794 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



flat stones, whilst the children 

 made the butter by svvinjjing back- 

 wards and forwards a skin full of 

 milk, which hung from the top of 

 the tent. Tlie manners of these 

 wandering Moors are simple and 

 rude, like their wants. They seldom 

 eat meat, or even fowls or eggs ; 

 these they carry to the towns for 

 sale. Their principal and favourite 

 dish (called kouscousou) is made of 

 millet and butter-milk, into which 

 if a fowl and eggs boiled hard are 

 introduced, it is reckoned tbegreat- 

 est of all delicacies. There are 

 evidently two distinct races of men 

 among these mountaineers, imme- 

 diately distinguishable by the dif- 

 ference of their features ; and I 

 regretted not to be able to trace 

 these distinctions farther, or to dis- 

 cover whence they probably arose. 

 One has the face long, perfectly 

 oval, the nose regular and slightly 

 aquiline, the lips delicate, and the 

 complexion a light olive. The 

 men of the other race are of a 

 far stouter make, a broader fore- 

 head, a nose shorter and more 

 square, with thicker lips, and a 

 darker complexion. 



Before our departure, the chief 

 of the place made a secret request 

 to our interpreter for a glass of 

 brandy. Unlike the simple shep- 

 herds of the preceding day, he 

 swallowed it with infinite delight in 

 the sight of heaven and his prophet. 

 In return he brought before us a 

 celebrated snake-catcher, who had 

 just come down from the moun- 

 tains. He carried with him a long 

 narrow basket, containing several 

 tolerably large serpents, which he 

 handled with grej.t indifference. 

 They appeared, however, evident- 

 ly stupitied, either by art, or by 

 long confinement, and frequent 



handling ; and doctor Darwin was 

 going to touch them, when the 

 man hastily returned them into the 

 basket, pretending great alarm on 

 his account. He affirmed that not 

 even a true believer could touch 

 them without being stung. Had 

 the Christian, therefore, been suf- 

 fered to expose the fallacy of this 

 assertion, the injury to his charac- 

 ter might have been still greater. 

 The gaping Moors, however, ap- 

 plauded both his superior skill and 

 his humanity, and the delusion was 

 still farther strengthened. 



At length we proceeded. In our 

 route we passed several small vil- 

 lages, or encampments, similar to 

 that where we had spent the night. 

 Here, as in Spain, the stork is pro- 

 tected, and is in some degree 

 social with man. These birds 

 seemed to know that we were 

 strangers, but they scarcely moved 

 at the approach of a Moor. They 

 build their nests on the tops of 

 huts, or in trees near human dwel- 

 lings and are regarded with a kind 

 of superstitious affection. One of 

 our party made a motion as if to 

 shoot one which stood near the 

 road, but our guard prohibited it. 

 " Not even Christians, " said he, 

 " molest that bird. " 



Customs and general Occupations of 

 the Inhabitants of the Para- 

 maribo. \_From the Narrative 

 of Baron Albert Von Sack, 

 Chamberlain to his Prussian Ma- 

 jestij.l 



A wealthy inhabitant of Parama- 

 ribo generally employs his time in 

 the following manner: He rises at 

 six o'clock, and, to enjoy the 

 pleasantness of the morning, takes 



his 



