Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-03-11
started on the journey that was not
6ntehad for forfv vaora

finished for forty years.
It is difficult to understand why and
how they happened to be wandering
about so long down here. II you will
look at the map you will see that Suez
Is almost on a line with Cairo, and 1t
was the most natural rendezvous for
the tribes, who were scattered all along
the Nile from Memphis, which is just
above Cairo, to Thebes, which is just
below Luxor.
The Red sea is 1,400 miles long, and
its greatest width Is 200 miles. It Is
about the shape Of sausage, and ta-
pers at both ends. On one side Is
Arabia, the most mysterious and prim-
tive Of all countries, and on the other
side are Egypt, Nubia and the Soudan.
At the north end what is known as
the Siniatic peninsula projects south
ward and divides the sea into two arms.
and near the point Of the peninsula Is
Tor, the landing place for Sinai. OPP
posite Tor Is Jebel Ez-Zeit, which
| means "the mountain Of OIL" where
petroleum was discovered some years
ago and created great excitement. Hun
1reds Of thousands Of dollars have
been expended In sinking wells and
building docks, ware houses and refin-
cries: but they have all been aban-
doned, because, for some reason, the
manufacturers could not compete with
he Standard Oil company or the Rus
sian factories on the Black and Cas-
ian seas.
No Incentive to Industry.
People think that there is good
cal more wealth in Arabia than we
know of. 1t was once Of greater i'm
portance than now, and in ancient
lays produced considerable gold and
other metals, but now it ships little but
'ates, wool and coffee, and that Is
gradually falling off. Mocha coffee is
produced at the extreme end Of the
Arabian peninsula in a province called
Yemen and derives its name from the
little port 1t is shipped from. But the
people have no enterprise, the coffee
orchards have been injured by insects
and blight, and the trees have not been
renewed. This Is accounted for by bad
government. AS everywhere else In
the dominions Of the sultan Of Tur-
key-for Arabia Is nominally part
of the Ottoman empire-the officials re-
ceive no salaries and live of black
mail. Hence whenever a citizen gets
"a little ahead, when he shows signs Of
prosperity, he Immediately becomes an
object Of plunder and persecution by
the tax gatherer and every other rep
resentative of the government. There
Is no incentive for the coffee growers
to extend their orchards or to increase
their product.
One does not realize, until he comes
face to face with the fact, that Arabia
Is nearly half as large as the United
States. Its area is almost as great as
that of India and Is nearly equal to
that Of our states east of the Missis-
sippi river. The population is un-
known, because there has never been
census, but 1t Is supposed to be be-
tween seven and twelve millions. The
distance from north to south is more
than a thousand miles, and from east
to west it varies from 500 to 800. Yet
in this enormous territory there Is no
centralized authority. The interior Is
governed by petty sheiks, each being
absolute over the members Of his own
tribe. Along a coast line Of nearly
$500 miles are only six ports, where
the sultan Of Turkey maintains Pasha
governors and garrisons to protect the
collectors Of customs, who are requir-
ed to pay him certain amount of trib-
ute every year, and they wiring 1t out
Of the people in any way they can.
The relationship between the gov
ernment at Constantinople and the
Bedouins, Of Arabia is very slender
and is due solely to the cohesive power
of the Mohammedan religion. There
Is no law in Arabia but the Koran;
there are no courts but the priests;
there are no mails, no postoffices, no
postage stamps, and a person who
wants to communicate with a dis
tant friend must send his letter by a
messenger, which Is expensive, or oy
caravan, which is the common way.
There is no telegraph line, no newspa-
per, no railroad, and, strange to say
not a river in all that vast area ex-
cept a few shallow, rocky beds, which
during the spring season bring down
water from the melting snow on the
mountain tops to the sea, but for nine
months in the year are as dry as
crematory.
The captain tells me that they
produce a curious phenomenon. Inc
coast of the Red Sea Is lined with cor
al banks. built by those mysterious lit
tie masons, who, like some men Know
hate fresh water, and wherever the
spring floods fall into the sea there is
always a wide break in the coral reet.
Capable of Cultivation.
The mountains Of Arabia reach an
altitude of over 10000 feet, ana III
spots where borings have been MADE
the sand is more than 600 feet deep.
It is the prevailing impression that Ara
bia is a vast expanse of desert, put
that is a mistake. There are VIDE
strips of barren sand, which are ire
claimable for cultivation only because
they cannot be reached by water, but
two-thirds of the country Is capable
of cultivation, and, lying at an altitude
of 5000 feet above the sea, might pro-
luce cotton, sugar and other semi
tropical staples in unlimited quantities.
Although there are no streams, plenty
of water can be had for irrigation pur-
poses by digging twenty or thirty
feet, and the Introduction Of wind
mills would simplify the pumping prob
lem. On the coast it is intensely hot,
and the humidity Of the atmosphere
during the summer season makes life