The Trouble in Morocco.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 11814, 6 January 1903, Page 2

The Trouble in Morocco.

THE MOORISH PRETENDER.

The Fez correspondent of the London "Times" gives, the following interestoing particulars of Bu iiamara, the Moorish Pretender, iintJ the early progress. of, the rebellion: There is a tadition in Morocco that the forerunner of the coming Mahdi of Islam will appear in the east of-that cuntry, and, gathering a bandl of devoted! followers about him, will mia.rch on Fez. Supernatural powers will be given to him to protect himself and his army agaist any resistance that may ba offered himl, and Fez will be reached in safety. On arrival there this personage will proceed to the great Kairum mosque and call upon' the Mahdi—the "Muil Saa," or "master of the hour"—to appear. 'Miraculously concealed within one of the marble columns of the mosque is the Mahdi's eword, and armed with' this the Messiah of Islam.will set forth to conquer the Avorld. It is a story that anpeala highly to the imagination of the Moors, qndi one and all await the comingl of the Mahdi's forerunner. It is lie that "Bu Honiara" pretended to he', though it is doubtful whether at the first he took upon himself so important a rale. An educated Moor of the lower classes, a native of Ulad Yusei or Zarahun>, it matters not which v . he is known to have been in trouble on more than one occasion some few yete £tnce, and he is said to have sought iands_wher© his- reputatiioaii was unknown, (md to have lived) both in Algeria' and Tunis. There it' ia probable that hie acquired a little general knowledge of the world arid its" ways, and added .to this attainment a cactajn, dexterity in conjuring. Returning • lately to Morocco, he travelled about amongst the tribes, collecting alms by means of bis,^mall feats in the conjurer's art, which won him a reputation for sanctity. The Berbers, always the most easily deceived, spread the'report of his—to them —miraculous powers broadcast. He had juily to dip his haiidl into the donkey's panniers to withdraw it full of money; h8 1 liad only to wave iiis cloak and whole tribes rose in armsl against eaehi other: •he hacjL only to look his. would-be assassin in the face, and" the bullets fell harmless • •■ into-hiia-lap'; he had only to curse a village and tire devoured it. Such < weje^the stories that passed fromt mouth to.mouth i» the streets of Fez. and even ' tb^re received! more than half credence. At length the, Government felt called • ; -upon to act. "Bu Hanuara" had'Jeft his mountain abode, and on Friday, October 2\ he entered the little town of Tesa, some ?u iwjlgs east of Fez, and was received • as a prophet by fihe population. JHere, as formerly, he preached! and! promised BMich. He preached the massacre of Christians, the overthrow of the Sultan and his Government, and the coming? of the Mahdi. He promised /to all who would follow him him immunity from the bullets of .their enemies and a triumphant entry into Fez, aud he foretold that, as he and his army came :ka sight of the city, flames.would . .burst forth and burn the Jews' quarters. He wrote to the tribes announcing- his missiion and demanded their obedience,'; and he , went further. He wrote^in the name of Mulai Mohammed, the" "Sultan's elder brother, who has always been lookedl upon\by some as a claimant; to the throne, though securely under guard in, the palace of Mekinez. A fancied resemblance to the Sultan's brother no doubt .gave rise to this Idea of claiming to be the eldest eon of the late Sultan, a resemblance that was made somewhat striking - his possessing a similar, scar, or malformation1 of one of bis eyes. • ' ■ • "'" ;, ■ ' ' ■ . . It was not until the pretender was esconced in Tesa that the Government sent an expedition against him. • \ This force consi^t-ecl of 2600 infantry and ponie 800 horsemen, though of the latter reinforcements have srnce been sent forward.,. By the time these troops had! left Fez "Bu Haiiniara" was on his Toad td the capital, though still in ilyS distpi^pf Ghiata._> Coming within touch of one another near a, spot called Uladi Tamer,, both armies did e^ctl^what one. would'have expected un<l!er the circumstances, that is to say, nei-' tber did anything. The brother. MuM el Kebir,, who commanded the Imr perial^ forces, pitched! h,is. camp^ aijiL sat -down'to wait', and "Bu Samara" followed JiJa extimp'.e.' Urgent'fetters were sent from Fez to bring the affair to an issue, and yet, ■had it not been for "Bit HamaraV,followers, they" might have remained inactive for any leh.gtb of time. As it was there was ample opportunity given,for the pretender to "swell his forces. The first blow was struck early on Monday, November 3,, when in the darkness a little before dawn the Imperial camp was surprised by "Bu Hamara's" horsemen. Apparently little of no precaution had beet taken to guard the camip^anS the attack came as^a complete surprise, though the troops were fully aware that the enemy's, headquarters were situated not more than an hour or two's ride away. . The rebels penetrated amongst the tents, robbing aram and! killing the soldiery before j they had time thoroughly to awake, and , ifi was only the alertness of the irregular horse of the Beni Kassen, tribe that saved j the situation. The pretender had1 ipromiised that, instead, of bullets, only water would proceed from the barrels of the < soldiers' rifles, and when his followers found that this was not the case they took to flight. The troops rallied, and set out in pursuit. From village to village the enemy fled, tire soldiery and irrewrar'cavalry burning each village as they entered it, till at last the rebels- took regu'ge in a walledi enclosure ec;t'ec l with. t_ag£rs, and! locally known as a Kasha, an^. closed the gates behind them. It appear^ that "Bu HaTnara/' himself took no active part in the fighting, but' fled, with ;v miimiber of his followers to the inaccessible mountains: of Ghiaitau leaviiKj the remainder of his army beseiged! within the mud walls of the Kasha, which was quickly surrounded by the G'overmnent troops. Mesengers were sent to Fez with the news, and. at sunsejum November 4, immediately on receipt of the letters, siege - gung and! three regimente of artilleiy were. sent to the front with orders to bomibard the Kasby. Whether the Berbers will have lost all confidence in "Bu Hamara" and hii» mi'ssi«a. remains to b_e_seen. Here in Fez, ' where a certain amount of niysteiy surrouud'ed his uaine, and where the moi'e supei'stitionis of the population, were half- ,. incluinetl t<n believe in his divine mission, lrw reputation is demolished, andl.he. i.g the laughing stock of the city.