Milford chronicle., 1895-04-12
A JOURNEY TO INDIA.
CONTRASTS OF THE OLD AND NEW
WAYS OF MAKING THE TRIP.

The Cape Voyage, Which Tbaekeray Took
!, the So Called Overland Route and III.
suez Canal Notwithstanding Features o
the Latter.
''You recall perhaps, said che re-
turned East Indian, that Colonel New.
come in making his final visit home
from India came by the so called over
land route, across the desert from the
head Of the Red sea to Cairog Thacke-
ray, himself an East Indian by birth.
was sent to England as a child, but be
came by way Of the cape Of Good Hope
and st. Helena and caught a glimpse
of the exiled Napoleon. There must be
yet a few persons living who recall the
time when Thaekeray's voyage was the
one everybody made in going from n
dia to England, and there are, Of course,
thousands that have made the caravan
journey, as it is only quarter Of a cen
fury since the opening Of the Suez Ca
nal That last even has done more than
any other one thing to make life in
British India endurable, for the cutting
Of the canal has reduced the journey
home to fortnight less and brought
the round trip ticket down to $50 The
price one way by the caravan route was
e12O, just about the cost of trip
around the world in our day. Thaol1e-
rays journey was a matter Of months.
Colonel Newcomers a matter of weeks,
that of the East Indian now a matter Of
days
Lieutenant Waghorn was the man
to lay down and establish the caravan
route It soon became a regular freight
and passenger line. 1t was from Suez to
Cairo. a distance of 20 miles, usually
made in about three days The freight |
was carried on the backs Of camels, and /
the passengers rode in a rude diligence |
drawn by mules. There were caravan |
saries every five miles, where the mules /
were changed, and at some Of these /
there was food to be had. The great
standby was 'spatchcock. When the ma
tives in charge of a oaravansary spied
an approaching caravan, they instantly
rushed out, caught some fowls, wrung
their neoks, and an hour later served
them, scarce dead, TO the travellers;
hence the name spatohoock That jour
ney across the desert was most trying
to women and children, and the railroad
from Suez to Cairo in 1859 was hailed
as vast Improvement over the caravan
method of travel
''Ten years later came the canal The
digging Of the canal practically de-
stroyed Suez, for the port is some dis
tance from the city, and a busy town
mich a faroo bofo1 aud ,,,artrr s,,,o1I o.,os
has been transformed into a dust heap
IN the desert The canal in destroying
me town, built up the others, for Port
Said and Ismailia are creatures of the
ANAL The former used to be one Of the
worst places on earth, and at ordinary
lines one Of the dullest. The vicious
4evantines, Of all eastern races and
he equally vicious Europeans from ev-
ry part Of the continent seemed to
wake into activity only at the approach
a ship. Then danoehouses, gambling
ellis and every sort Of evil resort opened
Tide their doors to the delayed traveller. P
'erhaps it is better now, or possibly
'orse, for in these days a single COM
any pays more than 81, 600, 600 a year a
] tolls, and there is an almost oontin- 4,
Gus procession Of ships through the o.
anal nj
1.-The Suez canal is in some respects m
le most wonderful waterway in the 81
orld. As soon as the traveller enters it 4,
3 realizes that he is in the hands Of the %
renoh. A French speaking pilot takes ~
,ssession of the ship, and all officers Of nj
70 canal are Frenohmen. The cares, or
rnouts, where a ship waits to let an I'll
her pass, are in the charge Of old an
'enoh soldiers, and it is charming to in
o how they beautify their arid sur To
findings When the sand Of the desert ar,
watered, it almost bursts with bow wi
), and at every gare are a neatly paint ca
little house and a blooming garden, ma
lille grass edges the canal, and the tb
earliest region on earth is transformed ba
French thrift One Of the most in A.
esting sights to the canal in early
rs was to see one ship meet another. in,
g passengers on each crowded for ma,
I'd with greetings and the waving Of I'm
and there were tears IN,
N the outward bound at the thought tbv
what the homeward bound were soon
see The meeting of ships is now no n-r
ger a novelty. I once encountered An
Khedive Tewfk's yacht, with his vii
EN- on board, as we passed through VIII
canal OF course we caught no tia
npse Of the ladies, but Tewfik and as
Lesseps, who was his guest, came tbi,
on the sponsor beam to greet us, liz,
we manned the yards with native 7
Ors in honor Of the two A,s
The canal passage is made in from tai,
20 "a hours, and since the use Of tba
erful electric lights has made night Nest
igation in the canal possible the n
'ney from England to India is made boo,
b few serious delays 1t used to be Dro,
all the coal for ships traversing tion
Red sea was carried across the 18TH ono
on the backs of oamels Ships now M,
monty coal at Port Said. One Of the Il
Gus features Of navigation in the
j and the Red sea is the absence Of
Q sailing craft The Red sea is so T,
med in with mountains on either no t,
that the progress Of a large sailing cry
would be extremely slow and at ping
cd with danger from sudden squalls. STYLE
a passage Of the Red sea would be title
'st intolerable, for the heat is op- mala
i've, and the monotony Of the arid Pari
hills ashore is tedious beyond ex- bic.
ion. There are lighthouses along were
hores, and there is no drearier lot ess,
that Of the lighthouse keeper on ter O.
ted sea. Few persons on this side these
10 world realize that the sea is /, let OF
niles long. for Il
shopl
AND ML-E- ALlMEL