The Adventures of Captain Mago

"No, no," said Hanno, flushing with excitement; "he is my rival, and by my hand must he fall."

"Don't be simpletons, young men!" I interposed; "there is something better than wrangling for you to do now. Look to your duties. We will make for the sea."

Using every possible caution, we proceeded towards the river-mouth. The Ashtoreth took the middle of the channel, with the Adonibal on her right, and the Cabiros on her left. Every light had been extinguished, and it was with throbbing pulses that the men on board stood, ready armed, peering out into the darkness. Bichri had spread out his arrows within reach upon the deck, and was crouching down, his bow full strung; he was between Dionysos and Jonah. The trumpeter was armed with a huge hatchet in his girdle, and the little Phocian was provided with his bow and arrow ready for immediate use. Himilco, holding his cutlass and shield, took his post at the stern, directing the helmsman; Hannibal and Chamai placed themselves at the head of their own companies, and stood almost on tiptoe in their eagerness to get the first glimpse of the enemy.

Before the hour of sunrise we could hear the rushing of the water at the river-bar, and in the faint dawn could make out Bodmilcar's three ships blockading our exit The Melkarth was in the middle; the decks of all three being perfectly thronged by men in helmets. The shore was quite deserted.

"The stream is in our favour," I observed; "let us commence action with the fire-ships."

A number of planks loaded with combustibles was soon set afloat.

I did not wait long before ordering Jonah to sound the signal for attack: it was answered promptly by a challenge from the enemy; a volley of lances fell upon our deck; we discharged another volley in reply; and the battle had fairly commenced.

As I had myself superintended the construction of the Melkarth, I was well aware that her flanks were far too substantial to be injured by any blow from our prows; I knew, moreover, that her height was so great that it gave her an immense advantage in overwhelming us with missiles, and rendered every thought of boarding her untenable. But I also knew her weak points. I had myself experienced that her enormous weight made her difficult to move; and I resolved in my own mind that, if possible, I would take advantage of this defect. After ascertaining from Himilco, who knew enough of the channel to form a reliable opinion, that the Melkarth drew too much water to be able to move a cable's length to the right of where she was, I ordered our boats to be laden with all the combustibles they could carry. I next signalled to the Cabiros to come alongside, and telling Himilco to follow me, I went on board her, Hamilcar being left in charge of the Ashtoreth. All this time the arrows from the enemy's ships were falling fast about us, and Bodmilcar, evidently expecting assistance from Belesys behind us, was fighting as if sure of victory.

Gisgo joined Himilco at the helm of the Cabiros, and I stood between them to give my orders. Never, I can confidently say, was a vessel more skilfully piloted. After taking the two boats in tow, and effectually setting light to their cargo of combustibles, we bore straight down upon the Melkarth; and when we were within half a bowshot, we were descried by Bodmilcar, who began to jeer us.

"All hail, Mago! you are right welcome; there are some old scores to settle between us, – that little affair in Egypt, and that other matter in Tarshish, and that piece of business in the Straits of Gades; we may as well wipe them all off to-day. I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you swing from that yard-arm before night. Most happy to meet you now."

An arrow struck him as he finished speaking; he started back.

"Hit! he's hit!" shouted Bichri, in a voice that rang out high above the general tumult.

"No!" roared Bodmilcar, "my cuirass is arrow-proof."

"Let us see whether your ship is fire-proof!" I bellowed in reply.

The Cabiros now dashed between the Melkarth and the galley on her right, and in endeavouring to avoid us, the gaoul became wedged between the burning boats. In the midst of a shower of arrows, one of which wounded my cheek, I cut asunder the towing-ropes; the flames broke forth, and a long jet of smoke rose high into the air. Gisgo was wounded in the thigh, and could not stand, but he continued bravely to steer upon his knees. So rapidly had we darted by, that the volley of missiles intended for our deck went splashing and crashing down upon the water in our wake; and as we retraced our course on the other side just as rapidly, I called out to Bodmilcar that I meant to serve his ship as I had served the Egyptian galley at Tanis. Himilco, too, did not spare him some cutting jokes upon his dilemma.

Having returned to my own ship, I ordered the Adonibal and the Cabiros to make a joint attack with me upon one of the two galleys, and then to get right ahead of the other. We made the assault with the very utmost of our strength; the galley made a desperate effort to escape us, but it was too late; before she could move I had stove in one of her sides, and driven her, by the violence of the shock, against the Melkarth and the two burning boats. In the midst of the smoke I could see that the Melkarth's men were frantically making their way on board the Adonibal, which had got between her and the other galley, and that the whole of the six ships were thus brought together into a compact mass, at one end of which the flames were raging furiously, and at the other hatchets, swords, and cutlasses were being wielded with relentless desperation.

"To the Adonibal!" I shouted; "board her! we shall have them now!"

Simultaneously my own people and the crew of the Cabiros made their way on to her deck. Bodmilcar was already there. Hanno rushed towards him and cried:

"Now then, Bodmilcar, come on, and show yourself a man for once!"

"Come on, young milksop! I am quite ready! As soon as I have settled your business, I shall have time to attend to the rest."

Their swords clashed as they closed in one upon the other, but the throng around them was so dense that they were quite lost to my view.

All at once Himilco, who had never left my side, made a dash forward, and shouted:

"Ah! you monster, scoundrel, wretch, I have you now!"

He had recognised the man for whom he had been looking for the last fourteen years, and had knocked him down: the two were rolling together on the deck.

"Well done, Himilco! hold him tight!" said Bichri, who was passing, his sword all covered with blood.

"The brute is biting my arm; cannot you help me?"

Bichri, quick as lightning, slipped a knife into the hand of Himilco, who plunged it deep into his adversary's side: he rolled back; the death-rattle was already in his throat.

"Revenge is sweet," sighed the pilot; "this death of a dog is too good for you!"

Meanwhile Jonah, backed up courageously by Aminocles, was performing feats of wonder with his cutlass; Hannibal and Chamai, with their armour all battered in, were on the prow, pushing man after man back overboard into the water; Hamilcar was reported to be killed; Hasdrubal was badly wounded, but still clinging to his helm; I went to his assistance, and by our joint effort we succeeded in bringing the ship round so as to be out of the reach of the threatening flames; the Ashtoreth and Cabiros had sheered off a little, and were waiting my summons to come again alongside; and the other galley of the enemy, although it escaped the fire, had gone adrift.

Such was the condition of affairs, when as I was rallying my men for another onslaught, Hanno, his sword broken, and his clothes all stained with blood, rushed to my side.

"He has escaped!" he gasped. "I have lost him in the crowd."

"Patience!" I answered; "he is not far off."

I now resolved to fall back myself towards my two other ships, and as soon as I saw the opportunity, I shouted to my men:

"Back to the Ashtoreth!"

As we retreated, we left the prow of the Adonibal in complete possession of Bodmilcar's troops, and then by drawing up two lines of men made an avenue for our own escape at the stern.

Bodmilcar, perfectly helpless, was thus left in a trap, on board the Adonibal, which was exposed to the full fury of our arrows and catapults; his own ship was burning like a furnace; one of the galleys was sunk, and the other, as I have said, had gone adrift.

For more than half an hour, Bodmilcar endured our projectiles; but at length I came to the determination of again facing him on board the Adonibal. We found him standing on the bow, surrounded by a scanty remnant of hardly more than thirty men. His face was covered with blood.

"Shall I shoot him?" asked Bichri.

"By no means," I answered, laying my hand upon the archer's arm; "he must die a more ignominious death than that."

Desperate, but short, was the last effort of the Tyrian's body-guard. He was about to make a frantic rush upon myself, when Jonah seized him with a powerful grasp.

"Here's your man, captain!"

Bodmilcar struggled to get free.

"Attempt to escape," said the trumpeter, "and I'll shake the life out of your body!"

Foaming with suppressed rage, the captured man submitted to his fate.

He was motionless and silent. Nothing could induce him to open his lips; sullenly he heard my questions; obstinately he refused to reply. He was tied to a rope's-end, and was soon swinging at the end of the yard-arm of the Adonibal.

My account was settled with Bodmilcar.

We were soon upon our homeward way.

After reporting our experiences to the Queen of Sheba, we proceeded to Tyre along the canal of Pharaoh, stopping only to pay our devoirs to King Solomon.

A triumphal reception awaited us. Throngs of our countrymen assembled to welcome our return; and King Hiram, in our honour, gave a sumptuous banquet, at which he invited me publicly to narrate the history of our protracted and adventurous voyage.

The King munificently gave me the three vessels which I had brought safely home, and the people unanimously elected me naval suffect at Sidon.

I appointed Hannibal captain of my men-at-arms, and retained Himilco, Gisgo, and Hasdrubal in my service in various posts of good emolument. The report of Hamilcar being killed in action had proved too true.

I have little more to tell.

All Phœnicia knows how I superintended the floating of the cedar-wood and all the materials which King Solomon required for the magnificent temple he was rearing at Jerusalem. Chamai is a captain in King Solomon's army, and is invariably recognised with every token of respect when he comes with Abigail, his wife, to visit me at the Admiralty palace. Every one, too, knows Bichri, the rich vine-dresser, who periodically comes to Sidon to sell his barrels and skins of sparkling wine, always inviting Himilco to the first taste of the produce of his vineyards; whilst every year a vessel is sent with all due pomp to Paphos to bring Hanno, the high priest of Ashtoreth, with the lovely Chryseis, her priestess and his wife, to sacrifice in the temple of their great metropolis. Dionysos, who has become a distinguished instructor of his countrymen in navigation, and Aminocles, his proud and aged father, generally accompany them.

On these occasions the Cabiros, adorned with embroidered hangings, puts out to sea in honour of my guests, and brings them to my private quay, where they are always hailed with acclamation as my former companions in the discovery of the Cassiterides, the Amber-coast, and the Fortunate Islands.

During the period of our festivities it is generally observed that Himilco does not walk home particularly straight, a circumstance that Bichri notifies by whistling some Benjamite or Cymrian air; and when finally the guests depart, Jonah is never missing, as he always insists on preceding them to their ship with a magnificent flourish of his trumpet.

NOTES

CHAPTER I

Phœnicians.– It is for simplicity's sake that throughout the preceding fiction I have adopted the classical name Phœnicians, which may be interpreted either as "the red men" or "men of the date-lands." Amongst themselves they were designated "Canaanites," or "people of the lowlands," in contradistinction to "Aramites," or "people of the highlands."

It would be out of place here to enter into any critical dissertation upon the words Khna and Aram, from which Canaanites and Aramites derive their appellation. —Page 1.

Shekel.– This word (which, in the Hebrew tongue, signifies a weight) is applied both to coined money, the use of which originated with the Phœnicians, and to a certain standard of ordinary weight. —Page 2.

Tariff of the Sacrifices.– The ritual or tariff of sacrifices is extracted from the work of the Abbé Bargès on the Phœnician inscription discovered at Marseilles. —Page 5.

Gaoul.– Originally this word signified any round hollow object. The Phœnicians designated the island of Gozo "Gaulo Melitta," Malta the Round, and it may easily be understood how the term came to be applied to their circular merchant ships, which were of a type essentially Tyrian. "Onerariam navem Hippus Tyrius invenit." (Pliny, 'Nat. Hist.')

My authorities for the description of the Phœnician vessels are:

1. Two engravings in Layard.

2. Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre. (Chap. xxvii. 7.)

3. Xenophon's description in the 'Œconomia' of the great Phœnician ship that came every year to the Piræus.

4. The engravings in Wilkinson.

I have likewise ventured to draw some inferences by analogy from the accounts of Genevan, Pisan, and Venetian ships of the thirteenth century, given by Col. Yule, in his edition of 'Marco Polo.' —Page 8.

Sheathed with Copper.– Although this may seem an anachronism, it may with some degree of certainty be alleged that the Phœnicians had an idea of using copper for this purpose. It would seem to be implied by Vegetius ('Rei militaris,' iv. 24) and by Athenæus (v. 40). An ancient legend attributes the invention to Melkarth, the Tyrian Hercules: Hercules … nave æneâ navigavit … navem æneam habuit (Servius).

The other materials employed in the building of the ships are mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel.

Besides the gaoul, I have introduced the barque, the fast ship, and the long ship, or fifty-oared war-galley.

Without entering into minute details, it may be said that the barque is essentially Phœnician. Barek, in Hebrew, signifies to bend or curve anything, as a plank. Barca est quæ cuncta navis commercia ad littus portat (Isidorus, Origines). In the modern Berber dialect it is called "ibarka."

The fast ship was called ἵππος, a horse, by the Greeks, either on account of its speed, or from the figure ordinarily found at its prow: Strabo distinctly asserts the latter reason. The vessel described in the text being of the type most frequently used in the Phœnician colony of Gades, has, on that account, been designated 'the Gadita.' Several Phœnician coins, apparently current on the coast of Africa, bear the impression of a horse's head; and the legend of a horse's head being discovered in the foundation of Carthage, probably originated in the national symbol affixed to the Phœnician ships.

The true Sidonian war-ship is the fifty-oared galley:

ναῦν πεντηκόντορον Σιδόνιαν.Eurip. Hel. 1141.

What was the tonnage of such a vessel, or how it could be worked by only fifty oars, or carry 400 men, are matters on which I give no opinion; it is not my province to enter upon any technical arguments.

If an analogy be required, it may be suggested by the huge Chinese junks which were seen by the Arabian, Ibn Batuta, in the fourteenth century, and which carried 600 men, and had fifty or sixty immense oars, each oar being worked by eight men, by means of ropes pulled in opposite directions. Those seen by Marco Polo had four men to each oar. It is not improbable that the Phœnician vessels were worked by some similar method. —Page 9.

Purple sail.– My description of the parade-boats is not imaginary; pictures of them are given in Wilkinson (vol. iii.), and all the ancient writers, from Herodotus to Plutarch, enter into details concerning them. Herodotus describes the Sidonian vessel, from which Xerxes reviewed his fleet, as being adorned with golden hangings, meaning Babylonian materials wrought with gold. —Page 16.

CHAPTER II

Pigeons. Ravens.– The custom of taking birds on a voyage, to indicate by their flight the direction of land, is mentioned repeatedly in the annals of antiquity. As an instance of more modern time and of semi-barbarous races, it may be incidentally quoted that the sea-king, Ingolf, or Floke Vilgedarson, in 868 took with him three ravens when he set out for the discovery of Iceland. —Page 23.

Fleur-de-lys.– The tiara with this device may be seen amongst the engravings at the end of Botta's work. —Page 31.

CHAPTER V

Pharaoh.– The blank which exists in the records of Egypt at the end of the eleventh and beginning of the tenth centuries B.C., renders me unable to give the name of the Pharaoh reigning at this period.

The war-chariots of the Egyptians were mounted by Libyans, i.e., by Berbers of the Tamachek race, of which the Kabyles and Touaregs are the modern representatives. These chariots and cavalry, also Libyan, formed the great strength of the Egyptian army. —Page 79.

CHAPTER VI

Cydonians. Pelasgians.– Without entering upon any dissertation on this topic, I content myself with mentioning the existence throughout Europe of races distinct both in type and language from the Aryan races whom they preceded. Two of these may be especially remarked: one with round skulls of Mongolian type, commonly called Turanians; the other with elongated skulls, classified as Australoids. These races have everywhere left traces alike of their presence and of their inferior civilisation. In the island of Crete, the Greeks preserved the memory of the Cydonians by the few words which I have introduced into the text. —Page 100.

CHAPTER VII

Homer.– My introduction of the name of Homer undoubtedly demands an apology. I can only plead that the temptation to uplift the veil of mystery, and to reveal the mighty poet in connection with my fiction, was very great. Even after Schliemann's researches, the date of the Trojan war is so uncertain that I feel quite at liberty to regard it as an open question. —Page 129.

CHAPTER IX

Tyrrhenian Privateers.– The description of these vessels is based upon a figure found upon a vase in the Campana Museum. —Page 158.

Scylla. Charybdis.– The romances interwoven into my tale are strictly Phœnician; and I have felt quite justified in introducing an allusion to the way in which the Tyrian sailors delighted to mystify strangers upon whom they could impose. I may adduce the passage in Herodotus, where he speaks of the young girls fishing for gold in the island of Cyraunis, and calls it a fine Phœnician story. "Tell it to the Greeks!" has passed into a proverb, and the Phœnician tar was only too glad to amuse himself and to enhance the price of his wares by giving a highly-coloured version of his adventures. —Page 164.

Nergal.– The superstition about the gigantic cock is borrowed from a Rabbinical legend quoted by Movers. —Page 164.

CHAPTER XI

Adonibal.– I had already completed my fiction before I learnt from the researches of M. Sainte-Marie that Adonibal was the name usually borne by the naval suffects at Utica, or that it is at least established that a long line of magistrates were so called. It was a mere coincidence that I chose it as being the first appropriate Phœnician name that occurred to my mind.

I may observe here that I have throughout the preceding pages written proper names in the way in which they are most familiar. It would be mere pedantry to put Hanna-baal (cherished by the gods) instead of Hannibal, or Bod-melkarth (the face of Melkarth) instead of Bodmilcar; and it will suffice for any reader who has not studied the Semitic dialects to know that any ancient Phœnician or Jewish name may be dissected like most modern Arab names; for example, Hamilcar is Abd-Melkarth (the servant of Melkarth), like Abd-Allah (the servant of God). The student of the Semitic dialects will have no need to come to my book for instruction.

With regard to the names of places, I have felt considerable difficulty. My reasons for not writing them in Semitic are threefold: —

1. They are not all known to us under this form.

2. If known, they are unfamiliar to the general reader.

3. The identity, orthography, and pronunciation could not be substantiated without entering into minute arguments, which would be out of place.

I have accordingly, with few exceptions, used the most familiar forms, and have, at the risk of criticism, written Crete, for Caphtorim; Egypt, for Mizraim; Libyans, for Mashowiah, &c. —Page 177.

CHAPTER XII

I have represented Mago as sacrificing in a dolmen in the form of a covered avenue below a tumulus. The details are drawn from Bourguignat's Monuments mégalithiques du nord de l'Afrique. M. Daux also gives a description of a similar temple. I profess, however, that I am very far from accepting Bourguignat's theory about rude stone monuments being arranged in the form of serpents, scorpions, and other figures; I am altogether mistrustful of the accounts of prehistoric temples, and am quite of Fergusson's opinion, that these monuments are comparatively modern. —Page 202.

Atlantides.– To my mind there is nothing improbable in the idea of the existence of an inland sea in Algeria which is suggested by the text. I cannot, however, say so much for the existence of Atlantis, but while speaking of the migrations of the Libyans, it seemed consistent to mention all the ancient traditions that relate to them. —Page 203.

CHAPTER XVI

Ar-Mor.– I entertain considerable doubt whether at the period of which I write the Celts had penetrated so far as the west coast of France; but at any rate they were already in the east, and upon the Rhone. I have ascertained the existence of anterior races, such as the Mongoloids and Australoids, and both here and in a subsequent chapter have referred to them. I plead guilty to an anachronism of four whole centuries, but I felt that to the general reader it would seem strange that I should depict my Phœnicians landing in Gaul without meeting with some well known Gallic people; all that I can say in extenuation is that I have endeavoured to construct my story so as to make the anachronism not too flagrant. —Page 244.

CHAPTER XVII

Suomi.– There is no reason to doubt the existence of Finns at this date at the mouth of the Elbe. For want of an ancient Finnish name, I have invented an appellation from the modern Finnish word Suomi. —Page 261.

CHAPTER XX

Circumnavigation of Libya.– Some adverse criticism may probably be aroused by my resorting to this expedient for the prosecuting of my story. That the Phœnicians might have accomplished it, cannot be disputed; and although the Periplus of Hanno has recently been proved to be apocryphal, and the work of some scientific Greek romance writer, I have not hesitated to incorporate the prominent feature of it into these imaginary adventures. —Page 302.

CHAPTER XXI

Sheba. Ophir.– The identity of this locality with the southern coast of Arabia is beyond a doubt. —Page 309.

"Fairer, etc." – These verses are translated from some later Arabian poetry. Oriental taste has altered so little, that I may claim to be pardoned for putting into the mouth of a Phœnician, a thousand years before the Christian era, some poetry belonging to a period a thousand years after. —Page 310.

1

Hiram I. reigned from 980 to 947 B.C.

2

Sidon, or Zidon, in the Phœnician tongue means "fishery."