Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates Vol 2 - The Search For Mecca

cii. XXV.] Lazi). 205
shame attacliecl to such acts of rapine, more than
in ancient times was attached to the plunder and
enslaving of aliens within the Eoman frontier.
By
desert law, the act of passing through the desert
entails forfeiture of goods to whoever can seize
them.*
A respect for law is indeed one of the leading
features of the Bedouin character ; but it must Ije
understood of their own law only, not of Turkish or
European law. These they despise. Justice indeed,
substantial justice independent of persons, is nowhere
more often appealed to nor more certain of
attainment than in the desert. The poor man there
never suffers wrong, as a i^oor man; and all
cases are decided according to
the strict meaning of
the law, it is impossible to say the letter, for it is
unwritten. Petty cases are disposed of daily l^y the
Sheykh of the section or tribe, much as a country
magistrate deals with, questions of vagrancy or
affiliation, while more important matters are reserved
for the special decision of a superior or
stranger Sheykh, or else for arbitration by tlu-ee,
seven, or twelve jurors. I know of a case thus
decided by jury, which will serve as an excellent
illustration of the kind of disputes raised, and
* " According to Eoman law, iu its more improved state, an alien
with whose country the relations of friendshii^ and hospitalitj' did
not exist, was not technically considered an enemy, liosth, yet his
person might lawfully be enslaved and his in-operty confiscated if
found on Eoman territory."—Wheaton's Law of Nations.