File:An authentic narrative of the loss of the American brig Commerce - wrecked on the western cost of Africa, in the month of August, 1815. (1817) (14592284679).jpg

Identifier: authenticnarrati00rile (find matches)
Title: An authentic narrative of the loss of the American brig Commerce : wrecked on the western cost of Africa, in the month of August, 1815.
Year: 1817 (1810s)
Authors: Riley, James, 1777-1840 Bleecker, Anthony, 1770-1827
Subjects: Commerce (Brig) Slavery
Publisher: New-York : Printed and published for the author, by T. & W. Mercein, no. 93 Gold-street
Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Digitizing Sponsor: The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
very handsome, strong, and fleet, of the realArabian kind, and very high spirited. The inhabitants are of a tawny colour, like theMoors, though not quite so dark, and I was informedthey were principally descendants of the ancient in-habitants of the country before it was overrun bythe Arabs or Saracens : they are in their personsabout five feet eio-ht or nine inches in heio-ht; stoutbuilt, robust, and athletic, and are very straightlimbed : they have rather a round visage, with pro-minent features, black hair, sharp pointed noses, andgreat bushy beards: their eyes are black, but not solively, expressive, or intelligent, as those of theArabs: their mouths are wide, and their lips plump.Their dress consists of a kind of shirt made of blueguinea or linen cloth, or coarse white muslin, thatpasses over their shoulders, and falls down neartheir knees, but without sleeves: over this, theyw^ear a haick or blanket made of woollen cloth, ofiibput five yards in length, and an c\\ in width: this
Text Appearing After Image:
I OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 389 they wrap round them; some of them also wear thecloak, or sulam, and Moorish trowsers; and have ontheir heads either turbans oF white cotton cloth, ora fold of their haick. The heads of the men aregenerally shaved smooth, at least once a month:their women, like those of the Moors, are not to beseen by the men, except their husbands or fathers :the men are very industrious, and work their landby ploughing it up with a plough formed out of thetrunk of a tree hewn sharp to a point that projectsabout two feet forward, from a stout crooked limb,that serves as a beam to the plough; while a small-er, and particularly formed limb, is used as a handleto steady and govern it. In order to fix their ani-mals to the plough, they first attach them together,say a cow and an ass, (for this seemed to make afavourite pair, and I observed a great many suchpairs yoked together) by fastening a rope round thehorns of the cow, and about the nose of the ass inform of a halter: t

Note About Images