T. E. Lawrence to D. G. Hogarth

14, Barton Street

7.6.22.

You know Carruthers' address. He was very honourable about Doughty, and has edited Shakespear honourably. Do you think he'd like the enclosed? Your copy of the whole will come later, but this lot covers the scrap of traverse which I once worked out and sent him. If he doesn't want it I'd like it back. I'm conscious of a horrible word about geographers in the middle of it: but perhaps he'll excuse it. There's been a bad habit lately among Arabians (Butler and Aylmer, Leachman, Shakespear, Philby) of dehumanising their journeys. This I'm in revolt against, though I'm afraid my own treks are rather barren of life: however I had the excuse of a main preoccupation with the war. In peace time a leisurely person could pick up a mass of good stuff.

These chapters run from Wejh to Nebk in Wadi Sirhan. My translation is rather individual. I try to keep some of the phonetic variety one meets.

If C. is interested I've got a mass of photographs of the section covered. They are all bad for we had to carry them for 3 months before they could be developed: and the heat blistered them all.

Tell him that of course I don't want this stuff circulated. I have no intention of publishing any part of it: but it may interest him. I don't think that there's much more than this and the compass readings in my notes. And here's a list (N. to S.) of the water supplies I noted in Sirhan. It has only an academic interest. By the way Philby proposes (at Jauf) to go across to Bagdad! He's done all Sirhan from Azrak southwards now, and is establishing landing grounds and car tracks. Soon everybody will be running down for weekends - like Biskra.

T.E.L.

[37 Arabic names of water holes omitted]

Notes:
Douglas Carruthers.
Captain Shakespear.