‘In the morning, shortly after crossing a river which formed the boundary of the hostile tribe, we rested for one hour. Then the Sheikh ordered most of his men to return home; he himself, with some twenty-five followers, escorting us to the dwelling of the Governor of the next province, where we arrived before sundown.’
On the other hand Sir John occasionally made such bitter enemies amongst the ill-disposed and the criminal classes that his life was endangered. One of the most notable of these was a native of the village of Zinats between Tangier and Tetuan, a man named Aisa (Anglicé Jesus).
A brother of Aisa’s had been ill and applied for medical relief to a doctor, an Austrian Jew, resident at Tetuan. The doctor did all in his power to relieve the man, but without avail, and the patient died. Aisa chose to consider that his brother had been poisoned, and, vowing vengeance against the doctor and all Jews, soon after murdered an inoffensive Israelite pedlar, travelling between Tetuan and Tangier.
Sir John insisted that the authorities should seize and punish the criminal; but this was extremely difficult to accomplish, as he hid amongst the rocky slopes of the hills near Zinats, and thence continued to threaten the Jews, who, in terror of their lives, dared not travel from Tangier to Tetuan, except under safe convoy. He also sent a written message to the effect that, in revenge for these persistent efforts to have him arrested, he intended taking Sir John’s life and—failing other opportunity—would force his way into the latter’s house and kill him there.
To these threats Sir John paid no attention. He rode about as usual, unattended and unarmed, and even shot partridge over the district of Zinats, the murderer’s haunt, while still urging the authorities in his pursuit. The villagers in that part of the country seem to have shared somewhat in Aisa’s view of the cause of his brother’s death. They sheltered, fed, and hid him. It was only when a fine was levied on the district, when some of the Sheikhs were imprisoned as hostages, and when a whole village which was supposed to have sheltered the murderer had been burnt to the ground, that they deserted the criminal. He was finally traced to a cave where he had taken refuge. The soldiers tried to smoke him out of his lair; but he fired on them and then, seeing escape to be hopeless, shot himself.
SENYA EL HASHTI
CHAPTER XVII.
THIRD MISSION TO MARÁKESH.
In 1863 Sir John went to the Court at the city of Marákesh on a special mission from Her Majesty’s Government, with the object of obtaining certain concessions and privileges. In this mission he was in great part successful, though many of the promises made to him to introduce improvements and reforms never passed beyond words.