of Nature-metalled ground. The first important feature is the
Wady Surrah, which falls into the Wady el-Wijh a little above the
harbour-pier: its proper and direct mouth, El-Ga'h (Ka'h), or
"the Hall," runs along-shore into the Mellahah. It drains the
Hamiratayn, or "Two Reds;" the Hamirat Surrah in the Rugham or
Secondary formation, and the granitic mass Hamirat el-Nabwah,
where the plutonic outbreaks begin. Amongst the number of
important formations are:--the Wady el-Miyah, which has a large
salt-well near the sea, and down whose upper bed we shall travel
after leaving Umm el-Karayat; the Wady el-Kurr, whose
acquaintance we shall make in the eastern region; and the Wady
el-'Argah ('Arjah). The latter is the most interesting. Near its
head we shall find knots of ruins, and the quartz-reef
Aba'l-Maru; while lower down the bed, on the north-east side of a
hill facing the valley, Lieutenant Yusuf came upon a rock
scrawled over with religious formula, Tawakkaltu 'al' Allah ("I
rely upon Allah"), and so forth, all in a comparatively modern
Arabic character. The inscriptions lie to the left of the shore
road, and to the right of the pilgrim-highway; thus showing that
miners, not passing travellers, have here left their mark.

After riding five hours and forty minutes (= seventeen miles) the
party reached the base of the third sulphur-hill discovered by
the Expedition on the coast of Midian. Also known as the Tuwayyil
el-Kibrit, the "Little-long (Ridge) of Brimstone," it appears
from afar a reddish pyramid rising about two miles inland of an
inlet, which is said to be safe navigation. Thus far it resembles
the Jibbah find: on the other hand, it is not plutonic, but
chalky like those of Makna and Sinai, the crystals being
similarly diffused throughout the matrix. In the adjoining hills