The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1888-11-16
EGYPTS DANGER.
The Nile Running Alarmingly Low.
-
The People of Egypt Dismayed by
the Calamity.
Fear That Fanatic Hostiles Have
Damned a Tributary,
The Loss Which Such n Catastro-
phe Would Cause,
Sir Samuel Baker and Horny NJ Stanley
Prove That tho Volume OF Water
Might Easily Be Dl-
verted.

From the New York Herald
Sir Samuel Baker, famous for his per-
sonal explorations Of Egypt and the Sou
dan, has some extraordinary ideas regard
ing Egypt and tho Nile,
The present low Nile, he claims, is not
due TO lack of rain in the interior. Nor il
il q temporary evil. He is certain that the
river can be dcilectcd by natives in such q
way as 10 leave Egypt completely withou,
those Nile floods which change it from o
desert 10 q garden. Furthermore, he
proves that the possibility OF thus starving
out Egypt has long been known to the in
terror tribes; and dwels with unpleasant
grimness on the fanatic hatred for unbe.
levers, which would make IL seem TO the
Mahdi's followers goodly work to starvc
millions of people and force the emigration
Of the oldest historic nation.
THE NILE STILL SINKING.
Writing in the London TiD,os, of 0c,o-
Der 0, ho points out that the Nile Is not
only low, but Is still sinking, and has
caused and Is causing enormous losses 20
Egypt. khartoum and the Upper Nile,
formerly accessible, are now absolutely
controlled by fanatic savages. Then,
speaking from personal exploration, Sir
Samuel declares that the Atbara River.
which is the Niles most important tribu.
tary, can DO easily and quickly diverted
by people with no mon engineering skill
than that possessed by the natives.
II have seen spot he writes, 1850
p.tlas trfu. shs .,.s..lt. - Al
('Croam Of the Nile"), where the river
might be dcilcctod without difficulty and
forced 10 an eastern, instead Of north
western, course, toward the Red sea,
instead Of toward Egypt This would be
an engineering work we'll within native
capability. can positively
state that this plan Is feasible. /
DO not assert that the actual cause OF the
present low Nile is q detection OF the
river, but think II highly probable and
distinctly possible. II were myself an
enemy Of Egypt ] know the place where
should begin the fatal work."
In other letters he emphasizes strongly
his knowledge from personal observation
ns traveller and cnginccr,,hat tho Nile may
be diverted, and the probability that this
has been successfully attempted by those
NAhtAs' hhAAAin NANNf hRINA'H1 VI NNNNlIE
England out OF Egypt by force OF arms.
finally determined to turn the whole OF
the Nile delta into an uninhabiiablc desert
rather than permit II 10 bo ruled by for
oigncrs.
DEPENDENT oN rHE NILE.
The facts Of the case nnd the theory. as
developed from these facts during lively
newspaper discussion, are M follows The
Nile Is $40 miles long, aud derives much
OF Us water and most Of the fcrtilizing
slime which has rendered Egypt no fertile
from single tributary, the Atbara.
Egypt is moi only the creation Of the Nile.
but It's b,0OO,0O0 OF people depend abso.
lutely upon Milo floods aud Atbarn slime
for their subsistence. A rise Of twenty
Eve feet IN the Milo means luxurious living
during tho next year 90 greater part VI
Egypt A rise of tfirty.iivc fcot means
disease and bad crops, but rise Of under
fifteen feet means starvation. Not only
must the Nile floods como at proper time
and proper hight, but for the succeeding
months the river must not sink beyond n
certain point OF the long irrigating canals
become useless and the Thousands Of
water wheels cease 10 raise wator. This
Ia what has now happened, and as the
Nile, passing low water mark, continues
TO sink, all vegetation begins 10 appear as
i mus, have appeared In Joscph'S 'beyon
lean years."
TURNING THE ATDARA.
As bad luck will havo II tho Atbara
River flows for many miles along aud
higher than vast desert tract extending
nearly 10 tho Red Hea The river II, more.
over, known 10 be absolutely dry from
March TO June, aud Baker aud Others agree
that low dam, easily constructed In the
dry stream bed, would suffice 10 porma-
ncntly throw this most important Nile
tributary into the Red Soa desert, where II
would DO absorbed by the dry desert sand
or eventually find an exit into the Red Sea
itselL Al any rnto no portion could find
its way back 10 the Nile again, and Egypt
would lose not only this vast volume Of
waien without which there can DO no
high Nile, but also OIL or nearly all Of the
deposit OF fertile mud which nt each high
Nile covers the country with q coating VI
the richest manure.
A mass Of curious tr ition NJ this point
has been brought 10 lght by Sir Samuel
Bakers letters. II II l,BowD, for instance,
that there was In Egypt q seven year
famine A. ii. 457 10 405), coming from n
sudden and uncxplai' able drying up Of
the Nile. Col. YulC ayers that In the
middle ages Il was " isrally believed the
Abyssinian King received a large tribute
from the Sultan Of Egsri TO bar him from
divcrLng tho Nile. pimon Seguli, who
travelled widely In fe region In 1884,
estimated the tribute ibus paid by Egypt
at 5000 golden Bcz,ls. Friar Jordanus
In 1870 estimated I. NJ 10000 ducats.
Ludoli, In book on Abyssinia, among
other notes, writcE "Nni reg HdbeH-
n0rni Mum dis1yters s0pd us IN EJypiilm
fudi." Other rcicron " are also iound in
"Catheo and the Way fhiiher."
roHEroLD IN JEWISH PROPHECY.
As proof that this possibility was known
In Biblical days, Sir samuel Baker writes
There ore reference in Ezekiel 10 an In.
reference with the river, which In the
ambiguous language OF prophecy can
hardly be defined, bat they certainly Inns
ply that the course oi the Nile would be
interrupted by hostile power, 10 the dot
rimcnt ol Egypt Ezekiel, xxx. $40,
reads Behold. Twill bring sword upon
thee a. O., an enemy and cut of man aud
bcnst out Of thee. And the land Of Egypt
shall be desolste and a waste, and they
shall know that ! am the Lord, because
He hath said, The river IN mino aud
Iata fnaHa n.l..ll th.t.fax. I an.