St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1893-06-01
IN THE FAR EAST.
Another Message From tho UndercIyfe
Party.
Correspondence of the CALIFORNIAN


much regret that the Underclyfe
party returned to Cairo after TWEEN
ty delightful days upon the Nile
We did not go farther than the
First Cataract, where the chief inter
est is in watching company OF
Arabs ride down the foaming, seeth-
ing rapids uponlogs FIVE or six feet in
length, guiding themselves by their
hands; or where, for a small fee, a
man will jump from high rock and
swim out safely below. We were
told that an Englishman, thinking
it was an easy feat, attempted to
swim down last year and was never
seen again, but for the Arabs it APP
pears a very simple thing, and a
whole community earn their living
in this way during the tourist sea-
son. lust above the First Cataract
is the little island Of Phlae, upon
which the Egyptians built temple
to Osiris, and of which one writer
says: "To the ancient Egyptian
Philae was simply the sacredest
spot on earth, -what Mecca is to
the Moslem, or Calvary to the
Christian. The most solemn oath
he could utter was BY Him the Un-
named and Unnameable that sleeps
in Philae.'" The ruins on this small
island of syenite were neither as
gigantic nor as perfect as Others
which we had seen, but their setting
in the river and their grace and
beauty gave them charm which the
others had lacked. Having seen
Philae, we were content to turn our
faces northward with one more day
at Luxor and glimpse of Abydos
OH OuI IOlulH.
In Cairo the days were busy ones,
visiting the Pyramids and Sphinx,
Heliopolis, the Museum and tempting
bazaars. At Gizeh, those of us who
had not mounted camels further up
the Nile rode from the Sphinx to the
Great Pyramid, reaching the latter
place with no other sensation than
wonder as to how we got up and
how we were to get down. Our last
afternoon at Shepherds Hotel was
occupied in watching high life. A
Rajah from the Punjaub, India,
gorgeously attired in purple velvet
coat covered with seed pearls, and
crowned with pale green turban,
started out with the British am
bassador and a retinue of turbaned
attendants to call upon the Khedive.
Shortly after his return, according
to court etiquette. the Khedive came
to call upon him and thus we had
glimpse of the ordinary looking
young man in European dress and
fez, who is the nominal head of one
of the oldest of lands.
To escape the longer voyage from
Alexandria to Jaffa and also to have
glimpse of the Suez Canal, we went
to Palestine by way of Port Said.
This involved railway journey of
three hours through the fertile
Land OF Goshen" past the Tel el
Keber where Lord Woolsley con-
quered Arab Pasha, on through the
desert till we came to Ishmalia. the
cleanest little town we had seen in
Egypt. A small top-heavy boat
was in waiting to take the passen-
gers through the canal. For five
hours we steamed noisily along with
high sand banks on either side, plant
ed with rushes or laced with reeds
along the waters edge to keep the
sand from drifting in. Now and
then great steamer would glide
silently by, a dredging machine
would loom up, or pretty signal
station blooming with flowers and
covered with vines would surprise
us in the desert of sand. All the
afternoon cold wind was blowing
which in time CONCEALED the blood
OF even the most enthusiastic tray-
eller and compelled all to crowd in
To the tiny cabin. 1t was dark when
our boat wormed its way through
the crowd of steamers and came to
the dock at Port Said. We were es.
corted to the hotel by a tiny Arab
boy who kept insisting in most
cheerful way, Me nice boy, YOU
good gentleman. Our steamer for
Palestine left the next afternoon and
all night we sailed on smooth seas.
arriving at Jaffa early the next morn.