The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1889-03-29
Down by the Red Sea.
SCENES or UTTER DEsOLATIoN--BABEI.-
MANDEB AND PERM IsLAND--THE
CITY AND MoUNTAIN-THE So
MAULEEs--NATIvE CUSTOMS.
(Spectdt CofTespOndenc)

N'fSNN'N'' WI ''A'N''N'Ntsl
ARDEN Arabia.-By the navigator
on a long tonr around the world, nj
scenes are encountered more barren
and desolate than are met with on
cruise through the Red Sea. From
the first Egyptian port to this re
nowned Arabian colony in the south
there is presented succession ol
visions, dreary, lifeless and gloom in
spring The grim headlands of Egyp,
and Akabah, the jagged crests Of
Nubia and Arabia, the white sand
dunes and the coral reefs along the
coast, and the endless array of joyless
islands, form world of utter desola
lation. Not vestige of vegetation
not show of life is seen anywhere
A spirit of gloom and death seems
brooding oyer the land.
Above all these scenes of desolation
is spread a oleaI sky, offering no OBJ.
struction to the burning and penetra.
ting rays of the tropical Gun. By day
and night the very atmosphere seems
on fire, and fairly parches every living
tissue, making almost intolerabe the
life of al! on shipboard, who are fortu
nate if they are enabled to eat or sleep
a tithe of their usual allowance. For q
few days our ship was driven before a
fair wind, in which all her sails were
spread, for unlike a merchant steamer
our war vessel was required to depend
upon her sailing qualities whenever
practicable. When near the centre OF
the sea dead calm set in, while the
canvas fluttered and hung in shrouds
For the rest of the way we encountered
strong head-winds, against which we
steamed as in the face of hot furnace
blast.
In its greatest width the Red Sea il
two hundred miles broad, and the ex.
treme length from the Straits to Suez,
including the gulf in the north, is four
teen hundred miles, requiring five days
for steamship to make the run to
Alden. Its waters are beautiful, wheth.
er seen by the light of the sun or Of
the moon, as those bodies appear to
make their flight from Arabia toward
Egypt. Unhampered with the re.
straiuts and necessities of other vessels,
our cruiser, under government orders
to carry the stars and stripes into as
many foreign ports as possible, made
her way leisurely down the sea, now
on the one side and now on the other,
getting a view here and glimpse
there of the desert and rocks. of treeless
and lifeless nature, and of the barren
islands with which the borders are
studded.
AT the port of Jidda on the Arabian
shore, midway down the sea, were the
first signs of activity, save that of pass
ing steamers, along the route. This is
the approach by water to Mecca, the
shrine of the faithful, which lies a
few miles inland, whittier thousands of
pilgrims are constantly journeying
from all parts of the Mohammedan
world. The town stands on an emf
nence, and am d its dirty and forlorn
surroundings is without any special
interest. 1t will be remembered as the
place in which occurred the massacre of
Christian residents a generation ago,
and which was subsequently lombard
ed by the English gun-boats, from
which it has not yet recovered. 1t
claims to contain the tomb of Mother
Eve, whose last resting place is still
guarded with religious care. Unhappi.
ly for US, we were not permitted to
pour ont our tears at the grave of our
esteemed ancestress, who in life we
never even had the joy of meeting.
Farther in the south, where the
shores begin to approach each other,
we came to Mocha. another miserable
and desolate town which was once an.
important centre in the coffee trade.
The traveller wonders how anything
can be grown on these barren rocks of
Arabia, but let him remember that the
coffee comes from the interior of the
country where some fertility and in
dustry abound. The trad: of Mocha,
however, has been gradually passing
away, and is now centered at Alden.
What particular functions Mocha and
the various ports of the Red Sea per,
form in the economy of the world
cannot pretend 10 say. They are
neither ornamental nor useful in our
way of looking at things, and as for
possibilities of becoming anything
else they might as well have been 10
,ated on the hidden side of the moon.
AT lis lower extremely the Sea is
to strait that all students
Of geography will recognize as Babel
but whether deriving its name
from the tour which was never CON-
pleted / do not know. 1t is sometimes
called the Gate of Tears, because of the
swift current and hidden rocks which
are supposed to make navigation
dangerous. The wrecks of some un-
fortunate ships, stranded upon the reefs,
tell silent stories of the dangerous ways.
The channel is about twenty miles
wide, and is fianked on either side by
lofty mountains, whose gray walls
Deetling in the air rise thousand feet
above the waters. Perched upon the
rocks at intervals are seen the forts of
'everal rival nations, with their colors
ioating almost in sight of each other.
Here are the flags of Turkey, Italy,
France and England proclaiming ma
ional sovereignty.
In the lower part of the strait, a
'hort distance from the shore, is the lit.
lie island of Perrin, that is really the
Sey to the situation. 1t is of volcanic
)rigin, with an area of seven square
niles, and lies just above the level of
'he tides. 1t contains a lighthouse,
md few buildings and barracks for
,he British garrison, by whom alone it
s occupied. 1t is strongly intrenched.
md its Notifications aud batteries en-,
lble it to command effectively the en-
rance TO the Red Sea. To live up
IN this island is anything but delight
ful, for nothing grows upon it, not a
'quare foot of shade is found, and not
10 much as drop of water anywhere
exists.
Beyond the strait of Babel. Mandeb.
which is so well guarded with natural
fortresses and sentineled by Perrin