Bocanum Hermerum of the Ancients was also near the site of this capital, Morocco attained its greatest prosperity shortly after its foundation, and since then it has only declined. In the twelfth century, under the reign of Jâkoub Almanzor, there were 10,000 houses and 700,000 souls, (if indeed we can trust their statistics); but, at the present time, there are only some forty to fifty thousand inhabitants, including 4,000 Shelouhs and 5,000 Jews. Ali Bey, in 1804, estimates its population at only 30,000, and Captain Washington in 1830 at 80, or 100,000. This vast city lies at the foot of the Atlas, or about fourteen miles distant, spread over a wide and most lovely plain of the province of Rhamma, watered by the river Tensift, six miles from the gates of the capital.
The mosques are numerous and rich, the principal of which are El-Kirtubeeah, of elegant architecture with an extremely lofty minaret; El-Maazin, which is three hundred years old, and a magnificent building; and Benious, built nearly seven hundred years ago of singular construction, uniting modern and ancient architecture. The mosque of the patron saint is Sidi Belabbess. Nine gates open in the city-walls; these are strong and high, and flanked with towers, except on the south east where the Sultan's palace stands. The streets are crooked, of uneven width, unpaved, and dirty in winter, and full of dust in summer.
There are several public squares and marketplaces. The Kaessaria, or commercial quarter, is extensive, exhibiting every species of manufacture and natural product.
The manufactures of this, as of other large places, are principally, silks, embroidery, and leather. The merchants of Mogador have magazines here; this capital has also its caravans, which trade to the interior, passing through Wadnoun to the south.
The Imperial palace is without the city and fortified with strong walls. There are large gardens attached, in one of which the Emperor receives his merchants and the diplomatic agents. The air of the country, at the foot of the Atlas, is pure and salubrious. The city is well supplied with water from an aqueduct, connecting it with the river Tensift, which flows from the gorges of the Atlas. But the inhabitants, although they enjoy this inestimable blessing in an African climate, are not famous for their cleanliness; Morocco, if possessing any particular character, still must be considered as a commercial city, for its learning is at a very low ebb. Its interior wears a deeply dejected, nay a profoundly gloomy aspect.
"Horrendum incultumque specus."
and the European merchants, when they come up here are glad to get away as soon as possible.
Outside the city, there is a suburb appropriated to lepers, a Lazar-house of leprosy, which afflicting and loathsome disease descends from father to son through unbroken generations; the afflicted cannot enter the city, and no one dare approach their habitations. The Emperor usually resides for a third portion of his time at Morocco the rest at Fez and Mequinez. Whenever his Imperial Highness has anything disagreeable with foreign European powers, he comes down from Fez to Morocco, to get out of the way. Occasionally, he travels from town to town of the interior, to awe by his presence the ever restless disaflfection of the tribes, or excite their loyalty for the Shereefian throne.
Morocco is placed in Lat. 31° 37" 31' N. and Long. 7° 35" 30', W.
Tafilett consists of a group of towns or villages, situate on the south-eastern side of the Atlas, which may he added to the royal cities, being inhabited in part by the Imperial family, and is the birth-place of their sovereign power—emphatically called Beladesh-Sherfa, "country of the Shereefs." The country was anciently called Sedjelmasa, and retained this name up to 1530 A.D., when the principal city acquired the apellation of Tafilett, said to be derived from an Arab immigrant, called Filal, who improved the culture of dates, and whose name on this account, under the Berber form of Tafilett, was given to a plantation of dates cultivated by him, and then passed to the surrounding districts.
At the present time, Tafilett consists of a group of fortified or castle-built villages, environed by walls mounted with square towers, which extend on both sides of the river Zig. There is also a castle, or rather small town, upon the left side of the river, called by the ordinary name of Kesar, which is in the hands of the Shereefs, and inhabited entirely by the family of the Prophet. The principal and most flourishing place was a long time called Tafilett, but is now according to Callie, Ghourlan, and the residence of the Governor of the province of Ressant, a town distinguished by a magnificent gateway surrounded with various coloured Dutch tiles, symmetrically arranged in a diamond pattern. This traveller calls the district of Tafilett, Afile or Afilel.
It is probable that from the rains of the ancient Sedjelmasa, some of the modern villages have been constructed. The towns and districts of Tafilett once formed an independent kingdom. The present population has been estimated at some ten thousand, but this is entirely conjectural. Callié mentions the four towns of Ghourlan, L'Eksebi, Sosso and Boheim as containing eleven or twelve thousand souls. The soil of Tafilett is level, composed of sand of an ashy grey, productive of corn, and all sorts of European fruits and vegetables. The natives have fine sheep, with remarkably white wool. The manufactures, which are in woollen and silk, are called Tafiletes.
Besides being a rendezvous of caravans, radiating through all parts of the Sahara, Tafilett is a great mart of traffic in the natural products of the surrounding countries. A fine bridge spans the Zig, built by a Spaniard. When the Sultan of Morocco finds any portion of his family inclined to be naughty, he sends them to Tafilett, as we are wont to send troublesome people to "Jericho." This, at any rate, is better than cutting off their heads, which, from time immemorial, has been the invariable practice of African and Oriental despots. The Maroquine princes may be thankful they have Tafilett as a place of exile. The Emperors never visit Tafilett except as dethroned exiles. A journey to such a place is always attended with danger; and were the Sultan to escape, he would find, on his return, the whole country in revolt.
Regarding these royal cities, we sum up our observations. The destinies of Fez and Mequinez are inseparable. United, they contain one hundred thousand inhabitants, the most polished and learned in the Empire. Fez is the city of arts and learning, that is of what remains of the once famous and profound Moorish doctors of Spain. Mequinez is the strong place of the Empire, an emporium of arms and imperial Cretsures. Fez is the rival of Morocco. The two cities are the capitals of two kingdoms, never yet amalgamated. The present dynasty belongs not to Fez, but to Morocco; though a dynasty of Shereefs, they are Shereefs of the south, and African blood flows in their veins.
The Sultan generally is obliged to give a preference to Fez for a residence, because his presence is necessary to maintain the allegiance of the north country, and to curb its powerful warparty, his son in the meanwhile being left Governor during his absence. But all these royal cities are on the decline, the "sere and yellow leaf" of a well nigh defunct civilization. Morocco is a huge shell of its former greatness, a monster of Moresque dilapidations. France may awaken the slumbering energies of the population of these once flourishing and august cities, but left to themselves they are powerless, sinking under their own weight and uncouth encumbrances, and will rise no more till reconstructed by European hands.
Description of the towns and cities of the Interior, and those of theKingdom of Fez.—Seisouan.—Wazen.—Zawiat.—Muley Dris.—Sofru.—Dubdu.—Taza.—Oushdah.—Agla.—Nakbila.—Meshra.—Khaluf.—The Placesdistinguished in. Morocco, including Sous, Draka, and Tafilett.—Tefza.—Pitideb.—Ghuer.—Tyijet.—Bulawan.—Soubeit—Meramer.—El-Medina.—Tagodast.—Dimenet.—Aghmat.—Fronga.—Tedmest.—Tekonlet.—Tesegdelt.—Tagawost.—Tedsi Beneali.—Beni Sabih.—Tatta and Akka.—Mesah orAssah.—Talent.—Shtouka.—General observations on the statistics ofpopulation.—The Maroquine Sahara.
We have briefly to notice the remaining towns and cities of the interior, with some other remarkable places.
First, these distinguished and well ascertained places in the kingdom ofFez.
Seisouan, or Sousan, is the capital of the Rif province, situate also on the borders of the province of the Habat, and by the sources of a little river which runs into the Mediterranean, near Cape Mazari. The town is small, but full of artizans and merchants. The country around is fertile, being well irrigated with streams. Sousan is the most beautifully picturesque of all the Atlas range.
Sofou, or Sofron, is a fine walled city, southeast of Fez, situate upon the river Guizo; in a vast and well-watered plain near, are rich mines of fossil salt.
Wazen, or Wazein, in the province of Azgar, and the region of the Gharb, is a small city without Walls, celebrated for being the residence of the High Priest, or Grand Marabout of the Empire. This title is hereditary, and is now (or up to lately) possessed by the famous Sidi-el-Haj-el-Araby-Ben-Ali, who, in his district, lives in a state of nearly absolute independence, besides exercising great influence over public affairs. This saint, or priest, has, however, a rival at Tedda. The two popes together pretend to decide the fate of the Empire. The districts where these Grand Marabouts reside, are without governors, and the inhabitants pay no tribute into the imperial coffers, they are ruled by their two priests under a species of theocracy. The Emperor never attempts or dares to contest their privileges. Occasionally they appear abroad, exciting the people, and declaiming against the vices of the times. His Moorish Majesty then feels himself ill at ease, until they retire to their sanctuaries, and employs all his arts to effect the object, protesting that he will be wholly guided by their councils in the future administration of the Empire. With this humiliation of the Shereefs, they are satisfied, and kennel themselves into their sanctum-sanctorums.
Zawiat-Muley-Driss, which means, retirement of our master, Lord Edris (Enoch) and sometimes called Muley Edris, is a far famed city of the province of Fez, and placed at the foot of the lofty mountains of Terhoun, about twenty-eight miles from Fez, north-west, amidst a most beautiful country, producing all the necessaries and luxuries of human life. The site anciently called Tuilet, was perhaps also the Volubilis of the ancients. Here is a sanctuary dedicated to the memory of Edris, progenitor and founder of the dynasty of Edrisiti.
The population, given by Gräberg, is nine thousand, but this is evidently exaggerated. Not far off, towards the west, are some magnificent ruins of an ancient city, called Kesar Farâoun, or "Castle of Pharoah."
Dubdu, called also Doubouton, is an ancient, large city, of the district of Shaous, and once the residence of an independent prince, but now fallen into decay on account of the sterility of its site, which is upon the sides of a barren mountain. Dubdu is three days' journey southeast of Fez, and one day from Taza, in the region of the Mulweeah. Taza is the capital of the well-watered district of Haiaina, and one of the finest cities in Morocco, in a most romantic situation, placed on a rock which is shaped like an island, and in presence of the lofty mountains of Zibel Medghara, to the south-west. Perhaps it is the Babba of the ancients; a river runs round the town. The houses and streets are spacious, and there is a large mosque. The air is pure, and provisions are excellent. The population is estimated at ten or twelve thousand, who are hospitable, and carry on a good deal of commerce with Tlemsen and Fez. Taza is two days from Fez, and four from Oushda.
Oushda is the well-known frontier town, on the north-east, which acquired some celebrity during the late war. It is enclosed by the walls of its gardens, and is protected by a large fortress. The place contains a population of from six hundred to one thousand Moors and Arabs. There is a mosque, as well as three chapels, dedicated to Santous. The houses, built of clay, are low and of a wretched appearance; the streets are winding, and covered with flints. The fortress, where the Kaed resides, is guarded in ordinary times by a dozen soldiers; but, were this force increased, it could not be defended, in consequence of its dilapidated condition. A spring of excellent water, at a little distance from Oushda, keeps up the whole year round freshness and verdure in the gardens, by means of irrigation. Cattle hereabouts is of fine quality. Oushda is a species of oasis of the Desert of Angad, and the aridity of the surrounding country makes these gardens appear delicious, melons, olives, and figs being produced in abundance.
The distance between Tlemsen and Oushda is sixteen leagues, or about sixteen hours' march for troops; Oushda is also four or five days from Oran, and six days from Fez. The Desert commences beyond the Mulweeah, at more than forty leagues from Tlemsen. Like the Algerian Angad, which extends to the south of Tlemsen, it is of frightful sterility, particularly in summer. In this season, one may march for six or eight hours without finding any water. It is impossible to carry on military operations in such a country during summer. On this account, Marshal Bugeaud soon excavated Oushda and returned to the Tlemsen territory.
Aghla is a town, or rather large village, of the district of Fez, where the late Muley Suleiman occasionally resided. It is situated along the river Wad Vergha, in a spacious and well-cultivated district. A great market of cattle, wool, and bees'-wax, is held in the neighbourhood. The country abounds in lions; but, it is pretended, of such a cowardly race, that a child can frighten them away. Hence the proverb addressed to a pusillanimous individual, "You are as brave as the lions of Aghla, whose tails the calves eat." The Arabs certainly do occasionally run after lions with sticks, or throw stones at them, as we are accustomed to throw stones at dogs.
Nakhila,i.e., "little palm," is a little town of the province of Temsna, placed in the river Gueer; very ancient, and formerly rich and thickly populated. A great mart, or souk, is annually held at this place. It is the site of the ancient Occath.
Meshru Khaluf,i.e., "ford, or watering-place of the wild-boar," in the district of the Beni-Miskeen, is a populated village, and situated on the right bank of the Ovad Omm-Erbergh, lying on the route of many of the chief cities. Here is the ford of Meshra Khaluf, forty-five feet wide, from which the village derives its name.
On the map will be seen many places called Souk. The interior tribes resort thither to purchase and exchange commodities. The market-places form groups of villages. It is not a part of my plan to give any particular description of them.
Second, those places distinguished in the kingdom of Morocco, includingSous, Draha, and Tafilett.
Tefza, a Berber name, which, according to some, signifies "sand," and to others, "a bundle of straw," is the capital of the province of Todla, built by the aborigines on the slope of the Atlas, who surrounded it with a high wall of sandstone (called, also, Tefza.) At two miles east of this is the smaller town of Efza, which is a species of suburb, divided from Tefza by the river Derna. The latter place is inhabited certainly by Berbers, whose women are famous for their woollen works and weaving. Tefza is also celebrated for its native black and white woollen manufactures. The population of the two places is stated at upwards of 10,000, including 2,000 Jews.
Pitideb, or Sitideb, is another fine town in the neighbourhood, built by the Amazirghs on the top of a high mountain. The inhabitants are esteemed the most civilized of their nation, and governed by their own elders and chiefs, they live in a state of almost republican independence. Some good native manufactures are produced, and a large commerce with strangers is carried on. The women are reputed as being extremely fair and fascinating.
Ghuer, or Gheu, (War,i.e., "difficult?") is a citadel, or rather a strong, massive rock, and the most inaccessible of all in Morocco, forming a portion of the mountains of Jedla, near the sources of the Wad Omm-Erbegh. This rocky fort is the residence of the supreme Amrgar, or chief of the Amazirghs, who rendered himself renowned through the empire by fighting a pitch-battle with the Imperial troops in 1819. Such chiefs and tribes occasion the weakness of the interior; for, whenever the Sultan has been embroiled with European Powers, these aboriginal Amazirghs invariably seized the opportunity of avenging their wrongs and ancient grudges. The Shereefs always compound with them, if they can, these primitive tribes being so many centres of animperium imperio, or of revolt and disaffection.
Tijijet in the province of Dukkalah, situate on the left bank of the river Omm-Erbegh, along the route from Fez to Morocco, is a small town, but was formerly of considerable importance.
A famous market for grain is held here, which is attended by the tribe of the Atlas: the country abounds in grain and cattle of the finest breed.
Bulawan or Bou-el-Awan, "father of commodious ways or journeys," is a small town of 300 houses, with an old castle, formerly a place of consequence; and lying on an arm of the river Omm-Erbeghen routefrom Morocco to Salee and Mequinez and commanding the passage of the river. It is 80 miles from Morocco, and 110 from Salee. On the opposite side of the river, is the village of Taboulaunt, peopled mostly with Jews and ferrymen.
Soubeit is a very ancient city on the left bank of the Omm-Erbegh, surrounded with walls, and situate twenty miles from El-Medina in a mountainous region abounding with hares; it is inhabited by a tribe of the same name, or probably Sbeita, which is also the name of a tribe south of Tangier.
Meramer is a city built by the Goths on a fertile plain, near MountBeni-Megher, about fourteen miles east of Saffee, in the province ofDukkala, and carrying on a great commerce in oil and grain.
El-Medina is a large walled populous city of merchants and artizans, and capital of the district of Haskowra; the men are seditious, turbulent and inhospitable; the women are reputed to be fair and pretty, but disposed, when opportunity offers, to confer their favours on strangers.
There is another place four miles distant of nearly the same name.
Tagodast is another equally large and rich city of the province of Haskowra crowning the heights of a lofty mountain surrounded by four other mountains, but near a plain of six miles in extent, covered with rich vegetation producing an immense quantity of Argan oil, and the finest fruits.
This place contains about 7,000 inhabitants, who are a noble and hospitable race. Besides, Argan oil, Tagodast is celebrated for its red grapes, which are said to be as large as hen's eggs—the honey of Tagodast is the finest in Africa. The inhabitants trade mostly with the south.
Dimenet or Demnet is a considerable town, almost entirely populated by the Shelouhs and Caraaite Jews; it is situate upon the slopes of a mountain of the same name, or Adimmei, in the district of Damnat, fifteen miles distant from Wad Tescout, which falls into the Tensift. The inhabitants are reputed to be of a bad and malignant character, but, nevertheless, learned in Mussulman theology, and fond of disputing with foreigners. Orthodoxy and morality are frequently enemies of one another, whilst good-hearted and honest people are often hetherodox in their opinions.
Aghmat, formerly a great and flourishing city and capital of the province of Rhamna, built by the Berbers, and well fortified—is now fallen into decay, and consists only of a miserable village inhabited by some sixty families, among which are a few Jews—Aghmat lies at the foot of Mount Atlas, on the road which conducts to Tafilett, near a river of the same name, and in the midst of a fine country abounding in orchards and vine-yards; Aghmat was the first capital of the Marabout dynasty.
Fronga is a town densely populated almost entirely by Shelouhs and Jews, lying about fifteen miles from the Atlas range upon an immense plain which produces the finest grain in Morocco.
Tednest, the ancient capital of the province of Shedmah, and built by the Berbers, is deliciously placed upon a paridisical plain, and was once the residence of the Shereefs. It contains a population of four thousand souls, one thousand eight hundred being Jews occupied with commerce, whilst the rest cultivate the land. This is a division of labour amongst Mahometans and Israelites not unfrequent in North Africa. But, as in Europe, the Jew is the trader, not the husbandman.
Tekoulet is a small and pretty town, rising a short distance from the sea, by the mouth of the stream Dwira, in the province of Hhaha. The water is reckoned the best in the province, and the people are honest and friendly; the Jews inhabit one hundred houses.
Tesegdelt, is another city of the province of Hhaha, very large and rich, perched high upon a mountain, and that fortified by nature. The principal mosque is one of the finest in the empire.
Tagawost is a city, perhaps the most ancient, and indeed the largest of the province of Sous. It is distant ten miles from the great river Sous, and fifty from the Atlas. The suburbs are surrounded with huge blocks of stone. Togawost contains a number of shops and manufactories of good workmen, who are divided into three distinct classes of people, all engaged in continual hostilities with one another. The men are, however, honest and laborious, while the women are pretty and coquettish. People believe St. Augustine, whom the Mahometans have dubbed a Marabout, was born in this city. Their trade is with the Sahara and Timbuctoo.
Fedsi is another considerable city, anciently the capital of Sous, reclining upon a large arm of the river Sous, amidst a fruitful soil, and contains about fourteen thousand inhabitants, who are governed by republican institutions. It is twenty miles E.N.E. of Taroudant.
Beneali is a town placed near to the source of the river Draha, in the Atlas. It is the residence of the chief of the Berbers of Hadrar, on the southern Atlas.
Beni-Sabih, Moussabal, or Draha, is the capital of the province of Draha, and a small place, but populated and commercial. On the river of the same name, was the Draha of ancient geography.
Tatta and Akka, are two towns or villages of the province of Draha, situate on the southern confines of Morocco, and points of rendezvous for the caravans in their route over the Great Desert.
Tatta is four days direct east from Akka, and placed in 28° 3' lat. and 90° 20' long. west of Paris. Akka consists of two hundred houses, inhabited by Mussulmen, and fifty by Jews. The environs are highly cultivated. Akka is two days east of Wadnoun, situate on a plain at the foot of Gibel-Tizintit, and is placed in 28° 3' lat. and 10° 51' long. west of Paris.
Messah, or Assah. Messa is, according to Gräberg, a walled city, built by the Berbers, not far from the river Sous, and divided like nearly all the cities of Sous, into three parts, or quarters, each inhabited by respective classes of Shelouhs, Moors, and Jews. Cities are also divided in this manner in the provinces of Guzzala and Draha. The sea on the coast of Sous throws up a very fine quantity of amber. Male whales are occasionally visitors here. The population is three thousand, but Mr. Davidson's account differs materially. The town is named Assah, and distant about two miles from the sea, there being a few scattered houses on each side of the river, to within half a mile of the sea. The place is of no importance, famed only for having near it a market on Tuesday, to which many people resort. The population may be one hundred. Assah is also the name of the district though which the Sous river flows. The Bas-el-wad (or head of the river) is very properly the name of the upper part of the river; when passing through Taroudant it takes the name of Sous. Fifteen miles from Assah is the town of Aghoulon, containing about six hundred people.
Talent, or Tilin, the difference only is the adding of the Berber termination. The other consonants are the same, perhaps, as Mr. Davidson incidentally mentions. It is a strong city, and capital of the province of Sous-el-Aksa, or the extreme part of Sous. This province is sometimes called Tesset, or Tissert. A portion of it is also denominated Blad-Sidi-Hasham, and forms a free and quasi-independant state, founded in 1810 by the Emir Hasham, son of the Shereef Ahmed Ben Mousa. This prince was the bug-bear of Captain Riley. The district contains upwards of twenty-five thousand Shelouhs and industrious Arabs. Talent is the residence of the prince, and is situate on the declivity of a hill, not far from the river Wad-el-Mesah, or Messa, and a mile from Ilekh, or Ilirgh, a populous village, where there is a famous sanctuary, resorted to by the Mahometans of the surrounding regions, of the name of Sidi Hamed-ou-Mousa, (probably Ben Mousa). The singularity of this sacred village is, that Jews constitute the majority of the population. But they seem absolutely necessary to the very existence of the Mussulmen of North Africa, who cannot live without them, or make profitable exchange of the products of the soil, or of native industry, for European articles of use and luxury.
Shtouka, or Stuka, is, according to some, a large town or village; or, as stated by Davidson, adistrict. The fact is, many African districts are called by the name of a principal town or village in them, andvice versâ. This place stands on the banks of the Wad-el-Mesah, and is inhabited by some fifteen hundred Shelouhs, who are governed by a Sheikh, nearly independent of Morocco.
On Talent and Shtouka, Mr. Davidson remarks. "There is no town called Stuka; it is a district; none that I can find called Talent; there is Tilin. The Mesah flows through Stuka, in which district are twenty settlements, or rather towns, some of which are large. They are known in general by the names of the Sheikhs who inhabit them. I stopped at Sheikh Hamed's. Tilin was distant from this spot a day's journey in the mountains towards the source of the river. If by Talent, Tissert is meant, Oferen (a town) is distant six miles."
On the province of Sous generally, Don J.A. Conde has this note:—
"In this region (Sous) near the sea, is the temple erected in honour of the prophet Jonas; it was there he was cast out of the belly of the whale." This temple, says Assed Ifriki, is made of the bones of whales which perish on this coast. A little further on, he alludes to the breaking of horses, and being skilful in bodily exercises, for the Moors and Numidians have always been renowned in that respect.
In the lesser and more remote towns, I have followed generally the enumeration of Count Gräberg, but there are many other places on the maps, with varieties of names or differences of position. Our geography of the interior of Morocco, especially in the South, is still very obscure, and I have only selected those towns and places of whose present existence there is no question. My object, in the above enumeration, has been simply to give the reader a proximate estimate of the population and resources of this country. Of the strength and number of the tribes of the interior, we know scarcely anything. The names of the towns and villages of the South, so frequently beginning and ending with T., sufficiently indicate the preponderance of the Berber population, under the names of Shelouh or Amazirgh, whilst the great error of writers has been to represent the Arabs as more numerous than this aboriginal population.
Monsieur E. Renou, in his geographical description of the Empire of Morocco (Vol. VIII. of the "Exploration Scientifique," &c.) foolishly observes that there is no way of arriving at correct statistics of this empire, except by comparing it with Algeria; and then remarks, which is true enough, "Malheureusement, la population de l'Algérie n'est pas encore bien connue." When, however, he asserts that the numbers of population given by Jackson and Gräberg are gross, and almost unpardonable exaggerations, given at hazard, I am obliged to agree with him from the personal experience I had in Morocco, and these Barbary countries generally.
Jackson makes the whole of the population to amount to almost fifteen millions, or nearly two thirds more than it probably amounts to. Gräberg estimates it at eight millions and a half. But how, or why, or wherefore, such estimates are made is not so easy to determine. Certain it is, that the whole number of cities which I have enumerated, scarcely represent one million of inhabitants. But for those who like to see something more definite in statistics, however exaggerated may be the estimate, I shall give the more moderate calculations of Gräberg, those of Jackson being beyond all rhyme or reason. Gräberg thus classifies and estimates the population.
Amazirghs, Berbers, and Touaricks 2,300,000Amazirghs, Shelouhs and Arabs 1,450,000Arabs, mixed Moors, &c. 3,550,000Arabs pure, Bedouins, &c. 740,000Israelites, Rabbinists, and Caraites 339,500Negroes, Fullans, and Mandingoes 120,000Europeans and Christians 300Renegades 200—————Total 8,500,000
If two millions are deducted from this amount, perhaps the reader will have something like a probable estimate of the population of Morocco. It is hardly correct to classify Moors as mixed Arabs, many of them being simply descendants of the aboriginal Amazirghs. I am quite sure there are no Touaricks in the Empire of Morocco.
Of the Maroquine Sahara, I have only space to mention the interesting cluster of oases of Figheegh, or Figuiq. Shaw mentions them as "a knot of villagers," noted for their plantations of palm-trees, supplying the western province of Algeria with dates. We have now more ample information of Figheegh, finding this Saharan district to consist of an agglomeration of twelve villages, the more considerable of which are Maiz, counting eight hundred houses, El-Wadghir five hundred, and Zenega twelve hundred. The others vary from one or two hundred houses. The villages are more or less connected together, never farther apart than a quarter of a league, and placed on the descent of Wal-el-Khalouf ("river of the wild boar") whence water is procured for the gardens, containing varieties of fruit-trees and abundance of date-palms, all hedged round with prickly-pears. Madder-root and tobacco are also cultivated, besides barley sufficient for consumption. The wheat is brought from the Teli. The Wad-el-Khalouf is dry, except in winter, but its bed is bored with inexhaustible wells, whose waters are distributed among the gardens by means of aclepsydra, or a vessel which drops so much water in an hour. The ancients measured time by the dropping of water, like the falling of sand in the hour-glass.
Some of the houses in these villages have two stories, and are well built; each place has its mosque, its school, its kady, and its sheikh, and the whole agglomeration of oases is governed by a Sheikh Kebir, appointed by the Sultan of Morocco. These Saharan villages are eternally in strife with one another, and sometimes take up arms. On this account, they are surrounded by crenated walls, defended by towers solidly built. The immediate cause of discord here is water, that precious element of all life in the desert. But the imaginations of the people are not satisfied with this simple reason, and they are right, for the cause lies deeply in the human heart. They say, however, their ancestors were cursed by a Marabout, to punish them for their laxity in religion, and this was his anathema, "God make you, until the day of judgment, like wool-comber's cards, the one gnawing the other!"
Their wars, in fact, are most cruel, for they destroy the noble and fruitful palms, which, by a tacit convention, are spared in other parts of the Sahara when these quarrels proceed to bloodshed. They have, besides, great tact in mining, and their reputation as miners has been a long time established. But, happily, they are addicted to commerce and various branches of industry, as well as war, having commercial relations with Fez, Tafilett and Touat, and the people are, therefore, generally prosperous.
London Jew-boys.—Excursion to the Emperor's garden, and the ArganForests.—Another interview with the Governor of Mogador on theAnti-Slavery Address.—Opinion of the Moors on the Abolition of Slavery.
We have at times imported into Mogador a stray London Jew or so, of the lower lemon-selling sort. These lads from the Minories, are highly exasperated against the Moors for treating them with so much contempt. Indeed, a high-spirited London Jew-boy will not stop at Mogador, though the adult merchant will, to get money, for mankind often learn baseness with age, and pass to it through a golden door. One of these Jew-boys, being cursed by a man, naturally cursed him again, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." Mr. Willshire did not think so; and, on the complaint of the Moor, the British Consul threw the British Jew-boy into a Moorish prison, where he remained for some days. This is one more instance of the disadvantage of having commercial consuls, where everything is sacrificed to keep on good terms with government authorities.
A fire happened the other night, breaking out in the house of one of the rich Jewish merchants; but it was soon extinguished, the houses being built chiefly of mortar and stone, with very little wood. The Governor got up, and went to the scene of "conflagration;" he cracked a few jokes with the people and went home to bed. The Moors were sorry the fire did not extend itself, wanting to have an opportunity of appropriating a few of the merchant's goods.
I accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Elton, with other friends, to spend the day in the pleasant valley of the Saneeates-Sultan, (Garden of the Emperor) sometimes called Gharset-es-Sultan, three or four hours' ride south from Mogador. The small river of Wad-el-Kesab, (overlooked by the village of Deeabat, where watch-dogs were barking apparently all day long as well as night), lay in our way, and was with difficulty forded, heavy rain having fallen up the country, though none on the coast. These Barbary streams are very deceptive, illustrating the metaphor of the book of Job, "deceitful as a brook." To-day, their beds are perfectly dry; to-morrow, a sheet of turbid water dashing and foaming to the ocean, covers them and the country round, whilst the immediate cause is concealed. Abrupt and sudden overflowings occur in all rivers having their source in mountains. The book of Job may also refer to the disappointment of Saharan travellers, who, on arriving weary and thirsty, dying for water, at the stream of the Desert, find it dried up, and so perish.
The country in the valley of the Emperor's garden offers nothing remarkable. Bushes of underwood covering sandy mounds, a few palmettos and Argan trees, in which wild doves fluttered and flew about, were all that broke the monotony of a perfect waste. There were no cultivated lands hereabouts, and I was told that a great part of Morocco presents this desolate aspect. We visited, however, the celebrated Argan tree, which the people pretend was planted by the lieutenant of the Prophet, the mighty Okba, who, having spurred his horse in the roaring rebellious surge of the Atlantic, wept and wailed before Heaven that there were no more nations in whose heart to plunge his awful scimitar—so teaching them the mercy of God! Alas! the old hoary tree, with a most peaceful patriarchal look, seemed to belie the honour, stretching out its broad sinewy arm to shelter a hundred people from the darting fires of an African sun. A more noble object of inanimate nature is not to be contemplated than a large and lofty branching tree; in its boughs and leaves, endlessly varying, matted together and intersecting each other, we see the palpable image of infinity. But in the dry and hot climate of Africa, this tree is a luxury which cannot be appreciated in Europe.
We sat under its fresh shade awhile, gazing with security at the bright fires of the sun, radiating over and through all visible nature. To check our enthusiasm, we had strewn at our feet old broken bottles and crockery, thedébrisand classic relics of former visitors, who were equally attentive to creature-comforts as to the grandeur of the Argan monarch of the surrounding forest.
The Emperor's garden contains a well of water and a few fruit-trees, on the trunk of one of which, a fine fig-tree, were carved, in durable bark, the names of European visitors. Among the rest, that of a famousbelle, whose gallant worshippers had cut her name over all its broad trunk, though they may have failed to cut their own on the plastic and india-rubber tablet of the fair one's heart. This carving on the fig-tree is the sum of all that Europeans have done in Morocco during several ages. We rather adopt Moorish habits, and descend to their animal gratifications than inculcate our own, or the intellectual pleasures of Christian nations. European females brought up in this country, few excepted, adopt with gusto the lascivious dances of the Mooresses; and if this may be said of them, what may we not think of the male class, who frequently throw off all restraint in the indulgence of their passions?
While reposing under the umbrageous shade of the Argan tree, a Moor related to us wondrous sprite and elfin tales of the forests of of these wilds. At one period, the Argan woods were full of enchantresses, who prevented good Mussulmen from saying their prayers, by dancing before them in all their natural charms, to the sounds of melodious and voluptuous music; and if a poor son of the Prophet, perchance, passed this way at the stated times of prayer, he found it impossible to attend to his devotions, being pestered to death by these naughty houries.
On another occasion, when it was high summer and the sun burnt every leaf of the black Argan foliage to a yellow red, and whilst the arid earth opened her mouth in horrid gaps, crystal springs of water were seen to bubble forth from the bowels of the earth, and run in rills amongparterresof roses and jessamines. The boughs of the Argan tree also suddenly changed intojereedsof the date-palm burdened with luscious fruit; but, on weary travellers descending to slake their parching thirst and refresh themselves, they fell headlong into the gaping holes of the ground, and disappeared in the abyss of the dark entrails of the world.
These Argan forests continued under the fearful ban of the enchantress and wicked jinns, until a holy man was brought from the farthest desert upon the back of a flying camel, who set free the spell-bound wood by tying on each bewitched tree a small piece of cork bark on which was inscribed the sacred name of the Deity. The legends of these haunted Argan forests remind us of the enchanted wood of Tasso, whose enchantment was dissolved by the gallant knight, Rinaldo, and which enabled the Crusaders to procure wood for the machines of war to assault and capture the Holy City. Two quotations will shew the universality and permanence of superstition, begotten of human hopes and fears. Such is the beautiful imagery devoted to superstitious musings, by the illustrious bard:—
"While, like the rest, the knight expects to hearLoud peals of thunder breaking on his ear,A dulcet symphony his sense invades,Of nymphs, or dryads, warbling through the shades.Soft sighs the breeze, soft purls the silver rill.The feathered choir the woods with music fill;The tuneful swan in dying notes complains;The mourning nightingale repeats her strains,Timbrels and harps and human voices join,And in one concert all the sounds combine!"
Then for the streamlets and flowerets—
"Where'er he treads, the earth her tribute pours,In gushing springs, or voluntary flowers.Here blooms the lily; there the fragrant rose;Here spouts a fountain; there a riv'let flows;From every spray the liquid manna trills,And honey from the softening bark distills.Again the strange the pleasing sound he hears,Of plaints and music mingling in his ears;Yet naught appears that mortal voice can frame.Nor harp, nor timbrel, whence the music came."
I had another interview with the Governor on Anti-Slavery subjects. Mr. Treppass accompanied me, and assisted to interpret. His Excellency was very condescending, and even joked about his own slaves, asking me how much I would give him for them. He then continued:—"I am happy to see you before your departure. Whilst you have been here, I have heard nothing of your conduct but what was just and proper. You are a quiet and prudent man, [28] and I am sorry I could not assist you in your business (abolition). The Sultan will be glad that you and I have not quarrelled, but are friends." I then asked His Excellency if a person were to come direct from our Government, with larger powers and presents, he would have a better chance of success. The Governor replied, "Not the least whatever. You have done all that could have been done. We look at the subject, not the persons. The Sultan will never listen to anybody on this subject. You may cut off his head, but cannot convince him. If all the Christians of the world were to come and take this country, then, of course, the Mussulmen would yield the question to superior force, to the decree of God, but not till then."
Myself.—"How is it, Sidi, that the Bey of Tunis, and the Imaum of Muscat have entered into engagements with Christians for the suppression of slavery, they being Mussulmen?"
The Governor.—"I'll tell you; we Mussulmen are as bad as you Christians. We are full of divisions and sects. Some of our people go to one mosque, and will not go to another. They are foolish (mahboul). So it is with the subject of slaves. Some are with you, but most are with me. The Bey of Tunis, and the Imaum have a different opinion from us. They think they are right, and we think we are right; but we are as good as they."
Myself.—"Sidi, does not the Koran encourage the abolition of slavery, and command it as a duty to all pious Mussulmen?"
The Governor.—"No, it does not command it, but those who voluntarily liberate their slaves are therein commended, and have the blessing of God on them." [29]
Myself.—"Sidi, is it in my power to do anything for you in London?"
The Governor.—"Speak well of me, that is all. Tell your friends I did all I could for you."
I may mention the opinions of the more respectable Moors, as to the mission. They said, "If you had managed your mission well, the Sultan would have received your Address; your Consul is slack; the French Consul is more active, because he is not the Sultan's merchant. Our Sultan must receive every person, even a beggar, because God receives all. You would not have obtained the liberation of our slaves, but the Sultan would have promised you everything. All that emanates from the English people is good this we are certain of; but it would have been better had you come with letters from the Bey of Tunis, shewing what had been done in that country." Mr. Treppass is also of the opinion, that a deputation of several persons, accompanied with some presents for the Emperor and his ministers, would have produced a better effect, by making an appearance of shew and authority, suitable to the ideas of the people. [30] If coming direct from Government, it would have greater weight.
He thinks, besides, there are a good number of Moors who are favourable to abolition. Of the connexion between the east and Morocco, he says, all the Barbary States look up to the Sultan of Constantinople as to a great authority, and during the last few years, an active correspondence, on religious matters, has been carried on between Morocco and Constantinople, chiefly through a celebrated doctor of the name of Yousef. If the Turkish Sultan, therefore, wouldbonâ-fideabolish the slave-markets, I have no doubt this would produce an impression in Morocco favourable to abolition.
During the time I was in Morocco, I distributed some Arabic tracts, translated from the English by Professor Lee of Cambridge, on the abolition of slavery. A few Arabic Bibles and Hebrew New Testaments were also placed at my disposal for circulation by the Societies. I also wrote an Anti-slavery circular to the British merchants of Mogador, on Lord Brougham's Act.
El-Jereed, the Country of Dates.—Its hard soil.—Salt Lake. Its vastextent.—Beautiful Palm-trees.—The Dates, a staple article of Food.—Some Account of the Date-Palm.—Made of Culture.—Delicious Beverage.—Tapping the Palm.—Meal formed from the Dates.—Baskets made of theBranches of the Tree.—Poetry of the Palm.—Its Irrigation.—Palm-Groves.—Collection of Tribute by the "Bey of the Camp."
El-Jereed, or Belad-el-Jereed, the country of dates, or literally, the country of the palm branches, is a part of the Sahara, or the hot dry country lying in the immediate vicinity of the Great Desert. Its principal features of soil and climate offer nothing different from other portions of the Sahara, or the Saharan regions of Algeria and Morocco. The Belad-el-Jereed, therefore, may be properly called the Tunisian Sahara. Shaw observes generally of Jereed:—"This part of the country, and indeed the whole tract of land which lies between the Atlantic and Egypt, is by most of the modern geographers, called Biledulgerid, a name which they seem to have borrowed from Bloid-el-Jeridde, of the Arabians, who merely signify the dry country; though, if we except the Jeridde, a small portion of it which is situate on this side of Lesser Syrtis, and belongs to the Tunisians, all the rest of it is known by no other general name than the Sahara or Sahra, among those Arabs, at least, whom I have conversed with."
Besides the grand natural feature of innumerable lofty and branching palms, whose dark depending slender leaves, are depicted by the Arabian poet as hanging gracefully like the dishevelled ringlets of a beautiful woman in distress, there is the vast salt lake, El-Sibhah, or literally the "salt plain," and called by some modern geographers the Sibhah-el-Soudeeat, or Lake of Marks, from having certain marks made of the trunks of the palm, to assist the caravans in their marches across its monotonous samelike surface.
This vast lake, or salt plain, was divided by the ancients into three parts, and denominated respectively, Palus Tritonis, Palus Pallas, and Palus Libya. The first is derived from the river Triton, which according to Ptolemy and other ancient geographers, is made to pass through this lake in its course to the sea, but which is the present river Ghobs, where it falls into the Mediterranean. The name Pallas is derived from the tradition of Pallas having accompanied Sesostris in his Asiatic expeditions with the Lybian women, and she may have been a native of the Jereed. The lake measures from north-east to south-west about seventy English miles, with a third of the breadth, but it is not one collection of water; there being several dry places, like so many islands, interspersed over its surface, depending however, as to their number and extent upon the season of the year, and upon the quantity of water in the particular season.
"At first, on crossing it," says a tourist, "the grass and bushes become gradually scarcer; then follows a tract of sand, which some way beyond, becomes in parts covered with a thin layer of salt. This, as you advance, is thicker and more united; then we find it a compact and unbroken mass or sheet, which can, however, be penetrated by a sword, or other sharp instrument, and here it was found to be eleven inches in depth; and finally in the centre, it became so hard, deep, and concentrated, as to baffle all attempts at breaking its surface except with a pickaxe. The horse's shoe, in fact, makes no impression upon its stone-like surface."
The salt of the lake is considerably weaker than that of the sea, and not adapted for preserving provisions, though its flavour is very agreeable; it is not exported, nor made in any way an article of commerce.
The Jereed, from the existence in it of a few antiquities, such as pieces of granite and marble, and occasionally a name or a classic inscription, is proved to have been in the possession of the Romans, and undoubtedly of the Carthaginians before them, who could have had no difficulty in holding this flat and exposed country.
The trade and resources of this country consist principally in dates. The quantity exported to other parts of the Regency, as well as to foreign countries, where their fine quality is well known, is in round numbers on an average from three to four thousand quintals per annum. But in Jereed itself, twenty thousand people live six months of the year entirely on dates.
"A great number of poles," says Sir Grenville Temple, "are arranged across the rooms at the height of eight or nine feet from the ground, and from these are suspended rich and large bunches of dates, which compose the winter store of the inhabitants; and in one corner of the room is one or more large earthern jars about six or seven feet high, also filled with dates pressed close together, and at the bottom of the jar is a cock, from which is drawn the juice in the form of a thick luscious syrup. It is scarcely possible to imagine anything more palatable than this 'sweet of sweets.'"
As we are writing of the country of dates,par excellence, I must needs give some description of the palm, but it will be understood that the information is Tunisian, or collected in Tunis, and may differ in some respects from details collected in other parts of North Africa. The date-palm abounds in the maritime as well as in the inland districts of North Africa. They are usually propagated from shoots of full grown trees, which if transplanted and taken care of, will yield in six or seven years, whilst those raised immediately from the stone require sixteen years to produce fruit.
The date-palm is male and female, ordioecious, and requires communication, otherwise the fruit is dry and insipid. The age of the palm, in its greatest vigour, is about thirty years, according to the Tunisians, after planting, and will continue in vigour for seventy years, bearing anually fifteen or twenty clusters of dates, each of them fifteen or twenty pounds in weight; after this long period, they begin gradually to wither away. But the Saharan Tripolitans will tell you that the date-palm does not attain its age of full vigour till it reaches a hundred years, and then will flourish two or or three centuries before it withers!
The only culture requisite, is to be well watered at the roots once in four or five days, and to have the lower boughs cut off when they begin to droop and wither. Much rain, however, injures the dates, and we know that the countries in which they flourish, are mostly without rain. In many localities in Africa, date-palms can never be watered in the dry season; it is nevertheless observable that generally wherever a palm grows and thrives water may usually be obtained by boring. The sap, or honey of the palm is a delicious and wholesome beverage when drunk quite fresh; but if allowed to remain for some hours, it acquires a sharp taste, something like cider, and becomes very intoxicating. It is called poeticallyleghma, "tears" of the dates. When a tree is found not to produce much fruit, the head is cut off, and a bowl or cavity scooped out of the summit, in which the rising sap is collected, and this is drunk in its pure state without any other preparation. If the tree be not exhausted by draining, in five or six months it grows afresh; and, at the end of two or three years, may again be cut or tapped. The palm is capable of undergoing this operation five or six times, and it may be easily known how often a tree has been cut by the number of rings of a narrow diameter which are seen towards its summit; but, if the sap is allowed to flow too long, it will perish entirely at the end of a year. This sap, by distillation, produces an agreeable spirit calledArâkyorArâk: from the fruit also the Jews distil a spirit calledbokka, or what we should calltoddy. It is usual for persons of distinction to entertain their friends upon a marriage, or the birth of a child, with this pure sap, and a tree is usually tapped for the purpose. It would appear that tapping the palm was known to the ancients, for a cornelianintaglioof Roman antiquity, has been found in the Jereed, representing a tree in this state, and the jars in which the juice was placed.
Dates are likewise dried in the sun, and reduced into a kind of meal, which will keep for any length of time, and which thus becomes a most valuable resource for travellers crossing the deserts, who frequently make it their only food, moistening a handful of it with a little water. Certain preparations are made of the male plant, to which medicinal virtues are attributed; the younger leaves, eaten with salt, vinegar, and oil, make an excellent salad. The heart of the tree, which lies at top between the fruit branches, and weighs from ten to twenty pounds, is eaten only on grand occasions, as those already mentioned, and possesses a delicious flavour between that of a banana and a pine-apple.
The palm, besides these valuable uses to which it is applied, superseding or supplying the place of all other vegetables to the tribes of the Jereed, is, nevertheless, still useful for a great variety of other purposes. The most beautiful baskets, and a hundred other nick-nackery of the wickery sort are made of its branches; ropes are made and vestments wove from the long fibres, and its wood, also, when hardened by age, is used for building. Indeed, we may say, it is the all and everything of the Jereed, and, as it is said of the camel and the desert,the palm is made for the Jereed, and the Jereed is made for the palm.
The Mussulmen make out a complete case of piety and superstition in the palm, and pretend thatthey are made for the palm, and the palm is made for them, alleging that, as soon as the Turks conquered Constantinople, the palm raised its graceful flowing head over the domes of the former infidel city, whilst when the Moors evacuated Spain, the palm pined away, and died. "God," adds the pious Mussulman, "has given us the palm; amongst the Christians, it will not grow!" But the poetry of the palm is an inseparable appendage in the North African landscape, and even town scenery. The Moor and the Arab, whose minds are naturally imbued with the great images of nature, so glowingly represented also in the sacred leaves of the Koran, cannot imagine a mosque or the dome-roof of a hermitage, without the dark leaf of the palm overshadowing it; but the serenest, loveliest object on the face of the landscape isthe lonely palm, either thrown by chance on the brow of some savage hill or planted by design to adorn some sacred spot of mother-earth.
I must still give some other information which I have omitted respecting this extraordinary tree. And, after this, I further refer the reader to a Tour in the Jereed of which some details are given in succeeding pages. A palm-grove is really a beautiful object, and requires scarcely less attention than a vineyard. The trees are generally planted in aquincunx, or at times without any regular order; but at distances from each other of four or five yards. The situation selected is mostly on the banks of some stream or rivulet, running from the neighbouring hills, and the more abundant the supply of water, the healthier the plants and the finer the fruit. For this tree, which loves a warm climate, and a sandy soil, is yet wonderfully improved by frequent irrigation, and, singularly, thequalityof the water appears of little consequence, being salt or sweet, or impregnated with nitre, as in the Jereed.
Irrigation is performed in the spring, and through the whole summer. The water is drawn by small channels from the stream to each individual tree, around the stalk and root of which a little basin is made and fenced round with clay, so that the water, when received, is detained there until it soaks into the earth. (All irrigation is, indeed, effected in this way.) As to the abundance of the plantations, the fruit of one plantation alone producing fifteen hundred camels' loads of dates, or four thousand five hundred quintals, three quintals to the load, is not unfrequently sold for one thousand dollars. Besides the Jereed, Tafilett, in Morocco, is a great date-country. Mr. Jackson says, "We found the country covered with most magnificent plantations, and extensive forests of the lofty date, exhibiting the most elegant and picturesque appearance that nature on a plain surface can present to the admiring eye. In these forests, there is no underwood, so that a horseman may gallop through them without impediment."
Our readers will see, when they come to the Tour, that this description of the palm-groves agrees entirely with that of Mr. Reade and Captain Balfour. I have already mentioned that the palm is male and female, or, as botanists say,dioecious; the Moors, however, pretend that the palm in this respect is just like the human being. Thefemalepalm alone produces fruit and is cultivated, but the presence or vicinity of themaleis required, and in many oriental countries there is a law that those who own a palm-wood must have a certain number ofmaleplants in proportion. In Barbary they seem to trust to chance, relying on the male plants which grow wild in the Desert. They hang and shake them over the female plants, usually in February or March. Koempfe says, that the male flowers, if plucked when ripe, and cautiously dried, will even, in this state, perform their office, though kept to the following year.
The Jereed is a very important portion of the Tunisian territory, Government deriving a large revenue from its inhabitants. It is visited every year by the "Bey of the Camp," who administers affairs in this country as a sovereign; and who, indeed, is heir-apparent to the Tunisian throne. Immediately on the decease of the reigning Bey, the "Bey of the Camp" occupies the hereditary beylick, and nominates his successor to the camp and the throne, usually the eldest of the other members of the royal family, the beylick not being transmitted from father to son, only on the principle of age. At least, this has been the general rule of succession for many years.
The duties of the "Bey of the Camp" is to visit with a "flying-camp," for the purpose of collecting tribute, the two circuits or divisions of the Regency.
I now introduce to the reader the narrative of a Tour to the Jereed, extracted from the notebooks of the tourists, together with various observations of my own interspersed, and some additional account of Toser, Nefta, and Ghafsa.
Tour in the Jereed of Captain Balfour and Mr. Reade.—Sidi Mohammed.—Plain of Manouba.—Tunis.—Tfeefleeah.—The Bastinado.—TurkishInfantry.—Kairwan.—Sidi Amour Abeda.—Saints.—A French Spy—Administration of Justice.—The Bey's presents.—The Hobara.—Ghafsa.Hot streams containing Fish.—Snakes.—Incantation.—Moorish Village.
The tourists were Captain Balfour, of the 88th Regiment, and Mr. RichardReade, eldest son of Sir Thomas Reade.
The morning before starting from Tunis they went to the Bardo to pay their respects to Sidi Mohammed, "Bey of the Camp," and to thank him for his condescending kindness in taking them with him to the Jereed. The Bey told him to send their baggage to Giovanni, "Guarda-pipa," which they did in the evening.
At nine A. M. Sidi Mohammed left the Bardo under a salute from the guns, one of the wads of which nearly hit Captain Balfour on the head. The Bey proceeded across the plain of Manouba, mounted on a beautiful bay charger, in front of the colours, towards Beereen, the greater part of the troops of the expedition following, whilst the entire plain was covered with baggage-camels, horses, mules, and detached parties of attendants, in glorious confusion.
The force of the camp consisted of—Mamelukes of the Seraglio, superbly mounted 20
Mamelukes of the Skeefah, or those who guard the entrance of the Bey's palace, or tent, and are all Levantines 20
Boabs, another sort of guard of the Bey,who are always about the Bey'stent, and must be of this country 20
Turkish Infantry 300Spahis, o. mounted Arab guards 300Camp followers (Arabs) 2,000——-Total 2,660
This is certainly not a large force, but in several places of the march they were joined for a short time by additional Arab troops, a sort of honorary welcome for the Bey. As they proceeded, the force of the camp-followers increased; but, in returning, it gradually decreased, the parties going home to their respective tribes. We may notice the total absence of any of the new corps, the Nithàlm. This may have been to avoid exciting the prejudices of the people; however, the smallness of the force shows that the districts of the Jereed are well-affected. The summer camp to Beja has a somewhat larger force, the Arabs of that and other neighbouring districts not being so loyal to the Government.
Besides the above-named troops, there were two pieces of artillery. The band attendant on these troops consisted of two or three flageolets, kettle-drums, and trumpets made of cow-horns, which, according to the report of our tourists, when in full play produced the most diabolical discord.
After a ride of about three hours, we pitched our tents at Beereen. Through the whole of the route we marched on an average of about four miles per hour, the horses, camels, &c., walking at a good pace. The Turkish infantry always came up about two hours after the mounted troops. Immediately on the tents being pitched, we went to pay our respects to the Bey, accompanied by Giovanni, "Guardapipa," as interpreter. His Highness received us very affably, and bade us ask for anything we wanted. Afterwards, we took some luncheon with the Bey's doctor, Signore Nunez Vaise, a Tuscan Jew, of whose kindness during our whole tour it is impossible to speak too highly. The doctor had with him an assistant, and tent to himself. Haj Kador, Sidi Shakeer, and several other Moors, were of our luncheon-party, which was a very merry one.
About half-way to Beereen, the Bey stopped at a marabet, a small square white house, with a dome roof, to pay his devotions to a great Marabout, or saint, and to ask his parting blessing on the expedition. They told us to go on, and joined us soon after. Two hours after us, the Turkish Agha arrived, accompanied with colours, music, and some thirty men. The Bey received the venerable old gentleman under an immense tent in the shape of an umbrella, surrounded with his mamelukes and officers of state. After their meeting and saluting, three guns were fired. The Agha was saluted every day in the same manner, as he came up with his infantry after us. We retired for the night at about eight o'clock.
The form of the whole camp, when pitched, consisting of about a dozen very large tents, was as follows:—The Bey's tent in the centre, which was surrounded at a distance of about forty feet with those of the Bash-Hamba [31] of the Arabs, the Agha of the Arabs, the Sahab-el-Tabah, Haznadar or treasurer, the Bash-Boab, and that of the English tourists; then further off were the tents of the Katibs and Bash-Katib, the Bash-Hamba of the Turks, the doctors, and the domestics of the Bey, with the cookery establishment. Among the attendants of the Bey were the "guarda-pipa," guard of the pipe, "guarda-fusile," guard of the gun, "guarda-café," guard of the coffee, "guarda-scarpe," guard of the shoes, [32] and "guarda-acqua," guard of water. A man followed the Bey about holding in his hand a golden cup, and leading a mule, having two paniers on its back full of water, which was brought from Tunis by camels. There was also a story-teller, who entertained the Bey every night with the most extraordinary stories, some of them frightfully absurd. The Bey did not smoke—a thing extraordinary, as nearly all men smoke in Tunis. His Highness always dined alone. None of his ladies ever accompany him in these expeditions.
The tents had in them from twenty to fifty men each. Our tent consisted of our two selves, a Boab to guard the baggage, two Arabs to tend the horses and camels, and another Moor of all work, besides Captain Balfour's Maltese, called Michael. We had three camels for our baggage. The first night we found very cold; but having abundance of clothing, we slept soundly, in spite of the perpetual wild shoutings of the Arab sentries, stationed round the camp, the roaring and grumbling of the camels, the neighing and coughing of the horses, all doing their utmost to drive away slumber from our eyelids.
We halted on the morrow, which gave us an opportunity of getting a few things from Tunis which we had neglected to bring. But before returning, we ate some sweetmeats sent us by the guarda-pipa, with a cup of coffee. The guarda-pipa is also a dragoman interpreter of his Highness, and a Genoese by birth, but now a renegade. In this country they do not know what a good breakfast is; they take a cup of coffee in the morning early, and wait till twelve or one o'clock, when they take a hearty meal, and then sup in the evening, late or early, according to the season. Before returning to Tunis, we called upon his Highness, and told him our object. We afterwards called to see the Bey every morning, to pay our respects to him, as was befitting on these occasions. His Highness entered into the most familiar conversation with us.
On coming back again from Tunis, it rained hard, which continued all night. In the evening the welcome news was proclaimed that the tents would not be struck until daylight: previously, the camp was always struck at 3 o'clock, about three hours before daylight, which gave rise to great confusion, besides being without shelter during the coldest part of the night (three hours before sun-rise) was a very serious trial for the health of the men. The reason, however, was, to enable the camels to get up to the new encampment; their progress, though regular and continual, is very slow.
Of a morning the music played off theréveilan hour before sunrise. The camp presented an animated appearance, with the striking of tents, packing camels, mounting horses, &c. We paid our respects to his Highness, who was sitting in an Arab tent, his own being down. The music was incessantly grating upon our ears, but was in harmony with the irregular marching and movements of the Arabs, one of them occasionally rushing out of the line of march, charging, wheeling about, firing, reloading, shouting furiously, and making the air ring with his cries.
The order of march was as follows:—The Bey mounts, and, going along about one hundred yards from the spot, he salutes the Arab guards, who follow behind him; then, about five or six miles further, overtaking the Turkish soldiers, who, on his coming up, are drawn up on each side of the road, his Highness salutes them; and then afterwards the water-carriers are saluted, being most important personages in the dry countries of this circuit, and last of all, the gunners; after all which, the Bey sends forward a mameluke, who returns with the Commander, or Agha of the Arabs, to his Highness. This done, the Bey gallops off to the right or left from the line of march, on whichsoever side is most game—the Bey going every day to shoot, whilst the Agha takes his place and marches to the next halting-place.
One morning the Bey shot two partridges while on horseback. "In fact," says Mr. Rade, "he is the best shot on horseback I ever saw—he seldom missed his game." As Captain B. was riding along with the doctor, they remarked a cannon-ball among some ruins; but, being told a saint was buried there, they got out of the way as quick as if a deadly serpent had been discovered. Stretching away to the left, we saw a portion of the remains of the Carthaginian aqueduct. The march was only from six to eight miles, and the encampment at Tfeefleeah. At day-break, at noon, at 3 o'clock, P.M. and at sunset, the Muezzen called from outside and near the door of the Bey's tent the hour of prayer. An aide-de-camp also proclaimed, at the same place, whether we should halt, or march, on the morrow, The Arabs consider fat dogs a great delicacy, and kill and eat them whenever they can lay hands upon them. Captain B. was fortunate in not bringing his fat pointer, otherwise he would have lost him. The Arabs eat also foxes and wolves, and many animals of the chase not partaken of by us. The French in Algiers kill all the fat cats, and turn them into hares by dexterous cooking. The mornings and evenings we found cold, but mid-day very hot and sultry.
We left Tfeefleeah early, and went in search of wild-boar; found only their tracks, but saw plenty of partridges and hares; the ground being covered with brushwood and heath, we soonæ lost sight of them. The Arabs were seen on a sudden running and galloping in all directions, shouting and pointing to a hill, when a huge beast was put up, bristling and bellowing, which turned out to be a hyæna. He was shot by a mameluke, Si Smyle, and fell in a thicket, wallowing in his blood. He was a fine fellow, and had an immense bead, like a bull-dog. They put him on a mule, and carried him in triumph to the Bey. When R. arrived at the camp, the Bey sent him the skin and the head as a present, begging that he would not eat the brain. There is a superstitious belief among the Moors that, if a person eats the brain of a hyæna he immediately becomes mad. The hyæna is not the savage beast commonly represented; he rarely attacks any person, and becomes untameably ferocious by being only chained up. He is principally remarkable for his stupidity when at large in the woods. The animal abounds in the forests of the Morocco Atlas. Our tourists saw no lionsen route, or in the Jereed; the lion does not like the sandy and open country of the plain. Very thick brushwood, and ground broken with rocks, like the ravines of the Atlas, are his haunts.
Several Arabs were flogged for having stolen the barley of which they had charge. The bastinado was inflicted by two inferior mamelukes, standing one on each side of the culprit, who had his hands and his feet tied behind him. In general, it may be said that bastinadoing in Tunis is a matter of form, many of the strokes ordered to be inflicted being never performed, and those given being so many taps or scratches. It is very rare to see a man bleeding from the bastinado; I (the author) never did. It is merely threatened as a terror; whilst it is not to be overlooked, that the soles of the feet of Arabs, and the lower classes in this country, are like iron, from the constant habit of going barefoot upon the sharpest stones. Severe punishments of any kind are rarely inflicted in Tunis.
The country was nearly all flat desert, with scarcely an inhabitant to dissipate its savage appearance. The women of a few Arab horsehair tents (waterproof when in good repair) saluted us as we passed with their shrill looloos. There appeared a great want of water. We passed the ruins of several towns and other remains. The camels were always driven into camp at sunset, and hobbled along, their two fore-legs being tied, or one of them being tied up to the knee, by which the poor animals are made to cut a more melancholy figure than with their usual awkward gait and moody character.