grand total of 252 to 281 2/3 in direct statute miles. The number
of camels engaged from Shaykhs 'Alayan and Hasan was sixty-one;
and the hire, according to Mr. Clarke, represented L147 6s. 6d.,
not including the L40 of which we were plundered by the bandit
Ma'azah. The ascent of the Sharr also cost L40, making a grand
total of L187 6s. 6d.

The march to the Hisma gave us a fair idea of the three main
formations of Madyan, which lie parallel and east of one
another:--1. The sandy and stony maritime region, the foot-hills
of the Ghats, granites and traps with large veins and outcrops of
quartz; and Wadys lined with thick beds of conglomerate. 2. The
Jibal el-Tihamah, the majestic range that bounds the seaboard
inland, with its broad valleys and narrow gorges forming the only
roads. 3. The Jibal el-Shafah, or interior ridge, the "lip" of
North-Western Arabia; in fact, the boundary-wall of the Nejd
plateau.

The main object of this travel was to ascertain the depth from
west to east of the quartz-formations, which had been worked by
the Ancients. I had also hoped to find a virgin region lying
beyond El-Harrah, the volcanic tract subtending the east of the
Hisma, or plateau of New Red Sandstone. We ascertained, by
inquiry, that the former has an extent wholly unsuspected by Dr.
Wallin and by the first Expedition; and that a careful
examination of it is highly desirable. But we were stopped upon
the very threshold of the Hisma by the Ma'azah, a tribe of
brigands which must be subjected to discipline before the
province of Madyan can be restored to its former status.