Life in Morocco and Glimpses Beyond Part 20

A statement of claim for a thousand dollars, alleged to have been robbed from his house, was forwarded by courier to his chief, then at Court, and was promptly added to the demands that it was part of His Excellency's errand to enforce.

XXVII

THE PROTECTION SYSTEM

"My heart burns, but my lips will not give utterance."

_Moorish Proverb._

I. THE NEED

Crouched at the foreigner's feet lay what appeared but a bundle of rags, in reality a suppliant Moor, once a man of wealth and position.

Hugging a pot of b.u.t.ter brought as an offering, clutching convulsively at the leg of the chair, his furrowed face bespoke past suffering and present earnestness.

"G.o.d bless thee, Bashador, and all the Christians, and give me grace in thy sight!"

"Oh, indeed, so you like the Christians?"

"Yes, Bashador, I must love the Christians; they have justice, we have none. I wish they had rule over the country."

"Then you are not a good Muslim!"

"Oh yes, I am, I am a haj (pilgrim to Mekka), and I love my own religion, certainly I do, but none of our officials follow our religion nowadays: they have no religion. They forget G.o.d and wors.h.i.+p money; their delight is in plunder and oppression."

"You appear to have known better days. What is your trouble?"

"Trouble enough," replies the Moor, with a sigh. "I am Hamed Zirari.

I was rich once, and powerful in my tribe, but now I have only this sheep and two goats. I and my wife live alone with our children in a nuallah (hut), but after all we are happier now when they leave us alone, than when we were rich. I have plenty of land left, it is true, but we dare not for our lives cultivate more than a small patch around our nuallah, lest we should be pounced upon again."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photograph by Dr. Rudduck._

A CENTRAL MOROCCO HOMESTEAD (NUaLLAS).]

"How did you lose your property?"

"I will tell you, Bashador, and then you will see whether I am justified in speaking of our Government as I do. It is a sad story, but I will tell you all.[20] A few years ago I possessed more than six hundred cows and bullocks, more than twelve hundred sheep, a hundred good camels, fifty mules, twenty horses, and twenty-four mares. I had also four wives and many slaves. I had plenty of guns and abundance of grain in my stores; in fact, I was rich and powerful among my people, by whom I was held in great honour; but alas! alas! our new kad is worse than the old one; he is insatiable, a pit without a bottom!

There is no possibility of satisfying his greed!

[20: This story is reproduced from notes taken of the man's narrative by my father.--B. M.]

"I felt that although by continually making him valuable presents I succeeded in keeping on friendly terms with him, he was always coveting my wealth. We have in our district two markets a week, and at last I had to present him with from $50 to $80 every market-day. I was nevertheless in constant dread of his eyes--they are such greedy eyes--and I saw that it would be necessary to look out for protection.

I was too loyal a subject of the Sultan then, and too good a Muslim, to think of Nazarene protection, so I applied for help to Si Mohammed boo Aalam, commander-in-chief of our lord (whom may G.o.d send victorious), and to enter the Sultan's service.

"We prepared a grand present with which to approach him, and when it was ready I started with it, accompanied by two of my cousins. We took four splendid horses, four mares with their foals, four she-camels with their young, four picked cows, two pairs of our best bullocks, four fine young male slaves, each with a silver-mounted gun, and four well-dressed female slaves, each carrying a new bucket in her hand, many jars containing fresh and salted b.u.t.ter and honey, beside other things, and a thousand dollars in cash. It was a fine present, was it not, Bashador?

"Well, on arrival at Si Mohammed's place, we slaughtered two bullocks at his door, and humbly begged his gracious acceptance of our offering, which we told him we regretted was not greater, but that as we were his brethren, we trusted to find favour in his sight. We said we wished to honour him, and to become his fortunate slaves, whose chief delight it would be to do his bidding. We reminded him that although he was so rich and powerful he was still our brother, and that we desired nothing better than to live in continual friends.h.i.+p with him.

"He received and feasted us very kindly, and gave us appointments as mounted guards to the marshal of the Sultan, as which we served happily for seven months. We were already thinking about sending for some of our family to come and relieve us, that we might return home ourselves, when one day Si Mohammed sent for us to say that he was going away for a time, having received commands from the Sultan to visit a distant tribe with the effects of Royal displeasure. After mutual compliments and blessings he set off with his soldiers.

"Five days later a party of soldiers came to our house. To our utter astonishment and dismay, without a word of explanation, they put chains on our necks and wrists, and placing us on mules, bore us away.

Remonstrance and resistance were equally vain. We were in Mequinez.

It was already night, and though the gates were shut, and are never opened again except in obedience to high authority, they were silently opened for us to pa.s.s through. Once outside, our eyes were bandaged, and we were lashed to our uncomfortable seats. Thus we travelled on as rapidly as possible, in silence all night long. It was a long night, that, indeed, Bashador, a weary night, but we felt sure some worse fate awaited us; what, we could not imagine, for we had committed no crime. Finally, after three days we halted, and the bandages were removed from our eyes. We found ourselves in a market-place in Rahamna, within the jurisdiction of our cursed kad. All around us were our flocks and herds, camels, and horses, all our movable property, which we soon learnt had been brought there for public sale.

A great gathering was there to purchase.

"The kad was there, and when he saw us he exclaimed, 'There you are, are you? You can't escape from me now, you children of dogs!' Then he turned to a brutal policeman, crying, 'Put the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds on the ground, and give them a thousand lashes.' Those words ring in my ears still.

I felt as in a dream. I was too utterly in his power to think of answering, and after a very few strokes the power of doing so was taken from me, for I lost consciousness. How many blows we received I know not, but we must have been very nearly killed. When I revived we were in a filthy matmorah, where we existed for seven months in misery, being kept alive on a scanty supply of barley loaves and water. At last I pretended to have lost my reason, as I should have done in truth had I stayed there much longer. When they told the kad this, he gave permission for me to be let out. I found my wife and children still living, thank G.o.d, though they had had very hard times.

What has become of my cousins I do not know, and do not dare to ask, but thou couldst, O Bashador, if once I were under thy protection.

"All I know is that, after receiving our present, Si Mohammed sold us to the kad for twelve hundred dollars. He was a fool, Bashador, a great fool; had he demanded of us we would have given him twelve hundred dollars to save ourselves what we have had to suffer.

"Wonderest thou still, O Bashador, that I prefer the Nazarenes, and wish there were more of them in the country? I respect the dust off their shoes more than a whole nation of miscalled Muslims who could treat me as I have been treated; but G.o.d is just, and 'there is neither force nor power save in G.o.d,' yes, 'all is written.' He gives to men according to their hearts. We had bad hearts, and he gave us a Government like them."

II. THE SEARCH

The day was already far spent when at last Abd Allah led his animal into one of the caravansarais outside the gate of Mazagan, so, after saying his evening prayers and eating his evening meal, he lay down to rest on a heap of straw in one of the little rooms of the fandak, undisturbed either by anxious dreams, or by the mult.i.tude of lively creatures about him.

Ere the sun had risen the voice of the muedhdhin awoke him with the call to early prayer. Shrill and clear the notes rang out on the calm morning air in that perfect silence--

"G-o-d is gr-ea--t! G-o-d is gr-ea--t! G-o-d is grea--t! I witness that there is no G.o.d but G.o.d, and Mohammed is the messenger of G.o.d.

Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Prayer is better than sleep! Come to prayer!"

Quickly rising, Abd Allah repaired to the water-tap, and seating himself on the stone seat before it, rapidly performed the prescribed religious ablutions, this member three times, then the other as often, and so on, all in order, right first, left to follow as less honourable, finis.h.i.+ng up with the pious e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n, "G.o.d greatest!"

Thence to the mosque was but a step, and in a few minutes he stood barefooted in those dimly-lighted, vaulted aisles, in which the glimmering oil lamps and the early streaks of daylight struggled for the mastery. His shoes were on the ground before him at the foot of the pillar behind which he had placed himself, and his hands were raised before his face in the att.i.tude of prayer. Then, at the long-drawn cry of the leader, in company with his fellow-wors.h.i.+ppers, he bowed himself, and again with them rose once more, in a moment to kneel down and bow his forehead to the earth in humble adoration.

Having performed the usual series of prayers, he was ready for coffee and bread. This he took at the door of the fandak, seated on the ground by the coffee-stall, inquiring meanwhile the prospects of protection in Mazagan.

There was Tajir[21] Pepe, always ready to appoint a new agent for a consideration, but then he bore almost as bad a name for tyrannizing over his _proteges_ as did the kads themselves. There was Tajir Yusef the Jew, but then he asked such tremendous prices, because he was a vice-consul. There was Tajir Juan, but then he was not on good enough terms with his consul to protect efficiently those whom he appointed, so he could not be thought of either. But there was Tajir Vecchio, a new man from Gibraltar, fast friends with his minister, and who must therefore be strong, yet a man who did not name too high a figure. To him, therefore, Abd Allah determined to apply, and when his store was opened presented himself.

[21: "Merchant," used much as "Mr." is with us.]

Under his cloak he carried three pots of b.u.t.ter in one hand, and as many of honey in the other, while a ragged urchin tramped behind with half a dozen fowls tied in a bunch by the legs, and a basket of eggs.

The first thing was to get a word with the head-man at the store; so, slipping a few of the eggs into his hands, Abd Allah requested an interview with the Tajir, with whom he had come to make friends. This being promised, he squatted on his heels by the door, where he was left to wait an hour or two, remarking to himself at intervals that G.o.d was great, till summoned by one of the servants to enter.

The merchant was seated behind his desk, and Abd Allah, having deposited his burden on the floor, was making round the table to throw himself at his feet, when he was stopped and allowed but to kiss his hand.

"Well, what dost thou want?"

"I have come to make friends, O Merchant."

"Who art thou?"

"I am Abd Allah bin Boo Shab es-Salih, O Merchant, of An Haloo in Rahamna. I have a family there, and cattle, and very much land. I wish to place all in thy hands, and to become thy friend," again endeavouring to throw himself at the feet of the European.