[78]. The Beni-Mezab form, in the midst of the populations of the desert, a small nation by themselves, distinguished by the severity of their manners, a peculiar dialect, honesty that has passed into a proverb, and certain differences in their religious ceremonies.
[79]. The Arab pride is here revealed in its full force. The produce of our horses, our camels, and our sheep, say they, exempts us from the necessity of working, and yet we can procure without difficulty all that these miserable Christians manufacture with so much labour.
[80]. A large tribe of Berber origin who hold the gates of the Sahara and the Soudan, and levy upon caravans a tax for entering, a tax for leaving, and a tax for passing through, their territory. They deal, also, in slaves.
[81]. A negro kingdom to the southward, in which certain small tribes still make use of poisoned arrows.
[82]. The Arabs give the name of Djouad to the military nobility who derive their origin from the Mehal, the conquerors from the East, and followers of the companions of the Prophet. The common people suffer much from the injustice and oppression of the Djouad, who strive to efface the memory of their ill-treatment, and maintain their influence, by generously according hospitality and protection to all who claim them. In other words, they combine in the highest degree the two salient traits of the national character, avidity of gain, and love of pomp and ostentation.
[83]. Sister is here used in the sense of lover or mistress.
[84]. Blood money. In the Sahara the dya is reckoned at three hundred sheep, or fifty three-year old camels.
[85]. A small square chapel surmounted by a dome, in which a marabout has usually been interred. Solitary travellers find in them a resting place.
[86]. In order to make the purification complete, it is necessary to cut through the œsophagus, the tracheal artery, and the two jugular veins.
[87]. A kind of leather dressed at Tafilalet.