Chapter VII: Introduction (4)

As to the really bad vices of biting, plunging, and kicking, they are almost unknown. In fact, all their efforts are directed to avert these. They make the horse live close to the tent, and receive him in some degree as an integral part of the family. In the midst of the women, the children, and the slaves, he can hardly fail to acquire habits of gentleness and docility. For the rest, this care shown to the horse is not merely the result of a sense of personal interest on the part of the owner: it takes its origin in religion. The Prophet has said: "The Believer who has trained his horse to shine in the holy war, the sweat, the hair, the very excrement of this animal shall be placed in the balance to his favour at the day of the last judgment."

However, notwithstanding all these bonds which attach man to the horse, notwithstanding the solidarity formed by habit, religion, and interest, no Mussulman will ever give to his horse the name of a man. Men's names have been borne by saints; it would therefore be a deadly sin, a sacrilege, in fact, to apply them to any animal, even though he should be the noblest of all. Besides, names of any kind are given solely to illustrious steeds, and only in the tents of the great. The following are some of their designations:—

_Rakib_, the Scout; _Mansour_, the Victorious; _Sabeur_, the Patient; _Salem_, the Saviour; _Kamil_, the Perfect; _Saâd_, Happiness; _Maârouf_, the Known; _Aatik_, the Noble; _Sabok_, the Rapid; _Nadjy_, the Persevering; _Moubarek_, the Blessed; _Guetrâne_, Pitch; _Messaoud_, the Happy; _Safy_, the Pure; _Ghezala_, the Gazelle; _Naâma_, the Ostrich; _Mordjana_, Coral; _El Aroussa_, the Bride; _Djerada_, the Locust; _Ouarda_, the Rose; _Guemera_, the Moon; _Hamama_, the Dove; _Yakouta_, the Ruby; _El Guetaya_, the Cutter; _Aâtifa_, the Docile; and _Leïla_, Night. Very similar names are given to slaves.

A constant practice of the Arabs, and one that must have been remarked by all who have served in Africa, is to cut the hairs of the forelock, the neck, and the tail. The rules for this seem odd to Europeans. When the colt is one year old they clip off all his hair except a tuft between the ears, on the withers, and on the dock of the tail. At two years old the operation is repeated, but this time the hair is entirely clipped off. When three years old, in the third spring, a third clipping takes place. From three to five years the hair is allowed to grow, but only that the whole may be clipped off at the termination of the fifth year. This final operation is called _el halafya_, and no instrument is ever again raised against the hair. It would be thought sinful to do so, as the only object could be to deceive one's brethren as to the age of the horse. After each clipping they never fail to rub the parts thus exposed with sheep's dung soaked in milk, or with Prussian blue diluted with melted butter. These applications soften the skin and thicken the hair. The practice of clipping is supported by several reasons. In the first place, it indicates, at sight, the age of a horse up to eight years, as it takes at least three years before the horse, having recovered his full length of hair, can be styled _djarr_—one that trails his tail along the ground. Secondly,—which is an important point in hot countries,—it compels the animal to bear patiently the stings of flies. And lastly it is supposed that the hair thus becomes thicker, longer, and more silky.

If the Arabs explain and justify this method of clipping a horse's coat until it is five years old, they do not attempt to do so for our fashion of docking a horse's tail. In their eyes it is a barbarism that has no name. It affords an inexhaustible theme for raillery. They rally us, indeed, on this subject in the most serious conjunctures. I can corroborate this assertion by an incident for the accuracy of which I personally vouch:—

In 1841 the column commanded by Marshal Bugeaud marched to Taguedempt to destroy the fort erected there at great expense by the Emir Abd-el-Kader. We were encamped on the Ouad-Krelouk one of the tributaries of the Mina. In the course of the night we were awakened by the report of a musket shot fired in the middle of the camp. Every one rushed out of his tent, hastened in the direction of the sound, and inquired what was amiss. An Arab was lying on the ground, with his thigh broken. He held in his hand a small knife with a very sharp edge and, like all professional thieves in that country, he had nothing on save a leathern girdle furnished with a pistol. The sentinel who had fired explained that having observed a bush approach, halt, and then approach still nearer, he had suspected some trickery and so fired at it at ten paces distance, just as it was close to the horses of his captain. On hearing the tale of the African veteran, his comrades in their fury were about to massacre the Arab, but the officers who were present calmed their not unnatural excitement and reported the case to the superior authorities. The Arab was carried without delay to the ambulance and had his wound dressed. On the morrow the expedition resumed its march. The fellow had received a very severe wound, and it was useless to embarrass ourselves with him. To have put him to death would only have hastened his destiny, perhaps, by a few days, without doing us any particular good, and, besides, the adventure could be turned to a better account. The Governor General decided, therefore, that he should be left upon the site of the encampment, and that a letter should be entrusted to him for the powerful tribe of the Flittas, upon whose territory we then happened to be. In this letter clear intimation was given to that hostile people that their furious dislike to us would one day be fatal to themselves; that it was useless to contend with us, that France abounded in warriors and in wealth, that Abd-el-Kader by continuing the struggle would only bring upon them unnumbered woes; and lastly that the best thing they could do, was to draw off from that man, unless they preferred to see their rich harvests destroyed and burnt before their very eyes.

At early dawn the column set out, and the rearguard was not a thousand _metres_ from our bivouac when they observed some Arab horsemen arrive, dismount, and carry off the wounded man. On the following day we received the reply of the Flittas. It was addressed to "General Bugeaud, Kaïd of the Port of Algiers," and was couched to the following effect:—

"You tell us that you are a strong and powerful nation, and that we cannot contend against you. The powerful and the strong are just. And yet you seek to take possession of a country that does not belong to you. Besides, if you are so rich, what do you propose to do among a people who have nothing but powder and shot to give you? Moreover, when it pleases Him, the Master of the world humbles the strong and exalts the feeble. You threaten to burn our crops, or to devour them with your war horses and beasts of burden. How often already have we experienced similar calamities! We have had bad seasons, we have had locusts and drought, but Allah has never forsaken us; for we are Believers, we are Arabs, and privations will not kill an Arab. We will never yield to you. You are the enemies of our religion. It is quite impossible. Nevertheless, if the Almighty, to punish us for our own sins and for those of our forefathers, should be pleased to inflict upon us some day that horrible malady, we confess we should be greatly embarrassed. With us the mark of submission is the presentation of a horse to the victors. We are aware that you care only for horses with short tails, and our mares do not produce such."

Subsequently, however, the Flittas were compelled to give us such horses as their mares did produce; but their resistance was obstinate. Since then they have always been the first to raise the cry of war and rebellion. It was they who slew the brave General Mustapha-ben-Ismaïl.[40] It was they who supported Bou-Maza. It was they, in short, who were the last reduced to submission.

After this episode so characteristic of our African campaigns, I cannot better conclude this chapter on the education of the colt than by giving some entirely novel details as to the manner of treating horses in Arabia, which will not be at all out of place and may be interesting to many as showing the part played by woman in the life of that noble animal.

I have often heard it asked whence come the gentleness, the address, the intelligence which, every one is agreed, are to be met with in Arab horses. Are these qualities inherent in the Oriental stock? or are they the result of education? A genial climate is undoubtedly favourable to the development and improvement of the equine race. A rich and noble stock is naturally more apt than any other to yield what is demanded of it, but at the same time something must be done for it in return. The most fruitful soil will produce nothing but briars and thorns if it is not cultivated, and that in a proper manner. Starting from this standing point the Arabs apply themselves with the greatest care and the utmost tenacity to perfect, in their horses, the gifts of nature. A sustained education, daily contact with man, with the other animals, with external objects, that is their grand secret—it is that which makes the Arab horse what he is, an object worthy of our unexceptional admiration. I am aware that this feeling of admiration has not been altogether general. Imperfect knowledge has led many to accuse the Arabs of being ignorant and even of acting like butchers in the matter of horses. They rode them badly, and did not bestow upon them the sort of care so prized in Europe; they abused them from their most tender years, and were constantly drawing blood from the flanks or from the mouth, etc., etc. But truth at length began to dawn, and when it was ascertained that all their horses were intelligent, obedient to the hand and leg, quiet to mount, and inaccessible to fear, there was no choice but to acknowledge that these were great qualities which could only have been produced by a sound and logical education.

Our horses, on the other hand, are nothing more than animals more or less tamed. They bear with man as a conqueror who disposes of them, but they have neither confidence nor affection for those who employ them. Slaves of mankind in general, they do not attach themselves to any one man in particular, because no man especially attaches himself to his horse, which is merely tended and valued like any other agricultural product that is sold as soon as possible, or like an article of commerce, or a piece of furniture that is bartered for profit or exchanged from caprice. Our dogs, it may be, are only attached to us because we do not part with them for a price.

The Arabs desire to find, in their horse, a devoted friend. With them he leads, so to speak, a domesticated life, in which, as in all domestic life, women play a conspicuous part—that, in fact, of preparing by their gentleness, vigilance, and unceasing attention, the solidarity that ought to exist between the man and the animal. On a journey or a campaign, far from the dwelling place, it is the rider who occupies himself with his horse. But at the encampment, under canvas, and in time of repose, it is the wife who directs, superintends, and feeds the noble companion in arms who so frequently augments the reputation of her husband while supplying the wants of her children. In the morning it is the wife who brings him his food, and tends him, and if possible washes his mane and tail. If the ground on which he stands happens to be uneven, broken, or covered with stones, she removes him to a spot more convenient for his repose and the just disposition of his weight. She caresses him, passes her hand gently over his neck and face, and gives him bread, or dates, or kouskoussou, or even meat cooked and dried in the sun. "Eat, O my son!" she says to him in a soft and tender tone. "One day thou shalt save us out of the hand of our enemies and fill our tent with booty."

It is in the morning also that the Arab wife goes forth to the pastures to gather for the animal she cherishes an ample supply of herbs esteemed in the desert for their tonic and nutritive properties. On her return should she see any children, as yet too young to reason, amusing themselves by teasing or ill using the horses tethered in front of the tent, she will cry to them as soon as she can make herself heard: "Children, beat not the horses. Wretches! it is they who nourish you. Do you wish that Allah should curse our tent? If you begin again, I will speak to your father."

On this subject the Arab wife is so intractable that she would not spare her own husband if he took no care of his horse. The horse is his honour, his fortune. She is proud and jealous on those points, and deems herself affected by whatever affects him. If it ever came to pass that her remarks and suggestions were passed over with neglect, she would not hesitate to carry her complaints to the chief of the tribe: "O my lord! you know that our horse is all we have, and yet my husband takes him on idle journeys, ill uses him, overrides him, and taxes him beyond his strength. It would be something if he looked after him when at home; but no, his covering is full of holes, he is never certain of being fed, and even goes in want of water. Scold my husband, I beseech you in the name of Allah. Lead him back into the ways of our forefathers. Above all, do not tell him that it was I who suggested this to you."

The Arab chief, whose interest it is in the course of his adventurous career to be followed only by well mounted horsemen, never fails to make use of the information thus given. He will summon the delinquent before him, reprove him, and warn him that if he does not change his conduct he will take his horse from him and make him walk like a common foot-soldier. At last he will discharge him with these words: "Thou understandest me; go thy way; but bear in mind that in this world honour begins at the stirrup to be completed in the saddle." A lesson of this kind always produces a great effect, not only on the offender but on all who might be tempted to follow his example. And in this manner, sometimes through self-love, sometimes through the fear of punishment, the Arabs apply themselves to inculcate, voluntarily and compulsorily, on all characters and dispositions a love for the horse.

In the afternoon, a little later or a little earlier according to the season, the wife employs herself in leading the horses to water if the fountain be not too distant, and in that case she goes herself to fetch the water in goat-skin bags. When water fails entirely, she gives them ewe's or camel's milk. At this hour the tent of an Arab chief presents a truly singular spectacle. Oftentimes may be seen between the legs of the women and the horses, in presence of a crowd of picturesquely attired children, by the side of falcons beating their wings or greyhounds in a state of excitement, a gazelle, an antelope, or an ostrich, running in and out and jumping about, to beg a drop of that liquid so rare in the desert but which is nevertheless given in abundance to the favourite of the family. Now the evening is at hand. What means that dark speck on the horizon? It is the young men of the _douar_[41] wearily regaining the encampment, mounted on horses with hollow flanks, worn out, and shoe-less. They have been out the whole day hunting, without eating or drinking. Camels loaded with gazelles, hares, bustards, etc., follow behind, but this prize, tempting though it be, will not save them from the storm that awaits them: "Young men," their mothers will exclaim with an angry voice, "it is disgraceful thus to ruin our horses for the sake of a little useless game. You would do far better to spare them for the day when the saliva will dry up in the mouth, for the day when riches will not ransom the head."

During the great heats the women bring the horses into the tent, to shelter them from the fierce rays of the sun. They wash and cleanse them, and in the evening fill the nose-bags with barley to hang round the neck of their petted animals. Each one, and it is a very important point, receives a ration proportioned to his age and temperament and the work he has gone through. These every day attentions and kindnesses as we have already remarked and can not too often repeat, render the horses gentle and affectionate. They neigh with pleasure at the approach of her who tends them, and, as soon as they see her, turn their head gracefully towards her. They go up to her, and she lays hold of them whenever it pleases her, and if any one expresses surprise she will reply with perfect simplicity: "How can you suppose that our mares will not recognize the hand that caresses and feeds them? To how many gambols do they not betake themselves in my presence? And when rising up on their hind-feet behind my back they gently rest their legs on my shoulders—and when they carry a young lamb in their teeth by its wool—and when they slip into the tent to steal our kouskoussou—these are all associations very dear to us. Besides, is it not I who, by giving them at proper times milk or barley, have succeeded in tightening their bellies, developing their chests, sharpening their heads, widening their foreheads, and hardening their limbs? Behold them pass by the side of a herd of gazelles and you would see no difference between the one and the other: the same grace, the same vigour in their bounding, the same swiftness in the course. Like the gazelles have they not eyes level with the head, large eyeballs, bold, sharp ears, thin legs, a rounded croup, and hoofs hard and well knit?"

REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.

The details touching the education of the colt are true. It is what we really do. Too great fatigue and too long journeys do not suit the colt because they prevent the development of his strength and stature. The _djeda_, or less than three years old colt is like a shrub—any impediment in his way stops his growth. But what does suit the colt is exercise and a cautiously graduated fatigue. He must be accustomed to the saddle and bridle, but should only be ridden by a child or by a man of discretion whose weight is in proportion to the age and strength of the animal.

A very customary kind of exercise is after this manner. The colt is mounted by a child, who, with a light stick in his hand, sets off at full gallop. When the colt is tired, he stops, and browses, and lies down as soon as he returns home. On the following morning they give him a feed of barley and take him back to the same starting point, whence he again sets off. This time he is expected to go a greater distance, and in this manner they continue until they have obtained from him a course twice as long as that of the first day.

The Arabs look for a free-going pace in a young horse, and they demand three varieties of gallop; 1st a short gallop, such as is usual in taking a ride for pleasure; 2nd a strong and regular gallop, useful in war, or in hunting wild beasts; 3rd a gallop at full speed, as in races or in fleeing for one's life. This last should not be too freely indulged in.

In fine, the education of the colt should be commenced very early. This is an excellent practice, and not to conform to it is disgraceful—it is making a horse unfit for war. An animal that is not thoroughly trained from its earliest years is intractable, difficult, and awkward: with the slightest exertion it bursts out into a sweat and is good for nothing. It is therefore incumbent in sparing the colt, as I have already said, whatever may check his growth and the full development of his proportions, to endeavour to obtain by work a horse that is supple and patient of fatigue.

The first horse possessed by the Prophet was called _Ouskoub_, by reason of his speed, for the word _sakab_ denotes water that escapes.

Another horse belonging to the Prophet was named _Mortadjez_, because of the beauty of his neigh which resembled poesy and the harmonious metres of the _Aadjaz_. He was of a white colour, and was also styled "Gracious" and "Noble."

A third was known as the "Trailer," as if he trailed his tail along the ground. A fourth was _El Hezzez_, "the fixed" or "the adherent," as if he were already fixed and adherent at the goal it was proposed to reach. Others affirm that his name referred to the vigourous set of his limbs. A fifth was named the "Hill," either because of his height, or because of the power and hardness of his limbs. The Prophet's sixth horse was called the "Rose," on account of the colour of its coat, which was a cross between a chestnut and a dark bay. The seventh was named the "Swimmer," because of the beautiful movements of his shoulders, and because in galloping he raised his fore-legs as if he were swimming.

His first horse, _Ouskoub_, was his favourite. He had besides these the "Sea," the "Wolf," etc., etc.

It has been my object in recalling to mind these notices to teach the Arabs the rule they ought to follow in naming their horses, which should always be called after those of the Prophet. _Djarada_, a javelin,—_Delim_, male ostrich,—_Rakib_, vigilant (the wild ass), are likewise designations suitable to horses.

There are three kinds of horses: the first loads with crimes and belongs to Satan; the second preserves from eternal fire and belongs to man; the third brings down rewards and belongs to Allah.

Loads with crimes and belongs to Satan the horse that is trained out of pride and ostentation, and kept to support wagers to play at games of hazard, or to do injury to Mussulmans.

Preserves from the fire and belongs to man the horse reared for the purpose of reproduction, to save his owner from poverty, and to be useful to him in his personal affairs, without his wandering from the way of God.

Lastly, draws down rewards and belongs to Allah the horse destined exclusively for good works, in the interest of religion. The grass eaten by such a horse in the field or the garden, his evacuations, the water he drinks with his master on his back while crossing a river, without even any intention on the part of the latter to give him to drink, are inscribed by Allah in the register of good works.

Remonstrate with your horses, and they will avoid the faults which have brought down your anger upon them, for they understand the wrath of man. Treat them, however, habitually with great gentleness; and when you mount them, fear not to guide them into the midst of a crowd or of uproar. Let them hear the report of fire-arms, the _guellal_ (the tabour), the shouts of men, and the cries of camels; let them see everything, too, which appears strange to them, and in a short time they will manifest neither surprise nor terror.

A man of a noble family of the Oued-Shelif[42] setting out for Mecca, started in company with a few friends who wished to do him honour. He was riding a blood mare, still in the possession of the family. Suddenly she stumbled, and to punish her he gave her a smart cut with his bridle end, which put her into such a state of agitation that for some minutes she did nothing but rear and jump about from right to left. On his return from Mecca he rode the same animal, and the friends who had accompanied him on his departure went forth to meet him and give him welcome. Scarcely had they reached the spot where the mare was beaten than she began to rear and caper about, going through absolutely the same movements as on the day she was struck. Every one was astonished at this proof of extraordinary memory in an animal that had preserved for a whole year the recollection of a punishment, and of the place where she received it.

"Our noble coursers pass their time in vying with each other in swiftness."

"The women wipe off with their veils the sweat that runs down their faces."

"They balance their heads as if they would free themselves from the fastenings that hold them captive, and are attentive to the slightest command."

"On their backs are mounted fierce lions."

DIET.

If in the Sahara ewe's or camel's milk is frequently given to horses, it must not be supposed that that is their only drink. It is more generally a substitute for barley, which is a scarce commodity, than for water, which is not usually difficult to find. The Arabs are convinced that milk maintains health and strengthens the fibre, without increasing the fat. It is needless to add that the rich who possess many she-camels are less sparing of milk than the poor, who have hardly enough to satisfy the wants of their families. The latter dilute it with water when they can. In the spring time they make use of ewe's milk, to which at other seasons they add camel's milk.

At Souf, Tougourt, Ouargla, Metlili, Gueleâa, and in the Touat, where there are more camels than horses and where grain is scarcer than in the first zone of the desert, dates oftentimes take the place of barley. When they are dry they are given in a nosebag. In eating them the horse, of himself, rejects the stones with considerable address. In certain districts the stones are taken out and crushed in a mortar, and are then mixed with the dates, which are likewise slightly bruised. Dates are also given to horses before they are perfectly ripe, and are eaten stones and all—being quite soft they do no harm. When it is desired to mix the dates with the drink, the Arabs proceed after this fashion. After the fruit is gathered they take three or four pounds of fresh dates, and manipulate them in a large vase full of water until the pulp of the date has become a sort of liquid paste. The skins and stones are removed and the mixture after being well shaken is presented to the animal. The date regimen makes fat, but does not harden the fibre.

In the first zone of the Sahara the ordinary diet of the horse is as follows for each season:—In the spring the shoes are generally removed, and the animals are turned out on the pastures, which at that period of the year abound with a succulent and fragrant herbage known under the generic name of _el âacheub_. They are clogged. Care is taken to avoid the districts where the _ledena_ is met with, a velvety plant the leaves of which resemble a rat's ear. It grows close to the ground and is usually covered up and hidden in the sand. It brings on colics that for the most part terminate fatally. Persons of distinction who keep many servants, and experienced horsemen, never give green food to their war horses. Rich or poor, no one gives barley, which is replaced by ewe's milk, which in this season is very abundant, and preserves the horse in perfect condition. The animals are watered only once a day, at two in the afternoon.

In summer the Saharenes proceed to the Tell to lay in their provision of grain. They are surrounded by unfriendly strangers, and sometimes by enemies. They do not, therefore, care to send their horses out to graze, as they would run the risk of being stolen. Nor are they sorry to have them close at hand in case of any of the numerous accidents happening which so often occur. Barley and barley straw are purchased from their hosts: it is the period of the year when the animals fare most liberally. I mention barley straw, because no Arab would ever consent to feed his horses on fresh wheaten straw. They fancy it produces jaundice if used before the winter. If, perchance, any thing should prevent them from going to buy grain in the Tell, as the plains afford no herbage but what is dried up by the sun, they make for the mountains of the Sahara, where there is a better chance of coming across rivers, or ponds, or at least marshes. If this resource fails them, they encamp in the neighbourhood of the _Kuesours_[43] where straw can be had for money or in the way of barter. In either case the mares alone are sent out to graze, the horses being fastened in front of the tents. Whatever be the temperature, the Arabs never give their horses that mixture of bran, barley meal, and water which we call a mash, and of which we make such a mistaken use. They accuse it of relaxing the tissues and of weakening the system, while favouring the growth of fat, an evil they dread above all things. When their horses are over heated they lessen their work, and if they can procure it they give them green barley straw, and if that is not to be had they have recourse to cooling baths. As to the barley, they like it heavy, without any bad smell, and free from the dirt which gets mixed with it in the "silos," as well as from the black, withered, and blighted grains which have been struck by the South wind.

In autumn the horses are again turned out into the pastures, where they find the _shiehh_, that invaluable resource of the Sahara, so that it is said in praise of a man who is as capable as he is modest:

So-and-so is like the shiehh:
He has parts, but is no prattler.

So much for the day. At night are given handfuls of _seurr_, a species of thorny shrub. It is cut down close to the ground, and beaten with a stick to get rid of the dry prickles, which might injure the œsophagus, or the membranous lining of the stomach. It contains many nutritive elements. Another plant somewhat resembling the common bramble and called _el âdem_ is prepared in a similar manner.

The horse is watered only once in the twenty-four hours, about two in the afternoon. That time is thought the most favourable because the water will have lost something of its coldness,—the temperature then falling every day. Those who are well off give barley, but the poor cannot always do so.

In winter the horses continue to be sent to the pastures, which are now verdant in proportion to the rain that has fallen. The _shiehh_, the _âdem_, the _derine_,[44] etc., are met with, and afford a very sufficient diet. At night _bouse_ is thrown to them in quantities. It is called by the Arabs "brother of the barley," so highly do they appreciate its nutritive properties. _Bouse_ is in fact, nothing else than the _alfa_,[45] which, at the moment of forming its ear, having been pulled by its upper part has come away and got separated from its sheath. Being gathered into small sheaves it is cut up in pieces and answers the purpose of chopped straw. The _alfa_ is turned to account in yet another manner. Its roots are laid bare with a mattock and being freed from their reddish coating, are eaten with avidity by the animal. This article of food takes the name of _gueddeine_ or _zemouna_, according to the locality. It is nutritious, but not a substitute for barley. Hay is unknown in the desert. The Arabs might, if they chose, lay up an abundant supply of it for the winter, but they reject it as having a tendency to make a horse heavy, to soften the fibre, and in the long run to occasion inflammatory disorders. The animals are watered only once a day as in autumn. It is a proverbial saying with the Arabs that "The food of the morning goes out into the draught, while that of the evening passes into the croup." They affirm, therefore, that if the horse has drunk sufficient over night, and eaten heartily through the night, there is not the slightest inconvenience in not giving him anything on the morrow, especially if he has to set out early in the morning. Thus in our camps, with fifteen to eighteen hundred Arab horsemen making part of the expedition, what did we witness? Every officer of the old African army can vouch for the truth of what I am about to say:

Contrary to our habits, to the very last moment the most perfect tranquillity continued to reign in the Arab bivouac. Not a minute was taken from the rest of the animal. They gave him nothing either to eat or to drink. The instant before starting they rubbed him down with a nose-bag. The saddle replaced the covering worn through the night. The bridle was put on, the tents struck, the morning prayer offered up, and at the hour named they were on the march. More than once I have happened to testify my surprise at such a system, but always received the same reply: "Why wouldst thou do for thy horse what thou wouldst not do for thyself? If thou leavest the table at ten or eleven at night, canst thou sit down again to it on the morrow at the dawn of day?" With this regimen the animals remain thin and slender. They are always ready to march or gallop, or do whatever hard work may be required of them. They pick up in an astonishing manner when instead, of a few handfuls of barley and what they can graze off plains parched by a burning sun, they fall in with the produce of the Tell. How would it be, then, if they were placed on the diet of European horses? Instead of their flesh being firm they would get quite fat, and so gain in our estimation, but they would lose in that of the Arabs, who little appreciate that style of beauty generally acquired at the cost of the best qualities of a war horse.

However, if the Arab is too genuine a horseman not to attach the greatest importance to vigour, he is on the other hand too fond of pomp and distinction and the _fantasia_—to use a word already popular in Europe—not to bestow upon himself, when he can, the luxury of a horse for show and parade. It is therefore no rare thing to see Arabs of high position leave their favourite mares for three or four months fastened in front of their tents, without putting them to any work. They thus get into good condition, and are employed only at festivals and marriage feasts and on occasions when the chiefs are particularly anxious to distinguish themselves. For the chace, for razzias, and for long and arduous journeys, they keep horses of less apparent value, but of which they are sure, and do not fear to fatigue them. The mares to which we have alluded are equipped with great ostentation. The _stara_, or cloths, and the bridles are embroidered with pure gold, the stirrups are plated or gilt, and the felt saddle-cloths are as fine as cloth; the most esteemed coming from Ouareglâa.

REMARKS OF THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.

One of the Prophet's companions as he went out one morning found him wiping with his cloak the head of his horse. "Why, with thy cloak?" "What know'st thou?" replied the Prophet. "It may be that the Angel Gabriel has been angry with me on his account last night." "At least let me give him his food." "Ah!" cried the Prophet, "Thou would'st take for thyself all the rewards, for the Angel Gabriel has told me that every grain of barley eaten by the horse is accounted to me for a good work."

The Saharene gives his horse camel's milk to drink which has the particular property of imparting speed, so that a man—according to what is said by reliable persons who guarantee the truth of the statement—if he takes nothing else for a sufficient time, will attain to such a degree of swiftness that he may vie with the camels themselves. In fact, camel's milk strengthens the brain and the tendons, and does away with fat, which produces a relaxation of the muscles.

In some parts of the Sahara the chiefs and horsemen of renown never give green food to their war horses. Milk, barley, and the plants known by the names of _shiehh_, _derine_, _bouse_, and _seuliane_ form their sole keep. This diet does not enlarge the belly or fatten like green food, which distends the intestinal canal, partly because of the enormous quantity consumed by the animal before he is satisfied, and partly because of the water it contains.

In summer the horses are not watered until three o'clock in the afternoon. In winter they are watered rather earlier—from noon to one. It is the time of day when in the open air the water has lost much of its coldness. These principles are expressed in the following proverb, known to the meanest horseman of the desert:—

In the hot season[46] put back the hour of the watering-place
And put forward that of the nose-bag;
In the cold season put forward the hour of the watering-place,
And put back that of the nose-bag.

Among the desert tribes, for forty days counting from the month of August, the horses are watered only every other day. The same method is pursued during the last twenty days of December and the first twenty days of January. In cold weather the rich let their horses have as much barley as they can eat, but decrease the ration considerably in hot weather. Milk and _bouse_ may be substituted for barley. It is seldom that any thing to eat is given in the morning. The horse marches upon the food of the previous evening, and not on that of the same day.

Looking at two horses, one from the Tell and the other from the Sahara, a man who has not studied the subject will always prefer the former, which he will find handsome, heavy, sleek, and fat, while he will despise the second, fool that he is, and abuse the very points which constitute his worth—that is, the fine, dry extremities, the tightened belly, and the bare ribs. And yet this horse of the desert that has never been accustomed to barley, green food, or straw, but only _shiehh_, _bouse_, and _seuliane_, that has never had any thing but milk to drink and from his earliest years has served at the chace and in war, will have the swiftness of the gazelle and the patience of the dog, while the other will never be any thing but an ox by his side.

The greatest enemies of the horse are repose and fat.

GROOMING, HYGIENE, PROPORTIONS.

Grooming is unknown in the Sahara. The horses are merely wiped down with woollen rags, and covered with very good _djellale_, or rugs that envelop both the croup and the chest. In truth, labour of this sort is little wanted, the horses being habitually placed in a healthy spot, on raised ground, and sheltered from draughts. Arabs who have observed us grooming our horses morning and evening with elaborate carefulness, pretend that this continual rubbing of the epidermis, especially with the curry-comb, injures their health, and renders them delicate and impressionable, and consequently incapable of supporting the fatigues of war, or at all events more liable to disease.

When the weather is hot and facilities exist for the purpose, the horses are washed morning and evening. Frequently in winter time they are fastened up inside the tents, which are very roomy, to shelter them from the sun and rain. The great thing is to keep them clean. One day a horse was led up to the Prophet who examined it, rose up, and without saying a word, wiped his face, eyes, and nostrils with the sleeves of his under-garment. "What! with your own garments!" exclaimed the bystanders. "Certainly," replied he; "the Angel Gabriel has more than once rebuked me, and has commanded me to act thus."

In winter the covering is kept on day and night; and in summer until three o'clock when it is taken off, but put on again at eight for the whole night, to preserve the animal from cold and dew, which are all the more dangerous, say the Arabs, because the skin has been heated throughout the day by a burning sun. The following proverb expresses their dread of the cold of summer nights:—

The cold of summer
Is worse than a sabre cut.

If the Arabs do not, like ourselves, attach much importance to grooming, they are, on the other hand, very careful and particular in their choice of the food, and above all of the water, they give to their horses. Many a time during the early days of the conquest, while on an expedition, after long marches in an intolerable heat, with a south wind blowing that choked us and drove the dust and sand into our faces, when horse and foot alike panting, exhausted, without power of motion, we delivered ourselves up, worn out as we were, to a fatiguing sleep often interrupted by the alerts caused by the enemy prowling around us—at such a time I have seen the natives go a league from the bivouac in order to water their horses at some pure spring known to themselves. They preferred to risk their own lives to experiencing the pain of watering their horses at the scanty rivulets in the encampment, quickly converted into filthy drains by the trampling of men and beasts of burden.

It can hardly be necessary for me to dilate any farther on the hygiene of the horse among the Arabs. Indeed, I could only repeat what I have already said. It seems to me preferable to refer the reader to the various details scattered through the preceding pages, and particularly to the principles enunciated in the chapter on the education of the colt. If I have made myself at all understood, I have shown how every owner of a horse among the Arabs is an active, vigilant, I had almost said devoted, master who watches and directs the progress, corrects the defects, and perfects the qualities of his pupil from the very first day. This education embraces every thing, including what I may fairly call the moral faculties; and it augments, modifies, and improves the physical qualities. Every thing is weighed and foreseen. The drink, the diet, the exercise, the position in rest, the whole is graduated and proportioned to age, place, and season; it is all the object of incessant and sustained solicitude. Moreover, the grand principle, and I myself think it a good one, seems to be to avoid, on one hand, excessive fatness which is opposed to all energetic work, and, on the other, any check to perspiration which is the cause of the greater number of diseases. Once more, the question is not: is all this care well founded? are they wrong, or are we mistaken? But after having propounded the formula, that in the life of an Arab his most absorbing and almost exclusive occupation is the rearing and training of his horse, I have shown that the Arab is not guided by mere chance, that his is not a blind, inconsiderate passion, as is supposed by those who see him from afar and bestow only a glance on him. Any one who will study him perseveringly, who will examine him, as it were, under the microscope, and analyse his daily acts and doings, will be forced to the conclusion that he is guided by traditional and logical motives. In a word, this education, this careful bringing up, of the horse is based upon fixed and constant principles having for their aim to endow the animal with spirit, bottom, and health. And what is this but hygiene?

The Arabs, says Ben-el-Ouardy, have always preferred good horses to their own children, and they love so much to show them off on occasions of rejoicing that they would deprive themselves of all nourishment rather than see them suffer from hunger and thirst. In the arduous and critical circumstances of life, especially in years of famine, they go so far as to give them the preference over their own persons and families. This is proved both by faithful narratives, and by the chaunts composed by their poets. Witness the verses addressed by the learned Ben-Sassa to the great tribe of the Beni-Aâmer.[47]

Beni-Aâmer, why do I behold your horses
Blemished and changed by misery?
Such a condition cannot be right for them.
Though death has an hour that no man can put back,
Horses are your safeguard:
Give them the good things you yourselves like best;
With pure barley fill their nose-bags,
And with iron furnish their hoofs.
Love horses, and take care of them;
In them alone lie honour and beauty.
In taking care of them, you take care of yourselves,
The Arab who has not a good horse can never aim at renown.
For my part, on this earth, I know no other happiness.

And had I hundreds of gold _soulthanis_.[48]
I should enjoy them only by sharing them with him.
I would also support my family with them,
And when they came to fail me,
I would humble my pride
Even to beg alms proudly for my friend.
All the treasures of Karoun,[49] without a horse,
Would not make me happy.

Does the north wind begin to blow,
Do the heavens open upon the earth,
Secure your horses from the cold rain.
Keep them warm, they deserve these attentions.
For sports, for war,
Adorn them with your richest saddles,
With bridles embroidered with gold, with superb garments,
And the Prophet will love you.

Sympathise, too, with, the mares of your poor dependents,
When in spite of all their efforts
They have not sufficed for their wants;
Bestow upon them a generous hospitality,
Share with them your ordinary food;
Associate them with your own families,
Many sins will be forgiven you.

The sabres are drawn,
The warriors are in their ranks,
The horse is about to become more precious than a wife.
The fire of battle is kindled,
I guide him into the midst of perils,
He protects me with his head, and his croup,
And makes my enemies to flee.
May Allah preserve this well-maned horse,
Whose eyes flash fire!
Love horses, take care of them,
In them alone lie honour and beauty.

In the Sahara, then, the horse is the noblest creature after man. The most honourable occupation is to rear him, the most delightful pastime is to mount him, the best of all actions is to tend him well.

The Arabs assert that they can tell beforehand, by certain methods, what will be a colt's stature and character when he becomes a horse. These methods vary in different localities, but those most generally adopted are the following:—For the height, they take a cord, and passing it behind the ears and the nape of the neck, they bring the two ends together on the upper lip just below the nostrils. Having established this measure, they apply it to the distance from the foot to the withers. It is an article of belief that the colt will grow as high as this last measurement out-tops the withers.

When it is desired to ascertain the value of a horse by his proportions, they measure with the hand from the extremity of the dock to the middle of the withers, and take note of the number of palms. They then begin again from the middle of the withers to the extremity of the upper lip, passing between the ears. If in the two cases the number of palms is equal, the horse will be good, but of ordinary speed. If the number of palms behind is greater than in front, the horse will have no "go" in him. But if the number of palms between the withers and the extremity of the upper lip is more considerable than in measuring from the tail to the withers, rest assured the animal will have great qualities. The more the number differs to the advantage of the forepart, the greater will be the value of the horse. With such an animal, say the Arabs, they can "strike afar"—go a long distance—thus expressing the pace and bottom promised by such proportions. With a little practice they easily come to judge by the eye so as to have no occasion to measure. While a horse is passing they compare rapidly, starting from the withers, the hindpart with the forepart, and without going into details the animal is judged.

REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.

Passing before a horse the Prophet began to rub his face with his sleeve, saying: "Allah has been wrathful with me because of horses." "Felicity is attached to the forelocks of horses." And it is on their account that their owners can reckon on the aid of Allah. Therefore it is your duty to wipe their forelocks with your hands. A wise man has said:—"The noble labours with his hands without a blush, in three cases; for his horse, for his father, and for his guest."

One mode of judging of a horse is to measure him from the root of the mane close to the withers and descend to the end of the upper lip between the nostrils. They then measure from the root of the mane to the end of the tail-bone, and if the forepart is longer than the hindpart there is no doubt the horse will have excellent qualities. To ascertain if a young horse will grow any more or not, the Arabs measure first from the knee to the highest point situated in the prolongation of the limb above the withers, then from the knee downwards to the beginning of the hair above the coronet (to the crust of the hoof): if these two measures are to one another as two-thirds to one-third, the horse will grow no more. If this proportion does not exist, the animal has not done growing, for it is absolutely necessary that the height from the knee to the withers should represent in a full grown horse exactly double the length of the leg from the knee to the hoof.

In the desert the curry-comb is never used, the horses are cleaned with the nose-bag, which is made of horse hair, and are frequently washed if the weather is favourable. Milk is their ordinary drink. Should it happen to run short, the Arabs do not hesitate to go a considerable distance to find clear and pure water for them. The barley ought to be heavy, very clean, without any bad smell, and completely clear of the impurities which are unavoidably mixed with it in the "silos." The horses are covered with good _djellale_, which fully protect the loins, the belly, and the chest. They are manufactured in the tribe. Those that are made with care are water proof.

There are some coats which must be preserved with equal attention from cold and from heat. Experience has demonstrated that this is necessary for all horses of a light colour, beginning with the white, the fineness of whose skin makes him very susceptible.

In the sun he melts like butter:
In the rain he melts like salt.