In The North-East Corner Is A Block Of Granite (A), In
Which A Huge Gash, Several Inches Broad, Some Feet Deep, And Completely
Splitting The Stone In Knife-Shape, Notes The Spot Where Ibrahim’S Blade
Fell When The Archangel Gabriel Forbade Him To Slay Ismail His Son.
The
second compartment contains a diminutive hypogaeum (B).
In this cave
the patriarch sacrificed the victim, which gives the place a name. We
descended by a flight of steps, and under the stifling ledge of rock
found mats and praying-rugs, which, at this early hour, were not
overcrowded. We followed the example of the patriarchs, and prayed a
two-bow prayer in each of the enclosures. After distributing the usual
gratification, we left the place, and proceeded to mount the hill, in
hope of seeing some of the apes said still to haunt the heights. These
animals are supposed by the Meccans to have been Jews, thus transformed
for having broken the Sabbath by hunting.[FN#2] They abound in the
elevated regions about Arafat and Taif, where they are caught by mixing
the juice of the Asclepias and narcotics with dates and other sweet
bait.[FN#3] The Hijazi ape is a hideous cynocephalus, with small eyes
placed close together, and almost hidden by a disproportionate snout; a
greenish-brown coat, long arms, and a stern of lively pink, like fresh
meat. They
[p.221] are docile, and are said to be fond of spirituous liquors, and
to display an inordinate affection for women.
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