The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-11-12
CHARACTER OF THE TURK.
Ohstinacv Is the Chief Feature OF
This Oriental.

W
This Oriental.
The leading feature of the Turkish
character is obstinacy, says Harper's
Round Table. There is only one thing
that will induce a Turk to do some
thing he does not want to-that is
force. When that is applied, or he sees
1t is going TO be, he will give in. II
he, however, thinks the other side is
not in earnest he will hold out, and
sometimes that brings him into trou-
Die. That is the secret Of Turkish d.
plomacy and it is that which gives 9TH
ar countries so much trouble in dealing
with Turkey. A foreign diplomat once
remarked that the right way to do
business with the Turk was to take
him by the throat, give him a good
beating and then tell him to sit down
and talk business. This was, however,
rather a rough and extreme way of
putting it. An old resident in Turkey
| met on the first occasion l was in the
country nee gave me the sum of his
experience in his dealings with them
In the form Of a story. | did not think
at the time that | should within a few
months have a practical Illustration of
its truth on my own account. But that
is by the way. This is how the story
goes:
An old Turk, whom we will call Has
san Bahia, owed money which he had
borrowed from Abdullah, who had ask
ed several times for it's return. AS
both We're Mussulmans, no interest was
given or taken, believers being forbid
len by the Koran to lend money to one
another on usury. But Hassan Bahia
could never be induced to pay back his
debt, and at last Abdullah, losing pa
tience, had him up before the cadi or
Judge.
You W this money" said the ca
ii.
1T is ven so, Efendim," replied the
debtor.
Then you must pay it back" ex-
claimed the cadi, cor I must sentence
you"
BE it so, Effendim. I do not pay
said the obstinate old man.
Then | sentence you to pay the
money, and if you continue in your re-
fusal, oh, Hassan Bahia, I give you the
choice whether you will AXE twenty
five strokes of the bastinado, eat a
whole string of onions, or pay the mon
ey. In the name of the Merciful One,
| condemn you"
"Inshallah, Effendim! I will take
the twenty-five strokes of the bastina.
do
The eXecutioner of the court and his
assistants were called and Hassan Ba.
ba, having been thrown on the f1ool
and his feet fastened, soles uppermost
to the pole held by two men, the exc.
c%utioner proceeded to lay on. But be.
fore the twenty-five strokes had beer
administered old Hassan Bahia cried out
Justify:
In the nam of the Most Merciful
oh, cadi, give the orders to cease" he
exclaimed, and I will eat the string
of onions"
So, on the command of the cadi, he
was let down, and a man was sent ou1
to the market place for a string of on.
ions. When he got back with then
Hassan Bahia went m%anfully to work tt
eat the onions, but before he had go
to the end of them his stomach refused
to go any further, and he cried out
Let it be as you say, oh, cadi! l viii
pay the money" Then undoing thu
girdle which he had around his waist
he produced the pieces, which he count
ed out to Abdullah before the cadi.
That" said my friend, twill Civ
you a better idea of the character o
the Turk than anything I can think of
He will take the beating, he will ca
the onions. and he will pay you tn
money after ALL