Life in Morocco and Glimpses Beyond | Page 7

of the
Mediterranean corsairs. News did not travel then as it does now.
Though students of Morocco history are amazed at the frequent
captures and the thousands of Christian slaves so imported, abroad it
was only here and there that one was heard of at a time.
To-day the plunder of an Italian sailing vessel aground on their shore,
or the fate of too-confident Spanish smugglers running close in with
arms, is heard of the world round. And in the majority of cases there is
at least a question: What were the victims doing there? Not that this in
any way excuses the so-called "piracy," but it must not be forgotten in
considering the question. Almost all these tribes in the troublous
districts carry European arms, instead of the more picturesque native
flint-lock: and as not a single gun is legally permitted to pass the

customs, there must be a considerable inlet somewhere, for prices are
not high.

II
THE PRESENT DAY
"What has passed has gone, and what is to come is distant; Thou hast
only the hour in which thou art."
Moorish Proverb.
Far from being, as Hood described them, "poor rejected Moors who
raised our childish fears," the people of Morocco consist of fine, open
races, capable of anything, but literally rotting in one of the finest
countries of the world. The Moorish remains in Spain, as well as the
pages of history, testify to the manner in which they once flourished,
but to-day their appearance is that of a nation asleep. Yet great strides
towards reform have been made during the past century, and each
decade sees steps taken more important than the last. For the present
decade is promised complete transformation.
But how little do we know of this people! The very name "Moor" is a
European invention, unknown in Morocco, where no more precise
definition of the inhabitants can be given than that of
"Westerners"--Maghribîn, while the land itself is known as "The
Further West"--El Moghreb el Aksa. The name we give to the country
is but a corruption of that of the southern capital, Marrákesh ("Morocco
City") through the Spanish version, Marueccos.
The genuine Moroccans are the Berbers among whom the Arabs
introduced Islám and its civilization, later bringing Negroes from their
raids across the Atlas to the Sudán and Guinea. The remaining
important section of the people are Jews of two classes--those settled in
the country from prehistoric times, and those driven to it when expelled
from Spain. With the exception of the Arabs and the Blacks, none of
these pull together, and in that case it is only because the latter are

either subservient to the former, or incorporated with them.
First in importance come the earliest known possessors of the land, the
Berbers. These are not confined to Morocco, but still hold the rocky
fastnesses which stretch from the Atlantic, opposite the Canaries, to the
borders of Egypt; from the sands of the Mediterranean to those of the
Sáhara, that vast extent of territory to which we have given their name,
Barbary. Of these but a small proportion really amalgamated with their
Muslim victors, and it is only to this mixed race which occupies the
cities of Morocco that the name "Moor" is strictly applicable.
On the plains are to be found the Arabs, their tents scattered in every
direction. From the Atlantic to the Atlas, from Tangier to Mogador, and
then away through the fertile province of Sûs, one of the chief features
of Morocco is the series of wide alluvial treeless plains, often
apparently as flat as a table, but here and there cut up by winding rivers
and crossed by low ridges. The fertility of these districts is remarkable;
but owing to the misgovernment of the country, which renders native
property so insecure, only a small portion is cultivated. The untilled
slopes which border the plains are generally selected by the Arabs for
their encampments, circles or ovals of low goat-hair tents, each
covering a large area in proportion to the number of its inhabitants.
The third section of the people of Morocco--by no means the least
important--has still to be glanced at; these are the ubiquitous,
persecuted and persecuting Jews. Everywhere that money changes
hands and there is business to be done they are to be found. In the
towns and among the thatched huts of the plains, even in the Berber
villages on the slopes of the Atlas, they have their colonies. With the
exception of a few ports wherein European rule in past centuries has
destroyed the boundaries, they are obliged to live in their own restricted
quarters, and in most instances are only permitted to cross the town
barefooted and on foot, never to ride a horse. In the Atlas they live in
separate