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 A L G E R I A: 
 
 tiii 
 
 TOCOGRAPHY AND HISTORY. POLITICAL. SOCIAL, AND NATURAL. 
 
 OF 
 
 FRENCH AFRICA 
 
 i;v 
 
 JOHN REYNELL MORELL 
 
 LONDON : 
 NATHANIEL COOKE. MIL FOR I) HOUSE STRAND. 
 
 MDCCCLI V 
 
 "-WIS"
 
 PEEEACE. 
 
 Africa, the laud of mysterious memories and monstrous realities, the progeni- 
 tor of pyramids, baobab-trees, negroes and boas, lies now between two fires. 
 The rattle of Mime riiles is beginning to be heard at the Cape, and its echo 
 resounds from the Atlas. Kabyles and Kaffirs are measuring their strength 
 with France and England, and the issue cannot be doubtful. Having once 
 tasted the sweets of conquest, neither of the two great Western Powers will be 
 disposed to resign them in a hurry. Rather may we look to their grasping at 
 their neighbour's goods, till some fine day finds French sentinels fraternising 
 with the Cape corps on the Niger, and the Mountains of the Moon surveyed by 
 laclauds de Paris and honest cockneys. 
 
 As to the advantages derivable from European colonies in Africa, South or 
 North, they are yet a matter of expectation. Hitherto the moderns have 
 certainly suffered more and done less than the Romans in African cam- 
 paigns. Algeria, the granary of Rome, has been the grave of the French 
 soldier ; and yet a nursery for a goodly crop of iron men of the Changarnier 
 stamp, who have done brave service in the streets of Paris. The French 
 Regency may be looked upon as an issue to relieve the apoplectic symptoms 
 of the mother country, and a drain for her floating capital ; but as to any 
 positive returns derived by France for her outlay in that quarter, we confess 
 ourselves unable to discover them, except in the shape of cotton and the above 
 African chiefs, who have sharpened their wits and whetted their swords, as well 
 as their appetite for slaughter, in Algerian razzias. That the future will show 
 better things, is our firm belief. Algeria and Morocco, under an enlightened 
 sway, and pacified, might in all probability yield glorious crops, and afford a 
 noble field for commercial speculation. Nor is the day probably very distant 
 when Cape Madeira and other Cape liquids, as well as solids, Will find then- 
 way in great abundance into the English market. That we have not exag- 
 
 a
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 gerated the corn and olive crops of Barbary, and the cotton and warrior crops 
 of Algeria, will appear from facts in the sequel of this work. 
 
 In this age of wonders, the greatest wonder is, that the multitude still follow 
 the broad road of doubt, that the word ' impossible' is not offensive to all ears 
 polite. 
 
 Thomas Grey was branded a madman and died a beggar because he was a 
 fast man, and his thoughts were too locomotive for his generation; and yet we 
 deny social progress and doubt Utopias. The Crystal Palace has extinguished 
 Aladdin's lamp, and the dreams of the Arabian Nights are eclipsed by the day- 
 light of science. The earth is girt with telegraphs ; and yet we cannot con- 
 ceive that the hour is at hand when humanity will be electrified by the spirit of 
 liberty. We live in a golden age, but we cannot place faith in a coming com- 
 monwealth ; serenaded by sirens, and rocked to sleep by the Muses, we yet 
 laugh at the idea of a future harmony. We cannot get up the steam of faith 
 in a dawning Millennium, and our clairvoyance is dazzled by the excessive 
 light of the coming day. 
 
 The regeneration of man is daguerreotyped in characters of light, but we 
 are blind to God's photographic art ; the age of reason and the reign of love 
 is rapped out by unearthly hands on our parlour tables, but we are deaf to 
 the summons of the seventh heaven. 
 
 To tunnel the Atlantic and electrify China were thought sober prose, and 
 shares in a gas-company at Jeddo would be at a premium to-morrow ; but to 
 irrigate the desert, set free the Poles, and make Europe Christian, is too much 
 for our faith. 
 
 With faith in our hearts, science in our heads, and ready hands, we can 
 exalt the valleys and make low the mountains. If France is true to herself, 
 with Algeria at her doors, she will better herself and bless the nations. The 
 wilderness will blossom as the rose, springs will gush forth in the desert, and 
 flower-beds will cover the marshes ; and we may anticipate the day, without 
 any stretch of fancy, when ostrich expresses will furrow the Sahara, and 
 teams of zebras or quaggas run daily from Algiers to the Cape via the Niger. 
 We starve amidst plenty; with our lips to the brim, we die of thirst: beggars 
 are we, though Midas's wand is in our hands. 
 
 A wise combination and economy, a perennial exodus, and, above all, con- 
 struction substituted for our destructive habits, would make the world roll in 
 riches and revel in luxuries. 
 
 Instead of sitting down by the stagnant waters of Conservatism and weep-
 
 PREFACE. Vll 
 
 iiig, we should be up and doing, and putting our hands manfully to the wheel, 
 sorrow and sighing would flee away, we should wipe away all tears, the lion 
 and the lamb would lie down together, and a little child would lead them. 
 
 The French have much and can teach much of the wonders of science to 
 their Arab brothers. Yet lack they one thing, which I ween they might 
 learn better in the tabernacle of the wilderness than in the Madeleine — the 
 power of faith. 
 
 If they unite these two levers, they will not only remove mountains, but 
 raise the earth. True science ends where the Arab begins, in a child-like be- 
 lief in the infinite power of God and the inexhaustible resources of his creation. 
 Finality is destruction to science and death to religion. 
 
 We have in some measure outgrown the age of speculation ; we are be- 
 ginning to drop theories, and to be alive at length to the all-sufficiency of facts. 
 It will soon be too late to write down, talk down, and preach down discoveries ; 
 nor will the magistrate or the priest be able to fulminate excommunication 
 against new truths. Science, facts, and machinery are beginning to explode 
 the conservative prejudices of the fore world, and to free the mind from 
 the thraldom of custom and circumstances. And though the world is thus on 
 the move towards the broad daylight of truth, we need not fear that it will ex- 
 tinguish the poetry of the past or the mysteries of nature. God's facts are ever 
 full of poetry, and man's highest wisdom is at best such foolishness before 
 high heaven, that he need never fear the danger of exhausting the secrets 
 of the universe. 
 
 Imbued with the spirit of the times, the author has endeavoured impar- 
 tially to collect, compare, and condense as many useful facts as possible in this 
 volume. His object has been to make his countrymen familiar with an impor- 
 tant and interesting region and people hitherto little known to us. The pre- 
 sent critical position of the Ottoman empire adds additional interest to all terri- 
 tories verging on its frontier, and all tribes having an affinity with its popula- 
 tion ; and Algeria being the only French colony of note, and nearly equal to 
 France in size, and having been once the granary and glory of Piome, has ap- 
 peared to him well worthy of careful study on many grounds. Amongst the 
 Arab tents, moreover, the reader will find many traces and footmarks of holy 
 men and apostolic times. A classical soil and the cradle of Hannibal, the sunny 
 shores of Tunis and Hippo are also dyed with the blood of a noble army of 
 Christian martyrs ; and thus this historical land possesses all the attributes cal- 
 culated to secure the interest of the student and the traveller.
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 In short, it has been the author's endeavour to make the book as practi- 
 cally useful as possible, whether it falls into the hands of the many or lies on 
 the desk of the few. He might easily have expanded his matter to an incon- 
 venient bulk ; but his limits and convenience restricted him to more moderate 
 dimensions, — a circumstance which will probably be far from exciting regret in 
 the reader. 
 
 In consulting the best and latest authorities on the subject, he has found 
 almost all his materials in French works. The principal English books that 
 have appeared on Algeria within the last twenty years are chiefly confined to 
 temporary and local observations. 
 
 Those who wish to obtain the amplest details respecting all branches con- 
 nected with the colony are referred to the volumes of the Exploration Scienti- 
 Jique, and the Tableau de la Situation for 1850, from which the author has 
 gathered his most important facts, having likewise, in most cases, conformed 
 to their spelling of Arabic names. 
 
 In giving the angle of the slopes of mountains and rivers, &c, the deci- 
 metres, centimetres, &c. have been merely reduced into inches and decimals 
 of inches. The reader will find it convenient to bear in mind that a metre 
 is rather more than a yard, or about 39 inches ; and the author has considerately 
 translated throughout the French measures into corresponding English mea- 
 sures, in order to prepare the tender British intellect for the grievous transition 
 to the decimal system. 
 
 Hampstead, 1st January, 1854.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART L— TOPOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE HISTORICAL EXODUS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Problematical countries — The march of discovery — African character- 
 istics and mysteries — Caffres and Kabyles — General survey of North- 
 Western Africa — Its topography generalised — Herodotus — The desert 
 — The successive tides and strata of humanity — France in Africa — 
 The fall of Carthage a warning for the ages 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 The Zones— Tell and Sahara— Orology— The Atlas chains— The Aouress— 
 Potamology— Primary Basins— The Shellif— Lake Melrir— El H'od'na 
 and the Ouad Mzab— Secondaiy basins— Natural hydraulics— The 
 lakes — Tertiary basins — General organic laws 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Political divisions of North-West Africa— Political divisions of Algeria- 
 Latitudes and longitudes— Arab mensuration— Turkish divisions and 
 subdivisions — Scientific French division — Six districts — Distinction of 
 Tell and Sahara— Esoteric analysis — Exoteric delimitation— Surface — 
 Arab appellations — Zones and departments 43
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ALGIERS. 
 
 Principal features of the province of Algiers— The Shellif — The Haratch, 
 the Massafran, and the Isser — The Mitidja — The Sahel — Sidi-Ferruch 
 — Cape Matifou — Algiers — The old Port — The new Port — Streets — 
 Houses — Bazaars — The Casbah — The Faubourgs .... 57 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 STATISTICS OP ALGIERS. 
 
 Religious edifices — Baths — Fountains — Brains — New civil edifices — His- 
 torical statistics of Algiers — The poetry of Eastern life — Antagonism 
 of the social states of Europe and Africa — New military edifices and 
 defences 84 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PRECINCTS OP ALGIERS. 
 
 Precincts of Algiers — The two Mustaphas — Jardin d'Essai — Buffarick — 
 Model farm — Maison Carree — The Cafe of Hammah — The Consulate 
 of Sweden — Ayoun Beni Menad — Pointe Pescade .... 97 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 INTERIOR OP THE PROVINCE. 
 
 Characteristics of Algerian scenery — Interior of the province — Blidah — 
 The Chiffa— Medeah— Milianah— The River of Silver— Teniet-el-Had 
 — Boghar— The Koubber Romeah— Scherschell— Tenes— The Darha— 
 Orleansville— Aumale— The Oases of the Beni-Mzab— The Bedouin 
 Tribes 116
 
 CONTENTS. • XJ 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EXCURSIONS. 
 
 Excursions — The orange-groves of Blidah — Coleah, its delightful neigh- 
 bourhood and Moorish population — the Col de Mouzaia — M. Laraping's 
 expedition to the South — The Atlas — The Arabs — The Little Desert — 
 Sergeant Blandan — Mere Gaspard — Milianah — Expedition to the 
 Ouarsenis under Changarnier — The march — The bivouac — The block- 
 ade — Teniet-el-Had 132 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PROVINCE OF ORAN". THE COAST. 
 
 Outline of the coast — Mostaganem — Arzeu — Oran — Nemours — Oran — 
 Mers-el-Kebir — The Gulf of Arzeu — Antiquities — St. Marie — Origin of 
 Mostaganem 149 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PROVINCE OF ORAN. INTERIOR. 
 
 Outline — Tlemsen — Mascara — Tagadempt — Mazounah — A tour through 
 the province — St. Denis — Mascara- — Sidi Bel Abbess — Tlemsen — Ne- 
 mours—The far South— Tiarct 163 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PROVINCE OF CONSTANTINA. COAST. 
 
 The coast — Djidjelli — Collo— Philippeville — Bona — The port — The town 
 — The buildings — The population — Sanitary condition — Mount Edough 
 — Trip to La Calle— An Arab tribe — La Callc — Bastion de Prance . 194
 
 Xil CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PROVINCE OP CONSTANTINA. INTERIOR. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Interior of the province — Broad outline — Analysis — Baron Baude — Natu- 
 ral features of Numidia — St. Marie — Constantina — Madame Prus — 
 Borrer — Guelma — Gerard the Lion-king — Constantina — Betna — 
 Aoures — El-Gantra — Biskra — The Oases 222 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 GREAT KABYLIA. 
 
 Authorities — Broad outline — The different Kabylias — Great Kabylia — 
 Etymology — History — Analysis of its topography — Bugia — Its road- 
 stead — Its tribes — Expedition of Marshal Bugeaud — The Zaouias of 
 Sidi-Ben-Ali-Cherif — Kuelaa — Dellys 250 
 
 PAET II. 
 
 STATISTICS AND HISTORY, 
 political, Social, an& Natural. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE KABTLE8. 
 
 Native population of Algeria — Characteristics of the Kabyles contrasted 
 with the Arabs — Superstitions — Industry — Manufactures — Manners — 
 Weddings — Women — Administration — Laws — Authorities — The Ma- 
 rabouts — The Zaouias — The Anaya — Illustrations of Scriptural and 
 Classical anticuiity 269
 
 CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE ARABS. 
 
 Agriculturists and Bedouins — Tents — Furniture — Women — Distinctions 
 of Arab life — Patriarchalism — Feudalism — Douars — Horses — Falconry 
 — Illustrations — Markets — Legends — Scriptural Customs — The Arabs 
 of Constantiua — Administration of the Tribes — Bedouin Officials — 
 Statistics — Bureaux Arabes 300 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MOORS, TURKS, KOULOUGLIS, JEWS, ETC. 
 
 Etymology — Moorish women — Toilette — Weddings — Divorces — Turks — 
 Their government — Their costume — Yousouf— The Koulouglis — Their 
 characteristics and laziness — The Jews — Their servility and persecu- 
 tion — The corporations 324 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE NEGROES. 
 
 Utility of Slavery — Mahometan and Christian slavery — Degraded state of 
 the Niger basin — The Slave-trade in Africa — The Blacks in Morocco — 
 Unfortunate results of the attempt to stop the Slave-trade — The Djelep 
 — Native Arts and Sciences 339 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 EUROPEAN POPULATION AND GENERAL STATISTICS. 
 
 European settlers — The French colonists — General character of European 
 settlers — Latest tables — The component nations — Spaniards — Maltese 
 — Italians — Native population , 348
 
 XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 COLONISATION. 
 
 General survey of colonisation — Government decrees on rural property — 
 Concessions in land — Decree of the President, 1851 — State of general 
 colonisation in the colony — Province of Algiers: Civil territory, 
 Military territory — Province of Oran : Civil territory, Military terri- 
 tory — Province of Constantina : Civil territory, Military territory — 
 New projects — Penitential colony at Lambessa — Agricultural colonies 
 — St. Denis and Robertville, &c 354 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The Ool-ama — Three classes of them — Sheikhs — Khatebs and Imams — The 
 Mufti— The Sautons, and other orders — The Dey's Ministers — The 
 Kaids — The Kadis — French civil administration — French tribunals — 
 Mussulman tribunals and schools ...*... 377 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 TUB FRENCH ARMY. 
 
 Roman razzias — Strength — Native troops — Zouaves- — Spahis— French — 
 Chasseurs d'Afrique — Sanitary statistics, &c. — The African chiefs — 
 Changarnier- — Cavaignac— Canrobert 388 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF ALGERIA AND BARBAHY. 
 
 The reign of Mythos — The Semitic and Indo Germanic conflict— The 
 Phoenicians— The spirit of Carthage— The first Punic war — The mer- 
 cenaries' — The second Punic war — Hannibal — Canute — Scipio— Zania
 
 CONTENTS. XV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 — The fall of Carthage — Jugurtha — Metellus— Marius — Juba — Chris- 
 tian Africa — Donatists — Circumcellious — Tertullian — Cyprian — St. 
 Augustine — The Vandals — Belisarius — The Arabs — Their dynasties — 
 The two Barbarossas — Charles V. — Piracy — Lord Exmouth — The 
 French invasion — Rovigo — Trezel — Abd-el-Kader — The cave of Khar- 
 tani— Capture of Abd-el-Kader — His liberation — Zaatcha — Laghouat . 404 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 Antiquities of Algeria . 447 
 
 SECTION II. 
 Language 461 
 
 SECTION III. 
 Commerce and Agriculture 464 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 Natural History, Geology, &c 480
 
 A 
 
 PART I. 
 
 TOPOGRAPHY. 
 
 B
 
 FRENCH AFRICA, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Che Hfetorual <£rofcuS. 
 
 " Trascorser poi le piagge ove i Numidi 
 Menar gift vita pastorale, erranti. 
 Trovar Bugia ed Algieri, iufami nidi 
 Di corsari ; ed Oran trovar piu avanti ; 
 E costeggiar di Tingitana i lidi, 
 Nutrice di leoni e d' elefanti ; 
 C or di Marocco e il regno, e quel di Fessa ; 
 E varcar la Granata, incontro ad essa." 
 
 II Gerusalemme del Tasso, 1. 51, c. 21.* 
 
 PROBLEMATICAL COUNTRIES THE MARCH OF DISCOVERY AFRICAN CHARACTER- 
 ISTICS AND MYSTERIES CAFFRES AND KABYLES GENERAL SURVEY OF NORTH- 
 WESTERN AFRICA ITS TOPOGRAPHY GENERALISED HERODOTUS THE 
 
 DESERT THE SUCCESSIVE TIDES AND STRATA OF HUMANITY FRANCE IN 
 
 AFRICA THE FALL OF CARTHAGE A WARNING FOR THE AGES. 
 
 w 
 
 "E read in the venerable pages that record the creation of the world and 
 of humanity, how God spake unto the latter, and said, " Be fruitful 
 and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it." Ever since the early 
 days when these memorable words were spoken by the Almighty, we find, 
 
 * "They view where once the rude Numidian swain 
 Pursued a wandering life from plain to plain. 
 Algiers and Bugia then they reach, the seat 
 Of impious corsairs ; next Oran they greet ; 
 And now by Mauritani's strand proceed, 
 Where elephants and hungry lions breed. 
 Morocco here and Fez their cities rear ; 
 To these opposed Granada's lands appear." 
 
 Hook's Tasso, 1. 149-155, b. 15, p. 302.
 
 20 THE MARCH OF DISCOVERY. 
 
 from the twilight of tradition to the daylight of history, that as ages 
 have rolled onwards, the children of men have, as a steady current, in- 
 undated the length and breadth of the habitable globe. Asia, the cradle 
 and nursery of tbe human race, was probably first peopled ; and as adven- 
 ture, or curiosity, or war, or the want of space, urged the bolder spirits 
 to move on, the tide of human beings swept into the neighbouring hemi- 
 sphere, and ultimately reached the remotest coral islands of Polynesia. 
 Though this chronic exodus and perpetual emigration was undoubtedly 
 checked for a season by one or more diluvial catastrophes, yet whenever 
 the generations succeeding those that had been submerged or sufferers 
 had recovered from the injuries thus received, they invariably rushed 
 onwards once more in this progressive movement, till at length every 
 spot of land that could offer a home or sustenance to man had been 
 subdued and visited. Some of these early colonists appear to have 
 always, or generally, maintained a friendly or hostile intercourse with the 
 parent races and regions ; whilst other, more forward wanderers, have 
 deviated so widely from the beaten track of nations, as to have lost all 
 connexion with, or memory of, their early home. 
 
 Severed from the mother-country by pathless wastes or icy fields, they 
 gradually lost most traces of affinity with the parent stock, and the ebony 
 skin and uncouth utterance gave but few signs of relationship with pale 
 faces and the musical Sanskrit. A mystery came at length to shroud 
 these strange progenies in fabulous forms, till they and their country 
 became an enchanted sphere. 
 
 Though modern science and discovery have done much to clear up 
 the mystery, and restore the severed links of nationality, yet the salt 
 wastes of Mongolia, and the icy horrors of the pole, still bid defiance 
 to the heroism of blue-jackets and the scientific fanaticism of Asiatic 
 Societies. 
 
 But among all the problems and vetos for the exploring mania of 
 modern times, no portion of the globe has offered so fatal and fabulous a 
 field as Africa. So deadly is its very air to the Indo-European races, 
 except at its extremities, that the Caucasian man, treading its wastes 
 and jungled forests, is inevitably doomed. It is true that many Semitic 
 tribes seem to have assimilated better with the climate, but it is at the 
 expense of their intellectual life • and save in the Moorish monarchies 
 of Northern Africa, experience proves that the Arab conquerors of this 
 burning hemisphere have speedily been scorched almost to the grovelling 
 level of the Negro. 
 
 As regards European and scientific travellers, it may justly be pro- 
 nounced that its shores are their Tie plus ultra. Niger expeditions, the 
 sickly Congo, and the statistics of Sierra Leone, shew in clear figures the 
 uncongeniality of the African climate to European constitutions. Hence 
 all exploring expeditions into the heart of this terra incognita have been
 
 AFRICAN CHARACTERISTICS AND MYSTERIES. 21 
 
 more or less failures. Holocausts of brave spirits have been the martyrs 
 to scientific fanaticism on its fatal plains. Nor is it climate alone that 
 offers serious impediments to the adventurous traveller. The comparative 
 deficiency of large rivers and extensive mountain-chains, which operates 
 directly on the climate in aggravating its heat and dryness, acts indirectly 
 as a serious obstacle to commercial and all other intercourse and transit. 
 But among the obstructions that have hitherto checked the course of Euro- 
 pean adventure and travel in Africa, we must especially place the excep- 
 tional and conservative character of its populations. If we turn to the 
 British possessions at the Cape, we form an acquaintance with the blood- 
 thirsty Zoola, the treacherous Caffre, and the Boschman, who, with the 
 inhabitants of the Andaman Islands and of Tierra del Fuego, appears to 
 represent the lowest degradation to which human nature can descend. 
 Higher up, on the east coast, we meet with the atrocious populations of 
 Arkeeko,""" who seem to blend in perfection all the vices of savage and civi- 
 lised life. Penetrating into the interior, we encounter the superstitious and 
 jealous Abyssinians, who in their bloody banquets and forays acquire and 
 strengthen that ferocity which naturally appals and deters the helpless tra- 
 veller. Their neighbours the Shangallas and the Gallas, with their poisoned 
 arrows and licentious customs, would shake the firmness of all wanderers 
 save such a spirit as Bruce. If we except Egypt, the whole of Northern 
 Africa forms no exception, but, on the contrary, powerfully corroborates 
 our view of the character of its population. The Kabyles of the Atlas 
 exceed most races in cruelty and charity ;f and the Bedouins of the Sahara 
 are notorious for hospitality, perfidy, and bigotry. The shipwrecked 
 crews who have tasted of Arab clemency on the coasts of the Desert, 
 and the fate of French prisoners in Algeria, can best attest the sympa- 
 thies and warrnth of the Arab heart for suffering humanity. The reader 
 will shortly be presented with some striking proofs of the accuracy of 
 these remarks. 
 
 The western part of Central Africa has long been eminently repulsive 
 in a moral point of view, from the bloodthirsty tyranny of its chiefs and 
 people, and the atrocious practice of kidnapping and selling neighbours 
 and countrymen into bondage. The ferocity of the king and people of 
 Dahomey and Ashantee contributed for many years to deter the approach 
 of the adventurous traveller even more powerfully than the deadly sun of 
 Guinea ; and though recent events have made some alterations in this 
 respect, exploring expeditions into Central Africa are still attended with 
 imminent personal risk, as well from the unfriendly elements as from the 
 
 * Major Head's Life of Bruce, p. 209. 
 
 + For an explanation of this apparent enigma, the reader is referred to the chapter 
 on the Kabyles. It will be sufficient here to observe, that this singular peojile, though 
 ferocious and blood-thirsty in battle, have numerous institutions analogous to the monastic 
 systems and freemasonry of Europe, fostering learning and dispensing brotherly love 
 throughout the land.
 
 22 • NORTH-WESTERN AFRICA. 
 
 inhospitable character of its people. Thus a barrier seems to have been 
 placed by the hands of the Almighty to break off all intercourse between 
 the poison of European civilisation and the conservative barbarism of 
 this mysterious hemisphere. Yet there is much to attract the interest 
 of the philosopher and fix the attention of the naturalist in this strange 
 land of prodigies. Nature appears there in a new, a larger, and a more 
 exuberant character, and deals largely in anomalies and monsters. From 
 the days of Herodotus downwards, Africa has been the chosen home of the 
 marvellous ; and though much that has been related and received concern- 
 ing its prodigies must be attributed to the credulity of an unscientific age, 
 enough remains to justify us in pronouncing it the parent of paradoxes. 
 Thus in the human race, anomalous in its psychical and physical develop- 
 ments, it presents us with the Negro shading into the Boschman and 
 the Hottentot. Passing to the inferior mammalia, we have the came- 
 lopard, the quagga, and the multitude of strange beasts that Gordon 
 Gumming has found teeming and roaming through the Avilds and wastes 
 of the Cape district. Again, among birds, we observe the anomalous 
 struthious species, which though extinct in New Zealand, yet multiplies 
 and flourishes in the plains of Africa. Nor is the vegetable kingdom 
 deficient in anomalies, presenting us with the gigantic baobab; and in 
 the geological aspect of the continent the eye is astonished at the end- 
 less oceans of sand, and startled by the almost unparalleled variety of 
 stratification found in Algeria. 
 
 Much more might be added to prove how deserving this vast continent 
 is of the study of scientific men. The ancient Abyssinian church, with its 
 theocratic hierarchy and oriental traditions; the anomalous character of 
 Abyssinian mountains, and appetites which modern discovery has con- 
 firmed, after a sceptical age had ridiculed the superior wisdom of the 
 gallant Bruce ;'"' the fabulous massacres and female body-guards of Ash- 
 antee and Dahomey, t and the strange practices of the Kabyles of Atlas, — 
 all worthily keep up the character of Africa as the land of marvels, and 
 point it out as a legitimate field for scientific research. 
 
 Happily or unhappily, its extremities are now in the hands of the two 
 most polished nations on the earth ; and the day cannot be far distant 
 when a more familiar intercourse will spring up between the Gaul and the 
 Kabyle, the Briton and the Caffre. Though the introduction has been 
 rude, and ushered in by a running accompaniment of powder and shot, 
 
 * The reader will find an account of the singular geological formation of Abyssinia, 
 and of the raw steaks constituting a chief ingredient in Abyssinian diet, in Major F. B. 
 Head's Lifo of Bruce ; whose revelations will be seen there verified by the testimony of 
 other subsequent wanderers : pp. 235, 244. 
 
 + For a description of the sanguinary practices and negro amazons of Dahomey, see 
 Commander Fred. E. Forbc's Dahomey and the Dahomans, being tho Journals of two 
 Missions to the King of Dahomey and a residence at his capital, in tho years 1849-50 ; 
 vol. i. p. 23. London, 1851.
 
 NORTH-WESTERN AFRICA. 23 
 
 there is reason to anticipate that Christianity, commerce, and science, 
 heralded by the bayonet, will carry the blessings of lawsuits, civilisation, 
 and doctors, into the heart of Africa, and make us acquainted with its 
 deepest recesses. 
 
 European valour and enterprise have already made rapid strides in 
 advance ; and the northern and southern extremities of this vast hemi- 
 sphere have been carefully and scientifically examined and explored. 
 
 This remark applies especially to North-western Africa, which, parti- 
 cularly when viewed in relation with its past history, is much more 
 worthy of study than the fertile but obscure plains and valleys of the 
 Caffre district. 
 
 Barbary, or North-western Africa, is undeniably the finest part of that 
 continent. More accessible to Europeans than any other region, it is also 
 more calculated, by its fertility and temperature, to become once again the 
 theatre of a great people. It combines all the qualities that are most 
 adapted to captivate the imagination of the antiquarian and the scholar, 
 to draw forth the energies of the merchant and the speculator, and to en- 
 gage the researches of the philosopher and the man of science. Once the 
 granary of the Roman empire, it seems intended by nature, under a more 
 happy administration, to replenish the less-favoured regions of the north 
 with the exuberance of its productiveness. Long oppressed by a barba- 
 rous and benighted people, it has been for centuries, like Italy its ancient 
 master, the prey and theatre of injustice and rapine, though lately a 
 brighter day appeared once more about to dawn upon its shores, under 
 the happier auspices of republican rule. These observations apply more 
 particularly to Algeria; yet all the Barbary states are so closely connected, 
 that the civilisation of one is certain to become infectious. 
 
 Historically speaking, the region now under survey is one of the most 
 interesting on the face of the globe. To give the reader a general idea of 
 this part of the continent, historically and topographically, before descend- 
 ing to details, we shall now lay before him its principal landmarks, and 
 the most striking events that have rendered its name illustrious among 
 the nations. 
 
 Barbary, properly speaking, constitutes the whole of North-western 
 Africa, and extends from the frontier of Barca and the Gulf of Sidra on 
 the east, to Cape Nun on the west. This vast territory, which includes 
 the regencies of Tripoli and Tunis, the French vice-royalty of Algeria, and 
 the empire of Morocco, corresponds to ancient Carthage, Numidia, the 
 two Mauritanias, and Gtetulia. It is our purpose in the present work 
 to give a minute description of the French possessions in Africa, and a 
 general outline of the other states that constitute Barbary, and are situated 
 in North-western Africa. On the present occasion we confine ourselves to 
 a cursory sketch, historical and geographical, of the whole district, chiefly 
 with the view of directing the reader's attention to its interest and im-
 
 24 THE DESERT. 
 
 portance. The tract under consideration embraces little less than 2000 
 miles of coast ; but its breadth varies greatly, according to the proximity of 
 the sandy waste that occupies the heart of Africa. It is intersected by the 
 great Atlas chain, which, under different names and in different branches, 
 runs east and west through the whole region, generally parallel with the 
 coast, and reaching from the western ocean to the borders of Egypt. Its 
 rivers are mostly insignificant, the distance between the Atlas and the sea 
 not admitting of the formation of a large volume of water. 
 
 The father of history has correctly divided this territory into three dis- 
 tinct zones, naturally formed by the character of the soil, and correspond- 
 ing very exactly with the modern divisions. The first zone, bordez*ing on 
 the coast, and forming the Tell of the modern Arabs, he calls the in- 
 habited land ; the second zone he styles the wild-beast country, — this re- 
 gion represents the pastoral uplands now called Sahara, a name inaccu- 
 rately extended to the Desert ; and his third division consists in the sandy 
 Avaste which is the Desert proper of all ages. The second or pastoral 
 zone, the Sahara of the present day, corresponds in part to the ancient 
 Gajtulia, and is situated south of the Atlas, between the 30th and 34th to 
 35th degrees of N. latitude. 
 
 The Great Desert occupies the entire breadth of Africa, and stretches 
 through Arabia and Persia into Northern India. Its width varies, being 
 greatest between Morocco and Soudan, and narrowest between Tripoli 
 and Bornou, the route followed by Denham and Clapperton. 
 
 Having thus given the reader a faint outline of this interesting region, 
 we shall endeavour to present to him, in a series of brief sketches, the nu- 
 merous remarkable social and political revolutions that it has undergone. 
 
 The history and geography of North-western Africa present the image 
 of a vast archipelago, containing to the north steep and verdant islands, 
 and to the south flat and sandy islands separated by long intervals, and the 
 sea that severs them has risen and fallen in successive tides, encroaching 
 on them at high-watei - , and losing ground during the ebb. Occasionally 
 during the flood the waves have covered the tops of some of the lower 
 islands, whereas at low-water some of the space separating them has been 
 left dry, and the waters receding even below the lowest gorges, the islands 
 have lost their character, and the archipelago has become a continent. 
 Yet some of the sandy and rocky summits have never been reached by 
 this stormy sea. Such has been the picture presented by Northern Africa 
 in its historical and geological development through the phases of time 
 and the fields of space ; the physical characteristics of the soil accurately 
 corresponding to the social phenomena that they represent. The steep 
 islands are the mountainous ridges ; the flat islands are the oases ; the 
 secular tides are the invasions. All these islands representing groups of 
 the same nation, whilst the flood that sweeps round them is in its turn 
 Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, Greek, Arab, Turk, and French.
 
 TIDES AND STRATA OF HUMANITY. 25 
 
 Successive tides of humanity have thus flooded the plains of North 
 Africa, each leaving deposits behind ; and the mountain-chains, as usual, 
 have been the refuge of the oldest and most conservative hordes. Thus 
 the present Kabyles, or Djebalis (Highlanders), of Algeria are to all in- 
 tents and purposes the same people as the primitive Numidians of the 
 time of Sallust and Polybius. The most important element among the 
 different nationalities represented in Noi'theru Africa is undoubtedly the 
 Semitic, which forms the staple of its population ; and it is probable that 
 the aboriginal Numidians of tradition, the Carthaginians, Arabs, Moors, 
 and perhaps the modern Kabyles, all belong to that remarkable family of 
 the human race. 
 
 The Mediterranean cruiser that sails along the coasts of Mauritania 
 and Numidia hails the classic kingdoms of Iarba, of Dido, of Juba, of 
 Jugurtha, of Siphax, and of Massinissa. The traveller while pacing its 
 sunny shore recalls the glories and the heresies of the North- African 
 church ; its Cyprian, its Augustine, its Hippo Regius, and its Cirta. Pass- 
 ing the supposed site of the ruins of Utica, his mind dwells on the heroic 
 death of Cato, the last republican, whose lofty spirit preferred a violent 
 death, rather than bend to the general oppression of the empire ; standing 
 on the ruins of Carthage, he reflects on the revolutions of empires, the 
 Scipios, Hannibal, and Kegulus. The image of the gentle, saintly king 
 of France floats before him, as he lies on his couch of ashes on that pes- 
 tilential shore.* Crossing to Goletta, the fort of Tunis, he sees the walls 
 and towers that bear witness to the Christian zeal and valour of a Spanish 
 emperor and a British admiral.t In one place he crosses a river in whose 
 turbid stream the veteran Massinissa found his last home ; farther on, 
 he reaches the spot where Genseric and his Vandal host, descending 
 from Spain on the devoted land, proceeded to convert the granary of 
 Ptome into a howling wilderness. Not far hence he views the plain where 
 the Greek army of the gallant Belisarius levelled the Vandal pride with 
 the dust. Or if he visits the crumbling battlements of Kairwan, Tlemsen, 
 or Fez, his mind reverts to the days of Arab glory, when the gallant band 
 of Islam flashed like a meteor over the valleys and plains of Mauritania, 
 and plunging on their fiery chargers into the Western Ocean, threatened 
 to reduce the stormy sea into subjection to the Crescent. A melancholy 
 grandeur hovers over this historical land, and the shades of mighty hosts 
 and nations long since gathered to their fathers seem still to linger and 
 haunt its spectral cities. 
 
 " Giace 1' alta Cartago ; appena i segni 
 Dell' alte sue riiiuo il lido serba. 
 
 St. Louis, a.d. 1270. f Charles V. in 1541, and Blake in 1655.
 
 26 TIDES AND STRATA OP HUMANITY. 
 
 Muoiono le citta, muoiono i regiii ; 
 Copre i fasti e le pompe arena ed erba : 
 E 1' uom d' esser mortal par clie si sdegni : 
 nostra mente cupida e superba." 
 
 Tasso's Gerusalemme, 1. 15, c. 20.* 
 
 Taking a broad survey of the chronology of North -west Africa, we 
 have first the primitive immigration of the Berbers or ancient Libyans, 
 assuming that people, according to its oldest traditions, to have come 
 originally from the Semitic corner of Asia. These are followed by Phoe- 
 nician colonists, the founders of Carthage, who still belong to the Semitic, 
 and are eventually subdued by the Romans belonging to the Indo-Ger- 
 manic stock. The Vandal invasion brings in a new branch of the latter 
 variety, constituting a part of the great Gothic family that swept over 
 Europe at the fall of the Roman empire ; but after a short triumph, they 
 shared the fate of their predecessors, and were forced to submit to Justi- 
 nian and the Byzantine Romans, who once more regain the supremacy 
 on the African shore. From the fall of Carthage to this period, from 
 B.C. 146, to about the latter half of the seventh century of our era, dif- 
 ferent families of the Indo-European variety had held sway in North- 
 western Africa ; but about the beginning of the eighth century a flood 
 of the Semitic tide once again deluged the land under the name of 
 Saracens and under the crescent of Mahomet, which brought the cross 
 into subjection and extinction on those shores, after it had reigned there 
 about five hundred years. This Arab or Saracen family of the Semitic 
 variety held sway in Barbary from the eighth to the tenth century, when 
 a band of daring desperadoes, belonging to the Turkish branch of the 
 Mogul variety, reduced the Algerine portion to subjection, and ruled it 
 with a rod of iron, till the French conquest in 1830 restored the cross 
 and the supremacy of the Indo-Europeans. Morocco has invariably, Tri- 
 poli and Tunis have generally, continued under Arab or Semitic rule since 
 the concpiest in the eighth century, though the two latter regencies have 
 been nominally subject to the Sultan of Turkey for a long course of years. 
 
 This cursory view of the history of Barbary will shew that it has been 
 the theatre of numerous important and violent revolutions, and will serve 
 to fix the attention and engage the interest of the intelligent reader. The 
 minuter details of its history are reserved for a future chapter. 
 
 There is another consideration that increases the interest which sur- 
 rounds a study of this remarkable country ; I mean, the present position 
 
 * " Ill-fated Carthage ! scarce, amid the plains, 
 A trace of all her ruined pomp remains ! 
 Proud cities vanish, states and realms decay, 
 The world's unstable glories fade away ! 
 Yet mortals dare of certain fate complain. 
 impious folly of presuming man !" 
 
 Boole's Tasso, 1. 14-6, b. 15.
 
 PALL OF GARTIIAGE A WARNING FOR THE AGES. 27 
 
 and future prospects of the French power in Africa. If we examine the 
 causes of the disputes and struggles between nations, it is probable that a 
 large proportion will be found to originate in misunderstandings and igno- 
 rance. A more accurate survey of, and a closer acquaintance with, the 
 position and power of our neighbours would generally or frequently an- 
 ticipate and prevent the deplorable results to which we have alluded, by 
 enabling us to arrive at a correct comparative estimate of our strength and 
 resources, and by teaching us what we have to expect. 
 
 The progress of the French power in Africa is an instructive example 
 of the aggressive and invasive spirit and propensities of our neighbours ; 
 and it is important to remember that the French government has within 
 call a powerful army of above 100,000 veterans, inured to hardships and 
 war, and officered by men who have grown grey in camps. 
 
 The observations of an eminent writer on the fall of Carthage are 
 moreover especially applicable to this country and to the present situation 
 of the continent. " The fall of Carthage," he remarks, "has been ascribed 
 to that neglect of her maritime forces which was manifested during the 
 last Punic war. When Scipio crossed from Sicily to Africa, there was not 
 a fleet to oppose him. But the principal cause of her decline and ultimate 
 overthrow was the fierce hostility of rival factions within her own walls. 
 * * * In the fate of Carthage was exemplified the usual result of a popu- 
 lar government and of civic contention ; the voice of clamour is silenced 
 only by the shouts of a triumphant foe, who puts an end to the rivalry of 
 parties by treading all distinctions under foot."'"' 
 
 A memorable instance of this truth was afforded in the coup d'etat of 
 December 1851. Let us hope that the ruins of Carthage and the present 
 slavery of France will have a warning voice for England, and teach us to 
 avoid the abuses that led to these catastrophes, f 
 
 From the preceding remarks the reader will perceive that the past and 
 present history and position of French Africa and its borders are an in- 
 structive study for the philosopher, the statesman, and the patriot; and 
 though our limits have necessarily prevented us from dwelling on the 
 mysterious valley of the Nile and the past glories of Cyrene, the anti- 
 quarian and the politician will be amply rewarded if they extend their 
 minute survey to the north-eastern part of this land of the sun. The 
 wonders of early Egyptian culture, the wealth, luxury, and learning of 
 the Pentapolis and Alexandria, and the Mameluke beyliks of Kahira, 
 
 * Dr. Russel's Barbary States, p. 83. 
 
 + Some of the more inflammable spirits of lajeune France have been ready to antici- 
 pate as one of the results of the new France now occupied on the north coast of Africa, 
 that the classic Mediterranean will be shortly converted into a French lake. We confess 
 our inability to do justice to this conclusion while our batteries of Gibraltar frown on the 
 Straits, and unless our modern vikings are sadly degenerated from their sires.
 
 28 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 are calculated to command the reverence and dazzle the imagination of 
 the ages. 
 
 Having thus given a view of what he has to expect among the plains 
 and valleys of old Atlas, we shall transport our reader on board one of 
 the numerous steamships that plough the Avaters of the Mediterranean, 
 and after a rapid and easy passage deposit him on the quay of Algiers.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 $J)»SicaI <£eocrrnpftr>. 
 
 THE ZONES TELL AND SAHARA OROLOGY THE ATLAS CHAINS THE AOURES 
 
 POTAMOLOGY PRIMARY BASINS THE SHELLIF LAKE MELRIR EL 
 
 h'od'na AND THE OUAD MZAB — SECONDARY BASLNS NATURAL HYDRAULICS 
 
 THE LAKES — TERTIARY BASINS GENERAL ORGANIC LAWS. 
 
 Africa, from the north to its centre, is divided by nature into three dis- 
 tinct regions. The first, to which the name of Tell, or the corn- 
 country, has been applied, ascends by a gradual slope to the region of high 
 table-lands. The latter, forming the second region, extends, under the 
 name of Sahara, from the Tell to the Desert, which is nearly on a level 
 with the sea. The high table-lands of the Sahara afford pasture for nume- 
 rous flocks of sheep ; and at intervals you meet with oases containing for- 
 tified towns, forming depots for the corn and merchandise of the nomadic 
 tribes. To the eastward of the oases of the province of Oran, in Algeria, 
 begins the country of the Beni-Mzab,* which contains seven important 
 towns, forming emporiums for the whole commerce of the south, and 
 peopled, according to tradition, by the descendants of the Moabites. The 
 fact is, that almost all of them have blue eyes and fair hair, whilst their 
 language also differs from the Arabic. They are, moreover, schismatics, 
 because they do not belong to any of the four authorised Mussulman sects. 
 But the severity of their morals, their union, and their honesty, have given 
 them a high reputation ; and their active character has centered in their 
 own hands most of the barter trade between the Tell and the Desert. 
 
 To the south of these table-lands of the Sahara, parallel to the Tell 
 and to the sea, begins the third region of Africa, consisting of the Desert ; 
 but not such a desert as is pictured by a European imagination — sand, and 
 nothing but sand to the end of the chapter. The desert is in reality com- 
 posed of immense plains, analogous to the steppes of Bussia, the pusztas 
 of Hungary, and the llanos and pampas of South America, with this essen- 
 tial difference, that they have no wood or vegetation, and very little water, 
 which is confined to certain favoured spots few and far between, that be- 
 come the necessary halting-places of the traveller.^ It is true that tracts 
 of sand frequently occur, Avhich have been spread over its surface by the 
 action of the winds ; and the natives often apply to them very singular 
 
 * ( -r ! \j'° ij-J Beni-Mzdb% t Humboldt's Views of Xature, pp. 2-3.
 
 30 THE ZONES. 
 
 appellations, such as veins or nets, according to the shape given to them 
 by the caprice of the winds. But the desert contains in like manner 
 oases, and whole countries clothed with vegetation and inhabited by a 
 numerous population, such as the Great Oasis of Touat. Beyond these 
 vast plains rises a chain of mountains, rivalling the Atlas in verdure and 
 vegetation, and forming the country of the Tonaregs, who are the buc- 
 caneers of the desert. Lastly, to the southward of these mountains, you 
 reach the land of Soudan, the Negroland, the chosen home of the mar- 
 vellous, and the seat of fabulous realities. A straight line drawn from 
 Algiers to Kachna, at the distance of more than 800 leagues (2200 miles) 
 from the coast, passes through the three regions that we have just de- 
 scribed ; and there is every reason to believe that the whole of Northern 
 Africa presents similar characteristics and divisions. The kingdom of 
 Haoussa, of which Kachna is the metropolis, was conquered about thirty 
 years ago by a white Mussulman race called the Foulaues ; and thus, by 
 a singular chance, whilst a Chiistian power was establishing its dominion 
 in Northern Africa, Islam was imposing her arms and her creed on the 
 centre of that continent. 
 
 Between the Tell and the Sahara are vast undulations of ground, 
 celebrated for their pasturages, and called the Sersous.* This district 
 is the residence of wandering tribes and vast flocks of sheep, which con- 
 stitute their sole wealth, as they abstain from all agricultural pursuits. 
 
 Nominal Algeria, f that is to say, the old regency, is divided by a line 
 running nearly east and west into two distinct zones, called by the natives 
 Tell and Sahara. The Tell, according to some authorities, takes its name 
 from the Latin tettus (cultivable land) ; it constitutes the zone bordering 
 on the Mediterranean, and is the land of harvests and agriculture. The 
 Sahara stretches to the south of the Tell, and forms the region of pastures 
 and fruit. Hence the inhabitants of the Tell are agriculturists, and those 
 of the Sahara are shepherds and gardeners. The Tell is formed of a series 
 of fertile basins yielding almost exclusively different kinds of corn, espe- 
 cially wheat and barley ; and its flattest parts compose one of the richest 
 countries in the world, but at the same time one of the most uniform. 
 The chains separating the basins are clothed with timber, but being 
 peopled by Berbers are inaccessible to the Arabs. 
 
 The Sahara was long a fabulous land, being called by some the Great 
 Desert, and by others the Country of Dates, — contradictory appellations 
 resulting from 1 he confusion and imperfection of geographical knowledge 
 previous to the French conquest. It was very generally supposed that 
 from the mountains of the Tell to Nigritia there stretched one continued 
 
 * See note, p. 110, of Marshal de Castellanc's Souvenirs de la Vie militaire en Afrique : 
 Paris, 1S52. 
 
 t Sec the Exploration scientifique de l'Algeno ; Study of the Roads followed by the 
 Arabs, by E. Carette, introduction.
 
 OROLOGY. 31 
 
 plain of sand, a wilderness infested by savages. Such is not, however, 
 the true aspect of the Sahara, which consists of a vast archipelago of 
 oases, each offering an animated group of towns and villages. A large 
 belt of fruit-trees surrounds each of these villages, among which the palm 
 rules supreme from its height and value, though you have also pome- 
 granates, figs, apricots, peaches, and vines. This massive verdure, with 
 its profusion of fruit and shade, may give the reader some idea of the 
 strong love entertained by the people of the Sahara for their country, 
 which must not be regarded in the light of a desei't till you have advanced 
 a great distance beyond the southern limits of the regency. 
 
 The Sahara also stretches to the south of Tunis and Morocco, the nor- 
 thern zones of those countries being likewise styled Tell. The Algerian 
 Sahara is comprised between the Tunis Sahara to the east, the Algerian 
 Tell to the north, the Desert proper to the south, and the Morocco Sa- 
 hara to the west. 
 
 Considered orologically, Algeria consists principally of the assemblage 
 of several chains of mountains running parallel to the sea-shore, i. e. in an 
 east-north-easterly direction, and intersected in their eastern extremities 
 by other transverse chains running east-south-east. It results from this 
 conformation that Algeria is divided naturally into two parts : one western, 
 where the accidents of the ground are very simple, and almost all subject 
 to the same direction ; the other eastern, presenting frequent crossings or 
 breaks, and for that reason displaying the loftiest points. The north of 
 Africa presents, as I shall shew, three directions of mountain-chains : one 
 parallel to the Mediterranean, running in an east-north-east direction, and 
 constituting the dominant ridge ; a second chain running in a north- 
 north-east direction, and determining the general direction of the coasts 
 of Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean, and also that of the Tunis coast — the 
 third direction is east-south-east, and presents itself distinctly in the ridges 
 of the province of Constantina and the regency of Tripoli ; it determines 
 the direction of the sea-board in the latter country. 
 
 This compound chain has its highest point in Morocco, where the 
 mountain named Miltsin, near the capital, attains an elevation of 3470 
 metres (11,398 feet) above the sea. The ridge sinks rapidly in the vi- 
 cinity of Mlonia, and its lowest points are about the meridian of Mos- 
 taganem, Mascara, and Saida, i. e. about the second degree west longitude 
 from Paris, where its greatest elevation does not exceed about 700 metres 
 (2296 feet). Farther east the mountains rise again as far as the Chellia, 
 the culminating point of the Aouress ridge, situated 108 kilometres (67 
 miles) south of Constantina, and rising to the height of 2312 metres 
 (7583-36 feet). 
 
 The Aouress mountain is the highest summit in Algeria and in the 
 whole country that lies behind Morocco and Abyssinia. To the east of the 
 Aouress the mountains rapidly sink to the Halouk-el-Mkhiba, 110 kilo-
 
 32 OROLOGY. 
 
 metres (68*4 miles) east ofTebessa; this mountain is 1445 metres (4739-60 
 feet) high, and its summit seems to command the whole regency. The 
 Barian, which is almost the only chain in Tripoli, does not appear to rise 
 to a greater elevation than 800 or 1000 metres (2624 or 3280 feet).* 
 
 Algeria, at the time of its sovereign Hussein Pasha, comprised a great 
 part of the northern shores of the continent of Africa. Its territory at 
 that period extended from the fourth degree west to the sixth east longitude 
 of the meridian of Paris,t and from the thirty-fourth to the thirty-seventh 
 degree of north latitude. The Atlas chain runs through this territory, form- 
 ing a segment of a circle, of which the extremities approach the sea, while 
 the centre departs from it and approaches the desert. This great chain of 
 mountains must be divided into three zones, which extend east and west 
 in nearly parallel lines; and which may be appropriately styled the Great 
 Atlas, the Middle Atlas, and the Little Atlas. Each of these zones pre- 
 sents almost similar sinuosities. Between the sea and the Great Atlas, 
 which approaches the desert, is the Middle Atlas, a secondary chain, cut 
 by another longitudinal chain, which from east to west approaches more 
 and more to the shore; this latter ridge is the Little Atlas. A number of 
 smaller chains lie between the principal ones and the sea, forming so many 
 ascending steps or degrees. The most northerly point of the Great Atlas 
 is about 15 leagues (37 miles) from Setif, not far from the source of the 
 Ksour and Bousellam. To the west of Tlemsen, in the province of Oran, 
 the Middle Atlas is linked to the Little Atlas, J which latter range runs 
 over a space of about 100 leagues (250 miles), and reaches the Shellif, 
 which breaks through it at six leagues (15 miles) distance from Medeah. 
 This chain, which forms an elbow to the east by another branch (or spurt), 
 appears to advance south to join the Great Atlas ; while on the other 
 hand, by the Bibans, it follows an easterly direction to form a northern 
 angle at Constantina. It reappears on the right bank of the Seybouse as 
 far as the frontier of Tunis. 
 
 At six leagues from the sea the Tafna cuts the Little Atlas, and the 
 latter commands successively the right bank of the Isser and the left of 
 the Sig, which it crosses as well as the Habrah. Then it draws near the 
 shore, which it follows almost in a parallel line for 60 leagues (150 miles) 
 till it abuts in the Col de Mouzaia. Soon after having passed this point, 
 under the name of Djordjora, it dominates the Adouse, and for a moment 
 disappears at Bugia; but a little distance farther on it is again seen draw- 
 ins near the Middle Atlas. 
 
 The Atlas thus presents groups of parallel mountains intersected by 
 and containing a series of basins furrowed by streams in different di- 
 
 * Exploration scientifiquc ; M. Carotto's Geographic ct Commerce de 1' Algeria meri- 
 dionals. 
 
 t From 1° 39' 45" W. to 8° 19' 15" E. of Greenwich. 
 
 ± Many geographers regard the Middle Atlas merely as a branch of the Littlo Atlas.
 
 OROLOGY. 33 
 
 rectlons. Those rising near the sea, having hut a short course and a very 
 rapid descent, are at certain seasons furious torrents, and at others dry 
 beds. Those, on the contrary, that come from farther inland have to pierce 
 a channel through the] transverse ranges. Such are the Ouad-Rummel 
 and the Shellif, which have to hreak the barrier of the Lesser Atlas.* 
 
 In looking on the map of Algeria, f it may be seen that this country, 
 which extends in length between the Great Atlas and the sea about 250 
 leagues (625 miles), with a mean breadth of 120 leagues or 300 miles, 
 is divided from one extremity to the other into two regions by the chain 
 of the Little Atlas, the superior region lying between the Great and Little 
 Atlas, and the inferior or maritime between the Little Atlas and the sea- 
 coast. If you seek for the communication that nature has effected be- 
 tween these two regions, you will find dark and hilly defiles, by which 
 at three or four points the waters of the first region find their way to 
 the sea. These issues, opened by the force of the waters, are also occu- 
 pied by it. Man can hardly venture among them ; and thus the two re- 
 gions which these issues were intended to unite are still left isolated. 
 The division does not stop there. From the intermediary chain of the 
 Little Atlas numerous branch ranges are thrown out to the north and to 
 the south towards the Great Atlas on one side, and towards the sea on the 
 other. These tAvo regions are thus divided into a multitude of valleys, 
 with no common communication between them ; so that the country, di- 
 vided into two long halves by the Little Atlas, and subdivided into nu- 
 merous fractions by these branch ranges, somewhat resembles a chess- 
 board depicted by the mountains, natural barriers being thus offered to 
 the communication of the population inhabiting it. You may search in 
 vain for a natural centre to the broken country ; nature has refused it. 
 Neither are secondary centres to be found ; all the maritime region is 
 composed of narrow valleys running to the sea, and these being ranged 
 parallel to each other, resemble the stalls of a stable. Each glen has its 
 river, or more correctly its torrent, flowing from the far end, and follow- 
 ing a direct line to the coast. The valleys of the superior regions are 
 more extensive by reason of the waters, which, kept back by the barrier 
 of the Little Atlas, have formed vast basins. But they do not commu- 
 nicate one with another ; each is a little world in itself ; and to com- 
 mand two contiguous basins, it is necessary to take up a position on the 
 chain dividing them. We have previously seen that from Algiers to 40 
 or 50 leagues (125 miles) inland is called the Tell, and presents a surface 
 of about 1G millions of hectares.^ 
 
 * M. Berbrugger's Algerie historique, pittoresque, et monumentale, — Introduction, by 
 M. De la Haye, editeur : Paris, 1843. 
 
 f This excellent description of the physical characteristics of Algeria is derived from 
 an article by the late M. Jouffroy in the Revue des deux Mondes for June 1838. 
 
 X It will be convenient for the reader to remember that there are about two and a half 
 English acres to a French hectare. 16,000,000 hectares = 40,000,000 acres. 
 
 C
 
 34 POTAMOLOGY. 
 
 The principal river of Algeria is called the Shellif, after which we shall 
 enumerate the others in what appears to us the natural order of priority. 
 These are the Seybouse, the Suinmam or river of Bugia, the Habra, the 
 Tafna, and the Rummel ; the three latter being nearly equal in velocity. 
 
 The Shellif has the same length of course as the Garonne and the 
 Seine, but its basin is not equal to one-half of theirs. It appears about 
 equal to the Marne. In the state of Tunis the Medjerda has only two- 
 thirds the length of the Shellif, and it is also probable that it rolls along 
 a smaller volume of water. In the empire of Morocco, on the contrary, 
 the Omm-er-Rbia and the Tensift, though somewhat less in length of 
 course than the Shellif, seem to contain a more considerable body of water. 
 The Ouad-Sbour, which passes near Fas, is also an important river. These 
 are the principal water-courses in the north of Africa, and the mountains 
 from which they rise are the highest.* 
 
 Before, however, we proceed any further in individualising the rivers 
 of Algeria, we shall lay before the reader the intimate connexion between 
 the highest lands and largest water-courses of Barbary ;t thus generalising 
 the relation between the orology and potamology of the district under 
 survey. 
 
 There are four great water-courses in Algeria, and in all Barbary, 
 forming the four great arteries of the country. To the east the valley 
 of Lake Melr'ir' exceeds the eastern frontier of Algeria, and crosses in all 
 its length almost the whole regency of Tunis. To the north the valley 
 of the Shellif reaches the northern frontier of the region, which is the 
 Mediterranean. To the west the Ouad-Seggar reaches and passes the 
 western frontier to enter the empire of Morocco. To the south, the Ouad- 
 Mzab reaches the borders of the desert, which is the southern limit of 
 Barbary. 
 
 The region whence all the streams flow is a platform commanding all 
 the low lands of Algeria. The sources of the four rivers lie near together; 
 thus the Melr'ir' lake and the Ouad-Seggar are supplied by the southern 
 and western slopes of the Djebel-Amour. This mountain, which com- 
 mands all the plateaux of the four rivers, must be one of the highest in 
 Algeria; and hence the peak of El-Ga'da, which separates three of the four 
 great basins, and is held by the natives to be the top of Djebel-Amour, is 
 one of the highest summits of French Africa. 
 
 The seven basins, of which the east and centre part of the Algerian 
 Sahara consists, may be divided into two distinct groups : 1. to the 
 north, the basins of the Upper Shellif, the Zar'ez, and the H'od'na; 
 2. to the south, the basins of the Ouad-Mzab, the Ouad-Rir, the Ouad- 
 Souf, and the Melr'ir'. Except the Shellif, all these basins are shut ; they 
 
 * Exploration scicntifiquo ;' Geologic par M. Eenou, Par. I, Geographic physique, 
 f See Exploration scicntifiquo do l'Algene ; Rccherchcs sur la G<5ographie et le Com- 
 merce do l'Algi5rio mcridionale, par E. Carettc, Capitaino de Ge"nie, p. 70.
 
 POTAMOLOGY. 35 
 
 also correspond in a general relation of direction ; thus the bottoms of 
 the north basins and the bottoms of the south basins are situated in two 
 parallel lines, in a N.N.E. direction, and distant about 250 kilometres 
 (155-4 miles). 
 
 In this interval the lines of the ridges, like the lines of partial bottoms, 
 also obey the direction of the extreme lines. If this E.N.E. direction, 
 which especially determines the configuration of Western Algeria, pre- 
 vailed also in the east of the regency, the basin of El H'od'na and that 
 of the Melr'ir' would send their waters, like the Shellif, to the Medi- 
 terranean. But another chain running E.S.E. extends without inter- 
 ruption from the Djebel Dira, under the meridian of Hamza, to the meri- 
 dian of Tebessa for about 400 kilometres (248-54 miles), and bars them 
 effectually. The chief rings of this chain are the Djebel Dira, the Ouen- 
 nour'a, the Bou-T'aleb, the Mest'aoua, the Aouress, and lastly the moun- 
 tains of Amamra and of the Nememcha. This first chain forms the 
 basin of El H'od'na ; another parallel chain rises to the southward, which 
 bars the basin of Lake Melr'ir', and determines the direction of the in- 
 ferior branch of the Ouad-ed-Djedi. It is at the Djebel Metlili that this 
 second fold is knotted on to the E.N.E. chain, and it is at the foot of 
 their southern slopes that the Sahara ends. The rivers that descend from 
 the Djebel Aouress all cross this second chain, to lose themselves in the 
 Ouad-ed-Djedi. This circumstance, joined to the great quantity of snow 
 that feeds them, and to the great degree of cold prevailing in these 
 regions, is an evidence of the elevation of the Aouress group, which is 
 the highest mountain-ridge in the eastern part of Algeria. Thus the 
 dominant masses of the Sahara, and perhaps of all Algeria, are the Djebel 
 Aouress and the Djebel Amour ; they determine the direction of the 
 greatest valleys, the one to the east and the other to the west ; and the 
 Ouad-ed-Djedi forms the link that unites them, since it receives the 
 southern waters of both. 
 
 Having thus endeavoured to analyse the great organic laws of the 
 orologj' and potamology of Algeria, we shall proceed at once to indi- 
 vidualise the characteristics of the principal streams of the region under 
 survey. 
 
 The doctrine of basins may be styled the philosophy of topography, 
 giving at once the key to the physical geography of a country. We have 
 seen that Algeria contains four primary basins, and that it is subdivided 
 into a number of secondary and tertiary basins. 
 
 The primary basins are the channels of, 1st, the Shellif ; 2d, the Ouad- 
 ed-Djedi and Lake Melr'ir' ; 3d, the El H'od'na and Chott-es-Saida ; and 
 4th, the Ouad-Mzab and Lake Ngouca. 
 
 The secondary and tertiary basins contain a series of salt lakes or 
 rivers ; the latter, or tertiary, generally situated between the Little Atlas 
 and the sea. We shall first give a brief survey of the hydrography of the
 
 36 OUAD-MZAB. 
 
 l)rimary basins, subsequently noticing the others; and we shall begin with 
 the basin of the Shellif, the only Algerian river that finds its way from 
 the Sahara to the sea, because it flows through the only open primary 
 basin. 
 
 The Shellif rises in the north slopes of the Djebel Amour, 300 kilo- 
 metres (180 "41 miles) in a straight line from its mouth, but including its 
 bends 600 kilometres (372-82 miles). Its two chief upper tributaries 
 are the Ouad-Sebgag and the Ouad-el-Beida. The former, issuing from 
 the rocks of El-Khiar, falls into the Ouad-el-Beida, which, after traversing 
 the plain of that name, crosses the plain of Seresso under the appellation 
 of Ouad-el-Touil, receiving a number of small tributaries before reaching 
 the Shellif. 
 
 The Ouad-ed-Djedi is the chief tributary of Lake Melrir, the first basin, 
 flows 300 kilometres (186-41 miles) between the cultivable lands on one 
 bank and the sand on the other, and is often nearly dry, but after rain 
 a mighty sheet of water. Its name is thought to be derived from the 
 Berber, Idjdi, sand; Irzer Idjdi, the river of sand, corrupted in Arabic 
 into Ouad Djedi, the river of the goat. When the arable land forms 
 both its banks near El-Ar'ouat', it changes its name to Ouad-Mzi, a Ber- 
 ber term. It rises in the Amour, and is formed by several streams, the 
 Ouad-el-Bicha being the principal, rising by one of the highest summits 
 of the Amour. The Ouad-ed-Djedi is formed by the union of the Ouad- 
 Mzi and the Ouad-Msaad coming west, the confluence being a little south 
 of El Arouat ; it receives afterwards the Ouad-Bedjran, the Ouad-Mlili, a 
 river of fabulous size, owing to its vast channel, and a number of other 
 streams near the Aouress; all these flow in on the left, coming from minor 
 basins. The right bank presents few tributaries save the Ouadi-et-Tell, 
 a valley 130 kilometres (80-77 miles) long and 25 kilometres (15-53 
 miles) wide. This channel is generally dry on the surface, with water 
 underneath. 
 
 The basin of El Hodna is occupied by the salt lake or Sebkha Msila, 
 commonly called Chott-es-Saida, the bank of the Saida, which is, like the 
 Melrir, a vast salt-mai-sh. The Ouad-Msila rises on the north slope of a 
 mountain, and flows round to the south of it. A number of other Ouads 
 flow into the marsh, the chief to the north being the Ouad-Msila; to the 
 east the Ouad-Metkaouk, of the same rapidity as the Bemel at Constan- 
 tina, and never dry. The chief stream on the west bank of the Chott is 
 the Ouad-ech-Ohelal, which changes its name several times, and receives 
 many tributaries from the Djebel Dira ; on the south we have the Ouad- 
 bou-Sada and the Ouad-cch-Chair. 
 
 The Ouad-Mzab is the largest valley that pours its waters into the 
 salt lake Ngoi^a, a has fond, or marsh without an outlet. Its chief tri- 
 butary, the Ouad-Metlili, rises .at the west part of a plateau called El Ferad, 
 forming Djebel Mahiguen, a day's journey south of El Arouat, and parallel
 
 THE LAKES. 
 
 37 
 
 to Djebel Amour. First it bears the name of Ouad-Mahiguen, then of Ouad- 
 Metlili near that town, and soon after reaches the Ouad-Mzab, which also 
 comes from the Mahiguen, and first bears the name of Ouad-el-Abied, the 
 white river. After passing through the oases, it falls into the Ouad-Noumrat. 
 A number of other streams swelling the current, it falls, under the name of 
 Ouad-Mia, into the lake Ngouca. All the streams of this basin dry up, and 
 deluge the country after rain. Notice is given by horsemen directly the 
 northern horizon blackens, gun-shots are fired as soon as the torrent ap- 
 pears, all objects are removed, and soon, with a terrible noise, the flood 
 rolls on, and the Saharian city stands by magic on the banks of the waters, 
 which rise to the palm-tufts; but a few days only elapse ere all disappears.* 
 The rivers of Algeria divide it into a great number of basins, of which 
 the following is a rough estimate: 
 
 
 
 square 
 miles. 
 
 square 
 myriametres. 
 
 Basin of the Shellif . . . . 
 
 . 17,325 
 
 450 
 
 >> }> 
 
 Habra and Sig 
 
 5005 
 
 130 
 
 >> >> 
 
 river of Bugia 
 
 3850 
 
 100 
 
 >, >> 
 
 Tafna . 
 
 2887 
 
 75 
 
 >> jj 
 
 Rummel, or Rem el 
 
 2502 
 
 65 
 
 >> }> 
 
 Seybouse 
 
 2310 
 
 60 
 
 The shut basins contain a much larger surface; the chief being those 
 of Melrir and Ouaregla; those of the Tell of Constantina may embrace 
 about 125 square myriametres (4424-5 square miles). The following 
 table gives the inclination of the chief rivers : 
 
 Chiffa, in the Mtidja 
 
 Seybouse, plain of Bona .... 
 Rummel or Remel, from Constantina to the sea 
 
 Tama 
 
 Mazafran, from Kolea to the sea . 
 Harrash, from the middle of the Mtidja to the 
 Maison carre"e 
 
 inches. 
 
 metres. 
 
 •0031 
 
 . -0008 
 
 •1053 
 
 . 0,0027 
 
 •0975 
 
 . 0,0025 
 
 •0975 
 
 . 0;0025 
 
 •0507 
 
 . 0,0013 
 
 •0250 
 
 0,0010 
 
 The inclination of jJ~g-=-0025 (about 1 inch in 390) is very common in 
 Algeria ; it is ten times greater than that of the Loire between Orleans 
 and Tours, and twice that of the Meurthe between Saint Die and Nancy. 
 The great mountain districts of Europe alone present similar inclinations. 
 
 These remarks apply also only to the lower part of the course of Al- 
 gerian rivers. Cascades are frequent, the most remarkable being that of 
 the Remel at Constantina, where it falls 70 metres (219-60 feet) in one 
 leap.-j- 
 
 * Exploration scientifique ; Geologie, par M. Renou, Par. I, Ge"ographie physique, 
 1-15. 
 
 f Height of the rivers at different points in their course : 
 
 Ouad bou Sellam, near Setif .... 
 Remel above the cascade 
 
 feet. 
 
 metres 
 
 3280 
 
 . 1000 
 
 1577-68 . 
 
 . 481
 
 38 TERTIARY BASINS, ETC. 
 
 The surface of the lakes alone is considerable; the whole south-east of 
 Algeria presenting a country partly occupied by Sebkhas, and covering 500 
 square myriametres. The following estimate of surface may be depended 
 on: 
 
 Sebkha, or Salt Lake, dry in summer. 
 The Great Chotts of the province of Oran hectares. acres. 
 
 together 255,000 . . 012,000 
 
 Chott-el-Hodna, or the lake of Msila . .150,000 . . 360,000 
 The East (Chergui) Zarez .... 56,500 . . 135,600 
 The West (Gharbi) Zarez .... 28,300 . . 67,920 
 
 Sebkha of Oran 31,250 . . 74,500 
 
 Sebkhas of the plateaux of Constantina . 40,000 . . 96,000 
 
 Salt Lakes, never dry. 
 
 Fzara, near Bona 14,300 . . 34,320 
 
 ElMaleh 867 20,808 
 
 Fresh Water. 
 El Houbeirat, near La Calle . . . 2848 . . 6635 "2 
 
 El Horn- „ ... 2367 . . 5680-8* 
 
 The limit of the Mediterranean basin is formed by a sinuous line gene- 
 rally parallel to the main line (consisting of the long chain running east- 
 north-east, and containing the Djebel Amour), except at the centre, where 
 it reaches the summits of the Djebel Amour. It has a surface of about 
 1300 square myriametres (52,050 square miles) ; but it is decomposed into 
 a number of closed basins, such as 
 
 Basins of the salt lakes of Oran and Arzeu 
 Sebkha of the plain of the Mina . 
 Basin of the Fzara, near Bona 
 
 or about 32 square myriametres (123*2 square miles), which reduces to 
 12G8 square myriametres (48,818 square miles) the surface of the basin 
 that sends its waters to the sea. 
 
 The salt lakes, or Sebkhas, of the north slope present very clearly the 
 two dii-ections that prevail in Algeria; the seven principal lakes, lengthened 
 out to an extent of about 750 kilometres (466-03 miles), describing an 
 east-north-cast direction ; whilst those of the province of Constantina fol- 
 low an east-south-east direction. The former present a total surface of 
 725,000 hectares (1,740,000 acres); the others, about twelve in number, 
 may have about 35,000 to 40,000 (84,000 to 96,000 acres). 
 
 hectares. 
 
 acres. 
 
 248,000 
 
 . 595,200 
 
 31,250 
 
 . 75,000 
 
 322,000 
 
 . 772,800 
 
 Remcl below the cascade 
 
 Seybousc at the confluence of tho Ouad Chorf and 
 
 Ouad Zenati 
 
 Chiff'a, issuing from the cutting .... 
 * The last two are each of them three-fourths of the lakes of Thun and Brienz in 
 Switzerland. 
 
 feet 
 
 metres 
 
 1348-08 . 
 
 . 411 
 
 918-40 . 
 
 . 280 
 
 492 
 
 . 150
 
 GREAT ORGANIC LAWS. 39 
 
 The aspect of Algeria is uniform; the existence or absence of forests 
 being the greatest feature. The country at Constantina is bare, at La 
 Calle woody. Drawing near the coast, you first see the higher summits; 
 but soon you come under a lower ridge of 1000 or 1200 metres (3280 
 or 3936 feet), almost always green, from Tunis to Tangiers, though there 
 are some breaks in this ridge at the towns, especially at Tenes and Oram* 
 
 The three prevailing directions of the mountains are not always clearly 
 perceived; at Constantina they look like a chaos. The highest points 
 seen from that town are the Guerioun, 1727 metres (566456 feet), and 
 the Nif-en-Nicer, 1534 metres (5031-52 feet) in height; from the Chet'tba, 
 eight kilometres (4-34 miles) from Constantina, you see the Aouress ; the 
 Djorjora is seen eight kilometres from Algiers ; and the Ouanseris at an 
 immense distance. 
 
 The Sahara is divided into two regions: the northern mountainous, 
 more populous, and better watered; the southern lower, less peopled, and 
 consisting of oases, and containing 253,000 square kilometres, or 97,405 
 square miles. 
 
 The separation of Tell and Sahara is more simple to the west, but 
 complicated to the east, where the line of separation descends to the south 
 face of the Aouress. This results from the greater height of the mountains, 
 for the Chot't region in the west corresponds exactly to the Sbakt of the 
 province of Constantina; but the lowness of the western mountains makes 
 the land sooner arid, there being fewer streams ; while in the east the lands 
 around the salt lakes are often very fertile ; hence the Tell is broader there. 
 
 The division of the two parts of the Sahara is very simple ; it is the 
 foot of the mountains, forming an obtuse angle, the west side parallel to 
 the great ridge or watershed, and the east side parallel to the E.S.E. 
 chain ; the same angle is described by the great salt lakes. This limit 
 is dotted with a line of k'sour, or walled villages, starting from Figuig to 
 the west, and joins the frontier of Tunis north of Nefta, This is a great 
 channel for the Mecca caravan. 
 
 The Ouad-ed-Djedi and the Lake Melrir indicate the same limit ; the 
 west country is not quite so well known. This north zone has every 
 where a breadth of about 300 kilometres (186-34 miles). 
 
 The Sahara has a west and east slope, traceable, but not so clearly, 
 into the Tell. Their line of demarcation runs a little east of Algiers, passes 
 by the Djebel Amour, then near Stiten, and on the east limit of the oasis 
 of Touat, Avhere it cuts the meridian of Paris in lat. 27°. A low chain of 
 hills coasting the road from Algiers to Timbuctoo separates the two slopes. 
 Dividing Algeria into two slopes, north and south, or east and west, the 
 Djebel Amour is the pivot and focus of its physical geography. The water- 
 
 * Exploration scientifique, sciences physiques ; Ge"ologie de l'Algerie, par M. E. Renou 
 ]ere partie, GtSographie physique, pp. 1-14.
 
 40 GREAT ORGANIC LAWS. 
 
 courses, of which the Shellif and Ouad-Djedi are the chief, irradiate from 
 this centre, whose height is about 1600 metres (5248 feet). 
 
 The oases depend entirely on the orography of the countiy, the moun- 
 tains supplying them with water, and giving them life. 
 
 Metlili and the Ouad-Mzab towns alone occupy valleys where streams 
 run beyond them. In all the other oases the rivers come to an end. 
 The angle and height of the mountains near Biskara explain the knot of 
 oases there. Ouaregla receives not only the north waters, but an im- 
 mense torrent, the Ouad-Mia (100 streams), from Insalah, in the oasis of 
 Touat. Other oases, like Ouad-Souf, have a knot of sand-hills instead 
 of a flat bottom ; this makes them salubrious. 
 
 All the south-east of Algeria is a flat uniform country, consisting 
 almost entirely of one sebkha, and embracing, with a part of the Tunis 
 Sahara, 500 square niyriametres (19,250 square miles), looking like the 
 sea. 
 
 Including the villages of El Goha and Ocdan, and all the tribe of 
 the Chamba, which would extend its south limit to the 30th degree of ]ST. 
 latitude under the meridian of Paris, Algeria would have a surface of 4700 
 square myi-iametres, (it has 390,900 square kilometres, according to the 
 Tableau de la Situation, i.e. 150,496-5 square miles), only one-tenth less 
 than France. The centre would then fall about the 34° 7' lat., and 1° 4' 
 east long, of Paris (3° 23' E. of Greenwich), i. e. between Demmer and 
 K'sir-el-H'iran.* 
 
 The division of Algeria into Tell and Sahara resulting from orology 
 and potamology, or what we may call natural hydraulics, depends on 
 geological and meteorological causes, to be determined by the quadrant, 
 the anemometer, and general scientific analysis and synthesis. It cannot 
 be doubted that a great icy chain of 5000 or 6000 metres (16,000 or 
 19,000 feet) elevation in Central Africa would convert the Sahara into a 
 Brazil or Hindustan. 
 
 Heights of the Plains, Lakes, and Marshes. 
 
 metres. feet 
 
 Medjana, south of Setif 1000 
 
 Hachern Reris (plain of Mascara) .... 350 
 
 Mitidja (at Mered Blockhaus) 148 
 
 Salt lake of Oran 60 
 
 Marsh of Bou Farik 43 
 
 Marabout of Sidi Denden, on a hillock in the plain of Bona 38 
 
 Lake Houbeira, La Calle 30 
 
 Lake Fzara, Bona 
 
 Plain of Bona 
 
 3280 
 1148 
 485-44 
 196-8 
 141-04 
 124-54 
 98-40 
 
 
 
 * The length of Algeria between Tunis and Morocco, i. e. the mouths of the Zena and 
 Adjeroud, is in a straight lino 974 kilometres (605*23 miles). This estimate is less than 
 M. Jouffroy's ; but it is that of the Exploration scientilique, and is probably the most 
 exact.
 
 ELEVATIONS. 
 
 41 
 
 Slopes of Plains. 
 
 inches. 
 From camp of Ouad Khmris to the sea in the Mitidja . -4875 
 Plain of Orau towards the south, between the town and 
 
 the salt lake -234 
 
 Plain of Tlemsen towards the north .... -6084 
 
 metres. 
 •0125 
 
 •006 
 •0156 
 
 Central Asia lias much analogy with the Sahara, especially in climate : 
 the distance from the sea occasioning extremes, at 45° N. lat. in Asia, you 
 have the cold of Iceland and the heat of the Gambia. 
 
 The undertaking of the French to reclaim the landes of Gironde by 
 planting is not impossible in the desert. Many shrubs live with little 
 water, and might attract rains and give birth to springs. The attempt 
 is somewhat problematical and hypothetical, yet experience can alone es- 
 tablish its practicability or impracticability ; nor should we be too ready 
 to pronounce innovations Utopian in this age of wonders. 
 
 The height of the Ouanseris, whose name has been so disfigured, has 
 now been ascertained. It can be easily seen from Medeah, 106 kilometres 
 (65 miles) off, and from the Plateau des Santons above Oran, though 220 
 kilometres (136-64 miles) off. In January 1842 it was all white with 
 snow. The Aouress presents gentle slopes, the Djordjora steep ones, with 
 sharp needles, and some points covered with snow the whole year. The 
 Dolomite mountains, near Tlemsen and Ouchda, are the steepest points 
 in the west. 
 
 As regards the slopes of the plains in the Tell, those of Bona and of 
 the Habra are the flattest ; in the south-east Sahara, as previously observed, 
 you find immense flat plains, little raised above the sea. 
 
 Heights of Algerian Mountains. 
 
 kilometres. 
 
 108 (664 miles) S. of Constantina 
 94 (5S miles) E.S.S 24° of My 
 78 (48 miles) S.S.E. of Tenes 
 155 (96-31 miles) S.E. of Tiaret 
 157 (96 miles) S.E. of Blidah . 
 7 (4 miJes) N.E. of Milianah 
 47 (29 miles) W. of Philippeville 
 10 (6-20^miles) W. of Bona . 
 Kahar, Mountain of Lions 15 (9 miles) N.E. of Oran . 
 Bouzareah . . 4 (2-48 miles) W. of Algiers , 
 
 Chellia (Aouress) 
 
 Djerdjera 
 
 Ouanseris 
 
 Amour 
 
 Mouzaia . 
 
 Zakkar . 
 
 Gonfi 
 
 Edough (Idour) 
 
 
 metres. 
 
 feet. 
 
 • . 
 
 . 2312 . 
 
 7583-36 
 
 . 
 
 2126 . 
 
 6963-28 
 
 . . 
 
 . 1800 . 
 
 5904 
 
 . . 
 
 1600 . 
 
 5248 
 
 . ■ 
 
 1597 . 
 
 5237-16 
 
 . . 
 
 1534 . 
 
 5031-52 
 
 (7 capes) 
 
 1096 . 
 
 3587-88 
 
 . 
 
 972 . 
 
 3188-16 
 
 . 
 
 615 . 
 
 2017-20 
 
 • * • 
 
 402 . 
 
 1318-50 
 
 The mean slopes of the mountains are as follows 
 
 The Santons, at Oran, S. side 
 Gouraia (sea-face) Bugia 
 Zakkar, near Miliana . 
 Bouzareah, near Algiers, N.E. slope 
 Mouzaia, near Blidah . 
 
 metres. 
 
 inches 
 
 •0218 
 
 •8502 
 
 •053 
 
 2-067 
 
 •021 
 
 •819 
 
 •020 
 
 •780 
 
 •018 
 
 •702
 
 42 
 
 ELEVATIONS. 
 
 It may not prove unacceptable to the reader to be presented here with 
 a table of the elevation of the chief towns in Algeria. 
 
 
 metres. 
 
 feet. 
 
 Telegraph of Djernadra above Blidah 
 
 1400 
 
 4592 
 
 
 1100 
 
 :J608 
 
 
 1100 
 
 360S 
 
 
 920 
 
 3017'60 
 
 
 900 
 
 2952 
 
 Fort Gouraia, 2 kilometres N. of Bugia . 
 
 671 
 
 2200-88 
 
 
 056 
 
 1851-68 
 
 
 . 500 
 
 . 1640 
 
 
 . 400 
 
 1312 
 
 
 , 286 
 
 938-08 
 
 Enrperor's Fort, Algiers .... 
 
 , 210 
 
 . 088-80 
 
 
 . 124 
 
 , 416-72 
 
 
 . 105 
 
 . ::44-40 
 
 Oran, top of the town .... 
 
 100 
 
 32S 
 
 
 20 
 
 65-60 
 
 Algiers, Place du Gouvernement, lowest part 
 
 
 
 
 . 20 . 
 
 65-60 
 
 Such are the broad features stamped by the hand of nature on this 
 country, which, like all other inhabited lands, has been arbitrarily decom- 
 posed by man, according to the whim of despots or the sway of races. The 
 political divisions of Algeria will be enumerated and analysed in the fol- 
 lowing chapter.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 $o!tttrat 6fograpIj». 
 
 POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF NORTH-WEST AFRICA POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF ALGERIA 
 
 LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES ARAB MENSURATION TURKISH DIVISIONS 
 
 AND SUBDIVISIONS SCEENTD7IC FRENCH DIVISION — SIX DISTRICTS DISTINC- 
 TION OF TELL AND SAHARA ESOTERIC ANALYSIS EXOTERIC DELI5HTATION 
 
 SURFACE ARAB APPELLATIONS ZONES AND DEPARTMENTS. 
 
 North-western Africa has been variously divided at sundry epochs, 
 according to the predominance of races and dynasties. The territory 
 of the Republic of Carthage appears to have corresponded in a great mea- 
 sure with the present regency of Tunis ; but its influence extended over a 
 much wider surface, embracing the greater part of Northern Africa, and 
 comprehending a great multitude of tributary hordes, who, like the present 
 Arabs, led a nomadic life. To this class belonged the ISTumidians, with 
 many tribes of Libyans, including possibly the Gastulians. The territory 
 of these tribes was naturally fluctuating, in consequence of the roving- 
 mode of life of its population ; but as soon as the Numidians stand forth 
 as a free people, and assert their right to distinct individual nationality, 
 their territory seems to have answered with tolerable accuracy to the 
 present province of Constantina in Algeria. The two Mauritanias, as 
 they were afterwards called by the Romans, comprehending the remaining 
 portion of Algeria and the empire of Moi-occo, were brought into a state 
 of partial and nominal dependence on Carthage by Hamilcar, the father of 
 Hannibal. But it is difficult to assign any definite limits to the lands 
 occupied by those nomades at this early period of history. The con- 
 test between Syphax and Massinissa, and the tragedy of Sophonisba, at- 
 test the uncertain sway of Carthage over her turbulent neighbours. 
 
 After the Roman concpiest we arrive at more precise territorial notions 
 respecting North-western Africa. The immediate district dependent on 
 Carthage received henceforth the name of the Province of Africa.* Nu- 
 midia was made tributary to Rome under native princes, and its capital 
 retained the name of Cirta, till the Emperor Constantine conferred upon 
 it his own title, which it has retained to the present clay, though corrupted 
 
 * Michelet's History of the Roman Republic, ch. iii. iv. v. ; Herder's Philosophie der 
 Geschichte, b. xii. sec. 4 ; Dr. Russel's Barbary States, ch. i. Montesquieu, Grandeur et 
 Decadence des Romains, ch. 4.
 
 44 POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OP ALGERIA. 
 
 by the Arabs into Cossantina.* Mauritania was divided into two pro- 
 vinces, Mauritania Csesariensis, extending from Numidia to the River Mu- 
 lueha, and Mauritania Tingitana, from the latter stream to an indefinite 
 limit, corresponding to the present southern border of Morocco. The first of 
 the provinces in question answers pretty accurately in length and breadth 
 to modern Algeria, the second is represented by the empire of Morocco. 
 The country to the south of these provinces, known by the name of Gae- 
 tulia, was in a great measure independent of the Roman sway, and em- 
 braced a considerable portion of the three Saharas of Tunis, Algeria, and 
 Morocco, besides an unlimited stretch of the true desert. Further details 
 respecting these divisions will be found in the chapter on archaeology. 
 
 The political geography of North-western Africa in the middle ages 
 is an obscure and intricate matter, as shifting and transitory in its demar- 
 cations as the Saracen dynasties that ruled it. 
 
 After the Arab conquest, the capital of North-western Africa, while it 
 
 remained subject to the Asiatic caliphs, was placed at Kairouan or Kairwan, 
 
 a city which they erected in the province of Africa, or the territory of Tunis, 
 
 fifty miles south of the latter town, and twelve miles from the sea. Under 
 
 the African Khalifsf the capital was at Mehadia. After the yoke of the 
 
 Fatimites had been thrown off by the Sanhadja Berbers, the first branch 
 
 placed their capital at Achir, on the road from Bou-Sada to Bugia, and 
 
 afterwards restored it to Kairouan ; the second branch placed it at Bugia, 
 
 in the province of Constantine of modern Algeria. The Almoravides, 
 
 another independent dynasty of Moorish sovereigns, made Morocco their 
 
 capital ; and the Almohades, who succeeded them, followed their example 
 
 till the division of their empire. Then the branch of the Beni Mrin made 
 
 Morocco and Fez their metropolis; that of the Beni-Zeian settled at Tlem- 
 
 sen in the province ofOran in modern Algeria, and that of the Beni-Hafes 
 
 at Tunis. 
 
 The reader will perceive from this outline that the political divisions 
 of Barbary during the middle ages were as confused and intricate as those 
 of our European sires. At the period of the Turkish conquest in 1515, 
 Algeria in particular had been parcelled out into a multitude of petty 
 states, each governed by a petty sovereign, and all independent of each 
 other. But leaving these insignificant divisions, which topcgraphically and 
 ethnologically are of no more importance than some of the smaller coun- 
 ties of England, we shall proceed to lay before the reader a compendious 
 sketch of the political divisions of North-west Africa since they have re- 
 ceived a permanent and definite seal by the Turkish conquest. After the 
 brothers Barbarossa had reduced the territory of modern Algeria to sub- 
 jection, they distinguished it from the Empire of Morocco to the west by 
 the mountains of Trara in the province of Oran, and from Tunis to the 
 
 * &sU*]aU~J Qosanthina. t The Fatimite dynasty in Egypt.
 
 LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES. 4.J 
 
 east by the Ouad-el-Zaine, a river near La Calle. The breadth of the re- 
 gency has always been somewhat fluctuating, owing to the sandy border that 
 forms its southern limit ; but during the Turkish sway the tribes of the 
 oases of Zab and the Mozabites inhabiting the Beni-Mzab district were 
 partially and nominally subject to the Janissaries, who maintained a gar- 
 rison at Biskara. The empire of Morocco, since it came under the sway 
 of the present dynasty in 1519, has been confined to the limits of the 
 ancient Tingitanian Mauritania, extending from the river Mulvia on the 
 east to Tafilet in the south, and comprised between the Atlas and the 
 ocean. Tunis, since 1520, has corresponded in most respects to the an- 
 cient territory of Carthage and the Roman province of Africa, the Zaine 
 river forming its west limit towards Algeria, and the island of Jerba its 
 east limit on the side of Tripoli. The breadth of this regency varies from 
 100 to 200 miles. 
 
 Having given this rough outline of the political divisions of Barbary 
 down to the French conquest in 1830, we shall proceed to fill up the can- 
 vass with minuter details as regards the regency of Algeria, the special 
 subject of the present work. And first, as to the territorial subdivisions 
 of Algeria under the Turks, it may be desirable to state here that the 
 regency under the Ottoman rule was governed by a despotic sovereign 
 nominally dependent on the Sultan of Turkey, and named the Dey. The 
 seat of his residence was Algiers, which was regarded as the metropolis of 
 the whole regency, which comprehended four provinces or beyliks. These 
 were governed by three beys, who were officers nominally subject to, but 
 virtually independent of, the dey. The beylik or province of Algiers, being 
 immediately dependent on the dey, did not stand in need of a special bey ; 
 consequently, though there were four beyliks, there were only three beys. 
 The other beyliks, after Algiers, were Oran, the western, capital Oran ; 
 Tittery, the southern, capital Medeah, 73 - 32 miles from Algiers ; Con- 
 stantina, the eastern, capital Constantina. Since 1830 the province of 
 Tittery has been added to that of Algiers, and hence the present vice- 
 royalty of Algeria contains three provinces : 1. Algiers to the centre; 2. 
 Oran to the west ; 3. Constantina to the east. Of tbese the last is much 
 the largest. Proceeding to analyse the individual provinces, we find that 
 the distance of the city of Algiers from the nearest and principal points 
 in France is as follows.* The pharos of Algiers is 758 kilometres (471 
 miles) from the bottom of the port of Marseilles, which represents about 
 the centre of the town. Algiers itself lies 7° 26' south and 2° 34' west of 
 Marseilles. The distance from Algiers to Paris, measured between the 
 centres of the two towns, is 1342 kilometres (833-88 miles). The dis- 
 tances of Algiers from the extremities of France are, that from Port Ven- 
 dres 645 (400-79 miles), and from Dunkirk 1585 (984-88 miles). All these 
 
 * The latitude of Algiers is 36° 49' 30" N.
 
 46 POLITICAL DIVISION BY THE TURKS AND FRENCH. 
 
 distances have been obtained by mathematical calculation. The town of 
 Oran is in 35° 45' 57" N". lat. according to French observations (35° 58' 
 English observation), and in 2° 4' 52" W. long. (24' W. of Greenwich) ; 
 and its distance from Algiers is 66 leagues (165 miles) west, and fifteen 
 hours' sail from Carthagena in Spain. 
 
 The town of Constantina is in 36° 22' 21" N. lat. (36° 28' in the Ca- 
 binet Atlas), and 4° 16' 36" E. long. (6° 26' E. of Greenwich), and is 320 
 kilometres (198-84 miles) E., and 7° 17' S. from Algiers, as the bird 
 flies.* In estimating land-distances in Algeria, it is very essential to be 
 careful in making the statements of the natives an authority. Arab mea- 
 sures are always uncertain, and often incorrect. Their principal distinc- 
 tions in mensuration are : 1. the day's march ; 2. the hour's march ; 
 3. the mile ; 4. the farsekt.t The day's march is necessarily very vari- 
 able, owing to what may be called subjective and objective circumstances ; 
 e. g. the motive of the traveller, and the nature of his vehicle, or the 
 country over which he journeys. The only divisions of the day known 
 to the Arabs are the times of prayer, or the position of the sun : these 
 are — El fedjer, daybreak ; Es s'bah', sunrise ; El oul, 10 a.m. ; El alem, 
 mid-day ; Ed dohor, 1 o'clock, p.m. ; El acer, 3 or 4 o'clock, p.m. ; El 
 mor'reb, sunset ; and El lil, nightfall. The term ' mile' when used by 
 the natives in Africa is also a variable and optional distance. By the 
 French, however, the distances throughout Algex-ia have been ascertained 
 with their usual mathematical accuracy ; and it has been found that 
 the actual extent of the whole vice-royalty from east to west, including 
 Great Kabylia, is between 240 and 250 French leagues (625 miles). This 
 estimate agrees imperfectly with that of Dr. Shaw, about 100 years ago, 
 who gave the regency a length of 480 miles. Its breadth from north 
 to south, that is to say, from the Mediterranean to the true desert, varies 
 from 60 to 200 leagues (120 to 500 miles), containing, according to the 
 computation of Marshal Bugcaud, an Arab population of from three to 
 four millions, though other authorities represent it as much less or 
 greater. % About two-thirds of this territory p resents a surface of rugged 
 and wild mountains, intersected, however, as we have previously seen, by 
 numerous fertile valleys in many parts. § It was in 1843 that, accord- 
 ing to the division of the Minister of War, French Africa was divided 
 into three provinces, Algiers, Oran, and Constantina, each of which were 
 made to contain several subdivisions. Thus Algiers was divided into Al- 
 
 *o 
 
 * These diverging mensurations are from the Exploration scientifiquc, and the Cabinet 
 A i I i -■ and Universal Gazetteer. 
 
 •f" The farsekt is probably derived from the Persian mile, farsang, Tzapacrayyris, con- 
 sisting, according to Passow, of 30 stadia, or 3750 paces, three-fourths of a German mile, 
 or nearly four English miles. 
 
 % For further particulars on the population the reader is referred to the chapters on 
 the native races and statistics. 
 
 § Dawson Borrer's Campaign in the Kabylie (Longmans, 1847), p. 233.
 
 THE BEYL1K OF CONSTANTINA. 47 
 
 giers and Tittcry; Oran into four, namely, Oran, Mascara, Mostaganem, 
 and Tlemsen ; and Constantina into two, Bona and Setif." 
 
 The old province of Algiers was bounded to the east by the river Boo- 
 berak, to the west by the Massafran, and was much smaller than the two 
 others (the Tell), being scarcely sixty miles in length and breadth. Under 
 the Turkish sway, as previously observed, the ten-it ory or province of Algiers 
 Proper was independent of the other beys ■ and its kaids or mayors were 
 immediately under the dey, whose direct authority thus extended over a 
 circuit of six square German milest (120 English square miles). It is 
 proper to add, that the limits of this territory were very fluctuating, 
 owing to the caprice of the deys. who found it frequently convenient to 
 extend their direct authority by encroaching on the territory of the re- 
 fractory or obnoxious beys. Thus Blidah, which properly belonged to the 
 province of Oran, and the plain of Hamza to the iron gates (a mountain 
 pass), were administered by the aga of the Arabs, who had the direction 
 of the province of Algiers.:}; 
 
 The Turkish province of Titteiy, which has now been swallowed up 
 in that of Algiers, was much smaller than those of Oran and Constantina ; 
 and its name has been derived by some from the Arabic iteri,§ cold, be- 
 cause it contains some snowy mountains. The four chief divisions of 
 Algeria under the Turkish rule were frequently classified as follows : 1. 
 the western province, or Mascara ; 2. the territory of Algiers ; 3. the 
 middle or southern province of Tittery ; 4. the eastern province, or Con- 
 stantina. 
 
 The western province was that of Mascara, now called the province of 
 Oran. 
 
 This province embraces now a surface of 102,000 square kilometres 
 (39,270 square miles), with a population of 600,000. The present pro- 
 vince of Algiers contains a surface of 113,000 square kilometres (43,50-5 
 square miles), with a population of 900,000 persons. || 
 
 The province of Constantina lies between the meridians of the rivers 
 Booberak and Zaine, and is nearly equal to the other two in extent, being 
 upwards of 230 miles long, and more than 100 broad. This province 
 has a surface of 175,900 square kilometres (67,721-5 square miles), with 
 1,300,000 inhabitants,*]" and includes the remarkable district of Algeria 
 known by the name of Great Kabylia, which has long been celebrated 
 for the sturdy independence of its mountaineers, and has lately become 
 the theatre of some of the boldest French exploits in Africa. As we 
 
 * Dawson Borrer, c. 16, on the Arab tribes. 
 t Xackriehten nnd Benierkungen, &c. 
 
 J Adr. BerbruggerVAlgei-ie historique, pittoresque, et monumentale : folio, Paris, 
 1843, p. 27. § Blofeld. 
 
 II Tableau de la Situation des Etablissements francais en Algerie, 1850, p. 719. 
 
 * lb. p. 719.
 
 48 ESOTERIC ANALYSIS. 
 
 propose devoting a special chapter to tins interesting region, we shall 
 confine ourselves on the present occasion to a few brief statements re- 
 specting Great Kabylia, which contains a surface of 7800 square kilo- 
 metres (3003 square miles), with a population of 370,000, and an average 
 number of 80,000 fighting men, presenting a sea-face of 14G kilometres 
 (90 - 72 miles) on the Mediterranean, between Dellys and Bugia. 
 
 Previous to the French conquest and exploration of Algeria, there can- 
 not be said to have been any proper or accurate political divisions in the 
 country. It is only lately that they have been methodically established 
 for the sake of convenience ; and we here introduce those approved and 
 suggested by the scientific exploration of the French government.* 
 
 1. The Algerian Sahara is intimately bound to the Tell ; and the 
 union of the two regions constitutes Algeria. 2. All the partial threads 
 that compose this web are divided into three distinct parcels. Thus some 
 are found in the east Tell (Bona, Constantina, Setif ) ; others in the centre 
 Tell (Algiers, Medeah, Milianah) ; others, again, in the west Tell (Oran, 
 Mascara, Tlemsen). 
 
 The Sahara is further divided into three parts : 1. the east Sahara ; 
 2. the central Sahara ; 3. the west Sahara. Thus Algeria, besides two 
 transverse zones, is decomposed into three meridian segments, formed of 
 the corresponding parts of the Tell and Sahara. We shall henceforth 
 adopt this classification. 
 
 Algeria, politically regarded, means all the territory comprised, really 
 or nominally, in the old pashalik. This territory is divided by the com- 
 mercial habits of its population into three meridian segments, called, 1st, 
 East Province ; 2d, Centre Province ; 3d, West Province. These corre- 
 spond to what the natives call Beilik-ech-Cherguiia, Beilik-el-Oustaniia, 
 Beilik-el-R'arbiia. Each province is divided into two regions — 1st, north. 
 2d, south — essentially different, and belonging to the Tell and Sahara. 
 Hence Algeria is divided into six distinct regions, called thus : 
 
 For Europeans. For Natives. 
 
 North. Tell. 
 
 East Tell Tell-ech-Chergui. 
 
 Centre Tell Tell-el-Oust'am. 
 
 West Tell Tell-el-E'arbi. 
 
 South. 
 
 East Sahara S'ah'rct-ech-Cherguiia. 
 
 Centre Sahara S'ah'ret-el-Oust'aniia. 
 
 West Sahara S'ah'ret-el-K'arhiia. 
 
 It will be seen that in the political as well as in the physical geo- 
 graphy of Algeria the great characteristic distinction is that of the Tell 
 
 * See page 81. part ii. of E. Carette's Rccherches sur la Geographic ot le Commerce de 
 TAlgerio muridionale, in the Exploration seientifiquo : 4to, Paris, 1844.
 
 CONTRAST OP TIIE TELL. 49 
 
 and Sahara. Before we proceed to determine more accurately the fron- 
 tiers of the viceroyalty, we shall pause for a short time to consider the 
 most striking natural and social features of these regions. By deter- 
 mining the northern border of the Sahara or southern zone, we shall be 
 able at once to determine the outline of the Tell. 
 
 The limits of the Tell and Sahara'"' are determined by their produce. 
 There are, however, transitional, hermaphrodite regions or zones, where the 
 date and the ear of wheat equally ripen ; and there are others again which 
 produce neither : these latter zones, being unenclosed and unfit for culture, 
 come under the head of Sahara. The natives distinguish the zones thus : 
 the country where corn is the rule belongs to the Tell ; the country where 
 corn is the exception belongs to the Sahara. 
 
 The Ouad-R'is'ran divides Algeria and Tunis throughout its course. 
 At the point where it enters the plain of El Mitli there are ruins also 
 called R'is'ran. Here the limit of the Sahara touches the frontier of Tunis. 
 These ruins are at the foot of a chain of mountains which is prolonged 
 without interruption east to the Djebel H'adifa, near Gabes, in Tunis, 
 west to the Djebel Metlili, near El Gant'ra. The edge of the Sahara 
 follows the foot of these mountains. Leaving the ruins of R'is'ran, the 
 limit of the Sahara of Algeria, all through the countries that we have 
 studied, may be divided into three parts : the first extends from R'is'ran 
 to the Djebel Metlili, and remains constantly in the basin of the lake 
 Melr'ir'; the second extends from the Djebel Metlili to the peak known 
 as the Grin-el-Adaora (the little horn of the Adaora), and follows con- 
 stantly the basin of El H'od'na; the third extends from Adaora to the 
 village of Frenda, and remains throughout in the basin of the Upper 
 Shellif. 
 
 It follows that the Algerian Sahara does not advance so far north in 
 the eastern as it does in the western part of the viceroyalty. R'isr'an 
 is in lat. 34° 20', and 140 kilometres (86-99 miles) from the coast. In 
 the meridian of Dellys it comes to lat. 36°, and only 80 or 90 kilometres 
 (49*06 or 50 92 miles) from the coast. Thus in the east and centre the 
 Tell or corn-country passes beyond the limits of the basin of the Medi- 
 terranean ; in the west it does not reach those limits. The valleys of the 
 Ouad-ed-Djedi and Ouad-el-Arab produce in their lower parts dates and 
 grains, and are thus of a hermaphrodite nature. To the west the upper 
 basin of the Shellif only produces dates. Hence on the limits of the 
 Sahara there are doubtful districts, to the eastward doubly productive 
 valleys, to the west immense ungrateful steppes. These intermediate 
 zones present' three basins : to the east, double culture, that of dates and 
 corn ; to the centre, double culture intermixed with pasture ; to the west, 
 pasture only. 
 
 See chap. iii. of E. Carette's Recherches sur la Gdographie, &c , ubi supra. 
 
 D
 
 50 TELLIANS AND SAnARIANS. 
 
 We have seen that the Algerian Sahara is divided into basins : 1st, 
 that of the Ouad-Mzab ; 2d, that of the Ouad-Zargoun ; 3d, that of the 
 Upper Shellif. The Ouad-Zargoun only enters partially into this terri- 
 tory, which may more correctly be analysed into four primary basins : 
 1st, the Lake Melr'ir' ; 2d, the H'od'na ; 3d, the Upper Shellif ; 4th, the 
 Ouad-Mzab : and into three secondary basins ; 1st, the Za'r'es ; 2d, the 
 Ouad-Eir' ; 3d, the Ouad-Souf. It is proper to add, that the inhabitants 
 of the Sahara know no other division of the country than that into oases 
 and tribes. 
 
 The contrast between the Tell and the Sahara and their populations 
 may be summed up as follows : 
 
 "The knowledge of the solar months, though necessary in agriculture? 
 is less spread in the Tell than in the Sahara. In the Tell the marabouts 
 give the signal for tilling and harvest. In the Sahara, where the labour 
 is more individual, each proprietor regulates himself the order of his work. 
 In the Tell there is great ignorance and apathy when epidemics prevail 
 or approach • in the Sahara, on the contrary, there is much foresight. 
 The Sahara contains a great many towns and villages, whose construction 
 does not imply any great skill, but much more than a tent, the usual 
 dwelling of the Tellians, excepting the mountaineers of Kabylia, who live 
 in houses. The Tellian only knows his neighbour ; the Saharian is a great 
 traveller. The first only knows the day's march as a measure of time ; 
 the Saharian knows the Roman mile. The Saharian believes in labour, 
 and seeks it — he is strong, active, and clever; the Tellian lazy and 
 awkward. The first men who greet you on landing at Algiers are Sa- 
 harians, who constitute the porters and carriers of the capital. The 
 question then arises, is there more civilisation in the north or south of 
 Algeria among the natives 1 Except the Kabyles, who inhabit the moun- 
 tains of the Tell, there is decidedly more civilisation in the south, and 
 even the Kabyles themselves are greatly inferior to the Saharians in 
 sociability, though equal in industry. The Saharians have a loftier mind 
 and a more lively imagination ; allegory is common among them, and 
 some know even how to paint. They are the only population in French 
 or all north-western Africa who shew a little vein of culture. If European 
 civilisation penetrates Algeria, industrial arts will go to Kabylia, but 
 letters and sciences to the Sahara."* 
 
 Having now analysed the chief features of Algeria esoterically, we 
 shall proceed to determine its limits more clearly in an exoteric point 
 of view. 
 
 We have said that the Trara mountains have been generally regardedf 
 as the western limit of Algeria, and stretch a considerable distance from 
 
 * E. Carette's Rcchercb.es, kc. p. 236. 
 
 t Dr. Shaw's Travels in Barbary ; Nachrichten iiber d. Alg. Staat. 1798, 1800, 3 th 1 th. 
 p. 10 ; Dr. Russfl's Barbary States, p. 315.
 
 THE FRONTIER OF TUNIS. 51 
 
 north to south, the northern point constituting the promontory known hy 
 the name of Cape Hone. Some writers have represented the river Mullo- 
 viha or Malva to be the limit, which may have proceeded from the cir- 
 cumstance that the district between the Trara mountains and the Malva 
 river is almost a desert, and a kind of neutral ground in the possession 
 of roving tribes independent of Morocco and Algeria. The distance from 
 the Trara mountains to the Ouad-Zaine, the east limit of Algeria, is from 
 1° 40' W. to 9° 15' E. of Greenwich (4° 39' W. to 6° 54' E. of Paris). 
 
 A short distance to the west of Cape Hone is Twunt, which, with the 
 Trara mountains, is, according to Blofeld, the west end of the province of 
 Oran and of Algeria. 
 
 The natural frontier of the Algerian Sahara to the south was long a 
 doubtful matter ; nevertheless it has one which consists in a chain of 
 oases in Algeria. These are cut off sharp from the south by an abyss of 
 sand ; and proceeding from east to west, they occur in the following order : 
 the Ouad-Souf, the Ouad-Rir, the Temaim, Ouarcgla, the Ouad-Mzab, 
 El Abied, and Sidi Cheikh. Beyond this chain of oases, sands and 
 droughts are effectual barriers to the advance of ambition and commerce. 
 This desert is also the southern limit of Tunis and Morocco ; and North 
 Africa obtains in this manner the character of an island, whose clear limits 
 are the ocean, the Mediterranean, and the desert. 
 
 We have previously observed that very false notions have long pre- 
 vailed respecting the great southern waste that occupies so large a portion 
 of the surface of Northern and Central Africa. Sand is the smallest com- 
 ponent element of this district, and only extends a few days' march from 
 the coast, and then you reach a stony and arid table-land cut up into im- 
 mense valleys of 50 or 60 metres (1968 feet). This plateau abuts on a 
 mountain-chain running from Cape Bojador to an unknown limit to the 
 eastward ; but to the northward these mountains touch on Morocco, and 
 are clothed with forests. Sand is only met with in the lowest places, 
 Avhere you also find well-water, whereas the hills and plateaus have 
 none. 
 
 The oasis of Touat is surrounded at some distance by mountains to 
 the westward and north-west ; the country that separates it from Morocco 
 is scattered with them, but we know nothing of their distribution. Be- 
 tween Morocco, Algeria, and Touat lies an uninhabited desert without 
 any water, and south-east of Algeria exists a like country stretching to 
 R'dames ; but between the two, near Ouad-Mzab, there exists a moun- 
 tainous country which extends only a little way east and west, and appears 
 to end a little before El Goh'a. The whole road from Algiers to Touat 
 only presents sand around El Goh'a, which stands about half-way from 
 South Algeria to the oasis. The desert resembles many other countries 
 topographically, but it is distinguished by a number of great shut basins 
 with a sandy bottom, flat, and more or less salt, containing brackish water
 
 52 THE FRONTIER OF TUNIS. 
 
 a little underground. The Arabs call these plains, which have beds of 
 salt, R'out.* 
 
 Passing from the southern frontier of Algeria to the east, we find that 
 the Algerian oasis nearest to the regency of Tunis is the Ouad-Souf; and 
 the Tunis oasis nearest to the regency of Algeria is the Belad-el-Djerid, 
 of which Neft'a and Tozer have an almost equal right to be called the 
 capitals. The frontier-line is not accurately determined, but falls near 
 the sand-mountain Bou-Nab, belonging to the Algerian tribe Bbeia ; and 
 the wells El Asli, belonging to the Tunis tribe Neft'a. There is a large 
 space of neutral ground between the two territories to the north of these 
 oases in the vast basin of the Lake Melr'ir'. 
 
 Negotiations have taken place between the French government and 
 that of Tunis, in relation to certain points, within the last few years, since 
 when the border-line has been more accurately determined. The limits 
 of the two states in their southern part are, the wells of Bou-Nab, the 
 sand-hills around the Ouad-Souf, the plain El Mita and Ouad-R'isr'an, 
 the course of the Ouad-Helal, the defile of Bekkaiia, the ruins of H'idra, 
 the course of the Ouad-H'ldra, the Ouad-Serrat, and the Ouad-Malay. 
 
 The reader should bear in mind that there are many neutral grounds 
 in Algeria, occasioned by the hostilities of tribes, some of them being 78 or 
 80 kilometres (50 miles) in width. 
 
 A few years ago there were but two practicable roads from Algeria to 
 Tunis, that along the shore, and that of the Sahara ; every where else the 
 traveller was murdered; and you could only follow the first-mentioned 
 route by paying the tribe of R'ezoan a duty of 25 fr. per mule.-j- 
 
 AVe have seen (p. 49) that the Ouad-R'isr'an divides Algeria and Tunis 
 throughout its course, and at the point where it enters the plain of El 
 IMiti are the ruins of R'isr'un, where the east end of the Algerian Sahara 
 touches the frontier of Tunis. 
 
 The French documents on the limits of Algeria and Tunis near the 
 coast are somewhat contradictory. | Thus the maps prepared at the Depot 
 de la Guerre have successively placed it at the ruisseau of Saint Martin, 
 near La Calle, and at the Ouad-el-Zaine, two leagues farther east. Ac- 
 cording to M. Berard, it ought to be the channel leading from the lake of 
 Tonetrue at one league and a half east of La Calle. 
 
 Marmol§ and Gramaye|| include the island of Tabarca in the province 
 of Constantina ; Pierre Dan^f also places the limit of Algeria towards Ta- 
 
 * Notice geographique sur l'Afrique septentrional^ by Renou, in the Exploration scien- 
 fcifique, p. 332. 
 
 f Recherches, &c. of E. Carette, in the Exploration, sciontifiquc, p. 17. 
 
 + Baron Baudc's Algeria, i. p. 261), appendix, note. 
 
 § Africa of Marmol, b. vi. c. 2. 
 
 || Gramaye's Africa Ulustrata, 1. 10. 
 
 ^ Pierre Dan, Histoiro de Barbaric et do ses Corsaires : 4to, 1637, Iiv. ii. c. 1.
 
 NATIVE APPELLATIONS. 53 
 
 barca. Dapper* places Tabarca in the province of Bona ; and he fixes 
 the western limit of Tunis at the Ouad-el-Burbar and El Zaine, the ancient 
 Tusca. Peyssonel,f about 1724-5, places the limit of the two regencies at 
 Cape Roux. 
 
 Dr. Shaw says (1732) that the Ouad-el-Erg was for many years the 
 
 limit of the two regencies ; this stream flows from the lake of the Nadis 
 
 (of Tonegue) five leagues east of La CatlaJ But as the territory between 
 
 "the Ouad-el-Erg and the Zaine was often put under contribution, Shaw 
 
 places the frontier at the Zaine, four leagues farther east. 
 
 Shaler, the United States consul at Algiers (in 1826), places the limits 
 at Tabarca, at the mouth of the Zaine, in 9° 16' E. long. 
 
 Numidia and the territory of Carthage were in like manner separated 
 by the Tusca, now the Ouad-el-Zaiue ; Tabarca and Yacca were Xumi- 
 dian towns. In 1741, the Lomellini of Genoa paid 25,260 livres to the 
 government of Algiers, and 15,285 to Tunis, for the island of Tabarca ; 
 hence it is evident that Algiers must then have laid claim to the left bank 
 of the Zaine, because to the west of La Calle the commerce of the coast 
 belonged at that time entirely to the French. 
 
 Half-way between La Calle and Tabarca, and at the distance of three 
 leagues from each, Cape Roux advances into the sea ; and Mount 
 Khoumir, whereof the cape is a prolongation, rises in sharp peaks to an 
 elevation of 1000 metres (3280 feet). Its almost inaccessible ridge bi- 
 sects the contested territory, and has been placed as a limit between the 
 two regencies by the hand of nature; hence 'the Algerines and the men 
 of Tunis have never attempted to establish themselves permanently on the 
 opposite side of this cape to their own country, without the aggression 
 leading to discord and strife. 
 
 Algeria, limited to the oasis of Metlili and of Ouai-regla, presents the 
 following surface : 
 
 Tell 14S0 square myriametres. 56,9S0 square miles. 
 
 Sahara, (North zone 1400 „ „ 53,900 „ „ 
 
 or S'ah'ra 1 Oases .- 1320 „• ,, 50,S20 „ 
 
 4200 160,700 
 
 We have already seen (p. 41) that, comprising the villages of El Goha and 
 Ocdan, and all the tribes of Chamba, which would extend the southern 
 limit to the thirtieth degree of latitude north of the meridian of Paris, 
 Algeria would have a surface of 4700 square myriametres (180,950 square 
 miles), or only one-tenth less than France. The centre would then fall 
 about 34° 7' N. lat. and 1° 4' long. E. of Paris, or o° 23' E. of Green- 
 wich ; or in other words, between Demmel and Ksir-el-Hiran. 
 
 * Dapper, Description de l'Afrique r Amsterdam, pp. 1S8, 1S9, 199. 16S6. 
 + Peysonnel, Voyage dans les Regences d' Alger et de Tunis : 2 vols. Svo, Paris ; pub- 
 lished first in 1838. " 
 
 J Berard says H leagues (3i miles) E. of La Calle, which is probably nearer the truth.
 
 54 NATIVE APPELLATIONS. 
 
 The length of Algeria between the frontiers of Tunis and Morocco, i. e. 
 between the mouths of the rivers Zena and Adjeioud, is in a straight 
 line 974 kilometres (G05-23 miles). This distance is about the same 
 as that which separates the Point of Raz, in Cape Finisterre, from the 
 mouth of the Lauter in the Rhine ; the direction is about the same, and 
 the eastern extremities fall under the same meridian ; but the Point of 
 Raz exceeds the extreme west meridian of Algeria, because of the dif- 
 ference of the length in the degrees of longitude.* 
 
 The etymology of the word Tell is doubtful. The talebs (c^JU?), 
 who are the Arab savans, call seheur the inappreciable moment that pre- 
 cedes daybreak, when night is no longer night, and day is not yet day ; at 
 the period of the Rhamadan, as soon as you can distinguish a white thread 
 from a black one, abstinence is incumbent on all true Mussulmans. The 
 seheur precedes that instant, and it is more easily appreciable in a country 
 with a wide horizon ; hence, according to these sages, the name of Sahara 
 has been given to this region of lofty plateaux which comes after the Tell, 
 of which the etymology, according to some authorities, is not the Latin 
 
 word tellus, but the Arabic word tal (JU? to tarry ; \X (toul), length), 
 
 which means ' to be last,' because the seheur is only seen there later. 
 Whatever may be the true history of these etymologies, the French under- 
 stand by Tell the land that yields grain ; and by Sahara the land of flocks 
 and pastures. As an Arab named Mohamed Legras once expressed it to 
 Marshal Castellane, " The Tell is our father ; she who married it is our 
 mother ;" or according to the saying of the nomadic tribes, " We cannot be 
 either Mussulmans, Jews, or Christians ; we are the friends of our bellies. "t 
 
 The Arabs themselves sometimes style the people of the divisions of 
 Barbary, including Algeria, by their productions. Thus they call the in- 
 habitants of the towns the gold people ; the inhabitants of the Tell, the 
 silver people; and the inhabitants of the Sahara, the camel people.% 
 
 A name commonly applied by the Arabs themselves to the Sahara 
 is Blad-el-Djerid (the country of dates) ; an epithet that older European 
 geographers caused to supersede the more correct appellation of Sahara, 
 which they erroneously transferred to the Great Desert. The Arabs of the 
 Sahara, in familiar conversation, frequently style themselves Djeridi, which 
 might be rendered palmers.§ 
 
 Wc have previously stated that the first plateaux of the Sahara are 
 named Serssous, and form a succession of mamelons or mounds of almost 
 equal elevation, following each other in succession for an immense distance • 
 you would take it to be the swell of the sea magically stayed and petrified 
 
 * Exploration scicntifiquc. 
 f Souvenirs do la Vie militaire, &c. pp. 253-4. 
 
 J Lo Grand Desert ; itine'rairo d'uno caravane au pays des N ogres, by General Daumas : 
 1850, p. 34. 
 § Ibid.
 
 LATEST POLITICAL DIVISIONS. 55 
 
 by some invisible band. Amidst cacb of these inundations are found 
 springs of fresh water ; and fertile pastures, with sbort and thick grass, 
 stretch away, supporting and nourishing those sheep so famous for their 
 delicious meat and valuable wool. Farther on and beyond the first horizon 
 of mountains, at twenty leagues distance from the mountains of the Tell, 
 begins the real Sahara : there Count de Castellane was informed that the 
 traveller meets vast, empty, and naked plains and mountains ; oases with 
 tapering palm-trees, and other lands where towards the spring and during 
 the winter you can still find pasturage for the flocks ; and farther still, at a 
 great distance, you come to the mysterious world of sand.'"' 
 
 The surface of Algeria, including the Tell and the Sahara, is reckoned 
 at 390,900 scpiare kilometres (150,496-y scpiare miles), wkicb amounts to 
 about four-fifths of the superficies of the eighty-six French departments.? 
 This territory contains 1145 tribes, with a population of 3,000,000; to 
 which if we add the population of the towns, we shall obtain a grand total of 
 3, 1 9 6, 1 40. Except some Kabyle districts between Dellys and Philippeville, 
 and a few tribes on the borders of Tunis, the whole Algerian Tell (137,900 
 square kilometres, or 53,09T5 square miles) may be regarded as entirely 
 subdued by France. The Sahara, embracing 253,000 square kilometres 
 (97,40*5 square miles), also acknowledges the French authority; but its 
 population is much thinner and more scattered than that of the Tell, and 
 the French troops only occupy a few detached posts in it. The influence 
 of the tricolor has now penetrated to the southern limits of the Sahara, 
 especially since the capture of Zaatcha and Laghouat, and the French 
 authorities have representatives in the whole zone of the oases, j 
 
 The esoteric political divisions of Algeria have undergone considerable 
 modifications since the organic decree of the 15th of April, 18-15, which 
 maintained the old division of the regency into three provinces. In the 
 first place, the territory of each province was subdivided into three zones : 
 i. e. the civil zone, under the administration of the common law as decreed 
 by the legislature of Algiers, and under the direction of the civil power, 
 save in the case of certain restrictions applicable to natives. 2dly, the 
 mixed zone, where the European population being thinner was placed under 
 an exceptional regime, all the administrative, civil, and judicial functions 
 being performed by military men. 3dly, the Arab zone, which was ad- 
 ministered by martial law. 
 
 * Souvenirs, &c. p. 255. 1852. 
 
 f The Tableau do la Situation and the Exploration scientifiquo differ slightly in their 
 estimate of the surface of Algeria, the former reducing it to 150,19b'"5 square miles, and 
 the latter extending it to 100,700, making a difference of 10,201 square miles. The ten- 
 dency of all colonial governments in general, and of the French in particular, to extend 
 their limits, easily accounts for the inclination shewn by our neighbours to encroach on 
 .the sands of the deserts, ultimately embracing a surface of 180,950 square miles, and reach- 
 ing the 30th degree of N. lat. See page 53, and Le Sahara Algerien, by General Daunias. 
 
 X Tableau de la Situation, &c. 1S50, pp. 77-79-
 
 56 THE HANDWRITING OF THE ALMIGHTY. 
 
 The particulars relating to the administration of Algeria being minutely 
 described in another chapter, we shall here confine ourselves to changes 
 in the territorial divisions ; one of the most important of which was that 
 which, by a decree of the executive power of August lGth, 1848, decided 
 that the colony should be subdivided into parishes. By the decree of the 
 9th of December, 1848, the old division of Algeria into three provinces 
 was still preserved ; but the distinction between the civil, mixed, and Arab 
 zones was suppressed, and Algeria was simply divided into civil territories 
 or departments, and into military territories, whose limits were fixed by the 
 executive power. The civil territories have been erected into three depart- 
 ments, taking the names of the three provinces.* 
 
 Before concluding our sketch of the political geography of Algeria, it is 
 Avell to describe a few divisions of the territory peculiar to the natives, and 
 which we have hitherto omitted. 
 
 A general and wholesale division applied by the Arabs to the whole of 
 north-western Africa is that according to the cardinal points. The south, 
 a vague and indefinite term applying to the Great Desert and Soudan, is 
 the Guebla. The west, including Morocco, and if you confine yourself to 
 Algeria, the province of Oran, is El Garb, or J'harb, whence the native 
 name for the empire of Morocco is Moghreb, and its people are styled 
 Moghrebins. The east is described by the word Cherg, and admits of an 
 unlimited extension : in its narrowest sense it may mean the province of 
 Constantina in Algeria; in its widest sense it may embrace Egypt, Arabia, 
 and the Levant. 
 
 Exoterically the Arabs call all other countries Beurr-el-Adjem (except 
 the Berber districts) where the Arabic tongue is not spoken, even if the in- 
 habitants should be Mussulmans. The spelling of Adjem is the same as 
 that of the word adjem, meaning ' ox;' and we are disposed to think that 
 the Arabs in their pride compare all who do not speak their tongue to 
 
 beeves ; adjel ( J-s-) in the singular signifying the ox that has not been 
 
 broken into the yoke, i.e. a calf.t 
 
 Empires depart, races dissolve, religions change phases, form, and sub- 
 stance; but the handwriting of the Almighty on the trackless sands and 
 the everlasting hills remains the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 
 Carthage has become desolate, and the royal Hippo a habitation for 
 dragons; but the three zones of Herodotus still remain as fresh and dry 
 as ever, whilst old Atlas cuts the blue vault with his peaks, and the grace- 
 ful palm still nods its crest unchanged over the waving murmuring oasis. 
 
 * Tableau do la Situation, &c. 1850, pp. 77-79". 
 
 + Le Grand Desert, &c., by General Daumaa, p. 161.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Algiers. 
 
 PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF THE PROVINCE OF ALGIERS THE SIIELL1FF THE HAEATCH, 
 
 THE MASSAFRAN, AND THE ISSER THE MITIDJA — THE SAHEL SIDI-FEE- 
 
 RUCH CAPE MATIFOtS ALGIERS — THE OLD PORT THE NEW PORT — STREETS 
 
 HOUSES BAZAARS THE CASBAH THE FAUBOURGS. 
 
 IXAVIXG given a general outline of the physical and political character- 
 X istics of Algeria, it is our purpose to launch forthwith into a minuter 
 topographical analysis of the regency. And in order somewhat to 
 diminish the dulness of dry details, we propose to interlard our pages with 
 copious and apposite extracts from the most recent visitors in Algeria, 
 illustrative of the scenery and topography of French Africa. 
 
 Before analysing the province of Algiers, we shall besrin, as in our larger 
 survey of the whole regency, by a broad outline of its natural features. 
 
 This province comprises, like the other two, its Tell and Sahara, and is 
 bisected twice by the two Atlas chains. The Djebel Amour towers aloft 
 in the southern part of the Sahara, which is watered by the Ouad-el-Djedi, 
 which passing the town of El Agrouat orLaghouat, flows east into the pro- 
 vince of Constantina. Farther north we find the two Zarhez lakes, called 
 Chergui and Gherbi, east and west. 
 
 In the east of the province the chief feature is the Djorjora range of the 
 Atlas in Great Kabylia, which will be described in another place ; and near 
 the sea we have the Great Mitidja plain and the Sahel coast-ridge, of which 
 more presently. The chief river is the Shelliff,* rising at the Djebel Amour, 
 at a place called Sebbeine-Ain, the 'seventy fountains.' Its first tributary 
 is the Nahar-wassal, from the west. Running N.E. it flows past Boghar, 
 near the sanctuary of Sidi-ben-Tyba, a little below Medeah; then pass- 
 ing close to Millianah, it flows west, washing the walls of Orleansville, 
 near which town it enters the province of Oran. It receives large contri- 
 butions the whole way, especially the Ouad-Midremme, the Ouad-Aradji, 
 and the Ouad-Foddha. The river Haratch is the Savus of the ancients, 
 and about one hours' march to the east of Algiers. It is a considerable 
 
 * Blofcld's Algeria Past and Present. 1S44. Blofeld asserts that the whole course of the 
 Sholliff from the Sebbeine Ain to Djebel Diss, i- e- the mountain of Sparturn, or reedy grass, 
 is little short of 200 miles.
 
 58 THE MITIDJA. 
 
 stream, which takes its rise in the mountains of the Little Atlas to the S.E. 
 of Blidah, a French post and small Arab town situated about 10 leagues 
 (25 miles) almost direct south of Algiers. The Haratch traverses the 
 Metidja plain, where it is about 11 leagues broad (29^ miles), and falls 
 into the bay of Algiers 3 or 4 miles to the east of the metropolis. The 
 water of the river is muddy and brackish, and in winter it is subject to 
 great inundations. Its principal ford is called the Gue de Constantine ; 
 and when Mr. Borrer visited the regency, the French wooden bridge was 
 carried away, in November 1846, during the prevalence of an unusually 
 wet season, which occasioned extensive and disastrous floods in the Mi- 
 tidja plain. The wooden bridge in question sailed down the torrent on 
 that occasion, and went to pay a visit to the strong Turkish bridge which 
 is built five miles lower down.'"' 
 
 The Isser's chief source (according to the French map of the province 
 of Algiers, drawn at the Depot general de la Guerre, for 1846) seems to be 
 near Berouaguia, about 15 miles S.S.E. of Medeah, and in the territory 
 of the Beni-Hassan. From thence flowing under different names in aN.E. 
 direction for about 45 miles, it suddenly turns in the territory of the Beni- 
 Djaad almost direct north, and flows into the sea some 5 miles to the 
 west of Cape Djinet, a promontory situated about 45 miles to the east of 
 Algiers. 
 
 We shall pause for a moment to remind the reader of the present poli- 
 tical division of the province of Algiers, which, as has been previously 
 observed, contains at the present time the territory attached to the metro- 
 polis and the province of Tittery, according to the divisions under the 
 Tm-ks. This division of the viceroyalty is still much smaller than the 
 other two constituting the provinces of Oran and Constantina, from the 
 former of which it was till lately separated by the river Massafran, and 
 from the latter by the river Booberak. The province of Algiers is ana- 
 lysed into two subdivisions, which are those of Algiers and Tittery ; and 
 contains only 113,000 square kilometres (43,505 square miles). t Nor is 
 it in general so mountainous as the other provinces. The sea-coast to the 
 breadth of five or six leagues (12 or 15 miles) consists principally of rich 
 champagne grounds, behind which are a range of rugged mountains com- 
 posing part of the Little Atlas chain, running almost straight and parallel 
 to the coast. Beyond this range, and particularly in the neighbourhood 
 of Medeah, Titterie Dosh, and Hamza, the ancient territory of the Tulansii 
 .and Banniri, are extensive plains, though none of them equal to that of 
 Metijiah. 
 
 The latter plain, sometimes written Mitidja, together with the range 
 of hills called in Arabic Sahcl, on which the metropolis is built, constitute 
 the most important features of this province. The Mitidja is a vast level, 
 
 * Dawson Borror's Campaign in the Kabylio, p. 16. 
 
 t Tableau do la Situation des Etablissemonts, kc. 1849-50, p. 719.
 
 THE B0UJAREA1I. 50 
 
 situated between the north slope of the Lesser Atlas and the Sahel, and 
 bounded to the east by the lofty mountain-range of Kabylia, in the pro- 
 vince of Constantina. It is watered by two rivers, the Haratch and the 
 Massafran, and is as flat as a billiard-table over its whole superficies. It 
 varies from three to five (and some say eleven) leagues in breadth, forms 
 a semicircle of about fifteen leagues, and touches the sea in two places, — 
 at the Fort of Maison Carree, a little to the east of Algiers ; and just below 
 Scherschell, formerly in the province of Oram The Mitidja entirely dif- 
 fers from the Sahel, or as it is sometimes called the Massif, or chain of 
 Algiers. It has been in turn noted for its fertility, for its barren sands, 
 and for its unhealthy marshes. All these statements are true, though 
 apparently contradictory, as the plain contains all these differences in its 
 ample embrace. Several Roman roads used to cross it; the most important 
 of them, following the coast, can be traced to the eastward and west of 
 the metropolis in the direction of Dellys and Scherschell.'"' 
 
 This plain is represented by eye-witnesses as a perfect desert now, 
 compared with what it was in 1830 and previous to the French conquest, 
 when upwards of twenty thousand Moorish villas and farms are stated to 
 have dotted its verdant surface, f 
 
 The Mitidja is a fine valley, eighteen leagues long and six or seven 
 broad (45 miles long and 14 or 15 wide); it is only slightly undulated 
 even at the water-shed separating the basins of the Haratch and Hamiz 
 from that of the Massafran. J The Atlas and the Massif or chain of Algiers, 
 which limit this plain, rise almost suddenly from it without any slopes. 
 The Mitidja to the west is bordered by the Sahel hills, which do not 
 attain any very considerable elevation, and are cut through by the 
 river Massafran in order that it may reach the sea ; and to the north-east 
 its boundary is formed by the sand-hills that the Haratch and Hamiz 
 cross at their mouth. It is well cultivated near the mountains, and marshy 
 in its lower parts; its aspect is generally bare : yet in some parts you 
 see, especially to the south, agricultural establishments and Arab ham- 
 lets surrounded with impenetrable hedges of Barbary figs, and with plan- 
 tations of olives, carob, jujube-trees, and some elms. The northern slope 
 of the Little Atlas is covered with brushwood, chiefly oaks and lentisks, 
 and is cut by great valleys, from which issue the streams that water 
 the plains. 
 
 Having completed our description of the Mitidja plain, we turn next to 
 the Sahel range, also known by the name of the Boujareah. This hilly 
 district, containing a superficies of twenty-five square leagues (125 square 
 miles), is washed to the north by the sea; to the east by the Haratch; to 
 the west by the Massafran ; and the south descends abruptly into the plain. 
 
 * Baron Baude's Algene, 18-11. The French in Algiers, by Lady Duff Gordon, 1845. 
 f St. Marie's Visit to Algeria; D.Borrer's Campaign, &c.p. 16; Pananti's Avventure, 1817- 
 £ Berbrugger, Introduction, p. 6.
 
 60 SIDI-FEIUIUCH. 
 
 It is intersected by numerous valleys, which are well watered in winter, 
 but dry in summer. The Sahel, which constitutes an isolated range, oc- 
 cupies in front of the Mitidja an almost elliptic area of 33,000 hectares 
 (82,000 acres); the sea bathes its northern hemicycle, and Algiers is built 
 on its side exposed to the Levant or east. The soil of the Boujareah 
 is in general strong and good : the thickets that cover a large part of 
 its surface consist principally of carob, lentisks, wild olives, &c, which 
 are greatly injured by the cattle that are suffered to wander over the 
 country. Here and there, however, you meet Jerusalem pines, whose 
 vigour shews the nature of the soil to be adapted for the growth of wood. 
 The Sahel hills are the last slope of -this range to the south, and rise 
 suddenly from the plain to the height of 150 metres (487 feet). The 
 Boujareah has lost many of the sources that it once had, which supplied 
 in the time of Pere Dan one hundred fountains in Algiers. The Ouad- 
 Kniss, called by Nicholas de Nicolai (1587) the Savo, used to be a large 
 stream, and is now only a thread. It contains, however, many dry springs, 
 the drying up having resulted in all probability from the stripping of the 
 woods.* 
 
 The ridge of Algiers presents a very regular system of gradually as- 
 cending hills, cut by numerous gullies ; it sheds its waters to the south 
 into the plain, to the north they fall directly into the Mediterranean. The 
 culminating point of the Boujareah is 400 metres (1300 feet) above the 
 sea. This massif or ridge is covered in the neighbourhood of the town 
 with agreeable habitations, where abundant springs keep up perpetual 
 freshness and vegetation ; but it does not present a pleasant appearance 
 on the top : the land there is dry, stony, and covered with short shrubs ; 
 but the ravines when watered are woody, and capable of great cultiva- 
 
 tion.f 
 
 In individualising the minuter features of this province we shall begin 
 with a description of the sea-coast, and deposit the reader at first on the 
 peninsula of Sidi-Ferruch, where the French army landed in the invasion 
 of 1830. After leaving the river Massafran, the western limit of the pro- 
 vince under the Turks, the first object that meets the eye is a small tower 
 upon a rocky cape or isthmus, stretching about a furlong into the sea.:}: 
 This is the marabout, or tomb and sanctuary, of Seedy or Sidi-Ferdje, or 
 Feredje, corrupted by the French into Sidi-Ferruch. This building stands 
 on the extremity of the peninsula, which is situated about half-way be- 
 tween Scherschell (Julia Coesarea) and Algiers (Icosium), and advances 
 about one-third of a league (two-thirds of a mile)§ into the sea, with a 
 breadtli of 8000 metres (26,240 feet). The istlimus leaves two bays, one 
 to the eastward and the other to the westward, or to the right and left, 
 bordered with wide beaches and sand-hills. The ground of the peninsula 
 
 * Baron Baudc's Algeria, 1841, i. pp. 78-81. t Idem. 
 
 X One-eighth of a mile, according to Bloi'uld. § According to Berbrugger.
 
 SIDI-FERItUCII. Gl 
 
 is mostly low and sandy, but it rises to the extremity and forms a rocky 
 eminence with several constructions. The chief among them is the mara- 
 bout above mentioned, with a minaret or square tower, to which the Spa- 
 niards have attached the name of Torre-chica. The Arab name is Sidi- 
 Feredje, the latter being the name of the native saint buried there, and the 
 word Sidi being an Arab title corresponding to our lord. The creeks of 
 Sidi-Ferruch offer at present a refuge and shelter in stormy weather to the 
 sandals of the country and other small craft. They anchor, according to the 
 wind, to the east or west of the peninsula. The natural jetties of rocks 
 by which these creeks am protected might easily be converted into moles.* 
 
 The peninsula can boast of five wells of brackish and one stream of 
 good water ; and at the distance of about nine miles to the north-east 
 begins the high chain of Bouiareah, here called Sahel, a word meaning 
 coast, shore. t Between Sidi-Feredje and the Sahel are some plains, on 
 one of which, bearing the name of Staoueli, an engagement took place be- 
 tween the French army and the Turks in 1830. 
 
 Before Khaireddin Barbarossa had made a port at Algiers, Sidi-Feredje 
 and Cape Matifou were frequented by the merchant-ships that resorted 
 to the capital. After this change it was still preserved from total neglect 
 by the veneration attached to the marabout, whose name, according to 
 Baron Baude, ought to be spelt Esseid-Efroudj, an epithet corresponding 
 to the Catholic appellation mon sieur St. Denis. The Mussulman popula- 
 tion have long been firmly persuaded that miracles are performed on this 
 spot by the supernatural power attributed to the saint ; and a marvellous 
 legend records how a Spanish captain who had offended the saint had his 
 ship three times enchanted back to the isthmus because he had some 
 portion of the Sidi's property on board. The third miracle operated, of 
 course, conclusively on the mind of the obdurate Spaniard, who forthwith 
 underwent circumcision. It is somewhat remarkable, however, that long 
 before the French conquest a tradition was current in the country to the 
 effect that the French would enter by Sidi-Feredje, and leave it by the 
 Isser.j The surface of the peninsula is about eighty hectares, and the 
 marabout on the top of the rock is not wanting in elegance. The promon- 
 tory terminates in the shape of a T, created by a bank of high rocks which 
 is prolonged by islets, and forms on its sides two little shelters sufficiently 
 valuable on this exposed coast. On the platform of the marabout, on the 
 14th of June, 1830, the lily flag of the Bourbons was hoisted by Jean 
 Sion, captain of the maintop of the Thetis, and by Francois Louis Beunon, 
 a sailor on board the Surveillante, who were the two first Frenchmen of 
 the expedition that landed on the African shore. § 
 
 The marabout of Sidi-Feredje has long been a noted landmark for 
 
 * Baron Baude, ii. p. 56. f i}^>- l~J 
 
 J Baron Baude, i. 55. § Idem, p. 54.
 
 bX SIDI rERRUCH. 
 
 sailors, who generally know it by the name of Torre-chica, a term meaning 
 in Spanish ' the square tower;' and the peninsula is avowedly one of the 
 most convenient landing-places on the coast of Algeria ; hence its great 
 importance to the power possessing or invading Algeria, a fact ascertained 
 by the French in 1830. If a fort were built on the rock of the marabout, 
 the landing would be rendered almost impossible, and elsewhere it would 
 have been attended with great risk. The genius loci and the fortified lines 
 traced in 1830 would put an establishment in perfect safety from all at- 
 tacks of the Arabs on the land side. 
 
 To the westward of Sidi-Feredje, between the point of Scherschell and 
 Cape Aquathir, are every where scattered the remains of ancient cities. 
 Scherschell, which we shall describe more minutely in another place, is a 
 little town of potters and corn-merchants formerly included in the pro- 
 vince of Oran, and is thought to stand on or near the ruins of Julia Cae- 
 sarea, the capital of Csesarean Mauritania, and the royal town of Juba II. 
 under the protection of Rome. 
 
 As we propose to devote a special chapter to the archaeology of Algeria, 
 we shall avoid any farther details of antiquities on the present occasion. 
 Not far from the mouth of the Massafran, and below the town of Coleah, 
 is another marabout named Sidi-Fouqua;* and between Sidi-Feredje, Ras- 
 Accon-Natter, and Algiers is the tomb of Sidi Halliff, another marabout 
 about half-way between the peninsula and Algiers. Haifa league W.N.W. 
 of Sidi-Hallift' is the Ras-Accon-Natter or Cape Caxines, beyond which 
 and about three miles to the south-east is the harbour of Algiers, -j- 
 
 As the port of Algiers is described in another place, the present obser- 
 vations apply to the bay. Pointe Pescade, one league and a half north-west 
 from Algiers, is the most advanced portion of the chain of Boujareah. 
 Proceeding thither from the capital, you coast along a beach of about 800 
 metres, shut in between the point of Sidi-Kettani and that of the Salpe- 
 triere. A little farther on, two sources flow from the hollow of the rock 
 into the sea; and Moorish women, with their attendant negresses, are re- 
 ported still to frequent them, as in the days of Henri Quatre, performing 
 various ceremonies savouring of sorcery and fetichism, such as burning 
 incense and myrrh, and cutting off cocks' heads.J The road from the 
 capital to Pointe Pescade crosses several ravines, which are dry six months 
 in the year, and is bordered in some parts on one side by the sea and 
 dangerous precipices, while on the left it is flanked by steep slopes. The 
 soil consists of argilo-calcareous earth mixed with stones. § 
 
 Nine hundred metres (2952 feet) north-west of the jetty of Khaireddin, 
 the point of Sidi-Kettani projects to the E.N.E. towards the high sea, by 
 a reef of submarine rocks, which ends in the rock Mhatem at 460 metres 
 
 * Berbrugger's Algeria, 1843, p. 2. + Blofeld, p. 30. 
 
 + Baron Baudc, ii. [>7 and following. § Idem, i. p. 117.
 
 BAY OP ALGIERS. 63 
 
 (1508-80 feet) from the land. The latter islet is only covered by forty 
 centimetres (15*1G inches) of water.* 
 
 To the south of the capitalt the coast forms a small creek, where it 
 might be supposed that vessels could safely find shelter ; but during the 
 north winds there is a very dangerous surf. The European merchant-ships 
 used to be obliged to anchor in the bad creek called of the palm-trees, situ- 
 ated towards the middle of the faubourg Bab-azoun, beyond Ras-Tafourah ; 
 and they were in constant danger there, as the least wind raised a heavy 
 swell, from which they had no protection.^ The rock continues to the 
 opening of a deep ravine, which discharges the rains from the neighbour- 
 ing heights into the sea ; beyond this an extensive beach presents itself, 
 wdiich insensibly curves northward to the river Hamiz, forming thus the 
 greatest part of the circuit of the bay. This beach is generally very wide, 
 and when the sea-breeze sets in, the waves break continually over it, even 
 in fine weather ; viewed from the hills by the Fort of the Emperor, it pre- 
 sents a wide border of foam. The eastern part of this bay is closed by a 
 steep and precipitous shore, which rises gradually to Cape Matifou. At 
 this extremity there is a very good anchorage upon a bottom of sand and 
 mud, and sheltered from the east winds. Crossing the Hamiz, another 
 considerable stream, you arrive at Temendfuse, corrupted by the Franks 
 into Matifou, a low cape with a table-land in the middle of it, and a small 
 castle built by the Turks to defend the adjacent roads, which once consti- 
 tuted the chief station of their navy.§ 
 
 Cape Matifou was the station of the Turkish galleys that used to bring 
 a new pasha to the Algerines from Turkey every three years, and his arri- 
 val was always notified to the city by a gun-shot. || There exist several 
 remains of an ancient city named Rusguniee at Matifou, which will be 
 noticed in the chapter on Archaeology. Cape Matifou forms the eastern 
 limit of the gulf of Algiers. Between the mouth of the Hamiz and the 
 northern slope of the cape there stretches a mile of highland, and this spot 
 would be healthy were it not for the vicinity of the marshes. After the 
 disastrous tempest which scattered the fleet and hopes of Charles V. in 
 1541, he was forced to march from Algiers to Cape Matifou in order to 
 embark his troops. He embarked from the ruins of Rusgunia?, of which 
 there existed at that time more remains than appear at present. His army 
 marched on the 27th of October from the suburb of 
 
 kilometres. miles. 
 
 Babazoun to the Haratch 9 . 5*59 
 
 The 28th from the Harateh to the Hamiz . . . 12 7'45 
 
 The 29th from the Hamiz to the ruins of Rusguniae .3 . . 1 - Sb' 
 
 Distance by land from Algiers to Cape Matifou . . 2£ U'90 
 
 * Baude, p. 30. 
 
 ■f Described more minutely in the following chapter. 
 
 £ Berbrugger, p. 27. § Blofeld, p. 30 and following. || Berbrugger, p. 2<
 
 64 ALGIERS. 
 
 The emperor embarked on the first of November on the fleet of Andrew 
 Doria, which weathered the Cape Matifou after unheard-of difficulty/' 5 ' 
 Further details of this interesting expedition will be found in the chapter 
 on History. 
 
 Cape Matifou is a very important strategical position to the power in 
 possession of Algiers ; for it is evident that at the spot where Charles V. 
 embarked a discomfited army in a stormy season, others more fortunate 
 might accomplish a successful landing ; and the disposition of the ground 
 would enable an enemy to establish himself strongly thus near to the 
 capital. These reflections led Baron Baude to perceive and suggest the 
 importance of building a fort on the cape.t 
 
 Thus it appears that the gulf of Algiers forms a semicircular indenture 
 in the coast, three leagues in diameter and open to the north. j Its shores 
 are mostly desert, and the bottom of the bay is bordered by sand-hills, 
 which though not exceeding an elevation of forty metres (130 feet), yet 
 effectually stop the waters from the plain of Mitidja, in such wise that 
 even the Haratch and Hamiz can hardly get through. Hence there re- 
 sults a zone of marshes one league in depth, which at a rough estimate 
 presents a surface of 1200 hectares (3000 acres) to be drained. 
 
 Beyond the rivers Regya, Budwowe, Corsoe, Merdass, and Isser, which 
 run not far from each other and descend from the Atlas, is the little port 
 ofDjinet, where a quantity of corn is annually shipped for Europe. Djinet 
 is a small creek with a tolerable anchorage before it. The sea-shore, which 
 from Algiers to Temendfuse, and thence to this place, had few rocks and 
 precipices, begins here to be rugged and mountainous ; and among these 
 hills, three leagues further east, is the mouth of the Booberak, which 
 formed the east boundary of the province and separated it from that of 
 Constantina till recently. § 
 
 Before we make a tour into the interior of the province of Algiers, we 
 shall transport the reader, with his kindly permission, to the busy quays 
 and streets of the capital, and make him familiar with its scenery and 
 population. 
 
 The distance from Algiers to Port Mahon in Majorca is 64 maritime leagues.|| 
 
 To Palma 57 „ 
 
 To Ivica 58 „ 
 
 We have already seen that Algiers is built on the northern slope of 
 the Boujareah range, whose highest point is 1312 feet above the level of 
 the sea, and which has a circuit of 90 kilometres (55-02 miles). The 
 sea defends 44 kilometres of this ridge (27'34 miles), and the Haratch 
 
 * Baron Baude, i. 73. t Idem, p. 76. 
 
 J Blot'eld represents it 8 to 9 miles wide and 4 deep. 
 § Blofcld, p. 30 and following. || Twenty-four hours' voyage.
 
 ALGIERS. 05 
 
 and Massafran 10 (G20 miles); thus leaving only 25 (14-53 miles) to be 
 defended by art to protect this whole district.* The name of Algiers 
 comes from the four islands which are situated out at sea in front of the 
 town. These were called in Arabic Ed-Djezair (the islands), contracted 
 into Djair.f The metropolis stands in 36° 49' 30" N. lat., and in 3° 28' 
 E. long, of Greenwich. The present lighthouse is built on the founda- 
 tions of the fortress erected by Peter of Navarre on the largest of the four 
 islets, whence it was called Pehon, the augmentative of the Spanish word 
 2>ena, rock. 
 
 The present metropolis of Algeria must be divided into two parts : 
 the new town, which is entirely French in its character, and is built on 
 the lower part of the slope and along the sea-shore ; and the old town, 
 which occupies the higher region, and is crowned by the casbah or castle, 
 the former residence of the Dey4 The suburb of Bab-el-ouad, or the 
 water-gate, almost entirely in the hands of the Europeans, stretches along 
 the sea-shore to the north-west, and that of Bab-azoun to the south-east of 
 the town. 
 
 The town of Algiers is a mile in length in front of the sea. The 
 streets of Bab-azoun, and Bab-el-ouad to the northward of the former, 
 both run north and south 3083 feet across the city. The Casbah street, 
 old, tortuous, and steep, leads down from the castle, and the old town to 
 the lower town and the port.§ The Place des Victoires is situated at the 
 foot of the Casbah, and the street of Porte Neuve or Bab-Edjedid termi- 
 nates at one end of the former place, and] at the other leads to the gate 
 south of the Casbah. The Place du Gouvernement is a large oblong space 
 planted with orange-trees, and surrounded with houses built in the Euro- 
 pean style ; and all persons going from one end of the town to the other 
 are obliged to pass through it, which makes it the centre of bustle and 
 activity, presenting a motley crowd of Arabs, Moors, Jews, Frenchmen, 
 Spaniards, Maltese, Germans, and Italians. || Along two sides of the Place 
 du Gouvernement are ranges of houses in the European style, four stories 
 high, and fronted with arcades and balconies. When visited by Count 
 St. Marie in 1845, some Moorish houses situated to the right, recently 
 burned down, had been replaced by some wooden barracks ; the only 
 ancient structure then remaining on that spot being the remains of a, 
 
 1 Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 53. f J* ',£* Djezair. Berbrugger, p. 27. 
 
 t The new town is called lli^ (Outa), the plain ; and the old town (J-ca* {Djebel), the 
 mountain. 
 
 § Count St. Marie's Visit to Algeria, 1846, pp. i, 5. 
 
 | The well-known Cas"bah Street is a long and very steep street, interrupted occa- 
 sionally by steps on account of the steepness of the acclivity. Its shops were all lighted 
 and open when Count St. Marie passed through it in the evening ; and on all sides were 
 to be heard instruments of music, Moorish, French, and Spanish, with a great noise of 
 bawling, singing, &c. He also observed much chinking in the shops. Visit, p. 36, 
 
 E
 
 (J6 THE MOLE. 
 
 tower called the Janina, surmounted by a dial. To the left the Place is 
 closed by a balustrade breast-high, behind which is a battery of eight guns ; 
 and farther down are seen the quay, the port, the vessels lying at anchor, 
 and the high sea. 
 
 The street of Bab-azoun has two rows of houses built on the same plan 
 as those on the Place; and the Bab-ehouad Street,* as previously remarked, 
 is built exactly like the former, and parallel to the shore. The Marine 
 Street runs to the right of the Place du Gouvernement, and in it are situ- 
 ated the old baths or hammams of the Deys. You descend to the port 
 through the Marine Gate, passing by the balustrade of a spacious terrace 
 adjoining the Admiralty, and after emerging from the arches of the latter 
 edifice you find yourself in the rear of the lighthouse. 
 
 The three streets of the Marine, of Bab-ehouad, and of Bab-azoun abut 
 in the great central Place. The two last form in reality only one, fol- 
 lowing the slope of the hill from north to south.f 
 
 Leaving Algiers by the Gate of France, which was close to the sea 
 during the existence of the old port, you crossed a mole, about 300 paces 
 in length, to a small island (the Penon) almost parallel with the walls of 
 the city. This island is about 180 paces long and GO broad, and at that 
 time it was entirely covered to the height of 12 feet with masonry, laid on 
 a foundation of reeds and sand. Upon this stone platform were erected 
 strong fortifications and arsenals, with a lighthouse in the centre. Thus 
 the port appears as an irregular square bounded on three sides by the 
 city, the mole of Khaireddin, and the islet. On the arrival of the French 
 at Algiers, this port, which had originally been constructed by the labour 
 of 30,000 Christian slaves, under the direction of the celebrated Barbarossa, 
 was in danger of destruction in spite of the immense works, the only oc- 
 cupation of thousands of captives. The foundations were undermined 
 and contained numerous cavities, while the upper parts were decaying 
 and full of fissures j in short, it would soon have become so ruinous that 
 a violent sea, so frequent and terrible in these offings, would easily have 
 completed its demolition. 
 
 The French, however, soon turned their attention to the port, and 
 threw in by the jetty enormous blocks of granite and marble. The ex- 
 perience of a few years, observes Mr. Blofeld, has proved the efficacy of 
 this plan ; but they had still to adopt means to save the mole, which, built 
 upon moving sand, isolated and projecting, and upon which the waves 
 broke with violence, was partly washed away, and required new founda- 
 tions. X The French therefore formed a pile of blocks of marble all round 
 the mole ; this pile, however, sank below the water the following winter, 
 but its overthrow consolidated a base upon which it became more easy 
 to establish other works. These embankments were fortunately disposed 
 
 * Count St. Mario, p. '27. t Baron Baudo, i. p. 102. 
 
 t Blofeld, p. 27.
 
 THE OLD PORT. 67 
 
 by the sea much better than art would have done. They formed an 
 inclined plane, which blunted the force of the waves and presented a 
 strong foundation on which were erected other works, that not only pro- 
 tected the ancient ones, but added to the extent of the port. The latter 
 was, however, always much exposed to the north winds, and even within 
 it vessels have been destroyed by the swell of the tempests . It is true 
 that the works undertaken since 1836 made an improvement, and the 
 most recent additions and alterations, as will be seen farther on, have 
 rendered the anchorage quite secure. During fine weather vessels anchor 
 within a mile or a mile and a half of the coast, as at that distance there 
 are from sixteen to thirty fathoms water, with a bottom of soft mud ; 
 but it is advisable to use chain -cables. Ships never anchor to the 
 north of the lighthouse, as all that part of the coast is rocky : they 
 might, perhaps, do so opposite the flat shore of Bab-el-ouad, and in front 
 of a valley you meet there ; but there are rocks in the environs, and they 
 could not remain at their moorings during east winds. The old defences 
 of the port, as encountered by Lord Exmouth, and found by the French 
 in 1830, consisted on the Mole and Pefion of, 1st, the lighthouse battery 
 of fifty guns ; and 2dly, another strong battery north-west of the for- 
 mer and east of the port, with seven mortars. Several heavy guns sur- 
 mounted the gateway that commanded the mole, and 1 2 batteries of heavy 
 guns were placed at different distances at the waterside, in front of the 
 town. They were left much in the same state for some years after the 
 French conquest ; and Capt. Rozet* remarked during his visit, that the 
 finest work after the Casbah was the united buildings of the mole and 
 marine forts, which were mounted with 237 guns under the Turkish ad- 
 ministration, and were the strongest defence of Algiers. Further par- 
 ticulars respecting the topography and history of the port are furnished 
 by M. Berbrugger, who observes that nature had placed before Algiers 
 the elements of a port of middling extent. A chain of reefs starting- 
 from the shore, and following a south-east and north-east direction, runs 
 out and joins, at the distance of about 230 metres (754-40 feet) towards 
 the open sea, four islets arranged side by side, from north to south. This 
 reef has a shape similar to that of the letter T ; and it is very likely that 
 at a distant period it afforded very good shelter, but that the effect of the 
 waves on its schistous masses has loosened considerable pieces, and made 
 breaches which were noticed even in the sixteenth century. However 
 this may have been, the present port is the same as that of the Romans, 
 as is proved by the remains and direction of the Roman via in several 
 points of the Rue de la Marine. It was also the same under the Arab 
 chiefs ; and as fast as blocks were washed away by the sea, the Turks sub- 
 stituted others. The French at first did the same, but soon found that 
 
 * Voyage dans la Regence d'Algene, par Rozet, 2 vols. Svo, 1833.
 
 68 THE OLD PORT. 
 
 it was an endless because an imperfect process. In 1831, M. Noll, en- 
 gineer of the hydraulic works at Toulon, was charged with the duty of 
 remedying this, and succeeded as well as he could ; but for want of a 
 foundation, he could not restore the basis of the jetty at the same time 
 that he had restored its body, so that the breaches extended, and it was 
 necessary to have an additional defence of hydraulic lime and gravel to 
 stop them effectually. 
 
 The mole, whose direction is almost perpendicular to that of the winds 
 that blow the strongest into the roads, is much more exposed to injury 
 than the jetty. The projection of the pier-head was repaired in 1831, 
 but destroyed in the winter of 1832. Subsequent efforts to repair the 
 jetty and mole did little good, when violent winter- storms in 1833-4 
 shewed that the system of loose stones piled round the mole might en- 
 cumber the harbour with dangerous shoals. M. Poirel then suggested 
 the Roman plan of using artificial blocks of hydraulic lime with gravel : 
 this system was employed at the bridge of Caligula at Pozzuoli (Puteoli). 
 A number of plans were now suggested ; but of these, two projects became 
 the favourites, called the great and little projects, or the Projet Raffineaio 
 de V Isle and the Projet Poirel. Nothing was decided in 1842,* and the 
 matter seems to have remained in abeyance ever since ; but we learn 
 that the energetic government of Louis Napoleon is seriously engaged in 
 making a great harbour at Algiers. 
 
 Writing on this subject in 1841, Baron Baude considers three pro- 
 jects for the improvement of the port most deserving of attention; 1st, 
 that of M. Berard, author of the Xautical Description of the Coast of Al- 
 ii' na ; 2d, that of M. Sander Bang, captain of a corvette, and that of M. 
 Poirel, civil engineer and inspector of bridges and highways in Africa. 
 
 M. Berard suggested a circular jetty uniting the north end of the bat- 
 teries of the mole with the land, and leaving a space of about nine hec- 
 tares (22 acres) between it and the jetty of Khaireddin, which would have 
 to be opened in the middle, and the present port would then answer the 
 purpose of outer port. M. Sander Bang and M. Poirel both propose to 
 make opposite the quarter of Bab-azoun a large port, of which the present 
 one would constitute the bottom. Several serious objections are made 
 to these plans ; and Baron Baude suggests with reason the propriety of 
 making the new port opposite the Bab-el-ouad suburb, north-west of the 
 town, the only side where there is room for the accommodation of an 
 increasing population and commerce. He proposes to run a jetty from 
 the Sidi Kettani point to the Mhatem rock, thence bending south-east 
 towards the lighthouse rock ; another small mole would run out towards 
 it from the Penon rock ; and between these two would be the entrance of 
 the new harbour, which would contain twenty-four hectares (GO acres),, 
 
 * Borbruggcr, part i.
 
 THE NEW PORT. 69 
 
 only eight (20 acres) less than Marseilles, and the shore would offer an 
 admirable site for warehouses.* 
 
 With regard to the improvements of the harbour projected by the 
 present government of France, we find they are now in operation and 
 partially completed. It appears, moreover, that although their improve- 
 ments are by no means finished, the government of the Prince Presi- 
 dent recently ordered Vice-Admiral Baron de la Susse, commander of 
 the squadron of evolutions, to ascertain from practical experience whe- 
 ther the means of causing a fleet to enter and anchor in the port are 
 satisfactory. From a report of the vice-admiral, the substance of which 
 was published in the Monlteur, it seems that five men-of-war, towed by 
 steamers, severally entered the port, and cast anchor at a cable's length 
 from one another, near a place indicated by the naval authorities. A 
 sixth rnan-of-war also entered, and anchored on the line set apart for 
 steamers. The steamers of the squadron afterwards anchored, as did also 
 those of the local service. All these ships did not encroach on the space 
 reserved for merchant-vessels, and three men-of-war and steam-frigates 
 in addition might also have been placed without inconvenience. Accord- 
 ing to the observations made by the admiral, the removal of a rock called 
 Roche sans Nom, situated about the middle of the port, would allow a 
 fleet of at least twelve men-of-war and as many frigates to anchor, in 
 addition to the mercantile vessels. Orders have been given to have the 
 said rock removed forthwith ; and the port, when completed according to 
 the plan definitively adopted in 1848, will be surrounded on the northern 
 side by a breakwater 700 yards long, on the south by one 1200 yards in 
 length, and the entrance will be 350 yards wide. Each side of the en- 
 trance is to be defended by a strong battery. t 
 
 The old mole, uniting the island to the town, was 600 paces long, and 
 the phare or lighthouse was 35 fathoms in height. 
 
 Seeing the importance of the subject, it has appeared desirable to com- 
 plete our description of the latest improvements accomplished or projected 
 in the port of Algiers, as described by the French official documents, which 
 rightly observe that the maritime constructions are of the first importance 
 in Algeria, by securing the protection and supplies of the colony. 
 
 From 1842 to 1846 various alterations were made in accordance with 
 the project of Mr. Bernard, inspector-general of woods and forests (ponts 
 et chaussees); but they only admitted a sheet of water containing 56 hec- 
 tares (140 acres) as the military and commercial harbour of Algiers, with- 
 out providing any roadstead. 
 
 It was only on the 26th August, 1848, that a distinct project was 
 adopted for its serious improvement and enlargement, in consequence of 
 deliberations of the mixed and nautical commissions of Algeria, of the 
 
 * Baron Baude, vol i. 
 
 t See the article of the Paris correspondent of the Times of Wednesday, Nov. 25th, 1S52,
 
 70 THE NEW PORT. 
 
 superior administrative council, of the council of admiralty, and of the 
 general council of woods and forests. 
 
 The project adopted proposed to make of Algiers a good harbour for 
 the military and commercial navy, and to prepare a roadstead in front of 
 the port. The means devised were as follows : 
 
 1. A jetty called the north jetty, length above water 700 metres (2296 
 feet), including the pier-head; 2. another jetty, called the jetty of enclosure 
 (d 'enceinte), to measure with its pier-head a length of 1205 metres (395240 
 feet), and which may be named the jetty Bab-azoun, beeause it takes root 
 at the foot of Fort Bab-azoun; 3. an internal jetty, called Algefna, which 
 will answer both as a landing-place and a store (pare) for coals. 
 
 The two great jetties will be separated by a passage of 350 metres 
 (1148 feet), and the sheet of water contained between them will embrace 
 about 90 hectares (222-30 acres) of surface. 
 
 The roadstead will be protected, 1. by a breakwater presenting a 
 development of 1200 metres (3936 feet); 2. by a south jetty, also 1200 
 metres long. The space devoted to the roadstead would amount to about 
 700 hectares (1680 acres). 
 
 The north jetty, which it was most essential to build at once, was 
 begun the first. In August 1842 its length was 180 metres (59040 feet); 
 on the 31st of the folloAving December, 220 (721-6 feet); at the end of 
 1843, 256 (839-68 feet); at the end of 1844, 367 (1203-76 feet) ; at the 
 end of 1845, 409 (1341-52 feet); 502 (1646-56 feet) at the end of 1846; 
 600 (1968 feet) at the end of 1847; 659 (2161-52 feet) at the end of 
 1848; and 728 (2387-84 feet), including the shelving slope at the end, 
 on the 31st of December, 1849. This length of 728 metres, composed 
 of 530 metres (1738-40 feet), raised 2 metres and 50 centimetres (8-20 
 feet) above the level of the sea and finished, and of 112 metres (367-36 
 feet) raised 2 metres and 50 centimetres (8-20 feet) above the sea and 
 unfinished, and of a submarine part of 86 metres (282-08 feet), sheltered 
 a surface of 78 hectares (195 acres). At the end of 1850 this jetty had 
 reached its entire development, and had been carried out to its pier-head 
 with a depth of 25 metres (82 feet). The sheltered surface already em- 
 braced above 80 hectares (200 acres). In 1850 they were engaged in 
 finishing the pier-head, on which it was intended to build a fort with a 
 double row of batteries. A powerful battery was built as early as 1848 
 at the foot of the same jetty. 
 
 The head of the jetty of Algefna was built at the same period, having 
 a length of 81 metres (265-68 feet) and a breadth of 32 (72-36 feet), in 
 order to establish a battery. The jetty of Bab-azoun was in process of 
 execution in 1850 ; a pile of timber caulked with oakum, 70 metres 
 in length, having been established in 1848-49. 
 
 Up to the year 1846 artificial blocks of hydraulic lime of from 10 to 
 15 cubic metres (352-87552 and 529-31328 cubic feet, or 13-06946 and 
 19 604 19 cubic yards) were used for the maritime works at Algiers. In
 
 THE NEW PORT. 71 
 
 1846 a mixed system was adopted, which produced a remarkable economy 
 in the expense of building. This system consisted in employing rough 
 blocks of stone as a foundation to within 12 metres (39"36 feet) of the 
 surface of the water on the exterior side exposed to the action of the 
 sea, and to 8 metres (2 6 "24 feet) from the surface on the interior, and 
 in building all above this with artificial blocks. The pier-heads, in the 
 whole of their circumference, are considered as an extei-nal facing. 
 
 The different works that remained to be done in 1850 to complete the 
 new port and roadstead came under the following heads : 
 
 1. The completion of the north jetty, the building of its pier-head and 
 of the fort to crown it; 2. the construction of the jetty of Algefna ; 3. 
 the building of the quays going from north to south ; 4. the construction 
 of the first branch of the jetty of Bab-azoun, giving it all the length neces- 
 sary to found the platform intended for the establishments of the navy, and 
 to diminish the swell within the port ; 5. the establishment of one of the 
 stairs of communication between the quays and the town; 6. the scarping 
 of a rock existing within the harbour, known by the name of the roeJie 
 sans nom (nameless rock) ; 7. construction of the establishments of the 
 navy ; 8. completion of the jetty of Bab-azoun, the construction of its 
 pier-head and of the fort intended to crown it ; and 9. second stairs of 
 communication between the port and the town. 
 
 The whole expense necessary to complete the port, without including 
 the roads, which are postponed, is estimated at 41,592,000 fr. (1,G63,608Z.) 
 Up to Dec. 31st, 1849, 14,600,000 fr. (584,000^) had been spent. Hence 
 there remains to be spent in additional work the sum of 26,992,000 fr. 
 (1,079,680*.)* 
 
 A powder-magazine in rear of the lighthouse exploded not long before 
 Count St. Marie visited Algeria in 1845, reducing the surrounding buildings 
 to complete ruin ; but the damage has been since repaired. The mole was 
 at that period 2000 paces long and 6 above the sea, wholly constructed of 
 enormous artificial blocks of hydraulic lime and gravel, and the works then 
 in progress were not completed at the time of the count's visit. It formed 
 an inward curve, contracting the mouth of the port. 
 
 We trust that the previous remarks will have made the reader familiar 
 with the port of Algiers ancient and modei'n ; and we propose now to 
 notice the chief buildings and the style of architecture observed in the 
 capital. In 1830 the narrow winding streets of the town underwent a 
 rapid change under the management of the conquei'ors. The greater part 
 of them had no written name, and none of the houses were numbered, 
 which rendered it impossible to make out any general direction, without 
 having a sort of general plan of the distances between the principal objects 
 in the city. It was found necessary to widen those streets, to adapt them 
 to the convenience of their European inhabitants, and to give them that 
 
 * Tableau de la Situation, 1850, pp. 314, 315.
 
 72 EUROPEAN HOUSES. 
 
 straight form so necessary to all who estimate the value of time. The 
 speculators who travelled in the rear of the army lost no time in erecting 
 houses five stories high, which certainly have a very fine effect; several 
 streets with arcades have been built ; and, in short, all has been done to 
 constrain the natural orientalism of Algiers into a Parisian shape. A rich 
 Moor, a man of great experience and good sense, observed to Madame 
 Prus in 1850, shaking his head sadly at the sight of one of these lofty 
 habitations, the numerous apartments of which accommodated a host of 
 lodgers : " They seem little aware that this is a country subject to earth- 
 quakes ; for here they are building away as they might do in France, while 
 at no great distance from hence the ruins of Oran and Blidah are evident 
 proofs of the danger they incur. Let them look at our Moorish houses- 
 and observe how low they are built, and with what care they are propped 
 up on beams, and made so as to support each other even on opposite sides 
 of the street. Then let them ask, why have the natives fixed on this mode 
 of construction 1 ? and I will answer them, that in 1717 an earthquake was 
 felt for nine months, which destroyed three-fourths of the town, while the 
 population lay encamped in the fields, and only returned when all symptoms 
 of the calamity were over. In 1825 another convulsion threw down the 
 walls of Oran and Blidah, and crushed many of the inhabitants under the 
 ruins. Algiers at the same time felt fifty-three shocks in a fortnight. An- 
 other took place in 1839; and even worse consequences might have ensued 
 but for the manner of building adopted since 1717." 
 
 Before this precaution was used, no other remedy against the disaster 
 was known but that of strangling the reigning Dey. Though European 
 fraternity prefers to strangle saints and heroes rather than despots, it would 
 at least be wise in the French if they were to conform to the custom re- 
 sulting from this dear-bought experience, and sacrifice elegance to security. 
 
 In visiting the different quarters of the city and becoming familiar with 
 its architecture, we shall accompany some of many Europeans who have 
 described its curiosities. Count St. Marie informs us* that the Fisher- 
 man's Quay is at the foot of the Government Terrace, which is ascended 
 by a few steps and a sloping path. All the men whom you meet there 
 selling fish are Maltese ; the best fish being the tunny : oysters are rare, 
 and different in form and colour from those of Europe. Leaving the Place 
 du Gouvernement, the party whom we accompany reached in about half an 
 hour the boundary of the city at the Bab-azoun gate, which consisted then 
 of double arches connected by a sort of bridge crossing a ditch, which 
 runs along the foot of the city wall. The principal gates of old Algiers 
 were the following: 1. the new one, Bab'ed-Djedid, on the top of the 
 hill near the Casbah; 2. .the Gate of Bab-azoun, through which you pass 
 into the Mitidja plain; 3. the Gate of Bab-el-ouad, to the west of the 
 town; 4. the .Marine Gate, leading to the arsenal and the mole; and 
 
 * p. 31.
 
 MOORISH ARCHITECTURE. 73 
 
 5. that of Fishermen. On the right of the Gate of Bab-azoun, and within 
 the city, stands a small marabout, the grated door of which is always open. 
 This building is said to be the burial-place of the Emperor 1 '' Barbarossa, as 
 ►St. Marie curiously styles him, evidently meaning the pirate Khaireddin : 
 it is held in great veneration by the Arabs, f 
 
 We shall next accompany our friends into the interior of a Moorish 
 house in the Bab-azoun Street. After ascending a few steps, they entered 
 a large court with flags of white marble, having in the centre a basin of 
 water with orange-trees about it. Along four sides of this court ran two 
 galleries, one above the other, fronted with beautiful carved wood, and 
 supported on marble columns. One side of the house in question con- 
 tained the city Museum, which possesses a collection of animals, minerals, 
 Roman and Carthaginian tumular stones, and old arms. Within the same 
 building you find moreover a library, also in other parts a college called 
 royal. All the houses of the Moors in Algiers are like the one now de- 
 scribed. They are massive square buildings, and have no windows towards 
 the street, the entrance-doors being low and small. The ceiling con- 
 sists of carved wood gilt, and the Avails are pierced on the inside with 
 small dormer-windows. The walls of the apartments are hung with flags 
 and draperies, and faced with Dutch tiles or varnished bricks with passages 
 of the Koran inscribed on them, and eilt or coloured ornaments. On the 
 floors are spread in the better class of houses costly carpets and cushions 
 of cloth-of-gold. The ground-floor is appropriated to the slaves, and a 
 narrow winding staircase leads up thence to the first-floor, which is occu- 
 pied by the family ; the flat terrace on the roof being used as a prome- 
 nade. The architecture of the Moorish country houses is similar to that 
 of their town residences, save that they are surrounded with walls two feet 
 high, and almost impenetrable plantations of thorny figs and aloes. 
 
 Before we proceed any farther on our fatiguing round of sight-seeing, 
 we will seat the reader in a fiacre, and drive to the most prominent objects 
 of curiosity. These fiacres resemble a basket made of wood, and hung 
 round with curtains of various colours. The drivers are frequently Spani- 
 ards, with a small Spanish hat adorned with streamers of velvet. Proceed- 
 ing to the old town, we find the narrow streets almost roofed over by pro- 
 jecting houses, the fronts of which nearly touch each other from the first 
 story to the terrace on the top. The streets in this part of Algiers are 
 paved with round uneven stones ; and at this quarter is the Gate of Victory, 
 on one side of which is a fountain of white marble, constructed among the 
 ruins of an ancient Roman aqueduct, j Algiers is built in the form of an 
 amphitheatre, and is commanded by the Casbah ; but the moats and ditches 
 
 * Count St. Marie, always more remarkable for the facility of his style than for the 
 solidity of his facts, is a good specimen of the literary discrimination of authors and readers 
 in this veracious age. Examples : Baba-Aroudj is converted into Barbarossa. the amiable 
 German oppressor of Milan ; and the Vandal invasion is placed in the seventh century. 
 
 + St. Marie, pp. 4-7. + Ibid. p. 16.
 
 74 
 
 THE CASBAH. 
 
 which run alongside the walls of the city on the right and left used not to 
 extend to the walls and hastions of this ancient abode of the deys. The 
 Casbah* is hardly recognisable even by the Arabs, from the changes that 
 have been made in it by the French, the little kiosk where Deval the 
 French consul was insulted by the blow of a fan of the dey (1827) remaining 
 alone unaltered : the walls of this pavilion are lined with porcelain. " From 
 the courtyard," continues Count St. Marie, " we descended into some vast 
 caverns divided into chambers, where the French found numerous trea- 
 sures amassed in 1830 ; but previous to that date their approach was ren- 
 dered impossible by a number of tigersf and hyenas being chained near 
 
 -^gggs 
 
 GARDENS OF THE DET AT THE CASBAH. 
 
 to guard them. All other parts of the place are entirely changed, and — 
 proh pudor ! — the Avomen's apartments and the harem are converted into 
 quarters of artillery ; almost an equal sacrilege to that of converting the 
 marabout of Sidi-Djemyah into a station-house for gendarmes. In a beau- 
 tiful little kiosk attached to the Casbah, commanding a magnificent view 
 of the sea, the city, and the country, there is now an ambulance or mili- 
 
 J^^ajj- Tho word Casbah moans literally ' reed.' Cours d'Arale vulaaire, par A. 
 
 Gorguos, vol. i. 1 1. 189. 
 
 + This must bo an error of tho count, as there are no tigers, but only animals of tho 
 leopard tribe in Algeria.
 
 THE BAZAARS. 
 
 75 
 
 tary hospital. Near this spot are fountains of fresh clear water, and 
 marble reservoirs in which the soldiers now wash their linen ; and a small 
 mosque at a little distance has been converted into a Catholic chapel, sur- 
 mounted with a cross. The French, on taking possession, guaranteed to 
 the Arabs the free enjoyment of their religion; but they have turned their 
 mosques into Catholic chapels. The Protestants have purchased ground 
 for chapels, and the Jews have converted certain houses into synagogues."* 
 The Casbah commands the whole town, and the hill on which it stands 
 is 500 feet above the level of the sea. Gloomy battlements surround the 
 castle, which is capable of accommodating two battalions, but is itself 
 commanded by the Fort de l'Empereur on the road to Douera in the Sahel, 
 of which more anon. 
 
 " Algiers," observes our friend St. Marie, " is the only town in the 
 regency which, by the erection of new buildings and the accumulation of 
 French inhabitants, presents the aspect of a rising colony. All the other 
 towns which surround Algiers preserve for the most part their primitive 
 aspect, with the exception of some large buildings erected here and there 
 by the French for barracks and hospitals." Descending once more to the 
 lower town, we pass from the middle ages to our high-pressure civilisation, 
 and fancy ourselves in the handsome streets of a European capital. Those 
 of Bab-azoun and of the Marine are spacious and elegant, and contain some 
 good shops. The bazaars are constructed in the Moorish style, and in ge- 
 neral are most curious. -j- That in the Rue du Divan is principally occu- 
 pied by Moors employed in various embroideries on leather and silk, for 
 which the capital is famous, such, for instance, as ladies' slippers, purses, 
 portfolios, &c. Farther on are venders of essence of roses, jasmine, and 
 other perfumes ; and in the shops are displayed chackias, or leathern caps, 
 such as are made at Tunis, silk scarfs or fotas, and many articles of the 
 same description. The della or auctioneer walks about laden with bur- 
 nouses, "djaba dolis," or men's vests, rhhlahs or women's tunics, and frim- 
 lahs, a sort of spencer worn by ladies. His fingers glitter with diamonds, 
 and his hands are hardly able to grasp all the insaias (anklets), rclites, 
 (bracelets), sarmas (ornaments worn by married Avomen), and other ar- 
 ticles of value, which he is employed to dispose of for the benefit of 
 Moorish ladies pressed for want of money. X Some immense works, ob- 
 serves Mr. Blofeld, have been made in the Place du Gouvernement, and in 
 the streets de la Marine, of Bab-azoun, and of Bab-el-ouad ; these have 
 a handsome appearance, with their long galleries, their shops, and the 
 crowds which animate them. In the street of Bab-el-ouad the passengers 
 are more numerous than those in the Strand in London. § In these places, 
 excepting in some parts of the Rue Bab-el-ouad, there are no longer any 
 
 * St. Marie, p. 16. f Madame Prus, 1850, p. 21G. J Idem, p. 216. 
 
 § Blofeld, p. 13.
 
 76 OLD ALGIERS. 
 
 Moorish houses ; all is changed ; and were it not for the throng of Turks, 
 Moors, Arabs, Negroes, &c, the stranger might fancy himself in one of 
 the principal French cities. 
 
 While on the subject of the shops and bazaars, it is well to remark 
 that the shops of Algiers contain now the luxuries, comforts, and fashions 
 of Paris, bronzes, porcelain, glass, rich shawls, embroideries, woollen stuffs, 
 silks, cottons, &c. 
 
 On leaving his hotel in the Place du Gouvernement, Count St. Marie 
 passed through the Janina arch and saw the governor's palace, an old 
 Moorish house faced with marble and adorned with marble columns. In 
 front of it is the bishopric, a miserable place as to its exterior, which is, 
 however, better inside the Avails. M. Dupuch, who was bishop in 1845, 
 had been previously a counsellor at Paris, subsequently became a Car- 
 thusian monk, and ultimately a prelate. Soon after they reached an Arab 
 bazaar, consisting of a spacious gallery, newly built and of curious con- 
 struction, containing ranges of arches, each forming a separate shop for 
 the sale of various merchandise. In one of them the count saw, as at Stam- 
 boul, attar of roses, fragrant pastilles, silk fillets of various hues orna- 
 mented with gold and silver, bracelets of plaited silk, intermingled with 
 coral beads, hose, red trousers, girdles or scarfs of gold, and little pots of 
 colours — blue for the eyebrows, red for the cheeks, and yellow for the 
 nails. 
 
 The barbers in these bazaars are mostly Koulouglis, or sons of Turks 
 by Moorish Avomen. In the centre of the bazaar is a little rotunda for 
 sales by auction.* The bazaar of the Fig-tree, a small open space, con- 
 tains the shops of the richest tradesmen. 
 
 The principal streets of the capital are tAventy feet wide, most of the 
 others being just Avide enough to admit of three persons walking abreast ;f 
 and though the loAver toAvn is quite European in its character, the upper or 
 Moorish quarter resembles most other cities of the East, containing nar- 
 roAV winding streets, obscured by projecting stories and overhanging roofs. J 
 " The lower part of the tovvn which surrounds the port," observes M. 
 Lamping, "has already acquired a completely European character. The 
 streets of Bab-azoun and of the Marine are as handsome and as elegant as 
 the boulevards of Paris ; but the upper toAvn retains its Arab appearance, 
 and is almost exclusively inhabited by Moors and JeAvs. The streets are 
 there so narrow, that tAvo horses cannot pass without difficulty. The 
 Arabs have no notion of carriages." A motley croAvd fills most of the 
 great thoroughfares, consisting of various races. Next door to an elegant 
 French milliner, an Arab barber was shaving the head of a Mussulman ; and 
 an Italian restaurateur, who extolled his maccaroni to every passer-by, Avas 
 
 * St. Marie, p. 43. t Blofeld, p. 3. 
 
 $ The Foreign Legion : 1st Part of Lady Duff Gordon's French in Algiers, p. 16.
 
 ALGIERS FROM TIIE SEA. 
 
 77 
 
 the neighbour of a Moorish slipper-maker. Every thing, moreover, in the 
 capital wore a martial aspect.'"' 
 
 In the streets of old Algiers the windowless houses scarcely leave an 
 interval of two metres (G-5'6 feet) between them, and the salient eaves 
 overhead belonging to the upper stories hardly suffer the passenger to see 
 the sky. The narrowness and obscurity of these lanes at first shock the 
 European, but the coolness resulting from the same cause speedily recon- 
 ciles him to these drawbacks. The only things wanting in the Moorish 
 
 STREET IN ALGIERS. 
 
 houses are exterior openings to ventilate them. They are in other re- 
 spects more picturesque and better adapted to the climate than our archi- 
 tecture. The inside of the Bourse of Paris, reduced in scale and with the 
 African sky overhead, gives a good idea of the interior of a Moorish house.f 
 " I toiled through the narrow streets," says M. Lamping, " up to the 
 Casbah, the former residence of the Dey, the road to which is so steep 
 
 The Foreign Legion, p. 15. 
 
 t Baron Baude, voL i. pp. 50-52.
 
 78 ALGIERS FROM THE SEA. 
 
 that steps had to be cut to form it. As I did not know the shortest path, 
 it was at least two hours before I reached the top."* Algiers itself is 
 built in the shape of an amphitheatre on the declivity of the Sahel hills, 
 and when seen from a distance looks like a huge white pyramid, for 
 the town forms a triangle, the highest point of which is crowned by the 
 Casbah.-j- 
 
 Before we pass through the former gates of the capital to visit the 
 suburbs, we shall present the reader with the following sketch of the ap- 
 pearance of Algiers on landing, from the pen of Marshal de Castellane, the 
 latest authority on the subject. 
 
 " On approaching Algiers from the sea, it presents the appearance of a 
 towu tranquilly and lazily reposing along the slope of a hill, surrounded 
 by a fresh and verdant country. On penetrating into its precincts, how- 
 ever, European bustle and activity belie the indolent exterior of the 
 city. The fact is, that Mussulman Algiers is at an end, and is making 
 room daily for its Gallican successor. On first landing, the visitor is greatly 
 struck with the strange and motley crowd in its streets, where every one 
 seems to run rather than walk. A novel display of various costumes at- 
 tracts the eye on all sides. One moment you meet some Biscris moving 
 along with a rapid and cadenced step, carrying a heavy load on a long 
 pole; presently an Arab appears in his bournous, then a Turk still sport- 
 ing the graceful turban, a Jew with his sombre attire and cautious look, 
 the oil-carrier with his goat-skin pitchers, and to crown the tumult thou- 
 sands of asses and their negro drivers, curricles with two or three horses, 
 baggage-mulesj proceeding in long files with provisions for the military 
 storehouses, horsemen galloping full tilt contrary to the police regulations, 
 colonists with white hats and broad brims, or glittering officers lording it 
 over every one in conscious self-importance. In short, you have the con- 
 fusion and agitation of an ant-hill; every where energy, hope, and its off- 
 spring, steady and active labour. 
 
 " The lower town, by the port, is the seat and scene of this activity, 
 and presents a great contrast to the silence and repose of the higher part 
 of the town, which is the refuge and head-quarters of Mussulman gravity, 
 and offers a labyrinth of narrow and winding lanes where two men can 
 hardly walk abreast. Occasionally a white phantom glides past you as 
 you thread your way through its narrow streets, a door is seen to open 
 
 * The Foreign Legion, p. 38. t Ibid. P- 15. 
 
 J The baggage-mules are always styled ministers in Algeria ; and if you ask the 
 soldiers why, they will answer you, because theso beasts are charged with the affairs of 
 tho state, or because they have the telegraph at command, pointing to their long movable 
 oars. It happened once upon a time that a real minister, M. do Salvandy, visiting the 
 province of Constantina, was escorted from Philippevillo to Constantina by soldiers of the 
 waggon-train. On climbing a hill his ears wore suddenly offended by hearing the word 
 ' M inister !' shouted out on all hands, amidst a shower of imprecations and blows. Aston- 
 ished, he asked what it all meant ; and whon informed, ho laughed as heartily as any one 
 at the joke. — Castellane' i Souvenirs, p. 11.
 
 FORT OF TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. 
 
 70 
 
 mysteriously, and the apparition vanishes. It was a Moorish lady. The 
 old despotic spirit oftheDeys seems still to hrood over this part of Algiers, 
 though the French tricolore has long waved over the Casbah."* 
 
 Having completed our description of Algiers within the old walls, we 
 shall transport the reader to the old faubourg of Bab-el-ouad, to the west 
 of the metropolis, passing through the gate of that name. The first object 
 that here claims our attention is the Fort of Twenty-four Hours, called by 
 the natives Bordj Sitti-Takelits (the fort of Madam Takelits), because it 
 was built near a marabout of a holy woman of that name. It is situated 
 at a few fathoms from the sea, behind the Tophana-j- or battery of Sidi- 
 
 TERRACES OF ALGIERS. 
 
 Kettani, another saint honoured here. It is an oblong square with ir- 
 regular sides, without lower embrasures, commanded to the west by heights, 
 which could not hold out after the town was taken. The French have 
 laboured recently to scarp it by cutting down the limestone rock on which 
 it is built level with the esplanade of Bab-el-ouad. This fort was built 
 in the 18th century, and is now occupied by disci 'plinaires. 
 
 * Souvenirs de la Vie militaire en Afrique, par lo Comte P. de Castellane (now a 
 Marshal), p. 1. 1852. 
 
 + Tophana is a Turkish compound word meaning ' gun- wharf :' top, gun ; hana, wharf.
 
 80 MILITARY CONVICTS. 
 
 The great changes that have been recently made in Algiers have en- 
 closed the Forts Neuf and that of Twenty-four Hours within the present 
 walls, which also embrace the old faubourg of Bab-el-ouad. The present 
 gate of Bab-el-ouad is opposite the point of Sidi-Kettani ; and the new 
 faubourg of Bab-el-ouad stands opposite the cmse (or cove) de la Sal- 
 jKtriere, and underneath the hospital of that name. 
 
 Between this Fort of Twenty-four Hours and the road of the Jardin 
 du Dey (Dey's Garden) you see an isolated structure on a chain of rocks, 
 with some luxurious trees rising above its walls. The cupola of a mara- 
 bout announces it to be a saint's tomb consecrated to Sidi-Djemyah, but 
 he has been unceremoniously thrust out by a post of gendarmes. The 
 garden of the convicts is on the other side of the road, in which you see 
 the elegant agave-flower, Avhile Mount Boujareah forms a background to 
 the prospect.* 
 
 "Nearly facing the Fort of Twenty-four Hours," says Count St. Marie, t 
 " we entered a garden called the Jardin Marengo. It is a pretty place, 
 belonging to Colonel Marengo, formerly the commander of the citadel of 
 Algiers. The garden has been cultivated by condemned soldiers, to whom 
 it must be a severe punishment, owing to the great heat. Scarcely a day 
 elapses without some of them experiencing coups de solell and other acci- 
 dents, occasioned by exposure to the sun, whose ardent rays destroy the 
 freshness of vegetation; and though much care is bestowed on the cultiva- 
 tion, it is not so beautiful as it would be in a more favourable locality. 
 In this garden is situated an old marabout, the walls of which were faced 
 externally with white, blue, and green porcelain. This little temple has 
 been surrounded by flags, and has a very pretty effect. The real name of 
 Colonel Marengo was Capon ; and his father, who distinguished himself 
 at the battle of that name, received in jest from Buonaparte the appel- 
 lation, which is still retained by his son, though it is said that he has 
 not much military talent." 
 
 The Fort Neuf (Bordj-el-zoubia) is situated at the northern angle of 
 Algiers, and was so called by the Europeans because it was a recent erec- 
 tion, having been hardly completed in 180G. It was one of the first 
 places that occupied the attention of the French after the conquest, and 
 additional works were consti'ucted to put it in a state of defence. They 
 began to surround it with a moat, and to make revetements and masonry 
 escarps; which, with other improvements, enabled 1200 men to find ac- 
 commodation in its vaults. It was, however, afterwards given up to the 
 military convicts under Lieut.-Col. Marengo. J 
 
 Baron Baude observes that the convicts have been usefully employed 
 on many works in the port, and that they have formed a good garden at 
 the barracks, besides an excellent champ de manoeuvres. The system of 
 Convict-labour lias worked well, and they have improved morally and ma- 
 
 * Berbrugger, part i. p. 39. t P- 27- + Berbrugger, p. 39.
 
 OLD FAUBOURG BAB-AZOUN. 
 
 81 
 
 terially Tinder the treatment they have experienced.* M. Berbrugger, who 
 examined into the condition of the military convicts, bears witness to 
 the cheering results presented by the instruction and discipline to which 
 they have been subjected. The men have been taught general elementary 
 Knowledge, and, what is still more important, self-respect and esteem for 
 their superiors. There is some good element in most criminals, even the 
 most obdurate ; and by touching the right chord, they can generally be re- 
 claimed. Vice is much more circumstantial than inherent in man. After 
 the expiration of their term of servitude, the men have returned to their 
 regiments, where they have almost universally behaved well. 
 
 The old gate of Bab-el-ouadt opened to the north of Algiers, on a plain 
 where there is more room for building than on any other side of the town. 
 Nevertheless the pirates preferred the hill, thinking that it would place 
 them in a safer position ; but since 1830 there has been a determination 
 of population towards this plain, and most of the public establishments 
 belonging to the colonial government have been erected on that side. The 
 space contained between the old gate of the town and the sea is filled by 
 the Fort Neuf, which, as previously stated, is a prison-barrack of military 
 convicts. ;£ 
 
 The Fort of Twenty-four Hours was built in the oldest part of the vast 
 Mussulman cemetery stretching from Bab-azoun to Bab-el-ouad, along and 
 outside the walls. A new zone of tombs began beyond this circle, forming 
 that of the Christians; then beyond that, and in the direction of the ravines 
 of the Boujareah, lay that of the Jews. The tombs of several of the deys, 
 such as those of Mustapha, Moussa, &c. were situated in that part of the 
 Mussulman cemetery lying between the Fort Neuf and that of Twenty- 
 four Hours. They were shaped like marabouts, of a square form, with a 
 cupola at top; but were destroyed by the French in 1830. The ground 
 of these cemeteries has been greatly encroached upon by French settlers ; 
 and it is anticipated that all traces of them will gradually disappear as 
 the European town stretches out on the road to Pointe Peseade, beyond 
 the old Bab-el-Ouad gate.§ 
 
 Proceeding to the other extremity of Algiers, we pass through the old 
 gate of Bab-azoun into the old suburb that bears the same name. The 
 faubourg of Bab-azoun only exists in the memory of the first-comers to 
 Algiers, most of the buildings having been knocked down to enlarge and 
 open up the approaches to the town. Very little remains of this pic- 
 turesque quarter, except Le Quartier des Spahis and some little Moorish 
 shops, where the Arabs come to buy rope, and straw mats, iron, pottery, 
 &c. But the population frequenting this district has much changed of 
 late ; and on coming from the steamboat you see there in a few minutes 
 specimens of all the Algerian races. The Rue Bab-azoun passes through 
 
 * Baron Bande, vol. ii. p. 57. t fbid- 
 
 J Ibid. vol. L § Berbrugger,, p. 1.
 
 82 
 
 OLD FAUBOURG BAB-AZOUN. 
 
 the gate of that name to the country. It was at that gate (the old one 
 now destroyed), that during the disastrous expedition of Charles V., Ponce 
 de Balagner, dit de Savignac, knight of the Temple, plunged his dagger 
 into the gate, and fell a victim to his daring gallantry. The walls used to 
 be lined with heads of the innocent and guilty ; and on to the iron hooks 
 that projected from their sides, criminals, imaginary or real, used to be 
 precipitated from above, and remained suspended in agony till death put 
 
 STREET IN ALGIERS. 
 
 an end to their sufferings. A square planted with trees, and having in its 
 centre a basin, is the place of execution ; and at the foot of an escarp on 
 the right is a row of curtained carriages (voilures tapisse.es), to take the 
 travellers about the environs. A little farther on, you probably meet with 
 a native band, whose music being rather more remarkable for noise than 
 melody, speedily puts to flight all who have any pretensions to an ear. 
 Sometimes you may also meet in this locality serpent-charmers from 
 Morocco, who display their mesmeric influence over the tribe of creeping
 
 OLD FAUBOURG BAB-AZOUN. CO 
 
 things. Above this spot is situated the wood .and charcoal market, con- 
 taining tattered tents, camels, and dirty Bedouins proudly wrapped in 
 rags. A little to the right are the barracks of the spahis;* while to the 
 left is a fine high building, which is the Caserne du Train des Equipages, 
 or the barracks of the waggon-train. + Most of the old structures in this 
 vicinity are demolished or condemned, and handsome streets and public 
 buildings will shortly meet the eye of the visitor on passing through the 
 new gate of Bab-azoun. Between 1841 and 1845 the new faubourg of 
 Bab-azoun was created, and considerable expense incurred in levelling and 
 paving. The whole district is now within the new walls. J 
 
 * Native troops. See the chajnter on the French army in Algeria, 
 f Berbrugger, p. 6. I Tableau de la Situation.
 
 PART OF ALGIERS AND MOSQUE OF ABD-ER-RAHMAN-EL-TSALEBI. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 JhnttsttfS of SIgtcrS. 
 
 KELIGIOUS EDIFICES BATHS FOUNTAINS DRAINS NEW CIVIL EDIFICES 
 
 HISTORICAL STATISTICS OF ALGIERS THE POETRY OF EASTERN LIFE — AN- 
 TAGONISM OF THE SOCIAL STATES OF EUROPE AND AFRICA NEW MILITARY 
 
 EDIFICES AND DEFENCES. 
 
 IN 18.33 Algiers contained 120 mosques and marabouts, fourteen syna- 
 gogues, and one Roman Catholic chapel. Three of the mosques had 
 in 1843 been turned into Catholic places of worship, and one of them is 
 now the French cathedral church, and has some yery beautiful arabesques 
 on the walls and ceiling, and the doors have flowers carved upon them 
 in a style not excelled by Grindling Gibbons. 
 
 As regards the native sacred edifices, they arc commonly divided into 
 three classes: 1st, the djamas, which are the principal mosques; 2d, the 
 mesjids, called in Egypt mesguid, whence came the Spanish term 'mez- 
 quita,' and our mosque. The khotbah or public prayer is offered up in the
 
 RELIGIOUS EDIFICES. 85 
 
 djamas on Friday, the Mussulman Sunday. The third class consists of 
 marabouts, which ax*e the tombs and sanctuaries of saints ; of this class 
 more anon. The Algerian mesjids are somewhat like our Gothic churches 
 in their interiors, but instead of seats and benches, they strew the floor 
 with mats, upon which they perform the several stations, sittings, and 
 prostrations that are enjoined in the ceremonies of their religion, and 
 which are so accurately represented in Lane's Modern Egypt. Near the 
 middle of the mesjid, or more especially of the djama (the great), is a huge 
 pulpit, balustraded all round with a few large steps leading to it. In this 
 the mufti, or one of the imams,* places himself every Friday, and explains 
 some parts of the Koran, and exhorts the people to piety and good works. 
 The wall of the mosque on the side towards Mecca is called kibla, in which 
 is a niche representing the presence and the invisibility of the Deity. A 
 minaret rises commonly at the opposite end of the mosque, having a flag- 
 staff at the top. The mesjids, sanctuaries of marabouts, the muftis, imams, 
 and other dignitaries attached to them, are supported by revenues of 
 houses and lands bequeathed by will, or appropriated by the public for this 
 purpose, f 
 
 A good specimen of a mosque of the second class is presented by that 
 of Sidi-abd-er-Rahman-el-Tsalebi, situated between the marabout of Sidi- 
 Sadi and the west rampart. It is a charming edifice, held in high vene- 
 ration by the Mussulman population on account of the saint buried there. 
 The flags of the Turkish troops used to be kept in it, and the following 
 inscription in Arabic was over the door : "In the name of the gracious and 
 merciful God : may God shed his mercies on our lord Mahomet ! The 
 building has been finished, with the divine help, by the hand of our emir, 
 the very powerful and generous El-Hadj Ahmed-ben-el-Hadj Massli. May 
 God direct him towards grace by the merits uf Zerroug and those of the 
 sincere Abou-Beker. Its date, O thou who inquirest, is in the words 
 qad djaaltouhou min sabiquin (I have formerly established it)." This 
 implies 1108 of the Hegira, as letters in Arabic have a numerical value. 
 A new inscription shews the edifice to have been built in 873; and it ap- 
 pears that the marabout Sidi-abd-er-Rahman was born at Tsaallah in the 
 province of Constantina, as his name implies. 
 
 We add a list of the duties and obligations attached to this establish- 
 ment. 1st, the distribution of alms and aid ; 2d, the repair of fixtures ; 
 3d, daily expense in giving food to the natives who resort to it ; -ith, re- 
 ligious expenses of all kinds. Offerings daily placed on the tomb of the 
 marabout, and the rent of certain endowments, make up an income of 800U 
 boudjous (1 boudjou=l fr. 80 cents=l6\ GcL). The expenses amount to 
 6,500, leaving an excess of 1,500 boudjous. The officers of the establish- 
 
 * Different ecclesiastical officers of the Moslem hierarchy, of whom more anon, in the 
 chapter on Religion and the Law-tribunals, Part IL 
 t Blofeld, p. 136.
 
 86 
 
 FOUNTAINS. 
 
 ment consist of an oukil or administrator, three imams, a chaouch or beadle, 
 three heuzzabins or readers; and one woman to sweep it.* 
 
 In many of the towns of Algeria, especially the capital, since the 
 French conquest, the number of mosques being found excessive, several of 
 them have been converted into hospitals, warehouses, and even Catholic 
 churches. Thus at Algiers two mosques have been turned into the cathe- 
 dral and the church of Notre Dame des Victoires. A sufficient number 
 of mosques, however, have been preserved and repaired to meet the wants 
 of the Mussulman population. 
 
 The French official documents - !/ divide all the mosques in Algeria into 
 five classes, save the great mosque of the capital : 1st, the mosques with 
 great minarets ; 2d, those with a pulpit for the khosbah ; 3d, the mosques 
 with less important pulpits ; 4th, the mosques without pulpits ; oth, the 
 small chapels. Of the 1st class, Algiers has 3 ; of the 2d class none ; of 
 the 3d class none ; of the 4th class 4 ; and of the 5th class 1 2. 
 
 Thus Algiers, including the great mosque, has twenty Mussulman 
 temples, whose ecclesiastics will be enumerated in another place. 
 
 The Jews have twenty-five synagogues at Algiers ; the Catholics have 
 two churches and one chapel ; and the Protestants one place of worship at 
 Algiers, and one at Douera (a neighbouring colony). 
 
 Next to fresh air, good water is the first necessary and greatest luxury 
 of life. Without plunging into the excesses of hydropathy or teetotalism, 
 it may be readily admitted that apitrrov jxiv vcwp, and that aqua fresca is 
 equally valuable with the Promethean fire, especially in the realms of the 
 sun, where, if any where, cleanliness is next to godliness. Drains, baths, 
 and aqueducts were the first care of the Romans, and their vestiges may 
 be traced throughout Algeria. 
 
 The capital used to be well supplied with the crystal liquid from the 
 Boujareah under the earlier deys ; but Turkish improvidence [neglecting 
 the plantations has caused many springs to dry up. The French seem 
 at length aroused to a sense of the importance of a good supply, and 
 active measures are taking to secure it. In many instances the old Roman, 
 and sometimes the more recent Turkish, conduits and channels have been 
 repaired and employed; 1400 years not having sufficed to ruin the cyclo- 
 pean structures of the masters of the world. 
 
 Between the years 1840 and 1847, the French government has com- 
 pleted the erection of nineteen fountains in the cajutal of the colony and 
 its precincts. These works have cost the sum of 141,44Gf. 22 cents 
 (56571. 17s. 8d.), and have been erected in the following localities : 
 
 Rue do Chartros, at the angle of Hue Porte Neuve ... 1 
 line de C'hartres, at the angle of Rue Bruce .... 1 
 On the Place do Chartros 1 
 
 Berbrugger, part i. p. 34. f Tableau des Etablisscments, &e. 1850, p. 362.
 
 DRAINS. 87 
 
 On the Casbah hill 1 
 
 Rue du Palmier ......... 1 
 
 At the corner of Rues Reynard and Regard .... 1 
 
 Rue de la Revolution ........ 1 
 
 Rue de l'lntondance 1 
 
 Rue de Nemours 1 
 
 Rue Bruce . . . . " . . . . . . .1 
 
 Al'Agha 1 
 
 Rue de Ja Giraffe .1 
 
 Rue de Chartres, corner of Rue du Chene .... 1 
 
 Bottom of Rue de la Casbah 1 
 
 Rue d'Annibal 1 
 
 Rue de Navarin . 1 
 
 Corner of Rues du Chat and du Locqdor 1 
 
 Rue de Staoueli 1 
 
 Mustajjha barracks of waggon-train . . .... 1 
 
 19 
 
 Draining is another subject to Avhich the French government has de- 
 voted a good deal of attention ; and it is somewhat mortifying to reflect* 
 that those great nations of the West who boast of their enlightened polity 
 and humanising civilisation, should be still distanced in undertakings of 
 public spirit by the old-fashioned men of the Augustan age. So evident 
 is it that our progress has been very onesided and revolutionary in its 
 character. Stern necessity, the cholera, and the footprints of Rome have 
 at length roused the French to purge their cities and span the colony 
 with the mileage of high roads. 
 
 The following are the larger-sized drains which the French call de 
 grande section : 
 
 Length. Expense. 
 
 Drains in the Rue de Chartres .... 315 metres 37,S94 fr. 26 cents. 
 
 Drains in the Rues Doria, Des Trois Cou- 
 
 leurs, Mahon, Duquesne, de la Marine, 
 
 du Marteau, &c 840 „ . . 45,399 „ 04 „ 
 
 {Middling size.) 
 
 Drains in 45 streets (1842-5) 1279) 149 S61 in 
 
 Repairs in 64 streets 1277) " 
 
 New drains (1S46-9) 2S00 „ . . 121,000 „ „ 
 
 6647 metres . . 387,154 fr. 40 cents.* 
 
 A plan has been started for building a great drain, destined to carry 
 off all the filth of the town beyond the port, so as to avoid the stagnation 
 and effluvia that result, as at Marseilles, from imperfect sewerage. It is 
 to be hoped that this project, which smacks somewhat of colonial grandeur, 
 may receive the sanction of the government. 
 
 While on the subject of sanitary measures, the following regulations of 
 the French authorities to preserve the cleanliness of the town are deserving 
 of notice. 
 
 * Total of drains, 21,802-16 feet ; expense, 15,486/. &s. id.
 
 83 CIVIL BUILDINGS. 
 
 By an arrete, or decree of government, of the 26th July, 1843, every 
 resident is obliged to have swept that part of the way contiguous to his 
 house or other premises, and to clear away the mud opposite his dwelling 
 as far as the middle of the street. All rubbish is to be heaped up and 
 canied away by the scavengers. All glass, &c. to be thrown aside sepa- 
 rately, where it cannot inflict wounds. No fires are to be lighted in the 
 streets, nor is it allowed to throw any thing out of the windows. From 
 the 1st of June to the 1st of October, all the inhabitants are required to 
 water the streets twice a day ; for which purpose the water is to be ob- 
 tained from the public cisterns only. 
 
 The next subject that claims our attention is the historical statistics 
 of the public streets in the capital since the French occupation. The Rue 
 de Chartres was paved with lava in 1841-42 ; and in the last-named year 
 the names of the streets and squares were put up. From 1840-1842 the 
 squares were planted ; and between 1842-44, the Place Royale, Place Mahou, 
 and Place de Chartres were paved ; besides which the streets of Joinville, 
 Tanger, and des Mulets were opened. In 1844 the square of Isly and the 
 streets of Mogador, Isly, Joinville, &c. were paved; and from 1845-46, foot- 
 pavements and various plantations were made. 
 
 We now pass to the new civil and military edifices, the former of 
 which Ave shall classify under the following heads : 1. public justice ; 2. 
 education ; 3. divine worship ; . 4. general administration ; 5. finance ; 6. 
 municipal; 7. hospitals; 8. archaeological and literary. 
 
 Justice. The court of appeal and the tribunal have been esta- 
 blished in two vast houses of Moorish construction. The central prison 
 of Algiers, built on a half-cellular system, is not quite finished, but it is 
 already opened for the reception of prisoners. It is, however, only a de- 
 partmental prison, and not a house of detention ; and they still send to 
 France prisoners condemned to a longer space of confinement than one 
 year. The expense is estimated at 744,000f. (30,160/.) 
 
 Education. A Lyceum was founded and built at Algiers between 1847 
 and 1849, costing 51,500f. (2060?.); and a (mutual) school between 1840-49, 
 costing 10,330f. 70 cents. (413?. 4s. 2d.) 
 
 Worship. The cathedral at the metropolis is a vast building, begun 
 in 1840, and though not yet completed, is already partially consecrated 
 and devoted to divine worship. A good deal remains to be done before 
 it will be finished. The expense, up to December 1849, amounted to 
 730,215f. (29,208?. 12s. 6d.) A handsome Moorish house, suitably re- 
 paired, has been converted into the bishop's palace. A great seminary 
 has also been established in the old camp of Koubah : Notre Dame des 
 Victoires and the chapel of Bab-azoun were formerly mosques, and have 
 been previously noticed. 
 
 Administration. The hotel of the Prefecture for the general direc- 
 tion of civil affairs was begun in 1845, and finished in 1849 ; expense
 
 LIBRARY. 89 
 
 200,000f. 50 cents. (8000Z. 0s. 5d.) The central police-station was finished 
 n 1847, costing 4729f. 40 cents. (189?. 3s. 8d.) 
 
 Municipal service. When municipalities were established in Algeria, 
 in 1847, a new mairy was placed in the new building adjacent to the 
 old direction de Vinterieur (colonial office), now converted into the general 
 secretaryship of the government. 
 
 Hospitals. Mediterranean usage entailed on Algiers the necessity of 
 building a lazaretto from 1841-42, at an expense of 461,922f. 92 cents. 
 (18,476?. 195. lOd.) 
 
 The hopital civil has been established in the old barracks of Janissaries 
 at Bab-azoun, the repair of which cost 92,999f. (3720£.) The orphan 
 asylum at Mustapha has cost 42,415f. (169G£. 12s. ikl.), and the house of 
 the sisters of mercy (1848) 30,634f. 66 cents. ([2251. 7s. 6d.) 
 
 Museum and Libraries. The library and museum were removed in 
 1845-6 from the college of Algiers to a house in the Rue des Lotophages. 
 
 This house, the first story of which is appropriated to the museum,* 
 and the second to the library, was built about sixty years ago by El-Hadj 
 Omar, grandson of Hassan Pasha, on some rocks by the sea-shore, bathed by 
 the waves on two sides. It is a splendid Moorish dwelling, and one of the 
 most complete and curious models of that native architecture which has 
 almost entirely disappeared at Algiers. In this respect the house itself 
 may be regarded as a museum. The library, placed, as we have said, on 
 the first story, comprises four halls (salles) opening on a pretty gallery 
 paved with squares of porcelain. 
 
 We shall pause awhile to dwell on the literary monuments of a patri- 
 archal race and of a waning religion contained in this edifice. The first 
 ••oom contains works of theology and of philosophy, maps, and stamps. 
 The second, archives, books of natural history, of astronomy, of mathematics, 
 of physical science, of chemistry, of architecture, of medical science, of 
 agriculture, of history, and of what relates to war, marine, and belles-let- 
 tres. The third compartment contains two reading- rooms ; one for Eu- 
 ropeans, the other for natives. In connection with the last is a large 
 glass cabinet, in which the Arabic mss. are deposited. 
 
 In the European reading-room you find the works relating to Algeria, 
 and in general those that ai*e in most demand. 
 
 Prirded books. This collection is already of considerable importance in 
 
 * The antiquities and specimens contained in the Museum will be noticed in the 
 chapter on Archteology. The only curiosity we shall here record is a discovery by the 
 celebrated naturalist, Bory de St. Vincent, who, gaping for lions in this virgin field of 
 science, was delighted one fine morning to see a singular specimen of natural history 
 brought in by a sous-officier. He rewarded the man handsomely, and, enchanted with 
 the novelty, he wrote a learned description of his wonderful variety to the Jardin des 
 Plantes, describing its singular proboscis, resembling an elephant's trunk, and giving it 
 the name of rat trompe. Judge of his dismay, after the lapse of a few days, to find that 
 the proboscis consisted of another rat's tail artfully put through the nose of the speci- 
 men ! St. Marie.
 
 90 STATISTICS. 
 
 supplying Intellectual food to the metropolis, though it is not large enough 
 to meet the wants of its studious inhabitants. The number of books 
 inscribed in the catalogues amounts at present to above 5,500 volumes, 
 pamphlets, maps, and plans, distributed in 2100 works, classed as follows : 
 1st, Algeria, all works and documents, &c. on the colony ; 2d, moral sci- 
 ences, including mental philosophy, geography, philology, and archaeology. 
 
 Manuscripts. The collection of Arabic mss. is greater than the wants 
 of the place. The natives hold them in high esteem • but unhappily there 
 are but few hard workers among them, and this part of the collection will 
 not be justly appreciated till a greater number of Europeans apply them- 
 selves seriously to the study of Arabic. 
 
 The period of Ramadhan, which ends in fetes, leads the Mussulmans to 
 extraordinary expenses, and always produces a rich harvest of Arabic mss. 
 The year 1850 was remarkable for the number it yielded. The library 
 of Algiers has taken advantage of this circumstance in adding to the store 
 a variety of good works, especially a geography of Mohereb,* containing 
 some curious details on the Roman antiquities of each place. The num- 
 ber added to the collection since 1846 amounts to 200 mss. on every 
 variety of subject. 
 
 It will be gathered from these observations that the library of Algiers 
 contains a most remarkable and matchless collection of matter relating to 
 the special literature of Northern Africa. 
 
 At a time when the ancient Moslem empire seems about to fall in 
 pieces, when the mysteries of harems and pyramids and mosques are being 
 trodden under foot by the Giaour, and the Crescent begins to pale before 
 the Cross, it is not without pleasure that we hail all strenuous efforts to 
 preserve relics and monuments of that singular race, which, under the im- 
 petus of faith, burst like a whirlwind from the desert, sweeping over the 
 plains of Africa and the vales of Spain, till the scimitar flashed on the 
 banks of the Loire, and the muezzin's call reverberated amongst the val- 
 leys of the Basques. 
 
 The historical statistics of the city of Algiers present us with the fol- 
 lowing details : In the beginning of the 17th century, Algiers, as described 
 by Jean Baptiste Gramaye, in his Africa Ilhistrata,\ contained 13,000 
 houses, many of which held 30 families. In the Jews' quarter, the house 
 of Jacob Abum had 300 inhabitants, and that of Abraham Balhin 260. 
 There were 100 mosques, each attended by three marabouts, and some by 
 30 or 40 ; and there were moreover innumerable oratories. The number 
 of baths was 8(j ; and besides superior schools, in which the Koran was 
 interpreted, there were 86 schools in which children were taught to read 
 and write. 
 
 * L^ijX^c Morocco. 
 
 f Jean Baptiste Gramaye was born in 15S0, and his Africa III uslrata was published in 
 1G22.
 
 STATISTICS. 91 
 
 Haedo counted 10,000 gardens in the district of the capital, hut the 
 registers of the regency made them 14,098; and all of them contained 
 two or three, hut most of them eight slaves. There were at that time 
 about 35,000 Christian slaves in Algiers and the neighbourhood. Ali 
 Mami had 132, many had 60 and 70, and the Dey's bagnio had 2000. 
 
 Haedo, Avho had lived there, estimates the white Moors at 2500 
 families, and the black Moors, or Kabyles, at 700 families. Of Arabs and 
 beggars there were 3000 ; and the Modajares, driven from Spain, made up 
 1000 additional families ; besides which there were 1000 Yalencian Moors. 
 There were 1600 Turkish families besides the Janissaries, 6000 renegades, 
 6000 Janissaries, 136 families of caids or civil authorities, 300 rais or 
 masters of ships, 86 scherriffs,* and 800 hadjis, or men who had made the 
 pilgrimage to Mecca. Each of the three galleys was manned by 80 Turks, 
 the others had about 30 men. The city contained, moreover, 80 black- 
 smiths, 1200 tailors, 3000 weavers, 120 cheesemongers, 300 butchers, and 
 400 bakers ; it had also 150 Jewish houses, and, according to report, 8000 
 Jews. De Breves,t ambassador of Henri Quatre to Turkey in 1628, gives 
 Algiers 100,000 inhabitants ; and Pierre Dan,;J; in 1637, ascribed about the 
 same number to it. At the French conquest in 1 830 it had about 40,000, 
 though the size of the town in both cases was nearly the same, comprising 
 50 hectares and 53 centiares (125 acres). Besides this, the jetty con- 
 tained four hectares 09 centiares (10 acres), giving as the general re- 
 sult, 54-62 hectares (136 acres). In the most crowded quarter of Paris, 
 that of the Arcis, you find about 1554 persons per hectare (2^ acres); 
 this proportion would give 80,000 to Algiers. 
 
 In 1841 there were only 16,000 Mussulmans in Algiers ; hence 14,000 
 must have emigrated since 1830. This result had been caused in part 
 by the increase in prices. In 1830 wheat and barley were sold at 2 fr. the 
 hectolitre (Is. 8c?. sterling per 22'009667 gallons, or 2|ths bushels); an 
 ox cost 18 fr. (16s.); a sheep, 2 fr. 50 cents. (2s.); 100 eggs, lfr. 20 cents.: 
 and these prices remained almost the same up to 1834 ; but in 1841 pro- 
 visions had become almost as dear as at Paris. 
 
 The population of the capital is by some thought to have amounted to 
 70,000 before the French invasion. After that date the natives have been 
 reckoned for some years at 30,000, analysed as follows : 
 
 Moors 17,000 
 
 Jews 5,000 
 
 Turks 4,000 
 
 Negroes 2,000 
 
 Kabyles cand Arabs 1,000 
 
 Biskris and Mozabites 1,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 * Scherriffs are descendants of the Prophet. 
 
 + Eelation des Voyages de M. de Breves, 1628. 
 
 + Histoire de Barbarie et de ses Corsaires, 4to, 1637.
 
 92 
 
 RECENT IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 To these must be added 30,695 Europeans, which will give a total of 
 60,695 inhabitants shortly after the conquest. 
 
 In 1833 there were 2,920 houses, 148 public fountains, 14 synagogues, 
 one Eoman Catholic chapel, 120 mosques and marabouts, and 48 schools 
 for boys and girls. In 1843 the city contained, besides, two theatres, the 
 Grand Theatre and the Theatre des Petites Varietes,* good libraries, and 
 two good newspapers ; one of which, the Akbar, was published twice a 
 week, and contained four pages. Three of the mosques had been con- 
 verted into churches, one of them constituting the French Catholic ca- 
 thedral ; but many of the numerous fountains were dry, and there was a 
 want of good water. 
 
 The European population of Algiers has much fluctuated, as will be 
 seen in another place. It appears to have reached its maximum in 1847, 
 having amounted, on the 31st December of that year, to 42,113 persons, 
 whereas on the 31st December, 1848, it had fallen to 37,572 ; and at the 
 same date in 1849 it had been reduced to 37,114. Various causes have 
 contributed to this result, especially political agitation, and the greater 
 safety and facility of colonisation in the interior, t 
 
 As regards the present statistics of education and public worship at 
 Algiers, the fullest particulars will be given on these points in a future 
 chapter. We shall here simply state, that the number of European pupils 
 of both sexes, public and private, amounted in 1849 to 1178 children. 
 
 Many important alterations and improvements have been effected in 
 Algiers since the visits of M. Blofeld and Count St. Marie. If the reader 
 casts his eye over the map of the capital accompanying this work, he will 
 perceive more easily than by any other method the chauges that have 
 taken place. First, the old wall and precincts no longer form the boundary 
 of the city, which includes the old faubourgs of Bab-azoun and Bab-el- 
 ouad, the Moorish gates having been destroyed. The city has been sur- 
 rounded with new Avails, ditch, and bastions, and a new citadel is erected, 
 embracing the old Casbah. Several new gates have been constructed, in- 
 cluding the Porte Constantine, a little above that of Bab-azoun; the new 
 Porte Bab-azoun, adjoining the fort of that name ; and beyond, the Porte 
 du Sahel, east of the citadel, and the Porte Vallee, west of the citadel ; 
 besides the new Porte de Bab-el-ouad, close to the point of Sidi-Kettani, 
 and the Fort of Twenty-four Hours. Several new streets have also been 
 formed, that of Bab-azoun being prolonged, and widening all through 
 the ancient faubourg of that name to the Porte Bab-azoun. The new 
 street of Bab-el-ouad is a prolongation of the old one, and passes through 
 the great Place d'Armes, opposite the Jardin du De)-, to the gate of the 
 
 * Algeria, resolved not to bo behindhand in the amenities of civilisation, has completed 
 a magnifidfent theatre ; and an excellent operatic troupe has just left Paris to commence 
 operations there (July 1853). 
 
 t Tableau do la Situation, 1S50, pp. 91-96.
 
 BARBARISM AND CIVILISATION. 93 
 
 same name. The Eue d'Isly runs from the Porte de Constantine parallel 
 to Bah-azoun Street, passes through the Place d'Isly, and joins the Rue de 
 Bab-azoun at the Place de Garamantes by the Rue de Rovigo. Rue Pou- 
 driere runs down from Porte and Place Sahel to the Rue d'Isly. A number 
 of other labyrinthine streets are christened Rue de Rovigo, and the Rue de 
 la Lyre runs from the Place du Gouvernement to the Rue d'Isly ; parallel 
 with the Bab-azoun Street several large open spaces have been cleared, es- 
 pecially the Place Nationale, close to the quays, opening into the Rue de 
 la Marine ; and a new street, called Rue du Rempart, that runs along the 
 quays eastward. The Place Nationale (formerly Place du Gouvernement)* 
 is planted with trees, and is the principal square of Algiers. All the old 
 rampart to the westward from the Casbah to the old Porte Bab-el-ouad 
 has been converted into the Boulevard Vallee. These, and many other 
 minor improvements which have been made, quite alter the character of 
 the city, conforming it to a third-class European capital. It is doubtful 
 if it is so well suited, however, to the climate and country. f 
 
 After entering Algiers through the new gate, Bab-azoun, it is proposed 
 to erect on the left, opposite Fort Bab-azoun, an entrepot de tabac, or 
 depot of tobacco, and a halle am ble et aux Indies, or corn-exchange ; and 
 all the and on the right of the street between the gate and the Mosque 
 of Sibi-Abd-el-Kader is reserved for military constructions. 
 
 It is needless to add, that when these alterations and improvements (?) 
 are effected, the whole of the lower part of Algiers will be identified in 
 appearance with most large continental fortified and seaport towns ; and 
 a long interval will not elapse ere the old town, the Djebel, will melt away 
 in the embrace of its juvenile successor, the Outa. 
 
 As a relief to the somewhat dry details of this statistical chapter, we 
 here present the reader with the impression made by Algiers on the mind 
 of an intelligent French officer, now a Marshal of the Empire. 
 
 " The town of Algiers," observes the soldier, " combines the gaiety of 
 Paris and the charm of eastern life ; and contains, in particular, one ter- 
 race that recalls the enchantment of the Arabian nights. You go there, 
 when the oppressive heat of the day is passed, breathe the refreshing 
 breeze, while you contemplate the sea with its thousand scintillations, 
 above your head hang, apparently suspended, the white walls of the houses ; 
 then surveying the bay of Algiers, your eye rests on slopes covered with 
 roses and verdure, and on the mountain outlines that fade and shade into 
 the Jorjora, whose barren ridges cut sharply the blue canopy of the sky."| 
 Before we take leave of the island city (Djezair), it may not be un- 
 profitable if we offer a few observations on the contrasts of European and 
 oriental social life and architecture, and on the main principles mani- 
 fested in both. 
 
 * Names in France and its colonies are as fluctuating as dynasties. 
 f Tableau de la Situation. J Castellane, p. 249.
 
 94 BARBARISM AND CIVILISATION. 
 
 An imperfect idea of this antagonism may be given by saying that 
 eastern life is poetry, and western prose. The fascination of the fabulous 
 and the hues of romance will ever gild the battlements of Damascus, 
 and hover round the minarets of Cairo, casting into a stern shade and 
 pallid twilight the dismal machinery of Teutonic and Scandiuavian poetry. 
 To the sunshine of imagination, Saladin, Alraschid, and the Mameluke 
 Beys will ever carry off the palm from Hound Tables and the aureole of 
 Roncesvalles. There is a wealth of wonder, a gorgeousness of tint in 
 oriental life and thought, that cau never square with doublet, point lace, 
 trunk-hose, or inexpressibles. 
 
 Chivalry and gallantry first passed from Saracen tents under the crests 
 of northern barons, and inspired the rugged breasts of steel-clad Goths 
 with gentleness in bravery. Thus, to the airy minaret, the tinkling 
 fountain, the tapering (fete, and Ali Bey on his barb, belongs the diadem 
 of fancy. Yet the westerns shall have their due, and in the workshops of 
 Manchester and the atdiers at Paris, I ween that you shall find miracles 
 that put Aladdin's lamp to the blush. Look, however, to the Vulcan, and 
 your lamp goes out, for you shake hands with ragged socialism and hoarse 
 radicalism. 
 
 The mind of man leaves its stamp on his greatest as well as smallest 
 creations, and his clothing, his thatch, in short, all that reflects him, is an 
 image of, and correspondence to, his character, modified by time and space. 
 Hence the social state of a people can be gathered from its architecture 
 and its tailoring, which also give the key to the climate that it inhabits, 
 to its dominant pursuits, and national propensities. 
 
 The great contrast of Moorish and European houses is a type of their 
 national antagonism. The latter are impelled by a vague instinct of as- 
 sociation to issue from the castellated isolation of families in the dark ages, 
 and to hive together in vast agglomerations of humanity, where the indi- 
 vidual and the family become fractions of the social body. Such agglome- 
 rations are no doubt without any form or organisation, and only cemented 
 by physical position ; but they form the natural and necessary bridge from 
 the hostile isolation of barbarism to the complete association of humanity, 
 to which all the higher tendencies of modern civilisation are pointing. 
 A Moorish house shews at one glance its great distance from this con- 
 summation. Generally small, they can oidy hold one family ; and whilst 
 our European houses give free admission to the light of heaven through 
 large and numerous Avindows, the Moor gropes about in a perpetual twi- 
 light, his walls presenting the appearance of a prison. 
 
 These two facts are symbolical of the great characteristics of eastern 
 ami western life. The more progressive race, leading a more public life, 
 required vaster and more comprehensive edifices, embracing numerous 
 groups, who find daily the advantage and amenity of a greater social 
 approximation between the members of society, accepting material as-
 
 BARBARISM AND CIVILISATION. 
 
 95 
 
 sociation in the first instance as a prelude to the general extension of this 
 great principle to more elevated interests. But in oriental life, where 
 man has never conceived of a higher association than that of private fami- 
 lies in the most imperfect form, through the slavery of woman, no other 
 dwellings could be expected than houses uniting the character of castle 
 and dungeon. 
 
 MANUFACTURE DE TABAC. 
 
 It is natural to infer from their residences that one of these hostile 
 races is inquisitive, sociable, and accessible, on seeing the number of win- 
 dows in their houses; nor can we wonder at the Arab captives at Mar- 
 seilles comparing the French dwellings to large ships pierced with port- 
 holes. And do not the long bare walls, with a few rare pigeon-holes and 
 barred openings, announce a people careless about every thing beyond 
 their family group, disdaining to look abroad, and anxious to hide the 
 mysteries of the household from the profane crowd 1 The inquisitive 
 and restless citizen of the West required the broad daylight and a wide 
 horizon to look about him, learn the news, and see what was going
 
 96 BAIlBAItISM AND CIVILISATION. 
 
 on ; but a jealous nation, shut up in individualism, could not endure to 
 lay bare the privacy of its seclusion to neighbours and strangers ; patri- 
 archalism could not brook the fraternising co-operation of our social life. 
 Climate has also much effect in modifying the architecture of the two 
 races, and shews our folly in trying to naturalise our architecture, diet, 
 and tailoring at the Poles or under the Line. 
 
 Nature having been sparing of heat and light to the European, he has 
 been forced to exert his ingenuity in making the most of the share allotted 
 to him. Like the plant growing in the shade, that stretches and inclines 
 towards the glorious sunshine, the European throws open his walls to let 
 in the pale rays of his watery sun. But in Africa, with its cloudless sky, 
 burning sun, and dazzling light, the severest winter is like a fine autumn 
 with us ; and through most of the year shade being the great desideratum, 
 windowless walls, cool arcades, courts, and fountains, are the architecture 
 indicated by nature and followed by man. 
 
 As regards the latest military works, the greater part of the fortifica- 
 tions on the land-side were completed in 1850, including bastions, ditch, 
 curtains, &c. On the Islet of the Marine six batteries had been established, 
 besides a battery for twelve pieces on the rock Algefna, the battery of El 
 Kettani, and the Fort des* Anglais. They have also established three 
 powder-magazines, to contain 300,000 kilogrammes (660,000 lbs.) ; but 
 the sea-defences were incomplete in 1850* 
 
 * Tableau, p. 15.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Drmiute of 3lgtcr<$. 
 
 PRECINCTS OF ALGIERS THE TWO MUSTAPHAS JARDLN D'ESSAI BUFFARICK 
 
 MODEL FARM MAISON CARREE THE CAFE OF HAMMAH THE CONSULATE 
 
 OF SWEDEN — AYOUN BENI MENAD POINTE PESCADE. 
 
 WE propose now to make a few excursions in the environs of Algiers, 
 in the society of some select friends who will act in the capacity 
 of guides. 
 
 " Leaving the back gate of the Casbah," says Count St. Marie, "we had 
 before us, on a little eminence, the entrenched camp of Tagarins. It con- 
 sists of a large square enclosed by wooden palisades, containing eight rows 
 of parallel barracks, with sufficient room between each for the free move- 
 ment of the troops. The beddiug at that period was miserable, the ham- 
 mocks consisting of canvas without mattresses or covering, and they were 
 strung by ropes to the walls and to poles. The men quartered there in 
 1845 consisted of the celebrated Chasseurs d'Orlcans, now known as the 
 Chasseurs de Vincennes, the first body of troops that Avere provided with 
 Minie rifles. 
 
 " Pursuing our course (the other side of the Tagarins), we came in sight 
 of four rather large hospitals, which, being exposed to all the winds, are 
 in a very unfavourable situation. On the opposite side of a picturesque 
 ravine which lay open before us, we saw two buildings comprising the H6- 
 pitaux du Dey and la Salpetriere, the former of which is very large, and 
 situated nearer to the sea than the latter. The principal room in the 
 Hopital du Dey is calculated to contain 2000 beds, and was used under 
 the Deys as a receptacle for plundered goods. The surrounding rocks are 
 clothed with plantations of aloes and acacias. This hospital is admirably 
 arranged and conducted, containing clean neat rooms with iron beds, all of 
 good quality and in good order." 
 
 On another occasion our friend St. Marie entered the street of la 
 Charte within the walls, which was thronged with people, because the 
 market held in the Place de la Charte was about to open. In the middle 
 of this square is a fountain surrounded by orange-trees; and it presented 
 on this occasion a busy scene, with country people seated in rows display- 
 ing the different objects of their cultivation. Various fruits, which are 
 almost unprocurable in Europe at that season (winter), were exhibited in 
 great profusion in this market, which was crowded with negresses, Maltese, 
 
 G
 
 98 VIEW FROM THE EMPEROR'S FORT. 
 
 Marseilles flower-girls, &c. &c. A short distance after leaving tlie market, 
 our party passed a Protestant church of moderate dimensions, winch at 
 that time was nearly completed. When they had issued from the gate of 
 Bab-azoun, they turned up an ascending road to the right, where a stone 
 has been placed with an inscription stating that it was traced out by 
 General Berthezene in 1831. 
 
 Following this road they reached the Fort de l'Empereur, which com- 
 mands a magnificent view of the coast and town. Between the fort and 
 the shore the eye plunges into a large ravine thickly studded with houses 
 surrounded by gardens ; more to the right is a heap of ruins, which are 
 the only remains of our consul's villa; and looking back you see the com- 
 mencement of the Sahel and Delhi Ibrahim, a small European village on 
 the road to Douera. The Fort de l'Empereur forms a large square on an 
 eminence completely commanding Algiers ; but it is no longer fortified, and 
 is only garrisoned by one company of disciplinaires* This fort was the 
 largest work in the vicinity of the capital under the Turkish government, 
 and was named after Charles the Fifth. It is situated to the right of the 
 town, and commands the approaches from the land side. The hill on which 
 it stands is 1100 metres (3608 feet) south of the Casbah, and 210 (688 
 feet) above the sea; and it consisted in 1830 of three bastions with a 
 cavalier in the centre, and used to mount 50 cannon. t 
 
 After passing the fort, St. Marie proceeded along a broad road called 
 the Girdle road, which, however, was not in a fit condition for the passage 
 of carts, having on each side hedges of myrtle, hawthorn, and lilac, and on 
 one side a limpid little stream. These features of scenery, added to the 
 view of the roadstead on the left and clusters of shady trees on the right, 
 made this part of the ride most delightful. Soon after, a pathway down 
 a steep declivity brought them to the village of Upper Mustapha, where 
 a terrace in front of the restaurant commands a fine view. To the left 
 appeal's the city, with the Fort of the Emperor ; further down the village 
 of Lower Mustapha and its cavalry camp; to the right you see the village 
 of Koubah;* and nearer the sea-shore the Jardin d'Essai (experimental 
 garden), the mills of Hussein Dey, and near the end of the curve, the 
 Avhite walls of the Maison Carree. Broad roads connect these different 
 points, and the picture is enlivened by numerous country-houses and 
 green pleasure-grounds. 
 
 The most recent works effected by the military engineers at Mustapha 
 are the construction of a forge and a cart-house, a masonry trough, and 
 
 * St. Marie, pp. 20-23 and 47-49. 
 
 + See the description of this fort shortly after the French conquest, by Captain Rozet, 
 Voyage, &c. Prince Piickler Muskau's Semilasso in Africa, vol. i. ; and Dr. Russcl's 
 Barbary States. 
 
 J The military engineers have lately established temporary ditches at Koubah, and put 
 in order the buildings of this camp before- giving it up to the civil administration (des 
 domaines). Tableau, &c. 1S50, p. 17.
 
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 THE JARDIN D'ESSAI. . 99 
 
 three aqueducts to bring in a supply of water. Several bureaux for the 
 different officials have been added, and some stables built. They have, 
 moreover, lately erected there a store for forage on the side C, two masonry 
 basins containing 300 hectolitres (about GG00 gallons), and a branch from 
 the aqueduct of Hammah to feed them.* 
 
 The villages of Upper and Lower Mustapha are built on the slope of a 
 hill; and the latter contains a cavalry camp, which was occupied in 1845 
 by the first regiment of the Chasseurs d'Afrique, commanded by General 
 Bourgon, a man who has distinguished himself in Africa. The camp is 
 surrounded by wooden palisades, and the stables form one of the four sides 
 of the upper quadrangle. Within its ample precincts are contained a 
 small hospital, veterinary hospital, and surgeon's quarters : it possesses 
 also extensive magazines of forage, and is supplied with water from a 
 neighbouring stream, which requires filtering, f 
 
 Upper Mustapha (Mustapha Superieur) is built on a declivity of the 
 Sahel about a league from Algiers, and is surrounded by most exquisite 
 fruit-gardens. It was formerly the palace of the Dey's son, and boasted a 
 great degree of splendour. The edifice, was built round two courts, the 
 smaller of which is adorned with G4 marble columns supporting magnifi- 
 cent rooms that formerly constituted the seraglio, j. Nevertheless the 
 bland repose of European scenery is wanting here, the lines being rigid 
 and not sufficiently softened off. On the opposite side of the road stands 
 the country house of the Governor, once the Dey's ; near it is an old 
 Moorish house occupied by the Colonel of the 1st Chasseurs ; and further 
 back is the country residence of General Yussuf.§ All these are large 
 buildings, and the gardens surrounding them contain fine fountains and 
 orange-trees. 
 
 The cavalry camp of Lower Mustapha is very clean, with flower-beds 
 under the- officers' windows, besides a cafe and restaurant. The privates 
 sleep on iron bedsteads; at the head of the bed are the trappings, arms, and 
 bridle of the horse ; at the foot of the bed the saddle is placed ready for 
 use, and in eight minutes the trooper may be mounted. When visited by 
 St. Marie, wild boars, eagles, &c. were roaming about the barracks ; these 
 animals having been tamed by the officers, who are much attached to the 
 chase. At a little distance, we find a Moorish coffeediouse called "the 
 Plane-tree," 1 1 on one side of which is a marble fountain and a small mara- 
 bout with fine plane-trees; facing this cafe is the railing of the Experi- 
 mental Garden. The road, after passing the cafe, followed the curved 
 
 * Tableau de la Situation, &c. 1850, p. 17. t St. Marie, pp. 47-50. 
 
 J The Foreign Legion, p. 16. 
 
 § A distinguished cavalry officer in the French service, of uncertain extraction, of 
 whom Prince Piickler Muskau gives an interesting description, and whose romantic adven- 
 tures will be noticed in the chapter on the French Army, Part II. 
 
 II Hammah.
 
 100 TEE MAISON CARREE. 
 
 line of the sea- shore; and after riding some distance, says St. Marie, we 
 came to some water-mills on a shady little stream. These mills, the 
 rivulet, and a hridge, are all called Hussein-Dey. The bridge is thought 
 by the Count to be of Roman construction, and the banks of the stream 
 are clothed with a luxurious vegetation. The acanthus, with its broad, 
 glossy, dentated leaves, looked at a distance like a Corinthian capital level 
 with the ground. The road in this part is overshadowed by enormous 
 fig-trees, and the wild vine and ivy are seen climbing up the acacias, 
 orange, and lemon trees. The officers of Mustapha barracks were ob- 
 served in this vicinity, on their road to hunt wild boars on the banks of 
 the Haratch, armed with Cossack lances, and followed by large lion dogs. 
 
 The road still descending brought them to the bridge of the Haratch,* 
 at the foot of the hill on which stands the Maison Carree. This bridge, 
 which is of Moorish construction, consists of ten arches ; but when visited 
 by St. Marie water flowed through one of the arches only, whilst in the 
 rainy season all are filled. At the end of the bridge is a post of native 
 tirailleurs, and further on occur a few European houses used as inns. It is 
 a curious fact, that all the houses in the villages of Algeria are places of pub- 
 lic accommodation, i. e. drink and other refreshments are every where sold. 
 Beyond this spot they arrived by a zig-zag road at the summit of the hill 
 and before the fort of the Maison Carree, which is a barrack rather than a 
 fortress. There are embrasures on all sides of the walls, which are twelve 
 feet high ; four sides of the interior are occupied by buildings used for the 
 service of the barracks ; and a little square building in the centre of the 
 court contains the officers' apartments, the powder-magazine, and the 
 stables. The fort can contain about 1200 men, and would be the key 
 to the road to Algiers if captured by an armed force coming from Fon- 
 doulk or Kabylia. " This fort," says St. Marie, " is of Moorish construc- 
 tion, but I could not learn the particulars of its origin, though the building 
 appears contemporary with the Emperor's Fort. Leaving the Maison 
 Carree, and turning your back to the sea, you have before you a distant 
 view of the Fondoulk, the Mitidja, and the beginning of the Lesser Atlas 
 chain. A few white spots on the horizon shew the site of Blidah. All 
 around you in this spot is barrenness and stunted vegetation." 
 
 Men of sense in Algeria spoke in 1845 (the panic year) of running a 
 jetty round the shore of the bay, which is a quicksand, for a railway 
 leading from Algiers to Blidah, passing the Maison Carree, and afford- 
 ing communication with some new villages about to be built at the foot 
 of the mountains of Kabylia. 
 
 After the Maison Carree St. Marie and his party came to a plain of 
 sand along the shore, and halted at a sequestered building called the 
 Water Fort, now no longer a military post, but the property of a colonist. 
 
 • By an unaccountable oversight St. Mario calls tho Haratch the Shellif' wliich runs 
 
 west ol'-Milia-i.'.
 
 THE MODEL-FARM. 101 
 
 They then left the sands, plunging into thickets of jujubes by a path 
 leading iu the direction of the Rasauta, a secluded farmhouse, which 
 was at that time surrounded by several little encampments of Arabs. It 
 belonged at that period to a Spaniard, and was surmounted by a steeple. 
 The encampments were almost hidden by plantations of fig-trees and aloes, 
 but they perceived that the tents were high and covered with skins of ani- 
 mals, and their approach was guarded by numerous Arab dogs, who have 
 a natural antipathy to Europeans, whom they would worry and devour if 
 they entered a douar (Arab village) without the protection of a native. 
 Continuing their excursion, they passed on the left the little French village 
 of Fondoulk,* situated nine leagues (22^ miles) E. of Algiers, where there 
 is an entrenched camp ; and they proceeded to ford the Haratck,f which 
 in this part is a narrow stream with high banks. Soon after passing the 
 river they came to a road running through an immense ditch, which the 
 colonial government proposed at one period to cany as a vast moat round 
 Algiers in a circuit of ten miles, for the purpose of enclosing and protect- 
 ing a portion of the Mitidja and the remaining district near the capital. 
 
 A short distance further on they reached the Ferine Modele (Model 
 Farm), an establishment formed for the purpose of improving the breed 
 of cattle, and the quality of fruit, vegetables, ite. It has, however, proved 
 an entire failure, owing to its exposed situation, having been plundered by 
 the Arabs, who, moreover, destroyed the crops of corn around it. The fields 
 belonging to it are now used for fodder, and as soon as the grass is mown 
 it is given to the government, as otherwise the Arabs would burn it. 
 When visited by St. Marie, the farm was in a ruinous condition, and he 
 was of opinion that it ought to be abandoned. Pursuing their road, our 
 party came to a Moorish fountain, which some military wag had christened 
 Cabaret du 43me, an inscription then legible on the masonry. Soon 
 after passing this spot the road became monotonous, the vegetation on 
 this part of the Sahel being stunted in its growth, and consisting princi- 
 pally of thickets of brambles. They advanced to a more verdant hill, and 
 to some mills belonging to a Maltese, who arrived almost penniless at Al- 
 giers a few years ago, and now by thrift and steadiness has been able to 
 marry his daughters with handsome dowries. In a ravine at their feet 
 they saw from this spot the village of Birkadem,| containing some colo- 
 nists' houses in the European style, a handsome Moorish coffee-house, and 
 a white marble fountain in the Byzantine style. All the houses of this 
 village have pretty gardens with running streams before them, and the 
 neighbouring country presents a delightful pastoral appearance and a 
 
 3 
 
 The word Fondouk XvXiJ means literally 'bazaar.' A. Gorguos' Cours (TArabe, 
 &C. vol. i. p. 219. It comes from the Greek irav^ox^ov. 
 
 t Here again St. Marie calls the Haratch the Shellif, p. 54. 
 X j* jU-y.J, 'Birkadem/ the Well of the Negress.
 
 102 FORT BAB-AZOUN. 
 
 luxuriant vegetation. They proceeded hence along a well-made road to 
 the village of Birmandreis, which in most respects resembles that of Bir- 
 kadem. After descending another little declivity, they mounted to the 
 summit of the ridge, where stands a monument erected to General 
 Voirol, under whose direction this road was made. Descending the other 
 side of the hill to the capital, they were delighted, as the shades of night 
 came on, with the brilliant phosphorescent appearance of the sea at their 
 feet.* 
 
 The whole coast from Algiers to the fortified camp of Kouba was 
 formerly inhabited by the most wealthy Turks and Moors, who spent here 
 in pleasure the prizes they gained in piracy. Many of these villas 
 are still in good repair, and in the hands of French and Spanish pro- 
 prietors ; and the soil around them is very productive, owing to the 
 springs which rise in the hills. There still remain many traces of the 
 Roman and Moorish mode of irrigation ; but the bold arches built by the 
 former have long been in a state of decay, while the modest pipes laid 
 down by the latter underground are found to be still serviceable. The 
 bay presents the most enchanting scene for a few miles E. of Algiers, 
 the sides of the mountains being crowded with beautiful gardens and villas 
 built in the Moorish style. On the ridge of the Sahel there used to be 
 (1841) a semicircular chain of fortified camps and blockhouses, intended 
 to protect this fruitful district against the Berbers. Many of these still 
 exist. t 
 
 Opposite the barracks of the Avaggon-train previously described, in the 
 faubourg of Bab-azoun, is the road winding up to the Fort de l'Empereur 
 on the top of the mountain. This was the first of the military roads that 
 have now become so common in Algeria; it bears the name of the Chemin 
 Bovigo, having been made in 1832, when the duke of that name was 
 governor-general. After letting off this branch, the street of the faubourg 
 Bab-azoun coasts along the strand, passes between the marabout of Sidi- 
 Abd-el-Kader-el-Djelali (frequented by women who want to have children), 
 and some French guinguettes (drinking-booths) shaded by palm-trees, whose 
 graceful shapes and verdant freshness present a strange contrast to the 
 prosaic wine-bibbers that frequent the pot-houses underneath them. Beyond 
 these European structures the faubourg ends, though you meet a number 
 of habitations with shining whitewashed walls, that contrast well with the 
 verdant country all the way to the Maison Carree.J 
 
 The square fort to Uie right of the city, fort Bab-azoun, standing on 
 the sea-shore, which it commands, is situated one-fourth of a league (two- 
 thirds of a mile) from Algiers beyond the Bab-azoun faubourg, and con- 
 sists of a simple rectangle of masonry. It has an elevation of 15 metres 
 (49'20 feet) ; it presents a fine battery on the side facing the sea; and it 
 
 * St. Marie, p. 64. t The Foreign Legion, pp. 15-18. . 
 
 ! Berbrugger, p. 19.
 
 JBUFFAIilCK. 103 
 
 stands S.S.E. of, and distant about one mile from, the mole. Beyond 
 fort Bab-azoun, one-fourth of a league to the east of Algiers, is a plain 
 1 200 metres (3936 feet) in breadth, extending to the Mitidja, and enclosed 
 between the sea and the coteau or declivity of Mustapha. The French 
 have planted what they call a Jardin d'Essai (experimental garden) in this 
 plain, which is named Hammah. To the east of the Haratch, three miles 
 beyond fort Bab-azoun, is the Fort de l'Eau, which is an irregular building, 
 but no longer a military post. There used to be several batteries, and 
 some still exist, between Algiers and Cape Matifou along the sea-coast, 
 the distance separating those two points being 24 kilometres (14 - 29 miles). 
 The Maison Rouge, alias Maison Carree, is situated on a hill above the 
 Haratch, and was formerly the Haouch of the Aga, where he kept 2000 
 men in garrison ; it consists of a square building, each side measuring 
 85 fathoms. 
 
 On a subsequent occasion St. Marie made another excursion, passing 
 through Lower Mustapha, Birmandreis, and Birkadem,* till he came to a 
 plateau that commands the Sahel range. Turning to the right from the 
 Model Farm, and following a narrow road, after proceeding eight leagues 
 (20 miles) they saw the chain of the Little Atlas before them. Around 
 them an immense plain, the Mitidja, extended on all sides, with only one 
 solitary palm-tree visible on its ample surface. At length they arrived at 
 Buffarick after a four hours' ride : it is surrounded by verdant poplars, in 
 a delightful situation, and is supplied with plenty of water • indeed the 
 supply is somewhat too copious for the salubrity of the place. The streets 
 of Buffarick are wide and straight, and shaded by rows of poplars and 
 willows. Many of the houses are built of stone, instead of the poor 
 wooden ones which used to constitute the Camp of Erlon, part of which 
 was still in existence in 1845 at one end of the town, and contained 
 some troops. -j- 
 
 " Buffarick," says M. Lamping, " is another fortified camp and a small 
 village which stands on the river Haratch, in the middle of the plain of 
 Mitidja. The soil is here very productive, but the air so unhealthy that 
 the village has been depopulated more than once." Official documents 
 add that this place, which was once so unhealthy, has recovered its salubrity 
 through the extensive system of drainage that has been introduced. Its 
 buildings are spacious and numerous, it is surrounded by a considerable 
 extent of cultivated land, and its colonists are in easy circumstances. 
 Nineteen farms radiate from this town as from a common centre ; and 
 the authorities are now engaged in extending its territory, as its narrow 
 limits form the only obstacle to its rapid increase. 
 
 The Mitidja plain, says another tourist, in one place cultivated with 
 
 f The camps of Birkadem and Beni-siam are to be converted into hospitals. Tableau, 
 P . 17. 
 
 t St. Marie, p. 78 ; the Foreign Legion, p. 4.1; Castellane, pp. 4, 5.
 
 104 
 
 7a fABIXS. 
 
 corn, in another stretching out in wide expanses of brushwood and c> 
 grass or vast marshes, producing forests of lofty reeds, offers in some parte 
 a fine covert for the wild boar and the panther.* At a spot in the plain 
 called Arba there is held once a week one of the greatest markets of the 
 neighbourhood, which is much frequented by Arab-, who bring to it their 
 horses. cattle, and other property. Arba is a pleasant spot. Delightful gn 
 of orange, lemon, and pomegranate trees, with massive clumps of lentisks and 
 wild olives, adorn this portion of the plain : and at that season (May) the 
 earth was gay with flowers of every hue. whilst the song of the nightingale 
 was heard on all - ' - and what was better still, the travellers' horses 
 were revelling among fine herbage. This position is at the foot of the 
 Djebel M -- . one of the inferior heights of the Little Atlas. Xumerous 
 streams water the plain in the neighbourhood, of which the principal is 
 the Ouad-Arba : yet though the water they contain is clear, it is not whole- 
 some, being liable to produce diarrhoea. + 
 
 Taking the gentle reader by the hand, we shall now lead him to some 
 of the most picturesque and characteristic haunts and lounges of the natives 
 near Algiers. 
 
 On a ridge that comma:-;; Algi rs, * the distance of 150 in- \ - 
 (4:02 feet), towering over the immense ravine that separates the Boujareah 
 from the hill on which the capital is built, there stand the remains of a 
 fort raised by Hassan Pasha. It was built of a kind of mortar which 
 reminds one of the Boman cement, and is consolidated by corner-stones 
 of strong masonrv. which must have driven it the strength of Boman 
 bui _- and in - is - departs widely from must native struc- 
 
 tures. Enormous facings of wall stand still ra t, wing to the great 
 adherence of the materials, and astonish the beholder by their size : but 
 hanging over a precipice undermined by the action of rain-water, they con- 
 stantly threaten the demolition of the frail structures scattered over the 
 hill beneath. 
 
 It was in these ruins, called by the French the Fort de l'Etoile or des 
 
 aha, that the bat r rere begun, intended to breach the Casbah in 
 
 '. when the people of Algiers, fearing a storm, forced t" Eassan 
 
 to enter into negotiations preliminary to the surrender. The Tagarins was 
 
 in ruins in 1830, having been blown up by a neg - who, jealous of her 
 
 master the governor, fired the powder-magazine and perished with him. 
 
 The Emperor's Fort was used as a prison fur officers in 1843. If the 
 main building rose a little higher above the walls, it would form a toler- 
 ably agreeable dwelling, and the delicious view that it commands would 
 be a great compensation for a short captivity within it- precinct* 
 
 The fort is what the French call t) . on the ridge 
 
 that descends from the culminating point on which towers the Casbah, 
 and commands a view of the road to Blidah, by the Sahel ridge, also of 
 
 * Dawaon Borrer, p. _ f Ibid, p. 2L * Berbrugger, part i.
 
 CONSULATE OF SWEDEN. 105 
 
 the road to the same town that passes by Birkadem and the plain, and 
 of a third road that runs along the sea-shore towards the Maiaon Oarree, 
 where it divides into several tranches, some leading to the farms of the 
 territory of Beni-Mouca, whilst another terminates in the camps of Fon- 
 duuk and of Kara-Mustapha, and a farther branch leads to the solitudes 
 of Cape Matifou. 
 
 These different roads, which are continually paced by a population pre- 
 senting an inconceivably bizarre mixture, and animated by an extraordinary 
 movement and circulation, offer a most atti-active spectacle. 
 
 Add to this the sea-view, the continual arrival and departure of ships 
 of war and merchant vessels, the appearance of the pretty villas sur- 
 rounding the fort, some of which, suspended over abrupt precipices, look 
 like pictures hanging to a wall, — and the reader may form a proximate 
 idea of the noble scenery commanded by the Fort de TEmpereur.* 
 
 Though the Barbary pirates were no respecters of persons or of na- 
 tions, the ambassadors of Christian states seem generally to have led a 
 luxurious and easy life at Algiers. 
 
 The consulate of Sweden was one of those charming country-seats so 
 numerous near the capital before conquest, war, and military occupation 
 had left fatal traces of their passage in felling most of the noble trees 
 that adorned its gardens. The spot where the consulate stands must be 
 the site of some Roman structure, from the remains that have been lately 
 discovered there ; nor is this strange, as the slopes of Mustapha must 
 always have been a favourite spot for villas, and most of the consuls 
 resided on this side, including those of Holland, Spain, Denmark, and 
 Sweden. The residence of the latter is situated on one of the culminating 
 points of the slope of Mustapha, and the eye embraces both declivities. 
 Few views can equal that which meets the eye from this point ; as you 
 behold in one glance all the details of a richly cultivated landscape, 
 adorned with all the attractions of art, and the wild background of the 
 rugged and precipitous mountains that frown above it. The blue waters 
 of the Mediterranean perpetually breaking against the dark schistous 
 rocks of the coast cover the shores with a circle of white foam, that 
 presents the appearance of a broad silvery band, diversified at night by 
 phosphorescent streams of fire. Mountain, plain, and ocean harmonise 
 beautifully in this graceful view, which the eye is never satiated with 
 beholding. -f- 
 
 Between the Fort Xeuf and the Jardin du Dey. to the left of the road 
 of Boujareah, there appear a number of whitewashed tombs, which at a 
 distance look like a nock of sheep in a meadow. Their shape is very 
 like the hull of a ship reversed, and placed on a rectangular base. Some 
 of these monuments are of marble, and almost all contain inscriptions, of 
 
 * Berbrugger's Alg£rie, part i. t Ibid.
 
 10G 
 
 CAFE OF EAMMAE. 
 
 which some are very short, only giving a simple enumeration of the names 
 and qualities of the deceased, whilst others, much longer, cover the stone, 
 and contain many scriptural extracts; This is the Jewish cemetery.* 
 
 Following the road from Algiers to Koubah, the traveller finds at the 
 foot of the hills, and opposite the Jardin d'Essai, the pretty Cafe of Ham- 
 mah, called by Europeans the Cafe of the Plantain-trees. This name is 
 derived from the fine trees that shade the native building, whose appear- 
 
 CAFE DE I1AMJIAU. 
 
 ance, however, has been greatly changed since the conquest. The pitiless 
 hand of civilisation has here, as elsewhere, almost demolished the pic- 
 turesque. The narrow shady path that used to lead there has been re- 
 placed by a wide, straight, dusty road, the work of civil engineers. The 
 formal avenues and regular alleys of the Experimental Garden are the pre- 
 sent substitutes for the wild and capacious clumps of tries that used to 
 separate it from the Mediterranean. Then the noisy French guinguette 
 (wine-shop) has hung up its symbolical cork alongside the Moorish cafe, 
 typifying the contrasts of the two races. Thus, next door to the lively, 
 
 * Berbrugger, part i.
 
 CAFE OF HAMMAH. 107 
 
 gay, and noisy French, adding to their natural excitement the fictitious 
 excitement of fermented liquors, you see the grave and immovable natives 
 sipping Mocha and pure water, — inoffensive tonics that leave the reason 
 clear. 
 
 Leaving the broad prose of the wine-shop, let us enter the poetical at- 
 mosphere of the Moorish cafe, realising the dreams of Eastern romance. 
 Several large mats are extended in the shade of the plantains, and the 
 customers may be invariably seen seated there with their legs crossed, or 
 recumbent in the scriptural and classical attitude of John and Alcibiades. 
 
 The shop of the qahouadji ^j-^-^i' or coffee-house-keeper faces the centre 
 tree, and contains benches covered with mats ; but it is seldom re- 
 sorted to, save in bad weather. Near a stove, always containing boiling 
 water, stands the mortar in which the coffee is pounded ; and over it hangs 
 a board destined to receive the names of those customers who are suffi- 
 ciently well known to obtain credit. Some pipes, a few wooden foot- 
 stools, and two or three draughtboards, form the rest of the furniture. 
 There is a great distance between this simple establishment and the daz- 
 zling luxury of French cafes ; but the situation, architecture, and arrange- 
 ments of these native Algerian coffee-houses are so picturesque, original, 
 and antique, that they give birth to tranquil and primitive emotions, 
 foreign to the gildings and trappings of the French metropolis. Though 
 frescoes and gilding are wanting, there is nothing to excite the painful 
 reflection of palled appetites and bankrupt competition, as in our princely 
 houses of entertainment. 
 
 The qahouadji of Hammah, without the dread of failures or rivals, 
 passes his happy days at his stove or among his customers. Armed with 
 a little pair of tongs, he may be seen hurrying to deposit a live coal in the 
 pipe of one customer ; whilst he hands a fendjal, or cup of aromatic coffee, 
 to another, for the modest price of five centimes (a halfpenny). When not 
 engaged in these duties he is always at his post by the stove, concocting 
 the precious liquor that forms the basis of his revenues. When the water 
 boils, he pours in the bruised coffee, stirs it a few minutes, and then after 
 pouring it several times from one pot to another, discharges it at length 
 into very small cups, with copper egg-cups as saucers. The beverage 
 taken in small quantities in hot weather is very wholesome and re- 
 freshing, and a happy substitute for those copious libations of debili- 
 tating fluids that predispose the system to fever and dysentery. 
 
 The natives do not resort to these places only to drink coffee. They 
 play at many games, especially cards, making use of Spanish parks and 
 terms. Tims they call the colours, oros, coptcs, espados, bastos, and the 
 court cards, rey, dama, sola, and the others, cualro, as, seis, &c. The 
 frequent intercourse between Barbary and the Peninsula, and the Andalu- 
 sian origin of many Moors, will explain this fact. 
 
 Draughts are also a favourite amusement ; but the squares, instead of
 
 108 HACHICH. 
 
 being black and white as with us, are hollow or flat alternately. They 
 also substitute for our men two kinds of pieces, whereof one resembles 
 the castle, and the other the pawns in chess. Their mode of play like- 
 wise differs somewhat from ours ; e. g. no one can be forced to take. 
 
 But the entertainments of the Rami, or story-teller, are the great at- 
 traction. It is chiefly in the Ramahdan fast that this worthy displays his 
 powers. The Thousand and One Nights are the chief fund on which he 
 draws ; and when he originates the matter, his improvisations have a 
 revolting obscenity to European ears. Some expressions are continually 
 repeated in their discourses, such as J\5 qal, L^-lli qalet, jXi qalou (he 
 
 ■c (J 
 
 has said, she has said, they have said), Ji* J^- Ju qal fil nmtsd 
 
 (they say in the story), jLi [J kimom quolou (as they say, &c), render- 
 ing an Exeter-Hall patience necessary to endure such monotonous deli- 
 very. 
 
 There are some other recreations to which the less rigid Mussulmans 
 addict themselves at the coffee-houses, including a certain description of 
 intoxication, called kif, not prohibited in the Koran. Some take afioun 
 (opium) ;""" others munch a kind of bean named bouzaqa, which is re- 
 ported to kill all animals having the appendage of a tail (zaqa). They 
 also eat an opiate paste, madjoun ; the women are particularly fond of 
 this substance. Boundje is another intoxicating substance that they em- 
 ploy ; but hachich, f or Indian hemp, mashed fine, and smoked in very 
 
 * From jLi\x a ^ l fy a i health, calm, serenity. 
 
 t The botanical features of this plant will be found in the chapter on the Algerian 
 Flora ; but we propose to give in this note the substance of Dr. Lagger's remarks on the 
 mode of preparing and using the plant. Koempfer says that the term kif is used in Persia 
 to designate all substances that generate intoxicating effects. The principal of these sub- 
 stances are tobacco, the poppy, and hemp. Silvestre de Sacy informs us that the Arabs 
 of Egypt use the term kief to designate the stupor into which the use of the hachich 
 throws them. 
 
 In Algeria they apply the names of kif, of hachich, and sometimes of tekrourl, to the 
 extremity of the stem of the hemp, including the leaves, the flowers, and the seed, some- 
 times smoked by the natives in very diminutive pipes. These smokers are mostly inha- 
 bitants of the towns and villages, and are rarely met with among the Bedouins. The 
 Arabs call hemp k'anal. European hemp is styled by botanists cannabis sativa, Indian 
 hemp cannabis ipdica, called hachich in Egypt. Mekrizy, who lived in the fifteenth 
 century, maintains that the use of hachich was discovered by Soheikh Haider, who died 
 in 618 Beg. (1121); others attribvito it to Scheikh Birazian, who lived at the time of 
 CosfMS ; and sumo have affirmed that it was known to the ancient Greeks. 
 
 Jts employment has been repeatedly forbidden by the Mussulman sovereigns. In 
 Algeria the French troops and colonists have only used it to become acquainted with its 
 effects, in all parts of the regency this hemp is cultivated by the natives in gardens 
 surrounding the towns, exclusively for the purpose of smoking, or otherwise consuming 
 its stem. At Constantina, and in some other towns, they prepare comfits made of it, 
 which aro eaten to procure pleasant dreams. To make the inadjoun, the hemp is first
 
 MUSTAPHA DEY. 109 
 
 little pipes exclusively used for that purpose, is the great instrument for 
 creating kif. 
 
 The inebriation resulting from the use of these substances has generally 
 a tranquil character : the persons under its influence have commonly bril- 
 liant eyes and a bright complexion ; sometimes a vacant laugh disturbs their 
 features, at others a melancholy torpor settles on their face. They say 
 that the chief object in view in using them is, because they are powerful 
 aphrodisiacs. 
 
 The coffee-house proprietors are Turks, or Koulouglis ; and some say 
 they are employed as spies by government, to report the conversation of 
 Moors and Arabs, which is, however, generally vague and extravagant. 
 
 Before we leave this cafe, it should be added that it is built on 
 the channel of a Ptoman aqueduct that descended from the hills of Mus- 
 tapha, and abutted at a kind of reservoir, of which some traces were found 
 in surveying the Jardin d'Essai. All the remains found on this spot con- 
 sist of some foundations, an oval basin paved in mosaic work and cut 
 in two by a partition wall, a medal of the Lower Empire, and some frag- 
 ments of pottery.* 
 
 On the slope of the hills of Mustapha is another interesting object, 
 consisting of the remains of a country house belonging to Dey Mustapha, 
 and surrounded by beautiful gardens. The hills of Mustapha stretch from 
 Bab-azoun in the direction of the Maison Carree, and display all the rich- 
 ness of southern vegetation, and the remains of great luxury in Moorish 
 architecture. The gardens of Mustapha Dey are situated above the vast 
 infautry barracks of that name, and were a favourite resort of the proprietor, 
 who used to keep his wives there in the fine season, and reth'ed to 
 that spot himself to seek repose after the fatigues of office. The Algerine 
 people were very partial to him, and still praise his justice and kindness. 
 These qualities probably led to his ruin, as the Janissaries wished for 
 sterner and more uncompromising leaders. Having heard of their inten- 
 tion to slay him, one day that he was going from the Djeminah to the 
 mosque of Seida,-j- as a last resource, he fled with his khaznadji (finance 
 minister) to seek refuge in the sanctuary of Sid-Wali-Dada, situated at 
 
 pounded, and then mixed with honey or butter; but the most usual way of consuming 
 it is by smoking. The following is a common preparation of it : hemp-seed is pounded 
 and boiled with an equal quantity of sugar and water, in the proportion of one-half to 
 two pounds of sugar. Among the Harectas (province of Constantina) hachich-leaves are 
 given to the horses to give them spirit on fantasia days (fete-days with sham-fights). 
 
 The curious reader who wishes to learn farther particulars relating to hachich and its 
 ecstatic effects is referred to Ebn Beitar's Treatise on Simples, J. J. Ampere's article in 
 the Revue des deux Mondes, January 1842 ; and M. Aubert Roche's experiences of its 
 effects in the Vocubulaire d'Histoire Naturelle attached to General Daumas's Grand 
 Desert, p. 401. 
 
 * Berbrugger, part i. 
 
 + A very pretty mosque pulled down by the French.
 
 110 TIIE BRIDGE OF THE HARATCII. 
 
 Ketchaoua, a little above the mosque that has been converted into a 
 Catholic church. But the road was blocked up by mutineers clamorously 
 demanding the head of Mustapha ; and when the khaznadji entered the 
 street, he was instantly cut to pieces. The unhappy dey followed the 
 steps and shared the fate of his minister, being hacked to pieces by the 
 yataghans of the Janissaries before he had time to reach the door of 
 the marabout. 
 
 No one who visited Algiers a few years since can have forgotten seeing 
 in the streets of that city a lame old man with a long silvery beard, whose 
 gentle and venerable countenance attracted the beholder : he was the first 
 native who wore the cross of the Legion of Honour over his oriental dress. 
 This old' man was the son of Mustapha Pasha; a circumstance that alone 
 would not have secured him much consideration among his compatriots if 
 this Koulougli had not possessed a large fortune. Out of office a man was 
 nothing in that country ; and frequent revolutions, as well as polygamy, had 
 indefinitely multiplied the dey's children. Hence the humblest European 
 visitor at Algiers may now have his boxes carried by the offspring, of those 
 proud pirate chiefs, once the terror of Christendom.* 
 
 Important monuments are so rare in Algeria, save in the towns, that 
 Europeans are always wont to attribute them to an older people than the 
 present possessors of the soil. Thus the bridge of the Haratch has been 
 given a Eoman origin, though Charles V., in his disastrous expedition of 
 1541, found no bridge there, and was forced to throw a flying bridge across 
 the river. Lastly, the Arabic inscription given below removes all doubt 
 on the subject, proving that it was built in 1149 of the hegira (a.d< 173G) 
 by Pasha Ibraliim-ben-Pvamahdan. 
 
 During a great part of the year this bridge is as useless as that over the 
 Manzanares at Madrid ; but in rainy weather it is invaluable, maintaining 
 the communication with the eastern tribes. The apathy of the Turks had 
 deferred its erection for two centuries, and it was only under the last dey 
 that it was secured by the erection of the fortress called the Maison Garree 
 by Yahhya Arha. The pirate government, in its usual regard for the 
 liberties of its subjects, built it after the following plan. Every one who 
 had to pass the bridge to Algiers was obliged on his return, if he had beasts 
 of burden, to bring a load of sand, mortar, and bricks. Those who could 
 not be turned to account in this fashion were forced to work at it like day- 
 labourers ; and when they asked for food after a hard day's work, they were 
 paid by a good bastinado. 
 
 The military importance of this spot did not escape the French ; it be- 
 came their out-post to the east, and remained so in 1843. Before describing 
 the bridge, a word on its builder. Ibrahim was raised to authority on the 
 
 * Berbrugger, part i.
 
 THE BRIDGE OF THE IIAKATCII. Ill 
 
 12th of Raby-el-Aouel, 1145 (23d April, 1732). This is proved by his 
 seal ; and he bore the name of Khaznadar, having been treasurer before 
 he became pasha. He met with a good share of misfortunes in his adminis- 
 tration, as the Spaniards retook Oran, which they had lost in 1708 ; and in 
 1147 (a.d. 1734) Algiers was ravaged by a terrible famine, corn costing 
 three ryals (about ten francs) the saa (three-fifths of a hectolitre).* In 
 1740 it Mas visited by the plague, which came from the west, and lasted 
 three years. In 1840 a violent storm destroyed a great many ships in 
 the port; and in 1742 the lightning struck the Bordj Mouley Hhacan 
 (Emperor's Fort), set fire to the powder-magazine, and blew it up with the 
 garrison. Happily for Ibrahim, his Janissaries were not so superstitious as 
 those of Omar Pasha, who was slain, though much beloved, because the 
 plague, the locusts, and Lord Exmouth had come iu his time. Ibra- 
 him, like his predecessors, was almost independent of Turkey. The only 
 war he undertook was one with Tunis, which ended in his favour by his 
 appointing his subject Ali Bey as its governor. Ibrahim died in 11.58 
 (a.d. 174.5), and was succeeded by his khaznadji, Ibrahim Khoudja. Like 
 all the biographies of the Algerine deys, save one or two, this notice is 
 meagre enough, a matter perhaps not greatly to be regretted. 
 
 The position of the bridge over the Haratch is eminently unhealthy; 
 hence it has always been garrisoned by native troops in French pay. In 
 1843 they consisted of native tirailleurs under the Chef de Bataillon Verge. 
 A native tribe, called the Aribs, has also been settled for some years in the 
 eastern part of the Mitidja. These Arabs are natives of the province of 
 Constantina, where being dispossessed of their own territory by more power- 
 ful neighbours, they came west, the greater part settling at Hamza; but 
 many were granted the Rasauta district, which they peaceably enjoyed till 
 it was given to the Polish prince Mir. After some discussion the mutual 
 claims were adjusted, and the Aribs remain. Besides being shepherds, they 
 are Makhzen, or irregular horsemen; and their chief bears the name of 
 Ben Zekri, and professes to be descended from the great Granadan family 
 of that name. He is said to be partial to the bottle. 
 
 An attempt was also made to establish an Arab colony near the Ha- 
 ratch bridge, consisting of a gathering of Arabs, Kabyles, <fcc. from all 
 parts of Algeria. This rabble was christened' the Beni-Ramasses by the 
 soldiers, and has naturally failed, the Frank and Mussulman elements not 
 admitting of. an easy fusion and amalgamation. 
 
 There is now only a little village containing a hundred houses, built 
 in a straight line, near the bridge. Its inhabitants consist exclusively of 
 the native tirailleurs and their families. No cultivation is carried on, 
 and the only means of subsistence of the heads of these families is derived 
 from their pay. 
 
 * S.?. id. ; three-fifths of 22-009667 gallons, i. e. for about 16 imperial gallons, or 2 
 bushels.
 
 112 THE BRIDGE OF THE HARATCH. 
 
 We here present the inscription of Ibrahim on the bridge, with its 
 translation : 
 
 x V - * t> 
 
 LS ^iJ! &3.j! a-jU 3\ ye. ^W j-j J-M UjUj j; 
 
 
 The anxiety to make each half-line rhyme with the following has caused 
 some words to be removed from their legitimate place by the composer. 
 Thus, instead of \^ii at the beginning of the second half of the second 
 line, you ought to read Xxai, We annex the English transcription of 
 these lines, followed by their translation. 
 
 Tamma benaouana albery alKihy an idny banyhi lioudj allahy. 
 
 Rihi Ibrahim Pasha ben Ramahdan amara fasara cantharatan lana kamatara. 
 
 Djaala allah sayahou sayan mashkouran oua djezaouhou djezaan nioufouran. 
 
 Sanata tesan oua arbayn oua mayet oua alf min hadjarati min lahoualizz oua alscharf. 
 
 Translation.* 
 (The words in the inscription are supposed to he spoken !>>/ men of Algiers.) 
 
 We have finished this wonderful and brilliant structure, with the permission of him 
 who undertook it in the sight of God. 
 
 The order came from Ibrahim Pasha, son of Ramahdan ; and the result was the 
 bridge you see. 
 
 May God take his efforts as a work worthy of reward ; and may this reward be 
 considerable ! 
 
 The 1149th year of the hegira of him to whom glory and honour belong. 
 
 The word ' hegira' means flight, as the reader knows ; and the Maho- 
 metan era dates from Mahomet's flight from Mecca to Medina. -j- Ibrahim 
 Pasha, of whom mention is here made, came in all probability from Tur- 
 key to Algiers, which accounts for the wording being in Ottoman and not 
 in Algerian Arabic. 
 
 At two kilometres (1£ miles) from Algiers, on the road to Pointe Pes- 
 cade, stands a very pretty chapel, now a French cabaret. This is the 
 
 £°- 
 marabout, or koubbah, or q'bor „\j of Sidi Yakoub. We know not on 
 
 what principle the saint has made way for the cook, but certain it is that 
 religion has here given way to the kitchen, and Bacchus has supplanted 
 tli<; holy Mussulman whose remains had reposed in peace on that spot 
 for three centuries. Father Haedo calls the saint by the surname of 
 El-hel-Desi, intended for El Andalouci, shewing that he was a refugee 
 
 * By M. Reinaud, Member of the Institute ] f Berbrugger, part i.
 
 AYOUN-BENI-MENAD. 113 
 
 Spanish ]\roor ; and he asserts that lie went mad towards the end of his 
 life. He adds, that he was one of those marabouts who were wont to 
 take singular liberties with the fair sex of Algeria, giving a good sound 
 beating to the poor women who flocked to kiss his hands. The sly tra- 
 veller insinuates that the Algerian ladies, notwithstanding his violent 
 habits, did not scruple to invite him and his like to visit them, hoping 
 to get young saints by his intercession ; nor did parents or husbands 
 oppose this, regarding the practice as a signal blessing. 
 
 The Koubbah of Sidi-Yakoub, built on the top of a schistous rock, and 
 encompassed by fine olive-trees, is contiguous to the Hospitals of the Dey 
 and of the Salpetriere, which have been noticed elsewhere. 
 
 Several streams issue from the rock below the koubbah, and flow over 
 the strand. This place is named Ayoun-Beni-Menad, or the fountains of 
 Beni-Menad. 
 
 The aged natives assert that they received their name from their 
 builders, a tribe called the Beni-Menad, living between the western part 
 of the Mitidja and Scherschell. These fountains and the koubbah are 
 visited with equal fervour by Jews and Mussulmans. The same remark 
 applies to Sidi-Ali-Zouoni ; and the Moors state that it is because these 
 two saints shewed the Jews some favour. 
 
 The fountains being the residence of genii, a race popular with all sects, 
 we need not be surprised at their receiving the attentions of the children 
 of Ismael and Israel, though the latter keep to the springs nearest the 
 Salpetriere. 
 
 There are seven fountains at Ayoun-Beni-Menad:* 1. Ain-el-Q'hha- 
 lah, the black fountain ; 2. Ain-el-Bidha, the white fountain ; 3. Ain-el- 
 Khadrah, the green fountain; 4. Ain-el-Sefrah, the yellow fountain; 
 5. Ain-el-Hhamra, the red fountain ; 6. Ain-loun- el-Foul, the bean- 
 coloured fountain ; 7. Ain-Oulad-Sergou, the fountain of the children 
 of Sergou. j- 
 
 Certain sacrifices are offered up every Wednesday at these fountains, 
 respecting which we have gathered the following curious particulars : 
 
 It is necessary to sacrifice a completely black fowl at the black foun- 
 tain, a white one at the white fountain, and so forth ; and this practice 
 
 * ,~+S- ayn makes in the plural i.\j*-Z- ayoun, fountains. The names of the foun- 
 tains in the Arabic character are as follows : 
 
 1. ^iLsaxll ,-*£ Ain-el-Kaldd- 
 
 2. -*Li.Jl ,,.*£■ Ain-el-Bmld. 
 
 3. l-d>- ^J] .,*+£■ Am-el-Kltadra. 
 
 4. y'JLfljn .,**£■ Ain-d-Sfarra. 
 
 J *—* " 
 
 5. if^cs^ll ,,**£■ Ain-el-Hcmra. 
 
 ®- c< U' LJ7 r f,Al ~ Ain-loun-el- 
 
 Foul. 
 7. &z j*a SXk .»*£ Ain-Oulad-Sergou,. 
 
 f The negroes in then- dialect call the Christians Oulad-Sergou. 
 
 H
 
 114 AY0UN-BEN1-MEXAD. 
 
 seems to be of ancient date, as Father Haedo* speaks of the green fountain 
 as the Alarne-Hader, by which he means the Ain-el-Khadrah; and he re- 
 lates that in his day fowls were solemnly sacrificed there to the genii. 
 
 Sheep, goats, and bullocks are also occasionally offered up there, but 
 rarely, .owing to the poverty of the devotees. The genii are Christian, 
 Mussulman, and Jewish ; and the Mahometans relate that Mahomet, not 
 wishing the faithful to be tempted during the trying fast of the Ramadhan 
 by infidel genii, shuts them all up the night before the beginning of their 
 Lent, and only releases them on the 26th of the same month, — in the same 
 way that the police in Europe keep a good watch over well-known old 
 criminals during holidays. 
 
 The weekly pilgrimages to, and sacrifices at these fountains are for the 
 purpose of healing diseases : the process we shall explain presently. But 
 the genii are not to be courted with impunity, and the health of the body 
 is often recovered at the cost of the soul. The frequenters of these wells 
 often become what is called medjnoun (possessed by genii). This disease 
 has several developments. Some fancy themselves mendicants, and, what- 
 ever their station, go about in rags begging. Others practise what is 
 called djebbeb, i. e. dance and leap about to the sound of a large drum, 
 till they fall down in a kind of trance, in which they can swallow live 
 coals, digest nails, &c. This state is evidently analogous to the pavia of 
 the Pythoness and the trances of the dancing dervishes, and may not im- 
 probably be occasioned by the anaesthetic properties of the water or air, 
 as in the case of the clefts at Delphi. 
 
 Sometimes the frequenters of the black fountain are seen dancing the 
 djebbeb in black dresses on the spot. It would, however, be tedious 
 to enumerate all the extravagances connected with this genii-worship, 
 though the subject is interesting in a psychological -and anthropological 
 point of view. 
 
 We shall now give a brief description of the "Wednesday sacrifices. 
 Just after the gun-shot fired at dawn, when the gates open, a crowd of 
 Moorish women, preceded by negresses with fowls, pour forth towards the 
 Jardin du Dey. A few venerable negroes with white beards, and very 
 fat negresses, who are the sacrificators, march in front. 
 
 Arrived at the fountains, the votaries seek their favourite spring. 
 The old women throw grains of incense into a little stove, and toss it 
 round the body and head of their patients, after which they bathe them 
 in the fountain. Young girls arc stripped naked behind a screen formed 
 by the long cotton veils used by the women in the streets; and after 
 their fumigations they soon repair the disorder of their costume, and 
 prepare to assist at the sacrifices. 
 
 * Father Haedo published iu 1G37 a work ontitlod Topogvafia y Istoria goneral de 
 Argel : Y'uJladolid.
 
 AYOUN-BENI-MENAD. 115 
 
 A negro, after drawing his knife round the neck of the fowl several 
 times, cuts its throat. Auguries are drawn from the operation. Thus it 
 is very unfortunate for the bird to die at once. When dead, the sacri- 
 ficator dips his fingers in the hlood and daubs the face of the patient. 
 Wheat and other offerings are cast into the sea for the genii after this, 
 and the patients depart, carrying water from the springs to complete their 
 cure. The cure can he ohtained also hy proxy. 
 
 It seems strange that one of the fountains, that of the children of Ser- 
 gou, should he consecrated to Christians, as that word signifies in the guen- 
 aouya or negro idiom. But these hlacks are some of the chief actors in 
 the scene, and many of them hefore conversion were Abyssinian Christians. 
 Not that Christendom has cause to be proud of them, for they cut a most 
 disgusting figure in the djebbeb. When thus excited, religious enthusi- 
 asm leads them not to bite the thorny leaves of the Barbary fig, or to 
 swallow nails and hot coals, but to make a meal like that of the prophet 
 EzekieL* to satisfy their depraved appetites. 
 
 Many of these curious superstitions and phenomena will remind the 
 reader of the convulsionaries of St. Medard, of St. Vitus' s dance in the 
 dark ages, and of the Cevennes fanatics, and other epidemic disorders of 
 the nervous system wrought by fanaticism and sympathy, and proving 
 the uniformity in the psychological and physiological developments of man 
 in all phases of time and space, t 
 
 * Ch. iv. ver. 12. 
 
 + Berbrugger, i. p. 68. See some other interesting particulars on native supersti- 
 tions by M. Berbrugger and L. Piesse, in the Legendes Algeriennes, Paris, 1843 ; also 
 Baron Baude's Alge"rie, vol. i. ; and Relation des Voyages de M. de Braves, Ambassador 
 of Henri Quatre in Turkey, 1628. On the djebbeb dance, see Part II. the chapter on 
 the Negroes^
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Interior of the $3rot)tiuc. 
 
 CHARACTERISTICS OF ALGERIAN SCENERT INTERIOR OF THE PROVINCE BLIDAH 
 
 THE CHIFFA MEDEAH MILIANAH THE RIVER OF SILVER TENIET-EL- 
 
 HAD BOGHAR THE KOUBBER ROMEAH SCHERSCHELL TENES THE 
 
 DARHA ORLEANSVTLLE AUMALE THE OASES OF THE BEN1-MZAB — THE 
 
 BEDOUIN TRIBES. 
 
 While our European visitor is engaged in scaling the shoulders of old 
 Atlas, or toiling along the dusty roads of Numidia, it may be some 
 refreshment to his fevered blood to pause awhile under yon shady palms, 
 that bend their graceful heads over the whitewashed marabout ; and as he 
 wipes the sweat from his brow, to take a survey of the broad features of 
 African scenery. 
 
 And first, as he casts his weary limbs on the parched ground, let him 
 mark well the fiery glories of that southern sun, which no effort of pencil 
 or pen can conjure into the misty imaginations of patent cockneys and 
 baclauds de Paris. Nothing can give an idea of the sun of Africa to the 
 absent ; not even the rising of this glorious orb on the vast expanse of the 
 ocean, nor its setting in waves of fire on the savannahs of Guiana. The 
 sun of Africa appears gigantic and in unison with the whole aspect of 
 nature in this terrible country. The same character of arid grandeur per- 
 vades every thing — deserts, rocks, mountains, plains ; the very men partake 
 of the nature of the lion.* 
 
 After a frugal repast of dates, and a refreshing draught of the crystal 
 brook that laves his feet, let our new acquaintance climb that ruinous pile 
 to the left, and gaze at the strange scene unrolled before him. His eye 
 wanders over a vast treeless plain ; and his spirit is roused by one of those 
 mighty impulses that issue from the bowels of the earth in Africa, and to 
 which Europe is a stranger. Large saltdakes at his feet sparkling like 
 diamonds, immense Avaves of land lost in mirage rolling away to the back- 
 ground, rocky arid ridges breaking the horizon on one side, a dark line in the 
 distance seducing the imagination witli ^Mediterranean dreams, the spectral 
 Arab flying across the plain, and the dazzling koubbah with its venerable 
 
 * Madame Prus's Residence in Algeria.
 
 BLIDAH. 117 
 
 plantains. As this strange solitary landscape unfolds, the spectator is 
 filled with indescribable sadness; yet is the feeling mixed with grandeur, 
 elevating instead of casting down the soul. The shades of ages hover over 
 you; and these plains and mountains, the battle-field and grave of mighty 
 nations long since gathered to their fathers, seem to retain some myste- 
 rious enchantment that inspires you. Hence the attachment felt by all 
 who have visited it to that land of fables, prompting private or commander 
 to escape from the monotony of the Bois de Boulogne or Elysian Fields, 
 and to seek once more the risks, the accidents of flood and field, and 
 those African breezes that are life to the soul.* 
 
 Meanwhile, as the traveller stands wrapt in these sweet day-dreams, 
 let him beware of those mighty clouds that come sweeping up from the 
 horizon, for they bring with them very unpoetical consequences. And 
 now 1 fear that he is too late, and must stand the fire of African water. 
 They say in France when it rains hard, that the devil is beating his wife, 
 who goes and has a good cry. The devil must be very savage in Africa, 
 for the showers in that favoured clime consist of successive sheets of 
 water, -j- which have already drenched our poor friend, without throwing 
 cold water on the characteristic ardour of a British traveller. I am glad 
 to see that, with a red Murray's Handbook in hand, he trudges on soaked 
 to the bone, drinking in the amenities of tropical scenery. 
 
 But the storm is past ; and, forgetting his shower-bath, our honest Briton 
 stops before the shadowy caravansary, where, seated in a family circle of 
 social camels, his spirit holds converse with the glories of a southern night. 
 Reclining his head on an ass couchant, he sounds the fathomless depths of 
 that dark-blue African sky, resplendent with its millions of precious stones, 
 till his mind wanders into the enchanted chambers of some Eastern sor- 
 cerer. The silvery light of the moon streaming over the landscape pours 
 calm and repose over vale and mountain ; whilst the abrupt ribs and ridges 
 of the mountains, illumined at intervals by its rays, stand out like so many 
 ghosts from the mysterious backgrounds 
 
 Before we make excursions through the remoter parts of this pro- 
 vince, Ave shall give a broad outline of its more striking features inland. 
 Blidah SA-L (the Bida Colonia of Ptolemy) is situated at the foot of 
 the Little Atlas, at the entrance of a deep valley, twenty-nine miles south 
 of Algiers. The environs of this town are rendered beautiful by the 
 numerous orange-groves that fill the air with their delicious perfume, 
 while fruitful corn-fields cover the sides of the adjacent mountains. At 
 the entrance of this city you find a cemetery with peculiar sepulchral stones. 
 Aerial minarets, cupolas, tile-covered roofs enclosed in groves of trees, 
 and a beautiful vegetation, account for the love entertained by its inha- 
 bitants for their native place, which they used to style the second Da- 
 
 * Castellane, p. 36-1. fTbid. p. I/O.
 
 118 THE CHIFFA. 
 
 mascus. Blidah is internally a well-built town, having regular streets 
 much wider than those of Algiers. It is surrounded by a wall twelve 
 feet high and one mile in circumference, with gates at each end cor- 
 responding to the cardinal points, and communicating together by a street 
 that goes round the interior of the town. The population of Blidah, 
 which formerly amounted to 14 or 15,000, is now reduced to 6000. 
 The greater part of the town was destroyed by an earthquake in 1825 ; 
 but it was rebuilt on the same site, and is now known by the name of 
 New Blidah. The houses of the town are built like those of Algiers, 
 and some of them looking into an inner court are surmounted by a ter- 
 race. 
 
 Blidah possesses four stone mosques, which are inferior to those of the 
 capital ; and it contained lately many ruinous debris scattered about the 
 town, occasioned by the earthquake. The country in its vicinity is well 
 cultivated, presenting many fields of corn, potatoes, and flax, surrounded 
 by hedges. These fields do not extend to the northward, but to the south 
 they occupy nearly one-fourth of the slope of the mountains ; and though 
 they contain few houses of stone, many huts of reed and wood are scattered 
 over them. Omnibuses pass daily through Blidah, on their way from 
 Algiers to Medeah.* 
 
 The principal passes over the chain of the Lesser Atlas, between the 
 Mitidja and the valley of the Shellif, are : 1st, the Col de Teniah ; 2dly, 
 the Col de Mouzaiah ; 3dly, the Portes de Fer, or Iron Gates, a cutting of 
 the Chiffa. The Portes de Fer are situated between the peaks of Beni- 
 Salah and that of Mouzaiah, the former 1520 metres (4985-60 feet), and 
 the latter 1560 metres (5116-80 feet) in height. These peaks are separated 
 by an interval of 10,000 metres (32,800 feet), forming the pass.f This 
 is the most direct route from the valley of the Shellif to Algiers ; the pass 
 is only 400 metres (1312 feet) above the level of the sea, and not much 
 higher than the bed of the Shellif. 
 
 The road between Blidah and Medeah through the Lesser Atlas crosses 
 the river Chiffa sixty-two times. The engineers have surmounted appa- 
 rently invincible obstacles, and the works that they have executed are 
 amazing. The rocks approach so near in some parts as scarcely to leave 
 room for a man to walk erect ; and during the rainy season it was for- 
 merly impassable, being bordered on both sides for eight leagues (twenty 
 miles) by steep mountains ; but the engineers have made a road through 
 these defiles, confining the river and blasting the rocks. The road now 
 rests all the way on a strong embankment confining the waters, is carried 
 on both sides of the river alternately, and rises gently to Medeah. At all 
 seasons it is now as good as the best English road, j s 
 
 After emerging from the pass you approach Medeah &iXji which was 
 
 * Blofeld, p. 33. f Baron Baudo. X St. Marie, p. 18.
 
 MEDEAH. 119 
 
 formerly the residence of the Bey of Tittery, under whose government it 
 possessed a barrack for the Turkish militia. Medeah contains still a cas- 
 bah and a very pretty palace, and is surrounded by a rather high stone 
 wall one mile in circumference, in which are five gates, two of which are 
 to the north, and the other three Jace the south, east, and west. 
 
 These gates were till lately weakly defended by a few loopholes, through 
 which the besieged could fire on the assailants ; whilst above the south 
 gate there used to be two 8-pounder culverins of Spanish manufacture. 
 The appearance of Medeah is very different from that of Algiers in the 
 construction of the houses, all being built of stone and whitewashed with 
 lime ; but the interiors are the same, consisting of a ground-floor, a first 
 story, and gallery supported by pillars* Medeah contains many foun- 
 tains, which are, however, in general mere spouts in the Avails ; a pretty 
 Moorish coffee-house ; and a caravansary, where you can get a change of 
 horses, a rare circumstance in Algeria. This town also contains, or rather 
 contained (1843), several mosques and a public school, with a population 
 of 6000 or 7000.. Near Medeah stands a remarkable aqueduct, which has 
 been supposed to be of Roman construction : but the minarets of the 
 mosques are built in the same way, i. e. in stone and bricks of a peculiar 
 composition ; and the aqueduct, though ancient, is thought by some writers 
 to be the work of the native Africans. 
 
 The environs of the town are beautiful, presenting numerous vineyards 
 and orchards and much cultivation, displaying the agricultural industry 
 of the possessors. The inhabitants of Medeah are much more active thau 
 is usual with the Moors and Arabs, being never unoccupied ; even in the 
 coffee-houses they knit a kind of sock for the feet, using very thick and 
 short iron needles. Many employ themselves, moreover, in different me- 
 chanical occupations, such as those of joiners, tanners, smiths, &c. ; but 
 their principal pursuit is agriculture. Omnibuses ply to Algiers, through 
 Blidah for ten francs (8s. 4c?.).* 
 
 There is every reason to think that Medeah, which stands behind the 
 first chain of the Little Atlas, south of Algiers, is of Roman origin, as the 
 Arab structures of the town contain several fragments of Latin inscrip- 
 tions, and of pottery and other ancient materials. If the distances in the 
 Itinerary of Antoninus are correct, it corresponds to Caput Cillani. Leo 
 Africanus makes no mention of. this town ; and Marmol calls it Mehedia, 
 which is very like its Arab name Mediyah. He describes it as an old 
 town, built by the Romans in a great plain at the foot of a high mountain; 
 and he asserts that it was formerly very populous, but that it was de- 
 stroyed by a schismatic khalif, who subsequently built a castle there, that 
 he called Mehedia, from his own name Madhi. Before this event the 
 town was called Alfara. The remains of this castle, containing many 
 Roman materials, still exist. + 
 
 * Blofeld's Algeria, p. 35. t Berbrugger, pail i. p. 59.
 
 1'20 PROVINCE OF ALGIERS. 
 
 Two roads lead from Algiers to Medeah. The oldest, longest, and most 
 fatiguing is over the Teniah, or Col de Mouzaiah, and descends to the 
 Olive Wood, a narrow tongue of land separating the waters of the Chiffa 
 from those of the tributaries of the Ouad-Djer. The other road, com- 
 pleted in 1842, passes through the cutting of the Chiffa, ascends the 
 western hank of that river to reach the vale of Ouzra, and passes over 
 Mount Nadhor, whence it reaches Medeah, running parallel to the aque- 
 duct. This road is at times impassable in winter, and requires frequent 
 repairs ; and like the Khyber pass in Afghanistan, it might be the grave 
 of an invading army in the hands of a determined foe. 
 
 Medeah, standing 1100 metres (3608 feet) above the sea, has a very 
 cold climate in winter, though the heat is excessive in summer. Abundant 
 falls of snow occur there, obliging the inhabitants to build sloping roofs, 
 contrary to their usual custom, which circumstance gives the scenery 
 a European chai'acter. Olives and oranges* have disappeared here, to 
 make room for pear, apple, cherry, poplar, and mulberry-trees ; yet the 
 vine thrives notwithstanding the elevation, and the Jews make a noted 
 white wine in the environs of this town. 
 
 Medeah is surrounded by a belt of gardens, that give the scenery an 
 enchanting appearance. Marshal Clauzel, who succeeded M. de Bourmont 
 in 1830, saw immediately the importance of the position, and marched on 
 the town at the head of a French force, which took possession at once. 
 Its gallant defence by a small garrison under Colonel Marion against a 
 vast host of natives is a brilliant episode in the history of French Africa, -f- 
 
 Milianah is situated on the declivity of the Little Atlas, half a mile 
 from the rich plain of the Shellif, and two leagues (five miles) from El- 
 Flerba, which stands on the site of a Roman town. Political revolutions 
 had so materially injured the prosperity of Milianah, that we find it de- 
 scribed by a generally accurate writer as a small village, exposed to the 
 south and south-west, surrounded by dilapidated walls with three gates, 
 each defended by three small towers.;}: The fact is, that owing to the 
 struggle between the French and Abd-el-Kader, it was almost ruined and 
 depopulated ; especially when the latter, making Tegedempt his capital, 
 forced many of the inhabitants of Milianah to migrate thither. The houses 
 of this town are tiled, instead of having flat roofs covered with plaster, 
 forming terraces, according to the custom of this country. If access were 
 less troublesome, Milianah has several advantages to recommend it, being 
 admirably supplied with water from the neighbouring mountain of Djebel 
 Zeccar, one of the most considerable eminences in this part of the country. 
 It is surrounded by many fruitful gardens and vineyards, and has a very 
 line view of the rich arable country of the Jendrill, Matmata, and other 
 Aral) tribes, as far as Medeah. In the spring, devotees from Algiers, 
 
 * St. Marie and Lamping contradict this, see pp. 134 and 138. 
 
 + Berbruggcr, part i. J Blofcld, p. 73 et seqq.
 
 OUAD-FODDAE. 121 
 
 Blidah, Medcah, and the neighbouring villages, used to come with great 
 reverence to kiss the shrine of Sidi-Yousef, tutelary saint of the city. 
 There are also several Koman remains at Milianah.* 
 
 A large tract of country has been taken from the province of Oran 
 and added to that of Algiers, to the west of Milianah, embracing the 
 important post of Teniet-el-Had, and the wild Aghalik of the Beni-Zoug- 
 zoug, and of the Ouarensenis or Ouarsenis. To the south-east of Milianah 
 you reach the Aghalik and post of Boghar, on the verge of the Sahara, 
 which contains the two lakes called Zarhez-Chergui (east), and Zarhez- 
 Gherbi (west).f Finally, the district surrounding Mascara embraces many 
 new French colonies, for an account of which the reader is referred to 
 the chapter on Colonisation. 
 
 Near Milianah you come to the Ouad-Foddah, a mountain-stream 
 flowing through deep ravines, the scene of a daring exploit of the French 
 army under Changarnier and Cavaignac in the year 1842.;}; 
 
 The Ouad-Foddah, or river of silver, has its rise in a high rugged 
 mountain called Wan-nash-reese, the Gueneseirs of Sanson, and the Gauser 
 of Du Val, but properly the Ouanseris,§ eight leagues (twenty miles) to 
 the south of Sinaab. It is commonlv covered with snow, and on this 
 account it is one of the principal landmarks of this country, being visible 
 the whole distance from El-Callah to Medeah, towering above a number 
 of smaller mountains. It is probably the Zalacus of Ftolemy, while Sinaab 
 corresponds with tolerable accuracy to his Oppidoneum. After abundant 
 rains, considerable flakes of lead, for which this mountain is famous, are 
 brought down by the river ; and as, after being deposited on the banks, 
 they would naturally glitter in the sun, this circumstance probably gave 
 rise to the name of the stream, the river of silver. Abulfeda, with 
 other later geographers, has been mistaken in deducing the river Shellif, 
 instead of only one of its branches (the Ouad-Foddah), from the Wan-nash- 
 reese, or Ouanseris mountains. 
 
 The Ouled Uxeire and the Lataff run on each side of the Foddah, and 
 opposite its junction with the Shellif are the walled villages of Merjejah 
 and of Beni-Beshid. In former ages the latter had a citadel, 2000 houses, 
 and a race of warlike inhabitants, who held sway over this country as far 
 as El-Callah and Mascara (province of Oran). But at present the castle 
 is in ruins, the 2000 houses have dwindled into a few cottages, and the 
 people, long subject to the Turkish government, are become equally 
 timorous and cowardly with their neighbours, if we may believe Blofeld. 
 
 * Blofeld, p. 73 et seqq. 
 
 t From ^Jr^> ckerq, 'east,' and <r{r~ rorli, 'west.' The text is the spelling in the 
 Tableau. A. Gorguos, Cours d'Arabe vulgaire, p. 130, makes 'western' in the singular 
 t^c-j-z rorli, plural <• '■ J i^r. gharaba. General Daumas spells 'west' J'harb. Some Arabic 
 sounds have no adequate expression in the Indo-Germanic languages. 
 
 t Blofeld, p. 73 et seqq. ; Castellane's Souvenirs, pp. 60-73. 
 
 § Castellane, Berbrugger, and Blofeld differ in the spelling of this name : we have pre- 
 ferred Castellane's, as the most recent.
 
 122 TENIET-EL-HAD. 
 
 However, their fruits, and particularly their figs, for which they were 
 always famous, continue to enjoy the same reputation as before, and may 
 dispute the palm, with those of the Beni-Zerouall for size and delicacy of 
 taste. Two leagues (five miles) to the east of the Beni-Reshid, on the 
 north banks of the Shellif, is El-Herba, Avith a narrow strip of plain fer- 
 tile ground behind it. At this spot are several small marble pillars, of 
 a blue colour and good workmanship ; but the capitals, which were of the 
 Corinthian order, are much defaced : there are besides several stone coffins 
 at the same locality. 
 
 El-Khadarah is only 13 miles in a direct line from the river Foddah, 
 though it is much farther by the road, owing to the steep intervening 
 mountains that give it a circuitous course. It is situated on a rising 
 ground, on the brink of the Shellif, and is sheltered from the north winds ; 
 while one mile to the south, Djebel-Dwee, another high mountain of a 
 conical shape, supplies the small and beautiful plain between the ridges 
 with a good rill of fresh water. The constant green of these plains may 
 not improbably have given rise to the name of El-Khadarah \jJl>~ Ji^ 
 or El-Chuhdary (the green), by which these ruins are known. 
 
 Seven leagues (17|- miles) east of El-Khadarah, and at a short distance 
 from the Shellif, are the ruins of El-Herbah,* another Roman town of the 
 same name and extent as that just now described. This appellation fre- 
 quently occurs in the country, signifying pulled doivn. At this point the 
 Shellif begins to widen through a plain as large and fertile as any in 
 Algeria, situated at a short distance from Milianah ; and the Atlas Moun- 
 tains, which from the Beni-Zerouall to El-Khadarah came down close to 
 the river, retire at this plain to the distance of two leagues to the north 
 of the stream. 
 
 Such is the famous district of the Ouad-Foddah, beyond which, to the 
 south-west by west, you enter a labyrinth of defiles, fantastic cliffs, and 
 forests, peopled by Kabyles, and known as the Aghalik of Ouarsenis, of 
 Avhich more anon. A little to the right of this rugged district stands 
 the new French post of Teniet-el-Had, near a splendid forest of cedars, one 
 of the most striking spots in Algeria. -f- This post is built on the plateaux 
 called Serssous, its population amounting in December 1849 to 97 Euro- 
 peans and seven natives. The last accounts state that the military defences 
 of this advanced post are in a very forward state. J 
 
 Almost due south of Medeah and Milianah, near the banks of the 
 Upper Shellif, is the Aghalik and the French post of Boghar, which is a 
 regularly fortified place with bastions and curtains, situated in nearly the 
 same meridian as Algiers. Its population amounts to 127 persons. The 
 chief buildings that have been erected at Boghar consist of barracks, hos- 
 
 * More correctly El-Korbah, <* Jp- J I. 
 
 + See an excellent description of this whole district in the first section of Castellane's 
 Souvenirs, i>. 40 et seqq. 
 J Tableau, p. 23.
 
 KOUBBER ROMEAH. 123 
 
 pital, and magazines; besides which several gates have been finished, some 
 streets have been formed, and the town is supplied with springs of water.* 
 
 The remaining portions of the province of Algiers consist of the sub- 
 division of Orlcansville on the sea-shore, west of Sidi-Ferruch, the Sahara 
 or southern part of the province ; and the territory of Dellys on the coast, 
 to the east of the capital. We shall describe those portions of Great 
 Kabylia, which belong respectively to the provinces of Algiers and Con- 
 stantina, under one head, in the chapter on Great Kabylia, a country 
 deserving a special notice. 
 
 We proceed to describe a district situated along the shore of the Me- 
 diterranean, which has been taken from the province of Oran and added 
 to that of Algiers within the last few years. This territory, which includes 
 the towns of Scherschell, Tenes, and Orleansville, stretches from the Hadjute 
 district near Sidi-Ferruch and Koleah to the Aghalik of Sbeah. We have 
 previously stated, that the eastern boundary of the old beylik of Oran used 
 to be formed by the river Massafran, after crossing which stream the 
 
 traveller comes to the Koubber Romeah <u>. , f jJ,t m Turkish Mmwpasy, 
 or the treasure of the sugar-loaf, supposed by some antiquarians to be the 
 ancient family sepulchre of the kings of Mauritania, and situated on a 
 mountainous part of the Sahel or coast range, seven miles to the east of 
 Tefessad. A minuter description of this mysterious edifice will be found 
 in the chapter on Archaeology. Westward of Koubber Romeah are the 
 ruins of Tefessad, supposed to be the ancient Tipasa ; and beyond this 
 point you reach Mers-el-Amouse, or the port of Amouse, which offers a 
 very safe refuge for shipping in westerly gales; and to the westward of 
 this port is a considerable cape called Ras- el- Amouse, after doubling which 
 you speedily arrive at Scherschell or Cherchell,! built on the site of the cele- 
 brated Jol, or Julia Caesarea, once so renowned as the capital of Cesarean 
 Mauritania, of which more anon. It is recorded that Andalusian Moors, 
 driven from Spain by the unchristian intolerance of that age, built a city 
 on this spot in the fifteenth century, which was thrown down by an 
 earthquake in 1738. 
 
 A strong wall forty feet high, supported with buttresses, winding for 
 two miles through several creeks on the sea-shore, used to secure the town 
 on the sea-side. The city, to the distance of a quarter of a mile inland 
 
 * P. 21. Marshal de Oastellane says : (( Boghar, under the same meridian as Algiers, 
 or thereabouts, rises like an eagle's nest at the entrance of a valley leading to Medeah ; 
 and Abd-el-Kader had lately established a cannon-foundry and important establishments 
 there. We have converted it into an advanced post in the province of Algiers, a place 
 of refreshment and rest for the columns operating on this side" (p. 243). He adds : " The 
 valley we were following was green and beautiful ; . . . the nearer we approached Medeah, 
 the more broken the ground became." Ibid. 
 
 f Tomb of the Christian woman. 
 
 + The name of this town, like all others in Algeria, has been variously spelled by 
 Europeans : we have adopted that used by the Tableau de la Situation.
 
 124 SCHERSCHELL. 
 
 from this wall, lies on a plain ; and after rising for the space of a mile gra- 
 dually to a considerable elevation, spreads itself over a variety of bills and 
 valleys, and loses sigbt of the sea. 
 
 One of tbe chief gates on this side is about a furlong below the top of 
 these hills, and leads to the rugged possessions of the Beni-Menasser ; and 
 of the two gates on the sea-shore, the western lies under the high moun- 
 tain of Beni-Yifrah, and the eastern under that of Skenouah. Scherschell 
 being thus enclosed among high mountains and narrow defiles, all commu- 
 nication with it on the land side may be easily cut off. 
 
 A tradition exists here that the ancient city was destroyed by an earth- 
 quake, and that the port, which was once very large and good, was ruined 
 by the arsenal and other buildings falling into it. The cothon,* which had 
 a communication with the western part of the port, is the best proof of 
 this ; for when the sea is calm and the water low, as frequently occurs 
 after strong south-east winds, you can perceive over the whole area of the 
 harbour massive pillars and other ruins, which were probably cast there by 
 some great natural convulsion. St. Marie, who reached Scherschell by water, 
 states that the landing in 1845 was very bad; but the last official docu- 
 ments of the French Government shew the present state of the port to be 
 greatly improved. It appears that the old Roman basin has been dug out 
 and restored, and that it is now opened for the purposes of navigation, 
 though it is only adapted to receive vessels of low tonnage. The jetty of 
 Joinville, which shelters the entrance to the basin, has a development of 
 100 metres (328 feet), and the quays cover a surface of 17 hectares and 42 
 centiares (43 acres). The expense of these improvements has amounted 
 to 388,000 fr. (15,5201.) As regards the defences of the town, it seems 
 that the French have enclosed Scherschell with a new wall of masonry, in- 
 cluding bastions, of which the plastering and the platforms were two-thirds 
 finished in 1851. The expense has amounted to 18,G00fr. (7i4l.) 
 
 A battery for four guns has been completed on the strand called Zi- 
 zerin, and they have built the two intrenchments and the cart-houses 
 which are its accessories. The parapet of the provisional battery on the 
 Islot de la Marine has been partially raised ; two supporting walls have 
 been built, one for the internal and the other for the external slopes. 
 The provisional battery No. 3 has been completed on the slope of the 
 port, as well as its traverse and dependent magazines. The expense of 
 these works amounted to 4G00fr. (184J.): and it was proposed to com- 
 plete the works of the enclosure from the (late of Tenes to the sea; to 
 build two permanent coast-batteries, one on Cape Zizerin, and the other 
 on the islet of Joinville ; and to establish the batteries for the use of ar- 
 tillery. The estimate for these works amounts to about 79,000fr. (31G0£)t 
 
 Kw0a>v, artificial l>asin, literally a goblet or drinkinjj-vcssel. Sec Passow's Lexicon, 
 vol. i. |>. i:;m. 
 
 t Tableau do la Situation, pp. 344 and 38C.
 
 TENES. 125 
 
 As early as 1845 the old Moorish houses of Scherschell were beginning 
 to disappear, whilst handsome European edifices were rising in their stead. 
 On the beach stand two little white marabouts, shaded with palm and date 
 trees, and to the eastward you see the ruins of a picturesque Roman 
 aqueduct ; but the country is in general rather flat and covered with 
 brushwood. The garrison musters usually somewhat strong, and is com- 
 monly composed of infantry alone.* 
 
 Not far distant from Scherschell is a rill of water which is received 
 into a Roman basin called Shrub-oua-Krub, i. e. " drink and away;" as 
 there is, or rather was, great danger of meeting robbers and assassins at 
 this spot. To the west of Scherschell you come to Bresk and Dahmus, on 
 the site of two Roman cities ; farther on are several small islands where 
 there is good shelter for small vessels ; and beyond these you come to the 
 large promontory of Nakkos (the Promontorium Apollonis of Ptolemy), 
 so called from a grotto that the waves have scooped out underneath it in 
 the shape of a bell. Approaching this cape from the coast of Spain, it 
 presents the appearance of a wild boar's head. 
 
 Beyond Cape Nakkos is Tennis or Tenes, a town lying in a low dirty 
 situation at a short distance from the sea. The anchorage-around being 
 too much exposed to north and west winds, is the frequent occasion of 
 vessels being cast away at this spot. The Moors have a tradition that the 
 Tenessians enjoyed formerly such a high repute for sorcery, that Pharaoh 
 sent for the wisest of them to contend with Moses in the performance of 
 miracles. It is certain that they are now the greatest cheats in the 
 country, and as little deserving of trust as their roadstead. 
 
 Hammet-Ben-Yousef, a neighbouring marabout, is reported to have 
 given the place the following character : 
 
 Arabic. E»<jli$h. 
 
 Tenes Tenes 
 
 Ibna ala cTnjv Is built on filth. 
 
 Mawah shcm. The soil of it is stinking. 
 
 Madim. The water of it is black, 
 
 Oua aoua semm. And the air is poison. 
 
 Oua Hamet Ben Yousef And Hamet Ben Yousef 
 
 Ma dukkul tsemm. Would not go there. 
 
 Tenes is situated ninety miles west of Algiers ; and a fine road is in 
 process of construction, that will unite it to the inland colony of Orleans- 
 ville. A new European town has been erected since 1830 at Tenes, out- 
 side the sorry old Moorish precincts, of which Hamet-Ben- Yousef gives 
 such a deplorable account. -f 
 
 The improvements that had been effected at Tenes up to December 
 1849 consisted of 820 metres (2G89-G0 feet) of principal streets and 4250 
 (13,940 feet) of smaller streets in a state of repair, of two squares, and of 
 the plantation of 3000 trees. The expense of these works amounted to 
 
 * St. Marie, p. 193. t Blofeld, p. U.
 
 126 DARHA. 
 
 9 GO?. They have also built a slaughter-house and opened a cemetery, at 
 an expense of 42,000 fr. (1680J.) 
 
 As regards the fortifications, they have built a battery to defend the 
 coast ; the town-wall to the east, south, and west is finished, besides bar- 
 racks for 450 men; a hospital for 150 patients, and magazines for provi- 
 sions, were also partially completed, together with a powder-magazine to 
 hold 15,000 kilogrammes (33,000 lbs.). 
 
 They have also constructed a battery to sweep the anchorage, besides 
 an arsenal and different minor edifices connected with the war-establish- 
 ment. 
 
 The total expense of the various military structures amounted to 
 31,491?. 15*. I0d* 
 
 The name of Darha, which means in Arabic 'north,' is given to a moun- 
 tainous district of country on the borders of the provinces of Algiers and 
 Oran, comprised between the Shellif and the sea from Tenes to the mouth 
 of that river, which after having formed its limit to the south, flowing in 
 a westerly direction, turns abruptly to the north, and cuts it off in this 
 manner on two sides. The population of this country, which is 50 
 leagues (125 miles) in length and 20 (50 miles) in breadth, is Kabyle.t 
 The soil, remarkable for its fertility, is well cultivated. It contains some 
 magnificent orchards, and the principal branch of its commerce consists 
 in the sale of dried figs ; but the people of the Darha, being protected by 
 their river, and seldom visited by any agents of the government, carry on 
 another kind of industry which they find still more lucrative. Some are 
 robbers, others are receivers of stolen goods. The latter inhabit chiefly 
 the little Arab town of Mazouna. The subdivision of Mostaganem in 
 the province of Oran, and that of Orleansville in the province of Algiers, 
 are required to preserve order in the Darha. 
 
 The authority of the subdivision of Mostaganem extends over the 
 shore-district about the mouth of the Shellif, which is in a less turbulent 
 state. The subdivision of Orleansville, on the other hand, has to look after 
 the most savage and vagabond tribes. The town of Tenes, situated on 
 the sea-shore at the eastern limit of the Darha, is one of the principal 
 points from which the surveillance is carried on. When circumstances 
 have rendered it imperative to concentrate a large force in the Darha, the 
 operations of troops from Mostaganem, Orleansville, and Tenes have been 
 combined to reach and strike the enemy. |. 
 
 Orleansville, the capital of this subdivision, was founded on the Shellif 
 in 1843. It contained in 1849 a square planted with 3000 trees; 1400 
 metres (4592 feet) devoted to principal, and 2400 (7872 feet) to minor 
 
 * Tableau de la Situation, pp. 345 and 387. 
 
 f The Kabyles arc the iScrbci - race, who are thought to he the descendants of tho 
 ancient, Nnmidians and Libyans. 
 X Castellane, p. 121.
 
 OHLEANSVILLE. 127 
 
 streets ; the population consisting of 849 persons. The military works 
 and defences of this town are in a very forward state. In the western 
 part along the Thigaout they have built up supporting walls to strengthen 
 the slope. The streets of the ramparts have been completed, most of the 
 ditches of the enclosure of the Zmala of the Spahis have been begun, as 
 well as the main building.* {Zmala <u~oi, literally baggage, i. e. quai'ters, 
 or camp.) 
 
 The enclosures of the Fort or Bordj Ain-Meran, besides the telegraphic 
 posts of Ouled-Kosseir, of Temoulga (on the l'oad fro in Orleansville to Mil- 
 ianah), and all those on the lines from Orleansville to Mostaganem, and 
 from Orleansville to Tenes, have been built. The principal enclosure of 
 the town has been finished from bastion No. 1 to bastion 7. The east 
 and north fronts have to be raised higher, and the plantations and level- 
 ling of the rampart streets have still to be completed. A number of public 
 buildings have been erected within the town during the last few years, 
 including the quarters for the officers of the garrison, cisterns, baths, 
 windmills, &c.t 
 
 The present state of colonisation in the vicinity of this town will be 
 described in the chapter relating to that subject. 
 
 After this cursory outline of the western subdivisions of the province 
 of Algiers, we shall return to Medeah. That part of the Atlas between 
 Blidah and Medeah, which reaches as far as Mount Djordjora in Great Ka- 
 bylia, is inhabited by numerous clans of Kabyles. The Beni-Sala and 
 Haleel overlook Blidah and the Mitidja ; whilst the Beni-Selim and Haleefa 
 sometimes descend into the pasture-ground near the banks of the Bishbesh, 
 or river of fennel, a great quantity of which grows upon its banks. Farther 
 east live a branch of the Meyrowa, within sight of the great plains of 
 Hamza, opposite Sour-Guzlan (Aumale) ; below them the Inshlowa and 
 Bougaine, which overlook to the south the fertile plains of the Castoolah, 
 noted for the feeding and breeding of cattle. Not far from the Castoolah 
 are the Kabyles of Mount Djordjorah, of whom the Beni- Alia are the prin- 
 cipal on the north side, and the Beni-Yala on the south. 
 
 Five leagues (12^ miles) to the south of Medeah rises the Tittery 
 Dosh, as the Turks call a remarkable ridge of precipices, four leagues 
 (ten miles) long, and even more rugged than the Djordjorah. On the top 
 is a large piece of level ground with only one narrow road leading up 
 to it, where the Ouled-Aica (children of Jesus) have their granaries. 
 Beyond this are the encampments of Ouled-In-anne, the principal Arabs 
 of the district of Tittery, which lies in the neighbourhood of this mountain. 
 Burg-Hamza, two leagues (five miles) south of the rich plain of that 
 name, and five (12£ miles) to the east of the Rock of Tittery, contained, 
 before the French conquest, a garrison of one svffralt, of Turks, consisting 
 of a table or twenty persons, Avith a lieutenant called an Oda-bashaw, re- 
 
 * Tableau de la Situation, pp. 344-3S6. f Ibid.
 
 128 AUMALE. 
 
 seinbling the contubernium of the Romans, who had ten persons in one 
 pavilio, the Decanus corresponding to the Oda-bashaiv . Burg-Hamza 
 stands on the ruins of the ancient Auzia, called by the Arabs Sour, or 
 Sour-Guzlan (the walls of the Antelope). Auzia was an ancient city, 
 three quarters of a mile in circumference; and a great part of the walls, 
 fortified with small turrets, still remains. Tacitus has correctly described 
 it : " for Auzia was built upon a small piece of level ground, every where 
 surrounded with craggy rocks and gloomy forests.'"* 
 
 The French have established a new and rising colony on the site of 
 this Roman and Turkish city, to which they have given the historical name 
 of Aumale. Placed in a central and healthy situation, at no great dis- 
 tance from Bugia and Setif, and united to Algiers by a good military 
 road, Aumale is already one of the most important French settlements in 
 the province of Algiers. 
 
 From 1847 to 1849, 21,000 fr., or 840/., have been expended on the 
 improvement of the streets in the civil town, and 20,000 fr. (800/.) on 
 the military town. In the former, 574 metres (188272 feet) of street 
 are in a good state of repair; and 40 metres (131-20 feet) have been 
 recently opened. In the military town, 549 metres (1800-72 feet) are 
 in a state of repair, 1160 metres (3804-80 feet) have been opened, and 
 GOO trees planted. The length of the water-conduits and aqueducts is 
 2410 metres (7904*80 feet); and their daily supply of water consists of 
 290,000 litres (63,800 gallons). 
 
 The expenses of the military works erected between 1846 and 1848 
 amounted to 869,005 fr. (34,760/. is. 2d.) The fortification of the mili- 
 tary town was finished in 1849 up to the crown work; that of the civil 
 town for half its development and as high as the battlements. Magazines 
 for provisions; powder, &c, and other structures for the accommodation 
 of the troops, of cattle, and of other supplies, have been also completed. 
 
 The popidation of Aumale amounted in 1849 to 557 Europeans, ana- 
 lysed into 463 men, 55 women, and 39 children. The proportion of dif- 
 ferent nations amongst the inhabitants presented the following results : 
 French, 463; Spaniards, 36; Anglo-Maltese, 26; Italians, 21; Germans, 5; 
 Swiss, 3; and 2 of some other origin. The natives amounted in December 
 1849 to 124 men, 2 women, 8 children, of Mussulman race, 6 Negroes, 
 and 9 Jcws.t 
 
 A few miles south of Sour commences ancient Grctulia, corresponding 
 in many particulars to the modern Sahara ; and the first remarkable place 
 in this direction is Djcbel-Deera, where the river Jin-enne has its sources, 
 a stream which, after flowing thirty miles through a sandy soil, loses itself 
 gradually in the Chott. Most of the Gaetulian or Saharian Arabs dwell- 
 ing on its banks are Zaouia or Zouaia, as they call the children and de- 
 
 * Tacit,. Annul, lib. iv. f Tableau do la Situation, pp. 3-14 and 384.
 
 ARAB TRIBES. 129 
 
 pendents of their marabouts, who enjoy great privileges. The Ouled- 
 Sidi-Aisa, the most northern of these communities, have the kouhbah or 
 sepulchre of their tutelar saint five leagues from Sour : near it, on one 
 side, stands a large rock, on which it is reported that Sidi-Aisa used daily 
 to offer up his devotions ; on the other side is the Ain-Kidran, or foun- 
 tain of tar, miraculously bestowed upon them, according to tradition, by 
 their progenitor. Six leagues (15 miles) farther are the Ouled-Sidi-Had- 
 jcras, so called from another marabout. Here the Jin-enne changes its 
 name into that of Ouad-el-Ham, that is, the river of carnage, from the 
 number of people who have been at different times drowned in fording it. 
 A little higher are the descendants of Sidi-Braham-Aslemmy, who spread 
 themselves to Hirman, a dashkrah in the way to Bousaadah, at which 
 place the palm brings forth its fruit to perfection. 
 
 Djebel Seilat lies about seven leagues (17^ miles) to the west of Sidi- 
 Braham ; and twelve leagues (30 miles) farther in the same direction are 
 the Theneate-el-Gannim (the sheep-cliffs). These are situated opposite 
 the Burg-Swaary and the Tittery Dosh, at a distance of thirteen leagues 
 (32|- miles). 
 
 A little way beyond the seven hills are the eminences and salt-pits of 
 Zaggos ; after which are the Saary and the Zakkar, two mountains, one 
 twelve and the other five leagues to the south of Zaggos. These, with 
 many other rugged and mountainous districts in the Sahara, constitute 
 what is called by Strabo the mountainous country of the Gaetulians. 
 
 Six leagues to the east of the Zakkar is Fythe-el-Bothmah; so called, 
 perhaps, from the broad or open turpentine-trees that grow upon the spot. 
 Seven leagues (17|- miles) from this place to the north you come to 
 Fythe-el-Botum, that is, the thick or shady turpentine-trees, as it is named, 
 probably in contradistinction to Fythe-el-Bothmah. At Herba, a heap of 
 ruins a little to the east of Fythe-el-Bothmah, are the sources of Ouad-el- 
 Shai-er, or the barley river, a considerable stream of this part of Gsetulia. 
 Its course from Herba to the dashkrah of Boufer-joone is ten leagues 
 (25 miles) in a N.N.E. direction. At a little distance from Boufer-joone 
 below a ridge of hills, there are some ancient ruins called Gahara. Besides 
 the palm, which grows in this parallel to perfection, Boufer-joone is also 
 celebrated for apricots, figs, and other fruit. 
 
 We are informed that to the north of Boufer-joone the Ouad-el-Shai-er 
 acquires the name of Mailah,* from the saltness of its water ; and passing 
 afterwards to the east of Ain-Difla, i. e. fountain of oleanders, it loses 
 itself in the Chott. Over this fountain towers the mountain Maiherga, a 
 celebrated haunt for serpents, leopards, and other wild animals. Six 
 leagues (15 miles') south of Fythe-el-Bothmah are Gumra and Amoura, two 
 dashkrahs, with their springs and fruit-trees. Beyond them, at a greater 
 
 * From r<:\yO salt. 
 
 *^ 
 
 I
 
 130 BENI-MZAB. 
 
 distance to the south-west, is the Ain-Maithie, and then Deminidde, 
 which, with the dashkrahs of the Lowaate, nine leagues (22£ miles) 
 farther to the west, are the most considerable villages of this part of 
 Gaetulia, or the Sahara of the province of Algiers. They have also in 
 all these places large plantations of palms and other fruit-trees. Blofeld 
 informs us that the numerous families of the Maithie, Noile, and Mel- 
 licke, with their several subdivisions and dependents, reign all over this 
 country, from the Burg-Swaary and the river Jin-enne to the dashkrahs 
 of the Lowaate and Ammer, who spread themselves over a mountainous 
 district a great way to the west, the same probably with the Mons Phru- 
 raisus of the old geographers. The villages of the Beni-Mezzab are 
 situated thirty-five leagues (87|- miles) to the south of Lowaate and 
 Ammer,* which, having no rivulets, are supplied entirely with wells. 
 Gardeiah, the capital, is the farthest to the west ; Berg-gan, the next 
 considerable dashkrah, is nine leagues (22|- miles) to the east ; and Gra- 
 rah, the nearest of them to Ouaregla, is similarly situated in distance 
 and position with respect to Berg-gan. The Beni-Mzab, or Mezzab, 
 or Mozabites, as they are sometimes styled, though they never paid any 
 tribute to the Algerines, and though, being of the sect of the Maleki, they 
 were not permitted to enter the mosques, yet have been from time im- 
 memorial the only persons who are employed in their slaughter-houses, and 
 who have furnished their shambles with provisions. Blofeld describes 
 these sons of Mezzab as being of a more swarthy complexion-j- than the 
 Gsetulians or Sabarians to the northward of them • and as they are 
 separated from them by a wide desert, without even the footsteps of any 
 living creature, if this description of them is correct, they may possibly 
 be the most westerly branch of the Melano-Gaetuli. 
 
 It is well to remark in this place, that throughout the Algerian Sahara, 
 and even far into the heart of the Great Desert, the most usual Arabic 
 name for small towns, especially if surrounded with walls, is Jcsour or 
 
 kessour ,, jd «. a word probably connected with the Alcazar, or palace 
 
 and castle of the Moors, whose faded splendours still remain at Seville in 
 Spain. 
 
 The numbers and organisation of the Bedouin tribes of the Sahara 
 throughout the three provinces of Algeria being fully treated of in the 
 chapter on the Arabs, we shall simply state on the present occasion, that 
 their numbers in the province of Algiers amount to 290 tribes, containing 
 1)00,000 individuals, inhabiting a territory of 113,000 square kilometres 
 
 * Few subjects arc involved in greater mystery and attended with greater difficulty 
 than the correct nomenclature and localising of the Saharian tribes; every traveller 
 thinking it proper to spell Arabic names after 1 1 is own fashion, and the Bedouins being as 
 much addicted to an alias and an alibias the most accomplished vagrants in St. Giles's. 
 
 +■ Castollane and Blofeld are at direct variance on this point. Sec pp. 26, 74 ct seqq. 
 of Blof., and 268 of Castel.
 
 HIOVINCE OF ALGIERS TRIBES. 131 
 
 (43,505 square miles). The native authorities are, 1. Khalifas, 2. Bach- 
 aghas, 3. Aghas or Kaids, 4. Sheicks. The 290 trihes of this province have 
 three khalifas, five hach-aghas, and twenty aghas; and the territory is 
 divided accordingly into khalifats and aghaliks.* 
 
 Most of the posts that had heen occupied hy Abd-el-Kader on the 
 borders of the Tell and of the Sahara have been rebuilt and permanently 
 occupied by French troops since 1844. These posts include Boghar; 
 Teniet-el-Had, near Taza ; and Laghouat, to the south of Boghar and to 
 the east of the Djebel Amour. -j- 
 
 Dellys, Bugia, and most of Great Kabylia, are included by some writers 
 in the present province of Algiers ; but we prefer giving a separate 
 chapter to the Highlands of Algeria, as we have previously observed. 
 
 * Tableau cle la Situation, 1849-50. t Ibid.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EXCURSIONS THE ORANGE-GROVES OF BLIDAH COLEAH, ITS DELIGHTFUL NEIGH- 
 BOURHOOD AND MOORISH POPULATION THE COL DE MOUZAIA M. LAMPING's 
 
 EXPEDITION TO THE SOUTH THE ATLAS THE ARABS THE LITTLE DESERT 
 
 SERGEANT BLANDAN MERE GASPARD MILIANAH EXPEDITION TO THE 
 
 OUARSENIS UNDER CHANGARNDZR THE MARCH THE BIVOUAC THE BLOCKADE 
 
 TENIET-EL-HAD. 
 
 WE propose now to make divers longer excursions throughout the pro- 
 vince of Algiers, of which the broad features must by this time be 
 familiar to the reader; and we shall commence by accompanying Marshal 
 Count de Castellane on his journey from the capital to Blidah. 
 
 "The road from Algiers to Blidah in 1842-3 went along the Bab-el- 
 Ouad Street, turned to the left near the tomb of Omar Pasha, and sloping 
 up the side of the mountain ascended as far as Tagarin (another road has 
 been made since). The first object at the feet of the traveller, looking 
 down from this elevation, was the little village of Mustapha, — its extensive 
 cavalry barracks, the entire bay, the Kabyle mountains, and different ver- 
 dant oases, dotting the sandy margin of the sea. Proceeding further in- 
 land, this view was soon shut out, and the traveller saw nothing but the 
 mammelons or undulations of the Sahel covered with dwarf palms. At 
 length the heights of Ouad-Mandil were reached, where the eye took in 
 the whole of Mitidja. This plain is about five leagues (12J miles) in 
 breadth, and stretches to the foot of a ridge of mountains running parallel 
 from east to west, or from the bay of Algiers to the upper extremity 
 of the level. The declivities of this ridge are covered with lentisks and 
 wild olives; and grey rocks tower on their summits, sprinkled with pines 
 and evergreen oaks. 
 
 "To the eastward, near the sea, you distinguish theFoudouk; straight 
 before you, in the plain, appear the shady groves of Bouffarik; to the 
 right, at the foot of the mountains, Blidah and its orange-woods; beyond 
 it the cutting of the Chifi'a and the Col de Mouzaia, spots famous in 
 French military history ; further on the Oued-Gcr, the Bou-Boumi, where 
 much French blood has been shed; to the centre you see Oued-Laleg, the 
 tomb of one of the regular battalions of the Emir (Abd-el-Kadcr); lastly,
 
 BLIDAII. 133 
 
 the hike Alloula, the valley leading to Scherschell; and to the westward, on 
 the most distant horizon, near the territory of those famous Hadjoutcs, 
 once the terror of the whole district of Algiers, appears the Chanouan, 
 projecting its vast ridge towards the sky, near the tomh of the Christian 
 (Koubber-Rorneah)."* 
 
 Another traveller (Count St. Marie) made an excursion from Algiers 
 into the interior, passing through Lower Mustapha, Birmandreis, and 
 Birkadem, after which they came to a plateau which commands the Sahel. 
 Turning to the right from the Model Farm, after proceeding along a nar- 
 row road for the space of eight leagues (20 miles), they saw the Little 
 Atlas before them. At last they came to Bouffarik, which has been pre- 
 viously described; and continuing their journey they reached Blidah, which 
 looks now like a little European town, and is by far the most agreeable 
 and healthy place in Algeria. It contains a large square, surrounded with 
 houses having arcades as at Algiers, and adorned with plantations of 
 plane-trees. Looking along the wide and straight streets, you see at one 
 end of the town the Bab-el-Sets gate, and at the other that of Bab- 
 el- Rahba. The town is walled; and one of its old mosques has been con- 
 verted into a Catholic church, while the two other mosques have been 
 turned into barracks. Some defensive works have been constructed in 
 that part of the town called the Citadel; and the engineers enjoy ele- 
 vated and healthy quarters, which were at that time occupied by Zouaves 
 (native infantry)-]- (1845). At the other end of Blidah stands the hos- 
 pital, which is large, but built of wood, and was at that time used as the 
 quarters of the first regiment of Spahis (native cavalry).! Outside the 
 town, on a detached eminence, stands the Mimiche Fort. 
 
 Blidah is a cpiiet town, containing few Arabs, and peopled chiefly by 
 Frenchmen; and during the early years of the French invasion it was 
 taken three times, after very obstinate engagements. The Moors of Blidah 
 were a very dissolute race, and were threatened with destruction by an 
 old marabout named Mohamed- el -Blidah many years ago. Singularly 
 enough, his warning was justified shortly after by the great earthquake of 
 1825, when nearly the whole town was ruined. Their first wish was to 
 erect the new town at some distance; but the remembrance of its former 
 delights acted so powerfully on them, that they rebuilt it on the same site. 
 
 St. Marie and his party left Blidah by the citadel-gate, and found their 
 horses waiting for them outside. To the left was a gorge of the Little 
 Atlas, and nearer at hand a water-mill on the banks of the Ouad-Kebir. 
 Straight before them appeared the white stones of a European cemetery, 
 and on the right the ridge of the Sahel. § Advancing to the right, along 
 the walls of Blidah, they came to a perfect forest of orange and lemon 
 trees, intersected by beautiful walks. The margins of little streams formed 
 
 * Castellane, p. 4. f See the chapter on the French Army, Part II. 
 
 J Ibid. § Incorrectly styled pla in by St. Marie, p. 98.
 
 134 THE CHIFFA. 
 
 by outlets from the river were bordered by thick bushes of the laurel- 
 rose in full flower, and the shady trees surrounding them gave out a most 
 delicious perfume. 
 
 This fragrant aroma is so strong that, if we may believe some writers, 
 those who have lain down to sleep in these groves have been known to 
 be suffocated. A large part of these forests has been cut down to clear 
 the approaches to Blidah; and we can only form a very imperfect idea of 
 the paradise once surrounding this second Damascus. These delicious 
 groves are, even in their present state, superior to those of the Governor 
 of Malta and those near Toulon, which are justly celebrated. The orange- 
 woods near Blidah form vast gardens with little fosses between them, 
 and enclosed on the side next the road by impenetrable hedges of aloes 
 and Barbary figs, present beautiful contrasts in the different shades of 
 green. 
 
 Our friends next proceeded to the westward, along the banks of the 
 Ouad-Kebir, to gain the gigantic precipices of the Chiffa. A sloping road 
 led them to the foot of the Atlas, having on its right a gently declining 
 plain bounded by the entrance of the gorges. A winding streamlet 
 crossed this valley, flowing over a bed of pebbles, with here and there 
 bushes of laurel- roses growing on its banks. After advancing a little 
 more in a sloping direction, they came to the banks of the Chiffa, a tor- 
 rent which rises in the mountains. 
 
 The newly-constructed road through the celebrated pass of the Chiffa 
 is broad, and here and there spaces are allotted for the erection of tents. 
 At intervals of about six leagues from one another are little camps, each 
 of six tents, occupied by disciplinaires, whose duty it is to keep the road 
 in good repair and to guard it. Many wooden crosses are seen in the 
 pass, erected to soldiers who have been killed by the Arabs, or in making 
 the road. The pass is very cool, there being only a few places for the 
 sun to penetrate, the intervening parts being constantly shaded. About 
 half way a little wooden house has been erected, which is occupied by an 
 engineer's guard and his family. As they advanced beyond the southern 
 outlet of the pass, they found a great abundance of vegetation, consisting 
 principally of oak, cork-trees, and wild olives, growing on the hills. On 
 the opposite side of the plain they saw the camp of Nad or, occupied by 
 an Arab tribe. The water there is thought to be injurious, owing to its 
 passing through copper ore. 
 
 On turning the hill our party found themselves surrounded by vines 
 growing in great luxuriance; and the country displayed a highly verdant 
 aspect, presenting here and there groves of palm, fig, and orange trees, 
 which gave one the idea of the scenery of a vast theatre. Amidst all this 
 rich foliage they saw before them the walls of Medcah and a few white 
 minarets; whilst on the right an immense aqueduct of Roman construction, 
 winding like a serpent along the plain, conveys to the town the water of
 
 MEDEAH. 135 
 
 the mountain springs. The arches of this aqueduct are completely lined 
 exteriorly with creeping plants. 
 
 The gate of Medeah through which they passed into the town was an 
 ogive arch of masonry, consisting of small pehhles embedded in cement. 
 It opened into a tolerably large square, with young orange-trees in its 
 centre; a fine mosque to the left, which has now become a hospital; and 
 some ruinous houses on the right ; whilst at the farther end stands a white 
 marble fountain, backed by low moresque arcades,* beneath which some 
 Moors and Arabs had assembled to smoke and drink coffee. On the op- 
 posite side of the square was another small gate, through which it was 
 also necessary to pass in order to enter the town. 
 
 Storks are very common on the houses of Medeah, where they are 
 highly venerated, and not without cause, as they destroy a large number 
 of rats, mice, and serpents. 
 
 Medeah was at that time commanded by General Marrey, who was the 
 proprietor of a noble tame lion named Bello. This town has also a Casbah, 
 situated on the most elevated spot in its precincts, and contains only GOO 
 houses. But its garrison was strong, and many soldiers were encamped 
 without the town in tents. 
 
 An immense plain surrounds Medeah, intersected by a stream, whose 
 course can be traced by the reeds and other plants that grow along its 
 banks : wild boars and other game are said to be plentiful in this district. 
 The shops in the town are narrow and few in number, nor do they com- 
 municate with the houses to which they belong ; consisting of little more 
 than mere niches in the wall, all of which had a sort of portico projecting 
 into the street, where the shopkeeper sits cross-legged, smoking and 
 drinking coffee. 
 
 Half a league from the town is the old country-house of the Bey of 
 Tittery, situated in the midst of gardens, and presenting a pretty appear- 
 ance : it commands an extensive view over an open country and hills 
 covered with brushwood, whilst to the southward appear some huts and 
 patches of cultivation. At the distance of five miles on the plateau of 
 Aouarah, are the vestiges of a Roman citadel, with two Roman roads 
 leading from it, whose traces, however, are soon lost in brambles. 
 
 St. Marie and his party returned to Algiers from Medeah through the 
 Bibans, or iron gates, and Coleah. Proceeding north-west through forests 
 of old olives and winding paths amongst brushwood, they passed several 
 deep ravines, which contain raging torrents in winter. Having reached 
 the summit of a steep declivity, the pathway only gave room for one horse; 
 and in the evening they came to a large valley on the northern declivity 
 of the Little Atlas, while before them was the passage of the Bibans, or 
 iron gates. Here they stopped at a Bedouin douar (village of tents) for 
 the night, where the patriarchal hospitality and manners of their hosts 
 
 * St. Marie, p. 9S.
 
 136 COLE AH. 
 
 reminded the count of the early and sacred records of our race. Con- 
 tinuing their journey the next morning, the paths became more difficult, 
 and they only saw a few desolate huts, but no inhabitants. At 4 p.m. 
 they emerged from a long winding road bordered by rows of thick trees, 
 and beheld immediately before them Coleah, situated in a deep valley 
 surrounded by orchards and groves of palm-trees. The wall which sur- 
 rounded the town was at that time almost in a ruinous condition ; and a 
 cemetery containing two marabouts is situated outside it, running in a 
 direction from east to west. The streets of Coleah are regularly built ; and 
 in the centre of the town is a square planted with orange-trees, and 
 having at one corner a mosque, which has been converted into a church, 
 while facing it stands a clean and neat hotel. 
 
 Our party proceeded hence to Algiers by Pointe Pescade, which is 
 two leagues from the capital.* The adjacent country is exceedingly pic- 
 turesque, presenting on all sides pretty country houses, surrounded with 
 blooming gardens and orchards. The mountains in the vicinity of Pointe 
 Pescade are very steep, and the shore is covered with brushwood as far as 
 Cape Sidi-Ferruch, where a pyramid has been erected to commemorate 
 the landing of the French in 1830. Passing some groups of Druidical- 
 shaped tombs, they took the main road to Algiers, and arrived about noon 
 at the gate of Bab-el-Ouad.+ 
 
 We shall next give ear to M. Lamping, who visited all these spots fre- 
 quently while serving in the Foreign Legion, and was quartered in the 
 camp at Coleah, towards the end of 1841. He states that " Coleah was at 
 that time a true Arab town, standing on the south-east declivity of the 
 Sahel range of mountains, in a charming little nook, and well supplied 
 with water. It is only twelve leagues (30 miles) distant from Algiers, 
 and three (7-| miles) from the sea; the proximity of the latter making the 
 air extremely healthy, and the constant sea-breezes rendering the heat 
 even then (Sept. 1841) quite tolerable. From their quarters in the camp 
 they viewed, stretched at their feet, the vast plain of the Mitidja, bounded 
 by the blue hills of the Lesser Atlas range. They were quartered in a 
 fortified camp outside the town, on a small eminence which commands it. 
 
 The Mussulman inhabitants of Coleah are pure descendants of the 
 Moors ; and M. Lamping states that he had never seen the Arab so 
 polished and attractive as at Coleah, not even at Algiers and Oran : in 
 those towns their intercourse with the Franks having called forth all their 
 rapacity, and spoiled the simplicity of their manners. 
 
 A corrupt Spanish, called Unyua franca, is spoken in all the towns of 
 
 * St. Marie, p. 98 ot seqq. 
 
 t Three forts are built on the Pointe Pescade, the west limit of the Bay of Algiers. 
 The first at which you arrive from the capital consists of a semicircular battery ; the 
 second forms a large tower ; and the third, to the east of the latter, consist* of a rectan- 
 gular battery. St. Mario (1845).
 
 THE COL OF MOUSSAIA. 137 
 
 Algeria near the sea, including Coleah, which is held in great reverence 
 by the Arabs, as it contains the vault of Abd-el-Kader, in which are de- 
 posited the bodies of several members of his family. The French, to 
 their credit, have spared this tomb. The Hadjutes inhabiting the Sahel 
 mountains, to the westward of Coleah, were the most thievish set of fel- 
 lows in Africa at the time of Lamping' s residence, and long kept the 
 baulleiie or precincts of Algiers in agitation and terror, kidnapping and 
 violating unprotected females, and ripping up or decapitating stray sol- 
 diers and colonists. The country is now, of course, as safe as the 
 Boulevards or the Elysian Fields. 
 
 Coleah lies iu a gorge ;* and as there is no lack of water there, the 
 most abundant vegetation prevails on all hands, and the soldiers were 
 delighted and astonished at the extreme richness of the scene. The 
 luxuriant aloe sends up its blossoms to a height of twenty feet, and a 
 species of sedgy rush grows as high as a house of moderate size. 
 
 The chief wealth of the inhabitants consists in large herds of cattle, 
 and in fruit-trees and gardens ; it is surrounded by the most magnificent 
 fruit-trees as far as the eye can reach, including fig-trees and pomegranates, 
 which were then ripe, and on which the soldiers of the Foreign Legion 
 feasted sumptuously, though somewhat adventurously, as the figs in par- 
 ticular are apt to beget dysentery. 
 
 The wild laurel grows in great quantities near the town, and attains 
 a very considei*able height ; and M. Lamping adds, " I can boast of 
 having tasted the fruit of the laurel as well as the leaf." All the Arabs 
 of any education or wealth used at that time to assemble in the coffee- 
 house, to whom it supplied the place of theatres, concerts, balls, and tea- 
 parties. 
 
 On another occasion M. Lamping paid a visit to the interior of the 
 province, when the battalion to which he belonged was ordered to march 
 towards Blidah across the plain at the foot of the Sahel mountains. This 
 ridge of the chain is low at that point ; it is highest near Algiers : but 
 it contained most beautiful and fruitful valleys, in which were forsaken 
 gardens and villas which once belonged to the Moors. The heights are 
 covered with dwarf oaks and other shrubs, which shelter great numbers of 
 wild boars, smaller and less fierce than those of Europe. The natives 
 assert, that the Spaniards brought these unclean animals into the country 
 out of spite ; and as swine are an abomination to the Mahometan and may 
 not be eaten, the breed increased rapidly. t 
 
 The sharp and broken outline of the mountains, and the dark foliage 
 of the olives, pines, and cedars which clothe their sides, give a singularly 
 wild and sombre character to the Atlas ran^e. 
 
 At the time of Lamping's visit the road through the Chiffa pass 
 
 * The French in Algiers, &c. p. 9. t Ibid. p. 7 
 
 9
 
 138 EXPEDITION TO THE SOUTH. 
 
 had not been made ; and his battalion hatl to cross the Col de Mous- 
 saia, or Mouzaia, a much more fatiguing and lengthy way : from the foot 
 of the Col de Moussaia up to its highest point is fully seven hours' march. 
 The Fountain de la Croix, which you meet on the Col, takes its name from 
 a huge cross cut into the living rock, probably by the Spaniards as a pious 
 memorial of their conquest.* A large olive-grove grows at the foot of the 
 Col on the southern side. 
 
 M edeah is one of the oldest cities of Africa, standing on a plateau which 
 terminates on two sides in an abrupt precipice, and is therefore easily de- 
 fended. The town is surrounded by the most splendid fruit-gardens ; and 
 a Roman aqueduct, still in good preservation, conveys water to it from a 
 neighbouring mountain, and proves the high antiquity of the place. It 
 is inhabited by Jews and Arabs, who seem devoted to the French. "We 
 pitched our tents," says M. Lamping, " close to the town, beside a brook, 
 where exquisite oranges out of a garden close by offered us some compen- 
 sation for the fatigue we had undergone." 
 
 Leaving Medeah, they continued their route due south, and marched 
 several days, their road always lying up or down hill. The heat was ex- 
 cessive, and their marches were at the rate of from four to six leagues 
 (10 to 15 miles) per day. They found the valleys extensively Cultivated 
 with large crops of corn and rice, but no inhabitants ; and they only per- 
 ceived a few miserable hovels of rushes and skins of beasts ; yet in former 
 years this tract of country must have been thickly peopled, from the ceme- 
 teries of enormous extent appearing in many places. The Bedouins in 
 this part of the country are, however, now too poor to buy tents, and 
 hence they build the wretched hovels previously described. 
 
 They were now in the old province of Tittery, among the mountains 
 of the second Atlas range, which at this point is not divided by any con- 
 siderable rivers or valleys from the Lesser Atlas. It is, in fact, impossible 
 to tell where the one ceases and the other begins ; all is mountain. Far- 
 ther west, on the contrary, the extensive plain watered by the Shellif 
 forms the natural division between the chains. After several days' march, 
 the mountains, which had hitherto been covered with mere brushwood, be- 
 came more wooded and romantic in appearance. They passed through 
 immense forests of olives, firs, and junipers, the latter of which grew to a 
 considerable height. It is remarkable, that on the very highest point of 
 all these mountains there stands a marabout. These buildings are, at the 
 same time, the temples and the mausoleums ofthe Bedouin priests. They 
 are usually small buildings, from thirty to forty feet square, surmounted 
 by a cupola, and commonly built of rough stone and whitewashed. t 
 
 Continuing their progress, they turned somewhat westward; and the 
 
 1 This conjecture is quite gratuitous on the part ofM Lamping. May not the cross 
 i monument of early Christianity and of the North African Church? 
 t Pp. 49, 50.
 
 THE LITTLE DESERT. 139 
 
 column drew nigh to the Little Desert, or the Desert of Angad, as it is 
 sometimes named. 
 
 One fine morning, after a two hours' march, the Lesser Desert was he- 
 fore them ; and a most cheerless prospect did it afford. To the southward 
 nothing was to be seen but an undulating surface of shifting sand ; on the 
 east and west alone the Atlas range was still visible. The palm grows 
 better than any other tree in this scorching soil ; but it was only from 
 time to time that they found one, and then so stunted and withered was it 
 that it could afford no shelter to the weary wanderer. The palm is seldom 
 found in groups, — generally single, or in twos and threes ; hence the natives 
 call this tree the 'hermit.' To their great joy, they soon turned westward, 
 always following the track of a caravan. The heat was burning, and 
 they marched up to their ankles in sand • but towards evening they 
 reached a spot recently deserted by Bedouins, with several deep cisterns 
 of water, not good enough to drink, but sufficient for cooking, and refresh- 
 ing their cattle. These cisterns are filled during the rainy season, and some 
 water remains in them till far in the summer. The next day they turned 
 still more to the westward; and towards evening they reached the foot of 
 the mountains, and bivouacked beside a brook. 
 
 On their return from these burning regions of the south, the column 
 once more crossed the steeps of the Atlas chain, where they found the air 
 sharp and piercing, even in summer ; and while they could scarcely breathe 
 for the heat below, on the top of the ridge they buttoned up their capotes 
 (greatcoats) to their very chins. On these airy heights they appeared 
 to be in the land of vultures and eagles, which soared and screamed 
 around them by hundreds. 
 
 Marching back they followed another route ; and on leaving Medeah 
 they crossed the main ridge of the Lesser Atlas to the west of the Col de 
 Moussaia, through some defiles which took the whole day to pass. They 
 had not, however, to climb so great an elevation as at the Col, as they 
 followed the course of a mountain torrent which forms several consider- 
 able waterfalls, the heights on either side being covered with the finest 
 pine and olive trees, and the whole scene being wildly beautiful. 
 
 Immediately above Milianah is the highest point" of the Lesser Atlas; 
 and the town is built half-way up the mountain, ou a plateau which falls 
 abruptly on three sides. The town contained at that time few buildings 
 Avorth looking at, except the palace of the Emir; but the French had re- 
 paired and considerably strengthened the fortifications of the place. 
 
 Dropping M. Lamping, it is our present purpose to accompany the 
 Count de Castellane-j- in some of his rides in the interior of this province. 
 
 * This is not strictly correct, the Zakkar above Milianah being 1900 feet lower than 
 the Djorjora belonging to the same chain. See p. 38. 
 
 + Souvenirs de la Vie Militaire en Afrique, par le Comte P. de Castellane (now Marshal), 
 1352.
 
 140 SERGEANT BLANDAN. 
 
 An hour after leaving the heights of Ouled-Mandil on the Sahel, Count 
 cle Castellane entered Bouffarik. Built on an unhealthy spot, in a place 
 where, according to an Arab adage, not even the snails can live, Bouffarik, 
 notwithstanding its unhealthiness, which has several times devoured its 
 population, is indebted to its central position for a certain degree of pro- 
 sperity. Thanks to the works that have been begun, it is anticipated that 
 its terrible fevers will disappear. They only passed through this embryo 
 town, stopping a few minutes at the cafe of Mere Gaspard, a noted gipsy 
 ccmtiniere (canteen-keeper), who has erected a splendid hotel and cafe at 
 Bouffarik, adorned with engravings of Horace Vernet's best pictures, pre- 
 sented by the artist himself. 
 
 Before you arrive at Beni-Merecl, you see the column erected to Ser- 
 geant Blandan and his brave comrades. On the 11th April, 1840, the 
 mail started from Bouffarik for Algiers, under the escort of a brigadier 
 (non-commissioned officer) and four Chasseurs d'Afrique, who were accom- 
 panied by Sergeant Blandan and fifteen infantry soldiers who were going 
 to rejoin their regiments. They were advancing quickly, without having 
 seen a single Arab, wdien suddenly four hundred horsemen rushed upon 
 the little band from the ravine that precedes Beni-Merecl. The Arab chief 
 rode up to the sergeant, calling out to him to surrender. A shot was his 
 answer ; and forming a square, the French soldiers faced the enemy. 
 The bullets were bringing them down one after the other, but the sur- 
 vivors closed up without flinching. "Defend yourselves to the death !" ex- 
 claimed the sergeant as he was hit, " face the enemy !" and he fell at the 
 feet of his comrades. Only five men remained of the twenty-five, cover- 
 ing with their bodies the dispatches that had been confided to them, 
 when the sound of horses' hoofs, galloping up at full speed, gave them 
 new life and hopes. Presently from a cloud of dust there darted forth 
 a body of horse, who rushing on the Arabs sent them flying. The rescuer 
 was Joseph de Breteuil and his chasseurs. He w r as ordering the horses 
 to be watered at Bouffarik when he heard the firing. Immediately, only 
 giving time to his troopers to seize their swords, M. de Breteuil set off* full 
 speed, followed by his chasseurs, mounted at hazard. He plunged the first 
 into the tumult ; and thanks to his rapid energy, he was able to save these 
 martyrs to military honour. The rescuer received the same recompense 
 as the rescued, Breteuil and the survivors being all named members of 
 the Legion of Honour in the same ordonnance of the king. 
 
 The road to Blidah crosses the site of a wood of orange-trees cut 
 down by General Duvivier in the name of military engineering. During 
 two years did these trees serve to warm the troops ; and what remains 
 of them around the town is sufficiently beautiful to make a residence at 
 Blidah delightful.* 
 
 Having been presented to General Changarnier, they shortly left Bli- 
 
 * Castellane, pp. 5, 6.
 
 THE ZACCAR. 141 
 
 dah, escorting him on the road to Milianah. They followed a westerly 
 direction, hugging the mountains that rise to the south of the plain. At 
 two leagues from Blidah they forded the Chiffa torrent, there 100 metres 
 (328 feet) in width, with a deep and rapid current ; and they soon after 
 reached Bou-Roumi, where they halted an hour, hefore climbing the hills 
 that separate the plain from the valley of the Ouad-Ger. 
 
 It was not usual to follow the valley of the Ouad-Ger when the com- 
 munications between Milianah and Blidah were not open ; its steep ac- 
 clivities, covered with lentisks and evergreen oaks, presenting too great 
 difficulties. The road of the columns, longer but more secure, used to 
 pass over the ridges and abut in like manner at the marabout of Sidi- 
 Abd-el-Kader, where they were to bivouac in the evening. Accordingly 
 at three o'clock, after having crossed the Ouad-Ger eighteen times, they 
 rejoined the troops that had started the night before, and their tents 
 were pitched under the aged olive-trees that were still respected by the 
 French axe. The next morning they crossed the valley of the Ouad- 
 Adelia, which consisted of heavy clay, following a southerly direction. 
 Two roads were now before them : one of which ascends towards Milianah 
 by the slopes of the Gontas and the valley of the Shellif ; whilst the other 
 passes by the country of the Righas, and reaches the town by winding 
 along the declivities of the Zaccar. The latter was the shorter, and was 
 selected by them ; and having reached the plateaux of the Righas, they 
 saw before them, on the other side of an immense woody ravine, Milianah, 
 built on the summit of a rock, surrounded by gardens and verdure. 
 
 An hour after leaving the fountain of the Trembles, they entered Mi- 
 lianah by its northern gate. 
 
 Zaccar signifies that which refuses or will not suffer itself to be ascended ; 
 and this name is given by the Arabs to the long rocky ridge which com- 
 mands Milianah on the north side. The town is built on a plateau at 
 the foot of the mountain, and advances like a promontory over the last 
 slopes which continue for the space of a league as far as the valley of the 
 Shellif. From the sides of the Zaccar, and from Milianah itself, gush forth 
 abundant rivulets, diffusing a delightful coolness on all sides ; and around 
 the town extend those gardens so celebrated throughout Algeria : lichens, 
 mosses of all kinds, a thousand plants with long stems, seem to encircle 
 the white houses and tile-roofs of Milianah with a belt of verdure. At a 
 distance the eye is deceived, and perceives nothing but a smiling scene ; 
 but if you draw near, you find nothing but waited sepulchres. 
 
 A main street designed by the French, containing a number of canteen- 
 shops, traverses half the town, and stops short at the Arab quarter, near 
 the minaret of a ruined mosque. The martial notes of the French clarions 
 have long succeeded the cry of the muezzin, calling the faithful to prayer 
 from its summit. This town had been a kind of advanced post down to 
 1811 ; but after that date it became, with Medeah, the basis of the French
 
 142 THE LITTLE ROSE. 
 
 operations in Algeria. By ascending the minaret of the old mosque you 
 easily perceive the importance of the position, for you see all the country 
 that it commands : on one side the rolling mammelons or hills that 
 separate it from Medeah ; then the valley of the Shellif running east and 
 west ; and beyond that the rock of Ouar-Senis, commanding the Kabyle 
 mountains, whose conquest has cost so much blood and treasure. It is a 
 magnificent picture. The country that separates Medeah from Milianah 
 is called the Djendel* 
 
 On another occasion Count de Castellane inarched with his column from 
 Medeah to Blidah, on his return from the successful expedition undertaken 
 to put down the great insurrection of 1845. They passed through the 
 gorge of the Chiffa, which the Count describes as one of the wonders of 
 Africa, and one of the beauties of the world. Picture to yourself, through 
 a precipitous cutting five leagues in length, a splendid road twenty- five 
 feet in breadth, in some places opened through the rock by blasting, and in 
 other places encroaching on the torrent, which has been forced to yield up 
 part of its bed. Lichens and all manner of shrubs flourish in the crevices 
 of the rocks ; and in some favoured places, where the mould has not been 
 washed away, actual forests tower overhead. The river Chiffa has worn 
 a serpentine channel through these rocks, and receives in its bosom the 
 numerous cascades that come tinkling down the wall-like rocks. Suddenly, 
 as you advance, the horizon expands, you issue from prison, and your 
 dazzled eyes rest on the long range of hills that bound the Mitidja, — on the 
 sea, which appears through the cutting of Mazafran, — and on this immense 
 plain, so beautiful when seen at a distance. 
 
 In the course of an hour you reach Blidah. Mohamed-ben-Yousef, the 
 traveller, whose sayings have become popular in Algeria, pronounced of 
 Blidah, " You are styled a little town ; I call you a little rose." No de- 
 scription can be more exact. Blidah appears with indescribable grace 
 among woods of orange-trees, whose perfume announces your approach 
 while you are still far off. The French maintain that they have embel- 
 lished Blidah with all the excellences of French art ; yet notwithstanding 
 all their embellishments, it has managed to remain a very charming town, 
 — in short, the little rose of Mohamed-ben-Yousef. + 
 
 The country known by the name of the Ouar-Senis extends between 
 the valley of the Shellif to the north and the Little Desert to the south, 
 having a length of about 15 leagues (37£ miles). It is a vast assemblage 
 of mountains, which rise successively to the rocky ridge placed in the 
 centre, a regular knot binding together all this labyrinth of precipices, of 
 ravines, and of gigantic eminences. The rocky ridge in question has a 
 length of 1500 metres (4920 feet), rises above the plateau which forms its 
 base to the height of GOO feet, and is protected by precipitous sides. Its 
 summit is inaccc.-sible save by means of paths only fit for goats, and runs 
 * Castellane, p. 21. Ibid. p. 248.
 
 THE MARCH. 
 
 143 
 
 in an east and west direction; and at the latter end, after presenting a 
 col or neck which answers for a pass, a rocky eminence protrudes in the 
 shape of a dome, towering ahove the rest of the l-idge. The reader may 
 imagine the difficult nature of a country where narrow footpaths, on all 
 sides commanded hy eminences and woody plateaux, wind along the flank 
 of the mountains, only leaving a free passage for one man. This dan- 
 gerous ground is inhabited hy wild and warlike Kahyles,* sprung from 
 that old Berber blood which has ever offered the material of resistance to 
 established authority. They consist of the Beni-Eyndel, the Beni-bou- 
 douan, the Beni-Rhalia, the Beni-bou-Atab, the Beni-bou-Kanous, the 
 Beni-bou-Chaib, &c. ; tribes with republican forms, only obeying «a djemaa 
 (assembly or commission) named by the whole people ; independent, ever- 
 lastingly quarrelling, yet united against the common enemy. These tribes 
 had already encountered the French soldiers before Castellane's campaign 
 (1813). The first occasion was at the Ouad-Foddha, of glorious memory ; 
 later, in November 1842, they were obliged to succumb to the French 
 columns that furrowed their territory anew ; but Abd-el-Kader excited 
 them to arms once more in 1843. Sicli-Embarek was then in the Ouar- 
 Senis with his regular battalions, and endeavoured to stimulate the moun- 
 taineers to revolt. 
 
 Three columns were destined to operate in that country, under the 
 supreme command of General Changarnier. Each of them had received 
 precise instructions, and the common rendez /ous was the Medina of the 
 Beni-bou-Deuan, a Kabyle village, or rather town, situated among those 
 mountains. Castellane's column, under the immediate command of Chan- 
 gamier, marched direct for the cathedral, as the soldiers had christened the 
 rocky ridge above mentioned. The 10th of May, under a bright sun and 
 with gay hearts, they issued from the gate of Milianah, descending the 
 narrow path which leads in a westerly direction to the valley of the Shellif. 
 They were accompanied by 150 horse, who were to attempt on the mor- 
 row to surprise a Kabyle village. Scarcely had they reached the valley, 
 ere the clarions sounded a halt to give the column time to close up ; then, 
 all in order, they started afresh. They were in a friendly and open coun- 
 try; and though their arms were loaded, they marched without precaution. 
 First came the general, followed by the cavalry ; then the infantry, pre- 
 ceded by a company of sappers with mules carrying implements. This 
 company was ordered to march on, without caring for the cavalry or the 
 general. Behind them came a part of the infantry ; then the mountain guns, 
 with their little pieces on the backs of mules with roughed shoes; the ambu- 
 lance or hospital apparatus, with its red flag, followed together with a con- 
 voy of provisions ; lastly the baggage of the corps, sumpter horses, mules, 
 or asses, under the surveillance of non-commissioned officers, and followed 
 
 * The native population is divided into two broad distinctions : 1st, the Arabs ; 2d, 
 the Kabyles or Berbers.
 
 144 WILDS AND WASTES. 
 
 by a numerous infantry that closed the march, having at the extreme rear- 
 guard mules with cacolets* in case of accidents or diseases. From time to 
 time the general's aid-de-camps ascertained that the column advanced in 
 good order ; and at every hour the chief of the staff ordered a halt to be 
 sounded, to give ten minutes' rest to the foot-soldiers, with their heavy 
 load of eight days' provision. It is usual to give an hour and a half's rest 
 about half-way, for the soldiers to make and drink their coffee-soup, i. e. 
 biscuit broken up in coffee, all dipping into a common dish. Such is the 
 common order of the march in Africa. 
 
 "We were now marching in the valley of the Shellif," says Castellane, 
 " through magnificent corn-fields, smoking and talking, laughing and sing- 
 ing, or silent and thoughtful, as the mood might be ; but very happily, sad- 
 ness was not in fashion anions: us." 
 
 After a succession of halts, the column had arrived at the bivouacking 
 place, near the stone bridge built over the Shellif by Omar Pasha ; and, 
 as usual, the portable city was pitched with an admirable dispatch. 
 
 The next morning, at the diane,\ the band of the 58th played a gay 
 reveil ; and after coughing a little, and dispelling the morning fog by a 
 draught of brandy, they resumed their march, following, as the night be- 
 fore, the valley of the Shellif. In the evening they stopped at the Ouad- 
 Eouina. In the night the cavalry and two battalions started to surprise 
 the Kabyle village of the Berkanis; but being discovered, the affair ended 
 in a little peppering. The following evening they rejoined the bivouac ; 
 and the next morning the cavalry returned to Milianah, whilst the head of 
 their column entered the valley of the Ouad-Eouina. A few hours later 
 they encountered the bad roads of the Ouar-Senis. One by one, mules, 
 soldiers, and convoy advanced in file along these narrow paths, which con- 
 tinually ascend, winding up the flanks of the mountains among pines. 
 This was a hard time for the infantry ; for to the right and left of the 
 convoy some battalions were directed to protect it, cutting across the 
 country without any track ; at one time descending the ravines, at another 
 mounting the steeps, encountering terrible fatigues, rendered necessary 
 by war to insure the safety of all. 
 
 Though they had been in an enemy's country for two days, they had 
 not yet met any one ; every where they found nothing but the calm of 
 emptiness, — a kind of desert, — when suddenly, in front of them, they be- 
 held five or six hundred Arabs, excited and raising loud shouts, on an 
 
 * Portable chairs for the wounded, carried on the hacks of mules, of which St. Marie 
 (p. 22) gives the ensuing description : " Cacolets are a kind of pack-saddle of wood and 
 iron, carried <>n the backs of mules, and supportin • on each side chairs of iron, made to 
 up in a small compass, so that the mule may set out with expeditions carrying pro- 
 visions, and return with a load of wounded men, who must be so seated in the chair as to 
 form a counterpoise to each other. Some of these cacolets are so ingeniously constructed 
 .is to spread out like a bed." 
 
 + The trumpet-call to rouse the troops.
 
 THE RIDGE. 145 
 
 eminence that commanded the narrow path. The halt was sounded. The 
 general formed the Chasseurs d'Orleans in the vanguard; then he started, 
 himself at their head, to drive off the enemy. Under shelter of the figs 
 and other trees that clothed this knoll, the Chasseurs d'Orleans escaladed it 
 at a nin, notwithstanding the fire of the Kabyles, whom they soon drove 
 back with the bayonet. A considerable number of the natives bit the dust, 
 and the others sustained a vigorous chase; and the French returned with 
 a flock which they found in the wood, some killed and some wounded, — but 
 such is war. Meanwhile the convoy, having passed through the defile 
 after it had crossed a ravine, had established itself near the little town of 
 Beni-bou-Deuan. The houses of this town, which are built of wood and 
 plaster, have a great resemblance to the hovels of the French peasants in 
 Picardy. They are solid, defying rain and storms ; yet the soldiers had 
 soon gutted them, for the dry wood they afforded gave out less smoke, and 
 made better soup. Accordingly, in the space of two days, during which 
 they awaited the other columns, not a few of them were destroyed ; and all 
 would have been converted into fuel, had not Colonel Picouleau and his 
 troops soon arrived. 
 
 All the Arab accounts agreed in stating that there was a gathering of 
 the population in the direction of the Ouar-Senis. These accounts were 
 correct; and on the morning of the 18th of May, a few moments after 
 crossing the Ouad-Foddha and becoming implicated in a defile, they per- 
 ceived some Arab horsemen; and on debouching on the large plateau at 
 the base of the rocky ridge previously described, they saw the enemy. 
 
 The French arrived from the eastward, parallel to the south side of the 
 ridge. Before them stretched away a vast plateau covered with trees, 
 with verdure, vines, houses, and gardens. To the west the plateau termi- 
 nated in a high sugar-loaf mountain, separated from the rocky ridge by a 
 col answering the purpose of a pass. This plateau stopped short to the 
 south, at a ravine in which there flowed a river. The ridge might be 
 about 1500 metres (4920 feet) in length, and was surrounded by indented 
 rocks ; the precipices of the ridge rising sharp, like walls, from the last 
 slopes, to a considerable height. The whole mountain towered above 
 the plateau to a height of about 600 feet. Some pines and other trees 
 fringed the steep slopes, and stopped where the rock became vertical, but 
 climbed higher at two opposite spots, which seemed to. shew that there 
 existed two means of access to the summit. In other respects, nothing 
 could be more charming than this plateau; a real oasis, which on two sides 
 stood out in all its fresh verdure from amongst a rampart of greyish rocks, 
 whilst towards the left the eye wandered over a line of endless mammdons 
 (undulations) to the blue horizon of Tiaret. On their arrival they saw 
 the horsemen of Sidi-Embarek ride off to the southward, and numerous 
 Kabyles flying along the woody slopes; but from the top of the rock a 
 confused and muffled sound and agitation reached their ears, and some- 
 
 K
 
 140 ATTEMPT AT STORMING. 
 
 times loud cries. At intervals some Kabyles appeared on the ridge; and 
 a singular effect was produced by scattered groups of horsemen, who, sus- 
 pended on some almost inaccessible heights, stood out in bold relief against 
 the azure sky. 
 
 The twenty-five horsemen, their only cavalry, were immediately thrown 
 out in the direction of the col ; and the Chasseurs d'Orleans, who that day 
 formed the vanguard, throwing off their knapsacks, ran in to support the 
 little knot of horsemen. Two other companies swept the slopes with the 
 bayonet, while the rest of the column established its bivouac in the gar- 
 dens. The attack was immediately planned. Lieutenant-Colonel Forey, 
 of the 58th of the line, with the Gth battalion of chasseurs and some com- 
 panies of his own regiment, Avas to attempt an escalade to the east. Two 
 battalions of the 58th and Colonel dTllens were to try and storm the 
 ridge by a ravine that ran two-thirds of the way up its sides. It was 
 about 1 p. in. ; a bright sun was reflected from the arms and the rocks. 
 The general was in the centre under some great trees, giving his orders 
 Avith his usual precision and clearness. Castellane and the staff were near 
 him, looking at this magnificent panorama, when some gun-shots and the 
 drums beating a charge startled them on the left. These sounds gave 
 birth to a neAV force, an unknown ardour in the sovd. A few seconds 
 later, the company of chasseurs whom they had seen exchanging shots Avith 
 the Kabyles in a fir-wood, and trying to avoid the masses of rock rolled 
 down upon them by the enemy, passed on to rejoin its battalion, Captain 
 Soumain at its head, all bruised by an ox that had been cast down upon 
 him. The firing became sharper to the east ; and a horseman soon rode 
 up to announce the capture of the smala of Sidi-Embarek by the Duke 
 of Aumale. 
 
 At this moment Castellane moved to the east, near the Chasseurs 
 d'Orleans. Arrived at the foot of the rock with a part of the battalion, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Forey, an old chasseur officer, ordered the men to un- 
 filing their rifles. " We have to escalade the rocks, my lads, Avith spirit : 
 remember you are the Chasseurs d'Orleans." Immediately the charge 
 sounded, and on they dashed over the roots and rocks and broken ground, 
 climbing and leaping like apes, mastering all obstacles, despising the balls 
 that fell direct among them, and the rocks rolled down on their heads by 
 the Kabyles. Thus climbing up on all-fours, they reached a point beyond 
 which to advance Avas impossible. Every Kabyle who peeped over the 
 ridge was reached by their bullets, but many of their hands were crushed 
 by the rocks sent doAvn from above. Tt Avas a curious sight ; a scene of 
 the middle ages; you might have taken it for the assault of one of those 
 ancient castles built on the brink of some precipice. 
 
 As soon as the general came up, he ordered a retreat, to sav;e the lives 
 of the brave chasseurs. A Kabyle prisoner pointed out two narroAV paths 
 by which the enemy had reached the summit, Avhich they considered ini-
 
 TENIET-EL-HAD. 147 
 
 pregnable, the tracks being so bad that the cattle had to be drawn up by 
 ropes. But as there was no water, a blockade of three days was sure to 
 enforce a surrender. 
 
 The 58th had bravely tried to mount, but had been balked by a rocky 
 ravine with a slight loss, including Colonel d'illens. 
 
 The column, divided into two corps, guarded the north and south-east 
 slopes; while the reserve and convoy were established in the midst of gar- 
 dens, where the pomegranate-trees, interlacing their red flowers with the 
 large vines that ran from tree to tree, afforded an agreeable shelter to the 
 weary troops. At night the bivouac fires sparkled like so many stars 
 along the slopes of the mountain ; and an enormous flame, no doubt some 
 signal, shone forth at the east end of the rock ; whilst overhead towered 
 the limpid vault of heaven, into whose depths the eye loved to wander. 
 A large fire of olive-wood gave a pleasant warmth to the staff-officers, who 
 passed the evening in smoking and chatting; while Captain Carayon-La- 
 tour, one of the best trumpet-players in France, woke up the magnificent 
 echoes of the mountains with his hunting airs. 
 
 The blockade continued till the 28th, when the thirst on the ridge 
 reached an extreme that forced the chiefs to demand aman (terms) from 
 the general about twelve o'clock. It was a wild sight to behold the flocks 
 rush like an avalanche down the dizzy steeps to the river; while from 
 the rock whole tribes of men poured down like a torrent, amidst shouts, 
 tumult, and dust. Sheep, goats, oxen, women, and children, altogether 
 ran down to the water, while the men, with fierce countenances, suffered in 
 sullen silence. The soldiers made a glorious supper that night on Kabyle 
 sheep. 
 
 Thus all the population of the southern part of the Ouar-Senis was 
 subdued at a blow ; but the northern tribes had still to be brought into 
 subjection. Accordingly on the 24th they started with ten thousand head 
 of cattle for Teniet-el-Had, a new post established at the watershed three 
 leagues from the plateaux of the Serssous. Two days afterwards they 
 passed through the magnificent cedar-forest, from which you get a sight 
 of Teniet-el-Had. The variety of views and of the scenery, its extent of 
 nearly five leagues, and the splendid size of the trees, make this forest 
 one of the most curious spots in Africa ; yet it is not safe to venture there 
 alone, as on all sides there may be seen traces in the shape of a hand- 
 grenade, which indicate the presence of lions. Colonel Korte, of the 1st 
 Chasseurs d'Afrique, was then the commandant superior of Teniet-el-Had; 
 a man of estimable character, of a daring heart, and a perfect horseman. 
 In July 1812, under Changarnier, he made a gallant razzia on Ain-Tesem- 
 sil, a plateau of the Serssous. With 200 chasseurs, supported by zouaves, 
 he made a dash at a post of flying Arabs guarded by 1500 horsemen. The 
 least hesitation would have been destruction ; but he knew his men and 
 his foe, and he cut off" the retreat of the fugitives, throwing them back on
 
 148 TENIET-EL-HAD. 
 
 the French column. There was much firing, and many chasseurs bit the 
 dust; but Korte brought into camp two thousand camels, eighty thousand 
 head of cattle, an immense booty, and a great number of prisoners. 
 
 While this razzia, justly celebrated throughout the province of Algiers, 
 was related to them, the staff and column reached the new post. Teniet- 
 el-Had (the col or pass of Sunday), thus named from an Arab market that 
 is held there on that day, had only been occupied by the French since May 
 (1843). No building had at that time been erected, and a simple earthen 
 ditch protected the soldiers who were encamped under the great tents of 
 the administration ; but the climate was healthy, and the morale of the 
 troops excellent, hence there were but few sick. The column found pro- 
 visions prepared for them there by the foresight of the general, and after 
 a short stay they departed once more for the mountains of Ouar-Senis. 
 But the lesson they had received had quelled the insurrection of the moun- 
 taineers; they received the submission of numerous tribes, and were forced 
 to return to Milianah on the 7th of June through lack of provisions.* 
 
 * Castellane's Souvenirs, p. 59.
 
 GATE OF ORAN. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 $3robm« of ©ran. Cl)c Coast. 
 
 OUTLINE OF THE COAST MOSTAGANEM AKZED ORAN NEMOURS OKAN 
 
 MERS-EL-KEDIR THE GULF OF AKZED ANTIQUITIES — ST. MARIE — ORIGIN 
 
 OF MOSTAGANEM. 
 
 The next province tliat we shall describe and analyse is that of Oran, 
 following the series adopted by the Tableau and M. Berbrugger. 
 This land of the west, the cradle and home of Abd-el-Kader, has been the 
 nursery of the boldest spirits and the theatre of the most daring exploits 
 in Algeria. 
 
 The province contains 102,000 square kilometres (39,270 square 
 miles) ; and 275 tribes, including 000,000 souls, besides 35,2-16 Europeans 
 and 21,630 natives in the towns : total 656,870. 
 
 We shall, as usual, first give a broad survey of the province, beginning 
 with the sea-shore. Following the coast to the west of Tenes we come to the 
 Darha district, part of which belongs to the subdivision of Mostaganem, in 
 the province of Oran; and after passing the L>jebel Minis, or mountain of salt, 
 and the Zour-el-Hummam, we come to the mouth of the river Shellif, the
 
 150 ARZEU. 
 
 largest and most celebrated stream in Algeria.* It flows during the greater 
 part of its course in the province of Algeria, and has been already noticed 
 in detail. A short distance to the west of the Shellif we come to Mosta- 
 ganem, so called, according to Blofeld, from the sweetness of the mutton 
 fed in its neighbourhood. This town is built in the form of an amphi- 
 theatre, with a free prospect of the sea ; but in every other direction it is 
 enclosed by a circuit of hills which overhang it. The inhabitants have a 
 tradition, confirmed by some vacant spaces, that the present town is com- 
 posed of several contiguous villages. In the middle of it, and near one of 
 these vacancies, are the remains of an old Moorish castle, erected, as it 
 appears from its construction, before the invention of fire-arms. The 
 north-west corner of the town, which overlooks part of the port and the 
 ditch, is surrounded by a strong wall of hewn stone, where there is another 
 castle built in a more regular manner. But Mostaganem being too much 
 exposed to every troop of Arabs who can take possession of the hills be- 
 hind it, its chief strength lies in a citadel situated upon one of these 
 eminences, which has a full command of the city and of the surrounding 
 country. The population in 1843 consisted of 2500 persons, exclusive of 
 the French garrison. Passing through a fine country, sheltered by a chain 
 of hills which bounds it to the south and south-east, the traveller comes to 
 Mazagran, a small mud-walled town situated on the western declivity of a 
 chain of hills, within a furlong of the sea. This is the place where, a few 
 years ago, it was stated by the French Government that 123 French sol- 
 diers had successfully resisted 7000 Arabs for three days. After calling 
 forth the powers of poetry and painting, Colonel Lievre's exploit turned 
 out to be a fabrication, if we may believe Mr. Blofeld. t 
 
 A short distance beyond this place is the river Sigg. The Habrah, 
 another considerable stream, falls into the former, whose mouth is called 
 El-Mockdah, the Ford, which, save in the rainy season, is entirely occu- 
 pied by the sand, leaving the passage without water. Not far hence, under 
 some steep rocky cliffs, are two small ports, one of Avhich opens towards 
 Mostaganem, the other towards the port of Arzeu, five miles heyond. 
 
 Arzeu, called by the Moors the port of Beni-Zeian, from the Kabyles 
 living near it, was formerly a large community. The land many miles 
 behind it presents a rich landscape ; but towards the sea rises a range 
 of steep rocks, forming a breakwater to the country. The water used 
 now by the people of Arzeu is brackish, being drawn from spots much 
 lower than the sea ; but the whole city was once built on cisterns, which 
 
 * Lieutenant Do France, who was taken captive by the Arabs at Arzeu in 1837, de- 
 scribes the Shellif as the principal river of the country, rising in the mountains south of 
 Miliana, running east and west, and falling into the sea near Cape Ivi, between the 
 Cape of Tenes and tho Gulf of Arzeu: The French in Algiers, translated by Lady Duff 
 Gordon, p. 124. 
 
 + Berbruyyor records it as a fact, part i.
 
 NEMOURS. 101 
 
 still remain ; and numerous ruins of aqueducts, temples (one in particular 
 in very good preservation), and other large buildings which lie scattered 
 along the coast, prove that formerly a very considerable city existed on 
 this spot. Leaving Arzeu we come to Cape Ferrat, remarkable for a high 
 rock which stands out to sea. At a short distauce from this cape is Gran. 
 
 Orau is an important fortified city, about a mile and a half in circum- 
 ference, built upon the declivity and near the foot of a high mountain. It 
 is naturally a place of great strength, and has been made much stronger by 
 art ; yet it is commanded by the neighbouring hills. Oran was taken by 
 the Spaniards in 1509, retaken by the Algerians in 1708, and taken once 
 more by the Spaniards in 1732, who left it finally in 1792, having adorned 
 it with several beautiful churches and other edifices in the Roman style 
 during their occupation. 
 
 With a fair wind, the passage hence to Carthagena in Spain takes fif- 
 teen hours. 
 
 The country surrounding Oran presents a variety of pleasing prospects 
 and cool retreats, numerous plantations of olives, picturesque rocky pre- 
 cipices, and rills of water trickling or rushing down them. Five miles 
 beyond Oran is Mers-el-Kebir, the Portus Magnus of the Romans, so called 
 by Pliny from its great size. This harbour is formed by a neck of land 
 which advances almost a furlong into the bay, sheltering it from the north 
 and north-east winds. Two leagues to the west is Cape Falcon, beyond 
 which are the isles of Ha-beeba ; and farther on is Figalo, not far from the 
 Sinan, the last of the brooks which fall into the Ouad-el-Mailah, " the salt 
 river," whose sources are situated at the southern confines of the plain of 
 Zeidoure, through which the stream glides in a variety of beautiful wind- 
 ings. It may not improbably be near this river, which might occasionally 
 be swollen by the rains, that the elder Barbarossa, after flying from Tlem- 
 sen, scattered about his treasure when he was pursued by the victorious 
 Spaniards, his last though ineffectual effort to retard the pursuit of his 
 enemies. The Ouad-el-Mailah, a little after its union with the Sinan, dis- 
 charges itself into the Harshgoun. 
 
 To the west of the latter are several ancient ruins called Tackumbreet, 
 where the city of Siga or Sigeum, once the metropolis of Sypliax and 
 other Mauritanian kings, was situated. Opposite Tackumbreet is a small 
 island, the Acra (A/vpa) of the ancient geographers, forming the port of 
 Harshgoun,* where ships of the greatest burden may lie in safety. Tack- 
 umbreet is on the western banks, near the mouth of the Tafna, the ancient 
 Siga, whose volume is formed by the Isser (Assanus), the Barbata, and 
 other tributaries.-]- 
 
 A short distance beyond the Tafna stands Djama-Ghazouat, which has 
 been named Nemours by the French, and constitutes their last post towards 
 
 • Rasbgoun, according to the Tableau. t Blofeld, p. 83.
 
 152 MERS-EL-KEBIR. 
 
 the frontiers of Morocco on the sea-board. This little town contained in 
 December 1847, 503 Europeans; in December 1848, 429; and in De- 
 cember 1849, 405. The number of natives in 1849 was 42. In De- 
 cember 1848, 950 metres (3116 feet) of water-conduits, and 250 (820 
 feet) of sewerage, had been opened, for 13,431 fr. [5371. 5s.) ; and 
 2492 fr. 4(3 ct. (991. lis. 2-kZ.) had been devoted to the improvement of 
 the fortifications. A debar cadcr e , or landing-place, has been also built 
 (1847), 44 metres (144-32 feet) in length, at an expense of 10,421 fr. 
 Analysing the fortifications, we find that the town wall, or enceinte, begun 
 in 1845, has been finished; that the curtain G-7 has been organised to- 
 gether with the interior communications ; that a cavalier has been built 
 on the terre-plein of bastion 3 ; and that a mule's road has been opened 
 from the town to the heights of Touent. The expense of the works has 
 amounted- to 32,720 fr. (1308Z. 16s. 8c/.), and it is calculated that their 
 completion will cost 200,000 fr. (8000/.)."' 
 
 As Nemours may almost be reckoned a new French colony, seeing the 
 small infusion of natives in its population, we shall revert to the state of 
 its agricultural and commercial industry in the chapter on Colonisation. 
 
 Six leagues to the west of the Tafna is Cape Hone, the foreland pro- 
 truding from the ridge of the Trara mountains, and corresponding to the 
 Great Promontory of Ptolemy. This cape nearly coincides with the 1° 40' 
 W. long, of Greenwich. A short distance to the west of Cape Hone is the 
 river Twunt, which with the Trara mountains has been commonly regarded 
 as the western limit of the province of Oran and of Algeria generally. 
 
 Before we pass to the survey of the interior, we shall linger a little 
 longer about the coast, and dwell more minutely on its individual features, 
 beginning with its capital. 
 
 The voyage from Algiers to Oran is usually performed in thirty hours, 
 touching at Scherschell, Tenes, Mostaganem, and Arzeu. Let us now 
 accompany Baron Baude and his disciple St. Marie to Mers-el-Kebir, 
 which they represent as a better port of refuge than Gibraltar, where the 
 sea is sometimes tremendous, the action of the winds terrible, and the 
 anchorage bad.f In December 1825, fifteen ships were cast away on its 
 shores ; but nothing of this kind is found at Mers-el-Kebir, where the sea 
 is not dangerous, and the anchorage might easily be made unassailable. 
 The possession of the fort of Mers-el-Kebir used to be regarded as the key 
 of Africa. It is of considerable extent, and the fire of its batteries sweeps 
 the bay, at the farther end of which is the city of Oran, unapproachable 
 by large ships on account of reefs and shallows. Mers-el-Kebir is a good 
 refuge for vessels in storms, situated at the eastern entrance of the channel 
 between Spain and Africa; and the currents of the shore, together with 
 Mie westerly winds which prevail during two-thirds of the year, drive into 
 
 * Tableau, &c. p. 43. f Baron Baude, vol. ii. c. x. p. 119.
 
 OR AX. 153 
 
 the bay vessels coming out of the Straits of Gibraltar, and check the 
 course of those seeking to enter the Atlantic.'"' Hence this would be a 
 good place to intercept the communication between the Mediterranean 
 and the Atlantic; and the correspondence of the Peninsula and Paris 
 through Perpignan might pass directly through Carthagena and the 
 richest part of Spain. f The most prominent part of the fort is sur- 
 mounted with a lighthouse. A broad well-made road leads hence to Oran ; 
 and when arrived half-way, St. Marie descended to a cavern forming two 
 grottoes, in the centre of each of which is a basin of water three feet below 
 the ground-level. The water is brown, cool, and brackish, the tempera- 
 ture 40 o of the centigrade thermometer, and is said to be useful in curing 
 cutaneous diseases. + 
 
 The position of Oran is delightful, forming an amphitheatre along two 
 banks of a shady ravine, commanded by the solid and lofty walls of the 
 Casbah. The appearance of the place shews its former importance ; and 
 the inhabitants are not in the miserable condition of the other towns of 
 Algeria. The men look strong and vigorous ; and naturally remembering 
 that the Spaniards, who once held the place for a long time, thought it 
 best at length to withdraw, probably anticipate the same result with the 
 French. Hence they are animated by an innate feeling of pride and in- 
 dependence, which nothing can subdue. 
 
 "Having crossed the ravine," proceeds St. Marie, "we entered a broad 
 well-paved street, planted with old trees, and leading by a gently winding 
 declivity to the highest point of the city. Here we came to the gates of 
 a barracked camp, adapted for infantry and cavalry, and at that time 
 (1845) occupied by the Foreign Legion." 
 
 When St. Marie reached this point, he entered on an extensive plain 
 beyond the city, where G700 Arab Gooms (irregulars) of the division of 
 Oran were being reviewed by General Thierry. The French possessions 
 in the province of Oran covered in 1845, according to St. Marie, a super- 
 ficies of 200 square leagues, the produce of which does not supply even 
 the city.§ Five leagues (12£ miles) to the north of the city is a bar- 
 ren plain, called by the Spaniards Telamina, the soil of which is mixed 
 with salt ; and to the south, masses of ruins shew the sites of Roman 
 settlements, probably abandoned on account of insalubrity. There an; 
 .some plantations of cotton and madder in this direction ; and prior to the 
 French occupation in 1832, the country about Oran presented a nourish- 
 ing aspect, but in 1845 there was nothing but ruins. 
 
 The city of Oran is built on two long plateaux, having a deep ravine 
 between them, containing a river which turns several mills and supplies 
 
 * Baron Baude, c. x. p. 119 ; St. Mario, p. 167, et seqq. 
 
 t Baron Baude, uhi supra. X St. Marie, p. 107. 
 
 § The Count must have made another grievous mistake here.
 
 154 ORAN. 
 
 the city with water. It was given up to the dey in 1791 by the Spaniards, 
 after an earthquake had destroyed every thing except the fort. Mount 
 Bammra rises 500 metres (1640 feet) above the sea, and commands the 
 city to the west, being surmounted by a fort called the Bastion of Santa 
 Cruz. At the outlet of the road from Mers-el-Kebir stands Fort St. Gre- 
 gory ; and to the south, on the sea-shore, is the Fort of Moune Point. The 
 western part of the city is terminated inland by the old Casbah, which is 
 used as barracks for infantry, the fortifications being in ruins. In the 
 opposite part of the city, on an eminence overlooking the sea, rise the fine 
 ramparts of the new Casbah : begun by the Spaniards, it was finished by 
 the bey,* who made it his residence. At the south end of this part of the 
 city stands the fort of St. Andrew. 
 
 In 1845 the houses at Oran were all in the Morisco style, with flat 
 terraced roofs; the streets were broad and straight; and it was remarkable 
 for the beauty of its chief mosque, ornamented with exquisite open-work 
 sculpture. The ravine between the two parts of the city is chiefly occupied 
 by gardens and orchards, in which the pale green of the banana contrasts 
 finely with the rich tints of the citron and pomegranate trees. But 
 European houses are already beginning to be built in this valley, so 
 that these blooming gardens will doubtless disappear by degrees. 
 
 We will next take a survey of Mers-el-Kebir and Oran, in the company 
 of our respected friend M. Berbrugger.t 
 
 Travellers seeking to reach Oran by water are commonly forced to 
 land a little to the westward, as merchant-vessels seldom, and ships of 
 war hai'dly ever, anchor before the town. The usual landing-place is 
 Mers-el-Kebir, or the great port, which you reach passing to the westward 
 of Oran, and leaving to the left the fort of Mouna, or rather Mona ; the 
 name being probably of Spanish origin, and bestowed on the place on 
 account of its being frequented by monkeys. Above Mona rises Fort 
 San Gregorio, itself commanded by that of Santa Cruz, which placed on 
 the culminating point of the mountain was held to be impregnable. The 
 little rocky summit on which it is built forms, with the extremity of a 
 neighbouring ridge, a very remarkahle embrasure, answering the purpose 
 of a landmark to seamen at some distance out at sea. 
 
 After passing Point Mona you enter the roads of Mers-el-Kebir, the 
 best shelter on the coast of Algeria, and the only spot where great ships 
 can hibernate. This bay is encompassed by very high land, save at its 
 extremity, where a decided sinking of the hills creates the embrasure pre- 
 viously noticed. Violent squalls are apt to sally forth from this gully, 
 even in summer ; and the Spaniards used to call these gusts of wind pol- 
 vorista (dust-bearing). 
 
 * St. Marie says ' dey ;' which is clearly an error, as the dey always resided at Algiers, 
 leaving Oran and Constautiua to the tender mercies of his beys; p. 175. 
 f Algcrie, part ii.
 
 ORAN. 155 
 
 The usual anchoring place is near the fort, a fine and solid Spanish 
 structure, built by the convicts of the presidios (garrison). It is partly 
 cut out of the rock on which its foundations stand, has an oblong form, 
 and occupies almost the whole of the little peninsula that forms the 
 northern point of the bay, and whose neck is closed by a bastion covered 
 by a little demi-lune. 
 
 This part of the fortification is formidable ; the ditches, which are 
 entirely dug in the rock, having a mean depth of at least 40 feet. Broad 
 platforms of paving-stones solidly cemented together can receive nu- 
 merous pieces of ordnance, which would be protected on the sea and 
 land sides by traverses in masonry of unusual strength and great fre- 
 quency. When M. de Bourmont ordered the evacuation of Oran in 1830, 
 they blew up part of the sea-batteries ; but the mischief has since been 
 repaired. The fort of Mers-el-Kebir, when the Freneh took possession in 
 1830, had 44 guns, 24 to 3-6 pounders : they were of Spanish origin. 
 
 At the east end of the fort stands the pharos, a little tower painted 
 white, whose summit only rises 28 metres (1)1 84 feet) above the sea. It 
 was for a long time only furnished with a tin lantern and a long candle : 
 it was provided in 1843 with a fixed light, raised 26 metres (85-28 feet), 
 and discernible a leajme off". 
 
 O 
 
 There are two ways of reaching Oran, one by sea and the other by 
 land. Though the distance by water is only three miles, the passage is 
 often retarded, especially during east and north-east winds. The road by 
 land follows the maritime declivity of the mountains that form the bay. 
 
 The new road, that has supplanted the old footpath, doubles Point 
 Mona under Fort St. Gregory, and passes over a vast grotto hollowed in 
 the mountain, into which the sea enters by an artificial opening, and 
 where vessels are sheltered by artificial means that are placed there in 
 stormy weather. In the same locality are great excavations, that answer 
 the purpose of warehouses, that have been made in the rock itself, which 
 is easy to work. Yet these vast underground passages, which have been 
 too much extended, do not possess all the solidity that is desirable, and 
 since the year 1831 they have been injured by several landslips. 
 
 Immediately after having passed the point of Mona, Oran is before 
 you. This town is situated at the bottom of a vast inlet to the west of 
 Cape Ferrat, between two strands of sand, and on the two ridges of a 
 ravine (llas-el-Ain, the source of a stream), in which flows an abundant 
 stream. That part which stands on the left bank is badly built, and ruined 
 in many places in consequence of the earthquake of 1790 ; this is the old 
 town, which was inhabited by the Spaniards. On the right bank is the 
 new town, crowned by the new castle or (Jasbah. 
 
 The position of Oran is highly picturesque ; and -when the traveller 
 descries from the deck of his vessel the two groups of white houses (the 
 old and new towns), bisected by a ravine dotted with veiy pretty gardens,
 
 156 on ax. 
 
 in the form of an amphitheatre, cut by tongues of laud, whence a number 
 of streams come gushing down, setting several mills in motion by the 
 way, the eye dwells with pleasure on the charming features of the scene. 
 
 But as soon as you land, and crossing the beach, you enter the quarter 
 of the Marine, which precedes the two others, the illusion ceases, and you 
 experience a feeling of disappointment, not uncommon on entering African 
 towns. After having crossed this quarter, you reach, at length, the gate 
 of the town itself, for the Marine quarter is only a kind of European appen- 
 dix to Oran. The first thing that meets your eye at the gate is the pretty 
 minaret, giving one of the most favourable specimens of Moorish architecture 
 in the town, these being but very few in number. (See Cut, p. 149.) 
 
 Standing in front of the gates, you have the old town to the right. 
 When seen close at hand, the whole deformity of this mass of crumbled 
 buildings is exposed to view; their ugliness being increased by the loss 
 of the usual coat of plaster that gives some degree of decoration to the 
 commonest structure in Africa. To the left of the elegant minaret of the 
 great mosque you see the Casbah. This castle extends above a lofty and 
 solid rampart raised by the Spaniards, the only modern people whose 
 massive erections call to mind the time-defying structures of the Romans. 
 
 The great artery of the town is called the Rue Philippe, adorned with 
 sturdy and luxuriant trees, which give it at first the appearance of one 
 of the boulevards of Paris. But on a more minute inspection of the 
 houses bordering this avenue, and of the population circulating in the 
 artery under this canopy of verdure, the traveller soon discovers that he 
 is in Africa. The low houses surmounted with terraces, the white walls, 
 and especially the men, of lofty stature, with bronzed features set off in 
 a characteristic relief by the capuchon or hood of their black bournous 
 or cloaks, some of them pacing along with Mussulman gravity, whilst 
 others, gathered up near the shop of some Moor, preserve such an im- 
 movable attitude that you might take them to be the signs of the shops ; — 
 all these features stamp a special character ou the locality, and very quickly 
 dissipate all idea of analogy to European cities. 
 
 The Rue Philippe abuts in the square, and thence it continues, under 
 the name of Rue Napoleon, to the south gate. This artery traverses the 
 whole town, and constitutes the principal feature of the place; for the 
 whole trade and circulation of Oran is centered there ; and if the pedes- 
 trian ventures into the side streets, he finds the bustle diminish in pro- 
 portion as be leaves the main street, and at their upper extremity he 
 encounters only ruins and solitude. 
 
 The reader must not imagine that the Colosseum of Hassan Pasha, 
 represented in the adjoining cat, is an old Roman ruin, as its name, ap- 
 plied by Europeans, would seem to imply. The building, now converted 
 into barracks, was built by Hassan, the last hey of the western province, 
 to accommodate his harem. Its general character is bold and elegant,
 
 << 
 
 pi! 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 P 
 
 w 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 1IIBH
 
 ORAN. 1.j7 
 
 and it is a matter of regret that it has not been employed for a more con- 
 genial purpose. 
 
 We have already described a Moorish house ; and as this only differs 
 from others in being larger, we shall not enumerate its compartments ; 
 and we shall take a future opportunity to speak of an interesting phase 
 of Eastern life, we mean the institution of harems. 
 
 The following description of the entrance to the port of Oran is from 
 the graceful pencil of Marshal Castellane : 
 
 " Entering the bay of Mers-el-Kebir at dawn, the traveller is greeted 
 with a magical spectacle. First appear the houses of Mers-el-Kebir, cling- 
 in 1 ;- to the walls of the old Spanish fortress ; next, the dismantled towers 
 of St. Michael and the line of mountains, which for the space of one league 
 borders the bay, separating the port from the town of Oran ; lastly, the 
 Fort of St. Gregory, proudly perched half-way up to the right, at the foot 
 of Santa Cruz, an eagle's nest built at the summit of an arid ridge, com- 
 manding the town and the country. Beneath the fire of the batteries of 
 St. Gregory, the houses of the town wind along the sides of the hill, and 
 stop at the walls of the Chateau Neuf, a vast structure raised, facing St. 
 Gregory, by the soldiers of Philip V. To the east, along the line of cliffs 
 that frown upon the ocean, the eye discovers the mosque, which has been 
 converted into the quarters of the Chasseurs d'Afrique, and was built by 
 their labour ten years ago ; farther on, along the shore facing Mers-el- 
 Kebir, rise the naked slopes of the mountain of the Lions, and, in the 
 horizon, the rocks of the Iron Cape (Cap de Fer). Not a shrub is to be 
 seen on the whole of these hills and mountains, though a little verdure 
 may be perceived at the entrance of the ravine of Oran, which is almost 
 concealed by the angle of the mountain of Santa Cruz. A neat village, 
 with its white houses, peeps out of the middle of gardens at the foot of 
 the mountain of the Lions, on the sea-shore ; and a slight haze often con- 
 trihutes in softening the harsh features and outline of the land, from which 
 the breeze wafts a sweet perfume over the sea. 
 
 "The distance from Mers-el-Kebir to Oran is a drive of an hour and a 
 half; and during the first years of the French occupation you were obliged 
 to follow a narrow and steep footpath, which led by the fort of St. Gregory, 
 and ascended 400 feet above the houses of Oran. Whenever your horse 
 or your mule stumbled, you ran the risk of being thrown down into the 
 sea. All these clangers are now removed. The soldiers of the garrison of 
 Oran laid down their muskets on returning from an expedition, and took 
 up the spade, which they wielded so efficiently under the directions of 
 engineer officers, that they cut in the side of the mountain a wide and con- 
 venient road, in which various descriptions of vehicles may now run with 
 ease and expedition between the town and the port."* 
 
 * Castellane, p. 295.
 
 158 ORAN. 
 
 We are informed by Baron Baude that the Spaniards invaded and cap- 
 tured Oran in 1505, under Cardinal Ximenes; and that they lost it in 
 1708, at the time of the troubles occasioned by the war of the succession. 
 Their administration was clever, and they managed to subdue the Arabs 
 in a radius of 15 to 20 leagues (38 to 50 miles), destroying the ports of 
 Hone and Haresgot; whilst Tlemsen and Mostaganem paid them tribute 
 down to 1551, and the tribes of the Habra, of Canastel, of Agobel, and of 
 the Beni Amer, made common cause with them.* 
 
 On the 15th of June, 1730, the Count of Montemar, with 27,000 men, 
 landed again at Oran ; and they retained it with a nominal garrison of 
 3000 men, often reduced to half that number, till the earthquake of 1791. 
 General Damremont took the place in 1830, and the French were well 
 received by the natives ; but the Bey Hassan, califa of Sidi-Ahmed, a 
 chief of Tunis, to whom the province was yielded by General Clauzel, 
 alienated their minds, in consequence of which the French government 
 would not acknowledge his acts, and he resigned. Since then the pro- 
 vince has been under a French governor, who is almost independent and 
 absolute.-)* Lamoriciere filled the post many years with credit. 
 
 The surface of Oran, within the walls, is 75 hectares (187 acres); and 
 the population shews that there are 331 individuals per hectare (2|- acres). 
 At this rate, if it had the density of that of 
 
 Sedan . 
 
 . 181 
 
 per 
 
 hectare (2 - 47 acres), it would reach 
 
 . 13,575 
 
 Metz 
 
 . 241 
 
 
 >> a 
 
 . 18,075 
 
 Paris 
 
 . 264 
 
 
 ;> >! 
 
 . 19,800 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 . 415 
 
 
 a >> 
 
 . 31,875 
 
 Toulon . 
 
 . 524 
 
 
 it a 
 
 . 39,300 
 
 In 1839 the French formed one-seventh of the total population; whilst the 
 Spaniards composed one-fourth, the Jews one-half, and the Mussulmans, 
 Avho before the French occupation were the dominant body, are losing 
 daily their relative importance. 
 
 In 1S33 
 
 The Europeans amounted to ... 1042 
 
 Mussulmans ,, .... 440 
 
 Israelites ,, .... 2372 
 
 Total 3854 
 
 in is::: i 
 
 The Europeans amounted to . . 4837 
 
 Mussulmans ,, .... 1003 
 
 Israelites ,, .... 3364 
 
 Total 9204 
 
 In December 1847 the European population amounted to 15,191, in Dec. 
 
 * Baron Baude, vol. ii. p. 137. 
 
 f Ibid. c. x. p. 115. Rozet, Voyage, vol hi. £ II id.
 
 ORAN. 159 
 
 1848 to 15,324, .ind in Dec. 1849 to 17,281; the native population at the 
 latter date numbering 7564. Hence the total population of Oran in Dec. 
 
 1849 was 24,888.* 
 
 In the twelfth century, when the coasts of the kingdom of Tlemsen 
 and those of Andalusia were united under the sceptre of the caliphs, there 
 were found at Oran vast bazaars and flourishing manufactures, and its 
 port was full of Spanish ships, f In 1373 the Pisans formed great es- 
 tablishments in these seas by a treaty of commerce, whose precision and 
 equity could hardly be surpassed by the diplomatists of the present day.| 
 
 Oran stands in 35° 45' 57" N. hit., and 2° 40' 52" W. long, of 
 Paris ; 66 leagues (1G5 miles) west from Algiers. The harbour has from 
 four to six fathoms of water, and is defended from the north-west by the 
 point of Fort Mouna. The landing is situated between Fort Mouna and 
 the town. Foi-t Mers-el-Kebir advances like a mole into the sea ; and the 
 best anchorage is found in this place, as it is the most sheltered part of the 
 bay. The port of Mers-el-Kebir is about five miles by sea from Oran, and 
 the intermediary intercourse is carried on by boats called alleges (lighters), 
 owing to which circumstance it recpiires sometimes fourteen days to un- 
 load a vessel. § 
 
 According to Lieutenant Gamier, of the French navy, six line-of-battle 
 ships, six frigates, and fifty smaller craft, can anchor at Mers-el-Kebir, if 
 some of them employ four anchors. || The trade of Oran is still con- 
 siderable, consisting of grain, cattle, leather, &c; and there are also 
 manufactures of burnouses at this town. The street of St. Philippe joins 
 the two parts of the city, which is built on very diversified grounds, and 
 possesses six gates. Shortly after the French took Oran, redoubts and 
 blockhouses were constructed around it, and the garrison was raised 
 to 4350 men. In 1837, a military colony of Spahis (native cavalry) was 
 established at Messerguin, near Oran ; and the forts of St. Andre and St. 
 Philippe have been re-established by the French. ^j 
 
 The land surrounding Oran consists chiefly of pastures, but to the east 
 some arable land occurs. 
 
 We shall now lay before the reader the latest improvements effected at 
 Oran, consulting the French official documents for our facts. 
 
 The basin of refuge of Oran, undertaken in 1849, intended to contain 
 4 hectares (10 acres), is destined for the reception of ships bound to Oran, 
 but which are almost always obliged to moor at Mers-el-Kebir. The docks 
 
 * Tableau de la Situation, pp. 96, 113. 
 
 t Marmol's Africa, b. v. Edrisi, p. 230. 
 
 Z This painfully interesting specimen of unhappy Italy's palmier days under the sun of 
 liberty exists in mss. in the archives of Pisa. "Mantissa veterum diplomatum populi 
 Pisani a nobili viro Navaretti rccollectorum qua; apud equitem J. Sehippisiuru diligentcr 
 asservantur." 
 
 § Rozet, vol. iii. p. 274. II Tableau de la Situation, 1839. 
 
 ^] Baron Baude, vol. ii.
 
 100 OR AX. 
 
 had been established in 1850. Thirty metres (98-40 feet) of jetty, aud 
 150 metres (492 feet) of quays, built in 1847-48; occasioned an expense 
 of 388,000 fr. (15,520/.) ; and the quays and dry dock at Mers-el-Kebir 
 cost 248,000 fr. (9960/.) From 1833 to 1849, 3000 metres (9840 feet) 
 of principal streets, and 1100 metres (3608 feet) of branch streets, have 
 been opened, costing 280,000 fr. (11,200/.) ; eight squares have been cleared 
 and planted with 150 trees, besides a promenade planted with trees. 
 
 The aqueduct of Ras-el-Ain has been made (1841-42) 3100 metres 
 (10,168 feet) in length, supplying 4,500,000 litres (99,000 imperial gal- 
 ons) daily, and costing 70,000 fr. (2800/) ; and the aqueduct of the Ravin 
 Blanc, 1300 metres (4264 feet) in length, supplying 350,000 litres (77,000 
 gallons) daily, and costing 25,00 ) fr. (1000/.), was finished in 1845. Three 
 water-conduits have also been built, — one at Oran, the second on the road 
 to, and thethird at Mers-el-Kebir, —at a cost of 244,000 fr. (9,760/.) : the 
 second is 900, the third 5000 metres long (16,400 feet). 410 metres 
 (1344-8 feet) of sewers have been opened in the ravine of Ras-el-Ain 
 (1844-48), at an expense of 114,000 fr. (4560/.); and 700 metres of 
 other sewers (2296 feet) in the streets of Oran were finished between 
 1837-39, for 30,000 fr. (1200/.) Oran possesses a palace of justice, built 
 in 1837 for 10,500 fr. (420/.); and a civil prison, built in 1841-42 for 
 13,000 fr. (520/.); a school-house, costing 37,000 fr. (1480/.); and two 
 churches, costing 149,997 fr. (5999/. 18s. Id.), of which that of St. Louis 
 was finished in 1850, holding 1200 worshippers; two cemeteries, es- 
 tablished in 1841-43, cost 19,000 fr. (760/.); and a douane in 1845, 
 181,157 fr. 53 cents. (7246/. 6s. 3d.) A hospice des femmes was erected 
 in 1847-48 for 7300 fr. (292/.); and a caravanserai, afterwards turned 
 into a hospital, was built at the same date for 163,270 fr. 56 cents. 
 (6530/. 17s. Id.). 
 
 As regards the fortifications of Oran, between 1832 and 1849 the de- 
 fences of the coast cost 417,510 fr. 23 cents. (16,700/. 8s. 6c?.) ; and the 
 land-defences cost 1,083,000 fr. (43,320/.) The chief works consist in 
 repairing and improving the town-wall and the detached forts ; in re- 
 pairing the sea-face of the fort of Mers-el-Kebir; in beginning the coast 
 batteries, save that of the Spanish jetty now in progress; in making 
 cavalry and artillery quarters, barracks at the Chateau Neuf, the old 
 Casbah and the Colisee, magazine-, hospitals, etc.* 
 
 We have now completed our survey of Oran, and shall take a ride 
 along the coast to Mostaganem, in company with Count St. Marie and the 
 former excellent Bishop of Algiers, M. Dupuch. 
 
 "After breakfast they mounted their horses, the bishop wearing a 
 violet-coloured robe with a gold cross on his bosom, and a three-cornered 
 hat with two gold tassels. Over his robe he had thrown a white burnouse, 
 
 * Tableau, p. 3S7 (1S4C-50).
 
 ARZEU. 1G1 
 
 which was merely fixed round his neck • hut the two vicars who accom- 
 panied him were in hlack ; and they had two men besides, as escort and 
 guides. They took the road to Arzeu, ten leagues (25 miles) from Oram, 
 crossing a plain intersected hy difficult ravines ; the soil presenting a mix- 
 ture of clay and sand, whose fertility was ohvious from the healthiness and 
 vigour of the vegetation, growing in patches. They observed some thistles 
 and other plants six feet high ; but the country looks uncultivated and 
 desolate, and some fine olive-trees which they passed still bore traces of 
 bivouac-fires. 
 
 Advancing, they passed through a village whose Arab name is Kergu- 
 enta, containing the ruins of a monument called the Medersa, consh-ucted 
 by the first bey who occupied Oran after the Spaniards retired. Within 
 the building was a small mosque, containing two beautiful tombs of white 
 marble. This mosque was surrounded by pillars, and surmounted by a 
 dome, open at top ; in the centre was a large palm, which reared its 
 stately head above the ruins, and overshadowed them with its massive 
 foliage. After passing through the village they saw the ruins of an aque- 
 duct, almost hid beneath thick acanthus-plants, with water issuing from 
 the midst of the ruins. They came soon again into the plain, where all 
 vegetation, save dwarf palms, became more and more rare as they ad- 
 vanced ; and at 4 p.m. they arrived at Arzeu, where they were obliged to 
 go to a miserable hotel by the sea. St. Marie and Baron Baude, as usual, 
 agree in pronouncing the little port much better sheltered than that of 
 Mers-el-Kebir, and the surrounding locality has been prepared by nature 
 for commerce and shipping. The water is unfortunately only deep enough 
 for third-class vessels; and the indolence of the natives has left an evidence 
 of the great quantity of corn once exported, at the time when the Spa- 
 niards forbade the natives to traffic in the port of Oran. The vessels which 
 came to Arzeu for cargoes of grain threw their ballast into the sea, which 
 has left an accumulation that obstructs the anchorage nearest the coast."* 
 
 The town is commanded by a fort guarded by veterans ; and a little 
 islet situated in front of the poi-t serves as a jetty, at the end of which a 
 large lantern used to be fixed up (1845) as a lighthouse. Very extensive 
 ruins, and numerous Boman medals scattered about the plain at Arzeu, 
 shew it to have been the site of an important city, and have occasioned 
 some archaeological discussion. The Spaniards built at this place vast 
 magazines for barley, wheat, and salt, besides a quay of freestone; but 
 after the abandonment of the province, it fell once more into the posses- 
 sion of the Arabs, who have suffered the buildings to decay, and ruined the 
 port.t 
 
 * Captain Despointes, in his survey of the bay, states precisely the same fact. 
 
 + St. Marie treads on the heels of Baron Baude in his description of Arzeu. Captain 
 Despointes' survey of the bay (1S33-4), published in the Appendix of Baron Baude's 
 Alge"rie, contains the same expressions as those employed by the Count. Thus the Captain 
 
 L
 
 162 GULF OF ARZEU. 
 
 The country around is rich in salt-mines; the salt they yield being 
 better than that obtained in Spain and Portugal, and only requiring that 
 kind of labour for -which the Arabs are adapted, namely, that of collecting 
 and transporting. Arzeu was once the port of the kingdom of Tlemsen, 
 which comprised all the valleys of the Shellif. 
 
 Next day they left for Mostaganem, which is about fifteen miles dis- 
 tant. It is wonderful that in this undisturbed district the French had not 
 constructed good lines of road in 1845, communicating between Mosta- 
 ganem, Mazagran, Arzeu, and Oran. Yet the works would be easy and 
 highly advantageous to those towns. The Arabs in this part of the 
 country are industrious, and the women of Mostaganem make the most 
 approved haicks and burnouses. A Spanish merchant, M. Canapa, has 
 established a house of business at Mostaganem, which appeared likely to 
 answer. 
 
 The importance of the port of Arzeu, the .largest on the coast of Al- 
 geria, induces us to extract a description of its hydrography by Captain 
 Despointes, who was stationed there in the corvette Alcyone from May 
 1833 to March 1834: 
 
 " Between Cape Ferrat and Cape Yvi you see a great inlet, to which 
 the name of Gulf of Arzeu has been given. Almost all along the shore 
 which forms this coast you find anchorage, in general open and offering 
 little security in winter ; one alone appearing to me to unite all that con- 
 stitutes an excellent shelter ; it is that which is named Arzeu. 
 
 During the winter that the Alcyone passed in these roads, it was ob- 
 served that in strong gales, those blowing from the sea or north and north- 
 east did not enter much into the bay ; only the swell became very high, 
 and gave a rise of almost five feet, so much the more inconvenient because 
 the broken sea occasioned by this swell often lays the ship on its broad- 
 side. The bottom, consisting of white sand mixed with plants, only di- 
 minishes insensibly in depth, which renders the holding ground excellent. 
 
 Save in storms, the prevailing winds come from the eastward, passing 
 by the north to the west ; those that blow most violently come from the 
 north-west arid west. The sea is almost calm during the prevalence of 
 land-winds ; and, however strong the land or sea winds may have been, 
 during a six months' stay the Alcyone was always able to communicate 
 with the shore, and a merchant-ship would never have been obliged to 
 interrupt its loading. 
 
 A stone quay was formerly carried out at Arzeu for a considerable 
 
 ays: " The numerous ruins, &c. on shore prove thai formerly a considerable city occu- 
 pied tlii.s sput Sumo I'miimn medals found at a slight depth, \c . . . Tin Spaniards 
 
 I 1 built at Arzeu vast warehouses, sheltered by their solidity from the attacks of the 
 Arabs. These warehouses were destined to house wheat, barley, and salt. It a])pears 
 proved thai the Spaniards not only carried on in that country the corn-trade, but that 
 of feathers, of carpets, ko. ; and caravans even came there." It is almost too delightful 
 ,;il witnesses agree so closely. St. Marie, p. 186; Baude, App,
 
 ARZEU. 1G3 
 
 distance seaward, and must have allowed ships to come in themselves and 
 take up their cargoes. The old warehouses arc still in good condition ; 
 but the quay would require many repairs. 
 
 To give the port its ancient depth, and permit even large ships to 
 anchor further in, sheltered from all winds, several dredging machines, 
 etc. would be required, and very great care on the part of the officer com- 
 manding the station. 
 
 The Roman road that led to Mascara abutted near the port. 
 Continuing to follow the coast, at the distance of four miles, and 
 almost S.S.E. of the point of Arzeu, on the height you see an Arab vil- 
 lage, improperly called the village of Arzeu. The neighbouring country 
 is very well cultivated, and shews a good vegetation ; and the village con- 
 tains many Roman remains. Ships wishing to take in their cargoes to 
 the village must come and anchor at a cable's length from the coast, with 
 a depth of seven fathoms ; and their communication with the shore would 
 be often interrupted by the swell. 
 
 From this point to the bay of the Macta, which takes its name from 
 the river that falls into it, you reckon three miles from west to east, and 
 some degrees south. You may cast anchor all along this coast in sixteen 
 fathoms ; still, though the bottom is good, consisting of mud and sand, it 
 would not be prudent to trust it except in the fine season. 
 
 At the east of the point that forms the cove of the Macta, the an- 
 chorage is better, from the nature of the bottom, which is soft mud. 
 Large vessels cannot enter inside the point ; they anchor in nine or ten 
 fathoms, and are exposed to the N.W. and N.N. W. winds, which sweep 
 the coast and give rise to a very heavy swell. Boats and small craft can 
 find easy shelter in some species of basins, the works of man, and which 
 probably served formerly as receptacles for the galleys. It would he very 
 easy to fortify the cape, which forms almost an island near the dry land ; 
 but the river which is found at the bottom of this cove is barred at its 
 mouth. 
 
 The whole of this part of the gulf presents charming views. 
 
 Behind the bar, and for a mile up the river, you find four metres 
 (13-12 feet) of water ; and it would be easy to make this river accessible 
 for barges of thirty or forty tons.* The whole shore of this bay is 
 also scattered with vestiges of Roman edifices, including a very perfect 
 temple. 
 
 Leaving the Macta, you proceed along the east coast; and after having 
 taken cognisance of the village of Mazagraii, inhabited by Arabs, and only 
 defended by low walls, you see Mostaganem, a rather considerable town, 
 surrouuded with walls and provided with a casbah. The least bad an- 
 
 See the Reconnoissance hydrographi'iue de M. Garuior, lieutenant de vaisseau.
 
 1G4 MOSTAGANEM. 
 
 chorage (for none are good) off this place is at six cable-lengths from the 
 shore, in twelve or fourteen fathom, muddy bottom. You open the citadel 
 then, to the east, 40° south. In these moorings you are exposed to the 
 N.N.W. winds, circling round to the west, which reign rather frequently 
 on this coast during the winter. Save in this locality, the bottom is 
 every where scattered with rocks, rendering chain-cables indispensable. 
 The N.N.E. and E. winds that come down in squalls from the moun- 
 tains need not occasion any anxiety ; they can, however, be felt in the 
 bay, and enable ships to make out to sea. In winter it is especially 
 necessary to guard against the N.N. W. and N. winds ; and it is prudent 
 to set sail when the swell rises from this side, and the weather seems 
 uncertain. When once the breeze has begun, it soon freshens, and you 
 would be overtaken by bad weather at your moorings. The communica- 
 tion with the land is bad enough, on account of the almost continual swell 
 that exists on this shore ; and the Moorish boats that come from Oran 
 to seek for vegetables and poultry, and other slight goods, are forced to 
 draw up on land ; accordingly, they often come and anchor at Arzeu, to 
 wait for the wind permitting them to make this manoeuvre." 
 
 M. Despointes did not examine the coast of the bay beyond Mos- 
 taganem ; but M. Jules Tessier, commissary of the king in that town, has 
 signalised at three miles to the eastward, a creek surrounded by rocks, 
 where, according to him, you might, with an expense of 100 fr. (4^.), pro- 
 cure an excellent shelter for small trading vessels.* 
 
 M. Lamping, who was quartered at Mostaganem in 1841 with the 
 Foreign Legion, states that it contained at that time from 4000 to 5000 
 inhabitants, consisting of Arabs, Spaniards, and Jews, besides the French 
 regiment in garrison there. The town must have been formerly much 
 larger, as is shewn by the number of ruins scattered without the walls ; 
 but with the exception of a few mosques, there is no building of any impor- 
 tance. The former citadel, called the Casbah, was then in ruins, and only 
 garrisoned by some fifty or sixty pairs of storks, who have founded a 
 colony on the extensive walls. 
 
 Almost as much Spanish is spoken there as French or Arabic; nearly 
 all the natives speaking a corrupt Spanish, a kind of lingua franca. The 
 younger generation, however, i. e. boys from ten to fourteen, converse in 
 French with tolerable fluency, but somewhat marred by their deep guttural 
 tone. The ease with which the settled Arabs and Bedouins continue to imi- 
 tate whatever they have but once seen or heard is very remarkable. The 
 district south of Mostaganem may be called the home of the Bedouins, — if, 
 indeed, these wanderers have a home. There the richest and most pow- 
 erful tribes fix their tents, sow and reap their corn, and feed their flocks ; 
 
 * Sec Baron Baudc, vol. iii. Appendix.
 
 MOSTAGANEM. 165 
 
 purposes for which the country is well adapted. The large plains between 
 Mostaganem, Mascara, and Oran, and the fertile valleys of the Shellif* and 
 Mina, afford these nomades excellent pastures for their numerous herds, 
 and an unlimited room for their horses and camels. During the whole 
 winter, and till the month of June, which is their harvest-time, the Be- 
 douins camp in these places; but when the heat has burnt up whatever 
 pasture was left, they retreat into the valleys and defiles of the Atlas, 
 where food of some sort, though scanty, is still to be found for their 
 flocks and herds. 
 
 In October, a few days are sufficient, after the parching heat of summer, 
 to call into existence, as it were by magic, the most luxuriant vegetation : 
 the richest verdure has sprung up beneath the withered grass, the leaves 
 of the trees have lost their sickly, yellow hue, the buds have begun to 
 burst, and the birds to sing their vernal songs; in short, this is the African 
 spring. The burst of vegetation was the strongest in the vale of Matamor, 
 which divides the fort of that name from the town, and which is watered 
 by a stream. Every inch of ground there is turned to the profit of man. 
 Magnificent fruit-trees, pomegranates, figs, and oranges, and the most 
 various vegetables, cover the ground; and Spaniards, Arabs, Jews, and 
 French are diligently employed in cultivating the fruitful soil.t 
 
 Baron Baude supplies us with the following important statistical and 
 general facts relating to Mostaganem. At the end of 1839 the popula- 
 tion of Mostaganem consisted of 1428 Mussulmans, 406 Jews, and 282 
 Christians. The Mussulmans are very industrious, and their women work 
 hard, manufacturing haicks, burnouses, and all sorts of clothing. The 
 markets of the town are greatly frequented, especially since the merchants 
 PuggimondOj Bigarelas, and Canapa, a Jew from Gibi'altar, have established 
 themselves there to export grain to Spain. The Koulouglis,^ who are those 
 amongst the natives that are most inclined to make common cause with 
 the French, were the particular objects 6f Abd-el-Kader's animadversion. 
 Those of Mazouna and El Callah having shewn their inclination to place 
 themselves under the protection of the French, the Emir caused their 
 dwellings to be sacked, and part of the inhabitants to be carried off to 
 people his new town of Tagadempt, The Koulouglis formed the chief 
 
 * Lieutenant de France describes bis visit to the plain of the Shellif in these terms : 
 " On the 234 August, at five A.M., we again left Kaala, and marched northwards ; and after 
 a march of seven hours, we encamped on the very edge of the plain of Mostaganem, near 
 the river Shellif. Our camp stood in a grove of ilexes and gum-trees, on the top of a 
 mountain commanding the plain ; just such a spot as was selected by knights of old to 
 build their castles on, for the better convenience of robbing travellers, &c ... I am too 
 poor a hand at my pen to attempt a description of the beautiful and fertile plain which 
 lay at our feet, covered with crops of various kinds, fruit-trees, herds, flocks, and tents." 
 P* 120. 
 
 t The Foreign Legion, p. 87. 
 
 I Offspring of Turkish Janissaries and Moorish women.
 
 1G6 MOSTAGANEM. 
 
 part of the Mussulman battalion kept by the French at Fort Matamor in 
 1841. Many Arab tribes find an opening for their produce at Mosta- 
 ganem. First come the Achems and the Aribs : the latter liviug near the 
 Shellif, have flocks yielding fine wool, oxen and horses of a large size; 
 the Achems, whose territory is adjacent on the south to that of Mos- 
 taganem. have likewise an extensive cultivated district. 
 
 Turning to our friend M. de Castellane, we find that " an Arab tale 
 relates that two children were once playing during the Ehamadan (fast) 
 on the banks of a stream that flowed on to the sea after running a league. 
 In the midst of their play, the youngest, gathering a reed, carried it to 
 his mouth ; and after giving it to his companion, said, ' Muce-kranem' 
 (suck the sweet piece of cane)."* Hammud-el-Alid, the powerful chief of 
 the tribe of Mehal, was at that moment debouching on the hills, and heard 
 the words of the children. Wishing to found a town on that spot, Ham- 
 mud had been puzzled as to what name he should give it ; the two 
 children freed him from his difficulty, for he called his city (in A.D. 1300) 
 by this name, according to the legend. However widely spread this 
 legend may be, the warrior has left more durable traces of his doings. 
 The fort of Mehal still exists ; and the works executed by the care of his 
 three daughters have made his memory dear to all the inhabitants : for 
 they owe aqueducts to the beautiful Seffouana ; their gardens to Melloula 
 the graceful ; whilst Mansoura, a woman of great piety, drew down the 
 blessing of Heaven on the town by building a mosque that became her 
 tomb. It is no doubt to her prayers that Mostaganem owes its prosperity, 
 which it always enjoyed, even under the Christians. A ravine watered 
 by a stream separates the town from a little hill called Matamore ; the 
 numerous silos (underground granaries) that the Turks had dug in it, 
 enclosed by a wall with loopholes, having given it its name. 
 
 The principal military establishments occupy the crest of this hill, 
 whence you discover a magnificent view. At your feet the town, its 
 houses, its gardens ; in front the sea, with its mighty surges, incessantly 
 moved by the west winds ; on the right, at a league's distance, high 
 mountains ; towards the left the eye follows the woody slopes of the hills 
 that fringe the sea in the vast bay of the Macta, that rise up to the point 
 of the Cap de Fer, and shoot up the naked ribs of their grey rocks to the 
 blue sky ; whilst at a distance, in the mist, the eye distinguishes the moun- 
 tain of the Lions (Oran). The horizon is immense, yet the eye discovers, 
 without difficulty, all its details ; but if the air is humid, if no air agitates 
 it, as often happens when dirty weather is at hand, by- a singular optical 
 effect, distances become nearer; and it would appear that a few strokes 
 of the oar would sutliee to bring you to the harbour of Arzcu, which you 
 
 * Compare this account of the origin of the name with that given by Blofuld, p. 150, 
 i. e. ' sweet mutton/ ct puis rcvenons a nos moutons.
 
 MOSTAGANEM. 107 
 
 perceive, with its white houses, on the opposite shore, at a league from the 
 cape. Four thousand natives, colonists from all countries, and a numerous 
 garrison, live together in a friendly way at Mostaganem, passing every- 
 day without cares or grief. The Mussulman says, " it was written ;" the 
 Christian, " never mind;" and the result is the same, for they know that 
 the French commandant watches over all.* 
 
 * Souvenirs, p. 347. The Talleau gives Mostaganem 1300 metres (4264 feet) of street, 
 and 1700 of water-conduits, supplying 700,000 litres (154,000 gallons) per day: the town 
 is surrounded with an embattled wall, 10 to 13 feet high, 10,640 feet in circumference, and 
 flanked with towers; the coast-battery has 5 guns, and the powder-magazine contains 
 55,000 lbs. Pp. 344, 354, 387.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 $robmcc of (©ran. interior. 
 
 OUTLINE TLEMSEN MASCARA TAGADEMPT — MAZOUNAH — A TOUR THROUGH 
 
 THE PROVINCE ST. DENIS MASCARA SIDI BEL ABBESS TLEMSEN 
 
 NEMOURS THE FAR SOUTH TIARET. 
 
 Let us now proceed with a broad survey of the interior of the pro- 
 vince of Oran, after which we will analyse it more minutely. 
 
 Returning eastward from the river Twunt, and five leagues (\2\ miles) 
 south of the mouth of the Tafna, is Tlemsen (according to Arabic pro- 
 nunciation, Telemsen or Tlemsan), almost surrounded with trees, and 
 situated upon a rising ground, beneath a range of rocky precipices, the 
 Sa-rhatain of Edrisi. These are part of the Middle Atlas chain ; and upon 
 their first ridge (for there is a much higher one to the south) is a large 
 strip of level ground, from which a great number of fountains gush forth. 
 These, after uniting gradually into small brooks, and turning some mills, 
 fall in a variety of cascades as they approach Tlemsen, which they supply 
 with an abundance of water. 
 
 In the western part of the city there is a large squai-e basin, of 
 Moorish construction, 200 yards long and 100 broad. The inhabitants 
 have a tradition that formerly the kings of Tlemsen entertained them- 
 selves upon this water, whilst their subjects were here taught the art of 
 rowing and navigation. But the water of the Sacratain, as Leo informs 
 us, being easily turned from its ordinary course, this basin may have 
 been employed as a reservoir in case of siege, being used at all other 
 times to supply the beautiful gardens and plantations situated beneath it. 
 Edrisi notices a structure of this kind, into which the fountain of Om-Yahia 
 discharged itself. Most of the walls of Tlemsen have been moulded in 
 frames; a method of building, according to Pliny, used by the Africans 
 and Spaniards in his time. The mortar is composed of sand, lime, and 
 gravel, well tempered and mixed, and as solid as stone. The several 
 stages and removes of these frames are still observable, some of which 
 are !<)() yards long and two in height and thickness, by which the im- 
 mense quantity used at one time may be seen. About 1G70, Hassan, dey 
 of Algiers, laid most of this city in ruins to punish its rebellious character, 
 and only about one-sixth of old Tlemsen now remains. When entire it
 
 TLEMSEN. 1G9 
 
 might be about four miles in circuit. Tlemsen contains many vestiges 
 of ancient times ; and its houses are like the others in the province, low 
 and mean in appearance, forming a great contrast to the ruins. It con- 
 tains a fort capable of holding 5000 soldiers, with walls 40 feet high, 
 circular in shape, like most Moorish forts in the inside. The population 
 of Tlemsen was reduced in 1843 to about 20,000 souls, of which 1000 
 were Israelites. A few yeai's ago a cannon-foundry was established there 
 by Abd-el-Kader. 
 
 At the distance of half a mile from the present city is an immense 
 enclosure, with Avails surrounding it, and the remains of a half tower, 
 about 60 feet high by 20 square. Half a league farther on towards the 
 Tafna exists half of a similar tower ; and the Arab legend relates that 
 these two halves once formed one, but that agreeing in a separation, the 
 latter one fine morning walked away from its better half; but some say 
 that being built by an Arab and a Jew, they quarrelled about their claims, 
 and the Jew's half took wing one night and perched on its present site. 
 
 On the banks of the Isser, the east branch of the Tafna, are the baths 
 of Sidi-Ebly ; and after you have passed them commence the rich plains 
 of Zeidoure, which extend through a beautiful Interchange of hills and 
 valleys to the banks of the Ouad-el-Mailah, for a distance of thirty 
 miles. About the centre of them is the Shurph-el-Graab, or " pinnacle 
 of the ravens," a high pointed precipice, with a branch of the Sinan run- 
 ning by it. The Ouled-Halfa and Zeir are the principal Arab tribes in 
 this neighbourhood. 
 
 Six leagues south of the Sinan is Djebel Karkar, a high range of rocky 
 mountains bending to the south ; and beyond them are the mountains of 
 the Beni-Smeal, with the Arab tribe of Harars living a short distance 
 south of them in the Sahara. Bevond these as;ain, and at the distance of 
 five days' journey to the S.S.W., are the villages of Figig, renowned for 
 their plantations of palm-trees, and whence the western parts of the pro- 
 vince are supplied with figs. Beyond the river Mailah, as far as Oran, 
 is the Shilka, as they call a very extensive plain of sandy, saltish ground, 
 which is dry yi summer, but covered with water in winter. The Am- 
 meers have their encampments in this neighbourhood ; a tribe which, from 
 its intercourse with the Spaniards when the latter held Oran, have adopted 
 some of their manners, To the south of the Shilka are the mountains of 
 Soi if- el -Tell and TafFarowy, which form a part of the Atlas chain ; the 
 extensive ruins of Arbaal lie on one side of them, and those of Tessailah 
 on the other. The latter, which, from their name, may be the remains of 
 the ancient Astacitus, are situated on some of the most fertile plains of 
 the country, cultivated by the Ouled-Ali, the enemies of the Ouled-Zeir 
 and Haifa. 
 
 Crossing afterwards, almost in the same parallel, the rivers Makerra 
 and Hamaite, both of which fall into the Sig, we come to Mascara, a col-
 
 170 MASCAHA. 
 
 lection of mud-walled houses, built in the midst of extensive plains, ten 
 leagues (25 miles) from Mostaganem, with a small fort to defend it from 
 the neighbouring Arabs. The Hachems, who are the Bedouins of this 
 part of the country, are called joivaite, or gentlemen ; before, the French 
 conquest they were exempt from taxes, and served only as volunteers 
 when required by the government of Algiers. Mascara is built on some 
 table-land, between two small hills, commanding a view of the immense 
 plain running north-east and south-west for several leagues. Its popula- 
 tion in 1843 consisted of about 15,000 persons, including 500 or GOO 
 Jews.* Five leagues north-east of Mascara is El-Callah, the largest market 
 of this country for carpets and burnouses, and which, though much larger 
 than Mascara, is a dirty, ill-built town, without drains, pavement, or 
 causeways, being built, as the name implies, upon an eminence among 
 other mountains. Several villages are scattered around it, all of them pro- 
 fitably engaged in the same sort of manufacture. El-Callah possesses a 
 citadel in which the Turks kept a garrison ; and from the large stone and 
 marble fragments found there, it may have been a Roman city, perhaps 
 the Gitlui or Apfar of Ptolemy. Some leagues farther is the river Mina,t 
 which falls into the Shellif at El-Had, near the plain of El-Mildegah, where 
 the Swidde have their principal place of abode. El-Had may mean a 
 mountain, by way of eminence, such as those of the Benizer-ouall deserve 
 ^o be called, forming a ridge which runs here parallel with the Shellif. 
 This part of the Atlas is famous for the quantity and delicacy of its figs, 
 resembling those that the elder Cato praised when he threw them down in 
 'he senate, saying, " The country where this fine fruit grows is only three 
 days' voyage from Rome ;" and history adds, that from that day he never 
 concluded a speech without introducing the words, " mihi quoque videtur 
 Oarthaginem delendam esse." Sidi-Abid, a noted sanctuary, is situated 
 .'our leagues farther, near the influx of the Arheu into the Shellif. On 
 *he opposite bank of the latter stream is Mazounah or Mezounah, a dirty, 
 mud built village, that contains no traces of the fine temples mentioned 
 by Dapper and Marmol. It is, however, as remarkable for its woollen 
 manufactures as Mascara and El-Callah, and it stands in a beautiful situa- 
 tion, under the side of the Little Atlas. The Ouled-Solyma are the 
 neighbouring Bedouins. 
 
 Almost under the same meridian as Mazounah, and at the distance of 
 
 * Blofcld, p. 83 et seq. Mascara has 3,960 metres (13,018 feet) of street, and two squares. 
 Tableau, pp. 345, 354. 
 
 t Lieutenant do France describes the country traversed by the Oued Mina in the fol- 
 lowing terms: " Soon after midday we saw the village of El-Bordj, but we made a detour 
 to avoid it , ns it was market-day. Towards night, after travelling over various hills, many 
 rocks, and much brushwood, through a savage and uncultivated country, we reached a 
 little village at a few leagues from the falls of the Oued-Mina, The situation of this village, 
 at the foot of a mountain, near several streams, is delicious; rhododendrons, poplars, 
 almond, fig, peach, and apricot trees, cover the whole plain; and the gardens aro kept 
 hand 1,'recn by a plentiful supply of water." F. 105.
 
 THE GREAT PLAIN OP BONA. 171 
 
 eighteen leagues (4-"» miles), is Tagadcmpt, consisting of the extensive 
 ruins of one of the oldest cities in Africa, which was governed by the an- 
 cestors of Abd-efe-Kader, who tried to restore it, and made it for some 
 time the capital of his dominions. In 1841 it contained 5000 inhabitants, 
 including 200 or 300 Jews ; one straight street, thirty feet wide, built in 
 the European style ; with two cafes, and also a manufacture for guns, 
 which was able to make eight per day. On the advance of the French 
 he destroyed the town, and forced all the inhabitants to desert it; and 
 lions are now the principal inhabitants in this vicinity. 
 
 Returning to the Shellif, four leagues (10 miles) from Sidi-Abid, is 
 Memunturroy, a large, old, square tower, being probably a Roman monu- 
 ment, and so called by the Ouled-Spahi, who live near it. Five miles 
 farther from the banks of the Shellif are the ruins of Memon and Sinaab, 
 two contiguous cities, the latter about three miles in circumference, and 
 much the larger of the two ; but nothing now remains of either of them, 
 save some lar^e fragments of wall and some lanje cisterns. 
 
 The most important French post in this part of the province is Tiaret, 
 a little south of the Ouanseris district, in the province of Algiers. 
 
 To fill up our picture of this province, we have still to notice a few 
 remarkable features in its eastern part, and especially the great plain of 
 Mina. Starting from Touiza,* the valley widens to the last hills which 
 sink down gradually at the distance of two leagues into the great plain 
 of the Mina. This plain takes its name from a river which has its source 
 on the high plateaux of the Serssous, crosses the country of the Sdamas, 
 borders the Flittas district, and debouches at the south-west of this great 
 plain ; flowing in an almost straight line for the space of three leagues 
 and a half (71 miles), till it reaches the mountain of Bel-Assel. Then taking 
 an oblique direction, it follows for three leagues (7^ miles) this new course, 
 till it falls into the Shellif, which comes from the opposite quarter, i. e. the 
 east; and the united waters fall into the sea at the distance of fifteen leagues 
 (38 miles) from the confluence. Not a tree or any kind of shelter is to 
 be found in this immense plain ; here and there are scattered a few bushes 
 of wild Barbary figs (jujubiers), slight undulations in the soil, and a salt 
 lake. This dismal stretch of land has a framework of naked and misty 
 hills ; several parts of the plain deeply channelled by the rains are im- 
 practicable in winter. The Mina itself flows in a chasm twenty-five feet 
 deep, that has been hollowed out by the winter floods. The fertility of 
 this part of the plain, which is called the Lower Mina, is proverbial. The 
 
 * " Scarcely have you left the plain of Mina," says Castellane, " before you enter the 
 valley of Touiza. This valley precedes the mountains of the Flittas, parallel to the sea 
 and to the east, forming a large basin amongst these mountains, covered with lentisks, 
 with here and there clearances sown with corn. To the south, and facing Touiza, is the 
 defile of Tifour ; to the west, two leagues off, opens the passage of Zamora ; to the east, 
 in this natural basin, winds a road leading to the Oued Melah, in the direction of Guer- 
 boussa. This road abuts at the kharnis or magazine-post of Beni Ouragh." P. 226.
 
 172 A TOUR THROUGH THE PROVINCE. 
 
 soil, formed in part of alluvial earth, can be partially irrigated, thanks to 
 the embankments that the Turks erected at Relizann, and which the 
 French have restored. Some day this African Bceotia will be covered 
 with fine cultivation; but in 18-td it resounded with the dropping shots 
 of the Arabs.* 
 
 " At length," says Castellane, " in December 184G, the order was given 
 to prepare for departure ; but it was not for a very perilous expedition. 
 The general treated us something like children to whom you give a little 
 plaything to engage their attention ; he was going to take us a peaceful 
 trip through the districts, where we were only to meet friendly Arabs con- 
 gregated to salute the head of the province. Our little troop had soon 
 finished all preparations for departure. By an invitation from the general, 
 a companion joined us in the shape of a M. de Laussat, concessionary of 
 the fine property of Akbeil, ten leagues from Oran. We all loved his 
 merry yet serious mind, and his benevolence full of delicacy ; we there- 
 fore shook him cordially by the hand, when, punctuality itself, he arrived 
 at 8 a.m. in the court of the Chateau Neuf. He was mounted on a bay 
 horse, the only one that could be procured in haste ; but its transparent 
 skin, and its thinness savouring of famine, caused the poor beast to be 
 christened Apocalypse from the outset, amidst shouts of laughter. Not- 
 withstanding the bad weather, the reader will perceive that blue devils 
 were not our portion when we took the road to Mascara. 
 
 " At the moment of our departure, a violent west wind was sweeping 
 the clouds before it; and so soon as we had cleared the first league, nothing 
 met our eyes in the long distance but naked land, extending from Fort 
 Sainte-Croix, and the arid ridges which terminate to the west of Miser- 
 ghin, as far as the great salt lake, which we left to the right, and to the 
 mountains of Tessalh, rearing themselves up in front of us in a line 
 parallel with the sea. All was bare and leafless, for from the Basin of 
 Oran the olive-forest of Muley-Ismael cannot be seen. To the eastward, 
 near the sea, we saw mountains, hills, and these large stretches of country, 
 — every where desolation. Still as we advanced, the tents of the tribe of 
 Douairs seemed to thicken; and we shortly entered the fertile plain of Melata, 
 where the Arab husbandmen were tracing shallow furrows with a plough 
 similar to that which we see in the drawings of the first ages of Rome." 
 
 Proceeding they found an auberge (or countiy inn), built of boards, 
 and a petit verre d 'eau-de-vie (glass of brandy) to dispel the damp, on the 
 desert hanks of the Tlelat, where the industrious Martin, Lamoriciere's 
 well-known maitre d'hotel, was ahle to get up a kind of cross between 
 French and Arab cookery. "Whilst we were breakfasting, the rain was 
 n -olved to share in the banquet and we were ohliged to mount our 
 horses, the hoods of our cabans (light woollen greatcoat*) drawn over our 
 
 * Souvenirs, p. 219.
 
 TILLAGE OF SIG. 173 
 
 faces to ward off those sheets of water that fall in all their glory in Africa. 
 Happily the road crossed the forest of Muley-Ismael, and the stony ground 
 resisted the hoofs of our steeds, joyful at having at last quitted the slimy 
 and muddy soil of the Melata plain. In time of war crossiug the wood 
 is dangerous, and many engagements have taken place there. A little to 
 the right we passed the mound where Colonel Oudinot, of the 2d Chasseurs, 
 was killed in 1835 in a brilliant charge at the head of his regiment. 
 Near the water-trough which General Lamoriciere had established in the 
 middle of the wood, in order to quench the thirst of the columns on their 
 Tray, an old wild olive-tree is pointed out, covered with little hits of cloth, 
 and piled round with stones. It is the tree under which the Cherif of 
 Morocco, Muley-Ismael, stopped, when, 140 years ago, at the head of a 
 numerous cavalry (of which the Douairs and Abids formed a part), he 
 advanced to attempt the conquest of the country. This forest has taken 
 its name from his defeat. Every woman whose husband is at the wars, 
 faithful to the popular belief, throws a stone in passing at the foot of the 
 olive, and attaches to it a bit of her clothing to preserve him from evil. 
 At three o'clock p.m. we crossed the wooden bridge, and the drummer of 
 the station saluted the entrance of the general into the village of Sig, 
 composed of wooden huts and one stone house. As to the other build- 
 ings, they were either half finished or on paper ; and those of the colonists 
 whom the fever had not driven to the hospital, passed their time in dis- 
 puting. The previous year, when they built the enclosure of the village, 
 all believed in its rapid prosperity. This part of the plain was healthy, 
 the land proverbially fertile, the cannon resounded through the valley, 
 the Arab horsemen were galloping full-tilt along the channels made for 
 irrigation, discharging their muskets to salute the arrival of water in the 
 plain. In fact, it was a great day ; for, under the skilful direction of the 
 captain of engineers, M. Chapelain, the old Turkish dam had just been 
 restored. Nothing could be more beautiful than this piece of masonry, 
 100 feet wide, raised with large blocks of stone, almost all taken from 
 Roman remains, which covered the ground within a radius of 4000 metres 
 (13,120 feet). Stopped between two rocks by this dam, the waters 
 spread over the two banks by two principal channels, carrying into all 
 the fields abundance and fertility. When, standing on the little bridge 
 of the sluices, you turn towards the plain, whilst at your feet you hear 
 the redundant waters leaping over the barrier, and rolling as they roar 
 into the ancient bed, your eyes discover an immense horizon, a verdant 
 and fertile plain, hills lost in the mist ; and on your right, eight leagues 
 from the Sig, the marshes of the Macta and a series of sanddiills spread- 
 ing out like the meshes of a net. 
 
 The general wished to ascertain the causes which prevented the de- 
 velopment of a village placed in the best conditions for prosperity ; he, 
 therefore caused it to be announced that after five P.M. he would receive
 
 174 MASCARA. 
 
 all the colonists who wished to speak with him. This interview and its 
 results will be described in the chapter on Colonisation. Suffice it to say 
 here, that owing to the active measures adopted by the governor, a few 
 months later, any one crossing the Sig would no longer have recognised 
 St. Denis, so greatly was that village transformed. 
 
 " A little beyond St. Denis," proceeds Castellane, " you enter the 
 gorges of the mountains which separate the valley of the Sig and the 
 Habra from Mascara and the valley of Eghris. The night was dark 
 when we crossed these defiles to arrive at the bridge of Ouad-el-Hammam 
 (the river of the bath), where we were to bivouac. The next niorning 
 we had to start forthwith : we left behind us the little redoubt, where, in 
 the revolt of 1845, a canteen-keeper, an old non-commissioned officer of 
 some regiment, having been shut up in the blockhouse with two stout 
 companions, held his post against the Kabyles, and was relieved by a 
 detachment going to Mascara. The rain began again to pour down with 
 still greater violence as we left the road usually followed by the prolonges 
 or baggage-waggons, and we climbed the cross-road at the risk of falling 
 into the ravines ; but at length we cleared the famous ascent christened 
 by the soldiers creve-coeur (break heart), and we soon after met General 
 Renaud, who came to meet General Lamoriciere, with a great number of 
 officers, of Arab chiefs, and with the commandant of the city, M. Bastoul, 
 who was regarded as the Solomon of the place. We had reached Mascara. 
 The history of Mascara is connected with the most glorious recollections 
 of the people of the province of Oram In 1804 Bou Kedach, the dey of 
 Algiers, confided the command of the west to one of his favourites, a young 
 man twenty-four years of age, named Bou-Chelagrham (the father of the 
 mustachio). Ambitious, active, and intelligent, Bou-Chelagrham had sworn 
 to avenge the death of his predecessor, the Bey of Chaban, killed by the 
 Christians of Oran ; but before he turned his arms against the infidel, he 
 wished to reduce the whole province under his authority. 
 
 Until then the town of Mazouna, situated in the Dahra, between the 
 Shellif and the sea, had been the residence of the beys ; but being too dis- 
 tant from the centre of the province, they had seen a great number of 
 tribes escape from their authority. The first act of the new bey was to 
 quit Mazouna, and to transport the seat of the Turkish power to the other 
 side of the first chain of mountains, to a spot called the country of the 
 Querth, from the name of a Berber tribe which inhabited it. This posi- 
 tion, which permitted the cavalry of Bou-Chelagrham to flank the tribes 
 of the plains, of the Mina, of the Illil, of the Habra and the Sig, placed 
 them equally within reach of the southern trihes, which up to that time 
 had dared to defy the orders of the beys. The Turkish chiefs posted at 
 Mascara had, moreover, an easy communication with Tlemsen by the lofty 
 table-land near Sidi-Bel-Abb< ■. 
 
 The town of Mascara (Ma-askeur, the mother of soldiers) was built
 
 MASCARA. 175 
 
 upon the last slopes of the ehain commanding the fertile plain of 
 Eghris. This place became the residence of the beys up to the time 
 when they drove -the Christians fromOran; it soon prospered, and con- 
 tained a numerous but not a very moral population, if we may believe 
 the traveller Mohainmed-Ben-Yousef, who says : " I had conducted the 
 rascals to the walls of Mascara \ they found shelter in the houses of 
 that town." Its inhabitants might be sad scoundrels, but it is quite 
 certain that their military position was excellent. Accordingly at all 
 times Mascara was considered by all military men as the key of the 
 country ; and when General Bugeaud, having formed a strong column at 
 Mostaganem, was uncertain whether he should march upon Tegedempt, 
 the new post founded by Abd-el-Kader on the borders of the Tell, or upon 
 Mascara, to establish his forces there, as General Lamoriciere had advised 
 him ; General Mustaphadjen-Ismael, being asked his opinion, gave this 
 answer : "At the time of the insurrection of Ben-Sheriff (ltflU), there 
 was a great council of greybeards of Turks and of Arabs. They discussed 
 what it was best to do, — to go to Mascara, or to make war on the tribes by 
 razzia. The men who were cunning in couucil, and all who were firm in 
 their stirrups, were unanimously of opinion that they should go to Mas- 
 cara. I have not the presumption to think that I know more than they, 
 and that which they then said, I say now : ' Go to Mascara, and remain 
 there."' The army, nevertheless, marched for Tegedempt ; but they were 
 soon obliged to return to the advice of old Mustapha and General Lamo- 
 riciere. Established in this town during the winter of 1841-42, without 
 provisions and without resources, General Lamoriciere was commissioned 
 to undertake, and successfully concluded a campaign, which secured the 
 peace of the province, and struck the hardest blow at the power of the 
 emir (Abd-el-Kader) ; whilst General Changarnier, the mountaineer, as 
 old Bugeaud called him, by his daring energy forced the populations of 
 the province of Algiers to sue for quarter. 
 
 Twice ruined, Mascara has now only a few Arab inhabitants ; on the 
 other hand, its European population is numerous; and houses, barracks, 
 and sundry military establishments have been erected on all sides, giving 
 the place the appearance of a French town. Built upon two hills sepa- 
 rated by a stream, whose waters turn a mill, surrounded by gardens ami 
 orchards, containing olives, figs, and other fruit-trees, — this ancient capital 
 of the emir commands the fertile plain of the Eghris, the territory of the 
 Hachems, which extends at its feet ten miles in breadth and twenty-five 
 in length. Here and there large orchards of fig-trees break the mono- 
 tony of this plain, the eye rests on the long ranges of hills, and to the 
 westward on the lofty mountains which appear on the distant horizon, 
 where their summits seem always floating above the mist. The Arab 
 traveller Mohammed ben-Yousef has said : " If thou shouldst chance to 
 meet a proud, dirty, and fat man, make sure he is an inhabitant of Mas-
 
 176 MASCARA. 
 
 cara." " See if the saying of Mohammed-ben-Yousef is not true," added 
 Caddour Myloud, the Douair officer, pointing out to us with his finger 
 the first Arab whom we met at the gate of Mascara ; and he began to 
 laugh with that silent laugh which the habit of ambush-fighting gives a 
 man. We were compelled to join in the opinion of Caddour Myloud, for 
 in the midst of that motley crowd which pressed forward to salute the 
 general, the native of Mascara could be easily recognised. Yet, Heaven 
 knows there was a goodly show of Arabs and Kabyles with patched 
 haicks. As for the Europeans, each man had the costume of his own 
 country, of the north or south, of Spain as well as of Italy ; there were 
 specimens of all lands ; and at the moment when our horses could hardly 
 make way through the crowd, our travelling companion M. de Laussat, 
 who was at my side, suddenly heard himself called by his name and ad- 
 dressed in the purest patois of the Pyrenees. Astonished, he turned his 
 head ; it was a Bearnais (native of Beam) who had spoken to him, a 
 man with a bold and manly face, quite delighted to have met Monsieur 
 there. As soon as he had recognised his countryman, a stroke of the 
 spurs "obliged Apocalypse to cross the road, and the hand of M. de Laus- 
 sat squeezed with emotion that of the native of his paternal village. Merry 
 and contented, this Bearnais had a pretty government grant among the 
 gardens of Mascara ; all went well with him, and he made M, de Laussat 
 promise to come to his house and taste the wine of his own vintage. The 
 halting place was in the square or place, situate in the centre of the town, 
 near a large and carefully preserved mulberry-tree. Scarcely was he dis- 
 mounted, when the general began to hold a full court for the expedition of 
 business, whilst the band of the regiment played its flourishes ; for it was 
 Friday, and on that day the twelve ivomen of Mascara dress themselves 
 in all their finery, under pretext of going to hear the music, and coquet 
 with their looks with those of the garrison who are off duty, and who, 
 when their service is ended, come to walk away their ennui, smoke their 
 cigars, and take their glass of comfort at Vives, an illustrious confectioner. 
 Vives, who had arrived with the first column that occupied the town, and 
 at first could only boast of a canvas tent, had afterwards a wood hut ; at last, 
 a stall in the street ; and his fortune progressed on a par with the town.* 
 We spent two days at Mascara ; then, all affairs being finished, and the 
 Bearnais wine having been tasted by M. de Laussat, we set out for Mos- 
 taganem; but, instead of striking off in a line to the right, by the road 
 which follows the ravine of the Beni-Chougran, we took the route of the 
 
 * Lieu tenant do France says, their " camp was pitched at the foot of the mountain 
 which bounds the plain of Mascara on the north, and a little stream, whose banks were 
 eiivcred with oleanders, ran through the midst of it. Mascara stands in the centre of a 
 mountain gorge, on a steep and precipitous hill ; the white and cheerful-looking houses 
 are surrounded by a perfect grove of fig-trees, ami a few graceful poplars and slender 
 minarets rise like lances amongst them." P. 144. Its walls are completed, and its powder- 
 magazine contains 66,000 Lbs. Tableau, p. !J87.
 
 EL-BORDJ. 177 
 
 prolonges (baggage-train), and marched to the west, in order to visit El- 
 Bordj (the fort), whose outer wall had been erected by the soldiers. We 
 were to breakfast and bivouac there, at the foot of the mountain, by the 
 fountain whose waters are lost in the plain of the Habra. "Whilst chatting, 
 we arrived on the little table-land of El-Bordj, where we were to receive 
 the hospitality of Caddour-ben-Murphi. The great tents of the bivouac, 
 all of white canvas, were pitched at the gate of the enclosure, which caused 
 this spot to be named the Fort (El-Bordj). A detachment of soldiers of 
 the garrison of Mascara were occupied at this moment in raising the wall, 
 and building in the interior (at the expense of the Arabs) stone houses for 
 the asrha and his horsemen. The general was enchanted with these works, 
 which he justly regarded as very important : for the Arab will not be 
 actually reduced under our sway till the day when, through all the coun- 
 try, the stone fixing him to the soil, he will not be held, as now, to the 
 earth merely by the stake of his tent. He encouraged by his praises those 
 brave soldiers who; as soon as peace is restored, dropping the musket, 
 shoulder the pickaxe, and give their sweat, as an instant before they 
 would have shed their blood, for the grandeur of France. It was past noon 
 before the general had finished looking at every thing ; and after having 
 been on horseback since five in the morning, our stomachs cried hunger. 
 Our pleasure was great, therefore, when we found ourselves seated with legs 
 across on the carpets of the great tents, and saw the large dishes of cous- 
 coussou,* the ragouts with piment, and roast mutton, marching in on the 
 heads of the Arabs. t Advancing farther, the west wind had brought up 
 clouds, and the clouds, after their confounded fashion, the rain in large 
 drops, which soon made our horses slip in the muddy declivities of the 
 mountain ; very fortunately, rain and wind ceased an hour before we 
 arrived at the fountain, where Ave passed the night. The next day, at an 
 early hour, the country sparkled under a beautiful sun, and 'we traversed the 
 fields, which Avere adorned with their first verdure ; saluted by the sharp 
 cries of the women of the Douairs, uttered, according to the custom of the 
 Arabs, to do honour to the chief of the province. The spectacle which 
 surrounded us was truly singular. Animated by the ride, every one 
 looked brilliant and joyous. On all sides was heard the sound of arms and 
 spurs, all the noises which are the precursors of combat ; one might have 
 said, indeed, that we were preparing to run to danger, whilst Ave had 
 only one hour's march before meeting General Pelissier, commanding the 
 subdivision of Mostasranem, who aAvaited us at the three marabouts with 
 the 4th Chasseurs-a-cheval : bronze faces, with long moustachios ; tall 
 men, proudly seated on their little horses. This regiment was worthy 
 of the cavalry whose name alone carried terror into the enemy's ranks. 
 Colonel Dupuch then commanded that valiant troop, Avhose flourishes 
 
 * A kind of porridge and soup combined. t Castcllane, pp. 341-2. 
 
 M
 
 178 BEL-ABBES. 
 
 animated the march as we crossed the valley of the gardens which precede 
 Mostaganem. This valley, covered with fruit-trees and figs, is sheltered 
 from the sea-winds by the hills along the coast : it is the usual promenade 
 of the inhabitants of the town of Mostaganem.* 
 
 After this trip Lamoriciere and his staff returned to Oran, where they 
 made a short stay, before undertaking another promenade pacifique to 
 T.lemsen, &c, which Castellane describes in the following terms : " After 
 the departure of the Mareschal and the deputies, nothing more detained 
 the General de Lamoriciere at Oran. He gave orders, therefore, to pre- 
 pare to depart. We were going to traverse the west of the province, as 
 we had a short time before run through the circles of Mascara and Mos- 
 taganem. The following day at twelve, after having been accompanied on 
 our journey by a companion of joyous temper, a beautiful sun which made 
 the moistened grass sparkle, so that it seemed just sprung as by enchant- 
 ment from the earth through the early rains, we arrived at the Roman 
 ruins of Agkbiel. These ruins, which extend to the south of the hills of 
 Tessalah, belonged to M. de St. Maur, who came to receive us at the 
 limit of his domains, followed by two harriers, his only subjects. The 
 impression which you retain of these places is very singular. If the 
 traveller climbs the highest ruin and allows his eye to wander over the 
 immense plain, he is seized with one of those sensations which issue in 
 Africa from the very bowels of the earth, and which the scenery of France 
 has never begotten. Before him, at his feet, the great salt lakes, whose 
 crystallisations shine like diamonds in the sun ; to the right are the undu- 
 lating lines of the earth, which unite with the mirage of the air, and seem 
 to float and disappear in the mist ; on the left you behold verdant and 
 woody hills, whose semicircle closes at Miserghin, to shoot up again in a 
 rocky ridge, and whose slope gradually rising, attains the summit of Santa 
 Cruz, — a rocky bluff on which the Spaniards chose to found a fortress, 
 whence the eye wanders over all the country. More distant, blending 
 with the blue sky, the spectator discovers a dark line; — it is the sea, 
 whose waves bathe the shores of Provence ; but on the right, the wild 
 aspect of the Mountain of the Lions reminds him that he is very far from 
 France. At some distance from the Roman ruins, our neighbours of Bel- 
 Abbes, the Goumsof this post, were waiting for us. As the rain continued 
 to fall in torrents, so soon as the ground permitted us, we set off at a round 
 trot, and at five o'clock our horses were fastened to the cord in the camp 
 formed by two battalions of the Foreign Legion, which was bivouacking 
 in, u- Bel-Abbes. Situated behind tbc first chain of mountains, eighteen 
 leagues (45 miles) to the south, upon the meridian of Oran, the post of 
 Bel-Abbes commanded the flanks, and assured the security of the plain of 
 the Melata, presenting to our columns a prompt means of drawing supplies 
 
 * Castellane's Souvenirs, p. 34G.
 
 THE ISSER. 179 
 
 when they had to carry on operations at the extreme edge of the Tell and 
 Serssoua. Founded in 1843, under the name of Biscuitville, by General 
 Bedeau, the establishment of Bel-Abbes belonged to the series of magazine- 
 posts which every twenty leagues — i. e. every three marches of the infantry, 
 and every two marches of the cavalry — were raised upon two parallel lines 
 running from the seashore to the interior, throughout the whole extent of 
 the province of Oram When the war took a decided turn," continues 
 Castellane, " we owed a great part of our success to two different causes, — 
 the creation of magazine-posts, and that of the Arab bureaux, or offices. 
 The magazine-posts indeed multiplied our forces, by approximating re- 
 sources ; and the Arab bureaux, by securing a proper employment of them.* 
 The following day we took the route to Tlemsen, under the escort of two 
 fine squadrons of African chasseurs ; for since the Beni-Hamer had been 
 led to Morocco by the Emir in 1845, the year of the great revolt, all the 
 country from Bel-Abbes to the Isser was empty and delivered up to high- 
 waymen. The sole inhabitants now of these fertile hills were some lions, 
 whose traces we often saw in the shape of large footprints majestically 
 engraven on the earth, some hyenas, and wild boars. 
 
 We disturbed their repose by giving them a vigorous chase ; and this 
 did very well as regards the wild boars and hyenas, but the lion was gene- 
 rally respected. This chase is not without danger; not on account of the 
 boar, — with a little skill and coolness one can always avoid the strokes of 
 his tusks, — but these cursed Arabs who accompanied us, without troubling 
 themselves as to whether we were in front of them, did not cease firing, 
 at the risk of missing the beast and sending the ball through us. It was 
 far from Bel- Abbes to the Isser, where we were to bivouac; and it was 
 quite dark when the little column arrived at the bank of the river : with- 
 out moon or stars, we did not know where to set foot ; and it was neces- 
 sary to find out the ford, for the river is rapid and wide in this spot. 
 The first who attempted the passage tumbled over, a second was not 
 more fortunate, but a third gained the opposite side. Then lighting some 
 branches of the wild jujube-tree, torn from amongst the neighbouring 
 bushes, we stuck these torches on the top of our sabres, and the whole 
 troop passed without difficulty. At daybreak the trumpets of the chas- 
 seurs sounded the reveil. The air was sharp and animating ; a few clouds 
 were floating over the blue sky and the tops of the mountains, forming to 
 the east and south a kind of horse-shoe, that marked out the basin in 
 which Tlemsen is built. The Mansourah and its admirable waters, which 
 spread fertility through the environs of the town, was in front of us ; on 
 our left, a little behind, we perceived the hills of Eddis, where, about the 
 end of December in the year 1841, the solemn interview was held which 
 decided the subjection of the greatest part of the country. J 
 
 * Castellane, p. 3G7. t Ibid. p. 360.
 
 J 80 TLEMSEN. 
 
 This country of Tlemsen is not, however, easy to govern ; at all times 
 it has been the theatre of great struggles : and many centuries ago, Si- 
 Mohamed-el-Medjeboud (mouth of gold) said, " Tlemsen is the stony 
 ground in which the hook of the reaper breaks. How many times have 
 women, children, and old men been abandoned in its walls !" The his- 
 tory of this town is only a long description of war, since that famous siege 
 of Tlemsen, in 1286, by Abi-Said, brother of Abou-Yakoub, the Sultan of 
 Fez, — who during seven years kept the Beni-Zian in a state of siege, and 
 caused a tower to be constructed within his camp, the ruins of which still 
 exist, — to a blockade which the Commandant Cavaignac sustained behind 
 the walls in 1837, with the volunteer battalion (bataillon franc). We 
 arrived at the bridge which had been thrown over the Safsaf by the 
 Turks, and before us extended the large olive-trees which shaded the 
 entire country, and spread themselves out like a green carpet at the foot 
 of the town. Nothing could be more beautiful, more graceful, or more 
 charming than this city, whose white houses rested, on one side, against 
 the slopes of a rocky mountain, which poured forth in majestic cascades 
 its spouting waters, irrigating at their feet a rich enclosure of fragrant 
 gardens ; whilst in the distance, hills succeeded hills, and mountains were 
 piled beyond mountains, blending with the blue line of the sky."* 
 
 M. Berbrugger gives the following description of General Clauzel's 
 march to Tlemsen in 1836 : 
 
 "It was on the 8th of January, 1836, that the French army left Oran, 
 under the command of Marshal Clauzel, and took the road to Tlemsen. 
 There was an urgent necessity for this expedition, as the French auxiliary 
 chief, Mustafa-ben-Ismail, and the garrison of Turks and Koulouglis whom 
 he commanded, had just experienced a somewhat serious check ; they were 
 closely besieged by Abd-el-Kader in the citadel named Mechouar, and pro- 
 visions as well as ammunition were on the point of failing them. Now, 
 after having encouraged them to resist the Emir with energy, it was out 
 of the question to desert them in misfortune. 
 
 The first day's march took the army by Meserguin to the Ouad-Bridia, 
 on the northern shore of the great Sebkhah (salt lake), which at that time 
 contained, instead of water, a kind of yellow mud or deposit. On the 
 second day they halted for the night on the banks of the Ouad-el-Malahh, 
 which is also called Rio-Salado, the Spanish translation of the Arabic ap- 
 pellation. By the way they discovered two emissaries of Mustafa-ben- 
 Ismail in the brushwood. This chief announced that Abd-el-Kader was 
 in Tlemsen, and that he was arranging to carry off the inhabitants the 
 moment that the French appeared. He added that their arrival was 
 anxiously expected by the Koulouglis. 
 
 On the third day they encamped in a pretty circular valley formed by 
 
 * Castcllane, p. 375.
 
 TLEMSEN. 
 
 181 
 
 the Ouad Senan and another small river. They observed at this spot 
 the ruins of a fortress built with blackish stones of a volcanic appearance, 
 and forming the remains of the citadel called Qasr*-ebn-Senan in Nubian 
 
 MEETING OF MARSHAL CLAUZEL AND MUSTAPHA. 
 
 geography. Edrisi even asserts that there was a considerable town on 
 this spot in his time. 
 
 The following day, at Ain-el-Bridje (the fountain of the little fort), 
 they arrived at the remains of some Roman structure, situated near a 
 fountain, where a stone belonging to an ancient sepulchre has been dis- 
 covered. This spot appears to have been the site of a kind of fortress ; 
 but the expedition only brought to light a single tumular inscription void 
 of interest. 
 
 On the 12th of January they had reached the Ouad-Amiguera, and 
 were only separated by five leagues from the end of the expedition. They 
 shortly learnt from Mustapha that Abd-el-Kader had departed, taking away 
 2000 inhabitants ; and on the 13th the expedition approached Tlemsen in 
 two columns ; the main body, under Marshal Clauzel, advancing along the 
 high-road to the town, reached Ouzidan, a truly delightful spot, Avhose 
 beauty was increased by its contrast to the barren country that they had 
 just ti'aversed. The marshal was soon after met by Mustapha-ben-Ismail, 
 
 * Qasr or Ksour, the same word as Alcazar.
 
 182 TLEMSEN. 
 
 and after a short interview entered Tlemsen with his army, amidst the 
 salutes and cheers of the Koulouglis." 
 
 The antiquities of Tlemsen are descrihed in another chapter, and we 
 shall here simply state that it is a very ancient Moorish town, built near 
 the site of a Roman city. We cannot thread the mazy web of Moorish 
 dynasties that have held sway in Tlemsen, which was once the capital of a 
 great kingdom. Omitting many details in its history, we proceed to observe, 
 that the dynasty of the Beni-Zian falling into disgrace through the abuse 
 of despotism, saw its vast empire dismembered. Mostaganem, Mazagran, 
 Tunis, and many other towns, had chosen individual sovereigns when the 
 Spaniards conquered Oran ; and the Turks, masters of Algiers, strove to 
 extend their authority westward. The dissensions that arose in the family 
 of Beni-Zian favoured the general tendency to dismemberment that mani- 
 fested itself in the kingdom of Tlemsen. The usurpation of Bou-Hamou, 
 who seized the reins of government to the detriment of his nephew Abou- 
 Zian, increased the confusion. Baba-Aroudj, or Barbarossa, the lucky 
 Turkish corsair, who had just founded an empire at Algiers, was then 
 engaged in reducing Tunis ; and learning the events at Tlemsen, he re- 
 solved to profit by them. He advanced with his army as the supporter 
 of Abou-Zian, and the gates were opened without a blow being struck, 
 on his promising on the Koran to restore the legitimate sovereign, Abou- 
 Zian, whom, however, he at once strangled, exterminating all the other 
 members of the family on whom he could lay his hands. The Spaniards 
 Avere annoyed at his neighbourhood, and sent an expedition from Oran to 
 dispossess him, under Don Martin de Argote. Barbarossa, shut up in the 
 Mechouar, was soon reduced to great straits for want of provisions, which 
 induced him to attempt a flight by an underground passage ; and though 
 he scattered gold and silver on his path to delay the pursuit of the Spa- 
 niards, he was overtaken on the banks of the Ouad-el-Malahh, or Bio- 
 Salado. After a desperate fight, Garcia de Tineo, a Spanish officer, killed 
 Baba-Aroudj, and cut off his head; which being sent to the governor of 
 Oran, was forwarded to the monastery of St. Jerome at Cordova. To 
 this trophy was added his vest of red velvet embroidered with gold, which 
 the monks used as a priest's vestment (chape). 
 
 Bou-Hamou was replaced on the throne by the Spaniards ; but Khair- 
 eddin, brother of Barharossa, soon re-established the Turkish power by 
 becoming the patron of Messaoud, who disputed the throne of Tlemsen 
 Avith his brother Moussa-abd-Allah, both being sons of Bou-Hamou. At 
 length, under the rule of Salah-Bais, pasha of Algiers, the Turks became 
 complete masters of Tlemsen, driving away Mouley-Hha§an, the last prince 
 of the Reni Zian dynasty, under the pretext of his holding relations with 
 the Spaniards at Oran. 
 
 Henceforth the annals of Tlemsen became blended with those of Al-
 
 TLEMSEN. 183 
 
 giers, the last event of note in its history being its siege and partial 
 destruction by Pasha Baba-Hhacan, in 1081" of the Hegira (a.d. 11676)-.* 
 
 The territory of the town of Tlemsen, backed by the mountain of 
 Tyerm, is contracted between the river Ouad Safsaf, — which lower down, 
 before falling into the Isser, is called the Sikak, — and the Ouad-Hermava, 
 one of the tributaries of the Tafna. Numerous brooks of fresh water, 
 some of which are employed as water-power for mills, irrigate this fertile 
 soil, whose powerful vegetation presents in a small compass the trees of 
 Europe and Africa combined. To the west and north the outskirts of the 
 town are decorated by a complete forest of magnificent olive-trees, regu- 
 larly planted, and yielding a considerable return. 
 
 The old enclosure of Tlemsen, which has a development of five thou- 
 sand metres (16,400 feet), consists of walls composed of a mortar of sand, 
 lime, and small stones that have been cast into moulds. This structure, 
 remarkable for solidity, has suffered much less from the ravages of time 
 than more recent edifices raised in the same place. The modern enclosure, 
 scarcely a third of the ancient, is an earth-wall (en pise) flanked with 
 towers. It is often broken, is without ditch, and surmounted with ter- 
 races on the east and south sides, having on the former side an angle with 
 a demi-lune before it. 
 
 The interior of the city exceeds even most Arab towns in the irregu- 
 larity of its thoroughfares. It contains such complication, and is such an 
 inextricable web of confusion, that the stranger once involved in its labv- 
 rinths can scarcely find out his starting-place. As a compensation, it used 
 to enjoy the luxury (in hot climates) of streets covered with trellis-work, 
 but civilisation has of course banished them ; and the houses, which con- 
 sist of one story only, are not whitewashed outside, as at Algiers, which 
 gives the town externally a dull appearance. 
 
 The mosques of Tlemsen are numerous, but of little importance, save 
 the Great Mosque, whose minaret is not deficient in elegance, but unhap- 
 pily intestinal wars between the Koulouglis and Arabs have much in- 
 jured it. 
 
 The most remarkable monument of Tlemsen is the Jfecftottar, a citadel 
 situated south of the town, which it touches, but which it only imperfectly 
 commands. This fort, which has no ditches, contains a hundred houses 
 and a mosque. The garrison maintained there by the Turks used some- 
 times to amount to 3000 men, from which the size of the mechouar may 
 be inferred. The French have built handsome barracks in it.t 
 
 Outside the town, at the distance of about one mile to the west, you 
 meet a vast enclosure of earthen walls (en j)ise) called Ma/nsowrah, It is 
 stated that a town used to stand there, though not a vestige of a house re- 
 
 * Berbruofger, part ii. 
 
 t Castellane, p. 377 ; Tableau, p. 387.
 
 184 
 
 TLEMSEN. 
 
 mains. The minaret of a destroyed mosque is the only ruin on the spot ; 
 and this monument, which is built in rather a bold style, is ornamented 
 with arabesques in very good taste. 
 
 MOSQUE, ETC. AT MAXSOU RAH. 
 
 The outskirts of Tlemsen are tolerably well cultivated, and present 
 several villages of considerable size : including Ouzidan, near the interior 
 bridge of the Ouad-Safsaf ; El-Abhad, better known by the name of Sidi- 
 Bou-Medin or Medina, a marabout who is interred there in a splendid 
 koubbah, which has been sadly injured since the French occupation; Ain- 
 el-Hhadjar, at six kilometres (3f miles) to the north-west of Tlemsen; 
 Ain-el-Hhout, at four kilometres (2'4 miles) to the north; El-Hannaya- 
 Tralemt and Melitia. You rind, moreover, some genuine villages of 
 Troglodytes, whose inhabitants are called Rbaranizah (people of caverns), 
 at Qalaaly, Chelebi, <fcc. It is supposed that their dwellings are excava- 
 tions made at a remote period in quarrying.* 
 
 From Tlemsen Lamoriciere and Castellane journeyed west to the post 
 of Lela-Marghnia, on the frontier of Morocco, -j- by a road much in- 
 
 * Bcrbrugger, part ii. 
 
 t Souvenirs, p. 379.
 
 p. 184. 
 
 TOMB OF SIDI-BOV -MEDINA.
 
 NEMOURS. 185 
 
 fested by lions. They halted the first day by some hot springs, in one 
 of the strangest situations imaginable. Around them was a dark stony 
 ground, red sandstone soil, with sombre olives clothing the hills. Suddenly, 
 at the turn of the road, a magician's wand conjures up a fairy-scene, a 
 garden of Armida. Enormous palm-trees shoot up, bound together by 
 the creepers of vines and parasitical plants ; and under this dome *of ver- 
 dure the boiling waters bathe the foot of the gigantic trees. The scene 
 exceeds the wildest dream of Oriental poet. It seems like the enchanted 
 shades where a mysterious genius makes his abode; and it has its wild 
 legend.* 
 
 In the evening they reached the French post of Lela-Marghnia, a quarter 
 of a league from the frontier, and separated by a plain of six leagues (15 
 miles) from the Morocco town of Ouchda. This immense plain is watered 
 by the Oued-Isly, and is the scene of the great victory gained by Marshal 
 Bugeaud over the hordes of Morocco in 1844. After crossing the scene 
 of the battle, Castellane's party reached, at two hundred paces from Djema, 
 the funeral column raised to the fallen French, under the shade of large 
 carob-trees, in the midst of a meadow; and five minutes after they entered 
 Djema. This mazazine is built on the sea-shore, at the mouth of a little 
 river, between two steep cliffs, where you perceive the ruins of villages for- 
 merly the nests of pirates. Barracks in planks, a loop-holed wall, large 
 magazines, some cabarets; on the shore some fishermen's barks, and small 
 craft belonging to the French navy; and in the roads some transport- 
 brigs, or at times a war- steamer ; and, amidst all this, busy soldiers, 
 cantinieres, and tradesmen; — such was Djema, or Nemours, in 184G. 
 
 It is a dull place of residence, the chase and study being the only 
 resources of the officers. Their mess-room and cafe was a hut of deal 
 planks, and their fare blue wine ; instead of the elegant saloon of the 
 Freres Provencaux, its gilded panels, mirrors, and nectar. But then they 
 were jolly companions every one. 
 
 The next morning nothing detained them at Djeina-Ghazaout, — or Bug- 
 town, as it was then christened. This sobri cruet will explain their anxiety 
 to leave it. The road back to Oran passed through Nedroma, a cool 
 and shady town surrounded by good solid walls, with rich and industrious 
 inhabitants, where, according to the report of evil tongues, it is said that 
 money is so beloved, that nobody inquires about its source. + 
 
 Leaving Nedroma, they began to ascend the Kabyle mountains; and 
 they found on the road a population furious at being obliged to submit, 
 but paying their dues without daring to say a word, for the sight of a 
 regiment that escorted the governor made them as gentle as lambs. 
 Passing on, they chased a hare under a brilliant sun, after regaining the 
 plain, and before crossing the col that brought them to Ain-Temouchen, 
 
 * See Part II., Chapter on the Arabs. 
 
 + Is not this the character of places nearer home?
 
 ISO EXPEDITION TO THE OASIS. 
 
 on the road from Tlemsen to Oran. In the heavy soil of Sidour, a kind 
 of dismal swamp of the province of Oran, the rain pouring down in 
 torrents, their horses kept floundering and sliding, and the officers in- 
 dulged in a cross-fire of oaths. 
 
 At Ain-Temouchen, in the revolt of 1845, the post had but very little 
 ammuhition. Colonel Walther Esterhazy attempted a relief with 500 
 Arab goums ; and ordering the march, a caid made some observation and 
 refused to obey. The colonel blew out the caid's brains, and two others 
 shared the same fate. This act of energy overawed the wavering, and 
 the post was relieved. This spot, called Chabat-el-Lhame (the flesh-defile), 
 is also noted for the heroism of 1000 Spaniards, who fell almost to a man, 
 facing the enemy, overwhelmed by numbers.* Twenty alone escaped to 
 Oran, which was reached the same evening by Lamoriciere and the staff. 
 
 We shall next accompany Castellane in an expedition to the oases, un- 
 veiling some of the wonders of that region of the sun. While serving in the 
 west, a servant of the Rhomsit rejoined Castellane's party, bringing a 
 letter from the commandant of their little column, giving them order to 
 return as soon as possible, because their squadrons were leaving for Sai'da. 
 
 " We took in much haste the direction of our bivouac ; and we learned 
 on arriving that we were destined to form a part of the column of General 
 Renaud, which was to leave on the 1st of April for a long excursion in the 
 oases of the south. This was, to our minds, a rare piece of good fortune ; 
 and when, a few days after, the column with its long convoy quitted Sai'da, 
 we were all delighted to penetrate at length into those regions, of which so 
 many strange things are related. A train of mules carried a supply of water, 
 as whole days would pass without our finding any ; two thousand camels 
 belonging to the Hamians and the Harars were loaded with provisions, 
 and extended in single file, descending the slight elevations, and mounting 
 the little hills, to the monotonous songs of their conductors. The hares 
 fled by hundreds before these new rabatteurs (men who beat up the game 
 in battues); and the camel-drivers, frightening them by their cries, and 
 throwing their knotted sticks at them, soon got the best of it, and those 
 which escaped them fell under the teeth of our greyhounds. At night 
 our bivouac resembled a vast market. The Arabs carried the game they 
 had got in the day from fire to fire. Upon the table-land of the Serssous, 
 political economy might for once have justified one of her axioms; for it 
 was with much difficulty, whilst offering a hare in one hand and holding 
 out the other, saying, 'Donar soldi,' that the Arabs succeeded in getting 
 rid of their merchandise, so terrible had been the massacre of the morning. 
 Two days after, we bivouacked upon the border of the Chotts. These im- 
 mense salt lakes, dried up in summer, arc only passable in April in a very 
 
 • Castellane. p. 392. 
 
 t A tribe of Arabs in the province of Oran.
 
 EXPEDITION TO THE OASIS. 187 
 
 few places. The day after, at the reveil, every one was ready ; alas ! 
 we had been awakened long before by the lowing of the camels, which their 
 conductors were loading in order to be in time. These cries are one of 
 the punishments of an expedition in the south, on the other side of the 
 Chotts. We were going to seek the Bled-el-Ehela (the country of void) ; 
 but at the dawn, before we planted our foot upon the other side, the 
 long file of camels appeared to assume the most grotesque forms in its 
 narrow passage. One seemed to have only an immense head, others 
 swelled out like sails, many appeared to send out flames and to float 
 in the air ; again, several walked with their legs uppermost, and in per- 
 petual motion. This was one of the singular effects of mirage, so com- 
 mon in the Chotts,. and which are considered fabulous by those who have 
 not seen them. Our guide was an Arab cle proie — a man of the Hamians ; 
 a freebooter of the high lands, an adventurer, with the hooked nose of a 
 vulture, eyes black and liquid, with a thin, bronzed, calm, and impassible 
 physiognomy, a true type of a Saharian. He now directed us to the 
 wells, where, under the branches which covered them, we found an abun- 
 dance of pure water. At our departure the branches which protected them 
 were religiously replaced ; for a well in the Sahara is a sacred spot, which 
 demands the care and protection of every traveller. Our march then con- 
 tinued in this country of void, whose wastes have not the grandeur of 
 other wastes. They oppress the heart instead of elevating it. It seems 
 as if a heavy curse lies on all around ; and we advanced into these naked 
 plains, seeing right and left, and as far as the horizon, ai'id mountains 
 without vegetation, offering nothing on which the eye could rest. In fact, 
 that part of the Sahara we were then crossing was of sad celebrity, and it 
 is never more than a passage for the nomadic inhabitants of these countries. 
 A small body of western Hamians (Garabas), not subjected to France, were 
 with their flocks at about, twenty leagues (50 miles) from us. The general 
 heard this from his scouts; and as for several days we bivouacked only in 
 the hollows, and during the day the mirage prevented the dust raised by 
 our column from being seen, we were certain that we were unobserved. 
 Therefore, at 3 o'clock p.m., a picked body of six hundred infantry, with 
 the cavalry and the general, left in the hope of effecting a bold stroke. 
 The rest of the infantry and the convoy directed their inarch towards the 
 wells of Nama, where Ave were to meet them the next day. 
 
 " The heat was overpowering; but these men, inured to fatigues, feared 
 neither the burning sun nor the chilling rain. At six in the morning the 
 column halted ; the Arab scouts returned, announcing that the camels of 
 the Hamians were crazing at a distance of three hours' march from us. 
 This was an evident sign of their security. The infantry had already 
 marched fifteen hours ; and from the spot on which we halted to the wells 
 of Nama, we were four hours' further march. If the attack proved a 
 failure, that would make nearly thirty hours of active duty. The general
 
 188 CIIELLALA. 
 
 dared not send off the cavalry alone, and to the extreme regret of the 
 Arabs, who reckoned on the booty, the order was given to take the 
 direction of Nama. At one o'clock, after having crossed these sandy 
 downs under a burning sun, without having found a drop of water since 
 the day before to refresh our parched lips, we arrived at the place of 
 bivouac with only five men on the cacolets (or sick-list), and that caused 
 by accident. The cavalry had gone on before ; and when on the summit 
 of one of these sandy undulations, our squadron perceived an immense 
 sheet of water, whose banks were reflected in the transparent waves as in 
 a Swiss lake, there was a universal shout of pleasure, and we hastened to 
 unbridle our horses to water them ; but as we advanced we saw the water 
 recede before us at a distance of about six feet, so that we soon discovered 
 our error. We were again the dupes of a mirage. However, we found 
 water in the sand-hills at seventy paces on our right. It was neces- 
 sary to draw the water from the wells, in order to pour it into the troughs 
 which surround them. The next day the baggage and the rest of the 
 column had rejoined us a few hours' before, when a most frightful hurri- 
 cane swept over us. In ten minutes the whole sky became a curtain of 
 clouds ; the thermometer fell of a sudden, and whirlwinds of snow suc- 
 ceeded the most overpowering heat. Happily we were all together, other- 
 wise it would have been all over with us. At three paces off we could 
 not see each other ; and for fear of straying, we were obliged to gather, 
 to the sound of the trumpet, the broom which covered the downs, — this 
 being the only aliment we could find to feed our fires. The day after the 
 ground was covered with snow. Imagine what the sufferings of that 
 night and the two following days were, for this darkness continued during 
 that period. At the first returning rays of the sun, the sands of the stony 
 ground in the plain absorbed the melted snow. The air, however, con- 
 tinued icy cold; but we were advancing south, approaching the mountains, 
 of which we soon reached the highest passes. 
 
 " We met occasionally a pistachio-tree of meagre foliage, or the violet- 
 flowering broom, growing amongst the limestone rocks and the reddish 
 soil. Our men, marching in open column, descended a steep slope in the 
 direction of Chellala. The same sullen, desolate, melancholy aspect per- 
 vaded the whole district ; and our horses trod on nothing but the alpha, 
 a sort of little round rush, or those small shrubs whose salt-flavoured 
 leaves are so much liked by the camels. When the eyes have been un- 
 rHVeshed for many days with the sight of verdure, it is scarcely possible 
 to imagine the delight with which pure running water, foliage, large 
 leaves, and trees whose shade shelters him from the sun, is welcomed by 
 the weary traveller. For several days the heat of the sun had been in- 
 supportable ; therefore, when we arrived at the oasis of Chellala, our pre- 
 vious sufferings were enough to make us find its sickly fig-trees and scat- 
 tered palm-trees very delicious.
 
 TIIE OASES. 189 
 
 " The general received the homage and the tribute of the town (if an 
 assemblage of mud-built houses deserves the name), whose narrow miry- 
 streets displayed a wretched sickly population. There, as every where 
 else, the grasping Jew has taken up his habitation, and meddles in all 
 the transactions of the place. This was the first ksour or town that we 
 had passed in our journey ; but our stay was only short, as our destination 
 was now towards Bou-Semroun, an oasis situated more to the south, whose 
 inhabitants had refused to pay tribute. 
 
 " A rather broad and sandy valley has to be crossed in order to reach 
 Bou-Semroun. On either side rise arid mountains; and parallel with them 
 towers aloft a rocky eminence, in the form of an inverted shell, leaving a 
 space between the foot of the mountain and the base of the rock. A minaret 
 gives notice of the proximity of the town, which is only hidden from view 
 by a small eminence. From the summit of this sand-hill, its gardens of 
 palm-trees, enclosed in a narrow ravine of two leagues (five miles) in 
 length, appeared like a stream of verdure between two banks of sand. 
 The inhabitants had fled ; but gun-barrels glittered on the minaret, from 
 whence several fanatics, wishing to die in the sacred cause, fired upon the 
 infantry sent to occupy the ksour.'"' The column bivouacked south of the 
 town, between it and a marabout of elegant architecture. Who could 
 have constructed it in this remote country 1 Without doubt, some Chris- 
 tian prisoner. The Greek crosses introduced in the ornaments made us as- 
 sume this. The ksour resembles a citadel, surrounded by a broad ditch and 
 good mud walls, having but two outlets. Bou-Semroun could defy mere 
 plunderers; and in these narrow alleys, and in these houses of two stories, 
 the merchandise, the corn, and the riches of the nomadic tribes, are in 
 safety. Happily the unsubdued inhabitants had not thought of defending 
 themselves; otherwise it would have been necessary both to sap and mine, 
 to have taken their fortress. Open doors enabled us to enter their houses, 
 amongst which several ovei'looking the ravine had a certain degree of 
 elegance about them ; they were no doubt the dwellings of the chiefs. 
 Our bivouac, with its movable houses, had been established close to the 
 gardens. After descending the arid dry declivity, the scene suddenly 
 changed into one of freshness, of calm, and of repose, cooled by the 
 abundant waters of a pure limpid stream. Here every field is sur- 
 rounded by an earthen wall (enjnse), very solidly constructed ; and a wooden 
 lock protects the barley and grass, the pomegranate and the fig trees of 
 the inhabitants of the ksour. Enormous tufts of palm-trees shoot towards 
 the sky, their lofty crowns meeting above. It was a magnificent park in 
 which to repose after our fatigue. The gardens supplied us with fresh 
 vegetables, green barley for our horses, besides the cane of the palm-tree, 
 which each foot-soldier cut as a remembrance of this expedition to the 
 
 * The name given to the Sahaiian towns and villages.
 
 190 SIDI-CHIRQ. 
 
 south. To our great joy, we remained in this lovely spot for a whole 
 week ; and we occupied ourselves during the halt in inventing fresh 
 pleasures and amusements. 
 
 " Inaction was a fatigue, and motion a necessity to us. Thus one even- 
 ing, to the sound of the trumpet, as on a village -green, a grand steeple- 
 chase was announced for the next day in the gardens of Bou-Semroun. 
 The general, as umpire and mayor of the place, was invited, according to 
 ancient custom, to preside at the fete. Every body flocked to it; the 
 excmisites on horsehack, and the humble trooper with cane in hand. A 
 canthiiere, nominated Queen of Beauty, Avas to present the winner with 
 a beautiful pair of pistols offered by General Renaud. The stake was 
 worthy of the peril ; for never did the Croix de Berny offer, in its most 
 prosperous days, greater difficulties : 2400 metres there and back ; walls, 
 gates, impediments of every kind ; tufts of palm-trees, of which we had 
 to keep out of the way.; and to sum up our difficulties, after one stone 
 wall came another of earth. The horse had to jump, at a height of three 
 feet, through an opening just large enough to admit his body; whilst the 
 rider had to throw his legs on to the neck of the horse in order to escape 
 injury. Such was our race-course. 
 
 " All things came off according to rule. A member of the Jockey 
 Club, a real member, gave us the starting word in English, and the gal- 
 loping avalanche cleared gates and impediments. But, alas ! there was 
 more than one fall ; and I assure you that it is no joke, when on the point 
 of reaching the goal, to find yourself under your horse's hind-legs, with 
 every chance of having your jaw smashed at his slightest movement, 
 were it not that the poor beast itself is half dead ; then to see the hoofs of 
 all the other horses levelled at your head, as they drop close to it, before 
 they can clear the unexpected obstacle which you present to them. The 
 sensation of all this is singular and rapid, and has at least the charm of 
 surprisal. Without broken bones, or even a scratch, we were all well, 
 and each of us laughed at his mischances to keep up the general hilarity. 
 
 '■ Thus the time flew rapidly away. Without care, without discpuiet, 
 without sickness, the column was in condition to have supported the 
 severest fatigues. The onions of Egypt were regretted by the Hebrews 
 in the desert. Our soldiers may be pardoned, therefore, for having sighed 
 more than once at the remembrance of the small tender onions of Bou- 
 Semroun, when the time came for returning northwards; our course 
 being first to the cast, then towards the south, in order to reach lAbiot- 
 Sidi-Chirq, a celebrated marabout village in that country. The descent 
 in the road was very steep. At length, after passing the last defile, an 
 immense extent of horizon opened before us. On our right, high crests 
 of mountains formed a half horse-shoe; and the chain extended eastward 
 on our left. At the foot of the mountain, sand-hills crossed and recrossed 
 each other like a network ; and these yellow sandy billows mingled with
 
 THE GREAT DESERT. 191 
 
 the distant outline of the horizon. In front of us a flinty plain, two 
 leagues in length, separated us from the four villages of the Ouled-Sidi- 
 Chirq, encompassed by their fresh shady gardens. 
 
 "The depression which this desolate country had wrought in our minds 
 disappeared on seeing these vast distances, leaving in its place an inex- 
 pressible sentiment of elevation and grandeur. A mosque, held in venera- 
 tion by tbe faithful, occupied the centre of these villages. Tbc chiefs of 
 this important tribe, whose religious influence extends over all the Sahara, 
 and even over a portion of the Tell, came to meet the general, to offer 
 their homage and the expected tax. It was the 30th of April, and for a 
 month there had been no news of France. More than 120 leagues (300 
 miles) of sandy desert separated us from the coast ; and here, at the gates 
 of these mysterious countries, we were going to celebrate the fete du roi 
 (king's birthday).* The evening before, the small howitzers that we use in 
 the mountains announced the fete to the people of the south ; and the mor- 
 row each soldier exercised his skill to obtain the prizes offered .by the 
 general. Horse-racing, racing in sacks, sheep-shooting, games of all 
 kinds as in a village fete, took place, accompanied by gay sallies and 
 laughter. Each man forgot his fatigue, and scarcely thought of the dis- 
 tance which separated him from his family and from France. Two little 
 negroes, with some ostriches and haiiks (Arab cloaks), presents to the 
 general, reminded us, however, that we touched upon unknown lands ; as 
 well as the rumbling of thunder, which is heard every day at the hour of 
 prayer (three o'clock). (By a singular phenomenon, every day in summer, 
 towards this hour, gusts of wind and a storm arise in Abiot, and continue 
 about two hours.) These distant peals seem echoes of those far-off lands 
 of which so many wonders are told. 
 
 " Indeed it seems that this mountain-chain, whose base forbids the 
 farther extension of this vast sea of sand, is a barrier placed by the hand 
 of God to stay the northman if he attempt to penetrate into these 
 unknown regions. From the summit of these arid peaks, broken only 
 here and there by narrow passes, the traveller can contemplate these 
 solitudes and these sands, to which the voice of the Lord has said, as to 
 the waves of the ocean, ' So far shalt thou go, and no farther.' But if 
 the Christian must for a time abstain from travelling over them, the Arab, 
 under the protection of his Moslem creed, knows not these obstacles ; and 
 every year, attracted by the allurement of gain, numerous caravans furrow 
 the desert, following the same routes of which Herodotus gives an itinerary. 
 
 " The generally impassible Arab experiences that sensation of uneasi- 
 ness which every man feels before embarking on a long sea-voyage, when 
 on the point of hazarding an expedition in the desert : in fact, these long 
 journeys are much the same thing, since the same organisation and dis- 
 
 * This was in the reign of Louis Philippe.
 
 192 THE FLITTAS. 
 
 cipline as on board a vessel are requisite to overcome similar dangers. 
 Here, as at sea, when the passage is more than usually dangerous from 
 robbers, one caravan awaits another to double its strength, and then they 
 emerge together from the sheltering oasis, and advance without fear. 
 The respect winch is paid to the adventurous traveller on his return is a 
 proof of the fatigues and dangers he incurs."* 
 
 Castellane gives the following description of the district of the Flittas, 
 between the plain of Mina and the Ouanseris : " One day that we had set 
 off hunting after the natives, very early in the morning, we had penetrated 
 into a frightful ravine extending to the west of the watershed as far as the 
 Mina. The road that we were following was two feet in width, and ad- 
 vanced along the steep slopes of a hill, abutting at the bottom of a ravine, 
 whose left side it had previously followed. Evergreen oaks, lentisks, and 
 other shrubs covered this dangerous ground. In the centre of the basin, 
 the waters had worn a wide ditch through the rich mould, forming a ravine 
 in a ravine. During the winter the unbridled waters rush furiously, 
 forcing a passage, dragging trees along with them, and boring under- 
 ground passages to arrive the quicker at this great central artery, 50 feet 
 wide and 30 deep." But in summer and its five months' drought these 
 caverns are accessible, serving as catacombs to conceal the persons and 
 property of the rebellious Flittas, who were smoked out* by the French, 
 disgorging a torrent of men, women, chikh-en, and goats. 
 
 The reader will here remember the terrible tragedy of 1845, when 
 Colonel (now General) Pelissier suffocated 1600 Arabs, or Kabyles, in a 
 cave in the Darha, not far hence. Advancing with Castellane farther 
 inland by the territory of the Kerraich, Temda, and the Ouacl-Teguiguess, 
 we approach Tiaret. 
 
 " The country changes completely on approaching Tiaret. Woods of 
 evergreen oaks, some cedars, large prairies, and springs of water, take the 
 place of the grey and naked shadows of the hills. A troop of gazelles fled 
 before our horses, sometimes bounding through the trees, at others stop- 
 ping as if to provoke us, but quickly vanishing if they perceived that they 
 were seriously pursued. Occasionally the sun shone out from the clouds, 
 . . . throwing its pale light (it was winter) on a part of the wood, whilst 
 the long mountain of Tiaret prolonged the shadow of its wall-like preci- 
 pices. At length we reached the pass of Guertoufa ; and then there opened 
 before us, at the height of 200 feet, the crevice through which we had to 
 penetrate. To reach it you have to traverse a stone avalanche or slip, and 
 to climb the side of the mountain by a zigzag path. Eagles were ma- 
 jestically sailing over our heads. Nothing was heard but the ringing of 
 our horses' hoofs, or of our sabres against the rocks. Amidst these ob- 
 stacles, the soul is roused, and the sublimity of the view fills it with noble 
 
 * Castellane, p. GG7-
 
 TIARET. 193 
 
 thoughts. Then after we had reached the summit, what an imposing and 
 magnificent sight met our eyes ! At our feet was unrolled, immense and 
 luminous, the cascade of rocks that we had just passed, over which the 
 bayonets of our infantry were glancing and flashing ; beyond these were 
 woods, verdure, and meadows ; further still an endless succession of hills, 
 undulating like a sea to the horizon. At the extreme limit of the Guer- 
 toufa, rose, lighted up by the sun and amidst bluish vapours, the lofty 
 mountains of Bel-Assel. A little to the right, the two peaks of Tegui- 
 guess stood out, after the fashion of a promontory ; and this sea of moun- 
 tains was prolonged for 20 leagues (50 miles), till it met the foot of the 
 Ouar-senis, whose long solitary ridge commands the country in a radius 
 of 60 leagues (150 miles). Its form, resembling a fluted obelisk, gives 
 it the appearance of an ancient cathedral topped by a majestic dome. The 
 scenery breathed a sublimity and calm that carried back the thoughts to 
 primitive times. 
 
 The defile, which extends 500 metres (1640 feet), brings you to Tiaret. 
 This post, built of fine masonry, on the limit of the Tell and of the Little 
 Desert, is renowned for the sweetness of its water. The Tell, the foster- 
 mother of Africa, produces corn, just as the Serssous nourishes numberless 
 flocks. It seems as though God wished to establish a barrier between 
 these two countries, whereof one is the slave of the other, being mutually 
 separated by a rampart of mountains. The mountains of Tiaret are the 
 highest of all this chain, and can only be crossed by three passes. From 
 Tiaret you discover a part of the Serssous. Beneath your eye stretches a 
 plain of little rocky hillocks, and between each hillock or mamelon 
 gushes forth a spring; and, thanks to the kindly waters, a thick and sub- 
 stantial growth of grass shoots up, nourishing immense flocks of sheep.* 
 
 According to the Tableau de la Situation for 1850, the European civil 
 population of Tiaret amounted in December 1847 to 85, in December 
 1848 to 65, and in December 1849 to 81 persons. The natives at the 
 latter date amounted in all to 63 individuals. 
 
 In connexion with its military works, it appears that from 1845 to 
 1849, the expenses amounted to 311,074 fr., appropriated chiefly to the 
 construction of two barracks, a hospital, and a cattle-fold or stockade. 
 
 * CasteUane, p. 23S. 
 
 X
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 $iobtn« of ConStauttna. Coast. 
 
 THE COAST — DJIDJELLI COLLO PHILIPPEVTLLE BONA THE PORT THE 
 
 TOWN THE BUILDINGS THE POPULATION SANITARY CONDITION MOUNT 
 
 EDOUGH TRIP TO LA CALLE AN ARAB TRIBE LA CALLE BASTION DE 
 
 FRANCE. 
 
 The existing province of Constantina, or the eastern province of Algeria, 
 has a surface of 175,900 kilometres (67,721*5 square miles), con- 
 taining a population of 1,300,000 inhabitants, and 580 tribes. 
 
 This province lies between the meridians of the Djidjelli and Zaine ; 
 but the old beylik used to extend westward to the Booberak, thus em- 
 bracing the whole of that remarkable district known by the name of Great 
 Kabylia, to which we shall devote a special notice. According to the 
 older division, this province was nearly equal to the other two in extent, 
 being upwards of 230 miles long and more than 100 broad. The sea-coast 
 all the way from the Booberak nearly to Bona is mountainous, whence 
 it obtained from Abulfeda the name of El-Adwah, or the lofty. 
 
 The present eastern limit of the province on the sea-shore is half-way 
 between Dellys and Bugia, in the aghalik of Sebaou. From hence to the 
 kaidat of Ferdjiounah, you follow the coast of Great Kabylia, passing the 
 toAvn of Bugia. As we shall devote a special notice to that portion of Great 
 Kabylia which is comprised in the province of Constantiua, and also to 
 the portion now embraced in the province of Algiers, we shall siniply 
 state on the present occasion that it presents a wild, mountainous region, 
 watered by several rivers, of which the principal is the Summam, falling 
 into the sea near Bugia ; Avhile the highest summits belong to the great 
 range of the Djordjora, chiefly in the province of Algiers, overhanging 
 the Mitidja plain, and peopled by the Kabyles of the Zouaona tribe, who 
 are thought to be descendants of the Vandals. 
 
 Passing to the east of Great Kabylia, we shall first follow the coast- 
 line of this province, which brings us to Djidjelli (Igilgilis), situated near 
 the eastern extremity of the Bay of Bugia. 
 
 M. Lamping, who was quartered some time at Djidjelli, or Dschidgeli, 
 in 1841, with the Foreign Legion, has given the following description of 
 the place : " Dschidgeli lias only a small roadstead, and is built on a rock
 
 DJIDJELLI. 195 
 
 rising out of the sea. Tt belongs to the province of Constantina, and lies 
 between Budschia and Philippeville : it is inhabited by Turks and Arabs, 
 who formerly drove a thriving trade in piracy. Although the town looks 
 like a mere heap of stones, it is said still to contain much hidden treasure. 
 Notwithstanding that Dschidgeli lies nearly under the same latitude as 
 Algiers, its climate is far hotter and more unhealthy; and the oppressive 
 heat has a very remarkable effect upon all new-comers, whose strength 
 deserts them from day to day, so that men who were previously as strong 
 as lions creep about with yellow, pale faces, and with voices as small as 
 those of children." 
 
 Fort Duquesne stands upon the sea, and defends the south-east side 
 of the town. This fort is built upon a rock rising so abruptly from the 
 sea, that a few half bastions towards the land are sufficient for its defence.* 
 The latest official accounts state, that from 1844 to 1849 the sum of 
 20,000 fr. (800/.) has been expended on improving the streets of Djidjelli. 
 From 1843 to 1848 a channel was made to bring water to the town, 
 whose depth is 20 centimetres (7 - 80 inches); that of the siphons is 
 95 millimetres (3-795 inches). The chateau d'eau, or reservoir, can re- 
 ceive 15,000 cubic metres (17,640 cubic yards). The expense of this work 
 was 107,100 fr. (4284/.); and 640 metres (20D9 feet) of sewerage have been 
 made, at au expense of 2500 fr. (100/.) Tliey have also built a civil prison 
 at Djidjelli, from 1843 to 49, for 6500 fr. (260/.); besides a school, erected 
 also between 1S43 and 49, at a cost of 3500 fr. (140/.) 
 
 Independently of these structures, a church and a mosque have been 
 built at Djidjelli between 1843 and 49; the first of which cost 3000 francs, 
 and the last 7300 francs (292/.). 
 
 A market-house and slaughter-house were built at this town between 
 1843 and 1849, for 21,300 francs (8-~>2L); and it has been provided during 
 the same time with a cemetery, for 7100 francs (284/.). 
 
 The greater part of the military works at Djidjelli have been com- 
 pleted very recently; amongst others, the new Porte Constantine lately 
 finished. 
 
 The new wall enclosing the town has been continued; and steps have 
 been adopted to defend its approaches on the sea side. A permanent bat- 
 tery for nine cannon has been built in front of the hospital; and a provisional 
 battery for seven guns has been established at Fort Duquesne. The total 
 expenditure on these works has amounted to 83,000 francs (3320/.). 
 
 The remaining works that were required in 1850 were, the completion 
 of the town wall (encehUe), and the construction of the permanent batteries 
 on the coast.-|- 
 
 Baron Baude, who visited Djidjelli in 1849, states that it stands 13 
 leagues (32|- miles) east of Bugia; that the port is defended to the west- 
 ward by the peninsula on which the town stands; and a chain of rocks 
 * The Foreign Legion, p. 22. + Tableau de la Situation.
 
 196 DJIDJELLI. 
 
 breaks the sea in front of the harbour. It is one of the best maritime 
 stations on the coast; standing on a headland, instead of at the extre- 
 mity of a bay, and having moreover a good harbour. The building 
 slips of Djidjelli were once in high repute; and the town contained in 
 1839 about 200 sailors. 
 
 Djidjelli, or Gigel, was once a bishopric during the sway of the North 
 African Church; and Roman roads led hence to Bugia, Setif, Constantina, 
 and Hippo Regius. The town was encompassed for many years after the 
 French occupation by numerous blockhouses, placed in a semicircle on 
 the surrounding heights. Fort Duquesne stands on the sea-shore, defends 
 the S.E. side of the town, and rises abruptly from the water. 
 
 St. Marie* gives the following account of Djidjelli, which he visited in 
 1845 : " Left Bugia at 11 at night, and next morning at sunrise we were 
 off Gigelly. The port is defended on the west by a peninsula stretching 
 towards the north, on which the fort is built. Towards the offing it is 
 imperfectly defended by a chain of rocky islets, between which the sea 
 rushes with great violence in strong weather. This chain, which joins the 
 end of the peninsula, and runs east parallel with the coast, is more than 
 200 metres long (656 feet). 
 
 " Ancient Igilgilis was intersected by some Roman roads leading to 
 Bugia, Setif, Constantina, and Hippo. The French, Genoese, Venetians, 
 and Flemings had commercial houses at this place, which traded in leather 
 and wax. " On the 22d July, 1664, the Duke of Beaufort took possession 
 of it; and in a small fort commanding the town, which still exists, he left 
 400 men, who, dispersing afterwards, were massacred by the Arabs. A few 
 Maltese now carry on the coral fishery, and the French garrison is of no 
 importance. Leo Africanus gave Djidjelli or Gigel 600 hearths or fires at 
 the beginning of the 16th century; and Aroudj (Barbarossa) took the name 
 of Sultan of Gigel in 1574; but in 1725 Peyssonel only found 60 houses 
 
 there, "f 
 
 The Ouad-el-Kebir, or great river (Ampsaga), falls into the sea 10 
 leagues (25 miles) east of Djidjelli; beyond it are the Sebba-Rous, or seven 
 capes, where the Sinus Numidicus of the Romans may be supposed to 
 begin, and where also the river Zhoora has its influx. The Ouled Attyah 
 and the Beni Friquanah, two principal clans of the Sebba-Rous, use the 
 water of this river; and, unlike other Kabylcs, they live in caves scooped 
 out of the rock, or found ready-made. When a ship comes near the shore, 
 they run in crowds to the coast, and pray to God to give it up into their 
 hands; reminding one of the Cornish clergyman, who, hearing of a wreck 
 in church, desired his congregation to give a fair start, that he might have 
 a chance. 
 
 * Every particular recorder! hy Baron Baudc is naturally chronicled by Count St. Marie 
 au pied de la leltre, including the wax and leather exports, and the Duke of Beaufort, 
 t St. Marie, p. 201. Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 155.
 
 COLLO. 197 
 
 Baron Baude informs us that the rocks of the Sebba-Bous consist of 
 limestone; and that the crests are fringed with pines and carobs, and 
 sprinkled with a few patches of cultivation.* 
 
 The Ras-el-Kebir is formed of basaltic prisms of pale green, which are 
 found as far as Collo. You may discover the same formation, through a 
 glass from a ship, on the top of the lofty peak of Coudia, where it answers 
 the purposes of a landmark to point out the anchorage. Turning a rock, 
 you now discover the masts of some sandals ;f then the end of a quay, and 
 a kind of warehouse built of rough unhewn stones; some fine trees, 
 planted without symmetry; a mosque; and behind, on the slope, some 
 houses of a miserable appearance, covered with hollow tiles. This is all 
 that you see of Collo; yet it fills the whole of the little space intervening 
 between the extremities of two hills washed by the sea, and behind which 
 is a pretty plain. It was reported to have 2000 inhabitants in 1840; but 
 it did not appear to Baron Baude to contain so many.J 
 
 Leo Africanus calls it the most opulent and the safest place on the 
 coast. This may not be strictly correct; but its vicinity possesses forests 
 of oak, where the Algerian navy obtained its timber; and specimens of 
 copper ore have been found there. The inhabitants manufacture a coarse 
 stuff, and carry on a coasting trade with Algiers and Tunis. The anchor- 
 age before Collo is excellent, and quite sheltered from N.W. winds. Fri- 
 gates can anchor at 500 metres (1G40 feet) from the coast; and near the 
 land you find 5 metres (1G-40 feet) of water. At 3 leagues (7£ miles) to 
 the south of Collo, the small lake which, according to tradition, confirmed 
 by numerous ruins, formed the old port, has retained all its depth. It 
 is only separated from the sea by a tongue of land of 100 metres (328 feet) 
 in breadth; and the Oued-Zeamah is navigable 3 leagues up the country, 
 and has its influx here. 
 
 Collo, sometimes written Cull, or in Latin Cullu, stands in a pictur- 
 esque situation under the most eastern of the seven capes; but, like Igil- 
 gillis or Jigel, its present condition is very poor; and it contains but few 
 antiquities. Its harbour is small, though larger than that of Jigel; and 
 the neighbouring waters and coast are said to contain many beds of coral; 
 but the wild tribes of the vicinity have hitherto, in a great measure, neu- 
 tralised this advantage. 
 
 Baron Baude, who touched at Collo on his passage from Algiers to 
 Bona, was visited by many natives in boats, bringing fowls, apes, &c, and 
 what they called little tigers. Many of the men have blue eyes, clear skin, 
 and light hair. The same features are found among the Spain Kabyles of 
 Youssouf at Bona; and they must be the descendants of the Vandals. 
 Collo is a very likely place for these children of the north to have retired 
 to when Gelimer fled to Mount Edough (Fappua Mons). Frocopius says,§ 
 
 * Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 159. + Native boats. J Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 159. 
 
 § Belisarius Gelimerum perseuuens usque munitam venit civitatem, juxta mare sitam,
 
 198 STORA. 
 
 " Belisarius following Gelimer, came to a fortified city situated near the 
 sea, which they call Hippo the Royal. He heard there that Gelimer had 
 fled into the Pappuan Mount, and that it would not be easy to capture 
 him there. This mountain, which is situated at the extreme limit of 
 Numidia, is steep and difficult of access; being surrounded on all sides 
 by very lofty precipices, Avhere the barbarous Mamusii are friends and 
 military allies of Gelimer." According to the opinion of Baron Baude, 
 Collo stands on the site of the ancient Cullu. The anchorage he repre- 
 sents as good and sheltered, so that frigates can moor at the distance of 
 500 metres (1640 feet) from the shore; and 30 fathoms are found in 
 many places close in shore. The neighbourhood of Collo has many na- 
 tural advantages; forests of oak clothe the land in its vicinity, which is 
 also said to possess copper veins.""' 
 
 Advancing eastward, at the distance of 8 leagues (20 miles) you reach 
 Stora, at the bottom of a cove formed by abrupt mountains. It was com- 
 pletely deserted in 1840, when visited by Baron Baude; but it contains 
 more vestiges of antiquity than Philippeville. It stands on the site of Rusi- 
 cada; and some paces from the sea are the ruins of some reservoirs, fed by 
 a neighbouring source: the waves also bathe the foot of some old walls of 
 rough stones and brick, which may not improbably have contained a fort 
 for troops; but the hills surrounding it are too steep to have allowed of a 
 large establishment. To the east the slope is wooded, and capable of 
 culture; but the vale of the Oued-el-Kebir is very open, and turns in the 
 direction of Cirta. Ancient Rusicada stood on a height that commands 
 its mouth, and the ground on that spot is covered with its ruins. At an 
 equal distance from Cirta and Hippo, it was united to both by a Roman 
 road; and the country seems very easy to cut through by turnpike or 
 rail roads. The anchorage of Stora is only preferable to that of Collo for 
 small craft; it could not conveniently hold more than two corvettes: and, 
 according to Baron Baude, it is not well adapted for a port. 
 
 The Tableau cle la Situation observes, that the port of Stora, at a short 
 distance from the new colony, is safer than the port of Philippeville. t 
 
 Stora is chiefly remarkable as the port of Philippeville, which we must 
 now proceed to notice. 
 
 quam Hipponem regiam vocant. Ibi Gelimerum audivit in Pappuam montem confugisse, 
 ncc facilem a Romanis captu esse. Hie enim mens in Numidise finibus extremis, valde 
 quidem abruptus, adituque diffieilis, petris undique altisMinis enmmunitus, in quo Mamusii 
 barbari habitantos Gelimeri amici ac bello socii. — lie !•> II. Vand. c. i. 
 
 ; The ( 'ompany of La (,'allc had an agent at Collo, and procured there honey, grain, a 
 little cotton, oil, and 31 or 400 metrical quintals (NS.oun ll, s . avoirdupois) of wax at the 
 fixed price of 180 francs, besides 30,000 raw hides. Those of oxen and milch cows were 
 assessed at 4 francs 50 centimes, and at 2 francs 80 centimes. These relations, long inter- 
 rupted, were renewed in 1816 ; and in 1820 tho people of Collo drove out the Turkish 
 irrison, and pronounced themselves independent ; but they soon retailed it, in order to 
 recover the French trade which they had lost thereby. — Baron Jiatulc, vol. i. p. 162. 
 
 i Tableau, 1839.
 
 PIIILIPPEVILLE. 199 
 
 Madame Prus, one of the latest visitors to Algeria, gives the following 
 description of this French colony, which was founded in 1838 on the site 
 of Rusicada, and at the distance of half a league (1^ mile) from the gulf 
 of that name : 
 
 " The town of Philippeville, which was built by the French on the site 
 of ancient Rusicada, has the appearance of a fine provincial town thinly 
 inhabited. The walls which surround it defend it from the attacks of 
 the Kabyles, who, notwithstanding this, succeeded in setting the town on 
 fire a few years ago. Speedy measures, however, were adopted, and the 
 flames were prevented from spreading ; but from that time the Bedouins 
 of the country were forbidden to remain in the town after sunset. 
 
 " At every step vestiges of the old Roman city meet the eye, but it is 
 impossible to obtain any account of them. The town is peopled almost 
 exclusively by emigrants from Provence, Marseilles, and Corsica, as is the 
 case with all the principal towns of Algeria. It presents a sombre aspect, 
 as many of the houses are shut up ; and the number of bills for lodging 
 visible in every window are a sufficient proof of the depopulation of the 
 city. The hospital and barracks, however, are fine large buildings. 
 
 " The general impression conveyed by Philippeville is, that there exists 
 a necessity of filling much ground, without that of accommodating many 
 inhabitants."* 
 
 The line of coast that we have been now describing was passed in 
 1845 by Count St. Marie, who has left the following account of it. After 
 his description of Djidjelli, he proceeds : " We soon arrived on the north 
 of Mers-el-Zeitoun, with Cape Bougaroni on the east. The mountains, 
 whose bases are washed by the sea, are like those to the west of Bugia, 
 wild and rugged, but without the picturesque. They have a grandeur of 
 effect, owing to their stupendous masses ; but though verdant, they do 
 not present any of those pleasing spots on which the eye of the traveller 
 loves to dwell. These shores are said to abound in coral ; but, unfor- 
 tunately, the ferocity of the neigbouring tribes does not permit the fishers 
 to approach the coast. 
 
 " Beyond Cape Bougaroni the coast becomes deeply indented ; and it 
 is indebted to this configuration for its appellation of Djebel Saba Rous 
 (the mountain of seven heads). 
 
 " This mountain, which is of calcareous formation, is crowned with 
 pines and carob-trees, the brightness and freshness of the verdure de- 
 noting the vicinity of springs. Near each of these sources appear a 
 cluster of huts, as i-ude as the nuipals of the Numidians, and almost 
 buried amongst the trees. -j~ 
 
 " The Ras-el-Kebir consists of pale -grey basaltic prisms, which re- 
 appear beyond Philippeville. At length, on turning a rock, we entered 
 
 * Madame Prus, Residence in Algeria, 1850. 
 
 f Sallust. Jug. cap. 18. Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 159.
 
 200 PHILIPPEVILLE. 
 
 a pleasant little hollow, at the end of which was situated the European 
 town of Philippeville, distant two days' journey from Constantina, to which 
 it answers the purpose of a port, serving as the chief point of communi- 
 cation with that interesting part of the province. All the houses of Phi- 
 lippeville are new and well-built; and the European inhabitants seem happy 
 in having established themselves on a fertile soil surrrounded by a good 
 air, with plenty of sweet water."* The count proceeds to make the same 
 remarks, almost verbatim, as Baron Baude, on the Ouad-Zeamah, the vale 
 of the Oued-el-Kebir, and the woody and fertile slopes around the town. 
 
 It appears from the latest official documents, that the French have 
 undertaken, since 1847, civil improvements at Philippeville at an expense 
 of about 231,000 fr. (9240/.); including 1023 metres (3454-4 feet) of new 
 streets on a large scale, and 5305 (16,400-40 feet) on a small scale, making 
 a total of 6328 metres (20,755-84 feet). The Bue Nationale, uniting the 
 Grande Place and the landing-place at Philippeville with the road to Con- 
 stantina, and comprising in itself alone a length of 1023 metres of street- 
 age on a large scale, has a paved road, six metres (19-68 feet) in width, 
 for a distance of 511 metres (1676 - 8 feet) on the slope towards the sea. 
 The slope towards the gate of Constantina had been macadamised, in 
 1850, for a length of 512 metres 80 centimetres (168P98 feet), with a 
 width of 6 metres. 
 
 Fountains and Drains.~\- — It appears that the Boman cisterns have 
 been restored, consisting of eight great basins, which had to be emptied. 
 The walls, which were in a dilapidated state, have been renewed. The 
 conduit between the cisterns and the walls has been restored, and 3752 
 metres (12,306-56 feet) have been cleared for a channel to bring the waters 
 of the Beni-Melek to them. Another plan is in agitation for bringing the 
 waters of the Filfila to them ; the expense of this undertaking being esti- 
 mated at 500,000 fr. (20,000/.). As regards drainage, sewers have been com- 
 pleted in the Bue Nationale ; that part of it between the sea and the Bue 
 du Cirque being on a large scale, as well as that of the Bue des Citernes. 
 These two drains answer the purpose of main-sewers. The expense of 
 the sewers in the Bue Nationale was 38,395 fr. 25 c. (1535/. 16s. 9±d.) 
 
 Branch drains have been made in the Bues de Stora, Vallee, Marie- 
 Amelie, Joinville, Nemours, &c, costing 133,854 fr. 58 c, and executed 
 between 1842 and 1848. The new church of Philippeville was not com- 
 pleted in 1850, though it had then cost 154,643 fr. (6185/. 15s.) 
 
 Philippeville being a sub-prefecture of the province, it has been found 
 necessary to erect a building for that purpose, which was completed in 
 1847, at a cost of 2097 fr. 77 c. (83/. 18s. id.) Among other recent 
 civil works completed or in course of erection at this new colonial city, 
 we may specify a police-station and a cemetery ; a douane has also been 
 partially built, at an expense of 111,000 fr. (4440/.) 
 
 * St. Marie. t Tableau do la Situation, p. 356.
 
 PHILIPPEYILLE. 201 
 
 Under the head of military erections, we find that the arsenal of 
 Philippeville has cost 110,108 fr., and that the wall and ramparts have 
 been repaired; magazines have been built at the expense of 308,000 fr. 
 (12,320/.), a hospital at 551,000 fr. ; and the general fortifications for 
 the defence of the place have cost 1,915,118 fr. (76,604/. 15s.): con- 
 sisting chiefly of three provisional batteries to command the anchorage 
 of Stora and Philippeville, and to be superseded by permanent ones ; of 
 the arsenal, containing a well in its precincts ; barracks, especially that 
 of the Numides ; the city wall (mv/r d 1 enceinte), quarters of cavalry, and 
 the hotel of the commandant, &c. 
 
 As regards the population of Philippeville, the European inhabitants 
 amounted in 1847 to 5499, analysed as follows : French, 3354; Maltese, 
 1088; Spaniards, 223; Italian, 625; German, 82; Swiss, 46; divers, 81. 
 Men, 2885; women, 1496; children, 1118. 
 
 In 1848 (Dec. 31) it amounted to 4501 :— French, 2756 ; Maltese, 1320 ; 
 Spaniards, 162; Italian, 138; German, 15; Swiss, 26; divers, 84. Men, 
 2260; women, 990; children, 1251. 
 
 In Dec. 1849 it amounted to 6653 :— French, 2142; Maltese, 2408; 
 Spaniards, 120; Italian, 1426; German, 330; Swiss, 13; divers, 175. 
 Men, 2796 ; women, 1749, children, 2108.* 
 
 The statistics of births and deaths at Philippeville from 1840 to 1850 
 present the following figures : In 1840 the births amounted to 16 ; in 
 1845 to 149; in the first six months of 1850 to 97; the maximum being 
 in 1848, 262. The deaths were, in 1839, 1 ; in 1845, 244; in 1849, 657.f 
 We shall simply enumerate the colonial villages surrounding Philippe- 
 ville, as they will be minutely analysed in another place. 
 
 Vallee, Damremont, and St. Antoine, are the oldest of these centres of 
 population in the territory annexed to Philippeville. Several more recent 
 colonial establishments have been formed on the road to Bona and Con- 
 stantina. Of these, more in another place. The port of Stora, now one 
 of the chief stations of intercourse with France, and the fine road uniting 
 Philippeville to Constantina, Biskara, and the Sahara, must shortly make 
 it a place of considerable commercial and general importance. J 
 
 Philippeville was founded by Marshal Vallee in 1838, on the bay of 
 Stora, and has, according to the Tableau, a good sheltered harbour. The 
 citadel at Philippeville is called the Fort de France, and the fort to the 
 west is Fort Royal. At the opposite extremity is Fort d'Orleans ; and 
 eastward, on a height in the plain, is Fort Vallee. Detached forts have 
 also been erected on the heights surrounding the valley in which Philippe- 
 ville is situated. The land surrounding this rising town is rich and good ; 
 and its distance from Constantina is twenty-two leagues (55 miles), the 
 
 * Tableau de la Situation, 1850. 
 
 t For further particulars see the statistical tables. 
 
 J Near Philippeville, St. Marie saw some tine plantations of tobacco.
 
 202 PORT OF BONA. 
 
 road passing first through an open plain, and then through the defiles of 
 the Little Atlas. The population of Philippeville amounted in 1839 to 
 290 French and 221 foreigners, 97 women, and 108 children; total, 716.* 
 
 East of Philippeville is the small port of Gavetta ; and after doubling 
 Pias Hadeed and proceeding four leagues (10 miles), you come to the 
 eastern boundary of the Sinus Numidicus and an island called Tackeesh, 
 with a village of the same name on the opposite continent. Proceeding 
 eastward, you pass CVpe Hamrah (or red), the ffippi Promontoriwm, ; and 
 after doubling this you reach the Fort Genois, beyond which you arrive 
 at Bona.f But we must dwell a little longer on its approaches. Numidia 
 was more favoured than any other part of Africa by the Eomans ; and the 
 best part of Numidia is the plain enclosed between the slopes of the Atlas 
 and the outliers that detach themselves from it to form to the east Cape 
 Rose, to the west the abrupt shore of Stora. The sea bathes it to the 
 north by the two indentures called Gulf of Bona and Gulf of Numidia or 
 Stora. Mount Edough, whose long and narrow mass rises like a rampart, 
 separates this plain from the sea, running between the two gulfs for 
 fifteen leagues (37 miles); and passing behind the mountain, you proceed 
 in a straight line from Bona to Stora by a road parallel to it. The Sey- 
 bouse falls into the sea at the gates of Bona, and the Mafrag at five 
 leagues (12£ miles) to the east; both are navigable from their mouth to 
 the entrance of the valleys of the Atlas. 
 
 This plain, by which the French possessions touch the regency of 
 Tunis and approach the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, being 180 leagues 
 (450 miles) in extent, is better adapted than any other part of Africa for 
 colonisation, but has been less resorted to than any other part of Algeria 
 hitherto, chiefly owing to the want of drainage in the surrounding marshes, 
 and the want of a good port at Bona. X 
 
 What is called the port of Bona is only a shallow anchorage with bad 
 holding-ground, weakly defended from the sea by the point of the Lion, 
 and lower down by that of the Stork (Cigogne), which advances GO 
 metres (196-80 feet) into the sea. The anchorage consists of a bed of 
 sand stretched over the rock, stirred up and moved in bad weather by the 
 surf, and offering no resistance to anchors. A year seldom passes with- 
 out shipwreck in the bay of Bona; and on the 25th January, 1835, four- 
 teen vessels, including one brig of war, perished there ; eighteen days 
 after, six other ships experienced the same fate, being the last vessels 
 left in the roadstead. But to the north of this dangerous station, a high 
 coast, which ends in the Cap de Garde, runs for two leagues (5 miles) 
 in a northerly direction, and presents in its indentures the anchorages of 
 Caroubiers and of Fort Genois. 
 
 The first is at the distance of two miles, the other three from the town. 
 
 * Tableau de la Situation for 1839, and Baron Baude. + Blofcld, p. 43. 
 
 J Baron Baude, vol. ii. \>. 1.
 
 BONA. 
 
 203 
 
 BONA. 
 
 When Bona was more frequented, marine assurances only applied, in case 
 of accidents, to ships anchored in those two harbours, from the 15th of May 
 to the 15th September; and during the remaining eight months of the year, 
 they were only given to vessels mooring under the Fort (!enois. Since 
 the year 1835, the largest ships of the French navy, such as the Jupiter, 
 the Suffren, and the Montebello, remain all the winter in the anchorage of 
 Fort Genois, whence, however, there Avas no road to Bona in 1841. In 
 the time of the Romans, the quiet and deep waters of the Seybouse gave 
 them a good port ; but for thirteen centuries the alluvial deposits have 
 gained on the sea, and the regular bottom of the river is behind a bar, 
 alternately open or shut, according to the predominance of the fluvial 
 current and the winds in the high sea. 
 
 According to Baron Baude, the only place near the town fit for a port 
 is the creek bordered by rocks, before the Stork Fort and the Point of the 
 Lazaretto; the sea at this spot being deep, the approach easy, and the 
 accumulation of sand impossible.* 
 
 Having brought the reader to the gates of Bona, we shall enter the 
 town in the society of some select friends, prefacing a hroad outline of its 
 most prominent features. 
 
 Bona is the Frank name of this city, and is thought to be a corrup- 
 
 * Baron Baude, vol. ii. p. 10.
 
 204 BONA. 
 
 tion of the Latin Hippo Regius, a Roman town situated at the distance 
 of one mile on the Seybouse, and from whose materials it was originally 
 built by the Saracens. The Arabs call Bona Blaid-el-Aneb, or Anaba, 
 
 <L Uc tne city °f j u J uoes ', or simply Anaba, from the quantity of those 
 
 fruit-trees growing near it ; and Leo Africanus informs us that Blaid-el- 
 Aneb was built out of the ruins of Hippona.* 
 
 St. Marie says that the town stands on a flat space of ground, formiug 
 a pentagon of fourteen hectares (35 acres) in extent, surrounded with 
 wretched walls. He adds that its population is not numerous, and that it 
 has no trade.-j- 
 
 Baron Baude assigned it a population of 5338 Europeans in 1840, 
 adding, that a bad wall shuts in this population in a pentagon of fourteen 
 hectares (35 acres), and separates it from the sea. In 1850, Madame Prus 
 gave it a population of 12,000, of whom 4000 were French, chiefly Pro- 
 ven9aux (natives of Provence). J 
 
 St. Marie, who landed at Bona in 1845, informs us that at the Quay 
 they observed in the harbour many barks about to start for the coral 
 fishery. On landing, they saw before them a great Morisco Gate, like 
 that of Medeah (in 1845) ; and on one side was a pretty broad street, 
 which, after some turning, led to a square surrounded by houses in the 
 European style, as at Algiers. 
 
 Bona is situated low down on the south side of the coast. § On a 
 summit, only remarkable for a rapid ascent, is the Casbah, whose guns 
 command the anchorage of the Cassarins. Open on all sides, the sur- 
 rounding ground offers no shelter for the advance of an enemy, who would 
 find it impossible to mask himself by entrenchments, because, throughout 
 nearly the whole line of approach, the pickaxe, at the first stroke, comes 
 in contact with the solid rock. The Casbah, built by Peter de Navarre, is 
 inferior to nothing in modern art. The trifling trade of Bona is, accord- 
 ing to St. Marie, in the hands of the Jews. Madame Prus, who had the 
 advantage of a longer and more recent residence at Bona (1 850), gives us 
 the following particulars : " The Rue Constantine, which is a kind of 
 suburb to the town, is composed both of Arab and French houses. The 
 Rue Damremont and the Place d'Armes are built entirely in the French 
 style; but the roofs are surrounded with terraces, where linen tents are 
 pitched, under which the inhabitants spend a great part of their time, 
 breathing the cool evening air. 
 
 " A beautiful church was commenced three or four years ago on the out- 
 skirts of Bona, near the Porte Damremont; but the want of funds, the 
 great obstacle to all undertakings of this nature, prevented its further pro- 
 gress in 1850. The wits of the town compare the building of this edifice 
 
 * Blofeld, p. 43. f Page 209. % Mad. Prus, pp. 3(3-38. 
 
 % Jioua stands in 36° 52' N. lat. and 7° 45' E. long, of Greenwich.
 
 BONA. 205 
 
 to that of the triumphal arch at Paris near the Barriere de l'Etoile : it 
 would be unfortunate, were the same result to take place in both cases. 
 
 " I must not forget to add, that Bona is more backward in civilisation 
 than any other town occupied by the French in this country. Its finest 
 habitations, like that of Karesi, offer a strange mixture of modern luxury 
 and ancient barbarism. Bona, the distant, the uncivilised Bona, presented 
 but few attractions, either to the philosopher or the traveller. The in- 
 terest of all has ever been centered in Algiers : thither were dispatched 
 the first specimens of Parisian commerce ; there the first French settlers 
 formed their establishment ; and, thanks to twenty-one years of civil and 
 military occupation, this chief of Algerian cities has lost much of its pri- 
 mitive character." 
 
 The 4000 French inhabitants of Bona flocked in after the army, and 
 the Maltese had even forestalled them. The latter have a monopoly of 
 provisions and of household goods; and the French stand no chance in 
 competing with them, as they are very sharp in business. The Maltese 
 lend out on interest, the ordinary rate of usury being 10 per cent, whilst 
 in urgent cases it is raised to 25, 30, and even 40 per cent. They lay 
 claim to the office of street-porter; are a very strong, laborious, and in- 
 dustrious race, sleeping on the floor of their warehouses, without taking 
 off their clothes ; they are, moreover, possessed of great muscular strength, 
 four of them being able to cany easily a great cask of wine, suspended 
 by ropes to the tops of wooden poles, which they place on their shoulders. 
 Their treatment of the Arabs, like that of the colonists generally, is very 
 bad and insulting ; a circumstance resulting, in a great measure, from the 
 inefficient state of the police, and the charities of Christendom. 
 
 Madame Prus was particularly struck with the singular appearance of 
 a Maltese wedding, which presents a greater likeness to our notions of a 
 funeral. On the bridal procession the women go together, their heads 
 covered with black aprons, including the bride, and followed by the men, 
 dressed in a uniform costume, not unlike that of English sailors. The 
 catalogue of Maltese charms is crowned by Madame Prus pronouncing 
 them perfidious, cunning, and superstitious, with all the vices of Italians 
 and without any of their virtues.* It is truly gratifying to find that these 
 excellent and honest people are classed by the French official documents 
 as Anglais. Verily, the Union Jack covers a multitude of sins. 
 
 We propose to enter somewhat minutely into the statistics of Bona, 
 and the causes of its unhealthiness, which has become proverbial. In 
 1841, Baron Baude remarked that at that time there were fewer women 
 in proportion to men in Bona than in any other town in Algeria. The 
 French scarcely composed one-third of the number, being much less nume- 
 rous than the Maltese, who had not, however, brought their women with 
 them. The proportion of women to men was, in 1839, 
 
 * Residence, &c. 1850, pp. 36-38.
 
 206 
 
 BONA. 
 
 Europeans . 
 Mussulmans 
 Israelites . 
 
 Total 
 
 Men. 
 
 Women. 
 
 Children. 
 
 Total. 
 
 1975 
 
 552 
 
 158 
 
 3095 
 
 699 
 
 679 
 
 582 
 
 1966 
 
 140 
 
 80 
 
 63 
 
 283 
 
 2812 
 
 1311 
 
 803 
 
 5338 
 
 The Europeans were analysed thus : French, 1114; Maltese, 1206; Italians, 
 115; Spaniards, 550; German, &c. 110. The proportion of women to men 
 in this number is 28 per cent. There die in France 1 in 39-5, at Bona 
 1 in 13 - 2, though the colonists are not old people. The following table 
 contains the statistics of births and deaths from 1833 to 1838 : 
 
 Years. 
 
 Births. 
 
 Deaths. 
 
 Years. 
 
 Births. 
 
 Deaths 
 
 1833 
 
 16 
 
 71 
 
 l.SHi 
 
 73 
 
 140 
 
 1834 
 
 57 
 
 108 
 
 1837 
 
 70 
 
 170 
 
 1835 
 
 56 
 
 136 
 
 1S38 
 
 110 
 
 209 
 
 So much for the Baron's statistics.* The French official documents 
 from 1847 to 1849 present us with the following tables : 
 
 1847. French, 2387 ; Anglo-Maltese, 2268 ; Spaniards, 144 ; Italians, 
 1344 ; Germans, 352 ; Swiss, 18 ; divers, 122. Men, 2998 ; women, 
 1659 ; children, 1978. Total, 6635. 
 
 1848. French, 3152; Anglo-Maltese, 1541 ; Spaniards, 195; Italians, 
 1510; Germans, 152; Swiss, 49; clivers, 113. Men, 3194; women, 
 1981 ; children, 1537. Total, 6712. 
 
 1849. French, 3229 ; Anglo-Maltese, 1047; Spaniards, 230 ; Italians, 
 489 ; Germans, 101; Swiss, 72; divers, 82. Men, 2802; women, 1387; 
 children, 1061. Total, 5250.t 
 
 The unhealthiness of Bona is proved by the hospital returns. The 
 garrison has seldom exceeded 4500 men ; and, independently of nume- 
 rous invalids in the regimental infirmaries, the hospital contains habitually 
 one-tenth, and occasionally one-third, of the troops. The hospital returns 
 from 1833 to 1839 are as follow : 
 
 Years. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Deo. 31st; 
 
 Dci'i 
 
 1832 
 
 312 
 
 452 
 
 459 
 
 1833 
 
 442 
 
 331 
 
 1526 
 
 1834 
 
 534 
 
 762 
 
 466 
 
 1835 
 
 383 
 
 391 
 
 376 
 
 1836 
 
 344 
 
 765 
 
 369 
 
 1838 
 
 I.-.D 
 
 717 
 
 651 
 
 1839 
 
 445 
 
 804 
 
 640: 
 
 The garrison on the 8th of April, 1832, consisted at first of 100 men 
 of the 4th regiment of the line, and rose till October of the same year to 
 3500 men. As every soldier enters about twice every year, the above 
 
 * Ah'-eVio, vol. ii. p. 33. 
 
 J Baron Baudo, vol. ii. p, 10. 
 
 f Tableau de la Situation, 1850, pp. 94-96.
 
 bona. 207 
 
 hospital returns do not really give a sufficient list of sufferers. It is some- 
 what remarkable that the district of Bona was once very healthy ; hut the 
 cause of the present infectious fevers that prevail there is well known. 
 The space between old Hippo and the modern town was in remote times 
 a cove of the gulf. Earth brought down by the Seybouse, and driven up 
 by the sea, has converted this cove into a plain, many parts of which are 
 hardly on a level with the sea. The sand-hills raised by the wind alon r <- 
 the coast have made a number of reservoirs in the low places, into which 
 the waters of Mount Edough, of the vale of Kharezas, and sometimes of 
 the surf, now ; these waters not being able to flow oft* again, stagnate and 
 give birth to miasmas under the action of a hot sun. There are four chief 
 depots of marshes near the town, the most remote being about 1500 
 metres distant (4920 feet). 
 
 .M. Carette in 1833-4 estimated the amount of land to be drained at 
 15-27 hectai'es (38-17 acres), and the amount of matter recpiired to fill 
 them up 100,000 cubic metres (109,200 cubic yards). 
 
 St. Marie describes the pestilential exhalations as occasioned by the 
 Herbeyra marsh, adjoining the Constantina gate. 
 
 Two thousand metres (6500 feet) from Bona, to the right of the mouth 
 of the Seybouse, is a piece of low and wet ground called the cuve (pit or 
 hollow) Herbeyra, whose exhalations reach the town. It consists of about 
 70 hectares (175 acres), and might be easily filled up with the sand of the 
 neighbouring sand-hills, or planted over. The marshy meadows of Vale 
 Kharezas ought also to be drained.* 
 
 Another cause of the unhealthiness of Bona may be traced to the 
 filthy state of many of its streets ; dirt having accumulated in them since 
 time immemorial, and having raised the soil considerably in some places. 
 Many of the houses, according to St. Marie, are buried 2 metres (6-56 
 feet) in ruins. t 
 
 An additional cause of insalubrity is presented by the scarcity of water, 
 the aqueducts having been destroyed in 1832, when Bona was taken by the 
 French, who have only lately attempted to remedy the evil. Baron Baude 
 states, that it used to have seven fountains carefully kept up under the 
 Turks; but in 1841 there was only one; and every household had to go 
 half a quarter of a league from the ramparts every day to get theirs. The 
 fact is, that in 1832 Achmet-Bey wished to destroy Bona, and cut all 
 the water-conduits.:}: 
 
 In 1834 Baron Baude states, that the 14 hectares (35 acres) embraced 
 within the walls contained 674 houses, of which 288 belonged to the au- 
 thorities (the Domaine), 266 had been appropriated to barracks, and 22 to 
 the civil service, § 
 
 The latest particulars respecting the sanitary condition of Bona, and 
 
 * Baron Baude, vol. ii. p. 21. f St. Marie. 
 
 + Baron Baude, vol. ii. p. 18. § Ibid.
 
 208 BONA. 
 
 the statistics of its public and private buildings, which are now presented 
 to the reader, are obtained from official documents. 
 
 From 1834 to 1848, 1233 metres (4044-24 feet) of principal streets 
 were opened, of which 608 metres (1994-24 feet) were paved, and 625 
 metres (2050 feet) macadamised; 3540 metres (11,611 feet) of smaller 
 streets have been paved, and may be considered in a good state of repair. 
 Seven squares have been macadamised and planted with 338 trees. These 
 works have cost 306,000 francs (12,240?.). 
 
 Several important works have been undertaken to supply Bona with 
 water ; e. g. 7750 metres (25,420 feet) of water-conduits, and 5670 metres 
 (18,597-60 feet) of sewerage, have been opened from 1833 to 1847. 
 Sixty-four regards, or watermen, look after the works. The great conduit 
 which brings the water from Mount Edough to Bona forms two siphons ; 
 the first of which has a length of 3157 metres (10,354-96 feet), and the 
 second of 793 metres (2601-04 feet). Out of the 5676 metres (18,617-28 
 feet) of drainage, 350 metres (1148 feet) are vaulted, and can be entered 
 and examined from within. The expenses incurred in forming these con- 
 duits and drains have amounted to 597,500 francs (23,900/.). 
 
 A civil prison and tribunal of justice have been erected at Bona 
 since 1845, costing 25,000 francs (1000/.) ; and a school- house was built 
 in 1845-6, at an expense of 27,000 francs (1080/.). 
 
 The church of Bona, which had already cost 180,000 francs (7200/.) 
 in 1850, was not at that time completed. 
 
 The house of the sub-prefecture of Bona, begun in 1846, was not 
 finished in 1849 for want of funds, having cost 79,000 francs (3160/.). 
 A market-place was built there in 1846-47, costing 1200 francs (48/.); 
 and a cemetery at the same date, estimated at 24,000 francs (960/). 
 
 The Douane of Bona, built in 1844, cost 109,000 francs (4360/.); and 
 a caravanserai, afterwards converted into a native market, was built there 
 in 1843, at a cost of 70,000 francs (2800/.). 
 
 The military works erected at Bona by the French government within 
 the last few years have cost 1,991,800 francs (79,672/.), from 1832 to 
 1849 inclusive. A battery for ten pieces of ordnance has been built at 
 the Fort Cigogne, with magazines, &c. ; and a battery for twelve pieces has 
 been begun on the rock of the Lion. The town wall and the Casbah have 
 been improved ; barracks for 1100 men and 360 horses have been estab- 
 lished ; a workshop for 300 convicts has been formed, and a residence for 
 the commandant built, besides a powder-magazine at the Casbah for 
 30,000 kilogrammes (66,000 lbs.).* M. Bcrbruggcr gives the following 
 graphic description of Bona : 
 
 " Before reaching the anchoi'age of Cazerain, you pass the Cap de Garde, 
 or Cap llouge. The last name is the literal translation of Ras-el-Hamrah, 
 the appellation applied to it by the natives : the ancients called it Hippi 
 * Tableau do la Situation, 1850, pp. 313-381. (Travaux Publics.)
 
 MOUNT EDOUGII. 209 
 
 promontorium. Roman marble-quarries, whence they obtained the mate- 
 rials for the construction of Hippo Regius and of Aphrodisiuni, are still 
 seen there, together with fresh traces of their quarrying labours ; and a 
 great number of fossil shells, some of large size, are found incrusted in the 
 schistous rock of the cape. 
 
 A little beyond the cape, towards the town, stands forth the Fort 
 Genois; a building of a shining white colour, built on a rock lashed by the 
 waves. When Bona was subject to the kings of Tunis, they granted the 
 monopoly of the coral fishery, reaching from the mouth of the Seybouse 
 to Cape Rosa, to the Genoese. The fishermen, whose industry was inter- 
 rupted by pirates, obtained permission to build a fort on a rock in the 
 bay; and though opposed by the inhabitants, they succeeded; hence the 
 Fort Genois. 
 
 After the anchorage of Fort Genois comes that of the Caroubiers ; then, 
 underneath the Casbah, the Ras-el-H'mama (Cape of Pigeons), whose ex- 
 treme point has, when seen afar off, a considerable resemblance to a lion 
 couchant, — hence the Europeans have christened it the Lion's Rock. Be- 
 yond this point you come to the anchorage of Cazerain, whence you 
 behold the town of Bona, and the ruins of Hippo Regius, or more pro- 
 perly the woody hillock where they lie hid under the olive, jujube, and 
 Barbary fig-trees. 
 
 To the west the eye rests with admiration on the imposing mass of the 
 Djebel Edough. From its summit, which rises above the clouds, two 
 strongly-marked ridges descend to the sea, where, spreading out, they 
 form the Cape of Garde and that of the Pigeons. Mount Edough is an 
 infallible barometer to the good people of Bona; and when, on a winter's 
 day, the clouds are seen trooping up and shrouding its grey sides with a 
 misty belt, you may reckon that you will soon be soaked by one of those 
 deluges of rain characteristic of Africa. This mountain, whose access is 
 very difficult, is inhabited by Kabyles. The Romans, who called it Pap- 
 pua, found it very difficult to penetrate into its recesses, when they wished 
 to pursue certain contumacious native princes who had fled thither. When 
 Belisarius recovered Africa from the Vandals in 532, Gelimer, who could 
 find no security in the towns which had been dismantled by Genseric, 
 sought refuge in the Pappua. The people of that mountain, who had re- 
 mained in primitive barbarism, though so near the splendid growth of 
 Roman civilisation, are reported to have viewed with wonder the effemi- 
 nate character of the fugitive Vandals. So completely had they been 
 enervated by the abuse of the luxuries that success had showered into 
 their laps, that they had sunk far beneath even Roman degeneracy and 
 corruption. 
 
 At the foot of Mount Edough, and a little in front of the point of rocks 
 overhanging the Stork's Fort (de la Cigogne), is situated the Coral Fishers' 
 Bay (des Corailleurs), which on fete-days is encumbered with the coral- 
 
 o
 
 210 BONA. 
 
 fishers' boats, whose crews come to the chapel built on that spot to thank 
 God for a successful season, or to supplicate His favour if they have failed. 
 The next object is the Lazaretto, and then the Stork's Fort; and after 
 passing the latter spot, you face Bona, whose appearance is not at all im- 
 posing. It stands on the site of Aphrodisium, so called from Aphrodite, 
 or Venus, to whom the inhabitants had raised a handsome temple, and 
 whom they had chosen as their patroness. Bona is built of the remains 
 of that little city, and of those of Hippo Regius. The natives call it 
 
 Llxc J\ Jklj Blad-el-Anabe (the town of jujubes), or more commonly 
 
 Anabah, on account of the number of jujube-trees that grew around it 
 formerly, but which were cut down by the French soon after their occu- 
 pation, in order to free the approaches of the town, and to remove all 
 shelter for the Kabyles, who used to practise at picking off the French 
 soldiers with their loner smns. 
 
 Bona was founded soon after the destruction of Hippo by the Arabs 
 (a. D. 087). Its inhabitants lived always independent till the time of the 
 Turks, regarding the kings placed over them rather as patrons than as 
 sovereigns; and when the latter sought to tighten the reins, they threat- 
 ened to surrender to the Christians. The latter took possession of it 
 under Charles the Fifth, at the time of his expedition to Tunis, Alvar 
 Gomez Zagal being left there with 1000 foot and 25 horse. He kept 
 (he town and plundered the country with this weak force; but on Zagal's 
 death, the emperor ordered the town to be abandoned, and the fortifi- 
 cations to be razed. The Turks took it afterwards from the kings of 
 Tunis, who were too weak to hold it; but it changed masters several times 
 subsequently. 
 
 Beyond Bona you perceive a river, the Boudjema (the Armua of the 
 ancients), which, after having watered the vale of Khai'esas, passes under 
 the bridge of Hippo Regius, and reaches the bay by trickling through the 
 sands that obstruct its mouth. A little beyond is the Seybouse, a rather 
 broad and deep river, once the port of the Romans; but its entrance is 
 now barred by a shifting sand-bank. The brig Ruse, which was wrecked 
 there in January 1835, altered the bar considerably; and this fact may 
 lead the way to clearing the mouth of the river eventually, by suggesting 
 some mode of deepening the channel. 
 
 Between these two streams rises a green hillock, terminating on the 
 sea-side the chain of hills that limit the vale of Kharesas on the S.E. On 
 this spot once stood Hippo Regius, a very important city, of which more 
 anon. 
 
 On the left bank of the Seybouse begins a vast plain extending beyond 
 the Mafrag (the Rubricatus). The splendid pastures that it presented 
 afforded to Ahmed Bey of this province the means of paying the annual 
 tribute to the Dey of Algiers, and of pocketing a balance of 100,000 fr.
 
 ARAB MARKET. 211 
 
 (4000/.) Being once in difficulties from immediate want of money, the 
 plain of Bona alone gave him 500,000 francs (20,000/.) in the space of a 
 few days.* 
 
 " We entered Bona," says Madame Prus, "by the Porte Constantine. 
 It was most curious to see the Arab market, which was held outside the 
 gates, but within the fortifications. Imagine a number of white figures, 
 of the same colour as the walls which surround them, moving busily 
 to and fro among the stores of provisions laid out for sale. These are the 
 Arabs of the district, wrapped in their white burnouses, or sheepskins. 
 Their wares consist of different kinds of fruits, which grow abundantly in 
 this country, curdled milk in earthen vessels, butter, <fec. A certain de- 
 gree of courage is necessary to penetrate through this crowd and gather 
 in one's stock of provisions, as the want of cleanliness, both in the articles 
 of food and in the persons of those that sell them, is most revolting. 
 They use no ablutions, except those prescribed by the Koran, which are 
 limited to the hands and feet. Their clothes actually swarm with vermin, 
 and a visit to the Arab market can never be made without disastrous con- 
 sequences; but the inconvenience being unavoidable, the best way is to 
 bear it with stoical firmness, and to overcome the disgust which the scene 
 described causes to our more refined feelings. 
 
 " Nothing can be more picturesque than the view from the market- 
 place. The old Arab town, half concealed by its high embattled walls, is 
 built in the form of an amphitheatre; and about a hundred steps farther 
 you see the terraces belonging to the more modern parts of the city. The 
 military hospital, and the minaret with its pointed roof, are imposing 
 edifices, situated in the Place d'Armes. On the left is the lofty chain of 
 Mount Edough, at the base of which is a lovely valley; and on the right 
 the blue waters of the Mediterranean. On the sea-shore are to be seen 
 the tents of the Bedouin salt-merchants, with their camels lying on the 
 sand, and their small lean horses picketed to the ground. In the dis- 
 tance the Twin mountains appear in bold relief against the blue sky; on 
 these were erected the sumptuous edifices of ancient Hippona, several im- 
 posing remains of which are still to be seen. Reservoirs of enormous 
 size, and the beautiful ruins of the Church of Peace, of which St. Augustin 
 was the first bishop, attest the grandeur of the ancient city. 
 
 "The higher classes of the Moors, though they do not conform to all 
 our customs, have adopted many of them from the mere impulse of imita- 
 tion. They speak French; which, indeed, they find indispensable, from 
 their frequent contact with French society. But this accomplishment is 
 practised by the men only. A Moorish lady has never been known to 
 accompany her husband on any visit, or to make the least change in tra- 
 ditional usages. "+ 
 
 " Here Ave are," observes M. Berbrugger, " in the interior of Bona, in 
 * Berbrugger, part iii. + Madame Prus.
 
 212 INTERIOR OF BONA. 
 
 the Place Rovigo, where the principal streets meet, leading to the gates of 
 the Marine, Constantine, Zikhan, and of the Casbah. To the left is the 
 house of Youssouf, and at the end you see the taper minaret of the 
 mosque. To the right you see a tree whose trunk is surrounded with 
 hoards, on which are commonly pasted up the proclamations, notices, and 
 other official publications. This place is also the seat of a kind of perma- 
 nent fair, which took a remarkable development after the return of the 
 second Constantina expedition. The arms, the carpets, and even the 
 dresses of the conquered were exposed there for sale. The Jews and Mal- 
 tese, who had followed the army with views somewhat foreign to glory, 
 let the French soldiers reap the laurels ; and, after gathering in a more 
 lucrative and less honourable harvest, they came back from Constantina 
 with the fruits of their industry, which they displayed at Bona. There 
 was a complete fever at the time for what were called the souvenirs de 
 Constantine. 
 
 " The interior of Bona is like that of most towns in Algeria. Seen from 
 a distance, almost all appear pretty ; but when you enter them, it is soon 
 discovered how remote the reality is from the appearance. But in Bona 
 the streets appeared, even in 1843, less narrow and obscure than those of 
 Algiers, which proceeds merely from the circumstance that the houses are 
 not so high. Save this difference, the nature of the dwellings is about 
 the same. In the business-streets appear little shops without any commu- 
 nication with the building to which they belong, and which seem so many 
 niches raised four feet from the ground. Every where else in the Arab 
 streets you see only completely bare walls, in which you find nothing but 
 some openings through which a child's head would pass with difficulty ; 
 within, a court surrounded by a gallery supported on columns ; two or three 
 long and narrow chambers opening into this gallery, and only receiving 
 the daylight through it ; above is the terrace, an almost universal appen- 
 dage at Bona. 
 
 " The other side of the square is built in the European style, like 
 the Bue de Bivoli at Paris, but in much more modest proportions. This 
 kind of building is onerous to the landlords, but it is very agreeable to 
 pedestrians, who find under the galleries a refuge from carriages, horses, 
 and other cattle, and a shelter against the sun and the rain. In 1843 
 this square Avas almost the only part of the town where French architec- 
 ture had appeared, all the other parts remaining in their ancient state, 
 save some demolitions rendered necessary to clear the roads for the 
 French wagon-train, which gave a ruinous aspect to many streets at that 
 time."* 
 
 The chief mosque of Bona contains some .splendid Corinthian capitals 
 and beautiful fluted columns, which appear to be the relics of some Roman 
 temple. They may possibly have belonged to the famous Basilica of 
 
 * Bcrbruggcr, part iii. p. 8.
 
 MOSQUE OP BONA. 213 
 
 Peace, existing at Hippo in St. Augustin's time j or they may perhaps 
 he the remains of the temple of Venus at Aphrodisium. The first Chris- 
 tians built their churches with the materials of Pagan temples ; afterwards 
 came the Arabs, who built their mosques with the ruins of the two pre- 
 ceding worships. The same stones and marbles have been devoted by 
 succeeding races to form the House of God; as immortal as religious ideas, 
 they have only changed in form and arrangement. 
 
 The great mosque of Bona resembles all buildings of this kind. Its 
 three parallel galleries call to mind the nave and collateral aisles of our 
 churches. At the bottom is a niche turned to Gobla, or Mecca : there 
 stands the priest {imam), or the person commissioned to direct public 
 prayer. A modern staircase terminated by a platform (inombeur) is seen 
 to the left ; it is a kind of pulpit, which the imam mouuts every Friday, 
 before mid-day prayers (el-eulem), to preach to the people. The ground is 
 covered with mats, with carpets on the top of them, where the slipperless 
 worshippers kneel. When the crowd is great, those who fear unpleasant 
 exchanges take their slippers with them, instead of leaving them at the 
 door. 
 
 Lamps with several jets hang from vaults by iron chains ; but they are 
 never lighted except during the Kamahdan, when the exterior of the 
 mosque is also illuminated. An elegant minaret (smd) shoots up over the 
 mosque, and is crowned by a gallery whence the mouedden calls the faith- 
 ful to prayers five times a day. Further particulars respecting Mussulman 
 worship will be found in another place.* 
 
 With the reader's kind permission, we shall now take a stroll to Mount 
 Edough ; and we doubt not that he will gladly exchange the miasmas of 
 the marshes for the fresh mountain-breezes. 
 
 Mount Edough offers limestone all along this coast, a formation of 
 Avhich it is deprived for 80 leagues (200 miles) from Bugia to Cape Eoux. 
 The eastern slope of Mount Edough is uninhabited ; and at the foot of the 
 mountain are the remains of the immense plantations of olives funned in 
 the 17th century by Mustapha de Cordenas, a rich Moorish refugee from 
 Spain, which Peysonnel found in all their vigour in 1725. On the other 
 side of the cape there has been established from time immemorial the 
 poor and inoffensive tribe of Ali, which was visited by Baron Baude. 
 He found the solitary slopes of Mount Edough carpeted on that side up 
 to the highest summits, with that humble arborial vegetation which in 
 Africa issues from the struggle between the vegetative force of the soil 
 and the devastating teeth of the cattle. Some fruit-trees, vines, little 
 fields of maize and corn, and sheds built of unhewn stones, are signs of 
 the tendency existing in the Ouled-Ali to plant and build on a larger 
 scale, if they possessed the means ; but the tribe is so limited, that it only 
 constitutes a small family. 
 
 * Berbrugger, part iii. p. 7.
 
 214 PLAIN OF BONA. 
 
 The only reproach that St. Augustin could make to the Kabyles of 
 Mount Edough, during his residence of thirty-six years at Bona, Avas, that 
 they spoke Punic, and did not understand Latin, in which the word of 
 God was preached. 
 
 Four leagues and a half south-west of Bona (11 ~ miles), the Lake 
 Efzara occupies 10 square leagues (62^ square miles) at the foot of Mount 
 Edough. The valley of Kharezas opens in a direct line from Bona to 
 Lake Efzara, between the foot of Mount Edough and the hills of Belelida ; 
 and, according to Desfontaines, whenever the waters of the Lake Efzara are 
 swollen by winter rains, they flow by this valley into the Mediterranean. 
 
 Bona is represented by Baron Baude as a better military station than 
 the ancient Hippo, from which it is separated by an interval of 1000 
 metres (3820 feet). The north-west angle of the plain, which extends on 
 the left of the Seybouse, is closed between the head of the Edough and 
 the sea by a hillock of 108 metres (354-24 feet) in height, separated 
 from the mountains by a narrow valley. Bona is situated at the bottom 
 and on the south side of this hill ; and the summit, which is reached by 
 steep slopes, is crowned by the Casbah, whose cannon, as previously 
 stated, sweep the anchorage of Cassarins. 
 
 There are 70 square leagues (437i square miles) of plain between the 
 Efzara lake and the river Mafra2\ This surface is divided into two almost 
 equal parts by the river Seybouse. The eastern part is a rectangle, and 
 touches the walls of Bona by its north-west angle ; the sea and two navi- 
 gable rivers defend three sides of it, and on the fourth the Atlas is not 
 practicable. The cultivation of these 110,000 hectares (275,000 acres) of 
 land can be always safely carried on. The river Mafrag, the west limit of 
 this plain, crosses it at five leagues (12^ miles) from Bona, about parallel 
 to the Seybouse, is as broad and as deep, and the navigable part of its 
 course appears to extend as far as that of the Seybouse, amongst the 
 branches of the Atlas range. Like the latter stream, the Mafrag is also 
 barred up with sand at its mouth most of the year. 
 
 The ruins of Hippo Regius, which will be circumstantially described in 
 another place,* are situated 1000 metres (3280 feet) from Bona, near the 
 mouth of the Seybouse ; and it appears that the city was grouped at the 
 foot of two mamelons, one 80 metres (2G2'40 feet), the other 38 metres 
 (124-64 feet) in height, and called in Arabic Bounah and ( iharf-el-Antram.t 
 The agricultural and other colonies surrounding Bona, and on the 
 road to riiilippeville, of which a doleful account has been given by Ma- 
 dame Prus, whilst the Tableau de la Situation speaks of them in favour- 
 able terms, will he fully described in the chapter on Colonisation. It 
 will suffice here to mention the name and situation of the most important, 
 which are Penthievre, Mondovi, and Barral. 
 
 * Chapter on Archaeology, Part IT. 
 
 t These particulars are obtained from Baron Baude, vol. ii. c. 8.
 
 mrro regius. 215 
 
 Mr. Dawson Borrer, who sailed along the line of coast from Algiers 
 to Buna in 1846, gives the following description of the scenery that it 
 presented. " The night wind blew cold from the snow-clad heights of the 
 Djorjora, as, bidding adieu to Bugia, onward we glided, cleaving the glit- 
 tering waters of the gulf. Gigantic rocks jutting forth from the rugged 
 shores increased in grandeur as the shadows of darkness fell upon them. 
 Here and there, among the wild recesses of the mountain heights, the 
 glimmering of Kabyle watchfires might be seen. Then, as we turned Cape 
 Cavallo, a new scene burst upon us. A vast tract of mountain-side pre- 
 sented one glowing sheet of flame. Towering heights were clothed with 
 fire; chased by the reflection, the silver rays of the pale moon no longer 
 danced upon the rippling surface around us. Thus does the Kabyle clear 
 a space upon his brushwood-clad mountains, that he may cast in his grain, 
 the sowing season being at hand. After touching at Djidjelli, where the 
 French inhabitants are annually decimated by the malaria, and at Philippe- 
 ville, we turned Ras-el-Hamrah (the Hippi Promontorium of the ancients) 
 about 5 p.m., the third day of our voyage, and soon dropped anchor in 
 the bay of Bona. I like Bona. Its wood-clad heights overlooking the 
 wide blue sea, and its rich plains watered by the Seybouse, the Boojeemah, 
 and the Ruisseau d'Or, please me. So do also its gardens, in the fertile 
 soil of which luxuriate flowers and vegetables of all sorts, skilfully irrigated 
 by that most industrious class of colonists, the refuse of Spain and Malta, 
 who, never idle, cultivate the land by day, and rob and cut throats by 
 night. 
 
 " Again, how interesting are the moss-clad ruins of ancient Hippona, 
 shadowed by groves of olives, jujubes, and carobs ! The wind sighs through 
 those now-deserted courts, from which the venerable St. Augustin so 
 nobly combated the ruinous march of Roman luxury, and those various 
 heresies which then tore the Christian church in Africa. And was it not 
 within those walls that, borne down by the evils which assailed the em- 
 pire and the church, he died 1 ? — Vandal shouts ringing in his ears, as, in 
 pursuit of the unhappy Boniface, they filled the courts of Hippona with 
 their Arian hordes."* 
 
 Having surveyed the sea-board of this province from Djidjelli to Bona 
 and Hippo, we shall finish our description of the coast-line before we 
 analyse the inland parts. 
 
 The Seybouse and the Mafrag, the principal rivers between Bona and 
 Tabarca, seem to be the Ubus and Bubricatus of the ancients. Beyond 
 Cape Rose, five leagues from the Mafrag, is the Bastion, where there is a 
 small creek, and the ruins of a fort that gave rise to the name. The 
 factory of the French African Company had formerly their settlement at 
 this place; but the unwholesomeness of the situation, occasioned by the 
 neighbouring ponds and marshes, obliged them to remove to La Calle, 
 
 * Dawson Borrer, p. 326.
 
 21G THE OUAD MERDES. 
 
 another inlet, three leagues (7|- miles) more to the east. About two miles 
 to the E. of La Calle is the little river Zaine (Tusca), which has served 
 for centuries as the limit of the two regencies of Algeria and Tunis. 
 
 There is a little island at the mouth of the Zaine, which continued 
 many years in the possession of a noble Genoese family, from the time of 
 Andrea Doria, to whom the Tunisians gave it, with the consent of the 
 Sublime Porte, as ransom for a prince taken prisoner by Doria. This 
 place was defended by a good castle, and protected the coral fishery in 
 those seas; but in 1740 the Bey of Tunis took it by treachery from the 
 Genoese, put some of them to the sword, and the remaining three or 
 four hundred were made prisoners.* 
 
 Having taken this rapid survey of the ground, we shall accompany 
 Baron Baude in a trip that he made to La Calle from Bona, in the com- 
 pany of M. Prosper de Chasseloup, going by the foot of the Atlas, and re- 
 turning along the coast. They went with letters of recommendation to 
 the Sheikh of the Merdes, Sidi-Mahnioud, and returned to Merdes on the 
 23d of Sej^tember. 
 
 From Draan, a station in the plain 12^ miles from Bona, to the 
 douar of the Merdes, you travel seven leagues (17^ miles) all in the plain. 
 To the south lies a high mountain, and to the north you leave the isolated 
 hills of Sidi-Denden and of Kennader. The soil consists of a clay mixed 
 with sand, of which the fecundity is attested by the vigour and perfection 
 of the thistles and other large plants that cover it, which sometimes rise 
 higher than a man even on horseback : there was, however, no cultivation, 
 and they only saw a dozen scattered trees on the road. They had crossed, 
 by the fords of Sidi-Denden and Sidi-Abdelaziz, the Seybouse and the 
 Mafrag, which, on issuing from the mountains, offer a narrow bed, which 
 is, however, as navigable as that of the Saone at Lyons. They were now 
 in the true Arab country ; and ascending, for half an hour, the right bank 
 of the Mafrag, they reached the top of a mountain, whence their Arab 
 escort dashed on to the douar, and Sidi-Mahmoud came forth to meet 
 them, pressing his hand to his heart in the oriental fashion. Two poor 
 sources of water, and some plantations of maize and tobacco, are the chief 
 merit of the valley. At a short distance arc the remains of a Roman 
 dwelling; and from the neighbouring summits the eye roves E.S.E. along 
 the extensive valley by which the Mafrag descends from the Atlas. At 
 this point the Arabs call it the Ouad Merdes, from the name of the 
 tribes on its banks : that of Mafrag, which is given to it lower down, comes 
 from the bar of sand raised by the wind at its mouth; for the rivers and 
 brooks of Barbary frequently change name as they pass from one tribe to 
 another. The rock of the mountain at this spot consists of red sand- 
 stone, which is a very extensive formation in this vicinity; and no other 
 rock is seen from Draan to La Calle, and from La Calle to Bona. These 
 
 * Blofeld, p. 4.3 ct soi[<(.
 
 THE CORK FORESTS. 217 
 
 first degrees or steps of the Atlas have the same character as the Boud- 
 jarcah. near Algiers. The rich clay of the plains ascends to the foot of 
 the rocks, a luxuriant verdure clothes their sides ; and the reason why the 
 trees do not grow higher is, notwithstanding Sallust's opinion, the destruc- 
 tion of the inhabitants. Such is the Baron's view of the case, to which 
 we do not pledge ourselves. 
 
 At midnight they started with Sheikh Hafsi, of the tribe of the Beni 
 Urdjiu, with sixty horsemen, by a fine moonlight. During the first hour 
 they marched over a heavy land ; then they came to .marshy ground, dried 
 up by the sun and covered with great reeds. This district is called Bas- 
 Mafrag, or the head of the Mafrag, and is the parent of unhealthy miasmas. 
 After passing it you come to a strong and stiff soil, watered by many 
 brooks, where they halted for three hours. The neighbouring woods, which 
 had been ignited by the Arabs, presented the appearance of a vast confla- 
 gration. At the morning dawn all the Arabs of the party threw them- 
 selves prostrate in prayer, presenting a striking and patriarchal scene ; and 
 after performing their devotions, they proceeded, and at 8 a.m. they were 
 received with Semitic and scriptural hospitality by the principal douar of 
 the Ouled-Djeb, at which spot the plain ends, woody mountains enclosing 
 its rich pastures. 
 
 There are no palms, agaves, or cactuses in this neighbourhood, which 
 give an African character to the country around Algiers. The forest by 
 which the douar stood clothed the two faces of a mountain, whose foot 
 was bathed by the lake El-Malah. Bed sandstone here and there 
 pierces the sand of which the soil is composed, which, however, is often 
 very moist. Cork-trees (chene liege) are almost the only timber in these 
 woods ; but no use is made of them, though they might be turned to such 
 a useful account. The Arabs burn down large tracts of these celebrated 
 forests, which extend northwards to the sea, westward to Cape Bose, and 
 eastward to the frontier of Tunis, embracing a surface of no less than 
 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres), and all forming what are called projnietes 
 domau'xu'c, or government property. Baron Baude represents in strong 
 language the folly of neglecting such a valuable possession, not only for 
 its intrinsic value, but also because if the country were stripped, it would 
 speedily become a desert. 
 
 When our party had arrived at the end of lake El-Calah, it was not 
 far to La Calle; and they found the country delightful, though rather 
 marshy. They observed that the Arabs in that vicinity had learnt many 
 expressions of the Provencal dialect from the old French mariners and 
 merchants who were wont to frequent La Calle. Strange that these 
 primeval cork -forests should witness the marriage of the gate sciewe and 
 the Prophet's sacred tongue, and that troubadours and marabouts should 
 shake hands on the ruins of Carthage ! 
 
 On the 25th they were on horseback at daybreak, and soon ar-
 
 218 LA CALLE. 
 
 rived on the banks of the lake El-Garah, where the scenery reminded 
 them of that of Scotland ; and two hours after starting, they beheld La 
 Calle at their feet. This town, which was burnt to the ground on the 
 27th of June 1827, was taken by M. Albert Bertier on the 22d July 
 1836 with only fifty zouaves (native troops). 
 
 The port* is commanded to the south by the post of the windmill. 
 On the plage du fond (or beach) at the bottom of the harbour, besides a 
 well and an excellent spring, are the ruins of a lazaretto and a moscpie. 
 The town is built on the peninsula of rocks, three hectares in extent 
 (7y acres), which encloses the port ; and over the land-gate is inscribed 
 the date of 1677. The only remains left of the old buildings consist of 
 a few vaulted warehouses and walls ; and the rock is, unfortunately, a 
 sandstone (ares) of a loose texture, iu which the sea makes inroads, 
 undermining the pavement. The French establishment at La Calle is 
 of the same date (1520) as the first occupation of Bona and Constantina 
 by the Turks. Francis I., Henry II., and Charles IX., were allies of the 
 Turks and Selim II. against the house of Austria, the old hereditary foe 
 of France. Between 15G0 and 1604 was the period of the greatest con- 
 cessions and power enjoyed by the French at La Calle ; and from the 
 time of Francis I. to Louis XIV., the whole secret of this anomalous 
 coalition between the very Christian king and the head of Islam may 
 be traced to the ecreat contest between France and Austria. 
 
 After the decline of the latter power, the concessions came to be only 
 commercial; and in 1694 was concluded the traite de Pierre Hely, which 
 was the basis of the French relations with Algeria down to the conquest. 
 Its chief enactments were repeated almost verbatim in the conventions 
 of 1714, 1731, 1768, and 1790. Pierre Hely and his company enjoyed 
 the monopoly of the whole trade of La Calle. Cap Negre, Bona, Bastion de 
 France and its dependencies, for 34,000 gold roubies (105,000 fr.; 4200/.). 
 In 1719 it passed to the Freneh India Company; in 1741 to the African 
 Company and to Marseilles, with a capital of 1,200,000 livres (48,000/.). 
 Six per cent was always obtained by the shareholders ; and from 1772 to 
 1777 each shareholder received 300,000 fr. (12,000/.) every year as his 
 dividend. The African Company was in a particularly flourishing state 
 under Director Martin ; but it was suppressed, with all other monopolies, 
 in 1794. 
 
 The garrison used only to consist of fifty veterans with a captain. We 
 have already referred to the prevalence of Provencal among the tribes sur- 
 rounding La Calle, whose population in 1794 amounted to 600 persons, 
 amongst whom, no women being allowed, it is reported that most de- 
 plorable immorality prevailed. -\ 
 
 * Baude, 70I. i. p. 182. 
 
 f See Abbe" Poiret'a Lettrcs (jeritcs do l'ancionne Numidie pendant les amines 1785-6, 
 2 vols. Paris, 1789.
 
 LA CALLE. 219 
 
 A mean exportation of 90,000 hectolitres (247,010 bushels) of wheat 
 used to be annually effected by the Company. The price of the local load 
 (153 kilogrammes; 5'0G bushels) varied from 7 fr. 50 c. (Gs. 3d.) to la fr. 
 (12s. 6d.) per load; thus making 5 fr. 51 c. (4s. 7d.) per hectolitre, 
 or 3 bushels 40 lbs. 
 
 The Company used also to export considerable quantities of barley, 
 maize, and beans. 
 
 At the present time there are fine plantations of tobacco around lake 
 El-Hout, and among the Ouled-Djeb, the Djeballah, and the Seybas ; and 
 M. Pasquier, director of the administration of tobacco, pronounced the 
 specimens that he saw equal to those of America, which fetch 100 fr. (41.) 
 per metrical quintal (220 lbs. avoirdupois, or ±\d. per lb.). The cork- 
 forests in the vicinity of La Calle might also be the source of a flourishing 
 trade, and provide abundance of wood for the army. 
 
 The lofty hills that border the coast of La Calle are covered' with 
 shrubs, and above the post stands a very fine group of mulberry-trees. A 
 beautiful panorama is unfolded to view on the top of these hills ; the land 
 gently dips to the lake El-Garah to the southward, and to the east to lake 
 El-Hout, whose waters bathe the feet of the green slopes. Bach valleys . 
 extend between woody hills, whose varied summits project in one place 
 into the azure sky, and in other places stand out from the dark sides of 
 the Djebel Koumir.* 
 
 The lakes, whose Arabic appellations are mercilessly disfigured by the 
 French, have also long enjoyed European sobriquets, applied by the 
 Provencal traders to La Calle. Thus, the Guilta-el-Malah was the Etang, 
 or pond, of the Bastion; the Guilta-el-Garah, the Etang de Jkavnairchand; 
 and the Guilta-el-Hout, VEtmig de Tonegue. " The plain near the latter," 
 says Baron Baude, " when we visited the douar of Moussa, was the Elaine de 
 Terraillane" The territory of La Calle is shut in by three lakes, two of 
 which, those of Tonegue and of the Bastion, flow into the sea, the third 
 of which almost shuts in the space between the other two. The Etang de 
 Beaumarehand is at the distance of 1000 metres (3280 feet) from that of 
 the Bastion, and at 2000 metres (65G0 feet) from that of Tonegue ; and 
 you might thus enclose by 3000 metres (9840 feet) of ditch an extent of 
 three or four square leagues (25 square miles), embracing some very good 
 land. The centre pond is thought to be the cause of the fevers that pre- 
 vail there from June to September, which are, moreover, aggravated by 
 the frequency of the southerly winds. This pond is shallow, and might 
 be drained. 
 
 All property belongs to the crown at La Calle, and the carcasses of 
 the houses that cover its surface are gratuitously granted for five years if 
 the tenants make them habitable ; but when buyers congregate and capital 
 pours in there, they will be sold. 
 
 * Baude, vol. i. p. 20o.
 
 220 BASTION DE PRANCE. 
 
 Leaving La Calle, the baron's party proceeded along the heights to 
 Bona ; and after advancing two hours, they saw, on the banks of a cove 
 of white sand to the right, the ruins of the old Bastion de France. All 
 the rivalries of empires and the passions of human nature have contended 
 on this little spot, which is now nothing but a ruinous tower. 
 
 There is a lake to the south of the bastion; and a channel, 600 or 800 
 metres (2624 feet) long, leading to it, is almost dry at times, the waters of 
 the lake being frequently very low. The variations in the level amount 
 to two metres (6-56 feet). This lake used at one time to be a port for 
 coral boats and for the bastion; its depth at the lowest water- mark is 
 two or three metres (0-84 feet) ; it penetrates two leagues (5 miles) in- 
 land, and it contains an area of about 2500 hectares (6250 acres). Its 
 navigation would be useful, from the nature of the woods and land sur- 
 rounding it ; and it is said to be well supplied with fish. 
 
 The cork -forests continue to Cape Rose ; but they are interrupted by 
 the delicious valley of Djeballah, whose soil, defended from the south and 
 sea winds by the elevation of the surrounding hills, consists of a rich 
 and light loam, made still richer by irrigation. There is a good landing- 
 place in the stream that waters it, and this little harbour is called 
 by the Italian coral-fishers Porto delle Cannelle — in French, Port Canier 
 (Heed Harbour). It is a port of refuge for small ships from westerly 
 gales. 
 
 Almost all the land of the Djeballah is divided into cultivated fields, 
 and produces an abundance of tobacco, maize, wheat, &c. ; and the oxen 
 and horses show in their forms the goodness of the vegetation. The tribe 
 of the Djeballah has about fifty tents, almost all of which are scattered, 
 and not congregated into douars, these Arabs not being nomadic, but 
 settled. A range of cliffs is detached from Cape Rose, and runs gently 
 down to the mouth of the Mafrag. The land slopes back from it to the 
 south ; and the water from this range flows back into the Mafrag in an 
 opposite direction from the sea. A large sandy zone, furnished with 
 shrubs, extends along the gulf of Bona ; but as soon as you come to the 
 first village of the Seybas, you find all the fertility of the plain. Here 
 and there appear fine fields of tobacco and corn ; and the tribe of the 
 Seybas, though ravaged by the plague, has 100 tents, and is one of the 
 richest in the plain. 
 
 " Towards half-past four in the morning," proceeds Baron Baude, " we 
 left our friends the Seybas, and at 7 a.m. we entered the large gully that 
 forms the mouth of the Mafrag in the sea through the sand-hills : it was 
 completely choked by a bar about twenty-eight metres (91-84 feet) in thick- 
 ness, composed of sands heaped up by the waves of the sea; — we passed 
 over dry-shod. To our left the river was at least 200 metres (656 feet) 
 wide, and seemed very deep ; in its rise it forces the bar, and nothing is 
 more variable than its entrance. The sambhills that border the sea to
 
 LA CALLE TO BONA. 221 
 
 the right and left of the mouth of the Mafrag are of pure sand; but by the 
 effect of filtering, the bottom of the soil is almost moist there, consequently 
 they are covered with the richest verdure ; they are crowded with the 
 olive, the carob, and the cork-tree, whilst the vine entwines them in its 
 festoons. The douar of Sheikh Hafsi was at a short distance from the 
 Mafrag, on the banks of the lake Beida ; but notwithstanding his hospi- 
 tal tie entreaties for us to remain, Ave went on. The territory comprised 
 between the Mafrag and the Seybouse is occupied, under our protection, 
 by the tribe of the Beni-Urdjesi, whom General Uzer wisely established 
 there, when it fled the persecutions of Ahmed, bey of Constantina. It 
 touches the gate of Bona, and has become rich by trade. From the 
 Mafrag to the Seybouse you follow the whole of a valley which runs be- 
 tween two parallel lines composed of sand-hills formed by the sea ; at 
 high water the two rivers sometimes communicate through it. An excel- 
 lent ferry-boat has taken the place of the floating isle of rushes on which 
 the Arabs used to cross the Seybouse." 
 
 From La Calle to Bona is a march of thirteen hours and a half. They 
 met no lions on the road, though these quadrupeds are reported to be 
 common there.* 
 
 Having now taken the traveller along the coast of the province, we 
 shall give first a broad outline, and secondly an analysis of the interior. 
 
 * Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 213. The Tableau gives La Calle a population of 400 in- 
 habitants in 1849, and states that the town-walls have been improved, and a battery 
 established to defend the port. Tableau, 1S50, pp. 96, 113, 345. 
 
 ^JkS^-t-
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Iholmicc of Constanttna. Interior. 
 
 INTERIOR OF THE PROVINCE — BROAD OUTLINE ANALYSIS BARON BAUDE — NA- 
 TURAL FEATURES OF NUMIDIA — ST. MARIE CONSTANTINA MADAME PRUS 
 
 BORRER GUELMA GERARD, THE LION-KING CONSTANTINA BETNA 
 
 AOURESS EL-GANTRA BISKRA— THE OASES. 
 
 The whole of this province, between its old limits, the rivers Booberak 
 and Zhoore, from the sea-coast to the parallels of Setif and Constan- 
 tina, is mostly a continued chain of very high mountains. Near the above 
 parallels it is diversified with a beautiful variety of hills and plains, with 
 a greater or less adaptation for cultivation, till it ends up the Sahara in a 
 long range of mountains, probably the Buzara of the ancients. The dis- 
 trict of Zaab is immediately under these mountains; and beyond Zaab, at 
 a great distance in the Sahara, is Ouadreay, another collection of villages. 
 This part of the east province, including the parallel of Zaab, answers to 
 Mauritania Sitifensis; or the first Mauritania, as it was called in the 
 middle ages. 
 
 The mountainous region between the rivers Zhoore and Seybouse is of 
 no great extent, seldom reaching more than G leagues (15 miles) within 
 the continent. From the Seybouse to the Zaine, except near Tabarca, 
 where it begins again to be very mountainous, the country is mostly plain, 
 though sometimes diversified by hills and forests. The same variations 
 are found below Tuckush, along the encampments of the Hareishah, Gra- 
 rah, and other Bedouins, as far as Constantina, where may be occasionally 
 seen a small species of red deer not met with in other parts of the colony. 
 Beyond this parallel is a range of high mountains, the Thambes of Ptolemy, 
 extending as far as Tabarca, behind which you find pasture and arable 
 land, ending in the Sahara, as Mauritania Sitifensis did before in a ridge 
 of mountains, — the Mampsarus, probably, of the ancients. 
 
 Part of the Africa Proper of Mela and Ptolemy, the Numidia Massy- 
 lorum, the Metagonitis terra of the classical authors, was comprehended in 
 this part of the province. 
 
 Leaving that portion of the province which belongs to Great Kabylia* 
 
 * Consisting- of the two great basins of the Ouad-Summam and the Ouad-Adjeb, or 
 Bousellam ; the first draining the high lands above and around Aumale, and the latter 
 trig down from Setif, ami joining tlio former a little abovo Bugia, where they both 
 full into tho sea.
 
 SETIF. 223 
 
 for another occasion, we proceed to remark that Mount Atlas, throughout 
 the province of Algiers (formerly Tittery), as far as Mount Jurjurah, runs 
 parallel to the sea; but, after passing that point, diverges to the S.E. 
 In the same direction rise the lofty mountains of Ouan-nougla and J'aite; 
 succeeded afterwards, but in a direction more parallel with the sea, by 
 those of Oulad-Selim, Mustewah, Aouress, and Tipasa, which run into the 
 Regency of Tunis. Three or four leagues south of Mount J'aite is Mes- 
 seilah, the frontier town of the province to the west. It is built on the 
 southern skirts of the plains of El-Huthna, 9 leagues (22£ miles) to the 
 S.S.W. of Sidi-Embarak-Es-mati, and 16 leagues (40 miles) S.W. of Setif. 
 Messeilah is a dirty place, like all villages in this country; the houses 
 being built with reeds daubed with mud, or tiles baked in the sun. The 
 air is too cold for dates in this spot, and other places on the skirts of the 
 Sah'ra; and the gardens surrounding it only contain peaches, apricots, and 
 the fruits of North Africa. Messeilah means a situation, like that of this 
 town, on the banks of a running stream. At the same distance on the 
 other side, i.e. north of the Djebel J'aite, commences the plain of Medjana, 
 shaded to the northward by the Dra-el-Hammar, and to the west by the 
 mountains of Ouan-nougla. These plains are large and fertile ; but 
 numerous pools of foul water, as the name denotes, filled in the rainy 
 season, and stagnating in the spring, give . birth to agues and fevers, &c. 
 Several heaps of ruins are scattered about, of which the Turks have built 
 a fort. The country presents nothing remarkable till, passing by the vil- 
 lage of Zammora, i. e. of olive-trees, we come to Setif (Sitipha or Sitifi), 
 the ancient metropolis of this part of Mauritania, which made a brave 
 resistance to the invading Saracens. This city may have been per- 
 haps a league in circumference, and was built on rising ground facing the 
 south; but it scarcely contains a fragment of Roman remains, the few 
 structures that are now seen beino- the. work of later inhabitants. The 
 fountains, which continue to flow very plentifully near the centre of the 
 town, are equally convenient and delightful.* The town contains four 
 good streets, and is well fortified. 
 
 Setif is situated to the west of Constantina, and at the distance of 
 about 20 leagues (50 miles) south from Bugia, and contained in 1849, 646 
 Europeans and 436 natives. 
 
 The ancient Sitifis colonia, after being the capital of a fine province 
 during the Roman sway, presented in 1839 nothing but a heap of ruins, 
 near which the Arabs held a market every Sunday. This town is situated 
 on an immense table-land, whereof the elevation above the level of the sea 
 is represented to be 1400 metres (4592 feet); accordingly it is exposed to 
 severe cold, and snow is seen there during almost six months of the year; 
 the wind, moreover, sweeps over this high land with extreme violence, 
 driving vast clouds of dust before it. 
 
 * Blofekl, p. 43 et seqq.
 
 224 MEDRASHEM. 
 
 Setif is perhaps the healthiest spot occupied by the French in the whole 
 of Algeria; and it is supplied with excellent water. 
 
 The distance from Constantina to Setif is about 30 leagues (75 miles), 
 and is traversed by two roads. The shortest passes through the territory 
 of the Abd-el-Nour, presenting a rich country entirely stripped of trees, and 
 without the vestige of a town or camp; the only traces of human struc- 
 tures consisting of a great number of ruined Roman monuments, which 
 offer, however, little interest. The other road passes by Milan, Ma-Allad, 
 and Djemilah. Both roads are impassable for carriages. 
 
 The plains and rich pastures of Cassir-Attyre lie a little to the south 
 of Setif, and are cultivated by the Raigah, a clan of Arabs famous for 
 breeding cattle, especially horses, which are considered the best in the 
 country. Near the Raigah are the Ammers, a powerful tribe. Eight leagues 
 (20 miles) S.E. of Setif are the ruins of Taiggah and Zainah, situated half 
 a league from each other, in a fruitful champaign country, under Djebel- 
 Mustewab, the principal abode of the Ouled Abdenore, a very numerous 
 and powerful clan. Taiggah and Zainah are rarely mentioned apart, but 
 from their contiguity are conjointly called Tagou-Zainah. A small brook 
 runs between them; and at Zainah, among other ruins, is a triumphal 
 arch, supported by two large Corinthian pillars. Five leagues to the east 
 of Tagou-Zainah, on the northern skirts of the Djebel-Aouress, is situated 
 the sepulchral monument of Medrashem, or Mail-Cashan, which is similar 
 to, though not larger than, the Koubber Romeah,* and has a cornice sup- 
 ported by pillars like the Tuscan order. The district near this spot is 
 named Ain-yac-coute, probably from the Ain-yac-coute, or diamond (i.e. 
 transparent) fountain, situated near the centre of it. Fragments of 
 Roman highways and other ruins are scattered all over it; among which 
 the principal are those of Om-oley, and Smaab, a league or more to the 
 west of Medrashem, on the road to Zainah. Tattubt, bordering on the 
 Ain-yac-coute to the N.E., is about four leagues (10 miles) from Om-oley 
 and Sinaab, and about eight leagues (20 miles) to the S.S.W. of Constan- 
 tina. It has been formerly a considerable city ; but at present is almost 
 entirely covered by earth and rubbish. Tattubt seems to be the same 
 place as the Tadutti of the Itinerary ; and lying between Lambese and 
 Cemella', as the ancients called Tezzonte and Jimmeilah, may justly lay 
 claim to this situation. Ten leagues (25 miles) to the south of Tagou- 
 Zainah, and 12 leagues (30 miles) from Medrashem, are the remains of 
 ancient Thubana, now Tubnah, situated in a fine plain near Bareekah and 
 Boomazooze. Seven leagues (17i- miles) S.S.W. of Tubnah, and 16 
 (40 miles) S.E. of Messeilah, is the village of Em-dhou-Khal, surrounded 
 by mountains; and at tliis spot you meet with the first plantation of date- 
 trees; but the fruit does not ripen so well as in the Zaab district, which is 
 at no great distance from this spot. The Shott is a large valley or plain, 
 
 * See Chapter on Archaeology, Part II.
 
 DJEBEL AOURESS. 225 
 
 which runs, with few interruptions, between two chains of mountains, from 
 the neighbourhood of Em-dhou-Khal to the west of the meridian of Mes- 
 seilah. The word commonly means the sea-shore, or the banks of some 
 lake, &c.; but the meaning in this case is, the borders or area of such a 
 plain as, according to the season, will be covered witli salt or water. 
 Several parts consist of a light oozy soil; and after inundations, its quick- 
 sands are very dangerous." 
 
 Crossing the Bou-rna- zooze, opposite Tubnah is a large mountain of 
 very good freestone. It is called Muckat-el-Hadjar, i. e. the quarry; and 
 the Arabs have a tradition that the stones employed in building Setif 
 (and doubtless other neighbouring cities) were brought from this place. 
 Four leagues to the north of this quarry is Boo-muggar, a fruitful little 
 district, with some traces of ancient buildings. Between it and Kas-el- 
 Aiounne is the village of Nic-Kowse, or Ben-Couse as it is called by the 
 Turks. The inhabitants are chiefly Zaouia (or members of a religious col- 
 lege and confraternity) ; and the village is situated in a valley, with a circle 
 of mountains at a moderate distance from it. A rivulet runs by the vil- 
 lage to the west; but being impregnated with nitrous particles, which are 
 numerous in this neighbourhood, the water is seldom used for drink. 
 Nic-Kowse contains vestiges of an ancient city; and the inhabitants pretend 
 to show the tombs of the Seven Sleepers, asserting that they were Maho- 
 metans, and that they slept at this place, and not at Mount Ochlon, near 
 Ephesus, from a.d. 258 to 408. 
 
 The powerful clans of Lakhader, Coussoure, and Hirkawse inhabit the 
 mountainous district to the east of Tubnah and Nic-Kowse, as far as 
 Djebel Aouress. The latter is the Mons Aurasius of the middle ages, 
 and the Mons Audus of Ptolemy : it does not consist of one mountain 
 merely, but forms a large knot of lofty eminences, with several beautiful 
 valleys and glens between them. Both the higher and lower parts of 
 Djebel Aouress are very fertile, and form the garden of the province. 
 This group or knot of mountains is reckoned to be about 120 miles in 
 circuit. The northern part is possessed by numerous clans, such as the 
 Bou-zenah, Lashash, Maifah, and Bou-aref ; and the district is so fortified 
 by nature, and defended by so brave a people, that the Turks could never 
 subdue it. A high pointed rock, on which their dashkrah is situated, is 
 probably the Petra Geminiani, or the Tumar of Procopius. Numerous 
 ruins are scattered over the hills and valleys of this district, including the 
 remains of Lambese or Lambasa. The Kabyles of these mountains of 
 Aouress are quite different to their neighbours in appearance, their com- 
 plexion not being dark, but fair, and their hair of a deep yellow. Though 
 Mahometans, and speaking the Berber tongue, yet their physical charac- 
 teristics make it probable, that if they are not of the tribe mentioned by 
 Procopius, yet they must be a remnant of the Vandals, who, though dis- 
 
 * Blofeld, p. 55. 
 P
 
 226 CONSTANTINA. 
 
 possessed at the time of their strongholds, and dispersed among African 
 families, may have collected together afterwards. Between Djebel Aouress 
 and Constantina is the high mountain of Ziganeah, at the foot of which is 
 Physgeah, formerly a city of the Romans, where there is a plentiful foun- 
 tain and reservoir, according to the name, the water being formerly con- 
 ducted by aqueduct to Constantina. 
 
 This city, the capital of the province, was called Cirta (Sittianorum) 
 previous to the time of Constantine the Great. It is situated beyond the 
 Little Atlas, 48 miles from the sea ; and in history it appears as one of 
 the principal cities of Numidia, which is proved by the extent of its ruins. 
 Its position was, and is, very strong, the greater part of the city standing 
 on a high peninsular promontory, inaccessible on all sides except the S.W., 
 where it joins the continent.* This promontory is a mile in circumference, 
 somewhat inclined to the south; but to the north it ends in a perpen- 
 dicular precipice of 600 feet ; hence it commands a beautiful view over 
 valleys, mountains, and rivers, the prospect being bounded to the east- 
 ward by an adjacent ridge of rocks much higher than the city. But to 
 the S.E. the country is more open, with a distant view of the mountains 
 of Sidi-Rougeese and Ziganeah. In these directions the peninsular pro- 
 montory is separated from the continent by a deep narrow valley, with 
 perpendicular cliffs on both sides, where the Hummel, or Ampsaga, conveys 
 its stream. On the most elevated point of the city, at the Naugh, is the 
 Casbah, an old edifice now used as French barracks, and commanding 
 Constantina. Below it are corn-mills, turned by the Ouad-Rummel ; and 
 there are many gardens on the banks of this river, in the part called El- 
 Hamma. The streets of Constantina are paved, but narrow and winding ; 
 whilst almost all of them are steep, the houses being generally two stories 
 hisjfh, the most beautiful beinp- built of Roman remains. The street of 
 the Jews is remarkably singular, overhung with vines richly laden with 
 fruit, and very shady ; and at one end is a minaret with a glittering cres- 
 cent. A pleasing calm prevails, not found in European cities. The ap- 
 pearance of the buildings, the gravity of the customs, the imposing step, 
 the faces of the Moors and Arabs in the silent shops, compose a pleasant 
 scene.-f- The ancient palace of the Bey is a remarkable monument. Ahmed 
 Bey, before the French conquest, had employed in its decoration the 
 columns and materials, &c. of the finest buildings in the province. Hence 
 Constantina is rich in antiquities. The chief gate of the four in this 
 town is on the neck of land facing S.W., about half a furlong broad. All 
 this spot down to the river, with a strip of plain ground parallel with 
 the deep valley already described, is covered with ruins. Ancient Cirta 
 stretched as far as this ; but modern Constantina is not so large, but con- 
 
 • Blofeld, p. 50. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 + Blofeld, p. 59. E. Carotto, Exploration Scicntifiquc. Ixeeherches sur la Geographic- 
 et le Commerce, &c. E. Carette, p. 243. Madame Prus, p. 159.
 
 MEELAII. 227 
 
 fined to the peninsular promontory. The gate to the S.W., and that facing 
 the S.E., are both splendid monuments of Roman architecture.* 
 
 Constantina has thirteen principal mosques, besides a great many in- 
 ferior places of worship. The inhabitants are industrious, many of them 
 being tradesmen and artisans. Saddlery and shoemaking give occupation 
 to very many persons ; but the principal riches of the country arise from 
 the cultivation surrounding the city. Horned cattle and sheep are nume- 
 rous ; and from the wool of the latter the natives fabricate coarse cloth, 
 which meets with a quick sale. The women spin and weave capital bur- 
 nouses. The climate of the country, and city in particular, is very healthy, 
 but cold, though the plains near it are generally very hot.t lluiued in 
 311, in the wars of Maxentius against Alexander, a Pannonian peasant 
 who had assumed the purple in Africa, it was re-established under Con- 
 stantine, who gave it his name. Its population, which consisted before the 
 French conquest (1837) of Moors, Turks, Kabyles, and Jews, is reported 
 by the natives to have amounted to 40,000. The Kabyles formed one- 
 half, the Moors a quarter, the Jews and Turks the remainder.^ 
 
 Constantina, fortified as it is by nature, and by the works which are in 
 process of ei-ectiononits precipitous front, would defy the most powerful force. 
 
 Below the bridge the Rummel turns north, and runs nearly half a mile 
 through underground passages, with openings for the natives to get at the 
 water. Were it not for this outlet, the river would form a vast lake, and 
 lay a great part of the neighbouring country under water. A quarter of 
 a mile to the east of Sidi-Meemon, the Rummel falls from its subterranean 
 channel in a large waterfall ; and the highest part of the city lies above it, 
 whence, till lately, criminals were cast into the river. A little beyond 
 the falls is Kabat-bir-a-haal, a neat transparent fountain full of land-tor- 
 toises. These animals, which are devoured by the natives, are thought to 
 be demons; a mythos containing, as usual, an ingredient of truth, since 
 their flesh is the occasion of fevers and other maladies. 
 
 Five leagues north of Constantina is the city of Mcelah (Milevum, 
 Mileu), built among beautiful mountains and valleys. The surrounding 
 gardens are full of fountains, one of which has a Roman basin ; and this 
 place chiefly supplies Constantina with herbs and fruits, the pomegranates 
 of Meelah being, in particular, very large and fine, and held in high re- 
 pute. Leo and Marmol speak of the excellence of its apples, and assert 
 that the city Mileu took its name from them. 
 
 Proceeding eastward from Constantina, you pass by Alligah and An- 
 nounah, containing ruins, and arrive at Hammam Meskoutin, i. e. the hot 
 or enchanted baths, situated on low grounds, and surrounded by high 
 mountains. It consists of several very hot fountains, which afterwards 
 flow into the Zenati ; and not far from them are other springs which are 
 
 * See Archeology, Part II. f Blofeld, p. 59. 
 
 J Ibid. Pananti gives it 100,000 inhabitants : Aventure, vol. ii, p. 11.
 
 228 OUAREGLA. 
 
 intensely cold, — an instance of the sharp contrasts so clear to nature. A 
 few ruined houses stand near the springs. All this part of the country, 
 from Constantina to the Zenati, consists of fruitful hills and valleys, mixed 
 with some beautiful plantations of olives and forests. The district of 
 Boukawan is eastward of the Hammam Meskoutin, on the north of the 
 river Seybouse; and on the other side of the district of Mounah are the 
 possessions of the Beni-Salah, a warlike clan, with the ruins of Ghelma, or 
 Kalma as the Turks pronounce it. A modern town has arisen on this 
 spot, out of the ruins of the Calama of antiquity ; and it promises, under 
 French protection and patronage, to match, and even outstrip, its ancient 
 prosperity. Behind Mounah is Tiffesh (Theveste or Thebse), the only 
 city in the district of Hen-neishah, and a place which has retained its 
 ancient name, though the walls have been destroyed by the Arabs. It 
 stands in a fine plain containing a brook, and is nineteen leagues E.S.E. 
 of Constantina. Near Tiffesh is the country of the Hen-neishah, not only 
 a powerful and warlike, but a graceful and pleasing tribe. This district is 
 the most fertile and extensive of Numidia, comprised between the rivers 
 Hameese and Myskianah, the latter the most southern, the former the 
 most northern branch of the Me-jer-dah; almost every acre of the territory 
 is watered by a brook ; and there are but few of these without a city on 
 them or near their banks, though most of them are now in ruins. To the 
 south of Hen-neishah, near the banks of the Melagge, is Tipsa (Tebessa, 
 Tipata), now a frontier city, standing in a fine situation, not far from 
 mountains, and containing an ancient gate and some part of the old walls. 
 This was formerly a place of importance, and a large underground quarry 
 is situated in the mountains near it. The river Melagge, a little to the 
 north of Tipasa, is a continuation of the Myskianah, and has its sources at 
 Ain-Thyllah, the western confines of Hen-neishah. A little farther the 
 Melagge, flowing to the N.E., takes the jiauie of Serrat, aud forms the 
 east boundary of Algeria. This stream, when joined at a little distance 
 by the Sugerass coming from Millah by Hameese, and Tiffesh to the west, 
 assumes the name of Megerda (Bagradas). Near the western banks of the 
 Serrat, ten leagues from Tiffesh, is Collah, Gellah, or Gellah-ad-Snaan, a 
 good-sized village built on a high pointed mountain, Avith only one narrow 
 road leading up to it. This place, which could only be reduced by famine 
 Or taken by surprise, was formerly a convenient sanctuary for criminals 
 from Tunis and Algeria.* 
 
 .That part of this province which belongs to the Sahara contains, ex- 
 clusively of the distant city of Ouerghela or Ouaregla, and village of 
 Engousah, the two considerable districts of Zaab and Ouadreay, with their 
 numerous ksours. and villages. These places arc commonly a collection 
 of, dirty huts, built entirely of mud walls, with rafters of palm-tiinber ; 
 ! i"l all their inhabitants are employed in the cultivation of the date. 
 
 * Blofeld, p. 69.
 
 BISCARA'. 229 
 
 The district of Zaab (the Zebe or Zabc of the ancients), once a part of 
 Mauritania Sitifensis, and also of Gsetulia, is a narrow tract of laud lying 
 immediately under the mountains of the Greater Atlas, and displays a 
 chain of villages, with few intermissions, from the meridian of Messeilah to 
 that of Constantina. Dousan, Toodah, Sidi-Occ'ba, Biscara, and Ouniil- 
 hennah receive their rivulets from the Tell; hut the fountains and brooks 
 that contribute to the others rise within the Sahara, or else ooze from the 
 southern skirts of Mount Atlas. The Ducd-Adje-dee, or Djedi (that is, 
 the river of the kid), receives these streams ; and after running to the souths 
 ward looses itself in the Melrir, an extensive tract of the Sahara, of the same 
 saline and absorbent quality as the Shott above described. This river is 
 probably the Garrar or Jirad of Abulfeda. There are no other great streams 
 on this side of the Niger, and it may possibly be the Gir of Ptolemy, though 
 placed by him much more east or south-east, among the Garamantes. 
 
 Biscara, the capital of Zaab, was' once the residence of a Turkish 
 governor and garrison, and contains a small castle built by the Bey of 
 Constantina. Its chief strength consisted in six small cannon. Surrounded 
 by a brick wall, this city has much trade in slaves, &c. and other produc- 
 tions of Nigritia. Many of its inhabitants migrate to Algiers, where they 
 work as porters, <fcc., and form a corporation. The village of Sidi-Occ'ba 
 is famous for the tomb of the Arab general of that name, who is its tute- 
 lary saint. The tower of Sidi-Occ'ba is reported to tremble when you call 
 out, Sizza bil ras Sidi-Occba (' Shake for the head of Sidi-Occ'ba'). This 
 wonderful tradition may, like others, be founded on fact, resulting from one 
 of the mysterious miracula of gravity and acoustics. Nor would it be the 
 first stumbling-block to shake the faith of the sceptic ; — a tower at Rheims 
 exhibits somewhat of a similar phenomenon when you ring one of its bells. 
 Roman remains are scattered throughout the district, with traces of the 
 care they bestowed on the channels of irrigation. 
 
 The eating of dog's flesh is said still to be a common practice in Zaab, 
 as among the Carthaginians and the Guanches of the Canary islands, which 
 thence received their name. It is also well attested that there are human 
 puppies in the Sahara, where they present the same phenomena and cha- 
 racteristics as in the Elysees and Regent Street, with a slight difference 
 in their exoteric development. 
 
 Ouad-reay is another collection of villages like those of Zaab, twenty- 
 five in number, running in a north-east and south-west direction, their 
 capital, Tuggurt, standing on a plain without a river. There are no foum 
 tains in this country, but they obtain water by digging 600 or 1200 feet, 
 at which depth they invariably reach it ; the ground being perforated by 
 innumerable subterranean streams called Rahar-tahfcel-Erd (the under- 
 ground sea), a phenomenon noticed by Dr. Shaw. They dig through 
 several layers of sand and gravel till they reach a flaky stone like slate, 
 known always to lie above the Bahar. This layer is easily broken through,
 
 230 EXPEDITION TO CONSTANTINA. 
 
 and the water rushes up so quickly that the man who digs through it is 
 sometimes drowned. 
 
 Thirty miles south-west of Tuggurt is Engousah, the only village of 
 several in this situation which existed in the time of Leo. After Engousah, 
 at five leagues distance to the west, is the noted and populous city of 
 Ouaregla, the most remote community of auy size and importance this side 
 the Niger. These several cities and villages, together with those of Figig 
 and of Beni-Alezzab, are justly compared by the ancients to so many ver- 
 dant spots in a great expanse of desert, and belong probably to the country 
 of the Melano-G&tuli. 
 
 After describing Gsetulia, Ptolemy reckons the nations to the south- 
 ward, among which the Melano-Gsetuli and the Garamantes were the 
 principal. These nations certainly extended behind the greatest part of 
 Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli ; or from the meridian of Siga, near Tlemsen, 
 to the Cyrenaica, 35 deg. more to the east. And as, inclusive of the 
 Bedouias, there are no nations in this direction besides the Figigians, the 
 Beni-Mezzab, the inhabitants of Ouad-reay and Ouaregla to the west, and 
 those of Gaddeniz, Fezzan, and Oujelah to the east, it is probable that the 
 Melano-Gsetuli must have been the predecessors of these western Libyans, 
 as the others to the east were, for the same reason, the successors of the 
 Garamantes.* 
 
 The country of the Beni-Mezzab is very fertile ; and besides a consider- 
 able commerce with Gadamis, Bornou, Timbuctou, and the whole of Soudan, 
 it disposes of the produce which it draws from those countries to the in- 
 habitants of Tunis and Tripoli. In short, it has to a considerable extent 
 a monopoly of the roulage or carrier-trade of north-west Africa, -j- 
 
 Proceeding to analyse the ways and by-ways of this province, we shall 
 join several parties of travellers, some of whom are old friends. And first 
 we shall follow the expeditionary column under Marshal Clauzel, that 
 marched from Bona to Constantina in the autumn of 1836. Baron BaudeJ 
 and M. Berbrugger,§ who both accompanied the column, have left a minute 
 diary and description of their adventures. 
 
 Marshal Clauzel, who was then governor of Algiers, commanded the 
 expedition, which was accompanied by the Duke of Nemours, who had 
 with him General Edward Colbert, Colonel Boyer, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Chabanne. The marshal was himself escorted by nine aides-de-camp ; 
 Colonel Duverger was chief of the staff, and had eleven officers under his 
 orders. Colonels Tourneniine and Lemercier commanded the artillery and 
 engineers; and each etat major or staff reckoned six officers. The adminis- 
 tration was confided to M. Malain d'Arc, military intendant of the army 
 of Africa ; and the chief surgeon was Dr. Guyon. 
 
 The army, consisting of 8760 men (7410 French and 1356 Turks, &c.) 
 
 * Blofeld, p. 73. f Ibid. J Baudo's Algclrie, vol. ii. oh. ix. p. 44. 
 
 § L'AlgeYie, hi.storiquo, etc. part iii.
 
 NEC1IMEYA. 
 
 231 
 
 started on the 13th of November from Bona, when the marshal, with the 
 main body, reached at 7 p.m. the right bank of the stream of Bouinfra. 
 On the 14th they ascended towards the ancient Ascurus, and the marshal 
 stopped on the banks of the rivulet of Nechmeya, two leagues (five miles) 
 from the bivouac of the previous night. On the 15th they started early, 
 the weather being fine, and reached the Seybouse. From the camp of 
 Draan to the Bouinfra the country is very broken ; mountains clothed with 
 
 j. 
 
 BIVOUAC ON THE BANKS OF TUE NECHMEYA. 
 
 shrubs, isolated from the Atlas chain, and only to be compared to truncated 
 volcanic peaks, rise like islands from the middle of the plain. For part of 
 the journey the soil is meagre and light ; but it became excelleut again on 
 approaching the Bouinfra. After passing this stream, you enter, not to 
 leave it again till beyond Constantina, a country of jura limestone forma- 
 tion : you have before you a branch of the Atlas, that encloses on the north 
 side the valley of the Seybouse ; a narrow hill is detached perpendicularly 
 from it, and advances like a spur into the plain. The road begins by 
 following its back, and passes near the ruins of Ascurus, traversing a his- 
 torical country scattered with ruins. About the Bouinfra the ground is 
 well wooded, and crossed by several limpid streams. From the Col you 
 descend along a pretty valley to the thermal waters of Hammam-Berda, 
 which are probably the Aqua? Tibilitanae of the Itinerary of Antoninus.
 
 232 RAS-EL-AKBA. 
 
 They flow into a basin of masonry, and are abundant, clear, insipid, and in- 
 odorous ; their temperature is that of ordinary baths, i. e. from 25 to 30°.* 
 The site is agreeable, the soil fertile ; and the vigour of the rose-laurels 
 announces that the streams, whose courses are marked by festoons of 
 flowers and foliage, are rarely dry. The Roman establishment on this 
 spot must have been considerable, but the foundations alone remain. The 
 attention devoted by the ancients and the Orientals to multiply baths 
 depends on hygienic causes, which cannot be neglected with impunity. 
 The vale of Hammam-Berda debouches into that of the Seybouse, opposite 
 Guelma : the river has at this place a width of 60 metres (196 80 feet), 
 and its current is very rapid ; its left bank is covered with marshes. 
 Guelma, or rather the heap of ruins which bears that name, is on the 
 other side of the Seybouse, 1500 metres (4920 feet) from the river, on the 
 even but rather steep slope of a hill. The ancient enclosure of Guelma 
 (Calama) contains a space of from seven to eight hectares (20 acres). 
 
 On the 16th the troops ascended the vale of the Seybouse, finding but 
 little cultivated ground on the road, but numerous flocks of sheep within 
 reach. At 2 p.m. they halted at Mjez-Amar, at the foot of the Ras-el- 
 Akba, where the Seybouse receives the Oued-Cherff, which takes its source 
 15 leagues to the south-west, not far from the ruins of ancient Tigisis. It 
 makes a curve to the north to turn the Ras-el-Akba, by the deep cutting 
 at the entrance of which are the famous thermal springs of Hammam- 
 Meskoutin. The little plain in which it debouches is raised from 20 to 
 30 metres (98-40 feet) above its bed, the banks being rocky and almost 
 vertical. The road followed this day was the scene of Jugurtha's triumphs 
 over the Roman Aulus, of which more anon. On the 17th of November, 
 crossing the Seybouse, they began to climb the Ras-el-Akba. The Arabs 
 relate wonderful stories of the altitude and marvels of this mighty natural 
 pile, which may be compared to the Col de Tarare in France, save that 
 the forms of the rocks at the Ras are much sharper, and the Col is com- 
 manded on two sides by lofty rocks. The mind is almost filled with a 
 feeling of oppression and discouragement at the aspect of this country. 
 You see, as far as the eye can reach, mountains swelling up in gigantic 
 masses, between which you can perceive no way to steer ; all around is 
 naked ; and in this immense horizon you seek in vain for a tree or a little 
 brushwood. Halting at the foot of the Ras-el-Akba on the 18th, some of 
 the party drew nigh to the ruins of Announah, which are still considerable, 
 and are situated in a singular inaccessible position half-way up the cliffs. 
 On the 19th the column, after having crossed, marching westward, two 
 offshoots from the Ras-el-Akba, came about 10 a.m. to the banks of the 
 Seybouse, not far from the marabout of Sicli-Tamtam. The Seybouse is 
 here called the Oued-Zenati, from the name of the tribe whose territory it 
 crosses : it has only a small stream of water ; hence the great volume of 
 
 * Reaumur.
 
 TIIE BEYBOUSE. 
 
 233 
 
 water that the army crossed the day hefore must have come from the valley 
 of Alliga. 
 
 The llas-el-Akba forms a kind of promontory, round which the Seybouse 
 doubles. The distance from Mjez-Amar to Sidi-Tamtam is 22 kilometres 
 (13-G6 miles) by the mountain, and 36 kilometres (2249 miles) by the 
 banks of the river. Following the gorges of the Hammam Meskoutin, 
 you meet, at 20 kilometres (1242 miles) from Mjez-Amar, the vale of 
 Alliga, which takes the direction of Constantina, and where you find the 
 traces of the Roman road from Sicca Veneris (Keff) in Tunis to Cirta. 
 
 
 
 PASSING THE SEYBOUSE. 
 
 By this road the distance to Constantina is only 46 kilometres (28 58 
 miles) ; while continuing to ascend the valley of the Seybouse, in order to 
 descend that of the Bou-Merzoug, you make a circuit of 74 kilometres 
 (45-98 miles). 
 
 On the 20th of November the army marched from 8 a.m. to 5 P.M., 
 a cold wintry wind sweeping across their path. On quitting the basin of 
 the Seybouse, it enters a rich well-cultivated plateau, on which are many 
 douars. The column turned to the south of a group of rugged mountains, 
 and descended by the vale of the Oued-Berda into that of Bou-Merzoug, 
 which throws itself into the Bummel above Constantina. At last they 
 arrived at the clayey table-land of Soumah, whilst the winter's sun shone 
 on a group of white houses 3 leagues (7§ miles) N.N.W., half masked 
 by the plateau of Mansourah. This was Constantina. The army halted
 
 234 CHANGARNIER. 
 
 around a Roman monument, of which a further description will be given 
 elsewhere. 
 
 On the 21st the army reached with difficulty the banks of the Bou- 
 Merzoug, a torrent which, swollen by the recent rains, rolled its furious 
 waves over the slippery rock in its channel. The column met with less 
 delay in traversing the lesser tributaries, and about 2 to 3 p.m. they 
 arrived together on the plateau of Mansourah, when they beheld the 
 whole of Constantina, from which they were only separated by the deep 
 ravine, at the bottom of which rages and roars the Rummel. 
 
 The depth of the channel of the Rummel beneath the highest part of 
 Constantina is 100 metres (328 feet) ; and the towers of Notre Dame 
 at Paris, if you seek an object of comparison, are only GO metres (21648 
 feet) high. The river traces a cincture of 1500 metres (4920 feet) at the 
 foot of the town ; it has a fall of 75 metres (246 feet), and the precipices 
 on all hands are vertical. The frame is worthy of the picture. " Moun- 
 tains covered with snow surrounded us," says Baron Baude, " on all sides, 
 whilst the damp clay was the only bed of the soldiers. The plateau of 
 Mansourah alone is formed of alternate beds of rock and of marl." With- 
 out dwelling on the hardships and sufferings of this brave army, or cri- 
 ticising the errors of the government or commanders, who have been 
 respectively blamed for exposing it with insufficient means at a most 
 inclement season, — it will suffice to say, that the attempts at storming 
 failed; and provisions also fading on the 24th, the army began its retreat, 
 after destroying its tents, baggage, etc. 
 
 The distress of the column on the retreat was very great, and many 
 veterans of the Russian campaign (1812) declared that its horrors and 
 sufferings were exceeded ; yet all was borne with heroism and a British 
 patience by the French troops. The retreat is also remarkable for a dis- 
 play of coolness by which Changarnier made himself conspicuous for the 
 first time. The circumstance was as follows. On the 24th the French army 
 marched slowly, amidst the continual fire of the Arabs of Achmet Bey; it 
 held them in check by its tirailleurs, and the foe fled as soon as the French 
 soldiers faced about. However, half-way to the monument of Soumab, the 
 battalion of the 2d closing the march, the enemy, reckoning on their supe- 
 riority of numbers that the victory would be secure, decided to charge. 
 
 Commandant Changarnier rallied his men, running in to form square, 
 and awaited the enemy at twenty-five paces. "They are 6000, and we 
 are 250," he said to the soldiers: "you see very well that there is nothing 
 to fear 1" The volley, directed with the steadiness of parade, dispersed the 
 Arabs in two minutes. There were thirty-four killed or wounded in the 
 square; but it stood firm, and saluted with the cry of " Long live the 
 King!"(Fn>e le En) the flight of the enemy, and some tirailleurs detached 
 in pursuit killed the dismounted men.* This warm reception prevented 
 
 * Boron Baude, vol. ii. c. 9.
 
 THE RETREAT. 235 
 
 a repetition of any attacks on the part of the enemy during the retreat, 
 in the course of which the troops ransacked the silos, or corn-holes, of 
 the natives must successfully. Caesar has given an exact description of 
 these silos, which must have hecn identically the same then.* 
 
 On the 25th and 26th of November the army continued its retreat, 
 and on the 27th arrived at the broken plain of Sidi-Tamtam, which 
 stretches on the left bank of the Seybouse, whilst on the right bank the 
 first slopes of the Ras-el-Akba embrace in their concavity the bend that 
 the river describes in this place. The French army drew up on the moun- 
 tain at 7 a.m., and beheld the same spectacle that Caesar recorded 1881 
 years before, when 30 Gaulish horsemen, on his retreat to lluspina, drove 
 back into the walls of Adrumetum 2000 Moors who pursued them. 
 " We were on the slope," says Baron Baude, " as on the steps of a 
 theatre ; the 3d Chasseurs d'Afrique alone remained in the plain, drawn 
 up iu line perpendicularly to the river, and separated from the Arabs of 
 Achmet by the bivouac we had just left. Suddenly a savage cry arose, 
 and the Arabs rushed like famished jackals on the abandoned camp. Like 
 sheep before the dogs, the Arabs ran away amidst the laughter of the 
 spectators, scattered by the charge of Captain Morris." (Compare Caesar 
 Be Bello Afr. c. G.)f 
 
 From Constantina to the Ras-el-Akba the country is very fertile, but 
 very melancholy in its character, though picturesque. The soil consists of a 
 bed of tenacious clay, without any mixture of pebbles : it is well fitted for 
 the cultivation of corn, almost every where grassed over, and pierced at 
 intervals by banks of limestone. " For 20 leagues (50 miles) we only saw 
 one little copse of half an acre at some distance from the road, and one 
 shrub on the plateau of Oued-Berda. At the gates of Constantina alone 
 some vegetation reappears, without the soil having in appearance changed 
 nature. The thickness of the turf; the beauty of the corn, of the barley, 
 and of the beans found in the Arab silos ; the excellency of the chopped 
 straw for the horses, — announce a very great productive energy in the soil. 
 A numerous population existed here under the Romans, and you meet 
 with ruins every where : not of rustic structure, like those of Hippo ; ma- 
 sonry is every where employed, and there must have been plenty of wood 
 in the country at that time for the use of such cities. "J 
 
 The wooded vales of Mjez-Amar and of Calama appeared the more 
 beautiful from their contrast to the naked declivities of the Ras-el-Akba. 
 On the 28th of November the staff passed the Seybouse to go to Guelma. 
 The surrounding country is rich, graceful, and woody, like the left bank. 
 
 * " Est in Africa consuetude- incolarum, ut in agris et in omnibus fere villis sub terra 
 specus, condendi frurnenti gratia, clam habeant, atque id propter bella maxime hostium- 
 que subitum adventum prseparent. Qua de re Caesar certior per indiccm factus," &c. — 
 De Bello Africano, c. t)5. 
 
 t " Accidit res incredibilis, ut equites minus xxx Galli Maurorum equitum duo millia 
 loco pellcrent, urgerentque in oppidum." + Baron Baude, ibid.
 
 23C ST. MARIE. 
 
 We shall here take leave of our brave column, which lost many men 
 in hospital at Bona from the hardships incurred in the expedition, who 
 were, however, amply avenged next year, 1837, on the fall of Con- 
 stantina.* 
 
 As regards the plain of Bona, Baron Baude remarks further, that much 
 is said of its fertility, and that it is the only point on which all testi- 
 monies are agreed. " I ran over it in many directions ; and notwithstand- 
 ing some thin and marshy ground, I know in no department in France 
 a similar extent of land so good. The soil is a mixture of sand, clay, and 
 marl ; the banks of clay are almost every where adapted for making bricks, 
 and in many places for pottery; they preserve the freshness of the ground, 
 preventing it from absorbing too quickly the rain ; and most probably, by 
 sinking wells, you could obtain good water there, such a stratification 
 giving good hopes for the success of Artesian wells. 
 
 " A great advantage is also found in a vast bed of hydraulic limestone 
 4 leagues (10 miles) from the Seybouse, and 9 from Bona, on the road to 
 Guelma." 
 
 So much for Baron Baude. We shall now accompany our old friend 
 Count St. Marie, who travelled from Draan to Constantina, in 1845, with 
 two squadrons of the Chasseurs d'Afrique. " The French post of Draan 
 is five leagues (12| miles) east of Bona, and stands on a height which rises 
 with gentle acclivities like an island in the midst of an immense plain, 
 on which nothing is to be seen but thistles parched by the sun. After 
 leaving the camp of Draan, we found the country before us scattered with 
 little hillocks, as if they were detached masses from the chain of the 
 Atlas." Every object on the road is noticed almost in the same words as 
 those of Baron Baude ; yet it were, perhaps, uncharitable to hint at pla- 
 giarism, the country being bald, and its characteristics few. The volcanic 
 hills, the light soil, the rich banks of the Bouinfra, the detached spur of 
 the Atlas, the ruins of Ascurus, the springs of Hammam-Berda, the foliage 
 of the laurel-rose, Guelma and its ruins, the Seybouse and its breadth and 
 velocity, which they broke by making some of the cavalry stand higher 
 up the stream, — all these features are chronicled almost in Baude's words, 
 as likewise the dreary view from the Bas-el-Akba, the ruins of Announa, 
 and the unfortunate Cornelia, who only vixit annos xix. We shall spare 
 the reader a verbatim repetition of the Baron's description, merely adding, 
 that precisely the same features are noticed by St. Marie as those pre- 
 viously noticed by the Baron, and in the same words; and after passing 
 Sidi-Tamtam, Bou-Mcrzoug, and Soumah,t we are delivered at the gates 
 of Constantina. We have purposely confined ourselves to the tenderest 
 criticism on the Count; but it must be admitted that it is somewhat un- 
 fortunate that he shews such a close affinity to the Baron. Arrived at 
 Constantina, however, we may safely trust him, as the Baron never even 
 * Baron Baude, ibid. t St. Marie, pp. 232-237.
 
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 CONSTANTINA. 237 
 
 peeped over the walls ; and Ave can check any of the Count's disposition 
 to build castles in the air by posterior authorities whom he could not 
 copy. 
 
 " Constautina," says the Count, " is encircled by the river Buniniel, and 
 conimantled by the heights of Mansourah and of Sidi-MecM. The last is the 
 Jewish burial-place, and its summit is 3J0 metres (1148 feet) above the city. 
 On the south-west the heights of Condiat-Atz, fronted by a little hill covered 
 with Mussulman tombs, also commands the approaches to the city. The 
 table-laud on which the city is built overlooks extensive and fertile plains. 
 The Ouad-Rurnmel leaves the city at Sidi-Rachet, where it forms a cascade 
 falling into a great ravine, which extends along the south-east and north- 
 east sides. At the northern extremity of the city stands the Casbah. 
 Here the Rummel forms a new cascade, the Tortoise-fall, and then leaves 
 Constautina, continuing its course to the north. At the point of El- 
 Kant'ra, the river for a little distance takes a subterranean course ; and 
 after flowing once more a short distance over ground, it again disappears. 
 In this manner it is lost sight of four times, being concealed beneath a 
 natural bridge of from 50 to 100 metres (1G4 feet to 328 feet) in width. 
 The three gates, Bab-el-Jedid, Bab-el-Ouad, and Bab-el-Ghabia, are united 
 by an ancient wall 30 feet high ; but there are no moats. Outside the 
 Bab-el-Ouad (Water-gate) you fiud a little suburb inhabited by artisans. 
 At this place are also situated the leather, wax, and wool markets. A 
 mosque, in good preservation, stands next to the old building once used 
 as stables of the Bey, and capable at that time of containing 800 horses. 
 The walls, however, are not very solid, and have no proper foundation. 
 The bridge of El-lvant'ra is broad, rests on three tiers of arches, the 
 lowest of which is Eoman, and crosses the river at the great chasm inter- 
 vening between the city and the mountain. At the highest part of the 
 city rises the Casbah, which contains now nothing but barracks, and is 
 only mounted with a few guns. Lower down are some corn-mills, set in 
 motion by the Eummel. Gardens and orchards line the banks of the river 
 on the north side of the city, in the quarter called El-Gemma. The form 
 of the city of Constautina is compared by the Arabs to .that of a burnouse 
 spread out at full width, the Casbah representing the hood."* 
 
 The city contains three squares, to which the French have given a 
 look of regularity, by pulling down many old buildings, and planting 
 trees; thus converting them into pleasant promenades. The palace of the 
 late Bey Ahmed is remarkable for the fine columns of marble that adorn 
 its front. 
 
 " The chief branches of industry at Constautina are the manufacture 
 
 of saddles, boots, shoes, and a sort of gaiters worn by some of the Arabs. 
 
 There are also some forges, in which iron brought from Tunis is wrought 
 
 into agricultural implements, bridle-bits, spurs, and horse-shoes. The 
 
 "" - * St. Marie, p. 237.
 
 238 GUELMA. 
 
 burnouses and halcks made by tbe people of Constantina are the best in 
 Algeria."* 
 
 Madame Prus soon ari'ived at Guelma, whicb town is situated on the 
 summit of the mountain Serdj-el-Aonda, and must have been a place of 
 considerable extent and importance in the time of the Romans. This town 
 abounds in antiquities; for the examination and correct valuation of which, 
 a scientific commission has just been appointed by the government. 
 
 All the towns of Algeria resemble each other. The houses are square, 
 whitewashed with chalk, surmounted with a terrace; and the walls de- 
 prived of all ornament in the shape of windows, and only provided with 
 small apertures to admit air. 
 
 Guelma must have been very difficult of access in times of siege; de- 
 fended on one side by the steep mountain on which it is situated, and on 
 the other by a lake formed by continual showers on the marshy plain, it 
 afforded but little chance of success to a besieging force. The Seybouse, 
 in its frequent inundations, overflows the road, which prevents all commu- 
 nication; thus, during six months out of twelve, it is necessary to use 
 horses, mules, or camels to go the short distance between Guelma and 
 the neighbouring towns. Guelma was the ancient Calama of the Romans 
 (it is often spelled Ghelma).f 
 
 Passing to Constantina, Madame Prus remarks that several houses in 
 the town have tiled roofs instead of terraces; the interior arrangement is 
 generally the same as at Bona, and the other towns of Algeria. The as- 
 pect of the town is gloomy, and the streets are narrow and dirty in the 
 extreme, although the greater number of them have been recently paved. J 
 
 Vaulting into the saddle, we shall next accompany Mr. Borrer in his 
 tour from Bona through Constantina to Biscara. 
 
 " Oct. 19th, 1847, at 4 a.m. we left Bonaby the Porte de Constantine, 
 with guns slung at our backs, pistols in our holsters, and muffled in a 
 thick burnouse, which did not, however, keep out the cold. With a spahi 
 for escort, we galloped over in three hours to the camp of Drean, the first 
 military post on the road; having traversed an open naked country, which 
 was, however, well adapted for the growth of corn. You pass an ancient 
 Roman bridge over the Bou-jeema, or a branch of that river about two 
 hours from Bona on this route. Drean is a mere collection of barracks 
 formed of planks, with an earthen rampart, and a slight foss surrounding 
 
 * St. Marie, p. 237. + Madame Prus, p. 159. 
 
 X Madame Prus (p. 192) describes Constantina as situated on a high mountain, level at 
 the top, ami surrounded on three sides by the Ouad-Rummcl, a deep ravine with precipitous 
 I Miiks. To the south this plain joins the hills on the left of the Rummel by the isthmus of 
 Condiat At/., while at its north-east angle a gigantic bridge is thrown over the ravine, 
 consisting of two rows of arches, one above the other. This bridge was constructed by the 
 Romans, ami restored by the Spanish engineers, and s'crves as a moans of communication 
 between the town and the table-land of Mansourah, over which lay the route of the 
 French army before it arrived at the fortilications of Constantina.
 
 GUELMA. 239 
 
 it, situated on a naked mamelon, and containing at that time a troop of 
 spahis. Leaving Drean, they soon reached the next military post, Nech- 
 maya, a stone building and some huts of planks serving as stables, can- 
 teen, tfce. Soon after leaving Nechmaya, we traversed a district covered 
 with brushwood, wild hills ami massive isolated rocks varying the scenery. 
 The road from Bona thus far is good enough; but here in winter the traf- 
 fic is sometimes quite stopped by the swelling of the streams. Soon after 
 we came to a fountain of clear water, both warm and mineral, and con- 
 taining the remains of Roman brickwork, which shew that they were not 
 neglected in antiquity. This spot is called by the Arabs Hammam-Berda. 
 Oleanders and other shrubs luxuriate upon the margin of this ancient 
 spring; numerous mocking-birds find covert in their branches, and fill the 
 air with sweet music. There is fine pasture-land around Hammam-Berda; 
 the soil being irrigated, besides the bath-stream, by another brook, whose 
 rapid and plentiful current turns the mill of some French speculator. 
 Farther down, before it joins the Seybouse, this stream waters many beds 
 of water-melons belonging to the gardens of Arab and French colonists. 
 A wooden bridge has been erected over the ford of the Seybouse, at which 
 we now arrived, close to Guelma. This town (once Calama) is situated 
 on the S.E. bank of the Seybouse, about a quarter of a mile above the 
 bridge, and on the slope of a hill of gentle inclination.* As the traveller 
 slowly wends his way up the winding road to this French post, and be- 
 holds strewn around him vast blocks of fine stone, skilfully squared by 
 the Roman chisel, mingled with fragments of marble columns, he can but 
 meditate on the instability of human power, and how the might of nations 
 is entombed by time. Draw back the veil of ages, and the double-peaked 
 summit of the wooded Maouna overlooks a noble city; her towers, her 
 temples, and her palaces radiant with Parian marbles. Forty thousand 
 inhabitants within her walls bow to learning, art, and luxury; beyond her 
 gate extends a richly-cultivated plain, its teeming slopes watered by the 
 winding Armua, which, leaving its tribute here, then hastens on its rapid 
 course to refresh the delightful gardens of the royal Hippo; skips freighted 
 with Oriental luxuries are borne upon its bosom, before it mingles its 
 waters with the sea. Tempora mutmitur ! The Mare's Saddle, as the Arabs 
 name Mount Maouna, which forms the background of Guelma, now over- 
 looks some few score French houses, garrisoned by about 800 men, chiefly 
 spahis and the Foreign Legion." 
 
 The amount of the civil population of Guelma in December 1849 
 was 1399 souls. -j- 
 
 It contains one street of considerable length; the houses built chiefly 
 
 * The reader will have noticed that two gentlemen, Baron Baude and Mr. Borrer, de- 
 scribe Guelma as seated on a slope, while Madame Prus says that it stands on the top of a 
 hill. We leave it to the gentle reader's gallantry to determine if the opinion of one 
 lady should outweigh that of two gentlemen. 
 
 f Tableau de la Situation, p. 96.
 
 240 GUELMA. 
 
 of massive Roman remains turned up on the spot, and therefore not quite 
 so likely to be tumbled down by the first slight earthquake or violent 
 rains, as most of the pasteboard settlements of the colonists. Building- 
 was actively going on there (1847), notwithstanding the financial crisis of 
 the colony, money fetching 20 and even 30 per cent at Guelma in 1846. 
 The original plan drawn for this French post is based on a population of 
 7000 souls. In 1842 there were 92 inhabitants; in 1843, 108; and at the 
 end of 1844, 317.* There is one French regulation much to be admired, 
 that of allotting gardens to their soldiers. At Guelma a fine piece of 
 ground has been cultivated by them, and those industriously inclined 
 spend their leisure-hours there. There is also at Guelma a pepiniere to 
 supply the colonists with seeds, trees, and other vegetable products: "it 
 was shown me," says Borrer, " with much boasting of its beauty and pro- 
 mising natui-e; yet rank weeds and little else luxuriated in it. The circle 
 of Guelma, as far as I have visited it, is, I should say (barring its distance 
 from a sea-port, viz. 26 leagues, and that not to be traversed by mer- 
 chandise in the rainy season), a promising point of colonisation; for its 
 plains and its valleys are rich, and watered by numerous streams. The 
 chief of these are the Seybouse, the Oued-Scherf, the Ouad-Bou-Hamdou, 
 and the Oued-Zenati. Tobacco, mulberries, and corn would undoubtedly 
 flourish here together; and it is reported that cotton and indigo have suc- 
 ceeded in the pepiniere, — which one would have scarcely expected at such 
 an elevation. There is as yet very little land brought into cultivation in 
 the vicinity of the town; but the soil is good; and to the west of the town 
 is a delightful little valley, with a fine- stream, where there are gardens suf- 
 ficiently extensive to supply their owners with vegetables. The climate is 
 much the same as that of Constantina, though not quite so cold in winter. 
 Dysentery and intermittent fevers are the prevailing diseases, as in most 
 colonies; but every thing considered, it is a healthy position. Guelma is 
 rather a desirable spot for the sportsman. Hares, red-legged partridges, 
 quails, and at the present moment (autumn) the little African quail, re- 
 markable for having only three toes, abound there. As for lions, the lion- 
 king, as the Arabs have christened that renowned Nhnrod, Spain Gerard, 
 has made them rather shy in the neighbourhood. He is incorrectly reported 
 
 * The last Tableau or Blue-book, gives tho following account of the statistics of 
 Guelma: — Population in December 1847, 730; in December 1S48, 1102; in December 
 1849, 1399. As regards strectage, 810 metres of large, and 2853 of small streets, have 
 been opened from 1845-9 for 18,100 fr. ; and 400 metres of drains have been opened for 
 35,700 fr. A school has been built for 10/200 fr., and also a church and presbytery, costing 
 69,875 fr. A cemetery was also opened in 1M7, at an expense of 5000 fr. 
 
 Under tho head of fortifications, it appears that they have finished the curtains of tho 
 reduit between towers 1 and 18, 3 and 0, and tho tower 18. They had likewise finished in 
 1850 the little bastions of tho city-wall, and a part of the ditch. Barracks have also been 
 completed to hold 400 infantry and 170 horse, besides a hospital and magazines. Tho 
 i itol expenditure from 1813 to 1819 was 231,510 fr. 4 cents. (92602. 8a. 8d.) Tableau, 1850, 
 § Travaux publics.
 
 THE LION KING. 241 
 
 to have been decorated for his courageous feats in lion-slaying. No less 
 incorrect was the late report of his death. It is a curious fact enough, 
 however, that he owes his life to a lion; and thus it was. lie was one of 
 the unfortunate battalion which was a short time hack leaving Guelma for 
 Tebessa, a French post lately established on the confines of Tunis; and 
 who. deceived by the apparent friendship of an Arab sheikh, fell a prey 
 to Numidian treachery, every father's son of them being most barbarously 
 massacred, save Gerard. The spirit of Nimrod watched over our spahi. 
 A lordly lion, crossing the route -of the battalion, a short time before it fell 
 into the hands of the Philistines, was fired at and grievously wounded by 
 Gerard, who, dismounting, swore by his beard that he would have the 
 skin of the beast. Plunging into the thicket, he followed the lion all that 
 and the next day, when he at length reached the king of beasts, and slew 
 him. The chase over, our hero turned back to the route of the battalion; 
 but he wandered many days and found it not. During this time his com- 
 rades were all killed, and he was thought to be among the dead. Put one 
 fine morning he marched into the auberge at Guelma usually frequented 
 by him, with a fine lion's skin, and asked for breakfast from the landlord, 
 who, petrified, thought he saw a ghost. Put he ate so well, that they soon 
 found, to their joy, it was Gerard himself in the flesh. Even hostile tribes 
 often apply to him to slay lions; and so great is the license he has gained, 
 that his superior officers allow him to absent himself a discretion when thus 
 summoned to the chase. The darkest nights are those chosen by him for 
 his sport, the glare of the lion's eyes then offering the surest mark.* 
 
 Porrer spent three days at Guelma,-]- and walked one day with his gun 
 some distance up the banks of the Seybouse to the west of the city, where 
 they became wild and craggy. The Arabs of this part of Algeria struck 
 him as far superior in aspect and manners to those of the province of 
 Algiers. Many are handsome, with fine oval countenances, large black 
 eyes, small aquiline noses, and snowy teeth. The women wear large silver 
 rings in their ears, of great weight, and as large as anklets; besides nu- 
 merous other ornaments, such as little looking-glasses, and especially a 
 wooden hand attached to the breast; the fingers representing the number 
 5, to which they attach a special virtue. 
 
 The following day he left Guelma for Constantina, with an escort of two 
 spahis, and arrived in the evening on the borders of a wide plain called 
 Peni-Simsen. Here he found the Zenatia, a powerful tribe who drink the 
 waters of the Oued-Zeuati. "I had a letter for the caid of this tribe. It 
 was the hour when the flocks and herds were wending their way to the 
 
 * On Gerard, see Leaves from a Ladfs Dairy of her Travels in Barlary, vol. i. p. 271 
 (1850). 
 
 f Captain Kennedy, who passed through Guelrna in 1815, describes the garrison as 
 forming almost the whole population of the place. Algeria and Tunis, vol. ii. p. 221. 
 The only hotel at Guelma in 181S was a guinguette (pothouse), called Hotel des Voya- 
 geurs. Ladfs Diary, vol. i. p. 268. 
 
 Q
 
 242 ADVENTURES. 
 
 douar, there to seek, within the circle of tents, shelter during the night- 
 season from wild beasts and robbers. The caid with the elders of the 
 tribe were sitting in a ring upon the ground, withdrawn a slight space 
 from the douar, holding council. Immediately upon our approach he 
 arose, and proceeding to the douar, after the usual salute, salaam alikum, 
 showed us into a good tent spread with matting." A large carpet in the 
 centre, used as the seat of honour, was assigned to Borrer. A sheep was 
 then driven before him and slain, and an enormous dish of cous-coussou was 
 brought in about midnight. The mutton being rather tough, his spahis 
 kindly tore off the most fat and delicate morsels with their fingers, and 
 stuffed them into his mouth. This douar consisted of about 900 tents, 
 and the caid said that he could at any time lead forth 2000 horsemen 
 equipped for battle. The chief soon retired ; but the noisy conference of 
 the spahis and Arabs, and the rushing forth of the dogs to chase away 
 hyenas and jackals, effectually chased away all slumber from Borrer, who lay 
 on his saddle till 3 a.m. Mounting in the dai-k, and amidst much rain, they 
 forded the Oued-Zenati, and proceeded across the vast and naked plains of 
 the Beni-Simsen. In the act of crossing the Oued-Zenati, Borrer's saddle 
 turned round, and he found himself on his head in the mid-stream, with 
 one of his feet hanging in the stirrup. He released himself; but his steed 
 galloped off in the dark, and trouble enough they had to capture him. A 
 good ducking, and his gun-barrels full of water, were the fruits of this un- 
 expected evolution. " Day had long appeared, but still we were upon this 
 eternal plain, and the rain fell in torrents. At last we arrived at the base 
 of a vast range of mountains, of which Djebel Bahbara and Djebel Bougareb 
 are, I believe, the most lofty, the latter being about 1300 metres (4208 
 feet) in elevation. A furious wind assailed us in the gorges of the moun- 
 tains, howling among the savage rocks, and at times almost sweeping us 
 from our horses ; added to which, the rain had begun, and galled us so 
 severely, that we were several times compelled to halt and turn our backs 
 to it. 
 
 " It was now 4 p.m., and not an Arab tent had we seen ; not a morsel 
 of any thing except hail had entered our mouths since 8 o'clock the even- 
 ing before ; moreover, one of my spahis' horses broke down with fatigue." 
 They had passed numerous remains of ancient, apparently Roman, struc- 
 tures in the plain. About three leagues (7} miles) from Constantina 
 they met an Arab, from whom Borrer begged a handful of dates, and de- 
 voured them with gusto, though hard and full of worms. They saw to 
 their left the remains of a Roman post on a height named Soumah, and 
 forming a shoulder of the Djcbel-Oued-Msetas, the elevation of which is 
 about 1 183 metres (3880 24 feet). About 8 o'clock they descended into the 
 valley watered by the Bou-Marzeg, which has its confluence with the Oued- 
 Itummel (the Ampsaga of the ancients) about a mile south of Constan- 
 tina. Soon after, they reached the bridge of El-Gantra, suspended over the
 
 CONSTANTINA. 243 
 
 fearful chasm in the rock, 700 feet in depth, which forms a natural moat 
 to this strangely perched city of Constantina.* 
 
 "I am just returned," writes Mr. Borrer, "from breakfast with General 
 Bedeau, the commander-in-chief of this province. He appeared to me a 
 man of profound understanding, united with great fluency in expressing 
 his ideas. He is, indeed, generally admitted to be one of the most able 
 men the French have in Africa. General Bedeau and Marshal Busfeaud 
 ran their course together; the former having distinguished himself as lieu- 
 tenant, under the command of the latter, at the siege of Saragossa (1809). 
 
 " The palace in which the general resided was built by Achmed, the 
 last bey of this city. It is a spacious and handsome specimen of Moorish 
 
 * Tho following are the latest official statistics of Constantina : — European population 
 in December 1847, 2013 ; December 1848, 2590 ; December 1849, 2050. Native population 
 in December 1849, 20,944 ; analysed into 16,835 Mussulmans, 673 negroes, and 3436 Jews. 
 
 In 1848, according to the Lady's Diary, there were 20,882 natives, and 1919 Europeans. 
 The town, according to the same authority, is divided into two parts, one native, and the 
 other European. No carts pass along the narrow streets ; camels, asses, &c. taking then- 
 place. 350,000 fr. are annually spent in providing the town with water (vol. i. p. 222)- 
 The Hotel de l'Europe is a dismal Moorish house. 
 
 As regards the civil works, in 1849 none of the larger streets of Constantina had been 
 opened in accordance with the plans and surveys made and levels taken, save 205 metres 
 (672 '40 feet). The old pavement of the bridge of El-Kan tara has been replaced by a 
 pavement of sandstone (en gres). They have planted 150 feet with trees, and cleared 800 
 metres (2624 feet) in the Place de la Breche from rubbish. In the 640 metres (2099-20 
 feet) of small streetage they have replaced the old limestone pavement by a causeway with 
 side-gutters, all built of . sandstone. All rubbish has been cleared away,. and they have 
 levelled the Places du Commerce, du Palais, and the Carrefmr d'Orleans. The expenses 
 for streetage from 1843 to 1849 amounted to 50,949 fr. 80 cents. (2038/.) In connexion 
 with waterworks, the conduit from Midi-Mabrouck to the cisterns was finished in 1848, 
 consisting of two tunnels, — one of 202 metres (662 - 56 feet) in the rock, the other of 764 
 metres (2505-92 feet) of niasoury, — a principal conduit of 2447 metres (7826-16 feet), and 
 secondary conduits of 1467 metres (4S11-76 feet). A siphon of a large size receives the 
 waters on the plateau of Mansourah, and brings them to the Casbah : expense, 438,000 fr. 
 Other waterworks were in contemplation. Four fountains have been also established ; 
 800 metres (2624 feet) of new sewerage, and 1200 (3936 feet) of old opened. The fountains 
 are those of El-Kantara, of the Pont d'Aumale, of La Pdphriere, and of Sidi-Mabrouk. A 
 canal is also being built from the Rummel, called canal de derivation, 2 metres (6'56 
 feet) broad, and 1 metre 4 centimetres deep. When finished, it will be 6751 metres 
 (22,143-38 feet) long, and cost 120,000 fr. (4800/.) The other hydraulic works have cost 
 536,100 fr. (21,440/.) They have installed provisionally a tribunal de premiere instance, 
 built a school for 18,000 fr., and opened a church and presbytery, by appropriating an 
 old mosque, for 19,570 fr. The fortifications from 1838 to 1846 have cost 2,739,520 fr 
 (105,588/. 16.?.) : consisting of the Port Vallee, and that part of the front belonging to it ; 
 the post of the Casbah ; and the greater part of the curtains 2 and 3, and half of bastion 4. 
 The infantry barracks can hold 2000, the cavalry, called Bardo, 920 men. A hospital on 
 the east side can hold 650 sick. Large bomb-proof magazines have been built near the 
 Port Valid, and under the barracks of the Casbah ; and two powder-magazines, holding 
 60,000 kilogrammes. An arsenal has also been constructed at a cost of 142,492 fr. 
 Tableau, pp. 345, 356-7, and SSS-S. 
 
 Captain Kenned}-, in vol. ii. chap. xii. of his Algeria and Tunis, gives a good descrip- 
 tion of Constantina in 1845. He pronounces the town to be an assemblage of densely 
 crowded houses, with tiled roofs. The Place Royale was in 184S a heap of rubbish, and 
 the Place Nemours consisted of miserable Moorish houses. Two streets run from it, Cara- 
 man Street and Ponand Street. Diary of a Lady, &c. vol. L p. 227.
 
 244 PLAIN OF ISMOUL. 
 
 architecture, with its marble pavements and cloistered courts, surrounded 
 by extensive galleries, on which, as usual, the doors of the various apart- 
 ments open. The walls of the vestibule of this building are ornamented, 
 or rather disfigured, with Arabic frescoes, delineating, with great contempt 
 for perspective, Istamboul, Algiers, and numerous other seats of Islamism, 
 together with sea-fights and other designs." 
 
 Mr. Borrer left Constantina about 7 a.m. on the 28th of October, with 
 an escort of two spahis, en route for Biscara via Betna. Their first halt 
 took place at 10 a.m. at Ain-el-Bey, a source of sweet water; and you find 
 there steps and brickwork apparently of Turkish construction, and near 
 at hand are the remains of a Roman fort. About 4 p.m. they reached the 
 great plain of Ismoul or Bayla, rich in pasture, and containing innumerable 
 Arab herds. The country traversed this day before coming to the plain 
 was undulating, totally unwooded, but containing much corn ; and the 
 Arabs were busy ploughing it, as it was the season of the first rains, when 
 they sow wheat and beans. They are rather odd agriculturists, beginning 
 by running the plough round a given space, leaving a furrow ; they then 
 cast in the seed upon the rough space thus marked out, and then plough 
 it ; and mark out and plough several successive spots in the same manner. 
 Their ploughs are very light, have only one handle, and only serve to 
 scratch over the soil. The Arabs are too indolent to pull up the stumps 
 they meet, and run the plough round them. When one spot is much over- 
 grown, they go to another, as there are no landmarks or fences. The vast 
 plain of Ismoul is enclosed on the east, west, and south by lofty limestone 
 mountains, the summits of which are broken, presenting forms often bizarre 
 enough. Successive convulsions of nature have upheaved the rocks, the 
 rains and winds have removed the debris, and thus these natural turrets 
 stand alone on lofty pedestals. " Opposite our encampment to the east 
 rose the vast Guerioun, of about 1700 metres (5576 feet) in height, pre- 
 senting on this side one unbroken precipice. A great marsh between us 
 and the mountain was swarming with wild fowl, especially Egyptian geese, 
 which are beautiful birds, and whose representations are found sculptured 
 on the banks of the Nile; swans, spoonbills, &c. also .abounded." 
 
 The unhealthy spot where they were had been chosen for a settlement, 
 though very subject to malaria, probably because it presents fine pasture- 
 ground, plenty of water, and no dwarf palms. Hence this locality is better 
 adapted for poor colonists than the arid spots often chosen in the province 
 of Algiers, which are frequently at a distance from water, and produce 
 nothing but cat-weed. Much rain falling in the night, converted the 
 plain into a vast sheet of mud and water, full of deep holes, dangerous to 
 pass. 1 )rawing near a wretched douar, Borrer fell into a silo full of water ; 
 and in the douar his gun went off accidentally, singeing a greybeard, and 
 hitting a tent full of Arab women. Happily the natives, though astonished, 
 thought it a British Juntas /«.'"" Soon after they came to the foot of a 
 " A rib welcome, when tlioy dash up full tilt, and fire their guns under your horse's belly.
 
 BETNA. 245 
 
 mountain called Bee de l'Aigle, in Arabic Djebel Nefensser. A large 
 cemetery met with here shows the unhealthiness of the spot. A neigh- 
 bouring mountain is called Djebel Hailouf, the hog's mountain : and when 
 Borrer asked some questions relating to it, an Arab, thinking that he called 
 him a hog, threw a cannon-ball at him; but Borrer fortunately rode him 
 down, avoiding the blow. 
 
 After passing two salt lakes, divided by a muddy isthmus,' and crossing 
 another great plain, where they drank at a noted spring, Ahi-yac-coute 
 (the diamond fount), they were preparing to bivouac on the plain in the 
 wet, when they saw the glimmer of Arab fires, and reached a wretched 
 douar of seven tents. Little sleep did Borrer get that night, as herds of 
 goats, which formed part of the family establishment, amused themselves 
 in dancing minuets upon his person. Near this douar is the fine monu- 
 ment called Medrashem by the Arabs, and by the French the tomb of 
 Syphax, of which a description is given elsewhere. An hour beyond; 
 Medrashem they came to a rich plain and numerous tents of the Haractas, 
 amounting to 300, divided into douars containing from 10 to 20 each. 
 The inquisitive, simple, and waggish sheikh of the tribe asked Borrer how 
 long the French sultan would live, believing Europeans to be omniscient. 
 He also gravely clipped the beards of the elders with Borrer's scissors, and 
 unceremoniously brushed them with his tooth-brush. At half-past four 
 they came to Betna, having traversed a hilly country, here and. there 
 slightly wooded, chiefly with stunted junipers. On the way he noticed 
 many Boman vestiges, particularly of the great via from Constantina to 
 Betna, and probably leading from Lambese to Sitifis. 
 
 The ruins of Lambese are very extensive, and above two leagues 
 (5 miles) east of Betna, in a nook at the north bar of the Djebel Aouress. 
 They will be noticed at a future place. 
 
 There were 2000 troops at Betna* in 184(1, partly cantoned in tents, and 
 partly in small barracks. The camp formed a square, enclosed by a slight 
 foss, or ditch, and an earthen rampart. A camp had been proposed in 184 "> 
 by the expeditionary column under the Due d'Aumale, near the base of 
 Djebel Soulthan to the west ; but the fierce attacks of the mountaineer- 
 made them recede farther into the plain. 
 
 The Kabyles of Djebel Aouress are a peculiar race, very fail-, and more 
 like Germans than Arabs ; they speak the Showiah dialect of the Berber, 
 and arc warlike and industrious. Those who are subdued pay more rcgu- 
 
 * The Tableau spells Betna " Batna," and gives it in 1847, 268 European inhabitants ; 
 in 1848, 385 ; and in 1849, 340. 400 metres of streetage were in good repair in 1S49, and 
 7500 feet of trees had been planted in the promenade along the Pepiuiere ; 1800 met res 
 (5904 feet) of large street, and 4500 (14,760 feet) of small voirie, were opened between 
 1845 and 1849. Expense of all these works, 12,500 fr. (500/.) A fountain, lavoir, &c. 
 have been established in the part of the town south-east of the military quarter, exp 
 15,100 fr. (604/. ) Drains and a water-conduit had to be made in 1850. The town wall, 
 and that of the military quarter, has been raised to a mean height of 2 metres 30 centi- 
 metres. Two infantry barracks are completed for 124S men, and officers' quarters, maga- 
 zines, and stables: expense, 760,000 fr. (30,100/.)
 
 24G EL GAXTRA. 
 
 larly the taxes than the Arabs of the plains ; for the latter being vagabonds, 
 can cut and run when they list, whilst the dashkrahs of the Kabyles are 
 stationary. At present those within the circuit of Betna are quiet. 
 
 These Kabyles are living tokens of the Vandal hordes that came from 
 Spain in the fifth century. A forest of fine cedars is found on the Djebel 
 Soulthan ; and Djebel Aouress abounds in walnuts, Spanish chestnuts, and 
 other of the more hardy fruit-trees, on this its north aspect ; whilst its 
 southern valleys produce grapes, oranges, lemons, peaches, apricots, &c. in 
 great abundance, and of very good quality.* 
 
 Borrer left Betna November 5th, after waiting two or three days for the 
 sheikh El-Arib, who was on his way from Constantina to his winter resi- 
 dence in the neighbourhood of the Zaab of Biskra. The principality of this 
 noble Arab embraces three khalifats, extending over a portion of the Djebel 
 Aouress, as well as a vast tract of the Sahara. He is said to be the most 
 powerful sheikh in alliance with the French, and his riches are reported to 
 be enormous. Three days after leaving Betna, Borrer passed his smala 
 (household), consisting of numerous women and children, 1000 camels, and 
 many fine falcons and greyhounds. He could not wait for the sheikh at 
 Betna any longer, owing to the severe cold ; and at 11 a.m. he commenced 
 his journey, escorted by three spahis and six Arab goums (irregulars). 
 At 5 P.M. they found a little douar, after crossing an uninteresting naked 
 country. " We were now on the plain of Merdjet-el-Ksour, or plain of the 
 castle ; so called because of the ruins lying on it bearing the name of Ktar- 
 el-Louz, the fountain of the almond-tree. This plain is ten leagues 
 (25 miles) from Betna, and five (121 miles) from El-Gantra ; and the 
 douar where they stopped is called Ben-Juraba ; whilst a little river, a 
 quarter of a mile west of it, is named El-Ksour." Next morning they 
 crossed the remainder of the plain, and entered among some rugged and 
 sterile mountains. Here and there strata of limestone were exposed to 
 view ; and hills, whose profile was polished by the action of the weather, 
 lay in their course. This district was watered by numerous mountain 
 streams, the chief of which was the Ouad-Fdala. The waters of the rivers 
 this side of Betna flow towards the desert, the country forming an inclined 
 plane to the south ; whilst on the other side of Betna they flow northwards 
 to the sea. The Sahara is said to be on a level with the Mediterranean. 
 
 The approach to the oasis of El-Gantra is striking. After toiling for 
 two days across wide-spread plains, entirely without trees, and succeeded 
 by rugged mountains more arid than the plains themselves, suddenly the 
 traveller comes to the base of a tremendous wall of rocks, rising several 
 thousand feet into the air, and seeming to bar all progress. Presently a 
 file of camels, with dates from Zaab or Tuggurt, comes forth ; and turning 
 a sharp mountain cape, the wanderer beholds a narrow breach of perhaps 
 forty feet iii width, through which rushes a mountain torrent. This was 
 the Calceus Berculisf of the ancients, where the athletic demigod was 
 * Borrer, p. 3G9. t Kick of Hercules.
 
 EL GANTRA. 247 
 
 reported to have kicked a gap in the mountain. It is, in fact, the gate of 
 the Sahara, or, as the Arabs call it, the mouth of the Sahara. Through this 
 gate the tribes of the east Sahara pass and repass to and from Constantina 
 with their long trains of camels laden with dates, haieks, and other pro- 
 duce of the desert and of its inhabitants. The precipice on the right- 
 hand of the gorge, as you come from Betua, is the abrupt west end of the 
 Djebel Aouress ; that on the left is the east face of Djebel Metlili. A 
 beautiful Roman bridge of one arch spans the Oued-el-Gantra, and the 
 road passes between beetling cliffs after crossing the bridge. Emerging 
 from it, suddenly rich groves of palm-trees, pomegranate, fig, and apricot 
 trees, meet the astonished gaze, and the murmuring Oued rushes into this 
 terrestrial paradise. The town of El-Gantra is shut in by mud walls, witli 
 chopped straw and palm-leaves mixed in it, the whole being baked in the 
 sun. Watch-towers are found at equal distances on the walls, strength- 
 ened by rafters of palm-timber, and built of the same materials as the wall. 
 The houses are all built in the same way, roofs of palm-trunks being laid 
 lengthways, the interstices filled up with mud, and overlaid with long 
 palm-branches. The whole oasis inside the walls is divided into innumer- 
 able small square enclosures, each of which is further confined within its 
 own mud wall. The only way to get into these gardens is through a hole 
 in the surrounding wall of each. A door is attached to these holes, made 
 of palm-branches, small palm-trunks, or a rough slab of stone, by pushing 
 which aside, and almost on hands and knees, you obtain entrance.* 
 
 The Ouled-Zaid inhabit this truly African town, of which tribe Sidi- 
 Mokaran was the old caid. The roof of his vestibule was supported on 
 square pillars of mud ; a raised platfonn at one end was covered with car- 
 pets and mats, whilst the horses occupied the other end. JBorrer and 
 escort were regaled with dates, cous-coussou, chickens peppered with chilis, 
 and pancakes swimming in honey. The old sheikh tore up the meat and 
 fed his guests with his greasy paws. The caidf was very tall, thin, and 
 pale, with a silvery beard and gentle manners. At night, a snoring chorus 
 of the old caid and his escort drove out poor Borrer into the night air, 
 where he was richly rewarded by a lovely moonlight scene in the oasis. J 
 
 Dates, capsicums, and chilis constitute the riches of this plain, which 
 is the most northerly point at which dates arrive at perfection. Passing 
 through rocky hills and rugged basins to the south, Borrer halted in two 
 hours at a hot spring, thirty feet square and from two to four feet deep, 
 surrounded by a marsh. Tradition says that El-Hammam was carved by 
 Hercules, and Roman steps may be discovered at the north-east corner of 
 the water. An hour hence they passed the base of a high mountain, called 
 the Salt mountain, consisting entirely of rock-salt ; and at 11 a.m. they 
 
 * Borrer, p. 369 et seqq. 
 
 f We presume the same individual in this case enjoyed the dignity of sheikh and caid. 
 
 J Borrer, ut supra.
 
 248 BISKRA. 
 
 came into the plain of El-Outafa. Here is another city on the hanks of 
 the OWd-el-Gantra, now called Ouad-Outaia. Yon find corn, a little pas- 
 ture, and gazelles in the plain. A great many tents are pitched in the 
 plain, close to the town ; ahout an hour after passing which, to the south- 
 cast, they observed two lofty monticules and a Eoman station. At the 
 southern limit of the plain they saw the wide-spread Sahara, and in the 
 foreground the palm-hearing Zaah of Biskra.'"' 
 
 The Sahara was graphically compared by the ancients to a tiger-skin, 
 the oases answering to the dark spots. 
 
 Biskra is overlooked to the north and east by the range of the Djebel 
 Aouress and Djebel Nemenchia. To the north-west are those of Djebel- 
 bou-Ghezal, Djebel Matraf, and Djebel Silga, the southern face of which is 
 often white with the snow blown by the desert winds. The northern face 
 is that of dark limestone rocks ; but beyond Biskra, and to the south- 
 west, the eye roves over a vast unbroken expanse. 
 
 A few salt streams water the oasis of Zaab. The mud walls of Biskra 
 are overshadowed by fine palms; and the French citadel (1845) was made 
 entirely of a great number of palm -trunks, and of cedar-wood from Mount 
 Aouress. The fort is built on a mound in the centre of the oasis ; and they 
 are talking of building a new one on a rocky mound in the N.E. part of 
 the oasis, the present position being too much enbosomed in palm-groves. 
 In 1844 every officer of the garrison was massacred by the treachery of 
 the Ouled-Nail, who were admitted into the citadel. The garrison was 
 thought by Borrer to be too small, as Biskra is at the distance of four 
 days' forced march from Betna, and eight from Constantina. The citadel 
 had only three or four little guns, and would fall an easy prey to an 
 enemy. At that time there were many encampments of nomadic Arabs 
 around Biskra, there being a great exchange trade between the Sahara 
 and the Tell through Biskra, which obtains from the latter (Tell) grain, 
 cheeses, wool, figs, horses, asses, arms, &c. 
 
 The Ouad-Biskra, in the eastern part of the oasis, is a turbid and salt 
 stream ; but the French were engaged in making an artesian well. The 
 Bahar-taht-el-erd (underground rivers) is a common phenomenon here. 
 
 The inhabitants of this oasis still eat dog's flesh, but only in cases of 
 fever as a remedy. There are forty oases around Biskra, which contains 
 3000 native inhabitants, and 110,000 palm-trees in its precincts. t The 
 caid was in 18 IG a handsome man; and the governor, M. St. Germain, 
 
 * Borrer, p. 369 ot seqq. 
 
 f The European civil population of Biskra amounted in 1847 to 132; in December 3 8 ! S, 
 to 89 ; and in December 1849, to 98. '2000 trees have been planted around the new post, 
 and divers works of levelling have been effected. The outer wall of the Fort St. Germain 
 has been raised to its proper height on three faces ; the fourth fa< e had reached the battle- 
 tnenl . On mall bastion is quite finished, and the other three are raised to 3 metres 
 (!)-si feet) in height. Barracks for 400 men were being built, with subordinate buildings 
 connected with the military department. Tableau, p. 389, &c.
 
 sidi occ'ba. 249 
 
 gave a soiree to him and the beauty and fashion of Biskra, while Borrer 
 was there. There is the minaret of an ancient mosque just outside the 
 S.W. w;i]ls of the citadel and some Roman columns stand near it; but there 
 are no other ancient remains. Some hot springs, known to the Romans, 
 exist near Biskra, which produce the finest petrifactions. The officers' 
 gardens are N.W. of the mosque, and at the foot of the citadel, consisting 
 of four or five acres, enclosed by a mud wall, and containing palms, chilis, 
 capsicums, millet, and water-melons.* 
 
 The climate of Biskra is very hot. The best dates come from Oued-Se- 
 ref, to the S.E. of Biskra, and are called by the Arabs de-gleb-m-nowr dates. 
 The harvest begins at the end of October. In planting palms, the young tree 
 is put into deep holes with manure, as much sand being cleared as possible. 
 
 Sidi Occ'ba is an oasis eight leagues (20 miles) S.E. of Biskra, taking 
 its name from the famous Arab general, contemporary with the Prophet, 
 who built Kairoan and worked miracles. This oasis is renowned because 
 of his tomb, and on account of a tower which trembles visibly if you shout 
 " Tizza-bil-ras-Sidi-Ok'ba." Borrer was unable to visit it, on account of 
 the revolt of some tribes ; but he went to Tolga, an oasis twelve leagues 
 (30 miles) S.W. of Biskra, visiting en route the oases of Bouchayroun, 
 Lichana, Za'dch'a, and Farfar, all very similar to Biskra, and containing 
 little mud-built towns. The caid of Tolga was a noble-looking man of 
 forty, mounted on a fine black marc, who gave Borrer a grand enter- 
 tainment of dates, pilau, fricaseed chicken, stewed cucumber, cakes in 
 honey, and a grand dish of cous-coussou. All these dishes were made 
 very hot with chilis and capsicums. Afterwards came coffee and pipes. 
 He here beheld the largest scorpion that he had ever seen, adventurously 
 kilied by an Arab with his bare foot. 
 
 Tolga, which was almost laid in ruins by Abd-el-Kader in 1844, is an 
 oasis comprising three mud-built towns and extensive date-gardens. -j- 
 
 It is with regret that we here take leave of Mr. Borrer for the present, 
 while we proceed to give a description of the most recent condition of 
 some points that we have not visited in the interior of this proviuce and 
 of that of Algiers, constituting the wild mountainous region known by 
 the name of Kabylia, or Great Kabylia, which, from the remarkable 
 features of the territory, and the singular character of its population, the 
 av7u\0ov(n of Algeria, has appeared to us deserving of a separate notice. 
 The antiquities and colonies of the province of Constantina will be de- 
 scribed in special chapters. % 
 
 * Borrer, pp. 331-^70. f Ibid. p. '■''">■> et soqq. to the end of the chapter. 
 
 X The reader will trad many additional particulars relating to Bona in Captain Ken- 
 nedy's Algeria and Tunis, vol. L chap, xiv., and vol. ii. chap. ii. ; and also in the Lady's 
 Diary, vol. i. p. 24-4 et seqq., and vol. ii. pp. 1 to 38. Both authorities agree in praising its 
 theatre, and in condemning its port and its Maltese population. The Lion d'Or was a 
 good inn in 1815, near the Grand Square ; and the Lady's Diary pronounces Bona the 
 pkasantest town in all Algeria.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 threat I&abnlta. 
 
 AUTHORITIES BROAD OUTLINE THE DIFFERENT KABYLTAS GREAT KABYLIA 
 
 ETYMOLOGY — HISTORY ANALYSIS OF ITS TOPOGRAPHY BUGIA — ITS ROAD- 
 STEAD ITS TRIBES EXPEDITION OF MARSHAL BUGEAUD THE ZAOUIAS OF 
 
 SID1-BEN-ALI-CHERIF — ICUELAA — DELLYS. 
 
 The following description of this singular region of Algeria is derived 
 from three principal sources : 1st. The Exploration Sriertiifique, by 
 Captain E. Carette ; 2d. La Grande Kabylie, by General Daumas and 
 Captain Fabar ; 3d. Dawson Borrer's Campaign in the KabyUe* 
 
 Algeria has, like France, its north and south poles, its langue d'oc and 
 its langue d'oil, its industrial genius and its poetic genius : in a word, 
 Kabylia, the focus and home of workmen ; and its Sahara, the nursery 
 of speculators and adventurers. 
 
 All the mountaineers of Algeria come under the appellation of Kabails, 
 Kabyles, or Djebalis : the former term being hypothctically derived from 
 the Arabic kabail, a tribe ; and the latter proceeding more certainly from 
 the Arabic word djebel, a mountain. But Kabylia par excellence, — Kabylia 
 properly so called, as M. Carette styles it; or Great Kabylia, as it is named 
 by Colonel Daumas — is that large mountainous district which forms a stern 
 barrier between the provinces of Algiers and Constantina, and that frowns 
 to the eastward over the Mitidja plain; being, in fact, a ramification of the 
 Little Atlas, which, after running parallel with the sea-coast throughout 
 Algeria, inclines about thirty leagues (75 miles) S.E. of Algiers, more to 
 the 8.8.E., throwing out at the same point a series of exceedingly lofty 
 mountains, the most elevated of which is the ridge of the Jurjura, or 
 Djorjora (the Mons Ferratus of the ancients), which gives its name to the 
 greater part of the mountainous district above referred to. The northern 
 extremity of this almost inaccessible region, laved by the Mediterranean, 
 presents, according to Borrer, a sea-face of about sixty or seventy leagues 
 (150 or 1 75 miles), commencing seventeen leagues (42^ miles) cast of 
 Algiers. Its depth inland is from twenty to forty leagues (50 to 100 
 
 * Captain Kennedy, veil. i. chap. xiii. gives a generally corroet account of Kabylia, 
 interspersed with occasional errors.
 
 POPULATION OF KABYLIA. 251 
 
 miles) ; and its breadth extends from the eastern limit of the Mitidja 
 to Pbilippeville. Its limits are, however, in reality very undefined ; and 
 a great part of the territory was, even in 1848, independent, thouyh the 
 most exposed tribes have for some years been nominally subject to the 
 French. Its population is considerable, and it is estimated that it can 
 muster 80,000 fighting men.* 
 
 The surface of Great Kabylia, according to M. Carette, embraces 7800 
 square kilometres (3003 square miles), with a population of 370,000; 
 which would give 47 inhabitants to each square kilometre (122 per square 
 mile), and 5'24 acres to every inhabitant. In France the proportion of 
 the population to the territory is 60'288 per square kilometre, -60288 
 individuals per hectare, or 244 per acre, or about 1 65 hectares, making 
 about four acres to every inhabitant. Therefore the proportion of the 
 population of Great Kabylia is four-fifths of that of France ; or, taking 
 the population of France as unity, it stands as 77942. 
 
 The specific population of Great Kabylia is four and a half times 
 greater than that of the rest of Algeria, which only contains, at a mean 
 estimate, 767 inhabitants per square kilometre (247 acres). 
 
 We have already stated that the population of Great Kabylia amounts 
 to 370,000 persons; and the number of villages being 1533, each village 
 has a mean of 245 inhabitants, and a maximum of 3000. The whole sur- 
 face of Great Kabylia being 780,000 hectares (1,926,600 acres), and the 
 number of villages 1533, each centre of population occupies a mean space 
 of 500 hectares (or 1235 acres). -j- 
 
 Great Kabylia is distinguished from the other parts of Algeria by 
 three special features : 1st, the exercise of professional arts ; 2d, the taste 
 for, and custom of work ; 3d, the stability of the dwellings. 
 
 Kabylia properly so called occupies, according to M Carette, on the 
 sea-shore an extent of 146 kilometres (9071 miles), comprised between 
 the mouth of the Ouad-Nessa to the west, and that of the Oued-Aguerioun 
 to the east ; the former stream flowing near Dellys, the latter towards the 
 extremity of the Gulf of Bugia. 
 
 * These remarks are from Dawson Borrer's Campaign in t7te Eabylie, p. 1 et seqq. 
 + The foregoing calculations are mainly derived from E. Carette's Eabylie proprement 
 dite, vol. i. 1. ii. p. 113, in the Exploration seientifique. We have found it necessary, how- 
 ever, to rectify a serious error of that author, or his printer, by which ho estimates the 
 population of Kabylia at 4s persons per hectare, and that of France at 6 individuals per 
 hectare. Now, as he gives the surface of Kabylia at 780,000 hectares, and its population 
 at 370,000; as, moreover, 780,000 hectares make 7S00 square kilometres, and he gives Ka- 
 bylia 47 souls, and France 60, per square kilometre,— it is evident that M. Carette or his 
 printer has made the proportion per hectare ten times too great. To verify our con- 
 clusion, and accustom the reader to decimal calculation, we give the comparative French 
 and English measures of surfaces again : 
 
 100 square kilometres = 1 square myriametrc = 3S5 square miles. 
 
 100 hectares = 1 square kilometre 247 acres. 
 
 10,000 square metres = 1 hectare = 12 47 acres.
 
 252 SURFACE OF KABYLIA. 
 
 On the laud side it is circumscribed by various groups of tribes ; and 
 the approximative surface of the whole region is nearly 800,000 hectares 
 (about 2,000,000 acres) ; that of the island of Corsica being 980,510 
 (2,451,275 acres). 
 
 The general idea which has been held respecting the continent of 
 Africa, and the false inferences drawn from partial information, have long 
 given currency to serious errors as regards Algeria, which is considered 
 as a country of plains and marshes ; while the accidents and the dryness 
 of the soil, on the contrary, are its characteristic features. The shore of 
 Algeria is almost always mountainous. Between the frontier of Morocco 
 and the Tafna exists the chain of the Traras ; and Oran, like Algiers, has 
 its undulating Sahel. 
 
 From the mouth of the Shellif as far as that of the Mazafran, that is, 
 for a length of sixty leagues (150 miles), with a depth of from ten to 
 twelve leagues (30 miles), rises and branches out the chain of Dahra. 
 That of the Little Atlas is connected with it by the Zaccar, and shuts in 
 the semicircle of the Mitidja. Having reached this point, the mountain- 
 system rises to a greater elevation, widens, becomes mox-e complicated in 
 its character, and decorates the whole extent of the coast as far as the 
 neighbourhood of Bona. This is not all : we must reckon, moreover, in 
 the interior, the Ouarenseris, which faces the Dahra, commands it in ele- 
 vation, and exceeds it in extent ; besides other great masses parallel with 
 the preceding ones, and which separate the Tell from the Sahara in the 
 same way that they have cut it off from the Mediterranean. Such are the 
 Djebel Amour, the Aouress, &c, of which we have already treated. 
 
 These mountainous regions embrace nearly the half of the Algerian 
 territory, and nearly all of them are inhabited by Kabyles, a race, or mix- 
 ture of races, quite distinct from the Arabs. The various Kabylias have 
 no political tie between them : each of them constitutes merely a sort of 
 nominal federation, in which exist so many independent unities — of weak 
 or powerful, religious or warlike tribes, subdivided in their form into frac- 
 tions and villages, all equally free. Although they present a striking 
 analogy in manners, origin, and history, the proper analysis of facts 
 requires that they shonld be considered separately. All these Kabylias 
 constitute so many detached pages ; such as those of the Traras, of the 
 Ouarenseris, of the Dahra, of the Little Atia&j ofHhe Jurjura, and many 
 others. It is with the latter alone that we are at present concerned, the 
 Kabylia of the Jurjura, which by many writers has been emphatically 
 styled ///'• Kabylia, and which we shall call, on account of its relative im- 
 portance, Great Kabylia.* 
 
 This region embraces all the surface of the vast square comprised 
 between Dellys, Aumale, Setif, and Bugia. These limits may be brought 
 under the foregoing distinct heads ; and though they are fictitious limits, 
 * La Grande Kabylie, General Daumas, p. 3.
 
 KABTLB ETYMOLOGY. 253 
 
 inasmuch as they do not result from geographical configuration, they are 
 rational limits in a political and historical point of view. 
 
 lit ■ Kabylia, which is ahout to occupy us, has engaged the popular 
 attention in France more than any other. Many causes have contributed 
 to this effect. Its extent, riches, and population; its proximity to Algiers, 
 which has naturally become the source of some commercial relations ; its 
 ancient renown for independence ; and its inaccessibility, owing to the 
 great mountains that cover it, — have combined to fix the public attention 
 on this important region : and during some years there has been much 
 uncertainty about what policy should be followed with regard to it. Im- 
 portant events have lately settled this question, at the same time that they 
 have thrown much light on all its phases. 
 
 The learned are not agreed upon the etymology of the word Kahijlc. 
 Some assign a Phoenician origin to it. Baal is a generic name of Syrian 
 divinities, and 3 in the Hebrew language serves to unite the two terms of 
 a comparison (K-JJaal, h>3 3, as the worshippers of Baal). In support of 
 this hypothesis, which would also determine the primary cradle of the Ka- 
 byles, the partisans of this derivation cite analogies of proper names, such 
 as Philistines and Plittas (Kabyles), or Flissas ; Mohabites and Beni- 
 Mczzab, or Mozabttes ; besides some others. But Colonel Daumas rejects 
 this etymology, because it is not supported by the writers of antiquity. 
 In Herodotus we find the name Kabal applied to some of the Cyrenaic 
 tribes, but we find it nowhere else among the classical authors ; and no 
 trace of it exists amongst the numerous authors of the Roman epoch, his- 
 torians or geographers, who have left so many documents concerning the 
 two Mauritania^. 
 
 It was only after the invasion of the Arabs that these mountaineers 
 began to be called Kabyles ; hence the origin of the name is more pro- 
 bably Arabic, and ought to be derived from one of the three following- 
 roots : 
 
 Kuebila = Tribe. 
 JKabel = He has accepted. 
 ' Kobel = Before.* 
 
 The first would result from the national organisation of these highlanders 
 in clans. The second, from their conversion to Islam. Compulsion, here 
 as elsewhere, would have enforced at least an exoteric profession of the 
 new creed ; and they would bow to the crescent to escape taxation or the 
 sword. They would accept the Koran. The third derivation i6 not less 
 plausible. In calling these mountaineers Before, they would have pub- 
 lished a fact in harmony with all tradition, history, and experience ; i. e. 
 that the abroydovoi are invariably driven to the mountains, the last 
 
 * Q'byla, tribe ^jplu: q'bayl iL»*i JjUS- 1. Q'bal, he has accepted J-J. 3. Q'bel, 
 before <J^.
 
 254 OUTLINE OF KABYLIA. 
 
 strongholds of independence, by the succeeding tides of invasion- 
 Amongst the Kabyles, the mixture of the German blood left by the con- 
 quest of the Vandals is still betrayed by physical traits ; and etymo- 
 logists endeavour to add to this some additional evidence derived from the 
 approximations of names, such as Suevi and Zouaouas, Huns and Ouled- 
 Aouan.* 
 
 We shall lay no great stress on these apparent linguistic affinities, 
 which are subject to much uncertainty. t 
 
 For the history and language of Great Kabylia we refer the reader to 
 the chapters on those subjects. It will not, however, be inapposite to 
 make a few remarks on the names of Gouraya and Jorjora. Above the 
 town of Bugia, the chef lieu of Kabylia, rises a vast mountain mass 
 called Mount Gouraya, and inhabited by a Kabyle tribe, the Beni-Labeos, 
 that is undoubtedly of Vandal origin. The term Gora in the Sclavonic 
 language signifies mountain ; and there can be little doubt respecting 
 the derivation of this name. Gourgoura appears also to be the Berber 
 name of the culminating peak of Kabylia, which has been altered by 
 the Arabs into Jorjora. There can also be little doubt respecting the 
 origin of this term, as it is pure Russian for the mountain of mountains 
 (Gorgora), and is evidently a northern importation. The Prince of Mir, 
 a Polish refugee who, as before stated, occupied the Eassautah, a villa 
 near Algiers, in 1841, informed Baron Baude that a considerable number 
 of Sclavonic words occur in the Kabyle tongue, or rather special dialects 
 thereof.;): 
 
 We have described Great Kabylia as a vast square, whereof the 
 corners extend to Aumale, Dellys, Bugia, and Setif. The sides of this 
 square are formed, by more or less broken lines, as follows : 
 
 West face. Between Aumale and Dellys, the new road from Algiers ; 
 the Oued-ben-Ahmoud as far as its confluence with the Isser, at the bridge 
 of Ben-Hioi ; the Isser as far as Bordj-Menaiel; the Oued-Sebaou, from 
 the Bordj of the same name to its mouth. 
 
 North face. From Dellys to Bugia, the strand of the sea. 
 East face. From Bugia to Setif, nearly a straight line. 
 South face. From Setif to Aumale, the road of the Bibans, followed 
 in 1838 by the column coming from Constantina ; and afterwards the 
 Oued-Lekal, after leaving Kaf-Badjala. 
 
 The country within these limits covers a surface of about 500 square 
 leagues. § Colonel Daumas gives it 250,000 inhabitants, disseminated in 
 the proportion of 500 persons per square league. || This fact does not 
 
 * Ouled signifies child, descendant. 
 
 t La Grande Kabylic, General Daumas, p 6. J Baron Baude, pp. 131 and 69. 
 
 £ 500 square leagues would give about 3279 square miles ; somewhat more than the 
 estimate of M . ( larette. 
 
 | 1 square 1 1 ague = 6 square miles, at 24 miles to the league. This gives 85$ persons 
 per square mile, an estimate differing from that of M. Carette by oiic-third.
 
 THE DJORJORA. 255 
 
 correspond with the appearance of the valleys of the Summam, the Se- 
 baou, and the Adjeh, which are as populous as most French departments ; 
 but we must bear in mind the solitary character and barrenness of the 
 numerous rocky ridges. 
 
 It would exceed our purpose to enter into all the details of the phy- 
 sical and political geography of Great Kabylia. The reader would be 
 wearied by a minute enumeration of names and localities that could leave 
 no definite impression on his mind. On the other hand, a bold outline 
 of the broad features of this curious land and people cannot be unaccept- 
 able to the intelligent reader. 
 
 There exists a strong analogy between the moral and material phy- 
 siognomy of the country. The territory exhibits a number of little val- 
 leys separated by the chief and presiding chains, and constituting real 
 arteries in which the principal vitality of the country circulates. On 
 examining these primary basins more closely, a number of secondary 
 valleys are discovered opening into them, their sides being formed by 
 elbows of the principal ridge, and carrying off its waters. These little 
 rivers in their turn receive torrents, and these torrents are fed by rivulets 
 or waterfalls ; thus you ascend by a chain of perpendicular systems, from 
 the basins to valleys, from valleys to dells, from dells to ravines ; and each 
 of these geographical elements has its proper name and details, and would 
 admit a particular description. But to simplify the features of this region 
 and make them comprehensible, we shall confine ourselves to the three 
 great valleys : that of the Oued-Adjed, which is, however, properly only 
 a branch stream ; and the two principal basins of the Sebaou and of the 
 Summam, having their issue in the sea. 
 
 The first of these water-courses descends from the vicinity of Setif, 
 where it bears the name of Bou-Sellam : and meeting Mount Guenrour, 
 it pierces a narrow passage through rocky masses. But this cutting is 
 almost every where inaccessible ; consequently the road from Setif to 
 Bugia can only reach the course of the river lower down. The latter con- 
 tinues traversing a broken country as far as the Summam, running along 
 the side of mountains of a middling height, but irregular, chaotic, and 
 impracticable. This broken ground is nevertheless covered with good 
 vegetable mould, and conceals many mines in its bosom. 
 
 The chain of the Djorjora, which is the highest ridge in the country, 
 determines the existence and the form of the two other almost concentric 
 basins, which are those of the Summam and of the Sebaou. The chain in 
 question runs parallel to the shore comprised hetween Bugia and Dellys. 
 Its rocky pinnacles rise more than 2000 metres (6560 feet) above the level 
 of the sea. Save in the case of some naked ridges, pathless hollows, and 
 accidental rents, the soil is generally covered with a thick bed of vegetable 
 mould, a rich and productive soil : wanting neither wood nor water, it 
 seldom presents insurmountable obstacles, and in every respect is much
 
 2Z6 BUGIA. 
 
 better adapted for travelling and intercourse than any of the other Ka- 
 bylias. 
 
 The watershed becomes naturally a geographical and political frontier, 
 between the northern waters flowing into the Mediterranean, and the 
 southern slopes, whence the eye descries an endless succession of moun- 
 tains and valleys, and embraces as it were a sea of solid waves. Not only 
 do the basins of the Summam and of the Sebaou describe on opposite sides 
 of the Jurjura two concentric rings, but their very topography presents, 
 moreover, a symmetrical contrast : their slopes follow an opposite deve- 
 lopment ; the Sebaou flows from the east to the west, and falls into the 
 sea after having encircled Dellys ; whilst, farther on, the Summam de- 
 scends in an inverse direction from the west to the cast, but similarly en- 
 circles Bugia before it empties itself into the sea.* 
 
 The principal town of this remarkable region is Bugia. Let the reader 
 imagine a narrow and rocky beach on the sea-shore, then a very steep 
 declivity about twenty metres (G5'G0 feet) in height; afterwards a gentle 
 slope, forming a kind of plateau, which runs up to the precipitous sides of 
 the Gouraya ; and towering above all, that mountain itself, spread out like 
 a curtain behind the town, raising its indented crest to about 700 metres 
 (2150 feet) above the level of the sea. 
 
 Such is the situation of Buo;ia. One essential feature fixes the atten- 
 tion at this spot; namely, the ravine of Sidi-Touati, which divides the 
 town in two, and carries off the waters from the Gouraya, below the Gate 
 of the Marine, almost down to the landing-place. Seen from the sea, 
 this cutting leaves to the right the hill and quarter of Bridja, one of 
 the extreme points of which closes in the anchorage of the town, and 
 commands it by the guns of Fort Abd-el-Kader, built on its sides. To 
 the left of the ravine you see the hill and quarter of Moussa, commanding 
 the opposite declivity, and embracing two forts in a respectable condition 
 for defence : — first, the Casbah, almost at the edge of the shelving beach ; 
 and Moussa, facing the mountain, t Historical associat on, as well as the 
 romantic position of this town, perched upon the rocks at the foot of 
 Mount Gouraya, the base of which is laved by the waters of the noble bay, 
 renders it interesting to the wanderer. The population of this frontier 
 town of Kabylia, which figured before the French invasion in 1833 at 
 several thousands, is now diminished to about 500 Europeans and to a 
 very few natives, and is almost wholly composed of vendors of such neces- 
 saries of life as are required by the garrison, by which they are attracted, 
 and from which they gain their subsistence..}. Bugia thus ranks third in 
 population, compared to the other points occupied by the French on the 
 coast of Algiers; Bona and Philippeville containing a superior population, 
 
 • For this excellent sketch of the physical geography of Great Kabylia, I am indebted 
 to Colonel Daumas and Captain Fabar. See La Grandi Kahylie, chap. iv. \>. 133. 
 •j- La Grande Kabylie, pp. bl-o. + Dawson Borrer, p. 101.
 
 BUGIA. 257 
 
 and Djidjelli, Dollys, and La Calle an inferior." This statement of Mr. 
 Borrer cannot include the province of Oran. 
 
 The distance from Bugia to Algiers by sea is thirty-five leagues (87^- 
 miles) j* and it is situated thirty leagues (75 miles), rather N.W., from 
 Constantina; twenty leagues (50 miles) from Setif (Sitifis) ; and fifty (125 
 miles) from Bona (Hippona), the ancient episcopacy of the venerable St. 
 Augustine. 
 
 St. Marie thus describes the approach to Bugia by water : " After 
 doubling Bouae Point, we came in sight of the Monkey Valley and of the 
 Marine Garden, the verdure of the latter presenting a fine contrast to the 
 gloomy rocks surrounding it. Then passing Fort Abd-el-Kader, after 
 having nearly doubled the great jetty formed by the Gouraya, we descried 
 Bugia, situated on some rapid declivities fronting the south. Notwith- 
 standing the forts, and the large extent of the ground it covers, Bugia is 
 only a mass of huts, not a town ; and its streets are, in point of fact, 
 nothing but rough footpaths, running, without any order, between rows of 
 irregularly-built houses. The ruined deburcadere, or landing-place, had 
 been complained of by Baron Baude in 1841, and was still a national dis- 
 grace to the French in 1845. 1 '-)- Two thousand men then occupied a bar- 
 racked camp on a point suited for the defence of the place, but deficient in 
 water, the stream that used to supply the town being lost among ruins. 
 The French might recover this, if they had the intelligence and zeal of the 
 Romans and old Arabs. From the camp to the summit of the Gouraya 
 there is a road opened, under the direction of General Duvivier, in the 
 rear of the great walls. This road extends to the length of 4000 metres 
 (13,120 feet), over a calcareous rock, covered by a stratum of argillaceous 
 earth. 
 
 The lentisk, the mastic, the vine, and the wild olive, grow here luxu- 
 riantly, and would flourish vigorously if the cattle were prevented from 
 ranging among them. The summit of the Gouraya is 682 metres (2230-96 
 feet) above the sea ; but St. Marie is mistaken in stating that on the 
 northern side the elevation is 700 metres (2296 feet), and on the southern 
 2000 (6560 feet). The effect of this prodigious mountain-pile is quite 
 magical. 
 
 The marabout of Sidi-Bosgri, on the top of the Gouraya, was thought 
 as efficacious a pilgrimage for the infirm as that to Mecca ; but being 
 taken, after a hard fight, in 1833, by the French, a fort has been built on 
 its site, which commands the mountain. Colonel Larochette has improved 
 its defences by making a path from the fort, following the crest of the 
 Gouraya, and descending to the plain, passing by the precipice of the 
 Dent. This road is so constructed, that you can always see the move- 
 
 * Borrer, p. 161. Mr. Borrer says in another place, that Bugia is 45 leagues to th« 
 east of Algiers, —which must mean by land. 
 f St. Marie, chap. vi. pp. 197-200. 
 
 Ii
 
 258 SIDI-BOSGRI. 
 
 ments of your assailants and mask your own, whatever they may be. 
 Still, when you wish to go along it, even at present, it is necessary to 
 have an escort of about thirty tirailleurs to clear the borders. This road 
 leads down to the blockhouse of Doriac. 
 
 Five advanced posts complete the defence on the land side.* St. Marie 
 states that the marabout of Sidi-Bosgri was heroically defended by the 
 Kabyles in 1833; and that the blockhouse was nobly defended, at a later 
 date, by ten Frenchmen for three days against a host of Kabyles. The 
 walls riddled with shot attest the heat of the combat, in which the 
 French, with the chivalry for which they were once famous, refused to fire 
 on a sheikh's widow, who urged on the assailing Kabyles with the greatest 
 energy. The cattle and the soldiers of the garrison did not venture for 
 many years beyond the five advanced posts before alluded to, for fear of 
 being captured or slaughtered by the Kabyles. The cattle, when sent 
 out to graze, used to be accompanied by dogs to beat about the bushes, as 
 in a hunt, and drive off the Kabyles. t Baron Baude, who appears to be 
 copied by Count St. Marie, gives the following description of the country 
 beyond the Gouraya : " In the midst of the chaos at your feet, as you stand 
 on the top of that lofty pile, a deep hollow opens, which becomes bifur- 
 cated at the distance of three leagues (7% miles) from Bugia. This is the 
 vale of Soumah, and beyond it lie the beautiful plains of Zamoura and 
 Setif." The dingles in this neighbourhood show traces of cultivation; but 
 the villages of Dharmassar and Sumnia had been burnt at the time of St. 
 Marie's visit. $ The bottom of the cistern, which forms the plain of 
 Bugia, may contain about 6000 hectares (15,000 acres); but it is only 
 cultivated on the right bank of the Sunmiam. 
 
 The Gouraya towers to the east and north of the town, is connected in 
 the interior with Mount Tondja, and being prolonged into the sea, gives 
 birth to Cape Carbon. To the southward, a pretty bay entered the laud 
 to receive the waters of the Ouad-Summam.§ 
 
 On the sides of Djebel Gouraya was once situated the famous koubba, 
 or domed tomb, of the fair Kabyle saint, Lella-Gouraya, which is now 
 replaced by a French fort commanding Bugia. Upon the right is the 
 
 * Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 133. In November 1833, the year of the conquest of Bugia, 
 four blockhouses had been constructed: i.e. those of Bou-Ali, covering the plateau of 
 Moussa ; and those of Salem, Rouman, and Khalifa, situated on the western plateaux. At 
 the same time Colonel Lemercier was also laying the foundation of a very fine work, in 
 erecting Fort Gouraya. In the beginning of 1834, Commandant Duviviur built another 
 outwork, the blockhaus c/e laplaine; and in 1830-7 were erected the Fort Lemercier and 
 tho towers of Doriac and Salomon. La Grande Kabylie, pp. 93-96 and 125. We learn 
 from the Tableau that the defences and tho landing havo been improved, and a lighthouse 
 erected at Bugia. 
 
 t St. Marie, p. 200. Z Ibid. p. 201. Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 133. 
 
 § Col. I >aumas, Grande Kabylie, p. 93. Tho bay of Bugia is described by E. Caretto as 
 a large bight or indenture, comprised between Capo Carbon to tho westward, and Cape 
 Cavallo to the cast. La Kabylie propromout dito.
 
 BUGIA. 259 
 
 Ouad Messaoud or Summam, forming here the east boundary of the plain ; 
 the opposite shores being covered with massive groves of olive-trees, and 
 overlooked by wild mountains clothed with wood, and held by the fierce 
 Beni-Bou-Mcssaoud, who, with the Mezaya, an equally warlike tribe, long 
 kept the people of Bugia cooped up in their walls, rendering it, even down 
 to the visit of Dawson Borrer (1847), a mere military post held by the 
 French. 
 
 Two entrenched camps have been made near Bugia, one higher and 
 the other lower, constructed on the Gouraya range ; and a road has been 
 made from the camps to the summit, 4000 metres (13,120 feet) in length, 
 at an inclination of one-tenth. The lower camp, which is 120 metres 
 (393-60 feet) above the sea, is calculated to contain 2000 men. There 
 is every probability that Bugia, under an enlightened government, would 
 recover much of its ancient pulitical and commercial importance; * its 
 position being central and convenient, and the district of Great Kabylia 
 containing the most industrious race in Algeria. According to the ob- 
 servations followed in the Cabinet Atlas, Bugia is situated in 30° 49' N. 
 lat., and in 5° 28' E. long, of Greenwich. f General Daumas, in the map 
 accompanying his work on Great Kabylia, places it in 36° 45' N. lat., and 
 in 2° 46' east of Paris. J 
 
 The country surrounding Bugia is very fertile. The river Bou-Mes- 
 saoud is here of great depth and of considerable width, with a muddy 
 bed ; and in winter its channel is much subject to overflow, through the 
 operation of the mountain torrents. The Summam closes its career flow- 
 ing through an agreeable plain of moderate extent, surrounded on all 
 sides of the horizon by a framework of picturesque mountains. 
 
 Bugia, suspended amongst rocks that seem ready to swallow it up, and 
 the waves that eat away their base, only communicates with the smiling 
 valley, descried from its walls, by a somewhat narrow tongue of land. 
 Hence the mountaineers form its nearest and most formidable neighbours, 
 owing to the nature of the locality and other accidental circumstances. It 
 so happens, moreover, that the tribe of the Mzaias, which is in possession 
 of those heights, is reported to be one of the most warlike, poor, and 
 savage of all. Its territory is carefully cultivated, but the spots of good 
 mould are not sufficiently abundant to support the inhabitants. Accord- 
 ingly a certain number go forth to work elsewhere; and those who remain 
 are never backward in any thievish or warlike enterprise. They can 
 muster 800 foot-soldiers. The plain belongs to two tribes — the Beni-Bou- 
 Messaoud and the Beni-Menioun; which can each of them bring from 500 to 
 600 firelocks into the field, with a small body of horsemen. Their district 
 
 * Great quantities of wax used to be exported from Bugia ; whence came the French 
 name for wax-candle, lougie. Kennedy, vol. i. p. 261. 
 
 + Universal Gazetteer, in the Royal Cabinet Atlas, p. 20. 
 J Seo the Chart, p. 488, of La Grande Kabylie.
 
 2G0 MOUNT GOURAYA. 
 
 is more thriving; for instance, they can boast of fine flocks, of corn, flax, 
 a great many bee-hives, olive-trees, and some tolerably flourishing vil- 
 lages. 
 
 Still, neither of these three tribes is so powerful as those more in the 
 centre of Great Kabylia.* 
 
 The roads of Bugia are the best in Algeria. They are, it is true, some- 
 what exposed to squalls and to a heavy swell; but these evils are remedied 
 by their excellent anchoring-ground. To seaward of a space of about 60 
 hectares (150 acres) situated before the town, and suited for merchant- 
 ships, the anchorage of Sidi-Yahia can receive, from Pointe de Bouac to 
 Fort Abd-el-Kader, four line-of-battle ships, six frigates, and a consi- 
 derable number of smaller craft. The Turks were in the habit of putting 
 up their fleet in Bugia roads in the winter. Recent travellers agree that 
 the famous inlet at Cape Carbon, into which, according to ancient geo- 
 graphers, ships could enter under full sail, would now scarcely admit 
 a boat.-f- 
 
 Behind Bugia rises Mount Gouraya, 670 metres in height,^ whose 
 rocks consist of limestone, and are covered to the top with argillaceous 
 earth, whose fecundity counteracts the usual effects of exposure to the 
 south. The lentisks, carobs, vines, and wild olives which clothe its sides 
 and summit, only require protection from the cattle, to supply the base 
 of the mountain with abundant sources, by attracting and retaining the 
 rain. The great rents of the Simplon, St. Gothard, and Splugen offer 
 nothing comparable to this prodigious up-heaving of mountains. The 
 view from the Righi is more extensive, but less imposing, than that of the 
 Atlas from the Gouraya, which reminds one of the imperfect work of the 
 Titans, described in Virgil : 
 
 Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam 
 Scilicet, atquo Ossse'frondosum involvere 
 Olympian. Georg. lib. i. 
 
 Approaching Bugia by water from the south-east, the rocky mass of 
 the Gouraya seems detached from the shore; and the deep gorge inter- 
 vening between it and the mainland indicates at once the position of the 
 city of Bugia, and the course of the Roman road which led from Rusgunias 
 and Rusucurrum, and descended to Saldaj (Bugia) on the south reverse 
 of the mountain. 
 
 The Arab and Mussulman population generally appears to have almost 
 entirely deserted Bugia; and the European population, which at one period 
 since the conquest amounted to 7-iO persons, scarcely numbered 100 in 
 1841. It has been, in fact, merely a military hospital; and all travellers 
 agree in condemning the folly of the French government in not improving 
 
 * L.i (iramlc Kabylio, p. ( Ji. t Baron 13audo, vol. i. p. 139. 
 
 J Borrer, p. 161.
 
 TIIE INTERIOR. 261 
 
 the port, which affords such fine natural advantages. There are many 
 channels for commerce in the neighbourhood of Bugia : to the south-west, 
 the valley of the Adouse ascends, following the base of the Djorjora to the 
 plain of Hamza, whence you descend towards Algiers; to the south, the 
 Adjelly pierces in a direct line the chain of the Atlas; and its valley opens 
 at 20 leagues (50 miles) from the sea on the fertile plains of Medjana. It 
 cannot be expected that the French will derive any benefit from the con- 
 quest of Bugia, till by force of arms or arts they can prevail on the fierce 
 hi-hlanders, by whom they are encircled, to allay the bitterness of hos- 
 tility with which they regard the invading Christians. As for any colonist 
 who may be tempted by visions of hecatomboian cattle reared upon the 
 fertile shores of the river Bou-Messaoud, his lot will be but an unhappy 
 one in the present state of affairs at this point; for Bugia is, in fact, a 
 mere military post, the very sentinels upon the walls being ever and anon 
 hailed by the whistle of a Kabyle bullet. A certain. Scherif Mohammed, 
 who has annoyed the French considerably from time to time, lives at pi*e- 
 sent in the neighbourhood, encouraging the spirit of revolt; but from 
 the checks he has lately received, he is now compelled to content himself 
 by sending out occasional marauding parties; keeping up a kind of guerilla 
 warfare, which holds in a state of harass and alarm both the garrison of the 
 town, and the few allied Arabs in the neighbourhood. 
 
 " A night or two before my arrival at Bugia," writes Mr. Borrer in 
 1S47, "a band of this mountain-chiefs foragers were outwitted by an am- 
 buscade of indigenous cavaliers in the French service, and sadly mauled. 
 In fact, there is a continual sparring going on between these sturdy sons 
 of the Mons Ferratus (Gouraya) and the present tenants of Bugia. No 
 sooner are the French flocks, or those of the allied Arabs, led forth to revel 
 in the fat pastures of the Oued-Messaoud, than hungry eyes gloat upon 
 them from the thicket-clad heights around, and a sudden swoop carries oft' 
 shepherds and sheep. If, on the other hand, the hostile mountaineers are 
 tempted to descend with their own herds, the same fate awaits them; so 
 that a system of aggression and retaliation keeps both parties in a delight- 
 ful state of qui vive." 
 
 "ft e shall now give the reader a peep into the wilds and recesses of this 
 Alpine region, ere we pass on to consider its ethnology. 
 
 Our old friend Mr. Dawson Borrer accompanied the French expedition 
 under Marshal Bugeaud in the spring of 1817, which penetrated into the 
 heart of Great Kabylia and subdued all parts of it, except its most retired 
 and rugged fastnesses. We shall present the reader with an outline of his 
 progress, to break the monotony of dry details. 
 
 After leaving Algiers they marched to Arba in the Mitidja, a district 
 which we have already described. The column, consisting of eleven bat- 
 talions, two squadrons, and two sections of mountain guns, advanced
 
 262 SIDI-BEN-ALI-CHEMF. 
 
 thence to the foot of the Little Atlas, which they reached about half an 
 hour after quitting Arba. The slopes of the mountains are there clothed 
 with brushwood, chiefly lentisk, stunted bellotas, and myrtle, intermingled 
 with the bright-flowered coronilla and the dwarf gum-cistus. A road has 
 been cut along the face of the Djebel Moussa, leading to a newly-established 
 French post named Aumale (the Sour-Guzlan of the Arabs, and the Au- 
 zia of the ancients), which lies about four days' march S.E. of Algiers. 
 
 The mountains they were now traversing are intersected by very deep 
 and beautiful valleys, up the steep slopes of which were clustered numerous 
 gourbies, or huts forming villages, or dashkrahs as the mountaineers name 
 them. These huts are constructed of rough stones or masses of turf, the 
 interstices filled up with mud and cattle- dung. The roofs are thatched 
 with coarse straw or reeds and branches of trees. The extreme lowness of 
 these dwellings is remarkable, the walls of few being more than three feet 
 in height, so that the branches covering the roofs often touch the ground 
 at the eaves. One large apartment alone is found in each hut, a portion of 
 which is enjoyed by the family, and the rest by their live-stock. It is only 
 in the centre that you can in general stand upright, immediately under the 
 ridge of the roof. In the neighbourhood of these villages the land is well 
 cultivated, and crops of remarkably fine bearded wheat were at that season 
 (May) shooting up from the ground.* 
 
 Without accompanying the column all the way in its victorious course 
 down the valley of the Summam, whence, after subduing most of the tribes 
 by violence or terror, and after forming its junction with General Bedeau's 
 column from Setif, it marched on to Bugia, having subdued the greater 
 portion of the lowlands of Great Kabylia, — -we shall dwell on some of the 
 most striking features of the region. 
 
 Marshal Bugeaud encamped with his troops on the 15th at Sidi- 
 Moussa, on the banks of the Summam. On the opposite bank the rich 
 but strong country of the Beni-Abbas rose in the form of an amphi- 
 theatre. Their numerous villages, clustering together, are perched on a 
 series of steep summits, the most inaccessible and populous being Azrou, 
 which Avas stormed, sacked, and burnt by the French. This example 
 struck such terror into the neighbouring tribes, that most of them sub- 
 mitted, especially the confederation surrounding the zaouia of Sidi-ben- 
 Ali-Cherif, forming a little theocratic state. This sacred college and kind 
 of monastery is situated near Chellala, on the opposite or left bank of the 
 Summam, and is the nursery of numerous tolbas (savants) and of won- 
 derful legends. It contains three venerated tombs : those of Sidi-Mo- 
 hammcd-ben-Ali-Cherif the founder, of Sidi-Said, and of a famous mara- 
 bout Milah. The family of Sidi-Said holds the chief authority, and all his 
 descendants are reputed to have been blessed with one male child and 
 
 * Campaign, &c, by Dawson Borror, p. 29 ct scqq. Compare chap. xiv. p. 282.
 
 KUELAA. 2G3 
 
 heir. But these unlucky chiefs, like the Abyssinian olive-branches, are 
 bound never to leave the territory of the confederation. One daring fellow 
 who peeped over was struck blind, like our peeping Tom. Near the 
 founder's tomb are two colossal walnut-trees, which must not be touched 
 without the permission of the tolbas, or before the fatah has been said 
 over them. A sly taleb venturing to pocket a nut, a leech falling from 
 heaven bit out his eye. This zaouia, pre-eminent for strict morals, is 
 served by the villages of Chellala and Ighit-ou-Mered, whose inhabitants 
 are forbidden to have any education, that they may not aspire to become 
 masters instead of servants.* This zaouia possesses vast property, and is 
 supported by ready donations. f 
 
 Leaving the column, we shall proceed to analyse the unsubdued district 
 of the Zouaouas, the singular town of Kuelaa, and finally Dellys. 
 
 The country of the Zouaouas | embraces the highest and most arid 
 part of the mountains. Their soil is poor and affords little grain, the tribe 
 preferring to cultivate vegetables, flax, and tobacco. Fruit is not wanting, 
 including carobs, olives, figs, pomegranates, apricots, apples, <fcc. Sweet 
 acorns are very plentiful, and eaten in cous-coussou by the Zouaouas. They 
 have much game, including hares, partridges, quails, pigeons, <fcc. Lions 
 are rare, but panthers are more common; and to destroy them they often 
 employ a kind of infernal machine, with a piece of meat near it as 
 a bait. § 
 
 The Zouaoua mountains also contain a host of hyenas, wild boars, 
 jackals, <fcc., and especially vast numbers of apes;|| but the produce of the 
 country would be quite insufficient for its inhabitants, if they were not a 
 highly industrious race. 5 
 
 Most of the towns of Algeria seem built under the impression of fear; 
 and Kuelaa is a veritable miracle on the score of unassailableness : the 
 only exposed approach is Bouni, on the side of Medjana. A natural phe- 
 nomenon indicates clearly the separation of the Arab and Kabyle territories 
 at this spot. Near the village of Djedida a colossal gate opens between the 
 rocks, separating two countries of strikingly opposite characters. To the 
 south is the rich Medjana plain with its golden harvests. To the north an 
 abrupt and rugged ground and stei'ile soil, yet, as you advance, improv- 
 ing and displaying picturesque mountain beauties. Passing mighty rocks 
 and a splendid cataract, you reach the plateau of Bouni, separated from 
 Kuelaa by three leagues (7|- miles) of broken territory, whose difficulty 
 
 * How like this to the superior wisdom of some enlightened classes nearer home ! 
 + La Grande Kabylie. 
 
 J The name of the Zouaouas is frequently extended to all the Kabyle tribes inhabiting 
 the ridge of the Jurjura, between Dellys and Bugia. 
 
 § La Grande Kabylie. j] See the Fauna. 
 
 ^] See following chapter.
 
 2G4 DELLYS. 
 
 exceeds the fabulous, the path being for the most part along a ridge like 
 Mahomet's razor, with fearful precipices on both sides, and only at times 
 one metre in width. At length you reach the plateau of six kilometres 
 (4| miles), only united to earth by this narrow ridge, standing on wall-like 
 precipices, and commanding a vast vat-like basin. This sport of nature 
 holds four villages, composing the town of Kuelaa. Ruins at the north- 
 east point, called Bordj-el-feteun, point out the civil dissensions of its 
 brilliant rulers the Mekhranis, one of whom built the Casbah, now in 
 ruins, and brought four vast cannon of European origin to Kuelaa. The 
 people are now governed by a natural Djema, and can raise 700 firelocks. 
 They belong to the soff of the Beni- Abbas. (See chap, xiv.) 
 
 The aspect of Kuelaa is smiling. The houses, built in the Moorish 
 style, are often white-washed, always tiled. The great mosque commands 
 the town, and has a graceful appearance, the porch being decorated with 
 poplars. 
 
 Unhappily the town has no water. Seven basins have been dug in 
 the rock by an alley separating the quarters of Ben-Daoud and Ouled- 
 Aissa (the son of David and the children of Jesus), but the water only 
 trickles there in drops. In winter they have plenty of rain, but in the 
 droughts they have to resort to the Oued-Beni-Hamadouche, winding at 
 the bottom of the ravine, half a league (1^ miles) off by the steepest 
 roads. The banks of this river present a little cultivation, but the people 
 would starve were it not for their great industry. Men and women work 
 hard, making immense quantities of woollen garments, and many of them 
 migrating to the towns of Algeria and Barbary. The women are noted 
 for their beauty and toilette; and the strong position of Kuelaa has made 
 it for ages a kind of sanctuary for person and property in this anarchical 
 country." 
 
 Turning to Dellys (in Arabic Teddel), the west limit of Great Kabylia 
 on the seaboard, we find that this town stands on the supposed site, and 
 is built of the remains of, Rusucurrum, one league from the mouth of the 
 river Booberak, and forty-five miles east from Algiers. St. Marie, who 
 passed Dellys in 1845, on his voyage from Algiers to Bona, describes it as 
 the first well-inhabited place on the coast within a distance of twenty 
 leagues from Algiers. The surrounding hills show careful cultivation ; and 
 a succession of delightful gardens indicates amongst the inhabitants a 
 certain love of order and repose, not to be met with in other parts of 
 Africa. + 
 
 * La Granrle Kabylie. 
 
 + Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 127- St. Marie, p. 197. Diary of a Lady's Travels in Bar- 
 bary, vol. i. p. 155. Nicholas de Nicolai, who was at Dellys in 1551, remarks : " O'est une 
 ville habitiV d'un | .< uj pit- I'ml rcVtvatit' H phiisanl , duni [ .r< -~c ju> ■ t.>us s'adonnent anjeu 
 <k- la harpe et du luth." He gave it 2000 fires ; and Gramaye agrees in Lis statement.
 
 DELLYS. 2G5 
 
 It appears from the latest official documents,* that a landing-slip, fifty- 
 five metres (180-40 feet) in length, and built of masonry, was constructed 
 at the port of Dellys in 1847-8, costing 46,611 fr. 29 cents. (1860/. 9s. 5d.) 
 The Place Nationale was partially cleared of rubbish in 18-30 ; and 1790 
 metres (5871-20 feet) of principal streets, and 1470 metres (4785-20 feet) 
 of branch streets, were opened from 1844 to 1849. The springs within 
 the walls supply daily 43,200 litres (9504 gallons) of water ; whilst the 
 ain, or conduit, of Mezel-el-Foukani, finished between 1844 and 1849, at 
 an expense of 7260 fr. (290/. 8s. 2d.), has a length of 225 metres (738 
 feet), and yields a daily supply of 21,600 litres (4752 gallons). The con- 
 duit of Ain-liouabada, called Sidi-Souzou, was finished in 1849, at a cost 
 of 15,400 fr. (616/.), having a length of 500 metres (1640 feet), and 
 yielding a daily supply of 28,800 litres (6336 gallons). The latter con- 
 duit has been brought in as far as to the fountains within the walls. 
 
 A building connected with the maritime service, and called direction 
 du port, answering to our harbour-master's office, was built in 1844-6, cost- 
 ing 6469 fr. (258/. 15s. 10J.) ; as well as a bureau Arabe, built at the same 
 date, at an expense of 16,717 fr. (668/. 14s. 2d.) 
 
 The precincts of Dellys are occupied by a certain number of petty 
 tribes, who in a great measure identify their interests with those of the 
 town, forming a distinct confederation from the other Kabyles. Its prin- 
 cipal members are the Beni-Slyems and the Beni-Thour, and they can 
 raise 1400 muskets. Dellys numbers ahout 1339 inhabitants, of whom 
 308 are Europeans, f 
 
 After leaving Dellys, as you proceed eastward along the coast of 
 Kabylia towards Bugia, you pass the port of Zuffoone, commonly called 
 Mers-el-Fahm (the port of charcoal) ; and doubling Cape Ash-oune-mon- 
 Kar, where stood the ancient Yabar, the next remarkable place you 
 come to is Mettsecoub (the perforated rock). The Spaniards have a 
 tradition that Raymond Lully, in his mission to Africa, was in the 
 habit of retiring to this cave for meditation. Not far hence is Bugia. | 
 St. Marie, who also sailed along this coast, speaks thus of its appearance : 
 " Leaving behind us Cape Sigli, Ave saw at sunrise the islet of the Pisans, 
 a wild rock, on which innumerable sea-birds alight. § This part of the 
 coast is rocky and mountainous, and their forms indicate a calcareous 
 soil. Here and there thin black spaces mark the spots where the Kabyles 
 have burned the dwarf-palms and other wild vegetation, to clear the un- 
 cultivated ground for sowing." || 
 
 Having completed our survey of the topography of Algeria, we proceed 
 
 * See the Tableau (1850), p. 344. 
 
 + Diary, vol. i. p. 155. X Blofeld, p. 43. 
 
 § Query : might it not contain a deposit of guano ? 
 
 || We shall revisit this interesting region in a future chapter.
 
 2GG RECENT AUTHORITIES ON ALGIERS. 
 
 in the following chapters to analyse the physical characteristics, manners, 
 customs, and laws, the arts and sciences, of the different strata of humanity 
 that have been deposited on this shore by the tide of time.* 
 
 * Baude, vol. i. p 127- St. Marie, chap. vi. p. 197. For a description of the topo- 
 graphy, &c. of Algeria in the earlier years of the French occupation, see Nouvelles An- 
 nates des Voyages, Dec. 1833; Apercu historique et statistique sur la Regence cl' Alger, <tc. 
 par Sidi-Hamadan Ben Othman Khoja ; A Review of Rozet's Voyage, par Laurenaudiere ; 
 Appel en faveur d' Alger et de I'Afrique du Nord, ; and the works of Poiret, Hoest, 
 Norberg, Brims, Langier de Tassy, Renaudor, &c. Many additional details relating to the 
 topography of Algeria in 1S45 and 1848 will be found in Captain Kennedy's Algeria and 
 Tunis, and in the Diary of a Lady's Travels in Barhary. Our limits prevent us from 
 dwelling any longer on this branch of the subject ; but we especially commend to the 
 reader's attention chaps, i. ii. and xii. of the first volume of Captain Kennedy, and sec- 
 tions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the Diary, on the city of Algiers.
 
 PAET II. 
 
 STATISTICS AND HISTORY, 
 
 POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND NATURAL.

 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Che SabnUs. 
 
 NATIVE POPULATION OF ALGERIA — CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KABYLES CONTRASTED 
 
 WITH THE ARABS — SUPERSTITIONS INDUSTRY MANUFACTURES MANNERS 
 
 WEDDINGS — WOMEN ADMINISTRATION — LAWS AUTHORITIES THE MARA- 
 BOUTS THE ZAOUIAS THE ANAYA — ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURAL AND 
 
 CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 
 
 The existing Mussulman population of Algeria is much like that of Gaul 
 when conquered by Ctesar, forming one great community with one 
 dominant language and religion ; but there exists no durable tie, and there 
 are many divisions. "In Gallia," says Csesar, "non solum in omnibus 
 civitatibus . . , sed pene etiam in singulis domibus factiones," (fee* 
 Ca5sar fomented these discords, and conquered Gaul ; the Turks did the 
 same at Algiers, fomenting the natural antipathy of the Kabylcs and Arabs. 
 Divide et hnpera was their motto, and it succeeded, their instinct having 
 taught this principle to the Ottoman rulers. 
 
 Numerous revolutions have visited North Africa; but the populations 
 that they have deposited have not, generally speaking, gone far from the 
 coast, and the older races remain commonly in the Sahara and the Atlas. 
 An exception is found in the Aouress mountain, which seems to be inhabi- 
 ted by a tribe of Vandal origin. The Biskris and Mozabites, who have a 
 colony at Algiers, are pronounced by some authorities the same people as 
 the Gsetulians of the ancients, to whom Rome gave the right of citizenship. 
 They live in the Sahara, and have not meddle<l with the quarrels of the 
 people of the Atlas. We shall shortly examine their characteristics more 
 minutely. 
 
 The ancients have not given a very flattering picture of the Kabylcs, to 
 whom we shall first direct our attention. These tribes, belonging to the 
 Berber race, are the aborigines of Algeria, living chiefly in the Atlas, par- 
 ticularly the Djorjora and the Darha ; and they have been thus described by 
 Procopius: "Inured to hardships, they live in little huts in which it is 
 scarcely possible to breathe ; in winter or summer alike regardless of snow 
 or sun, or any other necessary evil. They sleep on the bare ground, or 
 
 * De Bell. Gall. i. 6, c. 11.
 
 270 KABYLE CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 occasionally the more lucky among them may put something under them. 
 They are forbidden by law to add additional clothing according to the 
 weather ; but their dress is torn and dirty, and they wear a rough tunic in 
 all weathers. They are without wine, bread, and all the other usual neces- 
 saries of life ; but either roasting or kneading into flour wheat, corn, or 
 at least barley, they devour it after the fashion of wild beasts." * 
 
 The Turks looked upon them as a barbarous and perfidious race, with- 
 out fear of God and without faith to men, keeping peace only with those 
 who kept them under by terror. Similar was the opinion entertained of 
 them by the ancients. " They have neither any fear of God or respect for 
 man, nor do they pay any regard to their oath. . . . Lastly, they have 
 no peace with any one, save with those who coerce them through fear."-f- 
 
 Let us compare these statements with their actual position. 
 
 Having given a description of the topography and population of Ka- 
 bylia, we proceed to lay before the reader a compendious account of the 
 character, manners, and customs of the Kabyles, and of the productions of 
 their territory.;}: 
 
 The dominant characteristics of this region have been : 1. Independ- 
 ence of the Turkish or French yoke. 2. The use of the Berber tongue. 
 3. The stability and relative luxury of the habitations. 4. The cultiva- 
 tion of fruit-trees and the exercise of professional arts. 
 
 The Kabyles delight in a sedentary life ; some inhabit huts of mud and 
 turf or rough stones, and others reside in solidly and well-constructed vil- 
 lages. They are a highly industrious people, great cultivators, and make 
 their own agricultural implements, arms, gunpowder, haicks, carpets, 
 leather, &c. Yet this race is very unsociable with strangers ; and while 
 the Arabs correspond to the French families that speak the langue d'oc, 
 with southern imaginations, personifying material forms, — the Kabyles 
 have a northern precision of thought and expression, confining themselves 
 to a precise and critical statement of facts. § 
 
 Patriarchalism is the dominant principle with the Arabs, communism 
 with the Berbers or Kabyles. They are not acquainted, like the Arabs, 
 with the distinction between the terms OuMd and Beni, as applied to noble 
 and servile tribes. The only distinction that they make in employing 
 
 * Marusii duns assueti, in parvis tuguriis ubi vix rcspirare licet degunt, hyemis ac 
 wstatis temporibus, neque nivibus, nequo solibus, neque alio quocumquo malo necessario 
 curantes. Dormiunt nudo humo ; si qui beatiores inter eos, aliquid substerniunt. Vestes 
 insuper secundum tempora variare ox lege probibentur; scd laceram vestem atque cras- 
 sam, tunicamque asperam in omne tempus induunt. Fane vinoquc et aliis bonis omnibus 
 usui neeessario carent, sed triticuin, sive selaginom, sivo hordcum ininime aut coquentes 
 aut in farinam terentec more belluarum passim depascuntur. — Proc. Be Bell. Vand. i. 2. 
 
 t Illis nequo Doi metus est ullus, nequo hominum reverentia, nequo item jusjurandi aut 
 
 hominum ulla cura Denique cum nullo pacom habont, nisi cum his quorum metu 
 
 coereeantur.— Be Bell. Vand. i. 2. 
 
 '+ Seo vol. i. chap. xiii. of Captain Kennedy's Algeria and Tunis. 
 
 § La Kabylio propremont dite, by E. Caretto, in tbo Exploration Sciontifiquo.

 
 CONTRAST OF ARABS AND KABYLES. 271 
 
 these Arabic designations is, that they commonly style the lay tribes Beni, 
 and reserve that of Oulad for the marabouts. The Berber generic term 
 for tribe is ait, which they give without distinction both to nobles and 
 villains, for ait has not so much of a family meaning as Oulad and Beni. 
 It signifies properly the people, the followers, while Beni and Oulad imply 
 direct descent ; thus familism is not such a dominant influence among the 
 Kabyles as among the Arabs/' 
 
 The Kabyles are very frugal in their habits, their principal food con- 
 sisting of pancakes, called galette, baked upon a plate of clay; milk, honey, 
 butter ; figs soaked in oil, of which they consume great quantities ; and the 
 everlasting cous-coussou. t 
 
 The moral and physical characteristics of the Arabs and Kabyles are 
 thus contrasted by Colonel Daumas : 
 
 " The Arab has black eyes and hair ; many of the Kabyles have blue 
 eyes and red hair: they are also generally fcrirer than the Arabs. The 
 Arab has an oval face and a long neck ; the Kabyle, on the contrary, has 
 a square face, with the head approaching the shoulders. The Arab never 
 shaves ; the Kabyle shaves till he has attained his 20th or 25th year : at 
 that age he is a man, and lets his beard grow ; it is an indication of the 
 judgment that he has acquired, and of his reason which is maturing. The 
 Arab covers his head at all seasons, and clothes his feet whenever he can. 
 The Kabyle, in winter and summer, through sunshine and shade, goes bare- 
 footed and bare-headed." % 
 
 The Kabyles differ in all things from the Arabs. The first live under 
 roofs, the last under tents ; the Kabyle fights in preference on foot, the 
 Arab on horseback. Their languages have no analogy. The Arab flies 
 our contact ; the Kabyles of the tribes that are most hostile to the French 
 do not hesitate to come and seek labour in the towns, and the Amaz- 
 irghes of the Biff in Morocco have latterly immigrated in considerable 
 numbers into Oran. In short, the Kabyles are the conquered, and the 
 Arabs the conquerors ; hence their hereditary hatred.§ If by chance you 
 meet a Kabyle with his feet covered, it is accidentally, and merely with the 
 skin of a beast just killed. When they cover their feet, which is unusual, 
 they wear a slight sandal of raw hide, whilst a kind of buskin of the same 
 material is often worn up the leg. || Those who border on the plains some- 
 times wear the chachia (Tunis cap). 
 
 The Kabyle has for his only clothing the cheloucha, a kind of woollen 
 shirt which falls below the knees, aud costs from 7 to 8 fr. (6s. 8d.) ; 
 he protects his legs with footless gaiters, knitted in wool, which they call 
 bougherous. When engaged in work, he puts on a large leathern apron cut 
 
 * La Kabylic proprement dito. General Dauruas, La Grande Kabylie. Baron Baude's 
 Algerie, vol. iii. p. 221. 
 
 + Dawson Borrer's Campaign, &c. + La Grande Kabylie, p. 21. 
 
 § Baron Baude, vol. iii. p. 221. || D. Borrer, chap. i.
 
 272 KABYLE HOUSES. 
 
 like that of the French sappers; and he wears the burnouse when his means 
 allow him, keeping it an indefinite period, regardless of spots or rents : 
 he received it from his father, and he bequeathes it to his son.* Some 
 authorities entitle the Kabyle shirt khcmdowra, and describe it as having 
 loose sleeves ; and their burnouse they describe as a white, or black and 
 white, woollen mantle with a large hood.f 
 
 The Arab lives under his tent— he is a nomad on a limited territory ; 
 the Kabyle dwells in a house — he is fixed to his spot of ground. His 
 house is built of dry stones or unburnt bricks, which he puts together in a 
 somewhat rude fashion. The roof is thatched, but among the rich it is 
 covered with tiles ; and this sort of cabin is called tezaka. It consists of 
 one or two chambers ; the father, mother, and children occupying one-half 
 the building to the right of the entrance-door. This family dwelling is 
 called dounes. The other part of the house, which they name Main, to 
 the left, serves for a stable for the cattle and horses. If one of the sons of 
 the house is married, and requires a menage of his own, they build him a 
 dwelling above by running up another story .% 
 
 Whoever undertakes a journey, ought to set out on a Monday, Thurs- 
 day, or Saturday : these days smile on the traveller. Happy the man who 
 begins his journey on a Saturday ; the prophet preferred that day to the 
 other two. They travel, it is true, on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday ; 
 but then the traveller is never free from anxiety during his whole transit. 
 You must never begin a battle or skirmish on a Tuesday. Thursday is the 
 day on which the bridegroom ought to introduce his bride to the conjugal 
 roof : it is always a good augury ; because the wife awakes on a Friday, 
 which is the Sunday of the Mussulman. No one is to be lamented who 
 dies during the Rhamadan,§ during which the gates of hell are closed, and 
 those of paradise always open. It is a happy presage if you see a jackal 
 when you rise in the morning ; and two crows at the moment of setting- 
 out are a sign of a prosperous journey. It is a bad sign to see a hare at 
 night ; and a single crow before commencing a journey is a reason for 
 anxiety. The Kabyles, so incredulous on the subject of witchcraft, are 
 less so on the question of demons. They say there are some in all seasons, 
 except during the Rhamadan ; because God compels them to remain in hell 
 during the sacred month. They fear them extremely. A Kabyle will never 
 go out of his house at night, without conjuring them in the name of the 
 all-powerful and merciful God. He will do the same also when he passes 
 near a spot where blood has been shed, because the demons love blood, 
 and are sure to resort to those spots. There exists also, if it be not a pre- 
 judice, at least a universal contempt for the she-ass ; and to such an extent 
 
 * Daumas, chap. i. Dawson Borrcr, p. 1 et seqq. 
 
 t Dawson Borrer, chap. i. X Daumas, La Grande Kabylie, p. 22. 
 
 § This word signifies tho sacred month of the Mussulmans, during which they fast till 
 aunsot.
 
 KABYLE AGRICULTURE. 273 
 
 do they carry it, that amongst certain tribes a Kabylc would not see one 
 enter the house for any thing in the world. They have a legend which 
 would explain this aversion by an act against nature in the time of the 
 ancient Kabyles. The Arab detests work ; he is essentially idle ; during 
 nine months of the year he only thinks of his pleasures. The Kabyle 
 labours immensely, and at all times ; idleness is a disgrace in his eyes. 
 The Arab tills the laud a great deal ; he possesses a great number of 
 flocks which he tends ; but he plants no trees. The Kabyle grows less 
 corn, but he gardens a good deal ; he spends his life in planting and 
 grafting; he has lentils, grey peas, beans, artichokes, turnips, cucumbers, 
 onions, beet-root, red pepper, water-melons, and melons. He also culti- 
 vates tobacco ; he has for some time grown potatoes ; he has fruit of all 
 kinds — olives, figs, nuts, oranges, pears, apples, apricots, almonds, and 
 raisins. The chief riches of the country consist in its olives, many of 
 which are grafted, and attain sometimes the dimensions of the walnut- 
 tree. The olives, which are of excellent quality, form a great part of the 
 Kabyle's nourishment ; but an enormous quantity remains to be sold 
 either as fruit or as oil. The latter is exported in goat-skins to Algiers, 
 Bugia, Dellys, to Setif, and to all the markets in the interior. The arable 
 land not being very abundant in proportion to the population, the Kabyles 
 do not neglect a morsel of it. They give two ploughings to the ground, 
 and manure it, but seldom suffer it to lie fallow ; uor do they practise 
 rotation of crops. Generally speaking, their fields are kept pretty clean, 
 and some of them yield as much as twenty-five for one. The wheat is 
 threshed in a barbarous fashion by means of bulls, which work in a 
 circle on the barn-floor; and being winnowed coarsely with the end of a 
 board, does not pass through the sieve : it is preserved, like that of the 
 Arabs, in silos (in Arabic, metmora) ; and also in large osier-baskets, 
 which are very wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. The Arab 
 travels sometimes in search of pasturage, but he never goes beyond a cer- 
 tain circle. Among the Kabyles, one of the members of the family goes 
 away for a time to seek his fortune ; thus one sees them every where — at 
 Algiers, at Setif, at Bona, Philippeville, Constantina, and at Tunis. They 
 work as masons, gardeners, reapers ; and they tend flocks. When they 
 have gained a little money, they return to their village, buy a gun and an 
 ox, and then marry. 
 
 Baron Baude says we call Kabyles all the inhabitants of the Atlas 
 and of the shore whose establishment preceded that of the Arabs, and who 
 do not speak their language. This definition is in the main correct, though 
 likely to give rise to sundry inaccuracies. 
 
 The Kabyles, on their part, do not distinguish the European nations 
 respectively, and think us the same people as the ancient Romans, hence 
 they call us Bomni ; and the native Kabyle who serves in the regiment of 
 Zouaves, a mongrel force raised by the French in Algeria, is thought to
 
 274 KABYLE MANUFACTURES. 
 
 serve in the Roman troops. The Baron was disposed to think, however, 
 that they had as many shades of difference among them as the different 
 nations of Europe : in some places they present us Avith dark skins and 
 line hair, in others with light hair and fine clear complexions. This re- 
 mark is true, if we give the same extent as the Baron to the term Kabyle ; 
 embracing the blue-eyed tribes of the Aouress and Mount Edough, and the 
 Kabyle Jews. 
 
 He further states that their habits and customs change according to 
 the tribes : some, like the Mezayas near Bugia, and the mountaineers of 
 the Chiffa, have no other industry than robbery, and no other law than the 
 sword ; others, again, are superior in honest industry to many European 
 populations. The inhabitants on the slopes of the Djordjora, who are cor- 
 rectly thought to be the descendants of the Vandals, build houses which 
 remind one of European structures, and have no resemblance to Moorish 
 edifices. They work mines, know how to extract the ore of iron and lead ; 
 manufacture gunpowder, steel weapons, and firelocks ; they also make 
 a great part of the haicks, of the coverings, and burnouses, that are used 
 not only all over Algeria, but also in the empire of Morocco and in the 
 regencies of Tunis and Tripoli. They have factories (des comptoirs) like 
 those of the Bisans in the middle ages ; and if we take into consideration 
 the simplicity of their implements and the finish of their work, we must 
 confess that their workmen are not less dexterous than ours. They seem 
 to have institutions like those of the ancient Germans of Ca?sar and Ta- 
 citus. Thus, from the age of twenty to twenty-five years, all the male 
 population are subject to military service ; after the age of twenty-five 
 they make a kind of mobilised reserve in case of war ; and after a certain 
 age they cannot be called out except in cases of great danger.* 
 
 Strictly speaking, the Arab is not industrious, although he manufac- 
 tures saddles, harness, horse-bits, ctc.t The Kabyle, on the contrary, is 
 industrious : he builds his house, he is a carpenter, he forges weapons, 
 gun -barrels, and locks, swords called Jiissas, knives, pickaxes, cards for 
 wool, ploughshares, &c. They moreover manufacture gun-stocks, shovels, 
 wooden shoes, and frames for weaving. The burnouses and habayas 
 (woollen garments) are also made by them, together with the haicks for 
 women, and the white chachias (caps). Their earthenware is renowned ; 
 and they make the oil from their olives, which they gather on their own 
 property, besides preparing the mills themselves for pressing them. The 
 following is the most usual form of the Kabyle oil-press : a large basin, 
 formed of one piece of wood, having at each extremity of one of its diameters 
 a vertical post, which works in a horizontal bar ; the latter being pierced in 
 the middle, a wooden vice is let through, terminated by a millstone of a 
 diameter little inferior to that of the basin. The vice presses upon the 
 olives, which, having been previously boiled, are placed under the millstone. 
 * Baron Baude. t Daumas, chap. i.
 
 FALSE COINERS. 275 
 
 The Kabyles also prepare tlie hives for their bees, and extract the wax ; 
 and in preparing flour for their bread, they only use portable mills at 
 home. They are acquainted with the art of baking tiles, a hundred of 
 which cost from two francs (Is. Sd.) to two francs fifty cents. In certain 
 localities they make cork soles; and they are also familiar with the prepara- 
 tion and use of lime ; but they are very careful of it, only using it to whiten 
 the mosque and the koubbas (the tombs) of the marabouts. They make 
 use of plaister (whitewash) for their houses, this article seeming to be very 
 plentiful in their territory : the quarry of Thisi, among the Beni-Messaoud, 
 at a league and a half from Bugia, furnishes a great quantity of it. They 
 prepare black soap from the olive-oil, and salt- wort of sea-weed or the 
 ashes of the lam-el-rose ; they weave baskets in which to carry loads, 
 and prepare table-cloths of the dwarf palm, besides spinning cords from 
 wool and goat's hair. In short, they carry their industrial cleverness to 
 such a pitch, that they manufacture even false coin.* 
 
 We shall proceed to enlarge on some of the branches of industry pre- 
 viously mentioned, beginning with the last. From time immemorial the 
 Kabyles who were established at Ayt-el-Arba, a considerable village of 
 the tribe of Beni-Janni, gave themselves up to this guilty practice. Other 
 less noted gangs are still found in the village of Ayt-Ali-ou-Harzoun, 
 15 leagues south-east of Ayt-el-Arba, 40 leagues (100 miles) distant from 
 Algiers. The spot to which these coiners repair is the summit of a moun- 
 tain protected by a very narrow and almost inaccessible defile. It is there 
 that, sheltered from all attack, they imitate the copper, gold, and silver coins 
 of all the countries of the world. Their first materials are partly furnished 
 by the neighbouring mines. Copper and silver they have brought to 
 them from all the barbarous parts of the country, even from the Sahara, 
 by men who not only transfer the produce of their country to Ayt-el- 
 Arba, but also come to buy adulterations. They pay them with monies of 
 good alloy, on the footing of 25 per cent. The simple inspection of a piece 
 of counterfeit proves that the procedure employed to obtain it is gene- 
 rally that of fusion. In fact, all the pieces present a diameter slightly 
 inferior to that of the models ; a result occasioned bythe contraction 
 which they have suffered in casting, after extraction from the mould con- 
 taining the impression of genuine pieces. The relief of the figures and 
 the letters is generally badly wrought, and the aspect of the metal is faded 
 or coppery. It must be owned, however, and all who have seen them will 
 bear out the assertion, that the greater part of these false pieces effectually 
 deceive you at first sight, and some really require a very minute examin- 
 ation. 
 
 The methods of prevention employed under the Turks, in order to 
 oppose the uttering of false coins, were conformable in every thing to 
 the despotic and arbitrary procedures which the authorities at that time 
 
 * La Grande Kabylie, p. 27.
 
 276 FALSE COINERS. 
 
 sanctioned. The people of Ayt-el-Arba, and those of Ali-ou-Harzoun, 
 never going from their retreat, were obliged to confide to others the care 
 of hawking about their products ; for though the Kabyles protect the 
 manufacturers of false coin, they are quite merciless towards any man 
 who would try to circulate it in the country. It is therefore necessary to 
 send it out of Kabylia ; and the Beni-Janni, the Beni-Menguelat, the Beni- 
 Boudrar, and the Beni-Ouassif, were generally charged with this mission. 
 The estrangement of the other Kabyles from these tribes proceeds, no 
 doubt, from this cause. These people were watched with peculiar jealousy, 
 and could not travel in the interior of the district without the permission 
 of the caid of Sebaou, who never granted it without imposing a duty of 
 two Spanish douros (9s.). If he omitted to show this permission, which 
 they moreover refuse to all who are suspected of trafficking in coin, the 
 first traveller who arrived was obliged to submit to the confiscation of his 
 merchandise, mules, &c. 
 
 Three years before the conquest of Algiers by the French, false coin 
 had multiplied so excessively, that the Agha-Yahia, who had a great re- 
 putation among the Arabs, furious to find his vigilance of no avail, caused, 
 in one and the same day, men of all the tribes who were known to have 
 devoted themselves to this profession to be arrested in the markets of 
 Algiers, Constantina, Setif, and Bona. They imprisoned in this way a 
 hundred individuals, whom the pasha sentenced to death if they did not 
 deliver up the moulds which they used in their manufacture. The people 
 of Ayt-el-Arba, in order to save their brothers, sent all their instruments, 
 and the prisoners were not set at liberty until a large fine was paid. This 
 check which the false coiners experienced did not give them any distaste 
 for their trade. Ayt-el-Arba lost no portion of its prospei'ity ; and the 
 number of merchants who came there to supply themselves from all parts, — 
 from Morocco, Tunis, from the Sahara and Tripoli, — did not at all decrease. 
 A Kabyle taken in the act of issuing false coin was put to death without 
 any formal process. It was the only case in which justice was inexorable, 
 and in which the money which redeemed all other crimes was not able to 
 weigh down the scales on their side. Those branches of labour which are 
 more honourable, but not so exciting to the curiosity, are perhaps not so 
 well known. 
 
 The manufacture of powder is confined to the tribe of the Beboulas : 
 they make it in great quantities there, and by processes similar to our 
 own. Saltpetre abounds in natural caverns, and it is found incrusting 
 their walls. Being collected like our sweepings of saltpetre, it is first 
 washed, and then obtained by evaporation. Charcoal is procured from 
 the laurel-rose, and possesses the best qualities. Sulphur is imported from 
 foreign countries. The proportions are regulated as with us, and the dry- 
 ing is performed by the sun. This Kabyle powder, which is not quite so 
 strong as ours, is neither smooth nor equally granulated ; but it does not
 
 KABYLE MECHANICS. 277 
 
 stain the hand, and answers as a good powder for war. The Kahyle 
 cartridges are well rolled, and they arc much hoasted of in the market. 
 The lowest price of the cartouch is 40 cents (id.), which appears extremely 
 high. The bulls are of lead, and very irregular in size. The working of 
 lead-mines is carried on upon a considerable scale in the tribe of the 
 Boni-Buulateb, near Setif. This metal is found also in a mountain near 
 Msila, and in another called Agouf, also amongst the Reboulas : this lust 
 is reported to contain silver ore. In all cases they obtain it by simple 
 fusion, and it is exported in pigs or balls. Copper is also found in Ka- 
 bylia. It is extracted, and employed in making female ornaments. Melted 
 with ziuc, it forms a brass which is very useful for powder-horns, the 
 mountings of flissas, handles for poniards, &c. Two very abundant iron 
 mines are renowned in Great Kabylia ; one amongst the Berbachas, the 
 other amongst the Beni-Slyman. The vein of ore is smelted in furnaces 
 heated by charcoal, after the Catalan method ; the bellows are made of 
 goat-skin, and plied by men. The tribe of the Flissas prepare steel wea- 
 pons, bearing their name, with the iron of the Berbaches and the steel 
 brought from the East. The principal manufacturers of fire-arms are the 
 Beni-Abbas. Their gun-locks, which are more celebrated than their gun- 
 barrels, unite elegance with solidity ; they are exported as far as Tunis. 
 Their gun-stock is made of the walnut-wood, and they mount the whole of 
 their steel weapons. In the midst of this vast industry of the men, the 
 women do not remain idle. They spin wool, and weave it into a sort of 
 white stuff', which serves for clothing for both sexes. Their trades are 
 established upon the model of those of Algeria. The flax, gathered in 
 little bunches, then dried in the open air, and lastly pounded and spun by 
 the women, makes a coarse cloth which is employed for many uses. The 
 women co-operate in making the burnouse, which in some tribes, for in- 
 stance the Beni-Abbas and Beni-Ourtilan, becomes an object of exporta- 
 tion, these people having more than they require for their own use. 
 
 The Arab occupies himself very little in preserving his arms; it would 
 require some care: "a black dog," he says, "bites as well as a white dog." 
 The Kabyle, on the contrary, considers his gun his chief luxury; he pre- 
 serves it from rust; and when he takes it out of the case, he holds it with 
 his handkerchief, that it may not be soiled. The Arab, physically idle, is 
 somewhat inert even in the impulses of the heart; but amongst the Ka- 
 bylcs anger and conflicts attain inconceivable proportions. The follow- 
 ing is a recent example. A man of the tribe of the Beni-Yala met, at 
 the market of Guenzate, another Kabyle, who owed him a ba/rra (seven * 
 centimes). He reclaimed his debt. " I will not give thee thy barra," 
 replied the debtor. " And why?" "I do not know." a If thou hast 
 no money, I will wait still." "I have some, — but it's a kind of whim 
 which has taken hold of me not to pay thee." At these words the cre- 
 ditor, quite furious, seized the other by his burnouse, and threw him on
 
 278 PRIDE AND REVENGE. 
 
 the ground. The neighbours joined in the struggle. Two parties were 
 soon formed, and they had recourse to arms. From 1 o'clock till 7 in 
 the evening, it was impossible to separate the combatants; 45 men were 
 killed, and that for about a halfpenny! This quarrel happened in 1843; 
 but the war which was kindled through it is not yet extinguished. The 
 town has since been divided into two hostile quarters, and the houses 
 which stood on the frontier are now deserted. 
 
 The Arab is vain : he appears humble and arrogant alternately. The 
 Kabyle remains always wrapped up in his pride. This pride gives import- 
 ance to the smallest things of life, imposes on all great simplicity of man- 
 ners, and exacts a scrupulous reciprocity for every deferential act. For 
 instance, the Arab kisses the hand and the head of his superior with forced 
 compliments and salutations, troubling himself little whether or not his 
 politeness is returned. The Kabyle never pays compliments; he kisses 
 the hand and the head of a chief or of an old man ; but whatever be the 
 dignity or the age of him who has received this politeness, he is bound 
 immediately to return it. Si-Said-Abbas, a marabout of the Beni-Haffif, 
 was one day in the market, on a Friday, of the Beni-Ourtilan. A Kabyle 
 called Ben-Zeddam approached and kissed his hand; but the marabout, no 
 doubt not thinking about it, did not return the salutation. " By the sins 
 of my wife," said Ben-Zeddam, who placed himself in front of Si-Said with 
 his gun in his hand, " thou shalt instantly return me what I gave thee, or 
 thou art a dead man." And the marabout performed the act. The Arab 
 is a liar; the Kabyle considers lying a disgrace. 
 
 The Arabs in war usually proceed (say the French) through surprises 
 and treachery. The Kabyle acquaints his enemy with his intentions ; 
 and this is done in the following manner : the token of peace between 
 two tribes consists in the exchange of some article, — it may be a gun, a 
 stick, or a bullet- mould, &c; this is called the mezrac (the lance). All this 
 leads to the conclusion, that before the invention of fire-arms, the deposit 
 of a lance was, in fact, the symbol of a truce and good faith. Should one 
 of the tribes wish to break the truce, the chief simply returns the mezrac, 
 and war is declared. The Arabs are satisfied with the diet, the price of blood 
 in expiation of a murder committed on one of the members of the family. 
 With the Kabyles, the assassin must die. His flight will not save him; 
 for vengeance is a sacred obligation. Into whatever region, however dis- 
 tant, the murderer may fly, thither revenge follows him. A man happens 
 to be assassinated; he leaves a son very young; the mother teaches the 
 child very early the name of his fathers murderer. When the son is 
 grown up, she gives him a gun, and says, "Go, revenge thy father!" If 
 the widow lias only a daughter, she makes known that she will receive 
 no money for her,* and will give her only to him who kills her husband's 
 murderer. There is a striking analogy between their manners and those 
 * Tho Kabyles buy their wives, as wo shall show further on.
 
 KABYLE CUSTOMS. 279 
 
 of the Corsicans ; juid it is still more delineated in the following traits. 
 If the really guilty man escapes vengeance, and evades all pursuit, it 
 passes over to the nearest of kin ; whose death, in its turn, requires new 
 reprisals. Hatred thus enters the two families, and becomes hereditary. 
 On both sides, friends and neighbours marry, factions ensue, and actual 
 wars may even result from it. The Arabs practise hospitality; but there 
 is more of policy and ostentation than of heart in it. Amongst the 
 Kabyles, though their hospitality is of a less sumptuous nature, you can 
 nevertheless perceive in its forms the existence of good feeling. A stranger 
 is always well treated, whatever may be his origin. These attentions are 
 still more marked towards refugees, whom nothing in the world could 
 induce them to deliver up. The Turks and the Emir Abd-el-Kader have 
 always been frustrated in any demands or efforts contrary to this noble 
 principle. The following is a generous custom amongst them. When 
 the fruits, such as figs, grapes, &c. begin to ripen, the chiefs publish a 
 deci'ee that no one, during fourteen or fifteen days, under pain of a 
 penalty, shall touch any of the fruit on the trees. At the expiration of 
 the time fixed, the proprietors assemble in the mosque, and swear on the 
 holy books that the command has not been violated. He who cannot take 
 the oath pays the fine. The poor of the tribe are then consulted, they 
 make out a list, and each proprietor by turn feeds them till the fruit-season 
 is passed. The same thing takes place during the bean season, an article 
 much cultivated by the Kabyles. At these periods every stranger may 
 enter the gardens, and eat as much as will satisfy him, without any in- 
 terruption; but he must not take away any thing with him: for a theft 
 is doubly culpable on these occasions, and might cost him his life. The 
 Arabs cut off the head in combat; the Kabyles, amongst themselves, never 
 do this. The Arabs are accustomed to rob wherever they can, and espe- 
 cially in the day-time. The Kabyles commit robberies chiefly by night, 
 and only amongst their enemies. In this case it is an act worthy of 
 praise; otherwise, quite the contrary. The Arab has preserved some tra- 
 ditions concerning medicine and surgery. The Kabyle has neglected 
 them; consequently we find many chronic diseases amongst them. The 
 Arab does not know how to increase the value of his money; he buries it 
 in the ground, or uses it to increase his flocks. The Kabyle, contrary to 
 the Mussulman law, puts it out at large interest, — for instance, at 50 per 
 cent per month ; or he buys at a cheap rate, and forestalls the harvests 
 of oil, of grain, &c. The Arabs class musicians in the rank of buffoons; 
 and the man amongst them who would dance is dishonoured in all eyes. 
 The Kabyle likes to play on his little flute ; and every one dances, men 
 and women, relations and neighbours : the dance is performed with and 
 without arms. 
 
 When a marriage is celebrated among the Arabs, they perform eques- 
 trian games before they bring home the bride. With the Kabyles, the
 
 280 WEDDINGS. 
 
 relations or friends of the bridegroom shoot at a target. The mark is 
 generally an «gg, a peppercorn, or a flat stone. This custom causes 
 a great deal of gaiety, for those who miss the mark are subject to 
 much joking. When a Kabyle wants to marry, he informs one of his 
 friends, who seeks the father of the girl of his choice, and makes known 
 the desire. They fix the marriage-portion which will be paid by the 
 husband ; for he literally buys his wife, and a great number of girls is con- 
 sidered to constitute the wealth of the house. These portions amount to 
 upwards of a hundred douros (251.). It sometimes happens that the future 
 husband does not possess the entire sum ; he is then granted a month or 
 two to collect it, and during that time he may visit the house of his future 
 wife. When he has succeeded, he leads her, as his fiancee, first through 
 the village, armed with a yatagan, a gun, and a pair of pistols ; after 
 which he takes her under his own roof. This ceremony is performed with 
 great pomp. Each village has its band, composed of two kinds of Turkish 
 clarionets and drums ; and these musicians figure in the nuptial cortege. 
 They sing as they go, and the women and children make the air resound 
 with their joyous cries, " You! you ! you!" They fire a number of guns ; 
 and the young people of the village, all or a part of them, according to 
 the wealth of the husband, are invited to a great repast. 
 
 Amongst the Arabs, when a male child is born, they rejoice and make 
 compliments, but the fete is held in the family alone ; if the mother has a 
 female child, the women alone rejoice. The birth of a male child amongst 
 the Kabyles causes an assembling of all the neighbours and friends of the 
 surrounding villages. They fire guns and shoot at the target ; and seven 
 days after, the father gives a great feast. Circumcision does not take 
 place till the age of seven or eight j'ears. If a girl is brought into the 
 world, there is no change in the habits of life or appearance of the house, 
 because she does not at all increase the force of the tribe ; since the child, 
 when old enough, will probably marry, and will perhaps leave the country 
 in order to follow a new master. 
 
 When one of the family dies amongst the Arabs, the friends and 
 neighbours assist at the burial, and then each one returns to his business. 
 Amongst the Kabyles, the whole village is present at the funeral. No one 
 must work ; and with the exception of the relations of the departed, all 
 unite in giving hospitality to the Kabyles of other villages, who have come 
 to add their tribute of grief. The dead are not placed on a bier: after 
 being carefully washed, they are wrapped in a sort of cloth, and are then 
 committed to the earth. The Kabyle women enjoy much greater liberty 
 than the Arab women ; they are more considered in society. For in- 
 stance, (he Kabyle woman goes to market to get provisions for the house, 
 to sell and (o buy. The husband would he ashamed to enter into house- 
 hold details like the Aral). The Aral) woman cannot appear in the assem- 
 blies of men ; she always holds her handkerchief, or veils herself with the
 
 WOMEN. 281 
 
 kaik. The Kabyle woman seats herself where she chooses ; she talks, she 
 sings, and her face remains uncovered. Both from infancy wear a small 
 tattooed pattern on the face; hut that of the Kabyle women presents a 
 remarkable peculiarity : it has generally the form of a cross. The usual 
 position of it is between the eyes, or upon one of the nostrils. The 
 Kabyles continue this custom, without knowing the origin of it, which 
 appears to have been derived from the early Christian times. A fact 
 worthy of remark strengthens this conjecture : it is, that no taleb or 
 marabout will marry a woman thus tattooed, until he has made the sign 
 disappear through the application of lime and black soap. It is right, 
 however, to observe, that the Koran prohibits all tattooings, branding them 
 with the name of Ketibet-el-chytan (writing of the devil). The Arab woman 
 never eats with her husband, and still less with her hosts. The Kabyle 
 woman takes her meals with the family, even when strangers are present. 
 The Arab woman is never considered free in her actions. The Kabyle 
 woman, if abandoned by her husband, returns to the house of her father 
 or her brother ; and as long as her isolated mode of life lasts, enjoys perfect 
 freedom from moral restraint. A woman who is divorced acts precisely 
 in the same way This license will explain the pretended custom which 
 is attributed to the Kabyles by several historians, of offering their wives 
 or daughters to distinguished guests. Owing to a certain number of 
 free women being found in each tribe, the Kabyles appear to have been 
 preserved from a kind of debauch contrary to nature, and so frequent 
 amongst the Arabs, but which with them would be punished with death. 
 In certain tribes, and especially amongst the Yguifsal, the women and 
 girls who live by prostitution pay each year, on new year's day, a sort 
 of duty, which does not amount to more than five douros (11. 5s.) : this 
 money is thrown into the public treasury. They cease to pay when they 
 marry or give up their condition. But this custom is not general. After 
 what has been said, it will not appear surprising, that the Kabyles attach 
 much less importance to the virginity of the young girls they marry than 
 the Arabs. 
 
 The Arab woman who receives no news of her husband duiing one 
 or two years, or who has nothing at home to live upon, asks for a 
 divorce, and the law directs the cadi to grant it. The Kabyle woman 
 can only be married again on having a certain proof of her husband's 
 death. If her position is unhappy, they give her work, or the tribe 
 gives her assistance. Still, divorces are very usual amongst the Ka- 
 byles ; but they are in a great measure at the whim of the husband. 
 " / leave thee for one hundred douros" says the man who wishes to be 
 divorced from his wife ; and the wife retires to her parents with that 
 sum. If she marries again, she is bound to restore the money to her 
 first Benedict ; but if she does not form new ties, she keeps it. This 
 measure is necessary, as girls have no right to inherit property, owing to
 
 282 KABYLE WOMEN. 
 
 the chance of their being married to husbands of strange trihes. The 
 more daughters a Kabyle has, the richer he is,* as each of them brings 
 him in a dowry, and he has to give none. The common women amongst 
 the Arabs are generally dirty. The Kabyle women are cleaner, and they 
 are obliged to make two toilets in the day: in the morning they wash; in 
 the evening they adorn themselves with all their ornaments, they apply 
 the henne, &c. This custom, it seems, results from their appearing at the 
 guest's table. It is possible that this attention to their persons has con- 
 tributed to establish the reputation which the Kabyle women have of sur- 
 passing the Arab women in beauty. This renown has always existed ; 
 but it refers principally to the distinction of forms. In short, not only are 
 the Kabyle women more free, more considered, more influential than the 
 Arab women ; but they can even aspire to the honours, the odour, and 
 the power which appertain to sanctity. The koubba of Lella-Gouraya, 
 which stands above Bugia, immortalises the memory of a girl who was 
 celebrated for her science and piety. The legend relates, that after her 
 death, she returned to instruct her faithful disciples> who assembled again 
 round her tomb. In Kabylia there are also other koubbas consecrated to 
 women; and without departing from living examples, we may cite, as 
 enjoying a high reputation of this kind, the daughter of the famous mara- 
 bout Sidi-Mokamed-ben-Abder-Bahman Kafiiaoui,-j- who receives religious 
 offerings at the tomb of her father, and whom all the Kabyles recognise 
 under the name of Bent-el-Sheikh]; (the daughter of the Sheikh). 
 
 Politically speaking, Kabylia is a sort of wild Switzerland. It is 
 composed of tribes independent of each other, at least in rights, governing 
 themselves, like the Swiss cantons, as distinct states, but whose federation 
 has no permanent character or central government. So many tribes 
 constitute so many unities ; but these unities group together variously, 
 according to the political interests of the day. From this result offensive 
 and defensive leagues, which bear the name of soff (rank, line). The 
 tribes thus allied say, We make but one rank, but one single line. Com- 
 mon interests, old or new alliances, relations of neighbourhood, of transit, 
 of commerce, — such are the causes which determine the formation of a soff. 
 The soff obliges the contracting tribes to share in the common good or bad 
 fortune. It is proclaimed in a general assembly of their chiefs. The 
 latter regulate also the plan of military operations, the number and the 
 order of the combatants, their points of reunion ; and finally, they elect a 
 supreme chief. When it is one particular tribe which lias summoned 
 the soff, in order to secure itself against danger, or be revenged on an 
 
 * Strange contradictions in humanity! The ltajpoots regard many girls as a curse, 
 and practise extensively female infanticide. Sec Ward's View <;/' th History of India; 
 Blaquiere's Asiatic Researches ; Millar's Inquiry into th Distribution of Ranks, &c. 
 
 f Sid, or Si by abbreviation, sieur, lord. Sidi, tny Lord. Aid, servant. Rahman, 
 mercy. Abd-er-Rahman, servant of mercy, 
 
 X Sheikh, old, venerable ; and chief.
 
 THE SOFFS. 283 
 
 enemy, it furnishes in general the chief of the expedition. The auxi- 
 liaries who come and fight on the territory, and for the cause of an ally, 
 bring with them also their arms and provisions. The succoured tribe 
 does not furnish them with any thing, unless the war is prolonged beyond 
 their expectation ; they then beg their defenders to remain with them, 
 after they have consumed their provisions. Certain tribes pass frequently 
 from one soff to another, whether it be from temper, from a political fluc- 
 tuation inherent in their situation, or sometimes because they are induced 
 by money. In this last case, they lose much in the public esteem ; they 
 use them, whilst despising them. Soffs are formed in consequence of en- 
 mities common to many tribes, when these latter war against each other. 
 It resembles the league of the Catholic cantons against the Protes- 
 tant cantons in Switzerland. There are accidental, momentary soffs ; 
 while others have motives of such stability, that they last for ages ; and in 
 cases of universal peril, great soffs are spontaneously constituted to pre- 
 serve a common defence. Let the marabouts preach the djehad (holy 
 war), let them dread the invasion of the Christians, and all Kabylia, in 
 this emergency, forms only one soff. Many soffs may spring out of this 
 single one, but all animated with the same spirit, if they learn that the 
 enemy is going to pour in by a number of points at once. The tribes 
 menaced in each direction concentrate themselves then into so many par- 
 ticular soffs, who seek as much as possible to unite their operations. But 
 egoism and rivalries continually oppose this. In too-numerous gatherings 
 certain rival families aspire to command. Sometimes they separate, having 
 decided on nothing ; and sometimes those who disagree abandon the com- 
 mon cause. There exist, in fact, amongst the Kabyles (strange disparity 
 in the midst of the most republican manners) some great families of reli- 
 gious or military origin, whose uncontested influence rules many tribes at 
 a time : they are those who furnish chiefs to all the soffs which have some 
 little importance. Every other candidate retires before their members. 
 It is also in the bosom of these families that all governments aspiring 
 to hold sway over the Kabyles are forced to take their instruments : they 
 have accordingly conferred on these the titles of khalifas, of aghas, <fec.* 
 This policy was that of the Turkish pashas, and afterwards of Abd-el- 
 Kader ; and it has now become that of France, by the force of circum- 
 stances. 
 
 We shall not dwell in detail on these preponderating families, though 
 they play a considerable part in the course of Algerian history. That 
 which it concerns us here to prove is, the essentially fickle character of the 
 confederations, the absence of any permanent tie, of all central adminis- 
 tration ; and, to conclude, that one must descend into the bosom of the 
 
 * Khalifa, lieutenant. Employed alone, this word signifies lieutenant of the supreme 
 chief, or even of the Prophet. In this last sense, we have translated it by Calif. Agha, 
 chief; quite inferior, almost always military.
 
 284 AMINS AXD DJBMMAS. 
 
 tribe, properly speaking, to begin to discover the appearance of a regular 
 government. 
 
 They call Arch or Kuebila one entire tribe. The fractions, Ferka, of 
 the tribe are called moreover Krarouba, Fekhed, Areg (carob, thigh, veins). 
 Tlie.se fractions sometimes, in their turn, are resolved into Dechera, vil- 
 lages. According to the Kabyles, the tribe, ourch, is the body of the 
 man ; fekhed, dreg, are its members or veins ; and d'echera, the fingers 
 which terminate the feet or the hands. The tribe and its fractions find 
 equally their image in the fruit of the carob-tree ; for it is composed of 
 one cosse, in which are contained several grains, krarouba. Each deehera 
 appoints a chief, whom they call Amin.* This election depends on uni- 
 versal suffrage ; all Kabylia takes part in this, and the general wish is 
 not in any way limited ; notwithstanding which, they very well know 
 there, as elsewhere, how to influence in favour of rights of birth, to inti- 
 midate by influence, to seduce by riches, and to captivate by eloquence. 
 These great assemblies are Djemm&s ;f but, in a more special sense, the 
 djemma of a tribe is an assembly of all the amins elected, as has just been 
 said, by these divers fractions — deliberating in common upon the national 
 interests, giving judgments, and taking general measures, etc. This same 
 djemma proceeds also to the election of a president amongst the members 
 who compose it, who bears the name of Amin-el-Oumena (the amin of 
 amins) ; who becomes also the regular chief of the whole tribe, and to 
 whom the command of the warriors they set on foot belongs on the day 
 of battle. His prerogatives are otherwise very limited, unless an illus- 
 trious birth confers others founded on the moral aid of public opinion. 
 
 In all cases, however, and were it only for the sake of form and pre- 
 cedent, this president takes the advice of this djemma upon the smallest 
 affairs, t In it, properly speaking, resides the government. The duration 
 of power granted to the chiefs is not the same in all territorial districts. 
 Amongst certain tribes they are renewed every six months; with others, 
 every year ; but with all, bad conduct would cause their immediate removal, 
 just as any signal services would cause them to be prolonged. In every 
 case the people must pronounce. The amins are charged with the 
 maintenance of public order, as well as the observance of the laws and 
 customs; and in this connection we shall introduce a series of facts all pe- 
 culiar to the Kabyles. Alone amongst all Mussulman nations, this singu- 
 lar people possess a code of their own, whose prescriptions are derived 
 neither from the Koran nor the sacred commentaries, but from past cus- 
 toms which have been maintained through ages, even throughout the 
 changes of religion. It is this •customary right which the amins consult 
 on all occasions. The old men, the greybeards and the Solomons, have re- 
 
 • This title answers to that of Caid amongst the Aral i. 
 ■f D m if alsomos'i' <,<na = And. m eting, 
 
 J E irely shown such modesty.
 
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 2S6 THE MARABOUTS. 
 
 an exile for ever : this is the public revenge. But the field still remains 
 open for private vengeance ; it is for the parents of the victim to apply the 
 retaliation in all its rigour. The law shuts its eyes on these bloody repri- 
 sals : opinion exacts them, and prejudice absolves them. One more re- 
 mark only remains to be made on the preceding code : there is no bastin- 
 ading. Contrary to the ideas received amongst the Arabs, this punish- 
 ment is considered infamous in the eyes of the Kabyles. No amin can 
 dare to order it in the whole extent of his jurisdiction. We may judge by 
 that how dangerous it might be to employ agents not familiar with the 
 customs of the Algerian races. We have remarked, that the office of the 
 amins is limited to the interior police of the tribes ; and that their privi- 
 leges being very restricted, their influence does not suffice to preserve order 
 and public peace in the country. Accordingly they are not required or 
 expected to exceed the limits of their little authority, because for graver 
 matters there exists a vague power raised very much above their petty 
 jurisdiction : this is the power of the marabouts. Marabout* comes from 
 the word mrabeth (united). The term Marabouts signifies a people united 
 to God. When enmities arise between two tribes, the marabouts alone 
 have the right to interfere, whether to establish peace or to obtain a truce 
 of longer or shorter duration. At the time of the election of chiefs, the 
 marabouts have the right to propose to the people those who appear to 
 them the most worthy. They then recite the fatahj- over the elected. 
 When one tribe has gained an advantage over another and weaker one, and 
 this last is resolved to perish rather than surrender, the marabouts compel 
 the victorious tribe to declare themselves vanquished. Admirable skill of 
 the human heart, which knows how to apportion to all their due share of 
 vanity ! Actions of this kind are not rare ; and such is the character of 
 this people, that there is no other method of preventing their weak pride 
 from destroying them. When important circumstances require a gathering 
 of the tribes, the chiefs order it to be made public in the market-places; 
 and with the exception of the sick, of old men, women, and children, no 
 one fails to attend the meeting, however far they may have to go. On the 
 day fixed, the tribes being grouped separately, the marabouts advance to the 
 centre, and explain through the public crier the cause of the meeting, de- 
 manding what advice they should follow. Each man has his say, each is 
 respectfully listened to, whatever be the class; and the Various opinions 
 havino- been received, the marabouts unite in a committee, and the public 
 crier makes known to the people their decision. If no voice is raised to 
 make any new remonstrances, they invite the assembly to clap their hands 
 in sign of consent. This being done, all the Kabyles discharge their pieces, 
 
 * The French havegiven, by extension, the aame of marabout to the little monuments 
 which enclose the tombs of the marabouts, and which are called in reality Jcoublas, acmes. 
 
 t /'"'.'A, special prayer to obtain success for any undertaking ; the first chapter of the 
 Koran.
 
 THE MARABOUTS. 287 
 
 which they call el meiz (the decision). The things they relate of the in- 
 fluence of the marabouts in the Kabyle land are so very surprising, that 
 
 one hesitates to helieve them. The mountaineers, they say, do not fear tp 
 butcher their own children, if they receive the order from a marabout. The 
 Dame of God invoked by a wretched being whom they intend to rob, does 
 not protect him ; that of a venerable marabout saves him. The marabouts 
 command the markets; and the authority of the amins falls to the ground 
 before theirs. 
 
 Not only are the markets free, exempt from all customs, taxes, and 
 rights ; they are also inviolable. With the Arabs, a man who has com- 
 mitted a fault or a crime may be arrested in the open market ; in the 
 Kabyle markets the marabouts do not tolerate arrests or acts of revenge, 
 for any reason whatever. 
 
 This influence of the marabouts is the more remarkable, as the 
 Kabyle people are much further removed from religious ideas than the 
 Arabs. They know nothing of prayers ; they do not properly observe fasts 
 or ablutions ; they limit their religion nearly to this : " There is but one 
 God, and Mahomet is his Prophet." It is said, that there are Kabyle 
 tribes where the poor people do not fear to eat the flesh of the boar ; and 
 they almost all drink brandy of the fig, made by the Jews, of whom there 
 is a great number in the country. The precepts of religion are only fol- 
 lowed by the marabouts, the chiefs, and the tolbas. 
 
 The cause of this passive obedience of the people is found entirely in 
 the industrial spirit, which makes them comprehend of what importance 
 order and peace are to commerce. 
 
 The marabouts, moreover, have taken advantage of this general re- 
 spect to institute one of the most beautiful customs of the world, the 
 Anaya, with which the reader will become acquainted further on. The 
 public veneration for the marabouts does not solely display itself in 
 honours, deference, and privileges. These holy men live on the people, 
 and by the people, as in Christendom ; one might almost say, that all the 
 riches of the nation belonged to them. Their zaouias, or common habita- 
 tions, of which we shall speak hereafter, are repaired and provided, with- 
 out their even paving any attention to it, nay without their expressing a 
 desire to that effect. All their wdshes are anticipated ; the community 
 interest themselves in all the details of their private life ; they bring them 
 water, wood, food, &c. If they are going to beg in the villages, each one 
 hastens to them, and inquires concerning their wants, offers them horses, 
 and loads them with presents. 
 
 The Rah vies pay taxes, which are the zekkat and the achour pre- 
 scribed by the Koran, and fixed at a hundredth for the flocks and a tenth 
 for grain. But, contrary to the Arabs, who give these contributions to 
 the Sultan, the Kabyles, organised as republics, bring all to their mosques. 
 They employ it in defraying the expense of schools, in succouring the poor,
 
 288 SELF-GOVERNMENT. 
 
 in feeding travellers, in keeping up worship, in practising hospitality, 
 or in buying powder and arms for the distressed members of the tribe, 
 who are called, like the others, to march on the day of battle. For 
 with the Kabyle people, as soon as it is meditated to revenge an injury 
 or repel an aggression, all must rise up, whether they have arms or 
 not. Those who have no guns take sticks, throw stones, and keep with- 
 in reach of those engaged, their duty being to remove the dead or the 
 wounded. The women sometimes take part in these bloody dramas, in 
 order to encourage their brothers and husbands : they bring them am- 
 munition ; and if one of the warriors has fled, they put a large mark with 
 charcoal on his burnouse, or woollen shirt, as a symbol of general con- 
 tempt. 
 
 The general recruiting or conscription for the public defence is regu- 
 lated by a formality which approaches a good deal to the French recruit- 
 ing system. When a boy has completed his first rhamadan, that is, his 
 fourteenth or fifteenth year, according to his constitution, he presents 
 himself to the djemma. He is then declared fit to carry a gun. They 
 inscribe him as one of the defenders of the tribe, whose good and evil 
 luck he is henceforth to share. They read over him the fatah ; and if his 
 father is poor, they buy him a gun from the public funds. 
 
 Consequently every man must be considered as a soldier, who serves 
 from the age of fifteen till the age of sixty at least. It is a strange mis- 
 take, and too common to be passed over, to estimate Kabyle population 
 according to the number of guns, or reciprocally in the proportion of one 
 warrior to every six persons, as is done in Europe. The combatants in 
 this country must evidently form a third of the entire population ; and 
 calculating on this datum, we shall not depart widely from the truth. 
 
 The Kabyles, besides, are accustomed to labour (souiza) imposed by 
 the state; but not like the Arabs, who must do it to increase the goods of 
 the beylik. The Kabyle only labours for the mosque, his marabouts, the 
 common fountain, or the roads, which may be useful to all. He will 
 labour also to dig a grave for one of his compatriots. 
 
 These are all the debts due from the Kabyle to. the state. We see 
 how he contributes with his person and his purse to public affairs ; but 
 what we seek in vain for is, an administration capable of regulating all 
 these efforts, and of deriving from them the greatest good possible. An- 
 other thing wanting is, a competent public authority to enforce them 
 when needful. It seems that opinion is the only tribunal before which 
 all delinquencies against the state can be summoned. 
 
 Such is the pride of the Kabyle, such is his instinctive inclination 
 towards absolute equality, and perhaps also his supercilious defiance, that 
 he looks upon it as his duty, so to speak, to suppress all depositories of 
 social power. The marabouts, who possess the principal part of it, exer- 
 cise it with discretion and in a persuasive manner. As to the amins, the
 
 TIIE ZAOUIAS. 289 
 
 smallest abuse of authority on their part leads to a refusal of obedience, 
 expressed in the most energetic terms. Enta cheik/t, ana rfnuLh, literally, 
 "Thou chief, I chief." If it were possible to form a correct idea of what 
 the actual life of the Kabyle would be according to the probable conse- 
 quences of a government such as we have sketched, what a fearful picture 
 wmild be presented to our eyes ! No unity in power, no cohesion in the 
 masses ; every where intrigue and political rivalries, every wdiere private 
 prerogative braving the general interest; no social hierarchy, no preventive 
 foreseeing authority endowed with the initiative, as in our happy rate- 
 paying parishes; opinion without any consistency, the impunity of the 
 strong, the oppression of the weak, all disorders at their height ; this is 
 what would, of course, await them. But happily this primitive society is 
 saved by a phenomenon quite the reverse of that which characterises old 
 nations. Whilst our admirable laws and philosophical constitutions are 
 unaccountably crippled through the irregularities of our morals ; here, on 
 the contrary, religious institutions and inviolable customs admirably cor- 
 rect the insufficiency of the political machinery. Thus, this sadly repub- 
 lican people, who carry democracy to the length of individualism, have a 
 terrestrial providence and a sultan. Its providence is the institution of 
 the zaouias ; and its sultan is a sacred custom which bears the name of 
 anaya. We will attempt to describe these institutions clearly. 
 
 Every zaouia is composed of a mosque; a dome (kotebba) which covers 
 the tomb of the marabout whose name it bears ; of a place where they 
 read the Koran ; of a second, reserved for the study of sciences ; a third, 
 serving as a primary school for children ; of a habitation destined for the 
 pupils and tolbas, who come to perform or perfect their studies ; also of 
 another dwelling in which they receive beggars and strangers ; and some- 
 times there is a cemetery at hand, designed for pious persons who may 
 have solicited permission to lie near the marabout. The zaouia is, alto- 
 gether, a religious university and a gratuitous auberge. Under these two 
 points of view it offers a multitude of distressing analogies with the mon- 
 astery of the middle ages, with which it is impossible not to be struck 
 in reading the following details. 
 
 Every man, rich or poor, known or unknown in the country, who pre- 
 sents himself at the door of any zaouia, is received and provided for during 
 three days. No one can be refused; no example of any refusal of this kind 
 is on record. The people of the zaouia, strangely enough, never take 
 their meals, either morning or evening, without being first assured that 
 their guests have had all their wants satisfied. The principle of hospi- 
 tality extends even to such childish and unmanly lengths, that if a horse or 
 mule has wandered, and arrives by chance without conductor, they are 
 always received, installed, and fed, till the owners reclaim them. 
 
 It is to be regretted that this unconditional reception of unsheltered 
 strangers in the house of God causes the misery of hunger and general 
 
 T
 
 290 THE ZAOUIAS. 
 
 destitution to be, properly speaking - , unknown to the Kabyles, the life of 
 the poor consisting in a long pilgrimage from zaouia to zaouia. 
 
 Considered in the light of colleges, all the zaouias include three degrees 
 of instruction. 
 
 The primary school is unhappily open to all children, whether Kabyle 
 or Arab. Some parents send them from great distances, rather than have 
 recourse to the small schools of their tribes. They pay six douros (30s.) 
 beforehand for each child, providing, however, that they are fed, lodged, 
 and clothed at the expense of the establishment, till the time of their 
 leaving school : this is the common rule ; but we shall see later, that the 
 rich add to this very considerable presents. 
 
 The child is first taught the religious formula of Islam : " There is no 
 other God than God, and Mahomet is his prophet;" afterwards, half a 
 dozen prayers, and some verses of the Koran. The greatest number of 
 the Kabyles learn no more than this ; they return to the bosom of their 
 family, to take part in their labours as soon as their physical strength 
 permits. 
 
 Those who prolong their education learn to read and write, to recite 
 the text of the Koran, &c. After six or seven years, this secondary edu- 
 cation allows them to enter again the tribes as tolbas, and to open small 
 schools for the children of the people. 
 
 When a pupil quits the zaouia, his masters meet together, and one of 
 them reads the fatah over him. The young man, in his turn, thanks 
 them, and he usually does it by this form, which is almost prescribed : 
 " O my master, you have instructed me, but you have suffered much 
 evil on account of me. If I have caused you any pain, I ask pardon for 
 it on the day of our separation." We must just mention that the neigh- 
 bourhood of the zaouias, like Oxford or Cambridge, suffers sometimes 
 from the turbulence naturally consequent on numerous reunions of young 
 people ; such as quarrels, thefts, besides the frequent visits of the Kabyle 
 women whom the law has emancipated, &c. The chiefs of the zaouias 
 spend their lives in settling the disputes which each day brings forth, 
 owing to some new folly of their disciples. 
 
 Finally, the transcendental branches of study, especially in some of 
 the most renowned zaouias, attract tolbas from distant regions. They 
 come not only from various parts of Algeria, but from Tunis, Tripoli, 
 Morocco, and even from Egypt. These learned men pay at their entrance 
 four boudjous* and a half for the whole of their stay, which is entirely at 
 their own option. They learn in the zaouias : 
 
 1. Beading and writing. 
 
 2. The text of the Koran, so as to be able to repeat it completely 
 without fault, and with the proper psalmody or intonation, which tends 
 to preserve the purity of the language. 
 
 * A picco of inoiioy_of about tho value of 1 fr. 75 cents.
 
 THE MOSQUE OF KOUKOU. 291 
 
 3. The Arab grammar (Djayroumia). They do not teach the Berber 
 language : its elements, as a written language, no longer exist, save in a 
 few ancient inscriptions lately discovered among the Tuaricks. 
 
 4. The divers branches of theology (Touhhid-el-tassaououf). 
 
 5. The law ; that is to say, the commentary of the Koran in a legal 
 point of view, by Sidi Khelil, who is in credit with all the rite of Maleki, 
 and in consequence with most of the Arabs of Barbary. 
 
 6. The conversations of the Prophet {Iladite Sidna Mohammed). 
 
 7. The commentaries on the Koran (Tefessir-el-Korari) ; that is, the in- 
 terpretation of the holy text. They reckon seven or eight commentaries 
 which have authority : El Khazin is the most esteemed. 
 
 8. Arithmetic (Hacal-eb-ghrobari) ; geometry {Racab-el-memher) ; as-> 
 tronomy (Aem-el-faleuk). 
 
 9. Versification (Alcm-el-Aaroud). Almost all the tolbas are poets. 
 The different zaouias entertain amongst themselves dissensions and 
 
 college rivalries : opinion classifies them, the esprit de corps mixes up 
 with them, and a Taleb would never leave his own zaouia for another ; he 
 would not even be received in it. The most celebrated zaouias are those 
 of Sidi Ben-Ali-Cherif (amongst the Joullen) ; Sidi Moussa Tinebedar 
 (amongst the Beni Ourghlis) ; Sidi Abd-er-Rahman (near de Bordj-el- 
 Boghni) ; Sidi Ahmed- Ben -Driss (amongst the Ayt-Iboura). These 
 reckon a considerable personnel, or household. 
 
 ' Sidi Ben-Ali-Cherif, for example, contains permanently two or three 
 hundred pupils and tolbas, with a variable number of passing guests, of 
 whom the mean daily amount may be valued at more than a hundred, and 
 the maximum at four hundred. The zaouias are then, properly speaking, 
 benevolent institutions; they furnish gratuitous hospitality, education for 
 almost nothing; they do it on a large scale, and necessarily at a great ex- 
 pense. In what consists their resources 1 The zaouias are an object of 
 especial veneration to the people. It is there that the Kabyles resort to 
 oaths, when they have some claims, or any discussions with regard to 
 debts, thefts, &c. The Kabyles upon whom many misfortunes press go 
 to them from afar, in order to ask of God (through the mediation of the 
 holy marabouts) an end to their afflictions. The mother who cannot 
 bring up her children, who sees them about to die young, comes and prays 
 God to preserve them. The woman who is barren is conducted there 
 by her father or husband, hoping for the blessing of offspring. 
 
 The mosque of Koukou is the most celebrated for miracles of this last 
 description. They attribute them to the stick of Sidi Ali-Taleub, which 
 the barren woman must agitate in every direction in a hole made in the 
 very centre of the mosque. They also rub the backs of the sick with it, 
 in order to cure them. According to tradition, Sidi Ali-Taleub has only 
 to aim at the cheek of his enemy with this wonderful stick, in order to 
 make him fall down dead. This, if true, would be a powerful case of
 
 292 THE ZA0U1AS. 
 
 rapping. The sick also use as remedies the stone of the sacred tomb, 
 which they pound, and then swallow together with many other things. 
 Superstitious beliefs vary at each zaouia. In seasons of drought, they 
 make large processions around all, without distinction, to ask for rain (a 
 striking similarity to the Catholic requests). In short, although each 
 tribe has its mosque, religious persons never fail to go and say their 
 prayers on a Friday in the nearest zaouia. 
 
 The zaouia that has once obtained a position receives a portion of 
 the acliour and of the zekkat, otherwise usually appropriated to the 
 mosques. Besides, there are certain tribes of the neighbourhood who, in 
 many cases, have declared themselves its servants, and consider it an 
 honour to make it presents (ziarah), bringing to it a constant supply of 
 oil, honey, dried raisins, figs, fowls, tkc. They also send sheep, goats, 
 sometimes even money to the zaouia. The pilgrims, and above all those 
 who implore a celestial favour, make rich preseuts. A family whose 
 children are instructed at the zaouia give according to their means. 
 There are also accidental profits ; but the zaouias, not trusting the munifi- 
 cence of the voluntary system, have moreover landed property, which the 
 founders have either settled upon them in estates belonging to themselves, 
 or that they have obtained through the extinctions of the Habous* 
 They confide the cultivation of those lands to their own servants, or, 
 according to the Arab custom, to farmers, who deduct a fifth of all the 
 produee. 
 
 In case of need, they appeal to the piety of the believers, and the latter 
 furnish them with a general contribution in labour (touiza). But the 
 fixed revenues are nothing in comparison to the produce of voluntary 
 offerings. 
 
 A zaouia which does not possess an inch of land may be much wealthier 
 than those possessing the largest landed property. -f 
 
 Each zaouia is placed under the authority of a supreme chief; and this 
 authority passes hereditarily from male to male, in the family of the 
 founder. When this family becomes extinct, all the tolbas of the zaouia 
 assemble, wheu one of them is elected chief for one year only. If this 
 person justifies the choice of which he has been the object, if he maintains 
 his reputation for sanctity in the establishment, he retains his power, and 
 becomes the stem of a new family of chiefs. On the other hand, should 
 he prove unworthy, they renew the election every year, till it falls on a 
 man really deserving of the situation. 
 
 It is the permanent chief of the zaouia who administers the smallest 
 details, through his tolbas and servants; but when the chief is only an 
 
 * The habous is the donation of a fixed property to a religions institution, which is 
 bound to 3 Leld a usufructuary maintenance to the testamentary hoirs till their extinction, 
 v. hen it reverts in toto to the institution. 
 
 t The voluntary system amongst a religious people would naturally work better than 
 \vith its.
 
 THE ANAYA. 293 
 
 annual officer, the tribes who serve the zaouia choose themselves the ad- 
 ministrators of its property.* 
 
 Tt is well known that there are religious orders existing amongst the 
 Mussulmans, and that they are scattered over Algeria. Amongst the 
 Kabyle zaouias, only a small number belong to the Brothers (Kouan); 
 we shall, however, say a few words concerning them. 
 
 The order which is by far the most widely spread is that of Sidi Mo- 
 hammed Ben Abd-er-Bhaman, bou Koberein. This surname is founded 
 on a marvellous legend, though recent enough. Sidi Mohammed had 
 just died, and had been buried in the Jurjura, when the inhabitants of 
 Algiers, where his virtues were in high repute, went to pray at night by 
 his tomb. By some neglect, they were not watched ; and these people, 
 through a pious fraud, appropriated to themselves the body of the mara- 
 bout, which they placed near the road to Hamma, a little before you arrive 
 at the Cafe of the Plantains, f in the spot where now stands the koubba 
 of this marabout. 
 
 But this event was soon made known to the Kabyles by public 
 rumours. They felt a terrible indignation at it ; and a long-enduring 
 revenge would no doubt have followed, when they were luckily advised to 
 examine the tomb which they possessed. They opened it, and, marvellous 
 to relate, a second edition of the remains of the marabout was found there 
 also. 
 
 The BerJmouas, or rebels, are the puritans of Mahometanism, and, 
 like our dangerous liberals, always in revolt, and perpetually struggling 
 against the authority of the Sultans and the social hierarchy. 
 
 In Kabylia they are especially found near Zamora, amongst the Beni- 
 Yala. Their chief is an important man, Hadj-Moussa-bou-hamar (master of 
 the ass), whom we have seen lately joining in the struggle against the Emir. 
 The A nay a is the sultan of the Kabyles : no sultan in the world can be 
 compared to him ; he does good, and raises no taxes. A Kabyle will 
 abandon his wife, his children, his house, but never his Anaya. 
 
 Such are the passionate terms in which the Kabyle expresses his 
 attachment for a custom truly sublime, and which Ave find amongst no 
 other people. 
 
 The Anaya bears some analogy to a passport and safe-conduct, with 
 this difference, that the latter derive essentially a legal authority from a 
 constituted power, whilst every Kabyle can give the Anaya ; and with tins 
 additional difference, that as much as the moral support of a prejudice may 
 be carried beyond the watchfulness of the police, so much the security 
 of him who possesses the Anaya exceeds that which a citizen may enjoy 
 under the common guardianship of the laws. 
 
 Not only does the straDger who travels in Kabylia under the protec- 
 tion of Anaya defy all present violence, but he also braves for a time the 
 
 * Castellane, pp. 183-4 ; La Grande Kabylie, p. 67. + See Part I. chap. vi. p. 106.
 
 294 THE ANAYA. 
 
 vengeance of his enemies, or the penalty due to his former acts. The 
 abuses which might arise from so generous an extension of the principle 
 are limited in practice by the extreme reserve of the Kabyles in making 
 the application of it. 
 
 Far from lavishing the Anaya, they limit it to their friends ; they 
 accord it once only to the fugitive ; they regard it as a counterfeit if it has 
 been sold, — in short, they punish with death the usurped declaration. 
 
 In order to avoid this last fraud, and at the same time to prevent all 
 involuntary infraction, the Anaya manifests itself generally by an ostensi- 
 ble sign. The man who confers it delivers as a proof of his support any 
 object that is well known as having belonged to him, such as his gun 
 or his stick ; he often sends one of his servants, and he himself will not 
 unfrequently escort his protege, if he has any particular motives for 
 suspecting that the latter will be annoyed. 
 
 The Anaya naturally enjoys a consideration more or less great ac- 
 cording to circumstances, and especially it extends its influence according 
 to the quality of the person who gives it. Coming from an inferior Kabyle, 
 it will be respected in his village and in the neighbourhood. On the part of 
 a man in credit amongst the neighbouring tribes, it will be renewed by a 
 friend who will substitute his own ; and thus it proceeds from neighbour 
 to neighbour.* 
 
 Granted by a marabout, it knows no limits. Whilst the Arab chief 
 cannot extend the benefit of his protection beyond the circle of his go- 
 vernment, the safe-conduct of the Kabyle marabout extends even to those 
 spots where his name would be unknown. Whoever is the bearer of it 
 can traverse the whole Kabyle country, whatever be the number of his 
 enemies, or the nature of the complaints existing against his person. He 
 will only have to present himself on his route, successively, to the mara- 
 bouts of the clivers tribes; each one will be anxious to do honour to the 
 Anaya of the preceding patron, and to give his own in return : thus the 
 stranger cannot fail to reach the end of his journey happily, going from 
 marabout to marabout. A Kabyle has nothing more at heart than the 
 inviolability of his Anaya ; not only does he attach to it his own indi- 
 vidual point of honour, but that of his parents, his friends, his village, his 
 entire tribe, answer also morally for it. A man who would not find 
 a second to aid him to take vengeance for a personal injury, could raise 
 all his compatriots, if there were a question about his Anaya not being 
 
 * A very similar institution to the Anaya exists among the Circassians, by whom the 
 protector is called Jconah (Recelations of Russia, vol. ii. p. 295). It may have arisen at the 
 ii,,,.- when Arian Christianity shed its light over the desolate shores of the Black Sea; but 
 it is probably of more ancient date, and must he attributed to the gallant and generous 
 character of these martyrs to European civilisation and orthodox covetousness. (See Bell's, 
 Langworth's, and Spencer's Travels in Cir cassia.)— Another illustration of the Anaya 
 
 maj be tra 1 in the custom of tayo at Otakeite, the Friendly Islands, &c, before the 
 
 missionaries, the whalers, small-pox, and whisky, had done their work. See Cooke's Third 
 Voyaije, vol. ii. p. 139 ; La Pcyrouso; The Mutiny of the Bounty, &c. &c.
 
 THE ANAYA. 295 
 
 recognised. Such cases must rarely occur, owing to the force of prejudice; 
 nevertheless, tradition has preserved this memorahle example. 
 
 The friend of aZouaoua* once presented himself at his dwelling to ask 
 for the Anaya. In the ahsence of the master, the woman, rather cmbar- 
 rassed, gave to the fugitive a bitch very well known in the country, and 
 the man started with this token of safety. But the bitch soon returned 
 alone, and covered with blood. The Zouaoua was greatly troubled ; the 
 people of the village assembled, they followed traces of the animal, and 
 discovered the dead body of the traveller. War was declared with the 
 tribe in whose territory the crime was committed; much blood was shed; 
 and the village compromised in this quarrel still bears the characteristic 
 name of Dacheret-el-Kelba &■>.£ Jl CJi-t J ' village of the bitch.' The 
 Anaya attaches itself also to a more general order of ideas. An indi- 
 vidual who is either weak or persecuted, or under the stroke of some 
 pressing danger, invokes the protection of the first Kabyle he meets. He 
 does not know him, nor is he known himself, — he has met his protector by 
 chance ; but this is of no consequence, for his prayer will be rarely re- 
 jected. The mountaineer, delighted to exercise his patronage, willingly 
 grants this accidental Anaya. Women invested with the same privilege, 
 and naturally compassionate, seldom refuse to make use of it. They cite 
 the case of a woman who saw the murderer of her own husband about to be 
 butchered by her brothers. The wretched man, struck with many blows, 
 and struggling on the ground, managed to catch hold of her foot, crying 
 out, " I claim thy Anaya!" Whereupon the widow threw her veil over 
 him, and the avengers let him go. It is known throughout Bugia, that in 
 the month of November 1 833 a Tunis brig was wrecked in going out of 
 the roads, and that all the shipwrecked persons were put to death as 
 friends of the French, with the exception of two Bugiotes, more compro- 
 mised than the others, but who had the presence of mind to put them- 
 selves under the protection of the women. These scattered traits, which 
 might be easily multiplied, prove that a great influence is given to senti- 
 ments of fraternity and of mercy among these people. Their existence in 
 the midst of Mussulman society, invariably so severe in matters of justice, 
 might cause some surprise, did we not remember that amongst a people 
 very much distributed, under very little control, proud, and always in 
 arms, and where consequently internal dissensions must abound, it was ne- 
 cessary that customs should supply the want of spies and police, in order 
 to give security of transit to industry, commerce, and cheating. The 
 Anaya produces this effect. It suppresses also many revenges, by favour- 
 ing the escape of those who have excited them. In fact, it extends to all 
 the Kabyles an immense net-work of reciprocal benefits. 
 
 It must be admitted that these people are very far removed from that 
 
 * A tribe of Kabyles inhabiting the Jorjora.
 
 290 KABYLE AND ARAB ANTIPATHIES. 
 
 inexorable fatalism, that rigorous abuse of force, and that complete sacri- 
 fice of individualism, which have followed the march of the Koran every 
 where throughout the globe. How is it, then, that here we meet with 
 tendencies so much more humane, charitable impulses, sudden move- 
 ments of compassion? Some respectable authorities consider them, with 
 emotion, as a feeble gleam of the great Christian light which formerly 
 illuminated Northern Africa, before the Church was developed into Ca- 
 tholic and evangelical perfection. 
 
 We have now given a broad sketch of Kabyle society. 
 
 We shall be much deceived if the picture speaks only to the eyes ; it 
 will clearly develop to the mind the great mixture of races and creeds 
 which has been working for ages upon this obscure part of the African 
 coast, A single impression results from this whole delineation, which it 
 is easy to sum up. The natives whom the French have found in pos- 
 session of the Algerian soil constitute really two nations. These nations 
 every where live in contact, and every where an insurmountable abyss se- 
 parates them; they agree only on one point : the Kabyle detests the Arab, 
 the Arab detests the Kabyle. An antipathy so enduring can only be at- 
 tributed to a traditional resentment, perpetuated from age to age, between 
 conquering and conquered races. Corroborated by the indelible existence 
 of two distinct languages, this conjecture becomes a certainty. 
 
 Physically the Arab and the Kabyle are so dissimilar, as to prove their 
 diversity of stock. Besides, the Kabyle is not homogeneous ; he presents, 
 according to the spots that he inhabits, different types, some of which 
 betray the lineage of the barbarians of the north. 
 
 In their morals, also, there are varieties. Contrary to the universal 
 results of the Mahometan faith, in Kabylia we find the holy law of labour 
 obeyed, woman nearly reinstated in her rights, and a number of customs 
 which, unlike those of modern Christendom, breathe equality, fraternity, 
 and Christian piety. Some of these advantages may possibly result from 
 the influence of the ancient Christian Church on the Kabyles, before plu- 
 ralists and cant had defaced its fair form, and disgusted all honest and 
 honourable men with the mask of sanctity allied to rottenness and atheism. 
 Yet the greater part of their beautiful customs we would attribute to the 
 palajological socialism of the primitive races on this planet, when men 
 held converse Avith their God, when they entertained angels, and before 
 the love of gold and glory had drawn a veil between heaven and earth. 
 
 The following customs among this interesting people, gasping for 
 breath in the accolade fraternette of France, have appeared to us worthy of 
 record as memorials of Christian and classical antiquity. 
 
 The institution of zaouia has been minutely described in a former 
 place; but we have reserved the account of one of its affiliated societies 
 for the present occasion, on account of its remarkable approximation to 
 Christian monasticism. A certain class of religionists among the Kabyles
 
 THE DEItOUICIIES. 297 
 
 arc called derouiches (detached), men detached from the world, and form 
 a very remarkable sect, having striking points of affinity with the ascetic 
 hermits of the Thcbaid. In the country of the Beni-Katen, a distinguished 
 marabout, Sheik-el-Mahdy, affects to lead his followers to a state of holi- 
 ness by the following process : — Each candidate is rigorously shut up in 
 a little cavern or cell, in which he can scarcely turn or stand upright. 
 His food is gradually diminished during forty days, till at length it does 
 not exceed one fig; some even bring themselves to take nothing but a 
 carob in the twenty-four hours. In proportion as they gradually lose 
 their relation with material life, the disciples acquire a second sight ; they 
 are visited with dreams from on high ; and at last the mystical relation is 
 established between them and the marabout, when their dreams coincide, 
 and when they are visited by similar visions. When this crisis has arrived, 
 the Sheik-el-Mahdy gives a burnouse, a haikh, or some other object as a 
 sign of investiture, to the accomplished adept, and sends him forth into 
 the world to make proselytes. There exist accordingly affiliated lodges, so 
 to speak, of the great master lodge among the Beni-Ourghlis, the Beni- 
 Abbas, the Beni-Yala, &c, amounting, perhaps, to about fifty. Their 
 praxis is always based on the severest asceticism; and all pleasures, such 
 as women, tobacco, &c. are scrupulously proscribed. The state of prayer 
 and contemplation is perpetual among them.* 
 
 The philosophic inquirer into the phenomena of human nature might 
 be inclined to attribute this institution to the spontaneous disposition 
 that exists in certain individuals, in all ages and countries, for the mystico- 
 ascetic life. He would probably remind us of the Hindoo yogi, and the 
 bonzes of Buddha, and give them all a common origin in the instincts of 
 the human heart. A local examination of the Kabyle institution gives a 
 different version to the story;-]- and the same facts here again, as in so 
 many cases, are adduced in support of the most opposite theories of the 
 closet. Thus some authorities would persuade us that there is no suffi- 
 cient evidence to establish the tradition current among them, that the in- 
 stitution is derived from Ali-Ben-Ali-Thaleb, the celebrated son-in-law of 
 the Prophet; adding that it is quite certain that it was imported from 
 Egypt by Sidi-Abd-er-Bahman, a disciple of Sidi-Salem-el-Hafnaoui; and 
 reminding the reader that Christianity has left in Egypt the deepest traces 
 of the mystical ecstasies and the prodigious abstinence of its cellular 
 hermits. 
 
 It is the opinion of General Daumas, who has long been conversant 
 with the subject, that the deeper you dive into the mysteries of the Kabyle 
 life and society, the more traces you find of their having once been a 
 Christian people. One of the strongest apparent evidences of this state- 
 ment is found in their usages and customs, which have the force of laws. 
 All other Mussulmans over the whole globe look to the Koran as the coni- 
 * La Grande Kabylie, p. 69. t Ibid.
 
 298 TIIE INCARNATE CROSS. 
 
 plete and universal code, embracing the whole life of man, and regulating 
 the smallest details of public and private life. The Kabyles, on the con- 
 trary, observe particular statutes derived from their ancestors, and which 
 they attribute to a pre-Saracen period. On many important points, such 
 as the repression of thefts, murders, &c, these statutes do not agree with 
 those of the Koran; they seem to approximate more to our penal notions; 
 but a circumstance that appears to give conclusive evidence of their Chris- 
 tian origin is, that the name these statutes bear is Kanouns.* 
 
 We have previously adverted to the prevalence of the sign of the cross, 
 which is tattooed on the faces of the women in many parts of Kabylia. No 
 less than three of the most eminent French authorities')- have attested this 
 fact. These fleshly inscriptions are an incarnate proof of the Christian 
 past of many of the Kabyles, particularly such as are pi'obably of Vandal 
 origin. They are found especially among the tribes of the Gouraya, are 
 probably a result of the Vandal invasion, and consist in the mark or sign 
 of the cross on their forehead, cheeks, and the palms of their hands. It ap- 
 pears that all the natives who were found to be Christians were freed from 
 the burden of certain taxes by their Arian conquerors ; and it was arranged 
 that they should profess their faith by marking the cross on their persons, 
 which practice was thus universalised. These crosses do not exceed T ^,^j 
 of a metre (-58 inches) in size. The tattooing is of a beautiful blue colour, 
 and is in much better taste than the patches worn by our grandmothers ; 
 its effect is far from displeasing on the faces of their women, who are re- 
 markable for grace and simplicity. 
 
 Our final inference from these facts is, then, that the Kabyles universally 
 have preserved strong traces of their primitive convictions and customs, 
 which in certain cases and among certain tribes are clearly attributable to 
 a Christian origin. 
 
 All travellers who have visited the hills and valleys of Numidia bear 
 Avitness to the identity existing between the habits of its present popula- 
 tion and those recorded by the pens of the classical authors. It is natural 
 to suppose that, before the aboriginal Numidians and Libyans were driven 
 to seek refuge in the fastnesses of the Atlas by the Arab irruption, they 
 roamed over the plains at their feet, where the genius of the country would 
 force upon them the same mode of life that is now led by their conquer- 
 ors. And the two peoples being moreover families of the same Semitic 
 variety, there would necessarily be but a slight difference between the habits 
 of the pastoral Libyans of old and the modern Bedouins. Hence the fol- 
 
 * It will bo evident to tho reader that the resemblance of this word to the Greek 
 xxvm, rule, canon of the church, must he inure than accidental. The expression has, 
 however, long been used in Turkey. Sec Von Hammer's GeschichU des Osrna nischen Jicichs 
 band iii. p. 481, Kanunl Raja. 
 
 t Marshal de Castcllanc, General Daumas, p. 40 and Baron Baude ; also Captain 
 Kennedy, vol. i. p. '270'.
 
 THE KABYLES OF OLD. 299 
 
 lowing- description given by Virgil of their mode of life admirably illus- 
 trates the habits of the wandering Arabs : 
 
 Quid tibi pastores Libya?, quid pascua versu ? 
 l'rosequar, et raris habitata mapalia tectis 
 Sa;pe diem noctemquo et totum ex ordine mensem. 
 Pascitur, itque pecus longa in deserta sine ullis 
 Hospitiis ; tantum campi jacet. Omnia secum 
 Armentarius Afer agit, teetumque, laremque, 
 Arrnaque, amyckoumque canem cressamque pharetram.* 
 
 Flocks still constitute the sole riches of the southern tribes on the con- 
 fines of the desert ; hence they still preserve the nomadic habits of their 
 forerunners, and the nature of the soil does not, in fact, admit of any other. 
 Now, as in the days of Virgil, their flocks and shepherds plunge into bound- 
 less and shelterless solitudes ; days, nights, months are passed in the pas- 
 turages ; and no change could be traced if bows, arrows, and quivers were 
 substituted for guns, powder, and balls. Nor is the previous description 
 inapplicable to many tribes of Kabyles in the present day, especially those 
 inhabitants of the vast district of the Aouress and the clans of Little Ka- 
 bylia or the Dahra, who lead chiefly a pastoral and wandering life, and 
 whose principal riches and industry consist in herds and flocks and in the 
 produce of the dairy. 
 
 Having now given an imperfect sketch of the physical, moral, and social 
 characteristics of this interesting people, we pass to the Arabs, who still 
 remain the dominant race in Morocco and Tunis, though they now lie 
 prostrate at the feet of France throughout Algeria, t 
 
 * Georg. lib. iii. 
 
 f On the Kabyles see General Daumas's Grande Kabylie; Castellane's La Kabylie, 
 p. 395 of his Souvenirs; Captain Kennedy, vol. i. chap. xiii. ; and Captain Carette's Ka- 
 bylie propremervt dite, 2 vols, of the Exploration Scientifique. Sec also, on the Berbers or 
 Kabyles, the Appendix, p. 144, of Wilde's Narrativi of a Voyage to Madeira, Algiers, >L-c. 
 1844. 
 
 Leo Africanus and Marmol deduce the etymology of Verier from the Arabic barbar, 
 'hot,' and from B< r, a proper name. Dr. Pritchard states that Barbar was an Egyptian 
 name for the maritime country on the fted Sea. The ( 'optic Repfiep, meaning hot, may be 
 the root of the name, which is derived by Gibbon from Bep/Sup, meaning to cast out, i.e. out- 
 casts. 
 
 •o>^)iC5X3^^-
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 €hc ®vafo$. 
 
 AGRICULTURISTS AND BEDOUINS TENTS — FURNITURE WOMEN DISTINCTIONS OF 
 
 ARAB LIFE PATRIARCHALISM FEUDALISM DOUARS HORSES FALCONRY 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS MARKETS — LEGENDS — SCRIPTURAL CUSTOMS THE ARABS OF 
 
 COXSTANTINA ADMINISTRATION OF THE TRIBES — BEDOUINS OFFICIALS 
 
 STATISTICS — BUREAUX ARABES. 
 
 The Arabs are in general agricultural or pastoral in tlieir mode of life. 
 This difference of pursuits begets a difference of characters and of 
 manners. In the former case, their stationary habits reduce them into 
 subjection to a regular form of government, and they present a social state 
 approaching our own. The Arabs of this class are the descendants of 
 those Saracen hosts who, under the first caliphs, took possession of a great 
 part of Africa, and even invaded Spain. The pastoral Arabs are only 
 bound to the soil by a transitory interest; pitching their tents at random, 
 they are not the slaves of any cumbrous law-machinery, and they lead a 
 mode of life foreign alike to that of polished and of savage nations. 
 Hence their interest. The latter class constitute the Bedouins,'" or no- 
 madic Arabs, who are the principal inhabitants of the vast plains and 
 deserts that stretch over North-western Africa, and Avho, though divided 
 into independent, and often hostile tribes, form but one people, as is 
 evidenced by the community of language subsisting among them. 
 
 The Arabs of both classes are of the middle height, and remarkably 
 strong. Their physiognomy is expressive; they have a quick and ani- 
 mated look, and brown or olive complexions, but seldom black, like that 
 of the negroes. The type of the women is the same as that of the men, 
 whose manly faces are more oval than those of the Moors, with much 
 more prominent, but less agreeable features. Their step is light and 
 elastic, and their attitude often recalls the nobleness of antique statues. 
 Tlieir hair is generally black. 
 
 Extremely adventurous and daring, the Arabs meet their enemies in 
 the field with assurance; they treat the vanquished with harshness, but 
 
 1 The word Bedouin, pronounced ledaony, written ,» Jjj, comes from ledou jJU 
 desert. Ooryuos, Cours d'Arate mdga/we, vol. i. p. lSli.
 
 TIIE DOUAR. 301 
 
 without indulging in the cruelties practised by the Berbers. Their habi- 
 tations are very well built of branches of trees kept together by cement, and 
 occasionally consolidated by unhewn stones, which, however, are made to fit 
 together perfectly ; these huts arc grouped to the number of ten or twelve, 
 and sometimes even of thirty or forty, forming villages, surrounded by 
 hedges of cactus growing to a great height. In the midst of this group 
 stands the hut of the scheik, or chief of the tribe, and a mosque, which is 
 nothing but a lodge built like the others, only of larger dimensions. 
 
 In speaking of these habitations, our remarks must be confined to the 
 first class, or that of the agricultural Arabs ; for the Bedouins"' live in- 
 variably in tents, named hymas or Jcymas. A collection of these hymas, 
 which are generally placed in a circle of ten, twelve, or fifteen, forms a 
 douar. -\ These tents are composed of black or brown stuff, are of an ob- 
 long form, and supported by stakes, which moreover answer the purpose 
 of suspending clothes, arms, harness, &c. No beds are found in them, the 
 Bedouins rolling themselves up at night in a haikh. The middle of the 
 douar is commonly empty, like a court ; and each family possesses in gene- 
 ral two tents, one for the family, the other for the cattle. 
 
 The simplicity, or rather poverty of the family is remarkable, their 
 household only comprising the following articles : some camels, goats, and 
 fowls, a mare and its harness, a tent, a lance thirteen feet long, a curved 
 sword, a musket, a pipe, a pot, a hand-mill, a coffee-pot, a mat, some 
 clothes, and some fold or silver rings for the women's wrists and ankles. 
 With these the Arab is rich. 
 
 The best clew to unravel the mysteries of Arab life and manners will 
 be found in their religion. We shall soon go astray in estimating their 
 character, if we lose sight of this mainspring of all their thoughts and 
 actions. Unlike the anxious, bustling, and prosaic populations of modern 
 Christendom, the Arab still holds to the faith of his sires with a glowing 
 devotion ; he sees the arm of the Lord and of his angels in all the acci- 
 dents of time ; and conscious of the measure of man's power and days, 
 reverence and submission become the predominant elements of his nature. 
 This feature of the Arab temperament constitutes what will be regarded 
 as puerile weakness or sublime philosophy, according to the favourite bias 
 of the critic ; but all who have observed Mussulmans in general, and the 
 children of Arabia in particular, under the stroke of affliction and in the 
 hour of death, bear witness to the manly resignation and dignified bearing 
 that they display in those seasons of distress and trial. The wisdom of 
 this world and the metaphysics of the nineteenth century having decided 
 that the laws of nature are the supreme arbiters of all things, and that the 
 idea of a special providence is an idle dream, Ave can only regret that the 
 
 * For an excellent estimate of the Arab character and of Mohammed, see Sismondi's 
 Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. ii. chap. 13. See also Diary of a Tour, <fcc. vol. i. p. 52 
 
 + Douar comes from the Arabic word i 1 J dar, house ; diminutive b .J , J douira, 
 
 little houso.
 
 302 ARAB CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 happy scepticism of our free-thinking- Europe cannot imbibe some of the 
 comfort and the faith of the Oriental and the Arab, without falling victims 
 to the deplorable heresy of predestination and other mysticism. 
 
 Notwithstanding their faith, always ready to fight, the Arabs go about 
 armed cap-a-jned, with a musket in a sling, a yatagan, and pistols. Every 
 man must bear ai*ms ; and in some cases women and children do so too. 
 Their mode of fighting resembles that of the Berbers. They ride up to 
 the foe in groups, and drawing near, they break into a gallop describing 
 an eccentric curve. After reaching the farthest point they fire, and ride 
 back to the main body to load and dart off anew. If the affair grows 
 serious, and they must come to close quarters, they put their gun in the 
 left hand, draw the yatagan, and set-to bravely. When celebrating a fete, 
 they are fond of mock fights resembling tom-naments, and called fantasias. 
 
 Those too poor to have a horse are armed with muskets, blunderbusses, 
 yatagans, and clubs. They are good pedestrians, and stand privations 
 Avell. It may be said that the common people live in perpetual misery. 
 
 The founders and the first-born of Islamisro, the Arabs are sincerely 
 religious, though some are negligent in their devotions; they are ex- 
 tremely superstitious, — suspend wooden hands to their children as a talis- 
 man against the evil eye, and amulets on themselves and their animals, con- 
 sisting of bits of parchment with texts from the Koran, &c. 
 
 They are laudably respectful to the aged, who, if infirm or blind, are 
 always escorted by one or two lads. The Bedouin cemeteries are rather 
 neglected; but if one of their warriors dies, all his relations congregate on 
 horseback and celebrate his obsequies for eight days around his tomb; and 
 they will encounter almost any risks to carry off the fallen in battle. 
 
 The rich Arab women dress sumptuously, wearing chemises of fine linen, 
 drawers, and a kind of silk vest, over which they place a long coloured 
 robe reaching to the knee and having large sleeves. In ceremonies they 
 throw over them a long red or blue cloak, fastened round the shoulders by 
 silver hooks; and they have anklets and bracelets of the same metal. The 
 Bedouin women are commonly ugly, tattooing and painting their faces, 
 breasts, feet, and hands blue ; which, added to their dirtiness and sweat, 
 makes them horrible. They look on the patterns tattooed as ornaments, 
 or rather national crests, pricking them into their skin with needles made 
 on purpose. They leave their faces uncovered; and it is only on long 
 journeys that they wrap them over with a piece of linen. The dress of 
 the common Bedouin women consists of a long chemise of white wool, 
 with short sleeves, and a rope for their girdle. Their hair, rolled up on 
 the head, is surrounded with a great red cord in a few coils, imitating a 
 turban; but frequently long tails of hair fall on their shoulders, while 
 other smaller ones hang on their foreheads, with bits of red riband tied 
 to the end of them. Their woollen chemise, hanging loose like an apron, 
 is kepi Btraight by an immense copper pin and ring fore and aft; and mas- 
 sive copper rings adorn their cars. \
 
 ARAB CHARACTERISTICS. 308 
 
 They commonly look miserable, withered, and old when still young ; 
 yet some girls of fifteen display the beauty of regular features and the 
 comeliness of youth. 
 
 They have little feeling for each other ; and in the case of accidents at 
 Algiers, when five or six Arabs have been buried under ruined houses, 
 &c, not an Arab, even a relation, has been seen to raise a hand to help 
 them. Fatalism and their want of socialism explain this. 
 
 Hospitality is, according to some severe writers, only a name amongst 
 them, and the power of the sheikh cannot protect travellers among them 
 from theft. Algeria is roved over by hungry Bedouins anxious to pounce 
 on unprotected males and females; and it is added, that in dealing with 
 men of different religion, they, like many Christians, do not scruple to Ho 
 and cheat.* 
 
 In receiving these and other statements of French writers about the 
 Arabs, it is necessary to observe great caution, as it is the interest of th« 
 conquerors to represent their victims in the most odious light possible, ia 
 order to justify their own injustice and cruelty. -j- 
 
 The reader has already learnt much in the preceding chapter regarding 
 the contrasts between the Kabyles and the Arabs, or the primary and 
 secondary strata of Algerian population. Summing up these differences, 
 Baron Baude has happily expressed them in one sentence : " In short, the 
 Kabyles are the vanquished, the Arabs the victors — hence their hereditary 
 hatred." The story of the Cumri and Sassnach is wide as the poles, and 
 Ireland's complaint is- an eternal truth. 
 
 The Arabs appeared in the seventh century, when they finished the 
 conquest of the Roman establishments in Africa, so well begun by the 
 Vandals, and upset the dominion of the latter. The superiority of their 
 cavalry made them masters of the plains ; whilst the mountainous regions, 
 where the attack was less easy, and the defence more feasible, remained in 
 the possession* of the oldest inhabitants. The limits of the Arabian estab- 
 lishment have thus been cut out according to the irregular relief of the 
 territory ; and this tide of humanity has spread and been broken, almost 
 like a fluid that has only reached a certain level. 
 
 The Arabs, or Saracens, were organised like all other peoples that have 
 installed themselves by force of arms in a new country. They consisted 
 of chiefs and soldiers, practising the command and obedience of feudal in- 
 stitutions ; which were, and still remain, identical in the barbarous form 
 of government and society once prevalent in Europe, and in that now 
 dominant in north-west Africa. These institutions were preserved, from 
 the necessity felt by the masters of maintaining a firm footing among a 
 conquered people ; and the Turks subsequently made use of them also. 
 
 * Berbrugger, part iii. ; Captain Kennedy, vol. i. p. Hi, vol. ii. pp. 203-214. 
 f See the Chapter on History, and Diary of a Tour in Barbary, vol. i. p. 277.
 
 304 TELLIANS AND SAHAKIANS. 
 
 In short, feudalism is the organic law of transitive races in the early stage 
 of development. Thus, each tribe forms a little state, subject to an in- 
 flexible hierarchy. Power is hereditary among them, and military service 
 is looked upon as a tribute due, in the same way as the fruits of the land 
 and taxes. Differing from the Kabyle tribes, whose government is fluc- 
 tuating and various, the Arab form of society seems to flow from one 
 single principle. 
 
 Nevertheless, the Arabs of Barbary are divided into two sects, those of 
 the east and west : the former profess the rite of Hanefi ; those of the 
 west the rite of Maleki. The Hanefis acknowledge the Sultan of Turkey 
 as their spiritual head, and the latter bow to the Emperor of Morocco ; 
 and in countries where creeds are the great causes of separation between 
 populations, this difference has important consequences.* 
 
 The Arab tribes may be divided into three classes : those inhabiting 
 the Tell ; those holding the plateaux in the more elevated districts ; and, 
 thirdly, the Djeridi of the oases. The first, who are agriculturists, inhabit 
 that part of Northern Africa called the Tell, bounded by the Mediterranean 
 to the north, and often by the mountains of the Lesser Atlas to the south, 
 though, as we have previously seen, the district called Tell stretches far- 
 ther inland in the east than in the west of Algeria, This country is in 
 general very fertile, with good crops. The second class, belonging to 
 the pastoral society, live in the plateaux between the Tell and the oases, 
 which, though not so rich in grain, afford very good spots for pastures : 
 they also roam over the vast plains of the Sahara. The third class inhabit 
 the ksours, and carry on the barter and carrier trade of the interior. A 
 simpler and shorter division is that into Tellians and Saharians, previously 
 noticed. -j- 
 
 The influence of blood-relationship, aristocratic government, and the 
 love of roaming, are common to all these classes and subdivisions. The 
 Tellians, being agriculturists, are less addicted to roving than the Saha- 
 rians, who, being shepherds and carriers, are always on the move for fresh 
 pastures or for speculation. Many tribes are powerful and numerous; 
 but war, disease, &c. have much reduced others. Heads of families are 
 treated with great respect by their offspring, who, settling around the 
 patriarch with their slaves, form a douar or circle of tents, <*■«**>- hjma, 
 
 of which he is sheikh >£^,% having an independent authority over its do- 
 mestic economy. Several douars uniting for safety form afarka, and the 
 sheikhs form together a djemaa (or council) to watch over the common 
 interests of the farka ; one amongst them, on account either of his supe- 
 rior nobility, age, intellect, or energy, being generally appointed the head 
 or president of the assembly. 
 
 * Baron Baude. t Capt. Kennedy, vol. i. pp. 203-212. 
 
 I Meaning elder, senior, signor, seigneur, lord.
 
 BEDOUIN ARISTOCRACY. 305 
 
 Nobility of blood is much respected among the Arabs, who am a noma- 
 dic phase of the pastoral society. All descendants of Fathma, the (laughter 
 of Mohammed, and of Sidi-Ben-ebn-Thaleb, his brother, are regarded as 
 iiiil ilc, and are called sherif or sidi (meaning lord or master). Amongst 
 other privileges, they can only be judged by their peers. The descendant-; 
 of the tribe of the Koraiche prophet, and those of the first invaders of 
 Western Africa, are also noble, but of the military class. The marabouts'' 
 are the lords spiritual, whose influence is far greater than that of all others: 
 they are commonly men of austere lives, devoted to the study of the Maho- 
 metan law; and they are reported not unfrequently to have the gift of mi- 
 racles and prophecy. Surrounded with a halo of holiness in life, after death 
 their koubbahs or tombs become places of prayer and pilgrimage, besides 
 being sanctuaries for criminals. Upon the woody slopes of the Atlas and 
 the large plains of Algeria the white domes of these sacred sepulchres often 
 attract the eye of the wanderer. The marabouts frequently unite and form 
 a dollar, or even a farka, near some chapel erected to the memory of a 
 deceased member of the fraternity. There they instruct youth in the law, 
 &c, forming a zaouia, such as we have described in the last chapter. 
 
 Before we give an outline of the present administration of the tribes, 
 we shall introduce another description of a dollar, or village of tents, from 
 the pen of Baron Baude : 
 
 " The arrangement of all the douars is similar, consisting of about 
 20 huts or tents, according to the season, one of which is devoted to each 
 family. The tent is made of a black and very thick woollen tissue, which 
 swells with the damp and keeps out the rain, requiring much labour in its 
 manufacture. The weather being very fine during two-thirds of the year, 
 they only require a roof of branches, supported on pickets of wood, for 
 their huts, brushwood being piled up on the weather side. These huts, 
 placed at about 10 metres apart, form a circle, with the cattle in the centre, 
 and contain numerous savage dogs as guardians. The douars are moved 
 when the neighbouring pastures are exhausted, seldom remaining in one 
 place above three months together. The great quantity of dung accumu- 
 lated by their cattle forms the only manure they employ."-j- 
 
 Baron Baude describes an Arab entertainment in the douar of the 
 Mcrdes, near Bona, in the following terms : " After sunset, the Mussul- 
 mans take a meal ; and the preparations for ours were being completed 
 as we came back from our walk. Mats were laid on the ground, and all 
 the guests crouched round, excepting the host. The meal was served up in 
 pots made of old wood, and consisted of hard eggs, honey pancakes, boiled 
 
 * Borrcr, ch. 16, derives the word from the Arabic rhth (Daumas saws mrabcth, lie), 
 'to devote oueself;' the participle of the verb mrbth. M. Gorguos describes the word as 
 m'rdiot ±2 J\]sO participle of the 3d form of the verb rbot Lj i ' to tie.' C'our.i d'Arabe 
 vulgaire, vol. i. p. 237. + Baude, i. p. 1J4. 
 
 U
 
 30G ABAB LIFE. 
 
 fowls, and cous-coussou. The pancakes were to be dipped into a copious 
 sauce of an ochre-colour; aud Mahmoud (the sheikh) began to stir up this 
 mess with his greasy paws, which induced the Baron's party to decline 
 taking any. The fowls were awfully peppered ; but they found the cous- 
 coussou excellent.* After the meal, some water and soap were brought, 
 all washing their hands and beards in it, and some of the company rinsing 
 their mouths with the same foul water. 
 
 A night in a douarf is distressing to Europeans, the fleas and mus- 
 quitoes allowing their victims no rest. This veritable plague is so delete- 
 rious, by depriving you of your rest, that it greatly debilitates the French 
 troops, colonists, and visitors, rendering them unfit for work and ill, many 
 having died in consequence. The Arab women anoint themselves with 
 oil to keep off these enemies. Hard is the life and sad the slavery of Arab 
 women, like all females in the pastoral phase of society. They go often to 
 the wells, carry heavy loads of wood, have to grind the corn unceasingly by 
 day, whilst at night they often have no rest, being obliged to spin wool, and 
 weave the cloth for their tents. The Arabs are very jealous of the effects 
 of civilisation in emancipating their women ; but Baron Baude informs us 
 that the ties of family are not felt among them. This remark evidently re- 
 quires qualification, familism being the pivot of pastoral society; but he pro- 
 bably alludes to the spiritual ties and tender regard for women appertaining 
 to the Christian and Germanic phase of civilisation being unknown to them. 
 
 Madame Prus gives the following description of an Arab encampment 
 near Bona in 1850 : "The tents were very low, and of an extremely thick 
 tissue of camel's hair, by which they were enabled to resist the scorching 
 rays of an African sun, and also the torrents of rain which inundate the 
 whole country during the wet season. Not a single tree, not a plant, re- 
 lieved the eye from the monotony of this arid spot. One of the extremi- 
 ties of the plain was bounded by the Bourzizi mountains, whose rocky 
 summits appeared in sad harmony with the still and deathlike face of 
 surrounding nature, though the valleys which are occasionally found among 
 the table-lands offer a scant pasturage for cattle. 
 
 " The tent of Abdallah was divided into two rather large apartments. 
 One of these was occupied by his family, wives, chickens, cats, and dogs. 
 The other, into which I was introduced, was his hall of reception, which 
 was also used as his dormitory when he wished to sleep alone, and became 
 
 * Baude pronounces cous-coussou better than English puddings, and a good addition 
 to European cookery-books. It forms the bread, soup, bouilli, and dessert of the Arab, 
 and is made of wheat bruised by tho women in hand-mills, and then thrown into a great 
 vessel shaped like a kettle-drum, a little oil being mixed with it, till it forms lumps of the 
 size of millet grain; after Which it is boiled over steam, and mixed with milk, broth, butter, 
 &c. (vol. i. p. 176.) For Arab life, see Capt. Kennedy, vol. i. pp. 138, 205-212 ; and Diary 
 of a Tour, vol. ii. pp. 184-9. 
 
 t A douar is called a smalak when it is tho residence and contains tho household of a 
 noted ehijf. Kennedy, vol. ii. p. 99".
 
 ATIAB STEEDS. 307 
 
 his private sitting-room, in which he smoked from morning till night, 
 cross-legged, according to the fashion of the Arabs."* 
 
 You see their horses to the best advantage in the province of Bona. 
 The equipment is well known. They have a saddle without crupper, with 
 the high pummel and cantle of the Mamelukes, bridles with blinkers and 
 chain bits, besides very short stirrups placed farther back than ours. In 
 riding the leg is accordingly much bent; and they use iron spikes, 15 cen- 
 timetres (5 - 85 inches) in length, instead of a spur. The seat is very fa- 
 tiguing to those unaccustomed to it, nor would it answer for trotting — a 
 pace never used by the Arabs, who stand in their stirrups at a gallop, lean- 
 ing slightly on the top of the cantle. Common people ride bare-legged; 
 but the sheikhs wear red morocco boots, in shape something like those of 
 our knights of old: they have a very good appearance. f The Arabs are 
 like children, and abuse their horses ; whence they indulge in the fantasia, 
 a kind of mock fight to welcome a guest, goading their steeds at full 
 speed with bleeding flanks. Fine horses can be obtained from Tunis for 
 from 500 to 800 fr. (201. to 361), with large limbs like English horses ; 
 and a good breed of this sort is found at La Calle, and is in request for the 
 3d regiment of the Chasseurs dAfrique, at 242 fr. (91. 14s. 2d.) each. 
 Castellane, in his trip through the Sahara, writes: "In the course of our 
 ride we admired, as ever, the boldness of the riders, and the beauty of their 
 steeds. We were especially struck with one mare of Mohamed, the friend 
 of our friend Rhaled, so light that it might, according to the Arab phrase, 
 have galloped on a woman's bosom. As we were praising its beauty, 
 Rhaled said to us : ' She had a sister, who alone could contend with her. 
 They were the envy of all, and the pride of their master, when Mohamed 
 was led up a prisoner by the horsemen of the Emir. He managed to 
 escape ; but scarcely had he reached his douar, ere the chaous% of the Sultan 
 were signalled as coming. Mohamed immediately vaulted on his good 
 mare ; and when the horsemen arrived at the tent, they found the chief 
 flown. It was impossible to overtake him ; yet one of them, as the only 
 chance, leapt from his horse and ran to the other mare that was still tied 
 by a rope ; but Mohamed's boy shot her dead with a pistol. This mare 
 alone could overtake her sister, and the child had saved his father.' "§ 
 
 A mare is looked upon as the best property, as a fortune. || She is 
 
 * P. 91. 
 
 j- Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 203; Dawson Borrer, p. 18. Lamping informs us that the 
 Arab chiefs consider the skin of the tiger (?) and panther as one of then - principal orna- 
 ments. The head of the animal is generally fastened to the saddle-bow (the head and 
 teeth are essential), and the skin waves to and fro with every motion of the horse; so that 
 at a distance one might almost imagine that some wild beast had just taken a deadly 
 spring upon the rider.— The French in Algiers, p. 9. 
 
 J Constables and executioners. § P. 256. 
 
 \ The Ulemas relate that when God wished to create the mare, He spake to the wind : 
 " I will cause thee to bring forth a creature that shall bear all My worshippers, that shall 
 be loved by My slaves, and that will cause the despair of all who will not follow My laws." 
 And He created the mare, saying : " I have made thee without an equal ; the goods of this
 
 308 FALCONRY. 
 
 preferred to the horse, entire or gelding; for she does not neigh, she is 
 docile, and supplies milk on an emergency. All who can afford it possess 
 one of these animals, and they pass hours in looking at them. They are, 
 in fact, the Arab's companion and friend, sharing his adventures, perils, 
 and wars, and bearing him from danger with the speed of the wind. Ac- 
 cordingly, wonderful is the care their owners bestow on their grooming 
 and toilet, combing their manes and tails coquettishly; and after washing 
 their legs, smoking their pipes in ecstasy while they gaze at and admire 
 them. When idle the grass of the pastures is their food, but under toil 
 they are indulged with a light feed of barley. 
 
 The Arab race of horses is admitted to bear off the palm, the Arabs 
 boasting that they proceed direct from the studs of Solomon. But the 
 Bible contradicts this Bedouin boast, for we read that Solomon " had a 
 thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen . . . 
 and Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt."* Hence the great king 
 had no studs, Solomon being satisfied with improving his proverbs. 
 
 However this may be, the beauty of the Arab breed is proverbial, which 
 they attribute to the care they take to prevent misalliances, and to their 
 genealogical trees. The birth of a foal always takes place before six wit- 
 nesses, who all sign an act of nativity in a proper form. It is an article of 
 belief with the Arabs, that they would be unlucky in this life and punished 
 in the next, if they practised any deception in all relating to the pedigree 
 .and parentage of the horse. 
 
 English jockeying might profitably study the ethics of the Arab turf. 
 
 Mediaeval manners are still dominant amongst the Arabs, and our 
 chivalric ancestors would feel quite at home in the Sahara. Falconry is 
 quite in fashion among the chiefs, and is thus described by Castellane : 
 " Farther on, two hares, frightened by the sound of our horses, darted 
 from their cover, and the falcons were let loose again. As long as the 
 hare can run, it escapes its enemy; but when it begins to waver, that it 
 may seek a refuge, the bird darts on its back and begins eating its brain 
 and its eyes. Falcons are like men; some are good, and others bad. It 
 was good fun to hear the Arabs banter, jeer, and abuse the latter ; and it 
 was amusing to see the pride of the proprietor of the best bird. It is 
 during the summer that preparations are made for the winter hunts. The 
 bird when first learning to fly is caught by the fowler; and even before it 
 is tamed, it is taught to run after its prey : it is initiated at first into easy 
 hunts, and taught to wait for its master's order, to recognise his voice 
 and his signal, to dart at the skin of a hare thrown into the air, and to 
 answer different cries, which the voracious bird obeys with an unparalleled 
 
 ■ o] M shall be placed between thy eyes ; every where I will make thec happy and preferred 
 above all the beasts of the field, for tenderness shall everywhere bo in the heart of thy 
 master ; good alike for the chase and retreat, thou shalt fly, though wingless; and I will 
 only place on thy back tho mon who know Mo, who will offer Mo prayers and thanks- 
 givings; in short, men who shall bo My worshippers." — Castellane, p. 255. 
 * 1 Kings x. 26, 28.
 
 ARAB MARKETS. 309 
 
 ardour. In this manner the falcon of the Arab becomes once more tin- 
 bird of the middle ages, surrounded with attentions, with glory, and even 
 "with honour. 
 
 ' The chiefs had their right hand armed with a glove called smegue. 
 This glove has no fingers. The Arab exquisites have them made of tiger 
 and panther skin. On this the falcon perches; not unfrequeutly two or 
 three find room, — one on the shoulder, and another on the strings of 
 camel's hair surrounding the cowl of the haikk."* 
 
 Here follow a few illustrations from the pens of eye-witnesses. 
 
 The following night-scene described by Baron Baude, on his trip from 
 Bona to La Calle, gives a good idea of the poetry of Arab life : " The 
 moon in all her splendour silvered the surface of the lake, and its light 
 was mixed under our black tent with the glare of the fire of dry rushes. 
 Above the heads of the crouching Arabs stretched out those of the Numi- 
 dian horses, the faithful companions, who seemed to take part in their 
 recreations. The animated faces of our hosts, as attentive to the story 
 being told as to the roast mutton, seemed lighted up with the departed 
 elegance of their race ; and we, the descendants of those barbarians who 
 learnt civilisation from them, were almost envious of their present con- 
 dition." 
 
 A good insight into Arab life is given in Marshal Castellane's descrip- 
 tion of a market held every Thursday at the little magazine-post of Kha- 
 mis, among the Beni-Ouraghs, built, like all such French posts in Algeria, 
 on a line parallel with the sea near Mostaganem. Markets in Africa are 
 not only places of sale, but bazaars of news ; and the whole population, 
 Arab and Kabyle, frequents them. On market-days, breaking their repose 
 and silence, multitudes of Kabyles and Arabs were seen trooping in from 
 all sides, from the mountains and the valleys, from every path, some 
 driving sheep, others horned cattle, many carrying loads of corn, beans, 
 wool, or manufactured stuffs, but all armed, and many with their muskets, 
 only, or that knotty stick, one blow of which can break the hardest heads. 
 Jews, with dirty turbans, drive in their half-starved mules, displaying their 
 goods at the spot pointed out by the caid and police, and erecting a little 
 tent of bad cotton to guard them from pillage. The first hours were 
 usually devoted to business. The butchers skinned the sheep they had 
 killed, uttering Ms-miUahs,-f and suspended the flesh to little fir-trees, 
 whose branches served as skewers ;. cattle-dealers were standing near 
 their beasts, awaiting purchasers ; the corn and bean merchants were 
 shouting and quarrelling about a halfpenny; but the noisiest of all was 
 the Jew. As every where else, he was here the agent and the jobber, 
 over-reaching, selling, and stealing. In Algeria the Jew supplies cotton, 
 pepper, cloves, sugar, and coffee ; antimony for the women's eyes, henna 
 
 * Page 255. 
 
 f In the name of God: an invocation always employed in slaughtering any thing ia 
 Mussulman countries.
 
 310 
 
 AN ARAB SAINT. 
 
 for their nails ; a gunsmith, he mends their arms ; he repairs rings and 
 makes jewels, and silver ornaments for the chiefs. Nothing comes amiss 
 to him ; he crawls through all trades. You may see him every where, 
 hurried, agitated, thrusting out his dirty hand, greedy, quarrelling, inde- 
 fatigable, asking for justice from the caid, whose decision is law. A volley 
 and tempest of shouts, eloquence, and special pleading, is at once silenced 
 by his verdict. 
 
 The first hours and business over, the hum of men increases. The 
 groups thicken, the state of affairs is canvassed, — sometimes general poli- 
 tics, at others disputes between tribes. 
 
 Envoys of the Emir gliding in among these groups used to fan the 
 flame of rebellion at the market of Khamis ; and the religious fraternities 
 of the zaouias exchanged the messages confided to their fanaticism.* 
 
 The religious colouring and phase of the Arab character is finely 
 developed in the following description of Castellane : " In the winter of 
 1841-42, whilst General de Lamoriciere, on the side of Mascara, was 
 striking rude blows at the power of Abd-el-Kader, the authority of the 
 khalifat of the Emir, Bou-Hamedi, was seriously shaken in the west of the 
 province. Mouley-Chirq-Ben-Ali, of the tribe of the Hachem, had been 
 the instigator of this movement. His influence was o Te at, for he had lono- 
 commanded the country as lieutenant of Mustapha-Ben-Tami, an ancient 
 khalifat of the Emir. 
 
 Dismissed from office by Bou-Hamedi, when the latter replaced Mus- 
 tapha-Ben-Tami, Mouley-Ben-Ali had sworn to avenge himself; and he 
 kept his word in the following manner. BenAli was patient in his 
 vengeance ; he knew how to await the hour and the moment. His first 
 care was to go the round of the tribes, and by his words to prepare 
 their minds for a change ; and then as soon as the moment seemed 
 favourable, feeling that his own authority was not sufficiently strong for 
 him to raise the standard himself, he cast his eyes on a man whose reli- 
 gious prestige might increase his power. Si-Mohamed-Ben-Abdallah, of 
 the great tribe of the Ouled-Sidi-Chirq, was chosen by him. The religious 
 influence of this tribe of marabouts extends from the oasis to which 
 they have retired to the sea-shore. Having been established many years 
 in the country of Tlemsen, Mohamed-Ben-Abdallah enjoyed a great repu- 
 tation there. His piety was proverbial ; and the people of the douars re- 
 lated, that every Friday he went barefooted to the tomb of Si-Bou-Medin, 
 passed the night there in prayer, and that the words of God came from 
 liis mouth when he quitted the holy place, because the Spirit from on 
 high had visited him. This belief soon became general, and all were 
 prepared to recognise him as chief. The old chief Mustapha-Ben-Ismail, 
 informed of the agitation which reigned on the side of Tlemsen, know- 
 ing that Bou-Hamedi began to conceive serious alarms, and had not 
 been aide to succeed in getting possession of Mohamed-Ben-Abdallah, 
 
 * Castellan o, p. 181.
 
 AN INTERVIEW. 311 
 
 thought that the marabout might serve as a powerful lever wherewith to 
 attack the Emir. Upon the report of Mustapha, General de Lamoriciijre 
 authorised our old ally to put himself in relation with Mohamed-Ben- 
 Abdallah. 
 
 Assistance and protection were guaranteed to him, and their first in- 
 terview was arranged ; but on the 3d of December, at the very moment 
 when it was about to take place, Bou-Hamedi stopped the advance of 
 Mohamed-Ben-Abdallah. 
 
 Three weeks later, recovering from this check, Mohamed demanded 
 another interview ; and Colonel Tempoure, supporting the goum* of Mus- 
 tapha with a little column of infantry, set out in the midst of tremendous 
 weather. On the 28th, accompanied only by some officers and people of 
 Mustapha, he marched forth to meet the new chief. 
 
 The horsemen extended in long files over the precipices of a lofty 
 mountain ; at their feet the valley of the Tafna spread itself out, with its 
 rich cultivation. On the horizon appeared the white walls of Tlemsen, 
 the town of the sultans. Suddenly, at the winding of the mountain, they 
 perceived the hills and undulations covered with the people of the tribes. 
 The standards on both sides halted, the horsemen remained immovable, and 
 the chiefs advanced between these living hedges. Mustapha first put his 
 foot to the ground; he thus rendered homage, in the presence of all, to the 
 religious character of Mohamed-Ben-Abdallah : but the latter dismount- 
 ing, pressed him in his arms, without permitting any other mark of defer- 
 ence. Those who assisted at the interview have since related that General 
 Mustapha, after having bowed before the French chief, Colonel Tempoure, 
 pronounced these words : " This is the day of my life which has afforded 
 me the greatest happiness, for I perceive that my endeavours have suc- 
 ceeded in establishing esteem and friendship between the French and so 
 venerated a character. Thanks to the omnipotent God, this day is the 
 commencement of the union which ought to be sealed between the two 
 races, under the protection of the Great Sultan of France. As for myself, 
 my few remaining days cannot be better employed than in labouring for 
 the peace of the country and the elevation of the house of Mohamed, — 
 of thy house, O Mohamed, already so illustrious amongst us." 
 
 Mustapha then, with that dignity which never deserted him, pointed to a 
 clump of dwarf-palms ; and all seating themselves in a circle, the conference 
 commenced. It was short ; and the conditions were soon settled. The last 
 addresses having been delivered, Colonel Tempoure presented the Arab 
 chief with the donations brought to do him honour. All then rose. The 
 chiefs mounted their horses, and kept united round Mohamed; whilst stand- 
 ing up in his stirrups, the marabout pronounced the prayer which was in- 
 tended to call down the Divine blessing on their enterprises. His eye 
 was burning, his features pale and worn by fasting and vigils, his voice 
 * A contingent of irregulars furnished to government by the tribes.
 
 312 AN ARAB LEGEND. 
 
 deep and hollow. It was an imposing and majestic spectacle. " O 
 gracious and merciful God," exclaimed Mohamed, •• we entreat Thee to 
 give peace to our unhappy country, laid waste through a cruel war." And 
 the voices of the two thousand horsemen repeated at the end of each line : 
 " merciful and gracious God. we entreat Thee to give peace to our 
 unhappy country, laid waste through a cruel war." " Have pity."' con- 
 tinued the chief, raising his eyes towards heaven. " have pity on this po- 
 pulation reduced to misery ! Grant that abundance and happiness may 
 again he restored to us ! Give us the victory over the enemies of our 
 country ; and may the holy religion revealed by thy Prophet be always 
 triumphant !" And with one voice all the warriors responded : " Give us 
 the victory over the enemies of our country, and may the holv religion 
 revealed by thy Prophet be always triumphant !" The murmur of these 
 prayers reached even the horsemen of Bou-Hamedi, announcing to them 
 the greatness of their danger. The hour was in fact approaching when 
 Tlemseu was for ever to become French.* 
 
 Fairy and religious legends are dear to the Arab heart, amongst which 
 the following combines a Semitic mysticism with a European rationalism, 
 and is not unworthy of the wisdom of Solomon. 
 
 Sidi-Mohamed-ou- Allah be it known, was a man of God celebrated for 
 the pious legends which he loved to relate. The following is one which 
 the traveller never fails to hear, who stops for the first time near the 
 venerated marabout the last abode of the holy man : 
 
 One day Sidna-Aissa (our Lord Jesus Christ) met Chaytan (Satan), 
 who was driving four asses before him, heavily laden, and said to him : 
 ■' Chaytan, why, thou art become a merchant, then V " Yes, Lord; and I've 
 so much business on hand that I cannot do justice to it.'' 
 
 •• What business do you carry on, then ?" " Lord, an excellent busi- 
 ness; just see. One of these asses — and I choose them amongst the 
 strongest in Syria — is laden with injustices; who will buy them of me? — 
 the sultans. The second ass is laden with envies; who will buy them 
 of me I — the learned. The third is charged with thefts: who will pur- 
 chase them? — the merchants. The fourth carries, together with perfidies 
 and wiles, an assortment of seductions, which are related to all the vices; 
 who will buy them ? — the women." 
 
 "Wicked one, may God curse thee !" replied Shhui-Aissa. "What is 
 that to me, if I gain I" replied Chaytan. 
 
 The next day Sidna-Aissa, who was saying his prayers at the same 
 spot, was disturbed by the swearing of a donkey-driver, whose four asses, 
 overwhelmed by their load, refused to go on; and In- recognised Chaytan 
 by their load. '-Thank Cod! thou hast sold nothing." he said, addressing 
 him. •• Lord, an hour after you left me, all my panniers were empty; but, 
 as usual, I had difficulties about the payment." 
 
 * Castcllane, pp. 369-371. 

 
 ARAB PROPHECIES. 313 
 
 " The Sultan caused me to be paid through his khalifa,* who wanted 
 to cheat me about the sum. The sages said they were poor. The mer- 
 chants and I called each other thieves. The women alone paid me hand- 
 somely, without bargaining." 
 
 " And yet I see thy panniers still full," objected Sidna-Aissa. " They 
 are full of money; and I am carrying it to the kadi (to justice)," replied 
 Chaytan, driving on his asses. 
 
 " my brothers," added Sidi-Mohamed-ou-Allal, " the free man, if he is 
 grasping, is a slave; the slave is free, if he lives on little. Choose tents to 
 repose in, and for your last dwelling the cemeteries. Nourish yourselves 
 with the produce of the earth, satisfy your thirst with the running water, 
 and you Avill leave the world in peace."t 
 
 Many prophetical legends are current amongst the Arabs relating to 
 the i - ise and fall of the French power in Algeria. A holy marabout, Si- 
 Akredar, many years before the conquest, had announced it in these 
 widely-diffused couplets. 
 
 " Their arrival is certain in the first of the 70th; for by the power of 
 God I am informed of the matter. The hosts of the Christians shall come 
 from all sides; the mountains and the towns shall shrink from us. They 
 will come from all quarters, horsemen and foot; they will cross over the sea. 
 
 " They will descend on the strand with a host like a raging fire, a 
 flying flash. 
 
 " The hosts of the Christians shall come from- the side of their country; 
 verily it will be a mighty kingdom that shall send them forth. Verily 
 the whole country of France shall come. Thou shalt have no rest; and 
 the cause shall not be victorious. They will arrive like a torrent in a dark 
 night; like a cloud of sand driven before the wind. 
 
 " They will enter by the eastern wall. The churches of the Christians 
 will be raised; the thing is certain; and then thou shalt see them spread 
 their doctrine. 
 
 " If you wish to find protection, go to the land of Kairouan; if the 
 Christian hosts advance, and their coming is certain. And the Christian 
 expedition will smite Algiers, and thev will spread themselves abroad 
 there. They will rule over the Arabs by the all-powerful command of 
 God; the daughters of the land will be in their power. 
 
 " After them will appear the powerful of the golden mountain; he will 
 reign many years, according as God shall will and ordain. Every where, 
 all inhabited places shall be in anguish, from the east unto the west. 
 Verily, if thou livest, thou shalt see all this."J 
 
 The departure of the French has been similarly announced by Si- 
 Aissa-el-Lagahouati, another venerated marabout, in these terms : 
 
 * Lieutenant. 
 
 •f- Le Grand D€sert of General Daumas, pp. 50-51. Castellans' s Souvenirs, pp. 276-7. 
 
 J Castellane, pp. 12S-9.
 
 314 THE BENI-MERIIN. 
 
 " Publish, crier, make known what I saw yesterday in a dream. 
 
 " The coming evils shall surpass all imaginable evils; the eye of man 
 shall never have seen the like. The man shall abandon his child. A bey 
 shall come to us subject to the Christians. His heart shall be hard; he 
 will rise against my master, a man of noble oi-igin, whose heart is gentle, 
 who is handsome and prudent, and whose commands are just. 
 
 " Make known and say : ' Quiet yourselves ; he who has come hath dis- 
 persed them; they have fled behind the salt lake; they have mounted to 
 the summit of the Kahars; the Christians have left Oran.' "* 
 
 Though such oracular language might seem to savour largely of fana- 
 ticism, and be thought to fall under the head of remarkable coincidences, 
 the march of science warrants us in throwing out the conjecture that it 
 may not improbably belong to the category of natural prevision; and that 
 a more searching analysis of the anthropological development of all reli- 
 gions will classify it with the sibylline and ecstatic phenomena of all ages 
 and of all degrees. 
 
 We shall present the reader with one more specimen of Arab legends, 
 and then proceed to other matters : "In past ages the kings of Tlemsen 
 had dealings with the fallen angels. These sovereigns were called Beni- 
 Meriin (interpreted, the language of thunder); and by mysterious combina- 
 tions of figures, or by throwing sand on a black table, they predicted the 
 future, chastising those who had offended them by the aid of the devil, 
 their ally. Now it came to pass that one of the Beni-Meriin was struck 
 by the appearance of a girl whom he once met drawing water from the 
 Tama. Proud of his power, he thought that a nod would give him a new 
 slave; but the girl, plighted to a warrior of the tribe, was deaf to the 
 sultan's bribes. Furious at this refusal, the king swore to revel in the 
 tears of her who refused him her smiles. Accordingly one evening, when 
 the girl glided from the douar to meet her lover under some palms, the 
 sultan called to his aid the evil spirit. At his command the demon seized 
 the two young people, dragged them into the earth, and at once the 
 country changed aspect. It used to be called the valley of flowers; but 
 these were replaced by the dark olive. The palm alone, where the lovers 
 met and vanished, still stands; and a wonderful spring has gushed forth 
 from the spot, consisting of the tears of the unhappy pair, who shed them 
 incessantly in their underground prison, where they are still kept by the 
 
 devil."f 
 
 Both the stationary and the Bedouin or wandering Arabs still ret;, In 
 many customs described in sacred and profane history, and arc in almost 
 every respect the same people as we find mentioned in the earliest re- 
 cords. The Bedouins in particular still preserve the simple and primi- 
 
 * Castellanc, p. 129. Captain Kennedy gives a full version of Si-Aissa's prophecy, 
 which was uttered 130 years ago. Sec vol. i. eh. 11, p. 235, containing General Marrey's 
 account of his expedition to Lagahouati in 184 I. t C'astcllano, p. '331.
 
 SCRIPTURAL CUSTOMS. 315 
 
 tive habits of their ancestors, and a strong attachment to a pastoral life, 
 so well adapted to the vast plains which constitute their proper home, to 
 the heat of their climate, and to their serene and beautiful nights. They 
 speak the Arabic language, and affect to have preserved the purest pro- 
 nunciation of this their parent tongue. Of all the nations on the face of 
 the earth, these are probably the greatest conservatives, having scarcely 
 deviated in any particular from the mode of life chalked out by their sires. 
 Save in religion, they are precisely the identical people with the Arabs at 
 the time of the composition of the book of Job, and afford an admirable 
 illustration and verification of the descriptions contained in that book. A 
 traveller arriving amongst them is delighted to find the same dresses, 
 manners, and customs as are portrayed in Oriental romance and historical 
 paintings representing scriptural subjects. Their present habits are also 
 found to be strictly conformable to the statements of Strabo, Leo Afri- 
 canus, and Pomponius Mela, of whom the latter especially has left such 
 clear and accurate accounts, that you would almost take him to have been 
 a modern traveller in the plains of Northern Africa. We shall presently 
 revert to this part of the subject. A visit to the tents of this interesting- 
 people transports you at a bound among the holy fathers of our race, and 
 makes you an eye-witness of the sayings and doings of the ancient of 
 days in the Fore-world." 
 
 Like the daughters of Judah, their women go forth every evening to 
 the distant well,-j- to draw water for household purposes and for their 
 camels. They are, however, somewhat less gracious than Dinah ; and if a 
 stranger approach, they immediately let fall their veil, and cover their 
 face, as Rebecca did on the appearance of Isaac: and should they meet a 
 foreigner on the road, they go aside and sit down, turning their backs to 
 the road. 
 
 The Bedouins grind their corn in their tents, employing some mill- 
 stones with wooden handles ; and their women are commonly engaged in 
 this work: which proves the accuracy of Moses' expression, who speaks of 
 the women labouring at the mill; and explains our Saviour's words when 
 he says, that "two women shall be grinding together ; the one shall be 
 taken, and the other left."^ 
 
 They clothe themselves with a woollen garment five or six feet wide 
 and three yards long, called a haik. It is a kind of blanket or quilted 
 counterpane, of a white colour and fine material, and forms a light and 
 becoming, but a very inconvenient article of apparel; for it gets loose 
 and falls off every moment, needing constant attention to gather it up 
 and fix it again. To this end a girdle or band is required; and probably 
 
 * Pananti's Awenture, vol. ii. pp. 108-123 : gli Arabi Beduini. 
 
 + According to St. Marie, the Arab women lead very bard lives, and have to go forth 
 to the well and draw water many times in the course of the day. Pananti, ubi supra. 
 t Luke xvii. 35 ; St. Marie ; Pananti ; Blofeld. Diary of a Tour, vol. ii. p. 186.
 
 316 ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE. 
 
 from this has been derived the scriptural expression, " to have your loins 
 girt,"* in order to have strength and activity. 
 
 The following patriarchal scene from the pen of Count St. Marie gives 
 a pleasing picture of the poetry of Arab life, and its illustration of scrip- 
 tural subjects : " We soon arrived at the gates of Medeah," he writes, 
 " where, near a little fountain, there was a caravan which had stopped 
 there at sunset. Camels were feeding on the crass and shrubs on the 
 road-sides. A group of Arabs were at prayers, with their faces turned 
 to the east, in the direction of Mecca; and some children were imitating 
 the pious example of their parents. No one stirred on our approach. A 
 burnouse spread on the ground served as a carpet, on which, barefooted, 
 they alternately lay down prostrate and stood erect. There was some- 
 thing very imposing in the calm dignity of manner with which those men 
 invoked the Deity. When the prayer was ended, they turned to the eldest 
 man of their party and embraced him. Then resuming their slippers, and 
 driving their camels before them, they penetrated into the sinuosities of a 
 ravine, and were soon out of sight. f 
 
 The Arabs are rich in proverbs, many of which present a family like- 
 ness to those contained in the sacred oracles of the Hebrews. In all 
 eastern proverbs there is great depth of thought, and they express opinions 
 which are the result of long experience and reflection. We extract the 
 following from the travels of Count St. Marie, as a specimen of this style 
 of wisdom. " If your friend is made of honey, do not eat him up." " If 
 you travel through the country of the blind, be blind yourself." " When 
 you are the anvil, have patience; when you are the hammer, strike straight 
 and well." " He who cannot take a hint, will not comprehend a long ex- 
 planation." " The mother of the murdered man may sleep ; but the mother 
 of the murderer cannot." " I like the head of a dog better than the tail 
 of a lion." " Take counsel of one greater and of one less than yourself, 
 and afterwards form your own opinion."£ 
 
 St. Marie relates, in another part of his light and graceful work, how 
 he saw beneath the shade of some stately old plane-trees an aged Moor 
 seated, wrapped in a white burnouse, and tranquilly smoking his pipe. 
 Before him lay a youth reclining on the ground, passing a chaplet through 
 his fingers. This group, with the surrounding objects and brilliant colour- 
 ing, was like a Bible scene. Nothing was wanting: the large mountain 
 dog, the curved shepherd's staff, the camel crouched in the foreground, 
 ruminating with upraised head and gazing at his master, all combined to 
 perfect the picture. Save the pipe, the group might have figured in an 
 altar-piece of the old masters. § 
 
 Pananti states, however, in another placo, that the haik is also bound round the 
 haul by the men, by a cord that assumes the shape of a turban; while the women fix it 
 with & fibula (vol. ii. pp. 111-112). 
 
 f St. Marie. J Ibid. § Ibid.
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE. 317 
 
 We learn from the same authority, that there is- a legendary story 
 relating to the river Oued-Kebir, near Blidah, which calls to mind an inci- 
 dent of the Bihle. The true believers affirm that once upon a time, water 
 having become scarce in Blidah, Mohamed, the marabout whom I have 
 already mentioned, struck with his stick one of the mountains of the Atlas 
 range, and a spring gushed forth, which has never dried up. This spring 
 is the source of the Oued-Kebir.* 
 
 We find in the pages of Baron Baude' s Algerie several interesting illus- 
 trations of scriptural expressions and descriptions, which afford useful ma- 
 terials for future exegesis. On the Baron's trip from the Camp of Draan 
 to La Calle, to which we have adverted elsewhere, he was entertained one 
 night at the douar of the Merdes' tribe, in the tent of their sheikh, Sidi- 
 Mahmoud. Tt appears that " mats were spread on the ground, and the 
 guests crouched around them, all excepting the host, who, without touch- 
 ing any dish, stood opposite them, watching over the attendants, and 
 anticipating their least wants." It was thus that Abraham received his 
 guests, according to the sacred narrative (Gen. xviii. 8) : ' And he took 
 butter and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them ; 
 and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.' "j On their return 
 from La Calle to Bona, the Baron further relates how " they arrived at 
 the douar of Abdallah-ben-Hassan, and received the hospitality of the 
 ancient patriarchs, such as we read it described in the same chapter of 
 Genesis, verses G and 7 : ' And Abraham hastened into the tent unto 
 Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead 
 it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd 
 and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it unto a young man ; and 
 he hasted to dress it.' 
 
 " Abdallah himself had, like Abraham (Gen. xxiv. 35), ' flocks and 
 herds, and silver and gold, and men-servants and maid-servants, and 
 camels and asses;' and his French visitors, on seeing his flocks at sunset 
 come trooping in from all quarters, formed a high idea of his riches. 
 
 " On reading these descriptions, the image of the venerable Job, or the 
 race of Arab proprietors of whom he was the type, is brought vividly before 
 the mind as a living reality. Stepping over the Mediterranean, we find 
 there are still men whose substance is 7000 sheep, and 3000 camels, and 
 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 she-asses, and a very great household ; so that 
 this man was the greatest of all the men of the east' (Job i. 8). "J 
 
 " The young girls," says M. Lamping, " are to be found every morning 
 at sunrise outside the gate of the town (Coleah), standing by the fountain, 
 at which they assemble, with stone jars on their shoulders, to fetch water 
 for the daily consumption, This truly eastern scene calls to mind Bebecca 
 at the well, drawing water for her father's flocks."§ " The moment the Arab 
 
 * St. Marie. "f Baude's Alge"rie, vol. i. p. 176 et seqq. 
 
 X Ibid. p. 176 et seqq. § The Foreign Legion, p. 5.
 
 318 ARABS OP CONSTANTINA. 
 
 hears the call of the muezzin,* he throws himself upon the earth, wher- 
 ever he may chance to be, and touches the ground with his brow ; then, 
 rising again, he stretches his arms towards heaven, with his face turned in 
 the direction of Mecca, his white flowing burnouse and his long beard 
 giving him a venerable and patriarchal air. Thus surely did Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob worship their God." -j- 
 
 The conservatism of Arab life gives us contemporary illustrations of 
 the days of Joseph, Jonathan, and Joshua. On meeting they still say, 
 like their fathers, placing their right hand on their breast, Salaam alykum\ 
 (Peace be unto you). Friends kiss each other's hands, heads, and shoulders. 
 On great occasions the women also salute their husbands by kissing their 
 hands. Inferiors kiss the feet, knees, or clothes of their superiors, and 
 children the heads of their pai*euts.§ 
 
 Madame Prus observes, there is nothing more singular or picturesque 
 than the appearance of these Arabs arrayed in the majestic drapery of 
 their burnouse, and reminding one strongly of the old engravings repre- 
 senting the patriarchs of the Bible. Their aspect and bearing are noble 
 and dignified, and their imposing attitude might offer many a model to 
 our actors. || 
 
 The Arabs of the province of Constantina differ considerably from 
 those who inhabit the other parts of Algeria ; their language, customs, edu- 
 cation, and character form a complete contrast to that observable else- 
 where. It is surprising, at first sight, to find that the different shades 
 which thus characterise fractions of the same people should be in perfect 
 unison with the geographical position which these several fractions oc- 
 cupy. For instance, in the west the Arab is ignorant, coarse, warlike, 
 and rough in the pronunciation of his local idiom, which has undergone 
 greater change than any other ; whilst the inhabitants of the eastern pro- 
 vince bear a diametrically opposite character. To account for this sin- 
 gular fact, we must bear in mind the mode in which the Mussulman 
 conquest operated. This movement proceeded from east to west ; and 
 thus, as always happens in enterprises of this nature, the most adven- 
 turous and hardy advanced the farthest. It was in this manner that a 
 bold Arab chief pushed on as far as the ocean, accompanied by a dashing 
 train of cavaliers ; but being farther removed than the rest of the nation 
 from the general and original fountain of this stream of population in 
 Arabia, this band of adventurers became more deeply imbued with the 
 spirit of resistance, and it had to sustain longer and more inveterate 
 
 * M. Lamping says 'marabout;' which may be correct in the country districts of Al- 
 geria, where they have no mosques. But the usual official who in Mahommedan countries 
 call the faithful to prayers, as an incarnate bell, is styled the muezzin. 
 
 t The Foreign Legion, pp. 5-6. + *& \s. aX^- § Berbrugger, iii. 15, 16. 
 
 || llosidcnco in Algeria, p. 3.
 
 ARABS OF CONSTAXT1NA. 
 
 319 
 
 struggles. It is easy to believe that such a state of hostility, so favourable 
 for the preservation of warlike tendencies, should influence unfavourably 
 every thing relating to education, to language, and to manners. These 
 
 ARABS OF CONSTANTINA. 
 
 wanderers, pushed onwards by the tide of conquest, have therefore much 
 degenerated in these respects, both because of their greater distance from 
 their compatriots of Arabia, the source of all their national light, and also 
 because of their closer proximity to the rough and ferocious Berbers, the 
 ancient masters of Morhereb.* Besides, as the Roman dominion established 
 itself first in the eastern part of Northern Africa, and had taken deeper 
 root there than in the west, on account of the greater duration of its sway ; 
 and as, on the other hand, the Vandals came from the west, and their de- 
 vastating fury received no check till it reached the walls of Carthage, — it 
 seems to result from these two conflicting causes, the one constructive and 
 the other destructive, that the provinces in the east at the time of the 
 Arabian conquest were the least degenerated from their ancient splendour. 
 Accordingly, it is in this section of the country that the finest remains are 
 brought to light in the present day, attesting, by their massiveness and 
 finish, the power, wealth, and good taste of these masters of the world. 
 It is therefore probable, that in this favoured region, the sight of these 
 
 * C_J ' -i/cJl el Morreb, the setting; the Arabic name for the empire of Morocco.
 
 320 ORGANISATION OF THE TRIBES. 
 
 imposing vestiges of Roman grandeur, and the influence of a civilisation 
 which survived the attacks of the harbarians, contributed in softening the 
 conquering Arabs who settled there, and in vanquishing them, in their 
 turn, by the ascendency of an undoubted intellectual superiority, as the 
 Vandals had been likewise subjected before them. Whatever truth there 
 may be in these explanations, the facts are self-evident, and it suffices to 
 go from Algiers to Bona to be convinced of this. 
 
 The difference of language is the first tiling noticed : in a general 
 point of view, this consists in a greater softness of pronunciation. 
 
 Amongst the Arabs of the province of Constantina, the courtesy of 
 manners corresponds with the softness of the language ; and they are 
 much more disposed to give a friendly reception to the Christians than 
 their countrymen farther west. The raj>id progress of the French rule in 
 the east of Algeria testifies to this. On the- other hand, the people of 
 Constantina have not the warlike spirit of the western tribes ; and who- 
 ever has seen the two races in 'action can appreciate this difference. A 
 troop of chasseurs dispersed some hundreds of Arabs in 183G, near the 
 marabout of Sidi-Tamtam ; whereas the Beni-Amer and Garbas were seen, 
 in 1835, to stand discharges of grape-shot with the steadiness of veteran 
 European troops. 
 
 The costume at Constantina does not differ materially from that found 
 throughout Algeria ; only the people are generally more attentive to 
 dress, and the white burnouse is commonly worn, whereas black and 
 brown prevails in the west.* 
 
 We must now proceed to analyse the political and social organisation of 
 the Arab tribes, 114.5 in number, composing a population of about three 
 millions, and inhabiting the surface of Algeria, Tell, and Sahara, which is 
 estimated at 390,900 square kilometres, equivalent to four-fifths of the 
 86 French departments, or 150,000 square miles. We have seen that 
 Algeria under the Turks comprised four provinces, three of which — Oran, 
 Tittery, and Constantina — were governed by Beys, and the territory of the 
 city of Algiers by the Dey in person, on whom the three Beys were no- 
 minally dependent. In 1843, by a decision of the French Minister of 
 War, the possessions in Africa were classed in three divisions, Algiers, 
 Oran, and Constantina: Algiers containing two sub-divisions, Algiers and 
 Tittery ; Oran four sub-divisions, Oran, Mascara, Mostaganem, Tlemsen ; 
 and Constantina containing two, Bona and Setif. The latest division is 
 the following: — 1st, the province of Algiers is analysed into six sub- 
 divisions, whose chefs lieuac are, Algiers, Blidah, Medeah, Aumale, Mi- 
 lianah, and Orleansvillc. The province of Oran has five sub-divisions, — 
 those of Oran, Mascara, Mostaganem, Sidi-bel-Abbcs, and Tlemsen. The 
 division of Constantina admits four sub-divisions, — Constantina, Bona, 
 Setif, and Batna. The Governor -general is the supreme head of the 
 
 * Berbruggor, part iii. pp. 17-18.
 
 ARAB ORGANIZATION. 321 
 
 regency, and under him there are, first, the governors of the two other 
 provinces ; secondly, each sub-division is under superior officers ; and 
 thirdly, each sub-division is distributed into circles, under French com- 
 mandants. There are eleven of the latter in each province ; and a bureau 
 Arabe has been attached to every military commandant since 1844.* 
 
 The circle comprehends generally several kaidats, who, when the state 
 of the country allows it, are placed under the direct orders of the superior 
 commandant, without obeying an agha. The khalifa or the bach-agha is 
 dependent either on the commandant of the division or of the sub-division. 
 
 The sheikh is appointed by the commandant of the sub-division, on 
 the recommendation of the kaid. The assembly of the notables of the 
 douar, who assist him, is called djemaa. 
 
 The kaids are chosen amongst the most distinguished men of the tribe, 
 and appointed by the commandant of the division, on the recommendation 
 of the commandant of the sub-division. The kaids receive no fixed 
 salary ; they derive emoluments from the raising of tribute, &c. 
 
 The aghas are named by the minister of war, on the recommendation 
 of the commandant of the sub-division, transmitted through legitimate 
 channels. They form three classes, whose salaries were fixed, in 1847, at 
 1200, 1800, and 3000 frs. (48£ to 1201.) 
 
 The khalifas, bach-aghas, and independent aghas are also named by 
 the minister of war, on the recommendation of the commandant of the di- 
 vision, transmitted through the governor-general. The khalifas have 
 12,000 frs. (480£), bach-aghas 5000 frs. (200£), besides perquisites con- 
 nected with their office. 
 
 The khalifas and bach-aghas, when called upon, with their horsemen, 
 to join the French forces in the war, are dependent on the orders of the 
 French commandants. In their judicial capacity they can inflict fines, 
 revise the judgments of the aghas, kaids, &c. of the territory they govern, 
 and are responsible for the regular payment of dues, &e. The duty of the 
 agha is to act on the orders of the khalifa, or direct orders from the French 
 authority ; he arranges the military affairs of the khalifat, sees that pun- 
 ishments ordered by the khalifa are duly executed, and has power to 
 inflict fines to a certain amount; renders accounts to the khalifa of com- 
 plaints made against the kaids beneath him, and arranges the collection of 
 imposts, &c. The office of the kaid is annual ; and on his investiture he 
 has to provide a horse fit for military service, as an acknowledgment of 
 
 * Tableau, 1S50, Appendix, from pp. 713 to 722 ; also, Dawson Borrer's Campaign 
 in the Kabylie, c. 16, on the Arab tribes. The douar is the basis of Arab social organisa- 
 tion. A certain number of douars, forming a forka, obey a sheikh; the assemblage of a 
 number of ferkas, sometimes only one, a tribe, commanded by a kaid. A group of several 
 tribes forms either a grand kaidat or an aghalik, under the orders of a kaid-el-kijad (caid 
 of caids), or of an agha. Several aghaliks may form a circumscription dependent on a 
 bach-agha (chief of aghas), or on a khalifa. Such is the hierarchy of the Arab powers 
 that be. 
 
 X
 
 322 ARAB AUTHORITIES. 
 
 vassalage to the French ; he then receives the burnouse and seal of office 
 from the government. This feudal custom is derived from the Turkish 
 times. The kaid has to see that the warriors of his tribe are ready 
 for service, and to command them during the war ; is responsible for the 
 execution of all orders issued by his superiors ; is charged with the interior 
 police of the tribe, particularly that of the markets, where he is obliged to 
 be present, either in person or by his lieutenant. He has to decide con- 
 troversies between the douars of the tribe in cases of small importance, 
 and to refer to the agha those of greater weight ; he has also the power 
 of arresting criminals, of whom he must render account to the agha, and 
 that officer to the French authorities ; he has also the right to inflict cor- 
 poral punishment and fines to a certain amount, &c. The sheikh has to 
 settle disputes in the ferka, to see the taxes levied, and to exercise police 
 functions, &c, which makes his office like that of the maires of French 
 parishes. Each tribe has a kadi besides a kaid. The duties of his office are 
 to give judgment upon civil questions relating to person or property, or 
 such infractions of the law as relate to marriages, divorces, successions, 
 the guardianship of orphans, &c. He takes the oath of vassalage between 
 the hands of the procureur-general of Algiers, or the commandant of the 
 sub-division. This office is held for life, unless his conduct is so bad as to 
 render his deposition necessary. The kadis in the towns, and attached to 
 the bureaux Arabes, receive salaries ; those of the tribes none, obtaining 
 perquisites and enjoying immunities there. Below the office of the kadi 
 is that of the oukil-bit-el-mel, an officer nominated in each sub-division by 
 the commandant of the division, to watch over certain fiscal interests, to 
 find out vacant heritages, to collect state duties on successions, &c* 
 
 Hence it appears that the government of the Arab tribes is in the 
 hands of the military authorities, aided by the bureaux Arabes. The 
 duty of the heads of this office is most important, all the affairs of the 
 government with the natives being transacted through them. They 
 must know the language of the country, and the laws, customs, and 
 characters of the Arabs ; they must also be shrewd and resolute diplo- 
 matists, with sound notions of justice. Their duties are laborious and 
 extensive ; and the race with which they have to deal is intriguing, sen- 
 sitive, and hates the French government. They are the intermediaries 
 between the tribes and the administrative commissions in all that relates 
 to fixing imposts, recovering government property, regulating the pay- 
 
 * The tributes imposed on tho tribes are of two kinds, — the achour (tithe) on corn ; 
 and the zekkat, a tax of religious origin on Hocks. In the province of Constantina the 
 latter is replaced by the hokor, a kind of land-tax in money. Jn tho aohour, each zouidja 
 (17 to 25 acres) must pay the state a measuro of wheat and a measure of barley: it is often 
 raised in money. The zekkat yields one sheep per cent, one ox in thirty, one camel in 
 forty, in the east provinco the hokor yields 26 lis. per djebda or zouidja. The Saharian 
 tribes pa a lama, a low tax in money, proportioned to their wealth. In the ziban or 
 ;zaab of Biscara each palm-tree returns 40 centimes {id.). Tableau, 1850, p. 718.
 
 STATISTICS OP THE TRIBES. 323 
 
 ment of the native troops supplied by the tribes when called for, settling 
 disputes between natives and colonists, attending to markets, listening to 
 reclamations, and administering justice. Theirs is a delicate and a diffi- 
 cult situation, requiring much caution to fill it with propriety. If it 
 falls to a man worthy of it, he becomes a great prop to the existence of 
 the colony, for through him chiefly can some moral ascendency be gained 
 over the Arabs.* 
 
 The administrative commissions instituted in each sub-division and all 
 towns, by ordinances published by Marshal Bugeaud in 1842, have to 
 watch over government property, and to regulate tribute, fines, &c. from 
 the Arabs. The proper execution of the duties of the commission depends 
 much on the skill, Arc. of the head of the bureau Arabe. 
 
 What we have said will suffice to give a general notion of the tribes; 
 and we shall add below some particulars relative to the political state of 
 the Arabs. -j" 
 
 * Borrer, ch. 16. Castellane observes : " The Arab bureaux represent the centralisa- 
 tion of all the interests of the country in military hands. The chief of these officers repre- 
 sents the old Turkish chiefs, who were the chiefs of the naargzhen" (page 367). Tableau, 
 p. 715. 
 
 + The population of the province of Algiers consists of 290 tribes, or 900,000 souls. 
 Of these, 175 tribes are administered directly by the commandants of circles and the 
 bureaux Arabes ; 35, indirectly by the latter ; 52, more distant in the Sahara, acknow- 
 ledging a feudal vassalage to the French, but with perfect administrative freedom ; 28 
 unsubdued, all Kabyles. The government of the subject tribes is managed by a division- 
 ary direction of Aral > affairs, five bureaux of the first class, five of the second, three kha- 
 lifas, five bach-aghas, and twenty aghas. Auxiliary troops, horse and foot, 570. There 
 is, moreover, at Algiers, connected with the governor-general, a political bureau of Arab 
 affairs, centralising all the administration of the tribes. The province of Oran has 600,000 
 natives, or 27"> tribes, all subdued, 45 indirectly governed, and 28 left to the French com- 
 mandant, or the great native chiefs of the Arabs. This province has a divisionary direc- 
 tion of Arab affairs, four bureaux of the first class, and six of the second. The native 
 chiefs are analysed thus: — three khalifas (of whom one only in the Tell), and 22 aghas. 
 335 natives, horse and foot, are paid by France. The province of Constantina contains 
 1,300,000 inhabitants, or 580 tribes. Of these, 240 are governed directly, 200 indirectly, 
 80 mediately ; and 60 are unsubdued, being Kabyles. This province has a divisionary 
 direction of Arab affairs, three bureaux of the first class, and six of the second. It reckons 
 three khalifas; and three other chiefs exert the power and receive the pay of khalifas, 
 without the title. (Tableau, 1850, pp. 719-20.) The province returns 260 auxiliary horse 
 and foot. In short, France has subdued, and governs directly, 897 tribes, occupying the 
 most fertile part of Algeria. The tribes indirectly governed by means of delegates amount 
 to 160, and the unsubdued in 1850-1 to 88 ; the latter inhabiting mountains or deserts, and 
 depending for subsistence on the subdued tribes.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 :0loon;, CurH Houtouglts, &ixrt, be. 
 
 ETYMOLOGY — MOORISH WOMEN TOILETTE WEDDINGS DIVORCES TURKS 
 
 THEIR GOVERNMENT — THEIR COSTUME YOUSOUF — THE KOULOUGLIS THEIR 
 
 CHARACTERISTICS AND LAZINESS — THE JEWS THEIR SERVILITY AND PERSE- 
 CUTION— THE CORPORATIONS. 
 
 Various opinions have been advanced in connexion with the origin of the 
 Moors,* who inhabit exclusively the towns chiefly on or near the sea- 
 coast, except when driven from them. One authority represents them as 
 the produce of different migrations ; -f- and another describes them as Arabs 
 in race, but fallen, without the institutions of those in the country, adding 
 that they have been formed by emigrations from Spain, and of families 
 separately detached from the tribes.^ It is very probable that there may 
 be some admixture of the old Berber blood in the Moorish veins ; but it 
 
 * The name of Moors is very general, and has been used in Em-ope in the sense of 
 African Arabs ; but it properly denotes Arabs settled in the towns and stationary, in 
 distinction from the Bedouin Arabs, and those who practise agriculture in the country, 
 
 styled fellahs Jj^i in Egypt (from the verb flak *Ai, to trace a furrow, to plough. Cours 
 
 a"Arale mdgaire, par A. Gorguos, pp. 231-2). Dr. Shaw derives the word Moor from 
 ~^}???, a ferry ; or, as Genesius (Lexicon, p. 596) interprets it, transitus, locus transeundi. 
 Hence Mauri would mean persons living near a strait or ferry, such as the Straits of Gib- 
 raltar. There are, however, other derivations, such as 3~"!37^ the west, occidens (Ibid. p. 
 
 603) ; evidently the same word as the Arabic t > .jLcj 1 el inorreb, the setting, i. e. Mo- 
 rocco. This derivation appears to us much more probable, though not conclusive, as its 
 claim may be disputed by the Greek n"i'P»fi m"»p ow > which Passow renders dunkel, un- 
 scheinbar, dark, — (Lexicon, 1830, vol. ii. p. 93, where he derives m<"'p»9 from /laipu and 
 ii, .|,/""f".i, properly meaning to shine; but the derivation, according to him, has passed 
 into the opposite meaning, signifying the same as afiavpos, i.e. without light), — a word still 
 used in the Romaic, as pavpos, mavros, black, appearing in such names as Mavrocordato, 
 Mavrapanagia : the modern Urceks, as is well known, having in the diphthongs, &c. re- 
 tained the use and pronunciation of the van or digamma, though they have lost the letter, 
 which has been transferred to the upsilon. (Eichoff's Parallele des Langues de l'Europe et 
 de I'Inde, &c. p. 47.) 
 
 t Blofeld. I Earon Baude.
 
 MOORISn CHARACTERISTICS. 325 
 
 has been chiefly supplied by the Saracen invasion, and is now far from 
 the purest in the world. Roughly handled and cowed by the Turks, this 
 class has lost that confidence in itself which flows from the spirit of clan- 
 ship in all the Bedouins. In vain do you look for the noble bearing, the 
 daring chivalry, the love of science, that distinguished their Andalusian 
 and Arabian ancestors, that cast a radiance over the dark ages, and 
 the great qualities of their ancestors is a rare sagacity, dissimulation, and 
 heralded the triumph of intelligence in the better day about to dawn on 
 the West.* The Servant of the Merciful -j- would no longer recognise in 
 them the same race as those gallant soldiers and glowing worshippers who 
 raised the Alhambra and fought for the Vega. Al-Rashid and Averroes 
 would turn aside and weep over their degenerate posterity. Verily the 
 crescent hath begun to wane. All that remains to the modern Moors of 
 constancy. Yet these men are the offspring of those who filled Spain with 
 monuments of fabulous beauty, and who lighted up the torch of the 
 sciences when the world was plunged in night. 
 
 It appears that since the Turks have held sway at Algiers, many 
 Christian l'enegades have married Moorish women, in such wise that the 
 people called Moors are a very mixed race. Yet many families can still 
 boast of a pure blood ; nor is it difficult, notwithstanding these numerous 
 crossings, to detect the true Moorish type. The men are mostly above 
 the middle height ; their walk is noble and grave ; they have black hair ; 
 their skin a little bronzed, but rather fair than brown ; aquiline noses, full 
 faces, a middle-sized mouth, large but sleepy eyes. Their features are 
 less marked, and some say less, others more handsome than those of the 
 Arabs and Berbers. Their body is very i-ounded, and they have generally 
 much embonpoint, by which you may always distinguish the race.* 
 
 The Moors have adopted most of the Turkish tailoring with its sway. 
 Their costume, though not nearly so elegant as that of the women, is quite 
 oriental : consisting of very full drawers (seroual), leaving their legs bare ; 
 a very ample vest (greliter), two waistcoats embroidered with gold or silk, 
 and a turban. As chaussure, they wear slippers of morocco leather, called 
 babouches. Stockings, they have none. Some fold a burnouse, and throw 
 it over their arm as an ornament. 
 
 Notions of beauty are wide as the poles, and sesthetical disputes betray 
 bad taste. Though Moorish women are not exactly fat, fair, and forty, 
 they are valued by weight, ignorant to excess, and sleepy though not 
 sleeping beauties. Chinese feet, European stays, Bloomer eccentricities, 
 and Hottentot Venuses betray the variable principles of aesthetics; nor 
 need we be surprised to learn that a camel-load of female flesh is thought 
 
 * Berbrugger, part iii. 
 
 f ^y^^^J (Jl &?s. Abderrahman, the celebrated caliph of Cordova. 
 J Berbragger, part iii.
 
 32G 
 
 FEMALE COSTUME. 
 
 a beauty by the Moors, and that girls are fattened for marriage like 
 turkeys, occasionally dying under the spoon. 
 
 The costume of the Moorish women is handsome and various. We 
 will examine its mysteries and different phases of development. 
 
 The neglige. — This costume among the poor is extremely simple ; con- 
 sisting of a chemise of a transparent stuff, and long breeches kept up by a 
 string drawn round the waist. The rich, and even those of the middle class, 
 have a more dressy and a more complicated neglige. They never go bare- 
 headed; and the head-dress of the young girls is generally a little close-fit- 
 ting velvet cap, called quonibat, which only covers the top of the head, and 
 is tied under the chin by a thin bridle. Sequins are frequently placed and 
 fixed in concentric rings in it, and by their number give an idea of the 
 
 MOORISH LADY. 
 
 wealth of the parents, — or rather of their pride, for you see persons of nar- 
 row finances make use of this luxury. The hair falling down in long plaits, 
 or squeezed into a long riband, almost always of a red colour, and of which 
 the two ends fall below the knee, reminds one of the queues of Frederick 
 the Great's grenadiers. With young women, the cap called quonibat, or 
 the little red chachiyah of Tunis, serves only as a support to a coiffure that 
 we are about to describe, and which is not meant to be seen. A cap
 
 MOORISH LADIES' FULL DEB6S. ; i~7 
 
 (mhhenn'iJi), almost always black and red, is placed on the head so as to 
 leave all the anterior and superior part far above the beginning of the hair 
 quite uncovered; it is knotted behind on the niddock, and the united ends 
 fall on the shoulders, enveloping them with long curls of black hair, that 
 float and wave gracefully as the fair, or rather unfair, lady moves her pate. 
 Sometimes the hair, instead of remaining free, is squeezed into ribands in 
 the way already described. 
 
 The matrons go out often with a more or less lofty sarmah, a kind of 
 tiara of gold or silver, which has some analogy to the cap of the French 
 cauclioises. Very old women preserve this costume even indoors. 
 
 A corsage or bodice of silk (frimlah), very tight, compressing the 
 bosom and bringing it unnaturally upward and forward, slightly di- 
 minishes the extreme transparency of the chemise. A large and richly- 
 worked zone (euzame) of silk and gold also conceals a part of the body 
 above the trousers, which are placed very low. 
 
 Let us now attend to Moorish female full-dress. 
 
 Over the head-dress of which Ave have spoken farther back, the Alge- 
 rian women, when they wish to adorn themselves, place a second cap 
 (dslsbah), which covers a part of the forehead, and is knotted in front at the 
 top of the head. Their little bandeau of brilliants (zriref) resembles that 
 of our European ladies ; only instead of its being applied immediately on 
 the forehead, it is tied to the rim of a silk kerchief thrown over the head. 
 
 They wear on solemn occasions a kind of open tunic (rh'lilaJi), in 
 which gold and silver are married in capricious arabesques on a ground of 
 red or blue silk. They also gird themselves with a long piece of silk with 
 broad stripes (foutah feuchetanne), which is tied in front and falls down 
 to the ground. 
 
 Besides the clothes of which we have spoken, jewels rich in material, 
 but in bad taste, complete the costume of a Moorish lady, who is seldom 
 able to put on all her ornaments. Long drops (^nienagneche) laden with 
 diamonds hang from her ears. The young girls wear round their neck a 
 collar of sequins, called mdibehh; and the married women put on a similar 
 ornament (queladah), but composed of diamonds. Jfmis, or gold rings, 
 encircle their arms; the Bedouin women being satisfied with horn rings, 
 called mquais. The legs above the instep have gold and silver rings, 
 called rdise when they are massive, and k'halkhal when hollow. Their 
 hands are also laden with rings having brilliants, and a kind of seal called 
 lltouatim, or braiim. In short, to our notions, a Moorish lady in full- 
 dress must be an incarnation of splendid misery. ■' 
 
 * Nor havo we yet done with her troubles; for sho is, moreover, the victim of gyneci- 
 dal cosmetics. With a preparation of gall-nuts (afoah) they paint their eyebrows black, 
 in a broad band contiuued across the forehead; and they darken the inside of the eyelid 
 with g'hhol or antimony. This gives liveliness to the eyes, but hardness to the face. The 
 juice of the plant henna, yielding a red dye, is put on the nails, on which a deep coat is
 
 323 
 
 POLYGAMY. 
 
 Moorish women at home. — If out of doors they are heavily clad, in- 
 doors the Moorish ladies are what we should call almost indelicately, though 
 very gracefully, attired. 
 
 When the Moorish lady sallies forth to the bath or her devotions at 
 the marabouts of Sidi-Abd-el-llahman-el-Tsaalebi, of Abd-el-Quader, or of 
 Sidi Mohammed, &c, she adds to her undress a long white Mameluke 
 trouser (serouah el zankal) if marriageable; but of colour if she is not yet 
 nubile. She throws on her shoulders a floating tunic of clear stuff {hlutik 
 el telhhif) which slightly hides the transparency of the shift : this tunic 
 is fixed in its upper part by long gold or silver pins (bzaiim). She girds 
 the foutah and knots the eudjar, or handkerchief that is to hide the face. 
 Lastly, she covers her head and most of her body with a long and broad 
 piece of white cotton, of which the upper part is put on the forehead, 
 leaving between it and the eudjar only a little space free for the eyes. 
 This piece of cotton or linen (foutaJi enta snaniy), which is called takhe- 
 lilah when it is of silk, falls back behind half-way down the leg. The 
 Moorish women, pinching the stuff on both sides of the head, bring back 
 the hand under the chin inside, from which it results that they are exactly 
 enveloped on all sides, and only the lower part of their legs is visible. The 
 whole coquetry of the native ladies is concentrated in the movements that 
 they give to this dress. Those who wish to be seen put apart their hands, 
 which hold up the takhelilah, and raise them by removing them from the 
 head as high as the top of the forehead. This sudden manoeuvre uncovers 
 all that part of the face which is not hid by the eudjar, and offers a speci- 
 men from which an amateur can judge of what it is not allowed the lady to 
 show. She also displays the rich belt and elegantly embroidered bodice 
 that shines under the transparent tunic. The foutah enta snauiz and the 
 takhelilah are articles peculiar to the Algerines. Every where else the 
 women, when going out, put on a long piece of coarse wool (hhaik) falling 
 to the ground, and showing only one eye. 
 
 A few words on polygamy ere we pass to other matters. The position 
 of woman is the key to a nation's social state; and her slavery among 
 Mussulmans accounts for the low scale of their civilisation. Yet uni- 
 formity on this globe is impossible; nor can the morality of the poles tally 
 with that of the line. We have sacred and patriarchal authority for poly- 
 gamy in certain ages and countries; and though it cannot co exist with 
 Christian civilisation and Germanic chivalry, it has been proved to be the 
 legitimate offspring of the Semitic phase of human nature. In short, there 
 may be circumstances in time and space that justify the institution in the 
 eyes of reason and religion ; though, notwithstanding the arguments of 
 
 rubbed, to increase the blush of that part of the nails which is seen. Their hands and feet 
 are also painted with a disagreeable black tincture; and the marks, or characters (cha- 
 ■jnah), inscribed by nature on some persons are much valued. Artificial signs are also 
 sometimes made, callod Ichanut. Berbruggcr, part ill.
 
 L _ 
 
 , - 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ■" -- v." 
 
 — 
 
 J3 
 w 
 S 
 o
 
 SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE MOORS. 329 
 
 Milton,* it is evidently incompatible with the highest spiritual and social 
 phases of humanity. 
 
 Marriaeres among the Moors, as with most other Mussulmans, are 
 contracted through third parties and gossips, the young people never 
 meeting till the wedding-day. The affair is a regular market, a bar- 
 gaining, like a London season. The gossip is bribed by a young man 
 to go and examine his ideal mistress, whom he knows only by report; 
 she goes, and gives a coloured report on her return, being bribed by 
 the parents. If the parties are agreeable, and the old folks think the 
 young man has a position, they close. 
 
 On the wedding-day she is bathed, painted, daubed with blackened 
 corks and henna, and decked out in her best attire. She is marched 
 through the streets, accompanied by lanterns; and all the women have 
 a grand feast at the bridegroom's house. The men, poor fellows, sup 
 together apart; the wretched bridegroom eating alone, that he may not 
 take too much and misdemean himself. At midnight, when the mosques 
 open, the unhappy pair are left alone, all the guests retiring. 
 
 The Moorish women are very fruitful, and marry ridiculously young, 
 being mothers at nine or ten. They nurse their children, and doat upon 
 them when young, but hate them when older, — particularly if they are 
 boys, as they think that they have inherited their father's harsh character. 
 
 The Moorish men are mild and lazy, gambling, smoking, and sipping 
 coffee all clay. The few that reside in the country live like the Arabs. 
 They do little work; and that little is mostly done by the women, who 
 bruise the corn in hand-mills, before it is sent to the public ovens. The 
 French occupation has ruined many, and injured most Moorish families, 
 by raising the prices of all commodities. The only trades practised by 
 the Moors ai-e those connected with luxury, requiring only dexterity and 
 little strength. Cross-legged, and smoking pipes made of jasmine-wood, 
 seated in little shops like boxes, they embroider, plait silk, or make 
 slippers. This industry cannot support their families; and they are under- 
 sold by Europeans. Hence their misery is great; and 8000 francs of 
 alms per month was given to 2000 Moors at Algiers in 1843. The 
 Moorish population of Algiers being 12,000, and many individuals repre- 
 senting families, we may infer that half the Moorish population required 
 charity. Crowds of naked beggar-children infested the streets. Thus 
 African society begins its acquaintance with civilisation where ours ends, 
 — with pauperism, prostitution, and mendicity.t 
 
 We shall next attend to the Turks, — that handful of stern Janissary 
 soldiery which held sway for three centuries at Algiers by the terror of 
 
 * The reader who may be curious to read Milton's clever defence of polygamy is re- 
 ferred to his Treatise on Christian Doctrine, translated by his Grace the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, 1825, pp. 231-241. 
 
 f Berbrugger, part iii.
 
 830 THE TURKS. 
 
 its arms or name. And now we pass from the Semitic to the Mogul va- 
 riety, or rather to a mixed race. In 1830, when the French landed at 
 Algiers, the Janissaries did not amount to 3000 men;* but we must re- 
 member that recruiting in the Levant had ceased for three years, owing 
 to the blockade of the French fleet, and that many Turks had perished. 
 
 From the statistical returns of the 1245th year of the Hegira, answer- 
 ing to a.d. 1829, there were 787G.+ 
 
 The Moorish population in 1849 amounted to G0,928 souls. 
 
 Under the Turkish sway, the Arab and other tribes were made ac- 
 countable for the crimes of one of their members; nor was this unjust, as 
 the tribe had all the means of keeping up the police of its own district.^ 
 
 The Turks, though so small a minority, goverued the whole country 
 despotically through the Janissaries; respecting no person, from the Jew 
 to the Dey. The service or duty of the place, the raising of taxes, and 
 piracy, were all carried on by the Turks, and with them; and though a 
 mere handful of men, the other troops of the regency obeyed them. 
 
 Their number has greatly diminished since the French conquest, and 
 they are fast disappearing. § 
 
 * At Algiers .... 
 Province of Oran 
 Do. of Tittery 
 Do. of Constantina . 
 Movable column to gather taxes . 
 Invalids .... 
 
 Total 
 
 *f* But there were many superannuated Janissaries besides these. The Odjak (properly 
 Oda), or Company of the Janissaries, only admitted, as is well known, Turks from the 
 Levant, or Christian renegades ; no native of the regency being permitted to enter its 
 ranks. Yet they were far from being all natives of Turkey, or true Osmanlis ; consisting 
 of a singular compound of Turks, Greeks, Corsicans, Circassians, Albanians, Maltese, &c, 
 and renegades from all Em-ope : forming an association of piracy abroad, and oppression 
 at home ; but acknowledging the sovereignty of the Porte, and speaking its idiom. Yet 
 the Turks had not come at first as masters, but as auxiliaries, like the Anglo-Saxons 
 nearer home. The Janissary force was recruited at Smyrna and Constantinople only, 
 in virtue of a treaty with the Sultan. Berbruggcr, part hi. 
 
 J In 1810, one fine morning, the Turks Lung thirty Biskris at Algiers, on account of 
 an insurrection of their compatriots in the oasis of Zaab; and in 1823 the Kabyles near 
 Bugia having made some Janissaries prisoners, the Dey seized all those in Algiers, thereby 
 saving the heads of his Turks. The latter kept with all the tribes kaids, who were over- 
 seers, like the missi dominici of Charlemagne ; and they only used violence to get what 
 was owed them when other means failed, after which a body of Janissaries was sent to 
 enforce compliance. These often disarmed the whole refractory tribe and pillaged it, but 
 i. pected the women. Baron Baude, 
 
 g Prince PUckler Muskau, who visited Algiers in 1835, and wrote a very amusing 
 account of his adventures in Algiers and Tunis, called Semilasso in Africa, saw them still 
 ere their feathers bad much drooped ; and relates, in glowing colours, the gallant bearing 
 of the spahis in their scarlet bournouse, and the dashing chivalry of Yousouf, a Janissary 
 from Tunis, whose adventures are almost fabulous, and may servo to freshen the dryness 
 
 
 Turks. 
 
 « , 
 
 . 3976 
 
 . , 
 
 . 1300 
 
 , , 
 
 . 250 
 
 . . 
 
 . 1700 
 
 . , 
 
 . 400 
 
 • 
 
 . 250 
 
 
 . 7876
 
 THE TURKS — JANISSARIES. -J-il 
 
 We learn that those who remain at Algiers are generally fine men, 
 with fair skins, a stern look, and strong features. They live like the 
 Moors, with whom they may he easily confounded; and you may at times 
 meet them on the walks, in the cafes, bazaars, shops, &c. Their dies-, 
 is Dearly the same as that of the Moors; and they commonly like light- 
 coloured clothes, and a shirt of gauze with full sleeves, large trousers 
 scarcely reaching to the aukles, a silk girdle, and a caftan over it very 
 frequently. The sleeves of the caftan are very broad; the front is deco- 
 rated with agrafes, and gold and silver embroideries. Old Turks, or those 
 invested with dignities, wear a long pointed beard; the young men only 
 wear mustaches; but all shave the head. The younger Turks wear the 
 fez-cap and no turban; but with the Turks of a certain age, the turban is 
 a long and narrow roll of silk, muslin, or cachmere, wound round the 
 fez; and the arrangement of the folds, as well as the materials of this 
 article of dress, bespeaks the class or profession of the wearer.* 
 
 Captain hlozet, who visited Algeria soon after the conquest, has left 
 ample particulars respecting the Janissaries, whose morals do not appear 
 to have been very strict; for he states that, after exhausting all the volup- 
 tuous enjoyments natural to man, they were addicted to unnatural prac- 
 tices of classical notoriety; nor is this practice, unfortunately, confined to 
 the Turks.-)- Children of Turks and Christian women enjoyed the consi- 
 deration of Turks, and could become Janissaries; but children of Turks 
 and Moorish women were an inferior cast, excluded from the dignities of 
 their fathers, and named Koulouglis, — from the Turkish words koul, slave; 
 and oughli, sons. 
 
 Agriculture was despised by the Turks, whose beautiful gardens were 
 commonly cultivated by Kabyles, or Christian slaves. Most of the Turks 
 engaged or speculated in piracy, and some in trades, selling jewels, es- 
 sences, perfumes, and valuable stuffs. They also engage extensively in 
 
 of barren description. Yousouf is said to be a Christian and an Italian by birth, 
 kidnapped and brought to Tunis in earl}* childhood, when his beauty striking the I 
 he named him one of his pages. An ill-starred intimacy soon sprang up between the 
 handsome Yousouf and the Bey's daughter; and they were surprised in one of their in- 
 terviews by a slave, whom Yousouf killed, cut up, and concealed, to prevent detection. 
 Yet fearing disclosure and death, he left his Dido and the shores of Carthage by a vessel 
 bound to Algiers, where he was received with open arms by the French ; and at the head 
 of the spahis, after many dashing achievements, including the fabulous capture of Bona 
 in 1833 with the Baron d'Annandy, a most gallant French soldier of fortune, ho attained 
 the rank of brigadier - general. Yousouf visited Paris some years since, and again lately ; 
 and his short but well-knit frame and liquid yet fiery black eyes are said to have done 
 considerable execution among French hearts. In short, there was a Yousouf fever. — 
 Spahi, I may add, is the name of the yeomanry or irregular cavalry throughout the 
 Turkish empire. An excellent account of this gallant body of men, who 200 years ago 
 could have ridden over all the Russias in two months, occurs in Sir Paid Kycaut's Present 
 State of the Ottoman Empire, 1662, p. 347. 
 
 * Berbrugger, ubi supra. 
 
 •j* Rozet, Voyage dans la Regence d' Alger, 1833.
 
 332 TURKISH CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 the manufacture of carpets at Algiers, which are not so handsome, but 
 softer and more comfortable than those of Turkey. Honesty was always 
 the characteristic of the Turk. The hamal of Constantinople could be 
 trusted any where with your luggage; and the Algerian Turk never 
 cheated in trade. Friction with Christendom has probably taught them 
 by this time the arts of lying and cheating.* 
 
 Most human characters and institutions have two phases, light and 
 shade; nor are the Turks an exception to the rule; and we cannot bid 
 adieu to them without regretting the extinction of their virtues together 
 with their vices. Like the American Indians, it seems to be their fate to 
 fall before the sickle of European civilisation, or barbarism; and it may not 
 be unprofitable to dwell on their expiring agony, and reap some wisdom 
 from their ashes. Limb after limb of the mighty Ottoman empire has 
 been lopped off of late, and the axe now lies at the root of the tree. But 
 though Western somnolence and jealousies may suffer the city and land 
 of the Sultan to expire in the rude embrace of Eussia, we will not suffer 
 the majesty and energy of the children of Othman to go unchronicled in 
 these pages. 
 
 Though cruel and bigoted in the days of their pride, the Turks had a 
 mighty glowing faith, the secret of their power; while its want is the key 
 to our weakness. Deficient in science and its appliances, they were eman- 
 cipated from our scribblomania, and lived in happy ignorance of literary 
 indigestion and repletion, f Hence they had greater concentration aud 
 power of will, more freshness and originality of character. We have al- 
 luded to their honesty ; and though piracy would seem little compatible 
 with the love of truth, yet history has shown that the proud Osmanli 
 rarely stooped to lies. We must not forget their tenderness for the brute 
 creation; which, though apparently incompatible with their ferocity to 
 Christians and foes, is another of the anomalies and twofold phases of 
 national character.^ 
 
 Nor can we suffer these few lines on the departed lights of Turkish life 
 to escape us, without expressing a regret that the friction with Indo-Ger- 
 manic civilisation has not been more profitable to them, and honourable to 
 us. It is unfortunate that Voltaire and Diderot should be our harbingers 
 in the East, and oracles with the Turkish youth ;§ and it savours more of 
 our barbarism than of our Christianity, that we cannot extend the march 
 of mind without abetting the spread of moral and physical poisons; or 
 inoculate the nations with our civilisation, without grasping their terri- 
 
 * For ample illustrations of the manly honesty and straightforwardness of the Turkish 
 character, the reader is referred to the pages of Dr. Walsh's Residence in Constantinople, 
 and to Miss Pardoe's City of the Sultan, 1838. 
 
 t Montaigne's Essays 
 
 t Dr. Walsh's Residence in Constantinople, 2 vols. 
 
 § Macfarlane's Turkey.
 
 TIIE KOULOUGLIS. 333 
 
 tory and enslaving their sons. But Christianity and politics are still wide 
 as the poles; and whilst Birmah and Scinde fall into our toils in the East, 
 we must not complain of the dungeons of Siheria, of the agony of Cir- 
 cassia, or of the northern tempest hanging over Stamboul. 
 
 We have observed that alliances frequently took place between the 
 Turks and Moorish women, and ultimately some of the most important 
 families of the regency became allied to them. From these relations 
 sprang the Koulouglis, or sons of slaves, who received this name from 
 their mothers. Filling a kind of transition position between the two 
 races, they occasionally gave much uneasiness to the Turks, and sometimes 
 did good service to both parties. They had enjoyed for GO years (to 1830) 
 a considerable share in the government, and began to form an imposing 
 military force; and in the last Turkish census, a.d. 1829, we find that the 
 number of Koulouglis fit to bear arms amounted to 8688.* 
 
 All the Koulouglis have shown themselves invariably well-disposed to 
 the French from the first, and have accordingly met with much persecu- 
 tion from Abd-el-Kader and the Arab race. 
 
 This race possesses many of the qualities of the Janissaries, and is se- 
 parated from the natives by manners, and by the use of the Turkish lan- 
 guage, which they speak almost universally. They answer excellently well 
 as mediators and channels of communication between the French and the 
 Arabs and Kabyles.t 
 
 They are generally very handsome men, having regular features, well- 
 shaped eyes, a fair and smooth skin, strongly developed muscles, and a 
 certain embonpoint, proceeding doubtless from their mothers. The mar- 
 riage of European with African blood can be detected in their appearance ; 
 for they have the nonchalence and haughtiness of the Turks, blended with 
 the lymphatic temperament of the Moorish women, — especially the girls, 
 who are also invariably brought up like their mothers. Their costume is 
 the same as that of the Moors and Turks ; but they pride themselves on 
 
 * At Alters ....... 2076 
 
 Province of Constantina ..... 1130 
 
 Ditto Oran . . . . .- . . 14i>2 
 
 Ditto Tittery 1415 
 
 On the Oued-Zeitoun ..... 2665 
 
 Total ...... 868S 
 
 t Baron Baudc, vol. iii. p. 231. The history of the Koulouglis, though much less inte- 
 resting than that of the Janissaries, has been intimately connected with the annals of the 
 regency, almost always sharing the good or evil fortune of their sires the Turks. Yet in 
 1626, under the reign of Maharan, they revolted against the Janissary militia, and de- 
 vised a conspiracy that almost overthrew the Turkish power at Algiers, and whose discovery 
 led to a horrible massacre. Though far from enjoying any high consideration under the 
 Dey, yet the corps of spahis (Turkish cavalry) was commonly recruited from amongst 
 them.
 
 .834 THE JEWS. 
 
 extreme cleanliness, and even a kind of coquetry in their dress, which is 
 not unbecoming their character, and recalls the Asiatic tchelebis* Almost 
 all rich enough to do nothing, they follow no profession, scarcely taking 
 the trouble to work, and remain for days plunged in apathy, whilst their 
 slaves cultivate their gardens, and receive chastisement if they are not 
 satisfied with their work. The young men study attitudes in walking, to 
 display the beauty of their figure. 
 
 The Koulouglis are distinguished above all the races in Algeria for 
 excessive vanity and profound ignorance. In the social machinery, 
 before 1830, they were confounded with the Moors, and had no right 
 to the privileges of their sires ; yet they seldom had cause to fear any 
 persecution from the Janissaries, because of the affinity existing between 
 them. They were only required to take up arms in time of war; and 
 their pacific character has impeded the just appreciation of their natural 
 valour. 
 
 The Koulouglis profess the Mussulman religion, in which they are 
 brought up ; but their faith is characterised by the same indifference that 
 they display in all the acts of life. They are not superstitious, and 
 only attend to the forms of religion to show they believe in God. Ex- 
 ceeding the Turks in apathy, they do not make it a point of conscience 
 to attend the mosques. Whilst on this subject, we must not forget to 
 state that the Turks and Koulouglis, who are all Sunnites, or orthodox 
 Mahometans, observe the rite of Hanefi ; whilst the Arabs and Ber- 
 bers are Malekites. The Turkish tongue was only used in the odjak of 
 the Janissaries and amongst the Koulouglis, and was employed for all 
 official acts.-j- 
 
 There is yet another tribe of the Semitic race diffused in Algeria, as 
 throughout the world; a people of riveting interest, and yet generally 
 deficient in the nobler and more gallant characteristics of human nature : 
 I mean the Jews. 
 
 The children of Israel are scattered throughout Barbary, and have 
 managed, as usual, to thrive there, notwithstanding greater insults than 
 the Disabilities Act, and harsher persecution than the Ghetto. Those Jews 
 who live scattered among the Kabyle tribes differ from the other Israelites 
 
 * A Persian word for gentleman or dandy, used only in the East, and occurring in the 
 following Arabic proverb : 
 
 LT*!/**" l ~j'^ c lsV" 1 L5"° i * v LS^~ 
 
 Hhalahi, tchalabi, chdmi, choumi, macri, hharami: tho Aleppian is a fop, the Damascan 
 cunning, the Egyptian a thief. A. Bellemaro's Gramirmire Arabe, p. 98. 
 
 t It is probable that in a few years this hybrid race, which seemed born for a gentle, 
 1 izy, and voluptuous life, will die out in Algeria, as the recruiting and immigration of 
 Turks, who kept up the stock, has ceased since tho conquest in 1830. Berbrugger's 
 Algeria, iii. pp. 8-9. Sco also Captain llozet's Voyage, &c.
 
 JEWS A XI) JEWESSES. 335 
 
 of Algeria by the period of their establishment, by their manners and lan- 
 guage ; and all that they have in common consists chiefly, if not exclu- 
 sively, in the basis of their Hebrew faith.* 
 
 Under the sky of Africa, as in Europe, this wondrous people have 
 preserved their special type : an aquiline nose, a black beard, a magnifi- 
 cent but deceptive eye, a clear but colourless complexion. Their appear- 
 ance is less scriptural and engaging than the interesting characteristics of 
 the Lithuanian Jews, many of whom present a striking likeness to our 
 ideal of Christ-like and apostolic beauty, t 
 
 In Algeria, as in most countries, they can be recognised by their com- 
 bined look of cheating and humility, the result of the wrongs of ages ; and 
 by their stooping attitudes, their severe features, and the dark rings round 
 their eyes. 
 
 As always where they muster strong, they engross almost all the 
 commerce : bankers, brokers, and agents, they are the Rothschilds of Al- 
 geria. Nothing can be done without them. They attend to all branches 
 of industry, save agriculture. Active, intriguing, and versatile, they form 
 a great contrast to the apathy of the Moors. 
 
 The Jews are forbidden in Barbary to wear gay clothing ; and they con- 
 tinue their partiality for the sable, notwithstanding their emancipation 
 through the French conquest. Their dress consists of several vests, or 
 waistcoats, of grey cloth ; of wide trousers of the same colour, tied round 
 the waist by a blue belt ; and the majority go bare-legged, though a few 
 wear stockings.* 
 
 The Jewish women at Algiers have generally a greater freedom, and 
 are more confidentially treated by their husbands, than the Moorish wo- 
 men : they go out at option, and do their own commissions. They are 
 commonly pretty. Matrons or maids, they go with uncovered faces ; and 
 their coiffure consists of a sarmah, or conical head-dress resembling the 
 ancient hennin, and the cap of the French cauchoises. The rest of their 
 
 * Baron Baude, vol. iii. History has recorded the date and cause of the Israelitish 
 immigration into West Africa, after the destruction of Jerusalem ; but the immemo- 
 rial establishment of the Scenite Jews, who in the whole extent of Barbary are mixed 
 with the Berber population, would lead us to suppose that it forms the foundation of this 
 immigration from the East and Syria, which Sallust has related in these words : " After- 
 wards the Phoenicians — some for the sake of lessening the pressure at home, others from 
 motives of ambition and curiosity — built Adrumetum. Hippo, Leptis, and other cities on 
 the sea-shore." (Sallust. Bell. Jugurth. p. 77.) Numerous Jewish migrations occurred 
 during the persecutions of Adrian ; and in the third century these emigrants formed in- 
 dependent tribes in the Hedjaz near Medina, and near Mecca; and their religion spread 
 in Yemen. If we may believe the Arab historians, most of the African Berbers and 
 Arabs professed the Hebrew faith in the seventh and eighth centuries, and the preaching 
 of Mahometanism made no way amongst them. This would appear to explain the phe- 
 nomenon of the Jews forming till lately (1843) a fourth of the population of Algiers, and 
 more than foiu--fifths of that of Or an. 
 
 f Marquis de Custine's Voyage en Russie. 
 
 X Berbrugger, part hi.
 
 336 POSITION OF THE JEWS UNDER THE FRENCH. 
 
 costume consists, with the common women, of a full blue cotton gown, 
 without being confined at the waist, with very short sleeves, letting 
 those of the chemise descend below them. The poorer sort put a kind 
 of cap on their head instead of the sarmah, letting the point fall back on 
 the neck. Like most of the men, they generally go bare-legged and bare- 
 footed. 
 
 The young girls wear their hair long and plaited in a tail, to which 
 they tie red and blue ribbons. As a coiffure, they wear a small but very 
 elegant cap of green velvet, adorned with a golden tassel, and with a bor- 
 der also of gold, forming the sides of that kind of Greek cap which passes 
 gracefully under their neck, where it is tied. Some sweet faces and regu- 
 lar features are often seen amongst them. Nothing can be more graceful 
 than a pretty Algerian Jewess going to the fountain, and carrying a pitcher 
 on her head. It is not improbable that it was a vision of this nature that 
 inspired the pencil of Horace Vernet, when he designed his admirable 
 Rebecca; in the same way that you find the prototype of his Eliezer, 
 with a parti-coloured white and grey burnouse, in many a Bedouin of the 
 Sahara. 
 
 In the kingdom of Fez, the Jews inhabit chiefly the northern provinces, 
 and are even now called Philistines.* Like the Kabyles among whom 
 they live, they take part in war, and are not withered by slavery.t 
 
 Under the Turks, the Jews formed a notable part of the population of 
 Algeria; but they suffered grievous burdens and mortifying insults. Hence 
 they gave the French a hearty welcome ; and their condition has been so 
 much improved, that they have turned the tables on their former tyrants, 
 whom they often treat with contumely and harshness. This circumstance, 
 by increasing the hatred of the other native races to them, has Jed the 
 Israelites to dread greatly the departure of the French, as the Ishmaelites 
 would not fail to revenge themselves bitterly upon them again if they 
 recovered the upper hand. In the present day they have a monopoly 
 of the land-trade and brokerage. Their children frequent the French 
 schools, speak the French tongue, and assume the Frank dress, Avithout 
 losing the spirit of caste. They readily become lawyers' clerks and em- 
 ployes of government ; they are already initiated into French legislation ; 
 and the natives have no other consulting advocates. 
 
 The populations of the East in general, and the Jews in particular, have 
 always shown too great a tendency to fence themselves into separate 
 
 * Berbrugger, part iii. p. 4. 
 
 t Kabyle Jews are also found in the regency of Algeria, especially in the Auress 
 mountain, in the province of Constantina. It is probable that th y shared the fate of the 
 Libyan, Gatulian, and Nuraidian populations, when thoy were conquered and driven back 
 into the mountains by the invasions of tho Vandals and Arabs; and this participation in 
 their fortunes gave them probably the right of naturalisation among the true aboriginal 
 
 ives. See Graberg d'Hcmso, Spccchio geografico-statistico dclT Inrperio di Marocco, 
 L836.
 
 THE JEWS. 307 
 
 races and castes, treating each other as enemies and strangers, though 
 living under the same sceptre.'"' 
 
 Baron Baude found it difficult to ohtain a good census of the Jews in 
 ISil ; and he could not procure any of the Kabyle Jews.t 
 
 The whole Jewish population of the regency amounted in December 
 1849 to 19,0284 
 
 We rejoice to think that the sorrows of this mystical race are at an end 
 in Algeria, and that under the enlightened religious code of France, — a 
 model on this point to the nations, though a warning on so many others, 
 — they can once more retrace while they outgrow the steps of their mighty 
 ancestors, by securing that pedestal of all human greatness, self-respect. A 
 fair field is open to them there, and opening elsewhere. It will take time 
 for them to shake off the rust of ages ; but if they put their hands manfully 
 to the plough, and drop the convict's dress and mind, they may yet stand 
 forth once more as " a chosen generation and a peculiar people ;" and 
 should they see the wisdom of disencumbering themselves of their narrow 
 pride and bigotry, a bright future may very probably await this singular 
 people. The luxuriance of their eastern fancy, and the shrewdness of their 
 mother-wit, improved and chastened by an infusion of Germanic chivalry 
 and thought, might lead to massive and brilliant phases of humanity yet 
 unborn. A cross between the seers of Jutlah and the vikings of Odin 
 would beget a giant progeny. 
 
 Other populations, few in number but rich in interest, occur on this 
 soil of Algeria, which having been so long and so often the battle-field 
 and the high-road of nations', must naturally present the relics of sundry 
 warriors and wanderers in its sand-wastes and fastnesses. "We have visited 
 the Kabylea ; let us enter the oases, and scale the Great Atlas ; and among 
 the snows of Auress and the palms of Zaab we shall find pure and inde- 
 pendent tvpes of historical and mythical races. Thus, true Germanic sons 
 of the Vandal flood are still preserved in the far south as well as at Bugia. 
 
 Most of the great tribes that are not Arabs have representatives at 
 Algiers, where they are formed into corporations of workmen, subject to a 
 rigorous organization and hierarchv analogous to that of our ancient 
 
 * Baron Baude. vol. iii. Many of the Jews in Algeria have embraced useful trades; 
 those of tailoring, gold-drawing, and jewellering have the preference, and some are very 
 good masons. The commerce of supplying the tissues of Europe to the tribes is almost 
 entirely in their hands ; and those of Constantina carry on manufacturing industry on a 
 large scale, especially in the preparation of looms. Most of the rich families have houses 
 at Algiers. 
 
 f The following were the French returns of Jewish population in 1839 and 1849 : (Ba- 
 toii Baude, vol. iii.) 
 
 1S39. 1S49. 
 
 Algiers .... 6065 72S9 
 
 Oran 3364 7749 
 
 Constantina .... 69S 3990 
 J Tableau, 1850, p. 113. 
 
 Y
 
 1838. 
 
 1S39. 
 
 1849. 
 
 2258 
 
 2829 
 
 1817 
 
 185 
 
 273 
 
 206 
 
 702 
 
 803 
 
 861 
 
 861 
 
 814 
 
 756 
 
 91 
 
 116 
 
 110 
 
 338 THE CORPORATIONS. 
 
 guilds. These corporations consisted of 5599 souls in 1849.* The three 
 last corporations belong to the Zaab country, the others to the moun- 
 tain districts of the regency. At all times a great number of Saharians 
 have annually emigrated from the interior to the capital, — like the Auver- 
 gnats and the Savoyards in France, and the Tyrolese in Germany, — 
 in order to pocket a few earnings and better their condition at home. 
 These emigrant corporations at Algiers were governed by a chief named 
 Arum, who was charged with the police of the body. The amin was like 
 the agent of a commercial company, the magistrate of a little society, 
 and the father of a family. The three chief corporations are those of 
 the Biskris, the Mozabites, and the Aghrouaths.-j- 
 
 * Kabyles ..... 
 Mzitas ..... 
 Mozabites .... 
 
 Biskris ..... 
 El-Aghrouaths .... 
 
 4097 4835 5599 
 
 f The Biskris live to the south of the great salt lake of Chott. They have sallow com- 
 plexions and sei-ious manners ; their customs, morals, and character differ essentially from 
 those of the Arabs and of the other tribes. Yet, from their language, a corrupt dialect of 
 the Arabic, it would seem that they are scattered relics of that celebrated people, and that 
 their customs have been affected by admixture with the aborigines. This hypothesis is 
 strengthened when we reflect, that the territory which they inhabit must needs have been 
 crossed by the tides of Arabs who conquered Africa in the seventh century. Their cha- 
 racter is complaisant and faithful ; they were employed in most houses as confidential 
 servants ; they monopolised the baking trade ; were the only commissaries at Algiers, and 
 the only employe's of the government on public works; and they were, moreover, the 
 commercial agents between Algiers and Gadamez. At presenl they are porters, and 
 even agricultural labourers, navvies, &c. Blindness is a very common disease in this small 
 nation, possibly proceeding from their propinquity to the glowing sands of the desert. 
 Their religion is Mahometanism. The Mozabites, or the Beni-Mozab, inhabit an oasis ill 
 the Sahara of the province of Algiers, at about twenty days' camel's march for a caravan, 
 part of the road passing through the desert, and without any wells. The Mozabites are 
 fair, but their features and type are those of the Arabs. (This statement, which we have 
 borrowed from Berbrugger, is slightly at variance with that of Castellane, who describes 
 the Mozabites as a different people from the Arabs. See p. 110 of the Souvenirs, and 
 p. 31 of the present work.) Their character is gentle and active ; and their probity is 
 almost proverbial at Algiers, of whose government they were quite independent. Their 
 privileges and commerce were protected by written covenants, with the sanction of the 
 government; and in civil affairs they only recognised the jurisdiction of their Amin at 
 Algiers. The benefits that they obtained from the Deys were considerable ; being privi- 
 leged agents of the commerce of Algiers with the interior of Africa, and enjoying the 
 monopoly of the baths, butcheries, and mills of the capital. They follow the law of Mo- 
 hammed, though deviating from it in several particulars ; refusing to perform their cere- 
 monies in the usual mosques, and having one of their own outside the town, appropriated 
 to their particular creed. The Biskris are handsomely paid for the services that they 
 perform for the French, and have gained as much as the Moors have lost by their con- 
 nection with our neighbours. With regard to tho native population, it is proper to add, 
 that the Turks and Koulouglis have dwindled down to a handful of men, lost in the body 
 of tho Moorish population. For farther particulars consult the Tableau, p. 110.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 CIjc £2rgrocsf. 
 
 UTILITY OF SLAVERY — MAHOMETAN AND CHRISTIAN SLAVERY DEGRADED STATE 
 
 OF THE NIGER BASIN THE SLAVE-TRADE IN AFRICA THE BLACKS IN MOROCCO 
 
 — UNFORTUNATE RESULTS OF THE ATTEMPT TO STOP THE SLAVE-TRADE THE 
 
 DJELEP NATIVE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 
 
 IT is with diffidence that we venture on the disputed question of slavery, 
 especially as we are led by our honest convictions to differ on certain 
 points from many venerable names and authorities. 
 
 Liberty is such a glorious thing, and the very term slavery is so 
 odious, that it requires some courage and much solid argument to advance, 
 and not a little patience to listen to, the advocacy of the comparative ad- 
 vantages of some forms of mitigated slavery. Yet it is only the force of 
 habit that blinds us to our own ; we are so inured to our chains that we 
 do not feel them ; while it is certain that the four historical phases of 
 humanity up to the present time — savage life, pastoral life, feudal life, and 
 civilised life — are nothing but comparative modifications of slavery. A 
 keener sense of justice, a higher relish for the ideal, a better ear for higher 
 harmonies, would dash the cup of all our present enjoyments with poison, 
 and banish content from every breast. Our perceptions of a possible 
 future arc blunted, though the chronic throws of revolution bespeak the 
 occasional awakening of the giant to a sense of his oppression. Revo- 
 lutions are the symbol and the offspring of the world's social slavery; and 
 whilst legislation mistakes their cause, and tries to doctor them with po- 
 litical treatment, instead of enlaro-ino; the social freedom of the individual, 
 the streets will grow barricades, and our cities crops of conspirators. 
 
 The social movement, like all others, has its scale of degrees, and 
 slavery admits a serial order. The negro in America is low in the scale 
 of slavery; in Africa he is often lower. We do not attempt here to sug- 
 gest the cure for the monstrous evil in the United States. We grant it 
 at once ; but St. Domingo and common sense prove that the evil existing 
 will be magnified instead of lessened by immediate and entire emancipa-
 
 340 MAHOMETAN SLAVERY. 
 
 tion, — an injustice alike to the planter and the slave. Gradual transitions 
 are the law of nature ; and the only safe emancipation is that by degrees. 
 
 But slavery in America is not slavery every where ; and the system in 
 Barbary, like that of Circassians and Georgians at Constantinople, works 
 well.* It might seem unnatural for the Circassian parent to sell his lovely 
 daughter to the Turkish merchant; yet pride and ambition prompt him 
 to the act, for she may be the mother of sultans. Nor are we wanting 
 in examples of high-born parents in a place called Britain selling their 
 daughters, that they may wear a coronet. 
 
 Mahometanism has ever mitigated slavery ; and the Koran is a check 
 to the master and a comfort to the slave. It recommends manumission as 
 more efficacious for the salvation of souls than much fasting and many 
 pilgrimages; and the marriage of masters and slaves is encouraged by 
 custom, t In short, granting what circumstances have proved, that negro 
 nature cannot bear an immediate transition from the night of the Niger 
 to the comparative daylight of European civilisation, intermediate steps, 
 probations, and preparations are necessary; and of such, Mahometan slavery 
 offers a favourable example. 
 
 But since facts are ever more weighty than arguments, we will here 
 produce some evidence, which, with the inductions that may be thence 
 derived, appear to us conclusive. 
 
 We are informed, that on the banks of the Niger the average price of 
 a negro is four camels' loads of dates; and it is no uncommon thing there 
 for fifteen or twenty men to be given in exchange for a horse. + This is 
 rather a promising beginning, as showing the estimation in which black 
 souls are held at home. But to proceed; we learn from another authority, 
 that the negroes in Algeria possess excellent qualities as slaves, whilst 
 they are equally notorious for their defects when liberated. Immediately 
 that they are emancipated from the yoke, they become thiefs, traitors, liars, 
 bloodthirsty, and subject to the most desperate passions on the slightest 
 opposition. We can already perceive some obvious inductions, which we 
 leave to the reader's skill for the present. Before entering into an ex- 
 amination of the slave's position in Algeria, we will analyse the routes 
 taken by the caravans from Soudan. After having crossed, on leaving 
 Algiers, the Atlas chain and the territories of the nomadic tribes that live 
 to the south of Mcdeah, you arrive among the Mezzabites, who extend into 
 the Sahara and belong to the Djcridi, or palmers ; and beyond them 
 stretches away the vast tract of treeless country known as the Great De- 
 sert, infested by the rovers of the sands, two tribes called Touaths and 
 Tuaricks, the most southern of all the Berber race.§ The latter carry on 
 
 * See Miss Pardoe's City of the Sultan ; and Rovelations of Russia, vol. ii. the chapters 
 on Circassia and^Georgia. 
 
 t For the Mahometan code of slavery, seo Daumas' Grand DJscrt, p. 410. 
 £ Baron Bawlc, ch. xvii.; Berbrugger, part iii.; Lc Grand Desert. 
 § Castollano, p. 280; Lo Grand Desert; Baron Baudo, ch. xvii.
 
 THE SLAVE-TRADE. 341 
 
 their commerce and depredations as far as the Niger and into the vicinity 
 of Timbuctoo ; and their daring industry in robbing caravans and man- 
 catching constitutes all their riches. Some of them carry on the trade of 
 bagging the negroes who go to seek salt in the salt-lakes of the desert : 
 and more commonly they treat for them by purchase from the petty 
 princes of the basin of the Niger. But, however obtained, man-flesh is 
 always the staple of the goods brought back from these enterprises. 
 Thieving is not an easy trade on camel's backs ; hence the kidnappers 
 and conveyers of stolen men are different tribes, and a division of labour 
 is found in the heart of the desert. Those who carry off the slaves 
 do not exj)ort them ; they sell them to the Touaths, who carry on trade 
 with the Djeridi and the Sahara. The ordinary wholesale price of the 
 captives, at a rough estimate and without distinction of age or sex, is 
 four camels' loads of dates, or its equivalent in merchandise. Now these 
 sixteen quintals of dates, which amount, they say, in the Sahara to a value 
 of sixteen francs, may, at the moment of exchange, have reached a value 
 of forty francs by the carriage. The caravan performs a journey of seven- 
 teen days' march to reach the Mezzabites; and the nearer it comes to the 
 coast, the greater is the danger of being pillaged. At last they arrive at 
 Medeah, whence Algiers used to be supplied (before 1830); and the 
 current prices, on which the merchants gained about 100 per cent, were 
 200 boudjous for men and 120 for women (3G0 and 216 fr.).* 
 
 Hence what the negro has lost by importation into the regency is a 
 social state in which man is valued at much less than 40 fr. (1/. 15s.) 
 The treatment of the people by the chiefs of Central Africa shews a brutal 
 stupidity. They give twenty men for a horse ; their superstitions require 
 bloody sacrifices ; the animadversion of a priest is a condemnation to death; 
 and human sacrifices are thought to honour the funerals of their princes. 
 The prisoner of war, and also the man who does not pay his taxes, be- 
 come slaves ; it is not thought a crime to sell your relations in a family, 
 because being sold is not thought to be a misfortune ; fathers, elder bro- 
 thers, and even mothers do not scruple to sell their children, whose life is 
 of so little value; and the latter do not think it a misfortune, to judge 
 from their appearance in the bazaars, -j- 
 
 Moreover, no idea of degradation accompanies slavery among the Mus- 
 
 * The returns of the bazaars of Egypt, Morocco, Tunis, and Tripoli confirm these data. 
 The slaves brought to Gondar, in Abyssinia, most of them Gallas, are sold to the caravans 
 by the child-stealers for one or two talaris per head (1 talari is worth 5 fr. i cent.). Cas- 
 tellanc, p. 268 et seqq. ; Le Grand Desert ; Baron Baude, ch. xvii. 
 
 t Bai-on Baude, vol. hi. eh. xvii. on the Negroes. Gen. Daumas, at p. 8 of the preface 
 to Le Grand Desert, inserts letters that reached France from Gorea, dated March 18-17, 
 mentioning that a rigorous blockade of the coast had been adopted by the French and 
 British cruisers to stop the slave-trade; the latter undertaking to blockade Gallinas, where 
 a number of negroes were congregated, ready to be shipped off. The proprietors of these 
 slaves finding all means of evading the cruisers impossible, and being unable to feed them,
 
 342 DANGER OF ABOLITION. 
 
 sulmans. The slave is the companion of his master ; he may reach (in 
 Morocco) the high dignities of the empire;'"' and if a woman, she enters 
 the family by giving birth to a chief. The faithful who manumits his 
 like, says the Koran, saves himself from the punishment of humanity and 
 the torments of hell. Affranchisements by will, after a certain number of 
 years, are very frequent ; marriages with slave-women are still more so; 
 and children born of black concubines belong to the condition of the 
 father. Compare this with American prejudices, and infer, reader, where 
 most Christianity is to be found. 
 
 Scrupulous Mussulmans think themselves bound to offer liberty to 
 their slaves after nine years' good service, because it is thought that after 
 that time they have paid their value in labour. Hence the law of Mo- 
 hammed has many ways by which the slave may attain to civil liberty ; 
 and thus it seems to bring the slave by violence into the heart of the 
 country, only to incorporate him in it at last by affranchisement. In this 
 manner, slaves brought from the Niger to Barbary have not fallen into 
 slavery, but have changed it. But between the slavery that they have 
 left and that which they have entered is all the difference from Fetichism 
 to Mahometanism, from perpetuity to transition. Thus, to interdict sla- 
 very in Barbary would be to throw back the negro into perpetual and 
 hopeless barbarism. -j~ 
 
 The origin, history, and language, &c. of the slaves is still in a great 
 measure a mystery ; even their country is unknown. In all other coun- 
 tries tradition makes mention of a heavenly origin for man ; thus the 
 Indians have their paradise of Brahma, the Jews Eden, the Pagans a 
 golden age. But nothing like this occurs among the negroes. No divine 
 institution has consecrated marriage amongst them ; they are just as the 
 ancients left them, even in the shape of their brain. The difference be- 
 tween the whites and blacks seems to be, that we have the principle of 
 our perfectibility in us, whilst they only obey impressions from without.:}: 
 Immersion into white society seems a necessary step to prepare the negro 
 for liberty. But this must be done gradually, or it will lead to mischief; 
 hence the sudden abolition of slavery in Africa would be to desert public 
 duty. There exist plenty of facts to show that the abolition of slavery 
 among the white slave-owners in North Africa would only be to per- 
 petuate and consecrate it among the blacks. The regular army uf Morocco 
 consists of 20,000 blacks, regularly recruited by negroes brought by cara- 
 
 decapitatcd liOiii) of them, fixing their heads on poles raised on the shore. Some French 
 officers; who happened to bo on shoro, having bitterly complained of this to the chiefs, the 
 latter n plied : " What can you expect? If you no longer allow us to make money by our 
 prisoners of war, wo shall bo obliged to butcher them all." Comments on this fact are 
 unnecessary. 
 
 "" (Jn'iberg il'llcinso, Spocehio geografico-statistico dell' Imperio di Marocco, 1836. 
 
 i liaron Uaudo, chap. xvii. J Ibid.
 
 MITIGATED SLAVERY. 343 
 
 vans from Soudan and Timbuctoo. Though purchased as slaves, as soon 
 as they enter the army they become free. 
 
 At Algiers they form a corporation under a kait-laus-fan, or chief. On 
 the 1st of January 1833 it reckoned 390 persons, and in 1840, 408; whilst 
 the census of 1849 gave a return of 5G3.* Scarcely one-fourth of them 
 are born in Barbary. In Algeria there were 4177 in 1849. 
 
 They become porters, domestics, syndics, or an amin of their own cor- 
 poration, who is answerable for their delinquencies. It would be impos- 
 sible to keep up a supply of them without women, experience having shown 
 the physical necessity of their society to prevent the ravages of nostalgia 
 among the male negroes when condemned to the most moderate con- 
 tinence, owing to the amorous idiosyncrasy of their temperaments. Their 
 numbers in Algeria amounted to 1800f in 1840, being principally females. 
 The French guaranteed the observance of their laws and customs to the 
 natives in Algeria at the time of the conquest ; yet, by French law, the 
 slave on crossing a French threshold is free. If the slave-trade had not 
 been interrupted, this distinction would have been illusory; many natives 
 would have been under-traders in slaves, and, eluding the law, would have 
 obtained employment for slave-labour from Europeans. 
 
 On a broad survey of the case, it appears to us that religion sanctions, 
 and prudence suggests, the adoption of a mild and organised system of 
 negro slavery in North Africa; that it is the only efficient means of inocu- 
 lating the negro race with a higher civilisation; that it increases the hap- 
 piness of those exported, and diminishes the fearful slavery of Central 
 African slaughter-houses; and that, if mitigated and checked by the clauses 
 of Christian laws, it could not fail, under God, to be a great instrument in 
 reclaiming the blacks from their brutal degradation, and in preparing 
 them for higher political and social phases. If such results have flowed 
 from Mahometan slavery, what might not be anticipated from a judicious 
 system tempered by a Christian spirit ! A superficial survey exclaims 
 against the whole thing as a base injustice ; but we are persuaded that a 
 more scrutinising examination will verify our inductions ; and that it will 
 be found that justice and expediency both advocate as well as tolerate 
 the practice of a mild system of slavery, as the most charitable and rea- 
 sonable transitive measure for the negro in his progression from a moral 
 and intellectual death in the basin of the Niger to the intelligence and 
 spiritual life of the Caucasian variety. 
 
 In 1815 the state of slavery in Algeria was as follows : The slaves of 
 natives remained in slavery, and when purchased by Europeans enjoyed 
 the full benefit of the French law of enfranchisement ;| but the caravans 
 to Medeah to supply Algiers had ceased, though the Arab tribes of the 
 
 * Tableau, 1849. 
 
 + Graberg d'Hemso says that the negroes in the empire of Morocco amount to 120,000.
 
 344 THE DJELEP. 
 
 Sahara bordering on the Great Desert still import kafilas of negroes from 
 Kachna Haoussa.'"' The number annually imported into the regency 
 before 1830 reached from COO to 800. 
 
 At present, owing to the check placed upon the importation of blacks 
 into Algeria, there is much greater outlet for this traffic at Tunis, Tripoli, 
 and in Morocco, into the latter of which countries 12,000 negroes are 
 annually imported, t 
 
 Lastly, we are assured by the latter authority, a man of liberal poli- 
 tics and philanthropic heart, personally and experimentally acquainted 
 with the subject, that the negroes are treated as members of the family 
 in Morocco, and are much superior to and better off than the free blacks 
 of Haiti ; and he adds, that the negroes regarded slavery among the Mus- 
 sulmans as a happiness. % 
 
 The negroes have many singular customs founded on the love of the 
 marvellous and mysterious, universal in man, by which they work on the 
 feelings and open the purses of the Arabs. Magic, witchcraft, mesmerism, 
 and fortune-telling are phases of a general truth and reality, connected 
 with the deepest mysteries of anthropology ; and the craAvling negro him- 
 self, though standing on the lowest platform of humanity, has been taught 
 by instinct the profoundest truths of science and philosophy. Thus ex- 
 tremes ever meet, and Quashy tramples on the stagnant prejudices of 
 Royal Societies and Academies of Science. The most remarkable of their 
 magical processes in Algeria is called djelej), whose object it is to make the 
 devil enter the patient's belly, whereby he foresees futurity. Those who 
 wish to obtain prevision consult the chief of the negroes (el hait-laus-fan), 
 ask him when the djelep will take place, and pay him a consideration to 
 be present, — a favour never accorded to Jews or Christians. 
 
 The process can only take place on forty days in the year, which arc 
 fixed by the kait-laus-fan. The period begins commonly at the Rhamadan • 
 and the night before, the intended patients, generally women, i-esort, in 
 company with an old man and woman, to a house set apart for negro 
 superstitious practices. They are put into a room furnished with cushions 
 and carpets, and concealed by a curtain. The old folks, with the help 
 of some people, make a kind of hell-broth of gum arabic, an essence 
 called sambel, and some pieces of wood called calcari, having pre- 
 viously killed four hens, with whose blood they anoint the joints of the 
 
 * Baron Baude says the importation of negroes has ceased, vol. iii. eh. xvii. Lcs N<5gres. 
 his remark docs not extend to the Arabs of Chamblct, &c. in the far south. Sec Le- 
 nd Desert, by General Daumas. 
 
 t The diversity in dialects is as great as that amongst tho physiognomies of the ne- 
 
 roes, some of whom, but especially of the negrcsses, arc very handsome, particularly in 
 
 figure. In the island of ( !uba alone, we are informed by Baron Baude that the languages 
 
 and types of tho black slaves amount to 27. Baude, vol. iii. ch. xvii.; Lc Grand Ddscrt, 
 
 preface. 
 
 J Baude, ubi supra.
 
 THE DJELEP. 34-J 
 
 patients; they then perfume them with the hell-broth and dress them 
 variously — long caftans to the heels, belts and caps with shells that rattle 
 together on dancing. That night, or next morning, twenty or thirty musi- 
 cians arrive with negro instruments, crouch down under the gallery on the 
 ground-floor, and in front of them is placed a carpet for money. The 
 court is swept, but no mats are placed on it, and you must pass over it 
 bare-foot. Those who have asked to be present are brought in one after 
 the other; and one, or at most two of the possessed, accompanied by 
 several negresses dressed like them, are brought into the court where they 
 are perfumed, and then abandoned to themselves. 
 
 The musicians then strike up a terrific din, and the possessed begins to 
 dance, at first gently, keeping the measure, and imitated by the negresses. 
 But the movements of the chief dancer soon become quicker, and soon 
 furious ; he or she emits screams and displays contortions. This is the 
 moment when the devil enters his body. Those present who wish to share 
 the advantage then step forward, and throw down money, tapers, &c 
 The music becomes stunning, the dancer is more and more excited, till he 
 falls down in a swoon. Then the old folks advance to perfume him, like 
 the bottle-holders refreshing our prize-fighters, on their knees. The music 
 ceases during this interlude; but presently recovering, the dancer launches 
 forth again, the music recommences, and the same scene is repeated till our 
 Taglioni is utterly worn out, when the devil is thought to have obtained 
 an entrance. 
 
 Such is a ballet-dance and a seance magnetique among the negroes, 
 which would slightly astonish the coulisse of the Opera or the lecture-room 
 of a philosophical institution. 
 
 Learning has for many ages been in a great measure neglected by the 
 natives of Algeria, and hardly any education is found among the Bedouins. 
 Most human blessings have hitherto been curses, and most curses blessings,, 
 owing to the duality of all human concerns. The Arab has saved his faith 
 at the expense of science, the European has lost it. 
 
 The Moorish and Turkish boys, as we have seen, are sent to school, 
 where they learn to know, like Socrates, that they know nothing; but this 
 knowledge, instead of making them Solomons, makes them like our philo- 
 sophers, big with self-importance ; and amidst the miracles and mysteries 
 of creation, conceive themselves giants of learning. After some progress 
 in the Koran, they are initiated with the same care into the ceremonies of 
 their religion ; and here at least they are commonly sincere, except after 
 much friction with Europeans. 
 
 Their medical skill is small, like that of all allopathists ; but they have 
 the modesty not to lay claim to much. Eew severe diseases are cured, 
 predestination interfering with precautions, but helping to heal the sores 
 of the soul better than our infidelity. Many trust in magareah, or charms ; 
 the natural instincts of man impelling them, though blindly, to some great
 
 346 NATIVE HYGIENE. 
 
 truths, such as the great power of metals over the animal economy. Public 
 baths are used in all diseases by these barbarians, who have condescended 
 to take hints from the Romans in hygiene, and who have invented the 
 Avater-cure long before Preissnitz. Like our hydropaths, the women are 
 rather too fond of dabbling in water ; but as they use it warm, it boils them 
 and soddens them into premature age, instead of turning them into icicles 
 and washing out their vitals. 
 
 In rheumatic and pleuritic cases they puncture the parts with red-hot 
 iron, and the operation is repeated if necessary. Decoctions of sandegourah 
 (ground-pine) or globularia fruticosa are administered for fevers ; and the 
 common scabious of Algeria, as a salad, frequently removes the ague. A 
 drachm or two of the root of round birthwort or borietum is always 
 given for colic and flatulency, and might be useful to certain gentlemen 
 in Exeter Hall ; the root of bookoke or arisarium, dried and powdered, is 
 used for stone and gravel. One drachm of a dark-coloured drop stone, or 
 the same quantity of the powder of the orobanche mauritanica, is reckoned 
 good in diarrhoea. Six or eight grains of alkermes in honey are used in 
 small-pox, and fresh butter is applied to prevent pitting. Inoculation and 
 vaccination are in small repute ; the Arabs not having more wit than our- 
 selves in welcoming new blessings, if they upset cherished prejudices and 
 canonical follies. They try to heal all simple and gun-shot wounds by 
 pouring fresh butter almost boiling hot into the part affected; a treatment 
 almost as absurd as the manly system of bleeding and purging employed 
 in England till lately with hysterical females and gentlemen of delicate 
 stamina. 
 
 For cases of swelling, bruises, inflammation, &c, the leaves of the 
 prickly pear are roasted a quarter of an hour in the ashes, and applied as 
 hot as possible to the part affected. This application is said to be use- 
 ful in the Algerian climate ; it brings the plague and other tumours to 
 maturity, and it is known to cure gout without any repelling quality. 
 Here is a windfall for the plethoric millionaires and used-up legislators and 
 senators of Christendom. We may shortly anticipate a tour to Algeria as 
 a substitute for the moors, after a gay session or season, for spurting mem- 
 bers who live too fast. In bruises, inflammations, &c, some take powder 
 of alhenna, and make it up in warm water into a cataplasm ; this tinges 
 the skin, and passes into the blood like iodine, mercury, and other bless- 
 ings of our pharmacopeia. In fresh wounds the leaves of the virga aurea 
 minor lbliis glutinosis, called by them madnunam, is found to have a good 
 effect ; and the root of toufailet or thapsia, roasted and applied hot to the 
 hips, is of use in sciatica. A few chief medicines or douwas are made use 
 of, in taking which no uniform practice is observed ; a counterpart to our 
 allopaths and allopathic treatment, the blind leading the blind, with blue-pill 
 and black-drauirht as nostrums. Not much more caution is used in their 
 
 O 
 
 administration than in ours, save that the preparations and infusions arc
 
 NATIVE SCIENCE. 347 
 
 seldom certain death. A handful of dry or green herbs is the usual dose. 
 If taken in a decoction, they pound it in a mortar, and then pour, at a 
 venture, half a pint or a whole, or more, of boiling water upon it. The 
 Moors call these medicines traditional ; but the few ingredients in the shops 
 of their tibeels give reason to think that their doctors, like ours, are about 
 as ignorant as their victims.* 
 
 There is very little knowledge of mathematics among these sons 
 of algebra; astrolabes and other monuments of their sires' genius not 
 being understood or used by the present race. The calendars they pos- 
 sess arc the work of former ages ; but they are not much used, the hours 
 of prayer being commonly left to the will and option of the muezzin, or 
 crier. The thalebs, or savants, pretend to a great insight into the value 
 of numbers; nor are they singular in this respect, as Neo-Platonists and 
 orthodox prelates have united in attaching special virtues to a trinity. 
 
 They have a high opinion of the knowledge of Europeans, asking any 
 thing you like to write as charms.-f- Nor are they so idle in this supersti- 
 tion; for what wonders can exceed the every-day familiar doings by our 
 fireside ? The word was made flesh ; and language written or oral is a 
 heavenly telegraph and a standing miracle. 
 
 They have several musical instruments, but do not write down their 
 compositions. The music of the Bedouin is rarely more than one strain. 
 Social and domestic harmony is not unknown to the Arabs, though they 
 are innocent and ignorant of imperial spies and republican order ; but 
 it must be admitted that their musical harmony is a serious violation of 
 the organic laws of acoustics. £ 
 
 * Elephantiasis and blindness are common afflictions in Algeria, as in Palestine. For 
 the native surgery, pathology, and pharmacopeia, see Blofeld; and the Vocabulaire 
 d'Histoirc Naturelle, by Dr. Lagger, at the end of Le Grand Desert of Gen. Daumas. 
 
 f Blofeld, p. 230. 
 
 I The araieVbah is composed of a bladder and string, and is the commonest instru- 
 ment ; it is very ancient, as well as the gaspah, or common reed, open at each end like 
 the German flute, with three or more holes on one side, according to the ability of the 
 person. Its compass does not extend beyond one octave. Strolling dervishes and Be- 
 douins arc chiefly conversant with this sort of music. After collecting a crowd of people, 
 they chant over the memorable actions of the Prophet and other worthies. The taar is 
 made like a sieve, consisting of a thin rim or hoop of wood, with a skin of parchment 
 stretched over the top of it. This is their double-bass ; they touch it skilfully with the 
 fingers or knuckles under the palms. It is the tympanum of tho ancients; is used all over 
 the Levant and Barbary ; and the shape is the same as that in the hands of the statues 
 representing priests of Cybele and Bacchanals. Blofeld, p. 2-jO ; Berbrugger, part iii.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 (European population anU General Statistics. 
 
 EUROPEAN SETTLERS THE FRENCH COLONISTS GENERAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 EUROPEAN SETTLERS — LATEST TABLES THE COMPONENT NATIONS — SPANIARDS 
 
 MALTESE ITALIANS NATIVE POPULATION. 
 
 WE now pass from the Semitic, Mogul, and Ethiopic races of Algeria, 
 i. e. from the natives, to the Indo-Germanic inhabitants, viz. the 
 emigrants. The French army requires a special chapter. 
 
 From the days of Rome and Carthage to this hour, the Semitic and 
 Indo-Germanic races have been antipathic, and their agreement on the 
 soil of Algeria is yet a problem. The various European races living 
 together under French sway appear to harmonise very well, presenting 
 specimens of most Christian populations. England is represented by the 
 half-Arabic Maltese, who are equally industrious by night as by day, 
 picking pockets at all seasons, but cutting throats after sun-down. The 
 former propensity and talent they share with the true Briton, the latter 
 only with the people of Ireland. Of Spaniards there is, and has long 
 been, a goodly crop in the coast towns ; and the Mahonnese make very good 
 settlers. The vagabond Swiss are casting sheeps' eyes at the highlands 
 about Setif ; and la belle France has made a present of her scum or her 
 jewels to the marshes of Bona and the thistles of the Mitidja. Let us 
 examine this motley group, statistical minutiae being referred to another 
 page. 
 
 The European population in Algeria amounted on December 31, 1850, 
 to 125,903 persons, thus analysed: — Province of Algiers, 56,784; pro- 
 vince of Oran, 44,507; province of Constantina, 24,672. 
 
 In December 1849 the total population was 112,607: — Province of 
 Algiers, 57,810; province of Oran, 35,246; province of Constantina, 
 19,551. The 57,810 of Algiers arc nationally analysed as follows: — 
 30,897 French, 26,913 others. Oran, 35,246=15,959 French, and 19,287 
 others. Constantina, 19,551 =11,149 French, 8102 others.* 
 
 * Tableau, 1850, pp. 88-109-
 
 FItENCH SETTLERS. o49 
 
 With regard to the French population in Algeria, that country lias 
 been a great issue to relieve the plethoric symptoms and bad humours of 
 
 the mother -country, by draining it of its mauvais sujets* 
 
 The French do not constitute more than three-fifths of the European 
 population, and are considered to be bad settlers, the only good agri- 
 culturists in the colony being foreigners. But, for a considerable period 
 after the conquest (1830), the only French civilians attracted to Algeria 
 were dealers in spirituous liquors, and men of bad lives, — in short, the 
 usual tail of an army, f 
 
 According to estimates drawn up in 1842, 1843, and 1845, out of 1000 
 Europeans thei-e were on the average 415 Frenchmen, 320 Spaniards, 116 
 Maltese, 103 Italians, and 46 Germans. J 
 
 We shall present the reader with a hopeful description of the European 
 population of Algiers in 1843 in a note below. § 
 
 We propose now to lay before our readers a concise tabular view of 
 the development and most recent state of the population throughout 
 Algeria; after which, we shall attend to the French army in Africa. 
 The European civil population of Algeria amounted only to 45,000 per- 
 sons in 1840, and on the 1st January, 1845, it had increased to 75,867 ; 
 
 * Baron Baude, to whom was confided the superintendence of the Paris police, soon 
 after 1830, found that the disturbances (emeutes) were occasioned in general by a floating- 
 population of from 15 to 20,000 individuals, consisting partly of men out of work, partly 
 of idle vagabonds. The prefecture of police organised a mode of enrolment for Algeria, 
 and thus attracted 4500 of the most energetic of these rascals, who served with great dis- 
 tinction, and did good service to France against the Arabs. Of this more anon. At pre- 
 sent we are concerned with the civil population. 
 
 f Baron Baude, vol. iii. p. 123. 
 
 J Dawson Borrer's Campaign in the Kabylie ; Baron Baudo ; St. Marie. 
 
 § French, German, and Swiss agriculturists and artisans have gone to the promised 
 land of Algeria for profitable employment, but have found nothing but beggary, with the 
 immorality that attends it ; and depending vipon public support, they have become in- 
 capable of honest labour. A body of wretched lazzaroni threatens to spring from the 
 families of hardy peasants, who constituted the first emigrants. But the new system has 
 invited a far worse class of colonists than these to Algiers. They are the scum of the sea- 
 ports of France, Spain, Italy, and Greece : men who have forgotten home, and who speak 
 a jargon of all the languages in Europe ; men who have tried all professions, with equal 
 want of reputation and success. Every where and in every thing they have been unfor- 
 tunate. Each of them has a story to tell of his grievances, and the wrongs he has suf- 
 fered from his government ; and they are all martyrs to liberty. But the fraud is so gross, 
 that when these men meet, they fairly laugh in each other's faces. Such is tho higher 
 class of society brought to Algiers. These arc tho men whom Europe sends to enlighten 
 the poorer colonists, and to be an example to Africa. A third class follows, who will ruin 
 the place, because conduct is as indispensable to success as capital. They are men who 
 have been ruined over and over, by their folly, in all parts of the world. Speculators from 
 England, from the United States, and from Franco, have flocked to Algiers, contributing 
 nothing to its progress but their evil destiny ; and they are most assuredly fated to repeat 
 the failures which were the sole causes of their going there. Their wretched activity is 
 never satisfied, unless when adding to the sum of losses which has always distinguished 
 their career. These are the sorts of inhabitants which France has given to Algiers ; and 
 the result is only what might be expected from the acts of such agents. (Blofeld )
 
 350 DEVELOPMENT OF POPULATION. 
 
 thus doubling itself in less than six years. Of the latter number, 38,646 
 were Frenchmen, and 37,221 foreigners.* 
 
 AVe have now brought down the development of European population 
 till 1840, after which it began to make rapid strides. Thus, on December 
 31, 1846, the total general amounted to 107,168 in the towns, and 2232 
 scattered over the interior. 
 
 The increase of the European population during the last three months 
 of 1846 was 3858 ; but the general increase was in 1845, 20,699 in- 
 dividuals, whereas in 1846 it was only 14,079. -j- 
 
 Baron Baude informs us that the European population of Algiers in 
 1840 differed from all others. It is chiefly parasitical, few families stay- 
 ing there from choice. £ 
 
 Having brought down the movement of Algerian population to 1846,§ 
 we shall proceed to lay before the reader the most recent official tables 
 of the French government, bringing the development down to the year 
 1850; which will close this branch of our subject. 
 
 General European population of Algeria : 
 Dec. 31, 1846 109,400 
 
 1847 
 
 103,893 
 
 decrease . . . 
 
 5,507 
 
 1848 
 
 115,101 
 
 increase on 1847 
 
 10,844 
 
 1849 
 
 11-2,607 
 
 decrease . . . 
 
 2,494 
 
 1850 
 
 125,963 
 
 increase . . . 
 
 13,356 
 
 * St. Marie ; Dawson Borrer. f Borrer, p. 226. 
 
 J Baron Baude, vol. iii. chap. xiv. on European population, observes that most of the 
 Germans in Algeria belong to the class of migrating journeymen, who pass into France, 
 Italy, &c. under the name of wa n dc rude Bursckenschaft. You have all temperatures in 
 Algeria. The Vandal race has continued thriving near Bugia ; and though the cactus 
 and the palm thrive near Algiers, the Alpine pine would grow on the edge of the snow at 
 the top of Mount Atlas. The climate at this elevation is like that of the south of Ger- 
 many, and it is there that the Vandal tribes have continued. We are glad to find that 
 the common sense of Baron Baude has told on foreign governments and speculators, and 
 that they are endeavouring to adapt the selection of the emigrants to the localities. 
 People from the Vosges are to be located in hilly districts ; and a Swiss company at 
 Geneva is agitating a grand system of emigration to the high cool table-lands round Setif, 
 the healthiest part of the colony. 
 
 § M. Jucheran de St. Denis supposed that the regency at the beginning of the 18th 
 century did not contain more than 2,000.000 of inhabitants, the population of most of the 
 towns having decreased considerably up to 1830. The writer believes that, in stating the 
 number at 800,000, we are very near the mark ; but he does not include in this calculation 
 those who dwelt between the Little Atlas and the Sahara, who were never entirely subject 
 to the dey of Alders, and estimated at 230,000 souls, making a total of 1,030,000, or 
 scarcely 17 inhabitants to every square league, or 5760 acres. 
 
 The following comparative tables of European population in Algeria were published by 
 the French government in 1843: January 31st, 47,150; March 31st, 47,038; May 1st, 
 47,544 ; June 31st, 55,122 ; October 1st, 57,642. 
 
 At the latter date the European population was thus composed : French, 24,274 ; 
 Spaniards, 18,54S ; Maltese, 6402 ; Italians, 6332 ; Germans, 20S6 : total, 57,642. At the 
 id of June 1S42, there were only 40,000 European civilians in Algeria, the military amount- 
 ing to abotti 80,000, shortly to be increased to 94,000 or 95,000. Emigration, then 
 greatly on the increase, had more than doubled in the space of three years, as at the end 
 of 1840 there were only 28,736 civilians in the colony. (Blofeld.) 
 
 || Tableau de la Situation, &c. 1849-50, pp. 88 to 109.
 
 MORTALITY. 
 
 .351 
 
 The births in the three years from 1847 to 1849 were as follows : 
 
 iuces. 
 
 1847. 
 
 is is. 
 
 l- 19. 
 < 
 
 s 
 
 CJ 
 
 a 
 
 S> 
 
 u 
 
 o 
 
 ft ' 
 
 "a 
 
 c 
 
 "S 
 a 
 
 2 
 ft 
 
 c* 
 .to 
 "3 
 o 
 ft 
 
 "3 
 
 O 
 
 
 & 
 
 c 
 
 ft 
 
 o 
 
 Algiers . . . 
 Oran .... 
 
 Constantina . . 
 
 Total .... 
 
 1380 
 540 
 500 
 
 1141 
 
 478 
 244 
 
 2521 
 
 1018 
 744 
 
 1307 
 659 
 45.5 
 
 974 
 
 660 
 292 
 
 2281 
 1319 
 
 747 
 
 1600 
 795 
 595 
 
 1080 
 832 
 304 
 
 2680 
 1627 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 42S3 
 
 ... 
 
 
 4347 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 1 5206 
 
 This gives in 1847, 4-12 per cent; in 1848, 3-77 per cent; and in 1849, 
 4-G2 per cent of the total births; and in 1847, 4-50 French, and 3-71 
 foreign per cent; in 1848, 377 French, and 4-83 foreign; in 1849, 5-15 
 French, and 4-05 foreign births per cent; the mean being 4-47 French, 
 and 393 foreign per cent. 
 
 Passing to marriages, Ave find 1029 in 1847; 1052 in 1848; and 1097 in 
 1849; giving, in 1847, 0-99 per cent; in 1848, 0-91 per cent; and in 1849, 
 0-9G per cent. Of these marriages, in 1847, 553 were French, 175 mixed, 
 and 301 between people of other nations. In 1848, 553 French, 171 mixed, 
 and 328 foreign. In 1849, G19 French, 153 mixed, and 325 foreign. 
 
 The deaths from 1847 to 1849 were as follows : 
 
 Provinces. 
 
 1847. 
 
 L848. 
 
 1849. 
 
 73 
 a 
 8 
 ft 
 
 & 
 
 "Z 
 o 
 ft 
 
 "3 
 
 c 
 
 in 
 
 z 
 
 ft 
 
 z 
 s 
 
 ft 
 
 "3 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 .- 
 
 ft 
 
 a 
 
 .- "3 
 
 c o 
 ft Eh 
 
 Algiers . . . 
 Oran .... 
 
 Constantina . . 
 
 1683 
 497 
 552 
 
 1283 
 722 
 426 
 
 2966 
 
 1219 
 
 978 
 
 1416 
 698 
 556 
 
 1097 i 2513 
 679 |1377 
 389 945 
 
 2112 
 : 1861 
 ; 1916 
 
 1806 
 1697 
 1101 
 
 3,918 
 3,558 
 3,017 
 
 ... 
 
 
 5163 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 4835 
 
 
 ... 
 
 10,493 
 
 Hence the mean mortality was, in 1847, 5 per cent; in 1848, 4-25 per 
 cent; in 1849, 10-59 per cent. The increase in 1849 was caused by the 
 cholera and the distress of the colonies agricoles.* 
 
 * The mortality in some of the chief towns presents the following results : 
 
 Towns. 
 
 1847. 
 
 1848. 
 
 1849. 
 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 Algiers . . . 
 
 4-87 
 
 4-43 
 
 5-42 
 
 
 7-64 
 
 5-67 
 
 10-59 
 
 Oran 
 
 5-21 
 
 4-49 
 
 10-71 
 
 Tlemsen .... 
 
 4-72 
 
 3-29 
 
 3-52 
 
 Constantina .... 
 
 560 
 
 4-42 
 
 610 
 
 
 4-70 
 
 468 
 
 10-38 
 
 Phillippeville .... 
 
 8-20 
 
 7' 
 
 10- 
 
 
 3-83 
 
 1-22 
 
 3-
 
 352 SPANIARDS. 
 
 Baron Baude states that the greatest vitality among the Europeans is 
 seen in the Spaniards, and the least in the Germans. The Spaniards have 
 also a greater proportion of women than any other European race in Al- 
 geria. They long occupied Oran, and have always had a more intimate 
 connection with the coast of Barhary than any other European people. 
 
 Algiers alone possessed more Spaniards in 1841 than all the Spanish 
 possessions founded hy Cardinal Ximenes in Africa, after an occupation 
 of 150 years. Though few in number at Bona, they form one-third of the 
 population of Algiers and Bugia, two-fifths of that of Mostaganem, and 
 one-half of the European population of Oran.* Most of the fiacre-drivers 
 in Algiers are Spaniards ; and several flourishing villages, peopled entirely 
 by industrious Mahonnese, have been established near the capital. 
 
 Turning to the Maltese, the next element of European population, we 
 find that this energetic little island alone has supplied more people to 
 Algeria than all Italy. Great numbers live at Bona, where they act as 
 porters, &c, and drive a thriving trade.t 
 
 As there is a surfeit on the island, which shows strong apoplectic 
 symptoms, many Maltese emigrate exoterically; and being Africans by 
 origin and language, they find themselves at home in Algeria. There are 
 4000 at Tunis, and their relative numbers diminish in proportion as you 
 advance to a distance from their island; they form more than two-fifths 
 of the European population at Bona, at Bugia one-sixth, at Algiers one- 
 twelfth, at Oran one-twenty-fourth. 
 
 As regards the Italians in Algiers, they appear formerly to have had 
 important relations with the regency during the bloom of Italian na- 
 tionality and commerce, fostered by the liberal and republican spirit of 
 
 The letter of the Times Paris Correspondent of Jan. 7, 1853, states, that the deaths among 
 civilians at Bona, from the 1st of July 1852 to the 21st of December, was 683 persons, 
 of whom 54-1 were Europeans. The mortality from the 1st of January to the 30th of June 
 1852 is stated to have only been 183 persons. 
 
 * Several interesting episodes occur in the Spanish occupation of Oran, displaying the 
 energy, valour, and discipline of the Spaniards in their better days. In April 1622, the 
 Arabs of the Habra assassinated three Spaniards ; and Don Juan de Manrique thereupon 
 •starts in the evening with 700 foot and 200 horse, falls on the Arabs at daybreak, and 
 brings back the following night to Oran 319 prisoners and 1200 head of oxen. The distance 
 of Oran from the plain of the Habra is sixty kilometres ; and Don Juan had traversed it 
 twice in the space of thirty hours. The following July the same spirited commander beat 
 in detail a body of 2700 Janissaries, 1400 horses, and a numerous Arab infantry. (Baude.) 
 
 f The Maltese population is one of tho most fruitful in the world. In 1530, when Malta 
 •was given over to the Knights of St. John by Charles V., it contained only 15,000 inha- 
 bitants ; and after the desperate siege of 1565 by the Turks, it had only 10,000. In 1590 
 it contained 27,000 ; in 1625, 40,000 ; the census of 1682 gave 51,750 ; in 1798 it had 90,000, 
 and Gozo 24,000 ; and now it reckons 120,000 Maltese alone ; whilst it contains only 30,000 
 hectares, i. e. about the same surface as tho ridge of hills behind Algiers (French massif 
 iPAlgerj Arab sahel). The specific population of" all France, by kilometres, is 60; for the 
 Departement du Nord, 171; for the arrondissements of Sceaux and St. Denis, 357; at 
 Malta it is 400. For these facts sec Chovalicr dc Boisgolin's Malte ancienne et moderne, 
 3 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1809 ; Dapper, Description de rAlriipic, Amstm. 1626; Voyagodu Due 
 de Etaguse, 4 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1838.
 
 ITALIAN LIBERTY. 353 
 
 Pisa, Genoa, &c. Nothing can be more interesting than to trace the 
 spirit, intelligence, and industry of Italians under a national and liberal 
 flag, at a time when the rest of Europe, which owes to them its light, was 
 plunged in darkness. It is cheering to be able to produce facts to estab- 
 lish that a manly and industrious spirit is developed in Italy as else- 
 where, when its growth is not stunted or blighted by the poison of a 
 hypocritical hierarchy, or trampled on by the foot of the stranger. Dear 
 to us are all such memories of the fine qualities of this historical people, as 
 auguries of a better future yet in store for her. 
 
 As regards the present position of the Italian population in Algeria, 
 there is not quite one Italian to three Spaniards in the colony. The Ita- 
 lians form one-fourth of the European population of Mostaganem, one- 
 sixth of that of Bona and Oran, one-fifteenth of that of Algiers ; and they 
 are hardly seen at Bugia, whose commerce was in their hands in the middle 
 ages.* 
 
 * Native Population. 
 
 The sum of the indigenous population in 1345 was 1,9S3,91S; thus analysed : — Algiers,. 
 490,16S; Oran, 477,034 ; Constantina, 1,016,716. It was supposed that the whole native 
 population of Algeria amounted, at a rough estimate, to 3,00u,000. See Tableau, &c. for 
 1846, and Borrer, chap. xv. 
 
 Inhabitants of the Three Provinces. 
 
 The Negro slaves throughout the Regency were supposed to amount to 10,000 ; and 
 the number of free blacks was estimated to exceed that amount. 
 
 Coming down to the three years ending 1849, we find that, on the 31st Dec. 1S47, the 
 native population in the towns amounted to 87,505 ; and in Dec. 1849, to 84,133. The 
 floors have decreased, and the Jews have remained stationary. The Negroes have in- 
 creased from 334S to 4177 individuals. The Kabyles, Mozabites, Biskris, and other cor- 
 porations in the towns of the civil territories, amount to 10,742 ; a diminution from 1846. 
 
 Native Population of Towns, nationally and sexually. 
 
 Total of Mussulmans in the province of Algiers, 27,773 : in the province of Oran, 
 12,350 ; and in the province of Constantina, 20,805. Total of Negroes in the province of 
 Algiers, 1714; in that of Oran, 1531 ; iu that of Constantina, 932. Total of Jews in the 
 province of Algiers, 7289 ; in that of Oran, 7749 ; in that of Constantina, 3990. Hence 
 
 Mussulman population of the towns of Algeria amounted, in Dec. 1849, to 60,928 ; the 
 Negro population to 4177; and the Jewish population to 19,028 : general total of Algeria, 
 84,133. 
 
 With regard to the tribes, the reader has already been presented with the statement 
 of their general numbers in Algeria, and their particular numbers in the provinces. 
 
 According to the last census, the population of Algeria, on the 31st December 1852, 
 amounted to 246,431 individuals (this must mean without the tribes): namely, 124,401 
 Europeans; and 122,030 natives, inhabiting the territory occupied by the Europeans. 
 The former consisted of 69,9S0 French ; 35,129 Spaniards ; 740S Italians ; 5609 Maltese ; 
 : 125 Germans ; 1323 Swiss ; 526 Belgians and Dutch ; 483 Irish ; 258 Poles; 145 Portu- 
 guese ; and 515 others : and was composed of 29,451 men, 28,232 women, 40,073 boys, and 
 26,645 girls. There were 121,226 Catholics, 2561 Protestants, and 614 Israelites : 80,143 
 resided in towns, and 44,258 in the country. They were divided into 32,826 families, and 
 occupied 16,215 houses.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 GENERAL SURVEY OF COLONISATION — GOVERNMENT DECREES ON RURAL PROPERTY 
 CONCESSIONS IN LAND DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT, 1851 STATE OF GENE- 
 RAL COLONISATION IN THE COLONY PROVINCE OF ALGIERS CIVIL TERRITORY 
 
 MILITARY TERRITORY PROVINCE OF ORAN CIVIL TERRITORY — MILITARY 
 
 TERRITORY PROVINCE OF CONSTANTINA — CIVIL TERRITORY MILITARY TERRI- 
 TORY NEW PROJECTS PENITENTIAL COLONY AT LAMBESSA AGRICULTURAL 
 
 COLONIES — ST. DENIS AND ROBERTVILLE, ETC. 
 
 ttte shall now proceed to examine the important subject of concessions 
 \ ? of land, and of agricultural and other colonies established by the 
 French government or by private speculation in Algeria. 
 
 Though there was a sprinkling of emigrants every year after the con- 
 quest, offering a crop of ears and heads to the Hadjutes and other tribes 
 near Algiers, it was not till 1842, after the humiliation of Abd-el-Kader, 
 that the era of serious colonisation began. Before that time there were 
 only one or two villages, with large barracks and hospitals. In 1842 vil- 
 lages sprang up like mushrooms near Algiers, and the high land or massif 
 at the back of the city, forming a barrier between the Mediterranean and 
 Mitidja, was brought into a state of cultivation 3 whilst other emigrants 
 went to Boufarik and Beni-Mered, stations on the road to Blidah, five or 
 six hours south of Algiers, at the foot of the Little Atlas, across the Mitidja 
 plain."' 
 
 Several causes may be perceived for the slowness and dulness of the 
 current of colonisation in Algeria. The port of Algiers is not frce,f and 
 much of its trade has been driven to Tunis, Tripoli, Tangiers, &c. through 
 the short-sighted policy of the French government. Another drawback 
 
 * This plain contains 1,500,000 acres of arable- and pasture land, but only a small por- 
 tion of it is now under cultivation. Vast tracts are still lying waste, sacrificed to the 
 palmetta and squills; whereas, before the French came in 1830, it was cultivated by the 
 Arabs, who grew more com in it than thoy wanted. Now there is not sufficient for home 
 con umption, and the price of corn was enormous a1 Algiers in L846. Dawson Borrer's 
 Campaign, &c. chap. xiv. p. 222. 
 
 ! Recent enactments have removed almost all duties on imports. See Appendix.
 
 GOVERNMENT DECREES. 355 
 
 to colonisation has been the great tardiness of administrative forms neces- 
 sary for the establishment of emigrants. Though assignments of land 
 (concessions) are promised to the colonists, eighteen months will perhaps 
 elapse before you are put in possession of your property.'"' The calls of the 
 French army on the budget may account for the beggarly sums given to 
 colonisation, just as the heavy items of our sinecures may explain our 
 magnificent tribute to national education. The annual expenses of the 
 colony amount to 100,000,000 fr. ; and in 1847 the budget for Algeria 
 placed under the head of colonisation 1,734,000 fr.; but more was doubt- 
 less extracted by special projets de loi.-\ 
 
 Let us now devote a few words to the machinery of colonisation in 
 Algeria, and then analyse the state of the colonies ; and we shall proceed 
 to consider first the decrees of the French government on rural property 
 in Algeria; secondly, the concessions or assignments of land; and thirdly, 
 the government or individual colonies. 
 
 The decree of July 21st, 184G, on rural property in Algeria had for its 
 aim the securing of the peopling of Algeria and the fertilising of its land, 
 by placing rural property, which had hitherto been in a vague and disputed 
 state, on a firm and sure foundation. To this end, it ordained the ascer- 
 taining, by enactments of the minister-of-war, of the extent of the territories 
 within which the title-deeds of property should be valid ; the returns to 
 the government of the names of the Europeans or natives who asserted 
 their claims to properties within those territories ; and the verifying of the 
 titles produced, by council of the disputant (at a later date by the councils 
 of prefecture in each province). The decree carefully defined the requisite 
 conditions for the titles to be held valid; and it ordained their applica- 
 tion on the spot through a councillor, and their sanction, if necessary? 
 through the council of prefecture. In cases where the property marked 
 out was claimed by many disputants, the council was enjoined to suspend 
 judgment till the civil tribunals could pronounce on the question of right. 
 Lastly, when the title produced did not fulfil the necessary conditions 
 of the decree, the council pronounced it null and void. Yet in this case 
 the government was bound to hand over to the evicted occupant, on his 
 request, a hectare (2-47 acres) of land for every 3 fr. of rent stipulated in 
 the last act of possession, if a certain period had elapsed previously to the 
 
 1 1 is a well-known fact, that men of capital coming' to Algeria, under the auspices of 
 the minister-of-war, have stayed six years before obtaining the original ci mcession. Others 
 provisionally established on a tract of land have built upon it ; and when at last a definite 
 answer came, the title-deed to it has been refused ; and not being able either to alienate 
 or mortgage it, they have been ruined. Hence many of the poor emigrants have been re- 
 duced to a very desolate state ; and the villages on the Sahel and Massif were in 18-16, with 
 one or two exceptions, the types of desolation. Perched upon most arid spots, distant 
 from water, victims of the sun and sirocco, they rose among endless tracts of palmetta and 
 prickly bushes. Visions of Utopia terminate in dwarf-palms and disease. Dawson Borrer, 
 chap. xiv. f Borrer, chap. xiv. p. 2:22.
 
 3J6 GOVERNMENT DECREES. 
 
 promulgation of the decree of July 21st, 1846, relative to concessions in 
 land. These measures of the government were much complained of at 
 first in Algeria ; but being shortly better understood by the colonists, they 
 ended by submitting, without making any serious difficulties, which have 
 only originated in the ignorance of native proprietors, and the difficulty 
 experienced by the government in discovering the real state of their 
 property. 
 
 We shall submit to the reader the following brief outline of the state 
 of European and native properties in the three provinces. 
 
 Province of Algiers. — In 1850, the number of properties declared were 
 592, and marked out 492 ; but as most of the native properties were 
 claimed by a whole djemaa or assembly, and subdivided into small par- 
 cels, the real number of properties amounted nearly to 800 in all. Of 
 these, 359 had been fiually decided, including 109 connected with na- 
 tives; 162* were in suspense; 170 annulled: total number of decisions 
 by the councils of prefecture, 697. Only five properties had to be sur- 
 veyed and ascertained in Dec. 1851.t 
 
 Province o/Oran. — In this province, the civil territory only has been 
 subjected to the decree of 1846. The number of properties declared 
 amounted to 113; 54 belonging to Europeans, and 59 to natives. By 
 the rejection of the titles of some proprietors, the number of properties 
 whose limits are ascertained has been reduced to 87, 45 of which belong 
 to Europeans. 
 
 The properties whose titles have been verified and confirmed amount 
 to 73 ; whereof 40 are European, and 33 native. There are five in sus- 
 pense. 
 
 Province of Constant ina. — The arrondissement (hundred) of Bona, and 
 the banlieues (precincts) of Constantina and La Calle, had been brought 
 under the decree of 1846 in 1849. In December 1850, 425 properties 
 were ascertained in the arrondissement of Bona, — 53 European and 372 
 native, — covering 29,427 hectares (72,683-22 acres) of land. There re- 
 mained 131 — 11 European and 120 native — to ascertain. 48 titles had 
 been legally confirmed, 11 European and 37 native; and 277 protocols, 
 
 * Of these 162, 65 are native, the greater number of whom are competitors {copretendanU) 
 with the state. A special commission is engaged in trying to settle tho disputes, and 
 make 'partitions a /'aim able. 
 
 ■\- The following table gives at a glance the state of property and of territory subject to 
 the decree in the province of Algiers : — 
 
 Plain of the Mitidja, 107,466 hect. 63 a. 40 c. ; Sahel, 29,716 .hect. 81 a. 27 o. ; ri i,t 
 bank of the Boudaou to tho Isser, 31,020 hect. 15 a. ; total, 168,203 hect. 59 a. 67 c. 
 (415,181*41 acres). Property accruing to Europeans, 36,875 hect. 46 a. 86 c. (91,081*25 
 ai r ) ; natives, 11,511 hect. 74 a. 57 c (28,500 acres) ; the State, 94,796 hect. 99 a. 1 c. 
 (234,146*12 acres) : total, 143,1S1 hect. 20 a. 44 c. (343, 664*4S acres). Disputed property 
 between individuals, 7,(166 hect. 86 a. 43c. (17,45302 acres) ; the state and individuals, 
 17,952 hect. 52 a. 80 c. (44,341*44 acres) ; total, 25,019 hect. 39 a. 23 c. (61,796*93 acras).
 
 GOVERNMENT DECREES. 357 
 
 or registers, about delimitations, remained to be settled, 42 European 
 and 235 native : 5 were in suspense, referred to higher tribunals. 
 
 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) of land were voted to the banlieue of 
 Constantina by a decree of the President of the Republic, March 1849. 
 The state of properties had not been finally determined, arranged, or as- 
 certained round La Callc, in November 1849. 
 
 The next point we shall analyse is the nature and state of concessions 
 in Algeria. 
 
 There are three distinct modes employed there for the alienation of 
 the government property of the colony : 1. Sale by public auction ; 2. Sale 
 by instalments ; 3. Concession. 
 
 All town property, cultivated land, or land built upon, is disposed of 
 by the first two methods ; the third only applying to new plots of ground 
 to be built upon in new villages, to uncultivated land, &c. 
 
 A decree of 1851 modifies the regulations of 1845 and 1847, accord- 
 ing to which, concessions of and under 24 hectares (60 acres) are autho- 
 rised in civil territories by the prefect, with the advice of the council 
 of prefecture ; and in military territories by the general of division, with 
 the advice of the consulting commission. The concessions of 100 hectares 
 (250 acres) were given by decree of the President of the Republic, with 
 the recommendation of the minister of war and the consultative com- 
 mittee of Algeria. Every concessionary, after a reasonable time, was 
 bound to pay a fluctuating but perpetual rent to the state. These con- 
 cessions were only given on condition of the grantee being able to fulfil 
 his engagements ; and before his entrance into possession, he had to give 
 10 fr. per hectare (8s. id. per 2'47 acres) caution-money.'"' Many evife 
 resulted from these regulations in practice, by multiplying formalities, 
 creating delays, &c, especially in the cases of small concessions. To re- 
 medy these evils, a project was submitted by the minister to the Council 
 of State in July 1850, intended as a substitute for the old arrangements 
 about concessions. But as it would take time to get this voted by the 
 Assembly, and a reform in the system of concessions was imperative, the 
 government determined to propose to the President a transitory modifica- 
 tion of the worst regulations. Hence originated the decree of the Presi- 
 
 * Every concessionary received, at the moment of being put in possession, a provisional 
 title indicating the conditions imposed, and the delay granted for their accomplishment. 
 During the whole period of this delay the concessionary was not able to consent to any 
 substitution, alienation, or mortgage, without the especial leave of the administration, 
 under penalty of forfeiture. At the expiration of the delay fixed by the provisional title, 
 or before if the concessionary demanded it, a valuation of the labours effected was 
 made. If all the conditions were fulfilled, the provision was converted into a final con- 
 cession. If the conditions were not, or were only partially fulfilled, the concessionary for- 
 feited, totally or partially, his land ; or, according to circumstances, he could obtain a 
 prolongation of the delay. In the latter case, a new valuation took place, as the prolon- 
 gation of the delay expired when the concessionary obtained a final title, or was ejected.
 
 358 AGRICULTURAL COLONIES. 
 
 dent of the 2Gth April, 1851, of which the principal articles are inserted 
 below.* 
 
 During the four years from 1846 to 1850, we are informed that the 
 colonisation of Algeria by Europeans has slowly but surely progressed ; 
 though accidental circumstances, such as the Revolution of 1848 and the 
 cholera, have retarded and disturbed its advance. The peopling of the old 
 centres of colonisation has continued ; the territory of some of them has 
 been increased, and new creations have taken place ; finally, the concessions 
 that have been made outside the villages, and their occupation, have 
 stamped a new character on the colonisation of Algeria. One circum- 
 stance has especially affected it, i. e. the creation of agricultural colonies, 
 which took place in 1848. in consequence of a decree of the National As- 
 sembly of September 19th, and to which a credit of fifty millions of francs 
 (2,000,000Z.) had been voted. t 
 
 A full description of the state of European colonisation in Algeria 
 from 1847 to 1850 falls under two distinct heads. The first relates to 
 the centres of population and agricultural explorations established since 
 1847, down to the 31st December, 1850, excepting the agricultural co- 
 lonies. The second gives a statement of the situation of the agricultural 
 colonies in 1848 and 1849. 
 
 * By article 2, all concessions under 50 hectares (125 acres) could be authorised by 
 the prefect. By article 3, all future acts of concession in Algeria confer the immediate 
 possession, on condition of accomplishing the required steps. Article 5. If the conces- 
 sionary does not lay claim to immediate possession after the expiration of three months, 
 at the hands of the local authorities, his title is forfeited. By article 7, the concessionary 
 can mortgage or transmit all or part of his land. By article 8, in the month following the 
 expiration of the term granted for the fulfilment of the conditions, or sooner if wished, the 
 valuation is made by a commission of three members. By article 9, if all the conditions 
 are found fulfilled, the prefect declares the property freed from the conditions exposing 
 the title-deed to be cancelled. If differences arise between the directeur des domaines and 
 the prefect, the matter is set at rest by the minister-of-war. If ejected, the property re- 
 verts to the state ; but if it has been improved, it will be put up to auction. The prices of 
 the auction, deducting the charges, revert to the concessionary. 
 
 If no one bids, the property reverts to the state. Provisional concessions made before 
 1847 can be exchanged for another title-deed, conformable to the clauses of the decree of 
 1851, in which the delay for the accomplishment of the conditions imposed will be deter- 
 mined by the original decree. The same regulations are applied to the military territo- 
 ries, the general commanding the division taking the place of the prefect. 
 
 + A report of these establishments was laid before the Assembly, at the end ofl849, 
 by a special commission sent to the spot to examine into them. From this report it ap- 
 pears that these establishments have had as results : 1st. to rcsti-ict, on economical grounds, 
 *.he new creation of centres, which would otherwise have been undertaken in greater num.- 
 bar on the ordinary credits of colonisation ; 2d. to bring in a check to the demands for 
 concessions of small extent, because the claimants who seek to obtain them are bound to 
 support, their claim by pecuniary resources, which 1ms caused many to seek in preference 
 an entrance into the above-mentioned agricultural colonies.
 
 PROVINCE OE ALGIERS. 359 
 
 Province of Algiers. 
 I. Colonisation in the Civil Territory. 
 
 1. Centres created by the administration : — 
 
 Since 184G, five centres of population have been created in the civil 
 territory of the province of Algiers ; i. e. Mouzaia, La Chiffa, Arba, the 
 Fort de l'Eau, and Affreville. 
 
 Mouzaia. This centre is situated to the west of Blidah, and at the 
 foot of the northern slope of the Atlas. Its population is nearly com- 
 pleted, and its sanitary condition is very satisfactory. Great advances 
 have been made in clearing the land, and the colonists have also planted 
 a great deal. In short, the encouragement that they have received has 
 given birth to favourable results. — La Chiffa has the same topographical 
 situation as Mouzaia. The village is in good condition, and the colonists 
 are able to dispense with the assistance of the state. — Arba. This place, 
 which was founded in 1819, to the east of Blidah, is a centre intended to 
 continue on this side the colonisation of the area of the Mitidja plain, in 
 connection with Dalmatia, Souina, and Fondouk, which are already created. 
 Though so recently founded, Arba has already made very remarkable 
 advances; it is one of the villages that holds out the most promising 
 hopes. — The Fort de VEau. This village, situated to the north-west of 
 Fondouk, on the sea-shore, was founded in 1850, and is entirely peopled 
 by Mahonnese. These colonists labour with zeal and diligence, and their 
 produce is already very considerable. — Affreville. This centre is situated 
 in the vicinity of Milianah, and its colonists arc chiefly devoted to the cul- 
 tivation of gardens. The colonisation of the surrounding country, which 
 has already commenced, is calculated to secure the prosperity of this vil- 
 lage. 
 
 The centres created previous to 1847 in the civil territory of Algiers 
 amounted to 32, including seven towns : — Algiers and its banlieue, 
 Cherchell, Tenes, Koleah, Blidah, Medeah, Milianah ; and the 25 following 
 villages: — Ain-Benian, Sidi-Ferruch, Cheragas, Ouled-Fayet, Dely-Ibra- 
 him, LAchour, Drariah, Saoula, Notre-Darne de Fouka, Fouka, Douaouda, 
 Zeradia, Mahelma, Sainte Amelie, Saint Ferdinand, Douera, Baba-Hassen, 
 Crescia, Boufarik, Beni-Mered, Joinville, Montpensier, Dalmatie, Souma, 
 and the Fondouk. 
 
 The administration has been engaged in completing the Avorks at 
 these centres, and in securing their peopling. 
 
 We shall here give a rapid survey of their present state in what relates 
 to colonisation. 
 
 Algiers. — Fertile market-gardens stretch around this town in a radius 
 of from eight to ten kilometres from the sea ; but agriculture, properly
 
 360 PROVINCE OF ALGIEDS. 
 
 speaking, only begins beyond and amongst the Sahel hills. — Ain-Benian. 
 The present state of this village is satisfactory enough : it is a half-agri- 
 cultural, half-maritime station. It had been originally built to receive 
 twenty families of fishermen; but experience having shown that the colo- 
 nists could not subsist on the mere produce of their fishery, a certain 
 amount of land was conceded to them. — Sidi-Ferruch is a maritime vil- 
 lage, created, like Ain-Benian, by commercial speculation. Some land has 
 been brought into cultivation and planted in its vicinity. — Cheragas is in 
 a flourishing condition. The state of property among the colonists is very 
 good; and those who are the least well off find work among their rich 
 neighbours, which improves their condition greatly. Some colonists, who 
 are natives of the department of the Var in France, have introduced a 
 branch of industry into this colony that has already become somewhat 
 spread, i. e. the manufacture of scents. This village has also obtained 
 great importance through the number of isolated farms scattered around 
 it. — Ouled Fayet. This village is completely settled, and succeeds well; 
 its prosperity being chiefly due to the presence of several concessionaries 
 in easy circumstances, who give employment to the less-favoured families. 
 — Lehj Ibrahim is in a satisfactory state, but the development of cultiva- 
 tion is there impeded by the inadequate supply of water, and by the insuf- 
 ficiency of its territory. — L 'Achour is one of the villages that were earliest 
 created in the Sahel, and its territory is well cultivated. — Drariah is one 
 of the oldest colonies, and is also perfectly settled, its success being entirely 
 secured. — Saoida is in the same state. — Fouka is a centre that was origi- 
 nally peopled by liberated soldiers, on the system of Marshal Bugeaud; 
 at a later date civil colonists have been settled, there. Hitherto their 
 situation is rather unsatisfactory; but it will probably improve when the 
 road from Blidah to the sea shall be opened, and the works at the mari- 
 time creek of Fouka shall be finished. — Notre Dame de Fouka is in a very 
 prosperous condition, and is principally inhabited by a population of fisher- 
 men, who do not, however, neglect agriculture. The soil is of a good qua- 
 lity, and it is very productive in cork-trees and oaks. The breeding of 
 swine and the preparation of charcoal constitute the principal elements of 
 its thriving state. — Douaouda is a village situated near Koleah, on the 
 road to Algiei-s; is in a flourishing state, and finds an easy market for its 
 produce. Its chief prosperity is centred in the breeding of cattle; and 
 endeavours are being made at the present moment to extend its territory 
 by the addition of some meadow-lands. The soil is good, although covered 
 with brushwood. — Zeradia is not as yet in a very thriving condition, owing 
 to its distance from the great centres of population. The system of irri- 
 gation likewise needs studying; but the sanitary state of the place has 
 been improved by the draining of the marshes that exist on its territory. — 
 Mulielma is partly peopled by liberated soldiers, and partly by civil colo- 
 nists. The soil is good, the land is being fast cleared and brought into
 
 PROVINCE OF ALGIERS. 301 
 
 cultivation, and tlie future promises well. — Saint Ferdinand is a village 
 that lias been formed by military convicts. The nearness to Algiers, and 
 the facility it enjoys of getting rid of its produce, are considerable ele- 
 ments of success. Efforts are now being made to increase its territory, 
 so that it may receive other concessionaries. — The same remarks apply to 
 the village of Sainte Amelie. — The town of Koleah has been entirely re- 
 peopled; the state of the colonists is satisfactory; its territory is well cul- 
 tivated, and attempts are being made to extend it. — Douera. In the first 
 instance, this centre was devoted to manufacturing industry, and it suf- 
 fered greatly by the opening of the road from Algiers to Llidah through 
 the plain. At a later date the colonists have pursued agriculture, and 
 have laid the foundations of a more solid prosperity. The territory is 
 covered with dwarf-palms, but it is well adapted to most kinds of culti- 
 vation. The local authorities are preparing to erect near this place two 
 hamlets, by handing over to the purposes of colonisation a considerable 
 stretch of country situated not far from Douera, and previously set apart 
 for the service of the army. — The village of Baba Hassen is entirely 
 settled, and on the high-road to prosperity. The dwelling-houses are, 
 generally speaking, substantially erected, with land attached to them, 
 to which additions are made every year. The colonists cultivate, be- 
 sides corn, olive-trees, vines, and especially tobacco ; and they already 
 possess considerable flocks of sheep. — Crescia is also in an excellent 
 condition ; the colonists are steady and industrious workmen, having 
 opened several quarries, formed several long and difficult roads, and made 
 numerous clearances. — Boufarik was formerly an unhealthy locality, but it 
 has recovered its salubrity, owing to the numerous plantations that have 
 been made, and the draining that has been carried out by the exertions of 
 the government. The buildings are substantial and handsome, and it is 
 surrouuded with numerous farm-houses. — Blidah is an old Moorish city 
 containing within its circuit several handsome European structures. Colo- 
 nisation has made rapid strides in the neighbourhood of this town, which 
 has four Avell-settled villages close at hand. — Beni-Mered is a village pro- 
 gressing very prosperously; the surrounding cultivation yields excellent 
 produce, and the colonists are able to support themselves; the clearances 
 and cultivation that they have effected are considerable, and their private 
 dwellings are daily increasing in number. — Joiwville is an extremely 
 thriving village, whose territory is scarcely extensive enough to meet the 
 wants of its energetic inhabitants; but it is difficult to procure additional 
 land there. The houses are generally well built, and the future prosperity 
 of this colony is cmite certain. — Jlontpensier is likewise in a good situa- 
 tion in every respect, such as cultivation, buildings, and plantations. The 
 proximity of Blidah provides it with an easy channel for disposing of its 
 produce. — The colonists of Dalmatic work hard and successfully ; the vil- 
 lage is surrounded with extensive tracts of arable land and plantations; and
 
 362 PEOVJTNCB OF ALGIERS. 
 
 the implements of labour are in general sufficient to meet the demand. 
 This village possesses two flour-mills on the Oued-Beni-Aza. — The village 
 of Souma is in a prosperous state as regards clearances and cultivation, and 
 building is increasing. — The Fondouk has advanced slowly, owing to its 
 isolated position in the Mitidja. The approaching continuation of coloni- 
 sation in the eastern circumference of the plain will rescue this village from 
 its languid state. — Medeah. Colonisation begins to extend around this 
 town, to which a territory for settlements has been annexed. — Some capi- 
 talists have founded near this town the village of Mouzaia-les- Mines, 
 occupied by miners' families engaged in the neighbouring copper-mines. 
 These people are housed in dwellings built with the funds of the company; 
 and there is room at this spot for an agricultural population, which would 
 favour the settlement of 500 workmen united in this village. 
 
 Agriculture has somewhat extended around MUiomah; several farms 
 are being established in its vicinity ; and the district affords numerous and 
 abundant springs, which may be turned to account. Two water-courses, 
 the Oued Boutau and the Oued Anasseur, turn several flour-mills in this 
 district. — Cultivation is developing around Cherchell in a territory of 
 3000 hectares (7500 acres) ; and its prosperity will be secured when it is 
 bound to Algiers and Blidah by a series of villages. This undertaking 
 was begun in 1848, by the creation of several agricultural colonies, of 
 which more anon. — Tenes still suffers from the isolation of its position; 
 the accumulation of troops on this point a few years ago having given 
 birth to an ephemeral activity that departed with its cause. Hence there 
 has resulted some distress. Some plantations of vines, fruit-trees, and 
 mulberries were made in 1849 and 1850, and the growth of cotton has 
 been attempted. The recent annexation of an agricultural territory to 
 Tenes will shortly permit the development of this branch of culture 
 there.* 
 
 * Besides the state, several private capitalists have forwarded the work of emigration 
 especially in the Sahel, where there are many scattered farms. The concession of the 
 Trappists at Staoucli deserves a special mention. Its extant is 1020 hectares (2519-40 
 acres), whereof about 300 hectares (741 acres) were sown or meadow land in 1849 ; the 
 value of the buildings having risen to 300,000 fr. (12,000^.) Several fountains flow in the 
 property; and it contains an orangery of nearly 1100 feet in length, and a pSpiniOre 
 (nursery-ground). 
 
 That part of the Mitidja, near Arba, called Beni-Moussa, was the first peopled by colo- 
 
 : and though long afflicted with various plagues and scourges, the perseverance of 
 
 the colonists has at length overcome tin: Arabs, mosquitoes, and droughts. Most of these 
 
 □ are in a very good state now. Free colonisation has extended on the left bank of 
 
 ; [aratch ; and the quarter of the Krachenas, to the cast of the Beni-Moussa, contained 
 
 eighteen European farms at the end of 1S49. It has also extended in the plain, in the 
 
 arrond t of Blidah. At the end of 1819 these undertakings embraced about 14,000 
 
 bares (:;i/»so acres), and 380 individuals,
 
 PROVINCE OF ORAN. 363 
 
 II. Military Territory. 
 
 1. Administrative centres : — 
 
 There are no new creations in this territory ; but the old centres now 
 form little, chiefly European, towns. They are the following : 
 
 ( Irleansville. This is an important town, founded in 1843, which suf- 
 fered, like Tenes, from the crisis of the last few years. Cultivation, how- 
 ever, is beginning to extend around the town, and it is anticipated that 
 the creation of the agricultural colonies in 1S-4G will give a new impulse 
 to cultivation. — Aumale, Bogliar, and Teniet-el-Had contain but few fami- 
 lies of colonists, and the surface to be colonised requires extension there. 
 — Dellys. Down to 1849 the colonists of this place had given more atten- 
 tion to town constructions than to agriculture. The concessible territory 
 extra muros was of small extent ; but lately 197 hectares, given up by 
 the Arabs, have been conceded to colonists and valued. A centre of colo- 
 nisation is projected at some distance from Dellys, in the fertile valley of 
 the Oued-Neca. 
 
 2. Free colonisation : 
 
 Since 1848 free colonisation has extended, in the military territory, 
 chiefly in the subdivision of Blidah, and in those of Orleansville, of Medeah, 
 and of Milianah. 
 
 Province op Oran. 
 I. Colonisation in the Civil Territory. 
 
 1. Centres created by the administration : 
 
 Three centres of population have been founded in this territory since 
 1847, i. e. Valmy, Arcole, and Ain-Turk. 
 
 Valmy. The colonists of this centre are successfully engaged in 
 breeding cattle. Special branches of culture, such as those of cotton, 
 tobacco, and the mulberry-tree, have also been the object of particular 
 and experienced care. To sum up all in a word, the state of this centre 
 is good. — Arcole. The same may be said of this village, though it suffered 
 much from drought in 18.30. Public plantations are in the act of being 
 laid out there. — Ain-Turk. This centre, situated in the plaine ties Andalous, 
 has been created within a year. About thirty families have settled down 
 there ; and it is anticipated that the fertility of the territory will recom- 
 pense the labours of the colonists. 
 
 The centres that existed on the civil territory previous to 1847 were 
 nine, i. e. four towns, — Oran, Mostaganem, Arzeu, and Mascara; and five 
 villages, — La Senia, Misserghin, Sidi-Chami, Mazagran, and Mers-el-Kebir. 
 The present condition of these villages is as follows : La Senia. Culti-
 
 ?G4 PROVINCE OF ORAN. 
 
 vation is very flourishing- in this centre, and the colonists were favour- 
 ably mentioned at the exhibition of 1850 for the fine fruits that they had 
 grown. They also attend with success to the care of silk-worms ; and the 
 favourable state of the public as well as private plantations completes the 
 prosperity of this village. — Misserghin. Some public works have still to 
 be carried out in this village, which has suffered greatly from bad crops 
 within the last few years. — Sidi-Chami. This village has likewise been 
 unlucky during the last year (1849); but this state of things is only 
 transitory. The colonists are in possession of good implements and a 
 great number of cattle ; their future prosperity is secured. — Mers-el-Kebir. 
 This is the port of, and an appendage to, Oran. — Mazagran. Near the 
 town of Mostaganem. The state of this village is satisfactory ; the ground 
 is cleared, and most of it tilled. The success of this centre is secured by 
 the fertility of its territory, and the facility it offers to the colonists for 
 getting rid of their produce. 
 
 2. Free colonisation : 
 
 The number of farms or private properties founded beyond the centres, 
 in the precincts, or banlieue, of Oran, has more than doubled since the end 
 of 1846. They amounted to 195 in 1850. Some of them proceed from pur- 
 chases made from the natives, and the others from concessions granted by 
 the state. 
 
 This evident increase in agricultural undertakings has resulted chiefly 
 from the creation of villages, where the concessionaries are sure to find 
 work, and which afford a protection to individuals in case of war. All 
 seems to show that this movement, which has set in within the last few 
 years, will not slacken, but rather increase as population pours in. The 
 same movement has set-in in the banlieue of Mostaganem. The number 
 of concessionaries in the Valley of the Gardens, which was inconsiderable in 
 1845-46, amounted in 1850 to 30, and has increased still more since 
 that date. There has also been a proportional increase of buildings and 
 of cultivation. A certain number of concessions have been granted like- 
 wise in the banlieues of Arzeu and of Mascara, towns which in the course 
 of last year (1849) were attached to the civil territory. 
 
 II. Colonisation in the Military Territory. 
 
 1. Centres created by the administration : 
 
 Seven new stations have been created in the military territory since 
 the end of 1846, i. e. : 
 
 Sidi-bd-Abbes. As this centre, where some colonists had already set- 
 tled for several years, appeared to be an important strategical position, 
 a town was founded there by a decree of Jan. 5, 1849. It is 20 leagues 
 (50 miles) from Oran, and the chef lieu, or capital, of a military sub-
 
 PROVINCE OF OBAN. 3GJ 
 
 division, possesses an important agricultural territory, and is being peopled 
 rapidly. — St. Andre and St. Hlppohjte are two villages near Mascara, 
 founded some time since, and their territory is mostly cultivated ; they 
 are both well situated for health and accessibility, and the neighbourhood 
 of Mascara offers a good market for the produce of the land. — Near 
 Tlemsen are four villages : Brea and Negrier, each intended to contain 
 fifty families, and peopling rapidly • JIansourah and the Seysaf, built on a 
 fine rich soil, peopled partly by old colonists of Tlemsen and veteran sol- 
 diers. Though only founded in 1850, these villages are progressing rapidly. 
 
 There are twelve other centres in this territory, founded before 1847. 
 1. St. Denis du Sig placed on the road from Oran to Mascara, and watered 
 by the Sig; both great advantages. In 1850 cultivation had much in- 
 creased, and many fine plantations had been made here. 2. La Stidia is 
 peopled chiefly by Prussian families, who came in 1846, and were long in 
 a precarious condition; but by the assistance of government they have 
 recovered heart, and are doing tolerably well. 3. St. Leonie, also a Prus- 
 sian village, whose present condition is much improved. 4. A village of 
 discharged soldiers exists in the subdivision of Mostaganem, to whom 
 concessions in land were granted ; and by help of the state, they are in 
 a satisfactory condition. The territory round Tlemsen is very fertile and 
 well cultivated, all kinds of growth succeeding well there. Most of the 
 colonists are old soldiers of the garrison of Tlemsen, who, on the expira- 
 tion of their term of service, asked permission to settle there. The civil 
 population of Nemours is still inconsiderable, and it offers little interest in 
 an agricultural point of view ; but its commercial position is good, its port 
 being frequented by numerous merchant-ships, which might supply, if 
 necessary, Lalla-Maghnia, Sebdou, and Tlemsen. 
 
 Cultivation begins to extend round the military posts of Tiaret, Saida 
 Daya, Sebdou, Ain-Temouchen, and Lalla-Maghnia. These spots offer, 
 moreover, excellent resources in timber, lime, freestone, and clay ; and 
 the only obstacles to their progress are the dearness of provisions, and the 
 distance from the coast.* 
 
 * General Lanioriciere had vast projects in this territory, which, though made as pub- 
 lic as possible, have been chiefly confined to paper. (Castellane's Souvenirs, 1S52. Tableau, 
 1849-50.) 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres) were to be given to 5000 colonists, government 
 helping them in the most essential work; but only one village, Sainte Barbe, with 284] 
 hectares, has been founded, and that is a failure. Another decree, in February 1847, 
 created between Oran and Arzeu three new communes, or parishes, — Christina, St. Ferdi- 
 nand, and St. Isabel. In March 1S47 they were given up to French and Spanish capi- 
 talists, who undertook to establish 170 families in them ; but they are also likely to prove 
 failures. 
 
 In short, colonisation, as a commercial speculation, has failed there, owing to the great 
 calls on capital, and the risks incurred. 
 
 A few private undertakings have been accomplished the last few years in the subdi- 
 vision of Oran ; and the property of H. Dupre de St. Mam - , 27 kilometres (17n miles) from 
 Oran, and containing 910 hectares (2170 acres), to be peopled by twenty families, is pro-
 
 3CG PROVINCE OF CONSTANT! NA. 
 
 Pjrovince of Constaxtina. 
 I. Colonisation in the Civil Territory. 
 
 1. Centres created by the government: 
 
 The only new creations in this territory since 1847 are the villages of 
 Bugeaud and D'Uzerville. 
 
 Bugeaud is a woodland rather than an agricultural centre, situated at 
 the entrance of the forest of Edough. It is intended to receive some fa- 
 milies of wood-cutters, whereof some were already settled and employed 
 by the government in 1850; and the others were shortly expected from 
 the department of the Yosges. As these families are too poor to settle in 
 the village and erect houses at their own cost, the minister- of-war decided 
 that eight workmen's dwellings should be built at the expense of the state, 
 and that a part of the territory should be appropriated to the construction 
 of villas. This twofold measure will rapidly advance the prosperity of 
 the village. — D' Uzerville. The creation of this centre is already of some 
 standing; but its progress had been retarded by local causes, and by the 
 necessity of drainage as a preliminary measure. It was in the last three 
 months of 1850 that the colonists began to settle there. The territory 
 is excellent, and the vicinity of Bona must secure its eventual prosperity. 
 
 The old centres in the civil territory are nine in number, i.e. Constan- 
 tina, Bona, Philippeville, Valee, Damremont, Saint-Antoine, Guelma, La 
 Calle, and Bugia. 
 
 Constcmtina. The territory of this centre was long confined to the 
 circuit of the town; but since 1849 it embraces a district of 14,000 hec- 
 tares (34,580 acres). A portion of land has been conceded, and is on 
 sale. Five groups of habitations have spontaneously arisen in it, corres- 
 ponding to the principal divisions of the territory; namely, Sidi-Mabrouck, 
 Oued-Yacoub, Cherakat-Bou-azen, Hamma, and Constantina. At the end 
 of 1850 there were 78 undertakings of private enterprise in this district. 
 
 Cultivation begins to extend around the town of Boiuv. A certain 
 number of proprietors, instead of confining themselves, as heretofore, to 
 stacking hay and forage, have seriously applied themselves to agriculture. 
 The success of these undertakings must depend entirely on the completion 
 of roads and drainage, which have been hitherto crippled for want of 
 funds. 
 
 grossing the best. A few other concessions. ami fifteen farms, have been granted and 
 Led in this subdivision; but the whole affair seems throughout slow, though more 
 sure, in this province. The Valley of the Gardens at Mostaganem is the most nourishing 
 spot in the province. Further particulars relating to colonisation in the province of Orau 
 will be found at pp. 214-15 of the Tableau for L849-50.
 
 PROVINCE OP CONSTANTINA. 3G7 
 
 Philippeville. The territory surrounding this town is almost entirely 
 conceded, is in good order, and fetches a good price; and it is desirable to 
 enlarge it. Independently of the cultivation of the valley of Zeramna, the 
 hilly country situated between Philippeville and the port of Stora, and 
 known as the ravine of Beni-Melek, contains a great number of very pro- 
 ductive small farms, where the cultivation of vegetables, fruit-trees, and 
 vines is daily increasing. — Valee, Damreniont, Saint Antoine. These three 
 centres, which are situated near and in a radius round Philippeville, have 
 very good j->rospects. The colonists continue to attend to the breeding of 
 cattle, which is in a thriving state; and the amount of tillage and plant- 
 ing is continually on the increase. 
 
 Colonisation had made rapid strides round Guelma in 1849-50. In- 
 dependently of three agricultural colonies that were created in 1848 in its 
 vicinity, the town has continued to spread, and numerous concessions have 
 been made in its district. The colonists have built dwellings, and founded 
 oil and flour mills; and the cultivation of olive-trees is one of the great 
 sources of wealth in this part of the country, admitting of unlimited ex- 
 tension.* 
 
 La Calle. We have already observed that there is no opening for the 
 erection of a village near this place, where the only development that colo- 
 nisation can take is the working of mines and the care of the cork-forests, 
 as there is an entire deficiency of arable land in that part of the country. 
 
 Two little centres have already arisen spontaneously at spots named 
 Le Melah, 12 kilometres (7£ miles) from La Calle; and at Oum-Thaboul, 
 16 kilometres (10 miles) from that town.t 
 
 * An agricultural territory has lately been formed round Bugia, in which tillage has 
 begun to make rapid strides, after being kept in check for many years by the hostile 
 Kabyles of the vicinity. European colonists can now find safe and desirable settlements 
 in this district, since the submission of the Kabyle tribes, and the opening of a road to 
 Setif. 
 
 t The preceding remarks will give a notion of the results obtained, in matters of culti- 
 vation, by private capital, in places under the civil jurisdiction. These results are the 
 most remarkable in the vicinity of Philippeville ; but the territory of Bona, almost entirely 
 in the possession of private individuals, and so long in a stationary condition, is beginning 
 at last to be cultivated in real earnest ; and Guelma, whoso advance was long thwarted by 
 its isolated position, presents a continual progress in the cultivation of its fertile territory. 
 Lastly, within a recent date, numerous concessionaries or grantees have been established 
 in the district of Constantina, and are in a thriving condition. Thus this phase of the 
 colonisation of the province is in a satisfactory state. 
 
 Many future plans are, moreover, in agitation for the promotion of colonisation in the 
 civil territory. Thus it is proposed to make Guelma the centre of a great network of colo- 
 nisation, by the erect ; on of six villages ; and it is also projected to build a village near 
 Bugia.
 
 3GS mOVINCE OF constantina. 
 
 II. Colonisation in the Military Territory. 
 
 1. Centres created by the government: 
 
 Three villages have been created since 1847 in the military territory, 
 i.e. Saint-Charles, Conde, and Penthievre. 
 
 Saint- diaries is situated in the valley of the Safsaf, on the road from 
 Philippeville to Constantina; and building as well as agriculture are pro- 
 gressing there. The territory of this centre has been allotted in such Avise 
 as to admit of the establishment of large, middling, and small estates. 
 Situated about half-way from Philippeville to El-Arrouch, traversed by 
 an excellent road, and surrounded by a rich district of wood, arable, and 
 meadow land, the village of Saint-Charles enjoys great advantages. — Gondfi 
 stands a few kilometres from Constantina, on the road to Philippeville; 
 but as yet it has not been much developed; and though a few houses have 
 been built, and some concessions have been made to colonists, cultivation 
 is hitherto not far advanced. This village being, moreover, a halting- 
 place for travellers, the colonists have, up to the present time, devoted 
 themselves chiefly to trading. — Penthievre has been hitherto in a very 
 backward condition, although its position is most favourable, both on the 
 score of farming and traffic. It stands almost midway between Guelma 
 and Bona, which are separated by a distance of GG kilometres (41-01 
 miles) ; and it is an indispensable halting and baiting place for man and 
 beast. Water and wood are abundant in the district, which contains much 
 very fertile land. The only thing needful to secure the prosperity of this 
 village is a good road to unite it with Bona and Guelma. 
 
 The other centres, existing before 1847, in the military territory, are : 
 El-Arrouch, Setif, Djidjelli, Batna, and Biskara. 
 
 The territory of El-Arrouch is, at the present time, almost entirely 
 granted and cultivated, and is remai'kable for its fertility. The state of 
 the colonists at this spot is satisfactory. 
 
 St 'if. Colonisation begins to extend in the district of this town, which 
 contained in 1850 twelve private farms, independently of a great number 
 of small dwelling-houses and cottages in the gardens near the town. 
 Hands have been hitherto wanting for agriculture; but it is anticipated 
 that the pacification of Kabylia, and the opening of the road from Setif 
 to Bugia, will attract a numerous population to this centre. At a few 
 kilometres from Setif, a centre of population, called Ain-Sefia, was created 
 in 184G; whose inhabitants possess a number of beautiful gardens and 
 fine plantations, while the .surrounding land is extremely rich." — Djidjelli 
 
 * Four other little villages arc in the process of formation around Setif, at spots named 
 I- 1 ■. Kalfoun, Mezloug, and Fcrmatou. Neither of them has hitherto been regularly 
 
 constituted.
 
 PROVINCE OF CONSTANTINOPLE 309 
 
 having been in a constant state of blockade since its first occupation, the 
 farming in the vicinity is very limited; but the subjection of Kabylia will 
 give breathing-time and a fair field for colonisation. Batna has just re- 
 ceived the grant of a farming district of 8700 hectares (21,489 acres), con- 
 sisting of very fertile land, covered with an abundance of wood. A certain 
 number of concessions have been already made, some of which are in a 
 very thriving state. But the future prospects of this spot are as inti- 
 mately associated with traffic as with tillage; since, owing to its position 
 between the mountains of the Aouress and of the Ouled-Sultan, on the 
 passage from the Tell to the Sahara, it is destined to become some day an 
 important emporium for goods coming from the north and south. 
 
 It will be necessary to annex a district for colonisation to Bislcara, in 
 order to secure the settlement of those colonists who are at present at- 
 tracted to the spot by the demand for engineer labour, and by the presence 
 of the troops. The soil and climate of Biskara seem well adapted to the 
 culture of tropical plants; and it is intended to establish there shortly a 
 jardln cVacclimatatiort, (nursery-ground for exotics). This town forms, 
 moreover, a good channel for French commerce with the interior of Africa." 
 
 Four centres of population already existed in 1850 in the valley of the 
 Safsaf, i.e. St. Charles, El-Arrouch, Gastonville, and Kobertville.j 
 
 Between El-Arrouch and Conde are already two little agglomerations 
 
 * In 1846 it was proposed to colonise the valleys of the Safsaf and of the Bon-Merzoug. 
 
 The first, which was given up to colonisation in 1847, contains about 20,000 hectares 
 (49,400 acres). It has been divided into two parts : 8000 hectares (19,760 acres) on the 
 right bank of the river have been given up to the tribe of the Beni-Mehenna, who were 
 previously dispersed over the valley ; whilst 12,000 hectares (29,640 acres) have been re- 
 served for, and distributed amongst, European concessionaries. 
 
 It was first attempted to adopt the system of largo concessions, many of which were 
 granted, and are still occupied and cultivated ; but here, as in the province of Oran, ex- 
 perience has proved that thej- are not so successful as those on a smaller scale. It has 
 been found necessary to execute a good many evictions ; and the greater part of the great 
 lots of land, subdivided into fractions of from 25 to 100 hectares (62 J to 250 acres), are now 
 in process of cultivation. Some of these farms have become notorious for the breeding of 
 cattle in large numbers. 
 
 As for the valley of Bon-Merzoug, beyond Constantina, it contained, at the end of 
 1S50, 53 concessions, embracing each from 40 to 100 hectares (100 to 250 acres). Some of 
 these concessionaries have already undertaken very important works. 
 
 A system of colonisation is now in process of execution in this district, of which the 
 following are the principal features : first, the creation of two villages as foci of industry, 
 and seats of middling and small properties ; whilst nine hamlets, inhabited by petty culti- 
 vators, are to irradiate round these villages ; isolated farms covering the rest of the valley, 
 containing each from 80 to 100 hectares (200 to 250 acres). 
 
 Several private farms in a thriving state are now in existence around Setif. Lastly, 
 colonists arc now established in the district of Batna, and their number increases daily. 
 
 *T A new village and some hamlets were being surveyed at the end of 1850, intended to 
 complete the plan of colonisation in that territory. There was also a plan for colonising a 
 vast territory around Constantina in the form of a polygon, to contain five European towns, 
 each possessing a territory of 1S00 or 2000 hectares (4500 or 5000 acres), and 120 families ; 
 the towns to stand at the angles of the polygon, on the roads to Setif, Msila, Philippe- 
 ville, Haractas, and Batna ; the interior of the polygon to be filled with farms of all sizes. 
 
 A A
 
 370 THE PENAL COLONY OF LAMBESSA. 
 
 of population — Touniiettes and Kantours — the nucleus of future vil- 
 lages. 
 
 The road traced out from Bona to Philippeville, by the valley of Fen- 
 deck, coasts along the north bank of Lake Fetzara, passes the valley of 
 Oued-Ensa, and abuts at St. Charles, in the valley of the Safsaf. The 
 entrance of the valley of Fendeck being a favourable site for a colony, 
 the village of Jemmapes has been established there, 
 
 A little centre of population called Atnienia has also been formed on 
 the road from Constantina to Setif. Lastly, a penitential colony has 
 been formed on the site of the Koman town Lambessa, whose name it 
 bears. This colony has been devoted to the political convicts who were 
 condemned and transported after the June insurrection in 1848, and was 
 founded in conformity with the law of the 24th of January 1850. It 
 stands near Batna; the climate is very healthy, water is very abundant, 
 and the local administration comprises above 3000 hectares (7401 acres) 
 of excellent land.'"' 
 
 This establishment, which seems to combine many advantages and 
 some defects, directs our thoughts naturally to that fatality in French 
 governments and economists, which leads them to- conceive wonders on 
 paper, and bring forth abortions or monsters in practice. Parturiunt 
 monies, nascitur mus. Bravely do they theorise of national workshops, 
 national banks, Icarias, Harmonies, and Utopias; governments talk of 
 progress ; presidents and emperors spout much about order and La Belle 
 France; and yet, with a noble colony at their doors, once the granary of 
 Europe, they cannot keep peace at home, and they send a few half-starved 
 skeletons, yclept socialists, from the Faubourg de St. Antoine, to perish 
 miserably in the marshes of Bona. Verily, prevention is better than 
 cure. 
 
 Never yet has France fairly faced the subject of colonisation. The 
 Turks kept Algeria with 10,000 men, the French require 100,000. Here 
 
 * This penitential colony has been founded on the following principles : 1. The crea- 
 tion of a penitential establishment, carrying on external labour in common in the day- 
 time, "and separately at night. 2. The addition of a certain plot of land to it, for the 
 purpose of the agricultural department connected with it. The land was intended to be 
 extensive enough to occupy 600 convicts. 3. Other land to be attached to the establish- 
 ment, on which might ultimately be erected two or three villages, with provisional conces- 
 sions to the convicts. 
 
 The plan'for tho building, designed by military engineers, was approved by the minister ; 
 but, the works only began in March 1851. In July 1851 all the foundations of the vast 
 
 &ce were completed, four buildings int ended 6 »r stables were occupied, and the barracks 
 were finished to tho first story. The main building was in process of erection, to contain 
 600 cells, in three stories : it was expected to be roofed at tho end of 1851. The govern- 
 
 Li offices were only to bo begun in 1852 ; but it was hoped that all would be finished in 
 tin! course of that year. 
 
 1 1 was expected that the building would be sufficiently advanced to receive 200 con- 
 victs in October 1651.
 
 FRENCH UTOPIAS. 371 
 
 is a large screw loose; and money that ought to go to establish emigrants 
 is swallowed up by a preventible evil.* 
 
 The best cure for the barricade is emigration, and over-pressure at 
 home will ever beget explosions in mercurial Paris. Let the French 
 government export sundry cargoes of blouses to Algeria, and we shall 
 hear no more, I ween, of la lanterne, coups d'etat, and glorious three 
 days. French Africa is the true issue to relieve the humours of the 
 mother-country j and a little common sense could preserve order at home, 
 without showers of bullets, hedges of bayonets, and legions of priests, by a 
 spirited, liberal, and earnest encouragement and promotion of emigration 
 among the proletaires of the large cities of France. It is evidently the 
 divine intention, that man should go forth and replenish the earth and 
 subdue it ; and should the womb of time bring forth difficulties, and the 
 globe be in danger of a glut, let our brave French theorists muster their 
 Icarias, their Phalansteries, and their ateliers, or national workshops, and 
 make the experiment in the field, and not upon paper, of giving, as they 
 promise, a nouveau monde (new world). 
 
 Nay, we are far from flattering ourselves that our present social system 
 is perfection ; and when China itself is breaking up, that a new world may 
 rise from her ashes, we may safely infer that we are still growing, till we 
 reach our proper and perfect stature. Only we say, instead of breaking 
 windows, heads, and hearts in old Europe, give our visionaries a fair 
 field, and let them work out their problems of economy and fight out 
 their quarrels in a new world, and not in old Europe. If they fail, their 
 folly will have received a sufficient punishment ; if they stand, we shall 
 profit by their wisdom. 
 
 To complete our description of the state of colonisation in Algeria, it 
 remains for us to speak of the agricultural colonies (colonies agricoles), 
 founded by a law of the National Assembly dated September 19th, 1848, 
 by which a sum of fifty millions of francs (2,000,000£.) was voted for their 
 establishment. | 
 
 The emigrants, amounting to about 135,000, were disseminated 
 amongst forty-two agricultural centres, which are thus analysed between 
 the three provinces : 
 
 The province of Algiers comprises twelve colonies, forming successive 
 steps (eclielons) along the roads, or placed near centres destined to acquire 
 some importance. % 
 
 * A remarkable contrast to the inertia of French colonial administration is presented 
 in the rise and progress of the enterprising Rajah o£ Sarawak, Sir James Brooke. See 
 Hugh Low's Sarawak, 184S. 
 
 f These colonies were to be formed of farmers and of mechanics : the former being made 
 admissible to receive concessions of land of from two to ten hectares (5 to 25 acres), with a 
 dwelling-house, and funds necessary for their establishment ; the latter might enjoy the 
 same advantages, if they showed their intention of settling in the country. 
 
 X Thus, L'Afroun, the Bou-Roumi, Marengo, and Zurich, are situated on the road from
 
 372 AGRICULTURAL COLONIES. 
 
 The twenty-one agricultural colonies founded in the province of Oran 
 are grouped into three principal circles, those of Mostaganem, of Arzeu,, 
 and of Oran. They gravitate in a small radius round these points ; and 
 the colony that stands furthest from the sea is separated from it by an 
 interval of about twenty-five kilometres (lof- miles).'"' 
 
 The agricultural colonies of the province of Constantina are nine in 
 number, concentrated in the three circles of Bona, of Guelma, and of 
 Philippeville. They are placed in the vicinity of the roads that lead from 
 Bona to Guelma, and from Philippeville to Constantina, save a few that 
 are at present rather more remotely situated from the great arteries of 
 transit. | 
 
 Before any new bodies of emigrants were sent off, the National Assem- 
 bly wished to learn the state of the colonies of 1848 ; and a commission 
 having been sent by the minister of war to examine them, gave in its 
 report on the 30th June, 1849. From this document it appears that the 
 greatest difficulty found in organising these colonies resulted from the 
 improper choice of the colonists, most of whom, coming from the work- 
 shops of Paris, were not fit for farm- labourers; and also from the presence 
 of some idle men, who unsettled the minds of the others. 
 
 This state of things has been greatly improved since, chiefly by the 
 dismissal of those unfit, and their substitution by families of agriculturists, 
 and old soldiers inured to Africa. The latest accounts bear witness to the 
 happy change resulting from this arrangement. J 
 
 Independently of the physical wants of the colonists, the administra- 
 tion has not been unmindful of their moral and spiritual necessities. Pro- 
 
 Blidah to Cherchell ; Castiglione and Tefeschoun on the projected road from Algiers to 
 Chcrchell along the shore ; Lodi on the road from Modeah to Milianah ; Damiette and 
 Novi, the first near Medeah, the last near Cherchell ; finally, more to the west, on the 
 road from Tenes to Orleansville, Montenotte ; and near Orleansvillo, La Ferme and 
 Ponteba. 
 
 * Near Mostaganem are Aboukir. Rivoli, 'Ain-Nouisy, Tounin, Karonba, Ain-Tidoles, 
 Souk-el-Mitou. Round Arzeu you find St. Leu, Damesme, Arzcu, Muloy-Magoun, Kleber, 
 Mefessour, St. Cloud. In the neighbourhood of Oran have been created, Fleurus, Assi- 
 Ameur, Assi-ben-Ferrah, St. Louis, Assi-bcn-Okba, Assi-bou-Nif, and Mangin. 
 
 + In the circle of Philippeville you meet with Jemmapcs, Gastonville, and Robertville ; 
 near Guelma you find Hcliopolis, Guelma, Millesimo, and Petit ; and in the circle of 
 Bona, Mondovi and BarraL 
 
 J The supplii s '.'-ranted by the state to these colonies arc analysed as follows : — 
 
 1. A storehouse of one story, containing two rooms, each of from 3 metres 50 centi- 
 metres (11-78 feet) to 5 metres (16 - 40 fee.t), and a tile roof. 
 
 2. To each family have been plotted from 8 to 20 hectares (20 to 25 acres) of land, 
 besides a garden. 
 
 3. Ploughs, &c, seed and cattle, have been distributed amongst the colonists. 
 
 4. A daily ration has been allowed, since ISIS, to all persons of both sexes; half rations 
 to children. All these supplies were to cease December 31st, 1851. The construction of 
 roads, and the supply of water in these new colonics, have occupied the attention, and 
 swallowed up considerable sums, of the government; but they were indispensable.
 
 AGRICULTURAL COLONIES. •>~'-'> 
 
 visional buildings have been consecrated for divine worship, and provided 
 with ministers and assistants. 
 
 Schools for boys and girls were also founded at the end of 1849, 
 several of them confided to the care of nuns and sisters of mercy of 
 Algiers, who also take charge of the local infirmaries. This arrangement 
 has naturally had the most happy results. 
 
 In virtue of a decree of the 20th July, 1850, justices of peace are to 
 be established in the most important of these colonies; St. Cloud enjoyed 
 this privilege in 1850. 
 
 These colonics were in such a forward state at the end of that year, 
 that it is supposed they might have dispensed with the supplies from 
 government, but for the deficient crops and the ravages of locusts in 
 1851. It was therefore thought probable that it would be desirable to 
 continue the government supplies for some months in 1852. 
 
 The law of* the 19th of May, 1819, decreed that 6000 additional emi- 
 grants should be sent out, for whose reception twelve villages were pre- 
 pared, and 734 houses built. These labours were suspended by a new 
 law, of July 20th, 1850, decreeing five millions of francs to continue the 
 colonies of 184S, and people those of 1849. On March 13th, 1851, the 
 minister of war demanded of the assembly a grant of five millions to 
 finish the public works in the twelve villages begun in 1849. The govern- 
 ment decided to renounce the law of September 1848, and to people them 
 with French or Algerian farmers ; granting them the house and land, but 
 no further supplies. It was determined to send people of the same depart- 
 ment to the same place, and to appropriate the mountainous districts, such 
 as the colonies of Abd-el-Kader-Bou-Medfa, Ain-Benian, and Ain-Sultan, 
 on the lofty plateaux, near Milianah, to French highlanders, while the 
 Boeotians should settle in the plain. This project received the sanction of 
 the assembly July 10th, 1851, when the sum demanded by the executive 
 was voted. 
 
 The last official accounts are, that they were hastening the works in 
 the colony, preparatory to the reception of the colonists, who were being 
 carefully and appropriately selected by the prefects of the departments in 
 France. It was hoped that they would be installed in October 1851. 
 
 The completion of the colonies of 1849 would bring into cultivation a 
 territory of 18,000 hectares (44,460 acres).'"' 
 
 * The twelve villages of 1849 are distributed as follows: — Province of Algiers: Arneur- 
 el-Ain and La Bourkika, on the left bank of the China ; Ain-Benianand the marabout of Sidi 
 Abd-el-Kader-Bou-Medfa, on the read from Blidah to Milianah and Ain-Sultan, at 16UU 
 metres (about a mile) from the same road, on one of the outliers to the south-west of the 
 Gontas. Produce of Gran: Bled-Touaria, Ain-Sidi-Cheri, Ain-Boudinar, and the Pont- 
 du-Cheli, in the subdivision of Mostaganem ; and Bon-Tlelis, distant thirty kilometres 
 (lS'b' miles) from Oran, on the road from that town to Tlemsen. In the province of Con- 
 stantino,, Ahmed - ben - Ali and Sidi-Nassar, at some kilometres from the village of 
 Jemmapes.
 
 374 
 
 AGRICULTURAL COLONIES. 
 
 State of the Agricultural Colonies, December 31, 1850* 
 PROVINCE OF ALGIERS. 
 
 Names. Population. 
 
 Houses. 
 
 Land. 
 
 Boiiroumi 
 
 Marengo .... 
 
 Zurick c 
 
 Novi .... 
 
 Castig-lione 
 
 Tefeschoun . . . 
 Lodi .... 
 Damiette .... 
 Montenotte .... 
 
 Total .... 
 
 292 
 26 
 555 
 185 
 345 
 255 
 189 
 365 
 344 
 323 
 188 
 119 
 
 61 
 15 
 
 •Jin) 
 90 
 
 110 
 75 
 56 
 
 120 
 
 120 
 71 
 93 
 55 
 
 Hectares. 
 603 
 134 
 
 1180 
 515 
 397 
 154 
 118 
 
 1019 
 909 
 
 1004 
 516 
 413 
 
 Acres. 
 
 1489-41 
 
 330 98 
 
 2914 60 
 
 1272-05 
 
 98059 
 
 380-38 
 
 291-46 
 
 2516-93 
 
 2245-23 
 
 2479-88 
 
 1274-52 
 
 102011 
 
 3243 
 
 1066 
 
 6962 
 
 17,196-14 
 
 The 3423 colonists are analysed into 1533 men, 1221 women, and 489 children. Of the 
 6962 hectares of land granted, 3375 (8336-15 acres) have been cleared, and the number of 
 trees planted amount to 173,762. 
 
 
 
 PROVINCE OF ORAN 
 
 
 
 Names. Population. 
 
 Houses. 
 
 Land. 
 
 
 
 
 Hectares. 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Aboukir 
 
 221 
 
 86 
 
 537 
 
 1,332 
 
 Rivoli . . . 
 
 
 
 224 
 
 71 
 
 412 
 
 1.030 
 
 Ain-Nouisy . . 
 
 
 
 164 
 
 76 
 
 420 
 
 1.260 
 
 Tounin . . . 
 
 
 
 143 
 
 51 
 
 327 
 
 817 
 
 Karouba . . 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 7 
 
 100 
 
 250 
 
 Ain-Tideles 
 
 
 
 312 
 
 107 
 
 819 
 
 2,047 
 
 Souck-el-Mitou 
 
 
 
 241 
 
 94 
 
 881 
 
 2,202 
 
 Saint Leu . . 
 
 
 
 134 
 
 58 
 
 282 
 
 705 
 
 Damesme . 
 
 
 
 125 
 
 41 
 
 168 
 
 420 
 
 Arzeu . . . 
 
 
 
 135 
 
 44 
 
 141 
 
 70 
 
 Muley-Magoun 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 23 
 
 57 
 
 KJeber . . . 
 
 
 
 274 
 
 84 
 
 167 
 
 83 
 
 Mefessour . . 
 
 
 
 138 
 
 64 
 
 211 
 
 527 
 
 Saint Cloud . , 
 
 
 
 789 
 
 280 
 
 2,689 
 
 6,722 
 
 Fleurus . 
 
 
 
 207 
 
 98 
 
 532 
 
 1,330 
 
 Assi-Ameur 
 
 
 
 192 
 
 72 
 
 242 
 
 605 
 
 Assi-ben-Ferrah . 
 
 
 
 154 
 
 46 
 
 41i> 
 
 1,025 
 
 Saint Louis . 
 
 
 
 345 
 
 148 
 
 1,122 
 
 2,805 
 
 Assi-ben-Okba. . 
 
 
 
 196 
 
 64 
 
 612 
 
 1,530 
 
 Assr-Bounif. . 
 
 
 
 143 
 
 61 
 
 520 
 
 1,300 
 
 Mangin .... 
 
 
 
 118 
 
 76 
 
 471 
 
 235 
 
 Total . . 
 
 • 
 
 • 
 
 4308 
 
 1635 
 
 11,086 
 
 26,357 
 
 Of these 11,086 hectares, 4205 (10,386-35 acres) have been cultivated, and SS,961 trees 
 have been planted. Of the 4308 colonists, 2001 are men, 1544 women, and 763 children. 
 
 * It may be acceptable to th reader to be presented with a sketch of some of these 
 French colonics from the pen of recent French visitors ; and we shall begin with St. Denis 
 du SIl', in the provini-:- of'Oran. 
 
 tlane was there in 1846, at its birth. "The general" (Lamoriciere), he says, 
 
 lied to ascertain the cause why a village so well placid should not have succeeded 
 
 better; hence he announced that ho would see any of the colonists at live o'clock. As
 
 AGRICULTURAL COLONIES. 
 
 •J to 
 
 PROVINCE OF CONSTANTINA. 
 
 
 Names. 
 
 Population. 
 
 Houses. 
 
 Land. 
 
 
 
 
 Hectares. 
 
 Ac 1 1 
 
 Jcmniapcs 
 
 512 
 
 185 
 
 914 
 
 2,257-58 
 
 
 350 
 
 136 
 
 290 
 
 716-30 
 
 
 420 
 
 147 
 
 865 
 
 2,136-55 
 
 Heliopolis 
 
 195 
 
 100 
 
 532 
 
 1,314-04 
 
 
 265 
 
 51 
 
 74i.; 
 
 1,842-62 
 
 
 208 
 
 95 
 
 639 
 
 1,578-33 
 
 Petit 
 
 184 
 
 72 
 
 538 
 
 1,328-86 
 
 
 376 
 
 145 
 
 667 
 
 1,647-49 
 
 Total .... 
 
 315 
 
 113 
 
 489 
 
 1,207-83 
 
 2825 
 
 1044 
 
 5680 
 
 14,019-60 
 
 Of these 2825 colonists, 12S7 are men, 973 women, and 565 children. Of the 5680 hec- 
 tares of land, 2911 have been cleared, and the number of trees planted by the colonists 
 amount to 48,626. 
 
 The grand total for the three provinces is, 10,376 inhabitants; 3745 houses; 23,937 
 hectares (59,124-3 acres) of land; 10,491 hectares (25,912-77 acres) of land cleared ; trees 
 planted, 311,349. 
 
 But it is evident that French colonisation in Africa has hitherto been 
 oppressed by the nightmare of bureaucratic interference; and that the 
 French have hitherto shown a much greater aptitude to destroy than to 
 construct. The razzia has heralded the progress of liberty and equality; 
 whilst dreams on paper have been the fruit and ornament of their colonial 
 empire in Algeria. 
 
 Hardships are the lot of all new settlers; but it seems surprising that 
 with the example of the Romans, who covered Numidia with flourishing 
 cities, and with the additional light of science, France should be blind 
 enough to her own interests and to the interests of humanity, to offer up 
 her sons, civilians or soldiers, by hecatombs to the demon of fever, for 
 want of judicious outlay and precautions. If some of the millions lavished 
 on triumphal arches, imperial progresses, illuminations, and corruption, had 
 been devoted to great works of national utility in the colony, it would 
 have been more honourable to the crown, and more acceptable to the 
 people of Paris and the enlightened part of the provinces.* 
 
 soon as the general had finished his cross-questioning, his mind was made up. Orders 
 were issued to Commandant Chabran to come and bivouac at St. Denis with his battalion ; 
 and the soldiers turning carpenters, masons, bricklayers, &c, soon rescued this miserable 
 population from distress. A few months later, the traveller passing through St. Denis 
 could no longer have recognised it, so greatly was it improved." Such is the statement of 
 Castcllane. (Castellane, pp. 317, 318.) According to Madame Prus, the colony of Robcrt- 
 villeh as been entirely destroyed, and the site it occupied is now a vast wilderness ; that 
 of Penthievre can hardly support one quarter of its population ; that of the Golden River 
 has filled the hospital of Guelma with its inhabitants ; and Mondovi will soon be a desert. 
 Madame Prus, Residence in Algeria, 1850. 
 
 * Baron Baude observed, in 1840, that the only workmen who could get good employ- 
 ment in Algeria were the builders and the carpenters : mechanics, who suffer most at home, 
 would be subject to the same fluctuations there ; and they are not calculated to change 
 their professional habits, which alone would enable them to get on there. (Vol. hi. p. 123.)
 
 37G COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Sanitary and social reform, and colonial empire, are a demand of the 
 age; and the ruler who is indifferent to these matters can never be said to 
 have deserved well of his country, and stands far behind the Romans in 
 public spirit and discernment. Nor are our censures confined to imperial 
 France, the Republican Assembly having lacked the energy and judgment 
 of an experienced senate.* 
 
 * On Colonisation, see Diary of a Lady's Tour in Barbary, Madame Prus, and the 
 Tableau for 1S50, sect. 6. 
 
 --^^JP^^*^-
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 CiM antf IvcItgtottS ©obmimcnt. 
 
 THE OOL-AMA — THREE CLASSES OF THEM SHEIKHS KHATEBS AND IMAMS THE 
 
 MUFTI THE SANTONS, AND OTHER ORDERS THE DEY's MINISTERS THE 
 
 KAIDS — THE KADIS — FRENCH CIVIL ADMINISTRATION FRENCH TRIBUNALS 
 
 MUSSULMAN TRIBUNALS AND SCHOOLS. 
 
 Justice, like religion, lias worn many strange faces on the shores of 
 North-west Africa. Praetors have succeeded suffetes,, and made way 
 for kaids and kadis; whilst bishops have given up their chairs, once shrines 
 of Apollo or Venus, to imams and muftis. 
 
 We do not pretend here to analyse the various phases of faith and 
 forms of law historically developed in Algeria. We shall confine ourselves 
 to the code of the Koran under the Turks and the French, and the present 
 civil and justiciary administration of the French. 
 
 The Koran being a civil and legal as well as a religious code, we 
 unite the secular and religious in one view in treating of the code and 
 canon of Islam; and following a chronological order, we shall commence 
 our analysis by researches into the civil and religious administration under 
 the Turks; and we shall simplify our statements by presenting a sum- 
 mary enumeration of the names, office, and power of the different au- 
 thorities. 
 
 Beginning with Religion, the basis of every thing in the East and 
 North Africa — though it is the weathercock in modern European state- 
 structures, — we find that the califs were pontiffs, judges, and doctors of 
 the law, having vicars under them named Ool-ama \^clz (learned men), 
 divided into three classes : 1st, the Imams, or ministers of religion ; 2d, 
 Muftis, or doctors of law; and 3d, the Kadis, or judges.* 
 
 The Mohammedan divine worship being a more serious and essential 
 part of life than ours, five prayers are repeated daily in the mosques and 
 in the country by all faithful believers; and a portion of the Koran, which 
 is so divided as to be read through monthly, is read daily in the mosques, 
 
 * Tableau, 1850, p. 205. Blofeld's Algeria, p. 222-4. Pananti, vol. ii. p. 252.
 
 378 THE OOL-AMA. 
 
 which are always open, like the venerable fanes of our ancestors and the 
 beautiful temple of Zion, as a refuge and consolation for the afflicted. The 
 Khotba, or profession of faith and prayer, is recited every Friday before 
 the sermon. 
 
 The Mesgjeds are always built near cities; and the Khotba cannot be 
 recited in oratories (marabouts), &c. The Ool-ama, consecrated to the 
 service of religion, are divided into three classes. 1st, Sheikhs : the mufti 
 and kadi take this title ; they are the preachers; and in their exhortations 
 on Friday they sometimes even attack the sovereign, in a way that would 
 alarm court chaplains and pet parsons nearer home. 2d, the Khatebs, 
 who preside at the solemn prayer on Fridays, and recite the Khotba. 
 3d, the Imams, who assist at the daily prayers, excepting on Fridays, and 
 read a portion of the Koran. The chief Imam assists at circumcisions, 
 marriages, and funerals. The Mueddins or Muezzins call the faithful to 
 prayer from the minarets, answering the purpose of incarnate bells; and 
 their sonorous voice sounds solemnly through the tranquil air as it cries, 
 " There is no God but Allah; and Mohammed is his Prophet." The mufti 
 is the head of the code and canon of Islam, at once bishop and judge, — 
 a dangerous union in Christendom. 
 
 The expenses of religion are paid out of the proceeds of estates be- 
 longing to mosques, in virtue of donations, &c. made by the founders or 
 others from motives of piety. The Imams also receive various fees. 
 
 There is no public Mohammedan worship out of the towns, where 
 the people are left to the care of the marabouts, divided into three orders 
 — Santons, Cavalists, and Sunaquites.* 
 
 The Santons are under different rules. Some only wear rags; some 
 go about naked, with fanatical gestures; some, of a more composed and 
 rational order, despise these extravagances, only maintaining that good 
 works, fasting, and self-denial refine their minds to the purity of angels; 
 and others maintain that, when they have arrived at a certain degree of 
 perfection, they can no longer sin; which has occasioned many vicious 
 practices, analogous to the excrescences of Evangelic Christianity, Avhen 
 our religion has gone to seed. 
 
 The Cavalists are very strict in fasting, never eating animal food. 
 They have a form of prayer for every month, day, and hour. They speak 
 of heavenly visions and conversations with angels, by whom these privi- 
 leged men, like the saints of other creeds and days, are instructed in the 
 suhlimest secrets, and who solve all their questions. Who shall draw the 
 limit between hallucination and reality in these raptures'? The negative 
 
 * Blof Id's Algeria, pp. 222-4 ; Pananti, p. 249. Pananti says, p. 247., thai Marabout 
 means men bound by a cord. The sensual Italian has his eye on the Capuchin, and thought 
 of physical binding. The more spiritual Arabs attach to tb ■ < pression the idea of a moral 
 obligation, a spiritual tie. Religio cum.' from religare, and is a corresponding term. Henco 
 Marabout answers to tho French religieux.
 
 THE MARABOUTS. 3/9 
 
 prose of European criticism will never root out the instincts of the heart, 
 or extinguish the poetry of Orient faith. A universal conviction must he 
 based on truth. This order, conformably with the science or superstition 
 of all ages, always wear talismans; and they were founded by Beni, an 
 Arabian doctor. 
 
 The Sunaquites are misanthropes, go into deserts, and fly the cities of 
 men, living on vegetables. Their doctrine is represented as a compound 
 of Mahometanism, Judaism, Christianity, and Paganism; a coalition appa- 
 rently formed of the most antagonistic elements, and yet admitting of 
 fusion in the common religiosity of our nature. These vegetarians sa- 
 crifice animals, like our modern Platonists,* and do not circumcise before 
 the age of thirty. They say that all religions are originally inspirations 
 from God. Having been guided to the pinnacle of wisdom, and the key 
 of all ecclesiastical history, by the religious instincts of a pure life, they 
 coolly add that they are the most perfect of men, and that they save the 
 world with their prayers; showing the invariable alliance of sublimest con- 
 victions and puerile conceits in the heart of man. Some of these men, it 
 is said, deserve the veneration they inspire by their virtues; but a great 
 portion of them, as in other churches, are hypocrites, fanatics, or idiots, 
 vindicating the old story of the noblest institutions ending in tinkling 
 cymbals and whited sepulchres. 
 
 The marabouts are not recognised by the Mahometan hierarchy. There 
 are few religious edifices left at Algiers since the French conquest, but 
 enough for the wants of the population. The ministers of their religion 
 have been respected, temples built, and their contents protected (even the 
 entry forbidden to Christians). The French are not now wanting in 
 charity, but in faith; and they might learn to keep one and gain the other, 
 by taking a Christian lesson from a Mahometan priest. "j" 
 
 * The reader may recollect the case of the amiable translator of Plato, Thomas Taylor, 
 who was credibly reported to be a gallicide. 
 
 f The reader who wishes to obtain a complete insight into th3 dey's government is 
 referred to the third volume of Pananti's Awt nture. His council of state consisted of his 
 creatures and slaves : his ministers were the khaznadji, or treasurer ; the michelacci, or 
 secretary for foreign affairs and the marine ; the admiral ; the kaja, who often acted as 
 vice-dey ; the field-aga, or commander-in-chief; the horse coggia, or chief of cavalry ; and 
 the aga baston, who inliicted bastinading. There were four hojas, or secretaries of state, 
 registering the decrees of the dey : their advice had much weight with the sovereign. 
 There were also four inferior hojas, who acted as paymasters to the troops, presided over 
 the receipts of customs; some remaining at court, and others accompanying the armies 
 and fleets, &c. There were besides, the doletri, or head of justice, who signed treaties; 
 the mezovard, a warden attending to the police of the city; the checkebcM. who looked 
 after the noble slaves, and punished Moorish women ; the pitremelgi, or public registrar of 
 deaths, who looked after the property of deceased persons, and gave certificates of burial ; 
 the dragoman, the interpreter of the palace, a man familiar with Turkish and Arabic ; and 
 the rais, or captain of the port, noting the arrival of vessels, &c. All these functions 
 being honorary, these worthies, like Austrian and Eussian employes, were not scrupulous 
 about bribes, &c. See Pananti, vol. hi. pp. 25-27 ; Revelations of Piussia, vol. i. ch. vii. 
 and viii.
 
 380 THE DIVAN. 
 
 We shall next analyse the administration of justice among the na- 
 tives, 1st, before, 2dly, since 1830, — begging the reader to remember 
 that Mahometan priests are also judges.'"' 
 
 The divan at Algiers was their parliament and chambers, representing, 
 as with us, a small minority of the dominant caste. It was composed of 
 the old agas, of the yiack bashaws, of 300 boulouchi bashaws, and of 200 
 oldak or odjak bashaws, — in all about 700pei-sons; and on some momentous 
 occasions all the old manzoul, or retired agas, and the whole Turkish mi- 
 litia, attended : in fact, it became a Norsk thing. The oldest aga was pre- 
 sident. It sat every Saturday at the Casbah, and on the summons of the 
 dey. The members were unarmed ; and business w T as transacted in the 
 Turkish tongue. When proceeding to vote, they bawled out together, 
 creating a confusion to match the Frankfort diet. At one period, all 
 decrees required the sanction of the diet ; but latterly, like the French 
 senate of to-day, it became a mockery. The kaja pronounced the will of 
 the dey, which was law to the members. Coups d'etat were frequent 
 and unscrupulous at Algiers, as at Paris. The beys governed the pro- 
 vinces, Avere appointed by the dey, and were almost absolute. Every two 
 or three years they had to give an account of themselves, and pay in 
 money to the dey's coffers; but they looked after themselves when at 
 home, and fleeced their unhappy subjects unmercifully, to heap up the 
 immense wealth which they sometimes accumulated. 
 
 The reader will be prepared now to receive some strange disclosures 
 concerning Algerian justice. 
 
 Next to the beys came the kaids, or governors of towns, who were in 
 the habit of buying and selling all posts. Thus their political machinery 
 was much like that of imperial France, and of most churches in Christen- 
 dom. What the beys had spared was devoured by the kaids. Like mas- 
 ter, like man : the country was a nest of petty despots and thieves, pass- 
 ing from the dey, through the beys and kaids, to the chiaous, governed by 
 two bashaws. The chiaous were Bow-street runners — Turks for Turks 
 and Arabs for Arabs ; and though unarmed, such was the prestige of their 
 name and power, that all bent the neck to their mandate, be it death or a 
 bastinado. 
 
 There is honour among thieves ; and the government of Algeria had 
 
 * The danger that might seem to result from this powerful combination is much neu- 
 tralised in the cities, because it is not the man but the office that is respected in the 
 Mahometan church, where man has never taken the place of God, as with us. Moreover, 
 thepayofthe priests is so small, that they need not dread the oppression of a golden 
 hierarchy like that of our Christian Brahmins. 'J lie mollahs, or parish priests, in Aff- 
 ghanistan are so poor, that, like our curates, they have to keep school to support their 
 families; and the imams, unlike our pluralists, are men of narrow finances. (See Elphin- 
 stone's Travels in CaiuL, 1809.) As regards the tribes, tho marabouts, as we have seen, 
 are paramount ; but the institution is democratic, open to all, and humanising in its 
 effects.
 
 THE KADIS. 381 
 
 its bright side, in escaping the spirit of caste and the exclusive selfishness 
 of oligarchies ; but it combined the usual anarchy and despotism of demo- 
 cracies. Yet this applies only to the Turks ; for the latter were to the 
 Arabs like the Norman nobles to the feudal serfs of the middle ages. 
 Nevertheless, their administration was firm, and they secured that panacea 
 of modern civilisation, order. They might smother resistance in tear-, 
 and silence it in blood ; but as long as this result was obtained, it was no 
 doubt very desirable, like the coup d'etat of 1851. 
 
 We have said that the Koran is the law of Mussulmans; and the sanc- 
 tion of the mufti, called tefta, is necessary for the validity of a law. 
 
 The kadi studied, at Stamboul or Cairo, the Arabic pandects, &c., and 
 administered justice, or rather injustice, once or twice per day; but he was 
 open to bribery," and therefore the dey and his officers commonly settled 
 affairs of importance. All causes were quickly, we may say summarily, 
 decided.'" 
 
 There was a kadi for the Turks and a kadi for the Moors ; and they 
 both had clerks called paips, who acted as judges in the villages. All 
 matters of property were referred to them. The kadi traded in justice ; 
 for there is a law for the rich and another for the poor in Algeria as well 
 as in England. 
 
 In civil processes the decisions were venal, summary, and unjust ; an 
 irritable kadi before dinner being apt to administer a hundred blows in- 
 discriminately to both parties, — like some of our magistrates, who, when 
 somewhat touchy, will lock a man up in a hurry, without benefit of clergy 
 or bail. Yet even at Algiers Christeudom might learn some useful lessons 
 in jurisprudence. The dey sat all day to hear all complaints and petitions. 
 All causes were carried on in public; there were no ruinous delays, no 
 chancery, no quibbles. The law was clear, and there were no solicitors; 
 and the litigious spirit was kept down by the fear of the bastinado ; just as 
 blackguards were taught good manners a few years back by fear of twelve 
 paces and hair triggers. 
 
 Criminal jurisprudence in Algeria had two good qualities : it was 
 prompt and sure. For murder, death. Robbers were mounted on asses 
 and had one hand docked. Christian and Jewish familiarities with Mussul- 
 man women were punished with death, if the guilty pair were taken in 
 flagranti delicto; otherwise, the man was well thrashed. The guilty wo- 
 man, seated on an ass, facing the tail, was paraded through the town, then 
 put into a sack, and drowned or smothered in mud. Conspirators were 
 strangled : feigned bankrupts, if Christians, strangled ; if Moors, impaled ; 
 if Jews, burned. If a debtor was willing to pay, he had to pay double. A 
 debtor refusing to pay was shut up, and his goods and chattels sold, the 
 
 * See Bbfeld (pp. 222-4), who appears to have copied Pananti's observations, and to 
 have very unhandsomely abstained from acknowledging his authority. Compare Pauanti, 
 vol. hi. p. 44.
 
 382 FKENCH ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 surplus, if any, being given to him ; after 1 00 days lie was flogged and 
 released, but if he still owed his creditor, the latter could stop and strip 
 him till repaid. Tribes and districts were answerable for the crimes within 
 their pi-ecincts. 
 
 Justice in Barbary was unaccompanied by clemency. They avoided 
 the inconvenience of sending monsters pleasure-trips to the Pacific, and of 
 giving regicides comfortable berths in Bedlam ; but theirs was a reign of 
 terror. u Crucify him ! crucify him !" was the chorus of all the kadis and 
 muftis. 
 
 Their punishments were as severe as those of China, but their basti- 
 nades do not seem to have been so vigorous as the flogging of royal and 
 noble colonels nearer home; and they never equalled the gallantry of Aus- 
 trian butchers and British mechanics, in stripping and lashing the fair sex.* 
 
 We shall add an outline of the French civil administration of Algeria. 
 
 The colony has been variously organised and analysed since 1 830 ; but 
 we shall here confine ourselves to a comjiendious statement of its present 
 organisation. Since 1848 many of the colonial departments are attached 
 to the government at home. Thus the service of the domaines, or go- 
 vernment property, and of registering, as well as the levying of taxes, 
 are effected direct through the minister of finance and his agents. The 
 ministry of Avar in France is invested with the following functions: the 
 interior, public works, agriculture, commerce and finances, save the cus- 
 tom-houses. The other French ministers exercising a direct authority 
 on Algeria are those of justice, of public instruction and worship, of ma- 
 rine, and of finance through the customs. 
 
 A new order of things in the interior organisation of Algeria was pro- 
 mulgated on the 9th and 16th of December, 1848. Algeria is divided 
 into three provinces, subdivided into three departments and three mili- 
 tary territories. The governor-general has the supreme command of the 
 
 * Pananti's Avventure, The best and fullest account of native jurisprudence will be 
 found in the Exploration sdentifique. Interesting particulars relating to their administra- 
 tion under the Turks occur in the Nachrichten und Bemerhungen iiler den Algierischen 
 Stoat, by Eebinder. Altona, 1798-1801, 3 vols. 
 
 In a former place we have suggested the expediency of a mild slavery as an elevating 
 transition from the basin of the Niger ; and it is now our intention to attack a cruel slavery 
 as :i degrading transition for the nations of Christendom. The negro, by slavery in 
 Alters., became a man ; the Christian a beast. An elevation for the former was a degra- 
 dation for the latter ; but the absolute condition of the negroes in the Regency was para- 
 dise to that of Christians, and I might add Jews. 
 
 The Christian slaves were of two classes: first, thoso of the deylikj secondly, those of 
 private houses. They were frequently immersed in debauchery, but were more respected 
 tl Vlgii re than the free Christians. 
 
 The redemption of slaves was effected in three ways : first, by the public redemption at 
 
 the charge of the state of which tho slaves were subjects ; secondly, by the media of such 
 
 religious societies as made collections for that purpose ; and by the orders of private per- 
 
 . There were various other duties to pay, such as ten per cent on the ransom to the 
 
 custom-house.
 
 MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS. 383 
 
 army and the high administration, especially all relating to colonisation. 
 He governs the military territories through the generals commanding 
 there; and he has with him a secretary-general, centralising the adminis- 
 trative correspondence, and a council of government. The three depart- 
 ments are governed by prefects, with sub-prefects in each arrondissement, 
 civil commissioners and maires in the communes. There is a council of 
 prefecture with each prefect. The prefects correspond with the governor- 
 general and with the ministers at home. The military territories are ad- 
 ministered, under the generals-in-chief, by subordinate generals command- 
 ing subdivisions and circles. There are still consultative commissions at 
 the chief towns of these subdivisions. The judicial functions in this terri- 
 tory are filled either by a juge de paix or by the officer in command; 
 and under them, the functions of magistrates and police-officers either 
 by the commandants or maires. The settled natives are administered by 
 the prefects, who name the village sheikhs (16th December, 1848). The 
 wandering Arabs are subject to military administrations. 
 
 As regards the municipal institutions. In August 1848 Algeria was 
 subdivided into communes, each having elective municipal councils. Elec- 
 tors are all French and naturalised foreigners, or foreigners and natives 
 holding concessions and above twenty-one. Members of the council are 
 generally all French, but strangers and natives are admitted under certain 
 restrictions. The ballot is used, and answers admirably of course, as at 
 the election of the emperor. At Algiers the council reckons twenty-four 
 members ; elsewhere, fifteen, twelve, and nine. Maires are named for 
 three years by the governor-general or the executive ; and the municipal 
 councils can be suspended, but cannot be dissolved, by the governor. 
 
 On the 16th December, 1848, the nomination of the maires was given 
 over to the prefects, and their appointment has been suffered even in the 
 military territories. 
 
 On the 31st December, 1849, there were in Algeria six great parishes 
 with municipal councils. Several other places have been erected into 
 communes, and have maires; and in other localities in the civil territory 
 the civil commissaries take their place. The commandants de place usually 
 fill their place in the military territories ; and five new civil commissariats 
 were appointed, on the 4th of November, 1850, in the towns of the in- 
 terior, till then subject to military rule.* 
 
 At present General Random minister of war under the Republic, still 
 remains governor-general of the colony. 
 
 * By recent accounts, it appears that the praetorian government of Louis Napoleon is 
 about to make some sweeping alterations in the administration ; and a brood of hungry 
 Bonapartes are to be let loose, like a plague of locusts, on the promised land. It is 
 reported that Prince Napoleon Jerome is named viceroy, with General Pelissier as com- 
 mander-in-chief; but the sucking Coesar has delayed his departure, preferring to sport his 
 plumes among the Elysian Fields, rather than encounter the fever of Bona and the 
 sirocco.
 
 384 
 
 FRENCH TRIBUNALS. 
 
 In 1S48 the service of justice, -which had hitherto remained in the 
 hands of the minister of war, was attributed to the minister of justice by 
 decrees of the 30th May and 20th August, which conferred on the latter 
 what had previously been given to the minister of war, in matters of jus- 
 tice relating to the French and European population of the civil terri- 
 tories. Native jurisprudence remains subject to the minister of war. 
 Two civil commissariats were established the same year, one at Tenes, 
 the other at Bugia. They filled the same functions then as juges de paix, 
 who were wanting. Lastly, in 1849 the administration of justice received 
 a considerable extension. By a presidential decree of July 9th, a tribu- 
 nal de premiere instance was established at Constantina. Four juges 
 de paix were also created by the same decree, each attached to a tribunal ; 
 their functions extend over a radius of 2000 metres round the chef lieu. 
 They are the juges de paix of Medeah, belonging to the tribunal of 
 Blidah ; of Tenes, belonging to the tribunal of Algiers ; of Guelma, be- 
 longing to the tribunal of Constantina ; of Tlemsen, belonging to the 
 tribunal of Oran. 
 
 In 1850 Tenes and Guelma were brought into the civil territory. 
 
 The following table gives a view of the state of the French tribunals 
 and officers of justice on the 31st December, 1849 : 
 
 Court of Appeal. 
 
 Algiers 
 
 Tribunals of the 
 First Instance. 
 
 Justices of Peace. 
 
 Civil Commissaries 
 
 exercising judicial 
 
 functions. 
 
 "Algiers . . 
 
 Blidah . . 
 
 Constantina . 
 Bona . 
 Philippeville . 
 
 Oran 
 
 ••■I 
 
 Algiers, north canton 
 Algiers, south canton 
 
 Douera \ Cherchel] 
 
 Tenes 
 
 Blidah. 
 Koleah. 
 
 Medeah. 
 
 Constantina. 
 
 Bona 
 
 Guelma 
 
 Philippeville 
 
 Oran. 
 
 M "stagaiiem. 
 
 Tlemsen. 
 
 | La Callc. 
 Bugia. 
 
 One commercial tribunal existed at Algiers before 1847; another was 
 established at Oran on the 1st of July of that year. On the 24th Novem- 
 ber, 1847, the elective principle of French legislation was applied to the 
 formation of the Algerian tribunals. As regards penal jurisprudence, no 
 modification has been effected in it of late years. According to the decree 
 of September 2G, 1842, the French tribunals take cognisance of all crimes 
 committed by men of all nations and religions, in all cases falling under 
 French law. But the Mussulmans remain subject to the jurisdiction of 
 their kadis in cases that constitute crimes according to their law and not
 
 FRENCH TRIBUNALS. 385 
 
 to French law. The court of appeal of Algiers judges directly the crimes 
 committed in the civil territory of the province of Algiers; the tribunals of 
 Bona, riiilippeville, Oran, and Constantina, give a first judgment in crimes 
 committed within their jurisdiction, but appeals are made from their deci- 
 sion to the court at Algiers. Hence these courts have the same cogni- 
 sance in criminal matters as the courts of assizes in France. In correc- 
 tional matters, all the tribunals of the first instance are cognisant of the 
 crimes committed in their ressorts. The tribunal of Algiers alone has a 
 special correctional chamber ; and the court of appeal of Algiers decides 
 on appeals from the judgment of the correctional tribunals. Lastly, the 
 juges de paix, or, in default of them, the civil commissaries, decide con- 
 cerning the infractions of police regulations in their canton or district. 
 
 The tribunals of simple police gave 7607 judgments in 1849, of which 
 1100 were acquittals. The correctional police tribunals gave judgment in 
 1062 cases in 1840. 
 
 The court of appeal of Algiers, and the tribunals of Bona, Philippe- 
 ville, Constantina, and Oran, condemned 180 criminal affairs in 1849.'"' 
 In 1842 the governor-general had the nomination of the kadis and muftis, 
 who are all paid by the state, according to the admirable code of the 
 French administration, on this point worthy rivals of the Romans. It was 
 only slowly, and by dint of great efforts, that the kadis were brought in 
 1846 to give an exact account of the administration of justice in their 
 districts. 
 
 A new organisation was given to the Mussulman tribunals in the civil 
 territory in 1848. A decree of the governor -general, dated July 29, 
 1848, regulated the composition of the midjeles, or superior tribunal, 
 and of the tribunals of the kadis of the two sects Maleki and Hanefi.t 
 
 The cases that most commonly appear before the kadi for settlement 
 are those for payment of money, supplies or labour due, demands for di- 
 vorce ; whilst there are few law-suits about disputed landed property. 
 
 The commonest cases in penal matters are drunkenness, which are 
 much the most numerous ; breaking the fasts, blasphemy, and improper 
 behaviour in religious edifices. 
 
 * Of the 180 affairs, 57 crimes were against persons, and 123 against property. The 
 number of persons condemned was 273 ; 83 prosecuted for crimes against persons, and 190 
 against property ; 245 men and 28 women, or 11 women to 100 men. 
 
 Of the 273, 43 were French, 78 foreigners, and 152 natives; and in matters of reli- 
 gion, 120 Christians, 117 Mussulmans, and 3b' Israelites. They present 15 minors of 16 
 years, 51 minors under 21, above 16, and 207 of and over age. See Tableau de la Situa- 
 tion, &c, 1850, pp. 1G4-5 and following tables. 
 
 f Another decree of the same date appointed oukila, or agents, and pleaders, who 
 defended the natives gratis on trial. A third decree settled the charges of suits in tho 
 native courts of law, which had led to many abuses. All cases are ordered to be registers I 
 now ; but this cannot always be effected, and tho present accounts of judicial operations 
 among the natives are still very uncertain. The kadi of Blidah has calculated the number 
 of unrecorded decisions in 184(j at from 400 to 500. 
 
 B B
 
 3S0 MUSSULMAN SCHOOLS. 
 
 The kadis still inflict the hastinade, which is admitted hy the customs 
 of the country; and might be advantageously administered in England, in 
 our cases of numerous cowardly assaults on females. But in the towns, 
 the fatal example of European indulgence has led them to substitute, for 
 thrashing, imprisonment, which was formerly very rare.* 
 
 The number of individuals in the towns imprisoned in 1819 was 124 ; 
 bastinadoed, 15; fined, 7. The number of judgments in litigious cases 
 {en matiere civile), 2333.-J- 
 
 We have long heard that the schoolmaster is abroad ; and it seems 
 that he has stalked over the Mediterranean, and is prowling about the 
 Sahara. Young Arabs are trying to square the circle, and young Turks 
 are studying perpetual motion. 
 
 Primary schools are called mecids (s*~~o, m'syd), and the masters are 
 named maallem (JU,*, professors). These gentlemen have a long stick for 
 the refractory; and the pupils have each a little board (louhhah), on 
 which the subject of the day's lesson is written.;}; 
 
 After acquiring preliminary notions, the children learn to read and 
 write the Koran, according to prescribed rules of a technical poem called 
 Nalidm-el-Kharraz. 
 
 To know the Koran by heart is the aim of these primary schools ; but 
 this is seldom attained now. Poverty prevents many parents from afford- 
 ing the meagre stipend to the maallem, and makes them take away their 
 children soon, if sent at all. 
 
 Tf boys know a part of the Koran, without understanding it, they cele- 
 brate a fete called khothmah, or seal. There were once maalemat for 
 girls too; but scarcely any of them remain, and most native women are 
 in absolute ignorance. 
 
 Secondary schools, medregah {(j~j\* rn'dres), whose master is named 
 mondeviice or chikh (*+£> chyk, elder), the disciple being called thaleb. These 
 institutions were numerous, and had many manuscripts ; but the French 
 conquest has almost destroyed them. A few remain, and are preserved in 
 the library of Algiers. Unfortunately many bivouac fires have been lighted 
 with manuscripts taken at the rhazyahs. 
 
 * These remarks only apply U > the Mussulman tribunals ; as the rabbinical tribunals, 
 which were also kept up by the decree of 1842, were suppressed on the 9th of November, 
 1845, only leaving to the rabbis purely religious and administrative functions. 
 
 t Tableau, 1850, p. 187. 
 
 + The first thing taught is the points, called noqathj when masters of this alphabet, 
 they are taught to write the letters, t< rkibott-i 1-hJiorouf; and then they learn the hkan iat, 
 or vowel-points. Instead of " Our Father, which art iu heaven," the master's text is : 
 
 El /ihamdou lillah, reull-el-dlamin ,-j*cLxIl ' »i <Lj Juc^Ul, Praise to God, Lord 
 of the world.
 
 MUSSULMAN SCHOOLS. 3S7 
 
 Constantiua had many medregahs, especially that of El-Salahhyah, 
 founded by Salahh Bay, a philanthropic man.* 
 
 The French government have offered to the Arab youth the entrance 
 into its own collegc;j- but lew take advantage of its liberality. 
 
 * It was, besides, the little mosque of Sidi-Kettani, in the street or gouq ( /^o souq, 
 
 street) called Djema. It had many Mss., now in the library of Algiers. The studies in 
 the medrecah were grammar, rhetoric, logic, metaphysics, theology, and law; as also 
 the calendar, in order to know the times of day for the five lawful prayers, in a little book 
 of astronomy called K< rufn/i-i Irii-Siijar ; arithmetic; and versification in the El-khaz- 
 radjigah, a book on rules of poetry, was also studied by the tolbas. Some studied the 
 grammar of Ebn-cina (Avicenna), a kind of corpus medicum, and the little treatise of 
 Dawoud-el-AutaM. The works on grammar used were : El Djemimiyak by Ben Dawoud- 
 el-Sanhadji el Adjeroumi, and the Elfiyah of Ebn-Malek, besides a poem on verbs called 
 ; it-tl-A/dl. A poem called Nadhan gave some knowledge on religion : this cate- 
 chism is by Ebn-Atsir. 
 
 Divines also study the last great work, El-Bedhawi's commentaiy on the Koran, and 
 the Sahhabb of El-Boukhani. 
 
 In law the student uses the Rigalah, or treatise of Abou-Zid; the JfaoutJta of Ebn- 
 Malek, and the MoWiassar of Sidi-Khelil. 
 
 The Zaouias (& : \y \> zaouya, monaster)/) are the highest schools ; that of Gnerronmah, 
 among the Beni-Djad, east of Algiers, on the road to Constantiua. is very famous. One of 
 the hotels attached to the zaouias was Zaouia-rnta-el-Kechahb, ll ue des Consuls, No. 35 
 (built a.d. 1223) ; another is now in No. 24 Street or Couq el- Djema. 
 
 •)* Berbrugger, part i. There is now an Arab college at Paris. 
 
 ^^^OXl^iC^VV^^-^
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Oje Jfrtncfj 3imn. 
 
 ROMAN RAZZIAS STRENGTH — NATIVE TROOPS ZOUAVES — SPAHIS — FRENCH 
 
 CHASSEURS d'aFRIQUE SANITARY STATISTICS, ETC. THE AFRICAN CHIEFS 
 
 CHANGARNIER CAVAIGNAC CANROBERT. 
 
 T is with pleasure that we turn our backs on the statistical tables and 
 the beaten highways of Algeria, to fraternise with the gallant French 
 soldier in the romantic bivouac, or under the friendly shelter of the mar- 
 quee. Notwithstanding that war is ever a scourge, and desolation has 
 too often marked the track of its columns, the French army has ever 
 upheld its high reputation for prowess in the valleys of Atlas; though it 
 has not always united the humanising spirit of civilised warfare with the 
 innate gallantry of its race. We are fully aware of the fact, that long- 
 service in Africa, as elsewhere, has hardened the men into soldiers of for- 
 tune, whose regiment is their country, and who do not scruple to trample 
 on liberty at home or elsewhere, in mechanical obedience to their com- 
 manding officer. Yet intelligence has ever formed an important ingre- 
 dient in the French army; and we do not believe that it could long be 
 handled as an engine of barbarous despotism without wounding the 
 engineer. Recent events at Home and elsewhere might seem to con- 
 
 o O 
 
 tradict this assertion; yet we have confidence in the ultimate return of 
 the French army to a sense of duty, self-respect, and patriotism. But 
 though the march of mind may ultimately rescue the French arms from 
 national and individual disgrace, we arc far from countenancing an idle 
 trust in their present moderation and forbearance. Ambition is evi- 
 dently now their vital principle, glory their vital air; and they would 
 march to hell to-morrow under a Bonaparte, to wreathe their bayonets in 
 infernal laurels. Justice requires us to admit their gallantry; prudence 
 bids us stand prepared; and now to facts. 
 
 The numbers, nature, and composition of the French army in Africa 
 have fluctuated greatly since 1830. At the conquest it amounted to 
 30,000 French soldiers; in 1848 to 87,704; and in 1850 to 70,771 men.* 
 
 * Tableau, i>. 14.
 
 THE DECLINE OF TURKEY. 389 
 
 In order to give the reader a historical view of the nature of African 
 warfare, and the character ot the troops, it requires that we should go 
 back to the Romans, having already described Spanish razzias. 
 
 Caesar changed the manoeuvres of his veteran legions in African war- 
 fare.'"' He says, "Caesar instructed his troops to fight an enemy of this 
 nature," i.e. the Libyans, " not like the commander of veteran troops, and 
 like the victor in the most important actions, but as the trainer educates 
 his gladiatorial tyros."+ 
 
 The present precarious position of Turkey, exposed to the insidious 
 thrusts of Russia and the secret venom of Austria, appears to justify the 
 following digression on the military spirit and institutions that formerly 
 caused and upheld her greatness. The spirit must chiefly be sought in 
 the firm principle of religious conviction, which will always secure the 
 triumph of its possessors ; and in the decay of this spirit must we princi- 
 pally trace the abject state of Turkey, and most other empires that have 
 lost their faith. Many of the institutions that contributed to the early 
 glory of the Ottoman name have vanished, though some remain. The 
 fierce Janissary and the dashing Mameluke are no more; but the gallant 
 Spahis still remain in a few remote districts to parry the thrusts of the 
 Czar, to form a bulwark against the strides of Cossack despotism; and 
 to shield the hallowed martyrs of Hungary and Poland. Yet it must be 
 admitted that Mahmoud and Mohamed Ali struck down some of the main 
 pillars of Islam, the keystones of Osmanli empire. The heroic beys of 
 
 * De Bell. Afr. 71. 
 
 + It appears that the natives were in the times of Sallust, Caesar, Livy, Strabo, and 
 Procopius, as now, capable of being bent to European discipline. In the army of Han- 
 nibal the officers were Carthaginians, but the majority of the troops were Kabyles or 
 Libyans ; and in his great expedition to Italy, he left in Spain a guard of 15,000 Africans. 
 Thus Polybius informs us that "he left with Asdrubal 450 Libyphcenician and African 
 horse (a mixed Punic and African race), 300 Lorgitas, 1800 Numidians, Massylians, 
 Massassilians, and Mauritanians from the shores of the ocean, besides 11,000 African 
 foot. 
 
 After the fall of Carthage, the Pomans encouraged the enlistment of these same men ; 
 and before he took Gaulish horse into Africa, Caesar had taken Numidians into Gaul. 
 " Cassar sent Numidian and Cretan archers and Balearic slingers as a succour to the 
 citizens ;" and again, " Ca>sar led over the bridge the whole cavalry, and the light-armed 
 Numidian slingers and archers. (De Bell. Oall.i. n. c. 7, 10.) The war ending with the 
 death of Cato showed how profitable their organisation had been to the party in power. 
 In the battle before Euspina, Labienus and the two Pacidius's caused the Numidian 
 auxiliaries, consisting of more than 9000 horse and 3(5,000 infantry, to sustain the chief 
 shock. (Be Bell. Afr. 13-15, 18, 19.) 
 
 At a later period, the Grctulians and Numidians favouringXiesar made the scales turn 
 on his side, by passing over in bands from the camp of Scipio. Cato made levies in the 
 province of Utica, and Considius besieged Achilla with eight cohorts of natives. Scipio 
 occupied Uzita with considerable Numidian forces, and Juba had adopted the Roman or- 
 ganisation for his forces. (Ibid. 32, 30, 42, 43, 59.) Thus the army of Pompey, as pre. 
 viously that of Hannibal, was composed chiefly of Africans, Romans alone being the 
 officers. The zouaves and spahis of modem Algeria, officered by Frenchmen, are much 
 the same thing.
 
 Q 
 
 90 THE JANISSARIES, 
 
 Kahira, with the noble Circassian blood coursing in their veins, were 
 splendid specimens of that chivalrous race which, in defiance of the bribes, 
 the snares, and the blows of the Czar, has resisted the advance of Kussia 
 into Turkey and Persia for the last fifty years, converting the Caucasus 
 into a theatre of imperishable glory, and dying its snows and torrents with 
 the blood of heroic generations. 
 
 It cannot be doubted that the Sultan and the Pasha bought the ad- 
 vantages of civilisation at a high price. The Turk has been drilled, 
 dressed in frock-coat and fez, taught to drink brandy, and to steal or 
 commit adultery ; but it is a cpiestion if these advantages are a compensa- 
 tion for the sincerity, simplicity, reverence, and honesty that they have 
 lost. True it is that the Deys had a sly affection for their neighbours' 
 goods; but Christendom had set them a good example long before; and 
 the cool partition of the Ottoman Empire by the great Christian powers 
 in the present century, — awarding Greece to Bavaria (a signal blessing 
 to that classic land) ; Algiers to France, with her liberty, fraternity, and 
 equality ; and the Danubian Principalities to Russia, with its knout, secret 
 police, and Siberia, — must be admitted as creditable specimens of the self- 
 denial, equity, and honesty of Christendom. The Turkish force at Algiers 
 consisted of Janissaries, forming the infantry, with a few Spahi troopers. 
 The Spahis are described by Sir Paul Eycaut as the gentry of the Ottoman 
 empire, 12,000 in number. The principal officers of the Janissaries, Odas 
 or Chambers, of which there were 162, were — 1. the Odabashee, lieutenant; 
 2. the Wekilharg, commissary ; 3. the Bairacktar, ensign ; 4. the Tchor- 
 bagi, or captain. The general was called the Janizar-Agasi ; the lieu- 
 tenant-general the Kirhaia Begh. 
 
 Previously to laying before our readers the nature of the French and 
 native troops in French pay, we shall insert a few curious particulars re- 
 lating to the militia of the Dey — a title signifying patron, or uncle. 
 
 In former times the number of Turks in Algiers did not often exceed 
 5000 men; in 1826 it was less than 4000, most of whom were super- 
 annuated. At the same time the whole military force of the Algerian 
 government consisted of about 15,000 men in all — Turks, Koulouglis, 
 Arabs, &c. The former were infantry, the latter cavalry ; and the Koul- 
 ouglis were seldom called out except in cases of emergency. They were 
 excluded from the honour of being deys, aghas, or holding any other 
 official rank. The Arabs, Kaliyles, &c. were of little value, though kept 
 in pay, being hereditary enemies of the Turks. Divide et impera was 
 the maxim of the Turkish government j and it succeeded there, as in 
 Paris in December 1851. The Arab cavalry could never stand the Turk- 
 ish infantry. Recruits arrived every five or six years from the Levant, 
 consisting of shepherds, outlaws, &c, all of whom could become dey; for 
 never did the sun see so much democracy and equality, united with so 
 little fraternity, as in every Turkish commonwealth. The officers were,
 
 THE FRENCH ARMY. 391 
 
 first, the agha or general, 30 yia-bashees or colonels, 800 balluck- 
 basliees or captains, and above half that number of oda-bashees or lieu- 
 tenants." 
 
 Before we proceed to analyse the most remarkable corps of the French 
 army in Africa, we shall present the reader with the following picture of its 
 personnel, &c. 
 
 The total expenditure of the French army amounted in 1845-6 (a 
 heavy year) to 74,-105,527 fr. (2,978,6217. Is. Sd.) for 60,000 men and 
 13,890 horses. 
 
 The largest army that France has ever had in Algeria was that voted 
 to Marshal Bugeaud in 1846, amounting to 100,000 French and 25,000 
 natives. The first article of the budget of 1840 placed at the disposal of 
 Tthe minister of war 24,000,000 fr. (960.000Z.), for the maintenance of 
 34,000 additional men and 3800 additional horses, over and above the 
 effective force of the army, as fixed by the third article of the law of 
 1845.t 
 
 The cavalry in Africa are all well mounted, and the Chasseurs 
 d'Afrique especially, their horses being of the country, and far better 
 suited to the climate and fatigue than the French and Sardinian horses. 
 The Arab horse partakes of the abstemious habits of his master. A little 
 green meat or chopped straw, or even a few leaves of the wild artichoke, 
 will sustain his courage for a great length of time, and a ration of barley 
 is a luxury to him ; whereas the European horse sighs for the leeks and 
 onions of his native laud, his city of delights. He must have three rations 
 a day ; and cannot stand the sirocco and want of water. Oats are un- 
 
 * Blofeld, p. 212. Walsh's Residence at Constantinople, 2 vols. 8vo. Miss Pardoe's 
 City of the Sultan, 3 vols. Svo, 1838. Eton's Survey of the Turkish Empire, 179S. Sir 
 Paul Ryeaut's Present State of the Turkish Empire, 10^2. Aukljo's Visit to Constan- 
 tinople, 1836. 
 
 + In 1838, the foreign troops in the pay of the French in Algeria cost 7,284,147 francs 
 (291,365/. IS*, id.). The Arab soldier in French pay receives 1 franc (10d. ) per day, and 
 maintains himself and his horse. In 1837, the Gendarmes Maurus amounted to 116 men : 
 infantry 96 ; cavalry 50. They are employed as guides; and they cost, in 1837, 113,000 
 francs (4,520?.). Tableau, 1839. 
 
 With regard to the supplies for the army in the years 1S46-1S49, we hnd that the 
 total amount of corn consumed by the army in 1846 was 45,326 kilog. 06 q. 2 gr. ^1662 
 bushels). In 1848 it was 41,714 kilogr. 92 q. 2 gr. ( 1529-51 bushels). 
 
 The amount of meat consumed in 1816 amounted to 146,975 quintals 20 kilogr. 
 (32, 7 74.. 540 lbs.). 
 
 In 1848 it was 115,721 quint. 60 kilogr. 4 gr. (25,458,720 lbs.). 
 
 These estimates, however, include the whole of the carcass or raw material [poids 
 brut). The amount of butcher's meat in Ibis was 07,Ul9 quint. 74 kilogr. 2 gr. 
 (14,744,328 lbs.). 
 
 The wood consumed by the army in 1S38 was valued at 520,280 fr. (20,S11Z.). 
 The negligence of the French government is apparent even in the management of 
 woods. In 1845 the fire-wood for the army cost 374,000 fr., and was brought almost en- 
 tirely from other countries ; yet the lentisk, the carob, olive, cork-tree, &c. flourish well in 
 Algeria if cultivated, besides all the trees of the south of Europe. St. Marie.
 
 392 THE ZOUAVES. 
 
 known in Algeria, being too heating for the horses, and probably for the 
 men ; barley is used instead.* 
 
 The native troops in French pay in Algeria are divided into various 
 classes, according to their organisation and their arms. Some are irregu- 
 lars, and some regulars ; some infantry, and others cavalry. Like the 
 Romans before them, and the British in India, the French have found it 
 expedient to support their power in the conquered territory on native 
 bayonets or lances ; but they have hung fire in extending the system, 
 and begotten a hybrid force by sprinkling native regiments with French 
 soldiers. -j- 
 
 " The most historical, and I might add fabulous, of the native troops 
 are the Zouaves, a bodv of men renowned alike for extravagant daring 
 and for disorderly behaviour and rascality. They were organised by M. 
 de Lamoricicre soon after the conquest; and their uniform is much the 
 same as the Turkish costume, with green turbans. On all occasions they 
 have been invariably triumphant ; and it is related, that when the Duke 
 of Orleans wished to reward a private with the cross of the Legion of 
 Honour, Cavaignac, then colonel of the corps, said : ' If your royal high- 
 ness wishes to recompense acts of bravery in this corps, you must provide 
 decorations for every man in the regiment.' "J 
 
 -According to Castellane, the regiment was partly formed out of bodies 
 of French troops called volontaires Parisiens and batailhns de la Charte; 
 and he adds, that these fire-eaters were led up the breach at Constantina, 
 in 1837, by Lamoriciere, amidst a tempest of bullets, through springing 
 mines, and a chaos of ruins. § There is scarcely a valley or a hill but has 
 borne witness to their gallantry, and re-echoed the report of their muskets; 
 but we shall only give one more specimen of the stuff they were made of. 
 At the siege of Zaatcha, in 1848, Colonel Canrobert addressed them thus: 
 
 * The average price of the remonte for cavalry in the French army in Africa was said 
 to be about 425 fr. (17^.) per head in 1S46 ; whereas in 1830 the usual price given was 280 
 fr. (111. 4s. 2d.). This increased value of horses may be ascribed to tho devastation of the 
 country by war, and to the rapid decrease of the animals, as well as the retirement of 
 those who breed them, though this effect has been somewhat neutralised by vast importa- 
 tions from France and Tunis. 
 
 f We shall first pass in review and dismiss tho native irregulars. The Arabs, Desides 
 paying taxes, have either to furnish a military contingent or means of transport to the 
 Fren . Immediately that the tribes wcre t subdued, the victors required them to suppiy 
 irregular horsemen, called ma/ckzt n or gown, to attack the refractory. Ill-armed and un- 
 disciplined, without_any military organisation, they were often useless, and sometimes dan- 
 gerous in a body ; but they^supplied excellent spies and scouts. After victory they were 
 invaluable in hunting: down tho foe. The goums would never tight without the support of 
 the regular cavalry, through fear of the fanaticism and vengeance of the patriotic party. 
 As to the requisitions for beasts of transport, they were very imperfectly obeyed till the 
 final conquest of Algeria ; but after the fall of Abd-el-Ead< r, the goums fought with more 
 willingness for the French, the transport service was regularly attended to, and now all is 
 organised. The goums have latterly dene good service, especially in the Sahara, and 
 appi ar to answer admirably as policemen among the tril i s. (Tableau, 1850, p. 723.) 
 J St. .Marie. § Souvenirs, p. J6,
 
 the zouaves. 393 
 
 " Whatever happens, we must scale these walls ; and if the retreat is 
 sounded, remember, zouaves, it is not for you."* 
 
 Mr. Borrer informs us that the regiment of zouaves was formed by 
 General Clauzel in 1830, and that it was originally composed entirely of 
 natives of Algeria ; but that it consists now partly of French and partly 
 of natives, but chiefly of the former. It is divided into three battalions, 
 each composed of nine companies ; and the oriental costume of these 
 troops is picturesque and convenient, consisting of leathern buskins and 
 loose oriental trousers. Their arms consist of the musket, bayonet, and 
 a short sword much resembling the ancient Roman yladius. These troops 
 scale rocks with the agility of mountain goats, combining the utmost en- 
 durance with great hardiness and strength ; for they are all picked men, 
 and generally of rather short stature, broad-shouldered, deep-breasted, and 
 bull-necked ; much more serviceable men for such fighting than our six- 
 foot grenadiers. They are, however, superlatively cruel, bloodthirsty, and 
 eager for plunder, if we may believe Borrer ; neither do they give or ob- 
 tain quarter. t So much for the zouaves, who remind one of the ragged 
 rascals (88th Connaught Rangers) of Picton.J 
 
 The next native corps we shall describe is the Spahis, a body of light 
 cavalry, whose name is taken from that applied to all Turkish cavalry. 
 The spahis existed under the deys; and now form a body of regular troops, 
 divided into four regiments, under Yussuf, who was made a general under 
 restrictions, to prevent his competing with other generals for promotion 
 in the French army. We have already described the history and ap- 
 pearance of this remarkable man. The Romans had their spahis in Africa; 
 and the Turks never employed more than 16,000 Ottoman troops, govern- 
 ing Algeria in a great measure through natives, analogous to our sepoys, 
 
 * Souvenirs. On the zouaves, see Captain Kennedy, vol. i. p. 49, 50. 
 
 t Campaign in the Kabylie. The same authority states, that it was in cheering on 
 the zouaves during the murderous struggle on the breach at Constantina, that Lamoriciers, 
 then then- colonel, so narrowly escaped a hideous death from the explosion of numerous 
 magazines, the fire from which, falling upon the bags of powder borne by the engineer sol- 
 diers, grievously wounded him, blew half his men into eternity, and rendered a portion 
 of the venerable Cirta an infernal chaos of ruins, flames, and dying wretches vainly strug- 
 gling to draw their mangled bodies from the devouring lire. St. Marie bears witness 
 to the rascality of the zouaves. He says they are mauvais suj'M, and tells many amusing 
 anecdotes of the clever 'plants that they have performed on honest cits in Algeria, beari a 
 family likeness to the nugget-frauds and sly doings of old hands at the Australian diggings. 
 As an evidence of then- desperate valour, he relates that a stand of colours having been made 
 for the regiment by the Queen of France, Marie Amelie, was pierced by fifteen bullets in 
 the first engagement, where it was baptised in powder, and made four lieutenants on the 
 field of battle, three ensigns having been killed there. Mr. Borrer describes their unsteady 
 behaviour at Bugia thus : "The zouaves especially conducted themselves in a most out- 
 rageous manner ; all discipline was forgotten by them, and they may be said almost to 
 have sacked the town (then friendly). Not only did they violently attack and clean out 
 the wine and liquor shops vi ct amis, and commit other gross outrages, but they sacri- 
 legiously broke into the French chapel, and robbed it of the sacred plate." Borrer, p. 96. 
 
 J See Memoirs of Sir T. Pic ton.
 
 394 THE SrAHIS. 
 
 The following is the history of the spahis : In 1830 some squadrons of 
 Arabs and French were mixed, and after 1G months' service, separated into 
 three regiments of chasseurs d'Afrique. As this plan was defective, the 
 spahis were separated in 1834 from the chasseurs, and concentrated into a 
 native corps of three squadrons, with a sprinkling of Frenchmen dressed 
 like natives. This arrangement has been found to succeed best. In 1836 
 the corps of spahis consisted of six squadrons. French may be admitted 
 in the proportion of one-fourth ; and as a general rule, the chief of each 
 corps ought to be French, as well as the captain of every squadron, but 
 in exceptional cases he may be a Turk or native. The pay of the sous- 
 officiers and spahis is from 3 fr. 50 cents, to 4fr. 90 cents, (from 3s to 
 4s.), all included. Contingents of Arab allies, &c. can be temporarily 
 incorporated in the spahis ; and the knowledge of the two languages, 
 French and Arabic, gives advancement.* 
 
 Castellane observes : " Two elements unite in the African cavalry to 
 insure success — the French and the Arab, the chasseur and the spahi. 
 Those tall soldiers in blue jackets, notwithstanding their valour, could not 
 alone have achieved their bold strokes. The Indian was found neces- 
 sary to drive the Indians out of the American forests ; and the Arab was 
 wanted to contend with the Arab in Africa. The arm that strikes well 
 home requires the quick eye and the cunning thought. Such was the ori- 
 gin of the spahis. Good pay attracted the Arabs, whose discipline Avas 
 less severe than the French ; and their only uniform was made to consist 
 in a red burnouse, dropped in a moment. An Arab still, though in French 
 pay, the spahi could do much, unsuspected, as courier, spy, &c. French 
 officers, and a sprinkling of European privates, completed the corps ; and 
 it has often made itself useful. It has been called often, with a smile, the 
 ' refuge of sinners ;' and many free-and-easy characters, who would have 
 kicked at French discipline, are in its ranks, — adventurous spirits, fabulous 
 men, whose history is like an old legend."-j~ 
 
 The other regulars consist of the tirailleurs indigenes or Turkish bat- 
 talion, who are admirable skirmishers. From M. Borrer we learn that 
 the French and native regular troops in French pay were analysed as 
 follows in 18IG: — 
 
 
 1818. 
 
 
 1850. 
 
 
 Men. 
 
 Horses. 
 
 Men. Horses. 
 
 French . . 
 
 . . 87,7<»1 
 
 18,71-2 
 
 70,771 13,189 
 
 Native . . 
 
 6,653 
 
 3,767 
 
 6,l:!7 3,422 
 
 Total . . . 94,357 22,509 77,2ns 16,611 
 
 * Berbrugger, page 48. Tlio ihvss is ■uniform for the officers and men in the Algiers 
 squadrons, the harness being Arab. Officers in the spahis are obliged to stay in the corps 
 nt l.;ist two years. Their dress is a dark-blue full trouser ; a djebadoli, or red vest, under 
 which an: the oedriga (blue waistcoats); ami for their head-dress they have a red cap 
 (/i i, called in Arabic chachiah, an. I a red turban. Berbrugger; Capt. Kennedy, v. i. p. 99. 
 
 ■(• Souvenirs, p. I'">.
 
 p. 391. 
 
 FRENCH INFANTRY ON THE MARCH.
 
 396 THE CIIASSEUItS D'AFRIQUE. 
 
 We read in the work, Studies on the French Army, by Captain Guy 
 de Vernon, of the 8th chasseurs a cheval, the following article upon the 
 African chasseurs : 
 
 " The chasseurs dAfrique have been, ever since their creation, the van- 
 guard of the military movements and operations which have signalised 
 our conquest. . . . Placed as vedettes of our warlike colony, they are 
 posted at the extremity of the thousand arms, armed with fire and steel, 
 of that gigantic occupation, which, covering a surface equal to the half of 
 the territory of the continent of France, will repose for a long time yet 
 under the shadow of our sabres and bayonets. Chasseurs and spahis 1 
 their numbers are written in all epochs, and in the most glorious pages of 
 this modern Iliad. . . . The chasseurs of Africa are real light cavalry in 
 the full extent of the term, and the highest acceptation which it admits. 
 These regiments recruit in a most exceptional manner, by means of young 
 soldiers of two years' service, of sundry other experienced materials, 
 and even of military convicts whose punishments may be remitted 
 without danger. They have thus the advantages of previous training 
 and renewal, which would be sought for in vain elsewhere ; and that de- 
 gree of force which, in all organised bodies, is the principle and the cause 
 of extreme agility. Mounted on horses of native races, supple, skilful, 
 nervous, bold, indefatigable, and from i feet inches to 4 feet 7 inches in 
 height, they will go from 15 to 20 leagues, always at a trot or gallop, 
 without resting and without unbridling. Their equipment is light, since 
 they have diminished the weight and number of the pieces of the harness, 
 and have even suppressed useless effects — the heavy schabra of sheepskin 
 and the heavy portmanteau. A sabre in the belt, a gun slung upon the 
 shoulder, and a pistol in his fonte decouverte, such are the arms of the 
 chasseur d'Afrique ; armed as a pilgrim, he has his gun for his stick and 
 cudgel. 
 
 Their discipline and instruction are according to the services expected 
 from them, and they are allowed to enjoy certain salutary irregularities. 
 At Constantina and at Oran there are no vain parades, no military spec- 
 tacles to amuse the curiosity of the public, but exercises and labours 
 suited to adapt the soldiers for a state of war. ... If the African chas- 
 seurs are skilful scouts, dexterous marksmen, and bold and intelligent 
 partisans ; if they perform wonders in plundering ; if they know how to 
 march and fight scattered, — they know also, as well, how to unite in a 
 body, inarch in order, and charge in line upon two compact ranks. 
 
 >Scc them set out for distant razzias : nothing impedes their columns. 
 A little corn for the horse, a little rice for the chasseur : these arc the 
 only provisions for the route. No obstacle stops them ; they go on, on : 
 nor neglect one of the skilful precautions of the lion on chase ; and as 
 soon as they perceive the enemy, they spring forward ; for to them, an 
 enemy seen is an enemy gained, overthrown, destroyed. The habit of
 
 COLONEL COOMBES. ' 397 
 
 conquest has rendered them invincible. The Arabs, who have felt in a 
 hundred rencontres the terrible qualities of our chasseurs, their strength 
 and agility, their address, their bravery in action, and still more their 
 generosity after victory, have named them the lions of the desert."* 
 
 From official documents, -J- we find that the number of sick in the mili- 
 tary hospitals of Algeria in 1840 was as follows : Entered, 10-5,409 ; dead, 
 9745 ; discharged, 1)1,097.+ 
 
 Notwithstanding the important studies and publications of the French 
 medical officers on hygiene, the mortality amongst the French troops in the 
 unhealthy districts, such as Bona, seems proportionally as great as ever.S 
 
 The fate of Colonel Coombes, of the foreign legion, the day of the 
 storming of Constantina, is a fine specimen of gallantry and discipline. 
 Mortally wounded by two bullets, one of which had passed through his 
 body, he fought at the breach until assured of success ; then, marching 
 tranquilly up to the general-in-chief, he rendered his account of the pro- 
 gress of affairs ; and exclaiming, " Heureux ceux qui ne sont pas blesses 
 
 * Mr. Dawson Borrcr (p. 18) informs us that the chasseurs d'Afrique are the elite of 
 the French cavalry in Algeria, consisting of picked men, well mounted. Their arms are 
 the carbine, sword, and pistol ; their uniform and accoutrements being neat, plain, and 
 useful. No portion of the army has distinguished itself more than these bold riders, who 
 are thus described by Castellane : "'Bronzed faces with long mustaches, tall men proudly 
 seated on little horses, this regiment was worthy of that cavalry whose name alone appals 
 the enemy. ' Sassours ! sassours ! ' cry the Arabs, as soon as they catch sight of them, 
 without daring to stand ; and this prestige they owe to their impetuous courage and their 
 firmness. The features of these soldiers, waving their swords as we passed, recalled those 
 manly iron squadrons painted by Horace Vernet at Versailles, and the men whom, at the 
 Oued-Foddha, Changarnier launched against the Arabs, saying, 'That is my artillery'" 
 (p. 316). See also Capt. Kennedy, vol. i. pp. 31, 32. 
 
 The average loss of the army up to 1810 was 1 soldier in 12-8, and 1 officer in 54 "4. 
 This estimate does not include those fallen in battle. But in battle the losses have been 
 proportionally greater among the officers than the men. The mortality among the Janis- 
 saries was not so great as it has been among the French, and each of them was reckoned 
 as equal to 20 Arabs in action. The Spanish occupation of Oran was also less destructive 
 to their troops than Algiers has been to the French ; but the Spanish army consisted 
 chiefly of brave adventurous gentlemen, and not of poor conscripts. Baude, hi. 244. 
 
 t Tableau, 1850, p. 70. 
 
 J The proportion of doaths to the number of sick was, in 1S46, five 6-10ths ; 1849, 
 nine 2-10ths. The mean stay in hospital was in lSi6, 20 days ; 1849, 17 days. The mean 
 daily movement was in 1846, 6841 ; 1849, 5110. 
 
 § The French correspondent of the Times, of January 7th, 1S53, whose letter is dated 
 January 5th and 6th, says that " A letter from Bona, in Algeria, of the 23d ultimo, 
 states that the epidemic of that town rages with fatal violence. It has extended out of 
 the town to Edough, situated on a high mountain. There were 730 soldiers and 7 officers 
 confined in the military hospital, and the civil hospital was so crowded that the governor 
 was compelled to refuse further admittance. Four of the attendant physicians were at- 
 tacked with the malady." It was estimated in 1846 that 21,000 French soldiers perish 
 annually in maintaining the interior of Algeria ; and Baron Baude informs us (p. 296, 
 vol. iii.) that from 1831 to 1839, 22,495 men died in hospitals, whereas only 1412 fell in 
 battle. Some authorities assert the annual loss of the French army in Africa to be 
 36,500 men and its loss during 15 years' occupation to have been 347,500 men (up to 1845). 
 See St. Marie.
 
 398 'MARSHAL BUGEAUD. 
 
 mortellement, Us jouiront du triompke" he fell dead at the feet of the Due 
 de Nemours. On the hill Condiat-Alj, whence the French batteries 
 played upon the Bab-el-Djedid (new gate), on the west side of the city, 
 stands a pyramid erected to the memory of General Damrernont and 
 other gallant officers who fell there. The former was killed by a cannon- 
 ball, just before the final assault up the breach, and close to the above- 
 mentioned gate.""" 
 
 Let us now pass in review the Algerian generals. 
 
 Describing Bugeaud's campaigns, Castellane says : " Blows like these 
 can only be struck by an army that has more than reliance in its com- 
 mander. It must have respect and love for him. Such were, in fact, the 
 sentiments that Marshal Bugeaudhad succeeded in inspiring in his soldiers. 
 Who amongst us has been able to forget his noble countenance and his- 
 noble heart 1 In their familiar way of speaking, the soldiers had christened 
 him Pere Bugeaud. And they were right; for his solicitude for their wel- 
 fare equalled his affection for them. Easy and communicative, he felt 
 happy among his troops, as in the bosom of his family; his language, full 
 of good humour, went at once to the heart of the soldiers. They all felt 
 indebted to him for losing sight occasionally of his high rank; and the 
 respect they bore him was only increased by this condescension. It 
 was in times of danger that 'Richard was himself again.' In those sea- 
 sons all eyes were turned towards him, being certain to find a direction 
 and precise orders; or, if the danger became imminent for all, common 
 safety, "-j- 
 
 The name of Bugeaud is associated with many of the most important 
 successes of the French arms in Africa. He beat Abd-el-Kader on the 
 Sikkak, near Tlemsen, in 1836; he overthrew the army of Morocco at 
 Isly in 1844; and he subdued the greater part of Kabylia Proper in 1846; 
 showing the greatest decision and the most determined courage through- 
 out. Marshal Bugeaud, who was created Duke of Isly after his victory, 
 had served under Napoleon at Saragossa (1809), as we have previously 
 seen, and presided over Algeria as governor-general from 1841 to 1846. 
 He died at Paris, of cholera, in 1849. % 
 
 " I still remember/' says Castellane, " that on our way from Milianah 
 to Algiers, the Arab chiefs came to salute General Changarnier on his 
 
 * St. Mario. 
 
 f Castellane, p. 247. St. Mario admits that Marshal I'.uuvaud had p;reat military ability, 
 and that he was a man of perfect integrity ; but he adds that ho was alt..;:, tin;- a soldier, 
 and jealous of his autnority. The minister of war himself did not know always how to 
 deal 'with him. He was heard to say, "L'Afrique e'est moi." 1 1 e used to be the terror 
 of the Arabs ; and he received Colonel Pelissier with great cordiality, after the latter had 
 burnt 1200 victims in the caves of Dahra in 1845. The staff-officers who surrounded him 
 imitated Ins rough manners; and one of Ms aide-de-camps is reported to have thrown a 
 plate, in a cafe" at Algiers, at a dilatory waiter, who thereupon throw back an omelet on 
 the officer. Other ungcntlemanly tricks are recorded of the French officers. St. Marie. 
 
 i Borrer.
 
 CHANGARNIER. 399 
 
 passage; and among them I met a kaid of the Hadjonteo, an old acquaint- 
 ance of mine. We spoke of the numerous razzias and mighty strokes that 
 had subdued his warlike tribe. 'His name amongst us,' said the kaid, 
 speaking of the general, 'means the leveller of pride, the subduer of ene- 
 mies; and he has justified his name.' Pointing to the long line of moun- 
 tains bordering the Alitidja, he added : 'When the storm comes, the light- 
 ning darts in a second over all these mountains, and sounds their cavities. 
 Such was Ins look in searching us. When once he had seen us, the ball 
 does not reach its quarry quicker than his blow smote us.' And the old 
 Aia 1 1 chief was riarht. The distingruishine characteristic of General Chan- 
 gamier in war is a sure and rapid judgment, and an indomitable energy; 
 he knows how to command. In face of danger, his courage rises; then, if 
 you draw near him, his vigour becomes infectious, and you no longer doubt 
 the event. He first showed himself at Constantina, and since then he has 
 not once failed in supporting his glorious reputation. If ever you visit 
 the bivouac of one of the old African bands, and enter the soldier's little 
 tent, listen to the numerous excursions they have made with him, and 
 you will hear what they will say about him."' 
 
 Perhaps the most brilliant of Changarnier" s achievements was the 
 forcing of the Pass of the Oued-Fodha, near Milianah, in .Sept. 1842. 
 Never did a French column run such risks. With a thousand men he was 
 enveloped in frightful ravines, while whole populations of hostile Arabs 
 and Kabyles rushed upon him. But Cavaignac was there; the zouaves, 
 the chasseurs d'Orleans, and the chasseurs d'Afrique were there; and Chan- 
 garnier commanded. " Calm and impassible," says Castellane, "General 
 Changarnier was at the rear-guard, enveloped in his little caban of white 
 wool,* a target for all the bullets; and giving his orders with a coolness 
 and distinctness that gave confidence to the troops, and doubled their 
 ardour. Not a moment's wavering was seen in that daring eye; his heart 
 seemed to swell with the danger. The column advanced, the mountains 
 re-echoing to the tempest of battle. He led a charmed life amidst the 
 showers of bullets, that seemed to increase his coolness. Seldom have 
 soldiers shown more courage; but the chief knew how to command, and 
 his men to obey.f 
 
 Lamping informs us (1841) that " General Changarnier, who com- 
 manded us, is known by the whole army as a brave soldier, who exacts 
 the very utmost from others as well as from himself, and who accordingly 
 most commonly succeeds in his enterprises. He is more feared than loved 
 by the men, who say, ' C'est un homme dur ce Changarnier.' He appears 
 to be a few years above 50, powerfully built, but with a face somewhat 
 weather-beaten by the storms of life. He has been fighting in Africa 
 ever since the first occupation. "J 
 
 * Light white coats worn in Africa winter and summer. f Souvenirs, p. 74. 
 
 J The Foreign Legion, part i. of the French in Africa.
 
 400 CAYAIGXAC. 
 
 Changarnier has since shown the same stern inflexible will and decision 
 at the barricades of the Faubourg St. Antoine and in exile. Whatever his 
 political opinions or errors may be, he has valiantly supported the reputa- 
 tion of the French arms. 
 
 Equally brave, more dashing, and less cool, the gallant Lamoriciere 
 is the perfection of a hussar officer. Flis very conversation has all the 
 entrain, the lightning speed of a charge of cavalry. As governor of the 
 province of Oran, he was remarkable for the incessant activity, prompti- 
 tude, and rapidity of his intelligence ; and his bold spirit loved to indulge 
 in brilliant paradoxes, in discussing and studying the questions of colonial 
 empire and emigration.* Appointed governor in 1841, in that and the 
 following year he sapped the power of Abd-el-Kader in the west, his 
 stronghold, by his indefatigable razzias ; while Changarnier, the montag- 
 nard, as Bugeaud christened him, subdued the province of Algiers. 
 
 The name of Lamoriciere appears early on the lists of fame after 1830. 
 He engaged in daring exploits at the capture of Bugia in 1833, when he 
 was an officer of zouaves.-)- We have seen him eating fire on the breach 
 at Constantina ; and he appears again, ever foremost, in the fray at the Col 
 de Moussaia under the eyes of the Duke of Orleans.^ 
 
 Cavaignac is a man of very different stamp; austere, silent, embittered, 
 full of the glowing but concealed fire of disappointed ambition. A repub- 
 lican to the back-bone, he won his most glorious laurels under a king; and 
 he committed his greatest fault as dictator of a republic. " Absolute in 
 command, energetic in action, slow in deciding because slow of compre- 
 hension, but concealing the laborious working of his mind under a 
 solemn silence, and only speaking when decided, General Cavaignac was 
 esteemed by all, loved by some, feai-ed by many. Those, however, who had 
 had any relations with him, were unanimous in allowing that if you ap- 
 pealed to his heart, the haughty dignity with which he loved to surround 
 himself disappeared, to make room for a quite paternal kindness ; but 
 these moments of forgetfulncss were rare. The silence in which he lived, 
 the separation from others in which he liked to move, elevated his imagi- 
 nation; and the smothered fire of his eye disclosed a man who thought his 
 life a sacrifice, even when the rank and dignities of the state were thrust 
 iipon him; for we must do him the justice to say that those dignities were 
 received, but that he had far too much pride to seek them. Thus Cavai- 
 gnac, by raising before his mind an ideal to imitate and worship, and by 
 preferring his own esteem to that of others, ended by giving a false deve- 
 lopment to his naturally frank and kindly disposition. In his military 
 career, Cavaignac has given many proofs of his cool obstinacy. Pie ob- 
 tained his rank of commandant at Tlemson in 1836, at the time of the 
 expedition of Marshal Clauzel, when he held the place for six months, de- 
 
 * Souvenirs, p. 302. t La Grande Kabylie, p. 83. J Bcrbrugger.
 
 GENERAL CAN ROBERT. 401 
 
 prived of all succour and news. This was one of the bright actions of his 
 soldier's life; and it is but fair to add, that though he sadly mistook his 
 mission as a politician, he was never found wanting in war, in the day of 
 danger and strife. In 1840 he held out the whole winter at Medeah, 
 with two battalions of zouaves, and was relieved in April, after five 
 months' imprisonment, by General Bugeaud: his firmness, his noble ex- 
 ample, the paternal encouragement of his advice, had been their great sup- 
 port.* "We have seen his name in the gorges of the Oued Foddha, when, 
 amidst a hail-storm of shot, Changarnier handed him some splendid wild 
 grapes that he had just picked, with the words, " Here, my dear colonel, 
 take this; you must want refreshment after such glorious fatigues." 
 
 We have still one more of the exiles, Bedeau, to consider, ere we pass 
 to the Imperial generals. We have heard Borrer's opinion of Bedeau, 
 whom he met in 1846, when governor of Constantina. (See Chap. XII.) 
 
 In 1841-2, General Bedeau was made commandant of the subdivision 
 of Tlemsen. " Established in Tlemsen," says Castellane, " General Bedeau 
 showed that regular and methodical spirit which makes such a useful in- 
 strument, as soon as the precise nature of his duties, and limit of his 
 authority, have been accurately determined. To prove this, it is only 
 necessary to observe, that -Tlemsen soon rose again from its ruins, that 
 barracks were built as it were by magic, and that the whole country re- 
 ceived a wise and systematic organisation. General Bedeau was obliged 
 to fight several times; but as there was no hesitation in his mind, his suc- 
 cess was never doubtful."-)- We have ouly to add, that since Dec. 2d, 1851, 
 General Bedeau, finding the air of France too close for him, has sought 
 for a freer atmosphere amongst people who have a more vigorous con- 
 stitution. 
 
 It was a lucky thing for the Chasseurs d'Orleans to have as their chief 
 commandant Canrobert (April 1845). The quickness of his coujy-tVoeil, 
 the precision of his orders, his energetic enthusiasm, the reliance that he 
 had long inspired in all, rescued them from danger. 
 
 Commandant Canrobert was particularly distinguished for his pre- 
 sence of mind in critical circumstances. The following anecdote is a good 
 specimen of his coolness. In 1848, being colonel of the zouaves, he was 
 on his march from Aumale to Zaatcha to take part in the siege. The 
 cholera had infected and was decimating his column ; and they advanced 
 with difficulty, so laden were the mules with the dying soldiers. At the 
 most trying moment he was informed that the nomadic tribes of the south 
 were preparing to attack him. An engagement was, above all things, to 
 be avoided, for they would have no means of transport for the wounded. 
 The colonel immediately made his arrangements for fighting, and then 
 marched forth alone to meet the nomades with his interpreter, and ad- 
 
 * Castellane, pp. 71, 103. t Souvenirs, p. 3~3. 
 
 C C
 
 402 MARSHAL ST. ARNAUD. 
 
 dressed them thus : " Know, good people, that I carry the plague about 
 me ; and if you do not suffer me and mine to pass, I shall throw it amongst 
 you." The Arabs, who had traced the column for many days byihe 
 newly-made graves it left behind it, were seized with terror, did not dare 
 to attack, and let them pass.* 
 
 General (now Marshal) St. Arnaud appears first on the stage as a colonel, 
 in which capacity he assisted at the judicious razzia which so happily re- 
 duced the Darha to order. We shall shortly allude to this brilliant affair 
 (1845), which was far from ending in smoke. He was naturally promoted 
 for his prowess and chivalry in smothering old men, women, and children 
 in a cave ; and he made a wholesome example of all rebels who troubled 
 the reign of order in the subdivision of Mostaganem in Great Kabylia, 
 and in the Elysian Fields. 
 
 Appointed governor of Paris by the Prince President, he was quite at 
 home in the night razzia which swept away the liberties, honour, and 
 ornaments of France. He is one of the pillars of the imperial throne, 
 and holds the portfolio of war. He was greatly opposed to the marriage 
 of the emperor, and also to the liberation of Abd-el-Kader ; and when 
 offered the command of another expedition against his old friends the 
 Kabyles, he refused to go unless he obtained unlimited discretion, or in 
 other words, license to extinguish the last spark of liberty in smoke. 
 Being refused, disappointment nearly broke his gentle heart ; but he has 
 since recovered and returned to the war-office, whence he proposes shortly 
 to make a trip to our Horse Guards, which are sadly out of order. 
 
 General Pelissier is another of the African chiefs who has attained 
 fame as well as infamy in Algeria, but who, unlike his peers, has not 
 danced a hornpipe on the barricades of Paris. Not satisfied with being a 
 fire-eater himself, he seems to have wished to diet the refractory Arabs on 
 smoke, suffocating 800 men, women, and children in a cave in the Darha 
 in 1845. Nor did the affair end in smoke, as it materially broke down 
 the spirit of the Arabs, and built up his notoriety as a man of decision 
 and cruelty. 
 
 We find him a general, and the commandant of the subdivision of 
 Mostaganem, in November 1846. 
 
 In the autumn of 1852 we find General Pelissier besieging Laghouat, 
 in the Sahara of the province of Algiers, which he stormed (Dec. 2) with 
 some loss. The flags taken at Laghouat by General Pelissier were de- 
 posited on the 30th December, 1852, at the Invalidea.f 
 
 Marshal Count de Castellane commands at present at Lyons, where he 
 * Castellane, p. 133. 
 
 t Accounts received from Algeria in January 1S53 announced the death of General 
 
 ho .:is wounded at the taking of Laghouat, and expired on the 19th Deo i - 
 
 1 about half, an hour after the operation of amputation had been performed. M. de Per- 
 
 !. his aid' de camp, caused the heart of the general to ho embalmed, in order to be 
 bent to his sister in France. (The Times Tans Correspondent, Jan. 1, 1853.)
 
 COUNT DE CASTBLLAKE. 403 
 
 gave Abd-el-Kader a grand review the other day, on the Emir's passage 
 to Broussa via Marseilles. 
 
 Thus the boys of African warfare reach the highest dignities; while 
 the grey-headed warriors live in poverty, exile, and disgrace, because they 
 were true tu their country and themselves, and kidnapped in the dead of 
 night, while wrapped in slumber, by the cut-throats of a tyrant. 
 
 As for Lieutenant-general Canrobert, he had an infamous share in 
 the coup-d'etat, and enjoys the unenviable notoriety of having his name 
 coupled with one of the basest crimes recorded in history. Yet he has of 
 late slightly redeemed his blasted character by refusing the portfolio of 
 war, when thrust upon him during St. Arnaud's illness, unless a free am- 
 nesty were granted to his old comrades Changarnier, Lamoriciere, Arc. 
 
 We have been loth to condemn such brave spirits; but truth and jus- 
 tice pronounce the verdict against them. Nor do we take up the gloves. 
 in favour of the selfish bourgeoisie and re-actionary Assembly, which sealed 
 the fate of France by trampling on liberty at home and abroad, by strang- 
 ling the infant republic at Rome, by staining the streets of Paris with the 
 blood of its gallant sons, and by putting up a low adventurer and a bas- 
 tard prince as its president. 
 
 The coup d'etat was the expiation of the reaction ; and when Cavai- 
 gnac, Changarnier, and Lamoriciere extinguished democracy at the barri- 
 cades, they paved the way for their own downfall. 
 
 A cloud hangs over France; but science must eventually demolish the 
 chains of praetorian and Jesuitical despotism." 
 
 * On the French Army in Africa, see Captain Kennedy's Algeria and Tunis. 
 
 t&£j? $£$&*&*?--
 
 OHAPTEB XXII. 
 
 r.-: > ".;::r;:p of 3Igrru ana Sartarp. 
 
 THE REIGN OF MTTHOS THE SEMITIC AND ^TXV-GERMANIC CONFLICT THE 
 
 PHOENICIANS THE SPffirT OF CAETHAGE — THE FTEST PUNIC AVAR THE 
 
 MERCENARIES TE3 PUNIC WAR HANNIBAL CASK* SCIPIO 
 
 ZAMA THE FALL OF CARTHAGE JUGCETHA METELLUS MARK'S JUBA 
 
 CHRISTIAN AFRICA DONATISTS CI?.CUMCELLI0>"S TEF.TULLL\N — CYPRIAN 
 
 ST. AUGUSTINE THE VANDALS BELISAEIUS THE ARABS THEIR DYNAS- 
 TIES THE TWO BARBAE 5SA HAELES V. PIRACY LORD EXUOUTH 
 
 THE >: ISVASIOS BOYIGO TREZEL ABD-EL-EADEE THE CAVE 
 
 OF KHA~: ahi 3APIURE f abd-el-kadee HIS LIBERATION ZAATCHA 
 
 Previous : :• the colonisation of Carthage, the history of North-west 
 Africa is involved in mystery and deformed by fables. The story of 
 Hercules* leading a mythical host from the far East to the pillars that bear 
 his " calculated to iigure in the stanzas of some African Ossian 
 
 than to bear the stern test of modern criticism. The theory of an abori- 
 .1 race is equally unpalatable to scientific ethnography : and though we 
 may be unwilling to attach much or it to the obscure traditions of the 
 highlanders of the . - the most plausible theory of the original popula- 
 tion of this region is that which coincides with the legends of the Kabyles, 
 
 * This African Hercules must not be confounded with the Greek. There were several 
 Hercules, some say forty. The travelling Hercules was the Tynan or Phoenician, who is 
 said to have founded many cities on the coast of Mauritania, including Tangiers. The 
 Libyan Hercules is less known, and is probably the same as the Tyrian. President de 
 Broses, however, thinks that the founder of Capsa was a different Hercules from the 
 founder of Torigis, because the ancients call all great adventurers Hercules. Bochart and 
 De Brasses assert that the name was given by the Greeks to the Tyrian Hercules, because 
 Phoenicians in their tongue called him Harokel, meaning the merchant or traveller. 
 Barbie" era Bocage thinks, with French scepticism, that he was nothing more than a mer- 
 chant or shipowner, pure and simple. Diodorus Siculus makes him travel in Gaul and 
 Italy, after the conquest of Spain ; but Sallust says he died in Spain, where his tomb was 
 highly venerated by the Phoenicians. The mythical expedition attributed to him must 
 have taken place as far back as the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan, for at that time 
 a part of the Phoenicians was forced to emigrate and colonise the north coast of Africa. 
 Barbie dn Bocage 's Sallust, Gcogr. Diet.
 
 THE BEIGS OF MTTHOE. 
 
 in attributing an Eastern origin to the earliest occupants of the soil, who, 
 under the name of Libyans and Berbers, were partially or totally subdued 
 by succeeding waves of population. 
 
 It would be equally unprofitable and unpalatable to dire deep into the 
 ocean of ancient umbos ■ and we shall pass on to the clearer fight of au- 
 thentic history, after casting a transient glance at the poetical legend that 
 has attempted to link its earliest history with the heroic age of Greece. 
 Little aid. it has been justly observed, can be derived from the dasrifal 
 authors, who took more delight in gratifying their imaginations than in 
 storing their minds with knowledge. To them Africa appeared much in 
 the same light as India and China did to the writers of the middle, ages : 
 and while they crowded it with wonders of magnificence and splendour, 
 they introduced into it all the monstrous and most terrific productions of 
 nature.* Ye: while we naturally feel disposed to smile at the tradition 
 recorded by Sallust. of Hercules passing from the Levant with a host of 
 Persians to the Straits of Gibraltar, inverting their barks on the desolate 
 shore in the shape of the later Xumidian hnts,t we cannot avoid bearing our 
 testimony to the frequent accuracy and value of the descriptions handed 
 down by the father of bistory.I Many of the facts which he has related 
 have been verified by recent discoveries ; and races of Hon and dog ea 
 are still found to people its valleys and oases. Thus it was that the glow- 
 ing or monstrous descriptions of Marco Polo met with ridicule, and ob- 
 tained him the epithet of JfSBione, till a more searching inquiry, in a more 
 enlightened age. substantiated most of his statemen: - 
 
 But though we are disposed to justify many of the relations of Hero- 
 dotus, we cannot attach much credit to the authority of Procopius when 
 he stakes his credit on his having seen, in the time of the war with the 
 V./- '.. '-. ' ■ ". . .:. '..-: :..:::_' :-rJ.-. '. '.'. _t-. .: 1 -..._- :i: ..:... :~ . :;■" 
 of secretarv, near a fountain at Tangier, two columns of white stone, where- 
 on were inscribed, in the Phoenician tongue, the following word? e fly 
 from the robber Joshua, the son of Nun.' || - . : _. : . r r 
 physical impossibilitv in the existence of such an inscription, or its having 
 been seen by Procopius, it would be worse than idle to attach any value to 
 it. That Africa was very early peopled by emigrants from Asia, belonging 
 to the Semitic variety, can scarcely admit of any dou I ^--Jinography, and 
 the natural tendency of an established and populous district to 
 into its more vacant contiguous districts, are sufficient and powerful t 
 ments in favour of this view : and though we are not prone to attach i 
 historical value to vague traditions, it may slightly tend to corroborate 
 
 * Dr. BosseF s Barbaiy Stales, chap. L 
 
 f r.ilL BeiL Jog:, c. rriii. "Jjqne alreos navfann iaToaos pro fcmgmifiti halmpre.* 
 
 I Her: ::: .«. '.'..'■ ■. ^.l-.. 
 
 | rie Trards of Marco Polo abridged. 
 
 H Procopras de Beilo Yand, Kb. M. 

 
 40G 
 
 THE REIGN OF MYTHOS. 
 
 view, that the Moors narrate that their origin may be traced to Sabsea, a 
 district of Arabia, whence their ancestors, under their king Ifricki, were 
 expelled by a superior force, and reduced to the necessity of seeking a new 
 home in the remote regions of the West.* They would probably drive the 
 older inhabitants from the more fertile districts to the tracts bordering on 
 the desert, or to the mountains, where they would seek a natural refuge in 
 caverns. Even at the present day there are found in southern Numidia 
 the remains of toAvns and castles which present an air of very great anti- 
 quity. Arabian populations have generally preferred a more erratic mode 
 of life ; hence the earlier inhabitants expelled by this Sabsean invasion 
 must have belonged to a different race, though still probably members of 
 the Semitic variety. Experience and analogy warrant us, therefore, in 
 arriving at the conclusion, that from the earliest periods waves of Asiatic 
 invaders have immigrated successively into the plains of North-western 
 Africa, belonging chiefly, in all probability, to the Semitic variety ; but the 
 time when these early arrivals occurred, the tribes that composed them, 
 and the places whence they came, must remain involved in uncertainty, f 
 
 * Morgan's Complete History of Algiers, p. 9, in Dr. Russel's Barbary States, p. 27. 
 Sallust, in one of his fragments preserved by Priscian, informs us that the Moors, a vain 
 and lying nation, like all those of Africa, maintain that beyond Ethiopia there are anti- 
 podic peoples, just and beneficent, whose manners and usages resemble those of the Per- 
 sians. It is certainly possible that the Moors may have had some knowledge of central 
 and southern Africa, but this matter must remain involved in mystery. 
 
 The Gsetuli, who inhabited the whole of Africa with the Libyans in the most ancient 
 times, were driven south by the invasion of the Phoenician Hercides, and their territory 
 corresponded in some measure to the modern Sahara. They were very numerous and 
 barbarous at the time of Jugurtha, who, when he lost Xumidia, retired amongst them, and 
 instructed them in military dis Spline ; but they were ultimately subjugated by the Romans. 
 Barbie' du Bocage is of opinion that their race has been preserved in the present Berbers ; 
 but it is evident that the latter people are the descendants of all the aborigines of north- 
 west Africa previous to the Arab invasion, including the Gsetuli and the subsequent in- 
 fusions of Phoenician, Vandal, and other blood. 
 
 President de Brosses derives the name of Gsetuli from the Phoenician geth, meaning 
 cattle ; but Barbie" du Bocage is of opinion that the Berber tongue had no analogy with 
 the Phoenician. Though this may be true as regards the fundamental roots of the two 
 tongues, the names of numerous places shew that the Berber had been a good deal in- 
 fluenced by Phoenician or Punic. Diet. Geogr. p. 204. 
 
 t Sahust describes the invading army under Hercules as consisting of Medes, Persians, 
 and Armenians; that the Persians formed the Numidian nation, and the Modes and Arme- 
 nians the Moors. But Abbe Mignot and President de Brosses think that Sallust was pro- 
 bably mistaken, owing to the errors of the translator of the Punic works of Hiempsal. 
 They think that the Amoritcs or Arameans were confounded by him with the Armenians, 
 and the Pherescans with the Persians. President de Brosses asserts that the name Lib; 
 comes from the Phoenician Ih aba, signifying burning climate ; but the term may be derived 
 from the Greek. The Moors were called -Mauri by the Latins, and Maurusn by bhe Greeks : 
 and Sallust relates that the Modes and Armenians remaining nearer the sea united with 
 fcne Libyans, forming a nation called Moors, by altering the name Medes; whereas the 
 i nis united with the Gsetulians, and formed the Numidians. 
 Strabo says that, according to some authors, Hercules brought the Moors from India 
 into Alii.a, which is not very probable. Bochart derives the name Moors from the Phoe- 
 nician mauharm, signifying postremi, the last- the western people. It is certain that the
 
 THE SEMITIC RACE. 407 
 
 The first immigration of 'which we have any certain, though still a dis- 
 torted knowledge, is that of the Phoenician colonists who founded Carthage. 
 The general voice of history represents this event to have occurred B.< . 900 : 
 hut hefore we launch forth into Carthaginian history, we must warn the 
 reader that almost every particular relating to that Semitic people has 
 come down to us through the medium of classical, i- e. Indo-European 
 writers, who have necessarily given it a foreign and often unfavourable 
 colouring. At the taking of Carthage almost all their records perished; 
 and though Niebuhr may have heen wrong to strike out all Roman history 
 hefore the burning, because of the loss of her records, we may safely follow 
 him at a respectful distance, and conclude that the whole of Carthaginian 
 history has been an ex parte statement, owing to the medium through which 
 it has been handed doAvn. 
 
 With this proviso, we shall pass to the shores of Syria, and examine 
 that remarkable Semitic race whose sons went forth to raise the walls and 
 man the fleets of Carthage. 
 
 The Semitic race'" does not appear in rainbow colours on the coast of 
 Syria and Carthage. God chose cruel and ignoble and impure vessels 
 for channels and instruments of his purposes. On the narrow beach 
 overlooked by the cedars of Lebanon swarmed a numerous people crowded 
 into the islands and close maritime cities.-)- Their religion was coloured 
 
 Phoenicians had colonies all along the coast of Mauritania ; but President de Brosses says 
 the name conies from the African (Berber) word mare, meaning merchant. Barbie du 
 Bocage's Sallust. Diet. Geogr. pp. 252, 239, 238, 1 
 
 * The two pillars of history are undoubtedly the Semitic and Indo-Germanic varieties. 
 Each, in a different walk, has crowned us with honour and glory, and marie us little lower 
 than the angels. On the one side, the heroic genius, and that of art and legislation ; on 
 the other, the spirit of industry, navigation, and commerce. In Europe, the prose and 
 philosophy of a critical, negative, and analytical spirit ; in Aramsa and Syria, the halo 
 and aureole of an atmosphere of poetry, the realisation of the ideal, the union of earth and 
 heaven. Greece and Germany have given us the revelation of the head, Syria and Arabia 
 of the heart. (Sebold.) Providence has worked through both to a great end ; and though 
 antagonistic, the two varieties have acted and reacted on each other. Greece got her 
 alphabet from Tyre, which she ruined. Rome conquered Carthage ; but her spirit fell from 
 that hour, emasculated by southern luxury. The struggle between the Semitic and Indo- 
 Germanic races has rolled through the ages and re-echoed to our times. The Arabs, bursting 
 like a hurricane from the desert, swept over Africa, grasped Sicily, Corsica, Spain, Magna 
 Grcecia; and penetrating as far as Tour, held Em-ope in suspense, till a hammar (Charles 
 Martel) turned the scale. It was a mere accident, or rather Providence, that prevented 
 Em-ope now bowing to the crescent, our being circumcised, and muftis sitting at Canter- 
 bury and York. See Sismondi's Hist, of the Fall of the Roman Empire. 
 
 + On the rock of Aradus, to cite only one example, the houses had more stories than 
 even at Rome. This impure race, flying before the sword of Sesostris or the exterminating 
 knife of the Jews, had found themselves driven to the sea, and had taken it for their country. 
 Like our noble ancestors the ancient Britons (Milton's History of England, — Prose Works, 
 iv. 6S 1 ), the immoderate licentiousness of modern Malabar can alone recall the abomina- 
 tions of these Phoenicians. There generations multiplied without certain family, each 
 ignorant who was his father, like the happy population of La Belle France, multiplying
 
 408 THE SEMITIC RACE. 
 
 with the licentiousness and cruelty of the age and people; nor can we 
 wonder at the extravagances of the faith of Moloch, when we find even 
 the Jews, with divine daguerreotypes, worshipping the calf, and turning 
 the temple into a broker's shop. The Phoenicians had the sins and vir- 
 tues of their time and race; and though Moloch loved human victims, and 
 the T}a-ians many wives, Ave find that Christian hierarchies have had the 
 same appetite, and that modern as well as ancient Solomons have been 
 prone to display the latter weakness. 
 
 Let us now jn'oceed to examine the principal events of their history 
 in a chronological order.* 
 
 We shall present the reader, first, with a compendious history of Car- 
 thage^ and thereupon make a few reflections. 
 
 When the Romans, conquerors of Tarentum and masters of Magna 
 Grsecia, arrived on the shores of the strait, they found themselves front to 
 front with the Carthaginian armies. Thereupon several treaties were 
 concluded between the two republics. J 
 
 Three powers, Carthage, Syracuse, and the Mamertini, shared Sicily. 
 Eonie, called on by one faction of the latter, hesitated not to protect at 
 Messina those whom she had just punished at Rhegium. The consul 
 Appius passed legions into Sicily; and Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, was 
 
 promiscuously, like the insects and reptiles which after rain-storms crawl about in myriads 
 on their burning shores. Michelet's History of the Roman Republic, p. 138, Bogue's 
 European Library. Ezekiel xxvi. 27. 
 
 * Herder's Ideen zur Philosophic der Geschichte, vol. ii. pp. 65-6, 1841. Michelet's- 
 History of the Roman Republic, ch. iii. p. 140. Montesquieu's Grandeur et Decadence des 
 Romains, ch. iv. When the Phoenician colonists first landed in Africa, the whole of N.W. 
 Africa, from the Gulf of Leptis, near Barca in Tripoli, to the Mulucha river in Morocco, 
 was called Numidia. One encroachment after another was made on this broad territory : 
 first by Carthage, whose territory was bought or gained from the Numidians ; secondly^ 
 by Bocchus, who was given one-third of Numidia after his surrender of Jugurtha, his share 
 extending as far as the river Ampsagas, between Igilgilis and Cullu, in long. 32° east from 
 Ferro. Its government was confided, under Cassar, to our historian Sallust, who, like 
 many other literary stars, is reported to have done a little sly business there in pillage and 
 piracy on his own account. Ancient Numidia corresponded originally, in most respects, 
 with modern Algeria, the regency of Tunis, and part of Tripoli. Barbie du Bocage's 
 Sallust. Diet. Geogr. p. 250. 
 
 t Carthage was styled in the Phoenician tongue Cartkadt or Cartha Hadatli, which 
 means 'new town,' to distinguish it from Utica, properly Ytica in Phoenician, meaning the 
 ' old town,' and which was actually much older than the city of Dido. The Greeks cor- 
 rupted the name into Carchcdon (Xapxnouv), the Latins into Carthage, which was founded 
 sixty-five years before Rome, or 819 B.C., if we may trust tradition like the Puseyites. 
 There was, however, it appears, before this time, a collection of habitations on the same 
 spot, called Cadmcia and Caccabo, and attributed to Cadmus, whose origin may have 
 dated from a period anterior to the Trojan war. Barbie du Bocage's Sallust. Diet. Geogr. 
 p. PJO. 
 
 X The first was of the age of Lucius Junius Brutus and Marcus Horatius, created con- 
 suls after the expulsion of the kings, twenty-eight years before Xerxes invaded Greece. 
 'Ihr Fair Promontory, north of Carthage, was generally made the limit of Roman navi- 
 gation in those treaties. Michelet's Roman Republic, c. iii. p. 148.
 
 TIIE FIRST PUNIC WAR. 409 
 
 conquered by the Romans before he Iwd time to see them. He became 
 the most faithful ally of Home. In eighteen months the Romans seized 
 sixty-seven places, including Agrigentum with its 000,000 inhabitants; 
 for the democratic forms of Sicily had converted that lovely island into a 
 garden, teeming with a happy population, whose capital, Syracuse, 400 
 years B.C., was larger and richer than imperial Paris. But the Romans 
 wanted a fleet; and copying a wrecked Carthage galley, in sixty days 
 they put to sea with 1G0 ships, and beat the Carthaginians. Duillius, the 
 victorious consul, was caressed with life-long torch-light processions and 
 serenades, enough to satiate even a German professor at his jubilee, 
 and a young lady in her teens.* 
 
 Rome next cast envious looks at Africa, and soon invaded it under 
 Regulus. A huge boa was the first foe they met, speedily followed br- 
 others, who, though as wise as serpents, were not as harmless as doves. 
 But the Carthaginians had no peace-society to teach them to kiss the 
 foot that tramples on them ; and happily their Manchester men were not 
 able to talk down common sense and outvote militia-bills. 
 
 Two victories gave 200 cities to the Romans. Carthage, at the 
 eleventh hour, was delivered by Xantippus, a Lacedaemonian mercenary, 
 who beat the Romans and took Regulus prisoner. Mutual reverses in 
 Sicily and at sea disposed both rjarties to peace. Regulus was sent to 
 Rome; dissuaded the senate from coming to terms, though to his own 
 cost; and returning to Carthage, died like a hero.t 
 
 For eight years the Romans were conquered in Sicily, successively 
 losing four fleets. At length Hamilcar, Hannibal's father, threw himself 
 on Mount Eryx, a steep huge mass! between Drepanum and Lilyba?um, 
 and stood firm against the Romans for three years, like Wellington at 
 Torres Vedras. 
 
 A naval victory of the Romans decided the Carthaginians to sue for 
 peace. § The merchants of Carthage, like the Dutch and British, weigh- 
 ing the war by its profits, determined that they were great losers by it, 
 and ceded Sicily to the Romans, agreeing to pay 3000 talents (720,000/.) 
 within ten years. || 
 
 Though exhausted, the two republics, in the interval between the two 
 Punic wars (241-219 B.C.), grasped right and left, like the Yankees, the 
 
 * Sardinia and Corsica, where Carthaginian monopoly had forbidden the cultivation of 
 land, soon bowed to Rome. Michelet, ubi supra, c. iii. p. 152. Grandeur ct Decadence, 
 c. iv. p. 33. 
 
 + The Romans, whose testimony, the only one we possess, is not very trustworthy, re- 
 cord the savage vengeance inflicted by Punic spite on the gallant Regulus, which, if true, 
 does not exceed the equivocal charity of Britain to her mighty foe at St. Helena. Dr. 
 Russel, c. i. pp. 38-9. Michelet, c. iii. p. 152. 
 
 J Polybius, in Michelet, p. 154. 
 
 § They had lost 500, the Romans 700 galleys in the war. 
 
 || Michelet, c. iii. p. 154.
 
 410 THE MERCENARIES' WAR. 
 
 Directory, and all free and independent commonwealths. Hamilcar sub- 
 dued Africa to the Straits, and part of Spain ; while Home conquered the 
 Gauls and Ligurians.* 
 
 Then came the Mercenaries' war. Like other trading countries, in- 
 cluding Britain, the Carthaginians, themselves no military people, sub- 
 sidised foreign horse and foot to fight their battles and save their country. 
 They paid dearly for this piece of folly ; and their Punic faith in with- 
 holding payment met with its due reward. The mercenaries were masters 
 of Carthage, which trembled at its peril. + The fate of Carthage seemed 
 sealed; but the war-party happily triumphing over the peace-society, 
 Hamilcar was made general, and cut off provisions from the mercenaries, 
 hemmed them in, and forced them to cannibalism. The war ended in a 
 blood-bath. % But Hamilcar was a troublesome customer, and seemed an 
 embryo tyrant. Goaded and worried on all sides, the senate gave him no 
 rest, accusing him of infamous morals, — a strange charge to make in im- 
 maculate Carthage. But Hamilcar s soul was too lofty to stoop to empire ; 
 and unlike a French autocrat, he was satisfied with saving, without aspir- 
 ing to ruin his country.§ 
 
 Boldly pushing his way in the peninsula, he was beaten and slain. 
 Like many honourable members, Hamilcar had his weak side, and bribed 
 suffrages at home. Golden influence obtained the choice of his son-in- 
 law, the handsome Hasdrubal, as his successor, who founded Carthagena 
 in Spain, a town still extant, the Portsmouth of their rotting navy. Has- 
 drubal being soon after killed by a slave, the army named for its chief 
 Hannibal, twenty-one years of age, the prince of condottieri, the child of 
 camps, the greatest captain of the Fore-world, a man of one idea — ven- 
 geance. || We cannot profess to detail his achievements, much less ana- 
 lyse his strategy, in these pages. The implacable hatred he swore to Rome 
 on the paternal knee, if a myth, is too descriptive of the man's pith and 
 marrow to be dropped before the lancet of a negative criticism. We 
 
 * Dr. Russel, c. i. p. 37. Michelet, pp. 154-5. Herder's Idoen, vol. ii. p. 156, a noble 
 censure on the grasping, demoniacal spirit of Roman conquest. 
 
 f Spaniards, Gauls, Ligurians, Baleares, Greeks, Italians, Africans, made a confusion 
 worse than Babel ; and all was uproar and confusion when Hanno, sent by the republic, 
 tried to obtain a remission of part of the debt. The men marched on Tunis 20,000 in 
 number. Carthage tried to soothe them through Gisco, promising every thing ; but the 
 mercenaries became overbearing; they were joined by the African provincials to the 
 number of 700,00(1. Utica, Hippo, and Zarytis massacred the Carthaginian garrisons; 
 the same was done in Sardinia and Corsica; and Hanno was crucified. Michelet, c. iv. 
 pp. 158-164, an eloquent passage. Grandeur et Decadence, c. iv. p. 29. Dr. Russel, 
 p. 34. Poly bins, lib. i. C. 0. 
 
 t In that san u ,. orld of the successors of Alexander, in that age of iron, the war 
 
 of the mercenaries still horrified all nations, Greeks and barbarians; and it was called the 
 inexpiable war. .Michelet, e. iv. pp. 163-4. 
 
 § He went forth to subdue distant nations to the Punic flag, and in one year he tra- 
 versed all the coasts of Africa and passed into Spain. The Punic courser held sway to the 
 ocean. Michelet, c. iv. p. 165. || Michelet, c. iv. p. 166.
 
 HANNIBAL. 411 
 
 accept it. Saguntum,* his first exploit, his Montenotte, dazzled Carthage 
 and stunned Rome; it stamped him one of Plutarch's men. He brought 
 150,000 men to the siege of Saguntum, only 80,000 to invade Italy. A 
 splendid monument this to the valour of the sires of the defenders of 
 Saragossa, a gallant people, once free as the ocean, the soul of prowess 
 and chivalry, laughed into commonplace by their greatest ornament and 
 pride, Don Quixote, and emasculated by a bastard breed of nobles and 
 Bourbons. Saguntum taken, the gauntlet was thrown, the sword was 
 drawn, the scabbard cast away.-j- Meanwhile Hannibal had marched 
 for Italy. His army, like Wellington's, was a mosaic; like the bastard 
 emperor's, it was gained and gorged with wealth. Like Austria, he kept 
 up his empire by playing off nationalities.^: 
 
 Like the march on Moscow, Alexander's invasion of India, and Caesar's 
 of Britain, Hannibal's passage of the Alps is one of those fabulous feats 
 that resound through ages. Weighing the army he had in hand, the bar- 
 barous population through whom he fought his way, the mighty piles he 
 ■scaled, this march of Hannibal's is probably the greatest triumph of mili- 
 tary genius ever achieved. § Like the Crusades and the revolutionary 
 wars, who can measure the push thus given to humanity by the opening 
 up of the highways of nations 1 The only great tourists, till lately, have 
 been conquerors. || 
 
 We shall not discuss the pass that he took.^j It suffices to know that 
 he dared and overcame the icy horror of those regions ; that with his swarthy 
 soldiers scaling the pine-clad steeps, he dispersed the mountaineers who 
 sought to oppose him ; and spurning the glaciers, plunged into the smiling 
 plains of Italy, five months after his departure from Carthagena, with 
 26,000 men— 8000 Spanish infantry, 12,000 Africans, and 6000 horse, 
 mostly Numidians.** 
 
 * On the siege of Saguntum, see Lin', xxx. 21. Michelet's Eoman Republic, p. 168. 
 
 + Quintus Fabius called on the senate to ask them then- intentions, and demand an 
 apology. Raising the flap of his toga, he said, " I bring war or peace— choose." The 
 Carthaginians replied, divided between fear and hatred, " Choose yourself." He let fall 
 the toga and replied, " I give you war." " We accept it, and we shall know how to 
 maintain it." Michelet, p. 169. Polyb. iii. Livy, xvi. 18. 
 
 X He drew Moors and Numidians from Africa, and sent over 15,000 Spaniards to 
 guard the metropolis ; 16,000 men were left in Spain. 
 
 § Michelet, pp. 172-4. Dr. Russel, p. 41. 
 
 || The march from Carthagena to Italy reckoned 9000 stadia. He studied the route 
 well beforehand, and paved the way with gold, yet had he to cut his way through hostile 
 tribes from the outset. The passage of the Rhine with his elephants and swarthy Moors 
 beats that of the Berezina by Napoleon's European train. 
 
 TP Mount Cenis, the Little St. Bernard, and St. Genevieve have disputed the honour. 
 See the subject discussed in Gillies' Visit to the Waldenses; Eustace's Italy, &c. ; Appen- 
 dix to Michelet's Rome, xxviii. He thinks Mount Cenis the pass taken by Hannibal. 
 
 The entire number of men capable of bearing arms among the Romans and their 
 allies amounted to 700,000 foot and 70,000 horse ; and the armies disposed on the several 
 frontiers consisted of 150,000 foot and 7000 horse. Michelet, p. 175.
 
 412 CANNJl. 
 
 Tt is probable that the confidence and daring of Hannibal, in thus 
 bearding the Roman eagle in its nest, have never been matched. Yet 
 we must recollect that Hannibal appeared as the liberator of Italy from 
 the Romans. 
 
 Hannibal soon trapped and beat Sempronius on the Trebbia, the ele- 
 phants doing good service.'"' 
 
 Flaminius awaited him at Arretium ; his army plied with prodigies, 
 and himself with persecutions from the senate, being a liberal in politics. 
 The armies met at Lake Thrasymenus, and after a fierce battle, the Re- 
 mans were cut to pieces ; not without much loss to the Africans, whose 
 beloved horses also suffered severely from hardships, as well as their 
 riders.-f 
 
 Terror prevailed at Rome, and gave the reins to the aristocratic party, 
 which put forward the cautious Fabius, a man whose coolness foiled the 
 dashing genius of Hannibal, who was neaidy entrapped and ruined by him, 
 being saved by the stratagem of burning fagots tied to oxen's horns. Ro- 
 man impatience, however, could not long suffer this procrastination ; and 
 M. Terentius Varro the plebeian, against the counsel of his rival, Paulus 
 iEmilius the patrician, dared a pitched battle with the Punic chief.:): 
 
 The Romans, blinded by dust and wind, met the Carthagenians at 
 Cannae, and were crushed, as at Thrasymenus, between the two wings, 
 besides being taken in rear by Numidians.§ 
 
 Rome seemed lost; but she stood firm, as centuries of political and 
 ecclesiastical despotism had not then tamed her high spirit, as they have 
 done since. She scorned to sue for peace. Hannibal wintered at Capua, 
 and Carthage was lost ; his troops, laden with spoil, would have found a 
 Capua everywhere. Rome was saved by the sacrifice of her sons at Cannae, 
 as Russia at Moscow. || 
 
 Hannibal was beaten at Nola by the gallant Marcellus ; and Hanno, at 
 Beneventum, lost 1G,000 men. Yet the mighty Hannibal wrested Taren- 
 tum and a great part of Sicily from the Romans. The year 213 was a 
 period of repose to both parties ; but in 214 Rome levied 335,000 men, to 
 finish the war. A tremendous struggle ensued; but the Romans recovered 
 
 * This victory gave him 90,000 Gaulish auxiliaries ; and he was forced to pass the winter 
 in Cisalpine Gaul, exposed to constant risk of assassination. In March 217 he marched to 
 Arretium, and soon after lost an eye, through exposure and fatigue. Michelet, pp. 177-8. 
 Dr. Russel, p. 41. 
 
 -f- Michelet, p. 179. Dr. Russel, p. 41. Polyb. hi. Livy, xxii. 
 
 I Hannibal's situation was at this time critical ; at the end of two years he had not a 
 town or castle in Italy, and only corn for ten days left. 
 
 § Paulus fell with 50,000 men, 2 questors, 21 tribunes, nearly 100 senators, and 
 numberless knights. Hannibal lost 4000 Gauls, and 1500 Spaniards and Africans. 
 Grandeur ct Decadence, c. iv. pp. 34-5. Michelet, p. 182. rolyb. iii. Livy, xxii. 
 
 II The Scipios, like Wellington, were in Spain ; victory followed their path. Carthage 
 was jealous of Hannibal's success, and would give him no aid; and his army, weakened 
 and corrupted, was successfully encountered by the Romans.
 
 scipio. 413 
 
 Capua and Syracuse, though Hannibal made a dash up to the very walls 
 of Rome.* 
 
 Sicily was recovered by Rome, but the two Scipios were beaten and 
 killed in Spain. Young Scipio, the son of Publius, was still alive ; and 
 the Roman people, scenting a hero, named him its saviour at twenty-four. 
 A man of gentle temper and lion's heart, he was an advance on the old 
 Roman angular character, though accused of irregular morals — not an un- 
 common failing with great captains. t 
 
 It was Scipio's eye that saw where the death-wound to Carthage should 
 be struck. Though opposed by the senile conservatism of Fabius, he car- 
 ried his point, and invaded Africa with a gallant army, whilst the Cartha- 
 ginians were disputing about his projects. All Italy had furnished him 
 with troops and supplies at Syracuse. Scipio hoped to secure the friend- 
 ship of Syphax, the Numidian chief, whom he had gained during a tempo- 
 rary visit to Barbary.J 
 
 The Roman consul feigned to listen to his propositions ; but, through 
 spies, learning the combustible nature of the camps of Syjdtax and Has- 
 drubal, he attacked and burnt them in one night, though containing 90,000 
 men.§ The Roman soldiers were satiated with plunder. || 
 
 The Carthaginians, deprived of Syphax, recalled Hannibal, who left 
 Italy, shedding tears of rage. We cannot agree with Michelet in think- 
 
 * It was Marcellus who stormed Syracuse ; and Archimedes, after aiding his country- 
 men with his genius, paid the penalty of his patriotism with his death. Michelet, pp. 
 184-91. 
 
 + He described himself as inspired by Neptune ; he seems to have possessed the gift 
 of prevision ; and we shall soon see him turn the tables. Carthagena was taken, and tho 
 head of Hasdrubal cast into the camp of Hannibal, who retired sullenly amidst the Brutii. 
 Michelet, p. 197. 
 
 X Since then Syphax had married Sophonisba, the daughter of the Carthaginian general 
 Hasdrubal Gisco. The African races, like the French, had the amiable weakness of fre- 
 quently changing their opinions ; the idol of to-day was the victim of to-morrow. Sopho- 
 nisba flattered Syphax with the proud idea of becoming arbitrator between the two most 
 powerful states in the world. 
 
 § Michelet, pp. 195-6. Dr. Eussel, p. 42. Livy, lib. xxi. c. i.-liv. 
 
 || Scipio had brought over with him Massinissa, the Numidian king. The latter, who 
 was the best horseman in Africa, and who, up to eighty, could remain a whole day on his 
 horse, always succeeded in eluding his enemy. Once, when closely pressed by Syphax, 
 he hid himself, like David and Mahomet, in a cave. Massinissa, brought back by the 
 enemies of Numidia, enjoyed the cruel pleasure of taking his enemy, of entering his capital, 
 and taking Sophonisba from him. This African Catharine of Medicis, formerly promised 
 to Massinissa, secretly sent to excuse herself from a forced marriage. The young Nu- 
 midian, with the levity of his age and country, promised to protect her, and the same 
 night took her for his wife. The unfortunate Syphax, not knowing how to avenge him- 
 self, secretly intimated to Scipio that she who had drawn him from his alliance to Rome 
 might do the same to Massinissa. Scipio saw the soundness of the suggestion, and claimed 
 Sophonisba as his part of the booty. Massinissa thereupon gave her a poisoned goblet, 
 which she drank off calmly, saying, "I accept the nuptial present;" whilst he fled. For 
 this he was highly lauded and crowned by Scipio, — honours somewhat dearly bought. 
 Michelet, p. 196. Dr. Russel, p. 43 See the tragedy of Sophonisba in Livy, lib. xxx. c. 
 iii.-xii. Alfieri has closely followed his narrative in the tragedy of Sophonisba.
 
 414 ZAMA. 
 
 ing him guilty of such atrocities in the latter part of his sojourn, or his 
 presence so odious, as the Roman historians have related.* If all his- 
 torical documents, save the French, relating to the last war had perished, 
 we should have a strange version of the Peninsular war arid of Waterloo, 
 of Enghien and of Andrew Hofer. 
 
 A few days after his return, he encamped at Zama, five days' journey 
 west of Carthage. He tried first diplomacy on Scipio ; but this failing, he 
 was forced to fight, and suffered the most disastrous defeat of ancient 
 times, + 
 
 Scipio seeing the strength of Carthage, did not push it to extremities. 
 He took their navy from them, and brought the territory of Massinissa, 
 their ambitious foe, to their gates. When these terms were proposed in 
 the senate, Hasdrubal Cisco advised their rejection ; but Hannibal went 
 up to him, seized him, and threw him down. There was much uproar; 
 and it appears from this, that the Punic senate occasionally emulated 
 an American congress, a French assembly, and a British parliament, in 
 unseemly irritation and disorderly tumult. 
 
 Carthage gave up 5U0 vessels, which were burned in the open sea 
 within sight of the citizens. Though equally distressing to them, it was 
 less dishonourable to the perpetrators than the national burglary com- 
 mitted by Britain on her brother Danes. | What distressed the Cartha- 
 ginians most was, however, paying the first term of the tribute, — as 
 great a national curse, and as foolishly encountered, as the national debt 
 of Britain. § Hannibal entered Carthage as a master, with a clear field 
 before him ; was named suffete ; and directed his attention and care to the 
 prosperity of the state, agriculture, commerce, and pacific measures. Thus, 
 after he had obtained supreme power, like Sylla, he was too noble to stoop 
 to titles, and he bestowed his mind and means on repairing the disasters 
 of his country; — a noble example, and a bitter criticism on those modern 
 autocrats who grind their people to powder to fill their coffers, and who 
 make use of the popularity of borrowed plumes, and take advantage of 
 a nation's divisions, to cover their country with bloodshed, their pockets 
 with gold, and their name with infamy. 
 
 * Michelet, p. 197. Dr. Russel, p. 43. 
 
 f In the front rank he placed the foreigners, in the second the Carthaginians ; the 
 reserve was composed of the veterans of the army of Italy. The mercenaries were first 
 alarmed and overthrown ; the second line fell back on the reserve, who drove them away 
 with their spears ; and the veterans themselves were at last broken by the Numidians in 
 the service of Rome, who had already conquered the two wings, and who, turning, took 
 the reserve in rear. This same cavalry, the cause of Hannibal's conquests in Italy, de- 
 cided his fate and that of Carthage at Zama in 202 B.C. Grandeur et Decadence, p. 31. 
 Michelet, ubi supra, p. L99. 
 
 X Michelet, p. 109. trigs tildragelserne i Sjoelland paa Major Blom. Kjoebnhocvn, 
 
 § For what have England and Europe derived from the overthrow of Napoleon? — out- 
 I in Spain, and a fair field for Austrian gibbets and the knout.
 
 THE FALL OF CARTHAGE. 415 
 
 Hannibal still lived, but Cato was also alive ; and, showing the figs of 
 Africa to the senate, "he thought, moreover, that Carthage ought to be de- 
 stroyed.''''* Nor was it difficult to achieve, for the spirit of faction was 
 rampant in the senate and the streets. The Romans found an excuse 
 in an infraction of the treaty by the Carthaginians, when they drove out 
 the Xumidian faction and went to war with Massinissa, who beat them, 
 killing 58,000 men.f 
 
 Utica was betrayed to Rome, and 84,000 men thundered against Car- 
 thage. Her doom was sealed. The senate decreed that its citizens should 
 reside more than three leagues from the sea, and that their town should 
 be entirely destroyed ! The senate had promised to respect the city, — that 
 is to say, the citizens, — but not the tovii. 
 
 This unworthy equivocation restored to the Carthaginians rage and 
 strength. They called their slaves to liberty ; they made 300 swords, 500 
 lances, 100 bucklers, a day. The women cut off their long hair to make 
 cords for the machines of war. We are reminded of the bullying Duke of 
 Brunswick and the outburst of enthusiasm in France in 1792. There is 
 sublimity in a nation roused to rage by wrongs, like Turkey now. 
 
 A desperate defence was made, and the Roman army was thrice nearly 
 exterminated.^: Scipio, however, carried all before him, entered Carthage; 
 and after a street-fight of six days and nights, Rome's rival sank into a 
 heap of ashes. § 
 
 We read of Marius sitting alone amidst the ruins of Carthage; but this 
 city rose again under Augustus, and eventually surpassed its former splen- 
 dour, as a Roman colony and provincial capital. So great, indeed, was 
 its luxury, corruption, and effeminacy during the latter centuries of the Ro- 
 man empire, that a monk could not be seen in its streets without ridicule ; 
 crowds of men walked about in the garb and character of women ; and it 
 is almost with joy that we hail the arrival of the rough stern Xorthmen 
 of Genseric, trampling under foot this Sodom with their iron heeL|| 
 
 * An analogy has often been traced between Rome and Carthage, France and Britain. 
 There are several points of resemblance, but more of difference. Carthage was an oligar- 
 chical commonwealth, a nation of merchants and shopkeepers, but she had not British 
 tars or British faith. Carthage fell ; but save by the predominance of peace-societies, or 
 the party-spirit of protectionism, no breach can be made in our bulwarks. Borne vowed 
 the downfall of Carthage, — lajiire Albion of that day. 
 
 + Miehelet, p. 238. 
 
 I Young Scipio JSmilianus, the son of Paulus .-Emilius, adopted by the son of the great 
 Scipio, having saved the army once, was made consul. He walled off Carthage from the 
 land, and dammed it off from, the sea. But the Carthaginians pierced another channel 
 through the rock, and launched a fleet made of the wreck of their houses. 
 
 § Miehelet, pp. 238-9. Dr. Bussel, p. 46. 
 
 | Herder truly remarks : " With Carthage fell a state that Rome could never replace. 
 Commerce departed from its coast, and pirates took its place, which they still occupy, 
 (he wrote about 1800). Corn-growing Africa was no longer under the Romans what it had 
 been so long under Carthage ; it sank into a granary for the Roman people, a hunting- 
 ground for their amphitheatres, and an emporium for slaves. Still desolate lie the shores
 
 41G CARTHAGINIAN LAWS. 
 
 Having briefly run over the principal events of Carthaginian history in 
 a chronological order, we shall, in a note, present a few remarks on the 
 organic laws that held sway in the same.* 
 
 and plains of the most beautiful land in the world, which the Romans first stripped of its 
 inland culture. The very letters of the Punic writing are lost to us; for iEmilianus handed 
 it over to the grandson of Massinissa, one enemy of Carthage to another," — like Poland 
 and Turkey dissected by the northern powers. See Herder's Ideen, vol. ii. p. 157. 
 
 * I. It is manifest that the sjnirit of monopoly [on the Carthaginian spirit of monopoly, 
 see Montesquieu's Esprit des Lois, c. xxi.-ii.] was a chief element of the Cai-thagmian 
 laws ; as is proved by then- commercial treaties with Rome, and from the fact of its having 
 been the custom to drown the crews of such vessels belonging to other nations as were 
 found in the vicinity of those places with which they carried on the most lucrative trade. 
 
 The same principle that led to her rise and prosperity occasioned her decline, by sever- 
 ing from her the sympathy of her neighbours, and leaving her alone in her distresses. 
 Such is the invariable result of the spirit of monopoly in every matter connected with 
 man. 
 
 II. At the time of the expedition of Hanno and Hamilcar, 480 years before the time of 
 Augustus, her progress in wealth, population, and refinement must have been very con- 
 siderable. (See Diodorus on the wealth of Carthage, p. 79; Polybius, p. 80. Herodotus on 
 the land-trade of Carthage, p. 80. Heeren's Historical Researches. Heeren's Reflections 
 on the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Ancient Nations of Africa. See Aristotle; 
 Pol. lib. ii. c. xi. on the polity and constitution of Carthage. ) 
 
 The limit of Carthage was fixed finally, on the side of Cyrene, at the altars of the Phi- 
 leni, whose legend respecting the self-sacrifice and inhumation of the two brothers is too 
 beautiful to be soiled by criticism. Later this limit was much contracted, and the kings 
 of Numidia, profiting by the disasters of the republic, recovered much territory that had 
 been lost Under Roman sway, the territory proper of Carthage was styled Pro vincia, 
 including a country called Emporia; and Byzacium, which had been a great bone of con- 
 tention between the Numidians and Carthaginians; but Pliny informs us that the last 
 Scipio Africanus separated the Roman province from the kingdom of Massinissa by a 
 ditch running from the mountains to the sea, near the town of Thenre. The town of 
 Taphnera also stood on this ditch. The province had little depth in the time of Jugurtha; 
 its limits running from the Tusca along the mountains between Hippo and Vacca, crossing 
 the Bagradas twelve leagues S. W. of Carthage, and ending on the sea at Thenar By- 
 zacium was afterwords erected into a special province. (Barbie" du Bocage, p. 260.) 
 Sixty large ships with 3000 emigrants sailed under Hanno to form a colony on the N.W. 
 coast of Africa in the ocean. The works of Mago alone, one of the suffetes, on all branches 
 of agriculture, amounted to twenty-eight, a few remains of which are found in Pliny; 
 whilst most of their works have been lost through the neglect or rage of Roman bar- 
 barism, only matched by that of Ximenes in destroying Arabic Mss. after the capture of 
 Granada. These treatises were translated into Latin by Solinus. Hence it appears that 
 there was a Carthaginian literature patronised by the great, and which had passed from 
 poetry to prose. How great has been the waste occasioned by human ignorance and fa- 
 naticism ! and how zealously should we endeavour to preserve the little progress we have 
 made in civilisation from the inroads of Croats and Kossacks, who cannot be regarded as 
 men of taste, save in horseflesh, nor very discriminating in criticism ! 
 
 III. The government of Carthage was an oligarchy. (Montesquieu; Grandeur et De- 
 cadence, p. 25.) That was bad. But it had two advantages to counterbalance this: it 
 
 rned itself, and it had republican forms. The worst native government is better than 
 the oppression of foreigners; and a republic in any form has more vitality than any other 
 form of government. 
 
 IV. An eminent historian and philosopher, comparing Rome and Carthage, remarks 
 that the latter had become rich and corrupt; whilst the former still remained immaculate, 
 and rewarded merit instead of accepting bribes. In this circumstance he justly traces
 
 jugurtha. 417 
 
 And now to other matters. 
 
 From the ruin of Carthage, and even during the lifetime of the faithful 
 Massinissa, the Romans eyed with suspicion Numidia, the ladder whereby 
 they had entered Africa. Micipsa, the son of Massinissa, was too weak 
 and soft to be feared by the senate, but he was obliged to share his 
 kingdom at his death between his two sons, and his nephew Jugurtha, a 
 bold and crafty Numidian, who aimed at empire, and had the suffrages of 
 his countrymen.' 11 ' Unlike other imperial nephews, he did not shelter his 
 insignificance under the greatness of his name; and his being the nephew 
 of his uncle was not a sufficient passport for office, or guarantee of honour 
 and honesty. He had worked his own way up, doing wonders at the siege 
 of Numantia in Spain. He was the best horseman in Africa; and his 
 heart was as brave as the lions he slew in multitudes. Barbarian nations 
 have generally had the wisdom or folly of choosing the most worthy of a 
 family for king. Hereditary right did not suffice with them to crown 
 idiots, as with modern czars and kaisers. Like Clovis, Jugurtha was 
 made sovereign by the source of all power, the voice of the people. The 
 Numidians saw that the division of their country was its ruin, and would 
 end in subjection to Rome; and they fought like heroes for their chief and 
 country, t 
 
 The people of Rome charged the aristocracy with being bought to 
 acquiesce in Jugurtha's rise, and sent C. Piso into Africa with an army. 
 He took a few towns, but was bribed to retire. The tribune Memmius, 
 
 a chief cause of the triumph of Rome, and the downfall of her rival ; and, as history is a 
 school for the nations, it would be well to remember, that by the same sin fell Rome her- 
 self, and the Orleans dynasty; and that two empires are now festering under the same 
 disease. It is to be hoped that England will avert such calamities, by abolishing the pur- 
 chase of commissions. 
 
 V. Strangely does the wheel of fortune rise and fall, and time plays a curious game 
 of see-saw with the nations. 
 
 The early intercourse of Carthage with Gaid is proved by the great number of Gaulish 
 mercenaries, which, during the time of the Sicilian wars, fought in the Carthaginian 
 armies. (Dr. Russel's Barbary States, p. 69. Michelet, p. 147.) Thus Africa once held 
 sway in Spain; and Frenchmen fought her battles, who now bring the blessings of im- 
 perial despotism, Christian law chicanery, and philosophic infidelity into the solitudes of 
 the Desert. 
 
 VI. The fall of Carthage has been attributed to the neglect of her maritime defence, and 
 to the party spirit in her walls. (Dr. Russel's Barbary States, p. 82. ) It were well if Peace- 
 Societies, Protectionists, and Manchester men would attend the school of Pythagoras for a 
 season, and in silence study history, ere they expose our national independence and our 
 constitution, passable with all its faults, by the extravagant theories of disarmament and 
 the selfish contentions of parties. (See some admirable observations and reflections on 
 the strategy and polity of Carthage in Montesquieu's Parallele do Carthage et de Rome, 
 c, iv. of the Grandeur et Decadence des Romains.) 
 
 * Michelet, p. 274. Dr. Russel, p. 48. Sail. Bell. Jugurth. c. vi. 
 
 f Jugurtha, assassinating Heimpsal, divided the sway between himself and Adherbal 
 the surviving brother; and he soon threw off the mask, attacked and murdered the latter! 
 as well as all the Italian traders with Cirtha. Michelet, p, 27u.
 
 418 JUGURTHA. 
 
 backed by the indignant people, summoned Jugurtha to Kome, to justify 
 himself. Eelying on the judge's venality, the Numidian went and came.* 
 
 Unhappy the land, which, like Spain and Russia, is eaten up with 
 venal employes! When justice may be bought, Circassian and Polish 
 triumphs are of no avail ; and Peruvian gold is rubbish, with a death- 
 wound in the heart of the empire, -j- 
 
 Aulus,t the consul's lieutenant, had to pass under the yoke.§ This 
 disgrace roused the Senate, which, seizing the reins from the doating and 
 flagitious party of the aristocracy then in power, sent over Cecilius Metel- 
 lus with a new army. (b.c. 109.) Having re-established discipline, he 
 faced Jugurtha, after taking Vacca; but was nearly beaten by the Nunii- 
 dian's able tactics, which raised the siege of Sicca, and foiled the Roman 
 consul, who sought to bribe assassins to dispatch him. This led Jugurtha 
 to negotiate. He submitted to every thing, giving Metellus 200,000 
 pounds' weight of silver, all his elephants, <fcc.|| 
 
 Jugurtha soon recommenced the war ;^[ but Marius snatched victory and 
 consulship from his commander Metellus, who, jealous, insulted him.** 
 Gaining and disciplining his own army, he took Caspa amidst desert soli- 
 tudes, the inaccessible peak where the ISTumidian treasures were placed, 
 and beat Bocchus and Jugurtha twice. The former delivered up his son- 
 in-law, rather than perish, to young Sylla, praetor of Mauritania, who, in his 
 first campaign, had the honour of receiving the important captive. His 
 success was the result of his coolness, when Bocchus hesitated a moment 
 if he should not deliver up Sylla to Jugurtha. -j-j- 
 
 * Bribing again, and assassinating competitors, Jugurtha left Rome in safety, exclaim- 
 ing, " O venal city, and only awaiting a purchaser /"— -Dr. Russel, p. 50. Michelet, p. 275. 
 Sallust, Bell. Jug. c. xxxv. 
 
 f Revelations of Russia, vol. i. See the chapters on the Secret and Common Police, 
 and on the Tribunals. 
 
 J Albinus, brother of Aulus, who was first sent, did nothing against Jugurtha. 
 § Dr. Russel, p. 50. Bell. Jug. c. xxxviii. Michelet, p. 275. 
 
 II Baron Baude is of opinion that the road followed by the French army in 1836 up the 
 valley of the Seybouse, by the Ras-cl-Akba and the Ouad Sheriff to the Hammam Mes- 
 khoutin, was the same as that of the proprietor Aulus, when he coveted the treasures 
 which Jugurtha had placed in Suthul, and let himself be drawn by the cunning Numidian 
 into the defiles, where being conquered without fighting, the Roman army was forced to 
 pass under the jugum. It is undoubtedly beyond Mjez-Amar, in the gorges of Hammam 
 Meskhoutin, or in those of the Ouad-Sheriff, that the snare was laid into which Aulus fell ; 
 the precipitous rocks that enclose them, and their tortuous character, ought to have 
 warned him of his danger ; but blinded by cupidity, or jealous of the good fortune of ( !al- 
 purnius, the propraetor, like many modern generals, ran after the money, without caring 
 for the honour of his eagles. Baude, c. ix. p. 2. 
 
 ^[ Metellus met him by putting to death all adidt males, treating thus Vacca and Thala, 
 the repository of the treasures of Jugurtha, who retired to the confines of the Great 
 Desert, disciplined the Gfetulians, and (sailed to assist him against the Romans his father- 
 in-law Bocchus, the king of Mauritania, who was vanquished with him near Cirtha. 
 
 ** A violent dispute arose at Rome between the partisans of the chiefs; but Marius 
 returned triumphant to Africa. Michelet, p. 276. Bell. Jug. c. 54, 55, 56. 
 
 ft Numidia was divided between Bocchus and the two natural grandsons of Massinissa.
 
 CATO. 419 
 
 The hero or rebel was dragged in triumph through the mob of Home 
 after Marius, and was starved to death in the prison, Bhivering with his 
 African blood in the chill climate of an Italian dungeon.* With the vir- 
 tues of the Italian exiles, he joined the vices of his age and race ; yet the 
 heart swells with rage as we think of the chronic injustice of man in exo- 
 teric oppressions. Home, like Austria, has had her Spielberg; and Kos- 
 suths and Mazzinis have groaned for ages under the thumbscrew of bloody 
 idiots or gladiatorial republics. 
 
 Carthage, Numidia, and the two Mauritanias were gradually subduedt 
 by the Roman arms, and groaned or nourished under the gentle or op- 
 pressive administration of Italian praetors. 
 
 The expiring effort of Home to avoid the disgrace of praetorian des- 
 potism was defeated in Africa. J The other Scipio, to whom Cato had 
 unwisely yielded the command, had interested in his cause the Maurita- 
 nian Juba, by promising him the whole of Africa. This alliance gave him 
 all the Numidians, and with their cavalry the means of starving Caesar's 
 army; but the latter, by a rapid march, separately attacked the three 
 camps of the Pompeians, and destroyed 50,000 men, without losing 50 of 
 his own soldiers. § 
 
 Cato had remained in Utica, a town indisposed to risk the slaves, who 
 were its riches, by arming them to defend it. Cato seeing no hope, sent 
 away the senators Avho were with him, and resolved to die in conformity 
 with the precepts and practice of the stoical philosophy. || 
 
 * Plutarch, Life of Marius. Eutropius, lib. iv. c. 28. Dr. Russcl, p. 51. Michclet, 
 p. 278. 
 
 f Tho Romans at first pursued the usual magnanimous practice of conquerors, in pa- 
 tronising dependant kings of Numidia and Mauritania, in order to swallow them up at the 
 proper season, like Poland and Turkey, for which a modern Caesar seems to have an 
 inordinate appetite. Hierupsal II., grandson of Massinissa, was the first king whom the 
 Quirites restored to the throne of Numidia, a learned prince, who composed several his- 
 torical works in the Punic tongue, which Sallust professes to have caused to be translated 
 for his own use, and which he appears to have incorporated neck and crojs into his 
 original history, after the fashion of modern historiographers. Hiempsal II.'s grandson, 
 Juba, who reigned over Mauritania, was a piince equally conspicuous for his erudition. 
 The eastern part of Numidia was reduced to a Roman province first under Julius Czesar, 
 who intrusted its administration to Sallust. Barbie" du Socage, p. 250. 
 
 + The Pompeians had assembled in Africa under Scipio, father-in law of Pompey. The 
 Scipios, it was said, would always conquer in Africa. Csesar accordingly announced that 
 a Scipio should also command his army. He declared that ho gave up the command to 
 a Scipio Sallutio, a poor soldier of his, obscure, and altogether despised. 
 
 § Dr. Paissel, p. 59. Michelet, p. 361, 362. Plutarch, Life of Csesar. Dion Cass. xlii. 
 3S6. App. de Bell. Civ. 1. iv. ch. 108 and following. Montesquieu, Grandeur, &c. p. 96. 
 
 || This man, whom Cicero and Seneca justly style holy (saiictus, Amm. Marcel.), 
 in his life approached nearer to the Christian ideal than most Christians, though his 
 death was not that of a saint. Cato, the last of the Romans, read through Plato's Phaedo 
 (on the Immortality of the Soul,) twice tho night previous to his suicide, and slept so 
 soundly between his lectures, that he was heard snoring from the next room. When his 
 time had come, he ran his sword coolly into his body ; but being found still alive, and his 
 wounds being bound up, while he was insensible he tore them off, and expired as soon as 
 he came to himself. B.C. 47. Michelet. Dr. Russel, ubi supra.
 
 420 THE NORTH-AFRICAN CHURCH. 
 
 "We shall now attend to the Christian church in Africa. 
 
 The vitality of the Christian church in Africa'' 5 ' is attested hy its coun- 
 cils, its schisms, and its monuments. Like all other communities of the 
 faithful, they quarrelled fiercely about words and stones ; but in the day 
 of persecution they exceeded the courage and endurance of homoeopathic 
 students, mesmeric professors, and rappists. Whilst the majority was 
 against them, they were, of course, a band of visionaries or impostors, and 
 their system a gross piece of insanity or fraud, from which no good could 
 he derived ; but when Catholic Christianity was established, it fulminated 
 the same charges against all innovation from which it had so grievously 
 suffered itself. Such has ever been the history of human wisdom and 
 charity. 
 
 Orthodox pens have recorded gross excesses in the dissenters of North 
 Africa ; but we feel doubtful how far we may trust them.T The Anabaptists' 
 and the Suabian peasants' war of the Reformation were probably extrava- 
 gant in some respects ; but the reformers, who provoked and exterminated 
 these men, are not the most trustworthy authorities in recording them.t 
 Luther was not so conspicuous for charity as zeal; and if Munzer had 
 succeeded, it is not improbable that he would only be remembered as a 
 harsh, violent, and turbulent monk, who sought to rise, like Ronge, on 
 the ruins of the church. § 
 
 * Neander is of opinion that Christianity was early introduced into the province of 
 Africa. This church at Carthage becomes known to us first about the last years of tho 
 second century, through the presbyter Tertullian ; but even then it appears to have been 
 in a very flourishing condition. In his tract to the governor, Scapula, he spoke already 
 of a persecution of Christians in Mauritania. After the middle of the third century, 
 Christianity had made such progress in Mauritania and Numidia, that under Cyprian, 
 bishop of Carthage, a synod was held consisting of 87 bishops. P. 114, vol. i. Clark's edi- 
 tion of Ncander's History of the Christian Church. 
 
 f We cannot even coincide with the mild judgment passed by Neander on the North. 
 African heretics. 
 
 J D'Aubigne" himself, and Luther's Autobiography by Michelet (po .180-181), show the 
 human frailties and excesses of the monk of Eisleben, and give us gleams of a brighter 
 light in Munzer's followers and the Anabaptists of Munster and Leyden, 
 
 § We find that there met together, in the Donatist conference of Carthage, A.D. 411, 
 286 bishops of tho Catholics and 279 of the Donatist party. St. Augustine was the chief 
 speaker on the Catholic, and Petilianus on the heretic side. Tho imperial tribune and 
 notary, Flavius Marcellinus, a friend of Augustine, presided. This took place under the 
 Emperor Honorius. Among the bishops wo find the following: Donatus bishop of Casa 
 Nigra in Numidia, the primate of Numidia, Secundus bishop of Tigisis; and a Catholic 
 bishop near Carthage, Felix ofAptungis, Aptugnensis, Aptungitanus, or Autumnitanus, 
 figured largely in tho controversy between the two factions of the North- African church. 
 (For these facts see Neander, vol. iii.) We find that in the year 305, tho Numidian 
 bishops, under the presidency of the above-named Secundus. assembled at Cirta in Nu- 
 a, for the pur] ose of ordaining a now bishop for this city (Neander, p. 247.) Ne- 
 
 i i- says, "The Donatists were inclined to a separation of church and state, and 
 
 preached against the ambition and avarice of the Catholic bishops. This inflamed the 
 of th I ircumcellions, &c." (vol. iii. p. 260.) 
 
 The r ader will recollect that the Donatist heresy originated in what has been repre- 
 d by the Catholics as the abuse of the spirit of martyrdom, or the extension of the
 
 THE DONATISTS. 421 
 
 The most eminent lights of the North-African church were Tcrtullian 
 the Montanist, St. Cyprian, and St. Augustine. The principal feature in 
 
 spirit of saintship, to too large a number of faithful. A strange charge to proceed from 
 Catholics, reminding one of the beam and the mote in the two brothers' eyes. But the 
 fact is, that the Catholic hierarchy was then a proud aristocracy, and aimed at a despotic 
 autocracy, and the too democratic tendency of the Donatist principle was displeasing to 
 it. Resistance and persecution, as usual, begat opposition and extravagance ; hence arose 
 a singular sect, the Fakirs and Jogis of Christendom, who must have affixed the stigma of 
 madness to Christianity in the minds of all sober pagans. 
 
 There existed in North Africa, says Neander, a band of fanatical ascetics, who, de- 
 spising all labour, wandered about the country among the huts of the peasants (whence 
 they were called by their adversaries, the Cireumcellions), and supported themselves by beg- 
 ging ; a very Catholic and orthodox mode of life thus far. They styled themselves the Chris- 
 tian champions, agonistici. Under the pagan power, parties of them had often, for no useful 
 purpose, demolished the idols on their estates, and thus run the risk of martyrdom, which 
 they sought. These men were roused by the persecution of the Donatists to all kinds of 
 violence. (Neander, vol. iii. p. 257. In Fritzsche's Ketzer-Lexicon the reader will find a 
 full account of these fiery heretics.) Constantine always treated them with mildness; 
 and when they demolished a church that he had built for the Catholics of Constantina, he 
 had it rebuilt at his own expense, and demanded no indemnification. But under Con- 
 stans forcible measures were adopted to convert the Donatists, under the imperial com- 
 missioners, Paid and Macariua. (Neander, vol. iii. p. 260 ) This drove the Cireumcel- 
 lions to further extravagance. They traced all corruption in the church to worldly 
 wealth and power, exaggerating an eternal and apostolic truth. The Cireumcellions 
 breathed hatred against all who possessed power, rank, and wealth, — the democrats and 
 socialists of that age. They roved about the country, pretending to be protectors of the 
 oppressed, — a sacred band fighting for the rights of God. Probably, like Munzer's peasants 
 in Germany, they have been much calumniated, for they were not successful. (See the 
 Autobiography of Luther, edited by Michelet. Bohn's edition.) They may have per- 
 •cived that there was much in the relation of masters and slaves at variance with Christi- 
 anity ; but the cautious Neander insinuates that, in the way they wished to alter matters, 
 all civil order must have been upset. (Neander.) They took the part of all debtors 
 against creditors ; their chiefs, Fasir and Axid, styling themselves leaders of the 
 sons of the Holy One, sent threatening letters to all creditors. Whenever they met a 
 master with his slave, they obliged the former to take the place of the latter;— this would 
 not suit American stomachs. They compelled venerable heads of families to perform the 
 most menial services, — a gross indignity of course, though Christ washed his disciples' feet. 
 All slaves who complained of their masters were sure to find assistance, &c. Even many 
 of the Donatist bishops, probably pluralists or incumbents of fat livings, applied to the 
 civil power against them. But Donatus, and men of his stamp, encouraged them, and the 
 Catholics, like all powers that be, sought to compel them to worship with them. (Neander.) 
 Here we have the Test Act and Nonconformists in the third century, injustice being ever 
 the law and gospel of all civil and religious polity. Many Donatist bishops and clergymen 
 fell victims to this persecution ; but they must have deserved this, for they were the weaker 
 party. Certain it is, says Neander, that many Cireumcellions sought only the glory of 
 martyrdom ; finally it came to j>ass that they threw themselves from precipices, into the 
 fire, and hired others to kill them ; so anxious were these unhappy men to exchange the 
 weariness of earthly proletaries for the rest of heaven. (Neander. Gibbon gives, as usual, 
 a mutilation of the Donatist movement. ) In this we see the reaction of over-spiritualism 
 against the excessive materialistic depression of an age of fleshly doubt, analogous to the 
 phantasies or visions of modern supernal philosophy turning the tables on Strauss and 
 Voltaire. 
 
 Many eminent Donatist bishops were exiled till the reaction of charity or tolerance took 
 place under Julian in 361. Their situation, however, became worse under the emperors
 
 422 
 
 TERTULLIAN. 
 
 its history was the Donatist heresy, which, having been chronicled by 
 orthodox bishops alone, is as imperfectly known as Carthage through the 
 medium of her rival's historians. The unsuccessful party is ever wrong ; 
 and if Christianity had failed, we should brand it as an infamous imposture. 
 The hero of Hungary is, of course, a visionary and a conspirator, for he 
 has failed ; but men begin to think that the imperial perjurer is a Solomon 
 and patriot, for he succeeded.* 
 
 The North- African church was one of the earliest offshoots from metro- 
 politan Rome, and soon rivalled its parent in heroism, fanaticism, and fac- 
 tions. Tertullian, + according to Neander, was the first scientific organ of 
 Western Christendom ;% but Augustine had more of the logical Indo-Ger- 
 manic critical element; and Tertullian's chief feature was the sway of mys- 
 tical oriental idealism in his mind, the Semitic element. A great impres- 
 sion was made on his rapturous spirit by Montanism, whose ecstasies and 
 divine dreams were chilled to death when they reached the icy atmosphere 
 of European prose. 
 
 The study of Tertullian's writings had manifestly an important influence 
 on the development of Cyprian,§ as a doctrinal writer. Jerome states, 
 after a tradition which was said to have come from a secretary of Cyprian, 
 that the latter was in the habit of reading something daily from the writ- 
 ings of Tertullian, whom he was accustomed to call emphatically the 
 Teacher. And who is original amongst us 1 Education and tradition are 
 the chief ingredients in the infusion called human character ; and Cyprian, 
 on the Ganges or at Siam, would have worshipped cows|| and carried gold 
 umbrellas.^ Cyprian's most remarkable work is his Book of Testimony, to 
 
 succeeding Honorius, when they were put down in the conference, like Galileo, Harvey, 
 Columbus, Thomas Grey, Mesmer, and all men who have a very long sight. 
 
 When the Vandals, in the fifth century, made themselves masters of the country, the 
 Donatists, as such, had no persecutions to suffer. It was only as Trinitarians that they 
 suffered in that formidable controversy, which had almost established the unity of God as- 
 the key-stone of orthodox Christianity. They continued to survive as a distinct party till 
 the sixth century, as may be seen from the letters of the Roman bishop, Gregory the 
 Great. (Sismondi's Fall of the Roman Empire, p 81.) 
 
 * See Schlcsingcr's War in Hungary, 1850, 2 vols., and Schalcher's Histoirc du Coup 
 d'Etat, published in French by John Chapman. 
 
 f He wanted the chaste sobriety of mind of Ircnams, and though a foe to speculation, 
 he could not resist the impulses of a profound speculative intellect. He was destitute of 
 regular logical forms of thought, and his genius was chiefly emotional, practical as well as 
 speculative, which remained the principle of the North- African Church till Augustine, in 
 whom Tertullian once more appears under a transfigured form. 
 
 X Neandcr's Church History. II use's Church History. Gieseler's Church History. 
 Dr. Russel's Barbary States, p. 133. 
 
 § For a full account of St. Cyprian, see Ncandcr, vol. i. p. 302-323 ; Clarke's edition. 
 In A.i). 253 or 254, according to his own account, ho had administered the episcopal office 
 for six yea rs. 
 
 Major Skinner's Excursions in India. 
 
 Tf See Ruschcnberger's Voyage round the World.
 
 . ST. AUGUSTINE. 423 
 
 prove from Scripture that Christ is the Messiah. We commend the hook 
 to the advocates of the Jewish disabilities and to Rothschild. Cyprian was 
 arrested, like a Hungarian or Italian, for thinking for himself, and put to 
 death by the Francis Josephs and Haynaus of the Roman Empire. He 
 had persecuted heretics like a man, but he met death like a Christian 
 (a.d. 258).* 
 
 St. Augustine (of whom more anon) was born a.d. 356, and was the 
 glory or the misfortune of Christendom. Original sin has been an un- 
 lucky legacy, hardly redeemed by the candour of his Confessions. He was 
 thirty-six years old, and had been born again for four years, when he was 
 ordained priest at Hippo, in 390, with the acclamations of the people, by 
 Bishop Valerius.t St. Augustine wrote his Confessions at Hippo in 397 ; 
 his City of God in 413 to 426; and the same year he began his Book of 
 Retractations. On the invasion of the Vandals, he wrote that Epistle 
 ccxxviii. to Bishop Honoratus, Avhich displays a humility, patience, and 
 courage that would not disgrace the Vatican. % He died in 429. 
 
 Returning to the secular history of North-western Africa under the 
 Romans, the paucity of remarkable events previous to the Vandal invasion 
 is an evidence of the material prosperity of the proconsulate. 
 
 Juba king of Mauritania was conquered and taken at Pharsalia, but 
 was restored and protected by the generosity of Julius Caesar, who, unlike 
 modern Christians, saw the policy of clemency. Caligula, however, put to 
 death Juba's son, took possession of his states, and made a Roman pro- 
 vince of them ; and Claudius divided them into two provinces — the 
 Caesarian and Tingitanian Mauritanias.§ 
 
 * Our space prevents us from dwelling on Lactantius the Christian Cicero, for an ac - 
 count of whom the reader is referred to Neander, vol. i. and Dr. Kussel, r£ 135. He was 
 intrusted with the education of Crispus, a son of the Emperor Constantine. 
 
 t In 394 he founded a community there, from which the most learned and illustrious 
 bishops of Spain issued, including Alipius of Tagaste, Evode of Uzale, Possidius ofCala- 
 ma, Prefecturus and Fortunatus of Cirta, Severus of Mileve, Urban of Sicca, &c. Valerius 
 adopted him as his coadjutor in 395, and died the following year. 
 
 X It would be dangerous to pronounce the verdict on this orthodox man. Nor would 
 it be easy to say if the influence has been more beneficial or hurtful to Christendom. The 
 elevation and brightness of some of his views are clouded by a considerable infusion of 
 Manichasan views ; yet though he has disturbed the transparency of the waters of life, the 
 purity of his life has partly compensated for the turbulence of his doctrine. A Christian 
 bishop, who lives a mendicant and dies a pauper, is now so refreshing a novelty, that his 
 self-denial covers a multitude of sins. (On St. Augustine and the church of Carthago 
 and Numidia, see a full account in Nachrichten und Bemerkungen iiber den Algierischen 
 Staat, 3 vols. 1798-1802 ; Dr. Kussel, p. 136 ; Neander, vol. hi. ; Gibbon ; Baron Baude, 
 vol. ii. p. 41 ; and Possidius de Vita Augustini.) 
 
 § Dion Cassius, hb. lix. ; Seneca de tranquillitate animi ; Plin. lib. v. e. i. ii. ; Suetonius 
 in vita Calig. sect. xxvi. ; Nachrichten und Bemerkungen, vol. ii. ; Gibbon; and Dr. Eussel, 
 pp. 53-6. 
 
 Our space prevents us from dwelling on the rebellion of Ternius, the son of Nabal, a 
 Moorish prince, in the third century; who, after considerable successes, being hard pressed 
 by Komanus, and still harder by Theodosius, put an end to himself in the Atlas. The
 
 424 THE VANDALS. 
 
 But Eome was approaching her fall ; for liberty had expired with Cato, 
 and a praetorian government had disgraced the majesty of the Roman peo- 
 ple, which even two Antonini and a Hadrian were unable to rescue. A 
 fresher, healthier spirit of freedom was to descend from the North with 
 healing on its wings, though by a rough treatment. The race of Odin, 
 Sigurd, and the vikings, drew the s'word, throwing away the scabbard, and 
 carved out Europe anew. The Vandals,' :: " forcing their way through France, 
 entered Spain with the Suevi and Alani ; and after eighteen years' posses- 
 sion of the coast of Andalusia, hard pressed by the Goths (a.d. 427), passed 
 over into Africa (where they were invited by the Roman Count Boniface) 
 under their king Genseric, and subdued the greatest part of what the Ro- 
 mans then possessed thei'e. A contemporary writer has left us a description 
 of the devastation which they occasioned, of which the sceptical Gibbon 
 seems to doubt the accuracy.t 
 
 The Emperor Justinian, X after having consolidated his empire in the 
 East, wished to restore it to its ancient splendour by recovering its finest 
 provinces ; and the renowned Belisarius was sent with this view, in 534, 
 into Africa. He attacked the Vandals, weakened by divisions and ener- 
 vated by luxury, conquered their last king (Gelimer), and reduced the 
 whole of that country under the power of the Lower Empire. It remained 
 one hundred years subject to the oppressions of the Greek prefects; but 
 in 647, Othman, third Caliph of the Saracens, sent Hucha,§ his general, 
 
 second rebel was Gildo, his brother, who announced himself sovereign of Africa ; but 
 Stiticho, A. D. 398, crushed him by an overwhelming force among the Atlas ; and the 
 usurper, trying to escape, was secured, imprisoned, and committed suicide, like his 
 brother. Again, a.d. 413, Heraclian raised the standard of rebellion, and made an at- 
 tempt to invade Rome, which failed ; and on his return, the Africans had deserted liis 
 cause, confiscated his property, 200,000^., and cut off his head. Dr. Russel, p. 95. 
 
 * See Dr. Russel, p. 97 ; Procopius, &c. The best account of the Vandals will be found 
 in Gibbon's Decline and Fall, c. xliii., and also in Sismondi's Fall of the Roman Empire, 
 c. vii. pp. 152 to 156. 
 
 f Scarcely any part of this beautiful region escaped their ravages. They found a 
 highly cultivated country, they left it a desert. They rooted up the vines, pulled down 
 the buildings, and demolished the temples. They collected crowds before the cities, and 
 butchered them, that the infected air might cause the besieged to surrender. Procopius 
 .says, that when the army of the Greek Empire invaded Africa 100 years after, you might 
 travel for three days without meeting a human being. 
 
 + Excellent remarks on Justinian's conquest and administration are found in Montes- 
 quieu's Grandeur ct De"cadenco des Romains, c. xx. Dr. Russcl's Barbary States, p. 10(3. 
 Gibbon, c. xliv. Cardenne's History of Africa. Sismondi's Fall of the Roman Empire. 
 
 § Dr. Russel calls him Abdallah, and states that he advanced from Egypt by Barca 
 with 40,000 men, and met the Greek prefect Gregory in front of Tripoli. The latter was 
 killed, his daughter taken, and his army beaten; but the loss of Abdallah was so great, 
 that he had to fall back on the Nile. Vie de Mahomet, par Gagnier, t. iii. p. 45. Leo 
 Afrieanus, p. 585, cd. 1032. Akbah, a brave commander, was sent again in 680, and 
 in:in-hrd through .Mauritania with little opposition, but perished, as well as his successor, 
 Zobeir, in an insurrection of the natives. 
 
 Akbar founded Kairouan; and Hassan, a.d. 698, attacked Carthage, but had to retire
 
 TIIE AGLABITES. 425 
 
 with a large army into this province. He wrested it from the hands of the 
 Eomans, who, in the open country, unprovided with strong fortresses and 
 armies, were unable to resist the Arabs, animated by ambition and convic- 
 tion. Christianity and paganism yielded to the Crescent, and the power 
 •of the caliphs and the authority of the Koran prevailed in the whole region. 
 The caliphs of Bagdad held it till a.d. 800, when the African Arabs shook 
 off their yoke, and set up an independent sovereignty under the Emir 
 Almoumeuim. 
 
 Having launched the reader on the tide of Arabian history, we shall 
 give a tabular view of the dynasties in North-west Africa, adding a few 
 remarks on the most eminent sovereigns and revolutions.""' 
 
 Africa was governed by the caliphs, through their lieutenants and vice- 
 roys, from 709 to 800. Alwalid sent Musa, in the first instance, with 
 10,000 men, who completely subdued Bai-bary, and in 712 passed into 
 Spain. The followers of Musa i - uled over Africa, dependent on the ca- 
 liphs; and from 720 to 800, they remained subject to the house of Abbas. 
 The last of the followers of Musa who submitted to the caliphs was 
 Ibrahim-Ben-el-Aglab, founder of the Aglabites. Many Christians had 
 fled to Europe in this period. In 750 the lieutenant of the caliphs, called 
 Abdoulrahman, rebelled, without success ; but under Caliph Haroun-el- 
 Baschid, in S00, Aglab made himself independent. Haudenis-Ben-Ab- 
 
 before a large Greek force; which was, however, ultimately entirely discomfited; when the 
 city of Dido and Utica fell into the hands of the Arabs. 
 
 An attempt of the aborigines to resist the invaders, under a princess and prophetess 
 named Catrina, was equally unsuccessful. Leo Afric. p. 575. Africa; Descriptio. Mor- 
 gan's History of Algiers, p. 162. Nachrichten und Bemerkungen, &c. vol. ii. Dr. Rus- 
 sel, p. 116, &c. 
 
 * The history of Africa under the Mussulman comprises three periods — 1st, the Arab 
 period, from a.d. 647 (Hegira 27) to a.d. 971 (Hegira 361) embracing two dynasties. The 
 Fatimite Khalif Moez Ziddin then leaves Kairouan to go to Egypt, leaving the go- 
 vernment of Africa in the hands of Ben-Zivi-ben-Mnad of the Berber tribe of the Sanhadja. 
 The Arab period lasted 321 years. The Berber period embraces three dynasties, and ter- 
 minates in Morocco in 1519, in Algiers in 1515, in Tunis in 1570. This period lasted for 
 Morocco 518 years, for Algiers 542, and for Tunis 599. The third period lasts from 1515 
 to our times. In Morocco it has been Arab throughout ; in Tunis modified Turkish ; and 
 in Algeria since 1830 French. The modern period in Morocco has lasted 32S years, in 
 Algeria 315, in Tunis 277. The Mussulman rule in Bai-bary has thus lasted about twelve 
 centuries. The Arab period is divided into two orthodox d3'nasties, the Omuiiades and 
 Abassides; and one schismatic African, the Fatimites. The Berber period embraces, 1st, 
 the dynasty of the Sanhadja ; 2, the dynasty of the Almoravides, or the Lemtouna San- 
 hadja ; 3d, the dynasty of the Almohades, a combination of the Zenata and the Mas- 
 monda. The first dynasty is divided into two branches, a, the Beni-Mnad from a.d. 971 
 to 1087 (480 Heg.); duration 126 years, b, that of the Beni-Hammad from A.D. 996 (Heg. 
 3S6) to 1149 (Heg. 544); duration 153 years. 
 
 The third period embraces the praetorian sway of Turkish and French Janissaries. 
 
 Under the Arab period, the capital under the Asiatic khalifs was at Kairouan in Tunis; 
 under the African caliphs at Mehadia; under the Sanhadja Berbers, first branch at Aehir, 
 on the road from Ben-Sada to Bugia, then at Kairouan. The second branch at Bugia, 
 the Almoravides at Morocco, and also the Almohades, till the division of their empire.
 
 426 
 
 THE EDKISITES. 
 
 doulrahman, an Arab chief, opposed him ; he was, however, beaten and 
 killed in a battle, and his followers submitted to Aglab, who is represented 
 as a great patron of learning and the arts. About this time the empire of 
 Morocco was also founded by a reputed descendant of the Prophet. Ali- 
 Edris, such was his name, was poisoned ; but the Edrisites held his empire 
 long.* 
 
 Then the branch of the Beni-Mrin made Morocco and Fez their capital; that of the Beni- 
 Zeian settled at Tlemcen; and that of the Beni-Hafes at Tunis. 
 
 The following tree (extracted from the Exploration Scientifique) representing the Ara- 
 bian conquests and dynasties, may make it still clearer. 
 
 Oriental Caliphs. 
 Damascus. Bagdad. Al-Walid. Ommiads. Abassides. 
 
 Tarik and Musa conquer 
 Spain, 712. 
 
 The Ommiad Abderrah- 
 man, 755, founds an in- 
 dependent caliphate in 
 Spain. 
 
 The Spanish caliphate 
 split up into ten king- 
 doms. 
 
 Fatimites in Egypt de- 
 posed in 1211 by Sala- 
 din. Kurdic aud Mam- 
 luk kingdom founded in 
 Egypt, 1250. The Bag- 
 dad caliphate melts gra- 
 dually into the jm-ctorian 
 protectorate of the Seld- 
 juk Turks, till Bagdad 
 itself is stormed, sacked, 
 and ruined by the Mo- 
 guls, 125S. 
 
 Tarik and Musa conquer 
 Africa, which remains 
 dependent till 788. 
 
 I 
 In 78S the Edrisites, fol- 
 lowers of Ali, found an 
 independent empire at 
 Fez. 
 
 Under Haroun-al-Rasckid, 
 Kairouan and Tunis be- 
 come independent under 
 the Aglabites, a.d. 800. 
 
 Edrisites and Aglabites 
 swallowed up by the Fa- 
 timite caliphs of Egypt, 
 90S. 
 
 Fatimite empire broken up 
 in 1211. Africa a prey 
 to the Zeirites, Mora- 
 beths, and Almohades, 
 1250 to 1517. 
 (See Herder's Philosophy of History, vol. ii. p. 372. Schlotzer's Geschichte von Nord 
 Afrika. Cardonne's History of the Arabs in Africa and Spain. ) 
 
 * The followers of Aglab were his son Abil- Abbas- Abdoulah, 811; his brother Ziade- 
 toullah, 815 ; his brother Abou-Akkal, 837 ; bis son Aboul- Abbas, 846 ; his son Ishak, 
 875; his son Aboul- Abbas- Abdoulah, and his son Ziadotoullah, till 90S. The Edrisites 
 also ruled till the year 908. (Eebuhner, vol. ii. Herder's Philosophy of History, vol. ii. 
 Geschichte von nord-westlichcn Africa. Exploration Scientifique.) 
 
 The new empire of the Aglabites lasted for moro than a century, having for its capital 
 Kairouan, and including the ancient kingdoms of Mauritania and Massy lia, with the re- 
 public of Carthage. Several of these Aglabite caliphs assumed the title of Mohammed, 
 and signal] led their reigns by military and naval achievements not unworthy of the apos- 
 tolic age of Moslem history. Largo bodies of their troops served occasionally in the mer- 
 cenary armies of Bagdad, helping the Abassides to uphold their tottering authority in the 
 East. Crichton's Arabia, vol. ii. p. 48. 
 
 The same author also informs us that, in 909 Aim Abdallah, emir or governor of Sicily, 
 
 defeated the caliph of Kairouan, and drove the Aglabites from the throne, bestowing the 
 
 ant caliphate on ObeidaHah, one of the posterity of Ali, who assumed the title of Ma-
 
 THE FATIM1TES. 427 
 
 Many insurrections occurred in their reigns ; and separate provinces 
 "were formed into separate independent states. Under Ishak, Algiers re- 
 volted. Excepting Abou-Akkal, and Aboul-Abbas-Abdoulah, they were 
 princes unworthy of the throne 3 — Ishak was a monster. The body- 
 guards of these regents were Negros ; and Ishak is said to have had 
 100,000, according to Cardonne.* 
 
 The armies of the caliph of Bagdad, which invaded West Africa at this 
 time to reduce it, were beaten back. Ziadetoullah, the last of the Ag- 
 labites, being a weak prince, was deserted by his subjects, and fled ; and 
 Obeidoullah usurped his authority. Obeidoullah left it to his son Aboul- 
 Cassem-Mahomet-Ben-Obeidoullah, who took the name of Mahadi, and 
 was the head of the Fatimites, giving out that he was descended from 
 Ali. The Edrisites, in 908, were put down and extirpated by him, and 
 he recovered much of Sicily ; in 9 1 2 he even attacked Egypt, but could 
 retain only Alexandria. He built the town of Mahadi on the ruins of 
 Aphrodisimus. In 933 he died, having reigned twenty-five years,-)- leav- 
 ing the government to his son, who was much inferior to him in capacity. 
 Zeir, a man of distinguished family, founded under him by degrees a 
 powerful state in Morocco. He built a city called Ashir, by the help of 
 the regent Biemlillah, who gave him an eminent architect. In 935 Abu- 
 Jezid, the king's prime-minister, conspired against him; and he fled to 
 Mahadi, where he died during the siege in 945. His son, who beat the 
 consjiirators, was a distinguished orator, according to Arabian authorities, 
 and reigned seven years. His son Moez-Ledmillah succeeded him in 952. 
 He was a man of talent, conquered Egypt in 968, and reigned seventeen 
 years. He gave his African dominions as a fief to Jussuf-Ben-Zeiri, the 
 son of Zeir, when he went to Egypt ; and Jussuf was invested with them 
 as a dependency on the caliphs of Egypt. This was an act of unparalleled 
 liberality on the part of Moez, as he had a large family himself. The 
 Zeirites possessed the greatest part of North Africa till the year 1148. J 
 
 Manj r insurrections occurred under the Fatimite dynasty ; they were, 
 however, none of them such monsters as the Aglabites, though the taste 
 for piracy increased amongst the Arabs at this period. The Barbary king- 
 
 hadi, or Director of the Faithful, built a new city, winch he called Mahadia, and claimed 
 the distinction of being the founder of the Fatimite dynasty in Africa, when he soon put 
 an end to the Edrisites. f 
 
 * Under Ziadetoullah, in 827, Euphemius, a Greek fugitive, led 10,000 Arabs, 700 
 horse, and 100 ships into Sicily. He himself died; but most of the island was sub- 
 dued ; and Syracuse at last was conquered, together with Crete. Afterwards the Arabs 
 lost ground, and Syracuse. Ishak, in 880, sent a great army to Sicily. Syracuse was re- 
 taken, after which they abandoned Sicily, and returned to Africa laden with booty. 
 
 •|- Nachrichten und Bemerkungen, vol. ii. 
 
 J YusufZeiri reigned from 972-983; Abil-Cassem-Mansour, 983-996; Abou-Menad-Badis, 
 996-1017; Moaz, 1017-1107; Yahia, 1107-1115; Ali, 1115-1121 ; Hassan-Ben- AH, 1121-1148.
 
 428 THE ALMOHADES. 
 
 dom was a dependency of Egypt under these sovereigns ; but under Moez, 
 the caliph tried to recover Egypt, and a war ensued. Troubles occurred 
 in the reign of Jussuf, who put them down, and conquered Fez and all 
 the possessions of the Spanish caliphs in Africa, except Ceuta. It is said 
 his wives were 1000 in number, and that seventeen children were born 
 to him in one day. Fez rebelled under his son, and the Beni-Hamads 
 got possession of the Fez territory, and maintained it 160 years. The 
 followers of Ali — Mohamedan dissenters, or heretics — were much perse- 
 cuted during the minority of Moaz-Temin, who had many wars in his 
 reign ; and though a great king, could not preserve order in his kingdom. 
 Under him the Almoravides, led by Abubeker, began to conquer a part of 
 West Africa, and extended their power under his son Jussuf-Tesfin to the 
 Straits of Gibraltar. * 
 
 The Sicilians conquered the coast of Africa from Tripoli to Tunis, 
 under the last of the Fatimites, Hassan-Ben-Ali. The different states 
 were now split into separate kingdoms. For 300 years their history is 
 nothing but a chronicle of petty Avars between petty states. We shall, 
 therefore, here turn to notice the Almoravides, or Morabites.-j- 
 
 The Almohades arose under the son of Jussuf. Mohammed-ben- Abd- 
 allah, their founder, under the mask of sanctity, obtained much reputation. 
 He was of the race of MossanidesJ among the Atlas chain ; he had studied 
 theology in the East, and he taught a new system of divinity at Morocco 
 (1129), where he became popular, and began to abuse the Almoravides. 
 He got possession of Telmin by treachery. After this he died, and was 
 succeeded by his friend Abdelmoumein, with the title of prince of the 
 orthodox, who conquered Oran (1163), Fez, and Tremesen, afterwards 
 Morocco ; and ultimately became lord of all the state. Ishak, the last 
 of the Almoravides, was beheaded by his orders. He then took Budschia, 
 and the last of the Beni-Hamads, who had been kings of a territory called 
 Jajah for 160 years. § 
 
 This race of orthodox Unitarian priests was ultimately expelled by 
 Abdulac, governor of Fez ; and he, in the thirteenth century, was deprived 
 of his new conquests by the sharifs of Hascen, the descendants of those 
 Arabian princes whom Texefien had expelled. || 
 
 * Nachrichten tind Bemerkungen, v. ii. 
 
 t They wore an important race, and the following is their genealogy : — Abubeker- 
 Jusuf-Ben-Tesfin, his son; Ali-Ben-Jusuf, Tesfin-Ben-Ali, and Ishak-Tcsfin; the last in 
 1149. * 
 
 J He was a native of Cordova. Hist, of Spain : Lardner's Cab. Cyclop, vol. ii. p. 25. 
 
 § Here follows the list of the Almohade kings :— " Abdelmoumein, 1149-1160. Abu- 
 Jakub, 11(30-1184. Jakub-el-Mansur, 1185-1199. Mohammed-Ennasar, 1199-1211. Mo- 
 bam] l-Elmostamir, 1211-1223. Abdelwahid, 1223. Abdoulah-Aladel, 1224. Jahia, 
 
 L224 L226. Edria-ben-Jakub, 1226-1231. Abd-Eluahed-Ben-Edris, 1231-1242. Said-Abi- 
 Elhassan, Ali-Ben-Edria, 1242-1248. Omer-Ben-Ibrahim-Ben-Jakub-Mosteda, 1248-12b'6. 
 Abu-Dabus, 1269." (Nachrichten und Bemerkungen, v. ii.) 
 
 | The sharifs divided his kingdom into a number of small ones — Algeria alone being
 
 CARDINAL XIMENES. 429 
 
 Spain, taking advantage of their dissensions, under the influence of 
 Catholic charity, sent a powerful fleet and army against Barbary, under 
 the Count Pedro of Navarre, in 1500; the churchman Ximenes accom- 
 panying the expedition, and inspiring the troops in the holy work of 
 slaughter, crucifix in hand. The Christian host conquered Oran, Bugia, 
 and some other places, and so alarmed the Algerines, that they put them- 
 selves under the protection of Selim-Eutemi. The Spaniards, however,, 
 succeeded in building a castle on the penon of the Mole in 1509, prevent- 
 ing the corsairs from going in or out; and they made the town of Algiers, 
 itself tributary to them. The territory of Algiers was at this time very 
 limited, though it had already made itself independent of Bugia. 
 
 "When Barbarossa arrived to help the natives against the Christians, 
 Salem -Aben-Toumi, or Eutemi, the Arab sheikh, had been appointed 
 king. Like our noble Saxon ancestors, the Turkish chief put to death 
 the sheikh whom he had come to assist, and Algiers found itself at the 
 mercy of the praetorians, who, as usual, established order by a Beign of 
 Terror.* 
 
 Algerine piracy owes its origin in part to the Christian charities of 
 Cardinal Ximenes and the Spanish Catholics, who, not satisfied with ruin- 
 ing Spain by expelling the Moors, strove to Christianise Africa by fire 
 and sword. t Ferdinand the Catholic and the cardinal captured Oran, 
 
 divided into 4: Tremecen, Tenez, Algiers, and Bngia. These petty monarchies continued 
 for some centuries in comparative peace and amity, till at length the king of Tremecen 
 violated some articles; and Abul-Ferez king of Tenez made him tributary to himself. 
 The latter dying, left three sons, which gave rise to new discords. 
 
 Xachriehten imd Bemerkungen, v. ii. Leo Africanus informs us that, about 1215, a 
 nourishing kingdom was founded at Timbuctoo, by a Moorish chief. Some of its rulers- 
 bad the reputation of warlike princes, who maintained a splendid court, encouraged com- 
 merce, and extended their frontiers in all directions. Crichton's Arabia, vol. ii. p. 56. 
 
 It was during this period, i. e. in the year 1270, that St. Louis, an honour to 
 Christendom and to France, inspired by the pious but mistaken prejudices of his age, led 
 an army into Africa to co-operate in the great work of the Crusades against the infidels. 
 Though a gloomy bigotry disfigured the faith of the Christian host, and its gentle saintly 
 king, yet Europe had not attained at that early period at the happy conclusion that 
 nothing is worthy of belief but what falls under the senses. 
 
 St. Louis landed near Carthage, where a few buildings stood, which he began to in- 
 vest, and captured in 1270, with a considerable host. But Africa even tben seems to 
 have been the grave of European adventurers; a violent plague and pestilential wind 
 decimated the Christian army, and its beloved commander breathed his pure soul away 
 on a heap of ashes, near the ruins of Carthage, just as a powerful reinforcement arrived 
 from Sicily, under his brother the king of Sicily, who, piously collecting the earthly re- 
 mains of the best king France ever saw, brought them back to Europe with the relics of 
 his army. Dr. Russel's Barbary States, pp. 265-266. 
 
 * For this part of Algerian history, consult Kebuhner's Nachrichten mid Beobachtun- 
 gen liber den Algieriscben Staat, Bremen, 1798-1800. v. ii., containing the fullest account 
 of Algerian history that the author has seen. Hist, of Spain : Lardner's Cyclop, vol. ii. 
 
 f Crithton remarks :— " This detested nation, whose conquest and expulsion were at- 
 tended with such atrocities, and such triumphs to the Catholic Church, were by far the 
 most industrious and skilful part of the Spanish population; and then- loss w a s a blow to
 
 430 BARBAROSSA. 
 
 the island of the Mole {Penon) of Algiers, and Bugia, and drove the Arabs 
 into the arms of the Turks. It is true that the towns on the Barbary coast 
 had occasionally before driven a sly trade in privateering, but it had not 
 become an organised system before the Turks arrived. 
 
 Two adventurers, the sons of renegades and corsairs, Baba- Aroudj* 
 and Khair-ed-Din,f courting fortune under the Mussulman flag, spread their 
 adventurous sails to the winds, which bore them to the coast of Algiers, 
 where they soon after became two celebrated pashas, and founded a praeto- 
 rian sway of Janissaries. J 
 
 We cannot enter here into a minute enumeration of the deys in 
 chronological order, and an analysis of their government has been already 
 o-iven. Charles V., unlike modern emperors, aspired to be the guardian 
 and saviour, rather than the scourge of Christendom. In 1535 he led a 
 powerful armament, comprising the flower of Christian chivalry to Tunis, 
 and after meeting some resistance, found his way into the town, dis- 
 gracing his triumph by the massacre of the population, who had spared 
 the Christian slaves when safety and the governor advised their extermi- 
 nation. Having liberated the slaves and humbled Tunis, Charles V. re- 
 turned to Europe, where new trials and triumphs awaited him till 1541, 
 when he resolved to chastise the insolence of Algiers. He led a noble 
 squadron and army against the pirate city in the worst season of the year, 
 against the advice of the Admiral Doria, and landing the armament, made 
 his approaches. But the fleet was shattered by a storm, and the army 
 
 the greatness and prosperity of that kingdom, from which it has never recovered." 
 Arabia, vol. ii. p. 62. 
 
 France is paying a similar penalty for the murder or expulsion of her Huguenots and 
 Socialists. 
 
 * Baba- Aroudj slew Eutemi, and governed the Moors in his stead, with the usual 
 brutal ferocity of praetorian soldiery. At length, after the sack of Tlemsen, which he had 
 taken by treachery also, flying from the Spaniards, who, jealous of his progress, were in- 
 vesting the place, he was killed on the banks of the Tafna, though he scattered gold 
 and treasure by the way to retard the pursuit of his foes. His brother Khaireddin, who 
 put himself under the protection of the Sidtan, Selim I., was afterwards made Capudan 
 Pasha, and assisted by his Janissaries retook the Penon opposite Algiers, which has ever 
 since acknowledged the sovereignty of the Porte till 1S30. (Nachrichten u. Bemerkungen, 
 v. ii. Dr. Piussel, p. 267. La Grande Kabylie, p. 9 et seqq. 
 
 t These men are reported to have been the sons of a potter in the Isle of Lesbos in the 
 Archipelago. That they sprung from the Greek, and not from the Turkish population of 
 the Levant, is evident from their names. See Bussel's Barbary States, p. 267. For a full 
 account of them, see Von Hammer's Geschickte des Osmanischen Reichs, 3ter Band. 
 
 Algiers was reduced by Baba- Aroudj in 1511, and the armament commanded by 
 the corsair was supplied by Solyman the Magnificent, Sultan of Turkey. Robertson's 
 : !harles V. v. ii. 
 
 % But these terrible rovers were not always and every whoro successful. Twice did 
 idj appoar beforo Bugia (1512-14), ami twice was he repulsed, notwithstanding 
 the co-operation of the Kabyles of the interior; but forty years afterwards Salah-Rais, his 
 second successor, gloriously avenged those checks (1555).
 
 DUQUESNE. 431 
 
 discomfited by the foe and the elements, though the gallant Ponce de 
 Balaguer plunged his sword in the Gate of Babazoun. Forced to ret in • 
 Charles, in bitterness of soul, embarked with difficulty at Cape Matifou, 
 and returned in sorrow to Europe. Algerine insolence increased and con- 
 tinued till 1830, though the powers of Europe sent many armaments to 
 batter and humble Algiers, most of which were complete failures.* 
 
 The only occurrences in the history of Algeria sufficiently important to 
 deserve a special notice during the Turkish rule, after the expedition of 
 Charles V., and before that of Exmouth, are the bombardment of Du- 
 quesne and the attempt of O'Reilly. Louis XIV., provoked by the out- 
 rages committed by the pirates on the coast of Provence, &c, sent Admiral 
 Duquesne in 1682 with a considerable force to chastise these outlaws, who, 
 unlike the Grand Monarque, cai-ried on robbery on a small scale. The 
 town assailed by bombs, — a recent blessing invented in Christendom, — was 
 soon enveloped in flames ; but a change of wind prevented Duquesne from 
 fully accomplishing his purpose, and it was not till the following summer 
 that he emptied his vials of wrath on the devoted regency. Sending 
 showers of bombs into the city, he reduced the inhabitants and authorities 
 to the greatest distress and to terms. These were the surrender of French 
 slaves and hostages ; but a revolution in the government and the murder 
 of the dey prolonged the hostilities. Duquesne, enraged at this, reduced 
 the greater part of the city to ashes with his shells ; yet the dey was un- 
 daunted and unmoved, and after putting to death all the French in his 
 
 A full and eloquent description of the two expeditions of Charles V. to Tunis and 
 Algiers will be found in .Robertson's History of Charles V., voL ii. ; also Dr. Eussel, 
 p. 325-330. Nachriehten u. Bernerkungen, vol. ii. Von Hammer, p. 239, 3ter Band. 
 
 "We shall now also present the reader with a table of the marine force of Algiers imder 
 the pirate government in a chronological order. The port of Algiers possessed, in 1568, 
 80 piratical vessels. (Gramaye, Africa Illustrata.) In 1581 it had 35 galleys manned 
 by from 18 to 20 benches of rowers, and 30 brigantines. (Haedo, Topografia y Istoria 
 General de Argel. Valladolid, 1612.) In 15S8, independently of some frigates, the num- 
 ber of galleys amounted to 25. (Pierre Dan gives, with his habitual exactness, the nume- 
 rical state of these. Galleys, 35 ; benches of rowers, 708. The bench contained, at a mean 
 estimate, 8 men, and the number of combatants was half that of the rowers, so that the 
 service of the galleys alone at Algiers employed 2800 of the first, and 5600 of the second ; 
 the latter were Kabyles and Christian slaves. A modification was introduced into their 
 armaments and tactics, in 1634, through the progress of European artillery. In that year 
 there were at Algiers only 9 galleys, with 131 benches of rowers ; but it had 70 ships, with 
 from 25 to 50 guns of different calibres. Haedo, c. 11.) In 1659, the Algerine cruisers 
 consisted of 23 vessels of a uniform class, each mounting 50 guns, and with a complement 
 of 400 men. In 1662, the celebrated Dutch admiral De Ruyter blew up 22 Algerine 
 frigates ; but notwithstanding this disaster, the naval power of Algiers was maintained on 
 the same menacing footing as previously, imtil the time of the expeditions of Duquesne and 
 D'Estrees, under Lotus XIY. In 1825, the port of Algiers possessed 14 vessels of war of 
 different classes, carrying collectively 336 guns. Now nothing exists in the shape of a 
 native marine, excepting a few small sandals, used as fighting vessels. 
 
 Our space forbids our inserting here the substance of a curious document drawn up by 
 the Regency, before the French conquest, on the subject of the tributes levied on European 
 powers. The reader will find it in Baron Baude and St. Marie.
 
 432 LORD EXMOUTH. 
 
 power, he blew their consul to atoms at the mouth of a gun. The admiral, 
 exasperated now beyond measure, reduced the fortifications, shipping, 
 arsenals, and stores to a heap of rubbish. 
 
 >Such was the first occasion on which a French and Algerian force 
 learnt to appreciate each other's gentleness and forbearance. They have 
 both made considerable progress in these amenities of war at a more recent 
 date. 
 
 As regards the expedition of O'Reilly, it was not so creditable to the 
 strategy and science of Christendom as that of Duquesne. In 1775 this 
 general landed with a Spanish host near the town, but owing to the vacil- 
 lation and misunderstandings of the chiefs and the unsteadiness of the 
 troops, he was compelled to re-embark in haste and with considerable loss, 
 though he commanded a force amply sufficient to have reduced Algiers, if 
 well officered and well disciplined. But Barrosa, Talavera, and the national 
 debt have enabled us to appreciate the skill of Spanish strategy and the 
 conciliatory character of Spanish commanders.* 
 
 When Waterloo gave Europe breathing time, it started on surveying 
 the audacity of the Algiers pirates, who, while the Christians were mur- 
 dering each other, had carried their special branch of industry to great 
 perfection. The coasts of Italy were in perpetual terror, and the pirate 
 state was the scourge and bully of the Mediterranean, invading Elba, 
 Calabria, Malaga, &c. At length they bearded the British lion by in- 
 sulting our flag, whereupon General Maitland was sent to Tunis and Lord 
 Exmouth to Algiers to ask for satisfaction. Though a few Christian slaves 
 (1816) were liberated on this occasion, the pirates soon resumed their old 
 attitude and practices. AVhen Lord Exmouth went up almost unattended 
 to the dey's levee, the Janissaries were on the point of cutting him to 
 pieces ; and no sooner had his squadron left than the British consul was- 
 loaded with chains, and Captain Dashwood and a British surgeon, Avho 
 attempted to rescue his wife and son, were dragged away amidst insults 
 and blows. Greater atrocities followed at Oran, and the massacre of coral 
 fishers near Bona filled up the measure of iniquity. Britain, Avhose ear 
 used to be ever open to the cry of oppression, till Austrian gold and inso- 
 lence, with the Peace Society, emasculated her foreign policy, was roused to 
 magnanimous wrath by these outrages. A powerful armament sailed for 
 Algiers under the gallant Exmouth, t and was joined at Gibraltar by a 
 Dutch squadron under Rear-Admiral Capellen. The Dey Omar, an iron 
 man of stern will, threw away the scabbard and prepared to meet his foe. 
 The batteries of Algiers were mounted with a thousand guns, and 30,000 
 Arabs were encamped under the walls, when Exmouth drew nigh (August 
 26, 1816). But Omar did not know British seamen. The fleet sailed 
 
 * Dr. Russcl, pp. 332-334. Nachrichten mid Bomerkungon, vol. ii. 
 + Dr. Russcl, p. 340. Salame's Expedition to Algiers.
 
 LORD EXMOUTH. 
 
 433 
 
 majestically up within pistol-shot of the mole, crowded with Turks, and at 
 a given signal discharged one of those crashing broadsides that has never 
 yet seen a peer. Crumbling walls and crying wretches attested the weight 
 of British metal; and though the Turks fought well, after a hard conflict 
 of some hours, the wreck of walls and towers, the explosion of powder- 
 niagazines, and the burning of the Algerine ships, gave the dey a taste of 
 the British navy. The Turks had held out bravely, and their loss was 
 great; when the dey, seeing that Algiers was about to be a heap of rubbish, 
 lowered his tone, proposed negotiation, and came to terms. Algiers was 
 forced to refund the money extorted from the little Italian states, to 
 restore without ransom all Christian slaves, and to promise from hence- 
 forth to abstain from her iniquitous industry. British cannon had once 
 again spoken to the purpose in favour of justice and charity. But the 
 dey's promise was not more binding than a Russian Czar's oath, and 
 rapine was as dear to the praetorians of Algiers as to those of Paris. Omar 
 was strangled because he had been unfortunate; and Hussein showed himself 
 as partial to his neighbours' goods as the free and independent citizens of 
 the United States. 
 
 FRENCH LANDING AT TOKRE CHICA (1330). 
 
 Our limited space obliges us to compress the account of the French 
 conquest* into a chronological sketch, with a few notes on the most 
 
 * There is reason to believe that Charles X. and his minister, Prince Polignac, were 
 quite sincere in the assurances given to Lord Aberdeen, that the only object of the 
 
 E E
 
 434 CAPTURE OF ALGIERS. 
 
 stirring episodes of the war. The landing of the troops took place, almost 
 without opposition, on the 14th June, 1830. On the 19th they were 
 vigorously attacked at Staoueli in the Sahel by the Turks, who were de- 
 feated, though mustering 50,000 men. The French loss was 60 killed, 450 
 wounded. Other skirmishes took place, and on the 29th the trenches 
 were opened in front of Algiers. July 4th, the Emperor's Fort was bat- 
 tered in breach, and partly demolished; and July the 5th, Algiers was de- 
 livered into the hands of the French, who captured 15,000 brass cannon, 
 and about 2,028,500?.* The Turkish troops were disbanded, and the Dey 
 suffered to go to Naples. f 
 
 French expedition was the thorough extinction of Algerian piracy, so long the scourge 
 and terror of feeble commercial states ; but it was one of the cruel necessities of Louis 
 Philippe's precarious position — resting, as it did, wellnigh exclusively upon the timid sym- 
 pathies of the moneyed and middle classes, instead of upon those far more powerful but- 
 tresses of continental thrones, the traditions and instincts of a numerous army, and the 
 passions and prejudices of the great bulk of the population, — that he was compelled to 
 temporise with every whim and vanity of the popular mind that happened to be in any 
 way associated with the military glory of France. Compelled by this pressure, the citizen- 
 king's government, after the exhibition of much vacillation and infirmity of purpose, finally 
 repudiated the engagement with Great Britain, and, admittedly against their better 
 judgment, prosecuted the war, sometimes with languid irresolution, at others with re- 
 morseless violence, till French Africa, as it is called, nominally comprised an area of 
 100,000 square miles (ultimately 160,000, as we have seen). 
 
 In 18-14, after the battle of Isly, an understanding was come to with Great Britain, by 
 which the retention of Algeria by France was acquiesced in, upon the agreed condition 
 that the French dominion should not be extended either east or west ; in other words, 
 that the independence of Morocco and Tunis should be respected. 
 
 Our space prevents us from chronicling the particulars of the rupture between France 
 and Algiers in 1827-30. Suffice it to say that, as usual, France had promised the liquida- 
 tion of a debt contracted under the empire, which she refused to pay after the restora- 
 tion, though there is generally said to be honour among thieves. Deval, the French 
 consul, being pressed on the subject by Hassan the Dey, at a levee, and giving a somewhat 
 sharp reply, was gratified with a coup Weventail, or box on the ear. The mercurial 
 Frenchman could ill endure this attentat, and leaving Algiers, reported his griefs at home. 
 The French government, on the plea of chastising the piratical insolence, but in reality to 
 support the tottering throne of Charles X. by a coup d' 'eclat, determined, after a three- 
 years' unsuccessful blockade of Algiers by their fleet, to reduce it with an army of 30,000 
 men under General Bourmont, a Frenchman, and naturally a man of accommodating prin- 
 ciples, like Ney, &C, first an imperialist and then a royalist. The fleet was commanded 
 I y Admiral Dupcrrd. They left Toulon on the 25th of May, 1830 ; and cruising off Algiers 
 on the 14th June, determined to land on the peninsula of Sidi-Feredge, or Torre Chica. 
 (Blofeld gives us a minute English version, the Tableau for 1S39 the official French ver- 
 sion of the invasion.) 
 
 * Since the French conquest a great decay has taken place in the Algerian marine, 
 owing to the blockade from 1827 to 1830, and the constant troubles during an occupation 
 of twenty-three years. There are now only about 1000 native sailors left. (Baron Baude, 
 vol. i. p. 61.) Before the conquest the port of Algiers alone reckoned more than three 
 times as many. In 1826, the last good year for Algiers, the port had 14 ships of war of 
 different kinds, carrying together 336 guns. 
 
 f On the news of the revolution of 1830, Bourmont, the traitor, proposed to return with 
 the expedition to France ; but Duperre opposed this, and Bourmont fled in a trader to 
 Trieste.
 
 DEFEAT OF TREZEL. 435 
 
 The command was next bestowed on Clauzel, who arrived Sept. 10th, 
 the army amounting at that time to 37,357 men and 3094 horses. Medeah 
 was conquered in November, and Oran occupied Dec. 10th. In Feb. 
 1831 General Berthezene was appointed commander- in chief; but he was 
 superseded in Nov. 1831 by General Savaiy, Due de Rovigo.* Bona was 
 reoccupied (May 1832) by General Yousouf and Captain Armandy. 
 
 The French army in Africa consisted in 1833 of 23,545 men and 
 1800 horses. Abd-el-Kader, who about this time had been appointed 
 Bey of the province of Oran, not without violent opposition from many 
 rival chiefs, is reported by French authorities to have been beaten by 
 them, Oct. 10th, 1833, at Ain-Beida, and at Tamozanat on the 3d of 
 September, after he had raised an insurrection against the French among 
 the tribes. General Trezel was appointed governor Sept. 1833. After 
 a determined attack and defence, Bugia was taken (Sept. 29th, 1833); and 
 Sept. 26th a treaty had been concluded in the west between General 
 Desmichels and Abd-el-Kader. But the French complain, probably with- 
 out any reason, as usual, that the convention of Sept. 26th was not well 
 observed by Abd-el-Kader; whereupon a remonstrance and fresh hosti- 
 lities ensued (June 1835), and Trezel was discomfited, and forced to re- 
 treat with loss, during this campaign. + It is proper to add, that he had 
 
 * The Duke of Rovigo (Savary) conferred additional lustre on his name by his brilliant 
 administration in Africa. Trained in a good school, he was aware of the expediency of 
 making an example of the refractory, and he resolved to bring the Arabs to order by a 
 master-stroke. He enjoys the enviable distinction of introducing razzias into French 
 strategy ; and by teaching the noble youth of France to murder the unprotected and the 
 sleeping in the holy stillness of night, he had the merit of preparing the glorious era when 
 a French razzia strewed the boulevards of Paris with the corpses of women and cliildren, 
 and the thief in the night stole the liberties of his country. 
 
 On the night of the 6th of April, 1833, a battalion of the foi-eign legion and a squadron 
 of chasseurs fell suddenly on the unsuspecting Ben-Ouffias, and the morning's sim rose 
 on the mangled bodies of the entire tribe, surprised and slain whilst they slept! Tidings 
 of this Christian massacre flew, as on the wings of fire, through the land, everywhere 
 kindling into flame the yet smouldering passions of the vast majority of the country popu- 
 lation, and lighting up the tierce war of despair, which has since cost France so dear alike 
 in men, money, and reputation. So universal was the outbreak, that, in the opinion of the 
 Duke of Rovigo himself, his great lesson necessitated immediate and powerful reinforce- 
 ments. They were granted ; and when the duke's love of order was severely censured by 
 the turbulent and factious deputies, his conduct was defended on the plea of necessity. 
 It is refreshing to find, however, that many French ofiicers entitled to a share of the spoil 
 obtained from the Ben-Ouffias razzia refused to contaminate themselves by its acceptance ; 
 and that Savary arrived death-stricken in Paris, and died there in the June following the 
 example of the Ben-Ouffias. The reader will be reminded by this accident of Lactantius' 
 idle superstitions recorded in his book De Mortibus Persecutorum. 
 
 + It was in this campaign (1S35) that General Trezel was tempted into an ambush by 
 an Arab spy, who led the army into a morass, when it was met by a shower of balls from 
 Abd-el-Kader's troops, and whence it was with difficulty rescued by the rear-guard. 
 Trezel also lost his way on the road back to Arzeu, and became involved in a narrow and 
 dangerous defile, in the midst of which his troops were assailed with an avalanche of stones 
 from the Arabs on the heights, presenting a parallel scene to the war in the Tyrol in 1809. 
 A granite hail- tempest rained on the devoted column, which was entirely broken. Sav/oz
 
 43G SIEGE OF CONSTANTINA. 
 
 been superseded by Drouet d'Erlon (Sept. 26th, 1834), who was the 
 founder of the Spahis, an auxiliary native force, but who was himself 
 superseded by Trezel again in 1835;* the French government of that clay 
 betraying the hesitation and imbecility of the Tory ministry at the time 
 of the Convention of Cintra. 
 
 Marshal Clauzel succeeded Trezel in August 1835, the French power 
 having lost ground in Algeria at this time. The Hadjoutes, a turbulent 
 tribe in the Sahel, obeyed Abd-el-Kader, who had concentrated a formi- 
 dable force in the west of Algeria, which the French government sought 
 to intimidate by an expedition to Mascara, that was projected notwith- 
 standing the absence of the foreign legion, which had been lent to Spain 
 at this period. In Oct. 1835 the island of Harchgoun, opposite the mouth 
 of the Taafna, Avas occupied ; Mascara was taken Dec. 5th, and Tlemsen 
 itself .about the same time. 
 
 A camp was established on the Taafna in April 1836, and an action 
 took place there on the 25th, when the Tableau states that 3000 French 
 engaged 10,000 natives; and some of the enemies being troops of Mo- 
 rocco, an explanation was required of Muley-Abd-er-Eachman, the em- 
 peror, who said that the assistance was given to the Algerines without 
 his knowledge. On July 6th, 1836, Abd-el-Kader suffered a disastrous 
 defeat on the river Sikkak, near Tlemsen, at the hands of Marshal Bu- 
 geaud.-j- 
 
 November 1836, the first expedition was formed against Constan- 
 tina, and on the 9th, as we have seen before in another place. After the 
 failure of Clauzel, General Damremont was appointed governor, Feb. 
 12th, 1837; and on the 30th of May the treaty of the Taafna between 
 General Bugeaud and Abd-el-Kader left the French government at liberty 
 to direct all their attention against Constantina, a camp being formed at 
 Medjoy-el-Ahmar in that direction.^ 
 
 An army of 10,000 men set out thence on the 1st of October, 1837, for 
 Constantina. On the 6th it arrived before Constantina; and on the 13th 
 the town was taken with a severe loss, including Damremont. Marshal 
 Vallee succeeded Damremont as governor. 
 
 The fall of Constantina destroyed the last relic of the old Turkish ^go- 
 vernment. The garrison of Constantina consisted first of 2500 men, and 
 
 q ■"' />< tit became the order of tho day, and the French troops ran for their life, with the 
 I ss of 1200 men, caissons, cannon, baggage, &c. ; nor would a man have escaped, had not 
 the Arab3 been detained by the plunder. This murderous business was Abd-el-Kader' s 
 1 1 battle of the Makta ; nor is it the first time that tho tricolor has been trampled in 
 I ist by freemen fighting for their homes and rights. (Alison's Europe. Chambers's 
 Tracts 1 353. The Tableau gives a palliating version of the aflair.) 
 * Tableau de la Situation, 1839 : Precis historique. 
 t Tableau, L839 : ibid. 
 
 Clauzel's pamphlet. Baudc, vol. ii. chap. ix. Bcrbrugger, &c. Tableau, 1S39. 
 
 +
 
 RISE OF ABD-EL-KADER. 437 
 
 then was raised to 5000, the Bataillon de Constantiue being formed of 
 native Arabs by Marshal Yallee. 
 
 By the 27th January, 1838, 100 tribes had submitted to the French. 
 
 A road was cleared in April by General Negrier from Constantiue to 
 Stoi'a on the sea. This road, passing by the camps of Smendou and the 
 Arrouch, was 22 leagues in length. The coast of the Bay of Stora, on the 
 site of the ancient Busicada, became covered with French settlers; and 
 Philippeville was founded Oct. 1838, threatening to supplant Bona. 
 
 Abd el-Kader advancing in December 1837 to the province of Con- 
 stantina, the French advanced also to observe him; then both retired, 
 without coming to blows. A misunderstanding which arose respecting 
 the second article of the treaty of Taafna was settled in the beginning 
 of 1S38. 
 
 The province of Constantina was divided into arrondissements by 
 M. Vallee. 
 
 1st Jan. 1839. General tranquillity prevailed. 
 
 The Semitic spirit and genius have found a fitting representative in 
 Abd-el-Kader, * the man of brave and gentle heart, the Avarrior-prophet of 
 Islam, a man of the true Saladin stamp. With a rapture of devotion 
 foreign to our icy fogs, and a purity of life unknown to Christian sultans, 
 he has upheld the glory and independence of his race and country with a 
 gallantry and endurance worthy of a Tell, and has yielded to the frowns 
 of fate with the resignation of a Magyar, j His elocution is brilliant and 
 lively, his voice hollow, and his utterance interrupted by ejaculations of 
 Ensholla (God willing). He never ventures, like so many Christians, to 
 build on the future without deferring to a Higher Power. Always modest 
 in manner and humble in apparel, he is a living criticism on the Tuile- 
 ries and George IV. Frenchmen call him an ambitious fanatic; Christen- 
 dom a visionary adventurer; and Islam a hero-saint. Time will decide 
 which verdict is nearest the truth. 
 
 * The most graphic account of Abd-el-Kader is given in Berbrugger's Algt'rie, part il 
 See also Blofeld, p. 389, &c; Lieut.-Col. Scott's Visit to the Esmailla of Abd-el-Kader; 
 and Les Prisonniers d'Abd-el-Kader, being the second part of Lady Duff Gordon's 
 French in Algiers, 1845. 
 
 + Abd-el-Kader is about five feet seven inches in height, and is far from being the 
 Bluebeard that many French authorities have described. He is remarkable for an air of 
 melancholy gentleness, which can be seen even through the severity that he was some- 
 times forced to assume. The prevailing expression of his countenance is profoundly reli- 
 gious; and he has a certain ascetic appearance that 2-ecalls the noble heads of warrior 
 monks handed down to us from the middle ages, — those men who were not too cultivated 
 to feel, or too fashionable to express, the emphasis of a sincere faith. His Arab coat and 
 burnouse give an additional force to this resemblance. His face is long and very pale, his 
 beard black and bushy, his eyes blue and very beautiful; and he has contracted a stoop 
 from the pressure of his cowl. 
 
 The name Abd-el-Kader f . jlj \\ j^e'x means 'the servant of the powerful.' He 
 was one of six children, five boys and one girl; and his place of birth, in 1806, was in the
 
 438 THE TAAFNA TREATY. 
 
 When Abd-el-Kader assumed the royal title of Sultan and the com- 
 mand of a numerous arm)', the French, with republican charity and frater- 
 nal sympathy, sought to infringe the Taafna treaty, and embroil the Arab 
 hero, in order to ruin his rising empire, and found their own on its ashes. 
 The Emir had been recognised by the whole country, from the gates of 
 Ouchda to the river Mijerda; and not being implicated in any foreign 
 
 vicinity of Mascara. His mother, Leila Zahara, who is still living, and shared his captivity 
 in France, was said to be a beautiful girl. Mahl-ed-Din-Hadj was the name of his father. 
 It is related that on visiting the tomb of a celebrated marabout relative, not far from Bag- 
 dad, one Mulei- Abd-el-Kader, who had lived a century, half of which on the pinnacle of a 
 rock, a kind of Stylites, fed by a starling, the departed saint appeared to them, and pre- 
 sented the young hero with a remarkable apple. Abd-el-Kader, on returning home and 
 beginning to eat it, the same halo of azure light encircled his brows that had been wit- 
 nessed at his birth. Whether this was an odylic or a mythical light, we leave as a pro- 
 blem to the learned to solve. He married Leila Kheira, said to be a beauty according to 
 the Arab standard. Blofeld, p. 389. 
 
 We now proceed to analyse the native power hostile to France. Abd-el-Kader, 
 once mighty, is now sadly fallen. In 1840 he was in his zenith. He had at that period 
 500 infantry and 250 horse paid and clothed by himself; his tent was guarded by a body 
 of 30 negroes; and 100 camels followed the army, carrying the provisions, &c. The 
 principal strength of Abd-el-Kader has always been in cavalry; and he has never had 
 any artillery worth mentioning. The Aga laboured hard to discipline the army, but 
 never succeeded. The Arab tribes always supported Abd-el-Kader with a tribute in kind. 
 
 The family of Abd-el-Kader is one of the most ancient of Arab, some say Berber, de- 
 scent in Algeria. He is the third son of a patriarchal chief, who was a highly-venerated 
 marabout, who made twice a pilgrimage to Mecca; and took his son, then eight years 
 old, with him in his second journey. He also resided in Italy, and young Abd-el-Kader 
 was there with him; and was taught, in the course of his education, Italian, Arabic, read- 
 ing and writing, and the interpretation of the Koran. At the time that the tribes re- 
 volted from the French, they begged the father to place himself at their head; but he 
 referred them to Abd-el-Kader, being too old himself for military duties. (See, for these 
 facts, Col. Scott's Visit to the Esmailla of Abd-el-Kader, &c. 1839.) 
 
 Abd-el-Kader being chosen, raised a certain number of cavalry from each tribe, com- 
 posing the Union of Defence formed by the insurrectionary movement. These tribes 
 amounted then to 400 in number. With these levies he commenced his attacks upon 
 the French. Immediately after the Treaty of Taafna, 30th May 1837, between General 
 Bugeaud and Abd-el-Kader, the latter was made Emir. This dignity is identical with 
 prince,— religious and secular chief. Soon after he was made Sidtan of the whole territory, 
 from Ouchda (a frontier-town of Morocco) to the river Mijerda. The emir established all 
 things on the European system. Each province had a khalifa, who had a regiment of re- 
 gular infantry, consisting of about 1200 or 1300 men, and a company of French deserters 
 and renegades, sometimes amounting to 200 men; they had each also about 500 regular 
 cavalry. This system is, of course, now entirely overthrown. Milianah was first chosen 
 as his residence by the Sultan, and with great judgment; as the place is strong, and sup- 
 plied with water. Being driven out of Milianah by the French in 1840, he retired with his 
 property and treasure to Tekedcmpta, a rocky fastness of the Great Atlas beyond Mas- 
 cara. Abd-el-Kader planned to rebuild Tekedcmpta, which is a ruinous ancient city, 
 and to make it the capital of his dominions. The enclosure of the ancient town is 1800 
 feet long and 1150 broad. On a hill arc seen the ruins of the Casbah. At the foot of 
 \\\\- hill flows the Oued-Mina, which is a tributary of the SheUif. The Emir administered 
 justice in a very simple and summary manner. The contending parties were brought to his 
 t' ni ; the complaint was first made, witnesses were then called, the defence was next con- 
 ducted; ami at the end of these proceedings the Sultan decided singly and without appeal.
 
 THE TAAFNA TREATY. 439 
 
 war, he had established every thing on the European system, save his church 
 and faith, which were as yet innocent of atheism and pluralists.* Marshal 
 Valine was then governor; and Abd-el-Kader complaining to him of breach 
 of faith, was informed that the Marshal had unlimited authority to act as 
 he thought best. The Duke of Orleans, we are told, also wishing to make 
 recomioissance to Constantina as safely as possible, soiled his noble name 
 and character by causing a Jew at Oran to make a seal of the sultan, which 
 was put on passports for that purpose, and given to the kaids of the coun- 
 try through which the French troops went. The deception being found 
 out, the Arabs attacked them in all directions, not approving of such mis- 
 sionaries of Christian truth and honour. The sultan, still unwilling to 
 commence hostilities, assembled his khalifas, to hold a council as to what 
 was best to be done. One of his khalifas (Ben-allel) was absent, and 
 thought it useless to debate about the matter, and, while the sultan was 
 consulting, attacked the French convoy between Milianah and Algiers, and 
 put an end to all debates by taking off 200 heads. French authorities 
 give a different version of the rupture, but we are familiar with the vera- 
 city of French bulletins and Moniteurs; and though we believe the govern- 
 ment of Louis Philippe to have had more principle than is common in 
 Gaul, his satraps were never over-scrupulous, j- 
 
 The war was resumed, and many French razzias took place. They 
 once marched a large force from Algiers on Milianah to surprise the sultan's 
 camp. They failed in their chief object, but nearly captured the sultan 
 himself. He was surrounded in the middle of a French square, which 
 thought itself sure of the reward of 100,000 francs (4000J.) offered for 
 him ; but uttering his favourite " enskallah" (with the will of God), he 
 gave his white horse the spur, and came over their bayonets unwounded. 
 He lost, however, thirty of his body-guard and friends, but killed six 
 Frenchmen with his own hand 4 
 
 Still, notwithstanding his successes, Abd-el-Kader had beeu losing 
 
 * By the 7th article of the Taafna treaty, Abd-el-Kader was to be furnished with what- 
 ever arms or ammunition he required ; notwithstanding which, his oukil or agent at Algiers 
 was put in irons and sent to prison in France for having furnished him with the supplies 
 he had a right to demand, and also for having sent over to him some mechanics, which was 
 An infraction of the 10th article. 
 
 t These events are differently represented by Blofeld and the Tableau, 1S46. 
 
 J The French suffered severely at this time from sickness and the sword. In December 
 1841, Marshal Bugeaud (then governor) said to the minister of war, that only 4000 men out 
 of 60,000 were fit for active service. Some time before this, the French, following the frank 
 and manly plan of overreaching Spain in 1807, landed 4000 French soldiers dressed as 
 Turks, with bands of music in the Turkish style, commanded by Omar, son of the former 
 dey of Algiers. They issued proclamations, saying that France had given up Algeria, and 
 that Omar was appointed dey by the Porte ; that the war was no longer against infidels, 
 but the faithful ; and inviting the tribes to return to their old masters. Some deluded tribes 
 came in ; and then- grain, which they could not remove, was taken by Abd-el-Kader, whilst 
 they, as then - reward, found out the deception.
 
 440 THE BATTLE OF ISLT. 
 
 all his former power, as bis Arabs, though brave, could not match 80,000 
 French troops, with artillery and all the other ornaments of civilised 
 warfare. Seven actions were fought at the Col de Mouzaia, where the 
 Arabs were overthrown by the royal dukes, in 1841; and at the Oued 
 Foddha, where Changarnier, with a handful of troops, defeated a whole 
 population in a frightful gorge. It was on this occasion that, having no 
 guns, he launched his Chasseurs d'Afrique against the fort, saying, "Voila 
 mon artillerie ! " * 
 
 Abd-el-Kader had then only two chances, — the support of Muley-Abd- 
 er-Eahman, Emperor of Morocco; or the peace that the latter might con- 
 clude with France for him.t 
 
 General Bugeaud, who had replaced Marshal Vallee, organised a plan 
 of campaign by movable columns radiating from Algiers, Oran, and Con- 
 stantina; and having 100,000 excellent soldiers at his disposal, the results 
 as against the Emir were slowly but surely effective. General Negrier at 
 Constantina, Changarnier amongst the Hadjouts about Medeah and Mi- 
 lianah, Cavaignac and Lamoriciere in Oran, — carried out the commander- 
 in-chief's instructions with untiring energy and perseverance; and in the 
 spring of 1843 the Due d'Aumale, in company with General Changarnier, 
 surprised the Emir's camp 'in the absence of the greatest part of his force, 
 and it was with difficulty that he himself escaped. Not long afterwards 
 he took refuge in Morocco, excited the fanatical passions of the populace 
 of that empire, and thereby forced its ruler, Muley-Abd-er-Rahman, much 
 against his own inclination, into a war with France ; a Avar very speedily 
 terminated by General Bugeaud's victory of Isly, with some slight assist- 
 ance from the bombardment of Tangier and Mogador by the Prince de 
 Joinville.| 
 
 In 1845 the struggle was maintained amidst the hills by the partisans 
 of Abd-el-Kader; but our limits prevent us from dwelling on its parti- 
 
 * In 1844, the occupation of Algeria had cost 26,800,000/. Government had received- 
 first, the treasure taken at Algiers, 2,189. 480/. ; secondly, the proceeds of the revenue from 
 1831 to 1844, 1,840,000Z. The total loss, therefore, had been, up to 1S44, 22,670,520;. (Cas- 
 tellane, Souvenirs; Berbrugger; Blofeld, p. 389; Tableau, 1846.) 
 
 The Monitew AlgSrUn of the 15th February, 1844, said that the last account; placed 
 the esmaillah of Abd-el-Kader at Kesdir, the west point of the Chott-el-Gharbi (West 
 Chott), eighteen or twenty leagues south ofOuchda, containing barely 1200 tents. The 
 Balleb, a tribe subject to Morocco, supplied them with grain, and the Heumrianes with 
 dates. All the remaining troops of the Emir have assembled in a part of tho empire of 
 M..n.cco called Beni-Jala, consisting of about 320 foot and 120 horse. The tribes faithful 
 bo lis cause, exclusive of those of the Dahra, were dispersed on the frontier of Morocco, and 
 scarcely reckoned 1000 tents. 
 I :lofeld, p. 389 et seqq. 
 :,': Chambers's Tracts. In September 1S44. Abd-el-Kader had taken refuge in the in- 
 accessible chain of mountains called Er-Rif, running 200 miles along the whole line of the 
 Dortb coast of Morocco,— a region that was never yet subdued by the sovereigns of that 
 empire. (Blofeld, ubi 8 tprja.)
 
 THE CAVE OP KIIARTAXI. 441 
 
 eulars, save in one instance, honourable alike to the Christian temper of 
 the French commanders, and the civilised spirit of Christian warfare.* 
 
 The most remarkable events of IS J 7 were — 1st, the surrender of Bou- 
 Maza at Orleansville, 13th April; and L'd, Marshal Bugeaud's expedition 
 to Great Kabylia in May, detailed by M. Borrer, who accompanied him, 
 and by Colonel Daumas. This was the coup-de-thedtre of Bugeaud, who, 
 after conferring the blessings of capital punishment and infidelity on the 
 Kabyles, embarked for France to aid in strangling liberty at home and 
 throughout the Continent in 1 848-9. t 
 
 * On the night of the 12th of June, 1845, about three months before Marshal Bugeaud 
 left Algeria, Colonels Pelissier and St. Arnaud, at the head of a considerable force, at- 
 tempted a razzia upon the tribe of the Beni-Ouled-Riah, numbering, in men, women, and 
 children, about 700 persons. This was in the Dahra. The Arabs escaped the first clutch 
 of their pursuers; and when hard pressed, as they soon were, took refuge in the cave of 
 Khartani, which had some odour of sanctity about it : some holy man or marabout had 
 lived and died there, we believe. The French troops came up quickly to the entrance, and 
 the Arabs were summoned to surrender. They made no reply. Possibly they did not 
 hear the summons ; or perhaps the courage of despair had steeled them to await the attack 
 of their foes, however numerous and sure of victory those foes might be, and endeavour to 
 sell their lives as dearly as possible in the holy and vantage ground they had happily 
 reached. Colonels Pelissier and St. Arnaud would certainly not have been justified in 
 sacrificing the lives of the soldiers under their command by attempting to force a passage 
 through windings and intricacies thronged with armed and desiderate men ; but as there 
 was no other outlet from the cave than that by which the Arabs entered, a few hours' 
 patience must have boen rewarded by the unconditional surrender of the imprisoned tribe. 
 Colonels Pelissier and St. Arnaud were desirous of a speedier residt ; and by their order an 
 immense fire was kindled at the mouth of the cave, and fed sedulously during the summer 
 night with wood, grass, reeds, any thing that would help to keep up the volume of smoke 
 and flame which the wind drove, in roaring, whirling eddies, into the mouth of the cavern. 
 It was too late now for the unfortunate Arabs to offer to surrender ; the discharge of a 
 cannon would not have been heard in the roar of that huge blast-furnace, much less smoke- 
 strangled cries of human agony. The fire was kept up throughout the night ; and when 
 the day had fully dawned, the then expiring embers were kicked aside, and as soon as a 
 sufficient time had elapsed to render the air of the silent cave breathable, some soldiers were 
 directed to ascertain how matters were within. They were gone but a few minutes; and 
 they came back, we are told, pale, trembling, terrified, hardly daring, it seemed, to con- 
 front the light of day. No wonder they trembled and looked pale. They had found all 
 the Arabs dead — men, women, children, all dead! — had beheld them lying just as death 
 had found and left them : the old man grasping his grey beard ; the younger one grim, 
 rigid, stern as iron, with fanatic hatred and despair ; the dead mother clasping her dead 
 child with the steel gripe of the last struggle, when all gave way hut her strong love ! 
 (Chambers's Tracts ; Tableau, 1846.) 
 
 St. Arnaud and Pelissier were rewarded by the French minister; and Marshal Soult 
 observed, that "what would he a crime against civilisation in Europe might le a justifiable 
 necessity in Africa." It is in this manner that Algeria has proved an efficient school for 
 praetorian excesses and imperial incendiarism. The razzia has paved the way for the coup 
 d'ttat, and France has forged her own chains in Africa; but it can neither astonish the 
 chief nor the crowd of the gallant French army, if, with these illustrations before them, 
 their neighbours are not anxious to welcome an irruption, and are alive to the propriety of 
 taking due precautions to avoid a more familar acquaintance with the refined humanity of 
 French strategy. (Compare Southey's History of the Peninsular War, and Alison's History 
 of Europe. ) 
 
 -T The Arabs used to call Marshal Bugeaud the white-headed warrior. Borrer. (See 
 La Grande Kabylie, by General Daumas, chap, xi.)
 
 442 THE PALL OF ABD-EL-KADER. 
 
 For fifteen months part of the troops of the division of Oran were 
 watching the deira of Ahd-el-Kader. The situation of this noble chief 
 had been very precarious in 1846, at the time of the purchase of the 
 prisoners ; but had since improved, through his magical influence over the 
 glowing hearts and minds of the tribes bordering on Morocco. His elo- 
 quence, like that of the great Magyar, — fabulous to a hard-cash cotton- 
 spinning age, and a stumbling-block to steam-press and patent reviews, 
 overthrowing the logic and sneers of positivism and mythical theories, — 
 went direct to the manly hearts and faith of the free sons of the desert 
 and puszta, ignorant and innocent of court and cant, and stirred up the 
 mighty embers left within them by the burning enthusiasm of their Sa- 
 racen sires. The Arabs could not yet be brought to see the blessings of 
 private landed property, of law-suits, of stock-jobbing, of income-taxes, of 
 the reign of order, or of Jesuitical infidelity. 
 
 However, the march of intellect could not be stayed; the progress of 
 French civilisation was decreed, though based on treachery and bathed in 
 blood; and Abd-el-Kader, like Rome, had to bow to liberty, fraternity, 
 and equality. 
 
 A taste of French bayonets at Isly, and the booming of French guns 
 at Mogadore, had brought Morocco to reason, by that best of arguments 
 which has since put the curb in the mouth of the French people. Mo- 
 rocco sided with France, and threatened Abd-el-Kader, who cut one of 
 their corps to pieces, and was in June on the point of coming to blows with 
 Muley-Abd-er-llahman, the emperor.* But the Emperor of Morocco took 
 vigorous measures to oppose him, nearly exterminating the tribes friendly 
 to him; which drew off many partisans from the Emir, who tried to pacify 
 the emperor, but unsuccessfully. Three columns of Morocco troops pressed 
 on him, whilst Lamoriciere with 3000 men and 1000 horses aided them 
 on the side of Oran.t 
 
 Abd-el-Kader receiving the emperor's ultimatum, to which he would 
 not submit, determined on a desperate effort for liberty, worthy of his gal- 
 lant spirit. He resolved to attack the nearest camp to the deira, under 
 the orders of Muley- Ahmed, one of the emperor's sons. He failed, how- 
 ever, in surprising it, as the first camp had retired on the sound, on which 
 the Emir rushed with desperate valour. Many bit the dust ; but crushed 
 
 * A camp of Morocco troojis was formed by the emperor's nephew and the Kaid El- 
 Hamar in the Ta/.a district, to operate against the emir, who, anticipating them with 
 1200 regulars, 400 infantry, and 2000 irregular horse, reached the camp in the Oued-Aslif 
 by a forced march at night. The Moroccans, surprised, ran away, the emperor's nephew 
 escaping to Fas. El-Ffamar being captured, had his head cut off by Abd-el-Kader, who 
 tried, according to the French accounts, to gam the tribes by representing himself as 
 named to the sovereignty by the king of France. (Tableau, 1849, pp. 3, 4.) 
 
 t The colouring given to these facts in the Tableau i* somewhat questionable; as Na- 
 poleon I. had introduced a chronic system of lying into French official documents, and the 
 nephew of his uncle is too dutiful to depart from so good an example.
 
 ABD-EL-KADER. 
 
 443 
 
 by a force ten times liis own, he escaped with difficulty. He did not halt 
 till he reached Aguedin, near the Moulouia. The Duke of Aumale landed 
 at Nemours on the 23d of Dec, and the troops of Morocco being supplied 
 with ammunition by the French, hemmed in Abd-el-Kader again, who was 
 forced to leave the territory of Morocco ; but, in passing the Moulouia, the 
 Meucer Kabyles rushed on his deira, which seemed lost. By a gallant 
 effort, in which he lost half his best men, Abd-el-Kader covered its passage, 
 and reached the Oued-Kiss on the French frontier. And now he was lost. 
 He asked to negotiate, offered to surrender; and after 24 hours' discus- 
 sion he came to Sidi Brahim, the scene of his last exploits against the 
 French, where he was received with military honours, aud conducted to 
 the Duke of Aumale at Nemours.* 
 
 France has been severely abused for the detention of Abd-el-Kader 
 in Ham, yet perhaps ungraciously by the jailors of Napoleon, though the 
 latter was the terror of Europe, and the former the defender of his faith 
 and home. Never shall we deny the meed of praise when it is due to 
 generous friends or foes, and a gallant marquis and imperial swindler are 
 alike entitled to our laudations for their liberation of the high-minded 
 marabout, especially when we remember that the intimate friends of the 
 conservative soldier and praetorian leader are wont to flog refractory ladies 
 like cattle, and to string up obstinate gentlemen as innocently as if they 
 were dried herrings.-j- 
 
 Thus fell Abd-el-Kader, the modern Jugurtha, who united many of the 
 vices with most of the virtues of his race and faith. Though absolute, his 
 ear was open to justice, his heart to pity. Though a Mussulman, his life 
 was chaste and pure. A patriot, he did not see the sin of drawing the 
 sword in self-defence, notwithstanding the protests of the Peace Society. 
 Though an Arab and a conservative, he did not object to learn discipline 
 and arts from Christians and republicans; and though familiar with Euro- 
 pean thoughts and manners, he was not ashamed to feel and own a glowing 
 faith like his fathers. In him we behold a fabulous, meteoric character, 
 one of those dreamy beings whom it has not entered into the heart of 
 critics to conceive. The austerity of the Carthusian and the chivalry of 
 Bayard are married in this mysterious being, who looks on with his calm 
 melancholy eyes on the fall of his country and the stagnant faith of Chris- 
 
 * Depositing his sandals outside the apartment, he awaited the duke's signal to sit 
 down; and then observed in Arabic, " I should have wished to have done this sooner, but 
 I have awaited the hour decreed by God. I ask the aman of the king of the French for my 
 family and for me." 
 
 The ex-emir employed the 24th for the settlement of his personal affairs. In the even- 
 ing he embarked for Oran with the governor-general, and was thence sent on at once to 
 Toulon, with his mother, his wives, his children, and a suite of friends, &c; in all 97 per- 
 sons. (Tableau, 1849-50, pp. 3, 4.) 
 
 f Schlesinger's History of the War in Hungary, vol. ii. p. 229 and following. Prid- 
 ham's Kossuth, p. 198.
 
 444 ABD-EL-KADER. 
 
 tendom and Islam, with the unutterable sadness of the man of sorrows, and 
 the noble melancholy of the Magyar. 
 
 Saladins and Sidneys are rare in this age of loans, unsteady sceptres, 
 and tottering crowns ; and it is with regret we bid adieu at present to this 
 modern incarnation of chivalry and poetry, — the Star of the South.* 
 
 The year 1848 opened well for France, Bou-Maza and Abd-el-Kader 
 having submitted ; but the revolution of February, misunderstood both at 
 home and abroad, occasioned some troubles in the colony on the part of 
 the natives. The Kabyles and the Darha were the theatres of petty in- 
 surrections speedily quieted; and whilst Algerian generals were making 
 razzias on the Faubourg St. Antoine because its blouses wished to be free, 
 the burnouses of Algeria were fraternising with the advocates of liberty and 
 equality in the plains of the Tell and the uplands of Sahara. 
 
 But in 1849, whilst the friends of order were administering a quietus 
 
 * As surely as time rolls on and Europe goes ahead, under sovereign people or sove- 
 reign purple, it seems the fate of Indo-Germanic progress to grind individual soarings to 
 powder, and to crush original greatness into the undistinguishable conglomerate of a dull 
 uniformity. Oriental life has hitherto held aloof from this levelling process; but we much 
 fear that the infection of a mechanical, unspiritual hemisphere will shortly clip and square 
 Semitic notions, emotions, and sensations, according to the patent verdict of Berlin pro- 
 fessors and Paris academies. The aristocracy of nature is being levelled and surveyed by 
 economist theodolites, and all eccentricity will probably give up the ghost under the in- 
 fliction. 
 
 We have given the French official version of the surrender of Abd-el-Kader in the 
 text, which we propose to neutralise by an infusion of British bluntness. 
 
 The fallen Emir determined on surrendering himself to General Lamoriciere on certain 
 conditions, which were negotiated through the cadi of Tlemsen, who, General Lamoriciere 
 states, was of great service to him in this affair. The terms were first agreed upon verb- 
 ally, afterwards written and subscribed by both parties ; only one condition appeared in it 
 in reality, i. e. that the Emir and his family should be conveyed to Alexandria or to St. 
 Jean d'Acre, places indicated by himself. When the Due d'Aumale heard the news, he 
 personally assured the Emir that he entirely aj}proved and confirmed the terms, and that 
 they would be religiously respected. The Due d'Aumale had perfect good faith in this ; 
 but the reply of the French government to his announcement was, that he should be sent 
 over directly to France ! Hence they arrived at Toulon in the Asmodee, December 30th, 
 1847, and were shut up close prisoners at Amboise chateau, on the left bank of the Loire, 
 between Tours and Blois. Five weary years did he pass there, while monarchy, republic, 
 and empire ebbed and flowed without the castle's walls. At. last Louis Napoleon releases 
 him — an act of tardy justice, dictated perhaps by policy, Londonderry, and memory. A 
 captive himself in Amboise, he had shortly before escaped as a day-labourer with a plank 
 on his shoulder. Abd-el-Kader left France just as the news of the capture of Laghouat by 
 General Pelissier reached France. Almost on the spot where Themistocles and Hannibal 
 tasted the bitterness of exile, this noble chief finds comfort in his deep and glowing faith, 
 amidst the fall of dynasties and the wreck of creeds. He is reported to be engaged in 
 writing meditations on the Koran. That Abd-el-Kader signed the vote for Louis Na- 
 poleon's election to the empire cannot be laid to his charge. He was a prisoner, and gra- 
 de biassed his judgment. We know not tho future that awaits this brave spirit; but 
 though Turkey should crumble into dust, and [slam vanish in vapour, we feel assured that 
 'I! be true to himself, his God, and his country. Glad are we to find that the gallant 
 
 > has offered his sword to the sultan in the day of Turkey's humiliation ; and come 
 
 what may, we feel sure that if God preserves his life, he will be seen, and his blows resound, 
 amidst the thickest storm of battle in tho coming struggle in the East. Later accounts
 
 ZAATCHA. 44a 
 
 to Rome, Venice, and Rastadt, the Saharians made a vigorous resistance to 
 the inroads of civilisation. The Kabyles also, especially the Beni-Slimans, 
 at the exhortation of Si-Djoudy, the Zouaoua chief, showed an unaccount- 
 able antipathy to registers and taxes, but they were brought to order by 
 the gallant praetorian bands of Bugia. 
 
 But the most serious insurrection was near Biskara and Batna, excited 
 by the Chcrif Bou-Zian, against whom the French had many complaints, 
 probably as well founded as those of Hapsburg against Hungary. Bou- 
 Zian fled to Zaatcha in the oases, which was unsuccessfully attacked by the 
 French, who were forced to retire, as they pretend, through want of stores 
 and material. This was on July 16th. After the heats were passed, the 
 moment arrived to make an example of Zaatcha,* like Saragossa and Tar- 
 ragona in the Peninsular war, whose conquest was so creditable to the arms 
 of the uncle. The expeditionary column left Biskara October 6th, and 
 reached the rebellious oasis next day.-j- 
 
 After two secondary actions to preserve their convoys, and two assaults 
 (20th of October and 20th of November), Zaatcha was carried. The houses 
 were defended and carried one after the other, and destroyed ; and all the 
 defenders, without exception, including Bou-Zian and the marabout Si- 
 Moussa, fell amidst the ruins of Zaatcha ! What impartial pen shall 
 chronicle the panting despair of those dauntless Saharians, fighting to the 
 death for wives and home, and waving palms and liberty ! what pen do 
 justice to the gallantry of European discipline, establishing order amidst 
 blazing temples and blood-stained gardens ! The sweet South will continue 
 to sigh its perfumes over that oasis; but its gardens are a wilderness, its 
 homes a desolation, for the spirit of freedom has left it. And Canrobert, 
 with his brows crowned with the laurels of Zaatcha, returns to Paris and 
 perpetrates the coup-d'etat. These are the men to command the army 
 of England. Bou-Sada also raised barricades in 1849, but was also reduced 
 to order, and spared for a consideration. J 
 
 Nothing worth record transpired in 18.50, save a few razzias against 
 the Abaidia, near Tlemsen, and the Beni-Immel Kabyles, on which occasion 
 
 state that he has abjured all thought of worldly distinction, and lives retired at Broussa, 
 devoted to study. Perhaps, like Solomon, he has found out that all on earth is vanity. 
 
 * Tableau, 1849, p. IS. See the siege of Saragossa in Count Toreno's Istoria del Sa- 
 vantamiento, Guerra, y Revolucion de Espana, 1835. 
 
 f The Zaouia, or cloister college, at the north of the oasis, was stormed forthwith, and 
 probably razed to the ground; but the labyrinth of palms was so impracticable, and the 
 defence so energetic, that the French were forced to carry on a regular siege on a new 
 plan. Reinforcements were sent from Constantina, Aumale, and Oran ; and it took fifty- 
 one days and nights in open trenches, with continual fighting, to reduce the place. They 
 had, moreover, four serious engagements on the 25th of October against Arabs seeking to 
 oppose the cutting down of their beloved palms ; and the 30th and 31st of October, and 
 16th November, against the insurgent nomads of the Sahara. 
 
 J Tableau, 1849, pp. 10, 11. M. Borrer informs us that the French nation is looked 
 upon as a mere passing cloud in Algeria, and that the Moslem only bides his time.
 
 446 EUROPEAN AGGRESSION. 
 
 the French lost General Barral, and killed 200 men (May 21) and a few 
 other insignificant tribes. The great event of the year was the first race 
 at Algiers, at which 1500 Arabs assisted with their khalifas, back-aghas, 
 &c., winding up the whole with an immense fantasia (29th September). 
 Thus we may shortly anticipate the introduction of thimble-rigs and odds 
 in the oases. 
 
 Since 1850 the only foes the French have had to encounter in Algeria 
 have been the Saharians and the Kabyles, i. e. the most intelligent and 
 industrious population of the country. Pelissier and the Zouaves taught 
 the former at Laghouat,'" in November 1852, the ingratitude of resisting 
 the blessings of French order and law; and the governor-general was 
 last spring engaged in eradicating republican equality, primitive faith, 
 and a merciful jurisprudence in Kabylia, by reducing their homesteads to 
 ashes and bathing their altars in blood. The French papers add, that bright 
 sunshine was smiling on the gallant host as it left Setif in May 1853, to 
 teach the barbarians the humanity of Christian Avarfare.-j- 
 
 The conquest and occupation of Algeria is another specimen of Christian 
 justice, another honour added to the lustre of our civilisation ; and will pass 
 down with the oppi-ession of Poland and Circassia, and the annexation of 
 Sind and Texas, to the admiration or execration of a discriminating pos- 
 terity.! 
 
 * Laghouat, or rather El-Aghrouath, was stormed by the French (December 2, 1852), 
 with severe loss, including General Bouscaren, who died of his wounds, and whose heart 
 was saved and preserved for his sister. Among the latest novelties from Algiers, we hear 
 of corps of French gendarmes mounted on dromedaries, reducing the Sahara to order and 
 fraternity. (Le Pays, Journal de l'Empire.) 
 
 *t Le Pays, Journal de l'Empire, May 1853. 
 
 J The most important intelligence relating to Algiers, within the present year, applies 
 to two particulars: first, the project of the formation of a French company analogous to 
 our East India Company, and the framing of a constitution for the administration of Al- 
 geria (Times) ; secondly, the passing of a law in the legislative council, by a majority of 
 200 to 1, for the establishment of an electric submarine telegraph from France, through 
 Corsica and Sardinia, to Algeria (Le Pays). The undertaking is given to Mr. J. Brett, to 
 whom the exclusive right of management and ownership is granted for a course of years. 
 Objections were raised to the plan in France, on the score of its giving England an insight 
 into the colony ; but the objection is evidently groundless, as she possesses that already. 
 It is talked of extending the telegraph to India ; in which case we may shortly anticipate 
 that the same wire which informs us of the Christianising of Kabylia and the Sahara by fire 
 and sword, will record the generous self-denial of Britain in annexing Birmah or a slice of 
 China. Recent accounts state that the Beni-Mzab tribes arc just annexed, after being long 
 protected. 
 
 -^e^^Sr^^fifcadf^^-
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 SfattijuttieS of !3lgma. 
 
 Nature and man both change, and act and react, though a day to one is as centuries 
 to the other. Man, though an earthworm on his planet, and a monad to the starry uni- 
 verse, does not depart without leaving a trace behind. He has done much, though he 
 might do much more; and the influence that he has exerted has been the child of combi- 
 nation and conviction. The giant works of Rome were wrought by combination ; and 
 the dazzling path of Arab conquest was the work of faith. Mighty men have strode 
 across this little span of earth, and left their godlike foot-prints to the ages ; but the 
 monumental voice too often falls on unheeding ears, and Christendom has still much to 
 learn from the past. Natural science has still many truths to tell of Elysian fields and 
 summer climes of yore at the Poles, and of wondrous forms of men and beast long 
 gathered to their fathers, yet pregnant with instruction to us, who might tame leviathan 
 and lead the lion captive. So also archaeology, with her hieroglyphs, has much wisdom 
 in her womb, and is at hand to teach our paltry sickly race how to recover some of the 
 lost sap of our constitutions, and the beauty of our climates. 
 
 The glories of the Vega, the Alhambra, and the Alcasar, might give a touch of 
 life to palsied Spain and the splendours of Roman Africa, might stimulate a noble 
 rivalry in French legislators and warriors. Each age has a mission, and ours may not im- 
 probably be that of stokers, pokers, and nuggets : yet there is somewhat more godlike in 
 man than to wield the hammer of Thor, and belabour this hard reality without; and the 
 soul soars and swells as it dwells in the magnetic sphere of aCato, or hovers round the me- 
 mory of Scipio. The simple sublimity and massiveness of ancient thought and art must 
 command the reverence of the ages ; and the cosmopolitan munificence of Roman muni- 
 cipal works put to shame the piecemeal economy and extravagance of Christendom. 
 
 Falling back 2000 years up the stream of time, we take ship at Baiae, or glorious 
 Sicily, and our vigorous rowers soon pull us over to Carthage, and land us amidst golden 
 harvests, waving dates, and gorgeous villas. Magnificent temples, stately porticos, and 
 verdant bowers, are reflected in the deep blue waters along that sunny shore : its valleys 
 are crowded with an industrious population, and its ports with countless masts. We are 
 in the granary of the Roman Empire. Elegant baths and fountains refreshed the cities; 
 massive drains and aqueducts supplied them with pure water, and removed all insalubrity 
 from their streets. The plains and valleys, drained of all stagnant .vater, were the parents 
 of plenty, and the homes of health and content ; and the well- wooded hills supplied their 
 nourishing streams, conducted by innumerable channels amongst the verdant pastures and
 
 448 APPENDIX. 
 
 waving cornfields.* In short, Africa and Numidia were once a promised land flowing with 
 milk and honey. f 
 
 Barhary, as we have previously seen, comprises what was anciently called the two 
 Mauritanias,J Numidia, Libya ; the country of the Massassili, Gaetuli, and Garamantes; 
 and Africa Proper, containing Carthage. Algeria, as the reader is aware, corresponds 
 to Numidia, part of Mauritania, and Gsetulia ; and it is with this portion of the Roman 
 settlements in Africa that we are more immediately concerned.§ We shall begin our sur- 
 vey with the province of Algiers, which corresponds to apart of Csesarean Mauritania 
 and of Gsetulia ; and its principal ancient cities were : 1st. Jol or Julia Ceesarea (now 
 Scherchell), which was the capital of Csesarean Mauritania and of Juba II.; and the ruins 
 of the old town are described as not inferior to those of Carthage. Numerous remains of 
 pillars, capitals, cisterns, &c. give a high idea of its splendour. The water of the river 
 Hasham, according tb its present name, was conducted to the city in a noble aqueduct not 
 much inferior to those of Carthage, as is proved by the fragments of its arches in the val- 
 leys to the south-east. Other small conduits are still perfect, and supply Scherchell with 
 good water. A tradition reports that the ancient city, as well as its successor, was erected 
 by Andalusian Moors. Earthquakes account for the demolition of most of its noble 
 edifices. || 
 
 The whole coast from Scherchell to Algiers is strewed with ruins, proving the former 
 salubrity, populousness, and opulence of this region.^ 
 
 * See an eloquent passage in Baron Baude's Algerie on the vicissitudes of Numidia. Also Dawson 
 Borrer's reflections on the past of Kalama. 
 
 The reader who wishes to obtain minute information relating to the archaeology of Algeria is 
 referred to the Exploration Scientifique, to Blofeld's Algeria, and Dr. Shaw. 
 
 t It was, next to Egypt, the most fruitful province of the empire ; was styled by the Romans the 
 soul of the Republic, and in the corrupt Latin of the lower empire, speciositas totivs terra florentis. 
 The greatest luxury of Roman extravagance was to have a villa on the coast of Africa; for the land was 
 then a paradise, like Sicily while free. (Pananti, Avventure, ri. p. 4.) 
 
 % Mauritania was originally separated from Numidia by the river Mulucha, was a fertile country 
 containing some arid spots, and whose mountains were covered with large forests infested by lions, 
 elephants, S:c. The Moors resembled the Numidians in pride and treachery, and in dexterity as horse- 
 men, their army consisting chiefly of cavalry. They were governed by kings, who, like those of Numidia, 
 affected to be descended from Hercules. As a reward for bis treachery in giving up Jugurtha, the 
 Romans added one-third of Numidia to the Mauritanian kingdom of Rocchus, which, under Bocchus 
 II., was divided into two kingdoms : 1st, that of Bogud, to the west ; 2d, the Mauritania of Bocchus. 
 In the civil war of Octavian and Antony, Bogud, siding with Antony, was slain in Greece, and Boc- 
 chus occupied the whole of Mauritania, which after his death was given to Juba, of the race of Mas- 
 sinissa. His successor, Ptolemy, was put to death by Caligula because he appeared in the circus at 
 Rome in a purple robe ; and two years later Claudius divided Mauritania into two Roman provinces : 
 1st, the Csesarean ; 2d, the Tingitanian Mauritanias. Barbie du Bocage, Sallust, p. 238. 
 
 § This country, once so renowned, contains fewer massive remains than might be supposed, having 
 suffered severely from the fury of wars and revolutions. The relics of ancient Christianity and Pagan- 
 ism have alike fallen a sacrifice to the Gothicism of Vandals and the iconoclast convictions of the Mos- 
 lems. The principal coins, which are few, are those of Claudius, of the Antonines, of Alexander Severus, 
 and of the two Gordians. The Punic and Numkliau coins are scarce and almost illegible, save to 
 German and Runic professors, who arc clever at discovering sermons in unhewn stones. 
 
 The Roman remains can be generally recognised by the terra-cotta materials, and hy the idols and 
 implements of bronze. The Moorish antiquities are known hy their neglect and dirt. Blofeld ; Pa- 
 nanti, ii. p. 13. 
 
 || Blofeld, p. 73. 
 
 IT Berbrngger, part i. Dr. Russel, p. 364. Pananti, ii. p. 16, says that the archpriest Borghi, 
 a man of vast learning, proved to him that Julia Caesarea could not have been situated at Scherchell, 
 as Dr. Shaw slates, but at a little village half a day's journey distant. When doctors disagree, the 
 patient has no chance. 
 
 The Kabyles of Chenouah used to call it contemptuously, Tekedemt, i.e. an oidthlng, from the 
 Vrabic word kedim, which they have borrowed and altered by prefixing and affixing, as usual, their 
 favourite t or tli. This designation is common to many old towns, as well as that of Khourbah (ruins), 
 which lias been corrupted into Herba in our maps. Berbrngger, parti. Rozet, Voyage dans la Re- 
 gence d'Alger, iii. p. 258. Dr. Russel, p. 304.
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF ALGERIA. 449 
 
 Farther east, following the coast, was situated Oppidum Novum, a colony of veterans 
 sent into Africa by the Emperor Claudius. Yet nearer to Sidi-Ferruch was Tipasa, 
 whose ruins may be still traced not far from Tefessad ; and a little beyond them you come 
 to the celebrated Koubber Romeah, which is most likely the monumentum commune 
 regit gentis, being the common place of sepulture of the kings of Mauritania.* 
 
 Algiers presents but few Roman remains ; and it is still uncertain what name it bore 
 under Latin sway, some thinking it Icosium, and others Jomnium.f Mr. Blofeld says 
 that there are Roman ruins on the banks of the Savus (Haratch), south-east of Algiers ; 
 and he thinks this more probably the site of Icosium than Algiers. M. Berbrugger 
 mentions the remains of a Roman via, Rue de la Marine, near the port of the capital, 
 which he thinks must have corresponded in most respects with the old Moorish harbour 
 before 1830. St. Marie informs us that at the quarter of the Gate of Victory, in the old 
 town, there stood on one side of the gate, in 1845, a fountain of white marble, constructed 
 among the ruins of a Roman aqueduct.^ 
 
 The ruined town on the promontory of Matifou, eastward of the Bay of Algiers, is 
 sometimes known by the name of Rustonium, and Ptolemy calls it 'Vuvo-rovtov. Baron 
 Baude and most of the French savants make it Rusguniae, from inscriptions found on 
 the spot.§ When Charles V. embarked at Rusguniae in 1541, there were more remains of 
 the ancient city than at present ; and in the twelfth century, according to Edrisi, the Arab 
 town on the site of the Roman city was in a state of decay. " Tamendfos," he writes, " is 
 a fine port, near a small ruinous town., The enclosing walls are almost overthrown, and the 
 population is small: you. see nothing but remains of houses, of large buildings, and of 
 idols in stone. It is said to have been once a large town."|| There are still traces there of 
 an ancient cothon, with several heaps of ruins of the same extent as those of Tefessad, and 
 which have also contributed to the fortifications of Algiers. The distance of 15 Roman 
 miles between these ruins and those upon the Haratch is the same as that of the Itinerary 
 between Rusguniae Colonia and Icosium. Rusguniae is the same as the Ruthesia of 
 Mela, and the Rusconia of Pliny. ^f 
 
 Oran contains few, if any, vestiges of antiquities ; yet Marmol** informs us that it 
 stands on the site of Ulrica Colonia.jf 
 
 - * It stands on a mountainous part of the sea-coast (Sahel), seven miles to the east of Tefessad, con- 
 sisting of a solid and compact edifice built-with the finest freestone, 100 feet high, with a diameter of 
 90. It is of a circular shape, rising with steps quite up to the top, like the Egyptian pyiamids. The 
 elegance and beauty of the shape and materials snow it to be older than the Mahometan conquests ; and 
 it is thought, not improbably, by some to be the monument which Mela places between Jol and Icosium, 
 and which he attributes to the royal family of the Numidian kings. Berbrugger, part i. Dr. Itussel, 
 p. 365. Blofeld. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 Not far from the mouth of the Masafran, below Coleah, and near the marabout of Sidi-Fouqa, are 
 the remains of Casa; Calventi. Indeed, the whole of this region may be justly styled a classical soil. 
 Berbrugger, part i. 
 
 t Blofeld. Berbrugger, part i. Pananti says (ii. p. 16), " Algeri non e, qual comunemente si 
 crede, Jol o Julia Ccesarea, edificata da Julio Cesare, ma bensi l'antica J omnium." 
 
 I The Moorish antiquities of Algiers are rapidly melting away before the march of intellect and the 
 reign of order; but the most ancient are comparatively new. Rozet, in visiting the garden of Mustapha 
 Pasha, in the neighbourhood of Algiers, observed a superb aqueduct carried across a parched valley, 
 and constructed for the purpose of conveying water to the city. The architecture is decidedly Moorish, 
 presenting two tiers of arches, &c. D.r..Kussel, p. 366: and Berbrugger, part i. 
 
 § Baton Baude, i. p. 47. 
 
 || Edrisi. 
 
 ^T Baron Baude, p 72. Dellys stands on the site of Rusucurrum, which was united to Rusgunia? 
 and Saldae, or Bugia, by Homan roads that are still traceable. Blofeld. Baude, vol. i. p. 129. 
 
 ** Africa Illustrata. 
 
 ft This name does not occur in the best classical authors; they only speak of Portus Magnus, so 
 named because of its size, — so rare a circumstance on the exposedcoast of Africa, which Sallust named 
 maie importuosum. This characteristic also attracted the attention of the Arabs, who have recorded it 
 
 F F
 
 450 APPENDIX. 
 
 The province of Oran, as far as the Macta (Amnis Mulucha) corresponds to the an- 
 cient kingdom of Bocchus, the grandson of Jugurtha : it was then inhabited by Moors 
 and Massysylians.* After passing the Mulucha began the kingdom of Juba, which, under 
 the Roman Empire, was comprised in Caasarean Mauritania. If we might draw an in- 
 ference from the small number of ruins that are found in this province, we should say that 
 it is the portion of Algeria in which the Romans have left the fewest traces. Nor is this 
 surprising : their conquest advanced from east to west, and their stay in the latter region 
 was less protracted ; hence they had not the time to form great establishments there. 
 Moreover, the Vandals smote Csesarean Mauritania first, and their maiden fury vented itself 
 first on this unhappy shore. 
 
 The most numerous Roman stations are on the coast. From the Oued-Moulouyahf 
 (Maloua), marking the limits of Tingitanian and Cesarean Mauritania, to the Moqtha, 
 or ford of the united Sig and Habrah (called by the French the Macta), — that is, for a 
 space of about 108 j leagues according to the Itinerary, but really of about 60 leagues,^ — 
 sixteen Roman establishments, more or less considerable, are found. 
 
 The points that appear to be the most accurately determined are, Siga mttnicipium, 
 styled by Pliny a royal town of Syphax (regia Syp/iacis).§ It must have stood about a 
 league west from the mouth of the Tafna, probably where are now some ruins called by 
 the natives Tikambrit. The bay where the Tafna falls into the sea, and the island of Acra 
 facing it, formed the Portus Sigensis. The Tafna is named by Ptolemy Assara, corre- 
 sponding to the Isser of modern times, which falls into the Tafna some leagues before its 
 mouth, and which may at that remote date have preserved its name down to the sea. In 
 digging the intrenchments (1836) of the camp, they found there a medal of Tiberius. 
 
 Opposite Portus Sigensis was, as we have just said, Acra insula, which corresponds to 
 the little island now called Rasgoun or Rachgoun, which is occupied by a small French 
 garrison. The chef (Teseadron, M. Tatareau, who visited this spot (1832), picked up a gold 
 medal bearing the stamp of a Greek cross ; and he attributed this coin to the Lower 
 Empire.|| 
 
 in the name Mers-el-Kebir _*£)) s~> y< tne literal translation of Portus Magnus. Pliny, 
 
 describing this locality, says : " Portus Magnus, spatio appellatus, civium Romanorum oppidum." The 
 characteristics of the place at once determine the site of the great port, but what Oran represents is un- 
 certain. 
 
 Some persons have thought that Oran stands on the site of the municipium of Quiza (Boniza ac- 
 cording to Ptolemy), or Quiza xenitana pereyrinorum oppidum (citadel of strangers), whose name, as the 
 reader will perceive, is accompanied by two epithets stating precisely the same thing, one Greek and 
 the other Latin. The Itinerary places Quiza at 40 miles (\3\ leagues) from Portus Magnus or Mers-el- 
 Ktbir, whilst Oran is only one league from that place : hence this hypothesis is evidently untenable. 
 
 * The Mulucha separated the Moors from Numidia till the time of Marius and Metellus, and served 
 as a limit to the kingdoms of Jugurtha and Bocchus. Some authors spell the name Molochath and 
 Malua: it is now styled Maluia, flowing near the frontier between Algeria and Morocco. The word 
 Molochath, of which Mulucha is a corruption, means in Phoenician the royul river. Barbie du Bocage's 
 Sallust, p. 240. 
 
 t This stream is generally called Malva or Malvana in ancient geographies ; but it is probable that 
 Maloua, as Ptolemy writes it, is more correct, because this appellation comes nearer to the name given 
 to it now, and especially because ar is inadmissible in the names of places evidently belonging to the 
 language of the natives, since the latter (both Berbers and Arabs) have no v in their language. 
 
 X M Berbrugger says that the Itinerary of Antoninus, in giving the distances between the towns 
 from the Maloua Flumen to tbe Mulucha, or Macta, almost always doubles them ; whereas in Eastern 
 Mauritania the distances are made less than the truth. The Itinerary was probably drawn up by diffe- 
 rent persons using different measures, and the compiler was not careful to rectify the differences. M. 
 Berbrugger also thinks it possible that, instead of understanding here the passtis generally used in the 
 Itinerary, a double pace of 5 feet, we ought to understand the yraclus, or single pace of 2i feet. This 
 would make the distances correct. Berbrugger, part ii. 
 
 § Pliny. 
 
 || Whilst speaking of Rasgoun, we shall notice the resemblance of the name to Rasgonia, a Roman 
 town whose ruins still exist at the eastern point of the Bay of Algiers (Cape Matifou). The syllable ras
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF ALGERIA. 451 
 
 The Salsum flumen, placed by the Itinerary 8 leagues from Portus Sigensis, must be 
 the Oued-el-Malahh, called by the Spaniards llio-Salado.* 
 
 Beyond Portus Magnus stood Qitiza, of which we have already spoken as 131 leagues 
 from Mers-el-Kebir, which would place it on the spot where you now find old Arzeu, 
 the Arsenaria of the ancients. M. Berbrugger imagines tbat instead of 40, which you 
 find in the Itinerary, you ought to read 11 miles, which gives 3§ leagues, and brings us to 
 a place called Canastel, where there exist some ancient remains at the present time. A 
 tradition records that St. Augustine was born in this place. 
 
 After passing this place, you come to Portus Deorum (the bay of Arzeu), Arsenaria 
 (ancient Arzeu), where considerable ruins are still found ; then you reach the Amnis 
 Mulucha (the Macta), which Ptolemy calls Cartennus flumen; and a little beyond it the 
 colony of Cartenna, which must have stood near Masagran or Mostaganem.f 
 
 We shall now pass to the province of Constantina, formerly part of the kingdom of 
 Numidia.J 
 
 It is somewhat remarkable that Hippo§ was the first spot in Africa visited by the 
 
 or rus (pronounced rous) /*»« t (.<~lj signifies clearly enough cape, having the same meaning as 
 
 caput both in Kabyle and in Arabic ; and if you wish a proof of its having had the same sense formerly, 
 you need only follow the nomenclature of all the Roman establishments situated along the coast, and 
 it is striking to find the syllable ras or rus prefixed to the names of all towns standing near capes. 
 Going from west to east, we meet in this manner Rusadir, Rusibricari, Rusucurru, RusipUir, Rusgonia, 
 Rusasus, Rusicada, &c. This proves that the Romans almost always adopted the local designations, 
 which they latinised, and also sometimes mutilated, as the French do at present with the native names. 
 
 The ancient Libyan and modern Arabic term ras /i«ii head, is not improbably derived from the 
 Sanskr. raj ^~ | Si to shine, whence rajah, prince, Lat. rex, Goth, reiks, &c. EichofF, p. 242. Gesenius 
 
 (Lex. p. 916) identifies (j~\j with E7S'") the Syr. j«_i5 and the ^Ethiop C,i\ft'. 
 
 * A name adopted by the French, and a literal translation of the Arabic appellation. The identity of 
 meaning (Salsum Flumen, Oued-Malahh, and Rio Salado) gives a great probability to this conjecture. 
 
 t Part ii. p. 6, of Berbrugger's Algerie. Captain Despointes says that a very perfect ancient temple 
 is still standing near Arzeu. See Baron Baude, St. Marie, and Blofeld. 
 
 In the interior of the province, Tlemsen and its vicinity contain several interesting monuments of 
 antiquity, chiefly Moorish. We have already alluded to the Mechouar and the reservoirs of Tlemsen ; 
 and we have still to mention the beautiful tomb or marabout of Sidi Bou-Medina, near Tlemsen, which 
 has been greatly injured and defaced by the assthetical charities of the French army. Blofeld. 
 
 Not far from Tlemsen you also find the beautiful remains of an ancient mosque (Berbrugger), 
 which must date from an age when learning and art flourished on the sunny shores of Barbary, and 
 cast their lustre and breathed their harmony over the faith of Islam and its magic productions. 
 
 J Numidia extended originally from the Leptis (in Tripoli, near Cyrene) to the river Mulucha, 
 containing at the time of Jugurtha vast tracts of fertile corn-lands, and also deserts. To the south it 
 bordered on the Gaetulians. The Numidians, who are described as a hardy, brave, industrious, and 
 temperate, but treacherous and versatile race, were excellent horsemen, great hunters, practised poly- 
 gamy, and had despotic kings. Sallust refers their origin to the Persians, who came under the Libyan 
 or Phoenician Hercules, and mixed with the Gsetuli. Some derive the word ' nomadic' from the 
 Numidians ; others, the name Numidian from nomad. At the time of the second Punic war they 
 were still a very savage people, divided into two sections : first, the Massa?syli to the west, occupying 
 modern Algeria; secondly, to the east, the Massyli, in the province of Constantina and part of Tunis. 
 Syphax commanded the Masssesyli, and Massinissa, son of Gala, the Massyli. 
 
 § The reader should be careful not to confound Hippo-Regius with another Hippo situated more to 
 the eastward on the northern coast of Africa, and known by the name of Hippo-Dirutus, Zarritus, or 
 Diarrhytus (Bizerta). 
 
 The Hippo with which we are now concerned had been named Ubbo by the Phoenicians ; a word 
 meaning ' pond' or ' bay' in their language. The ancient name of the Seybouse,f76«s, is probably referable 
 to the same etymology. The Romans changed the name of Ubbo into Hippo, and added the epithet 
 Regius because it was a favourite residence with the native kings of Numidia. A Latin poet has ex- 
 pressed this circumstance in the following terms: 
 
 " Antiquis dilectus regibus Hippo."
 
 4.52 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Romans, and the last place that they lost in the two invasions of the Vandals and Arabs. 
 Bona has also at all times shewn itself more disposed to submit to the sway of the Franks 
 than any other town on the coast of Barbary. It may, indeed, be laid down as a maxim, — 
 that the resistance to European conquest and rule increases in proportion as you advance 
 west in Barbary, and reaches its maximum in Morocco, whereas its minimum is found in 
 the province of Constantina. 
 
 In May 428 the Vandals came over to Africa, on the invitation of Count Boniface ; 
 and the description of their invasion from the pen of Bishop Possidius will remove all 
 wonder that the term Vandal has become a synonym for ruthless destruction.* 
 
 Genseric soon drew nigh, and laid siege to Hippo about June 430. The Vandals had 
 besieged the town three months, when St. Austin fell dangerously ill. The misfortunes of 
 his people and flock hastened his end, after a sickness of three weeks, f 
 
 Save these ruins, some remains scattered at the foot of Mount Edough, the aqueduct 
 of the valley of Kharesas, and the cisterns, no trace of Hippo Regius is left above ground. 
 This classic soil is, however, full of foundations of houses, of remains of ways, of tombs, 
 and of fragments of statues. £ 
 
 The most remarkable ruins at Hippo are the cisterns, that cover the top of a hillock. 
 They form a square building 78 feet by 70, which, besides rain-water, was probably a 
 receptacle of the stream brought by the aqueduct from Mount Edough. A narrow corridor 
 bisects the building lengthways, having a staircase at one end descending to the bottom 
 of the reservoir. The section towards the bay is farther divided by another passage. The 
 division of the edifice into stories is only applicable to these corridors, as the reservoirs 
 rise to the whole height of the monument. 
 
 One of the longitudinal halves of this building is divided into compartments by seven 
 partition-walls, whose materials have an extraordinary adherence and solidity ; since, 
 while the lower part of the walls is destroyed, the upper continues to stand, though it 
 has to support the weight of the vaults and terraces. The other half, which is not sub- 
 divided, has been invaded by fig-trees, wild olives, and bushes of jujubes, which form 
 quite a thicket On this side the terrace has almost entirely fallen down, whereas on 
 the other it is in tolerable preservation, though overgrown with plants and trees. The 
 remains of several small cisterns are scattered round the large one. 
 
 These are the only remains of the once opulent and powerful Hippo, the rival of 
 Cirtha. The traveller who paces this classic strand is in, danger of missing its few and 
 
 On the Punic tongue see the Section on Language. The Phoenician ubbo appears to have some 
 affinity with the Sansk. ap, water, apnus, fluidity, — from ab or amb, to move; and hence also with the 
 
 ♦ 
 Lithuanian uppe and the Greek ctro;. From the Sanskrit ^^j Gj oi, vi-j <5j amb, also come the Latin 
 
 *\ *\ 
 
 agua, imber, vmbra, and the Greek o.a^joj. Eichoff 's Vergleichung der Sprachen v. Europen u. Indien. 
 Gr. edit. p. G!)8. Bochart and De Brasses agree with Berbrugger in giving to the word ubbo the 
 meaning of 'bay.' Barbie du Bocage, Diet. Geogr. to his Sallust, p. 214. 
 
 * This description will be found in the Chapter on History. Boniface, regretting his folly when too 
 late, and facing the Vandals in the field, was worsted and forced to seek refuge in Hippo, then thought 
 to be very strong. The town was crowded with fugitives, including many bishops. 
 
 t He lived 72 years, and had been priest or bishop at Hippo for 40. He made no will, having 
 nothing to bequeath but the episcopal library and his Mss. After 14 months' siege, the Vandals de- 
 sisted ; and when they returned after the second defeat of Boniface, the town was deserted, and they 
 destroyed it by fire. The only monument that escaped was the library of St. Austin, in the basilica of 
 Peace. If we may trust tradition, the remains now seen near the Cattle Hun belong to that edifice. 
 The resistance of Hippone lasted 14 months ; St. Augustine died August 28th, 42!) ; and the city was 
 taken in December 430. Most of the place was burnt, but the bishop's house and library were spared. 
 Belisarius retook it in 534, and it fell to the Arabs in (>y7. After that it was removed to Bona, 2000 
 metres to the north. On Augustine see Possidius de Vita Augustini; Berbrugger; Nachrichten u. 
 Bemerkungen ; Dr. Russel, pp. 130, 137; Baude, vol. ii. p. 42. 
 
 I Baron Baude. Dawson Borrer. St. Marie. 

 
 ANTIQUITIES OF ALGERIA. 453 
 
 insignificant remains, so thickly are they shaded hy the luxuriant African vegetation. 
 ^\ ith difficulty can he realise the existence of sacerdotal fanes and lordly porticoes on 
 this wild and tangled spot. Yet future researches will doubtless bring to light much 
 antiquarian wealth concealed beneath this pregnant soil.* 
 
 The ruins of Kalama are situated about half a league from the Ford of the Seybouse.f 
 To the left of the path leading from the camp to the ruins, you perceive a small square 
 edifice, of which a few stone pillars are still standing. The ground is scattered over with 
 broken shafts of columns, and with marble capitals of rather bad quality. 
 
 On the slope of an undulation which is met before reaching the site of the old city, 
 and whose base is laved by the river of Guelma, the Romans had raised a theatre, whose 
 construction must have been rendered extremely easy by the character of the locality 
 where it stands ; for the declivity of the hill presented a natural amphitheatre, which only 
 needed to be laced with masonry in order to form steps, and to be surrounded by an en- 
 
 * On one side of the ruined aqueduct, on the top of the hill of Boonah, and surrounded with lilacs 
 and honeysuckle, stands a white marble altar, recently constructed, with a bronze statue of St. Augus- 
 tine, one metre high, in ponliftcalibus. This was erected on the occasion of the transfer of his real or 
 ideal remains from Pavia, with all the pomp and circumstance of the church militant, by the French 
 government, in the year 1842. See the account by M. l'Abbe Sybour, afterwards Archbishop of Paris. 
 Madame Prus, p. 106. St. Marie also gives a correct description of the monument. 
 
 " Hippo," observes Baron Baude, ii. p. 41, "was grouped at the foot of two mamelons, one 
 of 80 metres (262-40 feet), the other of 38 metres (124'64 feet) in height, and now called by the Arabs 
 Bounah and Gharf-el-Antram. Its enclosure has not yet been ascertained ; but from the scattered ruins, 
 it cannot have been less than 60 hectares (148-20 acres). 300 metres (984 feet) of old quay still exist, 
 at the distance of 1000 metres (32S0 feet) from the present mouth of the Seybouse. It was there that, in 
 the year of Rome 707, was stationed the fleet with which P. Sitius, lieutenant of Caesar, destroyed 
 that of the fugitive Scipio. The old drains under the town are broken up for the stone: they were 
 built of quarry stones (in a covered channel), and were made as cheap as possible. To the north are 
 the remains of a gate of the town, built in alternate layers of bricks and quarry stones, and its dimen- 
 sions are very large. The church and convent of St. Austin, seen by sly old Pere Dan, have somehow 
 disappeared. The hydraulic establishment is the great monument of Roman construction at Hippone, 
 as in all their colonies ; for, unlike the Christians, they agreed with Mahomet in thinking cleanliness 
 next to godliness. An aqueduct brought the water from Mount Edough, 2600 metres (8528 feet) in 
 length, only a part of it being built on arcades over the valley of Laurels and of Boubgimah." Baron 
 Baude. St. Marie seems greatly disposed to coincide in the Baron's views. 
 
 The five arcades nearest Mount Edough are still standing. The basements and the pediments aw in 
 reticulated masonry, the interior consists of quarry stones, and the arches of bricks; the channel is 
 2 Roman feet (0-589 metres) in breadth, and you can still count all the piles of the aqueduct. Near 
 the town it must have been 20 metres in height. The reservoir, on issuing from which the waters 
 divided, is to the north-west, and halfway up the mamelon. It is divided into two principal compart- 
 ments, each of which is 17 metres (55-76 feet) wide, and 40 long (131-20 feet) which gives, allowing 1 
 metre (3-28 feet) in depth, a capacity of 1360 metres (1774 cubic yards). The present depth is 5 metres 
 (16-4 feet) ; but it is probable that by cleaning out the rubbish, you would find that the reservoir con- 
 tains 10 or 12,000 cubic metres of water (13,059 or 15,671 cubic yards). The partition-walls are of 
 masonry, with an interior facing of brick. The eastern basin is still crossed by two bridges. Baron 
 Baude, iii. p. 39. 
 
 The stone employed in all these constructions, except some parts of the aqueduct, is a porous lime- 
 stone, easy to work, which is found, superposed on granite and marble, in the bay of Caroubiers, and 
 the neighbourhood of Fort Genois. The bricks, tiles, (tec. are baked with the greatest care, and the 
 beds of mortar on which they repose are thicker than the bricks themselves. The mortar is harder 
 than stone, is very rich, and contains as many little stones as sand ; but the Romans had architects, 
 and never ventured a National Gallery or a Trafalgar Square. The limestone has been obtained from 
 strata of calcareous saccharoid, which is intercalated in the granite all round Bona, to the Sahel, and to 
 the very mamelon of Gharf-el-Antram. All these works are very simple, without decorations or 
 extravagance. The rusticity of the materials and workmanship, which are a disgrace to a Roman 
 colony, but would be an honour to the British metropolis, show that they were mostly the work of 
 Roman soldiers, who were commonly more usefully engaged than in smoking cigars or playing billiards. 
 Between Bona and Hippo are the remains of the Roman via which formed a part of the great road that 
 followed the coast from Carthage to the Straits of Gibraltar. Another via went towards Cirta, and 
 numerous cross-roads ramified with these. Baude, ii. p. 42. 
 
 t See Part I. Chap. XII.
 
 454 APPENDIX. 
 
 closure so as to embrace a complete arena. It follows from this configuration that the 
 top of the monument is on a level with the summit of the hill ; whilst the lower part, or the 
 scene, extends over a slope that is met with halfway up. 
 
 The site of the orchestra is overgrown with brushwood, which also covers the part 
 where the stage was situated ; and the lentisk and jujube, or Barbary fig, climbing up to 
 the steps, strike their vigorous roots in the intervals of the stones that formed the steps. 
 
 Notwithstanding the ravages wrought by time on this monument, it is still easy to 
 discover its principal divisions. 
 
 Applying the analysis of Roman theatres to that of Kalama, we proceed to remark 
 that in the interior of the enclosure of the cavea French visitors have found vaulted corri- 
 dors, partly fallen in, which must have led to each zone, without its being necessary to pass 
 up the stairs, which would have inconvenienced the noble occupants of the ima cavea. 
 
 In the upper and middle part of the theatre is a little cabinet, surmounted by a cupola, 
 and open on the side facing the stage. In the French army, where it is usual to bestow 
 epithets on all the monuments that they meet, the soldiers christened it the Proconsul's 
 box. 
 
 Traces of the use of vela or awnings are still perceivable in the theatre of Kalama, and 
 it is easy to perceive the holes in which the poles were fixed that supported the veil. The 
 men commissioned to do this were superannuated sailors, whose profession was thought to 
 have qualified them for the office.* 
 
 Halfway from the two extremities of the semicircle, some niches may be seen that 
 probably contained statues. Behind these are some rooms that open on the staircase by 
 which the spectators of the ima cavea had their private entrance. The two extremities of 
 which we have just spoken, and that were called by the ancients cornua or horns, form the 
 limit between the theatre proper and the stage. Scarcely a vestige remains of the latter 
 part of the structure: some blocks of masonry, half concealed by brushwood, are all that 
 is left. Perhaps the stage in this case only consisted of a modern scaffolding, according 
 to the description of Ausonius : 
 
 " .Edilis olim scenam tabulatam dabat, 
 Subito excitatam, nulla mole saxea." 
 
 It is quite possible that in this remote province they were reduced to adopt the simplicity 
 ofthis ancient fashion for want of sufficient funds ; or possibly the materials have been 
 carried away to build other edifices. 
 
 On quitting the theatre, M. Berbrugger and his companions followed the brink of a ravine, 
 in which flows the river of Guelma, and they arrived near a stone enclosure, flanked by thir- 
 teen square towers. At the north-east angle of this kind of fortress arose a great ruinous 
 building; and the remains of ancient Kalama lay stretched at the bottom and on the sides 
 of a ravine, whose slopes were formerly arranged into steps, as it is easy to discover. A 
 wall used to extend towards the mountain; running from the citadel of which we have just 
 spoken to the crest of a mamelon that separates the ravine of the river from that in which 
 the town was built, it served to protect the latter in a quarter where, from the nature of 
 the ground, it would have been easily assailable, f 
 
 Without wearying the reader with a dry detail of all the parts of the ancient town, we 
 
 * Sir William G ell's Pompeii. 
 
 t Madame Prus, in 1S50, corroborates this description of M. Berbrugger in 1836. She says, "Guelma, 
 situated on the summit of the mountain Serdj-el-Aouda, must have been a place of considerable extent 
 and impnnance in the time of the Romans. The thirteen towers still existing in the circumference of 
 the walls, and the divers inscriptions iound on the monuments, seem to indicate the sixth century of 
 our era as the period ol its construction." It is unpleasant to criticise the opinions of a lady, but the 
 love of truth forces us to point out the inaccuracy of the latter statement, when Madame l'rus confounds 
 the original foundation of the city with the later attempts at renovation under the Greek prefects, and 
 after the Vandal devastation. It is likewise our unpleasant duty to point out this lady's eiror in con- 
 founding the wall of the citadel, with its thirteen towers, with the city wall,— page 159.
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF ALGERIA. 455 
 
 shall, in a note, lay before him a few general notions of the place, and of its principal 
 ruins and inscriptions.* 
 
 We shall now proceed to notice the most remarkable ruins of Kalama. The large 
 fortified enclosure is undoubtedly the largest and the best-preserved ruin, and we shall 
 attend to it first. 
 
 A glance shows the date of its erection. The walls are composed of heterogeneous 
 materials, presenting a confused heap of marble and stone, votive and tumular ornaments, 
 often upside down, fragments of bas-reliefs, statues, and even domestic utensils. Such 
 walls can only have been raised in times of confusion and barbarism. The foundation is 
 no doubt more ancient, but nothing above ground can date higher than Belisarius ; for 
 the Vandal Genseric, before the arrival of the lieutenant of Justinian, had dismantled all 
 the African cities, save Carthage, the chief seat of his empire, j- 
 
 * It is an established fact, that the ruins at Guelma are those of Kalama. Numerous inscriptions 
 containing the expressions Kalamenses, Kuria Kalamensium, leave no doubt on the matter ; and 
 a passage of St. Augustine settles the question for ever. In his dispute with Petilianus andCrispinus, 
 bishops of Constantina and of Kalama, the saint makes use of the following terms : " Inter Constanti- 
 nam, ubi tu (Petilianus) es, et Hipponem, ubi ego (Augustinus) sum, Kalama, ubi ille Crispinus est, 
 vicinior quidem nobis, sed tamen interposita." It follows from this that Kalama was between Hippo 
 and Constantina, but nearest to the former : this is the precise situation of the ruins at Guelma. 
 
 The Romans built so many towns in Africa, that history could not record them all. It scarcely 
 mentions Kalama, whose remains, however, attest its importance. Paulus Orosius relates that it was 
 under its walls, which enclosed the treasures of the kings of Numidia, that the propraetor Aulus Post- 
 humius, who sought to seize them, was defeated by Jugurtha. Sallust, speaking of the same event, 
 calls the town that the Roman general proposed to besiege Sufhul ; hence it has been very naturally 
 inferred that Suthul and Kalama were the same town ; but the circumstantial description given by 
 Sallust of the nature of the ground is in no degree applicable to that of Kalama. It is possible that 
 there may have been two towns of that name in Africa, or Paulus Orosius may have made a mistake. 
 
 Baron Baude has indulged in a long dissertation in connexion with the true locality of these cities, 
 and of the various positions that were occupied, illustrated, and disgraced by the contending armies in 
 the Jugurthine war. " Ghelma," he says (i. p. 192), " is on the united but rather steep slope of a 
 hill (coteau), 1500 metres from the river, and its enclosure contains 7 or 8 hectares (20 acres); but save 
 the remains of a very large building, the walls are reduced to hardly the height of 2 metres. Outside 
 of the enclosure are the remains of a theatre, of a temple, and of some other constructions devoted to 
 the public service. Sallust's description of Suthul is as follows (Jug. Bel. c. xxxvii.): " Quodquam- 
 quam etsa;vitia temporis et opportunitate loci neque capi neque obsideri poterat; namcircum murum, 
 situm in preerupti montis extremo, planities limosa hiemalibus aquis paludem fecerat." But there 
 can be no marshes, observes Baron Baude, on the coteau of Kalama; and M. Barbie du Bocage, in 
 his Geographical Dictionary, attached to his excellent edition of Sallust (1813), agrees with Baude 
 that Orosius must have been in error in identifying Kalama with Suthul, whose situation is a complete 
 problem. M. du Bocage is disposed to think that Suthul is the same place as Sufetula, in the Itinerary 
 of Antoninus, still called Sbaitla, a place in a similar situation to that given to Suthul (see Shaw's 
 Travels, v. i. p. 260) ; though President de Brosses interprets the Phoenician name Suthul as meaning 
 the city of eagles, and places it far south of Constantina. See M. du Bocage's Diet. Geogr., annexed 
 to his Sallust, pp. 279-280. 
 
 Kalama was more than once a source of trouble to the holy bishop of Hippo. The Christians by 
 ■whom it was inhabited were principally Donatists ; and a bishop of that sect, Crispinus, filled its epis- 
 copal throne. There was moreover a considerable number of pagans there, and they displayed a hatred 
 to the new creed that all the severity of the imperial edicts was sometimes unable to restrain. 
 
 t To help our conjectures, we insert the following curious inscription: 
 
 VNA. ET .BISSENAS. TVRRES . CRESCEBANT. IN . ORDINE . TOT AS . 
 MIRABILEM . OPERAM . CITO . CONSTRVCTA . VIDETVR . POSTICIVS . 
 SVB . TERMAS . BALTEO. COKCLVDITVR . FERRO . NV . . . VS . MALORVM . 
 TOTERIT . ERICERE . MAN . PATRICI . SOLOMON . INSTITVTION . NEMO . 
 EXPVGN ARE . VALEVIT . DEFENSIO . MARTIRO . TveT . . . R . POSTICIVS . ILE . 
 CLEMENS . ET . VINCENTIVS . MARTIR . CVSTOD . 1NTROITVM . PP. V. 7 . 
 
 This barbarous Latin, still more obscured by the mutilation of the characters, is difficult to be ren- 
 dered by an exact translation. We shall only try to give its general sense, and throw some light on 
 the age of the fortress. 
 
 The first line alludes to the thirteen towers. The second expresses admiration at the quickness 
 with which they were built. The third, which is the obscurest of all, seems to imply that later this 
 defensive work was completed by a wall of enclosure under the thernice, or hot-baths. The fourth,
 
 45C 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Hence it was the patrician Solomon who restored the towers and walls of Kalama (a.d. 
 540). But as this inscription has evidently been displaced from its proper position, the 
 enclosure of Solomon must have been thrown down and rebuilt since his time. 
 
 It probably resulted from the great earthquake, of which so many traces remain at 
 Kalama ; but in any case, its construction in its present form was posterior to 540. 
 
 Another monument remains, which may, very probably, be the church of Kalama, 
 though this is simply a conjecture. It was in a very dilapidated state in the autumn of 
 1836; and when visited afterwards by M. Berbrugger, a great part of it had been pulled 
 down. Still he thought he could trace the architectural design, consisting of a nave, 
 collateral chapels, and transept. Large stones were employed for the vaults and the 
 facing of the walls, whilst the rest was filled up by small 'Stones mixed with cement, and 
 broken at intervals by a horizontal bed of tiles. 
 
 This monument does not present any confusion of design or materials like the castle; 
 hence it is not a reconstruction by barbarians.* 
 
 which is very clear, can be translated thus : "No one will he ahle to storm the work made by the patri- 
 cian Solomon." This man was a general, whom Justinian sent twice into Africa to consolidate the 
 conquest of Belisarius. Procopius, his friend, also informs us that during his second sojourn of four 
 years, he helped to restore the walls of all the towns. The inscription winds up by an invocation to 
 the martyrs Clement and Vincent. 
 
 * Baron Baude is disposed to regard the neighbourhood of the stream of Bouinfra, opposite 
 Ghelma, as the spot where Metellus and Jugurtha met in battle {Sail. B. Jug. c. xlvii.-liii.). After 
 he had passed over the same ground three times, his conjecture was confirmed. In order to carry 
 on the severe war [helium asperrimum) that he prepared for Jugurtha, Metellus had to march into 
 the heart of Numidia, on Suthul and Cirta. He was proceeding from Vacca, the Bedja of the present 
 day, at 15 leagues to the east of La Calle; he had not taken his road by the mountains, because it was 
 by that covered country that the Numidians lost a march on him ; he, therefore, must have advanced 
 by the plain of Bona, and the Bouinfra was on his road. Jugurtha, on the other hand, must have 
 wished to defend, in an advantageous position, the towns which were threatened by Metellus; and 
 the hill of Bouinfra was admirably suited for this purpcse. From this point, in fact, the Numidian 
 army commanded the plain ; it covered Suthul and Cirta; and was so placed, that without leaving the 
 shelter of the mountains, it could watch all the movements of the Romans. Lastly, in case of mis- 
 fortune, its retreat into the valley of the Seybouse was secured by the Col of Mouelfa. If it were 
 certain that the flumen Muthul is the Seybouse, all difficulties would be removed ; but we only know 
 the Latin and Punic names of this river, the Ubus and Rubricatus; and it is not yet proved if the 
 Numidian name Muthul, only mentioned this once in history, is the name of the same river. At all 
 events, the Muthul, which Metellus had left behind him, was a sufficiently large stream to deserve 
 the appellation of flumen, and flowed from the south to the north. But the Mafragand Seybouse can be 
 the only rivers that answer to this description, and it cannot be the former in this case. Between the 
 Mafrag and Seybouse there does not exist any hill standing out in the plain, and resembling that de- 
 scribed by Sallust. If the battle had taken place between the two rivers, the historian would not have 
 failed to mention so characteristic a circumstance. Nor can it be supposed that Jugurtha would have 
 chosen so unfavourable a spot for the Numidian army; and it would, moreover, be impossible to make 
 the manoeuvres of Rutilius, the lieutenant of the consul, agree with this hypothesis; for Sallust states, 
 that " Metellus coming, after having passed the Muthul, into a dry and desert plain, caused Rutilius 
 to turn back and go to establish the camp on the river. In this situation the consul had before him 
 a hill covered with myrtles, wild olives, and other shrubs, and which was detached transversely from 
 the mountains, and advanced some distance into the plain." Nor would it be possible to give a more 
 exact description than this of the river, and the hill of Ascours, which terminates like a jetty in the 
 Bouinfra. It was there that the Numidians lay in ambush; and it was, no doubt, from the Pjebel-el- 
 Ousth of the Arabs that Metellus discovered them. Coming from the fords of the Seybouse, he was 
 crossing the plain obliquely, and his right flank must have been, as Sallust says, nearest to the enemy. 
 Isolated in the middle of the plain, the Djebel-el-Ousth affords a very strong military position; and it 
 can be easily conceived how, as soon as he was exposed by the movement of Metellus, in coasting 
 along the hill on which the Numidians stood, Jugurtha, in order not to leave at the disposal of the Ro- 
 mans mi advantageous a position, caused it to he occupied by .2000 foot-soldiers. The manoeuvre by 
 which Bomilcar betook himself there with the mass of the Roman army, and the division commanded 
 by Rutilius, becomes now equally intelligible. A single circumstance seems difficult to explain; it is, 
 that according to the Latin text, the distance from Muthul to the hill that is parallel to it would be 
 about 23,450 luetics (,'32,103 yards), ferine millia passuum xx.(the Roman mile is equivalent to Hr2-50
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF ALGERIA. 
 
 457 
 
 Besides the theatre, the castle, and the enclosure, there was also a pretty antique 
 fountain at Kalama, which has, however, been demolished by the modern Vandals of ihe 
 place to assist them in their own erections. It contained on two stones the following 
 inscription : m. ivnivs. rvfinvs. sab. This monument may have been probably erected 
 by a person bearing that name ; and must have contained four basins, presenting at its 
 base a shape similar to a small x. M. Berbrugger found some Corrinthian capitals 
 amongst its materials. 
 
 Kalama contains many more interesting remains, but our space forbids any farther 
 description of them.* 
 
 The ruins of Announah.f near the Ras-el-Akbah, and at no great distance from the 
 road from Guelma to Constantina, present several objects of interest to the archaeologist. 
 They were visited by Shaw and Peyssonnel, who give -very imperfect descriptions of them, 
 
 ROMAN GATE. (ANNOUNAH.) 
 
 owing to the cursory nature of their visits, in company with the Turkish tax-gathering 
 forces. 
 
 An immense ravine extends from the Seybouse to the Ras-el-Akbah, sending out 
 
 metres); while from the Seybouse to the Bouinfra there are only 16,000metres (17,826 yards). But we 
 may be allowed to remark, that the account of the battle corresponds better with the real state of the 
 place than with this announcement of distances. If there had been an interval of 7 leagues from the 
 held of battle to the camp, how, in the middle of the action, could Bomilcar have feared that Rutilius, 
 informed of the critical position of his general, would have con:e to his help.' How, after a severe 
 struggle, which only finished at the close of day, could Metellus have thought of retiring at night into 
 the camp prepared by Rutilius? It was already a good deal to have gone more than 3 leagues. (Jug. 
 c. xlvii.-liii.) Baron Baude, ii. p. 99. 
 
 * Berbrugger, part iii. 
 
 t On Announah, see Berbrugger, part iii. Baude, vol. ii. c. 9. Dr. Shaw, Peyssonel, St. Marie, &c.
 
 458 APPENDIX. 
 
 many lateral ravines. One of the latter, passing and widening between two mamelons, 
 leads from the road of Constantina to the ruins of Announah. On the left mamelon lie 
 scattered the remains of a considerable monument, to judge from the number of columns, 
 capitals, &c. that lie strewed around. Leaving these remains to the left, and advancing 
 to the town, you meet, on both sides of the way, a number of tumular stones with 
 inscriptions, the first of which alone was copied by Dr. Shaw. 
 
 After issuing from the ravine, you perceive the whole extent of the ruins of Announah. 
 The chief of these consists in a kind of triumphal arch and a number of arcades, whose 
 arch springs directly from the soil, and which appear to be coarse and rude attempts at 
 reconstruction by the hands of barbarians, who have mixed up all styles and materials in 
 a lamentable disorder. There are, moreover, at Announah, the ruins of a church, which 
 is a still more curious example of this spirit of confusion, being built of blocks of stone 
 and marble of all sizes, while shafts, and capitals of columns, and fragments of sculpture, 
 are fitted into the wall. This specimen of Byzantine architecture speaks volumes on the 
 disastrous effects of the A r andal invasion, which must have destroyed not only monuments, 
 but the very appreciation of art. 
 
 The town of Announah stood in a considerable valley, and its circumference can be 
 probably ascertained by the tumular monuments that surround it. To the left, as you ap- 
 proach it from the road of Constantina, are vast cisterns ; and a little farther on, the remains 
 of a Roman road that descends towards the Oued-Cherf, which is probably the road to 
 Hippo Regius, joining the great Roman road whose remains are seen at Hhammam-el- 
 Berda (Aquae Tibilitanse).* 
 
 The reader is already aware that Constantina was once the ancient Numidian city of 
 
 • The ancient name of Announah is unknown. It may probably be an Arabic corruption of 
 Annona. This town, being in an eccentric situation, is not mentioned in the Itineraries, which only 
 give the names of the stations on the great road. All that the Itineraries record of the road from 
 Hippo to Cirta is as follows : 
 
 Miles. Leagues. 
 
 Hippo ad villam Servilianam 25 9£ 
 
 ,, Aquis Tibilitanis (Hhammam-el-Berda) . 15 8£ 
 
 „ Cirtam 54 20£ 
 
 94 38| 
 
 We omit here a fraction of one-fortieth, by taking the Roman mile as 760 fathoms. 
 A great number of funereal inscriptions were found at Announah by M. Berbrugger; of which 
 13 give the age of the deceased (two individuals had lived 90 years), and prove the healthiness of An- 
 nounah. As one specimen will answer for all, we present the reader with the epitaph of a venerable 
 lady named Victoria. 
 
 HELVIAE H. F. O. 
 
 VICTORIA 
 
 V. A. LXXXX. 
 
 II. S. E. 
 
 Other inscriptions, some of them containing many embarrassing abbreviations, show how consider- 
 able was the number of citizens of the tribe Quirina that inhabited this unknown city; c.y. 
 
 D M 
 
 l'OMPEI POMPE VETTIA 
 
 S. LELK1VIRIVS LELIO.VIR 
 
 F1L . UVIR. 
 
 ONORASERTIM. 
 
 The remaining inscriptions may be seen in M. Berbrugger's valuable work on Algeria, part iii. 
 pp. 24, 5. 
 
 Baron Baude describes Announah as lying halfway up the Ras-el-Akba, on a natural terrace bor- 
 dered with precipices, commanded by vertical rocks, and only accessible on one side. This singular 
 town, of which the ancient name is unknown, seems built in this out-of-the-way situation merely for 
 the sukc of the line view. The ruins are also in a much better state of preservation than those of 
 Kalama. To the north, and under the walls, you find a zone of tombs, consisting of masonry, with 
 simple inscriptions, and many crosses showing the religion of the people. C. ix. p. 2.
 
 ANTIQUITIES OP ALGERIA. 459 
 
 Cirtha.* On the right bank of the Ouad-el-Rummel are six arches, being all that 
 remain of an ancient Roman aqueduct. They are built of blocks of calcareous stone, 
 the largest pillar being upwards of 65 feet high. 
 
 Among the principal ruins is an old Roman causeway, vestiges of which are found 
 in several places. This road is paved with lozenge-shaped stones of various dimensions; 
 but most of them are about 1 metre in length, GO centimetres (23"40 inches) in width, 
 and 12 (I'GS inches) in thickness. It is bordered by a little parapet of about 40 centi- 
 metres (1;3"G0 inches) from the pavement. 
 
 A volume would scarcely be sufficient to describe all the antiquities daily to be found 
 in this remarkable city. But there is one singular edifice that we cannot omit. "Within 
 the walls of the Casbah or citadel (belonging to most Algerian cities) is an ancient 
 church of Byzantine architecture. Several of the columns have fallen down, but a 
 portico is still standing, which, however, seems to have been built on the site, and with 
 the materials of a prior edifice.f 
 
 Tathubt, bordering on the Ain-yac-coute to the N.E., is about four leagues from Ora- 
 Oley (Sinaab), and eight to the S.S.W. of Constantina. This has been formerly a con- 
 siderable city, but at present it is almost entirely covered with earth and rubbish. Tathubt 
 seems to be the same as the Tadutti of the Itinerary ; and lying between Lambaesa and 
 Gemellae, as the ancients called Tezzoute and Jimmeelah, may lay claim to this situa- 
 tion. 
 
 Ten leagues to the south of Tagou-Zainah, and twelve from Medrashem,:}; are the ruins 
 of the ancient Thubana, which may be probably identified by the present name of Tubnah, 
 and Ptolemy's position. These ruins stand almost in the same meridian as Jgilgilis : the 
 city was situated in a fine plain near Bareekah and Boomazooze, but the few existing re- 
 mains are too much buried in sands for the explorer to be able to estimate its extent.§ 
 
 * Pananti observes, that " la citta, per le antichita che conserva, piu degna d' esser vista, si e Con- 
 stantina" (ii. p. IS). Blofeld (p. 59) and St. Marie (p. 232) both give a summary account of its histo- 
 rical vicissitudes ; and Dr. Shaw had minutely described its principal antiquities more than a century 
 ago. Bochart and President de Brosses maintain that the name of Cirtha comes from karth, which sig- 
 nifies town. Its long siege and capture by Jugurtha are described in Sallust. It was then adorned with 
 fine buildings, which it owed to the splendid reign of Massinissa. The Romans made it generally their 
 winter-quarters, and the capital of Numidia: though Hiempsal II. and Juba, his son, preferred Zama. 
 Sextius held it when the party of Brutus and Cassius besieged him there. But he was relieved by the 
 soldiers of Sittius Nucerinus, who sided with Csesar and Octavian his nephew, and who gave their com- 
 mander's name to Cirta, calling it Sittianorum Colonia ; a name which it soon changed for Cirta Julia, 
 till Constantine honoured it with his own. Barbie du Bocage, Diet. Geogr. to Sail. Jug. p. 195. 
 
 t Vi'e have already alluded to the ancient palace of the Beys, a quarry of Roman antiquities. The 
 chief gate of the four is on a neck of land facing the S.W., and about a furlong broad. This spot is quite 
 covered with walls and ruins down to the river, and along a strip of plain ground parallel with the deep 
 valley, and already described. Such was ancient Cirta; but the present city is not so large. In the 
 centre of the city you also find cisterns for the water brought from Mount Physgeah by an aqueduct, 
 a great part of which remains, and is very sumptuous. The cisterns, which are about 20 in number, 
 make an area of 50 square yards. The gate before mentioned is built of a beautiful red stone, not in- 
 ferior to marble, well polished, and shining. The side-posts are mostly moulded in panels; an altar 
 of pure white marble forms part of the neighbouring wall; and the side of it in view presents a well- 
 shaped simpulum in a bold relief. The gate to the south-east is in the same style and design, much 
 smaller, and opening on the bridge over this part of the valley. This was a masterpiece in its kind. 
 Below the gallery, between the two principal arches, you see in a bold relief, and well executed, the 
 figure of a lady standing over two elephants, and a scallop-shell as canopy. The elephants lace each 
 other: and the lady, whose hair is in curls, raises up her petticoat and looks scornfully on the city. 
 Pananti, who was never there, says that in his time, " V'e un bellissimo arco trionfale che si nomina Cassir 
 Goulah, il castel del Gigante, d'oidine Corintio." This monument is accurately described, with an 
 engraving, by Dr. Shaw; and has been minutely analysed by St. Marie, Blofeld, Madame Prus, Borrer 
 (p. 352), and all recent travellers. 
 
 J Two contiguous and ruinous cities 8 leagues south-east of Constantina, with a triumphal arch 
 supported by two Corinthian columns. Blofeld, p. 64 et seqq. 
 
 § On the plateau of Soumah, near Constantina, north-east, stands a Roman monument, which con- 
 sists of a thimble raised on a cylindrical base, and surmounted by four broken pilasters, between which
 
 4G0 APPENDIX. 
 
 Among the numerous other remains of this province, we have still to notice the building 
 called by the French the tomb of Syphax, and by the Arabs Medrashem, situated near 
 the Ain-yac-conte, or Diamond Fountain, on the road from Constantina to Betna. It was 
 visited in 1846 by Mr. Borrer,* who describes it as having a circular form, the exterior 
 being built of finely-cut stones from 3 to 4 feet square. This exterior coating has been 
 torn away in some places, and you see interior layers of much smaller stones. This 
 monument has a diameter of 40 or 50 feet, and its circular base is ornamented with pilas- 
 ters, with plain squared capitals supporting a heavy cornice which is perhaps 20 feet from 
 the ground. Above this the roof, made of less massive stones laid in regular gradations, 
 runs up to a point. The east face of the base has been a portico, but is now nearly buried 
 in sands brought by the sirocco winds, as well as by stones fallen from the monument 
 itself. This monument is a great object of superstition with the Arabs, who think that it 
 contains a great treasure. A certain Bey of Constantina is said to have battered it with 
 great guns, but to no avail. They think that it is guarded by Jins, or genii. f 
 
 There are the remains of several Roman posts on the route, and one in particular with 
 numerous Roman coffins ; and you can trace the vestiges of a Roman road, in some places 
 in a perfect state, between Constantina and Betna. + 
 
 The ruins ofLambaesa are situated about two leagues east of Betna. Borrer§ went 
 there with General Herbillon and 50 dragoons in 184G. This was a fine old city (having 
 40 gates, from each of which, according to tradition, 40,000 Arab horsemen issued in time 
 of war), lying in a nook at the northern base of the Djebel-Aouress. Its remains are very 
 extensive, the best consisting in a temple of Esculapius, several gateways, and three arches 
 of an amphitheatre. It contains very many finely-chiselled inscriptions, and a furious an- 
 tiquary might spend a century there with profit. On one stone, in very large characters, 
 is the name of Alexander Severus, during whose reign a council was held at Lambassa to 
 condemn an unfortunate heretic, Privat, who, like Servetus, was of course in the wrong. 
 Eighty Christian bishops attended this council : and it appears that much blood of martyrs 
 was shed at Lambaesa during the persecutions of the conservative government under 
 Severus, Valerian, Galerius, and others; and much injury was done to this city after the 
 edict of Diocletian at Nicomedia had been promulgated.|| 
 
 there ought to be a statue, which was in the centre of a rotunda encircled with columns, whose frag- 
 ments strew the surrounding ground. The details of this construction have not the elegance and 
 correctness of the monuments of Rome. 
 
 • Campaign, &c. p. 355 et seq. Blofeld, pp. 64-69. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 t Dr. Shaw supposes that the Koubber Romeah, near Algiers, is of the date of the Xumidian 
 kings; and this ruin of Medrashem, which is of the same form, may not improbably be of the same 
 period ; but it is not probable that it is the tomb of Syphax, who was taken prisoner by Lalius, and 
 died at Alba. 
 
 X This was no doubt one of their great roads, passing through the city of Diana (now Zanah), 
 and leading from Lambaesa to Sitiris (Setif) and Constantina, and from thence branching to Saldae 
 (Bugia). 
 
 § Dawson Borrer's Campaign, p. 355 et seq. 
 
 || Blofeld, p. 64-69. Dr. Shaw's Travels in Barbary, i. 126. Exploration Scientifique, Archeologie. 
 
 Our space prevents us from dilating on the numerous and interesting remains in the regency of 
 Tunis, and in the Cyrenaica. The reader who wishes to study the relics of Carthage, Sicca Veneria, 
 Vacca, Sufetula, &c, must consult the works of Dr. Shaw, Dr. Russel, Leo Africanus, Heeren, Russel, 
 the Lady's Diary, Greville Temple, Captain Kennedy, vol. ii., &c. An admirable account of Cyrene 
 will be found in Captain Beechey's excellent survey of north-western Africa; and those who wish to 
 read of the glories of Kairouan, Mehadia, and the- African khalil's and emirs, can consult Gibbon (ch. 
 lii.), Abulpharagius, Renaudot, Fabricius, Asseman, D'Herbelot, Casiri, Middeldorpf. 
 
 To give the reader a slight idea of the former intelligence and civilisation of the Moors in the days 
 of their majesty, we may just mention that Kairouan was once filled with palaces and schools; that in 
 the library of Cairo, the mss. of medicine and astronomy amounted to 6500, with two (air globes, one 
 of brass, the other of silver; that the royal library consisted of 100,000 mss. elegantly transcribed and 
 splendidly bound, which were freely lent to the students in the capital, as well as at Kairouan and
 
 LANGUAGE. 461 
 
 SECTION II. 
 language. 
 
 With reverence we approach the ancient and venerable tongues of Northern Africa, 
 but mostly the Semitic, of yore the speech of angels, and the vehicle of the Almighty 
 Himself when He walked with man and spake unto the fathers. The accents of tender- 
 ness and love transcending the heart of man, utterance of a sweetness emanating from 
 higher harmonies, flowed in the soft Syriac stream from Immanuel's lips ; and that mys- 
 terious writing on the wall, the warning of the despots once again startling the vision of 
 the New World, was traced in the primeval Ninivean characters affiliated with the great 
 Aramaean family ; and lastly, the glowing yet sublime language of the Koran must ever 
 command the respect and admiration of Christian charity. 
 
 The languages of Algeria fall under four great heads: 
 
 1st. The Berber and its dialects. 
 
 2d. The Arabic. 
 
 3d. The Turkish, now almost extinct. 
 
 4th. The Negro idioms, below criticism. 
 
 Following a chronological order, we shall begin with the most ancient African tongue, 
 the Berber. 
 
 The Berber tongue is subdivided into sundry dialects, including, 
 
 1st. The Zenatia. This dialect exists among the Kabyle tribes, who, advancing towards 
 the west, extend from Algiers to the Morocco frontier of Algeria. 
 
 2dly. The Chellahya. This idiom is used by almost all the Kabyles of Morocco. 
 
 3dly. The Chaouiah. This modification of the Berber belongs to all the Kabyle tribes 
 who are mixed up with the Arabs, who, like them, live under tents and keep numerous 
 flocks. Many Arabic words have naturally insinuated themselves into this dialect, which 
 is greatly diffused in the province of Constantina. 
 
 4th. The Zouaouiah. This language is spoken from the country lying between Dellys 
 and Hamza as far as Bona, and represents the old national idiom in its greatest purity. 
 A slight difference may always be traced amongst the tnbes. to the east of Djidjelli, arising 
 from their commerce with the Arabs. Hence these tribes are considered by the pure 
 Kabyles as degenerate Kabyles (Kabails-el-Hadera). 
 
 The Berber alphabet was long thought to be lost, and at the present time there does 
 not exist a single book written in Berber character. The copies of the Koran, &c, found 
 among the smoking villages of the Beni- Abbess by Dawson Borrer, were all Arabic ver- 
 sions.* The Kabyle tolbas (and they are numerous) maintain that all their Mss. and 
 literary monuments disappeared at the capture of Bugia by the Spaniards (1510). But 
 this assertion cannot stand the test of criticism, though, it is easier to refute it than to re- 
 place it by another and a sounder theory. At the present day the Berber is only written in 
 Arabic characters; and it is said that the Zaouia of Sidi-Ben-Ali-Cherif, of whom we have 
 spoken before, possesses many Mss. of this description. f 
 
 Alexandria; that the city of Morocco at one period contained 700,000 inhabitants; that the Ommiades 
 in Spain formed a library of 600,000 vols.; that Andalusia alone could boast of TO public libraries; and 
 that Cordova, with the towns of Malaga, Murcia, and Almeria, could boast of having produced 300 
 authors. Crichton's Arabia, ii. c. 3. 
 
 • Campaign in the Kabylie, 184S. 
 
 + La Grande Kabylie, pp. 7-9 (1847). 
 
 The following are the characteristic differences of the Berber and the Arabic : 
 
 Arabic has but one article for all genders and cases,— cl; the Berbers have the masculine and
 
 462 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Arabic is at once a rich and a poor language. It is poor, inasmuch as, being the child 
 of the desert, it has no words to express a great number of ideas that are only imported by 
 
 feminine. The masculine consists in the letters a, ou, i, represented by the elif 1 and placed as 
 affixes before the word. The feminine article consists in the letter /, pronounced like the English th, 
 placed as an affix and prefix to the word. We here present a few examples : 
 
 Berber. Arabic. 
 
 Man .... Argaz . . . Er-Radjel. 
 
 Woman . . . Tamettout . . El-Mra. 
 
 Male child . . . Akchich . . . Et-Tfel. 
 
 Female child . . Takchicht . . . Et-Tofla. 
 
 Male slave . . . Akli .... El-Khedim. 
 
 Female slave . . Taklit . . . El-Khadem. 
 
 Young husband . . Isli .... El-Arous. 
 
 Young bride. . . Tislit. . . . El-Arouca. 
 
 Ox .... Afounes . . . El-Bgueur. 
 
 Cow . . . Tfounest . . . El-Begra. 
 
 Ass .... Ar'ioul . . . El-Hemar. 
 
 She-ass .... T'rioult . . . El-Hemaara. 
 
 Camel .... Alr'em . . . El-Djemel. 
 
 She-camel . . . Talr'emt . . . En-Naza. 
 
 Lamb .... Izimer . . . El-Khrouf. 
 
 Sheep .... Tizumert . . . En-N'adja. 
 
 Kid .... Ir'id .... Ed-Djedi. 
 
 Goat .... Tara't . . . El-Ma'za. 
 The masculine article becomes commonly i in the plural, as, irrgtSz-en, men; and the feminine 
 usually ti,—tifounds-en, women. The masculine ending of the plural is en, the feminine in. There 
 are, however, many exceptions to this rule; e.g. akli, male slave, becomes in the plural akl&n-, tara't, 
 plural tirelten, goats. There are also many very irregular plurals, such as vulli, plural of tikhsi, 
 sheep. 
 
 Almost all words are hermaphrodite in Berber, and can receive the masculine or feminine gender. 
 They are not, however, used indifferently, but according to natural laws. In all the animal kingdom, 
 save man, civilised or plucked of his feathers, the male commands the female; by his size, beauty, 
 and strength, he is naturally chief and master. The Berber language always reproduces this natural 
 law, the feminine being a diminution of the masculine. Possession or dependence is expressed by an 
 initial prefix to the second word. This is one of the letters m and n, or the diphthong ou. If applied 
 to persons, all three may be used ; but in the case of inanimate objects, the second n is alone used, and 
 determines the genitive. Example: Tala-m Bou Hai (the source of Bou Hai), Alma-n Bisri (the 
 meadow of Bisri), Agmin Aklan (the country of the negro). (' La Kabylie proprement dite,' in the Ex- 
 ploration Scientilique, vol. i.) 
 
 The Berber language, though one of the most ancient in the world, has never yet had a grammarian. 
 This idiom reigns in Algeria over almost the whole of that series of high cliffs which border the Medi- 
 terranean from the gulf of Stora to the frontier of Morocco. A few hiatuses in the chain occur about 
 the meridians of Algiers and Oran. In the province of Constantina it is found in the high plateaux 
 that give birth to the Rummel and Seybouse ; and in the plains inhabited by the Harachta, Seynia, 
 Telar'ma, Oulad, Abd-en-Nour, and all that part of the country, it is called, as previously observed, 
 Chaouia. It occupies exclusively the whole ridge of the Aouress. 
 
 In the east of the Algerian Sahara, the oases of Ouad-Rir, Temacini, and Ouaregla, are inhabited by 
 a twofold population, some using an idiom called lar'oua, which is the Kabyle. It is found also about 
 the centre of the Algerian Sahara, in the oasis of the Beni-Mzab. In the regency of Tunis it is almost 
 confined to the little island of Djerba, in front of Gabes, about the southern frontier of that state. It 
 occurs again in the little town of Zouara, where the desert meets the sea, between Tunis and Tripoli, 
 and is there called lar'oua. Going west, it is called Clielhia in the desert of Figuig, and in the high 
 and vast chain of the Miltsin, the Atlas of the ancients. It reappears in the gorges of the Djebel-Nfous, 
 between Tripoli and Fgypt, and in the solitudes of the great desert, where it is spoken by the emphatic 
 Touaregs. All the high summits along the coast know no other language; and M. Carette observes that 
 there is really very little difference between the Chaouia and the Chelhia, or all other Berber idioms. 
 
 We also learn from the same source that recent explorations of the desert and remotest Berber 
 tribes (Tuaricks), have brought to light inscriptions in the ancient Berber character, which will give us 
 the Berber alphabet, and prove another Bosetta stone to unlock the mysteries of this venerable tongue. 
 We trust that the French will shortly convert their swords into geological hammers, and their bay- 
 onets into antiquarian pickaxes, and that the future fruit of their razzias will be Berber inscriptions 
 rather than barbarous atrocities. (Explorat. Scient. : La Kabylie proprement dite, by M. Carette, vol. i. 
 pp. <iy, 27, 7G, &c.
 
 LANGUAGE. 463 
 
 civilisation ; and it is rich, because it possesses, on the other hand, many expressions to 
 describe the same thought, when this thought was found in the narrow circle of the primi- 
 tive wants of the Arab people. 
 
 When this language became diffused through the world, in consequence of the Mus- 
 sulman invasions ; and when the Arabs, after the conquest of Syria, Egypt, Barbary, and 
 Spain, became established in these countries, and founded separate empires in them, — 
 it lost somewhat of the uniformity that it possessed at its cradle. 
 
 Each Arabic colony was obliged naturally to borrow from foreign and neighbouring 
 tongues new words to express new ideas, more or less numerous according to the intimacy 
 of its relations with more civilised states. They would also be led occasionally to distort 
 some genuine Arabic expressions from their primitive significations, in order to express 
 the new ideas. And since each of these distinct Arab branches led henceforward an iso- 
 lated and independent existence, and only held mutual intercourse at long intervals, they 
 would find it convenient and less irksome to adopt one or two of the words existing in the 
 Arabic tongue to express the primitive ideas that it admitted, dropping the rest. 
 
 Now it was not probable or possible that in this selection exactly the same words should 
 be chosen by these related but distant branches. Their choice was often directed by 
 chance, and particular countries selected particular terms in the great division that took 
 place of the expressions common to this tongue. Thus arose various modern idioms of 
 the Arabic, presenting certain differences among themselves, but all derived from genuine 
 primitive Arabic words. 
 
 The differences that may be traced, on the one hand, between the spoken and the 
 written language, and, on the other hand, between the dialects spoken in Barbary, Egypt, 
 and Syria, result from a more or less accurate observance of the rules of the Arabic gram- 
 mar ; from the importation of certain words from foreign tongues ; from the more special 
 adoption of particular Arabic words by particular countries to express the same thought ; 
 and, we may add, from idioms peculiar to different regions. 
 
 These differences are, however, less considerable than is generally supposed, particu- 
 larly in what relates to idiomatic peculiarities ; and it must be admitted that these would, 
 in all probability, have been much greater, if the Koran and its language had not been a 
 great bond of union between all the Arab races. Nor can we avoid a feeling of surprise 
 when we behold a tongue that has been handed down through so many ages, and countries, 
 and events, presenting its original form and purity with such slight deviations.* 
 
 It is proper to remark, f that the greater part of the variations of the Arabic language^ 
 may be traced up to a common origin in the learned language, or the idiom of Modhar, 
 which Mahomet employed to write the Koran. It is probable that this ancient language, 
 so very rich in synonyms, of which a great number, however, are mere epithets, only ac- 
 quired its astonishing richness in expressions by adding to its original fund, which was the 
 dialect of the central tribe of the Qoreichites, words borrowed from the idioms of neigh- 
 bouring tribes. The Arabs who invaded and settled in Africa brought there the varieties 
 
 * Grammaire Arabe (Idiome d'Algerie), by M. Alexandre Bellemare, 1850 : Introduction, p. vi. 
 
 t Berbrugger's Algerie, &c. part iii. p. 19. 
 
 % A specimen oftbe operation of external causes in modifying the Arabic dialects is presented in 
 the idioms of Algeria. Throughout the province of Oran, at Algiers itself, and in Western Barbary, 
 the pronunciation of the Arabic tongue is much harsher and more guttural than in the province of 
 Constantina, and there is every reason to believe that this harshness increases at present in north-west 
 Africa in an inverse ratio to the distance and separation of the tribes from the districts of Tunis and 
 Constantina. It may even be remarked that the idiom of the province of Constantina has attained the 
 maximum of softness of all the Arab dialects ; a circumstance that may be attributed to the softening 
 influence of Roman civilisation in Numidia and Tunis. 
 
 Strong aspirations and guttural articulations, so frequent in Arab speech, are uttered with less 
 roughness at Constantina. Some letters have even a different phonic value in the different provinces: 
 thus the word for mountain, pronounced djebcl at Algiers, is sounded like jebel at Constantina, though 
 written the same way in both cases. The variations of idiom sometimes go stiJi lurther, and entirely 
 different expressions are used in different districts.
 
 464 APPENDIX. 
 
 that distinguished the mother-tongue of their fatherland, and have made greater or less 
 alterations in it in proportion as their connection with the Berber race has been more or 
 less intimate. Mahomet, by establishing a unity of faith among the Arabs, laid at the 
 same time the foundations for the unity of language, by the adoption of the idiom of 
 Modhar, with which every well-educated Mussulman is partially, if not perfectly, ac- 
 quainted : but this applies only to the language of religion and science, for in the ordi- 
 nary intercourse of life every one employs the peculiar dialect of the Mahometan country 
 that he inhabits.* 
 
 SECTION III. 
 Commerce antt Agriculture. 
 
 According to Dr. Shaw, the annual taxes of the regency under the Turks brought in 
 1,647,000 fr. about a century ago ; and Shaler, the United States consul in 1822, esti- 
 mates the revenue at 2,360,964 fr. (94,438/. lis. 8d.) 
 
 It appears that, since 1830, Algeria had swallowed up in 1846, 100,000,000 fr. 
 (4, 000, 000/.), + of French money; and the. whole .amount of the tribute squeezed out of 
 the extreme poveity of the Arab tribes in 1846 Was, in rough numbers, 5,000,000 fr. 
 (200,000/.). But Mr. Borrer shows the extreme impolicy of imposing heavy taxes on the 
 Arab tribes, and of seizing their lands, hereditarily transmitted, without remuneration, in 
 order to found a European settlement on it. J 
 
 The total amount of the revenue derived from the colony during the six years of Mar- 
 shal Bugeaud's administration amounted to 105,000,000 fr. (4,200,000/.). 
 
 Since 1835, a portion of the produce of the domaine of the douanes, and of divers con- 
 tributions, was appropriated to the expenses of the towns and corporations. 
 
 Count St. Marie informs us that 5,000,000 fr. (200,000/.) are spent every year over 
 and above the ordinary pay the troops would receive if in France ; 2,000,000 (80,000/.) 
 for the navy ; 2,000,000 fr. (80,000/.) for persons employed in the different departments 
 of the civil service, viz. the administration of the interior, of finance, of the police, of 
 rivers and forests, and of the clergy ; finally, 1,000,000 forming a secret fund for presents 
 
 * See A. Gorguos' Cours d'Arabe Vulgaire, 2 vols. 1849; Bled de Braine, Clef de la Prononciation 
 des Idiomes de l'Algerie, 184S; Ventura's French and Berber Dictionary; Hodgson's Account of the 
 Berber Language, in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. iv. 1834. 
 
 t A report addressed to the Emperor of Fraoce, and dated August 11th, B353, states that the law 
 relating to customs of Jan. 11th, 1851, has been agreat benefit to Algeria, by uniting more closely the 
 interests of France and its colony. But this law, moreover, contained provisions whose gradual de- 
 velopment was destined to procure new advantages to both countries. The application of one of these 
 provisions is urgently demanded at the present time, namely, the establishment of douanes on the 
 frontiers of Morocco and Tunis, in order to favour the opening of a land-trade with those countries, 
 hitherto closed. It has also appeared desirable to lower 50 per cent the duties at present levied on cer- 
 tain produce of Morocco and Tunis when brought into Algeria by land. St. Arnaud, minister of war, 
 proceeds in his report to submit to the sanction of the emperor a project of a decree concerning the 
 land-trade of Algeria. This decree, which has become law, contains 13 articles, which, among other 
 enactments, remove the prohibition made in 1843 on the produce of Morocco and Tunis, though it is 
 continued on the produce of a different origin. The produce of Morocco and Tunis must pass to the 
 cist through Soukara and Guelma, through Tebessa and Ain-Beida, and through Biskara; to the 
 west, through Lalla Maghnia, Tlemsen, and Nedxouma. Douane offices and bureaux to be established 
 at or near Bona, Guelma, Constantina, Ain-Beida, and Biskara to the east; at llashgoun, Tlemsen, 
 and Daya to the west. The Saharian frontier will be closed to all produce not the growth of Algeria, or 
 the offspring of Algerian industry. We refer to this important decree for further particulars. 
 
 I Dawbon Borrer, p. 23.
 
 COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 405 
 
 and losses. This makes a grand total of 10,000,000 fr. (400,000/.) annually, or 200,000,000 
 fr. (8,000,000/.) in 20 years. Yet this does not represent one-fourth of the real amount, 
 for the 547, oOO deaths must be considered that occurred in the army from 1830 to 1845. 
 Each of these soldiers cannot have cost less than 274 fr. (10/. 3s. Id.) at the hospital, for 
 clothing, transport, &c. The custom-house duties in 1845 brought in about 400,000 fr. 
 (16,000/.) per annum. Out of that sum the salaries of the persons employed in the cus- 
 toms' service must be paid. There is no tax on fixed property or on persons; and the 
 contributions from cattle, levied by the troops on the Arab tribes cannot be considered as 
 receipts, for the sale of the cattle produces very little, and the money thus raised is usually 
 distributed among the soldiers, not much to their advantage. Specimens of this are given 
 by St. Marie.* 
 
 The intricate web of employes is condemned as a serious evil by St. Marie and 
 Borrer, under Louis Philippe ; and this host of locusts is still flourishing under the em- 
 pire. In the year 1S45, 24,000 dispatches were received from Paris by the administration 
 civile, and 28,000 were sent to Paris by this branch in Algeria. The number of function- 
 aries is immense, as we have seen; and the pay of the corps in 1846 about 600,000 fr. 
 (24,000/.), and since 1830, 5,000,000 fr. (200,000/.); whilst the European population 
 over whom they acted only amounted to 100,000 persons. The pay of the native troops 
 in 1845 amounted to 7,000,000 or 8,000,000 fr. (320,000/.)f 
 
 As foretold by the visitors in 1844 and 1845, there was a financial crisis in Algeria in 
 1846-7, recorded by Mr. Borrer, when the interest on capital rose to an extravagant pitch. 
 This distress diminished many sources of revenue, save the Arab impot, whose produce 
 has steadily increased. 
 
 The financial legislation of Algeria has undergone great changes, especially since 
 1S39. In September 1st, 1847, the director of finances and the directors of the interior 
 and of public works were suppressed. Directors of civil affairs were appointed in each 
 province, uniting the functions of the suppressed directions ; and this movement decen- 
 tralised the administration of finances, which is now in the hands of the prefects. 
 
 The Arab impots of all kinds, minus one-tenth, have passed from the colonial bud- 
 get to the budget of the state ; and the colonial budget has taken the name of local 
 and municipal budget ; and both budgets have been centralised in the hands of the min- 
 ister of war, who is the only manager [ordonnateur) of the local and municipal diet, and 
 the final paymaster of all expenses. J 
 
 The occupation of Algeria by the French appears to have injured French trade to 
 Barbary up to 183S, but since that period matters have gone on improving. 
 
 * P. 2.37. 
 
 t Borrer. St. Marie informs us that a certain officer bought a house for 300 francs (12/.), which six 
 months after he let for government service at an annual rent of 4000 francs (1001.). Usury in lS4o 
 destroyed the trade of Algeria, by banishing all confidence, ruining the unfortunate borrowers. Not 
 a day passes without six bills being stuck up, headed with bankruptcy. If persons in the employ of 
 government could purchase real property ostensibly, there would be more regard to decorum. They 
 would not go boldly to the public notaries, and sign deeds devoid of authenticity, forms for lending 
 money at 20 or 25 per cent interest. The Jews manage better; they make up the rate of usury by bills 
 of exchange ; this at least is more modest (p. 2G5). Other embarrassments tend to depress commerce. 
 For instance, whatever is required for the army, the shipping under the government, has to be accepted 
 by a commission, to which the merchants invariably offer a gratuity to prevent articles of the best 
 quality being rejected as bad. The following fact is an illustration of this abuse. Six vessels laden 
 with corn for the army were in the port. A commissioner went on board to examine the cargoes, which 
 were of the first quality; but the consignee not having paid the required fee, they were rejected. The 
 government, it was understood, would have taken them at 17 francs (14*. 2d.) per measure. But on 
 change next day, they were purchased all at 30 francs (\l. Is.) per measure; and within a fortnight the 
 government was negotiating for that same corn at 32 francs (11. 5s. \0d.), the new owner having taken 
 care to get it inspected by the right persons. In this case the transaction was good for trade, because 
 the article was in great demand ; but it must often be very ruinous. 
 
 t Tableau, p. 400. 
 
 G G
 
 4GG APPENDIX. 
 
 On the 7th December, 1835, the legal interest was made 10 per cent, in the hope of 
 calling in competition, and cheapness in capitals; and from good information Baron 
 Baude learnt that loans gratuitous in appearance varied in interest from 25 to 50 per 
 cent.* 
 
 But passing to the middle ages, we are strongly reminded of the glorious union of an 
 enlightened freedom and a humanising commerce in the annals of unhappy Italy. Before 
 foreigners had trodden her spirit in the dust, and the church had crushed the elements 
 of her national greatness, the republics of Italy sent forth their active commercial fleets, 
 manned by hardy mariners of the Columbus and Gioja stamp, who bravely ploughed the 
 Mediterranean, and enriched their native land with the produce of the East and South ; 
 while they enlightened Europe with the remnants of the Greek fire smouldering at Byzan- 
 tium. In those palmy days, Pisa and Siene reckoned above 100,000 happy citizens 
 within their walls, who, thanks to the wholesome agitation of democratic forms, were 
 saved from the stagnation of ' order.'' Industry and science marched in the road of pro- 
 gress ; and Italy, in the dark ages, pioneered the road of Europe to the light. But impe- 
 rial France had not then strangled liberty at its birth : imperial Austria and the Roman 
 Pontiff had not conspired in emasculating the progeny of the Gracchi. 
 
 Baron Baude, speaking, of Algeria, says this coast once flourished commercially. The 
 greatness of Carthage had no other basis than commerce : at each page of the ancient his- 
 torians you find traces of the riches of towns which have afterwards fallen into the last 
 state of misery. Such were, in the neighbourhood of Algeria, Bedja (whose markets at- 
 tracted a crowd of Italian merchants), and Adrumetus, Thapsus, besides Utica, on which 
 Csesar could impose in passing a contribution of 13,000,000 sesterces (-2,065,000 fr. 
 or 106,600/.).f 
 
 The history of the treaties of commerce with Africa is very interesting. At the end 
 of the tenth century the navigators of Pisa had treaties of commerce with the sultans 
 of Egypt and Damascus: in 1167, being driven from the Levant and Sicily, they sent as 
 their first consul the famous Cocco Griffi to the Emir of Bugia, and to Abdallah Boc- 
 coras, sultan-of Tunis. From that period dates their establishment on the coast of North- 
 western Africa. The archives of Florence possess the treaty in- Italian and Arabic that 
 was concluded on the Hth of the month Hreval, in the year 662 of the Hegira, between 
 the Pisans and the Khalifs. Ultramontane barbarism and bigotry, however, eventually 
 
 * Baron Baude, iii, p. 7. 
 
 The history of the commerce of north-western Africa is a matter of deep interest, and to treat it 
 in detail would trespass too mucli on our space. We have alluded to the trade of Carthage in the 
 chapter on history; and it will suffice us here to refer the reader to Heeren's valuable work, Reflec- 
 tions on the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Ancient Nations of Africa ; only remarking that 
 this favoured region was once a garden, the granary of Europe, and the centre of a vast and organised 
 system of esoteric and exoteric commerce. Caravans have for ages ploughed the desert, bringing 
 gold, ivory, and slaves to the north coast ; whilst vessels freighted with the luxuries of India, 
 spices of Araby, the fruits of the Levant, and the amber of Persia, have crowded the ports of Carthage 
 and Hippo in the most remote ages. 
 
 In ancient times, observes Baron Baude, Carthage carried on commerce with the whole known 
 world ; and Dr. Russel asserts that at the time Carthage was most nourishing, she traded northwards 
 directly to Britain, and indirectly to the Baltic; southwards to the Gambia by sea, and by caravans 
 far into the interior of Africa; whilst eastwards she carried on an extensive commerce with all parts 
 Of the Mediterranean, and through the mother-city, Tyre, -obtained the produce of India. She may 
 have purchased slaves too from the (ireeian slave-dealers. Her commercial relations would thus have 
 extended over nearly the whole known world, and would only have been surpassed by those of modern 
 Europe since the discovery of America, and of the passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good 
 Hope. Dr. Russei's Barbary States, Ed. Cab. Cycl. p. 22. Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 27, p. 22. r >. 
 See Herodotus on the trade of Carthage, p. 80. Heeren's Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 173. Heeren's 
 Reflections on the Poliiies, Intercourse, and Trade of the Ancient Nations of Africa, p. 53. 
 
 t We find that " oppidum Numidarum, nomine Vaga, forum rerum venalium maxime celebratum : 
 ubi et incolere et mercari consueverant Italici gentis multi mortales" (Jug. 47.). For Btdja, see Cassar. 
 de Bell. Afr. 97. Barbie du Bocage's Sallust, Diet. Geogr. p, 292,
 
 COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 
 
 4G7 
 
 destroyed the prosperity of this trade; and amidst the severe struggle of the following 
 century's crusade, the Pisan flag almost disappeared from the Mediterranean. 
 
 We shall insert helow a few tables from the French official documents to show the 
 state of imports and exports and of navigation in the colony from 1831 to 184ft.* 
 
 As regards the nature of the imports, most alimentary matters have been imported in 
 increased quantities from foreign countries. Materials such as wood, coal, &c, are 
 almost exclusively foreign imports, whilst manufactured goods proceed almost entirely 
 from France. 
 
 Algiers alone engrosses three-fifths of the commercial movement. Oran presents 
 the most satisfactory results; the imports at Philippeville are steadily progressing, 
 and those of Bona are about stationary. Mers-el-Kebir is becoming an important 
 emporium. f 
 
 It appears that, in 1834, 437 ships entered the port of Gibraltar and 385 left it, whilst 
 527 anchored in its roads. 1200 vessels are reported to pass each year before Mers-el- 
 Kebir, the best Algerian port. 
 
 On the 31st of December, 1839, the Arabs possessed S8 boats of 1123 tons burden, 
 and 493 sailors, besides 405 sailors and 60 ships of (595 tons in the ports not occupied 
 by the French. The number of sandals frequenting the ports of Algeria was, in 1838, 
 1329; in 1839, 1391.: 
 
 * Receipts of Customs. 
 
 Years. 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 Accessory 
 receipts. 
 
 Navigation. 
 
 Total. 
 
 1831 
 1837 
 1844 
 1846 
 
 1843 
 
 fr. c 
 
 281,717 3 
 
 704,902 12 
 
 1,292,213 71 
 
 2,417,151 71 
 
 1,613,035 55 
 
 fr. c. 
 11,592 74 
 
 6,365 24 
 12,514 99 
 
 8,769 98 
 14,186 32 
 
 fr. c. 
 9,138 14 
 1.278 68 
 1.113 46 
 14,151 99 
 8,321 76 
 
 fr. c. 
 
 22,000 d 
 220,694 12 
 518,102 43 
 868,477 62 
 409,291 37 
 
 fr. c. 
 
 32 1,117 91 
 
 990,419 99 
 
 1,853,974 59 
 
 3,306,551 30 
 
 2,074,835 
 
 The sum-total of the commercial movement in 1845 was 109,851,423 fr. (4,394,056/. 19s. lrf.) The 
 amount of merchandise transported by sea under the French and foreign flags in 1846 was ; 
 In French bottoms . . 87,304,195 fr. (3,492,167/.), or 72 per cent. 
 In foreign ditto . . . 33,196,266 fr. (1,327,850/.), or 28 per cent. 
 
 t France has almost monopolised the river trade, and the imports of cotton, woollen, silk, and 
 linen tissues. 
 
 The merchandise derived from French ports amounted, in 1846, to a total of 11,906,753 frs. 
 (476,270/.); whereof 563,832 fr. (22^53/.) were merchandise from the French colonies, and 1 1 ,342,921 fr. 
 (361,720/.) were foreign goods. The. total value of the exports from Algeria amounted, in 1846, to 
 9,043,000 fr. (453,716/. 17s. Id.) The exports of oil, which are some of the most important, fell off in 
 1846, owing to a bad crop; and that of wool, owing to an epidemic among the native flocks. The 
 branches of export trade that have the most improved are raw hides, leeches, silk in cocoons, me- 
 dicinal herbs, raw cork from Mount Edough, and leaf tobacco. The exports from Mers-el-Kebir stand 
 first on the list, Bona stood third in 1846, and La Calle fifth. 
 
 England exported, in 1846, 249,580 fr. worth more than in 1845, consisting entirely in manufac- 
 tured tobacco carried from Mers-el-Kebir to Gibraltar. (Tableau, 1849-50, Douanes, p. 454.) 
 
 % In the 9th century the Kabyles and Arabs established themselves at Malta; in the 10th in Sicily, 
 Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and at length in Spain. The Balearic Islands were conquered 
 and settled by the Carthaginians, who captured Majorca (b.Ci 406), whence they were expelled 200 
 years afterwards during the second Punic war. These islands were subsequently conquered by Gun- 
 deric, king of the Vandals ( a. d. 427), who passed from Spain to Africa (429), and made themselves 
 masters of Hippone in 435; but whose empire was destroyed by Belisarius (a.d. 534). The Balearic 
 Islands, which were again conquered by the Arabs (a.d. 797), were ultimately attached to the crown 
 of Arragon in 1229 by Don Jayme. Port Mahon was captured by Khaireddin in 1525, and occupied 
 twice by the English, from 1708 to 1756, and from 1798 to 1802; was restored to Spain by the French 
 arms under the Due de Richelieu and M. de la Galisonniere, July 7th, 1756. Smollett, vol. iii. c. xxv. 
 p. 242. Baron Baude, vol. i. p. 45-6. The sailors of Ivica carry on a brisk trade with Algiers in the
 
 468 APPENDIX. 
 
 The latest analysis of Algerian navigation presents the following results: 
 
 
 French. 
 
 Algerian. 
 
 Foreign. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Years. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1831 
 
 123 
 
 
 
 
 215 
 
 
 338 
 
 
 1835 
 
 341 
 
 28,524 
 
 495 
 
 3,984 
 
 1254 
 
 103,732 
 
 2090 
 
 136,240 
 
 1S37 
 
 1129 
 
 100,202 
 
 1032 
 
 13,211 
 
 1204 
 
 114,664 
 
 3365 
 
 228,077 
 
 1S44 
 
 23(52 
 
 216,028 
 
 1510 
 
 23,340 
 
 2281 
 
 183,325 
 
 0153 
 
 422,693 
 
 1840 
 
 2523 
 
 217,036 
 
 1506 
 
 23,587 
 
 3078 
 
 263,182 
 
 7107 
 
 533,805 
 
 1848 
 
 2151 
 
 209,992 
 
 1846 
 
 26,14) 
 
 2117 
 
 145,042 
 
 0114 
 
 381,179 
 
 The most numerous bottoms are the French, and after them the Greek, owing to the 
 importation of grain from the Black Sea. The English and Spanish bottoms have some- 
 what fallen off since 1848, owing to the slackening of the trade with those countries.* 
 
 Around Bona, Djidjelli, Collo, Philippeville, and especially La Calle and Tabarca, 
 have been, are, or will be, the chief settlements for coral fishing. Tabarca belongs to 
 Tunis; but the 5th article of the treaty of August 1830 gives the French the right of 
 fishery as far as Cape Negro, and 7 leagues ( 1 7J miles) beyond. 
 
 From Cape Bon to the Zeffanine isles, for 300 leagues (750 miles) there is a fair 
 field and good chance for fishing it.f 
 
 present day. This little island alone has 20,000 inhabitants, and 60 or 80 xebecs (Mediterranean craft 
 rigged with lateen sails). lb. vol. iii. p. 91. They were rather populations than armies that went 
 there, and they must have had a considerable naval materiel. They also carried on at that time as ex- 
 tensive a coral fishery as the French do at the present time. 
 
 * One of the most important branches of maritime commerce on the coast of North-western Africa 
 is the coral fishery. The space set apart for the fishery is situated between Cap Roux and the Cap 
 de Fer. All the French coral-boats come from Corsica ; but though they have no duty to pay, they do 
 not seem to gain more than the others. All the Sardinian gondolas start from Rapallo at six leagues 
 from Genoa, and they are either commanded or accompanied by the proprietor. The expense of fitting 
 out is sometimes shared between fifty persons, and amounts to about 800 fr. (32/.) per boat. Each 
 shareholder gets a part of the clear produce of the fishery. Two parts revert to the boat, U to the 
 patron or master, and 1 to each of the sailors ; a part gives about 200 fr. (Si!.) profit. The Genoese are 
 the most enterprising fishers, being still sea-dogs, somewhat of the old Columbus school. Most of 
 the Tuscan boats belong to ship-proprietors (lies armateurs) of Leghorn; and their crews consist partly 
 of men from Torre del Greco, near Naples, and partly of men from the vintage, after their work is 
 over in the winter. The latter go for 70 cents (sevenpence) per day. If the boat founders, the capital 
 is lost. The money advanced on the armament amounts, on the average, to 4500 fr. (ISO/.) per boat, at 
 a profit of 2^ per cent per month. The patron is paid 500 fr. (20/.) for the whole fishery; the common 
 sailors 147 fr. (5/. 19s. 2d.) 
 
 A few boats attend from Sicily; but Torre del Greco, under Vesuvius, is the seat of the most con- 
 siderable trade. The proprietors generally go themselves with the boats, and a new Neapolitan boat 
 is worth 800 ducats or 3360 fr. (140/.); tbe construction is perfect; and the material, consisting of oak, 
 is excellent. 800 or 900 fr. (32/. to 36/.) per boat is the ordinary profit of the summer fishery, which 
 begins on the 1st of April, and ends on the 30th of September. But the expenses last eight months. 
 The amount of coral fished in 1839 amounted to 13,805 kilogrammes (:;0371 lbs.); the duty on it was 
 138,074 fr. In 1838, 33,080 kilogrammes (72,770 lbs.) were fished by 245 boats, with a profit of 
 2S2.884 fr. (15,315/. 10s. lOrf.) The coral is classed into six qualities, the price varying at Leghorn for 
 the last 15 years as follows : — ■ 
 
 Per kilogramme (2 - 20 lbs. avoirdupois). 
 
 Moutri from 14 fr. 71 c. (12*. 3d.) to 19 fr. 4 c. (15s. ldjd.) 
 
 Sousmontre , 11 fr. 40 c {9s. 6d.) to 15 fr. 20 c. (12s. Sd.) 
 
 Exart 5fr. c. (4s. 6jd!.) to 6 fr. 72 c. (5*. Id.) 
 
 Barbafesco „ 8 fr. 86 c. (2s. 9^d.) 
 
 Tenegliatura „ 8 fr. 86 c. (2s. 9J<2.) to 2 ft. 72 c. (2s. Sd.) 
 
 Terraille llottante .-..,, 1 fr. 03 c. (Is. 4\<l.) 
 
 + The latest statistics of the coral fishery, according to the Tableau (p. 540), present us with the fol- 
 lowing results : —
 
 COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 
 
 4G9 
 
 The coral fishery, as previously, was carried on in 1848 in the sea near Bona and 
 La Calle, the attempts in the western waters not having succeeded. Most of the produce 
 went, as usual, to Tuscany and Naples ; and the fishermen consisted chiefly of Tuscans and 
 Neapolitans. 
 
 The Leghorn dealers send much coral to Russia; the rest goes to Gallicia, to India, 
 to China, and Japan by London, and to Morocco. They have agents in all those coun- 
 tries, — the enterprising progeny of Marco Polo on all hands vindicating their right to 
 liberty and independence by the light and learning they have shed over northern bar- 
 barians. Wonderful are the ways of Providence in girding the earth with relays of 
 " Lombards," who spread civilisation and humanity through trade to the walls of China 
 and Jeddo, by means of a worm's refuse ; whilst at home their unhappy land is trampled 
 under the foot of the stranger, as a reward for their cosmopolitan energies. Yet com- 
 pensation is the law of eternity ; and Italian traders may yet turn the tables on czars 
 and kaisers. 
 
 The large round coral is sent to Russia, the pink of the first quality to China, that of 
 inferior quality to Poland, the barbaresca and roba chlara to India. The Algerian Jews 
 employ per annum about 200,000 IV. (8000/.) worth, which they prepare and send into the 
 interior of Africa.* 
 
 Beautiful is the provision made by Providence to meet the wants of progressive 
 humanity. Reason and industry unlock the treasures of the universe, and a wise direction 
 of power would strew the earth with affluence. Chemistry, the child of Arabia, is giving 
 us the sovereignty of the mineral kingdom and the gases ; nor can we doubt that the 
 animal and vegetable will soon bow to our sway, and that man will be monarch of all that 
 he surveys. 
 
 The coast of Algeria is, particularly in its eastern part, one of the most fishy in the 
 Mediterranean. The tunny fishery formed in ancient times the riches of the coasts of 
 Spain, Gaul, Italy, Sicily, and the islands of Greece. The tunny, by a divinely im- 
 planted and infallible instinct, follows with avidity the migrations of those kinds on which 
 it preys. The shoals of tunny formerly entered the Mediterranean in March by the 
 Straits of Gibraltar ; they then used to follow the coast of Spain to the vicinity of 
 Carthagena, occasioning an immense prosperity to that part of the country, whose 
 population lived on the doomed fish, like the silk-worm on the mulberry-leaf. But since 
 the earthquake of Lisbon in 1755, they have left the coast of Andalusia, to approach that 
 of Africa. The regency of Tunis alone has thought of profiting by this change. 
 
 Passing to the internal trade of the colony, we shall still tread on the heel of Italians, 
 who, on the pathless deep and on the trackless sands, had boldly sounded the unknown in 
 search of fame and wealth, at a time when the rest of Europe slumbered and slept a com- 
 mercial and social death, save the republican Hanse Towns and Flemings, the Albigeois 
 Socialists, and the democratic Arragonese and Catalans. 
 
 Before the French occupation, the Regency had its local caravans ; thus every time 
 that travellers went from one town to another, they put themselves under the protection of 
 troops, if possible, or they formed associations for mutual protection. This organisation 
 
 Years. 
 
 Number of boats. 
 
 Proximate value 
 of the fishery. 
 
 Customs. 
 
 French. 
 
 Neapolitan. 
 
 Sardinian. 
 
 Tuscan. 
 
 1840 
 1844 
 
 1S48 
 
 1 
 3 
 2 
 
 43 
 120 
 
 113 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 13 
 
 3S 
 
 47 
 
 IS 
 
 fr. 
 
 660,450 
 
 1,387,000 
 
 r 794,600 
 
 \ €31,7,st 
 
 fr. c. 
 
 102,524 40 
 217,673 20 
 | 12S.-100 
 \ £5136 
 
 Total of boats in 1818, 154. 
 
 * Baron Baude, vol. i. c. vi. ; Blofeld ; St. Marie.
 
 470 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 led to periodical rendezyous, like the fairs of the middle ages in Europe. All the 
 caravans from the interior of Africa regulate their movements by the Great Moghrebin 
 Kafila, which proceeds annually from Fas to Mecca, leaving the Atlas to the north, and 
 which, since the French advances south, has continually swerved more into the desert.* 
 From Fez to Gadamez, in the regency of Tunis, this caravan divides itself into several 
 branches, each of which drops passengers and goods for transverse caravans. In this 
 manner a chain of relations is formed throughout all parts of North Africa. The Pisans 
 joined themselves to this chain, and accompanied the caravans more adventurously than 
 the countrymen of La Peyrouse and Mungo Park. There were three chief points for 
 the starting or intersection of caravans outward and homeward bound : 1, Constantina; 
 2, Oran ; 3, Medeah. The point of junction of the caravans of Constantina and Algiers, 
 or ; more accurately speaking, Medeah, with the great caravan from Fas to Mecca, was at 
 Ouerghela, the most southern town of the Regency of Algeria. It is 150 leagues (375 
 miles) from the coast, and 2° of east longitude from Paris. Leo Africanus, describing 
 it, says: " It is a very ancient town, built in the desert of Numidia, surrounded with a 
 wall of raw bricks, filled with beautiful houses, and well peopled with workmen; and its 
 inhabitants are very rich. Most of the people are black," he adds ; " not through the heat 
 of the climate, but because they have commonly commerce with black slaves, which 
 occasions their breeding some fine children." Here we have another strong argument 
 in favour of a mild system of slavery, advocated by philanthropy and physiology as a 
 valuable means of emancipating the genuine negroes through a noble cross-breed, forming 
 a bridge for them to civilisation, and a link between white and black. Leo continues, 
 speaking of the mulatto citizens of Ouerghela: " They arc pleasant and liberal, and very 
 
 • Le Grand Desert. " Since tile Christians have appeared in the Sahara, as soon as the Great Ca- 
 ravan reccb.es their meridian, it strikes much farther south, by Guelea, Onargla, Souf, and Touzer 
 win reas it used to pass to the north of the Djebel-amour, and by El-Aghrouat" (p. 121). See also Baron 
 Baude.
 
 COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 471 
 
 kind to strangers, because they could obtain nothing without their aid ; all necessaries, 
 such as grain, salt-meat, suet, cloth, linen, arms, knives, and every material, coming from 
 abroad. They have the same veneration for their lord as if he were a king; he has for 
 his guard about 2000 horse, and his revenue is about 150,000 ducats (25,711/. 5a\)."* 
 Dapper adds that, independent of the contributions, the Sheikh of Ouerghela gave every 
 year thirty black slaves to the Pasha of Algeria. f 
 
 Every summer the flocks that people those regions transmigrate to seek pastures in 
 the north, and escape the burning heat of the sun and sand. The disposition of the soil 
 being, in countries governed by the Koran, an attribute to the sovereignty, as it ought 
 to be in Christendom, the people being sovereign, these migrations only take place with 
 the consent of the beys, and under conditions of tribute. Like Tuggurt, the inhabitants, 
 of Zaab require corn from Constantina. 
 
 South of Constantina the camel is the most appropriate vehicle for the nature of the 
 country; to the north of that city you find roads, carriages, and beasts of burden of 
 Europe. Thus the means of transport and the produce are quite dissimilar between these 
 two regions. One overflows with corn, the other is without it.J 
 
 The town of Constantina brings an important contingent to the barter trade of Algeria 
 by its industry. Its inhabitants manufacture the clothes and chaussures (or hose) of the 
 people of the Zaab country, and the harness of their horses; and its weavers, tanners, 
 shoemakers, and sadlers are organised into corporations, showing the ineradicable instinct 
 in human nature for association and ateliers nationaux. You may reckon in Constantina 
 almost as many spinners as there are women ; and it is from their hands that issue those 
 solid and light burnouses, whose elegance none of our European dresses can equal. 
 Strange that the progeny of the meteors of the desert, with a dash of Berber blood, 
 should have achieved the dreams of Louis Blanc, and put Manchester to the blush. 
 The gandouras of Constantina are very beautiful stuffs of silk and linen ; its carpets are 
 more valuable than those of the Levant ; and before the French occupation, 60,000 haicks 
 left the town per annum, without steam-looms: but what power can match industry, or> 
 what machine is peer to the hand !§ The activity of these local industries has of course 
 
 8 Description of Africa, vol. iv. A Venetian ducat is equal to 3s. 5d, 
 
 t Folio, Amsterdam, 168C. Ouerghela is like a port on the hrink of the desert. Its standing popu- 
 lation is ahout 1000 persons, but the concourse of travellers makes it run up to several thousand tents. 
 
 The distance from Constantina to Ouerghela is divided into three parts by the intermediate towns 
 of Biskara and Tuggurt ; the latter of which is 45 leagues (112 miles) north-east of Ouerghela, and is 
 the Turaphyliun ot Ptolemy, the Ticarta of Gramaye, and the Teehort of Leo Africanus. (Baron 
 Baude, vol. iii. p. 43.) At the time of the latter author, the country of Tuggurt paid to the sultan (?) 
 of Tunis a tribute of 50,000 ducats. (8571/. 8s.) The sheikh's revenue was 130,000 ducats (22,750*.). 
 Leo, who gives these details, had lived at Tuggurt in familiarity with the sheikh, and what he relates 
 about the abundance of dates, &c. is still perfectly exact. (Africce Descriptio.) Under the Turks, a 
 detachment of a dozen Janissaries went every year from Biskara to Tuggurt to receive the tribute. 
 This town is now a considerable market for gold-dust ; but the objects of exportation that the merchants 
 of the interior collect there are almost exclusively directed on Tunis. 
 
 X Baude, v. iii. p. 43. Borrer. Explor. Scient. Etudes sur la Geographie et le Commerce de l'Alge- 
 rie meridionale, par E. Carette. Dawson Borrer, who estimates the Tell at 16 million hectares, com- 
 putes that it would admit one person to every hectare, whilst in France the population is only two in- 
 dividuals to every three hectares, owing to the greater richness and fertility of the African soil. Thus 
 the Tell alone, under favourable circumstances, might easily support 1(1,000,000 of inhabitants. Nearly 
 all the Saharian tribes pay an annual visit to the Tell. In winter they have water on the southern 
 plateaux and plains, but at the end of spring they come northward and reach the Tell about harvest- 
 time. There they remain in their black tents during the summer heats, and an active commerce is 
 carried on during their stay ; but when the summer is at an end, they depart, and go home about the 
 middle of October, when the dates are ripe. (p. 236 ) 
 
 § Though the hand may be a slower machine than many others, we have overwhelming proofs that 
 its productions are the best, from the illuminated missals of mediaeval monks to the exquisitely tem- 
 pered, carved, and worked blades of modern Circassia and pf historical Damascus. Revelations of 
 Kussia, vol. ii. pp. 312-13. The silks and satins manufactured at Broussa, in degraded and vile Turkey,
 
 472 APPENDIX. 
 
 diminished one-half since 1837, the date of the French conquest, the reign of order, and 
 the triumph of civilisation. 
 
 In the province of Oran, as in that of Constantina, the corn-lands are all on the 
 northern slopes of the Atlas, and the populations of Ar.gad come there to get their 
 provisions. The caravans ofTafilet arrived formerly with hodies of two or three thousand 
 camels, bringing negroes, wool, feathers, ivory, drugs, gold-dust, and carrying back corn, 
 clothes, and other European merchandise from the Tell of the province of Oran. The 
 tribes to the east of Oran and those of the Sahara of that province are very rich in cattle, 
 of which they formerly furnished great quantities to Spain and Gibraltar. 
 
 The country of the Mozabites and of the Biskris produces little corn, but is rich in 
 dates, in land, in cattle. It is a kind of terrestrial archipelago ; it is scattered with oases 
 severed from each other by a sea of sand ; it advances as a promontory into the desert, 
 and the caravans of Nigritia seek to reach it by its southern part, i.e. by Ouerghela, or by 
 Gardeyah.* Biskris, Mozabites, and El-Aghrouaths, emigrating part of their lives, like 
 the Savoyards, and come to Algiers. Not being the slaves of a hypocritical priesthood 
 or of a degrading idolatry, nor infected by the shallow prose of scepticism, they have 
 obtained a reputation in Africa for their fidelity and their industrious habits. Their 
 honesty is also proverbial ; and unlike Europe, the Sahara can preserve the moral qualities, 
 even when rewarded by wealth and ornamented by learning. But this godly simplicity 
 of the desert will probably soon disappear before the march of Christian intellect. These 
 Saharians bring back the gains of their labour and economy, and some of the tribes have 
 become very rich. 
 
 The beauty, fertility, and cultivation of the territory of Carthage at the time of the 
 Roman conquest, and till the irruption of Genseric, are attested by classical pens ; and 
 we have abundant evidence of the care bestowed on agriculture by the Carthaginians, 
 who wrote many ingenious treatises on that subject, now lost.f Not so Numidia. At 
 the time when the Romans first entered into relations with that country, the Kabyles, who 
 are its most ancient inhabitants, were in a worse condition than that in which you see 
 them in the present day, their fertile country abounding in nothing but wild animals. 
 In his long and glorious reign Massinissa succeeded in drawing his subjects from thievish 
 habits; he made soldiers and labourers of them, and renewed "the face of the earth." 
 Nor were his labours extinguished at his death. "When subsequently the army of Metella 
 marched against Jugurtha, it found, in places where the French troops would now die 
 of hunger, numerous and clear signs of great agricultural prosperity. The fields 
 were covered with labourers and flocks; the magistrates of the towns and country came 
 to offer to the Romans com, provisions, and means of transport.! In the middle ages 
 these same regions presented a flourishing cultivation. At the very gate of Bugia, among 
 the Kabyles, on the right bank of the Soumah, you may see fields regularly bounded 
 and as well cultivated as many in Europe. The Arab agriculture approaches nearer that 
 of the pastoral state of society. They still live in tents, where the Romans had their 
 most solid constructions. Except near the towns, the tillage of ground was, with a few 
 
 are also superior to the best in the Western and Christian countries of Europe. See Spencer's Travels 
 in European Turkey, 1851, pp. 22-3. 
 
 * Full particulars relating to the tracks followed by the caravans from Soudan to the Sahara -will 
 be found in the Grand Desert, by General Daumas. 
 
 t Diodorus Siculus on the wealth of Carthage, p. 79. Polybius, p. SO. Remains of the Cartha- 
 ginian treatise on Agriculture are found in Pliny's works. They were translated into Latin by Soli- 
 nus. Dr. Ruseel, pp. 7, 8. 
 
 I Strabo, Geogr. 17. Cum regionem uberem colerent, nisi quod feris abundabat. Ipse intcnto 
 atquc iniVsto exercitu in Numidiam procedit; ubi contra belli faciem, tuguria plena lioniinuin, pecora 
 tultoresque in agris erant. (Sail. Jug. 46.) ... Is enim Numldas civiles et agricolas reddidit, et loco- 
 latrocinioium cos militiam docuit. (Ibid.) Baude, v. ii. p. 225.
 
 COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 473 
 
 exceptions, a grant from the sovereign to the whole tribe; the only individual property 
 was the flock, the tent and its furniture ; the tillage given to the land only gave a right 
 to its harvest, and the next year the same field returned to common pasture. Here 
 we meet another paradox, — Communism in vogue among the aristocratic Arabs. But the 
 French, like Moliere's doctor, who knew not where the heart was, out change tout cela, 
 and we presume that law-suits will soon flourish as actively in Algeria as in Christendom ; 
 indeed, it is not improbable that there may be the blessing of an Arab court of chancery 
 some fine day. Pasturage lasted all the year there, and men lived in independence on 
 their cattle, in happy ignorance of fences, game-laws, spring-guns, and man-traps. 
 They could not build or appropriate any part of land, without usurping the patrimony of 
 all. Thus they could not calculate on above a few months in planting, reaping, &c. This 
 explains partly why they have always lived in tents and not in houses. The Turks levied 
 taxes in a way to continue this usage. They sent armed bodies of troops, whose steps 
 were marked by violence and plunder, — lawyers in another shape, armed with matchlocks 
 instead of writ, but frank and honest in their extortions, instead of fawning on their 
 victims. "Wherever the Arabs in Africa have enjoyed calm, they have applied themselves 
 to culture, and their conservatism has preserved its old tastes in this as in so many 
 respects. Spain shows, on all hands, the perfection to which the Arabs carried agriculture. 
 The Vega is still a dream of beauty, and Valencia an earthly paradise, though fallen. 
 That Arab agriculture was equal to their architecture, is moreover proved in the librariefe 
 of the Peninsula, especially of the Escurial. Where a Christina wallows in sensuality, 
 an idiot nobility and a slavish people bow to bastard Bourbons, philosophic Moors once 
 thought and taught the inexhaustible riches of industry and of this crust of earth on 
 which man crawls a few hours, while the everlasting heavens tower above and shine on his 
 path of labour, as he toils for the unseen. These noble men anticipated the day when 
 labour should be held the most worthy worship of God, and when universal industry and 
 combination should establish a reign of justice, harmony, and commonwealth on earth. 
 But they had faith and charity unknown to Christendom, which drove them from its 
 bosom ; and Spain, the wreck and ruin of her past,* will long regret her insanity. 
 
 The treatise of Ebn-el- Awam, composed in the twelfth century in Andalusia, presents 
 alone as complete a statement of agriculture as it is profitable. His remarks apply equally 
 well to the climate and soil of Algeria as to those of Andalusia. 
 
 The first branch of agriculture that we shall attend to is that of cereals. 
 
 The soil rarely received, under the hands of the Arabs, any other care than a super- 
 ficial tillage, over which the seed is scattered ; a second tillage covers the seed, and the 
 harvest follows. They say that on the vast zone of good land, of which the traveller 
 crosses a part between the Ras-el-Akba and Constantina, they content themselves with 
 the labour of just turning up the soil, without preventing thereby the harvest from 
 yielding sometimes twenty-five for one. Another remarkable feature of this district is 
 the fewness of weeds. In short, the plains and table-lands of Upper Numidia, now the 
 province of Constantina, are naturally among the richest arable land on the globe. \ou 
 do not find in the zone above noticed those forests of thistles and of great parasitical 
 plants which cover the plain of Bona ; and Baron Baude never saw neater corn than 
 that in the silos of Constantina. The natives give long fallows to the land of this district ; 
 a system that takes the place of manures. The straw of wheat, which is here interiorly 
 furnished with a nourishing and sweet-tasted gelatine or pith, is gathered as forage, and 
 used in winter as nourishment for the cattle. f 
 
 * Let the reader consult Hallam's Middle Ages for a proof of the enlightened and constitutional 
 spirit and government of Aragon in former times ; for Christian Spain reflected at that time the light 
 shed abroad by Arab science and intelligence. See also the History of Spain in Latdner's Cyclopaedia, 
 and Crichton's Arabia, vol. ii. 
 
 t From 1742 to 1793 the corn that the African Company exported from the province of Bona or 
 Constantina cost 7fr. GOc. the metrical quintal. There is much wheat, maize, and especially millet,
 
 474 APPENDIX. 
 
 Next in importance to the cereals are the olive-plantations in the vegetable produc- 
 tions of Algeria. They are very numerous and extensive in Africa, especially near 
 Bugia among the Kabyle tribes, near Tlemsen, and at the foot of the Atlas along the 
 Mitidja; but the native oil that is made is of a very inferior quality, owing to its care- 
 less preparation. 
 
 The olives are also suffered to get rancid, by leaving them many months soaking (en 
 maceration). Near the towns, the carpenters make clumsy bruising-machines to press 
 the olives.* 
 
 The olive has nothing to fear from cold in Africa; it reaches the size of forest-trees, 
 and, though very productive, requires very little cultivation. 
 
 Gramaye counted in the seventeenth century, among families fled from Spain to 
 Algiers, 600 given to the culture of the silk-worm. Peyssonnel found, 100 years later, 
 the numerous plantations that they had made on the coast. Thus, the men who had 
 covered Spain with elegant structures, and converted its valleys into gardens, whilst they 
 shed the light of science over polar darkness, w.ere rewarded, by Christian and Catholic 
 charities, with exile to the coast of Barbary, less barbarous than the heart of Christendom, 
 there to "waste their sweetness on the desert air." Nor were they left there long in 
 peace ; the graceful amenities, superior wisdom, and pacific industry of a liberal race 
 being usually trampled in the dust by the iron heel of military despotism. The Turks 
 destroyed or ruined most of the Andalusian proprietors, and now there only remain a 
 small number of magnificent mulberries ;f silent monuments of the gentle hands that 
 tended them, a condemnation of the gloomy bigotry of our sires and of their allies the 
 Turks. 
 
 The coasts of the Mediterranean carry on a great trade in fruits ; some of which, like 
 the citron, have naturally the aptitude for being preserved, which others have not. The 
 figs of Carthage were the envy and the ornament of Roman tables ; the Levant gave us 
 cherries, and gives us the Christmas puddings of merry England. 
 
 Bona no longer deserves its name of Blad-el-Aneb (the city of jujebs); and there are 
 but few of those fine olives near it that constitute the riches of the environs of Seville. 
 
 The numerous gardens surrounding Algiers only contain wild stock (des sauvageons), 
 as the Algerians do not practise grafts; and this explains the b?.d quality of their fruit. 
 They have in this, as in most things, much degenerated from their Andalusian ancestors, 
 whose system of irrigation, in particular, was the most perfect that the world has perhaps 
 ever seen. Anomalous, indeed, is the apparition of this Arabian people, the meteor of 
 the desert, handing over to us chemistry and algebra, the keys of the material universe, and 
 following the plough in the steps of Socrates and the Emperor of China. "When will 
 Europe learn the debt it owes to the Semitic variety ? 
 
 It has been said that the Mitidja would soon yield. cotton, coffee, and indigo. This 
 quackery has only made a few dupes ; still, cotton is sure eventually to flourish in Algeria. 
 The Moors grew it formerly in Andalusia;]; and it succeeds now in Sicily, Majorca, Arta, 
 and Malta. 
 
 The market-gardens, like the orchards, are very poor. The greatest part of the me- 
 lons, of the water-melons, and even of the potatoes that are consumed at Algiers and Or an, 
 come from the Balearic Islands and from Spain. The garden of the military convicts 
 
 in the province of Constantina, and you meet large fields of rice in the plains between Algiers and 
 Oran. 
 
 * MM. Itoche and Colombon have made great improvements in their olive-plantations in 
 Algiers. 
 
 I The mulberry and the olive-tree flourish splendidly on the road from Algiers to Point Pescade. 
 The declivity of the soil adapts this part of the vicinity of Algiers to the cultivation of orchard-trees, 
 for from the Hospital du Dey to Fort Pescade you hardly pas* twenty hectares of arable land. A few 
 vines had been planted there, too, in 1040. (Baude, vol. ii. p. (13.) 
 
 I Ebn-el-Awam, c. xxii. art. 1.
 
 COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 475 
 
 (Marengo) at Algiers, that of the Misser^hin near Oran, and the attempts made by the 
 garrison of Bona, show what may be expected from the soldiers turned gardeners. 
 
 Among the cultivated trees of Algeria we must reckon, besides olives and mulberries, 
 walnuts, hazel, almond, jujebs, white and black tigs, pomegranate, carob, banana (called 
 Adam's iig-tree), palm, sweet and bitter orange, and the melon and other kinds of 
 citrons : the vine, the red mulberry, caper-bush, and almost all the fruit-trees common 
 in England, such as the apple, plum, apricot, and cherry, stock the orchards and gar- 
 dens of Algeria. The olive, walnut, jujeb, bitter orange, citron, pomegranate, cactus, 
 vine, and worm-wood, are also among the spontaneous productions of the soil. They grow 
 on the mountains, in the valleys and fields. On the northern slope of the Atlas, at an ele- 
 vation of 2000 feet, oranges grow mixed with the aloe and cactus. On the southern slope 
 figs are found at 1300 feet; and wild pomegranates grow in such profusion near Algiers, 
 that their fruit, when perfectly ripe, is sold at six for a halfpenny. Gardens, fields, and 
 houses near the metropolis, are fenced in with hedges of cactus and aloes. The cactus 
 produces the Barbary fig,* which is eaten by the Arabs during six months in the year. 
 The stems, stript of their numerous thorns, and cut into pieces, are eaten by the poor when 
 vegetables are scarce. The shoots when planted will sometimes take root. Of the leaf 
 of the aloe they make a kind of paper, and the fibres are used as a thread for weaving 
 into cords. Palm-trees are not nearly so common as the other fruit-trees ; they are 
 found on hills, in valleys, and among thickets ; they are propagated mostly hy young 
 shoots, taken from roots of full-grown trees. These, if planted with care, will bear 
 fruit in the sixth year, attain to maturity thirty years after transplanting, sometimes con- 
 tinue flourishing for seventy years, hearing yearly clusters of fifteen or twenty dates, each 
 weighing 15 or 20 lbs., altogether between 3Q0 and 400 lbs. of fruit. After this age the 
 tree begins to decline, and falls about the latter end of its second century. It only re- 
 quires to be well watered once in four or five days, and to have a few withered boughs occa- 
 sionally lopped off. The dates ripen only in the spring in the Sahara or Blad-el-Djerid ; 
 but they might be brought to perfection in the north of Algeria, if perfectly attended to. 
 The fruit of the dwarf-palm is less esteemed, though the heart of the plant is much 
 in request. The palma- christi (yielding castor-oil), sugar-cane, cotton- tree, cactus 
 without thorns, madder, flax, and alhenna, grow wild. The latter is a beautiful odoriferous 
 plant 10 or 12 feet high, bears small flowers, with a pleasant smell like camphor. The 
 leaves of this plant, dried and powdered, are used by all African women as a cosmetic, 
 being preferable to the bullock's guts and dung with which the GalLas smear and adorn 
 themselves in Abyssmia.f The palma-christi reaches its full height of 10 or 20 feet in 
 one year. 
 
 Several English vegetables grow in French Africa, such as carrots, celery, asparagus, 
 parsnips, &c. &c. Numerous odoriferous plants, including myrtles, lavender, Barbary 
 and spurge laurel, &c, are found there in abundance ; and rose-laurels form a purple 
 border on the banks of the rivers. During the winter the hills are covered with tulips, 
 anemones, and ranunculuses. In spring you find large fields full of the star of Beth- 
 lehem, asphodel, iris, and yellow lupine. In autumn you meet a large family of squills 
 of all colours. 
 
 Apricots are fit to gather in May. The sashee, or male apricot, though better than 
 the female — as appears the invariable but ungallant rule of inferior nature — is a little 
 later, — like little boys, who are generally more stupid than little girls, but shoot up much 
 higher afterwaids. The common apricot is apt to generate fevers. 
 
 * Pananti, Avventure, vol. ii. pp. 2G-30. Madame Prus, p. 38. Le Grand Desert, p. 384. 
 
 t The Berbers living near the cataracts of the Nile anoint their sleek sable bodies with the palma- 
 christi juice, and sport a luxurious growth of hair, rivalling the bear's-grease crops of the North- 
 American Indians. 'We commend the study of the comparative merits of these cosmetics and human 
 manures to our modern Calvins and Macassars. See Lord Lindsay's Travels. Catliu's Indians, &c.
 
 476 APPENDIX. 
 
 Fruit is very cheap in Algeria even now, but prices have probably doubled, with other 
 blessings conferred by the French conquest and occupation, since 1844. 
 
 The plantations of oranges near Blidah, &c. formed beautiful groves, till the French 
 came and cut them down or burnt them up, to improve the country and promote the 
 reign of order. The oranges of Algeria are as good as those of Portugal, Malta, and 
 Candia. Almonds, pistachio-nuts, and grapes are excellent, and articles of considerable 
 trade. Bona used to be celebrated for its beautiful jujebs. The finest figs in the north 
 of Africa come from Scherschell, whence they are sent to Algiers, Constantina, Tunis, 
 &c. Now the best are gathered in the Middle Atlas. 
 
 Tobacco is much cultivated in Algeria, especially near La Calle,* presenting two sorts, 
 the nicotiana tabacum, and the nicotiana rustica; the latter is the most common and the 
 most esteemed. It exhibits a rapid growth and a vigorous vegetation, and might be as 
 good as any if well manufactured ; nor would it be long neglected if in the hands of Ger- 
 mans. There used to grow much flax near Scherschell ; and alhenna, which grows at the 
 foot of the Atlas, is among the most profitable productions of French Africa. The na- 
 tives have never made much of indigo, though it is very good there, yielding three crops 
 annually. All the plants used as food for cattle grow in the Mitidja ; and we have no 
 doubt that Algeria will some day yield oil-cake miracles, and great exhibitions of prize- 
 cattle, besides aldermen fattened on turtle. 
 
 Moorish kitchen-gardens are not so rich as ours, but they yield plenty of melons, 
 cucumbers, pumpkins, onions, calibashes, pepper, and tomatos ; and the French grow 
 many peas, lentisks, and beans, of which they consume large quantities. 
 
 All vegetables grow to a very large size at Algiers, — like the women, who seem to vege- 
 tate themselves : the fennel and carrots are gigantic ; parsnip. leaves are nine feet long- 
 cauliflowers a yard in diameter. Grasses grow very profusely, and of very good quality > 
 and you meet thickets of dwarf-palms, mastichs,f and thorn-broom growing to a height of 
 two or three yards, but the cactus much higher. The orange and citron trees too are 
 very fine. The jujeb, olive, and carob tree,^ reach an eztraordinary size; the stems of 
 the vines are very large, and the bunches of grapes enormous. 
 
 Opium, according to an examination by a commission of the French Academy in 
 1844, is very good, with as much morphine as the best of Smyrna or India. § This is glad 
 tidings for our allopaths, who may import cheap cargoes of this drug ad libitum, and 
 poison their patients a discretion. Algeria grows other narcotics besides opium and 
 French economists, — I mean hashish, or Indian hemp, of which we have already 
 treated. |[ 
 
 * Baron Baude, v. ii. p. IG4. 
 
 t The mastich is properly the lentisk, pistachio leniiscusoi Linnaeus, pistachio atlantiea of Des- 
 
 fontaines. It is very common in the Sahel, but does not grow in the Sahara. The (lowers are in fle.shy 
 membranes ; and the fruit is small, globulous, and of a red colour. The resin of this tree, called 
 mestika, is greatly used in the East to strengthen the gums and whiten the teetli ; but it is almost 
 exclusively cultivated in the island of Seio for this purpose. Olivier (Voy. dans l'Europ. Ottoman, 
 vol. i. p. 292) describes the incisions made in July to extract the resin, which drops down the trunk 
 like tears, and is removed with iron instruments, &c. Grand Desert, p. 408. 
 
 t The carob is called in Arabic kharoub, and is the cerafonia siligua of botany. It is a rather 
 large tree, growing vigorously on the coast, but seldom in the uplands, because of the cold in winter. 
 Its fruit consists of saccharine particles, sold in great sacks in tin- markets. Grand Desert, p. 396. 
 
 § Blol'cld. The reader will (ind a scientific classification of Algerian plants in the Algerian Flora 
 at the end of Berbrugger's Algerie, and in the Exploration Scientitique; also in Desfontaines' Flora 
 Atlantiea. 
 
 II We must now attend to cattle and pastorals. Horses and oxen are becoming much rarer in Al- 
 geria than they were. The line Barbary horses are very scarce, and only found amongst the mest 
 powerful sheiks. The Deys of Algiers had a haras stud at the Rasauta ; and the government of Tunis 
 still keeps one, which is celebrated. (Captain Kennedy, Baron Baude, or the Lady's Diary.) 
 
 In 1838 there were bought 683 horses, costing 188,004 francs; and 1225 mules, costing 537, !)!)0 francs 
 (7G22/. lis. Hd. and 21, OK/. 12s. Gil.). The provisions with which the camps are supplied are carried
 
 COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 477 
 
 on the backs of mules, imported from Perpignon, which are the only animals that have not suf- 
 fered by the change of climate and country in Algeria (St. Marie). The victualling department for 
 the army employs for draught large white oxen, from Italy. Some landed proprietors attempted to 
 import cows, &c. from Switzerland, and a premium of 50 francs (21.) per head was granted them as an 
 encouragement; but the scheme was not successful. The great change of climate and food do not agree 
 especially with ruminative animals. 
 
 The Arabs, like clever economists, have but a very imperfect notion of the idea of property in the 
 soil; poor unsophisticated fellows that seem to feel instinctively, with Proudhon, that "property is rob- 
 bery ;" but they understand very well the right of property in animals, flocks, and women. 
 
 The herds of horned cattle are innumerable in French Africa. Before 1S30 meat had a low price in 
 Algeria ; an ox was sold for 20 francs (10*. 8c/.) ; and many tribes only obtained money from the leather 
 of their herds. Matters are now much changed. The French consumption of meat has clearly over- 
 thrown the balance of the pastoral riches of the country, and when the French are in power the price 
 of oxen is three or four times as high. Here again we have the usual accompaniments of the march 
 of intellect and the advance of civilisation. Excessive competition and inordinate luxury convert 
 plenty into poverty. In 1837 the meat for the army cost 2,S73,353 francs; in 1838, 2,185,102 francs 
 (116,334;. 2s. 6d. and 87,404/. 3s. id.). 
 
 A great part of the wool that commonly went to the markets of Algiers, Bona, and Oran, has taken 
 since the conquest the road of Tunis, or of the ports of Morocco. At the capture of Algiers in 1830, 
 there was in the warehouses of the divan an accumulation of 130,000 quintals of wool (2S, 000,000 lbs.), 
 having a value of 1SO,000,000 francs, forming 7000 bales. Constantina used to be at one period one of 
 the chief wool-markets of the desert, and fleece weighing about 2 kilogrammes, 4'40 lbs., were only 
 worth, according to their quality, from 50 centimes (5c/.) to 1 franc (10c/.) per piece: these prices had 
 already doubled in 1841. 
 
 Before leaving the subject of agriculture and pastorals, we propose to offer a few brief remarks on 
 the efforts of the government to preserve or improve the breed of horses. The first stud (depot of stal- 
 lions) was at Mostagamen in 1542, since which two have been established at Kobat andAlelick, 6 kilo- 
 metres (3j miles) from Bona. 
 
 There are three classes of Arab horses in Barbary: 1st, the Tunis; 2d, the Morocco; 3d, the old 
 regency of Algiers breeds. The two first are higher, and stand more fatigue than the latter. " I have 
 known," says St. Marie, " a Morocco horse mounted by a spahi (native trooper), travel in 1 1 hours 50 
 leagues (125 miles), without a moist hair or the need of the spur. The Algerine horse is shorter and 
 plumper. The ordinary price of a 4 or 0-year old is about 200 francs (8/.). At Oran, stallions brought 
 from Tunis have fetched 2000 francs (SO/.); but that is a government price, and one cannot j udge from 
 it of the average prices." St. Marie's Visit, 1845. 
 
 The Algerian breed of horses being found (1S45) to degenerate, the government determined to have 
 recourse to the east, to central Arabia for ncdjis, and to Syria for anez is, which are affiliated by race 
 with the Barbs. They have also attended to the improvement of the breed of mules, by introducing 
 jack-asses from Spain. General Oudinot, of liberticidal notoriety, has devoted much attention to, and 
 spilt ink in this service. 
 
 The French hope by these means to improve the breed as they call it, i.e. to civilise the hardy 
 Arab horse, and make him like the European, subject to influenza, dyspepsia, and the protaean ner- 
 vous complaints of our thrice-happy hemisphere. Xo wonder that the Arabs are rather chary about 
 supplying the studs with mares. 
 
 We presume, however, that French grooms of the Oudinot school will eventually confer the bless- 
 ings of order and civilisation alike on Arab steeds and Roman citizens, and that the regency will shortly 
 be stripped of its animal and vegetable ornaments and treasures. 
 
 Borrer, p. 21, describes that at Aria there is held once a week one of the greatest markets of the 
 plain, much frequented by Arabs, who bring horses, cattle, &c. to it. The province of Constantina is 
 more productive of horse-flesh and ass-flesh than the others; and it appears that in the last three 
 months of 1S45, S279 horses, mules, and asses, came to the Constantina markets, whereas to those of 
 Algiers there came only 5023, and to those of Oran 2341. 
 
 A matter essentially related to the agriculture of Algeria is the drying up of the marshes and 
 the irrigation of the plains. From the foot of the mountains to the sea, the surface of the basins of the 
 Hamiz, the Haratch, and the Mazafran, is about 140,000 hectares (350,000 acres). The rivers of Algeria 
 only float boats towards their mouth for a very short space, where, mingling their waters with those 
 of the sea, they acquire a little depth. In no country are the gorges of valley, which may be barred at 
 little cost for the establishment of artificial reservoirs, so numerous as in the branches of the Atlas. 
 
 The Arabs may be styled the inventors of irrigation, yet the lazy and surly Turks, as every where 
 else, suffered the conduits to go to ruin and the woods to be destroyed. Nature had thrown her pearls 
 before swine, and their successors seem still allied to a nameless quadruped in their neglect of this ob- 
 vious pillar of agricultural prosperity. The blindness of civilised states in laying the axe at the root of 
 all trees has been well manifested in results, and lashed by cynical pens and wits of the first order. 
 (See Charles Fourier's Unite Universelle.) The power of an organised system of planting is an esta- 
 blished fact, nor can we over-estimate the influence of man in doctoring the distempers of a restive
 
 478 APPENDIX. 
 
 climate and soil, and in patching up the rickety constitution of our unfortunate planet, the victim of 
 man's neglect and depravity. Large tracts of Persia (see Frazer's Persia, also Spencer's Travels in 
 European Turkey, and Forties's Spain, where the reader will see how much fine European land lies 
 ■waste through the crimes of Russia and of Bourbons), once a garden, are now a waste; the sands of 
 Libya have won a broad stretch of the vale of the Nile ; and Algeria, the granary of Rome, is in a great 
 part the home of frogs and a nest of locusts. Sublime visionaries have dreamt of reclaiming the desert 
 by irrigation, end practical minds have coolly argued its chances. Nor can this age of wonders dare 
 cough down a yet more wonderful future. The rich lands of Spain lie fallow and deserted, that once 
 waved with Moorish harvests, and the rich pusztas are a desolation whilst Bourbon and Hapsburg 
 idiots reign, and their butchers blight the fair face of glorious nature. Oh, when will the nations learn 
 to combine in works of cosmopolitan utility, instead of filling the air with the shriek of despairing 
 liberty and expiring nationality, and manuring a paradise with the hearts' blood of heroes! 
 
 Reverting to Algeria, we find that the natives hum and neglect the woods, yet the lentisk, the 
 carob, the wild olive, the holm oak, the myrtle, the oak tree, though in the form of brushwood, carpet 
 the Algerian soil on all sides. All the forest-trees of the south of Europe would thrive in Algeria; 
 and Baron Baude saw on the Boudjareah pines of Aleppo of the greatest beauty, and near the lake 
 of Tonegue elms and magnificent poplars. 
 
 Besides wood useful as fuel, for carpentry, &c, Algeria has a great many forest-trees of valuable 
 timber, and rare in France, such as oaks with sweet acorns, and oak trees (quercus ballota fruetn 
 longissimo). Desfontaines, of the Academy of Sciences, has given a very detailed description of the 
 former (tome ii. Voyage dans la Regence d' Alger, #c). He saw vast forests of this oak in the moun- 
 tains near Blidah, Mascara, and Tlemsen. The acorns were sold in the public markets; the Moors eat 
 them raw, or roasted under cinders ; they are very nourishing, and have no bitterness; large herds of 
 swine in Spain are fattened on them, — no agreeable analogy for the pig-hating Mussulmans. Baron 
 Baude says, •' I have been told that in certain districts of Barbary a very sweet oil was obtained from 
 them, equal to that of the olive. The wood of the ballota oak is hard, compact, and very heavy ; and 
 it might be useful in the works of carfwrights. &c. and of carpentry." 
 
 We shall now attend to the extensive and valuable cork-wood forests that clothe some parts of 
 Algeria. Bordering the road to Bona, near El Khallah, or La Calle, above the hills of that town, you 
 find about 50,000 acres of beautiful forest, intersected with lakes and prairies, and stocked with cork, 
 elm. ash, and gall-bearing oak-trees. These forests could furnish cork sufficient for the consumption 
 of all Europe. (Blofeld). 
 
 Our space will not permit us to dwell on the interesting subject of the forests of Algeria, a great 
 part of which have been surveyed by the service foreslier, or the engineers. The following tables will 
 show the reader the extent and quality of all the forests of Algeria that have been hitherto explored. 
 
 Contents of the explored forests, 1849. 
 
 Province of Algiers 168,645 hectares 421,612 acres. 
 
 „ Oran 269,764 ,, 674,410 „ 
 
 „ Constantina 429,606 „ 1,074,015 „ 
 
 Total .... 868,015 ,, 2,170,037 ,, 
 
 Most of the forests are, however, mixed in the quality of the trees that compose them. 
 
 Seven forests have also been ascertained in the Sahara, containing 27.000 hectares, at a proximate 
 estimate (68,000 acres), which, added to the 104,700 hectares (261,750 acres) of the forests of Batna, 
 Aouress, and Tebessa, and to the 868,015 hectares previously noticed in the Tell, give for the whole of 
 Algeria 999.915 hectares (2,498,537 acres). These estimates are given from the Tableau, 1849-50, p. 438. 
 
 The pepinieres are government nursery-grounds, some of which appear tone in a thriving condition, 
 and to have succeeded in introducing many foreign plants into Algeria. In the season 1S50-51 they 
 were in a condition to supply the public plantations, Src. with 625,776 shoots of trees, 305,813 herba- 
 ceous vegetables, 14,403 kilogr. (316 S0'60 lbs.), 992 grams, of different grains. The sum total of these 
 plants represents a value (according to the trade price) of 604, 130 fr. 50 cents (24,165?. is. Id), and 
 according to the tarif of the prices of the administration, 228,152 fr. 16 cents. Attempts are making 
 to introduce the tallow-tree, the china hemp, the bamboo, t lie camphor tree, the ricus elastica, &c. No 
 care has been spared in advancing the interests of these experiments, according to the Tableau; yet 
 Borrer, in 1846, represents the Guelma Pepiniere as particularly remarkable for its flourishing weeds. 
 The cotton plantations are most thriving. 
 
 Three railroads are in contemplation in Algeria, 1st, from Philippeville to Constantina; 2d, from 
 Algiers to Milianah, through Blidah ; 3d, from Oran to Algiers, with branches to Tlemsen and Arzeu. 
 It is estimated that the latter line could be opened from Oran to St. Denis du Sig within two years. 
 
 To complete our picture of Algeria, we must not omit the roads and bridges, the arteries of a 
 country; and here we readily admit that the French have done much in the way of improvement. 
 The annexed table will enable the reader to judge for himself;
 
 COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 
 
 479 
 
 Provinces. 
 
 Length. 
 
 Expense. 
 
 Algiers 
 
 Constantina 
 
 Total .... 
 
 metres. 
 949,441 
 
 1,655,450 
 466,850 
 
 fr. c. 
 8,825,895 16 
 2,295,262 19 
 
 3,208,142 40 
 
 3,071,741 
 
 14,329,399 75 
 
 To fill up our picture of the principal channels of intercourse in Algeria, we shall add the following 
 particulars from the Exploration Scientifique : Philippeville is 343 kilometres (213-1 miles) east, 3° 
 north, in a straight line from Algiers, and 354 kilometres (220 miles) by sea; from Constantina 63 
 kilometres in a straight line, and 77 kilometres by the road. Constantina is in 36° 22' 21" lat. north, 
 and 4° 16' 36" long, east, and 664 metres (2177*92 feet) above the sea, according to M. Boblaye ; this 
 refers to the Kasbah; the maps of the depot de la guerre give it 656 metres (2161-68 leet), but this may- 
 refer to another point. 
 
 Constantina is 3:0 kilometres (199-4 miles) east, 7° 17' south from Algiers in a straight line, and 
 431 kilometres (267 miles) by Philippeville, the only road now taken; 390 kilometres (242 miles) by 
 the Biban or Iron Gates; but the real road is only 365 kilometres (2275 miles), of which 240 (150 miles) 
 by sea to Djidjelli, and 125 (78 miles) thence to Constantina, following first the sea-shore, and thence 
 the Ouad-el-Kebir. The last part of the road will admit of a railway, now in contemplation. Con- 
 stantina is 118 kilometres (73 miles) west, 290° 21' south from Bona; the actual distance is 170 kilo- 
 metres (106J miles) by Guelma, and 150 kilometres (93| miles) by El Arrouch. (E. Carette's Koutes 
 suivis par les Arabes. Explor. Scient.) 
 
 The following table represents the bridges built by the French in Algeria : 
 
 Provinces. 
 
 Number 
 
 of 
 Bridges. 
 
 Length. 
 
 
 Wood. 
 
 Wood 
 or piles. 
 
 Masonry. 
 
 Expense. 
 
 Algiers . 
 (•ran 
 Constantina . 
 
 Total . 
 
 43 
 18 
 25 
 
 metres. feet. 
 794-45 (2605-7960) 
 546-40 (1792-1920) 
 321-75 (1055-3400) 
 
 473 
 
 50 
 
 78 
 
 91-50 
 
 1S7-00 
 
 52-00 
 
 fr. c. C s. d. 
 1,126,288 29 (45,050 10 104 
 616,7S0 41 (25,870 4 6 
 272,687 94 (10,907 12 5-* ri 
 
 86 
 
 1662-60 (5453-3280) 
 
 607 
 
 33050 
 
 2,045,756 64 (81,830 5 
 
 We have reserved for this place our remarks on the mineral treasures of Algeria, which, though 
 yielding metal less attractive than Australia and California, is more likely to hasten the return of a 
 golden age. In the province of Algiers iron, copper, and lead ore has been found in abundance near 
 Milianah. Four mines have been conceded ; 1, those of Mouzaia (iron and copper), employing 400 men, 
 annual yield 17,571 metrical quintals (3,S65,620 lbs. avoirdupois), value 271,083 fr. (10,807/. 6s. 8d.); 
 2, Oued Alalah (copper and iron), employing 120 men, yield 15 or 20 per 100 at a rough value of 350 fr. 
 per ton ; 3, iron and copper mines of Ouad Taffilez, 50,000 fr. (2000/.) spent on it in 1850, but no yield 
 as yet ; 4, iron and copper mine at Cape Tenes, in the same state as the last. 
 
 The permits to work are five in number, two being in operation, i. e. those of the Oued Merdja and 
 of the Oued Kebir. The first employs 20 workmen, with a yield of 70 tons of pyritous copper ore and 
 of carbonated iron; mean richness, 17 per cent ; rough value, 22,400 fr. (S9G/.) The Oued Kebir only 
 employed 7 men, with a yield of 50 metrical quintals (10,000 lbs.); value, 1400 fr. (56/.) 
 
 Constantina. Veins of iron ore have been lately found at the Bou K^aiba, near Jemmapes, yielding 
 a great quantity of oligist and oxydulated iron ; in Mount Edough, presenting rich brown hematites, 
 and at Ouad el Arong, near La Calle, where are several veins of peroxydated iron. There is a lead 
 mine at the Nbails, 40 k-lometres (24 miles) from Guelma. Galena has been found at Skikida, near 
 Philippeville. It is inserted in very thin veins, in clayey slates, and yields 50 grammes of silver 
 (31 dwt. 5-150 grains troy) per quintal of slick. Five mines have been conceded in this province: 
 Kefoum Thaboul, Bou Hamra, Karesas, Ain-Moika, and Meboujda. 
 
 Kefoum Thaboul is a lead mine, employing 70 to 75 workmen; yield 7 or S000 metrical quintals 
 (1,768,000 lbs.), independently of the galena, which yields 55 to 00 of lead and 175 grammes of silver 
 (6J oz. avoird.) to the quintal ; Bon Hamra had yielded, in 1846 and 1 S47, 7500 metrical quintals (1,650,000 
 lbs.); Karesas, 1900 metrical quintals (380,000 lbs.) ; AinMorki, 21 metrical quintals (4020 lbs.). 
 
 In 1S49 they had stopped working. Medoubja, also an iron mine, bad stopped in 1850. Exploration 
 has been permitted in various parts, showing rich veins of magnetic iron at El Mkinem, near Bona; 
 oligist and oxydul;:ted iron at Filrila; antimonial galena at Oued Cherf ; pyritous copper and sulphur- 
 ated zinc at Ain Barbar ; oxydatcd and sulphurated antimony at Djebbel Taya ; and oxydated anti- 
 mony at Ain-Babouch. 
 
 Province o/Oran.—An important vein of pyritous copper has been discovered among the Oued All,
 
 480 APPENDIX. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 Natural Hfetorg, Ecology, &r. 
 
 The kumrah is a little useful beast, — a cross between an ass and a cow; its hoofs 
 being like the former, but having a sleeker skin, with a tail and beard like its mother's, 
 but without horns. 
 
 These species are, however, greatly interior to the camel, an animal of the greatest 
 utility to the Arabs, and to the devout mind a beautiful evidence of design and bounty 
 in the Creator. Its strength, docility, and indefatigable patience are invaluable ; and 
 its ability to go seven or eight days without water make it a treasure in the desert. Two 
 quarts of beans or barley, or a few balls of flour, are enough to support it for a whole 
 day. Pliny's observation, that they disturb the water before drinking, is correct, as also 
 that they are long in drinking. They first put their heads deep in, and then make suc- 
 cessive draughts like pigeons. Camels carry 6 or 7 cwt. A day's journey for them con- 
 sists of from 10 to 15 hours, at 2\ miles per hour. A great many camels are found in the 
 Mitidija and on the sides of the Little Atlas ; and those about Algiers are very fine. The 
 dromedary species, called in Algiers ashaary, is much rarer there than in Arabia. It is 
 noted for its swiftness, and the Arabs say it will go in one day as far as one of their horses 
 in eight or ten ; hence those messages which require speed are, in the Sahara and through- 
 out the south, transmitted by the dromedary, the Arab telegraph, which is said to have a 
 finer and rounder shape than the common camel, and also a smaller protuberance on its 
 back. The common camel has its head at liberty when on the turf, or rather sand ; but 
 this species is managed by a bridle, which is usually fastened to a ring fixed in its nostrils. 
 The young dromedaries are born blind, and continue so ten days after birth, whence their 
 name of ashaary.* 
 
 8 kilometres (5 miles) south from Arbal. Carbonated hydroxide iron has also been discovered at the 
 mountain of the Lions ; lead galena near Sebdou, &c. No concession had been made in this province 
 in 1850; but two permits to explore had been given: one, for an anthracite vein of combustible mineral 
 at the foot of the mountain of the Lions ; the second, for oligist-micaceous iron at Djebel Mansour, 
 near Cape Ferrat. 
 
 As regards quarries, we find 110 in the province of Algiers in 1849, employing S90 men, yield 196,765 
 cubic metres of gypsum and stone (1 cubic metre being equal to 35-2S7,552 cubic feet, or 1 -306,946 cubic 
 yards). The province of Constantina had, in 1S49, 112 quarries ; workmen, 1006 ; yield 201,806 cubic 
 metres of stone and gypsum. The province of Oran had 105 quarries ; workmen, 812 ; yield 7406 
 cubic metres of stone and gypsum, besides an enormous quantity of bricks and tiles (3,890,000). 
 Tableau, p. 393 to 396. 
 
 • Col. Daumas in his Grand Desert, and Castellane copying him, have described the mahari of the 
 Touaregs, which appears to be what we call a dromedary. Form much more slender than that of the 
 common camel; elegant ears like the gazelle, the supple of the ostrich, the belly of the hare; head 
 gracefully shaped, black and prominent eyes, long and firm lips well concealing its teeth ; hump small, 
 breast protuberant, tail short, limbs slender below, but muscular from the knee to the trunk; feet 
 not spreading, and its tawny-coloured hairs as fine as those of a jerboa (p. 4S3). 
 
 The mahari supports fatigue better than the camel, and never betrays an ambuscade ; hence they 
 give every care to the education of the young onos. The children play with it in the tent, and it loves 
 them much from gratitude. It is first called boukuetaa (father of shearing), after being shorn in the 
 spring; then it takes the name of heug, from the verb hdkeuk, he has understood or become reasonable, 
 when two years old. He is now broken in and trained, then a ring is put into his right nostril ; a 
 rahhala or common saddle is put on his back, and the master mounts him, sitting cross-legged on his 
 neck. The least movement of the nostril gives much pain, and he obeys at once. If the heug can stop 
 suddenly when going full tilt, or describe a narrow circle round a spear, his education, like that of a 
 modern miss, is complete. Miracles are told of his speed, sobriety, and courage. Castellane, who saw 
 
 imaharis, corroborates thesefacts, p. 2S6. General Marrey in his expedition to El Aghrouath, June 
 
 1844, received a gift of3mahara. He describes them as a variety of the camel genus; their usual 
 pa i a not, which they can keep up all day. Herodotus says that the Arabs of the army of Xerxes 
 had camels as quick as horses (book vii. c. 76).
 
 NATURAL HISTORY, GEOLOGY, ETC. 481 
 
 Black cattle in Algeria are generally very small and slender, the fattest of them weigh- 
 ing five or six cwt. The cows yield only one quart of milk at a time. Their butter 
 is not so good as ours. The sheep and goats contribute to the dairy. There are two 
 kinds of sheep : one common all over the Levant, with a broad tail, sometimes ending in a 
 point, sometimes broad at the bottom. The flesh of this kind tastes of wool, but the tail 
 itself is delicious, and like marrow. The other kind, bred in the neighbourhood of Ga- 
 damis, Ouaregla, and the more distant parts of the Sahara, are nearly as high as our fal- 
 low-deer, and, save the head, are like them in shape. The heat of the climate, want 
 of water, and the coarse and dry herbs on which they feed, make the flesh dry, and the 
 fleece coarse. All their cattle are numerous and prolific ; many Arab tribes having only 
 300 or 400 horses, possess from 3000 to 4000 camels, and 12,000 sheep or oxen. They do 
 not often kill them, but live chiefly on butter-milk, bread, dates, &c. By proper care 
 and shelter, the whole country would soon be overrun with them. 
 
 Passing to the wild mammalia, we find, 1st, the becker-el-wash,* a kind of wild black 
 cattle, which have a rounder body and flatter face, with horns bending more to each other, 
 than the tame kind. They may possibly be the bubalies of the ancients, or the bos Afri- 
 canus of Bellonnis. The same name is also given to a species of the deer genus. 
 
 The fishtail, called also sometimes the lerwee, is like the big horn of North Ame- 
 rica, the most timorous of the goat tribe, plunging, when pursued, down precipices if there 
 are any in its way. It is of the size of a heifer one year old; has a rounder body, and 
 tufts of shaggy hair on its knees about one foot long, and another upon the neck of about 
 five inches. Its colour is the same as that of the becker-el-wash, but the horns are 
 wrinkled and turned back like the goat's, from which also they differ in being more than 
 a foot long, and divided upon the forehead by a small strip of hair, as in the sheep genus. 
 The fishtail seems to be the tragelaphus of the ancients, an animal between a goat and a deer, f 
 
 The becker-el-wash and the gazelle are gregarious, and have both of them the same 
 habit of stopping suddenly when pursued, and of looking back for a short time on their 
 pursuers. Their haunts are also the same, being for the most part on the confines of the 
 Tell and the Sahara. + 
 
 * Spelt ba'ker-el-ouach by Dr. Lagger, who gives the following account of them : " They are very 
 numerous among the mountains of Southern Algeria. Leo Africanus styles them bos sylvaticus : ami 
 Pliny discriminates them from the bison and buffaloes under the name of ures (b. viii. c. 13). Dr. Shaw 
 describes them (p. 113) as marching in troops, as well as the gazelle. Major Denham found them near 
 Lake Tchad; and Ben Batouta, in his travels to Soudan, met numerous troops, who were killed without 
 the aid of dogs or horses. He describes their ventricle as full of water, and he saw the messonfiter 
 drink this liquid" (p. 8). Dr. Lagger says that the ba'ker-el-ouach has a great resemblance to the 
 common cow. It is the buba'.us of the ancients, the ant. bubalis of Linnaeus, the cow ofBarbary 
 (ButT. Sup. vi. xiv.). This antelope has annulated horns with a double curvature. It has a distin- 
 guishing feature on its head, which is a fold of flesh springing from the parietal, directed along the 
 prolongation of the forehead, and on the top of which rise the horns. It is about the size of a calf 
 eighteen months old, and its colour is tawny. Grand Desert, p. 380. 
 
 t Dr. Lagger calls this animal the leroui fechtal, and states that leroui is the generic name, fechta' 
 that of the male, maza (goat) the female, el khorouf (lamb) that of the young. Dr. Shaw speaks of 
 them as fischtal or lerwee, and says they are a kind of goat, which he tainks the tragelaphus of the 
 ancients (p. 313). Graberg d'Hemso says it is the antelope larvia of Linnseus and Pallas, and the kob 
 of Bufl'on ; but Cuvier does not admit the latter. Dr. Lagger adds, that it is hunted in the Djebel 
 Amour, and occurs in the Saharian mountains south of Bousada, and pronounces it the moufflon a 
 manchettes, the ovis ornata of Geoffroy St. Hilaire, the moufflon d'Afrique, called by Cuvier ovis 
 tragelaphus; and that Desmarest correctly identifies it with the bearded sheep of Pennant. Its hair is 
 a reddish tawny, sometimes dark like the gazelle, and about 15 to 20 centimetres long (5-85 to 7-80 
 inches). Its tail is only about 18 to 20 centimetres long; and the horns have a length of about 50 
 centimetres (19'50 inches). A specimen exists in the Jardin des Plantes. Le Grand Desert, p. 116. 
 
 t The word gazelle comes from the Arabic g'zal ' \\ Lc and g'zala v)\ Lz ; and this animal is the 
 
 most beautiful in Algeria. It is very common on the borders of the Sahara, and even near Oran and 
 Arzeu ; and it presents three varieties. First, the rin: the animals of this species are large, with a 
 white belly and twisted horns; it prefers sandy spots. Second, the ledmis, are smaller, with annu- 
 lated horns, and their colour is like that of smoke. Third, the s'in, the smallest of the three species, 
 
 H H
 
 482 APPENDIX. 
 
 The most common kind of dog is of a middle size, with soft glossy hair, a long thin body, 
 pointed straight ears, and a very long tail. The general colour is pale yellow and white. 
 
 There is also a race which nearly resembles the European. The Arabs treat their 
 dogs badly, giving them but little food ; and this treatment has degraded them, in the 
 same way that Italians and other tribes of men degenerate when cruelly treated by impe- 
 rial, papal, or other masters. Hence the Arab curs are cruel, voracious, and endowed with 
 disagreeable countenances. The mutual action and reaction of man and the lower 
 mammalia, — the confines of instinct and reason, — and the Edenish refinement of kindness 
 on the brute creation, are problems and mysteries imperfectly solved, but well worthy of 
 solution. 
 
 The jackal properly comes under the head of the dog genus, being styled cams aureus 
 by Linnreus. The natives call it dib, as the word chacal is of Turkish origin. This ani- 
 mal is very common in Algeria, where it lives among the rocks, seldom showing itself by 
 day. At night it roves about inhabited places in troops, in order to seek for food. It 
 lives on carrion, and on the fruit that it can reach ; and it is rarely that the douars, vil- 
 lages, and even large towns, are spared at night the inflictions of its sad bowlings. (Le 
 Grand Desert, p. 385.) 
 
 There are lions and panthers, but no tigers, in Algeria. The females of both species 
 have two rows of nipples like a bitch, giving suck to three and sometimes to four or five 
 whelps. When the young are cutting their teeth, they are usually seized with fever, which 
 carries off three out of four ; and this is the reason, say the Arabs, why their numbers are 
 so inconsiderable : perhaps they want sanitary reform in their dens. It is not impro- 
 bable, however, that this lamentable diminution of their numbers has been occasioned by 
 the introduction of fire-arms, for they must be much fewer than in the time of the Roman 
 Empire, which was satisfied with hunting down Africans, and never thought, like Christen- 
 dom, of crucifying literary lions. There cannot be at present one-fiftieth part of the lions 
 that indulged in razzias and promenades pacifiques at the time of Rome. Lions are very 
 fearful of fire, yet it often happens that they will leap into a douar in the night and carry 
 off a goat, &c. Then the Arabs catch them in pits covered with reeds. Pliny* and Eze- 
 kiel describe the same custom in their day. 
 
 The flesh of the lion is said to be very good, tasting and looking like veal in colour: 
 it used to be eaten by some Libyan tribes, according to Herodotus; nor do we see why 
 it should not be added to the bill of fare of Soyer. Puppies are found very palatable in 
 the oases; and a juicy leg of man, or shoulder of woman, is a great treat among the 
 Fidjis, the Battas, and on the Amazon. Be gustibus non dhputandum ; but we might 
 certainly embrace a larger range in our cuisine.\ 
 
 The most ferocious lions are found between Bona and Tunis ; they are rarer in the 
 province of Oran, and rarer still in that of Algiers. 
 
 the commonest, and the most usually tamed in Algeria. Shaw describes the ledmee (v. i. p. 1H), 
 which he thinks the strepsiceros of the ancients, and the bison of the Septuagint and Vulgate, rendered 
 in our version conq. The gazelle of Algeria is the gazelle antelope, the ant. donas of Linnaeus, Buffon, 
 and Cuvier. Their horns are valuable, some being twisted back, some in front, &c. Their excrements 
 have a strong smell of musk. The Algerian nomads hunt them often, and in three ways. Most com- 
 monly they collect to the number of 50 horsemen, of whom relays are placed at intervals along the 
 probable road that the gazelle will take, while one body goes and breaks cover. The men take leverets 
 with them, and as the game runs past, tire and pursue. Few are killed in this way; but many when men, 
 women, and children form a hedge leading to a river or brook, towards which the gazelle is driven, 
 and in which it is killed, if not before it reaches it, by gunshots, sticks, or the dogs. The Arabs also 
 sometimes hide in cages placed on camels to approach the gazelle, which, being thus without sus- 
 picion, falls an easy prey. Le Grand Desert, pp. 891, .">i'2. 
 
 * I. ions and bears were often confounded by the Romans ; and they might both be easily con- 
 founded with bores by modern society. 
 
 t Compare Herodotus, Humboldt's Travels in Equinoctial Regions, Captain Dillon's Discovery of 
 the Fate of La l'eyrouse, 1828, and Sir S. Raffles' History of Java.
 
 NATURAL HISTORY, GEOLOGY, ETC. 483 
 
 The fraad is spotted like the leopanl, but its skin is of a deeper colour and coarser, 
 nor is the animal so fierce. The Arabs foolishly imagine it to be a spurious offspring of 
 the lion and leopardess. The fraad feeds on carrion, and sometimes on roots ; but only 
 when very hungry does it attack sheep, &c. There are two other animals like the leopard, 
 but their spots are generally darker, and the fur is longer and softer. The first is of the 
 cat species, about one-third less than a full-grown leopard, and may be the lesser panther 
 of Oppian. The other has a small pointed head, with the teeth, feet, &c. of the weasel- 
 kind : its body is about a foot long, round, and slender. It is called gat-el-ber-rang, or 
 the stranger cat, and also shibleardon ; but it should properly be called the lesser ginetta. 
 
 The dubbah is a kind of badger, almost of the same size as the wolf; but it has a natter 
 body, and naturally limps on the hinder right leg. Like certain wolves in sheep's cloth- 
 ing, it has a stiff' neck; and is of a buff or dun colour, with transverse streaks of dark 
 brown. It has large claws, and feeds on the medulla of the dwarf-palm, &c. The Arabs, 
 when they take it, bury the head, as, according to their belief, it may be used in sorcery. 
 After the lion and the panther, this is the fiercest animal of Algeria. 
 
 The deeb is an animal of a darker colour than that of the fox, though it .is almost of 
 the same size : it feeds on roots and carrion, and is the same as the jackal. 
 
 The jird and jerboa are two harmless little animals that burrow in the ground, and fre- 
 quent the Sahara, the latter being often seen in the plains of Oran. They are about the 
 size of the rat, with white bellies, the rest of the body being of a sorel-colour. Both are 
 good to eat.* The jerboa jumps quickly, its tail helping it on like a screw-propeller. 
 Some Cyrenaic medals exhibit a small animal of this kind. It is very probably the two- 
 footed rat of Herodotus. f 
 
 The dabh or bear is said to be common in Barbary ; and also the ape or sheddy, the 
 ichneumon or tezerdea. Wild boars are very numerous, and the chief prey and food of 
 the lion ; but sometimes they defend themselves so well, that both have been found killed 
 after an encounter. 
 
 Honey and wax are important articles of trade in Algeria, which produces six kinds 
 of bees. Algeria is infested with swarms of large musquitoes; but after the French 
 lawyers, the locusts are the principal plague. Besides the mantes of naturalists is another 
 species three inches long, of a brown colour, with the fore-legs armed with strong horny 
 claws. There is also another of the same size, of the cucullated kind, with its upper 
 wings streaked a light green, and the membranaceous ones finely varied with flesh, brown, 
 and scarlet colours. Besides these, there is, moreover, a fourth species two inches long, with 
 elegant wings. The mantes is not gregarious ; but the proper locust is pre-eminently a 
 socialist. They eat up every thing on land, and after leaving it they are commonly 
 drowned in immense multitudes in the sea, leaving a stench like that of 100,000 men, 
 and obstructing tbe advance of ships by their numbers. 
 
 In Algeria, the groat fertility and the heat make their depredations of comparatively, 
 little consequence. Though naturally herbivorous, like man before the fall, they often 
 fight with each other, and the victor devours the vanquished, like the New Zealanders. 
 They are also the prey of serpents, lizards, frogs, and carnivorous birds; they have been 
 found in the stomachs of eagles and owls; and they are also used as an article of diet by 
 the Moors, who fry them in oil and butter, and sell them in the markets.^ 
 
 * Dr. Lagger identifies the jerb or gerb with the ilipus gerboa of Gmelin, the nuts sagilla of Pallas. 
 This rodent mammifer is remarkable for the lightness of its spring, as the great length of its tarsus 
 enables it to take long leaps and to clear great distances very rapidly. Its tail is long, and lias a bunch 
 of brown hairs in the middle. The gerboise only leaves its hole at dusk, lives in dry places, and 
 prefers a calcareous tufa- covered with a slight stratum of mould. The natives take it by digging 
 around its hole, and eat its flesh. 
 
 t Blofeld, pp. 166-171. Dr. Shaw, p. 321. In the Tesora Britann. v. ii., M. Hayne has given a 
 description of another variety brought to Aleppo. 
 
 t A whole section is devoted to- the grasshoppers of the Great Desert in General Daunias' work, 
 Le Grand Desert. They are occasionally so numerous as to eclipse the light of the sun, and to deluge
 
 4S4 APPENDIX. 
 
 The most curious species of the butterfly tribe is near four inches from the tip of one- 
 wing to that of the other, and very beautifully streaked all over with rather dark red and 
 yellow, the edges of the lower wings excepted, which, being indented and ending in a 
 narrow strip or lappet of an inch in length, are very elegantly bordered with yellow. Near 
 the tail is a spot of a carnation-colour.* In the hot summer months, especially from 
 twelve till the evening, the grasshopper makes a very shrill noise. It will perch on a 
 twig and make a sort of squalling for two or three hours without ceasing. Homer would 
 not have compared his finest orators to them, if those of Greece made such a noise, 
 though the simile would apply with much accuracy to the entertainments of the Irish 
 brigade on a charge of bribery, or a French assembly discussing the value of the 
 organic laws of the republic pure and simple. Insects are very numerous in Algeria, 
 which produces beetles and butterflies of every variety, luxuriantly coloured. 
 
 The scorpion is called ackrab. Strabo relates that the workmen of Numidia had to 
 work in boots, and to have skins thrown over their bodies to protect them, and that 
 they rubbed the feet of their beds with garlic, and surrounded them with thorns of 
 the paliurus. Some kinds are long, and some others are rounder and larger, with tails 
 consisting of six joints. Those to the north of Mount Atlas are not very hurtful, their 
 sting occasioning only a slight fever, which is assuaged by Venice treacle. But the 
 scorpions of the Sahara are larger, darker, and more venomous, their sting being often 
 attended with death. The bite of the boola-kan, the phalangium of the Sahara, is as 
 bad ; it is probably the rhax of these parts. Burns or deep incisions are regarded as the 
 best cure, and sometimes they bury the patient up to his head in pits heated on purpose, 
 for the promotion of perspiration. f 
 
 Among the oviparous animals of Algeria, the warral, or guaral, is a lizard three 
 inches long sometimes, of a bright red colour with dark spots. The dab, another 
 lizard of nearly the same shape, has also hard pointed annuli or scales covering the tail 
 with the caudivertebra4 The zenoumeah is a very slender, elegant animal, with a long- 
 taper tail, of a light-brown colour, beautifully striated with yellow streaks. The most 
 remarkable serpents are the thaibaine, which might seem to be Lucan"s thebanus ophites, 
 if the banus was an appellative and not a proper name of the serpent. Some of them are 
 three or four yards long, and they are by far the largest serpents in Barbary, answering 
 better to the haemorrhous called by Lucan ingens ; the other which he describes being 
 probably much smaller, and of the viper tribe. 
 
 The lefa'a is the native name for the viper, of which there are two species in Algeria. 
 
 1. The viper ceraste, or viper cerastes of Dandin, which is the horned viper, so called 
 
 the air and the earth. The camels are fond of eating them, as well as the negroes; nor is their flesh 
 forhidden to Mussulmans, if they take them alive and then kill them. They are often stripped of 
 their wings, paws, and head, fried and prepared with couscoussou; or, after being dried in the sun, 
 they are reduced to powder and mixed with milk, or pounded with flour, suet, or butter. Herodotus 
 describes the Nasamones as eating them the same way, though the passage is disputed by the 
 learned. In the Commentaries on the writings of Jazid we read : Grasshoppers and the pitli of trees 
 were the food of Jahia ben Zakariah (John the Baptist). See the Koran, c. 19, and Le Grand Desert, 
 p. 305. 
 
 • Blofeld, p. 171 et seq. t Ibid. 
 
 % Blofeld. Dr. Lagger says that the d'eb is a large lizard inhabiting the Sahara, and noticed by 
 Dapper and Marmol, who give it IS inches, adding that it never drinks, and that the Arabs eat its 
 flesh roasted. The word d'eb is well known in Algeria; and if it is not the same name as that of 
 ouran, it applies to a variety closely akin to it. El-ouaran is the name given in the Sahara, throughout 
 North Africa and Egypt, to the land crocodile of Herodotus, three feet in length occasionally, though 
 rarely, and whose flesh is thought an antidote to poisons, and the bite of scorpions or vipers. 
 Geotl'roy St. Hilaire, in his great work on Egypt, says that the Arabs call the iitpinambis arenariu 
 of Noblet, and the varanus scincus of Merrem, ouaran-el-ard (the land ouaran), in opposition to the 
 ouaran el-bahr (water crocodile) inhabiting the Nile; and the tupinambit niloticus of Dandin. St. Hilaire 
 gives the land ouaran a length of from 3 feet to 3^, and a scaly back of a clear brown with square 
 marks of a pale yellow. Le Grand Desert, p. 385.
 
 NATURAL UISTORY, GEOLOGY, ETC. 4S5 
 
 because of two horns that it has above its eyes on the forehead.* Its length is only 
 50 centimetres (1 foot 7 inches), but its bite is very serious, the natives asserting it to 
 be often, though not directly, fatal. The means adopted to counteract its effects are 
 ligature, incisions, sand-baths, and the pounded stem of the broom. 
 
 2. The second species is the minute viper, or the vipera brachyura of Cuvier. Its 
 bite is commonly fatal. 
 
 The coast of Algeria produces an abundance of fishes, including the flying-fish, the 
 hammer-headed shark, and phoca or sea-wolf. Most of them are similar to those on 
 the opposite side of the Mediterranean. The barbel and eel are the most common river 
 fish ; in the warm springs at Capsa are beautiful small perch, with chequered fins and 
 turned-up nose. 1'enna marina is sometimes found in nets ; it is very luminous at night, 
 and gives sufficient light to show all the other fishes in the same net. Large shoals of 
 circular fiat polyps with a semicircular ridge obliquely across their back frequent the coast; 
 and Lamping relates that many soldiers were lost in bathing at Dschidgeli by being 
 sucked under by these monsters. They are quite surrounded by small suckers, and are 
 eagerly pursued by tunnies and porpoises. 
 
 Amongst the crustaceous fish, shrimps and prawns, and the locusta or long oyster, 
 are daily brought to market. Varro said that the solitanna, containing 48 quarts, was 
 found on this coast; and if it really exists there, it would be one of the greatest of 
 curiosities. 
 
 The ostrichf is a native of Africa only, and the largest of struthious birds, though New 
 Zealand once had her dinormus; but tempora mutantur, 8[C. Rationalism and the critics 
 are, it seems, to demolish Homer, old Rome, the sea-serpent, and the unicorn ; and we are 
 amazed at the old world's being so unfashionable and having such bad taste as to deal in 
 wonders and portents. We wince when nature's monumental fossils force us to admit 
 that the wisdom of man is foolishness with God. 
 
 The ostrich is regarded as the largest of (known) existing birds, six or eight feet high, 
 with a head and bill somewhat like that of a duck, and the neck like a swan's, but longer. 
 It measures seven feet from the head to the ground, but only four from the back. From 
 the top of the head to the end of the tail, when the neck is stretched out in a right line, it 
 is seven feet in length, the tail being one-seventh of this length, or a foot long. One of 
 the wings, without the feathers, is one foot and a half long, and stretched out with the 
 feathers, three feet. 
 
 The Arabs train their best horses for the ostrich, which, though very swift, moves in 
 circles. The hunter follows him for days, and at last the bird tries to hide his head in the 
 sand or in thickets, and is captured. Sometimes he faces his enemies. 
 
 • This snake was known in the remotest antiquity, and depicted on the monuments of Egypt. 
 
 t Tile ostrich is among the most interesting inhabitants of Africa. Its Arabic name in the singular 
 is natna, plur. n'aaih. The male is styled de'lim, the female remda, and the young cherat'a. The 
 ancient Arabs thought it the offspring of a bird and a camel, calling it bird-camel. Its flexible neck is 
 ."> or 4 feet long ; its legs are naked and as long as its neck ; and its head is bald and flat, with large 
 eyes and a stupid look. Hence Job says: "God hath deprived her of w'sdom, and hath denied her 
 understanding." Its flesh is good, yet Moses forbade it as impure. The naam are very common in the 
 Algerian Sahara; the Arabs take them by pursuing them to leeward on horseback. The nomadic 
 tribes of Ouled Nails, of the Arbas and Chambas, Xrc, when they come to the Tell, bring many ostrich 
 spoils and plumes, sold at variable prices in the markets of the interior. The entire spoil of a male 
 de'lim costs commonly 70 to 80 fr. (3/.) (40 to :>0 boudjous, or 5000 cowries in Soudan). The Arabs 
 relate many things of the ostrich, many of which have been confirmed by Levaillant and others, e.g 
 that the male and female practise incubation alternately. One nest contains sometimes GO eggs, as all 
 the females of one male lay in the same nest. Aristotle had called the ostrich partim avis, partita 
 qua din pes. It is very muscular, and can break a man's leg with its paw. An English traveller states 
 that he saw an Arab cross the interior of Africa mounted on one ; and Avanson saw another carrying 
 two negroes round a village. One female lays 30 to 40 eggs in a season ; and as one egg is 3 lbs. or 
 .30 fowls' eggs, one ostrich gives an equivalent to 1000 or 1200 fowls' eggs per annum. Here is a good 
 investment for British capital ! Grand Desert, p. 413.
 
 486 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The karaburno is a bird of the eagle kind, and of the size of a buzzard. The ems- 
 eery, or ox-bird, is as large as the curlew, and milk-white, save its bill and legs, which are 
 of a fine red. This bird eats dung. 
 
 The burouroo is the horned spotted owl, found mostly in the desert; and when it comes 
 north, it is thought to portend some infectious disorder. The shayarag is of the same size 
 and shape as a jay ; and its back is brown ; belly, head, and neck green. 
 
 The houbaara is of the same size as the capon, only with a longer body; feeds on in- 
 sects and shrubs, and lives in the desert. Its legs are like those of the bustard ; and its 
 gall, as well as the contents of its stomach, are thought good for sore eyes. 
 
 The rhaad, or saf-saf, is a granivorous and gregarious bird, wanting a hind toe. It 
 consists of two species, the smaller of the size of a pullet, the larger nearly equal in size 
 to the houbaara, with a black head and a tuft of blue feathers below it. The name rhaad, 
 signifying thunder, describes the noise that it makes in springing from the ground, 
 and saf-saf represents the noise that it makes with its wings. The kittawiah is the 
 lagopus Afric, and resembles the last in its habits : it is of a livid colour, with dark spots ; 
 it has a red breast, white legs, and a palatable flesh. There is a quail in Algeria of a 
 lighter colour than the common quail, and without a hinder toe. There are several beau- 
 tiful varieties of water- fowl in the regency, which our space does not suffer us to describe ; 
 the genus is generally called brak in that region, which produces a kind of thrush with 
 very rich plumage. Except in its feet, which are shorter and stronger, it agrees in the 
 shape of its body and bill with the thrush ; it is not a common bird, coming when the figs 
 are in season in summer. The Capsa sparrow, among the thick-billed birds, is as large 
 as the common house-sparrow, and is often seen among the date villages. Its colour is 
 that of the lark. This bird has a very sweet note, superior even to that of the nightingale ; 
 but, like other harmonious creatures, it cannot bear exile to the north.* 
 
 It is with regret that limited space forces us to give only a brief outline of the geology 
 of Algeria. 
 
 Ancient rocks, consisting chiefly of talcose slates and of gneiss, appear at Algiers and at 
 Cape Matifou ; you also find there mica slates, slates with tourmalins (lyncurium), some 
 accidental rocks, crystalline limestone, generally of a slate-colour, but sometimes offering 
 fine marble, whose ground- tint is white, with yellow and grey veins. Metallic veins may 
 also be traced there, containing iron ore, manganese, silver and gold, galena ore, and sac- 
 charoid, or compact baryta of sulphur (baryte sulfate'e). 
 
 A very considerable stretch of primitive rocks exists round Bona and Djidjelli ; talcose 
 slates and micaceous and talcose gneiss appear especially to prevail among them ; granite 
 is only accidental there, as at Algiers; but a rock with pyroxene, garnets, also with feld- 
 spars, sphenes, and epidote, forms considerable masses in this district. 
 
 A specimen of talcose slate would perhaps indicate the existence of primitive rocks 
 between Setif and Msila in thecentre of the chain; but it is far removed from any other 
 similar formation. 
 
 The most ancient fossil-bearing districts are found round Bugia, appearing to ap- 
 proach the inferior Jurassic or oolitic formation, or even the lias; and it is probable that 
 the same strata extend to the eastof Bugia, in the Babour district, and to the west in that 
 of Mount Djorjora. 
 
 Kinimtridge clay, characterised by ammonites and terebratulae, crops out around 
 Saida ; its extent was unknown, but was thought to be considerable. 
 
 In the east of the province of Constantina formations were met with that seemed allied 
 to the Jurassic or oolite. 
 
 * The reader who wishes for ampler details respecting the Fauna of Algeria is referred to the 
 Grand Desert of Col. Daumas, and to the Exploration Scientitique. Zoologie.
 
 NATURAL HISTORY, GEOLOGY, ETC. 487 
 
 Limestone with hippurites, exclusively formed of compact grey limestone, and cha- 
 racterised not only by them, hut by different other mollusca and polyps, only begins to 
 the west near Msila ; it supports the town of Constantina, forms lofty mountains, such as 
 the Guerioun, the Nif-en-Necer, the Sidi-Jtr'eis, and probably extends into the state of 
 Tunis, for M. Virlet has observed it at Ras-Adar,* and it exists in Sicily. 
 
 That portion of the cretaceous territory which corresponds to green sand and to tufa- 
 ceous chalk, characterised by a great multitude of fossils of a large size, is composed of 
 green, grey, and black sand, of compact limestone with green granulations, of compact 
 grey or black limestones, commonly homogeneous and without fossils, of marls and of 
 slatey clays, sometimes with black flint. 
 
 This is the formation which prevails in the whole extent of Algeria, and probably also 
 in the states of Tunis and of Morocco. 
 
 There is reason to believe that the whole of Mount Aouress consists of it, and conse- 
 quently the highest mountains in Aigeria, as well as the whole chain, which, starting from 
 this ridge, runs west-north-west to the neighbourhood of Mecleah. 
 
 Going west from the meridian of Algiers, the cretaceous formations are less decidedly 
 characterised; nor were the same number of fossil shells found there as in the east: the 
 only way by which you can determine their nature is by some fragments of fossils, and 
 especially by the great resemblance that they offer to the eastern territory. 
 
 This cretaceous formation is remarkable for the intercalation of considerable masses 
 of gypsum and of mineral salt. ; for veins of carbonated iron, of hematite iron, of galena, 
 and of (gris) copper. 
 
 It also offers great masses of dolomite, but it shares this property with the hippurite 
 limestone and Jurassic formations. These masses, which irregularly replace the beds of 
 earth and rock, without causing them to lose their stratification, as happens in the case 
 of the gypsum, are independent of the age of the strata that they touch. 
 
 The presence of gypsum and of mineral salt in the Sahara, for instance, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Ouaregla, leaves no doubt that the cretaceous formations, and probably also 
 the Jurassic formation, extend a great distance to the south. 
 
 Nothing has been seen that can be related to genuine chalk ; if it exists at all in 
 Algeria, it is probably in the plain of Serssou, where M. Bonduelle has noticed a white 
 chalky formation. 
 
 Limestone (with nummulites) is widely spread in Algeria throughout ; it was seen at 
 Toumiat, half-way from Philippeville to Constantina; it appears to extend into the Ser- 
 deza, and to the south of Sidi-Tamtam, in the neighbourhood of Sidi-Aica, near Djemila, 
 in the mountains near Bugia, at Ammale, to the south-east of Algieis, at the Tessala, 
 between Oran and Tlemsen, and probably to the south of the latter town. Nowhere 
 was the connection perceived between this limestone and the layers of cretaceous forma- 
 tion on which it reposes, yet they appear intimately united; the prevailing stratification 
 in the districts just specified seems to consist exclusively in a compact limestone, almost 
 always grey, and sometimes white. 
 
 A sandstone, without fossils, offering plastic beds of clay and some little pudding- 
 stones, is tolerably diffused in the east of Algeria ; its age differs little from that of the 
 limestone (with nummulites), but nowhere could any relation be traced between the two 
 formations. It is almost always superimposed on the lower chalky ground; but near 
 Bona and Philippeville it is superimposed on primitive formations. f 
 
 This sandstone is thickest at the frontier of Tunis, near La Calle ; it is much spread 
 throughout the east province, where it often crowns the chalky hills with a thin layer. 
 The highest point where it was perceived was the summit of the Mayris, which must be 
 about 1600 metres (5248 feet) above the sea. It is prolonged into the vicinity of Bugia 
 
 * Vulgarly Cape Bon ; the name adopted by the Arabs is simply the Berber for foot. 
 
 t Resume, Descript. Geol. M. Renou, p. 124. Explor. Scient. Recouvre des Terrains anciens.
 
 488 APPENDIX. 
 
 and into the east part of the Mitidja, according to M. Boblaye ; farther on to the west it 
 could not be found. 
 
 M. Boblaye found, south-east of Constantina, between El-Bordj and the plain of 
 Tembouka, a marly formation, which must be undoubtedly related to the lower tertiary for- 
 mation. The middle tertiary strata of marine formation are tolerably diffused throughout 
 Algeria : they exist at Djemila and at Mila, between Constantina and Setif, around Me- 
 deah, probably in the valley of the Shellif, and near Mascara and Tlemsen, where they 
 appear to occupy a large surface.* 
 
 There is much salt and nitre in Algeria, which is thought to be a great cause of the 
 fertility of the country. Pliny speaks of bitumen from Numidia used at Carthage. Leo 
 Africanus mentions two kinds common to the country : one prepared in the Atlas, and 
 the same as our tar ; the other found in springs, and having a bad smell, which makes i* 1 
 probable that it is petroleum which is found in the Atlas. 
 
 It has appeared to us desirable to throw together in one section the principal facts 
 relating to the climatology of Algeria ; and as air and water are cousin-germans, and 
 compounded of the same elements, we shall add a few observations on the hydrography 
 of the south coast of the Mediterranean. 
 
 The following observations were made at the Central Pepiniere on the Bouzareah, 
 
 near Algiers : 
 
 Temperature. 
 
 Degrees of 
 Months. Reaumur. 
 
 January 11-G4 
 
 February 12'GS 
 
 March 1333 
 
 April 15-02 
 
 May 19-07 
 
 June 21-1)5 
 
 Degrees of 
 
 Months. Reaumur. 
 
 July 24-03 
 
 August 24-71 
 
 September 22-87 
 
 October 20-27 
 
 November 16'G2 
 
 December ........ 12SG 
 
 January is the coldest, August the hottest month ; the extreme of cold being + 1°, and 
 of heat +45°. The temperature is modified according to the locality; and in Algeria 
 there is a difference of 2° and 8° between an exposed and a sheltered place ; hence the 
 importance of planting there, to which the French seem at length alive, after a 
 druidieal sacrifice of twenty years to fever and sirocco. The ligneous trees of Al- 
 
 * The soil is often impregnated with marine salt ; and near the Sahara are some plains (the Sebkas 
 and Chotts) entirely covered with it. This country also jields much saltpetre. 
 
 In many places between Algiers and Douera Blofeld observed immense numbers of fossil shells, and 
 interior casts of shells, in beds of the tertiary formation ; some parts of the road are made of nothing 
 else, the most common being the trochus, natica, terebratula, pecten, and corbula. He obtained a 
 fossil helix. Travellers speak of volcanic traces in the province of Constantina; and the numerous 
 sulphuric and other mineral springs in that part of the country confirm this. At a short distance from 
 Aumale (Sour Guzlan), the ancient Auzia, is a fountain called Ain-Kedran, the fountain of tar ; and 
 the Arabs pretend that it was caused by a miracle, the bitumen proceeding from it being used to anoint 
 their camels. Hot mineral springs are found at Srama, rather more than a day's journey from Con- 
 stantina; and all places called Hammam (baths) have similar springs. The soil at those spots is 
 volcanic, particularly at Hammam Meskoutcen, a place situated among deserts, rocks, gloomy forests, 
 &c. The Hammam is a large valley, -with boiling springs, on a gentle declivity. From the fountain 
 issues a mixture of hot water, bitumen, and sulphur, which boils up through a circular opening about 
 two feet in diameter. 
 
 The crater (that is, the opening above mentioned) offers arragonites of various shapes, such as stars, 
 mushrooms, needles, &C. They approach marly to the zoolite, and, similarly with it, they become ge- 
 latine in nitrous acid. This spot also yields beautiful stalactites of sulphur ami native vitriol. In the 
 most boiling part of the springs, the mercury rises to 20.'J degrees Fab. There are also, at the same 
 place, several ancient craters, almost, in some places entirely, choked up. Shrill and deep sounds 
 continually proceed from these holes, which the Arabs believe to be the music of the jenoune, or 
 fairies, who are supposed to live there and occasion them. 

 
 NATUBAI HISTORY, GEOLOGY, ETC. 189 
 
 geria may be divided climatically into three categories ; the first belonging to a 
 more northern zone, the second to a more southern zone, the third purely indigenous. 
 The first contains the trees that are annuals, growing chiefly in damp soil, /'. e. ash, elm, 
 &c. The second are the monocotyledons and succulent plants — dates, agaves, cactuses, 
 &c. The third are the evergreens — carobs, olives, cork, &c. suited to bear wind, drough!, 
 and atmospheric aridity. 
 
 A remarkable phenomenon in Algeria is the tendency of the trees generally to spread 
 rather than rise ; proving that there is, at a certain height, a stratum of hot air from the 
 desert, saying, like republican France to the Hungarian hero, il est defemlu to advance. 
 Pines, poplars, and all trees, have had to bow to this gulf-stream of the atmosphere. 
 The northern and western face of the slopes is covered with stunted shrubs, owing to 
 the pernicious action of the polar current. It is on the south-east declivities that you 
 have the best growth of timber, as the trees are there sheltered from the north-west ; 
 and though the sun's rays dart fiercely on them, humidity lasts there longer. The cur- 
 rent from the Sahara does not strike these privileged spots, being forced to rise and leap 
 the ridge. The sheltered fields yield most grain ; hence on all accounts, above all for 
 irrigation, the cultivation of timber-trees ought to figure as one-third in the agriculture 
 of Algeria.* 
 
 * With regard to the vegetation admissible in Algeria, like the Himalaya, it has a wide range. 
 Equatorial trees from the sea-level would clearly not stand the cold of Algeria; but equatorial 
 trees growing at an elevation of 1622'SS metres (5323-(H(H feet) have a climate like that of Algiers ; 
 and a sliding-scale retrenching 47ms. (154-1G feet) per degree, as you go north, would give the tro- 
 pical trees suited to the climate of the Regency. 
 
 The northern limit of plants cultivable in Algeria is about fifty degrees, including apples, &c. 
 
 The climatological phenomena are analysed into two distinct divisions: winter, cold and wet; 
 summer, hot and dry. The winter season receives the whole year's rain, and yields cereals. The 
 water that falls, amounting to about a metre (39 inches), is evaporated or absorbed by the end of May, 
 through Turkish apathy and French science; and then all herbaceous vegetation ceases. 
 
 The hot season is condemned to sterility; yet the plants might thrive then best, if common sense, 
 concord, and energy guided government and people; but razzias and bivouacs are not agricultural as- 
 sociations, and the bayonet is seldom allied to the plough. 
 
 Timber-trees alone thrive in summer, as they strike their roots down to the humid soil under the 
 parched crust. The blessing of this country, rain, is its curse, through human folly. More rain falls 
 on the hills than in the plains; but the naked ridges absorb no water, which runs down in useless 
 unnavigable streams to the sea, or stagnates in poisonous marshes, condemning the gallant praetorian 
 bands of imperial France and its famous or infamous blouses to mourir pour In palrie among the 
 es of agricultural colonies. Xot so did Roman and Pagan wisdom treat her sons, military and 
 civil. But then we are Christians, and the French monarch is very Christian ; and as long as his 
 uncle's ashes are well lodged in the Invalids or St. Denis, little does the Gallic Czar care for holocausts 
 of innocents massacred on the boulevards or poisoned in the marshes of Algeria or Cayenne. 
 
 That we are not indulging in exaggeration, will be evident from the following extract from Daw- 
 son Borrer : " From May until September the oppressive desert wind sweeps at intervals across Alge- 
 ria, varying in force and intensity of heat. Its approach is announced by reddish mists hanging 
 about the mountain-tops to the south. Wild blasts of wind then succeed, scorching up all vegetable 
 productions; the air is impregnated with fine sand brought from the wide Sahara; and a suffocating 
 heat pervades the atmosphere, which now assumes a kind of copper-colour. Man is struck with an 
 enfeebling sensation, and a general aching of the limbs ensues. Upon delicate systems the effect of 
 this wind is often very severe; and let not the traveller, however good his constitution, sally forth 
 when the signs of such a visitation are in the heavens; for it is a cruel task to man and beast to 
 journey whilst this demon of the desert sports around him" (p. 199). 
 
 When the climate is not healthy, it is to be accounted for by the vicinity of the marshes, or the 
 choked-up course of the rivers, from which the heat of the sun draws a malaria engendering fevers, 
 agues, and other diseases, the prevalence of which might easily be prevented in most parts by drain- 
 ing the marshes, and opening proper issues for the waters of the rivers, the channels of which have 
 for so many ages been neglected. The Romans undoubtedly paid great attention to this great cause of 
 unhealthiness. Across the vast plain of Mitidja, before Algiers, may be traced the line of a great 
 Roman drain, running from the eastern to the western limits of the plain, which, with the aid of nu- 
 merous tributary drains, served to carry off the stagnant waters of the plain, thus rendering it healthy 
 and fertile ; instead of being, as it now is, again in great part occupied by vast pestilential marshes 
 productive of good to none but surly pigs and panthers. Borrer, p. 199.
 
 490 APPENDIX. 
 
 It is a stupendous effort of intellect that has led French official documents to admit 
 that Algeria can only be rendered as fertile as it ought to be, on condition that they cover a 
 third of its surface with wood, and convert its water-power exclusively to the purposes of 
 irrigation. Two eminent French writers had told them these facts years ago, extending 
 them to the globe; but one advocated slavery in the colony, and the other was a socialist.* 
 Roman and Arabic genius and industry had led the way, and their monuments existed; 
 but the archrsologists preferred poring over illegible stones, and quarrelling in the 
 Academy of Inscriptions ; and meanwhile soldiers and colonists were sacrificed to the 
 liberty, fraternity, and equality of a Jesuit republic. 
 
 * Baron Baude and Charles Fourier. Blofeld, p. 107. Tableau, 1850, p. 285. See the Explor. 
 Scient., Sciences Physiques, &c. for further particulars respecting the atmospheric, electric, and other 
 physical phenomena of Algeria. For the numismatics and coinage of Barbary, see Berbrugger, part 
 iii. end. 
 
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