Milford chronicle., 1888-08-17
TRAVELLING IN MOROCCO.
Crossing the sbou River-Arab Stupidity.
Praying and Cursing.

Crossing the Sbou River-Arab Stupidity.
Praying and Cursing.
For ages this spot has been the crossing
place Of all the caravans which come from
the desert, and yet all the means of getting
over is upon an abominable cross between a
raft and a fatboat, with sides built high to
keep fractions animals from jumping out
''urins the passage, as any animal Of sense
would be tempted TO do. l should say the
sides of these RATS were three feet high, and
there IS not now nor has there ever been any
sort of plank or gangway upon which the
animals could walk aboard. The men com
menced TO pray before they got in sight Of
the boats. and by the time they arrived along
side there was nothing to be heard above
fearful howl for Mooley Indrees and Allah
to come down from their high place and give
the mules boost into the boat
The river, the praying and boats got the
mules into proper state Of frighteven before
the time came to embark them, and the men
had TO change from prayers to oaths, which
seemed to have a better effect. The mules
were unpacked, led to the boats and invited
to jump in, which, of course. on the slippery
bank OF the river, was impossible Then all
hands would stop coaxing and swear awhile,
lnterlarding each remark with a shower Of
blows for the animal, until exhausted. after
which they would turn upon each other
shake their fists, call bad names, and finally
quiet down and go to praying again, until
seeking change, two Of them would 90
down. lift the fOrelegs of the mule into the
boat, and then twist his tail until he kicked.
when at the moment his heels were high in
the air they would give him such shove
that he either would fall into the boat or into
tho mud on the bank when they would have
to start all over again
1t took just two hours to load ten mules
into the boat, where they stood hu,ldled to-
gether, with bruised legs and evil glances.
Watching for the moment to come when they
could get even with the man who got them
into the scrape. Then came the fun Of cross
ing, and as I contemplated the crowd of ami
mails, looking as if Gu a moments notice thev
might commence to kick and plunge at each
other, / edged toward the bow and centered
my affections on a pack saddle which con
lained charcoal, for the others had AIoolsv
lndrees to give them a life preserver if neces- /
saly, while felt more drawn to something
tangible, and so seated myself on the char
coal with n firm clutch at the ropes. There
was something charming and at the same
lime interestingly exciting about that trip
leross, for Of course the current was too
swift to admit Of landing anywhere but |
where chance took us, as the sweeps in the |
ooat were too clumsy to do more than keep |
Roadway on the EAft. When we got almost |
lcross, the men would see some spot on the /
1ank where they wished to land, and impore |
dooley lndrces to land them there, and as 4
Don as they saw they would be carried by, /
to curse him in a most outrageous |
manner, and turn their attentions to Allah. J
forget whether it was Allah CT Indrees who |
inally landed us, but in the course Of timo
We grounded on the other bank, almost e
nile below where we started.-Morocco Cor.
Boston Transcript