This afternoon, whilst talking with the people about their antiquities, one of them said, "There are some figures remaining." I immediately asked him to show them to me. The youngster volunteered; and, to my great joy, I was taken off to a garden, where I saw the bas-relief drawn above. I then thought about getting it in a quiet way to my house; so I went up to the owner of the garden in which it lay, and said to him in a very careless, indifferent manner, "What's the good of the stone to you—you may give it me; perhaps it will be of some use." The man replied at once, "Aye, Christian, take it." The youngster, who was a stout fellow, brought it off forthwith upon his head. I followed him in secret triumph, thinking myself very fortunate; for if any noise had been made, I should have had to pay several dollars for it, whatever might have been its real value, and, perhaps, not have got it at all. Indeed, some of the people were very jealous; and when I returned, they called out flous! flous! ("money! money!") They thought I had got a rich prize, and I hope I have. I told them, if anybody had any flous, it would be the owner of the garden, who gave me the slab. The sketch represents, apparently, a soldier holding or feeding a horse, but of what age and country I shall not pretend to say, leaving that to antiquarians. It is broken off half, and otherwise pecked and mutilated by the people. It is a pious act of religion to deface stones representing figures of any sort, to decapitate heads of statues, and destroy every shape and symbol of the human likeness, not excepting likenesses of animals. An old Ghadamsee doctor, very fond of me, was, however, extremely glad when he saw me in possession of the slab. He kept saying, "Ah, Yâkob, that's your grandfathers (ancestors). See! isn't it wonderful? Ah, that's your grandfathers of the time of Sidi Nimrod. Take it home with you. Ah, that's your grandfathers!"
This evening, heard that the heads of the people of Ghadames had adopted my suggestion of sending a deputation to Tripoli, to state their inability to meet the new and extraordinary demand of 3,200 mahboubs, the Governor consenting to their determination.
27th.—Weather still cool and pleasant, but the flies are in great numbers, and very disagreeable. Am obliged always to have my room darkened when I write, to keep them from tormenting me. They increase as the dates ripen, and soon after the dates are gathered in, they disappear, and not one is to be found during the winter. Haj Mansour gave me to-day a meneshsha (منشّا) or fly-flap, made of the long flowing beard of the Wadan. It is a most effective whipper-away of the flies. It instantly disperses them, the fine strong hair of the Wadan's beard hitting them like pins and needles. This species of fly-flap is greatly valued in Soudan, where it sells at a high price. The hairs which are of a dull grey or red brown, are usually dyed with henna when made up into fly-flaps. I expressed myself extremely obliged to the Haj. Wadan (Ar. ودان), Oudad (Berber اوداد), and English Mouflon, is the name of a species of animals between the goat and the bullock[35]. It is common in the Southern Atlas of Morocco, and is hunted in the neighbouring sands of Ghadames during winter by the Souf Arabs, and brought in and sold for butcher's meat. Wadan is said to be medicine by the people, and tastes like high flavoured coarse venison. Three or four only have been sent to England[36]. Dr. Russell, in his Barbary States, makes it to resemble a calf, but it rather resembles a large goat or a horned sheep. Besides the Wadan and the Thob, Saharan people eat many animals which hungry Europeans might eat, amongst the rest rats and mice, when in good condition. But the mouse is the large mouse of The Sahara. The Rais had a live Wadan which died just before my arrival. He regretted much as he would have given it to me. His Excellency promises to get me one.
Nimrod is always in the mouths of the Ghadamseeah as the founder of their city. They are especially fond of calling him a Christian. He is often called my grandfather, although I have not yet been able to trace my descent in a direct line from so august a progenitor. The European reader recollects where he is mentioned in the Jewish early records,—
הוּא הָיָה נִבּר֗־צַיִד לִפְנֵי־יְהוָה
"He was a mighty hunter before the Lord." Gen. x. 9. In the Arabic translation the word employed for "mighty" is the same as that of the Hebrew, i. e. جبّار the ج representing the ג, omitting any word to correspond with ציד; but the Moors understand generally by the term جبّار, "a tyrant" and "a conqueror." So Hammoudah Bashaw, the great Bey of Tunis, is called by a faithful Tunisian historian of that country, a جبّار. But, perhaps, in those remote times, the hunter and the tyrant, as in the Roman Commodus, were joined in one and the same person. Certainly this is the natural sense of the combination of the terms גבר־ציד. To this might easily be added man-hunter and slave-maker, a worthy attribute of Nimrod. The gentlemen of the turf, of the Bentinck school, ought, however to protest against this supposition. Properly Nimrod is the Hercules of the Moors of North Africa. According to them he emerged from the East, overran and founded several cities in The Sahara, conquered all before him, put his feet upon the neck of all nations, and then passed the Straits of the Roman and Grecian Hercules, and built the far-famed Andalous (Spain), as also Paris and London, and no doubt planted the germ of the future courses of Epsom and Ascot, of which he is in our day made the mighty patron and the ruling god[37].
After Nimrod the people are very fond of talking about Enoch, who is called in the Koran Edrees (ادريس). My taleb says that he did not undergo the penalty of nature, but was translated, as, indeed, it is recorded of him in our sacred books. My taleb adds, "Enoch was a tailor, and one day the devil came to him and offered to sell him some eggs, declaring that in the eggs the whole world was included. Enoch rejoined, 'Also in the eye of my needle is the whole world comprehended.' Immediately the eggs began to expand, and although really empty, swelled out as wide as the arms when outstretched. Enoch seeing this was all imposition, to punish the impostor, sewed up one of the devil's eyes, who went off in a great rage. The needle of Enoch was nevertheless all powerful, and the devil has gone about with one eye ever since." My taleb asked me whether I ever heard of Noah. I opened the Arabic Bible and read some passages about the Flood. "Yes," he said, "Seedna (our lord) Noah was a carpenter (نجّار) because he built the ship (الفلك). I am also a carpenter. I will show you my collection of tools. But I don't work now at this trade, except for my amusement." The people know many of the common trades which they exercise occasionally as amateurs.
Nothing puzzles the Touaricks and Negroes so much as my gloves. Am obliged to put them on and off frequently a dozen times a day, for their especial gratification. My Leghorn hat, on the contrary, here, as in The Mountains, is an object of admiration, on account of the fineness of the platting. It astonishes them how it could be done. The large straw hats, with huge broad brims, worn in The Desert, are all of the coarsest texture.