The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1903-10-08
LAST STAND OF THE MOoRS.
Troubles in Morocco That Make the
City an Jlsafe stopping Place
fer Foreigners.

Troubles of so serious a character as
to engender the belief that European in
| PREVENTION may be necessitated rage
around Tetuan, according to the Lon
don Express. A glimpse into this
troubled city and the country in which
it lies has special interest at this juno
ture. Morocco, in spite of its proximity
to Europe, is the most fanatical of the
Mohammedan countries. Christians
are hated by the natives throughout the
country, and it is often dangerous to
go outside of the town of Tangier.
The business of Morocco is entirely
in the hands of Moorish Jews, who
amass considerable wealth in the coast
ports. 1t is not prudent for a Chris
tian to stay anywhere but in the Jew
ish quarter. At the capital, Morocco
City, and Fee the natives eXpectorate
and hurl stones at the foreign infidels,"
as they call them, and no Christian is
safe in the streets unless escorted by
soldiers Morocco is one of the most
fertile countries in the world; the soil
is very rich and has only to be
scratched to produce luXuriant crops.
The majority of the people live by ag-
riculture. There is very little machin-
cry of any kind; labor is cheap and
everything is done by hand
Tangier is the city best known to
Englishmen. A number of tourists
visit this ancient seaport every winter.
1t is also much frequented by army Of
fcers who cross from Gibraltar for
shooting and the pig-sticking. There
are no roads in Morocco except the car
avian tracks into the interior In the
best of times they can hardly be called
roads, but in the rainy season, when the
rivers are swollen and overflow, trav-
cling is both difficult and dangerous
Tetuan, the old Moorish city. and
the center of the present trouble, is
about 40 miles from Tangier by road
and As miles by sea from Gibraltar.
Coming to it from the rock one gener-
ally lands at Ceuta and rides along the
coast on muleback a distance of 30
miles.
Game and poultry of all kinds are to
be had in abundance; delicious par
penny each and there are quantities of
wild pigs and antelope to be found by
the sportsman. The ride on horseback
to Tetuan from Tangier occupies about
nine hours. An escort of two Moorish
cavalrymen is necessary, as numbers Of
wild tribesmen are continually NOV
ing about the country, and there is al
tnfY Nf I,
meeting them. Native runners do the
journey in eight hours for five shil-
lings.
One dollar a day is charged for each
soldier, and. in return, if the tourist is
robbed the governor of the district
sweeps down on the villages near the
scene of the robbery and makes them
pay 100 fold for the stolen goods.
Whether the unlucky stranger gets any
part of the fine is another question.
Tetuan is surrounded by walls over
so feet high and six feet thick, sur
mounted by brass cannon at various
points. There are two enormous gates
the sea gate and the land gate-which
are opened at sunrise and closed at
sunset. l arrived at Tetuan at nine
O'Clock at night on my journey from
Fee one wet night in March and it was
nearly an hour before | could gain adj
mission into the city. The fast of the
Ramadan was on at the time and all
true Mohammedans refrained from eat
ing, drinking or smoking from sunrise
to sunset. The Tetuanites obeyed the
Koran implicitly and turned the night
into day That is, they slept all day and
worked at night
Many of the old families still have
the keys of the lost mansions in Spain,
which have been handed down reli-
giously from father to son with the
nope that one day the Moors may re-
turn to the land from which they were
banished. The Kabyles. who are caus-
ing the trouble, are a warlike tribe,
who are always fighting with some one,
fight among themselves. In peaceful
moments they devote themselves to
making terrible-lOoking daggers and
stealing chickens.
The mission stations do very little
good in Morocco. The natives will not
lake the medicine given them by the
mission doctors when they are sick be-
cause MOhammed is denounced as
false prophet on the lower part of the
label. Whenever Morocco is thrown
open to the world there will be plenty
of fortunes to be made, as the mineral
wealth of the country is enormous:
the soil is most fertile and no conces-
sions have been granted to anyone.
Railroads and machinery are practical
ly unknown and Morocco is a virgin
country as far az civilization is con-
cerned. The country is intersected by
numerous rivers which flow down the
Atlas mountains, and the climate in
most parts is healthy and can be i'm
proved by sanitary measures. which arc
absent at present. Except in the towns
Morocco is very sparsely inhabited.
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