The following interesting remarks on this subject are taken from the Mémoires of the Archæological Society of Constantine for the past year:—
‘While Captain Sergent occupied the position of chief of the Bureau Arabe at Jemmapes, he collected information of the greatest possible interest on the subject of the recent disappearance of the bear.
‘At the commencement of this century the bear was found all over the mountains situated north of Azeba, between the two rivers of Saf-Saf and Oued el-Kebir. It has gradually disappeared from that country, until then inhabited, consequent on the migration of the tribes, who occupied it, elsewhere. The Beni Mahenna have retained the remembrance of a great number of hunters, who passed their lives in pursuing the deer and the bear, on the crests, covered with arbutus, between Djebel ben-Alia and Bou-Kseïba. The most celebrated of these was Ali En-Nahel, belonging to the tribe of Oulad Ataï; several others are also cited by name.
‘There are numerous sayings which perpetuate the remembrance of the bear. Such an one is said to be as rude as a bear, he grumbles like a bear. Rivers, rocks, springs, and even trees have retained the name of this animal, such as Oued Deb, Geläat ed-Deb, Ain ed-Debba, &c. The bear, moreover, is said still to be found in the mountains of Morocco. From an archæological point of view the bear also deserves our attention; like all the great animals of Africa known to the ancients, it figures in the mosaics and on the earthen lamps preserved in our museums.’
The remarks of Bruce before quoted[245] with reference to the Oulad Sidi Bou Ghanim, were equally applicable to the Khomair; one of the reasons of their exemption from taxation was their utility in killing lions. At the present day they are no longer required to destroy wild animals, but they readily admit the obligation under which they lie to guard the frontier in their lord’s interests against all comers, and so well do they perform this duty, that I am not aware of any Europeans having been permitted to pass through it but ourselves.
There is a general opinion that this tribe is of Berber origin. I am not aware of any direct authority for this hypothesis. There is, of course, a strong presumption that the original Berber stock would have lingered in a purer condition in these inhospitable mountains, than in other parts of the country more liable to be overrun by the Arab conquerors. The Khomair are tall and stalwart fellows, with a bold and fearless demeanour, very different to that of the Arab of the present day; but these are characters which their wild and active life could hardly fail to engraft on any stock; they do not claim any affinity with the Kabyles or Chawia, they speak no other language than Arabic, and we saw no traces amongst them of light hair, blue eyes, or a fair European complexion, such as are so frequently met with both in the Aures Mountains and in the Kabylia of Djurdjura. When pressed to give an account of their origin, they universally declared themselves to be of Arab descent, but that their forefathers came from the Gharab, or West, somewhere in the kingdom of Morocco.
Ibn Khaldoun, in his history of the Berbers,[246] makes no allusion to this tribe, though he mentions an Arab one, the name of which is somewhat similar in its European guise, though totally different in Arabic, the Ghomara inhabiting the mountains of the Riff country. He derives their name from the root غَمَرَ to overflow, on account of the manner in which they, being Arabs, overran the Berber country. He says that they are broken up into an innumerable number of branches and families all over the country, and are found even as far as Tripoli. It is hardly possible that these races can be identical, for although there are certain letters in the Arabic language susceptible of transposition, it is unlikely that the خ kh should ever take the place of غ gh.
Berbers do exist in this valley; we met numbers of the Kabyle race of Zoaoua (whence the modern word Zouave) whose ancestors came from the Kabylia of Djurdjura to take military service under the Government of the Bey; these men were the Swiss of Africa, and went all over the country, as far even as the Pentapolis, as mercenary soldiers.
We had spent the previous evening in a most pleasant and instructive manner amongst our new friends, and were delighted at the idea of passing through their country to La Calle, and perhaps of returning on some future occasion to explore it more thoroughly. As we suspected, the tales of their barbarity and ferocity were very greatly exaggerated; at the same time, I confess I should not like to go far into their country without being accompanied by an influential member of the tribe, who would be responsible for my safety.
We started from Tabarca at 9·15 a.m., and followed the left bank of the Oued el-Ahmer (Red River), the most westerly of the three which drain the valley of the Oued el-Kebir. We proceeded in a south-westerly direction along a tolerably well-cleared path, made by the Tunisian Government for the purpose of bringing timber down to the coast. Even in the driest weather there is always a considerable body of water in the river, and now it was swollen by several days’ hard rain. Beautiful rills and mountain streams descended at every few hundred yards to add their tribute to the torrent; the banks were in some places clothed with ivy and ferns, and everywhere densely shaded by handsome trees, ilex, chêne zan (Quercus Mirbeckii), aspens, and hawthorns of such gigantic stature as fully to merit the appellation of forest trees; while the ground was carpeted with a profusion of wild flowers of every hue—blue pimpernel, centaury, valerian, pink and white cistus, myrtles, wild roses and yellow broom.