Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-05-30
A Glimpse at Kairwan.

tOW commercial DWLtcL2ns
A Glimpse at Kairwan.
Kairwan the Holy, the African Mecca,
guarded by popular fanaticism, care
fully maintained by its imams, has un-
til recently remained impenetrable. No
infidel sullied it by making his dwelling
there; a few only passed through it, and
these not without peril. Yet how rich
q mine it offers to the observer! 1t is
to-day, with the exception of Mecca,
the only city where n finds the char
acteristic type of the Arab, the tradi-
tionary lore of the ace and epi,s of its
origin, intact as in the primitive days OF
Islamism. These Arabs who, at the
height OF their power, were the pro.
gressists OF Europe, and had, if not ad-
vanced, at least saved science from the
darkness and the barbarism of the Mid
die Ages, have to-day no science except
that which they call their science OF
God, no physicians, no lawyers, no
bankers; but priests are everywhere,
under the varied forms of imams,
muftis, koodjas, and marabouts, whose
lives are passed in writing dull com.
mentaries on the Koran, and in seeking
new interpretations of obscure texts.
These casuists are the same here as they
are everywhere, and in order to dimin-
ish the moral effect produced by the
fall OF Kairwan into infidel hands, they
have managed to find the French in
vasion predicted in a passage of the
sacred book!
These Moors of Kairwan, to-day in
their %decadence, have, nevertheless, q
glorious title to the interest and recog-
milton of the world. Was it not they
who, led by Tarik, = Kairwan general,
made the conquest of Spain, and reared
there that marvellous Hispano-Moresque
civilization of which Seville, Granada,
Cordoya, still attest the splendor. 1t
was the khalifs, descendants of Ibra-
him-ibn-el-Aghlab, who mastered
Southern Italy, Sardinia, Corsica and
Crete. The African metropolis of Is
lam, remaining poor, has not elualed
the splendor of her richer colonies, but
the parentage is everywhere visible,
and here and there a panel of ara
besque, or an airy colonnade, reminds
one of the Alhambra. Later, Kairwan
again gathered to herself her children
driven from Europe, and to-day has for
Governor a descendant of the Almora-
vides who, in PALMER days, reigned
over Spain. The city lies in an i'm
mense plain, partly Of marshy, partly
of sandy soil, Slightly undulating to-
ward the sea; it is bordered on the
north by the high ridge of Zaghonan
GASP feet), and on the west by the
chain of the Sefaya.
In spring-time the approach to it is
charming. The ground is covered with
barley, wheat, and tiny tufts Of alta, Of
a beautiful dull green, already yellowed
and scorched by the sun, almost disap-
wearing amidst a dazzling multitude Of
flowers with their Haunting colors.
Here and there the lowerlands, covered
with water. .%gglisten in the sunlight. The
plain spreads out in monotonous uni
formity, and the eye seeks in vain a
tree, a rock, on which to rest. Dark
specks, sometimes light columns Of
smoke, indicate the douars-the Arab
villages. Caravans pass slowly in the
distance. The silence is broken only
by the plaintive and curiously modu-
lated Arab songs taken up, one by one,
by the camel driver. The simple calm
OF the landscape, the primitive cos
tunes of the nomads, bring to mind
familiar Bible scenes.
From the top of a knoll a faint white
line appears in The distance; it is the
Holy City. Following the accidents of
the ground, n loses sight of it for
some moments to find it presently the
more visible. In the crystalline
air the embattled walls are clearly
defined against the mountains.
Toward the northern end the
lofty minaret of the Grand Mosque
stands out clear-cut and isolated; pres
emily, little by little, as n approaches,
the wall seems to be crowned with
kobbas, green or white, and with NINA
rets. Scarcely expressible, but giving
to the picture a halo of enchantment,
are the transparency of the atmos-
phere, the clear-cut %silhouttes, the fine
ness of color of the mountains in the
background, their silver gray pearled
with all lovely shades of rose and blue
of an infinite sweetness and delicacy.
Arriving at sunset, the hour OF prayer,
a sad and contemplative mood steals
over one; the harsh voices of the muez-
zins from lofty minarets, calling the
faithful ones to prayer, alone breaks
the stiffness of the plain, aglow in the
setting sun: one half fancies these may
be other Jeremiahs lamenting over the
ruins of their country. A ruin indeed,
and a desolate ruin is this Kairwan,
which has just presented herself to us
from afar in all the subtle charm of her
Eastern adornments.-A. r. Jcoussy,
IN Harper s Magazine.
Simon Cameron said to a Phila-
delphia Record reporter in regard to