The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-05-14

Hat sAas o. the house are little holes
near the roof.
In villages like these The unon,e f,ok
squaI'd and dirty. but the 1irtfes. y
1Hem are Ioade with 5ewelrv. photo
eFaPhsa enc middle-aged dame ~ q
s@aItn} complexion who had ea-rirg-
a. Dig as an a~ftsr-dirner cofree-~uo
~7dacof ana as she turned around I
noticed that she wor~ anklefs of whrA
meta Is vide as a tin cup is ntga. In
ors1, Trey looked like tin cups Without
bottoms or handler Even the
gTsre loaGed With tewelry. sone of
them were not averss Ia being rho-
tographed. although both women and
chlidren held out their hands for
aiken.
As I walked through the town !
passed several Moorish coffee houses
n winch were Arabs sitting on the
moor. smoking and chatting. drinking
coneo or playing dolninoes The coffee
houses look rot unlike an American
stable: Their only light comes in
through the door 4 the people sit
The Chateau Iandon.
IN The Garden OF Allah" the novel
TO which / referred at the beginning
OF this letter. some vivid descriptions
are made Of the Chateau Lardon. a
Wonderfr date plantation belonging -
a wealthy French nobleman. II n
WouId know Just how much water
means IN the desert he may learn bv
visiting this place. 1t contains about
hfteen acres and is a wonderful no.
tanfcal garden right here on the edge
or the desert. It Is a date forest inter-
spersed with all sorts or tropical AMI
temperate fruit trees and shrubs
There are green hedges fifteen feet
high. as carefully trimmed as those in
the botanical gardens Of Algiers, or IA
that Of B~uitenzord. Java. About
twenty Arab gardeners are always
busy keeping the plantation IN order.
and the leaves are not allowed 10 lie
on the paths or walks. Here ard
there through the garden are houses
oS Arab architecture, the homes Of the
owner, and in one place there is a
great circle cut out under the trees
where dances may be held in the
open.
Sidi Okba and His Oasis.
Have YOU ever heard Of 5fdf Okba?
He vas a famous Arab general
about 1900 odd years ago who con-
quered the whole Of north Africa from
the Nile to the Atlantic. All whom he
conquered he converted by telling
them that thoy must die If they did
not esp0use the Mohammedan relig-
lon; and It IS said that when he reached
the western ocean he rode into il ex-
claiming that If It were not for this
barrier he would make every people of
the lands beyond worship Allah or die.
This man was one oe the great Mo
hammedan heroes. The people look
upon him as q saint. and they have
named towns, GASES and other places
after him. One Of the most important
of these is Sidi Okba, which lies
twelve miles from here. in the heart
Of the desert. In 1t is the shrine of the
saint. and the mosque containing it is
said to be the Oldest Mohammedan
building in Africa. The town IS the
religious capital Of this part of the
world. so holy that the people make
pilgrimages to it as they do 10 kair-
ouan. in Tunisia, and to Mecca and
I rode across the desert this
afternoon and visited it. The
way Is over a country cover.
ed with a scanty vegetation Of
thorny scrub, through sandy and
stony wastes. and by the GASES Of FL
ZACH and Chetma. Sidi Okba itself has
5000 palm trees. and the town has
several thousand people. h planta-
ions are surrounded by mud walls
like hose Of Rlskra. but the houses
are better and some Of the streets are
so wide that one can drive through
them. On our way there we passed
some caravans of camels and dOnkeys.
We saw many tent villages and great
flocks of hlack goats watched by shep-
herds.
The Business of an Oasis.
Entering the gate we Q between
the mud walls to the public square,
which is surrounded by petty stores
or bazaars. Every store is a box-like
room no wider than the door which
leads into it, and SO low that the mer-
chants can hardly stand upright with
in it. The stores are lighted from
the front, and the customers stand in
the street nc they bargain.
There was considerable industry go
ing on. Here men were weaving. there
they We're making plows and farther
on saddles. In the street of the tailors
/ saw several men using American
sewing machines. but nowhere did
l see any American goods. On the
sides Of the streets We're mud lodges
built out from the mud walls. These
Lodges weet filled with White-goWned
men chatting or sleeping. Some We're
Keeling cotton and some sewing. At
night the Lodges are filled with sleep
ers.
Many of these poorer Arabs have no
homes. They eat at the cafes and
sleep in the streets. This is especially
SO in the cities. The men always sleep
with their heads covered, and, in fact,
with every bit of bare skin hidden.
One reason for this is on account Of
the flies. They fairly swarm in all the
GASES, making one pray for the Ca
liph Adalmelic. the father of flies. to
breathe upon them and drive them
away. The old CaliDh had a breath
so fatal to flies that every one drop
ped dead that flew over his mouth.
During my stay | visited the famous
mosque. It his an ordinary building
with perhaps a half dozen rooms, in
Guiding the place of worship. 1t was
filled with M~ohalnnnedans when I en-
tered it this afternoon. and | heard
the Mohammedan OuthS singing ont
verses from the Koran in the school
rooms on each side. | spent 4
while watching the men at their pray
ers, and although | was known to be
a Christian | was not molested.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
THE CHARACTER AND TNFIJ-
ENCE OF JESUS CHRIST.
Rx Xilliam II Earcisnn