Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-04-25
A DAY IN TANGlERS.
moorS. Arabs and Water Carriers.
a Visit 60 Two Moorish Harems...
Their Inmates.


Mrs John Stratton in New York Sun.l
High above me l behold the build
ings and walls Of rangiers. The blue
Mediterranean dashcs its waves against
ruined mole and temporary pier for
the accommodation of travellers. Every
thing IL different from European
scenes. Wild flowers grow in profu-
sion on the roofs and old walls. The
bright blossoms Of the cactus glow in
tho sunlight The prickly pear at
talns the size and height of trees, and
IN many places forms arches, beneath
which ride Moors and others mounted
on mules and donkeys. The natives
eat the fruit. cutting each pear from its
stem with twine. The leaves are food
for camels.
just below the hotel and outside the
gate OF the city is the soko or market
place. On Sundays and Thursdays it
Ia iillel with motley crowd, who bring
game. meat, eggs, fowls and other pro-
visions from the surrounding country.
IL Ia here that Gibraltar obtains its
supplies.
Here You see the genuine Bedouin
Arab. Wild aud dirty Is he is, he is
clean whc, compared with the horrid
!oo.ing men from the Rih coast,
descendants OF the old pirates They
are wild AMI untamed, and fierccr than
untamed animals. They do not even
cover their heads. Their heads are
closely shaved after leaving lock by
which thcy fervently believe Moham.
mod III ,xt,It kha.,, 70
Jews are very numerous. They are
known by their peculiar dresses. They
cringe to the dust and put up with
every insult so as to remain in Tan
giers.
The noise and din in tho market
place is informal. At least 5000 tongues
arc at work. You can hardly force your
way through the crowd. Once on the
outskirts you are lost in great herds of
cattle and strings Of loaded donkeys
from Barbary. These little creatures
carry wonderful loads. They look
small by the side OF the camels. These
animals, relieved OF their loads, ore
lying down in circle with their fore
legs tied together. Near them are
numbers Of goatskin tents, filthy in the
extreme, and only high enough to sit
under. The confusion is terrible. Some
of tho men are banging on drums, and
others are playing the khutah, which is
infinitely worse than the Moorish
drum.
On passing through two gates We
came TO q fountain. It was surrounded
by mob Of water carriers. Tattered
rags Auttered over the naked legs. They
fought iiercely for precedence in filling
their water skins. Women whose faces
were covered with the exception of an
eye crouched on the ground near by,
selling bread. The magnificent Moor,
in flowing white robe and spotless tur-
ban, strutted majestically by, not deign-
ing 10 cast his naughty glance at us.
The streets swarmed with children in
various costumes. The small shops
were packed with men sitting cross
legged. Above, below, around, and
beneath there was dirt of every de-
scription. Fortunately for US the viler
smells had been tempered by recent
rains. In summer the stencil is said to
be almost unbearable.
This morning We were awakened
early by . great noise. We heard cries,
shouts. and beating OF drums, the firing
OF guns, and the steady tramp of ami
mails, biped and quadruped. These
were the thousands who had filed the
soko returning to their homes il Fee
Morocco, and the great desert of
Sahara. There is, however, o dense
resident population.
A few years ago An English lady
married Moor holding high position
In Tangiers. He promised that she
should be his only wife, but since then
he has espoused four other women. She
is allowed to walk out, but not unless
she is guarded. II she left him, she
could take nothing with her. If
he sent her away, she would
be entitled to an income or to E2,00O
in cash. Tho poor thing is q
virtual prisoner. We have received
an invitation TO visit her, and shall
accept IL. Yesterday we were guests
in two Mo rish harems. The inmates
pnvs us o very kind reception. The
gloomy appearance Of the outer walls
contrasied strongly with the inside of
the house. The halls were tiled. Mar
BILE pillars, bright colors and rugs gave
tho rooms bright appearance. Mat
tresses wore laid on the carpets in
apartments facing the courtyard. They
were tho bedrooms of the wives. There
were no windows. Each wife leaves
her slippers at the entrance of her bed
room. We saw no chairs, and only an
occasional cushion. The wives prefer
10 recline or to sit on the floor. One
or two sat on sheep skins.
Tho second harem belonged to q rich
Moor. We saw there several clocks
and mirrors, evidently q recent impor-
tation from Paris, but they looked out
Of place. The Moor had only one
wife, aud she was just 13 years old. She
had been married two years. She sat
on the floor barefooted with three
other women, who were either relatives
or visitors. She was very pretty
With m engaging smile she motioned
IN 10 sit near her. She looked ami
mated. gay and happy. Several SER
wants in Oriental attire were in attend
ance. The life Of Moorish wives, must,
however. be very wearisome. They are
shut up in apartments with grated win.
dows. high above mankind, with only
occasional glimpses of the great world
without.
In the first harem l saw o widow with
seven children, all girls. Two were
playing cards and two were sewing
None Of the girls had ever seen q man.
On Fridays only the widow is allowed
TO go to the Moslem cemetery to weep
and TO pray over her dead husband.
We we're offered coffee and cakes. Ell
quette required that we should drink
four cups of coffee and eat as many
cakes. Our visit was made very early
in the morning.
The poor wives seemed glad to see
us. They admired our dresses and
called each others attention to what
took their fancy in the way of jewelry.
They were dressed gayly, but they had
Q slovonlv look and an ungraceful walk.
John Ruskin's new lecture on storm
clouds is pronounced by scientists to be
i elo1uont nonsense.