An Account Of Timbuctoo And Housa Territories In The Interior Of Africa Part 18

_Berebbers of Zimurh Sh.e.l.leh_.

This kabyl of Berebbers inhabit the plains west and south-west of Mequinas. They are a fine race of men, well-grown, and good figures; they have a n.o.ble presence, and their physiognomy resembles the ancient Roman. The laws of hospitality, however, are disregarded among them: they will plunder travellers who sojourn with them, whenever they have an opportunity.

_The European Merchants at MoG.o.dor escape from Decapitation_.

The late emperor, Muley Yezzid, proceeded from Mequinas to Marocco, with an army of thirty thousand cavalry, to take the field against the rebellious Abdrahaman ben Na.s.sar, bashaw of the province of Abda, acting conjointly with the bashaw of the province of Duquella, who had collected an army of eighty thousand men, of 285 which fifty thousand were horse. The Emperor, on his arrival at Marocco, was exasperated against the kabyls of the south; and was informed that the merchants of MoG.o.dor had supplied his rebel subject, Abdrahaman, with ammunition. Enraged at this report, which the exasperated state of his mind prompted him to believe, he issued an order to the Governor of MoG.o.dor, implicating the greater part of the European merchants of that port of high treason, and ordered their decapitation. This order was brought by one Fenishe, a relation of Tahar Fenishe; who had been, some years before, amba.s.sador from Marocco to the court of St. James's. The Governor, however, suspecting that the order had been issued in a moment of irritation, delayed its execution, in the hope that it might be countermanded; or, in hope that the result of a battle would render it unnecessary to be put in execution.--Soon afterwards, news arrived at MoG.o.dor that the two armies had met, had fought, and the Emperor had vanquished his antagonists, who had more than double his force, but was himself dangerously wounded. This induced the governor still further to delay the execution; having now ascertained that the order was obtained by a stratagem of malicious and ill-disposed people. The next day news came that the Emperor suffered extremely from a ball in the upper part of the thigh, 286 which the surgeons could not extract. The Emperor, in a fit of frenzy, from pain or pa.s.sion, took his (_k.u.maya_) dagger, cut open the wound to the ball, and expired soon after. Thus were the merchants of MoG.o.dor saved providentially from an untimely death.

_The Emperor Muley Yezzid's Body disinterred_.

When the united armies of Abda and Duquella were vanquished and dispersed by the Imperial troops, in the neighbourhood of Marocco, the report became general that the Emperor was wounded. It is a.s.serted that several men in ambush had orders to wait their opportunity to fire at the Emperor, when he should approach; and when the Emperor did approach the bush wherein these men lay concealed, they all fired. It appears, however, that only one shot had effect. The Emperor finding himself wounded, instead of being discouraged, was reanimated to the combat, and entered into the midst of it; a soldier by his side observed to him, that he was wounded, and whilst expressing his hope that it was not dangerous, the Emperor, with one stroke of his sabre, cut off his head! Even after the death of this redoubted warrior, the people trembled, doubting the truth of his decease. Abdrahaman went personally to Marocco and had the body disinterred to ascertain the fact, suspecting that the report of his death might be a stratagem; but 287 having ascertained it, he returned to Saffy, and his brother Muley Esslemmah was immediately proclaimed by Abdrahaman. Doubts of the Emperor's death still pervaded the minds of men: it was reported that he had been seen in the Atlas Mountains, in Draha, in Suse. At length a person somewhat resembling him in person, appeared between Wedinoon and Ait Bamaran (see the map): the panic took; and men from all parts of the country, who had known the Emperor, hastened to Wedinoon to ascertain the fact. Many who were too curious were shot by order of this pretender, to prevent the possibility of their returning to give notice of the imposture. The immense number of persons who now believed him to be Yezzid was incalculable; his party increased and multiplied, and he soon had thousands of followers who supported his cause. The infatuation of the vulgar and the bulk of the community was astounding; for the renowned Muley Yezzid, like his Majesty George IV., was the first horseman in his empire, and the most accomplished gentleman: whereas Buh.e.l.lesa[187], for so he was called in derision, was so bad a horseman that he generally rode a mule.

[Footnote 187: So called from his generally riding a mule, with a large stuffed saddle, rising high before and behind, covering the whole of the mule's back, and forming a very secure seat.

This enormous and ponderous saddle-mattras is called _h.e.l.lesa_; and as the Pretender rode on it, he was called _Bu h.e.l.lesa_; that is the father of a _h.e.l.lesa_.]

288 This man was reported to be an adept in the occult sciences; and it was both reported and credited, that the occult art enabled him to multiply corn and provision for the army to any quant.i.ty he might want. I was established at Santa Cruz, which was three days'

horse-travelling from Buh.e.l.lesa's standard; the (_Shereef,_) Prince Abdsalam, brother to Yezzid, was then resident there, and Viceroy of Suse. It was the Prince Abdsalam's desire to destroy this pretender; for his army and followers exceeded now thirty thousand men, the Prince sent to Muhamed ben Delemy, khalif of Suse, and sheik of the Duleim Arabs, whose castle was about thirty miles south of Santa Cruz. Delemy and the Prince were sworn friends: the latter proposed to him to give battle to Buh.e.l.lesa, and so prevent the empire from being usurped. Neither Delemy nor the Prince had funds to raise an army; so that neither of them knew what steps to take. _Delemy, however, with the true spirit of a Bedouin Arab, supported his friend in his adversity,_ and promised to exert himself to counteract the operations of the arch-hypocrite Buh.e.l.lesa. Collecting the sheiks of the various kabyls of Suse, he made an energetic harangue to them; and discussed with them the expediency of their uniting together, to repel the impostor. The sheiks were all loyal, and well affected to Muley Abd Salam; whose 289 government of Suse, by his khaliff Delemy, added to the hospitalities with which the Prince entertained the people of Suse at his domain, the _Wah el Grabie_, or the Oasis of Ammon, called _Santariah_, ingratiated Muley Abd Salam so much in their favour and esteem, that they all unanimously (_pa.s.sed l'aad_[188]) joined hands, and determined, each individually, to raise his respective kabyl to support the cause of Muley Abd Salam. In a short time they raised an army among themselves of ten thousand horse, and determined to attack Buh.e.l.lesa, so soon as he should begin to move forwards, and before he should reach Terodant, in his way to Marocco; for there he had a strong party, which would augment his forces. The hero Delemy, who was as valiant a soldier as Muley Yezzid himself, and as expert and dextrous in the management of the horse, determined therefore, with less than half the force of his antagonist, to attack him, before he should be able to gather more strength. The army of the sheiks joined, and proceeded towards Wedinoon. At night they learned that Buh.e.l.lesa, with an army of 290 22,000 men, mostly horse, having been apprised of Delemy's preparations and movements, had proceeded through Ait Bamaran towards Shtuka, and that he intended to attack Delemy's castle. On hearing this, the army halted for an hour, and returned towards Shtuka again. In the morning they came up with Buh.e.l.lesa, who was encamped about four hours south of Delemy's castle. The march of Delemy's troops, all hardy warriors and men of valour, was so rapid, that Buh.e.l.lesa was taken by surprise. The battle lasted seven hours; during which Delemy's brother was wounded and unhorsed, in the midst of the enemy's troops: but being unknown, and in a similar dress with the rest, he recovered himself by the a.s.sistance of some friends, sent to him by his brother the khalif, and was enabled to rejoin his own troops. Buh.e.l.lesa was so hard pressed, that he made his retreat into a house: on being attacked there, his pistol missed fire, and he was overcome. They immediately cut off his head and his arms, when his army dispersed, most of them making the best of their way to Wedinoon. That same night, the man of Shtuka, who first attacked Buh.e.l.lesa, was dispatched with his head and feet to Muley Abd Salam, at Santa Cruz.

[Footnote 188: The _L'aad_ of the Arabs is a joining of hands, without Shaking: the palms of the right hands of the parties coming in contact with each other, and the thumbs over each other. This is a solemn obligation among them; a calling G.o.d to witness their resolution of mutual a.s.sistance, offensive and defensive; a swearing to stand by each other till death; an obligation that nothing can dissolve; such a pledge, that if a man were to break it, he would be execrated and rejected from society!]

The reported approach of Buh.e.l.lesa, with so strong a force, had urged me to s.h.i.+p all the property I could collect; and I was on the 291 beach early the following morning, directing the s.h.i.+pment of my property; when taking a ride along the beach, I met an Arab, with a basket before him, and a foot sticking out of it. "_Salam u alik_,"

I exclaimed, "And what have you got there?"--"_Alik Salam_," said the Arab, "I have got Buh.e.l.lesa's head and feet here: I killed him myself; and the khalif Delemy has sent me with them to the Prince.

Dost thou think the Prince will reward me?"--"Certainly," said I, "for such an essential service." The Prince gave the Arab one hundred duckets[189]; the guns were fired; and the head and feet were hung over an embrasure of the round battery, facing the south.

Thus terminated the career of Buh.e.l.lesa.

A short time after this, I was on a visit to Delemy, and he accompanied me to the field of battle; which was an undulating plain, not unlike that of Waterloo: and the house to which Buh.e.l.lesa made his escape, was not unlike the hotel de la Belle Alliance on the plains of Waterloo, having, however, a flat roof.

[Footnote 189: Worth 5_s._ each, but equal to 100_l_., or more, in that country.]

_Sh.e.l.luhs: their Revenge and Retaliation._

A Sh.e.l.luh, of the province of Suse, had been a servant in the house 292 of Mr. Hutchison, British Consul at MoG.o.dor fifteen years; but it happened to be twenty years since a relation of his, in Suse, had been killed, to whom he was the next of kin but one: but the next of kin dying, it devolved upon him to seek retaliation; no opportunity, however, having occurred, he determined to go to Suse to fulfil this his calling. Now above twenty years had elapsed since the death or murder of the relation of Bel Kossem, the Consul's servant. This man, foregoing the eligibility of his place, apprised the Consul of his intention to leave him. Mr. Hutchison, who esteemed him not a little for his long and faithful services, was astonished to hear of his determination to depart; and, apprehending that he might want an increase of pay, he offered to increase it: but Bel Kossem told him that an imperious duty devolved on him to revenge the blood of his ancestor. Accordingly he received his wages, and departed forthwith for Suse. A few months afterwards he found an opportunity of killing his enemy, which being done, it was expected that this Sh.e.l.luh would now return to MoG.o.dor, and resume his place again; but by a parity of reasoning, it devolved to the next of kin of the man recently killed to seek revenge for his murdered relation, but Bel Kossem, to avoid the like fate, went into a distant country. This duty of revenging death, is rigidly pursued among the Sh.e.l.luhs, so that one murder often produces ten, or even twenty deaths; each revenging his relation or next of kin.

293 _Travelling in Barbary._

It is extremely difficult, whilst travelling in this country, to ascertain from the natives the distance of any (_douar_) encampment of Arabs: the general answer to such a question is (_wahud saa_), "an hour," but this is a very indefinite term, being used for a distance from two to twelve miles, or more; therefore, as these people have no definite notions of time or distance, the only way of ascertaining distances, is by knowing the rate at which the caravan goes, which is a regular pace, and consulting your watch; by this means, the distance of any journey, however long, may be accurately ascertained.

_Anecdote displaying the African Character, and showing them to be now what they were anciently, under Jugurtha._

A Muhamedan was sent to prison, for having killed a man; and after remaining there some time, it was expected that the Emperor's order would come to have him shot, or to have his right hand cut off, with which it was presumed he killed his enemy. A friend of the prisoner, willing to liberate him, that he might escape the punishment that awaited him, engaged a person well acquainted with the prison to procure his enlargement; accordingly he promised him 294 a sum of money, if he would effect this purpose. It was agreed that the money should be paid. The liberator was then to prove to the man advancing the money, that he had accomplished his purpose. The night in which his liberation was to be attempted was fixed on; ropes were ready to enable the prisoner to escape over the prison-wall. In the mean time the next of kin of the man who had been murdered, sought the blood of the prisoner, and was persuaded by the man that had engaged to liberate the prisoner, that the latter was not in prison, that he had made his escape, but that the former would undertake to put him in his power, so as to enable him to accomplish his revenge. This was agreed to, and accordingly a sum of money was paid as a remuneration for the service. All matters were arranged, and the person who paid the money was desired to be on the rock, near the prison, outside of the town wall, at two o'clock in the morning, and there he would find his enemy. The person who made the first engagement was directed to be at the same spot at three o'clock. In the mean time the liberation was effected at two o'clock, and the prisoner was informed that his friend would meet him under the rock at three o'clock, to conduct him to a place secure from discovery. Soon after two o'clock, the next of kin to the person whom the prisoner had killed came and 295 plunged a dagger into his heart; afterwards came the other man, and saw the body of his friend, whom he recognized. On expostulating with the liberator, the latter replied, "I have executed my engagement to liberate your friend; I am ent.i.tled to my reward: what has happened to him since his liberation is no concern of mine; see you to that. But I should inform you, that soon after his liberation, I saw a man approach, and fearing that I was discovered, I ran and hid myself under a rock. In a short time I returned and found your friend weltering in his blood. When I approached him, he had just time before he expired to name to me his murderer, who, he said, was the next of kin to the man he had himself killed."--Note, The Sh.e.l.luhs consider it a duty inc.u.mbent on them, each, individually to revenge the blood of their family; that they are bound to seek the murderer, if possibly he can be found. Such is their invariable attention to this principle of revenging blood for blood, that I have known instances of men who have relinquished eligible appointments, to go into distant countries, several years after a murder has been committed, to revenge the death of a relation, after becoming, by intervening death, the next of kin of the murdered person.

The lamentable effects of this fatal retaliation is such, that one death often produces twenty murders, and afterwards involves whole kabyls in intestine wars.

296 It is remarkable, that the more duplicity they use in these horrid transactions, the more merit is ascribed to the agent; who is praised in proportion to the extent of his ingenuity, or duplicity, as was the case with the liberator above mentioned.

_Every Nation is required to use its own Costume._

The Jews in West and South Barbary, have a predilection for the European costume, in preference to their own, the former being respected, the latter not: moreover the character of a _merchant_ is highly respected by the Moors, and the European dress is a kind of pa.s.sport to a man as such. One day, the Emperor seeing in the place of audience, at a great distance, a gentleman, apparently an European amba.s.sador, ordered the master of the audience to go and see who he was, and what nation he represented; but it being discovered that he was a Marocco Jew, his scarlet and gold dress was torn from him, and a _burnose_, (a large black cloak, the costume of the Jews of the lower order,) was put over him, when he was buffetted and kicked out of the place of audience. The Emperor was exasperated at this circ.u.mstance, which he considered a vain deception: he ordered his secretary to write to all the ports in his dominions, to desire that Jews should wear the _burnose_, that 297 Christians only should wear the European costume, and Moors and Arabs theirs; so that thus every individual might be known by their respective dress. On this occasion, an opulent Hebrew merchant at MoG.o.dor felt so much the insults he was exposed to, from wearing the Jewish costume, that he actually paid several thousand dollars to obtain the privilege he had formerly enjoyed, which, in consequence of his being an opulent man, and a foreign merchant, was granted to him.

The name of this gentleman would here be mentioned to gratify the curious; but as it might give umbrage to his family, and as the intention here is only to describe the character and manners of the country, there is, I conceive no necessity for stating personalities.

_Ali Bey (El Aba.s.si), Author of the Travels under that Name._

This extraordinary character visited Marocco about the year 1805 or 1806. He pretended to be a native of Aleppo, called in Arabic _h.e.l.lebee_, and was known by the name of Seed h.e.l.lebee, which signifies "the gentleman of Aleppo." Europeans, as well as himself, since his return to Europe, have converted this name into Ali Bey, of the family of the Aba.s.sides. This gentleman possessed abilities of no ordinary degree, he was supplied with money in abundance by 298 the Spanish government. He had not been long at MoG.o.dor, when his munificence began to excite the suspicion of the governor, as well as the admiration and applause of the populace. Adopting the costume of the country, he professed himself to be a Muselman; and as a pretext for not speaking the[190] Arabic language, he pretended that he had gone from Aleppo, the place of his nativity, to England when very young, and had forgotten it. He had, as he declared, considerable property in the Bank of England. Being desirous of collecting all the information possible respecting the country, he procured two young Spanish renegado musicians, who played on the guitar, and sung Arabic airs and songs, with which he affected to be highly delighted, these musicians, however, served his purpose in another way; for, being apprehensive of creating suspicion by direct enquiries, he prevailed on these renegadoes to procure the information he desired, by giving them from time to time several questions to which they procured direct answers, as reported by the natives.

[Footnote 190: He afterwards learned the Arabic language, and I believe spoke it tolerably well when he quitted this country and proceeded to Mekka.]

One day he gave a _fete champetre_ at (_L'arsa Sultan_), the[191]

299 Sultan's garden, situated near a very picturesque rivulet, and contiguous to springs of excellent water, which being collected in a large tank, was conveyed by an aqueduct, which extended the length of the garden, to immerge or irrigate the various beds of flowers and plants. On his return home, as he was crossing the river near the village of Diabet, a Sh.e.l.luh shot a large fish as it was pa.s.sing the shallows, Seed h.e.l.lebee, or Seed Ali Bey admired the dexterity of the Sh.e.l.luh, (who, from his quickness, was nicknamed Deib, i.e. the fox,) and desired him to take the fish to his house at MoG.o.dor, which he accordingly did, and received from Ali Bey's secretary a handful of dollars. This Sh.e.l.luh was a keen sportsman, and seldom or never missed his shot: he generally accompanied me in my shooting excursions, and he told me this circ.u.mstance himself, adding, that Ali Bey was such a liberal man, that, where any other gentleman gave a dollar, he gave a handful.

It was in this manner that Ali Bey purchased his popularity.

[Footnote 191: This garden is in the province of Haha, about five miles S.S.E. of MoG.o.dor, and belongs to the European Commerce, to whom it was presented by the Late Emperor Seedi Muhamed ben Abdallah.]

The governor of MoG.o.dor, Alkaid Muhamed ben Abdsaddock now began to suspect, not only the faith of this _soi disant_ Muhamedan, but that he had some design unavowed; and desirous of ascertaining to what nation of Christendom he belonged, the governor engaged Monsieur Depras, a respectable French merchant of MoG.o.dor, who understood several languages, to ascertain if he was a Frenchman, 300 and if not, who and what he was. The governor, in order to enable M. Depras to converse with Ali Bey, invited them both to tea; this introduction being effected the next day, Depras called on Ali Bey, and conversed with him during an hour in the French language, which he spoke so well, that the former thought there was no doubt of his being a Frenchman. But soon after this, the Spanish Consul was announced, and being introduced, Seed Ali Bey changed his discourse to Spanish, which he also spoke so correctly, that Depras now altered his opinion, and conceiving him to be a Spaniard, took his leave. He then reported to the governor what he had seen and heard, that he spoke French and Spanish so fluently, that he really did not know whether he was a Frenchman or a Spaniard.

Ali Bey continued to live in a most sumptuous and costly style, and afterwards resolved to visit Marocco. On his journey thither, he was particularly inquisitive respecting the population, produce, names and residencies of the (sheiks) chiefs of Haha and Shedma, through which provinces he pa.s.sed. On his arrival at Marocco, he still continued his magnificent establishment and sumptuous mode of living; distributing money to the people bountifully, on the most trifling occasions, which mode of conduct procured him universal popularity among the lower orders. This soon excited the suspicions 301 of Alkaid Bushta, the governor of Marocco, who ingenuously informed him, that such liberality was fit only for a Christian country, and that he was mistaken if he flattered himself that it would be tolerated at Marocco, and actually desired him to adopt a different and a more parsimonious system, if he wished to be quiet; alleging, that his munificence exceeded that of his Imperial Majesty, which was highly indecorous; but afterwards finding little attention was paid to his injunction, he published a decree throughout the city, that any one that should be found asking for, or receiving money from Ali Bey, should have a very severe bastinado! After residing some time at Marocco, he expressed a desire to visit the Atlas mountains, which appear a few miles east of Marocco, but which are, in fact, a whole day's journey; their immense size and height making them to appear so much nearer than they really are. Ali Bey apprehending the hostility of Alkaid Bushta, he procured an imperial order to visit the Atlas, but Bushta opposed it, and would not, he said, permit him, he being governor of Marocco, without having himself directly from the Emperor a permission to that purpose. He then represented to the Emperor the impolicy of allowing him to go and examine that country; and the imperial order was immediately countermanded.

People now began to imagine that he was an agent of Bonaparte; and their suspicion that he was a Christian spread far and near. It was 302 discovered also that he had corns on his feet, excrescences unknown to Muselmen, whose shoes are made tight over the instep, and loose over the toes, so that the latter being unconfined and at liberty, they never have corns.

Notwithstanding all these suspicions, the courtesy and suavity of the manners of Ali Bey had such influence on the imperial mind, that Muley Soliman gave him a beautiful garden to reside in, wherein there was a (_koba_) pavilion. Ali Bey, finding his influence considerable, erected with architectural taste several edifices, suited, as he thought, to the imperial _gusto_, in which he succeeded so well that his Imperial Majesty, when he returned the next year to Marocco, resided almost exclusively in one of the pavilions which he had erected.

The splendour of the imperial favour did not however continue long; for Ali Bey began now to be suspected by the Emperor himself, and it was bruited that his renegadoes had acted treacherously towards him.

Ali Bey's knowledge of astronomy was peculiarly gratifying to the Emperor. He could not altogether withdraw from him his attention.

The Emperor urged him to take unto himself a wife, and become an useful member of society; but Ali objected, alleging various motives for refusing. He was however at length prevailed on to comply with the imperial injunction, and the Emperor gave him a 303 young girl to marry. It was antic.i.p.ated that his new wife was a political one, and would betray him to be an uncirc.u.mcised dog. The wife, however, became extremely attached to him, and no information could be procured from her to favour the plot that had been laid for him. Various suspicions having increased respecting him, the Emperor finally resolved that he should quit his territory; and an order was issued that himself, his wife, and slaves should be escorted to the port of L'Araich, and there embark for Europe. When the military guard, however, had reached the port of L'Araich, the boat being ready, Ali Bey was desired to embark, when, not suspecting any stratagem, the boatmen pushed off, leaving his disconsolate wife on the beach, bewailing his abrupt departure. The lady appeared deeply affected with this sudden and unexpected separation; and jumping out of the litter tore her dishevelled hair, and distributed it to the winds, and with loud shrieks, which pierced the air, demonstrated to him how sorely she lamented his premature departure, and violent separation. His princ.i.p.al slave was sold, by order of the Emperor's minister, to Seed Abdel'mjeed Buh.e.l.lel, a merchant of Fas, who was lately in London, and the money was given to his wife.

During his residence at Fas, he predicted an eclipse, and, having foretold to the people of that city, that it would happen at such a 304 time, they waited for the event with considerable curiosity. Now his knowledge of futurity had spread abroad with demonstrations of amazement; the eclipse happened precisely at the time he had predicted, which established his fame as an (_alem min alem_), a man wiser than the wise.

During the latter part of his residence in West Barbary, a report prevailed that Bonaparte was preparing an immense army to invade and subjugate the country. Ali Bey was not only suspected to be his secret agent, but some persons were even ridiculous enough to declare that he was Bonaparte himself in disguise; and accordingly he was denominated _Parte_, for they would not add _Bona_, as that word signifies good, in the _lingua franca_ of Barbary, and Bonaparte, they said was not good, but a devil incarnate; so they called him Parte. Last year I met in London the Moor who had purchased Ali Bey's slave, and he told me that his son by the before-mentioned wife lives at Fas; that he is a very amiable and intelligent youth, about fifteen or sixteen years of age; and that he is very poor, and would have starved, but for the charity and protection of the highly respected fakeer of the city of Fas, Muley Dris, under whose roof he resides, and is indebted to him for protection and patronage. This man would be an acquisition to the African a.s.sociation, and means might be adopted to engage him in 305 their service to explore Sudan.

_The Emperor's Attack of Diminet, in the Atlas_.

The emperor Seedi Muhamed ben Abdallah levied a powerful army, and took the field against Diminet, in the mountains of Atlas, east of Marocco. The people of Diminet, and the territory of Berebbers, east of that country, had also levied a strong force to defend themselves. The Diminets were taken by surprise; for they had not had intimation of an attack from Marocco. The Emperor himself, with a few attendants disguised in the Berebber dress, advanced a few miles ahead of the army. A party of mountaineers had received orders from their sheik, (when the latter was informed that the Emperor's army was coming against them,) to seek the Emperor, and endeavour to kill him. They mistook the Emperor and his party for Berebbers, as His Majesty spoke the language correctly, and had in the early part of his life lived among them. "Where is the Emperor's guard?" the mountaineers enquired; "for we are in search of them: we hear he is coming to attack us, in our inaccessible mountains; but we will be beforehand with him, and dispatch him before he reaches us. Dost thou know where he is, or where his guard is." "We do know," replied the Emperor; "for, about an hour behind us, we pa.s.sed a few men on horseback, among whom was the Emperor; but the army is a long way behind: if you make speed, you will soon pa.s.s him, and it will be an easy matter for you to put 306 the whole party to the sword, for they are not a dozen altogether."

The Berebbers, elated with this news, communicated from a party whom they mistook for brethren of the neighbouring kabyl, rode off at speed to seek their enemy, and in a short time found themselves surrounded by the Emperor's army, who were scattered about in ambush. These Berebbers were all secured, and were threatened with torture if they would not discover where the army of their brethren was, and what was their plan. The party discovered the plan and the place of their encampment, which was not far off in recesses of the mountain, and received a promise of remuneration if found correct.

By this discovery, the imperial army was enabled to surprise the rebels; the latter were dispersed, and their houses burned. Thus were they prevented from _hara.s.sing_ the Emperor's army, which is their ordinary mode of warfare. To subjugate these people would be impossible: it has often been attempted, but never succeeded. The only lien the Emperor can get of them is, by having at court about his person their sheik, whom he then makes answerable for the obedience of the kabyl.

_Moral Justice_.

The imperial army being encamped in Temsena, on the confines of 307 Tedla, (see the map,) an Arab chieftain found that a friend of the Emperor came into his _keyma_[192] at night, and took liberties with his wife. The Arab suspected that he was (_shereef_) a prince, and therefore did not dare to kill him, but preferred a complaint to the Emperor. The Emperor was vexed to hear of such a gross breach of hospitality, and asked what time he made his visits? "At one hour after midnight," the Arab replied. Then, said the Emperor, "when he comes, do you let me know by giving the watch-word to this man, and he will then know what to do; and depend thou on my seeing justice done to thee for the aggression." The marauder came; the Arab repaired to the guard of the imperial tent, and gave the word; the guard apprised the emperor, as he was directed, who personally repaired to the tent of the Arab, and, being convinced of the fact, ran the man through with his lance; this was done without a light.

The body was brought before the tent, and it was discovered to be an officer of the imperial guard. The Emperor, on seeing that it was not a shereef (a prince) prostrated himself in fervent prayer for a considerable time. The courtiers who were all a.s.sembled by this time to witness this extraordinary occurrence, wondered what could induce the Emperor to be so fervent in prayer; which his majesty observing, told them, "that he went alone to the tent, 308 thinking that n.o.body but a shereef would have dared to commit such a breach of hospitality, in so open a manner; therefore he killed him without having a light, lest, on discovering him to be a prince, personal affection might give way to justice; but that when he discovered that it was not a relation, he returned thanks to G.o.d Almighty, that, in his determination to have justice administered, he had not killed his own son!"

[Footnote 192: _Keyma_ is the name for an Arab's tent; they are made of goats' hair, and are black.]

_Contest between the Emperor and the Berebbers of Atlas_.

March 10, 1797. The Sultan Soliman proceeds with a powerful army against the warlike province of Shawiya, the rebellious Arabs'

retreat. The imperial army takes some of the women who are renowned for personal charms. The army can get no food; and, being in danger of starving, returns to Salee. The Arabs promise submission, in hopes of having the women restored; but the Emperor's officers violate them. The Arabs swear vengeance (_alia l'imin_[193]) by their right hand. The emperor attacks them again, is repulsed, and returns to Fas.

[Footnote 193: _Alia l'imin_, swearing by the right hand, is a sacred oath; and those who take it will not swerve from its obligation, which is peremptory.]

_Characteristic Trait of Muhamedans_.