DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4592#0170
170 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
searching after lost camels. It is said instances have
occurred of camels having thus been traced by their
owners to the residence of the thief, even at the dis-
tance of five or six days journey.
Inured to fatigue, they can endure hunger and
thirst to a surprising degree. Those Avho traveled
with us, for all that we could see, ate but little. But
when we invited a sheik to dine, he would eat about
as much as three of us. It is said they travel days
without tasting water. They are swift on foot, and
certainly the finest horsemen I ever saw. They are
very expert in handling their arms, and from fre-
quently seeing them shoot at a mark, I know them to
be excellent marksmen. It is said that their shep-
herds use the sling, and with it throw stones with great
precision. Their lances are twelve or fifteen feet
long, made of wood or bamboo, and pointed at both
ends with steel. In striking, they balance it for some
time over the head, and thrust either backward or for-
ward if pressed by an enemy.
The Bedoins are models of sobriety, rarely using
intoxicating drinks of any kind. They, however,
smoke tobacco excessively, and drink strong coffee.
They never indulge in luxuries, except on festive oc-
casions, or on the arrival of a stranger. Their usual
articles of food are rice, dates, figs, milk, butter, and
flour. Their bread is baked in hot ashes, and is al-
ways eaten warm. Their style of cooking and eat-
ing is slovenly and disagreeable. In eating, they use
neither knives nor forks. They tear the meat with
their fingers and dip every piece in a bowl of melted
grease, placed in the middle. They eat with great
searching after lost camels. It is said instances have
occurred of camels having thus been traced by their
owners to the residence of the thief, even at the dis-
tance of five or six days journey.
Inured to fatigue, they can endure hunger and
thirst to a surprising degree. Those Avho traveled
with us, for all that we could see, ate but little. But
when we invited a sheik to dine, he would eat about
as much as three of us. It is said they travel days
without tasting water. They are swift on foot, and
certainly the finest horsemen I ever saw. They are
very expert in handling their arms, and from fre-
quently seeing them shoot at a mark, I know them to
be excellent marksmen. It is said that their shep-
herds use the sling, and with it throw stones with great
precision. Their lances are twelve or fifteen feet
long, made of wood or bamboo, and pointed at both
ends with steel. In striking, they balance it for some
time over the head, and thrust either backward or for-
ward if pressed by an enemy.
The Bedoins are models of sobriety, rarely using
intoxicating drinks of any kind. They, however,
smoke tobacco excessively, and drink strong coffee.
They never indulge in luxuries, except on festive oc-
casions, or on the arrival of a stranger. Their usual
articles of food are rice, dates, figs, milk, butter, and
flour. Their bread is baked in hot ashes, and is al-
ways eaten warm. Their style of cooking and eat-
ing is slovenly and disagreeable. In eating, they use
neither knives nor forks. They tear the meat with
their fingers and dip every piece in a bowl of melted
grease, placed in the middle. They eat with great