836 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



holy triangle, and acquit myself of the prescribed prayers ; and, more- 

 over, I am going to worship at the shrine of Sidi-Mayas, where I shall 

 perform the three hand-springs, the three somersaults, and the three 

 holy groans, and thus cleanse my soul from sins past and future for 

 three times three solar years." 



We passed several well-cultivated fields, and stopped at a camp of 

 field-laborers, where my guide purchased some manioc-roots for our 

 dinner, and informed our companion that he could supply his wants 

 for a single copper coin.* 



" Pilgrims carry neither copper nor silver," said Ben Khelpus, " for 

 Yesha supplies all their wants. No, I have no money," he added ; "I 

 wish, though, I had ; my dram-skin is nearly empty, and these Caffres f 

 will not fill it for me. I shall have to use my club if Allah does not 

 soften their hearts." 



The day was oppressively hot, and the sun had passed the meridian, 

 when we at last reached a brook at the foot of a wooded hill. Here 

 we decided to cook our dinner, and, while my companions gathered a 

 supply of fire-wood, I drove away two hogs that offended us by their 

 smell and their greedy grunts. My guide assured me that the Mona- 

 kees not only tolerate, but fatten and eat these unclean animals an 

 assertion which seemed hardly credible till it was confirmed by some 

 very suspicious circumstances. 



After chasing the brutes out of sight, I ascended to the top of the 

 hill, which afforded a good lookout over the surrounding country. 

 Nearly all the uplands are covered with plantations of poison-ber- 

 ries, and the valleys with pest-weeds, so that the useful products are 

 almost confined to the fruits of a few orchards and manioc-fields. 

 In the rear of the cliffs several acres of ground were inclosed with 

 curious wire-fences, and at the end of the first field I found an open 

 shed containing two plows of excellent workmanship. No plowman 

 or horses were in sight, but higher up I met an old man carrying a 

 heavy tub with a sort of black mold, which he scattered here and 

 there to fertilize his fields. The weight of the tub seemed to bear 

 heavily upon him, for I saw him stagger under his load and clutch at 

 the trees to support himself. 



" This labor, father, has overtaxed your strength," said I, when I 

 met him. 



The old man put down his tub and had to pant for breath before 

 he could reply. " Yes, it is very hard," said he ; " nor is this the 

 worst part of my work : I have to fetch the mold from my garden 

 and carry it up this steep hill." 



" Do you live far from here ? " I inquired. 



* Jcdced, a small coin, the tenth part of an Arabian denar. 



t Unbelievers. Caffre, as well as Giaour, is derived from Gebir the Gebers, or Fire- 

 worshipers of Western Persia, who so obstinately resisted the inroads of El Islam, that 

 their name became a synonym of " infidel." 



