An account of the empire of Marocco, and the districts of Suse and Tafilelt; compiled from miscellaneous observations made during a long residence in, and various journies through, these countries. To which is added an account of shipwrecks on the western coast of Africa, and an interesting account of Timbuctoo, the great emporium of Central AfricaJackson, James Grey
History
An account of the empire of Marocco, and the districts of Suse and Tafilelt; compiled from miscellaneous observations made during a long residence in, and various journies through, these countries. To which is added an account of shipwrecks on the western coast of Africa, and an interesting account of Timbuctoo, the great emporium of Central Africa
Jackson, James Grey
Morocco
_Wild Cat._—El Cat el berranie is the Arabic name for this animal;
it is much larger than the domestic cat, but similar in form; the
back, neck, and forepart of the legs are of a dirty gray, inclining
to brown; the belly is of a dirty white, spotted with brown; and
the tail is long and handsome. The wild cat is so fierce, that when
pressed with hunger it will sometimes attack a man.
_The Ape._—This animal, which appears to form the intermediate
link between the human species and the brute, is found of a very
large size in North Atlas, and also about Ceuta.[84] There are
various species of the ape; some are called by the Arabs D’Zatute,
others El Kurd; the Berebbers, or Africans, call them Tongemon, or
Babuin, and affirm that the (Hel Shouel) tailed men of Sahara, are
a production from these animals with the human species. They live
upon fruits, grass, and corn, and are often seen in great numbers
in the fields, having a centinel to keep watch on some eminence;
and when any person appears he gives the alarm, and they all run off
together to the woods, climbing the trees. The females will jump
from one branch to another with their young on their shoulders;
they are very subtle and vindictive, though easily appeased.
_The Rhinoceros._—Reem is the Arabic name of the Rhinoceros. Various
and contradictory have been the accounts both of the ancients and
moderns respecting the beast with one horn, called the Unicorn,
which is probably no other than the young Rhinoceros, which is said,
by the Arabs, to have but one horn, till of a certain age, when a
second appears, and some affirm that a third appears when the animal
grows old. The horn of the Reem is called Kirkadune by the Arabs,
and figuratively, gurn min gurn, i.e. horn of horns, being extremely
hard and fine-grained, and receiving a high polish; it is sold at a
most enormous price, and is used for the hilts of swords. With regard
to the animal called by our heralds the unicorn, and represented
in armorial bearings, I doubt if ever such an animal existed; the
Reem[85] is called also Huaddee, which signifies the beast of one
horn, Aouda signifies a mare, hence, perhaps, by an easy corruption
of names, the Aouda has been mistaken for Huaddee, and the figure
of a horse with a horn has been adopted as the figure of the _Reem_
in our heraldic supporters; for I have frequently conversed with men
who had been twenty years in the different countries of the interior
of Africa, but never could learn that a beast with one horn existed
in figure resembling a horse.[86] The Reem is also figuratively
denominated _boh gern el harsh_, i.e. the father of the hard horn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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