Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-09-12
ABDUL HAMID, FORMER
SULTAN, BURIED ALIVE

BURIED ALIVE
He does nothing. He used to while
away his time in carpentering, at which
he proved himself quite skillful. But
that he has long given up. He does not
read. Newspapers have been offered
him. He does not ooh at them. He
knows nothing of what goes on In the
outer world. He talks to a brotherin-
law who lives with him, but he does not
remember the most important events Of
his reign. His mental state is. I am as
sured. owing to the abuses OF the ha-
rem. He has n wife. a Circassian,
aged %, with whom he is enamored.
With few exceptions his wives have
been Ctrcassian beauties. AS a race the
.Cfrcassian women are rare types OF re-.
fined n artistic loneliness.
Strike in the Harem.
A little more than a year ago, owing
to the dullness OF life within the walls
at the Allatini residence, there was q
strike or upheaval in the harem. Up to
that time Abdul Hamid had had for his
amusement a Jester and a musician.
The discontents appealed to the author
tiles to be released, and, rs the former
sultan made no objection, the jester and
the musician, a son and 10 of the wives
were entrained n night for Constan-
tinople. 1t was given out that they had
gone to the capital to attend a wedding.
Anyhow, they never returned, and ever
since Abdul Hamid has deplored the
meagerncss OF his harem.
Since that night upon which the bulk
of the former sultan's people abandoned
him the %neighbors rave observed that
all life seems to rave left the Allatint
villa. 1t is inferred that that was the
fnal coup which settled upon the for,
mer monarch and left him in a state
from which hn hos nvpn, .
shutters remain closed and the house
looks deserted.
As In the times OF yore at Yildiz. Abb
dul Hamid still retains q great fearful
ness for his personal safety. His cui-
sine Is simple-that is. to say 1t is es-.
sentially Turkish, consisting largely OF
mutton. chicken. rice, vegetables and
fruits.
Each dish is, as was the case in Yii-
dir. brought up from the kitchen bound
round with tape and sealed with red
wax. That sealing is a primary pre-
caution. so that the o n be
tempered with on the way from the
kitchen. But that is not enough for
this strange man. whose s-uspiciousness
takes the form of mania, and that ma
MIA resolves itself into the fixed idea
that he will. one day or another. meet
death by poison. Accordingly, when the
dishes are opened the cook and one
other member OF the household Is COM
PEELED to taste thereof first. Not until
this has been accomplished will Abdul
Hamid eat of anything.
Even the doctor is not free from sus-
plcfon. and with him it ssumes a se-
rio-comic phase. Thus, when he has
ordered Abdul Hamid a certain regime
of pills. the illustrious patient invaria-
bly, insists upon the doctor himself par
taking OF the medicine, and that there
may be no trickery about it he himself
n1nlyc nv1t tho pi1l ov1 thof &C. Tho rv~n
which the doctor must swallow. and ne
other. 1t reminds one OF an event some
seven or eight years ago. when DIR.
Bergman told h reigning sultan that
his daughter would have to be operated
upon for appendicitis. Abdul Hamid
Grafton should first be performed upon
a daughter Of n of the members of
the court to see what came Of it.
The Sultan's Fear
Yet another instance Of b Ha-
mtd's fear lies in the existence of that
high wall around the prop
erty. Formerly it was but a metre
high, with rails and brick posts at in
tervals. But when it came to obtaining
his signature for the 1900, 900 which
lay in the Deutsche bank, during which
a good deal of bullying and coercion
had to be used, the prisoner finally gave
way upon he promise that the main
gate on tine high road would be done
away with and the space it occupied
plastered Up, and that a wall three me-
tres high should be built all around the
property. His reason for this was q
fear lest he might be shot Town by peO-
pie outside.
While the former monarch is thus
minutely careful concerning his own
safety. the young Turks are just as
precisely solicitous that he should not
possibly escape. and there is no manner
OF doubt, in spite of constant official
assurances that Abdul Harnid Is quite
happy. that his captivity has been car
ried out with a rigor which is scarcely
justifiable.
The young Turk who are intently
shy about any reference to Abdul
Hamtd, assert that their captive has
of the property. That. from what I
hear on what / am bound to consider
good authority, Is untrue. What is told
ME IL this: That the imperial prisoner
occupies the first fioor and that he II
confined to that. He 10 neither allowed
to .descend to the ground floor nor
ascend to the second story. Above all,
that he is not allowed to 60 out into
the garden and that he has never
been out since his arrival here. This
last IL an incontrovertible fact. The
this as upright, assured me that he
does not care to come out for exer-
else Inc that he seldom went out At
Tildiz.
The precautions taken to prevent any
a reaching the prisoner are extreme.
J asked to have an interview with him
and was met with sarcastic laughter
and q very emphatic negative. Tim.
possible" said a young Turk leader.