New Britain herald., 1930-08-12
DESERT RAILROAD
 MAY BE RUN AGAIN
Arabian Line Built for Pilgrims
 Carries No Freight

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 ries no freight, and whose only po- tential passengers are pilgrims may soon be running again.
 Mohammedans Of all complex ions; Persians, Egyptians, Turks Syrans, Moroccans, Algerians kraqi Javanese and Tunisians have 'petitioned Ibn saud King of Hejaz to reconstruct the Damascus Me- dina HadJ Railroad that was de- stroyed during the World War.
 Sheiks and Turks Aboard
 "Glistening black Abdul Hamid, puffing and blowing smoke, with it's whistle screaming to an empty desert, pulled it's first string of coaches, loaded with robed sheiks from the desert, and fezzed, be. sworded, gilt-braided Turks from Damascus into Medina in 190S," says a bulletin of the National Geo. graphic Society from it's headquar- ters in Washington, D. C., but only after three sheep had been sacri- feed by high priests in front of it's camel catcher Medina. the termi- nus, is only 200 miles north of holy Mecca.
 prdered by the Sultan, paid for by faithful Mohammedans through out the world, designed by a Ger man engineer, built by Italian, Pol ish, Hungarian, and Turk engineers, using Italian, Greek, Turk and Montenegrin labor, the completed pilgrimage express ran regularly until Bedouins began planting bombs in 1917. Some of it's rails were made in America, some in France, some in Belgium; the cars the pilgrims rode in were manu- factured in Belgium, while Abdul Hamid' and the other engines that Hhirled them through desolation were German. Christians built it. Christians equipped it, but they could not ride on the railroad of the faithful
 Railway Banished Strange Parade
 The pilgrim railroad banished one of the most remarkable process sions in the world, one witnessed by few Christians, because the great Mecca caravan whose weary, toiling legions once numbered more than 10000 men and thousands of cam els opened it's tents only to Moham- me edans.
 Every true Mohammeda burns with hope 10 make the Hadj, that is, the trip to Mecca and Medina, holest of Islam holies. If the jour- ney costs his life, as well as his for tune, so much the better. There is greater glory in paradise for those who die making the Hadj.
 Many 0f those who travel by land gather at Damascus in Syria. To go by sea, as thousands do in our softer civilized days, earns the pilgrim less merit than to make he strength -sapping. overland jour 1ey through sun-burned valleys be- tween black rock walls, balanced on an evil-tenpered camel, drink ng the luke-warm water of desert V els, and risking cholera,
 Racketeering Anrong Bedouins
 "Once outside Damascus the great caravan used to halt until all assembled and until the caravan leader had buttered the palm of the desert Bedouins. To pass safely through the desert, free from attacks by the crafty Bedouins, fat bribes were paid every year.
 "Convoying a pilgrim army one thousand miles through an almost Taterless desert was no easy task. Everything was minutely organized. The Persian tents were grouped to- ,ether; Syrians kept to their sec ion: sects and tongues and nation lass into manageable units. Camel ,oys waited for orders to bring heir grumblng beasts 10 the rid ers: the tent corps was prepared to ear down the camp and rush 1t shead 10 the next desert well the moment the caravan marched. There was even market street hat keen Syrian merchants from Damascus set up the moment the lost halted. a noisy smelly market, where pilgrims bought food and vhere Bedouins of the desert flock d to buy cloth and bright trinkets. 1t night the camp twinkled in the ,lain as hundreds of candles were ighted within paper lanterns that wung from poles before tent doors.
 The Camel line Forms
 Before dawn a cannon shot choed over the camp. The signal. den cursed in many tongues as hey stumbled over tent ropes in heir haste to be off. SqueaIng amels bent their knees protesting gainst, the riders climbing up. Dogs 'arked, stray Damascus dogs that vent with the caravan annually to iecca like dogs that ally them elves to hunters walking through orests. Tied nose to tail in long lies the camels swung along to the inklink music of pilgrimage sung " the bells tied to the ugly beasts. l he great caravan was on the | carch; no journey for a weakling. 1 ometipes it traveled as much as 0 miles by steady going 22 hours | ut of 24.
 "Some of the camels carried huge | filters on their backs for romen. for wealthy pilgrims and or dying pilgrims. When a pilgrim ! n Hadj felt the spirit leaving his l ody he willingly spent the last of lis savings to die in luxury so he l fred one of the camels bearing the lrching compartment reserved for lying m"n. Friends lifted his sick ming body in. When the caravan topped they would look in, find i'm dead. roll out the body, bury . lx