Mocha

“ Mocha is about fifteen miles in circumference, hilly in the centre, and sloping towards the coast, more so on the western side, where a tolerably good anchorage and a safe landing place, on a sandy beach, may be found. Fresh water flows from several springs; wild turnips, mint and other herbs grow in abundance; the trees on the hilly part are principally the white cinnamon, named by the Spaniards canelo, the magui, the luma, a tree called espino, and others. ”

“ At twelve at night the wind failing, we found ourselves about a league from the west end of Jibbel Zekir, but it then began to blow fresh from the west; so that the Rais begged liberty to abandon the voyage to Azab, and to keep our first intended one to Mocha. For my part, I had no desire at all to land at Mocha. Mr Niebuhr had already been there before us; and I was sure every useful observation had been made as to the country, for he had staid there a very considerable time, and was ill used. We kept our course, however, upon Mocha town. ”

“ The Emir of Taas so changed in his behavior toward the travellers, after a few days, that he ordered them to return to Mocha. Finding all their arguments and protests in vain, they were about to comply, when a messenger arrived from Mocha, bringing the permission of the Imâm of Yemen for them to continue their journey to Sana. ”

“ It was, therefore, determined with Rejib Aga's consent to despatch Jourdain and a colleague named Glasscock overland to Mocha to make a personal application to the pasha for the requisite permission. The journey to-day is one which would be accompanied by considerable peril for Europeans, and at that time it must have been exceptionally dangerous, owing to the disturbed state of the country, which was in the throes of one of the periodic rebellions common to it. ”

“ You will there, at Azab, get plenty of water, sheep, and goats, as also some myrrh and incense, if you are in the proper season, or will stay for it.
I again repeat it, that no confidence is to be had in the people. Those of Mocha, who even are absolutely necessary to them in their commercial transactions, cannot trust them without surety or hostages. And it was but a few years before I was there, the surgeon and mate of the Elgin East-India man, with several other sailors, were cut off, going on shore with a letter of safe conduct from their Shekh to purchase myrrh. ”

“ In every part it is too thin to resist a cannon-ball, and the batteries along shore are unable to bear the shock of firing the cannon that are upon them.
“The climate of Mocha is extremely sultry,2 owing to its vicinity to the arid sands of Africa, over which the S.E. wind blows for so long a continuance, as not to be cooled in its short passage over the sea below the Straits Babel Mandel.
“Mocha, according to some learned natives, was not in existence four hundred years ago ”

“ The southernmost station on the east African coast which the Egyptian merchants knew of, Rhapta in the region of Zanzibar, was leased from this sheikh by the merchants of Muza, that is nearly the modern Mocha, “and they send thither their trading-ships, mostly manned by Arabian captains and sailors, who are accustomed to deal and are often connected by marriage with the natives, and are acquainted with the localities and the languages of the country.” The cultivation of the soil and industry went hand in hand with commerce ”

“ None of these can be opened, and only a few of the lower ones, in consequence of which, a thorough air is rare in their houses; yet the people of rank do not seem oppressed by the heat, which is frequently almost insupportable to a European.
“The best houses are all facing the sea, and chiefly to the north of the sea gate. The British factory is a large and lofty building, but has most of the inconveniences of an Arab house.
“The town of Mocha is surrounded by a wall, which towards the sea is not above sixteen feet high, though on the land side it may, in some places, be thirty. ”

“ They were driven by a great and cruel king, Sargon of the Akkaddians—desert people. But our ancestors would not be slaves like their kin, so they fled, thousands of them in one great band, and traversed many strange, savage countries before they came to this land.'
"Beyond that her knowledge was very vague and mixed up with myths and improbable legends. Conrad and I discussed it afterward, wondering if the old Sumerians came down the west coast of Arabia and crosseâ the Red Sea about where Mocha is now, or if they went over the Isthmus of Suez and came down on the African side. ”

“ We can cause them to feel that only the best efforts of hand and brain are fit to go into this craft, because it is a monument to the memory of those who lived and died in its ranks, and that every worthy effort of each succeeding toiler helps to make that monument nobler and more enduring.
THE DERVISH OF MOCHA Retold from an Arabian Folk Tale
The dervish Hadji Omar was a fortunate man. No one of his day was so well versed in lore of the ancients and in the knowledge of his own time, no one was so highly esteemed by his people or so loved and trusted by the caliph. ”

“ The Moquis have a legend that, long ago, when the principal mesa that they occupy was higher than it is now, and when they owned all the country from the mountains to the great river, giants came out of the west and troubled them, going so far as to dine on Moquis. It was hard to get away, for the monsters could see all over the country from the tops of the mesas. The king of the tribe offered the handsomest woman in his country and a thousand horses to any man who would deliver his people from these giants. ”

“ Mochuda, with his following, next visited the cross already mentioned and here, turning to the king, he thus addressed him:—"Behold the heavens above you and the earth below." The king looked at them: then Mochuda continued:—"Heaven may you not possess and even from your earthly principality may you soon be driven and your brother whom you have reproached, because he would not lay hands on me, shall possess it instead of you, and in your lifetime. You shall be despised by all—so much so that in your brother's house they shall forget to supply you with food. ”

“ He is—hush!—put your ear close—let me speak low lest the reeds of the hut speak it to the king. He is—do you listen? He is—the son of Chaka and Baleka, the sister of Mopo, the changeling whom Unandi, Mother of the Heavens, palmed off upon this house to bring a curse on it, and whom she would lead out before the people when the land is weary of the wickedness of the king, her son, to take the place of the king.”
“It is false, O king!” cried the two women. “Do not listen to her; it is false. The boy is her own son, Moosa, whom she does not know in her sickness.” ”

“ The Moquis are a semi-civilized people living in seven towns on the plateau in northern Arizona. Our first accounts of them date from the expedition of Coronado in 1540. Their history is similar to that of the town-building Indians of New Mexico, except that after a successful revolt against the Spaniards, in 1680, they have remained independent. They are kind-hearted and hospitable, cultivate the soil, raising grain and vegetables, and possessing large flocks of sheep and goats. They weave very fine blankets, an art which they have taught several neighbouring tribes. ”

“ All the rest of the day at that season is so hot that they can hardly endure even a shirt. Mokha lies quite level along the sea-shore, being about two miles from north to south, and contains many good-looking houses, with three principal mosques. The streets are kept clean, every person having to sweep and water before his door every morning and evening, so that they resemble sandy alleys for bowling, more than streets. No filth is allowed to be thrown into the streets, but must all be carried to an appointed place, where it is scoured out by the sea. ”

“ Neither these wretched men themselves nor anyone of their nation shall be my coarb for ever, but my successors shall be of his race through whom God has rescued me. Moreover my city shall never be without men of the British race who will be butts and laughing-stocks and serve no useful purpose." The person who saved Mochuda was of the Ciarraighe race and it is of that same people that the coarbs and successors of Mochuda have commonly been ever since. ”

“ On yet another occasion in the springtime a poor man who dwelt some distance from the monastery of Rahen, came to Mochuda, and asked the loan of two oxen and a ploughman to do a day's ploughing for him. But Mochuda, as we have already said, had no cattle, for it was the monks themselves who dug and tilled the soil. Mochuda summoned one of his labourers named Aodhan whom he ordered to go into the nearest wood to bring back thence a pair of deer with him and go along with them to the poor man to do the spring work for him. ”

“ Mochuda enquired the name he was to impose, and the father answered—Fodhran. Having administered baptism Mochuda taking the infant's hand prophesied concerning the babe—"This hand will be strong in battle and will win hostages and submission of the Clan Torna whose country lies in mid-Kerry from Sliabh Luachra [Slieve Lougher] to the sea. From his seed, moreover, will spring kings to the end of time, unless indeed they refuse me due allegiance, and if, at any time, they incur displeasure of my successors their kingship and dominion will come to an end." ”

“ In Saugor he is said to be the collective representative of the spirits of their ancestors. In some localities they eat flesh and drink liquor, but in others abstain from both. Among the Hindus the Mochis rank considerably higher than the Chamārs; their touch does not defile and they are permitted to enter temples and take part in religious ceremonies. The name of a Saugor Mochi is remembered who became a good drawer and painter and was held in much esteem at the Peshwa’s court. In northern India about half the Mochis are Muhammadans, but in the Central Provinces they are all Hindus. ”

“ Mochuda was consecrated bishop by many saints and from time to time he visited his parish in Kerry, but as a rule he remained at Rahen with his monks, for it is monks he had with him not clerics.
On a certain day in the (early) springtime there came to tempt him a druid who said to him:—"In the name of your God cause this apple-tree branch to produce foliage." Mochuda knew that it was in contempt for divine power the druid proposed this, and the branch put forth leaves on the instant. The druid demanded "In the name of your God, put blossom on it." ”

“ Alluding prophetically to the king's coming, previous to that event, Mochuda said, addressing the monks:—"Beloved brothers, get ready and gather your belongings, for violence and eviction are close at hand: the chieftains of this land are about to expel and banish you from your own home." Then the king, with his brothers and many of the chief men, arrived on the scene. They encamped near Rahen and the king sent his brother Diarmuid with some others to expel Mochuda and to put him out by force—which Diarmuid pledged his word he should do. ”

“ In these sky cities the Moquis live a retired life that is well suited to their quiet dispositions, love of home life and tireless industry. The men are kind, the women virtuous and the children obedient. Indeed, the children are unusually well behaved. They seldom quarrel or cry, and a spoiled child cannot be found among them. The Moquis love peace, and never fight among themselves. ”

“ The "seven Pueblos of Moqui" (as they are called) are a similar tribe living a few leagues beyond. They formerly acknowledged the government and religion of the Spaniards, but have long since rejected both, and live in a state of independence and paganism. Their dwellings, however, like those of Zuñi, are similar to those of the interior Pueblos, and they are equally industrious and agricultural, and still more ingenious in their manufacturing. The language of the Moquis or Moquinos is said to differ but little from that of the Navajoes.—Gregg. ”

“ The Portuguese, entirely devoted to slavery, have neglected the natives in religion, as in all other matters; and as the Makuas have not imbibed Mahometan principles from the Moors or Arabs, who do not here attempt any proselytism, there is an admirable opening at Mozambique for Protestant missionaries; but Moloch, in the shape of the slave-trade, must first be done away with, when a noble field for missionary labour will be laid open. ”

“ Now follows a population which has stimulated the attention and excited the wonder of ethnologists—the Moqui. The Moqui are they who, occupants of some of the more favoured parts of the country between the Gila and Colorado, have so often been contrasted with the ruder tribes around them—the Navaho and Uta in particular. ”

“ Mochuda, for the third time, blessed the branch and it produced a quantity of fruit. The druid said:— "Follower of Christ, cause the fruit to ripen." Mochuda blessed the tree and the fruit, fully ripe, fell to the earth. The druid picked up an apple off the ground and examining it he saw it was quite sour, whereupon he objected:—"Such miracles as these are worthless since it leaves the fruit uneatable." Mochuda blessed the apples and they all became sweet as honey, and in punishment of his opposition the magician was deprived for a year of his eyesight. ”

“ It is said to be only one of fifty different methods which the Moquis have of preparing corn for the table, or about twice the number of styles known to any modern chef.
The Moqui woman is favored above many of her sex who live in foreign lands. As a child she receives much attention and toys galore, as the parents are very fond of their children and devote much time to their amusement. They make dolls of their Katcinas which are given to the children to play with. ”