CHAPTER XX.
KEROUAN TO DJEBEL TROZZA, DJILMA AND SBEITLA.
On the afternoon of April 11 we left Kerouan, by no means sorry to regain our liberty; for although we had greatly enjoyed the society of our hosts, it was impossible not to feel ill at ease in so sacred an atmosphere. I must add, however, that this was the only place in the Bey’s dominions where we saw anything like intolerance of Christianity, and here, considering the venerable traditions attached to the place, its existence was almost excusable. The heat was most intense, but one of our hanbas, out of consideration for my comfort, had provided for my use one of the immense straw hats used by the Arabs of the South, very similar in form to what we are accustomed to associate with the rites of a witch’s Sabbath. Its crown was a truncated cone as big as a sugar-loaf, and the diameter across the brim was little short of a yard. This is worn over the turban or head-dress, whatever it may be, and fastened under the chin with leather straps, when it is desirable to protect the head from the sun’s rays; at other times it hangs down the back by those straps which then pass over the neck. In perfectly still weather it is a great luxury, but when there is the slightest breeze it is extremely difficult to manage. Our route to-day was in a south-westerly direction, and after a short ride of 13 miles we encamped at a douar a little to the north-east of the Koubba of Sidi Ali bin Salem.
Our hosts at Kerouan had sent a spahi in advance to prepare everything for our reception, so we found grain for the horses, and, what we always prized more than anything that could be offered, abundance of fresh milk for our own use.
At half-past five on the morning of April 12 we continued our route westwards. At seventeen miles from Kerouan we crossed the Oued Shershera, an affluent of the Merg-el-leil, both of which are dry at this place; here we passed to the right bank of the latter river, and at about twenty-two miles from Kerouan we came to an end of the weary plain in which we had been travelling ever since leaving Susa, and entered slightly undulating ground surrounded by low hills. To us they appeared magnificent mountains, so ready were we to hail anything with delight, that should break the painful monotony of the landscape. About a mile beyond is Ain Ghorab, the fountain of the crow (Aquæ Regiæ?), near which are the ruins of a Roman position. It is a copious spring near the left bank of the Merg-el-leil, which has here a considerable body of water; the Arabs say that it is never dry at this point, though its waters are absorbed by the thirsty ground a very short distance lower down.
Two and a half miles further on we passed the remains of another Roman town; its site is called Dhahar el-Baidha. We noticed no appearance of inscriptions or ruins of any particular interest.
Near this spot we were met by the brother of the Sheikh Salah, Khalifa of the Oulad Sendasini, a branch of the Jelas tribe, pronounced Selas; his own name is Ali Harioush ben Saidan, and as the great people themselves appear to be always away somewhere, he had come out to meet us in the name of his brother, and escort us to our camping-ground at the north end of Djebel Trozza. Here he had collected a number of the tents of his people for our especial advantage, and he supplied all our wants with the most lavish liberality. What words shall I use to express the delight of those huge bowls of warm milk, awaiting us the moment we had got out of our saddles? The heat had been overpowering for some hours, and no fluid in nature could have been so grateful to us. Our good host was delighted at our enjoyment of it, and repeated over and over again that, if there was anything else we could suggest as likely to minister to our comfort, he would have the country scoured in every direction to procure it. We must indeed have been hard to please if we had not been satisfied with his arrangements for our reception. Barley and grass for the horses were already provided for them, and even a further supply in bags for the next day’s march. A sheep roasted whole, couscoussou, butter, eggs and honey, an abundance of dates and excellent fresh bread, above all a continuous and boundless supply of milk, formed a feast that even Hatim Tai might have set before his guests. Our good host was very curious to see all we possessed, and to know what I was writing in my note-book. I pleased him greatly by telling him, that I was recording his name and the excellence of his hospitality for the information of all future generations.
On the north end of Djebel Trozza, about 380 feet above the level of the plain below, is a remarkable fissure in the limestone mountain called by the natives El-Hammam, or the bath. It descends vertically from a spacious recess or cave, to a depth of about twenty feet, when it widens out into a chamber filled with hot vapour. We had no means of testing its temperature, and indeed did not venture to the bottom, but it cannot be much under the boiling point of water. No water, steam, or fire ever issues from it, but the vapour rises perpetually and appears to be merely heated air, without the addition of any sulphureous gases. The natives have implicit faith in its remedial effects, and come to it from great distances for the cure of rheumatism, and other similar affections. The mountain is comparatively dry and sterile, but it is not without a considerable number of trees, the principal of which are wild olive, tamarisk, kharoub and juniper. There appears to be no water near save what is obtained from the Merg-el-leil, which flows near it. We saw great numbers of red-legged partridges, and my companion delighted the Arabs vastly by the facility with which he shot them on the wing. Our host was a great sportsman himself, but I fancy he was more accustomed to shoot his prey sitting than flying.
Alpha grass grows abundantly here, and indeed in many parts of the country: but this was the only place where we actually saw it being collected. This valuable plant, the stipa, or Macrochloa tenacissima, appears destined to be the great civilising influence in North Africa. Two railways are now being constructed in Algeria, one by an English capitalist,[145] and several others are projected, with the sole object of bringing down this precious fibre to the coast. Tunis cannot compete with Algeria in this respect; still, considerable quantities are annually exported from Susa, Sfax, and other ports on the east coast of the Regency.