Chapter XX

KEROUAN TO DJEBEL TROZZA, DJILMA AND SBEITLA.

On the afternoon of April 11 we left Kerouan, by no means sorry to regain our liberty; for although we had greatly enjoyed the society of our hosts, it was impossible not to feel ill at ease in so sacred an atmosphere. I must add, however, that this was the only place in the Bey’s dominions where we saw anything like intolerance of Christianity, and here, considering the venerable traditions attached to the place, its existence was almost excusable. The heat was most intense, but one of our hanbas, out of consideration for my comfort, had provided for my use one of the immense straw hats used by the Arabs of the South, very similar in form to what we are accustomed to associate with the rites of a witch’s Sabbath. Its crown was a truncated cone as big as a sugar-loaf, and the diameter across the brim was little short of a yard. This is worn over the turban or head-dress, whatever it may be, and fastened under the chin with leather straps, when it is desirable to protect the head from the sun’s rays; at other times it hangs down the back by those straps which then pass over the neck. In perfectly still weather it is a great luxury, but when there is the slightest breeze it is extremely difficult to manage. Our route to-day was in a south-westerly direction, and after a short ride of 13 miles we encamped at a douar a little to the north-east of the Koubba of Sidi Ali bin Salem.

Our hosts at Kerouan had sent a spahi in advance to prepare everything for our reception, so we found grain for the horses, and, what we always prized more than anything that could be offered, abundance of fresh milk for our own use.

At half-past five on the morning of April 12 we continued our route westwards. At seventeen miles from Kerouan we crossed the Oued Shershera, an affluent of the Merg-el-leil, both of which are dry at this place; here we passed to the right bank of the latter river, and at about twenty-two miles from Kerouan we came to an end of the weary plain in which we had been travelling ever since leaving Susa, and entered slightly undulating ground surrounded by low hills. To us they appeared magnificent mountains, so ready were we to hail anything with delight, that should break the painful monotony of the landscape. About a mile beyond is Ain Ghorab, the fountain of the crow (Aquæ Regiæ?), near which are the ruins of a Roman position. It is a copious spring near the left bank of the Merg-el-leil, which has here a considerable body of water; the Arabs say that it is never dry at this point, though its waters are absorbed by the thirsty ground a very short distance lower down.

Two and a half miles further on we passed the remains of another Roman town; its site is called Dhahar el-Baidha. We noticed no appearance of inscriptions or ruins of any particular interest.

Near this spot we were met by the brother of the Sheikh Salah, Khalifa of the Oulad Sendasini, a branch of the _Jelas_ tribe, pronounced _Selas_; his own name is Ali Harioush ben Saidan, and as the great people themselves appear to be always away somewhere, he had come out to meet us in the name of his brother, and escort us to our camping-ground at the north end of Djebel Trozza. Here he had collected a number of the tents of his people for our especial advantage, and he supplied all our wants with the most lavish liberality. What words shall I use to express the delight of those huge bowls of warm milk, awaiting us the moment we had got out of our saddles? The heat had been overpowering for some hours, and no fluid in nature could have been so grateful to us. Our good host was delighted at our enjoyment of it, and repeated over and over again that, if there was anything else we could suggest as likely to minister to our comfort, he would have the country scoured in every direction to procure it. We must indeed have been hard to please if we had not been satisfied with his arrangements for our reception. Barley and grass for the horses were already provided for them, and even a further supply in bags for the next day’s march. A sheep roasted whole, couscoussou, butter, eggs and honey, an abundance of dates and excellent fresh bread, above all a continuous and boundless supply of milk, formed a feast that even Hatim Tai might have set before his guests. Our good host was very curious to see all we possessed, and to know what I was writing in my note-book. I pleased him greatly by telling him, that I was recording his name and the excellence of his hospitality for the information of all future generations.

On the north end of Djebel Trozza, about 380 feet above the level of the plain below, is a remarkable fissure in the limestone mountain called by the natives _El-Hammam_, or the bath. It descends vertically from a spacious recess or cave, to a depth of about twenty feet, when it widens out into a chamber filled with hot vapour. We had no means of testing its temperature, and indeed did not venture to the bottom, but it cannot be much under the boiling point of water. No water, steam, or fire ever issues from it, but the vapour rises perpetually and appears to be merely heated air, without the addition of any sulphureous gases. The natives have implicit faith in its remedial effects, and come to it from great distances for the cure of rheumatism, and other similar affections. The mountain is comparatively dry and sterile, but it is not without a considerable number of trees, the principal of which are wild olive, tamarisk, kharoub and juniper. There appears to be no water near save what is obtained from the Merg-el-leil, which flows near it. We saw great numbers of red-legged partridges, and my companion delighted the Arabs vastly by the facility with which he shot them on the wing. Our host was a great sportsman himself, but I fancy he was more accustomed to shoot his prey sitting than flying.

Alpha grass grows abundantly here, and indeed in many parts of the country: but this was the only place where we actually saw it being collected. This valuable plant, the _stipa_, or _Macrochloa tenacissima_, appears destined to be the great civilising influence in North Africa. Two railways are now being constructed in Algeria, one by an English capitalist,[145] and several others are projected, with the sole object of bringing down this precious fibre to the coast. Tunis cannot compete with Algeria in this respect; still, considerable quantities are annually exported from Susa, Sfax, and other ports on the east coast of the Regency.

The plant grows spontaneously in isolated tufts on the most dry and barren soil; it extends itself in concentric layers, so that the youngest and best leaves are always outside, and therefore most easily plucked. At present it is principally employed for the manufacture of paper, and nearly all our British mills are being adapted to make use of it; but there appears no limit to the number and variety of manufactures in which it can be employed, either in its natural state or in the form of _papier mâché_. Hats, mats, brooms, baskets, &c., are made of the dried fibre, while a paste made from it has been employed by opticians (for telescopes), manufacturers of artificial limbs, shoemakers, tailors, house decorators, coopers (for making casks), and it has even been suggested to employ it in shipbuilding.

With the alpha generally occurs the diss grass (_Empelodesmos tenax_), which it greatly resembles, and which is the staple building material of the country. It makes an excellent and impermeable thatch, but the fibre appears not to be suited for papermaking.

Early on the morning of April 13, we started from our camping-ground. Our host, and the two extra spahis who had been sent from Kerouan to accompany us, rode with us part of the way, and after a hard day’s ride of twelve hours, upwards of thirty miles, we arrived at a douar of the Frashish tribe, some miles west of Djilma. The route lay along a wide plain, more undulating and _accidenté_ than that from Kerouan, but almost totally uncultivated. Many parts of it were covered with brushwood, there were even groves of olive-trees in some places, and all along the route at short intervals we observed ruins of Roman stations, showing how extensive the occupation of the country had once been. This is the great highway, if such a name may be applied to a mere track, from Kerouan to the Djerid; and it is quite practicable for wheeled conveyances, although there are one or two rather difficult watercourses to be crossed.

We could not remain any time at Djilma; neither provisions for ourselves nor forage for our animals were to be obtained; so after a very cursory examination of the ruins we continued our route. The modern Djilma is the ancient Chilma or Oppidum Chilmanense, which does not appear to have played an important part in history; if it did, the record is lost. The ruins are not very interesting, though they cover a considerable extent of ground. The most important is a Byzantine fortress, which, as usual, is built of older materials. There can be no doubt that the modern name is merely a corruption of the ancient one; nevertheless, the Arabs have a way of their own of accounting for it. The water of the Oued Sbeitla, as we shall see further on, disappear in the sand a little south of the ancient city. A holy man undertook to make them reappear near Djilma, and on his miracle proving successful all the people flocked to see it, exclaiming in astonishment, ‘_Dja el-ma!_’ (the water has arrived!) There can be no doubt as to the authenticity of this miracle, as the Oued Djilma has contained an abundant supply of water ever since!

Our reception by the Frashish was by no means very cordial, but after the usual amount of wrangling and threatening we got what we absolutely required, food for our people and horses; our own provisions we always carried with us. They also gave us some goats’ milk, very highly flavoured by the wormwood and other aromatic herbs, which constituted their principal food, but by no means disagreeable in taste.

Early on the morning of the 14th we started for Sbeitla, where we arrived shortly after noon. The road passed along the crest of a low range of hills, following the left bank of the watercourse running between Sbeitla and Djilma, which is here quite dry. The country is as barren as any we had passed through, but it is covered with the remains of Roman posts and towns. One of the latter, now called Meksour Mediouna, about a mile from our camping-ground, occupies a very large area, and appears to have been a place of importance. Near it, on the left bank of a tributary of the river, are the remains of a wayside fountain, attached to which was another building, intended, no doubt, to enshrine a statue, fragments of which, in blue stone, are lying near it. This district, now so utterly barren and deserted, must have contained a large and prosperous population. We did not meet a single individual during our ride of twelve miles. Game is very abundant here, and my companion shot a fair supply of partridges and a lesser bustard or _poule de Carthage_.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 145: This railway, which leaves the main line at St. Barbe de Tlelat, twenty-six kilometres from Oran, proceeds thence to Sidi Bel Abbes. It was opened for traffic on June 10, 1877. It was constructed entirely by Mr. Harding, of Paris, and was transferred by him to a company only on the completion of the work.]