effect
on plants, or leaves, which all tend to come to a point, such as the
leaves of the elongated palm trees, for instance, or any of the other
spiky plants one finds in parts of the desert.

There was a good deal of the demon about the women of the place, a
superabundance of fire in their movements and in the expression of their
flashing eyes, which was a great contrast to the slow, dignified manner
of the men, when seen under normal circumstances. Their frame was much
more powerfully built than that of the men. The ladies seemed to be in a
perpetual state of anger. That they were industrious there could be no
mistake, and one could but be amazed at their muscular strength in
lifting heavy loads; but, taking things all round, one was rather glad to
have no friends among the Naiband fair sex when one saw how their men,
relations or otherwise, were pulled about by them. The men positively
feared them, and the women seemed to have it all their own way.

They were so violent that it was most difficult to approach them, but
with some careful coaxing I succeeded in persuading the wildest and most
typical of the lot to sit for her photograph, which I look upon as quite
an achievement, considering that it might have cost her life or mine or
both. As it was it went pretty well, and when I gave her a few silver
pieces, she screamed with delight and sounded them on a stone to make
sure they were good.

Women blackened their eyes underneath artificially, which gave them a
languid but ardent appearance. Their long, wild, curly hair hung loose at
the side of the head, over which they wore a kerchief fastened into a
knot under the chin. Their costume was simple, a mere short blue cotton
skirt reaching below the knee, and a little red loose shirt with ample
sleeves. Various silver ornaments and charms, mainly old coins, hung
round their necks from leather cords.

The arms and legs, quite bare, were well-shaped in most cases, and showed
abnormal muscular development, due, no doubt, to the hard work the women
were made to endure. They were positively used as beasts of burden--which
occupation they seemed to like--while the men, I presume, lazily sat
about smoking their tobacco or opium. But the body--very likely owing to
the same reason--is, from a European point of view, quite shapeless, even
in comparatively young women hardly above twenty. Their little blouses,
generally torn or carelessly left open, display repulsively pendent