Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-03-30
Low LIFE IN EG YPT

From my window, in what believe
to be the most southern hotel in all
Africa above Capo Colony, at Minien,
in Upper Egypt, writes correspond.
ent from Egypt, | looked down into
the interior of the houses Of many OF
the agricultural laborers, If houses the
simplest structure can be called. They
consist of a clay inolosure, Of irregular
shape, six feet high and ten or twelve
ieet square. Across one corner of this
enclosure is thrown few bundles of
reeds or canes, which form shelter
from the monday rays Of the sun.
The door OF this inclosure opens into a
similar one, but without such q shelter,
in which at sunrise stand donkey and
a buffalo COW and her calf This yard
opens into the street, from which IL is
separated by door OF plated reeds.
This structure tho Egyptian calls his
home. Here he lives here his children
are born, here he expects to die. The
whole affair probably cost five dollars
besides his own labor, In the neigh
borhood of the town he may rent a
small plot Of ground at the rate of ten
dollars per acre he also possesses the
buffalo COW and calf, donkey and a
few goats then perhaps ten dollars
worth of tools, furniture and clothing,
and ornaments for his wife and family.
This ends the catalogue Of Achmets
worldly possessions. Yet Achmet is
the most Independent man in the world,
and it is just this independence that
ruins him this absolute freedom that
keeps him in such abject poverty. He
wants help from nobody he shares
his talk with nobody. He is utterly
ignorant of the great modern secret Of
power, the division of labor. He does
not support a shoemaker, because he
and his family go barefoot the entire
year nor a tailor, because his wife,
Fatima, takes the cotton cloth from
the bazar, and, sewing few seams,
makes upon 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
single spindle sometimes all day long,
Nor do his needs extend to wagon
maker-the donkey transports every
thing he requires, 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 tho corn and wheat to
a coarse powder
Ho needs no halter, for he rolls his
turban of white muslin himself--and
this, to the European, is tho most at
tractive work of art of which Achmet
is capable, He scarcely patronizes the
comb maker, because his head, for
cleanliness sake, is shavcn as close as
the chin of Frank. He requires no
physician, because he has suspended
around the necks Of his family, in dura.
bic leather bags, scraps Of paper bear
ing magical texts from tho Koran,
which scribe, who sits cross.legged
at the corner Of the street, is ready to
write at moments notice and these
are the cheapest and best proventatves
and cures for all diseases. Even his
designations are OF his own preparation.
He gets drowsy on his tobacco raised
on his own bit of ground, which he
smokes as a cigarette rolled by him
self He smokes or chews the hasheesh
grown by stealth in his garden and
heintoxicates himself on the date spirits
which he has fermented and distilled
in his primative alembic Fatima's g
entire domestic establishment has no
work for a cooper, for all her vessels,
except an iron pan, arc Of coarse
earthenware. Nor does she need q
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 O
last years goat which had been taken
from an animal as nearly whole as
possible. To each OF what represented
the legs Of this animal she tied to the
end Of cord, then brought the Other
ends together in knot, and suspended
the whole to peg five feet above The
ground in the wall. She now proceed
cd to open the skin at the neck anC
pour into it buffalo milk or cream iron
a large jar. She blew the skin full o
air, and, tying the neck slightly will
string, sat down upon the ground t
shake it. For five minutes she shool
IL with both hands back and forth, tn,
buffalo COW herself looking on with (
J most knowing expression, and rumina
ting slowly the whilo-then the ali
was lot off and fresh supply blown il
from the lungs Of the woman. Thi
= alternate shaking and supplying will
air was continued Tor half an hour
when there was evidently q mass o
= butter rolling about within the bag
The buttermillx was poured off into th,
cream jar and carefully preserved, Oh,
: butter squeezed into a coherent lump
= and the operation was completed -
+ Pictorial World.