Page 350 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

XIX.] TRAVELS IN OMAN. 311

ions to strangers. Violent fevers, which have
very generally a fatal termination, prevail all
the cool season ; indeed those who reside in

the oases bear striking evidence of the fact,
that the air which is most favourable to ve­

getable, has a contrary effect on human life.
They appeared during my stay among them.
to be constantly suffering from sickness, and

have not the vigorous and healthy look of the
Bedowins. Their houses, damp and gloomy-
looking edifices, which the sun’s rays never

warm, are built within their groves. Around
them are swamps and pools of water, bor­
dered by a rank and luxuriant vegetation,

and the inhabitant steps from such a locality
to the arid and burning Desert. The causes

of such insalubrity are, therefore, fully as
apparent as the effects. On the other hand,
the district occupied by the Beni Abu ’All

tribe, the territories of the Beni Geneba, and
the Batna coast, are remarkable for their sa­

lubrity. People who have been attacked in
the former with fevers, dysenteries, &c.,
aided by the pure air and plain diet, gene­

rally recover after a month’s residence in the
latter districts. The small village of Sib,