



Produced by Brian Coe, Robert Tonsing and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)









                                 THE
                          FRENCH IN ALGIERS.


                                 THE
                    SOLDIER OF THE FOREIGN LEGION;
                               AND THE
                      PRISONERS OF ABD-EL-KADER.


               TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN AND FRENCH BY
                          LADY DUFF GORDON.


                            _NEW EDITION._


                               LONDON:
                    JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
                                1855.




                               PREFACE.


Clemens Lamping, the author of the first part of this little volume,
is a young lieutenant in the Oldenburg service, who, tired of the
monotonous life of a garrison, resigned his commission in July, 1839,
and went to Spain to win his spurs under Espartero. Unfortunately he
was detained by contrary winds, and arrived just as the treaty of
Bergara had put an end to the war.

After spending six months at Madrid in abortive attempts to join
the army in Arragon, then the seat of war, he resolved to go to
Africa, and take part in the French crusade against the infidels.
He accordingly went to Cadiz, encountering many adventures on his
way through La Mancha and Andaluzia, and thence to Algiers, where he
entered the foreign legion as a volunteer.

After two years of danger and hardship, the author returned to
Oldenburg, having lost many illusions, and gained some experience.
His sovereign restored him to his former grade in the service of
Oldenburg, where he sits at his ease by his own fireside, and relates
his adventures to his friends.

Lieutenant Lamping’s Reminiscences are followed by the abridgement
of a narrative of five months’ captivity among the Arabs, by M. de
France, a lieutenant in the French navy. The author modestly assures
his readers that he is better skilled in the management of a ship than
of his pen, and that his book would never have been published but
at the request of his friends. It has nevertheless reached a second
edition in France.

                                                              L. D. G.




                              CONTENTS.

                                ————

                  THE SOLDIER OF THE FOREIGN LEGION.

                             CHAPTER I.
                                                                  Page
  Coleah—Arab Coffee-houses—The Hakim’s—Court of Justice—Arab Women
  and Domestic Life—Marriages—False alarm—Sofi the Modern
  Hâfiz—Grief for the departed glory of the Moors—Abubekr’s piety
  rewarded                                                           1

                             CHAPTER II.

  Algiers—The Poetry of the Galleys—Bath—Palace at Mustapha
  Superieur—General Von Hulsen—I join the Foreign Legion—French
  colonization in Africa—Hassan, the coffee-house keeper            15

                             CHAPTER III.

  Dschigeli—The Foreign Legion—Climate—Attack of the Kabyles on the
  Blockhouses—Massacre of a Kabyle Village—Samoom—Homeric Fight—Death
  of my Friend—Fort Duquesne—Formidable Starfish—Shipwreck—Engagement
  with the Kabyles—Escape of the Prisoners—Burial of their Dead     22

                             CHAPTER IV.

  Budschia—Monkeys—March to Buterback—General Bugeaud—Algiers—Lord
  Exmouth and the Dey—Progress of civilization and jollity among the
  Arabs of both sexes—Songs                                         34

                              CHAPTER V.

  March to Delhi Ibrahim—Horrible scene—Blidah—_Colonne
  Expéditionnaire_—Dukes of Nemours and Aumale—Pass of the Col de
  Mussaia—Medeah—Arab burial-grounds—Marabout in the mountains—Taking
  of Callah—March through the Desert—Destruction of Abd-el-Kader’s
  castle—Milianah—Night march—Sight of the Sea                      41

                             CHAPTER VI.

  Arab Valour—Abd-el-Kader—Snakes—Burning the Crops—Roman Bridge—The
  Duke of Aumale falls sick—Plundering of a Kabyle Village—The
  Prisoners—The Queen’s Tomb—Her royal crown—Inexpediency of turning
  the sword into a ploughshare                                      64

                             CHAPTER VII.

  Inspection of our Regiment—Military intendants—_Hôpital du Dey_—Its
  inmates—Eastern Garden                                            76

                            CHAPTER VIII.

  Voyage to Mostaganem—Storm—Funeral at sea—Landing—Bivouac
  Matamon—Bey of Mostaganem—Arabic music—Captain Lièvre—African
  spring—French and Arab Soldiers                                   79




                   THE PRISONERS OF ABD-EL-KADER.

                             CHAPTER I.
                                                                  Page
  Life on board the brig—Expedition up the country—Am noosed by the
  Arabs—They contend for the pleasure of cutting off my head—Adda
  sends me to Abd-el-Kader—The head—Painful journey—Arrival at
  Abd-el-Kader’s camp                                               93

                             CHAPTER II.

  Reception at Abd-el-Kader’s camp—Description of Abd-el-Kader—His
  tent—Unexpected meeting with M. Meurice—Abd-el-Kader’s officers  100

                             CHAPTER III.

  Meurice’s story—The camp and the soldiery—The Adventures of a
  German renegade—Arab horses—Prayers—The Sultan’s band of music   106

                             CHAPTER IV.

  French deserters—Sardinian prisoners—Their story—Letter to
  Algiers—Raising the camp—Abd-el-Kader—The only cannon—The Bey of
  Mostaganem—Return to El-Kaala                                    113

                              CHAPTER V.

  Method of cooling a tent—Abd-el-Kader’s munificence—Tribute paid
  in kind—A good dinner—Coffee—Supplies from Morocco—Letter from
  General Létang—Arab foray—Prisoners—The beautiful black slave girl
                                                                   120

                             CHAPTER VI.

  Revolt of Abd-el-Kader’s uncle—His letter—Jews—Attack on the
  Beni-Flitas and Houledscherifs—Horrible execution of a
  prisoner—Vermin—Tekedemta—Letter from the Arab prisoners at
  Marseilles                                                       127

                             CHAPTER VII.

  Ruins of Tekedemta—Abd-el-Kader’s schemes—Attempt to convert
  me—More tribute—Terms of Exchange—Tumblers and Singers—Restoration
  of Tekedemta                                                     134

                            CHAPTER VIII.

  Marches—The five marabouts—Cards and chess—Night March—The
  Sultan’s arrival at the camp—His wife—Female camp—Raka the
  cup-bearer—Abd-el-Kader’s Court of Justice                        141

                             CHAPTER IX.

  Offers of exchange—Report of the death of the King of
  France—Festivities—Sham fight—Two French soldiers—M.
  Lanternier—Meurice gets worse—Baths at Mascara—Lanternier’s
  prison—His wife and daughter sent to the Emperor of Morocco—Little
  Benedicto                                                        149

                              CHAPTER X.

  Prison at Mascara—Death of Meurice—Lanternier joins us—Four new
  prisoners—Their adventures—Our way of passing our time—Conversation
  of the Prisoners—Fourteen heads—The Italians                     158

                             CHAPTER XI.

  Departure from Mascara—Striking scene—Milianah—Moussa the
  renegade—His letter—The Rhamadan—Delays—The Bey of Milianah—Setting
  out for Algiers—The Bey’s daughters—First sight of Algiers—Fresh
  delays and disappointments—The Hakem’s hospitality—Arrival at
  Algiers—Benedicto—The Arab prisoners at Marseilles               165




                        THE FRENCH IN ALGIERS.

                           ================

                              CHAPTER I.

Coleah—Arab Coffee-houses—The Hakim’s—Court of Justice—Arab Women and
Domestic Life—Marriages—False Alarm—Sofi the Modern Hâfiz—Grief for
the Departed Glory of the Moors—Abubekr’s Piety rewarded.


                                           Coleah, September, 1841.

At last, my dear friend, after so many hardships and such various
wanderings, I have leisure to write to you; and I have much, very
much, to tell. The events of my life have lately followed each other
in such rapid succession, that the dangers and sorrows of the noble,
much-enduring Odysseus, nay, even the immortal adventures of the
valiant Knight of La Mancha, are mere child’s play in comparison with
my own.

Since the month of April we have scarce had time to take breath; so
rapidly did expedition follow expedition, and _razzia razzia_. The
new Governor, Bugeaud, naturally enough wishes to show that he is
equal to his post. His predecessor, Vallée, drew upon himself the
imputation of indolence, but no one can deny to Bugeaud the possession
of great energy and untiring activity. He encounters the Arabs with
their own weapons, harassing them with incessant attacks, and burning
and plundering the whole country. We have made two very important
expeditions; the first against Thaza, a strong fortress belonging to
Abd-el-Kader, situated on the borders of the desert. After destroying
this place, we returned through the iron gates (_portes de fer_) to
our own camp; this expedition occupied about four weeks. A few days
afterwards we started again to throw provisions into Milianah, and
to lay waste the plains of the Chellif with fire and sword. It was
exactly harvest time. In order to cut off from the Bedouins all means
of existence, it was of course necessary to drive away their cattle
and to burn their corn. Before long the whole plain looked like a sea
of fire.

These expeditions, sent out in the very hottest season of the year,
had such an effect upon the health of the soldiers, that the Governor
was compelled to allow them a short rest. The regiment to which
I belonged had scarcely a third part fit for service, the other
two-thirds were either dead or in the hospital. We were accordingly
sent to Coleah to recruit our strength.

You will have a tolerably correct idea of our recruiting quarters when
I tell you that one day is passed on guard, another in reconnoitring
the enemy for several hours, and the third in working at the dry ditch
(a sort of _pendant_ to the great wall of China) intended to defend
the plain of the Metidja against any sudden attacks of the Hadjutes.
I assure you, however, that we think this life vastly agreeable, and
consider ourselves as well off as if we were in Abraham’s bosom. There
was a time, indeed, when I should not have been quite so contented
with my lot, but every thing is relative in this best of all possible
worlds.

Coleah is a true Arab town, which stands on the south-eastern
declivity of the Sahel range of mountains, in a charming little nook,
and is well supplied with water.

We are only twelve leagues from Algiers and about three from the sea,
the proximity to which makes the place extremely healthy. The constant
sea breeze renders the heat even of this season quite tolerable.

At our feet is stretched the vast plain of the Metidja bounded by the
blue hills of the lesser Atlas range. We are quartered in a fortified
camp outside the town, on a small eminence which commands it. Of
course all the gates of the town and the market-place are guarded by
our troops. My leisure hours, which, indeed, are not too many, are
generally passed in sauntering about the streets.

The inhabitants of Coleah are pure descendants of the Moors, and still
retain some traces of their former refinement; you must not confound
them with the Bedouins and Kabyles, who always have been, and still
are the lowest in point of civilisation. I have nowhere found the Arab
so polished and so attractive as at Coleah, not even at Algiers and
Oran; in those towns, their intercourse with the French has called
forth all their rapacity, and spoiled the simplicity of their manners.
It is a remarkable fact that in all these towns near the sea the
Spanish language is still spoken, of course in a most corrupt dialect;
a proof that some connection with Spain has constantly existed—often,
no doubt, a very reluctant one on their parts: as in the reign of
Charles V., who conquered great part of this coast.

To me this is very welcome, as it enables me to talk with the Arabs;
it is not however easy to enter into conversation with them, as they
are almost always silent and reserved towards strangers. In order to
get them to talk it is necessary first to inspire confidence.

All my spare time is passed in the Arab coffee-house, the resort of
the fashion and aristocracy of Coleah, and I have already succeeded
in making some acquaintances. I have even obtained marks of evident
goodwill from them by my earnest and sympathising attention to
their singers and story-tellers, who never fail to attend the best
coffee-houses.

The clerk of the Hakim (the chief magistrate) is a great friend of
mine. He is an exceedingly well-informed man, and with you he would be
called “Mr. Secretary.” He knows the whole Koran by heart, besides a
host of Persian poems.

Like every man of sense he is exceedingly modest, lamenting his
ignorance, and inquiring diligently into our European habits and
manners. I have occasionally had the pleasure of seeing my friend Ben
Jussuf (for that is his name) occupied in the fulfilment of his duties
as clerk. Every Friday is kept by the Arabs as a holiday on which
markets are held and judgments given. On this day the Hakim sits in
the public place before the great coffee-house, and holds his court;
on his right hand stands his clerk who commits his judgments to paper,
and on his left the executioner who inflicts the punishments awarded
by the Hakim on the spot. This generally consists in some fifty or
hundred strokes of the bastinado, and sometimes even in death; the
latter, however, only for political offences, such as treasonable
correspondence with the enemy, &c. Should the case be doubtful, the
Hakim orders a certain number of strokes of the bastinado to be given
to both parties, and takes to himself the object of contention,
generally a sheep or a donkey—a proceeding only differing from our
own inasmuch as it has the great advantage of being more summary.
If any one is too profuse in his excuses, the Hakim says to the
executioner, “Give my comrade (among the Arabs every one is a comrade)
some thirty strokes of the bastinado, to teach him not to confuse me
any more with his ingenious evasions.” In this country, you see, an
advocate’s fees would not be very high.

Coleah is held in great reverence by the Arabs as it contains
Abd-el-Kader’s vault, in which are deposited the bodies of several
members of his family. The French have spared this tomb, in
consideration of which Abd-el-Kader has vowed never to attack the town
or its immediate neighbourhood.

The Hakim belongs to the family of the Emir, and is very rich: the
sheath and handle of his yataghan are of pure gold, and his horses
the finest I ever saw. He is the ideal of a noble Arab—terrible to
his enemies, hospitable and munificent to his friends, and especially
charitable to the poor. I have seen him during the great fast, when
the Mahomedans may eat nothing till after sunset, call together some
thirty beggars every evening before his door, bring them food, and
wait upon them himself with the help of his three grown up sons.

The beggars feasted upon kuskussu (porridge made with barley meal)
and baked mutton with great dignity and grace; and when they were
satisfied they rose, kissed the Hakim on the shoulders and cheeks,
and departed. The most contradictory qualities are often united in
the Arab nature—harshness and benevolence, cruelty and generosity,
rapacity and munificence: we should beware how we condemn them without
further knowledge of their character, and we must on no account
measure them by our Christian and European standard.

The great fast of the Mahomedans, which lasts forty days, began a
few days ago. During all this time the Arabs eat nothing during the
whole day, and are especially enjoined by the Prophet to be constant
in devotion and to give freely to the poor:—and the Arab is a very
strict observer of all his religious duties. Three times a day, at
the hours of sunrise, mid-day, and sunset, the loud voice of the
marabout, or priest, is heard from the minaret of the mosque summoning
the faithful to prayer.

The moment the Arab hears the call of the marabout he throws himself
upon the earth, wherever he may chance to be, and touches the ground
with his brow, then rising again he stretches his arms toward heaven
with his face turned in the direction of Mecca. His white flowing
bernouse and his long beard give him a venerable and patriarchal air.
Thus, surely, did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worship their God. The
Arab has no hesitation in performing his devotions in the presence
of the crowd, and is totally without either the false shame or the
religious hypocrisy of an European.

Most Mahomedans wear a rosary of beads, which they tell while
repeating sentences out of the Koran; to this is usually appended
a large brass comb, with which they comb their beards during their
orisons with the most solemn earnestness. The impression produced by
this on Europeans is highly comical, but to the Mahomedan it seems
natural enough, as any purification of the body, such as combing and
washing, are to him in themselves religious acts.

They are by no means behind us in superstition, and frequently hang,
as an amulet round the neck of a favourite horse, a le