The French garrison of Saïda consists now of 800 men; and they have sixteen pieces of cannon only. We saw no more of our driver after that day. The superb air and savage plenty of such places as Saïda seem to make people magnanimous, for he went off to Géryville next day, never concerning himself about being paid for his services; and we were constantly receiving little presents from some one or other during our stay, ostriches’ eggs, beautifully polished stones, wild boars’ horns, &c., &c.
Saïda is a land of Goshen in the matter of game, and there is plenty of sport too. Jackals, hyenas, wild boars, abound in these rocky wildernesses; there are also panthers and gazelles, though they are found rarer. If it were not for the hunt and the chase, what would become of the officers under exile?
Next day, M. le Commandant showed us his pretty garden, planted with apple-trees by way of recalling his native Normandy, and promising to be very beautiful by-and-by, when the rich tropical flowers should be out. Then he went with us to a very savage and splendid gorge called La Source. Here, issuing from a tiny aperture in the rock, a stream of clear, rapid water had cleft its way through the rich red heart of the mountain, and tossed and tumbled amid oleanders and tamarisks as far as the eye could reach. The rock, piled in lofty masses on either side, made natural ramparts to the little town of Saïda which lay a mile off, forming the haunts of wild beasts and birds and Arab thieves.
“I have placed sentinels here for several nights of late,” said M. le Commandant, “for the Arabs are like the jackals and steal down at night to scavenge where they can. My Spahis will come here as soon as it is dusk, and this precaution I must take till the thief or thieves are caught.”
“And what will be done to them?”
“C’est très simple,” replied M. le Commandant coolly. “Whoever comes down that pass at night gets a bullet through his head, that’s all.” On our looking a little shocked he added, smiling, “Que voulez-vous? Il faut vous dire les choses comme elles sont.”
It seemed that the harvests had been very bad of late and that the Arabs were driven to all sorts of desperation by hunger. Was there work for those who chose to do it, we asked of the Commandant?
“In plenty, I assure you—in great plenty, Madame; but the Arabs don’t like work, and will rather starve. Give a Kabyle a field to plough or a house to build, and he’ll do it as well as a Frenchman, whilst an Arab or Bedouin, you understand, is only good for fighting and plunder.”
“That is your opinion.”
“That is my experience, Madame.”