He Apes Like A Monkey The Jolly Jack
Tar, And Spends His Wages Accordingly.
If chance brings him back
again to Zanzibar, he calls his old Arab master his father, and
goes into slavery with as much zest as ever.
I have spoken of these freed men as if they had no religion. This
is practically true, though theoretically not so; for the Arabs,
on circumcising them, teach them to repeat the words Allah and
Mohammed, and perhaps a few others; but not one in ten knows what
a soul means, nor do they expect to meet with either reward or
punishment in the next world, though they are taught to regard
animals as clean and unclean, and some go through the form of a
pilgrimage to Mecca. Indeed the whole of their spiritual
education goes into oaths and ejaculations - Allah and Mohammed
being as common in their mouths as damn and blast are with our
soldiers and sailors. The long and short of this story is, that
the freed men generally turn out a loose, roving, reckless set of
beings, quick-witted as the Yankee, from the simple fact that
they imagine all political matters affect them, and therefore
they must have a word in every debate. Nevertheless they are
seldom wise; and lying being more familiar to their constitution
than truth-saying, they are for ever concocting dodges with the
view, which they glory in of successfully cheating people.
Sometimes they will show great kindness, even bravery amounting
to heroism, and proportionate affection; at another time, without
any cause, they will desert and be treacherous to their sworn
friends in the most dastardly manner.
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