Bedouins

bed'oo-ens, nomadic Arabs. The name is Arabic, meaning dwellers in the desert. The term is used to distinguish those tribes that still live, as in the days of Abraham, by means of their herds. The Bedouins live in tents. They raise cattle, horses, sheep, and camels. They move with the season from place to place in search of pasturage. Their herds and flocks are their care, but they have a reputation for being fond of the excitement and the booty to be had from plundering travelers and caravans. A Bedouin attack is not unlike an Indian raid in method, and is on quite as high a plane as the border foray of Scottish song and story. Bedouin tribes inhabit the interior of Arabia and the Sahara region. They may be found in parts of Syria and in outlying parts of Egypt as well. Some tribes have engaged in the slave trade. No hard and fast distinction can be drawn between Bedouins and other Arabs, for some tribes dwell both in tents and in houses, according to the season of the year. The women grind meal by hand and weave coarse cloth. When not in the saddle, the men lie around telling endless tales. The Bedouins profess a crude Mohammedanism. They are governed by tribal sheiks and cadis.