SUEZ.--WHERE THE ISRAELITES CROSSED THE RED SEA.--THE SUEZ CANAL.
Frank and Fred were impatient to see the Suez Canal, which enables ships
to pass between the Red and Mediterranean Seas. In going from the
anchorage to the town they passed near the southern end of the Canal,
and from the veranda of the hotel they could see steamers passing
apparently through the sandy desert, as the position where they stood
concealed the water from sight. As soon as they had secured their rooms
at the hotel, they started out with the Doctor to make a practical
acquaintance with the great channel from sea to sea.
[Illustration: A SHOP IN SUEZ.]
There was a swarm of guides and donkey-drivers at the door of the hotel,
so that they had no difficulty in finding their way. At the suggestion
of the Doctor they followed the pier, nearly two miles in length, which
leads from the south part of the town to the harbor; the water is very
shallow near Suez, and this pier was built so that the railway trains
could be taken along side the steamers, and thus facilitate the transfer
of passengers and freight. The pier is about fifty feet wide, and has a
solid foundation of artificial stone sunk deep into the sand. At the end
of the pier are several docks and quays belonging to the Canal and
railway companies, and there is a large basin, called Port Ibrahim,
capable of containing many ships at once. The Canal Company's
repair-shops and warehouses stand on artificial ground, which was made
by dredging the sand and piling it into the space between the pier and
the land, and Frank thought that not less than fifty acres had thus been
enclosed.
A line of stakes and buoys extended a considerable distance out into the
head of the Gulf, and the Doctor explained that, in consequence of the
shallowness near the land, the Suez Canal began more than a mile from
the shore. The sand-bar is visible at low tide, and when the wind blows
from the north a large area is quite uncovered. A channel was dredged
for the passage of ships, and the dredging-machines are frequently in
use to remove the sand which blows from the desert or is swept into the
channel by the currents.
At the end of the long pier is a light-house; and while our friends
stood there and contemplated the scene before them, the Doctor reminded
the boys that in all probability they were in sight of the spot where
the hosts of Pharaoh were drowned after the Israelites had crossed over
in safety.
"That is very interesting," said Frank; "but is this really the place?"
"We cannot be absolutely certain of that," was the reply, "as there are
different opinions on the subject. But it was in this neighborhood
certainly, and some of those who have made a careful study of the matter
say that the crossing was probably within a mile of this very spot."
The eyes of the boys opened to their fullest width at this announcement,
and they listened intently to the Doctor's remarks on the passage of the
Israelites through the Red Sea.
"You will remember," said the Doctor, "that the Bible account tells us
how the Lord caused a strong wind to blow from the north, which swept
away the waters and allowed the Israelites to pass over the bed of the
sea. After they had crossed, and the hosts of Pharaoh pursued them, the
wind changed, the waters returned, and the army of the Egyptian ruler
was drowned in the waves. The rise of the tide at this place is from
three to six feet, and the sand-bank is only slightly covered when the
tide is out; now, when the wind blows from the north with great force
the water is driven away, and parts of the sand-bank are exposed. On
the other hand, when a strong wind blows from the south, the water is
forced upon the sand-bank, and the tide, joined to this wind, will make
a depth of six or seven feet where a few hours before the ground was
dry. This is the testimony of many persons who have made careful
observations of the Gulf of Suez, and the miracle described in the Bible
is in exact accordance with the natural conditions that exist to-day.
[Illustration: THE NORTHERN END OF THE GULF OF SUEZ.]
"One modern writer on this subject says he has known a strong north-east
wind to lay the ford dry, and be followed by a south-west wind that
rendered the passage impossible even for camels. M. De Lesseps, the
projector of the Suez Canal, says he has seen the northern end of the
sea blown almost dry, while the next day the waters were driven far up
on the land. In 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte and his staff came near being
drowned here in a sudden change of wind, and fatal accidents occur once
in a while from the same cause. On the map prepared by the officers of
the maritime canal to show the difference between high and low water,
you will see that the conditions are just as I have stated them.
"Some writers believe," the Doctor continued, "that the sea was farther
inland three thousand years ago, and that the crossing was made about
ten miles farther north than where we now stand. There is some
difficulty in locating all the places named in the biblical story of the
exodus, and it would be too much to expect all the critics to agree on
the subject. The weight of opinion is in favor of Suez as the
crossing-place of the Israelites, and so we will believe we are at the
scene of the deliverance of the captives and the destruction of the
hosts of Pharaoh. It is a mistake to suppose that Pharaoh was himself
drowned in the Red Sea; it was only his army that suffered destruction."
From the point where this conversation took place they went to the
Waghorn Quay, just beyond. It was named in honor of Lieutenant Waghorn,
who devoted several years to the establishment of the so-called
"overland route" between England and India. Through his exertions the
line of the Peninsular and Oriental steamers was established, and the
mails between England and India were regularly carried through Egypt,
instead of taking the tedious voyage around the Cape of Good Hope. He
died in London in poverty in 1850; since his death the importance of his
services has been recognized, and a statue to his memory stands on the
quay which bears his name. At his suggestion the name of "overland
route" was given to this line of travel between England and India,
though the land journey is only two hundred and fifty miles, to
distinguish it from the "sea route" around the Cape of Good Hope.
From Waghorn Quay it was only a short distance to the Canal, and as they
reached its bank a large steamer was just entering on its way to the
Mediterranean. Frank observed that she was moving very slowly, and asked
the Doctor why she did not put on full steam and go ahead.
"That would be against the rules of the Canal Company," was the reply.
"If the steamers should go at full speed they would destroy the Canal in
a short time; the 'wash' or wake they would create would break down the
banks and bring the sand tumbling into the water. They must not steam
above four miles an hour, except in places where the Canal widens into
lakes, and even there they cannot go at full speed."
"Then there are lakes in the Canal, are there?" Fred inquired.
"I'll explain that by-and-by," the Doctor responded. "Meantime look
across the head of the Gulf and see that spot of green which stands out
so distinctly among the sands."
The boys looked in the direction indicated and saw an irregular patch of
verdure, on which the white walls of several houses made a sharp
contrast to the green of the grass and the palm-trees that waved above
them.
[Illustration: "AYOON MOOSA"--THE WELLS OF MOSES.]
"That spot," said the Doctor, "is known as 'Ayoon Moosa,' or 'The Wells
of Moses.' It is an oasis, where several wells or springs have existed
for thousands of years, and it is supposed that the Israelites halted
there and made a camp after their deliverance from Egypt. As the
pursuing army of Pharaoh had been destroyed before their eyes, they were
out of danger and in no hurry to move on. The place has borne the name
of 'The Wells of Moses' from time immemorial; there is a tradition that
the largest of them was opened by the divining-rod of the great leader
of the Hebrews in their escape from captivity, and is identical with
Marah, described in Exodus, xv. 23. The wells are pools of water fed by
springs which bubble in their centre; the water in all of them is too
brackish to be agreeable to the taste, but the camels drink it readily,
and the spot is an important halting place for caravans going to or from
the desert."
The Doctor farther explained that Suez was formerly supplied with water
from these wells, which was brought in goat-skins and casks on the backs
of camels. The springs are seven or eight miles from Suez in a direct
line, and the easiest way of reaching them is by a sail or row boat to
the landing place, about two miles from the oasis. Since the opening of
the fresh-water canal in 1863 this business of supplying the city has
ceased, and the water is principally used for irrigating the gardens in
the oasis. Most of the fresh vegetables eaten in Suez are grown around
the springs, and there is a hotel there, with a fairly good restaurant
attached to it. The residents of Suez make frequent excursions to the
Wells of Moses, and almost any day a group of camels may be seen
kneeling around the principal springs.
Our friends returned along the quay to Suez, and strolled through some
of the streets of the town. There was not much to be seen, as the shops
are neither numerous nor well stocked, and evidently are not blessed
with an enormous business. They visited a mosque, where they were
obliged to take off their shoes, according to the custom of the East,
before they could pass the door-way; the custodian supplied them with
slippers, so that they were not required to walk around in their
stockinged feet. When you go on a sight-seeing tour in an Egyptian city,
it is well to carry your own slippers along, or intrust them to your
guide, as the Moslems are rigid enforcers of the rule prohibiting you to
wear your boots inside a mosque.
[Illustration: PREACHING IN A MOSQUE.]
The principal attraction in the mosque was a group to whom a mollah, or
priest, was delivering a lecture. The speaker stood in a high pulpit
which was reached by a small ladder, and his hearers stood below him or
squatted on the floor. What he said was unintelligible to our friends,
as he was speaking in Arabic, which was to them an unknown tongue. The
audience was apparently interested in his remarks, and paid no attention
to the strangers except to scowl at them. In some of the mosques of the
East Christians are not admitted; this was the rule half a century ago,
but at present it is very generally broken down, and the hated infidel
may visit the mosques of the principal cities of Egypt and Turkey,
provided he pays for the privilege.
They returned to the hotel in season for dinner. The evening was passed
in the house, and the party went to bed in good season, as they were to
leave at eight o'clock in the morning for Cairo. They were at the
station in due time for departure, and found the train was composed of
carriages after the English pattern, in charge of a native conductor who
spoke French. By judiciously presenting him with a rupee they secured a
compartment to themselves.
While they were waiting for the train to move on the Doctor told the
boys about the "overland route" through Egypt.
"The route that was established by Lieutenant Waghorn was by steamship
from England to Alexandria, and thence by river steamboats along the
Nile to Cairo. From Cairo, ninety miles, to Suez the road was directly
through the desert, and passengers were carried in small omnibuses,
drawn by horses, which were changed at stations ten or fifteen miles
apart. Water for supplying these stations was carried from the Nile and
kept in tanks, and it was a matter of heavy expense to maintain the
stations. The omnibus road was succeeded by the railway, opened in 1857,
and the water for the locomotives was carried by the trains, as there
was not a drop to be had along the route. This railway was abandoned and
the track torn up after the construction of the Canal, as the expense of
maintaining it was very great. In addition to the cost of carrying water
was that of keeping the track clear of sand, which was drifted by the
wind exactly as snow is drifted in the Northern States of America, and
sometimes the working of the road was suspended for several days by the
sand-drifts. The present railway follows the banks of the Maritime Canal
as far as Ismailia, and thence it goes along the Fresh-Water Canal, of
which I will tell you.
"The idea of a canal to connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas is by no
means a modern one."
"Yes," said Frank, "I have read somewhere that the first Napoleon in
1799 thought of making a canal between the two seas, and his engineers
surveyed the route for it."
"You are quite right," responded the Doctor, "but there was a canal long
before the time of Napoleon, or rather there have been several canals."
"Several canals!" exclaimed Frank. "Not several canals at once?"
[Illustration: A LANDING-PLACE ON THE FRESH-WATER CANAL.]
"Hardly that," said the Doctor, with a smile; "but at different times
there have been canals between the two seas. They differ from the
present one in one respect: the maritime Canal of to-day runs from one
sea to the other, and is filled with salt-water, while the old canals
connected the Nile with the Red Sea, and were constantly filled with
fresh-water. The Fresh-Water Canal of to-day follows the line of one of
the old canals, and in several places the ancient bed was excavated and
the ancient walls were made useful, though they were sadly out of
repair."
One of the boys asked how old these walls were, to be in such a bad
condition.
"We cannot say exactly how old they are," was the reply, "and a hundred
years or so in our guessing will make no difference. According to some
authorities, one of the rulers of ancient Egypt, Rameses II., conceived
and carried out the idea of joining the two seas by means of the Nile
and a canal, but there is no evidence that the work was accomplished in
his time. The first canal of which we have any positive history was made
by Pharaoh Necho I. about 600 B.C., or nearly twenty-five hundred years
ago. It tapped the Nile at Bubastis, near Zagazig, and followed the line
of the present Fresh-Water Canal to the head of the Bitter Lake. The Red
Sea then extended to the Bitter Lake, and the shallow places were
dredged out sufficient to allow the passage of the small craft that were
in use in those days. The canal is said to have been sixty-two Roman
miles long, or fifty-seven English ones, which agrees with the surveys
of the modern engineers.
"This canal does not seem to have been used sufficiently to keep it from
being filled by the drifting sand, as it was altogether closed a hundred
years later, when it was re-opened by Darius; the latter made a
salt-water canal about ten miles long near the south end of the Bitter
Lake, to connect it with the Red Sea. Traces of this work were found
when the Fresh-Water Canal was made, and for some distance the old track
was followed. Under the arrangement of the canals of Necho and Darius,
ships sailed up the Nile to Bubastis, and passed along the canal to the
Bitter Lake, where their cargoes were transferred to Red Sea vessels.
About 300 B.C. Ptolemy Philadelphus caused the two canals to be cleared
out, and connected them by a lock, so that ships could pass from the
fresh to the salt water, or _vice versa_.
[Illustration: ORIENTAL SHIPS OF ANCIENT TIMES.]
"Four hundred years later (about 200 A.D.), according to some writers, a
new canal was made, tapping the Nile near Cairo, and connecting with the
old one, which was again cleared out and made navigable. Another canal,
partly new and partly old, is attributed to the seventh century, and
still another to the eleventh century; since that time there has been
nothing of the sort till the Maritime Canal Company found it necessary,
in 1861, to supply the laborers on their great work with fresh-water.
They cleared out the old canal in some places, and dug a new one in
others as far as the Bitter Lake; afterward they prolonged it to Suez,
which it reached in 1863, and at the same time they laid a line of iron
pipes from Ismailia to Port Said, on the Mediterranean. It would have
been impossible to make and maintain the Maritime Canal without a supply
of fresh-water, and thus the work of the Egyptians of twenty-five
hundred years ago became of practical use in our day.
"Look on this map," said the Doctor, as he drew one from his pocket and
handed it to the youths, "and you will see the various points I have
indicated, together with the line of the Maritime Canal, and of the
Fresh-Water Canal which supplies this part of Egypt with water."
Several minutes were passed in the study of the map. Before it was
finished the train started, and in a short time our friends were busily
contemplating the strange scene presented from the windows of their
carriage.
The railway followed very nearly the bank of the Fresh-Water Canal,
which varied from twenty to fifty feet in width, and appeared to be five
or six feet deep. Beyond it was the Maritime Canal, a narrow channel,
where steamers were slowly making their way, the distances between them
being regulated by the pilots, so as to give the least possible chance
of collision. Considering the number of steamers passing through the
Canal, the number of accidents is very small. Frank could not understand
how steamers could meet and pass each other, till the Doctor explained
that there were "turnouts" every few miles, where a steamer proceeding
in one direction could wait till another had gone by, in the same way
that railway-trains pass each other by means of "sidings." Then there
was plenty of space in Lake Timsah and the Bitter Lake, not only for
ships to move, but to anchor in case of any derangement of their
machinery.
From the information derived from the Doctor, and from the books and
papers which he supplied, Frank and Fred made up the following account
of the Suez Canal for the benefit of their friends at home:
[Illustration: FERDINAND DE LESSEPS.]
"The Canal is one hundred miles long, from Suez, on the Red Sea, to Port
Said, on the Mediterranean. Advantage was taken of depressions in the
desert below the level of the sea, and when the water was let in, these
depressions were filled up and became lakes (Timsah and Bitter Lakes),
as you see on the map. There were thirty miles of these depressions; and
then there was a marsh or swamp (thirty miles across), called Lake
Menzaleh, which was covered during the flood of the Nile, and only
needed a channel to be dug or dredged sufficiently deep for the passage
of ships. The first spadeful of earth was dug by Ferdinand de Lesseps at
Port Said on the 25th of April, 1868, and the completed Canal was opened
for the passage of ships on the 16th of November, 1869. About forty
steamers entered it at Port Said on that day, anchored in Lake Timsah
for the night, and passed to the Red Sea on the 17th. M. de Lesseps
projected the Canal while he was serving in Egypt as French Consul, and
it was through his great energy and perseverance that the plan was
finally carried out. The Canal was distinctively a French enterprise,
and was opposed by England, but as soon as it was completed the English
Government saw its great importance, and bought a large amount of stock
that had hitherto been held by the Egyptian Government.
[Illustration: SUEZ CANAL AND EASTERN EGYPT.]
"The line of the Canal where digging was necessary was through sand, but
in many places it was packed very hard, so that pickaxes were needed to
break it up. Much of the sand was removed by native laborers with
shovels and baskets; but after the first two years it was necessary to
substitute machinery for hand labor. Excavating and dredging machines
driven by steam were put in operation, and the work was pushed along
very rapidly; the channel through Lake Menzaleh was made by floating
dredges equipped with long spouts that deposited the sand two or three
hundred feet from where they were at work, and the dry cuttings at
higher points were made by similar excavators mounted on wheels. At one
place, just south of Lake Timsah, there was a bed of solid rock, where
it was necessary to do a great deal of blasting, and the last blast in
this rock was made only a few hours before the opening of the Canal.
"The cost of the work was nearly $100,000,000, of which about
one-third was paid by Egypt, under the mistaken impression that the
Canal would be beneficial to the country. The Khedive, or Viceroy of
Egypt, spent nearly $10,000,000 on the festivities at the opening of the
Canal, and this foolish outlay is one of the causes of the present
bankruptcy of the country. Palaces and theatres were built for this
occasion, roads were opened that were of no use afterward, and an
enormous amount of money was spent for fireworks, music, banquets, and
presents of various kinds to all the guests. The Empress of France was
present at the opening of the Canal, and distinguished persons from all
parts of the world were invited and entertained in princely style.
"In 1870, the first year the Canal was in operation, 486 vessels passed
through it; in the next year the number was 765, and it steadily
increased till it became 1264 vessels in 1874, 1457 in 1876, and 2026 in
1880. More than two-thirds of the entire number of ships passing the
Canal are English, and in some years they have been fully three-fourths,
while the French are less than one-thirteenth of the total number.
France, which expected much from the Canal, has realized very little;
while England, which opposed its construction, has reaped nearly all the
benefit therefrom.[2]
[2] In 1881 the receipts were 51,080,355 fr., which is 11,239,866 fr. in
excess of the receipts for 1880. The number of English vessels that
passed through the Canal was not only larger than the total for all
other nations, it was nearly four times as large as that total, and the
English percentage also showed an increase over the former year. The
number of English ships was 2256. France ranked next, but she had only
109 ships--about one-twentieth what England had. Then came Holland, with
70 ships; Austria, with 65; Italy, with 51; Spain, with 46; and Germany,
with 40. Egypt had only 11--the same number that Turkey had; Norway had
10 and China 4. Ten years ago the amount of coal supplied at Port Said
was 126,000 tons; in 1881 it was 506,000 tons, or four times as much;
and while the British proportion of the tonnage in 1871 was 64 per cent.
of the total, it was 82 in 1881. Of share prices some equally
interesting figures may be given. With a nominal value of 500 fr., they
had fallen in 1863 to 220 fr. In 1869, the year the Canal was opened,
they rose to 663 fr.; in 1880 they had reached 715 fr., and before the
year closed had touched 1327 fr. They advanced to 1700 fr. in June of
the following year, and between that month and January, 1882, went
rapidly on to 3500 fr., but fell ere the middle of the month to 2100 fr.
In 1881 the dividend on the shares was 9 per cent.; for 1882 it will
probably be 12, so that 2100 fr., a point to which the shares were
forced in a time of panic, even with dividends of 12 per cent., would
still be far higher than the actual value of the shares.
"By the original charter the company was allowed to charge ten francs
(two dollars) a ton on the measurement of each ship going through the
Canal, and ten francs for each passenger. The revenue, after deducting
the expenses of operating, amounts to about five per cent. on the
capital of the company, and the officers think it will be seven or eight
per cent. before many years.
"The following figures show the dimensions of the Canal:
Feet
Width at water-line, where the banks are low 328
Width at water-line in deep cuttings, where the banks are high 190
Width at bottom of the Canal 72
Depth of water in the Canal 26
[Illustration: NIGHT SCENE ON LAKE MENZALEH.]
"The scenery on the Canal is not particularly interesting, as one soon
gets tired of looking at the desert, with its apparently endless stretch
of sand. At Ismailia and Kantara there has been an attempt at
cultivation, and there are some pretty gardens which have been created
since the opening of the Fresh-Water Canal, and are kept up by
irrigation. But nearly all the rest is a waste, especially on the last
twenty-seven miles, through Lake Menzaleh to Port Said. If you make this
ride on one of the small steamers maintained by the Canal Company you
find that one mile is exactly like any other, and you are soon glad
enough to seek the cabin and go to sleep.
"Here are some figures showing the saving in distances (in nautical
miles) by the Canal:"
Via Cape of Good Hope. Via Canal. Saving.
England to Bombay 10,860 6020 4840
New York to Bombay 11,520 7920 3600
St. Petersburg to Bombay 11,610 6770 4840
Marseilles to Bombay 10,560 4620 5940