272 



BARBARV. 



ttirbar 



liiseases. 



netalg. 



day. One of these "strips himself naked, seizes a 

 dagger in one hand, and taking the end of a rope 

 with a noose in the other, he advances gradually into 

 the cave, speaking gently, with an insinuating tone 

 of voice, as if with a view to fascinate the hyaena. 

 When he has reached the animal, he stroaks his back 

 in order to soothe him, dexterously slips the noose 

 round his Deck, throws a piece of cloth over his face, 

 pulls the rope at the same instant to indicate to his 

 companions that it is fixed ; and then, retiring be- 

 hind, urges the animal forward, while the dogs at- 

 tack him in front, as he is dragged along. In the 

 pursuit of the ostrich, the Arabs make use of the 

 desert horse, and set out in a party of twenty or more, 

 riding gently against the wind, one after the other, 

 at the distance of about half a mile asunder, till they 

 discover the foot marks of the bird. When they 

 come in sight of their game, they rush forwards at full 

 speed, al way sV>ob serving the same relative distance. 

 The ostrich finding her wings an impediment to her 

 progress when thus moving against the wind, turns 

 towards her pursuers, endeavouring to pass them; 

 and though she may escape the first or second, she is 

 generally brought down by the musket or bludgeon 

 of those that follow. 



The natives of Barbary are subject to many loath- 

 some and distressing diseases, which are greatly ag- 

 gravated by their extreme deficiency in medical know- 

 ledge. The most prevailing distempers are, the fal- 

 ling sickness, which is generally confined to women 

 and children ; a temporary headache, which arises 

 from sudden stoppage of perspiration, and is chiefly 

 removed by using exercise ; inflammation of the eyes, 

 frequently terminating in total blindness, and arising 

 probably from the strong reflection of the sun's rays 

 by the whitened houses; complaints of the stomach, 

 proceeding from bile, indigestion, and the bad qua- 

 lity of their water ; chronic rheumatisms, white swel- 

 lings, and dropsies, which last disorder may be owing 

 in a great measure to their poor living; hydrocele, 

 which is extremely common among the Moors, in 

 .-onsequence of their warm climate, their loose dress, 

 their licentious indulgences, and their immoderate use 

 of the warm bath ; the itch, which seems to be oc- 

 casioned by their constant use of stimulants, and 

 which frequently breaks out into very bad ulcers ; 

 leprous affections, which are generally hereditary, and 

 which are very seldom completely cured; the vene- 

 real disease, brought by the Jews from Spain, ex- 

 ceedingly prevalent among the Africans, and for 

 which they have no radical remedy, but from which 

 they experience less suffering than Europeans, owing 

 to the constant perspiration, which the heat of the 

 climate supports, thei>- great use of vegetable diet, 

 and their abstinence from spirituous and fermented 

 liquors ; and, lastly the plague, which generally visits 

 the country once in every twenty years, and which is 

 always peculiarly destructive. 



When any one dies, a number of women are hired 

 clirianorle.. purpose of lamentation; and they perform 

 salem aliok, by making the most frightful bowlings, 

 are intimately aeir heads and breasts, and tearing their 

 very quick mot" nails of their fingers. They are so 

 mities of their fxpressions of griefT that they seldom 

 his own to his lipurnful sounds and afflicted gestures, 

 the forehead, sho,. 



to impress the furteral assembly with the deepest D 

 thoughtfulness and sorrow. The dead are interred *""" "" v 

 a few hours after their decease ; and the greatest im- 

 portance is attached to the rites of burial. It is an 

 opinion among the Moors, as it was among the an- 

 cient heathen, that the souls of those, who have not 

 received proper interment, are excluded from the 

 abodes of the blessed ; and hence, it is accounted the 

 most dreadful of all punishments to be cut to pie. 

 and thrown to the dogs. As soon as the dying per- 

 son has breathed his last, the body is carefully washed, 

 and sewed up in a winding sheet of white cloth : For 

 this purpose, cloth, that has been brought from Mecca, 

 and blessed by the Imam of that city, is most highly 

 valued. The corpse is next placed on a bier, and 

 carried on horseback, or men's shoulders, to the 

 burying ground ; which is always on the outside of 

 the town, and of which every family has a portion 

 walled in for their own use. All devout persons ac- 

 count it a highly meritorious duty to assist in these 

 rites ; and to accompany, at least a part of the way, 

 every dead body which they may happen to meet. 

 The attendants walk two abreast, go very quick, and 

 sing hymns adapted to the occasion. The grave is 

 made wide at the bottom and narrow at the top ; and 

 the body is deposited on its side, with the face towards 

 the east, and the right hand under the head pointing 

 towards Mecca, while one of the priests generally 

 puts into the hand a letter of recommendation to Ma- 

 hommed. An arch is, in most cases, formed ovtr 

 the body with branches of trees to keep off the 

 earth ; different kinds of vessels and utensils are fre- 

 quently interred along with the corpse ; large stones 

 are placed upon the grave to resist the attempts of 

 wild beasts ; and a flag is finally erected over the 

 spot. It is customary for the female relatives to 

 weep at the tombs of their deceased friends for seve- 

 ral days after the funeral ; and all, who pass by a 

 burying ground, offer up prayers for the dead. When 

 a woman loses her husband by death, she mourns four 

 months and eight days, during which period she 

 wears no silver or gold ; and, if she happen to be 

 pregnant, she must continue mourning till her deli- 

 very, while the relations of her late husband are 

 bound, in the mean time, to provide for her subsist- 

 ence. The men usually express their grief by ab- 

 staining from shaving their head, from trimming their 

 beard, and from paring their nails. 



The manufactures of Barbary are chiefly such as Manufac* 

 are requisite for the supply of the inhabitants; and tures. 

 are seldom prepared for exportation. The principal 

 articles, produced in the country, are, the burnose 

 and hayk of white wool and cotton, or cotton and 

 silk, made almost entirely by the women, and woven 

 with their fingers without the aid of a shuttle; silk 

 handkerchiefs, which are manufactured chiefly in the 

 city of Fez ; various kinds of silk stuffs, frequently 

 chequered with cotton ; red caps, most of which are 

 made at Tetuan ; a coarse linen stuff, of which the 

 best is produced in Susa ; carpeting, nearly equal to 

 that of Turkey ; beautiful matting made of the leaves 

 of the palmetto, or wild palm-tree ; paper of a very 

 inferior quality ; muskets and sabres of Biscay iron, 

 well tempered by means of certain waters in the coun- 

 try well adapted for that purpose ; gun-powder of a 



