The Indianapolis journal., 1902-04-27
On the Way to KerOnan
q X A " II Al L. T. "

now. over the broad high road the French
have made across the desert from Susa;
but in ISIS. when / went there first. il was
a very different matter. / can honestly as
sure YOU Tunis was then an independent
BeyIik and any bold Christian took his life
In his hand IL he wished TO visit the holy
shrine Of Ny Lord the Companion Of the
Blessed Prophet For KerOnan was still
considered. In those days. the most sacred
city I'm all North Africa; nay. next TO Nee
ca itself. so the Imamus declared. the most
sacred city in the whole expanse Of Islam.
No inhdel foot had ever yet defiled the
streets OF Sicii Dkba's final resting place;
no Jew. even. was permitted to pass the
barriers that surrounded the dark and
gloomy metropolis OF North African Mo-
hammedanism. To have been detected en-
tering Keronan in disguise would have
been certain death for any European; to
be suspected of Christianity in that nurs-
cry of Islam would have been as much as
the bravest and sturdiest Englishman's
life was worth in the middle decades Of
the present century.
Nevertheless, in that very year. 1858. 1
determined to make my way, alone and in
disguise. as a pilgrim to Keronan. was
young in those days, and eager for adven-
ture. 1t was my ambition in the end to
reach. perhaps. even Mecca itself; and
thought the experience 1 could gain in my
pilgrimage 10 the Holy City Of Africa
might help me in time to force my way
into the Holy City Of Arabia well, un-
visited then by a single westerner.
Those were troublous times, however. in
1865. and the world of Islam profound
IL stirred 10 its inmOst core by the events
that had so lately taken place in India
With a Mussulman empire still possible at
Delhi as the outcome Of the great mutiny
not yet suppressed, men knew not what
mighty things might not be in store for the
faithful of the Prophet. The long-expected
ingathering Of the infidels might now in
deed be close at hand; the triumph of the
Moslem over his hereditary foes, de-
layed so many centuries in the inscrut-
able and wonderful cOunsels of Allah,
might now at length be on the point of full
fIlment- But. meanwhile. since the affairs
of the Faith were everywhere so critical,
II behooved true Mussulmans all over the
world TO be duly on their guard against
Christian intrigue and Christian interlop-
Islam. always suspicious and always
cruel, was just then more suspicious and
more warily cruel in temper than ever
Good men and true were murdered, it was
rumored. upon their way to Mecca, on the
bare suggestion OF some slight irregularity
IN their mode OF saying their daily prayers
or some doubtful observance of strict Mo-
hammedan practice in eating or drinking.
without single question asked or a
chance of explanation.
Better far ten thousand faithful Mos
lens should die outright before their time
and enter at once into the joys of Para
disc" said my Arabic teacher and guide,
Dmar-ben- Marabet. the Moor of Algiers.
"than that one dog of an unbeliever should
ever set foot. by inadvertence. within the
holy walls OF the capital of Islam"
Nevertheless. in spite of warnings and
mutterings of danger. oft-repeated by my
French friends. 1 made up my mind to go
10 Keronan and risk everything. My three
years in Algiers. in the service of the old
Bureau Arabe. had given me good knowl-
edge of the debased colloquial Arabic uni
versally current among the North Afri-
can populations as Well as fair idea of
the customs of the country through which
] was to travel. L knew my Koran half by
heart; understood the ritual of Islam per-
Il
time with commendable regularity; and
fattered myself that in burnous and tur-
ban I would pass any day. with my dark
hair and olive-brown Cornish skin, for a
very tolerable Tunisian Arab. So L joined
myself incontinently to a caravan which
was going up country from Susa TO Kero-
nan. with something of that careless glee
that an Englishman always feels in expos
ing his life to a little more than ordinary
danger.
Our caravan, as il CHANGED. was a large
and important one. for il included, among
other things. the annual gifts which the
Shereef of Mecca and the Sheikh-ul-Islam
at Constantinople always sent as fraternal
greeting on the feast of Bahram to the
Governor or Keronan. Most honored among
these presents, in accordance with common
MOhammedan custom, said TO be a
beautiful Arabian slave girl, a maiden Of
the fairest. destined for the harem of the
Chief OF the Faithful in the City of My
Lord the Companion cf the Prophet. OF
course. we pilgrims of the common herd
could none of us see the face of this beau
tiful girl. selected by the Shereef from all
Arabia for so high and dangerous post of
honor; for she was muffied up 10 the eyes
I'm wells and yashmaks with more than the
usual Mohammedan jealousy But as We
gathered in the yard of the big and dirty
carsvanserai at Susa TO mount our camels
for the long. slow journey. L saw with in
terest graceful figure, draped in the full
trousers and flowing robes of the women OF
Islam, descend the steps with measured
tread. and slowly and reluctantly take a
seat upon the foremost dromedary Her
eyes alone looked out as 1 thought with
appealing sadness, upon the busy scene.
Poor girlr' 1 said TO myself with
touch of compassion; shes wondering
what sort or life she'll have TO lead in the
harem of that horrid old Arab at Keronan.
I'm sorry for ber. Her eyes are good. Well
well. it's comfort, anyhow, TO think that
TO an Arabian girl. accustomed only To the
hard, coarse life of the desert. Keronan
itself will seem, by comparison. almost
like earthly Paradise
L had no time, however, to pursue my re-
flections on the unknown slave girls prob
able fate. for as 1 looked the white-robed
Sheikh of the caravan, an evil-eyed old
Arac. with a long gray beard. observing