Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-08-03

4 EgyW" hsshade certain observations
about he-exterior appearances OF Ales.
andria which the effects of time have
not much obviated. He found Alexan'
dria practically surrounded by des-
ert; indeed, it appeared to- MIN that nc
part Of the Lybiap or Arabian desert
was more barren and desolate than the
country which stretched outward from
beneath the walls of Alexandria. In
/ his time, as now. there was no depth
/ of soil. He also found no signs Of
vegetation. This latter observation
would not apply at the present day to
the suburbs of Alexandria, for in con-
4 Sequence of series of small aqueducts
i well known toall eastern nations, the
/ soil has been fortified to such an ex.
tent that many fruits and plants grow
in abundance. g.
WITHIN A STONES THROW
| of the Alexandrian citadel wall there
are excellent gardens, wherein grow
ioranges, citrons, plantains correspond
ing with the American banana), figs
and cocoanuts; and as for flowers, nc
| dusk maiden of the city need
have gone without an ornament, for
there grew ROSES, red and white clean
/ ders and the brilliant scarlet blossoms
of the houregranate in abundance with
in half hours walk of her residence
These gardens, from which certain en-.
terprising Arabs earned a considerable
annual revenue, were due, rs regards
their fertility, to tiny aqueducts, laid
4 between artificial entertainments about
three feet high, from the Mahmou-
tdich canal to the spots in which they
were required. The suburban popula
ton not only drank from these aque-
ducts and used the water for dom este
| purposes, but the strictly urban popu.
lation were dependent upon the same
Sweet waters of the Nile,' as they
were tapped from the great canal fol
their domestic supplies.
A STRATEGIC NECESSITY.
The ancient conquero.s OF Egypt saw
the necessity of feeding Alexandria
with Nile water, and they accordingly
had superficial aqueducts constructed
which served their purpose to a certain
extent. Tie house of the ancient city
were mostly erected upon structure
Of arched vaults, and when the Nile
waters had flowed into these subtera-
neous structures, they were given time
to settle until vegetable matter sank,
and then they were used by being
pulled ap, by bucket and pulley and
wheel, into the domiciles above; but
this supply was precarious, and it re-
manned for
MEHEMET ALI
to put in practice the plan OF the
| Pharaohs in erecting or constructing
great public works. The remains OF
the old public aqueducts had almost
disappeared, when Mehemet resolved
to give Alexandria once for all a thor
ough and constant connection with the
Nile. His project was the present
MAHMoUDIEH CANAL,
which is now being threatened by the
Egyptian troops. He summoned his
subjects to the work of digging the
canal in such numbers that It is said to
have been navigable for passage and
freight boats throughout its whole ex.
tent in the short time of six weeks
from the period Of the commencement
of the works. This may be set down
as one of those tales which the popu-
lace love to believe because they are
impossible or verging upon the utter
outskirts of imposslbility. There are
now only two principal navigable chan
nels in the Delta of the Nile-namely
the
| DAMIETTA AND ROSETTA MOUTHS.
The Mahmoudieh canal was connected
with the Nile some distance below
Rosetta and its waters were conveyed
into Alexandria by an aqueduct which
entered the city near the present
Rosetta Gate, and had to be cut
through the walls and easements of
ancient buildings at IFS junction with
Alexandria, almost due east and west
for several miles, and then takes
up an upward bend toward
the Nile, but before il
leaves the city it is tapped at various
spots for the supply of substantially
built reservoirs, which cannot up to the
present time have been threatened oy
Arabs troops, so that they must still
contain a considerable water supply
independent of the supply contained
in the sunken masonary wells which
exist beneath most of the solidly built
houses of Alexandria. The canal W.T.
commenced by
| -, MEHEMEr ALI
in 1919 and opened in the beginning OF
1920, receiving its present name in
honor Of the then Sultan. 1t cost 800.
| 0o0f (about 81 ,600,000), and the mer
employed upon it numbered 250,00(
continuously, under the direction o.
the Aga Hagee Osman, who was assist
ed by several Italian engineers
TWENTY THOUSAND
of these laborors, who were little else
than the veriest bondsmen, persisted
rom one cause or another, chiefly
from hunger and disease. AS specta.
Gle the banks of the Mahmoudleh are
curiously uninteresting. 1t presents
the appearance of a
DEAD LEVEL
of silent flowing, sluggish stream, be
tween embellishments which sometimes
are considerably higher than the sur
i face of water and som etimes not muct