Part 27

"His croup, like to a heap of sand which moisture has rendered compact, harmonizes with withers rising above the back, like the pack-saddle of the camel kept in its place by the crupper.

"The swellings behind his ears are rounded like spheres: the headstall and the headband seem as if they were fixed to the extremity of the trunk of a palm-tree, stripped of its leaves.

"Fastened by the side of other horses, he bites and demeans himself in his jealousy as if he were possessed by a demon."

SHOEING.

Contrary to the accepted opinion, the Arabs of the Sahara are in the custom of shoeing their horses, whether on the two forefeet, or on all four feet, according to the nature of the ground they occupy. Those who shoe them on all four feet are the inhabitants of the stony districts, and these constitute the majority. Among them are the Arbâa, Mekhadema, Aghrazelia, Saâid-Mekhalif, Oulad-Yagoub, Oulad-Nayl, Oulad-Sidi-Shikh, Hamyane, etc., etc. It is the universal practice to take the shoes off in the spring, when the animals are turned out to grass; the Arabs asserting that care must be taken not to check the renewal of the blood which takes place at that season of the year.

In every desert tribe there is a douar set apart by the name of douar-el-maâllemin, "the master's douar." It is that of the farriers. A profession entirely and especially devoted to that indispensable complement of the Arab, his horse, might be expected to be made the object of particular esteem. Accordingly, numerous and invaluable privileges are accorded to them, but I am not certain if the concession of these privileges is to be regarded as an homage rendered to an art that refers exclusively to the horse, and not also, seeing that it is the only art that survives in the desert, as a remembrance of the encouragements formerly given to the able and learned men of Arabia, Egypt, Africa, and Spain, by the Arabs of the olden times, the brilliant conquerors of the Goths and contemporaries of Haroun-al-Raschid.

The Arabs of the Sahara say that their first farriers came to them from the towns on the seaboard, such as Fez, Tunis, Mascara, Tlemcen, and Constantine, since when their knowledge and their calling have been perpetuated in their families from generation to generation. A farrier must likewise be something of an armourer and iron-smith, to repair their bits, spurs, knives, guns, sabres, and pistols, besides making horse-shoes, sowing needles, sickles, small hatchets, and mattocks.

In return he enjoys the following immunities: He pays no contributions—on the contrary, when his tribe proceeds to the Tell to buy grain a collection is made for his benefit. This immunity, however, he shares with the maker of sandals. "The worker in iron and the maker of boots pay no imposts." Neither is he called upon to offer kouskoussou or shelter to any one: in other words, he is exempted from the duty of hospitality, which in certain cases is imposed upon all. The constant toil demanded by his calling, the unavoidable accidents to which he is liable through the urgent wants of his brethren night and day, the sleepless nights he has to undergo, entitle him to certain dues, called aâdet-el-maâllem, "the master's dues." On their return from the purchase of grain in the Tell every tent makes over to him a feutra of wheat and barley, and a feutra of butter. In the spring he receives in addition the fleece of a ewe. If a camel is killed for eating, he claims the part comprised between the withers and the tail, deducting the hump, which, being covered with fat, is esteemed a delicacy. In razzias and expeditions, whether or not he has taken part in the enterprise, he is entitled to a share of the booty. Usually, it is a sheep, or a camel, according to the value of the prize. This due is known as the horseman's ewe. The most important privilege, however, accorded to farriers, the indisputable token of the protection they formerly enjoyed and of the esteem in which they are still held, is the gift of life on the field of battle. If a farrier is on horseback, with arms in his hands, he is liable to be killed like any other horseman of the goum; but if he alights and kneels down and imitates with the two corners of his burnous—raising and depressing them by turns—the movement of his bellows, his life will be spared. Many a horseman has saved his life by means of this stratagem. A farrier can only enjoy the benefit of this privilege by leading an inoffensive life, absorbed in the duties of his business; but if he distinguishes himself by his warlike prowess, he forfeits the privileges of his calling, and is treated as an ordinary horseman. These advantages, on the other hand, are compensated by a serious drawback. Should he happen to grow rich, a quarrel is fastened upon him and in one way or another a portion of his wealth is taken from him to prevent him from quitting the district.

A farrier whose tribe has been plundered seeks out the victors, and on the simple proof of his trade, recovers his tent, tools, utensils, and horse-shoes. His implements consist of a pair of bellows, which are nothing more than a goat-skin bag with three openings, of which two are on the upper part in the same line, and the third at the opposite end. Through this last protrudes the barrel of a gun, or pistol, that conveys the blast to the fire. It is the wife's department to work the bellows. She kneels down before the charcoal which is placed in a hole, and takes in each hand one of the upper orifices, which she closes by clutching the skin around them. Then by alternately opening and closing her hands, she produces a movement that causes a current of air sufficient for the purpose, though not very powerful. The Arabs of the Sahara give the preference over a more perfect one to these bellows with their feeble blast, but which are easily transported in their nomadic expeditions. To the bellows the farrier joins an anvil, a hammer, files, pincers, and a vice. These instruments they obtain chiefly from the seabord, though some of them they make for themselves. Formerly they used to procure the iron in the great markets of the central desert, at Tougourt, among the Beni-Mezabe, or at Timimoun, according to the greater or less distance of those points from their own neighbourhood; but now they begin to purchase them from us. The charcoal they prepare themselves with the arar, the remt, the senoubeur, and the djedary, the last being the most esteemed.

The horse-shoes are kept ready made, and always command a sure sale, the Arabs being in the habit of laying in their supply for the whole year, consisting of four sets for the fore-feet and four for the hind-feet. The nails are likewise made by the farriers. When a horseman goes to a farrier, taking his shoes with him, the latter is paid by his privileges, and when the horse is shod, its master gets on its back, merely saying: "Allah have mercy on thy fathers!" He then goes his way and the farrier returns to his work. But if the horseman does not bring his shoes with him, he gives two boudjous to the farrier for the complete set, and his thanks are couched in the simplest formula of Arab courtesy. "Allah give thee strength!" he says, as he takes his departure.

In the Sahara, they put the shoes on cold. In the foot of the horse, say the Arabs, there are hollow interstices, such as the frog, the heel, etc., which it is always dangerous to heat, if only by the approach of the hot iron. This aversion for the hot iron, founded on the destructive action of heat on the delicate parts of the foot, is so strong among them that in bivouacs, when they see us shoeing our horses, they exclaim: "Look at those Christians pouring oil upon fire!" In a word, they cannot understand why—especially in long marches, when the exercise draws the blood down to the foot of the horse—any one should wish to increase this natural heat by the action of heated iron.

The shoes are very light, of a soft, pliant metal. In the fore-shoes only three nails are driven in on each side. The toes are free, and never fastened. According to the Arabs, nails in the toe would interfere with the elasticity of the foot, and would cause the horse at the moment he sets his foot on the ground precisely the same sensation that a man experiences from wearing a tight shoe. Many accidents thence ensue.

The feet are neither pared nor shortened. The hoof is allowed to grow freely, the very stony ground and incessant work sufficing to wear it off naturally as it tries to get beyond the iron. The necessity of paring the feet is only felt when horses have been for a long time fastened in front of the tent without doing any work, or have remained long in the Tell. In such a case the Arabs simply make use of the sharp-pointed knives which they are never without. This method has this further advantage that if a horse casts a shoe, he can still proceed on his journey, as the sole remains firm and hard. "With you," say they, "and with your practise of paring the foot, if the horse casts a shoe you must pull up, or see him bleeding, halting and suffering."

The shoes are joined at the heel. As the horse can only suffer in the part that is quick, and not in the part that is hard, it is, of course, the frog that should be shielded from accident. The shoes should therefore follow the curvature of the frog. They give to the nail-heads the form of a grasshopper's head, the only form, as they allege, that allows the nails to be worn down to the last without breaking. They approve of our method of driving the nails into punched holes and clinching them outside, which prevents a horse from cutting himself; but their scarcity of iron obliges them to content themselves, for their part, with hammering the nails down upon the hoof, so as to render them serviceable a second time by making a new head. If a horse overreaches himself they cut away his heels and place light shoes on his forefeet, but heavier ones on his hindfeet. They are careful not to leave one foot shod and the other bare. If during an excursion a horse happens to cast one of his fore-shoes, and his rider has not a fresh supply with him, he takes off both the hind shoes and puts one of them on the forefoot; and if the animal is shod only on his forefeet, the rider will take the shoe off the other foot, rather than leave him in such a condition. Should a horse, after a long journey such as the horsemen of the desert not unfrequently make, require to be shod, it is no uncommon thing to place a morsel of felt between the shoe and the foot.

The necessity, caused partly by the nature of the ground and partly by the length of their excursions, of shoeing the horses of the Sahara, has shown the expediency of accustoming the colt to let himself be shod without resistance. They therefore give him kouskoussou, cakes, dates, etc., while he allows them to lift his foot and knock upon it. They then caress his neck and cheeks, and speak to him in a low tone; and thus after a while he lifts his feet whenever they are touched. The little difficulty experienced at a later period, thanks to this early training, has probably given rise to the Arab hyperbole: "So wonderful is the instinct of the thoroughbred horse that if he casts a shoe he draws attention to it himself by showing his foot." This exaggeration at least proves how easy these horses are to be shod, and further explains how every horseman in the desert ought to have the knowledge and the means of shoeing his own horse, while on a journey. It is a point of the highest importance. It is not enough to be very skilful in horsemanship, or to train a horse in the most perfect manner, to acquire the reputation of a thorough horseman—in addition to all this, he must likewise be able to put on a shoe if necessary. Thus on setting out for a distant expedition every horseman carries with him in his djebira shoes, nails, a hammer, pincers, some strips of leather to repair his harness, and a needle. Should his horse cast a shoe, he alights, unfastens his camel-rope, passes one end round the kerbouss of the saddle and the other round the pastern, and ties the two ends together at such a length as will make the horse present his foot. The animal stirs not an inch, and his rider shoes him without assistance. If it be a hind shoe that has been thrown, he rests the foot upon his knee, and dispenses with aid from his neighbours. To avoid making a mistake he passes his awl into the nail holes in order to assure himself beforehand of the exact direction the nails should take. If, by chance, the horse is restive, he obtains for the hindfeet the help of a comrade who pinches the nose or ears of the animal. For the forefeet, he merely turns his hindquarters towards a thick prickly shrub, or extemporises a torchenes with a nose-bag filled with earth. Such cases, however, are rare.

The Saharenes declare that our shoes are much too heavy and in long and rapid excursions must be dreadfully fatiguing to the articulations, and cause much mischief to the fetlock joint. "Look at our horses," say they, "how they throw up the earth and sand behind them! how nimble they are! how lightly they lift their feet! how they extend or contract their muscles! They would be as awkward and as clumsy as yours did we not give them shoes light enough not to burden their feet, and the materials of which as they grow thinner commingle with the hoof and with it form one sole body." And when I have answered that we did not discover in our mode of shoeing the inconveniences pointed out by them, they would reply: "How should you do so? Cover as we do in a single day the distance you take five or six days to accomplish, and then you will see. Grand marches you make, you Christians, with your horses! As far as from my nose to my ear!"

HARNESS.

I have stated that the Arab saddle furnishes the rider with such a firm seat that he does not trouble himself at all about certain vices in a horse that are apt to cause us uneasiness. I will therefore say a few words on the subject, though it is one now familiar to every body.

The Arab saddle consists of a wooden saddle-tree, surmounted in front by a long kerbouss or pommel, and by a broad troussequin behind, high enough to protect the loins. The whole is covered and held together, without nails or pegs, by a plain camel's skin which gives it great solidity. The bands rest on the animal's back, and are broad and flat, with a proper regard for the freedom of the withers and loins, and afford a roomy and commodious seat. This last is very hard, and it requires long practice to get used to it. The chiefs cover it with a woollen cushion; but the common horsemen make it a point of honour to ride on the bare wood, pretending that the use of cushions is excessive effeminacy, and by diminishing their points of contact cannot fail to invite them to sleep during a long course, and consequently expose them to injure their horses. This is all the more meritorious that for the most part, and especially in summer they ride without trousers or drawers.

The saddle-tree is concealed by a stara, or covering of red morocco, without ornament, in the case of individuals who are poor or not very well-to do; and by a ghrebaria, or covering of cloth or scarlet velvet, embroidered with gold or silver thread, and ornamented with fringes, in the case of rich people and chiefs. The deïr, or breast-piece, is very broad and is placed like that of our French saddle. Its extremities are provided with two strong buckles of iron or chased silver, and are fastened to the saddle-tree by small girth-leathers, so placed as to keep the saddle in its true position. The Arabs will have nothing to do with a crupper. They say it interferes with every forward movement by the restraint it imposes on the animal. They use it only with bat mules and donkeys, and even then they do not pass it under the tail.

The stirrups are broad and clumsy. Their lateral faces gradually diminish so as to unite with the upper bar which supports the ring for the stirrup-leathers. They are used very short, and the whole foot is thrust into them, and thus shielded from balls or falls. These stirrups are extremely painful for those who are not accustomed to them, because in raising oneself on them the eye strikes against the bone of the leg. After a time the skin hardens and an exostosis is formed that destroys all sensibility. It is by these exostoses that a horseman is distinguished from a foot-soldier, and so clearly, indeed, that in the province of Oran a certain Bey, having resolved to inflict an exemplary chastisement on a tribe that had revolted, put to death all who fell into his hands, bearing these marks. He well knew that his anger was vented only on the horsemen. The stirrups of wealthy individuals are either plated or gilt, and in former times the great Turkish officers had them made of solid silver or gold. The stirrups are suspended by leathers placed behind the girth, which are simply twisted straps of morocco or camel's skin—when doubled seven or eight times, they are of great strength. The noble make their stirrup-leathers of silken cord; but as these, let them be ever so solid, will not suffice when going at a rapid pace with the whole weight thrown upon the stirrups, they add what are called maoune, or stirrup-holders.

By way of horse-cloths the Arabs make use of pieces of felt fastened to the saddle, to allow of the operation of saddling being quickly performed. They are seven in number, and dyed blue, red, and yellow—the blue being uppermost. An eighth one is added, but white and unattached, so that it can be washed and dried in the sun if the horse has perspired much. When these pieces of felt are well shaped, the different colours lying one over the other and slightly projecting, form an ornament in very fair taste, while they preserve the horse from wounds and sores. Care is taken that they should partially cover the loins.

The saddle-girth is placed in front of the stirrups, and is narrower than ours. The Arabs as a rule girth their horses loosely; and they can do so without inconvenience, as their saddles never slip round.

The headstall of the bridle is very broad; blinkers are used, and occasionally, but not often, a throat-band, loose and fastened to the headband. The Arab of the Sahara, however, does not approve of it, because if his horse, as may often happen, should be seized by the bridle in a fight, it deprives him of his usual resource of slipping the bridle over the head, and so escaping from the enemy, whose prize is thus reduced to the bridle alone. The blinkers have the advantage of preventing a horse from being disquieted by external objects, and are perhaps partly the cause of his not fearing anything. The headstall and the headband of the bridle are embroidered in silk for the commonality, and in silver or gold for the rich. The bit is attached to the bridle, and is never cleaned. The bars are broad, short, straight, and fashioned à la Condé. The canons are flat, and the curb is a circular ring fixed to the upper part of the mouth piece. The Arab bit allows no liberty to the tongue, and its lever-arm is much shorter than in a French bit: consequently, it is much less severe than has been hitherto imagined. The advantage it offers in wartime of being free from those curbs and hooks which are often so difficult to replace, cannot be too highly appreciated.

The reins are long. Two knots are made in them, one at the length whence a horse can be kept at a foot pace without impeding the freedom of his movements, and the other at the point where experience has shown that the horse, after shortening the muscles of the neck for a gallop, begins to bear on the hand. They are held very full, and at times used as a whip to quicken the animal. The Arabs reject the snaffle as calculated to confuse a horse. Rarely combatting with the sabre, they have never experienced the necessity of it.

As with them the horse is constantly fastened by hobbles, the Arabs do not understand the value of the halter which we employ. They replace it by a goulada, a thick cord of silk or camel's hair, of a more or less lively colour according to the coat of the animal. It is passed round the neck, and from it are suspended small morocco sachets, inclosing talismans that have the virtue of preserving from the evil eye, of averting sickness, and of bringing success in war. This goulada is, in the first place, an ornament, and, besides, it serves to hold the horse by, when required. To take him by the forelock to hold or lead him, as we do, is to dishonour him; for the Prophet has said: "The good things of this world to the day of the last judgment shall be suspended from the hairs that are between the eyes of your horses."

The Arabs of the Sahara make use of a whip to correct a horse when they are breaking him in, or to excite him in war or at the chace. It is composed of five or six twisted leather thongs, attached to a ring fixed to a bar of iron six or seven inches long, terminating in another ring. To the latter is fastened the small leather thong that is slipped over the wrist. Round the iron rod, but shorter by an inch, is a hollow cylinder, also of iron, of a diameter that allows the rod to play easily within it. The whip is used with all their might. It punishes so severely that after a time it suffices to shake it in order to make the animal dash forward at full speed—the noise made by the cylinder coming in contact either with the rings or with the bar that connects them, recalling to his memory the nearly similar sound of the tekerbeâa.

In the desert the Arabs carry from the kerbouss of the saddle a club a cubit in length, and terminating in a large knob garnished with spikes. It is hung from the wrist by a leather thong. Some replace this by a longer club terminating in a hook, for the purpose of picking up booty from off the ground, without alighting from the saddle. The latter is called el aâraya, or the despoiler. Neither the Arbâ nor the Harrars would ever mount on horseback without one of these clubs.