Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-24
sUDANEsE ARMS AND ARMoR.
Demand for Eastern Weapons Created
by the Cozy-Corner Fad.


From the New York Evening Post.
The growth of the cozy-corner fad has
made a wide demand for the arms and ar
NOR of the races who are supposed to have
invented that comfortable sitting arrange
ment in the modern salon and boudoir. AS
a matter of fact 1t may be questioned if
there is a single cozy corner in Arabia,
Egypt or the Sudan. They have their di-
vans, which clumsy structures, half
bed and half bunk. These are covered
with rugs, skins, pillows and cushions. ard
are exceedingly comfortable to a recum-
bent person, but they almost invariably
stand free from the walls, so that the
breeze may be enjoyed by the occupants.
The last place to occupy in hot country is
the corner formed by two house walls
The stylish American cozy corner must
have canopy. and this canopy should be
upheld by two Sudanese or Arab lances.
An ultra-fashionable cozy corner has a
shield. steel cap, and a yataghan or
scimitar upon the wall just high enough
from the ground to be out of reach of the
head of one sitting on the bench.
The So-called Sudanese arms and armor
are very cheap affairs, and though coming
from southern Egypt, northern Africa or
Arabia, generally of European origin.
Birmingham and Sheffield have long done a
large trade In supplying the children of the
desert with their picturesque weapons The
genuine arms and armors are very rare and
expensive. Few are made at the present
day, and the larger number, especially
those worn by emirs and sheiks, are heir
looms, which they would not sell under any
circumstances Some of the spears are very
handsome. especially where the shafts have
been carved by their Arab owners When
made in England the shaft is a long pole
of oak or other stroSg wood. When it
reaches the Arab countries it is usually
too thick and cumbrous for the purchaser.
The Semitic races are smaller than our
own, and their hands are, though muscu-
lar, more slender and graceful. They cut
the shaft down. until it is quite thin and
then polish and stain it, or else carve into
it geometrcal designs and lines from the
Koran. When the shaft breaks. which is
often the case in hunting or in village
feuds, they replace them with whatever
comes to hand.
1t is at this point the variety is obtained
which all observers have doubtless noticed
Sometimes the new shaft is of bamboo the
lightest and strongest of all the vegetable
tissues; sometimes it is a reed similar to
the malacca cane. 1t is very light. but is
brittle. and will not stand a considerable
transverse strain. Often it is made from
pitch pine Oregon pine other timber
derived from sailing craft or ships in the
made from native timbers grown in the
oasis of the desert lands or in the magnitl-
cent forests of the Sudan
Of the metallic armor sold not per cent
is OF Arab origin. A variety which is gen.
uine and extremely interesting is composed
of the shields and buckles made from the
hide of the rhinoceros. hippopotamus and
African elephant. These are cut and treated
with a few simple herbs. dried in the sun
upon mold, that the finished shape
shall be moderately convex, and comp. et
by inserting boss sharp spear head in
the center.