FROM SUEZ TO CAIRO.--THROUGH THE LAND OF GOSHEN.
[Illustration: CAMEL AND YOUNG.]
There is little to relieve the monotony of the desert between Suez and
Ismailia beyond the view of the two canals, and the ships and boats
moving on their waters. Occasionally a line of camels may be seen
walking with a dignified pace, or halted for the adjustment of their
loads, or for some other purpose. In every direction there is nothing
but the desert, either stretching out into a plain or rising in
mountains, on which not a particle of verdure is visible. Under the
bright sun of the Egyptian sky the sands glittered and sparkled till the
light they reflected became painful to the eyes of the observers. The
prudent Doctor had bought some veils in the bazaar of Suez, and now
brought them from the recesses of his satchel for the use of the
delighted boys as well as for his own.
The color of the desert mountains on the southern horizon varied from
white to yellow and purple, and from yellow and purple back again to
white. Frank said that some of them seemed to be composed of amethysts
and garnets, mixed and melted together in a gigantic crucible. The
Doctor told him he was not the first to make such a description, as the
idea had occurred to previous travellers, some of whom thought the
mountains were composed of all kinds of precious stones mingled with
glass. The dazzling appearance of these elevations had led many persons
to explore them in search of gems; but of all these explorers none had
ever found the fortune he sought.
As they approached Ismailia there were signs of vegetation on the banks
of the Fresh-Water Canal, and near the town they came to some pretty
gardens which have been created since the opening of the Canal. While
the works of the Canal were in progress Ismailia was an active town,
with a considerable population, but at present many of its buildings are
unoccupied, and there is a general appearance of desolation. There are a
few cottages near the banks of Lake Timsah, and of late years the town
has obtained popularity with some of the European residents of Cairo,
who go there for the sake of the salt-water bathing. The air is clear
and dry, the water is of the deep blue of the united seas, and is
generally of an agreeable temperature, while it has the smoothness of an
inland lake, and is not popular with sharks or any other disagreeable
inhabitants of tropical waters. The current created by the changes of
the tide between the two seas is sufficient to keep the water from
becoming stagnant, but is not strong enough to interfere with navigation
or disturb the bather.
[Illustration: DESERT SCENE IN EASTERN EGYPT.]
After a brief halt at the station the train moved off in the direction
of Cairo, and for an hour or more the views from the windows of the
railway-carriage were remarkable in their character. On one side of the
train the naked desert filled the picture, with its endless stretch of
sand; on the other the gardens on the banks of the Fresh-Water Canal
were marvels of luxuriance. The richest soil in the world lay side by
side with the most desolate, and our friends agreed that they had never
seen so marked a contrast during a ride on a railway train. The Doctor
explained that the abundant vegetation was due to the wonderful
fertilizing power of the Nile water, and said it was no wonder that the
ancient Egyptians worshipped the river, and attributed all their wealth
and prosperity to its influence.
At Zagazig the train stopped an hour or more for dinner, and there was a
change of carriages for the passengers destined for Cairo. Zagazig is
the junction of the lines for Cairo and Alexandria, and since the
opening of the railway the town has become of considerable importance.
A great deal of cotton is raised in the vicinity, and in some years not
less than fifty thousand tons of that article are sent from the station.
The country around here is very fertile, and is said to be the Goshen of
the Bible. The ruins of the ancient town of Bubastis are about a mile
from Zagazig, but they are so slight as to be unworthy a visit. Bubastis
was an important place two thousand years ago, and was famous for a
festival to which more than half a million pilgrims went every year.
For the remaining fifty-two miles from Zagazig to Cairo the route lay
through a fertile country, and only occasional glimpses were afforded of
the desert. Boats and barges were moving on the Canal, some of them
carrying the local products of the country to Cairo or Ismailia, while
others were laden with coal and other foreign importations which find a
market among the Egyptians. The boys were interested in the processes of
irrigating the lands, and eagerly listened to the Doctor's explanation
of the matter. Before reaching Zagazig they had seen some men at work
dipping water by means of buckets suspended from poles, and emptying it
into basins formed by excavations on the banks; they were told that this
apparatus for hoisting water was called a "shadoof," and had been in use
from the most ancient days of Egypt.
[Illustration: THE MODERN SHADOOF.]
"The simplest form of shadoof," said the Doctor, "is the one you are
looking at. It consists of two posts of wood or sun-dried mud,
supporting a horizontal bar, on which the pole suspending the bucket is
balanced in the centre. A lump of mud on one end of the pole balances
the weight of the bucket on the other, and enables the man who operates
it to lift his burden with ease. The bucket is made of rushes woven so
tightly as to hold water, and at the same time be as light as possible,
and it is dipped and raised with great rapidity. Water is lifted from
six to eight feet by the shadoof. If a higher elevation is needed, a
second and even a third or a fourth may be used; on the upper part of
the Nile I have seen half a dozen of them in operation on a series of
steps, one above the other.
[Illustration: AN ANCIENT SHADOOF.]
"You will see representations of the shadoof on the walls of the temples
and tombs of Egypt, and the conclusion is certain that the form has not
changed in the least in three thousand years. When the Nile is at its
height there is no need of anything of the sort, as the water flows all
over the land, and the entire country is inundated. As soon as the river
falls it is necessary to raise water by artificial means, as the growing
plants in the fields would soon perish under the hot sun of Egypt
without a supply of moisture. Then the shadoof comes in play, and the
more the river descends the greater is the number demanded. In some
parts of the country the _sakkieh_ is used in place of the shadoof, and
the result is the same."
Fred wished to know the difference between the shadoof and the sakkieh.
[Illustration: A SAKKIEH, OR WATER-WHEEL.]
"The sakkieh," said the Doctor, "is a wheel operated by a beast of
burden--a horse, camel, mule, donkey, or ox. The animal walks in a
circle, and turns a horizontal wheel which has cogs connected with an
upright wheel, bearing a circle of earthen buckets on its rim. These
buckets dip in water as the wheel turns; their mouths are then brought
uppermost, and they raise the water and pour it into a trough. Where the
water must be raised to a great height from a well, or from the side of
a perpendicular bank, two wheels are used, one at the spot where the
animal walks, and the other at the surface of the water. A stout band or
rope passes over the wheels, and to this band buckets are attached to
lift the water. I have seen water raised fifty or sixty feet by this
process, the ox or mule walking patiently for hours, until it was his
turn to be relieved."
While the Doctor was talking the train passed a sakkieh, which was being
turned by a pair of oxen driven by a small boy. The boys observed that
the eyes of the animals were blindfolded by means of a piece of cloth
drawn over their heads, and they naturally wished to know the reason of
it.
"It is the custom of the country," was the reply. "The animals are
believed to work better when their attention is not drawn to things
around them, and they are less likely to be frightened if anything
unusual happens in their neighborhood. This is particularly the case
with the native buffalo and with the mule, and the practice of
blindfolding the latter animal is not unknown in our own country. On the
Western plains and among the Rocky Mountains it is the custom to throw a
blanket over the head of a pack-mule when he is being saddled and is
about to receive his burden. He stands perfectly quiet during the whole
operation; while, if he were not temporarily deprived of sight, he would
be very restive, and perhaps would break away from his driver, and
scatter things around him very miscellaneously."
[Illustration: A PLOUGHMAN AT WORK.]
Just beyond the sakkieh they saw a man driving a pair of bullocks in
front of a plough, and as the implement was lifted from the ground in
turning they had an opportunity of seeing how it was made.
"It is nothing but a wooden point," said Frank, "like the end of a small
log or stake."
"Yes," echoed Fred, "and there is only one handle for the man to grasp.
Wonder what he would think of our two-handled ploughs of iron in
America!"
"He would probably decline to use it," the Doctor responded, "as he
needs one hand for managing his goad, and could not understand how he
could control a goad and an American plough unless nature had equipped
him with three hands."
[Illustration: AN ANCIENT PLOUGH.]
"That the plough is the same here to-day that it was three thousand
years ago, we have proof in the pictures of agriculture on the walls of
the tombs at Thebes. The ancient implement is identical with the modern
one, the propelling force is the same, and the principal difference we
can see is in the costume of the ploughman."
"The plough only scratches the earth," said Fred; "and if the soil was
not very rich they would soon find out they needed something that would
stir up the ground a little deeper."
"Sometimes," said the Doctor, "you will see several ploughs following
each other in the same furrow. The object is to accomplish by this
repeated ploughing what we do by a single operation."
Close by the field where the man was ploughing another was planting
grain or something of the sort, and another a little farther on was
cutting some green stalks that looked like our Indian-corn. The Doctor
explained that the stalks were probably intended for feed for cattle,
and that the article in question was known as "doora" among the natives,
and was a close relative of the corn grown in America.
"But how funny," said Frank, "that they should be ploughing, planting,
and reaping, all in sight of each other!"
"That is one of the peculiarities of the country," said the Doctor, with
a smile. "You must remember that they do not have cold and frost, as we
do, and the operations of agriculture go on through the whole year."
"All the year, from January to January again?" said Fred.
"Yes," was the reply, "though some attention must be paid to the change
of seasons in order to get the best crops. From two to five crops,
according to the article planted, can be raised in the course of the
year, provided always that there is a constant supply of water for
irrigating the fields. When a crop is ready for gathering it is
harvested, and the ground is immediately ploughed and planted again."
[Illustration: AN EGYPTIAN THRASHING-MACHINE.]
As if to emphasize what the Doctor was saying, the train carried them
past a thrashing-floor where the scriptural process of "treading out the
corn" was going on. There was a floor of earth, which had been packed
very hard and made smooth as possible, and on this floor the pair of
oxen were walking in a circle and dragging a sort of sled, with rollers
between the runners, on which a man was perched in a high chair. The
straw which had been deprived of its grain was heaped in the centre of
the circle, ready for removal; the Doctor explained that the grain was
separated from the chaff by throwing it in the air when the wind was
blowing, and such a thing as a winnowing-machine was practically unknown
in Egypt.
[Illustration: ANCIENT PROCESS OF TREADING OUT THE CORN.]
Attempts have been made to introduce modern implements and machinery for
agricultural purposes, but they have generally failed. The Khedive
expended a large amount of money for the latest improvements in farming;
he had a large farm near Cairo, on which the purchases were placed, but
it was soon found that the implements were unpopular with the natives,
and they were abandoned. They lay for some years in one of the sheds of
the establishment, and were finally sold as old iron.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN LENTILS.]
The sight of the ploughs, shadoofs, thrashing-machines, and other aids
of agriculture naturally led to a conversation on the products of Egypt.
The boys learned that two kinds of corn were grown there--doora, which
they had seen, and millet, which has a single ear on the top of a stalk.
Egyptian wheat has been famous for many centuries, and is still
cultivated, though to a less extent than formerly, as much of the ground
once devoted to wheat is now given up to cotton. Coffee is grown in some
localities, and so are indigo and sugar; there is a goodly variety of
beans, peas, lentils, and the like, and watermelons, onions, and
cucumbers are easily raised. The tobacco crop is of considerable value;
grapes are abundant, and there are many fruits, including dates, figs,
apricots, oranges, peaches, lemons, bananas, and olives. The methods of
agriculture are very primitive, and in many instances slovenly; and if a
thousand English or American farmers could be sent to Egypt to instruct
the natives in the use of foreign implements, and teach them to till
their farms on the Western plan, the value of Egyptian products would be
doubled. But, to make the plan successful, it would be necessary to
devise some means of compelling the natives to use the methods and
machines that the strangers would bring among them, and this would be a
difficult task.
The train halted several times, and finally came to Kallioob station,
where it united with the direct line from Cairo to Alexandria. "Now,"
said the Doctor, "keep a sharp lookout on the right-hand side of the
carriage and tell me what you see."
In a few minutes Frank gave a shout of delight, and called out,
"There they are--the Pyramids! the Pyramids!"
Fred saw them almost at the same moment, and joined his cousin in a
cheer for the Pyramids, of which he had read and heard so much.
[Illustration: THE PYRAMIDS.]
There they were, pushing their sharp summits into the western sky, to
which the sun was declining, for it was now late in the afternoon.
Clearly defined, they rose above the horizon like a cluster of hills
from the edge of a plain; and as our friends came nearer and nearer the
Pyramids seemed to rise higher and higher, till it was difficult to
believe that they were the work of human hands, and were only a few
hundred feet in height. In a little while the attention of the youths
was drawn to the minarets of the Mosque of Mohammed Ali and the high
walls of the Citadel, on the summit of the hill that overlooks and
commands the city of Cairo. Their glances turned from pyramids to
mosque, and from mosque back again to pyramids, and from the sharp
outline of the Mokattam Hills to the glistening sands of the Western
Desert. Near by were the rich fields of the Valley of the Nile, and now
and then the shining water of the old river was revealed through
openings among the fringe of palms; the mud-built villages of the
Egyptians passed as in a panorama, the white walls of the houses of
Cairo took the place of the more primitive structures, groups of men and
camels, and other beasts of burden, were seen wending their way to the
great city or returning from it. The population grew more dense, the
houses and gardens assumed a more substantial appearance, roads gave way
to streets, and gardens to blocks of houses, and all too soon for our
excited travellers the train rolled into the station at Cairo, and the
journey to the wonderful City of the Caliphs had been accomplished.
From the sentimental to the practical the transition was instantaneous.
Hardly had the train halted before the carriages were surrounded by a
crowd of hotel runners, dragomen, guides, and other of the numerous
horde that live upon the stranger within the gates. Doctor Bronson had
telegraphed to the Hotel du Nil to send a carriage and a guide to meet
his party at the station; the guide was there with a card from the
manager of the hotel, and at once took charge of the strangers and their
baggage, and showed the way to the waiting carriage. Frank said he
should advise all his friends on their first visit to Cairo to follow
the Doctor's example, and thus save themselves a struggle with the
unruly crowd and a vast amount of annoyance. The worst feature of a
journey in Egypt is the necessity of a constant fight with the great
swarm of cormorants that infest all public places where travellers are
likely to go; many a journey that would have been enjoyable with this
evil removed has been completely spoiled by its presence.
[Illustration: A QUESTION OF BACKSHEESH.]
From the moment when you touch Egyptian soil till the moment when you
leave it there is little rest from the appeals of the beggar, and the
demands, often insolent, of those who force themselves and their
services upon you. The word "backsheesh" (a present) is dinned into your
ears from morning till night; it is with you in your dreams, and if your
digestion is bad you will have visions of howling Arabs who beset you
for money, and will not be satisfied. Giving does no good; in fact it is
worse than not giving at all, as the suppliant generally appeals for
more; and if he does not do so he is sure to give the hint to others
who swarm about you, and refuse to go away. If you hire a donkey or a
carriage, and give the driver double his fare, in order to satisfy him,
you find you have done a very unwise thing. His demand increases, a
crowd of his fellows gather around, all talking at once, and there is an
effort to convince you that you have not given half enough. Not
unfrequently your clothes are torn in the struggle, and if you escape
without loss of money or temper you are very fortunate.
The railway-station at Cairo is an excellent place to study the
character of the natives, and to learn their views regarding the money
of others, and the best modes of transferring it to their own pockets.
From the station our friends drove through the new part of Cairo, where
the broad streets and rows of fine buildings were a disappointment to
the youths, who had expected to see quite the reverse.
"Don't be impatient," said the Doctor, "we shall come to the narrow
streets by-and-by. This part of Cairo is quite modern, and was
constructed principally under Ismail Pacha a few years ago. He had a
fancy for making a city on the plan of Paris or Vienna, and giving it
the appearance of the Occident instead of the Orient. In place of the
narrow and sometimes crooked streets of the East he caused broad avenues
to be laid out and tall buildings to be erected. The new city was to
stand side by side with the old one, and for a time it seemed as though
the Eastern characteristics of Cairo would be blotted out. But the money
to carry on the improvements could not be had, and the new part of Cairo
has an unhappy and half desolate appearance. The natives preferred the
old ways, and there was not a sufficient influx of foreigners to
populate the new city. It had grown rapidly for a few years, but
suddenly its growth was suspended, and here it has been ever since."
[Illustration: A STREET IN CAIRO.]
They passed several public and private buildings that would have done
honor to any European city, and if it had not been for the natives
walking in the streets, riding on donkeys, or now and then conducting a
stately camel, they might easily have believed themselves far away from
Egypt. Suddenly the scene changed; they passed the new theatre, where
Ismail Pacha delighted to listen to European operas performed by
European companies; they crossed the triangle known as the Square of
Ibrahim Pacha, and containing a bronze statue of that fiery ruler; and
by a transition like that of the change in a fairy spectacle, they were
in one of the crowded and shaded streets of the City of the Caliphs.
They had entered the "Mooskee," one of the widest and most frequented
streets of the part of Cairo that has not succumbed to Western
innovations, and retains enough of its Eastern character to remain
unpaved.
The speed of their carriage was reduced, and a boy who had been riding
at the side of the driver jumped down, and ran ahead shouting to clear
the way. The boys thought they were travelling in fine style to have a
footman to precede them, but the Doctor told them it was the custom of
the country to have a runner, called a "syce," to go before every
carriage, and clear the way for it. The syce carried a stick as the
badge of his office, and when he was in the employ of an official he had
no hesitation in striking right and left among those who were in the
way. High officials and other dignitaries employed two of these
runners, who kept step side by side, and were generally noticeable by
the neatness of their dress. No matter how fast the horses go the syce
will keep ahead of them, and he does not seem at all fatigued after a
run that would take the breath out of an American.
[Illustration: A PROJECTING WINDOW.]
They met other carriages; they met camels and donkeys with riders on
their backs, or bearing burdens of merchandise, and they passed through
crowds of people, in which there were many natives and some Europeans.
The balconies of the houses projected over the street, and in some
places almost excluded the sunlight, while their windows were so
arranged that a person within was entirely concealed from the view of
those without. The boys observed that the carving on the windows
revealed a vast amount of patience on the part of the workmen that
executed it, and they wondered if all the windows of Cairo were like
those they were passing. Some of the walls were cracked and broken, as
though threatening to fall; but the windows appeared so firmly fixed in
their places that they would stay where they were when the rest of the
building had tumbled.
While they were engrossed with the strange sights and sounds around
them, the carriage halted at the head of a narrow lane, and our three
friends descended to walk to the hotel.