The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-23
ESTERHAZY DlSLlKED.
A FRENCH CAPTAIN TELLS WHY HE
WAS UNPOPULAR.

oricntaI Rather Than European in
t4is Anpcarancc and Character.
arrogant and Overbearing-NOt
cood FeIIow-His Conduct in the
arabian Burenu-Lived in Lavish
s,,Ie. Although without Means.
>-ew York. Oct 21.-It is seldom that
man whose name is so familiar to news
,s,ar readers as is that of Mai. Ester
l,,y is actually so little known. There are
,robabv not more than half a dozen men
in This country who are personally ac-
,.,a,nted with the disgraced French Of
feor one of those who knew him well is
7,aron de ST. Mars, a French captain, re-
tired. who now lives in this city.
among those who are not surprised at
IN. final downfall of Maj. Esterhazy," said
the ex-captain the other day, may be
safely counted those officers who served
with him in Africa back in the seventies.
IIe held The rank of captain at that time,
and I remember his appearance Well He
was man of medium hight and weight,
with long thin face, tanned to an olive
brown hue. The most noticeable of his
features was a pair of black eyes, deep
tst continually in motion, and surmount-
"a by heavy brows. The nose and the
month. with thin lips, drawn at each cor
,4r. gave him an eastern cast OF counten-
3pce. AT first meeting him the idea nat
ura,N suggested itself that his origin was
neither Latin nor Saxon. Rather he looked
Ike one of the figures depicted by Ingres
I'M his celebrated paintings of oriental war
riors.
I'm 1875 an assignment to duty in Africa
was looked upon as nothing less than an
exile. Naturally, it was lonely work, with
no ueIghbors except the wandering tribes
Of Arabs We were thrown upon our own re-
sources. and the young officers all tried
to relieve the general mOnotony of lone
illness. Therefore, We kept to one anoth
or's society as much as possible, and nat
urally the men got to be wen acquainted.
But nobody knew Esterhazy well. He had
no friends no intimates. He always SEEM
ed to have furtive air which ne conceal
ed under a showing of arrogance and hau-
tour In short, he was far from being
good fellow in place where that was the
only crime that counted seriously against
a man.
"Esterhazys position made this attitude
Of isolation possible, though not at all ne
cessary. At that time he was detached
collecting department of the Arabian bu-
reau at setif 1t is difficult 10 explain clear
~ the exact duties of this bureau which
had charge of the entire administration of
that half-wild country previous to the es-
tablishment of civil jurisdiction lis Of
ftcers We're judges, sometimes lawmakers,
tax collectors, and in fact the one con-
Meeting link between the native tribes and
the home government. They were usually
good friends of the shieks, who, for the
maintenance of their own prestige, found
IL advisable TO keep on the right side OF
the officers
''Esterhazy, as I have said, had charge
Of the collecting department of the Ara
bian bureau. The chief reason for his
selection to fill this post was his excellent
knowledge of Arabic, a qualification which
was rare among us, but which he had
picked up somewhere in the course of his
mysterious past. His position was one CT
absolute authority; he had no subordin-
ates and no superior, except the brigader
general in command of the entire sub
division to whom alone he had to report.
There was one other popularity about
Esterhazy's position. II was almost the
only one in Africa which gave d man the
opportunity 10 reap personal advantage
from his connection with the government.
w nile the heads of The collecting depart
meut in the various districts did not tx
me amount 10 be paid in by each tribe
they had sole charge OF the collection and
the power TO grant fun discharge upon
lneir signatures.
Now, it is characteristic of the Ara
Dian that he will always try to evade
an least a portion of any debt laid upon
nm no matter how small its amount.
IL ne succeeds he is proud of the fact that
ne mas overreached a CHRISTIAN and viii
hoaSt of it to all the other tribesmeu.
% attain this object he is willing to give
lHe most lavish presents-guns inlaid
"ith silver or gold, thick carpets of price
'ss value, fabrics woven by his women,
u necessary even one of his fine-blOOded
-oIses Ii matters not to him that the
Na-ue OF his gift often Overbalances the
1aN Hss on his debt. Bribery seems to be
WNA the Arabian inherent and natural.
4oeI these circumstances it may be men
"HeP as remarkable that French officers
nave very rarely awaited themselves of
'I'S easy means of dishonesty
atuI, the district OF which Capt Es-
"luazy mad charge, is the most impOr
,dhl ~ the province of Constantine. It
o"Io"fs on the Atlas mountains and con-
aus the tribe of the Hodnas, who raise
s'e Hhest horses il Africa, and who are
no"Ged for their wealth. Esterhazy
- 5l"dys much more fredly with them
'"@I ne was with his brother officers.
our pay was uniformly 300 francs per
.o''n (So), not a munihcent sum. You
~ imagine that not much of il was
~ al the end of each thirty DAYS. Es-
- nay was as lacking in means as the
- OF US, but his manner of living was
- aHerent. He occupied a house by
-'-i,sell' 1t was richly carpeted from top
70 pottom, the walls were covered with
Sp-endld portieres, and the rooms were
-1i N'shed with rich divans covered with
sllA cushions In addition to all this the
rooms We're richly decorated with trophies
" ohe Kind and another. There was
of
lem Spahis native cavalrymen). In
t 80 capt Esterhazy maintained an es-
s9oHshment of oriental luxury, and to
HlsAlen the effect the place was presided
over by an Arabian woman of great beau
~ nile the rest of us might make
"nat shift we could TO appease our thirst,
"Hlch IN that country was our greatest
H'ls@fy' there was not a day but the
.Aiaoians carried to Esterhazy ice and
80 snow from Mt. Tabor or Mt Tababor,
"nlch We're distant az least nine or ten
miles from Seuf
- was not for these things in them