Meanwhile the news of so rich a capture was quickly spread in the desert, and reached the ears of Chatti, who, having with some difficulty found his two witnesses, brought them before Soultan el Brrak, chief of the tribe of El Ammour, to whom he declared that he was brother to the merchant who had just been robbed, and called upon the chief to enable him to fulfil the duties of fraternity, by restoring the property. Soultan, having taken the depositions of the two witnesses, was obliged to accompany Chatti to El Nahimen, the sheik of the tribe which had carried off the sheep, and to reclaim them in conformity with their laws. The sheik was under the necessity of restoring them; and Chatti, having first ascertained that none were missing, took the road to Damascus, with the flocks and their shepherds.
Leaving them outside the town, he entered it in search of his brother, whom he found seated in a melancholy mood in front of a coffee-room of the Bazaar. He went straight to him with a joyful air; but the other turned angrily away, and Chatti had great difficulty in obtaining a hearing, and still greater in persuading him to believe that his sheep were waiting for him outside the walls. He apprehended a new snare, and would not for a long while consent to follow the Bedouin. Convinced at last by the sight of his sheep, he threw himself on Chatti’s neck, and after giving full expression to his gratitude, vainly exerted himself to induce him to accept a recompense proportioned to such a service. The Bedouin could only be persuaded to receive a pair of boots and a cafia (handkerchief), not worth above a tallarin at the utmost, and, after partaking of his brother’s bread, returned to his tribe.
Our first interview with the Drayhy was truly affecting. He came himself, with the principal members of his tribe, to seek us at the village of Nabek, and took us back in a sort of triumph to the camp. By the way he gave us the history of the wars he had waged in the territory of Samarcand, and his good fortune in vanquishing four of the principal tribes,[P] and afterwards inducing them to sign the treaty. It was important to have detached these tribes in time from their alliance with the Wahabees, to whom they were formerly tributary; for it was reported that our enemies were preparing a formidable army, and flattered themselves with obtaining the supremacy of all Syria. Soon afterwards we heard that the army was on its march, spreading terror and devastation everywhere on its passage.
The Pacha of Damascus despatched orders to the governors of Hems and Hama, to keep guard day and night, and to hold their troops in readiness for battle: while the inhabitants fled towards the coast, to escape the sanguinary Wahabees, whose name alone sufficed to drive them from their homes.
The Drayhy was invited by the pacha to a conference with him at Damascus; but fearing some treason, he excused himself under pretence of the impossibility of deserting his post at so critical a moment. He even requested from him some auxiliary troops, hoping by their assistance to be able to keep the enemy in check.
While waiting for the expected reinforcement, the Drayhy caused a solemn declaration of war to be made, according to the custom of the Bedouins on very particular occasions, in the following form:—A white female camel was selected, and blackened all over with soot and oil; reins made of black hair were then put over her, and she was mounted by a young maiden dressed in black, with her face and hands also blackened. Ten men led her from tribe to tribe, and on reaching each she proclaimed aloud three times,—“Succour! succour! succour! Which of you will make this camel white? she is a relic from the tent of the Drayhy menacing ruin. Fly, fly, noble and generous defenders! The Wahabees are coming! they will carry away your allies and your brothers: all you who hear me, address your prayers to the prophets Mahomet and Ali, the first and the last!”
Saying which, she distributed amongst the tribe handfuls of black hair, and letters from the Drayhy, indicating the place of rendezvous on the banks of the Orontes. Our camp was in a short time augmented by the coalition of thirty tribes, assembled in the same plain, and so thickly encamped that the ropes of our tents touched. The Pacha of Damascus sent ten thousand men to Hama, commanded by his nephew Ibrahim Pacha, there to wait for other troops which the Pachas of Acre and Aleppo were to furnish. Scarcely had they met, when the arrival of the Wahabees at Palmyra was announced by the inhabitants, who fled to take refuge in Hama. Ibrahim Pacha wrote to the Drayhy, who repaired to him, and they arranged together their plan of defence. The Drayhy, who took me with him as his counsellor, acquainted me with the stipulations agreed upon; when I pointed out to him the danger of uniting Bedouins and Turks in the same camp, the latter having no means of distinguishing in the confusion of battle their friends from their enemies. The Bedouins themselves, indeed, recognize each other in the heat of the fight only by their war-cries, each tribe incessantly repeating its own,—“Khrail el allia Doualli,—Khrail el bionda Hassny,—Khrail el hamra Daffiry,” &c.;—Khrail signifying horsemen; allia, bionda, hamra, indicating the colour of their favourite mare; Doualli, Hassny, Daffiry, are the names of the tribes. This war-cry, therefore, is equivalent to the words, horsemen of the red mare of Daffir, &c. Others invoke their sister, or some other beauty; hence the Drayhy’s war-cry is, Ana Akhron Rabda,—I the brother of Rabda; that of Mehanna,—I the brother of Fodda: both have sisters renowned for their beauty. The Bedouins pride themselves greatly in their war-cries, and would consider that man a coward who should hesitate to pronounce it in the moment of danger. The Drayhy saw the force of my argument, and persuaded Ibrahim Pacha, though with difficulty, to consent to a division of their forces.
The next day we returned to the camp, followed by the Mussulman army, composed of Dalatis, Albanese, Mogrebins, Houaras, and Arabs; in all, fifteen thousand men. They had with them some pieces of ordnance, a few mortars and bombs, and pitched their tents half an hour’s march from ours: the pride of their bearing, the variety and richness of their costumes, and their banners, altogether formed a magnificent spectacle; but, in spite of their fine appearance, the Bedouins jested upon them, and asserted that they would be the first to fly.
In the afternoon of the second day a broad cloud was observable towards the desert, spreading itself like a thick fog as far as the eye could reach: by degrees the cloud cleared up, and the enemy’s army appeared in view.
This time they brought their wives, their children, and their camels, and established their camp, composed of fifty tribes, forming seventy-five thousand tents, at an hour’s march from ours. About each tent, camels and a great number of sheep were tied; presenting, together with the horses and warriors, a formidable mass to the eye. Ibrahim Pacha was in consternation, and sent in great haste in search of the Drayhy, who, having succeeded in reanimating his courage a little, returned to the camp, to order the necessary entrenchments. For this purpose all the camels were assembled, bound together by their knees, and placed in double files in front of the tents; and, to complete the rampart, a trench was dug behind them. The enemy on his part did the same, and the Drayhy ordered the hatfé to be prepared. This singular ceremony consists in selecting the most beautiful amongst the Bedouin girls, to be placed in a houdah, richly ornamented, borne by a tall white camel. The choice of the maiden who is destined to occupy this honourable but perilous post is very important, for the success of the battle depends almost entirely upon her. Placed opposite to the enemy, and surrounded by the bravest warriors, it is her duty to excite them to the combat: the principal action always takes place around her, and prodigies of valour defend her. All would be lost should the hatfé fall into the enemy’s hands; and, to avoid so irreparable a misfortune, half the army must always be stationed about her. Warriors succeed each other on this point, where the battle is always hottest, and each comes to gather enthusiasm from her looks. A girl named Arkia, uniting in an eminent degree courage, eloquence and beauty, was chosen for our hatfé. The enemy also prepared his, and the battle soon afterwards commenced. The Wahabees divided their army into two corps: the first and most considerable, commanded by Abdallah el Hedal, the general-in-chief, was opposed to us; the second, under the command of Abou Nocta, to the Turks. Both the character of the latter, and their mode of fighting, are totally different from those of the Bedouins, who, prudent and cool headed, begin the action calmly, but growing gradually animated, become at last furious and irresistible. The Turk, on the contrary, proud and arrogant, rushes impetuously upon the enemy, and fancies he has only to appear and conquer: his whole energy is thus expended on the first shock.