The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1915-03-18
JEWELER COMES.
FROM THE EAST
How Daniel Noorian of KurdiStan
Has Made Success in
America.
LEARNED TRADE OF FAMILY
Position Of Interpreter Gave Him
Chance to Come to New World
Where He Benefits by Fad
for Things Oriental.
BY OSBORN MARSHALL.


In Kurdistan every boy learns his
fathers trade. The cry for vocation
al fitness" has not been heard in that
part of the world. II your father is a
farmer. so are you; If he earns his
bread making shoes. you do the same;
If he begs, you beg for living; and
no one would expect the son Of
thief in Kurdistan to live by honest
labor
The Noorians in the hill country
of Kurdistan have always been jewel
ers They adopted that profession
nobody knows how many years ago
and have handed down the traditions
and methods of their trade from Ia
ther to son ever since. Daniel Noorian
was y youngster some forty years ago
and he and his brothers were early
given the opportunity to work in their
fathers shop AS mere children they
learned to distinguish the different
precious stones and to know their
value. When their arms we're strong
enough they were taught to hammer
and mold the precious metals and to
cut and engrave the precious stones.
All the boys we're sent to school,
but Daniel felt a thirst for greater
learning. He wanted to learn the
great languages of the world so that
he could read the books that had not
been translated into his native Arabic.
So when he was scarcely more than a
boy he journeyed westward from his
home in the hills to Constantinople.
Here he was admitted to Roberts col
lege His first aim was to learn to
speak English, his ultimate dream
was to come to America-that far
away land of progress, freedom and
boundless wealth In that country, so
he had heard jewelry was made by
skillful machinery-not by the pains
taking, slow methods Of his fathers.
He would go to America and learn
these new. quick ways Of doing things
and grow rich
On an Expedition to Baedad.
One day after Noorian had been in
college only a few months and could
speak only little English one of his
professors sent for him and said:
"Noorian, how would you like to go
to Bagdad?"
NoOrian gave start.
Why" he exclaimed, 81 have been
dreaming so long of going to America,
the land of achievement and independ-
ence. and now you ask me to go East,
the land of superstition and stagna-
ton What is there in the East to
do or to see?"
Well" exclaimed the professor, II
have a friend who has come to Con-
stantinople from America and is 60
ing on to Bagdad. From there he is
going to go south in the valley of the
Tigris and the Euphrates, to the
cities of Abraham and the prophets
He wants an interpreter It occurred
to me that as you spoke Arabic and
have a good share Of common sense
you would be just the one. To be sure
it will mean you must leave college
but these men who want to engage
YOU are great scholars and you can
learn as much from them as you
could here If you care to accept the
proposition you will have to go at
once. What do you think Of ftp"
Noorian thought for moment
81 will CO." he said at last. Since
It is with Americans perhaps this trip
to the East may be a means of going
to the West eventually"
SO Daniel Noorian turned away
from college and home to join the en-
petition to Bagdad-a city almost as
remote from his thoughts, although
in actual miles not far from his native
Kurdistan-as it is from ours. He had
seen the rich rugs and carpets from
Bagdad, but that was about all.
The American who had sent ahead
for the interpreter was William Hayes
Ward, who was in charge of the Wolfe
Babylonian expedition in 1884. He
was a minister and an orientalist, and
his interest in the ancient ruins of
Babylon was that of profound
scholar.
To America and Back Again.
Noorian's work as an interpreter
was not easy at first. because he had
but a slight knowledge Of English.
The worst of it was that he could get
no Arabic-English dictionary. He
managed to get an English-Armenian
dictionary So at first in order to in
terpret the words of the Arabic ma
tives of the plains of Babylon, unless
he knew the English equivalent, he
had to consult three dictionaries.
1t was as Noorian had hoped. When
in the spring of 1886 the Wolfe expe-
dition terminated its work in Babylon
Noorian followed Mr. Ward to the
land of his dreams. A few years later,
when the University Of Pennsylvania
sent out the expedition to excayate
Nippur-the most promising city in
the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates
-Noorian, as the most experienced
interpreter to be had, was one of the
party.
During the expedition the plains of
the Tigris-Euphrates valley were
made to give up unhoped-for stores or
historic records. And while the other
members of the party spent their time
deep in studies of the ancient country
Noorians duties were manifold. When
the grand vizier refused to let the
party pass their rifles through the
custom house it was Noorian who had
to smuggle them from one steamer to
another by lowering them in rubber
case from the shady side of his row.
boat. Later, when the Arabic mule
teers employed by the party stole the
mules and hid them in cave under
the city, /. vas Noorian who was di-