UNKNOWN ARABIA

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1076, 13 September 1930, Page 30

UNKNOWN ARABIA

VENTURE INTO SAND DUNES A remarkable accomplishment was ! described by Sir Arnold Wilson at a i meeting of the Royal Geographical i Society. It was the penetration last January by Captain B. S. Thomas into the centre of "Ruba al Khali” as the great uncrossed desert in Southern Arabia is called. No white man before Captain Thomas has done more thau look upon the fringe of Ruba al Khali, and by the Arabs themselves it is always spoken of with dread and often regarded as jinn-infested. Captain Thomas, who is financial adviser to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and is as a consequence of having lived for some sis years in one of the hottest parts of the world well equipped physically for the exploration of deserts, started at the beginning of this year on the project upon which he has set his heart. He began at the southern coast by Dhufar, and travelled with an escort of some thirty Arabs northwards up through the famous frankincense country of ancient Arabia and up beyond the Qara Mountains. Having reached the sandy steppe he naturally found waterholcs extremely scarce. But the factor that finally made him relinquish his origiual plan of conquering the great desert was that the mountain-bred camels on which his party travelled were utterly useless in the loose, billowing sand dunes of the inner desert. It was a dramatic moment when Captain Thomas reached the northernmost point of his journey—20th degree latitude—and knew that he had to turn back or perish. To the north and west of him was an ocean of red sand dunes, shaped by the winds with exquisite precision. Some of these tiers of sand were so steep-sloped that he had to dismount and help the camel down. The discoveries made by Captain Thomas were rather scientific than sensational. First of all, of course, were his geographical discoveries. He has made it possible to fill in a considerable section of the map hitherto j blank. He further collected many | mammals, birds, insects, and reptiles, some geological specimens, and a skull found in a rock tomb. He has also drawn up a list invaluable to possible future explorers. It. would appear that this young Arabist still dreams of actually conquering the Ruba al Khali. His passion for exploring is insatiable. Two years ago he performed a remarkable journey along the south-eastern border-lands of Ruba al Khali during which he made the discovery, which set storms raging in circles of Arabists, of (as he maintains) non-Arab tribes which have dwelt for hundreds of years in Arabia. The 35 days’ journey described exceeded the previous one of 1928 in endurance and discomfort, but one is forced to wonder whether the actual crossing of the great desert could carry adequate rewards in the shape of additions to scientific knowledge.