The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-23 00:00:00

HORSE-,STEALING IN ALGERIA.

The Arab who is projecting a masterstroke, an 2
intends selecting the handsomest out of a thousand
steeds, usually comes in the course of the day to
iTpect the bivouac, although he is obliged to make
his preliminary observations from a distance—from
a very considerable distance it may be. The natives
in fact are allowed to penetrate easily into the
middle of an encampment, but they are almost
uawaj.
of the expeditionary columns, such as camel-drivers,
herdsmen, and packhorse leaders, who have been
hired for the transport of provisions. In the latter
case the Arab thief will be mistaken for one of the
men employed ; he will take good care that no one
shall see him enter. His choice made, the rogue
disappears till night. In order to return to the
middle of the bivouac, he habitually divests himself
of every item of clothing, and retains no other arm
than a well-sharpened knife in a leather sheath
slung with a strap across his body. He is also
provided with a long rope of camel's hair, which is
twisted round his head like a turban. As soon as
he has passed the first sentries the thief is meta-
morphosed into a serpent ; he crawls on continually,
without hurry, without noise, without any percep-
tible rustling. With his eyes fixed on the living
objects whom he wishes to avoid, he stops short if
he perceives in the sentinels the slightest sign that
their attention has been attracted. He will take
three hours if need be to clear a distance of 100
yards. At last he gets near the coveted object, the
horse intended to be stolen, There, his movements
are more deliberate than ever in order not to frighten
the animal, who must not be allowed, for several
minutes, to perform any but very natural motions,
capable of deceiving the eye of the most vigilant
sentinel. At first he cuts the shackles with which
the horse's fore feet are tied together, he fastens his
rope to one of the horse's feet and retires, crawling
all the while, as far as the length of the rope allows
him. The distance between himself and the animal
then varies from 12 to 15 feet. If during these pre-
parations the horsekeepers appear to have heard any
noise, the thief again remains motionless ; the
horse remaining quiet, and the sentinels resum•
ing their former tranquillity, the process of steal-
ing is continued. The Arab slightly pulls the
rope ; solicited by this mute appeal, the horse
rises and sets a step; but the movement is so per-
fectly similar to that which the animal is in the
habit of making when he wants to reach a wisp
of hay or a blade of grass a little way off the
stake to which he is fastened, that, by night,
nine sentinels out of ten would be deceived. The
robber repeats the same manceuvre as long as
possible. As he has carefully studied the ground
he will continue it while no alarm is given ; but
generally, once out of the immediate reach of the
men whose duty it is to keep special watch
over the stolen horse, he leaps on the animal's
back and sets off at full gallop, well knowing
that gun-shots by night are only dangerous for
the comrades of those who fire them. Sometimes
the thief covers his entire person with leaves, but
he will commit no such foolish act in a country
denuded of shrubs, and bushes. On naked ground
tie is as naked as a snake ; in a bushy country
he transforms himself Into a living bush ; in short,
he assimilates his person to the aspect of the
country he is traversing.—All the Year Round.