The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-10-28

scatter their bones about like cigar
STUBS
Naturally enough, since the days
of the pirates of Malabar Hill, this
Gulf has been the retreat of adven-
turous white men of strange and
checkered careers. Foremost am
ong the horde who have passed this
way was the notorious Thomas Hor-
ton, whose name still lives in the an
nails of crime in the Gulf. Lord Cur
zon, in his book Persia describes
Horizons sensational life as follows:
This remarkable man, whose real
name was Thomas Norton, began
life as tailor's apprentice at New
castle In the course of his career
he was successfully a soldier in the
Swedish army, the leader of band
of Tartar robbers in Crimea, Russian
Inspector in the Caspian Littoral,
Musselman Mahji, the principal mer-
chant of Bassorah, an Agent at the
port for the East India Company and
commander of the naval forces for
the Arab Sheik of the island Of
Kishm. He was frequent
ly guilty Of murder (having been
sentenced to death by a Russian
COURT, as well as of almost every
crime known in the calendar. These
atrocities he appropriately summed
up by rebelling against his Arab pa
iron, the Sheik of Kishm, whom he
deposed and strangled. Having mar
ried the dead Sheik's widow to get
himself elected Sheik of Kihsm. he
ruled the island for twenty-five
years. He never spoke his native
language, but affected the rigid Mus
selman. Once, though, when an En-
glish vessel was wrecked on the
coast of his island, he entertained
the rescued men royalty, and as
mark of esteem sent 120 female
slaves, one for each man aboard the
stranded vessel
But the British have not always
had easy work subduing the Arab
pirates in the Persian Gulf. The
Minerva, British gunboat, was
once captured by the Jowasmi Arabs
after a three days fight. 1t is said
the Englishmen ran out of ammuni-
ton; then the Arab warriors swarm
ed aboard the MINERVA in their
dhows, clambered aboard and slew
every Englishman on the ship with
their lances and knives. True, this
happened long ago, but it shows
what stuff the Arabs are made of.
In 1895, the Sheik of the Zobara
Coast had trouble with the Sheik of
the Pearl Island of Bahrein. The
British, who have constituted them
selves the policemen of the Persian
Gulf, intercepted the ZObara land
ing party, as they went ashore at
Bahrein, and more than 40 dhows
were sunk by the gunboats Sphinx
and Pigeon But in checking pi-
racy and keeping order, the British
have rendered a great service to all
nations whose trading ships enter the
troubled Gulf.
The commerce of the Persian Gulf
is now extensive, and freight ships
crowd the harbors of Karachi, Bas-
sorah and Maskat. 35,0O0,000 bush
els of wheat were exported from Kar-
achi alone, last year. And every sea-
son special chartered vessels leave
New York for Bassorah, where they
load with full cargoes for the New
York market. There is no doubt
that the coast Arabs would give way
to unbridled piracy the moment the
British patrol were abandoned. And
as one Arab Sheik is reported to have
said, "The loot would now be ten
times as great as formerly"
At the close of our cruise the
afghan" anchored at Maskat and l
went ashore to see this famous old
fortress-called by sailors the hot
test place in the world. Gibraltar
looks tame beside the wild, scowling
cliffs of Maskat. Sharp splintered
rocks rise hundreds of feet high, up
from the hot sea. From the north
a small bay opens into the mass of
peaks and crags, at whose feet clings
Maskat. The whole aspect of the
place is uncanny and weird-like
Dore's picture of Dante's Inferno.
Not a trace of vegetation is visible
from the entrance. Food comes al
most entirely by ship from India.
Even the American Consul brings
his ice by sea from Karachi.
In the narrow, crowded bazaar
every Arab l met carried a long,
curved knife or rifle; often the lat
ter was inlaid with silver, or its stock
wrapped with deer-skin. Slavery
was ed-officially-by treaty
with the British some years ago.
But human beings are still bought
and sold-as at Jeddah and all of
inner Arabia. The long importation
of blacks from Africa has left its i'm
press on these Arabs of Oman, too.
They intermarry, the children of the |