Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-02

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SHAKING THEIR FISTS AT THE ENEMY.
universe, no doubt, that some religious
craze Is not having full swing among
those people. who have not the blessings
Of the true and only religious light. How
thankful ought we TO be that we were
born III land where, to make these fool
breaks, is matter of impossibility!
1t is not many years since the great
fakir, FL Mahdi, burst upon the vision of
the orient, clothed IN small dolly, and
announced himself as the Messiah for
whom his people had been so long look
ing And where is Ell Mahdi today?
Where are all the tiddledewink Messiahs
of profane history?
Ell Mahdi was a shrewd youth, even in
the days when he shared suckers along
the White Nile. His mind was active
and his thoughts profound. He early
saw that the weak side of man was his
love of the supernatural, his Diss Debar
side, as one may say. So he said to him
self: 81 will educate myself and prepare
myself for but one object. This Mes
siah business is what might be called a
cinch. will arrange to appear at the
proper time for the purpose of playing a
return engagement"
Mahdi was about the color of success
full meerschaum pipe in those days, with
bright black eyes, and in cold weather
he wore cotton in both ears. This pre-
vented pneumonia on damp days-a
needed precaution, especially as he grew
older and lived in cave by himself os-
tensibly fasting.
Time went by and Ell grew to man
hood, still keeping his finger on the pub
lie pulse, and knowing that some day
times would be ripe for his appearance
Living patiently for months in de-
serted cellar, or in summer time fasting
In cave in the mountains, rarely eating
anything, unless perchance katydid or
the milk of a wild ass on Tuesdays and
Fridays, all the time crucifying the
flesh, and thus attracting attention, he
soon reached manhood, and with the
budding of his delightful whiskers he
began to cultivate the press and to get
himself written up in the society col
umns.
Pretty soon he began to prophecy a
little. Having a private wire in his
care, he was able to predict the arrival
of British troops about week abe d,
and thus his business soon grew to be
something wonderful. Many night he
had to sit up and prophesy long after
other people were in bed and asleep
Thus did he wax strong with his people,
and get all he could do in that line.
Though Mohammed Achmed-his real
name before he went west-was the son
of a petty sheik, and therefore nobody
scarcely, at the age of 40 years his mir
TOR still told him that he was strangely
beautiful In the flush of manly heal tn,
robust and in the pink of condition,
though trained down a good deal, per-
haps, by eating nothing but choke cher
ries and lightning bugs for weeks at a
time, Ell Mahdi knew the proper mo
ment to take hold of this matter and
burst upon the astonished gaze of his
people as Messiah
Devout, hungry and sad he took adj
vantage of mans devotional nature,
and skun him out of his confidence
and his watermelons. He wept over
the sins of his betters, and deplored
the undone condition of those whom
he had not yet done up. Yearn-
ing for bright immortality, yet con-
stantly postponing it so long as che
Egyptian pullets held out, Ell Mahdi
went on, stringing the people from cay
to day till they were ready to bllndly
follow him anywhere with their eyes
closed.
War among the Arabs is conducted on
an odd plan 1t consists IN depioylng
scouts or pickets, whose duty it is to lead
the enemy on for two or three mon ms
across the broad sweep of saId which he
calls fatherland, and compelling the IN
vader to drink alllali water during the
meantime. This course of diet does not
impair the health of the Arab, who has
10 bowels of compassion, but instead OF
those a porcelain lined alimentary canal
and a cllnker built gizzard, which as
Stimulates readily anything from cara
mel up to a fawnsllin vest with horn D NJ
tons on it. Thus the Caucasian Is readily
overthrown by the Arab, and at autumn
time, in his bleached and eyeiess SKULL
the scorpion finds her winter home
The Bedouin of the desert Is COCO
deal like our own warlike Indians II
many ways. They are not the KIND Oh