226 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 



The suburbs were crowded with the carcasses of 

 dead camels, of which above 10,000 are supposed to 

 perish annually ; the smell rendering the air offensive, 

 and spreading pestilence among the inhabitants. 



The mosque itself is not free from these pollu- 

 tions. Poor hajjis, worn out with disease and hun- 

 ger, are seen dragging their emaciated bodies along 

 the colonnades ; and when no longer able to stretch 

 forth their hand to ask the passengers for charity, 

 they place a bowl to receive alms near the mat on 

 which they lie. All the sick, when they feel their 

 last moments approach, are carried to the Temple, 

 that they may either be cured by a sight of the 

 Kaaba, or have the satisfaction of expiring within 

 the sacred enclosure. The friendless stranger thinks 

 paradise secure if he can obtain a sprinkling of the 

 Zemzen water, and breathe his latest sigh " in the 

 arms of the Prophet and the guardian angels." For 

 a month subsequent to the conclusion of the haj, 

 dead bodies are carried forth almost every morning, 

 and buried by persons in the service of the mosque. 



Before bidding adieu to the capital of Islam, there 

 are several holy spots in the town and suburbs 

 which the pilgrims visit. Among these are the 

 mouleds, or birthplaces of Mohammed, Fatima, Ali, 

 Abu Beker, and Abu Taleb who is the great patron 

 of the city, and whose name is held most sacred. 



it is twenty dollars only that I ask ! Remember that charity is the 

 sure road to paradise !" Burckhardt mentions a Yemen beggar 

 at Jidda who mounted the minaret daily after noon pra3'er, and 

 exclaimed, loud enough to be heard through the whole bazaar, 

 *' I ask from God fifty dollars, a suit of clothes, and a copy of the 

 Koran. O Faithful, hear me I I ask of you fifty dollars," &c. 

 This he repeated for several weeks, when a Turkish pilgrim 

 offered him thirty dollars to discontinue his cries : — " No," said 

 the beggar, " I will not take them, because I am convinced God 

 will send me the whole." At length the same hajii gave hmi 

 his full demand without being thanked for it — " Pull my beard," 

 the needy suppliant will say to the scrupulous pilgrim, "if God 

 does not send you ten times more than what I ask !" 



