JOURNEY FROM TANGIER TO RABAT
THROUGH THE PLAINS OF SEBOO,
To accompany Dr. Bell, in Company with the Prince Muley
Teib and an Army of Cavalry.
Officiated as Interpreter between the Prince and Dr. Bell.--Description of Food sent to us by the Prince.--The Plains of M'sharrah Rummellah, an incomparable fine and productive Country.--The Cavalry of the Amorites,--their unique Observations on Dr. Bell.--their mean Opinion of his Art, because he could not cure Death.--Passage of the River Seboo on Rafts of inflated Skins.--Spacious Tent of Goat's Hair erected for the Sheik, and appropriated to the Use of the Prince.--Description of the magnificent Plains of M'sharrah Rummellah and Seboo.--Arabian Royalty.--Prodigious Quantity of Corn grown in these Plains.--Matamores, what they are.--Mode of Reaping.--The Prince presents the Doctor with a Horse, and approves of his Medicines.--The Prince and the Doctor depart south-eastwardly, and the Author pursues his Journey to Rabat and Mogodor.
I happened to be at Tangier when the (shereef) prince Muley Teib was collecting an army to join that of the emperor, which was on the banks of the river Morbeya, (see the map of West Barbary, p. 55,) in Shawiya. Doctor Bell, who had then recently arrived from Gibraltar, to attend the prince, whose lungs were affected, was to accompany his Royal Highness; and, as I had nothing to detain me in Tangier, and was going to Rabat, I engaged to accompany the doctor, and offered to officiate as interpreter between him and the prince till our arrival at Rabat; after which I should leave him, and proceed to Mogodor. The Doctor readily assented to my proposition, because it is considered more respectable in this country, where the Jews are reprobated and despised, to have for an interpreter a Christian; the prince also, when he heard that I had thus offered my services, expressed himself much gratified, and I received a very polite message from him. The next day we started from Tangier, in the morning at ten o'clock. The army halted east of Arzilla, in the plains: the prince sat down under the shade of a tree to dinner, Dr. Bell and myself under another tree, about 100 yards distant. The Prince sent us a capon stewed à-la-mauresque with saffron, the exquisite flavour of which proved that he had an excellent cook with him. We departed in half an hour; and the tents were pitched at sunset, in a campaign country, between Arzilla and L'Araich. The Ait-Amor or Amorites who formed a part of this army, a wild, uncontrolled race of Berebbers, saw the attention that was paid by the shereef to the doctor, and after dinner they were determined to see what sort of a fellow this doctor was, whom the shereef treated so familiarly. They galloped their high-mettled horses up to the doctor; and stopping short to examine him, made a reflection on him and returned. The doctor observed the wild and tattered appearance of these excellent horsemen. There was nothing evil-minded in them; but their observations were remarkable. The Doctor wore powder, a custom unknown in this country: one party would say, "He has got lime in his head to kill the vermin;" another would observe that "He was old or grey-headed." The Doctor was fond of his bottle, and some said skurren bel akkaran, i.e. "The [142] son of a cuckold is drunk." Others would bawl out, Wa Tebeeb washka't dowie elmoot, i.e. "O, doctor, canst thou cure death?" To which he replied, "No."--"Then," returned they, "thou art no doctor!" On the following morning at sun-rise we proceeded, and reached L'Araich at twelve o'clock; we did not enter the town, but dined in the plains, and proceeding afterwards out of the main road, we directed our course south-east, till we reached a most beautiful and very extensive plain, called M'sharrah Rummellah. This plain was covered with numerous and immense flocks of sheep and horned cattle, and is many times more extensive than Salisbury plain. We pitched our tents near a very extensive and populous douar of Arabs. We departed the next morning at sun-rise, and reached the plains of the river Seboo about two o'clock in the afternoon; which plains are a continuation of those of M'sharrah Rummellah; the army were engaged the remaining part of the day and the whole night crossing the river Seboo, on rafts made of inflated cow-hides, covered with planks and straw. The river is here about twenty yards wide, but very deep and rapid; the Arabs had a long and spacious sheik's tent pitched for the reception of the prince, about forty feet long and fifteen wide, somewhat similar to the hull of a ship reversed, having the long side open to the sun. These tents are the palace of the sheik of the Arabs, and are erected on great occasions only, such as that of the emperor, or a prince passing through their territory. The plains of M'sharrah Rummellah are one hundred and fifty British miles in circumference, perfectly flat, without a stone, a tree, a hedge, or a ditch; with the majestic river Seboo passing through the centre of the plain. The soil of this territory, which, in the hands of Europeans, might be made a terrestrial paradise, is a rich, productive, decomposed vegetable earth, which extends, as we perceived from various chasms, to the depth of several feet from the surface. It produces incredible quantities of the finest wheat, of a hard grain, very large and long, clear as amber, and yielding a prodigious increase of flour, so that a saa of wheat [143] produces a saa and a sixth of flour. The prince, Muley Teeb, seated on an eminence in this spacious tent, resembled what we should imagine the patriarch Abraham to have been, entertaining his friends; or Saul upon his throne, with his javelin in his hand. He had twelve lanciers, six on each side of him in a row, standing with their lances erect, the Prince having one in his hand. It appears that this is the Arabian etiquette; and the Arabs appeared much gratified that the prince had personified their sheik, with all the paraphernalia of royalty. His Royal Highness whose mind seemed moved with the beauty of this country, sent for the Doctor and myself, and asked us if we had ever seen such a country before. We frankly confessed we had not. The prince smiled, and said, that the (sehell) plain we were on, although extremely populous, and full of douars, could grow seventeen times as much corn as the inhabitants could consume; that there was then corn enough in the matamores [144] of this plain, to supply (El garb kamel) the whole of El garb, i.e. the country north of the river Morbeya. [145]
Footnote 142:[ (return) ] Intoxication is a damnable vice with these people; and when they remark drunkenness, they invariably add an opprobrium to the observation.
Footnote 143:[ (return) ] A saa of wheat is little less than two Winchester bushels. The wheat is very heavy, and this measure weighs 100 lb., equal to 119 lb. English.
Footnote 144:[ (return) ] The matamores are subterraneous depositories for corn, in which they preserve the wheat sound and good thirty years; but when a matamore is once opened, it is expedient to consume the corn immediately, otherwise it contracts what is called the matamore twang. These depositories are indispensable in countries exposed to drought, scarcity, or locusts, and should be adopted in our colony of South Africa. The art of constructing them is very peculiar, and I devoted some time in learning it.
Footnote 145:[ (return) ] See the map of West Barbary.
We took our leave of the Prince, who appeared much gratified with the hospitable entertainment of the Arabs, and with their patriarchal style of living, and sent us an enormous dish of cuscasoe, coloured with saffron.
Encamped in the centre of this plain, when the sun had set, and the twilight came on, we could have imagined ourselves in the midst of the ocean. Not a cloud was in the sky, nor a hill on the land, to intercept the uniformity of the horizon; the moon shone so bright, that we could read by its light, and the universal novelty of the scene resembled enchantment.
On this rich land they use no dung: they reap the corn about a foot from the ground, and burn the stubble. The produce is greater even than that of the new-dyke land, on the banks of the river Ems, in North Holland. The allotments of land are ascertained by a large stone, placed at each corner of the square, when the reapers reach these stones, they desist from proceeding or reaping the corn of other proprietors. We rose early in the morning, and found the air of this terrestrial paradise strongly perfumed with millions of odoriferous flowers, that were growing spontaneously throughout the plains. Walking with Dr. Bell through the Prince's camp, we saw a beautiful grey horse. The doctor admired it. I recommended him to ask the Prince for it, he was not acquainted with the customs of this country, and ridiculed my observation. "If you wish to have that horse, Doctor," said I, "I will engage that the Prince will get it for you. I represented immediately to His Royal Highness, that the Doctor had taken a liking to the horse, and would wish to buy it. Not buy it," said the Prince; "he will receive it as a present from me. Tell him, he deserves seven horses for the benefit he has done me: all doctors that I have heretofore had have taken twenty-four hours to give me ease; he relieves me in one. Tell him so," said the prince, "and that he (massab ala genibuna) is in the number of my dearest friends. (e jeek elkhere attibib u asselem), Good be with you, doctor, and peace be with you." Thus ended the negociation for the horse. I found afterwards that it belonged to a sheik of the Arab province of Beni Hassen, who regretted parting with it, but the Prince gave him the value of it, and much courtesy withal. We struck our tents next morning at eleven o'clock, and, travelling southward, the Prince received an express from the Emperor to join his imperial army forthwith: accordingly the Prince and his doctor departed south-east, and I took leave of them, and pursued my journey to Rabat. p. 198