Our Mission to the Court of Marocco in 1880, under Sir J. D. Hay ... Illustrated from photographs, etc

Front matter

OUR MISSION TO THE COURT OF MAROCCO Printed by R. &■ R. Clarl: FOR DAVID DOUGLAS, EDINBURGH LONDON . . . HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. CAMBRIDGE . . MACMILLAN AND CO. GLASGOW . . . JAMES MACLEHOSE. OUR MISSION TO THE COURT OF MAROCCO IN 1880 UNDER SIR JOHN DRUMMOND HAY, K.C.B., MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY AND ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN BY PHILIP DURHAM TROTTER, CAPTAIN 931. HIGHLANDERS ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE HON D. LAWLESS, RIFLE BRIGADE EDINBURGH: DAVID DOUGLAS MDCCCLXXXI AU rights reserved. MEMBERS OF MISSION. 23rtricattu bg Permission TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN DRUMMOND HAY, K.C.B. MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY AND ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY TO THE SHARIFIAN COURT IN REMEMBRANCE OF MUCH KINDNESS

Preface

. Some said, " John, print it," Others said, "No ;" Some said, " It might do good," Others said, " Not so." Whatever weight I might have been inclined to attach to the fluctuating expressions of friendly opinion con tained in the above lines, there is at all events one ground on which I have been nearly tempted to allow the "noes to have it," and that is the length of time which has elapsed since the return of the Mission. The delay has been a matter of great regret to me ; and its cause — viz. the long continuance of a severe fever, contracted either amid the scenes of which I write, or in that valuable but pestilential possession of Her Majesty, the Rock of Gibraltar — must also be my excuse for any imperfection of style or composition which may be found in this volume. The work itself is merely an elaboration of my diary

PREFACE.

. VIII kept from day to day during my residence in the Sultan's " happy realms;" and though the interest of the events recorded is not of a sensational or startling character, I think I may safely assert that truth — if nothing else — is to be found in the following pages. I may mention that Leo Africanus, whose work on Marocco I have several times quoted, was a Moor of Granada, who fled to Fez when that city was besieged in 1492. He was patronised by Mulai Ahmed, founder of the present dynasty, and later in his career was cap tured by Christian corsairs, and taken to Rome. Here he was well received by Pope Leo X., who is said to have induced him to embrace Christianity, and to have baptized him under his own name. His book was translated into Latin and Italian, and was published in Venice in 1563 by Ramusio in his famous work, " Delle Navi gation! e Viaggi."

In this form it found its way to England, and was, in 1600, rendered by Master John Pory into the quaint English of his time. I obtained the outline of my map by enlarging that of the " Carte de l'Empire de Maroc," executed in 1848 for the French War Department. The filling in of the interior on either side of the route we followed is from observations of my own, supplemented by information taken from a map by M. Tissot, lately French Minister

PREFACE.

. IX at Tangier, and now Ambassador at Constantinople, to the extreme accuracy of whose work, as far as I could judge of it, I am able to testify. Upon the latter source, also, I am chiefly dependent for the geography of that part of the country, remote from our route, which I have not visited, but which is doubtless as correct as that which I was able to verify for myself. It is possible that my rendering of Arabic spelling into English may be thought pedantic or incorrect ; but allowing ■ for the corrupt form of Arabic spoken in Marocco, I have approached, as nearly as was feasible, to the now author ised Anglo-Oriental system. For the benefit of those who may be unacquainted with the " spelling of the future," I may mention that a sounds like a in harm. u „ „ oo „ goose. i „ ,, ee „ seed. i „ „ i „ smile. a „ ,, u „ hut. u „ u „ full. i „ ,, i ,, bit.

My sincere thanks are due to the Hon. D. Lawless, Rifle Brigade, for placing at my disposal the negatives of photographs he took during our tour. Of the very successful results obtained from them by Mr. Alexander Rivington, Lansdowne Road, Tottenham, readers of this

PREFACE.

. X book will judge. The peculiar appearance of the arch opposite page 242 is due to some photographic eccen tricity ; but as the details of the building are clearly brought out, and the crookedness of the picture does not lessen its architectural value, I have thought it best to retain it among the illustrations. I am further much indebted to Sir Joseph Hooker, C.B., K. C.S.I., for his kindness in furnishing me with a list of the plants collected for him by Miss Drummond Hay during our wanderings, and which will be found in the Appendix. To others, also, who have tendered their advice or assistance in matters about which I was doubtful, I beg to offer my grateful acknowledgments. P. D. T. Edinburgh, April CONTENTS.

Chapter I

Decision of Government to send an Envoy Extraordinary to the Sultan — Preliminary arrangements — Presents for Sultan — Account of Tangier — Landing there — Dance at Italian Legation — Departure of Mission — Market at Hadd el Gharbia — Ad Mercuri — Wild flowers .... Pages 1-18

Chapter II

Tomb of Sid Ahmed ben Ali — Megalithic remains at Mzorah — " Lab-el-barod " — " Mona " — Extortion by Europeans — " Matamors " — Sharif of Wazan — Boar - hunt — Camp servants ..... 19-33

Chapter III

Flat country — Heliographing — Cold nights — Roadside sacrifice — View of El Araish — Saints and lunatics — Reception at Alcazar — Musicians — Town of Alcazar — " Kohl " — Sultan el Mansor — Battles of Alarcos and Alcazar — Compounding a felony 34-43 CONTENTS.

Chapter IV

Romans and Portuguese — Fording the Wad el Kus — " El Ma Bared" — Chess playing — Land tortoises — Changing escorts — Kaid of Ben Aouda — Quail shooting — Entertainment at Habassi — Poison — Kuskussu — Solitude of plains — Thunder-storm — Irregular protection ..... Pages 44-60

Chapter V

Kaid of Habassi — Passage of Wad el Sebii — Arab women — Pigs and evil spirits — Beni Hassan — Curiosity of villagers — Sick and blind — Sentries at night — Illness or accident — Rain — Missing the road — Quitting the plains — Sid Bubakr — Geographical difficulties — " Kubbe " — Nomenclature of villages — Famine — Foreign tyranny ..... 61-82

Chapter VI

Leaky tents — Beni Aamer — Hospitality of villagers — Sea of mud — Storm — Camp attacked by robbers — Perils of darkness — Curious rocks — First view of Fez . . . 83-95

Chapter VII

Entry into Fez — Compulsory welcome — Grandees of Fez — Kaid Maclean — Violence of soldiers — Merchants of Fez — Jews — Our garden in Fez — Kaid El Meshwa — Moorish etiquette — Grand Vizier — Streets and shops — Sanctity of mosques 96-109 CONTENTS. XIII

Chapter VIII

Visit to the Chamberlain — Our host's sons — French officers at dinner — Reception of Mission by Sultan — Kilts and equestrianism — Palace enclosure — Homage of soldiers — Dialogue between Sultan and Envoy — Delivery of the Queen's letter — Presentation of Mission . . . Pages 110-122

Chapter IX

Position of Fez — Water supply — Breakfast at Grand Vizier's — Hidden treasure — Sultan's garden — Laying down telephone — Royal stud — Dinner at Kaid Hadj Hamed's — Surgery 123-138

Chapter X

Exhibition of heliographs, &c. — Breach of etiquette — Sultan Mulai Hassan — Refusal to be photographed — Phonograph — Ancestry of Sultan — Breakfast at the Kaid el Meshwa's — Moorish architecture — Dinner with Bashaw of Fez — His harem — The 139-157 Prophet on women

CHAPTER XL

Breakfast at the " Eyebrow's"— The late Sid Musa— Second sight — Death of Grand Vizier — Moorish customs — Marocco at Chatham — Cursed by a saint — Professional story-teller — Shallow graves — Slave-market — Treatment of slaves 158-170 CONTENTS.

Chapter XII

Silver ornaments — Mosques — Market — Snake-charmers — Jews — Police arrangements — Frequency of murders — Army reform — Good intentions of Sultan — Unpaid officials — Lex talionis — Mock Sultan — Two remarkable events . Pages 171-189

Chapter XIII

Visit to the palace — Failure to photograph Sultan — Setting up telephone — Panthers — Beauty of palace — Sultan's entertainment — Jugglers — Native drama — Dance of the Aissowieh — Saint of Fez — Visit to the " Melha " — Inspection of infantry — Inns of Fez — Treatment of lunatics . . . 190-211

Chapter XIV

Farewell audience — The Sultan's thanks — Discourtesy of Vizier- Claiming protection — Designing foreigners — Precautions against them — Artillery practice — Presents from Sultan — News from home — Books in Fez — Political results of Mission 212-225

Chapter XV

In camp again — Departure from Fez — Consular agents — Infantry drill — Closing of gates — Source of Wad el Fas — Defences of Marocco — Chances of Invasion . 226-234

Chapter XVI

Heavy rain — Hill of Kaniifa — Telegraph v. heliograph — Ladies of Mequinez — Selection of heliograph station — Bokhari — Final CONTENTS. XV instruction in heliography — Sultan Mulai Ismael — His cruelties and sanctity — Visit to prison . . Pages 235-245 Pages 235-245

Chapter XVII

Departure from Mequinez — Volubilis and Zarhun — Mulai Ismael and the devil — Q. Cæcilius Domitianus — Description of ruins — Horse-stealers— Hondius his map — Ptolemy — Failure to enter Mulai Edris — Fate of impostor — Arab tents — Dangerous route — Berbers and Jews .... 246-260

Chapter XVIII

Threatened attack by Zemmur — Direction of march changed — Fight with Zemmiir — Sport spoiled — Forest of Mamora — View of Rabat — Camp at Sla — Sallee rovers — Ruins of Sheila — Female saints — Tower of Hassan — Auction of rugs 261-270

Chapter XIX

Return of Sid Bubakr — His house in Marocco — Precautions when from home — Mehdia — Portuguese defeat — Ras ed Dura — Whited sepulchres — Arab girl — Chamomile and borage — Cork woods — El Araish — Well-to-do Jews — Passage of Wad el Kus — Remains of Moorish fleet — Insect life — Azila — Irregular protection of Jews — Fording tidal rivers — An avenger of blood ..... 271-286

Chapter XX

Return to Tangier — Difficult task of English representative — Obstacles to collecting information — Photographs— Ethnology — Berbers and Arabs — Bokhari — Moors— Further results of Mission — Conclusion . 287-294 CONTENTS.

Appendix

. PAGE Appendix A. General List of Plants collected . . 295 „ B. Translation of Letter from Kaid Ali to Lieut. Haynes . . . .302 ,, C. Diseases of Marocco . . . 302 „ D. Extracts from Memorandum on Army Reform 303 „ E. Substance of Eeport on Sultan's 'Askdr, or Regular Infantry . . . 303 „ F. Extracts from Letter of Sir J. Drummond Hay to Author . . . 305 „ G. Specimen of a " Sharifian Letter " . . 305 „ H. Inscription on Stone at Volubilis . . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. Members of Mission Frontispiece. 2. Arab Scribe and Haim SecsiJ . . Opposite page 5 3. Arrival at Hadd el Gharbi'a . . „ 16 4. Si'd Ahmed ben Ali .... „ 18 5. Monolithic Remains at Mzorah . . „ 20 6. Allarbi, Hadj Ali, Hadj Hamed, ) } . . „ 32 and abd-er-rahman . ) 7. Outer Wall of Alcazar ... „ 40 8. Camp at Habassi, a " Day of Rest " . „ 56 9.

Group of Arabs outside Habassi . . „ 60 10. A Midday Halt on the Road to Fez . „ 72 11. Si'd BtfBAKR „ 84 12. View of Fez, entering from N.W. . „ 102 13. Tomb of Sultan near Fez . . . „ 114 14. View of Fez from S.W. ... „ 124 15. Kaid of Freigiahs and Soldiers in Palace Garden „ 134 16. Verandah of Palace, "Eyebrow" in Background „ 140 17. Ruin near Fez „ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 18. Story-teller and Audience . . . Opposite page 16 4 19. The Sultan's " Substitutes " ... „ 192 20. Fort near Fez „ 220 21. Camp between Fez and Mequinez . . „ 226 22. View of Mequinez, entering from the East „ 234 23. Gateway in Mequinez .... „ 238 24. Do. do „ 242 25. Ruins of Volubilis .... „ 246 26. Do. do. .... „ 250 27. Tower of Hassan ., 264 28. Ruins of Shella „ 268 29. Passage of the Wad el Sebu at MEHDfA „ 272 30. El Araish 276 31. Kubba, near AzIla ,.

Chapter I

Decision of Government to send an Envoy Extraordinary — Preliminary arrangements — Presents for Sultan — Account of Tangier — Landing there — Dance at Italian Legation — Departure of Mission — Market at Hadd el Gharbia — Ad Mercuri — Wild flowers. British Legation, Tangier, 2d April 1880. The British Government having, early in the year, decided to send an Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Marocco, the Mission was appointed to start in the beginning of Aprd for Fez, where, at that season, the Sultan, Mulai Hassan, and his Court, were residing. The convenience of the Envoy and of the members of the Mission was not, however, the only thing which had to be taken into account, for the forms of Moorish etiquette on such occasions are stringent, and much correspondence and many couriers had to pass between Tangier and Fez from the time when the subject was first mooted until the final receipt of the Sultan's per mission for Sir John Hay to present himself, with his suite, at the Sharifian Court.

A descriptive list had also to be furnished to His Majesty of the individuals His Excellency proposed B PRESENTS FOR SULTAN. bringing with him, together with the approximate number of camp followers and baggage aniYnals which were to form part of the invading force, all and sundry of whom would, according to the custom in Marocco, be entertained at the expense of the State during the whole period of their absence from Tangier. Preliminaries were at last all arranged, and the ten Government tents required to supplement those belonging to Sir John and those provided by the Sultan, were sent across from Gibraltar on the 31st March, in order that all might start together on the following day, and the camp be pitched at the first halting-place out of Tangier, ready for the Mission to occupy it on Saturday, 3d of April.

I had for some time enjoyed the acquaintance and friendship of our minister at Tangier, and he, knowing my desire to visit the interior of Marocco, had kindly invited me to accompany him in the approaching Mission to Fez. Sir John, having suggested to the Foreign Office that a telephone and set of heliographic instruments would be a suitable present to the Sultan from our Government, was anxious to know if I could undertake the task of explaining their use at the Court ; and though I had to confess to only a limited knowledge of the former, I was glad that my services should be utilised in regard to the latter instruments. The contingent from Gibraltar who were fortunate enough to be taken in His Excellency's suite, were Surgeon-Major Will, medical officer to the Mission, and ACCOUNT OF TANGIER. 3 Lieutenant Haynes, R.E., sent in charge of the instru ments ; while the Hon. D. Lawless, R.B., and I accompanied Sir John in a private capacity.

Though we were only four in number, exclusive of my servant, the Gibraltar authorities had the discernment to re cognize our individual merits, and H.M.S. " Express " was accordingly placed at our disposal to take us across the Straits. At 10 a.m. on Friday, the 2d of April, we weighed anchor, and, after a pleasant crossing, brought up off Tangier about 2 p.m. Having a considerable amount of private baggage, to say nothing of the large boxes containing the scientific instruments destined to electrify Marocco, the convenience of having the gunboat to convey us and our chattels was not to be despised. Probably many people have a personal acquaintance with the bay and town of Tangier, while most of those who only know it by name are aware of the position it occupies in English history; but for the sake of the few who are not included under either of those heads, I may mention that in the year 1662 the town became an English possession, being, as were also the town and island of Bombay, part of the dowry of Catharine of Braganza on her marriage with Charles II.

Tangier had been in possession of the Portuguese for nearly two hundred years, and the national feeling of a certain party in Portugal was much against this part of the transaction, which, for all the benefit derived by our own country, might just as well have been left alone. After twenty-two years of misfortunes and mismanagement, during which time we got rather the worst of it at the LANDING AT TANGIER. hands of the Moors, the place was given up, and the magnificent mole — the only useful relic of English occupation — destroyed. Since that date Tangier has been in possession of its rightful owners ; at first it was merely a refuge for pirates, a community who flourished in Marocco till 1817, but subsequently, owing to its being the only port with decent anchorage for vessels, it has become the chief outlet for the produce of the country, and is blessed, or the reverse, by the presence of all the foreign representatives.

As soon as the farce, which, under the name of " Conference," is about to be enacted at Madrid comes to a conclusion, the affairs of Marocco will not be long in appearing prominently before the world ; and the foreign powers who sit like vultures, expectant, over the last throes of the victim, will take counsel together as to who is to possess the dainty portion of the carcase represented by the town, of which a brief historical sketch has here been given. Apart from the official dignity of our approach to Tangier in a Government ship, there was a practical advantage, which will be readily admitted by any one who has arrived there in the ill-found and uncomfortable steamers from Gibraltar. The only substitute for the long-vanished mole is a rickety wooden pier running some 150 feet into the sea ; on this it is possible to land at high-water, though even then it is a risky operation with an east wind and sea coming in upon the shore ; at low-water, however, the boats can only get within a certain distance of the beach, and thither a crowd of ARAB SCRIBE AND HAIM SECSU, " NAVAL DEMONSTRATION." 5 lightly clad and yelling natives run out to meet the passengers.

After a free fight has taken place over the person of their trembling burthen, the latter finds him or her self hoisted on to a pair of bare and slippery shoulders, to preserve equilibrium on which it is neces sary to cling to the smooth shaven head which appertains to them. Cutaneous diseases being, however, rife in Marocco, it is only the absolute certainty of a ducking which overcomes the squeamishness of the traveller in availing himself of such a scorbutic point d'appui, which he is glad to relinquish, and to jump upon the sandy shore as soon as the trajet is accomplished. Fortunately, none of these trials awaited us, as a large lifeboat belonging to the Custom-house came alongside and took both us and our goods ashore; the interpreter of the Legation, Harm Secsu, being ready with a number of nudes to carry up the luggage to its different destinations.

It is a favourite pastime of certain European Powers, whose deabngs with Marocco will hardly bear a close inspection, but who hope to increase their influence by a display of force, to anchor large vessels of war off the town of Tangier, a nautical manœuvre l which will, they fondly imagine, strike terror into the heart of the Moor. At present there are two Italian ironclads in the bay, the aggregate tonnage of which is doubtless ex pected to add weight to the counsels of Italy in the approaching Conference. Properly speaking, the Italians should have about the smallest voice in these negotia- 1 " Naval demonstration " had not become a household word at the time I wrote the above. HELIOGRAPHING. tions ; their trade with Marocco is almost nil, and the number of Moorish subjects legally under their pro tection does not exceed ten; upon their "list," how ever, and off it, there will be found an army of not less than one hundred, all of them ready to prostrate them selves before the representative of Italy, and to hail his presence with the adulation and servility so gratifying to the senses of some functionaries.

Rooms having been taken in various hotels for the members of the Mission, their baggage was conveyed there on the backs of Moors and other animals. "With the scientific instruments and my own personal effects (the latter a by no means contemptible pile, His Excellency's remarks on which I rather dreaded), I came to the Legation, where a room had been kept for me, and where I met another passenger for Fez, Lord Zouche, who had just come out from England to swell the Envoy's train. Before sunset we tried from the roof of the house to communicate with the signal station at Gibraltar by means of the heliograph, but a slight haze rested upon the rock, and there were, unfortunately, no means of replying to us.1 It is expected that after the Sultan has seen the apparatus, and been convinced of its harm lessness, he will allow one to be put up here, so that a system of signalling may be established with Gibraltar.

In the evening some of us went to a ball to which 1 I subsequently heard that part of the messages, though in a very mutilated form, had been made out by the intelligent signal -master at that place. BALL AT ITALIAN LEGATION. 7 the Italian minister had kindly invited us ; the warriors of the ironclads had also been bidden to meet the beauty and fashion of Tangier, and poured, to the number of about forty, into a small and already overcrowded room. Dancing was rather a muscular effort, but what struck us strangers with astonishment was the extraordinary action of one of the sailors, who officiated as master of the ceremonies during a kind of country dance, and who certainly took care that no want of vocal power should be allowed to mar his part in the entertainment. GHding about among the couples, he shouted his orders to them in a voice he would have used in hailing a man at the main-truck, and which, coming up with considerable exertion from the region of his boots, found an exit at the corner of his mouth, whence it issued in a continuous stream, drowning music, conversation, and all other sounds in one mighty roar.

What rendered a naturally discordant voice even more disagreeable was the harsh and infamous accent of the French in which his directions were given ; and it must have been a relief to all when the last order was pumped up to the surface, and the shout of "Messieurs, saluez vos dames," pro claimed that for the time, at all events, the functions of Boanerges might be laid aside. Zouche and I made our escape home as soon as we decently could, but my feelinoabout that son of Italy is such that I felt bound to note down the above remarks in my diary before turning in, with impressions fresh on my mind, and his terrible voice still ringing in my ears. DEPARTURE OF MISSION. Camp, Kaa er Remel, Saturday, 3d April 1880. Sleep in my room at the Legation became a matter of difficulty at an unconscionably early hour this morn ing, owing to the lane in front of the house being filled with camels and mules, each remonstrating after its kind against the loads which were being imposed ; while the equally intelligible yells of the Moors inside the courtyard, where each of them shouted separate orders at the top of his voice, kept up a chorus of sound that was deafening and continuous.

All lesser noises, however, were eclipsed about 9 a.m. by His Excellency, who, appearing on the scene like Jupiter Tonans, desired, in choicest Arabic, to know why some order relating to the luncheon-tent had been neglected. My knowledge of other Oriental languages enables me to testify to the great facility they afford for the powerful expression of thought, and the dead silence which followed the fluently delivered utterances of the Envoy, leads me to believe that Arabic is no exception to the rule. Break fast in the quiet dining-room at the back of the Legation was a relief after the Babel that was going on in front, and a certain interest attached to the last meal we were likely to have for some time under a solid roof, accompanied by the luxuries of real china and silver forks ; electro -plate, and metal cups and saucers lined with white enamel, being the fashion for camp work.

Everything at last was got under way, and a rendezvous for the scattered members of the Mission having been appointed in the market-place outside the town, they assembled there and waited for His Excellency. HADJ KAD6R. 9 The mflitary escort, which had arrived from Fez about three days before, was drawn up in an open space at the foot of the principal street, and as close as practicable to the door of the Legation. It consisted of fifty men, wild-looking fellows, mounted on stout service able little horses, under command of their kaid,1 and included a standard-bearer, who rode a grey horse and carried in his hand the red banner of Marocco. I saw several well-known faces in the square — Mr. Benatar, the Jew dealer, who only expects 100 per cent on his Fez wares, now offering them at a slightly lower figure, as we were en route to that city ourselves ; and Hadj Kador, the popular and, I believe, excellent guide to travellers, offering to " personally conduct " us all, escort and Envoy included, into the interior and back again, then wishing us, in his sepulchral voice, " Good-bye, gentlemens ; hope you enjine (enjoy) yourselves at Fez, gentlemens."

One day this same Kad<5r was showing Colonel Macpherson of my regiment and me the 30-ton guns recently bought by the Sultan, and on our remarking, " What on earth is the good of these guns to you ? you can't even mount them !" he rather aptly replied — "Engfish gentlemens buys Moorish curiosities; our Sultan he buy English curiosities — all fair, all fair." The main street was crowded with people, and the hill on which the market-place stands presented an un usually animated appearance. Not only were the natives assembled there in large numbers, but all the foreign legations and consulates had put in an appearance, 1 Chief, or commander, is the nearest equivalent we have to Kaid. sultan's horses. and with the English visitors from " Bruzeaud's," the " French," and other hotels, had taken up their position on the road to see the sight, and bid God-speed to the " Bashador " and suite.

His Excellency was not long in making his appearance, with the red flag borne a few yards in front of him, and the escort, led by the kaid, about the same distance behind. The members of the Mission, and a few friends who were to ride out to luncheon with us, tailed in as well as the crowding of the mob and the fighting of the horses would permit ; and amid the buzzing of the Moors, and a hearty English cheer from the few throats which were capable of giving one, the cortege moved on "majestueusement ferine," as a French newspaper afterwards described it, " par une litiere," which was carried on poles like a sedan chair between two mules, one in front and one behind, and in which Lady Hay was to accomplish the long and tedious journey to Fez. Among other attentions on his part, the Sultan had sent four horses for Sir John's use, upon which he mounted the Gibraltar contingent.

One of these, a large white horse, as we got to a narrow bit of road a little way on, " went for " the horse nearest to him, and being pulled in, reared straight on end, falling backwards, with his rider, Haynes, apparently under him. It was as ugly a fall as could be seen, and no one could get near to help him on account of the fighting propensities of the horses. However, much to our surprise and gratification, both horse and rider picked themselves up, apparently none the worse, though how the latter escaped was one of those CAMP LIFE. 11 things no fellow can understand. I think some of us were a little saddened by the accident, as, being on strange mounts, no one knew whose turn might come next. About five miles along the road we came to the luncheon-tent pitched on a small hill to the right, where, after an excellent repast, we said good-bye to our friends, who had come to see us so far, and after a further march of an hour and a half arrived at this our first camping place.