The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-11-28

h}ed cape 81. vincent, and the sea was
rolling heavily in the straits. We saw
nothing Of this until we had left the bay
and were standing out from Tangier. nor
would IL be worthy of mention now but
that 1t gave me my first real understand
ing of the tremendous hold that the faith
or the fanaticisn Of the Moorish people
call IL what you wiil-has upon their char
acfers and lives.
The channel a. that point is less than
twenty miles wide. but We were more than
I'VE hours crossing it, Our little crazy
craft labored terribly in the huge break
ers that swept inwards from the Attain
tie. Pitching until the foredeck was COW
cred, rolling until her boats dipped III
the water, creaking. shuidering. leap!ng,
she had enough 10 do 20 keep affoat-
With the American occupied the
bridge between the patldle-boxes which
served as saloon for the first-class pas
sengers: and below Us in the open hold
Of the after deck a number OF Moors sat
hsddled together among cattle and sheep
and baskets of fowls They were pill
grinls. Ha6jis, returning from Mecca by
way OF Gibraltar. and their behavior dur
ing the passage was marvellous in its cal
lousness TO the sense of peril. They
wrangled, duarreled. snarled at each 9TH
er. made peace. embraced, kissed. laughed
together, made futile attempts 10 smoke
their keef-pipes. and quarreled. barked
and laughed again.
Surely | said these people are Ell
Their wondrousIy brave or they have no
sense of the soiemnity of DEATH
Neither" said the American; they are
merely fataiists by virtue of their faith.
If IL is now II is to come; IL il not to
come. then Ii is now
There Is a sort of bravers in that" /
answered.
And cowardice. too,' said the Ameri-
can.
The night had closed in when we
dropped anchor by the ruins of the mole
AT Tangier. and 1 saw no more of the
white town than l had seen of it from
the straits. But II my eyes failed in the
darkness my other senses served me only
too well. The shrieking and yelping OF
the boatloads of Moors and negroes who
clambered aboard TO relieve us of our lug
gage. the stencil OF the town sewers that
emptied into the bay-these were my first
OF Islam.
The American went through the tur-
moil with composure and an air of COM
mand. and having seen to my belongings
as well as his own. passing them
through the open Office at the water-gate,
where two solemn Moors in white sat by
the light of the candles in the receipt of
customs. he parted from me at the foot
of the street that begins with the Grand
Mosque and is the main artery OF the
town for he had written for rooms to
the hotel called the Villa de France, and
/. before leaving England had done the
same to the hotel called the Continen-
tai.
Thither was led by barefooted cour-
Ter in white jellab and red tarboosh. amid
sights and sounds of fascinating strange
ness; the low drone of mems voices sing
ing their evening prayers in the mosques,
the tinkling of the bells of men selling
water out of goatskins. the allah" Of
blind beggars crouching a the gates. the
"Arrah'' of the mule drivers, and the
hooded shapes going by in the gloom or
sauatting in the red glare of the cafes
without windows or doors and open to the
streets
met the American i'm the Sok-the
market place--the following day. and he
took me up to his hotter te see some ma
tive costumes which he had bought by
way of preparatio for his enterprise.
They were haiks and selhams. jellabs.
kaftans. slippers rosaries. korans. sashes.
satchels. turbans. and tarbooshes-blue.
white yellow and red--all right and none
too new, for he had purchased them, not
at the bazaars. but from the son of
learned Moor, Taleb. who had been cast
into prison by uSufef Jew.
'In these" he said Il mean to go ev-
erywhere. and I'll defy the devil himself TO
detect me-
Take care" said. take care"
He laughed and asked me what my own
plans were. / told him that I would re-
main in Tangier until I received letters
from home, and then push on towards
Fee.
"I'll see You there" he said: but If I
q
Goodbye
Goodbye" said, and so we parted.
stayed ten days longer in Tangier,
absorbed I'm many reflections. of which
the strangest were these two: first, that
the Moors We're the most religious people
in the world. and next, that they were the
most wickedly religious and basely inn
moral race on Gods earth. / was prompt
ed to the one by observation of the large
part which Allah appears to play in all
affairs of Moorish life. and to the other
by clear proof of the much larger part
which the devil enacts in Allah's gar
ment On the one side prayers. prayers,
prayers, the mooden, the mooden, the
mooden, the mosque, the mosque. the
mosque. ''Allah" in the mouths Of the
beggars. Allah" from the lips OF the
merchants, "Mohammed' on the inscrip-
tons at the gate. the Koran" on the
satcheis hawked in the streets. And on
the other side shameless lying, cheating,
usury. buying and selling of justice, cru
city and inhumanity: raw sores on the
backs Of the asses, blood in the streets,
blood. blood. blood everywhere. and Sc
cret corruption indescribable.
Nevertheless / concluded that my nerv-
Gus malady must have given me the dark
glasses through which everything looked
so foul and I resolved in the Interests Of
health to push on towards Fec as soon
as letters arrived from home telling ME
tina: all were well and happy there.
But no letters came, and at the arrival
of every fresh mail from Cadiz and from
Gibraltar, my Impotence increased. At
length ! decided 20 wait no longer and
leaving instructions that my letters should
be sent on after me to the capital I
called on the English consul for such Of
fetal documents as were needful for my
journey.
When these had been procured from the
Kasbash and I was equipped for travel.
the consul inquired Of me how | liked
the Moors and their country. de-
scrihed my conflicting Impressions. and
he said both were right in their several
ways
1.-The religion Of the Moor" said he. lis
genuine Of its kind though it does not
put an end 20 the yiIest government on
earth. and the most loathsome immorali-
ties ever practicef by man. Islam is a
sacred thing 10 him. He is proud Of Il.
Jealous of IT, and prepared 10 die for H..
Half his hatred OF thu unbelievcr is fear
that me Nazarene or the Jew Is eager 20
show his faith some dishonor. And that -
added the consul. reminds me 70 sfirr
you ore word Of warning: avoid the very
shadow OF offense 20 the religion NJ these
people; do not pry into their beliefs; do
no; take note Of their ordinances; pass
their mosques and saints houses with