The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-12-04
AN ARAB MARTYR.
Horrible Death Of an Apostate
MOhametan.
For His Unwavering Christian Faith. His
Prosecutors Cast Him Alive in
the Center of "A Block
of Beton.

some old familiar words which have
been sounding now for eighteen hun
dred years and more, my mind Travelled
back to a fort in Algiers, the Fort des
Vingtquatre Heures, made of huge
blocks, which for three hundred years
remained immovable and silent But
in 1858 martyrdom which some peo-
pie looked upon as an idle tale, Others
as a superstitious legend, was brought
to light, and the very stones them
selves, with undeniable witness, re-
vealed the pathetic figure of the Arab
martyr, Geronimo. just three hun
dred and forty-seven years ago little
Arab baby was taken prisoner 10y some
Spanish soldiers, and brought to Or;ln
to be offered up for sale as n slave.
The good vicar general, Juan Caro-,
bought him and took him to his own
house to educate him, and he baptized
him under The name of Geronimo.
When the child was eight years old a
few Arab slaves made their escape from
Oran, and believing they were doing
the boy a kindness they took him with
them: so for some years he lived with
his people as a Mob ametan. But the
holy faith which Juan Caro- had plant
ed in the child's heart had taken such
firm root that his relations could not
tear it out. lie remained with them
till he was twenty-five, and then he
took a step which he knew no Arab
could forgive. and which, II he should
be recaptured. would lead him with
certainty to suffering or death He
fed from his home and returned TO the
vicar general, and, telling him OF the
dangers of his fight, he said simply:
1t is because i wish 10 live hence forth
in the faith of the divine Saviour"
Juan caro- was 50 delighted that he
received the young Arab like "a lost
child, and Geronimo, on his side, could
not show his benefactor love and graf
itude enough. He soon entered the
Spanish guard as n paid soldier, and he
performed such brave deeds that he at
tanned very high military honors. But
the height of his JOY and ambition was
gained when he heard that the vicar
general gave his consent aud approval
to a marriage between him and a young
Arab girl (also a convert) with whom
he had fallen in love. For ten years
nothing but happiness shone on his
life-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
no troubles seemed dra awiDg near them.
But one bright May day in 1863 news
came to Oran that a small Arab en-
campment had been noticed short
distance off The rumor did not seem
of Importance: handful of Spaniards
could easily manage the Arabs; at
least, 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
sembled. They rowed ont of the safe
harbor with the sun shining on them.
and sailed along the blue sea past the
coral fishery of Mers-el-Kebir. neFor
dreaming of danger. when suddenly
two Moorish brigantines, which had
been lying secretly in wait for them,
chased them and ran them down. The
nine soldiers escaped, but Geronimo.
who was too marked a man, was seized
upon at once and carried off to Euldj
Ali, the Calabrian renegade. a great
cry spread like wild fire among the
Arabs throughout Algeria that the
apostate was captured: that he, the
traitor, who had abandoned his own
people, denied his own faith, was lying
a prisoner in the fortress, the ''Bagno. :"
The Moors, who knew his history,
made a solemn vow that they would
restore him to his old religion; so they
began by sending Marabouts TO con-
vert him with arguments and fair
promises But they returned discom-
fitted to Euldj Ali, their fine words had
availed nothing; the apostate remained
immovable.
A fresh treatment was next tried. he
was loaded with chains, and treated
with the utmost cruelty, and when he
was faint with torture and scarcely
able to speak, the Marabou stoo
around him. Offering him liberty,
power. honor. riches. But no offer
made him deny his faith, no longing
Tor freedom made him forswear for
one single moment his religion. Once,
after some most horrible threat, he
raised his poor suffering head, and
with voice so weak il could scarcely
be heard, he said: They think they
will make me Mohametan; hut that
they shall never do, even If they kill
me" For four months Euldj Ali gloated
over the daily torture he was infiicting
on Geronimo; but at last the very
sameness of his cruelty palled upon
him, and he was determined to invent
a new and more hideous revenge foi
the 'apostate's obstinacy." One morn
ing the idea came 10 him; he was ex
amining the works of fort by tho
gate of Bab-el-Oued. when he saw
block of beton standing by the gre;
stones This block was a mold in III
shape of the immense stones, file
with a kind of concrete; when the col
crete was sufficiently hardened, II
wall was to be built with il. Here WI
the height of torture! Here was II
most exquisitely painful death ma
might devise! The dog of sla'
should be laid in similar mold; n