The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1919-03-20

"%HERE Is bit Of seashore of
such vital importance 20 our
y world today that thitherward
Is directed the anxious gaze
)f all the leaders of the nations. II
dgures prominently as one of the ques-
lions involved In the great war. IS the
territory OF an important campaign.
end was. I'm fact, one OK the prime fac
tors IN the causatiOn of the war. II
has been region of high Importance
since the first morning of our civil
ration. rich alike in history and fable
probably the cradle OF western culture.
the playground Of many empires gone
(and perhaps Of others yet 10 come),
whose undulating sands and hills hold
the ruins OF sixty centuries. II is
hunt Of tranceful dreams and Infinite
fascination. n latitude which can lay
most plausible claim 10 the consldera-
ton Of all OF US.
And yet. I'm our time Of knowledge.
these coast lands. famous for ages.
are scarcely knOwn-nO more probably
than they were to the curious Greeks
Of Herod0tus' time or to the Cbaldeans
who studied the stars and the sea a
dozen centuries enthusiastically no
more than they were TO the geOgra-
pliers Of Bagdad or the merchants Of
Ispahan In the days Of the good Ha-
roun al RascIrfd. writes Proyer Bura-
nelli IN the New York World. The Per
sian gulf lies brooding with re ages.
Around its ancient waters ore set the
luster-shOrn crown Jewels OF Islam. IL
Is a solitude OF obscure wonders await
ing exploration.
The Persian gulf IS a landlocked
body Of water OF Sblong shape lying
between Arabia and Persia. II IS about
five hundred miles long by an average
OF two hundred miles wide. extending
from northwest TO southeast. Its out
let 70 the Indian ocean the Straits Of
Ornuz, Is less than three hundred
miles from the outpost frontier Of In
dia, so that a power controlling the
gulf. say by holding a fortress at the |
tip Of the Pirate coast. the Arabian |
side OF the narrow strait. would have |
an immediate sally port for excursions |
q galnst the empire of the east Indeed. |
with proper railroad facilities in ASH |
attic Turkey. the Persian gulf becomes |
the logical route TO India.
So II is not astonishing that when /
the heavy spectacles Of German schol-
hrship formed an alliance with kaiser
Heb mustachiOs the idea OF the North
sea-to-Pe ian-gulf railroad cropped up
and showed extreme per
The center of equIIlbrium
In the Orient lies In the control OF the
Persian gulf.
AS In the Days Of the Prophet
To one side IL Persia, TO the other
Arabia, with crumbled Babylon look
Ing down from the north. Where q
fairer setting for the romancer? Along
the low. sandy and forbIddIng west
shore lie the provinces of FL Hasa and
Oman. the latter with that precious
known as the Pirate coast
Here the various touches OF modern
culture are perfectly unknown. The
Arab holds forth much as he did when
The prophet was raising the first rue
lions OF the lslamitic storm. and the
Arab l. person of wide and deserved
reputation On this coast he Is seen
n his most characteristic guises-and
ilso In roles comparatively unknowu
% the outside world. Camels. sand
storms and the desert are the usual
settings for the burnoused follower OF
he prophet But on the Persian gulf
'oast the Arab has become an expert
aildr-and pirate. He follows both
u these worthy avocations with all the
'uile traditional of his breed-and
'ften u Is guile quite fantastic 10 the
accidental mind.
The coast has long been = refuge
or outlawed characters from western
europe. They partake readily 10. the
obberies and piracies OF tho natives.
Which In spite Of English srnboafs
ourish exceedingly Slave trading
nd gun running are lucrative nrofes-
ions. and the warriors az centre, Asia
re enabled TO make large amounts Of |
rouole. thanks to the rifles MS cod IN |
heir hands by these hartIv $500. ~
he gulf littoral.
AL along the sandy waste Ne tr~,s- Z
re stores OF ruins Travelers here | I
escrioed half-buried stone Formations. I
ne relics OF man long before ~, ~er1v
Ivilization OF the region. R~.I 4
ese'nbianee to the fameus S1,,,s ere q
Iork at stonehense ed oticr rsrnsIos J