Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-22
Face Coverings Too Thick
to Be Seen Through
and Other Peculiar
tiles Of Attire.

Indeed, 1 am surprised at the number of
ornaments which even the common Arab
girls wear. Little tots of six and seven
have heavy silver rings on their anklets,
and gold rings as big around as an after
dinner coffee cup saucer, not only in the
lobes of their ears, but also In the rims all
along to the top This is especially so OF
the Bedouin girl, who often carries the
wealth of her whole family on her person.
The kabyle woman covers her breast
with 1eWelry. and wears enormous ear
rings and anklets and pms which will
weigh pound more each
During my trip down into the western
desert l had to spend a night in a first
class car with a rich Arab chief and his
wife and their two little girls. When
the woman came in she was so bundled up
that one could tell nothing as to her
clothes. AS the night went on, however her
oVergarments We're thrown back and | OBJ
served that she was dressed like the Queen
of Sneba in her glory. She had a half dozen
bracelets on each of her arms. Her fingers
sparkled with diamonds, and she wore great
gold rings IN the sides and lobes of her
ears She had little cornucopia cap on
her head. This was of red velvet embroid-
cred with gold, and she wore a spanglet
shlrt waist over white chemise of fine
wool. She was tattooed on chin. forehead
and cheeks. Her lips were painted with
rouge, her fingers stained red with henna,
and her eyelids blackened with kohl.
The Pretty Kabyles.
had a good chance to see something of
the Kabyle women when 1 made my Jour
ney through their country In the Atlas
mountains of eastern Algeria. They are
much farer than either the Moors or the
Bedouins. They belong to the same race
as we do, and have blue eyes, ROSY
cheeks and red hair. They are Mo-
hammedans, but they do not veil their
races and as rule the Kabyle husband has
but one wife. The women are allowed 70
how
work IN the fields, and l saw many of them
walking along the roads with their chill
dren. and sometimes carrying water from
the wells into the villages These Kabyles
are clad very plainly. with the exception of
the Jewelry with which they are loaded
The ordinary dress is gown which reaches
from the neck to the feet. and Is fastened
at the shoulder with great pin of silver
or white metal. On ceremonial occasions
they wear gowns of red and yellow
stripes, strapped in at the loins with a belt
OF bright-colored leather. They sometimes
wear a headdress of black silk. Their feet
are usually bare.
Among these people wives are bought and
from $50 to 500 is a high price for a good
looking girl. The men usually stick to
their wives. and. as they are very jealous,
attention.
Beauty by the Pound.
How would you like to figure on your
sweetheart by weight, and value your
bride by the pound? That is the custom
among the Hebrews Of Tunls The men
think a woman beautiful according to her
much flesh. and likely girl of 800 weight
or so has no trouble in getting a husband
AS maiden approaches the manageable
age she IS stuffed. much after the manner
OF Strasburg -faie-gras goose
These girls have their own way of eat
Ing to Increase their fat, and their own
foods for putting on flesh. One of our
Agricultural Department explorers tells me
that they use certain grain which sur
passes any that we have in its fattening
qualities. and also that Secretary Wilson
expects to Introduce this grain into the
United States. If so. it will indeed be a
boon to our thin. scrawny girls. who worry
because they cannot rise in avoirdupois I
have before me a photograph of the two
biggest women of Tunis They are noun
tains of flesh, and one of them weighs over
400 pounds.
These women have the homeliest cos
tunes l have ever seen upon women They
wear breeches, both on tie street and at
home. and over them short, loose sacques
which fall to the waist. Some of them have
their trousers loose about the hips and
tight at the calves and others wear them
about even all the way down, loading them
with embroidery of silver and gold Some
pairs of breeches are made entirely of gold
thread, and l hear of money-lenders'
daughters who have panties which cost 5000
pair. Such garments are reserved for
home use, and they are not to be seen on
the streets. Other girls have pantaloons of
velvet. loaded with bands of gold and silver.
a girl thus carrying whole fortune on her
trousers. They all wear jewelry, and on
public occasions they come out in pearls
ard diamonds and gold galore
FRANK G. CARPENTER