Sultan were
paying a heavy price for success. At the end of 1841 Bugeaud, out of
sixty thousand men in the field, had only four thousand fit for duty.
The rest had perished or were invalided for the time, from the toil of
marches, incessant fighting, and the heat of the climate. The French
Government's proposals of peace, on certain terms, only confirmed
Abd-el-Kader in his resolve to try the extremities of war.

Bugeaud's main object was to establish permanent centres of action in
the very heart of the Arab confederation of tribes, and, by rapidly
consecutive expeditions radiating from these centres, to give his troops
the ubiquity of Abd-el-Kader's forces. The chief seat of the Sultan's
power was the Province of Oran, and this was made the principal scene of
operations. Mascara was held by Lamoriciere, Tlemsen by Bedeau.
Changarnier was in observation on the western frontier of the plain of
Algiers; Tittery was menaced by D'Aumale. From Oran and Mostaganem three
columns were sent forth against the tribes occupying the large expanse
of territory lying between the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean,
and the tribes extending toward the Sahara. The first force, headed by
Bugeaud in person, marched along the valley of the Cheliff, and then
joined the second column under Changarnier, coming from Blida. The third
body, under Lamoriciere, aimed at pushing Abd-el-Kader back to the south
in order to separate him from the tribes assailed by Changarnier and
Bugeaud.

The plan of campaign was formidable for the Arabs, but it was
encountered by the Sultan with wonderful skill and daring in a struggle
which involved some thrilling episodes, Lamoriciere, in his efforts to
overtake the foe, was constantly baffled. Hearing that Abd-el-Kader was
before Mascara, he hurried thither by forced marches, only to find that
his enemy had passed by his rear and was raiding a tribe friendly to the
French. Pursuing in the new direction, the French leader was outmaneuvre
by the Sultan's bold and rapid dash across the Cheliff, placing his
Arabs between Bugeaud and the sea, and recovering his ascendency over
the tribes in that region. Abd-el-Kader then swept in a _razzia_ to the
south of Miliana, and soon appeared in full force in the Sahara as the
bewildered French pursuers returned to their cantonments in despair of
reaching him. This is a sample of the evolutions by which genius made
amends for inferiority of force. The ablest military combin