The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-08-23
/ MOROCCO.

A PeoplNlpse Dress, Manners and Oc-
cupatts fave, Not Changed for Centu-
ries-Jngpr as Seen From the Seattle
SlavsradB-The Horrible Prisons.
Peoe aB scarcely aware that with
in foudayf sail of England there ex-
lists scouitry immensely larger than
Fran, which is in q state of almost
comhte btrbarism, and the interior of
Will is as little known to Englishmen
as iIhe Soadan itself, This IS the en-
pirtof Morocco, under the rule of a
de9tic Sultan or Emperor, Tangier
is : only place in this vast country
knvn to Englishmen. 1t lies, in q
sohwest line, just thirty-iive miles
dhnt from Gibraltar, and tourists
fix to this pretty watering-place in
DER to, gain glimpse of the wild
Norish lie that exists so close to
rope. Crossing the straits in one of
wretched little tug-steamers that
cry on the traffic, the traveller passes
three or four hours from the culture
English life in Gibraltar to the bar
ArIsm of the middle ages; indeed, he
lay be said to pass from modern to
hcient history, for in dress, manners
nd occupation the people are much the
anne as they were in the days of Abra-
= lam. Tangier is beautiful city as
Ieen from the seats walls and towers
are white and shining in the sun-but
It soon reminds one of the ''whited
sepulcher, full of the'dead bones of a
de laying, though once chivalrous, race.
Its narrow, stony streets, deeply coated
with nth and mud, are crowded with a
numerous population-pieturesque to
the eye, but squalid and poor to a pain
full degree and as you pass along
through the dirty crowd, eager hands
are thrust out all around in the hope of
receiving some OF the ''backsheesh''
with which travellers are supposed to
be burdened. There are no wheels in
Morocco. Not a carriage of any kind
ever traverses the narrow streets of the
cities or the highways of the country.
The Sultan keeps coach and six, but
as there are no roads he does little more
than drive round his garden. One cart
is said to exist at Tetusn, which takes
merchandise from that town across the
flat belt between it and the sea. With
that exception all heavy traffic is car
ried on the, backs of canels, mules and
donkeys. This fact alone will show
how deep is. the barbarism that still ex-
lists in this great country, lying, never
theless, nearer than any other to the
very gates of Europe.
The condition of the people is as bad
as that of the roads, AMI may be ex-
pressed in the single word ''oppres-
SION" From the highest to the low
est they prey upon each other, and
anycne known to have made money is
almost certain to become a mark tor
those above him. A Governor is APP
pointed to the command of a
province, and in due TIM he has sue
cceded in grinding out o the miser-
able people, over whon he rules, a
sufficient sum to satisfy the cnpidity
of the higher powers. Without any
warning he is seized andIconsigned to
dungeon, where torturesoon compels
him to disgorge his ill-9tten wealth.
This is an .Oft-repeated an thoroughly
well-und6rstood proceeding and is pub
licly talked of all over Mobcco. Any
one wishing toverify the f$thas only to
consult Sir Joseph Hookr's interest
ing book pub ished in 1888, IN which
numerous instances are Hated. One
will suffice, as there is a harked SIM
il arity in al. the sad cBes. Sir j.
Hookerwrites
soon afterwe left the min, and were
rid NO along broad tracRparallel to
the Tetuan River, we cane upon a
group that for the first he brought
home to us anillustratiorBf the true
condition of society in ts country.
A body of armed horsema many of
them true negroes, were esting be-
side the way, broken upnto lively
groups, laughing and entering to-
gether. Among them. wasa solitary
man, poorly clothed, and den with
heavy chains, So numeroulan escort
in charge of single mansuggested
somethingsenaisual, and weere led to
make Inquiry. According THE state
ment made to us the chain captive
was lately the powerful Gternor of
q distant province, who hadpffered a
stout re lstance when summed to the
capital to give an account Of \ admin
itration. 1t is well undttood in
Morocco that such sumonses,
whether framed as persmpty order
or as altering invitation, i've but
one meaning-that the time 3 come