The waste, also, made by the
convicts in their meat, &c. is a serious consideration: the head and
entrails of animals slaughtered for their use, and which an English
labourer would be glad of, are thrown away as only fit for the dogs;
nothing but the body and legs are deemed sufficiently good for these
dainty characters. Taking all expenses into consideration, I think that
from 25l. to 30l. per man may be estimated as the annual
cost--_Widowson's Present State of Van Dieman's Land_.
* * * * *
THROWING STONES AT THE DEVIL.
On arriving at Wady Muna, each nation encamped upon the spot which custom
has assigned to it, at every returning Hadj. After disposing of the
baggage, the hadjys hastened to the ceremony of throwing stones at the
devil. It is said that, when Abraham or Ibrahim returned from the
pilgrimage to Arafat, and arrived at Wady Muna, the devil Eblys presented
himself before him at the entrance of the valley, to obstruct his
passage; when the angel Gabriel, who accompanied the patriarch, advised
him to throw stones at him, which he did, and after pelting him seven
times, Eblys retired. When Abraham reached the middle of the valley, he
again appeared before him, and, for the last time, at its western
extremity, and was both times repulsed by the same number of stones.
According to Azraky, the Pagan Arabs, in commemoration of this tradition,
used to cast stones in this valley as they returned from the pilgrimage;
and setup seven idols at Muna, of which there was one in each of the
three spots where the devil appeared, at each of which they cast three
stones.
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