Moses Gaster

But they replied, 'O ye fools, if we had sung a song of thanksgiving for every miracle which God wrought for us, we should not have been exiled from our land, but would, on the contrary, have added honour upon honour; and shall we now sing a song to your idols?'

But on the Sabbath it rests, and immediately a fire bursts forth from the western side, which lasts from the eve of Sabbath until the end. Its flames shoot out in every direction, so that one can not approach nearer the river than a distance of thirty-four miles, and this fire burns all round and consumes everything. There is not seen among them any unclean animal or bird, and no creeping thing, but only their flocks and herds. There are six fountains, which gather together and form one pool. From these they water the land and obtain in abundance all kinds of clean fishes, and all kinds of birds and fruits. They sow one seed and reap a hundredfold. They are men of faith, students of the Law, the Scripture, Mishna and Agadah. They are pious and pure and never swear falsely. They attain the ripe old age of 120 years, nor does a son or daughter die in the lifetime of their father. (4) They see three successive generations and build for themselves houses;

Those heathen whose land I passed through, and among whom the tribes dwell, were some of them worshippers of the earth, while some worshipped fire, and others worshipped a white horse and were cannibals.