Under ordinary circumstances Lehi would have had commercial dealings with the mixed population—Arabs, Ishmaelites, Simeonites, etc., through the countries of which they traveled. But the “director” led the company through the most fertile parts of the wilderness, instead of the more thickly populated regions. They had to forage for themselves. They were thus preserved from contact with the idolatrous tribes. Perhaps this was necessary because of the rebellious disposition of the brothers of Nephi.