Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1912-09-10

"A
ing a dust that had not been
moistened in four months.
There were few loafers in the
streets as l stepped into the
principal boulevard of Tlemcen on the
Moroccan border, chief of the Arab
cities o. Algeria.
1t was the first day of Sefer.
| had considered it the 21st of
January, 1912, but my companion, as
We staggered into the wind with our
eyes shut, explained that we were IN
the year of the Hegira 1880. The rea-
son for such discrepancy in our
views was that he, as good Moham-
medan, dated everything from the
flight of the prophet from Mecca;
did not, writes Paul B. Popenoe in the
Los Angeles Times.
You must know" he continued,
that during this month $4,000 diff
ferent evils descended from Heaven
to harass the earth. Pestilence, sud
den death, wounds, accidents, earth
quakes and storm-all are to be ex-
pected"
Rather a heavy load for the human
race to bear at one time But you
don't seem worried"
who can change what Is written
he responded, scrutinizing my face. |
repressed all signs of levity and he
continued seriously:
but the Rout bears three-quarters
of them"
THE Rout Each year some man Is
chosen by God to bear this burden;
in our language he Is called the Rout.
He has but forty days to live after
that, and these he passes in suffering
that no human mind can conceive"
Very likely, with 1000 maladies,
thought.
Half of what remains Is distributed
among twenty saints whom we call
Aktab. Thus only one-eighth of the
total evils is disseminated among the
people"
l breathed easier as I figured my
chances out Of 1880, and replied:
1.-THE Rout is undoubtedly man OF
exemplary piety?"
Even SO. Sidi Abd-el-Kadr ei-Jilani
was a Rout"
Mosques Are Old.
He said no more-the secret relig-
ious brotherhoods of the Moslem
world are not discussed with "Romis,
as the Algerians designate all the de-
spsed Christians. But l had heard
that the Sidi, a native of Bagdad, was
founder of the oldest Of these exist
ing in Algeria, and was held in great
veneration by the faithful. His earth
ly body even now reposes in par
ticularly brilliant sphere between the
third and fourth heavens, to which
point 1t was carried by angels. Since
then he has shown a most unusual
tolerance, never failing to succor all
who invoke him sincerely. whether
Chritian, Jew or Moslem. So / have
been told.
Tlemcen Is better fitted than any
other city In Algeria to evoke con.
temptations on the Koran and its ad
herents. Its mosques, some Of them
coeval with the Alhambra, In sim
liar and scarcely inferior style Of
architecture, are in daily use and per
feet preservation. The inhabitants
still retain an amount of piety not
seen In most Of the Frenchified cities
of North Africa.
/ There was no reason for surprise
then, that my companion, Abderrha
man, should give me lecture on such
points of his faith as could be prop
erly confided to a Nazarene dog. But
one does not have such experiences
often in Algeria; European civilization
is marching in too rapidly
"He has many shrines in this neigh
borhood," Abderrhaman interrupted
my thoughts. We we're passing the
shrine of Sidi Bou Djema, which I'm
doubtedly suggested the idea to him
/ These little white chapels, called
marabouts by the French, are a ia
miliar sight to travellers in any Mos
lem land.
"But the order of Mulai Tab Il
stronger in Tlemcen?" I asked, con
tinuing his line of thought
"Yes," he answered shortly. 1t wa
/ evident that he was partisan o
Abd-el-Kadr.
These religious secret societies ar
spread over the whole Moslem world
that Of Mulai Tab originated in Nc