But,
Independently Of These Occasional Depredations, There Is A Band Of
Vagrants, Who Are Actuated By No Other Motives, Than What Their Own
Black Hearts Suggest.
They inhabit caves in the sides of enormous
rocky precipices, and go entirely naked:
Their principal food is the
flesh of wild beasts. This tribe of freebooters appears to be quite a
distinct set of people; they seem to have an invincible aversion to
the Mahometan religion, and worship the _sun_ and _fire_; they speak a
different language from the rest of the inhabitants, a mixture of
African and the _old_ Arabic; all which circumstances favour their own
report of themselves, which is, that they are the genuine descendants
of the original inhabitants. They look down upon the more civilized
Moors with contempt, and consider them as the real usurpers of their
country, and the plunderers of their property. They subsist chiefly
by rapine, and frequently throw a whole village into consternation by
their nocturnal visits; yet their cunning and dexterity are so great,
that they almost constantly elude the vigilance of justice: indeed,
they are never forced from their places of retreat (which are
inaccessible to all but themselves), but when taken, it is either in
the act of robbing, or when they venture to the markets or fairs; and
then the capture is not effected without a strong body of the
military.
I was much disappointed on my arrival at Morocco with the appearance
of the place; for, instead of finding it, as I expected, superior to
Fez and Mequinez, I found it a large ruinous town, almost without
inhabitants.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 104 of 146
Words from 27873 to 28140
of 39195
