The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-04-28
lConels.ded from Me first paae.

we were obliged to put up with them
for the night. Now the Khoords are
branch of the great Tartar family
from which historians say that we our
selves are descended, and it was with
a peculiar interest that we thought of
spending the night in the MIDST of
our blood relatives in that far off
country. They have some very orig
inal customs among them. If you
once come inside of their tents or
houses, whether by invitation or not
you are perfectly safe and treated with
all kindness and hospitality. You
can eat and sleep without any anxiety.
The only trouble is in getting away in
the morning, if the feas have left
enough of you to get away. The
same host who smiled on you and
asked you to pass your plate for some
more gravey and wouldn't take any
money for it, when you are once out
of his tent and beyond the claims of
hospitality will slip around through
the woods and wait for you behind
rock with shot gun, and take all the
none, you've got, and never thank
you for it. We had heard about this
little eccentricity of our distant rela-
tives and were on the watch for it. In
fact our man Thomas, an Armenian
had quietly whispered to us, when we
first entered the house, which was
stopping place for caravans, that it
wouldn't be best to wind up our
watches that night nor show aLy mon
ey. We entered long, low room
with fire place at each end. A tall
ruffian with two big pistols and a
knive stuck in his red and yellow sash
came toward us and held out his hand.
Our man Thomas informed us that
that was the proprietor and OF course
We shook hands with him and said we
were glad to meet him. But we
weren't, even if he yas our first
cousin. The floor was covered with
mating for ordinary guests to sit on
and sleep on, but at one end of the
room was evidently place Of honor,
for it was cushioned with silk and
furnished with silk pillows and there
with due pomp and circumstance our
lainous.looking relative conducted
us.
The lights were lit and the supper
cooking over the fire. Pretty soon
they began to set the table. And the
way they do that in Turkey is this
First of all they spread the table
CLOTH. which is mat, on the ground
and then they take the table and turn
it upside down on the table cloth,
and then set large tray on the legs
and put the dinner on that. One
big dish in the center and they all sit
about that and dip in with their fin
gers. They asked us very politely to
draw up and pitch in.
We said "no, / thank you ~
They insisted on it and we said,
"No, we weren't hungry" ;r ,ir, I
We thought we would enjoy it bet
ter to look on. And it was sight
such as l had often read about, but a
man has to see such thing and hear
it and smell it, in order to get any fair
idea of it, There wasn't a fork nor a
knife, nor spoon nor a dish in the
whole company except the one in the
they didn't need any
napkins because they could wipe their
mouths most anywhere, and if they
to pick up the wrong mans
coat tail it didn't seem to make any
difference, they were just as happy
and so was he. That one dish con-
tanned boiled wheat and nothing else,
and in front of each man was slab
of bread, rolled thin as a pie-crust
and about the shape of barrel-head.
The servants brought in an armful
and went round the table, Shaping
down piece under the nose
Of each of them and / thought,
we'll here come the napkins alter all.
But / saw that l had made mistake
when one man took up his piece and
began to tear off enough 10 have
made whole biscuit, rolled it in his