St. Paul daily globe., 1891-04-26


lnent merchants, as well as Bruce
| Barney, true sport, travelling orches-
ira, and type of Chicago's huSt1ers.
| Minneapolis was represented by Mr..
and Mrs. f. B. Cornell, whilst Mr.. Hew-
lit and the writer were the only ones
from st. Paul. The other Americans
| on board came from different Western
| towns between Chicago and the Pacific
| coast, save a half-doZeu or so from Bos-
ton and vicinity. England sent some
| worthy representatives, among whom
were several titled individuals, one
canon, several curates and divines and
the accomplished and charming Lady
| Kathleen Alexander. For few
days the usual GOODNESS ex-
listed between the English and Ameri-
can contingent, but athletics and music
gradually brought the two factions to-
gether and soon we were one big
family. Personally l had looked for
ward to voyage across the MedIter-
ranean with unlimited pleasure. Ref
erenceS to the
"Beautiful Blue Medfterraneano
| looked so fascinating in books of travel
that | longed to add the journey to my
| list. But before proceeding further |
wish to say that dropped some rose
colored expectations in the Mediterran-
can, which were shattered beyond re-
cognition. For forty-eight hours
after leaving Naples we were in what
the captain called on his chart,
"a gale" Had he described it prop
erly he would have required at least
two more adjectives, one CON-
mencing with ''d' and the other with
3d." and then he would not have done
of this rough and tumble, catch-aS-
| catch-can weather, the large majority of
the passengers suddenly discovered that
there was something in their cabins
which they wanted. They evidently
had hard time finding what they went
for, as they did not return for two days.
The Empress behaved in most unlady-
like fashion. She first stood on her
head, as if she would poke her nose
through the bottom of the sea; failing
in that, she reared up on her hind feet
as if she would shake us off that way.
following it UP by some of the most un-
calmly wallowing from side to side
imaginable. Things rolled from side
to side of the steamer all day and night,
enlivened by distant crockery smashes
and the pitch darkness into which we
were thrown when the lights went out
To be compelled to hold on with one
hand while you attempt to dress with
the other, or else be sent carroming
HUN OIC olIC VI NOul SbulClOOlu W IllS
other, all mixed up with your bags and
boxes, or dining on the balance with
fear of your food slipping into your lap
grows fatiguing and soon loses its nov
city. On the morning of the third day
out we sailed under the protecting
shores of the island of Gambia, leaving
Neptune laShing the waves in his
fury, behind us. l shall never
forget the hospitality extended
us by that little body of
land, for the storm had really
grown alarming. On Feb. %, Washing
toms birthday, we arrived at the sandy
settlement and coaling station of Port
Said. We were awakened by the unfa-
miliar chatter of the hundreds OF half
naked Arabs who crowded the wharf
and harbor and filled the air with
strange noises. Little
Brown and Ebony Boys
were swimming around our ship like
ducks, diving for coins which were
thrown to them by the passengers
and which they Invariably came up
with between their teeth. Several
barges, loaded with coal, came out from
the shore so covered with Arabs that it
was hard to distinguish Arab from coal
so nearly of the same color were they.
Photograph peddlers, curio dealers and |
sleight-of menquickly crowded our
decks and began to ply their different |
callings so vigorously that before some |
Of our passengers had their eyes half |
open they had begun to buy Egyptian
curiosities from Birmingham, Eng. as |
if they were afraid to lose such a golden |
opportunity to purchase Anglo-Egyptian |
antiques. Letters were hastily dis
patched, the decks were cleared of the
fakirS by the boatSwain and his ready
strap. We chOked down hasty break |
fast, burnt our mouths with hot coffee, !
and amid great deal of hurry and |
hustle, got ready for our long antici- |
pated trip to Cairo. Thomas Cook q |
Sons sagentS came alongside with two |
smart looking steam launches which |
were to take us to Ismailia,
while our big steamer worked Ter
way after coaling, through the eighty or
more nautical miles of the Suez canal.
forty miles of the big ditch, which is
cut through the sand Of the widest
desert, and which has caused such
revolution i'll Eastern commerce. There
was something rather fascinating about
the wild, waterless. wilderness of Sur
on the Asiastic side, with its tall waves
and pyramids Of golden sand which
stretch far out and on all sides end
in the horizon. An occasional troop of
DCQOulll lJoSSCus Will GliCll CdiIlSlS dlIu
goats, dressed very much as they did in
Abraham's time, giving the scene a
charming simplicity, which wins
the heart and turns barrenness into
| beauty, similar to the extreme
hOmelineSS of some men which makes
| theE: attractive. Yet such d trip through
| the desert is necessary to make one un-
| derStand what utter barrennesS means,
| or how to appreciate fertility. Seedy-
\ I,olN he IL
by-gOne age, rolled past US, and were
hustled out of the way by our fussy
| little steam launch. Dredging machines
| were at work OH
Their Endless Task
of keeping the sand out of the channel.
| One after one we passed the signal sta
tions with their punches of palm trees
looking like OaseS in the desert, and we
| put behind us mile posts at the rate of
! eight to ten an hour, until we entered
| Crocodile lake, on the shores of which
stands the modern-built town Of Ismai-
liza. We threaded our way through
the hundreds of red painted buoys and
| iron posts which mark the dangerous
and ever-shifting channel, and found
| ourselves at the mercy of the donkey
quiet but prosperous-looking city, which
owes its origin and existence to NJ. Les
seps' enterprise. 1t was interesting to
some to know that Immediately to our
northwest lay the land of Goshen, men,
toned so often in Genesis, but the large
majority were more interested IN the
first-class lunch we found awaiting us
at the hotel. Here again Cooks omnip-
resent agents took us in hand and
loaded our party, for there were
more than a hundred of us, all
told, into a special train for Cairo.
To those Of your readers who have not
been to Egypt will remark. on the side,
that you had as well put yourselves in
Cooks hands on your arrival, for he is a
full partner with the khedive and seems
to control everything in the transporta-
tion line, and it is better to resign your
self to his mercies than to travel inde-
| In +o ic flo 20