The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1902-02-13

There are many great exhibits at the
South Carolina Interstate and West
Indian Exposition, there are many mar
velous things. There are sights, sounds
and sensations to suit every shade of hu-
man taste; profound things for the pro-
found, artistic things for the artistic and
morals a-plenty for the moralists. But if
one is looking simply for good time, for
pure unadulterated fun, it can be had in
the Beautiful Orient on the Midway and
in big punches.
Here indeed is the home of hilarity and
the street of folly. Mirth and merriment
reign supreme.
At step one finds ones self in the
midst of mass of narrow, winding streets
flanked with quaint, looking market stalls,
stately mosques, solemn temples and
graceful minarets, all clothed in the gor-
geous colors so dear to the Eastern heart.
On every hand arises babel of strange
sounds; the din of drums, the falsette
squeak of queer reed instruments, the
droning chant of moslem prayers, the
hoarse shouts of camel drivers, the shrill
cries Of hawkers vending their wares, the
grunting of camels, the braying of dim
inutiye donkeys, the trumpeting of ele-
plants; medley of wild, weird music
and the jargon of many tongues.
For here is motley and polyglot throng
of many peoples and of myriad languages.
The turbaned Turk strides abreast the
skirted Greek; the white shrouded Algeri-
an rubs elbows with the Swarthy shelk
from the plains of Araby; the natty and
beieweled Persian doffs his fez to the
ebony skinned belle of Ethiopia, while
the stranger is jostled by a motley crew
of Armenians, Albanians, Soudanese,
Abyssinians and host of others all dress
ed in their national costumes and pursu-
ing their accustomed occupations with all
the noise and confusion of the land of AL
lah, Mahomet and Buddah. A hustling,
bustling, jostling throng arrayed in all the
picturesque splendor of the Far East.
Muleteers and musicians, camel drivers
and contortionists, swordsmen and sing
ing girls, dancers and dervishes, tumblers
and tradesmen, jugglers and janizaries,
houris and hawkers, acrobats and artls-
ans, a shouting, singing, rollicking and
good-natured crowd as one may wish to
see.
And how the sightseeing and fun low
ing American crowds enjoy it! 1onder
go blushing bride and dashing groom
spending a brief moment of their honey
moon on the swaying, lurching back OF a
camel; there staid and steady old bank
er is being jolted along the Streets of
Cairo on an equally sagacious donkey
here motherly looking matron is seen
clambering to the broad back Of kneel-
ing elephant; old and young of both sexes
and all stations catch the infection of the
moment and join in the jollity of the oc-
casion. Busy politicians forget their
plots and plans of party and faction to
jounce up and down on the vertebrae OF
an Algerian ass; overworked business
men forget their cares in camel ride and
laugh themselves red and reckless as they
roll and pitch on the hurricane dock of
this ambling ship of the desert; thought.
less students forsake their books and revel
in the delights of the Oriental theatre and
grizzled veterans share with registering
youths their admiration of the grace and
beauty of the dancing girls or the grue-
some thrills evoked by the grotesque tor
ture dance.