Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-06

| appearance Luey seemed TO be d CToSS W.
| tween the African and the Mongol. Their
| men were handsome and their women were
| beautiful But they were almost hopeless
| ly STUPID. Iet
| like race, as savage races go, but they had
| ideas of their own, and they were stlcklers
| for those ideas. s.e.-
| But as has been said, they were stupid
! This is true of other races. The traveller
| in Cairo Alexandria may sit upon the
| veranda of a modern hotel, equipped with
| every modern convenience and luxury ana
invention, in the midst of people VINO are
| the foremost representatives of the TWEEN
| tieth century; and he may look over the
| railing and out upon the street ana see
myriads of men and women who dress ana
act and talk as did their ancestors thou
! sands of years ago. The natives appar-
| emily have not moved forward; civilization
springs up about them, but they remain the
| same. .
Thus 1t was with the inhabitants OF
| Swat Each of them was the same old
| two and-sixpence that he would nave peeI
centuries ago Each lived in the same ora
| way, plowed in the same old way, aug
| houses in the same old way, lit hres IN the
same old way-and they were all happy.
| This sluggishness was due In great part
| to the fact that the inhabitants OF swat
constituted a very close corporation. They
| were separated by many miles from any
| other island. and they were jealous OF
| their own right to exclusiveness They ala
| not visit, and they did not invite. II was
| due further to the fact that they ala not
encourage the encrOachments OF the
whites At some period in their history
| the white men had maltreated ana apuseo
them, and they were through with Wnite
men for good and all-at least that Is
what they hoped Vessels stopped there
| it is true Sometimes the white men went
| ashore and attempted to make trade or
two. but they were received with scant
courtesy, although not with active nos
tility. But the white men cared but ut
tie for the place. For it was as uneFent-
F,,1 4 ,,,fi I'll
well be imagined. Upon the Island OF
Swat there positively 'nothin' dom
at any season of the year. Other lslands
and other countries invariably have some
commodity commodities desirable or
useful in some way to the inhabitants OF
civilized countries, but not so the Island
of Swat. For Swat was sui generls-one
of it's own kind.
From one standpoint the Island of Swat
would have been study for those who
are interested in what are known as
Community interest" governments For
among themselves the people lived
the end of many years; every man divided
with his neighbor; and save for the
Akoond and his immediate retinue-
which was, however, small--no man lived
better than the other. There was
nothing to fight for There was little
or no fighting over the women, for the
women considerably outnumbered the
men, and each man had his quota of
wives. And even If one man happened to
fancy the wife of another and win her,
the latter seldom made fuss. A wife
more or less what did it matterH And SO
they lived their inoffensive lives in the
same manner and with the same aids and
utensils and devices as did their fore
fathers in the year one 3
And the Akoond. Well, after the man
ner OF all nations ancient and modern,
the Akoond was chosen from among the
rest by reason of just tbne{luality which
he alone enjoyed. The Akoond invari-
ably was va IT.. the strongest man. And be-
the absolute ruler. His Bord was law
Is 1t not SO everywhefe? Are not the
leaders chosen in monatchy or democracy
for their strength, and that alone?
1t may be financial strength, intellectual
strength or the strength and ability to in
fuence men. but it is always for strength
that men are selected from the ward
States. And when all is said and done the
selection and election of rulers is always a
lottery and it may be just as well to
choose leaders for their physical strength
as for ability In any other direction
At any rate, just SO long as the Akoond
could hold his own he maintained his su-
premacy. But the office, like the prize ring
championship, was always open to new
corners. The lusty youngsters of Swat
were told time and again by their parents
that some day, who knows, they might be
the youth who had ambition immediately
went into training from the day almost
that they first were able to walk But the
Akoond himself, a huge black man. with
rather a sinister conference.-the others
as rule were brown, and pleasant of face
the AkOond generally was able to hold
his own, for there were many claimants of
the crown, and the onslaughts of these
claimants constantly kept him in very fit
condition. At one time he came very near
ly going under, for, by virtue of a happy
thought of one of the young men, a syn
dictate of claimants was formed, which
t~y,, h.
least year two. during which time 1t
was quite evident he would become some
what fat and unwieldly. At the appointed
time the members Of the syndicate, by
process Of elimination and preliminary
trials chose their best man. and he met
the Akoond- But the Akoond was a man
of too large experience, and he knew too
many tricks, and the great heir presump-
tive syndicate of Swat, like many another
trust, failed sgnally.
And the Akoond, a lusty man. still
reigned supreme. And the more OF the in
habitants he defeated the better he felt
because claimant. once vanquished, could
not, under the law, make the attempt
again. He was a wonderful man. this
Akoond.
Few people know that this Akoond of
Swat Is none other than the powerful ne
gro who was imported by the same west
ern concern which ia engaged in exploit
ing the name OF Swat" and who under
the name of Murgatroyd. defeated so MANY
OF our HedVyWelSUtS curing the recent
months. He was brought here as an ad-
vertisement; he has remained to become
one of the fistic champions Of the world
1t has been said that the inhabitants Of
Swat had no love for the white man. This
is literally true. But every rule Is known
by it's exceptions. The Inhabitants were
deeply religious and supersttious, az was
natural and to be supposed. They believed
In divinities and signs. In fact, 1t was be-
cause their ancestors had believed white
men to be divinities, and because the d.
whites had taken them in in a dastardIv
way, that they tabooed all white men as
class.
One day, however, a few of the natives
were sitting in a group upon the beach.
They were there not without a purpose
For far out, a mere speck upon the ex-
panse Of ocean, was an infinltesimal OBJ
ject slowly moving in upon them
From mere atom upon the face of the
water this thing became an aggregation of
atoms. When 1t came into full view II
turned out to be mana white man,
barred to the waist and rowing steadily
but feebly, in a small dory. From time to
time he turned and looked toward the
shore. Then he turned and rowed again
The group of natives finally rose to its
feet and stood In expecfants attitudes upon
the shore at the very waters edge The
white man was very near. Suddenly he
| summoned all his strength, pulled a mighty