The Washington herald., 1907-01-20
Some Incidents in the Early
Career Of RaiSOUli.
IS OF ARIsTOCRATIC BIRTH
Direct Descendant OF the Prophet
who Founded the SIobammedan
Empire of MoroceO-WeII Educated,
but FOFsoOk Path of Holiness for
That OF n Cattle BObber.

the audaciOus Rais0uli is 20 end ign0-
miniously? Can it be true that he 10
longer holds the key to the Moroccan
situation. over which the Jealous nations
Of Europe have wagged their heads, sput-
tered. and nearly Illuminated? RaisoUH,
glittcring maTauder. despoiler Of cara
vans, kidnapper. blackmailer. who for
years has trifed with the dignity Of a
dozen legations, laughingly deded the
Sultan. Muley Abdul Aziz. and been the
scourge Of Tangier and the nearby dis
tricts.
One is almost inclined 70 utter an ex-
clamation Of regret. for about RaisoulIs
name there hangs a glimmer OF romance.
lie has been described as "a sort Of
mysterious parsonage. haIf-saint, half
oiackguard, whom every courageous male
+ tourist has volunteered TO capture. and
many still more courageous female
tourist to marry The man who wrote
this knows the brigand wei. and he has
given the following account Of his an
cestTy:
"Mulai Ahmed ben Mohammed cr-Rai-
SOUL is man u about forty years Of age
he Is by birth sprung from one q the
most aristOcTatic families IN Morocco. and
is a shereef. or direct descendant OF the
prophet, through Mulai Idris, who found
ed the MOhammedan empire Of Morocco.
and was the first sovereign Of the Idrisite
dynasty The children Of Mulai Idrls
were established in various parts OF the
country, and i is from Mulai Adde'S
Salam, whose tomb III the Beni ArrOs
tribe is a place OF great sanctity. that
the famous brigand is directly descended.
7 l. a. co.
a share in the lands. the rights. and The
privileges which were enjoyed By their
/ renowned ancestor. A branch Of the
family settled iu TefUan, where a fine
mosque forms a mausoieum for lis more
recent ancestors and is venerated as a
place Of pilgrimage
Forsook the Path of Holiness.
It appears that RaisouH received solid
education in religion az Tetuan. lie had
good looks, an adventurous disposition, a
cruel nature. extreme courage, and he for
sock the path Of holiness for the more
lucrative calling OF cattle r0bber. In Mo
rocco this is not an altogether dislon0r-
able profession. and RaisOulI speedily
achieved a name for himself He also be-
came terror 10 the country. He and his
followers robbed right and left and they
spent the proceeds Of their rObberies with
lavish hand Murder followed I'm their
wake, and RaisouH himself did not hest
tate TO sacrifice the lives Of his victims.
Once a shereef. who had married the
brigand's sister, planned 10 take another
wife. RaisoulIs sister objected. and went
to her brother On the night OF the mar
rage. while the festivities We're in prog
ress, .Raisouli and his marauders went 10
the shereefs house and murdered the
bride and her mother.
At last the brigand's lawiessness could
no longer be countenanced- The late Sul-I
tan ordered his arrest and RaisoUH was
betrayed by a friend. He was cast into
the filthy dungeons of Mogador and
loaded with chains. His neck and wrists
and ankles still bear the ugly scars Of the
irons. For nearly FIVE years he was a
prisoner; then a file was struggled into his
cell He worked ~ night with his instru-
ment for several months, and AZ last the
chains We're severed He escaped, but was
recaptured, the chains had weakened his
limbs. He was loaded with heavier
chains, and paced his dungeon for two
more years.
AT the end Of that time he was released.
Imprisonment had sobered RaisoUH. and he
went 10 his home with the intention OF
leading a peaceful life. But & happened
that his betrayer had become powerful IN
the government. and had confscated Raj
souli's property. He had no redress, eX-
cept force OF arms. and he went back 10
the ways Of a freebooter
He found plenty Of desperate followers.
He was the same RaisOUli OF old, perhaps
a little more courageous and cruel, Il that
were possible He stole cattle. exacted
tribute from the poor. blackmailed the
a--r-
with much loss TO peaceful traders and e
resultant gain TO himself.
First Descent on Tangfer.
His first descent upon Tangier occur
red about seven years ago One Of the
members Of the Spanish colony living
outside the gates, on the shore OF the
Mediterranean. was a reputed miser, who,
In reality, was a shabby old man Of small
means. With him lived his daughter. her
husband. and their two young children.
Raisouli had heard and believed the stories
of the old mans wealth, and with a few
Of his followers ne entered the Spaniard's
cottage one night and carried of the chill
dren, after killing their father, who had
brayely tried 20 defend them.
Immediately the bandit demanded a
heavy ransom from the aged Spaniard.
who piteously explained that he had no
hidden fortune He even permitted some
Of RaisOulis men to search the house and
dig in the garden, but they found no
money. Then they departed.
More than three years later a traveller
brought word OF the chlldren's fate. It
was a short but villainOus story. Hearing
that the tales OF the old Spaniard's wealth
were 4 myth. Raisouli had the children
brought TO his tent and brutality put 10
the sword. This, perhaps. is the blacklist
OF RaisOlU's many dark crimes.
On one occasion he captured Add Ell
MALACHI. the lieutenant governor Of Tan
gieT. in a cunning manner. MALACHI had
kidnapped a man of the FANS tribe in
order to c0erce the people into paying
heavy taxes. This was the usual method
of Moroccan officials who wished to re-
pienish their treasures. The man in
question was the son Of a chief, and.
therefore. was an important hostage.
MALACHI objected to Raisouli's activity in
certain districts, because it interfered
with the lieutenant governors tax-gath-
ering expeditions So Rais0uH who feared
that Malach's malign influence might
bring about his downfall induced the
Fahs chief to send his sons young wife
into Tangier with the ransom. This was
done. and the imprisoned man was re-
leased. But MALACHI kept the girl and
forced her to enter his harem.
This treachery incensed the tribesmen.
and RaisOuli. taking advantage OF their
Indignation, melted them 10 seek revenge.
The FANS people nursed their grievances
and waited. One day they heard that
MALACHI was coming to their village again
with a company of tax collectors. They
greeted him with guns and scimters,
scattered his forces. and took old MALACHI
unto themselves. Then they tortured him
in iiendish ways devised by Raisoun.