The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-18
tcopyrish.. lssa by wnihn L. Qusa1.,

evidently prearranged, Joined by q body
Of 900 horsemen, who armed themselves
with the rifles obtained from our cam
els packs, and then, leaving the camels
In charge of half dozen men in rocky
valley, called the Anxoua, we all con-
t1nued our way in high spirits, jesting,
laughing and singing snatches Of songs.
Throughout that night and during the
following day we rode at the same
steady pace. with only brief halts that
were absolutely necessary. On the sec
ond night darkness fell swiftly, but the
moon rose, and under it's mystic light
We sped forward. until suddenly the
gaunt man, in q dirty ragged burnouse.
who acted as our guide, shouted, and
we pulled up quickly. Then, in the
moonlight, could just distinguish
among the trees of the little oasis few
low, white houses, of what l subse-
quently learned was the little desert VIII
lage of Tilouat inhabited by the Kel-
Emoghri and distant ten leagues from
the town of Ideles.
Abdul-Melik shouted an order clear
and distinct. Whereupon the horsemen
spread themselves out in two long lines,
and with their guns carried across their
saddles, the first line crept slowly and
silently forward. BY this movement 1
knew that we were about to attack the
village, and held my own rifle ready for
purposes Of self-defense. Sitting in the
second line, l advanced with the others,
and the breathless moments that fol-
lowed were full of excitement. / had
become pirate of the desert, one of a
band of fierce outlaws, reports of whose
| terrible atrocities had sent a. thrill Of
horror across Europe on more than one
occasion.
| Suddenly a shot startled us and at
the same moment q muttered curse fell
from the sheikh's lips as he saw that
our presence had been detected, for the
shot had been fired in the village u
sound of warning. Almost instantly
1t was apparent that we had been be-
trayed, for great body of horsemen
| galloped on to meet us, and in few
moments found myself lying behind
my horse pouring forth volley after vol
ley from my repeating rifle.
| The fusilede was deafening. and for
| fully half an hour it was kept up.
About twenty Of our men had been
| Aulcu VI WOulutu, Wntl Suuueilly tne
first line rose with loud shouts as If
they We're one man and. mounting
rode straight at their opponents, while
we dashed at headlong speed upon our
enemies almost ere they had time to
realize our intention. The melee ives
awful. Swords. rifles and keen. crooked
jambiyahs were used with terrible ef-
feet. but very soon all resistance was
at an end the work of looting the
village commenced.
Half demented by excitement and
success, my companions entered the
houses, shot down the women with re-
lentless cruelty, tore from them what
little jewelry they possessed and plum
dered. wrecked and burned their homes
out of sheer delight in destruction.
stood watching the terrible scene, shud-
dering at the inhuman brutality of my
companions, but unable to avert the
terrible calamity that had fallen so
swiftly upon the peaceful little place
The fiendishnesS of the outlaws had
alas, not been exaggerated. Abdul
Afelik laughed gleefully, uttering some
words as he rode past me swift as the
wind. But needed them not. l loathed,
despised and hated him.
While dawn spread in saffron streakS
the work of plunder still proceeded, but
when the sun shone forth only the
smoke -blackened walls of Tilouat re-
mained standing. The plunder was
quickly packed upon our horses. and
soon afterwards we rode off, carrying
with us twenty men and women who
had been captured. All of whom, I was
informed, would eventually find their
way into the great slave market far
away at MourZouk.
At surdown. five days afterwards, we
descended into a rocky valley, and sud-
denly came upon a wonderful mass of
scattered ruins. of amazing magnitude
and extent, which Abdul-Nlelik told me
were the remains of a forgotten city
called TihOdayen, and as we approached
I saw by the massive walls of hewn
stone. the fallen columns half imbedded
in the sand and, by an inscription over
an arched door, that they We're relics of
the Roman occupation. When we dis
mounted, found that the ruined city
gave shelter to the outlaws, and was
their habitual hiding place.
An hour later. reclining on mats un-
der the walls of what had once been a
great palace, the outlaw Sheikh and
myself ate our evening meal of saubu-