The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-08-29
ALGERIA.
Alarming Increase Of the Insurrection.
TELEGRAM TO THE NEW YORK HERALD.
VERSAILLES, August 2s

ItltbhbW " INC WtU IVhA nehAlu
VERSAILLES, August %, 1871.
The advices from Algeria are Of very grave ma
ture All the Yabra villages have been destroyed
and the rebels are attacking the tribes which remain
faithful to the French government.
The Inhabitants of Algeria Who They Are
and How They Live-Their Social and
Political Observation-Disclosures Of the Con-
quest OF Al2eria-AbdeI Kader - Their
Hatred Of Alien Domination.
Algeria, surrounded by the Mediterranean, Tunis.
Morocco and the Desert OF Sahara, Is about SOC
miles from east to west and 200 miles from north to
south The atlas ridge divides the arabic land from
the seaboard and the spurs Of The great mountain
intersect the province In all directions Between
the mountain districts, especially in the neighbor
hood OF the streams the soil FERTILE and fruit and
grain crops of all descriptions grow abundantly The
temperature OF the climate Is, Of course, exces-
sively hot but In the winter there weather.
Besides the Kabyles, believed TO be the original
inhabitants, the country Is peoped with Arabs,
MOors, Turks, jews negroes and the French.
The kabyles are an Industrious race and
pursue the usual av0cations or civilized society,"
The Arabs lead nomadic life. or ali the inhabi-
tants except the negroes, the Moors are the least
respected, though they assume luxurious mode OF
living. These three races-the Kabyles, the Arabs
and the Moors-are called the "indigenes,n and
number about two million four hundred thousand
OF whom the Kabyes number about six hundred
thousand. The KaDyles live In small houses, made
OF cane and covered with the same material or with
straw, or made OF stone covered with sort OF tile.
The Arabs are distributed into tribes OF which the
chiefs are the supreme rulers. They have a no.
bility too, which il hereditary and divided into
military and religious. The Kaoyles are demo-
cratic society. They collected into villages, Of
which there are so many that from an ele-
waited point they may be counted by scores
These villages are sub-divided into Communes or
Decheras ana each family constitutes what Is called
karouba, which elects local legislator, or Djeman
who has a seat in the Parliament, or Congress-
called by the natives Djemaa The President Of the
Congress is an Amin, and is Mayor OF the village,
with judicial and military power and has to be
reelected every year. The Amin of Amins Is the
chief OF all the tribes, and is elected by the Amins
Of the various tribes. When the local Djemaas meet
together In one body the assemDlage Is called the
Son.
In features the Kabyle Is brown If the skin were
burnt by the sun. The Kabyle women, though not
beautiful, are not unprepossessng, especially when
young. The men finely developed, erect, manly
and graceful. They do not treat their women badly
or make them do the WORK which properly belongs to
men, Unlike the Arabs who require the women to be
constantly yelled and shut up IN houses the Kabyles
allow women TO appear in pubic without being thus
mufled and invite strangers to their houses and in
troduce them TO their families. Travellers agree III
STATING that, though the Arabs make more display,
yet they are not capable OF ehectlng much as the
KabyleS. The latter, as mas been said, are fond OF
farming, which they do according TO the primitive
method ana are apt learners III mechanical science.
The Mussulmans alone number 100000. without
counting the tribes OF the Desert. The Arabs mum.
Der 1881, $40, and are divided into 200 tribes and
these tribes are broken into 10000 among them
selves.
History traces the efforts OF great nations to SUBJ
jugate Algeria. SO far back as 1872 Ferdinand OF
norush, having first slain the spanish invader Selim
Cuemi, was himself put TO death by the Spanlards,
and his brother, gaming the assistance OF the Sultan
Charles V. mace an eior to regain the country but
failed, with great loss OF his Meet in consequence OF
a terrible storm and earthquake. Then began the
hoslilities between the Barbary Powers and the
Knights OF Malta, from which arose The depreda-
tiOns of the COrsalrs In the Mediterranean. Eng
land France. Holland and other Powers warred
against Algeria, but IN vain. At TINS time SO great
was the calamity caused by the captivity of Chris
tians ut Algiers that societies were formed for the
purpose OF annually releasing them by paying the
ransom money demanded.
During the wars of Napoleon the Algerine des-
peradoes, owing TO the leets IN the Mediterranean
were compelled to deslst from their customary
depredasions upon commerce. But when peace
was restored the piratical incursons were recon-
tribute to the Dey. In 1916 Commodore Decatur
sailed into the Bay of Agers and compelled the Dey
to surrender all American prisoners and give
Il
In 1916 the English reduced Agers to ashes. The
Dey continued to act almost with lmpunity until
THE DEFY SLAPPED THE FRENCH C0NsUL'S FACE,
and spoke disrespectfully Of King Charles X. The
face-sapping scene, which led to the conquest of
Aplers Is thus amuslngy mentioned by Mr.. Samuel
s. Cox in his search for Winter Sunbeams:''-
Hussein the Dey of Agers the French Con.
paS "a
his temper and sspped the Consul the face With h. fan
..y. AM, not %. aSn D ps%sd the
iact they couded. The French went after him and
got niD
This insult to the representative of France resulted
In French expedition against Aglers In 1880
France landed $4,000 men from twenty-five ships in
the bay at Sidi Ferruch and fought the battle of
Stavneli on June 10. About forty thousand Arabs
driven IRON the feld with the bayOnet and the
victory of the French was crowned by the conquest
of Fort rEmpereur and the Casbah, which com.
mands Alglers city.
On July 1, the same year, the French achieved the
capitulaiOn OF the beseged city, the Dey and his
troops being forced to abandon the place. In 1881
the celebrated cheftain Abde Kader placed himself
at the head OF the Algernes. He sustained defeat
upon defeat but he harassed powerful enemy per-
petually AT length Abdel Kader seeing further
sIsance useless surrendered to the French, on con-
ditiOn that he should be sent to Egypt or st. Jean
| d'Acre The chefta1n arrived In Paris on
his pledge and ADde Kader was not released until
Napoleon LII. assembled the throne. The struggle In
Algeria has been continued since at intervals with
undmlnished fury. The colOnizing family OF the
French Is not very great at the best but In Algeria
they have haG almost insurmountable difficulties to
contend with. The nOmadlc habits, instincts and
| traditions Of the Arabs are opposed to European
civilization. The Algerfnes are impatient of alien
| between the people and their rulers have sprung
| all the ssnguinary wars that have cost France so
much blood nd treasure.