Norwich bulletin., 1913-02-11
JOHNSON AND THE TROCLODYTES
Norwich Man Has Distinction Possessed by Other Amer can-Ony One to Live Among North African Cavemen His Investigations Featured in New York Newspaper Story.

of most singular appearance, compoS- ed of thousands of .rhorfaS,' or cave shaped dwellings built above ground, and piled upon top of each other. The only way to reach the upper ones is by means of projecting stones worn smooth by long centuries of use. The inhabitants leap from one to another of these with the agility of monkeys. but to a stranger the upper layers of houses are practically inaccessible
 Medenine is only partly inhabited Most Of it's houses are used for storing grain by the tribesmen of the neigh boring desert. It is silent. melan- choly place. like a graveyard out in the desert.
 Climbing Trosodytes.
 Beyond it are numerous villages peopled by what are known as climbing troglodytes' '--cave dwellers who dig into hiIlsides They have partia1ity for the most inaccessible eminences. s4As soon as I saw a par ticuIarly steep crag, a veritable eagles nest, felt sure that it was honey. conlbed with troglodytes homes, writes one French employer, and it usually was
 caught unprepared, massacred its ffhting men, and carried the rest away to slavery. Therefore the natives tunneied and scooped out every peak they could find, and stationed sentfnels on the topmost vantage points that the approach of the enemy might be signaIed fE good season.
 One of the most striking of these eyries Is Douirat-"a beehive mountain perehed high over a deep ravine. It consists of countless caves and inches, dug fn tiers along the mountainside, and surmounted by a ksar' or cit anthin" the American traveller calls it. The Shelk of Douirat was most court eous to the American, escorted him up 8 zigzag trail, dived into one of the I II r., +11 1,I aSl- ,S1 him to partake of luncheon in the underground fastness. troglodyte meal, by the way. is a curious cere- mony, described by Mir. Johnson thus;
 A large wooden bowl of 'cou-
 sceus' is brought in, made by the
 women of the household;
 "Cousceus" is an Arab dish that
 one finds all over Northern Afri-
 ca It is made of wheat prepared Sc that it looks like very fine
 round grains of rice, and it is
 boiled soft with vegetables when
 there are any to be found, and
 served with half or a whole sheep.
 It is highly seasoned with red
 peppers, and is an excellent and
 nourishing dish.
 Ones hands are washed before
 eating and a wooden spoon is giy-
 en to Yeach. The host or his eld
 est son cuts the sheep into pieces
 with a hunting knife, and all fall
 
 placed on the floor or an a table
 about sig inches high. with the
 men sitting tailor fashion around
 it. Each one eats out of the huge common dish, and choice bits of
 mutton are placed in front of ones
 portions by the host and his
 Our table talk was, first of all, how I liked their country; had
 ever breathed such air or tasted fI4J tar ar such fine olive trees? Then they would tell me of their pilgrimages to Mecca and details of the life of Mohammed and his leaders.
 Finally they would want to know just where America is situated. On voyage to Mecca the cap tain of the steamer had told Sheill that if he kept on through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea
 past India and the Far East that he would reach America. That was clear to the Sheik's mind. But another captain, on the re-
 turn voyage, told the same Sheik | that if he kept on past Tangier and GibraIter he would reach America. That was too much to
 believe.
 Miserabfy Poor. The people of Matmata and the rest of the troglodyte villages are nfsera- ! bly poor. This is true to such an ex- ! tent among some or them that they | look forward with joy to 8 flight of ocusts, since by capturing plenty of | these pests they can be assured of 1 having something to eat for quite 8 while. To illustrate the power that the wom- l en wield, French officer who knew the | natives well told a afellow-countryman i of his who visited Tunis that it hap | pened frequently, when some sort of | agreement had been made between | Frenchmen and troglodytes, and all the details settled, apparently. to the sat of the latter, that they l would come back the next day and | declare they could not carry out what l they had agreed upon. When pressed | for a reason for this, they would lodge the question as long as possible, | making all sorts of excuses, and, when | finally cornered, they would confess ! hat the women of their village had ] to the agreement, for which i reason they were obliged to go back on what they had said the day before. | What creates an impossible gulf be- ,ween us and the native" declared the | same officer, "is not his way of life i nor his ignorance nor his language nor 1is religion. It is his wife and his |