hen bore away to the Atlas, ascended the
mountains, penetrated beyond Tittery and reached the Sahara, everywhere
inspiriting the tribes and raising fresh forces. After sweeping over
three hundred leagues of ground he returned, in recruited strength and
new energy, to press upon Lamoriciere and his garrison at Mascara with
all the rigors of a winter blockade.

In spite of his wonderful efforts, the Sultan could not but feel that he
was struggling with adverse fortune. The enemy by the seizure of his
fixed establishments had gained possession of a large part of his
territory and of the strongholds that had contained his stores of war.
His regular army had almost disappeared, and much of his credit among
the Arabs had departed. The _ketna_, which was his ancestral abode, had
been laid waste. He could not protect the families of his most faithful
adherents from constant exposure, in spite of his vigilant activity, to
the outrages of the detested infidels. In this position, he resolved to
remove from the scene of warfare those whom it was impossible for him to
desert with any regard to feelings of religion and humanity. He formed
his famous _smala_, a new and remarkable organization consisting of a
gathering of private families. To this moving asylum of refuge and
safety the Arab tribes sent their treasure, their herds, their women and
children, their sick and aged persons.

The smala was a great travelling capital, containing at first more than
twenty thousand souls, following the Sultan's movements; sometimes in
advance to the more cultivated regions, or in retreat to the Sahara,
according to the fluctuations of the contest which he was so bravely
waging. In the Sahara, the tents of the smala spread to the distant
horizon. In the Tell, they filled the valley and rose up the slopes of
the hills. All the arrangements were of military regularity. The
different _deiras_, or households, with tents varying in number with
their dwellers, were distributed into four great encampments. Each deira
knew its appointed place. Each chief had his station marked and his
special duties assigned. Four tribes were set apart to protect and guide
the smala in its wanderings, and the guard was composed of regular
troops. The existence of this organization, ever growing in extent,
became a powerful check on the disaffection of the tribes. When the
French leaders tempted them with fair promises, the warriors bethought
them of the pledges: the wom