Part 14

We pitch our tents in circular groups; The earth is covered with them, as is the firmament with stars. They of old time have said, who are no more, but our fathers have repeated it, And we say as they did, for truth is always truth: Two things are beautiful in this world, Beautiful verses and beautiful tents.

In the evening, our camels come up to us; At night the voice of the male is heard like distant thunder.

Light ships of the land, Safer than ships, For a ship is inconstant; Our _maharis_[68] rival in speed the _maha_.[69]

And our horses—is there a glory like unto theirs? Always saddled for the fight, When any one invokes our aid, They are the promise of victory. Our enemies have no place of refuge against our blows, For our coursers, celebrated by the Prophet, swoop upon them like the vulture.

Our coursers have the purest milk to drink, The milk of the camel, more precious than that of the cow.

Our first care is to divide the booty we have taken from the enemy. Equity presides at the distribution. Every one receives the due reward of his valour.

We have sold our rights of citizenship. We have no reason to regret the bargain. We have gained honour, of which the _hader_ knows nothing. We are Kings. There is none to be compared with us. Is it life to undergo humiliation?

We suffer not the insults of the unjust. We leave him and his land. True happiness is in wandering life.

If contact with our neighbour annoys us, We withdraw from him—neither he, nor we, have anything to complain of.

What fault, then, hast thou to find with the _bedoui_? Nothing but his love of glory, and his liberality that knows no stint.

Under the tent, the fire of hospitality is kindled for the traveller. He finds, whoever he may be, a sure remedy against cold and hunger.

Ages have told of the salubrity of the Sahara. All disease and sickness dwell only beneath the roof of cities. In the Sahara, whoever is not reaped by the sword sees days without number; Our old men are the most aged of all men.

THE RAZZIA.

The most frequent and almost daily incident of Arab life is the _razzia_. Glory is a fine ting, no doubt, and in the Sahara hearts are as open to its fascination as elsewhere. But there, the idea of glory is to injure the enemy and destroy his resources, and at the same time augment one's own. Glory is not smoke, but plunder. The thirst for revenge is also a motive; but what vengeance is sweeter than to enrich oneself with the spoils of one's enemy? This threefold craving for glory, revenge, and plunder, could not possibly be gratified more promptly or efficaciously than by the _razzia_—the invasion by force or stratagem of the ground occupied by the foe, which contains all that is dear to him, his family and his fortune.

In the desert, there are three kinds of _razzia_. First of all there is the _tehha_ ["the falling," from the verb _tahh_, "it is fallen"], which takes place at the _fedjeur_, or dawn of day. In a _tehha_, the object is not pillage, but massacre: no thought is given to riches, but all to vengeance. The next is the _khrotefa_, which comes off at _el aasseur_, or two or three in the afternoon, and means nothing but rapine. And lastly, the _terbigue_, which is neither war, nor an affair of brigandage, but, at most, a thievish operation. The _terbigue_ is attempted at _nous el leïl_, or midnight. When a razzia is determined upon, those who propose to take part in it say to one another _Rana akeud_, "we are a knot." The enterprise is arranged, the association formed, and a compact concluded—compact of life and death.

THE TEHHA.

When a _tehha_ is contemplated, the sheikh issues orders to shoe the horses, to prepare food, and to provide a supply of barley for five or six days, more or less. These provisions are put into a _semmât_, or wallet, each taking his own. Previous to setting out, two or three mounted scouts are sent forward to reconnoitre the position of the enemy they propose to attack. The scouts are men of intelligence, well mounted, acquainted with the country, and circumspect. They take every precaution and make a great circuit, so that in the event of a surprise, they will appear from a quarter whence those whom they intend to assail are accustomed to see only friends appear. On arriving near to their destination, they place themselves in ambush, and one of them, separating from the band, penetrates on foot to the very heart of the _douar_, without exciting the slightest suspicion. As soon as they have obtained the necessary information respecting the numbers and disposition of the enemy, they retrace their steps and rejoin the _goum_, who await them at a spot previously agreed upon. Like the scouts they, too, have followed a path little calculated to inspire with apprehension those whom they propose to surprise. All necessary intelligence having been obtained, and the foe being now near at hand, it is arranged to fall upon him at the dawn of day, because at that hour they will find

The wife without her girdle, And the mare without her bridle.

Before dashing into the _mêlée_, the leaders address to their followers a few impassioned words: "Listen. Let no one think of despoiling the women, driving off the horses, entering the tents, or alighting for purposes of plunder, before taking many lives. Bear in mind that we have to do with 'children of sin,' who will defend themselves vigourously. These people have butchered our brethren. No mercy! Kill! Kill! if you desire at the same time to take revenge and the goods of your enemies. I tell you again they will not give these up to you without a struggle." The _goum_ then breaks up into three or four bands, with a view to strike terror into the assailed from several different quarters at the same time. As soon as they are within range they open fire, but not a cry is uttered until their fire-arms have made themselves heard.

These _razzias_ are for the most part frightful scenes of carnage. The men, taken off their guard, are nearly all put to the sword, but the women are merely stripped of their clothing and jewels. If time permit, the victors carry off with them the tents, the negroes, the horses, and the flocks, leaving the women and the children, for in the desert no one ever burdens himself with prisoners. On their return the flocks are committed to the custody of a few horsemen, while the others form themselves into a strong rearguard to cover the retreat. On reaching the _douar_, the combatants divide among themselves the flocks and the booty captured without personal risk, and give to the sheikh, over and above his share, thirty or forty ewes, or three or four camels, as the case may be, besides bestowing a special gratuity on the horsemen who were sent forward as scouts.

Previous to attempting an enterprise of this kind each tribe places itself under the protection of a particular marabout to whom it is in the habit of applying in difficult circumstances. In the eyes of the Saharene, to plunder an enemy, though an incident of no uncommon occurrence, is an affair by no means devoid of solemnity. It is thus that the tribe of the Arbâa regard as their regular and accredited marabout Sidi-Hamed-ben-Salem-Ould-Tedjiny. A successful _razzia_ is celebrated by great rejoicings. In each tent an _ouadâa_, or feast, is prepared in honour of the marabouts, to which are invited the poor, the _tolbas_, or men of letters, the widows, the farriers, and the free negroes.

The _tehha_ is usually achieved with five or six hundred horses, and not unfrequently foot-soldiers accompany the expedition, mounted on camels. Sometimes the tribe that is to be attacked has received timely warning, and been able to adopt measures for defence. The horses are saddled, the arms ready to the hand. A combat takes place, instead of a massacre, and many fall on both sides. The assailants, however, have usually the advantage, as they are not embarrassed with women and children like their adversaries; and it rarely happens that they return home without booty.

Perhaps I cannot do better than reproduce in this place one of those popular chaunts which so well depict the rage and the varying fortune of these bloody struggles, that generally originate in love or jealousy.

My horse is whiter than snow, Whiter than the winding-sheet of men; He will bound like a gazelle, And will bear me to the tent of thy father.

O Yamina, fools are they who foster thy pride, Greater fools they who tell me to forget thee! Would that I were the pin[70] of thy _haïk_; A lock of thy black hair, The _meroueud_[71] that blackens thy eyes, Or, still better, the carpet thou tramplest under foot.

I watered my horse at the fountain-head, Then lightly leaped on his back. My _chabir_ are glued to his flanks, And I have faith in my arms as I have faith in my own heart They betrayed me for the moon of my soul, But time shall betray them also.

By Allah, O ye vultures! Why hover ye in the air? I ask of Allah to grant us one of those bloody combats, In which every one can die in health and not of disease. You will pass days and nights in gorging yourselves! Our lives and those of our horses, Do they not belong to our maidens?

Away, strangers, away! Leave the flowers of our plains To the bees of the country. Away, strangers, away!

O the generous One! Behold, then, the night In which our _goums_ shall burn powder Close to the very _douar_ of Yamina, While the women are yet without their girdles,

And the horses have iron fastenings on their feet, Before the _aâtatouche_[72] has been placed on the backs of camels, And the horsemen have drawn on their _temag_. Grant that I may receive seven balls in my burnous, Seven balls in my steed, And that I may place seven[73] in the body of my rival. The best of all loves is that which causes gnashing of teeth.

Strike out, young men, strike out![74] The bullets do not slay; It is fate alone that takes life. Strike out, young men, strike out!

The horse of Kaddour is dead, the horse of Kaddour is dead! Publish it through your tribes, for they will rejoice at it; But, if you are not Jews, Add that, bleeding and wounded, He was able to save his master and bear him out of the _mêlée_. He was not one to be false to his ancestors, Never had he been trained to flee, He knew only how to throw himself on the foe. Merouan is dead for Yamina—his days were counted!

O my heart! why art thou so bent To make the waters flow back to the mountains? Thou art the madman who giveth chace to the sun! Believe me; cease to love a woman Who will never say to thee, Yes. The seed sown in a _sebkha_[75] Will never produce ears of corn.

THE KHROTEFA.

The object of the _razzia_ called _khrotefa_ is to carry off a flock of camels grazing at a distance of seven or eight leagues from the tribe. From a hundred and fifty to two hundred horsemen join together as "a knot" and set out on the expedition. The reconnaissance is conducted in the same manner as for the _tehha_, only the arrangements are made with a view to arrive at the appointed spot towards _el aasseur_—three or four in the afternoon—and not at the _fedjeur_, or dawn of day.

When the _razzia_ has been accomplished, and four, five, or six _ybal_—or flocks of one hundred camels each—have been driven off, they divide into two parties. The one, consisting of the weakest horses, goes forward with the booty, while the other forms a sort of rearguard whose duty it is, if necessary, to make head against the enemy. After appointing a rendez-vous for the morrow, the parties separate; but, in order to throw out the pursuers, those who are to check the enemy follow a different path to that taken by the drivers of the flocks.

In these forays the shepherds are usually spared; nor do they, indeed, take much trouble to defend property that does not belong to them. But the noise and shouting soon give the alarm. Every one saddles his horse and gallops forward; then they halt and rally, and finally appear in force upon the ground. Here again the assailants have every chance in their favour. They are on the look-out, and ready to receive the enemy. Their horses have had time to rest, while those of the tribe that has been plundered are exhausted and blown. Musket shots are nevertheless exchanged, but night supervenes; and, as soon as the darkness has thickened so that "the eye begins to grow black," the plunderers decamp and go off at full gallop to rejoin their comrades, whom they overtake at sunrise. The pursuit lasts but a short time. The conviction that the camels cannot be recovered, and the fear of falling into an ambuscade, soon induce the plundered tribe to return to their tents.

Although the actual fighting incidental to this kind of expedition is devoid of animation and soon interrupted by nightfall, they who take part in it do not the less run considerable risk. A horseman may receive a wound sufficiently severe to disable him from continuing his march. In that case he is lost, unless he happen to be a personage of distinction, for then he is certain not to be deserted. Some strong, vigourous fellow takes charge of him, lifts him up, places him across his saddle, and carries him home dead or alive. As for slight wounds, with the Arab saddle they do not give much trouble, nor do they prevent the return to the _goum_. On rejoining the tribe, the spoils are divided among those who shared in the _khrotefa_.

THE TERBIGUE.

In a _terbigue_ not more than fifteen to twenty horsemen make "a knot," and propose to drive off the flocks from the very middle of a _douar_. They send some of their party to reconnoitre the tribe, and arrive close to the tents on one of the darkest nights. An isolated _douar_ is selected, to which they approach as near as two or three hundred paces. Three of them dismount and stop, while one goes round to the opposite side, and makes a noise to attract the attention of the dogs. The people of the tribe fancy it is a passing hyæna, or a jackal, and take no notice of it. In the meanwhile the two other robbers penetrate into the interior of the _douar_, loosen the fastenings of ten, fifteen, or twenty camels, according as fortune favours them, and knock their shoes together, to frighten the liberated animals and cause them to run away. They then make off as quickly as they can, rejoin their horses, and all assist in collecting the scattered camels. After that they separate into two bands, one of which conducts the captured animals, while the others, lagging a little behind, allow themselves to be pursued in a different direction. If by chance they have succeeded in letting loose the _faâle_, or stallion, their success is certain, for all the females strive to follow him.

Since, in these operations, the secret is generally well kept, they seldom fail, nor are accidents at all common. Should the _douar_ be on its guard, the attacking party at once retires. They who venture upon such enterprises are usually well mounted, and speedily escape from a pursuit that is rendered almost impossible by the obscurity which effaces all traces and inspires dread of ambush. For a _razzia_ of this sort, they do not hesitate to go thirty or forty leagues.

Sometimes incidents of a grotesque nature characterise the _terbigue_. When a party of horsemen does not care to leave a reserve to fight the enemy, they conceal themselves in an ambuscade seven or eight hundred steps from the _douar_; while the most experienced robber of the band strips himself naked, and, taking only his sword with him and tying his shoes to his head to look like enormous ears, penetrates into the _douar_. He carries in his hand an old saddle-bow, which he shakes in all directions, every now and striking the earth. To this dull sound he joins cries of alarm and terror: "The _goum_! the _goum_! up! up! We are betrayed!" The clamour, the jumping about, the strange aspect of the individual, and the noise of the saddle which he keeps on shaking, strike terror into the animals. Horses, sheep, and camels rush pell-mell out of the _douar_, and are caught by the concealed horsemen. The others rush out of their tents, snatch up their guns, and spring into the saddle; but flocks and plunderers are already far away, fleeing at full speed, and protected by the night.

THE KHRIANA, OR THEFT.

The _terbigue_ is, in fact, a robbery, but it is at the same time almost a warlike operation—it is, at least, a _razzia_. The strength of the party that executes the enterprise, the importance of the wrong inflicted upon an entire division of a tribe, the high qualities of the perpetrators of the robbery, who, after all, are real warriors,—all these circumstances taken together, if they do not suffice as a justification in the eyes of scrupulous Europeans, are esteemed in the desert as extremely plausible motives. Since a few brave and reckless fellows have imperilled their lives to injure a hostile tribe, there cannot be otherwise than joy and triumph in that to which they belong.

In the _khriana_, however, we descend a step lower, and arrive at a mere marauding expedition, executed by professional thieves. It is no longer war, even in miniature—it is nothing more than theft. It is no longer a subject of rejoicing for a whole tribe, though still a matter for praise and congratulation among friends; always provided the robbery has not been committed on their own or on a friendly tribe—which would be a disgrace—but absolutely on an enemy. They say, "Such a one is a brave man—he robs the enemy." As may readily be imagined, all thefts are not managed in the same manner, but are adapted to the nature of the capture that is proposed to be made.

HORSE-STEALING.

This species of theft is practised towards the end of the Mussulman month. When the moon is scarcely visible, five or six men, having a proper understanding between themselves, take a supply of provisions with them in their wallets, and go forth in search of adventures. Before starting, they give alms to the poor, and intreat them to intercede with Allah for the success of their enterprise. They then swear by some well-known marabout, generally Sidi Abd-el-Kader, that, if they succeed, they will do him homage by putting aside a portion for the unfortunate. "O Sidi Abd-el-Kader," they exclaim, "if we return with joy, loaded with spoils and free from accident, we will give thee thy lance's share, if it please Allah!"

On leaving the _douar_ the robbers travel in broad daylight, but, as they approach the tribe they propose to rob, they proceed only at night, and conceal themselves, when two or three leagues from the tents, in the bed of a river, or among the herbage, or in the mountains. As soon as the darkness has become dense, they issue from their hiding-place and try the different _douars_ one after the other, stopping at last at that which seems the least securely guarded, and where the dogs are the least wakeful. If the robbers are six in number, four of them remain about fifty paces from the _douar_, silent and motionless, while the two others, the most daring and adroit, make their way into the interior. Before separating, they agree upon a pass-word; and then the two thieves go to work. If they find the dogs on the watch, they return for a third companion, whom they station a little way off, in front of the tent guarded by the vigilant dogs, and they themselves enter the _douar_ from another quarter. They agree upon the tent they propose to rob; and while one of them, called the _gaad_, remains as a sentinel beside it, the other, the _hammaze_, pushes on to the horses. If the latter comes upon a horse or a mare, fastened only by leather thongs ropes, he unties or cuts the knot, seizes the animal by the _goulada_, or necklace of talismans, and leads it to the side opposite to where the dogs are held engaged by the _layahh_,[76] the third accomplice who was stationed for that purpose in front of the tent. The _gaad_ stays behind ready to shoot with a pistol, or to knock down with a stone or stick, the first man who comes out of the tent, and then to mislead the rest by flying in a direction different to that taken by his comrade with the horse. He then rejoins the _layahh_, and the two quickly come up with the _hammaze_, when all three return to their expectant companions. A second robbery is committed, if the _douar_, buried in sleep, has had no suspicion of what was going on; otherwise they prepare for flight. One of them, placing his folded _haïk_ on the back of the horse so as to use it for stirrups, starts forward at a gallop, after naming a rendez-vous for the morrow or the day after. The others, to escape from the pursuit which is sure to be instituted in the morning, hide themselves during the whole of the first night. The one who mounted the horse only continues his flight if the theft has been committed in the first hours of the night; otherwise, he passes the whole of the morrow concealed in a dry and stony spot, where the animal would leave no trace.

Should the fastenings of the horse, instead of being woollen, be of iron, the operation is more difficult. The preliminary arrangements are the same, but, once fairly at work, the _hammaze_ cautiously raises the clog up to the knee, and binds it there with his camel's rope, which he throws round the animal's neck, and leads it out very slowly. As soon as he has rejoined his comrades and is sufficiently far from the scene of his exploits, he bethinks him of giving his prize the liberty that is still wanting. He therefore removes the clog by means of a small saw, or picklock; at the worst he turns the padlock to the outside of the animal's legs and shatters it with a pistol ball, or else fills it with powder and blows it open. The explosion, however, rouses the owners of the animal, who set out in search of it, but nearly always in vain. The night is dark, and the robbers separate; though, if things come to the worst, they abandon their prize to save their lives.

Sometime the master of a tent is troubled by the barking of the dogs, and awakens his people by calling out to them, _El hayi rah hena_, "there is somebody here." They go out, and, finding nothing, they conclude that a hyæna, or a jackal, has occasioned the uproar, and so turn in again. The thieves then come out of their hiding-places, and perhaps proceed to some other _douar_ that is less upon the watch.