Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-12-28
ALEXANDRIA. Nov. "a, 1871.

=
pilgrims were drowned in this bay. Diff
ferently from what happens in other
places. the disaster has made no sensation
in Alex ,ndria. In the LevAnt aud Rast.
where Thousands are slain day by day by
the soourge of contaoion or famine, the
loss of seventy. five livea, and those Arab
ian, calls forth no signs or tears. Hence.
AZ far az there is any information on the
subject one must rely upon the external
information of those who witnessed the
sacrifice. At-eleven O'Clock on the even
ing of the 22i the Assyris arrived froo,
Algiers, bringing large body of pilgrims
bound tor Mecca. The grand movement
toward the Mobametan Jerusalem begins
in the coming month, and thus the whole
Turkish empire is minated with nOm4dic
entb 14iasts. who make ready to perform
the luffipst devotion of their raiiginn.
SAD FATE, THESE PTLGRIMAGE8
are lwAys attended with evil aonseq uenc-
ea. They are breeders Of cholera, conta-
gion, f4niue and all so IL of fatal musti.
ness. They cOugregate at Mecca, itself
an su2ean stable, Notwithstanding its
sacred trad tons. and there is formed the
fountain head which feeds all Eastern
m4ladies. No believer in the progress of
the Il ,sl. in the development of African
or AsIstic t'ibes, can for a moment sane
tirn a policy which faVors tho absurd
meapdtring of these peoples. They are
substracted from Industry; thay take with
them, Hpou their pilgrimage, large guam
tries Of coin, and their evil and greedy
impulses often aroused they do crime as
readily d Is prayers. In one sense, however,
il but exemphfoa the weakness of the
whole hum an T O.; for making pilgri-
mage to Mecca Ia the measure of Arabian
caste. He who has pantomimed before
the ruins of the Prophet is regarded upon
hia return home as already elevated tOI
one OF III? miuor heavens. He has place
H. immortality from which no papal bull
can dispossess him or where no missionary
can find his way. In fact, one of The
delights OF the future Mohamme IAN state
must he in that they will not there have
the melancholy refrains of Deacon Watts
or be bothered by the emissaries of opulent
tract ~ cletes. Whatever may be said of
the Arab, he still holds Christians in the
most loAthesOme contempt. In these
words | am uttering no blasphemy against
the Koran, but only trying to indicate
that mankind cannot thrive upon idola-
trous missions. Happily, jerusalem which
to any reasonable observer detraCts from
and does not add to the religious aspira-
ton, is no longer approached upon the
knees but upon the healthiest horses that
can be found, and the city Is no longer a
relic 10 be- wor4hipped bnt curiosity to
be seen. The same should apply to Mecca
THE WESTERN POWERS SHOULD STOP
THIS PILGRIMAGE BUSINESS,
as a sanitary measure, or at least without
doing violence to the MOhammedan faith, |
should modify it in the interests of civil |
iz4tion. The unhappy accident in thi.
barber ia only type of the chrenic fatal
ity. Hundreds are lost and sre never
heard from. The press il silent because, |
with It's appliances. it does not yet record |
the death roll of the desert. 50 common
are disasters like this one that they are IN
mems mouths Que moment and are then
forgotten. Il is said here that somebody |
will be held responsible; the Khedive will |
indemnity some one, and that ia all |
Grand luries are @ot yet known in Egypt
and the popular scorn IL the popular in
difference. Lest it should be suspected |
that have been trying ~ write homily !
will simply state that two Greeks went
out beyond tho walla some nights ago TO |
settle disrure; used guns-one was kill
cd, the other badly wounded, and no one
knew it save dozen, who are rich in the
scandal of the town, and perhaPs, the man
who drives the black wagon, emblazoued |
with the skull and cro4s.bones. An Eu
ropeOn can soundly fig an Arab, aud ten
francs pays the reckoning, though an
extra dollar is expected for broken bones. |
The Auglo-S4xon race here are often ad- |
dict to the trial of their early training
II cannot be imagined that where such
attributes to humanity and philanthropy |
are outlaws, that much sorrow WIS ex.
pended on the rtventy~five corpses of the
poor Algerians. AT this writing there
are not twenty persun- in the city have
learned the news. How different, 1
thon9ht, il American journalism, where
bodies Of the dead would Re more than
duplicated bv those Of the reporters
When l met Mr.. 5troloRO, and American
merchant, Yesterday afternoon, he said,
Have yen heard the news|
No; WHAT
THE DISASTER.
"Sryeoty five Algeriaus have teen
drowned. l have ju-t cose from the
wharf and uny iufnrmlnt III n graphic |