KAID MACLEAN'S RELEASE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 89, 3 April 1908, Page 4

KAID MACLEAN'S RELEASE

STORY OF HIS IMPRISONMENT TOLD BY HIMSELF. Kaid Sir Harry Maclean arrived at Tangier shortly after midnight on February Oth, after being detained for seven months a prisoner by Raisnli, t»e Moorish brigand. For his release lie is partly indebted to Mr. Edmond Pious Carleton, called "Bibi" (beloved) by the natives, who is British Consular Agent at Alcazar, and has conducted negotiations with Raisuli on behalf of the British legation.

The terms of the Kaid's release were: (1) A ransom of £20,000, £SOOO to be paid at once, Raisuli to draw monthly interest on the remainder for Ave years'; if his behaviour is satisfactory duriii" that time the capital to be paid over to him; (2) British protection for Raisuli and his family, (3) return of black slave women and of certain prisoners. Raisuli seized Mr. Perdiearis, a wealthy American, and Mr. Varley, an Englishman, on May IStli, 1001, releasing them five weeks later for a joint ransom of £II,OOO. lie captured Mr. W. 11. Harris, the Times' correspondent, releasing him in exchange lor certain prisoners three weeks later.

Sir Harry Maclean furnished the Daily Mail's special corrc.-pondent in Morocco (Mr. William .Maxwell) with an interesting account 01 his capture and imprisonment.

" ISoforo I left Fez in .|,„ie." || l( . ](.,;,] wrote, "the .Sultan gave in,- letters for Kaisuli and for .some of the tribes. His -Majesty told me to hand these letters to the chiefs of the trilies and not to give them to Kaisuli.

•" When 1 met Kaisuli at the river he was awfully nice. He asked me to

com e a little way from the chiefs' country to show that 1 also trusted them, and to give them their letters from the Sultan. I made Kaisuli clasp hands and swear by everything he hold sacred—even by th e local saint who is his patron saint and ancestor—that he was going to act fairly. He did all these things, and added that it was

a shame 1 should think he would behave ill. ' You ought not,' he said, 'to talk in this way. Am 1 not going to l>ut my life in your hands bv accompanying you to FczV

" Uaisuli Imd with him on" armed men, I whereas 1 had only three or four rilk-s. [ 1 knew that if he had made up his mind to act unfairly 1 should be made to go i with him, and I went. 1 have not told you one quarter of what Kaisuli and his nephew said to persuade me. Soon alter we passed the river I knew it was my Rubicon and that 1 was entirclv in Kaisuli's hands. "Xcxt day, when Kaisuli sent his -ciilk-, iil JJuwdie, to toil me 1 was » prisoner, 1 was mad with sorrow and -name, for instead of helping the Sultan 1 had made matters worse for him, and had put my own Government in a difficult position. 1 felt inclined to kill myself in order to help the Sultan and to prevent Kaisuli from making anything out of his treachery." 'flic Moorish Government tried to negotiate, and failed. Then it scut out two utterly inefficient armies against Kaisuli. "When the Sultan's soldiers came,' said th e Kaid, "Kaisuli told the people that 1 had sent them, and asked me to write letters insisting on their withdrawal. 1 was indeed glad to hear the firing, but the 'armies' were no good. In the last attack not a single, man o'l Kai-uli's side was killed. If t had waited till the armies released me 1 mnst have waited for ever.

"Raisuli, realising that I would not help lu'ni, and suspecting m e of urging the Government to active measures, determined to give me a bad time. On the march nearly all my mules were taken from me, and after a seven hours' ride my men were sent to put up Raisuli's tent, while 1 was left without food, sitting until night in the burning sun, with a hot dirty jellab over nu. Kaisuli knew how 1 was treated, for he and Jus nephew passed close to me seated in the sun, and took no notice •of me. The El Khines tribe urged Kaisuli to give me up, but he put the guard round his tent and declared that he would light first." Fearing that the tribesmen might insist on bartering the prisoner for immunity from attack, Kaisuli determined to remove the temptation. In dead of night the Kaid was ordered to put on Moorish clothes and was smuggled to a distant retreat inaccessible save to mountaineer* and goats. And now began a period of pcrsecition that reduced the prisoner to a | skeleton, but left his spirit unbroken. For many days- the Kaid was kept in ■clo,e confinement under conditions thai would have daunted a less proud and obstinate, man. Not a word of complaint was uttered, and not for a moment did Sir Harry -Maclean give his enemies the grati Heat ion of seeing that their tortures bad anv idled on him. "He treated them with silent contempt," said the .Moors who visited Kai- I siili's prisoner, "lie turned his back I. upon them and said, 'Shoot me if you will.' He was never afraid."