Page 389 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

362
BERBERA. [ch.

Sfimalis bring with them; and though not
more than eight or ten feet square, they fre­
quently contain a family consisting of the
husband, five or six of his women, their child­
ren, and two or three attendant slaves. In
the pitching these tents, no attention is paid
to position, they being in some places thickly

clustered together, and in others detached
and straggling. The space they occupy not
being walled, is consequently open to the in­
cursions of numerous robbers, that are con­
stantly hovering near the skirts of the town.
Some skins serving as bedding, a few earthen
cooking pots, a stone for grinding corn, and a
wooden bowl for holding water complete their

furniture. Along the walls are placed their
arms, consisting of bows, arrows, and spears.

With the exception of a few chiefs, who may
possess a solitary and much-prized matchlock
or pistol, they have no fire-arms. A few
poisoned arrows were shown, but their use
among the inhabitants dwelling on the sea-
coast appears to be by no means so general
as they are in the interior, where almost every
engagement is contested with them, The
form of their bow varies much; it is a well-