THE SACRED CITY OF THE SANDS 
At ‘the end of the seance the men 
would lie stiff on the ground, apparently 
dead. Only after rubbing and chafing 
their bodies and sometimes biting their 
ear would the fanatic come to. Five 
times during my stay at Foum Tatahou- 
ine I saw the same man—he keeps the 
large Arab café near the market-place— 
swallow from 8 to 15 ten-penny nails. 
One curious fact is that members of 
this sect are always proof against the 
stings of scorpions and snake-bites, not 
only when under this sort of hypnotic 
spell, but when work-1g at their daily 
tasks. I could not believe this statement 
until I saw it proved time and again. 
Do they die? do they bleed? were ques- 
-tions that I was asked frequently in 
America. If they die one never knows, 
and they should not bleed, and do not 
as a rule; but they bleed profusely once 
in a while, and this is what two of the 
high priests told me when I asked them 
about it: 
“There are certain holy rules laid 
down by Sidi ben Aissa. God is a God 
of love and kindness, but he will not 
be trifled with. We do not confess to 
priests or men. It is between oneself 
and God. A man must wash himself. 
He must be pure within. 
pita inan has brokem any of the 
commandments of the Koran, or defiled 
himself in any way and comes to the 
religious rites of the Aissaouas, then he 
will bleed, or the fire will burn, or the 
scorpions will choke him. He must pu- 
rify himself first; then all will go well.” 
The high priest is called a sheik; next 
comes the moudadem, then a caliph, then 
a bache chaotiche and chaotche. A man 
called moharake shows people their seats 
and a bache taballe leads the tom-toms. 
1. The hypnotized fanatic that eats 
Barbary figs (prickly pear), glass, etc., 
is called a camel; in Arabic, “djmmel.” 
2. The second is called a lion. He 
imitates a lion and eats sheep and bulls 
alive. ‘‘Saidie’ is the name. 
3. The third is called an ostrich, or 
“rafeiy.” He swallows nails, scorpions, 
and has swords thrust through him. 
1087 
4. The fourth thinks himself a cat, 
“kat-otiss,’ and climbs trees and build- 
ings and jumps down unharmed. He 
eats shoes and hot iron and swallows 
burning coals of fire. 
5. Dhe fatth, called) in’ Hrench “le 
merle,” a species of blackbird; in Arabic, 
“hautiffa.” He jumps down deep wells 
with his clothes on, and comes out dry 
and his mouth full of water. He also 
jumps and hops about like a bird. 
6. The sixth and last is called ‘“okas- 
cha.” No one has ever been able to tell 
me its meaning. He is a sort of Samson, 
or strong man, and will break strong 
ropes or chains when bound. He seems 
to possess marvelous force, for I have 
seen 12 strong Arabs try to throw him, - 
and he tossed them about like straw. 
Then the sheik himself had to go up to 
him; he was a wiry-looking old man. 
He passed his hand several times over 
the fanatic’s face and he, with a gasp 
and gtoan, sank, apparently lifeless, to 
the floor. The strong man was trying to 
break down a stone wall with his head, 
and was in a very ugly mood, so that the 
12 Arabs tried to throw him, so one of 
the chief priests could calm him. 
The explanation for these various tor- 
tures is, word for word, what about 20 
sheiks and moudadema told me when 
gathered together in the Café Douirat 
in Tunis. One sheik was a mighty hun- 
ter, whom I had met far south; another 
was from the Troglodyte town of Doui- 
rat; two others from near Gabes, and 
one from Kairowan. I told them what 
I had seen as a boy and recently in 
Tripoli and_Tunisia, and that people in 
America would not believe that they did 
these things. So evenings we met and 
had heart-to-heart talks, and what I have _ . 
written are the notes scribbled down on 
the spot. I cannot explain to you why 
they are not hurt. It seems impossible 
that a man run through the abdomen 
with a small round sword does not die, 
or at least feel the after-effects. As a 
well-known English surgeon said to me, 
on his return home from Kairowan, 
