THE VARIOUS ROUTES TO MOUNT SINAI
The next day was Sunday; and, in accordance with the custom from the
beginning of the voyage, no unnecessary work was required to be done by
any person, and the business of sight-seeing was discontinued. But all
were at liberty to observe the day in their own way. Religious services
were conducted by the commander on the deck or in the cabin, which were
usually attended by all. Most of them went to church on shore when it
was convenient; but going to see the edifice or the pictures they did
not regard as a devotional exercise.
It was a warm and pleasant day for the seventeenth of January, in
latitude 30°, about the same as New Orleans or the northern part of
Florida; and the service was held in Conference Hall, as the carpeted
section of the promenade deck had come to be called. The captain began
the exercises by reading selections from Exodus xv.:--
"Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and
spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed
gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The
Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my
God, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father's God, and I will
exalt him.... Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea:
his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have
covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone."
Several "Gospel Hymns" were sung, and the sermon read by the commander
was as nearly fitted to the surroundings as any he could find in his
collection. After the service Mrs. Blossom struck up "Turn back
Pharaoh's Army, Hallelu!" in which those who knew this Jubilee Singers'
melody joined. The conversation that followed naturally turned in the
direction of the Peninsula of Sinai, which they could see from the deck.
"Are we going to Mount Sinai, Captain Ringgold?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, in
a rather decided tone for her, as though she intended to have the
question settled this time.
A great deal had been said by the ladies from Von Blonk Park in relation
to this proposed excursion; but for some reason of his own the commander
had not yet given a definite answer. They all attended the same church
at home, and the captain and the two ladies were members of it. While
the others of the party were deeply interested in the Biblical history,
they were not so enthusiastic as the two ladies mentioned.
"Are we going to Mount Sinai?" replied the commander, repeating the
question of the owner's mother, "No!"
It was a decided "no" this time, and the jaws of the two Von Blonk
Parkites suddenly dropped. Everybody in the company knew that the
commander would do anything, even to swimming across the gulf where the
children of Israel had walked over, to oblige her, and they were very
much surprised at the emphatic negative.
"I shall not finally decide this interesting question without giving my
reasons," continued Captain Ringgold. "It would be an extremely
interesting excursion to me, as well as to the others. Though I have
been to Suez before, I have not made the trip, and I should be as glad
to go as any person present. Many travellers go there, especially
clergymen, to whom it is in a sense professional, aside from the
interest their studies would naturally create in the subject, and the
excursion finds a place in many excellent books of travel. I do not
consult my own personal desires so much as the situation and
circumstances in which we are placed.
"Although we call our voyage an All-Over-the-World affair, the title is
considerably exaggerated in the truest and most literal sense; for if we
devoted the rest of our natural lives to the work, we could not go
everywhere. It is impossible to visit every country on the earth even,
and we must use judgment and discretion in determining where we will go.
We are travelling by sea, making only such excursions inland as the
facilities of the country we visit will conveniently permit. Such trips
as we make of this kind must be regulated or controlled by conditions
over which we have no influence.
"Times and seasons form an important consideration. We are going to
India, and the season is advancing. The southern end of the Red Sea is
in latitude 12° north, where you are likely to see some hot weather; and
the longer we delay, the hotter it will be. We shall sail from here
Tuesday morning; and if we do not make a run up into the Persian Gulf,
we shall probably be at Bombay by the first of next month. That city is
in latitude 19°, or about that of the south side of Cuba, of which you
know something. We shall see plenty of extremely hot weather, but we
wish to avoid it as much as possible.
"There are several routes to Mount Sinai, three from Suez, and two from
ports south of it. It will take from two weeks by the shortest route to
four by the others. It is a very fatiguing journey if made with due
diligence, and it would require a full month for us to see the country
properly. My first objection is the time it would require.
"In the next place, the expense is from forty to fifty francs a day,
eight to ten dollars, for each person, over a hundred dollars a day. If
the result justified it, I should not object to the expense, and I don't
think Uncle Moses would. There are no hotels in this region, and you
would have to camp out, live in hovels, or at best in the monastery; and
the trip would involve a great deal of discomfort to persons not
accustomed to roughing it. The 'Big Four' might make a pleasant affair
of it, but most of the others would not.
"All the preparations for the excursion have to be made at Cairo, where
dragomans who contract to supply tents, camels, food, and everything
required are to be found, and I was approached by three of them at
Shepheard's Hotel."
"Then the trip seems to be impossible now, and it is useless to talk
about it," suggested Mr. Woolridge; and the captain thought he could
perceive an expression of relief on his face.
"It is not impossible," added the commander with a smile. "We can go to
Tur, 140 miles south of Suez, and there we shall find camels and a
contractor, though perhaps not for so large a company. I do not think
our party would enjoy the trip whichever way we might go. It is a rough
country, a group of mountains. The Monastery is 5,014 feet high, and it
must be cold weather up there in January. The Jebel Musa, which is
usually regarded as the Holy Mountain, is 7,363 feet high; but even
Mount Sinai itself is disputed ground, and the question 'Is Mount Serbal
the Sinai of Scripture?' is discussed by the critics. Serbal is 8,712
feet high, the loftiest, I believe, on the peninsula, and is nearer to
the gulf than the others.
"I believe the discomfort and exposure of the trip render it
impracticable at the present time and at the present season. The
guide-books indicate the months of March and April as the best for the
excursion; and it is too early to go now with comfort, not to say
enjoyment. Of course I do not know what Mr. Belgrave, under the advice
of his guardian and trustee, will do with the Guardian-Mother when our
present voyage shall be completed; but if he should retain the steamer,
I should recommend him to make a trip across the ocean at the right
time, and up the Mediterranean, by the Gulf of Iskanderun to
Alexandretta, which is near the head waters of the Euphrates River, a
proposed route to India by the Persian Gulf, of which I may have
something to say another day.
"From this city the steamer could take in the ports of the Holy Land, or
her passengers could journey through Syria by land, with tents and
dragoman. The ship could then be left at Port Said, the party could come
through the canal to Suez in the Maud, or by some other conveyance, and
then make a business of exploring the Peninsula of Sinai," said the
commander in conclusion.
"That arrangement would suit me much better," added Mrs. Belgrave. "I
have been groaning at the necessity of going home without seeing the
Holy Land. I shall keep this plan in my mind as one to be carried out in
a couple of years if my son does not object to it."
"The Guardian-Mother shall not go out of commission until this voyage is
completed," replied Louis promptly. "Captain Ringgold is engaged as
commander for life, and he will attend to the accomplishment of my
mother's wishes."
"I thank you, Mr. Belgrave, for the confidence thus reposed in me, and I
shall be most happy to command the steamer on such a voyage," replied
the captain. "We cannot calculate on events of the future with too much
assurance."
The day passed away quietly with reading and singing, and very early in
the morning the passengers heard an unusual sound of activity on the
part of the ship's company. The captain had given orders the night
before to have everything made ready for hoisting on deck the Maud. He
had announced his intention to the "Big Four" in his cabin, and given
his reasons for his decision. Scott and Felix regretted this change in
the programme of the voyage more than the other two.
"The Red Sea is sometimes a very stormy place," said the commander. "I
have feared more than anything else when you have been sailing in the
Maud that she might get separated from the ship in a fog, or in some
other manner, and that the little steamer might come to grief, however
well she might be handled; for she certainly is not large enough for an
independent voyage.
"In the very last paper I received from New York, I read of a new
steam-yacht to be built by a millionaire for the voyage around the world
which has lately become the fad of millionaires. One item struck my
attention; that she was to be armed with four cannon whose calibre was
not given, as well as with a supply of small arms. The wealthy voyager
was afraid of pirates, or some other freebooters on the Malabar and
Malay coasts, as well as among the islands of the Indian Ocean and those
of the Pacific.
"As you are aware, I took the same precautions myself; and I only regret
now that I did not take on board more guns and small arms. We have had
occasion to use our twelve-pounders on one occasion, and perhaps, if the
ship had reached the coast of Cyprus at the time I expected, I might
have found them useful. I do not anticipate any trouble from native
pirates wherever we may go; but I think the Maud is a temptation to
Arabs and other natives.
"In 1882 Edward Henry Palmer, an Englishman, while on a peaceful mission
with two officers of the British service, was murdered by the natives,
with his two companions, near Suez, but on the other side of the gulf.
If I were sure that the ship could always be near enough to defend the
little steamer if attacked, I should feel different about it. Then we
are liable to encounter fearful storms, cyclones, in the Indian Ocean,
and I think it is more prudent to have the little craft on our deck,
rather than in the water."
Neither Captain Scott nor Felix was disposed to argue the question, and
they said nothing. Early in the morning the work of preparation began
with the removal of everything heavy from the Maud that was not a
fixture. She was a large steam-launch to be hoisted on the deck of a
steamer no larger than the Guardian-Mother; but the task was
satisfactorily accomplished by lunch-time. The afternoon was used in
bracing the craft in her position, and putting everything around her in
ship-shape condition.
The space occupied by Conference Hall had been taken; but the captain
had set the carpenter at work to extend the promenade six feet aft, and
the work was completed before night. The carpet was laid, and the
arm-chairs removed to the new Conference Hall. The awning overhead was
to be lengthened out by the sailmakers among the crew.
Mr. Shafter had always insisted that his force was too small, and the
captain admitted the truth of his position. Felipe Garcias had stood on
the books of the ship as third engineer for several months; and John
Donald was made fourth engineer. The chief was entirely satisfied with
the appointments. Pitts returned to his place on the forecastle as a
seaman. The "Big Four" had staterooms in the cabin. After all, the
change was only the restoration of the old order of things before the
ship arrived at Gibraltar.
At daylight the next morning the Guardian-Mother hauled out of the
basin, and started on her voyage for the other extremity of the Red
Sea.