Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1907-12-25
HOW ARABS FIGHT.
Their Aim Is TO Wound an Enemy, Not
to Kill Him.

rcsr sim Is 70 wound an Enemy, NOR
to Kill Him.
"a striking point I'm the Arabs char
acter" writes traveller of what he
saw In Mesopotamia. sis his intense
dislike OF bloodshed and sayagery
The tribes OF the Jazirah are continual
" ut war. and. as have had plenty Of
evidence to the contrary, l think II
w0cid lie absurd to accuse them OF
cowardicc, 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
nereiful way OF fighting. An Arab
never fights to kill. His objects are TO
capture. to incapacitatc or to brighten
into submission. He will IL is true, do
n great amount OF material damage
burn villages and ruin crops-but he
VIII never take life unnecessarily or
refuse quarter and<never, as far as 1
know, beat or III use prisoner. On
the other hand. a desert Arab will rob
and tyrannize over his weaker neigh
bors in peculiarly ruthless way and
always do his best 10 make agriculture
impossible
Their method OF fighting is almost
entirely confined 10 the use of the
lance. which is carried javelinwise. the
lance itself being Il light bamboo some
eighteen or twenty feet In length. with
long knifeliSc bead 4 band OF
horsemen from 200 To SEQ I'm number
comes swooping down on the herds OF
the enemy. some driving Off succor
while others carry away the booty.
The defense OF the herds against these
attacks is similar. n swift pursuit and
an endeavor 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 n similar at
tack rather than TO recapturing the lost
herds Immediately. The reason is that
the marauding party IL hard pressed
might hustle the captured animals I'M
duly and made them almost worthless.
''The rules OF war In the Jazirah-arc
as strictly and decently observed
among Arabs as by the white and red
knights In Alice In Wonderland' To
Kill an enemy In battle Is discreditable
and savage. To wound slightly is
what Is aimed at. and TO wound n man
slightly with a bamboo lance twenty
feet long Is no small feat of skill. To
surrender is not discreditable. Flight
is as justifiable as attack. To carry on
warfare ut night would be scandalous
and shameful or, il we choose TO take
cynical view, productive OF incon-
venient reprisals. Camps, as FAR as
could ascertain, are practically out OF
bounds for similar reason. Warfare
In the Jazirah is nm elaborate form OF
sport.
II have yet TO hear n Bedouin speak
III OF his enemy, even though he may
have had the worst OF Il himself. In
deed, as far as could see, there was
as little personal animus between he
reditary foes as exists between two
elevens OF cricketers. or course. at
times regrettable things are done. but
the occasions are very rare indeed.
The only really discreditable aspect OF
the intertribal warfare Is the ruthless
way in which the Bedouins of the
shepherd tribes plumber the poor agri-
cultural dependents of their antago-
nists, who, having neither arms nor
horses, are incapable of deiiance."-
Chicago News.