The whole skin was too dear. The Bedouins, who bring it here,
usually demand two or three dollars per pound for it, when quite pure;
and the Szafra Arabs re-sell it to the hadjys of the great caravan, at
between eight and twelve dollars per pound in an adulterated state. It
is bought up principally by Persians.
The Balesan for sale at Djidda and Mekka, from whence it comes to Cairo,
always undergoes several adulterations; and if a hadjy does not casually
meet with some Bedouins, from whom he may purchase it at first hand, no
hopes can be entertained of getting it in a pure state. The richer
classes of the hadjys put a drop of Balesan into the first cup of coffee
they drink in the morning, from a notion that it acts as a tonic. The
seeds of the tree from which it is obtained, are employed in the Hedjaz
to procure abortion.
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.
