The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-05-05
IS At HOME IN
ANY LANGUAGE
George Gabriel, Official Inter
prefer of Grand Central
Station, New York
New York World.

Southern Europe, or Asia Minor. Cr
some half-remembered province IN
some remote corner or the Wofid
stagger under strange looking OF
baggage into the White light or the
Grand Central Station in New York.
and. jabbering strange dialects anil
gazing helplessly around, there is q
cry for Gabriel.
And Gabriel in neat uniform, lis
swart face shining With good Will
and his ears alert for the babel CT
tongues, comes smiling across the
marble floor. No matter what tongue
mothered them, little Gabriel, the
man who speaks many languages and
dialects, answers them bach in their
own tongue, or something SO nearly
like it hat they comprehend.
George Gabriel, a native OF Abyss1n-
ia, is the official interpreter at the
Grand Central Terminal. at his home
at No. II West Ninety-ninth street.
he told a World reporter about some
of his wanderings and the famous
men he HIS met in his capacity OF
interpreter.
Father Was a Colonel.
II was born in Adds Abeba, the
capital Of Abyssinia, in 1886 he said.
my father was a colonel in one OF
King Menelik's regiments and lost
his lie in the war in which ny Il
try whipped Italy. My Oldest brother.
wounded n the knee, died at nome OF
his injuries.
MY earliest recollecticns are of
see'"e the King passing through the
streets Of ,lis capital i'll his reg1l
splendor. At Menelik:i orders, DC
cause I was the son Of an army Off
Ger, + wac sent to the Government
schools Of my country. and earned
to speak the lest A~byssin.asl lanyuaSe
and 20 writ4 it both in our own cfaF
acters ami III Turkish characters. l
was brought up in the Abyssian Oh
thodox Christian Church. one Of ire
oldest in the world.
after the death of my father and
brother, in 1896, when l was ten years
old Lord Kitchener waneA little
boy to trave; in his fetlruc and
wanted III the same time some one
who could talk Abyssian. 1 went
with him to Egypt, and while he t:av-
elled about a great deal there were
many steps when Kitchener. who vas
interested IN the little subject OF
Menelik, insisted that [ so - school
in Egypt: and SO / learned Turkish.
I was in school in Egypt four years
and made tie most of it.
Went to Mecca.
Then one day a verv scdate ard
elegant looking Englishman came to
see Lord Kitchener. 1T was. w. b.
Hurt, a writer, who INTENDED IraSeil-
ing in Arabia and had some secret
idea of penetrating to Mecca TO study
the holy places. He wanted some one
who could read Turkish and had
studied Mohammedanisln and knew
all the signs and legends. Kitchener
suggested me because / could go as
a bodyguard and knew the language
and religion well. BY nov had mas
tered, besides Turkish, many dialects
and a good deal of many other tom
CUES. We went to Mecca, and through
my passing myself off for a Moham
medan we were able to go into the
holy places, the houses of the peoplc
and collect a mass of information
which my benefactor wrote out and
which has since, l believe, been pub
lished. He was a historian and a stu
lent and an investigator of strange
and out-of-the-way places. During
our Investigations there were many
times when we did not know whether
we o. ever get out to Christian
countries again. Many and many a
time 1 was held up and cross-exam-
ined as to my religion and birth, hu,
failure would have mean a slit wind
pipe and the loss of the data we were
collecting for the outside world.
1.-Two years later we went to Da-
mascus, visited Jerusalem and the
Syrian cities and finally arrived il
AtNho g
six months and | learned the founda-
ton of the chief-spoken language O
the city.
With Roosevelt.
I'm 1907 we went to C~onstantinopl.
and then to Paris where later. cam.
Theodore Roosevelt on his way t
Africa and anxious to set an inter
prefer WI, could speak some of tn.
tongues of Northern Africa, the Turk
ish countries and Arabia. | went t
Africa with him and was constant,
at his beck and call during his hunt
1 ing expeditions. | saw most of tn,
game killed that was killed on tina
trip, and | saw the eX-PreSident il
| many tight places and many NOR
. that, while not tight. We're Interesting
s In many ways he made me him o
Kitchener.
e In 1910 Mr.. Hurt. when I had re
g Joined, went to New Zealand and
q went with him. Then the BIRTHS
government made hin Consul-Gen
II ara1 y Soft al@,