The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-18
DOWN THE RED SEA.
An Indianian on His Travels to India-prof.
Clifton Writes of His Ocean Experiences.

/ the ftou sea- winch We prsnt lot tue luter0St VI
his friends In Indiana Jou rnal.
As sit to write / find it difficult to decide
what line of thought to pursue. Shall 1 tell you
of the thoughts that came TO US as ever the
scenes were changed Shall tell you of how
our fellow passengers behavedl Or shall | give
you idea of the sea as it is and appeared to
usl Were writing to Englishmen, now feel
that should choose the first theme, since our
surroundings, so far as our floating home is con-
cerned, are purely English. Were I writ
ing to while away an easy hour
for the Frenchman, ! undoubtedly should
not hesitate to choose the second,
since there is so much material in such voyage
for the novelist. But since l am to entertain
for short time an American who deals with
plain facts and things as they are, and in the
fewest possible words could not do otherwise
than choose the last How perfect this idea will
be and how well am able to tell you of the sea,
as ii appeared TO US, you must Judge
| After about ten minutes halt at Suez during
| which interval the canal pilot disembarked and
the mail for our ship was brought on board at
P. NJ, the 10th of January, we entered the
gulf and were soon steaming in the
| direction of the Southern Cross as
| fast as wind and steam could hurry
our vessel. The gulf is the western of the two
arms at the head of the Red sea, and is about
| one hundred and ninety miles in length. The
upper part of the gulf is narrow, and as we look
| out on either side the volet-hued mountains,
| streaked with golden SANDS, and made moro
beautiful in the splendor of an Oriental sunset,
| point upward to where their varied crests and
| the mellow horizon bound view. AS we
| hurry on we notice, nesting at the foot of the
| great sand hills left, beautiful green,
where the tufted crests of palm trees nod in the
| stiff breeze if bidding friendly farewell.
| Such scene in the desert waste is sure to ex-
| cite curiosity. OF course our first question
| was, "What is that?" and we stood to admire
and wonder as some obliging shipman told US it
| was Mosess we'll Gould it be that just there
| Israel encamped under their great deiverers
protection, and out just beyond sang out the
| grand choir with Miriam as its leaders Now,
! the canvas, which has been made ready. is being
| raised over the deck, that we may kill time"
| under as comfortable circumstances as possible
| for we are informed that the rest Of the voyage
| is to be q fight with the sun.
| AS we look out to the east now the great sand
hills rise further inland, while between
in its fury. This our captain watches
| anxiousy, lest the wind should change
! and we be caught in its path, the danger being
| that a sufficient quantity of sand might be de-
| posted npon the deck to sink the vessel. One
can get no idea of the fury of these storms until
| they are once seen. The sand, as it is carried
/ on by tempest of wind, is swept everywhere
| This we realized by only slight shower falling
upon us. Now the storm has outsped us. and
the mountains further away seem to rise higher
and higher while beyond them we imagine we
trace the outlines of the gulf. Akaba, which is
100 miles in length, and forms the eastern arm
| of the Red sea. On this triangular tongue of
| land, which we have watched with so much in
terest between these two CULTS. you remember
are situated the mountains of Horeb-SiEaL
We now spend most of our time on the stern
! deck, where we can look out at the tumbng
waves that come leaping after or into the deep
| ultramarine ''and learn what the waves have to
say" AS in this accustomed place. late at night,
| we look out to the east over the moonllt waters
and landscape an officer tells us we are opposite
| these sacred mountains, and that ii 1t were
day, the lesser peak of the two which we could
! see with glass, would be Sinai. Suddenly the
whole scene possesses new interest to US, and we
strain our eyes to trace a faint aontllne OF the
rugged mountain where God appeared to Moses
and gave the Ter Commandments amid thun-
ders and lightnings, while the people stood afar
| off, but all In vain. Though we may
| not see it, yet we know that we are
near, and the whole scene assumes
a new color, and lights up with sacred beauty,
| as all our childhood memories of the mount fash
| oser it. Early the following morning en-
tered the sea- Nothing of special interest was
| to be seen as the murky sky seemed not far
| away and the drizziing rain ever and anon came
pattering on the canvas covering During the
| next three days we have nothing to do but "kill
| time" This we do by chatting, lounging and
eating. Every hour we go south. Comfort be-
gins to be an item of interest to US, and plan
what we shall do if it becomes really warm
Most of the officers and ship men have already
| blossomed out in their various suits of
gray and white, and the deck assumes
the appearance of a June picnicking party.
| Our ship is well provided with fans and other
contrivances for bringing air into the rooms,
and, only have more day to Ego
south" we conclude to stay with the ship and
weather it through The water of the sea is
| deep bue-almost a a violet-which, contrasted
with the golden sea-weeds, which often foated
thick about US and reflected the sunlight. was
source of exquisite pleasure to US, since watch
ing it by the hour enabled US to 'kill time"
Saturday, the 3d. was to be our last day at
| sea. We were out early, and to our great do
| light found it much cooler. We see to our right
number OF beautiful islands rising up out of
the midst of the sea. These islands. from
| their various shapes and outlines, from their
contrast of colors with the quiet sea, the great
| hulks of three wrecked vessels standing out as
| monuments of the fury of the elements, awaken
feeling of sublimity and train of thought
| that carry us out into the infinite and unknown.
| We are now opposite the ancient city and plain
of Mocha. Large quantities of the famous
| Mocha coffee are still exported, but, with the
| opening of new fields and the discovering of
| other countries famous for its same products
began the decline of Mocha so that now it is only
| a mere trading post.
| The next point of interest is the islands of
| Perrin. These islands lie at the entrance of the
strait of Bah el-Mandeb, and consist of two sepa
| rate islands. which divide the sea into three
| channels. Vessels pass through the middle and
| western channels, but the middle one, though
much shorter is much more dangerous, on &C
count of reefs, and in rough weather ships
rarely venture through it. As it was late in the
afternoon and the weather fine, our captain,
| wishing to make the open sea before the turn of
! the night, took the shorter route. This gave us
/ the best possible view of the scene The island
| upon our right is gafrisoned by Great Britain,
| and. with the exception of small garrison of
| soldiers necessary dwellings for them, and
signal station. the island is uninhabited and I'M
| improved. The left-hand island presents most
beautiful picture. consisting, as it does, of a
number of successive valleys and mountains
| pushed up out of the sea, and which, in the even
| ing sun, reflect from their base golden hue
| while from their summit the more somber gray,
| forming a contrast most beautiful At
| the foot of these mountain islands
/ lay, as if exhausted and partly
/ summarized. the hnlks of FIVE great YessalS