MOORISH WARFARE. 
123 
sons ready to partake of it: they had the precaution^ however^ 
to reserve a piece uncooked for the morrow ; the marabouts 
took their share apart, and did not eat with the rest. On 
a journey they always affect to be people of prodigious im- 
portance, and shew a great deal of pride in all their actions. 
The next day, when we wanted to cook the part we had 
saved, we were rather embarrassed by having neither gun 
nor flint to strike fire. I was then witness to an operation 
which I had never seen before, though I had heard of its 
being practised ; the Moors took two pieces of wood, and 
rubbed them violently together, till they took fire, which 
was not for some time ; the wood which they used was 
very hard. 
The camp had again changed its situation ; it was a 
mile further to the east, near a rivulet called Rekiza. On 
our arrival, we were informed that Hamet-Dou was at war 
with the Oulad-Hamets, and that the latter, who were 
greatly inferior in number, were flying from their enemies. 
The cause of hostilities was this ; the laratine slaves of the 
tribe of Oulad-Hamet had quarrelled with those of the king, 
and had ravaged their fields of millet ; the slaves complained 
to their master, who went with his people to seize the flocks 
of the Oulad-Hamets, in order to make them pay for the 
damage done in his territory. All the women of the 
tribe came to implore the king's mercy, and he restored 
the cattle without insisting upon any indemnification for the 
damage. So far from being thankful for the goodness of 
the prince, these wretches attacked Hamet-Dou's people 
again, surprised them in their tents, and killed four of 
them 3 they met with a vigorous resistance, however, for they 
retired with the loss of seven men. This atrocious con- 
duct on the part of the aggressors excited the indignation 
of the king 3 he swore that he would be revenged, and de- 
clared war against the whole tribe. The Oulad-Hamets, 
knowing that they should have nothing to gain in this con- 
