The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-30
ZANZIBAR.
An InterestinE Capitalize Clocks
Of the ROynI Palace.

palace Of Zanzibar by the British The
palace was destroyed and many lives were
lost. The following description Of Zanzi-
bar is from the New York sun.
The business portion OF Zanzibar lies
along the beach. and here is centered mos;
Of the activity OF the town. There are no
docks, and everything is landed on the
beach or carried thence TO the vessels
which export the cloves and ivory thai
form a large part of the commerce Of the
island. This beach is a lively and an
mated scene during the hours which. in
Zanzibar. are dedicated TO business. Ac-
tivity begins at s z. m, or earlier. some
times at sunrise, and continues until 10
a. m or maybe little later. The mid
dav hours are devoted TO slumbcr. or rest,
and at D. m. work begins again. con-
tinuing until shutdown. Life in the place
moves at a very slow rate. The cost of
living is very little. Slaves are abuni-
ant. and beyond the labor Of getting
enough to eat there is little incentive 10
exertion. A recent law compels the slaves
to wear more clothes than the small
breech cloth which had formerly salts
fed them and. for that matter, satisfies
them still And now they, like the Arabs.
wear long gowns OF white cotton, falling
TO the ankles and wrapped loosely about
them The slaves from inner Africa, the
natives
900 Hindus from India, make up the popu-
lation Of the island, amounting in all to
about 10000 people. The population Of
the city of Zanzibar is estimated at $1,000
but this includes. besides those living
within the city. a number OF plantations
lying on the outskirts. The approach 10
the city from the interior of the island is
over a long. level plain that has little YER
dure, and is relieved of its baroness only
by a few palm trees. The natives of Fan
zibar live chiefly outside the city proper,
and among them there are sharp divis-
ions as to the aristocratic and more pie
beian quarters of the region in which
they dwell.
The center of city life is. of course.
about the palace. Every morning the
king comes to the steps, receives the pris-
oners arrested the night before, and dis.
penses justice in a primitive fashion. He
hears the complaint against prisoner
and decides at once just how many blows
with a stick the man deserves. They are
expeditously administered on the spot,
and in the presence of the crowd. In the
palace court the Askaris drill every day,
and once a week there is the meeting and
holiday of the people.
The palace is a low, rambling structure,
divided into three parts. The higher Por-
ton is of stone and surrounded by veran-
das of carved teak wood, which are very
ornate and elaborate specimens of eastern
decorative work. Adjoining this IS the
section occupied as living apartments. and
the third section is occupied by the harem,
which, under the late sultan comprised
about twenty-five Circassian women. The
sultana lives in the second wing of the
palace The women of the harem are rare
ly seen, even when peeping through the
barred windows of the building. When they
leave the harem, II Is only to go to one of
the sultan's country residences, and they
a. ftsaf tyf1 cd
and wrapped up 50 that no one may see
them. Every one is eager for the privilege
of maternity, as the birth of a male child
lifts them above the level of their asso-
ciates, and instead of being merely an in
mate of the harem, the woman who is
lucky enough to bear a son lives alone at
one of the sultan's country plantations,
where, with her slaves and her child, she
rules as a sultana in her own small do
| main.
Personal services is one luxury that the
poorest in Zanzibar are able to possess.
The sultana has a hundred slaves to wait
on her: the sultan has three times as
many, and every Arab has an establish
ment to look after his personal comfort.
Even the slaves have their slaves, and
from those who serve the sultan, down to
those who are subject to their own kind,
the people are satisfied and happy.
The palace was a curious combination of
magnifcence and tawdfiness. The recep-
ton room. which is almost 50 feet square
was hung with beautiful draperies en-
broidered in real gold. In many places the
walls were inlaid with precious stones Gu
riously and Unfortunately mingled Next
to a valuable uncut sapphire or a ruby one
would find a carbuncle or some valueless
stone Many of the chairs in the finer
apartments were OF gold inlaid with pre-
cious stones and about many of the rooms
were inscriptions from the Koran applied
in solid gold. A photograph Of Sultan
| Hamed bin Thwain, shows in the back
ground two small pictures. This proto-
| graph was made in one OF the rooms or
the palace and these pictures were cut
| by the sultan out Of an American soap
| advertisement that happened to reach
Zanzibar The colors struck his fancy
and so he cut them out and tackled them
on the walls of one of the handsomest
rooms in the palace.
One of his predecessors, Seyyid Burg
ghash, heard a cathedral clock chime, and
he Immediately began a collection OF these
| clocks, and they have since stood in one
of the rooms Of the palace. In the course
of time Burghash acquired a good many
cheap clocks as well as valuable ones, and
until the palace was destroyed two or
three hundred Of these clocks. some of
them of the cheapest kind, hung about
against the beautiful embroideries and the
jewelled decorations of the room.
This fad of Burghash spread to his Ara
| bian subjects and they began to accumu-
late watches so rapidly that these time
pieces have become a necessity in Zanzi-
bar Hamed bin Thwain always kept his
predecessors clocks going, and a lot Of
| them struck with regularity. They were
not hushed on the days on which recep-
lions were held in the palace. The mo-
ment they began striking everybody In the
place took out his watch TO see the time
for himself and nothing was important
enough to deter him from this indulgence.
With a hundred or more clocks striking
| at once every man in the room looking
at his watch, the scene was said to be an
impressive illustration Of the truth that
time flies.
The Muscat Arabs, the African slaves,
and the East Indians make up most Of
the population, and between these divis-
ions there are half-caste people of every
grade.
There is no life outside Of the homes OF
the people themselves. There are no res
taurants, theaters, or anything CORES
ponding to these resorts, and in dancing
the auaugamrnt is found The