Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-03-05
A BARD OF THE DESERT.
An English Artist Writes Of a Bedoun
Poet.

He was an old man, gray-bearded
and un-dried land the look OF import
ance upon his brow was repeated In
the expression of reflected glory which
animated the countenance of his son.
Each carried an instrument called Eel
kemengeh," kind of two-strinFed
fiddle. says the writer in the Century.
Shutting his eyes and comfortably
rubbing his hands together, the old
man began, in n harsh, stringent
voice. to deliver a panegyric upon the
song he was going to sing, calling forth
repeated calculations of "Aiwa,"
"Yeuss," and other approving signs
from the assembled crowd. After ten
minutes of this / became impatient
and exclaimed: ~ drub ell kemegen
va usta" (play your fiddle, o my mas
teri whereupon, with sympathetic
grunts from all, he began the overture,
a wierd. wailing melody TO which the
son played a kind of second in a
minor key, which 1t Is impossible to
transcribe correctly in our annexation.
Beginning like the signing of the
wind among the palm trees. 1t gradu-
ally gathered power and volume in n
crescendo then died away again 10 "a
breath playing infinite changes upon
the opening theme. The effect was
distinctly artistic and quaint. md
was gradually drifting into state of
dreamy imaginings, when suddenly
of amazing power and incisivencss be-
gan to intone the Song of the Nephaa-
ia.
Going back for generations, the legend
described the growing of the parent
tribe into power In Mesopotamia, and
how, in course of time, when men and
camels and horses were plenty the
head sheik decided upon the conquest
of Tuns. Admirably accompanied up
on their instruments, one seemed to
hear the hurried riding of messengers
dispatched to summon distant families:
their horses hoof strokes gradually dy-
ing in the distance until naught was
heard but the signing OF the night
wind across the desert Presently from
far away was caught the distant thun-
derng of the gathering hordes, gradu-
nlly approaching nearer and nearer un-
I'll the volume of sound eliminated in
n general salutaton of the sheik who
summoned them. Then came the
sheik's exhortation and the description
of their desert journey, which was to
occupy many months.
Incidents by the way-heat thirst,
noise and dust by day and eternal ST.
lence OF the desert by night the bright
ness Of the stars, the waxing and wan
ing of the moon. the hardships. excite
ment. plenty and poverty of conditions
were each in turn graphically de-
scribed to the same weird accompani-
ment.
Hour after hour this went on, the
bard's eye cleaning and his voice
growing stronger. until I was almost
stunned by Its laundering monotone.
Meantime the tribesmen. shifting ex-
citedly in their seats and utteriug quick
calculations of approval. constituted
scene which kept me spellbound. Even
tually in the narrative Tunis was
reached. and the horde of Arabs en-
camped beneath its walls
1t was now midnight, and for four
long hours ] had listened to this WON
derful epic: but realizing that l was too
thoroughly exhausted for further
amusement decided to turn In" and
getting up I left the assembly in the
zenith Of its excitement and gratifca-
ton.