Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-05-29
TOURIET IN ALGIERS.
Experiences of One Who Has Spent a
Winter in That Delightful
Country.
At Algiers Arabs Seize Our Baggage
and Demand Large Sums
for Carriage.
Life in the Villages of Arabia and
How Their Schools are
Conducted.
Helena Journal,

|
| your city are recommending Algiers to pa
| tients on account of its delightful climate,
it being considered by many on the conti-
nent as the health resort, | thought some
| of your readers might be interested in the
| experiences Of one who has gone there to
! spend the winter, says a correspondent of
| the Boston Transcript We sailed from
Marseilles on the ID of December, the day
! after a great storm, and So, instead of
reaching Algiers in twenty four hours as
usual, we were thirty-six. The landing at
this place is often difficult, as the waves
run so high, and not unfreqdently the
passengers are obliged to be taken ashore
| in lifeboats We had on board French
man who brought with him twenty chick
ems, ten rabbits, boxes of fruit and cases
of wine, fearing, as ne said, that the pro-
visions might give out. We landed in the
evening, and it was perfect pandemon-
ium. Arabs swarmed round us like bees,
seizln2 nolens volens, ones baggage and
then demanding two francs for lifting
handbag which one would much have pre-
ferred carrying ones self. Thanks to
telegram. our EandIaGy had nice maid
waiting for us at the custom house, and
also the hotel porter, but they were power
less against the Arabs, who at night are
most noisy and violent in gesture to
strangers, When we offered them. the
usual sum for baggage they yelled fear
fully, and | would willingly have given
them any sum, and my baggage too, to be
freed from them. However, after paying
them their demands, we managed to get
into the carriage awaiting US and were
driven to our hotel, where we were met at
the door by a pleasant-looking landtady,
who conducted US to our rooms, which
were prettily and daintily furnished End
where bright fire was burning on the
hearth.
AIgierS is situated on high hill and ex-
tends from the summit down to the Medi-
terranean. The Arab city is on the top
and is called Casba, the French city is be.
low on the sea, Nustap"a Inferior being on
the coast, and Mustapha Superior is above
this and is considered the healthieSt locali
ty, and where the new hotels are being
built. The streets are so filled it is almost
impossible to walk, gazelles are on the
sidewalks, dozens of Arabs half asleep sit
or lounge hy the side Of % house, donkeys
10y the hundred trot by with their paniers,
dirty picturesque Arabs from the country
ride in on most beautiful horses. An
Arabian horse only costs from Sl0G to
C-OO- ttL nOlSt till Dt bJuSib lUI
$40 and a donkey for 5 francs. Jews in
gorgeously embroidered jackets, full
trousers aud elegant cIoakes ride by. To
all this add French soldiers everywhere,
beggars from Two wears old to a mummy
of hundred, half blind and with dis
gusting sores, and You have d glimpse of
the streets of Algiers, a city to see and
pass a few months in, but not TO live in,
Notwithstanding its balmy air and lovely
colored sea and sky.
The Arab men are tall and manly, poss-
essing reflective and refined faces. They
have generally finely cut features with
dark lustrous eyes. Their hands and feet
are small. The woman totter about on
hig -heeled slippers. They wear full
white trousers, with a white flowing up
per garment, and are so yelled that one
ly seem either friendly or Indifferent, but
occasionally one sees Moors, Arabs and
especially thick-lipped negroes with faces
that make one shudder and certainly it
makes me contented to be up two flights
from the street when in my room at the
hotel. The Arabs sit cross-legged on the
ground and 1t is . common thing to see a
native spread out his rug, squat on If, and
unpleasantly near his bare feet lay out
most tempting array of fruit. One longs
here for plenty Of money to be able to buy
the gorgeous Oriental embroideries dis
played for sale, but everything is expen-
slVe, costing from fifty to FIVE hundred
francs.
The climate of Algiers is ideal. On
opening the doors on the balcony in the
morning the sun streams in. and in a
short time my thermometer shows the tenn
perature to be seventy degrees Fahrenheit;
birds sing, flowers bl0om and one fOrgets
that it is January. Even when it showers,
the air Is soft. yet bracing. This is the
rainy season. 1t pours every night, and
we have terrific thunder showers, and of
course the streets are muddy, and the air
in them is often foul, but the days. as a
rule, have been bright with sunshine.
There are forests of palm trees, and the
eucalyptus grows forty feet high. and is
now in blossom. The cedars of Lebanon
one sees here. Flowers abound on all
sides. Cyclamens, morning glories, lilacs,
candytuft, geraniums (they grow wild
herel, yellow jessamine, scarlet trumpet
creeper and many other flowers are all in
bloom; and the fruit trees, also, are in
bloom, including the banana, which has a
coarse, purplish flower. The fences are of
cactus, prlckly pear, aloes and century
plants.
We went up over the hill one day to an
Arab village, and such a beautiful walk
as 1t was through woods part of the way
a tangle of tropical vines; and we passed
pepper trees, with their graceful branches
of leaves and long clusters of reddish buds.
Our way led through an English colony.
where all are rich, and where the views of
the Atlas mountains white with snow on
our left and the blue Mediterranean at our
feet was charming. Some of the houses
are Moorish III design, with iiat roofs and
round domes, and stand in the midst of
gardens filed with choicest roses and
grange trees laden with fruit; it seemed a
paradise. The houses of the Arabs are
built around courts, wonderfully decorat-
"a, principally with mosaics The old
Arab town is unique, with It's narrow
streets containing embroideries of every
thing under the sun, from slippers up
ward, and where everything seemed to be
huddled together In Que heap. The
French now occupy some of the old Arab
houses, with their little queer rooms all
built round exquisite courts, and have
carved balconies, maTvels of loving color
ing and architecture which | Cannst de-
scribe
We looked into little school; there was
no room TO enter Dozens Of cute small
Arabs sat on their rugs in the floor, bare
footed, their shoes beside them. A most
benevolent appearing old turbaned man
was giving them lessons. There were no
windows; the only light came from the
halt-open door
One of our party stopped at a houss 10
INQUIRE the way. As no one answered the
rap he walked round to the court, where
10 his surprise (and theirs also), were eight
/ or more Moorish women reclining on di-
vans and smoking their curious pipes
| Tney were gorgeousiy dressed, and some
were very handsome. Being at home
thew had no wells He was 50 astonished
he simply stared, and they stared back at
| him. He got out as quickly as possible,
glad to escape with his life, for they were
wives of a rich Moorish chief or Eadiye,
and this was MS harem. On visiting one
| Of the Arab mosques we were Obliged to
| leave our shoes at the entrance ] never
was more impressed With anv service; the
whole thing was 50 weir0, End the
| dresses. thou n dirty, were picturesque
1 All