Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1895-04-09


"You recall perhaps, said the 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 Cairo? Thacke-
ray, himself an East Indian by birth,
was sent TO England as child. but he
came by way of the cape of Good Hope
and st. Helena and caught glimpse
of the exiled Napoleon. There must be
yet few persons living who recall the
time when Thackeray's voyage was the
one everybody made in going from In
dia to England, and there are, of course,
thousands that have made the caravan
journey, as it is only quarter OF a Gen.
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 G85. The
price one way by the caravan route was
e120, just about the cost of trip
around the world in our day. Thaoke-
rays journey was matter of months,
Colonel Newcomers matter of weeks,
that of the East Indian now matter of
days.
Lieutenant Waghorn was the man
to lay down and establish the caravan
route. 1t soon became regular freight
and passenger line. Itwas 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 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 caravansary spied
an approaching caravan, they instantly
rushed out, caught some fowls, wrung
their necks, and an hour later served
them, scarce dead, to the travellers;
hence the name spatchcock. 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
lance from the city. and busy town
with a large hotel and many small ones
has been transformed into dust heap
in the desert The canal, in destroying
one town, built up the others, for Port
Said and Ismailia are creatures of the
canal. The former used to be one of the
worst places on earth, and at ordinary
times one Of the dullest. The vicious
Levantines, of all eastern races, and
the equally vicious Europeans from ev-
cry part of the continent seemed to
wake into activity only at the approach
of a ship. Then dancehouses, gambling
bells and every sort of evil resort opened
wide their doors to the delayed traveller.
Perhaps it is better now, or possibly
worse, for in these days a single COM
pany pays moro than 81, 900, 900 year
in tolls, and there is an almost contin-
uous procession of ships through tho
canal
1.-THE Suez canal is in some respects
the most wonderful waterway in the
world. AS soon as the traveller enters it
he realizes that he is in the hands of tho
French. A French speaking pilot takes
possession of the ship, and all officers Of
the canal are Frenchmen. The cares, or
turnouts, where ship waits to let an
other pass, are in the charge of old
French soldiers, and it is charming to
see how they beautify their arid sur
Al. - 90
is watered, it almost bursts with bow
ers, and at every gare are neatly paint
ed little house and blooming garden,
while grass edges the canal, and the
dreariest region on earth is transformed
by French thrift. One of the most in
teresting sights to the canal in early
DAYS was to SEQ one ship meet another.
The passengers on each crowded for
ward with greetings and the waving Of
handkerchiefs, and there were tears
from the outward bound at the thought
of what the homeward bound were soon
to see. The meeting of ships Ii now no
longer a novelty. onco encountered
the Khedive Tewfik's yacht, with his
harem on board, as we passed through
the canal OF course we. caught no
glimpse of the ladies. but Tewfik and
De Lesseps, who was his guest, came
out on the sponsor beam to greet Us,
and we manned the yards with native
sailors in honor of the two
1.-The canal passage is made In from
II to "a hours, and since the use Of
powerful electric lights has made night
navigation in the canal possible the
journey from England to India is made
with few serious delays. IL used to be
that all the coal for ships traversing
the Red sea was carried across the 18TH
mus on the backs of camels Ships now
commonly coal at Port Said. One of tho
curious features Of navigation in the
canal and the Red sea is the absence Of
large sailing craft The Red sea is so
hemmed in with mountains on either
coast that the progress Of large sailing
ship would be extremely slow and at
tended with danger from sudden squalls.
Such passage of the Red sea would be
almost intoIerable, for the heat is OPP
pressive. and the mcnot0ny Of the arid
sand hills ashore is tedious beyond ex-
preston. There are lighthouses along
the shores, and there is no drearier lot
than that q tho lighthouse keeper on
the Red sen. Few persons on this side
of the world realize that tho sen is L..
500 miles long