134 LIFE WITH THE HAMRAN ARABS. 



same water-bottle, I beheld for the first time feast with 

 the rest upon the raw entrails, whilst with hands covered 

 with blood he did his share of the work. Busy as he 

 was I was not forgotten, for one man was told off to 

 make a fire and cook slices of the liver and flesh, and 

 when they were done Essafi brought them to me, and, 

 squatting by my side, cut off small bits in turn for us both. 

 How could one refuse so delicate an attention ! The lion's 

 share, however, fell to him, for I found that hippo-flesh 

 ' toasted ' before it had even cooled down after death 

 was, though very excellent in flavour, a trifle too tough, 

 and that a little went a long way, especially with the 

 surroundings of which for some time I had been a spec- 

 tator. Cooking a VArabe is a simple process. A fire 

 is instantly made by breaking up a lump of dry ele- 

 phant's manure always to be found, though sometimes 

 reduced to a cinder by the sun, and after placing over 

 it a few sticks, and on the top of these some big pebbles, 

 it is set in a blaze when we are absent, by a spark from 

 a flint on some tinder that one or other Arab is sure 

 to have in his possession, but when present a request is 

 always made for the burning-glass each of us carries, as 

 Its power of producing the needful spark is a constant 

 source of astonishment and delight to them. When the 

 stones are well heated, the strips of meat are laid upon 

 them and rapidly cooked, and when antelope are thus 

 treated the bones are * devilled.' 



