[Illustration]
THE LAST PUNIC WAR
[Illustration: THE GOVERNOR OF THE CITY WAITING THE ARRIVAL OF THE
FRENCH TROOPS OUTSIDE THE BAB-EL-GHADAR.
Reproduction by Maclure & Macdonald.]
THE LAST PUNIC WAR
* * * * *
TUNIS, PAST AND PRESENT
WITH A NARRATIVE OF THE FRENCH
CONQUEST OF THE REGENCY
BY
A. M. BROADLEY
BARRISTER-AT-LAW
CORRESPONDENT OF THE ‘TIMES’ DURING THE
WAR IN TUNIS
IN TWO VOLUMES.—VOL. II.
_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
MDCCCLXXXII
_All Rights reserved_
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
* * * * *
CHAP. PAGE
XXV. A REVOLT IN THE CITY OF CUCUMBERS 1
XXVI. THE SHELLING OF SFAX 23
XXVII. LOOT 31
XXVIII. ALARMS AT THE CAPITAL 48
XXIX. AUGUST 1881 57
XXX. THE COMING CAMPAIGN 63
XXXI. THE MASSACRE OF THE GREY RIVER (OUED ZERGA) 73
XXXII. THE FRENCH OCCUPATION OF THE CITY OF TUNIS 86
XXXIII. AT SUSA IN THE SAHEL 102
XXXIV. FIGHTING IN THE SOUTH 110
XXXV. RECRIMINATIONS AND EXECUTIONS 120
XXXVI. THE TAKING OF KAIRWÁN 127
XXXVII. INSIDE KAIRWÁN 142
XXXVIII. AFTER THE VICTORY 187
XXXIX. A JOURNEY TO SOUTHERN TUNIS 199
XL. TRIPOLI IN THE WEST 219
XLI. GENERAL FORGEMOL’S RETURN FROM KAIRWÁN TO TEBESSA 240
XLII. TUNIS BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL DE LA SEINE 247
XLIII. MORT POUR LA PATRIE 282
XLIV. A MONTH OF CHAOS 306
XLV. 1882 AND THE FUTURE 324
APPENDIX.
PAGE
_A._—Instructions issued by the Grand Master to the Knights 339
taking part in the Expedition to Tunis (1835)
_B._—The _Carraca_ of Saint Anna, the Great Galley of the 340
Maltese knights
_C._—St. George’s Burial-ground near the Carthage Gate at Tunis 340
_D._—The British Treaty with the Dey of Tunis in 1662 343
_E._—The Confirmatory Convention of 1686 344
_F._—The British Consulate-General and Political Agency at 345
Tunis, (1640-1882)
_G._—Tabarca and the Tabarcans 346
_H._—An Arab Historian’s Account of the French war with Tunis 346
in 1770
_I._—Secret Clause of the French Treaty with Tunis in 1830 351
_J._—Letter of Muhamed Bey demanding Investiture from the 352
Sultan on his Accession (1855)
_K._—Vizirial Letter to Muhamed-es-Sadek Bey concerning a 354
Demand for an Imperial _Firman_ in 1865
_L._—The Firman of 1871 357
_M._—Project of M. Léon Renaud for a Tunisian _Crédit Foncier_ 361
_N._—Important Notes about the Khamírs and the Invasion of 363
their Province
_O._—The Modest Gains of a Tunisian Premier 370
_P._—Strength of the First Expeditionary Corps on the 8th June 372
1881
_Q._—Enumeration of the Troops sent from France to Tunis to 372
take part in the First Expedition
_R._—The movements of Algerian Troops in connection with the 373
First Expedition
_S._—Enumeration of the Troops sent from France to Tunis to 374
form the Second _Corps Expeditionnaire_
_T._—Note on the Formation of the Columns taking part in the 375
Concentric Movement on Kairwán (October 1881)
_U._—Position and Strength of the French Army of Occupation in 376
the Regency of Tunis on the 1st April 1882
_V._—An American Prophecy about the Destiny of Tunis (1869) 385
_W._—A Foreign Diplomatist’s Note about French Policy in Tunis 388
_X._—Cardinal Lavigerie’s Allocution on receiving Investiture 393
on the Site of Ancient Carthage (April 16th 1882)
_Y._—An Intercepted Letter about the Practical and Political 394
Utility of Border Raids
_Z._—The Tunisian Export Trade 397
ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME II.
* * * * *
BOMBARDMENT OF SFAX, _To face page_ 24
EXECUTIONS ON THE RAILWAY, „ „ 126
PLAN OF KAIRWÁN, „ „ 142
THE COUNTESS OF BECTIVE IN AN ARAB COSTUME „ „ 152
PLAN OF GREAT MOSQUE OF SIDI OKHBA, KAIRWÁN „ „ 158
MOSQUE OF SIDI OKHBA AT KAIRWÁN, FROM THE „ „ 158
CLOISTERS,
DOOR OF PRAYER-CHAMBER, GREAT MOSQUE, KAIRWÁN, „ „ 160
ANOTHER VIEW, „ „ „ „ „ 160
INTERIOR, GREAT MOSQUE, KAIRWÁN, „ „ 160
ANOTHER VIEW, „ „ „ „ 161
THE TOMB OF SIDI-ES-SAHEB ENNABI, „ „ 178
INSCRIPTION ON THE TOMB OF JOHANNES ANTONIUS DE „ „ 204
PISCATORIBUS,
MAINTENANT, IL NOUS FAUDRAIT, POUR BIEN _FARRE_, „ „ 292
UN PETIT COMMANDEMENT MILITAIRE,
TUNIS PAST AND PRESENT.
* * * * *
CHAPTER XXV.
A REVOLT IN THE CITY OF CUCUMBERS.
In the middle of June M. Roustan was at Tunis busily engaged in
advancing the interests of his friends and assuring M. Barthélémy Saint-
Hilaire that “perfect tranquillity everywhere prevailed,” and that the
prospects were _couleur de rose_ as regards the future. Mustapha was in
Paris paving the way to his _Grand Cordon_ by profuse assurances of
friendship, and the President of the Republic was as pleased with his
diamond _ahad_, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs was with his diamond
_nichán_. One incident alone troubled the mind of the young Premier, and
that was the obstinate refusal of M. Gambetta to enter in any shape the
exalted ranks of Tunisian chivalry. Not even the venerable emblem of the
Hassanite family in brilliants could tempt the great Republican leader
to bedeck himself with a Tunisian trophy.
Just as the proprietors of the Grand Hotel were getting somewhat weary
of their Oriental guests, and just as M. Saint-Hilaire was furthering
“the mission of civilisation” by making Mustapha, the ex-barber’s
apprentice, the colleague of half the sovereigns of Europe in the
highest rank of the Legion of Honour, and was rewarding General Musalli
for his complacency towards France and her Minister Resident by the
cross of a Knight Commander, the Tunisian bubble burst in a moment, and
Europe learned that French domination in Tunis meant the possession of
the ground her soldiers stood on—and nothing more.
I am now going to tell the history of the national rising in Southern
Tunis, according to the journal kept by an eye-witness, Mr. William
Galea, who holds the post of British Vice-Consul at Susa, but who
happened to be at Sfax during the outbreak, and played an important part
in the events of which he speaks. Mr. Galea begins his diary on the 23d
June 1881, with an account of his journey by land from Susa to Sfax.
“On Saturday the 18th June I started by carriage to travel along the
coast as far as Sfax (‘the City of Cucumbers’). When between Susa and
the Roman amphitheatre of El Djem I sat down under an olive-tree while
my horses were resting. In a few minutes about thirty Arabs of the
Mitelit tribe, accompanied by two Sheikhs, gathered round me. They first
wanted to know to what nation I belonged, and when I told them, their
spokesman answered that ‘Englishmen were friends of the Arabs,’ and
began to talk unreservedly of their feelings and intentions. ‘We are all
ready to fight against the French,’ he said, ‘though we know quite well
they are more powerful than we are; but at any rate we shall die
gloriously and enter Paradise!’ He added that a deputation from the
Hamáma, Zlass, and Neffet tribes had already asked their (the Mitelits’)
co-operation in case the French troops should enter Kairwán or interfere
with that portion of the country. They said also that they had secured
the cordial support of the Mourabats (Almoravides) at Kairwán, and would
all take the field as soon as they fixed on a competent leader. One of
the Sheikhs mentioned that Ali Ben Hlifa (Caid of Neffet) had already
declared himself on the side of the Arabs, and that the Bey had sent a
commission, or _sengiak_, to each clan, consisting of ten irregular
soldiers under a sergeant-major, to ascertain their intentions. As the
persons forming these commissions undoubtedly sympathise with the Arabs,
they will as a matter of course echo the hackneyed phrase that
‘tranquillity reigns everywhere,’ and conceal what is really going on,
if they do not actually promote it.
“After leaving El Djem I was surprised to see a Mitelit encampment of
300 tents close to the road. This unprecedented fact convinced me of the
growing restlessness of the Arabs. When I got to Sfax I found telegrams
from my correspondents informing me of the general alarm felt at all
points on the coast, and particularly at the menacing attitude now
assumed by the most turbulent tribes in the vicinity of the Tripolitan
frontier. In some places it appeared that the Arabs had already lost
their respect for the Bey, and were determined in any case to assert
their independence. All my esparto _depôts_ were threatened, and the
Arabs pretend they can now fix any price they like for the grass. So
certain I am of a coming disaster that I am chartering as many ships as
possible to save all the fibre I can. One of my ships at Gabes was in
imminent danger of being fired at, under the mistaken notion that she
was bringing French soldiers. The Bey has sent a proclamation to be read
at Gabes, and one of my employers was present when this was done. As
soon as the Sub-Governor had finished reading it, all the people shouted
out with one voice, ‘We will know nothing more of the Bey, for he has
become a Christian; cursed be the Bey and his fathers, and the French
and their fathers!’ Nevertheless he wrote to Tunis the same evening that
peace prevailed. The telegraph to Mahres has been cut, the poles have
been burned, and the wire taken, under the mistaken impression that it
can be used to make bullets of. Nobody would accompany the surveyor to
mend it, so he has come to Sfax with his family. Under pressure, even
the peaceful villagers of Mahres have agreed to fight for the common
cause. The Hamáma have already attacked the Algerian Arabs and carried
off a quantity of their camels and cattle.
“_June 24th._—This morning I learn that the revolution is determined
upon. Ali Ben Hlifa has been elected the leader of the Arabs, but nobody
knows if he acts thus from fear or of his own free will. It is
impossible to tell in what direction the Arabs will make their first
move, but they will certainly march on Sfax, Gabes, or Kairwán. There
can be no doubt that the apparent calm is wholly deceptive, and that
before long we shall be in the midst of massacre and bloodshed. The
recent slight shocks of an earthquake which have been felt seem to
confirm the Arabs as to their notions of French influence, and they are
said to have been produced by the incantations of M. Sicard, M.
Roustan’s Consular Agent at Gabes, who is commonly reputed to be a
wizard. This evening much alarm was occasioned by Giannino Mattei, the
French Vice-Consul, sending all his family on board the Bey’s ship in
the roadstead.”
I leave Mr. Galea’s journal for a moment to describe the town of Sfax,
which is the most important seat of commerce on the Tunisian coast.
Situated at the north-eastern extremity of the gulf once known as the
Syrtis Minor, “the City of Cucumbers” is built on a plain almost
imperceptibly sloping towards the sea, and is surrounded by a narrow
zone of sand beyond which is a second zone of fertile land containing an
almost countless number of gardens and groves. Sfax, unlike Susa and
other places on the coast, is divided into two distinct quarters, one
inhabited by the Moslems, and the other by Christians and Jews. The one
is wholly, and the second partially, protected by the usual crenellated
battlement flanked by towers. The native town possesses two gates, one
leading to the open country, and the other opening directly into the
European _faubourg_, at the extremity of which are the batteries and a
landing-place. Ships of any burden lie about two miles from the shore,
close to which a picturesque flotilla of fishing boats is generally
anchored in the shallow sea. Water often fails in Sfax, and two enormous
cisterns, maintained by the public charitable trusts and constructed a
little to the north of the town, protect it from the dangers of drought.
Five mosques, eight sanctuaries, a college, and several schools are to
be found in the Arab quarter. Sfax was formerly the starting-point and
destination of one of the caravans travelling to and from Central
Africa, but this business came to an end with the slave-markets, and its
inland commerce is now exclusively confined to the date-producing
district and the city of Gafsa. The import and export trade of Sfax has
of late years greatly increased, and it is chiefly in the hands of
British merchants. At the time when the events of which I am writing
occurred, the traffic in the paper-making fibre, commonly known as
_halfa_, or esparto grass, seemed to hold out the prospect of an
important future for Sfax; but quite apart from this particular
commodity, it receives large quantities of cloth, cotton goods, cutlery,
iron, and planks, giving in return oil, almonds, pistaccio nuts,
sponges, and wool.
The town and neighbourhood are singularly devoid of all archæological
interest. Antiquities there are none, save and except a defaced cross of
the Maltese Order over a fountain. The religious buildings are mean, and
only two of the mosques have lofty minarets. In the twelfth century Sfax
was retaken by the Arabs from the Sicilians, who had conquered it under
Roger the Norman, and four hundred years later it was occupied for a
short time by the Spaniards. The population amounts to about 15,000
souls, of which 12,000 are Arabs, 1500 Tunisian Jews, 1000 Maltese, and
500 distributed amongst other European nationalities. Fewer Moors,
perhaps, live in Sfax than in any other Tunisian seaport, and it is this
predominance of Arab blood that accounts for the proverbially militant
disposition of its Moslem inhabitants, where and whenever they believe
their creed to be in danger.
This, then, was the place where Mr. Galea was writing his diary and
shipping his esparto grass in June 1881, and so intelligently foresaw
the events which were soon to occur.
On the evening of the 24th June Mr. Galea writes:—“I believe we are in a
very serious position here. The French appear to imagine they have
attained their object, and gone away triumphantly, leaving the Arabs
peaceful and contented. The fire, however, is certainly smouldering
under the surface. I cannot really blame the Arabs, when they ask me how
we should like to see our country taken by aliens without striking a
blow to defend it? The deputation (_sangiak_) sent by the Government to
the Mehedeba tribe has just returned. As soon as the soldiers arrived at
the camping-ground the Sheikhs said that ‘the Bey of Tunis was dead to
them,’ and after giving them a meal, ordered them to return from whence
they came. Two other similar commissions have been turned back by
fractions of the Mitelit clan.
“_June 25th._—To-day the Governor of Sfax, Caid Hasouna Jelluli,
summoned a meeting of the townsfolk, in which he told them that they
must be prepared to defend both their own quarter and that of the
Europeans against any invasion of the Arabs, observing that this had
nothing to do with the French, who were to have no voice concerning
Sfax, and that he would bring 200 Tunisian soldiers if they wished it.
The citizens assured him that as long as the French kept away they would
undertake the defence of the whole place.
“_June 26th._—Matters do not seem to be mending. One of the Zlass Caids
arrested a Sheikh for using seditious language, whereupon the prisoner’s
relatives attacked the guards, using firearms. Two men were killed, and
as soon as the Sheikh was liberated he and his party joined the
insurgents, to use the term employed by the French to designate those
Tunisians who fight for their country. Both the Zlass and Mitelit tribes
are, together with the Neffet, gradually approaching Sfax. I hear that
our esparto yard at Grín has been plundered. Another of the Bey’s
deputations has fared very badly. It was sent to Gabes to see that the
broken telegraph was mended, but the villagers of Shinni gave them a
sound beating and told them to go back to the Bey. To-day several
Beylical decrees arrived for the principal tribes and one for Sfax, to
be read publicly. In it the Bey said the French troops were leaving his
territory, that the Khamír affair was amicably settled, and enjoined the
Sfaxians to pay the taxes peaceably, under pain of severe punishment.
“_June 27th._—The French gunboat ‘Chacal’ arrived this morning, and the
commander landed to pay a visit to Caid Jelluli. All the Gabes Jews have
now come here, and say that numbers of Arab horsemen have arrived there,
and that the Bash Mufti has recommended a general union to attack the
French. It is rumoured that Tunisian forces are coming here on board a
French frigate, under the Bashhamba (General in command of the Bey’s
irregular troops), who has been appointed Caid of the Mitelit.
“_June 28th._—In the morning everything appeared as quiet as usual. I
reached the esparto yard about eight A.M. After I had been there for a
few minutes my servant came running from the town, saying that a
revolution had broken out. As he was speaking to me I noticed crowds of
Arabs, armed with every conceivable kind of weapon, hurrying down to the
seaside. Mr. Leonardi had just telegraphed the turn things had taken to
Mr. Reade at Tunis, when the wires were cut near where I was standing.
In spite of all my efforts, the Arabs who were working for me decamped
_en masse_—some to join the insurgents, others to look after their
families. To add to the scene of confusion, the Arab women came on to
the housetops and walls of the native town, making the well-known
trilling, bird-like sound (in Arabic called _zahrit_), to encourage
their husbands, sons, and brothers in the revolt. Several Hamáma
tribesmen who were delivering esparto grass in the yard ran off, leaving
both merchandise and money, crying out, ‘Let us fight the French, and
gain heaven!’ Just then all the Consular flags were hoisted, but the
French colours were again lowered almost immediately. We gave the key of
the safe to our head Arab watchman, and collecting the books of the
firm,[1] and accompanied by my faithful workmen as a bodyguard, made for
the boats. Our men kept shouting out _Ingliz, Ingliz_ (Englishmen), and
this was a talisman for us till we got down to the water’s edge. Here an
Arab rode at us with a drawn sword, but some of his co-religionists kept
him back, declaring we were _real Englishmen_ and should not be touched.
At last we reached a boat, and got her off through the mud, for it was
low water. All the Europeans were now busy putting their families on
board the various small craft available; but on one of the ‘Chacal’s’
boats approaching the jetty ten shots were fired at her. It was only the
extreme prudence of the officer in not returning this fire, which
prevented a general massacre of the fugitive Christians not yet
embarked.
“Meanwhile Giannino, the French Vice-Consul, had reached the ‘Chacal,’
but he had been wounded in the arm during his flight. We went to the
‘Genoese,’ a British steamer, upon which our esparto grass was then
being loaded. Later in the afternoon a boat came alongside full of
fugitives. I then learned that the French tricolor had been removed by
the mob, who also cut down the flagstaff, and that several of the more
respectable inhabitants had exerted themselves to facilitate the
departure of the Europeans. Alfred Solal, the Swedish Vice-Consul, and
his brother were both wounded. Mr. Leonardi, the English Consul, had
used every exertion to maintain order amongst the Maltese at this trying
moment. When the excitement of the stampede had a little subsided, I
began to inquire into the immediate causes of the sudden outbreak. It
now appeared that the Governor Jelluli had spread the report that the
Bey’s troops were coming, and as the Sfaxians considered the French and
the Bey one and the same thing, they cried out, ‘A holy war in the name
of God!’ and that they would allow none of the Tunisian soldiers to
land. On seeing that all control of the mob was becoming impossible, the
chief citizens warned the European colonists that it was time to be off.
At the request of the captain of the ‘Chacal,’ I sent off the ‘Genoese’
to Susa with despatches and telegrams, stating what had happened, and we
sought another asylum on board the Bey’s steamer the ‘Beshir,’ that had
arrived at Sfax two years ago, and becoming unseaworthy was obliged to
stay there. All the ships lying off the town were so crowded that there
was barely standing room, and the discomfort may be well imagined. After
a more careful inquiry the foolish or knavish conduct of Jelluli became
apparent. On the 27th it had already oozed out that the Bashhamba was
coming there with Tunisian troops. As soon as this was known the
principal townsfolk took counsel with the Bimbashi, or Colonel of
artillery in charge of the forts, and they all agreed that this was a
trick of the Bey to get the batteries out of the hands of the Bimbashi
into those of the Bashhamba. Resistance was immediately agreed upon, but
Jelluli either knew nothing, or acted as if he was in total ignorance of
what was going on. The next morning (the 28th) the Governor called the
chief citizens to his house, but a mob of the common people was also
allowed to be present. Jelluli[2] then began reading in an almost
ironical tone, an _amra_ or decree of the Bey, stating that fifty
artillerymen and a Bashhamba were being sent ‘to look after the forts.’
He must certainly have known how such an announcement would be received.
The Sfaxians all answered that their old Bimbashi, Muhamed Shareef,[3]
was quite able to defend the city, that they would not allow any troops
to land, and that they would resist any such measure till death. They
ran out into the street in a body calling out, ‘A holy war, a holy war!’
and seizing on all the arms they came across, rushed down to the jetty
and seabeach. To make matters worse, messengers had been sent the
previous evening to invite the Arabs of the interior to come to Sfax;
and as we were embarking, we saw them arriving, shouting, brandishing
their weapons, and making all the disturbance they could. The revolution
will now spread like wild-fire.
“_June 29th._—We have passed an anxious night on the ‘Beshir,’ although
the officers did what they could to make us comfortable, but now both
water and provisions begin to run short. Several Arab servants we sent
to procure them came back wounded, and the Maltese who went themselves
did not fare better. Even the Moors who tried to protect any European
were themselves at once severely handled. A Maltese boy was literally
riddled with bullets and his remains afterwards kicked about the
streets. At noon the ‘Mustapha,’ a French mail steamer, arrived in the
roads, having placed on board a French frigate she met _en route_ her
freight of Tunisian soldiers. She is already overcrowded with passengers
for Tunis. Mr. Leonardi has gone to the French ironclad which has just
arrived, to ask the commander to serve out provisions and water to the
distressed British subjects. Mr. Leonardi is behaving nobly, not only
rendering every assistance to the fugitives, but going on shore to try
and supply their wants, when each journey becomes more and more
dangerous both to life and limb. With glasses we can distinguish the
clouds of dust raised by troops of mounted Arabs entering the town.
“_June 30th._—In the night a great meeting of Sfaxians and tribesmen was
held. Jelluli was dismissed, the Beylical authority declared at an end,
and Muhamed Shareef Bimbashi, named Bey and Commander-in-chief. It was
stipulated that no more provisions or water were to be furnished to the
fugitives, and that no Christian was to be allowed to land under pain of
death. We can see the people moving the cannon on the batteries, it is
supposed under the direction of the Bimbashi, and making walls and
barricades of all my iron-bound bales of esparto-grass. A revolt has now
broken out at Mahres, but Gabes is quiet as yet. The Bimbashi has
suddenly become more conciliatory, or is trying to lay a trap for us:
this morning (nine A.M.) he sent messengers to say that we might all go
on shore and buy provisions. In fact, a boat came off to sell bread and
a small quantity of water. A green flag has now been hoisted on the
Marina battery, but all our national flags are still flying just as we
left them in the hurry of departure. Later on, the S.S. ‘Manoubia’
arrived with 1000 Tunisian soldiers, and at two o’clock P.M. a boat went
on shore carrying decrees of the Bey addressed both to Jelluli and the
ecclesiastical authorities, asking the people to receive the troops in a
cordial manner. ‘Yes,’ answered the ex-Bimbashi, ‘we will give them a
warm welcome—_with gunshot_.’ The officer was ordered to leave the place
at once, and there are reports that Jelluli himself is a refugee in a
sanctuary, as a party is desirous of holding him as a hostage to be
killed as soon as any attack commences. At seven P.M. the ‘Manoubia,’ in
uncertainty as to the intentions of her crew of malcontent Tunisian
soldiers, steamed out to anchor under the guns of the ‘Alma,’ a French
frigate which had opportunely arrived during the crisis. The fugitives
on board the ‘Chacal’ have been transferred to the ‘Alma,’ and the
former boat has left for Susa with despatches. The Bimbashi’s authority
is now complete, the green standard of the Prophet has been solemnly
saluted, he is greeted everywhere with cries of ‘May God grant you
victory!’ and has distributed flint-lock guns and ammunition amongst the
people. We are much surprised at the French leaving us all wholly
unprotected in case of a night attack, but we extemporised a signal with
a red lamp, and later the Vice-Consul Giannino brought us some rockets.
All this was very well, but if we had been assailed by the Arabs, we
should have been killed or taken prisoners before any assistance could
have reached us. My agent at Zarat has escaped from that place on a
barque and joined me. He says that a great meeting of tribes has just
taken place at the Matmata mountain, twenty-five miles south of Gabes,
and that the Ouerghama, Ouerdna, Hemerna, Aleia, Hzim, Hoiea, and Beni
Zid, have unanimously agreed to form an army and march up the coast, to
either attack the towns, or force the inhabitants to make common cause
with them against the invaders. Gabes will be first occupied, and then
Sfax and Kairwán. As regards Sfax; the revolution cannot certainly be
made more complete than it is already. Zerzis is in the hands of the
Arabs, and although Jerba is quiet as yet, it appears that the Ouerghama
have ordered the Accara (spongefishers) of Zerzis to prepare boats that
they might land in Jerba and pillage it.
“_July 1st_, 1881.—To-day the Bimbashi sent off messengers to say that
all our houses were carefully guarded and to ask if we required anything
from them. About noon the ex-Governor, Sy Hassuna Jelluli, came on board
accompanied by his nephew and clerks, and said the insurgents had at
last decided to allow him to withdraw in safety. He says the Neffet
tribe will reach the neighbourhood of Sfax to-morrow. Messengers again
came in the afternoon to press us to return on shore, and assuring us
that the quarrel of the Arabs was with the Bey and the French, and no
one else. For prudential reasons the invitation was not accepted. The
encampments of the revolted tribes now line the coast on either side of
the town. Towards evening the various consular agents were called on
board the ‘Alma,’ and it transpired that a night attack on the Bey’s two
ships, upon which we had taken refuge, was meditated. The ‘Beshir’ and
the ‘Asad’ were therefore taken in tow, and placed close to the frigate.
“_July 2d._—Ali Ben Hlifa arrived to-day with 200 horsemen. A number of
the refugees left us, having obtained a passage on board the ‘Italia’
for Malta. My Gabes agent joined me this afternoon, being the last
European to quit the place, but he has been obliged to leave all the
property of our firm in the hands of the rebels, who, when he left, were
calling out ‘_jihad, jihad_,’ and threatening to kill any Frenchman who
landed. M. Sicard, the supposed originator of the earthquakes, had a
very narrow escape indeed.
“_July 3d._—The Arabs have now formed a regular _Medjlis_, or tribunal
of forty members, who are charged with the administration of justice and
the maintenance of good order amongst the inhabitants in Sfax. I hear
that the townspeople have sent their wives and children to the most
distant gardens, as they believe that the town will be destroyed in the
inevitable bombardment, but nevertheless they are determined to fight to
the last. Ali Ben Hlifa is now recognised as the leader of the revolted
tribes. The Tunisian soldiers on the ‘Manoubia’ have almost openly
revolted, and say they will not let the Sfaxians fight for their country
alone. Many have jumped into the sea and tried to swim the four miles
which intervene between the ships and the shore. Three were picked up by
Moorish boats and safely landed. In the afternoon Jelluli sent a
messenger to the Bimbashi, to urge on him to submit to the Bey, telling
him that the Tunisian troops would otherwise be landed, and inviting him
to hoist a white flag on the _kasba_ in token of an affirmative answer.
After sunset H.B.M.’s ships ‘Monarch’ and ‘Condor’ anchored in the
roads, to the intense relief of the Maltese refugees.
“_July 4th._—Early in the morning several Tunisian soldiers were
detected swimming towards the shore, and a little later 100 of them were
to our dismay placed on board the already-overcrowded Bey’s steamers.
Their mutinous spirit is so apparent that we are almost more afraid of
them than of the Arabs in the town. Captain Tryon, C.B., of the
‘Monarch,’ has humanely ordered the distribution of water and provisions
to the needy of all nations amongst the fugitives. Moorish boats with
eatables for sale hovered round the ships for a great part of the day.
“_July 5th._—Ali Ben Hlifa yesterday sent messengers to all the coast
towns explaining the action he had taken, and asking for aid. The Arabs
are working hard at a ditch and other defences, and the Council of Forty
condemns people to death for the smallest offences against person or
property. It has been arranged that if an attack takes place, Muhamed
Khemoun[4] will be president of the tribunal. All the carpenters in the
town are employed in making carriages for the cannon, and relays of
workmen are engaged in erecting a barricade across the front of the
town. The Mitelit, Neffet, Zlass, Hamáma, and Ouerghama tribes now
entirely surround the place, and other clans and fractions of clans have
promised to join them, and are not far off. The chiefs exhibit letters
promising not only the aid of the Tripoli tribes, _but of 10,000 Turkish
troops_. A fearful responsibility rests on the authors of such
communications, for the existence of which I can vouch. There is
something to admire in the order preserved by the Sfaxians, although
they are now in the wild excitement of a religious war; notwithstanding
that the agents of the Financial Commission have abandoned entirely the
collection of all local and custom-house dues, the townspeople have
actually continued to enforce their payment, and have appointed suitable
persons to see that no injustice is committed in this respect. A large
French troop-ship arrived to-day, with soldiers on board, and another
French gunboat—the ‘Pique.’ The ‘Chacal’ and the boat just arrived are
approaching the shore, and the storm of a bombardment is now about to
burst on the devoted heads of the brave but ignorant defenders of the
City of Cucumbers.”