When he landed, the country round was being devastated by the plague, and the comptoir of the French jealously barricaded its gates to prevent all communication with the interior. The Arabs, irritated and jealous at seeing the Christians exempt from a disease which was committing such cruel ravages amongst themselves, tried by every means in their power to introduce the contagion. They buried plague-stricken corpses at the gates of La Calle, and they threw rags saturated with virus over the walls, and, independently of these secret attacks, a continued and open state of hostility seemed to prevail. La Calle was governed by an agent, having the title of governor, with about fifteen other officers under his direction. The Arabs were excluded from the place, with the exception of a few who were retained as hostages, or who were employed in manual labour. The inhabitants were from three to four hundred, mostly Corsicans and natives of Provence. Some were employed in the coral fishery; others, with the name of soldiers, were occupied in guarding the cattle when taken outside for pasture. Sometimes these same soldiers, in the guise of carters, were sent to the neighbouring forests to cut wood. Others, called frégataires, were occupied in loading vessels, transporting corn, cleaning the port, and similar works, and there was in addition a staff of bakers, blacksmiths, masons and other artificers. All these employés were paid, fed and lodged by the Company, but the fair sex was rigorously excluded. If sometimes the Governor was permitted to bring his wife, serious troubles were sure to result, and he was rarely able to keep her there for any length of time.
The climate was then exceedingly unhealthy. Violent fevers were of constant occurrence, which carried off their victims in four days, and the mortality amongst the employés was immense.
These were people of the worst character, as the Company received indiscriminately all applicants, without asking any questions. Most of them were convicts who had escaped from justice in France, men lost through libertinage and debauch, without principles of religion, or the least sentiment of probity.
At La Calle it was only the worst crimes of which any cognisance was taken, all others were allowed to go without punishment, as the Governor had only the shadow of authority, and it was necessary to humour this nest of ruffians always ripe for revolt. In addition to the heavy taxes paid directly to the State, the Company was subjected to indirect taxation to an enormous extent, and was also subjected to the most humiliating restrictions. It was compelled to feed all the Arabs, who chose to present themselves. If an Arab killed a Christian he was liable to a fine of 300 piastres as blood money, which was never paid, but in the event of a Christian killing an Arab, he was forced to pay 500 piastres, which sum was exacted to the last farthing. The Company was not permitted to appoint its own interpreters; these were always named by the State, and the only qualification, that appeared to be required, was sufficient sagacity to enable him to betray the Christian.
In 1806 Mr. Blanckley, the British Consul-General at Algiers, contracted with the Dey for the possession of Bone and La Calle, which latter had been a century and a half in the hands of the French, whose contract had expired. 50,000 dollars, or 11,000l., was the sum agreed on as an annual rent. This was actually paid for some years, without any result following, save that of keeping out the French for a time.[247] La Calle was re-occupied by the French on July 15, 1836, shortly after the capture of Bone.
Here our journey may be said to have terminated; we dismissed our horses and attendants, bade adieu to our Khomair friends, who had accompanied us so far, and proceeded in an open boat to Bone, where we took the steamer to Algiers.
In these two journeys, though I have not actually followed the route of Bruce, I have visited every place of importance which he described, and, with the single exception of Hydra, I have examined and described every ruin which he drew, in Algeria and Tunis.
I could not spare time to follow him in the Belad el-Djerid and eastward to the Pentapolis. There I must leave him to tell his own tale, illustrating this as far as I can by the descriptions of more recent travellers. The temptation to follow him to Tripoli was very great, but I was reconciled to the impossibility of doing this by the knowledge that Mr. Edward Rae, who has already earned the reputation of being an intelligent traveller and an accurate observer, had just returned from a journey through that country and the southern parts of Tunis, including Kerouan. I had the pleasure of making his acquaintance at Tunis, and I have little doubt that his ‘Country of the Moors,’ which is being published simultaneously with the present work, will give much valuable information regarding these little-known regions. It will materially contribute to elucidate the diary of Bruce, which unfortunately is out of all proportion, as regards interest, to his admirable architectural drawings. How different the case would have been, but for that disastrous shipwreck at Bengazi!
FOOTNOTES:
[243]Peyssonnel, ap. Dureau de la Malle, i. p. 272.