The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1876-05-03
OFF FOR MECCA.
Beginning OLA MoRAMMEDAN Pill
GRIMAGE.


hAHMAL-A FAT PILGRIM.
A correspondent of the New York Even
ing Post writes from Egypt describing the
start Of pilgrim party for the prophets
tomb: This pilgrimage is made obligatory,
at least once in lifetime, upon every Mo-
hammedan. It Is, however, performed
only by a small proportion of those persons
who profess that faith, the larger number
excusing themselves on the ground OF do
nestle or business engagements, and
wealthy people being In the habit of buying
themselves off from the duty by various
bene:actions to the poor. The number
who do 60, however, Is still so consld-
cradle as to make an imposing processio u; ;
and though, when saw 1t, this procession
was simply moving from the city to q
point few miles without the walls, there to
await the scret.ons which come to 1t daily
until its departure, about two or
three weeks later, 1t was already
remarkable both for numbers and
enthusiasm. 1t was early in the
day when we left our hotel to go to
sn open space near the citadel, from which
the procession s'arts. AS we drove through
the streets, it was evident that the spec
tacle was one OF general interest, tor they
were lined with throngs OF people, who
stood or sat in groups or masses, arranged
as picturesquely as II they had been placed
for the study of a painter. 1t was series
of effects such as one could never hope TO
see at home. A crowd with US, and above
all street crowd, 70 as unwholesome an OBJ
ject, whether to the eye or ear, as one care 8
to meet with; but here there was no rough
boisterousness and no bad costuming
Closely ansly zed, there would have been
found much less clothing and far more rags
than with us, but even the water-carriers
and fellah-women, whose whole drspery
consisted of one ragged square of dirty blue
or brown cotton cloth, managed to hang 1t
about them with combined grace and
freedom which might well have been the
envy of a sculptor and the despair of q
mantau-msker. Then the
FASCINATING BITS OF COLOR
in scarf or kaftan or turbsn, common
enough, perhaps, in texture, when closely
examined, but somehow almost luminous
in that clear Egyptian sunshine-all this
went to make up picture of mingled
movement and repose so bright and warm
and vivid that the eye could not delight in
it enough. We were soon to see some
thing much more imposing. if not SO
brilliant. After a short drive our carriage
stopped in the neighborhood OF the Mosque
of the Citadel, where, In an open pavilion,
closed on three of its sides and open on
the other, were arranged seats or thrones
for the khedive aud for the two princes,
his sons, as well as places for the officers
of the government and other distinguished
guests. Near these we found group oil
the represe natives OF cur own and foreign
powers, and, being placed near them, We
bad leisure to take in the whole scene.
1t was full of life, and to stranger, OF
course, full of SUR ,Jrlses. One by one tie
members of the household of the khedive
and OF the cabinet arrived and took tneir
places amid a profusion of salaamings,
which were repeated till they became ab-
surd Most OF these personsges were OF
| the hit yellow tint, which is distinctive
of the people OF the Delta, ard which is
! often pleasing to the eye when seen 10
connection with rich Oriental costume
| but among them there arrived an old gen
| tlemen, whom profsDe American neal
me chaIacteriZ d as an tout and out Fit.
teet tn Amendment party" and whose
color would have made an ebony statue
turn pale. With his gr.zzled pate and
! Ethiopian features and, worst OF all, wi L
the shsmblinR, SHIT fiji pg gait which seems
| 10 be distinctive trait OF the negro, be
was a vsritsble Ssmbo; hut we were rather
surprised to hear that he was conquered
sovereign, whose domains the kIe1ivt
bad "annexed," and who was passing the
remainder of his days very much more
comfortably than be ever lived before
doubtless, but rather ANONYMOUSLY
nevertheless, as
A STATE PRISONER
OF the ruler OF Egypt. He was received
with every mark of ceremony, and con.
Quoted to q seat from which he stared az a
scene thst was scarcely less novel to him
than to us. We had not long to wait for it,
A distant sound Of drums, stir among
the crowd who friDged the street or stood
clustered Ike bees upon the neighborine
nillocks of sand and rutbish, aud we de.
ssried in the distance the approach of mill
tary and the undulsting movements OF a
number OF people who were riding upon
camels. A fragment of the procession
composed of stability dressed pilgrims
soon after filed passed US, and these were
followed by more military and by a num-
Der OF mounted men riding on the camels
We had seen approaching, and beating the
huge copper Kettle drums whose notes we
had heard in the distance, and which were
fastened TO their saddles. Then there were
more camels, some Of them dyed with
SIENNA and some adorned with palms OIL
, bells. The hardships of the pilgrimage
WOAO OApACoSAfNAg OJ WdbCI-
skins borne by other canels; and other
baggage made necessary by the long
stretches of travel across the desert was
| loaded also upon csmels, OF course there
were considerable number of dervishes
who from the noise they made led us tC
believe that they belonged To the bowling
rather than the dancing denomination o.
that sect, and following these came some
| Withholding Arabs, regular Boudouins
like those we bad seen a few days before
in the Mosque OF the Citadel. There wa:
so much
CONFUSION AND IRREGULARITY
In the movements OF the procession that il
was impossible to distinguish It's various
details even II it had not required life
long acquaintance with Cairene Mohsm-
mechanism to have recognized them. We
could see, however. that there was grad.
ual increase of spleDdor aud sOIemnity