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The National Geographic Magazine 



the family and friends of the victim of 

 such outrages than to himself. Therefore 

 I felt grateful to Providence that since 

 such a misfortune had overtaken me, I 

 had at least fallen into the power of the 

 most kindly and gentle of brigands im- 

 aginable. Indeed, I had never conceived 

 of such a situation as that in which I 

 found myself. 



HIS PERSONALITY 



In so many respects the man interested 

 and attracted me in spite of all my 

 natural motives for dislike. Raisuli was 

 at once so gracious and dignified, not to 

 us only, but to his own wild adherents, 

 who evidently idolized their chieftain, 

 whose position among them seemed that 

 of the head of a Highland clan in the 

 olden times. 



He could not bear to hear a child cry, 

 while on several occasions I noticed his 

 care even to avoid allowing the bees col- 

 lected on his cup to drown, as I saw him 

 lift them out with his spoon or finally 

 empty the cup itself onto the grass. Then, 

 too, he was so quick to see the humorous 

 aspect of a situation, while his repartee 

 was as immediate and to the point ai 

 though he had been born in County Gal- 

 way itself. In fact I discovered to my 

 consternation that I was beginning to 

 like the man in spite of my natural re- 

 sentment. I found myself unconsciously 

 accepting his contention that he was not 

 a mere brigand or cattle-lifter, but a pa- 

 triot struggling to rescue his Berber fol- 

 lowers from the tyranny of the corrupt 

 chereefian officials. His charm of voice, 

 the natural poise and dignity of his man- 

 ner, his self-control under provocation, 

 all betrayed a superior character. He is 

 in fact a born leader and with a certain 

 statesmanlike quality. He deplored the 

 condition of his country, the feuds which 

 separate the tribes, the many deeds of 

 violence, and the blood so uselessly shed. 



In fact, this strange experience while 

 in camp with Raisuli at Tsarradan began 

 to assume an aspect of unexpected and 



idyllic charm. The life of the natives ; 

 the little touches of more gentle human 

 character ; the tiny child who offered me 

 fruit, which I at first declined, until I 

 noticed the expression of disappointment 

 and mortification upon the boy's face, and 

 then the radiant and almost ridiculous 

 satisfaction of the little fellow when I 

 pretended to enjoy his half-ripe offering; 

 the many attempts of the wild people 

 about me to propitiate me ; their curiosity 

 as to our own manners and customs, as 

 when one venerable inhabitant of the vil- 

 lage led me gently aside to inquire why 

 we walked so energetically up and down 

 the village green. "For health's sake," 

 was my reply. "Indeed?" said the old 

 Mohammedan, "and may I ask how 

 many such daily turns, up and down, it 

 may require to keep a Christian in good 

 health !" — all afforded matter of interest 

 and reflection. And then when the first 

 answer from our home reached us, and 

 we learned that already cablegrams had 

 been received from Washington announc- 

 ing that the squadrons under Rear Ad- 

 mirals F. E. Chadwick and Jewell, then 

 coaling at the Canaries, had been ordered 

 to Tangier to secure our release — and, 

 above all, when I read the telegrams from 

 the United States showing the wide in- 

 terest so generously taken in our mis- 

 adventure — when we realized all this, 

 words cannot describe the emotion called 

 forth by these evidences of interest and 

 good will. 



The next great excitement was the- ar- 

 rival, about a week later, of the relief 

 expedition headed by the two young 

 chereefs, Mulai Ali and Mulai Ahmed, 

 sons of the late grand chereef of Wazan 

 and of his English wife. Their approach 

 was heralded by discharges of musketry, 

 fired, as Raisuli informed me, by the in- 

 habitants of the various villages on the 

 route, a different route to the one by 

 which we had been conducted. These 

 discharges were to give Raisuli notice 

 that strangers were entering the district, 

 for "not only are you the only foreign- 



