The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-09-12
The Turkish Minister of War.

The pasha of Bagdad is the despotic
ruler Of the largest and most important
province in Turkey. He has the COM
mand of q large army which is stationed
at Bagdad and other towns within his
pashalic, which is bounded on the east
and south by the Persian frontier and
the Gulf. More than once ambitious
men holding this position, 30 remote
from the home government, have been
suspected of designs to render them
selves independent sovereigns-a design
which was successfully accomplished in
1830-by Mohammed Ali, pasta of
Egypt. At the time of my visit to Bag
dad, says a writer in Scribner's Maya
zine, the governor was the present
Turkish minister of war, Redif Pasha, q
successful general and q man of unques-
toned energy and ability. Once while
WAS in Bagdad, he had an opportunity to
show his power as a despotic ruler, and
he acted with nerve and energy worthy,
of all praise. The Tigris, which had
been on the rampage for two months, at
last broke through the dirkes some ten
miles above the city, and the torrent
sweeping down with Irresistible force,
did great damage to the crops, and in a
single day turned the broad plain at the
back of the city into m immense lake.
The water was only kept from flow
ing into the city by an embankment
outside the walls, which in many places
was out of repair. Great fear was felt
of such an i%nundation as occurred in 1881
the year of the pleagde-when seven
thousand houses fell in a single day.
Here was an emergency calling for
prompt action. The pasta issued an
order closing all the bazars and shops,
and for four days impressed the whole
male population foreigners excepted) to
work on the dirkes. Half the force was
sent up the river, and the balance set to
work to repair the ~embankments around
the city. I rode out in that direction
one morning, and witness a lively scene.
Several thousand men were at work, and
the pasha himself was on the spot, sur
rounded by a brilliantly uniformed staff,
experimenting the operations. These
energetic measures saved the city. The
break in the dixie up the river was stop
ped, and the water gradually subsidized.
Upon my entrance to the audience
room of the pasta I found him seated at
the further end of the apartment, near a
large table covered with papers, and as I
entered he rose and advanced toward me,
shook hands, and courteously motioned
me to a seat beside him. He is a large
man, tall and quite portly, perhaps forty
five years DID, with q full face, brown
beard, and eyes sharp and piercing. His
dress was entirely European, except the
.fez, without even a. button to indicate
his rank. His countenance indicates
energy and frmness, and his manner
are courteous and pleasing. Several
officers of rank standing near were pre-
scented to me, but no one was seated
except the pasta and myself. As he
spoke only Turkish and Arabic, Mr..
Stanno, a Levantine in the seavice of the
government, was summonedto act as inter-
peter. Our conversation was necessarily
slow, but the questions and replies were
very readily translated, and felt quite
at my ease. found the pasta very in
telligent as to the geography, and govern
ment Of foreign countries, and he seemed
fully to comprehend that England and
America were two distinct and separate
countries. He offered me every facility
for seeing Bagdad, and said that, as I
was the only American who had ever
visited him, he hoped I would receive n
favorable impression of the country.