t master of
craftiness. As a trader he is unsurpassed, and Arab traders control the
interior commerce of western Asia and northern Africa just as the
Chinese control the trade of southeastern Asia.

As a Bedouin of the desert the Arab is supreme in his way. Savage and
blood-thirsty by nature, if there is no caravan to rob or common enemy
to fight, neighboring tribes easily find cause for fighting one another.
Usually a quarrel over pasture lands in the same locality furnishes an
excuse for a feud that results in the extermination of one tribe or the
other.

A hatred of those who are not followers of the prophet is a heritage of
all Arabs. The merchant class, who are wealthy and usually educated, may
have trained themselves to conceal it, but they possess it. Even to the
most liberal Arab, one who is not of the faith of Islam is a "dog of an
unbeliever." Among Bedouins, not to rob the caravan containing the
belongings of a Christian would be a sin. There is one exception,
however; if a Bedouin sheik agrees to convoy a party of "unbelievers,"
together with their valuables, over a robber-infested route, he will
carry out his bargain faithfully.

Family ties among the Bedouin Arabs are much the same to-day as they
were two thousand years ago. The great-grandfather, grandfather, or
father, as the case may be, is the head of the family, and his will is
law. The tribe is governed by a sheik, who is simply a "boss." He does
not inherit his office, nor is he elected to it by popular vote; he
elects himself because he is the best man, and he "holds over" for the
same reason.

The family mansion of the Bedouin is a tent made of goat-hair cloth.
Some tents occupy as much ground as is covered by a small cottage. The
tent of a sheik may be richly furnished with rugs and silk portieres;
ordinarily, a coarse hearth-rug and a divan cover are about the only
furnishings. The cooking utensils are primitive--one or two kettles to a
family; and of tableware there is practically nothing more than one or
two platters. Meat is freely eaten and coffee is commonly a part of each
meal. In the place of bread, flour about as coarse as oatmeal is mixed
to a paste, rolled or beaten into thin cakes, and cooked in hot butter.
Dates are almost always a part of the food supply.

The camel has first place in the wealth of the Bedouin, but sheep and
goats in many instances form a part of his herds. The tents of a family
are pitched where the grazing i