The Bottineau courant., 1896-08-29
DEATH or De MoREs.


/ Particulars of the assassination ~
marquis de Mores have been telegraphed
from Tunis. It appears that, warned
by the French authorities in Tunis "A \
the impossibility of passing through
Tunisian Sahara, he gave o written
promise to go to Gabes, Nefzaua, Berl
rezof, Birlaian and Ell Biodh, the most
southerly French military post in All
geria. He had 1S European attendants,
45 camels, and 10000 francs worth al
merchandise. At Nefzaua he turned
off to the east, being apprehensive that
a French officer had been sent to ston
him. and he went close by the Tripoli
frontier. At Ell Ouatia he met TuarepsI
who persuaded him to send back his
escort and camels and take Tuarer
escort and camels. He retained three
Arabs and five negroes. ns- 549S
At eight D. m. on the Sth inst, after
waiting five days for the camels which
he had paid for in advance, he resumed
his march. The interpreter marched
first. then NJ. de Mores, and next an
Arab. and two negroes, all mounted on
camels, while the convoy was 300 yards
behind. After two miles march three
cf the Tuareg escort fell on M. de
Mores. He shot one and the two othera
fled. but two Tuareg bands came up,
one falling on the convoy and the other
on NJ. de Mores. The latter and his fol-
lowers made desperate defense. and
were at last massacred. The CONVOY
was captured and four of the men in
charge of it were carried off as prison-
ers, but they escaped, and on the 10th
inst. reached the scene of the conflict,
where they found the bodies of NJ. do
Mores, two Arabs and two negroes,
all stripped and covered with wounds,
Some months ago an Englishman
travelling to Africa wrote me that he
had attended lectures given in Tunis
by Marquis de Mores in crowded hall
in the presence of high French off,
cials. He added that the lecturer, at
tacking England with the impetuosity
which always characterized him, pro
claimed the necessity of an alliance be-
tween Islam and Christianity, between
the crescent and the cross, ignoring the
fact that the cross is the symbol Of all
Christendom, and not solely of Catholi-
cism. The marquis then announced
his intention to penetrate into the Sou
dan, where he had formed alliances,
and to induce the African tribes to enter
into close alliance with France against
English encroachments and covetous-
ness. He had the strange idea Of talk
ing the Egyptian question, so to speak,
from behind, and of bringing pressure
to bear on England, not from France,
but from Africa. ay, q
My correspondent thought that I
ought to give publicity to such violent
end aggressive language uttered be-
fore French officials against friendly
nation. did not do so, for knew the
marquis to be an erratic man of vague
ideas, somewhat deluded by an un-
bridled Imagination, thirsting for ac-
tion and notoriety, but at heart, in spite
of this ungovernable excitement, fear
less, generous and patriotic to de-
gree of hating whatever he thought to
be in his country's way--a medieval
brain fettered by modern restrictions
like madman by tight waistcoat.
| Whatever was out of the common
pleased him. He was Boulangist be-
cause this signified conspiring and over
turning; he was an anti-Semite, because
this harmonized with his medieval ten
denotes; he was mixed up in the gro
tesque Norton affair, because the
scoundrels by whom he, in common
with NJ. Deroulede, who is a man some
what of the same type, had been drawn
into it had made him believe that it
was combating England. He had not
the slightest inkling of the miserable
origin and contemplate aim of that
childish affair. In fact, he was always
the dupe and paid the piper. He applied
for money to his wife, an American
heiress and to his father Due de
Vallambrosa, who eventually placed
him under tutelage. He was always re-
quiring funds, which disappeared in the
hands of sharpers.
Nobody would be better entitled
than I to judge him harshly. He pic
tured me in his delirious moments in
fantastic and mythical guise. He i'm
agined me ubiquitous. managing men
| aho duiVC uAhuOWH 10 Iuc. IouJ
he was perfectly honest, listening to the
vampires who deluded him with trans-
parent fables, and one could not feel
resentment against a man living under
a constant nightmare. In the end, un-
able to revive the middle ages on Eu.
ropean soil, he passed half the year in
Africa, where Islam gave him the IL
1uSiOn of mast ages There he copce:yed
the idea of stirring up the.Soudan. He
has sent money to the Tuaregs. and
counted, as usual, on achieving imper-
ishable fame. 1t was an attempt to
turn the world back. His death is the
logical sequence of his life, but nothing
was commonplace in either his life or
his death, and nothing base except
those who preyed on him.-Paris Cor.
London Times.