186 
JOURNEY FROM 
unable to find them ; and strangers might often pass within a 
hundred yards of their tents, without suspecting there was a soul 
in the neighbourhood. As the whole property of a wandering Arab 
consists in his flocks and cattle, and the few little articles contained 
in his tent, he has very little trouble in moving, and half an hour 
after he has determined to leave the place of his residence, 
no traces will remain of his late habitation, but the ashes scattered 
about the hole in the earth which served his whole family for 
a fire-place. His sheep and cattle are collected without diffi- 
culty at the sound of his voice, or that of some part of his 
family, while his tent, in the mean time, with all its contents, 
the chief of which are his wives and his children, are packed up 
in a few minutes on the backs of his camels, and ready to move 
on with the rest. If he is not pressed for time, the women often 
walk with the older children, and assist in driving the cattle ; and 
should he have no camels, which is very often the case, both women 
and children are loaded to the utmost of their strength with such 
articles as cannot be transported in other ways. But neither women 
nor children on these fatiguing occasions exhibit any signs of discon- 
tent or uneasiness ; the length of their journey and the weight of 
their burdens are borne with the greatest cheerfulness ; and the 
whole is considered as a matter of course, which their habits of life 
have accustomed them to expect, and to support without any other 
effects than the temporary fatigue of the exertion. If the journey 
should be long, the tent is seldom unpacked till they have arrived at 
the place of their destination, and the whole party sleep very soundly 
on the ground, in the midst of their sheep and cattle, till the first 
