All disease and sickness dwell only beneath the roof of cities.
In the Sahara, whoever is not reaped by the sword sees days without
number;
Our old men are the most aged of all men.
THE RAZZIA.
The most frequent and almost daily incident of Arab life is the razzia. Glory is a fine ting, no doubt, and in the Sahara hearts are as open to its fascination as elsewhere. But there, the idea of glory is to injure the enemy and destroy his resources, and at the same time augment one's own. Glory is not smoke, but plunder. The thirst for revenge is also a motive; but what vengeance is sweeter than to enrich oneself with the spoils of one's enemy? This threefold craving for glory, revenge, and plunder, could not possibly be gratified more promptly or efficaciously than by the razzia—the invasion by force or stratagem of the ground occupied by the foe, which contains all that is dear to him, his family and his fortune.
In the desert, there are three kinds of razzia. First of all there is the tehha ["the falling," from the verb tahh, "it is fallen">[, which takes place at the fedjeur, or dawn of day. In a tehha, the object is not pillage, but massacre: no thought is given to riches, but all to vengeance. The next is the khrotefa, which comes off at el aasseur, or two or three in the afternoon, and means nothing but rapine. And lastly, the terbigue, which is neither war, nor an affair of brigandage, but, at most, a thievish operation. The terbigue is attempted at nous el leïl, or midnight. When a razzia is determined upon, those who propose to take part in it say to one another Rana akeud, "we are a knot." The enterprise is arranged, the association formed, and a compact concluded—compact of life and death.
THE TEHHA.
When a tehha is contemplated, the sheikh issues orders to shoe the horses, to prepare food, and to provide a supply of barley for five or six days, more or less. These provisions are put into a semmât, or wallet, each taking his own. Previous to setting out, two or three mounted scouts are sent forward to reconnoitre the position of the enemy they propose to attack. The scouts are men of intelligence, well mounted, acquainted with the country, and circumspect. They take every precaution and make a great circuit, so that in the event of a surprise, they will appear from a quarter whence those whom they intend to assail are accustomed to see only friends appear. On arriving near to their destination, they place themselves in ambush, and one of them, separating from the band, penetrates on foot to the very heart of the douar, without exciting the slightest suspicion. As soon as they have obtained the necessary information respecting the numbers and disposition of the enemy, they retrace their steps and rejoin the goum, who await them at a spot previously agreed upon. Like the scouts they, too, have followed a path little calculated to inspire with apprehension those whom they propose to surprise. All necessary intelligence having been obtained, and the foe being now near at hand, it is arranged to fall upon him at the dawn of day, because at that hour they will find