Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-08

court, and with such success that his
deposition from power, disgrace and inn
prisonment on trumped-up charges were
all but agreed upon. I well remember
Menebbhi landing at the waterproof at
Mogador, knowing of his impending
doom, and yet without a shade of care or
! anxiety on his fine and aristocratic coun-
Itenance.
He arrived in Morocco unexpectedly,
and his most formidable rival was almost
an equal distance away from the court,
which at that time was at Marraksh.
Johnston was asked to arrange for re-
lays of horses through forest and plain
TO the capital; and after headlong ride
py night and day, killing his fleet thor
ougnbreds one after the other and bare
~ drawing rein for few minutes sleep
and food, the minister reached the pres
ence or his imperial master in the vast
tumble-down palace and threw himself
on his knees at his feet full of explana-
tions and counter charges. He was just
In time to save his position and probably
his head.
Amazing as it may seem, the highest
officers are not above accepting the most
paltry bribes of a dollar or two; and the
only attempt at policing is the CHASTITY
array of human heads stuck on spikes
above the gateways of the walled cities.
I have seen baskets of these heads come
into the city to be salted for exhibition.
No Christian can travel many miles from
a city without an armed escort and even
then he is frequently turned back by
some arbitrary local chieftain.
Even in more quiet times the harmless
Christian traveller is insuted, spit at, and
even stoned by Arabs and their slaves,
who may be minding grazing camels in
the fields or argan forests.
A Rich Country
~.
rich, but one only has to bear in mind the
bent stick used as plow and the oxen
treading tout the grain-Biblical sights
which one may seen at every turn in AL
Moghreb 1t Is notorious that Morocco is
rich in iron, coal, silver, lead, and par
ticularly copper in the Atlas mountains
Yet so great is the fear and terror of the
government lest Christians should get o.
hold of the country that even the brass
| and copper trays, the iron for horseshoes
and other primitive materials are Inn
ported in sheets from industrial centers
like the English Birmingham and the
American Pittsburg. ~
Missionary work has been attempted
chiefly by American societies without, even
the beginnings of success. In fact, mis-
sionaries have been hated with bitter
hatred ever since the Rev. Mr.. Cooper
was shot dead by a fanatic in one of the
solSos of Fez Such pressure was brought
to bear on the sultan over this event that
he was compelled to drag the murderer
out of the refuge shrine or saint house
of Moulai Idri, to the unutterable scandal
of the faithful.
Slavery Still Rampant
Slavery is still rampant. throughout
the empire, the boys and girls being
brought round by theiY owners, led by
the ear from door to door, Slave cara
vans organized by Arab raiders, come
up periodically from central Africa, the
slaves being used en- route for current
coin to pay expenses. The price of
boy of twelve or thirteen ranges from
thirty to seventy dollars Moorish, while
a girls value may run all the way up TO
three or four hundred dollars, according
to her beauty.
Practically all the Christians within
the Moorish empire reside in the coast
| towns. None but consuls and other
officers live in such cities as Marraksh
| Fez, Wazan and El-K'sar.
These traders and residents are now in
| grave peril Such of them as are indis-
Greet enough to spend money on houses
and property (and Messrs. Harris and
Perdicaris are by no means alone in this
| respecO have only the most precarious
| tenure and may at any time be'compelled
| to run for their lives French spies
| abound everywhere, and French police In
the guise of tourists parade the streets
of Tangier.
This is what France calls her PRO
gramme of Pacific Penetration. 1t may
be pacific" but 1t is doubtful whether 1t
! can be effected without massacre OF
Christians.
| That the absorption of Morocco by
Trance is going to take a 1org time is
certain; and then there Is Tangier, which
commands the Straits of Gibraltar and
might become menace to the great
British fortress.-W,> g. Fitz-Gerald In
| New York Evening Post.