Seven Pillars of Wisdom · Chapter
LXXII explained
Lawrence scouts with Awad, a Sherari camel-boy, around Aba el Lissan to observe Turkish inactivity.
What happens
Lawrence scouts with Awad, a Sherari camel-boy, around Aba el Lissan to observe Turkish inactivity. He reflects on the Sherarat's degraded status and his trust in them. After rejoining Ali ibn el Hussein, they navigate toward the railway near Shedia, crossing the line under cover of darkness. Later, at Auda's camp, a false alarm of a Turkish attack turns out to be Ali and Abd el Kader arriving.
Themes in this chapter
Culture and Otherness
Lawrence reflects on the Sherarat's degraded status and his unusual trust in them, highlighting cultural hierarchies and his own outsider perspective.
War and Guerrilla Tactics
The chapter details scouting, deception of Turkish patrols, night navigation to cross the railway, and the use of machine-gun positions.
Characters to notice
- T.E. Lawrence
Narrates the chapter; scouts with Awad, leads the night march toward Shedia, and later meets with Auda and Zaal.
- Awad
A Sherari camel-boy and new bodyguard; Lawrence tests his worth in a scouting mission and later loans him to guide Ali's party.
- Sherif Ali ibn el Hussein
Arrives with his cavalcade after losing camels on the pass; later arrives at Auda's camp with Abd el Kader.
- Auda abu Tayi
Hosts Lawrence and others at his camp; drops tents and prepares for a false alarm of a Turkish attack.
- Ibn Zaal
Discusses raiding plans with Lawrence; shows relief when Lawrence decides to try elsewhere.
- Emir Abd el Kader el Jezairi
Travels with Ali; Lawrence notes his deafness, conceit, and boorish manners.
Key passages
“I went away north, scouting with Awad, a Sherari camel-boy, engaged in Rumm without investigation.”
Lawrence traveled north to scout with Awad, a Sherari camel-boy he had hired without much inquiry.
Introduces Awad and the scouting mission.
“These Sherarat helots were an enigma of the desert. Other men might have hopes or illusions. Sherarat knew that nothing better than physical existence was willingly permitted them by mankind in this world or another.”
The Sherarat were a degraded people who expected nothing beyond mere survival, unlike others who could hope for more.
Lawrence reflects on the Sherarat's social status.
“We would meet again in Auda's tents.”
They planned to reunite at Auda's camp.
Sets the rendezvous point.
“We halted and so knew that the quiet night was full of sounds, while the scents of withering grass ebbed and flowed about us with the dying wind.”
They stopped and became aware of the night's subtle noises and the smell of dry grass carried by the breeze.
Describes the sensory experience during the night march.
“Auda had fifteen men, of whom five were able-bodied, and the rest greybeards or boys, but we were thirty strong, and I pondered the hard luck of the Turkish commander who had chosen for his surprise the day on which there happened to be guesting with the Howeitat a section of Indian machine-gunners who knew their business.”
Auda's force was small, but with Lawrence's men and Indian machine-gunners, they were well-armed; Lawrence felt sorry for any Turkish commander who chose that day to attack.
Highlights the ironic advantage of the Arab camp.
