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and is extending his dominion in the intermediary 
desert, between Damascus, Bagdad, and Bassora. 
There are few towns upon this vast sin face of land, 
except upon the borders of the sea; notwithstanding 
which, there are several millions of people, who inhabit 
tents and barracks, that are under the dominion of Sul- 
tan Saaoud, obey his orders blindly, and pay him the 
tenth of their flocks and fruits. This tenth is the tribute 
imposed by the Koran; and Saaoud does not exact any 
other contribution; but all his subjects are obliged to 
take up arms when he calls them, to nourish them- 
selves at their own expense, and to furnish every re- 
quisite for their use, which is equally commanded by 
their religion; so that their sovereign has always large 
armies, which cost him nothing to support. One camel 
generally carries two men, with sufficient water and 
provisions for them and itself, when they go upon ex- 
peditions. 
When the Sultan of the Wehhabites has occasion for 
troops, he writes to the different tribes, and indicates to 
them the number of men they are to send him. These 
men present themselves upon the day appointed, with 
their provisions, arms, and ammunition; for the Sultan 
never thinks of giving them any thing; such is the force 
of their religious ideas. 
The Wehhabites have the same arms which I have 
described the inhabitants of Mecca to use, and obtain 
their large gun-barrels from Europe or Turkey, which 
they mount very clumsily. They manufacture their own 
powder and balls, but with so little art, that the grains 
of the former are nearly of the size of peas; and the 
latter consist of nothing else than stones covered with a 
thin coat of lead. They buy this last article, and sulphur, 
at Mecca, and the different maritime towns of the pe- 
