, 1889-01-11
Am EXECUTION ~ MOROCCO.
An English Traveller TELLS of tbs FIend-
ishness of the Moon

ishness of the Moors-
Two products OF the barbarous ap-
plication OF their savage law are the
murder cairn and the Zaoula, or sane
tuary. One and the other are TO be
found all through the country. The
murder cairn is but a heap of stones
over the spot where a murder was
committed, TO which every passer by
adds one. The sanctuary is a refuge,
in which the criminal who reaches ii
is for a time perfectly safe. 1t is not
necessary TO enlarge on the utility of
the sanctuary in a country suffering
from n government like that of Mo
rocco.
All this cruelty, ms practiced accord
ing 10 the law OF the land, has pro
duced in the Moors an indifference to
life more callous than hat evinced by
most Orientals. The following story,
| related by an Englishman, who was
an eye witness of the events, is n hor-
rible illustration of this fatalism and
of the absolute reverence in which the
sultan's decree is held.
An Englishman, residentin Tangier,
seeking one morning to leave the town
by one of the gates, found the gate
closed and n large crowd assembled
before il. He also saw n number of
soldiers, and in their midst a couple of
prisoners with their hands bound to
their sides. One was a mountaineer
from the Riff, the other a tall and
handsome young fellow, a native Of
Tangier.
He asked what crime these men had
committed.
1.-THE sultan was the
may God prolong his days-has
ordered their heads TO be struck off be-
cause they have been engaged in
smuggling on the Riff coast"
at is a very severe punishment"
urged the Englishman.
"Do not argue with me, Nazarine,"
said the officer. II have received my
orders and must obey"
The execution was TO take place in
the Jewish slaughter house. \ Moor,
repulsive in appearance and dressed as
a butcher, was there awaiting the CON
demned. His weapon was a small
knife with a blade some six inches
long. He was n stranger, and had
offered his services because all the
Mohammedan butchers of Tangier had
taken refuge in a sanctuary.
A heated discussion arose between
this wretch and the officer in charge as
TO the blood money he was TO receive
for the job. The two victims stood by
and listened. The butcher demanded2O
francs n head. The officer finally
agreed, though with i'll grace. Then the
butcher seized the Riifian, threw him
on the ground, and knelt on his chest.
The Englishman turned away his
head. He heard sounds of a horrible
struggle, in the midst of which n
hoarse voice cried, Give me another
knife, mine does not cut" Another
knife was brought and the head hewn
from the body. The soldiers cried
family, God prolong the life of our
lord and MASTER
Then came the second victim. He
had watched the operation. Again
they wrangled over his blood, the
officer refused TO remember his prom
Use and said he would only give 20
francs for both heads. The butcher
accepted. The prisoner begged that
his hands might be unbound. He
gave his cloak TO n soldier, saying,
I'VE shall meet in the next world"
He threw his turban to another. He
cried, in a clear voice, There is no
God but God, and Mohammed Is his
prophet" and taking off his belt gave
1t TO the butcher, saying, Take it, and
for the love of God deal more quickly
with me than with my brother" Then
he stretched himself on the earth in
the blood and the executioner knelt on
him.
"a reprieve-stopl" cried the Eng
lishman. A horseman galloped to-
ward them. The butcher held his
knife.
at is only the governors son." said
a soldier, come to see tho execution;
wait for him"
They waited.
The incident occurred some years
ago, but since then neither the Gus
toms nor tho characters nor the
methods of administering the law of
the Moors have undergone any
change. No change indeed is pos
sisie so long as the country is gov
erned by the Shereefs; and so long rs
Morocco remains in the hands of the
Moors no other form of government is
possible, and no attempt can be made,
with any hope of success, to arrest the
decadence of a people who, from being
foremost among the pioneers of civil
ization in the past, have now sunk
into a state of brutal degradation only
surpassed by that of the semi cannibal
savages of the Niam-Niam and kindred
tribes of Central Africa. The pity of
this Is but the greater hat the Moorish
peasantry, apart from their fanaticism,
arc still a frugal, upright and warlike
race who retain to this day, in spite of
all the evil agencies that have SO long
been at work to destroy them, many
Of the honorable and soldierly instincts
that made their ancestors so great a
nation.-London Times.
Hunted by a Hare.
Tho IT. or ,,blyr1ol - ---