Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20, September, 1877.Various
History
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20, September, 1877.
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
A preference for peaceful industry may be said to have always prevailed
among the Kabyles when left to themselves. The chronic passion for
fighting was rather localized: particular villages were affected by it.
That of Taka, for instance, commandingly posted on a height thirty-five
hundred feet above the level of the sea, has always been the terror of
its neighbors. Whatever the flag or faith nominally in the ascendant,
Taka took her place in the opposition and invited all Adullamites to
make their home within her gates. Misdirected energy like this will,
under a strong, patient and progressive government, be directed into
more useful channels. The most turbulent will become sensible of the
necessity of eating. The larder of crags and caves is necessarily meagre
and precarious. The braves must go to market. For success at that place
of popular resort they must carry something to sell in order to be able
to buy, and they must behave themselves in 'change hours. On the latter
point the French and the peaceably disposed natives insist with
increasing unanimity. They will have to take a lesson from the vultures
which stoop with them from the hills. These know market-day as well as
the almanac or the negro butcher. Punctual to a minute, they perch at a
respectful distance from the centre of traffic, frame the dusky crowd
with a circle of feathered sentinels in uniform of light gray, and
calmly await the distribution of such shreds of eatables as even the
Kabyle cannot use. It is impossible to fancy a gentleman who restricts
himself to the occupation of fighting, buying from those at whose
expense he pursues it his weekly supply of provisions, and marching home
with his _diss_, or strings of chops and cutlets, festooned from his
spear or garlanded around his gallant brow.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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