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."
"Without answering a word I kissed my father's hand, took my evening
repast, and quitted Berouaguïa,[27] happy in being able to prove my
filial affection, and laughing in my sleeve at the disappointment which
awaited our sheikhs on their awaking. I pushed forward for a long time,
fearing to be pursued, but Mordjana continued to pull at her bridle and
I had more trouble to quiet her than to urge her on. When two-thirds of
the night had passed, and a desire to sleep was growing upon me, I
dismounted and seizing the reins twisted them round my wrist. I placed
my gun under my head and at last fell asleep, softly couched on one of
those dwarf palms so common in our country. An hour afterwards I roused
myself. All the leaves of the dwarf palm had been stripped off by
Mordjana. We started afresh. The peep of day found us at Souagui. My
mare had thrice broken out into a sweat, and thrice dried herself. I
touched her with the heel. She watered at Sidi-Bou-Zid in the
Ouad-Ettouyl, and that evening I offered up the evening prayer at
Leghrouât, after giving her a handful of straw to induce her to wait
patiently for the enormous bag of barley that was coming to her. These
are not journeys fit for your horses," said Si-ben-Zyan in conclusion,
"—for the horses of you Christians, who go from Algiers to Blidah,
thirteen leagues, as far as from my nose to my ear, and then fancy you
have done a good day's work."
This Arab, for his part, had done eighty leagues in twenty-four hours:
his mare had eaten nothing but the leaves of the dwarf palm on which he
had lain down and had only once been watered, about the middle of the
journey; and yet he swore to me by the head of the Prophet that he could
have slept on the following night at Gardaya, forty five leagues farther
on, had his life been in any danger. Si-ben-Zyan belongs to a family of
marabouts of the Oulad-Salahh, a section of the great tribe of the
Arbâa. He comes frequently to Algiers and will tell this story to
whoever will listen to him, confirming his narrative, if required, by
authentic testimony.
Another Arab, named Mohammed-ben-Mokhtar, had come to buy corn in the
Tell after the harvest. His tents were already pitched on
Ouad-Seghrouan, and he had opened a business communication with the
Arabs of the Tell,[28] when the bey Bou-Mezrag, "father of the spear,"
fell upon him at the head of a strong body of cavalry to chastise one of
those imaginary offences which the Turks were in the habit of inventing
as pretexts for their rapacity. Not the slightest warning had been
given; the razzia was complete; and the horsemen of Makhzen gave
themselves up to all the atrocities customary in such cases.
Mohammed-ben-Mokhtar thereupon threw himself on his dark bay mare, a
magnificent animal known and coveted throughout the Sahara, and
perceiving the critical nature of the situation, at once resolved to
sacrifice the whole of his property to save the lives of his three
children. One of them, only four years old, he placed on the saddle
before him, and another aged six or seven behind him holding on by the
troussequin, and was about to place the youngest in the hood of his
burnous when his wife stopped him, exclaiming: "No, no, I will not let
thee have this one. They will never dare to slay an infant at its
mother's breast. Away, I shall keep him with me. Allah will protect us."
Mohammed-ben-Mokhtar then dashed forward, fired off his piece, and got
clear of the mêlée; but, being hotly pursued, he travelled all that day
and the following night until he reached Leghrouât, where he could rely
upon being in safety. Shortly afterwards he received intelligence that
his wife had been rescued by some friends he had in the Tell.
Mohammed-ben-Mokhtar and his wife are still alive, and the two children
he carried on his saddle are spoken of as two of the best horsemen of
the tribe. Can there be imagined a scene more dramatic, or more worthy
of a skilful artist, than this family being saved by a horse from the
midst of plunder, confusion, and fighting!
And why should I look for evidence to establish these facts? All the old
officers of the Oran division can state how, in 1837, a General
attaching the greatest importance to the receipt of intelligence from
Tlemcen, gave his own charger to an Arab to go and procure the news. The
latter set out from Château Neuf[29] at four o'clock in the morning and
returned at the same hour on the following day, having travelled seventy
leagues over ground very different from the comparatively level desert.
One of the best and most formidable horsemen of this tribe of the Arbâa
is El-Arby-ben-Ouaregla; "his ball never falls to the ground." He
belongs to the section of the Hadjadj, among whom he is celebrated both
by reason of his personal prowess and because of an adventure that
befell him in his infancy. He was still at the breast, when his father,
Mohammed-ben-Dokha, being surprised by the enemy, rolled him in his
large _habaya_[30] and fastened him in it with his girdle. Then, whilst
his family and his flocks sought safety in flight, he mounted a mare
that "could wring a tear from the eye," and fighting all day in the
rearguard saved his property and killed seven of his assailants.
The Arabs of the Sahara sum up the perfection of a horse in the
following manner. He must carry a full grown man, his arms and a change
of clothing, food for both his rider and himself, a flag, even on a
windy day, and if necessary, dragging a dead body behind him, keep up at
a good pace the whole day through without giving a thought to food or
water. In their opinion a horse lives from twenty to twenty-five years,
and a mare from twenty-five to thirty. As to the service to be derived
from this animal, a proverb exactly expresses their idea:
_Sebâa el Khrouya_, seven years for my Brother;
_Sebâa lya_, seven years for myself;
_Sebâa li adouya_, seven years for my enemy.