The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-03-07

good.
BY sunrise we were of, due south
west.
was stiff and sore; the camels
slouching, back-wrenching walk
seemed more painful than ever. How
envied the women, with rings in
their noses and ears, riding in the
cages on the mules. They had soft,
easy straw mtas to sit on. l had
to perch. high up in the air. on the
back of camel that rocked all day
with a deep sea-going motion.
Beside me walked the camel driver.
The speed and endurance of Arabs.
on foot, is amazing. They can go fur
Their in three days than an average
American riding horse.
Towards noon baby died-a two
yearold child that belonged to one
of the Persian women. They dug a
shallow hole in the sand and buried
it there. / wondered why they ever
brought 1t along. Older persons who
die on these marches are carried on,
II possible, to Kerbela.
At the wells, where we camped,
one of the muleteers was stung by
a scorpion. His leg swelled badly,
and he limped. Among Arabs, the
women are doctors, and one of the
women with the caravan sought to
treat the man who had been stung.
He was superstitious, however, and
said the women would bewitch him.
She made a stew out of a small
white hawk killed in the trees about
the wells-boiled it whole. feathers
and all-and the man reluctantly ate
some. Pills or tabloids the desert
folks sheer at-they say any medi-
cine to have merit should come in
bulk.
Some desert folks say when a man
dies Of thirst, his soul goes forth in
the form OF green owl, which flies
around in the air a thousand years,
screaming for water.
Towards night we came upon the
ruins OF some old canals-remnants
of the great irrigation system which
once f1ourished here and made Meso-
potamia the greatest grain producing
country of the then known world.
Two hours later we camped again,
near group of wells of fairly good
water Desert folks are suspicious
of well water in which they find no
insect life-they fear enemies may
have poisoned the water. The days
march had been long, and there was
little singing. The pilgrims slept
early.
The Holy City at Last.
A Mohammedan who has been to
Mecca or Kerbela is called Hail."
and is allowed to paint his beard a
frey red. One such was in our band
and he came early to call me. They
were all very serious, and seemed
anxious to start. At dawn / found
myself back on the hurricane deck
OF my rolling camel, riding with the
pilgrims. He of the red beard rode
beside me.
"Why do you, Nazarene, go to
the Holy City," he asked.
"To behold and admire" I an
swered with due gravity.
He was appeased. He did not
know that l wanted to see all those
flowing whiskers painted red; to
seek antiques" among the pilgrims;
to barter for choice rug; to get a
photo Of his sacred mosque, and in
spect the burying ground of all those
imported ancestors. Twenty dollars
is paid as fee for interring an an
cestor in a certain choice spot. 1t Is
said that when the interested rela-
tives have returned to their homes.
the venerated ancestor is thrown out
and the coveted spot resold to the
next pious pilgrim.
We were now we'll into the heart
of ancient Babylonia.
The desert was more and more
marked by the lines OF what were
once great canals Camel thorn ap-
peared in greater quantities. This
is a hard, prickly shrub, good food
for camels and also used as fuel by
the Bedouins.
Once, passing through a low, fat
on which the camel thorn grew
thickly, we started three desert ga
zelles. These graceful creatures,
with long, straight horns, were of
like the wind. Salmon's Martini
cracked once, twice, three times, but
the gazelle kept on their way. The
Persians chaffed my guide, and
pointed out their own superior meth
cd of catching the gazelle. They use
falcon. First they train the fall
con, by using sheep to whose head
a piece of raw meat has been tied.
The falcon, blindfolded and without
food for two days, is taken onto the
field and placed on the Sleeps head
and allowed to have bite OF the
hA Sr cd a w "