The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1869-07-23
The Rising Of The Nile.

inbaDltcu ana populOuS country. without
It the land would always have been q
desert, incapable of aflording the means of
subsistence to man. Except occasionally
uear the shores of the Mediterranean, no
rain falls throughout the land. aud there
fore its pa,ched ard sandy soil would be
entirely unfiuitful, were it not that rCgu
larly, at a certain season of the year the
river overAows the whole adjacent country
Why it should Go so was a mystery in
ancient times, ana many absurd theories
and c0njoctu.es were raised to account for
it. The Egyptians themselves believed the
river was a god, who IN his bene6cencc,
spread himself annually over the land to
supply the wants of his people, If the
rising did not begin 10 make its appear
ance at the expected time-and it has
hardly varied single day throughout the
course Of ages they hastily prepared a
sacrifice to ;his deity, usually beautiful
girl, who was richly adorned and then
thrown into the stream.
Some Of the ancient philosophers
lighted on the true reason Of the rising Of
the waters, when they imagined it to be
due to heavy rains falling III the interior of
Africa, and swelling the sources of the
river. What those sources we're it had
balIled the investigation of thousands of
years to ascertain, until recently our trav-
elers, Speke, Grant, and Baker, discovered
them in immense lakes situated near the
equator as the stream winds, from the
mouth OF the Nile on the Mediterranean
coast. Tc these lakes the names of the
Victoria Nyanza aud the Albert Nyanza
havcsbeen given by the successful explor
ers.
In the regions adjacent to these lakes,
rain falls throughout the greater part Of
the year, and most heavily in March, at
the time Of the spring equinox. The
lakes form huge reservoirs for the water
which descends from the elevations known
as the Mountains of the Noon and as
they become swollen, the size Of the
streams which emerge from them in pros
portionately increased Several of these
streams, uniting IN their course. form the
Upper or White Nile, aud this river flow
ing gradually or, until it meets the Blue
or Lower Nile, bears irrigation to the
thirty lands below. Not only this, but as
these rivers come down they bring with
them a qhantily Of aIluyial soil Of the
richest kind and when the Nile at last
spreads itself over the fiat aud sandy
plains of Egypt, it onriches them year by
year with this muddy but fertile deposit
The consequence is a gradually rising of
the Land, to the extent, it is calculated, of
from FIVE to six inches in century.
Owing to this fact, ,oany of the proudest
cities Of ancient Egypt ace now half
buried in the soil,
Although in these days we know more
about natural pLenomep, than the philoso,
pliers Ct old, and eau satisfactorily ez plain
the reason Of the rising waters, there re-
mains one wonder connected with it which
is as great to us as to them, aud that is it.
uniformity. As we have said, throughout
the course Of ages It's commencement has
scarcely varied but one day, and its extent is
also comprised, as a rule, within narrow
limit. So equal, in the main, must be the
quantity Of water which falls annually at
the equator, aud 50 regular the commence
mont and decline of the rainy season.
The rising commences in Lower Egypt
about the 2Ilh Of June, and steadily in.
oTcGseS during the three mouths following.
In thaa time the valley OF the Nile becomes
covered by its waters, and its villages stand
out from them like little islands. as for ihe
time they are. When the water has at
:ained its maximum hight, it remains sta
tionary for about ten days, and then de,
cines as steadily as it arose. On its sub.
siding, the land has been thoroughly fer
tilzed, and vegetation becomes luxurant.
The hight TO Which the river rises is a
matter of vital importance A few feet
mere or less make the difference between
starvation and abundance. The average
hight varies according to the distance
traversed by the river, from about forty
feet where it enters Egypt, to four feet
only near the Mediterranean. Taking as
an Intermediate hight that observed at
Carlo if the rise is less than twenty feet.
there is scarcity. or even famine; if it is
three or four feet more. the crops will be
short three or four feet more agaiu, and
they will bo abundant but if the water
goes still higher, it becomes an unhealthy
food.
Contrivances for measuring the exact
rise of the Nile were in use in ancient
times, and in two instances the remains OF
these " Niometers still exist. One and
the most ancient, supposed to have been
erected in the time of the Roman
dominion, is found in the island of Ele-
phantiue, in Upper Egypt and on the
walls of the building in which it is con-
tanned are inscriptions recording the
heights of the inundation in various years
The other is situated in the island of
Rhoda, near Cairo, ard is believed to have
been built 10 the time of the Arabian
caliphs. 1t consists of a square well, into
which the water is admitted as it rises,
while in the center is column Of marble
market at frequent intervals with the dis
tance from the lowest level, The Milo
meters are supposed to haYe been of chief
utility in adjusting the taxation Of the