javelin, play, when frequently several hundreds of mounted men are
engaged in a mêlée, which, though only intended to be a friendly
contest, often results in serious injury or death to many.

The Arab is very fond of his horse, which he himself has bred and
trained from a colt, and his affection is amply returned by his
steed. They are beautiful animals, strong and fleet-footed, but often
savage with anyone but their master.

Sport enters largely into the life of the Bedawīn, and many tribes
train falcons, with which they hunt gazelles, and in the Lybian desert
the "cheetah," or hunting leopard, is tamed and used for the same
purpose, and in this way the monotony of many a long desert march is
relieved.

When on a journey smaller tents than those which I have described are
used, all the heavy baggage being loaded on to camels, upon which the
women and children also ride. Camels have often been called the "ships
of the desert," and they are certainly the most useful of all animals
for such travelling, for their broad pads prevent their feet from
sinking into the soft sand, and not only do they carry enormous loads,
but are able for days together to go without food or water. When
Abraham sent his servant to seek a wife for Isaac, it was on camels
that he travelled, and shaded, no doubt, by her canopy of shawls, it
was on camel-back that Rebekah returned with him to the tent of his
master. So to-day we may often meet a similar party on their journey,
the women seated beneath the "mahmal," as the canopy is called, while
the food and water for the journey is slung from the saddles of the
camels ridden by the armed men who form their escort.