The prisoners of Abd-el-Kader

Contents

Chapter L

Page

Station of the Brig " Loiret," at Arzew.— Conversation.— Forebodings. — Disembarkation. — We are surprised by the Arabs. — I am made Prisoner. — Deliberation of the Arabs. — Adda. — The March. — What had become of the Officers and Sailors of the Brig 1

Chapter II

Arrival at Old Arzew. — Detestable Repast— The Head of a dead Man. — Bad Treatment. — I am driven from three Wells. — Arrival at the Tribe of Borgia. — Repast- Night. — March. — The dead Man's Head again. — Arrival at the Camp of Abd-el-Kader 15

Chapter III

The Camp of Abd-el-Kader. — The Chaous. — My Presentation to the Sultan. — Description of his Tent. — Portrait of Abd-el-Kader. — Conversation. — He causes me to be clothed. — M. Meurice. — Ruinous Condition of the Camp. — The Troops of Abd-el-Kader. — His Officers . . 25

Chapter IV

History of Mons. Meurice. — Attack of the Arabs. — Massacre of Mademoiselle D. — Mons. Muller wounded. — Exchange. — Barbarity of the Women of the Tribe of the Houled Cherifs.— Consternation of Abd-el-Kader, after the Battle of Tafna. — Discouragement of the Arabs. — Prisoners sent to Droma. — Brutalities of Thirty Negroes. — Four Women. — Return to the Camp of Abd-el-Kader . 40

CONTENTS.

Page

Chapter V

The Camp of Abd-el-Kader. — Tents of the Infantry.— Tents of the Cavalry. — A Piece of Cannon. — Occupation of the Troops. — Manoeuvres. — History of a Deserter from a Foreign Legion. — Cavalry Uniform. — Infantry Uniform.— Prayers— Music— Cafes . . . .48

Chapter VI

Two Deserters.— Coral Fishers.— Massacre of the Crew of the Barques " La Conception," " Le Saint Jean le Baptiste," and " Le Jesus et Marie." — Kindness of the Women of Tenez. — Three Coral Fishers sold to Abd-el-Kader,. — A little Cabin Boy. — He is sent to the Wife of Abd-el- Kader. — Recent Details respecting the Coral Fishers . 56

Chapter VII

Letters to Admiral Dufresne and General Rapatel. — The Camp is broken up. — Order of March. — The Infantry. — The Baggage. — Honours paid to Abd-el-Kader. — Cavalry. — March. — The Camp pitched anew. — Mousthaganem. — The Sultan's Entry into his Camp on Horseback. — Alertness of the Arabs during the Night. — Departure. — Return to El-Kaala 62

Chapter VIII

Delightfeil Encampment. — Favourable Position for an Agricultural Establishment and Water-mills.— Abd-el- Kader gave me a few sous to divide between Meurice and myself. — The Tribes come to pay their Imposts. — Description of the Train. — Excellent Repast. — We have Coffee. — Abd-el-Kader receives the three Convoys from Morocco. — Two Spies. — The Sultan opens the Letters of General Letang 73

Chapter IX

The Ouet-Mina. — Abd-el-Kader imposes a Double Impost. —Greediness of the Arabs. — Booty. — Prisoners. — A young Negro Female. — Sale of Slaves. — Defections.—

CONTENTS.

Page

The Uncle of Abd-el-Kader. — He refuses to submit to the Sultan's authority. — Discouragement of the Troops. — Punishment of the Rebels. — Jews sent to Mascara. — Insurrection of the Beni-Flitas and Kouleds. — Chelifs. — Expedition. — Battle. — Horrible punishment of a Prisoner 85

Chapter X

Misery. — A Bath. — The Marabout of the Four Towers. — Deserted Country. — New Encampment. — Departure. — Mountains. — Arrival at Tekedemta. — Abd-el-Kader wishes to build this Town. — Letters of the Arab Prisoners carried to Marseilles by General Bugeaud. — Kindness. — Description of the Ruins of Tekedemta. — Sultan's Hat. — Conversation with Abd-el-Kader. — His Projects. — Tumult in the Camp 90

Chapter XI

Discussion with Abd-el-Kader on the subject of Exchange of Prisoners. — Letter to General Rapatel. — Letter to my Family. — Frightful Night. — New Excursion to the Ruins of Tekedemta. — Works. — Abd-el-Kader's Powder Magazine. — The New Redoubts.— The Medal- Arab Jumpers in the Camp. — Arab Singers. — Hymns. — The Arabs and Abd-el-Kader before Civilization.— New Tekedemta. — Game. — March. — Garrison. — Eight Pieces of Cannon 114

Chapter XII

Departure. — Encampment. — The Convoy of Lime. — Departure. — Misfortune of the Coral Fishers. — Cruel Separation. — Description of the Plain watered by the Ouet-Mina. — Shells. — Departure. — A Stag. — Encampment— Ruins.— Arrival at Teknifil.— Report of an Expedition of General Letang.— The Sultan sets out with his Cavalry to watch his motions. — The Five Marabouts.— Funeral Ceremonies.— I contrive Chessmen and Cards. — Departure for Mascara 129 vi.

CONTENTS.

Chapter XIII, Page

Encampment at the Gates of Mascara. — Return of the Sultan. — Military Honours. — Joy.— Abd-el-Kader goes to visit his Wife.— The Sultan's Wife.— Zaka, Chief Attendant, is arrested. — He is condemned to he put in Irons. — His Escape. — He is retaken. — Dreadful Punishment. — How Abd-el-Kader administers Justice. — Hassen gives me a few Details respecting the Sultan's Expedition. — Falsehoods. — Letter of General Baron Rapatel. — Proposals of Exchange. — Reply. — Joy. — Grief 140

Chapter XIV

Meurice falls sick. — Cold. — The Arabs make Cartridges. — Abd-el-Kaxler spreads the News of the Death of the King of the French. — Rejoicing. — War in Miniature. Description of the Manoeuvres. — Arrival of two Soldiers made Prisoners at Tlemsen. — False Intelligence. — Recital. — Arrival of Mons. Lanternier. — Misery. — Sufferings. — Cruel Treatment. — He is sent to Mascara.*— Despair. — Meurice's Sufferings. — Kindness of Abd-el- Kader 155

Chapter XV

We go to Mascara. — Toussis, Doctor of the Sultan's Troops. — Vapour Bath, — Kindness of Mardulin.— A Barber cups Meurice. — Mons. Lanternier. — Horrible Seclusion. — Complaints, Supplications. — Return to the Camp. — I fall Sick. — Presents for the Emperor of Morocco. — The Young Lions, the Panthers. — A Tame Lioness. — The Little Cabin Boy in the Camp. — Meurice delirious. — Abd-el-Kader refuses my Entreaties, and opposes Meurice's Departure for Oran . . 168

Chapter XVI

We leave the Sultan's Camp. — Arrival at Mascara.— The Kait gives us a House. — The Interior of the House. — Meurice is worse. — The Barber cups me. — Mournful Dispute. — Meurice's Death. — Burial. — Attachment of Jean Mardulin 183

CONTENTS.

vii.

Chapter XVII. Page Monsieur Lanternier is united to the other Christian Prisoners. — Treatment pursued in my Disease. — A Letter from General Rapatel. — Fleury goes to read it to the Sultan. — Four new Prisoners. — Thirty Beni- Amers. — Two are hung. — Trowsers. — History of the four Prisoners. — Madame Laurent. — Death of Madame Laforet. — Misery of the Christians. — Journey to Mascara. — Mardulin imports Drugs, which he sells to the Arabs. — Conversations. — Projects for a Fete. — A poor Negro. — Heads of fourteen Spahis before our Door. — Supper. — Watching. — Tales. — Return of the Italian Fishermen. — Account of their Life at Tekedeinta. — Death of one of their Companions. — The little Cabin Boy. — Departure from Mascara .... 196

Chapter XVIII

Journey from Mascara to Miliana. — Tears shed in Memory of Meurice. — The Village of El-Borj. — Halt for the Night — Pretty Village. — House of the Kait. — Our Lodgings. — Tribes of the Ouet Mina. — Wealth. — Three Arab Women. — They mate Bread Cakes. — We pass the Night in a Douar. — Forced March. — Sufferings. — We Ascend the ChelifT. — Ruins of a Spanish Town. — Meeting with some Horsemen. — We are well treated by an Aga of the Plain of Miliana. — Picture. — March. — Arrival at the Camp of the Bey of Miliana. — The Good Coffeemaker. — Arrival at Miliana. — Description of that Town 21S

Chapter XIX

Prison of Miliana. — Deceptions. — Delay in our Exchange. — Sickness. — History of the Deserter Moussa. — Falsehoods. — Identity Discovered. — Repentence. — Departure for the Hadjoutes. — Return to Miliana. — Benevolence. — Falsehoods. — Four Heads. — Crimes of Moussa. — A Letter. — He is conducted to the Sultan to give an Account of his Conduct. — What must have been his End 234

Chapter XX

Cruel Condition of the Christian Deserters among the Arab Tribes. — Arrival of the Bey of Miliana. —Public viii.

CONTENTS.

Rejoicings. — Hope. — The Rhainadan. — Consternation of the Prisoners. — Horrible Situation. — The Bey pays his Troops. — Promise of Good Treatment. — Portrait of the Bey. — Arrival of the Jew Durand at Miliana. — His Mission to the Sultan. — M. Lanternier. — The Bey's House. — His Two Daughters. — Madame Laurent and Benedicto. — We leave Miliana 251

Chapter XXI

My Companions in Misfortune. — Meurice. — The Neighbourhood of Miliana. — Journey. — Bad Weather. — Halt for the Night.— Cruelty of the Arabs of the Tribes of Mi. tidja. — The prayer of the True Believers. — Benedicto. — Vexation. — Projects of revenge. — The wounded Man. — Night. — Journey. — River. — Olive Grove. — Plain of Mitidja. — Magnificent Panorama. — Arrival at Blida. — We are driven from the Town. — The Tribe of the Beni- Messaout. — Irons. — Expectation. — Our Hut and its Inhabitants. — Deception. — Return to Blida . . .271

Chapter XXII

The Hakem of Blida. — Generous Hospitality. — Care bestowed on the Sick. — Reproaches. — Excellent Supper. — Conversation.— The Marabout of the Beni-Kelil. — The Marabout of the Oxerrois. — The Ka'it, Berkassenn, Commandant of the Hadjoutis. — E vening. — Threats. — The Ka'it Berkassenn tries to persuade me to remain -with the Arabs. — Promises. — Refusal. — Kindness of the Hakem. — Departure. — Arrival atBoufarick. — The Captain Gastu. — The Commandant D' Erlong. — Joy. — Reception. — Departure. — Algiers. — My Companions in Captivity.— Return of Mardulin to Algiers. — Benedicto and his Mother .285

Observations.

The Arabs. — Manners. — Customs. — Character. — Arab Women. — Their Life. — Condition. — Diseases. — Hospitality. — Animals. — The Horse. — The Camel. — The Mule.— The Ass.— The Ox.— Sheep.— Goats.— Agriculture. — Temperature. — Character &c. of Abd-el-Kader 299

Chapter I

Station of the Brig "Loiret," at Arzew. — Conversation. — Forebodings. — Disembarkation. — We are surprised by the Arabs. — I am made Prisoner. — Deliberation of the Arabs. — Adda. — The March. — What had become of the Officers and Sailors of the Brig.

In writing the history of my captivity among the Arabs, I have no pretension of composing a literary work : I am a sailor, and not un homme de lettres ; therefore, search not in this book for that which I have not been able to place there — elegance of style, harmony in the periods, a clever distribution of matter, a brilliant colouring in the descriptions. I have suffered, I have seen, I have observed ; such is my book, such is all my science, such are all my claims upon the attention of my reader.

Restored to liberty, I was anxious to return my thanks to my commanders, for the anxiety my fate had caused them, for the perseverance they had employed in rescuing me from the hands of Abd-el-Kader. I had expressed my gratitude to the persons who were interested in my fate, had told my friends how sensible I was to their marks of remembrance and their regrets, and thought there to limit the proof of my joy and gratitude. My commanders and my friends have strongly invited me to collect together my remembrances, to arrange my b .

CHAPTER I.

notes, and to publish them. I take advantage therefore, of my stay at Paris, where the Minister of War has summoned me, to satisfy the desire of my friends and those of my superiors, by writing up this journal of my captivity, which, perhaps, the public also may not read without interest; for it is true, and that which is true always awakens the attention and the curiosity. But, I repeat, I claim the indulgence of the reader for a work as rapidly executed as conceived. Recall to mind, in running over this book, that the author is a sailor, a young man who has dedicated his life to the service of his country ; that he can lay no claim to interest and sympathy, either from imagination or style, with both of which he is unacquainted, but from a sincere love of his country, and from the horrible treatment our enemies have caused him to surfer during five months of captivity.

I have collected together facts. I have been witness of remarkable events among the Arabs ; interesting scenes have passed under my eyes, in their tents ; I have passed through countries unknown to our soldiers ; I have seen Abd-el-Kader near; I have followed him in many expeditions ; I have been able to judge of the power and influence of the Sultan. — I have told you what my book is.

I shall avoid, as much as possible, hazarded reflections; I shall endeavour, above all things, not to touch upon the discussion of the system of colonisation, of pacification, or war. I am too young to treat of such questions ; and the number of lawyers, orators, and writers, who occupy themselves with

STATION OF THE BRIG "LOIRET." 3 these subjects, is sufficiently great. I may, therefore, without difficulty, abstain from appearing in a debate, where my presence and my habits as a sailor would be quite out of place.

The brig " Loiret" had been stationed at Arzew* for five months. I was on board this vessel, commanded by Lieut. Roland de Chabert. The life we led on board was trisle and monotonous. It is easy to conceive the ennui we suffered, on a desert coast, without any kind of amusement. Our only pleasure was walking every day on the shore ; still we could not pass the advanced posts, for the Arabs prowled incessantly around the few houses the French had erected at Arzew, to endeavour to carry off the droves of cattle, and there was some danger in passing the line guarded by our troops. The Arabs had already attempted more than one coup-de-main, but they had always been repulsed with loss.f

The 11th of August, 1836, we had on board the exercise of firing at a mark : a piece of wood, painted white, placed about one hundred paces from the beach, served as an aim. After the exercise, we received an order to hold in readiness for

* Arzew, a seaport, between Algiers and Oran. With a few repairs and works, which would cost but little, it might be made the safest, most commodious, and easiest port of access along the coast. We found some stones, covered with Latin inscriptions, and a great number of gold and silver medals of the Roman empire : the Arabian and Spanish were more rarely found.

f I have learnt that the Arabs had succeeded, in the month of January last, in carrying off the cattle from Arzew.

CHAPTER I.

the morrow forty of the crew, who, joined to the troops of the garrison, were to reconnoitre a spring, situated at two leagues' distance from our advanced posts. I was appointed to accompany this expedition.

While I was keeping my watch, on the evening of the 11th, the doctor of the ship, M. Clinchard, as much regarded for his talents and information as for his amiable and cordial character, kept me company. As we smoked, in walking the quarterdeck with long strides, according to our custom, " I am to be of the expedition," said the doctor to me ; " you must lend me your little pistols ; they will be of great service to me, in case of an attack."

" I keep my pistols," replied I to him. "When I shall be dead, when you shall have had me sewed up in a flag, and thrown me into the sea, with a ball at my feet, I shall no longer have need of the pistols ; then, my body to the sharks, and my pistols to my good and brave friend Clinchard."

" To-morrow," replied he, " your pistols will belong to me."

"How! — But I am not ill — I have not the cholera, Doctgr, so I fear nothing. I shall not take your drugs ; and as long as I shall not be laid on my side, or exposed to your lancet, my pistols will adorn my berth."

" To-morrow night," replied Clinchard, <£ I shall have your pistols."

" Old Bedouin ! Maraboot of misfortune ! Have you been to Syria, to the Jews, or to the Bohemians, to study sorcery and magic?"

FOREBODINGS.

u Xo, my poor friend ; but to-morrow, without doubt, you will be killed during the expedition ; and then your pistols will adorn my berth and Clinchard smiled.

" I hope sincerely not to fall to-morrow into the power of the Arabs. I have faith in the future — you will not have my pistols; for, if I am killed, you will share my fate; then the weapons which have given rise to these prophetic pleasantries will fall into the hands of the first cabin-boy who will take the trouble to pick them up."

Clinchard went away. He had jested ; but the events of the following day confirmed the predictions of the preceding evening.

At midnight, after having finished my watch, I retired to bed, rejoicing in the idea of going on shore the following day, and of our military march into the interior of the country.

The 12th, at four o'clock in the morning, M. Roland de Chabert, captain of the Loiret, Doctor Clinchard, M. Bravais, and myself, with forty of the crew of the vessel, went on shore, and found on the quay, Captain Reveroni, the commanding officer of Arzew. He communicated to us the order of General Letang, to suspend the expedition until he had sent us fresh reinforcements.

As we had arranged every thing on board for the campaign, on which we had reckoned passing the day, we determined to profit by our preparations, and to make use of our landing.

The officers proposed going to collect the balls which the gunners had thrown during the practice

CHAPTER I.

of the preceding day. The captain having granted our request, I went to consult the commandant of the place, Mons. Reveroni, upon the seasonableness of the project, and upon the danger there was in advancing into the plain, who approved very much of our resolution, and assured us there was no danger in passing the advanced posts — still, not to go too far from them.

We took leave of M. Reveroni, and advanced into the plain. Arrived at about one hundred fathoms from the advanced posts, we stopped. We placed part of our men upon an eminence, to give us the signal, in case of a surprise by the Arabs. This precaution taken, I busied myself, with the rest of the sailors, in searching for the balls, and measuring the range of our guns.

I was about two musquets' shot distant from the rest of the troop, with the captain of the ship, Doctor Clinchard, and two sailors, engaged in calculating the distance our projectiles had cast, when I perceived a partridge, a few paces from me. (I wish to acknowledge every thing, at the risk of incurring blame for the levity of my character and the fickleness of my disposition.) I hastened to show it to Clinchard, and to run after it, taking aim.

I had scarcely advanced a few steps, when a troop of Arabs, issuing suddenly from the bottom of a ravine, from whence they watched a favourable opportunity of attacking our advanced posts, and carrying off the droves of cattle from the village of Arzew, pounced upon us with slackened vein,

THE SURPRISE.

and surrounded us on all sides. Three horsemen advanced towards me, crying semi! semi! (friends) and those that followed them uttered the same shouts. Trusting to the favourable disposition of these Arabs, I turned towards the Doctor, to make him comprehend what they said, when one of the two made a movement to obtain possession of the musquet which I held in my hand. Then comprehending the hostile intentions which the horsemen wished to conceal under the appearance of friendship, I withdrew my musquet, placed it to my shoulder, aimed at the Arab who had sought to disarm me, and struck him with a ball, which broke his shoulder. He let his gun, still loaded, fall to the ground ; he tottered, and was obliged, in order to prevent falling, to clasp the neck of his horse. I sprang to seize the gun, but two Arabs directed theirs at my head ; I turned to avoid the shot ; a ball wounded me slightly in the head, another passed through my shirt and glanced along my breast.

I had not lost sight of the gun of the wounded man, and stooped down again to pick it up, when, feeling something rough slipping over my face, I placed my hands to it, and seized a cord, which surrounded my neck.* At the same time a violent shock threw me to the ground, and an Arab, who

* These cords are twenty feet long : one of the ends is furnished with a noose, which series to make a running knot; the other with an iron hook. The Arabs use them for dragging from the field of battle the bodies of their brethren whom they wish to inter; and also to make prisoners, whose heads they cut off the moment they are beyond their enemies' reach.

CHAPTER I.

had attached the end of this cord to his saddlebow, spurred his horse and dragged me off at full gallop.

It was in vain to cry and beg for mercy : the Arab continued his rapid pace, dragging me, half strangled, over the rocks and brambles, This horrible punishment lasted for some minutes. At last the horse, compelled to mount a steep hillock, slackened his pace, and I succeeded, not without difficulty, in raising myself. Then, stunned by the rude shock, my hands and face bruised and bloody, my legs torn, I know not how I still retained sufficient strength to seize the cord and to keep it up, so that it should not bear entirely on my neck ; to run, to catch the horse, and hang on its tail. But as soon as the other Arabs, put to flight by the sailors who had hurried to our assistance, had rejoined us, they began to overwhelm me with insults, and tore my dress to rags. A single instant sufficed to strip me almost entirely. They only left me a bad pair of summer trousers and boots, which the flints and brambles, over which I had been just dragged, had worn into holes. They had perceived our misfortune on board the brig, and commenced firing at the Arabs, but each shot cost me numberless blows; and the horse to which I was attached, alarmed at the noise of the cannon, suddenly darting forward impetuously, I fell to the ground. The Arabs hurried after, striking me ; and if, after great difficulty, I had succeeded in raising myself, my merciless executioner, who soon perceived it, recommenced

I AM MADE PRISONER.

galloping furiously, casting at me, at the same time, a look of contempt.

The incessant galloping of the horse, the violent shocks of the cord, which caused me to roll in the midst of the brambles and stones, upon which I left a bloody track, the reproaches and blows of the Arabs — all this lasted a quarter of an hour: a quarter of an hour is very short; yes, still, I can assure you, this quarter of an hour was very long, '

When the Arabs considered the distance they bad just passed sufficiently great to have no longer cause to dread the pursuit of the sailors, they stopped to cut off my head. They loosed the cord from my neck, they tied my hands behind my back, and I was bound to a dwarf palm.

I was so much overcome by fatigue, I sank to the ground, and aw T aited death with indifference. I knew the fate reserved for all the prisoners of the Arabs, and I had bid adieu to life in falling into their hands. I had but one sorrowful thought, and that was quickly driven away, either by the expectation of death, or by the passionate scene in which I was, although bound and silent, the principal actor — I thought of my family, of my sister, and said to myself, "AYhat grief, on hearing of this event ! As for me, it is finished ; my accounts are squared. — My poor sister !"

A violent dispute arose among the Arabs. They flourished their sabres over my head, and disputed for the pleasure of cutting it off. They cried all at once, " It is I — it is I who took him ; I ought b 2

CHAPTER I.

to cut off his head !" and each, to prove the truth of his assertion, showed a slip of my shirt or my coat. Many of them aimed at their companions, exclaiming, " It is for me to cut off his head ; I kill you if you do not allow me my right \" At this moment an Arab arrived at full gallop, in the midst of the group, and threw upon my knees the head of the unfortunate Jonquie, one of our sailors ; as if to add, by the sight of this frightful trophy, to the terror which I ought to feel, and to announce to me the treatment I had to expect. As I turned my eyes, in disgust, from this head, bloody and horribly mutilated, I perceived the Arab whom I had wounded, stretched upon the earth, about fifty paces from me. He raised himself with difficulty, and sought to aim at me with a pistol he held in his left hand; but the horsemen, in the heat of their discussion, passed and repassed before the patient, who allowed his hand to drop, waiting a favourable opportunity to aim at me. I saw his manoeuvre, but it caused me little dread, and I said to myself, " If I am to die, it will not be this fellow, who aims at me with his left hand, who will lodge a ball in my body."

I awaited, however, with impatience, the conclusion of this terrible discussion, and the yataghan which was to sever my head from my body, when the arrival of another horseman changed the resolution of the Arabs.

Adda, the spy of Abd-el-Kader, had often come to see us at Arzew. He called himself our friend, and wished to establish himself as such. To drive

DELIBERATION OF THE ARABS.

away the suspicions which his frequent visits might cause, he assured us it was merely for the purpose of selecting- a favourable position, in order to establish himself and his tribe. Delighted by the good disposition which seemed to animate him, we had often invited him to dinner ; but the traitor had other designs. He remarked, in passing our lines, the spots where our cattle fed, which he wished to carry ofT; and it was for this design that he had concealed himself in the ravine with his troop, which had surprised us and made me prisoner. Adda, seeing these enraged beings disputing about my life, called out, " Do not kill him ! He is an officer : Abd-el-Kader will pay us much better for his body than for his head ; and will replace, if we take him alive, the three horses we have lost." The Arabs., in reply, continued to brandish their sabres over my head, and to take aim at me, uttering, at the same time, horrible imprecations against the dog of a Christian.

Adda gave fresh explanations, and when they had succeeded in removing the Arab I had wounded (the unfortunate man died next day), his proposition was accepted. They decided that they would take me alive to Abd-el-Kader, and that they would leave the choice of my punishment to the Sultan., after he had paid my ransom and restored the horses our men had killed.

Immediately after the adoption of Adda's advice, the Arabs loosed me from the palm tree. They passed a cord through that which already bound my hands, two men took each an end, they placed

CHAPTER I.

me in the middle of the troop, and we commenced our march for Old Arzew.

If Adda saved my life, it is not to the goodness of his heart, or to the generosity of his feelings, that I am indebted for such a benefit, but to his cupidity. Generosity, gratitude, friendship, are words which sound in vain in the ears of an Arab. They have but one passion — that of money; and for a few pieces of gold these miserable beings would deliver up their father and their mother.

After a march of two hours, during which the Arabs allowed me to take a little rest, we arrived at Old Arzew, where we stopped a few minutes to refresh the escort and the horses. I was weakened by fatigue ; the wounds which covered my hands and legs pained me cruelly ; I was naked, covered with perspiration and dust, tormented by a burning thirst; I stretched myself on the ground, despairing, and cursing my fate. I believed T could proceed no further, and thought that my body would remain without burial in the enclosure of Old Arzew, while my head would go to adorn, for one day, the tent of Abd-el-Kader. But I will ask permission of my reader to tell him what became of my companions, whilst I was penetrating the interior of the country in company with the Arabs.