Chapter 37

6.Mebroukis Arabic for "the fortunate one."

7.Guebla, the south, the Sahara, the desert.

8.Djellalsare woollen cloths more or less ornamented with designs according to the wealth of the chief. They are very wide and extremely warm, and cover both the chest and the croup.

9. Slaves from Kora are in great request among the Mussulmans. They learn Arabic with great difficulty, but they are very attentive to their duties, and much attached to their masters.

10. What the Arabs understand by the evil eye is this: Some one may say to you: "Oh! what a beautiful horse, what a beautiful mare you have there!" Fear the worst from such a one, for he has only spoken out of envy. If he had meant it in real kindliness, he would not have failed to have added: "Allah protect you, or grant you his blessing." It is not every one, however, who has the evil eye.

11. Red and all the brilliant colours fall to the lot of good fortune, in the eyes of the Arabs; while the sombre hues, and especially yellow, indicate misfortune.

12. The Arabs consider as green the colour we call a deep yellow dun, especially when it approaches to that of a ripening olive.

13. The Arabs call blue the horse of a grayish colour shot like a starling's back.

14. It is a matter of luxury for the Arabs and especially for those of the desert to possess balls made in moulds. For the most part they use rods cut into small pieces.

15. The Arabs of the desert are so fond of their independent wandering life, that they regard as the most wearisome moment of their existence the season when they are compelled to come to the Tell to purchase their supplies of corn.

16. Feminine ofsherif, signifying a descendant of the Prophet.

17. In their poetic effusions, the Arabs frequently call the sunaâin ennour, "eye of light."

18. Among the Arabs, there are no rejoicings without firing off of guns.

19. When a desert tribe is at peace, the camels are sent away ten or twelve leagues, to graze, and it may be easily conceived that if a sudden swoop be made upon them it needs excellent horses and vigourous horsemen to recover them.

20. Small and restless ears as well as lively and prominent eyes are a sign, say the Arabs, of a healthy action of the heart, and that the animal is full of life.

21. Themahariis much more slender in its proportions than thedjemel, or common camel. It has the exquisite ears of the gazelle, the supple neck of the ostrich, the hollow belly of theslouguior greyhound. Its head is lean and gracefully attached to the neck; its eyes bright, black, and prominent; its lips long and firm, covering well the teeth; the hump is small, but the chest where it touches the earth when the animal couches down, is strong and protuberant; the dock of its tail is short; its legs, very lean in the upper part, are furnished with muscles from the ham and the knee down to the hoof, and the sole of its foot is neither broad nor thick: finally, it has very few hairs on the neck, and its coat, of a tawny colour, is as fine as that of the jerboa. See General Daumas' work on the "Great Desert." In the desert, themahariis to thedjemelwhat, with us, a race horse is to a draught horse.

22.Hôor, in the pluralharar. Not unlikely, this word brought by our ancestors from the crusades is the origin of the wordharas.

23. The nomadic tribe of the Arbâa encamps in the neighbourhood of Leghrouât. It is divided into three great sections: el Mamera, el Hedjadj, and Ouled Salah. (Sahara Algérien, p. 45.)

24. All these tribes pitch their tents in the quadrilateral comprised between Sidi-Khaled, Tougourt, the Beni-Mzab, and Leghrouât.

25. The French league is rather less than 2-1/2 miles English.

26. A very populous tribe who occupy the whole of the Djebel-Sahri and the greatest part of the basin of the Oued-Djedi.

27. Berouaguïa is six leagues south of Medeah; Souagui, thirty one leagues from Berouaguïa; Sidi-Bouzid, twenty-five leagues farther on; and lastly Leghrouât, twenty-four leagues beyond that, or one hundred and seven leagues south of Algiers.

28. The Tell is the granary of the Sahara: the master of the Tell holds the people of the Sahara with the grasp of famine. They are so sensible of this that they frankly avow it in a phrase that has passed into a proverb: "We cannot be either Mussulmans, Jews, or Christians: we are forced to be the friends of our belly."

29. A fort built by the Spaniards, and the residence of the general commanding the province.

30. A sort of woollen shirt frequently worn by the Arabs.

31. The Bactrian variety, which has two humps and is much larger than the other.

32. A species of partridge, with a "tucked up" body and very short toes.

33. Among the Arabs of Upper Asia, but chiefly in the Nedjed, when a filly is foaled, it is impossible to form an idea of the rapture that seizes the family. "Allah has sent us a blessing; our lord Mohammed has entered into our tent." Neither wives nor children would suffer themselves to subtract one drop of the milk drawn from the camels, the goats, and the ewes. The whole of it is reserved for the fortunate foal, object of the love and most tender solicitude of all inhabitants of the tent. (Voyage dans la Haute Asie, by M. Pétiniaud.)

34. An umbelliferous plant of the genus thapsia.

35. A kind of semolina made with wheaten flour. It is as universal with the Arabs as soup with Continental Europeans.

36. During my long career, in my tribes, by my friends, or among my followers, I have seen upwards of ten thousand colts reared, and I affirm that all those whose education was not begun at a very early age and according to the principles enunciated above, have never turned out other than stubborn, troublesome horses, unfit for war. I also affirm that when I have made long and rapid marches at the head of twelve or fifteen hundred horsemen, horses however lean, if early broken in to fatigue, never fell out of the ranks, while those that were fat or mounted too late have always fallen to the rear. My conviction on this head is based on such a long experience that lately, finding myself at Masseur (Cairo), in the necessity of purchasing some horses, I refused point blank all that were presented to me that had been broken in at a comparatively advanced age."How has thy horse been reared?" was always my first question."My lord," an inhabitant of the city would reply "this gray stone of the river has been brought up by me like one of my own children, always well fed, well tended to, and spared as much as possible, for I did not begin to ride him till he was full four years old. See how fat he is, how sound in all his limbs.""Well, keep him, my friend. He is thy pride and that of thy family. It would be a shame to my gray beard to deprive thee of him.""And thou!" I would then ask of an Arab whom I recognized as a child of the desert, so embrowned was he with the sun, "How has thy horse been reared?""My lord," he would answer, "betimes I formed his back to the saddle, and his mouth to the bridle. With him I have reached a distant, very distant point. He has passed many a day without food. His ribs are bare, it is true, but if you encounter any enemies on your path he will not leave you in peril. I swear it by the day of the last judgment, when Allah shall be kadi and the angels witnesses.""Hola, there! tether the dark chestnut before my tent," I would cry to my servants, "and satisfy this man."(Sidi-Hamed-ben-Mohammed-el-Mokrani, khalif of Medjana,chief of one of the most illustrious families of all Algeria.)

"How has thy horse been reared?" was always my first question.

"My lord," an inhabitant of the city would reply "this gray stone of the river has been brought up by me like one of my own children, always well fed, well tended to, and spared as much as possible, for I did not begin to ride him till he was full four years old. See how fat he is, how sound in all his limbs."

"Well, keep him, my friend. He is thy pride and that of thy family. It would be a shame to my gray beard to deprive thee of him."

"And thou!" I would then ask of an Arab whom I recognized as a child of the desert, so embrowned was he with the sun, "How has thy horse been reared?"

"My lord," he would answer, "betimes I formed his back to the saddle, and his mouth to the bridle. With him I have reached a distant, very distant point. He has passed many a day without food. His ribs are bare, it is true, but if you encounter any enemies on your path he will not leave you in peril. I swear it by the day of the last judgment, when Allah shall be kadi and the angels witnesses."

"Hola, there! tether the dark chestnut before my tent," I would cry to my servants, "and satisfy this man."

(Sidi-Hamed-ben-Mohammed-el-Mokrani, khalif of Medjana,

chief of one of the most illustrious families of all Algeria.)

37. A sort of sabretache attached to the pommel of the saddle, in which the Arabs carry their ammunition, their papers, and food, etc., etc. Sometimes thedjebirais a marvel of elaborate embroidery.

38. "To-day we went out on horseback with our host Youssouf-ben-Bender, and directed our course towards the desert. He was accompanied by his sons and grandsons, all mounted on fine horses, while his servants proceeded on dromedaries. During this excursion, we met an Arab who caused me some surprise. Without saddle or bridle, with a slight halter, the noseband of which was a thin iron chain, and holding in his hand a wand crooked at one end with which he guided his horse, he started off at full gallop, pulled up dead halt, was off again like an arrow, turned sharp round at full speed, and while going at that pace, made his horse change his feet, off the ground, on the right line. I could scarcely believe my own eyes and I question if our most celebrated riding masters or "sportsmen" could do better. What particularly struck me was the simplicity of the means employed by this son of Ishmael to obtain what he exacted from his courser. In Europe, we study the functions and play of the muscles, only to counteract them. In Arabia also are they studied, but in order to make use of nature, not to do her violence. Besides, it is not merely one Arab here and there who rides well; but all without exception are good horsemen, all love the horse passionately, all understand how to train him. At the bivouac an inhabitant of the Nedjed always sleeps with his head resting on the shoulder of his horse, and every horse lies down at his master's bidding. The latter thus obtains a pillow softer than the ground, and also renders it difficult for any one to steal his horse during his sleep." (Voyage dans la Haute Asie, by M. Pétiniaud, General Inspector of the "Haras.")

39. While with us, in France, the stirrup is not supposed to bear more than the weight of the leg; with the Arabs, on the contrary, the whole weight of the body, when going at a good pace, is thrown upon the stirrups.

40. France was indebted to the hatred of Abd-el-Kader cherished by Mustapha-ben-Ismaïl for the unfailing loyalty of the illustrious chief of the powerful tribe of the Douairs. He had been for upwards of thirty years the Aga of the Turks. Thus, when the son of Mahi-Eddin, at the age of twenty-five, was proclaimed Sultan by the tribe of the province of Oran, the aged warrior refused to yield obedience to him, saying that "never with his white beard would he go to kiss the hand of a mere boy." The consequences of this enmity forced him to take refuge in themechouarof Tlemcen, where for two years he held out against thehadars, or citizens, all of whom were devoted to the cause of him who had assumed the title of Commander of the Faithful. Only when reduced to the last extremity did he demand and obtain succour from Marshal Clauzel, whose column relieved him in 1836. From that period, notwithstanding his great age, he took part at the head of the "goums" of the Douairs and the Zmelas, in all the actions fought in the province of Oran. France recompensed this energetic attachment by a Marshal's baton and the cross of a Commander of the Legion of Honour. Mustapha-ben-Ismaïl was killed by the Flittas, on the 19th May 1843, in his eightieth year, while skirmishing in the rear, protecting the rich booty taken from the Hashem-Gharabas, at the capture of the Smala.

41. Tents pitched in a circle, a subdivision of the tribe.

42. A river in Algeria.

43. The plural form ofKsar, a hamlet, village, or town of the desert.

44. TheStipa barbataof Desfontaines. This plant grows abundantly in the Sahara. The inhabitants of that unproductive region wander far and wide to gather the seeds of this grass, and often collect a large quantity. The seed is ground down and used for the same purposes as wheaten flour.

45. This plant is very common throughout Algeria, and is much used for feeding horses. In our expeditions our chargers have often had nothing else to eat. It is theLygeum Spartum. The culms of this grass do not rise above ten or twelve centimètres in height. It is theStipa tenacissimaused in the East for making basket work, etc., and in some parts of Algeria the natives weave it into mats.

46. The Arabs understand by the hot season from April to September inclusive, and by the cold season from October to March inclusive.

47. A very important tribe situated to the North-West of Oran.

48. Gold coins, worth from ten to twelve francs each.

49. An Indian prince who flourished before the birth of the Prophet, and whose riches were proverbial.

50. Poison that is fatal within the hour.

51.Kohol, sulphide of antimony, used to stain the eyelids. When a married woman has stained her eyes withKohol, adorned herself withhenna, and chewed a stick ofsouak, which sweetens the breath, whitens the teeth, and reddens the lips, she becomes more pleasant in the eyes of Allah, and more beloved of her husband.

52. This mile is only a kilomètre.

53. A star in the constellation of Orion.

54. A parasang is equal to about 5,000 mètres. Sixteen parasangs are equal, in round numbers, to fifty English miles.

55.Sabok, rapid, outstripping.

56.Aâtika, the noble lady.

57.Hader, inhabitant of cities.

58.Bedoui, inhabitant of the wild parts of the Sahara.

59. In the Sahara this name is given to hillocks the outline of which resembles that of a ship.

60.Rahil, migration, a nomadic movement.

61.Haouadjej, red camel-litters.

62.Taka, windows: the bull's-eyes of litters.

63. Veils waving over the horses croups.

64.Houache, a species of bison, or wild ox.

65.Ghezal, the gazelle.

66.Delim, the male ostrich.

67. The odour of musk remains where theghezalhas passed.

68.Mahari, a riding camel.

69.Maha, a species of white wild doe.

70. A thick silver pin used by women to fasten theirhaïk, a long piece of woollen, stuff with which they robe themselves. In the desert this pin is calledkhelala.

71. A small piece of polished wood, with which women smear on their eyelids thekohol, or antimony, they value so highly.

72. A kind of seat, more or less ornamented according to the means of each individual, which is placed on camel's backs for the use of women who are going on a journey.Temagare red morocco boots.

73. Many Arabs in battle load their pieces with seven balls or deer-shot; but their fire-arms are generally in such bad condition that this practice becomes the source of innumerable accidents. The number of persons maimed by guns bursting in their hands is very considerable.

74. "Dash on at full speed." The metaphor is taken from the act of swimming.

75. A salt soil that yields nothing but salt.

76.Layahh, he who amuses, or distracts the attention.

77. In some of the desert tribes a robber taken in the act is covered from head to foot withalfa(mat-weed), to which they set fire, and the poor wretch rushes away, amid general hooting, to die a little way off.

78. The Beni-Mezab form, in the midst of the populations of the desert, a small nation by themselves, distinguished by the severity of their manners, a peculiar dialect, honesty that has passed into a proverb, and certain differences in their religious ceremonies.

79. The Arab pride is here revealed in its full force. The produce of our horses, our camels, and our sheep, say they, exempts us from the necessity of working, and yet we can procure without difficulty all that these miserable Christians manufacture with so much labour.

80. A large tribe of Berber origin who hold the gates of the Sahara and the Soudan, and levy upon caravans a tax for entering, a tax for leaving, and a tax for passing through, their territory. They deal, also, in slaves.

81. A negro kingdom to the southward, in which certain small tribes still make use of poisoned arrows.

82. The Arabs give the name ofDjouadto the military nobility who derive their origin from the Mehal, the conquerors from the East, and followers of the companions of the Prophet. The common people suffer much from the injustice and oppression of the Djouad, who strive to efface the memory of their ill-treatment, and maintain their influence, by generously according hospitality and protection to all who claim them. In other words, they combine in the highest degree the two salient traits of the national character, avidity of gain, and love of pomp and ostentation.

83. Sister is here used in the sense of lover or mistress.

84. Blood money. In the Sahara thedyais reckoned at three hundred sheep, or fifty three-year old camels.

85. A small square chapel surmounted by a dome, in which a marabout has usually been interred. Solitary travellers find in them a resting place.

86. In order to make the purification complete, it is necessary to cut through the œsophagus, the tracheal artery, and the two jugular veins.

87. A kind of leather dressed at Tafilalet.

88. Probably the Guinea-fowl.

89. I am aware that this is not the denomination bestowed by science upon this animal, which is actually the dromadary. However, I have adhered to the appellation of "Camel," because it is the only one used in Algeria. Besides, the Arabic worddjemelapplies to the camel as well as to the dromadary.

90. A sort of arm-chair placed upon the backs of camels.

91. Goat-skins, generally dyed red, and prepared at Tafilalet in Morocco: it is what we call morocco leather.

92. Money is never buried in the desert as it is in the Tell, lest the floods of winter should betray the hiding-places.

93. About £5,721. Thedouroworth about 4 shillings and 6 pence.

94. Religious establishments, generally comprising a mosque and a school, and the tombs of their founders.

95. Singular ofdjouad.

96. A well at Mecca, the water of which is carried away by pilgrims. It is said to be supplied from Paradise.

97. The angel of death. As soon as a man yields his last breath, Azrael is sent by Allah to strike the balance between the deceased's good and bad actions.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Punctuation and some spelling has been normalized.

Variations in hyphenation and accentuation were maintained.

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