Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-04-04
HOW sAA-eA-kA was STOLEN.
A QusOx wItted Raider Obtained HIS Sup
per and a Horse.


The following curious story, translated
from an old Arabian book, Is quoted by
reviewer in Blaokwood's Edinburgh Mag
azine from a recently published work on
"The Arabian Horse" whose author, Ma
jor General w. Tweedle, was for many
years the British consul general at Bag
dad. 1t describes dead ieat" that was
run In the desert once and illustrates In
the most striking manner multitude of
Arab characteristics, customs and morals:
A respectable person relates that one
day he saw man Of the Agel ON whose
back were marks like those Of cupping
and asked for an explanation of them and
received this answer:
"I loved a fair cousin, and sought her
in marriage and her kindred said, We
will not give her TO thee unless thou
makest Sha- ba-ka the wedding gift. And
Sha-ba-ka was a mare, the feetest Of all,
and she belonged to one of the Ba-nu
Bakr. And on that married my cousin.
And went out to effect by stratagem the
taking of the mare from her owner.
"In the guise Of camel butcher Wis.,
tied the tribe in which the mare was and
kept going in among them till learned
to distinguish her place from the tent in
which her master was And l saw that
she had flly. And contrived to enter
tho tent and conceal myself under heap
Of wool carded for washing. And when
night came and the master of the tent ap-
peared, and his wife had dressed supper
for him, and they both began to eat, and
the gloom had deepened, and they had no
lamp, and was hungry, put out my
hand and stretched 1t toward the platter
and ate with them. And the man became
conscious of my hand and did not know
what it was, and he gripped it, and laid
hold of the woman's hand with my other
hand, and she said to him, What do you
want with my handP And he supposed
wife's hand and let go my hand, and re-
leased the woman's hand, and we ate.
And the meal came to an end, and the
man stretched himself on his back and
slept. And while he slept watched
them, and the mare was shackled beside
the tent, and her filly was unshackled in
the tent and the key of the mares fetter
was under the woman's head. After a
little time black slave arrived and threw
small pebble. And the woman awoke
and roso and left the key in its place and
went out of the tent, and crept and took
the key and unlocked with 1t the mare S
shackles. And had hair bride with
me, and bridled the mare and mounted
her and went off with her from the tent.
Then the woman came back and entered
the tent.
~"Then she called out, and the tribe
caught the alarm and became aware Of me
and mounted in pursuit And put the
mare to her speed with a troop of them
after me. And / entered on the time OF
morning and did not see save one horse
man, armed with lance, and ho overlook
me. and the sun had risen, and the man
began to thrust at me and could not get
his point any nearer to me than sufficed
| to make these traces on my back. Neither
did his mare come up to mo SO that he
might have me in his power, nor did my
mare carry me away so that the spear
| should not touch me.
| "And we came to stream, and shout
ed to the mare, and she jumped it, and
the horseman shouted to his mare, and she
did not jump. And when I saw that she
could not cross / got off my mare to rest
| myself and her. And the man called to
me, and said, What is itf' and he an
'swered, I am the owner of the mare that is
under thee, and this is her flly, and as
| you have got her take care Of her, an6
truly, by God, I never asked anything oi
her without attaining to it, and she was
like hsherman's net (shabaka) in the
matter of taking"