In The Afternoon The Horizon, To The Eastward, Was Thick And Hazy, And
The Moors Prognosticated A Sand Wind; Which
Accordingly commenced on the
morning following, and lasted, with slight intermissions, for two days.
The force of the wind was
Not in itself very great; it was what a seaman
would have denominated a _stiff breeze_; but the quantity of sand and
dust carried before it was such as to darken the whole atmosphere. It
swept along from east to west, in a thick and constant stream, and the
air was at times so dark and full of sand, that it was difficult to
discern the neighbouring tents. As the Moors always dress their victuals
in the open air, this sand fell in great plenty among the kouskous; it
readily adhered to the skin, when moistened by perspiration, and formed a
cheap and universal hair powder. The Moors wrap a cloth round their face
to prevent them from inhaling the sand, and always turn their backs to
the wind when they look up, to prevent the sand falling into their eyes.
About this time, all the women of the camp had their feet, and the ends
of their fingers, stained of a dark saffron colour. I could never
ascertain whether this was done from motives of religion, or by way of
ornament. The curiosity of the Moorish ladies had been very troublesome
to me ever since my arrival at Benowm; and on the evening of the 25th,
(whether from the instigation of others, or impelled by their own
ungovernable curiosity, or merely out of frolic, I cannot affirm,) a
party of them came into my hut, and gave me plainly to understand that
the object of their visit was to ascertain, by actual inspection, whether
the rite of circumcision extended to the Nazarenes (Christians) as well
as to the followers of Mahomet. The reader will easily judge of my
surprise at this unexpected declaration; and in order to avoid the
proposed scrutiny, I thought it best to treat the business jocularly. I
observed to them, that it was not customary in my country to give ocular
demonstration in such cases before so many beautiful women; but that if
all of them would retire, except the young lady to whom I pointed,
(selecting the youngest and handsomest,) I would satisfy her curiosity.
The ladies enjoyed the jest, and went away laughing heartily; and the
young damsel herself, to whom I had given the preference, (though she did
not avail herself of the privilege of inspection,) seemed no way
displeased at the compliment; for she soon afterwards sent me some meal
and milk for my supper.
March 28th. This morning a large herd of cattle arrived from the
eastward; and one of the drivers, to whom Ali had lent my horse, came
into my hut with the leg of an antelope as a present, and told me that my
horse was standing before Ali's tent. In a little time Ali sent one of
his slaves to inform me, that, in the afternoon, I must be in readiness
to ride out with him, as he intended to show me to some of his women.
About four o'clock, Ali, with six of his courtiers, came riding to my
hut, and told me to follow them. I readily complied. But here a new
difficulty occurred; the Moors, accustomed to a loose and easy dress,
could not reconcile themselves to the appearance of my _nankeen
breeches_, which they said were not only inelegant, but, on account of
their tightness, very indecent; and as this was a visit to ladies, Ali
ordered my boy to bring out the loose cloak which I had always worn since
my arrival at Benowm, and told me to wrap it close round me. We visited
the tents of four different ladies, at every one of which I was presented
with a bowl of milk and water. All these ladies were remarkably
corpulent, which is considered here as the highest mark of beauty. They
were very inquisitive, and examined my hair and skin with great
attention; but affected to consider me as a sort of inferior being to
themselves, and would knit their brows, and seemed to shudder, when they
looked at the whiteness of my skin. In the course of this evening's
excursion, my dress and appearance afforded infinite mirth to the
company, who galloped round me as if they were baiting a wild animal;
twirling their muskets round their heads, and exhibiting various feats of
activity and horsemanship, seemingly to display their superior prowess
over a miserable captive.
The Moors are certainly very good horsemen. They ride without fear; their
saddles being high before and behind, afford them a very secure seat; and
if they chance to fall, the whole country is so soft and sandy, that they
are very seldom hurt. Their greatest pride, and one of their principal
amusements, is to put the horse to his full speed, and then stop him with
a sudden jerk, so as frequently to bring him down upon his haunches. Ali
always rode upon a milk-white horse, with its tail dyed red. He never
walked, unless when he went to say his prayers; and even in the night,
two or three horses were always kept ready saddled, at a little distance
from his own tent. The Moors set a very high value upon their horses; for
it is by their superior fleetness, that they are enabled to make so many
predatory excursions into the Negro countries. They feed them three or
four times a day, and generally give them a large quantity of sweet milk
in the evening, which the horses appear to relish very much.
April 3d. This forenoon a child, which had been some time sickly, died in
the next tent; and the mother and relations immediately began the death
howl. They were joined by a number of female visitors, who came on
purpose to assist at this melancholy concert.
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