ARABIA, THE DESERT OF THE SEA 



1043 



COLLECTING SALT OFF THE DESERT 



Large quantities of salt are exchanged for the daily necessities of life in Arabia. It is 

 obtained from brine springs that are numerous in Arabia. 



be lost in the trackless expanse of Arabia 

 Deserta, and here really begins the new 

 field of research and travel. 



Due east of Medaba, on the plains of 

 Moab, near Nebo, and at some 200 miles 

 distant, is the twin town of Kaf, sur- 

 rounded entirely by the desert. This 

 place is under the jurisdiction of the 

 great Ibn Rasheed, the independent ruler 

 of Arabia, and is controlled by a local 

 chief who is responsible to his lord and 

 master in the distant metropolis of Hayil. 

 To him the chief has to remit an annual 

 tax of 80 cents for every male in his 

 district, and to him must be referred all 

 cases too difficult for solution by the 

 local representative. 



The Kafites obtain the necessities of life 

 by the accumulation of salt, which is 



bartered in large quantities to men who 

 come with caravans from the north, 

 having with them wheat and barley to 

 exchange. All around Kaf are never- 

 failing springs of brine, which is 

 drawn in skins and poured into shallow 

 beds in the sand. The extreme heat soon 

 evaporates the water, leaving a solid de- 

 posit of white crystal salt. When thor- 

 oughly dry this is stored in mud bins to 

 await the coming of buyers. 



This commodity, so essential to the 

 daily life of the Arabian, generally 

 fetches measure for measure of wheat 

 and twice as much in barley, the former 

 being preferred. The cultivation of the 

 date-palm also claims a portion of the 

 Kafee's time, not so much, however, for 

 profit as to provide the morning meal 



