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.
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, 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 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 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: