1834.
Abdel Kader now entered on the task of organisation. He trusted but
little to the pacific professions of the French, and looked on the
present cessation of hostilities merely as an armed truce. He resolved,
consequently, to make use of the breathing time thus afforded, in
maturing his plans, husbanding his resources, and preparing for future
battles. Declaring the Djehad to be only suspended, not abandoned, he
issued his usual edict for the collection of the war-tribute, consisting
of the _ashur_, or tenth of all agricultural produce, and the _zekka_,
or tax on cattle.
To his astonishment, the most faithful of all his tribes, his most
zealous adherents, the very men who had been the guardians and
supporters of his nascent power, and by whose aid he had been enabled to
inflict his most deadly blows, refused obedience. The Beni Amers
asserted that cessation of impost was, in their eyes, the legitimate
consequence of cessation of war.
Abdel Kader hesitated not a moment. The Beni Amers must be attacked.
Writing to Mustapha-ibn-Ismail at Tlemsen, he ordered him to prepare the
Douairs and Zmelas for instant action. That old and wily leader of the
Turkish _Maghzen_, desiring nothing better than to have an opportunity
of falling on his old and mortal enemies, and rejoicing in the prospect
of plunder, joyfully accepted the summons, and boastfully enlarged on
the loyalty of his tribes. An unexpected incident turned the tide of
events.
As Abdel Kader was preaching one Friday, as was his wont, in the mosque
of Mascara, his eye lighted on some of the Beni Amer Sheiks. Suddenly
turning the stream of his eloquence, he thus apostrophised them:—“Were
not you, O Beni Amers, the first to call me to the post I now hold? Were
not you the first to implore me to establish a regular government, which
should inspire the good with confidence, and the wicked with terror?
“Did you not solemnly pledge your lives, your properties, and all that
you held most dear and sacred, to assist and strengthen me in the
arduous task? And will you be the first to abandon the common cause, the
first, by your example, to countenance and encourage conspiracies
against the very government you invoked? How can any government be
carried on without taxes, how maintained without the cordial union and
support of all?
“Think you that the smallest coin of the tribute which I demand, will
ever be appropriated to my personal or family expenses? You all know
that my paternal property suffices for my own needs. What I demand is
what the law of the Prophet renders it imperative on you, as good
Mussulmans, to give; and in my hands, I solemnly swear, it will be held
as a sacred trust, for the triumph of the faith!”
Moved by this frank appeal, the Beni Amer Sheiks demanded a conference.
The throng pressed around them. All ranks and ages joined their
entreaties to effect an accommodation. Thus surrounded, the Sheiks
advanced towards their young Sultan, and kissed his hand. In the name of
their tribe, they promised to pay the tribute. Orders were forthwith
despatched to Mustapha to suspend his march on the Beni Amers.
Three days afterwards, a horseman came riding in at full speed, to say
that Mustapha had, notwithstanding, commenced an attack. Abdel Kader,
hastily gathering together such horsemen as were within reach, galloped
off to the scene of action.
On arriving, he sent word to Mustapha to withdraw. On his refusal to
obey the order, Abdel Kader advanced to charge his recalcitrant chief. A
few only of the Beni Amers followed. After a desperate skirmish, Abdel
Kader had the mortification to see his men dispersed, and flying before
superior numbers. A handful of men alone remained to rally round his
person. Animated by the example of their chief, they fought with
desperation. Nearly all were killed, or dismounted. At last, after
performing prodigies of valour, Abdel Kader, his burnous riddled with
bullets, and his horse covered with wounds, cut his way through the
hostile ranks which closed him in, and galloped back to Mascara. He
reached it late at night—alone.
Abdel Kader defeated by the Arabs! The news spread like wildfire. In an
instant all slumbering rivalries were aroused. Sidi-il-Aribi raised the
standard of revolt. El Gomari, and the Beni Engad, prepared to join Sidi
Hamadi, the Governor of Tlemsen, who entered into correspondence with
Mustapha.
The tidings of these defections, so far from oppressing the soul of
Abdel Kader with despondency, only nerved him with fresh vigour. The
Hashem Gharabas, the Mejahers, the Beni Abbas, were staunch. The Beni
Amers had confirmed the adhesion given in by their Sheiks, at Mascara.
He could wield a force of 15,000 cavalry. With a large proportion of
these he at once took the field.
Mustapha had led off the Douairs and Zmelas to their old campaigning
ground near Oran, in the hopes of propitiating the French, and getting
their support. To his disgust, he was warned by the latter of the
consequences which would ensue if he persisted in rebelling against
Abdel Kader, the ally of France.
Desmichels had found out by bitter experience, the impossibility of
conquering the province of Oran, with such forces as his government had
placed at his disposal. The plan of raising up a native power to supply
this deficiency, and to assist in extending the French dominions, either
as vassals or allies, seemed to him to afford the easiest method for
escaping from a serious dilemma. He was dazzled by the great and
commanding qualities displayed by Abdel Kader, and always took a
pleasure in extolling his heroism, his prowess, and even his
generalship. He seemed almost to envy and covet his glory.
Desmichels was known to have frequently declared that he would make the
young Arab Emir all powerful, from the frontiers of Morocco to the
frontiers of Tunis. No doubt this declaration was made with the mental
reserve that the gallant chief should only be so as the vassal of
France. Abdel Kader, fully understanding the profitable tendency to
himself of this exuberant admiration, cared not to dispel an illusion
which marvellously promoted his own designs. He was secretly bent,
however, on preserving a perfectly independent position, and on
confining his allies to their counting-houses on the sea-coast.
Mustapha having been thus kept in check, Abdel Kader fell with his whole
force upon Sidi-il-Aribi, enveloped him in a crushing defeat, and took
him prisoner. At the same time he inflicted on the rebellious tribes a
signal chastisement, and collected all the arrears of tribute. Flushed
by this victory, he now sought out Mustapha. He met him on the plains of
Mahraz, July 13, 1834. The battle between the hostile chiefs raged for
some hours with alternate success. At last, both sides, worn out with
fatigue, and fainting with the heat, drew breath.
Abdel Kader seized the moment to send some Marabouts through the enemy’s
ranks, to offer terms. Mustapha, fearing an attack from the French, who
had advanced as far as the camp of Miserghin, and were in observation,
was nothing loath to listen to any propositions which might relieve him
from his perilous situation. Though declining a personal meeting with
Abdel Kader, he sent him his charger in token of reconciliation.
Abdel Kader now marched upon Tlemsen. His appearance before that town,
with all the prestige of victory, at once annihilated the intrigues of
which that place had been the focus. His faithless lieutenant, Sidi
Hamadi, was seized and imprisoned, but afterwards generously pardoned,
although not allowed to retain his post. This was conferred on Noona,
who after his late defeat had fled to Morocco, and had returned, bearing
letters of recommendation from the Moorish Sultan.
Abdel Kader entered Mascara in triumph. Two events had occurred during
his absence, which materially aided him. El Gomari, chief of the Beni
Engad, had been tried before a tribunal, and shot; and Sidi-il-Aribi had
died in prison. Freed from these rivals, and unimpeded by internal
faction, he was again at liberty to carry out his measures of general
administration.
The province of Oran was divided into two great districts, and placed
under khalifas, or lieutenants. That of the east, subdivided into seven
agalicks, and having Mascara as the seat of government, was placed under
the command of the Sultan’s brother-in-law, Mustapha-ibn-Tamy. That of
the west, with Tlemsen for its capital, was entrusted to Bou Hamadi.
Every tribe was held responsible for the peace and good order of its
locality. Weekly reports were required, as to the amount of cattle,
beasts of burden, and horses fit for service in each agalick. A Cadi,
appointed by the Sultan, and paid out of the public treasury, was sent
to each of the tribes, to administer justice.
A body of regulars was raised, consisting both of cavalry and infantry.
The latter were drilled and instructed by French non-commissioned
officers, who had been allowed to offer their services for that purpose.
Cannon-foundries, powder-mills, and manufactories of small arms, were
established and superintended by European artisans. The Arabs wondered
at these strange and novel proceedings. They felt that a new order of
things had suddenly fallen on them.
This, together with the vigilance with which crimes were detected, and
the certainty and severity of its punishment, soon had its effect on the
community. The entire province, which eighteen months previously had
been a prey to every kind of anarchy and confusion, now enjoyed the most
thorough tranquillity. So complete was the feeling of security which
existed in all parts, that, to use the favourite Arab illustration of
the perfection of good government, “A girl might have travelled the
length and breadth of the land with a casket of diamonds on her head,
without fear of molestation.”
Abdel Kader’s fame had now spread through Algeria. It was generally
felt, that a man had arisen who had not only shown himself capable of
preserving order within, but who, by his skill and daring, had succeeded
in imposing conditions on the infidels from without. The eyes of all the
well-disposed naturally turned towards one who had achieved such signal
results.
The inhabitants of Medea and Miliana, the principal towns in the
province of Tittery, sent deputations to Abdel Kader, begging him to do
for their province what he had already done for the province of Oran.
Had he been free to act on his own inspirations, forty-eight hours would
not have elapsed before he had been on the march in compliance with
their request. The invitation was not only flattering to his pride, as
showing the influence his name exercised over parties utterly unknown to
him, but offered—what in his eyes was its strongest inducement—a further
opening for the prosecution of the great object he had in view, the
establishment of a widely-extended Arab nationality.
The Treaty of Desmichels in no way precluded him from entering Tittery;
for that treaty had not confined him within any prescribed limits. Still
he was not disposed to undertake the enterprise without first
ascertaining how such a step would be viewed by the French authorities.
Contenting himself, therefore, for the present, with replying to the
deputations, that he required time to consider their demands, he
proceeded to fathom the thoughts of Count D’Erlon, the new Governor-
General, on the momentous topic. The recent arrival of that personage
gave him an opportunity of broaching the delicate question without
appearing to make it a special subject of negotiation.
Under the garb of a letter of felicitation to the general on his
appointment, the following feeler was adroitly put forward:—“The Kaid,
Miloud ibn Arasch, will give you every particular about us. I have
instructed him to ascertain your views as to the best manner of
establishing tranquillity in all the districts, whether maritime or in
the interior, along the coasts between Algiers and Oran, and in the
plains and the mountains, from Tlemsen and Mascara, _up to Medea and
Miliana_.”
Count D’Erlon had come to assume the arduous and responsible duties
which now devolved upon him, without any clear instructions, and without
any additional force. The French government, still uncertain as to its
European relations, had neither money nor troops to spare for the
prosecution of an Algerian war on a great scale. A vague idea possessed
it that Abdel Kader was the ladder by which the French were to scale the
heights of the Atlas. To keep on good terms with this influential chief
was, consequently, at this period, a cardinal point of French policy.
Accordingly, the reply of Count D’Erlon to Abdel Kader consisted of
vague generalities, and Was altogether couched in such terms, that the
latter had every ground to believe no measures would be taken to oppose
his proposed step if he only had the boldness to take it. Still he felt
the necessity of having his actual rights confirmed by the new Governor-
General before assuming new ones; and to this end he sent the document
containing his own terms, which had been duly signed and sealed by
Desmichels, as above related, to the Count, for his perusal.
D’Erlon, to whom even the existence of such a document was unknown, as
it had never been notified to the French Government, was thunder-struck.
Here was a French general, who had taken upon himself to sign a secret
treaty, giving solid and exclusive advantages to an enemy whose
hostility had not been disarmed, and whose friendship was doubtful. His
representations to the French ministry relative to this extraordinary
procedure were such, that they were speedily followed by the recall of
Desmichels from Oran.
At the same time he thus gave his opinion to Abdel Kader on the
subject:—“I would wish you to observe, that General Desmichels had no
power or jurisdiction, except in the province of Oran, and that he could
in nowise make any stipulations as regards any other part of the
regency. Even by giving the widest interpretation to the Treaty made
between you and him, in February, 1834, you can have no pretensions
beyond the province of Oran, limited as it has been by the sovereign
power of France.
“My desire for the present is, that you should not cross the lower
Cheliff, towards the east. If you govern the territory you now possess
according to Mohammedan laws, and with strict justice, we shall be
friends; but we cannot allow you to enter the province of Tittery. What
passes there is my concern. I am not at war with its inhabitants; I have
no fixed project of making establishments at Blidah and Bouffarick, but
whenever I think it for the interest of France to do so, I shall allow
no one to embarrass me.”
Abdel Kader paused for the present before such an interdict. Besides,
disturbances amongst the Flittas, in the valley of the Cheliff, excited
against him by the sons of Sidi-il-Aribi, called for his immediate
presence in that direction.
While engaged in appeasing these troubles, he was surprised by the
information that a certain Hadj Mousa, a shereef from the Sahara, had
entered Medea, and had been warmly received by a large portion of the
population. After waiting for a time to see what steps would be taken by
the French Governor-General, and finding that no opposition to the
assumptions of this adventurer was offered on the part of Count D’Erlon,
Abdel Kader determined to exercise full liberty of action. If a shereef
from the desert might snatch a province, why not he? Fortune is the
friend of the bold, and the world is for him who will seize it. He
dashed across the Cheliff, and marched on Medea, followed by all the
cavalry contingents of Oran, two battalions of regular infantry, and
four pieces of cannon. Cæsar had crossed the Rubicon.
Hadj Mousa came out to meet him, prophesying that God would give him the
victory, and that the cannon of Abdel Kader would not go off. Abdel
Kader replied that if, indeed, his cannon did not go off, he would
acknowledge a divine interposition, and withdraw. The battle was gained,
and the prophet and pretender was completely defeated. Abdel Kader took
possession, amidst general exultation, of the province of Tittery, and
appointed Khalifas at Medea and Miliana.
General Trezel, who had replaced Desmichels at Oran, proposed to reply
to this movement of Abdel Kader by seizing Mascara. D’Erlon temporised.
He was neither authorised nor prepared to commence hostilities. He even
condescended to treat with Abdel Kader in the very town he had occupied
in direct violation of his prohibition. Captain St. Hippolyte was sent
to him, bearer of the following draft of a treaty:—
1. Acknowledgment of the sovereignty of France.
2. Precise definition of the power of the Emir, which is to be exercised
in the province of Oran alone, bounded on the east by the Cheliff, from
its mouth to its confluence with the Wady Riou, and by the river of that
name up to Godjidah.
3. Right of French and all Europeans to travel in the province of Oran.
4. Entire freedom of commerce in the interior.
5. Engagement on the part of the Emir not to export, except in ports
occupied by the French.
6. Tribute to be paid by Abdel Kader, and hostages to be given by him.
The tribute to be considered a mark of his acknowledgment of French
sovereignty.
A treaty which thus abrogated, by a stroke of the pen, all the rights
and privileges his own good sword had obtained, might apparently have
been regarded by Abdel Kader as an insult or a defiance. But, in
reality, it was the result of his own diplomacy. He had learned to
appreciate the value and importance of the power to make treaties. He
knew that this power implied an independent position, whether for
proposing or accepting terms. Already a French general had, by treaty,
acknowledged and confirmed his right to an independent sway, had saluted
him as Emir, and Prince of the Faithful, or Sultan.
Negotiations once opened with the new Governor-General might lead to
similar concessions. What the nature of the propositions, presented to
him in the first instance, might be, was to him a matter of supreme
indifference. What he wanted, and what he earnestly urged his agent at
Algiers to obtain from D’Erlon, was a treaty. He trusted to the chapter
of accidents to mould any fresh negotiation to his own wishes.
The employment of well-paid spies introduced him into the most secret
councils of the French authorities. Able and crafty agents, accredited
to the responsible heads of the French administration, in its various
centres of action, were made the means of promoting his views and
advancing his interests. These agents were instructed to gain the
confidence of all important personages; to be always about them on some
pretence or other; to be constantly extolling their master’s merits; and
enlarging on his talents for administration; to speak loudly of his
extraordinary influence in the country; and, finally, to insinuate the
immense advantages which would accrue to France by having such a pioneer
in the path of conquest.
A Jew, of the name of Durand, had performed all these functions, at
Algiers, with rare ability. He had easily contrived to get the ear of
D’Erlon. He was consulted by him in all affairs of moment connected with
the internal government of the regency. He had gradually impressed him
with a favourable opinion of his master; and he succeeded, finally, in
drawing him into the current of credulous expectation with regard to the
conduct of Abdel Kader, which had carried away more than one of his
predecessors. In the meantime, he had wormed out of him the foregoing
treaty, and was commissioned to accompany the bearer of it to Medea.
There, though the treaty met with very little ceremony or attention, the
bearer of the treaty received the most striking marks of friendship and
hospitality. A grand review was held; and the French envoy gazed with
dubious admiration on the nucleus of an Arab army. He was invited to
accompany the Sultan on a tour of inspection about to be made through
the provinces of Tittery and Oran. The offer was accepted; and Captain
St. Hippolyte and the Jew Durand figured conspicuously in the royal
suite.
Abdel Kader made the most of his time. Purposely going into those
districts which had recently shown symptoms of disaffection, or were
wavering in their allegiance to him, he secretly enjoyed the impression
made on the tribes by the French uniform. What, they thought, must be
the power of a chief who had made the infidels his vassals, and who
could, no doubt, at any moment summon their armies to march to the
support of his throne? Any resistance to such a potentate would be mere
madness. Unqualified submission was their best and only alternative.
On reaching Mascara, fresh tokens of politeness and cordiality awaited
the distinguished guests. On the third day after their arrival, Abdel
Kader put his own treaty into their hands. It was to this effect:—
1. The provinces which are under the dominion of the Prince of the
Faithful, and which are in submission, shall remain dependent on him. In
like manner the country which the Governor-General actually holds shall
remain under his dominion.
2. Whenever the Emir shall think fit to appoint or to remove the
Governors of Medea and Miliana, he will inform the Governor-General,
that he may take note of the fact; and also make those functionaries the
medium of any dispatch or communication he may have to convey to him.
3. Freedom of commerce for all. The Arabs shall be respected in the
markets by the French, and the French by the Arabs, in all the provinces
under the dominion of the Emir.
4. The Prince of the Faithful shall buy at Algiers, through his agent,
everything he requires in the shape of mortars, muskets, powder, and
sulphur.
5. The Emir shall give up to the French all deserters; and the Governor-
General will act similarly towards the Emir.
6. If the Emir projects a tour towards Constantine or elsewhere, he will
inform the Governor-General of his intention and of his motive for doing
so.
A treaty so ridiculously contrasting with the one sent for his
acceptance by the French Governor-General, and which, so far from
limiting his power, proposed to allow him to leap at one bound, from the
gates of Oran to those of Constantine, and to make the French themselves
the complaisant approvers of this encroachment, was certainly one which
the Prince of the Faithful never expected to see accepted.
Perfectly comprehending, however, the exaggerated importance attached to
his friendship and support by the French Government, and relying on the
efficacy of those secret influences he had hitherto so successfully
employed, Abdel Kader was not without hopes that by a strenuous and even
overstrained assumption of right, and a bold avowal of design, dimly
suggestive of reserved strength, he might at all events procure such a
treaty as should enhance the advantages he actually possessed,
strengthen his position, enlarge his sphere of action, and still further
dispel the clouds which yet obscured the brilliant vista of glory lying
before him.
Up to this time he had succeeded in almost all he had undertaken. His
faith in his mission, always strong and unshaken, now possessed his mind
with the strength of a religious conviction. By inspiring all around him
with a like confidence and belief, this faith became to him an
instrument of power. His past success was accepted as a sure omen of
future triumphs. A French officer, about this time, advised him, out of
honest sympathy and regard, not to be presumptuously confident. “What!”
replied Abdel Kader, “it is but three years since I was simply one of my
father’s five sons, and obliged to mount and equip myself from the
enemy’s spoils. You see what I am now; and you tell me not to have
confidence in myself!”