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
_The Stork (B’elharge.)_—The general colour of the stork’s
plumage is white, the extremities of the wings being tipped with
black; they are from two to three feet in height from the feet
to the bill. During the summer, the old towns of West Barbary are
frequented by these birds, which go generally in pairs: they are
migratory, and when they do not return to their usual haunts at the
accustomed season, it is considered ominous of evil. Any person that
should presume to shoot this sacred bird, would incur the resentment
of the whole city, and be accounted a sacrilegious infidel; for,
besides being of the greatest utility in destroying serpents and other
noxious reptiles, they are also emblematical of faith and conjugal
affection, and on that account held in the highest estimation by all
true Mooselmin. They build their nests, which are curious, on the top
of some old tower or castle, or on the terraces of uninhabited houses,
where they constantly watch their young, exposed to the scorching
rays of the sun. They will not suffer any one to approach their nests.
The cities and towns of Mequinas, Fas, Marocco, Muley Driss Zerone,
Rabat, Salée, El Araiche, Azamore, and Saffy, are annually visited
by the stork; there are none at Mogodor, it being not only a new
town, but situated on a peninsula, at the extremity of vast heaps
of moving sand, which separate it from the cultivated country,
and prevent serpents and other noxious animals from harbouring there.
_The Partridge._—This beautiful bird abounds in every part of
West Barbary; it is larger, and finer feathered than that of Europe;
the legs are red. The Moors have a peculiar manner of _hunting_ the
partridge: in the plains of Akkermute and Jibbel Hedded, in Shedma,
they take various kinds of dogs with them, from the greyhound
to the shepherd’s dog, and following the birds, on horseback,
and allowing them no time to rest, they soon fatigue them, when
they are taken by the dogs: but as the Mooselmin eats nothing but
what has had its throat cut, he takes out his knife, and exclaiming
(Bismillah), “In the name of God,” cuts the throat of the game,
and by letting it bleed destroys the flavour; for this reason game
is not esteemed at the repasts of the Arabs, where mutton and beef
are preferred; lamb and veal are unlawful, it being an injunction
of the Mohammedan law to eat nothing till it is full grown, which
is one cause of the great quantity of cattle which feed in the plains.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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