III
13. The Baluchis
90. The Baluchis resident in the southeastern part ofal-Dhahirah have been there so long and have so thoroughlyadopted the indigenous ways of life that it is virtuallyimpossible to distinguish them from the neighboring Arabs.They themselves say that they are of Arab stock, theirancestors being men who left Arabia for Baluchistancenturies ago. Many of the Arabs of al-Dhahirah agreethat these Baluchis are to be reckoned as Arabs.
91. The Baluchis own a part of the town of al-Araqiin Wadi al-Kabir and three towns lying roughly northwestof 'Ibri: al-Mazim, al-Subaikhi, and Masharib. Althoughal-Mazim is regarded as the principal town of this Baluchiterritory, the paramount chief, Rashid ibn Sa'id of AlIsma‘il, lived in al-'Araqi until he was forced to flee fromthere when troops of the Sultan of Muscat commandedby British officers took over the town in connection withthe operations described in Chapter IV, paragraphs 375,376, infra. Rashid's oldest son, Saʻid, serves as his father'sdeputy in all the Baluchi settlements of al-Dhahirah. Hisdeclaration of allegiance forms Annex 136 of this Memorial.Chapter IV of this Memorial provides much historicalevidence demonstrating the old loyalty of these Baluchisto the House of Saʻud and the way in which they playedan important part in the Saudi administration of the Buraimiregion.
