Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-08-19
A NATIONAL HONOR.
The Sweeping OF Corsairs From
tho High Seas.

S&AO AAAs OSSAos
or afl the barbarious communities
with which the civilized world has had
10 deal in modern times. perhaps none
have made 50 much trouble rs the Mus
sulman states on the southern shores
OF the Mediterranean. After the break
ing up of the great Moorish Kingdoms
of the Middle Ages. this region had
fallen under the nominal control OF the
Turkish sultanS aS lords paramount OF
the orthodox Mohammcdan world. it,
miserable populations became the prey
oi banditti. Swarms Of half-savage
chieftainS settled down upon the land
like locusts, and out Of such pandc-
monium of robbery and murder as has
scarcely been equaled in historic times
the pirate states Of Moro, 20 and Al
gier. Tunis and Tripoli, gradually
emerged. OF these communities history
has not one good word to say. In these
fair lands, once illuStriouS for the
genius and virtues Of Hannibal aAd
the profound philosophy of ST. Angus
tine. there grew up the most terrible
dcSpotiSmS ever known to the world.
Tho things done daily by the robber
sovcrcigns were such rs TO make
civilized Imagination recoil with hor-
Tor. One of these cheerful creatures,
who reigncd in the middle of the eight
eenth century. and was called Mulcy
Abdallah, especially pridcd himself on
his peculiar skill in mounting horse.
Resting his left hand upon the horses
neck. as he sprang into the saddle he
simultaneously swung the sharp Scimi-
ter in his right hand 80 deity rs to cut
oil the head Of the groom who held the
bride. From his behavior in these
spOrtiye moods one may judge what he
was capable of on serious occasions.
lie was fair sample of the Barbary
monsrchs. The foreign policy Of these
wrctches was summed up in piracy and
blackmail. Their corsairs swept the
Mediterranean and venturcd far out
upon the ocean, capturing merchant
vessels, and numbering or enslay-
mg their crews. OF the rich booty.
n fixed proportion was paid over
TO the robber sovereign. and the
rest was divided among the gang.
So lucrative was this business
that it attracted hardy ruilians from
all parts of Europe, and the misery
they inflicted upon mankind during
four centuries was beyond calcula-
ton. One of their fayorite practices
was the kidnapping of eminent or
wealthy persons, in the hope of ex-
torting ransom. Ceryantes and Vim
cent de Paul were among the celcbrat-
ed men who thus tasted the horrors
of Moorish slavery; but it was ca
lamity that might fall to the lot Of any
man or woman. and it was but rarely
that the victims ever regained their
freedom. Against these pirates the
governments of Europe contended in
vain. Swift cruisers frequently capt
ured their ships, and from the days Of
Joan of Arc down to the days OF Ma
poleon their skeletons swung from long
rows of gibbets on all the coasts of
Europe, rs terror and warning.
But their losses were easily repaired,
and sometimes they cruised in fleets Of
seventy or eighty sail. defying the ma
vies Of England and France. IL was
not until after England. in Mel
sons time, had acquired suprema-
CIV In the Mediterranean that this
dreadful scourgc was destroyed. Amer
leans, however. have just ground for
pride in recollecting that their Govern
ment was foremost in chashsing these
pirates in their own harbors. The ex-
ploits OF our little navy in the Mediter-
ranean at the beginning Of the present
century form an interesting episode in
American history. but in the weak days
of the confederation our commerce was
plundercd with impunity, and Amcri-
can citizens were seized and sold into
slavery in the markets of Algiers and
Tripoli. One reason for the long sur
yival of this villainy was the low
state of humanity among European
nations. An Englishman's sympathy
was but feebly aroused by the plum
der Of Frenchmen. and the bigoted
Spaniard looked on with approval so
long as IL was Protestants that were
kidnapped and bastinadoed. In 17S3
Lord Sheffield published pamphlet
on Tie commerce of the United StateA