Part 4

My horse is the lord of horses! He is blue as the pigeon beneath the shade, And his black hairs are like waves; He bears hunger and thirst; he outstrips the eyesight; And, true drinker of air,

He blackens the heart of our enemies In the days when muzzles touch each other. Mebrouk[6] is the pride of the country.

My uncle has thoroughbred mares, whose distant sires Are counted in our tribes since the ancient times, Gentle and timid as daughters of the Guebla[7]. You would say they were gazelles Feeding in the valleys under the eye of their dams. To see them, is to forget the authors of our days.

Covered with _djellals_[8] which make our flowers look pale, They march like Sultanas attired for a fête, A negro of Kora[9] tends them, Gives them pure barley, and milk to drink, And leads them to the bath. Allah preserve them from the evil eye![10]

For his much loved mares My uncle demanded Mebrouk in marriage, And I said to him: No; Mebrouk is my support, I wish to keep him Proud, full of health, dexterous and fleet. Time turns on itself and returns; There may be no dispute to-day, but to-morrow, perhaps, we shall see The hour of strife approach with rapid strides. For a skin full of blood, my uncle replied, Thou hast made my face yellow[11] before all my children. The earth is vast: adieu.

Mebrouk, why this neighing night and day? Thou betrayest my ambush and warnest my enemies, Thy thoughts wander too much to the daughters of our coursers,

I will marry thee, o my son! But where shall I find my friends Whose mares are so noble, and their she-camels such treasures? Their tidings are buried in the earth; Where are their spacious tents so pleasant to the eye? In them were spread the carpet and the mat; In them was offered the hospitality of Allah, And the poor man filled his belly. They are vanished! The scout viewed the hillocks, The brave marched in the front rank, The shepherds drove the flocks after them, And the hunters, on the track of their sharp greyhounds, Chased the gazelle.

Have you heard speak of the tribe of my brethren? No! Well, come with me and count their numerous horses: There are colours which will please you. Behold those horses white as snow that falls in its proper season; Those black as the slave carried off from Soudan; Those others green[12] as the reed that grows on the banks of rivers; Those, again, red as blood that spirts first from a wound, And those blue[13] as a pigeon when it flies beneath the sky. Where are those rifles so straight, quicker than the winking of an eye? That powder from Tunis, and those balls turned out in moulds,[14] Which pierced the bones, tore the liver, And made the stricken perish with mouth wide open?

When I cease to sing, I am still transported thither by my heart; For it burns for my brethren with a fire that consumes my interior. Nowhere have I seen such warriors. O Allah! strike with blindness those who bear them envy! Have they not spacious tents well provided with carpets, Mats, cushions, saddles, and rich arms? The traveller and the orphan are they not always received there By these words of our sires: "You are welcome!" Their wives, bright as the corn-poppy, Are they not borne on camels, Those ships of the earth, That march with the noble gait of the ostrich?

Are they not covered with veils Which trailing far behind them fill even the marabouts with despair! Are they not adorned with ornaments, gems enriched with coral, And the blue tattoo on their arms, was it not pleasant to behold? Every thing about them charmed the heart of the believers in Allah; You would say they were bean-flowers created by the Eternal.

You have plunged into the southern desert, And the days seem unto me very long! Behold! it is well nigh a year that nailed to this wearisome[15] Tell, I have seen no more of you than the traces of your encampments. O my cherished dove Who wearest trousers that reach to thy feet; Who wearest a burnous that sits so well on your shoulders; Whose wings are variegated, and who knowest the country; O thou who cooest! Away, fly beneath the clouds, they will serve thee for a covering; Go, find my friends, give them this letter to read, Tell them that it proceeds from a sincere heart, Come back quickly and inform me if they are happy or unhappy, They who make me sigh.

You will see _Sherifa_:[16] a haughty damsel; She is haughty, she is noble, I have seen it in writing; Her long hair falls with grace On her white and ample shoulders; You would say it was the sable plumes of the ostrich That dwells in the desert and sings beside its brood.

Her eyelids are bows brought from the negro-land; And her eye-lashes, you would swear that it was the beard of an ear of corn Ripened by the eye of light[17] towards the end of summer; Her eyes are the eyes of the gazelle Troubled about her little ones, Or, rather, it is the flash that precedes the thunder In the middle of the night. Her mouth is admirable, Her breath sugar and honey, And her fine set of teeth resemble the hailstones

Which the winter in its fury sows over our land. Her neck is as the standard which our warriors plant in the ground To defy the enemy and rally the runaways, And her faultless body outvies the marble Which is used for building the pillars of our mosques.

Fair as the moon around which gathers the night, She shines like a star undimmed by a cloud. Tell her that she has wounded her lover With two thrusts of a poniard, one in the eyes, the other in the heart. Love is no light burden. I ask of the Almighty to give unto us water; We are in the springtime And the rain has tarried too long for the people of flocks. I am hungry, I am fasting like a Ramadan moon.

They are at Askoura, praise be to Allah! Bring me my horse! And you there, strike the tents! I go to seek my uncle; He will forgive the son of his brother; We shall be reconciled to one another, And by the head of the Prophet, I will give a feast in which the young men shall appear With shining stirrups and saddles richly embroidered; Powder shall be burnt[18] to the sound of the flute and the tabour; I will marry Mebrouk And his offspring shall be called the offspring of well tended mares.

O tribes of the Sahara! You claim to possess camels;[19] But camels, you are aware, Care only for those who can defend them; And those who can defend them are my brethren, Because they know in the fight how to crush bones of the rebellious.

Thus it is seen that among the Arabs every thing concurs to develop the love of horses. Religion makes a duty of it, while the agitated life, the incessant conflicts, and the distances to be traversed in a country absolutely devoid of means of rapid communication, make it a necessity. An Arab can only live a double life, his own and his horse's.

* * * * *

REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.

The best horses are chiefly to be found in the Sahara, where the number of bad horses is very small. In fact, the tribes that inhabit it and those who border on it only employ their horses to make war, or to contend in trials of swiftness. Accordingly, they never use them for agricultural purposes, or exercise them in any other way than in battle. On this account their horses are nearly all excellent.

No individual in the Sahara cares to possess ten camels until he has a horse to defend them against those who might assail them.

In the Tell most of the Arabs apply their horses to the cultivation of the land. They also make use of them to ride and for any other purpose. They have no particular preference for males because in their eyes the horse is merely an animal to be turned to any employment of which it is capable, and not kept for war alone. For this reason the horse of pure origin bred in the Sahara is preferable to the same horse in the Tell. The former, unlike that of the Tell, is subjected to fatigue, to long journeys, to hunger, and to thirst, which renders him able to achieve whatever is required of him.

The Koran calls horses "the especial good."

The servant of the Prophet used to say: "With women, what the Prophet loved best was horses."

"Aïssa-ben-Meryem (Jesus, the son of Mary),—peace be with him!—went one day to Eblis, the black demon, and said: 'Eblis, I have a question to address to thee: wilt thou tell me the truth?' 'Spirit of God,' answered Eblis, 'question me as seemeth good to thee.'"

"I demand of thee," pursued Jesus, "by the Living One who cannot lie, what is it that can reduce thy body to a liquid state and cut thy back in two?" "It is," replied the devil, "the neighing of a horse. Never have I succeeded in entering a house that contained a horse for the cause of the Most High."

Being passionately fond of horses, one of the companions of the Prophet asked him if there were any in Paradise. "If Allah causes thee to enter Paradise," replied the Prophet, "thou wilt have a horse of rubies, furnished with two wings, with which he will fly whithersoever thou willest."

A poet has said: "Who are they who will weep for me after death? My sword, my Boudaïna lance, and my long-bodied chesnut, trailing the reins to the fountain, after death has deprived him of his rider."

In all times, among the Arabs, the horse has been the object of the greatest solicitude, and this solicitude the Prophet lost no opportunity of keeping up, developing and augmenting by introducing the religious sentiment.

We find in the collection of his conversations the following precepts:

"Happiness in this world, a rich booty, and eternal rewards are attached to the forelock of horses."

"Evil spirits enter not into a tent where there is a thoroughbred horse."

"The Angels sympathise with only the three following pastimes of men: the exercises of war—the joys of connubial love—and the running of horses."

"Whensoever any one is prevented from fulfilling his religious duties, let him keep a horse for the sake of Allah, and all his sins shall be forgiven him."

"Whoso maintaineth a horse for the triumph of religion makes a magnificent loan to Allah."

"The horse, sincerely reared in the way of Allah, for the holy war, shall save his master from the fire at the day of the resurrection."

"Whoso maketh sacrifices in order to train a horse for the holy war shall be treated in the next world as a martyr."

"Whoso traineth a horse in the way of Allah is counted in the number of those who give alms day and night, in secret or in public. He shall have his reward. Never shall fear dishonour his heart."

"Money spent upon horses passes in the eyes of Allah for alms given in a direct manner."

"Whoso keepeth and tendeth a horse for the service of Allah shall be recompensed as one who fasts during the day and passes the night in prayer."

"Horses pray to Allah to make them beloved by their masters."

"Allah comes to the aid of such as occupy themselves with horses, and lightens the expenses incurred on their account."

"Every grain of barley given to a horse is inscribed by Allah in the Register of good Works."

"Martyrs of the holy war will find in Paradise horses of rubies, furnished with wings, which shall fly whithersoever their riders desire."

BREEDS.

The tribes that inhabit the Sahara have always been better able than those of the Tell to withdraw from the caprice, oppression, and spoliation of the various conquerors of Africa. It is therefore evidently among them that the Barb has had the best chance of preserving all the qualities of grace, speed, and sobriety, that are universally regarded as its characteristics. We shall consequently confine ourselves exclusively to the horses of that region, and with a view to avoid a repetition of what every one has read in books, we shall allow the many Arabs we have interrogated, to speak for themselves. Here, then, is the outline they have drawn of the thoroughbred horse, _shareb-er-rehh_, "the air-drinker:"

The thoroughbred horse is well proportioned, his ears are small and in constant motion, his bones massive, his cheeks meagre, his nostrils wide as the throat of a lion, his eyes bright, black, and level with the head,[20] his neck long, his chest full, his withers prominent, his loins well knit, his haunches strong, his fore-ribs long and the hinder ones short, the belly hollow, the croup rounded, the upper part of his legs long like an ostrich's and furnished with muscles like a camel's, his hoofs black and of a uniform colour, his hair fine and abundant, his flesh firm, his tail very thick at the dock but loose at the extremity. Looked at in front he is like unto the peak of a lofty mountain. Looked at from behind, he seems to lean forward as if he would prostrate himself. Looked at from the side, he shows himself robust and well set up.

To sum up: he should have four points broad, the front, the chest, the croup, and the legs;—four points long, the neck, the upper part of the legs, the belly, and the haunches;—four points short, the loins, the pasterns, the ears, and the tail. All these qualities in a good horse, say the Arabs, prove firstly that he has real blood in him, and secondly that he is certainly fleet of foot, for his form combines something of the greyhound, the pigeon, and the _mahari_, or riding camel.[21]

The mare ought to take from the wild boar its courage and breadth of head; from the gazelle, its grace, its eyes and mouth; from the antelope, liveliness and intelligence; from the ostrich, its neck and swiftness; from the viper, the shortness of its tail.

A thoroughbred horse (_hôor_)[22] may be known by yet other signs. For instance, he cannot be prevailed upon to eat barley out of any other nosebag than his own. He so loves trees, verdure, shade, and running water, that he will neigh for joy on seeing them. Seldom does he drink until he has troubled the water, and if the conformation of the ground prevents him from doing so with his feet, he will kneel down and do it with his mouth. He is continually shrivelling his lips; his eyes are in constant motion; alternately he pricks up and lowers his ears, and turns his neck to the right or left as if he wished to speak, or to ask for something. If to all these signs a horse adds sobriety of disposition, his owner may deem himself the possessor of a pair of wings.

It has been remarked that a horse that is a fast galopper has the head firmly set on, and the transverse apophysis of the atloïd very protuberant. "He has horns," say the Arabs.

The races most esteemed in the western part of the Algerian Sahara are three in number: that of Hâymour, that of Bou-Ghareb, and that of Merizigue. Their offspring are dispersed among a great many tribes, such as the Hamyân, the Oulad-Sidi-Shikh, the Leghrouât-Kuesal, the Oulad-Yagoub, the Makena, the Aâmour, the Oulad-Sidi-Nasseur, and even the Harar. Every one, according to his fancy, or according to his occupation, offers his mare to the descendants of one of these three types. The Hâymour usually produce bay horses, the Bou-Ghareb white ones, and the Merizigue those of a gray colour. The Hâymour are most sought after. They are of a beautiful shape, with a good carcass, and yet very active. They pass for the swiftest coursers of the Sahara, and preserve their strength to a very advanced age. They bring good luck, and their owners belong to the richest and noblest families.

Next come the race of Bou-Ghareb, the produce of which are taller, and are also very patient of fatigue, but less fleet than the Hâymour. Like the latter, however, they remain sound until a great age.

Lastly the Merizigue who are shorter and have less bottom than the preceding, but are solid, clean-limbed, and sober. They are chiefly sought after by common horsemen who have long journeys to make and great hardships to undergo.

The Hâymour breed is superior to all others; nor has the imagination of the Arabs failed to trace it to a marvellous source. The legend runs as follows:—A chief owned a magnificent mare, which happened to receive a serious hurt in hunting the ostrich. It was feared that she would be lame for life. Her master though he could see no improvement in her condition and was annoyed at the trouble of dragging her after him in all his removals from place to place, was still unable to bring himself to put her to death, and therefore turned her out to graze at large. On returning from a long journey he remembered his mare and inquired what had become of her. She proved to be in excellent health, and on the point of foaling. He at once brought her in, took the greatest care of her, and soon afterwards found himself possessed of a foal that was unrivalled throughout the desert. As no tribe had passed for a very long time near the place where he left the animal, the Arabs were willing to believe that she had been covered by a wild ass, _hamar el ouâhhch_, and they gave to the foal the name of Hâymour, which is that of the foal of the onager.

In the central part of the Algerian Sahara, the Arbâa[23] affect the offspring of _Rakeby_. This breed has both height and bottom, and is found among the Aghrazelias, the Oulad-Shayb, the Oulad-Mokhtar, and even among the Oulad-Khrelif.[24] For the most part they are gray or dark bay. They endure hunger and thirst with ease, and without being knocked up will cover for several consecutive days distances of twenty-five to thirty leagues.[25] At the present day the finest animals are in the family of the Seuffrân. _Rakeby_, it seems, was formerly brought from Morocco by the ancestors of Sidi-Hamed-Oulad-_Tedjini_, the famous Marabout of Aain-Mady.

The Oulad-Nayl[26] make use of the offspring of a celebrated stallion named El-Biod, "the White," formerly the property of the Oulad-Si-Mahmed, one of their divisions. This stock is renowned for its sobriety and speed.

In the Hodna and the Medjana, among the Oulad-Makrane and the Ghiras, the most highly esteemed are the descendants of a well-known stallion belonging to the Oulad-Mahdi. It was named Bey-el-Hissen, and was the property of the family of El-Amri-ben-Abi-Meramer.

A good horse in the desert ought to accomplish for five or six days, one after the other, distances of twenty-five to thirty leagues. After a couple of day's rest, if well fed, he will be quite fresh enough to repeat the feat. "With a horse that on arriving at a resting place shakes himself, paws the ground with his foot, and neighs at the approach of the barley, then pushing his head into the nosebag begins to munch eagerly three or four mouthfuls of the grain, there is no occasion to pull up in a journey." The distances to be traversed in the Sahara are not always of such great length, but at the same time it is no very rare occurrence to hear of horses doing fifty to sixty leagues in four and twenty hours.

A tribe on receiving notice that its enemies project a razzia, at once sends out scouts (_shouâfin_) to watch them, mounted on mares, "the children of a Jew"—_benate el ihoude_—so cunning and dexterous are they. These horsemen take with them no more than a feed of barley for their horse's supper. They frequently vary their pace but are always careful to husband their steeds, and will place themselves in ambush thirty leagues from their point of departure in order to "kill the earth"—that is, to reconnoitre. If the result of their observations causes them to entertain any immediate apprehension for the safety of their brethren, they return at once at full speed to warn them to take to hasty flight. In the contrary event, they retrace their steps leisurely and will yet gain their tents before the hour of the evening prayer, after having traversed sometimes fifty to sixty leagues in the twenty-four hours. Should there be a skirmish on the morrow, their horses will be in a condition to take part in it. If the horse of a _shouaf_ happens to die in the course of a reconnaissance made for the good of all, it is replaced at the expense of the whole tribe.

With regard to the great distances accomplished by the horses of the desert, instances may be quoted which will appear incredible, and the heroes of which are still alive, if witnesses were wanted to confirm the truth of the story. Here is one of a thousand, which was told to me by a man of the tribe of Arbâa. I give his own words:

"I had come into the Tell with my father and the people of my tribe to buy corn. It was in the time of the Pasha Ali. The Arbâa had had some terrible quarrels with the Turks, and as it was their interest for the moment to feign a complete submission in order to obtain an amnesty for the past, they agreed to win over by presents of money the Pasha's suite, and to send to himself not merely a common animal as was customary, but a courser of the highest distinction. It was a misfortune, but it was the will of Allah, and we were forced to resign ourselves. The choice fell upon a mare "gray stone of the river," known throughout the Sahara, and the property of my father. He was informed that he must hold himself in readiness to set out with her on the morrow for Algiers. After the evening prayer my father, who had taken care not to make any remark, came to me and said: 'Ben-Zyan, art thou thyself to-day? Wilt thou leave thy father in a strait, or wilt thou make red his face?'"

"I am nothing but your will, my lord," I replied. "Speak, and if your commands are not obeyed, it will be because I am vanquished by death."

"Listen. These children of sin seek to take my mare in the hope of settling their affairs with the Sultan, my gray mare, I say, which has always brought good fortune to my tent, to my children, and the camels: my gray mare, that was foaled on the day that thy youngest brother was born! Speak! Wilt thou let them do this dishonour to my hoary beard? The joy and happiness of the family are in thy hands. _Mordjana_ (such was the name of the mare) has eaten her barley. If thou art of a truth my son, go and sup, take thy arms, and then at earliest nightfall flee far away into the desert with the treasure dear to us all."