MISSION TO FAS IN 1875.
In 1874 Sultan Sid Mohammed died, and was succeeded by his son Mulai
Hassan. Sir John, writing to Sir Henry Layard on October 29 of that
year, says:—
I suppose the young Sultan intends to tread in the footsteps of his
ancestors and remain stagnant.
My belief is that these people, or rather this Government, will never
move ahead until the lever acts at headquarters continuously, by the
presence and pressure of the Foreign Representatives. So long as we
preach and pray at a distance, nothing will be done. On the other
hand, if the Foreign Representatives were removed to the Court,
there would no doubt be a rupture of relations, or some tragedy,
before twelve months elapsed.
Again, shortly after the accession of Mulai Hassan, Sir John writes
to the same correspondent:—
I shall make a fresh effort to induce the young Sultan to introduce
some reforms and improvements, but I have but faint hope of success,
as the Ministers and satellites of the Court are either rogues
or fools.
From my experience of Turkey and the Turks I confess I have little
confidence in the beneficial effect of any attempt to introduce
European grafts on the old Mohammedan stock. The tree which showed
signs of vigour has been cut down, and the fruit of the European
graft contains rather the evils than the virtues of both the West
and the East.
When this letter was written, Sir John was already on his way to
Fas. On March 3, 1875 he left Tangier, accompanied by several members
of his family, some personal friends[51], and the officers appointed
by the British Government to attend the Mission.
The reception at Fas was magnificent, some six thousand troops having
been sent to do honour to the Representative of Great Britain;
but what was more pleasing to him and greatly enhanced the effect
of the entry, was the presence of the citizens of Fas, who had come
to meet him in their thousands, bringing with them their wives and
children; to show, they said, their appreciation of his friendship
and love of justice. The shrill ‘zagharit’ continually raised
by the women as Sir John passed through the crowd, attended by his
staff and escort, completely drowned at times the sound of the brass
band which the Sultan had sent to play before the procession. Soon
after the instalment of the Mission at Fas, the incident occurred
which Sir John relates as follows:—
‘When on my mission to the Court at Fas in 1875, the Uzir had
selected the Kaid of an Arab regiment to command the guard of honour
which had been appointed to attend on our Mission.
‘Another Kaid, named Meno, being superior in rank to the Arab Kaid,
felt aggrieved that this post of confidence had not been offered
to him; moreover, he had rendered important service to the Sultan,
which he considered unrecognised, so he vowed vengeance on his rival.
‘The men of his regiment, all Berbers, were much attached to
Kaid Meno, not only on account of his famed courage in battle,
but also because whenever a _razzia_ took place, Meno did not, like
other chiefs, insist on having the lion’s share of the plunder,
but left all to his followers.
‘On hearing of my arrival and the appointment of the Arab Kaid,
Meno summoned a dozen stalwart men of his regiment and imparted to
them, secretly, a scheme to bring disgrace upon the Arab officer and
which they were to carry into execution. This was to the effect that
they should rob a horse from the orchard where the cavalry mounts
of my Tangier escort were picketed.
‘In this orchard was a summer-house where the English Medical
Officer who accompanied the Mission had his quarters; as also the
chief of our camp, a Moor from Tangier. The orchard was enclosed by
a high wall, and at the gate several of the Arab guard were posted
day and night.
‘“How are we to abstract a horse?” asked the Berbers. “Shall
we cut the throats of the guard at night, force open the gate,
and carry off the horse?”
‘“No such violence is required,” said Kaid Meno. “After
midnight, when all is quiet, take off your shoes, go in silence to
the path round the southern side of the wall, take pickaxes with
you, and choose the best spot for making a hole through the tapia
wall. I know the ground,” continued the Kaid; “you will find a
drop of five feet from the path to the orchard. Take plenty of rope
with you. Steal up to a horse—you will find several picketed—and
lead him to the aperture in the wall. Then cast the horse quickly
and quietly, bind his fore and hind legs firmly to his barrel,
hoist him over your heads, and push him through the hole.”
‘“What then?” asked the men; “where can we hide the horse? We
cannot take him out into the country, for the gates of the town will
be closed.”
‘“That is all settled,” replied Kaid Meno. “I have arranged
with a Berber cattle-lifter, who came to ask a favour of me this
morning, that he is to wait to-night, with four of his companions,
where the river passing under the walls enters the town.
‘“When a whistle is heard, a rope will be cast into the stream,
with a float and white signal attached. This rope will be taken
hold of by you and fastened to the horse, which, securely bound,
will be cast into the river. The men outside, on hearing a second
whistle, will haul the animal under the walls of the town through the
archway. A little water will not choke the horse, which will become
their property, and they will of course lose no time in making off
to the mountains before dawn.”
‘“To each of you,” he added, “I give four ducats; and if
the Sultan disgraces the Arab Kaid, I shall have an ox killed and
give a feast to our regiment.”
‘Meno’s orders were carried out. Some of my camp-followers
who slept in the orchard heard a horse moving about at night, but
supposed the animal had got loose.
‘In the morning the robbery was reported.—I visited the orchard
and saw the aperture through which the animal had been passed. The
wall was three feet thick, and the hole, five feet from the ground,
looked so small that it was a wonder how the poor beast had been
jammed through.
‘Early notice of the robbery had been given to the Governor of
Fas. The Arab Kaid was immediately placed under arrest, and orders
issued that the town gates should be kept closed and search made in
every garden and stable of a suspicious character. This was done,
but without result.
‘The Sultan “thundered and lightened,” as the myrmidons of
the Court told me, on hearing of the daring outrage that had been
committed within the grounds assigned by His Sherifian Majesty for
the quarters of the British Mission, and His Majesty vowed vengeance
on the perpetrators of the theft.
‘Later in the day, an Arab camel-driver reported to the Basha that
he had seen, early in the morning, a grey horse mounted bareback by
a Berber, who was riding with speed towards the mountains.
‘Cavalry were dispatched in pursuit, but the robber had escaped.
‘Suspicion then fell on the Kaid and men of the Berber regiment,
for words had been let drop which marked their glee at the disgrace
of the Arab Kaid.
‘One of the Berber soldiers was therefore seized and cruelly
bastinadoed until he offered to tell how the robbery of the horse had
been planned and carried out. His story was found to be true. The
unfortunate Kaid Meno was brought before the Uzir. Undaunted, he
denied the charge, in an insulting manner. The Uzir reported his
language to the Sultan, who ordered Meno to be disgraced and reduced
to the ranks. His horses and all his property were confiscated. It
was not until after I had left the Court that I learnt that the
horse I had received as a gift from the Sultan, a bright dun or
“snabi,” had been the property of Kaid Meno, the colonel of
the Berber regiment. In my reminiscences of boar hunting I tell how
gallant a hunter Snabi proved himself. His poor master must have been
attached to him, for Snabi was gentle with man and faithful as a dog.
‘The unfortunate Kaid Meno was, after a year, sent prisoner to
Tetuan, where he remained incarcerated until 1886, when, through my
intercession, he was released and the Sultan placed him once more
in command of a Berber regiment.’
During the stay of the Mission in Fas, the Sultan invited its members
to be present at a grand ‘lab-el-barod’ in which he personally
intended taking part; this function to be preceded by a picnic
breakfast provided for his guests in one of the royal gardens about
two miles from the town; and in accordance with this invitation the
members of the Mission and two of the ladies were present at the
‘lab-el-barod’ conducted by the Sultan in person.
The morning had been spent by the party in one of the beautiful royal
gardens in the environs of Fas, where the Sultan had ordered luncheon
to be served. As this picnic and the subsequent ‘lab-el-barod’
were regarded in a semi-official light, the Mission was escorted by
the Arab Kaid and cavalry who, as described in the story of Kaid Meno,
had supplanted that Berber officer and his men.
A message arrived, soon after luncheon, requesting Sir John and his
party to proceed to a palace situated about two miles from Fas. Here,
in a large court—or rather square—the performance took place. The
Sultan, who appeared much pleased to see his English visitors,
saluted them, after every charge in which he joined, by rising in
his stirrups and raising his gun, held horizontally to the level of
his turban, as he passed the spot were they were grouped.
When the ‘fraja’ (sight) was over, we rode back to Fas, through
a gay and wild scene. The whole plain was crowded with various
tribes, grouped separately, and each dancing their own form of
gun-dance. There was one tribe of Shloh, wearing white, with red
leather belts and white turbans; another, in brown; and another, all
dressed in blue. Troops of Sus jugglers and Aisawa snake-charmers
mingled with these, whilst crowds of women took advantage of every
mound or ruined wall whence they could watch their male relatives.
We were about half a mile on our way home, when one of our Arab escort
cursed a Shloh. Immediately, from the crowd, a stone was thrown
at the offender, and this was followed by another. The escort, who
had been riding in open order, at once closed up in expectation of
a row. The three Tangier guards present, pushed forward; the four
English gentlemen surrounded Lady Hay, who rode a mule near Sir
John; and Hadj Alarbi, the chief of the Tangier beaters—a gallant
little man—hurried his mule to Miss Hay’s side, uncovering,
at the same time, Sir John’s breechloader, which he was carrying,
as the gentlemen had been shooting in the Sultan’s garden in the
morning. Seeing him cock the gun, Miss Hay said, ‘Why are you
doing that? You know it is not loaded and you have no cartridges.’
‘No,’ said the Hadj, ‘but it looks well!’
The escort and the rest of the party, having now drawn closely
together, were preparing to press forward; when Sir John, who
was as usual riding in front, checked them, giving orders to
proceed as slowly as possible; progress therefore became almost
funereal. The crowd thickened about the party, curses were showered
on the Arab cavalry by the constantly increasing numbers of Shloh,
joined by all the idle folk and boys of the town, who united in the
abuse. Presently a bullet struck the ground near the Arab Kaid, and
a soldier of the escort was injured by one of the stones flung from
the crowd, but these missiles were well aimed, as—though members
of the escort were frequently struck—not one touched any of the
English party. Bullets now whizzed over our heads, or struck the
sand in front of us, sending it flying up in our horses’ faces,
but no one was injured. It was not a pleasant half-hour, as the
road was full of holes, and the horses fidgetty from the noise and
crush. On reaching the gates of Fas, it was found that some of the
miscreants had closed them, but the townspeople behaved well, and,
after a short pause, re-opened the gates to admit us, closing them
again immediately to exclude the mob; but after we had entered the
town, boys and other scamps ran along the high wall, still taunting
and insulting the soldiers.
That evening, a message was brought to Sir John from the Sultan,
by his ‘Hajib,’ to express His Majesty’s regret that such an
apparent insult had been offered to the Mission. The Hajib stated
that the Sultan had sent for the chiefs of the tribes and asked
for an explanation of their extraordinary conduct. They assured His
Majesty that no insult was offered to or intended for the Bashador,
but that some of the younger men of the tribes, excited by feasting
and with gunpowder, had taunted and tried to annoy the escort, who
had retorted; the Shloh had hoped to make the cavalry fly, as they
were accustomed to do on meeting them in battle, and thus prove that
the Arabs were unworthy to be guards to the British Mission.
The Hajib then continued, ‘Sidna says he cannot rest unless he
is assured that none of you are injured, and he suggests and begs
that you, your friends and family (meaning the ladies), will return
to the same spot to-morrow to witness the “lab-el-barod,” but
without the Arab escort, and attended only by your Tangier guard.’
Sir John agreed, and next day, accompanied by his younger daughter and
some of the gentlemen, rode to the palace outside the walls—attended
only by the six faithful Suanni men. As we left the city, each tribe
sent a body of armed men to perform the gun-dance before us.
We witnessed again the ‘lab-el-barod.’ The Sultan was,
at first, mounted on a coal-black horse—in token of his deep
displeasure—but changed soon to a chestnut, and, lastly, mounted
a milk-white steed. Afterwards we rode over the plain, mingling
with the tribes. They cheered wildly, calling down blessings on the
Bashador and on all the English—‘For they are brave and just,’
they cried.
The matters which Sir John especially pressed on the attention of the
Sultan’s advisers on the occasion of this visit were principally
those which, promised in 1873, had not been carried into execution,
in consequence of the death of Sultan Sid Mohammed. Amongst the more
urgent of these demands were the following:—
The placing of a light at Mazagan, to facilitate the entry of ships
into the harbour at night; the building of a pier at Tangier, and of
breakwaters in the harbours of Saffi and Dar-el-Baida; the erection
of more houses and stores for merchants at the ports; permission to
export bones; permission to import sulphur, saltpetre, and lead at
a ten per cent. duty, and the abolition of the Government monopoly
on these articles; the extension of the term placed on removal of
prohibition to export wheat and barley; inquiry into and punishment
of outrages on Jews; immediate settlement of all British claims. Most
particularly he pressed the importance of allowing a cable to be laid
between Tangier and Gibraltar. When he had previously obtained from
the Moorish Government permission for an English Company to lay such
a cable, one of his colleagues informed the Moorish Government that,
in case the concession was granted, he should insist on telegraph
wires being laid between Ceuta and Tangier overland, and hold the
Moorish Government responsible for the safety of the wires. The
Moorish Government, frightened by this menace, and aware that no
inland wires would be safe in the then state of Morocco, availed
themselves of the excuse to withdraw from their promise to Sir
John. On this subject he wrote to Sir Henry Layard:—
When I presented the proposition to my colleagues, I premised by
telling them frankly of past opposition, and I asked what would have
become of the network of telegraph wires spread throughout Europe,
Asia, Africa, and America, if the petty spirit which had prevailed
here had existed on the part of the Representatives of Foreign
Powers throughout the world. I ridiculed the advantages which it was
supposed we should derive in case of war and if the cable became
the property of the British Government. ‘Imagine,’ I said,
‘my informing my Government some day by telegraph that the Sultan
was about to send a force of 30,000 Moorish troops in the _Moorish_
squadron to act against Spain or France. Such a dream,’ I said,
‘would soon pass away, as any gunboat could cut the cable in this
defenceless bay whenever it pleased the officer in command. . . .
‘Once,’ I said, ‘the cable or cables introduced at Tangier,
the time would not be far distant when this Government and people
would follow the example of the rest of the world, and have telegraph
wires throughout this Empire.’
In a series of letters written to his sister, Mrs. Norderling,
Sir John describes various incidents of the Mission. The first of
these letters, dated April 24, gives an account of the flattering
reception the Mission had received:—
Though we are the _pets of the Harem_ we long to get away, but
a message has just been brought that the Sultan will not let us
go till May 1. Never have I met such a welcome at the Court as on
this occasion. Royal honours paid us everywhere, not a word, not a
gesture, not a look that could be called unfriendly. From the pompous
Basha down to the humble labourer, all vie in being civil to the
Englishman who has been, as they say, the friend of the Moor, and
who loves ‘justice.’ Even the women don’t hide their faces,
or run away from me, but smile brightly at my grey beard when I
peer over the terrace wall, though they are more shy when my young
friends attempt to have a look at them, in their smart dresses,
walking on the terraces.
I have had two private audiences of the Sultan[52] since the
public audience. He and I have become great friends. He is about
6 feet 2 inches high, very handsome, of a slim and elegant figure,
very dignified in his manner, but gentle, with a sad expression of
countenance. I think he is about twenty-seven years of age. His colour
about the same shade as that of Hajot[53]. Features very regular. He
has taken the greatest interest in the telegraph apparatus sent
to His Sherifian Majesty by the British Government. It has been
placed in the garden of his palace between two summer-houses. I
stood with the Sultan at one end, and a sapper, sent by Government
to work the instrument, and the Engineer officers at the other. The
first message he received in Arabic letters was ‘May God prolong
the life of Mulai Hassan.’ Several messages were interchanged. I
left the room to communicate with the officers, and the Sultan took
possession of the instrument, and, as the letters are in Arabic, he
sent one himself. The sapper was delighted with his intelligence. He
wanted to have wires put between the palace and my house to enable
him to talk to me, he said, but there is no time. He has agreed
to allow of a cable[54] being laid between Tangier and Gibraltar,
but not inland as yet, for he declares that his wild subjects would
destroy the wires. I have got, however, the thin end of the wedge
inserted for telegraphic communication. He agrees also to the Mole at
Tangier, and other improvements on the coast, and has removed some
restrictions on trade, so, after much negotiation, ‘un petit pas
en avant’ is made. He told me that he cannot introduce many of the
improvements he desires, from the fear of raising an outcry against
himself by some of his ignorant subjects. He also tells me that his
father, before his death, had followed my advice, to give salaries to
the Governors of the Southern provinces, and thus check the system
of corruption and robbery practised by these grandees in office to
enrich themselves. I hear that the inhabitants of these provinces
are happy and contented. His Majesty hopes to introduce the same
system into the Northern provinces, and he sent the Governor-General
of half his empire to listen to my advice.
This country is an Augean stable, and I cannot sweep it; but as the
Sultan is well disposed, we are doing our little best to aid him.
He invited us all to witness the feast of the Mulud—an unprecedented
favour, for even in Tangier the authorities think it prudent to
recommend Christians and Jews to keep aloof from the wild tribes
who assemble on such occasions.
The chiefs from the Arab provinces and the Berber mountains, with
their followers, amounting to several thousand men, had come to the
feast to bring presents to His Majesty. The Sultan, with all his
grandees and regular and irregular troops, proceeded to a picturesque
site two miles beyond the town.
The Sultan sent us a guard of honour and orders to the commander to
allow me and my friends to take up any position we liked. Each chief
with his retinue formed a line and advanced towards the Sultan,
bowing low from their horses. His Majesty gave them his blessing,
which was proclaimed by the Master of the Ceremonies, and then they
wheeled round, cheering, and galloped off. Some thirty governors or
chiefs were presented. The scene was beyond description. Imagine the
brilliant costumes of the Sultan’s troops; the flowing white dresses
of the wild Berber; the massive walls and bastions of Fas in the
distance, with minarets and palm-trees o’ertopping them; undulating
hills covered with castles and ‘kubba’-topped tombs, interspersed
with orange-groves, olive-trees, and luxuriant vegetation; a shining
river flowing at our feet, and the snowy range of the Atlas in the
distance, and you have a picture which was wonderful to behold.
No people can behave better than the ‘Fassien’ have this time,
and even the swarms of Berbers we meet are civil to us. The Sultan
sent a message to us (we were all in our ‘armour’) that he was
very glad we had come to the feast, as he wished to show all his
subjects that I was his honoured guest and friend.
This is a very chilly place. Last time I was here, in 1868, I had
dysentery, and now I have a frightful cold. Water everywhere; air
hot outside, but cold in the house.
After the Mission had returned to Tangier, he writes to the same
correspondent in July 1875, on the reforms which he was endeavouring
to introduce:—
Yes, we are sitting in Congress at the request of the Moorish
Government about the various improvements. The Representatives
(with the exception of the Don) support the Moorish Government. The
silly Spaniards like not that Morocco should improve and that our
young Sultan should become popular. They always talk (_sub rosâ_)
about Morocco as destined for a Spanish colony, and they fear lest
the Moors should become too strong for them, or that, by improving
the country and commerce, Foreign Powers should put their veto on the
petty system of menace and bullying to which the Dons have resorted
since the war of 1860.
Later on he writes to Mrs. Norderling about the Sahara scheme. A plan
had been proposed, and a company was to be formed, with the object
of flooding the Sahara by means of a canal cut on the West African
Coast, in the belief—it was said—of thus re-creating a great
inland sea in place of a sandy desert. On this subject he writes:—
The Sahara scheme appears to me to be a ‘chateau en Espagne.’
I had a letter from Lord Derby requesting me to aid McKenzie & Co.,
and to ask for the good offices of the Moorish Government. He might as
well have asked me to aid the Naval Expedition to the North Pole. The
Moorish Minister did not know the whereabouts of Cape Bojador, and
said the tribes south of Agadir would probably be more hostile to
the explorers if they heard that the Sultan encouraged them. Remember
Davidson’s fate, and that of the two Spaniards who have just been
ransomed for $27,000 after seven years’ captivity at Wadnun.
Bargash put a fair query: ‘If this inundation can really be carried
into execution, does the British Government intend to obtain the
consent of the chiefs or inhabitants of the oases of the desert
or neighbouring districts, and to offer them compensation? Or will
their claims be got rid of by swamping them?’
I have not, either in reply to Lord Derby or to McKenzie, who has
written to me, opposed the scheme; but I have warned them that it
will be natural to expect a strong hostile feeling on the part of
the tribes who inhabit the oases and borders of the desert, and who
have had, from time immemorial, the privilege of escorting caravans
and levying contributions on the traffic through the Sahara.
I should doubt that there would be any depth in the Kus. In my
ignorance I should say that the sea had withdrawn from that region
from the uplifting of the surface, and that even if there be parts
much lower than the Atlantic, it would be a sea too dangerous to
navigate from the risk of sand-banks. I don’t think you and I will
live to hear that the cutting has been made. Money will be raised,
and the engineers will fill their pockets—‘y nada mas.’