one of the tribes of wandering Arabs which inhabit the Sahara, or Great Desert of Africa. Their time is wholly occupied by tending their cattle; and because they are little skilled in the use of arms, Mongeart is a term of contempt among the people by whom they are surrounded. Their country, with its produce, will be described under the title Sahara in this Supplement; it is the business of this article merely to exhibit the manners of the people.

They are all Mahometans, and offer up prayers three times a-day, sometimes oftener; but having no mosques, these prayers are never pronounced in public, except when the horde is visited by a priest, who seldom comes but upon account of the children's education. Then all the Arabs assemble at the hour of prayer, place themselves in a line, turn to the east, and, wanting water in the desert, rub their face and arms with sand; while the priest recites aloud the general prayer. It is the same as that which is rehearsed by the public crier in the mosques in civilized countries.

The priests are employed in travelling about the country to instruct the children. There is nothing like force in their education. The little boys meet in the morning of their own accord, at the place of instruction, which is to them a place of recreation. They go there with a small board inscribed with the Arabic characters, and a few maxims of the Koran. The oldest, and the best informed, receive their lessons directly from the priests, and afterwards communicate them to their Mongeart fellows. They are never corrected; because it would be a crime to beat a child, who, according to the received notions, has not sufficient reason to distinguish good from evil. This lenity extends even to the children of Christians, though in a state of slavery. They are treated in all respects like the children of Arabs; and the man who should be rash enough to strike one of them, would endanger his life. Very different is their treatment of Negro children; who may indeed join in all the amusements of the young Arabs, and even attend the public schools; but if they be guilty of a fault, they are severely punished.

When the child of a Mongeart becomes tired of the places of public instruction, he quits them at pleasure, and, without feeling constraint, or hearing reproach, goes and employs himself in tending his father's flocks; and accordingly there are very few among them who can read. Those who persevere in the study of the Koran are made priests, after having past an examination before the learned elders, and enjoy the greatest public consideration. They have no need of cattle; for those of the nation being theirs, they find their subsistence everywhere.

It is generally at seven or eight years of age that children undergo the painful operation of circumcision. Their head is also shaved, nothing being left but four locks of hair; one of which is cut off in a meeting of the family, at each remarkable action performed by the child. If, at the age of 12 or 13, he kill a wild boar, or other beast of prey, that should fall upon his flock, he loses one of his locks. If, in the passage of a river, a camel be carried away by the stream, and he save it by swimming to its assistance, another is cut off. If he kill a lion, a tiger, or a warrior of an hostile nation, in a surprize or an attack, he is considered as a man, and his head is entirely shaved.

Different from the other Arabs their neighbours, and indeed from the Mahometans in general, the Mongearts trouble no man on account of his religion. The only one which they do not tolerate is the Jewish; and were a Jew to enter their territory, and have the misfortune to be taken, he would certainly be burnt alive.

According to M. Saugnier, the women are much more respected among the Mongearts than among the neighbouring nations; but the evidences which he gives of this respect are very extraordinary.

When a Mongeart is desirous of undertaking the care of a family, he pitches upon the girl that pleases him the most, and asks her of her father without further formality; nor can the latter refuse her, unless the man who pretends to her hand have done something contrary to the laws of the nation. The girl is conducted by her parents to the tent of her future husband, where there is always an abundant repast prepared for the ceremony. Presents are made to the father; but if the son-in-law be poor, his wife's family afflit him, and furnish him with the means of increasing his flocks; if, on the contrary, he be rich, and the father poor, he supports the whole family in his own tent. The employment of the wife, thus married, is to prepare the food; to spin the goats and camels' hair, of which the tents are made; to milk the cattle; to pick up the necessary supply of wood for the night; and when the hour of repast is come, to wait upon her husband. She then Mongearts then eat by herself what has been left by him and his male slaves. She is, indeed, in no great danger of having a rival brought into the family; for though polygamy be allowed by his religion, the poverty of the Mongeart generally prevents him from taking a plurality of wives. She is, however, liable to be divorced at will when she does not bear boys; but if she have the good fortune to have one or more male children, her husband's regard for her is inconceivable. She has no longer a divorce to fear, has an absolute authority in the tent, and passes her whole time in conversation, sleep, or dancing, as she thinks fit. The captive negroes do all her work, and are no longer afflicted in their labour by the Arab's wife, who treats them, on the contrary, with the greatest harshness and arrogance.

When a woman is not agreeable to her husband, or when he is disagreeable to her, they have it in their power to part. The formality in this case consists in the wife's retiring to her parents. If the husband be attached to her, he goes thither in quest of her; but if the profit in refusing to return, she is free, and at liberty to marry another. If, however, she have had a child, especially a boy, she has not the same privilege; in that case, if her retreat should last more than eight days, it might be punished with death.

When a man beats his wife, it is a sure sign that he is sincerely attached to her, and that he does not mean to part with her; if he content himself with reproaches, the wife thinks herself despised, and infallibly retires to her parents. Hence it is, that in the most trifling disputes the women are cruelly beaten; they prefer it to the complaints that the husband might make to their parents; this proof being the most certain one of a man's fondness for his wife. When a girl marries, she makes up her mind to such treatment, deeming it much more supportable than the humiliations she would otherwise experience from her family, in consequence of her husband's complaints.

The conjugal fidelity of the Mongeart women is incorruptible. Differing in their opinions from many other Mahometans, they believe themselves immortal like the men; but they do not flatter themselves with the possibility of happiness in the other world, unless they shall have been faithful to their husbands in this. Women, who have been false to their husband's bed, will be doomed, they think, to eternal slavery to the more virtuous part of their sex, without ever partaking, in the smallest degree, of their bliss.

Mongeart women often visit one another; and on these occasions, the honour consists in letting the female who comes to see her friend or relation do all the work of the tent. The visitor assumes the management of every thing, drelles the victuals, churns the butter, and keeps herself continually employed; while her friend entertains her with an account of the different affairs of the family or nation. The heartiness of the welcome is measured by the extent of the work submitted to the guest, who generally prepares double the usual quantity of food; so that the Arab is obliged to invite his neighbours to partake of the repast. The slaves are always pleased with these entertainments, a larger portion then coming to their lot. It is the business of the visitor to do the honours; nor will the suffer any body about her to remain dissatisfied.

The laws of hospitality are observed among the Mongearts as among all the wandering Arabs. Indeed they are carried to such a length, that were a man to enter the tent of him whom he had wounded, or even killed, he would there meet with a sacred and inviolable asylum, although surrounded by those who must naturally desire his ruin. The tent of the chief is always that to which strangers, upon their arrival in the horde, are directed. But the chief could not entertain, at his own expense, all the strangers that happen to pass; and therefore every tent in the horde is obliged to furnish him with two pounds of ground barley per week, to enable him to maintain the ancient hospitality.

The chiefs of hordes are always the eldest of their families. The difference of wealth is not considered; the chief often having several individuals at his house richer than himself, who nevertheless obey him in every particular. He is, properly speaking, their king; examines their difference with the old men, and judges without appeal. As to himself, he cannot be tried but by the chiefs of several hordes assembled. It is his business to determine the spots where the tents are to be pitched, the moment of departure, and the place where the caravan is to stop. If the pasture do not suffice for the herds of all the horde, it divides, and the chief assigns the ground for the different encampments. They are very often composed of no more than seven or eight tents, according to the quality of the ground they meet with. The tent of the chief is always the largest and most lofty, and is placed in the centre of the divisions. When it is determined upon to quit an encampment, which never happens till the pasture is exhausted, the chief sets off to choose another spot. In these removals the women alone do all the work. Early in the morning they fold up the tent, and load every thing upon the camels backs; they then move slowly on, that the cattle may have time to feed upon the way.

Great respect is paid by the Mongearts to all old men, who enjoy the same prerogatives as the priests, and such Arabs as have visited the tomb of Mahomet at Mecca. Together with the chief they are the judges of the horde, and take cognizance of all offences, the pain of death being the only punishment which they cannot decree. An assembly of several chiefs is the only tribunal which can inflict capital punishment; but as the accused has generally a number of friends, it seldom happens that he is capitally convicted.

A war between two Mongeart tribes seldom happens, and is never bloody; but the different families destroy one another fast enough in their intestine broils. They are all thieves; and indeed theft is a crime only in the daytime, being authorized by law during the night, in order to compel them to take care of their cattle. Could they find redress when robbed by night, they would be less vigilant; and their herds and flocks would be more exposed to the wild beasts that over-run their country; but being obliged to be on their guard even against their nearest neighbours, they are always ready to repel both the lion and the tiger. Theft, even in the daytime, is so far from being punished, unless detected at the instant of commission, that when any thing is stolen unperceived, it becomes the lawful property of the thief. In vain would the rightful owner recognize it in his neighbour's tent; he cannot reclaim it; it ceases to be his from the moment he has been negligent in its care. Hence arises this people's inclination for rapine; Mongearts they do not think they commit a crime, and only follow, in this regard, a custom allowed by their laws.

When an Arab is going to market, or on his return from thence, if he do not take the greatest care to keep his journey a secret, he is often attacked. Neighbouring Arabs are desirous of profiting by his industry; and as there are no persons in the country appointed to apprehend robbers, the hope of booty spurs them on to the attack. That they may have nothing to fear, they lie in wait, when the night is coming on, for him whom they mean to pillage. Their intention is never to kill; they only endeavour to surprize, to disarm, and to make themselves masters of every thing that comes in their way. But it sometimes happens, that the man they intend to plunder, being acquainted with the customs of his country, keeps an attentive ear, stands on his guard, fires upon his assailants at the first motion he observes, and then fights desperately with his dagger. The report of the musket almost always brings out the neighbouring Arabs, who, in virtue of the laws of hospitality, take the defence of the weaker side. They run up well armed; and then woe to the aggressors, if they do not save themselves by a speedy flight.

The flocks and herds of the Mongearts are composed of nothing but sheep, goats, and camels; all animals patient of thirst. Horses are very scarce in these cantons, none but the possessors of numerous herds being able to keep them; because, for want of water, it is necessary to have milk in sufficient abundance to give it them to drink. Great care is taken to preserve the camel's urine, both to mix with milk, and to wash the different vessels in which they put their food. Detestable as is this mixture of milk and urine, they are often reduced to the use of it; hunger and thirst give a relish to every thing.

The only workmen useful to this nation are blacksmiths or goldsmiths, as they may be called indifferently. The Mongearts not being sufficiently laborious to apply themselves to such occupations, these workmen come from Biladulgerid, and disperse themselves all over the different parts of the desert. Wherever there are tents they are sure to find work. They are fed for nothing, and receive besides the hire for their labour. They make trinkets for the women, such as ear-rings and bracelets, &c. mend the broken vessels, by riveting them, and clean the arms. They are generally paid in skins, goats and camels' hair, or ostrich feathers, according to their agreement. Those who have silver pay them a tenth part of its weight for any thing wrought out of that metal. On their return they sell what they have earned; four or five excursions at most enabling them to live afterwards at their ease in their own country.

The Mongearts always carry a leathern bag, suspended from their neck, in which they put their tinder, their pipe, and their tobacco. Their daggers are elegant; the hilt is always black, and inlaid with ivory; the blade is crooked, and sharp on either side; the sheath is of brass on one side, and of silver on the other, and of very tolerable workmanship. They wear sabres when they can get them, and prefer those of Spanish make. Their muskets are always highly ornamented; the stock is very small, and inlaid on every side with ivory, and the barrel embossed with brass or silver, according to the opulence of the owner. There is a spring to the lock, covering the priming, to prevent the piece from firing going off, contrary to the intention of him who carries it. The poor, who do not possess muskets, wear daggers, made like the Flemish knives, with leathern sheaths. They arm themselves also with a thick stick, to the end of which they fix a kind of iron wedge. This weapon is exceedingly dangerous at close quarters. Others carry sagays, or slender javelins. In a word, the principal riches of an Arab, and his highest gratifications, are a handsome musket and a good dagger. He prefers them to neatness of apparel; for as to dress, it is indifferent to him whether he be clothed in Guinea blues, woollen stuffs, or goatskins. Their arms being their principal ornament, they take particular care to put the muskets in leathern bags, by way of keeping them in good order, and preserving them from the rust.

All the riches of the Mongearts consist in their herds; and accordingly they take the greatest care to preserve them. If a beast be sick, everything is done to cure it; no care is spared; it is even treated with more attention than a man; but when it evidently appears that there is no hope of saving its life, they kill and eat it. If it be a camel, the neighbours are called in to partake of the repast; if a goat, the inhabitants of the tent suffice for its consumption. An animal that dies without shedding blood is unclean. Its throat must be cut; the person who kills it turning to the east, and pronouncing beforehand the first words of the general prayer. An animal killed by a wild boar is unclean; nor is it eaten although its blood has been shed, because the wild boar is itself an unclean beast. That species is so numerous in the desert, that they do more mischief than all the other wild beasts together. The Arabs kill as many as they can; but never taste their flesh.

Whatever losses an Arab may meet with, he is never heard to complain; he rises superior to poverty, supports hunger, thirst, and fatigue, with patience, and his courage is proof against every event. God will have it so, says he; he employs, however, every means in his power to avert misfortune; and often exposes himself to the greatest dangers to procure matters of no real utility.

When a father of a family dies, all the effects in his tent are seized upon by the eldest son present at his decease. Gold, silver, trinkets, every thing disappears; and the absent children have only an equal share in the division of the cattle and the slaves. The girls are entirely excluded from all participation, and take up their residence with their eldest brother. If the deceased leave children in helpless infancy, the mother takes them with her to her sister's, if she have a fitted married; if not, to her own maternal roof. The dead man's possessions, however, are not lost; the chief of the horde takes care of them, and delivers them in equal portions to the heirs, as soon as they are old enough to manage their own property. If an Arab die without male children, his wife returns to her relations, and his brother inherits his effects.

The Mongearts have a rooted abhorrence of the Spaniards, and never fail to massacre every man of that nation who is so unfortunate as to be shipwrecked on their coasts, while they reserve the women for sale at Morocco. The reason of this hatred is, that the inhabitants of the Canaries make frequent descents on the Mongeart coasts, and carry off men, women, cattle, and every