The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1875-11-04
Low Life in Egypt.

A correspondent OF the Fl1l6Qelpnl0
Press writes from Egypt: From my win
dow in what : believe to be the most
southern hotel in all Africa above Cape
Colony, at Munich, in Upper Egypt, I
looked down into the interior Of the
houses Of many Of these agricultural la
borers, if houses the simple structures
can be called. They consist of clay in
closure of irregular shape, six feet high
and ten to twelve feet square. Across one
corner Of this Enclosure is thrown a few
bundles of reeds or cane which form q
shelter from the monday rays of the sun.
The door Of this Enclosure opens into q
similar one, but without such shelter, in
which at sunrise stand donkey and q
buffalo cow and her calf. This yard opens
into the street, from which it is separated
by 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 neig hborhood of the town he may
rent 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,
furniture and clothing, and ornaments for
his wife and family. This ends the cata-
logue of Achmet's worldly possessions.
Yet Achmet is the most Independent man
in the world, and it is just this independ-
ence that ruins him; this absolute free
dom that keeps him in such abject pow
erty. He wants help from nobody; he
shares his task with nobody. He is utter
ly ignorant of that great modern secret Of
power, the division of labor. He does
not support a shoemaker, because he and
hiS fnuoi ly o0 horofcot %1,ao
tailor, because his wife, Fatima, takes
the cotton cloth from the bazaar, and sew
Ing few seams makes upon a similar
and most simple plan all the garments of
the family; nor does he need a WOODEN
mill, for he sits at the door of his hut
spinning with q single spindle sometimes
all day long. Nor do his needs extend to
. wagonmaker; the donkey transports
everything he requires-his homemade,
sun-dried bricks, his hay, himself, Fat
ina and his children. He wants no
miller, for Fatima, turning one flat
stone upon another, grinds the corn
and wheat to a coarse powder. Dispens-
ing with the oven, Fatima mixes this pow
der with water and bakes it in a rude
stone and clay oven, which Achmet, a
self-taught mason, has built in one corner
Of the outer yard He needs no halter, for
he rolls his turban of white muslin him.
self-and this, to the European, is the
most attractive work of art of which Ach-
met is capable. He scarcely patronizes
the comb-maker, because his head, for
cleanliness sake, is shaven as close as the
chin Of Frank. He requires no physi-
cian, because he has suspended around the
necks Of his family, in durable leather
bags, soaps of paper bearing magical texts
from the Koran, which scribe who sits
crosslegged at the corner of q street is
ready to write at moments notice, and
these are the cheapest and best preventives
and cures for all diseases. Even his dis
sipations are Of his own preparation; he
grows drowsy on tobacco raised on his bit
OF ground, which he smokes as cigarette,
rolled by himself He smokes or chews
the hasheesh grown by stealth in his gar
den, and he intoxicates himself upon the
date spirit which he has fermented and
distilled in his primitive alembic. Fati-
mas entire domestic establishment has no
work for cooper, for all her vessels, ex-
cept an iron pan, are of coarse earthen-
ware Nor does she need a churn, for
saw her from my window use the most
singular and primitive churn in the world.
She brought from some mysterious corner
skin OF last years goat which had been
taken from the animal as nearly whole as
possible. To each of what represented
the legs of this snimal she tied the end of
cord, then brought the other ends to-
gether 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 it buffalo milk
or cream from large jar. She blew the
skin full Of air and tying the neck tightly
with string sat down upon the ground
to shake it. For five minutes she shook
it with both hands back and forth-the
buffalo COW herself looking on with a
most knowing expression and Illuminating
slowly the while-then the air was let of
and a fresh supply blown in from the
lungs of the woman. This alternate shak-
ing and supplying with air was continued
for half an hour, when there was evident
ly mass of butter rolling about within
the bag. The buttermilk was poured off
into the cream,ja and carefully preserved,
the butter squeezed into coherent lump,
and the operation was complete.