THE RISE OF THE NEW ARAB NATION 



shape and of the required weight so that 

 two of them will make a load for a mule 

 or a camel are usually most suitable. The 

 mule-load is 180 pounds, divided into two 

 packages ; the camel's load is 450 pounds, 

 similarly divided. Traders say a good 

 mule, so loaded, will make 15 miles a day 

 and that a laden camel will do 12 miles. 



In 191 5-16 the United States bought a 

 greater share of Arabia's exports than 

 did any other country, and we sold the 

 Arabs over 40,000,000 yards of sheet- 

 ings, shirtings, drills, and jeans. Quite a 

 mail-order business ! . . 



"American^' unbleached cotton goods 

 have long been held in high repute in 

 Arabia. A few years ago 75 per cent of 

 all the cotton goods used there came from 

 the United States. The outbreak of war, 

 however, and the consequent interruption 

 of communications and shipping cut 

 down our piece-goods trade with Arabia 

 -and let in Japanese and Indian cottons. 

 But in spite of the present scarcity and 

 high price of Yankee sheetings, the Arabs 

 still prefer them because of their superior 

 quality. 



SEWING-MACHINES AND PHONOGRAPHS 

 POPULAR IN ARABIA 



Nearly all kerosene used for lighting 

 purposes in Arabian towns and tents 

 comes from the United States, and our 

 sewing-machines, phonographs, and "dol- 

 lar watches" are widely known from Bas- 

 sora to the bazaars of Jidda. In Aden, 

 Yankee-made motor cars and bicycles, 

 safety razors, clocks, and typewriters are 

 sold by native stores ; and thousands of 

 dollars' worth of American starch is im- 

 ported, from which Arab candy-makers 

 evolve the famous "Turkish Delight" of 

 the confectionary shops. 



Uncle Sam, in turn, buys much from 

 the Arab traders ; he would buy much 

 more, probably, if we had better shipping 

 facilities with that far-away land. The 

 "Dromedary Date," a familiar package in 

 grocery-store windows from Maine to 

 Texas, comes from Maskat and Bassora, 

 being picked, sorted, and packed by ring- 

 nosed Arab women in black robes and 

 mysterious yashmaks. From Yemen 

 comes our Mocha coffee, and from Ho- 

 deida and Aden we get hundreds of thou- 

 sands of goat and sheep skins. The 



Photograph from Frederick Simpich 



THE VEILED FIGURE BESPEAKS THE NEAR 

 EAST 



But the parasol indicates that the Hejaz. 

 woman has come in touch with the Occident. 



Arabs are experts at skinning, and these 

 hides seldom show a knife-cut. They are 

 usually brine-cured, and are classified as 

 firsts, seconds, and thirds. It takes an 

 Arab, a Hindu, or a Bagdad Jew to judge 

 these hides and skins accurately, and the 

 American importer of Arab skins is prac- 

 tically obliged to do business through na- 

 tive brokers. 



Sheep and goat skins arc collected 

 mostly at Mocha. Jidda, Hodeida, Kun- 

 fuda, and Jisan, and are usually carried 

 to Aden by camel, the latter port being 

 the chief hide market of the Red Sea 

 country. 



A new railway lias been projected, to 

 run north from the peninsula oi Aden. 

 Direct steamer service from India via 

 Aral) ports to New York is already being 

 resumed, and. with the admission o\ the 

 Kingdom of Hejaz to the family of na- 



