The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1892-01-09
Mr.. Michel Gives an Interesting
Account Of their Wanderings
in the Desert.
The FrIghtful Solitude of this Barren
Land has Singular Attrac-
tiOn for Them.
The NOmads Participated Largely in
the Destruction of the Old
Roman Empire.

| the Nomads OF the Sahara are well organ.
lied and strongly attached by the ties of
consanguinity to the tribes from which
they have issued. They live in the true
nomadic way in tents, woven by the wo-
men from sheep wool and camel hair, and
dyed black In order to absorb more heat
during the winter. This frail shelter is
sustained by three, four or FIVE poles from
6 feet to 5 feet high, disposed according
to the length of the tent. The interior is
| divided by two or three partitions. At
night the childrel and old women sleep In
one division, while the chief cf the family
with his wives sleep in the other His gun
and scin.itar are by his side, ready for use
against wild animals or thieves. He
sleeps little until morning, as he has to
watch over his cattle lying in the open air
around the tent, and is often attracted
outside by the barking of his dogs.
No furniture of any kind is in use
Scarcely have they the most ordinary and
indispensable kitchen utensils. The water
is Kept in a goat skin, which is remarka-
bly, we'll adapted to that purpose, as It's con
| tents are In perfect freshness.
The sacks containing the provisions,
barley, dates, etc, are hoaDed up around
the poles supporting the tent, in order TO
offer more resistance to the force of the
wind. The inmates sleep upon mats,
braided 10y the wives, of alfa tough herb
Of the DESERT The weathier Nomads
generally nave carpets in place of the mats
or spread over them.
1t is contrary to their custom for men.
even friends, 10 enter the tent or house Of
an Arab, for he Is extremely jealous of his
wives. An infringement Of this rul.
would endanger the life of the intruder
When they wish to speak to one another
they cali from the outside Two persons
only are legally entitled to enter, the kadi
and the marabOut 1t sometimes occurs
that the master Of the tent or house calls
his visitors within, but previous to their
entrance the wives withdraw into the gym.
ecium division of the tent reserved especi-
ally for them and the ha band.
The education of the children is almost
entirely neglected, and the scenes they
have 10 witness in the recesses Of the tent
render them vicious at an early age, the
more 30 rs nothing Is done to combat vice
Marriage is entered into at a very early
age.
The tender familiarity that III our land
brings the paternal and filial hearts so
close to each other is not observed there
Like their mothers, the children are often
savagely tyrannize1 over by the father,
whom they do not call papa, but sidi
(lord)
Though the Arabian mothers display
much more natural love for their progeny
than do their fathers, their love is often
mute; the lavlshing of caresses and affec.
tionate words are rarely observed. The
strict respect of the whole family towards
the father is we'll shown at the meals
When the wives have prepared the food,
they place the dish before the lord of the
family, who. after pronouncing the
"Beesm Allah"-in the name Of God
begins eating alone, while the hungry
wives and children, standing a few steps
by, look at him as he plunges his fingers
into the dish. Neither spoons nor forks
are in use there. When he is seated the
wives bring him drink The Koran pre-
scribes that drink may be taken but once
while eating. At last he deipns to tell
them to eat, and the rest of the
food is eaten by the whole family to-
gether.
The women are overOurGened with spin
ming, weaving, milking, making cheese,
preparing food, braidlng cords with alta,
even saddling the mehari tdromedarles), |
besides all the family work. The sons are
the shepherds, while the chief OF the
family carries the grain, does the buying
and selling at the markets, hunts, fights,
steals, joins maura ing band, &c.
The means of the Nomads are derived
solely from the breeding of cattle, of
which they keep large number; some
families possess us many as 1900 head.
They are the traditional shepherds of the
desert, who draw from it the only I'M
portant thing which il can afford, the
immense herds of cattle which they raise
there are during the winter, and with
which they supply all the markets of
Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli,
besides many OF Europe.
During the summer they find no means
for subsistence In the arid plains of the
desert, as Gourara, Tailals, and Insala,
where the land is mountainous, cut by
ravines, or abourds in lakes filled the
greater part of the year But these
regions were appropriated long ago by
warike tribes; so that all others are oblig
ed to draw northward.
However barren be the desert during
the hottest season, so rich Is its soil that
the day following rainfall wild grass is
observed growing in spots uncovered by
sand, but the grass that springs up in the
sunshine of to day is scoIched by the sun
shine tomorrow Except soiue tough
species, all plants or grasses not having
the shade of the palm tree and daily irri
cation cannot exist under that inexorabe
sun. But the arid palm, so dry In sum
mer, takes "A new aspect after the brst
autumu rainfall. Immense spaces-all
parts, In fact which are uncovered by sand
grow green, thus atfording food for the
innumerable cattle of the Nomads
This first rainfall is the signal for them
to leave the north and re-enter the Sab
ara, their dead motherlan where no
boundary restrains them, and where they
move about three, four, or five times a
week according to the richness of the
pasture they find. Thus they travel all the
winter until the middle of May. when the
sun, drying up the food for their cattle,
drives them to the mountainous regions of