A LAST GLANCE AT THE ARAB
The preface of a book should always be written at the end; this
insures it being read. In this particular work the first chapter
rather takes the place of the preface, but at the same time there
are certain things which rather need explaining.
In the first place, the necessity to compress the matter into a
limited number of pages. On practically every subject mentioned,
there is material in my mind to write a book, and it is difficult
to realize where to stop. It is equally difficult to know where
to begin as, to some, the information set out in these pages will
not be new, and they may be looking for something deeper. Of these
people I ask patience, for if the result of the book is encouraging,
another one will follow, and perhaps another, dealing at length
with the subjects only touched on now.
This work has been prepared more as something which any traveler
can read during his journey to Algiers, and which will allow him
to see the country through other eyes than those of the guides,
be they books, chauffeurs, or the luxuriously uniformed gentlemen
of the Transatlantic Company.
Let it, moreover, be understood that the history, the geography,
the remarks on French administration are, more than anything else,
a prelude to the rest of the book, “The Arabs.”
The Arabs, whether they be those in the scarlet burnouses of the
_caïd_-ship or in the rags of the beggar, are all the same: a people
who have destroyed without creating, who have been divided when
their unity would have made them great, who have lived on theory.
We have before us the relics of the Carthaginians, of the Numidians,
of the stupendous work of the Roman Empire, and then centuries of
nothing. War, devastation, intrigue, mark the period covered by
the Arab domination.
Even those buildings which we see in Algiers, at Constantine and
in the other ancient towns, are the work of Turkish or European
architects. And yet, in spite of this apparent futility of existence,
in spite of this atmosphere of strife, there is something very
noble in the nature of the Arabs, something very engaging, something
utterly aloof from all that is European; for in spite of dissension
among themselves they are all held under the sway of Islam, that
all-powerful principle which separates them entirely from all
other persuasions.
Moreover, the longer one lives among the Arabs the more one realizes
the insurmountable barrier which separates us from them. It is
not a question of race, though this does count; it is a question of
religion. One can establish the deepest intimacy in all matters of
daily life and then suddenly come face to face with this blank wall.
Some Europeans contend that it is possible really to become as the
Arabs—even to mate with them. The few who have tried this last
experiment have met with utter disaster. I know a _caïd_ who has
been all over Europe, who occasionally wears European clothes,
who has had affairs with women of all nationalities, but without
ever legally marrying one. He told me that twice he had been on
the point of doing so, but that reason had always prevailed.
“How could it be?” he exclaimed. “How could the gulf which
separates us from you ever be spanned? How could a European woman
admit being shut up, or, if she emancipated herself, being considered
by us on the same level as a woman of the Quarter? How could she
admit to her children being brought up in the principles of the
Koran, with our habits and customs? Why, we don’t even sleep in
beds or sit on chairs; we eat with our hands; we have no learning;
we never read books. We don’t consider any belief but our own;
and, even if such a mating began successfully, how could you expect
one of your people to admit the husband taking other wives to live
legally under the same roof if he felt so inclined?”
This is so obvious that it seems almost superfluous to speak of it,
and yet there are Europeans who will not see the impossibility of
such a step; there are some who have actually taken it; I know
a few of them. I have never mentioned the subject to them; the
look in their eyes has told me more than any words, and has made
me shrink from further laying bare the wound.
I was talking to an educated Arab not so long ago about religions,
and he expressed the opinion that only Mohammedans would go to
heaven. I suggested that the question of after-life was not so
much judged by religion as by the actions of men, and I quoted the
example of a very worthy Christian we know, respected by all Arabs,
and a hopeless, immoral, drinking _marabout_.
“Which of the two will be recompensed, the honest and sober
unbeliever, or that scoundrel who calls himself a holy man of
yours?”
“I can not say,” he replied, after a moment’s thought; “but
probably neither of them will go to paradise.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “You mean to suggest that worthy Mr. X.,
who has spent the whole of his life doing good, will find himself
in company with your drunken _marabout_?”
“I can not say,” repeated the Arab; “but if our friend believes
that Jesus is the Son of God, he can not go to heaven. God is above
all, and no one is like him.”
“That is all very well,” I said; “but our religion says that
if you don’t believe in the divinity of Jesus you will also not
go to paradise; that is why I am contending that people can not be
judged by their respective faiths, but by their actions.”
“But your religion is wrong,” he said finally.
I was on the point of continuing the argument, but the look in his
eyes made me desist. This belief, to him, was conclusive evidence.
And that is Islam, that is the Arab; his faith is absolute, and
his opinion of other religions is quite simple—they don’t exist.
“Why,” they say, “we believe in Moses and Aaron and Jacob and
Elijah and Jesus; they are all great prophets who preceded ours;
what more do you want?”
A wall—a blank wall which no one can pierce without becoming a
Mohammedan. _Et encore_. . . .
The more one lives with these people the more apparent this becomes,
and if in this book the impressions given differ from those which
have struck others, perhaps it is because only one side of the
character has been seen, the character _allowed to be seen_ by
the Roumi.
I know the Arabs well, I know them intimately, but I have not the
remotest idea what they think of me, and I never shall have.
There may be future developments of this book, with possible reversal
of certain opinions, but as far as the working of the Arab brain is
concerned, I know that I have penetrated as far as I ever shall. Let
the reader, therefore, close this volume realizing the task which
has been before the author—who, after spending over five years
constantly studying these people, has arrived at this somewhat
negative conclusion.
THE END
INDEX
Abd-el-Kader (Djelali), 113, 122
Abd-el-Kader (Emir), 31, 32, 123-27, 267, 273
Abd-el-Krim, 127
Abhadites, 196
Ablutions, 75, 102, 286
_Adel_, 53
Administration, 37, 40, 48
_Agha_, 36, 49, 51, 53
Aid el Kebir, 109, 113
Aid Serrir, 109
Ain-el-Ibel, 184
Ain Mahdi, 60, 125, 262, 267, 269
Aissa, 103
Akbou, 243
Alfa, 20, 156, 182, 191
Algiers, 14, 15, 17, 21, 27, 29-37, 52, 113, 158
Allen, Sir Thomas, 28
Amine, 240
Amboise, 126
Anglo-Saxon Automobile Company, 175
Antony, 23
Arba, 176
Aschana, 109, 113
Atlas (Mountains), 19, 35, 36, 176, 286
Aumale, 126, 177, 273
Aurès (Mountains), 32, 35, 39, 180, 198, 221
Azazga, 237
Bugeaud, Marshall, 31, 125
Baghar and Baghari, 177, 256, 259
Barbarossa, 27, 235
Barbary Ape, 20, 236
_Bash Adel_, 53
_Bash Agha_, 36, 48-57, 186, 217, 218, 256-61, 269
Bagdad, 122
_Bassour_, 141, 142, 185
Batna, 166, 220
Beni Sgen, 197, 201, 203
Belisarius, 24
Berard, 166
Berriane, 194, 197, 201
Berbers, 22, 26, 32, 35-39, 72, 102, 196, 198, 222, 239, 242
Bible, 117
Bir Rabalou, 176
Biskra, 15, 25, 35, 36, 65, 70, 213
Blida, 168
Borgeaud, Lucien, 168
Bône, 156
Bolskevik, 64
Bordeaux, 19, 153
Bou Noura, 197, 201, 204
Bourbaki, 256
Bouzigza Pass, 237
Bouira, 236
Bougie, 27, 156, 236
Bourmont, General, 29, 31
Bou Saada, 60, 65, 178, 179
Boutin, Colonel, 29, 30
Burdeau, 260
Bureau Arabe, 44-53
Burgundy, 19, 153
Bustard, 133, 135
Byzantine, 24, 35
Cæsar, 23, 166
Cæsarea, 166, 167
_Caid_, 36, 41, 49, 50, 53, 70, 142, 202, 218, 263, 270
Carthaginians, 22, 23, 102, 118, 196, 198
Casino, 214
Castiglians, 166
Cereals, 153
_Cercles Militares_, 44
Cervantes, 27, 162
Chambas, 143, 150, 201, 249
Charles X, 31
Charles Quint, 27, 30, 161, 236
Chellala, 60, 150, 273, 282, 285
Chenoua, 168
Cheops, 167
Cherchell, 166-68
_Chorba_, 78, 79
Christ, 28
Christianity, 24, 167
Cirta, 23, 232
Cleopatra, 23, 166
Coal, 155, 156
_Cof Bouadda_, 241
_Cof Oufella_, 241
Col de Fdoules, 234
Col de Texenna, 235
Col de Tigdint, 237
Col de Tirourda, 244
Colomb Bechar, 156
_Commission Municipale_, 41
_Conseil Supérieur_, 43
_Communes Mixtes_, 41, 43
_Conseil du Gouvernment_, 42
Constantine, 23, 36, 39, 125, 147, 153, 167, 231, 232
Cordova, 26
Cork, 21, 155, 235
Crésolles, Comtesse de, 227
_Danse du Ventre_, 92, 97
Dates, 156, 189, 211
Day of Judgment, 117
Décret Crémieux, 37
_Delegations Financières_, 43
Dellys, 168, 236
_Derbouca_, 94
Deval, Consul, 29
Divorce, 83
Djebel Amour, 137, 216, 262, 267, 275
Djebel Nefersa, 196
Djelfa, 177, 183
Djemila, 234
_Djemma_, 240
Djerba, 196, 235
Djidjelli, 226, 231, 234-36
Djujura, 237
Dress, Arab, 75-76, 91
Droit Musulman, 53
Duquèsne, 28
Education, 128-32
El Ateuf, 197, 201, 204
Elaghouat, 188
El Golea, 36
El Hamel, 60, 180
El Kantara, 219
Estrés, d’, 28
Eton, 274
Exmouth, Lord, 28
Fabius Maximus, 23
Fantasia, 217-18
Fathima, 26
Fatimedes, 26
Fez, 15, 26
Fishing, 139, 269
Flute, 95
_Fondouks_, 250
Food, Arab, 78, 79
Fort de l’Eau, 164
Fort National, 244
Foxes, 138
Franco-Prussian War, 32
Garden of Allah, 215
Gazelles, 133, 135
Genesric, 24
Geranium, 154
Ghardaïa, 97, 150, 200-03, 280, 291
Gibraltar, 25
Goethe, 68
Goums, 217
Governor-General, 40, 42, 49
Granada, 26
Grand Erg, 216
Guerrera, 197, 201, 209, 210
_Hadj_, 106
Hamilcar, 23
Hammam Meskoutine, 156
Hamman Rhira, 156
Hannibal, 23
Hanno, 23
Hares, 133
Hasdrubal, 23
Hauts Plateaux, 20, 33, 152, 156, 182
Hawks, 133, 134
Heaven, 117
Hell, 104, 117, 118
Hichens, Robert, 213
Hilals, 26
Hoggar, 35, 39, 208
Horses, 138, 152
Hot Springs, 156
Hussein Dey, 29, 30
Hyenas, 138
Ibadites, 106
_Imam_, 55, 59, 104, 110, 180, 257
India, 132
International Harvester Company, 153
Interprètes Judiciares, 52
Irrigation, 21, 191, 197
Islam, 55, 119, 127, 298
Itinerary of Journey, 173
Jackals, 138
Jardin Landon, 215
Jesus, 71, 103, 298
Jews, 37, 39, 61, 131, 192, 200
Juba, 23, 166
Jugurtha, 23
Kaaba, 106
Kabyle, 18, 32, 35, 80, 130, 155, 168, 198, 238, 245
_Kadi_, 53, 54, 81, 83, 109, 126, 261, 273
Kasba, 162
Keef, 290
Khaliphat, 49
Kharedjites, 106, 196
_Khodja_, 53
Koceila, 25, 216
Kolea, 168
Koran, 52, 58, 59, 66, 68, 69, 79, 89, 97, 107, 116-20, 128, 129
Kouba, 122
Kourdane, 262, 264, 265
_Kous-kous_, 78, 79, 129, 277
Laghouat, 32, 34, 113, 147, 187-193
Lalla Aurelie, 60, 262
Lalla Zineb, 60, 262
Lambèse, 220, 221
Landon, Count, 215
Laperouse, 164, 165
Larbas, 143, 188, 249, 260, 280, 285
Lavigerie, Cardinal, 32, 131
League of Nations, 64
Lebon, Gustave, 65
Locusts, 247
Louis XIV, 28
Louis Phillipe, 31, 126
Lycées, 131
Mai-ea-Din, 123
Maison Carré, 164
Makante, 109
Malta, 29
Mandolins, 96
_Marabout_, 57-63, 97, 104, 113, 141, 181, 188, 262, 268
Marengo, 168
Marriage, 81
Martel, Charles, 26
Mascara, 125, 154
Masseurs, 75, 286
Massinissa, 232
Matifou, 164
Mecca, 60, 123, 164
_Mechoui_, 78, 277, 279
Medea, 153, 259
Medersa, 52, 131
Mediterranean, 27, 28, 29, 158, 161, 164, 167, 236
Mehari, 212
_Mektoub_, 62, 115, 116-21, 151, 258, 283
Melika, 195, 197, 201, 203
Metlili, 201
Michelet, 236, 244
Micipsa, 232
Mila, 234
Miliana, 153, 259
Mirage, 195
Missionaries, 107
Mitidja, 19, 125, 154, 155, 176
Moghreb, 146
Mohammed, 25, 36, 64, 101, 117
Moses, 298
Mosque, 84, 106, 161, 187, 202
Moufflon, 133, 137
Mouloud, 109
_Muezzin_, 55, 104
_Mufti_, 54, 61, 105, 109
Mustapha, 14, 158, 161
Mustapha Kemal, 93
Mzab, 35, 36, 195, 197-99, 205, 209, 245
Mzi, 216
Napoleon I, 29
Napoleon, Louis, 126
Negroes, 98
Nomads, 38, 69, 72, 84, 130, 140, 185, 188
Numidia, 23, 99, 123, 146, 166
Octavius, 166
Oil, 156
Olive, 155
Oman, 196
Oranges, 154
Oranie, 17, 19, 32, 36, 39, 43, 153, 156, 197
Ouargla, 36, 197, 208
Ouarsenis, 35
Ouled Naïl, 90, 97, 143, 179, 182, 183
Palais Bourbon, 43
Palestro, 168, 236
Panthers, 133, 138
Paradise, 103, 104, 113
Partridge, 133
Pau, 126
Pères Blancs, 32, 131, 203
Phallic, 196
Phosphates, 156
Phylloxera, 153
Pigeons, 133
Phœnicians, 22, 35, 146, 157, 165, 237
Pilgrimage, 106
_Pistachiers_, 194
Polygamy, 82, 88, 241
Pompeii, 222
Prayer, 102, 103, 104, 105
_Préfets_, 41, 42
Public Library, 161
Purgatory, 118
Quail, 133
_Quartier, Reservé_, 61, 87-93, 112
Race el Ame, 109
_Raïta_, 95, 98, 112, 180, 192, 217, 250
Ramadan, 109-12
_Rebat_, 57
Regnard, 27
Religion, 101, 109
Rhummel, 232
Riff, 199
Roman Empire, 19, 23, 24, 25, 118, 152, 157, 166, 225
Roumis, 130, 298
Rusgunium, 165
Sahara, 17, 18, 20, 21, 33, 36, 44, 47, 85, 123, 163, 186,
187, 260
Sahel, 30
Saints, 119, 122
Sakamody, 176
Scipio, 23, 196
_Secrétaire-Général_, 42, 44
_Seguia_, 191, 216
Senegalese, 99
Sersou, 18, 20, 31, 147, 156, 182, 245, 249, 260, 286
Sétif, 183, 221, 226
Seville, 26
Shakespeare, 68
Sheep, 146, 148, 192
_Sheik_, 50, 51
Sheridan, Mrs. Clare, 71
Shiahs, 106
Sidi Aissa, 177
Sidi Ferruch, 30, 123
Sidi Maklouf, 185
Sidi Obka, 25, 216
Sierra Leone, 23
Sirocco, 154, 255
_Smala_, 50, 125
Sofrites, 106
_Spahi_, 45
Spaniards, 27
Spells, 119, 121
Sport, 133
Spragg, Sir Edward, 28
Staoueli, 30, 153, 168
Stoddard, Lothrop, 65
Sudanese, 99
Sunnites, 106
Superstitions, 116, 243
Syphax, 167, 232
Taberkroutz, 235
Tadgemont, 268
Taguine, 31, 126, 270, 271
_Talebs_, 55, 120, 128, 129
_Tam-tam_, 62, 94, 96, 112, 180, 192, 217, 250
Tarik, 25
Tell, 17, 20, 35, 143, 152, 177, 256
Teniet el Haad, 19, 259
_Territoires du Sud_, 17, 43
_Tiaret_, 197
Tidjanis, 267
Tigzirt, 168, 236
Tiles, 161
Timgad, 220, 221, 222, 244
Tilrempt, 194
Tipaza, 165-68, 259
Tizi, 236, 237, 244
Tlemçen, 26
Tobacco, 155
Tolga, 181
_Tombeau de la Chrétienne_, 166
Touaregs, 35, 198
Touggourt, 208, 212, 216
Toulon, 126
Tournin, 32
Transatlantique Cie., 172, 173, 178, 186, 215, 220, 244, 246, 252
Trappists, 30, 168
Tunis, 15, 26, 28
Tunisia, 22, 23, 40, 155
Turks, 27, 28, 30, 37, 161
Urdu, 132
Vandals, 24, 28, 35, 222
Vines, 19, 153
Violins, 96
Voltaire, 68
Voronoff, 62
White Fathers, 32, 131, 203
White Sisters, 80, 131, 203
Widows, 84
Wild Boar, 133, 135
Wine Drinking, 104
Witchcraft, 119
Women, Arab, 80, 241
Women, European, 69
Woodcock, 133
Yakouren, 237
Yusuf, General, 273
Zanzibar, 39, 196
Zaouia, 59, 60, 85, 181, 267
Zeraia, 226, 234
Zibans, 212, 217
_Zouaoua_, 240
_Zouaves_, 240
[List of illustrations]
The Author Frontispiece
PAGE
[Map] 14
Algiers as It Was before the French Conquest in 1830 20
The Old Port of Algiers as it is To-day 20
An Arab Beggar 36
Scene of Arab Life 36
An Arab Barber 54
Roasting the Lamb Whole 54
Children Bathing in a Southern Oasis 54
A “Propriétaire” 76
Numidian Type: Musician of a Marabout 76
A Moorish Villa 76
An Arab Type 90
Arab Women Veiled 90
Girl of the Quarter 90
Women in the Cemetery, Algiers 106
A Beggar Woman 106
An Arab Tam-Tam Player 106
[Calendar] 110
Arab Band and Dancer about to Perform in a Southern Town 124
Pilgrimage to One of the Shrines of Abd-el-kader 124
Arabs with Flutist Waiting to See the Caravans Going North 124
A Water Carrier in Laghouat 142
Algerian Cavalryman 142
Head Shepherd, the Author, the Kaïd Madam and the Calipha 142
Caravan Moving North 142
A Street in the Kasbah, Algiers 160
Mosque of Sidi Abd-er-Rahmane 160
Café Outside Grande Mosque, Algiers 160
Sand Storm Getting up on the Sahara 190
Waterfall of Boiling Water, Hammon, Meskoutine 190
Arab Falconer Setting Out to Hunt 190
The Market-Place of Beni-Sgen 204
Channel for Watering the Garden of an Oasis 204
Street in Bou Saada 204
The Bridge of the Third Legion at El Kantara 222
An Arab of Tadjmout 222
The Departure of a Caravan in the Far South 242
Market Looking toward Trajan’s Arch, Timgad 242
Praetorium. Lambèse 242
Storks Nesting on the Roofs at Constantine 262
Bonfarik, Religious Print Seller 262
Vegetable Market 262
The Oasis of Guerrera, from the Maison Arabe 288
Roman Sarcophagus at Tipaza 288
Pictures Done by Roman Children on Damp Bricks Drying in
the Sun 288
Transcriber's note:
pg 45 Changed: upleasant to: unpleasant
pg 74 Changed: horce-racing to: horse-racing
pg 282 Changed: innner to: inner
Spelling and formatting inconsistencies have been left unchanged
Added a list of illustrations at the end of the document