Algeria in 1845. A visit to the French possessions in Africa

Chapter I

Arrival in Algiers — Aspect of the city — The Bab-Azoun Street — The Fort — The Tomb ofBarbarossa — Museum — College — Library — Moorish houses — Market-place — A tame hyena — Moorish coffee-house — Pilgrims on their way to Mecca — The Casbah — Circumstances which led to the French Expedition — The camp of the Tagarim — The Dey's Hospital — Hospital of the Salpetriere — The mystified naturalist — Cemeteries — The Christian burial-place — The Confessor of Don John of Austria — Fort Vingt-quatre Heures — Military culprits — Their occupation — The Marengo Garden — The Gate and Street of Bab-el-Oued— The Marine Gate— The Admiral— The Light-house — Ruins ofthe Powder Magazine — The Jetty — The Hotel of the Regency — Colonel Pelissier — System of promotion in the French Army — Evening walk in the city of Algiers — Coffee-house scenes — Music and dancing — The Casbah Street at night — Visit to a Moorish lady — Her costume .... I — CONTENTS.

Chapter II

The Bishop of Algiers— An Arab Bazaar— Arab and Turkish embroidery — A barber's shop — Sales by Auction — Market on the Place de la Chartre — New Protestant Churches — The Berthezene road — The Emperor's Fort, and its surrounding prospect — Upper Mustapha — The sister of Mademoiselle Dejazet — Country residences of the Governor and of General Yussuf — Cavalry Camp at Lower Mustapha — The Plane Tree Coffee House — Experimental garden — Silk worms — Hussein Dey's Mills — Hunting — Various species of game in Algeria — Lion hunting — The Maison Carree — Projected railway — The Water Fort — The Rasauta— The Model Farm— Cabaret of the 43rd Regiment — Infantry on a march — Regulations — The Village of Berkadem — Madame Berthier — A dejeuner champetre — Carrousel given by the 1st Regiment of Chasseurs, in honour of the Duke de Montpensier — The Legion of Honour — Decorations — Other military orders of knighthood .... 42—77

Chapter III

Bouffarik — The camp of Erlon — The village of Beni- Mared — Sergeant Blandan — Blidah — The new Damascus — The Zouaves — The Spahis — Military anecdotes — General Yussuf — His romantic history — The orano-e groves of Blidah — The River Oued-Kebir — Defiles of the Shiffa — Convoy of sick and wounded — Effect of wounds — The camp of Nador — The town of Medeah — Evening prayers — Arab proverbs — A prisoner of the CONTENTS. V Emir Abd-el-Kader — Mysteries of the Mosque of Taga dem — Psylles — Storks — General Marrey's lion — An Arab school — The shops of Medeah— Corn mills — Country residence of the Dey of Titterie— The Iron gates — A night with an Arab tribe — Coleah — Forts of Point Pescade — Druidical tombs . . 78 — 125

Chapter IV

Different races of the Inhabitants of Algeria — Kabyles — Moors — Arabs — Jews — Turks and Koulouglis — Habitations — Costumes — Industry — Manners — Cruelty — Religion — Superstition — Amulets — Marriages — Funerals — The Plague — Opthalmia — Cutaneous diseases — Amputations. .... 126—154

Chapter V

The Tartare war-steamer — The Cadi of Oran — His visit to France — Panorama of the Deluge — The Bishop of Algiers — Communication with an Arab tribe — Mir-el- Kebir — The Fort — Morocco prisoners — The Queen's Baths — City of Oran — Casbahs and forts — Review of the Arab cavalry of the Oran division — Arab horses and horsemen — Mode of riding — The Plain of Telamina — The Foreign Legion — Comparison between the English and Arab horses — Anecdote — A negro festival — Baptism, confirmation, communion, and marriage of a Moorish female — Journey to Arzen — Missionaries in Africa — Kurguenta — Medorsa — Temple of Neptune — Powers of Europe formerly tributary to the Deys of Algiers — Mostaganem — A storm — Maritime powers on the coast .... 155—195 VI CONTENTS.

Chapter VI

Passage to Bona — Cape Carbon — Bougia — The Marabout of Lidi Bosgri — The Doriac Blockhouse — Gigelly — The Mountain of the Seven Capes — Philippeville — Anchorage of the Cassarin — Bona — The Casbah — Mount Edough — Pet Lions — Ruins of Hippon — Ancient Reservoir — The Monument of St. Augustin — The Camp of the Draan — The great Oasis — Ancient legislature of the Arabs — Barbarity of their criminal punishments — Burning trees — Colonization — Comparative numbers of the French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Maltese Colonists. 196 — 229

Chapter VII

Journey to Constantina — Thermal Springs of Hamman Berda — Ruins of Ghelma — Mount Ras-el-Akba — Ruins of an ancient City — Constantina — Position and Aspect of the City— The Casbah— The Coral Fishery at La Calle— Slavery in Africa — An Arab Duar — Breakfast — The Arab Women— Mock Conflicts— Complimentary Manœuvre — Tobacco Plantations — Philippeville — A Cantiniere — The Titan Steamer — Return to Algiers — The Statue of the Duke of Orleans — Passports. . . 230 — 254

Chapter VIII

General remarks on the French occupation of Algeria Sacrifices of men and money annually made by France — Marshal Bugeaud — Colonel Pelissier and the caves of Dahra — Staff officers of Marshal Bugeaud — Military bulletins, French and English — Anecdotes— Persons in CONTENTS. VII government employments prohibited from purchasing landed property — Evasions of this prohibition — Trade with Europe — Government supplies — Agriculture — Cattle — Coasting steamers — Transmission of dispatches — The Jesuits — Proselytism — Enrolment of Arabs in the French army — Recollections of the Duke of Orleans — The Duke de Nemours — Anecdotes — General Bourgon — Distinc tions of rank in the French army — Discipline, temperance, and endurance of French soldiers — The Emir Abd el-Kader — His military resources — Concluding remarks. 235—284

Chapter I

Arrival in Algiers — Aspect of the city — The Bab-Azoun Street — The Fort — The Tomb of Barbarossa — Museum — College — Library — Moorish houses — Market-place — A tame hyena — Moorish coffee-house — Pilgrims on their way to Mecca — The Casbah — Circumstances which led to the French Expedition — The camp of the Tagarim — The Dey's Hospital — Hospital of the Salpetriere — The mystified naturalist — Cemeteries — The Christian burial-place — The Confessor of Don John of Austria — Fort Vingt-quatre Heures — Military culprits — Their occupation — The Marengo Garden — The Gate and Street of Bab-el-Oued— The Marine Gate— The Admiral— The Light-house — Ruins ofthe Powder Magazine — The Jetty — The Hotel of the Regency— Colonel Pelissier— System of promotion in the French Army — Evening walk in the city of Algiers — Coffee-house scenes — Music and dancing — The Casbah Street at night— Visit to a Moorish lady — Her costume.

The following observations on the French possessions in Algeria, comprise but little of B military detail. They are chiefly confined to a description of the excursions I made in com pany with a friend well acquainted with the coun try. To these descriptions I have added some par ticulars relating to the French army, and sketches of the country and its people. In conclusion, I have impartially noted down the reflections suggested to me by all I saw or heard, in the three provinces of Algiers, Oran, and Bona. It was five o'clock, on a fine June morning in the year 1845, when the vessel in which I sailed from Toulon arrived within about three leagues of Algiers. I was standing on the poop, in com pany with the surgeon of the ship, who kindly explained to me the most interesting points in the panoramic scene, which was gradually un folding itself around us, and becoming more and more distinctly defined as we advanced.

At the first glimpse, the site occupied by the city looks like a quarry of white marble ; but, on nearing the middle of the vast roadstead, (larger and more beautiful than the Bay of Naples), a fortress appears on the left, in the extreme distance, called the Maison Carree, the white walls of which stand out in relief ASPECT OP ALGIERS. 3 against the black mountains of Kabylia. Along the curved line of the coast are some charming country houses, scattered here and there on a verdant acclivity of considerable height. At the foot of this eminence, and close on the margin of the sea, there are some little villages, and a fort called Bab-Azoun. The aspect of the city is like a large pyramid. In its front a jetty, which is in the course of construction, masks the view of the port. On the right stands a lighthouse, and further along the coast, in the same direction, are seen the Hdpital de la Salpetriere, and the De-y's Hospital ; both build ings are surrounded by verdure, and appear of considerable magnitude.

Further on are some cemeteries, and beyond them the coast takes a sudden turn southward, in the direction of Cape Sidi Ferrugi, where the French landed on the 14th of June, 1830. No sooner had the vessel entered the port, than my friend, M. R — , came on board to meet me, with the kind intention of sparing me all those an noyances which a stranger necessarily encounters in a country with which he is unacquainted. But, passing over these details, I will proceed b A VISIT TO ALGERIA. to describe the scene, visible from the balcony of the Hotel de la Regence, situated in the Place du Gouvernement, in the centre of the city of Algiers. The morning was beautifully fine, and the heat was already beginning to be oppressive. I was almost bewildered by the novelty of the picture : the movement, the tumult, the language, the costumes, the uniforms — all so different from any thing in Europe, at once amazed and inte rested me.

The Place du Gouvernement is a large, oblong space, planted with orange trees. Along two of its sides — on one of which our hotel was situated — are ranges of houses, built in the Euro pean style, four stories high, fronted with arcades and balconies. To the right, wooden barracks have been erected, on the site of some Moorish houses, recently burned down, and of which the only remaining vestige is a tower, called the Janina, surmounted by a dial. Beneath this tower there is a thoroughfare, formed by two arcades. On the left, the Place du Gou vernement is closed by a balustrade, breast high, behind which is a battery of eight guns. Further down are seen the quay, the port, PLACE DU GOUVERNEMENT. 5 the vessels lying at anchor, the jetty, and the ocean. All persons going from one extremity of the city to the other, on any kind of business or occupation, are under the necessity of passing along the Place ; consequently the incessant din and bustle may easily be imagined.

Whilst I was taking a survey of the busy scene, a regiment of infantry, returning from exercise, was marching beneath our balcony ; through the arcades, beneath the tower, four hundred mules, with soldiers and waggons, were proceeding to a provision magazine to procure boxes of bis cuits for an expedition then in preparation ; and along the opposite side of the Place a funeral procession was passing, attended by a numerous retinue of relations and friends, and followed by a vast crowd of idlers. Amidst all these objects, were thickly interspersed Arabs, Moors, Jews, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Maltese, Germans, and Italians ; some on foot, some on horseback ; others carrying heavy loads of wares for sale, and each vender uttering deafening cries, in his own particular language. In short, the heat, the dust, and the noise, seemed altogether enough A VISIT TO ALGERIA. to drive a stranger mad.

I doubted whether I could venture into the streets, and mingle in the fearful turmoil. I could eat no breakfast, for I found it impossible to keep away from the window, and to avert my gaze from the strange masses of men and animals, passing and repassing: I stood looking over the balcony, till I became almost dizzy with the noise and confusion. But I had not come to Algiers to remain immured in a hotel ; and I therefore resolved to accept the escort of M. R — , and to venture out. We had no sooner got into the Place, than an Arab stepped up to us, and offered us some natural roses, with gilded stalks and leaves. He had fixed one of them in his dirty turban ; and this strange ornament, together with his white beard and dingy complexion, gave him a very grotesque appearance. Advancing a little further, we en countered a troop of boys driving asses.

Each boy had under his guidance four asses, and the animals were laden with small bags of sand. At the same moment a sort of fiacre came driving along, recklessly dashing through the busy throng. This fiacre resembled a basket made BAB-AZOUN GATE. of wood, and was hung round with curtains of various colours. The driver wore a small Spanish hat, adorned with streamers of velvet. He was a Spaniard, and as he whisked past us, I could hear that he had not forgotten a favourite Peninsular oath. Having, though not without some difficulty, worked our way through the Place du Gouverne ment, we entered what is called the Bab-Azoun Street. It consists of two rows of houses, built on the same plan as those on the Place. In about a quarter of an hour, we reached the boundary of the city, which, at this point, is terminated by the Bab-Azoun Gate.

This gate consists of double arches, those on one side being allotted to ingress, and those on the other to egress. These double arches are connected one with the other by a sort of bridge crossing a ditch, which runs along the foot of the city wall. On the right of the Gate of Bab-Azoun, and within the city, stands a small Marabout,* the grated door of which is kept constantly * The Bedouin priests are called Marabouts, but the term is also used to designate the temples and mausoleums in which those priests officiate. closed. This is said to be the burial place of the Emperor Barbarossa. The Arabs hold this Marabout in great veneration. On passing through the grated door, I could perceive flowers and tapers, and on the ground were scattered pieces of money, which had been thrown in through the gratings, in honour of the de ceased.

Barbarossa's real name was Horom, and he was killed atTlemsen, in the year 1518. It is related, that at the age of thirteen, he captured two galleys belonging to the Pope. Eight years afterwards he obtained the command of a squadron, con sisting of forty galleys, manned by Turks and Moors, who were gathered round him by the fame of his exploits. The King of Bougia, which city still exists near Algiers, having been driven from his dominions, summoned Horom to aid him in regaining possession of his throne. In this enterprize the bold corsair failed, notwithstanding the many brilliant feats he performed, and he had the misfortune to lose one of his arms, which was carried away by a cannon ball. Nevertheless, his repu tation continued to augment among the Arabs, BARBAROSSA who, at length, conferred on him the title of Sultan.

In 1516, Selim Eutomy, Dey of Algiers, ap pealed to Horom for his assistance in driving the Spaniards from the African coast. On his ar rival in Algiers, Horom was borne in triumph to the palace, where he put Selim to death, and possessed himself of the sovereign au thority. This increasing power created in the mind of the Emperor Charles V. serious apprehen sions for the future safety of Oran, then occupied by the Spaniards. He sent a force of ten thousand Spaniards, commanded by the Mar quis de Gomares, the Governor of Oran, to attack Horom, who fled and took refuge in the Castle of Tlemsen. There he defended himself as long as his provisions lasted ; but when they were exhausted he fled, accompanied by his Turkish followers, effecting his escape through a cavern, and carrying with him all his treasure.

He was followed by the Spaniards, and to divert them from the pursuit, he scattered behind him his gold and silver. But he was overtaken at about eight leagues from Tlemsen, and he and b his troops were massacred. He was forty-four years of age at the period of his death. Pursuing our walk, M. R— and I proceeded along the Bab-Azoun Street, where we entered a well built Moorish house. Having ascended a few steps, we found ourselves in a spacious court-yard, paved with flags of white marble. In the centre was a basin of clear water, and around were planted clusters of orange trees, now in bloom. Along the four sides of the court yard ran two galleries, one above the other, fronted with beautiful carved wood, and sup ported on marble columns. The most refreshing coolness prevailed. One side of this house was occupied by the city library, and a small mu seum, containing animals stuffed, or preserved in spirits of wine ; specimens of the products of the mines discovered in the country ; a few Roman and Carthagenian tumular stones; and some ancient arms found in tombs in the course of excavations.

The library contains drafts of ordinances, a collection of the Moniteur, some classical works, and a good many military books. The other portion of the house is devoted to a college, bearing the pompous title of Royal Colle°*e. THE HOUSES IN ALGIERS. 11 M. R — informed me that the houses of the wealthier inhabitants of Algiers are all constructed on the plan of the one I have just described. They are massive square buildings, and have no windows looking towards the street. They differ one from another only in reference to their dimensions, and the beauty and costliness of their adornments. The entrance doors are generally small and low ; but the apartments are spacious, of an oblong form, and remarkably lofty. The ceilings are of carved wood, painted and gilt ; and small, long shaped dormar windows, admit a free circulation of air.

The walls are hung with flags and draperies, and faced with Dutch tiles, or varnished bricks, on which are traced passages from the Koran, and various other inscriptions interwoven with gilt, or richly coloured ornaments. The floors are spread with costly carpets, and instead of chairs, cushions are used covered with cloth of gold or silk. Occasionally the galleries are supported by marble columns, finely sculptured by Italian artists; and some have hexagonal pavements, also of marble. The clois tered court-yards are most frequently, refreshed by fountains of limpid water. Low grated windows, opening on the inner court-yards, admit but a feeble light into the apartments. The ground floors are usually allotted to the slaves. A narrow winding marble staircase leads to the first story of the house, on which are the apartments occupied by the family.

Above the first story there is a flat terrace, serving at once for a roof and a promenade. On this terrace, there is frequently a tent or pavilion, beneath the shade of which the women and children enjoy the evening breezes. The houses in the country are con structed like those in the towns, and are white washed twice every year. Almost all are well supplied with water, having wells externally. They are surrounded by walls two feet high, and by plantations of the thorny fig, and the aloe. Through this almost impenetrable hedge, it is necessary to work a passage before the house can be entered. On quitting the Royal College, we proceeded to the left, and passing through the Bab-Azoun Gate, we soon reached a small esplanade, refreshed by a cool fountain. On this place there was an Arab — or more correctly speaking — a Moorish market.

It must be borne in mind MOORISH MARKET-PLACE. that the Arabs and the Moors are two totally distinct races of people. The Arabs are Asiatics ; among them the Mahometan religion first took birth, and they were the first who spread it in Asia, Africa, and even into Europe. The Moors, on the contrary, are an African race, converted to Mahometanism by the Arab Mus sulmans. In this Moorish market then, some negresses, scantily covered by garments composed of pieces of blue cloth, were selling cakes, flowers, and fruit. An Arab was vending sour milk, contained in wild boar skins, preserving the form of the animal, with the exception of the head and paws. Further on, a Kabyle, descended from the mountainous districts, was carrying on his traffic in coals, and roots of the dwarf palm. The poor creature was almost in a state of nudity, having only some fragments of cloth round his waist, and over his shoulders; his left leg bore the mark of a recent shot.

I was informed that this market is the place for the execution of criminals sentenced to suffer capital punishment: a circumstance which rendered me by no means desirous of lingering longer than was necessary for taking a hasty glance around. Accordingly we passed quickly on, and soon reached a Moorish house, occupied by officers detached from all the French regiments in Africa. They there study the Arab language ; and, conjointly with the interpreters, they may be said to perform all the duties of the office for the management of Arab affairs, under the superintendence of Colonel Daumas. The establishment possesses a most splendid collection of horses, for which it is indebted to the opportunities enjoyed by the officers of knowing where the finest animals are to be obtained. Opposite to this place there is a sort of arsenal, in which the artillery carriages are kept.

Here I was shewn a young hyena of two years of age, which had been tamed. At the call of its master, the animal came to us, accompanied by a little dog, its playmate. Its aspect was fierce and repulsive, and notwithstanding all the proofs of gentleness and good behaviour, which I received in return for a piece of sugar, I felt more disposed to cut short the interview than to prolong it. I was now beginning to feel very fatigued, MOORISH COFFEE-HOUSE. 15 and M. R — proposed that we should step into a Moorish coffee-house, which was hard by, and refresh ourselves with a cup of coffee. It was thick with sediment, and exceedingly bitter, as it is taken without sugar. It was served in small porcelain cups, without handles, and they were so hot, that it was impossible to hold them without burning one's hands ; for the Moors do not adopt the precaution of placing the cup on a little metal stand or salver, which is the practice in Turkey.

However, I found the beverage refreshing and invigorating ; and truly we required something to recruit our strength, for on leaving the coffee-house, we had to ascend a steep acclivity. Here we observed numerous Arab huts, composed of straw and reed, and roofed with mud and earth ; the smoke issuing from the same aperture, which served both for door and window. We entered a sort of yard or stable, in which there were some camels. These animals are not permitted to enter the crowded city, where they would add not a little to the prevailing confusion : they are, therefore, conducted to the yard I have just mentioned, and there unloaded. Continuing to ascend, we approached some canvas tents, occupied by pilgrims, who had come from the Desert, and were waiting for a vessel to convey them to Alexandria, from whence they intended to proceed to Mecca.

We had now nearly reached the summit of the acclivity, and my kind cicerone proposed that we should re enter the city, by what is termed the Gate of Victory. On one side of this gate, there is a fountain of white marble, constructed amidst the ruins of an ancient Roman aqueduct. The interior of the city, in this quarter, retains its old aspect. The narrow streets are almost roofed over by the projecting houses, the fronts of which, on either side of the street, nearly touch each other from the first story to the terrace on the top. The streets are paved with round, uneven stones. We soon reached an open space before the walls of the Casbah, the ancient residence of the Dey of Algiers, but now scarcely recognisable even by the Arabs them selves, on account of the changes made in it by the French.

One thing, however, remains unal tered, and that is the little kiosk in which the late Dey saluted the French Consul with a coup THE CASBAH. d'eventail. The walls of this celebrated kiosk are lined with porcelain. I expected to have found in it the old furniture, together with some curiosities ; but I was disappointed. In a side apartment, I heard a musician belonging to the band of one of the regiments of the Zouaves, practising a polka on the cornet a piston. This was quite a disenchantment. From the court yard we descended into some vast caverns divided into chambers. In these caverns the French found the numerous treasures which had been amassed by the Dey and his predecessors. Prior to the French occupation, any furtive attempt to penetrate into these caves was imprac ticable, the approach to them being guarded by lion s, tigers, and hyenas chained up at short dis tances from each other.

All the other parts of the citadel are totally transformed. The women's apartments in the harem are converted into quarters for the artillery. In a delicious little kiosk, shaded by plane trees, and the windows of which command a view of the city, the sea, and the surrounding country, an ambulance is installed. Around this kiosk are to be seen fountains of fresh and limpid water, and marble reservoirs in which the soldiers wash their linen. A small mosque at a little distance has been con verted into a Catholic chapel, and is surmounted by a cross. The French have guaranteed to the Arabs the free exercise of their religion, of their national customs, and their rights of property ; but they have taken possession of the mosques, and converted them into Catholic churches. The Protestants have purchased pieces of ground on which they have erected places of worship for themselves, and the Jews have hired houses for their synagogues.

M. R related to me the circumstances of the affront offered to our Consul by the Dey, which is said to have led to the occupation of Algiers. As they are interesting, and not generally known, I may briefly repeat them here. During the reign of Napoleon, the Bey of Tunis had in his harem a favourite female slave, to whom he wished to make a present of a magnificent sarmah. This sarmah is a sort of head-dress, not dissimdar in form to that for merly worn in France, and still kept up by the Cauchoises of Normandy, with this difference, that it is composed of richly wrought gold or silver. THE BEY OF TUNIS AND THE JEW. To get this ornament made, the Bey applied to a Jew, who, however, not feeling himself competent to produce the chef-d'œuvre, applied to one of his own tribe in Paris. The latter recommended that the commission should be given to a goldsmith at Versailles, who undertook to make it for twelve thousand francs.

The sarmah was completed ; it was of the purest gold, artistically wrought in open work, and set with precious stones. It was sent to Algiers, whence it was despatched to Tunis, where the price charged for it was thirty thousand francs. The Bey, who was delighted with it, made no demur about the price ; but being at that time straightened in his finances, he entered into an arrangement with the Jew at Algiers, giving him in part payment a certain quantity of corn, with the permission to export a portion of it from Tunis duty free. It happened at that time that there was a want of corn in France for the supply ofthe troops stationed in the provinces. The Jew sold his stock to the army contractors, and he profited so well by the trans action, that he became a creditor of the French Government to the amount of above a million.

After the fall of Napoleon, the Government of the restoration disavowed the Jew's claim ; but, like all the Israelites, he was active and perse vering, and by dint of repeated supplications, he succeeded in interesting the Dey of Algiers in his behalf. Through the medium of the Dey, energetic remonstrances were addressed to M. Deval, the French Consul at Algiers, who pro mised to submit the matter to the consideration of his Government. In 1 829, on the occasion of the festival of the Ramadan, all the foreign Consuls resident in Algiers were admitted to present their respects to the Dey. His Highness asked M. Deval for the answer relative to the case of the Jew, and made some complaint of the tardiness observed by the ministers of Charles X. in the management of public business. The Consul communicated the decision of the French ministry, who rejected the Jew's demand with some expressions of disapproval touching the impropriety of similar claims.

The Dey became angry, and vented his irritation by giving M. Deval a rap with a fan which he held in his hand for the purpose of driving away the flies. Leaving the Casbah by a back gate, we had CAMP OF THE TAGARIM. before us, on a little eminence, the entrenched camp of the Tagarim. After some little discussion at the gate we were admitted. This camp consists of a large square, enclosed by wooden palisades, and containing eight parallel rows of barracks, sufficient space being left between each row to ad mit of the free movement of the troops. On entering these barracks, I was astonished to ob serve the wretched bedding of the soldiers. They repose on miserable hammocks of canvass, with out mattrasses or bed covering. These hammocks are slung by ropes, fastened at one end to the wall, and at the other to wooden poles.