Page 34 - A Hand Book of Arabia Vol 2_Neat

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THE AMEL TRADE OF ARABIA 19 .

ensure fair dealings and safe transit, he will be avoided by buyers.
The Huweitat are in bad odour on this account. A Sheikh will not
Willingly sell to anv but his own buyer, lest in a succeeding year
he should lose his market. He prefers the man he knows and has
harboured yearly.
The price of camels has more than doubled during the last fifteen
or twenty years. The average price is now £T8 a head, the expenses
of the journey come to another £T1, and the camel is sold in
Damascus for £T10, leaving a profit of £T1.
The ultimate market is Egypt, which takes an average of 32,000
camels yearly. The Egyptian Government raises a duty on every
camel entering the country, and the number of imported camels is l
therefore accurately registered. This figure represents the whole
of the yearly camel trade with the exception of 7,000-8,000 beasts
sent every year to Asia Minor, and a smaller demand both for food
and for agricultural purposes from Syria, Mesopotamia, and Ara-
bistan, which may be put at about 5,000 camels annually. There
is no camel trade through the Hejaz ; the mountainous character
of the country makes it unsuitable for camel traffic. The tribes
between the Qahtan district and the Hejaz, Sebei1, Shalawah, and
Buqum, are sheep-breeders. The tribes along the coast, Juheinah,
Billi, and ‘Atiyah, do not rear camels ; they keep them only in
sufficient quantities for their own transport purposes and for milk.
Nor are the Harb on the coast camel-breeders. The Aliamda, one
of their principal sub-tribes, are camel-drivers and carry on the
transport trade between Mecca, Medina, and the sea.
It would be impossible to arrive at an accurate estimate of the
camels in Arabia, but a rough approximation based on Arab figurej
may be attempted. The herds of the Northern Anazah, who are
the tribes richest in camels, may amount to as much as 300,000 head. I
This would include breeding-camels and those not yet fit for service. -
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(A camel is not reckoned fit for full work until it is six years old, and its i
best years are from six to twelve.) The Shammar of Jebel Shammar
may have about 80,000. The herds of the Emir himself do not ■
uumber much more than 1,000. The Muteir have 60,000-70,000 ; the 1
Dhafir 20,000-30,000 ; but all authorities agree that the Qahtan
are exceptionally rich in camels, and their herds may run to 100,000
head, or even more. The Emir Ibn Sa;ud, who draws his supplies
chiefly from the Qahtan, Dawasir. Muteir, Sebei‘, and Sahul, is
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Raul to have 4,000 good riding-camels. The Ateibah are not so . vi
renowned as the Qahtan for camel-breeding, but their numbers
cannot^ be much under SO.000. The Harb must be estimated at I
about 50,000 to 60,000, the Sukhiir and the Huweitat at 20,000 and 1
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