The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-14
NEW SURVEY OF SINAI.

We copy the following interesting letter from
4 the London AtienRa1n:-
X. Il. CAMP, WADY FEIRAN Feb 9 1S69-On
the 18th of December winter fairly broke upon
lis in our camp, at Jebel Musa, with desperate
storm of wind, and occasional showers of rain
and sleet. Some of the gusts were very violent,
and one terrific squall brought the marquee down
with ~ sudden crash, in spite of all the care
(which had been taken to secure it. Wilson and l.
who had been working inside, suddenly found
ourselves struggling amid confused mass of tent
ropes and futtering canvas books, papers, and
&camp-stoos, from which we only emerged in time
to see some of the effects of the Sinai expedition
Hbeing whired by the blast up the Convent valley,
|with Arabs and servants in hot pursuit. Most of
|them, am glad to say, were ultimately captured;
but some loose sheets of laborious calculations
gaily defied all attempts to run them down, and
|were hopelessy lost among the cliffs Of Jebel
Musa. The whole affair was intensely ludi-
brous, but annoying nevertheless, and the be-
havior of Salem, our chief Bedawi guide, was
far FROM soothing under the circumstances.
That hardened individual, on seeing the tent
blown down and the two captains struggling in
he wreck, made no attempt whatever to stir
rom his seat by the campfire; he merely puffed
little faster ut his tchibouque, and muttered,
with the superstition of n true Bedawi, "From
he Lord" But his meditations were rudely dis
urbed by the cook, with severe punch in the
ibs and we found an hours useful employment
or him. fetching large rocks to lay upon the
ent-pins.
By next morning the storm had left IT'S traces
upon the landscape. The cliffs and boulders
Washed of their summer coating of dust, looked
ean and fresh and stood out with colors deeper
Dr more brilliant that ever; the higher hill tops
we're streaked with snow, and the peaks of the
sas Sufsafeh and neighboring mountains, seen
alternately in mist and sunshine, and through
light showers of driving snow, formed studies
Elijah Walton would have delighted in.
On the 18th of December we made the ascent
of Jebel katarina, the peak which contests with
Umm Shaumer its supposed claim to be the
highest in the peninsula. The difference one
way the other cannot exceed few feet, and
hOugh our instruments showed slight angle OF
repression to the latter peak, we have not yet
bad the means of determining how much of this
s due to curvature. The point will be finally
etted when we ascend Umm Shaumer itself, as
ye hope to do before our work is ended.
We were three hours and quarter in reach
ing the summit, some $500 feet above the sea.
he ascent, unusually long and toilsOme but
nothing more, was on this occasion rendered diff
icult, if not dangerous, by the coating of soft
now which covered the slopes of the mountain
tsef, and the gloomy gorge by which we APP
preached it from Wady Deja. The last steep
ealf mile was especially trying; and we foun-
lered about in deep snow and upon ice-coated
Fhole party were pretty severely tried. AS its
>eak is the most central, and probably also the
host lofty, so is the view from Jebel katarina
|mong the finest in the whole peninsula. From
his high and freezing standpoint, though the
lay was far from favorable, and clouds frequently
concealed large portions of the landscape,
Te could plainly see the two arms of theRed Sea,
nth the hills of Arabia and Africa beyond them on
ither hand, the great limestone desert of the Tih
tretching far away northward, and the geogra-
(hy and geology of the entire granite region of
ebel Musa spread out as in model below u.s.
The peaks of Serbal, to our disappointment, were
no time wholly visible, and Umm Shaumer
My peeped ut us now and then for q few mo-
lents out of her veil of mist; however, in the
curse of three hours patient watching, we sue
eeded in making all necessary observations
rom this, one of the most important points of
ur survey. We descended at u jog-trot pace
Fhich, though it occasionally cost us heavy
ropper, was certainly the best in the long run,
md saved us time and fatigue and In TACT ena-
led us to reach camp in two hours from the
blmmit.
Our route sometimes lay through scenery of the
randest description: portion OF Wady NasD
hich was explored by the pundit and myself
nd added to our sketch survey, was especially
riking, as presenting remarkable eXemplil-
htion of those highly-colored dykes traverslng
be granite and schistose rocks wnlch are seen
ere and in many other parts of this country in
considerable numbers, but nowhere in such abun-
knce and perfection as in Wady NASH Ihere,
he naked landscape is streaked with countless
BIDS OF pOTpnyTy anu Nallcu anu VI
color, and of all breadths, from few inches
many feet, and coursng for miles over the
buntry towards every quarter OF the compass
grander and scarce less striking feature if
ben in the huge granite boulders with smooth
ome-shaped top and immense hollows Weathered
their under sides, which lie piled on one another
wild confusion in the tributary gens of thii
Galley. Many of them were of such enormous
ze as to admit of easy and upright walking
Underneath, and in the spaces between them M
hey rested one on another; and there was one
hass in particular which / have no hesitation in
stimating at the size of the dome of st. Paurs.
While the pundit and l were out surveying and
Ollecting names, Wilson, accompanied by HOl-
And, assembled Jebel Mascud for the work of the
eneral triangulation Our sheikh, "Eid, in the
bsence of other Arabs was pressed into the SER
Ice, and induced to carry their instruments.
hough an Arab of the valleys, and not of the
fountains, he stuck to his task like man. and
llntrived to reach the summit; but to judge from
he ghastly, ironical grin with which, on deposit
|lg his load, he exclaimed "Mr. Holland, YOU
leikh is on top of mountain, no one can have
cen more astonished at this feat than himself
ince then we have had to dismiss him. VIZ
ever were much pleased with him; he was noisy
hid childish, and had no influence with thu
rabs, and at last behaved so carelessly about ou
transport that it was impossible to keep him an.
bnger But the separation was not effecte'
kit6out a struggle He first rushed at us all il
urn, and seized our hands to kiss them. Their
Eas little coy resistance at first, during Whlc
for once, experienced the sensation OF bein
young lady; but l, like the rest, was at las
bliged to submit to the intliction. His mex
roceeding was to lie down on the ground an
nplore the pundit to beat him. But the pundi
Eas at dinner and told him to wait till he ha
nished, and then he would beat him well; and