T. E. Lawrence to his family

[Guweira]

Feb. 6, 1918

Excuse a scrawl: this is only to say that I am here and quite fit: in Guweira, a place 35 miles NE of Akaba. I have come down for a night to see Feisul, from Tafileh, where I have been for the last few days. No news from you for a long time, and no opportunity, I expect, of hearing from you for some time yet. General Clayton has, I believe, wired for Arnie - but I do not know in what terms, why, or what the answer has been. If I hear of him in Cairo, I'll try to cut across for a day or two and fix things up with him. He must spend at least some months there. We had a fight north of Tafileh the other day - the Turks attacked us and we annihilated them. Took 23 machine guns and two guns, all in working order. Our loss 20 killed, theirs about 400. I am now off again, buying camels in the Eastern desert, round Wadi Sirhan and Jauf. Weather bitterly cold, with persistent snow and rain, but not likely to endure much longer. The coast and Dead Sea are warm, but our work lies on the plateau, 4,000 or 5,000 feet up.

N.

Stamps enclosed are part of Tafileh post office, all surcharged Peninsula of Sinai!