366 THE SIMOOM. 



to the untutored mind, the only means of accounting- 

 for such strange and to them, of course, wholly 

 inexplicable phenomena, is by assuming" that they are 

 the work of some evil spirit. The existence of these 

 spirits is, moreover, frequently mentioned, both in the 

 Koran and also in the Scriptures. Thus insanity is 

 always set down in the latter to the evil spirit, and the 

 individual is said to be " possessed of a devil. " Both 

 amongst the Arabs and the Red Indians of North 

 America, this supposed supernatural character of men- 

 tal disease causes these unfortunate persons to be 

 regarded with great veneration, and in the East such 

 persons frequently assume the saintly character of 

 hermits, marabouts, and other devotees. The mind, in 

 such cases, is supposed to be in heaven, whilst the body 

 alone remains upon earth; and thus it comes to pass 

 that these persons are regarded as the special favourites 

 of heaven, and even crimes committed by them do 

 not detract from their supposed saintly character, 

 because the mind being abstracted from worldly things 

 is believed to leave the bodily passions without 

 control. * 



Another remarkable feature of the desert, though it 

 is by no means confined to these desolate regions only, 

 is the hot wind, or " Simoom," as it is now generally 

 called, though a variety of different names have been 

 given to it, in various parts of the world. 



There seems to be good reason to believe that these 

 winds in all probability have their origin in the desert, 

 which is supposed to act as the oven which gives 

 off the heated air, which is then carried down over the 



* An Account of the. Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, 

 by Edwd. Wm. Lane, 5th Edition, p. 232. 



