The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1883-07-05
CLEANSING THE CANALS.
THE ANNUAL EVENT WHICH GOVERNS
THE CROPS.
Forced Labor In Egypt as II Exists Under
tho Khediye,

tho Hhediye.
Cleansing the $500 miles of fresh
water canals that at present exist in
Egypt Is, next to the inmdation of the
Nile, the annual event upon which hangs
the success or failure of the crops. From
the Pharaohs to the Khedfve, canal
dredging has been the special and anx-
ious care of the government, and for
over five thousand years no Egyptian
ruler has yet been able to get this vital
work done without resorting to forced
labor. A few philanthropists have re-
Gently demonstrated with Ismail Pacha
and the present Khetiive for compelling
the reluctant fellah to work but when
ever their pockets 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 had to pay IS, ,0OO,- :
600 III order to secure Nj. dc Irsscps'
consent to abolish that shameful clause
IN the Suez Canal contract which forced
10000 fcllahecn to be dragged every
month i'll chains from their own fields to
toll at M. de Lesseps' canal which has
been the alpha and omega of all the
plaques that have befqllon Egypt during
tie lnSt Titccn wears.
The present Khcdivo has done awny
with forced labor, except for the work Of
cleaning out the canals ana ,tr,npthrn-
ing the cmbankments of the Nile and
the larger canals when there is danscr
of flood, aud these exceptions arc alb
solutely necessary to preserve the exist.
cnco of Egypt. The Nile begins to sub
side IN October and bcgius to rise in
June. The work of cleaning out the
canals begins i'll February, when the
water is very low. The other day rode
out to point on the Ismailia Canal,
about ten miles from Cairo, where about
900 laborcrs were hard at work clean
ing the canal. What l saw is fair
specimen OF forced labor as it exists to.
day IN Egypt. Moorcd near the bank of
the canal-which is 1S0 wi6c-a large
dredging machine was throwing up a
continuous stream of vile mud upon the
towpath OF tho canal. About three hun
drcd fellahcen- both mon and women
were squatting down on their launches.
and with no other implcm ,i;,; hut their
hands were scooping up the mud thrown
up by the dredging machine and throw.
ing 1t INTO round, two-handed hcxihln
baskets. About seven hundred Young
boys and girls were carrying these
baskets full of mud on their heads and
'dumplng down their contents behind
tho canal cmbankmcnt, about two hun
drrd yards distant. A Greek engineer
was supcrintcnding the whole work, and
about twenty or thirty ovcrspcrs-cx-
pcrlcnced fcllahs, about forty years of
ngc-wcre walking about promiscuouSlv,
seeing that nobody was lnzv. These
ovorSccrs wore brown WOODEN fczns and
long, blue cotton shirts, and were bare
footed.
Each ovcrs"cr had in his hand short
stick, to the end of which was nailed u
lcng fiat leather strap that might have
served IN better days rs trunk strap,
These flat straps are a mcrciful substitute
lor the famous cOUr6uSh-an oiled strip
of hlppopotamus hide about eight feet
long and twisted and stiftcncd with fine
brass wire. These flat straps would
occasionally come down with n loud
"whack" upon the back of some lucE-
less backslidcr, but as II rule there WAS
no undue cruelty. The laborers them
selves were taken from the nciehborinn
villages by rcquisitipnupon the respective
Shrlks-cl-bclCd to provide so many hands
They sleep i'll their village, and at sun
rise say their prayers and eat large DOT
of baked beans, garlic and oil. Thry
commence sCo0plnG mud immcdiatrIv
aiterward and work away mtil noon.
They then pray again and receive from
tn" government large fiat round loaf Of
bread | have Frequently seen Young
boys and girls of ten or twelve years old
working away in the sun quite naked