Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1881-01-28
SONS OF THE DESERT.


~ - sna rseui'aSl'les ~ Troupe
WSAraa,A Kosv fm the United states
scrihing troupe of Arabs now in
sm ssIm Y,ountry, the New York Sun says:
lha4roupe includes Selim Hashim, the
Atal guide who was the first to dis
GOV Livingston In the Stanley expe-
ultI,9l; Sheik Abou Dayeh (El Bajalee),
: bsdouin reed player and dancer;
ole fouseph Awdeh Gel Ramlanee),
WI vas married when eight years old,
alu Ie pecame a father at twelve years;
hna saddia Yakoob (El Bahzoozie), a
sW"i d<aTr and tambourinist; Khaw-
all,l >Eoob (El Haweet), a player on
s sne Syrian harm; Sheik Mohammed
S9uIt,man (El Malowee). whirling
eefFlsh from Bagdad, and James Rose
4aie and his cousin Rebecca Rosedale,
lsra ites from jerusalem. The Arabs
represent the Jebusites, Edomites, Moa-
oltes and lshmaehtes. The only fe-
man member of the party is Rebecea,
the ewish girl, who is singularly fair,
VIII large eyes shaded by long black
las!l s. She was in native costume,
ano wore q head-dress of fine stuff
embroidered with gold thread. She had
no ssirts, but wore long, baggy trousers
OF hFocaded silk, drawn about her
ankles.
The most interesting member of the
parry is the BedOuin, big Arab, with a
striking and fierce eye. He and the
derVlsh, who is a faithful follower of
the prophet, are rarely or good terms.
A Few days ago he said that it was a
pity that the camel which bore Moham-
meo in the Hegira did not break its leg,
so tbat the propnet,s neck might have
ndsA I've been any Mchaiumed Suleimar
VIII fng dervish from Bagdad. About
the tniy English that the Bedouin speaks
is paTot-like repetition of the intro
duction of the MOhqmmedan as a
" weerling deerveesh froom Bagdad.'
Heis chief OF 500 men in his country,
whom his father was also chief. His
mother, to whom ne is tenderly at
tached, Is infirm from having been
thrown from camel upon which she
was trying to escape from band of rob-
bers that surprised her sons camp. The
Bedouin's taste for highway robbery is
80 strong that his manager does not
think it safe to permit him to have an
opportunity to indulge it. Oliver Wen
dell Holmes and the poet Longfellow
called upon the troupe in Boston. Mr..
Holmes examined with interest fine
old Damascus sword. He said to the
Bedouin:
"Would YOU cut off my head with
thisP"
NO." said the Arab, /" 1 would cut
of your enemy's head"
Alter watching the Boston women,
the Bedouin said: " would not ike
to marry an American Sue would be
the man in a year, and would have to
90 yhe cooking"
lie saw ballet performance in Bos-
ton: and as the Amazons filed out in
their pink tights, he asked whether they
were all orphans. "Oh, no." said the
interpreter.
. Have they brothers and fethers p"
Raked the Bedouin.
Yes" he was told.
"Wen,n he said, why don't they
kill these girls. would, if they were
my sisters. before | would allow them
to appear like this"
The whirling dervish is pious Mo-
hammedan, whose devotions, as ex-
hibited to an audience, are said to be
sincere. He is oblivious to his surround
ings as he howls and whirls. In his
dressing room he kisses his hat both at
the rim and upon the crown when he
puts it on, and he takes off his shoes
when he steps upon the prayer rug. 1t
angers him to see any one with shoes
on tread upon the rug, and be says he
would knock such irreverent Christians
down if it were safe to do so. The rug
is over 300 years old, and was stolen
from mosque.
The dervish carries, as his badge OF
Office, q battle ak, descended from the
Saracens and made OF Damascus steel.
The bowling of tie Dervish is to signify
that he is ready to serve God with all
bis might, and his whirling is to indicate
that he will go just where God pleases
to turn him He is a true Ishmaelite,
and b lieves that every mans hand is
against him as his hand is against every
man. The iervish is the only one OF his
party who cares nothing for money
Accordingly he does not sell relics OF
products of the East.
j lanes Rosedale, tae interpreter OF the
osS1e. was educated af Kings college,
nnaA. the patronage OF Horstio Bonner
! have ia j esus." His father is a learned
pundit in Jerusalem.
AS the Arabs appeared in their scenes
of salutation, barteling, feastipg, marry
ing and robbing, they seemed to hav,
stepped out of picture of Orienta
scenes. The sword dance of FL Bah
zoozie is interesting. 1t is the dance o
a chieftain before his warriors as they
return from battle. The dancer bran
dishes the sword so swiftly that h,
seems at times to be behind sheet 0
mirror glass. FL Bahzoozie's title il
taken from his large eyes, and the nam
means pap-eyes."