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

cir. XXV.] Bedouin Love of Money. 209
great distances, and give himself infinite toil and
trouble to acquire a few pieces, the value of which
in camels or sheep he would not be at the pains to
collect.
In like manner a sheykli, wlio would not
suffer himself to be tempted by more practical offers
of ad^^antage, will often forget his dignity at the
sight of coin. It is by trading on this weakness
that the Turks have gained many of their " diplomatic
triumplis " in the desert.
In spite, however, of their love of money the
Bedouins are not clever commercially. The offer
of buying their property is always a little distasteful
to them, in some cases insulting ; and they have
no better principle of dealing than to increase the
price demanded in strict proportion to the supposed
willingness of the purcliaser to buy. It often
happens, for this reason, that a horse or a camel,
which they begin by refusing to
one purcliaser, will
afterwards be sold to anotlier at a third of the
original price. The commercial spirit, however,
differs considerably in the different tribes. The
Eeni Sakhr, for instance, though accounted pure
Bedouins, are said to be as thorough traders as the
Jews themselves ; and, among the Anazeli even,
there are well-known commercial tribes. These,
however, are not the most esteemed.
Public opinion, though acknowledging the delights
of wealth, .always respects a man who is
indifferent to them. The great sheykhs are usually
liberal of their property, distributing largely among