INTERIOR OF AFRICA. 159 
in their plundering excursions against the Negro villages. 
Oftentimes, without the smallest provocation, and sometimes, 
under the fairest professions of friendship, they will suddenly 
seize upon the Negroes' cattle, and even on the inhabitants 
themselves. The Negroes very seldom retaliate. The enter- 
prizing boldness of the Moors, their knowledge of the country, 
and, above all, the superior fleetness of their horses, make them 
such formidable enemies, that the petty Negro states which 
border upon the Desert, are in continual terror while the 
Moorish tribes are in the vicinity, and are too much awed to 
think of resistance. 
Like the roving Arabs, the Moors frequently remove from 
one place to another ; according to the season of the year, or 
the convenience of pasturage. In the month of February, 
when the heat of the sun scorches up every sort of vegetation 
in the Desert, they strike their tents, and approach the Negro 
country to the south ; where they reside until the rains com- 
mence, in the month of July. At this time, having purchased 
corn, and other necessaries from the Negroes, in exchange for 
salt, they again depart to the northward, and continue in the 
Desert until the rains are over, and that part of the country 
becomes burnt up and barren. 
This wandering and restless way of life, while it inures them 
to hardships, strengthens, at the same time, the bonds of their 
little society, and creates in them an aversion towards strangers, 
which is almost insurmountable. Cut off from all intercourse 
with civilized nations, and boasting an advantage over the 
Negroes, by possessing, though in a very limited degree, the 
