Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-01
FAMINE IN MOROCCO.
A DeplOrable Situation, and Fears of
Worse to Come.

The latest advices from Casablanca, Morocco,
contain the following: Since my last serious
and discouraging outlook has made its appear
ance, in the shape of another famine, which is
now befogging the land. Everything is at fam
Inc prices. Wheat has advanced from 81 to
$2.1 per bushel Corn advanced from fifty
cents to S1.25 per bushel. Barley from forty
cents per bushel to $1121x. Live stock is
travelling IN the opposite direction; working
oxen, whose prices have ranged from $35 to $40.
according to quality, are to-day Offering for 81
to So. Mich cows at 80 to -. Sheep that
were at $2 to $3.50 are to-day offering at from
forty to fifty cents each, and no buyers at these
prices. Cattle is for sale in abundance, while
but little grain is to be had at any price.
Labor is also to be had In abundance for
almost any offer any one sees fit to make. Good
able-bodied men, tilers Of the soil, are to be
had for four cents per day and feed themselves,
or feed them and they will work for nothing
the former is the cheapest. Moor can feed
himself much cheaper than the Infidel or Chris
tian dog can feed him-a soubriquet they are
pleased to apply to those not imbued in the
MOhammedan faith. ~
Seldom, if ever, this country was 80 poorly
prepared for calamities OF this kind. The peo-
pie had dscouraging winter. but they had
strong hopes that spring would improve their
prospects for crops, and not until the early part
Of March did these encouraging anticipations
they so long entertained begin to fail them,
when they began to lay down the shovel and
hoe and glance over the vast fields they had
seeded down with over four months toll, con-
tinually, from early dawn till twilight again ap-
peared, Sven days in the week Rain had
ceased to fail, the ground fast drying up and
the crops wearing the appearance Of total
failure. The wind occasionally changing to the
southwest the rainy wind), blew up fresh for
days. The passing clouds were watched with
IN,
sprinkles or slight showers, only to be dried
again in a few short hours by the blazing Afri-
can sun. Not sufficient rain had fallen to start
the grass, therefore the harvest for animals was
animals. already worked down, find themselves
in the same deplorable condition with the peo-
pie.
Some few pieces Of barley of the first sown
have matured and are worth gathering. but the
balance has been placed at the disposition of the
animals that plowed the ground and their con-
temporaries, which will serve to keep them
alive for awhile, when II rain does not come to
start the grass they must perish as they did in
1873. Never since the existence Of the oldest
down in any one year as the present. The
greatest pity OF all seems to be the loss of the
seed thrown away which ia now SO much needed
to keep soul and body together. The failure Of
crops does not extend all over the empire. It
seems to be, from the best information yet OBJ
tanned, confined to that part Of Morocco border
ing on the Atlantic, commencing about the
Straits of Gibraltar and extending along the
coast, covering belt of land from ten to fifteen
miles inland at the straits gradually gaining in
land till it attans the width Of sixty to seventy
miles at MOgadOr. In former years this
portion Of the country has been most
prolific, and from which nearly all the
cereals were exported from Morocco. What
ever the harvest may be in the interior 1t will
only serve for these Localities, as the node Of
transportation in Morocco is still 60 primitive
that the articles Of subsistence can be landed
along the sea coast from foreign countries, pay
ing 10 per cent import duty ut less price than
it can be brought from the interior; consequent
ly remunerative trade in that direction viii
naturally follow.
II, as usual in this country, famine IL followed
by disease, fearful results may be expected.
which still remains to be seen. And note that
fears are entertained by some Of the fanatics
that the premonitions of q certain departed saint
are about to take place u.e. that the year 1900,
Moorish date, would be the end of the earthly
existence OF the true believer. which year is now
passing away. But few days ago the writer
consulted q learned Mo9rsh 1aleb on this sub
ject and with much reluctance he seemed to
entertain fears that it was tootfue to be made a
joke Of ,o ~