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    to the climat go. 4,54, December 4, 185g...

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    Sketches Of Algeria. Sketches Of Algeria...

    thank him for-the ' pleasant and informing work now presented to their notice ! Algeria is a particularly happv region for a traveller like Colonel Walmsley ; he is able hot only to describe , and well describe , the features of the country and the idiosyncrasies of tlie various races conquering and conquered , but he is in a position to tell us how our neighbours hold their somewhat treacherously acquired empire in that region , and by what means they extend their accustomed to

    conquests . We have been regard Algeria as an incubus on French , progress , as a dead weight on her finances , as a grave for her army , and as a penal settlement for her convicts . We have been apt to consider Algeria as only kept in subjection by an immense army at an immense cost , to be lost on the least relaxation of that expenditure and that martial strength which effected the subjugation of warlike and pirate hordes , who had defied successfully the powers of Europe for three centuries . But

    Colonel Walmsley levels this conjectural ediliee by a few' well-drawn ' pictures of things as . they actually unfolded themselves to his own eyesight , and by well-selected descriptions of the relations which actually subsist between the dark-skinned subjects of the . French Empire and the French settlers . The popular view of French colonisation is unfavourable to its permanence . Certainly France has hardly ever succeeded in rearing a colony to any degree of magnitude , but possibly one reason which inquirers have almost overlooked is , that she has never been left hi undisturbed possession of her colonial appendages ' for a sufficient period to enable

    her to develop thoroughly their wealth and strength ; England having , at the ' outbreak of war , commonly stripped her of them entirely , or rooted her rule out with unsparing resolution . JBut if we may depend implicitly ' on what Colonel Walmsley reveals to us , the French are likely to occupy Algeria ex permanence , and to extend their empire in Africa indefinitely . Nothing can be better than the system adopted by the French Government and earned out by its colonial officials and settlers to secure and consolidate the position of France in Algeria . She has already completely domiciled herself in the region . She has subdued external enemies , converted t least into honourable

    them , if not into friends , a allies , making herself not only feared , but liked . Colonel Walmsley was induced to visit Algeria in consequence of the French Government having determined on an expedition to effect the final subjugation ofKabylia . He solicited , and with difficulty obtained , permission to join the French army—the result of his Algerian rambles during the whole period of the hostilities , until peace . was resumed by the submission or extirpation of enemies , is here recorded . Colonel Walmsley is by no means a superficial observer , though his work is fragmentary and discursive rather than coldly correct and

    rigidly continuous ; he writes as a soldier should write , with spirit and with modesty . His descriptive powers arc first-rate , and his remarks on men and things show a keen and sagacious mind . Tlio book is a welcome contribution to our knowledge of Algeria , and will induce many a rich Euglish traveller to turn his autumnal steps from the wellworn tourist regions of Europe towards African scenes , and incidents , and atmosphere , which will be found to present a perfect contrast to European usages and climate . Having said so much in praise of the work , wo must not be Thoro

    supposed to consider that it is faultless . is here and there just a sottnpon , as the IVcncli would call it , of book-making . Somo of the chapters aro spun out needlessly , and others exhibit attempts at fine writing- ^ -infenor , however , to the natural and vivacious style of the author . There are also two or three samples of poetry , l-espcotable enough of its kind , but thrown in , we BU 8 pect , as mevo make-weight . Wo could extract largely and amusingly from tho work , but our space has its' limits ; we must therefore content ourselves with ft few excerpts , not , liowevor , as being the choicest bits , but because they present novelties in their way : —

    PERSUASIONS TO VISIT ALGERIA . To the naturalist and tho untiqunry Algeria presents a wide and hitherto almost untouched Hold , Roman remains lie buried in the kills , which have been spared all visit save that of tho -wandering Hodouln or tho rude Kabylo , who pass them by as things of bygono days unworthy of notice . To the sportsman Algeria would bo an elysium . Truo , the larger animals which once abounded up to tho vory walls of Algiers nro now driven book into the interior . But there they remain , while he who is satisfied with email game need not go far to find it . From the quail and partridgo of the Chelif plains , to the snipe and wild duck of Lake Halloula—nohhor more than a good , day ' s rldo from Algiora

    ready fallen a sacrifice , it is asserted , to the climat < of Algeria .

    ASSAULT OF ICHEKtDEST . The Kabylo barricades remained black and silent af ever , not a bournous was to be seen , as the 54 th and the Zouaves received the orders to carry the position at the point of the bayonet . Before them lay a ridge covered with brushwood , affording capital shelter , but at about sixty or seventy paces from the stockades the brash had been cleared away , and now the occasional gleam of a bayonet , the report of a musket or two fired against the stockade , the loud ringing of the trumpets , as they gave forth in inspiriting tones the ^ os de charge , and the wild shouting of the men , as they pushed their way forward , was all that told of the progress of the attack .

    Still the same heavy , stem silence hung over the hostile village . Was it indeed deserted , or was it the silence of despair ? Whichever it was would soon be known , for now the bugle ^ notes became shriller and more exciting , the shots quicker and more steady , as , emerging from the bush , the attacking column rushed forward to the attack . Sixty paces of green sward were before them , but instantly , and as if by magic , a thousand reports broke the silence of the dark stockades , a wild 3-ell rose from their defenders , as the hail of lead fell on the advancing regiments , and a long line of dead marked the advance . The Kabyles leaning their pieces over the joints of the trees , where they were fitted into each other , and through crevices and loopholes , offered little or no mark themselves to the shot , -while not a ball of theirs but found its destination .

    But the Zouaves and the 54 th were not to be dannted thus , and leaving behind them the ground dotted with their dead and dying comrades , on they lushed , a wild cheer rising from their ranks , and a volley of balls pattering their reply to the murderous fire they had received . Again the line of fire burst from the dark stockade , and the advancing column withered away . The ground was strewed with fallen forms , and the fire of the stockade fell fast and sure . The men gave way , seeking the

    shelter of the-bushes ; their officers dashing to the front , vainly attempted to lead them on . It ivas useless , even the sturdy Zouaves refused to cross that deadly slope , for to do so was sure death . They replied from the bushes to the Kabyle fire , and soou a regular fusillade was established from right to left ; but all this was to the advantage of the Kabyles , for the greater part of the French balls were lost against the stockades , while so accurate was the defenders fire , that not a man could show himself but down he went . . . .

    The fire from stockade and bush raged fast and furious , well kept up on the side of the French , more deadly on that of the Kabyles , and still the men would not advance over the uncovered space , for it was certain death . Two thousand Kabyle marksmen lined the loopholes of their entrenched villages ; not above half that number could pass along the narrow and unprotected ridge ; they must be shot down to a man if they attempted it . The frown on MacMahon's face became heavier . JJid he regret the cessation , of the fire ? Perhaps so , for now the bulls begin to whiz and sing round the heads of the generals and their staff . Ahorse is shot , and the general officer riding it gets a heavy fall . General MacMahon is -wounded , but not severely ; the

    men of the Beni Rnten , who have become confident of an easy victory , and assured of plunder , begin to look at each other knowingly . A check in the Marshal ' s career appears inevitable . He must recal his advance , and again shell the stockades . It is a hard alternative , but it must bo accepted . At this moment n sudden panic seemed to have seized tljejj brave defenders of the stockades . Seeing the dilemma , the officer commanding the Foreign Legion on the far left had led _ his men , through deep cuts and ravines , turned the position , and gained tho third face of the hill , accessible , but defended at every turn and twiat by well-concealed ambushments ,

    —be may make his choice , or seek wilder and more exciting adventure among the lions and panthers of the more distant mountains . The strange mode of life , too , strange customs , and strange people , now placed within reach of the most ordinary tourist , cannot fail to interest all who may visit the land . A frightful picture of Louis -Napoleon ' s ruthless despotism is drawn in the narrative of a French exile . King Bomba ' s exploits in this way sink into insignificance beside the details of the doings of his royal cousin of France . The exile tells his own story . He , like- - thousands of others , professes to be unacquainted with the cause of his expatriation , unless it is that he refuses to acquiesce , in the present political regime . After a mock trial and acquittal , which was ultimately tortured into a condemnation , the exile says : —

    rOLITICAL EXILES . " As it was in my case , so it was in all others . Xo public form of trial was gone through , no public accusation was made , but house after house was violated and searched as though their inmates had been robbers or murderers . The victims disappeared , they were snatched away from their homes and houses . For a time the silence of the tomb enveloped them , and they were ultimately thrown , without resource and without warning , on a foreign shore to lead a life of misery , poverty , and exile , simply because their existence was incompatible with that of the Empire in France . Those who could be corrupted had been gained over already , the remnant were transported . " Algeria was my doom , and as I had never seen the tribunal which sentenced me , so I never saw even a copy of rav sentence

    " Gleaned front every corner of France , these men were drafted from the hulk as means of forwarding them to the various places assigned to them occurred , and era attendant they were penned like cattle on board the convict-ship , where they suffered dreadfully from want of room and air . Of this wretched cargo I now formed an item . Most of my companions in wretchedness had been torn suddenly from their homes , aud their families or friends knew nothing of their whereabouts . They were totally destitute of any change of clothes or linen ; and as they had slept , like myself , in the felons !' gaols of the different towns and villages they had passed through , some idea of their state of filth and misery may be formed . The cells they had occupied , the restingplaces of the robber and the murderer , were often swarming with vermin , and of this contamination they were unable to free themselves .

    " Never shall I forget the misery , filth , and degrading wretchedness of the Duguesclin ' s lower deck , which being seldom cleaned exhaled the most disgusting odours . And on this lower deck we were all penned . The day wns supportable , for we were allowed on deck to breathe the fresh air twice a day , by parties . It is true , wo were surrounded by armed sentries whose orders were to keep silence among us with the bayonet , and that a corner only of the deck was allotted us . where we were crowded together like sheep in a pen ; but we hnd light , we had air , and our comrades below

    were relieved , too , by the absence of so many of their numbers . Night was tho period of our great suffering . Tlio deck then exhaled its most fetid odours , and all the dead-lights were shipped , and the portholes closed save two . We used to take it by turns to approach these two small openings ; and no one , save he who has known what it is to feel tho want of fresh air , enn imagine the happiness of those whose turn it was to approach the opening , and , placing their foreheads against the ship ' s side , to inhale a few gasps of the free air of heaven . All night long this continued , and great indeed was the relief when morning dawned , and tho portholes were

    opened . . . " I have already said that the motley crowd of convicts jammed together on tho Dnguesclin's lower deck consisted of men of all ages and conditions . There was the youth barely emerging from childhood , and the gray-haired old man almost on tho brink of the grave . There stood tlio once rich banker , side by side with the poor workman , tho poet , the professor , tho lawyer ; in short , cvory clans was represented . And now , to fill up tho measure of insult ottered us , a number of criminal convicts wore added to our ranks . Men who had been condemned for tho most fearful crimes , the leea and offscourings of the prisons of Franco , wore mixed up with

    trees felled over tho only pathway , and each and all lined with the marksmen of the Menguillet . Silent as the grave these steady mercenaries fought their way oft fltep by step , not a cheer , not a shout marking their progress ; their dead fell fast , but obstacle after obstacle was swept away , and eventually , to the surprise of the brave defenders of the stockades , the shakos of the Legion were seen in their roar . Silently they had fought their way ; but now , with a savage scream of fury , the Zouurea and 54 th dashed from their shelter , losing only a few men as they crossed tho open , and while the Kabylos wavorod for a moment , the two rogiments united their ranks , and the whole surged like the ocean wave

    us ; and it was only after the most earnest entreaties and remonstrances that we at length obtained tho separation of a rope drawn across tho dock to divide us from tho robber and tho murderer . Even then tho barrier was but ideal ; for what was a simple rope between us and these men ? And now tho air which had hitherto been poisoned by Impure exhalations , by foul and fetid smells , resounded with tho fouler oath and the more impure execration . < Slang , and tho most horrtblo language , floated around us ; for tho felon-troop seeing our loathing and detestation of their society , which it was impossible for us always to suppress , and recognising no difference bet woen our mutual position , took their revenge In tho only wny open to thorn . " About three thousand political viotima havo

    alovcr stockade and ditch . Fast and furious became the flight of tho Kabyles , for all was now havoc and confusion . Tho men of tho Legion , mixed up with the Zouaves and Mtb , dashed after the fugitives , entering thq village -with them , and bayoneted right and loft with savage about * . ^ ° > vn the steep sides of the hills , away over tho rldgea to the right nnd left , the , waving bournous might be seen in full flight , and now MacMahon ' s guna open ng on the fugitives added to their alarm and terror , while the whiz and scream of a rockot thrown after thorn completed their dismay . Colonol Wftlmsloy seems to bo enchanted with tho good-humour , tho handinoss , and tho dauntless

    To The Climat Go. 4,54, December 4, 185g...

    go . 4 , 54 , December 4 , 185 g / i THE LEADER . 1315

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 4, 1858, page 11, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_04121858/page/11/