The Greensboro (North Carolina) Daily News, Sunday, February 13, 1927

"Prince of Arabia" by Louis T. Moore, of Wilmington

Wilmington, Feb. 12. - There have been many historic and romantic characters in the Cape Fear section in and around Wilmington. Probably one of the most unusual and interesting was an Arabian prince, who, for many years was enslaved. His name was Moreau. He was born in 1770 and lived to be 89 years old. He died in 1859. For the last 40 years of his existence he passed a peaceful, happy life as a slave owned by John Owen, governor of North Carolina in 1823. Moreau was devoted to his master. He spent many of his declining years at Owen Hill, the plantation of Governor Owen, located some miles up the Cape Fear river, near Elizabethtown.

The Arabian prince to the time of his death was a straight, upstanding man of splendid physique and figure. He was courteous, polite and always deeply appreciative of the kindnesses shown him by Governor Owen. Never for a moment did the slave lose his regal bearing and attitude. Throughout his life he impressed everyone with the fact that in the far distant country from which he hailed his position was one of influence and affluence.

Aged persons now living in Wilmington remember that Moreau, later converted to Christianity from Mohammedanism, was possessed of a devout and meek Christian spirit. They recall that his membership was transferred to the First Presbyterian church in the early days of the last century. The old slave - a prince of his own nation - every Sunday morning entered the church and stalked regally down the aisle. He would then place a chair directly in front of the minister. From this spot he riveted his attention upon the divine as the latter spoke words of admonition and guidance. It is recalled that Moreau wore a skull cap and a long coat. He lived only 11 years less than a century. To the time of his death his carriage was upright and erect. From his bearing and attitude could be drawn the inference that he was of royal blood in his own country and was most proud of his lineage.

As this story is being dictated there lies on the desk a letter written in Arabic in the year 1840, by Prince Moreau. The characters are of the strangest variety. At the bottom of the page, is a double decorative outline roughly patterned somewhat like Greek crosses. These were evidently the insignia of his royal family, or coat of arms. Although 87 years have passed since the letter was written every character is distinctly legible. The ink has not faded in the slightest degree. It is rather a misfortune that no translation can be included in this story of Moreau. None is appended and persons versed in Arabic are somewhat hard to find in places other than where institutions of learning are located.

Moreau was a familiar figure between the years 1800 and 1859 in Wilmington and Fayetteville. For the greater part of the time he frequented Wilmington. While possessed of an affable, courteous temperament never for a moment did he permit anyone to forget that he was proud of his lineage and position in his native land; this, in spite of the fact that in the country to which he had been forcibly brought he was a slave and as such the property of another. Governor Owen once or twice offered Moreau his freedom. The prince was so well satisfied and so devoted to his master that he refused the chance and opportunity to leave.

From time to time many persons inquired with apparent interest, or curiosity, after the venerable man. Some thought occasionally that Moreau was of negro extraction. He always emphasized the fact that he was an Arabian, and not a native of Africa. The two countries were seperated only by the Red sea and the narrow isthmus of Suez, now penetrated by the Suez canal.

Career Of Unusual Interest.

The details of Moreau's career, so closely interwoven with the traditional outline of Wilmington and Cape Fear lore, are of unusual interest. It was rather a strange coincidence that a prince of a foreign nation entitled to be a ruler in his own country, should have been owned by the ruler of a state in which he sought refuge from a despotic and cruel owner in South Carolina. Rather a complete record of his career in Arabia was given by Moreau, after he had learned the English language, under the tutelage of Governor Owen. Fortunately this has been preserved. It shows that the sroty surrounding the career of the Arabian was of most romantic and fascinating nature.

Moreau was born in a province of Arabia about the year 1770. His father was a ruler of influence and prestige. He was the possessor of many slaves who contributed to his wealth. It was rather a strange turn of fate that the son of the ruler, later in life, should have become a slave in another country, far from his native heath.

The tribes were engaged almost constantly in predatory warfare. In one of these battles Moreau's father was killed. This occurred when the young prince was only five years of age. The family were immediately carried by an uncle to a distant town called Foutah. It was in this town that Moreau received a very thorough and comprehensive education. He was taught to read the Koran (his tribe being Mohammedan), to recite certain forms of prayer, and the knowledge of the simpler forms of arithmetic. He proved to be such an apt student that he was soon promoted to a mastership. For 10 years he taught the youth of the tribe all that they were accustomed to learn. This for the most part was the Koran. The barbarians were evidently were not believers in the modern doctrine of separation of church and state. Their religious books were taught in the schools, along with other forms of education.

After teaching for a number of years Moreau resolved to abandon the profession. For an unassigned reason he became a trader. While engaged in the field of barter and sale some event occurred which Moreau in later years would never disclose. He would only say that a result of a conflict he was captured and sold into slavery by some of the African tribes with which he had come in contact.

Moreau was carried down the African coast. In 1807, he was shipped to America with two companions of his own race. He was landed in Charleston in 1807. This happened to be just one year previous to the final abandonment of the slave trade, insofar as the bringing of slaves from other countries was concerned. The Arabian prince was separated from his two companions and was sold to a citizen of Charleston. His owner treated Moreau with great kindness.

Unfortunately, his master died within a very short time. The prince was then sold to another man. The latter proved to be a cruel and venomous taskmaster, exacting from Moreau work which he was unable to perform.

The prince found means of escape. After wandering over many sections of South Carolina he finally was located near Fayetteville in North Carolina. It should be held in mind that the only langage he knew was Arabic. He had neither chance nor opportunity to learn English.

At Fayetteville Moreau was taken as a runaway. He was placed in jail. As he knew nothing of the existing language he could not tell who he was or where he had come from originally. The curiosity of his jailers and many others was aroused when he filled the walls of his room with signs and marks. These were totally unfamiliar to the people who tried to interpret them. It was later ascertained that the characters so elegantly and clearly written by the runaway slave were Arabic. The strange affair soon attracted attention. Many of the residents visited the jail to see the person whose unintelligible manner of talk was construed almost as the raving of an insane person.

Meets John Owen.

A man named Mumford was then sheriff of Cumberland county. Coming by chance into contact with John Owen, of Bladen county, a man well known throughout the commonwealth for signal and distinguished services and later to become governor of the state, Mr. Mumford related the details of his strange prisoner's actions. Always known as a man of generous and kindly impulses, Owen took Moreau out of jail. He offered security if anyone should claim the man as an escaped slave. After he reached Fayetteville Owen ascertained that clergymen, teachers, judges, lawyers and many other learned people had tried in vain to interpret the strange characters which Moreau had placed on the jail walls, in his frantic and vain effort to convey his thoughts and ideas to his captors. From the beginning, something in Moreau's demeanor and attitude had caused the jailor and his assistants to treat the Arab with much more consideration than would have been accorded the average prisoner. The negro servitors in the jail looked upon him as a "conjuror." His hair was straight and his features and form at that time as perfect as those of an Apollo Belvedere.

Moreau's name had been changed by the negroes around the jail to Omeroh. Phonetically this had the same sound with the exception of the prefix "O."

At this time Moreau was about 40 years of age. For the next 49 years, until the time of his death, he remained faithful and constant to the family of Governor Owen. A short time after Moreau had been carried to Owen Hill, the brutal owner came from Charleston to claim his slave. Governor Owen was so insistent that Moreau be sold to him, the Charleston agreed to take $1,000 for his property. This amount was willingly paid by Governor Owen. This is probably the only instance in the history of this country where a prince of a foreign nation was sold for a price which even in those days was hardly compatible with his dignity and rank. To bring the nature of the sale to the present day suppose one had been asked to put a price on the son of Queen Marie, of Roumania, or the son of the emperor of Japan. Both were recent visitors to the United States. The sum of $1,000 would have hardly started the bidding. The final sum would have mounted well on toward a million or more in such a case. This, however, in an enlightened age if beyond practical conception.

When the plantation was reached, through signs Moreau was made cognizant of the fact that every kindness and consideration would be extended him by his new master. A neat cabin was furnished. He was permitted to wande at will whenever he wished to go.

Governor Owen personally gave his time and attention to the effort to teach Moreau the English language. The new owner new full well that there was an interesting and fascinating uncovered chapter in the slave's life. He realized that the only way this could be revealed was by familiarizing Moreau with with the English language. The Arabian prince soon mastered the language. In a short time he had acquainted his master with the absorbing and enthralling chapters of his life.

Moreau told Governor Owen that he was a devout believer in Mohammedanism. He said this was the religion of his native country. However, the Arabian prince told the governor that the lesson to be drawn from the Christian religion had been well exemplified in the kind and generous treatment accorded him. Therefore, he had a keen desire to know more about the teachings of Christ.

Under the careful tutelage of Governor Owen, his brother Gen. Jas. Owen, and the Presbyterian clergy, Moreau entered upon a careful and exhaustive study of the principles and ideals of the Christian religion. The Arabian prince soon professed Christianity.

The idioms of the English language puzzled Moreau. He asked Governor Owen if it would be possible for the latter to find a Bible printed in Arabic. Governor Owen went to considerable expense and trouble. He finally secured the Bible in the foreign language. It is related that Moreau used this Bible for many years. He have it close and painstaking study. He loved the volume more than anything else he possessed.

Presented to Davidson

Tradition says that Moreau's Arabic Bible, after his death in 1859, was presented to Davidson college. It is assumed that the Bible is still in possession of the college. After the conversion of the Arabian prince, he was baptized. He was permitted to join the Presbyterian church at Fayetteville. His membership was soon transferred to the First Presbyterian church at Wilmington.

It was here that the converted Mohammedan worshipped as a faithful and devout Christian for many years prior to his death in 1859.

Soon after he became a Christian, Governor Owen offered Moreau his freedom. The grateful slave declined. He declared that he was perfectly willing to live and die under the good influence of a master who treated him uniformly with gentle consideration.

Governor Owen thought, in offering Moreau his freedom, the latter might wish to return to his far distant, Arabian home. The slave replied that he had a wife and child in Arabia, who had doubtless long since forgotten him. He thought it would be impossible to locate them even, if he should return to the home of his youth and early manhood. Moreau said even if he located his family in Arabia he knew it would be an utter impossibility to persuade them to accept the principles of Christianity. For these reasons the Arabian prince hoped that his master would continue to own and protect him. He said there was nothing else he could wish other than to live and die under the beneficent influences a kindly fate had thrown around him.

Following this defining decision, Moreau was installed as head butler at Owen Hill. He had the keys of the historic colonial mansion in his possession at all times. It is hardly necessary to say that he never betrayed a single trust reposed in him. He was honest and faithful always. He maintained to the end of his career the fine sentiments of a prince of Arabia, as instilled from his earliest days.

Traditions which have come down to the present day from the Owen family say that moreau, in the early gloaming at dusk, would gather the children of Owen Hill around him. Before they went to bed he would entertain them with strange, weird and fanciful narratives of his native Arabia. These story telling times were always regarded as the most eventful period of the day by the young people, who called him "Uncle Moro." They would listen with bated breath and breathless attention. The Arabian prince, with far distant look in his eye, would then tell them in grave and sonorous tones the traditions, and fanciful imaginings of happenings in his far distant native land.

Historical record says that Moreau was probably the only Arabian in this country during the days between 1807 and the time of his death in 1859, His fellow countrymen who were brought into slavery with him died soon after reaching Charleston.

Prior to his mastery of the English language tradition says that the Arabian prince would spend a great portion of his hours at Owen Hill, writing quaint sentences in Arabic on paper. He would then nail the messages to pine trees on the plantation. Later when asked the contents of the messages he had thus placed, he replied with a good natured chuckle that they were appeals to the neighbors not to take him from his good master. Until they were informed by Moreau, the neighbors were none the wiser because of the printed messages. The Arabic was as unintelligible to them as (illegible) Moreau soon learned that he had nothing to fear insofar as his future welfare was concerned. He gathered from the care and consideration shown him by Governor Owen and brother that they would protect him in every way and would allow no harm to befall him.

From an historical viewpoint it is an interesting religious fact that the long exiled prince of Arabia was probably responsible for the introduction of Christianity in the country of Arabia. The record shows that long after Moreau's death in 1859, a member of the family which owned him received the following message from a devout missionary:

"Did I ever tell you how the Lord carried out the desire of good Uncle Moro's heart and made him the means of sending the Bible to his tribe in Arabia? If not, here it is. The interest taken in the good man lead to a desire to reach his people with the gospel. The American Bible society, at Uncle Moro's request, conveyed through Governor Owen, left orders at Liberia that whenever traders appeared from this people along the coast they should be told to carry the message home that the words of Moses and Jesus would be sent to them if they wished it. For many years this message was sent, with no answer. During the 16 or 18 years previous to 1864 the information was frequently repeated, with the same lack of result. At this time, Messrs. Smith and VanDyke at Beirut were preparing a new translation of the Bible into Arabic. All former versions were imperfect and were rejected by Mohammedans. No book containing bad grammar or inelegant forms of speech could, in their estimation, form the perfect God. Thi new translation is pronounced by their best scholars to be as perfect in language as the Koran. Just as it was ready to be delivered to the public comes the answer from Moreau's tribe, 'we want the book you promised us.' I have before me a letter of thanks for the gift from an old leader of the tribe. If sent before in the imperfect translation it would have been rejected. But when it was ready, then the way was opened, Uncle Moro's long prayer had been answered. The Bible is in the hands of the most intelligent and least known tribe of thtat section of the world. I know you will feel a deep interest in this. Is it not in great measure the fruit of the deep piety of your household? I have one of Moreau's manuscripts framed and hung in my study."

Dr. Jonas King, an American who had moved to Greece, came to Fayetteville upon one occasion. At that time he was introduced to Moreau. Governor Owen saw at once an evident relectance on the part of the prince of Arabia to converse with Dr. King. The latter possessed a thorough knowledge of the Arabic language. He wrote and spoke it like a native.

Later, it was ascertained by Governor Owen that the reason for the seeming reluctance of Moreau to converse with Dr. King was because the Arabian prince was afraid. He thought that one so well versed in Arabic might have been sent by his fellow countrymen to recapture him. He feared enemies would carry him again over the seas to the home which he had lost all desire to see, and to which he feared that he might be forcibly returned. After his anxieties were removed, he asked several times to be permitted to see Dr. King. They had a number of pleasing conversations. Moreau told Dr. King that he regarded his expatriation as a great Providential favor. His coming to this country had led him to Christianity. It has also enabled him to spend the better part of his life in the midst of a Christian family. There he had been kindly watched over and also placed in the midst of a church which had honored him for his consistent piety.

After spending a half century in and near Wilmington, Moreau, the Arabian prince, died at owen Hill plantation, in the 90th year of his age. His remains were treated with as much respect as if he had been a member of the family. His body lies interred in the family burial grounds at Owen Hill plantation. Copies of his photograph are valued by members of the surviving descendants of Governor Owen as that of a cherished member of their household.