Of its wood are made the
roofs of houses, the frames of camel-saddles, and bowls for holding milk
and other food. With the berries and a mixture of oil the people prepare
their water-skins, as well as tan leather. The valley is strewed with
huge branches, cut down for the purpose of extracting resin. The ethel
and the batoum are the most interesting of desert-trees, and I shall
regret to exchange them for the tholukh. I wrote down the names of
fourteen shrubs found in the valley of Taghijah: two of them, the sidr
and the katuf, are edible by man; the rest, with the exception of the
_hijatajel_, afford food for the camels.
In this valley, amongst the trees, we found the flocks and horses of the
Waled Bou Seif feeding. This tribe--the children of the Father of the
Sword--are wandering Arabs, who have never acknowledged the authority of
the Tripoli Government. They possess flocks, camels, and horses,--every
element, in fact, of desert wealth. All the mountains near and round
about Mizdah are claimed by them as their country, which has never,
perhaps, been reduced by any power but the Roman. A young man of the
tribe, who was tending some sheep in the valley, came to visit us. He
was a fine, cheerful fellow, with an open countenance, well dressed,
having, besides his barracan, red leather boots, trousers, and a shirt.
All his tribe, according to his account, are so dressed.
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