“It is wise to kiss the hand that you cannot cut off.”
Although raids are fewer than in the past, it is nevertheless true of to-day that the danger of raids is a fear that everyone must experience in travelling the Sahara; and no one has that dread of unwarned attack more at heart than the Tuaregs themselves. Which is because they are experienced in the craft of their country, and well know the penalty if caught in the violence of an unexpected attack by forces stronger than themselves—and, in my opinion, it is always a force that is overpowering, in numbers or arms, that strikes at quarry comparatively easy of conquest, especially when caught off their guard, which is strategy they are skilled in.
During my travels in the Sahara I happened to be intimately in touch with three raids. While between In-Azaoua and the Ahaggar Mountains, although blissfully ignorant until afterwards, when the tracks were discovered in the sand, my caravan was followed by raiders from the Fezzan, who sheered off without attacking when we reached the hills and the protection of the Ehaggaran Tuaregs. It transpired that the robbers had picked up and followed our tracks from the well of In-Azaoua, where we had taken water.
Timia[16] and Tigguida n’Tisem were both attacked and plundered just before I entered them, while Aouderas, when I camped there, was the scene of great excitement and expectancy of attack, when a raid, of which warning was out, attacked and burned Anai.
It is of interest that Timia was attacked when the pick of its able-bodied men were away south to Hausaland with their caravans, while Tigguida n’Tisem is entirely a town of religious people who know nothing of fighting, and made no defence whatever when the robbers attacked.
These raiders were fully armed with rifles. At Timia I picked up, on the day following the conflict, some lead-nosed Turkish ammunition and a full clasp of rimless ammunition, marked F.P.C.-08, such as is used in modern Italian rifles.
The most renowned robber chiefs in the Sahara during my travels were Chibikee, Fawna (the fugitive Chief of the Kel-Wai), Amud, and Alifa; and each was a significant name of outlawry that had power to strike dread in the hearts of the bravest. Of these, Chibikee has died (1920), and Alifa, in 1923, had come to be the most notorious character in the land.
A TUAREG MAIDEN OF AÏR; ALMOST WHITE
I have dwelt, to commence with, on this intimate atmosphere in the life of the Tuaregs because it has a powerful influence on the people. Fear of raids, or the doings of raiders, among themselves or of invaders from afar, is the perpetual topic of conversation in camp or with the caravans. All Tuaregs, first and foremost, are consequently ever suspicious of their environment, and this has bred a restless uneasiness that appears to see danger in everything and constant need for stealth and preparedness. This uncertain and harassing state of affairs has had its effect on a war-wise people. The inherited instincts of their Berber forebears remain: there is no growth of cowardice; but the conditions have developed a soldier-native of surpassing cunning and wily intrigue.