In Consequence Of The Dispatches Received From The Emperor, We Left
Larache The Same Day.
The Governor commands a territory of two hundred
English miles.
He put himself at the head of his troops, which
amounted to six thousand cavalry, divided into squadrons,
distinguished by their respective standards. There were in his train,
besides, a prodigious number of mules, some carrying field equipage
and provisions, others the treasures, consisting of the collected
taxes, and presents for the Emperor.
This little army moved on in tolerably good order and discipline. It
was preceded by an officer at the head of a small corps, doing the
duty of a Quarter-master-general. We were met on our way by several
officers, with small detachments of soldiers, under the government of
His Excellency. The Moorish mode of saluting attracted my attention;
when on a level in point of rank, the officers embrace each other, and
then kiss the back of their own hand; but in saluting a superior, they
kiss the hem of his garment; upon which he presents his hand, and they
salute it. I assure you, they do all this with considerable grace.
In passing through villages (which in this part are very numerous, and
formed of a much greater collection of tents than those described in a
former letter), we were received by a great concourse of men, women,
and children, shouting, and making a noise exactly resembling the
whoop of the North American savages. I was informed, that this was
their usual mode of expressing their joy and mirth, on all great and
solemn occasions. A venerable Moor, the chief of the surrounding
villages, accompanied by the military and civil officers, and by the
principal inhabitants, advanced to kiss the garment of His Excellency:
this ceremony was closed by a train of women, preceded by an elderly
matron, carrying a standard of colours, made of various fillets of
silk; and by a young one of great beauty, supporting on her head a
bowl of fresh milk, which she presented, first to the Governor (or, as
he is otherwise called, the Sheik), then to me, and afterwards to all
the officers. This ceremony is always performed by the prettiest young
woman of the village; and it not unfrequently happens, that her beauty
captivates the affections of the great men (sometimes even the
Emperor), and she becomes the legitimate and favourite wife.
When we arrived at any village, His Excellency halted to receive the
report of the commanding officer; and to inquire if any murder,
robbery, or other crimes, militating against the laws and constitution
of the empire, had been perpetrated. This excellent man patiently
listened to all the complaints made to him; and after hearing both
parties with the greatest impartiality, he ordered such delinquents as
stood fairly convicted to be punished by imprisonment, or fine,
according to the nature of their offences. At one place where he held
a court of justice, he received information of a band of assassins who
had lately committed several murders and highway robberies, and had
violated many young women, whom they afterwards destroyed. By this
prompt and judicious arrangement, they were all secured, and brought
before him. He ordered them to be dragged in the rear of his troops to
Fez; there to receive whatever punishment the Emperor might think fit
to award them.
We performed our route by short and easy stages, on a road which is
perfectly level, and very different from those between Tetuan or
Tangiers and Larache. We generally halted about two o'clock in the
afternoon, and encamped; struck tents again at four in the morning,
and then moved on regularly without noise or confusion.
On approaching the river _Beth_, we halted, to allow the baggage to
cross, which was expeditiously conveyed in a large ferry-boat; the
horses and mules were obliged to swim over, a spectacle curious and
diverting enough. I passed over with the Governor; after which the
boat went backwards and forwards till the whole of the troops were
transported across the river, when we encamped, the side which we had
quitted being occupied by another little army, headed by the Governor
of another district. The two opposite camps had much the appearance of
two hostile armies previous to a battle.
This river very much resembles the _Po_ in Italy, and is perfectly
navigable. On each side are immense fields of corn and rice,
intersected by tracts of waste land covered with broom and heath, and
spots of pasture-land on which large droves of camels graze. To
prevent the camels from straying, they have one of their fore legs
bent at the first joint, and tied up: they are attended by boys, who
take them out early in the morning, and at night bring them back to
the tents, before which each camel takes his place as regularly as our
cows do in their stalls.
The next morning we reached a castle, and a ruinous walled town,
occupied by soldiers, and slaves, who look after the herds of mules
belonging to the Emperor. It is situated on a hill, whence I had a
prospect of the immense plain we had first traversed, upon which not a
single tree is to be seen.
About noon, on the sixth day, we approached a lofty mountain, which
terminated this extensive plain, and formed the commencement of a
chain of high hills, which we ascended and descended successively, and
at length descried the large and populous city of Mequinez: we passed
by a long aqueduct, a remnant of ancient architecture, and several
Roman ruins, and reached one of the great gates of the town, where we
were met by a strong detachment of soldiers commanded by the Governor,
who, after the salutations and ceremonies usual on such occasions,
escorted us to the palace of Eslawee, the Governor of Larache, where I
was kindly received and most hospitably entertained by all his
relations and friends.
On the morning after our arrival at Mequinez, an express arrived from
the Emperor with an answer to a representation which I had made
concerning the loss of a French privateer on the coast of Barbary; I
had sent it at the same time with that respecting the tariff, and
expected the answers together.
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