Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-23

all over the country and desert shops fal
up the Nile. The stores have covered
porches in front Of them or they face ar.
cades which keep Off the sun.
one Of the most beautiful buildings ir
Africa. 1t is a great two-story structurf
Of white stone. with minarets rising high
above It. The galleries Of the minarets
have q lacework OF stone running around
| them and the towers are covered with
Arabic carvings. The mosque Is named
| after the young khefaire. and he has.
am told. furnished much Of the money
| for Its erection.
Khartum has also a new Coptie
| Of England and the schools and chapels
Of the United Presbyterian Mission Of our
country. So. you see, II has abundant
religious facilities. notwithstandin Its po-
| sition on this PARKWAY part Of the globe.
Women Do tho Work.
have been interested In watching the
| women at work in the building OF Khar-
tum New houses and business blocks
are now going up almost everywhere. ana
every mason and mechanic has his
women helpers. The laborers come from
all parts OF the Sudan, and the women
OF half dozen tribes may be working on
the same building.
I wish I could show you some or THESE
buildings and on the banks OF the Nile.
They are lusty black girls, straight and
plump. and 50 lightly dressed that one
can see all the outlines o. their forms
wrapped loosely around their shoulders
and another wound about the waist SO
that It falls to the feet. The upper gar
ment is of half the time. The CIR Is
then bare to the waist and her plump
bust shows out in the bright sun. as she
raises her arms high to steady the load
on her head. Her skin shines like pol
ished ebony, and look as close as You
please you can see no sign OF mar on
any part Of her except on the head These
pull out all the hair on their bodies, go
Ing over them once a month for this pur-
pose. This custom is common IN many
parts Of the world. It 10 50 with some
Jewesses Of Tunis, who are shaved from
head to foot just before marriase and
90 with the Moros OF our Phiiippins
Islands. who carry along with them little
tweezers to pull out any stray hair that
appears.
Labor and Wages.
The wages these women receive are
pitifully low. Ten or Is cents a day Is
big money for a woman, and man can
be hired for 20 cents or less. For these
wages the women unload the stone boats
on the Nile, wading out into the river
and coming back up the banks with TWO
or three great rocks piled high on the
head. They carry sand ia baskets and
spread 1t over the stones on the road.
ways. and they sit down on the sides or
the roads and break stones Tor macada-
mixing They carry the mortar up the
scaffo,ding to the masons. and quite an
army Of them Is employed In bringing
water in hve-gailon coal oil cans up from
the Nile. Some of the streets are
thus sprinkled. and many OF the
gardens Of Khartum are kept moist
in this way. Here. at the Grand Hotel,
water all day long to irrigate the garden.
Some Of the girls are tall. I had q PHO
tograph Of myself standing beside one
taken today, and she overtopped me
some inches. She objected to my hav-
ing her picture, and as she was lusty
young negress 1t was for q time unde-
cided whether should succeed.
labor. The builders tell me 1t is almost
impossible to get what they want and
that the more wages they pay the greater
the danger of a labor famine. The trou-
bic is the natives will not work II they
have money. and when wages are high
thew work so much the less. All they
need is their food. and a family can live
on cents and less per day. The food
consists chiefly Of boiled durra or sor-
ghum meal. and the drink is native beer
which costs almost nothing. A man can
woman can be outfitted for less. When
food is cheap the prices OF labor rise, and
when it is dear they fall. The native
reasons that he ought to be paid more
for his work when the food prices are
low, for in such a case he can easily get