BMotheekTeytetsMuswn Spaame16 2011 CH HAAHLEM The Domestic Serpents claim some attention. In the c ity o f Marocco these animals abound ; there is scarcely a house without its domestic serpent, which is sometimes seen moving along the roofs o f the apartments; they are never molested by the Family, who would not hurt them 011 any consideration, conceiving them a benediction on the household ; they have been known to suck the breasts o f women whilst asleep, and retire without offering any further in ju ry. T h e y are so susceptible, as to be sensible o f enmity towards them, and it is thought imprudent to incur the ir d isp lea su re ; for this reason the inhabitants o f Marocco treat them kindly, and as members o f the family, not wishing to disturb an animal that claims the rights o f hospitality by settling in their house. T h e T o r t o is e . (Fackrone.) Land-tortoises o f a v e ry large size abound in Barbary and in Suse, where, in the afternoon o f a hot day, one ma y collect a dozen in the course o f an hour. T h e y are esteemed good eating b y the French, and the inhabitants o f the shores o f the Mediterranean.* T h e wonderful geometrical construction o f this animal is such, that it w ill bear a ton weight on its back. In Sahara th e turpins, or land tortoises, are reported to be v e ry large, w eighing four, five, or six hundred w e ig h t ; but I n ev e r heard o f any like those found at the time Leo Africanus wrote, who mentions a man who had seen one as big as a tun, and he himself says he saw one the size o f a barrel. * The turtle called the Hawk’s bill is excellent on this coast. I never eat any superior in Europe; they are plentiful at Agadeer, but as the natives do not eat them, they care not about catching them, except when employed so to do b y some European. The Ostrich. 113 BIRDS. The O stric h .— Ennaam is the name given b y the Western Arabs to the ostrich ; it is found on the confines o f Sahara, in e v e ry part from Wedinoon on the western ocean as far as Senaar: those which are taken about Wedinoon and Cape Bojador are the largest in the world, and ha ve the finest plumage ; the feaihers o f the male bird are the best, being thicker and more tufted than those o f the female : the black feathers are taken from the ta il; thé fine long white plumes used b y our females o f fashion are from the fore part o f the wings : the smaller feathers o f the wing are also sometimes black. I have seen ostriches from Cape Bojador eight feet high from the foot to the beak, when the neck was erect, w hich is the natural position.' T h e ostrich appears to be a stupid bird, and indifferent to eve ry thing ; taking no notice o f persons, except the y ha ve metal buttons on their clothes, at which th e y w ill eagerly snap ; it is not however to be credited that th e y digest iron or any other metal, although pieces o f such are often found in their stomachs, when cut up by the hunters. ' T h e ostrich forms the intermediate gradation between the bird and the beast, for it neither simply flies nor runs, but rather does both, never rising however from the ground, but is assisted considerably b y its wings, in its progress through the desert, running o ve r many hundred miles o f ground in a short time. T h e y are sometimes seen in Sahara b y the Akkabahs o f Soudan, in great numbers, appearing at a distance, at twilight, like a host o f plundering Arabs. T h e ostrich lays several eggs, o f the size o f an A fr ic an citron, o r a six-and-thirty pound shot, white, and o f an oval form, Q
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