I must notice here, as a peculiarity in the customs of the Beni Salem tribe, that, in case of the Dye, or the fine for a man slain, (amounting here to eight hundred dollars,) being accepted by the deceased’s family, the sum is made up by the murderer and his family, and by his relations; the former paying one-third, and the kindred two-thirds; a practice which, as far as my knowledge extends, does not prevail in any other part of the Desert. Our Bedouin guides had here a long quarrel with the Malays. The guides had bargained in the market for two camels, to replace two that were unfit to continue the journey; but not having money enough to [p.311] pay for them, they required the assistance of the Malays, and begged them to lend ten dollars, to be repaid at Medina. The Malays refused, and being hardly pressed, endeavoured to engage my interposition in their behalf; but the Bedouins forced the money from them by the same means which I had employed on a former occasion: the purse of a Malay, which had been concealed in a bag of rice, now came to light; it probably contained three hundred dollars. The owner was so much frightened by this discovery, and the apprehension that the Arabs would murder him on the road for the sake of his money, that by way of punishment for his avarice, they contrived to keep him in a constant state of alarm till we arrived at Medina. January 24th. We left the Souk-Es’-Szafra [During the night, a Kurd courier, mounted upon a dromedary, escorted by several Bedouins, passed through Szafra; he came from the head-quarters of Mohammed Aly, and was the bearer of the intelligence of the capture of Tarabe to Tousoun Pasha, at Medina] we passed the Omra thus far the road is paved in several parts with large stones, particularly on the ascents. We passed through valleys of firm sand, between irregular chains of low hills, where some shrubs and stunted acacia-trees grow. The road, with few exceptions, was perfectly level.] at 3 P.M., and rode along the valley, which widens a little beyond the market-place. The brilliant verdure of the date-trees and plantations form a singular contrast with the barren mountains on each side. Our direction was N. 10 E. I found the rock here composed throughout of red Thon stone, with transverse strata of the same substance, but of a green colour; beyond Djedeyde, a little higher up, I found, in my return from Medina, feldspar rocks. At one hour from the Souk, we passed a similar village in the valley, called El Kharma, which is comprised within the Wady Szafra. At the end of two hours, we came to a public fountain in ruins, on the road, near a well half choked up. The valley here divides; one branch turns towards the N.W.; the other, which we followed, N.N.E. Two hours and a half, we passed a hamlet called Dar el Hamra, with gardens of date-trees, and plantations, inhabited by the tribe of Howaseb, another branch of Harb. Several small