The men attend to the cattle, and make depredatory excursions for stealing slaves, on which occasions their few, but exceedingly beautiful and hardy horses render them essential service. When a tribe of Bakkara is encamped in the vicinity of the hills of the negroes, the horsemen are sent out to kidnap boys or girls. They have not yet had the courage to carry on this business on the same extensive scale as Mehemed Ali. The mode of proceeding is the following:—The Bakkari repair to places in which it is likely that these children will congregate,—for example, in the vicinity of separate droves of cattle, or to wells,—where they lie in ambush, and as soon as one of the children is within reach, they seize it, mount their horses, and ride away with their prize at full gallop. Although the scene of this robbery may be in the neighbourhood of a village, or of a tribe of negroes, and it even create a disturbance, yet they are certain of their prey, for their fleet steeds soon carry them beyond the reach of their pursuers, who, moreover, possess no horses. They live very contentedly among themselves, and are very happy, as I was assured by one of their sheikhs, who added,—“We have beautiful horses, handsome wives, good fare, suffer no want, and might even call ourselves rich; but our enemies, who surround us on all sides, and especially the flies, so dangerous to our cattle, embitter our lives; for, in order to escape the latter plague, we are forced to leave the safe parts of the country. In the neighbourhood of the negroes we cannot remain, as they would rise in mass against us, and destroy us all, in revenge for their kidnapped children; thus we are forced to choose the least of these many evils, and to deliver ourselves into the hands of the Turks, who treat us with great harshness and cruelty, and take away by force what we will not give them willingly,—but ALLAH KERIM (as God will)!”