He was pur

force, and all killed except one man, who fled. sued by several of the best mounted Bedouins; but his mare, although fatigued, continued her speed for several hours, and could not be overtaken. Before his pursuers gave up the chase they cried out to him, promising quarter and safe conduct, and begging that he would allow them to kiss the forehead of his excellent mare. Upon his refusal, they desisted from pursuing, and, blessing the generous creature, they exclaimed, addressing her owner, "Go and wash the feet of your mare, and drink up the water." This expression is used by the Bedouins to show their great love for such mares, and their sense of the services which they have rendered.

The Bedouins in general do not allow their mares to breed until they have completed their fifth year; but the poorer classes, who are eager for the profits arising from the sale of foals, sometimes wait no longer than the completion of the fourth year.

The price paid in Nedjd, when a stallion is occasionally hired, merely for the purpose of breeding, is one Spanish dollar; but the owner of the horse is entitled to decline the acceptance of this dollar as payment: if he think fit, he may wait until the mare brings forth. Should she produce a filly, he may claim a she-camel of one year; if the offspring prove male, he takes, in like manner, a young he-camel, as payment for the use of his stallion.

The Bedouins never allow a horse, at the moment of its birth, to fall upon the ground: they receive it in their arms, and so cherish it for several hours, occupied in washing and stretching its tender limbs, and caressing it as they would a baby. After this they place it on the ground, and watch its feeble steps with particular attention, prognosticating from that time the excellencies or defects of their future companion.

In Nedjd, the people feed their horses regularly upon dates. At Derayeh, and in the country of El Hassa, dates are mixed with the birsím, or dried clover, and given to them as food. Barley, however, is the most usual provender throughout all parts of Arabia. The wealthy inhabitants of Nedjd frequently give flesh to their horses, raw as well as boiled, together with all the fragments of their own meals. I know a man at Hamab, in Syria, who assured me that he had often given to his horses roasted meat before the commencement of a fatiguing journey, that they might be the better able to endure it. The same person also related to me, that fearing lest the governor of the town Vol. IV. No. 16.

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should take a liking to his favourite horse, he fed it for a fortnight exclusively upon roasted pork, which excited its spirit and mettle to such a height, that it became absolutely unmanageable, and could be no longer an object of desire to the governor. I have seen vicious horses in Egypt cured of the habit of biting, by presenting to them, while in the act of doing so, a leg of mutton just taken from the fire: the pain which a horse feels in biting through the hot meat causes it, after a few lessons, to abandon the vicious habit. Egyptian horses are much less gentle in their temper than the Arabian; they are often vicious-the Arabians scarcely ever-and require to be constantly tied, while the Arab horses wander freely and quietly about the camps like camels. Egyptian grooms are celebrated all over the East for their treatment of horses; insomuch that the Pashas and grandees throughout Asiatic Turkey make it a rule to have always a couple of them in their service. They curry the horse three or four times a day, and devote so much of their time and trouble to it, that it is usual in all parts of Egypt to have as many grooms as horses in the stable, each groom having the peculiar charge of one horse only.

The Wahaby chief, who possesses, indisputably, the finest stud of horses in the whole East, never allows his mares to be mounted until they have completed their fourth year. The common Bedouins, however, frequently ride them even before they have attained their third year.

It has been forbidden by the Wahaby chief, that his Arabs should sell one third of a mare, as frequently is practised by the Northern Aenezes. He alleges, that this custom often leads to unlawful and cheating tricks: but he permits the selling of one half of the mare.

During the whole year, the Arabs keep their horses in the open air; I never saw one even in the rainy season tied up under the tent of its owner, as may frequently be observed among the Turkmans. The Arab horse, like its master, is accustomed to the inclemency of all seasons, and, with very little attention to its health, is seldom ill. The Arabs never clean or rub their horses, but are careful in walking them gently whenever they return after a ride. From the time that a colt is first mounted, (which is after its second year,) the saddle is but seldom taken off its back; in winter time a sackcloth is thrown over the saddle, in summer the horse stands exposed to the mid-day sun. Those Arabs who have no saddles, ride upon a stuffed sheep

skin, and without stirrups; they all ride without bridles, guiding the horse with a halter. This will not astonish the European reader, when he learns that the Bedouin horse is extremely good tempered, without any viciousness, and more the friend than the slave of his rider. The Arabs do not practise the game of the djerid, which often ruins the Turks' horses before they acquire perfect strength. The Arabs indeed are unacquainted with the Turkish mode of horsemanship, and those evolutions of which the Osmanlys are so vain. But their habits of riding without stirrups or bridle, of throwing the heavy lance in full gallop, and of balancing themselves, from early infancy, upon the bare back of a trotting camel, give to the Bedouin a more firm seat on his horse than the Osmanly can boast, although the latter may ride more gracefully.

The Arabs are ignorant of those frauds by which an European jockey deceives a purchaser; one may take a horse on their word, at first sight or trial, without any risk of being cheated; but few of them know how to ascertain a horse's age by its teeth. I once looked into the mouth of a mare, whose own

er and many other Arabs were present: at first it was apprehended that I was practising some secret charm; and when the owner heard that by such inspection the mare's age might be ascertained, he seemed astonished, and wished that I should tell his own age by an examination of his teeth.

The Arabs believe that some horses are predestined to evit accidents; and, like the Osmanlys, they think that the owners of other horses must, sooner or later, experience certain misfortunes, which are indicated by particular marks on the horses' bodies. Thus, if a mare has a star on the right side of the neck, they believe that she is destined to be killed by a lance; if the star be on one of the shank-bones, the owner's wife, they think, will prove unfaithful to her husband, and the orthodoxy of the latter as a Muselmán is liable to suspicion. There are above twenty evil marks of this kind, which have, at all events, the bad effect of depreciating the horse's value by two thirds or

more.

The Arabs do not mark their horses, as some imagine; but the hot iron, which they frequently apply in curing a disease, leaves an impression on the skin that appears like an intended

mark.

XI. CAMELS.

Between the races of camels in the northern and southern countries, there is a considerable difference. In Syria and Mesopotamia they are covered by thick hair, and in general attain to a much greater size than in Hedjaz, where they have very little wool. The Nubian camel has short hair like a deer, as likewise the Nubian sheep, which prevents the Bedouins of that country from living under tents, (fabricated in Arabia from goat's and camel's hair), they are therefore obliged to construct portable buts made of mats and reeds; the Arabian camels are generally brown: many black camels are seen also among them. The further we approach the south in Egypt, the lighter becomes the colour. Towards Nubia the camels are mostly white, and I never saw a black one in that country.

The largest camels are those from Anadolia, of the Turkman breed: the smallest that I have seen are those from Yemen. In the eastern desert the camels reputed best for carriage, are those of the Beni Tay, in Mesopotamia, near the river Euphrates. In mountainous countries camels are certainly scarce; but it is an erroneous opinion to think that camels are not capable of ascending hills. Thus in Hedjaz their numbers are very limited, because pasture is scanty. The country most rich and abundant in camels, is undoubtedly Nedjd, entitled on that account Om el Bel, or " The mother of camels." It furnishes Syria, Hedjaz, and Yemen with camels, which in those countries are worth double the price paid originally for them in Nedjd. During my residence in Hedjaz, a good camel was there estimated at the price of sixty dollars; and such was the want of pasturage and scarcity of provisions, that within three years, upon a moderate calculation, there died thirty thousand camels belonging to the Pasha of Egypt, at that time commanding in Hedjaz.

The Turkmans and Kurds from Anadolia purchase, every year, eight or ten thousand camels in the Syrian deserts, of which the greater number are brought there by dealers from Nedjd. They use them in propagating the breed of Turkman camels called Maya.

No country in the east is so remarkable for the rapid propagation of camels as Nedjd, during years of fertility. The Nedjd camels are likewise less susceptible of epidemic diseases

(and especialty the Djam, which is much dreaded in various quarters of the desert), than any others; and on that account principally they are preferred by the Bedouins, who from the most distant parts of Arabia repair to Nedjd that they may renew their flocks.

Among the Bedouins, female camels are always more esteemed and dearer than the males. In Syria and Egypt, on the contrary, where the camels are chiefly wanted for their strength in bearing heavy loads, the males are most valued. The people who inhabit the towns and villages of Nedjd ride only shecamels on their journies, because these support thirst better than the males; but the Bedouins generally prefer he-camels for riding. The common load of an Arabian camel is from four to five hundred pounds upon a short journey, and from three to four hundred pounds on a journey of considerable distance. The camels employed between Djidda and Tayf in the year 1814, or 1815, for carrying provisions to Mohammed Aly, had loads not exceeding two hundred and fifty pounds. The well-fed and well-watered Egyptian camels are equal in strength to the Anadolian; those of the largest size at Cairo will carry three bales of coffee, or fifteen hundred weight, from the town to the water side, about three miles distant. From Cairo to Suez, the same camels will carry ten hundred weight; and that space is a journey of three days. The longer the journey to be undertaken, and the fewer wells to be found on the way, the lighter are the loads. The Darfur camels are distinguished for their size and great strength in bearing fatigue under heavy loads; in this latter quality they surpass all the camels of North-Eastern Africa. Those which accompany the Darfur caravan to Egypt, are seldom loaded with more than four quintals. The Sennár camels generally carry three and a half, and are not equal in size to those of Darfur.

The capability of bearing thirst varies considerably among the different races of camels. The Anadolian, accustomed to cold climates, and countries copiously watered on all sides, must, every second day, have its supply of water; and if this be withheld in summer-time until the third day, on a journey, the camel often sinks under the privation. During the winter, in Syrian latitudes and in the Northern Arabian desert, camels very seldom drink unless when on a journey; the first succulent herbs sufficiently moisten their stomachs at that season of the year. In summer-time the Nedjd camel must be watered