Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 September 1881 — The Eand of the Lotus-Eaters. [ARTICLE]

The Eand of the Lotus-Eaters.

In their expedition against the rebel Moslems of North Africa, the French have deseciafred several places rendered immortal by the songs of Homer and Virgil. One of the most important << these is the Island of Djerba. It lies in the Gulf of Gabes, is considered the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean, and is the home of the descendants of the Lotus-eaters, immortalized in the Odessey, and who have been the theme of Tennyson’s celebrated composition. It was to the Lotus-eaters that Ulysses of old, foot-sore and weary, made his way. It was the Lotus-eaters who planned the destruction of that celebrity by giving him and his companions the lotus to eat, for whoever tasted that sweet fruit lost all desire to return to his native country, but remained with the Lotophagoi, feeding on the lotus, forgetful of return. « The present inhabitants of Djerba are about 45,000 in number. They are mainly farmers and shepherds, and like the lotus-eaters of old, for the most part dwell in caves. Their creed is a strange mixture of Mohammedanism and Roman Catholicism, due to the domination in the sixteenth century, of the island by the Spanish and Turks, respectively. By the latter the Lotus-eaters of to-day are known as the Kharedjites or chismatics. The lotus is still plentiful in the island. It is of the size of a wild plum, of a saffron color, and a sweetish taste, and grows on a prickly, branching shrub. It is altogether unlike the celebrated Egyptian lotus, and must not be confounded with the water lily of the Nile, or lotus which is also used for food. A delicious liquor known in the Orient jts lagmi, is made from it. The flavor of the liquor is not unlike that of the renowned wines of Samos. To Western nations the lotus tree itself is known as the jujube tree, while the Arabs call it the Seedra, To the French, or to any other people capable of turning its fertility to good account, Djerba will be a most desirable acquisition. It abounds in cochineal, and several plants also celebrated for the richness of the dye obtained from them. Under good administration there is no reason why the home of the Lotuseaters should not regain its ancient fame for its dyes, as well as for its fruit and wine. Pliny the elder, the Roman historian, tells us that the purple of the insula lotophagilis rivaled that of stately Tyre herself.— Cincinnati Commercial.