and flowing robes, fierce desert nomads
in goatskin coats reminiscent of the days of Abraham,
Turks in balloon-like trousers, Arab merchants lend-
ing a brilliant note with their gay turbans and gowns
all rub elbows in that narrow lane of bazaars, shops,
and coffee-houses that leads to the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher. Jerusalem is not a melting-pot,
It is an uncompromising meeting-place of East and
West. Here are accentuated, as if sharply outlined
in black and white by the desert sun, the racial pe-
culiarities of Christian, Jewish, and Mohammedan
peoples. A stranger must, indeed, have something
extraordinary about him to attract attention in the
streets of the Holy City. But as this young Bedouin
passed by in his magnificent royal robes, the crowds in
front of the bazaars turned to look at him,
It was not merely his costume, nor yet the dignity
with which he carried his five feet three, marking him
every inch a king or perhaps a caliph in disguise who
had stepped out of the pages of "The Arabian
Nights." The striking fact was that this mysterious
prince of Mecca looked no more like a son of Ishmael
than an Abyssinian looks like one of Stefansson's
red-haired Eskimos. Bedouins, although of the Cau-
casian race, have had their skins scorched by the re-
lentless desert sun until their complexions are the
color of lava. But this young man was as blond as
a Scandinavian, in whose veins flow viking blood and
the cool traditions of fiords and sagas. The no-
A MODERN ARABIAN KNIGHT 5
\nadic sons of Ishmael all wear flowing bear.ds, as
their ancestors did in the time of Esau. This youth,
with the curved gold sword, was clean-shaven. He
walked rapidly with his hands folded, his blue eyes
oblivious to his surroundings, and he seemed wrapped
in some inner contemplation. My first thought as I
glanced at his face was that he might be one of the
younger apostles returned to life. His expression
was serene, almost saintly, in its selflessness and
repose.
"Who is he?" I turned eagerly to the Turk prof-
iteer, who could only manipulate a little tourist Eng-
lish. He merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Who could he be?" I was certain I could obtain
, ome information about him from General Storrs,.
governor of the Holy City, and so I strolled over in
the direction of his palace beyond the old wall, nea*
Solomon's Quarries. General Ronald Storrs, Brit-
ish successor to Pontius Pilate, had been Oriental
secretary to the high commissioner of Egypt before
the fall of Jerusalem and for years had kept in in-
timate touch with the peoples of Palestine. He
spoke Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Arabic with the
same fluency with which he spoke English. I knew
he could tell me something about the mysterious
blond Bedouin.
"Who is this blue-eyed, fair-haired fellow wander-
ing about the bazaars wearing the curved sword of a
prince of
