A BOOK OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1704, 22 March 1913, Page 9

A BOOK OF THE DAY.

f WITH THE ARABS IN TRIPOLI. Arabs and Italians. iTho war in Tripoli • has' l:«en responsible ior uot a iew books, most of wnich have "dealt m'ainJy, if not solely,' with the iiiilnary operations or the Italians, and wall cartain political phases, and' probiiUio ,6.ii(|\:ouc;i's of tliu cninpaign. It has been ■ lpit,- However,-- to Jir. Alan Ostler, in Ins book, "The Arabs in Tripoli" (Lonuoiv'Jno. Auirray), to giyo a tunes ot'.cxoeuiuiily interesting pen. pictures, not only ot the fighting; rroin the' Arab side mm poiut'of viuw, but of the life'of the Arab ■ populnc3 during "the war, tho life in tliß caiiips itt.tJie.'J.Tipplitau hintcrlind, wiieuco cßino volunteers from'-all parts of' Northern ' Africa, ftud, indeed, I roru regions far beyond the great desert. Mr. , Ustier had previously been an eyewitness of more -than ouo ferocious tribal or civil -war in Morocco, and was presoiit in that country during tho .general uprisiusf during' which'Vea .rras'-besieged,' Although endeavouring ■to ba ■ fair to lioth..sides,-it is clear that, so far as his views of the rights and-wrongs of tha war wore ooncenied, his sympathies generally Tvere with tha Arabs. Tho inuc.h : . debated ninssacro at.Tripoli was, ha says) due not to- any. deliberate "cruelty.-or bloody-aiimledness,'"' but to tho' "pitiful testatic cowardico". of tho Italian soldiers aiul sailors.' Elsewhere, -Mr. Ostler admits that there could bo no question of the bravery'of'the Italian officers;'but he brngs serious ohrirgcs against the commanders of the army of invasion, charges of shelling hospitnta, firing upon flags of truce', a'iid so forth. On the other hand, ho claims that not only is the Arab a "fust-class , ' iighlin' man," but that throughout tho war he "played the gjime,' and set an example of which his huropca.n enemy might very , well havo imitt)ted. For the daring courago of the Turkish soldiers and tho half-savago Arab levies ho has almost unstinted praise. , Especially were tho. Arabs from the.liinrei'laufl aniuiaterl by a spirit of fanatical enthusiasm , which led them to despise death. ~ .; ■, '■. : .-

An Arab Joan of Arc. .; Splendid as was; the gallantry, exhibited by many of these half-savage' warriors from tha southern dcserU.it .was equalled by that of some of their womenfolk. .0! one .woman, who .became known as. the Heroine of Uarga'resh, Mr. . Ostler gives an interesting description;*; "from which -1 wake a brief quotation-:'— ' ': She wore about her throat a whito uiotal torque,'and a collar 'of-pnnth- ' -tr's teeth hiing on, her broad,' lirown >chest. Her amis wero bare, aiid/liad 'broad bracelets'on them, 'and'oll67'■her left—had bceu'iTouiiilcd, and was .'roughly dressed'with rags. -."In'.her' 'right' tist she gripped- a polished stall jof olive wood." ; Jlcr liiusciilar legs , 'and'broad,' horny feet werp bare. . . '.Watching her. as she swaggered, back'f wards and forwards, I wondered whe- .} thci; Joan:of Arc. 'perhaps, were. not iaoirio ' rough-Voiced,smart peasant' ■ 'woman if ,7/. i instead' of the' delicate, 'visio'n-seieihg. /jnaidbn, flower-faced . and slender--. li|nber;..whom poets anil.painters have ; 'acting over again dicr'deeds of the day J before. ■ She had followed the men .to" ' Gargaresh, along with- many other women, and, had at first remained , with her; own kind, screaming and cheering 011 tho men. •- She had said: ' —"Ho that turns back, ' sisters, wo will paint his face red with our nails. ... Ho shall'be a drudge, and livo.in tho tents amtang tho children." "When tho great charge; began, and doubt- - less her wild .cries ao.-alerated it— , *he could contain herself '110 longer, but dashed'in, unarmed save for her 1 , : tajmel stick, and got to , the head of the column. She was hit by a frag- -' -.went of shell,.but sho ran «hj shaking her bleeding hand' in the faces of ' , , tho men,'and bidding; them earn glori-. • . oil? wounds like hers.' Sho .was ' amongst the first '' to , leap-into tho trenches, and there, dipping hei\,right ' 411:111 to tho -elboiy* in a ,poo! of fresh. ! blood,_ she stood upon tho breastworks, - ravening, liko a'very goddess of Afri- - can battle, i-. . ~ , ' ,

Traffic in VVar Spoils* , The Araba hcpi trader;. b.ut at tho opintucncenienl of ,thu wiir certain Tunis- : inns'- and (Algerian .Arabs, better instructi eil, from contact with the -French, than ; tho .ignorant .Tripolitdns,. reaped-, 'rich ' "harvests. Finding in the pockets of-dead Italians tliin sheets- of paper, coloured preen anil blue 'and pink; and curiously inscribed; -tho Tripolitahs'.took them, to . the Tunisian traders, .wondering.. .what they ,m ig lit bf.". Thus it came about,, says Mf.; Ostler, "that ons' frit-fellow'..from ttybes;.,who had left. the. .shaving- arid.ha.ir-. : dressing of French .officers for more profitable ,g>anings in the'wpr-hrca; bought notes worth 15IX) lira (about .££o). for n . few coppers; 'awl other?,. I. am told, did even mors. Later on, when, the rank and hie had been ihfornied bv. the officers that ; sfich-papers wore' Christian" money, (there to i wild, rush for profit. The. author was, he says, "often .pestered .by Arab ' soldiers- who .sought to soil me .uprnosraphic postcards- and even; cigarette ■papers , taken from Italian pockets, under-t,h« impre'S'Vm that they were. worth gold.". The bodies were plundered, but never, : so tho-author says, mutijatcd. . A "Plfl-Mcat" Story. •'How Beshir Bey, a special friend of tho author,, cleverly "utilised the ignorance -of . tho-Arabs is tho. subject of an amusing story. Says Jlr. Ostler ;-r After, tho 'fight at C-farzaresh, somo •Arabs' came-.to Beshir Bey' carrying tins bf preserved meat and fish. '"What is this?" the.y wanted to know, "and -what is it worth?" ' . Beshir-Bey looked .roguishly at me. .Wo had bson living on rice and • stingy mutton for many days. Ho turned a severe face on the Arabs. ■ ./'That," said he, "is swine's flesh, such a? the Christiana eat, Its. value . to a Moslem is—that." He sent a tin of salmon bowling ovei the ground to where some mangy dogs were hungrily prospecting. "WuUali!" cried -one, "it is pigment indeed. J.oukHe pointed to a label, whereon the head of a boar was painted. They (lung their booty contcmptftously down, and went off, shaking their polluted. mantles. Beshir Bey and. I supped well; that night. '. .

Somo Ethnological Problems. Mr. Ostler travelled far inland, and to many readers the most interesting chap-, ters'of his-book will lie those in which 'lie describes his-visits'to certain Berber Sheikhs, or chicftains of high degree, and indulges in some speculations as to the. ejnet origin of tho Berbers,_ Tuaregs, and otlwr strange races inhabiting the desert oas?s. lie goes so far as to express tho opinion that tliero aro amongst tho Berbers certain tribes who are descended from pre-Aryan Europeans, and that although they havo to sorrta extent become merged into tho conquering Arab race, they possess traditions, institutions, arts, and crafts, and even linguistic peculiarities, which go to prove tiiay were originally of European origin. Mr, Ostler thinks it is by no means improbable that.tho Berbers are descended from -the Firbolgs, tho primitive people of Ireland, whom tho first Celtic invaders found and fought with. . '■ • '. 'The hook contains some illustrations specially drawn by Mr. H. Seppings Wright, the well-known war artist. The price is 12s. :