Men here seem to think that they ought to be paid for every
blessed thing they do.
The Arab chiefs, too, were kindly hosts, they gave me the best of
food, generally a sort of Irish stew of chickens and rice, and made me
comfortable in their own tents at night under their blankets.
They are very clean people, very brave, very courteous and very
honourable. So they are true Scouts of the Desert. They have a number
of little camp customs which Scouts ought to know--and many of them
are like those practised by scouts.
Arabs are always very strict in saluting each other.
The custom of saluting came, as you know, from the old times, when
everybody carried weapons, and the act of raising the right hand on
meeting another man was meant to show that you had not got a weapon in
that hand, and were therefore a friend.
It is exactly the same to this day with the Zulus and other South
African tribes, who carry clubs and assegais; on meeting each other
they pass their weapons into the left hand, and raise their right to
show that it is empty, and that therefore they don't mean to fight
you.
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