Chapter V: Introduction (2)

To finish with the Barb and to give, over and above the other qualities he possesses, an exact idea of his strength and spirit, I cannot do better than state the weight carried in most of our expeditions by the horse of a chasseur d'Afrique.

WEIGHT CARRIED BY THE HORSE OF A CHASSEUR D'AFRIQUE SETTING OUT ON AN EXPEDITION.

Kilogr.[3] Hectogr. Décagr.

Horseman armed and in full uniform 82 — — Equipments and pistol 24 — — Bread for two days 1 5 — Biscuit for three days 1 6 5 Coffee for five days — 6 — Sugar for five days — 6 — Bacon for five days 1 — — Rice for five days — 3 — Salt — — 8 Pressed hay for five days 25 — — Barley for five days 20 — — Three packets of cartridges 1 3 — Four horse-shoes 1 6 — ---------- -------- ------- TOTAL (350 lbs) 159 6 3

159 kilogrammes, or 19 more than the horse of a carabineer, and 26 more than the horse of a cuirassier in France. This weight, of course, decreases as the column proceeds on its march.

Delivered the 31st February 1847, by Colonel Duringer, at the moment of departure of a column.

Now, a horse that, in a country often rough and difficult, marches, gallops, ascends, descends, endures unparalleled privations, and goes through a campaign with spirit, with such a weight on his back, is he, or is he not, a war horse?

THE HORSES OF THE SAHARA.

To a pastoral and a nomadic people, roaming our vast grazing grounds, and whose numbers bear no proportion to the extent of their territories, the horse is a necessity of life. With his horse, the Arab trades and travels, looks after his numerous flocks, distinguishes himself in battle, at weddings, and at the festivals of his marabouts. He makes love, he makes war: space is nothing to him. Thus, the Arabs of the Sahara still give themselves up with ardour to the rearing of horses. They know full well the value of blood, they pay great attention to crossing the breed, and try every means to improve the species. The state of anarchy in which they have lived in these latter times has naturally modified some of their habits, but it has effected no change in this condition of their existence—the breeding, perfecting and training of horses.

The love of the horse has passed into the Arab blood. That noble animal is the friend and comrade of the chief of the tent. He is one of the servants of the family. His habits, his requirements are made an object of study. He is the burden of their songs, the favourite topic of conversation. Day by day in the gatherings outside the _douar_, where age alone enjoys the privilege of speech, and which are marked by the decorous behaviour of the listeners, seated in a circle on the sand or on the turf, the young men add to their practical knowledge the counsels and traditions of their seniors. Religion, war, the chase, love, and horses, inexhaustible subjects of observation, make regular schools of these open air meetings, in which warriors are formed and develop their intelligence in collecting a mass of facts, precepts, proverbs, and sententious sayings, the application of which will only too frequently occur in the course of the perilous life they have to lead. It is thus they acquire that knowledge of horse-flesh which we are so astonished to meet with in the humblest horseman of a desert tribe. He can neither read nor write, and yet every phrase in his conversation rests upon the authority of the learned commentators of the Koran, or of the Prophet himself. "Our lord Mohammed declared"—"Sidi-Ahmed-ben-Youssef says in addition"—"Si-ben-Dyab relates"—And you may take him on trust, this learned ignoramus, for all these texts, all these anecdotes, which for the most part are only to be found in books, he for his part derives from the _tholbas_ or from his chiefs, who, unconsciously come, as it were, to a mutual understanding, to develop or maintain among the people the love of the horse, useful precepts, sound doctrines, and the best rules of hygiene. The whole is sometimes tainted, no doubt, with gross prejudices and ridiculous superstitions. It is a picture with much shading. But let us not be too severe: it is not so very long since very nearly the same absurdities were proclaimed in France as indisputable truths.

I was talking one day with a marabout of the tribe of the Oulad-Sidi-Schik about the horses of his country, and pretended to question some of the opinions he had expressed. "You cannot understand that, you Christians," he exclaimed, abruptly rising to his feet, "but horses are our riches, our joys, our life, our religion. Has not the Prophet said: 'The good things of this life, even to the day of the last judgment, shall be suspended from the hairs which are between the eyes of your horses?'"

"I have read the Koran," I replied, "but have never met with those words."

"You will not find them in the Koran, which is the voice of Allah, but in the conversations of our lord Mohammed (_Hadite sidna Mohammed_)."

"And you believe in them?" I retorted.

"Before taking my leave of you, I will show you what may happen to those who have faith." And my companion gravely recited the following history:

"A poor man confiding in the words of the Prophet which I have just repeated to you, came one day upon a dead mare. So he cut off her head and buried it under the threshold of his door, saying to himself: 'I shall become rich if it please Allah' (_An-sha-Allah_). Days, however, followed each other, but no riches came, and yet the Believer never doubted. The Sultan of the country being on his way to visit a holy spot, happened by accident to pass before the lowly abode of the poor Arab. It was situated at the end of a small plain bordered by large trees and watered by a pretty rivulet. The scene pleasing him, he halted his brilliant escort, and dismounted to rest himself in the shade. Just as he was about to give the signal to continue the journey his steed, which a slave was employed to look after, impatient to devour space, began to neigh and to paw the ground, and presently broke loose. All the efforts of the _saïs_ (grooms) to catch him again were for a long time in vain and every one was in despair, when they beheld him stop suddenly of himself at the threshold of an old hut which he smelt at while throwing up the ground with his forefeet. An Arab, until that moment an unmoved spectator, went up to him without frightening him, as if he had been known to him, caressed him with hand and voice, laid hold of him by the mane, the bridle being in a thousand pieces, and without any difficulty led him quietly up to the astonished Sultan.

"How have you contrived," demanded his greatness, "thus to tame one of the most fiery steeds of Arabia?"

"You will no longer be surprised, my lord," replied the man of faith, "when you learn that, having been taught that all the good things of this world unto the day of judgment shall be suspended from the hairs which are between the eyes of our horses, I buried under the door-way of my house the head of a mare I found lying dead. The rest has come to pass through the blessing of Allah."

"The Sultan instantly caused the ground to be dug up at the spot indicated, and when he had thus verified the statement of the Arab, he hastened to recompense one who had not hesitated to give an entire faith to the words of the Prophet. The poor man received the present of a fine horse, superb garments, and riches enough to place him beyond the reach of want for the rest of his days."

"You now know," continued the marabout, "what may happen to those who believe," and without waiting for my reply he saluted me with the eyes after the manner of the Arabs, and withdrew.

This legend is popular in the Sahara, and the words of the Prophet on which it is founded are there an article of faith. Whether the Prophet uttered them or not, they do not the less surely answer the end proposed to himself by their imputed author. The Arab loves honours, power, riches. To tell him that all that was attached to the long hairs of his horse was to endear it to him, to bind it to him by the bond of a common interest. The genius of the Prophet doubtless went much farther. He fully understood that the mission of conquest which he had bequeathed to his people could only be accomplished by hardy horsemen, and that the love of the horse must be developed in them simultaneously with faith in Islam. These injunctions, which all tend towards the same end, are clothed in various forms. The marabout and the thaleb strung them together as sayings and legends, the noble (_djieud_) as traditions, and the common people as proverbs. Subsequently, proverbs, traditions, and legends, assumed a religious character which has for ever accredited them to the great family of Mussulmans: for it is the will of the Prophet that his own people, to the exclusion of all infidels, should reserve to themselves these powerful instruments of war, which in the hands of the Christians might become so fatal to the Mussulman religion. This inner motive, which the common people of the tent may not have seen, through the symbolical veil behind which it was concealed, has not escaped the perception of the Arab chiefs. The Emir Abd-el-Kader, when at the height of his power, inflicted death without mercy on every Believer convicted of having sold a horse to a Christian. In Morocco the exportation of these animals is hampered with such heavy duties that the permission to take them out of the kingdom is altogether illusory. At Tunis the same reluctance yields only to the imperious necessities of policy, and in like manner at Tripoli, in Egypt, at Constantinople, in short in all Mussulman States.[4]

If you speak of horses to a _djieud_, the noble of the tent, who still plumes himself on his ancestors having fought with ours in Palestine, he will tell you:

The mounting of horses,
The letting slip greyhounds from the leash,
And the clinking of ear-rings,
Draw the maggots out of your head.

If your interlocutor is one of those horsemen (_mekhazeni_) whose bronzed face, pepper-and-salt beard, and prominent exostosis[5] on the tibia announce that he has gone through many adventures, he will say to you:

Horses for a quarrel,
Camels for the desert,
And oxen for poverty.

Or he will remind you that when the Prophet was engaged in expeditions, in order to induce the Arabs to tend their horses properly, he always gave two-thirds of the prize to whomsoever had accompanied him on the best horse.

The voluptuous Thaleb, man of God for the world who lives in contemplative idleness, without any other occupation than that of writing talismans and making amulets for all men and women who want them, will repeat to you with his eyes on the ground:

The paradise of earth is to be found on horseback,
In the study of books,

Or on the bosom of a woman,

he will add if no prudish ears are at hand.

Again, if you question one of those aged patriarchs who are renowned for their wisdom, their experience, and their hospitality, he will answer you:

"Sidi-Aomar, the companion of the Prophet, hath said: 'Love horses, tend them well, for they are worthy of your tenderness. Treat them like your own children, nourish them like friends of the family, clothe them with care! For the love of Allah, do not neglect to do this, or you will repent of it _in this house and in the next_.'"

Finally, if you have the good fortune to encounter in your journey one of those wandering story-tellers (_me-dahh_, _fessehh_) who pass their lives in travelling about from tribe to tribe, to amuse the abundant leisure of these warrior-shepherds, supported by a player on the flute (_kuesob_), and accompanying himself on a tabour (_bendaïr_), he will chaunt to you with a hollow but not unmusical voice:

My horse is the lord of horses!
He is blue as the pigeon beneath the shade,
And his black hairs are like waves;
He bears hunger and thirst; he outstrips the eyesight;
And, true drinker of air,

He blackens the heart of our enemies
In the days when muzzles touch each other.
Mebrouk[6] is the pride of the country.

My uncle has thoroughbred mares, whose distant sires
Are counted in our tribes since the ancient times,
Gentle and timid as daughters of the Guebla[7].
You would say they were gazelles
Feeding in the valleys under the eye of their dams.
To see them, is to forget the authors of our days.

Covered with _djellals_[8] which make our flowers look pale,
They march like Sultanas attired for a fête,
A negro of Kora[9] tends them,
Gives them pure barley, and milk to drink,
And leads them to the bath.
Allah preserve them from the evil eye![10]

For his much loved mares
My uncle demanded Mebrouk in marriage,
And I said to him: No;
Mebrouk is my support, I wish to keep him
Proud, full of health, dexterous and fleet.
Time turns on itself and returns;
There may be no dispute to-day, but to-morrow, perhaps, we shall see
The hour of strife approach with rapid strides.
For a skin full of blood, my uncle replied,
Thou hast made my face yellow[11] before all my children.
The earth is vast: adieu.

Mebrouk, why this neighing night and day?
Thou betrayest my ambush and warnest my enemies,
Thy thoughts wander too much to the daughters of our coursers,

I will marry thee, o my son!
But where shall I find my friends
Whose mares are so noble, and their she-camels such treasures?
Their tidings are buried in the earth;
Where are their spacious tents so pleasant to the eye?
In them were spread the carpet and the mat;
In them was offered the hospitality of Allah,
And the poor man filled his belly.
They are vanished!
The scout viewed the hillocks,
The brave marched in the front rank,
The shepherds drove the flocks after them,
And the hunters, on the track of their sharp greyhounds,
Chased the gazelle.

Have you heard speak of the tribe of my brethren?
No! Well, come with me and count their numerous horses:
There are colours which will please you.
Behold those horses white as snow that falls in its proper season;
Those black as the slave carried off from Soudan;
Those others green[12] as the reed that grows on the banks of rivers;
Those, again, red as blood that spirts first from a wound,
And those blue[13] as a pigeon when it flies beneath the sky.
Where are those rifles so straight,
quicker than the winking of an eye?
That powder from Tunis, and those balls turned out in moulds,[14]
Which pierced the bones, tore the liver,
And made the stricken perish with mouth wide open?

When I cease to sing, I am still transported thither by my heart;
For it burns for my brethren with a fire that consumes my interior.
Nowhere have I seen such warriors.
O Allah! strike with blindness those who bear them envy!
Have they not spacious tents well provided with carpets,
Mats, cushions, saddles, and rich arms?
The traveller and the orphan are they not always received there
By these words of our sires: "You are welcome!"
Their wives, bright as the corn-poppy,
Are they not borne on camels,
Those ships of the earth,
That march with the noble gait of the ostrich?

Are they not covered with veils
Which trailing far behind them fill even the marabouts with despair!
Are they not adorned with ornaments, gems enriched with coral,
And the blue tattoo on their arms, was it not pleasant to behold?
Every thing about them charmed the heart of the believers in Allah;
You would say they were bean-flowers created by the Eternal.

You have plunged into the southern desert,
And the days seem unto me very long!
Behold! it is well nigh a year that nailed to this wearisome[15] Tell,
I have seen no more of you than the traces of your encampments.
O my cherished dove
Who wearest trousers that reach to thy feet;
Who wearest a burnous that sits so well on your shoulders;
Whose wings are variegated, and who knowest the country;
O thou who cooest!
Away, fly beneath the clouds, they will serve thee for a covering;
Go, find my friends, give them this letter to read,
Tell them that it proceeds from a sincere heart,
Come back quickly and inform me if they are happy or unhappy,
They who make me sigh.

You will see _Sherifa_:[16] a haughty damsel;
She is haughty, she is noble, I have seen it in writing;
Her long hair falls with grace
On her white and ample shoulders;
You would say it was the sable plumes of the ostrich
That dwells in the desert and sings beside its brood.

Her eyelids are bows brought from the negro-land;
And her eye-lashes, you would swear that
it was the beard of an ear of corn
Ripened by the eye of light[17] towards the end of summer;
Her eyes are the eyes of the gazelle
Troubled about her little ones,
Or, rather, it is the flash that precedes the thunder
In the middle of the night.
Her mouth is admirable,
Her breath sugar and honey,
And her fine set of teeth resemble the hailstones

Which the winter in its fury sows over our land.
Her neck is as the standard which our warriors plant in the ground
To defy the enemy and rally the runaways,
And her faultless body outvies the marble
Which is used for building the pillars of our mosques.

Fair as the moon around which gathers the night,
She shines like a star undimmed by a cloud.
Tell her that she has wounded her lover
With two thrusts of a poniard, one in the eyes,
the other in the heart.
Love is no light burden.
I ask of the Almighty to give unto us water;
We are in the springtime
And the rain has tarried too long for the people of flocks.
I am hungry, I am fasting like a Ramadan moon.

They are at Askoura, praise be to Allah!
Bring me my horse!
And you there, strike the tents!
I go to seek my uncle;
He will forgive the son of his brother;
We shall be reconciled to one another,
And by the head of the Prophet,
I will give a feast in which the young men shall appear
With shining stirrups and saddles richly embroidered;
Powder shall be burnt[18] to the sound of the flute and the tabour;
I will marry Mebrouk
And his offspring shall be called the offspring of well tended mares.

O tribes of the Sahara!
You claim to possess camels;[19]
But camels, you are aware,
Care only for those who can defend them;
And those who can defend them are my brethren,
Because they know in the fight how to crush bones of the rebellious.

Thus it is seen that among the Arabs every thing concurs to develop the love of horses. Religion makes a duty of it, while the agitated life, the incessant conflicts, and the distances to be traversed in a country absolutely devoid of means of rapid communication, make it a necessity. An Arab can only live a double life, his own and his horse's.

* * * * *

REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.

The best horses are chiefly to be found in the Sahara, where the number of bad horses is very small. In fact, the tribes that inhabit it and those who border on it only employ their horses to make war, or to contend in trials of swiftness. Accordingly, they never use them for agricultural purposes, or exercise them in any other way than in battle. On this account their horses are nearly all excellent.

No individual in the Sahara cares to possess ten camels until he has a horse to defend them against those who might assail them.

In the Tell most of the Arabs apply their horses to the cultivation of the land. They also make use of them to ride and for any other purpose. They have no particular preference for males because in their eyes the horse is merely an animal to be turned to any employment of which it is capable, and not kept for war alone. For this reason the horse of pure origin bred in the Sahara is preferable to the same horse in the Tell. The former, unlike that of the Tell, is subjected to fatigue, to long journeys, to hunger, and to thirst, which renders him able to achieve whatever is required of him.

The Koran calls horses "the especial good."

The servant of the Prophet used to say: "With women, what the Prophet loved best was horses."

"Aïssa-ben-Meryem (Jesus, the son of Mary),—peace be with him!—went one day to Eblis, the black demon, and said: 'Eblis, I have a question to address to thee: wilt thou tell me the truth?' 'Spirit of God,' answered Eblis, 'question me as seemeth good to thee.'"

"I demand of thee," pursued Jesus, "by the Living One who cannot lie, what is it that can reduce thy body to a liquid state and cut thy back in two?" "It is," replied the devil, "the neighing of a horse. Never have I succeeded in entering a house that contained a horse for the cause of the Most High."

Being passionately fond of horses, one of the companions of the Prophet asked him if there were any in Paradise. "If Allah causes thee to enter Paradise," replied the Prophet, "thou wilt have a horse of rubies, furnished with two wings, with which he will fly whithersoever thou willest."

A poet has said: "Who are they who will weep for me after death? My sword, my Boudaïna lance, and my long-bodied chesnut, trailing the reins to the fountain, after death has deprived him of his rider."

In all times, among the Arabs, the horse has been the object of the greatest solicitude, and this solicitude the Prophet lost no opportunity of keeping up, developing and augmenting by introducing the religious sentiment.

We find in the collection of his conversations the following precepts:

"Happiness in this world, a rich booty, and eternal rewards are attached to the forelock of horses."

"Evil spirits enter not into a tent where there is a thoroughbred horse."

"The Angels sympathise with only the three following pastimes of men: the exercises of war—the joys of connubial love—and the running of horses."

"Whensoever any one is prevented from fulfilling his religious duties, let him keep a horse for the sake of Allah, and all his sins shall be forgiven him."

"Whoso maintaineth a horse for the triumph of religion makes a magnificent loan to Allah."

"The horse, sincerely reared in the way of Allah, for the holy war, shall save his master from the fire at the day of the resurrection."

"Whoso maketh sacrifices in order to train a horse for the holy war shall be treated in the next world as a martyr."

"Whoso traineth a horse in the way of Allah is counted in the number of those who give alms day and night, in secret or in public. He shall have his reward. Never shall fear dishonour his heart."

"Money spent upon horses passes in the eyes of Allah for alms given in a direct manner."

"Whoso keepeth and tendeth a horse for the service of Allah shall be recompensed as one who fasts during the day and passes the night in prayer."

"Horses pray to Allah to make them beloved by their masters."

"Allah comes to the aid of such as occupy themselves with horses, and lightens the expenses incurred on their account."

"Every grain of barley given to a horse is inscribed by Allah in the Register of good Works."

"Martyrs of the holy war will find in Paradise horses of rubies, furnished with wings, which shall fly whithersoever their riders desire."

BREEDS.

The tribes that inhabit the Sahara have always been better able than those of the Tell to withdraw from the caprice, oppression, and spoliation of the various conquerors of Africa. It is therefore evidently among them that the Barb has had the best chance of preserving all the qualities of grace, speed, and sobriety, that are universally regarded as its characteristics. We shall consequently confine ourselves exclusively to the horses of that region, and with a view to avoid a repetition of what every one has read in books, we shall allow the many Arabs we have interrogated, to speak for themselves. Here, then, is the outline they have drawn of the thoroughbred horse, _shareb-er-rehh_, "the air-drinker:"

The thoroughbred horse is well proportioned, his ears are small and in constant motion, his bones massive, his cheeks meagre, his nostrils wide as the throat of a lion, his eyes bright, black, and level with the head,[20] his neck long, his chest full, his withers prominent, his loins well knit, his haunches strong, his fore-ribs long and the hinder ones short, the belly hollow, the croup rounded, the upper part of his legs long like an ostrich's and furnished with muscles like a camel's, his hoofs black and of a uniform colour, his hair fine and abundant, his flesh firm, his tail very thick at the dock but loose at the extremity. Looked at in front he is like unto the peak of a lofty mountain. Looked at from behind, he seems to lean forward as if he would prostrate himself. Looked at from the side, he shows himself robust and well set up.

To sum up: he should have four points broad, the front, the chest, the croup, and the legs;—four points long, the neck, the upper part of the legs, the belly, and the haunches;—four points short, the loins, the pasterns, the ears, and the tail. All these qualities in a good horse, say the Arabs, prove firstly that he has real blood in him, and secondly that he is certainly fleet of foot, for his form combines something of the greyhound, the pigeon, and the _mahari_, or riding camel.[21]

The mare ought to take from the wild boar its courage and breadth of head; from the gazelle, its grace, its eyes and mouth; from the antelope, liveliness and intelligence; from the ostrich, its neck and swiftness; from the viper, the shortness of its tail.

A thoroughbred horse (_hôor_)[22] may be known by yet other signs. For instance, he cannot be prevailed upon to eat barley out of any other nosebag than his own. He so loves trees, verdure, shade, and running water, that he will neigh for joy on seeing them. Seldom does he drink until he has troubled the water, and if the conformation of the ground prevents him from doing so with his feet, he will kneel down and do it with his mouth. He is continually shrivelling his lips; his eyes are in constant motion; alternately he pricks up and lowers his ears, and turns his neck to the right or left as if he wished to speak, or to ask for something. If to all these signs a horse adds sobriety of disposition, his owner may deem himself the possessor of a pair of wings.

It has been remarked that a horse that is a fast galopper has the head firmly set on, and the transverse apophysis of the atloïd very protuberant. "He has horns," say the Arabs.

The races most esteemed in the western part of the Algerian Sahara are three in number: that of Hâymour, that of Bou-Ghareb, and that of Merizigue. Their offspring are dispersed among a great many tribes, such as the Hamyân, the Oulad-Sidi-Shikh, the Leghrouât-Kuesal, the Oulad-Yagoub, the Makena, the Aâmour, the Oulad-Sidi-Nasseur, and even the Harar. Every one, according to his fancy, or according to his occupation, offers his mare to the descendants of one of these three types. The Hâymour usually produce bay horses, the Bou-Ghareb white ones, and the Merizigue those of a gray colour. The Hâymour are most sought after. They are of a beautiful shape, with a good carcass, and yet very active. They pass for the swiftest coursers of the Sahara, and preserve their strength to a very advanced age. They bring good luck, and their owners belong to the richest and noblest families.

Next come the race of Bou-Ghareb, the produce of which are taller, and are also very patient of fatigue, but less fleet than the Hâymour. Like the latter, however, they remain sound until a great age.

Lastly the Merizigue who are shorter and have less bottom than the preceding, but are solid, clean-limbed, and sober. They are chiefly sought after by common horsemen who have long journeys to make and great hardships to undergo.

The Hâymour breed is superior to all others; nor has the imagination of the Arabs failed to trace it to a marvellous source. The legend runs as follows:—A chief owned a magnificent mare, which happened to receive a serious hurt in hunting the ostrich. It was feared that she would be lame for life. Her master though he could see no improvement in her condition and was annoyed at the trouble of dragging her after him in all his removals from place to place, was still unable to bring himself to put her to death, and therefore turned her out to graze at large. On returning from a long journey he remembered his mare and inquired what had become of her. She proved to be in excellent health, and on the point of foaling. He at once brought her in, took the greatest care of her, and soon afterwards found himself possessed of a foal that was unrivalled throughout the desert. As no tribe had passed for a very long time near the place where he left the animal, the Arabs were willing to believe that she had been covered by a wild ass, _hamar el ouâhhch_, and they gave to the foal the name of Hâymour, which is that of the foal of the onager.

In the central part of the Algerian Sahara, the Arbâa[23] affect the offspring of _Rakeby_. This breed has both height and bottom, and is found among the Aghrazelias, the Oulad-Shayb, the Oulad-Mokhtar, and even among the Oulad-Khrelif.[24] For the most part they are gray or dark bay. They endure hunger and thirst with ease, and without being knocked up will cover for several consecutive days distances of twenty-five to thirty leagues.[25] At the present day the finest animals are in the family of the Seuffrân. _Rakeby_, it seems, was formerly brought from Morocco by the ancestors of Sidi-Hamed-Oulad-_Tedjini_, the famous Marabout of Aain-Mady.

The Oulad-Nayl[26] make use of the offspring of a celebrated stallion named El-Biod, "the White," formerly the property of the Oulad-Si-Mahmed, one of their divisions. This stock is renowned for its sobriety and speed.

In the Hodna and the Medjana, among the Oulad-Makrane and the Ghiras, the most highly esteemed are the descendants of a well-known stallion belonging to the Oulad-Mahdi. It was named Bey-el-Hissen, and was the property of the family of El-Amri-ben-Abi-Meramer.

A good horse in the desert ought to accomplish for five or six days, one after the other, distances of twenty-five to thirty leagues. After a couple of day's rest, if well fed, he will be quite fresh enough to repeat the feat. "With a horse that on arriving at a resting place shakes himself, paws the ground with his foot, and neighs at the approach of the barley, then pushing his head into the nosebag begins to munch eagerly three or four mouthfuls of the grain, there is no occasion to pull up in a journey." The distances to be traversed in the Sahara are not always of such great length, but at the same time it is no very rare occurrence to hear of horses doing fifty to sixty leagues in four and twenty hours.

A tribe on receiving notice that its enemies project a razzia, at once sends out scouts (_shouâfin_) to watch them, mounted on mares, "the children of a Jew"—_benate el ihoude_—so cunning and dexterous are they. These horsemen take with them no more than a feed of barley for their horse's supper. They frequently vary their pace but are always careful to husband their steeds, and will place themselves in ambush thirty leagues from their point of departure in order to "kill the earth"—that is, to reconnoitre. If the result of their observations causes them to entertain any immediate apprehension for the safety of their brethren, they return at once at full speed to warn them to take to hasty flight. In the contrary event, they retrace their steps leisurely and will yet gain their tents before the hour of the evening prayer, after having traversed sometimes fifty to sixty leagues in the twenty-four hours. Should there be a skirmish on the morrow, their horses will be in a condition to take part in it. If the horse of a _shouaf_ happens to die in the course of a reconnaissance made for the good of all, it is replaced at the expense of the whole tribe.

With regard to the great distances accomplished by the horses of the desert, instances may be quoted which will appear incredible, and the heroes of which are still alive, if witnesses were wanted to confirm the truth of the story. Here is one of a thousand, which was told to me by a man of the tribe of Arbâa. I give his own words:

"I had come into the Tell with my father and the people of my tribe to buy corn. It was in the time of the Pasha Ali. The Arbâa had had some terrible quarrels with the Turks, and as it was their interest for the moment to feign a complete submission in order to obtain an amnesty for the past, they agreed to win over by presents of money the Pasha's suite, and to send to himself not merely a common animal as was customary, but a courser of the highest distinction. It was a misfortune, but it was the will of Allah, and we were forced to resign ourselves. The choice fell upon a mare "gray stone of the river," known throughout the Sahara, and the property of my father. He was informed that he must hold himself in readiness to set out with her on the morrow for Algiers. After the evening prayer my father, who had taken care not to make any remark, came to me and said: 'Ben-Zyan, art thou thyself to-day? Wilt thou leave thy father in a strait, or wilt thou make red his face?'"

"I am nothing but your will, my lord," I replied. "Speak, and if your commands are not obeyed, it will be because I am vanquished by death."

"Listen. These children of sin seek to take my mare in the hope of settling their affairs with the Sultan, my gray mare, I say, which has always brought good fortune to my tent, to my children, and the camels: my gray mare, that was foaled on the day that thy youngest brother was born! Speak! Wilt thou let them do this dishonour to my hoary beard? The joy and happiness of the family are in thy hands. _Mordjana_ (such was the name of the mare) has eaten her barley. If thou art of a truth my son, go and sup, take thy arms, and then at earliest nightfall flee far away into the desert with the treasure dear to us all."

"Without answering a word I kissed my father's hand, took my evening repast, and quitted Berouaguïa,[27] happy in being able to prove my filial affection, and laughing in my sleeve at the disappointment which awaited our sheikhs on their awaking. I pushed forward for a long time, fearing to be pursued, but Mordjana continued to pull at her bridle and I had more trouble to quiet her than to urge her on. When two-thirds of the night had passed, and a desire to sleep was growing upon me, I dismounted and seizing the reins twisted them round my wrist. I placed my gun under my head and at last fell asleep, softly couched on one of those dwarf palms so common in our country. An hour afterwards I roused myself. All the leaves of the dwarf palm had been stripped off by Mordjana. We started afresh. The peep of day found us at Souagui. My mare had thrice broken out into a sweat, and thrice dried herself. I touched her with the heel. She watered at Sidi-Bou-Zid in the Ouad-Ettouyl, and that evening I offered up the evening prayer at Leghrouât, after giving her a handful of straw to induce her to wait patiently for the enormous bag of barley that was coming to her. These are not journeys fit for your horses," said Si-ben-Zyan in conclusion, "—for the horses of you Christians, who go from Algiers to Blidah, thirteen leagues, as far as from my nose to my ear, and then fancy you have done a good day's work."

This Arab, for his part, had done eighty leagues in twenty-four hours: his mare had eaten nothing but the leaves of the dwarf palm on which he had lain down and had only once been watered, about the middle of the journey; and yet he swore to me by the head of the Prophet that he could have slept on the following night at Gardaya, forty five leagues farther on, had his life been in any danger. Si-ben-Zyan belongs to a family of marabouts of the Oulad-Salahh, a section of the great tribe of the Arbâa. He comes frequently to Algiers and will tell this story to whoever will listen to him, confirming his narrative, if required, by authentic testimony.

Another Arab, named Mohammed-ben-Mokhtar, had come to buy corn in the Tell after the harvest. His tents were already pitched on Ouad-Seghrouan, and he had opened a business communication with the Arabs of the Tell,[28] when the bey Bou-Mezrag, "father of the spear," fell upon him at the head of a strong body of cavalry to chastise one of those imaginary offences which the Turks were in the habit of inventing as pretexts for their rapacity. Not the slightest warning had been given; the razzia was complete; and the horsemen of Makhzen gave themselves up to all the atrocities customary in such cases. Mohammed-ben-Mokhtar thereupon threw himself on his dark bay mare, a magnificent animal known and coveted throughout the Sahara, and perceiving the critical nature of the situation, at once resolved to sacrifice the whole of his property to save the lives of his three children. One of them, only four years old, he placed on the saddle before him, and another aged six or seven behind him holding on by the troussequin, and was about to place the youngest in the hood of his burnous when his wife stopped him, exclaiming: "No, no, I will not let thee have this one. They will never dare to slay an infant at its mother's breast. Away, I shall keep him with me. Allah will protect us." Mohammed-ben-Mokhtar then dashed forward, fired off his piece, and got clear of the mêlée; but, being hotly pursued, he travelled all that day and the following night until he reached Leghrouât, where he could rely upon being in safety. Shortly afterwards he received intelligence that his wife had been rescued by some friends he had in the Tell. Mohammed-ben-Mokhtar and his wife are still alive, and the two children he carried on his saddle are spoken of as two of the best horsemen of the tribe. Can there be imagined a scene more dramatic, or more worthy of a skilful artist, than this family being saved by a horse from the midst of plunder, confusion, and fighting!

And why should I look for evidence to establish these facts? All the old officers of the Oran division can state how, in 1837, a General attaching the greatest importance to the receipt of intelligence from Tlemcen, gave his own charger to an Arab to go and procure the news. The latter set out from Château Neuf[29] at four o'clock in the morning and returned at the same hour on the following day, having travelled seventy leagues over ground very different from the comparatively level desert.

One of the best and most formidable horsemen of this tribe of the Arbâa is El-Arby-ben-Ouaregla; "his ball never falls to the ground." He belongs to the section of the Hadjadj, among whom he is celebrated both by reason of his personal prowess and because of an adventure that befell him in his infancy. He was still at the breast, when his father, Mohammed-ben-Dokha, being surprised by the enemy, rolled him in his large _habaya_[30] and fastened him in it with his girdle. Then, whilst his family and his flocks sought safety in flight, he mounted a mare that "could wring a tear from the eye," and fighting all day in the rearguard saved his property and killed seven of his assailants.

The Arabs of the Sahara sum up the perfection of a horse in the following manner. He must carry a full grown man, his arms and a change of clothing, food for both his rider and himself, a flag, even on a windy day, and if necessary, dragging a dead body behind him, keep up at a good pace the whole day through without giving a thought to food or water. In their opinion a horse lives from twenty to twenty-five years, and a mare from twenty-five to thirty. As to the service to be derived from this animal, a proverb exactly expresses their idea:

_Sebâa el Khrouya_, seven years for my Brother;
_Sebâa lya_, seven years for myself;
_Sebâa li adouya_, seven years for my enemy.

It is therefore from seven to fourteen that they consider a horse as most apt for the exercises of war. I have often had the curiosity to inquire of the Arabs if they know whence they had received the horses of which they were so proud. In reply to this question they would point with their finger to the East, and answer: "They come from the native country of the first man, where they were created a day or two before him." And as confirmation of this their belief, they would add: "Allah hath said: 'I have created for man whatsoever is upon the earth. I give it all to Adam and his descendants. Man shall be the most noble of created beings, and the horse the most noble of animals.' Now, when a chief is expected to come and rule over us we prepare a tent to receive him, carpets for him to sit upon, and various dishes to gratify his palate, and, above all, horsemen to attend upon him and execute his orders. Consequently the horse must have been created before the coming of Adam upon the earth."

THE STEED OF NOBLE RACE.

Where are those noble steeds
Whose dam never knew any but a noble sire?
The stirrup is their life; inaction is death to them.
O Father of cavaliers! the ignorant find them every where,
But they are as rare as true friends,
And when they die the very saddle sheds tears.

In the race-course of valour
May Allah bless the noble courser!
His chest is of steel, and his flanks of iron:
He loves naught but rapine, glory, and the combat;
He cherishes his master and his family,
And when he gallops, he puts the thunder to shame.
He passes, look at him: he is already out of sight;
Women, grudge him not the milk of our she-camels.

What has become of the time when I used to bestride a swimmer,
With black eye, wide nostrils,
Clean limbs, and a faithful heart!
It was a sparrow-hawk for carnage,
And life was nothing worth to me
When the bridle was out of my hands.
I was then young; I went in search of danger,
I mocked at the ill-omened ravens;
The distant always seemed to me close at hand,
And my tent overflowed with plunder.

In summer, when sleep has restored strength to my body,
When the eye of light has dispersed the shades of night,
And when the heat bites everything, even into stone,
The song of the turtle-dove fills me with soft desire.
In the boughs of the palm-tree shaken by the slightest breeze,
On the leaf that sighs and bewails itself,
She is consumed with passion.
By my head! she rekindles in my breast the fire of bygone days.

They said to me:
Ah! thou art still longing for them who dye their eyelids with black?
And I answered: No, in my eyes
Nothing at present is equal to my horse of pure blood.
With him, I bear myself proudly; I hunt and increase my riches;
With him, I enter the strife and protect the poor and the orphan;
With him, I chastise insult and daunt my rivals;
His neigh is like the roar of a lion in the mountains;
It is an eagle hovering in the air.

Away with you, fond memories of this world!
The most potent has never carried off more than a winding-sheet.
I am known by my air-drinker, at night and in the fight;
I am known by my sabre, the shock of battle, the pen and the paper;
I am sharper than a spear, and endure hunger like a wolf.
No matter: to-day I court solitude:
In solitude is happiness: age has taught me that.
Never again shall men behold me seeking a horse, or the love of
women, or the court of an Emir.

* * * * *

REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.

Horses, though they are all of one and the same family, are of two different species: the first is the Arab race, the other the race of the _Beradin_. In like manner oxen, though of only one family, are of divers species: the first that of domestic cattle, which is the best known, and the second that of buffaloes: as different from one another in agility and weight as are the Arab horses from the _Beradin_. In like manner, too, the family of camels is one, and yet includes more than one species,—the Arab race and the race _Bakhati_.[31]

If the foal has for its sire an Arab horse, and for its dam an Arab mare, it is indisputably noble, _hôor_.

If it has for its sire an Arab horse, and for its dam a _Beradi_ mare, it is called _Hadjin_.

If it has for its dam an Arab mare and for its sire a _Beradi_ horse, it is called _Meghrif_, and it is inferior to the _Hadjin_.

Hence it will be seen that the most important rôle is assigned to the sire.

It is impossible, we think, to get a pure race out of a stock the blood of which is impure. On the other hand it is a well authenticated fact that it is quite possible to restore to its primitive nobleness a breed that has become impoverished,—but without any taint in its blood,—whether through insufficient food, want of proper care, or excessive and unsuitable work: in a word, a race may be restored, the degeneracy of which has not been occasioned by any admixture of blood.

In default of public notoriety, it is by actual trial, by speed combined with bottom, that the Arabs form their judgment on horses, and recognise the nobleness and purity of their extraction. But the form likewise reveals the higher qualities. A thoroughbred horse is one that has three things long, three things short, three things broad, and three things clean. The three things long are the ears, the neck, and the fore-legs. The three things short are the dock, the hind-legs and the back. The three things broad are the forehead, the chest, and the croup. The three things clean are the skin, the eyes, and the hoof.

He ought to have the withers high, and the flanks hollow and without any superfluous flesh.

"Dost thou accomplish a journey at great speed with steeds high in the withers and fine in the flanks?"

The tail should be well furnished at the root, so that it may cover the space between the thighs.

"The tail is like unto the veil of a bride."

The eye of a horse should be turned as if trying to look at its nose, like the eye of a man who squints.

"Like to a beautiful coquette who leers through her veil, his glance towards the corner of the eye pierces through the hair of the forelock which covers his forehead as with a veil."

The ears resemble those of an antelope startled in the midst of her herd.

The forelock, abundant.

"In the hour of pain mount a slender mare whose forehead is covered by silky and flowing hair."

The nostrils, wide.

"Each of his nostrils resembles the den of a lion; the wind rushes out of it when he is panting."

The cavities in the interior of the nostrils ought to be entirely black. If they are partly black and partly white the horse is of only moderate value.

The fetlock, thick.

"They have fetlocks that resemble the down which is concealed beneath an eagle's wing and like him they grow black in the heat of battle."

The fetlock joints, small.

"The fetlock joints of their hind-legs are small, but the muscles on both sides stand out prominent."

The hoof, round and hard.

"The hoof should resemble the cup of a slave. They walk on hoofs hard as the moss-covered stones of a stagnant pool."

The frogs, hard and dry.

"The frogs concealed beneath the hoofs are seen when he lifts his feet, and resemble date-stones in hardness."

"When my courser rushes towards a goal he makes a noise like to that of wings in motion, and his neigh resembles the mournful note of the nightingale."

"His neck is long and graceful as a male ostrich's. His ear is split in two and his black eye full of fire."

"In the elegance of his form he resembles a picture painted in a palace. He is as majestic as the palace itself."

If by protruding his head and neck in order to drink from a stream that flows level with the ground, a horse can remain upright on all fours without bending either of his fore-legs, be assured that his form is perfect, that all parts of his body harmonise with one another, and that he is thoroughbred.

Among the horses of the tribes of the Sahara, those of the Hamyân, the Arbâa, the Oulad-Naïl, and their respective branches, are the most patient of hunger and thirst, the most capable of enduring fatigue, the fleetest gallopers, and the most able to keep up a good pace for several days together without stopping,—very different in that respect from the horses of the Tell.

There existed in ancient times several stallions whose fame has come down to us. Among others, _el Koura_, of the tribe of the Beni-Timin, and _Aouadj_, "the concave," of the tribe of the Beni-Helal. On the subject of this latter, the following anecdote is told: His master being asked, "what canst thou relate of a surprising nature in connection with thy horse?" recounted this anecdote:

"I was wandering one day in the desert mounted on _Aouadj_, when I was seized with a violent thirst. By good fortune, I fell in with a flock of ketâa[32] flying towards a spring. I followed them, and though holding in my horse as much as possible, I reached the water as soon as they did, without once pulling up to breath him. It is a most extraordinary example of speed, for the flight of the _ketâa_, always rapid, is greatly quickened when, driven by thirst, it makes for water.... Had I not," continued the owner of _Aouadj_, "checked his speed by pulling at the bridle with all my force, I should have outstripped the _ketâa_."

The origin of this stallion's name is this: He had not been long foaled, when his master was attacked by enemies and forced to flee. The foal being too weak to follow by itself, was put into a sack and placed upon the back of a beast of burden. Thence were derived the roundness of his back and his name _Aouadj_, which bears that signification.

Another celebrated stallion—here the Emir relates the origin of the race of the Hâymour (see page 50) and adds: "Whoever has seen the horses of that breed will not question for a moment the truth of the tale, for their resemblance to the zebra strikes every eye."

THE SIRE AND THE DAM.