Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1882-07-28
LATE PHASE OF THE WAR.
Blood win Now Flow in Torrents.

d;eh canal has fallen fourteen inches
and no water has been supplied to tn,
public since yesterday noon. Th,
mail steamer from Constantinople ha.
been embargoed on suspicion Of carry.
ing letters to Arab Pashi, and is guarded
by four British steam launches. A
proclamation by the khedive ask,
the people to assist the Eng
hsh in promoting the real inter
ests of Egypt. The troop-ship Mala
bar, with eleven hundred British in
fantry and battery, arrived at Alex
andria last evening. There are SAID
to be eight thousand destitute persons
camping IN the gardens at Cairo. Ara
bi Pasha has massed seven hundred
cavalry and a field gun at the pump
ing station of the Ramleh water-works
with the evident intention of destroy
ing it.
Ell MEHDI's ADVANCE.
The Soudan prophet who, acting a.
an ally Of Arab, has produced such 6
CONSERVATION among the Mohamme
dams, has arrived in Nubia, Upper
Egypt, not far 10 the southwark o.
Thebes, where four thousand years age
the historian tells us, the Nile was
bridged from shore to shore, and 5000,
GOO people were worshipers in the tenn
pie of Boolak. The ease with which
this prophet has been able to effect the
virtual conquest of the Soudan, with
its 30.000,000 souls. is not surprising
when the isolation of that central Afri-
can region from the parent gov.
ernment at Cairo is considered. Ismail
THE PROPHETS ARMY.
With recruits like these different
races of the Soudan-haying the blood
of the negro, the Saracen, the Turk,
and the Egyptian, and fired by the
Moslem enthusiasm-El Mehdi has
had no difficulty in arousing popular
uprising along the line of his march,
which has brought him eight hundred
miles to the northward of Khartoum
and within one thousand miles OF Cairo.
As it is now high Nile where he and
his followers now are-that is, near the
first cataract-the journey down the
river can scarcely be any considerable
effort, as the velocity of the stream is
three miles an hour. There are al.
ways at that point of the river many
transports, nuggers, and small fleet
His other means OF trans
portion of his horde consist of
the many thousand camels and drome-
daries which can be driven in from the
desert, both as baggage conveys and to
mount the invading force. Passing
through Nabia the prophet will find a
wretched country, peopled by wretched
natives, for whom Ibrahim Pasha
found no better use on his pleasure
journeys on the Nile than to make
them the target of his fire, in order to
test the accuracy of his aim, with
weapons presented to him by the soyer-
eigns of Europe. From the frontier of
Nubia, moving down the Nile. the in
vaders will find abundant food abundant
forage for the camels, and, of course.
no lack of water. But the fellaheen
allies, as they are unarm ed and unac-
customed to weapons more dangerous
than the shepherds crook. 1t has always
been the policy of the Egyptian gov
ernment to prevent the cultivators of
the soil from having arms. The force
on its journey to Cairo will pass over
fertile and highly-cultivated estates,
through sugar and corn plantations, by
thick settlements, and will indeed be a
novelty the people. Not since the days
af Ethiopian proves, in ancient times,
has there been such barbaric incur
sion. What its effect may be when ar
irving at Cairo can not be foreshad-
owed. but one fact is certain, there is
no hostile power that can now be mar
shalled in Egypt to stay the inflow of
the prophet and his followers. Three
weeks hence, and he can plant his en-
sign on the citadel of Cairo, when the
world will eagerly watch the result of
this strange crusade.
TIE MAMOUDEIH CANAL.
The position in regard to the water
supply is becoming alarming. There
has been sensible fall of the Nah
moudeih canal of two inches. Unless
more troops arrive soon to enable Gen
eral Alison to drive Arab Pasha from
the pumping stations tie consequences
will be terrible.
1t will not be surprising if Arab Pa
cha's measures in regard TO the water
supply of Alexandria leads to an i'm
mediate advance of the British troops.
Major General Alison has telegraphed
home for instructions. An Arab spy
states that the damming of the Nah
moudeih canal has flooded the country
The water in places is knee deep,
making the ground too soft for the
movement of guns. Major Gener-
al Alison will leave here to-mor-
row with detachment of troops to
blow up the obstruction in the Nah
moudieh Canal A rifle regiment have
occupied a fort for 400 yards outside
of the Rosetta Gates. These are the
only British troops outside the walls.
In the city native has just been shot
while attempting to set fire to house
in the centre of Alexandria. All the
French ships have left here and the
United States flagship has gone to Brin-
disi. The markets and the Bourse are
reopening for business. Lieutenant
Piggott, of the Monarch, and two sail
ors, by dint of climbing, have reached
the lantern of the lighthouse, and re-
lit the lamps. They found the stair
case cut away by she'll
The khedive reports that he has
learned that Arab Pasha's troops are
still further damaging the canal at
Baiadeh.
THE SUEZ CANAL.
Now that the English army are after
Arab at Cairo, he will doubtless de-
stroy the Suez canal The war will
thus be shifted to the canal, and its
history will be read with interest.
The Isthmus of Suez, through which
the canal runs, from the Mediter-
ranean to the Red Sea, is merely a
neck of sand some ninety-fve miles in
width. At no point does it rise more
than 150 feet above the level of the
sea. Except at one point, Serapeum,
there is no rock, the soil consisting OF
loose and shifting sand There was
before the building of the canal the
beds Of several lakes dried up and COW
cred with salt, indicating that at some
time hundreds, perhaps thousands, of
years ago canal had been in exist
ence across the isthmus, and by that
means salt water had been introduced
and formed these lakes. The great
trade between Europe and Asia, and
particularly between England and her
Indian possessions, seemed to necessi-
tate shorter water route between the
two continents than that around the
Cape of Good Hope, but it was to the
efforts of Frenchman that the build
ing of the canal was largely due. The
project of building the Suez canal was
suggested by n. Ferdinand de Lesseps