Chapter XXIII: Appendix (5)

All these colonies lodge by families, in tents, covered with a thick cloth made of camels hair. It is the women who spin their cloth, and weave it upon a loom, so small, that they work it sitting upon the ground. The furniture of their dwellings, consists of two large leather sacks, which answer the purpose of keeping all their old clothes, and any pieces of old iron; of three or four goat-skins (if they can procure as many), in which they keep their milk and water; of some wooden dishes, some pack-saddles for their camels, two large stones for grinding their barley, a smaller one to drive in the pikes of their tents, an osier matting which serves for a bed, a thick carpet for a covering, and a small kettle. These are the pieces of furniture which distinguish the rich from the poor. Their flocks, by which their riches are estimated, consist of two or three horses, several camels, some sheep and goats. The less fortunate have goats and sheep only.

The principal part of their devotions, and that which they observe with the greatest attention, is prayer. There are different kinds of it: the first commences always before sun-rising. The Talbe is distinguished by the length of his beard, a piece of woollen cloth, half white and half crimson, which he leaves loose and flowing about his body, and under which appears a figure, exhausted by fasting, (the consequence of excessive laziness), and a kind of chaplet of an enormous size. He raises a sad and lamentable voice, which one would be ready to suppose to be that of a pious and contrite man, but which is, in fact, that of a hypocrite. Girt with a poignard, he seeks the place where his perfidious arm can, with assurance, aim the blow with which he wishes to pierce the heart of his neighbour, his friend, and often his brother. By his uncouth sounds, he calls his people to come and range themselves under his banner, to hear the praises of the Prophet. They all run up to him with a holy respect; but before the priest begins his prayer, they throw off a little coat, which they wear fastened to their girdle, and in which they are wrapped, as it is the drapery of which their clothing consists. The Talbe afterwards bows himself towards the ground. He removes with his hands that upon which his feet were placed; then takes up a handful of the sand which has not been dirtied, and in place of water, rubs with it his face, hands and arms up to the elbows, in order to purify himself from all his uncleanness. The people follow his example.

When the prayer is ended, they stop for some time, sitting squat-down behind, and trace different figures upon the sand with their fingers, and turn them round their head, as if sprinkling themselves with a holy unction. The savages, while thus employed, show as much exterior piety and respect as we can do in our churches. I do not believe, however, that it is possible to make a greater jest of religion than they do, when their prayers are ended. The women, who only attend the morning matins, and those which they go about at ten o'clock at night, place themselves at the gate of their tents, and keep themselves with their faces towards the east.

When the first part of their religious exercise is performed, their next business is the milking of the flocks. They begin with the she-camels, giving them a great many blows with their feet, until they make them rise. As soon as they are on their legs, they take off from their udder a kind of covering made of ropes worked together, which is intended to prevent the young camel from sucking. The young one then runs up to its mother, and, by its caresses, prepares her to yield her milk in greater abundance. The master and the keeper of the flock watch the moment when the lips of the young camel are covered with a white foam: they then separate it from its mother; and each resting his head on different sides against the animal's belly, they press the udder, from which they sometimes draw five pints of milk, when the rains have rendered the earth fruitful. The keeper of the flock, after taking a few draughts every time he milks, pours the rest into a vessel destined for that purpose, and placed close by the side of his mistress; for he is allowed no other nourishment than the milk which he draws from the last of the camels. When all the milk is thus collected, the mistress puts aside her part, which is never the least; then serves her husband and his children; and lays up the rest in a goat's skin, which she leaves exposed to the sun before the milk be made into butter. Three or four hours after, the young girls bring from the fields the sheep and the goats. The mother, who is always present at the last milking, mixes the milk procured by it with that of the camels; and when the sun has sufficiently warmed it, they separate the cream from it, in order to make butter. What remains, serves as drink for the rest of the day. When the butter is made, they put it into small skins, where it acquires a strong smell, which, according to the taste of these barbarians, adds to its value. The women use it for greasing their hair: without this they would think something deficient in their dress. One cannot believe to what excess they carry their coquetry. They dress their hair with great art. They keep it flowing in tresses upon their breasts, and fasten to it any thing they can find. I have seen some of them ornament it with shell-work, keys of chests, and padlocks, rings of umbrellas, and buttons of trowsers, which they have taken from sailors.

When their head-dress is thus so far prepared, they cover it with a greasy cloth, which surrounds their head, covers the one half of their nose, and ties below their chin. To give a brilliancy to their eyes, they comb the eye-lashes with a great copper needle, which they have rubbed upon a blue stone. Next comes the adjustment of their drapery; and here all the art lies in plaiting it neatly, and so as to keep the folds, in doing which they employ neither pins, cords, nor sewing. But that the work of the toilette may be complete, they paint the nails of their feet and hands with a reddish colour. A Moorish woman, who wishes to be considered as a beauty, must have long teeth shooting out of her mouth; the flesh from the shoulder to the elbow loose and flabby; their limbs, thighs and body, prodigiously thick; their gait slow and cramped. They have bracelets like the collar of great Danish dogs upon their arms and legs. In a word, they labour from their infancy to efface any beauties for which they are indebted to nature, and to substitute in their room ridiculous and disagreeable whims. They have no other dress in all their wardrobe than what I have described. To add to the inconveniences to which these women are subjected, let us only reflect, that the same linen on which they are delivered of a child, they receive its nastiness and blow their noses in; it is impossible to form an idea sufficiently disgusting, of the nastiness and horrid smell of the Moorish women.

Could one suppose that these hideous women are addicted to jealousy and evil-speaking? It is, however, a truth. One of them has, perhaps, occasion to go and borrow something from her neighbour. If she meets the husband, she veils her face, and presently with a trembling air enters the tent. But if the woman is by herself, she begins to speak all the evil she can of any neighbour who is better drest. This conversation goes on, when perhaps a third enters, who does not fail to lay in her word, in such a manner, as that the one half of the day is spent in evil speaking; and she very frequently goes away, probably without recollecting to seek what she came to borrow. Laziness and gluttony are also their favourite sins. They will expose themselves to numberless affronts, in order to procure a little camel or goat's flesh, when they know that it is dressing in any person's house. Their favourite morsel is the liver.

The men are addicted to almost the same vices. They commonly pass the whole day stretched out upon a netting to sleep, to smoke, or to clean themselves from vermin which torment them. The women have generally committed to their care those employments which the men would otherwise find no hesitation in doing reciprocally. There can be no cause of surprise that the whole country is infected with vermin. They content themselves with throwing them down, without taking the trouble to destroy them. Notwithstanding all my precaution, my beard was always filled with them, and I may safely say it was none of the least of my sufferings during my captivity.

The men meet together sometimes in the day time, to entertain one another with their warlike exploits. Every one recites the number of enemies whom he has conquered. A ridiculously false story is almost constantly followed by a charge of lying; a quarrel is the consequence; and the conversation is generally terminated with some blows of the poignard. They can never agitate even the most indifferent question, without having their eyes inflamed with rage. Fury is depicted in every the least motion, and they cannot even converse upon domestic affairs, without roaring and yelling hideously.

Perfidy and treachery are two innate vices of the Arabs. It is for this reason they never stir from their tents unarmed. They never make any agreements in writing, well assured that he who receives an obligation would poignard him to whom he signed it, to cancel his debt; and therefore they always carry hung to their neck, a little leather purse, in which they carry about with them whatever they consider as precious. Although they keep nothing in their tents under lock and key, yet I have seen some of them having small chests; these coffers, which often do not contain the value of a small crown, are an object of desire to the whole colony--I must not even except the brother, father, nor son of the proprietor. My master's brother was particularly envious on account of the small booty with which I had enriched his brother. He proposed to me one day, as a very simple matter, that I should kill him during the night. He offered me his poignard, and promised to conduct me to Morocco when I had committed the crime. However discontented I then was with my situation, this proposal shocked me--it struck me with horror. However, it was soon renewed to me, with entreaties, by one of Sidy Mahammet's uncles, who, of all his relations, appeared to be most attached to him. I have frequently seen this man steal into my master's tent during the night, in order to carry off some old iron, or leather thong. This same man was one of the most considerable in the village. He was consulted in their different disputes, and his judgment was always deemed weighty by the poor--the rich paid little attention to any man's opinion.

Among the first lessons that they teach their young folks, are, to be expert in using the poignard, to tear the entrails of their enemy with their nails, and to give to a falsehood the semblance of truth. Those who to these talents add that of reading and writing, become very dangerous monsters, and thus acquire a very great ascendancy over their companions. It may be justly said, that they are from their infancy familiarized with vice, and equally happy in committing a bad or good action.

According to the custom of the country, every stranger Arab, to whatever district or tribe he belongs, known or unknown, is entitled to their hospitality. If there are many travellers, they all contribute towards the expense of their entertainment. All, without distinction, go out to meet a stranger, and welcome him upon his arrival, assist him in dismounting from his beast, and carry his baggage behind the bush, which is to defend him from the rigour of the night; for it is an established custom, that no stranger is admitted into their tent. This ceremony over, they sit down around the new comer; inquire of him the news of the country, whence he comes, and if the party have evacuated the places where they were encamped; if he fell in with any other person in districts more or less remote; and likewise if he found plenty of pasturage in the places through which he passed. When they have got an answer to these different questions, they then inquire to what tribe he belongs; but they never think of inquiring about his own health or welfare, till they are satisfied as to the other questions.

If no person is acquainted with the stranger in the horde which he visits, the richest among them entertain him. If there are many of them, the expense, as I have already said, becomes common. They serve to each a large bowl of milk, and of barley meal mixed with boiled milk, or water when it can be had. If the stranger can read, they give him the honour of saying prayers; in which case the Talbe of the village places himself by his side, as master of the ceremonies. This sums up all his entertainment, if he is a stranger little known among them; but if has any friends in the horde, or known to be rich, they quickly kill a good ram, or a fat sheep, to regale him. The women prepare the banquet; and while they are dressing the flesh, they serve up the fat first raw. So soon as the meat is ready, they begin by laying aside a portion for the husband; then that which they appoint for any of their neighbours, with whom they live on good terms. If this attention was neglected, it would be an irreparable fault. They then place, with care, the travellers mess upon a truss of straw. The Arab who is the entertainer, causes a Christian slave or negro, to follow him, carrying on his head the repast for the guest, which however is not set before him till ten o'clock at night, although perhaps he arrived early in the morning. Their practice is to give nothing to eat, till night, when they feast either by the light of a clear moon, or by a great fire, for they must have fire in almost every season of the year. The traveller never fails earnestly to entreat the person who brings him his mess, to do him the honour of eating with him, but he generally declines it as much as possible, and his refusal is founded on respect for his guest.

The next morning the travellers pursue their journey, without taking leave of any person whatever. This manner of entertaining one another would be surely very commendable, were it not for the many stratagems which they make use of to avoid it. When an unknown stranger appears, they sometimes place at a little distance from their tent a camel's saddle, a mat, a gun and a little bundle, all seeming to intimate the baggage of some traveller who has alighted from his horse; but often these precautions do not hinder the stranger from settling beside the same baggage. The chief comes to declare that they belong to some Arab of a neighbouring village; but as this is a plan with which they are all equally acquainted, the visitor generally is not discouraged, he remains there; but in this case they revenge themselves on his importunity, by giving him a very slender portion of victuals. Then he keeps a sharp lookout, and if he sees any fire, he runs towards it in the hope of getting some flesh or broth. He takes great care to keep himself at first concealed behind the tent, in order to overhear what passes there, and to discover if they are at victuals; for they are at great pains, in order to prevent such visits, to take away very speedily the three stones which support the kettle; and in this case his plan succeeds, since they never see any person pass without inviting him to enter and partake of the feast. It often happens that, while the gormandizing goes on, they steal from behind the bush the effects which he secreted there; but this is only one trick for another, for he takes the first opportunity of paying them home in their own coin.

It is difficult to form a just idea of the pride and ignorance of these people. They not only imagine that they are the first people in the world, but they have the presumption to believe that the sun rises only for them. Several of them have repeatedly said to me, "Behold that luminary! which is unknown in thy country. During the night thou art not enlightened, as we are, by that heavenly body, which regulates our days and our fasts. His children[38] point out to us the hours of prayer. You have neither trees nor camels, sheep, goats, nor dogs. Are your women made like ours?"--"How long didst thou remain in the womb of thy mother?" said another. "As long," replied I, "as thou in that of thine."--"Indeed!" replied a third, counting my fingers and toes, "he is made like us; he differs only in his colour and language, which astonishes me."--"Do you sow barley in your houses?" meaning our ships. "No," answered I; "we sow our fields almost in the same season as you."--"How!" cried out several of them, "do you inhabit the earth? We believed that you were born and lived on the sea." Such were the different questions I had to answer, when I had the honour of their conversation.

[Footnote 38: Thus they name the stars.]

War among them is nothing else than robbery; therefore they never engage in it, but in the view of indulging their sloth, when they have pillaged the flocks, and ravaged the fields before they are reaped. One day that the fields were covered with the whole flocks of the village, one of the keepers ran up, quite out of breath, to inform us that some squadrons of the Ouadelims had appeared upon the top of the hills, with an apparent intention of carrying off the cattle. Immediately the drum[39] beat, all ran to arms, and advanced towards the enemy. The riders on horseback are enveloped in a cloud of dust. The camel, who has a very long step, is almost as agile. Pushed on by the roaring cries of his rider, he darts into the crowd, and makes a more terrible carnage by his bites than all the musketry. They never make an attack drawn up in line of battle. Every warrior has his own particular combatant. He who throws his adversary on the ground, or who carries off his arms or his beast, retires precipitately with the fruit of his victory. Others, if they think they are the stronger party, lay hold on them, give them several blows with a poignard, or trail out their entrails with their horrid claws. The person who to-day is possessed of considerable riches in bestial, may find himself reduced to-morrow to extreme poverty, and stripped by him who, the preceding day, had no property at all. The weakest tribes, who are in consequence most exposed, are careful to live at a considerable distance, especially from the Ouadelims and Labdesseba. I have seen some of these two tribes, sometimes before leaving their country, begin their ravages in the neighbourhood of Arguin, which they call Agadir, and carry them even to the gates of Morocco.

[Footnote 39: This great drum is committed to the charge of one of
the most considerable inhabitants. It is used on different
occasions; sometimes to call to arms, sometimes to inform that an
Arab is bewildered in the Desert, and at other times that the
camels are lost.]

In general, they cultivate no other grain but barley, and sometimes wheat, when there has been plenty of rain. But after three years of drought, their fields producing nothing, their method is to carry the horrors of war into more fortunate countries, and there seize from their brethren the fruits of their labour and industry. It thus happens that plentiful crops fall into the hands of ferocious men, who are more disposed to fight, than to labour for their subsistence.

When the battle is over, each party dig graves for the slain. The Talbes, being desired to repair to the place stained with the blood of their brethren, ran up to perform the duties of their function. These consist in pronouncing some plaintive sounds upon a few handfuls of sand gathered together in a shell, and sprinkling it upon the unhappy persons whom they prepare for death, by placing their thumb upon their forehead, as if they were applying some holy oil, and conclude with throwing upon their bodies a scarf and chaplet. When they expire, they stretch them in a grave, always carefully laying them on the left side, with their face towards the east, as if to contemplate the tomb of their prophet. They then enclose the tomb with great stones heaped upon one another, which serve as a monument to these pillaging soldiers. The ages of their warriors are distinguished by the space of ground which their coffin occupies. The women, bathed in tears, come to throw themselves around these mausoleums. Their gestures, wry faces, and harmonious sobs, form a very ridiculous spectacle. A traveller should never pass before these tombs, without depositing there his staff; and, after a short prayer, he raises around the tomb heaps of stones, which are evidences of the vows he has made for the repose of his soul.

After these funeral rites, cries of desolation resound through the village. Every person mingles tears with those of the afflicted relations. The tent of the deceased is conveyed to another place. All his effects are exposed to the open air; and one of the fattest rams is slain to comfort the relations and friends, who offer it to the deceased in sacrifice. The repast being ended, they bury all differences. The day after the battle, I have seen them pay visits to one another. He who has dangerously wounded his neighbour the day before, goes to see him, and converses with him on the dexterity with which he seized the favourable moment to strike the blow. But what I consider as most extraordinary is, that earth is their only cure for the deepest wounds. From whatever place they take the earth, the effect is the same. In order to heal their pains, they have recourse to another expedient, which however does not always prove equally efficacious; that is, to apply red hot iron to the part affected. Indeed, these Arabs are subject to few diseases. I have seen many old people, of both sexes, who were oppressed with no kind of infirmity. Sore eyes, and colics, are the most usual disorders among them. Children, above all, are exposed to these, though in other respects strong and robust. In the morning it is difficult for them to open their eyelids. With regard to the colic, I think it is occasioned by the verdigris which is mixed with every thing they eat or drink. The reason of its not occasioning more sudden disasters, is, perhaps, the large quantities of milk which they use. The kettles in which they cook their victuals are not tinned; they never wash them, on account of the scarcity of water; so that they remain covered with a crust of verdigris, which they do not scrape away even when they scour them with sand. During my stay among them, I was desirous of taking that charge, and of rubbing, until I should clear the verdigris entirely away. But they absolutely forbad me, telling me that I should wear their kettle. It is therefore impossible but that victuals kept in such vessels must prove prejudicial to their health.

It sometimes happens that the fields of these barbarians are covered with plentiful crops. But instead of waiting till the grain attains to maturity, they cut it down, and dry it over hot cinders; without reflecting that, by pursuing this method, they deprive themselves of that abundance which is necessary for the support of their families, and of straw to feed their cattle, which, for the most part, are reduced to the necessity of browzing on dry branches of trees; and that they themselves are often obliged to eat the saddles and girths from the backs of their camels. I could not see, without regret, the little care which these barbarians take in preparing the earth. They leave the seed between heaps of stones, and among bushes, the parched roots of which absorb all the moisture of the ground, on which the waters leave a kind of mud very proper for assisting early vegetation. The person who is employed to till the ground, repairs to those spots which the rain has principally moistened, and scatters the seed here and there indifferently; after which, he turns up the earth with a plough drawn by one camel, which consequently makes a furrow of very little depth. If the moisture of the clouds happens to second his labour, each retires with his portion to some rock or cavern. In passing through more fertile cantons, I have found under my feet sheaves of corn, the full ears of which invited the most opulent Arab to collect them. Others, heaped one upon another, remained exposed to the injuries of the weather, because the proprietor found himself provided with enough to last him until the season when the vapours attracted by the mountains should fall down in torrents, and overflow the valleys.

"Is it possible," reasoned I with myself, "that any of mankind are in such a state of ignorance, as to make so little improvement of the blessings of Providence? How happy would I think myself with any kind of food suited to my taste!" I have at times taken a few handfuls of this barley, and, having cleaned the grain by rubbing it in my hands, I then eat it with inexpressible pleasure. On such occasions, I could have imagined that I was transported where the manna rained down from the sky for the support of the Israelites in the wilderness.

From any thing I could ever learn from the Arabs with whom I lived, they are wholly strangers to every kind of industrious labour, and equally unwilling to be instructed. They have only two artisans among them, and these they regard with a kind of veneration, and doubtless with astonishment, when they see them imitate in any manner the works of foreigners, for they themselves are incapable of doing any thing. A wheelwright and a blacksmith were in possession of the whole arts and sciences of the country. The knowledge of the first was exercised in making wooden dishes, mortars, and ploughs; but he has never yet been able to give to that instrument of agriculture that shape which is proper, and would make it easy for the hand of the labourer. The other labours with strength of arm upon iron, and is equally ignorant of its good and bad qualities. I have frequently seen him heat his iron many times in the fire till he had exhausted all its virtue, and then he was obliged to give it up, without making any thing of it; and if at other times he was more fortunate, he never produced more than a clumsy resemblance of the article which he wished to imitate. The same artisan wrought with equal confidence in precious metals. My master one day brought to him the chain of gold which I had given him, with orders to make rings of it for his daughter. The ignorant fellow, after having examined it, pretended that it was not gold. He compared it with a piece of a mixed metal, which he had procured from one of our wrecks, and which he insisted was pure gold. To support his assertion, he remarked that mine was of various colours, but his was real metal, and of a yellower hue. In short, after several remarks and dissertations equally ridiculous as ill founded, he came to the resolution of making a hole in a piece of charcoal, in which he enclosed it; and after having blown the fire well, he was lucky enough to melt it, and to form rings as large as the round of a snuff-box. His genius was generally admired, and he got a bowl of butter-milk for his reward.

What pains did I not take to teach them a method of grinding their barley with more ease, and of fanning it! How much have I laboured to instruct them how to load their camels, with more equal weight on both sides, in such a manner as not to hurt their sides, and to keep their instruments from being in continual danger of being broken, by falling to the ground! I wished to make them take more pains in labouring the earth, and gather in their harvest with more care; in short, I wished to polish them, but my attempts were vain; they are more conceited than their camels, (which is by no means saying little;--much have I suffered from these animals during the thirteen months I kept them!) What evidences do they give in every thing they undertake of their want of capacity! It is not possible to root out their prejudices, or correct their ill habits. I have seen in the hands of the smith the flourish of a gun-lock, with which he laboured fifteen whole days. When he had finished his work, I told him that it was so ill fitted to the case, that the person to whom it belonged could not make use of it without running great risks. All the by-standers wished me to make a trial of it, but I declined it. The workman, however, through the abundance of his self-conceit, would try it himself, and accordingly it carried off part of his jaw-bone and hand. I was convinced from what I had seen, that this gunsmith's want of skill was the occasion of many wounds which they received in battle.

Often did they question us, if there was not a gunsmith among us. They seemed to think I was one from the observations which I had made. Their arms are in the worst condition imaginable. They are in general exported guns which the Arabs of the tribe of Trargea get in barter for camels. Some tribes have procured them from ships which have been wrecked on their coasts, and some bring them so far as from Morocco. These last are more substantial, but so difficult to manage, that they prefer those from Europe; and, above all, double-barrelled guns. There is not an Arab who would not cheerfully give a Christian slave for one of these guns. When they need repair, it is done with iron which they have abstracted from ships. I was at first astonished to see with what eagerness they staved barrels of spirits (_aquavitae_) for the sake of their iron hoops. I could not have supposed they could have made use of such wretched iron for that purpose. If metal and guns are objects of such value in their eyes, one can readily conceive that stones, balls, lead and powder, are far from being of little consequence with them. They can very well distinguish good powder from bad. There is a powder manufactory in the little city of Guadnum; but it is so coarse and bad, as to have often very little effect, sometimes none at all. It clogs and dirties the gun; and for want of oil, they are often obliged to grease them with butter.

If we may except these crimes which they endeavour to commit under night, these people never make a mystery of their actions. If any of them are proposing to take a long journey, they inform the whole village, who meet together to give their best advice to the traveller. Every one puts in his word, even children of fourteen years, who speak with as much confidence as an old man could do in proposing an affair of importance. These conferences, which they hold together for the purposes of either condemning or approving of one another's schemes, are sometimes prolonged for a whole month. In the same manner they consult about changing their encampment, or removing the camels to the sea-coast. This last matter is always very long of being decided upon, on account of the distance, and of what they must suffer in being deprived of milk till the return of these animals. It is true, that, in such cases, those who do not send away their camels supply those that are in want, but it is always in the view of being fully repaid, as they express it themselves. They never manifest such joy as on the return of the flocks. They come back with their interior well filled with water; and although it has contracted a taste and smell exceedingly disagreeable, it is however so scarce, that they drink it with much enjoyment.

Every person in Europe supposes that a dog would run mad if deprived of drink. In the deserts of Arabia, where the heat is excessive, they never drink any, and commonly live on excrement. The camels will subsist four months without tasting a drop of water. The goats and sheep drink still less. Indeed, if it were not for the horses, the Arabs would never go in search of water; they would wait on that which falls from the sky. The rains, which usually fall about the month of October, spread an universal joy. They keep all their holidays at this period. You can form no idea of this general happiness, having never experienced this want.

A husband cannot divorce his wife, without the previous permission of the old men of the village, who never refuse it. The women are on all occasions treated with the greatest contempt. They never assume the name of their husband, but retain that which was given them at their birth. The children are not even called by their father's name. In almost all the colonies in which I have been conversant, there are only four or five different names in use among them. They are distinguished by that of their tribe, or some other surname. When an Arab sets out on a long journey, his spouse, after having received his adieu, follows him about twenty paces from his dwelling, and throws after him the stone, which is used for driving in the pikes of their tent, and, in the place where it lies, she buries it in the sand till his return. It is thus she expresses her good wishes for a successful journey to him.

Although the women behave very indecently, both in their words and actions, they are however faithful to their husbands. It is difficult to reconcile the tenderness which they show towards their children, and the barbarity with which they correct them, especially the daughters, who are much neglected both by the father and mother. However, it is in their appearance that they display their opulence. They ornament their ears, arms and legs, with rings of gold and silver. They put so much alloy in their silver, that it is little else than whitened copper. The poorer class make use of no other metal than this.

Nothing can exceed the joy of the parents upon the birth of a son. They think it is a very lucky circumstance when the mother is delivered without assistance from either male or female; thus it frequently happens that she is delivered alone. She is stretched out upon the sand, and when the child is born, takes a drop of milk to strengthen her, and remains lying on the ground, in a wretched tent, which scarcely defends her from the weather.

Every woman, on the birth of a son, as a demonstration of her joy, blackens her face for forty days. When a daughter is born, she only daubs the half of her face, and that for twenty days. If the poor infants could only see what a hideous appearance their mother makes, they would not come near her breast. I never in my life saw so shocking a sight.

I could never keep in temper to see the cruelty with which these women use their children, even while at the breast. They give them great blows with their fist upon the back, to make them sleep; and, to prevent their crying, pinch them unmercifully, and twist their skin with their fingers. I have seen these inhuman mothers set out with them the same day they were delivered, to go to an encampment fifteen or twenty leagues distant. They place them without care in a kind of cradle, which is set on the top of a camel's load. As in this situation they are very conspicuous, they endeavour to make a show, and eclipse one another; for this purpose they decorate the bodies of their camels with stripes of scarlet-coloured cloth, and white rags. The four stoops which support the body of the cradle, are adorned with leaves of copper, gilt with gold or silver.

It is the women in general who lift the pikes of the tents, when their husbands are resolved to move their camp. They also have the charge of the camels under the inspection of their masters. When the husband mounts his horse, it is his wife who holds the stirrup to him, although she sometimes falls and hurts herself. This gives him little uneasiness, provided, at his arrival, she is sufficiently recovered to attend him with a bowl of butter-milk.

I have often been shocked to see one of these Arabs (who, not being rich enough to keep a horse, having been mounted above his packages), leave to the affrighted women the trouble of lifting up again the load which had been thrown over, while he went to lie at his ease behind a bush.

Nothing can be more haughty than an Arab's behaviour to his wife, and nothing more humble than that of a wife in the presence of her husband. She is not allowed to eat with him, but, after having served him, she retires till her husband calls upon her, to give her what he leaves.

An Arab cannot, without incivility, enter into his neighbour's tent on any account; he calls standing at the door, and the woman who hears him vails herself immediately, in the same manner which she does when she passes any person. A husband would be much to blame, if, on entering into his tent, he should lie down upon the mat which belongs to his wife; he cannot enjoy this favour but when she is in bed. They are indeed very attentive to their wives when with child. In every family there is at least five or six children; and a plurality of wives being permitted, one may easily conceive how soon these colonies become considerable. No jealousy subsists between these rival wives, although they all live under the same tent, and are witnesses of their husband's embraces to each other.

The lodging which is appointed for a new married couple is adorned with a small white flag. The bridegroom wears around his brows a bandage of the same colour; whether it be his first or fifth marriage, he is always decorated with this mark of virginity, be his age what it may. The day of the marriage ceremony, he causes a camel to be slain for the entertainment of his guests. The women and children, without any distinction, assemble round the drummer; while he, set upon the ground, beats with his hand upon the instrument, and sounding through the other hand like a trumpet, he adds to this horrid noise the beating of his drum, and an iron chain which he moves with his arm. One person only dances to these instruments. Without moving from his place, his arms, his head and his eyes, follow the music. His body remains without any perceptible motion. His hands waving before his body, form different gestures, every one more indecent than another. All the spectators beat time with their hands. With the neck bent forward, and the jaw-bone turned sometimes to one side, and sometimes another, they make a thousand different wry faces, to which the dancing lady answers with an astonishing precision. She finishes with gently reclining towards the musician; the sounds of the instrument gradually become weaker; the eyes of the actress are half closed; she gently presses her bosom; every thing expresses violent passion. But it is not possible to give an idea of what now passes, nor the air of indifference with which the woman, who lately played a like part, joins her companions. The young people form themselves into a circle, in the midst of which only one remains standing on one leg, and with the other endeavours to defend himself from the blows which they wish to aim at him; and the first whom he strikes takes his place. This piece of dexterity is the only one with which they are acquainted.

The day following the marriage, they separate the new married bride from her husband, and the friends who are present take water and wash her from the middle to the feet. They then comb and dress her hair, paint her nails red, and dress her with new linen. If she is not rich enough to buy these things, they lend her what she needs till the end of the feast.

I have always considered as a fable, what I have been told of the breasts of a Moorish woman, but am now convinced of my error. I have _seen_ (to cite no other examples), I have _seen_, I say, one of these women teazed by one of her children, throw them one of her breasts with such force, that it reached the ground.

Their male children can scarcely walk, when the mother treats them with the same respect as her husband, that is to say, prepares food for them, and will not eat herself till her son has been served. The Talbe who teaches them to read and write, gives them instructions with a loud voice; and as each of them is learning a different lesson, it occasions a horrid noise. The lessons they give them are written upon small boards of polished wood. One lesson learned, they efface it, and write another upon it; they make their pen of a small piece of wood. Their ciphers pretty much resemble ours.

After what I have related of these barbarians, was it possible that I should not be anxious to be again restored to my native country! We complain when we change our dwellings; weep, when we part with friends; are uneasy when we forget a handkerchief, or have a beard two days without being shaved; and I have been a slave, naked, bit with vermin, wounded in every part of my body, my bed among sand, either burning or moist, for fourteen months. O Divine Providence! It is by Thee I have been supported in what I have undergone, to Thee I have sacrificed my sufferings, and from Thee I expect my reward.

III.

ACCOUNT OF THE ADVENTURES OF MADAME GODIN DES ODONAIS, IN PASSING DOWN THE RIVER OF THE AMAZONS, IN THE YEAR 1770.

M. GODIN DES ODONAIS TO M. DE LA CONDAMINE.

_St Amand, Berry, 28th July 1773_.
SIR,

You require of me a narrative of the travels of my spouse along the Amazons River, the same route I followed after you. The rumours which have reached your ears of the dangers to which she was exposed, and which she alone of eight persons surmounted, augment your curiosity. I had resolved never to speak of them again, so painful to me was the recollection of them; but, as an old companion in your travels, a distinction which I prize, I cannot refuse, in return for the interest you take in our welfare, and the marks of friendship you have shown me, to give you the satisfaction you require.

We landed at Rochelle on the 26th of June last, after a passage from Cayenne, effected in sixty-five days, having left this last place on the 21st of April. On our arrival, I made inquiries after you, and learnt, with much grief, that four or five months had elapsed since you were no more. While yet in tears, my wife and myself were delighted, on wiping them away, to find that at Rochelle the literary journals, and what regards the Academy, are far less read than the news which relates to commerce. Accept, Sir, for yourself and Mad. de la Condamine, our heartiest congratulations.

You will recollect, that the last time I had the honour of seeing you in 1742, previous to your leaving Quito, I told you that I reckoned on taking the same road that you were about to do, along the River of Amazons, as much owing to the wish I had of knowing this way, as to insure for my wife the most commodious mode of travelling, by saving her a long journey over-land, through a mountainous country, in which the only conveyance is on mules. You took the pains, in the course of your voyage, to give information at the Spanish and Portuguese missions established on its banks, that one of your companions would follow you; and, though several years elapsed from the period of your leaving them, this had not been forgotten. My wife was exceedingly solicitous of seeing France; but her repeated pregnancies, for several years after your departure, prevented my consent to her being exposed to the fatigues incident on so long a voyage. Towards the close of 1748, I received intelligence of the death of my father; and my presence thence becoming indispensable for the arrangement of my family affairs, I resolved on repairing to Cayenne by myself down the river; and planning every thing on the way to enable my wife to follow the same road with comfort, I departed in March 1749 from the Quito, leaving Mad. Godin at that time pregnant. I arrived at Cayenne in April following, and immediately wrote to M. Rouille, then minister of the navy, entreating him to procure me passports and recommendations to the court of Portugal, to enable me to ascend the Amazons, for the purpose of proceeding to my family, and bringing it back with me by the same channel. Any one but you, Sir, might be surprised at my undertaking thus lightly a voyage of fifteen hundred leagues, for the mere purpose of preparing accommodations for a second; but you will know that travels in that part of the world are undertaken with much less concern than in Europe; and those I had made during twelve years for reconnoitring the ground for the meridian of Quito, for fixing signals on the loftiest mountains, in going to and returning from Carthagena, had made me perfectly a veteran. I availed myself of the opportunity afforded by the conveyance which took my letters, to forward several objects relating to natural history for the King's garden; among others, seed of the Sarsaparilla, and of the five species of the Butua; with these also a grammar, printed at Lima, of the language of the Incas, which I designed as a present for M. de Buffon, from whom I received no answer. By that with which I was honoured from M. Rouille, I learnt that his Majesty had been pleased to direct that the governor and intendant of Cayenne should both furnish me with recommendations to the government of Para. Upon this, I wrote to you, Sir, and you were so obliging as to solicit passports for me. You moreover favoured me with a letter of recommendation from Commander La Cerda, minister of Portugal to France, addressed to the governor of Para, with a letter from M. l'Abbe de la Ville, which informed you that my passports had been expedited and forwarded to Para. I inquired respecting them of the governor of that place, who expressed his entire ignorance of the fact. I repeated my letters to M. Rouille, who then was no longer in the ministry. Since that time I renewed my letters every year, four, five, and even six times, for the purpose of obtaining my passports, and constantly without effect. Many of my letters were lost, or intercepted, during the war, of which I the less doubt, from your having ceased to receive any, notwithstanding I regularly continued my correspondence. At length, hearing casually that M. le Comte d'Herouvillo was in the confidence of M. de Choiseul, I ventured, in 1765, to write to the former of these noblemen, although I had not the honour of being known to him, explaining, in a few words, who I was, and entreating him to intercede with the Duc de Choiseul for the transmission of my passports. To the kindness of this nobleman alone can I attribute the success that followed this step; for, the tenth month from the date of my letter to M. le Comte de Herouville, I saw a decked galliot arrive at Cayenne, equipped at Para by order of the King of Portugal, manned with thirty oars, and commanded by a captain of the garrison of Para, instructed to bring me to Para, thence transport me up the river as high as the first Spanish settlement, to await there till I returned with my family, and ultimately reconduct me to Cayenne, all at the special charge of his Most Faithful Majesty; a liberality truly loyal, and such as is little common among sovereigns. We left Cayenne at the close of November 1765, in order to take in property belonging to me at the fort of Oyapoc, where I resided. Here I fell sick, and even dangerously so. M. de Rebello, the captain, a knight of the order of Christ, was so complaisant as to wait for me six weeks. Finding at length that I still continued too ill to venture on the voyage, and fearful of abusing the patience of this officer, I besought him to continue his route, and that he would permit me to put some one on board, to whom I might intrust my letters, and who might fill my place in taking care of my family on its return. I cast my eyes on Tristan D'Oreasaval, a person whom I had long known, and in whom I had confidence. The packet I intrusted to him contained the orders of the Father-general of the Jesuits to the Provincial of Quito, and the Superior of the missions of Maynas, for furnishing the canoes and equipage necessary for the voyage of my spouse. The instructions I gave to Tristan were simply to deliver those letters to the Superior, resident at La Laguna, the capital of the Spanish missions of Maynas, whom I entreated to forward my letters to Riobamba, in order that my wife might receive information of the vessel despatched by his Majesty of Portugal, at the recommendation of the King of France, to bring her to Cayenne. Tristan was further directed to wait an answer from Riobamba at Laguna. He sailed from Oyapoc on the 24th January 1766, and arrived at Loreto, the first establishment belonging to Spain on ascending the river, in the month of July or August of the same year. Loreto is a mission established below that of Pevas, since the period of your coming down the river in 1743; nay, both this and the Portuguese mission of Savatinga, above that of St Pablo, which was before their last settlement up the river, have been founded since my passage descending in 1749. The better to comprehend what I now describe, it may be well you should cast your eyes over the chart made by you of the course of the Amazons, or that of the province of Quito, inserted in your Historical Journal of the Voyage to the Equator. The Portuguese officer, M. de Rebello, after landing Tristan at Loreto, returned to Savatinga, in conformity to the orders he had received of waiting there until Madame Godin should arrive; and Tristan, in lieu of repairing to Laguna, the capital of the Spanish missions, and there delivering his letters to the Superior, meeting with a missionary Jesuit, called Father Yesquen, who was on his return to Quito, by an unpardonable oversight, which had every appearance of a bad intent, delivered to his care the packet of letters. This was addressed to Laguna, some days' journey from the spot where Tristan was; but instead of attending to this circumstance, he sent it five hundred leagues beyond, to the other side of the Cordilleras, and himself remained in the Portuguese missions, carrying on trade.