The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1883-07-04
CLEANSING THE CANALS.
TnE ANNUAL EVENT WHICH GOVERNS
TIE CROPS.
Forced Labor in Egypt ms IT Exists Under
tho Khrdiye.

Forced Labor In Egypt ms IL Exists Under
the khediye.
Cleansing the s,5G0 miles Of fresh
water canals that at present exist In
Egypt is, next TO the inundation Of the
Nile, the annual event upon which hangn
the erccess OF fa'l',,e g! the crops. From
tho rharaohs 10 the KhediTe, canal
dredging has been the special and anz-
ious care Of the government. and for
over five thousand years no Egyptian
ruler has yet been able 10 gel tnls vital
work done without resorting 20 forced
inbor A few philanthropists baye re-
emily demonstrated with lsmail Pacha
aud the present Khclive for compelling
the reluctant icllah w work hnt ''hcn.
ever thcirpccheis are touched Europeans
have always been most jealous to urge
and encourage the most brutal applica-
ton Of Egyptian forced labor For in.
stance, Ismail Pacha bal 70 pny 5000
OOO IN Urdrr 10 secure VI. de- Lrs,eps
consent to abolish that shameful clause
in the Sucz Canal contract winch forced
~. 900 fcllahcon 10 be dragged every
month in-chains from their own fields 10
toll NJ NJ. de- Lcssops canal, which has
been the alpha aud omega Of all the
plaques that have bcfGllen Egypt during
the last fifteen years,
The present Khediyc has done away
with forced labor except for the work Of
cleaning ont the canals aud strengthen.
ing the entertainments Of the Nile and
the larger canals when there j. danger
Of a flood, and these exceptions are ab.
7plutoly necessary 10 preserve the exist.
cnce Of Egypt The Nile begins TO sub.
side IN October and begins 10 rise in
June. The work Of cleaning ont the
canals begins in February, when the
water is very low. The other day rode
ont 10 point on the ismailia Canal,
about ten miles from Cairo, where about
l,OCO luborcrs were hard at work clean.
ing the canal. What | saw Is q fan
-p,cimcn Of forced labor as it exists to.
day in Egypt. Moored near the bank Of
the caual-which il $50 wiGc-a large
dredging machine was throwing up a
continuous stream Of vile mud upon the
towpath Of the canal. About three hun.
drrd fclIahocn--both men aud women
were sqnatting down on their launches.
and with no other implements but THEN
hands were scooping up the mud thrown
mp by the dredging machine and throw
ing it into round, two handed, noxiblc
| baskets. About seven hundred voung
| boys aud girls were carrying these
| baskets full Of mud on their heads and
| "dumping" down their contents behind
/ the anal embankmcnt, about two hun.
drcd yards distant. A Greek engineer
was experimenting the whole work, and
about twenty or thirty Ovcrsccrs-cX.
pcri"nccd icllahs, about forty years OF
a%c-wcrc walking about promiscuously
seeing that nobody was lazy. Thcs,
oycIsrcrs wore brown wooden frZrs and
long, blue cotton shirts, and were bare
| footed.
Each ovcrs"cr had in his hand short
stick, 10 the end Of which Wa, nailed II
long flat leather strap that might hay,
served IN better days rs n trunk strap
! These fiat straps are n mcrciluI substitute
for the famous cOHbash-m oiled striI
] VI iil'I"l'ldlllll1 II'lf dlNtUl tlHltI lptl
long aud twisted and stillcncd with fin,
| brass wire These flat straps would
occasionally come down with LOUD
"whack " upon the back Of some luck
less hackslidcr, hut rs n rule there wa,
no undue cruelty. The laborcrs them
selves were taken from the neighbour,
Villages by rcquiStipnupon the rcspcctiy,
Shciks-cl-bclcd provide 50 many hands
They sleep in their village, aud at sun
RI" say their prayer, md eat large pc
Of hokcd beans, garlic aud oil. The,
commence srooping mud immcdi tel,
Ilicrwmd and work away until noon
| They thrn pray again and receive iron
the government lar, Hat round loaf .
bread. ! have frequently seen youu,
boys ard girl, of ten or twelve years 81,
working away in the sun quite naked