The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1889-03-22
By the Waters Of Sues.
PORT SAID AND THE GREAT CANAL-IN
THE LAND OF GosuEN--sCENEs IN
sUEz-DowN BY THE sEA-THE
STORY OF isRAEL's
CROSSING.
Especial Correspondence.l J

S'ouuniy hoiiOWihS i1eSit ~ iooO
path, finally became a squirrels tracl
and ran up tree, is the continenta
waterway TO the east The wide
sweep of the Mediterranean soon lose,
itself in the sand. bank Of the Egypt
ian peninsula, and the ship that wrestl
ed with the waves of the ocean, at last
goes sailing on the waters of a great
ditch, wondering if the squirrels hole
is at the other end.
The long jetties, that reach out intc
the sea mile or more to hold back
the sands which drift with the cur
rents, from harbor at the entrance of
the canal, ample for anchorage. OF
the many vessels entering this porta
each is required to take on pilot, and
submit TO tonnage measurement fol
the assessment of canal tolls, before
passing through. Some delay is like
ly to occur, which is due more to the
fact that the vessels must needs file
through singly than TO the mismanage
ment of the French officials that is sc
often preferred against them. The
dues are something like ten francs, OF
about two dollars ton, amounting tc
a good round sum for large steamer
Port Said, that guards the northern
entrance of the canal and collects hel
fees from the worlds traffic, is towr
of considerable population. With
VIDE and regular streets, and with
some substantial buildings, it has &
modern appearance. During tbs
building of the canal, from which its
origin dates, it was made the base ot
supplies, and suddenly became both
populous and ubiquitous. 1t has los,
portion of its people, but the evils Of
those days still cling to its skirts. |,
is den of vice, and all forms of iui
guilty and debauchery have full swing
in the cafes and dives that line the
streets. The morality of the place is
low, as might be inferred from its ori
| gin and the wide ranges of races that
make up its people, which seems to be
the scum of all lands. AS place oi
residence it is not to be thought Of
and in its harbor steamers make as
short stop as possible. The great
canal, bearing the name of the 18TH
mus that it traverses, is lasting mon
ument to the memory of its engineer,
De Desseps, even though his Panama
project has proven failure. The idea
of building the canal was not original
with him. 1t was an old notion, that
had been planned and pondered long
before his time, for which surveys of
the country had more than once been
made. Even six hundred years before
our era canal was actually in exist.
ence, somewhat different in route, con-
Meeting the Nile with the Red Sea,
not to mention the fictitious passage
way constructed by Jules Verne for
that wonderful Nautilus of his. AT
intervals along the lower part of the
present canal, portions Of the old struc-
ture may be seen to- day, partially
covered with the shifting sands.
The country through which the
canal passes, for the most part is fiat
and sandy, somewhat broken in the
interior by range of low hills. The
width of the isthmus at this point from
sea to sea is eighty-eight miles. BY
utilizing some small lakes on the
route, the actual length of the canal is
made about twenty miles less. With
slopiDg sides it has width of seventy
two feet at the bottom, and contains a
depth of water twenty-six feet. AT
one point the embankment is nearly
one hundred feet high with a summit
width of five hundred feet, varying in
slope with the nature of the soil.
The opening of this trans-isthmian
waterway, twenty years ago, has re-
voluiionized the carrying business OF
the east. The fast tea clippers, OF
whose racing and perilous passages
from China exciting stories have often
been told, are things of the past. The
freight rates, that were paid TO the
fleetest of the clippers, were out of all
proportion to present transportation
charges, but were returned with inter
est to the shippers who succeed in get.
ting the first cargoes of the new tea
crop into European markets. The
route was ly the way of the Cape of
Good Hope, and the passage from Can
ton to London was rarely ever made
in less than a hundred DAYS, a period
of time now reduced by steamships
through the Suez canal to thirty five
days, during which the teas are not
supposed to become old.
Owing to the prevalence of unfavor
able winds on The Red Sea, which
seem to blow constantly toward the
center forming head winds at least
half the way to Babel. Maudeb, tho
canal is unavailable to sailing vessels,
which are still relegated to the old
route. In the tea trade the opening
of the canal drove most of the ships
out of the business, and gave an i'm
pulse to steam traffic, as the discovery
of the Good Hope route led to the de,
cline of the slow overland transporta,
ton in caravans, which prevailed foI
centuries. The steamers are now
urged over the shorter course with all
speed possible, stopping but once OF
twice for coal, and enable the occiden-
tai tes-drinkers to get their new be,
verage a couple of months earlier.
As soon as possible the Juniata fell
in line at Port Said with a long pro,
eession of steamers, and entered the
canal. The ride was not particularly
refreshing, and was quite devoid OF
excitement. We were three days ia
passing through, being delayed by the
grounding of steamer somewhere on
the way, which brought twenty five
vessels to a stand still in the broiling
sun and heat of the desert. The view
along the entire canal is that Of q
solitary waste, a rolling sea of sand
Provision is made for the meeting o.
vessels moving in opposite directions
by widening the channel at interval,
OF five miles, to allow sufficient room
Tor a steamer to stop.
AT Suez our ship emerged from tn,
narrow limits of the canal into a com
forta,le barboF. The town, whioi
makes the southern terminus, is a mer,
I Il.