Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1869-12-31

rooms are ranged, into which they open,
and by which they are lighted. A glimpse
into these showed most Of them TO be
cleanly, and oftentmes containing orange
or banana trees or flowers, in boxes or in
pots. In some we obtained glimpse Of a
family group. seated upon straw mats,
cross-lesged, either at meals or at some do
nestle occupation. The bazars, or shops
are generally dirty holes, few feet square,
somewhat elevated above the street, in
which dirty turbaned Moors sit cross-legged,
gravely waiting for customers to come and
purchase their fruit, or vegetables, or triuk-
cts or stuffs. The market place was an
open space twenty or thirty feet wide, lined
with these little bazars, and having much
of the street taken up with mats Of plated
straw, upon which articles for sale were
spread, and around which squalid, dirty
looking Moors were grouped cross-legged.
They wear burn ose or cloak, of white
wcolen or some darker stuff which they
manufacture. These burnooses have a
hood attached, which they wear generally
over their heads. Sitting in these groups,
with these hoods drawn over their heads,
and tanning their dark, bearded faces, ma
ny of them ragged and dirty, they might
we'll be taken for lot Of Macbetbs witch.
es, particularly when seen, as we saw them
at night, by the light Of a few fitting Ian
terms. In the daytime this market place
was crowded with Arabs Moors, Jews,
donkeYs, mules and camels, and to pass
through it among the dirty crowd, was a
most repulsve task, for you could not help
shrinking when any Of them came near
you. A very considerable portion of the
population were Jews. When expelled
from Spain in the 18th century, this peo-
RE took refuge among the. Moslems, and
their descendants are found upon the
southern shores of the Mediterranean in
great numbers. While some Of them
wear the Moslem garb, others assume the
dress Of the European, and all, in whatever
costume, bear the characteristic mark of
the Hebrew. They are here, as elsewhere,
money lenders, dealers in jewelry and pre-
cious stones, and clothiefs and merchants.
Most OF them seem well-to-do, ard some Of
Tered us rare gems, fine jewery,
rich stuffs, and dresses costing as high
as 400 pounds, made in Jewish fashion.
These they seem careful not to display open
ly, but bring from internal recesses which
give no Indications, outside, of such wealth.
Many OF the Jewesses are very fair of skin
and handsome in feature, and they wear
sort of long handkerchief for head-dress
which comes squarely over the forehead as
far down as the brows, is folded back from
the temples, and falls gracefully over the
back Of the head, and is certainly very be-
coming. The Moorish women walk the
streets wrapped in long white blankets,
which cover head, body and feet, leaving
nothing but the eyes visible. Seen moving
through some darkened street or passage,
these women seem like spectres. But not
infrequently we caught sight Of their faces,
which seemed much fairer Of color than
those of the men, perhaps because SO jeal
ously guarded from the sun and wind as
well as from the prying eyes Of the opposite
sex. Most of the countenances were come
ly in feature, but the figures were all below
the medium height. The men, however,
are generally tall and many Of them slim,
and have dark brown skins. They all wear
slippers, down at the heel, SO that they can
readily be slipped off, for they pull them off
before entering their mosques and the hou-
ses Ct strangers, and public cafes. Few, if
any, wore stockings, and their legs are ex-
posed to the bottom Of their burnouses,
which come down little below the knee.
The slippers have thin soles, and how they
manage 10 travel in them over the sharp
ston with which their streets are roughly
paved, | cannot imagine. But they go
along with a long swinging stride that seems
to despise stones and 0 structions. But
many OF them seem idle, thrittess, lazy, and
they sit in rows along some thoroughiare,
propped up against the wall-not sitting as
We wonld sit, but with feet and back only
touching, the one the ground and the other
the wall, aud trunk and thighs forming an
acute angle. With their burnooses drawn
around them, and its hood pulled over their
heads, they would sit in this uncomfortable
position for long time without apparertly
moving a muscle. They only seem 10 squat
down cruss-legged when they have some mat
or rug to sit upon. Their principal food
seems to be fruit and vegetables, and a kind
of cracked wheat, which they boil. 1t is
put in a dish which is set upon a circular
stand about six inches from the floor. They
all squat around it, and dip out with their
fingers. and pass the food into their mouth
with deXterous sort Of movement Of the
hand.
At the invitation of the Consul we went
to his house early in the morning to take a
ride out Of the city. Arrived there we found
three Arabian horses ready saddled-the
Consuls own horse being one of the hand
soonest animals have seen fora long while
: small beautiful head and ears, clean
limbed, grea, depth Of shoulder, round bar
rel, narrow flank, finely sloping hips, and
splendid long switch tail-a perfect type OF
an Arabian. The one which was deslin-
ed to ride had not been out of the stable for
some time, and was small, tLick-necked,
wicked-looking stallion, and was, suspect,
given to viciousness. He had on an old
saddle and bride, and on mounting him the
bit slipped out Of his mouth, and left in it
only the great curbing ring which they have
to ride these fellows with. No, knowing of
the difficulty, and not understanding the
Arab attendant, drew up the lines, which
started the beast to backing, whrlng and
rearing. He tinally went down on his
launches and side, throwing me off on the
sharp stones, and bruisng me considerably,
naly got off and rode ont of the gates into
tue country, W.llcn We Iuuilu uIF atlt Dat-
rem as Spain, though needing only the fuc
t,fying influence of moisture to make it very
productive, as was evident from a garden
which we visited, that is kept well watered.
Here, besides a profusion Of flowers, we saw
orange trees loaded with fruit, not yet ripe,
and banana trees with fruit Of good size,
pomegranates quite ripe, and Zig trees, the
fruit Of which had already been gathered.
The roads in Morocco are simply pathways
over the country, through gullies and val.
leys, and over hills and mountains, with no
attempt at grading. They have no wheeled
vehicles, and all the transportation is done
upon camels and the backs of mules and
donkeys. We went up hill and down, fol
lowing each other in file, and the way so
rough that no gait but walk was admissl-
bic. 4 few coarse shrubs were the only
green things to be seen on the hilsdes, or
even in the valleys, except where irrigation
was attempted. We soon returned to the
city by another route where we got glimpse
Of the seragio of the Bashaw, which was
surrounded by a high, strong stone wall.
Just how many wives he may have | don't
know, but guess We can turn old Brigham
out against him, though he may be
"Bashaw of many tails We found the
city to be walled place, part Of the walls
having been built by the Romans when they
oa,onerad the eouutry from the Carthapen.