The Horses of the Sahara 29
By the head of the Prophet, this horse is the resource of caravans,
The ornament of a tent, and the honour of my tribe.
I am an Arab. I know how to command and to combat,
My name protects the feeble and the afflicted,
My flocks are the reserve of the poor,
And the stranger in my tent is named The Welcome One.
The Almighty hath loaded me with his gifts,
But time turns upon itself, and turns back,
And if I must drink one day of the two cups of life,
I will show that adversity cannot humiliate my soul.
My virtue shall be resignation,
My fortune, contempt of riches,
My happiness, the hope of another life;
And if poverty were to grasp me by the throat,
I would not the less glorify Allah.
PART SECOND
THE MANNERS OF THE DESERT
THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER ON THE HORSE.
It is certain that the Arabs are the most experienced horsemen in the
world. They know a horse thoroughly and minutely, and can rear and train
one better than any other people. It is also certain that the Arab
horses are better than those of all other nations. A sufficient proof of
this is that they always finish by overtaking the gazelle, the ostrich,
and the wild ass, which they sometimes pursue to a great distance.
"He has chased the onager, the buffalo, and the ostrich, without once
pulling up, and without a single drop of sweat moistening his coat."
The nature of the horses of the Sahara is a consequence of the life led
by their masters. The Saharenes are obliged to accustom their horses to
support hunger through the scarcity of food, and likewise thirst through
the scarcity of water, which is frequently not to be found within a
couple of day's march of the encampment. Endurance of fatigue and speed
are the result of the countless quarrels of these Arabs, their incessant
hostile excursions, and their fondness for the chace of the swiftest
animals, such as the ostrich, the gazelle, and the wild ass, which some
among them hunt the whole year round without interruption.
The Most High hath said: "Put on foot all the forces you can dispose of,
and hold in readiness a large number of horses, to intimidate the
enemies of Allah and your own, and yet others, whom you know not but who
are known to Allah. Whatever you shall have expended in the service of
Allah, shall be recompensed to you. You will not be forsaken."
And the Prophet never ceased to repeat:
"Whoso possesses an Arab horse and honours him, will be honoured of
Allah."
"Whoso possesses an Arab horse and contemns him, will be contemned of
Allah."
THE SAHARA
BY ABD-EL-KADER.
Glory to God alone!
O thou who takest up the defence of the _hader_[57]
And condemnest the love of the _bedoui_[58] for his boundless horizons!
Is it for their lightness that thou findest fault with our tents?
Hast thou no word of praise but for houses of wood and stone?
If thou knewest the secrets of the desert, thou wouldst think like me:
But thou art ignorant, and ignorance is the other of evil.
If thou hadst waked up in the middle of the Sahara,
If thy feet had trampled this carpet of sand,
Sprinkled with flowers like to pearls,
Thou wouldst have admired our plants,
The singular variety of their hues,
Their grace, their delicious perfume;
Thou wouldst have drawn in this balmy breath which
doubles life, for it has not passed over the impurity of
cities.
If, going out some splendid night,
Cooled by an abundant dew,
From the summit of a _merkeb_,[59]
Thou hadst cast thy eyes round thee,
Thou wouldst have seen far away and on all sides
troops of wild animals
Browsing the fragrant shrubs.
At that moment all care would have fled from before
thee.
Overflowing joy would have filled thy soul.
What a charm, too, in our hunting! At sunrise,
Through us every day brings terror to the savage
beast.
And the day of the _rahil_,[60] when our red _haouadjej_[61] are
fastened on our camels,
Thou wouldst have said that a field of anemones were
bedecking themselves, under the rain, with their richest
colours.
Upon our _haouadjej_ recline our virgins;
Their _taka_[62] are closed by houri eyes.
The conductors of their animals raise their shrill
chaunt;
The tone of their voice finds the door of the soul.
We, swift as the air, on our generous coursers,
The _shelils_[63] waving over their croups,
We give chace to the _houache_.[64]
We overtake the _ghezal_,[65] that fancies itself far from us.
It escapes not from our horses at full speed,
With thin flanks.
How many _delim_[66] with their females became our prey!
Although their running is not less rapid than the
flight of other birds.
We return to our families at the hour of halt,
On a new camping ground, free from pollution.
The earth exhales the odour of musk,[67]
But purer than it,
It has been cleansed by the rains
Of evening and morning.
We pitch our tents in circular groups;
The earth is covered with them, as is the firmament
with stars.
They of old time have said, who are no more, but our
fathers have repeated it,
And we say as they did, for truth is always truth:
Two things are beautiful in this world,
Beautiful verses and beautiful tents.
In the evening, our camels come up to us;
At night the voice of the male is heard like distant
thunder.
Light ships of the land,
Safer than ships,
For a ship is inconstant;
Our _maharis_[68] rival in speed the _maha_.[69]
And our horses—is there a glory like unto theirs?
Always saddled for the fight,
When any one invokes our aid,
They are the promise of victory.
Our enemies have no place of refuge against our blows,
For our coursers, celebrated by the Prophet,
swoop upon them like the vulture.
Our coursers have the purest milk to drink,
The milk of the camel, more precious than that of the cow.
Our first care is to divide the booty we have taken from the enemy.
Equity presides at the distribution.
Every one receives the due reward of his valour.
We have sold our rights of citizenship. We have no reason to regret
the bargain.
We have gained honour, of which the _hader_ knows nothing.
We are Kings. There is none to be compared with us.
Is it life to undergo humiliation?
We suffer not the insults of the unjust. We leave him and his land.
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