The herald., 1895-10-23
CLIMATE LAND
BY ABBOT KINNEY
II.

desolate hills that iun parallel to the
valley a few miles on either side gives
the only realization OF The situation.
From such poins one sees the little
narrow ribbon of green threading its way
through the glowing sand and sun blist-
cred rocks. the sams indefinitely to the
north, indefinitely to the south, and
barren wastes spreading everywhere,
desert, on desert, on desert, into an inf
mite region. After few such views it
gave me no surprise to learn that the
territory supporting the hoary history OF
Egypt about equaled the territory OF Bel
GUM, that giant in industry and pigmy
in size.
Out Ct so little has come 80 much.
The ruins of Egypt are the only very
old ones that are well preserved. Built
OF solid masses of stone In rainless eli
mate, they are today just as they were
thousands of years ago. Even the color
of the frescoing and decoration remains
brig hit and fresh, except where the torch
of tne guide has blackened 1t. Such is the
condition OF vast mum bers OF Egyptian
tomfs and TEMPLES. Vast mum bers to
have been spoiled or removed, not by
nature, but by man. Cambyses and his
Persians made business of destroying
the grand temples of Thebes, and others
followed in his footsteps, down to the
iconoclastic fury of the hre-souled
Christian anchorite. Thrift has also
played its part in destroying. Whole
towns have been built out of temples, and
tombs have furnished quarries to the
builder from generation to generation.
Even the great pyramids did not escape.
Originally covered with smooth white
marble from base to summit, they are
now rough tiers of great rock blocks
Only little cap of the old marble cover
ing remains OH one of them. The rest is
in the fountains, mosques ana minarets
of Cairo.
My first visit tc Egypt was at the
building of the Suez canal. The country
was thronged with distinguished people,
all of whom we're lavishly entertained by
the khedive. the only difficulty being to
find u place to lay one head. AT that
time there were many American officers
in the Egyptian service. These made
life very pleasant to Americans. nor did
[ iint the English officers much behind
them in giving us kind reception.
Two Englishmen | shall never forget.
In one of the desert oases there is an old
tomb deep covered with the sand drift.
1t is approached by an inclined descent
and at its entrance lies an immense sar-
cophagus hewn from a single block OF
stone. Behind the coffin four of Ls stood
in the dark entrance for twelve hours
against predatory band of Bedouins
My last "Trip TO Egypt was made with the
Intention of making it my residence. But
the summer, the institutions and the
peope were too much for me. One can
live in Egypt lifetime and never become
an Egyptian. The condition OF the country
ana climate are peculiar and have perpe.-
uated through all mutations the native
race. The curious narrow hips, broa1
shoulders and slim bodies of the hiero
glyphic men, made SIX thousand years
ago, are tugging at the boat oar or work
ing the shadoof with the monotonous
chant,
va ha hammad
va Sulieman, etc.,
today as though they had walked out of
some ancient bas relief. These Fellaheen
work necessarily. but without courage,
hope or intelligence. They give one the
effsct of what athletes call going stale
Take the shadoof for instance; this is
long pole with a stone at one end and
bucket at the other pivoted ON another
pole in the ground. AS the Nile goes
down and the banks rise these are going
every where. The Fellah pulls the bucket
down into the water and the stone lifts
it up a few feet when he turns the water
into little basin. Here is another
shadoof and another Fellah, and so on
till the general level is reached. when
little triokle of water flows to iIrigate
the crop. All this goes on from fourteen
to sixteen hours a day. Warner says that
the first requisite of gardner is q cast
iron hinge in the back; if this he SO then
the first requisite OF a shadoof Fellah IS
back made of nothing but cast-ir
hinges. These people work too much to
accomplish great deal.
On this trip | went up the Nile with
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, reading Homer
in the Greek, and her daughter. Miss
Maud. now Mrs Elliott, who lent that
interest and zest to the party that can
only come from the presence of haauti-
full and fascinating woman. DR.. Stillman
was there too, but more devoted to Byron
than to Rameses. He read Childe Har-
old aloud until l believe could recite
the whole of it. Young James Flood,
the hnancier, was of the party, and a
pleasant mem ber he was.
Strangely enough | have mover seen
him in my twelve years of California.
The Riviera de Pouente is narrow
belt OF country on the Mediterranean be-
tween Marseilles and Genoa. 1t is part in
France part in Italy and part in He'll.
He'll with due deterence for this gam
bers' paradise, the principal clty-of Mon
AGO, is the most beautiful and the best
located of all the rituations on the Riv-
iera.
The Riviera has the tideless Mediter-
reanean ON one side and the rocks OF the
Alps on the other. Wherever q torrent
opens through the mountains the mlstral
blows and the climate is deteriorated. So
narrow and rocky is this coast that the
shore railroad is series of tunnels and
vaducts. The old wagon road was known
as the "Cornlce road ny reason of it's
supposed resemblance to the cornice of a
building. Every available nook and cor
ner of this strip of climate is gardened,
terraced, built on. Many of the towns
are q series of terraces on the mountain
sides. The houses seem to be climbing
the hills. There is but one large valley
opening out to the sea. that near Cannes.
A smaller one at Nice Is very narrow and
restricted and largely occupied By the
pebbly bed OF q dry mountain torrent that
is dry except during a diluvial rain or
mountain snow melting. The wide ped
of this torrent with its miles of stone
protecting dkes is a notice of the effects
the work of the French forest department
in reforestlng and treating their water
shed is a notice of the time and cost OF
curative measures.
Coming into the Riviera from Marsell-
les the little town of Hyeres is the frs
health resort. This place is a sort of
climate outpost. 1t is entirely isolated
from the rest of the climate resorts and
is surrounded by place of no hygenic
reputation. t is dull, pretty place with
a fewgoou palm trees. Her motherly
magesty, the queen of Great Britain and
empress of India, is to spend part of
the winter at Hyeres or rather at Coste-
bella near by There is pine wood at this
place and many charming villas and
good hotels. Amongst the villas is the
n ha 10 Of