The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1892-05-21
THERE'S MILLIONS IN 1T.
Treasure House in Morocco Where Gold
and Silver is Hoarded Up.s

house which, although not so import
ant as it was once. still contains a
large part Of the Sultan's accumuIa- F,
tion5 from the heavy Ia cs imposed on I.
his people. There are at present /
three suJ-trea -Ur-es where consider /
able par O, the country rc.c-"e - /
kept. TIE Chi re.u-.to- . however, /,
and the oaIy one winch !, well known /
is at MIhnas on tha road bct"ce. .cz /
and the cit. o Morocco.
In the course Of time an immense F,
amount Of money has been kept IN
that strongly guarded receptacle The !
treasure is in the form Of gold and
silver a good Gea. OF il coined and
great deal of it in the form OF bar
metal.
Morocco is not very extensive
government to carry on. although the
people are burjened with heavy
taxes. The sultan Outgo Is chiefly
for the expenses OF this court for the
payment OF his pension roll which
amounts 10 a considerable sum. for
theological schools for the entertain
ment of his guests and for his army.
which, however, is not heavy drain
on the treasury.
The officers of the state cost the
government comparatively little. ac-
cording to the New York SUM- for
they are expected in their own pro-
vinces. to bleed the people for their
personal advantage and they live
right up to their privileges. Very
little is expended for streets. roads
bridges prisons and other things
which cost most governments a great
deal of money. The sultan boards a
| large s5art of the sums he receives
! from taxes TO add TO his personal for
tune and to pay the expenses of war
/ should he be so unlucky as to become
involved in trouble with his European
friends. The debt he owes Spain on
account of the unpleasantness between
that country and his own years ago is
not paid yet although the sum IS be-
ing diminished rapidly, as Spain takes
one-half of the customs duties col
fected at Moroccan ports.
Nobody knows how great the sum
of money is that Is held in treasure
boxes of Morocco but it is supposed
to be enormous. Morocco has a pop
ulation of about S, 900. 900 people, and
although most Of them are very poor,
the tax gatherers contrive to squeeze
a good deal of money out OF them.
Miknas has been the royal treasury
for some centuries The treasury
building is a short distance outside oil
the city. Its stone walls are very
high and thick. To get inside these
walls one has to pass through three
Great iron doors If thieves could get
inside Ill these doors they yet might
not be abley to. secure tac treas
! ure. The interior Is lung, narrow
hall. as dark as pitch, which is thu
passageway to the iron trap-door
,, abundantly supplied with locks, which
is let into the stone flooring and lead
to an underground apartment wher
the treasure is kept in large room
called the treasure chamber. Tn
building is guarded constantly by so
negro slaves. who are a part OF tn
sultan's army and are never permitte
= to leave the neighborhood.
The treasure house is opened onl
once year. At that time the sulta
either comes in person or sends one o
his most trusted officials. The pun
pose, usually. is not to take any treas
q ure away. but to add to the hoard be
cause the sultan retains from the take
a sufficient sum to meet all the e>
. penses of his court and government
As a rule therefore. unless the sulta
: has had an unusually unpleasant tim
: with the Berbers who are in rebellio
often and determined apparently.
:, make the sultan's life burden
him the accommodations in the treasul
are not diminished.
q The sub treasures which have e.
\ isted within the past few years onl,
. are at Fee the city of Morocco. and
the oasis of Tafilalet south of Att
. mountains among the Filali peopl
: The shrewd sultan in hiding a pa
of his revenue in the Desert OF Sahar
!. is providing, undoubtedly, for Il
% possibility that he may be compell'
n to leave his throne and seek safety
% flight some day. He proposes If tn
- unhappy event occurs, 10 nave mon'
"a enough for rainy day in a regi'
a that is not accessible easily.
:, Ii is said that the treasure kept
y the oasis is very much larger than q
il amount deposited in the other su
10 treasures and that the sultan h
= been considering seriously the advis
: bility OF carting off most OF the mon
NJ he keeps at Miknas and Tahlal
"A Miknas is on the road to the city
,g Morocco. and should the sultan be
20 volved in war with an invadl
ID European power it is likely that G
A. of its first enterprises would be to
no possession of the treasure house
- Miknas. The soldier slaves who qua
,c the house are called the black qua
\ A great many fables and rumors abb
Ia this treasure house have beer
10 corded. but the foregoing facts are
ri exaggerated. and lutte more IS kno
he actually about the treasure.