sea from Suez; the former gathers up bands from Anatolia,
Kurdistan, Mesopotamia and Syria. Besides these a third, but smaller
Hajj of Persians, chiefly sets out from Suk-esh-Sheiukh, in the
neighbourhood of Meshed Ali, on the lower Euphrates; a fourth of
negroes, Nubians, etc., unites at Yambu on the Hejaz coast, whither they
have crossed from Kosseir in Upper Egypt; a fifth of Indians and Malays,
centres at Jidda; a sixth and seventh, of southern or eastern Arabs
arrive, the former from Yemen, the latter from Nejd.

The Syrian Hajj is headed by the pasha of Damascus, either in person or
by a vicarious official of high rank, and is further accompanied by the
_Sorrah Amir_ or "Guardian of the Purse," a Turkish officer from
Constantinople. The Egyptian company is commanded by an amir or ruler,
appointed by the Cairene government, and is accompanied by the famous
"Mahmal," or sacred pavilion. The other bands above mentioned have
each their own amir, besides their _mekowwams_ or agents, whose business
it is to see after provisions, water and the like, and are not seldom
encumbered with a numerous retinue of servants and other attendants.
Lastly, a considerable force of soldiery accompanies both the Syrian and
the Egyptian Hajj.

No guides properly so-called attend these pilgrim-caravans, the routes
followed being invariably the same, and well known. But Bedouin bands
generally offer themselves by way of escort, and not seldom designedly
lead their clients into the dangers from which they bargain to keep them
safe. This they are the readier to do because, in addition to the
personal luxuries with which many of the pilgrims provide themselves for
the journey, a large amount of wealth, both in merchandise and coins, is
habitually to be found among the travellers, who, in accordance with
Mahommedan tradition, consider it not merely lawful but praiseworthy to
unite mercantile speculation with religious duty. Nor has any one, the
pasha himself or the amir and the military, when present, excepted, any
acknowledged authority or general control in the pilgrim-caravans; nor
is there any orderly subdivision of management or service. The pilgrims
do, indeed, often coalesce in companies among themselves for mutual
help, but necessity, circumstance or caprice governs all details, and
thus it happens that numbers, sometimes as many as a third of the entire
Hajj, yearly perish by their own negligence or by misfortune,--dying,
some of th