After a ride of about three hours, we pitched our tents at Beereen. Through the whole of the route we marched on an average of about four miles per hour, the horses, camels, &c., walking at a good pace. The Turkish infantry always came up about two hours after the mounted troops. Immediately on the tents being pitched, we went to pay our respects to the Bey, accompanied by Giovanni, "Guardapipa," as interpreter. His Highness received us very affably, and bade us ask for anything we wanted. Afterwards, we took some luncheon with the Bey's doctor, Signore Nunez Vaise, a Tuscan Jew, of whose kindness during our whole tour it is impossible to speak too highly. The doctor had with him an assistant, and tent to himself. Haj Kador, Sidi Shakeer, and several other Moors, were of our luncheon-party, which was a very merry one.
About half-way to Beereen, the Bey stopped at a marabet, a small square white house, with a dome roof, to pay his devotions to a great Marabout, or saint, and to ask his parting blessing on the expedition. They told us to go on, and joined us soon after. Two hours after us, the Turkish Agha arrived, accompanied with colours, music, and some thirty men. The Bey received the venerable old gentleman under an immense tent in the shape of an umbrella, surrounded with his mamelukes and officers of state. After their meeting and saluting, three guns were fired. The Agha was saluted every day in the same manner, as he came up with his infantry after us. We retired for the night at about eight o'clock.
The form of the whole camp, when pitched, consisting of about a dozen very large tents, was as follows:—The Bey's tent in the centre, which was surrounded at a distance of about forty feet with those of the Bash-Hamba [31] of the Arabs, the Agha of the Arabs, the Sahab-el-Tabah, Haznadar or treasurer, the Bash-Boab, and that of the English tourists; then further off were the tents of the Katibs and Bash-Katib, the Bash-Hamba of the Turks, the doctors, and the domestics of the Bey, with the cookery establishment. Among the attendants of the Bey were the "guarda-pipa," guard of the pipe, "guarda-fusile," guard of the gun, "guarda-café," guard of the coffee, "guarda-scarpe," guard of the shoes, [32] and "guarda-acqua," guard of water. A man followed the Bey about holding in his hand a golden cup, and leading a mule, having two paniers on its back full of water, which was brought from Tunis by camels. There was also a story-teller, who entertained the Bey every night with the most extraordinary stories, some of them frightfully absurd. The Bey did not smoke—a thing extraordinary, as nearly all men smoke in Tunis. His Highness always dined alone. None of his ladies ever accompany him in these expeditions.
The tents had in them from twenty to fifty men each. Our tent consisted of our two selves, a Boab to guard the baggage, two Arabs to tend the horses and camels, and another Moor of all work, besides Captain Balfour's Maltese, called Michael. We had three camels for our baggage. The first night we found very cold; but having abundance of clothing, we slept soundly, in spite of the perpetual wild shoutings of the Arab sentries, stationed round the camp, the roaring and grumbling of the camels, the neighing and coughing of the horses, all doing their utmost to drive away slumber from our eyelids.
We halted on the morrow, which gave us an opportunity of getting a few things from Tunis which we had neglected to bring. But before returning, we ate some sweetmeats sent us by the guarda-pipa, with a cup of coffee. The guarda-pipa is also a dragoman interpreter of his Highness, and a Genoese by birth, but now a renegade. In this country they do not know what a good breakfast is; they take a cup of coffee in the morning early, and wait till twelve or one o'clock, when they take a hearty meal, and then sup in the evening, late or early, according to the season. Before returning to Tunis, we called upon his Highness, and told him our object. We afterwards called to see the Bey every morning, to pay our respects to him, as was befitting on these occasions. His Highness entered into the most familiar conversation with us.
On coming back again from Tunis, it rained hard, which continued all night. In the evening the welcome news was proclaimed that the tents would not be struck until daylight: previously, the camp was always struck at 3 o'clock, about three hours before daylight, which gave rise to great confusion, besides being without shelter during the coldest part of the night (three hours before sun-rise) was a very serious trial for the health of the men. The reason, however, was, to enable the camels to get up to the new encampment; their progress, though regular and continual, is very slow.
Of a morning the music played off the réveil an hour before sunrise. The camp presented an animated appearance, with the striking of tents, packing camels, mounting horses, &c. We paid our respects to his Highness, who was sitting in an Arab tent, his own being down. The music was incessantly grating upon our ears, but was in harmony with the irregular marching and movements of the Arabs, one of them occasionally rushing out of the line of march, charging, wheeling about, firing, reloading, shouting furiously, and making the air ring with his cries.
The order of march was as follows:—The Bey mounts, and, going along about one hundred yards from the spot, he salutes the Arab guards, who follow behind him; then, about five or six miles further, overtaking the Turkish soldiers, who, on his coming up, are drawn up on each side of the road, his Highness salutes them; and then afterwards the water-carriers are saluted, being most important personages in the dry countries of this circuit, and last of all, the gunners; after all which, the Bey sends forward a mameluke, who returns with the Commander, or Agha of the Arabs, to his Highness. This done, the Bey gallops off to the right or left from the line of march, on whichsoever side is most game—the Bey going every day to shoot, whilst the Agha takes his place and marches to the next halting-place.
One morning the Bey shot two partridges while on horseback. "In fact," says Mr. Rade, "he is the best shot on horseback I ever saw—he seldom missed his game." As Captain B. was riding along with the doctor, they remarked a cannon-ball among some ruins; but, being told a saint was buried there, they got out of the way as quick as if a deadly serpent had been discovered. Stretching away to the left, we saw a portion of the remains of the Carthaginian aqueduct. The march was only from six to eight miles, and the encampment at Tfeefleeah. At day-break, at noon, at 3 o'clock, P.M. and at sunset, the Muezzen called from outside and near the door of the Bey's tent the hour of prayer. An aide-de-camp also proclaimed, at the same place, whether we should halt, or march, on the morrow, The Arabs consider fat dogs a great delicacy, and kill and eat them whenever they can lay hands upon them. Captain B. was fortunate in not bringing his fat pointer, otherwise he would have lost him. The Arabs eat also foxes and wolves, and many animals of the chase not partaken of by us. The French in Algiers kill all the fat cats, and turn them into hares by dexterous cooking. The mornings and evenings we found cold, but mid-day very hot and sultry.
We left Tfeefleeah early, and went in search of wild-boar; found only their tracks, but saw plenty of partridges and hares; the ground being covered with brushwood and heath, we soonæ lost sight of them. The Arabs were seen on a sudden running and galloping in all directions, shouting and pointing to a hill, when a huge beast was put up, bristling and bellowing, which turned out to be a hyæna. He was shot by a mameluke, Si Smyle, and fell in a thicket, wallowing in his blood. He was a fine fellow, and had an immense bead, like a bull-dog. They put him on a mule, and carried him in triumph to the Bey. When R. arrived at the camp, the Bey sent him the skin and the head as a present, begging that he would not eat the brain. There is a superstitious belief among the Moors that, if a person eats the brain of a hyæna he immediately becomes mad. The hyæna is not the savage beast commonly represented; he rarely attacks any person, and becomes untameably ferocious by being only chained up. He is principally remarkable for his stupidity when at large in the woods. The animal abounds in the forests of the Morocco Atlas. Our tourists saw no lions en route, or in the Jereed; the lion does not like the sandy and open country of the plain. Very thick brushwood, and ground broken with rocks, like the ravines of the Atlas, are his haunts.