Page:Ossendowski - The Fire of Desert Folk.djvu/167

 CHAPTER XI

SLAVERY—BLACK AND RED

NE day I paid a visit to the commander of the Fez district, the very able General de Chambrun, formerly military attache to the French Embassy in Washington. Taking me to the large map of the district, he explained with marked frankness and sincerity the situation at the front, where the French forces were from time to time in conflict with the tribes that refused to recognize the authority of the Sultan of Morocco. His very evident candor rather astonished me, as I am familiar with the ordinary attitude of headquarter staffs and their tendency to mysteriousness. When I made some allusion to this, the General responded seriously:

"I could repeat to any one what I have said to you, for France has nothing to hide here. We are acting in accordance with the Treaty of Algeciras and are carrying out our engagements with the sultan in the protectorate of Morocco. We do not want war, but we cannot allow tribes, that are wild and have no comprehension of either the situation or our task, to place obstacles in the way of our civilizing mission. When the fighting is over, we at once go to the unruly tribes with the offerings of peace—we make roads, build hospitals, organize markets and