Show A SAVAGE BALLET motley multitudes and Ilar barong Fe alts in tile the city of tangier the feast of mohammed s birth birthday lay has recently taken place here and indeed it took pa place abc acc rather unexpectedly the prop prophets liets birth was was on the ninth day of tile the month of brollia Brol lid and audit it is batho the custom to begin the celebration on the first day of the month and keep it up tip for ten days vow now tile the Alo mohammedan liani me III month is tile the I 1 lunar unar month and it is lithe the duty of tile the bashaw or governor to proclaim tile beginning of holud when lie he or some solid citi citizen zellin jn whom ho he has confidence fi has seen the yolly young in con this year acting on uncertain information the bashaw started the festivities a day or bather a night ahead of time I 1 during all this period preliminary to tile the celebration of the oth tho the country people are arc flocken flocking 0 into tangier coming in generally rally by villa villages cs or if from greater distances by kaby ka byles lesl or tribes and they are to be seen comin coming A along the beach in crowds coni composed posed of men mounted on oil horses or mules or ridin riding 0 sidesaddle side saddle on small donkeys or on oil f foot and all carrying glins lon long hint flint locks ot of Blo moorish orish make and with these many women somo some with babies slung over the their ir shoulders where all tile the people slept I 1 to do not know there wore were many tents od on tile the marketplace ind and you yon could see sec men sleep sleeping g in the streets at night iii glit but the majority must have k gone gone back a distance into tile the country at nightfall aln 9 in the day time this crowd was very interesting to AV watch atch the different tribes havo have distinguishing tin marks for instance the he kial men shavo shave all thelle th ohead except the space above and behind the alie rio right car where they wear a tuft anft or cue others leave a stift tuft on top and so on oil these countrymen are the descendants of the barbarians the phoenicians Phoenicia ns greeks antl and romans found here and are arc not of the dace race of their conquerors the aral arabs s t that there has not been much rid admixture mixture of blood is apparent ill in their heir features and color which though thong fail ki sun n dark darkened on ed is uniform in the race and has not shades from white to black which marria marriage e with degrio negro sl slaves avos it have generated enervated ene rated among 1111 illg the arabs some of tile the foreign ministers arld and residents have tents cutup put up at tile the head of the slope and invite their friends to witness the performance tile view from one of these where I 1 was was very striking in the foreground a 41 lense dense in moving 0 ril ir c crowd j li dark ark mountaineers tain tai cers with their long gims brittis and their arsenals of pistols ind and lo 10 daggers vy ers women shrouded 1170 eded in coarse sa s1 sacking capo exposing iiii 1 only lit an eye and a bit of a nose to view view grave bearded moors in white faiks as they call tile vast vait white folds they aliey put over their other raiment and turban jersin their long 0 za ga berdines in the middle distance the alie town of tangier its white cube of houses house rising like a pile of childs blocks to the kasbah or citadel and in the distance the blue entrance to the bled mediterranean call boull bounded led by the span spanish ish hills and thirty miles oft off the rock of G gibraltar abr altar showing in 0 clearly against the eastern sky the in mountaineers ot inta ineer i andul indulge cc in much powder play constant discharges sometimes so near that as the guns are discharged on oil the alio ground the wavel gravel is blown into ones flee face one savage ballet bil lct I 1 noticed about twenty of those these ruffians divided into two platoons face each other and at the sound of pipe and drum lance dance forward and back passing passin through throng 11 each cach others lines brandishing thol their r guns hiigli in the air until at a point in the dance when one platoon 0 gives a wild shriek reversing the muzzles muzzle of the guns to the ground round and giving avin it a si leap lit in the air they fire off their 0 cecini gins all to 0 ether then this platoon runs oil off to an attendant alio stands by an li bag an of powder to reload and its place is taken in the alie dance by a fresh troop I 1 saw this thia thill tiling kept up for an ail hourt hour to the into ns 0 dell deli glit lit of performers and audience the feet and le legs s of some of tile alie participants were bleeding from wounds made by careless dis dise chirgo barg go of V guns but this was avas quite disregarded generally gerit gent some eyes ire are pu put t out will and some lives lost by explosions lit in these celebrations br brat ions tangier cor boston transcript |