Page 99

27f 60

little from that of the Negroes (which has been already described,) except that they have all adopted that characteristic of the Mahomedan sect, the turban ; which is here universally made of white cotton cloth. Such of the Moors as have Iona:O beards, display them with a mixture of pride and satisfaction, as denoting an Arab ancestry. Of this number was Ali himself ; but among the generality of the people, the hair is short and bushy, and universally black. And here I may be permitted to observe, that if any one circumstance excited among them favourable thoughts towards my own person, it was my beard ; which was now grown to an enormous length, and was always beheld with approbation or envy. I believe in my conscience, they thought it too good a beard for a Christian. The only diseases which I observed to prevail among the Moors, were the intermittent fever, and dysentery: for the cure of which, nostrums are sometimes administered by their old women ; but, in general, nature is left to her own operations. Mention was made to me of the small-pox, as being sometimes very destructive ; but it had not, to my knowledge, made its appearance in Ludamar, while I was in captivity. That it prevails, however, among some tribes of the Moors, and that it is frequently conveyed by them to the Negroes in the southern states, I was assured, on the authority of Dr. Laidley ; who also informed me, that the Negroes on the Gambia practise inoculation. The administration of criminal justice, as far as I had opportunities of observing, was prompt and decisive. For, although civil rights were but little regarded in Ludamar, it was necessary, when crimes were committed, that examples should sometimes be made. On such occasions, the offender was brought before Ali, who pronounced, of his sole authority, what judgment he thought proper. But I understood that capital punishment was seldom or never inflicted, except on the Negroes. Although the wealth of the Moors consists chiefly in their numerous herds o f cattle ; yet, as the pastoral life does not afford full employment, the majority of the people are perfectly idle, and spend the day in trifling conversation about their horses, or in laying schemes of depredation on the Negro villages. The usual place of rendezvous for the indolent, is the King s te n t; where great liberty of speech seems to be exercised by the company towards each other ; while in speaking of their chief, they express but one opinion. In praise of their sovereign, they are unanimous. Songs are composed in his honour, which the company frequently sing in concert; but they are so loaded with gross adulation, that no man but a Moorish despot, could hear them without blushing. The king is distinguished by the fineness of his dress; which is composed of blue cotton cloth, brought from Tombuctoo, or white linen or muslin from Morocco. He has likewise a larger tent than any other person, with a white cloth over i t : but, in his usual intercourse with his subjects, all distinctions o f rank are frequently forgotten. He sometimes eats out of the same bowl with his camel driver, and reposes himself, during the heat of the day, upon the same bed. The expences of his government and household are defrayed by a tax upon his Negro subjects, which is paid by every householder, either in corn, cloth, or gold dust; a tax upon the dif- X 2


27f 60
To see the actual publication please follow the link above