Part 13

"In being present we have experienced the greatest gratification, without speaking of the glory and advantages we have carried off.

"In exchange for the seven reeds planted at the end of the course and carried off by the first seven as they arrived, we have received magnificent presents, such as it is seemly to offer.

"Striped calico from Yemen, dyed of various colours, and _haïks_ of silk and of wool.

"We carried off all these stuffs spread out over our horses, with borders red as blood.

"In addition to all this they gave us silver coins by thousands, but this silver we never keep for ourselves. We distribute it among the servants who tend our horses, though we ourselves tend these with our own hands far more carefully than they do.

"These are horses that never drink any but the purest water, and never feed on any but the choicest food.

* * * * *

The Mussulman law distinguishes three ways of offering prizes for horse racing. The first is positively permitted, the second is so conditionally, and the third is utterly prohibited. In the first case, some one entirely without interest in the result of the race offers a prize, saying: "Whoever shall be victor in the race shall gain the prize." Kings, chiefs, and great personages whose rank or fortune places them in an exalted position, sometimes propose prizes in this manner, which is sanctioned without any condition. In the second case, an individual interested in the race, says: "I offer a prize which shall be given to the one first in." This mode is allowed, with the condition that if the donor himself is the first to arrive at the goal, the prize shall be given to the assembly. The third manner is that by which every one interested in the race offers a prize for the benefit of him by whom he is beaten. This style of racing is nothing more than a wager, and consequently is absolutely forbidden. Much more is betting by persons not concerned in the race formally prohibited.

ABD-EL-KADER ON THE ARAB HORSE.

Having known the Emir Abd-el-Kader during the time I held the office of French Consul at Mascara, from 1837 to 1839, and having again met him at Toulon in 1847, whither I had been ordered on special duty at the time of his first landing in France, I had full opportunity in my numerous interviews with him to appreciate his intimate acquaintance with all that related to the history of his country, as well as to all questions of horse-flesh. I did not hesitate, therefore, to ask his opinion on a subject of a purely scientific nature, which may nevertheless be of great moment, not only for the future interests of our colony, but for those of the country at large. The following is his reply, written under date of the 8th November, 1851.

Glory to the one God, whose reign alone endureth for ever!

Peace be with him who equals in good qualities all the men of his time, who aims only at what is good, whose heart is pure and his word abiding, the wise, the intelligent, the Lord General Daumas, on the part of your friend Sid-el-Hadj Abd-el-Kader, son of Mahhi-Eddin.

Behold the reply to your inquiries:—

1st. You ask me how many days an Arab horse can march without rest and without suffering too severely. Know, then, that a horse sound in every limb, that eats as much barley as his stomach can contain, can do whatever his rider can ask of him. For this reason the Arabs say: "Give barley and over-work him." But without tasking him overmuch, a horse can be made to do sixteen parasangs day after day.[54] It is the distance from Mascara to Koudiat-Aghelizan on the Oued-Mina; it has been measured in cubits. A horse performing this journey every day, and having as much barley as it likes to eat, can go on, without fatigue, for three or four months, without lying by a single day.

2nd. You ask me what distance a horse can accomplish in a day. I cannot tell you very precisely, but it ought to be about fifty parasangs, or the distance from Tlemcen to Mascara. However, an animal that has performed such a journey ought to be carefully ridden on the following day, and allowed to do only a very much shorter distance. Most of our horses used to go from Oran to Mascara in a single day, and could repeat the journey for two or three consecutive days. On one occasion we started from Saïda about eight in the morning to fall upon the Arbâa, who were encamped at Aaïn-Toukria, among the Oulad-Aïad near Taza, and we came up with them at break of day.

3rd. You ask for examples of the temperance of the Arab horse, and for proofs of his power of enduring hunger and thirst. Know that when we were established at the mouth of the Melouïa, we used to make razzias into the Djebel-Amour, following the route of the Sahara, and on the day of attack pushing forward at the gallop for five or six hours at a stretch—the entire expedition, going and returning, being completed in twenty to twenty-five days at the outside. During this space of time our horses had no barley except what they carried with them, about enough for eight ordinary feeds. Nor did they find straw, or anything except the _alfa_ and _shiehh_, and grass in the spring time. And yet, on rejoining our people, we performed the fantasia on our horses, and some among us burnt powder. Many, too, who were not fresh enough for the latter exercise, were quite able to go upon an expedition. Our horses would go a day or two without water, and once they found none for three days. The horses of the Sahara do far more than that, for they go three months without touching a grain of barley. Straw they meet with only when they go to the Tell to buy grain, and for the most part feed on the _alfa_, the _shiehh_, and sometimes the _guetof_. The _shiehh_ is better than the _alfa_, but not so good as the _guetof_. The Arabs say:

The _alfa_ is good for marching, The _shiehh_ is good for fighting, And the _guetof_ is superior to barley.

In certain years the horses of the Sahara have gone the whole twelve months without a grain of barley to eat, especially when the tribes have not been suffered to enter the Tell. At such times the Arabs give dates to their horses, which is a fattening food, and keeps them in condition for marching or fighting.

4th. You ask why, seeing the French do not mount their horses before they are four years old, the Arabs mount theirs at a very early age. Know that the Arabs say that horses, like men, are more easily taught when quite young. They have a proverb:

The lessons of infancy are engraved upon stone, The lessons of ripe age pass away like birds' nests.

They likewise say:

The young branch is made straight without much trouble, But the old wood can never be straightened.

In the very first year, the Arabs teach the colt to let itself be led by the _reseum_, a species of cavesson. They call it then _djeda_, and begin to fasten and bridle it. As soon as it has become _teni_, that is, as soon as it has entered on its second year, they ride it a mile or two, or even a parasang, and after it has completed eighteen months they do not fear to fatigue it. When it has become _rebâa telata_, that is, when it has entered on its third year, they tie it up, cease to ride it, cover it with a good _djellal_, and get it into condition. They say:

In his first year, tie him up lest he should meet with an accident; In his second year, ride him until his back bends; In his third year, again tie him up, and after that, if he does not suit you, sell him.

If a horse is not ridden before his third year, it is certain that he will never be good for anything but to gallop, which he does not need to learn, as it is his nature to do so: an idea thus expressed by the Arabs: "The noble horse gallops according to his race"—that is, a thoroughbred horse has no occasion to be taught to gallop.

5th. You ask me how it is, seeing that the foal derives more qualities from its sire than from its dam, that mares are always higher priced than horses. The reason is this. He who buys a mare does so with the expectation that he will not only be able to make use of her for the saddle, but will also obtain from her a numerous stock; while he who buys a horse cannot hope to get any other advantage out of him than by riding him.

6th. You ask me if the Arabs of the Sahara keep registers to establish the descent of their horses. Know that the inhabitants of the Algerian Sahara do not, any more than those of the Tell, concern themselves with these registers. The notoriety of the fact suffices them; for pedigree of their blood horses is as well known to every one as that of their masters. I have heard it said that some families possessed these written genealogies, but I cannot answer for the fact. Such books, however, are kept in the East.

7th. You ask me which are the tribes of Algeria the most renowned for the pure breed of their horses. Know that the best horses of the Sahara are unquestionably those of Hamyân. They possess none but excellent animals, because they never employ them to till the ground, or as beasts of burden. They employ them solely on expeditions and in battle. These are superior to all others in endurance of hunger, thirst, and fatigue. Next in order come the horses of the Harar, the Arbâa, and the Oulad-Naïl. In the Tell, the horses in the first rank for nobility of race, for height and beauty of mould, are those of the Shelif, especially those of the Oulad-Sidi-Ben-Abd-Allah, near the Mina, and those of the Oulad-Sidi-Hassan, a section of the Oulad-Sidi-Dahhou, who dwell in the highlands of Mascara. The fleetest in the race-course, and at the same time of a beautiful shape, are those of the Flittas, the Oulad-Sherif, and the Oulad-Lekreud. The best for traversing stony ground, without being shod, are those of the Hassasna in the Yakoubia. The following words are ascribed to Mulay-Ishmael, the celebrated Sultan of Morocco.

May my horse have been reared in the Mâz, And watered in the Biaz.

The Mâz is a district of the Hassasna, and the Biaz is the stream known by the name of Foufet, that flows through their territory. The horses of the Oulad-Khaled are also famous for the same qualities. In reference to this tribe Sidi-Ahmed-Ben-Youssel has said: "The long locks and the long _djellals_ will lie seen in the midst of you to the day of the resurrection," thus eulogising their women and their horses.

8th. You say that people maintain against you that the horses of Algeria are not Arabs but Barbs. It is a theory that turns against its own authors, for the Barbs were originally Arabs. A well-known writer has said: "The Berbers inhabit the Mogheb. They are all sons of Kaïs-Ben-Ghilan. It is likewise stated that they spring from two great Hemiarite tribes, the Senahdja and the Kettama, who came into the country at the time of the invasion of Ifrikesh El Malik." According to both these opinions, the Berbers are decidedly Arabs. Historians, moreover, establish the descent of most of the Berber tribes from the Senahdja and the Kettama. The arrival of these tribes was anterior to Islam. Since the Mussulman invasion the number of Arabs who have emigrated into the Mogheb is beyond computation. When the Obeïdin [the Fatimites] were masters of Egypt, immense tribes passed into Africa, among others the Riahh, and spread themselves from Kaïrouan to Merrakesh [Morocco]. It is from these tribes that are descended the Algerian tribes of the Douaouda, the Aïad, the Mâdid, the Oulad-Mahdi, the Oulad-Iakoub-Zerara, the Djendel, the Attaf, the Hamïs, the Braze, the Sbeha, the Flittas, the Medjahar, the Mehal, the Beni-Aâmer, the Hamian, and many more. Without doubt the Arab horses were dispersed through the Mogheb in like manner with the Arab families. At the time of Ifrikesh-ben-Kaïf, the empire of the Arabs was all powerful. It extended as far west as the confines of the Mogheb, just as in the time of Shamar the Hemiarite it extended eastward to the frontiers of China, as it is related by Ben-Kouteïba in his book entitled "El Marif."

It is quite true, however, that although the Algerian horses come of Arab stock, many have degenerated from their nobleness from being employed much too often in the plough, in carrying and drawing heavy loads, and in other kinds of labour, and from other causes which did not exist among the Arabs of the olden times. It is sufficient, they say, for a horse to have walked over ploughed land to lose something of his excellence, and by way of illustration they relate the following anecdote:

"A man was riding one day, mounted on a thoroughbred, when he met his enemy also mounted on a noble courser. The one turned and fled, while the other gave chace. The latter was distanced, and despairing to overtake the former, cried out to him:

"I demand of thee in the name of Allah, has thy horse ever been in the plough?"

"He has ploughed for four days."

"Ah! mine has never been in the plough. By the head of the Prophet, I am certain to overtake thee."

"He then followed up the pursuit and towards the end of the day the pursued began to lose ground and the pursuer to gain upon him. At last the latter succeeded in coming up with and combating him whom he had at first despaired of overtaking."

"My father—Allah be merciful to him!—was in the habit of saying: 'There was no blessing for our land since we converted our coursers into beasts of burden and tillage. Did not Allah create the horse for riding, the ox for the plough, and the camel for the transport of burdens? There is nothing to be gained by changing the ways of Allah.'"

9th. You ask me further what is our practice with regard to the keep and maintenance of our horses. Know that the master of a horse gives him very little barley to begin with, and goes on increasing the quantity little by little, until he fails to consume it all, when the quantity is reduced and afterwards maintained at the exact measure of his appetite. The best time of day for giving barley is the evening. Unless on a journey, it is useless to give it in the morning. The best way is to give it to the horse saddled and girthed, just as the best way of watering him is with the bridle on. There is a saying.

Water with the bridle, And barley with the saddle.

The Arabs greatly prefer a horse that eats little, provided he does not lose strength. Such a one, say they, is a priceless treasure. To water a horse at sunrise, makes him lose flesh. To water him in the evening, puts him into good condition. To water him in the middle of the day, keeps him as he is. During the great heats which last for forty days, the Arabs water their horses only every second day: a custom, they assert, attended with beneficial effects. In summer, autumn, and winter they throw an armful of straw to their horses; but the substance of their keep is barley, in preference to every other kind of food. They say: "Had we not seen that horses come from horses, we should have said that it is the barley that produces them." Again:

"Of forbidden flesh, choose the lightest," that is, choose a horse that is light and nimble—horse-flesh being forbidden to Mussulmans.

"No one becomes a horseman until he has been often thrown."

"Thoroughbred horses have no vice."

"A horse in a leading-string is an honour to his master."

"Horses are birds without wings."

"No distance is far for a horse."

"Whoso forgets the beauty of horses for that of women will never prosper."

"Horses know their riders."

The pious Ben-el-Abbas—Allah be good to him!—hath said:

Love horses and take care of them, Spare no trouble; By them comes honour, by them comes beauty. If horses are forsaken of men, I will receive them into my family, I will share with them the bread of my children; My wives clothe them with their veils, And cover themselves with the horse-cloths; I ride them every day Over the field of adventures; Carried away in their impetuous career I combat the most valiant.

I have finished the letter which our brother and companion, the friend of all men, the Commandant Sidi-Bou-Senna [Boissonnet], will cause to be delivered into your hands. Peace!

THE WAR HORSE.

AN ARAB CHAUNT.

My steed is black as a night without moon or stars; He was foaled in vast solitudes; He is an air-drinker, son of an air-drinker. His dam also was of noble race, And our horsemen of the days of powder have surnamed him Sabok.[55] The lightning flash itself cannot overtake him: Allah save him from the evil eye!

His ears vie with those of the gazelle, His eyes are the eyes of a woman with wiles, His forehead resembles that of a bull, His nostrils the cavern of a lion. His neck, shoulders, and croup are long, He is broad in the seat, in the limbs and flanks, He has the tail of a viper, the thighs of an ostrich, And his vigorous heels are lifted above the ground. I reckon upon him as upon my own heart. Never has mortal mounted his equal.

His flesh is firmer than that of the zebra; He has the short gallop of the fox, The easy and prolonged running of the wolf; He accomplishes in one day a five days' march; And when he stretches out at full speed, he strikes the girts with his hocks. You would say that it was a dart hurled by fate,

Or a thirsty pigeon that precipitates itself Upon the water preserved in the hollow of a rock.

Yes, Sabok is a war horse! He loves the chace of savage animals, He sighs only for glory and booty, And the cries of our virgins excite his ardour. When I urge him into the midst of dangers, His neighing summons the vultures And makes my enemies tremble; On his back, death cannot overtake me, It fears the sound of his hoofs.

Aâtika[56] said to me: "Come and be without a companion!" Docile as the sabre one draws from the sheath, Sabok hears my spurs, and divines my thoughts; He cleaves through space like a falcon regaining its nest, And when I arrive near her whose eyes are languishing, Alone, in the midst of peril, patient and immovable, He champs his bit until my return. By the head of the Prophet, this horse is the resource of caravans, The ornament of a tent, and the honour of my tribe.

I am an Arab. I know how to command and to combat, My name protects the feeble and the afflicted, My flocks are the reserve of the poor, And the stranger in my tent is named The Welcome One. The Almighty hath loaded me with his gifts, But time turns upon itself, and turns back, And if I must drink one day of the two cups of life, I will show that adversity cannot humiliate my soul. My virtue shall be resignation, My fortune, contempt of riches, My happiness, the hope of another life; And if poverty were to grasp me by the throat, I would not the less glorify Allah.

PART SECOND

THE MANNERS OF THE DESERT

THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER ON THE HORSE.

It is certain that the Arabs are the most experienced horsemen in the world. They know a horse thoroughly and minutely, and can rear and train one better than any other people. It is also certain that the Arab horses are better than those of all other nations. A sufficient proof of this is that they always finish by overtaking the gazelle, the ostrich, and the wild ass, which they sometimes pursue to a great distance.

"He has chased the onager, the buffalo, and the ostrich, without once pulling up, and without a single drop of sweat moistening his coat."

The nature of the horses of the Sahara is a consequence of the life led by their masters. The Saharenes are obliged to accustom their horses to support hunger through the scarcity of food, and likewise thirst through the scarcity of water, which is frequently not to be found within a couple of day's march of the encampment. Endurance of fatigue and speed are the result of the countless quarrels of these Arabs, their incessant hostile excursions, and their fondness for the chace of the swiftest animals, such as the ostrich, the gazelle, and the wild ass, which some among them hunt the whole year round without interruption.

The Most High hath said: "Put on foot all the forces you can dispose of, and hold in readiness a large number of horses, to intimidate the enemies of Allah and your own, and yet others, whom you know not but who are known to Allah. Whatever you shall have expended in the service of Allah, shall be recompensed to you. You will not be forsaken."

And the Prophet never ceased to repeat:

"Whoso possesses an Arab horse and honours him, will be honoured of Allah."

"Whoso possesses an Arab horse and contemns him, will be contemned of Allah."

THE SAHARA

BY ABD-EL-KADER.

Glory to God alone!

O thou who takest up the defence of the _hader_[57]

And condemnest the love of the _bedoui_[58] for his boundless horizons!

Is it for their lightness that thou findest fault with our tents?

Hast thou no word of praise but for houses of wood and stone?

If thou knewest the secrets of the desert, thou wouldst think like me:

But thou art ignorant, and ignorance is the other of evil.

If thou hadst waked up in the middle of the Sahara, If thy feet had trampled this carpet of sand, Sprinkled with flowers like to pearls, Thou wouldst have admired our plants, The singular variety of their hues, Their grace, their delicious perfume;

Thou wouldst have drawn in this balmy breath which doubles life, for it has not passed over the impurity of cities.

If, going out some splendid night, Cooled by an abundant dew, From the summit of a _merkeb_,[59] Thou hadst cast thy eyes round thee, Thou wouldst have seen far away and on all sides troops of wild animals Browsing the fragrant shrubs. At that moment all care would have fled from before thee. Overflowing joy would have filled thy soul.

What a charm, too, in our hunting! At sunrise, Through us every day brings terror to the savage beast. And the day of the _rahil_,[60] when our red _haouadjej_[61] are fastened on our camels, Thou wouldst have said that a field of anemones were bedecking themselves, under the rain, with their richest colours.

Upon our _haouadjej_ recline our virgins; Their _taka_[62] are closed by houri eyes. The conductors of their animals raise their shrill chaunt; The tone of their voice finds the door of the soul.

We, swift as the air, on our generous coursers, The _shelils_[63] waving over their croups, We give chace to the _houache_.[64] We overtake the _ghezal_,[65] that fancies itself far from us. It escapes not from our horses at full speed, With thin flanks. How many _delim_[66] with their females became our prey! Although their running is not less rapid than the flight of other birds.

We return to our families at the hour of halt, On a new camping ground, free from pollution. The earth exhales the odour of musk,[67] But purer than it, It has been cleansed by the rains Of evening and morning.