CONSTANTINE, AFRICA, _Feb. 27, 1858_.
Returning from Medeah to Algiers, I embarked on board of a French
government steamer for Stora. We landed troops at Delys, Bougie, and
Dzidzelle, and after a two days’ run, arrived at Stora, and proceeded
to Philippeville to procure a conveyance for this city, which is
situated some seventy miles in the interior.
Constantine is the Cirta of the ancients, the Cossentina of the Arabs.
It is situated upon the river Rhumel, at the point where the torrent
crosses the elevated mountains to penetrate the upper basin of the
plains of Milah. The ancient capital of Jugurtha is now the chief city
of the eastern province of Algeria. It lies some eighteen hundred feet
above the level of the Mediterranean, upon a triangular plateau. This
plateau is surrounded by the two branches of the river, and crowned by
the heights of Mausourah and of Sidi-Merid, from which it is separated
by deep chasms and precipices, at the bottom of which courses the
Rhumel, with its wild and magnificent cataracts. It has the aspect of
a lofty island, with its high rocks, almost perpendicular, rendering
the city almost, or quite, invulnerable, with its strong gates and
fortifications. Constantine has been the scene of great events in the
grand history of Africa. The founder of the city was said to have been
a Greek adventurer, 250 years B.C. Marva reigned over the
Mumides. It was in turn occupied by Masinissa and his sons. Juba sided
with Pompey, and was chased by Bogad, king of Sittius, who founded a
Roman colony.
Cæsar undertook great works, and one finds many of the old walls,
ramparts, and inscriptions remaining. The ancient aqueducts, the ruins
of which still stand, some forty feet high, about a mile from the city,
are said to be the work of the emperor Justinian. The invasion of the
Arabs destroyed the opulent city, and it passed from one to another
among all the African conquerors; it was in the hands of the Turks
in the sixteenth century, and afterwards in the hands of the Deys of
Algiers, many of whom were assassinated.
The last, Hadz-Ahmed Dey, kept it the longest, but it was by oppressing
his subjects. From 1826 to 1830 he cut off the heads of some three
thousand of his people, and committed the most revolting deeds. At
that time the French government denounced his acts, and named the
brother of the Bey of Tunis his successor; but he managed to keep
possession until 1836, when Marshal Clausel attacked them, at the head
of an insufficient army, but was driven back from this stronghold, and
obliged to retreat.
The next year, however, a body of ten thousand men, with the second
son of Louis Philippe in the avant garde, took the city by assault,
General Damremont losing his life in the attack. I find his monument
in an inclosure of the ancient casbah or fort, near the caserne and
hospital grounds, which are now crowned by large structures. I have
just visited them in company with my present travelling companion, a
captain in the Russian army, sent out for general observation. The
French officers have shown us much civility and attention, making our
stay here agreeable.
The reservoirs constructed by the Romans upon the summit are repaired
thoroughly, and contain a full supply of water for a long siege. The
view from these points is of the boldest character. The city is now
divided in two quarters, Arab and French, and offers the most striking
contrast.
The Arabs said that Constantine was a rock in the middle of a river,
and that it would require as many French to take it as ants to take
an egg from the bottom of a pot of milk; but in this they found their
error, and concluded it was the will of the Prophet. The trade of the
city with Biskarah is large in dried dates, and with Setif and other
ports in wool; ostrich feathers, elephants’ tusks, and gold dust are
seen in small quantities. At Philippeville, on the coast, I found
some English officers who came out to join the famous Jules Gerard,
the lion slayer. They were going to form a camp in the neighborhood
of Bona, further up the coast. I shall probably meet them again when
I get up there, and learn what success they meet with. The conductor
of our stage has assured us that at one point near El Cantour, a
dreary mountainous country, lions are known to follow the vehicle when
driven to extremity for want of food. Not a very pleasant prospect
for a traveller. I saw the skin of a famous fellow, some sixteen feet
in length, recently killed. The jackals, hyenas, and wild boars are
abundant; the latter may be seen in quantities in the market places,
filled with olive oil, which is brought on the backs of camels. We
passed through sections of the country entirely uninhabited, where the
wild olive and cork wood grow in abundance. In the settlements they
engraft the domestic olive, which does well.
The Arab cultivation here is meagre and primitive; the plough is drawn
by a camel and donkey yoked together--rather a ludicrous sight. If the
Arab has a surplus of grain, or the price does not suit him, having no
barns, he buries it in pits prepared for the purpose. His tent can be
transported easily with his small household effects, consisting of a
few earthen or copper cooking utensils, or he can throw up a mud hovel
and thatch it with the leaves of the date or other trees.
He mounts his horses or camels, with his wives and children upon
their backs, and emigrates to another place where the land suits
him better. The women, whose faces we occasionally get a peep at,
wear a profusion of bracelets, anklets, and huge rings from the top
and bottom of the ears. One would suppose them too weighty for this
tender part to sustain. In the city the wives of the wealthy Moors are
beautifully clad with ornaments; they are fond of monotonous music
and the lascivious dancing of the professed dancing girls, not unlike
that of the dancing girls of Egypt. The fair daughters of Judea, whose
faces are always uncovered, have preserved their type of beauty here.
I have seen the howling and whirling Dervishes of Constantinople, the
adoration of brazen bulls in India, the prostration of the Chinese
before their heathen gods, the Parsee worship of the rising sun,
the dancing of Shakers, as well as most varieties of worship, but I
have never yet witnessed such a horrible exhibition of fanaticism as
in a little temple here. The building was a plain one, not unlike a
whitewashed Mohammedan mosque, with arches and columns, ostrich eggs
strung upon cords, and suspended lamps. Upon the matting and rugs
squatted a centre group, of musicians, with tambourines and tamtams, a
sort of kettle-drum. Around the walls were seated rows of men and boys.
My companion and myself crossed our legs, tailor-like, in line with the
devotees, and awaited the working of the spirit.
Then commenced monotonous, plaintive singing, accompanied by the
musicians moving their heads backwards and forwards until the sounds
became wild and discordant, when a huge, dark, Bedouin-faced figure
unrolled his turban, threw down his red fez, while a heavy tuft of
long hair floated over his shoulders like the mane of a lion, then his
eyes rolling furiously, and his head swaying as if it was on a pivot,
he threw himself among the crowd, raving and snarling like a dog, and
attempting to bite all who came in his way. At length he was appeased,
with horse nails, scorpions, &c.; he licked red hot iron, much to the
enjoyment of the audience, who indulged in the wildest strains of
music and songs of delight. After which performance, dancing, the most
extravagant and arduous, was continued until several fell frothing at
the mouth, and were carried out of the circle. This curious spectacle
continued about two hours on the Musselman sabbath, which is Friday. It
was curious to see the boys imitate the shaking of the head and body of
the leaders of the sect. The turmoil ceases at intervals, prayers are
muttered, incense burned, and the parties take breath only to renew the
frenzy and excitement. On the public square you see snake charmers and
jugglers, who rival those of Madras.