are brought from Marocco.[64] Their arms and ankles are adorned
with bracelets. The poor have them of brass; the rich, of gold. The
rich ornament their heads with cowries. The poor have but one
bracelet on the leg, and one on the arm; the rich, two. They also
wear gold rings upon their fingers. They have no pearls or precious
stones. The women do not wear veils.

[Footnote 63: Equal to from two to thirty Mexico dollars.]

[Footnote 64: They are manufactured at Marocco.]
31
DIVERSIONS.

The king has 500 or 600 horses; his stables are in the inclosure;
the saddles have a peak before, but none behind. He frequently
hunts the antelope, wild ass, ostrich, and an animal, which, from
Shabeeny's description, appears to be the wild cow[65] of Africa.
The wild ass is very fleet, and when closely pursued kicks back the
earth and sand in the eyes of his pursuers. They have the finest
greyhounds in the world, with which they hunt only the
antelope[66]; for the dogs are not able to overtake the ostrich.
Shabeeny has often hunted with the king; any person may accompany
him. Sometimes he does not return for three or four days: he sets
out always after sunrise. Whatever is killed in the chace is
divided among the strangers and other company present; but those
animals which are taken alive are sent to the king's palace. He
goes to hunt towards the desert, and does not begin till distant
ten miles from the town. The antelopes are found in herds of from
thirty to sixty. He never saw an antelope, wild ass, or ostrich
alone, but generally in large droves. The ostriches, like the
storks, place centinels upon the watch: thirty yards are reckoned a
distance for a secure shot with the bow. The king always shoots on
32 horseback, as do many of his courtiers, sometimes with muskets, but
oftener with bows. The king takes a great many tents with him.
There are no lions, tigers, or wild boars near Timbuctoo. They play
at chess and draughts, and are very expert at those games: they
have no cards; but they have tumblers, jugglers, and
ventriloquists, whose voice appears to come from under the armpits.
He was much pleased with their music, of which they have
twenty-four different sorts. They have dances of different kinds,
some of which are very indecent.