Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-15
A STREET IN CAIRO.
Not the City in Egypt, but q Duplicate
at the Fair.
Sensation when Riding on . Camel or =
Donkey-A Bridal Procession--Dinsr-
ent Kinds Of Dancing,
Special Corresp ondence OF The Evening Star.
CHICAGO, ILL., July IL. le9.

"Ride! Ridet"
"Of course, Of course; how much?"
Fifty cents"
You prefer the amount.
''Nickel for driver, nickel for driver!''
The nickel is forthcoming also. You then
proceed to get astride Of great brown mound
that rises from the ground in front Of you
Ihere is q lot Of shabby red silk over the little
mountain and something that passes for a sad
die. Having straddled it you have very much
the same sensation that you had when you were
boy and used to ride your mothers big trunk
IN the garret-your legs are too short and only
stretch half way across the top.
Lean back, lean backr'
You obey and the mountain rises behind
you, and just as you are about to abandon the
effort not to plunge forward the mountain
rises In front OF you, and loi you are on the
street in Cairo.
Look out, look outr'
ON A cANEL's BACK.
The driver, in his long blue gown, with q
turban on his head and long stick in his hand.
is walking by the camel's head scattering the
people whom you would otherwise trample
upon. What a mighty and prolonged jolt
there Is In the camefs stride. As You go
pitching along you cannot help rejecting upon
the indispensable agony that would be
yours if the camel should take ii into his head
to trot But where Ia his head2 You crane
your neck and see far forward the sleepy eyes
and contemptuous under lip that are part Of
the beast that you are riding, but they are so
remote that You cannot imagine them as being
in any way connected with you What else do
you see? Why, YOU are 30 much occupied
with your bodily discomfort that you notice
little. There is q surging mass Of people below
you. They have very much the same appear
apn fhoss d. Al H. o.
hfth-story window. You see the second
| stories of the houses that line the street.
Lean back, lean back
"Tbe long-robed driver Is shouting to you
again, but this time in your confusion you for
| get to obey. Down goes the front of the noun
| tain, and you dart Of like an inverted sky
rocket into the arms OF a motley throng Of
donkey boys and camel drivers The entire
| length OF your ride on the camel has not ex-
ceeded quarter Of mile, but the distance
has been quite sufficient As you shake your
| self and congratulate yourself upon your
safety after many periis gone through. the
thought flashes across you that there are
| actually men who ride camels for DAYS at q time.
Poor fellows! how very unhappy they must
| be.
The camel sits at the gates Of tho Cairo street
| In the Midway Plaisance at the worlds Colum-
bian exposition, and il almost the first thing
that the visitor sees sitter he has passed the
ticket ofhce and the porter at the gate.
| TIE DONKEY nIpE.
Mingled with the csmels, indeed, mixed up
with everything in this quarter Of Cairo, are
the donkeys-poor, patient, phlegmatio little
beasts, standing rs still as statues until some
one gets on one. when he goes his route, whisk.
| ing his tail, taking uneven little steps and get
/ ting over given surface Of ground about n
slowly and irregularly possible. There ia,
Of course, much shouting to make way and the
donkey gets as many hard knocks as can con.
/ veniently be given to him. There is something
charmingly free snd easy about this donkey
riding Although some OF them are provided
with side saddles. most Of them are not; but
that makes no difference. If Q woman wants to
| ride she sits a mans saddle, using the pommel
as she would the horn Of 9 side saddle. The
stirrups are too long or too short, but that does
not matter. She must hang on az best she may
and, strange to say, she seldom falls Of. When
man rides he 10 supposed to be superior to
stirrups and they are usually discarded The
best sight 10 to see two lively donkeys come
| running down the street on . race, their ridefs
shouting and the donkey boys running behind
welding their sticks and adding their full share
to the general racket, while their flowing COS
tunes lend color and picturssqueness TO the
| scena
While you are still wondering at the fate Of
Cairo donkeys and congratulsting yourself tina,
you are not that kind Of donkey at any rate
you are aware of q sensation near by and YOU
go TO see. ring has formed and in the mid
die OF 1t is another donkey aud riding upon his
back a large gray ape. The fellow wears sor,
OF cape of his own hair, which is clipped at the
shoulders and looks very much like the fur cape
that rich mems coachmen wear in cold weather.
He alights from the donkey, and then he goes
through his tricks. He begs for money, but
for that matter, so do all the rest OF them in
| Cairo, and he jumps and performs gymnastics
Then he and his master have an interesting
bout at single-stick, and the man gets some
pretty hard knocks, too, for the ape is big
| fellow and savage. He is muzzied, of course
or he would bite like wild cat
| BRIDAL PROCESSION.
High above the noise OF the ape and the
donkey boys there is borne to your ears the
beating of drums and the weird, monotonous
music Of the pipes. Evidently something un.
usual is coming. Back then to the wall and
make way for the magnificent bridal pro-
| cession. First of ali come men in uniform
pushing the people back to make all clear
| Then come two coffee-colored men, prancing
| dancing. kicking and stamping. They are naked
| to the waist and their heads and feet are bare
| Following them is O swordsman fourishing hi,
| scimeter. and back Of him yet another swords
| man. This one wears crimson silk Turkish
| trousers and morocco shoes. On his head is a
glorious turban. He is at least six feet tall and
made In proportion He is serious, dignified
graceful and magnificent HIS sword fourishes
above his head, while he keeps time with a Ions
| stride 20 the music. Following him are the pipers
and then one Of the camels comes with a drum
| mer on his back, more camels, veiled maidens
q closed litter borne by black slaves in which
the bride lies hid, more attendants, and the
| bridal procession is gone. Did anybody ever
| conceive OF such q strange scene as being
possible under like circumstance? Can any one
| believe that Chicago lies without the gates;
Isn't the Nile in the place where Lake Michigan
used to be?
But the procession has gone and You turn
| about only to be confronted by q gorgeous
Egyptian youth in bright green silk, who
| wishes to sell you some genuine Egyptian cigar.
cites. In a booth next to him sits a frowsy old
heather necessarily smoking and making NOR
Deco slippers whenever he can find the chance
to take some stitches between puffs. For the
matter Of that everybody is smoking cigarettes
The donksy men and camel drivers are smok
ing, so are the walters, SO are the shopkeepers,
so is the rest OF the population which is en-.
gagged in the congenial occupation Of doing moth
ing. Put up a sign mo smoking" and enforce
| the regulation and in q short time there would
be no natives left In Cairo.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DANCING.
But there is another crowd gathering ct the
foot Of the mosque, and you 60 to see what ID
going on. Three men are singing and dancing
They hop around to the tune OF a slow chant and
at intervals they slap each other on the neck
One OF the men Is old and the others are OF
middle age. They are not of high caste, for