CHAPTER XI

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THE BEDOUINS OF ARABIA.

The Deserts of Arabia--Sedentary Arabs and Bedouins--Physical Characteristics of the Bedouins--Remarkable acuteness of their Senses--Their Manners--Their intense Patriotism and Contempt of the dwellers in Cities--The Song of Maysunah--Their Wars-- Their Character softened by the Influence of Woman--Their chivalrous Sentiments--The Arab horse--The Camel--Freedom of the Arabs from a Foreign and a Domestic Yoke--The Bedouin Robber--His Hospitality--Mode of Encamping--Death Feuds-- Blood-money--Amusements--Throwing the Jereed--Dances-- Poetry--Story-telling--Language--The Bedouin and the North American Indian 104

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