The Adventures of Captain Mago

Returning to the quay, I passed along the subterranean passage to the arsenal, and spent the remainder of the day in directing the repairs of my ships. By the evening everything was finished; and I was so gratified by the rapidity with which the work had been done, that in my good humour I not only forgave my four men who were in disgrace, but allowed them, on promise of good behaviour, to have another holiday on the following day.

For myself, I resolved to spend that day in an expedition to a small temple of Baal-Hamon, a short distance from the city, and to take with me no companion whatever except my friend Barca's old Libyan slave.

This temple is situated in the gloomy recesses of a forest; it is oblong in shape, and has neither door nor window; its only external aperture is a hole in the roof to allow an escape for the smoke of the sacrifices; and it is entered by an underground passage, the mouth of which is closed by a large stone concealed by the brushwood. Three old and half-naked Libyans were waiting outside, and after a brief consultation, in whispers, with the slave I had brought with me, quietly raised the stone and pointed to the orifice. I entered the passage, followed by the men, and in a short time found myself in a small dim chamber, in the further wall of which was a flat stone, which turned on a hinge and formed a door, just affording room to pass, and opening into a second chamber, that was at once misty and red with the glare of two smoking lamps. Let into the wall of this compartment was another flat stone with a hole in its centre, which one of the men turned slightly round upon its pivot, allowing me to peep into a third chamber, which was a mere cell, containing a niche, where a shapeless notched stone was deposited, which my guide informed me was the god himself. In obedience to the directions that were given me, I prostrated myself three times before the deity, and remained waiting where I was. After a time, a black sheep that I had brought with me was conducted into the cell, and slaughtered before the niche in such a way that its blood flowed into a hollowed stone let into the ground to receive it. When the sacrifice was finished, the stone was turned back, shutting the god with his newly-slain victim into the inner cell. I was told to apply my ear to the hole in the stone, and to listen for the voice of the deity. The lamps were then extinguished, and I was left in silence and in total darkness.

Presently a deep muffled voice, that seemed to issue from the abysses of the earth, came to my ear:

"Phœnician mariner, what wouldst thou ask of me?"

Awestruck, I could scarcely speak, but making an effort to reply, I said:

"Oracle of Hamon! I would know whether it be possible to sail westward beyond the Straits of Gades, and whether there is land."

"There is land," the voice repeated.

"Is it to be found north, west, or south?" I inquired.

"There is land to the north, there is land to the west, there is land to the south," the oracle replied.

Emboldened by the answers I obtained, I asked again:

"And the proper route – is it by the sacred promontory, or must I sight the head of Gades?"

"Mortal!" the voice declared, "you ask more than it is permitted mortal to know. Go; I tell no more."

The stone doorway turned on its hinge, and we groped our way back through the gloom out into the open air. I recompensed the attendants liberally, and returned to the city – perplexed, it is true, but confirmed in my resolution to explore the ocean and seek for land, far or near, beyond the Straits of Gades.

In the course of our walk back, I inquired of my companion whether there were many of these subterranean temples in Zeugis and Byzatium. He told me that in the interior there were several very much more elaborate, with arches and domes, but they were not nearly so ancient; the true temples of the Atlantides were all like the one which we had just left. Some there were, indeed, that were still more simple, consisting only of three stones, flat and unhewn, of which two were placed upright on their ends, and the third laid horizontally across them; others were formed of stones arranged in a long covered avenue. Of these, some were in the open air and some concealed under mounds of earth, at the top of which several stones were reared, while round the base circles of still larger stones were grouped symmetrically. No doubt some of these erections were not temples, but tombs, and were occasionally found in such numbers as to cover a large extent of ground, and were laid out in set figures, representing men, serpents, eggs, and scorpions.

Such was the Libyan's account of his religious edifices. When, however, I began to question him about their signification, and why some were underground and some above, and what was the design of their peculiar construction, I could elicit nothing from him but that it was the result of magic, of which his people had inherited the great secret from their forefathers.

Early the following morning, with the suffect's permission, I set to work to take in a supply of fresh water from the fine cisterns on the quays. Each cistern is divided into two compartments; one to collect the rain-water in its turbid condition from the paved streets, the other to receive the same water when it has undergone the process of filtration; the two tanks being connected by square-headed cocks turned by a wooden key. All the private houses, as well as the public buildings, in the towns, are provided with cisterns of a similar construction, the country villages being supplied with water from open tanks formed by two circular compartments, of which one acts as a receptacle and the other as a reservoir.

Hannibal, who had been paying a visit to the ramparts, returned highly gratified with what he had seen. He informed me that all the forts were built upon cisterns, and that the rubble-work of the walls was twenty-four cubits thick at their base, and eighteen at their top; that the soldiers' quarters were on the second and third storeys, out of the reach of the battering rams, and built in the thickness of the walls; also that about three-quarters of a bowshot in advance of the inner line there was a wall half the height, and outside this again a strong palisade, with a moat and intrenchment. He thought, however, that his eye had been keen enough to discover one weak point to the right of the city, where the arsenal was overlooked by an adjacent hill, and I concurred in his opinion that another fort ought to be built upon the wall to cover any attack from the eminence.

The sundial on the Admiralty palace marked the hour of noon when, having made my roll-call, and satisfied myself that my men were all on board, I went to take leave of Adonibal. The aged suffect bade me a kind farewell, and wished me a prosperous voyage. I lost no time in giving the signal for departure, and as we left the harbour we raised a hearty cheer for the admiral, who was watching us from his balcony. Four other vessels, heavily freighted and bound for Massalia, at the mouth of the Rhone, left Utica immediately after us.

The distance from Utica to the Straits of Gades is 8800 stadia, and by fast vessels can be accomplished in about a week. A strong west wind, however, had made the sea so turbulent that all navigation was very difficult, and it was not until after four days that we sighted the Cabiri (or the Seven Capes), a point which is usually reached in two; and even then, in order to clear the promontory, we were obliged to make such long tacks that we quite lost sight of land, and were carried far towards the north. But at length, on the seventh day, I recognised the first great cape[37 - Now Cape Palos.] on the mainland, south of the Pityusai Islands.

"Tarshish!" shouted Himilco, who had been so fully occupied that he had scarcely spoken before. "Tarshish at last!"

There was a rush to the deck; but so blinding were the rain and the spray, that it was impossible to distinguish anything on shore.

I had taken in enough water to last us for a fortnight, and it was well that I had done so, for we found ourselves experiencing the difficulty, not at all infrequent, of approaching this dangerous coast, and had to continue to make very long tacks.

After three days' perpetual struggle with the elements we were still off the Libyan coast, but the wind then moderated, and the rain gave place to sunshine. In the course of the next night Himilco and I, whilst well-nigh every one was asleep, recognised the tall perpendicular peaks of Calpe and Abyla, and soon afterwards we passed under the wall of rock that forms the southern limit of Tarshish; by the morning we were within sight of the level tongue of land south of the magnificent bay of Gades. All along the headland rose the white domes and terraces of the town, imbedded in luxuriant foliage; high above all was the semaphore beside the temple of Ashtoreth. As we entered the basin of what serves equally for trade-harbour and war-port, our trumpets were sounded, and we saluted the town with three ringing cheers.

We had reached our goal, and were in Tarshish at last.

CHAPTER XIII

THE SILVER MINES OF TARSHISH

The town of Gades, though not large, is neat and trimly built, and in the well-kept gardens in the environs, pomegranates, oranges, and lemons, which have all been introduced by the Phœnicians, flourish in great abundance. About the centre of the town, and in direct communication with the harbour, is the market, the emporium not only for the wedges of silver brought from the mines in the interior, but for barrels of the salted murenæ that are caught on the neighbouring shore; for Tarshish cats,[38 - The ancient name of ferrets.] to be used in rabbit-hunting; for iron, which is obtained in small quantities from the north; and for the promiscuous curiosities in which the strange and remote region abounds. The market-place is surrounded by the offices of the rich merchants and money-changers, who, as proprietors of the mines, were ready to exchange their silver for copper, manufactured articles, and fancy goods. I was not long in making my way thither.

Having seen my ships properly moored in the places assigned them at the quay, handed their pay to my seamen and soldiers, and notified my arrival to the naval suffect, I turned into the thoroughfare that leads to the town, and had no difficulty in finding the office of Balshazzar, the rich merchant with whom I had had many business transactions during my previous visit. Balshazzar was dead, but Ziba, his widow, was carrying on the business in partnership with several other merchants. She received me very cordially, and insisted that I should send for the two women, and for my sub-captains and pilots, to come and take refreshment at her house. She provided a handsome entertainment, during which I had the opportunity of explaining to her the object of my voyage, and of asking her advice as to the best means of obtaining silver, either in lumps or ingots. I found that, according to her statement, the current price of silver was just then very low, so that I might hope to purchase on favourable terms, either in the town, or by going inland and bartering with the savages. Some large mines, she informed me, had quite recently been discovered on the River Bœtis,[39 - The Guadalquivir.] about four days' march up the country, and the only reason why they had not been opened and worked was the scarcity of labour; the great bulk of the population of the town being either merchants or mariners.

"We ought," she concluded, "to have plenty of soldiers stationed here."

"Beyond a question," exclaimed Hannibal, warmly, "the prosperity of a country is to be measured by the number of soldiers it maintains."

Ziba's long residence in the colonies had rendered her quite unaccustomed to the ideas and manners of military men, and she looked at him in some amazement.

"Yes," she said, "we do require a large number of slaves, soldiers, and transported felons here."

It was now Hannibal's turn to look amazed.

"Soldiers and felons! What do you mean? Do you suppose that soldiers are to be associated with slaves and malefactors?"

In explanation of her remark, she said that in order to establish a firm footing in the silver-producing districts, she thought that the merchants ought to club together, and either buy or hire soldiers to drive back the native barbarians. The prisoners they took ought to be sent to the mines, and to these there should be added as many slaves as could be bought, and any number of transported criminals who would cost nothing but their keep.

Seeing that Hannibal was about to make some indignant rejoinder, I interposed by asking her whether it was possible to obtain slaves here, and whether the natives were hostile or well-disposed.

"Not a slave will you find in the market," she said; "they have been purchased as fast as they have been brought to us. As to the savages, they have hitherto been tolerably peaceable; but, aware of the value we set upon their silver, they demand most exorbitant wages for their labour."

"Peaceable you call them, do you?" broke in Himilco; and pointing to the empty socket of his eye, said, "Yes; perhaps if using their lances to scoop out people's eyes is a proof of peaceableness, the Iberians of Tarshish are supremely peaceable; but I confess I don't quite see it."

Ziba smiled. Although she was a thorough woman of business, she had a keen appreciation of a joke.

"Yes, pilot," she replied; "I very well recollect your misfortune when you were here before; indeed, it was I myself who dressed your wounds with oil and rosemary. But you may take my word for it that the tribes on the Bœtis are far more anxious to take your goods than to do you any bodily injury. In time, I have no doubt, they will become perfectly submissive to our rule."

"And then," I exclaimed, "Tarshish, like Zeugis, will be one of the brightest jewels in the crown of our glorious Sidon."

And every one, as I spoke, filled and drained his wine-cup to the honour of our noble city.

"But to return to business," said Ziba; "I think that the best plan for you will be to come with me to the naval suffect, who may probably suggest some plan by which you can get labour to open some fresh mines. The Bœtis is quite wide enough to allow your ships to ascend within a day's march of the best districts, and your soldiers and sailors ought to be quite enough to protect you from any hostilities on the part of the Iberians."

I readily acquiesced in her proposal; and the widow, having put on a veil, mounted a richly-caparisoned mule led by two well-dressed slaves, and preceded by a running footman carrying a long staff. She went in front, and we all sallied forth after her to the Admiralty palace. The suffect received us in the large hall, where he was seated in his painted chair; and when I had explained the object of my visit, he said:

"Had you come four days sooner, you might have arranged to accompany a Tyrian merchant who passed through this port on his way to the mines."

The suspicion flashed instantly on my mind, and I said:

"You mean Bodmilcar?"

"Yes," replied the suffect, "Bodmilcar; and a rare rough-looking set he had with him. We are not generally very particular in looking into the character of men who go to the diggings, but I confess I never set eyes upon a worse-looking lot. They looked like thieves and assassins."

"Just what they were," I said; "and their leader is no better than themselves. You have only to read this, and you will learn what he really is;" and I handed him Adonibal's letter.