The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-05-16
The Mystery OF Agadir-Igir.

Those readers Of THE Sun whose
imagination Is sensitive to the romance
OF the remote may find some interest
in the subjoined communication from
the Saharnu edge Of southwestern
Morocco:
"ToTHE EDITOR oY TIE SuS-!Sir My reasons
for wrtthing this letter to TIE Sun is to inform
those Interested In the afears OF MOROCCO. the
country once neerly cosed war Between German
and France. Very few EUROPEANS ever visited
this saetion OF Morocco. Today ] am here with
2 German mining ~engipirs. Thire names are
MuarSoAL and ALBERT AKsRMAS. They are the
First 2 EUROPEAN ever passed through this saction
Of Morocco. The. Joined my caravan to Sus
from Mogador. These /. men have Ducomsns
Belrins Seal OF Sultan NuLr HAfID. read this
Ducomant which was in Arabic; II was made on
the order OF Sheanng Termes in Al Mining OF
every nature in Morocco. l am sending these
facts for Benent OF American Public and those
Interested In Mining Business. Mr.. MusINoAL
Is chin Stuck Holder In this Business. II I had
known this news while In Tangier ! would have
In informed Mr.. S. GpMNERs. the Minister Of Y. S.
al Tangier. am sure this German Co. will have
trouble in working Mining Business In Sus unless
they engage able men natives Of Sus. ! myself
going 10 secure some land IN AgadIr. Igir which
will, be new port OF Morocco In few years.
am. dear Sir, yours Faithful
slE HAssAs BEs ALI.
II, s. a. c.
"IpASzIxI, Central Morocco
There is no date on this communi-
cation, which, however. bears on it's
envelope the surcharged postage stamp
Of the German Office at Mogador, with
cancellation Of April 81, 1909. NIGGA
dor is fifty or sixty miles up the coast
from Agadir-Igir, or Santa Cruz; and
from Agadir-Igir inland to the Sus
region. at the very western heel Of the
great Atlas range, is about the same dis
lance. The best maps fail to exhibit
the interior town OF "Idanziki, but the
name is locally plausible.
Five days ago, long after our CORE
spondent had mailed to THE Sun his
curious statement about the German
engineers with mining concessions from
MULEr HAFID, we printed this equally
singular despatch:
LONDON, May ia despatch from TanRier
TO the Daily Telegraph says II Is reported from
Mogador, on the Atlantic coast. that a party OF
American tourists have been carried OIL By ma
tlves near !Agadir.'
This coincidence enhances the inter
eat Of the patriotic communication from
the excellent HAssAN BEN ALI, u fell
low citizen Of ours who has been well
and favorably known, we may remark in
passing, on the historic Chicago Mid
way, as we'll as in the Hippodrome, on
the sands OF Coney, and all slong the
Rialto of our own little old town. What
does it all mean? There is no equally
accessible part Of the dark continent
where american tourists are less
likely to be present and exposed to the
danger of being carried of by the ma
tives.' We would bet a small camel
that at the time of our mystic CORE
s%pondent's writing and of the despatch
to the London Telegraph from Mogador
the only American in the Sus region back
of Agadir-Igir was the worthy author
Of the foregoing note. Indeed, does he
not inform us in his valued missive that
his caravan had the homer of escorting,
in the persons Of the two German pros
pectors, the very first Europeans who
have wei passed through that section
OF Morocco? European" in that part
OF the world ia a term which includes
Americans.
Have Herr MUsINGAL and Herr AKER-
MAN been carried of by the natives
with their precious document with its
Shereefan seal' Or is the American
who has been kidnapped none other
than our bippodromic friend the TURF
jeman, master Of the ship Of the desert
and past master Of 30 much that is &C.
cult and Orientally ~jocose?
Has our HAssAN BEN ALI gone out
to be the press agent Of an aspiring
metropolis? Is he under contract with
the Agadir Board of Trade TO boom
that port as the future Duluth Of the
Saharan sea of sand? Or again, in on
Quoting his humble and genuine caravan
through the hinterland of Germany's
coveted seaport in southwestern Mo-
rocco, has the Turrjeman accidentally
stumbled upon a fact Of exploitation
which will cause all three parts OF mod
ern Gaul to sit up and take notice?
We leave it to our readers. who are the
most ingenious persons in the world.