THE SILVER MINES OF TARSHISH.
The town of Gades, though not large, is neat and trimly built, and
in the well-kept gardens in the environs, pomegranates, oranges, and
lemons, which have all been introduced by the Phœnicians, flourish
in great abundance. About the centre of the town, and in direct
communication with the harbour, is the market, the emporium not only
for the wedges of silver brought from the mines in the interior, but
for barrels of the salted murenæ that are caught on the neighbouring
shore; for Tarshish cats,[38] to be used in rabbit-hunting; for
iron, which is obtained in small quantities from the north; and for
the promiscuous curiosities in which the strange and remote region
abounds. The market-place is surrounded by the offices of the rich
merchants and money-changers, who, as proprietors of the mines, were
ready to exchange their silver for copper, manufactured articles, and
fancy goods. I was not long in making my way thither.
[38] The ancient name of ferrets.
Having seen my ships properly moored in the places assigned them at
the quay, handed their pay to my seamen and soldiers, and notified
my arrival to the naval suffect, I turned into the thoroughfare
that leads to the town, and had no difficulty in finding the office
of Balshazzar, the rich merchant with whom I had had many business
transactions during my previous visit. Balshazzar was dead, but Ziba,
his widow, was carrying on the business in partnership with several
other merchants. She received me very cordially, and insisted that I
should send for the two women, and for my sub-captains and pilots,
to come and take refreshment at her house. She provided a handsome
entertainment, during which I had the opportunity of explaining to
her the object of my voyage, and of asking her advice as to the
best means of obtaining silver, either in lumps or ingots. I found
that, according to her statement, the current price of silver was
just then very low, so that I might hope to purchase on favourable
terms, either in the town, or by going inland and bartering with the
savages. Some large mines, she informed me, had quite recently been
discovered on the River Bœtis,[39] about four days' march up the
country, and the only reason why they had not been opened and worked
was the scarcity of labour; the great bulk of the population of the
town being either merchants or mariners.
[39] The Guadalquivir.
"We ought," she concluded, "to have plenty of soldiers stationed
here."
"Beyond a question," exclaimed Hannibal, warmly, "the prosperity of a
country is to be measured by the number of soldiers it maintains."
Ziba's long residence in the colonies had rendered her quite
unaccustomed to the ideas and manners of military men, and she looked
at him in some amazement.
"Yes," she said, "we do require a large number of slaves, soldiers,
and transported felons here."
It was now Hannibal's turn to look amazed.
"Soldiers and felons! What do you mean? Do you suppose that soldiers
are to be associated with slaves and malefactors?"
In explanation of her remark, she said that in order to establish a
firm footing in the silver-producing districts, she thought that the
merchants ought to club together, and either buy or hire soldiers to
drive back the native barbarians. The prisoners they took ought to be
sent to the mines, and to these there should be added as many slaves
as could be bought, and any number of transported criminals who
would cost nothing but their keep.
Seeing that Hannibal was about to make some indignant rejoinder, I
interposed by asking her whether it was possible to obtain slaves
here, and whether the natives were hostile or well-disposed.
"Not a slave will you find in the market," she said; "they have been
purchased as fast as they have been brought to us. As to the savages,
they have hitherto been tolerably peaceable; but, aware of the value
we set upon their silver, they demand most exorbitant wages for their
labour."
"Peaceable you call them, do you?" broke in Himilco; and pointing
to the empty socket of his eye, said, "Yes; perhaps if using their
lances to scoop out people's eyes is a proof of peaceableness, the
Iberians of Tarshish are supremely peaceable; but I confess I don't
quite see it."
Ziba smiled. Although she was a thorough woman of business, she had a
keen appreciation of a joke.
"Yes, pilot," she replied; "I very well recollect your misfortune
when you were here before; indeed, it was I myself who dressed your
wounds with oil and rosemary. But you may take my word for it that
the tribes on the Bœtis are far more anxious to take your goods
than to do you any bodily injury. In time, I have no doubt, they will
become perfectly submissive to our rule."
"And then," I exclaimed, "Tarshish, like Zeugis, will be one of the
brightest jewels in the crown of our glorious Sidon."
And every one, as I spoke, filled and drained his wine-cup to the
honour of our noble city.
"But to return to business," said Ziba; "I think that the best
plan for you will be to come with me to the naval suffect, who may
probably suggest some plan by which you can get labour to open some
fresh mines. The Bœtis is quite wide enough to allow your ships to
ascend within a day's march of the best districts, and your soldiers
and sailors ought to be quite enough to protect you from any
hostilities on the part of the Iberians."
[Illustration]
I readily acquiesced in her proposal; and the widow, having put on
a veil, mounted a richly-caparisoned mule led by two well-dressed
slaves, and preceded by a running footman carrying a long staff. She
went in front, and we all sallied forth after her to the Admiralty
palace. The suffect received us in the large hall, where he was
seated in his painted chair; and when I had explained the object of
my visit, he said:
"Had you come four days sooner, you might have arranged to accompany
a Tyrian merchant who passed through this port on his way to the
mines."
The suspicion flashed instantly on my mind, and I said:
"You mean Bodmilcar?"
"Yes," replied the suffect, "Bodmilcar; and a rare rough-looking set
he had with him. We are not generally very particular in looking
into the character of men who go to the diggings, but I confess I
never set eyes upon a worse-looking lot. They looked like thieves and
assassins."
"Just what they were," I said; "and their leader is no better than
themselves. You have only to read this, and you will learn what he
really is;" and I handed him Adonibal's letter.
"By Ashtoreth!" he swore, "what a scoundrel the fellow is!"
After pondering a few minutes, he continued:
"I will tell you what I can do. I will lend you fifty armed men
to help you to improve the villain off the face of the earth. I
would, if I could, lend you more, as I know how advisable it is
for expeditions into the interior to be well guarded; all kinds of
people are at work in the mines, and nothing is easier for them than
to conspire to overpower a new comer. But I really cannot spare any
more. The time will come, I hope, when we shall have reinforcements
enough here to make our authority properly felt in the mining
districts."
Ziba now mentioned that she had made a contract with one of the
Iberian chiefs, named Aitz, by which he had engaged to find porters
and labourers to assist the twelve hundred slaves which she had
provided to excavate the soil of a new mine; and having explained
that she had erected a fortress in which were stationed a hundred
soldiers, and put up a residence for an overseer of the works, she
said that she was perfectly willing to hand over the contract to
me under certain conditions. She was ready to surrender her sole
interest, to give me an introduction to her overseer, and to allow me
the protection of her little garrison, if I would stipulate to pay
her a fifth part of the gross profits.
The suffect seemed to think that the proposal was reasonable; but I
demurred to the proportion of the profits which she demanded, and
insisted upon her accepting a sixth instead of a fifth.
After a short debate, which ended in Ziba's yielding to my terms, I
made Hanno draw out two copies of the agreement which we mutually
signed, and then all adjourned to the temple of Ashtoreth, where we
offered a sacrifice to the goddess, and made a vow to remain faithful
to the various covenants of the contract.
The time of the year was very favourable, and I was anxious to lose
no time in starting. Accordingly, four days did not elapse after our
arrival at Gades before our ships were again on the sea, making way
towards the mouth of the Bœtis, which we reached after two days'
easy sailing.
Beyond the Straits of Gades the sea is subject to tides which are
even more considerable than those in the Jam Souph, and it was
necessary to wait until high-water before we could pass the bar of
the river. As soon, however, as the bar was passable, the river
presented a very animated scene, and vessels of every description got
into motion, both ascending and descending the stream; Phœnician
craft, from the ponderous gaoul to the slim fishing-smack; Iberian
piroques, carrying their great brown or black sails of woven bark;
and the long Celtic coracles, composed of hide. Of all these, none
were empty; whatever provisions are consumed in the mining regions
have all to be brought from Gades, and the same ships that convey the
supplies into the interior always return laden with the ore.
Having crossed the bar, as there was no wind and the current was
strong, I lowered my sails and rowed up the river. The yellow waters
of the river flow rapidly between banks that are sometimes wooded and
sometimes barren flats. The country on both sides is mountainous and
wild, and only at long intervals are to be seen any of the Iberian
villages, which, consisting of hovels made of mud and branches of
trees, are most frequently nothing more than roofs to holes which
have been dug in the ground. The miners' villages are very similar,
the chief difference being that the huts are higher and more
commodious, and in the centre of each community there is a palisade
enclosing a redoubt, or embattled fortress built of brick.
"Not particularly lively here," said Hanno; "the getting of silver
seems rather a more dreary business than the spending of it."
Hannibal remarked that all the villages seemed to occupy positions
that were naturally very strong, observing that the Bœtis itself
formed a good line of defence, and that there might be a great deal
of hard fighting in such a country.
"I can answer for that," said Himilco; "I know that these Tarshish
barbarians would sooner pluck out a man's eye than give him a cup of
wine. Here come some of the rascals. Look at them."
Every one looked where Himilco was pointing, and there, walking,
or rather shambling, along the bank were rather more than a score
of savage-looking creatures evidently watching our ships. They
were almost naked, their only covering being a strip of woven bark
around their loins, and a sort of turban of the same material on
their heads; they had sunburnt skins, black hair, and small black
eyes, obliquely set; they were of moderate height, and appeared to
be extremely agile. But we observed that some of them seemed to
be quite of a distinct race, being very tall and thin, with thick
shaggy beards and very revolting countenances. All were armed with
long shields, and carried either bludgeons, slings, or strong lances
pointed with flint or bone.
I shouted to them, but they made no sign, and continued skulking
along the bank.
"Bichri!" cried Himilco, to the archer, who was sitting on the poop
with Jonah, both of them playing with the monkey, "Bichri, just put
an arrow into one of those scaramouches, will you? they pretend they
cannot hear the captain."
He started to his feet, and was in the act of raising his bow, when I
interposed:
"Leave them alone; time enough to attack them when they attack us."
Bichri lowered his hand at once.
"Well then," he said, "I may as well go on amusing myself with the
monkey; what an entertaining brute it is! he pulls my hair and
scratches my face a bit; but I bear it all because he's so clever."
"Aye, aye, go back to your plaything; he's about as good-looking as
the Iberians," said Hanno, laughing.
My brave young archer was not much more than eighteen years of
age, and in light-heartedness and love of frolic was like a boy of
twelve. The monkey, the only creature on board more restless than
himself, had taken his fancy immensely, and they were continually
vying with one another in feats of agility, trying which could climb
the mast the faster, or which could swing the higher at the end of
a rope. Another of Judge Gebal's warm admirers was Jonah. The giant
seemed to have lost his concern about the land of strange beasts,
and to be engrossed with the monkey, which he had admitted into his
close friendship, and whose antics he was always rewarding with the
choicest tit-bits on which he could lay hands. One of the creature's
great delights was to mount the trumpeter's shoulder and clamber
by his shaggy hair to the top of his head, where from its elevated
perch it would make grimaces, scratch its pate, and grin and gnash
its teeth at every one. Bichri, Jonah, and the monkey, thus formed an
amicable trio, of which a little rough treatment all round, and a few
cuffs and scratches, did not mar the general concord.
Towards evening by my orders we came to a standstill, opposite a
miners' village. The overseer came out from his hut to speak to us.
He was a coarse, ill-spoken man, rarely opening his mouth without an
oath. He was a native of Arvad, and consequently an old acquaintance
of Hannibal's.
"By all the infernal gods!" he began, "this is a week of visitors!"
"How so?" I asked.
"Confound me, if we hadn't another Tyrian here five days ago!
Bodmilcar was his name; and a rascally set of scamps he brought.
Drunken beasts they were; they sacked some houses in the village
here, and, by Khousor Phtah! I vow they would have murdered us
every one if we had not pounced upon them pretty hard. I have seen
blackguards in my time, but never the like of those. And if any one
can succeed in swinging up Bodmilcar himself at a rope's end, he will
do the world a service."
"Where is he now?" I asked; "can you tell me that? I have a score of
my own to settle with him."
"By the gods! you will have some distance to go. He has taken a swarm
of Iberians with him into the interior. You had better be careful how
you meddle with them: they are dangerous folks to touch; and they are
a pretty strong force altogether."
"Never mind their force," said Chamai; "numbers don't matter; only
let us get them within reach of our swords."
"All very fine for you, young fellow, to be so cocksure of your
game," replied the overseer; and turning to me, he added, civilly
enough: "But I see you are determined to risk the consequences. Give
me a drink of wine, and by the gods! I will give you some hints that
may be useful to you. Silver is silver, you know."
"Yes, and wine is wine," muttered Himilco, always keenly interested
upon that topic.
I ordered a skin of good wine to be produced, that he might drink
while we talked over our scheme; but the overseer had no wish to be
outdone on the score of hospitality; and accordingly he clapped his
hands sharply, and when the manager of his slaves appeared in answer
to the summons, he gave instructions for one of his finest calves to
be killed, and a feast to be laid out for us under an adjacent clump
of trees.
After we had given each other the latest news of Phœnicia and
Tarshish, the overseer said in his own abrupt way:
"You seem brave enough; but I have a great respect for numbers.
Your wine is good stuff, and I like it. I am glad to meet a
fellow-townsman. Now, in return for the wine, curse me if I don't do
the best I can to help you."
After all, he had not much to tell. He informed us that in the
territory adjacent to that of Aitz, who had made his compact with
Ziba, there were some exceedingly rich veins of silver; and that,
although the Iberians in possession were decidedly disposed to
be hostile, they might readily be bought over by some trumpery
merchandise, or without difficulty might be subdued by our arms.
"And how near to them can we take our ships?" I asked.
"Within three days' march," he answered. "It is not so much that the
distance is great as that there are no roads; and after the ships are
left there is no further communication with the river. You have to
go through forests, and you have to go on foot. No horses can go; no
mules."
"Nice marching that!" said Hannibal, sententiously; "and you say we
have to take our own provisions?"
"As to that, I daresay you can get Ziba's overseer to lend you some
Iberians; they make capital beasts of burden."
"Very good," said Himilco; "and I think I can undertake to make them
trot along at a good pace. Give me a stick, and I will write a few
words of their Iberian tongue upon their backs in a way they will
perhaps remember."
The overseer seemed to enjoy Himilco's spiteful jest, for he laughed
aloud. We emptied our wine-cups, and broke up our meeting.
Betimes next morning we were again on our voyage up the river, and
in less than a day had reached Ziba's territory. Her overseer, a
native of Utica, lent me two hundred slaves as porters and miners,
and I divided them into gangs, which I put under the supervision
of my officers. The ships, with just a sufficient portion of their
crews, were left under the charge of Hasdrubal; the _Dagon_ and the
_Ashtoreth_ descending the river for a short distance to get a
better anchorage; the _Cabiros_, as drawing less water, being left
under orders to cruise about, and to keep on collecting a supply of
provisions. We had been provided with a guide; and everything being
arranged, I set out upon my exploration of the new territory.
We started across an extensive plateau, and having traversed several
woods and deep ravines, made our encampment for the night. Very
monotonous were the journeys of the following days, over gloomy hills
and across deep valleys, and it was not until the middle of the
fourth day after leaving the banks of the Bœtis, that we caught
sight of an Iberian village. The people were all under arms when we
arrived, and inclined to take a defiant attitude, but a few presents
had the effect of conciliating the chiefs, and inducing them to give
us permission to encamp on a barren knoll, about three stadia off
their cluster of huts. Under Hannibal's superintendence we surrounded
the encampment with a trench and a palisade, and in two days were
ready to commence our digging operations, in which we were directed
by an experienced man, who had been sent with us for the purpose.
We were beginning an arduous task. For three long months did our
labours proceed without intermission. The Iberians were always
distrustful, but never committed any overt act of hostility. Yet,
thanks to the favour of Ashtoreth, though our work was long, our
success was great. Excavation after excavation turned out prolific,
and as the result of our mining, I obtained no less than two thousand
shekels of silver. Some of this I refined on the spot, and retained
in my own keeping, the rest of the ore being periodically despatched
by hired slaves to the _Ashtoreth_, whence I received back a written
acknowledgment of each consignment as it was delivered on board.
At length I felt it was time to re-organise my caravan to return;
and under the direction of an Iberian guide, over whom a strict
surveillance was kept, we set out upon our way back to the ships,
rejoicing to quit the desolation in which we had been sojourning so
long.
No sooner were our backs turned upon the encampment than the Iberians
rushed towards it, tore down the palisade, and scrambled furiously
for any article, however worthless, that we happened to have left
behind.