OF FARRIERY. 



'383 



larly when they are first brought to Morocco, 

 they fall away. However, they gradually 

 recover, fill up, and become handsome to the 

 sight, but lose all their former speed, so that 

 they are afterwards employed to hunt os- 

 triches, at which sport they are very expert. 



When travelling in the deserts, the men 

 who ride these Horses, as well as the heiries, 

 or desert camels, have their bowels relaxed at 

 the end of their journies ; for which they then 

 drink a draug'ht of camel's milk, which being: 

 rejected by the stomach, they drink again ; 

 this second draught, after remaining a longer 

 time, is also rejected ; the third draught find- 

 ing the tone of the stomach something re- 

 stored, remains, and turns to nourishment. 



As to the heirie, or desert camel, it is in 

 figure similar to the common camel of burden, 

 but more elegantly formed. The Arab, with 

 his loins, breast, and ears, bound round, to 

 prevent the percussion of air proceeding from 

 a quick motion, rapidly traverses, upon the 

 back of this abstemious animal, the scorching 

 desert, the fiery atmosphere of which parches, 

 and almost impedes respiration, so as nearly 

 to produce suffocation. 



The motion of the heirie is violent, and can 

 be endured only by those patient, abstemious, 

 and hardy Arabs, who are accustomed to it. 

 These riders will travel three days without 

 food ; or a few pipes of tobacco, or a handful 

 of dates, will furnish their meal. 



The most inferior kind of heirie are called 

 talatayee, a term expressive of their going the 

 distance of three days' journey in one. The 

 next kind is called sebayee, expressing an ani- 

 mal that goes seven days' journey in one ; 

 and this is their general character. There is 

 also one called tasayee, or the heirie of nine 

 days ; but these are extremely rare. 



The heirie, in general, has a ring put 

 through its upper lip, to which is fixed a 

 leathern strap, answering the purposes of a 

 bridle ; the saddle is similar to that used by 

 the Moors, or what the mountaineers of Anda- 

 lusia make use of 



With a bakul, or goat-skin, a porous earth- 

 ern vessel filled with water, a few dates, and 

 some ground barley, the Arab trarels from 

 Tombuctoo to Tafilelt, feeding his heirie but 

 once, at the station of Arzawad ; for, these 

 camels, on an emergency, will abstain from 

 drinking seven days. 



Their swiftness is thus described by the 

 Arabs in their figurative style : — " When thou 

 shalt meet a heirie, and say to the riiler Sa- 

 lem Alic (peace be unto thee), ere he shall 

 have answered the salutation, he shall be 

 nearly out of sight ; for his swiftness is like 

 the wind." 



But of all the animals that arrest the atten- 

 tion of an European in this part of the world, 

 the domestic serpents, well known at Mo- 

 rocco, are the most surprising. 



In the city of Morocco, Mr. Jackson ob- 

 serves, 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 house- 

 hold ; they have been known to suck the 

 breasts of women whilst asleep, and retire 

 without offering any further injury. 



They are so sensible as to be susceptible of 

 injury towards them, and it is thought impru- 

 dent to incur their displeasure : of course the 

 inhabitants of Morocco do not wish to disturb 

 an animal that claims the rights of hospitality 

 by settling in their houses. 



