16 [ No. 97 GEOGRAPHY : SOKOTRA the cool months, and is about 10° F. (5.5° C. ) higher in April and May ; in the hills it is said to be about 9° F. (5° C. ) cooler than in the plains.

(4) SANITARY CONDITIONS The island is said to be healthy, but there is a certain amount of malarial fever in the coastal plain of Tamarida. It is thought that the chief ailments of the natives arise from gastric troubles. It is stated by one authority that the natives make no use of plants for medicinal purposes, and that the remedy they employ chiefly is cauterization with a hot iron .

(5 ) RACE AND LANGUAGE Not much is known about the racial affinities of the Sokotrans. The inhabitants of the coastal region are described as of mixed Arab , Indian, and African blood , while the interior is occupied by Bedous (Bedouin ), who are considered to be of three different races . The Karshin , who occupy the western end of the island , claim Portuguese descent ; the Momis, at the eastern end, claim Abyssinian descent ; and the Kamhanes, in the Mount Haghier region, say that they are a mixture of the aboriginal inhabitants with Mahra Arabs. The Arabs say that the Sokotrans have Greek blood , and this isis probably true. One authority distinguishes three different types among the Bedous. The first class are tall, broad -shouldered , with stout limbs and lean flanks, thin lips, and straight hair ; the second are shorter in build, with round heads, thick lips, and curly hair ; the third are of Semitic type, with lean limbs, small heads , long noses , thick lips, and straight hair.

The language of the Bedous, which is not written , is believed to be derived from that of the Mahra country a