New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-03-20
ia. hean of bricks and rubbhh which overpres

the suif.cs Of the plain, ard burisd for the most
part IN heaps of drlfdng sand. Instead Of the lux
ursns fields, groves and gardens, nothing nos
ueets the eve but N ard waste. lnsesd oil tue
hun Of many voices, ana the sounds OF scase ID
dusty. nIence re'gns profound except where
te passing Travellers or rowing Arabs ns scros' tue
Acme. or the roar Of the hon dlsurbs the night.
The insecurity Of property under ae Tartnh
rule. a exercised for ceDturies, b. tended fro n
yea, to year still fufher 70 depoPa'ate this
country Of which the only remaining inh,bissas
are lev miserable Arabs, partly shepherds aud
partly guilty .tors whom, IN spite Of the vvscy sad
activity natural 10 them the oppression and eIs.
tons Of their Turkrh masters have sunk into lassi-
rode, ndolsnce and beegary. they live in frau
dwellings OF reeds, or IN tente, which a. the time
OF The foundations are often swept away By the rising
floods. Jpn few elevated spots smdl mud forts
serve as citades for refuge in OF nundsson or
attack, while the nce-felds are protected from com
ICED mating. The only power they possess OF re-
sstng justice is that Of Hoodtg their fields bu.
this is on y temporary as they and their fsnihes
cannot slbsist wlihou. cut vaIon.
II Is In that psrt Of the course of the EuPhra'es,
below the termination Of tie section of railroad
already granted, viz, from about % degrees of
north lstltude to its mouth, that these overfOws
aid their consequences are most formidable. Dur
ing the Spring and Summer the greater part OF the
country is q con.I uous marsh, quite iupasable
except by canoes by meeps Of which the natives
Keep up q communication between the elevated
spots that rie like Islands above the lnunds.lon
In Autumn these inundatiOns subside, bu: the re-
dangerous for strangers TO enter the country. Inc
only season of the year in which this re-
gion is free from water and fever is the
Winter; but then other obstacles are to be
encountered. The grea. alterations Of teupera-
ture to which this region is subject are scarcely
credible. No sooner does the ardent heat OF the
Autumn ab,,e than cold breezes begin TO blow from
the north; and az the soil Of the marshes, CON-
psrstvely recent deposi. from the retiring waters
Of the Persian Cuff, is strongly impresns'ed with
marine salts, the wind in its pa.s,gs across them
is rendered intensely cod. TrayersDg those places
in the Winter is complained of BY recent traveller
as Ike being shu. up in gerator and worse go
far as suffering from cold is concerned, than the
passage Of the Alps or the Taurus. Nor is this
the only fficulty. A very large portion of the
country, which few months previously was COW
cred with inundstion, is row w.serless, sometimes
for On extent Of two OF three days journey. The
Arab II bes are perfectly wild, and, being migratory
in their habits, little under control
Such is the present condition of the valley OF the
Euvhrates-not holding out much promise, one
would say, for paying railroad. Yet there is no
physical reason Why it should not be as productive
and as ,hickIy inhabited as in ancient times. A
BttIe care and labor bestowed on the ancient canals
would again restore its fertility. 1t would require
10 immense expenditure to clear the channels of
The loOse sands which have accumulated in them,
and to render them nsvigabe for the shallow yes
sells of the country. Let but the Turkish Govern
ment give security to property, and substitute a
reasonable payment instead of the endless chons
of its officers, and European capital and enterprise
would do the rest.