Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1875-11-18
Low Life in Egypt.

n correspondent Oh TIE fnliadel
phia Press writes from Egypt
From my window in what / believe
to be the most southern hotel in all
Africa above Cape Colony, at Mu
mich, in Upper Egypt, looked down
into the interior of the houses ol
many of these agricultural laborers,
if houses the simple structures can
be called. They consist of a CLAY in.
closure of irregular shape, six feet
high and ten to twelve feet square.
Across one corner of this inclosure
is thrown few bundles of reeds or
cane which form shelter from the
MONDAY rays of the sun. The door
of this inclosure opens into a simi-
lar one, but without such shelter, in
which at sunrise stand donkey and
a buffalo COW and her calf This
yard opens into the street, from
which it is separated by a door OF
plated reeds. This structure the
Egyptian calls his home. Here he
lives, here his children are born, here
he expects to die. The whole affair
cost probably $500 besides his own
labor. In the neighborhood of the
town he may rent a small plot of
ground at the rate of $40 per acre;
he also possesses the buffalo COW and
her calf, donkey and a few goats;
then perhaps $40 worth of tools, fur
niture and clothing, and ornaments
for his wife and family. This ends
the catalogue of Achmet's worldly
possessions. Yet Achmet is the most
independent man in the world, and
it is just this independence that RUNS
him; this absolute freedom that keeps
him in such abject poverty. He
wants help from nobody; he shares
his task with nobody. He is utterly
ignorant of that great modern secret
of power, the division of labor He
does not support a shoemaker, be-
cause he and his family go barefoot
the entire year; nor tailor, because
his wife, Fatima, takes the cotton
cloth from the bazaar, and sewing a
few seams makes upon similar and
most simple plan all the garments of
the family; nor does he need WOODEN
mill, for he sits at the door of his
hut spinning with single spindle
sometimes all day long. Nor do his
needs extend to a wagonmaker; the
donkey transports everything he re-
quires-his homemade, sun dried
bricks, his hay, himself Fatima and
his children. He wants no miller,
for FatIma, turning one fiat stone
upon another, grinds the corn and
wheat to coarse powder. Dispens-
ing with the oven, Fatima mixes this
powder with water and bakes it in
rude stone and clay oven, which
Achmet, self-taught mason, has
built in one corner-ef the outer
yard. He needs no halter, for he
rolls his turban of white muslin
iIinSeif--"nss this, 60 tho E.urolPean,
is the most attractive work of art of
which Achmet is capable. He scarce
ly patronizes the comb-maker, be-
cause his head for cleanliness sake,
is shaven rs close as the chin of
Frank. He requires no physician,
because he has suspended around the
necks of his family, in durable
leather bags, scraps Of paper bear
ing magical texts from the Koran,
which scribe who sits legged
at the corner of u street is ready to
write at moments notice, and these
are the cheapest and best preventa-
tives and cures for all diseases.
Even his designations are of his own
he grows drowsy on to-
bacco raised on his bit of ground,
which he smokes as cirgarette,
rolled by himself. He smokes or
chews the hasheesh grown by stealth
in his garden, and he intOxicates |
upon the date spirit which he |
has fermented and distilled in his !
primitive alembic. Fatima's entire |
domestic establishment has no work
for cooper, for all her vessels, ex-
cept an iron pan, are OF coarse earth
en-ware. Nor does she need churn,
for | saw her from my window use
the most singular and primitive
churn in the world. She brought |
from some mysterious corner a skin
of last years goat which had been
taken from the animal rs nearly
whole as possible. To each of what
the legs of this animal
she tied the end of a cord, then
brought the other ends together in
knot and suspended the whole to a
peg five feet above the ground in the
wall. She now proceeded to open the
skin at the neck and pour into 10
buffalo milk or cream from a large
Jar. She blew the skin full of air
and tying the neck tightly with a
string sat down upon the ground to
shake it. For five minutes she shook
It with both hands back and forth
,he buffalo COW herself looking on
with a most knowing expression and
slowly the while-then
he air was let off and fresh supply
blown in from the lungs of the wo-
nan. This alternate shaking and
with air was continued for
lalf an hour, when there was evil
lently mass of butter rolling about
within the bag. The buttermilk was
poured off into the cream,jar and
:arefully preserved, the butter
squeezed into a coherent lump, and
he operation was complete