The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1893-04-19

| NhiOh 10 CduSc' Wy VIC ihiiuSHbS oNdpOI'
alton of the Red sea which is constantly
going on. The average temperature Of
the water is so degrees; one writer gives
the maximum 100 degrees Fahrenheit,
in which article he also states "if all trib.
utaries were cut off and the straits OF
Babul Mandid closed up the Red sea
would be transformed into vast bed OF
salt in less than 100 years.
SAT RANTARAH.
Kantarah, "The Bridge" is situated
about midway on the canal and here
are often seen the caravans OF spice buy
ers with their train of camels, as this is
the most frequented road to Syria. At
this point we are held in a siding, al
though we have fortunately escaped thus
far, and naturally we watch with expec-
tant eyes for the vessel to which we are
forced to give precedence. We have
not long to wait, and on their arrival
learn il is an excursion party, not one of
our American style. This shipload Of
strange people are making their pril-
grimage to mecca, Their festivals,
which occur about April each year, are
the event of lifetime, as many white
haired old Mohammedan, we are told,
will give his savings of lifetime to
make this journey to the holy city there,
possibly, to starve and die. We now en-
ter Lake Menzaleh, vast marshy la
COON of brackish, shallow water, which
was at one time the fertile wheat lands
of Egypt, watered from the Nile, and
now the fishing grounds of hordes of
very wild Arabs and of flocks of flamin-
goes, pelicans, ETC., which we watch
with the greatest interest.
On one side of the canal the desert
stretches away like the ocean surface,
with here and there whirlwind of sand
perhaps hundreds OF feet high, caught
up bv the hot, burning wind On our
left, along the lake, thousands of peli-
cans appear sitting so close together that
they look like whitewashed wall at
little distance, and it is almost impossi-
BILE to pick out single bird even with
strong glass. The spectator is fortu-
nate If flock Of hamingoes rise as you
pass them. While they also appear
white when standing, as they rise into
the air you see the under side of their
wings, which is rosy pink.
This is an excellent place to watch for
the mirage which is almost always WISH
BILE in the eastern desert-sometimes
reAectionof the ship itself seems to be
sailing alongside. We are now in sight
of Port Said, the main street of which
runs parallel with the canal. The coal
ing at Port Said is an interesting feature,
although we are glad when operations
are begun to leave for shore.
We are no sooner made fast to buoy
when hundreds of black Arabs with as
many baskets paddle mammoth lighter
alongside our vessel and in a short space
of time the huge pyramid of coal is down
to the waters level. The streets of Port
Said are narrow and the stores are odd.
We spend our time on shore mostly in
bazars and after making tour of the
city and having been treated to dinner
served in the open air at French hotel
We make our way slowly down to our
tender, where we find some of our pas
sengers engaged in a donkey race on the
sandy road.
1t is twilight as our steamer passes out
of the canal between two long protection
jetties. She is headed for Naples, our
next stopping place, and we watch the
Port Said light, which is l75 feet high,
until it is an uncertain speck and resign
ourselves to four days of sea life before
we shall have seen Mount Etna, the
most lofty point of southern Italy.