The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1893-01-20
TIE suLTANA OF ZANZIBAR.
!, " American Woman Describes 80 Visit to
the Sultan's Eavorite-


A woman whose home for several
years was in Zanzibar, where as wife
of a United States consul she enjoyed
special privileges, told at n luncheon
the other day of her visit to the chief
sultana of the late sultan's household.
III family included 140 sultanas, with
one n full-blooded Arab, leading all
the others and invested with special
privileges. To her the consufs wife was
permitted to pay a visit, being the sec
ond white woman in many years, If not
in all time To do so.
Il really felt" said the woman relat-
ing the incident, "a little nervous about
penetrating this closely guarded place,
even on invitation, and begged the sui
tan, who was always on friendly terms
with my husband, to permit the wife
of the German consul to be my compan-
ion. This request was graciously
granted, and in full evening dress and
decled with all the jewels we owned
we paid the visit | wore beautiful but
most savage necklace which the sui
tan had sent me not long before-a
neclllet of gold, from which depended
to my waist fringe Of fine gold chains.
sloped to fit over the shoulders, priceless,
but, as ! have said barbaric to "a degree.
when we reached the palace our
husbands had, of course, TO leave us,
and alone we entered, except for the
four servants who preceded us and
second four who followed. At every
few steps a servant of the palace stepped
out and poured a drop or two of altar
of roses on our handkerchiefs. Before
we got into the presence mine was satu-
rated with the heavy perfume and was
almost overwhelmed with its, to me,
sickening fragrance.
THE sultana was seated in the middle
of an almost interminable row of chill
dren, which fanked her on each side.
These were not hers, but the sultan's
by other wives, she being childless. AS
he is very proud of his children, they
were thus displayed, and it spoke well
for the good disposition of the chief
favorite that she was willing to show
these jewels of her rivals. She sat in a
large, rather bare room, with many
windows on every side. In every win
dow was at least one head, in some
more, which belonged to the other sui
tanas, who thus assisted at the inter-
view. This array of repulsive, savage
countenances. though intended to be
friendly, made me doubly glad that
had not gone alone
The sultana received us as graciously
as her code of politeness permitted, but
it was easy to see that greedy curiosity
was the only feeling which animated
the poor creature. This related chiefly
to our clothes, upon which she was
woman enough to pouncc at once.
really thought ! should not get out with
all of mine on, so aggressive was her
desire to study every garment. Our ap-
pearance pleased her, SO we were in
formed through the interpreter, and
that was about all there was to the in
terview, except that the eager intere; it
the chief sultana was able to appease
by handling and examining, shone with
out such amelioration from the ardent
faces at the window. These leaned for
ward, fairly hungry to get closer to this
pair of curious white sultanas.
Another interesting reniniscence of
her Zanzibar residence, told by the
same woman, was of peculiar phase
of life there-the beating of the roofs.
After the houses are put up, the roofs
are treated to layers of coral shells put
on in plaster made by the natives
These layers are then beaten in until
the mass hardens Men and women do
the work, which takes days to accom-
plish There is usually n singer in
every group. a man who improvises the
weird native monologue songs, and this
music, in rhythm with the pounding
blows, makes savage din that at times
is unbearable to foreigners N Y.
Times.