Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-04-05
A DAY IN AFRICA
The Strange Adventures Of Mr..
Bonaventure Jones.
IT'S A SINGULAR COUNTRY,
Morocco Not without . Glimpse of ORR
entail Life-A Talk with a Distinguished
Arab-Is BarbarlsIn Preferable
to Christianity
THE ISS. March l. 1921.

Special Correspondence Of the Gazette.
You enter Africa on the back Of an Arab.
The little steamer crosses the fretful straits
of Gibraltar, dividing the two continents,
in three hours and, Us there are no piers at
Tangiers. the white robed Arab takes you
on his shoulders and wades through the
waters TO the beach. AS he drops you on
the sand and grabs your real he cheerfully
observes: Dog Of a Christian! Accursed
be your father. May your grandfather
roast" But his mutterings could be bene-
dictions instead Of curses for all you know
to the contrary, uttered as they are, in the
corrupt Arabic tongue.
Bonaventure Jones, who had insisted
on my making o caravan journey from
Tangiers 10 Fee for the purpose of meet
ing his old friend the Caid, Abd-el Kasen,
intimate and favorite Of the Sultan Of
Morocco. speaks little Arabic and is suf-
fcently familiar with the ways of the
country 10 yell like an Indian at the natives
and belabor them with his cane when they
cross his path, Us he did most Justify on our
way from the beach TO the inn. Bonaven-
ture Jones is an American, q New Eng
lander with hard gradgrird nature, bar
rem Of reverence for the antique, indifferent
TO Oriental dignity and with an utter con-
tempt for modern barbarism. His friends,
the Caid and Sidi-Moluk. the celebrated
Moorish historian. regard him as original
and overlook his familiari les. but they are
fearful Of presenting him to the sultan
dreading lest he fail in the respect due the
illustrious Defender of the Faith" by de-
string to shake hands with the poteutate,
remarking Ut the time, How are you, Sui
tani'' with jocular inquiry utter the
girls Any unhallowed allusion to the
sacred harem by dog OF an unbeliever"
would be met with Instant death, and the
two Moorish notables who had met Bona
in in
idation, lest he make what he in mis- rough
vernacular, calls "a break" During his
previous visit to Africa, he was, TO these
excellent Moors, source of
CONSTANT MENACE AND ALARM.
While my companion was busting about,
and in true American fashion insisting that
the entire earth be served to him during
his brief stay, | wandered out into the city,
:. city of singular interest TO the traveller
Its strange white houses glisteuing in the
midday sun looked like so many ghostly
monuments, and the crowds Of Arabs wear
ing their snowy cafes, sauntering in vast
numbers through the narrow dirty streets,
looked like SO many Dominican friarS.
Outside Of these splendid men, all was filth
and squalor One could see little sign of
that MoSlem civilization which has cast
such luster on Moorish architecture,
painting and sculpture throughout Spain,
for with the exception of the few dark
mosques with their graceful and glowing
minarets, the only palaces Of Tangiers, are
those tinged with European construction,
and occupied by the different Christian
legations.
Tangiers is picturesque truly, but 1t Is
the picturesqueness OF rags. Such wretch
edneSs, such degradation, such petty vii
lainy, such abject ruin and decay, is beyond
ordinary ken. The town is stepped in over
pOwefing fanaticism. The habitations ere
a 10 a,
in, and never intended for peaceful homes.
The children, unkempt and unclean, chant
verses from the Koran when the European
approaches, and the women turning away
their yelled faces, shake their fists and cry
out God curse the infdel." The c8mels
seem as NANCY as the street dogs; the half
clad negroes. turbulent and vicious, ap-
pear only kept in subsection by stern op-
preston. There is dignity and personal
grandeur only in the conQuering Arabs,
and only in a few of them. Wonderful
city! Wonderful in its ruin and degreda-
ton. Wonderful in its being the home of
the tribes OF the earth, where you look
upon sultan and savage; upon faces white,
black, yellow and bronze; upon anchorites
and bandits; upon sad, depressed, weary,
hopeless people. No books, no printing
presses, no noble statuary or speaking
paintings. And yet this is ancient Tan
giers. This is Morocco, once the fountain
head of Q monarchy ruling half the civil
lied earth; ma estic in its institutions and
its learning glorious with its arts and
sciences, invincible In its armies and its
fieets-the seat of the highest known civil
cation. What fall then is here? An
hour upon its degenerate streets is enough.
| hasten
BACK TO THE mn VICTORIA.
Sidi-Moluk. u Mussulman Of broad views,
veneered by travel with conventional good
taste, less superstitious than his fellows,
but still STEPPED in barbaric preiudices, was
at the Soc-de-Barra to meet US. a tall
splendid specimen Of the physical man
whose flowing, half-transparent gown and
immaculate turban, brought OIL in clear
relief his bronze face, his black beard, his
fine flashing eyes. He was attended by a
quartette of black slaves and dozen
Moorish soldiers. He greeted Bonaventure
Jones cordially, but with dignity Us became
one who was virtual pasha. Jones, on
the other hand, with that calm irreverence
born in New Highlander, by the grace Of
God free and independent" answered
briskly, Hello, old man. l thought you
would show up. Come III and take q
drink s.,.ss.
The Moor bowed low, smiled rathezsadfy,
displayed his pearly teeth, and wGving his
hand toward his slaves and his soldiers, in
dlcated that he preferred to await outside
the pleasure Of his guest. Thesyery idea
of that handsome, dignihed mulattos whose
intelligent face denoted tinesSe and eiyNe-s
ity, and 1t whose side waved the green
folds of the banner Of the prophet, standings
before bar in his white robes, and ''takp31
drink was TO me monstrous propajH
ton. But to Bonaventure Jones it wodld
have been entirely correct. However, US
say, Jones is IN extreme utilitarian, with
out the poetic sense, having no idea OF
THE FJTSEss OF TTrrSGs
II think he said to the Moor q little
later, Us we journeyed out OF the city on
horses and mules, that Tangiers is the
vilest spot on earth. There is more vice
and vermin in the town, than in all Of
Europe, the smells of burning aloes, of
moist garlic, of putrid meats, is sufficient to
breed pestilence. l think you would be
forever having yellow fever, cholera and
such dreadful things here
The Moor smiled again. as though listen
ing to a petulant child and, turning,
watched q motley crowd following an ar
rested Chinuman, who, with rope around
his neck, was being rushed to the barracks
At this scene the eyes Of the Sidi-Moluk
frightened, and he said to Jones while
pointing to the rabble: THE Nazarene is
unjust. Tangiers is not unhealthy. The
diseases he speaks Of are unknown here.
4onder is the only case Of Asiatic colarer
know Of"
Thus, you will observe, the Moor was a
fellow Of infinite Jest. His pretty wit was
displayed during our memorable
day in the East.
II you have visited Northern Africa you
know very well that the only way to see
Morocco and Algeria, Is to 90 into the
Like the rustic who complained