2(30 



BARBAR Y. 



Barbary. danger. The rhinoceros, whose horn is capable of 

 v"""' receiving a very high polish, and is sold in Barbary 

 at an enormous price. The young of this animal 

 have only one horn, till a certain age ; and, as one of 

 its Arabic names is very similar in sound to the word 

 which signifies a mare, it has been conjectured, that 

 from this circumstance may have arisen, by mistake, 

 the notion of the Unicorn. Among many other ani- 

 mals, not very well known in Europe, may be men- 

 tioned the elegant black-eyed guzel, or antelope, 

 . which is remarkably swift and timid ; the horreh, a 



smaller kind of antelope, the emblem of cleanliness, 



as its name imports, celebrated for the brilliant white- 

 ness of its belly, for the preference given to its skin, 

 by the Moors of distinction, as the fittest substance 

 upon which they can prostrate themselves in prayer, 

 and for the concretion found in its testicle or sto- 

 mach, called the bezoar stone, so much valued as an 

 antidote against poison ; the thaleb, or little red fox, 

 which is very destructive to the young vines, and re- 

 markable for its shrill and piercing cry ; tlie sibsib, 

 an intermediate species between the rat and squirrel, 

 accounted by the Arabs a great delicacy, and the on- 

 ly animal which the Mahommedans torment with a view 

 to improve the taste of its flesh ; the ape, which is 

 seen in great numbers, and found of a very large size 

 in North Atlas ; besides the deeb, or jackal, jerboa, 

 porcupine, hare, rabbit, weasel, &c. Of the more 

 ferocious wild animals, the chief are the lion, the . 

 leopard, the pantjier, which are all occasionally ra- 

 venous invaders of the Arab encampments, and some- 

 times even infest the roads, in the neighbourhood of 

 large towns ; the wild boar, whose strength is here 

 proverbial, but which seldom attacks men, unless he 

 be previously roused by some provocation ; the 

 hycena, or dubbah, which, in Barbary, is more stu- 

 pid than fierce, and whose flesh, as it is asserted by 

 the Arabs, occasions a temporary stupefaction ; the 

 wild cat, which is large and strong, and, when pres- 

 sed with hunger, will sometimes attack the traveller 

 with great ferocity ; the bear, or dubb, is very sel- 

 dom seen, and inhabits only the upper regions of 

 Atlas, which are continually covered with snow. 



Birds. Domestic fowls, house-pigeons, and sparrows, re- 



sembling those of Europe, are remarkably plentiful 

 in Barbary. There is a great variety of the duck 

 species, but the common geese and turkeys are sel- 

 dom seen. The towns, in the summer season, are 

 much frequented by storks, which are treated with 

 great veneration by all Mussulmen, as being emble- 

 matical of conjugal affection, and also as being very 

 destructive to many noxious reptiles. Among the 

 wild fowl, may be mentioned, wood-pigeons, wild- 

 geese, herons, bustards, flamingoes, pelicans, plovers ; 

 partridges, which are much larger and finer feather- 

 ed than those of Europe ; curlews, which are found 

 in great abundance ; cuckoos, which arc esteemed a 

 great delicacy by the Arabs ; wood-cock, which, 

 from the largeness of its head, is called by the na- 

 tives, the ass of the partridges ; i / huge, a small ci- 

 nereous-coloured bird, which lives upon insects of the 

 beetle kind, which it sticks upon thorns, and does 

 not eat till they begin to putrify : It has its name 

 from the circumstance of its accompanying the cara- 

 vans which go to Mecca. The crow of the desert is 



a beautiful bird, somewhat larger than the common Barbary. 

 raven, witli the legs and bill of a red colour. The 

 ostrich abounds in the confines of Sahara ; and those 

 which arc taken near Cape Bojador are of the largest 

 size, and lidfe the finest plumage of any in the world. 

 There are also various kinds of singing-birds in this 

 country, the lark, the nightingale, the thrush, the 

 stalling, the blackbird, and especially the cupsa spar- 

 row, which is larger than the common sparrow, and 

 coloured like the lark, which has a very sweet and 

 melodious note, superior to that of the canary bird, 

 or of the nightingale, but wliich is so peculiarly de- 

 licate in its temperament, that it soon pines away in 

 the smallest change of climate. Among the birds of 

 prey in North Africa, the most deserving of notice 

 are the nesser, or vulture, which, next to the ostrich, 

 is the largest bird in that quarter of the globe, and 

 which feeds chiefly upon the horned beetle, that is 

 found upon the gum-ammoniac plant ; and the eagle, 

 the largest species of which has an exceedingly clear 

 and beautiful eye of an orange colour, and is the 

 bird, as the Africans believe, which engenders the 

 dragon upon the female hyaena. 



On the coasts of Barbary is found the greatest Fislr. 

 abundance of excellent fish, particularly mullet, brim, 

 anchovies, sardines, lierring, mackarel, cod, skaitc, 

 soles, plaice, turbot, turtle. A very firm and well- 

 tasted barbel, eels, and shebbel, are very common in 

 the rivers, the last mentioned of which is similar to 

 the salmon, and is extremely rich and delicate. Im- 

 mense quantities of it are salted or baked, and sent 

 into the interior of the country, where it is consider- 

 ed as an excellent corrective of the bad effects some- 

 times produced by an immoderate use of dates. 

 Whales have occasionally been cast ashore on those 

 parts, which are washed by the Atlantic, but very 

 rarely on the coast of the Mediterranean ; and, in 

 these cases, considerable quantities of ambergris are 

 generally found along with the stranded fish. There 

 is not much shell fish on these coasts. Shrimps, 

 prawns, crabs, and cray fish, indeed, are not uncom- 

 mon. Oy.iters also have been found near Algiers ; 

 and the muscles there are both very excellent and 

 abundant. Land tortoises are of a good quality, and 

 of a very large size, sometimes weighing between 

 four and six cwt. ; but the inhabitants do not use 

 them as food, and seldom catch them, except when 

 employed by Europeans for the purpose. 



In the country of Barbary the insect tribes are ex- Insects* 

 tremely numerous, of a great variety of shapes, and reptiles, 

 remarkable brilliancy of colours. There are butter- &c- 

 flies, libella;, and beetles, three inches in length, and 

 four inches between the extremities of the wings, 

 when extended. The most remarkable of the beetle 

 species is the dibben Jashook, which has a long horn 

 proceeding from the upper part of its mouth, with 

 which it perforates the ammoniac plant, and makes 

 the incisions from which the gum oozes out. The 

 cicada or cricket is of a very large size, and makes 

 an incessant piercing noise during the night. The 

 gnats, or musqvitos, are extremely numerous, espe- 

 cially on the banks of lakes, and are very keen in 

 their attacks upon Europeans ; but the thick skins 

 of the Arabs, exposed daily to the scorching heat of 

 the sun, are impenetrable to their bite. But of all 



