In the Riff

Five thousand Riff tribesmen danced and cavorted among the Riffian hills. "Mulay Mohammed ben Abd-el-Krim," they shouted, brandishing their swords, "Sultan el-Islam, dj'der ba-ba Spanol!"

For hours together they thus chanted their leader's name like an incantation: "Lord Mohammed, Son of the Slave to the Generous One, Sultan of Islam, Breaker of Spanish heads!" All this they shouted and much more during a week's rejoicing decreed to celebrate the marriage of Abd-el-Krim to the 23-year-old daughter of the Moroccan chieftan whom he deposed (TiME, Feb. 16, 1925, SPAIN), Mulay Ahmed ben Absalem ber Raisul, called by the press "Raisuli," self-styled "Prince of the West."

Such were the tidings in Paris last week when Captain Gordon Canning, official representative of Abd-el-Krim, arrived to initiate pourparlers for peace between the Riff and France (see CABINET NOTES). While Captain Canning dickered behind closed doors with M. Ponsot, the French Undersecretary for African affairs, pressmen drew from other English-born officers of the Riffian delegation many picturesque details anent the Riff:

English Officers. No fewer than 64 English officers, veterans of the World War, were said to be serving at present under Krim.

French native troops, mostly Senegalese, are allegedly often persuaded to desert to Krim by agents who penetrate the French lines and promise such deserters two young Riffian wives apiece.

Emeralds. The source of Krim's remarkable wealth was declared to be certain valuable mineral deposits in the Riff, which are allegedly worked by women when the fighting male Riffi are at the front. Emeralds and gold are said to be mined in quantities, except when the heavy winter rains cause flooding of the areas excavated.

Anesthetics. The Riffi were said to suffer terribly through a lack of anesthetics. One strapping Irish surgeon in Krim's service allegedly overcomes this lack by causing his patients to be held by attendents while he mercifully delivers a single jiu-jitsu punch which renders them unconscious long enough for him to operate.

Cool Krim. The Riffian Sultan was described by several of his English officers as "the coolest man I ever saw."

They declared that he is an inveterate smoker. When he cannot get his 100 cigarets a day, because of the blockade, he puffs for hours at a gold nargileh filled with rose water and engraved with an inscription from the Koran: "Take but little; it is best."

Latest Events. Despatches cabled from Morocco last week reported a strong Riffian surprise attack against the French in the North Taza region. A French counter attack later restored the original status quo. Both sides claimed numerous desertions to them.