of the principal building, nearly in the centre of the town, and were
met by the Pirate Chieftain attended by fifty armed men. I offered him
the Mahometan salutation of peace, which he returned without hesitation.

The chief, Hassan ben Rahma, whom we had seen, was a small man,
apparently about forty years of age, with an expression of cunning in
his looks, and something particularly sarcastic in his smile. He was
dressed in the usual Arab garments, with a cashmeer shawl, turban, and a
scarlet benish, of the Persian form, to distinguish him from his
followers. There were habited in the plainest garments. One of his eyes
had been wounded, but his other features were good, his teeth
beautifully white and regular, and his complexion very dark.

The town of Ras-el-Khyma stands on a narrow tongue of sandy land,
pointing to the northeastward, presenting its northwest edge to the open
sea, and its southeast one to a creek, which runs up within it to the
southwestward, and affords a safe harbor for boats. There appeared to be
no continued wall of defence around it, though round towers and portions
of walls were seen in several parts, probably once connected in line,
but not yet repaired since their destruction. The strongest points of
defence appear to be in a fortress at the northeast angle, and a double
round tower, near the centre of the town; in each of which, guns are
mounted; but all the other towers appear to afford only shelter for
musketeers. The rest of the town is composed of ordinary buildings of
unhewn stone, and huts of rushes and long grass, with narrow avenues
winding between them. The present number of inhabitants may be computed
at ten thousand at least. They are thought to have at present (1816),
sixty large boats out from their own port, manned with crews of from
eighty, to three hundred men each, and forty other boats that belong to
other ports. Their force concentrated, would probably amount to at