The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-08
Soldering in Morocco.



 I took the opportunity yesterday of in
 terviewng the three British non-commis- stoned officers who have been attached to the snltan's army during the last twelve month in the quality of instructors. says a letter from Tangier in the London Tele- graph They are smart looking men, burned a dark brown by the hot sun of the interior. and their conversation was very interesting. They wore a neat uni- form in khaki. white turban was wound tightly round their tarbooches, or small fezzes and flung loosely over their should CTS was a white burnouse, or jelaba, which looked very picturesque. Their court uniform was much more gorgeous, however, being of rich orange red color, embroidered with gold at the neck, and coattails. The men were well satisfied with their life in the sultan's camp, haV- ing in their own words, little to do ana plenty to get" They expressed them selves eager to return Their duties while the army was on the march were nil but at Fez they had to drill the troops into some show of order.
 The Moorish troops do not appear to have taken very rapidly to the instruction provided. for them. An entire absence of authority and discipline prevails. On pa rade they would behave fairly well, the different regiments being divided into companies under Kaids, but any attempt at evolutions invariably resulted in dis aster. On the march the soldiers would straggle as fancy listed, although on the whole each tribe would keep to itself. This precaution was nocessitated by the enmity existing between various tribes united under the sultan's banner Those tribal feuds brought about constant dis turhances in camp and rival factions were usually far more eager to get at each others throats than at the enemy. In one or two expeditions the only men wounded were those who became involved in an intertribal brawl in the camp itself. The sergeants have very poor opinion of the fighting qualities of the Moors, They declare 1t is the side which makes the most noise which wins the fight. Hence the advantage of numbers who shout and blaze away until the enemy re- tire The sultan had about 25,000 men, regulars and irregulars, in Fez when the sergeants left These included the Sherifian bodyguard, composed of 2O0l picked men, and called the Arabas a regiment from the Sus district of whom the greater part are blacks. about 2OO0 strong, and regiments from the Abda, Dakala and Sherada tribes of strength vaSying between 1500 and 5000 men, the aforementioned being the largest.
 The Arabas are uniformly armed with the Martini Henry rifles. which were dis carded by the British army. This regi- ment is fairly well drilled and maintains a pretense of discipline. A considerable portion, about 90 per cent of the rest of the troops is armed with the weapon known as the Tallihanner, poor repro duction of the Martini-Henry. manu- faetured in Fez under the superntend- ence of Colonel Ferrera of the Italian army. Although this rife is most eecen- tric in it's behaivor, invariably tanning the cartridge after the first round, while it can not be fired at all if the bayonet Is fixed vet it is a distinct improve ment on the old flink-lock muzzle-loader with which the remainder of the force Is armed, and which is commonly known as "gas-pipe tubing" When on the march, and even in camp. the men with the flint locks are constantly discharging their weapons with reckless indifference as to the course the bullet may take, They do this principally to assure themselves that the guns are in working order, al- ways matter of doubt, and also to clear the barrels. Accidents are very numer- ous A bullet once pierced the camp-bed of one of the sergeants.
 The artillery park of his Sheridan ma iesty is Varied and peculiar. He has about twenty breeeh-loading Krupp field guns and twenty-three brass muzzle-loaders The light artillery consist of twelve Maxims firing the Martini Henry car fridge, twelve Maxims made in Germany and fitted up in Fez by German artisans, not always reliable as quick-firers, how ever; one Hotchkiss, five Gardners, three Nordenfeldt which arc absolutely non efficient, and twenty-four pompoms. Ot these, Bou Hamara recently captured four Krupp breech-loaders and three brass field guns, four Gardners and one Maxim There are large quantities of ammunition stored. and consequently nobody knows exactly where to lay a hand on any par ticular ammunition, No proper guard is l kept over the casks and pilfering is very rife. Numbers of the boxes have been broken open and half their contents eX- tractea and replaced by stones. The am | munition thus stolen Is sold 10 the enemy 1 One of the sergeants doubted whether | the troops would ever make efficient gun ners and related that he attempted tc | give instructions in gur- eill to some oi | the men. The trst morlsng he kept wei at 1t, until they began to understand tho rudlments., Next morning all the men ab' sented themselves. complaining that they were sick. but sent substitutes to take their places When flrirg practice wa: begun and the Moors felt the Kick Of th'