The first action of an Arab when he, dismounts at a
halt upon the march, and sits beneath a tree, is to
draw his sword ; and after trying both edges with
his thumb, he carefully strops the blade to and fro
upon his shield until a satisfactory proof of the edge
is made by shaving the hair off his arm, after which
it is returned to the sheath, I have measured
these swords; that of a fair average size is three
feet in the length of blade, and one inch and
seven-eighths in breadth; the hilt, from the top
of the guard to the extremity, five and a half
inches. Thus the sword complete would be about
three _ feet five or six inches. Such a weapon
possesses immense power, as the edge is nearly
as sharp as a razor. But the Arabs have not
the slightest knowledge of swordsmanship ; they
never parry with the blade, but trust entirely to the
shield, and content themselves with slashing either
at their adversary or at the animal that he rides;
one good cut delivered by a powerful arm would
sever a man at the waist like a carrot. The- Arabs
are not very powerful men; they are extremely fight
and active, and generally average about five feet eight
inches in height. But their swords are far too heavy
for their strength; and although they can deliver a
severe cut, they cannot recover the sword sufficiently
quick to parry, therefore they are contented with the
shield as their only guard. If opposed to a good
swordsman they would be perfectly at his mercy, as
a feint at the head causes them to raise the shield ;
this prevents them from seeing the point, that would
immediately pass through the body.
Notwithstanding their deficiency in the art of
the sword, they are wonderful fellows to cut and
slash, and when the sharp edge of the heavy weapon
touches an enemy, the effect is terrible.
The elephant-hunters, or aggageers, exhibited their
swords, which differed in no respect from those usually
worn; but they were bound with cord very closely
from the guard for about nine inches along the blade,
to enable them to be grasped by the right hand, while
the hilt was held by the left; the weapon was thus
converted into a two-handed sword. The scabbards
were strengthened by an extra covering, formed of
the skin of the elephant’s ear.
In a long conversation with these men, I found
a corroboration of all that I had previously heard of
their exploits, and they described the various methods
of killing the elephant with the sword. Those hunters
who could not afford to purchase horses hunted on
foot, in parties not exceeding two persons. Their
method was to follow the tracks of an elephant, so
as to arrive at their game between the hours of
10 a .m . and noon, at which time the animal is either
asleep, or extremely listless, and easy to approach.
Should they discover the animal asleep, one of the
hunters would creep stealthily towards the head, and
with one blow sever the trunk while stretched upon
the ground; in which case, the elephant would start
upon his feet,, while the hunters escaped in the con