The Bossier banner., 1891-12-24
an ARAB MARTYR.
,...rbIe Death of an Apostate
Mohametan.
r0wayering Christian Faith, His
y =. n....cutors Cast Him Alive in
tho Center of a BLOCK
of Beton.

the center VI AeAOSN
of Beton.
other day, as I was listening to
od familiar words which have
p' ,oupd:ng now for eighteen hun
f'Irsars and more, my mind Travelled
'I ~ fort in Algiers, the Fort des
rsstouatre Heures, made of huge
4I,s ps which for three hundred years
MOD immovable and silent. Bot
IKE martyrdom which some peo-
Leaked upon as an idle tale, others
snnerstitious legend, was brought
rcbt and the very stones them
~ with undeniable witness, re-
LA the pathetic figure of the Arab
r,tvr Geronimo. just three hun
"a and forty-seven years ago little
,sb baby was taken prisoner by some
s.,nisb soldiers, and brought to Oran
I'M offered up for sale as a slave.
~ good vicar general, Juan Caro-,
s,ncbt him and took him to his own
.,use to educate him, and he baptized
IN under the name of Geronimo.
Eben the child was eight years old
~ Arab slaves made their escape from
enn. and believing they were doing
4 ea boy kindness they took him with
bsm: so for some years he lived with
i ii oeople as a Moh ametan. But the
INV faith which Juan Caro- had plant
4 ain the child's heart had taken such
i sm root that his relations could not
sgit out. He remained with them
iii he was twenty-five, and then he
bOk step which he knew no Arab
,onld forgive, and which, if he should
b recaptured. would lead him with
certainty to suffering or death. He
. fsd from his home and returned to the
dcar general, and, telling him of the
dangers of his flight, he said, simply:
Ut is because wish TO live henceforth
b the faith Of the divine Saviour.
Juan Caro- was so delighted that he
received the young Arab like q lost
child, and Geronimo, on his side, could
not show his benefactor love and graf
4 hude enough. He soon entered the
Spanish guard as paid soldier, and he
prformed such brave deeds that he at
ained very high military honors. But
The height of his JOY and ambition was
nined when he heard that the vicar
general gave his consent and approval
bamarriage between him and a young
4 Arab girl (also q convert) with whom
be had fallen in love. For ten years
nothing but happiness shone on his
hte-he won the respect and confidence
Of all around him, he was Juan Caro's
right hand, and his wife was as a
daughter to his adopted father. No
shadows seemed to cross their path;
no troubles seemed drawing near them.
But one bright May day in 1869 news
came to Oran that small Arab en-
ampment had been noticed a short
distance off. The rumor did not seem
etimportance; handful of Spaniards
could easily manage the Arabs; at
east so Geronimo must have imagined.
for he only took nine soldiers and
manned little boat, intending to land
on the coast, where the Arabs had as
smbled. They rowed out of the safe
hafbor with the sun shining on them,
and sailed along the blue sea past the
coral fishery of Mers-el-Kebir, never
dreaming of danger. when suddenly
sWo Moorish brigantines, which had
oeen lying secretly in wait for them,
chased them and ran them down. The
nlne soldiers escaped, but Geronimo,
VINO was too marked man, was seized
upon at once and carried off to Euldi
ali the Calabrian renegade. A great
eEy spread like wild fire among the
arabs throughout Algeria that the
apostate was captured; that he, the
Taltor, who had abandoned his own
people, denied his own faith, was lying
prisoner in the fortress, the 'EBagno."
Inc Moors, who knew his history,
laae solemn vow that they would
'ss'ore him to his old religion; so they
Oegan by sending Marabouts to con-
'sft him with arguments and fair
Promises But they returned discom-
l'ea to Euldj Ali, their fine words had
ssalled nothing; the apostate remained
lnmovable.
a fresh treatment was next tried; he
,.s na loaded with chains, and treated
@.sn the utmost cruelty, and when he
vas 1aint with torture and scarcely
s0le TO speak, the Marab outs stood
s'Ound him, offering him liberty,
power, honor, riches. But no offer
Is0e MIN deny his faith, no longing
20 freedom made him forswear for
= - single moment his religion. Once,
:ef some most horrible threat, he
,a.Seu ~, MS poor suffering head, and
haI ~ voice SO weak it could scarcely
q, 8 heard he said: They think they
,s .1 make me Mohametan; but that
- .s'y Snall never do, even if they kill
for four months Euldj Ali gloated
!. : ene daily torture he was inflicting
"efonlmo; but at last the very
~ IueneSs OF his cruelty palled upon
- and he was determined to invent
q. ana more hideous revenge for
i5s spostate's obstinacy." One morn
49,. .ue idea came to him; he was ex-
81 the works of a fort by the
NJ, NJ VI Bab-el-Oued, when he saw a
stos ssA OF oeton standing by the great
ssss s.ueS This block was mold in the
s;.1 of the immense stones, filed
e,.sa - KIND OF concrete; when the con-
wsn was sufficiently hardened. the
n. :, was to be built with it. Here was
~ height of torture! Here was the
nies ~ exqnisitely painful death man
devise! The dog of a slave