Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1884-04-02
Ell MAHDPS ARABS.
Interesting Facts About Forty Millions
of African NomadS.


of African NomadS.
The Va territory of the Soudan is
p"oplcd by hordes Of Arabs of various
tribes, whose number is computed to
lie between thirty and forty millions.
The Arab-and in this mOmencla.
tHre, besides the natives Of Arabia
proper, all the inhabitants Of the north
rrn and half of the eastern portions Of
Africa are to I've comprchcnded-is a
singular lace. Wild and ferociOus,
like the sayage5 of the far West, the
Arabs are endowed with kecner in
tcllect and highly nervous tempera
mcnt, u characteristic which has i'm.
pressed itself upon the Spanish nation
by reason Of contact. Unlike, hOWev.
cr, the ahOrgincS Of America, who are
atGI!d, content with hunting and the
qualification Of their natural wants,
the Arabs are ever restless and aggres-
@lye and prey upon their tellow-be-
lngs. Although very dark in COM
rleNion they are not negroes; their
lair is coarse but smooth,
Their habitation5 are principally on
the borders Of the streams, and in the
interior countries they sink wells,
where practicable, and cluster around
them, forming villages and towns
their houses consisting Of mud walls
and thatched, conical roofs.
Living in state Of nature, THEN
wants are but few, consequently they
are not forced to extra eXertion to
supply them. They live on the sim
ple5t diet. Their staple food is darru,
millet, which they pulyerize and make
into bread. Dates and camels' milk
constitute the repa5t INDUCED by the
well-to-do among them. Their agri-
culture is therefore confined to the
raising of millet and few other far
nacious articles, such as beans, back
Ia, or lupens, etc, in the most primi-
| tive manner.
in a matter of raiment they are, ow-
ing to the nature of the climate, in
state of almost complete nudity; only
a scarf being lightly wound around
their bodies. Their other occupations
consist in collecting ostrich feathers,
tusks of elephants, SIENNA and gum-ar-
rabic; the latter is indigenous to the
country. and is extracted from the
acacia arabica, a small tres which
forms vast forests in the hottest re-
giOns of Africa. All these sink, how
ever, into significance, compared with
the profits in slaves, in selling which
they are mainly engaged.
Egypt and Arabia provide markets
for the disposal Of their productions,
/ as well as for the procurement of their
wants, which consist of tobacco. coffee.
arms and ammunition, cotton cloth
and knickknacks. The former isreach-
ed by the Nile, and the latter by the
way of Souakim, a seaport on tho Red
sea. As this last is difficult of access.
owing to the necessary land journey,
the Nile is preferred
They live in state of barbaric in
dependence, under the control of petty
chiefs, called sheiks, who have assumed
supremacy over their respective COM
mands by virtue of their religious
character and extra Sanctity.
The introduction of Mohammedan-
ism among the children Of the desert
did not contribute toward their moral
and social advancement. Indeed.
wherever Mohammelanism made its
appearance it has exercised most per-
nicious influence over its yotaries.
more particularly among the Arabs.
1t killed all traces of civilization
among the ancient Egyptians, for which
they were justly celebrated, and to
which the Greeks owed their progress.
But this religion suited Arab pro.
clivities to nicely; it was simple in
creed and ministercd to their brutal
passions. Divine unity and belief in
Mohammed as the true apostle of God
were the only essential requirements.
IT encouraged polygamy and promised
seyenty.two hours in the life to come.
1t moreover preached aggression and
ACKNOWLEDGMENT, made it a virtue to
war against unbelievers and upheld
the enslavcment of captiyes. 1t not
only legalized their wontcl vocation.
but opened a regular market for the
disposal of their chattels, wherever
Islamism prevailed.
The peculiar construction of society