[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.
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Diary N. 49
1899~
[pg: 1]
[pg: 2]
1899
We finished Cargo at 3
P.M.; having loaded very
deep;
The Waly of Basreh
Enis Pasha & the Commander
of the Troops Mohsen Pasha
came to see the Shahzada
the cousin of the present
Shah of Persia, his name
is Abdulhussein Mirza
Farman Farman,
also the English Consul Mr.
Wratislaw, Mr. Hamilton
the Agent of Hotz & Co. &
is also the American
Consular Agent; Mr.
Richards of Lynch Brothers
& a wole lot of Persians
& other people; he has
[page torn] two cabins for
[page torn] 1st Class
[pg: 3]
[ripped off] on Deck
[ripped off] came to me,
[ripped off] going to Gorna tomorrow
to see his property for
about 10 days absence,
and then he promised
me if his mother has really
decided to go to Paris
to bring Alexander, he
will accompany her;
| Passng | Okes | GSP. Local | Draft |
| 20 Â½ | 247336 | 27,126 Â¼ | 4,,10 |
At 4,,20 P.M. We left
Basreh, flood tide is
running up;~ The Persian
Shahzada with his Doctor
& Interpreter in 1st C. Cabins
are messing by themselves
At 10 P.M. landed 8
passengers at Gorna they
are Nasser el Sagur,
Abdulla Rawandoozi the
Lawyer & Mr. Misakyan
[pg: 4]
the Civil Engineer & followers
going to measure the
date properties so as to
levy a tax in future at
so much per Jerib; Ali
Beg Mudir of the Tapo &
Rufail are also coming
to Gorna tomorrow;
Light air & rather warm
weather; At 2,,50 Am
passed Azair~ at 4
anchored, & at 5,,30 We
left;~ Weather very mild
I finished with the passengers
tickets we have in all
143 Â½ (5 in 1st Class, the
Shahzada, Abdulhussein
Mirza Farman Farman
whose sister the Shah of
Persia Muzaffar el Mulk
has married, and a
German Mr. W. Grieger
[pg: 5]
and Yousif Shamoon
Nazo, but the two cabins
of the Shahzada are
also used by his attendants
going in & out, and 2
in 2nd class Nassoory
son of Georgis Ilo and
sister)~
At 10 Am landed 4
passengers at Kalat
Saleh & Went on at 10,,5,
the guard turned out &
saluted the Persian
Shahzada; We are flying
the Persian flag for
him~
S. Erly Wind & Weather
Getting Cloudy~
At 4 P.M. arrived
at Amara, a guard of
soldiers saluting the
Persian Shahzada, and
the whole population
[pg: 6]
was on the bank, the
Crowd was very thick
& all hurried on board,
the Motserrif & all the
functionaries, the Persian
Consular Agent in his
uniform & the milÃ¨
was so thick on board
that I had to go in my
cabin from the crash
& confusion;~ We
landed 12 passengers
and 7 Bales of cloth;
We could not Coal
ship on Account of the
Crowd & so We left at
4,,50 P.M. ; Took 32 Â½
passengers~
Wind shifted to N. Wester
& fine Weather;
The Shahzada & his Doctor
dined with us this evening
I was interpreting between
him & Capt Cowley
[pg: 7]
& the others in Persian
and french~
Modte N.W. & fine cold
Weather, sharp wind
and the river is rising;
At 7,,5 Am passed
Ali Gherbi [symbol] At 2 Pm passed the
SS Baghdad going down
Very sharp Cold Wind is
blowing~
At 0,,20 P.M. passed the
S.S. Mossul & Barge going
up at AbooDood [symbol]
At 8,,5 P.M. arrived
at Coot landed 7 Â½ passeng.
& 8 Bales of P. Goods;
We took 12 Tons from
our Coal boat which
had not been landed yet,
so we did not go alongside
some people came to
visit the Shahzada
the Kaimakam Jaffer
Bey & the Persian Agent,
[pg: 8]
At 10,,30 We left Coot,
fine & cold Weather;
Light N.W. & cloudy
Weather~
At 6,,30 Am passed
Memlah; gave tickets to
411 Â½ Coot passengers;~
I paid the Shipâ€™s Company
their wages for Feby;
At 3,,15 P.M. passed
Azizieh Village;
At 3,,30 met the SS.
Khalifah coming down,
We stopped & sent Mr.
Taylorâ€™s letters, him &
his wife are on board
going back, I got a
few lines from Henry
he says that my Wife
has no news at all
from Alexander,
Michail Yaghchi is also
on board going down
to Basreh, the
[pg: 9]
Khalifah has 47,000
Okes & 228 passengers
We went on at 3,,40
N. Erly wind & cloudy
all over~
At 7,,10 passed Baghdadieh
Weather getting fine;
Light N.W. & little cloudy
on the East~
At 6,,5 AM we came
to alongside the bank at
Ctesiphon to let the Persian
Shahzada Abdulhussein
Mirza to Visit the Tomb of
Selman & the Arch; but
he did not land till 7 am
after having made his
prayers & took his tea;
At 8,,30 the Persian Shah-
zada came & We left
Ctesiphon~ He sent for
me telling me that he wishes
to give the Crew & servants
some present of few
[pg: 10]
Kerans & wants to Know
how many the crew are,
I told him 26 Mossullees &
the Tindal etc; he sent me
120 Kerans to be distributed
that is 3 K. to each of the crew
& 10 K. to Meekha Tuidal, &
4 K to each servant etc;
What a mean & stingy man
he is, he has given to Capt
Cowley a small carpet worth
about 25 Beshlics; He
also gave me 7 Envelopes
to be given to the Chief, 2d
& 3rd Engineers & the Chief
& 2d Mates, to Metty &
to myself to keep as a rememberance
from his part, every one
I found Contains 5 Â¼
Toomans in Gold, which
amounts to about 10
Beshlics, the Engineers
& Officers have refused
taking them, but Metty
& Myself Kept it; as it
Will not be nice to
return them to the Man
[pg: 11]
I told Capt Cowley of
it, & he told Metty to
take them & give them
to the poors through
the Nuns or Priests;
they all took it back afterward;
River is rising, & wind
blowing sharp from N.W.
At 0,,5 P.M. passed Diala
River~ Ship is going
very slow on account of
the river;
At 2,,10 P.M. landed a
Deckman at Gherrara with letters
& went on;
At 5,,10 P.M. landed
the mails at the Residency
We went up to the Custum
House, Great many people
Crowded the banks, the Custum
House & the Bridge, The
head Constable Mukhlus
Effendi & the Aide de Camp
of Kadem Pasha came
the former from the part
[pg: 12]
of the Waly & the latter
from that of Kadem Pasha
to greet the Shahzada
also the Persian Consul
Without uniform but in
a dirty clothes, they took
the Shahzada to Persian
Consulate on the other
side of the river~
I went home saw Eliza
also Antone Marine
was there;
I found letters from
Ibrahim Gejou from Paris
dated the 3 Feby, he
sends me back my
letter of the 15 Decr which
I had written to Alexander
after the receipt of his
last letter to me of the
13 Novr. & Ibrahim
says that he could not
send Alexander in Paris
& so he sends the
[pg: 13]
letter back; an other
letter from Mr. J. BÃ¶hm
from Paris where he had
gone for business and
says that he had received
from me my telegram in
which I had told him
that Alexander had wired
to me from Constple
that he was going to
Port Said & coming here
& he hopes that he has
now arrived~ an other
letter from Yousif Serpos
dated the 9 Feby, in which
he acknowledges the
receipt of my telegram
to him of the 6 Feby asking
him if Alexander had
come to Egypt, he says
that he had received a
letter from him of the
18 Jany from Paris &
[pg: 14]
he answered him and
sends the copy of the letter
Eliza tells me that Mr.
Richarz the German
Consul told my sister
Medula that the Austrian
Consul at Paris writes
in Answer to my complaint
made on the 15 Decr,
that the Police have not
found Alexander in Paris
and that he must have
gone to England & so
he wants to know what
he is to do with the 300
frcs I sent to him for Alexanders
expenses~ No other
news we have of Alexanders
whereabout;
Light N. Erly & little
Cloudy & Cold Weather
I did not go to Church,
but I called on Henryâ€™s
[pg: 15]
Wife, & on Sister Medula
& came home at 11~
Some Visitors called~
At 1 P.M. I went to see
Antone Marine & then
called on Mina Abood,
Went to call on Mr. Richarz
but met him in the road
& I told him that I will
call on him in two hours
more; I went to Sister
Eliza, & on Edward Blockey
but he was not at home,
I then called on Mr. Richarz
but he had gone out,
I called on Capt & Mrs. Cowley
& on Moseigneur Altmayer
he is getting better with
his rheumatism,
his holyday of St Henry
was on Thursday the 2d
Mch, I came home
at 6 P.M~
[pg: 16]
Weather getting fine
& clouds disappearing;
Light N.W. & fine
cold morning; at 8
AM I came on board,
the Mejidieh is inside
since yesterday discharging
The river is falling;
at 10 Am I went to see
Mr. Richarz, also Dr. Hesse
who showed me a letter
from the Consul General
of Beyrout dated the 6 Feby
in which he says that the
Consul General of Austria
of Paris writes that after
having searched for
Alexander at No. 124
Rue de Rennes he was
not there, & was informed
that he was in the Hotel
de Bon MarchÃ© No. 22
Rue Placide, there
[pg: 17]
he was told that Alexander
had left & probably
gone to England
so the money of 300 frcs
is left with the Consul
and wants to know what
he is to do with it; I
asked Mr. Richarz to write
again to let the money
remain for the present
until probably Alexander
may wire for money
& then I can refer him
to the Austrian Consul
to get it from him, so
Mr. Richarz is going to
do so, I left & came to
the office for some
Gold sovereigns to pay
the Officers~
Sister Medula called
also Eliza & Adoola my
cousins~
[pg: 18]
The SS. Mossul arrived
at 10 Am~
I took a hot bath~
Fine cold weather;
Light N.W. & fine Weather
cold~ Sister Eliza
called on us also Madm.
Saccazan~ At 9 AM
I came on board~
The SS. Ressafah left this
morning at 5 Am; River
Keeps falling;
At 11 I went home; At 2 P.M.
called on Catterina Yaghchi
& Louisa my niece;
Antone Marine called on
us, him & Major Melville
had been at Kadumain
Visiting the Shahzada
Abdulhussein Mirza
he is going to stay here
for about 4 months more,
Light N.W. & fine Weather
& mild;
[pg: 19]
Light N.W. & fine weather
at 8 am called on Sister
Medula & at 9 came on
board; the Mossul went
inside to discharge;
We are shipping some cargo,
at 11 went to breakfast
& returned at 2 Â½ P.M.;
We shipped galls & wool;
At 4 Â½ I went home &
at 6 Eliza & I went over to Sister
Medula & spent the evening
Johny & Artin also came there
We left at 8 & came home,
Light air from S.W. & cloudy
all over~ At 8 Am I came
on board;~ River is falling
At 11 I went to breakfast
& came on board at 12;
I sent two letters to the
Damascus Post one for
Mr. A Schweiger & one
to Mr. BÃ¶hm Vienna &
told the latter every thing
about Alexander;
[pg: 20]
At 2 P.M. the SS. Phrat
arrived from Basreh;
Weather keeps cloudy,
with a light S. Ely breeze,
At 5 P.M. we finished
loading, handed off the
bank;~ I went home,
Sister Medula & Grzesiki
called on us to spend the
evening; they left at 8 P.M.
S. Ely light air & cloudy
a little ~
Light S. Ely, & cloudy
All over, Raining slightly
at 5 am. I came on
board, rain ceased
after few minutes, but
just to wet the ground,
it keeps cloudy;
[pg: 21]
| Passg | Okes | GS Piast | Draft |
| 253 | 97,178 | 19875 Â½ | 3,,9 |
At 6 Am. we proceeded,
Weather very cloudy and
gloomy;~ It began to
rain drizzly at 7 Â½ after
passing Gherrarah Bridge
At 7.45 passed Diala
river; ~
At 8,,45 passed the
S.S. Khalifah at Menary
going up, I saw PÃ¨re
PiÃ¨rre & P. JÃ¨an onboard
going up;~
At 9.5 passed Ctesiphon
At 1,,10 P.M. landed
the son of Elias Serkis, Rezooki
at Swera on the opposite
side of the village & went
on at 1,,15;
We have altogether
233, Passengers (7
[pg: 22]
in 1st class; 2 Mahomedan
Pilgrims in one cabin,
Eassa Khdery, Abdulrezak
Khdery to Amara free
with Return Ticket; Edward
Blockey going to London
for 9 months, paying Deck
& Mr. Faragher with him
in the big cabin free
going to be reemployed
at Mahomerah by Mr.
Taylor free; and Naoom
Loca to Basreh; also
2 females of Eassa Khdery
in 2d C. Cabin to Basreh
three other men with free
passage by S.Lynch & Co,
At 2,,15 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh; still very
Cloudy all over; ~
At 4.20 passed
Azizieh; ~
At 7,,10 we rounded
[pg: 23]
and anchored at Um Sneyem
little cloudy & light S. Ely
wind ~ Wind Shifted to
a fresh N.W. and clouds
cleared off & became fine,
Light N.W. & fine clear
weather ~ At 5,,15 am
left Um Sneyem;
At 7,,30 passed Memlah
The SS. Baghdad & Barge,
passed up this morning
at 5 am; ~
At 11,,45 am. arrived
at Coot landed 19 Passeng.
& 3 Packages;
I received Henryâ€™s letter,
the Khalifah had 242000
Okes of Cargo & about
120 passengers;
At 0,,45 P.M. we
left Coot, took 11 Â½
passengers ~
At 4.30 P.M. passed
[pg: 24]
Sheikh Saad;
At 7,15 we rounded and
Came to for the night at
Maghessil Grove; Fine
Clear weather & modte
N.W. wind;
Modte; N.W. & fine cold
weather ~ At 5,30 Am
we left Maghessil, at
5,,40 passed Ali Gherbi;
At 1 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 22 Passengs
(Abdulrezack Khdery in
1st Class Cabin) and 52
Packages; ~Took 5 Tons
of Coal~
At 2,,20 P.M. left Amara
took 8 Passengers ~
At 5,,30 passed Kalat
Saleh
At 6.10 anchored at
the Canal of Abdulla ibn
Ali for the night;
[pg: 25]
Light S.W. & cloudy
At 5,,30 Am. proceeded
from Abdulla ibn Ali,
At 7,,55 passed Azair
Wind shifted to N.W. &
became fine; ~
At 10,,40 landed one
Basreh passenger at Gorna
I saw Rufail Sayegh
here, he came up after
we had left Basreh last
trip & will return tomorrow
or the day after, ~
At 10,,50 we went on;
At 2,,50 P.M. arrived
at Basreh; Flood tide
made an hour ago, todays
moon is 3 days old
The Mail Str Kilwa is
the only boat in quarantine,
the Persian St. Husseini
has just left as we
arrived she goes to
[pg: 26]
Jedda with Pilgrims,
The SS. Abdulkadur
is at Fao bound for
Jedda, also taking
Pilgrims ~
Rezooki came to me
for Â½ hour & went away,
The Malamir is
also in quarantine
she will leave on Thursday
for Mahomerah &
Mr. & Mrs. Taylor will
go in her & up the Karoon
to Ahwaz & Shushter;
At 5 P.m. I went up
to Rezooki Sayegh only
himself there Rufail being
at Gorna; I dined &
slept there; very strong
N.W. wind blew for
2 hours at about 7
P.M. & then died away
Fine Cold Weather
[pg: 27]
Modte cool N.W. wind
At 7 am I came on
board; we discharging
and loading cargo,
Edward Blockey went
yesterday to put up
with Mr. Hiles of Muir
Tweedie & will go down
in the Kilwa either to
Karachi or Bombay
thence to England ~
Rezooki Sayegh called on
me, also Nassoory Andrea
Michail Yaghchi who came
down in the Khalifah to
sell his Liquorice from
the Euphrates, also Yousif
Metchich â€˜etcâ€™
We finished loading
at 4 Â½ P.M. & got the
mail on board;
Flood tide is running
up since 3 P.M ~
We are awaiting for the
flood tide to ebb
[pg: 28]
| Passeng | Okes | G.S. Piast Local | Draft |
| 310 Â½ | 238,030 | 26,511 Â½ | 4, 10/11 |
At 6.35 P.M. flood tide
slacked, we got underway
Light N.W. & fine weather,
We have 10 Horses, one
mule & one donkey belonging
to the Shahzada Abdulhussein
Mirza Farman Farman
whom we tock up last time,
they came up from Shiraz
charging the Horses at 14
Mejidies each, the mule 11
& the donkey 8, with 7
persons, 4 are allowed free
as Saises for the 12 animals,
I wrote a letter to Yousif
Serpos to Cairo by this mail
Via Bombay dated the 10
Instt; all about Alexander
a copy I have kept;
[pg: 29]
At 7.50 passed the
S.S. Mossul & Barge going
down; ~
At 1 AM passed
Gorna~
Light N.W. & very mild
weather & fine~
At 6.15 passed Azair,
At 11.15 landed 7 passengers
at Kalat Saleh and
went on at 11,,20 ~ Took
one passenger~
We have altogether
from Basreh 162 Â½
(6 being free by L. Brothers)
(2 in 1st Class Mr. Zerlendi
a Greek trader in Baghdad
and Miss Martin an
English woman of the
missionary society
of Baghdad)
Weather getting cloudy
[pg: 30]
in the afternoon ~
At 4,,35 P.M. arrived
at Amara landed 17
passengers & 5 Bales of
P. Goods; Took 8 Tons
of Coal & 10 Bales of Hides
At 6 P.M. left Amara
Weather cloudy a little
Modte S. Ely wind and
cloudy weather ~
At 6,,35 AM. landed 2
passengers at Ali Gherbi
& took one, went on at
6,,40 ~
Gave tickets to 55,
Amara passengers, (one
Turkish Officer Noory
Effendi in 2nd Class)
We passed the SS. Phrat
& Barge going down last
night at 11 P.M;
At 11,,30 landed one
Passenger at Sheikh Saad
Strong wind from S. Est
[pg: 31]
Winds keeps blowing strong
S. Ely & weather cloudy
At 6,,20 P.M. arrived
at Coot landed 14 passeng
& 5 Bales of P. Goods;
an awful confusion and
a rush of passengers was
made for about an hour
we were unable to Coal,
so many passengers from
Coot, Shatra Hai etc etc,
came pouring, as it is
the time for the pilgrimage
to Kerbella etc; we
took 6 tons of coal;
At 8,,50 we left
Coot, strong S. Ely wind
& cloudy ~
S. Ely wind & it became
very cloudy gloomy weather
At 5,,15 AM passed
Memlah ~
[pg: 32]
Gave tickets to 91 Coot
passengers;
Wind blowing Strong S. Ely
and opened the clouds
without raining; all
the country is dry & have
not had rain for more
than a month; people
are fearing the scarcity
& bad Crop & the price
of every thing will again
commence to rise;
At 1,,45 P.M. passed
Azizieh ~ Strong S. Ely
wind still blowing
At 3,,30 passed the
S.S. Khalifah going down
at Rmelat ~
At 5,,15 passed Baghdadieh
Fort; very strong wind
& heavy swell still;
cloudy weather;
At 5,,35 passed the
S.S. Baghdad & Barge
[pg: 33]
going down at Thaji;
At 12 P.M. being very
dark and cloudy, we anchored
at Bostan ~
S. Ely wind & cloudy
At 5,,30 AM we proceeded
very light drizzly rain came
last night for few minutes,
At 8,,15 passed Ctesiphon,
At 10,,40 passed Diala
river ~
At 11,,50 went alongside
the bank just below the Bridge
of Gherrarah & landed
the 10 horses one mule
& one donkey; ~
I landed at 12 & walked in
to Baghdad there has been
some slight fall of rain
here last night;
reached home at 1 Â½ P.M.
the Mejidieh arrived at
2 Â½ ~ I saw Eliza
[pg: 34]
she is well; I found a
letter from Rezooki
Metchich from London
for me dated the 15 Ulto,
he tells me that Alexander
is in London, but he cannot
tell me all about him &
what he is doing because
he is afraid of him
getting angry etc etc,
It begun to rain drizzly
for about 2 hours &
made the streets muddy
weather keeps very cloudy
It rained at night too
Holy day of St. Joseph
S. Ely wind & cloudy
at 8 am I went to church
a high mass with music
& organ; we visited the
priests, Pere PiÃ¨rre (who
is now the prefect superior
in place of the late PÃ¨re
Marie Joseph) I then
[pg: 35]
called on Asfar, Antone
Marine, Habib Chiha,
Yaghchi, Sister Medula
& came home, many people
called on us to wish me
the holy day of my patron
St Joseph; ~ I called on
Yousif Tessy, Pehlewan
& at 3 P.M. with Antone
Marine on Yousif Korkis
& Sister Eliza & came
home at 5 ~ It rained
in the daytime too, &
weather keeps cloudy;
Light N.W. & cloudy
weather, at 7 Â½ AM I
called on Menusha &
then came on board,
no steamers are here,
The Mejidieh is alongside
discharging cargo
I sent money to the office
& went home at 10; Menusha
was there; I tock a warm
[pg: 36]
bath ~ Louisa (Henryâ€™s
daughter the wife of Yousif
Yaghchi) & others called
on us; ~ I called on Mily
widow of Naoom Serkis,
Antone, Johny & Artin &
Johny Pehlewan called
on us in the evening; they
looked at my new Bicycle
which I got out for
Alexander lately, and
Johny & Joory Antoneâ€™s
son rode it round the
court yard ~
Light N.W. & fine weather
but is getting warm;
Light N.W. & fine weather
Called on Sister Medula
& came on board at 9 Â½
We are discharging;
The river is rising a little
At 11 went home found
Terooza wife of Antone &
Philomena Chiha there,
Eliza & Adoola my cousins
[pg: 37]
called in the afternoon
Also Mr. Richarz, the
German Consul; he tells
me that he wrote by last
Post about my son Alexander
to the Austrian Consul
of Paris to keep the money
now standing, I requested
him to write again
& to say that Alexander
is in London & to let the
Consul write to London
to the Austrian Consul
At 5 Â½ Eliza & I went
over to Sister Eliza & spent
the evening till 8 P.M.
& came home;
Light N.W. & fine
weather ~ at 10 AM
I came on board,
We are shipping cargo;
River keeps rising much
since the day before; It
rose about 12 feet altogether
The Bridge was cut
[pg: 38]
open today, the rush is
strong & keeps still rising,
At 11 I went to breakfast
& came on board at 2
P.M. ~ Some boats of the
brige got swamped &
sunk; ~ Others also were
carried away on the opposite
side;
At 5 P.M. I went home;
Fetoohi Dowd Maghak
our opposite door neighbour
has opened a shop near
the door of his house and
cleaned & repaired the road,
and called it Bon MarchÃ©
he has spent a large sum
lavishly in this enterprise
Light N.W. breeze and
fine ~ At 7 Â½ AM I
called on Sister Medula
for Â½ hour & came on
board; the river is still
[pg: 39]
rising, it rose 8 bricks since
yesterday evening, it must
have risen about 14
feet;
I wrote a letter to Edward
Blockey by todays Post
to Cheshnut (London) &
told him all about Alexander
& to look for him in London,
At 11 I went home to breakfast
and returned at 12 1/2;
Weather getting cloudy;
the River is stand still,
We shipped cargo about
87,000 Okes;
At 5 P.M. I went home
Johny & Artin called on
us till 8 ~ Weather fine
& light N.W. breeze;
Light N.W. & fine
weather ~ At 5 AM I
came on board ~
The river has fallen
one foot since yesterday
[pg: 40]
| Pass | Okes | GSP | Draft |
| [N/A] | [N/A] | {N/A] | [N/A] |
We kept working in heaving
the anchor getting buried
At 6 AM. hove up and
proceeded; All the gardens
& property have been well
irrigated through their
Canals; ~
At 7,,30 passed Diala
river, this had also risen
considerably & nearly
overflowing the embankments
At 8,,25 passed Ctesiphon
The river here about is nearly
in a level with the bank;
At 0,,25 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh Fort;
Finished with the
Passengers tickets, we
have altogether 138 Â½
(5 in 1st class, Yousif
Georgi Asfar with free
Return ticket by SLynch,
Ali Beg son of Kassim
[pg: 41]
Pasha Zheir, Mr.W. Grieger
the German Zoologist
with 37 Gazelles bought
for Hamburg, charged
12 1/2 G.S Piasters each,
and the wife of Abdulrezack
Khdery with her brother
Seyd Mahomed to Basreh,
this latter paying deck
& Capt Cowley invited him
in the cabin with his
sister to occupy,
and 2 Afghans in 2d
Class) ~ Besides we have
Polus Bahoshy with 4
Tilkeflies to Amara to
the wool Press of S Lynch
At 2 P.M. passed
Azizieh;
At 4,,50 passed the
S.S. Khalifah going up
at Sheresh, Naoom Loca
[strikethrough] was
on board ~
[pg: 42]
At 5,,40 passed Memlah,
At 5,,55 passed the
S.S. Mossul & Barge at
Anchor above the village
of Bughela apparently
on account of the strong
current; Artin Apikyan
on board of her going from
Bughela to Baghdad;
Also Sleman Durion
from Basreh;
At 9,,10 P.M. arrived
at Coot landed 39 passeng
and 229 Packages (150 Poles
for Lynch's wool Press)
I received Henry's letter &
my papers, the Khalifah
has 204480 Okes of
cargo & about 260 Passengers
The river is high here
reaching nearly to the
top of the banks ~
[pg: 43]
Light nw. & fine ~ At
5,, am. left Coot; Took
one passenger;
At 10,,35 landed 9
Packages at Ali Gherbi
took 6 1/2 passengers and
went on at 11,,00 ~
Light clouds & S. Ely
breeze;
At 1,,25 P.m passed the S.S
Ressafah & Barge going
up above Ali Sherghi,
At 5,,40 P.m. arrived
at Amara landed 25 1/2
passengers & 23 Packages,
the river here is about
one foot below the bank;
We shipped 4 cases of the
Pellican feathers; ~
At 7 P.m. we left Amara
full noon today ~
Weather warm & Calm;
[pg: 44]
with some clouds ; [x symbol]
At 8 we anchored above
Aboo Sedra, Fine moonlight
night, & the river is high
with the banks ;
Light, n.w. & fine calm
weather ~ At 5,,15 Am.
we proceeded ~ at 7 passed
Kalat Saleh;
At 9,,45 passed Azair
the country is not flooded
here but the river is high
within few inches below
the banks;
At 0,,35 P.m. landed 2
of the Basreh passengers at
Gorna, took 9 passengers
the family of Neshat
Effendi Kaimakam of
Gorna (now just appointed
here instead of Akif
Effendi who went up
to Baghdad 15 days ago)
We went on at 0,,40
[pg: 45]
Flood tide made up at
2 P.m. ~
At 4,,10 P.m. passed
the S.S. Baghdad & Barge
going up at the Island
above Maghil;
At 4,,45 arrived at Basreh
There is only the mail
Str Pemba in quarantine
Rezooki Sayegh came off
to me & then we went up
I landed at Jeboory Asfar
for an hour & then went
to Rufail where I dined
with him & Rezooki & slept
there;
Light S.W. breeze & warm
weather, since 1 am
I awoke & could not sleep
at all; at 7 I came
on board, we are discharging
& shipping cargo;
Our Fireman Shabo
ibn Franso while he
[pg: 46]
was working in the
starboard wheel fell
in the river & struggled
& cryed until he got
to opposite my cabin
under the sponsoon and
sunk & disappeared not
knowing how to swim
& the Barge being close
alongside the steamer
so no help could be
rendered immediately
expecting him to drift
down to the ship's stern
but he got drowned
the whole crew were
gathered to his rescue
but they failed; he
was an old servant in
the service for about 15
years ~
We have a lot of passengers
coming mostly Arabs
of Hassa & the river here
& from Basreh going
[pg: 47]
to the pilgrimage of the
Moharrem festival next
Lunar month; I have
let all the Cabins, the
weather is very calm &
unusually warm it is
82Â° at noon in my Cabin
Rezooki Sayegh, Rezooki
Angoorly his brother Toni,
Nessoory Andrea etc came
off to me; I have been
giving tickets all the
day ~ we finished
shipping cargo by 5
P.m. & received the
mails;
[pg: 48]
| Passg | Okes | G S Piast Local | Draft |
| 416 | 192,562 | 27,808, | 4,,9; |
At 6,15 P.m. we got
underway & proceeded,
very calm & warm weather
I cannot support the
woolen clothes; the
ship is deep; we are
going slow;
At 1,,10 A.m. passed Gorna
[strikethrough], Fine weather and
light n.w. air;
At 6,,15 passed Azair,
wether warm ~
Finished with the Passengers
tickets we have Altogether
273 (4 1/2 in 1st Class, they
are, H. Hmood el Mellak,
Gool Hayat the widow of
Sheikh Jaber & Sheikh Mezel
of Mahomerah; Michail
Yaghchi, & Rezooki Besboori
[pg: 49]
Tessi with his nephew the
son of Tanton Eassayi,
& two Jews in 2d Class
one of them is free by
S. Lynch & Co. a relative
of Abdulla Eliahoo) ;
At 11,,5 landed 6 passengers
at Kalat Saleh & went
on at 11,,10 ~
At 5,,5 P.m. arrived
at Amara landed 16 Passeng
& the 10 Zaptyehs guards,
We shipped 10 Bales of
Lamb Skins & took 10 Tons
of Coal ~
At 6,,35 left Amara
S. Ely light breeze & warm,
At 2,,30 am we passed
the S.S. Baghdad & Barge
going up near Ali Sherghi
N. Ely wind & cloudy
all over
g
[pg: 50]
Gave tickets to 80
Amara passengers;
At 8,,55 am landed
2 passengers at Ali Gherbi,
& went on at 9; very
cloudy, S. Ely breeze &
some drops of rain ~
At 2,,30 P.m. passed
Sheikh Saad; S. Ely
wind & cloudy;
At 2,,45 met the Comet
coming down with major
Melville the Acting Resident
of Baghdad going away
& the Comet will bring
Colonel Loch who will
be in Basreh today to
take his post in Baghdad
after his leave of absence,
At 3 we went on;
The river has fallen about
one foot below its higher rise ~
rise ~
Wind shifted to a Strong
[pg: 51]
N. Wester & became
cool ~
At 10,,20 P.m. arrived
at Coot landed 19 1/2
Passengers & 6 packages
cargo, Lost of passengers
came most of them had
to remain on the lower deck
We took 8 tons of coal,
At 12 P.m. left Coot
light n.w. & fine weather
Light n.w. & fine cool
weather, the river fell
about 3 feet~
Gave tickets to 62
Coot passengers;
At 8,,45 am. passed
Memlah; The river
has fallen here about
4 feet;
I paid the Ships crew &
officers their wages for
this month ~
[pg: 52]
At 6,,30 P.m. passed
Azizieh village;
At 10,,45 passed Baghdadieh
Fort; Fine clear weather;
Light n.w. & cloudy a
little ~ At 7 am passed
Bostani Kesreh; The S.S.
Ressafah is in sight ahead
of us going up we had
met her on Saturday last
at 1 1/2 P.m. ~
At 8,,25 we cought the
Ressafah & passed her at
the turn of Semreh reach
and just at this time the
Khalifah is coming down
also and we passed her
after two minutes ~
At 10 passed Ctesiphon
Strong n.w.wind blowing
At 0,,50 P.m. passed
Diala river ~
At 2,,15 I landed at
Gherrarah & walked
[pg: 53]
to town, Michail Yaghchi,
Metty, Yousif Metchich
Rezooki Bashoory and
3 Jews also landed,
I reached home at
3 1/2 having walked slow
on account of Michail
Yaghchi who could not
walk having pain
on his knees; ~ Eliza
is suffering from stomach
ache like me for
the last 10 days; no
letters or news from
Alexander whatever,
This is Good friday I
went to the Chaldean
Cathedral, immense
people were their & the
Patriarch was preaching
I started home &
Eliza came too,
[pg: 54]
The Mejidieh arrived
at 4,,50 ~
Light n.w. & fine cool
night ;
Light n.w. & fine
cool weather at 8 am
I came on board,
The Mossul & Phrat
are here the former
leaves tomorrow ~
The S.S. Ressafah arrived
this morning at 4,,20
am; I went home at 10,
I took a warm bath;
Johnny called in the evening.
The river is rising a little.
Easter Sunday ~
Light N.W. & fine weather
at 8 am we went to
Church & then I called
on many people the French
priests, Patriarch, Bishop
& other Priests; and
visited many Christians
[pg: 55]
came home at 12, many
people visited us, I again
made visits until sunset,
I called on 33 houses,
& came very tyred &
knocked up ~
The river rose about
4 feet~
Light N.W. & fine
weather;
Light Ely breeze and
fine ~ I called at 4 1/2 am
on PÃ¨re PiÃ¨rre to ask
him to give me his account
of the money he has
advanced to Alexander
& he showed me all his
letters which he wrote
to him begging him to
advance the money
and all the receipts
which I took note
of, since the 4 of Nover
[pg: 56]
up to the 11 Jany he
has paid him 1,350 Frcs
exclusive the 220 frcs
which I had sent on
the 27 Octor through the
Ottoman Bank ~ I
paid P. Pierre 20 Turkish
Liras on account, all
what I had saved &
asked him to await
for the rest in about one
or two months hence;
I called on Iskender
Aziz, & on Fetoohi Loca
& came on board at 9 1/2
the Mejidieh went inside
to discharge ~
The S.S. Mossul left for
Basreh yesterday morning
I went home at 10; called
on some more Christians for
the Holyday; After breakfast
I also called on Antone
[pg: 57]
Marine, on our Tindal
Meekha saw his wife;
on Yousif Metchich etc,
came home at 4 P.m.
some more Visitors called,
Weather became very cloudy
with some slight drops
of rain; It kept blowing
& thundering during
the night; and at about
midnight it rained hard
with strong lightning
& thunder;
S. Ely breeze & fine
weather; Terrooza wife
of Antone Marine & daughter
also Antone came
At 10 am I came on
board; The Phrat left this
The Phrat left this
morning at 5 am. The
wife of Ezra Daniel
the apothecary went down
[pg: 58]
in her to go to Vienna
in the Goolistan;
The river is falling ;
The SS. Baghdad & Barge
arrived yesterday morning
at 3 am ~ I went to see
Mr. Kritchly of the Ottoman Bank,
to ask him if he can allow
Rufail Sayegh to draw the
1000 Date Boxes & give a bond
payable after 5 months, during
the date season, but he said
that he cannot do it until
he writes to Alois Schweiger
at Vienna meanwhile
the cases will have to be
kept in the charge of his
agent Daverzica in
Basreh ~
I went home; Fetoohi Magho
came to see my samples
& he will give orders for
some goods~
Eliza went out driving
with Antone Marine
[pg: 59]
and his wife in his dog
carriage at 4 P.m. I
called on sister Eliza &
came home ~ At 6 P.m
Eliza & I went over and
passed the evening at
sister Medula, Mr. Guilietti
& his son Antoine came
there, also Artin my nephew,
We came home at 8 P.m.
Light N. W. & fine weather
Modte n.w. fine cool
weather; called on Menusha
at 8 am & thence came
on board ~ Took no cargo
& there is none but very
little I suppose tomorrow,
River keeps falling ;
At 11 went home, sister
Medula is here, we then
went to call on Madme
Danon who is going down
with us for Paris in the
SS Goolistan, her husband
[pg: 60]
will follow in about 6 or
7 months hence; ~
At 2 P.m. I came on board
no cargo is taken, I went
home at 4 P.m. ~
Light n.w. & fine weather,
rather warm in the room
Ely breeze & fine ~ at
4 1/2 am I came on board;
The river has fallen still
lower; ~ we are shipping
some cargo ~ at 11 went
to breakfast & returned at
1 P.M. ~
We finished shipping cargo
by 5 P.M. we have only
about 27,000 Okes & few
passengers on deck;
At 5 1/2 P.M. I went home,
Artin my nephew called,
The Damascus Post
has just arrived; I only
received a letter
[pg: 61]
from my sister in law
Blanche from Constanple
dated the 12 March;
she answers my letter
of the 9th Febry ~
Light n.w. & fine weather
Light air & fine weather,
At 4 1/2 am I came
on board ~ River
is low & keeps falling;
| Passeng | Okes | G.S. Piast | Draft |
| 134 Â½ | 2,8711 | 10,899 Â½ | 3,, |
At 5,,20 am we got
underway & proceeded,
At 7 passed Diala
river~
Gave tickets to the Passeng,,
we have in all 110
(5 1/2 in 1st Class, they are
[pg: 62]
Mr. & Mrs. Hurner & their
two sons both boys for
half passage; Mr. Hurner
is accompanying his
wife to Basreh & will
return with us; also
Madme. Danon & her 3 young
children as her husband
is shifted to Alexandria
in 6 months hence, she is
going to Paris for the present,
to see her friends; also
the Assyrian Bishop
Aghnatios going to Basreh
for two or three weeks,
and a Mr. Rigo an
Inspector of the Public
Debt to Basreh; and
one in 2nd class Ferida the
mother of Hannosh Kass
Hanna the Clerk of Lynch
Brothers;) We have three
Priests to Basreh on
the Lower Deck our
[pg: 63]
Assyrian & two Chaldeans
also Iskander Aziz
on Lower Deck to Coot,
There is no cabin for him
he messes with us as
well as the Bishop also
At 8,,5 we rounded and
came to at Ctesiphon to
repair our steering chain,
S. Erly breeze & fine,
At 8,,35 proceeded,
At 11,,50 passed the SS.
Khalifah going up at
Swera; she is very deep
& full of passengers even
on the lower deck and
aft; I saw Yousif Asfar
on board~
Weather getting cloudy
At 9,,55 P.m. passed
Bagdadieh Fort;
At 2,,30 passed
[pg: 64]
Azizieh;~
At 6,,45 P.m. passed
Memlah~ Clouds clearing
off; & getting fine;~
At 10,,30 P.m. we arrived
at Coot landed landed 32
passengers & 32 Packages
we remained for the night,
I received Henryâ€™s letter &
Papers; the Khalifah had
190,000 Okes & over 520
passengers besides what
she took from Coot, all
Arab pilgrims going for
the Moharrem festival,
A 1st Class passenger
Mohamed ibn Omer one
of the respectable & wealthy
handed propritor of
Basreh going up to meet
the New Waly for Basreh
Hamdi Pasha, died
on board suddenly
[pg: 65]
the night before, I believe
from appoplectic attack
& was landed at Coot,
the Plague in Bombay
keeps increasing alarmingly
about 280 deaths per
day;~
Light S. Erly & cloudy
At 4,,45 am we left
Coot, took 6 Passengers
At 7,,20 passed Sheikh Saad
At 11 landed a young
Jew employÃ© of the telegraph
to remain here & transmit
the foreign telegrams to
Basreh by steamers as
the line is cut & plundered
by the BenÃ® Sudd Arabs
followers of Hassan el
Khayoon on both rivers
At 11,10 we went on
weather cloudy & light
[pg: 66]
S. Erly breeze~
At 6,,50 P.m. arrived
at Amara landed 21 Â½
passengers & 69 Packages;
The river is very high here;
I heard that Hamdi
Pasha the Waly for Basreh
left Baghdad yesterday noon
in the Ressafah coming
from Constantinople;
We hauled out & remained
for the night;
Strong S. Erly wind &
Cloudy weather;
At 5 Am left Amara
Took 9 Â½ passengers (3 Â½
for Azair paying Return passage
Cloudy all over & fresh
S. Erly wind warm and
disagreable weather;
we have 9 Zaptyes ~
At 8,,15 passed Kalat
Salih; Clouds clearing
[pg: 67]
off, but weather very hazy
Detained at the Elbow
the wind drove the steamer
toward the west bank,
and again below the reach
& further down too,
from 9,,40 till 11;~
At 0,,15 P.m landed 3 Â½
Jews at Azair from Amara
& went on at 0,,20 P.m.
warm sultry cloudy
weather & fresh S. Erly;
At 3,,20 P.m. passed
Gorna, Flood made up;
Wind shifted to a strong
N. Easter & hazy weather;
it cooled the atmosphere
it was very warm at 4 P.m
Therm was 90Ëš;~
At 7,,40 P.m. arrived
at Basreh, Modte N.W.
wind blowing & dark
[pg: 68]
The S.S. Goolistan is here
arrived about 11 days ago
& is leaving tomorrow,
also the S.S. Comet is
here with Colonel Loch
the Resident for Baghdad
is out of quarantine,
Mr. & Mrs. Livingstone
have also arrived in the
Goolistan & are going up
in the â€œCometâ€ by invitation
by Colonel Loch, as well as
the superintendent of
Post Offices;
The mail Str. Pachumba
is in quarantine~
We did no work at night
as Capt Cowley wants to
leave on Tuesday~
The SS. Comet left at
11 Â½ for Baghdad with
Colonel Loch the Consul
of Baghdad;
[pg: 69]
The S.S. Goolistan left
at 0,,30 P.m. & passed
down, she takes Mrs. Hurner
& their two boys, Mrs.
Danon & 3 children
Mrs. Egra Daniel the
Viennese woman, Mr.
& Mrs. Lanfield clerk
of Lynch Brothers who
leaves for good, and
Mrs. Parry the Agent of
Lynch Brothers at Ahwaz,
All our Cabins are
let Mr. HÃ¼rner returning
with us the Cadi of
Basreh Ibrahim Ferid
Effendi; H. Ali Abootaleb
a Mousully horse dealer,
& Mr. Nicoli Greek merchant,
& now the Waly of
Basreh who being
dismissed Enis
[pg: 70]
Pasha who has only
been here about 11 months
(see 2nd May 1898 in
my Diary) his dismissal
is attributed to some
English policy; has sent
to ask us when the
Mejidieh was going to
start as he intends going
up with us; I said that
all the cabins are let
Hamdi Pasha his
successor (who was here
some 3 years ago) is now
expected down today
in the Ressafah
At 3 P.m. the Mossul
went to the other side of the
river alongside the Turkish
Hospital & took on board
a detachment of Troops
to be landed at Medina
up above Gorna to
[pg: 71]
punish the tribes of Beni
Sudd which have been
committing plunder &
cutting the telegraph Lines
& thence she will go up
to Baghdad; she left at
4 P.m.~
The S.S. Brooksid arrived
at 4 P.m. from the Bar
where she had been aground
there since 7 days;~
At 4 Â½ I went with Rezooki
Sayegh up & landed
at Jeboory Asfar; I
did not want to go to
Rufail as he has some
Turkish Officials since
yesterday awaiting the
arrivel of Hamdy Pasha,
The whole functionaries
& Officials of Basreh
are out, & many went
up river in steam
[pg: 72]
Launches to meet the
Ressafah, Troops and
Horse artillery are also
awaiting on the bank
above the Ashar Creek,
by they were all disappointed
for the Ressafah came
& passed down at 10 Â½
P.m.~ Rezooki had come
for an hour & went away;
Mr. Hurner came to
dine at Asfar being invited
& he went away at 10 Â¾;
I slept as Asfars~
Light N.W. & fine
cool weather; I had
a very bad stomach ache
& heart burn all the night
from the heavy dinner
we had~ At 6 am.
came down to the ship,
Lots of Bahranies &
Hassawis passengers
coming on board
[pg: 73]
The deck is getting full;
Rufail came to me,
also Rezooki, Ali Beg
the mudir of Tapo etc,
We took little cargo
today, we could have
left yesterday very easy;
The ship is getting very
crowded, passengers
are obliged to stop on
lower Deck;~ Lots
of Turks & Officials came
to see the Kadi of Basreh
off~ Flood tide made
& we had to await until
it ebbs~
[pg: 74]
| Passg | Okes | G S Piast Local. | Draft |
| 511 Â½ | 169138 | 40102Â¾ | 4,,8,; |
At 5,,20 P.m. we
got underway & proceeded,
New moon today of Moharrem
Very calm & warm weather;
At 11,,30 P.m. landed one
passenger at Gorna & went
on at 11,,35; very light
& calm weather;
Light N.W. & fine~
At 5 am took the 3 Â½ Return
Jews for Amara from
Azair & went on at 5,,5;
Finished with the passengers
tickets; we have in all
409 (4 in 1st Class, Mr.
Hurner returning with us,
the Kadi of Basreh, Ibrahim
Effendi Ferid, Mr. Nicoli
Giocalas a Greek trader
in Basreh & H. Ali
Aboo Taleb a Mousulli
horse dealer)~
[pg: 75]
Our passengers are all
Arabs of Bahrein and
Hassa & they pack very
thick & close and very little
baggage, had there been
any Persians or Basreh
& Baghdad people, the
Deck would not have
sufficed to such people,
there are only about 30 or
40 persons below & the rest
are on the upper
Deck; we have also 10
Zaptyes with us as usual,
At 10 landed 3 Passengers
at Kalat Saleh & took
3~
We passed the S.S.
Mossul at Anchor this
morning at 3 Â½ on her
way up;~
Weather getting cloudy
sultry & warm;
At 3,,30 P.m. arrived
[pg: 76]
at Amara landed 13 Â½
passengers & the 10 Zaptyes;
Took 8 Tons of Coal,
the telegraph line is
interrupted & broken &
so we could not wire,
At 5 P.m. left Amara
weather warm & cloudy, x
Very light air & cloudy,
Sultry & the ship ful with
flies~
At 6,,30 Am. landed
7 passengers at Ali Gherbi
& a packet of Telegrams
took 2 & went on at
6,,35;
We took 61,, Passengers
from Amara in all;
The river looks to have
again risen since we
left Baghdad, it is
in a level with the
bank; Fresh N.W.
[pg: 77]
wind blowing;~
At 11,,40 passed Sheikh
Saad;
At 7,,10 P.m. arrived
at Coot, landed 14 Â½
passengers; Took in 6 Tons
of Coal; Crowd of passengers
came & they put up any
where down on the lower
deck an awful confusion;
No head or tale we are
full everywhere; there
is no limit as rule
on board, passengers can
come & do what they
like, there is no discipline,
money making is the
order of the day~
At 8,,30 we left
Coot fine weather &
Modte N.W. breeze;
the river has only risen
[pg: 78]
about Â½ foot~
Modte N.W. & fine cool
weather;
At 5 Am. passed
Memlah~
Gave tickets to 33 Coot
Passengers; Aslo Polus the
wool Press Engineer of Lynch
and 5 men with him
free (himself in the 2nd Class
Cabin)~
I have the stomach ache again
Came back since that
night I dined & slept at
Jeboory Asfar, I suffered
all the night from pain
& heartburn, & since it
begun to pain new fearfully
especially in the afternoon
& after midnight;
At 2,,15 P.m. we
passed the S.S. Khalifah
going down just at
the Village of Azizieh
[pg: 79]
She has some Jews for
Azair their first trip
down;~
At 6,,20 P.m. passed
Baghdadieh Fort, weather
became very calm and
rather warm in the Cabin,
River keeps low about 6
feet below the bank, it is
a singular occurrance at
this time of the year, it
appears that there will
be no high rise coming;
Light N.W. & fine, some
Clouds on the East & South;
At 4,,45 Am. went
alongside at Ctesiphon to
land all the passengers,
the Bahrein Arabs had
offered 100 Rps to visit
the Tomb of Selman, after
having landed them &
the 100 Rps brought to
[pg: 80]
me, Capt Cowley did not
want to wait & hauled
out & weighed, half of
the passengers were on
shore, he again went
alongside & landed them
& had to wait for them
At 6,,30 we proceeded
At 9,,10 passed Diala
river;~
At 10,,30 I landed &
walked in to Baghdad, I
went straight to Lynchâ€™s
office arrived at 12,
I had to enter some
freight on cargo of Mr.
Hurner in the manifest,
which in Basreh L. Broth
referred us to Baghdad for
the rate to be charged
& I left after Â½ hour &
came home, saw my
wife, there are no letters
or news at all about
[pg: 81]
Alexander & his whereabout
Eliza has shifted our
sitting from the room to
the veranda, it is
getting warm;
The Mejidieh arrived at
1 P.m.;
Light N.W. & fine, it is
too warm to sleep in the
room;
Light N. Erly & rather
warm;
At 8 am we went to
Church; I called on
Antone Marine, his
son Gabriel is getting
prepared to start for
Beyrout to school, in
about 10 days more
with Yousif Metchich
via Aleppo; he is to go to
school for 2 as three years
We then went to call
on Monseigneur Altmayer
[pg: 82]
I called on Yaghchi, Sister
Medula, Menusha &
came home at noon,
At 3 P.m. called on Sister
Eliza & came home;
Light air & warm;
Light N. Erly & fine
At 8 am I came on board
sent money to the office
& left at 10;
At 11 I went to call on
Colonel Loch the British
Resident who had gone
on leave last year, he
received me very well &
we had a long talk I
left at 12 came home
At sunset Eliza & I
went over to Antone Marine
Capt Cooper of the Comet
was there also; Joory
(Gabriel) Antoneâ€™s son
[pg: 83]
is starting in about 10
days to Beyrouth with
Yousif Metchich;
Light air & rather
warm at 8 we came
home; It is too warm
in the room;
Light N.W. & warm
at 8 AM I come on
board; the river is very
low, about 8 feet below
its highest rise;
At 11 went on shore called
on Sister Medula~
Weather warm & Clouds
hanging about, No rain
at all since the last
trip I was here it had
rained a little, this
year has been one of
an exceptional occurrance
for want of rain and
high rises of the river
Sister Medula &
[pg: 84]
Adoola called on us ~
Bedri Bey the employÃ¨
at the museum of Antiquities
at Constple has come
down via Aleppo Urfa,
Nessibin & Mossul
With the new Wali for
Mossul; he called on
me this evening, he is
going to Hilla to join
the German Mission
who went there a month
ago to excavate in
Babylonia for the Govermt
of Germany & the Museum
of Berlin;
Artin & his Sister Terrooza
called in the evening &
left at 8 P.M.;
Light Air & rather warm
Light Air N. Erly & clouds
are hanging about;
At 8 AM I came
[pg: 85]
on board; found the
SS. Mossul arrived last
night at about 11 P.M.;
At 11 I went home &
returned at 1 1/2 P.M;
The SS Phrat & Barge
arrived at 1,, 15 She
brings the dismissed
Waly of Basreh Anis
Pasha, who is to leave
for Constple in a few
days~
We shipped a lot of
through cargo, as Galls
Skins, Abbass, Carpets et,
Weather very warm,
sultry & cloudy with
a light S. Erly breeze,
At 5 P.M. I went home,
Antone Marine & his son
Gabriel came to see us
as his son is going to
[pg: 86]
Beyrout in a week's time,
also Yousif Metchich &
[strikethrough] Mr. Benford
the Gunner of the Comet
who has married Yousif's
niece Mina, also Fetoohi
Dowd Maghak to whom
I am giving some patterns
of Alois Schweiger of Vienna
to get goods out for
him & he pays me 1 %
commission etc;
Light N. Erly & Cloudy
Sultry & warm weather,
Very Cloudy Sultry &
warm; at 6 AM it
rained for 1/4 hour and
remained cloudy & warm
At 7 1/2 I came on board
there is no cargo to be
shipped today it was all
shipped yesterday, we
are getting a lot of
[pg: 87]
Jews for Azair, some
went in the Khalifah
last time;
At 10 1/2 I went home and
returned at 12, weather
very warm & disagreable
The Thermotr. at noon stood
at 95Ëš such warm
weather in April has never
occurred yet;
At 5 P.M. I went home,
I went to see Gabriel.
(Joory) son of Antone
Marine to bid him
good bye as he leaves
for Aleppo & Beyrout
before I return, but he
was not at home, I
asked his father & mother
to let him come & dine
with us, I came home
PÃ¨re Emmanuel called
on us for an hour
[pg: 88]
Joory came & dined
with us & went at 9 P.M.
Weather still bad the
air an Easterly & clouds
Easterly breeze with
some clouds~ At 3 1/2
AM I came on board;
| Passgrs | Okes | G.S. Piast | Draft |
| 275 | 49,541 | 22,350 | 3,,4 |
At 4,,45 AM we left,
Very cloudy calm & warm
weather;
At 6,,30 passed Diala
river;
At 7,,45 passed Ctesiphon
At 8,,30 passed the SS.
Mejidieh going up at
Semra, I saw the Assyrian
Bishop Agnatios, on
board returning;
At 0,,35 P.M. passed
[pg: 89]
Baghdadieh Fort;
We have altogether 248
passengers, (5 in 1st Class,
they are Ahmed Pasha
son of Kassim Pasha Zheir
who comes from Constple
by way of Aleppo after
having been there 15
years detained by order
of the Sultan & now only
allowed about 3 months
leave to see his parents
being escorted by a
Turkish Officer as Aid
de camp under Surveylance
a man named Noori
Beg, also in 1st Class,
and the mektoobchi of
the Waly of Basreh
Assim Bey a Secretary
to Hamdi Pasha,
& the fourth one is also
[pg: 90]
a Turk called Izzet
Beg an aidede camp of
Kadem Pasha going to
see his brother Sherif
Beg the Halai Beghi of
Basreh, all these 4 persons
mess with us at the
Table; & the fifth one
is Rezooki son of Elias
Serkis is going to Basreh
for the Liquorice business
with G. Asfar; and
there are 3 Jews in the
2nd class going to Bombay
(2 women & a man).
We have 128 Jews
with Return Ticket for
Azair for the first trip, of
the season (the Khalifah
took last time 39 1/2),
At 4 Mejidies a person
besides 6 with free tickets.
[pg: 91]
At 1,,45 P.M passed the
SS. Baghdad & Barge
going up~
Weather cloudy all over
and S. Erly wind, very warm
& disgusting weather
At 2,,5 P.M. passed
Azizieh;
At 5 1/2 a very hard Shower
of rain came down for
about 15 minutes, it also
thundered & weather
remained cloudy all
over;
At 6,,20 passed
Memlah;
At 6,, 35 we rounded
at Bughela & landed specie,
and went on at 6,,50,~
Thermomter in my Cabin is
84Ëš- is sill warm, the
wind has shifted to a
[pg: 92]
N. Est;
At 10,,30 P.M. arrived at
Coot landed 34 passengers
and 32 packages, I
received Henry's letter &
my papers; the Khalifah
had 214,000 Okes & about
300 passengers; We
hauled out & remained
for the night;
S. Erly breeze & Cloudy
all over warm & disagreable
weather; Took 8 passengers
from Coot;
At 9,,45 Am passed the
SS. Ressafah & Barge
bound up;
At 10,,50 landed 2 Passeng
& 15 packges at Ali Gherbi
took one passenger and
went on at 11,10;
At 6,,20 P.M. arrived
[pg: 93]
at Amara landed 32 Passeng
and 43 packages;~
The brothers of Ahmed Pasha
Zheir, Abdulmohsen and
Abdulaziz as well as
Eassa Cheleby Zheir his
Cousin & others came here
to meet him; & a great
many people came, the
Motserrif of Amara Ahmed
Anwary Pasha etc;
S. Erly breeze cloudy wind
very warm, moon 12
days old;
Yesterday was the first
day of the Moharrem
festival, it should have
been on Thursday~
At 7,,30 we left Amara
A strong S. Erly wind blew
in a Squall with lightening
[pg: 94]
& some rain so that
we were obliged to anchor
At 7,,50; the wind then
died away & remained
cloudy;
At 9.15 we proceeded~
At 10 anchored for the night,
S. Ely breeze & warm;
Light S.Erly breeze and
Cloudy all over ~
At 4.15 AM. we proceeded
Gave tickets to 24 Amara
passengers (6 for Azair)
we have Abdulmohsen &
Abdulaziz brothers of Ahmed
Pasha Zheir also Eassa
Son of Abdulla Zheir and
the son of Salem Bedur
these are all aft on the
quarter Deck I charged
them double deck fare
Viz 2 Mejidies each;
Detained at the Elbow
[pg: 95]
from 7.45 till 8 am;
At 9,,15 went alongside
at Azair and landed the
Jews, 128 with Ret Tickets
6 also free, & 6 Â½ from
Amara and Coot;
At 10 we left Azair.
At 11 we landed Izzet Beg
our 1st C. passenger the Aide
de Camp of Kadem Pasha
at Sareifah where some
soldiers are encamped,
& his brother Sherif Beg
the Halai Beghi of Basreh
is here;~
At 0.50 P.M. we met
the [strikethrough Lynch] Steam Launch
of Gray Mackenzie with
a lot of people coming
to meet Ahmed Pasha
Zheir just above Gorna
we stopped & Ali Beg
[pg: 96]
Zheir & Abdulwahab
the nephew of Eassa Kartas
& others came on board
& we went on, passing
Gorna at 1 P.M. ~
Weather Cloudy Sultry
& warm; Therm 85 at
noon;
The wind Shifted to a
N.W. at about 2 P.M.
and the sky cleared
off & became fine~
Flood tide made up
against us~
At 5,,5 P.M. arrived
at Basreh; the SS. Brookside
for G. Mackenzie is only
here; there is the S.S.
Arabistan in quarantine
Arrived 5 days ago, the
Mail Str. Khandalla has
left Basreh about 2 days
ago~ I did not go up
[pg: 97]
to Rufailâ€™s house as I found
there were Tookyeh & her
children & other women,
there; ~ we are discharging
cargo & taking 45 Tons
of Coal at night; It is
very warm in the Cabin,
there is a light N.W. breeze,
Light N.W. & fine weather
we are discharging and
loading~
Nessoory Andrea, Rezooki Angoorly
& Rezooki Sayegh came off
to me from Rufailâ€™s house;
they are there with their family
Jeboory Asfar wrote to me,
asking me to join them to
a breakfast party in his
date garden in the Hakimyeh
up the Rubat Canal
as all the family of Angoorly
& Nessory Andrea etc are
also invited â€“ I excused
myself as I thought we
[pg: 98]
were leaving today unless
we are to wait to take up
the machinery of the wool
Press to Coot of Lynchs
which is being discharged
from the Arabistan;
The S.S. Brookside left
Basreh for London at
12 Â½ AM; Naoomy son
of Elias Kroomi went in
her to Marseilles to find
business there~
We are going to leave
tomorrow so as to ship
the Wool Press: Passengers
came on board about 70 or
80 thinking we were going
today~
At 4 Â½ P.M. Rezooki came
to me & I went with him up
to Rufailâ€™s house, found
there Tookyeh her husband
Rezooki & her two sons,
Nessoory Andrea his wife
& children etc come back
[pg: 99]
from Asfarâ€™s Picnic party
and then they went in to
Basreh;
The SS. Muristan for
Asfar arrived up to Basreh
she comes right up without
making quarantine,
as she did not touch at
any Ports~
I hear that cases of
Plague broke out at
Muscat~
They forced me to remain
to dine & sleep at Rufail
& so I did; weather
not so cool & pleasant,
Very light N.W. breeze,
with some clouds on
the East; at 5 Â½ am. I
dressed & came down to
the ship, living all the
rest asleep yet;
Weather getting warm
& air changing to West
[pg: 100]
& S West;
I hear we are not to
leave Basreh until we
get the wood Press of
Lynch shipped for Coot,
whether it will be out
of the Arabistan, tomorrow
or the day after;
Breeze shifted to S. Est
& became very warm;
at 3 wind again shifted
to North~ We received
the mail at 5 P.M.~
We are not going wait
for the wood Press, it
will not be out before
Thursday they say, so
Lynch Brothers Agent
Mr Richards is going
to let us go~
Rezooki Angoorly and
Rezooki Sayegh called
on me~
[pg: 101]
| Passeng | Okes | G.S.P. Local | Draft |
| 246 Â½ | 227,582 | 22,388 Â¼ | 4,,10 |
At 5,,15 P.M. we got
underway & proceeded
Modte Northerly breeze,
It is too warm in the cabin,
At 12 passed Gorna,
Light N.W. but warm and
sultry weather, I could not
sleep from the heat in the
cabin~
At 5,,10 AM. arrived
at Azair boarded 10 Jews
and took 13 others with
return ticket and left at
5,,40; (and 4 Â½ without R.T.)
At 10.45 landed 3 Passeng
at Kalat Saleh & went on
at 10.45;
We have altogether 172
passengers from Basreh
(2 in the 1st C. Cabins,
[pg: 102]
Ezra Daniel the Apothecary,
& Kass Petros the Chaldean
Priest, who paid 2nd Class
fare & occupied a 1st Class
by Captainâ€™s permission,
and one woman Tooza
Nazo the mother of Hannosh
Lynchâ€™s clerk paying &
her two daughters paying
deck & staying with her,
We took from Azair
17 Â½ Jews 4 are for Amara,
& 13 Â½ for Baghdad (13
are with Ret. Ticket 4
of the Mejidieh & 9 of the Khalifah)
Weather very warm
& sultry; It is getting cloudy too;
At about 3 P.M the wind
shifted to fresh N. Wester
& became cloudy all
over;
At 4,,20 P.M. arrived
at Amara landed 43
[pg: 103]
passengers & the 9 Zaptyeh
guard;~ We took 8 Tons
of Coal~ The river keeps
high here within the
bank, & even they say
there is a little rise;
At 5,,20 left Amara
Took 30 Â½ Passengers;~
Modte N.W. & fine weather
It became a little cooler;
Moon 16 days old;
Light N.W. & cloudy
all over but it is cooler
than the days before;
At 7,,30 AM. landed
2 passengers at Ali Gherbi
& took 3,, Jews and
went on at 7,,40~ The
river is rising it rose about
1 Â½ foot at Ali Gherbi &
is still rising~
At 1 P.M passed Shekh
Saad~
[pg: 104]
River keeps rising, & is
nearly in a level with the
banks, Cloudy still;
At 4 Â½ P.M. it blew strong
N.W. with slight squall
& dust & is cloudy all
over; but it has refreshed
the atmosphere;
We passed the S.S. Mossul
and Barge going down
at 0,,30 P.M.; ~
Weather very cloudy &
dark;
At 8,30 P.M. arrived
at Coot landed 12 Â½ passengers
Took 7 Tons of coal,
River is still rising;
I did not live my letter &
Paper for Henry, as the
Khalifah will leave on
Sunday, our departure
having been altered now
instead of fridays~
At 10 P.M. left Coot
[pg: 105]
Light S. Ely & Cloudy
At 6,,40 we passed Memlah,
Took 23 Â½ Passengers from
Coot~
Weather very troubled
cloudy dusty & fresh
S. Ely wind & warm
At 4 P.M. passed
Azizieh ruined village;
At 4,,5 passed the
S.S. Phrat & Barge going
down;~ River is falling
a little;
The weather keeps very
unsettled, Cloudy misty
variable winds & warm,
this month has been one
of the worst we have yet
seen; my cabin is so
warm, it is 90Ëš at sunset
[pg: 106]
At 8.5 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh; Strong S. Erly
wind & dark Cloudy
nights;~
S. Erly breeze & hazy
warm weather;
At 6,,35 AM. passed
Ctesiphon~ River has
fallen about one foot;
I paid the Shipâ€™s Company
their wages for this month
as they wanted it very
badly;
At 9.10 passed Diala
river;
At 10.35 I landed at
Gherrarah & walked in
to town; I felt the heat
very excessive especially
when I got between the
Gardens where the S. Erly
wind behind me ceased
& got so calm
[pg: 107]
I could not go on & had
to sit on a Saky & washed
& took a rest; I then
walked in to town,
arrived at 12 Â½ saw my
wife she is well but,
there is no news or letters
from Alexander at all
he does not write & we
do not know where he
is;~ we are in such an
awful way about him,
Rezooki Korkis has written
to his brother saying that
he has been searching for
Alexander in London but,
could not find him, he
was told that he had
gone to America; Eliza
asked Yousif Korkis to
wire to Rezooki and
inquire 5 days ago
[pg: 108]
but he has not yet got
the answer;~
We slept in the big room,
it is very warm;~
Light N. Ely or variable
breeze cloudy & sultry,
at 8 AM I called to see
P. PiÃ¨rre & went to hear
mass; I then called on
the Bishop Aghnatius, on
Antone Marine, his
son Gabriel (Joory) has
left for Beyrout in company
with Yousif Metchich
via Aleppo on thursday
morning the 27th a large
Caravan & many people
had gone, Harems of
some Turks & Pashas
also Napoleon the son of
Michel Jesuit, & Kass
Yousif Kasha the Chaldean
priest etc etc.
[pg: 109]
I called on Sister Medula
& on Menusha where I
saw Alice, I came home
at noon, Some visitors
called;~ at 2 P.M:
I called on my niece Guiseppina
daughter of Sister Eliza
& on Sister Eliza, I
then called to visit the
Nakib of Basreh Rejeb
Effendi son of Seyd
Mahdi Said Effendi
my old friend, but he
was not at home, he
came up in the Ressafah
& is living in the house
of H. Mahmood Pachachi
next door to Sister Elizaâ€™s
house; Johnny came
with me, we then called
on Mons Rouet the
[pg: 110]
french Consul & he
was not at home left
our cards; we then called
on Mr. & Mrs. Livingstone
& they were not at home
& we left our cards~
I came home, found
Sister Medula & Artin
there, then came Captain
& Mr. Cowley & Antone
Marine & Abduljebbar
Effendi; weather became
very cloudy squally &
dusty, but it passed
off without rain;
weather keeps cloudy &
warm very disagreeable
& plenty mosquitoes in
the rooms;~
[pg: 111]
Light N. Erly breeze and
sultry some clouds &
warm; at 7 Â½ AM called
on Sister Medula then
came on board, we are
discharging cargo;
The Khalifah left yesterday
morning, Henry had come
to see me on Saturday
evening for an hour;
The S.S. Baghdad also
left together with the
Khalifah; I went to the
office & got some pounds
Sterling to pay the officers
The son of Mr. Hall, S. Lynchâ€™s
clerk about 10 years died
last night from an
attack of Typhoid fever
I came home, had a
warm bath; in the
evening Eliza & I went
over to Sister Medula
[pg: 112]
for an hour, we prepared
to go down in a Goffa
tomorrow morning to
visit the Yaghchis who
are encamped in the
Garden of Farhat, next
to Asfarâ€™s & also to
visit the Tantons, Asfar
& Regina my niece
who is living in the
Garden of Baher;
Light N.W. & fine
Light N.W. & fine, but
getting cloudy; at
6 Â½ am Sister Medula,
my wife & myself went
down in the Goffa to
Farhatâ€™s Garden to
Yousif Yaghchi his wife
Louisa, my niece &
Catherina Sayegh his
mother~ while there
the SS. Comet came
[pg: 113]
down with a large party
on board invited by her
Captain Cooper, to take
Tea on board; there were
all the Europeans as well
as Yousif Asfar & his
sisters, Antone Marine
& family, Capt & Mrs. Cowley,
the Bottomleys etc etc
The Comet went down
as far as the Kher and
came up at about 2
P.M & went alongside
the beach below Asfarâ€™s
Garden & all the party
landed to Asfarâ€™s Garden
where they took Tiffin,
We visited the Tantonâ€™s
family; their mother
Medool is ill with leaver
desease of dropsy;
we also visited Regina
[pg: 114]
my niece; but we breakfasted
at Yaghchis & spent the
day the wind got up
& blew very strong by
3 P.M. & clouds of dust
rising, it blew a regular
squall & the dust was
blinding. the donkeys
came for Medula & Eliza
but they were afraid of
the wind & dust & they
wonâ€™t let them go, so
I left myself & rode in
the dust was so thick
that I could not see
my way I arrived at
5,, 40 P.M. in 20 minutes
Had dinner by myself
& turned in, the wind
kept up & gradually fell
& at 10 Â½ it begun
to rain drizzly for
[pg: 115]
an hour; It then cleared
up;
Light N.W. & fine weather
rather dampy from
last nights rain;
At 6 Â½ am I went over
to Abduljebbar Effendi
& then we rode on horse
back & went to pay a
visit to Mahomed Pasha
the Daghestani the General
of the Cavallery division
I saw his wild animals
2 lions, 2 wild donkeys,
a Bear, 2 wild goats &
a Leopard, at 8 Â½ we
left & I came on board
The SS. Ressafah left
this morning~
At 10 went home,
[pg: 116]
I called on Menusha &
then on Antone Marine,
saw his wife, they have
received a letter from their
son Gabriel from Fellooja,
they have had great
difficulty in crossing the
Euphrates which has risen
much & broken the Sudds
flooded the Country,
they had to ferry across
in Shakhtoors and
all their Kit got wet
& damaged, Yousif Metchich
suffered more with his
goods etc; ~
Eliza & I both feel unwell,
we have caught cold
yesterday out in the
Garden, my bones etc
are aching, I had to
sleep in the room;
Light N.W. & fine,
[pg: 117]
Light Erly & fine weather
at 8 am I came on board
we are shipping little
Cargo; The river rose
about 6 Inches last
night; at 11 went home
and returned at 1 Â½ P.M.
Very little cargo coming;
At 4 P.M. I went on
Shore called on Sister
Medula & came home,
Jhony Artin called,
on us also Antone Marine,
I heard the Armenian
Catholic Patriark
Azaryan died in Constple,
Light N.W. & fine
weather;
Modte N.W. & fine cool
weather; at 7 am I
called on sister Eliza
& then came on board
at 9, no Custum House
[pg: 118]
I went home at 10, I got
carpenters today to make
the rest of the railings
on top of the house;
At 3 pm called Menusha
& Sister Medula & came
home; Mons Rouet the
french Vice Consul called
and left his card, as I was
not at home;
The Assyrian Bishop
called in the evening;
I hear that Anis Pasha
the dismissed Waly of
Basreh who came up
about 15 days ago, has
gone to Hussein & Meshed
and is still there; and is
disgraced, & will not be
appointed Waly anywhere
it must be on account
of the massacre of
[pg: 119]
the Armenians at Dyarbekir
three years ago, where he
was then the Waly &
he took very important
part in encouraging it,
& the Powers must have
pressed their influence on
the Sultan to have him
dismissed from his functions
The Damascus Post
Arrived at 4 P.M. I only
received one letter from
Alois Schweiger Vienna,
and nothing about my
son & where he is or
what has happened to
him~ his mother & I
are loosing our senses,
and do not know what
to do & how long is
he going to keep us
[pg: 120]
in this state of mind,
Light N.W. breeze and
fine cool weather;
At 7 am I came on
board; There are some
Jews going down to Azair
At 11 I went on
Shore, called to see Yousif
Korkis in his Khan if
he has any writing by
last nights post from
his brother about my
sow; he has none, but
has just received a
Telegram from him
dated the 3d Instt; in
which he says among
other business off ours;
"trouvamme pas
"Svoboda, entendous
"partit Amerique;
I went home and
[pg: 121]
breakfasted and came
on board at 12;
We have very little Cargo
Shipped, about 30,000 Okes
besides 80 Bags of Juss,
& many Bundles of Hoop
Iron, one Blacksmith
from the E. & T. Copy in 2d
class & 10 Mossulli
workmen free to Coot
for the Wool Press of
S Lynch & Co which the
Khalifah brought up
this time from Basreh;
We finished work at 2,
P.M. the Jews are crowding
the ship. Women & boys
At 5 Â½ P.M. I went
on shore;
We are very sorry and
disappointed at Alexanderâ€™s
behavior with us; he
never writes or let us
[pg: 122]
Know where he is, he
is showing great savageness
& ungreatfulness toward
his father & mother;
Light N.W. & fine
Cool weather
I was up at 3 am,
& at 3 Â½ came on board
| Passeg | Okes | G. S. Piast | Draft |
| 295 | 28998 | 18694 Â½ | 3,,0 |
At 4,,25 Am. We
proceeded; Ship very light,
At 6,5 passed Diala,
river, very nice & Cool
weather~
At 7,,19 passed Ctesiphon,
Gave nickels to the Passengers,
At 11,,45 passed,
Baghdadieh~
At 1,,15 P.M. passed
Azizieh~
[pg: 123]
We have altogether 251 Â½
passengers (Two in 1st
Class, they are Americans
one a young man Mr.
Fisher a taveller who came
up in the Khalifah some
time ago, & the other a
Mr. Greer belongs
to the mission who are
excavating at Nuffar
under Mr. Heyns, this
latter has a ticket from
Mr. Bottomley to charge
him deck fare & put him
in a 1st Class he only goes
to Basreh & back for the
benefit of his health as he
was ill in Baghdad)
We have 87- Jews to
Azair with R. Tickets &
4 besides with free tickets,
And we have a Blacksmith
of S Lynch & Co in a
[pg: 124]
2d C. Cabin & 10 Mossully
workmen to Coot free
to work at the wood
Press ~
At 5,30 P.M. passed
Khalifah going up , she
is full of passengers mostly
Jews from Azair &
she is very deep;
At 5,35 passed Memlah,
At 9,30 P.M. arrived,
at Coot landed 57 Packages
and 40 Â½ Passengers, also
the men for S Lynchâ€™s wool
Press (10 Tilkeflies & a Blacksmith,
& the 80 Bags Juss and
other materials, I received
Henryâ€™s letter & my Papers,
The Khalifah had 210,000
Okes & about 350 passengers
(74 Â½ Returned Jews from
Azair) We remained at
Coot for the night;
[pg: 125]
Fine cool night;
Light N.W. & fine ~
at 5,,20 am left Coot;
It became cloudy, ~
Took 7 Passengers from
Coot ~
At 9,40 AM. landed
8 packages & 2 passengers
at Ali Gherbi & took
one & went on at 10;
At 11,30 passed the
S.S. Phrat & Barge going up
Modte N.W. & fine weather,
At 5 P.M. arrived at,
Amara landed 50 passengers
and 56 Packages ~
At 6,5 left Amara
took 26 Â½ Passengers ( one
in 1st Class the Motserrif
of Amara Anwary Pasha)
We flew the flag for
[pg: 126]
him without his asking
for it~
At 7,20 we passed
& came to Above Aboo Sedra
for the night; Very light
N.W. breeze; The Motserrif
of Amara dined with
us at the table;
At 1 AM. the SS. Baghdad
& Barge passed up ~
At 4,15 we proceeded
Very light N.W. air and
Cloudy all over;
At 9,15 arrived at Azair,
landed 97 Â½ Jews ( 87 are
with R. Tickets) also, 4
free R. Tickets ~ There
are now nearly 300 Jews
altogether left; ~
At 10 we left Azair
took 9 passengers ~
Cloudy all over and light
N.W. breeze
[pg: 127]
At 0,,40 P.M. landed
one passenger at Gorna
and went on at 9,,45
Cloudy all over & light
N.W. breeze;
At 5,,10 P.M. arrived
at Basreh, The SS. Muristan
for Asfar is only here,
There is no mail boat in
quarantine she is due
tomorrow but no news of
her from Bushire;
All the Cabins are already
engaged, & others want to
have but we have none,
I did not go to Rufail,
We coaled ship at night
discharged & took some
cargo till midnight,
Light N.W. & cool weather
but Cloudy, I am sleeping
in my Cabin & have
my windsel put up
[pg: 128]
this time in Baghdad, it
is cooling my cabin a
little;
N.W. breeze & Cloudy
all over with a mist,
but the weather is cool,
The SS. Muristan for
Asfar & Co left at 10,45
AM ~ The Arabistan
has left yesterday form
here ~
Rezooki Sayegh came
to me & he took me to their
place at 1 P.M. I saw
Rufail also Yousif Marine
had come down from
Shaebyeh whom I had
not seen for the last 3
months; he went up to
his house at 5 P.M. ~ I
took Rezooki & went to
call on Asfar, saw
Jeboory & his wife, also
there were Nassoory
Andria & his wife
[pg: 129]
We returned at 6, where
I dined & slept outside
the room; a light N.W.
breeze but is still very
Cloudy & misty like
fog on the river;
Light N.W. & Cloudy
partly ~ at 6 Â½ am
I came on board, also
Rezooki came with me,
We have loaded the
Ship & are ready, but
the mail Str. has not
arrived yet;
There is a New Order came
from the Turkish Government
to levy a tax of 10 Â½ G. S. P.
per annum on all the
Crew of our Steamers
of Turkish Nationality
serving afloat, and
the Harbour master
[pg: 130]
Came on board, I gave
him the names of the
Crew 40 in no., which
his Clerk wrote down
& he begun collecting;
Lynch Brothers wrote to
the Captain on the Subject
& asked him to assist them
in the matter;
At 3 Â½ P.M. the SS. Ressafah
left for Baghdad ~
We have great confusion
& crowds of people coming
to see the Cabin & other
passengers off; The
Motserrif of Amara also
came to go back;
The mail Str. Simla
Arrived to the quarantine
at 6 P.M. ~ We sent for
the mails; as Mr. Wratislaw
the English Consul is
also going up with us
[pg: 131]
We are not to leave before
8 P.M.; Weather very calm
& warm, there is no place
aft, we have Dr. Macri
his wife & son, his wife
has a 1st C. Cabin and
themselves are on the
upper skylight deck
the wife & mother of
Kassim Khdery and
Izzet Bey the Aide de
Camp of Kadem Pasha
with a female on the
upper skylight deck
and a confusion aft
of no head or tale &
no one seems to care
how to put in order every
one to his post; Cowley
does not interfere &
lets them do what
[pg: 132]
they like;
We received the mail at
7 Â½ ;
| Passg | Okes | G. S. P. Local | Draft |
| 284 | 239,324 | 19,884 Â¼ | 5,, |
At 8,50 P.M. We
proceeded, very Calm &
warm weather; It
is very warm in the Cabin
I could not sleep;
Very light westerly breeze &
warm ~ At 5 AM we
passed Gorna going very
slow; ~ We passed the
Ressafah going up at
Sweb at 4 AM;
Finished with the Passeng
tickets we have in all
184 (4 in 1st Class, Mr.
A.C. Wratislaw the English
Consul of Basreh & his Servt
free Retn. Ticket,
[pg: 133]
Madm. Dr. Macri, and 2
women wife & her sister
of Kassim Khdery, &
2 Christians in 2nd Class
Dr. Macri & his son are
on the after deck and
paying 1 Â½ deck fare,
also Izzet Beg & a
woman with him on
the after deck @ 1 Â½ fare,
and the Motserrif of
Amara Ahmed Anwary
Pasha & 4 servants
on the after deck paying
deck passage; also
Mr. Greer the American
who came down with
us is in the Saloon &
quarter deck he having
paid as deck but
allowed to occupy a
[pg: 134]
Cabin; It was arranged
the day before by Capt.
Cowley that Mr. Wratislaw
& Mr. Greer were to occupy
the double Cabin; but
last night he got their
kit turned out & put
Kassim Khderyâ€™s women
in it; & they are always
out on the quarter deck
under curtains rigged
up for them;
At 10 AM arrived at
Azair landed 34 Â½ Jews
from Basreh;
At 10,30 left Azair, very
Calm & warm weather,
no clouds at all;
We took 54 Â½ Jews from
Azair (46 Â½ with Retrn.
Tickets 28 of Mejidieh and
18 Â½ of Khalifah ~
[pg: 135]
At 3,,50 P.M. landed 8
passengers at Kalat Saleh
& took one & went on,
at 3,,55 ~ Breeze shifted
to S.W. S Calm ~
At 10 P.M. arrived
at Amara landed 43 Â½
Passengers & 20 Bales of
P. Goods; Took 8 Tons
of Coal; I had to leave
Henryâ€™s letter & papers here
as I heard that the Khalifah
was to leave today on
account of taking Jews
down to Azair to get
down in time for their
Holy day falling on
Monday next;
At 12 We left Amara,
weather got cooler and
bearable in Cabin
[pg: 136]
Light S. Wester with
some clouds; ~ Gave
tickets to 20 Amara
passengers (H. Abdulrezak
Khdery in 1st class free
returning)
Wind shifted to N. W.
at about 1 P. M;
At 2,,20 P. M. landed
11/2 passenger at Ali
Gherbi & went on at
2,,30 took one passenger
Weather very warm
Light S. Ely breeze ~
Light S. Ely & very warm
I could not sleep last
night from the mosquitoes
got into my cabin and
the excessive heat, I
had to rig up a Curtain
at 12 but the heat is
unbearable;
[pg: 137]
At 3,,50 AM. arrived
At Coot, landed 15 Bales
of P. Goods & 91/2 passengers
Took 5 Tons of Coal
At 6,,5 AM left Coot,
took 221/2 Passengers,
also one with Return Ticket a
Jew from Azair having come
up & landed from the Khalifah
but the Captain let him off,
At 2,,15 P.M. passed
Memlah; ~
At about 3 a moderate
warm & dry n.w. wind
blowing sent the temperature
up to 98Ëš~
At 4,,14 touched a shoal
at Sheresh & worked with
the Engines, she wont move
& so had to take out an
anchor ahead & heave
her off; At 5 proceeded
At 5,,30 passed the Khalifah
bound down ~
[pg: 138]
toward sunset it became
Very Calm & warm ~
At 8,,45 we picked on board
Monsr. Chavenise a Civil
french Engineer in the Turkish
employ Shedeif, he had
started from Baghdad about
4 days ago by the desert
across Diala to trace the
old Naherwan Canal &
to dig it out so as to get
the water of the Tigris run
into it during the high
rise from somewhere near
Imam Durr near Samarra
& continue it down until
it debauches itself again
into the Tigris at Debooni,
M. Chavenise having
got ill & could not stand
the heat had to come
on board to go back to
Baghdad & left Rezooki
the son of Eassayi also
a Civil Engineer in the
[pg: 139]
Governt Service to continue
the work, he stopped
up on the after deck &
paid deck fare of 2 Mejidees
At 0,,40 am we passed
Azizieh~ Light S. Ely
and calm warm weather,
At 5 am passed
Baghdadieh Fort;
Wind is Easterly & modte
Clouds are hanging about
loaded with heat; the
Thermtr. was 96Ëš at noon;
At 3,,15 P.M. passed Ctesiphon
Very calm & warm day;
Detained at Jaffar in
shoal water from 5,,20
till 6 P.M. ~ The river
is falling fast, ~
At 6,,25 passed Diala
river, very calm & clouds
on the four quarters of
[pg: 140]
the horyzon ~
At 7,,45 we passed the
Bridge of Gherrara opened
for us; very warm and
Calm weather; we are
going awfully slow~
At 10,,45 P.M. landed the
mails at the Residency
also Mr. Wratislaw the
Consul & we went up to
the Custum House, the
SS. Phrat of Baghdad are
here ~ I went home found
Eliza on top of the house
She went up to sleep about
four days ago, it has
been very warm all
the time;
I found no letters for me
or news from Alexander
whatever, not even Rezooki
Korkis has written, any
thing to his brother;
A strong Wind is blowing
[pg: 141]
and became Cloudy all
over; I could not sleep
all the night well;
Modte N. W. Wind &
Cloudy very disagreable
weather ~ at 8 am
I came on board; ~
The SS. Baghdad & Barge
left at 4 AM; we are
alongside the Custum
House; ~ I sent money to the
Office & came home at 10~
I had a warm bath; Johny
& Artin came in the evening,
Artin is going to get married
he has asked the hand
of the daughter of Dr. Cazassian
an Armenian doctor in
the Turkish Military Service,
he will be betrothed next
Tuesday the 23d~
Light N. W. & fine Cool
night on top of the house
[pg: 142]
Light breeze but variable
& sultry some clouds~
at 7 am I called on Sister
Eliza, & then called on the
Nakib of Basreh Seyd
Rejeb Effendi's son Seyd Mahd;
Said living next door of
Sister Elizaâ€™s house, took
Artin with me, we then
called on Monseigneur
Altmayer; On the 15 of this
month he had a jubilee of
his 25th anniversary since
he came to Turkey from
France, the French Sisters
gave a representation a
play of Esther & Aheshwerosh
& invited all the Europeans
& foreign Consuls, also
my wife & myself, but my
wife went as I was absent;
Some people have sent him
some token of Souvenirs,
as my sisters Eliza & Medula
[pg: 143]
Alice, Asfars, Antone
Marine, Mina Abood
& Chiha etc; ~
The dismissed Waly of
Basreh Enis Pasha has
left Baghdad by Deir, &
Aleppo road about Six
days ago, on the 11th.
The new Waly for Baghdad
will arrive tomorrow a
man named Namik Pasha
& the old Waly Atta
Allah Pasha will start on
Saturday, by way of Deir
& Aleppo ~
Eliza & I called on Sister Medula
at 2 P.M & came home,
a very hard squall came
on with thick dust it became
dark & the dust falling everywhere,
it lasted about an hour
Antone Marine & Shekoory
Sayegh called in the
[pg: 144]
evening; Antone has received
a telegram from his son
Gabriel (Joory) from Deir
dated Saturday last they
arrived there safe;
Modte & cool N. W. breeze,
Modte N.W. & fine cool
morning; it was very cool last night &
cool last night;
At 7 am I came on board,
We are discharging~
The Phrat left at 4 am
up to Kadumein to bring
down the new Waly
Namik Pasha; on board
At 9,,15 the Phrat came
down with the new Wali
Namik Pasha on board
& a great many people
who had gone out to meet
him a salute was
fired & troops & Band played
he landed at the Serai;
[pg: 145]
I sent three letters to the Post
today via Damascus, one
the Direction of Handleâ€™s museum
Vienna one to Alois Scheiwger
Vienna, & one to Edward
Blockey London the latter
all about Alexander to
look out for him & as we
heard he had gone to America,
I went to breakfast at 11
I called on PÃ¨re PiÃ¨rre and
paid him 20 TLiras more
part of my debt to him
which he had advanced
Alexander- making 40
TLiras I have paid him
equal to 920 frcs there still
remained 430 frcs to pay,
At 2 P.M. I came on
board we are shipping Some
cargo;
I received a card of
invitation from Coll. Loch
for my wife & myself for
the Queenâ€™s birthday on
[pg: 146]
Wednesday next, at 91/2
P.M. as a presentation
visit, he gives a dinner
to the English leading
Community & their wives
at 8 P. M. about 20 persons,
& then the others who are
invited at 91/2 are to come
& spend the night; about
50 persons including all
the consuls, the french
Assyrian & Chaldean
Patriarchs & Bishops &
other people; Antone Marine
& his wife are invited to
dinner, as well as the
Bottomleysâ€™, Livingstones,
& many others ~
At 5 P.M. I went home
called on Antone Marine
& learned from him the
above news about the
invitation, but only
[pg: 147]
my wife will go, I shall
be absent, Henry and
his wife are also invited,
Monseigneur Altmayer or
came at Antones, he is
also invited ~ at 6
I came home~
Light N. W. & fine cool
weather~
Light N. Ely & fine
cool morning, at 7 Am
I came on board;
at 8 went home found there
Monsgr. Altmayer calling
on us~ I went then to
see Eliza & Adoola my cousins,
there came Mr. Guilietti &
his son Antoine & we
went to Sister Medula,
I came home, PÃ¨re PiÃ¨rre
called on us; ~ at 4 P.M
called on the Bishop
Agnatios ~
[pg: 148]
The Damascus Post
arrived today, I received
no letters at all;
In the evening Sister
Medula & Antonin Guilietti,
called also Artin my nephew
and PÃ¨re Emmanuel
on top of the house; they
left at 8~
Light N. W & fine Cool
Weather ~
Light N. Ely & fine Cool
Weather ~ at 7 am
I came on board; ~
The SS. Ressafah & Barge
arrived last night at 7 P.M.~
P.M.~
Today the Shias are
mourning the 10th of Moharrem
at Kdumein & the other
shrines, the shops are
all closed, & also the
Jews being Saturday
[pg: 149]
so that very few shops
are opened & few people
are seen in the bazaars,
Colonel Loch went yesterday
& took Alfred Holland
to Kadumein to take
Photographic views of the
processions of mourners
in the open spaces out of town
of town;
At 11 I went to breakfast
& returned at 121/2;
The SS. Phrat hauled up
alongside the Turkish Adara
and there the Old Waly of
Baghdad Atta Allah
Pasha came on board
a guard & the Band played
and all the military &
Civil dignitaries were
on board to receive him
& bade him farewell,
they accompanied him
[pg: 150]
in the steamer up to Kadumein
as well as the New Waly
Namik Pasha, that
Mushir Ahmed Fezi
Pasha, Kadim Pasha etc.
The Phrat started @ 1 1/2
P.M & passed through the
Bridge~
We shipped a good
deal of Cargo over 5,000
Okes mostly all local,
At 6 P.M. I went home,
Eliza suffers the stomach
ache & myself too; it is
from the sorrow about
Alexander not knowing
where he is ~
Light N.W. & fine cool
weather; moonlight
night 11 days old,
[pg: 151]
Light n.w. & fine cool
weather~
At 3 1/2 AM I came on
board the Mejidieh;
| Pass9 | Okes | G.S.Piast | Draft |
| 177 | 116,171 | 16,109 Â¼ | 3,,10 |
At 4,,20 AM we proceeded
S. Ely breeze but fine;
River Keeps falling a little,
At 6,,10 passed Diala
river~
At 7,,15 passed Ctesiphon,
At 8,,15 passed the SS. Khalifah
going up at Semreh reach,
she is full of the Return
Jews from Azair, Yacoob
Eassayi & Mr. Mackey
of Strick & Co, are on board
We have altogether 144 1/2
Passengers (one woman the
wife of Hussein Omery Effendi
of Basreh) and Vartan
[pg: 152]
Lynchâ€™s clerk to Coot to the
wool Press free in 2nd Class,
Monsr. Chavenise is returning
with us to Swera he is
on the After deck paying
double Coot passage P. 52 1/2
he is going to join his Caravan
at Rwebyeh where Rezooki
Eassayi is waiting for
him to make Charts of
the Naherwan Canal.
At 10,,45 landed Monsr.
Chavenise at Mahomed
Pashaâ€™s property at Rwebyeh
and went on at 10,,55;
S. Ely wind but fine;
At 12,,0 passed Baghdadieh
Fort~
At 1,,45 P.M. passed
Azizieh Village; the wind
is blowing hot;
At 6,,10 passed Memlah
At 10,,10 P.m arrived at
[pg: 153]
Coot landed 42 1/2 Passengers
and 8 packages;~
received Henryâ€™s letter &
Papers~ The Khalifah
had 206,500 Okes; and
nearly 400 passengers in
all (229 Jews from Azair
with Ret Tickets 133 1/2 of the
Mejidieh & 95 1/2 of the Khalifah)
We hauled out and
remained for the night;
Light N. Ely & fine~
At 3,,10 AM left Coot,
Took 8 Passengers;
At 7 passed Sheikh
Saad;
At 9,, 45 landed 2 passengers
at Ali Gherbi & took 3
& went on at 11~
At 5,,5 P.m. arrived at
Amara landed 30 1/2
[pg: 154]
Passengers & 30 Packages,
At 6 left Amara took
17 Passengers~
Ghadban the young Sheikh
of the Beni Laam the son
of Booneyeh the son of
Mezban, encamped in the
vicinity of Ali Gherbi, would
not cease from his depredation,
plunder & infatuation,
He a few days ago, plundered
a large caravan coming
from the Hills of Lohristan
toward Ali Gherbi with
Goods & mostly ghee from
the Koordish hills belonging
to the traders of Ali Gherbi
to the Value of 30,000 Kerans,
The Motserrif of Amara
went up to him in a
Belem but they say he
denyed of having done
so or caused his
[pg: 155]
Arabs to plunder & so
the Motserrif returned, I
dare say having obtained
his share from Ghadban
of a few hundreds of
Liras, & the merchants
are left to their fate &
loose their goods in that
caravan they say which
composed of 250 mule
load;
At 8,,55 P.M. anchored
above Kalat Saleh; weather
very calm, & light S. Erly,
it is very warm in the
cabin, I could not sleep
for some hours~
Very light air & warm,
at 4,,15 Am proceeded;
at 6 anchored at the Elbow
about 15 Danags in the
bite[?], had to await until
all came further up,
[pg: 156]
and at 6,,45 proceeded,
At 8 am passed Azair,
The Troops about 60 soldiers
are still here encamped
as well some further up &
below at Surreyfeh;
The Zaptyeh guards are
dispensed off from accompanying
our steamers to Amara
since last trip up;
S. Erly breeze & warm
muggy weather;
At 9,,45 passed the S.S.
Baghdad & Barge going up
at Zechyeh reach;
At 10,,50 landed 3 Passeng
at Gorna & went on at 10,,55,
Light n.w. & cooler
a little~
At 3,,10 P.M. arrived at
Basreh; [strikethrough] The
S.S. Turkistan of Strick & Co.
in quarantine arrived
[pg: 157]
on the 17th Instt, having
left about 2 days ago for
Kurachi to load there,
and there is only the S.S.
Alagonia for Gray Mackenzie
& Co~ There is no news
of the Mail Boat~
Rezooki Sayegh came to
me (he is in charge of the
Consulate during Mr.
Wratislawâ€™s absence in
Baghdad; I went up with
him to Rufail, where I
dined, and in turning to
sleep outside a very strong
N.W. wind began to blow
& shook my curtain &
had to change place to
near the wall but still
it blew very strong and
could not Sleep at all
till day break~
[pg: 158]
Modte N.W. & fine;
I slept about Â¼ of an
hour at sunrise & so
feel very weak for want of
sleep;
Today is the Queen
Victoria of Englandâ€™s
Birthday; there is no reception
at the Consulate as
Mr. Wratislaw is absent;
The Queen is just 80 years
old~
At 7 am I left with Rezooki
& I came on board~
We are discharging and
shipping cargo~
The SS. Phrat & Barge
arrived at about 4 Â½
am this morning,
she brought troops from
Baghdad~
At 11 Rufail came down
to me & I went with him
into Basreh, we called
on Angoorly and
[pg: 159]
saw Tookyeh, also on
Nassoory Andrea
saw his wife, been to the
shop of Angoorly, and
to the Ottoman Bank
& inspected the 1000 empty
cases for dates sent out
by Allois Schweiger of
Vienna they are dirty &
some damaged, broken
& short etc; Came to
Tookyeh had tea & left
at 3 Â½ Came on board;
At 5 P.M. Rufail & I went
up to Shaebyeh to Yousif
Marine, he wrote to me to
come & pass the night, but
I feel so weak & unwell,
We got there in one hour,
& spent the evening dined
& slept with Yousif, I
slept in a room with all
the windows open, there
[pg: 160]
was a fresh N.W. wind
blowing, but at about
midnight the wind fell,
there are plenty of mosquitoes
it is impossible to sleep
without a curtain;~
Light westly breeze &
fine; We took our tea at
Yousif & left at 6 am,
at 6 Â½ dropped Rufail
at his house & I came
down to the Mejidieh;
We are loading deep
At 5 P.M. the mail
steamer Khandalla
arrived; at 6 the SS
Malamir arrived from
the Karoon to the Quarantine
We sent the Mail & specie,
Rezooki Sayegh came
to me also Nassoory Andrea,
Wind fell toward
sunset;~
[pg: 161]
| Passng | Okes | G.S. Piast | Draft |
| 236 Â½ | 261,266,, | [N/A] | 5,,1 |
We received the mails,
and at 7,,30 P.M. proceeded
Light N.W. air & fine,
moon rose at 7,,15 P.M;
I slept in the Cabin, it is not
so warm, it became cooler
later at night;
Light N.W. & fine Weather
At 4 Am. landed 3 Passng.
at Gorna & took one~
At 9,,25 stopped at Azair
& took 2 Jewesses (2 halves
one girl & 1 Boy With Return
ticket) Went on at 9,,30
We have 131 Â½ Passengers
from Basreh (5 in 1st Class
the Wife of Tanton Elias Eassa
his son & Wifeâ€™s sister in
one Cabin; a Jewess &
a Mahomedan Abdulhamid
Effendi, & one in
[pg: 162]
2nd Class the Chaldean
Priest Kass Joobrayil)
At 2,,45 P.M. the S.S.
Ressafah & Barge passed
down at Nafikh, detained
10 minutes for her~
At 3,,30 landed 9 Passeng
at Kalat Saleh & went
on at 3,,35~
Modte N.W. & fine;
At 9,,30 P.M. arrived
at Amara landed 21 Â½
Passengers and 6 Packges
of through Bombay Cargo;
Took 8 Tons of Coal;
At 11,,15 left Amara,
Light N.W. & fine cool
Weather;
Light N.W. & fine Cool
Weather; Gave tickets to
71 Amara passengers;
(one in 1st Class Mr. Rigo
Inspector of Public Debt)
[pg: 163]
and the Bimbashi of the
Senyeh property, on the
after part of the upper
deck, paying 1 Â½ deck passage,
At 7,,20 Am passed
Ali Sherghi grove;~
At 2,,5 P.M. landed
6 Â½ passengers at Ali Gherbi
& took 2 & went on at
2,,10~ Ghadban the
Sheikh of Beni Laam is
here I saw him on the
bank & he saluted me,
Abdulkadur Khdery was
sent up here from Amara
to talk & persuade him
to return the plunder
of the Caravan which
I mentioned here on the 22d
also the Taboor Aghassi,
but Ghadban is denying
having done it, sometimes
[pg: 164]
he promises to pay for
the loss, etc, but the Taboor
Aghassi is thretening him
that he will meet a
forced demand etc;
At 8,,5 P.M. landed
3 passengers at Sheikh
Saad booked for Coot
& went on, Modte
N.W. & fine Weather;
Light N.W. & fine Cool
Weather~
At 4,,15 Am arrived
at Coot, landed 25 Passeng
Took 4 Tons Coal; left
Henryâ€™s letter & papers at
Coot;
At 5,,40 left Coot,
took 27 Passengers~
also Polus of Lynchâ€™s Wool
Press in the 2nd Class Cabin
free;
The N. Westerly
or Shemal, wind has sat
[pg: 165]
in since the 25th Instt,
and has cleared the atmosphere
& made the weather
Cool, especially at night,
At 2,,30 P.M. passed
Memlah~
At 5,,35 met the Khalifah
coming down at Deboony
reach, we sent the letters
of Mr. Wratislaw the
English Consul of Basreh
being on board returning
I received a letter from
Henry, they left this
morning at 4 Â¼ Am
having 64,000 Okes &
236 Â½ Passengers & 17
Workmen for the Wool
Press of Lynch at Amara
free besides~
Artin Kasperkhan my
Nephew was engaged
& betrothed on Tuesday
[pg: 166]
last the 23rd Instt with
Sirpohy the daughter of
Dr. Cazassian in the Turkish
army; no news of
Alexander, but that
Alice has received a
letter from Edward Blockey
from London, saying
that he could not find
him in Paris & was told
that he had gone to London,
and at this place he
was told by Rezooki
Korkis that he had
heard that Alexander
had gone to America
with the girl;
Light N.W. & fine cool
Weather~
Light N.W. & fine
Cool weather
At 0,,45 Am passed
[strikethrough];
Azizieh Village
[pg: 167]
At 4,,50 passed
Baghdadieh Fort;
I paid the Shipâ€™s crew
their wages for this month,
At 3,,10 P.M. passed
Ctesiphon~ Light N.W.
breeze, ship going very Slow;
At 6,, passed Diala river,
At 7,,20 passed through
the Bridge of Gherrara,
At 10,,15 P.M
landed the mails at
the Residency & went
up to the Custum House
the S.S. Baghdad is here
arrived today at noon~
I went home, saw Eliza
she related to me a very
sad news which befell
to Artin my nephew
[pg: 168]
after his betrothal~
They had a servant [strikethrough]
Tilkefly girl about 16
years old called Zekky
employed at Johny to look
after his little daughter
& having left the service
about 2 months ago;
she has brought a complaint
a few days ago against
Artin for having violated
her on promising that
he will marry her and
so she gave herself to him,
& she aborted some time
ago, now she claims him
as her husband and
being instigated by other
women of bad repute to
insist on & claim her
right through the Turkish
Government; and
[pg: 169]
so she went to the Serai
accompanied by a woman
called Eliza bint Abdulmadi
a bad woman, & there
she cryed out & in the most
courageous manner &
face she complained of
Artin having outraged
her etc; and so Artin
was sent for and put in
prison without being
questioned or tryed, a
thing against the rule
Abduljebbar the Lawyer
tryed very much to let
him out until his case
will be investigated, but
they wont allow it;
I have not learnt the
affair yet how it
[pg: 170]
occurred , as Eliza
cannot understand it
herself yet; I could
not sleep at all till
the morning from the
sorrow on account of
Artin;
Light N.W. & fine; I went
downstairs & found the
two letters one from
Tom Blockey dated 4 May
in answer to mine, he
tells me that he hears that
Alexander has gone to
America with his girl
& his son Edward arrived
on the 19 of April from
Baghdad via Bombay
& Trieste; The next letter
I opened & found it from
Rezooki Metchich
from London, & enclosed
in it an open letter
[pg: 171]
sheet of few words written
by Alexander from
Chicago dated the 15
of April with his Card
in it printed as Traveller
Explorer, & reporter to
many news papers and
magazines, he writes on
it as being a Member
of the Geographical
Society; Rezooki
Metchich Writes to me
to say that he received
this from Alexander
to be sent to me but does
not know his address
as he is not fixed in
one place;
Eliza & I went over to
Sister Eliza, many
people came there to
[pg: 172]
see what to be done about
Artinâ€™s imprisonement;
Johny had spoken with
Abduljebbar the Lawyer
but this man seems not
so inclined to defend Artin,
there are many witnesses
in favor of him; and they
were to go today to the
Serai; My Sister Eliza
is very grieved & sorry at
this matter;
I called on Mr. Richarz
at 9 Am & asked him to
write to the Austrian
Consul General to remit
my 300 frcs which I
had sent him for Alexander
for his expences to the
Banker of Monseigneur
Altmayer in Paris
& gave him his name
& address~
[pg: 173]
I then called on the
Delegate Mons. Altmayer
and told him that I
had done so & requested
him to write to his Banker
to apply for the Money,
I went to Lynchâ€™s Office
for business & for some
Â£ Stg; & returned to Sister
Eliza, took my wife &
came home~
At 4 P.M. called again
on Sister Eliza; Johny
came from the Serai
& says that they took the
evidence of many persons
they were all in favor
of Artin, & also the Bishop
came & as it got late
to finish the evidence
[pg: 174]
so it is left for tomorrow
& so Artin will have
to remain in prison
tonight too etc etc;
I came home at 6
P.M.; Light N.W. & fine
Light air & sultry; at 7
Am I called on Menusha
& then came on board
Paid the Officersâ€™ wages &
Others; At 9 I went to
the prison in the Serai
& saw Artin my nephew
he is in a room upstairs
with two or three other
Mahomedans prisoners,
Johny was there & says
that it will be settled
today & Artin will be
let out; I left at 10
& came home
[pg: 175]
As I was taking a warm
bath, Johny & Abduljebbar
Effendi the Lawyer sent
for me to come quick, as
it requires my visit to
Hamdi Beg the Mufettish
Adlyeh to talk to him
as he is my friend, and
the matter will be settled
so I hurried on, & Alexander
Duncan the husband of
Regina came with me to
see Artin; but on arriving
to the Serai, they told me
that it was finished and
my visit to Ahmed Beg
is not required, so they
let Artin out on bail
& Abduljebbar stood as
security & gave a paper
I saw the deposition
[pg: 176]
given by the bitch of the
servant Zekki, a most
horrible way~ At
4 Â½ P.M. Artin was let
out & we all walked
out to his house, poor
Sister Eliza was rejoiced
& weeping;~ This
incident will cost Artin
about 50 TLiras, for
charges, presents and
bribery etc etc;
I came home & then called
on Antone Marine
came at 6, Antone then
called on us for Â½ hour;
Light Air & warm
Light S. Erly & Variable
warm; at 6 Am we
went to church a high
mass by the Delagate
Altmayer & procession
[pg: 177]
I slept at 7 & called on
Sister Medula & thence
came on board we
are shipping some Cargo,
At 10 I left & went over
to Sister Eliza, my wife
was there & we returned
home at 11 Â½~ Hot
Weather & Very light breeze
from N.W. with few clouds
At 3 P.M. came on board
shipping cargo;
At 5 I left & called on
Colonel Loch the Resident,
he is having an Auction
sale tomorrow of his Kit,
I left & came home;
Shekoory Sayegh called
on us; Very warm
sultry & calm weather,
With some clouds;
[pg: 178]
Light & variable breeze
Warm Weather~
At 7 Am I came on board,
& then went over to the
Residency to see the
auction sale; I bought
only a Bookshelve for 12
12 Rps & 1 anna; Came home
It is very warm & sultry,
light S. Erly air with some
clouds;~
At 4 P.M. I called on Eliza
& Adoola my cousins;
Johny & Artin called in
the evening; Very calm
& warm weather;
The SS. Baghdad & Barge
left this morning at 4 Am
Very light S. Erly and
Calm sultry weather
At 7 Am called on Shekoory
Sayegh & came on
board~ The Damascus
[pg: 179]
Post arrived yesterday,
no letters about Alexander
from anybody~
It is getting very hot toward
noon; at 11 I went to breakfast
& came on board at 1 P.M.;
Very hot, the breeze shifted
to N.W. but is too hot;
At 6 P.M. I left the steamer
& came home;
I wrote a short letter to
Alexander my son and
enclosed it in a letter for
Rezooki Metchich in
London to be sent on by
him to wherever he is &
dated them the 8th Instt
by the Damascus Post
to be sent by my wife
I kept copies of the letters,
The Mejidieh will drop
down tomorrow early
to alongside the wool
[pg: 180]
Press of Eassayi Brothers
just near the Nawabâ€™s
house at the Sheria of
Morrabbaa to ship 500
Bales of Liquorice root
of Yousif Korkis at 6 Â¾
G.S. Piast each~
Calm & sultry Weather,
Light N. Erly breeze and
sultry~ At 4 Â½ Am
I left & came down to
the wool Press of Eassayi
where the Mejidieh is
shipping the 500 Bales of
Liquorice root;;
[pg: 181]
| Passg | Okes | GS. Piast | Draft |
| 296 | 98,366 | 21,380,, | 3,,8 |
At 7am finished loading
500 Bales of Liquorice roots
We proceeded, S. Erly
breeze & warm weather,
At 8,,45 passes Diala
river;
At 10 passed Ctesiphon
I let off 4 carrier pigeons
of my nephew Johny from
Menari at 9,,50 & wrote
slips of paper & tyed them
on their wings;
At 10,,50 passed the SS.
Phrat & Barge going up at
Semrah reach~
Gave tickets to the Passengers
We have Altogether 276 Â½
(2 in 1st Class, Izzet Beg
the Mooddai Umoom
for Basreh, and
[pg: 182]
Jejo son of Moorad going
to Press Wool for Lynch
at Amara free, & 2 in
2nd Class Armenians;)
At 2,,45 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh~ Very warm
weather & light variable
breeze~
At 4 P.M. passed the
S.S. Khalifah bound up
at Sened~ Light N.W.
breeze; The Thermometer
was today 107 in my cabin
and at sunset it was still
at 104Ëš Very calm and
Sultry~
At 4,,30 passed Azizieh
Very calm & sultry warm;
At 9,,5 P.M. passed
Memlah;
I went up on the After
Deck to sleep for the first
time, as it is impossible to
sleep in the cabin, so hot
[pg: 183]
At 1,,30 AM arrived
at Coot, landed 26 Â½
passengers & 46 Packages,
[strikethrough]
[strikethrough]
shipped 49 Bales of Pressed
Wool for Basreh~
I received Henryâ€™s letter
& my papers; The Khalifah
had left Basreh on Thursday
afternoon, having 221,000
Okes & about 100 passengers,
At 4 Am we left Coot
Light N.W. & fine weather,
Took 4 Â½ passengers;
At 6,,25 passed the SS.
Ressafah & Barge bound
up~ Breeze shifted at
9 to a hot S. Erly and
very disagreable, thing
We have not seen in
this month~
[pg: 184]
At 10,,30 landed 4 Â½
Passengers at Ali Gherbi,
took 2 & went on at 10,,40,
It became very calm at
2 P.M. & very hot indeed
At 6,,5 P.M. Arrived
at Amara landed 35 Â½
passengers & 34 Packages
Light S. Erly breeze and
Very warm; No wool
Pressed here yet to be shipped
The heat is most fearful
a light dampy S. E. Air
& suffocating~
The Mutserrif of Amara
Ahmed Anwary Pasha
is dismissed & going up
with us~
At 7 we left Amara
Awfully warm & dampy,
with light S. Erly breeze
At 8,,10 We anchored
[pg: 185]
Above Aboo Sedrah~
Very warm in bed upstairs,
Light Erly breeze & warm
weather;
At 3,,45 Am we proceeded
At 5,,45 landed specie at
Kalat Saleh & went on,
Gave tickets to 13 Amara
passengers (one in 1st Class
the Bimbashi of the Senyeh
Omar Sherif Beg)
At 8,,50 passed Azair
it became Very Calm and
warm, a light N.W. but
is so warm & dampy;
At 11,,40 landed specie
at Gorna & went on at
11,,45~
At 1 P.M. breeze Shifted to
N.W. but it is so warm &
moisty; We feel it very
much;~
[pg: 186]
At 4 P.M. arrived at
Basreh; no steamers here
or in Quarantine;
Rufail came to me & I
went up with him to his
house, Tookyeh is there with
her 2 children & husband
Rezooki spending some
days; The Wind is blowing
a N.W. but it is not cool
or refreshing; this must
be the Bareh wind
just commenced as on
the 6th (today) the Constellation
Playades appears in
the morning on the East;
It became cooler & dryer
later on at night, but
the wind blew fresh
Light N.W., the wind
fell toward morning but
is cooler than before,
At 6 Â½ Am I came
[pg: 187]
on board, We are discharging
& loading. No news
of the mail Steamer ~
Wind got up at 10 blowing
fresh with dusty sky &
hot, thermr. at noon 103 in
My cabin; At 1 P.M. I
went over with Rezooki to
their house, had tea and
at 5 Â½ we all went to see
the Asfars, Yousif Marine
came also down from
Shaebyeh & at 7 we all
returned back, Tookyeh, her
husband, Rufail Rezook
Yousif Marine & myself we
dined together, the wind
fell & became light but
hot & disagreeable;
Very light westerly breeze
& warm, at 6 Â½ am I
came on board, we have
finished loading down
[pg: 188]
to 4.8 Inches. Very calm
& warm weather; It
became so moisty the air,
that I could not stay in
the cabin for a minute,
The air shifted to N.W. but
is loaded with moisture
& not at all cool ~
At 4 P.M. the mail
Str Assyria arrived to
the quarantine;
We sent our mail & got her
mails after 2 hours detention
of fumigation etc ~
The weather is most awfully
warm & calm, I am
nearly fainting from it,
we received the mails at
7 P.M; ~
The SS. Baghdad & Barge
left at 6 P.M. ;
Very warm & suffocating
[pg: 189]
| Passeng | Okes | G.S.P. Local | Draft |
| 174 | 234350 | 15451 Â½ | 4,,10 |
At 7,,20 P.M. we left
Basreh, very warm and
calm weather;
At 7,,50 we met the S.S.
Comet coming down with
Colonel Loch the British
Consul General on board
going down being transferred
to Nepaul in India
to our great regret as he
is very much liked by
all the Europeans in
Baghdad, we delivered to
him his letters & went
on at 7,,55; Breeze very
light from East; It
is very moisty on deck;
[pg: 190]
At 2,,30 am passed
Gorna; Very disagreeable
weather, dampy warm &
light variable breeze;
We passed the Baghdad &
Barge going up at 1 Â½ P.M.
below Gorna ~
At 7,,45 passed Azair,
A light N.W. breeze and
Cooler weather which made
the atmosphere dryer;
Finished with the Passengers
we have in all 93 ~ (5
in 1st Class, they are the
wife of Michail Raffi
his mother & his Sister
all 3 in 2 Cabins; Mr.
Bolanachi a young
Greek who was employed
at Nicoli Giacoli; and
Omar Sherif Beg the Bim-
Bashy of Sennyeh of
Amara returning with his
[pg: 191]
and 2 free in the 2nd Class
the Tally Clerk of Lynch
Brothers Jemil & his mother
free;)
At 1. P.M. landed 2 Passeng
at Kalat Saleh & went
on at 2,,5 ~ A light
N.W. breeze prevails ~
At 6,,40 P.M. arrived
at Amara landed 22 Â½
passengers (1 in 1st Class
Omar Sherif Beg) and
2 Bales cloth; Took 6
tons of Coal & some Cargo
also a mule of Abdulkadur
Khdery for 8 mejidees to
Baghdad ~
At 8,,20 left Amara
Light N.W. & fine weather
[pg: 192]
Light N.W. & fine weather,
Gave tickets to 52
Amara passengers, (one in
1st Class the Reis of the
Sennyeh Mahd. Rafik Beg)
also one mule of Abdulkadur
Khdery for 8 Mejidies,
At 9,,50 landed 5 passengers
at Ali Gherbi & went on
at 10; wind getting up fresh;
At 3,,50 P.M. passed the
S.S. Phrat & Barge going
down having troops on
board; just below Sheikh
Saad Village; ~
Light N.W. & fine cool night
At 11,,10 P.M. arrived at
Coot landed 23 passengers
Took 4 Tons of Coal; I
Slept in the cabin, the weather
being very cool although
the breeze is very light from
the N. West; I paid
money to Vartan for
[pg: 193]
the wool Press also to
Nacodas[?] of Coal Boats
At 0,,50 am left Coot
Very nice & cool weather,
Took 29 Passengers
from Coot;
At 8,,30 passed Memlah,
weather very calm;
At 3,,20 P.M. passed
the S.S. Khalifah going down
at Sherhan (below Humenyeh)
Michail Yaghchi was on
board going to sell his
liquorice which he is collecting
at Hilla from Menahem
Daniels property;
At 5 P.M. passed Azizieh
Light N.W. breeze & fine,
The river has fallen a good
deal & begun to get shoal in
many places, sand bank are
appearing ~
[pg: 194]
At 8,,45 P.M. passed Baghdadieh
Fort ~ Fine cool night ~
Light N.W. breeze & very cool
morning, I felt it quite cool
on the upper deck & the water
is as cold as ice ~
At 6,,15 AM. passed Ctesiphon,
It became calm ~
At 8,,40 passed Diala
river, Light N.W. & fine;
At 10 passed Gherrarah
without landing a man
with Lynchâ€™s letters, as it is
too hot for him the Captain
thinks;
At 0,,30 P.M. landed the
mails at the Residency &
went up to the Custum House,
The Ressafah is only here
leaving tomorrow, I went
home saw Eliza, there are
no news or letters at all
by last mail; Weather
had been warm here too,
[pg: 195]
Antone Marine called,
he has received a letter from
his son Gabriel by yesterdayâ€™s
Post from Aleppo he arrived
there on the 21 May, having
left Baghdad on the 27
April; ~
Very light N.W. & fine ~
Light N.W. but not so cool,
At 6 Â½ AM called on
Sister Medula & then
came on board, we are
discharging cargo ~
The SS. Ressafah left this
morning at 4 AM. The
Nakib of Basreh Seyd
Rujub Effendi & his suit
& family left in her,
At 11 went home; I took a
cold water bath; ~ at 4
P.M. I called on Catherina
Yaghchi & Louisa, my
[pg: 196]
niece, they have come in
from the Garden of Farhat,
I also called on Dr. Macri
& his wife & came home,
The Chaldean Patriarch
called on us today;
Johny & Artin called in
the evening;
The news reported here
from the Basreh Sanitary
Officer that Plague had
appeared at Bushire, I
had heard this at Basreh
last time but was not sure
how many were attaked,
but they say here that 8
deaths had taken place, &
the Persian Government
have now established a
quarantine in Bushire,
Light N.W. & fine weather
Light N.W. air & cool morning
at 7 AM I called on
Sister Eliza & then on
[pg: 197]
Menusha & came home
at 11 ~ At 4 P.M. Eliza
& I called on Antone Marine,
and in the evening called
on Sister Medula till 9
P.M.
I heard that Ibrahim
Gejou arrived this afternoon
from Paris coming via
Beyrout, Damascus &
Deir, he had left Paris
about 45 days ago, the
Armenian son of Thadeus
Awannes who had gone
to Paris to study the
fisique also came with
him as a doctor now
Light N.W. & fine cool
weather; ~
Light N.W. & fine cool
weather ~ at 7 am I
called on Antone Marine
[pg: 198]
& then went to call on
Ibrahim Gejou at his fathers
house but did not find
him at home, I sat with
his mother & the two sisters
Sarah & Looloo; at 8 Â½
I came on board; we
are shipping cargo;
I wrote a long letter to Alexander
at Chicago & enclosed it
in a letter to Rezooki Metchich
in London asking him
to be sent on to him I kept
copies of them, & sent the
letter with todays Damascus
Post;
Went home at 10,
found Mina Aboud &
Terrooza wife of Antone
Marine & her daughter
Rosa came to visit us,
At 12 Â¼ am the SS.
Baghdad arrived with
her Barge~ At 2 P.M.
[pg: 199]
I came on board; We
shipped cargo; about 600
Bales of wool, and some
other cargo through and
local ~ at 5 Â½ P.M. went
home ~
Modte N.W. & fine cool
weather; very pleasant;
Light N.W. & very fine
cool weather, we are
covering ourselves with
the Lahaf (a thick quilt) ;
I have got a carpenter to
make some reparation
in the house ~
At 7 AM I came on board
and went home at 8;
Artin my Nephew came to
me & I went with him
to call on Doctor Kazassyan
whose only daughter
Serpohy he has been
engaged to, about a
[pg: 200]
month ago, I saw her
& her Mother, they are
Armenians from Constple
they have come here about
four years ago, the father
is a Doctor in the Turkish
Army, I found the girl (1)
intelligent, jolly, but not
so handsome she is about
18 years old; speaks
French, Armenian, Turkish
& Arabic, she learnt french
here at the French nuns
school; & plays Piano;
We then called on Hanosh
Kroomy of Basreh and
his wife are living here
they have given up Basreh
since last year ~
I called on Eliza & Adoola
my cousins & coming
home I met Ibrahim
Gejou in the Street,
[pg: 201]
I reproached him for not
coming to see us before
anybody else, he promised
to come after breakfast,
at 2 P.M. he came and
We had a long talk with
him about Alexander
my son; he assures me
that he has not gone
to America & that he is
still in London, & he is
only humbugging us,
all his letters to us he says
were not true what he
wrote, he never was ill
or had sore eyes & never
went to Belfort and
returned on account of
his eyes; the Girl had
gone with him to Vienna
& soon as he obtained
from me the 90 Â£Stg
[pg: 202]
he left Vienna & came
to Paris & spent it very
lavishly paying about
30 frcs a day for Carriage
hire etc etc ~
At 5 P.M. I went to the
Office to see Mr. Bottomley
for some business & thence
went to Sister Eliza where
my wife came also &
we returned home at 8 Â½
Light N.W. & fine cool
night;
Light N.W. & fine weather
Cool night it was ~
At 7 am I came on
board ~ We shipped little
cargo; ~ The river is falling
every day, Ibrahim Gejou
came on board he wants to
leave this in a month
taking his Sister with him
Sarah(1) to Paris; ~
At 11 Â½ I went home
[pg: 203]
to breakfast;
Bedry Beg, who is with
the German Mission at
Babylon where they are
excavating, Called on me
with AbdulKerim Toma
he came here for a few
days & will return after
a week or so;
At 2 P.M. I came on board
At 5 Â½ we finished work
I went home; Artin my
Nephew called in the evening
Weather is calm and
not so pleasant & cool,
& it appears as if the air
is from the S. Est; ~
At 3 AM I was up
Weather seems to be getting
changed; there are few
clouds hanging on
& the air is very light
[pg: 204]
S. Erly
At 3 Â½ I came on board
| Passg | Okes | G.S.P. | Draft |
| 111 Â½ | 131,274,, | 16,099 Â½ | [N/A?] |
At 4 AM we proceeded
a light S. Erly breeze with
some clouds from the N.
& N.W. & very curious &
sudden change in this
time of the month ~ Clouds
disappeared soon after sun
rise ~
At 6 passed the S.S.
Comet going up just at
Diala river; Major
Melville on board of her
going to take charge of
the Consulate General
in place of Colonel
Loch who left Baghdad
in the Comet on the 6th
Instt, being transferred
[pg: 205]
to Nepaul in Central
India; Major Melville
did not stay to make his
quarantine in Basreh
but obtained order to be
allowed to make it on
the way up & so she has
left Basreh on Sunday
last with a quarantine
guard so as not to touch
anywhere & having the
quarantine Yellow flag
hoisted on the mast head,
At 7,,20 passed Ctesiphon,
Finished with the passengers
tickets, we have 92 Â½
(one in 1st class, Mr. Ludvi
Meyer, the German who is
attached to the Mission
now excavating in
Babylon, he is going to
Berlin; & one in 2nd
Class, Pere Emmanuel
[pg: 206]
of the Carmelite fathers,
going to Bushire on account
of the Plague having broken
out there, & the Christians
are in want of a priest, he
is messing in his Cabin)
At 0,,30 P.M. passed
Baghdadieh; the S. Erly
breeze increased moderately
but not so hot;
At 2,,30 P.M. passed
Azizieh; wind fell & Shifted
to a light westerly, it was
warm during the day;
At 7,,20 passed Memlah
Westerly breeze & fine &
I slept in my Cabin, but it is
rather warm;
At 9,,40 P.M. passed
the S.S. Khalifah and
towing a Barge up, as
the Lynchs in England
have obtained the permission
for us to tow Barges
[pg: 207]
in future & the Turkish
Governt at Constantinople
informed the Authorities in
Basreh & Baghdad that
we can do so, but for
the present there are no
cargo in Basreh being
accumulated, & the
Barge towed by the Khalifah
was empty;
At 12 P.M. arrived at
Coot landed 23 Passengers
& 41 packages and Shipped
143 Bales of wool from
Lynchâ€™s Press for Asfarâ€™s
Steamers; I received Henryâ€™s
letter & my papers dated
from London & Paris up
to the 19th Ulto; The Khalifah
had 194,770 Okes of Cargo
& about 250 passengers
[pg: 208]
mostly Pilgrims returning
from Mecca; The news
of the Plague in Bushire
is not confirmed yet in
Basreh some say there were
3 or 4 cases, others say that
it was imported the Pilgrims
returning from Jedda in
the Persian Str. Haidery
about 500 were landed
there but there is a Strict
quarantine at Bushire;
Light n.w. & fine weather
At 5 am left Coot,
took 9 passengers;
At 11,,55 landed one
passenger at Ali Gherbi
took two & went on at 12
Modte n.w. & fine weather
At 7,35 P.m. arrived
at Amara landed 31 1/2
passengers and 46 Packg,
Shipped 112 Bales of wool,
from Lynch's Press ~
[pg: 209]
At 9,,30 left Amara
Light n.w. & fine cool night
At 10,,35 anchored above
Aboo Sedra ~
Light n.w. & fine cool
morning ~ At 4 am
proceeded, Took 4 Passengers
from Amara;
At 9,,5 passed Azair
Modte n.w. breeze & fine;
At 0,,5 P.m. passed Gorna
At 4 P.m. met the Ressafah
& Barge going up on near
Asfar's house ~
At 4,10 arrived at
Basreh, no Steamers
here at all except the
Phrat; no accurate news
could be obtained regarding
the Plague in Bushire
some say 8 cases took place
in all others say it is
[pg: 210]
working, others say it is not
the Plague but other sickness,
we shall hear from the
mail Str due day after
tomorrow; Rezooki Sayegh
Michail Yaghchi who came
here in the Khalifah to sell
his Liquorice to Hotz, also
Rezooki Angoorly came on
board; at 6 I went with
Rezooki Sayegh to their
house, Tookyeh is still there
& Rufail has sore eye since
8 days caused by a cold he
took on top of the house;
I dined & slept there ~
Fine n.w. wind & pleasant
night, I slept in the Veranda,
Modte n.w. & fine weather
The S.S. Shahristan for
Asfar arrived this morning,
At 7 am I came on
board, we are discharging
& loading cargo;
[pg: 211]
there is only one Steamer's
cargo left here the Simlaâ€™s
of last week;
At 11 I hired Bellem for
one Keran & went in to Basreh
called on Angoorlies & then
on Nessoory Andrea and
on Ali Beg the Mudir of
Tapo & to the shop of Rezooki
& returned to Tookyeh had
tea & then we left at
4 P.m. & came out with
Tookyeh, Rezooki her husband
& Medool sister of Yousif
John they landed at
Mackenzies wharf to
visit Toomas Wahayeb's
family & I came on
board; at 5 1/2 I went
to fetch them & we
went up I landed at
Asfar's; saw Jeboory &
his wife also PÃ¨re Emmanuel
[pg: 212]
staying there, he is going down
to Bushire by the next mail
leaving on Saturday; I
spoke with Jeboory regarding
my money 1000 TLiras he has
on interest @ 7 % will be due
on the 9 of July, he is going to
keep it for an other year;
his wife & children are going
up in the Khalifah next
trip; at 7 I & Rezooki Sayegh
went to Rufails where I
dined & slept; a fresh n.w.
blew at night & fine cool;
Light n.w. & fine cool
morning; at 6 1/2 am. I
came on board ~ There
is no news of the mails
I wrote a long letter to
Blockey in London &
posted it here via Bombay
I told him of Alexander is
supposed to be still in London
& to look out for him;
We are loaded & finished
[pg: 213]
all the cargo that was
here~ We got the Barge
up from the Quarantine
from alongside the Shahristan
with her cargo part of it
and Shipped it ~ The mail
Steamer Pemba passed
Fao at 9 am ~
There is plenty of wind
but it is not refreshing,
the weather is dusty &
the atmosphere is heavy
close & dampy like
yesterday, but it cools
down toward sunset &
the night gets cool;
At 5 1/4 P.m. the S.S. Pemba
arrived in quarantine;
Lots of people came on
some to see the Mektoobchi
(secretary of Hamdi Pasha
Waly of Basreh) going up
to act as Motserrif at
[pg: 214]
Amara called Assim Beg,
Ali Beg SaÈ‹b my friend
called on me also Michail
Yaghchi, Rezooki Sayegh
& Rezooki & Toni Angoorly
& others; wind fell &
became warm & very
disagreeable weather;
We received the mails
at 7 1/2 ~
| Passger | Okes | G.S.P. Local | Draft |
| 165 | 209,450 | 12270 1/4 | 4,,8, |
At 8,,5 P.m. we got under-
weigh & proceeded, there is
a light n.w. breeze but the
ship is awfully hot, I
cannot stop in my cabin
for a minute; Thermr. is 98Â°
The Steamer is loaded down
to 4,,8 Inshes ~ A fresh
breeze blowing during the
night ;
Modte N.W. & fine
at 3,,50 am passed
[pg: 215]
Gorna, Finished with the
Passengers tickets;
We have in all 54 1/2
(2 in 1st Class, the Mektoobchi
of the Waly Hamdi Pasha,
Assim Beg, who had come
down with us about three
months ago in Company
with Ahmed Pasha Zheir,
going to Amara to act
as Motserrif; and Jemil
Beg Kaima Kam of Hai
going to Coot) ~
At 8,,25 passed Azair
wind freshning up;
Detained at Nafikh in
shoal water about 1/2 hour
At 2,,35 P.m. landed 7
passengers at Kalat Saleh
& took one & went on at
2,,40 ~ Modte N.W.
wind & fine cool weather
[pg: 216]
At 8 P.M. arrived at
Amara landed 11 1/2 Passengers
(one in 1st Class Assim Beg
the Mektoobchi) and 294
Bund of Hoop Iron for
Lynch's wool Press;
The S.S. Baghdad is here
bound down ~ We took
8 Tons of Coal; ~
At 10,,15 left Amara
fresh n.w. wind blowing;
I slept in the Cabin; The
mosquitoes troubled me very
much & could not Sleep;
Modte N.W. & fine weather
Gave tickets to 58 Amara
passengers (3 in 2d Class
Selim Dowd Birjony
his mother & Sister) ;
Wind getting very hot, it is
the Saam I believe ~
At 10,,30 am landed 5
passengers at Ali Gherbi
took 2 & went on at 10,,40
[pg: 217]
At 3,,30 P.m. landed 5
passengers at Sheikh Saad
& went on ; Hot wind
& Therm went up to 108 Â° ~
At 6,,10 passed the Ressafah
& Barge going up, both very
much loaded & going very
slow; ~
At 10 P.m. arrived at
Coot landed 16 passengers
(one in 1st Class Jemil Beg)
Took 2 Tons of Coal, and
landed some date branches
(900 Okes, 5000 sticks) for
Lynch's Press free of freight;
At 12 we left Coot,
Very light N.W. I could not
sleep from the noise on deck
& the Arabs coming to see
Yousif Hyeem the Jew whom
Capt Cowley has placed
near us on the after deck
[pg: 218]
Light n.w. & fine weather
Gave tickets to 44 Coot
passengers; ~
At 7 am picked 5 1/2 Passeng
from Bughela from a Goffa
At 7,,40 passed Memlah
Detained at the bottom of
Um Sneyem from 11,,15 till
12 am in Shoal water;
Hot wind blowing; River
Keeps falling fast;
At 4,,45 P.m. passed
Azizieh village;
At 5,,5 passed the S.S.
Khalifah going down at
Raddat with an empty
Barge in tow ~ Strong
hot wind;
At 8 P.m. passed Baghdadieh
Very Calm weather, but it
has cooled down;
We touched at Dowar & went
on ~
[pg: 219]
Moderate N.W. Wind and
fine weather ~
At 6. Am. passed Ctesiphon,
We took about 1/2 hour
this morning in Shoal water
at Bostan going from one
side to the other;
Wind getting fresh ;
At 8,40 passed Diala
river ~
At 10,,5 landed a Deckman
with letters at Gherrarah &
went on at 10,,10;
At 0,,45 P.m. landed the
mails at the Residency I
went up to the Custum House
no steamers are here, The
Police officers are treating the
passengers with much Severity
with regard to Passports,
they wont let any Goffa
approach the ship until
the passengers are examined
and make out as much
[pg: 220]
as they can from them taking
from one Keran & upward
& letting them off ~ I
went home saw Eliza,
she is well, I found two
letters for me from Blanche
widow of brother Alexander
from Constple & from
Alois Schweiger Vienna,
no news from Alexander,
Ibrahim Gejou called
on us, he is buying Antiques
& sending to Paris for sale!
Antone Marine & PÃ¨re
PiÃ¨rre called in the evening
Light n.w. & fine weather
Light n.w. air & fine,
at 7 am called on Sister
Medula, Artin my
Nephew called there, his
business with at that
bitch of Tilkefly Servant
Zeky is not finished yet,
he is to be tryed on Thursday
again, & judgement will
[pg: 221]
then be given, his case has
caused great talk and
scandal in town & especially
among the Christians who
are all against him as
it is generally the case with
such brutes & only seek to
break one another's neck;
I came on board, we
are discharging Cargo;
At 10 went home ~ I
called on Sister Eliza at
4 P.m. ~
Light n.w. & fine cool
weather ~ Catherina Yaghchi
with her son Yousif & his
wife Louisa (my niece)
called on us & spent the evening
also Johnny my Nephew
they went away at 9 P.m.
Light n.w. & fine cool
weather ~ at 7 am my
wife & I called on Antone
Marine & then on Mina
Abood, came home at
[pg: 222]
11 am. ~ I took a cold bath,
Eliza & Adoola my cousins
called on us ~ I went to
Sister Medula at 5 ~ at
6 1/2 Eliza & I called on the
Yaghchies on top of their
house & spent the evening
till 9 1/2 & came home,
The S.S. Ressafah & Barge
arrived at 7 1/2 P.m.;
Light n.w. & fine ~
Light n.w. & fine, but not
so cool; at 7 am I
called on Menusha
& saw there Sister Emilia
It being the holiday of
St. Peter & Paul, & so it is
that of brother Henry being
here the day before, Viz
28 June 1847; I came
on board at 8 1/2 we are
shipping cargo; at 11
I went to Lynch's Office
& got 70 Â£ from Mr. Bottomley
[pg: 223]
for Officers wages etc,
went home had breakfast
at 2 1/2 P.m. I came
on board ~
I wrote two letters to
Edward Blockey London,
& to Alois Schweiger
Vienna by today's Damascus
Post;
At 6 P.m. went home ~
Dr. Kazassian with Artin
my Nephew called on us;
Light N.W. & fine weather
Light N.W. & fine ~ At
6 1/2 am I came on board
& paid the Shipâ€™s crew
their wages for this month;
Finsihed at 9, went on
shore I called on the
Eassayies, to see the son
of Nessoory Toma Khayat
called on Behjet who was
at school in Beyrout
[pg: 224]
where we saw him studying
medicines in May 1897,
he arrived here about a month
ago via Aleppo, for a Change
of climate as he is Consumptive
I also called on Shekoory,
Risha Andrea; came
home at 11; at 3 P.m. called
on Ibrahim Elias Gejou,
he is buying Antiques of
all Kinds to sell in Paris;
he will leave in about 2
months hence; I also
called on Sister Eliza, she
is in a Great way about
Artin's Affair, as tomorrow
there is going to be a tryal
& judgement given and
that bitch of Telkefli servant
Zekky would not give up
the claim she wont take
money but a large sum
she wants; as Abduljebbar
wanted to give her,
[pg: 225]
Anton Marine called in the
evening ~ Light N.W. &
fine cool weather;
Light N.W. & fine cool
morning ~ At 7 am. I
called on Sister Medula
& then came on board;
The Ressafah is inside
discharging;
At 11 went home to breakfast,
returned at 2 P.M. ~
Artin my nephew called
on board, he had been to the
Serai & his case tryed by
the Reys el Jeza & his two
members Abdulla Effendi
Farhat & Rashid Effendi
also the Moawen was
present & Abduljebbar
Artin's Lawyer; After
deliberation the Reys &
his two members they
acquitted Artin
[pg: 226]
& gave judgement in his
favor; ~
At 6 P.M. I went home,
I found Antone Marine, he
brought me an illustrated Paper
"The Sketch" where there is again
his photo, which was taken
by Coll Mockler & Alexander
my son had printed them,
also there is a bird eye view
of the town of Baghdad but
very badly taken; & it
speaks about Baghdad etc
I am sure that it is Alexander
who is giving these views &
report, to the editor of this
Paper & the latter is giving
him some thing in return ;
Light N.W. & fine
weather;
Modte N.W. wind, at
3 am. I came on board,
wind blowing fresh all
the night;
[pg: 227]
| Passeg | Okes | G.S. Piast | Draft |
| 121 1/2 | 101,378 | 15833 | [N/A] |
At 4,,15 Am. we got
underway & proceeded,
Ship is drawing 3,,5,
Modte N.W. breeze & nice
& Cool weather ~
At 6,,15 passed Diala,
At 7,,45 passed Ctesiphon,
Finished with the Passengers
tickets we have in all 92 1/2
(2 in 1st Class Naoomy
Loca and Abkar the son of
Artin Apikyan about 21
years old going to Basreh
to Jeboory Asfar to settle about
the Liquorice root which they
have been buying for him,
and one in 2d Class Yousif
son of Hannosh Tessy going
to Coot to buy wool)
[pg: 228]
At 1,,10 P.m. passed
Baghdadieh Fort;
At 1,,20 passed the S S.
Khalifah going up; I saw
Sedi wife of Jeboory Asfar
& her two children, also
Terooza wife of Nessoory
Andrea & children going
up to pass the summer in
Baghdad;~
At 3,,10 P.m. passed
Azizieh village~
Light N.W. & fine weather;
At 8,,30 P.m. passed the
S.S. Baghdad & Barge going
up at Memlah;~
At 8,,50 we anchored for
the night at Hamrayah;
Light N.W. & fine weather
At 4 am. we proceeded
The river is getting low, but
we are light;
At 8,,20 arrived at Coot
landed 23 Â½ Passengers
[pg: 229]
(one 2d C. Yousif Hannosh
Tessy) and 108 Packages,
I received Henryâ€™s letter
& Papers;~ we shipped 200
Cases of Ghee of Shekoory
anchored Andrea through for Port
Said @ 4 Â½ Paras per Oke
to Basreh; and at 11 we dropped
down to the Wool Press &
shipped 128 Bales of Wool
through for the S S. Goolestan
of G. Asfar & Co;
At 0,,35 P.M. left Coot
took 7 Passengers~
The Khalifah had 176,000
Okes & about 100 Passengers
the wife of Jeboory Asfar
& his two children & 4
servants & Medoola Sister
of Yousif John, also Terooza
wife of Nassoory Andrea
& her 4 children & a servant
all free; Only Medoola
[pg: 230]
paying deck passage;
At 7,,55 P.M. landed
3 passengers at Ali Gherbi
& took 9 & went on at
8,,10; Strong hot wind,
It blew very hot wind
today;~
I slept in the cabin, there is a fresh
breeze blowing & not so warm
Light N.W. & fine cool
morning, at 4,,20 am.
arrived at Amara,
landed 31 passengers and
46 Packages; there is no
wool pressed by Lynchâ€™s
Press this time;
At 5,,45 left Amara
took 13 Passengers; (one
in 1st Class Abdul Mohsen
Beg son of Kassim Pasha Zheir)
At 9,30 stopped at
Nafikh near Abdulla ibn
Ali the place is getting
[pg: 231]
Shoal 2 Â½ draaz, we
sent the Pilot to sound
At 11 proceeded easy;
At 1,,20 P.m. passed Azair
Light N.W. wind but misty
At 4,,20 landed a passenger
at Gorna booked for Basreh
& went on; weather
hazy, moisty & disagreeable,
At 6 we met the Barge
which the Khalifah in
towing her down this trip
had casted her off at
Nafikh to go down herself
& they were only able
to get down as far, being
empty & only 4 men in
her, we anchored & took
her in tow down to
Basreh, at 6,,35 proceeded
from Deir;~
At 9,,50 P.m. arrived
at Basreh ~ No steamers
[pg: 232]
are here; wind got up &
blew fresh during the night
Very light N.W. breeze
& fine, but little hazy;
We discharged & landed,
The S.S. Shahristan for
Asfar & Co is up here~
At 10 Rufail came to me
& then at 11 we went up to
his house, saw Tukkyeh
his sister there, she has
given up her idea of going
to Baghdad, she says the
hot weather is nearly half
over & it not worth going
now etc, etc,
At 2 P.M. the S.S. Phrat
left for Baghdad with the
Barge she has been here
about one month undergoing
repair;~
At 4 Rufail, Rezooki,
& Myself went up to Jeboory
Asfar; I spoke to him
[pg: 233]
about my money with him
1000 Liras it will be up
in the 9th Instant, and
he is going to renew the
bond for an other year
as usual @ 7% Interest;
he told me to send him
the old bond tomorrow
& he will send me the
Interest & the new bond
Naoom Loca & Abkar
Apikyan & Jemil son of
Elias Serkis etc are living
with him they all came
to settle & deliver their
Liquorice to him;
We left at 7 & went to
Rufails place & dined &
slept there, on the top of
the house, no breeze &
calm but not so warm
& disagreable;
[pg: 234]
Light breeze or Calm
weather & warm, it
appears as if the Bareh
wind is dying away;
At 7 Am I came on
board; the mail Str.
Kilwa arrived last night
at about [strikeout] P.m.
at the Quarantine;
I sent my servant Hamadi to
G. Asfar who brought me the
70 TLiras also Â½ Lira for the
stamps & the bond renewed
for an other year beginning
from 1st Rabi Awal or
9 July this month;
At 11 Â½ the S. Shahristan
for Asfar & Co left, Ahmed
Pasha son of Kassim Zheir
& the Aide de Camp who
accompanied him left
in her for Constantinople
after his 3 months
leave allowed him
[pg: 235]
by the Turkish Government,
he had come down with
us on the 21 April;
At about 1 P.M. the weather
became very warm & calm
& a light breeze shifted to
the S. East, it then became
unbearable, the Ship was
burning hot, Lots of
people came on board
friends & others, it became
so suffocating & warm
the perspiration was so
much that I was wet
all through; what a change
of weather, it like a warm
bath;~ we received the
mails at 4 P.M;
[pg: 236]
| Passg | Okes | G.S.P. Local | Draft |
| 159 Â½ | 193,309 | 20483 Â½ | 4,,5 |
At 5,,15 P.M. we got
underway & proceeded,
it became worse, the
heat, light S. Est. and
Calm, impossible to
stop in the Cabin; It
was impossible to sleep in bed
from the suffocation, we
have 4 1st Class passengers
also sleeping up with us;
At 11,,50 landed 2 passengers
at Gorna & went on at 11,55
Weather still very calm
& the direction of the breeze
is N. Est & Est~
Very light S. Erly breeze &
warm~ At 4,,10 am
passed Azair; disgusting
weather swetting awfully,
Today being the birth
day of my son Alexander
born in 1878, he has
[pg: 237]
now finished his 21st year
& entered in his majority
he is still at large and
we do not know where
he is but most likely is
still in London, his foolish
behaviour toward us causes
great grief & sorrow,
& we do not know when
he is going to come to
his senses & return to
his father & mother;
I finished with the passengers
tickets we have in all 75 Â½
(4 in 1st Class 2 young
Europeans one is called
Herbert Nathan a Jew
English merchant & coming
to try his luck in Baghdad
for a year, he belongs to
the house of Mr. Rickie
who was here last year
[pg: 238]
for a few months;~
The other one is a french
man belonging to the Persian
Imperial Bank coming
from Bushire & going
to Tabriz, the 2 others
are Turks the Moodai el
Umum, Izzet Effendi who
went down with us in
the [strikeout] beginning of last month,
& the other is the accountant
of the Public Debts called
Hussein Ferid & is
Messing with us)
At 8,,50 am we came
to the Shoal at Nafikh
only 3 draaz water, The
S.S. Phrat & Barge are here
she damaged her rudder
in backing & she is now
repairing it, ahead of
us. We took anchors
ahead & kept heaving over
close along the Eastern
bank; very warm
[pg: 239]
sultry & light S. Erly breeze
At 12 am the S.S. Ressafah
came down & anchored
up above & sent to sound;
We kept heaving over
Breeze shifted to westward,
At 2 P.M. we hove over
& proceeded passing the
Phrat & Ressafah both
at anchor;
At 2,,55 P.M. passed Kalat
Saleh; westerly breeze but
very hot & sultry;~
At 7,,35 P.M. arrived
at Amara landed 10
passengers, & 9 packages
& Date branches for Lynchâ€™s
Wool Press; Light S. Erly
& warm weather;
We took no Coal, & shipped
7 Bales; they have had it
very warm here too~
At 8,,50 left Amara
[pg: 240]
Light S. Erly breeze &
very hot;~
At 9,,30 a Native Boat
laden with grain sailing
down to our Port Sides,
run us down striking the