than ten leagues, and no propositions, direct or indirect, have been
exchanged. Does the tribe recognise the impossibility of resistance, or
will it accept battle? If it declines the contest, it assembles the most
influential marabouts, and furnishes them with money and presents,
towards which each individual has contributed his share. These holy men
then proceed to the opposite camp in the middle of the night, under the
protection of a chief who has received timely notice of their coming,
after being seduced by their gifts. By him they are conducted to
another, who is in like manner induced to accept the presents offered to
him. The two now accompany the messengers of peace to a third chief, and
so on to others, until they have gained the votes of all the most
powerful. Then, and not till then, do the marabouts, secure of a
friendly audience, unfold the propositions they are instructed to
make—expressing themselves after this fashion:—"We have come only for
the love of Allah. You know we are marabouts, and that we desire only
what is right. For our sake, you must come to terms with the Mussulmans
who have sent us. That is far better than bringing down upon us all the
calamities of war, ruin and death. If you will do what is right, Allah
will bless you, yourselves, your wives, your children, your mares, and
your she-camels. If you choose what is wrong, may it recoil upon your
own heads. We repeat, make peace, and may Allah curse the demon!"
Having first raised a few difficulties for form's sake, the chiefs
finish by saying in reply to the marabouts:—"Well! we will make peace
for the sake of Allah, and for your sake, but on the following
conditions: 1st, You will restore to us the objects, goods or animals,
which were taken from us when your people robbed our caravan at such a
place. 2nd, You will pay the _dya_[84] of our people slain by yours on
such a day. 3rd, You will restore to us all the flocks that were carried
off from us by your people on such a day, in such a _khrotefa_. 4th, You
will restore to us all the camels and horses which your thieves have
stolen from us, and which are still within your bounds."
The marabouts accept these conditions, and guarantee their fulfilment.
The sacred book of Sidi Abd-Allah is then produced, and the chiefs swear
to make peace. After the oath has been taken, they who have come to
prevent the shedding of blood return to their tribe, to give an account
of what has been decided, and compel them to execute the terms which
they have just guaranteed. On the morrow the tribe that has accorded
peace continues its march, and encamps within a league of the enemy. It
is barely installed, when the marabouts and chiefs of the opposite party
arrive with the ratification that was stipulated. The leading men of the
two rival camps meet together, and again swear on the book of Sidi
Abd-Allah:—"By the truth of Sidi Abd-Allah, we swear that there shall
not again be between us _razzia_, or theft, or murder, or reprisals
[_ousiga_], that we are brothers, and that our guns shall henceforth
fire in accord."
The marabouts of both parties next read the _fatahh_, or religious
invocation, and conclude with these words: "Allah bless you, our
children, for having thus buried the knife of contention, and prosper
you in your families and in your goods!" The marabouts are afterwards
visited by the chiefs of both sides who present to them offerings called
_zyara_, literally a visit.
Peace concluded, the tribe that had put itself into motion retraces its
steps, and at its departure executes a fantasia of the most noisy
character. The horses caracole, reports of fire-arms resound, and the
women utter loud cries. All is joy, happiness, and delirium. A dozen of
the chiefs of this tribe remain in the midst of their late enemies, and
receive from them a splendid hospitality, and even costly presents. And
at their departure they take with them some of their hosts, and requite
their new-found friends with a generous welcome. These truces last a
considerable time; that is, from one to two years.
Peace, however, would certainly not have been concluded if the marabouts
who came to intercede for it had not presented themselves under cover of
the night. Had they come in the day time, the Arabs, discerning their
intrigues, would have exclaimed out of jealousy: "By the sin of our
women! we will fight. This one has received cloth-goods, that one money,
another jewels, a fourth cotton-stuffs, and that other one arms. But we,
whose brothers are dead, whose flocks have been carried, we have got
nothing. Yes, we swear it by Sidi Abd-Allah, the powder shall speak."
And, in truth, the powder very often does speak, and without the envious
having had any cause to complain of the presents made to their chiefs,
and without their having prevented the latter from entering into
negotiations, and accepting conditions from which no advantage would
accrue to the commonality. This happens when the tribe threatened has
resolved to oppose force to force, and has prepared for a struggle.
In the latter event the enemy is allowed to approach within a day's
march. No advances are made, no propositions offered. The march is
therefore continued on the morrow, and the camp is pitched about two
leagues from that of the tribe which awaits the assault. The scouts of
the two parties come into collision, and, mutually exasperating each
another, prelude actual hostilities by insults. A few musket shots are
exchanged, and they cry out to one another:— "O Fatma, daughters of
Fatma! The night has arrived; why go on to-day? To-morrow shall be
called your day." Or, "Dogs, sons of dogs, wait till to-morrow! If you
are men, you will meet us."
The skirmishers fall back, and the leaders on both sides organise as
quickly as possible a guard of one hundred horsemen and one hundred
foot-soldiers, to insure the safety of the camp. On the morrow they
watch each other attentively. If one party strike their tents, the
others do the same; or if they leave their tents pitched, and advance to
the combat with horses and foot, and with the women mounted on camels,
the example is followed on the other side. The cavaliers of the two
tribes confront one another. The women are placed in the rear, ready to
excite the combatants by their cries and applause, and are themselves
protected by the foot-soldiers who form the reserve. The battle begins
by small parties of ten or a dozen horsemen bearing down upon the
flanks, and trying to turn the enemy. The chiefs, at the head of a
tolerably compact mass, keep in the centre. Presently the affair grows
warm and animated. The bravest and best mounted of the young men dash
forward, carried away by passion and the thirst for blood. Uncovering
their heads, they strike up their war-songs, and excite themselves by
loud outcries:—
"Where are they who have mistresses? It is beneath their eyes that the
warriors will combat this day!
"Where are they who, in the presence of the chiefs, were always boasting
of their valour? It is to-day that tongues should be long, and not in
peaceful gossipings.
"Where are they who run after fame?
"Forward, sons of powder! You see before you those sons of Jews! Our
sabre shall drink of their blood, and their goods we will give to our
women.
"Strike out, young men! Strike out! It is not the balls that kill, but
fate."
These shouts madden the horsemen. They make their steeds rear up on end,
and fire off their pieces. Every face asks for blood. They rush
together, and at last attack each other with the sabre. One party or the
other, however, soon gives way, and begins to fall back upon the camels
carrying the women. Then shrieks arise from both sides. These scream
with joy, to animate yet more the victors—those utter wrathful and
terrible imprecations, to rally the failing courage of their husbands
and brothers.
"Look at those famous warriors who show off with their bright stirrups
and splendid garments at marriage feasts and festivals! Look at them
running away and abandoning even their women! O Jews, and sons of Jews!
alight and let us mount your horses, and from henceforth you shall no
longer be counted among men. Oh! Allah curse all cowards!"
These railings recall the spirit of the vanquished. They make a vigorous
effort, and, supported by the fire of the foot-soldiers who are in
reserve, they recover the lost ground, and even hurl the enemy back into
the midst of his own women, who now rail as loudly as they lately
applauded. The struggle is renewed on the ground that separates the
women of the two tribes. During these varying phases the contest has
been very desperate, and before long the side that has most men and
horses wounded, that has lost the greatest number, and, above all, that
has witnessed the fall of its most valiant chiefs, takes to flight,
notwithstanding the exhortations and prayers of a few energetic men, who
fly from right to left, trying to rally the fugitives and restore the
fight. These brave fellows cry aloud:— "Are there any men here, or are
there not? Hold your own souls! If you flee, they will carry off your
women and leave you nothing but shame. Die! Let it not be said: 'They
fled!' Die! and you will yet live!"
A beautiful and touching scene will, perhaps, then be enacted. A chief
of the highest rank, in despair at being defeated, throws himself into
the _mêlée_ to seek death, but is held back by the young men who gather
round him, and beseech him to retire. "Thou art our father!" they will
exclaim; "What will become of us if thou shouldst perish? It is our duty
to die for thee. We will not remain as sheep without a shepherd." A
handful of warriors still endeavour to make head against the foe, but
they are swept away in the general rout, and soon find themselves by the
side of their women. Every one, then, seeing that all is lost, devotes
himself to saving what is dearest to him. As rapidly as possible they
make to the rear, only from time to time facing about to check the
pursuit of the enemy.
The audacity of desperation has more than once changed the face of
things. Aïssa-ben-el-Sheriff, a child of fourteen, mounted on horseback
with his tribe to repel an attack directed by Sid-el-Djedid. The Arbâa
were beginning to give way and take to flight, when the boy, throwing
himself before them, tried to stop them: "What!" he exclaimed, "You are
men, and are afraid! You have been brought up in the midst of powder,
and do not know how to burn it! Did you pay all that attention to your
mares only to make use of them in flight?" And when the others replied,
"Djedid! Djedid! Look at Djedid!" "Djedid," continued the child. "It is
a single man that makes you flee! Behold, then, this terrible warrior,
who puts hundreds to the rout, checked in his victorious career by a
child!" With these words he dashed his spurs into his horse's flanks,
and came up with the redoubtable warrior. Djedid, fearing nothing from a
mere boy, was off his guard, but the latter threw himself round his
neck, entwined his arms round him, and, leaving his own horse, hung by
one arm, while with the other he endeavoured to stab him with his knife.
Astonished at such audacity, and hampered in his movements, Djedid
strove in vain to shake him off, but with all his presence of mind he
was unable to parry the boy's frequent thrusts. Puzzled what to do, he
slipped off his horse, hoping to crush Aïssa in his fall. The latter,
however, succeeded in avoiding him, and throwing himself on the courser
of the dreaded chief, rejoined his tribe, to whom he exhibited a trophy
that made the oldest warrior blush for the momentary panic to which they
had yielded.
Were it not that the conquerors usually build a golden bridge for the
conquered, the latter might be easily destroyed; but the thirst for
pillage gains the day, and the victors disperse in search of plunder.
One despoils a foot-soldier, another a horseman whom he has overthrown;
another, again, leads away a steed, and yet another a negro. Thanks to
this disorder, the bravest of the discomfited tribe succeed in saving
their women, and even their tents. When the pillage is at an end, the
horsemen of the victorious tribe are anxious to return home, and their
chiefs encourage the desire. "We have slain numbers," say they. "We have
seized their horses, captured their women, taken their guns, and
refreshed our souls by making orphans of these sons of dogs. Our best
plan now is to go and sleep at such a place, for the enemy, strengthened
by his reinforcements, may possibly resume the offensive and attack us
during the night." The baggage is sent forward in front, and, protected
by a strong rearguard, during the first few days they continue their
march until nightfall.
In this species of warfare, the greatest respect is shown to the captive
women. Men of low birth, indeed, despoil them of their jewels, but the
chiefs make it a point of honour to restore them to their husbands, with
their camels, their jewels, and their ornaments. They even take pains to
properly array those who have been robbed, before sending them back.
In the desert, they make no prisoners, and cut off no heads, and they
have a horror of mutilating the wounded, who are left, however, to
themselves to escape or perish, for no one takes any trouble about them.
Rare examples of cruelty do sometimes occur, but these are acts of
private revenge, when men have recognised the murderers of those who
were dear to them, a friend or brother.
On reaching their own territory, the tribe is welcomed by extraordinary
rejoicings. The universal exultation betrays itself by the liveliest
demonstrations. The women draw up their camels in a single row, and
utter cries of joy at regular intervals. The young men execute in their
presence a fantasia of the wildest description. Salutations, embraces,
and interrogations are exchanged on all sides. Food is prepared for the
warriors and their allies, and the chiefs collect the sum that is to be
divided among them. A common horseman never receives less than ten
_douros_, or an article of equal value. This recompense, called
_zebeun_, is obligatory, and is given over and above the plunder each
may have seized for himself; and, in addition to this, three camels are
bestowed upon every cavalier who has lost a horse. It is needless to add
that a larger sum than ten _douros_ is offered to the chiefs of the
allied tribes, whose influence has been so successful. They receive
their share like the others, but in secret they are presented with
money, or articles of considerable value, such as carpets, tents, arms,
horses, etc., etc.
A generous hospitality is offered to the allies; and on the morrow, when
they set out to return to their own territories, the chiefs mount on
horseback and accompany them. After riding on together for two or three
hours, they renew the mutual oath never to raise but one war-shout,
never to make but one and the same gun, to come in the morning if
summoned in the morning, and to come at night if summoned at night. In
the desert, if feuds are keen and hereditary, sympathies, on the other
hand, are also numerous and profound. The following verses illustrate
the extreme degree of delicacy and devotedness to which the sentiment of
friendship is carried by the Arabs:
If a friend does not walk as blindly as a child,
If he does not voluntarily expose himself to death,
Forgetting that suicide is a crime,
He shall have no place in the tents of our tribes.
I will obey the summons of my friend.
Though the morning light should be the reflection of swords,
Though the darkness of night should be the cloud of dust raised
by the tramp of horses,
I will go to die or to be happy.
The smallest of the sacrifices to which I have agreed is death.
Can I live far away from the place of refuge so dear to me?
Can I support the absence of neighbours to whom I have become
accustomed.
It may be naturally asked why a tribe that is menaced with an attack,
but will not make the necessary sacrifices to obtain peace, does not
flee, instead of awaiting the assault. To flee, is to invite pursuit
while in the disorder of a retreat. It means leaving one's country,
exposing oneself to scarcity of water for the flocks, or even falling
into the hands of some other enemy, who would certainly take advantage
of this opportunity for pillage and revenge. The wisest plan is to
choose a good position, assemble the allies, and await the enemy if
confident in one's own strength, or else to make concessions if
conscious of weakness.
"O Allah! save us and save our horses. Every day we lie down in a new
country. It may be that She remembers our vigils with the flutes and
tabours."
REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.
How can any strange people contend with us, who are brought up in the
highest sense of honour, even above all the tribes collected in the
great assemblies? Do we not advance against the enemy on horses of pure
race, terrible as raging lions, that gallop wildly along the perilous
mountain path?
I have prepared, against the time when fortune shall be unfavourable to
me, a noble courser of perfect shape, and which none can rival in
swiftness.
I have also a flashing sabre which severs at a stroke the body of an
enemy. And yet fortune has treated me as if I had never tasted the
pleasure of bestriding an air-drinker;
As if I had never rested my heart on the virgin bosom of a well-beloved
maiden, with legs adorned with bracelets of gold;
As if I had never felt the anguish of separation;
As if I had never taken part in the exciting spectacle of our blood
horses surprising the enemy at the break of day;
As if, in short, after a defeat, I had never brought back the runaways
to the fight, by crying aloud:—
"Fatma! daughters of Fatma!
"Death is a tax levied on our heads; turn the neck of your horses, and
repeat the charge.
"Time turns upon itself and returns.
"Would that I could throw the world on its face!"
USAGES OF WAR.
On returning to their _douars_ after a _razzia_, or an expedition, the
Arabs of the desert proceed to divide the spoils in equal shares, a
certain portion being set aside for special cases. Thus a cavalier who
has slain another in battle is entitled to the horse of the deceased, to
his arms, garments, harness, pouch, and _djebira_. "In fact, he has
risked a life to take a life, and will have to answer before Allah for
the death he has inflicted, rightly or wrongly." A horse that is
captured without its owner being killed, is comprised among the general
stock to be divided. If a horseman has been slain by several persons
firing simultaneously, without it being clearly shown by whose hand he
fell, his spoils are equally shared by all. In some tribes, the plunder
reverts to the chief when it cannot be proved from whose gun the fatal
ball was fired. Should a cavalier learn after the fight is over, that he
has killed an enemy with his own hand, and be able to produce witnesses
to the deed, he obtains restitution of the entire plunder of the slain.
When a tribe makes an expedition against another tribe, each individual
retains whatever he has taken in _haïks_, burnouses, arms, and garments;
but tents, flocks, horses, mules, camels, provisions, and grain, are
public property. The chief alone is entitled, over and above an ordinary
share, to thirty or forty ewes, or three or four camels, as the case may
be. Even should he not have accompanied the tribe in person, he would
still be assigned what is called the _akeud ek-sheikh_, or the sheikh's
knot. If any one, not caring to join the expedition, has lent his mare
to a friend, he shares the booty acquired by the latter. If the animal
be killed and any prize is made, the value of the mare is deducted and
paid over to her owner, for she had gone for the service of the tribe.
Should the result be unfavourable, the owner puts up with his loss—"he
sought his good fortune."
Whoever offers a supply of food to a party of horsemen is entitled to a
share if the party prove successful, as he was interested in the
expedition.
A "lance" [one share] is given to the farrier of the tribe, for he
contributes his skill and labour to the success of the enterprise. To
kill a farrier is deemed infamous. It is a deed that will recoil upon
the guilty tribe, who will be pursued by a curse ever after.
He who takes off his burnous and goes up to the enemy with the butt end
of his rifle in the air, must also be spared.
Shepherds, likewise, have their life accorded to them.
A special share of the plunder is reserved for those who have been sent
forward as scouts previous to the attack upon the enemy. It is their
just recompense for offering their lives to secure the triumph of their
brethren. If a scout loses his mare, he is compensated by one hundred
ewes, or another mare, or by one hundred Spanish _douros_. There is no
exaggeration in this estimate, for it is always the best mounted who are
selected. If a band returns with booty, a "lance" is bestowed upon the
woman of distinction who goes forth from her tent, and lifts up her
voice in honour of the victors. In an affair of _nif_ (self-love), the
pretty women who accompany the expedition to animate the combatants are
entitled to a share of the spoils. Whoever lends his rifle, receives
one-fourth of the share that falls to the lot of the borrower.
Suppose an Arab finds a horse at pasture away from its owner, at a time
when his tribe happens to be attacked, or is on the point of setting out
on an expedition. Suppose he takes the animal, and places on its back a
borrowed saddle. Suppose, further, that this saddle is not complete; but
that he gets stirrups from one, a girth from another, a bridle and a
breast-band from a third, until at last he is completely equipped. He
sets out and returns with plunder; but the proprietor of the horse has
no right to any portion of it. Had the animal been killed, the owner
would have been reimbursed, in the event of success; but if it is
brought back safe and sound, he cannot claim anything: "The animal has
been nothing more than an instrument of Allah to render service to the
brave horseman who exposed himself for the public good." The
proprietors, however, of the different parts of the equipment are
entitled to a share. The wanderers of the desert have an apologue quite
in the Arab style which exactly defines the respective dues of each:
"Quoth the saddle-tree to the horseman: 'Do you purpose to keep all the
prize to yourself? Who furnished you with a seat? What would you have
done had you not found me there?'
"A pretty story!" exclaims the girth. "The service you brag of, was it
after all so very great? Why, you would have done more harm than good,
had I not held you on the horse's back."
"Gently, gently!" cry the stirrups. "I acknowledge you may both of you
have been useful in your way; but pray tell me who supported the
horseman when he dashed forward? On whom did he lean when he made use of
his rifle to bring down the enemy from whom he took the spoils about
which you are wrangling so sharply? Who was it that enabled him to look
far ahead, to stoop down, or turn round, according as he wished to
strike a blow, or to avoid one with which he was threatened?"
"It was you," replied the bridle. "There is no denying the truth. And
yet, O my sons, by Allah, master of the world! our horseman would not
have much riches to boast of to-day had he employed only your services.
You did not take the road to the plunder, and assuredly you would be far
enough from it now had I not guided you. Cease, then, these disputes.
The palm is mine, for it was I alone who enabled you to reach the goal."
"Ah! that is rather too much of a good thing!" the horse ironically
observes, after listening thus far without uttering a word. "Somehow I
fancied that the greatest praise was due to myself. I thought I had seen
you lying forgotten in a corner, and that you were picked up only
because I had been found. I was dreaming, no doubt, and it is you who
have carried me. I own that I was mistaken. Take me back, then, as
quickly as possible to my pasture, or at least let me hear no more of
your squabbles."
"To put an end to all this jangling, the horseman divided his booty into
six equal parts, one of which he gave to the saddle-tree, one to the
girth, and one to the bridle, and kept the three others for himself.
Leading the horse back to the pasture he said to him: 'I do not give
thee anything, for thou hast the honour of having been useful to thy
tribe.'"
If any one lends a saddle complete, he is entitled to one-half share.
This distribution is called _âadet esserdj_, or the custom of the
saddle.
When on the point of starting on an expedition, the _goum_ offers up the
following invocations: "O Sidi Abd-el-Kader-el-Djilaly! O
Sidi-Sheik-ben-el-Dine! O Sidi-el-Hadj-bou-Hafeus! If we succeed and
return safe and sound, we promise a camel to each of you. Protect us!"
Before any division takes place these three camels are always put aside
for the marabouts.