GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 189 



The forfeit for killing a watch-dog is remarkable : 

 The dead animal is held up by the tail, so that its 

 nose just touches the ground ; its length is then' 

 measured, and a stick of equal dimensions is fixed 

 into the earth. Over this the delinquent is obliged 

 to pour as much wheat as will wholly cover it. The 

 wheat is the fine due to the owner of the dog. The 

 evidence of a witness may be given verbally or in 

 writing; and where there are none, the accused 

 party is acquitted on solemnly attesting his inno- 

 cence by an oath. 



There are several kinds of judicial oaths in use 

 among the Arabs : one of the most common is to 

 lay hold with one hand of the rcasat or middle 

 tent-pole, and swear " by the life of this tent and 

 its owners." The " oath of the wood" is more se- 

 rious, and consists in taking a piece of stick or stone, 

 and swearing " by God and the life of him who 

 caused it to be green and dried it up." The " oath 

 of the cross lines" is only used on very important 

 occasions, suppose stolen goods, or where the fact of 

 the guilt cannot be proved by witnesses. The ac- 

 cuser leads the suspected person to a distance from 

 the camp j and then with his sekin or crooked knife 

 draws on the sand a large circle with several cross 

 lines inside. The defendant is obliged to put his 

 right foot, sometimes both feet, within this magic 

 ring, the accuser doing the same, and charging him 

 to repeat the following words : " By God, and in 

 God, and through God, I did not take it, and it is 

 not in my possession." To make this ceremony still 

 more solemn, a camel's udder-bag (shemle) and an 

 ant (nemle) are placed together within the circle, 

 indicating that the accused swears by the hope of 



VOL. II. M 



