The Horses of the Sahara and the Manners of the Desert

by E.‏ Daumas

ON CHOOSING AND PURCHASING HORSES.

In the Sahara horses that are celebrated for their blood and speed sell easily and at a good price. There are blemishes that totally exclude a horse from serving in war. Such as el maateuk, a narrow and hollow chest accompanying lean and perpendicular shoulders. It is difficult to form an idea of the importance attached by the Arabs to the development of the muscles of the chest.

Another blemish is fatness and want of prominence in the withers. You can never fix the saddle properly on such a horse, nor handle him boldly in galloping down hill. Again, the jardens "father of bleaching" (of the beard): curbs, when too far gone; ring-bone; spavin, especially when it is near the saphena; the processes known as louzze, or "almonds," on the ribs, and fekroune, or "tortoise," on the forequarters; splints, if near the back sinew; the pastern prolonged and bent; the pastern short and upright; windgalls along the tendons; and a long and concave back, are all serious objections. An animal is also rejected if he cannot see at night, or when there is snow. It is discovered by the manner he raises his feet when it begins to grow dark. The defect may be ascertained by placing a black surface before him in the day time—if he steps upon it without hesitation, there is no doubt on the subject. As the Arab passes much of his life-time in making nocturnal marches to surprise his enemy, or to escape from him, what could he do with such an animal?

Let us pass on now to the faults or blemishes which, though generally dreaded, do not prevent a horse from changing masters. These are narrow nostrils—they will leave you in trouble; long, soft, and pendant ears; and a short, stiff neck. A horse is little worth that does not lie down, nor one that switches his tail about while in quick motion; also horses that scratch their neck with their feet, that rest on the toe of their foot, that over-reach themselves in trotting or galloping, or that cut themselves by knocking their feet together. To discover if a horse cuts himself, pass the two wrists, joined together, between his two fore-arms and place them below his breast. If they are touched by the inner part of the fore-arms, be sure that the animal has too narrow a chest and cannot help cutting himself.

Distrust a horse that wets his nose-bag in eating his barley, and that seems to sip the water with the tips of his lips. An ambler is not fit for a chief: it is the horse of such as "clash the spurs," (carry messages). Beware of a horse that rears, refuses the spurs, bites, is difficult to mount, and breaks away from his rider when the latter dismounts: these are all grave faults in war time. Leave to the pack-saddle a horse that is deaf. You will know him by his hanging ears, void of expression, and thrown backwards, and also by his not answering to any sound of the voice. By sight, by smell, by hearing, a horse will warn his master of coming danger, if he does not save him from it. He saith:

Preserve me from what is in front,

I will preserve thee from what is behind.

"The lion and the horse disputed one day as to whose eyesight was the best. The lion saw, during a dark night, a white hair in milk, but the horse saw a black hair in pitch. The bystanders pronounced in favour of the latter."

The highest virtue in a horse is endurance, to which, in order to constitute a perfect animal, must be joined strength. A horse is considered strong if he clears fifteen to sixteen foot-lengths in his first bound. If he covers a greater space he is deemed to be of superior strength, but if he clears no more than eight to ten feet he is set down as a heavy animal. A very fiery horse never exhibits patience of fatigue; nor one whose legs are lanky, neck too long, and buttocks too heavy to be in harmony with other parts of his body; nor one who lacks vigour in his heels. Such a horse, after a long course, will be exhausted in his legs, so that when he is pulled up by his rider he will still take several steps contrary to the latter's wishes. A horse that has neither patience nor mettle is easily recognised. The form of his body is irregular, his chest narrow, and his breathing short. Strength and wind are the two highest qualities of a horse. The absence of either is likely to affect his endurance and lower his spirit.

"Look in a horse for speed and bottom. One that has speed alone, and no bottom, must have a blemish in his descent; and one that has bottom alone and no speed, must have some defect, open or concealed.

"Reject a horse high in the middle, with a narrow chest, flat ribs, and lanky limbs and that is for ever fidgetting about and holding up his head. If you give him his head, he says: 'Hold me in!' and if you hold him in, he says: 'Let me go!'

"But if in the course of your life you alight upon a horse of noble origin, with large, lively eyes, wide apart, and black, broad nostrils, close together; whose neck, shoulders, haunches, and buttocks are long, while his forehead, loins, flank, and limbs are broad; with the back, the shin-bone, the pasterns, and the dock short; the whole accompanied by a soft skin, fine, flexible hair, powerful respiratory organs, and good feet with heels well off the ground—hasten to secure him if you can induce the owner to sell him, and return thanks to Allah, morning and night, for having sent thee a blessing."

Never burden yourself with an animal that is broken-kneed, diseased, or wounded, though they assure you that it is only a temporary accident. Recall to mind the saying of your ancestors;

Ruined, and son of a ruined one,

Is he who buys to cure.

It is no uncommon thing for an Arab to buy a horse in partnership with another. The usual conditions of such a compact are after this fashion. An Arab sells a mare to another for 100 douros, but receives only 50 douros in payment, the balance representing his share in the animal. The purchaser rides the mare about, and makes use of her for war, the chace, and for his private journeys. If he make a razzia, three-fourths of the plunder belong to himself, and one-fourth to his partner. Should the mare be killed in war, in an expedition mutually agreed upon, the loss falls upon them equally. But should death overtake her at a fantasia, a wedding, or any other festival, the purchaser is alone answerable—he has to make good 50 douros to the vendor. If the animal, however, is killed in front of the tent, suddenly, or under the horseman, while the latter is defending his wife, his children, and his flocks,—the circumstances were beyond his control, and he is not called upon for any reimbursement.

Should the mare produce a colt, it is reared until it is a year old, when it is sold, and the proceeds equally divided between the partners. On the other hand, if the mare has produced a filly, the latter is valued when a year old, and the vendor has the privilege of choosing the filly or the dam, paying or receiving the difference of value. This sort of compact is never made with respect to horses.

An Arab who wishes to sell a horse will never consent to be the first to name a price. Some one comes up and says: "Sell; thou wilt gain." The vendor replies: "Buy; thou wilt gain."

"Speak thou first."

"No, speak thou."

"Was he purchased, or reared?"

"Reared in my tent, like one of my own children."

"What hast thou been offered for him?"

"I have been offered 100 douros."

"Sell him to me at that price—thou wilt gain. Tell me, then, what thou asketh."

"See what is written with Allah."

"Come, let us drive away the previous bidder, and do thou take 10 douros over and above his offer."

"I accept. Take thy horse, and Allah grant thou mayst be successful upon his back as many times as he has hairs upon it." And should he be desirous to avoid all risk of future annoyance on the subject of warranty, he adds in the presence of witnesses: "The separation between us is from this very moment. Thou dost not know me, and I have never seen thee."

It is not permitted to mount a horse for a trial until after the price has been agreed upon. Nevertheless, before the bargain is completely concluded the animal is tested against a horse that has a certain local reputation. The mode of trial is somewhat singular. The riders are barefooted, and are not allowed to touch their horse with the heel during any part of the race.

Horses whose reputation is well established in the country are never sold in the market-place. It is a positive insult to an Arab to ask him, "wilt thou sell thy horse?" before he has made known his intentions. "They must think me then in a miserable condition," he will say, "that they should dare to make such a proposal to me."

Certain tribes are particularly addicted to traffic in horse-flesh. The most noted of these Arab horse-dealers are the Beni-Addas. It is said of them:

With others, horses are mere carrion,

With them, they are youthful brides:

With others, they are asleep,

With them, they dance.

For the rest, the Arab is no horse-dealer after the European fashion. He never makes use of ginger, nor does he resort to any trickery to disguise the bad points of his horse. He simply places him before the purchaser. But for the fraud he disdains he substitutes a flow of seductive eloquence. His inexhaustible oratory pours itself forth in metaphors and hyperboles. Pointing to the animal, he will say: "Uncover his back and satisfy thy gaze."

He will then go on:

"Say not it is my horse; say it is my son. He outstrips the flash in the pan, or a glance of the eye. He is pure as gold. His eyesight is so good that he can distinguish a hair in the night time. In the day of battle he delights in the whistling of the balls. He overtakes the gazelle. He says to the eagle: 'Come down, or I will ascend to thee!' When he hears the voices of the maidens, he neighs for joy. When he gallops he plucks out the tear from the eye. When he appears before the maidens he begs with his hand. It is a steed for the dark days when the smoke of powder obscures the sun. It is a thoroughbred, the very head of horses! No one has ever possessed his equal. I depend on him as on my own heart. He has no brother in the world: it is a swallow. He listens to his flanks, and is ever watching the heels of his rider. He understands as well as any son of Adam: speech alone is wanting to him. His pace is so easy that on his back, you might carry a cup of coffee without upsetting it. A nosebag satisfies him, a sack covers him. He is so light that he could dance on the bosom of thy mistress without bruising it."

The owner of the truly beautiful offers him for sale;

The owner of the swift one makes protestations.

Ben-Youssouf, having one day given in exchange for a mare of the desert twenty she-camels with their young replied to his father who had keenly rebuked him: "And why are you angry, my lord? Has not this mare brought me the agility and the softness of skin of the jerboa, the movement of the neck of the hare, the fleetness and the vision of the ostrich, the hollow belly and the limbs of the greyhound, and the courage and breadth of head of the bull? She cannot fail to turn yellow the face of our enemies. When I pursue them, she will plunder without ceasing the croups of their horses; and if they pursue after me, the eye will not know where I have passed!"

It will be seen, as I had previously indicated in tracing the outline of a thoroughbred horse as sketched by the Arabs, that they esteem it of consequence that in his form he should borrow certain details from other animals. He should unite in himself the qualities that are separately remarked in the gazelle, the greyhound, the bull, the ostrich, the camel, the hare, and the fox. It is agreed that he should have the long, clean limbs of the gazelle, the fineness and strength of its haunches, the convexity of its ribs, the shortening of its fore-legs, the blackness of its eyes, and the straitness of its armpits, He should also recall to mind the length of the lips and tongue of the dog, the abundance of its saliva, and the length of the lower part of its fore-paws. They go so far as to regard this resemblance of the horse to the greyhound as a means of guiding inexperienced purchasers: at least, such appears to be the moral of an anecdote widely circulated among them.

"Meslem-ben-Abou-Omar, having learned that one of his relatives was travelling near the banks of the Euphrates, desired to avail himself of this opportunity to obtain one of the famous horses of that country. His relative knew nothing about horses, but was very fond of the chace, and had some very fine dogs. Despatching a servant with proper instructions, Meslem informed his relative that the form of the horse he wished for corresponded to that of the best of his greyhounds. An animal was thus procured, the like of which the Arabs have never since met with."

Merou-ben-el-Keyss replied one day to some friends who accused him of knowing nothing about either horses or women:

Yes, I have ridden horses

Sober, strong, and swift in the course,

Whose thighs were solid,

Their sinews lean and their rump rounded.

Forming as it were a channel towards the tail:

Their hoofs were hard: they could go without shoes.

By Allah! I used to fancy myself on an ostrich.

To find the tall grass

Which grows in solitudes dangerous to traverse,

In solitudes defended by the points of lances,

And by the descent of torrents,

I have many a time galloped,

When the birds were yet asleep in their nests.

To hunt the white-skinned zebra,

Whose legs are striped like Indian stuffs,

Or to overtake the antelope that lives in wild regions,

I have ridden horses with flesh hardened by exercise,

It was Allah who created them for the happiness of Believers.

Many a time, too, have I rested my heart

On that of a maid with budding bosoms,

And legs adorned with anklets of gold!

In our incursions of horsemen,

When eye must meet eye,

Many a time have I said:

Forward! forward! O my beloved courser!

Follow up the enemy routed and fleeing!

The value of a horse is in his stock.

REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.

To a King who asked a poet for his horse named Sakab, the latter replied: "Sakab is not for sale, nor is he to be exchanged. I would ransom him at the price of my life. My family should die of hunger rather than that he should suffer."

An Arab once said: "My countrymen blame me for being in debt, and yet I contracted it for a horse of noble race and well rounded forms, who confers honour upon them and serves as a talisman to my goum, and to whom I have given a slave as his attendant."

An Arab one day sent his son to buy a horse in the market-place, and he, before setting out, asked his father what qualities the animal should have. The father made answer: "His ears should be ever in motion turning sometimes forward, sometimes behind, as if he were listening to something. His eyes ought to be keen and restless, as if his mind were occupied with something. His limbs must be well set on and well proportioned." "Such a horse," the son rejoined, "will never be sold by his master."

Many of the Arabs of Upper Asia have genealogical trees, in which they state and confirm by evidence that would be accepted in a court of justice, the birth and parentage of the colt, so that when a proprietor wishes to sell a horse he has only to produce his genealogical tree to satisfy the purchaser that he is not deceiving him.

I have seen among the Annaza, a tribe extending from Bagdad to the confines of Syria, horses so absolutely priceless that it was impossible to buy them, or at least to pay in cash for them. These horses are usually disposed of to great personages or wealthy merchants, who pay a fabulous price for them in thirty to fifty bills, falling due at intervals of twelve months, or else they bind themselves to pay an annual sum for ever to the vendor and his descendants.

"I take them by surprise in the morning, while the bird is yet in its nest and the moisture from the dew is making its way to the river.

"I surprise them with my sleek-coated courser that by its swiftness overtakes the wild beasts and never wearies of hunting the gazelle in all seasons and far from our home.

"He has the flanks of the gazelle, the legs of the female ostrich, and the straight back of the wild ass standing as a sentinel on a hillock.

"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."