The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1904-06-21
RAISULI, THE BANDIT.
Pen Sketch OF Man Who Kidnapped
Perdicaris.
New York American.

the Moorish bandit. whose kidnapping
of the distinguished American resi-
dent in Morocco. Mr.. Perdicaris, and
his son-in-law. Varley, has caused the
United States to send a fleet to the
Moorish coast threatening to bonn
bard the port OF Tangier if the sui
tan's forces do not rescue the .Amer-
can prisoner.
No famous Othello that you ever
saw on the stage could surpass in pic
turesqueness OF appearance and rich.
ness of attire, the same staggering,
handsome desperate. Raisuli. Nor did
any stage Othello ever more perfectly
look the part OF Shakespeare'S hero
than This gentleman marauder. whom
l met in the little Cafe des Poses. in
Tangier. on night in January OF last
year.
The night met Raisuli in the little
cafe in the single square where are
the French, German. British and
Spanish postohfces and banks. the
whitestone English hotel Bristol and
the booths OF the oriental merchants
the minstrels in rush and bamboo COT
fee and tea houses in the open market
just outside the city gates were
humping their two-stEinged guitars
and singing songs OF Raisuli's latest
exploit. He and his band had inter-
cepted a caravan on the way tosFez,
the Moorish capital, from the Soudan,
with ivory and slave girls. He brought
the girls boldly into the slave market
at Fee and sold them. He as publicly
disposed of the ivory. There had been
absolutely no interference by the gov
ernment, There was talk that officials
a. Fez had shared in the profits.
Raisuli, sitting in the public cafe
at Tangier, laughed at the idea that
any one would attempt to arrest him.
He raised his eyebrows and laughed
in immoderate scorn at the question
as to whether he had ever been pun
ished for any of lis depredations. He
became more quiet, and presently said
that the only thing he feared at all
was possibly revengeful bullet. But
he tapped mis- own. a long, gold
mounted gun, with its curving pearl
inlaid stock, and laughed again. -
. Kidnapping is an ancient and hon
orable custom among the Moors. The
government officials themselves make
frequent use of the method in order
to collect taxes.
Kidnapping OF little children from
the Spanish colony in Tangier, which
numbers 10000 persons, is frequent.
Raisuli has earned many thousands
of big Spanish silver pieces in this
fashion.
Raisuli affects the elegant attire of
a noble and a shereef-the latter
meaning a noble man through descent
from Mohammed. He wore fez
knotted to indicate man OF rank. 1t
was of cream colored silk, enbroider-
ed with braid of finely spun gold. 4
sweeping white cashmere cloak fell
gracefully from his shoulders, caught
at the throat by big silver clasp.
Beneath that was green burnous, al
SO embroidered with gold. The ma
terial was OF cashmere and silk. He
wore loose scarlet pantaloons with
gold braid stripes down the side. His
black muscular legs were bare, but
his feet were ornamented by yellow
boots of elaborate highly finished
soft leather.
Beneath the fez his dark brown face
showed in fine contrast. His eyes are
big, black and long-lsshed. His nose
is Of the Roman type, but most deli
cately modelled. Lips, heavy. but
we'll turned, are not concealed by his
glossy, ointment-treated mustache
and whiskers. He follows the custom
of shaving the hair off under part of
the lower lip. When I admired his
ivory handled curving knife in a scab-
bard of exquisitely wrought silver and
light blue enamel, he was childishly