Life and Travels of Mungo Park in Central Africa by Mungo Park
page 139 of 456 (30%)
page 139 of 456 (30%)
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their tightness, very indecent; and as this was a visit to ladies, Ali
ordered my boy to bring out the loose cloak which I had always worn since my arrival at Benowm, and told me to wrap it close round me. We visited the tents of four different ladies, at every one of which I was presented with a bowl of milk and water. All these ladies were remarkably corpulent, which is considered here as the highest mark of beauty. They were very inquisitive, and examined my hair and skin with great attention; but affected to consider me as a sort of inferior being to themselves, and would knit their brows, and seemed to shudder, when they looked at the whiteness of my skin. In the course of this evening's excursion, my dress and appearance afforded infinite mirth to the company, who galloped round me as if they were baiting a wild animal; twirling their muskets round their heads, and exhibiting various feats of activity and horsemanship, seemingly to display their superior prowess over a miserable captive. The Moors are certainly very good horsemen. They ride without fear; their saddles being high before and behind, afford them a very secure seat; and if they chance to fall, the whole country is so soft and sandy, that they are very seldom hurt. Their greatest pride, and one of their principal amusements, is to put the horse to his full speed, and then stop him with a sudden jerk, so as frequently to bring him down upon his haunches. Ali always rode upon a milk-white horse, with its tail dyed red. He never walked, unless when he went to say his prayers; and even in the night, two or three horses were always kept ready saddled, at a little distance from his own tent. The Moors set a very high value upon their horses; for it is by their superior fleetness, that they are enabled to make so many predatory excursions into the Negro countries. They feed them three or four times a day, and generally give them a large quantity of sweet milk in the evening, which the horses appear to relish very much. |
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