Santa Cruz, April 7, 1795.
The province of Haha was in arms; caffilahs, and travellers could
not pass; but it was expedient that I should go to Mogodor. Men of
property in this country, influenced by a philanthropic spirit,
often expend large sums in digging wells in districts, through
which caffilahs pass, on their road from one country to another. I
knew one of these philanthropists who was at Santa Cruz, and who
had recently benefited the province of Haha, by having dug a well
151 in the Kabyl of Benitamer, a mountainous district in Haha; I sent
for him, and as he was under obligations to me for various services
I had rendered to him and his family, he consented to accompany me
to Mogodor, through the disturbed province of Haha; and he assured
me, that his influence throughout that province was such, that, by
travelling quick, and without any baggage, tents, or incumbrances,
he did not doubt of conducting me safe to Mogodor. I agreed to go
with him, without servants, tents, or bedding, being determined to
reconcile myself, under present circumstances, to the accommodation
the country might afford. We started from Santa Cruz at sun-set;
travelling through Tamaract, to the river Beni Tamur. We continued
our journey till we arrived, at the dawn of day, at the foot of
immense high mountains, called Idiaugomoron. Here my companion and
guide L'Hage Muhamed bu Zurrawel, pointed out to me two castellated
houses, about two miles distant from each other; the
family-quarrels of these people had produced such animosity, that
the inhabitants of neither house could with safety go out, for fear
of being overpowered and killed by those of the other; so that
wherever they went, they were well armed, but dared not go far.
These two families were preparing for a siege, which often happens
in this province. Thus the inhabitants of one house attack another,
and sometimes exterminate or put to death the whole family, with
their retainers. The province of Haha was thus in a state of the
152 most lamentable civil war, originating from these family-quarrels
and domestic feuds. The heathen and anti-christian principle of
revenge and retaliation, is here pursued with such bitter and
obstinate animosity, that I have known instances of men
relinquishing their vocation, to go into a far country to revenge
the blood of a relation after a lapse of twenty years, and pursue
the object of his revenge, for some murder committed in his family,
perhaps forty or fifty years before.
To a British public, blessed with the benign influences of the
Christian doctrine, it is perhaps necessary that I should elucidate
this retaliative doctrine by an example:--Two men quarrel, and
fight; they draw their kumäyas (curved daggers about 12 inches
long), which all the people of Haha wear, as well as all the clans
or kabyles of Shelluhs; and if one happens to give his antagonist a
_deadly_ wound, it becomes an indispensable duty in the next of kin
to the person killed or murdered, (though perhaps it can hardly be
termed a murder, as it is not committed, like an European duel, in
cold blood, but in the moment of irritation, and at a period when
the mind is under the influence of anger,) to seek his revenge by
watching an opportunity to kill the survivor in the contest. If the
former should die, his next of kin takes his place, and pursues his
enemy, whose life is never safe; insomuch that, whole kabyles, when
this deadly animosity has reached its acme, have been known to quit
153 their country and emigrate into the Sahara; for when the second
death has been inflicted, it then becomes the incumbent duty of the
next of kin of the deceased to seek his revenge: they call this
justifying blood. This horrible custom has the most lamentable
influence on the happiness of human life; for there will sometimes
be several individuals seeking the life of one man, till this
principle, pervading all the ramifications of relationship and
consanguinity, produces family-broils, hostility, and murder, _ad
infinitum!!_ We stopped at a friend of L'Hage Muhamed, who
presented us with honey and butter, thin shavings of the latter
being let to fall into a bowl of honey for breakfast. This bowl was
served up with flat cakes kneaded without leaven, and baked on hot
stones; these are converted from corn into food in less than half
an hour; they are in shape similar to our crumpets or pancakes. We
were pressed by this Shelluh to stay and dine with him, which being
agreed to, he sent a shepherd to his flock to kill a fat young kid,
which was roasted with a wooden spit, before the vital heat had
subsided, which was very tender, and of an exquisite flavour. The
bread or cakes above described appear to be similar to what the
women kneaded for the guests in the patriarchal ages: indeed, the
customs of these people, as well as those of the Arabs, is
precisely the same as they were in the patriarchal ages, and which
are delineated in the 18th chapter of Genesis, 1st to the 8th
verse.
154
The honey of this province is very fine: it has an aromatic
flavour, derived from the wild thyme and other aromatic herbs on
which the bees feed. Among these people every meal is preceded with
a washing of their hands with water, which is brought round for the
purpose in a brass pan; each guest dips his right hand in the pan,
and a napkin is presented to wipe them; they then break the bread,
and, after saying grace, which is universally this,--_bismillah_,
i.e. "in the name of God," each guest takes a bit of bread, dips it
in the honey and butter, and eats it. It is reckoned uncourteous or
vulgar to bite the bread; therefore the piece broken off is
sufficient for a mouthful, so that there is nothing that should
offend a delicate appetite in this antique mode of eating. We
remained several hours with our hospitable Shelluh friend; and we
departed, after taking a little sleep, at four o'clock in the
afternoon. Travelling all night, we arrived, at the dawn of day, at
a large house in Idaugourd; the Shelluh to whom it belonged brought
us carpets, and we slept under the wall of his house till the sun
arose. The people of this country prefer sleeping in the open air
to a room, and they have an excellent mode of securing themselves
from the heavy dews of the night, by covering their heads and faces
with a thin woollen hayk or garment, which they throw over their
heads and faces. When I have had the Arabs of Sahara (who have
conducted the caffilahs from Timbuctoo) at my house at Santa Cruz,
155 I gave them a long narrow room, 48 feet long, which was called
(_beet assuda_) the apartment of Sudan, to sleep in; but they
invariably came out at night, and placed their carpets and mats, as
beds, outside of the room, and slept under the balustrade, in
preference to the confinement, as they called it, of a room.
We rose at sun-rise, passed through the picturesque district of
Idaugourd and the Woolja, and entered Mogodor at four o'clock, P.M.
156
AN ACCOUNT
OF THE
RISE, PROGRESS, AND DECREASE
OF
THE PLAGUE
_That ravaged Barbary in_ 1799;
FAITHFULLY EXTRACTED FROM
LETTERS WRITTEN BY THE HOUSE OF JAMES JACKSON
AND CO., OR BY JAMES G. JACKSON,
MERCHANTS AT MOGODOR,
TO THEIR CORRESPONDENTS IN EUROPE, DURING THE
EPIDEMY.
* * * * *
_Fragments respecting the Plague_.
When the Emperor's army proceeded from Fas to Marocco in the summer
of 1799, a detachment of which passed by Mogodor, consisting of
20,000 horse and 10,000 foot, it had the plague with it; so that,
wherever it passed, the plague uniformly appeared three days after
its arrival at the respective douars near which it encamped; those
who died were buried in the tents, and the people of the provinces
knew little about it.
A large _akkaba_[122], consisting of upwards of 1700 camels,
157 arrived 23d August, 1799, at Akka from Timbuctoo, laden with
gum-sudan, ostrich-feathers, and gold dust, which had brought also
many slaves; this _akkaba_ had deposited its merchandize at Akka,
till the plague should disappear and the country become healthy; as
the people of that territory, unlike Muhamedans in general, will
hold no communication with the infected, nor will they admit any
one from these parts.
[Footnote 122: An _akkaba_ is an accumulated caravan.]
Mogodor, April 31, 1799.
A violent fever now rages at Fas: some assert it to be the plague,
but that is Moorish report, and little to be depended on; the
European consuls at Tangier, and the Spanish ambassador, who,
having terminated his embassy, has lately left Mequinas, mention it
as an epidemical disorder.
May 20. The small-pox rages violently throughout this country, and
is of a most virulent kind: its origin is ascribed to the famine
that has of late pervaded this country, and which was produced by
the incredible devastation of the devouring locusts; the dregs of
olives, after the oil had been extracted, has been the only food
that could be procured by many thousands.
Mogodor, June 14, 1799.
Various reports reach us daily from _the city of Marocco_,
respecting the epidemy that prevails there, some say 200 die, some
158 say 100, others limit the daily mortality to 50, in a population,
according to the imperial register, of 270,000.
When any _light_ rain falls, as is the case at Marocco at this
season of the year, the mortality increases. Mr. Francisco Chiappe,
an Italian merchant, is just arrived from Marocco, and is
performing quarantine, by his own desire, at the Emperor's
garden.[123] This gentleman reports, that the greater portion of
the people die of fear, from hunger, or bad food, or from the
small-pox, which latter has raged at Marocco the last month or two;
but he had not been able to ascertain, so various were the reports,
whether it was the plague or not. The emperor's army, a division of
which passed through this country, and encamped at the river, about
two miles south of this port, had the distemper with it. We have
been assured, that the soldiers who died, were immediately buried
within the tents, so that, by this stratagem, the mortality was not
perceived by the public; it was apprehended that, if the mortality
were known, the kabyls, through which the army passed from Mequinas
to Marocco, would not have supplied the troops with provision. This
detachment consisted of 20,000 horse and 10,000 foot. No disorder
has yet appeared here, nor in the adjacent provinces of Shedma and
Haha.
[Footnote 123: A garden in the province of Haha, five miles
from Mogodor, that was presented to the European merchants by
the late sultan, Seedy Muhamed ben Abdallah.]
159
July 5. We dispatched the Spanish brig yesterday; but she is still
at anchor in the road, waiting for passengers, who fly from hence
with precipitation, from fear of the fever or plague, which
prevails at Fas and at Marocco, and which, it is reported, has made
its appearance at the port of Saffy. We have, however, nothing of
the kind here yet, though we expect we shall not escape the general
scourge.
July 13. The epidemy in the interior provinces has greatly
augmented, insomuch, that the demand for linen to bury the dead
rapidly increases, and the stock is almost exhausted. This article
has risen to an unprecedented price. All the relatives of L'Hage
Abdallah have fallen victims to the epidemy. This gentleman is
consequently in possession of very considerable property; and (if
he be not also carried off) there will be no fear of our recovering
the debt he owes you.
We cannot ascertain if the disorder prevails in the outer town, and
in the Jews' quarter, or not; it is certain, however, that eight or
ten die daily of the small-pox, and as many more of fevers and
other disorders, as report proclaims.
July 25. We are so much engaged in making arrangements against the
epidemy, which is now confidently reported to us to be the plague,
of a most deadly species, that we have only time to refer you to
the captain of the Aurora, to whom we have communicated every
160 particular, and who is extremely anxious to be off for England. The
deaths in this town, which contained a population of 10,000,
according to the imperial register, are from forty to fifty each
day.
Aug. 1. As the plague now rages violently here, no one thinks of
business or the affairs of this world; but each individual
anticipates that he will be next called away. I send the inclosed,
to be forwarded to Mr. Andrea de Christo, at Amsterdam, to announce
to him the sudden death of his partner, Mr. J. Pacifico, who is
lately dead of the plague. I paid him a visit a few hours before
his death; I met there Don Pedro de Victoria, who was smoking a
segar; he offered me one, and urged me to smoke it. I believe that
the smoke of tobacco is anti-pestilential; this, added to the
precaution of avoiding contact, and inhalation of the breath of the
person infected, appears to be quite sufficient to secure a person
from infection.
Aug. 1. (Translation of a letter to Mr. Andrea de Christi, merchant
at Amsterdam.) We are sorry that the subject of this letter is so
melancholy. All our domestics have left us; the plague rages so
violently here, that the daily mortality is from sixty to seventy,
among which we are sorry to announce the death of your partner, Mr.
J. Pacifico, who died two days since.
August 23. The best gum is selling at Akka for six dollars a
quintal: they will not bring it here, fearing the infection. A
161 large Brazil ship has been wrecked off Cape Noon, her cargo,
consisting for the most part of silks and linens, is estimated at
half a million of dollars. The Arabs of Sahara convert the most
beautiful lace into bridles for their horses, by twisting it; and
superior silk stockings are selling at Wedinoon at a dollar per
dozen pair. The plague is rapidly diminishing from 100 deaths to 20
or 30 per day. Meeman Corcoes is dead, as well as most of the
principal tradesmen of Marocco and Fas; whole families have been
swept off, and there is none left to inherit their property.
Immense droves of horses, mules, and cattle of every description
stray in the plains without owners.
September 5. The plague continues to decrease; and in another month
we expect to be quite free from it. Signor Conton died this morning
of the epidemy; yesterday afternoon he was apparently quite well,
and paid me a visit. He wished me to shake hands with him, which I
declined, alleging as an excuse, that I would dispense with that
custom till the plague should pass over. He drank a glass of wine,
and appeared cheerful and in good health. I have had fixed in my
dining room, a table that extends from one end to the other. I walk
or sit on one side of the table, my visitors on the other. I am
only cautious to avoid personal contact. All the houses of the
other merchants are closely barricaded or bolted. A fumigating pot
162 of gum sandrac stands at the entrance of my house, continually
burning, which diffuses an agreeable perfume, but is not, as I
apprehend, an antidote to the epidemy.
October 1. We have to apprise you of the decease of L'Hage Abdallah
El Hareishy, most of whose relations are dead. His brother is the
only one of the family besides himself that remains: he has
inherited considerable property, and thence will be enabled to pay
your bill on him in our favour.
October 29. The plague appears to have ceased in this town. All the
merchants have opened their houses; but the disorder continues in
the provinces, from whence there is little or no communication with
the town. The kabyls seem to be wholly engaged in burying their
dead, in arranging the affairs of their respective families, in
dividing the property inherited by them, and in administering
consolation to the sick.
Nov. 11. The plague having committed incalculable ravages
throughout this country, had put a stop to all commerce, which now
begins to revive, in proportion as that calamity subsides. Linens
are selling to great advantage, a cargo would now render 60 per
cent. profit, clear of all charges.
Nov. 29. The deadly epidemy that has lately visited us, and which
163 at one period carried off above 100 each day, has now confined its
daily mortality to two or three; some days none. When, however, the
Arabs of Shedma, and the Shelluhs of Haha come to town, and bring
the clothes of their deceased relations for sale, the epidemy
increases to three, four, and five a day; then, in three or four
days, it declines again to its former number, one, two, or three.
We have reason to expect, that, before the vessels which we expect
from London shall arrive, the plague will have subsided entirely.
Mogodor, Dec. 12. 1799. The plague or mortality of this town is now
reduced to three or four weekly.