THE BARB.
We have often heard it said that the horse of our African possessions, to whose rare qualities we have endeavoured to do justice, was very inferior to the true Arabian. Notwithstanding a conviction based on a lengthened experience and a grave study of the subject, we have made it our duty to take up and discuss an opinion put forth with an air of authority. We were willing to accept as umpire in this dispute, a man whose intelligence, whose habits, whose whole life, render him a supreme judge in all matters relating to horse-flesh—the Emir Abd-el-Kader. We addressed to that genuine horseman a letter in which we frankly expressed the objections which each of our assertions had encountered. His reply to this letter is given below. It will be seen from this curious document that the Emir does not confine himself to the confirmation of the proposition we advanced, but develops by reflections or by facts the whole of our opinions. According to his statement, the Barbary horse, so far from degenerating from the Arab, is, on the contrary, superior to him. The Berbers, he says, formerly inhabited Palestine, where they rearedthe animal that has become the type of a perfect war horse. Having emigrated to Africa through the vicissitudes of their life of adventure, they paid the utmost attention to the guest of their tents, the instrument of their hunting expeditions, their comrade in the fight. Their horses thus preserved such eminent qualities, that an Asiatic sovereign engaged in a perilous war, sent for them from the Berbers. The reader will appreciate the value of this historical dissertation which, from whatever point of view it be examined, does not the less possess an interest that cannot be contested. It is quite certain that the Barbary horse is indebted to the climate in which he flourishes, to the education which he receives, to the food that is given to him, to the privations that are familiar to him, for a vigour that enables him to equal, if not to surpass the most vaunted steeds of Persia and Upper Egypt. Supported by the following letter, we hold ourselves justified in repeating that all the horses of Asia and Africa may be blended together under one common denomination. We oppose to the European horse, one identical horse—the horse of the Orient—which, thanks to our conquest of Algeria, we believe will be daily called upon to render to our country services more and more valuable and more and more valued.
This is the letter from the Emir Abd-el-Kader, which he forwarded to me from Broussa:
Praise to the one God! His reign alone is eternal!
May the profoundest peace and the most perfect divine beneficence be extended to the person of General Daumas,—of him who ardently seeks for the solution of the most obscure questions! May Allah conduct and protect him!
To proceed: You have asked us our opinion on Barbary horses, their character, and their origin. To give you satisfaction I amagain turning my attention to these subjects, and can do nothing better to-day than send you some extracts taken from the poetical works of the famous Aâmrou-el-Kaïs, who lived a short time before the coming of the Prophet. They refer to the superiority of the horses of the Berbers, and I think you will there find proofs against those who maintain that those admirable animals are of an inferior stamp. The poet remarks, while addressing himself to Cæsar, Emperor of Constantinople, in a long piece of versification:
"And I answer thee, if ever I am reinstated as King, we will ride a race where you shall see the horseman lean forward over his saddle to increase the speed of his courser;
"A race across a space trampled down on all sides, where no higher marks are distinguishable to direct the traveller, than the hump of an aged Nabathæan camel loaded with years and uttering plaintive moanings.
"We shall be borne, I tell thee, on a horse accustomed to nocturnal journeys, a steed of the Barbary race; with slender flanks like a wolf of Gada; a steed that rushes along on his rapid course, and whose flanks are running with sweat.
"When, slackening the bridle, the rider urges him on still faster by striking him with the reins on either side, he quickens his rapid course, bending his head to his flanks and champing the bit.
"And when I say: 'Let us rest;' the horseman stops as by enchantment and begins to sing, remaining in the saddle on this vigorous horse, the muscles of whose thighs are long drawn out and whose tendons are lean and well apart."
Aâmrou-el-Kaïs was one of the ancient Kings of Arabia, who took infinite pains to procure Barbary horses wherewith to combat his enemies. He was doubtful of success if obliged to trust himself to the qualities of Arab horses. It is not possible, in my opinion, to give a more invincible proof of the superiority of the Barb. After testimony like this any one who should dispute it would be quite unable to adduce an allegation of the slightest value.
The Berbers, as stated by El-Massoudi, are descended from the Beni-Ghassan, while other writers affirm that they come from the Beni-Lekhm and the Djouzam. Their native country was Palestine, whence they were expelled by one of the Kings of Persia. They then emigrated to Egypt, but the souvereign of that country refusing them permission to settle here, theycrossed the Nile and spread over the regions to the westward of the other side of the river.
Maleck-ben-el-Merahel says that the Berbers form a very numerous population composed of Hymiar, Modher, Copts, Amalkas, and Kanéan, who became amalgamated in the province of Sham (Syria) and took the name of Berbers. Their immigration into the Maghreb, according to this historian with whom El-Massoudi, El-Souheili, and El-Zabari also agree, was owing to their marching under Ifrikesh to the conquest of the African peninsula.
Ibn-el-Kelbi asserts that opinions are divided as to the real name of the chief under whose guidance the Berbers emigrated from Syria towards the Maghreb. Some will have it that it was under the Prophet David, others name Youssha-ben-Enoun, others again Ifrikesh, and yet others certain Kings of the Zobor.
El-Massoudi adds that they did not emigrate until after the death of Goliath and that they established themselves in the province of Barka and in the Maghreb, after having vanquished the Frendj (Franks). They then invaded Sicily, Sardinia, the Balearic Isles, and Spain. Still later it was stipulated between them and the Frendj that the latter should occupy the towns, while the former should fix themselves in the deserts which extend from Alexandria to the Ocean.
Ibn-Abd-el-Berr affirms that the establishment of the Berbers extended from the extremity of Egypt, that is, from the regions situated behind Barka to the Green Sea, and from the sea of Andalusia to the end of the deserts which border on Soudan. On this frontier line a tribe bearing the name of Berbers still exists between the Habeuch (Abyssinians) and the Zendy (Zanzibar). The author of theKamous(an Arabic Dictionary) makes mention of them, but they are a very insignificant tribe, whose trivial and obscure history records not a single important event.
The essential point here is the extract from the poet Aâmrou-el-Kaïs on the subject of Barbary horses. As for the Berbers themselves, every thing proves that they have been known from time immemorial and that they came from the East to settle in the Maghreb, where we find them at the present day.
Peace be with you, at the end as at the beginning of this letter on the part of your friend.
ABD-EL-KADER-BEN-MAHHIDDIN.
May Allah cover him with His blessings!
Broussa, the 1st of Safer, 1269-1854.
Since the above was written, I have received a proof confirmatory of my opinion as to the excellence of the Barbary horse and its perfect equality with other horses of oriental extraction. It is this:
Paris,—185—
My dear General,
I forward you a copy of the official report of the races which came off at Alexandria in Egypt on the 25th July, 1836. I give you full permission to introduce it in your work as a useful argument in support of your thesis on the excellence of the Barb. I have already related to you how these races took place in consequence of a conversation I had with Mehemet-Ali, in the course of which the Viceroy of Egypt bantered me on the arrival of a horse which my brother Jules had sent me from Tunis.
Accept, etc., etc.
Ferd. de LESSEPS.
DISTANCE RUN: 4-1/2 KILOMÈTRES (NEARLY 2-4/5 MILES) IN A STRAIGHT LINE.
1st Heat.
Nejdi horse, dappled-gray, 4-1/2 yrs, the property of Subi-Bey, ridden by the owner.
Nejdi horse, bred in Cairo, bay, 9 yrs, the property of M. Jules Pastré, ridden by the owner.
Anézé horse, from Syria, iron gray, 3-1/2 yrs, the property of M. Méreinier, ridden by M. J. Dufey.
Nejdi horse, bred in Cairo, the property of H. E. Moharrem-Bey, son in law of Mehemet-Ali, and ridden by Terata-Tutemy-i-Bashi of the Pasha.
The horse ridden by M. Jules Pastré was the first in.
2nd Heat.
Barbary horse, from Tunis, bay, 4 yrs, the property of M. Ferd. de Lesseps, ridden by the owner.
Nejdi horse, white, 6-1/2 yrs, the property of M. Etienne Rolland, ridden by M. J. Dufey.
Nejdi horse, bay, 5 yrs, the property of Subi-Bey, ridden by the owner.
Nejdi horse, bred in Cairo, 7 yrs, the property of H. E. Moharrem-Bey, ridden by Cerkès-Osman-Sakallé.
The Barb ridden by M. de Lesseps was the winner.
3rd Heat.
Nejdi horse, bred in Cairo, gray, 6 yrs, the property of Hussein-Effendi, ridden by the owner.
Nejdi horse, dappled-gray, 5-1/2 yrs, the property of Dr Gaetani-Bey, ridden by M. Ferd. de Lesseps.
Nejdi horse, bred in Cairo, iron gray, 6 yrs, the property of M. W. Peel, ridden by the owner.
Samian horse, bay, 9 yrs, the property of Ibrahim-Effendi-Bimbashi, ridden by the owner.
The Egyptian horse ridden by Hussein-Effendi was the winner.
4th Heat.
Nejdi horse, bred in Cairo, bay, 8 yrs, the property of M. Henricy, ridden by M. Escalon.
Egyptian horse, from Atfeh, bay, 8 yrs, the property of M. Samuel Muir Junior, ridden by M. Sanders.
Nejdi horse, bred in Cairo, bay, 8 yrs, the property of Turki-Bashi, ridden by the owner.
Nejdi horse, gray, 4 yrs, the property of M. Roquerbe, ridden by M. Bartolomeo.
Won by the Nejdi horse ridden by M. Bartolomeo.
Recapitulation of the Winners.
1st Heat, Cairo horse, the property of M. Pastré, ridden by the owner.
2nd Heat, Barbary horse, the property of M. Ferd. de Lesseps, ridden by the owner.
3rd Heat, Cairo horse, the property of Hussein-Effendi, ridden by the owner.
4th Heat, Nejdi horse, the property of M. Roquerbe, ridden by M. Bartolomeo.
According to previous agreement the four winning horses having gone over the same ground, were to contend against one another in a fifth heat. They came in in the following order:
1st. Barbary horse, the property of M. Ferd. de Lesseps, ridden by the owner.
2nd. Cairo horse, the property of M. Jules Pastré, ridden by the owner.
3rd. Nejdi horse, the property of M. Roquerbe, ridden by M. Bartolomeo.
4th. Nejdi horse, the property of Hussein-Effendi, ridden by the owner.
Certified the accuracy of the above report.
Certified the accuracy of the above report.
Certified the accuracy of the above report.
Signed:Ferd. de LESSEPS.
To finish with the Barb and to give, over and above the other qualities he possesses, an exact idea of his strength and spirit, I cannot do better than state the weight carried in most of our expeditions by the horse of a chasseur d'Afrique.
WEIGHT CARRIED BY THE HORSE OF A CHASSEUR D'AFRIQUE SETTING OUT ON AN EXPEDITION.
159 kilogrammes, or 19 more than the horse of a carabineer, and 26 more than the horse of a cuirassier in France. This weight, of course, decreases as the column proceeds on its march.
Delivered the 31st February 1847, by Colonel Duringer, at the moment of departure of a column.
Now, a horse that, in a country often rough and difficult, marches, gallops, ascends, descends, endures unparalleled privations, and goes through a campaign with spirit, with such a weight on his back, is he, or is he not, a war horse?