Year: 1875

TANGIER, Morocco, Feb. I8.


There are walled towns enough
in all Spanish countries, and white
wash is literally used on all the
dwellings of the Latin races, but
never have seen any TOW so com
pletely isolated and restricted by
its walls, Tangier, or one where
the mass of buildings displayed a
more glowing coat of whitewash.


The place hardly looks its age i'll
such a dress and it seems as though
such an old city should have out
grown its walls or allowed them to
tumble down. 1t is said that Tan
gier is, next to Damascus, the old
est place in the world; and it is true
that no one knows exactly when it
was founded. The town lies in a
hollow among hills at the bottom of
a large bay and the masses of mean
block-like houses seem to be crowd
ing each other up the hill-sides. In
front of the landing is a reef of
rocks on which the surf breaks, and
to the left is a magnificent stretch
of sea beach. On the right the
range of bare hills spreading around
the bay have a desolate, lonely look,
though the hills and valleys are
green with spring crops, and the
soil is unmistakably fertile. Look
ing at the closely walled city, and
remembering that those slender
spires are the minarets of mosque, it
is easy enough to imagine that the
Arabs of the desert must haunt this
waste country. 1 believe that trav-
elers are not allowed to ride far
from town without guard, but
there are no wandering bands in this
part of Morocco.


To land in front of the town it is
necessary to run the boat upon the
beach and watch the chance to jump
over the bow and run up before the
incoming waves or submit to be car
ried ashore on the shoulders of one
of the clamorous crowd of MoOrs
and Jews, who are struggling to Sc
cure the freight.


The most striking thing seen on
entering a Mohammedan country
is the variety and strangeness of the
costumes, especially those worn by
the men, who seem to enjoy the mo-
nopoly of wearing in public the
bright colors and flowing robes,
which the women of Christendom
chiefly affect. The Moorish women,
as seen in the streets, are simply
shapeless masses of coarse and dirty
white woolen cloth. The only def
mite outlines to be seen are those
of their generally ungraeeful bare
feet and ankles, The whole struc-
ture is often surmounted by an
enormous hat of old straw, at least
a yard in diameter, and only the
eyes, and occasionally the nose of
the wearer is to be seen. Perhaps
it is a mercy that the other features
are concealed. The handsome wo-
men are mostly kept in the harems
and there they probably display as
much fondess for extravagant dress
as their civilized sisters.


The men generally wear the red
fez caps, often wound with white
turbans. They often wear three OF
four robes, or tunics of different
colors, long, dark-blue cloaks, short
trousers, and have the toes of their
bare feet thrust into yellow moroc-
co slippers. They generally wear
swords and daggers, with highly
mounted hits and scabbards. Some
of the old men, with full white
boards, are very dignified figures
they sit at their shop doors.


The working classes wear, gener-
ally as an outer garment, coarse
gray woolen turnout, which is a
loose cloak with a huge peaked hood
to draw over the head. Some Of
the tall, gaunt Moors, with fang
like teeth, and savage features,
Scared with small pox, looking out
from under these hoods, are not par
ticularly pleasant-looking figures to
meet while ;aking lonely ride.


The Jews, who form large part
of the population, and transact the
most business of the place, all wear
black skull-caps and generally long