found? There is no warmer hospitality in all the wide world than in these
tents of Kedar. A few weeks ago I spent a Sabbath day resting by the way
in one of these tents. The women brought water to cool my head; a great
bowl of camel's milk was our drink even before they asked our errand; and
at night they killed a fat kid and made a guest meal fit for an epicure.

The Arabs of the desert are more ignorant than those of the towns, but
they are much kinder to strangers and treat their wives and children
better. Their life is rather monotonous, but they enjoy it. Like the
American Indians they prefer a tent to a house, and would rather change
their home every day than settle down as farmers. When pasture fails for
their flocks of sheep the chief gives notice and on the morrow the whole
camp has moved away. Some tribes move every month and go for a long
distance to find fresh pastures.

[Illustration: ARAB RIDERS WITH LANCES.]

The Bedouin are divided into many tribes and clans. Some of them are
friendly to each other but nearly all are at war with one another all the
year round. Robbery and murder are very frequent. Every one goes armed
with a long spear or with a gun, and many carry a war club and a sword as
well. The largest Arab tribes and the wealthiest are the _Anaeze_ and the
_Shommar_. They have many fine horses. In the picture you see a group of
them armed with their long spears. The spear of the leader is ornamented
with a tuft of ostrich feathers; these spears are often over twelve feet
long and have a sharp steel lance at the end. The Arabs are fond of
games, especially galloping their horses and playing at war. They are very
skillful riders and kind to their steeds; they do not spend much time in
grooming them and they never use a whip and seldom a bit. Their bridle is
like our halter strap, and the horse is so well trained that he needs no