s good and the families move about as
they will. All disputes are settled by the sheik, and he is apt to
emphasize his decisions by the free use of his lance shaft. Whenever it
becomes necessary because of poor grazing, the whole clan or tribe may
move to a distant place. All household goods are wrapped in packs or put
into saddle bags. Two or three camels will readily carry the tent and
luggage of a family. The women are carried in litters; the men ride
camels. Horses are rarely ridden at such times.

If a caravan is to be plundered, however, the best horses are used, and
in addition to his lance the raider carries a heavy knife. Perhaps a few
firearms may be carried, but they are generally either flintlocks or the
older matchlocks. It is only within a few years that the modern rifle
with metal cartridge has found favor with the Bedouin.

[Illustration: A group of Arabs with their dromedaries]

The great Arabian peninsula, seemingly so far out of the world, produces
many things, some of which the world cannot do well without. First of
all, it is the home of the camel. Perhaps a more awkward and ungainly
animal has not been domesticated, but certainly none is more useful. We
are told by students of natural history that the camel is the descendant
of the llama kind which seems to have originated in the South American
Andes. Just how or when the descent from the New World, which is really
the Old World, to the Old World, which is really the New World, was made
we are not informed; nevertheless, it looks as though the natural
history student has the right end of the argument. After the animal got
to Arabia it "developed." And while the result may not have been very
artistic, no one will deny that it was good workmanship; for the world
has never produced a more useful helper to mankind.

Practically all the riding animals are of the one-hump or Arabian
species. They are much larger and stronger than the two-hump animals.
One variety is slim and comparatively light in weight. These animals, as
a rule, are trained to a swift gait, and are used solely as riding
animals. They are called dromedaries, a word that means swift-runner.

Most of the other species are reared for the same purpose as domestic
cattle. Some are valuable as beasts of burden, others are shorn for
their coating, still others are kept for their milk and flesh. A
well-trained dromedary will sell for three hundred dollars and upward; a
pack animal rarely br