Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846Richardson, James
History
Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846
Richardson, James
Sahara -- Description and travel
including a woman and a child, two Jews, myself, and a runaway slave. So
that our heartfelt thankfulness to a good Providence, pitying our folly
and imprudence, may be easily imagined. In the midst of our confusion
while searching for the port--having only three or four hours' daylight
before us--the most ludicrous scene was enacted, which might have ended
in the tragic. Some of the Moors professed to know the port of Tripoli
Vecchia. Hereupon each fellow gave a different description, a thing
perfectly natural, as each would have seen the port under different
circumstances of time and place. "It was surrounded with white
cliffs,--it was black,--rocky,--it was a sandy shore." All bawled and
clamoured together. The captain put his fingers in his ears with rage. He
had never been in before, or his men. At last, losing all patience, the
Maltese fire got up, blown to fury, and, seizing a knife, the captain
swore he would cut their throats if they didn't hold their tongues, or
give a more distinct account of the port. This menace cowed them down
like so many bullies, and they fell into a moody but vindictive silence,
their looks discovering the internal oaths of revenge. It was really
droll, if the words used allow the expression, to hear how the captain
blended Italian, Maltese, and Arabic oaths and abuse in his rage. Now
"_Santo Dio!_" now "_Scomunicat!_" _Sacrament!_ now "_Allah!_" "_Imshe_,"
"_Kelb_," "_Andat_," "_per Bacco!_" &c. At length, when a sailor from the
mast-head descried the port, and a tremendous surf was seen or said to be
seen rolling near the entrance, the Moors, who although mostly sulky
under the influence of their fatalism, and show very little courage in
the dangers of the sea, cried out with fear, "Allah, Allah!" "Ya,
Mohammed!" (O God! O God! O Mahomet!) The captain even felt disposed to
blubber at the sight of the furious surf, so nothing less could be
expected from the passengers. A bad example is this to the sailors and
people, but one which often occurs aboard Italian and Maltese vessels.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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