St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-08
CHAPTER XIII,

Sarcany had already reached the capital of
the Regency they were in hopes that they
would be only few days behind him.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE FEAST OF THE sToRKs.
On the 23rd of November the plain of
SOung- Ettelate around the walls of TripOli
afforded curious spectacle. On that day
no one could tell if the plain were barren or
fertile, for its surface was hidden beneath
multi-colOred tents adorned with feathers
and flags, miserable gourbis with their roofs
so tattered and patched as to give very in
sufficient shelter from that bitter, dry wind
the ''gibly," which sweeps across the desert
from the south; here and there were groups
of horses in rich oriental trappings. meharis
stretched on the sand with their flat heads
like half-empty goat-skn bottles. small dom
keys about as big as large dogs. large dogs
as big as small donkeys, mules with the
enormous Arab saddle that has the cantle
and pommel as round as camel-hump;
horselnen were there with guns across their
shoulders and knees up to their stomachs
and feet in slpper-like stirrups. and having
double sabres at their belt galloping among
crowd of men. women. and children, care
less of whom they might run down as they
dashed along; and natives were there al
most uniformly clothed in the Barbary
''haouly," beneath which the women would
be indistinguishable from the men. if the
men did not fix ths folds to their waist with
brass pin, while the women let the upper
part fall over their faces so that they can
only see with the left eye-a costume which
varies with the clasaeS, the poor having
nothing on but the simple linen mantle, the
more affiuent having the waiStcoat and wide
breeches of the Arabs, and the wealthy hav-
ing splendid patterns in white and blue over
second haOuly of gauZe or glossy silk
above the dead white of the old-spangled
shirt.
Were they only Tripolitans that had
gathered on the plain? No. The environs
of the capital were crowded with merchants
from Ghadames and Sokna, escorted by
their black slaves; Jews and Jewesses of
the province with uncovered faces; negroes
from the nelghboring villages who had
come from their cabins of rllshes and palms
to assist in the general gaiety. poorer in
linen than in jewellery, with large brass
bracelets, shell-work collars, strings of
teeth, and rings of silver in their ears and
their noses; and Benoulies and Awaguirs,
from the shores of the Syrtes, to whom the
date-palm of their country yielded its wine
its fruit its bread, and its preserves. Among
this agglomeration of Moors, Berbers.
Turks. Bedouins, and Muzaffirs, or Eu-
ropeans, were pashas. sheiks, cadis, all the
lords in the land walking through the
crowds of raayas which opened hulnblv and
prudently before the drawn swords of the
soldiers, or the truncheOns of the police of
the zapties as there passed in naughty in
difference the governor general of this Afri-
~ ,NfA Of
empire whose administration belongs to the
sultan.
If there are more than 1900. 900 in
Tripoli. with 5000 soldiers-1 600 for the
Djebel and 500 for the Cyrenaic-the town
of Tripoli itself has not more than from 90
900 to "a. 600 souls. But on this occasion
1t appeared as though the population had
been at least doubled by the crowd of spec
tators coming from all parts of the territory
These rurals had not. it is true, entered the
capital of the regency. Within the walls
Of the Notifications neither the houses.
which through. the worthlessness of their
materials soon fall into ruins. nor the mar
row. tortuous, unpaved streets, nor the
neighboring mole with its consulates. nor
the western quarter inhabited by the Jews.
nor the rest of the town inhabited by the
MusSulmans were equal to such an inva-
sion.
But the plain of Soung- Ettelate was large
enough for the crowd of spectators attracted
to this feast of the storks whose legend al
ways receives due honor in the eastern
countries of Africa. This plain-a small
fragment of the Sahara. with its yellow
sand often invaded by the sea during the
violent winds from the east-surrounds the
town on three sides and is about 1, 600 yards
across. In strong contrast is the oasis of
Menchie-with its white walled houses. its
gardens watered by the lcather-chain pump
worked by skinny COW, its woods of
orange trees. citronS and dates, its green
clumps of shrubs and flowers, its antelopes.
gazelles, fennecs and hamingOes a huge
patch of ground in which live not less than
30, 900 people. Beyond is the desert which
in no part of Africa comes nearer to the
Mediterranean. the desert and its shifting
sand hills, and its immense carpet of sand
ON which. says Baron Kraft, 1.-The wind
raises the waves as easily as on the ocean,"
the Lybian ocean with its miStS of impal-
pabe dust.
Tripoii a country almost as large as
France is bounded by Tunis and Egypt
and to the south by the Sahara at a dis
lance of 100 miles from the Mediterranean
coast.
1t was in this province, one of the least
known in Northern Africa. and which will
be perhaps one of the last to be thoroughly
explored, that Sarcany had taken refuge
after leaving Tetuan. a native of Tripoli,
he had returned to the country which had
been the scene of his earliest exploits. At
filiated to the most formidable sect OF North
ern Africa. he had sought the powerful pro-
lection of the Sen0uSiSts. whose agent for
the acquisition of arms and ammunition in
foreign parts he had never ceased to be.
And when he arrived at Tripol he had
taken up his quarters in the house of the
moqaddem. Sid Hazam. the recognized
chief of the sectaries of the district
After the capture of TOronthal on the
| road to Nice. capture which still remained
inexplicable to him, Sarcany had lett Monte
Carlo. A few thousand francs that he had
kept back from h is earlier winnlngs-h had en-
abled him to pay his passage, and defray
his expenses. He had gOod reason to fear
that ToIonthal would be reduced to despair,
and urged to seek vengeance Oh him, either
by revealing his past life, or giving infor-
nation as to the whereabouts OF Sava. The
banker knew that the girl was at Tetuan in
charge of Namir, and hence Sarcany's de-
cision to leave Morocco as soon as possible.
He resolved to take refuge in Tripoli.
where he could avail himself. not only of
the means of action, but the means of de-
Tense. But to go there by steamer or the
Algerian railway would be too dangerous
as the doctor had suspected. And so he
joined caravan of Senousists, who were
on their way to the Cyrenaic, recruiting as
! thew went in the chief VILLAGES of Morocen