Narrative of travels and discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824Denham, Dixon
History
Narrative of travels and discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824
Denham, Dixon
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Africa, North -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Africa, North
July 30.—This morning the sheikh sent to Mr. Clapperton,
Mr. Hillman, and myself, as a present, a very fine camel, a horse,
and two water-skins, two leopard skins, and two dressed-leather
sacks. In the course of the morning another cargo was brought to me,
consisting of eight elephants’ tusks, with the horns of three other
animals. The horns were, first, the maremah, a long horn similar to
one I had seen at Kabshary—the animal has two, bending backwards
at the point; kirkadan, a two-horned animal; another animal, with one
long horn and a second shorter just above it, nearly between the eyes
of the animal, was described to me as having, on the sheikh’s late
expedition to Gulphi, carried a man and horse, spiked on his horn,
more than one hundred yards, when, frightened by the cries of the
people, he dropped them, and made his escape: the man was unhurt,
but the horse died.
Aug. 6.—This was the Aide Kebir, the principal feast of the
Mussulmans during the year, in commemoration of God’s staying the
hand of Abraham in the place Jehovah-jireh, when about to sacrifice
his son Isaac: all who can muster a sheep or a goat kill it on this
day, after prayers. The sheikh sent the day before, to know if we
kept the feast; and when we met, repeated his question. I replied,
that we believed the interposition of the Divine Power in saving
Isaac to be a signal proof of God’s mercy and love to all his
creatures; “for remember,” said I, “he is the God of many,
not of Mussulmans alone; and that our father Abraham’s great and
implicit faith in the existence of that mercy, was what obtained
for him all the blessings God promised him.”
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