Chapter XVIII: A Fortnight Amongst the Khamírs

I started from Tunis by the French Railway early on the 23d of April, accompanied by a native guard, and having in my possession an order from the Tunisian Prime Minister enjoining the officials in the interior to “receive me as a friend,” and render me every assistance in their power. On my arrival at the Beja, about eighty miles west of Tunis, I found everything and everybody in the greatest state of confusion. Although this little town is the centre of an essentially horse-breeding district, it seemed to be now impossible to hire or purchase the beasts of burden necessary to enable us to proceed to Sy Ali Bey’s encampment, although the Hlifa or vice-governor did all he could to help me. The tribesmen of the vicinity had already withdrawn to the mountains, and the townspeople would not part with their animals at any price. Arabs were seen in all directions busied in fixing new flints to the locks of their guns and sharpening rusty swords and even pieces of hoop-iron inserted in the ends of cleft sticks. I was evidently eyed with suspicion, although the Hlifa told everybody I was “Sidna’s (the Bey’s) friend,” but he would not permit me to walk about the streets unless accompanied by several guards. As luck would have it, some carts were driven into the town, and the authorities promptly “requisitioned” the horses for our journey, the owners being very handsomely paid for the accommodation.

I started from Beja at dawn, and having a long ride before us we pressed on at full speed. Fortunately our steeds proved equal to the occasion. Our road lay across the mountain districts leading to the range inhabited by the different sections of the Khamír tribes, and the crops were already quite high in the cultivated ground. At the commencement of our journey we did not meet a single living being, but as soon as we got fairly into the mountains, solitary foot passengers and groups of Arabs were to be seen every now and then. They were all armed after their old- world fashion, and looked at us unpleasantly enough. My guide begged me not to enter into conversation with any of them, and ordered them unceremoniously out of the road, when they occasionally stopped and stared at us. Once or twice some of the Arabs asked in a surly tone if I was a Frenchman and what I was doing there, but they seemed to be reassured when I answered them in their own language that I was an Englishman. They then invariably said (and this occurred repeatedly), “If you are an Englishman, you are our friend. Why does not your people come to our assistance?”

As we neared Ali Bey’s camp, we met long files of Arabs, men, women, and children, returning to their _douars_ (camel-hair tents) with the remains of the goods they had taken thither for sale. At length we reached our destination, after a tedious ride of over eight hours’ duration. I sent in my credentials, and in a few minutes gained admittance. I must confess that I felt somewhat uncomfortable under the gaze of several thousand Arabs, who all appeared to regard me as an intruder, and my helmet in the midst of a perfect sea of red caps, made me doubly conspicuous. As, however, I was personally acquainted with most of the superior officers, I soon began to feel myself more at home.

Sy Ali Bey desired to see me immediately, and received me with evident cordiality. He seemed to be in total ignorance of what was going on at the Bardo and in Tunis, and was most anxious to learn the details which I was able to give him. He complained bitterly of the false position in which he was placed, and of the absence of instructions to enable him to carry on his negotiations with General Forgemol, who was encamped on the Algerian frontier. He said he was sometimes afraid “that there was double play going on at the Bardo,” and that if this was so he might never see Tunis again.

“I received,” continued the heir-apparent, “distinct instructions to protest energetically against the entry of the French troops into Tunisian territory, if such an attempt should be made, yet the French general declares that M. Roustan has already obtained the Bey’s assent to his advance.”

Ali Bey was encamped at Sidi Salah, about twenty-five miles from the Tunisian frontier line, and almost on the confines of the Khamír country. Another body of the Bey’s troops, numbering about 3000 regular soldiers, commanded by Sy Selim Ferik, Minister of War, was stationed at about two miles’ distance from the boundary, and actually within sight of the Algerian fort of Roum-el-Souk, where the French troops, under the command of General Forgemol, were gradually collecting. Another small contingent under the Governor of Beja had its camp midway between the positions of Sy Ali Bey and Sy Selim, and the Khamír country.

Ali Bey’s encampment presented a very picturesque and curious sight. Most of the so-called regular troops had been specially drafted for the occasion, and all that can be said of them is that they were, almost without exception, composed of fine powerful men. They seemed, however, very uncomfortable in the uniforms they were evidently quite unaccustomed to wear, and when marching, most of them unceremoniously took off their boots, tucked up their trousers to the knee, and trudged forward barefooted and bare-legged. The “irregular” Arab cavalry looked remarkably well on their spirited Barb ponies, with their handsome accoutrements, their own becoming dress, and stately bearing.

The tents were large and difficult to move, and those occupied by the Bey and his suite were ponderous marquees. If a strong wind happened to be blowing, twenty or thirty men usually struggled for an hour at least with the canvas of the Bey’s pavilion before it could be got into shape. The baggage was even more cumbersome than the tents. The heir-apparent’s own luggage consisted of a number of wooden trunks covered with brown leather, and thickly studded with brass-headed nails. One of them was devoted to syrups, sweetmeats, and _zoedone_, the orthodox nature of which was duly certified by the Bey’s imám, or chaplain, who found it necessary to make several trials of the drink before he pronounced his definite opinion. The Bey’s personal cortège was as miscellaneous and remarkable as his baggage. At its head was Dr. Stresino, his physician- extraordinary, whose duties were of a very varied nature. In the first place, he had to administer harmless and agreeably coloured potions to cure imaginary ailments, he was expected to make himself pleasant whenever the prince was dull, and to play chess whenever required, always contriving to be the loser. The Bash-Káhwajee or “head coffee man,” was certainly the next in importance. His tent immediately adjoined that of His Highness, and in it a large pot of water was continually kept boiling over a charcoal fire. He was expected to produce cups of coffee at a moment’s notice. During the march he was always close to his master’s heels, with all his paraphernalia in saddle-bags, and ready whenever called on to perform his duty. After the Káhwajee came the chaplain, the water-bearer, the gun-bearer, the pipe- bearer, and the sword-bearer. The jester was a very important personage indeed. He was privileged to say what he liked, and the coarser his jokes the more they were appreciated. Whenever the camp was moved Ali Bey mounted his charger for a few minutes, and then betook himself to a gilt coach, drawn over the roughest ground by four mules. Beggars abounded, and some of the Bey’s trunks contained linen and cloth to enable him to indulge freely in the virtue of almsgiving.

Outside the lines were rows of booths and stalls, at which blacksmiths, gunsmiths, butchers, and grocers busily plied their trades. Public criers went the rounds all day vociferating the last bids for a horse, a cow, or a _bernous_, as the case might be. The _tout ensemble_ gave one the idea of a huge fair, and unless you entered the tent of Ali Bey or that of his prime minister, Sy Tahar Zouch, no one would imagine that matters of the greatest moment were engaging the attention of the heir- apparent, who studiously assumed a cheerful demeanour when in public.

Outside the camp the scene was somewhat different. The mountain tribes[38] are all divided into sections or sub-divisions, each being under the orders of its own chief. Upwards of thirty of these fractions had arrived at the camp to solemnly acknowledge the authority of their Bey represented by the heir-apparent, and thus contradict General Forgemol’s eloquent platitudes as to “Tunisian impotency.” After the performance of the ceremonies usually observed on such occasions, each chief withdrew with his followers, and took up his position about a mile from our encampment. The hillocks around us were therefore thickly studded with the tents of these tribesmen, but their occupants had a thoughtful defiant look, which contrasted strangely with the gay appearance of the camp. They were all, without a single exception, armed to the teeth, and seemed eternally occupied in discussing the probable intentions of the French, or polishing their arms and counting their bullets. They would never agree upon any plea to part with their arms, so Ali Bey was compelled to receive them with all their weapons upon them.

After my first interview with Sy Ali I found that a large tent had been prepared for my use, and a good horse likewise placed at my disposal. A few minutes later a messenger from Sy Ali Bey brought me a Tunisian _sheshiyah_ or red cap, which he suggested my wearing, to avoid any unpleasantness with the irritated mountaineers. I soon discovered that it was convenient not only to do this, but to assume the entire Arab costume, and it afterwards turned out that it was very fortunate I did so. I found many opportunities of verifying what had actually taken place on the frontier, and had subsequently been grossly exaggerated by the French Government and press. The original disagreement (afterwards magnified into a _razzia_ or raid) was a dispute as to the _part- ownership of a cow_ between a Tunisian and Algerian, and could really have been settled in five minutes at a police court. As, however, the French Government complained very bitterly and threatened to take some measures on their own account, the Bey sent some responsible officials to inquire into the matter and to punish the offenders if necessary. Everything was done to smooth matters, but still the French were not satisfied, and insisted that the Bey must practically exterminate the border tribes. In order to avoid a complication, Muhamed es Sadek sent one camp after another to the spot, and gave the heir-apparent strict orders to examine into any charges preferred and severely punish the offenders. It was hoped, of course, that the Khamírs would resist the Bey’s authority. When it became plain that nothing was further from their intentions, General Forgemol refused to furnish any details of grievances and announced that France had resolved to undertake the task of taming the Khamírs herself.

I was quite surprised to see the alacrity with which these reputed savages obeyed the orders of the Tunisian officials. Several of the tribes came in in my presence to formally make their submission, and the sight was interesting and almost imposing. The effect of the ceremony was heightened by the wild mountain scenery amidst which it took place. On these occasions the Bey used to sit in state under a large open tent, surrounded by his suite and principal officers. The civil and religious chiefs of the tribe were first admitted into the camp alone. One after another they walked straight up to Sidi Ali, and bowing respectfully, took his hand and placed it on their heads, afterwards kissing the palm. This done, they all stood aside in a group, and the rest of the tribesmen in full war costume, entered in single file. They each carried a gun loaded only with powder, a pair of huge pistols in their belts and two or three knives of different sizes. On their feet they wore raw leather sandals, and their legs were bare to the very top of their thighs. Round their waists was a broad girdle and pouch reaching upwards to the chest (almost exactly like those used amongst the Circassians), which contained their ammunition. They were all wiry, muscular, and powerful men, and would really be formidable enemies at close quarters. Once inside the lines they defiled before the heir-apparent, running in a circle and calling out lustily _Ya Sidna_, or “Oh, our master,” in token of their submission. When just in front of Sy Ali they discharged their guns and left the camp to take up the quarters assigned to them. After a number of these tribes had in this manner confirmed, as it were, their allegiance, the chiefs were carefully examined by Sy Ali Bey as to the supposed disturbances. They denied them in the most emphatic manner, and gave the fullest details of the few insignificant disputes which had really taken place. These men repeatedly declared that they admitted their responsibility towards the Bey, and would readily deliver up any of their tribesmen whom it was found necessary to bring to justice. They even offered to remain hostages in the camp, as a pledge that they would carry out their promises. All this took place in my presence, and as nothing could have been accomplished in a more satisfactory manner, an impromptu general rejoicing took place in the evening. The Arabs, in their innocence of heart and politics, now felt sure that everything would be arranged amicably and satisfactorily. Ali Bey at once wrote a despatch to General Forgemol, informing him of the action he had taken, and asking him to furnish details of any grievance or offence, in order that the culprits might be at once brought to justice. I shall never forget the visible dismay which spread through the camp, when our messenger returned with the following reply:—

_General Forgemol to Sy Ali Bey._

We have received your letter by which you demand a list of our reclamations and details of the crimes which the French Government alleges to have been committed by the Khamírs and other mountain tribes belonging to the state of your august brother and sovereign. _We have on several occasions communicated the details of these complaints, and it is therefore superfluous to repeat them now_. We have orders to punish the tribes which have committed the aggressions and _against which you have been impotent to act_. We can only obey these orders, but this does not prevent the maintenance of the friendship which has existed for centuries between the two countries!

The blow almost overwhelmed Ali Bey, who believed, in the simplicity of his heart, that the French had no other object beyond the punishment of the Khamírs. An express was at once sent to Tunis with a copy of General Forgemol’s letter, and an urgent demand for instructions.

The same evening we received letters from the governor of Kef, stating that a second body of French troops was being assembled at Sidi Yussef close to the frontier, and that an attack on Kef itself seemed imminent. Sy Selim added to our perplexities by informing us that the French were apparently preparing to cross the frontier at Roum-el-Souk, and that six gunboats could be seen off Tabarca. I was fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of Sheikh Salah El Khamíri, one of the most popular and influential chiefs of the clan. I told him that I was anxious to go through their country, and see for myself what was really going on. He at once offered to take me under his protection, and during the night we quitted the camp together. By his advice I left all my European clothes behind, and I was soon the only Christian to be found in the midst of twenty thousand armed Arabs, all ready at a moment’s notice to defend their mountains against the invaders.

From the various accounts, emanating from a French source, I, like everybody else, had been led to suppose that the Khamírs were little better than savages. I soon discovered the deception or mistake. During my stay amongst them, as soon as they were assured I was an Englishman, they treated me with kindness and consideration, readily discussing with me the all-engrossing topic of the movements of the French.

The Khamírs are agriculturists and cattle-breeders, and the country offers many and exceptional facilities for their pursuits. Springs of excellent water are plentiful, the pasture is luxuriant, and the dense forests afford good shelter. They manufacture their own gunpowder, are very clannish, but submit without a murmur to the authority of their chiefs. Some live in huts, others in tents, but these latter are not nomadic. The Khamírs are frugal, but perhaps fare better than their brethren of the plain. The women spin a superior kind of woollen _bernous_ (cloak) and weave blankets. A large quantity of tobacco of an excellent quality is grown, but nobody smokes. Every one, on the contrary, takes snuff. It is generally calculated that there are from fifteen to twenty-five thousand fighting-men in the whole range of mountains. All the adults are for the most part armed with flint-lock guns about seven feet long, and made without any idea of balance. It consequently generally requires a strong man to keep the muzzle level. The mountains are very steep, and the only passes are very narrow paths, in most places not more than two or three feet wide. Dense forests often cover the heights, and the richness of the vegetation adds considerably to the extreme beauty of the scenery. Oak and cork trees, the white thorn and “locust-bean” trees, wild vines and giant ferns, all grow and thrive together in one luxuriant tangle. Men born under such accidents of nature as these, are, of course, hardy, fearless, and capable of enduring extraordinary fatigue.

As I was already acquainted with General Sy Selim, I received a very cordial welcome from him on reaching his camp. All was now confusion there, owing to a company of French troops having crossed the frontier at Aïn Ismain on the evening of the 23d April. We were almost within hail of the French fort of Roum-el-Souk, and could hear the bugle calls distinctly. Around our camp a few of the tribes had pitched their tents, and it was with considerable difficulty that they could be prevented from attacking the French, who were now in the midst of their corn- fields. The greatest excitement prevailed, and we were constantly on the _qui vive_. To aggravate matters, a messenger arrived from Tabarca, who informed us that attempts were being made every night to land from the French gunboats, and that Taib Masmuri, the governor, had been asked to deliver up the fort, which he declined to do.

As soon as dawn broke on the 26th April we discovered that the French soldiers, who had for the last few days encamped about three miles’ distance from us, had moved their position during the night. While endeavouring to ascertain the road they had taken, we suddenly heard at about nine A.M. sharp firing in the mountains, and almost simultaneously the distant booming of the cannon in the direction of Tabarca. The scene that ensued around us is almost indescribable. In the twinkling of an eye the Khamír tents were struck, and they started at a trot, yelling at the tops of their voices, in the direction of the firing. A band of about fifty, more desperate than the rest, made a rush towards the fort of Roum-el-Souk, about three miles distant, and we could see a detachment of cavalry coming to meet them. Sy Selim immediately sent some of his mounted Arab irregulars in pursuit, and they succeeded in turning back the courageous little party of Khamírs, who pleaded with tears to be allowed to have “just one shot at the occupants of the fort, even if they died a moment afterwards.” My faithful friend Sheikh Salah had meanwhile disappeared in order to do his duty in the mountains, and for some time I was afraid that I should be compelled to remain in the camp. But I happened to meet one of his companions, who was going in the direction of Ali Bey’s position, and with him I approached the spot where the fighting was taking place. All along the mountain paths we traversed, we met files of Khamírs in full war costume rushing at full speed in the same direction. Lying down on the crest of a hill I could witness distinctly what was going on. The French were in a small valley surrounded by the heights on all sides save one. The slopes were evidently alive with Arabs, concealed behind projecting rocks, brushwood, shrubs, and trees. Both sides were sustaining the fire. It was evident that the French hoped that the Arabs would have been induced to come down to the plain, but although the Khamírs made several very courageous attacks, they invariably retired to the hills, being perfectly well aware of their good position. Several French soldiers were killed in this first engagement, but the Khamírs lost seventy-eight men, besides having over one hundred and fifty wounded.

At length I got back to Sy Ali Bey’s camp. All the Arabs who had pitched their tents in its vicinity when I left, had already gone off to the assistance of their neighbours. The Bey was, as might be expected, greatly perturbed, for the parting shouts of the Khamírs were quite the reverse of complimentary, and he felt that he might be attacked at any moment. In pursuance of the instructions he had received, he had sent a protest to General Forgemol as soon as he knew what had happened at Aïn Ismain, and had already got the following answer:—

_General Forgemol to Sy Ali Bey._

We have received your second letter to which we now answer.

We have the honour to inform your Highness that our troops have entered on Tunisian territory, _in accord with the Bey of Tunis_, as we are informed by the Minister of War of France. According to this same understanding the Tunisian troops are to give us free access into the country of the enemies which we have come to chastise, and that in consequence they will retire to such positions as we shall indicate.

L. FORGEMOL.

We now learned that on the previous day the French had shelled and almost completely destroyed the fort of Tabarca, over which the Bey’s flag was flying at the time, and which was actually garrisoned by Tunisian soldiers. Even the regular troops now seemed inclined to join the Arabs, who openly accused the Bey of treachery:—“You told us,” they said with much show of reasoning, “that if we kept quiet all would be well, and now you see what has happened. The children of Ali Ben Hassan have sold our country to the French!”

On the 28th April, at two o’clock A.M., we stealthily commenced our retreat in fear and trembling. The Bey was about equally afraid of his own soldiers, the Khamírs, and the French, and he keenly felt the bitter humiliation of being obliged to leave his own subjects to their fate. After a few hours’ march we found that we were only separated by some low hillocks from a French camp at the Gendouba. We hurried on as fast as possible, but we perceived later that French troops were marching from another point apparently across our road. The Bey sent on a messenger to the officer in command to say that as he had not come there to make war with the French, he was anxious not to interfere with them, and merely wished to know whether the road would be left open to him. As the messenger delayed his return, it was decided to pitch our camp at Ben Bachir, about four miles from the village of Souk-el-Arba, where the French forces entering the Regency by way of Kef had already arrived. At length the messenger came back, saying that the commanding officer wished to meet Sy Ali Bey at once. Sy Tabar Zouch was sent, but was angrily told “to tell his master to come himself,” and given a note on a scrap of torn paper to serve as a sort of summons. Although very tired, Sy Ali Bey set out for the Souk-el-Arba railway-station, where his meeting with General Logerot was to take place. Some hours later he returned, and at once asked me to come to his tent to hear how he had been treated. He was exceedingly angry, and folding up the general’s note put it in his purse, saying he should always keep it as “a remembrance of French politeness, which he had often heard of but had never before experienced.” “When I got about half-way,” said the Bey, “I was peremptorily stopped by the sentinels, who would not let me pass for some time. At last I reached the station and waited there for half an hour. Then General Logerot appeared, and without saluting me said abruptly, ‘What do you want?’ I replied that I had merely come there in consequence of his invitation. He answered that he had nothing to say to me, and had only called me because he fancied that I had something to say to him. He added that I had done well to leave the Khamír mountains, and must recall all the other troops there without delay; that I must on no account go either to Kef or Beja, and was to find my way back as best I could through Testour and Teboursouk. He then turned his back on me and left the room. If I, the heir-apparent, am used thus, what will be the fate of our subjects? Please let people in England know how we are treated.” As soon as the Bey had finished telling me of his misfortunes, he wrote a letter to his brother asking for leave to return to Tunis. In compliance with General Logerot’s intimation, we now began to march slowly in a southerly direction. On the 30th April some chiefs of the Ouled Bou Salem tribe joined us and brought a letter from the French Caid of the frontier, which had been addressed to them and the sheikhs of the Kooka tribe, stating that unless they submitted to the French they would be attacked forthwith. Messengers from other tribes also arrived, and bitterly complained of the heavy requisitions made upon them by the invaders. These facts served to dissipate all that remained in the mind of Ali Bey of his illusion as regards the object of the French expedition.

The following day (April 30th), a most lamentable affair occurred almost on the scene of our first camping ground during the retreat at Ben Bachir. This is what actually happened:—The French sent _spahis_ to the Sheikhia, the Ouled Bou Salem, and Gendouba tribes, with a demand that each of them should provide 300 horsemen mounted and equipped, _to serve with the French as spahis_, besides 200 baggage mules or horses, each followed with a man to carry barley. The Sheikhia having replied that they had neither horses to give nor any inclination to go, the French this morning marched into their territory, burned their _douars_ in many places, and attacked the inhabitants, who were obliged to take refuge in the mountains. Several women and children were killed. The Bey’s tent was soon surrounded by crowds of Arabs calling out, “Our crops, cattle, and horses are being destroyed; we are ourselves attacked, and yet all you tell us is to keep quiet. We are all subjects of the Bey, will he do nothing to save us? Why did you not let us fight against our enemies?” The scene was one not easily to be forgotten. A number of witnesses were examined as to the attack on the Sheikhia, and Sy Ali Bey drew up a report which was sent to Tunis.[39] The evidence was carefully sifted, the various depositions were recorded separately, and every means taken to arrive at the truth. It is greatly to be feared that Turkish atrocities can no longer claim to be unique. The camp was moved on the 3d May to a point between Beja and Oued Zerga, but the Bey’s perplexities increased every day. On his sending to Medjez for the usual supply of barley, a note was brought back from the general saying it was not to be touched. “I am only surprised,” wrote the general, “that you remain in a country where the French are waging war.” As the heir- apparent was powerless to do any good, and as his position from being humiliating had become ridiculous, I was not astonished at General Logerot’s surprise. As far as Sy Ali Bey was concerned, the campaign ended as soon as he turned his back on the Khamírs, and as no interest could attach to his perambulations under the paternal direction of French officials, I decided on the 4th May to return to Tunis. This step was also rendered advisable by a move of M. Roustan to get rid of a troublesome but impartial witness. When I wished Ali Bey good-bye, he said with tears in his eyes, that “it would have been better for him to have fought side by side with the Khamírs and have taken the inevitable consequences, than to suffer slights and insults which none of his race had ever borne before.”