Page 57 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

I
38 TOR TO SUEZ. [cii.

journey. In the first instance they appear
to be merely ordinary clumps of bushes ; but
as the wind keeps the sand here in constant
agitation, they continue, as they receive alter­
|
nately increased deposits of sand and vege­
1 tation, to enlarge their bulk until some are

fifteen feet high. During our halt here, one
V:
of our Bedowins proceeded to a short dis­
§
: tance, and obtained some water, but refused
to allow me to accompany him, as they have
often, on some rocky hollow, a supply of rain­
3
&
,• water, too scanty for general use, and known
only to themselves. I was now made ac­
quainted with the cause of our recent flight.
It appeared that we had fallen in with a rival

tribe on their own district; and the custom of
the country sanctions, on such occasions, that
the party passing should share a portion of
their receipts with them, whether for mer­
chandize or passengers. Our needless alarm,
therefore, it appeared, had been brought about
by Hamed’s desire to evade the payment of
-Y/\
3§ this trifle, and the consequence, if we had
been discovered, would have been, that we
H
should have lost our camels, and been left to
complete the remainder of our journey on

i foot.