Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-12-28
HOW ARABS FIGHT .l
Their Aim Is to Wound an Enemy Not
s8 to Kill n inn.

Their Aim Is to WOUND an Enemy, Not
to Kill II i'm. aa5i
e "A striking point Iii the Arabs char
acter, writes a traveller Of what he
saw In Mesppo talnia. lis his intense
dislike OF i,Ioodshed and savagery.
The tribes Of the y azirah are continual
II at war, and, as have had plenty of
evidence to the contrary, j think it
would be absurd to accuse them Of
3cowardice, but no one who has seen
them or talked to them can fail TO be
struck with their extraordinary lack Of
vindictiveness and their wonderfully
merciful way OF fighting. An Arab
never fights to kill His objects are to.
capture. to incapacitate or to brighten
into submission He will, it Is true, do
a great amount Of material damage
burn villages and ruin crop ne.
will never take life unnecessarily or
refuse quarter and never, as far as 4
know, beat or Ill use a prisoner. On
the other hand, desert Arab will rob
/ and tyrannize over his weaker neigh
bors in peculiarly ruthless way and
always do his best to make agriculture
impossible. I 81 5s 54. t5s Ss
Their method! Of fighting is almost
entirely confined to the use of the
lance, which is carried jayelinwise, the
lance itself being light bamboo some
eighteen or twenty feet In length, with
a long knifelike head. "A band Of
horsemen from 200 to 800 In number
comes swooping down on the herds Of
the enemy, some driving off si1ccor
while others carry away the booty.
The defense Of the herds against these
attacks is similar, a swift pursuit and
an endeayor to draw off the marauders
being the usual method. Generally the
advantage lies with the attacking
force, as the defenders usually look to
recouping themselves by a similar at.
tack rather thant to recapturing the lost
herds immed iately. The reason Is thai
4 the marauding party II hard pressed
/ might hustle the captured animals un
duly and made them almost worthless
4 The rules Of war in the Jazirah are
A as strictly and decently observed
i among Arabs as by the white and red
knights in Alice In Wonderland Tt
kill an enemy in battle is discredi table
and savage. To wound slightly Il
what Is aimed at, and to wound mar
i slightly with bamboo lance twenty
feet long is no small feat Of skill. II
surrender is not discreditab BILE. Fligh
is as justifable as attack. To carry OF
3 warfare at night would be scandaiou
i and shameful or, If we choose to TAX
] a cynical view, productive Of incon
I venient reprisals. Camps, as far as
: could ascertain, are practically out 0
bounds for similar reason. Warfar
] in the Jazirah is an elaborate form o
Z sport 81
! 81 have yet to hear Bedouin speal
Ill Of his enemy, even though he ma
have had the worst of 1t himself. In
. deed, as far as 1 could see, there wa
] as little personal animus between BIZ
: reditary foes as exists between tW
t elevens of crfcketers. OF course, q
e times regrettable things are done, br
r the occasions are very rare indeed
The only really discreditable aspect &
3 the intertribal warfare is the ruthles
: way in which the Bedouins Of th
I shepherd tribes plumber the poor agr
: cultural dependents of their antagt
: nists, who, having neither arms nc
: horses, are incapable of defiance"
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