James Grey Jackson.

Engraved by E. Scriven (Historical Engraver to H.R.H. the Prince Regent.)
from an Aquatinta profile by M^rs. Read.

Published Aug^st. 12^th. 1811. by G. & W. Nicol. Pall Mall.

An
Accurate Map
of
West Barbary,
Including
Suse and Tafilelt,
forming the Dominions of the present
Emperor of Marocco,
Containing
several Towns, & Districts never
inserted in any former Map,
By
James Grey Jackson 1811.

London Published Augst. 30th. 1811. by G. & W. Nicoll Pall Mall.

S. T. Neele. sc. Strand.

[iii]ADVERTISEMENT
TO THE SECOND EDITION.

The very favourable manner in which the first Edition of this Account of Marocco was received by the Public, and the flattering terms in which it was spoken of by the most eminent Critical Journals of the day,[1] afford me now an opportunity, in presenting a second Edition to the world, of thus publicly returning my most grateful acknowledgments, and at the same time of enlarging and improving the work, and thereby rendering it still more worthy of public approbation: this I have been enabled to do from my own original notes, many of which were forgotten or overlooked in the first arrangement of the book.

The new matter now submitted to the Public, consists principally in a fuller account of the revenues of the state, several additions on various other subjects, as the natural history of the country, its inhabitants, and their modes of life, administration of justice, treatment of children, and education of youth; some further observations on the plague, and the diseases incident to the inhabitants; a comparison between the ancient language of the Canary Islands and that of the Shelluhs of South Atlas; Mr. Betton’s philanthropic Will and patriotic intentions, manifested in his liberal bequest to emancipate British seamen from captivity; cautions to navigators; laws, manufactures, and customs of Timbuctoo; and, for the amusement of the Arabic scholar, three Letters are introduced, with their translations, to enable him to compare the Arabic of Africa with that of Asia. Finally, there is scarcely a page that has not received some additional matter or improvement.

Indeed I have been anxious to discuss every subject that could in[iv] any manner tend to illustrate the actual state of the Empire of Marocco, being confident that the more these subjects are discussed among us, the more they will merit our attention: and that, if ever the interior of Africa is to be explored by Europeans, if ever we are to reach the grand object of our research, the Emporium of Central Africa (Timbuctoo), Marocco is the most eligible point to set out from. But it is indispensably necessary that we should first overcome our own prejudices and misconceptions respecting this country; we should first secure to ourselves all those advantages which would result from an active and uninterrupted commercial intercourse with the principal Sea Ports of the Western Coast; and when these objects shall have been accomplished, the rest will readily follow.

In the first Edition I promised that, should my labours meet with approbation, I would publish the political history of Marocco: this I had written, and intended as a second part to this Edition (indeed three sheets of it were printed); but considering that the subject has been before discussed, and being unwilling to trouble the public with intelligence not altogether new, I have thought it expedient to suppress it.

It is not probable that I shall do any thing more to this work, I therefore now dismiss it as perfect as I can render it. The greater part of it, I repeat, is the fruit of my own knowledge and experience; and I have never spoken on the authority of others, but when I have had opportunities of investigating the sources of their intelligence, and when I have had every reason to believe their information correct.[2]

J. G. JACKSON.

Burton Street,
Sept. 30th, 1811.

[v]PREFACE.

The following sheets have been compiled from various notes and observations made during a residence of sixteen years in different parts of the Empire of Marocco, in the successive reigns of Cidi Mohammed ben Abdallah ben Ismael, Muley Yezzid, Muley el Hesham, and Muley Soliman ben Mohammed; and which were originally intended merely as memoranda for my own use; but shortly after my last arrival in England, I had the honour to converse with a distinguished Nobleman[3] on the subject of African knowledge, and from his Lordship’s suggestions I first determined to submit to the public such information as a long intercourse with the natives of Barbary, as well in a political as a commercial capacity, and a thorough knowledge of the languages of North Africa had enabled me to obtain.

It was justly observed by Mr. Matra, our late consul at Marocco, that “there are more books written on Barbary than on any other country, and yet there is no country with which we are so little acquainted.” The cause of this is to be found in the superficial knowledge which the authors of such books[vi] possessed respecting this part of the world; having been generally men who came suddenly into the country, and travelled through it without knowing any thing either of the manners, character, customs, or language of the people. Indeed, the greater part of the compositions respecting North Africa, are narratives of journies of Ambassadors, &c. to the Emperor’s court, generally for the purpose of redeeming captives, compiled by some person attached to the embassy, who, however faithfully he may relate what passes under his own eye, is, nevertheless from his situation, and usual short stay, unable to collect any satisfactory information respecting the country in general, and what he does collect, is too often from some illiterate interpreter, ever jealous of affording information to Europeans even on the most trifling subjects.

Leo Africanus is, with very few exceptions, perhaps the only author who has depicted the country in its true light; and although he has committed some errors, chiefly geographical, yet Marmol, as well as many moderns, have servilely copied him. There is some original matter contained in a book, entitled, “A Journey to Mequinez, on the occasion of Commodore Stuart’s Embassy, &c. &c.” London, 1725. Lemprière’s Marocco contains an interesting description of the Horem, or the Seraglio; but the rest of his account has many errors; the map appears to be copied chiefly from Chenier, some of whose orthographical[vii] errors he has adopted. The work of the last mentioned author is the best I have seen,[4] and this is to be attributed to his having resided in the country several years; and though his ridiculous pride did not allow him to associate generally with the Moors, yet a partial knowledge of their language, and his natural penetration and judgment, enabled him to make many useful observations derived from experience.[5]

It must be obvious to every one, that a considerable portion of time and study is requisite to obtain a thorough acquaintance with the moral and political character of any nation, but particularly with one which differs in every respect from our own, as does that of Marocco; he, therefore, who would be thoroughly acquainted with that country, must reside in it for a length of time; he must possess opportunities of penetrating into the councils of the State, as well as of studying the genius of the people; he must view them in war and in peace; in public and in domestic life; note their military skill, and their commercial[viii] system; and finally, and above all, he must have an accurate and practical knowledge of their language, in order to cut off one otherwise universal source of error, misconception, and misrepresentation.

Certainly no country has of late occupied so much attention as Africa, and the exertions of the African Association to explore the interior of this interesting quarter of the globe, do them the highest credit; and if their emissaries have not always been successful, or obtained information only of minor importance compared with the great object of their researches, it is to be attributed to their want of a sufficient knowledge of the nature of the country, and the character and prejudices of its inhabitants, without which, science to a traveller in these regions, is comparatively of little value. When we consider the disadvantages under which Mr. Parke laboured in this respect, and that he travelled in an European dress, it is really astonishing that that gentleman should have penetrated so far as he did, in his first mission; and we are not so much surprised at the perils he endured, as that he should have returned in safety to his native country. Had he previously resided a short time in Barbary, and obtained there a tolerable proficiency in the African Arabic, and with the customs adopted the dress of the country, what might we not have expected from his perseverance and enterprising spirit? Whatever plans future travellers may adopt, I would recommend to them to lay aside[ix] the dress of Europe; for, besides its being a badge of Christianity wherever he goes, it inevitably exposes him to danger; and it is so indecent in the eyes of the Arabs and Moors, that a man with no other clothing than a piece of linen round his middle, would excite in them less indignation.

Mr. Horneman, in the above respects, certainly set out with a more probable chance of success; though I much fear the expectations which he raised will never be fulfilled. From his Journal, indeed, he appears to have been of far too sanguine a disposition, and to have relied too much on the fair professions of his African fellow-travellers, an instance of which occurs in his letter from Mourzouk, where he says, “Under protection of two great Shereefs I have the best hopes of success in my undertaking.” Here the hopes of success originate in the very cause that would induce a man versed in the character and springs of action of the Africans, to despair of success. It was the promises of these people that led Major Houghton to his ruin; and the fair representations made by some of them to the first emissaries of the African Association have been proved to be false by the difficulties and dangers which their successors have had to encounter, in attempting to penetrate to Timbuctoo. The Shereefs are very plausible people; many of them possess uncommon suavity of manners, which is too apt to throw the confiding European off his guard, and make him the victim of[x] their artful designs; as to their information, it is not to be depended on; they will say every thing to mislead, an instance of which will be presently mentioned in the case of Mr. Parke. In another place Mr. Horneman says, “In respect to my astronomical instruments, I shall take special care never to be discovered in the act of observation; should these instruments, however, attract notice, the answer is ready, they are articles of sale, nor is there fear I should be deprived of them whilst master of my price.” Nothing can evince greater ignorance of the people than this; indeed I am surprised Mr. Horneman could entertain such an idea. The mode of travelling in Africa will prevent the possibility of his availing himself of these precautions; there is no cafilah, or caravan of itinerant merchants and traders in that country, which does not contain some person who has either been to sea, or has seen nautical instruments, and knows their use. That they are articles for sale would indeed sound very well for a person going through Europe, but there are no purchasers for such things in Africa; besides, no people under heaven are more jealous, or suspicious of every thing which they do not comprehend, than the Africans. The description of them by Sallust holds at this day, and is perhaps a better drawn character of the modern African (although it alludes to their ancestors) than any description which has hitherto been given of this extraordinary[xi] people. These ignorant, barbarous savages, as we call them, are much more sagacious, and possess much better intellects, than we have yet been aware of.

The error above alluded to, into which Mr. Parke was led by a Shereef, was in regard to the distance from Marocco through Sueerah, or Mogodor, to Wedinoon, which he makes twenty days,[6] when it is in reality but ten, as I have repeatedly travelled the distance; viz. Marocco to Sueerah, or Mogodor, three days; to Agadeer, or Santa Cruz, three; to Wedinoon four. There is also another error in the same gentleman’s book, which it is proper to notice; he says, Saheel signifies the north country; nothing but an ignorance of Arabic could have thus misled him; Saheel in that language signifying nothing more than an extensive plain; thus the extensive plains south-east of the river Suse are called Saheel; the low country near El Waladia is called Saheel; and if an Arab were to pass over Salisbury Plain, he would term it Saheel. In these few notices respecting the travels of two of the hitherto most successful emissaries of the African Association, I have no other object in view than to point out errors which may mislead those who follow them, and I therefore hope, that they will be favourably received by that respectable body, and by the authors themselves, should they happily return to this country. I had[xii] written several remarks on Mr. Horneman’s Journal, which I intended to give in an appendix, but as they might create ill-will, and involve me in useless controversy, I have suppressed them.

With regard to the following Work, it has been my endeavour throughout, to give the reader a clear account of the present state of the Empire of Marocco, and of its commercial relations with the interior, as well as with Europe: on the latter some readers may perhaps think I have enlarged too much, but it was my wish to be particular, on that subject, and to shew the advantages which this country might, and ought to derive from an extensive trade with Barbary. In other respects, I have been as concise as possible, introducing little or nothing of what has been satisfactorily detailed by late writers on the same subject. In the Map of Marocco, I have given the encampments of the various tribes of Arabs, and omitted such towns and villages as are found in modern maps, but which now no longer exist. The track of the caravans through the Desert to Timbuctoo, is, together with the account of that city and the adjacent country, given from sources of information which I had every reason to believe correct. The engravings are from drawings made on the spot by myself; but from the extreme jealousy of the natives, particularly those of the interior provinces, and the consequent difficulty of taking[xiii] views without being discovered, trifling inaccuracies may have been committed in some of them. Some apology ought perhaps to be made for my language; but any defect, in this respect, will, I trust be excused, when it is recollected that a plain relation of facts, and not an elegant composition, was all I had in view. Some readers, probably may express surprise, that I have said nothing of the political history of the country; but this I have reserved for a future publication should the present one meet with the approbation of the public.

[xiv]LIST OF PLATES, &c.

[xv]CONTENTS.

AN ACCOUNT
OF
THE EMPIRE OF MAROCCO,
&c. &c.

[1]CHAPTER I.

Geographical Divisions of the Empire of Marocco.

The empire of Marocco,[7] including Tafilelt,[8] is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean sea; on the east by Tlemsen,[9] the Desert of Angad, Sejin Messa,[10] and Bled-el-jerrêde;[11] on the south by Sahara (or the Great Desert); and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It may be divided into four grand divisions.

1st, The northern division, which contains the provinces of Erreef,[12] El Garb, Benihassen, Temsena, Shawia, Tedla, and the district of Fas;[13] these are inhabited by Arabs of various tribes, living in tents, whose original stock inhabit Sahara; to[2] which may be added the various tribes of Berebbers, inhabiting the mountains of Atlas,[14] and the intermedial plains, of which the chief clans or Kabyles are the Girwan, Ait Imure, Zian,[15] Gibbellah, and Zimurh-Shelluh.

The principal towns of this division are, Fas (old and new city, called by the Arabs Fas Jeddede and Fas el Balie), Mekinas, or Mequinas, Tetuan, Tangier, Arzilla, El Araiche, Sla, or Salée, Rabat, Al Kassar, Fedalla, Dar-el-beida, and the Sanctuary of Muley Dris Zerone, where the Mohammedan religion was first planted in West Barbary.

2d, The central division; which contains the provinces of Dukella or Duquella, Abda, Shedma, Haha, and the district of Marocco.[16] The chief towns being Marocco, Fruga, Azamore, Mazagan, Tet, Al Waladia, Asfie, or Saffee, Sueerah, or Mogodor.[17]

3d, The southern division; containing the provinces of Draha and Suse; which latter is inhabited by many powerful tribes or Kabyles, the chief of which are Howara, Emsekina, Exima, Idautenan, Idaultit, Ait-Atter, Wedinoon, Kitiwa, Ait-Bamaran, Messa, and Shtuka; of these Howara, Wedinoon, and[3] half of Ait-Bamaran are Arabs; the others are Shelluhs. The principal towns of this division are Terodant, Agadeer,[18] or Santa Cruz, Inoon, or Noon, Ifran, or Ufran, Akka, Tatta, Messa, and Dar-Delemie.

4th, The eastern division, which lies to the east of the Atlas, and is called Tafilelt; it was formerly a separate kingdom. A river of the same name passes through this territory, on the banks of which the present Emperor’s father, Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah, built a magnificent palace. There are many other adjacent buildings and houses inhabited by sherreefs, or Mohammedan princes of the present dynasty, with their respective establishments.[19]

[4]CHAPTER II.

Rivers, Mountains, and Climate of Marocco.

The following are the principal rivers in the empire of Marocco:

The Muluwia, which separates the empire from Angad and Tlemsen, rises at the foot of the Atlas, and, passing through the desert of Angad, discharges itself into the Mediterranean about thirty miles S.E. of Mellilla. This is a deep and impetuous stream, impassable in (Liali) the period between the 20th of December and 30th of January inclusive, or the forty shortest days, as computed by the old style; in summer it is not only fordable, but often quite dry, and is called from that circumstance El Bahar billa ma, or, a sea without water.

El Kose, or Luccos, at El Araiche, so called from its arched windings, El Kose signifying in the Arabic of the western Arabs an arch. Ships of 100 or 150 tons may enter this river at high water; it abounds in the fish called shebbel: it is never fordable, but ferries are constantly crossing with horses, camels, passengers and their baggage, &c.

The Baht rises in the Atlas, and partly loses itself in the swamps and lakes of the province of El Garb; the other branch probably falls into the river Seboo.

The Seboo is the largest river in West Barbary; it rises in a piece of water situated in the midst of a forest, near the foot of Atlas, eastward of the cities of Fas and Mequinas, and winding[5] through the plains, passes within six miles of Fas. Another stream, proceeding from the south of Fas, passes through the city, and discharges itself into this river: this stream is of so much value to the Fasees, from supplying the town with water, that it is called (Wed el Juhor) the river of pearls. Some auxiliary streams proceeding from the territory of Tezza fall into the Seboo in Liali (the period before mentioned). This river is impassable except in boats, or on rafts. At Meheduma, or Mamora, where it enters the ocean, it is a large, deep, and navigable stream; but the port being evacuated, foreign commerce is annihilated, and little shipping has been admitted since the Portugueze quitted the place. This river abounds more than any other in that rich and delicate fish called shebbel. If there were any encouragement to industry in this country, corn might be conveyed up the Seboo to Fas at a very low charge, whereas it is now transported to that populous city on camels, the expense of the hire of which often exceeds the original cost of the grain.

The Bu Regreg.—This river rises in one of the mountains of Atlas, and proceeding through the woods and valleys of the territory of Fas, traverses the plains of the province of Beni Hassen, and discharges itself into the ocean between the towns of Salée and Rabat, the former being on the northern, the latter on the southern bank: here some of the Emperor’s sloops of war, which are denominated by his subjects frigates, are laid up for the winter. This river is never fordable, but ferries are constantly passing to and fro.

The Morbeya also rises in the Atlas mountains, and dividing the territory of Fas from the province of Tedla, passes through a part of Shawia, and afterwards separates that province and[6] Temsena from Duquella; dividing that part of the empire west of Atlas into two divisions. There was a bridge over this river at a short distance from the pass called Bulawan, built by Muley Bel Hassen, a prince of the Mareen family; at this pass the river is crossed on rafts of rushes and reeds, and on others consisting of inflated goat skins. Westward of this pass, the river meanders through the plains, and enters the ocean at the port of Azamor. The Morbeya abounds in the fish called shebbel, the season for which is in the spring. This river not being at any time fordable, horses and travellers, together with their baggage, are transported across by ferries.

The Tensift.[20]—This river rises in the Atlas, east of Marocco, and passing about five miles north of that city, it proceeds through the territory of Marocco, Rahamena, and nearly divides the two maritime provinces of Shedma and Abda, discharging itself into the ocean about sixteen miles south of the town of Saffy. This river receives in its course some tributary streams issuing from Atlas, the principal of which is the Wed Niffis, which, flowing from the south, enters it, after taking a northerly course through the plains of Marocco or Sheshawa. The Tensift is an impetuous stream during the Liali, but in summer it is fordable in several places; and at the ferry near the mouth of the river, at low water, reaches as high as the stirrups. In many places it is extremely deep, and dangerous to cross without a guide; about six miles from Marocco, a[7] bridge crosses it, which was erected by Muley El Mansor; it is very strong but flat, with many arches. One of the Kings of Marocco attempted to destroy this bridge, to prevent the passage of an hostile army, but the cement was so hard that men with pick-axes were employed several days before they could sever the stones; and they had not time to effect its destruction, before the army passed. The shebbel of the Tensift is much esteemed, as is also the water, which is extremely salubrious, and aids considerably the powers of digestion, which, from the intense heat of the climate, are often weakened and relaxed. This river is supposed to be the Phut of Ptolemy; on the northern bank, where it falls into the ocean, is to be perceived the ruins of an ancient town, probably the Asama of that Geographer.

There is a small stream two miles south of Mogodor, from whence that town is supplied with water; and about twelve or fourteen miles more to the south, we reach

The River Tidsi, which discharges itself into the ocean a few miles south of Tegrewelt, or Cape Ossem, where the ancient city of Tidsi formerly stood. Passing to the south in the plains at the foot of that branch of Atlas which forms Afarnie, or the lofty Cape de Geer,[21] we meet

The River Benitamer, which, with the before mentioned branch of Atlas, divides the provinces of Haha and Suse.

[8]Farther to the south is another river called

Wed Tamaract; and about sixteen or seventeen miles south of that place, and about six south of Agadeer, or Santa Cruz,[22] the majestic

River Suse discharges itself into the ocean. This fine river rises at Ras-el-Wed, at the foot of Atlas, about thirty miles from the city of Terodant. The (fulahs) cultivators of land, and the gardeners of Suse have drained off this river so much in its passage through the plains of Howara and Exima, that it is fordable at its mouth at low water in the summer, so that camels and other animals are enabled to cross it with burthens on their backs: at its mouth is a bar of sand which at low water almost separates it from the ocean. The banks of this river are inundated in winter, but in summer are variegated with Indian corn, wheat, barley, pasture lands, beautiful gardens, and productive orchards. Either this river, or that of Messa, must have been the Una of Ptolomy, which is placed in lat. 28° 30′ N. We may presume that the Suse was anciently navigable as far as Terodant, as there are still in the walls of the castle of[9] that city immense large iron rings, such as we see in maritime towns in Europe, for the purpose of mooring ships.

Draha.—The river of this name flows from the north-east of Atlas to the south, and passing through the province of Draha, it disappears in the absorbing sands of Sahara. A great part of the country through which it passes being a saline earth, its waters have a brackish taste, like most of the rivers proceeding from Atlas, which take their course eastward. It is small in summer, but impetuous and impassable in winter, or at least during Liali. It is not improbable that this river formerly continued its course westward, discharging itself into the ocean at Wednoon, and called by the ancients Darodus; but it often happens in Africa, particularly on the confines of any desert country, that the course of rivers is not only changed by the moveable hills of dry sand, but sometimes absorbed altogether, as is now the case with the Draha, after its entrance into the Desert.

River of Messa, called Wed Messa, flows from Atlas; it is, as before observed, a separate stream from the river Suse, and is drained off by the (fulah) cultivators or farmers during its passage. It was navigated by the Portugueze before they abandoned this place for the New World. Leo Africanus has committed another error (which has been copied by modern writers,[23] in calling the river of Messa the river Suse,[24] which I ascertained to be quite a different stream when I was at Messa, and thirty miles distant from the former, though they both flow from E. to W. A bar of sand separates this river entirely at[10] low water from the ocean, but at flood tide it is not fordable. Between the mouth of the river Messa and that of Suse, is a road-stead called Tomée; the country is inhabited by the Woled Abbusebah Arabs, who informed me, when I went there, during the interregnum, with the (Khalif) Vice-regent Mohammed ben Delemy, by order of the (Sherreef) Prince, that British and other vessels often took in water there: it is called by the Arabs (Sebah biure) the place of seven wells, of which wells three only remain, and these we found to contain excellent water. After inspecting the place, and the nature of the road-stead, we returned to the Vice-regent’s castle in Shtuka. Concerning this remarkable sea-port it would be inexpedient at present to disclose more.

River Akassa.—This river is navigable to Noon, above which it becomes a small stream, fordable in various places; it has been called by some Wed Noon, i.e. the river of Noon, but the proper name is Wed Akassa; the word Wedinoon is applied to the adjacent territory.

The Mountains of West and South Barbary are the Atlas and its various branches, which receive different names, according to the provinces in which they are situated. The greater Atlas, or main chain of these mountains, extends from (Jibbel d’Zatute) Ape’s Hill to Shtuka and Ait Bamaran, in Lower Suse, passing about thirty miles eastward of the city of Marocco, where they are immensely high, and covered with snow throughout the year. On a clear day, this part of the Atlas appears at Mogodor, a distance of about a hundred and forty miles, in the form of a saddle; and is visible at sea, several leagues off the coast. These mountains are extremely fertile in many places,[11] and produce excellent fruits; having the advantage of various climates, according to the ascent towards the snow, which, contrasted with the verdure beneath, has a singular and picturesque effect.

Plate 2.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

A Distant View of the Atlas Mountains East of the City of Marocco
as they appear from Mogodor on a clear morning before the rising Sun
taken from the Terras of the British Vice Consuls House.

1	Mosque of Seedy Usif.	3	Genoese Consuls Tower.
2	Atlas Mountains, distant 140 Miles.	4	Sand Hills.

London Published June 4. 1811. by W. & G. Nicholl Pall Mall.

In many places the mountains are uninhabited, and form immense chasms, as if they had been rent asunder by some convulsion of nature; this is the case throughout the ridge that intersects the plains which separate Marocco from Terodant. In this part is a narrow pass, called Bebawan, having a chain of mountains on one side, ascending almost perpendicularly; and on the other side, a precipice as steep as Dover Cliff, but more than ten times the heighth. When the army which I accompanied to Marocco crossed this defile, they were obliged to pass rank and file, the cavalry dismounted: two mules missed their step, and were precipitated into the abyss: the path was not more than fifteen inches wide, cut out of a rock of marble, in some parts extremely smooth and slippery, in others rugged.

In the branches of the Atlas east of Marocco, are mines of copper; and those which pass through the province of Suse produce, besides copper, iron, lead, silver, sulphur, and salt-petre: there are also mines of gold, mixed with antimony and lead ore. The inhabitants of the upper region of Atlas, together with their herds (which would otherwise perish in the snow), live four months of the year in excavations in the mountains; viz. from November to February, inclusive.

The climate of Marocco is healthy and invigorating; from March to September the atmosphere is scarcely ever charged with clouds; and even in the rainy season, viz. from September till March, there is seldom a day wherein the sun is not seen at[12] some interval. The heat is cooled by sea-breezes during the former period; in the interior, however, the heat is intense. The rainy season, which begins about October, ends in March; but if it continue longer, it is generally accompanied with contagious fevers. The trade winds (which begin to blow about March, and continue till September or October) are sometimes so violent, as to effect the nerves and limbs of the natives who inhabit the coast. The inhabitants are robust; and some live to a great age. The Shelluhs, or inhabitants of the mountains of Atlas, south of Marocco, are, however, a meagre people, which proceeds, in a great measure, from their abstemious diet, seldom indulging in animal food, and living for the most part on barley gruel, bread, and honey: the Arabs, the Moors, and the Berebbers, on the contrary, live in a hospitable manner, and eat more nutritious food, though they prefer the farinaceous kind.

[13]CHAPTER III.

Description of the different Provinces, their Soil, Culture, and Produce.

In describing the soil and produce of this extensive empire, we will proceed through the various provinces, beginning with the northern, called

ERREEF, or RIF.

This province extending along the shore of the Mediterranean sea, produces corn and cattle in abundance; that part of it contiguous to Tetuan produces the most delicious oranges in the world; also figs, grapes, melons, apricots, plums, strawberries, apples, pears, pomgranates, citrons, lemons, limes, and the refreshing fruit of the opuntia, or prickly pear, called by the Arabs (Kermuse Ensarrah) Christian fig. This fruit was probably first brought into the country from the Canary Islands, as it abounds in Suse, and is called by the Shelluhs of South Atlas, (Takanarite) the Canary fruit. A ridge of mountains passes from Tangier, along this province to the eastward, as far as Bona, in Algiers; these mountains are called Jibbel Erreef by the natives, and the Lesser Atlas by Europeans.

EL GARB.

The next province is called El Garb[25] (g guttural.) It is of the[14] same nature with that already described; from the port of El Araiche, eastward, as far as the foot of Atlas, is a fine champaign country, extremely abundant in wheat and barley: here are the extensive plains of Emsharrah Rumellah, famous for the camp of Muley Ismael, great grandfather of the present Emperor Soliman, where he retained his army of Bukarrie Blacks to the amount of one hundred thousand horse. This army possessed the finest horses in the empire. The remains of the habitations are still discernible. There is a forest eastward of El Araiche of considerable extent, consisting chiefly of oak, with some cork, and other valuable large trees; more to the southward and eastward, we discover a forest of cork only, the trees of which are as large as full grown oaks. From Mequinas to Muley Idris Zerone, the renowned sanctuary at the foot of Atlas, east of the city of Mequinas, the country is flat, with gentle hills occasionally, and inhabited by the tribe of Ait Imure, a Kabyle which dwells in straggling tents, and a warlike tribe of Berebbers. The Emperor Seedy Mohammed, father to the reigning Emperor Soliman, used to denominate the Ait Imure the English of Barbary.[26]

[15]THE DISTRICT OF FAS, AND PROVINCE OF BENIHASSEN.

The country between Fas and Mequinas, and from thence to Salée, is of the same description as the foregoing; a rich champaign, abounding prodigiously in corn, and inhabited altogether by Arabs, with the exception, however, of the Zimur’h Shelluh, another Kabyle of Berebbers. In short, the whole northern[27] division of this empire is an uninterrupted corn field; a rich black, and sometimes red soil, without stones or clay, with scarcely any wood upon it (the forests before mentioned, and the olive plantations and gardens about the cities of Fas and Mequinas excepted), but incalculably productive. The inhabitants do not use dung, but reap the corn high from the ground, and burn the stubble, the ashes of which serve as manure. During this period of the year, viz. August, enormous clouds of smoke are seen mounting the declivities of hills and mountains, penetrating without resistance the woods, and leaving nothing behind but black ashes and cinders: these fires heat the atmosphere considerably, as they continue burning during two months. In sowing, the husbandmen throw the grain on the ground, and afterwards plough it in. Oats they make no use of: beans, peas, caravances, and Indian corn, are cultivated occasionally in lands adjacent to rivers: the fruits are similar to those before described, and are in great abundance, oranges being sold at a ducket or a dollar a thousand, at Tetuan, Salée, and some other places; grapes, melons, and figs of various kinds, and other fruits, are proportionally abundant. Cotton of a superior quality is grown in the environs of Salée and Rabat,[16] also hemp. The tobacco called Mequinasi, so much esteemed for making snuff, is the produce of the province of Benihassen, as well as the country adjacent to the city of Mequinas.

PROVINCES OF TEMSENA, SHAWIA, DUQUELLA, ABDA, SHEDMA; AND THE DISTRICT OF MAROCCO.

These are most productive in corn; the crop of one year would be sufficient for the consumption of the whole empire, provided all the ground capable of producing wheat and barley were to be sown. These fine provinces abound in horses and horned cattle; their flocks are numerous, and the horses of Abda are of the most select breed in the country. The cavalry of Temsena is the best appointed of the empire, excepting the black troops of the Emperor, called Abeed Seedy Bukarrie.

Two falls of rain in Abda are sufficient to bring to maturity a good crop of wheat; nor does the soil require more. The water-melons of Duquella are of a prodigious size, and indeed everything thrives in this prolific province: horses, horned cattle, the flocks, nay even the dogs and cats, all appear in good condition. The inhabitants are, for the most part, a laborious and trading people, and great speculators: they grow tobacco for the markets of Soudan and Timbuctoo. Nearly midway between Saffee and Marocco is a large salt lake, from which many camels are daily loaded with salt for the interior.

The province of Shedma produces wheat and barley; its fruits are not so rich as those of the north, or of Suse; it abounds however in cattle. Of goats it furnishes annually an incalculable number, the skins of which form a principal article of exportation from the port of Mogodor; and such is the animosity[17] and opposition often among the merchants there, that they have sometimes given as much for the skin, as the animal itself was sold for. Honey, wax, and tobacco are produced in this province, the two former in great abundance; also gum arabic, called by the Arabs Alk Tolh, but of an inferior quality to that of the Marocco district.

PROVINCE OF HAHA.

Haha is a country of great extent, interspersed with mountains and valleys, hills and dales, and inhabited by twelve Kabyles of Shelluhs. This is the first province, from the shores of the Mediterranean, in which villages and walled habitations are met with, scattered through the country; the before mentioned provinces (with the exception of the sea-port towns and the cities of Fas, Mequinas, Marocco, and Muley Idris Zerone) being altogether inhabited by Arabs living in tents. The houses of Haha are built of stone, each having a tower, and are erected on elevated situations, forming a pleasing view to the traveller. Here we find forests of the argan tree, which produces olives, from the kernel of which the Shelluhs express an oil,[28] much superior to butter for frying fish; it is also employed economically for lamps, a pint of it burning nearly as long as double the quantity of olive or sallad oil. Wax, gum-sandrac and arabic, almonds, bitter and sweet, and oil of olives, are the productions of this picturesque province, besides grapes, water-melons, citrons, pomgranates, oranges, lemons, limes, pears, apricots, and other fruits. Barley is more abundant than wheat.[18] The Shelluhs of Haha are physiognomically distinguishable (by a person who has resided any time among them) from the Arabs of the plains, from the Moors of the towns, and from the Berebbers of North Atlas, and even from the Shelluhs of Suse, though in their language, manners, and mode of living they resemble the latter. The mountains of Haha produce the famous wood called Arar, which is proof against rot or the worm. Some beams of this wood taken down from the roof of my dwelling-house at Agadeer, which had been up fifty years, were found perfectly sound, and free from decay.

PROVINCE OF SUSE.

We now come to Suse, the most extensive, and, excepting grain, the richest province of the empire. The olive, the almond, the date, the orange, the grape, and all the other fruits produced in the northern provinces abound here, particularly about the city of Terodant (the capital of Suse, formerly a kingdom), Ras-el-Wed, and in the mountains of Edautenan.[29] The grapes of Edautenan are exquisitely rich. Indigo grows wild in all the low lands, and is of a vivid blue; but the natives do not perfectly understand the preparation of it for the purpose of dying.

Suse contains many warlike tribes, among which are Howara, Woled Abbusebah, and Ait Bamaran; these are Arabs;—[19] Shtuka, Elala, Edaultit, Ait Atter, Kitiwa, Msegina, and Idautenan, who are Shelluhs.

There is not, perhaps, a finer climate in the world than that of Suse, generally, if we except the disagreable season of the hot winds. It is said, however, and it is a phenomenon, that at Akka rain never falls; it is extremely hot there in the months of June, July, and August; about the beginning of September the (Shume) hot wind from Sahara blows with violence during three, seven, fourteen, or twenty-one days.[30] One year, however, whilst I resided at (Agadeer) Santa Cruz, it blew twenty-eight days; but this was an extraordinary instance.[31] The heat is so extreme during the prevalence of the Shume, that it is not possible to walk out; the ground burns the feet; and the terraced roofs of the houses are frequently peeled off by the parching heat of the wind, which resembles that which proceeds from the mouth of an oven: at this time clothes are oppressive. These violent winds introduce the rainy season.

The (Lukseb) sugar-cane grows spontaneously about Terodant. Cotton, indigo, gum, and various kinds of medicinal herbs are produced here. The stick liquorice is so abundant that it is called (Ark Suse) the root of Suse. The olive plantations in different parts of Suse are extensive, and extremely productive; about Ras-el-Wed and Terodant a traveller may proceed two days through these plantations, which form an uninterrupted[20] shade impenetrable to the rays of the sun; the same may be said of the plantations of the almond, which also abound in this province. Of corn they sow sufficient only for their own annual consumption; and although the whole country might be made one continued vineyard, yet they plant but few vines; for wine being prohibited, they require no more grapes than they can consume themselves, or dispose of in the natural state. The Jews, however, make a little wine and brandy from the grape, as well as from the raisin. The date, which here begins to produce a luxurious fruit, is found in perfection on the confines of the Desert in Lower Suse. At Akka and Tatta the palm or date-tree is very small, but extremely productive; and although the fruit be not made an article of trade, as at Tafilelt, it is exquisitely flavoured, and possesses various qualities. The most esteemed kind of date is the Butube, the next is the Buskrie.

Suse produces more almonds and oil of olives than all the other provinces collectively. (Gum Amarad) a red gum partaking of the intermediate quality between the (tolh gum) gum arabic and the Aurwar, or Alk Soudan Senegal gum, is first found in this province. Wax is produced in great abundance; also gum euphorbium, gum sandrac, wild thyme, worm-seed, orriss root, orchillo weed, and coloquinth. Antimony, salt-petre of a superior quality, copper, and silver, are found here; the two latter in abundance about Elala, and in Shtuka.

DRAHA AND TAFILELT.

Draha and Tafilelt produce a superior breed of goats, and a great abundance of dates: the countries situated near the banks of the rivers of Draha and Tafilelt have several plantations of[21] Indian corn, rice, and indigo. There are upwards of thirty sorts of dates in this part of Bled-el-jerrêde;[32] the best and most esteemed is that called Butube, which is seldom brought to Europe, as it will not keep so long as the Admoh date, the kind imported into England, but considered by the natives of Tafilelt so inferior, that it is given only to the cattle; it is of a very indigestive quality: when a Filelly[33] Arab has eaten too many dates, and finds them oppressive, he has recourse to dried fish, which, it is said, counteracts their ill effects. This fruit forms the principal food of the inhabitants of Bled-el-jerrêde, of which Tafilelt is a part; the produce of one plantation near the imperial palace[34] at Tafilelt sold some few years past for five thousand dollars, although they are so abundant there that a camel load, or three quintals, is sold for two dollars. The face of the country from the Ruins of Pharoah to the palace of Tafilelt is as follows:

Tafilelt is eight (erhellat[35] de lowd) days journey on horseback from the Ruins of Pharoah; proceeding eastward from these ruins, the traveller immediately ascends the lofty Atlas, and on the third day, about sun-set, reaches the plains on the other side; the remaining five days journey is through a wide extended plain totally destitute of vegetation, and on which[22] rain never falls; the soil is a whitish clay, impregnated with salt, which when moistened resembles soap. A river, which rises in the Atlas, passes through this vast plain from the south-west to the north-east; at Tafilelt it is described to be as wide as the Morbeya at Azamor in West Barbary, that is, about the width of the Thames at Putney; the water of this river receives a brackish taste, by passing through the saline plains: after running a course of fifteen erhellat,[36] or four hundred and fifty miles, it is absorbed in the desert of Angad. It has several (l’uksebbat) castles of terrace wall on its banks, inhabited by the (Sherreefs) princes of the reigning family of Marocco. Latterly wheat and barley have been cultivated near the river and the castles. The food of the inhabitants, who are Arabs, consists, for the most part (as already observed), in dates; their principal meal is after sun-set, the heat being so intolerable as not to suffer them to eat any thing substantial while the sun is above the horizon.

There is another river, inferior to the one before mentioned, which rises in the plains north of Tafilelt, and flowing in a southerly direction, is absorbed in the great desert, of Sahara: the water of this river is so very brackish, as to be unfit for culinary purposes; it is of a colour similar to chalk and water, but if left to stand in a vessel during the night it becomes clear by the morning, though it is still too salt to drink. These extensive plains abound every where in water, which is found at the depth of two cubits,[37] but so brackish as to be palatable only to those who have been long accustomed to the use of it.

[23]The people have among themselves a strict sense of honour; a robbery has scarcely been known in the memory of the oldest man, though they use no locks or bars. Commercial transactions being for the most part in the way of barter or exchange, they need but little specie: gold dust is the circulating medium in all transactions of magnitude. They live in the simple patriarchal manner of the Arabs, differing from them only in having walled habitations, which are invariably near the river.

It is intensely hot here, during a great part of the year, the (Shume) wind from Sahara blowing tempestuously in July, August, and September, carrying with it particles of earth and sand, which are very pernicious to the eyes, and produce ophthalmia.

A considerable trade is carried on from this place to Timbuctoo, Houssa, and Jinnie, south of Sahara, and to Marocco, Fas, Suse, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. Indigo abounds here, but from the indolence of the cultivators it is of an inferior quality. There are mines of antimony and lead ore: the Elkahol Filelly,[38] so much used by the Arabs and African women to give a softness to the eyes, and to blacken the eye-brows, is the produce of this country. The common dress of the inhabitants consists of a loose shirt of blue cotton, with a shawl or belt round the waist.

An Akkabah, or accumulated caravan, goes annually from hence to Timbuctoo.

Woollen hayks[39] for garments are manufactured here of a curious texture, extremely light and fine, called El Haik Filelly.

[24]If we except the habitations and castles near the river, the population of the plains is very inconsiderable: a few tents of the Arabs whose original stock inhabit Sahara, are occasionally discovered, which serve to break the uniformity of the unvaried horizon. A person who imagines a vast plain, bounded by an even horizon, similar to the sea out of sight of land, will have an accurate idea of this country.

The goats of Tafilelt are uncommonly large: there is a breed of them preserved by the Emperor of Marocco on the island of Mogodor.

[25]CHAPTER IV.

Population of the Empire of Marocco. — Account of its Sea-ports, Cities, and Towns.

Various and contradictory statements have been made by travellers, of the population of this country. From all the accounts which I have been able to collect on the subject, and from authentic information, extracted from the Imperial Register, of the inhabitants of each province, I think the following as correct a statement as can possibly be made:

Persons who have travelled through the country, unacquainted with the mode of living of the inhabitants, may, probably, consider the above as an exaggerated statement: but it should be understood, that a stranger, in such cases, sees little of the population, as the various douars of Arabs are at a considerable distance from the roads, from which they always retire, to avoid the visits of travellers, whom they are compelled, by the laws of hospitality, to furnish with necessary provisions for three days, without receiving any pecuniary remuneration; of this fact travellers, in general, have not been apprised, and have, in consequence, formed calculations which represent the population very inferior to what it actually is.

[29]The western coast of Marocco is defended with numerous rocks, level with the surface of the water, which extend along the shore in various parts, from the Streights of Gibraltar to Agadeer: we find, however, occasionally, in the intermediate places, an extensive beach, where the water is shallow, and the surf runs high. The empire of Marocco is separated from Algiers by the river Muluwia, which falls into the Mediterranean sea, in long. W. from London, 1° 30′.

The sea-ports of this empire have but a limited commerce with foreign nations: and are consequently neither very extensive nor populous.

Proceeding along the coast of the Mediterranean, we come to the town of Melilla, (the ancient Ryssadirium,) called by the Arabs Melilia, in possession of the Spaniards, who have a garrison here; the country, in its vicinity, abounds with wax and honey, which latter is equal to that of Minorca, and when kept a year, is nearly as hard and white as loaf sugar. The Goths, in whose possession Melilla was when the Arabs invaded the country, abandoned it; and the latter, after retaining it some years, forsook it to dwell in their tents. The Spaniards took possession of it about the beginning of the 15th century. It was besieged by Seedy Mohammed ben Abdallah, Emperor of Marocco, in the year 1774, but without effect.

The next town worthy of notice is Bedis de Gomaira, situated between two mountains, at the bottom of which there was anciently a city called Bedis, supposed to have been founded by the Carthaginians. The Arabs call it Belis, and some Europeans, by a corruption of the word, Velis, the name given it in most of our maps and charts. In the neighbourhood of this place[30] are forests of excellent timber, with which the Moors, before the Spaniards obtained possession of it, built fishing-vessels.

Proceeding from hence westward, we discover the river Busega, near Tetuan, or Tetawan, as it is called by the Arabs, where some of the Emperor’s gallies occasionally winter. About four miles inland from the roadstead, stands the town of Tetuan, in the province of El Garb: this town is built on the declivity of a rocky hill, but is neither large nor strong: its walls are built of mud and mortar, framed in wooden cases, and beaten down with mallets. The inhabitants are rich from commerce, receiving from Spain and Gibraltar dollars, German linens, and cloths, also British manufactures, for which they barter wax, skins, leather, raisins, almonds, olives, oranges, honey, &c. It is inhabited by Moors and Jews, who, for the most part, speak a corrupt Spanish, in which language their commercial negociations are transacted. The environs of Tetuan abound in gardens of the most delicious fruits; here are grown the finest oranges in the world, and they are in great abundance; the adjacent country abounds also in vineyards, the grapes of which are exquisite, and in great variety. From the raisins and figs the Jews distil an ardent spirit (called Mahaya), which, when a year old, is similar to the Irish usquebah, and they prefer it to European brandy or rum, because it does not (as they pretend) heat the blood: they drink immoderately of this spirit, and generally take a glass of it before eating.

Tetuan was founded, according to report, by the Africans, and was a populous town at the time the Moors were driven out of Spain. It was the place of residence for many of the consuls of the European powers, till the year 1770, when an Englishman[31] having shot or wounded a Moor, all the Europeans were ordered to quit the place, and the Emperor Seedy Mohammed declared, he would never suffer an European to settle there again. It is remarkable, that in this declaration he literally kept his word.

This port carried on a considerable trade in provisions with Gibraltar, as vessels are obliged to come here in preference to Tangier, whenever the wind is in the west, and does not permit them to make the latter place; at this time ships may lie in security, and our fleets often water and victual here, as did that of the immortal Nelson, previous to his victory in Aboukeer Bay.[40]

We next come to Cibta, or Ceuta, as it is called by Europeans; it is situated near (Jibbel d’Zatute) Ape’s Mountain, called by the ancients Abyla, one of the pillars of Hercules.

The town of Ceuta is probably of Carthaginian origin; the Romans colonized it; it afterwards became the metropolis of the places which the Goths held in Hispania Transfretana; was next occupied by the Arabs; and, in 1415, taken by the Portugueze; it is now in the possession of Spain. It is celebrated for the strength of its fortifications, its advantageous situation at the entrance of the Mediterranean, being the nearest point to Europe. It is situated on a rising ground, at the foot of the mountain; near it stands the mountain with seven summits, called by the Arabs Sebat Jibbel, and by the ancients, Septem Fratres. If the Emperor Yezzed had succeeded in taking Ceuta, which he twice besieged about the close of the last century,[32] without success, his intention was to harass the trade of the European nations, by fitting out gallies and rovers, for the purpose of capturing and carrying the merchant ships into Tangier, Tetuan, and Ceuta, as they passed through the Streights; but the place is capable, on the land side, of resisting every attack that may be made upon it by the Mohammedans, unless they were aided by some European naval force.

The whole coast from hence to Tangier, the next town we come to, is rugged, and interspersed with projecting cliffs. Tangier, anciently called Tinjis, and Tingia, and now, by the Arabs, Tinjiah, is situated at the western mouth of the Streights, and a day’s journey distant from Tetuan. This town was first possessed by the Romans, next by the Goths, and was given up by Count Julian to the Mohammedans. It was taken in the 15th century by the crown of Portugal, which gave it, in 1662, as part of the dowry of the princess Catherine of Portugal, upon her marriage to Charles the Second of England. The English, however, finding the expenses of keeping it to exceed the advantages derived from the possession of it, abandoned it in 1684, after destroying the mole and fortifications. It still retains some batteries in good condition, facing the bay, at the bottom of which is a river, and the remains of the bridge of Old Tangier; but the sand has so accumulated at the mouth of this river, that the bridge, had it stood, would have been now useless.

Tangier is favourable to Moorish piracy, even without the possession of Ceuta, being the narrowest part of the Streights; but it will never become a commercial town, having but few productions in its vicinage. The Spaniards here ship eggs, fowls, vegetables, and some fruits; but the chief exports are cattle and[33] edible vegetables, which are carried to Gibraltar for the supply of the garrison: this supply is allowed by the Emperor, not perhaps from any predilection towards us (although he apparently prefers the English to any other European power), but because it was a grant from his great grandfather Muley Ismael, whose successors have not infringed on the ordinances of their renowned ancestor, the Mohammedans having a great respect for the deeds of their forefathers.

Westward of Tangier is Cape Spartel, the headland which divides the Streights from the western ocean; after doubling this Cape, at the distance of 15 miles, stands the little town of Arzilla, called by the Carthaginians Zilia, and by the Romans, who had a garrison here, Julia Traducta; it belonged afterwards to the Goths, and latterly to the Mohammedans. Alphonso of Portugal took it in 1741; but about the end of the 16th century, it was abandoned by the Portuguese, and again fell into the hands of the Moors. A river discharges itself at this place into the ocean; but there is no trade carried on.

Proceeding down the coast southward, we discover, at the distance of 33 miles, the town of El Araiche, standing on the river El Kos. El Araice, whence its name is derived, signifies, in the Arabic, flower, or pleasure gardens.[41] This was formerly a town of some commerce; remains of the commercial houses, which appear to have been large and spacious, still exist. The adjacent country is very fine and productive, and furnishes corn, wax, and oil, the two former in abundance; it also contains woods of full-grown trees, fit for ship building. The river El Kos has a bar of sand at its entrance, but is sufficiently deep[34] to admit ships of 100 tons. The gardens of the Hesperides have been supposed to have been situated here.

El Araiche was fortified about the end of the 16th century by Muley ben Nassar; in 1610 it was given up to Spain, and in 1689 retaken by Muley Ismael. There is an excellent market-place in the town: the castle, which commands the entrance of the road, is in good repair, and the guns well mounted, an uncommon thing in this country: and it is further strengthened by several batteries on the banks of the river. The French entered the river in 1765, but by a feint of the Moors, they were induced to go too far up, when they were surrounded by superior numbers, and fell victims to their own impetuosity.

Some foreign commerce was carried on here by the nations of Europe so late as the year 1780, when the Emperor Seedy Mohammed, for some reason unavowed, caused it to be evacuated, and ordered the Europeans to quit it; some of whom went to Mogodor, and others to Europe.

The larger vessels of the Emperor, which, however, are but small, when compared to our ships of the line, generally winter in a cove on the north side of the river, where there are magazines of naval stores, sufficient for the equipment of such force. The soil is sandy, and too loose to admit of the erection of stocks for ship building. The road is not secure in winter, when the winds blow from the south and west, but from April to September inclusive, it is a safe anchorage. El Araiche stands in 35° 11′ N. lat.

Proceeding southward from El Araiche, we reach Maheduma (or Mamora, as it is called by Europeans), distant sixty-five miles. This town is situated on an eminence, close to the river, near the southern banks; it is a poor neglected place, the[35] ferrymen and the inhabitants of which subsist by fishing for (Shebbel) a species of salmon, of which they take an incredible quantity, for the supply of the interior, as well as the neighbouring country, from the autumn till the spring.

The country hereabouts is a continued plain, in which are three fresh-water lakes, one of which is 20 miles in length. This country was formerly populous, but the incalculable number of musquitos, gnats, nippers, and other annoying insects, have obliged the inhabitants to quit the place. These lakes abound in eels, which are taken and salted for preservation and sale; ducks and all kinds of water-fowl also abound on them. Skiffs made of the fan palm and of rushes, about seven feet long and two broad, are used by the fisherman, who guides them with a pole, and pierces the eels with a lance, or long dart, when he sees them in the water, which is not deep. There are a few insulated spots in the largest lake, on which are (Zawiat) sanctuaries, inhabited by the Maraboots, who are held in veneration by the inhabitants of the plains. The plains and valleys are delightfully pleasant in the months of March and April; but in June, July, and August, when musquitos are so indescribably troublesome, they are parched up. On an eminence, at the southern extremity towards the river Seboo, is a sanctuary and asylum for travellers, annexed to which are several gardens and plantations of olives and almonds. The sand bank at the mouth of the Seboo has partially disappeared, and perhaps a little nautical skill might make the river navigable with safety to ships of 200 tons burden.

Travelling to the south from Meheduma, at the distance of sixteen miles we reach Slâa, or Salée, on the northern bank of the river, which is formed by the junction of the streams of the[36] Buregreg and Wieroo; the river at Salée was formerly capable of receiving large vessels; when going thence, however, a few years since, to Mogodor, the vessel which conveyed me, being about 150 tons burden, struck three times on the bar; and as the sand continues to accumulate, it is likely that in another century there will be a separation from the ocean at ebb tide, as is the case in some of the rivers of Haha and Suse already mentioned.

Salée is encompassed by a strong wall, about thirty-five feet high and three feet thick, on the top of which are battlements flanked with towers of considerable strength. At the south-west corner of the town there is a battery of twenty-four pieces of cannon, which commands the entrance of the Buregreg. To the north of the town, in the plains, are the remains of many gardens, and the ruins of a town, built by Muley Ismael for his (Abeed Seedy Bukaree) black troops. When I visited Salée, I was conducted to the subterraneous apartment, where the Europeans were formerly confined, who had the misfortune to fall into the hands of these miscreants:[42] it is a miserable dungeon, though spacious. The streets of Salée, like those of all old towns in this country, are narrow; and the Kasseria, or department for shops and buying and selling, as well as many of the streets, have a canopy which extends across from house to house, which is expedient to the comfort of the people, protecting them from the fierce effulgence of the meridian sun. Salée stands in 34° 2′ N. lat.

After crossing the river we enter the town of Rabat, sometimes[37] denominated New Salée, which is more modern, and rather larger than Salée. European factories have been established at different times in Rabat, but have been frequently quitted, or altogether abandoned, on account of some new order from the Emperor, the instability of whose decrees, whenever they relate to commerce, is but too well known. At other times these establishments have been neglected from the insufficiency of the supplies from Europe, owing to a want of confidence in the security of property in a country whose affairs are directed too frequently by the momentary impulse of a despot, who often orders, judges, and executes, without considering cause or consequence. The walls of this town enclose a number of gardens, orchards, and corn-fields. Near the entrance of the river, at Rabat, on an eminence, are to be seen the ruins of an old castle, built by the Sultan El Monsor, in the 12th century: some subterraneous magazines, remarkable for their strength, being bomb proof, are still preserved; there is also the remains of a small battery, which defended the entrance of the river. Some batteries were rebuilt here in 1774, on a more extensive plan, but the engineer has made the embrasures so close, that it would be inconvenient to work the guns against an attacking enemy. At a short distance south of the castle, on an elevated situation, is a square fort erected by Muley El Arsheed. The walls were built by the Sultan El Monsor, when he resided here; they are about two miles in circuit, and strengthened by square towers; they enclose the castle, the town of Rabat, and a large space of ground, where a palace, and the mausoleum of Seedy Mohammed, the reigning Emperor’s father, stand; here lamps are burning night and day, and fakeers are continually praying with a loud voice, under the colonnade surrounding the latter[38] building, which gives an air of solemnity to the place, impressing with awe the minds of the passengers, who halt and repeat an ejaculatory prayer.

The town and walls of Rabat having been built by Spanish slaves, taken by the Sultan El Monsor, in his wars with Spain, are not very strong; and it has even been reported that the Christians expressly built the houses weak, that the roofs might fall on the Moors, which, it is also said, actually happened, and the Emperor, in retaliation, ordered the same Spaniards to be decapitated at the iron gate.[43]

This Sultan repaired the Roman well at Shella, and built a spacious mosque at Rabat, the roof of which was supported by 360 columns of marble; toward the east were apartments for those who had employment in the mosque. Many of the rough marble columns are still remaining, broken and scattered about; there are also the remains of a large (mitfere) subterranean cistern, which was attached to the mosque, the tower of which is called (Sma Hassen,) the tower of Beni Hassen, so named from the province in which it stands. I have frequently visited this curious tower, and once went to the top of it with a very ingenious Frenchman, the Comte de Fourban;[44] it is built of hewn stone, and is 180 feet in height: the view from it is pleasing and extensive. It has a gradual ascent to the top, made of a mixture of lime and sand, which time has so hardened, that when the Emperor Seedy Mohammed ordered the building to be destroyed (he having been informed that it was a place of[39] assignation to gratify illicit passions), the workmen, after hammering at it for several days, were able only to destroy a few cubits of the terraced floor; the Emperor afterwards came to Rabat, and having been informed of the slow progress of the workmen, he himself visited the tower, and was so struck with the durability of the work, that he ordered them to desist, and caused the entrance to be closed up, which, however, has since been opened. A man on horseback may ride up to the top of this building. At every two or three circles of the terrace are apartments, built of solid stone. It is reported that this tower, the grand tower at Marocco, and the tower of Seville in Spain, were built after the same plan, and by the same architect, in the 12th century. At a small distance to the north of it, are to be seen the ruins of an ancient wall, on which were formerly erected a battery and a castle.

The country, in the neighbourhood, is planted with vines, olives, figs, pomgranates, almonds, oranges, and cotton of an excellent quality; at Rabat there is a manufactory of cotton cloth, which is made more for durability than sale. There are docks for ship-building at Salée, as well as at Rabat; at the latter place, when I was last there, the hulls of two sloops of war were nearly finished; I went aboard of them, and was astonished to learn that they had been built by a man who must have had a natural genius for ship-building, as he built them by the eye, without the use of rules and compasses, a circumstance which appeared to me very extraordinary and incredible; but I was repeatedly informed by many of the inhabitants of Rabat, Moors, Jews, and Christians, that it was a known fact, and might be ascertained by going to see the daily progress made in the building of them.

[40]The road of Salée is dangerous for shipping, and the accumulation of sand at the entrance, will scarcely permit a vessel of 100 tons to enter the river without danger. Vessels may lie in safety out of the river, near Rabat, from April till September inclusive; but they are not secure the rest of the year, the wind blowing from the southern quarter, and often obliging them to quit their moorings. The best anchorage in this season, is between the Mosque of Rabat and the old Tower of Hassen, having the latter to the north. A great number of anchors having been lost, much attention must be paid to the cables and buoys. Rabat stands in 34° 3′ N. lat.

On the eastern side of Rabat is a walled town named Shella: this is sacred ground, and contains many Moorish tombs, held in great veneration: the town is a sacred asylum, and is entered only by Mohammedans. Once, however, when I was staying at Salée, an English captain dressed himself in the Arabian habit, and accompanied by a confidential friend, entered this sacred town, and viewed what his guide told him were the tombs of two Roman generals; but he had not time to examine the inscriptions thereon, for fear of exciting observation. Shella was probably the Carthaginian metropolis on the coast of the ocean. Various Roman and ancient African coins used to be continually dug up here, but the exorbitant price given for them by some agents of European antiquarians, induced the Jews to imitate them, which they did so correctly, that these amateurs were deceived; and lately people have fallen into the opposite extreme, being now so over cautious as to dispute even the antiques themselves; for this reason the Moors often sell them to the silver and goldsmiths for their weight in silver. The last time I was in Africa, I collected a number of these coins, but[41] the vessel, in which I was coming to England, sprung a leak, and foundered: and although I saved some clothes, I could not get at the coins, which were stowed away in a secret part of the ship, to be secure from discovery, in the event of our falling in with any French privateer.

About twenty-five miles south of Rabat is a square building called (El Monsoria) the Building of El Monsor, it having been erected by that Sultan in the 12th century, as a refuge for travellers during the night; as the adjacent country is favourable to the depredations of robbers; and the people of this neighbourhood have been noted, from time immemorial, as mischievous plunderers.

Following the coast southward for 25 miles more, we reach Fedala; where a peninsula, which forms an indifferent shelter to small vessels, has been called in some maps an island. The Emperor Seedy Mohammed, before he founded Mogodor, was desirous of building a city here. The situation, as to country and produce, is delightful; and to encourage commerce, he caused the corn to be brought from the Matamores[45] of the adjacent provinces, and allowed it to be shipped here; it being cheap, he induced the merchants to build houses, as a condition of their being allowed to export it; but the place, although an excellent situation, was abandoned soon after the corn was shipped, owing to some new whim of the Emperor; for such is the fickle instability of the Moors, that it is no uncommon thing in this extraordinary country, to see a town deserted before the buildings are all completed, and such indeed was the case with this delightful place. The road here is, I believe, with the[42] exception of that of Agadeer, the only one where ships may ride at anchor in security in winter, which is owing to the land south of the peninsula before mentioned, projecting into the ocean towards the west.

About twelve miles to the south of Fedala, is Dar el Beida,[46] a town formerly belonging to Portugal, but now in ruins, and consisting only of some huts. The plains in the vicinage of Dar el Beida are so abundant in grain, that when the old Emperor (Seedy Mohammed) reigned, he received annually for duties on corn shipped at this place, five or six hundred thousand Mexico dollars; but since the accession of his son, the present Emperor, and the consequent prohibition of the exportation of grain, the soil here and elsewhere has lain fallow, as it would be useless for a people, whose mode of life renders their wants so few, to sow corn, without having a market to sell it at; and I myself know, that in consequence of this prohibition, corn had become so cheap, that many husbandmen, after the famine and plague in 1800 had subsided, let their crops stand, the value of them being insufficient to pay the expense of reaping them.

Forty-four miles south of Dar el Beida, stands the town of Azamore, in the Arab province of Duquella, at some distance from the mouth of the river Morbeya; the entrance to this river being dangerous, the town of Azamore is not adapted to commerce. The walls built here by the Portuguese are still standing. It was besieged in 1513 by the Duke of Braganza, but abandoned by the Portuguese about a century afterwards.

[43]There is an immense quantity of storks here, insomuch that they considerably exceed the number of inhabitants. The air is very salubrious.

A little to the south of Azamore, on the northern extremity of the bay of Mazagan, are the ruins of Têtt, which signifies in Arabic Titus, and is therefore supposed to be the ruins of the ancient city of Titus, founded by the Carthaginians. On the southern extremity of this bay stands the town of Mazagan, built in 1506 by the Portuguese, and called by them Castillo Real, or the Royal Castle. There is a dock on the north side of the town, capable of admitting small vessels, but large vessels anchor about two miles from the shore, on account of the Cape of Azamore stretching so far westward, as, in the event of a south-west wind blowing, they would not be able to clear it, if they lay nearer.

Mazagan was besieged by the Moors in 1562 ineffectually, and in 1769 the Portuguese had resolved to abandon it when the Emperor Seedy Mohammed ben Abdallah laid siege to it, and took it, the Portuguese having previously evacuated it. It is a strong and well built town, having a wall twelve-feet thick, strengthened with bastions mounting cannon. The air of Mazagan is peculiarly salubrious; the water is also excellent, and has a good effect on horses soon after their arrival here, after passing a country where that element is very indifferent, and is taken up in buckets from wells about one hundred feet deep.

There still exists in this town a subterranean cistern, constructed by the Portuguese in a very elegant style, sufficiently large to supply the garrison with water, which is collected in the rainy season from the terraces of the houses, which[44] are made with a gentle inclination towards the cistern; this water becomes extremely clear, and the lime brought with it from the terraces, clarifies and preserves it from worms and corruption; the cistern was somewhat damaged by the bombs thrown into the town during the siege in 1769, but it still serves the purpose of preserving the water. The vaulted roof is supported by twenty-four columns of the Tuscan order; and the descent is by stairs.

The exportation of corn and wax from this place was very considerable in the time of Seedy Mohammed ben Abdallah.

At a short distance south-west of Mazagan, is an ancient town, called Bureeja, whence the Moorish name Bureeja, which they give to Mazagan.

Thirty-five miles south of Mazagan, is the town of El Waladia, situated in an extensive plain. Here is a very spacious harbour sufficiently extensive to contain 500 sail of the line: but the entrance is obstructed by a rock or two, which, it is said, might be blown up; if this could be effected, it would be one of the finest harbours for shipping in the world. The coast of El Waladia is lined with rocks, at the bottom of which, and between them and the ocean, is a table land, almost even with the surface of the water, abounding with springs, where every necessary and luxury of life grows in abundance. The view of this land from the plains above the rocks, is extremely beautiful and picturesque.

The town of El Waladia is small, and encompassed by a square wall: it contains but few inhabitants. It may have been built towards the middle of the 17th century by Muley El Waled, as the name seems to indicate.

To the south of this, at the extremity of Cape Cantin, are[45] the ruins of an ancient town, called by the Africans Cantin, probably the Conte of Leo Africanus.

Twenty-five miles south of El Waladia, we discover the ancient town of Saffy, situated between two hills, which render it intolerably hot, and in winter very disagreeable, as the waters from the neighbouring mountains, occasioned by the rains, discharge themselves through the main-street into the ocean, deluging the lower apartments of the houses; and this happens sometimes so suddenly and unexpectedly, that the inhabitants have not time to remove their property from the stores.

The walls of Saffy are extremely thick and high; it was probably built by the Carthaginians; but in the beginning of the 16th century it was taken by the Portuguese, who voluntarily quitted it in 1641, after having resisted every effort of the Mooselmin princes, who endeavoured to take it. The road is safe in summer; but in winter, when the winds blow from the south or south-west, vessels are obliged to run to sea, which I have known some do several times in the course of a month whilst taking in their cargoes.

There are many sanctuaries in the environs of Saffy, on which account the Jews are obliged to enter the town barefooted, taking off their sandals, when they approach these consecrated places; and if riding, they must descend from their mule, and enter the town on foot. The people of Saffy, although it has been a place of considerable trade, particularly in corn, are inimical to Europeans, fanatical, and bigotted, insomuch that till lately, Christians found it an unpleasant residence. The surrounding country abounds in corn,[46] and two falls of rain a year are sufficient to bring the crops to maturity.

South of Saffy, we come to a defile close to the road, where only one person can pass, called (Jerf el Eudee) the Jew’s Cliff, so named, (as it is reported,) from a Jew, who, in passing, slipped, and fell down the cavity, which is some hundred feet deep.

Sixteen miles south of Saffy, we reach the river Tensift, which discharges itself into the ocean, near the ruins of an ancient town, probably the Asama of Ptolomy. Travellers pass the Tensift on horseback in summer, but on rafts in the rainy season, which, in passing, drift down to a square fort surrounded by trees, on the opposite side of the river, built by Muley Ismael for the accommodation of travellers.

Proceeding through the plains of Akkeermute, we discover the ruins of a large town near the foot of Jibbel el Heddid,[47] depopulated by the plague about 50 years since; and after a journey of 48 miles from the river, we reach Mogodor, built by the Emperor Seedy Mohammed ben Abdallah ben Ismael, in 1760, and so named from a sanctuary in the adjacent sands, called Seedi Mogodol; but the proper name is Saweera,[48] a name given by the Emperor in allusion to its beauty, it being the only town altogether of geometrical construction in the empire.

Mogodor is built on a sandy beach forming a peninsula, the foundation of which is rocky adjoining to a chain of lofty hills, of moveable sand impelled by the wind into waves continually[47] changing their position, resembling the billows of the ocean, and hence aptly denominated a sea of sand, which sandy sea separates it from the cultivated country. The town is defended from the encroachment of the sea by rocks, which extend from the northern to the southern gate, though at spring tides it is almost surrounded. There are two towns, or rather a citadel and an outer town; the citadel (Luksebba) contains the custom-house, treasury, the residence of the Alkaid, and the houses of the foreign merchants, together with those of some of the civil officers, &c. The Jews who are not foreign merchants are obliged to reside in the outer town, which is walled in, and protected by batteries and cannon, as well as the citadel.

Plate 9.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

West View of (Jibbel Heddeed) the Iron Mountains from the plains of Akkurmute

in the Province of Shedma.

1	Circular encampment of Arabs.	3	Circular encampment of Arabs at a distance.
2	Ruined town of Akkermute destroyed by the plague.	4	Palm of Date Trees.
		5	Sanctuary at the top of the Iron Mountains.

London Published June 4. 1811. by W. G. Nicholl Pall Mall.

Plate 10.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

A South East View of Mogodor.

1.	Part of the Island of Mogodor.
2.	A Ship entering the Port.
3.	A Battery at the entrance of the Port.
4.	Do. Do.
5.	A Battery at the Landing Place.
6.	Building over the Emperor’s Scale.

7.	Emperor’s Coffee Alcove.
8.	British Vice Consuls tower.
9.	Mosque of the Citadel.
10.	French Vice Consuls tower.
11.	Spanish Vice Do.
12.	Batavian Vice Do.

13.	Entrance Port to the outer town.
14.	Grand Mosque of Seedy Usif.
15. 16. & 17. Mosques.
18.	Duquella Battery.
19.	Duquella Gate.
20.	Gate near the Sea.

21.	Sandy Beach with loaded Camels approaching the town with the (Stata) or Convoy on horseback.
22.	Boat entering the passage.
23.	Landing Place.

London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall.

The wind being high all the summer, with little intermission, nothing will grow here in sufficient quantity to supply the inhabitants, all kinds of fruits and vegetables are therefore brought from gardens from four to twelve miles distant; and the cattle and poultry are also brought from the other side of the sandy hills, where the country, although interspersed with (Harushe) stony spots, is yet capable of producing every necessary of life. The insulated situation of Mogodor, and the want of fresh water, which is brought from the river a mile and a half distant, deprive the inhabitants of all resource, except that of commerce, so that every individual is supported directly or indirectly by it: in this respect it differs from every other port on the coast. The island which lies southward of the town is about two miles in circumference, between which and the main-land is a passage of water, where the ships anchor; but as there is but ten or twelve feet at ebb tide, ships of war, or those of great burden, do not enter the port, but lie at anchor about a mile and a half west of the (Skalla) Long[48] Battery, which extends along the west side of the town towards the sea. This battery was constructed by a Genoese, and is perhaps more remarkable for beauty than strength, and better calculated for offensive than defensive operations. Proceeding southward, towards the entrance of the road, we come to a circular battery, on which are cannon and some mortars, besides a curious brass gun taken by General Lord Heathfield, during the siege of Gibraltar: the carriage, which is also of brass, is in the form of a lion, opens in the middle, and contains the gun within it.[49] Underneath this Battery is an extensive and copious mitfere, or cistern, into which the rain falls from the flat roofs or terraces during the wet season, and is sufficient to supply the garrison a twelvemonth.

Within the harbour, at the landing-place, are two long batteries mounted with very handsome brass eighteen pounders, which were presented to the Emperor Seedy Mohammed, by the Dutch government. The town is defended on the landside by a battery of considerable force to the eastward, and is fully adequate to keep the Shelluhs and Arabs at a distance.

Plate 11.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

North View of the Port of Mogodor taken on the Terras of a House.

1.	Vessel entering the Road.
2.	Battery on the Island.
3.	The Island.
4.	Battery on the Island.
5.	A Mosque on Do.
6.	A Battery on Do.

7.	A Bastion where the powder is deposited.
8.	A long Battery mounted with brass Cannon.
9.	Custom House Entrance.
10.	Emperor’s Scale.
11.	Warehouses.
12.	Sandy Hills and Desert Country.

13.	Battery near the River.
14.	The Emperor’s Palace.
15.	Village of Diabet.
16.	Dwaria or Summer house, attached to the Emperor’s Palace.
17.	Wall to prevent the encroachment of the Sea.

18.	Battery on a Rocky ground, forming the North entrance to the port.
19.	Cape Tegriwelt or Ossim.
20.	Road for Shipping.
21.	Battery where the State Prisoners are confined, previous to their transportation to the Island.
22.	Sandy Beach.

London Published June 4. 1811. by W. & G. Nicholl Pall Mall.

Various opinions have been given of the strength of Mogodor by the different naval officers who have visited it, and with whom I have gone round the fortifications by permission of the Governor of the citadel; I think the best one is, that if the works were all completely mounted, and well manned, it would require six or seven large frigates to capture, or rather destroy the place;[50] for if it were entered by storm, a dreadful slaughter[49] would be made among the assailants by the inhabitants from the tops of the houses, every house being a battery from whence the most destructive fire might be kept up with small arms. This was the case when the Arabs of Shedma, headed by their Sheiks, entered the town one Friday afternoon after prayers.[51] The cause was this: some persons in the town being dissatisfied with the Governor, who was a Bukarie black, or slave, and not a (horreh) freeman, engaged the Bashaw of Shedma[52] to enter the town with the chiefs of his province, assuring him, the people were well disposed towards him, and would, in the event of his forcing an entrance, give up the government to him, thereby securing to the town the necessary supplies of provisions, with which it had of late been but ill supplied, owing to the enmity between the Alkaid of the town, and the Bashaw of the neighbouring province. Things being mature for execution, the army of Arabs secreted themselves behind the sand hills in the hollows, about a mile from the town, whilst the Bashaw and chiefs rode in, and reached the entrance gate, just as it was opened after prayers, and secured the gate-keepers until about 17 or 18 of the chief Arabs of the province[50] had passed into the town: by this time the inhabitants made a desperate push, and got the gate closed again; and the chiefs running about the streets, were fired upon by the armed populace from the tops of the houses, until the whole were killed. The Bashaw took refuge in an old house near the Haha gate, and offered a large sum of money if they would spare his life, but to no purpose; he was shot by the rabble. In the mean time the scouts from the army secreted in the bottoms seeing no signal from the town for their approach, were dismayed, and too soon found it necessary to return to their homes, with the loss of the flower of the province, the most undaunted warriors, who had so often signalized themselves against their neighbours, the Abda and Haha clans. The Arabs entered the town one by one, with fixed bayonets, a very unusual thing in that country, and the whole was conducted in so private a manner, that whilst I was walking round the town with Mr. C. Layton, we met the Bashaw, who saluted us (for he was attached to the English) and said we had nothing to fear, that all would terminate to our satisfaction before the morning. As the balls were flying in all directions, we went to the battery at the landing-place, and there remained till the tumult was over; and when we returned again into the town, were received by the Governor with compliments of congratulation on our escape.

The houses at Mogodor are built as in other towns of the empire; but those of the foreign merchants are more spacious, having from eight to twelve rooms on a floor, which are square or long, and open into a gallery which surrounds a court or garden in the interior of the house, which, if occupied by merchants, is appropriated to the packing and stowing of goods. The roofs are flat and beat down with terrace, a composition of[51] lime and small stones, and when this is properly done, it will remain several years without admitting the rain, provided it be washed over once every autumn with lime white-wash: these terraces serve to walk on to take the air, and are preferable to the walks out of the town, where there is nothing but barren sands drifting with the wind. When, however, the trade-wind does not blow strong, which is but seldom the case, during the summer months, one may walk without being annoyed by the sand.

Mogodor has a very beautiful appearance at a distance, and particularly from the sea, the houses being all of stone, and white: but on entering the streets, which cross each other at right angles, we are greatly disappointed, for they are narrow, and the houses having few windows towards the street, they have a sombre appearance.

In case of an attack, Mogodor would find some difficulty in procuring water, which is brought from the river, about a mile and half to the south, in jars and casks, by mules and asses.

The Emperor Seedy Mohammed, to impress on the minds of his subjects, his desire to make Mogodor the principal commercial port on the ocean, ordered the Bashaw Ben Amaran, and others of the great officers about his person, to bring him mortar and stones, whilst he with his own hands began to build a wall, which is still to be seen on the rocks west of the town; and, in order to encourage the merchants to erect substantial houses, he gave them ground to build on, and allowed them to ship produce, free of duty, by way of remuneration for their expenses. This is the only port which maintains a regular and uninterrupted commercial intercourse with Europe.

A winter seldom passes but some ships are driven ashore[52] here by the south-west winds, and this happens generally between the 12th of December, and the 22d of January, the season called Liali by the Arabs, and the only period dangerous to shipping in the bay.

Proceeding to the south along the coast, the next port we reach is Agadeer, or Santa Cruz, called, in the time of Leo Africanus, Guertguessem; it is the last port in the Emperor’s dominions, on the shores of the Atlantic. The town, which stands on the summit of the Atlas, is strong by nature, and almost impregnable; its walls are also defended by batteries; but the principal battery is at a short distance from the town, half way down the west declivity of the mountain, and was originally intended to protect a fine spring of fresh water, close to the sea; this battery also commands the approach to the town, both from the north and south, and the shipping in the bay. The town called by the Portuguese Fonté, and by the Shelluhs Agurem, is still standing at the foot of the mountain towards the sea, and the arms of that nation are yet to be seen in a building erected over the spring. This town was appropriated to warehouses for the merchants of Santa Cruz to deposit their effects during its establishment.

Santa Cruz was walled round and strengthened by batteries in 1503, by Emanuel, king of Portugal, but it was taken from the Portuguese by the Moors in 1536.

This place would make an excellent depot for the produce of South America; the natural strength of the place, situated on the summit of Atlas, would secure it from the attacks of the Shelluhs and Arabs, who would soon become hospitable and friendly: they are addicted to traffic. Plantations of olives, vines, dates, and oranges abound in the adjacent country; it[53] produces also gum, almonds, copper, lead, salt-petre, and sulphur. Gold dust is brought here from Soudan, silver from the adjacent mountains, and ambergris from the coast to the southward.

The bay of Agadeer is probably the best road for vessels in the empire, being large, deep, and well defended on every side from all winds: a proof of this is, that during my three years residence there, there was not a ship lost or injured. It abounds in exquisite fish, immense quantities of which are caught by the inhabitants of the town, and prepared in ovens, for transportation to the interior.[53]

In the reign of Muley Ismael, Agadeer was the centre of a very extensive commerce, whither the Arabs of the Desert, and the people of Soudan, resorted to purchase various kinds of merchandize for the markets of the interior of Africa; and caravans were constantly passing to and from Timbuctoo. The natural strength of the place, however, its imposing situation, and capability of resisting any force, excited the jealousy of the Emperors, which was confirmed in 1773 by the inhabitants becoming refractory, and Talb Solh, the governor, refusing to deliver it up. On learning this, the Emperor Seedy Mohammed immediately levied an army, and marched from Marocco against it; the place did not make a long resistance, for the rebellious governor, finding it impossible to withstand the imperial army, yielded to the persuasions of the chiefs to accept an invitation the Emperor had sent him to come and declare his allegiance, as on doing that he should receive his pardon; he[54] accordingly repaired to Tamaract,[54] but found, too late, that this was only a stratagem to seize his person, as he was immediately imprisoned; but procuring, by the assistance of a friend, a penknife, which was sent to him, baked in a loaf of bread, he with this terminated his existence, and the town soon after surrendered. The merchants were allowed but a short time to collect together their effects, when they were ordered to proceed to Mogodor, where the Emperor, as before mentioned, encouraged them to build houses.

Beyond Santa Cruz there is no port frequented by shipping: there is a tract of coast, however, which holds out great encouragement to commercial enterprize, and secure establishments might be affected upon it, which would amply remunerate the enterprizing speculator; the people of Suse are also well disposed towards Europeans, particularly the English; and the communication, and short distance, between this place and the provinces, or districts, where most of the valuable products of Barbary are raised, render it peculiarly adapted to trade.

When curiosity induced me to visit this coast, I was invited by the Amarani Arabs to establish a factory at a certain eligible place; the Sheik offered to get a house built for me, free of expense, and declared that all exports and imports should be regulated by a duty of only two per cent. on the value; as he was, however, liable to be shot, being a celebrated warrior, and as I was not sufficiently known in England to procure the credit necessary to carry on advantageously such an establishment, I thought it prudent at that time to decline the overture. If, however, I had been able to procure the same support from[55] Europe that I should have had from the natives and their Sheik, an eligible opportunity would have presented itself to open an extensive and lucrative trade with the interior, which in a short time would have supplied the whole of the inland countries of North Africa with European manufactures and produce.

From Santa Cruz southward the sovereignty of the Emperor slackens, so that at Wedinoon it is scarcely acknowledged, and the difficulty of passing an army over that branch of the Atlas which separates Suse from Haha, secures to the Wedinoonees their arrogated independence. There are but two roads yet discovered fit for shipping between Santa Cruz and Cape Bojador, an extent of coast, for the most part desert, of seventy leagues, the whole of which is inhabited by various tribes of Arabs, who have emigrated at different periods from the interior of Sahara, and pitched their tents wherever they could find a spot capable of affording pasture to their flocks. All along this dangerous and deceitful coast, there are rocks even with, or very near, the surface of the water, over which the waves break violently; and the rapidity of the currents, which invariably set in towards the land, too often drive vessels ashore here.[55]

In these southern climates the people are more superstitious than in the northern provinces; the heat inflaming the imagination, multiplies the number of fanatics, who under the name of Fakeers, or saints, impose on the credulity of the people: they have but few mosques, and therefore pray in the open air, or in their tents. Here we see horses, camels, and other beasts, living together with men, women, and children indiscriminately. When they are in want of water for their religious[56] ablutions, they substitute the use of sand. These restless people are continually at war with their neighbours, which originates in family quarrels; plunder keeps them incessantly in motion, and they traverse the Desert to Soudan, Timbuctoo, and Wangara, with as little preparation as we should make to go from London to Hampstead.

Wedinoon is a kind of intermediate depot for merchandize on its way to Soudan, and for the produce of Soudan going to Mogodor. Gums and wax are produced here in abundance; and the people living in independance, indulge in the luxuries of dress, and use many European commodities. A great quantity of gold dust is bought and sold at Wedinoon. They trade sometimes to Mogodor, but prefer selling their merchandize on the spot, not wishing to trust their persons and property within the territory of the Emperor of Marocco. With Timbuctoo, however, they carry on a constant and advantageous trade, and many of the Arabs are immensely rich; they also supply the Moors of Marocco with (Statas) convoys through the Desert, in their travels to Timbuctoo.

Some of the more enlightened merchants of Mogodor, towards the close of the last century, had a great opinion of an establishment somewhere on this coast, between the latitude of 27° and 30° north; but a famine, and afterwards a most destructive plague, added to various other incidents, conspired to prevent the execution of the plan. It is certain that a very profitable commerce might be carried on with these people; and most probably Bonaparte, if he succeed in the final conquest of Spain, will turn his mind decidedly to an extensive factory somewhere here, which (besides many advantages, which existing circumstances prevent me explaining here) would effectually open a[57] direct communication with Timbuctoo, and Soudan, and supply that immense territory with European manufactures at the second hand, which they now receive at the fifth and sixth.

Having said thus much about the coast, we will proceed to describe the principal inland towns, viz. Marocco, Mequinas, Fas, and Terodant.

Plate 12.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

West View of the City of Marocco with the Mountains of Atlas.

1	Circular encampment of Arabs Tents.	3	Grove of Palm of Date Trees.
2	Strait encampment of Arabs Tents.	4	Do. Do.
		5	Atlas Mountains.

London Published June 4. 1811. by W. & G. Nicholl Pall Mall.

MAROCCO.

The city of Marocco is situated in a fruitful plain, abounding in grain, and all the other necessaries of life, and depastured by sheep and cattle, and horses of a superior breed, called (Sift Ain Toga) the breed of Ain Toga. At a distance, the city has a beautiful and romantic appearance, the adjacent country being interspersed with groves of the lofty palm, and the towering snow-topped mountains of Atlas, in the back-ground, seem to cool the parched and weary traveller reposing in the plains; for although none

yet, in the sultry season, the traveller, by viewing these mountains, experiences an agreeable sensation, difficult to be described. The lily of the valley, the fleur-de-lis, lupins, roses, jonquils, mignonet, jasmines, violets, the orange and citron flowers, and many others, grow here spontaneously; and in the months of March and April, the air in the morning, is strongly perfumed with their grateful and delicious odours. The fruits are, oranges of the finest flavour, figs of various kinds, water and musk melons, apricots, peaches, and various kinds of grapes, pears, dates, plums, and pomgranates.

[58]The city of Marocco was founded in the 424th year of the Hejira[56] (1052) by Jusuf Teshfin, of the family of Luntuna, a tribe of Arabs inhabiting the plains east of Atlas, on the way to Tafilelt; and in the time of his grandson, Aly ben Yusif, it is said to have contained a million of inhabitants; latterly, however, it has been much depopulated, and owing to the devastations of succeeding conquerors, retains little of its ancient magnificence; the accumulated ruins of houses and gardens within the town, which were once the sites of habitations, indicate its decay. It is surrounded by extremely thick walls, formed of a cement of lime and sandy earth,[57] put in cases, and beaten together with square rammers. These walls were in many places broken and decayed, so that horses might pass through them; but the breaches were repaired previous to the siege and capture of the city by Muley Yezzid, in February, 1792. Some of the houses are built with much elegance and taste, but being all behind high walls, they are not visible from the street; and these outer walls are of the rudest construction, for every individual here is anxious to conceal his wealth, and to impress the public and the State with an idea that he is poor and distressed!

The imperial palace of Marocco, which faces Mount Atlas, is built of hewn stone, ornamented with marble. It is not so magnificent a building as that of Mequinas; the architecture of the principal gates is Gothic, embellished with various ornaments in the Arabesque taste; the walls of some of the rooms[59] are of filligree-work, and others of (ezzulia, or) glazed tiles, similar to the Chinese tiles, which are fixed in the walls with much art, and have a cool effect. Three gardens are attached to the palace, the first and largest is called Jinen el Erdoua, the second Jinen el Afia, and the third, which is the smallest, and situated at a private door, Jinen Nile, or the Garden of the Nile, so named from its containing the fruits and plants of the Nile, Timbuctoo, and Soudan, with many others, the produce of Barbary. In the two former of these gardens, the Emperor allows the foreign merchants to pitch their tents whenever they visit him, which is generally every time he goes to Marocco, and in the Jinen Nile they have their audience of business, that is, the second audience, the first being an interview of ceremony, and the third, an audience of leave to depart. The two first gardens abound with olives, oranges, grapes of various kinds, apricots, peaches, pomgranates, water-melons, citrons, limes, &c.; these, however, are surpassed in richness by the Jinen Nile, the orange trees of which are small, but very fruitful, and the flowers extremely odoriferous; the roses, in particular, are unequalled, and matrasses are made of their leaves for the men of rank to recline upon. In these gardens are (Kobba) pavilions about forty feet square, with pyramidal roofs covered with glazed tiles of various colours, and lighted from four lofty and spacious doors, which are opened according to the position of the sun; they are painted and gilt in the Arabesque style, and ornamented with square compartments containing passages from the Koran, in a sort of hieroglyphic character, or Arabic shorthand, understood only by the first scholars. As the luxury and convenience of tables, chairs, and curtains are unknown in this country, the furniture of these apartments is very simple,[60] consisting of a couple of sofas or couches, some china, and tea equipage, a clock, a few arms hung round the walls, a water-pot, and carpets to kneel upon in prayers. Here the Emperor takes coffee or tea, and transacts business with his courtiers.

The grand pavilion in the middle of the enclosure is appropriated to the women; it is a very spacious building, and fitted up in the same style of neatness and simplicity as the others.[58]

Near to the palace is (the M’shoar, or) Place of Audience, an extensive quadrangle, walled in, but open to the sky, in which the Emperor gives audience to his subjects, hears their complaints, and administers justice.

In Marocco are many temples, sanctuaries, and mosques; of these, the most curious is one in the middle of the city, called Jamâa Sidi Yusif, built by a prince named Muley el Mumen, on the site of one erected by Sidi Yusif, which the former destroyed with a view to obliterate the latter prince’s name; in this, however, he was disappointed, for though he expended great sums in the erection of the present building, and called it after himself, for the purpose of transmitting his own name to posterity, yet the people continued to call it by the old name, which it retains to the present time.

There is another mosque, said to have been built by Muley[61] el Monsore;[59] the body of it is supported by many pillars of marble, and under it is a (mitfere) cistern, which holds a large quantity of water, collected in the rainy season, and used by the Mohammedans for their ablutions. The tower is square, and built like that of Seville in Spain, and the one near Rabat already described;[60] the walls are four feet thick, and it has seven stories, in each of which are windows, narrow on the outside, but wide within, which renders the interior light and airy: the ascent is not by stairs, but by a gradually winding terrace composed of lime and small stones, so firmly cemented together as to be nearly as hard as iron. On the summit of the tower is a turret in the form of a square lantern, hence called (Smâa el Fannarh) the Lantern Tower, which commands a most extensive prospect, and from whence Cape Cantin, distant about 120 miles, is distinctly visible. The roofs of the different chambers in this building, which are all quadrangular, are very ingeniously vaulted: and indeed the whole workmanship is of the most excellent kind. Prayers are performed here every Friday in presence of the Emperor. That part of the city adjoining this edifice is quite a heap of ruins.

There is another tower in the city, which may be mentioned, from the circumstance of its having three golden balls on its top, weighing together, it is said, 10 quintals, equal to 1205 lbs. avoirdupois. Several kings, when in want of money, have, it is said, attempted to take them down, but without success, as they are very firmly and artfully fixed; the superstitious people say they are fixed by magic, that (jin) a spirit guards them from all injury, and that all those who have attempted their removal,[62] were soon after killed.[61] There is a tradition, that the wife of Muley el Mumen, desirous of ornamenting the temple built by her husband, caused these globes to be made of the gold melted down from the jewels which the king gave her.

At the extremity of the city, towards the Atlas, and near the imperial palace, is the department for the Jews, called El Millah, the gates of which are shut at night: these people have an Alkaid appointed over them, to whom they apply for protection against insult: they pay a certain tribute or poll-tax, (called Elgazia), to the Alkaid; they are for the most part rich; but from motives of policy, under this despotic government, they endeavour to appear poor, miserable, and dirty. Not more than two thousand Jewish families now reside here, great numbers having been induced, from various causes, to emigrate to the adjacent mountains, where they are free from taxation.

In this quarter stands the Spanish convent, which, till lately, was inhabited by two or three friars; but it is now deserted.

The Kasseria, or department for trade, is an oblong building, surrounded with shops of a small size, filled with silks, cloths, linens, and other valuable articles for sale. Here the people resort to transact business, hear the news, &c. much in the same manner as is done on the exchanges of European towns; and independent gentlemen, who have no occupation at court, often hire one of these shops, merely for the purpose of passing the morning here in conversation on politics, and other subjects.

The principal gates of Marocco are the Beb El Khumise and Beb Duquella; the former takes its name from a market called Soke El Khumise, or the fifth day’s market, or Thursday’s[63] market, where horses, cattle, and all kinds of merchandize are bought and sold; the latter, or Duquella Gate, takes its name from the province of that name. Besides these, there is the Gate of the Millah, the Gate of the Luksebba, or palace, and two or three other gates.

The city of Marocco is supplied with water from numerous wells and springs amongst the different olive plantations, and the rich procure it from the river Tensift, which flows at a short distance from the city: this water is very salubrious, and anti-bilious, and is drank in cases of indigestion. There is also a subterraneous aqueduct built of brick, which surrounds the town, twenty feet below the surface, and from which, at about every hundred yards, pipes of brick-work branch off, and convey the water into the different houses; over each of these branches are excavations from the surface, through which persons descend to repair any injuries below; but this aqueduct is now much neglected, and out of repair.

This city being now on the decline, little can be said of its cleanliness; the streets are mostly filled with ruins of houses which have gone to decay; and in the Millah, or Jews’ quarter, heaps of dung and other filth are seen, as high as the houses. The Moors, however, from a natural desire of cleanliness, in which the Jews are scandalously deficient, pay more attention to the streets in which they reside. The houses of the Alkaids, Shereefs, or nobles, and other military officers, are lofty, spacious, and strongly built, with a turret in the middle, or on one side, where the women take the air, and pass the evening in fresco. The rest of the houses being almost all old, they swarm with vermin, particularly bugs, which, in the summer season, are literally a plague, the walls being covered with them; at this[64] period also, the inhabitants are much annoyed with scorpions, which are frequently found in the beds, and other places;[62] to these may be added the domestic serpent, but this is rather considered as an object of veneration, than a nuisance.[63]

The air about Marocco is generally calm; the neighbouring mountains of Atlas defend the plain in which it stands from the scorching Shume, or hot wind (which blows from Tafilelt and Sahara), by arresting its progress, and the snow with which they are always covered, imparts a coolness to the surrounding atmosphere; in summer, however, the heat is intense, though the nights during that period are cool; in winter the cold is very sensibly felt: but the climate is altogether extremely healthy. The inhabitants, particularly the Jews, are, however, affected with ophthalmia.

On the death of Aly ben Yusif, a private individual named El Meheddi, a man of ambitious character, sprung up in the Atlas mountains, and levying a large army, proceded to Marocco, and laid siege to the town, which was then commanded by Muley Bryhim, successor to Aly ben Yusif, who collecting his forces, marched out to give El Meheddi battle; but being completely overpowered and defeated, he fled to Imsmise in the Atlas east of Marocco. El Meheddi not satisfied with his escape, ordered his general in chief to pursue him with one half of his numerous army, whilst he took possession of Marocco with the other; the general pursued the King so closely, that he arrived immediately after him at Oran, where the latter, finding no support, and being driven to despair, mounted his[65] horse in the night, and placing his queen behind him, rode out of the place, and clapping spurs to the horse, passed over a precipice, and was, together with his queen, dashed to pieces. His body being discovered, the general, who was a prince, and named Muley el Mamune, returned with the army to the city of Marocco, where, on his arrival, finding El Meheddi dead, and succeeded by his son, he attacked the city, and after a year’s siege took it; irritated at being so opposed, he put El Meheddi’s son to death, and a dreadful massacre of the army and citizens ensued, after which he was proclaimed Sultan and Amer el Mumenine,[64] and established the first Diwan, which consisted of ten men learned in the Arabic language, and in the laws of the Koran. This El Mamune’s posterity reigned at Marocco from the 516th to the 668th year of the Hejira,[65] and then were dispossessed by a king of the tribe of Marin, whose posterity reigned with despotic sway till the year 785 of the Hejira.

MEQUINAS.

The city of Mequinas stands in a beautiful valley about sixty miles from Salée, near the sanctuary of Muley Dris Zerone; and is surrounded by gentle eminences, and highly cultivated vales, ornamented with plantations of dates, grapes, figs, pomgranates, oranges, olives, &c., all which grow in abundance, the surrounding country being well watered by various springs and streams.

This city owes its present extent and consequence to the[66] Sultan Muley Ismael, who, after having secured to himself the undisputed sovereignty of the small kingdoms which now form the empire of Marocco, determined, in order to keep his people in more complete subjection, to have two imperial cities, and in consequence made Marocco the capital of the south, and Mequinas that of the north; he at the same time considerably enlarged the city to the westward, and erected a beautiful palace, which is defended by two bastions mounted with a few guns of small calibre.

In the plain, on that side of the city towards the Atlas mountains, is a wall of circumvallation about six feet in height, which was built as a defence against the Berebbers, whose attacks, though impetuous, are momentary, and do not require a long defence. Muley Ismael, and his successor, Muley Abdallah, have repeatedly defended themselves in this city against these people, when, in attempting to bring them under their yoke, they have been routed, and their armies pursued to its very walls.

At the south end of the city stands the palace (which encloses the Horem, or seraglio), a very extensive quadrangular edifice, built by Ismael, after his own design; it contains several gardens admirably laid out, and watered by numerous streams from the adjacent country. I obtained permission to view this building from the Emperor’s brother, as no person is suffered to enter it without leave. In the centre of the enclosure is the horem, within which is a spacious garden, planted with tall cypress trees; it is surrounded by a gallery, supported by columns, which communicates with the adjoining apartments, the largest of which are appropriated to the women (the smaller rooms being for the eunuchs and female attendants), and[67] terminate in a hall, or large chamber, built on a causeway which divides the gardens; here the females look through the iron-latticed windows, and take the air, which, in the summer, is perfumed with the smell of violets, jasmines, roses, wild thyme, and other delectable odours. The palace is also interspersed with buildings called Kobbah, which contain a spacious square room, the roof of which is pyramidical, and on the inside curiously carved and ornamented with painting and gilding.

This extensive palace is rendered more spacious by being built altogether on the ground floor; the rooms are long and lofty, but narrow, being about 12 feet wide, 18 high, and 25 long; the walls are inlaid with glazed tiles of bright colours, which give an air of coolness to the apartments; and the light is communicated by means of two large folding doors, which are opened, more or less, according to the degree of light required in the room. Between the different suites of apartments are courts regularly paved with squares of black and white marble; and in the centre of some of these stands a marble fountain.

The Millah, or that part of the city inhabited by the Jews, is walled round, and is extensive, and in good repair. Many of the Jews live in affluence.

Contiguous to the Millah is another enclosure called the Negroes’ quarter, built by Ismael for the residence of the families of his black troops;[66] of this, however, nothing remains but the walls.

In this city was an hospitium, or convent of Spanish monks,[68] founded about a century since by the king of Spain, for the relief and spiritual comfort of Catholic captives, and Christian travellers. This convent, and that at Marocco, were much respected by the Mooselemin, from the essential service afforded by the monks to the poor, whom they used to supply with medicines gratis; but, after a long practice, they found their prescriptions were grossly abused by the Moors, who took them without any regard to regimen; they were therefore obliged to make a general medicine for all applicants, composed of a decoction of simples with honey, and this they denominated the dua sheriff, or princely remedy. This convent was deserted by the monks previous to the accession of Soliman, the present Emperor.

The streets of Mequinas are not paved, and on this account it is a very disagreeable place in winter, as the rains cause the mud to accumulate, which renders walking abroad very unpleasant. The inhabitants are extremely hospitable: they invite strangers to their gardens, and entertain them sumptuously: indeed, the manners of the people in this part of the empire, are more mild, perhaps, than in any other.

Nature seems to have favoured the women of Mequinas, for they are handsome without exception, and to a fair complexion, with expressive black eyes, and dark hair, they unite a suavity of manners rarely to be met with even in the most polished nations of Europe.

FAS.

This city (which is divided into old and new, called Fas Jedide, and Fas El Bâlee) is the most celebrated in West Barbary; it was founded about the 185th year of the Hejira[69] (A.C. 786) by Idris,[67] a descendant of Mohammed. It stands for the most part upon gentle hills, except the centre, which is low, and in winter very wet and dirty. It is not so extensive as Marocco, but the houses being more lofty and spacious, it contains more inhabitants. The houses have flat roofs ingeniously worked in wood, and covered with terrace, on which the inhabitants spread carpets in summer, to recline upon, and enjoy the cool breezes of the evening; a small turret, containing a room or two, is also erected upon them for the use of the females of the family, who resort thither for amusement and pastime. In the centre of each house is an open quadrangle surrounded by a gallery, which communicates with the staircase, and into which the doors of the different apartments open; these doors are both wide and lofty, and are made of curiously carved wood painted in various colours. The beams of the roofs of the different apartments are whimsically painted with gay colours in the arabesque style. The portals of the houses are supported with pillars of brick plaistered over. The principal houses have (Mitferes) cisterns under them, containing water used in the baths, which are built of marble or stone. Every house is also supplied with water from a river which rises in the Atlas, and enters the town in various places by covered channels. The hospitals, colleges, and houses of the great and wealthy have, withinside, spacious courts, adorned with sumptuous galleries, fountains, basons of fine marble, and[70] fish-ponds, shaded with orange, lemon, pomgranate, and fig trees, abounding with fruit, and ornamented with roses, hyacinths, jasmine, violets, and orange flowers, emitting a delectable fragrance.

In the city are a great number of mosques, sanctuaries, and other public buildings; about fifty of these are very sumptuous edifices, being ornamented with a kind of marble, unknown in Europe, procured in the Atlas mountains.[68]

The maintenance of professors and students in the mosques, has lately become very scanty, the wars having destroyed many of the possessions by which learning was promoted. The students are mostly employed in reading the Koran; if any one read a text which he does not understand, the professor explains it to him in public; at other times they dispute among themselves, and the professor finally explains the passage.

A public bath is attached to each mosque, for religious ablutions; there are also public baths in various parts of the town, whither the common people resort;[69] the men at one hour and the women at another; when occupied by the latter, a rope is suspended from the cieling of the first apartment, as a signal to the stranger not to proceed farther; and so particular are they in this respect, that a man would not be here permitted to speak to his own wife, such regard have they for their reputation. These baths produce a considerable sum annually. Besides these there are chalybeate, sulphureous, and antimonial baths; there is also a bath celebrated as a specific for the venereal disease, which is said to be an infallible cure in three months.

[71]The hospitals which have been mentioned by early writers as being in Fas, must have fallen greatly into decay, as there are now very few; in these the poor are fed, but no surgeon or physician is attached to them; women attend the infirm and sick till they recover, or death terminate their sufferings. There is a Muristan, or mad-house, where deranged people are confined; they are chained down, and superintended by men who use them very harshly; their apartments are disgustingly filthy.

There are nearly two hundred caravanseras or inns, called Fondaque, in this city; these buildings are three stories high, and contain from fifty to one hundred apartments, in each of which is a water-cock to supply water for ablution and various other purposes. As the mode of travelling is to carry bedding with one, they do not provide beds in these inns, but leave you to make use of what you have got, providing only a mat: and if you want any refreshment you cannot order a meal, but must purchase it at a cook’s shop, or procure it at the butcher’s, and get it dressed yourself, paying so much per day for your apartment, the master of the Fondaque supplying charcoal and Umjummars, or portable earthen fire-pots, &c.

There are a great many corn-mills in Fas; for the inhabitants being mostly poor, and unable to lay up corn sufficient in store, they purchase meal of the millers, who make great profit by it. The rich buy their own corn, and send it to the mills to be ground.

Each trade or occupation has its separate department allotted to it; in one place are seen several shops occupied by notaries or scriveners, two in each shop; in another stationers; in another shoe-makers: here a fruit market, there wax chandlers;[72] another part is allotted to those who fry meat, and make a light kind of bread called Sfinge, fried in oil, and eaten with honey. Animals are not suffered to be slaughtered in the city; this is done at a distance from it, near the river, and the meat is sent from thence to the different shops in the town, but first to the Mutasseb, or officer who superintends the price of provisions, who, after examining it, sets a price upon it on a piece of paper; this the venders show to the people, who buy at the rate affixed.

The inhabitants of Fas are fond of poultry, which they rear in cages to prevent them from running about the house, and dirting the rooms.

The Kasseria is a square place walled round, and divided into twelve wards, two of which are allotted to the shoe-makers, who work for the princes and gentlemen; the others consist of silk-mercers and cloth and linen shops. There are sixty (Dellel) criers, or itinerant auctioneers, who receive from the various shops, pieces of cloth, linen, &c. and going about crying (al ziada) “who bids more,” sell the lot to the highest bidder.

Fas Jedide, or New Fas, which lies contiguous to Old Fas, is a well built town, in which are the looms and other machinery for the different trades. The gardens here abound with all sorts of delicious fruits; and roses and other odoriferous flowers perfume the serene air, so that it is justly called a paradise. Westward, towards the Emperor’s palace, stands a castle, built by one of the princes of the Luntuna family, wherein the Kings of Fas kept their court before the palace was built; but when New Fas was begun by the sovereigns of the Marin dynasty, the castle became the residence of the Governor of the city.

[73]TERODANT.

This is the metropolis of the South, and was formerly that of the kingdom of Suse: the town is spacious, and very ancient. The buildings, generally speaking, are handsome. There is a magnificent palace here, with gardens producing in abundance a variety of the most delicious fruits. The adjacent plains are incredibly fertile. The population of this city has decreased considerably; it is now celebrated for salt-petre of a very superior quality; for the manufacture of leather, and for saddles; also for dyeing. The river Suse passes through the town. Terodant has stood various sieges; and during the last, the inhabitants were reduced to the necessity of eating rats and dogs, and burning their doors for fuel.

[74]CHAPTER V.

Zoology.

The horses of West Barbary, though small, are renowned for fleetness and activity; the breed, however, has been much neglected, except in Abda, and about Marocco, at a place called Ain Toga; these horses have stronger sinews than those of Europe, and after a little training are peculiarly docile. The stallions only are rode, the mares being kept for breeding, except among the Shelluhs, who use them for riding. Geldings are unknown in Mohammedan countries; a Mooselmin will neither castrate, nor sell the skin of the beast of the Prophet.

The Arab is particularly attached to the horse: he rises with the sun, visits him, and laying his right hand on the horse’s face, he ejaculates the words (Bissim illah) In the name of God; he then kisses his hand, which is supposed to have received a benediction from the touch of the favourite animal of their Prophet Mohammed; he then has the place where the horse stands swept clean, some dry sand spread, and an arm full of straw trodden small by oxen, placed before him at such a distance, that he can by stretching out his neck just reach it (for the horse being picqueted, and fastened by ropes round the fetlock, cannot move from his place): this is done to lengthen the neck, and to strengthen the fore-hand by exertion; the length of neck is considered as a great perfection, so that when the Arabian jockies purchase a horse, they measure from the top of the shoulder to the tip of his[75] nose; and then from the top of the shoulder, to the end of the fleshy part of the tail; if the length of the former exceed that of the latter, it is the criterion of a good horse; but if the latter half exceed the front half in length, the horse is considered of an inferior kind. Such a predilection have Mohammedans for ablution, that the best horses are sprinkled with water every morning on the chest, loins, and sexual parts; this, as they pretend, improves the strength of the animal, and promotes his health; at noon only he is watered; then he has a little more straw, and remains afterwards fasting till sun-set, when they feed him with a bag of barley, attached to his head like our hackney-coach horses: they reprobate Christians for feeding their horses in a manger, and observe, that when a horse is used to a manger, he will not eat out of a bag, and as mangers are not to be found in this country in travelling, the plausibility of preferring the bag is evident: they do not suffer him to eat any straw after the feed of barley, alleging, that it would destroy the good effect of the latter.

The Arabs are expert farriers; their horses are generally healthy, but are subject to jaundice, which they cure by drawing the skin from the flesh at certain places with a pair of pinchers, and then piercing it with a hot iron like an awl. They turn them out to grass every spring during forty days, after which they physic them thus: they give them a pound of old butter, called budra,[70] which they mix with two ounces of[76] pepper; they give this to the horse in a fluid state, that it may be the more easily swallowed; they then let him remain the whole day fasting, giving him in the evening only half of his accustomed quantity of barley; they next keep them without riding seven days: this process is said to secure the horse against disorders, and quickly takes off the prominent belly common after grass, disposing the flesh to the flanks.

To the various colours of horses they attach various properties; they assert, that a dark-coloured or black horse is in his fullest vigour towards dark, or night; that the powers of a chesnut horse come with the rising sun, and he is not so fleet in the evening; to a white horse they attribute vigilance; and of a gray they signify the soundness of their feet, by an Arabian adage,[71] which indicates that if a cavalcade be passing through a stony country, the gray horses will break the stones with their feet; this opinion appears founded on experience, for in the Atlas mountains, in some parts of Suse, and in all harsh stony districts, we find a much greater proportion of gray horses than of any other colour; their feet are so hardy, that I have known them to travel two days journey through the stony defiles of Atlas without shoes, over roads full of loose broken stones, and basaltic rocks.

Besides horses, mules and asses abound every where in Barbary, also camels, and horned cattle. In the Atlas, and in the forests near Mequinas, there are lions, panthers, wild hogs, hyænas, apes, jackals, foxes, hares, serpents, lizards, camelions, &c.

The birds are, ostriches, pelicans, eagles, flamingoes, storks, herons, bustards, wild geese, wood pigeons, pigeons, turtle-doves,[77] ring-doves, partridges, red ducks, wild ducks, plovers, tibibs,[72] larks, nightingales, black birds, starlings, and various others.

The same varieties of fish that are found in the Mediterranean are taken on the shores of West Barbary; mullet, red and gray, brim, anchovies, sardines, herrings, mackarel, rock cod, skaite, soles, plaice, turbot, turtles, besides fish peculiar to the coast, called by the Shelluhs, Azalimzi, Tasargalt, and Irgal, which are very abundant, particularly in the bay of Agadeer, and on the coast of Wedinoon; they are prepared in the ovens of Aguram, a town at the foot of the mountain whereon Agadeer stands, for the purpose of being conveyed to the interior, to Bled el-jerrêde, and Sahara; these fish form a considerable article of commerce, and are much esteemed in Bled-el-jerrêde.

As there is no country in the world so little explored as Africa, nor any that produces such a variety of animals, a few observations on some of the most remarkable may not be uninteresting.

QUADRUPEDS.

The Thaleb.—The animal called thaleb[73] is the red fox; it emits the same strong scent as the fox of Europe, and is found in all parts of the country; but is far from being so common as the deeb, which some have compared to the jackal, others to the brown fox. It is certain, that the deeb emits no offensive[78] smell; it is a very cunning animal, and its name is applied metaphorically to signify craft, which it possesses in a greater degree than any other animal; this circumstance alone seems to ally it to the fox species. It is very fond of poultry; and at night, a little after dark, the still air of the country is pierced with its cries, which alternately resemble those of children, and that of the fox. They assemble in numbers, and abound throughout the country, particularly in the environs of plantations of melons and other vinous plants. Some of these deebs have longer hair than others, and their skins are particularly soft and handsome. The provinces of Shedma, Haha, and Suse abound with this animal: the Arabs hunt it, and bring the skins for sale to the Mogodor market.

The (Dubbah) Hyæna.—The Dubbah, a term which designates the hyæna among the Arabs, is an animal of a ferocious countenance; but in its disposition, more stupid than fierce; it is found in all the mountains of Barbary, and wherever rocks and caverns are seen; this extraordinary animal has the opposite quality of the deeb,[74] having a vague and stupid stare, insomuch that a heavy dull person is designated by the term dubbah.[75] The flesh of this animal is not eaten, except in cases of extreme hunger: those, however, who have tasted it assert, that it causes stupefaction for a certain time; hence, when a[79] person displays extraordinary stupidity, the Arabs say (kulu ras Dubbah), he has eaten the head of a hyæna.

The mode of hunting this animal is singular; a party of ten or twelve persons, accompanied with as many dogs of various kinds, go to the cavern which they have previously ascertained to be the haunt of the hyæna; one of the party then strips himself, and taking the end of a rope with a noose to it in one hand, he advances gradually into the cave, speaking gently, and in an insinuating tone of voice, pretending to fascinate the hyæna by words; when he reaches the animal, he strokes him down the back, which appears to soothe him; he then dexterously slips the noose round his neck, and instantly pulling the rope to indicate to those on the outside of the cave, who hold the other end, that it is fixed, he retires behind, throwing a handkerchief or cloth over the eyes of the hyæna; the men then pull the rope from without, whilst he who fixes the noose urges the animal forward, when the dogs attack him. Some of the Shelluhs are very expert at securing the hyæna in this manner, and although there may be some danger in case the rope breaks, yet the man who enters the cave always carries a dagger, or large knife with him, with which he has considerably the advantage, for this animal is by no means so ferocious as he appears to be: in the southern Atlas I have seen them led about by the boys; a rope being fastened round the animal’s neck, and a communicating rope attached to it on either side, three or four yards long, the end of each being held by a boy, keep him perfectly secure. It is confinement that is inimical to a hyæna,[76] and which increases his ferocity. There are other[80] modes of hunting this stupid animal, either in the night with dogs, or by shooting him; but he never comes out of his cave in the day-time, but sits at the further end of it, staring with his eyes fixed. Their general character is not to be afraid of man, nor indeed to attack or avoid him; they will, however, attack and destroy sheep, goats, poultry, asses, and mules, and are very fond of the intoxicating herb called Hashisha.[77] The hyæna is said to live to a great age.

The dubbah and the deeb resemble each other in their propensity to devour dead bodies; so that whilst the plague ravaged West Barbary in 1799 and 1800, these animals were constant visitors of the cemeteries. The drawing of the hyæna in the fifth volume of the work just quoted is very correct.

The Gazel (antelope).—The gazel is that pretty light and elegant animal, swift as the wind, timid as a virgin, with a soft, beautiful, large, and prominent black eye, which seems to interest you in its favour. In its general appearance, the gazel resembles our deer; it is however much smaller, and has straight black horns, curving a little backwards. The eye and figure of the gazel, so well known to all Arabian poets, are emblematical of beauty, and the greatest compliment that can be paid to a beautiful women, is to compare her eyes to those of the gazel.[78] Much art is employed by the Arabian females to[81] make their eyes appear like those of this delicate animal. Eyes originally black and lively, are made to appear larger and more languishing by tinging the outer corner with El kahol Filelly, a preparation of lead ore procured from Tafilelt, which gives an apparent elongation to the eye. The eye-lashes and eye-brows being also blackened with this composition, they appear peculiarly soft and languishing; it is said also to improve and strengthen the sight. Every one who has accurately observed the eye of the African gazel will acquiesce in the aptness of the simile before alluded to. The word angel, so often employed by our poets to designate a beautiful female, is, with the Arabs, transformed to gazel: thus the Arabian sonnet;

Great numbers of gazels are found in all those extensive plains situated at the foot of the Atlas mountains; in those of Fruga, south of Marocco, after descending the Atlas, I have seen a hundred together; they also abound in the plains of Sheshawa near Anek Jimmel. Wild as the hare, and more fleet than the Barbary courser, they are seen bounding over the plains in large numbers. The antelope, however, soon fatigues, so that the horses of the Arabs gain on it, and the dogs are enabled finally to come up with it; it is hunted rather for the meat, which is similar to venison, than for actual sport, the Arabs having little desire to hunt merely for amusement. They kill and cut the throats of as many animals as they can procure. They often hunt the gazel with the (slogie) African greyhound, a peculiarly fine breed of which is produced in the province of Suse. The Arabs and Moors whilst hunting the antelope, often throw (zerwâta) thick sticks about two feet long at their legs, to break them, and thereby incapacitate them from running: a cruel device, at which the natural predilection for this delicate and beautiful animal recoils.

[83]El Horreh.—This, as its name implies,[79] is reckoned among the Arabs the prince of animals, and the emblem of cleanliness. It is an inhabitant of Sahara and its confines, and is not found north of the river Suse. It is somewhat similar to the gazel in its form and size; the colour of its back and head is of a light red, inclining to that of a fawn; the belly is of a beautiful and delicate white, insomuch that its brilliancy affects the eyes in a similar manner to the sensation produced in them by looking stedfastly at fine scarlet.

This animal, according to the tradition of the Arabs, never lies down, lest it should deface the colour of its belly, of the beauty of which it appears to be conscious. The stone called in Europe bizoar stone,[80] is produced by the horreh, but whether it be a concretion formed in its stomach, or an egg, or the testicle, is probably not accurately ascertained. The Bide el horreh, or egg of the horreh, signifies also the testicle of the animal, and I am inclined to think it is either the testicle, or a peculiar concretion formed in its stomach, all those which I have seen being nearly of the same size and form, similar to a pigeon’s egg. This stone is scraped and taken as an antidote against poison. Some whimsical people carry it about with them, taking it frequently in tea.

From this rare and beautiful animal’s being an emblem of purity, its skin (Jild el Horreh) is held in great estimation by the Bashaws, and men of rank, who prefer it to every other substance, to prostrate themselves upon at prayers. The[84] Bashaws generally have an attendant with them, who carries this skin, which is cured or prepared with allum and tizra,[81] and assumes a white colour when it comes from the tanners.

The Aoudad.—This animal is to be found only in the very steep and inaccessible cliffs, and in the woods and forests of the mountains of Atlas, south of Marocco and in Lower Suse, except when it descends to the rivers to drink. It throws itself from lofty precipices into the plains below, alighting generally on its horns or shoulders.

None of them have ever been caught in a state to allow of their being kept alive, being so very wild that it is not possible to approach them without great danger. In size and colour the Aoudad is similar to a calf; it has a beautiful long mane or beard, growing from the lower part of the neck; its teeth are very strong, and indicative of its longevity; the horns are about twelve inches in length, curved, of a dark colour, and are used for various purposes.

The only two skins of this animal which ever came to Europe, I had the honour of sending to the Right Honourable President of the Royal Society;[82] the horns and teeth were with one of them, which I had much difficulty in procuring from a Shelluh merchant, who having inadvertently observed to some of his friends the interest I took in procuring it, the jealousy of the Moors was raised, and they conceiving it to be some rich treasure, the officers of the Custom-house obliged me to pay an enormous duty for it. No other skin of this hitherto undescribed animal has been brought to Europe since; nor do I apprehend we shall know more respecting the animal itself, whilst the present imperfect knowledge of Africa continues. Emissaries,[85] whether commercial or philosophical, to that country, should furnish themselves with a general and practical knowledge of the Arabic language, without which little progress can be expected in its discovery.

The Wild Boar.—This animal, the hunting of which affords so much sport, is by the Arabs called El Kunjar, or El Helloof; they abound in the Shelluh province of Haha, and in Suse, where they are called Amuren; they are so plentiful about Agadeer, that it is not unusual to catch two or three before mid-day; one day we saw seven. They will sometimes run by a group of men without appearing at all alarmed; an instance of which happened once, as I remember, near Agadeer, where at a pic-nic party under some high trees, some Europeans who were present were not a little alarmed at seeing two wild hogs pass close by them; but they never attack a person unless wounded by him. In hunting this animal, whose strength is proverbial, the dogs should be good, and strong enough to keep him at bay; for if he be fired at and wounded by a man on foot, he will immediately make up to him, if he discovers from whence the wound was inflicted; but in the mean time he is either attacked by the dogs, diverted from his object by a stratagem, or brought down by some other shot. A boar will sometimes rip open the dogs as well as the horses with their tusks; but this rarely happens when the hunt is well appointed: a strong dog of the greyhound breed is the best and most effectual in securing this ferocious animal. The (slogies) greyhounds of Suse, of the third breed, always attack the boar on the nape of the neck, and never quit their hold.

The Nïmmer.—The word Nimmer may be translated Leopard; it is spotted rather than striped, and in size resembles the royal[86] tiger of Asia. The strength and agility of this animal is wonderful; I have seen one receive nine balls, before he fell. When the Nimmer is known to be in any particular district, deep holes are made in the ground, and covered lightly over, on which if he happen to tread, the ground sinks, and he falls in. The sides of the hole being formed like an inverted cone, the animal cannot get out, though he will make many efforts to regain his liberty; in the mean time the hunters come up and shoot him. At other places where he is supposed likely to pass, they build up a wall, and cover it over, making a hole or two sufficiently large to admit a musket-barrel, and here the patient Shelluh will wait whole days for his enemy, living all the time on (Hassowa) barley-meal mixed with water. After building a few of these walls enclosed like rooms, several Shelluhs will go in quest of the Nimmer, each taking his station either in these buildings, or in some lofty tree, and waiting a favourable opportunity to get a shot at him. The Arabs say that this ferocious animal, after he has seized his prey, if he be not impelled by hunger, will leave it for a few days, and afterwards return to the spot and devour the carcase, even if it be putrid.

The Lion is too well known to need a particular description in this place: he is hunted by the Africans in the same manner as the Nimmer; but they do not consider the chase to be so dangerous: the lion is not so active, nor does he climb as the Nimmer does. The Arabs say that if a person unarmed meet the Nimmer, he is sure of being destroyed; but that if, on the sight of a lion, he let his garments drop off, and stand before him undaunted, seeming to defy him, the lion will turn round and quietly walk off. Few people would be inclined to try the experiment for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of this[87] assertion. In the forests near the city of Mequinas the lions are very fierce, and have frequently been known so to infest the roads, as to render it impracticable for the caravans to pass. They are seen also at the foot of the Atlas, where the country is well wooded. The flesh, when eaten, is said, by the Arabs, to inspire courage.

The Bear.—Various conjectures have been formed respecting this animal’s being a native of Africa: from the concurrent testimony of the inhabitants, I am of opinion that it does not exist in West Barbary; it may, however, have been seen (as I have heard it has) in the upper regions of Atlas, which are covered with snow during the whole year. The name given by the Arabs to this animal is Dubb.[83]

The Sibsib.—This animal appears to be of an intermediate species between the rat and the squirrel; it is somewhat similar to the ichneumon in form, but not half its size; it inhabits the Atlas, and lives in holes among the stones and caverns of the mountains; it has brown hair, and a beautiful tail (resembling that of the squirrel) about the length of its body. The Shelluhs and Arabs eat this animal, and consider it a delicacy: and it is the only one the Mohammedans torment before death; this is done by taking hold of its fore and hind legs, and rubbing its back on a stone or flat surface for a few minutes, which causes the animal to scream out; they then cut its throat according to the Mohammedan custom. Seeing some Shelluhs in South Atlas performing this operation, and asking their motives for it, they informed me that the rubbing made the flesh eat tender; that in[88] taste it resembled a rabbit, but that without the friction it was not palatable. Being a subterraneous animal, it is prohibited food; but the eating of any forbidden thing becomes lawful to the Mohammedan, by ascribing to it some medicinal property; it is then denominated (Dûah) medicine, and not food: by this evasion, wine is drank by many who are not rigorous Mooselmin.

I never saw the Sibsib north of the province of Suse, but it abounds in the mountains of that district. Its motions are so excessively quick, that it is extremely difficult to shoot it.

Wild Cat.—El Cat el berranie is the Arabic name for this animal; it is much larger than the domestic cat, but similar in form; the back, neck, and forepart of the legs are of a dirty gray, inclining to brown; the belly is of a dirty white, spotted with brown; and the tail is long and handsome. The wild cat is so fierce, that when pressed with hunger it will sometimes attack a man.

The Ape.—This animal, which appears to form the intermediate link between the human species and the brute, is found of a very large size in North Atlas, and also about Ceuta.[84] There are various species of the ape; some are called by the Arabs D’Zatute, others El Kurd; the Berebbers, or Africans, call them Tongemon, or Babuin, and affirm that the (Hel Shouel) tailed men of Sahara, are a production from these animals with the human species. They live upon fruits, grass, and corn, and are often seen in great numbers in the fields, having a centinel to keep watch on some eminence; and when any person appears he gives the alarm, and they all run off together to the woods, climbing the trees. The females will jump from one[89] branch to another with their young on their shoulders; they are very subtle and vindictive, though easily appeased.

The Rhinoceros.—Reem is the Arabic name of the Rhinoceros. Various and contradictory have been the accounts both of the ancients and moderns respecting the beast with one horn, called the Unicorn, which is probably no other than the young Rhinoceros, which is said, by the Arabs, to have but one horn, till of a certain age, when a second appears, and some affirm that a third appears when the animal grows old. The horn of the Reem is called Kirkadune by the Arabs, and figuratively, gurn min gurn, i.e. horn of horns, being extremely hard and fine-grained, and receiving a high polish; it is sold at a most enormous price, and is used for the hilts of swords. With regard to the animal called by our heralds the unicorn, and represented in armorial bearings, I doubt if ever such an animal existed; the Reem[85] is called also Huaddee, which signifies the beast of one horn, Aouda signifies a mare, hence, perhaps, by an easy corruption of names, the Aouda has been mistaken for Huaddee, and the figure of a horse with a horn has been adopted as the figure of the Reem in our heraldic supporters; for I have frequently conversed with men who had been twenty years in the different countries of the interior of Africa, but never could learn that a beast with one horn existed in figure resembling a horse.[86] The Reem is also figuratively[90] denominated boh gern el harsh, i.e. the father of the hard horn.

Jumars.—The reputed offspring of the ass and the bull, or cow, is an animal whose existence is still doubted; I have never, in any of my travels, seen such a one; but I was once informed by Sid Mohammed E——m, that such a beast was sometimes seen in Bled-el-jerrêde; he had not, however, seen it himself. Dr. Shaw has described one that he saw in Barbary; notwithstanding which, the Count de Buffon disputes its existence.

These observations on the more remarkable wild animals may serve as a clue to future travellers; their names in the language of the country being accurately given, it will not be difficult to procure some of the natives to direct where to find them, by which means their respective species may be ascertained by those who may be desirous of elucidating natural history. I shall now mention the most particular domestic quadrupeds, or such as are subservient to the use of man.

El Heirie, or Erragual.—Nature, ever provident, and seeing the difficulty of communication, from the immense tracts of desert country in Sahara, has afforded the Saharawans a means, upon any emergency, of crossing the great African desert in a few days; mounted upon the (Heirie) desert camel (which is in figure similar to the camel of burden, but more elegantly formed), the Arab, with his loins, breast, and ears bound round, to prevent the percussion of air proceeding from a quick motion rapidly traverses, upon the back of this abstemious animal, the scorching desert, the fiery atmosphere of which parches, and impedes respiration so as almost to produce suffocation. The motion of the heirie is violent, and can be endured only by[91] those patient, abstemious, and hardy Arabs who are accustomed to it.[87] The most inferior kind of heirie are called Talatayee, a term expressive of their going the distance of three days journey in one: the next kind is called Sebayee, a term appropriated to that which goes seven days journey in one, and this is the general character; there is also one called Tasayee, or the heirie of nine days; these are extremely rare. The Arabs affirm that the Sebayee does not always produce another Sebayee, but sometimes a Talatayee, and sometimes a Tasayee; and that its class is ascertained by the period which elapses before the young one takes the teat of the mother; thus, if it be three days, it is considered to be a Talatayee, if seven days, a Sebayee, and if nine days, it proves to be a Heirie of nine days journey. If it prove a Tasayee, there are great rejoicings, it being an accession of wealth to the proprietor, as a Tasayee is bartered for two hundred camels; the Sebayee for one hundred, and the Talatayee for thirty, or thereabout.

This valuable and useful animal has a ring put through its upper lip, to which is fixed a leathern strap which answers the purposes of a bridle; the saddle is similar to that used by the Moors, or what the mountaineers of Andalusia use. With a goat skin or (a bakull) a porous earthen pitcher filled with water, a few dates, and some ground barley,[88] the Arab[92] travels from Timbuctoo to Tafilelt, feeding his heirie but once, at an oasis in the desert, for these camels, on an emergency, will abstain from drinking and from food seven days or more.

A journey of thirty-five days caravan travelling will be performed by a Sebayee in five days; they go from Timbuctoo to Tafilelt in seven days. One of these animals once came from Fort St. Joseph, on the Senegal river, to the house of Messrs. Cabane and Depras, French merchants at Mogodor, in seven days.

In the great desert of Africa, where cultivation is so rare that one may travel several days on an ordinary camel with baggage, without seeing any habitation, the use of the heirie must be evident, for it is more abstemious, and bears a longer continuation of fatigue, than the (Sh’rubah Er’reeh) desert horse, hereafter described.

The self-exiled Muley Abdrahaman, a prince of undaunted courage and great penetration, son of the old Emperor, Seedy Mohammed bn Abdallah bn Ismael, of the Tafilelt dynasty whilst residing among the Arab clan of Howara in Suse, kept, night and day, at the door of his (keyma) tent, two heiries, ready caparisoned, one having a load of gold dust and jewels, and the other for riding, in case of a sudden surprise, that he might pass into the desert out of the reach of his father’s power. The Emperor’s soldiers, by their master’s order, having treated his highness’s woman in a manner disgraceful to a Mooselmin, he had retired to the confines of Sahara for more security.

The swiftness of the heirie is thus described by the Arabs in their figurative style: “When thou shalt meet a heirie, and say to the rider, Salem Alick, ere he shall have answered thee,[93] Alick Salem, he will be afar off, and nearly out of sight, for his swiftness is like the wind.[89]”

Talking with an Arab of Suse, on the subject of these fleet camels, and the desert horse, he assured me that he knew a young man who was passionately fond of a lovely young girl, whom nothing would satisfy but some oranges: these were not to be procured at Mogodor, and as the lady wanted the best fruit, nothing less than Marocco oranges would satisfy her; the Arab mounted his heirie at the dawn of day, went to Marocco,[90] purchased the oranges, and returned that night after the gates were shut, and sent the oranges to the lady by a guard of one of the batteries. I am aware, in relating this circumstance, that I shall incur the imputation of credulity; but Mr. Bruce, who related many things very common in Africa, was lampooned by Munchausen; much, however, of what was doubted, has been confirmed by other travellers after him, and I am persuaded that in a short time much more will be ascertained to be fact, which he has, by the ignorant and presuming, been censured for relating.[91] If transactions and facts well known by the African be incompatible with the European’s ideas of probability, and, on that account rejected as fables, it is not the fault of the former, but of the latter, who has neglected to investigate a neighbouring quarter of the globe.

The Sh’rubah Er’reeh,[92] or Desert horse, is to the common[94] horse what the desert camel is to the camel of burden; this animal does not, however, answer the purpose so well for crossing the barren desert, as he requires a feed of camel’s milk once every day, which is his only sustenance, so that there must necessarily be two she camels wherever he goes to afford this supply: for he will touch neither barley, wheat (oats are never given to horses in Africa), hay, straw, nor indeed any other thing but camel’s milk: they are employed chiefly to hunt the ostrich, at which sport they are very expert.

When the desert horses are brought to Marocco, as they sometimes are, they fall away; and if obliged ultimately from hunger to eat barley and straw, the Moorish provender, they recover, gradually fill up, and become handsome to the sight, but lose entirely their usual speed.

Alkaid Omar ben Daudy, an Arab of Rahammenah, when Governor of Mogodor, had two Saharawan horses in his stables; finding it inconvenient to feed them constantly on camel’s milk, he resolved to try them on the usual food given to Barbary horses; he accordingly had their food gradually changed, and in a short time fed them altogether with barley,[93] and occasionally with wheat and straw: they grew fat, and looked better than before (for those of Sahara of this particular breed are by no means handsome; they have a small slender body, formed like that of the greyhound, a powerful broad chest, and small legs), but they lost their speed, and soon afterwards died, as if nature had designed them to be appropriated solely to that[95] district, whose arid and extensive plains render their use essentially necessary.

A person unaccustomed to ride the Sh’rubah Er’reeh, finds its motion uneasy at first; but the saddle forms a safe seat, and a man who never rode before, acquires a facility in these saddles in a few days; the pommel rises perpendicularly in front, and the back part rises reclining a little from a perpendicular, and supports the back as high as the loins; the stirrups are placed far back, and give the rider a firm hold,[94] inducing him to grasp the horse’s sides with the knees, as, from the form and disposition of the stirrups and the seat, the legs and knees naturally incline inwards, and press the horse, so that the rider can, by this means, turn the animal whichever way he pleases, without using the reins; the stirrup is broad at the bottom, and receives the whole length of the foot; at the heel of the stirrup is hung loosely a spike, six inches long, which is the Moorish spur, a barbarous looking weapon, which a person, unacquainted with the dexterous manner of using it, would expect to rip open the horse’s sides; but a good horseman seldom uses it in a way to injure the horse; it is sufficient that he shake it against the stirrups, to animate him. The whole art of riding is confined to the dexterous management of the spurs, and a good rider is distinguished from a novice by their position, as the points should never be nearer to the flank than about four inches; sometimes they are not within eight. I have seen one of the Arabs of the warlike and powerful province of Shawiya, whilst mounted and the horse curvetting, mark his name in Arabic characters,[96] with the spur, on the horse’s side: this is accounted the perfection of horsemanship among the Shawiyans, who are acknowledged to be the first horsemen in Marocco, and not inferior to the Bukarie cavalry of the Emperor’s life guard, both of whom consider the Mamulukes as very inferior to them, in every thing but their gaudy trappings: their exercise of cavalry consists in what they call El Harka, which is running full speed, about a quarter of a mile or less, till they come to a wall, when the rider fires his musquet, and stops his horse short, turning him at the same time; this amusement, of which they are ridiculously fond, they continue several hours, wasting much powder to little purpose, as they do not improve in the direction of their piece, having no ball with the charge, nor mark to fire at; their pieces have nothing in them but gunpowder rammed down, for if they had wadding, many accidents would happen from their discharging them close to one another’s faces. Ten or twenty horsemen suddenly dart off at full speed, one half turning to the right, and the other to the left, after firing, so as not to interfere with each other.

The men who ride these Sh’rubah Er’reeh, as well as the Arabs who ride the Heiries, have their bowels relaxed at the termination of their journey; for which, on leaving the Desert, they drink a draught of camel’s milk,[95] called Hallib Niag, which being rejected by the stomach, they drink again; this second draught, after remaining a longer time, is sometimes also rejected; the third draft, finding the tone of the stomach somewhat restored, remains, and turns to nourishment.

(Jimmel).—The Camel of burden. This most useful animal[97] serves for various purposes of domestic life: its flesh is good, and when young, is preferred by the Arabs to beef; it is, however, rather insipid, but very easy of digestion; the milk of the (Naga) female camel, is extremely nutritious, and if taken in the morning for breakfast is an infallible remedy for (murd irkek) consumption; on this account it is in high estimation among all ranks of people: the Arabs of Sahara, for the most part, live on nothing else; it is of a bluish hue, and possesses a rather glutinous quality. In Soudan and Sahara the camel carries a load not exceeding four hundred weight; those of Duquella and the north of Marocco carry six, seven and eight hundred weight: the difference of the burden varies with the abundance or paucity of food; and the camel will never rise from the ground with a burden which he cannot proceed with.

Sheep.—This useful animal is found in all parts of west Barbary, even to the confines of Sahara, where their flesh is of a peculiarly fine flavour, which is occasioned by the aromatic herbs on which they feed. About the mountains of Lower Suse and Wedinoon the mutton is of such a superior flavour, that when the Emperor is at Marocco, it is often sent to him in presents. As the aromatic herbs of Africa are much stronger scented than those of Europe, the flesh of the Wedinoon sheep has accordingly a stronger aromatic flavour than those of the Sussex South Down; they are larger than the ordinary sheep; the ewes are very prolific, yeaning twice a year, and having often two or more lambs at a time. I sent a ram of this breed to England, where it did not (with the change of climate) lose altogether its prolific nature, for the ewes to which he was admitted produced two lambs each.

[98]The wool of these sheep varies considerably, that of some being very coarse, whilst that of others is extremely fine; no care is taken of the quality, but nature is left, in this respect (as in all others in this country), to take its course.

Tedla, a rich province bordering on Atlas, north of Marocco, abounds in sheep, whose wool is so fine, that no silk is softer: it is used in the manufacture of caps, worn by the opulent, and is sold at Fas for a very high price: its exportation being prohibited, it is consumed by the inhabitants. A breed of these sheep would be an acquisition in Europe, and they might be procured. The average price of a fleece of wool in Barbary is (wahud drahim) one ounce, or five-pence English, that of a sheep is one Mexico dollar. Wool was, till lately, exported to Europe; particularly to Marseilles, and other ports in the Mediterranean, to Amsterdam, Hamburgh, and London, but a very inferior quality being sent to the latter place, it got a bad name; the demand, however, from other places was so great, that the Emperor had representations made to him, that wearing apparel of the Barbary manufacture was rising in value, in consequence of the unlimited exportation of wool, and an order was accordingly issued, prohibiting it, the Emperor, to gratify his people, assuring them that for the future he would not suffer it to be carried out of the country.

Goats.—Every lady in England has contributed to the Emperor of Marocco’s treasury, by consuming the leather which is made from the skin of the goat; that denominated Spanish leather being prepared from the Marocco goat skins.

The goats of Africa are very prolific, particularly those of Tafilelt, which is one cause of such an immense number being exported: the duty on this article of commerce forms a considerable[99] part of the custom-house revenue. They have young twice a year, and often one goat is followed by six or seven kids of her own, the production of nine months.

The goats of the Arab province of Shedma, and the Shelluh province of Haha, are the finest in West Barbary, but the Tafilelt goats, as before observed, surpass them in size and quality; their milk is richer and more abundant; their meat more delicate, particularly when young.

The (jild Filelly) Tafilelt leather, is the softest and the finest in the world, and much superior to that of Marocco, or even to that of Terodant: soft and pliable as silk, it is impervious to water. The tanners of Tafilelt use the leaves of a shrub called tizra, which grows in the Atlas mountains; this, it is pretended, gives their leather that peculiar softness for which it is so much esteemed; this however is doubtful, as the tanners, above all people, are cautious of discovering to strangers their art of tanning. Some quality in the air and water possibly may contribute to give the leather that extraordinary pliability.

REPTILES, INSECTS, SERPENTS, &c.

The Camelion.—Tatta is the Arabic, and Tayuh the Shelluh name for this extraordinary and complicated animal; its head resembles that of a fish, the body that of a beast, the tail that of a serpent, and the legs and feet are somewhat similar to the arms and hands of a human being; the tongue is pointed like that of a serpent, and is so instantaneous in its motion, that the human sight can scarcely perceive it when it darts it out to the length of its body, to catch flies (its ordinary food); in doing this it never misses its mark, so that I imagine there must be some glutinous substance which attaches the fly to the tongue,[100] or else it pierces the insect with its point, which is very sharp. I have often admired the velocity with which the camelion thus secures its food, but never could discover whether it were to be attributed to the former, or the latter cause. It is partly nourished by the sun and air; it delights to bask in the sun with its mouth open, to receive the heat of its rays.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

(Tûta) The Chamælion; Natural Size

London Published June 4. 1811. by W. G. Nicholl Pall Mall.

The length of the camelion when full grown is ten or twelve inches, including the tail. When suddenly discovered, and pursued, it runs fast, forgetting its wonted caution, which is never to trust to the tread of the foot, the toes of which grasp the object they tread on: in its ordinary movements, its step is geometrically exact; it looks carefully around to discover the state of the surrounding place, and to ascertain if every thing be safe, one eye looking behind, the other before, and in all transverse directions; for this organ is a perfect hemisphere, projecting from the head, and moving in various and independant directions. Having ascertained that its feet are safe, and that the substance on which they are fixed is firm, the camelion disengages its tail, and proceeds on, with the same caution, again fastening the tail, by twisting it round some branch or twig, till it has ascertained the safety of the next step.

Many doubts have arisen with regard to the camelion’s mode of changing its colour; from the various and repeated observations which I have from time to time made on this most extraordinary animal, in a confined as well as in a free state, I have been enabled to ascertain, that in gardens (its ordinary resort), it gradually changes its colour, assuming that of the substance over which it passes, and to do this it requires two or three minutes; the change beginning by the body becoming covered with small spots of the colour of the substance[101] over which it actually passes, and which gradually increase, till it is altogether of that particular colour; green appears its favourite, or at least it assumes that hue more distinctly than any other, for I have seen it on vines so perfectly green, that it was scarcely distinguishable from the leaves; when it assumes a white or black colour these are not clear, but of a dirty hue, inclining to brown. When irritated, it will gradually assume a dirty blackish colour, which it retains whilst the irritation lasts, swelling its sides, and hissing like a serpent; when asleep, or inclined to rest, it is of a whitish cast. In the course of the various experiments which my curiosity and admiration of the camelion induced me to make, I discovered that it never drinks, and that it always avoids wet and rain. I kept three in a cage for the period of four months, during which time I never gave them any food: they appeared withered and thin. Others, which I kept in a small confined garden, retained their original size and appearance; consequently it is to be supposed that they feed on the leaves of vegetables: those confined in the cage did not vary their colour much, appearing generally that of the cage; but if any thing green, such as vegetables, were placed near it, they would assume that hue; those confined in the garden assumed so much the colour of the object over which they progressively passed, as to render it difficult to discover them. Various medicinal qualities are assigned to the flesh of the camelion; and many whimsical effects are attributed to fumigation with it when dried; debilitated persons have recourse to it, and it is accordingly sold in all the drug shops at Marocco, Fas, and other places, which shops are named Hanute El Attari: the smell arising from the fumigation is by no means grateful; but what scent will prevent an African[102] from using that remedy which credulity or superstition has persuaded him will give strength to the impotent?

The Arabs assert, that the camelion is the only animal which destroys the serpent,[96] and it is said to do it in the following manner: it proceeds cautiously on the bough of some tree, under which the serpent sleeps, and placing itself perpendicularly over its head, discharges a glutinous thread of saliva, having a white drop at the end, which falling on the serpent’s head, soon kills him. This assertion being general and uncontroverted, among the Arabs, I have mentioned it, as a hint to future travellers, who may be desirous of investigating its truth.

The camelion is, by some persons, said to be venemous: but I never knew any harm done by them, though the boys sometimes carry them in their bosoms.

The Dub, or Saharawan Lizard.—This animal always avoids water; it is about eighteen inches long, and three or four inches broad across the back; it is not poisonous, being an inhabitant of Sahara, which, like Ireland, is said to contain no venomous animals:[97] it lays eggs like the tortoise; it is very swift, and if hunted, will hide itself in the earth, which it perforates with its nose, and nothing can extricate it, but digging up the ground. The similarity between the name of this reptile, and the Arabic name of the bear (Dubb), has probably led some persons to assert, that there are bears in Africa.

Locusts (Jeraad).—This destructive creature, which the French call sauterelle, confounding it with the common grasshopper,[103] differs very much from that insect, in the direful effects and devastation it causes in the countries it visits. Dr. Johnson, in his translation of Lobo’s Abyssinia, has rendered it grasshopper, although it evidently should have been translated locust.

Plate 3.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

(Jeraada) a Locust, natural size.

London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall.

Locusts are produced from some unknown physical cause, and proceed from the Desert, always coming from the south. When they visit a country, it behoves every individual to lay in a provision against a famine; for they are said to stay three, five, or seven years. During my residence in West and South Barbary, those countries suffered a visitation from them during seven years. They have a government among themselves, similar to that of the bees and ants; and when the (Sultan Jerraad) king of the locusts rises, the whole body follow him, not one solitary straggler being left behind to witness the devastation. When they have eaten all other vegetation, they attack the trees, consuming first the leaves, and then the bark, so that the country, in the midst of summer, from their general rapacity, bears the face of winter. In my travels, I have seen them so thick on the ground, as sometimes actually to have covered my horse’s hoofs, as he went along; it is very annoying to travel through a host of them, as they are continually flying in your face, and settling on your hands and clothes. At a distance, they appear, in the air, like an immense cloud, darkening the sun; and whilst employed in devouring the produce of the land, it has been observed that they uniformly proceed one way, as regularly as a disciplined army on its march; nor will it be possible to discover a single one going a different way from the rest. In travelling from Mogodor to Tangier, before the plague in 1799, the country was covered[104] with them: a singular incident then occurred at El Araiche; the whole country from the confines of Sahara to that place was ravaged by them, but after crossing the river El Kos,[98] they were not to be seen, though there was nothing to prevent them from flying across it; moreover, they were all moving that way, that is to the north; but when they reached the banks of the river, they proceeded eastward, so that the gardens and fields north of El Araiche were full of vegetables, fruits, and grain. The Arabs of the province of El Garb[99] considered this remarkable circumstance as an evident interposition of Providence.

This curse of heaven can only be conceived by those who have seen the dismal effects of their devastation: the poor people by living on them, become meagre and indolent, for no labour will yield fruit, whilst the locusts continue increasing in numbers. In the rainy season they partially disappear, and at the opening of the spring the ground is covered with their young; those crops of corn which are first mature, and the grain which becomes hardened before the locust attains its full growth, are likely to escape, provided there be other crops less forward for them to feed upon.

In the year 1799, these destructive insects were carried away into the Western Ocean by a violent hurricane; and the shores were afterwards covered with their dead bodies, which in many places emitted a pestilential smell; that is, wherever the land[105] was low, or where the salt water had not washed them:[100] to this event succeeded a most abundant crop of corn, the lands which had lain fallow for years, being now cultivated; but the produce of the cultivation was accompanied with a most infectious and deadly plague, a calamity of which the locusts have often been observed to be the fore-runners.[101] The Saharawans, or Arabs of the Desert, rejoice to see the clouds of locusts proceeding[106] towards the north, anticipating therefrom a general mortality, which they call (el-khere) the good, or the benediction; for after depopulating the rich plains of Barbary, it affords to them an opportunity of emanating from their arid recesses in the Desert, to pitch their tents in the desolated plains, or along the banks of some river; as was done by one of the kabyles of Tuat, after the plague had depopulated Barbary in the summer and autumn of 1799, and the spring of 1800, when these wild Arabs poured into Draha from Sahara, and settled along the banks of the river of that devastated country.

Locusts are esteemed a great delicacy, and during the above periods dishes of them were generally served up at the principal repasts; there are various ways of dressing them; that usually adopted, was to boil them in water half an hour; then sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and fry them, adding a little vinegar; the head, wings, and legs are thrown away, the rest of the body is eaten, and resembles the taste of prawns. As the criterion of goodness in all eatables among the Moors is regulated by the stimulating qualities which they possess, so these locusts are preferred to pigeons, because supposed to be more invigorating.[102] A person may eat a platefull of them, containing two or three hundred, without any ill effects.

When the locust is young, it is green; as it grows, it assumes a yellow hue, and lastly becomes brown. I was informed by an Arab, who had seen the (Sultan Jeraad) king of the locusts, that it was larger and more beautifully coloured than the ordinary one; but I never myself could procure a sight of it.

The mode of catching locusts is thus: several persons go out in the evening, and where they find the bushes covered,[107] they through Haicks, or garments, over them, beating them with sticks or canes; they then collect the insects together, and put them in a sack, which they will fill, by this means, in half an hour.

A drawing of this devouring insect will be found in Plate 8th, page 103.

The Venomous Spider (Tendaraman).—This beautiful reptile is somewhat similar to a hornet in size and colour, but of a rounder form; its legs are about an inch long, black, and very strong; it has two bright yellow lines, latitudinally crossing its back; it forms its web octagonally between bushes, the diameter being two or three yards; it places itself in the centre of its web, which is so fine, as to be almost invisible, and attaches to whatever may pass between those bushes. It is said to make always towards the head before it inflicts its deadly wound. In the cork forests, the sportsman, eager in his pursuit of game, frequently carries away on his garments the Tendaraman, whose bite is so poisonous, that the patient survives but a few hours.

The Scorpion (El Akarb).—The scorpion is generally two inches in length, and resembles so much the lobster in its form that the latter is called by the Arabs (Akerb d’elbahar) the sea-scorpion: it has several joints or divisions in its tail, which are supposed to be indicative of its age; thus, if it have five, it is considered to be five years old. The poison of this reptile is in its tail, at the end of which is a small, curved, sharp-pointed sting; the curve being downwards, it turns its tail upwards when it strikes a blow.

The scorpion delights in stony places, and in old ruins; in some stony parts of the district of Haha they abound so much, that on turning up the stones, three or four will be found under[108] each. Some are of a yellow colour, others brown, and some black; the yellow possess the strongest poison, but the venom of each affects the part wounded with frigidity, which takes place soon after the sting has been inflicted.

During the summer, the city of Marocco is so infested with this venomous reptile, that it is not uncommon to find them in the beds; all persons, therefore, who visit Marocco at this season of the year, should have the feet of their bedsteads placed in tubs or pans of water; this precaution will also prevent the attack of bugs, which in summer are a perfect nuisance; but the inhabitants are accustomed to all these sorts of inconveniences, and care little about them.

Most families in Marocco keep a bottle of scorpions infused in olive oil, which is used whenever any person is stung by them; for although the scorpion carries an antidote in itself, it is not always to be caught, as it often stings a person whilst asleep, and disappears before he awakes, or thinks of looking for it; in which event the body of the live scorpion cannot of course be procured. It is necessary to bind the part, if possible, above the place stung, then to cauterize, and afterwards to scarify the puncture, to prevent the venom from pervading the system; this method is sometimes effectual, and sometimes not, according to the situation of the part wounded, and the nature of the scorpion, some being more poisonous than others; but where the flesh of the reptile can be obtained, the cure is said to be infallible.

Musquitos (Namuse).—Musquitos, gnats, and various other kinds of annoying insects, appear to have made the lakes of West Barbary their general rendezvous. I was once compelled[109] to encamp, during the night, on the banks of the lake of Mamora (having travelled, on horseback, a fatiguing day’s journey of fifty-six miles), where I was intolerably tormented with the musquitos; it being suggested, that they were attracted by the lights in the tents, these were extinguished, but without affording any relief: fatigued as I was, as well as every one else, I endeavoured in vain to sleep, and was at length obliged to cause the tents to be struck, the camels loaded, and to proceed on my way in the night, all which the servants and Arabs cheerfully performed, though nearly exhausted with the heat of the preceding day. In the morning, I found my face and hands in a most deplorable condition, being similar to those of a person in the worst stage of the small-pox.

The musquitos and other insects attack strangers with great keenness, biting them, and sucking their blood in a most distressing manner. The thick skins of the Arabs, exposed daily to the scorching heat of the sun, are impenetrable to their bite, otherwise they would not be able to exist; for although the country is productive, and the soil good, yet nothing can compensate for the vexation arising from the unremitted attacks of these irritating insects.

Cricket.—This insect abounds in the Atlas mountains, piercing the still air of night with its incessant noise. They are very large, having beautiful gray wings, covered with several gold coloured spots; the back is yellow, variegated with green.

Serpents (Henushe).—Of these there are various species in Barbary, but two only are extremely venomous; the one is of a black colour, about seven or eight feet long, with a small head, which it expands frequently to four times its ordinary size, when about to attack any object. This serpent is called Bûska, and[110] is the only one that will attack travellers; in doing which, it coils itself up, and darts to a great distance, by the elasticity of its body and tail. I have seen it coil itself, and erect its head about twelve or eighteen inches above the ground, expanding it at the same time when it darted forward. The wound inflicted by the bite is small, but the surrounding part immediately turns black, which colour soon pervades the whole body, and the sufferer expires in a very short time. This serpent is carried about by the (Aisawie[103]) charmers of serpents.

Plate 4.

The Bûskah.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall.

El Effah is the name of the other serpent remarkable for its[111] quick and penetrating poison; it is about two feet long, and as thick as a man’s arm, beautifully spotted with yellow and brown, and sprinkled over with blackish specks, similar to the horn-nosed snake. They have a wide mouth, by which they inhale a great quantity of air, and when inflated therewith, they eject it with such force as to be heard at a considerable distance. These mortal enemies to mankind are collected by the Aisawie before-mentioned, in a desert of Suse, where their holes are so numerous, that it is difficult for a horse to pass over it without stumbling.

Plate 5.

El Efah.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall.

The Boah, or desert snake, is an enormous monster, from twenty to eighty feet long, as thick as a man’s body, and of a dingy colour: this inhabitant of Sahara is not venomous, though it is not less destructive: the Arabs (speaking of it figuratively)[104] affirm, that as it passes along the desert it fires the ground with the velocity of its motion. It is impossible to escape it; it will twist itself round an ox, and after crushing its bones, will swallow it gradually, after which it lies supinely on the ground two or three days, unable to proceed till the animal be digested. Two of these monsters stationed themselves near the road from Marocco to Terodant, near to the latter city, a few years since; one of them was killed, the other remained there several days, and prevented travellers from passing the road: they were both young ones, being about twenty feet long. Various stories are related by the Arabs of Sahara respecting the Boahs; but they are mostly ingenious fables, originally intended to inculcate some moral lesson. Without speaking of all the various kinds of serpents which are either timid, harmless or not venomous, I must observe, that

[112]The Domestic Serpents claim some attention. In the city of Marocco these animals abound; there is scarcely a house without its domestic serpent, which is sometimes seen moving along the roofs of the apartments; they are never molested by the family, who would not hurt them on any consideration, conceiving them a benediction on the household; they have been known to suck the breasts of women whilst asleep, and retire without offering any further injury. They are so susceptible, as to be sensible of enmity towards them, and it is thought imprudent to incur their displeasure; for this reason the inhabitants of Marocco treat them kindly, and as members of the family, not wishing to disturb an animal that claims the rights of hospitality by settling in their house.

The Tortoise. (Fackrone.) Land-tortoises of a very large size abound in Barbary and in Suse, where, in the afternoon of a hot day, one may collect a dozen in the course of an hour. They are esteemed good eating by the French, and the inhabitants of the shores of the Mediterranean.[105] The wonderful geometrical construction of this animal is such, that it will bear a ton weight on its back.

In Sahara the turpins, or land tortoises, are reported to be very large, weighing four, five, or six hundred weight; but I never heard of any like those found at the time Leo Africanus wrote, who mentions a man who had seen one as big as a tun, and he himself says he saw one the size of a barrel.

[113]BIRDS.

The Ostrich.—Ennaam is the name given by the Western Arabs to the ostrich; it is found on the confines of Sahara, in every part from Wedinoon on the western ocean as far as Senaar: those which are taken about Wedinoon and Cape Bojador are the largest in the world, and have the finest plumage; the feathers of the male bird are the best, being thicker and more tufted than those of the female: the black feathers are taken from the tail; the fine long white plumes used by our females of fashion are from the fore part of the wings: the smaller feathers of the wing are also sometimes black. I have seen ostriches from Cape Bojador eight feet high from the foot to the beak, when the neck was erect, which is the natural position. The ostrich appears to be a stupid bird, and indifferent to every thing; taking no notice of persons, except they have metal buttons on their clothes, at which they will eagerly snap; it is not however to be credited that they digest iron or any other metal, although pieces of such are often found in their stomachs, when cut up by the hunters.

The ostrich forms the intermediate gradation between the bird and the beast, for it neither simply flies nor runs, but rather does both, never rising however from the ground, but is assisted considerably by its wings, in its progress through the desert, running over many hundred miles of ground in a short time. They are sometimes seen in Sahara by the Akkabahs of Soudan, in great numbers, appearing at a distance, at twilight, like a host of plundering Arabs.

The ostrich lays several eggs, of the size of an African citron, or a six-and-thirty pound shot, white, and of an oval form,[114] weighing from eight to ten pounds; after laying these eggs, the bird goes away, forgetting or forsaking them, and if some other ostrich discover them, she hatches them, as if they were her own, forgetting probably whether they are or are not; so deficient is the recollection of this bird. In addition to their usual food, they swallow stones, gravel, sand, and metals; it is not ascertained whether they drink or not.

Among the various animals which the Arabs hunt for sport or profit, that which most fully rewards their exertions, is the ostrich: a party of about twenty Arabs, mounted on the desert horses already described,[106] set out together, riding gently against the wind, one after the other, at the distance of about half a mile asunder; they walk on, tracing the foot-marks, till they discover those of the ostrich, which they then follow; when they come in sight of their game, they rush towards it at full speed, always keeping nearly the same distance as at first; the bird finding her wings an impediment to her progress against the wind, turns towards the horsemen, and after escaping the first and second, is perhaps shot, or brought down by the third or fourth, or some of those that follow; they are, however, often a whole day in the chase before they secure their bird. Were it not for this stratagem, aided by the stupidity of the ostrich, it would be impossible to take it. The Saharawans carry muskets, but in hunting the ostrich they rarely use them, trusting rather to their Zerwata, which is a stick about two feet long, and three inches in circumference, taken from the Alk Soudan tree, or the tree that produces the Senegal gum, being a hard close-grained heavy wood; this Zerwata they throw with extraordinary dexterity at the legs of the birds, and by[115] breaking or maiming them, impede their progress, and by that means secure them. Having cut the throat according to the Mohammedan practice, they pluck off the feathers and divide them, as well as the carcase, into different portions: on these occasions, as on all others, whether in hunting, pillaging, or attacking (Akkabahs) the accumulated caravans from Soudan, they divide the booty into as many shares as there are persons to partake, caring but little about the equality of them; then each person taking something that he has about him (such as a key, a knife, or a piece of money), they put it into the corner of a hayk or garment, and covers it over, waiting till some stranger or uninterested person appears, whom they engage to take out of the garment before mentioned, the different articles deposited therein, and to place one on each of the parcels or lots of feathers and meat, when each person takes up that portion on which the article belonging to him is placed; they then separate, and retire to their respective douars, where they regale themselves and their families with the produce of their sport. The flesh of the ostrich is by no means palatable to an European; it is a dark coloured and strong meat; the fat is much esteemed in medicine for all kinds of bruises and sprains, and is sold at a very high price: but money will not always procure it, friendship or hospitality being more powerful in these regions than even money itself! this medicine, therefore, is often procurable only through the former. The feathers are sold by the hunters to the agents of the merchants of Mogodor established at Wedinoon, for the purpose of transportation finally to Europe, to adorn the heads of our fashionable females.

Writing as I am for the information of merchants as well as others, it may not be unacceptable to my readers, some of[116] whom may perhaps be induced to form establishments in those unknown regions, to learn the method of purchasing ostrich feathers in West and South Barbary. It is as follows:

A quintal, or 100 lbs. weight, is thus distributed according to custom from time immemorial:

N.B. The feathers denominated Zumar, are preferable to Long Black, and these are preferable to Lobar. To this quintal of assorted feathers are added 6 lb. 4 oz. of passable or fine feathers, which are delivered in the following proportions:

These 12 oz. over the quintal are brought into imaginary pieces, or single feathers; thus 4½ surplus face feathers are equivalent to one ounce, so that 12 oz. will make fifty-four feathers; the contract will therefore stand thus:

which sum is equivalent to 948⁶⁄₁₀ Mexico dollars.

But custom makes 100 feathers count for 22 oz. without the fraction before mentioned.

This explanation may give some idea of the mode of purchasing this article of commerce, which requires much practice and experience, before the purchaser will be free from imposition. There are but two or three persons at Mogodor who perfectly understand it, and the method of passing them at the custom-house.

The price here affixed is the average. The competition among the Jews, and the almost entire monopolization of the Marocco trade by these people, has latterly enhanced the price; for, by contriving to exclude the English, and the Christians in general, as much as possible from commerce, they are too often induced to trade beyond their capital, and by frequently overstocking the market, cause a forced trade, thereby throwing the profits, which before were reaped by the European, into the hands of the natives; the consequence of this is, that the Emperor, displeased at his subjects becoming too suddenly rich, exacts an additional duty on the exportion of the article, whereupon its price in the country immediately falls, and the surplus of profit is, by this policy, thrown into the imperial exchequer.

[118]The Vulture (Nesser).— Excepting the ostrich, this is the largest bird in Africa; it is common in all places where the gum ammoniac plant grows, and it is said to feed on the horned beetle, which lives upon that plant. In the plains east of El Araiche, where the plant abounds, I have seen at least twenty of these birds in the air at once, darting down on the insects with astonishing rapidity. They build their nests on lofty precipices, high rocks, and in dreary parts of the mountains. Mr. Bruce calls this bird the Nessir, or golden eagle, but I apprehend he has committed an error in denominating it an eagle, the generical name of which, in the Arabic language, is El Bezz.

The Eagle.—Bezz el Horreh designates the largest species of eagle, with undescribably clear and beautiful eyes of an orange colour. I shot one of these birds in crossing the Atlas mountains between Marocco and Terodant, and attempted to preserve it for the purpose of sending it to Europe, but it died on the third day. This is the bird which is reported by the Africans to engender the dragon on the female hyæna; a chimera originating undoubtedly in some Arabian fable or allegorical tradition, though generally credited by the inhabitants of Atlas, who affirm the dragon thus engendered to have the wings and beak of an eagle, a serpent’s tail, and short feet like a hyæna, the eye-lids never closed, and that it lives in caves like the hyæna.

Hawks and Falcons.—The Shereefs and Bashaws, and higher orders of society, are much attached to falconry. Muley Teib, brother to the present Emperor, was passionately fond of this kind of sport, and had the best falcons in the country. They teach these young hawks dexterously to fly at and catch ducks, wild-geese, partridges, hares, bustards, and antelopes; the latter, however, is too strong to be held by the falcon, which hovers[119] about its head, and impedes its progress, till the greyhounds come up with it and secure it. I have hunted with the prince Muley Teib and his falconers several times, accompanied by Dr. Bell, an English surgeon who attended him.

White Herons (Bufullel).—The white heron differs from the garde bœufs[107]) ox-keepers; it is called bufula in the singular number; the garde bœuf is called by the Arabs Teer el bukkera, which signifies the cow bird, as the large red-spotted lizard is called Erdar el bukkera, because it sucks the cows’ milk. A person might, however, easily mistake the garde bœuf for the white heron, as I did once myself; having killed about a hundred at different times, I have often shot the former for the latter; the Arabs always persuaded me they were not the same; and in fact so I found, for I never saw a heron killed near a cow; they are found on the banks of rivers, where they feed on worms; at a distance of fifty yards, they are exactly the same in appearance; the heron, however, when examined, appears to differ in the colour of the legs, which are black, whereas those of the garde bœuf are yellowish, or brown: the heron has two long narrow feathers on the crown of the head, hanging over the neck; the garde bœuf has none: the heron has from twenty to a hundred aigrette feathers on its back; the garde bœuf has none. With regard to what is said in the note below,[108] it may be observed that the transposition or omission[120] of one point or dot, in the Arabic language, is sufficient to make bufula, bukula; nay more, what is bukula in the west, is written the same in the east, and pronounced bufula, for the k of the western Arabs is the s of the eastern. But the curlew is called bukula, and the white heron, or egret, bufula in the east, as well as in the west.

The Bustard abounds in the provinces of Temsena, Benihassen, and Duquella; some are also found in Abda and Suse: being a shy bird, the Arabs approach it gradually, and in a circular line: when they reach within a hundred yards, they fall down, and creep along the ground gently till they come within shot. The flesh of this bird is much esteemed, and is considered an acceptable present by men of high rank.

The Stork (B’elharge.)—The general colour of the stork’s plumage is white, the extremities of the wings being tipped with black; they are from two to three feet in height from the feet to the bill. During the summer, the old towns of West Barbary are frequented by these birds, which go generally in pairs: they are migratory, and when they do not return to their usual haunts at the accustomed season, it is considered ominous of evil. Any person that should presume to shoot this sacred bird, would incur the resentment of the whole city, and be accounted a sacrilegious infidel; for, besides being of the greatest utility in destroying serpents and other noxious reptiles, they are also emblematical of faith and conjugal affection, and on that account held in the highest estimation by all true Mooselmin. They build their nests, which are curious, on the[121] top of some old tower or castle, or on the terraces of uninhabited houses, where they constantly watch their young, exposed to the scorching rays of the sun. They will not suffer any one to approach their nests.

The cities and towns of Mequinas, Fas, Marocco, Muley Driss Zerone, Rabat, Salée, El Araiche, Azamore, and Saffy, are annually visited by the stork; there are none at Mogodor, it being not only a new town, but situated on a peninsula, at the extremity of vast heaps of moving sand, which separate it from the cultivated country, and prevent serpents and other noxious animals from harbouring there.

The Partridge.—This beautiful bird abounds in every part of West Barbary; it is larger, and finer feathered than that of Europe; the legs are red. The Moors have a peculiar manner of hunting the partridge: in the plains of Akkermute and Jibbel Hedded, in Shedma, they take various kinds of dogs with them, from the greyhound to the shepherd’s dog, and following the birds, on horseback, and allowing them no time to rest, they soon fatigue them, when they are taken by the dogs: but as the Mooselmin eats nothing but what has had its throat cut, he takes out his knife, and exclaiming (Bismillah), “In the name of God,” cuts the throat of the game, and by letting it bleed destroys the flavour; for this reason game is not esteemed at the repasts of the Arabs, where mutton and beef are preferred; lamb and veal are unlawful, it being an injunction of the Mohammedan law to eat nothing till it is full grown, which is one cause of the great quantity of cattle which feed in the plains.

El Rogr.—This bird is similar to the English partridge, having however darker plumage; it is found only in arid stony places, where the shrubs are stunted, and in all (harushe) plains[122] or places covered with basaltic rocks; but I believe no where else, except when on the wing to drink at some river, which they do regularly at noon and at sun-set; basking in the sun all the day, and pecking at the harsh stunted shrubs found in the above mentioned situations. The Rogr is unknown in Europe, according to Dr. Broussonet, an eminent botanist, for whom I shot several during his residence at Mogodor, in the quality of French Chargé des Affaires.

Pigeons.—Pigeons, denominated El Hammem by the Arabs, are in prodigious numbers all over West Barbary, tame as well as wild: the turtle dove (called El Imam) also abounds in the woods and gardens, adding considerably, by their plaintive notes, to the soothing pleasures of the country. There are immense quantities of wild pigeons in the island of Mogodor, which build their nests in the holes, and excavated rocks of the island; and as it is unlawful to shoot there, it being the state prison of the empire, they are harmless and domesticated. Early in the morning, they fly in immense flocks, to the adjacent province of Haha, where they feed on the corn and vegetables during the day, and return about an hour before sun set.

The beautiful cream-coloured dove, with a black ring round its neck, is a native of Marocco and Terodant.

Curlews (Bukullel[109]).—These birds abound in various parts of West Barbary, and are so numerous at El Waladia, that one would imagine it was the roosting place for all the curlews on the earth; the peninsula which encompasses the large bay of water at this place, being rocky and uninhabited, is full of all kinds of them; it is a very delicious bird when the blood is not lost by the throat being cut.

[123]Tibib.—The sparrow, denominated Zuzuh, is rare in most parts of Barbary; but the Tibib, which resembles it, is very common: this little bird visits the houses every morning, coming into the rooms undismayed. It is originally an inhabitant of Atlas, from whence it was brought by an English merchant[110] about twenty years since, to Mogodor, where the breed has continued to multiply ever since.

The Crested Lark is common also in this country.

The Cuckoo, Deekuke, as it is called by the Arabs, is a gray bird, with large black spots, having much feather, and long wings, with a small and short body. They are esteemed a delicacy by the Arabs. I shot some one day for the purpose of tasting them, and found them extremely delicate, and not inferior to a partridge.

El Hage. This is a small cinereous coloured bird, and scarcely so large as the common blackbird; it lives upon beetles and other insects of a similar kind, which it never eats till they begin to putrify; it frequents thorny bushes, on the upper thorns of which it sticks the beetles, where remaining till they begin to decay, the Hage, in passing through the air is attracted by their scent, and feeds upon them. The argan tree is the favourite resort of this bird; on the top, or some conspicuous part of which, it is generally seen, and often alone, without its female. It is called El Hage, because it accompanies the caravans to Mecca;[111] it is therefore held to be a sacred bird; on this account it would be imprudent to shoot it in presence of[124] any Mooselmin. As they destroy beetles and vermin, they are certainly entitled to the deference paid to them; and are canonized, perhaps, from having visited the tomb of Mohammed.

The Owl.—The owl of Africa (called Muka) is similar to that of Europe, having the eye of a bright yellow. The screech owl (called Saher) is an ominous bird, and is superstitiously thought to be the forerunner of evil.

FISH.

The same variety of fish that is found in the Mediterranean is caught on the shores of West and South Barbary. Of the fresh water fish,

Shebbel—is in most request; it is similar to our salmon, but neither so large nor so red in the flesh, though extremely rich and delicate. Immense quantities are caught in the rivers of Barbary, particularly in those of El Kos, Mamora, Tensift, and Suse: they are salted, or baked and preserved for the supply of Bled-el-jerrêde, and other places of the interior, even as far as Soudan; but the greatest consumption of the dried shebbel is in Bled-el-jerrêde, where the inhabitants live for the most part on dates, as these fish are accounted a corrective of any ill effects produced from eating immoderately of that fruit.

The people who catch the shebbel give to the Emperor a per centage by way of duty.

There is a very considerable fishery on this coast, managed by the Spaniards from the Canary Islands, which extends from lat. N 20° 30′ to lat. N. 29°, being nearly 600 miles, and abounds in all kinds of excellent fish; as there is at present no town, village, or fixed habitation on the coast, within the district above mentioned, the Spaniards fish unmolested; neither do cruizers[125] ever approach these parts, except by accident, so that the fishermen are secure from capture. In the spring and summer the fish are said to abound on the northern part of this extent of coast; and as the autumn approaches, they go gradually southward. Whilst I was established at Agadeer, I saw many kinds of curious fish which I have never seen in any other part of Africa or Europe.

Whales.—About the coast of Africa, from Agadeer to Arguin, whales are frequently cast on shore,[112] deluded, perhaps, like the unfortunate mariners, who being led away imperceptibly by the impetuosity of a deceitful current, are ashore before they are aware of being even near the land. Whenever the whale is cast ashore, ambergris is found on the shore, and is brought to Agadeer for sale. The Moors being very partial to this perfume, consume all that comes to market; so that none is sent to Europe. It is called in Arabic El Amber, and is supposed to possess highly stimulating qualities, for which purpose it is often infused in tea by the African Arabs, Moors, and others.

[126]CHAPTER VI.

Metallic, Mineral, and Vegetable Productions.

METALS AND MINERALS.

Gold and Silver Mines are found in several parts of the Empire of Marocco; but more particularly about Messa in the province of Suse. Being once on a visit to the Vicegerent of this province, Alkaid Mohammed ben Delemy, at Shtuka, and desirous to examine the country in the vicinity of Messa, together with its mines, I requested an escort from the Vicegerent, to accompany me thither, which he readily granted. On my arrival at Messa, I proceeded to the southern banks of the river, where I was shewn a gold mine, which, I was informed, had been worked by the Portuguese, when they were in possession of this district, and who, previous to their departure, had thrown stones into the aperture, which the Shelluhs had frequently attempted in vain to remove. These stones were of an immense size, and it would have required considerable mechanical powers to effect their removal. I was next conducted through the bed of the river, when I discovered, on a bluish soil, two separate strata of blue sand intermixed with silver dust; of this I collected a small quantity, and sent it to England to be analyzed; but such is the disposition of the people, that they will not allow the sand to be taken away in any quantity for the purpose of extracting the metal; though[127] they make no use of it themselves, being unacquainted with the proper method of refining it.

Near Elala and Shtuka, in the same province, there is a very rich silver mine; but being situated between two clans, they are continually fighting about it, and by this means both parties are deprived of the benefit it offers. I have purchased lumps of this silver, which had been refined by the natives, and it was more pure than the silver of Spanish dollars.

There is another silver mine in the plains of Msegina, near Santa Cruz: this was reported to the Emperor Seedi Mohammed, to be extremely rich, and he accordingly sent some persons conversant in minerals to inspect, and report upon it. Previous to their departure, however, they were secretly informed, that he wished to discourage the working of this mine, lest the province might be thereby rendered too rich and powerful, and the people be enabled to throw off their allegiance. In consequence of this, after a formal examination had been made, it was reported that the mine would not pay for the expense of working it. The entrance was then broken in, and the Shelluhs, discouraged by this unfavourable report, and not suspecting the motive for destroying the mine, paid no further attention to it. This mine had probably been worked by the Portuguese, when they were in possession of Santa Cruz and Agurem.

Gold is also found in the Atlas mountains, and in Lower Suse, but the mines are not worked.[113]

[128]Suse also produces iron, copper, and lead ore. In the mountains of Idaultit, they have iron, which they manufacture themselves into gun-barrels, and other articles. At Tesellergt the copper mines are extremely abundant; but they work them only as they want the metal. In Tafilelt are mines of antimony; it abounds also in lead ore.

Mineral Salt.—West Barbary, Bled-el-jerrêde, and parts of Sahara, abound in mineral salt, of a red colour, which is dug from quarries and mines. In the province of Abda there is a very extensive lake, which furnishes salt of a superior quality to the mineral; they are both exceedingly strong, and are not fit to prepare meat with, having been frequently tried; this, however, may be owing to the unskilfullness of the Moors in curing meat.

Near the cities of Fas and Mequinas a similar salt is also found; and a beautifully white and pure kind is procured among the rocks, which bind many parts of the coast; this is produced by the effulgence of the meridian sun, exhaling the water from the salt which remains in the cavities.

Vast quantities of salt are conveyed by the Akkabahs to Soudan, where none is produced, and on that account is so valuable at Timbuctoo, that a pound weight is frequently bartered for an ounce of gold dust.

Salt-petre.—This article, now prohibited from exportation, except under certain restrictions, and particular grants, is the produce of Fas, Marocco, and Terodant; that of Terodant or Suse is the best, purest, and strongest, and in its unrefined state is equal to that of Marocco when refined.[114]

[129]Lead Ore (El Kahol).—There are two kinds of this mineral; that which is the best and most esteemed sells for double the price of the common kind, and is the basis of the black substance used by the African ladies to tinge their eyes, eye-brows, and eye-lashes. The Atlas mountains abound with this lead ore, particularly the eastern side of them, towards Fighig and Tafilelt. The best kind, as already observed, is called El Kahol Filelly (i.e. lead ore of Tafilelt).

Sulphur.—Before this mineral was imported from the Mediterranean, it was dug from the foot of Atlas, opposite to Terodant, where there are immense quantities.[115]

FRUITS, PLANTS, &c.

Figs, called by the Western Arabs, Kermuse; there are many kinds of this fruit, some of which are purple, others green; they are esteemed wholesome, and abound in every part of the empire. At Terodant, Marocco, Fas, and Tetuan, they are uncommonly fine, and of an exquisite flavour; those of Mogodor, however, are very inferior, as are most of the fruits that grow in the environs of that arid and sandy country. The Jews extract (mahaya) an ardent spirit from figs, which they drink immoderately whilst hot from the alembic; but when[130] they have patience to keep it a year or two, it becomes a mild spirit, losing its heating and pernicious quality.

Indian Fig, or Prickly Pear (Cactus Opuntia), called Takanareele, by the Shelluhs, and Kermuse d’Ensarrah, by the Arabs and Moors. The tree which produces this fruit grows from ten to twenty feet in height; its leaves, from the sides of which the fruit springs, are thick and succulent, and impregnated with a transparent mucilaginous juice, which, from its peculiarly cooling and anti-inflammatory qualities, was much used with gum ammoniac, during the plague, for cataplasms and fumigations. The Indian fig is very different from other figs; when ripe, it is of an oval form, and of a colour inclining to orange or yellow; it has a thick succulent rind, so covered with fine sharp prickles, as to render leather gloves, or some other substitute necessary, when peeling it. This fruit is of an extraordinary refrigerating quality, and is, on that account, eaten in the early part of the morning by the people of Haha and Suse, where it abounds. In hot weather it is a grateful restorative to the relaxed state of the bowels. The tree grows in stony arid situations, and frequently affords refreshment to the traveller, when he least expects to find so cooling a fruit.

Almonds.—The quantities of this fruit produced in the province of Suse are incalculable, and have, latterly, been much increased. The bitter kind is exported to Europe; but the sweet, being an article of food, has been, by the present Emperor, prohibited from exportation, which has recently diminished considerably the cultivation of this nutritious fruit.

Gum Sandrac Tree.—Thuya, Arar, or Sandrac-tree, is probably the Arbor vitæ of Theophrastus: it is similar in leaf to the juniper, and, besides producing the gum sandrac, the wood[131] is invaluable, being somewhat like cedar, having a similar smell, and being impenetrable to the worm; it is, however, a harder wood, and would be a great acquisition in ship-building; and there are means of procuring it. The roofs of houses, and cielings of rooms, are made of this unperishable wood.

El Rassul.—A small plant little known, but used by the tanners in the preparation of leather.

Tizra, or Seuhayha.—A shrub about three feet high, used also in the preparation of leather; it grows near the Jibbel Heddid in the plains[116] of Akkermute, in the province of Shedma. (See the map of West Barbary).

Hashisha, and Kief.—The plant called Hashisha is the African hemp plant; it grows in all the gardens; and is reared in the plains at Marocco, for the manufacture of twine: but in most parts of the country it is cultivated for the extraordinary and pleasing voluptuous vacuity of mind which it produces in those who smoke it: unlike the intoxication from wine, a fascinating stupor pervades the mind, and the dreams are agreeable. The kief, which is the flower and seeds of the plant, is the strongest, and a pipe of it half the size of a common English tobacco-pipe, is sufficient to intoxicate. The infatuation of those who use it is such, that they cannot exist without it. The kief is often pounded, and mixed with (El Majune), an invigorating confection, which is sold at an enormous price; a piece of this as big as a walnut will for a time entirely deprive a man of all reason and intellect; they prefer it to opium, from the voluptuous[132] sensations which it never fails to produce. Wine or brandy, they say, does not stand in competition with it. The Hashisha, or leaves of the plant, are dried and cut like tobacco, with which they are smoked, in very small pipes; but when the person wishes to indulge in the sensual stupor it occasions, he smokes the Hashisha pure, and in less than half an hour it operates; the person under its influence is said to experience pleasing images: he fancies himself in company with beautiful women; he dreams that he is an emperor, or a bashaw, and that the world is at his nod. There are other plants which possess a similar exhilirating quality, among which is a species of the Palma Christi, the nuts of which, mixed with any kind of food, affect a person for three hours, and then pass off. These they often use when they wish to discover the mind of a person, or what occupies his thoughts.

Snobar.—This is a plant much used by the tanners in the preparation of leather: it grows on Mount Atlas and about Tetuan.

Lotus.—The Lotus, or water lily, grows in the rivers and streams of El Garb; it is called by the Arabs Nufar. The lotus, or nymphæa lotus, has often been mistaken for a very different plant, called by the ancients Lotus, or Rhamnus Lotus, and which served formerly for food to a certain people in Africa, thence named Lotophagi; this plant, which is a shrub similar in appearance to the wild jujube, or buckthorn, is called by the Arabs Seedra, and grows about the Atlas mountains east of Marocco and Terodant. It has been described by Mr. Mungo Park in his Travels in Africa.

Mallows.—This herb is much used by the Arabian doctors; and the fruit is eaten by the Arabs as antifebrile: the generical[133] name is Kubbaiza.[117] The garden Jew’s mallow, called Melokia, is also much esteemed as a strong incentive to venery.

Coloquintida, called by the Arabs El Hendal, is found along the coast, on the sandy shore above the high water mark from Agadeer to Wedinoon, an extent of about two hundred miles: it had never been imported into this country till last year, by myself, when it sold at 3s. 8d. per lb. Throughout this fertile country roses, and various beautiful flowers which are carefully reared in hot houses with us, grow spontaneously in the plains: of these I have seen in Temsena, and about Rabat, and in Suse, lupins, jonquils, wall-flowers and hyacinths of various colours and exquisite fragrance (of the latter there is a beautiful kind, being a Spanish brown, inclining to scarlet.) The roses about Marocco grow in the streams and ditches. At Tafilelt they have a powerful fragrance: it is from the leaves of the Worde Fillelly, or Tafilelt rose, that the celebrated Attar of roses (commonly called Otto of roses) is extracted: the word Attar is an Arabic word signifying a distillation or filtration.[118]

Surnag.—This vegetable grows on the declivities of the Atlas mountains. The Moors drink a decoction of it for the purpose of inciting them to venereal pleasure.

Truffles.—This root, called by the Arabs Terfez, is somewhat similar to the potatoe, and about the size of a lemon; it[134] grows in sandy places, near the surface of the earth, where it is discovered by the light soil appearing swelled and cracked. It is not planted, but grows spontaneously; some are black, others white, but the former are the best; both, however, have a black rind, which does not peel off like that of a potatoe, but is cut or pared like that of an apple. The Arabs, Moors, Shelluhs, and Jews, equally prize the truffle; it is therefore in great demand, and used in all made dishes, and is a very delicate, nutritious, and wholesome food: they are also highly stimulating, on which account they are more esteemed among this amorous people than for their delicate taste; they are particularly palatable with wine, and often introduced in the dessert. They are very good boiled in water or in steam. In Suse, Abda, and Bled-el-jerrêde, they are found in great abundance. The season for them is March, when the storms of thunder prevail. After a storm, the people repair to the sandy plains, dig them up, and bring them to the towns, where, being in great demand, they sell at a costly price.

GUMS, OILS, &c.

Euphorbium.—Furbiune is the Arabic name of this gum, which is produced by a very curious succulent plant, growing on the Atlas mountains, and called by the Shelluhs and Arabs, Dergmuse;[119] in its general form, it resembles a large goblet (see the Plate), and is somewhat like a wild thistle. From the main body of the plant proceed several solid leafless branches, about three inches in circumference, and one in diameter, from the top of which shoot out similar ones, each bearing on its summit a vivid crimson flower; these branches are scolloped, and have[135] on their outer sides small knots, from which grow five extremely sharp pointed thorns, about one-third of an inch in length.[120] The stalk is at first soft and succulent, but becomes hard in a few years, when the plant assumes the above mentioned form, and may then be considered at its maturity; if cut in this state with a sword, it emits a large quantity of corrosive, lacteous juice, which, if squeezed between the fingers, will excoriate; when old, the plant withers, and this juice becomes dry, and turns to powder. The inhabitants of those parts of the lower regions of Atlas make incisions in the branches of the plants with a knife, whence the juice issues, which, after being heated by the sun, becomes a substance of a whitish yellow colour, and in the month of September drops off, and forms the gum Euphorbium. The plants produce abundantly once only in four years, but this fourth year’s produce is more than all Europe can consume; it being a very powerful cathartic. The people who collect the gum, are obliged to tie a cloth over their mouth and nostrils, to prevent the small dusty particles from annoying them, as they produce incessant sneezing.

Plate 6.

(Dergmuse)
Gum Euphorbium Plant.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall.

The branches of the plant are brought to Mogodor, for the use of the tanners, by the boats which go from thence to Agadeer (where it abounds), and to it probably the Marocco leather owes its reputed pre-eminence. It is also in great request among the women, as a depilatory. Though the plant abounds at Agadeer, yet, either from the nature of the soil, or the climate not being sufficiently hot, it is stunted, and never comes to perfection. During the three years I resided there, I never saw any[136] gum attached to it. It flourishes in stony mountainous situations, interspersed with rocks, whose interstices are filled with a black loam of decomposed vegetable earth.

Ammoniacum, called Feshook in Arabick, is produced from a plant similar to the European fennel, but much larger. In most of the plains of the interior, and particularly about El Araiche, and M’sharrah Rummellah, it grows ten feet high. The Gum Ammoniac is procured by incisions in the branches, which, when pricked, emit a lacteous, glutinous juice, which being hardened by the heat of the sun, falls on the ground, and mixes with the red earth below: hence the reason that Gum Ammoniac of Barbary does not suit the London market. It might, however, with a little trouble, be procured perfectly pure, by spreading mats under the shrubs to receive the gum as it falls. The gum in the above mentioned state, is used in all parts of the country for cataplasms and fumigations. The sandy light soil which produces the Gum Ammoniac, abounds in the north of Marocco. It is remarkable, that neither bird nor beast is seen where this plant grows, the vulture only excepted.[121] It is, however, attacked by a beetle,[122] having a long horn proceeding from its nose, with which it perforates the plant, and makes the incisions whence the gum oozes out.

Plate 7.

(Fashook)
Gum Ammoniac Plant.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall.

Plate 8.

(Dibben Fashook,) Gum Ammoniac Fly.

Drawn by J. G. Jackson.

Engraved J. C. Stadler.

London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall.

Gum Arabic.—The gum called Marocco or Barbary gum, is produced from a high thorny tree called Attaleh, having leaves similar to the Arar, or Gum Sandrac tree, and the juniper. The best kind of Barbary gum is procured from the trees of Marocco, Ras-el-wed, in the province of Suse and Bled-hummer, in the province of Abda; the secondary qualities are the produce of[137] Shedma, Duquella, and other provinces; the tree grows abundantly in the Atlas mountains, and is found also in Bled-el-jerrêde. The gum, when new, emits a faint smell, and when stowed in the warehouse, it is heard to crack spontaneously for several weeks; and this cracking is the surest criterion of new gum, as it never does so when old; there is, however, scarcely any difference in the quality. The Attaleh is not so large a tree as the Arar, which produces the Sandrac gum, nor does it reach the size of the Aurwar tree, which produces the gum Senegal. It has a low crooked stem, and its branches, from the narrowness of its leaves (long and scanty), have a harsh, withered, and unhealthy appearance at the time it yields the most gum, that is, during the hot and parching months of July and August; but although not an ornamental tree, it is a most useful plant, and will always be considered valuable. Its wood is hard, and takes a good polish; its seeds, which are enclosed in a pericarpium, resemble those of the lupin, yield a reddish dye, and are used by the tanners in the preparation of leather. These seeds attract goats, who are very fond of eating them. The more sickly the tree appears, the more gum it yields; and the hotter the weather, the more prolific it is. A wet winter and a cool or mild summer are unfavourable to the production of gum.

Oil of Olives.—The province of Suse produces great abundance of this oil.[123] The people of Ras-el-wed make two sorts,[138] Tabaluht, and Zit-el-aud;[124] the former is made from the olives when green, and nearly ripe, with which they frequently grind limes, or wild thyme. This oil is very rich, and white, and not inferior to the best Lucca or Florence oil, and might, with due attention, be made a considerable article of commerce to this country. The Zit-el-aud, is made from the olives when quite ripe, and alter they have laid on the ground some time; in this state they yield the greatest quantity of oil, but it has a strong, and often a rancid taste, which is not, however, disliked by the natives. It is used in Europe in the woollen and soap manufactories.

Oil Arganic is also in abundance in Suse: it is much used for frying fish,[125] and burning in lamps.

[139]Pitch.—The pitch of the Arabs, called Kitran, is obtained from the wild juniper, which abounds in the Atlas mountains, as well as in many parts of the champaign country: the manner of obtaining it is thus: they dig a large and deep round hole, in the side of which, near the bottom, they excavate another in the form of a cauldron, which they plaister round; they then fill up the communicating aperture with stones or bricks, leaving a small channel of communication; the large hole is then filled with the boughs of the wild juniper, which they call Toga, broken into small pieces, after which the mouth of the furnace is closed up, and fire set to the wood; the sap, which forms the pitch, then oozes out of the burning boughs, and runs into the communicating hole; when the whole is cooled, it is taken out, and put into skins or bladders.

[140]CHAPTER VII.

Description of the Inhabitants of West Barbary — their Dress — Religious Ceremonies and Opinions — their Character — Manners and Customs — Diseases — Funerals — Etiquette of the Court — Sources of Revenue.

The inhabitants of the Emperor of Marocco’s dominions may be divided into four classes, namely, Moors, Arabs, Berebbers, (which latter are probably the aborigines,) and Shelluhs.

The Moors are the descendants of those who were driven out of Spain; they inhabit the cities of Marocco, Fas, Mequinas, and all the coast towns, as far southward as the province of Haha. Their language is a corrupt Arabic, intermixed with Spanish. In my transactions with these people, I have generally observed in them a misanthropic insolence whenever they are addressed with courtesy and respect, but much civility when treated with dignity. They seem to imagine suavity of manners to be an indication of fear.

The Arabs have their original stock in Sahara, from whence they emigrate to the plains of Marocco, whenever the plague, famine, or any other calamity depopulates the country so as to admit of a new colony, without injuring the territory of the former inhabitants. These Arabs live in tents, inhabiting the fertile and extensive plains, and indeed the whole territory west of Atlas, and as far south as Mogodor, or the confines of the Arab province of Shedma. (See the map of Marocco). These[141] populous tribes travel over the whole of Africa; and are the agriculturists of Barbary and of Bled-el-jerrêde. They speak the Korannick Arabic somewhat corrupted. They are a restless and turbulent people, continually at war with each other: in one province a rebellious kabyle, or clan, will fight against a neighbouring loyal one, and will thus plunder and destroy one another, till, fatigued by the toils of war, they mutually cease, when, the next year perhaps, the rebellious clan will be found fighting for the Emperor against the former loyal one, now become rebellious. This plan of setting one tribe against another is an act of policy of the Emperor, because, if he did not, in this manner, quell the broils continually breaking out amongst them, he would be compelled, in order to preserve tranquillity in his dominions, to employ his own army for that purpose, which is generally occupied in more important business. Hospitality is a prominent feature in the character of these people, insomuch that if an enemy be driven to the necessity of seeking an asylum among them, hostility is immediately forgotten.

The Berebbers inhabit the mountains of Atlas north of the city of Marocco, living generally in tents; they are a robust, nervous, and warlike people, having a language peculiar to themselves, which differs more from the Arabic, or general language of Africa, than any two languages of Europe differ from each other; it is probably a dialect of the ancient Carthaginian. In travelling through the Berebber Kabyles of Ait Imure, and Zemure Shelluh, I noticed many of the inhabitants who possessed the old Roman physiognomy. The general occupation of these people is husbandry, and the rearing of bees for honey and wax. They possess much cunning and duplicity, and are never outwitted by the Moors, or entirely worsted by the[142] troops of the Emperor, with whom they have had very frequent encounters, but have never been permanently subdued: they esteem it the greatest advantage possible to fight on their own territory. Their allegiance to the Emperor has often been secured by retaining their chiefs at court, conferring favours on them, appointing them to offices of state, and to seats in the Diwan; thus making them hostages, as it were, for the peaceable conduct of their respective Kabyles.

The Shelluhs inhabit the Atlas mountains, and their various branches south of Marocco; they live generally in walled habitations, or in towns, and are, for the most part, occupied in husbandry like the Berebbers, though differing from them in their language,[126] dress, and manners; they live almost entirely on (Assoua) barley meal made into gruel, and (Zimeta) barley roasted or granulated, which they mix with cold water, when travelling. They occasionally indulge in (cuscasoe) a nutritive farinaceous food, made of granulated flour, and afterwards boiled by steam, and mixed with butter, mutton, fowls, and vegetables. Many families among these people are reported to be descended from the Portuguese, who formerly possessed the ports on the coast; but who, after the discovery of America, gradually withdrew thither. East of Marocco, near Dimenet, on the Atlas mountains, there is still remaining a church, having inscriptions in Latin over the entrance, supposed to have been built by the Portuguese, which, being superstitiously reported to be haunted, has escaped destruction. The language of the Shelluhs is called Amazirk.

[143]The Shelluhs are a crafty people; they are, perhaps, better disposed towards Christians than the Moors or the Arabs. The term Kabyle applies to all cultivators of land, and to those who rear the cattle and flocks. Sometimes we discover, in traversing this country, an encampment of Bedouin Arabs, who, in their migrations to far distant countries, pitch their tents wherever they find the country productive and unoccupied; here they sojourn till their flocks have consumed all the pasture, when they strike their tents and proceed on their long journey. These people live, for the most part, on camel’s milk; they are an indolent race, and neither cultivate the earth, nor do any kind of work, attacking and plundering caravans whenever they can do it with impunity. It is these Bedouins, or Saharawans, who sometimes plunder the Akkabahs and caravans whilst traversing the Great Desert of Africa. The Arabs of Woled Abbusebah[127] place a string over the crown of the head, bringing it down behind the ears, and shave the front hair, to prevent, as is pretended, their enemies from catching hold of them. The same custom predominates among the independant Shelluhs of Idautenan, inhabitants of Atlas near Cape de Geer. See the Map of Marocco, lat. N. 30° 30′.

The Moors, as well as the other natives of this country, are generally of a middle stature: they have not so much nerve as the Europeans, and are, for the most part, thick and clumsy about the legs and ancles, insomuch that a well-formed leg is seldom seen among them; this may proceed from their constantly sitting cross legged, with their legs under them, like the tailors of Europe, or perhaps from their wearing no covering to their legs, which are thus exposed to all weathers. Deformed[144] persons are rarely met with; the loose Arabian dress covers deformity, and their mode of bringing up children, (every thing being left to follow nature,) generally prevents it. Corns and deformed feet are unknown; the toes take their natural growth, and are as useful to the mechanics as their fingers. Lame people are seldom seen; but the blind are more numerous than in Europe. Both sexes have remarkably fine teeth; they universally use a dentifrice,[128] which is procured from vegetables from the interior country. Their complexion, from frequent intermarriage, or intercourse with the Soudanic race, is of all shades, from black to white. The women of Fas are as fair as the Europeans, with the exception of their eyes and hair, which are universally dark.[129] Those of Mequinas are in general so handsome, that it is a rare thing to see a young woman in that city who is not lovely or pretty. With large, black, and expressive sparkling eyes, they possess a healthy countenance, uniting the colours of the lily and the rose, that beautiful red and white so much admired by foreigners in our English ladies; indeed their beauty is proverbial, as the term Mequinasia[130] is applied to any beautiful woman of elegant form, with black sparkling eyes, and white teeth; they also possess a modesty and suavity of manners rarely met with elsewhere. It is extraordinary that the inhabitants of two great and populous cities, situated within thirty miles of each other, should discover such a physiognomical difference, as is apparent between the females of Fas and those of Mequinas, the former being generally of a sallow or[145] pale complexion. The women of Duquella are ordinary and diminutive, whilst the men are the reverse; being tall, and well-limbed, with regular features. The men of Temsena, and Shawia, are a strong, robust race, of a copper colour: the women possess much beauty, and have features highly expressive; and the animation of the female countenance is encreased by the use of El kahol filelly, with which they tinge the eye lashes and eye brows, as already described. In these provinces they are particularly fond of dying their hands and feet with a decoction or preparation of the herb Henna,[131] which gives them an orange colour, and, in hot weather, imparts a pleasing coolness and softness to the hands, by obstructing, in a certain degree, the quickness of perspiration.

The Moorish dress resembles that of the ancient patriarchs, as represented in paintings; that of the men consists of a red cap and turban, a (Kumja) shirt, which hangs outside of the drawers, and comes down below the knee, a (Caftan) coat, which buttons close before, and down to the bottom, with large open sleeves; over which, when they go out of doors, they throw carelessly, and sometimes elegantly, a hayk or garment of white cotton, silk, or wool, five or six yards long, and five feet wide: the Arabs, however, often dispense with the caftan, and even with the shirt, wearing nothing but the hayk. The Berebbers wear drawers, and a cloak of dark blue cloth, called a Silham. The poor and penurious are contented with the Burnose, or black cloak of woollen cloth, of a close texture, made so as to resist the rain. To this dress is added a pair of yellow sandals. The dress of the women nearly resembles that of the men, except in the adjustment of the hayk, or surtout covering, and in[146] the (Rahayat) slippers, which are scarlet or red. The hair is concealed in a black silk handkerchief, over which they wear shawls of silk or handkerchiefs of various gay colours; they wear bracelets, and armlets above the elbow, and massive rings of silver round their ancles; their ear-rings are of gold about the thickness of a goose’s quill, and set with precious stones, or coloured glass, the ring being about six inches in circumference; these ear-rings have a gaudy appearance, or, as the French express it, “font beaucoup de parure;” they wear also a number of necklaces, generally of amber beads or coral, some large, and others small, and a variety of rings on their fingers.

In their dress, they are partial to striped silks, ginghams, and cottons of particular patterns.

The people belonging to the court have a particular dress, never appearing before the Emperor in a hayk, but in a silham, or large hooded cloak of white woollen cloth; and in presence of a bashaw, or governor, the hayk is thrown down on the shoulders, which at other times covers the cap, a mode of salutation similar to that of taking off the hat among Europeans.

The religion of the Emperor of Marocco’s dominions is Islaemism, or Mohammedism,[132] which was first planted in West Barbary by the renowned Muley Dris Zerone, on the spot where the town and sanctuary of that name is built, being east of Mequinas, at the western declivity of the Atlas, near an ancient and magnificent ruin, called by the Arabs (Kasser Farawan)[133] the[147] Ruins of Pharoah; from hence assuming the name of (Deene-el-Wasah) the unconfined law, it quickly spread itself to the shores of the Atlantic ocean, to Bled-el-jerrêde, Sigin-Messa, Suse, and Sahara. At the beginning of the present reign of Seedy Soliman ben Mohammed, a considerable body of people, who professed Deism, sprung up, and spread themselves over the northern provinces, exclaiming (la Illah ila Allah) There is no God but the true God; in distinction from the Mohammedan, whose creed is (la Illah ila Allah, wa Mohammed, arrasule, Allah), There is no God but the true God, and Mohammed is his prophet. The Emperor, however, by discouraging such tenets, found no difficulty in annihilating this sect.

Throughout the country are discovered buildings of an octagonal form, with domes of stone, or plastered with lime; these are called (Zawiat) Sanctuaries: and attached to each is a piece of ground, uninclosed, for the interment of the dead. The priest or saint, who is called el fakeer, or maraboot, superintends divine service and the burial of the dead, and is often referred to for the adjusting of disputes or controversies. Criminals taking refuge in these consecrated places are screened from the hand of justice; and the opulent men of the country often, for security, deposit their treasure in them. The toleration of the western Arabs and Moors is such, that the Emperor (although religiously disposed himself) will allow, on proper application being made, any sect which does not acknowledge a plurality of gods, to appropriate a place to public worship;[134][148] and even the more ignorant and bigotted Mohammedans maintain, that every man should be allowed to worship God according to his own conscience, or agreeably to the religion of his ancestors. They have a rooted contempt for all who change their religion, even if it be to Islaemism; such people are distinguished by the appellation of (el Aluge) Renegades, who, after having embraced the Mohammedan faith, are obliged to practise a system of dissimulation, and to affect more than ordinary contempt for Christians, in order to appear islaemized, and to prevent their being harassed and upbraided for their want of faith in Mohammed.

This people have a particular aversion to the sound of bells, originating perhaps from their being peculiar to the (Ajemi) Barbarians,[135] as they denominate Christians; or because Mohammed reprobated the ancient trumpet of the Jews, as well as the rattel of the oriental Christians, and substituted the human voice to call people to prayer: accordingly a man (denominated El Muden) goes to the top of the tower of each (Jamâa) mosque, and exclaims with a loud voice, first to the east, or towards Mecca, and then to the south, west, and north, the following words (Allah kabeer! A’shed-en, la illa ila Allah, Mohammed arrasule Allah; haiala essla, Allah kabeer. Allah!) God is great; witness that there is no God but one God, and Mohammed is his prophet: come to prayers: God is great. God![136]

This religious ceremony is performed several times a day,[149] and the different prayers are called (Sala’at el fejir) prayers at the dawn of day; (Sala’at el dohor) prayers at half-past one o’clock, P.M.; (Sala’at el assar) prayers at four o’clock, P.M.; (Sala’at el mogorb) prayers at sun-setting; and (Sala’at el ashaw) prayers an hour and an half after sun-setting. The principal of these prayers is the Sala’at el dohor, when all such as are desirous of being thought true Mohammedans go to the (Jamâa) mosque, on entering which, every one must take off his slippers. Every (Jma)[137] Friday, the Mufti preaches a discourse on religion, similar to the sermons of Christian priests. The mosques have square towers adjoining the body of the building; the principal side faces Mecca, on which is erected a flag-staff: and a white flag called (el Alem) the Signal, is hoisted every day at twelve o’clock, to warn the people out of hearing, or at a great distance, to prepare, by the necessary preliminary ablutions[138], to prostrate themselves before God at the Dohor service of prayer. At the dawn of day on every (Jma) Friday, the (Muden) man who announces the prayers from the summit of the principal mosque, chants a hymn out of the Koran, which being scientifically sung, in the stillness of the morning, makes a most pleasing impression on the mind. This hymn is concluded with the annunciation of the unity of God, and the[150] glory of heaven, impressing the mind of the Mohammedan with that grand fundamental principle of Islaemism, the unity of God.

The people of this empire being born subjects of an arbitrary despot, they may be said to have no established laws; they know no other than the will of the prince, which is called (Shra el Mukkuzzen) military law, or (Amer Seedna) our Lord’s decree; and if this should deviate, as it sometimes does, from the moral principles laid down in the Koran, it must nevertheless be obeyed; for no appeal can be admitted against Amer Seedna, unless his Imperial Majesty should discover an error in judgment, in which case he, and he alone, can alter the decree. Where the Emperor resides, he administers justice, in person, generally twice, and sometimes four times a week, in the (M’shoire) place of audience, whither all complaints are carried:[139] here access is easy; he listens to every one, foreigners or subjects, men or women, rich or poor; there is no distinction, every one has a right to appear before him, and boldly to explain the nature of his case; and although his person is considered as sacred, and established custom obliges the subject to prostrate himself, and to pay him rather adoration than respect, yet every complainant may tell his story without the least hesitation or timidity; indeed, if any one is abashed, or appears diffident, his cause is weakened in proportion. Judgment is always prompt, decisive, plausible, and generally correct.

Civil law is administered by the (Cadi’s) judges, who have attached to their court several (Lokiels) attornies; some of[151] whom manage civil controversies, others misdemeanors, and others matters relating to religion, marriages, divorces, &c. These controversies are decided by the laws of the Koran, than which, and the commentaries thereon, they have no other written law. When two persons are engaged in a law-suit, they retain their respective attornies; if they cannot settle the dispute, they go to the Cadi, who generally sets on the ground at the gate of his house, where any one may be present. The two disputants stand before him, surrounded by their respective friends; the plaintiff speaks first, the defendant replies: in these law-suits the respective claims of the suitors are investigated. The Arabs (however ignorant they may be in other respects) defend themselves, whether right or wrong, so long as they have hope of gain, or fear of loss; but their well laid plans to conceal the truth, and elude the purposes of justice, are often exposed and rendered abortive by the penetrating sagacity with which their pretensions are investigated by the Cadi. The Cadi takes the evidence of the witnesses, and pronounces sentence, which is sometimes without appeal. The culprit is then taken into custody till he has satisfied the law; but in cases where he is entitled to an appeal, it is made to the Emperor, who takes the opinion of the (L’Alemma) learned, and decides the controversy by pronouncing judgment. If the crime be punishable by death, the sentence is either executed, or the criminal is delivered over to the aggrieved, and may then purchase of him his life, by money or contrition.

In places remote from the Emperor’s court, the (Kalif) viceregent, or bashaw, has his M’shoire, where he administers justice, sometimes according to the laws of the Koran, and at others[152] as his caprice dictates; for the same imperious despotism which the Emperor too frequently exercises over his bashaws and alkaids, is exercised by them over those who fall under their government; and the same is done again by their subalterns, when they have it in their power; thus tyranny proceeds progressively from the prince to the lowest of his officers: these petty tyrants are dispersed over the whole empire, and often give sanction to their extortions by effecting them in the name of their master; the accumulation of wealth is the grand object of all their desires; when they learn from their emissaries, or spies, that an individual has acquired considerable property, they contrive to find out some cause of accusation against him, and by that means extort money from him. It often happens, however, that those who amass the greatest sums in this way enjoy their ill gotten wealth but a very short time; some unexpected order from the Emperor, accusing them of crimes or misdemeanors, is made a pretext for depriving them, in their turn, of their property, which his majesty never fails to inform them can be of no use to them, being more than sufficient to procure the necessaries of life, and ought therefore to belong to the (Biet el Mel el Mooselmin) Mohammedan treasury, into which it is accordingly delivered, never more to return to its former possessor.

The influence of this mode of government upon the people is such as might naturally be expected; they are suspicious, deceitful, and cruel; they have no respect for their neighbours, but will plunder one another whenever it is in their power; they are strangers to every social tie and affection, for their hearts are scarcely susceptible of one tender impression; the[153] father fears the son, the son the father; and this lamentable mistrust, and want of confidence, diffuses itself throughout the whole community.

The pride and arrogance of the Moors is unparalleled; for though they live in the most deplorable state of ignorance, slavery, and barbarism, yet they consider themselves the first people in the world, and contemptuously term all others barbarians. Their sensuality knows no bounds: by the laws of the Koran, they are allowed four wives, and as many concubines as they are able to support, but such is their wretched depravity, that they indulge in the most unnatural and abominable propensities;[140] in short, every vice that is disgraceful and degrading to human nature, is to be found amongst them.

It must be confessed, however, that some of the well educated Moors are courteous and polite, and are possessed of great suavity of manners. They are affable and communicative where they repose confidence; and if in conversation the subject of discussion be serious, and the parties become warm in dispute, they have generally the prudence to turn the subject in a delicate manner; they are slow at taking offence, but when irritated, are noisy and implacable.

There is one noble trait in the character of this people which I cannot avoid mentioning, that is fortitude under misfortune; this the Moor possesses in an eminent degree; he never despairs; no bodily suffering, no calamity, however great, will make him complain; he is resigned in all things to the will of God, and waits in patient hope for an amelioration of his condition. In illustration of this, I will take the liberty to relate[154] the following anecdote, as it will also tend to show the great risks to which merchants are exposed in traversing this country, and Sahara, or the Great Desert.

A Fas merchant (with whom I had considerable transactions) went, with all his property, on a commercial speculation from Fas to Timbuctoo; and after remaining at the latter place a sufficient time to dispose of and barter his effects for gold dust and gum Soudan, he set out on his return to Fas; after passing the Desert, he began to congratulate himself on his good fortune and great success, when suddenly a party of Arabs attacked the (cafila) caravan, and plundered all who belonged to it, leaving the Fas merchant destitute of every thing but the clothes he had on his back. During the interregnum, between the death of the Sultan Yezzid and the proclamation of the present Sultan Soliman, this man was plundered again on his way to Mogodor, whither he was going to discharge some debts, and to dispose of gum and other Soudanic produce. Four wives and a numerous family of children rendered his case peculiarly distressing; yet, when condoling with him a few days after his misfortunes had happened, he very patiently observed (Ash men doua, Allah bra; u la illah, ila Allah), What remedy is there? God willed it so, and there is none but God. This man afterwards collected together what merchandize he could procure on credit, and proceeded again to Timbuctoo, where he realized much property, and travelling therewith through Wangara and Houssa to Egypt, he was plundered a third time of all he possessed, near Cairo, and reduced to the greatest distress: this last misfortune he bore with the same fortitude as the former. He is now, however, one of the principal merchants established at Timbuctoo.

[155]The Moors are equal by birth; they know no difference of rank except such as is derived from official employments,[141] on resigning which the individual mixes again with the common class of citizens; the meanest man in the nation may thus aspire, without presumption, to the hand of the daughter of the most opulent, and accident, or the caprice of the prince, may precipitate the latter into misery, and elevate the former to prosperity and honour.

The Moors are, for the most part, more cleanly in their persons, than in their garments. They wash their hands before every meal, which, as they use no knives or forks, they eat with their fingers: half a dozen persons sit round a large bowl of cuscasoe, and, after the usual ejaculation (Bismillah) “In the name of God!” each person puts his hand to the bowl, and taking up the food, throws it, by a dexterous jerk, into his mouth, without suffering his fingers to touch the lips. However repugnant this may be to our ideas of cleanliness, yet the hand being always washed, and never touching the mouth in the act of eating, these people are by no means so dirty as Europeans have sometimes hastily imagined. They have no chairs or tables in their houses, but sit cross-legged on carpets and cushions; and at meals, the dish or bowl of provisions is placed on the floor. They have an excellent dish, which they[156] call El Kalia; it is prepared without salt; the meat is cut in long slips, about an inch wide, and hung in the air for a few days, when it is put into jars, which are filled with clarified butter (Smin): this preparation will keep several years; it is used by the rich and affluent when crossing the Desert to Timbuctoo, or when on a journey to Mecca, and indeed whenever they travel through a country where food is not readily procurable. Bread is seldom used in the traverse of the Desert, but certain flat cakes, similar to crumpets, but without leaven, are kneaded, and put on embers, where they are half baked, and eaten with honey and butter by the merchants and traders who accompany the caravans.

The women are not less cleanly than the men; for besides performing the usual ablutions before and after meals, they wash their face, hands, arms, legs, and feet, two or three times a day, which contributes greatly to their beauty. The poorer classes, however, look deplorable, and excite disgust. The faces of the old women appear shrivelled, from the immoderate use of cosmetics and paint during their youth.

The chief delight of the women is to attend diligently to their children, and a numerous posterity is fervently desired. In obedience to the injunction of Mohammed, mothers suckle their children two years.[142] When circumstances oblige them to take a nurse, she is not treated as a servant, but becomes one of the family, and passes her days among the children she has suckled, by whom she is ever afterwards cherished and protected; the children are taught to consider her as their own relation, and[157] she is called (Emuh d’el Hellib) the milk mother: in case of future adversity, she never applies ineffectually for succour to these children, who consider it a duty incumbent on them to assist her to the utmost extent of their power. These milk-mothers are chosen from well formed, young, and healthy women. The new born infant is not swaddled up in a profusion of clothes, but is laid naked on a carpet, and exposed in a lofty and spacious apartment, where, breathing freely, it gradually acquires strength, while daily ablution renders it vigorous and healthy. The females are not taught to read or write, but learn early, and from experience, the domestic offices of the household; their body and limbs are never confined by tight dresses, their garments are loose and easy, suffering the limbs to have free action, and the body to take its natural form; they are occupied in grinding the corn, baking the bread, and preparing the food for their husbands and family. Ancient custom, and a predilection for the manners of their primogenitors, rendering these necessary occupations pleasant and agreeable.

The male children, whose mode of education is equal throughout the empire, on attaining the eighth year (not eighth day, as some have asserted,) are circumcised, and then begin to study the Koran. He is taught to fear and adore God, to respect old age and his parents; he is initiated in the principles of hospitality, which virtues being inculcated at school, and being afterwards seen constantly practised in his father’s family, then cannot fail to be, at the age of puberty, indelibly engraven on his heart. His inclination directs him to learn the useful arts, the care of the flocks, the tillage of the soil, or the exercise of arms; those engaged in the latter are particularly noticed by[158] the Emperor, and if they discover a Machiavellian or despotic policy, they are generally promoted to the government of some province or town.

The Moors are not very fond of games or diversions; they are often seen sitting in the streets for hours together, sometimes in a dull lethargic humour, at others so vociferous and full of action with each other, that a person unacquainted with their manner would suppose they were going to fight.

Their usual games are leap-frog, jumping, and foot-ball; the last is the favourite diversion, at which they do not seek to send the ball to a goal, but kick it up, and amuse themselves with it, without any definitive purpose.

Of their military exercises the (lab el Borode) riding full speed, and firing, is the only one; this is performed by all those who keep horses; a party starts off together, and running full gallop fire their muskets, stopping short close to some wall, those being considered the best horsemen who approach nearest the wall, and stop shortest; they then return, load again, and renew the race: this is the mode after which they charge an enemy.

In the markets and public streets are seen expert jugglers, who perform astonishing feats of leger-de-main with most curious and unaccountable deceptions: the province of Suse is most celebrated for these arts.

Certain theatrical orators go about the most busy parts of the cities, and arrest the attention of the passengers by declamation. Some of these players personify all the various characters of a drama with exquisite spirit and humour. In the evening these amusements are laid aside and the Assfæhna, or dancing boys, excite the attention of the populace; these boys are accompanied by a governor, or master, who is indispensibly of a musical[159] turn, and is accompanied by a kettle-drum, a flute made of a reed, and similar in sound to the pandean pipe, and an instrument with two strings, somewhat like the Greek lyre. These dancers are habited in gaudy attire, and move their feet in dancing without taking them off the ground, but gradually proceeding forwards, till they, by a signal from their chief, vault into the air, and perform various evolutions somewhat similar to the tumblers at Sadler’s Wells. Decency forbids the recital of what usually occurs after this entertainment is terminated.

Amongst the Arabs the girls dance in a very superior style; the Arabian ladies of the Mograffra tribe, as well as those of Woled Abbusebah, eminently excel. I remember passing a night in one of their douars, on the confines of Sahara, with a large party of Arabs, and instead of going to sleep, the Sheik of the douar sent for six elegant females, who engaged our admiration till the morning. Judging of the movements of these dancing Arabs with the sentiments of an Englishman, they would be thought somewhat lascivious; but the manners and customs of the country reconciles to propriety these spirited movements. Signor Andrea de Christo, a Venetian merchant, was with me, and declared that he had never seen better dancing in Italy.

When a Mooselmin is inclined to marry, he makes enquiry of some duena or confidential servant respecting the person of her mistress, and if he receive a satisfactory description of the lady, an opportunity is sometimes procured to see her at a window, or other place; this interview generally determines whether the parties are to continue their regards; if the suitor be satisfied with the lady, he seeks an occasion of communicating his passion to the father, and proposes to marry his[160] daughter. The father’s consent being obtained, he sends presents to the lady, according to his circumstances, which being accepted, the parties are supposed to be betrothed, and marriage follows.

Of the marriage ceremony much has been said by various authors. The bridegroom is mounted on a horse, with his face covered, surrounded by his friends, and those of the parents, who run their horses, and fire their muskets at the feet or face of the bridegroom; the (Tabla) kettle drum, the (Erb’eb) triangle, an instrument similar to the Greek lyre, (having however but two strings,) and a rude kind of flute, form the band of music; whilst the friends of the married party dance and jump about, twirling their muskets in the air, and otherwise discovering their satisfaction. This ceremony being terminated, the parties go to the house of feasting, where the evening is passed in conviviality, till the bride and bridegroom retire to rest. The sheets are afterwards produced, somewhat indecently, as a proof of the virginity of the bride, and exhibited in triumph to the relations.

It is not expected that the woman should have a fortune or a settlement; but if the father be rich, he generally gives a dowry to his daughter, and a quantity of pearls, rubies, diamonds, &c. The dowry remains the property of the female, and in case of a divorce, by consent of the husband, is returned to her: these separations proceed from various causes, as barrenness, the disappointment of expectation, incapability of performing the domestic duties, or incompatibility of disposition. Separation, however, not originating in the above causes, is reprobated as immoral and disreputable. A plurality of wives is allowed in all Mohammedan countries; the lawful number is[161] limited by the Koran to four, in addition to which they are allowed as many concubines as they can support; in this latitude of luxury, however, they seldom indulge. The Emperor, the princes, and some of the bashaws, have often four wives, but even with them this number encreases gradually; thus, the first wife, after having had a child, or when her bloom has passed, or the marks of age appear, makes way for a young one, who is taught to respect the former, who still remains mistress of the household; when the second lady loses her bloom, she is supplanted by a third, and the third by a fourth; so that the rich and independant Mooselmin, however old he be himself, has generally a young wife, or a young concubine,[143] to cherish him; and this, they say, enables them to enjoy life longer than the Christians; for they maintain, that as an old woman destroys the vigour of a man, a young woman encreases it; but these luxurious debauchees, these devotees to the pleasures of the fair sex, from their irregular excesses, are often, about the age of fifty, and sometimes before, totally incapable of performing the duties of the matrimonial contract; under these circumstances, stimulating drugs, and aromatic compositions are in vain resorted to, and the wretched man becomes at once the victim of inflamed desire, and impotency.

It must not, however, be imagined, that this insatiable desire for young females pervades the mass of the people; Mooselmin, in general, are satisfied with one wife, and, in a tract of country possessing a population of one hundred thousand souls, a hundred men will scarcely be found who keep four. Such is the state of polygamy in this country.

[162]With regard to the (Kadeem[144]) concubines, they are generally black women, purchased originally at Timbuctoo; they reside in the house with the wives, performing the menial offices of the domestic establishment. The children of these concubines, when not the master’s offspring, are born slaves, and inherited by him, who either keeps them for the purpose of marrying them to some black slave of his own, or sells them in the public market; this latter mode of disposing of them, however, is seldom practised, except in cases of necessity; for although the law gives great latitude to masters having slaves, yet the children are generally brought up under the mother’s care, and become members of the family; by serving at an early age in domestic occupations, they earn their living by their work; for in a country where the necessaries of life are prohibited from exportation,[145] the expense of maintenance is inconsiderable: so that a large and numerous family is a blessing, and the more numerous the greater the blessing. Living on simple food, for the most part of the farinaceous kind, their appetites are easily satisfied: their wants are few, and their resources many.

This system of prohibiting the exportation of provisions does not, however, as might be supposed, reduce their value; for it has been observed, in the reign of Seedy Mohammed ben Abd Allah, when the prohibition was enforced only when a scarcity was anticipated, that during the prohibition the price of corn rose; the Arab farmers, preferring a market and sale to Europeans for dollars, to the tardiness of sale for domestic consumption, kept their corn in their Matamores till an exportation was again permitted, and then brought it to market. Neither is[163] there policy in the prohibition, (except the Mohammedan principle of policy be admitted, that of promoting the poverty of the people or community), for by it the agriculturists not having a sufficient market for the whole produce of his land, he cultivates but a third or a fourth part, leaving the remaining part fallow; and even this fourth part is found to produce quite as much as is necessary for the domestic consumption. The same argument applies to the other articles of produce, viz. sweet almonds, dates, raisins, figs, olive oil, &c. Accordingly, since their prohibition, the immense plantations of these articles in all the provinces, particularly in Suse, where they abound, have been neglected, and are gradually decreasing, the produce being more than the domestic demand, insomuch, that the price is insufficient to pay the labour of gathering; for among this abstemious and parsimonious people, it would be difficult to find the individual who would give two shillings for the same quantity of provision of one kind, that he could procure of another kind for one shilling.

The women are not so much confined as has been generally imagined; they frequently visit their relations and friends,[146] and have various ways of facilitating intrigues; thus, if a lady’s (rahayat) sandals be seen at the door of an apartment, the husband himself dare not enter; he retires into another room, and directs the female slave to inform him when her (Lela) lady is disengaged, which is known by the sandals being taken away. On the other hand[164] when an ill-disposed husband becomes jealous or discontented with his wife, he has too many opportunities of treating her cruelly; he may tyrannize over her without control; no one can go to her assistance, for no one is authorised to enter his Horem without permission. Jealousy or hatred rises so high in the breast of a Moor, that death is often the consequence to the wretched female who has excited (perhaps innocently) the anger of her husband. The fate of those women who are not so fortunate as to bear a male child is too often to be lamented; those who do, are treated with extraordinary respect, the father being careful not to ill-treat the mother of his son or heir. A father, however fond of his daughter, cannot assist her, even if informed of the ill-treatment she suffers; the husband alone is lord paramount: if, however, he should be convicted of murdering his wife, he would suffer death, but this is difficult to ascertain, even should she bear on her the marks of his cruelty, or dastardly conduct, for who is to detect it? Instances have been known where the woman has been cruelly beaten and put to death, and the parents have been informed of her decease as if it had been occasioned by sickness, and she has been buried accordingly; but this difficulty of bringing the men to justice holds only among the powerful bashaws and persons in the highest stations; and these, to avoid a retaliation of similar practices on their children, sometimes prefer giving their daughters in marriage to men of an inferior station in life, who are more amenable to justice.

The etiquette of the court of Marocco does not allow any man to mention the word Death to the Emperor; so that when it be necessary to communicate to him the news of the decease of any Mohammedan, the courtiers thus express themselves:[165] (Ufah Ameruh) he has completed his destiny or his period; to which the reply is (Allah eê erhammoh) God be merciful to him. When a Jew dies, the Moors express it by (Maat bel Karan), the son of a cuckold is dead. On the death of a Christian, if he bore a good character, they say (Maat Mesquin), the inoffensive man is dead; but if he was unpopular, or disliked, (Maat el Kaffer) the infidel is dead.

All persons at this court who have no faith in Mohammed being considered as infidels, a stigma is attached to their names when uttered before the Emperor; accordingly they say (Lihudi ashawk asseedi. El Kaffer ashawk asseedi.) He is a Jew, ashawk, Master. He is an Infidel, ashawk, Master. This term ashawk is an Arabic idiom, and signifies, “I beg pardon for mentioning so degraded or contemptible a name in my master’s presence.”

There is a ridiculous prejudice throughout this country, which extends as far as the Nile El Abeede, or Nile of Soudan, in considering the word five as indecorous; it is therefore never mentioned in the Emperor’s presence, nor even to any prince, bashaw, or powerful man: the speaker expressing himself thus (Arbat u Wahud) i.e. Four and one.

The number 5 is emblematical of the hand of power or tyranny; so that the poor Jews, who are treated in this country somewhat worse than dogs in Christian countries, have a hand with the fingers spread out, painted on their doors or houses, as an amulet to charm away oppression. Accordingly (Khumsa alik), “Five be upon thee, or the hand of power be upon thee,” is a curse or malediction frequently conferred by the Moors on the oppressed Jews.

The imperial revenue consists of the following imposts:

[166]1st. (Ska u Lashor,) Two per cent. on camels, horses, mules, asses, cattle, sheep, goats, &c. and ten per cent. on corn and the produce of land. The payment of this branch of the revenue which is the most considerable, is made either in cash or in kind, optional in the subject.

2nd. (Daira’s and Sokra’s,) Fines and presents, viz. Fines levied at discretion by the bashaws of provinces, alkaids of cities and towns, and douars, and others employed by them; these consist in satisfaction for offences; thus, if two men quarrel, and blood be spilt in the fray, half the property of the aggressor is often exacted as a fine for disturbing the peace. If a traveller be robbed, the douar, or encampment, where the robbery was committed, is fined in double the sum, viz. the sum stolen is returned to the robbed, and an equal sum is paid to the bashaw for the imperial treasury. The inhabitants of the douar are then left to discover the robbers, and recover of them the property stolen; the beneficial effects of this salutary law must be evident to every man, but particularly to those who have frequently travelled through this country, and by their own experience have seen and felt the influence which it has on every individual, and the interest that is diffused throughout the community to protect travellers from plunder. In an extensive champaign country like this, where the population of the provinces consists of encampments in the plains, open to the attack of robbers, and undefended, there would be no security were it not for the good effects of this law, which renders every individual a guard to the property of the person sojourning in the district of which he is an inhabitant.

A traveller may exact a fine from a douar for inhospitable[167] treatment, by making a complaint to the bashaw under whose government the Sheik of the douar lives.

3d. Legal disputes. Considerable sums are presented to the bashaws, alkaids, &c. to procure their attention to the interest of the parties disputing, and to accelerate the termination. Thus a douceur to a bashaw of a few hundred dollars, will sometimes give a man as much advantage over his antagonist, as would be gained in England by the retaining of an eminent counsel to plead his cause. These douceurs are often paid to ministers by persons desirous to obtain some privilege from the Emperor, and are usually regulated according to the rank of the applicant, and the importance of the favour to be conferred. The ministers, and other persons in authority, do not conceal their operations; but will tell you what you are to pay for such a privilege or favour, which has at least this good effect, that you have a certain quid pro quo, and you are not seduced, under false promises, to attend on ministers ineffectually: your business is expedited generally to your satisfaction. A knowledge of the ministers, and of the spirit of the court, as well as the character of the Emperor, is, perhaps, indispensibly necessary to ensure success. When these sums and douceurs have been repeatedly given, and have, by accumulation, become considerable, a pretext is seldom wanting to attack these bashaws, cadis, alkaids, and other officers, for some misdemeanor, or for mal-administration of justice, and they are accordingly heavily mulcted; but they readily pay the fine, which thus ultimately forms a part of the imperial revenue, that they may again enter into their oppressive offices.

In cases of dispute, which come into the province of the civil law, the cadi determines the case; and the retaining, in such[168] cases, able (Lokiels) pleaders, is attended with similar advantages, as with us. In these disputes, however, a paper or two, written in the most concise manner, is all that is necessary; the wheels of justice are not clogged with such volumes of cases and briefs as with us.

4th. Immense presents are occasionally made by the bashaws, alkaids, &c. to the Emperor, to secure the imperial favor, and to enable them to hold their places against the attacks continually made by others, who spare no expense in presenting, through the ministers, their claims for preferment. The bashaw Ben Hammed, who governed Duquella in the reign of the present Emperor’s father, Seedy Mohammed, every Friday, as the Emperor came out of the mosque, presented him with a large wedge of pure gold of Soudan.

5thly. The fish called Shebbel (similar to salmon), the produce of the great rivers, viz. the El Kose, the Seboo, the Morbeya, the Tensift, and the river Suse, pay to the imperial treasury a heavy duty; but that duly is generally farmed to some wealthy individual, who pays about 20 per cent. on the value of the fish caught, or gives so much per annum for the privilege of fishing in the rivers.

6th. El Beb, or gate-duty, an impost of from (one blanquil to two ounces) 1½d. to 1s. on every camel-load of merchandize carried out or brought into any city or town.

7th. (Gizzia,) The poll-tax levied on the Jews, viz. the pro rata of every Jew is calculated according to his property, by a committee appointed by themselves. This tax may amount to about ten per cent. on their income or profits.

8th. (El Worella.) The hereditary tax. The Emperor is heir to all the estates of his subjects who die without heirs; so that at[169] the termination of the plague, in 1800, he gained an incalculable accession of wealth in gold, silver, and in estates, many of which latter he has since given to the (Jamaat) mosques. This property of the mosques is called Wak’f, a term significant of any thing, the right of which continues in the original proprietor, but the profit issuing from it belongs to some charitable institution; so that the mosque lands are now extensive, and, consequently, the priests are amply provided for.

9th. Duties on the importation of merchandize from Europe, and on the exportation of the produce of the country. On the former, the regulation is generally 10 per cent., which is paid in kind, except only on iron, steel, Buenos Ayres hydes, lead, and sulphur, which pay a duty on importation of three dollars per quintal. The duties on the produce of the country are regulated by the option of the Emperor.

10th. All ambassadors, envoys, consuls, merchants, and, in short, every individual who presents himself to the Emperor, whether in a public or private capacity, must necessarily be[170] accompanied with a present, a custom established from time immemorial in Africa, as well as in the East; and these presents are in proportion to the magnitude of the negociation. The king of Spain, during the reign of Seedy Mohammed ben Abd Allah, the father of the reigning Emperor, sent presents to an enormous amount, in order to purchase the friendly alliance of the Emperor, and to induce him to continue the exportation of grain to Spain.

11th. In addition to all these sources of revenue, may be mentioned the duties on the exportation of cattle and vegetables to our garrison of Gibraltar, and on a few similar supplies to Spain and Portugal.

Before the present Emperor ascended the throne, the produce of the country was allowed to be exported from all the ports on the coast, and formed a very considerable source of revenue; the duties on grain alone, from Dar El Beida, in one year, amounted to 722,000 dollars. The exportation from the ports of Arzilla, El Araiche, Mamora, Rabat, Fedella, Azamor, Mazagan, Saffy, Mogodor, and Santa Cruz, in Suse, were not quite so considerable. The present prohibition of the exportation of grain, together with all the articles enumerated above, to which may be added, wool, flax, and cotton, cannot be a proof of the Emperor’s avarice, a passion ascribed to him by many; as, by allowing their exportation, and encouraging their cultivation, an accession of several millions would annually be added to the revenue of his empire.

[171]CHAPTER VIII.

Some Account of a peculiar Species of Plague which depopulated West Barbary in 1799 and 1800, and to the Effects of which the Author was an eye-witness.

From various circumstances and appearances, and from the character of the epidemical distemper which raged lately in the south of Spain, there is every reason to suppose, it was similar to that distemper or plague which depopulated West Barbary; for whether we call it by the more reconcileable appellation of the epidemy, or yellow fever, it was undoubtedly a plague, and a most destructive one, for wherever it prevailed, it invariably carried off, in a few months, one-half, or one-third, of the population.

It does not appear how the plague originated in Fas in the year 1799.[147] Some persons, who were there at the time it broke out, have confidently ascribed it to infected merchandize imported into that place from the East; whilst others, of equal veracity and judgment, have not scrupled to ascribe it to the locusts which had infested West Barbary during the seven preceding years,[148] the destruction of which was followed by the (jedrie) small-pox, which pervaded the country, and was generally fatal. The jedrie is supposed to be the forerunner of this[172] species of epidemy, as appears by an ancient Arabic manuscript, which gives an account of the same disorder having carried off two-thirds of the inhabitants of West Barbary about four centuries since. But however this destructive epidemy originated, its leading features were novel, and its consequences more dreadful than the common plague of Turkey, or that of Syria, or Egypt. Let every one freely declare his own sentiments about it; let him assign any credible account of its rise, or the causes that introduced so terrible a scene. I shall relate only what its symptoms were, what it actually was, and how it terminated, having been an eye-witness of its dreadful effects, and having seen and visited many who were afflicted, and who were dying with it.

In the month of April, 1799, a dreadful plague, of a most destructive nature, manifested itself in the city of Old Faz, which soon after communicated itself to the new city. This unparalleled calamity, carried off one or two the first day, three or four the second day, six or eight the third day, and increasing progressively, until the mortality amounted to two in the hundred of the aggregate population, continuing with unabating violence, ten, fifteen, or twenty days; being of longer duration in old than in new towns; then diminishing in a progressive proportion from one thousand a day to nine hundred, then to eight hundred, and so on until it disappeared. Whatever recourse was had to medicine and to physicians was unavailing; so that such expedients were at length totally relinquished, and the people, overpowered by this terrible scourge, lost all hopes of surviving it.

Whilst it raged in the town of Mogodor, a small village (Diabet), situated about two miles south-east of that place,[173] remained uninfected, although the communication was open between them: on the thirty-fourth day, however, after its first appearance at Mogodor, this village was discovered to be infected, and the disorder raged with great violence, making dreadful havock among the human species for twenty-one days, carrying off, during that period, one hundred persons out of one hundred and thirty-three, the original population of the village, before the plague visited it; none died after this, and those who were infected, recovered in the course of a month or two, some losing an eye, or the use of a leg or an arm.

Many similar circumstances might be here adduced relative to the numerous and populous villages dispersed through the extensive Shelluh province of Haha, all which shared a similar or a worse fate. Travelling through this province shortly after the plague had exhausted itself, I saw many uninhabited ruins, which I had before witnessed as flourishing villages; on making enquiry concerning the population of these dismal remains, I was informed that in one village, which contained six hundred inhabitants, four persons only had escaped the ravage. Other villages, which had contained four or five hundred, had only seven or eight survivors left to relate the calamities they had suffered. Families which had retired to the country to avoid the infection, on returning to town, when all infection had apparently ceased, were generally attacked, and died; a singular instance of this kind happened at Mogodor, where, after the mortality had subsided, a corps of troops arrived from the city of Terodant, in the province of Suse, where the plague had been raging, and had subsided; these troops, after remaining three days at Mogodor, were attacked with the disease, and it raged exclusively among them for about a month, during which[174] it carried off two-thirds of their original number, one hundred men; during this interval the other inhabitants of the town were exempt from the disorder, though these troops were not confined to any particular quarter, many of them having had apartments in the houses of the inhabitants of the town.

The destruction of the human species in the province of Suse was considerably greater than elsewhere; Terodant, formerly the metropolis of a kingdom, but now that of Suse, lost, when the infection was at its height, about eight hundred each day: the ruined, but still extensive city of Marocco,[149] lost one thousand each day; the populous cities of Old and New Fas diminished in population twelve or fifteen hundred each day,[150] insomuch, that in these extensive cities, the mortality was so great, that the living having not time to bury the dead, the bodies were deposited or thrown altogether into large holes, which, when nearly full, were covered over with earth. All regulations in matters of sepulture before observed were now no longer regarded; things sacred and things prophane had now lost their distinction, and universal despair pervaded mankind. Young, healthy, and robust persons of full stamina, were, for the most part, attacked first, then women and children, and lastly, thin, sickly, emaciated, and old people.

After this violent and deadly calamity had subsided, we beheld general alteration in the fortunes and circumstances of men; we saw persons who before the plague were common[175] labourers, now in possession of thousands, and keeping horses without knowing how to ride them. Parties of this description were met wherever we went, and the men of family called them in derision (el wurata) the inheritors.[151] Provisions also became extremely cheap and abundant; the flocks and herds had been left in the fields, and there was now no one to own them; and the propensity to plunder, so notoriously attached to the character of the Arab, as well as to the Shelluh and Moor, was superseded by a conscientious regard to justice, originating from a continual apprehension of dissolution, and that the El khere,[152] as the plague was now called, was a judgment of the Omnipotent on the disobedience of man, and that it behoved every individual to amend his conduct, as a preparation to his departure for paradise.

The expense of labour at the same time encreased enormously,[153] and never was equality in the human species more conspicuous than at this time; when corn was to be ground, or bread baked, both were performed in the houses of the affluent, and prepared by themselves, for the very few people whom the plague had spared, were insufficient to administer to the wants of the rich and independant, and they were accordingly compelled to work for themselves, performing personally the menial offices of their respective families.

The country being now depopulated, and much of the territory without owners, vast tribes of Arabs emigrated from their abodes in the interior of Sahara, and took possession of the[176] country contiguous to the river Draha, as well as many districts in Suse; and, in short, settling themselves, and pitching their tents wherever they found a fertile country with little or no population.

The symptoms of this plague varied in different patients, the variety of age and constitution gave it a like variety of appearance and character. Those who enjoyed perfect health were suddenly seized with head-aches and inflammations; the tongue and throat became of a vivid red, the breath was drawn with difficulty, and was succeeded by sneezing and hoarseness; when once settled in the stomach, it excited vomitings of black bile, attended with excessive torture, weakness, hiccough, and convulsion. Some were seized with sudden shivering, or delirium, and had a sensation of such intense inward heat, that they threw off their clothes, and would have walked about naked in quest of water wherein to plunge themselves. Cold water was eagerly resorted to by the unwary and imprudent, and proved fatal to those who indulged in its momentary relief. Some had one, two, or more buboes, which formed themselves, and became often as large as a walnut, in the course of a day; others had a similar number of carbuncles; others had both buboes and carbuncles, which generally appeared in the groin, under the arm, or near the breast. Those who were affected[154] with a shivering, having[177] no buboe, carbuncle, spots, or any other exterior disfiguration, were invariably carried off in less than twenty-four hours, and the body of the deceased became quickly putrified, so that it was indispensably necessary to bury it a few hours after dissolution. It is remarkable, that the birds of the air fled away from the abode of men, for none were to be seen during this calamitous period; the hyænas, on the contrary, visited the cemeteries, and sought the dead bodies to devour them. I recommended Mr. Baldwin’s[155] invaluable remedy of olive oil, applied according to his directions; several Jews, and some Mooselmin, were induced to try it, and I was afterwards visited by many, to whom I had recommended it, and had given them written directions in Arabic how to apply it: and I do not know any instance of its failing when persevered in, even after the infection had manifested itself.

I have no doubt but the epidemy which made its appearance at Cadiz, and all along the southern shores of Spain, immediately as the plague was subsiding in West Barbary, was the same disorder with the one above described, suffering, after its passage to a Christian country, some variation, originating from the different modes of living, and other circumstances; for nothing can be more opposite than the food, dress, customs, and manners of Mohammedans and Christians, notwithstanding the approximation of Spain to Marocco. We have been credibly[178] informed, that it was communicated originally to Spain, by two infected persons, who went from Tangier to Estapona, a small village on the opposite shore; who, after eluding the vigilance of the guards, reached Cadiz. We have also been assured that it was communicated by some infected persons who landed in Spain, from a vessel that had loaded produce at L’araiche in West Barbary. Another account was, that a Spanish privateer, which had occasion to land its crew for the purpose of procuring water in some part of West Barbary, caught the infection from communicating with the natives, and afterwards proceeding to Cadiz, spread it in that town and the adjacent country.

It should be observed, for the information of those who may be desirous of investigating the nature of this extraordinary distemper, that, from its character and its symptoms, approximating to the peculiar plague, which (according to the before mentioned Arabic record) ravaged and depopulated West Barbary four centuries since, the Arabs and Moors were of opinion it would subside after the first year, and not appear again the next, as the Egyptian plague does; and agreeably to this opinion, it did not re-appear the second year: neither did St. John’s day, or that season, affect its virulence; but about that period there prevails along the coast of West Barbary a trade wind, which beginning to blow in the month of May, continues throughout the months of June, July, and August, with little intermission. It was apprehended that the influence of this trade wind, added to the superstitious opinion of the plague ceasing on St. John’s day, would stop, or at least sensibly diminish the mortality; but no such thing happened, the wind did set in, as it invariably does, about St. John’s day; the disorder, however,[179] encreased at that period, rather than diminished. Some persons were of opinion, that the infection maintained its virulence till the last; that the decrease of mortality did not originate from a decrease of the miasma, but from a decrease of population, and a consequent want of subjects to prey upon; and this indeed is a plausible idea; but admitting it to be just, how are we to account for the almost invariable fatality of the disorder, when at its height, and the comparative innocence of it when on the decline? for then, the chance to those who had it, was, that they would recover and survive the malady.

The old men seemed to indulge in a superstitious tradition, that when this peculiar kind of epidemy attacks a country, it does not return or continue for three or more years, but disappears altogether (after the first year), and is followed the seventh year by contagious rheums and expectoration, the violence of which lasts from three to seven days, but is not fatal. Whether this opinion be in general founded in truth I cannot determine; but in the spring of the year 1806, which was the seventh year from the appearance of the plague at Fas in 1799, a species of influenza pervaded the whole country; the patient going to bed well, and on rising in the morning, a thick phlegm was expectorated, accompanied by a distressing rheum, or cold in the head, with a cough, which quickly reduced those affected to extreme weakness, but was seldom fatal, continuing from three to seven days, with more or less violence, and then gradually disappearing.

During the plague at Mogodor, the European merchants shut themselves up in their respective houses, as is the practice in the Levant; I did not take this precaution, but occasionally rode out to take exercise on horseback. Riding one day out of[180] the town, I met the Governor’s brother, who asked me where I was going, when every other European was shut up? “To the garden,” I answered. “And are you not aware that the garden and the adjacent country is full of (Genii) departed souls, who are busy in smiting with the plague every one they meet?” I could not help smiling, but told him, that I trusted to God only, who would not allow any of the Genii to smite me unless it were his sovereign will, and that if it were, he could effect it without the aid of Genii. On my return to town in the evening, the sandy beach, from the town-gate to the sanctuary of Seedi Mogodole,[156] was covered with biers. My daily observations convinced me that the epidemy was not caught by approach, unless that approach was accompanied by an inhaling of the breath, or by touching the infected person; I therefore had a separation made across the gallery, inside of my house, between the kitchen and dining parlour, of the width of three feet, which is sufficiently wide to prevent the inhaling the breath of a person. From this partition or table of separation I took the dishes, and after dinner returned them to the same place, suffering none of the servants to come near me; and in the office and counting-house, I had a partition made to prevent the too near approach of any person who might call on business; and this precaution I firmly believe to be all that is necessary, added to that of receiving money through vinegar, and taking care not to touch or smell infectious substances.

Fear had an extraordinary effect in disposing the body to receive the infection; and those who were subject thereto, invariably caught the malady, which was for the most part fatal.[181] At the breaking out of the plague at Mogodor, there were two medical men, an Italian and a Frenchman, the latter, a man of science, a great botanist, and of an acute discrimination; they, however, did not remain, but took the first opportunity of leaving the place for Teneriffe, so that the few Europeans had no expectation of any medical assistance except that of the natives. Plaisters of gum ammoniacum, and the juice of the leaves of the opuntia, or kermuse ensarrah, i.e. prickly pear, were universally applied to the carbuncles, as well as the buboes, which quickly brought them to maturity: many of the people of property took copious draughts of coffee and Peruvian bark. The Vinaigre de quatre voleurs was used by many, also camphor, smoking tobacco, or fumigations of gum Sandrac; straw was also burned by some, who were of opinion, that any thing which produced abundance of smoke, was sufficient to purify the air of pestilential effluvia.

During the existence of the plague, I had been in the chambers of men on their death-bed: I had had Europeans at my table, who were infected, as well as Moors, who actually had buboes on them; I took no other precaution than that of separation, carefully avoiding to touch the hand, or inhale the breath; and, notwithstanding what may have been said, I am decidedly of opinion that the plague, at least this peculiar species of it, is not produced by any infectious principle in the atmosphere, but caught solely by touching infected substances, or inhaling the breath of those who are diseased; and that it must not be confounded with the common plague of Egypt, or Constantinople, being a malady of a much more desperate and destructive kind. It has been said, by persons who have discussed the nature and character of the plague, that the cultivation[182] of a country, the draining of the lands, and other agricultural improvements, tend to eradicate or diminish it; but at the same time, we have seen countries depopulated where there was no morass, or stagnate water for many days journey, nor even a tree to impede the current of air, or a town, nor any thing but encampments of Arabs, who procured water from wells of a great depth, and inhabited plains so extensive and uniform, that they resemble the sea, and are so similar in appearance after, as well as before sun-rise, that if the eye could abstract itself from the spot immediately surrounding the spectator, it could not be ascertained whether it were sea or land.

I shall now subjoin a few cases for the further elucidation of this distemper, hoping that the medical reader will pardon any inaccuracy originating from my not being a professional man.

Case I.—One afternoon, I went into the kitchen, and saw the cook making the bread; he appeared in good health and spirits; I afterwards went into the adjoining parlour, and took up a book to read; in half an hour the same man came to the door of the room, with his eyes starting from his head, and his bed clothes, &c. in his hands, saying, “open the gate for me, for I am (m’dorb) smitten.” I was astonished at the sudden transition, and desired him to go out, and I would follow and shut the gate. The next morning he sent his wife out on an errand, and got out of bed, and came to the gate half dressed, saying that he was quite recovered, and desired I would let him in. I did not, however, think it safe to admit him, but told him to go back to his house for a few days, until he should be able to ascertain that he was quite well; he accordingly returned to his apartments, but expired that evening, and before day-break his body[183] was in such a deplorable state, that his feet were putrefied. His wife, by attending on him, caught the infection, having a carbuncle, and also buboes, and was confined two months before she recovered.

Case II.—L’Hage Hamed O Bryhim, the old governor of Mogodor, had twelve or more children, and four wives, who were all attacked, and died (except only one young wife); he attended them successively to the grave, and notwithstanding that he assisted in performing the religious ceremony of washing the body, he never himself caught the infection; he lived some years afterwards, and out of the whole household, consisting of wives, concubines, children, and slaves, he had but one person left, which was the before mentioned young wife: this lady, however, had received the infection, and was confined some time before she recovered.

Case III.—Hamed ben A—— was smitten with the plague, which he compared to the sensation of two musket balls fired at him, one in each thigh; a giddiness and delirium succeeded, and immediately afterwards a green vomiting, and he fell senseless to the ground; a short time afterwards, on the two places where he had felt as if shot, biles or buboes formed, and on suppurating, discharged a fœtid black pus: a (jimmera) carbuncle on the joint of the arm near the elbow was full of thin ichor, contained in an elevated skin, surrounded by a burning red colour; after three months confinement, being reduced to a skeleton, the disorder appeared to have exhausted itself, and he began to recover his strength, which in another month was fully re-established. It was an observation founded on daily experience, during the prevalence of this disorder, that those who were attacked with a nausea at the stomach, and a subsequent[184] vomitting of green or yellow bile, recovered after suffering in various degrees, and that those who were affected with giddiness, or delirium, followed by a discharge or vomiting of black bile, invariably died after lingering one, two, or three days, their bodies being covered with small black spots similar to grains of gun-powder: in this state, however, they possessed their intellects, and spoke rationally till their dissolution.

When the constitution was not disposed, or had not vigour enough to throw the miasma to the surface in the form of biles, buboes, carbuncles, or blackish spots, the virulence is supposed to have operated inwardly, or on the vital parts, and the patient died in less than twenty-four hours, without any exterior disfiguration.

Case IV.—It was reported that the Sultan had the plague twice during the season, as many others had; so that the idea of its attacking like the small-pox, a person but once in his life, is refuted: the Sultan was cured by large doses of Peruvian bark frequently repeated, and it was said that he found such infinite benefit from it, that he advised his brothers never to travel without having a good supply. The Emperor, since the plague, always has by him a sufficient quantity of quill bark to supply his emergency.

Case V.—H. L. was smitten with the plague, which affected him by a pain similar to that of a long needle (as he expressed himself) repeatedly plunged into his groin. In an hour or two afterwards, a (jimmera) carbuncle appeared in the groin, which continued enlarging three days, at the expiration of which period he could neither support the pain, nor conceal his sensations; he laid himself down on a couch; an Arabian doctor, applied to the carbuncles the testicles of a ram cut in half,[185] whilst the vital warmth was still in them; the carbuncle on the third day was encreased to the size of a small orange; the beforementioned remedy was daily applied during thirty days, after which he resorted to cataplasms of the juice of the (opuntia) prickly pear-tree, (feshook) gum ammoniac, and (zite el aud) oil of olives, of each one-third: this was intended to promote suppuration, which was soon effected; there remained after the suppuration a large vacuity, which was daily filled with fine hemp dipped in honey; by means of this application the wound filled up, and the whole was well in thirty-nine days.

Case VI.—El H——t——e, a trading Jew of Mogodor, was sorely afflicted; he called upon me, and requested some remedy; I advised him to use oil of olives, and having Mr. Baldwin’s mode of administering it,[157] I transcribed it in the Arabic language, and gave it to him; he followed the prescription, and assured me, about six weeks afterwards, (that with the blessing of God) he had preserved his life by that remedy only; he said, that after having been anointed with oil, his skin became harsh and dry like the scales of a fish, but that in half an hour more, a profuse perspiration came on, and continued for another half hour, after which he experienced relief: this he repeated forty days, when he was quite recovered.

Case VII.—Moh——m’d ben A—— fell suddenly down in the street; he was conveyed home; three carbuncles and five buboes appeared soon after in his groin, under the joint of[186] his knee, and arm-pits, and inside the elbow; he died in three hours after the attack.

Case VIII.—L. R. was suddenly smitten with this dreadful calamity, whilst looking over some Marocco leather; he fell instantaneously; afterwards, when he had recovered his senses, he described the sensation as that of the pricking of needles, at every part wherein the carbuncles afterwards appeared: he died the same day in defiance of medicine.

Case IX.—Mr. Pacifico, a merchant, was attacked, and felt a pricking pain down the inside of the thick part of the thigh, near the sinews; he was obliged to go to bed. I visited him the next day, and was going to approach him, but he exclaimed, “Do not come near me, for although I know I have not the prevailing distemper, yet your friends, if you touch me, may persuade you otherwise, and that might alarm you; I shall, I hope, be well in a few days.” I took the hint of Don Pedro de Victoria, a Spanish gentleman, who was in the room, who offering me a sagar, I smoked it, and then departed; the next day the patient died. He was attended during his illness by the philanthropic Monsieur Soubremont, who did not stir from his bed-side till he expired; but after exposing himself in this manner, escaped the infection, which proceeded undoubtedly from his constantly having a pipe in his mouth.

Case X.—Two of the principal Jews of the town giving themselves up, and having no hope, were willing to employ the remainder of their lives in affording assistance to the dying and the dead, by washing the bodies and interring them; this business they performed during thirty or forty days, during all which time they were not attacked: when the plague had nearly subsided, and they began again to cherish hopes of surviving the[187] calamity, they were both smitten, but after a few days illness recovered, and are now living.

From this last case, as well as from many others similar, but too numerous here to recapitulate, it appears that the human constitution requires a certain miasma, to prepare it to receive the pestilential infection.

General Observation.—When the carbuncles or buboes appeared to have a blackish rim round their base, the case of that patient was desperate, and invariably fatal. Sometimes the whole body was covered with black spots like partridge-shot; such patients always fell victims to the disorder, and those who felt the blow internally, shewing no external disfiguration, did not survive more than a few hours.

The plague, which appears necessary to carry off the overplus of encreasing population, visits this country about once in every twenty years: the last visitation was in 1799 and 1800, being more fatal than any ever before known.

The Mohammedans never postpone burying their dead more than twenty-four hours; in summer it would be offensive to keep them longer, for which reason they often inter the body a few hours after death; they first wash it, then lay it on a wooden tray, without any coffin, but covered with a shroud of cotton cloth; it is thus borne to the grave by four men, followed by the relations and friends of the deceased, chaunting, (La Allah illa Allah wa Mohammed rassul Allah.) There is no God but the true God, and Mohammed is his prophet. The body is deposited in the grave with the head towards Mecca, each of the two extremities of the sepulchre being marked by an upright stone. It is unlawful to take fees at an interment, the bier belongs to the (Jamâ) mosque, and is used, free of[188] expense, by those who apply for it. The cemetery is a piece of ground uninclosed, attached to some sanctuary, outside of the town, for the Mohammedans do not allow the dead to be buried among the habitations of the living, or in towns; they highly venerate the burying-places, and, whenever they pass them, pray for the deceased.

Diseases.—The inhabitants of this country, besides the plague already described, are subject to many loathsome and distressing diseases.

Many of the cities and towns of Marocco are visited yearly by malignant epidemies, which the natives call fruit-fevers; they originate from their indulgence in fruit, which abounds throughout this fertile garden of the world. The fruits deemed most febrile are musk-melons, apricots, and all unripe stone fruits. Alpinus, de Medicina Egyptiorum, says, “Autumno grassantur febres pestilentiales multæ quæ subdole invadunt, et sæpe medicum et ægrum decipiunt.”

Jedrie (Small-pox).—Inoculation for this disease appears to have been known in this country long before we were acquainted with it in Europe. The Arabs of the Desert make the incision for inoculation with a sharp flint. Horses and cattle are very much subject to the jedrie: this disease is much dreaded by the natives; the patient is advised to breathe in the open air. The fatality of this disease may proceed, in a great measure, from the thickness of the skin of the Arabs, always exposed to the sun and air, which, preventing the effort which nature makes to throw the morbid matter to the surface, tends to throw it back into the circulation of the blood.

Mjinen and Baldness.—Children are frequently affected with baldness; and the falling sickness is a common disease; the[189] women are particularly subject to it; they call it m’jinen, i.e. possessed with a spirit.

Head-ache, Bowel Complaints, and Rheumatism.—The head-ache is common, but it is only temporary, arising generally from a suddenst oppage of perspiration, and goes off again on using exercise, which, in this hot climate, immediately causes perspiration. The stomach is often relaxed with the heat, and becomes extremely painful, this they improperly call (Ujah el Kulleb) the heart ache. They are frequently complaining of gripings, and universal weakness, which are probably caused by the water they continually drink; they complain also of (Ujah el Adem) the bone-ache, rheumatism, which is often occasioned by their being accustomed to sit on the ground without shoes.

(Bu Telleese) Nyctalopia.—This ophthalmic disease is little known in the northern provinces; but in Suse and Sahara it prevails. A defect of vision comes on at dusk, but without pain; the patient is deprived of sight, so that he cannot see distinctly, even with the assistance of candles. During my residence at Agadeer, in the quality of agent for the ci-devant States General of the United Provinces, a cousin of mine was dreadfully afflicted with this troublesome disease, losing his sight at evening, and continuing in that state till the rising sun. A Deleim Arab, a famous physician, communicated to me a sovereign remedy, which being extremely simple, I had not sufficient faith in his prescription to give it a trial, till reflecting that the simplicity of the remedy was such as to preclude the possibility of its being injurious: it was therefore applied inwardly; and twelve hours afterwards, to my astonishment, the boy’s eyes were perfectly well, and continued so during twenty-one days,[190] when I again had recourse to the same remedy, and it effected a cure, on one administration, during thirty days, when it again attacked him; the remedy was again applied with the same beneficial effect as before.

Ulcers and eruptions.—Schirrous ulcers, and other eruptions, frequently break out on their limbs and bodies from the heated state of the blood, which is increased by their constant and extravagant use of stimulants; for whenever they sit down to meat, the first enquiry is (Wosh Skune) Is it stimulating? if it be not, they will not touch it, be it ever so good and palatable. These eruptions often turn to leprous affections.

The Venereal Disease.—The most general disorder, however, is the venereal disease, which is said to have been unknown among them, till the period when Ferdinand King of Castille expelled the Jews from Spain, who coming over to Marocco, and suffering the Africans to cohabit with their wives and daughters, the whole empire was, as it were, inoculated with the dreadful distemper; they call it the great disease,[158] or the woman’s disorder; and it has now spread itself into so many varieties, that, I am persuaded, there is scarcely a Moor in Barbary who has not more or less of the virus in his blood; they have no effectual remedy for it; they know nothing of the specific mercury, but usually follow a course of vegetable diet for forty days, drinking during that time decoctions of sarsaparilla, which afford them a temporary relief. The heat of the climate keeping up a constant perspiration, those who have this disorder, do not suffer so much from it as persons do in Europe; and this, added to their abstaining in general from wine, and all fermented liquors, may be the cause of their being enabled[191] to drag through life without undergoing a radical cure, though they are occasionally afflicted with aches and pains till their dissolution. From repeated infection, and extreme negligence, we sometimes see noseless faces, no remedy having been administered to exterminate the infection; ulcers, particularly on the legs, are so common, that one scarcely sees a Moor without them. I have heard many of them complain, that they had never enjoyed health or tranquillity since they were first infected. If any European surgeon happen to prescribe the specific remedy, they generally, from some inaccuracy of interpretation, want of confidence, or other cause, neglect to follow the necessary regimen; this aggravates the symptoms, and they then discontinue the medicine, from a presumption of its inefficacy; it has even been asserted that mercury does not incorporate with the blood, but passes off with the fæces, producing no salutary effect. In cases of gonnorrhœa they apply, locally, (the Hendal) coloquinth, which (assisted with tisanes and diuretics) is attended with most beneficial effects.

The Bashaw Hayanie, an old man of 100 years of age, who governed Suse and Agadeer part of the time when I was established there (and who was a favourite of the Emperor Muley Ismael) has assured me, that by compelling the Bukarie blacks to carry burdens up the mountain to the town of Agadeer, in the heat of the day, they have been cured of this disease. If this be true, it can be attributed only to the profuse perspiration induced by violent exercise in a hot country. The constant and general use of the warm bath may also tend to assuage the virulence of this enemy to the human constitution.

Leprosy.—Leprosy, called Jeddem, is very prevalent in[192] Barbary; people affected with it are common in the province of Haha, where oil argannick is much used, which, when not properly prepared, is said to heat the blood.[159] The lepers of Haha are seen in parties of ten or twenty together, and approach travellers to beg charity. In the city of Marocco there is a separate quarter, outside of the walls, inhabited by lepers only. In passing through this place, I observed that its inhabitants were not generally disfigured in personal appearance; the women, when young, are extremely handsome; some few have a livid, spotted, or cracked skin: they are sometimes flushed in the face, and at others pale: when they appear abroad, they assist their complexion with (el akker) rouge, and (el kahol) lead ore, with which latter they blacken their eye-lashes and eye brows, and puncture the chin from the tip to the middle of the lower lip; but this practice, which they think increases their beauty, rather disfigures them.

Leprosy being considered epidemical, those who are affected with it are obliged to wear a badge of distinction whenever they leave their habitations, so that a straw hat, with a very wide brim, tied on in a particular manner, is the signal for persons not to approach the wearer; the lepers are seen in various parts of Barbary, sitting on the ground with a wooden bowl before them, begging; and in this way they collect sometimes a considerable sum for such a country: they intermarry with each other; and although the whole system is said to be contaminated, yet they seldom discover any external marks of disease, except those before-mentioned, and generally a paucity or total want of eye-brows. On any change of weather, and particularly[193] if the sky be overcast, and the air damp, they will be seen sitting round a fire, warming their bones, as they term it, for they ache all over till the weather resumes its wonted salubrity.

Elephantiasis and Hydrocele.—Persons affected with the elephantiasis, dropsy, and hydrocele, are frequently met with, particularly about Tangier, the water of which is said to occasion the latter; and those who are recently affected with it, affirm, that it leaves them on removing from the place.[160] During my stay once at Tangier, after travelling through the country, I observed one of my servants labouring under the disorder; on speaking to him about it, and regretting that there was no physician to afford him relief, he laughed, and made light of it, saying he hoped I would not stay long in Tangier, as it was occasioned by the water of the place, and would leave him as soon as we departed; which was actually the case, for two days after our departure it had almost entirely subsided. The elephantiasis has been thought a species of leprosy, for it desiccates the epidermis of the legs, which swell and appear rugous.

(El Murrar) Bile.—This is a very general disease, as well as all those which proceed from a too copious secretion of bile. The Jews, and the Mohammedans who are not scrupulous, use brandy made from raisins or figs to remove the bilious sensation, which operates as an anodyne. Senna, rhubarb, and succotrine aloes, mixed with honey, are administered with temporary success.

(Bu Saffra) Jaundice.—Men, as well as horses, having the jaundice, are punctured with a hot iron, through the skin,[194] at the joints. I have seen both cured in six or seven days by this operation.

(Tunia) Tape-worm.—This is a disease to which the people are particularly subject; they take large quantities of (El Assel ou Assheh) honey and worm-seed, which produces beneficial effects. The children are generally afflicted with this disease; the eyes appear hollow, with a whiteness of the adjacent skin.

(Bu Wasir), Hæmorrhoides.—This disease is very general; refrigerants are applied for its cure internally, and an unguent, composed of oil of almonds, and the juice of the opuntia, or prickly-pear tree.

Hydrophobia is entirely unknown in West Barbary, which is the more extraordinary, as dogs abound every where, are frequently destitute of water, and suffer intolerably from heat and exposure to the sun.

Hernia.—Cases of hernia are sometimes met with, though not so frequently as in Europe.

They have no effectual remedy for any of the before mentioned diseases; their whole materia medica consists, with little exception, of herbs and other vegetables, from their knowledge of the medical virtues of which much might be learned by European physicians. Bleeding is a general remedy for various complaints; the healthy let blood once a year. Scarification on the forehead, at the back of the head, below the root of the hair, on the loins, the breast, and the legs is generally practised in cases of violent head-ache proceeding from an obstructed perspiration.

The classification of remedies among the Arabs is remarkably simple, the two grand divisions are refrigerants and heating medicines: they quote some ancient Arabian, who says,

[196]CHAPTER IX.

Some Observations on the Mohammedan Religion.

I shall not attempt to give a philosophical dissertation on the tenets of the religion of Mohammed, a subject that has been often ably discussed by various authors; but a few desultory observations may, perhaps, be not improper in this place.

Many writers have endeavoured to vilify the Mohammedan religion, by exposing the dark side of it, and their representations have been transmitted to posterity by enthusiasts who, probably, have been anxious to acquire ecclesiastical fame; but we shall, on a minute examination of the doctrines contained in the Koran, find that it approaches nearer to the Christian religion, in its moral precepts, than any other with which we are acquainted. Indeed, were there as many absurdities in this religion as some persons have attributed to it, it is probable that it would not have extended itself over so great a portion of the habitable globe; for we find it embraced, with little exception, from the shores of West Barbary, to the most eastern part of Bengal, an extent of upwards of 8000 miles; and from the Mediterranean to Zanguebar and Mosambique, with the exception of some nations of Pagans; neither is there any language spoken and understood by so great a proportion of the population of the world as that in which it is promulgated.

Koran, chap. vii.—“Forgive easily: command nothing but what is just: dispute not with the ignorant”

[197]Koran, chap. xi.—“O earth, swallow up thy waters: O heaven, withhold thy rain; immediately the waters subsided, the ark rested on Mount Al Judi, and these words were heard: Wo to the wicked nation!”

Chap. xiii.—“They who do good for evil shall obtain paradise for their reward.”

From these extracts we see that the Mohammedans have some of the same moral precepts laid down for their guidance which are inculcated by the Gospel of Christ. They believe in the flood; they teach forgiveness of injuries, justice, and rendering good for evil. The nations which followed paganism were taught by Mohammed the unity of God. He exhorted them to believe with the heart, that there is only one God, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, and that he is spiritual. That the angels are subtle, pure bodies, formed of light; neither eating, drinking, or sleeping; not of different sexes; having no carnal desires, nor degrees of relationship, and are of various forms.

Mohammed maintained that Jesus Christ was a prophet, and that those who believed it not were infidels. He says, the sacred books are 104, of which the Almighty gave

[198]and he asserts, that whoever rejects, or calls in question the divine inspiration of any of the foregoing books, is an infidel. He says also, that he who can lay his hand on his heart and say, “I fear not the resurrection, nor am I in any concern about hell, and care not for heaven,” is an incorrigible infidel.

Religion and the State are considered as twins, inseparable; if one die, the other cannot survive.

The most refined and intelligent Mohammedans are not of opinion, that God is the author of all good and evil; but maintain that every man who follows the direct or good way, has the protecting eye of God upon him, and that God is with him; but that, if he withdraw his influence from any one, then evil or misfortune ensues; not actively from God, but passively from the withdrawing of that protecting influence; that this is an act of the Almighty, which cannot be easily comprehended by our weak reason: and that it is not willed by him with approbation, but necessarily. The Mohammedan thinks himself unworthy to prostrate himself before God, until he be clean and undefiled: this opinion makes ablutions so necessary; of which there are three kinds: the first is El gasul (the g pronounced guttural), which is an immersion of the whole body, and is performed by the affluent, or those in easy circumstances; the second is El woden, which is a washing of the hands, fingers, and arms, up to the elbows, the feet, face, and head, the sexual parts, the mouth and nostrils, the toes, separately and singly; and this should be repeated three times: the third mode of purification is practised only in the Desert, where the difference is the substitution of sand for water, as the latter can seldom be procured there.

[199]Charity is considered a cardinal virtue, and an indispensible duty: those, however, who possess not five camels, or thirty sheep, and 200 pieces of silver, are not considered as obligated to give alms; for it is held, that the alms-giver should not injure himself. It is expected that a person of good property ought to give a muzuna[161] in a mitkal, which is equivalent to 6d. in the pound, to the poor, out of his annual profits, which being calculated at the end of the sacred month of Ramadan, the people have ten days to prepare their donations, when the feast of L’ashora commences, and the poor go about to the inhabitants to collect their respective donations, which they call (mtâa Allah) God’s property.[162]

During the fast of the moon, or month of Ramadan (which, from their years being lunar, happens at various periods of the year), they are very rigorous; it is necessary that the fast should be begun with an intention in the heart to please God: during this month they do not eat, nor even smell food, drink, smoke, nor communicate with women, from the rising to the setting sun; but at night they eat plentifully. Even those who indulge in wine at other times, refrain from it in the sacred month of Ramadan.

Mohammed declared that the Jews, Christians, and Pagans, cannot be saved, so long as they remain in infidelity and idolatry: of which last, the Mohammedans accuse the Roman[200] Catholics, who worship a cross, or an image, carved by the hands of man: as to the English, they seem not to have determined what denomination to give them; they are commonly called infidels, who never pray; this opinion having obtained among them because Protestants have no public chapels in the Mohammedan towns in Africa, which the Catholics have, as already mentioned. They have it on record, that the sultan of the English (Richard Cœur de Lion) received from the Sultan Solhaden or Saladine, or from Mohammed himself, the letter admitting him and his followers as Mohammedans: but that the English king being engaged in various negociations whilst in Palestine, he did not give so much attention to the letter as was expected, and that after returning to England, he still doubted whether he should embrace the Mohammedan doctrine, or remain a Christian!

It is highly probable, in that age of fanaticism, when the holy wars were undertaken, that the Sultan Saladine, apprehensive for the cause of Mohammedanism, did make overtures to Richard; for it was the custom in the days of Mohammed, and afterwards in the days of those enthusiasts, to invite all powerful princes to embrace their religion.

The 2nd, 5th, and 9th chapters of the Koran declare a believer to be one who embraces the Mohammedan faith (i.e. a belief in the divine inspiration of the Prophets, of Jesus, and of Mohammed); this and Islaemism are synonymous terms.

Koran, chap. v.—“If Jews and Christians believe, they shall be admitted into paradise.”

1. Believe, implies a belief in one God, and of the day of judgment, the two grand pillars of Islaemism.

2. Believe in Islaemism; this admits of various interpretations:[201] Islaem is performing obedience and prostration before God! in another interpretation it implies Mohammedanism, or a belief in the divine mission of Mohammed.

The generality of religions, which have made any progress in the world, make it indispensable to believe in its own tenets: Mohammed, although he naturally gives the preference to the religion of his own forming, yet he has the liberality to acknowledge, that those who have professed other religions may be saved, after suffering a degree of chastisement or damage in the life to come, as it is termed by him.

“Whoever shall have professed any religion except Islaemism, his belief shall not be acceptable to God, and he shall receive damage in the life to come, or be not so well received, as if he had professed Islaemism, or the law of peace and obedience.”

Although the Prophet reprobated the Jews as well as the Christians, whom he accused of perverting the Scriptures, yet he took care to keep up the latitudinarian principle of his own law, called Dêne-el-Wasah (the extended doctrine) by believing the divine inspiration of both the Old and New Testament, thus giving an opportunity to the expounders of the law, to regulate themselves according to circumstances.

The Mohammedans, when disputing with Christians, which they rarely do, say, that Christians believe faith will save the soul: they also believe so; and that if their religion is the true one, they will go to Paradise; they tell us, if your’s be the true one, we both shall go there, because we believe in the divinity of Christ, but you do not believe in that of Mohammed, therefore, if faith save the soul, we have the advantage of you in being, in any case, on the safe side.[163]

[202]The Mooselmin’s ideas of the Creator are grand and elevated. Whatever is, exists either necessarily and of itself, and is God, or has not its being from itself, and does not exist necessarily, and is of two sorts: substance and accidents: substances are of two kinds, abstract and concrete; abstract substances are, all spirits and intellectual beings: concrete being the matter and form.

Whenever God is spoken of by the Mohammedans, as having form, eyes, &c. it is meant, allegorically, to convey the idea of some particular attribute.

They deny that Christ was crucified.

Finally, the Mohammedan religion recommends toleration; and all liberal Mohammedans insist that every man ought to worship God according to the law of his forefathers. “If it pleased God,” say they, “all men would believe; why then should a worm, a wretched mortal, be so foolish as to pretend to force other men to believe? The soul believes only by the will of God: these are the true principles of Mohammedans.”

It must, however, be observed, that the principles here laid down are not always the rule of action, any more than the sublime truths inculcated by the Christian religion are altogether acted upon by its professors.

Both religions acknowledge the greatness of God, and yet bigotry is so prevalent at Old Fas, that if a Christian were there to exclaim Allah k’beer, God is great, he would be invited immediately to add to it, and Mohammed is his prophet, which, if he were inadvertently to utter before witnesses, he would be compelled to become a Mohammedan, and would be circumcised accordingly:[203] so that Europeans should be extremely cautious, when unprotected, or not in the suite of an ambassador, what words they ever repeat after a Mohammedan, even if ignorant of the meaning thereof. I do not apprehend, however, that it is necessary to observe this caution in any part of the empire except at Old Fas, where bigotry, as before observed, predominates.

Martin Martinius, the jesuit, and Abraham Ecchellensis, professor of Oriental languages at Rome in the 17th century, tax the Koran with asserting, that God himself prays for Mohammed; this absurdity has probably originated in an incorrect translation of the Koran, published about 270 years since, which translates, “may the blessing of God be upon thee, may the prayers of God be upon thee:” the same Arabic word (Sollah) which signifies peace or blessing, when applied to a man, signifies prayer. Sollah Allah ala Seedna Mohammed, signifies, “pray to God through our master Mohammed,” not, “the prayers of God are upon Mohammed.”

It has been said by Maccarius, in his Theolog. Polemic. p. 119, that Mohammed does not acknowledge any hell. Why then does he explain the seven gates of hell, mentioned in the Koran, chap. xv.? which are an emblem of the seven deadly sins, and of their various punishments; for, according to the Arabian prophet, hell has seven gates, allegorically, and heaven has seven heavens, or degrees of happiness; the highest and chiefest of which, according to the Mohammedans, is to see God. The (Gehennume) hell of Mohammed is not an eternal punishment.

Monsieur de St. Olon, ambassador from the King of France at Marocco, says, in his description of the kingdom of Marocco, chap. ii.—“The Mohammedans maintain, that by washing their head, hands, and feet, they are purified from all sin:” but this[204] is an error, and I may presume, from the nature of the assertion, that the Ambassador, like many others, who are sent to Mohammedan countries, knew nothing of the Arabic language, and that he was obliged to negotiate through some Jewish interpreter. The washing is merely a necessary ceremony, and is similar to our custom of going washed and clean to church; it is a purifying of the shell, or the outward man, prayers are a purifying of the kernel or inward man; as by purifying the kernel, the amendment of the heart is implied.

With regard to spirits or devils (called Jin, Sing. and Jinune (pl.); Sale translates Genii, which is the word Jin, with the vowel point thus, جنِ jinee), Philip Guadagnolo,[164] in his apology for the Christian religion, p. 291, asserts, that the Koran is full of contradictions, from what it says about devils in the chapter called the chapter of Devils; but this is really the chapter of spirits (Genii, spirits), for of these Mohammedans admit three kinds, besides the departed souls of men, called Rôh Benadam, viz.

1. Lucifer, the chief of the devils, is called Shetan.

2. All rebellious or deformed spirits belonging to Shetan are called Iblis.

The 3d kind are called Genii, in Arabic Jinune; they are both good and bad, offensive and inoffensive, and assume various forms. The good are called Melik.

Of sins, the Mooselmin affirm envy to have been the first committed in heaven and on earth; they say Iblis envied Adam; when God ordered all Angels to honour him, he tacitly condemned God; and expostulated with him on ordering him, who was made of fire, to adore or honour the first man, who[205] was made from earth. ‘Now,’ said the wretch Iblis, ‘it is not just that the superior being should honour the inferior;’ and he was cast down from heaven for his disobedience: thus envy was the first sin in heaven.

Kabel and Habel (the Arabic names of Cain and Abel) offered sacrifice to God; the offerings of Habel met with a more favourable reception; Kabel envied him and killed him; so envy first occasioned infidelity in heaven, and murder on earth.

The heighth of the celestial happiness is to see God; all those elegant descriptions of beautiful virgins, rivers flowing with honey, gardens of delicious fruits, &c. which are said by some to compose the happiness of the Mohammedan paradise, are allegorical descriptions.

Chap. xl.—“Whoever shall believe and do good works, whether man or woman, shall enter paradise.”

Thus we see that the fate of the Mohammedan women is not altogether so deplorable as some Christians have made it.

Peter Cevaller, in his Zelus Christi contra Saracenos, p. 137, speaking of Mohammed, says—“This madman places Haman in the time of Pharoah, which is such a proof of his ignorance, as ought to put him and all his beastly followers to an eternal silence.”

Peter Cevaller, it appears, was not apprised that Pharaoh was a general name for all the kings of the Pharoah dynasty, which continued to reign in Egypt many centuries. The Mohammedans, moreover, have many traditions about a man of the name of Haman, who was a general of one of the Pharaohs.

Bartholomew of Edessa, in p. 442 of the Varia Sacra, published[206] by Stephen le Moine, reproaches Mohammed with saying, that the blessed Virgin became pregnant by eating dates:

Koran, chap. xix.—“Remember what is written of Mary. We sent to her our spirit, (or angel,) in the shape of a man; she was frightened, but the angel said to her, O Mary! I am the messenger of your Lord, and your God, who will give you an active and prudent son. She answered, How shall I have a son without knowing any man? The angel replied, God has said it, the thing shall happen; it is easy to your Lord, and your son himself shall be a proof of the almighty power of God. Then she conceived, and retired for some time into a solitary place, near a date-tree, and her labour-pains began forthwith; but the angel said, Do not afflict thyself; shake the date-tree, and gather the dates; eat them, drink water, and wash your eyes.” Now this passage, which is the one alluded to, does not say that the pregnancy proceeded from the eating of the dates, although the dates eased the pains of pregnancy. Hence, probably, that superstitious African tradition, that when the Virgin Mary was in pain, she exclaimed, O that I had some dates! and immediately the exclamation, or letter O, was marked on the stone of the fruit.[165]

Dog and hog are synonymous terms of contempt or degradation among the Mohammedans: they are the two unclean animals; and if either of them drink out of a cup, it must be washed. They will not sit down where a dog has been, nor will they wear the skin of the animal, even if made into leather. Some men of rank, however, keep greyhounds, and other dogs for hunting; but seldom let them go into those apartments of their houses,[207] where the women are, for they say, no angel or benediction comes to any place where a dog is.

In the xivth chap. of the Koran Mohammed makes Abraham beg of God to protect Mecca, and to make it a place of peace or safety (aman المعان in the original) to all the world. The learned Robert of Retz, who translated the Koran in the 16th century, has rendered this word, Aman or Hammon, and hence the prophet has absolutely been accused of placing Mecca in the country of the Hammonites, and consequently abused for his geographical ignorance, as if any man of common understanding could so far mistake the place of his birth, a place he had lived in so long, had conquered, and from whence he had made so many eruptions against his neighbours. The word Aman in the original is a consecrated place, or place of faith, of safety, of refuge, of protection. Birds, fish, or animals, are not allowed to be killed in such places, neither is blood to be spilt therein.

Mohammed has also been accused of contradicting himself, in saying, sometimes, that he could read, and at others, that he could not; and the following passage of the Koran (ch. xlvii.) is thence produced as evidence that he could read: God is introduced as saying to Mohammed—“God knows what you do, and what you read.”[166] But the whole is a mistake, both of the version and of the annotator, for in the original Arabic, God does not speak to Mohammed, but the latter speaks to other men, and says, “God knows what ye do, and what ye meditate,” (not read).

With regard to marriage, the Koran (chap. iv.) allows four wives: “Receive in marriage such women as you like, two,[208] three, or four wives, at the most. If you think you cannot maintain them equally, marry only one.” (This subject has been elucidated in a preceding chapter, it is therefore unnecessary to say any thing further upon it here).

It has been said by Euthymius Zygabenus, and an anonymous author, who wrote Mohammed’s life, in Sylburgh’s Saracen. p. 60, that Mohammed, in his Koran, placed Moses amongst the damned; but whoever has the least knowledge of Arabic, must know, by consulting the Koran, that Moses is every where mentioned with great respect, and the Mohammedans call him Seedna, i.e. our Lord or Master.

From the foregoing observations, it will be perceived that the principles of the Mohammedan religion are neither so pernicious nor so absurd as many have imagined. They have sometimes been vilified from error, or for the purpose of exalting the Christian doctrine; but that doctrine is too pure and celestial to need any such aids.

[209]CHAPTER X.

Languages of Africa — Various Dialects of the Arabic Language — Difference between the Berebber and Shelluh Languages — Specimen of the Mandinga — Comparison of the Shelluh Language with that of the Canary Islands, and Similitude of Customs.

Yareb, the son of Kohtan,[167] is said to have been the first who spoke Arabic, and the Mohammedans contend that it is the most eloquent language spoken in any part of the globe, and that it is the one which will be used at the day of judgment. To write a long dissertation on this copious and energetic language, would be only to repeat what many learned men have said before; a few observations, however, may not be superfluous to the generality of readers. The Arabic language is spoken by a greater proportion of the inhabitants of the known world than any other: a person having a practical knowledge of it, may travel from the shores of the Mediterranean sea to the Cape of Good Hope, and notwithstanding that in such a journey he must pass through many kingdoms and empires of blacks, speaking distinct languages, yet he would find men in all those countries versed in Mohammedan learning, and therefore acquainted with the Arabic; again, he might[210] cross the widest part of the African continent from west to east, and would every where meet with persons acquainted with it, more particularly if he should follow the course of the great river called the Nile of the Negroes, on the banks of which, from Jinnie and Timbuctoo, to the confines of Lower Egypt, are innumerable cities and towns of Arabs and Moors, all speaking the Arabic. Again, were a traveller to proceed from Marocco to the farthest shore of Asia, opposite the islands of Japan, he would find the Arabic generally spoken or understood wherever he came. In Turkey, in Syria, in Arabia, in Persia, and in India, it is understood by all men of education; and any one possessing a knowledge of the Korannick Arabic, might, in a very short time, make himself master of the Hindostannee, and of every other dialect of the former.

The letters of this language are formed in four distinct ways, according to their situation at the beginning, middle, or end of words, as well as when standing alone; the greatest difficulty, however, to be overcome, is the acquiring a just pronunciation, (without which no living language can be essentially useful), and to attain which, the learner should be able to express the difference of power and sound between what may be denominated the synonymous letters, such as ط and ث with ت; ع with ا; ص with س; ض and ظ with د; ه with ح; ڧ and ك with خ; غ with ر.

Besides these, there are other letters, whose power is extremely difficult to be acquired by an European, because no language in Europe possesses sounds similar to the Arabic letters ع غ خ, nor has any language, except, perhaps, the English, a letter with the power of the Arabian ث. Those who travel into Asia or Africa scarcely ever become sufficiently[211] masters of the Arabic to speak it fluently, which radical defect proceeds altogether from their not learning, while studying it, the peculiar distinction of the synonymous letters. No European, perhaps, ever knew more of the theory of this language than the late Sir William Jones, but still he could not converse with an Arabian, a circumstance of which he was not conscious until he went to India. This great man, however, had he been told that his knowledge of this popular eastern language was so far deficient, that he was ignorant of the separate powers of its synonymous letters, and consequently inadequate to converse intelligibly with a native Arab, he would certainly have considered it an aspersion, and have disputed altogether that such was the fact. Considering how much we are indebted to the Arabians for the preservation of many of the works of the ancients, which would otherwise have never, perhaps, been known to us, it is really surprising that their language should be so little known in Europe. It is certainly very difficult and abstruse (to learners particularly), but this difficulty is rendered insurmountable by the European professors knowing it only as a dead language, and teaching it without due attention to the pronunciation of the before mentioned synonymous letters, a defect which is not likely to be remedied, and which will always subject the speaker to incessant errors.

To shew the Arabic student the difference between the Oriental and Occidental order of the letters of the alphabet, I shall here give them opposite each other.

[213]Besides this difference of the arrangement of the two alphabets, the student will observe that there is also a difference in the punctuation of two of the letters: thus—

Among the Western Arabs, the ancient Arabic figures are used, viz. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9: they often write 100 thus, 1 . .-200, 2 . .

To explain the force of the synonymous letters on paper would be impossible; the reader, however, may form some idea of the indispensable necessity of knowing the distinction by the few words here selected, which to one unaccustomed to hear the Arabic language spoken, would appear similar and undistinguishable.

It is difficult for any one who has not accurately studied the Arabic language, to imagine the many errors which an European commits in speaking it, when self-taught, or even when taught in Europe. Soon after my arrival in Africa, when I had not attained the age of eighteen, I happened one day to be in the house of an European gentleman who had then been in the country twenty years; an Arab of the province of Tedla came in, when the former (at all times desirous of exhibiting his knowledge of their language) addressed him, and after making a long speech, the Arab very coolly replied, “I entreat thee to speak Arabic, that I may understand thee (tkillem Eaudie b’lorbea besh en fhemik).” This was interpreted to me by a friend, who was present, and it made such a strong impression on my mind, that I resolved to apply myself assiduously to discover the reason why a person who spoke the language tolerably quick, should be altogether so little understood, and I was some time afterwards, by making various observations and[216] trials, convinced that the deficiency originated in the inaccuracy of the application of the synonymous letters.

The ain ع and the غ r’gain cannot be accurately pronounced by Europeans, who have not studied the language grammatically when young, and under a native; I have, however, heard an Irishman,[169] who did not understand it grammatically, but had acquired it by ear, pronounce the latter equally as correct as any Arabian; but this was a rare instance. He was in England whilst Elfie Bey was here, who, as I was afterwards informed, had declared, that he was the only European whose Arabic he could easily understand. The aspirated h, and the hard s, in the word for morning (sebah), are so much like their synonymes, that few Europeans can discern the difference; the one is consequently often mistaken for the other; and I have known a beautiful sentence absolutely perverted through an inaccuracy of this kind. In the words rendered Hatred and Harvest, the two synonymes of س and ص or s hard and s soft, are indiscriminately used by Europeans in their Arabic conversations, a circumstance sufficient to do away the force and meaning of any sentence or discourse.

The poetry as well as prose of the Arabians is well known, and has been so often discussed by learned men, that it would be irrelevant here to expatiate on the subject; but as the following description of the noblest passion of the human breast cannot but be interesting to the generality of readers, and without any exception to the fair sex, I will transcribe it.

“Love (العشك) beginneth in contemplation, passeth to meditation; hence proceeds desire; then the spark bursts forth[217] into a flame, the head swims, the body wastes, and the soul turns giddy. If we look on the bright side of love, we must acknowledge that it has at least one advantage; it annihilates pride and immoderate self-love: true love, whose aim is the happiness and equality of the beloved object, being incompatible with those feelings.

“Lust is so different from true love (العشك), and so far from a perfection, that it is always a species of punishment sent by God, because man has abandoned the path of his pure love.”

In their epistolary writing, the Arabs have generally a regular and particular style, beginning and ending all their letters with the name of God, symbolically, because God is the beginning and end of all things. The following short specimen will illustrate this:

Translation of a letter written in the Korannick Arabic by Seedy Soliman ben Mohammed ben Ismael, Sultan of Marocco, to his Bashaw —— of Suse, &c. &c.

“Praise be to the only God! for there is neither power, nor strength, without the great and eternal God.”

[L.S. containing the Emperor’s name and titles, as Soliman ben Mohammed ben Abdallah, &c. &c.]

“Our servant, Alkaid Abdelmelk ben Behie Mulud, God assist, and peace be with thee, and the mercy and grace of God be upon thee!

“We command thee forthwith to procure and send to our exalted presence every Englishman that has been wrecked on the coast of Wedinoon, and to forward them hither without[218] delay, and diligently to succour and attend to them, and may the eye of God be upon thee!”

26th of the lunar month Saffer, year of the Hejira 1281.
(May 1806.)[170]

The accuracy of punctuation in the Arabic language is a matter that ought to be strictly attended to; thus they maintain writing to be the first qualification of a scholar, and that, from a want of a due knowledge of punctuation, the Christians have misunderstood the word of God, which says, “I have begotten thee, and thou art my son.” This passage, they say, first stood as follows, (which if the Scriptures had been originally written in Arabic would have had some plausibility.)

“I have adopted thee, and thou art my prophet.” The difference of punctuation in one word makes all this difference in signification, for—

It has been already observed, that the Mohammedans believe in Jesus Christ, and that he was a prophet sent from God; but they acknowledge no equal with God. The doctrine of the Trinity is incomprehensible to them, hence they will not admit of the punctuation بن but allow that of نب.

The foregoing observations will serve to prove the insufficiency of a knowledge of this language, as professed or studied in Great Britain when unaccompanied with a practical knowledge.[219] These observations may apply equally to the Persian language.[171]

If the present ardour for discovery in Africa be persevered in, the learned world may expect, in the course of a few years, to receive histories and other works of Greek and Roman authors, which were translated into the Arabic language, when Arabian literature was in its zenith, and have ever since been confined to some private libraries in the cities of the interior of Africa, and in Arabia. Bonaparte, aware of the political importance of a practical knowledge of this language, has of late given unremitting attention to the subject, and if we may believe the mutilated accounts which we receive occasionally from France, he is likely to obtain from Africa in a short period relics of ancient learning of considerable value, which have escaped the wreck of nations.

Having said thus much with regard to the Arabic of the western Arabs, which, with little variation, is spoken throughout all the finest districts of North Africa, I shall proceed to say a few words respecting the other languages spoken north of Sahara: these are the Berebber and its dialects, viz. the Zayan and Girwan, and Ait Imure; the Shelluh of Suse and South[220] Atlas, all which, though latterly supposed by some learned men to be the same, differ in many respects; any one possessing a knowledge of the Berebber language might, with little difficulty, make himself understood by the Zayan of Atlas, the Girwan, or the Ait Imure; but the Shelluh is a different language, and each so different from the Arabic, that there is not the smallest resemblance, as the following specimen will demonstrate:

[221]SPECIMEN OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ARABIC AND SHELLUH LANGUAGES.

Marmol says, the Shelluhs and Berebbers write and speak one language, called Killem Abimalick,[172] the name of the person who was accounted the inventor of Arabic letters; but the foregoing specimen, the accuracy of which may be depended on, clearly proves this assertion to be erroneous, as well as that of many moderns who have formed their opinion, in all probability, on the above authority. Now, although the Shelluh and Berebber languages are so totally dissimilar, that there is not one word in the foregoing vocabulary which resembles its corresponding word in the other language, yet, from the prejudice which Marmol has established, it will still be difficult, perhaps, to persuade the learned that such an author could be mistaken on such a subject. My account therefore must remain for a future age to determine upon, when the languages of Africa shall be better known than they are at present; for it is not a few travellers occasionally sent out on a limited plan that can ascertain facts, the attainment of which requires a long residence, and familiar intercourse with the natives. Marmol has also misled the world in saying that they write a different language; the fact is, that when they write any thing of consequence, it is in the Arabic, but any trifling subject is written in the Berebber words, though in the Arabic character. If they had any peculiar character in the time of Marmol, they have none now; for I have conversed with hundreds of them, as well as with the Shelluhs, and have had them staying at my[223] house for a considerable time together, but never could learn from any that a character different from the Arabic had ever been in use among them.

In addition to these languages, there is another spoken at the Oasis of Ammon, or Siwah, called in Arabic (الواح الغاربي) El Wah El Garbie, which appears to be a mixture of Berebber and Shelluh, as will appear from the list of Siwahan words given by Mr. Horneman,[173] in his Journal, page 19, part of which I have here transcribed, to shew the similitude between those two languages, whereby it will appear that the language of Siwah and that of the Shelluhs of South Atlas are one and the same language.

[224]South of the Desert we find other languages spoken by the blacks; and are told by Arabs who have frequently performed the journey from Jinnie to Cairo, and the Red Sea, that thirty-three different Negroe languages are met with in the course of that route, but that the Arabic is spoken by the intelligent part of the people, and the Mohammedan religion is known and followed by many; their writings are uniformly in Arabic.

It may not be improper in this place, seeing the many errors and mutilated translations which appear from time to time of Arabic, Turkish, and Persian papers, to give a list of the Mohammedan moons or lunar months, used by all those nations, which begin with the first appearance of the new moon, that is, the day following, or sometimes two days after the change, and continue till they see the next new moon; these have been mutilated to such a degree in all our English translations, that I shall give them, in the original Arabic character, and as they ought to be spelt and pronounced in the English character, as a clue whereby to calculate the correspondence between our year and theirs. They divide the year into 12 months, which contain 29 or 30 days, according as they see the new moon; the first day of the month Muharam is termed راس العام Ras Elame, i.e. the beginning of the year.

As we are more used to the Asiatic mode of punctuation, that will be observed in these words.

The first of Muharram, year of the Hejira 1221, answers to the 19th March of the Christian æra, 1806.

Among the various languages spoken south of the Desert, or Sahara, we have already observed that there are thirty-three different ones between the Western Ocean and the Red Sea, following the shores of the Nile El Abide, or Niger: among all these nations and empires, a man practically acquainted with the Arabic may always make himself understood, and indeed it is the language most requisite to be known for every traveller in these extensive regions.

The Mandinga is spoken from the banks of the Senegal, where that river takes a northerly course from the Jibel Kumera to the kingdom of Bambarra; the Wangareen tongue is a different one; and the Houssonians speak a language differing again from that.

Specimen of the difference between the Arabic and Mandinga language; the words of the latter extracted from the vocabularies of Seedi Mohammed ben Amer Soudani.

Having now given some account of the languages of Africa, we shall proceed to animadvert on the similitude of language and customs between the Shelluhs of Atlas and the original inhabitants[230] of the Canary Islands. The words between inverted commas are quotations from Glasse’s History of the Discovery and Conquest of the Canary Islands.

“The inhabitants of Lancerotta and Fuertaventura are social and cheerful;” like the Shelluhs of Atlas; “they are fond of singing and dancing; their music is vocal, accompanied with a clapping of hands, and beating with their feet:” the Shelluhs resemble them in all these respects; “Their houses are built of stone, without cement; the entrance is narrow, so that but one person can enter at a time.”

The houses of the Shelluhs are sometimes built without cement, but always with stone; the doors and entrances are low and small, so that one person only can enter.

“In their temples they offered to their God milk and butter.”

Among the Shelluhs milk and butter are given as presents to princes and great men: the milk being an emblem of good will and candour.

“When they were sick (which seldom happened) they cured themselves with the herbs which grew in the country; and when they had acute pains, they scarified the part affected with sharp stones, and burned it with fire, and then anointed it with goat’s butter. Earthen vessels of this goat’s butter were found interred in the ground, having been put there by the women who were the makers, and took that method of preparing it for medicine.”

The custom of the Shelluhs on similar occasions is exactly similar; the butter which they use is old, and is buried under ground many years in (bukul) earthen pots, and is called budra: it is a general medicine, and is said to possess a remarkably penetrating quality.

[231]“They grind their barley in a hand-mill, made of two stones, being similar to those used in some remote parts of Europe.”

In Suse, among the Shelluhs, they grind their corn in the same way, and barley is the principle food.

“Their breeches are short, leaving the knees bare;” so are those worn by the Shelluhs.

“Their common food was barley meal roasted and mixed with goats milk and butter, and this dish they called Asamotan.”

This is the common food of the Shelluhs of Atlas, and they call it by a similar name, Azamitta.

The opinion of the author of the History and Conquest of the Canary Islands, is, that the inhabitants came originally from Mauritania, and this he founds on the resemblance of names of places in Africa and in the islands: for, says he, “Telde,[177] which is the name of the oldest habitation in Canaria, Orotaba, and Tegesta, are all names which we find given to places in Mauritania and in Mount Atlas. It is to be supposed that Canaria, Fuertaventura, and Lancerotta, were peopled by the Alarbes,[178] who are the nation most esteemed in Barbary; for the natives of those islands named milk Aho, and barley Temecin, which are the names that are given to those things in the language of the Alarbes of Barbary.” He adds, that

“Among the books of a library that was in the cathedral of St. Anna in Canaria, there was found one so disfigured, that it wanted both the beginning and the end: it treated of the Romans, and gave an account, that when Africa was a Roman[232] province, the natives of Mauritania rebelled and killed their presidents and governors, upon which the senate, resolving to punish and make a severe example of the rebels, sent a powerful army into Mauritania, which vanquished and reduced them again to obedience. Soon after the ringleaders of the rebellion were put to death, and the tongues of the common people, together with those of their wives and children, were cut out, and then they were all put aboard vessels with some grain and cattle, and transported to the Canary islands.”[179]

The following vocabulary will shew the similarity of language between the natives of Canaria and the Shelluhs (inhabitants of the Atlas mountains south of Marocco).

[234]CHAPTER XI.

General Commerce of Marocco. — Annual Exports and Imports of the Port of Mogodor. — Importance and Advantages of a Trade with the Empire of Marocco. — Cause of its Decline. — Present State of our Relations with the Barbary Powers.

The city of Marocco, besides its trade with the various districts of the interior, receives the most considerable supplies of European merchandize from the port of Mogodor, which is distant from it four days journey, caravan travelling;[181] some of the more valuable articles, however, are transported from Fas to the Marocco market, such as muslins, cambricks, spices, teas, pearls, coral, &c. and the elegant Fas manufactures of silk and gold. There is a considerable market held at Marocco every Thursday, called by the Arabs Soke-el-kumise,[182] which all articles of foreign as well as home manufacture are bought and sold, also horses,[183] horned cattle, slaves, &c. Samples of all[235] kinds of merchandize are carried up and down the market and streets of the city by the Delels, or itinerant auctioneers, who proclaim the price offered, and when no one offers more, the best bidder is apprised of his purchase, the money is paid, and the transaction terminated.

The shops of Marocco are filled with merchandize of various kinds, many of which are supplied by the merchants of Mogodor, who receive, in return for European goods, the various articles of the produce of Barbary for the European markets. The credit which was given by the principal commercial houses of Mogodor to the natives has of late considerably decreased owing to the change of system in the government; for, in the reign of the present Emperor’s father, the European merchants were much respected, and their books considered as correct, so that a book debt was seldom disputed, and every encouragement was given to commerce by that Emperor; but Muley Soliman’s political principles differ so widely from those of his father, that the most trifling transaction should now be confirmed by law, to enable the European to be on equal terms with the Moor, and to entitle him to recover any property, or credit given; these measures have thrown various impediments in the way of commerce, insomuch that credit is either almost annihilated, or transformed into barter, which has necessarily thrown the trade into fewer hands, and consequently curtailed it in a great degree. For the purpose of showing at once the traffic carried on in the port of Mogodor, I shall here give an accurate[236] account of its exports and imports during the years 1804, 1805, and the first six months of 1806, which are carefully extracted from the imperial custom-house books.

IMPORTS INTO MOGODOR IN 1804.

EXPORTS FROM MOGODOR IN 1804.

IMPORTS INTO MOGODOR IN 1805.

As the prices of these merchandise vary considerably, the calculation of their value in West Barbary is omitted.

[250]EXPORTS FROM MOGODOR IN 1805.