most apt for the exercises of war. I have often had the curiosity to
inquire of the Arabs if they know whence they had received the horses of
which they were so proud. In reply to this question they would point
with their finger to the East, and answer: "They come from the native
country of the first man, where they were created a day or two before
him." And as confirmation of this their belief, they would add: "Allah
hath said: 'I have created for man whatsoever is upon the earth. I give
it all to Adam and his descendants. Man shall be the most noble of
created beings, and the horse the most noble of animals.' Now, when a
chief is expected to come and rule over us we prepare a tent to receive
him, carpets for him to sit upon, and various dishes to gratify his
palate, and, above all, horsemen to attend upon him and execute his
orders. Consequently the horse must have been created before the coming
of Adam upon the earth."
THE STEED OF NOBLE RACE.
Where are those noble steeds
Whose dam never knew any but a noble sire?
The stirrup is their life; inaction is death to them.
O Father of cavaliers! the ignorant find them every where,
But they are as rare as true friends,
And when they die the very saddle sheds tears.
In the race-course of valour
May Allah bless the noble courser!
His chest is of steel, and his flanks of iron:
He loves naught but rapine, glory, and the combat;
He cherishes his master and his family,
And when he gallops, he puts the thunder to shame.
He passes, look at him: he is already out of sight;
Women, grudge him not the milk of our she-camels.
What has become of the time when I used to bestride a swimmer,
With black eye, wide nostrils,
Clean limbs, and a faithful heart!
It was a sparrow-hawk for carnage,
And life was nothing worth to me
When the bridle was out of my hands.
I was then young; I went in search of danger,
I mocked at the ill-omened ravens;
The distant always seemed to me close at hand,
And my tent overflowed with plunder.
In summer, when sleep has restored strength to my body,
When the eye of light has dispersed the shades of night,
And when the heat bites everything, even into stone,
The song of the turtle-dove fills me with soft desire.
In the boughs of the palm-tree shaken by the slightest breeze,
On the leaf that sighs and bewails itself,
She is consumed with passion.
By my head! she rekindles in my breast the fire of bygone days.
They said to me:
Ah! thou art still longing for them who dye their eyelids with black?
And I answered: No, in my eyes
Nothing at present is equal to my horse of pure blood.
With him, I bear myself proudly; I hunt and increase my riches;
With him, I enter the strife and protect the poor and the orphan;
With him, I chastise insult and daunt my rivals;
His neigh is like the roar of a lion in the mountains;
It is an eagle hovering in the air.
Away with you, fond memories of this world!
The most potent has never carried off more than a winding-sheet.
I am known by my air-drinker, at night and in the fight;
I am known by my sabre, the shock of battle, the pen and the paper;
I am sharper than a spear, and endure hunger like a wolf.
No matter: to-day I court solitude:
In solitude is happiness: age has taught me that.
Never again shall men behold me seeking a horse, or the love of
women, or the court of an Emir.
* * * * *
REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.
Horses, though they are all of one and the same family, are of two
different species: the first is the Arab race, the other the race of the
_Beradin_. In like manner oxen, though of only one family, are of divers
species: the first that of domestic cattle, which is the best known, and
the second that of buffaloes: as different from one another in agility
and weight as are the Arab horses from the _Beradin_. In like manner,
too, the family of camels is one, and yet includes more than one
species,—the Arab race and the race _Bakhati_.[31]
If the foal has for its sire an Arab horse, and for its dam an Arab
mare, it is indisputably noble, _hôor_.
If it has for its sire an Arab horse, and for its dam a _Beradi_ mare,
it is called _Hadjin_.
If it has for its dam an Arab mare and for its sire a _Beradi_ horse, it
is called _Meghrif_, and it is inferior to the _Hadjin_.
Hence it will be seen that the most important rôle is assigned to the
sire.
It is impossible, we think, to get a pure race out of a stock the blood
of which is impure. On the other hand it is a well authenticated fact
that it is quite possible to restore to its primitive nobleness a breed
that has become impoverished,—but without any taint in its
blood,—whether through insufficient food, want of proper care, or
excessive and unsuitable work: in a word, a race may be restored, the
degeneracy of which has not been occasioned by any admixture of blood.
In default of public notoriety, it is by actual trial, by speed combined
with bottom, that the Arabs form their judgment on horses, and recognise
the nobleness and purity of their extraction. But the form likewise
reveals the higher qualities. A thoroughbred horse is one that has three
things long, three things short, three things broad, and three things
clean. The three things long are the ears, the neck, and the fore-legs.
The three things short are the dock, the hind-legs and the back. The
three things broad are the forehead, the chest, and the croup. The three
things clean are the skin, the eyes, and the hoof.
He ought to have the withers high, and the flanks hollow and without any
superfluous flesh.
"Dost thou accomplish a journey at great speed with steeds high in the
withers and fine in the flanks?"
The tail should be well furnished at the root, so that it may cover the
space between the thighs.
"The tail is like unto the veil of a bride."
The eye of a horse should be turned as if trying to look at its nose,
like the eye of a man who squints.
"Like to a beautiful coquette who leers through her veil, his glance
towards the corner of the eye pierces through the hair of the forelock
which covers his forehead as with a veil."
The ears resemble those of an antelope startled in the midst of her
herd.
The forelock, abundant.
"In the hour of pain mount a slender mare whose forehead is covered by
silky and flowing hair."
The nostrils, wide.
"Each of his nostrils resembles the den of a lion; the wind rushes out
of it when he is panting."
The cavities in the interior of the nostrils ought to be entirely black.
If they are partly black and partly white the horse is of only moderate
value.
The fetlock, thick.
"They have fetlocks that resemble the down which is concealed beneath an
eagle's wing and like him they grow black in the heat of battle."
The fetlock joints, small.
"The fetlock joints of their hind-legs are small, but the muscles on
both sides stand out prominent."
The hoof, round and hard.
"The hoof should resemble the cup of a slave. They walk on hoofs hard as
the moss-covered stones of a stagnant pool."
The frogs, hard and dry.
"The frogs concealed beneath the hoofs are seen when he lifts his feet,
and resemble date-stones in hardness."
"When my courser rushes towards a goal he makes a noise like to that of
wings in motion, and his neigh resembles the mournful note of the
nightingale."
"His neck is long and graceful as a male ostrich's. His ear is split in
two and his black eye full of fire."
"In the elegance of his form he resembles a picture painted in a palace.
He is as majestic as the palace itself."
If by protruding his head and neck in order to drink from a stream that
flows level with the ground, a horse can remain upright on all fours
without bending either of his fore-legs, be assured that his form is
perfect, that all parts of his body harmonise with one another, and that
he is thoroughbred.
Among the horses of the tribes of the Sahara, those of the Hamyân, the
Arbâa, the Oulad-Naïl, and their respective branches, are the most
patient of hunger and thirst, the most capable of enduring fatigue, the
fleetest gallopers, and the most able to keep up a good pace for several
days together without stopping,—very different in that respect from the
horses of the Tell.
There existed in ancient times several stallions whose fame has come
down to us. Among others, _el Koura_, of the tribe of the Beni-Timin,
and _Aouadj_, "the concave," of the tribe of the Beni-Helal. On the
subject of this latter, the following anecdote is told: His master being
asked, "what canst thou relate of a surprising nature in connection with
thy horse?" recounted this anecdote:
"I was wandering one day in the desert mounted on _Aouadj_, when I was
seized with a violent thirst. By good fortune, I fell in with a flock of
ketâa[32] flying towards a spring. I followed them, and though holding
in my horse as much as possible, I reached the water as soon as they
did, without once pulling up to breath him. It is a most extraordinary
example of speed, for the flight of the _ketâa_, always rapid, is
greatly quickened when, driven by thirst, it makes for water.... Had I
not," continued the owner of _Aouadj_, "checked his speed by pulling at
the bridle with all my force, I should have outstripped the _ketâa_."
The origin of this stallion's name is this: He had not been long foaled,
when his master was attacked by enemies and forced to flee. The foal
being too weak to follow by itself, was put into a sack and placed upon
the back of a beast of burden. Thence were derived the roundness of his
back and his name _Aouadj_, which bears that signification.
Another celebrated stallion—here the Emir relates the origin of the race
of the Hâymour (see page 50) and adds: "Whoever has seen the horses of
that breed will not question for a moment the truth of the tale, for
their resemblance to the zebra strikes every eye."
THE SIRE AND THE DAM.
The Arabs affirm that the best age for reproduction is from four to
twelve years as regards the mare, and from six to fourteen as regards
the horse. Exacting as concerns the mare, which must be of good descent,
swift of foot, of good height, of sound constitution, and of a graceful
form, they are still more difficult to please as concerns the horse.
"Choose him" say they, "and choose him again, for the offspring always
resembles the sire rather than the dam." They do not object, however, to
the horse being of shorter stature than the mare, provided he be of pure
race and sound in wind and limb. They attach far more importance to
bottom, speed, and sobriety than to that conventional type of beauty
which is so seductive in our eyes. Thus a stallion, fat, sleek, rounded
in all parts, and who owes the brilliancy of his form to high feeding,
indolence of disposition, or inaction, excites their distrust in the
highest degree. They will say of such an animal: "Let us not be in a
hurry. Let us see him at work. There may possibly be nothing there but a
lion's hide upon the back of a cow." But, on the other hand they esteem
as a genuine sire a horse for long journeys, whose flesh is firm, whose
ribs are bare, his limbs clean and his respiration powerful. He must
also be endowed with a good temper, and have given proof of being able
to bear great fatigue, privations, and hardships.
As to the mare, the case has been pending for centuries. Now as formerly
the custom is to picture an Arab by the side of his mare. The gold of
the purchaser glitters at his feet, but whilst this gold is being
counted out the descendant of Ishmael casts a melancholy look on the
noble animal from whom he cannot bring himself to separate. He springs
upon her back and rushes far away into the desert: "The eye knoweth not
where he has passed." Such is the orthodox representation; let us now
see the truth as depicted by the Emir Abd-el-Kader:
The Arabs prefer mares to horses, it is true, but only for the three
following reasons. The first is because they consider the profit to be
derived from a mare as something very handsome, for it is well-known
that as much as fifteen to twenty thousand _douros_ (from £3,000 to
£4,000) have been received for the offspring of a single mare. Hence
they may be often heard to exclaim: "The head of riches is a mare that
produces a mare." And this idea gathers strength in their eyes from it
having been said by our lord Mohammed, the messenger of Allah: "Give the
preference to mares; their belly is a treasure, and their back a seat of
honour. The greatest of blessings is an intelligent woman, or a prolific
mare." These words are thus explained by commentators: "Their belly is a
treasure," because a mare by means of her offspring increases the wealth
of her master; and "their back is a seat of honour," because the pace of
a mare is more easy and agreeable; some even going so far as to say that
the easiness of her gait will after a time render her rider effeminate.
The second motive is that the mare does not neigh in time of war like
the horse, and is less sensitive as to hunger, thirst, and heat, and is
therefore of greater use to a people whose riches consist principally in
flocks of camels and sheep. It is known to all, that camels and sheep do
not really thrive except in the Sahara, where the ground is so arid that
many Arabs, being unable to procure water more than once in eight or ten
days, accustom themselves to drink nothing but milk. This is one of the
consequences of the great distance that frequently, on account of the
pasturage, divides the encampment from a spot where there are wells. The
mare is like the serpent: her strength increases in the hot season and
in torrid regions. A snake that lives in a cold country or in water has
very little life or venom, so that its bite is rarely mortal; whereas a
snake that lives in a hot country is full of life, and the virulence of
its poison is intensified. Contrary to the horse who is less capable of
supporting the heat of the sun, the mare, owing doubtless to her
temperament, finds her vigour doubled in the hottest season.
The third and last motive is, the little attention required by the mare.
She feeds on anything. Her owner leads or sends her to graze on the same
herbage as the sheep and camels. There is no occasion to place a
watchman in regular attendance. The horse, however, cannot dispense with
being well kept, nor can his owner send him to the pasture without a
_saïs_, or groom, to look after him.
Such are the true reasons for the preference which Arabs show for mares.
This preference is not caused by an idea that the foal inherits from its
dam more than from its sire, or that it is better on all occasions to
ride a mare than a horse. But it rests partly on substantial benefits
received, and partly on the necessities of the life which the Arabs
habitually lead. It may be laid down, then, as a fact that the horse is
more noble than the mare, and that the sire bequeaths to the foal more
than the mare does, which the Arabs express by the saying: _El mohor
itebaâ el Faâl_, "the foal follows the stallion." I admit, however, that
the best produce is that which proceeds from a sire and a dam both of
pure race. In this case, it is gold allying itself with gold. I will add
that the horse is stronger, of a higher courage and greater speed than
the mare, and is free from the grave drawback attendant on the latter of
stopping short under her rider, even in battle and at a time perhaps
when everything depends on rapid movement.
There can be no doubt that the foal proceeds from the stallion and the
mare. But the experience of ages demonstrates that the essential parts
of the body, such as the bones, tendons, nerves, and veins follow after
the sire. The mare may impart to her young the colour of her coat, a
general resemblance, and something of her frame, but it is the stallion
that transmits the strength of the bones, the vigour of the nerves, the
solidity of the tendons, speed and all the other most important
characteristics. He also communicates to his offspring his moral
qualities, and if he is really noble, preserves him from all vice, for
the Arabs of old have said: "The noble horse has no malice."
* * * * *
No sooner has the foal seen the light than one of the bystanders takes
it in his arms, and walks up and down with it for some time in the midst
of almost inconceivable noise and uproar. It is supposed that a useful
lesson is thus taught for the future—the animal, accustomed from its
birth to horrible sounds, will never afterwards be frightened at
anything. This lesson finished, the master of the tent places the right
dug of the mare in the foal's mouth, and exclaims: "In the name of
Allah! Allah grant that the new-born (_mezyoud_) may bring us good
fortune, health, and abundance!" The friends who are present answer all
together: "Amen! May Allah bless thee! He has sent thee another
child."[33]
To teach the foal to suck, a fig or a date soaked in milk slightly
salted is put into his mouth. As soon as he has taken a liking to it and
begins to suck it, he is placed under his dam. After two or three
attempts he soon mistakes the dug for the fig or date he has just left,
and the thing is done. After that he is carefully preserved from the
night-cold. But it is also necessary to accustom him to drink camel's
and ewe's milk. It is done in this manner. They take a goat's skin used
several years for holding milk, and fill it with air. Then squeezing it
gently, they blow up his nostrils a few times. By way of complement to
this operation they crush dates in milk, which impart to it a sweetish
flavour and then place the mixture close to the foal's mouth, forcing
him every now and then to dip his lips into it. He begins by tasting and
licking it and after a while drinks it, whether the dam gives him suck
or not. Great importance is attached to teaching the foal to drink milk;
first, because he can thus be left in the tent while the mare is again
put to work; and secondly, because in after years, in default of water,
he will be satisfied with milk instead, and also as food if barley runs
short. Should the mare take an aversion to her young, she must be
separated from him, and the latter must be brought up on camel's milk,
as this is deemed preferable to the milk of the cow or the she-goat,
which produces laziness and heaviness.
A few days or a few months after the birth of a foal, some Arabs slit
one or both of the ears. This fancy is accounted for in various ways.
According to one party this operation is performed on animals born in
the night time, because they ought to have a better sight than those
that come into the world during the day. According to others, it is done
to foals born on Friday, the day of the gathering together of Mussulmans
at the mosque, because it is a lucky sign. The truth is simply this: The
master of a tent has a child of tender years, whom he loves very dearly.
In slitting the ear of his foal he declares that he reserves him for his
son so-and-so. Should the father afterwards die, no one would dispute
the possession of the animal with the child thus named. Others, however,
slit the ear of a foal that has the colic; the bleeding saves him.
Soon after the birth of a foal they hang round his neck amulets, and
talismans (richly ornamented in the case of wealthy people) and little
shells called _oudaâ_. They are suspended by neckbands of wool or of
camel's skin (_goulada_) which the women delight to make with their own
hands, especially applying themselves to harmonise the colours
tastefully. To bay or black horses they attach a white _goulada_, to
those of a light colour red _gouladas_. These neckbands are useful as
well as ornamental, for they serve to hold the animal by if need be,
thus replacing our halters in a manner more agreeable to the eye and
less irksome to the horse. As for the talismans (_heurouze-aâdjab_) they
are simply little bags made of Morocco leather, more or less ornamented,
and containing words extracted from the sacred writings, by means of
which they hope to preserve the animal from wounds, from sickness, and
from the evil eye.
Occasionally in war time the foal is killed immediately after its birth,
in order that the dam may be the sooner fit for service; but never do
they slay a filly. Such a one is weaned and left in the tent to shelter
it from the sun, and the women frequently succeed in saving its life by
giving it ewe's or camel's milk. If a filly be born on the road during a
journey or march undertaken for a commercial or a warlike object, in
order to save it every possible fatigue it is placed upon a camel, where
a soft nest is constructed for it; but it will only be allowed to
approach its dam during a halt or in the night time.
During the Taguedempt expedition in 1841 I saw a cavalier of Makhzen,
who had no means of transport, carry before him on his saddle for the
first four days after its birth a filly which his mare had given him at
the bivouac. At the end of that period it followed its dam, throughout
the campaign.
When the colts are not destroyed they are usually sold in the Tell, at
the season of buying grain, whereas the fillies are preserved as a
source of riches through their offspring.
The greater the value attached to the mare, the earlier is the time for
weaning, but it generally takes place in the sixth or seventh month. In
weaning the foal they remove it from its dam, first of all for one day,
then for two, and so on, gradually increasing the period of separation.
To render the transition less abrupt, they give it camel's milk
sweetened with date honey, and to keep it from wandering in search of
its mother they tether it by its fore or hind-legs with woollen cords
but in either case above the knees or the hocks; whence proceed the
whitish marks that are often observable. If at that age the animal were
fastened by the pasterns considerable injury might be done. The foal
never remaining still and puzzled by its novel situation, the processes
called by the Arabs _louzze_, or almonds, would speedily be formed.
Redoubled attention is paid to the foal while being weaned, for if it
succeeded in getting loose and approached its dam it would be liable to
fall ill through sucking a corrupt and sour milk.
In the day time while the mare is on the march or in the pasture, a sort
of halter (_kuemama_) is put on the foal, the noseband of which is
furnished with short porcupine's quills. The dam then refuses of herself
to let the foal touch her. As soon as it is fairly weaned, it is
necessary in order to prevent the accumulation of milk to draw it off
from the mare from time to time, and somewhat to lower her diet. After
being weaned, the foal is fed on ground barley in regularly increasing
quantities, taking care, however, not to cause satiety. They use a
wooden measure called _feutra_. This measure contains three double
handfuls, and is common to all the tribes of the desert, because its
origin dates from a religious tradition. At the _aïd-es-seghrir_, that
is, at the little festival which follows the Ramadan, the Prophet
recommends every Mussulman who is tolerably well off to give to the poor
a _feutra_ of food, wheat, barley, dates, rice, etc., according to the
productions of the country in which he may be residing.
As soon as the foal is weaned, the women take possession of it, saying:
"It belongs to us now; it is an orphan, but we will make its life as
pleasant as possible."
REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.
The foal follows the sire. The best stock is that which proceeds from a
sire and a dam of pure extraction. The produce of a foreign mare by an
Arab horse is less valued, and much less that of a blood mare by a
common horse. Lastly, a colt whose sire and dam are both of foreign race
has no good quality whatsoever.
The Arabs affirm that an entire horse has more vigour and speed than a
mare. As a rule stallions are scarce in the Sahara. They are seldom to
be met with except with the chiefs or with men of wealth, who can afford
to have them properly tended and looked after, as it would be dangerous
to turn them loose on to the grazing grounds. On the contrary, the mare
requires very little attention, and is therefore chiefly ridden by the
Saharenes.
Immediately after the foal is born it is made to swallow two or three
eggs. Then, while the foal is still on the ground they rub the sole and
crust of the hoof with salt dissolved in a preparation of
_bouna-faâ_,[34] which renders the horn hard and tough. After that, the
foal gets up, gropes about, and seeks its dam. Twelve hours later it
will follow her to the pasture. As soon as the foal is born the master
of the tent hastens to arrange his ears, the forelock, the mane, and the
neck, carefully collecting the hairs together from the root upwards. If
the weather is cold, both the dam and the foal are kept in the tent.
Seven days afterwards the mare is made to swallow a pound or a pound and
a half of rancid butter not salted.