The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-04-16
HihEM GIRL IN
HEART Of CHICAGO
She Is in Turkish Colony
Awaiting the Arrival
Of Lover.
HE MAY NEVER COME
1T WAS HE WHO GAVE THE GIRL
HIS CLOTHES THAT SHE MIGHT
ESCAPE AND HE MAY NOW BE
DEAD AS RESULT OF SULTAN'S
WRATH.


to a half lighted room, gray with the
smoke of burning cigarettes-from
the gilded and paneled walls OF the
harem to the smoked walls OF a sun
baked shanty set down in the center
of the Hohammedan colony of the
west side of Chicago-that is the
Journey that Fatima Usuloff made in
her flight from hopelessness and de-
spair, and luxury to freedom, and JOY
and--poverty.
For nearly year Fatima lived in
the harem of the sultan, waited on by
an army of slaves and women, guard
ed by host of uniformed soldiers
When the sultan first set eyes upon
her she had just reached the perfec-
ton of Turkish beauty. She was a
slave, the daughter of a gardner at the
sultans palace Abdul Hamid had tir-
ed of all his favorites. He lounged
languidly in his harem, turning his
back upon all the beautiful women as
sembled there. And it was while in
this mood that he looked from win
dow one day and saw Fatima going
modestly about her duties.
Fatimas face was yelled, according
to the rigorous custom among the Mo-
hammedan women but her beautiful
white feet and ankles were bare. Fa-
TINA was summoned to the presence OF
the sultan, and installed in the harem.
Her protests she dared only mutter be-
low her breath. Her simple clothing
was changed for a loose yellow gown
cjlyor Her
throat was encrcled with ropes OF
pearls. Jewels were set into her hair
and her fingers were cyyered with
rings and her arms with bracelets of
gold filigree. But Fatima was not hap
Ply.
Now she wears no gold and silver
embroidery, no ropes of pearls encir-
Gle her neck, no jewels are set into
her hair; there are no slaves and
women to serve her But now Fatima
is happy, as happy as she can be
without knowing the fate of her lover
who rescued her from the harem and
bought her passage to America.
Instead of the gold and silver and
pearls, Fatima now wears a coat and
vest and trousers that were bought
for her in Naples. Her hair is cut
short like a mans, and she lives in
the little shanty on Green street with
twenty-six Turks who came with her
to America. Of the twenty-six half
a dozen know the story Of Fatima. The
others know her only as companion,
as a good looking lad with remarkably
white hands, who expects to make a
living weaving rugs in Chicago, for he
fore Fatima was taken into the hare..l
she was trained in the art of rug
weaving.
First Colony of Turks in Chicago.
Only few weeks ago the small col
ony of Turks arrived in Chicago, a
new species of immigrant. These
twenty-six Turks huddled together in
the barren room of the West Monroe
street shanty have laid the foundation
for Mohammedan colony in Chicago
The first thing that struck ones
gaze upon entering the shed was the
figure Of a man bending over a ruSted
washtub. The man was tall, with a
long yellow mustache. A red cap with
a black tassel covered his head.
In one corner. full in the light that
penetrated the smoked window, sat a
frail, youthful figure. cross legged, and
with head bent over a piece Of writ
ing paper on which the youth was
scribbling from right to left, evidently
writing a letter home. This slender
figure was Fatima, whose beauty a
few weeks before had adorned the har
EN- of the sultan.
AS the girl was spoken to she looked
cfo plainly
there was fear in those dark eyes that
looked straight out from under the
long lashes with a searching, appeal
ing, almost helpless look. Mingling
with fear there were in that beautiful
face the marks of suffering and Of
grief What had been the fate of the
lover of Fatima? She did not know
and grief over his probable fate de-
stroyed the joy of freedom.
This girl with her shock of black
hair and her boys clothes had a story
to tell If only she would tell it, but
she shook her head-she would keep
her secret to herself.
Tells Secret of Fatima's Escape.
She had not yet learned that the
mighty hand of the sultan could not
reach to America and snatch her back
to the life she abhorred.
She is worrying about her lover"
said the tall man with the light mus
tache; she cries at nights she is so sor-
rowful." he spoke in his native tongue
in a low. scarcely audible undertone
How did she escape from the harem:
All, that is a secret, but will tell you
Her lover was one of the sultan's
trusted guards. He and Fatima plan
ned the escape together whenever they
could talk unseen. year passed be-
fore their chance came. Then Fatima
changed clothing with her lover. she
donned his uniform and he her gown
of yellow silk embroidered with gold
and silver. In the uniorm she left
the grounds OF the harem at night and
on her way TO the home of friends
she stripped all the military buttons
from her coat and removed every evil
dence that she wore the uniform Of a
soldier.
Her hair she wore under her can
and at the house Of her friends her hair