“Which do you prefer, slavery or liberty?”
“Liberty, undoubtedly!”
“Union or discord?”—“Union!”
“Greatness or abasement?”—“Greatness!”
“Poverty or riches?”—“Riches!”
“Good or evil?”—“Good!”
“All these advantages we are desirous of securing to you: we wish to release you from slavery to the Wahabees, and from the tyranny of the Osmanlis, by a general confederation which shall make us powerful and free. Why do you refuse to join us?” He answered: “What you say is plausible, but we shall never be strong enough to resist Ebn Sihoud!”—“Ebn Sihoud is a man like yourself; he is moreover a tyrant, and God does not favour oppressors: it is not numbers, but intelligence which gives the superiority; power does not rest in the sabre which strikes, but in the will which directs it.” The conference lasted some time longer; but in the end I convinced him, and persuaded him to accompany me to the Drayhy, who was highly satisfied with the issue of my negotiation.
We next encamped near the mountains of Sangiar, which are inhabited by the worshippers of an evil spirit. The principal tribe of the country, commanded by Hammond el Tammer, is fixed near the river Sagiour, and does not wander like the others. Hammond refused at first to enter into the alliance. I had a long correspondence with him on this subject, and having at length persuaded him to join us, great rejoicings took place on both sides. Hammond invited the Drayhy to visit him, and received him magnificently. Five camels and thirty sheep were slaughtered for the entertainment, which wasserved on the ground without the tents. Large dishes of tinned copper, resembling silver, were borne each by four men, containing a mountain of rice six feet high, surmounted by an entire sheep or the quarter of a camel. In other dishes not so large, was a roast sheep or a camel’s ham; and a multitude of little dishes, filled with dates and other dried fruits, were distributed in the intervals. Their bread is excellent. They bring their corn from Diabekir, and their rice from Marhach and Mallatia. When we were seated, or rather squatted, round this feast, we could not distinguish the persons opposite to us. The Bedouins of this tribe dress much more richly than the others: the women are very pretty; they wear silk dresses, many bracelets and ear-rings of gold and silver, and a golden ring in the nose.
After some days passed in festivities, we continued our journey and approached a river, or rather an arm of the Euphrates, which connects it with the Tigris. Here we were joined by a courier, who in five days had travelled on a dromedary a distance which takes thirty at the pace of a caravan. He came from the district of Neggde, sent by a friendly sheik to warn the Drayhy of the rage into which his projects and alliances had thrown Ebn Sihoud. He despaired of seeing him ever able to make head against the storm, and strongly recommended him to make peace with the Wahabees. I wrote, in the name of the Drayhy, that he felt no more concern about Ebn Sihoud than he should about a grain of mustard; placing his confidence in God, the sole giver of victory. Then, by a diplomaticruse,I gave him to understand that the armies of the Grand Signior would support the Drayhy, who was desirous, above all things, of opening the road to the caravans and delivering Mecca from the power of the Wahabees. The next day we crossed the great arm of the river in boats, and encamped at the other side, in the vicinity of the tribe of El Cherarah, celebrated for its courage, and also for its ignorance and obstinacy.
We had foreseen the extreme difficulty of gaining it over, not only on account of these faults, but because of the friendship which existed between its chief Abedd, and Abdallah, the principal minister of King Ebn Sihoud. Accordingly he refused to join the alliance; and in this state of things, the Drayhy, supposing all negotiation useless, declared that the sabre must decide between them. The following day Sahen was sent, with five hundred cavalry, to attack Abedd. He returned in three days, having taken one hundred and forty camels, and two mares of great value: eight men only were killed, but a great number wounded on both sides. I witnessed on this occasion a very extraordinary cure. A young man, a relation of Sahen, was brought back, having his skull broken by a stroke of the djerid, seven sabre wounds in the body, and a lance still fixed in his side. The extraction of the lance was immediately set about, and it was brought out from the opposite side: during the operation the patient turned to me and said—“Do not distress yourself about me, Abdallah, I shall not die;” and extending his hand, he took my pipe and began smoking as tranquilly as ifthe seven gaping wounds had been in another body.
In about twenty days he was completely cured, and was on horseback as before. The only medicine they gave him was camel’s milk mixed with fresh butter, and his only food was dates dressed in butter. Every third day his wounds were washed in camel’s urine. I doubt if a European surgeon, with all his apparatus, would have made so complete a cure in so short a time.
The war became daily more serious: Abedd collected his allies to surround us, which obliged us to encamp upon the sands of Caffera, where there is no water. The women were obliged to fetch it daily from the river, in leathern budgets carried by camels. The great quantity necessary for watering the cattle rendered this a very heavy labour. On the third day the terrified drivers came to announce that eight hundred camels had been carried off by Abedd’s followers, while they were leading them to the river. The Drayhy, to revenge this outrage, gave orders to strike the tents and to make a rapid advance on the tribe of Cherarah, which he resolved to attack with his whole force. We marched a day and night without halting, and pitched ten thousand tents at about half a league from the camp of Abedd. A general and murderous battle seemed inevitable; but I determined to hazard a last effort to prevent it if possible.
The Bedouins hold women in great respect, and consult them on all their plans. In the tribe of El Cherarah their influence is even more extensivethan elsewhere; there the women hold the actual command. They have generally much more sense than their husbands; and Arquia, wife of the Sheik Abedd, in particular passes for a very superior woman. I determined to go to her, to take her some presents of ear-rings, bracelets, necklaces, and other trifles, and to endeavour thereby to bribe her to our interests. Having secretly made all the necessary inquiries to direct my proceedings, I introduced myself to her in the absence of her husband, who was holding a council of war with one of his allies. By dint of compliments and presents, I led her to enter herself on the subject of the war,—the real purpose of my visit, though I did not choose to confess it. I took the opportunity of explaining to her the advantages of an alliance with the Drayhy, solely as a subject of conversation, and by no means as authorised to consult with her upon it: I told her that my visit was solely induced by a natural curiosity to see so celebrated a woman, who governed warriors redoubtable for their courage, but in need of her superior understanding rightly to direct their brutal force. During this conversation her husband returned to the camp, was informed of my arrival, and sent orders to Arquia ignominiously to dismiss the spy she had with her; that as the rites of hospitality would withhold his arm from taking vengeance upon the threshold of his own tent, he should not enter it till the traitor was gone. Arquia haughtily replied, that I was her guest, and that she should not suffer the law to be laid down to her. I got up to take leave of her, askingpardon for the embarrassment I had caused; but she seemed to make a point of convincing me that I had not gratuitously attributed to her an influence which she did not possess, for she detained me by force while she went to confer with her husband. She soon returned, accompanied by Abedd, who treated me very politely, and requested me to explain the intentions of the Drayhy. I gained his entire confidence, by the assistance of his wife, and, before the end of the day, he himself solicited permission to accompany me to the Drayhy; which I opposed, telling him that I should not dare to present him to the emir without notice, because he was so highly irritated against him; but that I would plead his cause and send him an immediate answer. I left them at least as desirous of joining the confederacy as I had been to persuade them to do so.
By the invitation of the Drayhy, Abedd went a few days afterwards to set his seal to the treaty, and to exchange the camels which had been reciprocally taken during the war. This difficult affair thus terminated in so satisfactory a manner, we left the sands to pass eight days in the district of Atteria, at three hours’ distance from the Tigris, near the ruins of the castle El Attera, where the pasturage is abundant. Having here refreshed the cattle, we continued our route eastwards.
We one day met a Bedouin, mounted on a fine black dromedary: the sheiks saluted him with an air of concern, and inquired what had been the issue of his unfortunate adventure of the precedingyear. I asked his history, and found the recital sufficiently interesting to give it a place in my journal. Aloian (this was the name of the Bedouin,) while hunting the gazelle, arrived at a spot where broken lances, bloody sabres, and unburied corpses indicated a recent battle. A plaintive sound, which scarcely reached his ear, attracted him to a pile of dead bodies, in the midst of which a young Arab still breathed. Aloian hastened to his assistance, placed him upon his dromedary, led him to his tent, and by his paternal cares restored him to life. After four months’ convalescence, Faress (the wounded man) began to talk of his departure; but Aloian said to him:—“If we must absolutely separate, I will conduct you to your tribe, and there take leave of you with regret; but if you will remain with me, you shall be my brother, my mother shall be your mother, and my wife your sister: consider my proposal, and give it a deliberate answer.”—“Oh! my benefactor,” replied Faress, “where shall I find such relations as you offer me? But for you, I should not now be living; my flesh would have been devoured by birds of prey, and my bones by the beasts of the desert: since you are willing to keep me, I will live with you and serve you to the end of my life.” A motive less pure than he dared to avow had prompted Faress’s decision: love for Hafza, the wife of Aloian, who had been his nurse, was beginning to agitate his bosom, and was returned. Aloian, who entertained no suspicion, one day charged Faress to escort his mother, his wife, and two children to a new encampment, whilehe went hunting. Faress could not resist this fatal opportunity: he laded a camel with the tent, placed the mother and two children upon it, and sent them forward, saying that he would follow with Hafza on horseback. But the old woman looked back in vain: Hafza did not appear; Faress had carried her away upon an extremely swift mare to his tribe. In the evening Aloian arrived, fatigued with the chase, and searched in vain for his tent among those of his tribe. The old mother had been unable to pitch it without assistance, and he found her seated upon the earth with the two children. “Where is Hafza?” said he.—“I have neither seen Hafza nor Faress,” replied she: “I have been expecting them since the morning.” Then, for the first time, he suspected the truth; and having assisted his mother to fix the tent, he mounted his black dromedary and rode two days till he came up to the tribe of Faress. At the entrance of the camp he stopped to speak to an old woman who was alone. “Why do you not go to the sheik?” said she; “there is a feast in the tribe to-day: Faress Ebn Mehidi, who had been wounded on a field of battle and wept for dead, is returned, bringing with him a beautiful woman; this evening their wedding is to be celebrated.” Aloian dissembled, and waited for the night: then, while all the camp slept, he introduced himself into the tent of Faress, separated his head from his body by a stroke of his sabre, and having carried the corpse out of the encampment, returned upon his steps, found his wife asleep, and woke her, saying,—“It is Aloianwho calls thee; follow me.” She rose in terror and said,—“Save thyself, imprudent man! Faress and his brothers will kill thee.”—“Traitress!” replied he, “what have I done to be thus treated? Have I ever contradicted or reproached thee? Hast thou forgotten all the cares I have lavished upon thee? Hast thou forgotten thy children? Come, rise, call upon God and follow me: accursed be the devil who has tempted you to commit this folly!” But Hafza, far from being moved by this mildness of Aloian, exclaimed, “Go hence! or I shall give the alarm and call Faress to kill thee.” Seeing that there was nothing to be gained by remonstrance, he seized her, stopped her mouth, and in spite of her resistance placed her on a dromedary, which never paused till they were out of hearing of the camp. Then placing heren croupebehind him, he more leisurely continued his route. At day-break the corpse of Faress and the disappearance of his wife set the whole camp in a tumult. His father and brothers followed and overtook Aloian, who defended himself with heroic courage. Hafza, breaking off her bonds, joined the assailants and threw stones at him, one of which struck him on the head and made him stagger. Aloian, however, though covered with wounds, conquered his adversaries: he killed the two brothers, and disarmed the father, saying it would be disgraceful to him to kill an old man; he restored him his mare, and advised him to return home; then, seizing his wife anew, he pursued his route and reached his tribe without having exchanged a word with her. Heimmediately assembled all her relations, and placing Hafza in the midst of them, said to her,—“Relate, thyself, all that has passed: I refer my cause to the judgment of thy father and brother.” Hafza told the tale truly, and her father, full of indignation, raised his sabre and laid her at his feet.
Having proceeded stage by stage to within four hours of Bagdad, M. Lascaris secretly repaired thither to see the French consul, M. Adrien de Correncé, and negotiate with him for a large sum of money.
The next day, after crossing the Tigris at Machad, we established ourselves near the river El Cahaun, and learned there that a sanguinary war was raging between the Bedouins, who took part for or against our alliance. Sheik Ibrahim persuaded the Drayhy not to lose time, but to form a junction with our allies as expeditiously as possible. We consequently advanced, and encamped near many little springs, at twenty hours’ distance from Bagdad; and the next day crossed a great chain of mountains: we then took the necessary precaution of filling our water budgets, having a march of twelve hours to make over burning sands, where neither water nor herbage is to be found. On reaching the frontiers of Persia we met a messenger of the tribe of El Achgaha, bearing a letter from the chief Dehass, who demanded the assistance ofthe Father of Heroes—the chief of the most redoubtable warriors—the powerful Drayhy, against enemies who number fifteen thousand tents. We were then at six days’ journey from this tribe; but theDrayhy having given orders to quicken the march, we accomplished this distance in three times twenty-four hours, without halting even to eat. The greatest fatigue of this forced march fell upon the women, who were obliged to make the bread and milk the camels, without delaying the caravan.
The organization of this ambulatory kitchen was very curious. At certain regulated distances women were placed, who were employed without relaxation. The first, mounted on a camel laden with wheat, had a handmill before her. The corn once ground, she passed the meal to her neighbour, whose business it was to knead it with water, carried in budgets suspended on the sides of her camel. The dough was then handed to a third woman, who baked it in the form of cakes on a chafing-dish, with charcoal and straw. These cakes she distributed to the division of warriors, whose food she was charged to provide, and who came every minute to demand their portion.
Other women walked beside the camels to milk them intocahahs,—wooden pails, containing four litres: these were passed from hand to hand to slake the thirst of the troops. The camels ate as they marched, from bags hung round their necks; and when their riders wished to sleep, they lay at their length on the camels, their feet secured in the sacks to protect them from falling. The slow and measured step of the camels invites to sleep, and I have never slept better than on this march. The wife of the Emir Faress was delivered in her howdah of a son, who receivedthe name of Harma, from the place we were passing when he came into the world: it is at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates. We were soon after joined by three tribes: El Harba, El Suallema, and El Abdalla. We reckoned seven thousand tents when Dehass joined us. This imposing succour reassured him; we gave him a magnificent supper, after which he affixed his seal to our treaty.
The enemy was still at the distance of a day’s journey. Our men and horses being in great need of repose, the Drayhy commanded a two days’ rest; but the assailants did not allow us the desired truce. As soon as the report of our approach reached them, they began their march, and the next day thirty thousand men were encamped an hour from us. The Drayhy immediately advanced his army to the banks of the river, fearing that our supply of water might be intercepted; and we took up a position near the village of El Hutta.
The next day, the Drayhy sent a letter to the chiefs of the five tribes who were come to attack us: Douockhry, chief of El Fedhay; Saker Ebn Hamed, chief of El Modianu; Mohdi Ebn Hud, of El Sabha; Bargiass, of Mouayega; and Amer Ebn Noggies, chief of Mehayeda. This attempt was wholly unsuccessful: the answer was a declaration of war, the style of which clearly proved that our intentions had been misrepresented, and that the chiefs acted under foreign influence.
Sheik Ibrahim proposed to send me to them with presents, to endeavour to come to an explanation. My embassies had hitherto succeededso well, that I accepted this with pleasure, and set out with a single guide: but scarcely had we reached the tent of Mohdi, who lay nearest to us, when their advanced guard came upon us like wild beasts, robbed us of our presents and our clothes, put irons on our feet, and left us naked on the burning sands. In vain I entreated permission to explain; I was threatened with instant death if I persisted in remonstrating. Some moments afterwards, I saw the perfidious Absi advancing to me: I then understood the cause of the inconceivable treatment of which I had been the victim; he had been travelling from tribe to tribe to raise enemies against us. I was so enraged at the sight of him, that my fallen courage revived, and I determined to die bravely if I could not live to take vengeance. He approached, and, spitting in my face, cried, “Dog of an infidel! in what manner do you choose that I should separate your soul from your body?”—“My soul,” I replied, “is not in your power; my days are numbered by the great God: if they are to end now, it signifies little in what manner; but if I am still to live, you have no power to kill me.” He then withdrew to excite the Bedouins against me afresh, and men, women, and children came to overwhelm me with outrages: some spit in my face, others threw sand in my eyes; several pricked me with their djerids. I was kept twenty-four hours without eating or drinking, and suffering a martyrdom it is impossible to describe. Towards the evening of the second day, a young man, named labour, came to me, and drove away the children who were tormentingme. I had already remarked him; for, of all those I had seen during this day, he alone had not insulted me. He offered to bring me bread and water at nightfall. “Hunger and thirst,” I replied, thanking him, “are of little consequence; but if you could assist me to escape hence, I would reward you generously.” He promised to attempt it, and in the middle of the night brought me the key of my fetters, which he had had the address to procure while the chiefs were at supper. He opened them without noise; and without taking time to throw on my clothes, we ran back to my tribe. All were asleep in the camp, except the four negroes who kept guard at the entrance of Drayhy’s tent: they uttered a cry on seeing me, and in great haste woke their master, who came with Sheik Ibrahim: they embraced me with tears, and handsomely rewarded my liberator. The Drayhy expressed the most lively grief at the treatment I had experienced, and the greatest indignation at this violation of the rights of nations. He immediately gave orders for battle, and at sunrise we perceived that the enemy had done the same. On the first day, there was no marked advantage on either side. Auad, chief of the tribe Suallema, lost his mare, for which he had refused twenty-five thousand piastres. All the Bedouins participated in his affliction, and the Drayhy gave him one of his best horses, very inferior however to the superb animal he had lost. The next day the battle was renewed with increased fury, and our loss was more considerable than that of the enemy. We were obliged to act with extreme caution, havingonly fifteen thousand troops to oppose to him. Forty of our men fell into their hands, while we made only fifteen prisoners; but amongst these was Hamed, son of the chief Saker. The captives on both sides were put in irons.
To these two days of fighting succeeded a tacit truce of three, during which the two armies continued to face each other without any demonstration of hostility. On the third day, the chief Saker, with a single attendant, came to our camp. He was uneasy for his son, a valiant young man, adored by his father and by all the Bedouins of his tribe; and he came to ransom him. Hamed had been very well treated by us; I had myself bound up his wounds. The Drayhy received Saker with great distinction. The latter, after the customary civilities, spoke of the war—expressed his astonishment at the Drayhy’s ardour against the Wahabees, and said that he could not credit so much disinterestedness, under which some secret motives or personal views must needs be couched. “You cannot take it ill,” added he, “that I do not engage with you without knowing your object. Take me into your confidence, and I will second you to the utmost of my power.” We replied, that we were not in the habit of admitting to our secrets those of whose friendship we had no assurance; but that if he chose to sign our treaty, we should have no concealments from him. He then asked to be made acquainted with this engagement, and after having listened to a lecture of the different articles, with which he seemed to be very well content, he assuredus that things had been very differently represented to him, and repeated the calumnies that Absi had spread concerning us. He ended by affixing his seal to the treaty, and afterwards pressed us to explain the object we were aiming at. Sheik Ibrahim told him that our intention was to open a passage from the coasts of Syria to the frontiers of India, to an army of a hundred thousand men, under a powerful conqueror, who would relieve the Bedouins from the yoke of the Turks, restore to them the sovereignty of the country, and enable them to obtain possession of the treasures of India. He affirmed that there was nothing to be lost, but every thing to gain, in the execution of this project, the success of which depended upon the union of forces and the harmony of inclinations. He promised that their camels should be paid at a high price for the transport of the provisions for this great army, and made him look to the commerce of these vast countries as likely to become a source of inexhaustible riches to them.
Saker entered fully into our views; but it was still necessary to explain to him that the Wahabee[J]might counteract our plans; that his religious fanaticism would naturally be opposed to the passage of a Christian army; that his spirit of domination, which had already made him master of Yemen, Mecca and Medina, would extend his pretentions to Syria, where theTurks could not offer him any serious resistance: that, on the other hand, a great maritime power, enemy to the one we favoured, would infallibly make an alliance with him, and would send forces by sea to cut us off from the road of the desert. After much debate, in which Saker showed both judgment and sagacity, he entirely acquiesced in our arguments, and promised to use all his influence with the other tribes. It was agreed that he should be chief of the Bedouins of the country we were then in, as the Drayhy was of those of Syria and Mesopotamia: he engaged between this time and the same period in the next year to unite the different tribes under his orders, while we should pursue our route; and promised that at our return all should be made easy to us. We separated, enchanted with each other, after loading his son with presents, and liberating all the other prisoners. Saker, on his part, sent back our forty men; and the next day wrote us word that Mohdi and Douackhry no longer opposed our projects, and that they were about to remove to hold a conference with Bargiass, at three hours’ distance. In fact, they broke up their camp, and we did the same; for the assemblage of so large a number of men and cattle had covered the earth with filth, and rendered our continuance in the place quite intolerable.
We encamped at six hours’ distance, at Maytal el Ebbed, where we rested eight days. Saker came there to us, and it was agreed that he alone should undertake to raise the Bedouins ofthese districts, while we should return into Syria, lest by too long abandoning our first conquest, our enemies should take advantage of our absence to embroil our affairs and detach the tribes from our alliance.
Besides, the spring was already advanced, and it behooved us to hasten thither, lest the pasturages of Syria and Mesopotamia should be occupied by others. We deferred then, till the year following, the project of pushing our recognizance as far as the frontiers of India. By that period, Saker would have had time to prepare the tribes of his neighbourhood to second us; “for,” said he, “the tree is uprooted by one of its branches.”
Some days’ march brought us back to Mesopotamia. In two more we crossed the Euphrates near Mansour and the desert called El Hamad. We encamped in a place where water is only to be had by digging deep holes, and is at last only fit for the beasts. Man cannot drink of it. The place is called Halib El Dow, because milk is here the only beverage.
We went from thence to El Sarha, a district abundantly supplied with water and herbage, and here expected to be indemnified for our privations; but a particular circumstance speedily dashed our hopes. The soil is covered with an herb calledKraffour, which the camels eat with avidity, and which has the property of inebriating them to the point of madness. They run to the right and left, breaking every thing they encounter, overthrowing the tents, and pursuing the men.
During four-and-twenty hours no one could get any rest; the Bedouins were constantly employed in mastering the camels and in calming their fury. I should have preferred actual war to this continual struggle with animals whose prodigious strength, and delirious exaltation presented incalculable dangers. But it appears that the triumphs of skill over force has great charms for these children of nature; for, when I went to the Drayhy to deplore the state of fever in which this novel revolution held us, he only laughed, and assured me it was one of the greatest amusements of the Bedouins. While we were talking, a camel of the largest size made straight towards us, with his head erect, and kicking up the dust with his great feet. The Drayhy, seizing one of the stakes of his tent, waited for the furious animal, and struck him a violent blow on the head. The weapon broke, and the camel turned away to exercise his ravages elsewhere. A dispute then arose as to which was the strongest, the camel or the sheik. The latter averred, that if his club had resisted, he should have cleft the skull of his adversary; the attendants maintained the superiority of the animal, who had broken the obstacle opposed to him; and my decision, that their strength was equal, because it was a drawn battle, excited the mirth of the whole audience.
The next day we broke up our camp, and were overtaken on the road by a messenger from Saker, who sent us an account of the ill-success of his negotiation with Bargiass. Ourenemy Absi, who was high in favour with the latter chief, had exasperated him against us; had persuaded him to join Mehanna, and then to form an alliance with the Wahabees, who were to send an army for our destruction. The Drayhy answered, that this was no cause for uneasiness—that God was stronger than they were, and could with ease give the victory to the good cause. After this incident we continued our journey.
We next learned that the tribe El Calfa was encamped at Zualma. The Drayhy considered it important to secure the co-operation of this powerful and courageous tribe. Its sheik, Giassem, was an old friend of the Drayhy; but he could neither read nor write, and it therefore became dangerous to address a letter to him, which would be read by a Turk, and might be essentially injurious to our affairs, as experience had taught us in the instance of the scribe Absi. Again, then, the negotiation was committed to me; and I was sent to him, with an escort of six men mounted on dromedaries. We arrived, after a journey of three days, at the spot indicated, and were greatly disconcerted to find that the tribe had removed their camp, leaving no trace of the road they had taken. We passed the night without eating or drinking, and deliberated the following day on what we were to do. The affair of most immediate necessity was to find water; for it is well known that thirst is more insupportable than hunger, and we might also reasonably expect at the same time to meet both with the springs and the tribe. We wanderedthree entire days without finding either water or food. My palate was so perfectly dry, that I could neither move my tongue nor articulate a sound; I had exhausted all the artificial means of mitigating thirst, as keeping pebbles and balls of lead in my mouth; my face was become black, and my strength was forsaking me, when suddenly my companions cried out, “Gioub el Ghamin!” (the name of a well in the desert,) and darted forward. These men, inured to fatigue, sustained privations in a manner inconceivable to me, and were far from imagining to what a deplorable condition I was reduced. On seeing them run from me, the irritation of my nerves, excited by fatigue, made me despair of reaching the well, where I fancied they would not leave a single drop of water for me; and I threw myself on the ground weeping. Seeing me thus overcome, they returned, and encouraged me to make an effort to follow them. We arrived at length at the well, and one of them leaning over the parapet, drew his sabre, declaring he would cut off the head of the first man who dared approach. “Be governed by my experience,” said he, “or you will all perish.” The authoritative tone he assumed had its effect upon us, and we all obeyed in silence. He called us one by one, beginning with me, and made us first lean over the margin of the well to inhale some of its moisture. Then drawing a small quantity of water, he wetted our lips with his fingers; by degrees he allowed us to drink a few drops, then a small cup full; and having pursued this rational treatment forthree hours, he said, “You may now drink without risk; but if you had not listened to me, you would have been all dead men; for drinking without precaution, after long privation, is certain destruction.” We passed the night on this spot, drinking continually, as much for nourishment as to slake our thirst, which, notwithstanding this indulgence, seemed insatiable. In the morning we climbed an eminence that we might see farther round us; alas! nothing but the boundless desert met our view. At length, however, one of the Bedouins thought he descried an object in the distance, and soon asserted that it was an howdah covered with scarlet cloth, and borne by a camel of great size. His companions saw nothing, but having no better guide to follow, we turned our steps in the direction indicated; and, in fact, soon afterwards we found ourselves approaching a great tribe, and distinctly saw the howdah which had served us for a pharos: happily it proved to be the tribe we were in quest of.
Giassem received us kindly, and did his best to remedy our fatigue. I satisfactorily accomplished the object of my mission to him, and he dictated a letter to the Drayhy, in which he undertook to place his men and goods under his orders, saying that the alliance between them ought to be of the closest kind, on account of their long-standing friendship. I set out on my return, provided with this important document, but, on the other hand, much interested in the news he had imparted to me of the arrival of a princess, daughter of the King of England, inSyria, where she was displaying the luxuries of royalty, and had been received with all sorts of honours by the Turks. She had made magnificent presents to Mehanna el Fadel, and had been escorted by him to Palmyra, where she had profusely distributed her largesses, and had made a formidable party among the Bedouins, who had proclaimed her queen.[K]Sheik Ibrahim, to whom I carried this intelligence, was greatly disturbed by it, believing it to be an intrigue to ruin our plans.
The Drayhy, perceiving our misgivings, reassured us by declaring that if they sowed sacks of gold from Hama to the gates of India, they would be unable to detach a single tribe from the solemn engagement which had been contracted.
“The word of a Bedouin is sacred,” he added; “follow up your projects without uneasiness. For my part, my campaign is planned. I am going to the Horan to watch the proceedings of Ebn Sihoud, whom alone we have cause to fear. I shall then return, and encamp in the environs of Homs.”
Sheik Ibrahim, having no longer either money or merchandise, determined to send me immediately to Corietain, whence I should despatch a messenger to Aleppo to procure a supply of cash. I went joyfully, as the expedition gave me a prospect of visiting my friends and reposing some time amongst them. My first day’s journey was performed without accident; but on thefollowing day, about four o’clock, at a spot named Cankoum, I fell into the midst of what I believed to be a friendly tribe, but which proved to be that of Bargiass. It was now too late to recede; I therefore made for the tent of the sheik, preceded by my negro Fodda: but scarcely had I set foot on the ground, when he was massacred before my eyes, and I saw the same weapons which had despatched him raised upon me. The shock was so great, that I have no recollection of what followed, except that I cried out, “Stop! I claim the protection of the daughter of Hedal!” and fainted. When I re-opened my eyes, I found myself lying on a couch in a tent, surrounded by a score of females, who were endeavouring to recall me to life: some were holding burnt hair, vinegar, and onions to my nostrils; while others bathed me in water, and introduced melted butter between my dry and contracted lips. As soon as I had perfectly recovered my consciousness, the wife of Bargiass took me by the hand, saying:
“Fear nothing, Abdallah: you are in the tent of the daughter of Hedal, and no one has a right to injure you.”
Bargiass presenting himself shortly afterwards at the entrance of the tent, to make his peace, as he said, with me,—“By the head of my father,” cried she, “you shall not cross my threshold till Abdallah is entirely cured!”
I remained three days under Bargiass’s tent, tended in the most affectionate manner by his wife, who was negotiating meanwhile a reconciliation between her husband and me; but I feltso rancorous a resentment at his brutality that I found it difficult to pardon him: at length, however, I consented to bury the past in oblivion, on condition of his signing the treaty with the Drayhy. We then embraced and entered into an oath of fraternity. Bargiass presented me with a negro, saying, “I have sacrificed your silver, but in return I give you a jewel;” a play of words upon the names of the two negroes,Fodda, silver, andGianhar, jewel. He afterwards gave an entertainment in honour of our reconciliation. In the midst of the feast a courier arrived at full speed from the Drayhy, bringing to Bargiass a declaration of exterminating war, and full of the most opprobrious epithets. “Oh! thou traitor,” he wrote, “who violatest the sacred law of the Bedouins! thou wretch for ever infamous, who massacrest thy guests! thou Ottoman under a black skin! know that all the blood of thy tribe would not suffice to compensate for that of my dear Abdallah! Prepare thyself for battle, for my courser will rest no more till I have destroyed the last of thy race!” I hastened my departure, to prevent any collision, and to comfort Sheik Ibrahim and the Drayhy. I cannot describe the joy and astonishment which my presence caused; and so miraculous did my return appear, that they could scarcely credit the evidence of their eyes, till I had related all my adventures.
The next morning I again took the road to Corietain, where I waited for twenty days the return of the messenger I had sent to Aleppo,—a respite which I found very seasonable both forrepose and for the repair of my tattered wardrobe; but necessity protracted my stay beyond my inclination, for news was spread that the Wahabees had invaded the desert of Damascus and ravaged several villages, massacreing men and children without exception, and pillaging the women, whom alone they spared. The Sheik of Corietain, too weak to offer the smallest resistance, caused the gates of the town to be closed, forbade any egress from it, and tremblingly awaited the issue. We soon learned that the enemy having attacked Palmyra, the inhabitants had retired within the precincts of the temple, and there successfully defended themselves; and that the Wahabees, unable to force their position, had contented themselves with killing the camel drivers and carrying off their camels. From thence they proceeded to ransack the village of Arack, and had dispersed themselves throughout the environs. This sinister intelligence alarmed me for the fate of my messenger, who however arrived safe and sound with Sheik Ibrahim’s money. He had taken refuge for a short time at Saddad, the inhabitants of which having paid a pretty heavy contribution, had for the moment nothing more to fear. Profiting by this circumstance, I laid aside my Bedouin habiliments, and dressing myself as a Christian of Saddad, made my way to that village, where I obtained news of the Drayhy, who was encamped with the tribe of Bargiass at Ghandah el Cham. I rejoined him the first possible opportunity, and learned with chagrin that a formidable coalition had been effected between Mehanna el Fadel and the tribeestablished at Samarcand; and that by their intrigues with the governors of Hems and Hama, some Turks and Bedouins had been drawn into the alliance against us. In this critical conjuncture I bethought myself of our friend the Pacha Soliman, and persuaded Sheik Ibrahim to visit Damascus for the purpose of consulting with him. We set out at once, and alighted at the house of his prime minister, Hagim, from whom we learned the name of the supposed English princess: he informed us that it was through the influence of Lady Stanhope’s presents that Mehanna had acquired so powerful a party amongst the Turks. These details confirmed our suspicions that England, aware of our projects, was subsidizing the Wahabees on one hand, while on the other she endeavoured, through the intervention of Lady Stanhope, to unite the Bedouins of Syria with the Turks. An Englishman, whom we met at the house of M. Chabassan, assuming the name of Sheik Ibrahim, added strength to these conjectures: he endeavoured to extract something from us, but we were too much upon our guard. Having obtained what we wished from Soliman Pacha, we hastened to rejoin our tribe.
The Drayhy’s courage was not diminished; he assured us he could make head against a much stronger array. The firman granted us by Soliman Pacha required the governors of Hems and Hama to hold in respect his faithful friend and well-beloved son, the Drayhy Ebn Challan, who ought to be obeyed, being supreme chief of the Desert of Damascus; and that any alliance in opposition to him was contrary to the will of thePorte. Furnished with this document, we advanced towards Hama; and some days afterwards Sheik Ibrahim received an invitation from Lady Hester Stanhope to pay her a visit in company with his wife, Madame Lascaris, who was still at Acre; an invitation that annoyed him the more, as he had for three years avoided sending any intelligence to his wife, in order to conceal from the world the place of his residence and his intimacy with the Bedouins. It was necessary, however, to send an answer to Lady Stanhope; he therefore wrote that he would do himself the honour of visiting her as early as circumstances would permit, and despatched at the same time a courier to his wife, desiring her to decline the invitation. But it was too late; Madame Lascaris, anxious to ascertain the existence of her husband, had instantly obeyed Lady Stanhope’s summons to Hama, in hopes of gaining some traces of him from that lady: M. Lascaris thus found himself under the necessity of rejoining her.
Meanwhile Mehanna advanced nearer and nearer, fancying himself certain of co-operation from the Osmanlis; but the Drayhy, judging the time arrived for producing the pacha’s firman, sent it to Hems and Hama by the hands of his son Saher, who was received with the greatest honours. After inspecting the order of which he was the bearer, the two governors placed their troops at his disposal, declaring Mehanna a traitor for calling in the Wahabees, the most inexorable enemies of the Turks.
Lady Hester Stanhope sent an invitation toSaher, and overwhelmed him with presents for himself, his wife, and mother; gave a saddle and boots to every horseman of his suite, and announced her intention of shortly visiting his tribe. M. Lascaris’ visit ended less agreeably: Lady Stanhope having vainly endeavoured, by questions ingeniously contrived, to draw from him some explanation of his connexion with the Bedouins, finally assumed a tone of authority which afforded M. Lascaris a pretext for a rupture. He sent his wife back to Acre, and quitted Lady Stanhope at open variance with her.
Mehanna made his dispositions for commencing the struggle: but finding the Drayhy by no means intimidated by his approach, he judged it prudent to secure a reinforcement of Osmanlis, and sent his son Fares to Hems, to claim the governor’s promised assistance; who, however, instead of investing him with the command of a body of troops, had him loaded with irons and thrown into prison; and the dismayed Mehanna, at this afflicting intelligence, beheld himself precipitated in a moment from the supreme command, to the sad and humiliating necessity, not only of submission to the Drayhy, but of even soliciting his protection against the Turks. The unfortunate old man, overwhelmed by so unexpected a reverse, was obliged to implore the mediation of Assaf Sheik of Saddad, who promised him to negotiate a peace; and actually accompanied him with a hundred horsemen within a short distance of our camp. There leaving Mehanna with his escort, he advanced alone to the tent of the Drayhy, who receivedhim very cordially, but refused at first to accept the submission of Mehanna, till we interposed in his behalf. Sheik Ibrahim represented the hospitality with which he had received us on our arrival in the desert, and Saher, twice kissing his father’s hand, united his solicitations to ours. The Drayhy yielding at last, the principal men of the tribe marched forward to meet Mehanna,—an attention due to his years and rank. As soon as he alighted, the Drayhy assigned him the seat of honour in the corner of the tent, and ordered coffee to be brought. Mehanna hereupon rose: “I will drink none of thy coffee,” said he, “till we shall be completely reconciled, and have buried the seven stones.” At these words the Drayhy also rose; they drew and mutually presented their sabres to be kissed; after which they embraced, and the example was followed by their attendants. Mehanna with his lance made an opening in the ground, in the centre of the tent, about a foot in depth; and choosing seven small stones, he said to the Drayhy, “In the name of the God of peace, for your guarantee and mine, we thus for ever bury our discord.” As the stones were cast into the hole, the two sheiks threw earth over them, and trod it down with their feet; the women signalizing the ceremony with deafening shouts of joy: at its termination the chiefs resumed their seats, and coffee was served.[L]From that moment it was no longer allowable to revert to the past, or to mention war. I was assured that a reconciliation,to be according to rule, ought always to be solemnized in this form. After a plentiful repast, I read aloud the treaty, to which Mehanna and four other chiefs of tribes affixed their seals.[M]
Their united forces amounted to seven thousand six hundred tents; and, what was far more important still, the Drayhy became by this alliance chief of all the Bedouins of Syria, where he had no longer a single enemy. Saher went to Hems to solicit the deliverance of Fares, whom he brought back, attired in a pelisse of honour, to take part in the general rejoicing; after which the tribes dispersed, and occupied with their several stations the whole country from the Horan to Aleppo.
We now only waited the end of the summer to return towards the east, in order to conclude the negotiations we had commenced the preceding year with the tribes of Bagdad and Bussora; and this interval of calm and leisure was filled up with preparations for a marriage between Giarah, son of Fares, chief of the tribe El Harba, and Sabha, daughter of Bargiass, the most beautiful maiden of the desert. I was peculiarly interested in the affair, having known the bride during my residence with her mother. Fares begged the Drayhy to accompany him to Bargiass to make his proposals; and the chiefs of the tribe, in the richest attire, were in attendance.We reached the tent of Bargiass without any one being sent to meet us; Bargiass did not even rise to receive us: such is the usual form on such occasions; the smallest sign of forwardness would be considered unbecoming.
After a few moments’ silence the Drayhy spoke;—“Why,” said he, “do you receive us so indifferently? If you are resolved to offer us no refreshment, we will return home.” During this time Sabha, withdrawn within that part of the tent reserved for the women, observed her suitor through the opening of the curtain; for custom exacts that the lady should signify her satisfaction at the appearance of her lover, before any negotiation is entered upon; and if, after the secret survey I have just mentioned, she gives her mother to understand that the intended bridegroom does not please her, the matter rests there. On this occasion, however, a young and handsome man, of a proud and noble presence, presented himself, and Sabha gave the requisite token of satisfaction to her mother, who then responded to the Drayhy’s inquiry,—“You are all welcome! Not only will we heartily afford you refreshment, but we will grant all that you can desire.”—“We come,” returned the Drayhy, “to demand your daughter in marriage for the son of our friend: what do you require for her dowry?”—“A hundred nakas,”[N]replied Bargiass, “five horses of the race of Nedgde, five hundred sheep, three negroes, and three negresses to attend upon Sabha; and for thetrousseau, a saddle embroidered with gold, a robe of damask silk, ten bracelets of amber and coral, and yellow boots.” The Drayhy made some remonstrances on the exorbitance of the demand, saying, “Thou art minded to realize the Arab proverb: ‘If thou wouldst not marry thy daughter, increase her price.’ Be more reasonable if thou desirest the conclusion of this marriage.”
The dowry was finally settled at fifty nakas, two horses, two hundred sheep, one negro, and one negress. Thetrousseauremained as dictated by Bargiass; saddles and yellow boots for the mother and some other members of the family were even added above his demand. Having written these articles, I read them aloud. Then the assistants at the ceremony recited the prayerFatiha—the Pater Noster of the Mussulmans, which confers its sanction on the contract,—and camel’s milk was handed round, as lemonade had been at a town in Syria. After this refreshment the young people mounted their horses and amused themselves with the djerid,[O]and other games. Giarah, desirous to ingratiate himself with his bride, was particularly distinguished, and she remarked with pleasure his agility and grace. We separated at nightfall, and preparations for the nuptials now employed the thoughts of all.
By the evening of the third day, the dowry, or rather the price of Sabha, was ready, and anumerous procession moved with it in the following order:—A horseman led the van, with a white flag pendent from the point of his lance, and crying, “I bear the spotless honour of Bargiass.” After him followed the camels, decorated with garlands of flowers and foliage, attended by their drivers; then the negro on horseback, richly clothed, and surrounded by men on foot singing popular airs. Behind them marched a troop of warriors, armed with muskets, which they frequently discharged. A woman followed, sprinkling with incense a large vessel of fire which she carried. Then the milch ewes, under the guidance of their shepherds, who were singing like Chibouk, the brother of Antar, two thousand years earlier; for the manners of the Bedouins never change. After these came the negress, mounted upon a horse and evironed by two hundred women on foot, constituting not the least noisy of the groups; for the joyous shouts and nuptial songs of the Arab women are shrill beyond expression. The procession was closed by the camel which bore thetrousseau, and formed a splendid spectacle. The embroidered housings were spread out on all sides and covered the animal; the yellow boots hung from his sides, and the jewels, arranged in festoons, completed his trappings. A child of one of the most distinguished families, mounted on this camel, repeated with a loud voice, “May we be ever victorious! May the fire of our enemies be extinguished for ever!” Other children accompanied him, crying, “Amen!” For my part, Iran from one side to the other, to enjoy the whole spectacle to the utmost.
This time Bargiass came out to meet us, attended by the horsemen and women of his tribe; the cries and chants then became truly deafening; and the horses galloping about on all sides, soon enveloped us in a whirlwind of dust.
When the presents were all displayed and ranged in order around the tent of Bargiass, coffee was made in a monstrous caldron, and every one took some, while waiting for the feast.
Ten camels, thirty sheep, and a prodigious quantity of rice formed the staple of the meal; after which a second caldron of coffee was emptied. The dowry accepted, the ceremony was concluded by a repetition of the prayer; and it was agreed that Giarah should come at the expiration of three days to fetch his bride. Before my departure, I visited the women in their apartments, to introduce Sheik Ibrahim to a more intimate acquaintance with Bargiass’s wife, and to reiterate my thanks for her care of me. She replied by expressing her readiness to increase my obligations by bestowing her niece on me in marriage; but Sheik Ibrahim deferred taking advantage of her favourable intentions towards me till the following year.
On the eve of the day fixed for the wedding, a rumour arose that a formidable army of Wahabees had appeared in the desert: couriers flew from tribe to tribe, exhorting them to unite three or four in a company, that the enemy might findthem prepared on all points to receive them; and the espousals had nearly been consummated by a mortal combat, instead of the sham fight which is customary on such occasions.
The Drayhy and the other chiefs set out very early in the morning with a thousand horsemen and five hundred women to achieve the conquest of the beautiful Sabha. At a short distance from the camp, the procession halted: the women and old men alighted and awaited the issue of a combat between the young people who came to carry off the betrothed, and those of her tribe who opposed their design. These contests have sometimes fatal results; but the bridegroom is not permitted to take part in them, lest his life should be exposed to hazard from the machinations of his rivals. On this occasion the combatants came off with about a score of wounds; and victory, as was reasonable, decided for our party, who carried off the bride in triumph and consigned her to the women of our tribe. Sabha’s train was composed of a score of maidens with three well-laden camels; the first carrying her howdah covered with scarlet cloth, trimmed with fringes and tufts of various-coloured worsted, and adorned with ostrich-feathers: the interior was decorated by festoons of shells and strings of coloured glass, forming a sort of frames to small mirrors, which, placed at intervals, reflected the scene on all sides; and furnished with silken cushions for the reception of the bride. The tent formed the burden of the second camel, and the carpets and kitchen utensils that of the third. The queen of the festival being placedin her howdah, surrounded by the wives of the chiefs mounted on their camels, and by other women on foot, the procession commenced its retrograde march. Horsemen prancing in the van announced its progress to the tribes we might meet, who were expected to greet us by throwing incense and killing sheep under the feet of the bride’s camels. It is not possible to convey a very exact idea of this scene, nor of that which lasted during the whole day and night; nor to describe the dances, the songs, the bonfires, the banquets, the tumult, and the cries of all sorts, which her arrival occasioned. Eight tribes were entertained by the hospitality of Fares. Two thousand pounds of rice, twenty camels, and fifty sheep, furnished out the feast; and in the middle of the night the cry was still, “Let him who is hungry come and eat.” So great was my reputation among them, that Giarah begged a talisman from me to insure the happiness of this union: I accordingly wrote his cipher and that of his spouse in European characters; placed the charm solemnly in his hands; and no one doubted the efficacy of it, when they observed the satisfaction of the new-married couple.
Some days afterwards, hearing that the Wahabees, ten thousand strong, were besieging Palmyra, the Drayhy gave orders for marching against them. We encountered them at El Dauh, and exchanged some musket-shots till nightfall, but without coming to a pitched battle. I had here leisure to appreciate the advantage of themardouffs, in these wars of the desert, in which it is always necessary to carry about the commissariatof the army, and often for a considerable time. These camels, mounted each by two soldiers, are like moving fortresses, provisioned with everything necessary for the nourishment and defence of their riders. A budget of water, a sack of flour and another of dried dates, a jar of sheep’s butter, and the munitions of war, are formed into a sort of square tower on the animal’s back. The men, conveniently placed on each side on seats composed of cordage, thus carry with them everything of which their temperate habits have need. When they are hungry, they knead a little of the meal with butter, and eat it in that state without baking; a few dates and a small quantity of water completing their moderate repast: nor do they quit their post to sleep, but throw themselves across the camel in the manner I have already described. The next day’s engagement was more serious. Our Bedouins fought with more inveterate obstinacy than their adversaries, because their women and children were in their rear, while the Wahabees, far from home, and with no other object than pillage, were little disposed to risk their lives in the cause. Night separated the combatants, but with the earliest dawn the battle recommenced: at length, towards evening, victory declared in our favour; the enemy having lost sixty men killed, took to flight and left us in possession of the field of battle, besides twenty-two prisoners, forty beautiful mares, and sixty camels. This victory still enhanced the reputation of the Drayhy, and filled Sheik Ibrahim with joy; in the exuberance of which he exclaimed,“Thanks be to God, our affairs prosper!”
Having no longer any enemies to fear in the Syrian desert, Sheik Ibrahim parted company for a time from the Drayhy, and went to Hems to purchase merchandise and write to Europe. During our stay in that place he left me perfectly at liberty to seek amusement, and to recover from all my fatigues; and I made daily excursions into the country in company with some of my young friends, doubly enjoying this life of pleasure from its contrast with that which I had led amongst the Bedouins. But, alas! my joy was to be of short duration, and was soon converted into bitter anguish. A messenger, who had been to Aleppo to fetch remittances for M. Lascaris, brought me a letter from my mother, couched in terms of the deepest affliction, and announcing the death of my elder brother by the plague. Grief made her writing almost incoherent. She had been ignorant of my destiny for nearly the last three years, and conjured me, if still in existence, to go to her.
This dreadful intelligence deprived me of the use of my senses, and for three days I was unconscious where I was, and refused all nourishment. Thanks to the attentive care of M. Lascaris, I gradually recovered my recollection; but all that I could obtain from him was permission to write to my poor mother. Neither was I allowed to despatch my letter till the eve of our departure, for fear she should come herself to seek me. But I pass over the detail ofmy personal feelings, in which the reader can have no interest, to return to our travels.
The Drayhy having advertised us that he would shortly set out for the east, we hastened to join him, with three camels, two mares, and four guides, whom he had placed at our disposal. The day of our departure from Hems, I felt so extraordinary a weight upon my heart that I was tempted to regard it as a fatal presentiment. It struck me that I was advancing to a premature death. I made the best use, however, of my reasoning powers, and at length persuaded myself that the oppression I experienced resulted from the dejection into which my mother’s afflicting letter had plunged me. We set out on a journey of twenty hours, and though wearied by travelling the whole day, were persuaded by our guides not to halt till we had completed it. Nothing particular occurred till midnight; when growing drowsy from fatigue and the monotonous movement of the march, we were alarmed by a sudden cry from the advanced guide—“Rouse yourselves, and look well about you, for we are on the brink of a tremendous precipice!” The road was but a foot in breadth; on the right was a perpendicular mountain, and on the left the precipice called Wadi el Hail. I woke in surprise, rubbed my eyes, and reseized the bridle, which I had allowed to hang loosely over the neck of my mare. But this precaution, which ought to have saved me, was the very thing that had nearly caused my death; for the animal having stumbled against a stone, fear made me draw the reinstoo hastily. She reared, and in coming down lost her footing, stepped only on vacancy, and rolled over with her rider to the bottom of the precipice. What passed after that moment of agony I know only from Sheik Ibrahim, who has since told me, that he dismounted in terror, and endeavoured to distinguish the nature of the gulf in which I had disappeared; but the night was too dark,—the noise of my fall was the only notice he had of it, and he could discern nothing but an abyss beneath his feet. He then betook himself to weeping, and conjuring the guides to go down the precipice. But this they declared impossible in the darkness, assuring him moreover, that it would be useless trouble, since I must not only be certainly dead, but dashed to pieces against the points of the rocks. Whereupon he announced his resolution not to stir from the spot till the daylight should enable him to make his researches, and promised a hundred tallarins to whoever should recover my body, however mutilated it might be, as he could not, he said, consent to leave it a prey to wild beasts. He then sat down on the edge of the gulf, waiting in mournful despair for the first glimmerings of daylight.
No sooner were they perceptible, than the four men descended the abyss with much difficulty, and found me, insensible, suspended by my sash, my head downwards. The mare lay dead a few toises below, at the extremity of the ravine. I had ten wounds on my head, the flesh torn from my left arm, my ribs broken, and my legs scratched to the bone. I was deposited, without any sign of life, at the feet of Sheik Ibrahim, whothrew himself upon me in tears. But having a little knowledge of medicine, and carrying always some valuable remedies about with him, he did not long abandon himself to a useless grief. Having satisfied himself, by the application of volatiles to the nostrils, that I was not absolutely dead, he placed me carefully on a camel, and retraced his steps as far as the village of El Habedin. During this short journey my body swelled prodigiously, without giving any other sign of life. The village sheik having placed me on a mattress, sent to Hems for a surgeon. For nine whole hours I remained perfectly insensible; and at the end of that time opened my eyes without the smallest perception of the objects around me, or recollection of what had befallen me. I felt as if under the influence of a dream, but without being sensible of pain. In this state I lay for four-and-twenty hours, and recovered from my lethargy only to suffer such indescribable agonies that I fancied it would have been better a hundredfold to have remained at the bottom of the precipice.
Sheik Ibrahim never quitted me for an instant, and offered the highest rewards to the surgeon in case he should succeed in saving me. The latter was zealous, but by no means skilful; and no amendment appearing at the expiration of thirty days, gangrene was apprehended. The Drayhy had visited me immediately on being informed of my accident; and he also wept over me, and offered rich presents to stimulate the surgeon’s efforts: but at the highest point of his sensibility he could not suppress his regret for the loss ofhis mare Abaige, who was of pure blood, and worth ten thousand piastres. Nevertheless, he was in real distress, as was Ibrahim; for they not only feared my loss, but foresaw in it the miscarriage of all their operations. I endeavoured to encourage them, telling them that I did not believe myself dying. But it was too true, that though, I should be spared, there was no probability of my being for a long while in a condition to travel.
The Drayhy was obliged to take leave of us to pursue his migration eastwards; and Sheik Ibrahim was in despair at seeing me grow daily worse. Hearing at length that a more skilful surgeon resided at El Dair Attia, he sent for him. The surgeon refused to come, requiring that the patient should be taken to him. I was therefore put upon a sort of litter in the best manner that could be contrived, and carried to him, at the hazard of expiring on the road. The new surgeon entirely changed the dressing of my wounds, and washed them with warm wine. Three months I stayed with him, suffering martyrdom, and a thousand times regretting the death I had escaped. I was then transported to the village of Nabek, where for three months longer I kept my bed. From that period I may date the actual commencement of my recovery, though it was retarded by frequent relapses. Upon the sight of a horse, for example, I fainted, and continued for a month in a state of extreme nervousness, which at length, and by degrees, I conquered: but I am bound to confess that to this moment the presence of that animal causes me a shudder;and I made a resolution never again to mount a horse, except in a case of absolute necessity.
My illness cost Sheik Ibrahim five hundred tallarins. But how shall I estimate his attentions, his paternal care! I am assuredly indebted to him for my life.
During my convalescence he learnt that our friend the Pacha of Damascus had been replaced by another, Soliman Selim. This news greatly disconcerted us, as it appeared indicative of the loss of our credit with the Turks.
Ten months had elapsed—a second spring was come, and we were expecting with impatience the arrival of the Bedouins, our allies, when, to our great joy, a courier announced their approach. We forwarded him in haste to the Drayhy, who liberally rewarded him for the good news he brought of my recovery, which produced universal joy in the camp, where I had long been supposed dead. We waited some days longer, till the tribe advanced nearer; and in the interval a singular story came to my knowledge, which I think worthy of insertion, as an illustration of Arab manners.
A merchant of Anatolia, escorted by fifty men, was leading ten thousand sheep to be sold at Damascus. On the road he made acquaintance with three Arabs, with one of whom he formed a close intimacy, and at parting was desired to swear fraternity with him. The merchant could not discover in what respect he, who was the proprietor of ten thousand sheep, and was escorted by fifty soldiers, could be benefitted by having a brother amongst the poorBedouins; but the Bedouin, whose name was Chatti, was so importunate, that, to satisfy him, he consented to give him two piastres and a handful of tobacco as pledges of fraternity. Chatti divided the two piastres between his companions, saying, “Be ye witnesses that this man is become my brother.” They then separated, and the merchant thought no more of the matter, till, at a place called Ain el Alak, a party of Bedouins, superior in number to his escort, attacked and routed them, took possession of his sheep, and stripped him to his shirt; in which pitiable condition he arrived at Damascus, imprecating curses upon the Bedouins, and especially upon his pretended brother Chatti, whom he accused of betraying and selling him.
Meanwhile the news of so rich a capture was quickly spread in the desert, and reached the ears of Chatti, who, having with some difficulty found his two witnesses, brought them before Soultan el Brrak, chief of the tribe of El Ammour, to whom he declared that he was brother to the merchant who had just been robbed, and called upon the chief to enable him to fulfil the duties of fraternity, by restoring the property. Soultan, having taken the depositions of the two witnesses, was obliged to accompany Chatti to El Nahimen, the sheik of the tribe which had carried off the sheep, and to reclaim them in conformity with their laws. The sheik was under the necessity of restoring them; and Chatti, having first ascertained that none were missing, took the road to Damascus, with the flocks and their shepherds.
Leaving them outside the town, he entered it in search of his brother, whom he found seated in a melancholy mood in front of a coffee-room of the Bazaar. He went straight to him with a joyful air; but the other turned angrily away, and Chatti had great difficulty in obtaining a hearing, and still greater in persuading him to believe that his sheep were waiting for him outside the walls. He apprehended a new snare, and would not for a long while consent to follow the Bedouin. Convinced at last by the sight of his sheep, he threw himself on Chatti’s neck, and after giving full expression to his gratitude, vainly exerted himself to induce him to accept a recompense proportioned to such a service. The Bedouin could only be persuaded to receive a pair of boots and acafia(handkerchief), not worth above a tallarin at the utmost, and, after partaking of his brother’s bread, returned to his tribe.
Our first interview with the Drayhy was truly affecting. He came himself, with the principal members of his tribe, to seek us at the village of Nabek, and took us back in a sort of triumph to the camp. By the way he gave us the history of the wars he had waged in the territory of Samarcand, and his good fortune in vanquishing four of the principal tribes,[P]and afterwards inducing them to sign the treaty. It was important to have detached these tribes intime from their alliance with the Wahabees, to whom they were formerly tributary; for it was reported that our enemies were preparing a formidable army, and flattered themselves with obtaining the supremacy of all Syria. Soon afterwards we heard that the army was on its march, spreading terror and devastation everywhere on its passage.
The Pacha of Damascus despatched orders to the governors of Hems and Hama, to keep guard day and night, and to hold their troops in readiness for battle: while the inhabitants fled towards the coast, to escape the sanguinary Wahabees, whose name alone sufficed to drive them from their homes.
The Drayhy was invited by the pacha to a conference with him at Damascus; but fearing some treason, he excused himself under pretence of the impossibility of deserting his post at so critical a moment. He even requested from him some auxiliary troops, hoping by their assistance to be able to keep the enemy in check.
While waiting for the expected reinforcement, the Drayhy caused a solemn declaration of war to be made, according to the custom of the Bedouins on very particular occasions, in the following form:—A white female camel was selected, and blackened all over with soot and oil; reins made of black hair were then put over her, and she was mounted by a young maiden dressed in black, with her face and hands also blackened. Ten men led her from tribe to tribe, and on reaching each she proclaimedaloud three times,—“Succour! succour! succour! Which of you will make this camel white? she is a relic from the tent of the Drayhy menacing ruin. Fly, fly, noble and generous defenders! The Wahabees are coming! they will carry away your allies and your brothers: all you who hear me, address your prayers to the prophets Mahomet and Ali, the first and the last!”
Saying which, she distributed amongst the tribe handfuls of black hair, and letters from the Drayhy, indicating the place of rendezvous on the banks of the Orontes. Our camp was in a short time augmented by the coalition of thirty tribes, assembled in the same plain, and so thickly encamped that the ropes of our tents touched. The Pacha of Damascus sent ten thousand men to Hama, commanded by his nephew Ibrahim Pacha, there to wait for other troops which the Pachas of Acre and Aleppo were to furnish. Scarcely had they met, when the arrival of the Wahabees at Palmyra was announced by the inhabitants, who fled to take refuge in Hama. Ibrahim Pacha wrote to the Drayhy, who repaired to him, and they arranged together their plan of defence. The Drayhy, who took me with him as his counsellor, acquainted me with the stipulations agreed upon; when I pointed out to him the danger of uniting Bedouins and Turks in the same camp, the latter having no means of distinguishing in the confusion of battle their friends from their enemies. The Bedouins themselves, indeed, recognize each other in the heat of the fight only bytheir war-cries, each tribe incessantly repeating its own,—“Khrail el allia Doualli,—Khrail el bionda Hassny,—Khrail el hamra Daffiry,” &c.;—Khrail signifying horsemen; allia, bionda, hamra, indicating the colour of their favourite mare; Doualli, Hassny, Daffiry, are the names of the tribes. This war-cry, therefore, is equivalent to the words,horsemen of the red mare of Daffir, &c. Others invoke their sister, or some other beauty; hence the Drayhy’s war-cry is, Ana Akhron Rabda,—I the brother of Rabda; that of Mehanna,—I the brother of Fodda: both have sisters renowned for their beauty. The Bedouins pride themselves greatly in their war-cries, and would consider that man a coward who should hesitate to pronounce it in the moment of danger. The Drayhy saw the force of my argument, and persuaded Ibrahim Pacha, though with difficulty, to consent to a division of their forces.