INHUMANITY TOWARDS TRAVELLERS. 



a burning climate, where, to a European, the 

 heat is almost insufferable. His raging thirst 

 induced him to run every risk, and to burst 

 through every restraint. He sent his boy to the 

 wells to fill the skin which he had for holding 

 water ; but the Moors were exasperated that a 

 Christian should presume to fill his vessel at 

 wells consecrated to the use of the followers of 

 Mahomet. Instead, therefore, of permitting the 

 boy to carry away water, they gave him many 

 severe blows ; and this mode of treatment was 

 repeated as often as an attempt was made. On 

 another occasion, when awaking from a dream, 

 ; i which, during his broken slumbers, his fancy 

 had transported him to his native country, and 

 placed him on the verdant brink of a transparent 

 rivulet, and perceiving that his raging thirst had 

 exposed him to a kind of fever, he resolved to 

 expose himself to the insults of the Moors at the 

 wells, in hopes that he might procure a small 

 supply. When he arrived at them he found the 

 Moors drawing water. He desired permission 

 to drink, but was driven from well to well with 

 reiterated outrage. At length he found one well 

 where only an old man and two boys drew for 

 their cattle. He earnestly begged a small quan 

 tity. The old man drew the bucket from the 

 well, and held it out. Park was about eagerly 

 to seize it, when the Moor, recollecting that the 

 stranger was a Christian, instantly threw the 

 water into the trough, where the cows were 

 already drinking, and told Park to drink ther.ce. 

 He hesitated not for a moment. His sufferings 

 made even this offer acceptable. He thrust his 

 head between those of two cows, and, with feel 

 ings of pleasure which can be experienced only 

 by those who have been reduced to a similar 

 state of wretchedness, he continued to quench 

 his thirst till the water was exhausted, and &quot; till 

 the cows began to contend with each other for 

 the last mouthful.&quot; 



In this instance, we can partly account for the 

 barbarity of the action, from the inveterate preju 

 dices which all Mahometans entertain against 

 Christians ; but it still remains to be accounted 

 for, why any one should refuse to a suffering fel 

 low-creature the common bounties of Providence, 

 which he has in his power to bestow, however 

 different he may be in complexion, in national 

 character, or in the religion he professes. A 

 religion which encourages such prejudices, and 

 which leads to such inhumanity, must be an 

 abomination in the sight of Him who has a spe 

 cial regard to the wants of all his creatures, and 

 who &quot; sendeth rain to refresh the fields of the 

 just and of the unjust.&quot; The prevalence of such 

 characters and dispositions over so large a por 

 tion of the world, shows that the moral constitu 

 tion of man has suffered a sad derangement since 

 the period when he proceeded as a pure intelli 

 gence from the hands of his Creator. 



Such incidents as those to which I have now 

 30 



adverted, when properly considered, are calcu 

 lated to inspire us with contentment, and to ex 

 cite to gratitude for the common blessings which 

 we enjoy without the least fear of danger or an 

 noyance. How often do we enjoy the refresh 

 ment of a delicious beverage, without thinking 

 of the parched tongues of the African pilgrims ; 

 and how often do we spurn at a wholesome dish, 

 which would be hailed with transports of grati 

 tude by the houseless and hungry wanderer ot 

 the desert ! Yea, how many are there, even in 

 our civilized country, who enjoy, in luxurious 

 abundance, all the blessings which nature and 

 art can furnish, who never once acknowledge, 

 with heart-felt gratitude, the goodness of Him 

 &quot; who daily loads them with his benefits,&quot; nor 

 reflect on the wants and the sufferings of their 

 fellow-men ! Mr. Park, when oppressed with 

 hunger and fatigue, applied, at the chief magis 

 trate s house, in a village named Shrilla, for some 

 relief, but was denied admittance. He passed 

 slowly through the village till he came without 

 the walls, where he saw an old motherly-looking 

 woman at the door of a mean hut. She set be 

 fore him a dish of boiled corn, that had been left 

 the preceding night, on which he made a tolera 

 ble meal. &quot; Overcome with joy,&quot; says Park, 

 &quot; at so unexpected a deliverance, I lifted up my 

 eyes to heaven, and, while my heart swelled with 

 gratitude, I returned thanks to that gracious and 

 bountiful Being, whose power had supported me 

 under so many dangers, and had now spread for 

 me a table in the wilderness.&quot; 



When Mr. Park was returning from the in 

 terior of Africa, he was encountered by a party 

 of armed negroes, who led him into a dark place 

 of the forest through which he was passing, and 

 stripped him entirely naked, taking from him 

 every thing which he possessed, except an old 

 shirt and a pair of trowsers. He begged them to 

 return his pocket compass; but, instead of com 

 plying with his request, one of them assured 

 him, that, if he attempted to touch that, or any 

 other article, he would immediately shoot him 

 dead on the spot. He was thus left in the midsl 

 of a vast wilderness, in the depth of the rainy 

 season, naked and alone, without food, and with 

 out the means of procuring it ; surrounded by 

 savage animals, and by men still more savage, 

 and 500 miles from the nearest European settle 

 ment. &quot;All these circumstances,&quot; says this 

 intrepid traveller, &quot; crowded at once on my recol 

 lection, and, I confess, my spirits began to fail 

 me. I considered that I had no other alternative, 

 but to lie down and die. The influence of reli 

 gion, however, aided and supported me. At 

 this moment, painful as my reflections were, the 

 extraordinary beauty of a small moss irresistibly 

 caught my eye. Can that Being, thought I, 

 who planted, watered, and brought to perfection, 

 in this obscure part of the world, a thing which 

 appears of so small importance, look with. u 



