CHAPTER XIII

STRAINED RELATIONS WITH SPAIN

“A great deal of trouble came from the French zone,” said Raisuli, “for there were many powerful families there who did not understand the politics of the North. At one time the House of Wazzan was very inimical to Spain, and they have so much influence in the country that when one brother went mad and shot men by mistake, thinking they were hares, people said that death at his hands was an honour and made them sure of paradise! One married an Englishwoman who lives at Tangier and has done much good among the Arabs.

“The Sherifs of Wazzan consulted some of the chiefs of the neighbourhood, among them those of Mesmuda, Guezauia and Beni Mesara, and it was decided to hold a great meeting which should be a secret. The news came quickly to my ears, so I sent some of my most trusted men to mix among those of Beni Zernal, Beni Hamed, Ajainas and others who were going to Wazzan. The gathering took place in the Zawia of Sidi Ahl Serif and each man swore that he would repeat nothing of what was said within those walls. Then one of the Sherifs spoke to the tribesmen and told them that, as it was obviously the intention of Spain to take possession of the whole country, it was their duty to combine in order to prevent such a disaster. He suggested that, as the Europeans were too strong to be conquered except by a ruse, news should be spread in Al Kasr that Wassan had been attacked. When this had reached the ears of Silvestre a deputation would ride swiftly to see him, confirming the news and offering submission to Spain, in return for the help of her forces to defend their city. As soon as these had started for Wazzan, the tribesmen would work round outside the Spanish patrols, till they could cut off Al Kasr. Then, in two columns and by night, they would fall upon the deserted town and massacre all Europeans before relief could arrive.

“The tribesmen asked what would be the attitude of the Sultan’s Government towards such a scheme, and the reply was that it was actually the Maghsen which would supply the arms and ammunition. The chief of Beni Zernal wished to know whether el Raisuli was aware of the plot, and suggested his being consulted. ‘For if the Sherif is not with us, the plan will fail,’ he said. The speaker answered that el Raisuli, being the Sultan’s Governor, could not take an active part in such a movement for fear of implicating the Maghsen, but that he knew of it and approved. Allah forgive him the lie! But the tribesmen were still anxious and they began to make excuses. One said there were not sufficient horses; another that the Spaniards would not leave Al Kasr unguarded; but, in the end, they were convinced, because of the respect which they had for the House of Wazzan, and, before leaving, each man swore that he would be ready when the signal was given to carry out all that had been arranged.

“All this my men described to me, and I reported it to the Spanish Legation at Tangier, urging them to increase their vigilance in case of surprise; but, Ullah, I do not know if they believed me, for politics were very complicated in those days. It was told to Silvestre that I wished to exaggerate the value of the services I had rendered, and perhaps he credited the lie, because every day men went to him and complained. He thought that all these people would side with him if it came to a war between us, for he did not understand their feelings. It is the habit of the Arabs to take as much as they can from the Christians, but this is very different from fighting for them. Sometimes it happened even that a man would come to a tax-collector and ask that such and such a tribute should be remitted. When this was refused, he would say, ‘Allah be with you, I will now go to the foreigners—perhaps they will help me to pay it.’ And the official of the Maghsen would answer, ‘Go, and Allah keep you; but, if you succeed, do not forget that I am a poor man and your friend.’

“The ways of the Arabs are very curious to you, for our minds are different. I will tell you a story that is well known in these parts. There was one tribe which had long fought against the Europeans, for they were very fanatical and their mountains were so steep that none could come near them, but, at last, the Christians sent aeroplanes to drop bombs on their villages. The tribesmen were frightened, for they said, ‘These are the unbelieving Jinns whom the foreigners have taken into their service, and they drive great birds whose eggs bring death.’ So there was a consultation among all the headmen, and, for the sake of their farms which were being destroyed, they decided to make peace; but the Sheikh was an old man, and he would not look upon a Christian, so he said to his son, ‘I cannot change my ways and, if I do, I shall lose the respect of my people. This would be a shame for our house, yet we must make an agreement with our enemies, or they will conquer us by means of their magic, and then they will make our cousin, who is an evil man, Kaid of the tribe.’ The son agreed with the words of his father, but he said, ‘How can this thing be arranged?’ and the Sheikh replied, ‘I will not eat my words. Till the day of my death I will fight the Christians, but go you and make peace with them. Choose your words well and, in return for your help, they will make you Kaid. Then lead the Europeans against us, and I will come out at the head of my troops, so that it will be easy for you to kill me, for I would rather die by the hand of a Moslem. When I am dead, our people will fly back into the hills, and you can make an agreement with the Christians and be Kaid of the tribe in place of our cousin, whose rule would be bad.’ So it was carried out, and all the headmen knew of the plan and agreed to it. How can a European understand these things?

“A son of the Shiekh of Wadi Musa complained to Silvestre that his father had been killed and his village burned, because my soldiers had not been able to collect the additional tribute I demanded. This was true, but he did not say that his father had invited my official into his house and had given him food and drink and said to him, ‘Rest awhile here, while I go and drive in the bull that I would offer to the Sherif as a gift.’ While the man slept, the Chief came with an axe that was used for breaking stones, and hit him on the head, for it happened that there was a blood feud between their families. So my servant died at the hands of his host, who avenged the blood of a cousin spilt while he was still a child; but it was ill done. If an enemy came to your house, he is safe by the law of ‘deafa,’ so the Shiekh of Wadi Ras had committed two crimes.”

“There was the story of Musa ben Hamed,” suggested Badr ed Din tentatively. “There is no interest in it,” answered the Sherif; but, later on, I heard the tale from the lips of the fat secretary. “It was when a certain tribe refused to pay tribute to my master, and they caught some of his soldiers and beat them and cut out their tongues. The men died on the mountains, and the Sherif swore ‘a head from the Kaid’s family for every man who has been hurt.’ Very soon the tribe was forced to submit, by the soldiers of the Maghsen, and then Musa ben Hamed, who was a clever man but cowardly, broke through the guards and took refuge one night in the house of my lord. It is not permitted to refuse food and drink to a guest, so for three days our enemy lived with us and we served him, but my lord would not see him, and he had a room alone. Ullah, there was no way to get rid of him, but at last the mehalla brought back the heads of his two brothers and his son, so, while he slept, a slave crept in and placed one of the heads beside him, with green herbs stuck in the eyes—for this is an insult. Musa ben Hamed made no sign, so the next night the head of his son was placed beside him, and thus it went on; but our guest said nothing, nor did he turn from his food. At last the toll of heads was complete, one for each soldier who had been hurt, but ben Hamed was safe in our house. Then, one day, he went to the bath and left his outer garments and his arms on the mattress. When he returned he found a body, clothed in his waistcoat and jellaba, with his belt girt around it, lying in his place, but it had no head. A coward is easily frightened! That night he went away, and the soldiers could not fire on a guest.”

Relations were growing strained between Raisuli and the harassed Silvestre, who was not allowed to deal directly with the Sherif, but had to refer everything to the Ministry in Madrid. Thus delays and misunderstandings were inevitable. “Silvestre might not even come and see me without the permission of his Government,” said the Sherif, “and yet he was anxious to have someone watch my actions at Azeila, for he was worried by the complaints of the tribes and he believed that I exacted unjust tribute. There were many letters on the subject, and I grew weary. To deal with Europe one must be cleverer with the pen than the sword, and, in those days, the moon of Badr ed Din’s face was no longer full, but like the crescent in its first quarter!

“There was the matter of the officer whom Silvestre wished to send to Azeila, that he might live on my property and oversee the payment of tribute. I would not agree, for I was the representative of Mulai Hafid, and this would have been dishonourable for us both before the tribes. The Colonel wrote to his Government and said that I levied more taxes in the part of my province that was in the Spanish zone than on the other side of the Luccus, which was French. He said that France beat my soldiers if they took presents from the Kaids, and that, in her protectorate, I was only able to levy the tribute due to the Sultan. This was not correct, because there are many ways of reaching a man’s pocket, and it is a custom that the tribes should give presents to the Governor. The Sherifs have a right to a certain tribute, and this is not fixed but a matter of good-will. You have seen the tribes coming to me now, when I have nothing and am living like a Bedouin. For us presents are a small thing, both in the giving and the receiving.

“Silvestre wished to employ his own men to collect the taxes, not knowing that the people would have said, ‘The land has been sold to the Christians. They have imprisoned the Sherif. See how they take the money which is his.’ There would have been a rising, and many shots would have been fired. He thought, if he remitted the tribute paid by the mountaineers and saved them from the cruelty of which they complained, he could count on their loyalty; so he wrote to his Government saying that the country was dissatisfied with my rule and would be glad to escape from it. Ullah, while there is one alive of the line of Jebel Alan, and there are 15,000 now recorded, the Jebala will obey no other house!”

It is probable that, like all Arab Governors, Raisuli did extract a considerable amount from the tribes to pay for the building of his palace, in addition to the taxes collected for the Sultan. Doubtless his subordinates were none too merciful in their methods of ensuring payment, but, at least, there were no middlemen, no hosts of Kaids and police officials, waiting with palms open for a bribe before business could be transacted or judgment pronounced. Any man could go to Azeila and be sure of an interview with the Sherif. No difference was made between the rich and the poor. The long corridor leading to the hall of audience was daily thronged with Sheikhs and beggars; mountaineers and townsfolks; Ulema who knew by heart the Koran and the works of the four Imams; and peasants, who had difficulty in remembering their second names! Raisuli’s worst enemies have always been among the police, who used to make a fat living out of the tribesmen, until the course of the stream was altered and the bribes, now known as tribute, poured into the coffers of the Pasha. The people benefited in one way, for much of the stream poured out again in lavish hospitality.

The tales of the Sherif’s avarice are only equalled by those of his generosity. If he squeezed one village, it was to pay for the rebuilding of another, destroyed by one of those sudden fires, common in the hot weather, in which the thatched roofs blaze so fiercely that there is always a heavy casualty-list. If a widow appealed for her family, or the wife of a prisoner for often quite imaginary children, their names were added to the immense list of Raisuli’s pensioners.

“What I took with one hand I gave with the other, and but little fell into my own lap,” said the Sherif. “But Silvestre wished to have complete control over the villages near his camp, and he was angry when my men went to collect the taxes there. The people saw this and took advantage of it. Ullah, under European rule, the Arab loses his few virtues! At this time there were many disputes between us, and I despatched a man to confiscate some of the horses of Beni Mesala, because they would not acknowledge the authority of a Kaid from Beni Maugud, whom I had sent to them in place of one of their own men who was dishonest. Perhaps the Chief of Beni Maugud was severe in his administration, for he was my friend and obliged to uphold my authority, but the tribesmen were rebellious and left their farms for the hills, and, when my man came to take their horses, they fired on him and drove him away. Therefore, at the request of the new Kaid, I sent sufficient arms and ammunition to restore peace in his district, but the rebels appealed to Spain, making a great demonstration of affection and loyalty. All these matters made bitterness between Silvestre and myself.

“I was afraid that he would instigate the tribes against me, so, in September (1911), I prepared a mehalla to guard my interests, and I added to my store of arms all that I could buy or that my friends could bring me as presents. There were many rumours about this mehalla. Some said it was to fight the Spaniards, others that it was for the aid of the Kaid of Beni Mesala, whom I had ordered to levy a fine of 5 pts. Hassani from every one of the rebels; but I told no one my intentions. The Pasha of Al Kasr, who was subsidised by Spain, was secretly helping the rebellion in Beni Mesala. It was told me that he sent guns and grain into the mountains, making it impossible for the Kaid to put down the revolt. War in the Jebala is like a flame in dry grass, so I wrote to Silvestre, asking that the Pasha, who was called Ben Asayeg, should be removed and one who was faithful to me put in his place. Difficulties were made with regard to my request, so I sent to the Pasha, ordering him to come to Azeila, but Silvestre, fearing for his safety, and knowing that no other man would serve their interests so well, forbade his journey, making the excuse that there was much work and nobody to put in Ben Asayeg’s place.

“Silvestre’s letter saying all this, and speaking also of some prisoners which he wished released from a place in the mountains, came to me at the time of Aidh el Kebeer,[41] when I was busy receiving all the Sheikhs who came to greet me. My house was full, and each man was busy with the entertainment of guests, and so there was delay in answering the letter. Besides when a man is angry, he should never take a pen in his hand, and I was angry because of the disobedience of the Pasha.”

In the end Raisuli wrote one of the most completely oriental letters I have read. After polite greetings, wishing “felicity always to the Señor just and worthy of respect, the well-liked Colonel Silvestre,” he wasted a page in admirably-constructed sentences which meant nothing, before pointing out that he had no news of the prisoners. Short of saying that the Jinns had run away with them, he suggested every unlikely reason for their non-arrival—that they had lingered on the way, or stopped to rest, or visited friends, or missed the road—ending with, “although they tell me that two came out of prison very weak and ill.” With regard to Ben Asayeg, he insisted, with considerable dignity, that the action of Silvestre had done much to injure his prestige—“I had the indubitable right to send for the various Pashas in my Government to come and report to me, and, if I considered they were not doing their duty, to change them for others more trustworthy and more faithful. If I had judged good the conduct of Ben Asayeg, or if I had seen in it any error,” said the Sherif, “I would either have corrected him, or praised him, as the occasion deserved; but that he should disobey was bad for the discipline of my province, and I wished to report the matter to El Guebbas at Fez.

[Illustration: Raisuli’s original house at Tazrut—now his son’s school—damaged by Spanish aeroplanes]

[Illustration: Raisuli’s palace at Azeila]

“Silvestre wrote to his Minister, saying that if Ben Asayeg were removed, the Arabs would no longer have any faith in Spain, for all that the Pasha had done had been in the service of the protectorate. He reported also that I had been collecting large quantities of arms, and that a Frenchman from the legation at Tangier had spent several hours in my house. From this you will see how difficult matters had become. Silvestre wished to stop the tribesmen carrying rifles and, if a man passed by his camp with a gun across his shoulders, it was taken from him; and this is not good, for, without his arms, an Arab is but a woman and ashamed.

“There was once a Sheikh who was my prisoner, and he was condemned to death by the tribunal, for he had done much evil in the mountains. They gave him food and water, but he would not touch them, and he said, ‘My hands are empty, and I am too old to be deprived of that which I have held all my life. How can I say my prayers if I cannot make the Kibla[42] with my rifle before me?’ They told me these sayings, and I went and spoke to him, for once he had been my friend; and he said, ‘Oh, Sherif, it is disgraceful to kill a woman. Give me back my arms, that this shame may not be upon you.’ I made a sign to a slave, and he brought a rifle, and would have given it to him unloaded, but I said to the servants, ‘No, put bullets in it, for he is the prisoner of his word.’ The Sheikh took the gun and laid it across his knees, and smiled. ‘Allah would not have recognized me had I gone to him unarmed,’ he said; and the next day he was strangled, that there should be no blood upon his body.

“In the matter of the rifles, I was strong. Silvestre wished that each man who carried a gun should have a paper, signed by myself, to show he was in my service, but, fortunately, at this time it was imagined that I was treating with the French, so the matter was not pressed. When two men meet face to face, much can be arranged, but a pen alters a man’s ideas, and he is guarded in what he writes. There was much dispute between Silvestre and his Government, for neither trusted the intelligence of the other. Allah knows one was too far removed from the events, and the other too much in the middle of them, to see clearly, for if a man is on the other side of the Luccus, he cannot watch a battle at Azeila, but, likewise, if he is in the middle of the fight, hard-pressed and defending his own life, he cannot judge of what is happening.

“At this time I consulted with my friends, and we said, ‘We have gone far enough. If we give in more to the Spaniards we shall have no honour left in the country!’ and I altered the taxes, without the consent of Silvestre, as was my right, and I told the men, ‘Go right up to the camps and take the aushur (a tenth part) from all the flocks and herds, even those that supply the army.’ This was done, and the people began to doubt if they had been wise in complaining to the Spaniards, and they sent presents to me secretly. When, by the orders of Silvestre, men of the Jebala, coming down from Ahl Serif or Kholot, were stopped as they came to the high road and their guns taken from them, I sent some soldiers to Al Kasr and they went to the door of the prison at noon, and took out two important prisoners. When the gaolers would have prevented them, they said, ‘It is by the orders of the Sherif,’ and the men were afraid, and let them go. I did this to show Silvestre how great was my influence when there was a question of actions and not words. After this the Spanish guards were redoubled, but the men who brought arms from the mountains came now in large parties, so no one dared to interfere with them when they crossed the plain.

“Silvestre complained that I persecuted those Arabs who worked against me, but, except for a few merchants who made money out of the foreigners, all men were with me, either openly or in secret. At last I wrote again to the Pasha and to Mohamed ben Abal, another of the great men of the Al Kasr, ordering them to come to Azeila, and this time they dared not refuse, but asked only time to prepare for the journey and to make ready the gifts they would bring, for it was the Arab Easter. Silvestre, believing it was his duty to protect the Pasha and the other, both of whom came to him, saying, ‘We fear we shall never return, but our fate would be worse if we stayed,’ wrote to Madrid asking that he might be allowed to accompany them, or at least to visit me a little later. At the same time he wrote to me, asking me to guarantee the safety of Ben Asayeg and Sidi Mohamed, but I did not answer the letter, for all things were with Allah, and how could I make promises to a foreigner concerning the safety of my own people? It was a mistake that he asked it.

“All these things that I have told you happened quickly and (in October) Silvestre came to Azeila, and I invited him to visit me. My people said to me, ‘Why do you receive your enemy in this way? Bullets are more suitable than words,’ but I answered, ‘He will not be my enemy after I have spoken with him.’ I received him with even more honour than before, but there was silence between us and, to whatever the Spaniard asked, I answered, ‘If Allah wills,’ till at last his impatience mastered him, and he said through his interpreter, ‘None of us may know the will of God, but I have come here to understand the will of Raisuli.’

“Then I answered, ‘The will of Raisuli has always been to help you, but you have disregarded it and gone your own way.’ ‘I have tried to bring justice to the country,’ he said. ‘Who has done that before me?’ ‘My armies,’ I replied, and, to everything he asked in this fashion, I answered, ‘My armies.’ Then I spoke to him about Ben Asayeg, and I said: ‘You have made him into a tool, so that he no longer acts wisely, for fear of offending you. He has no mind left, and is not fit to rule in Al Kasr. All these troubles with the villages in Sebbah and Utah and the affair of Beni Mesala were owing to his actions. He is trying to serve fire and water, which is not possible. He must go, before there is such trouble in Al Kasr that you yourselves will suffer. Remember, Sidi, in a Moslem country, it is always the strangers who suffer first. It is my duty to protect you, for you came here as my friends.’

“We talked for a long time and, at last, I persuaded him to leave Ben Asayeg in my hands and promised that he should have another post where he could do no harm. I told him that all matters could easily be settled if we could meet freely when there was anything to discuss, and he promised to consult his Government about this. He spoke to me of the radio telegraph, and I requested him to arrange for both the telegraph and telephone to be installed in Azeila. Ullah, so much of civilization is useful and, at the same time, annoying.”

Silvestre welcomed with delight the Sherif’s last suggestion, as it would give him the opportunity of sending a military operator to Azeila, which would be the first step to having an office in the forbidden city. The interview closed satisfactorily and, as the Arabs expressed it, ‘the Spaniard was the prisoner of the Sherif’s eloquence.’ It was certainly a triumph for Raisuli, for he had won, at least for the moment, a powerful ally, who wrote immediately to Madrid, urging the necessity of remaining on good terms with the Sherif. The installation of telegraph and telephone were the excuse for several visits on the part of the Spanish commander, and each time he met the astute Raisuli, he was the more convinced of his sincerity, so much so that a deputation of Moors from Ahl Serif, asking to be allowed to appoint their own Kaid in lieu of Raisuli’s nominee, received an unexpected rebuff.

“About this time,” continued the Sherif, “El Guebbas wrote to me from Fez, saying that a body of French engineers, interested in the line from Tangier to Fez, would like to visit me on their way through Azeila. I received them, as I was bound to do, since my Governorate was from Mulai Hafid, but I was glad also, because I thought their visit would hasten the arrival of my own telephone, for Spain was still afraid that what she did not give me I should receive from France. Silvestre was very anxious after it had been told him that the French engineers had stayed with me for hours, so, in order to strengthen his hold on the country, he wrote to me, saying that Tzenin and Suq el Telata were nearer to Azeila than to Larache. He begged me to allow provisions to be disembarked at Azeila, that they might pass straight up to the camps. I agreed, because I wanted boats to come to the town, in order that they might bring me the materials I needed for my house, which I was still decorating and improving. Also it had always been my intention to bring the Spaniards to Azeila, but I wished to do it slowly, as between friends, so that the people might not say I was under Christian influence, for in that case I should have had no more power over them. In order to be pleasant to the Spaniards, I instructed the new Pasha of Al Kasr to allow them to acquire all the land that they required for their camps, and to do everything for their satisfaction; but still there was argument between us concerning the taxes. Silvestre complained of their severity, and I replied that they had been much reduced. Truly it is not worthy that men should talk so much about money.

“In the beginning of the year, according to your counting (Feb. 1912), Zugasti, with whom I had long wanted to have speech, sent a friend to see me, for there was a dispute about the payment of the garrisons, but I would talk of nothing but my telegraph line.”

The unfortunate envoy wrote that he found the Sherif proud and unyielding, that he had had two interviews, in which Raisuli had not opened his lips, and that, during a third, his host had been in such a bad temper that he had thought it better to “give way in everything, lest the Sherif should refuse to treat further.” Silvestre, still convinced of Raisuli’s honesty, again travelled to Azeila. “I told him,” said the Sherif, “that he was welcome, for the sight of a friend is like morning after the night, but that there was no necessity for speech. I had already explained that any service I could render to Spain would be a duty which I should hasten to accomplish. He wished to speak again of taxes and garrisons, but I said to him, ‘Where is my telephone?’ He answered that it was on its way. Then he said that many provisions were being unloaded at Azeila and that it was necessary to build a storehouse to hold them. I agreed, and added that I would appoint a trusted man to look after them, and this was in order to test him, for I knew it was a trick to gain more foothold in Azeila. He answered that, as he would be responsible for the stores, he must send soldiers to guard them. I said nothing, and, after a silence, he asked if, for the lodging of the soldiers, he might build a hotel outside the walls of the town. I replied, ‘It is a wise man who hides the price of his merchandise till the bargain is concluded. Ullah, I see now how much my telephone will cost.’ But we were friends, and, because I understood his mind, I forgave him. At the end he asked me if I would not become a Spanish- protected subject, and I answered that this was my greatest wish; for sometimes the truth is not courteous.”