Show caseAMOST ALMOST WAR Jereed Play of the Wild Arabs of the Desert In the Desert with the Bedouin Is a paper written and illustrated by the English artist R Talbot Kelly that will In the wi appear February Century Mr Kelly thus describes one of the I diversions of the desert By far the most exciting of their equestrian sports I however is their pereed or short jave in play I put play in quotation marks to the It express sarcasm of for I I never saw anything more nearly approaching ap-proaching war In my life Two friendly tribes meet In a suitable bit of desert several hundred mounted men representing repre-senting each tribe and are drawn up facing each other Twirling his jereed the champion of one side rides into the open and in a loud voice and with much eloquence recounts his deeds of valor and with many sarcasms challenges chal-lenges one of the other side to fight On the appearance of an opposing champion in the arena the first turns to flee chased by the second and endeavors en-deavors to reach his own side before being caught by his pursuer Should I he succeed in escaping both turn again and the positions of fugitive and pursuer are reversed but it always ends in a fierce fight for supremacy in the middle in which one or the other is generally unseated often with the accompaniment of a few broken ribs or a fractured arm or leg Champions being be-ing eventually placed hors de combat the remaining bodies charge at each other and engage and in the excitement excite-ment of the moment when several I hundred men and their horses are involved I in-volved in the scrimmage the death of several men and horses frequently results re-sults before the sport concludes with I light refreshments and a possible funeral or two I As I remarked before this is the nearest approach to war possible and is almost as exciting for the onlooker I as for those engaged No bad blood I is engendered however whatever the I casualties may be this being an I honorable exhibition of skill where no i S malice kismet Is borne and any fatality I |