The Horses of the Sahara and the Manners of the Desert

The Horses of the Sahara and the Manners of the Desert

The horsemen of Numidia were famous even in the time of the Romans. The Arab horsemen are in no way inferior to their predecessors. The horse has continued down to these our days to be the chief instrument of war among those martial tribes. A dissertation on the horses of Algeria, which still retain the typical characteristics of both the Barb and the Arab stock, is not only of interest for the lovers of horse-flesh, but also for those who are responsible for the maintenance of our power in Algeria. The greatest merit of a study of this kind is its perfect accuracy as to facts. I will therefore mention the sources whence I have derived my information. In the course of the sixteen years which I have passed in Africa, I have been intrusted with missions or have exercised functions which brought me into constant intercourse with the Arabs, a people hitherto so little known, but whom we are bound to study if we would learn how to govern them. From 1837 to 1839 I was the French Consul at Mascara accredited to the Emir Abd-el-Kader; after that, head of the Arab Office in the province of Oran, in which at that time General Lamoricire held the chief military command; and finally Central Director of the Arab Office of Algeria under the government of Marshal the Duke of Isly. These different posts brought me into close contact with the native chiefs and the first families of the country. I acquired their language and it was through their assistance that I was enabled to publish, one after the other, my books on the Algerian Sahara, the Great Desert, Great Kabylia, and on the Manners and Customs of Algeria, works which may perchance have rendered some service to French interests by throwing light upon important questions of war, commerce and government. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 51041
Author: Daumas, E.‏ (Eugène)
Release Date: Jan 25, 2016
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Translator: Hutton, James, 1818-1893