Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-17

old Egypt and gave an exhibition of the
American national game purely for the
love of poetic association, untarnished by
any thought of vulgar gate receipts.
A dozen or more camels and donkeys had
been engaged to take the players out to the
Pyramids and they arrived at an early
hour. 1t is a usual thing to find half
dozen or more saddled donkevs in front of
the hotel entrances ready to carry travellers
on their sightseeing trips around the city.
The large party at the Orient had naturally
attracted regular retinue of donkey keep
ers and they were already on hand when
those for the Pyramid trip arrived. AS the
players came out in their uniforms those
who were to stride the donkeys made a
break for the nearest animal.
A LITTLE CONFUSION.
The result was a scene of almost hopeless
confusion and the din was frightful even for
bedlamic Cairo. The donkeykeepers quar-
relied and swore at each other, and Leigh
Lynch's hair could be seen turning grayer
as he tried to straighten things out. The
dragomen had drawn their camels up to the
curb and were belaboring them to an accom-
paniment of frantic yells to get them down
on their knees, regardless of the fate of the
boy donkey-tenders, as they jabbered with
equal vehemence in the crush between the
ponderous Sahara roadsters.
The hotel porters swore alternately in
French, Greek and Arabic; hackmen forced
their way through the throng, slashing their
whips right and left; the crowd laughed dis
cordantly at the fun and didn't help matters
by offering an unceasinga stream of advice;
little bootblacks crawled upon the sidewalk
and endeavored to blacken the shoes of the
ball players by main force; the policemen
whacked innocent and unfortunate pedes-
trians who got inside the circle; Spaldng
yelled pigeon-Egyptian at the chief drago-
man at the rate of 100 words minute. and
the players used vigorous and emphatic Ian
guage to the crowd of beggars as they forced
their way to the animals, unheedful of the
cries for "backsheesh."
1t was another confusion of tongues, and
If it was sample of what pandemonium
300 Cairenes can make it will be difficult
for them to obtain umpires TO face the
racket of several thousand should baseball
ever become popular in their country. 1t
was a great circus, and if the players can
have it duplicated in an American city
they can easily draw an audience of q, 900
people.
One of the most interesting features of the
ride was the animated panorama of Egyp-
tian life that passed the baseball procession
on the way. The road, at first, was through
the main streets, but singular as it may
seem, the strangely uniformed caravan
seemed to excite but little surprise or COM
ment from the natives Off from the prin
cipal thoroughfares an unending line of
camels was met on their way to the city
markets with their loads of merchandise.
Some were burdened with great stacks of
long grass, one hanging on each side; others
carried big baskets of vegetables, huge
bundles OF sugar cane, and heavy loads of
lumber.
At one place funeral passed by, the
mourners all males walking several abreast,
chanting monotonous dirge. In the rear
four men bore the coffin, plain pine box
covered with red cloth, on their shoulders,
while two little boys Immediately in front
carried bird-like reed cage, its contents
hidden by red cloth. AS the ball PLAYERS
passed the mourners ceased their chant for
moment and grinned amusedly at the
queer camel-riders. They were not, appar-
emily, overwhelmed with grief. Perhaps
they even felt happy. Departure from the
squalor and wretGhedness of poor mans
life in Cairo, even by death, might, very,
consistently, be made an occasion for reioic-
ing by his friends.
Further on the procession crossed the
great Kasr-el-Nil bride across the Nile. A
sharp turn in the road at the opposite side
brought it in front of broad, open space
bordering on the river which was used as a
market. The sandy soil was crowded with
poorly dressed natives, whose wares con-
sisted mostly of fruits and other edibles.
IL, alaor1 n
ground or rested on the backs of kneeling
camels. Everybody appeared to be selling
and no one buying.
HISTORIC CONTEST.
The scene of the historic contest was an
even space of sand in little valley about
500 yards from the Sphinx. The ground was
soft and sandy, but had sufficient hardness
to give. hold on the shoe spikes. Just be-
yond the intield the ground began to rise,
and short cropping of grass appeared
above the surface. 1t seemed to be on the
line which marks with marvellous abrupt
ness the end of the rich, green grass of the
Valley of the Nile and the beginning of the
Great Desert. To the rear of the home plate
the head of the Sphinx and the towering
string of Pyramids could just be seen.
On the extreme left were the mud houses
of the Bedouin village, and beyond them ap-
peared the hazy outlines of a line of tall
palm trees. On the left a wide-spreading
sycamore and single date palm looked
lonely but refreshing against high hill of
sand that hid the desert beyond; back of
center field the land rolled away drearily in
a vast waste of sand that seemed to end
nowhere.
The gathering of spectators was small but
picturesque. The ladies and other men,
bers of the party sat in the sand in group
near third base, while about 100 children of
the desert, ranging in years from the "back-
sheesh' hunting boys, to venerable bearded
patriarchs, squatted on their launches and
formed semi-circle around the backstop
nigh on to first base. They were clothed in
loose fitting gowns, that once were white,
with the exception of one or two sons of the
sheiks who lent bit of color to the scene in
garments of purple velvet fringed with
furnished gold.
HUNTING A THEATER.
Many amusing incidents occurred during
the sightseeing about the old city. One
that happened to Anson on the evening pre-
vious to the ball game is worth mentioning.
The Chicago captain wanted to visit the
theater, and in company with his wife
started out in a carriage with his pet drago-
man, Billy johnson, ON the front seat.
After driving through several of the main
streets Anson noticed large building ilIu-
minated and made up his mind it was the
theater. He ordered the driver to stop in
front of it. A number of soldiers in red
coats were drawn up in front of the brightly
lit entrance, but the "old man" thought
this was only a custom of the country. He
assisted his wife out of the carriage and to-
gether they entered the spacious vestibule
A handsome military looking gentleman