Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-05-08

once the most populous. the most pro
ductive and the richest section Of tn
earrh's surface. win be reclaimed b.
the introduction of capital and labor
and the restoration of the irrigation
system which was destroyed man.
centuries ago. For transportatio,
"nsopotamia now depends entirsl!
, IJt, - namels and q few
itoi 4mchi Socjo,. risris and tn,
:, guiding 'y ,merce ia com
4 paratively sm--- area, accordins
to the gazetters. is 1876, 900 square
miles. and its population about q mil
lion and hall, nearly all Of them be
ing Bedouin nomads engaged In rails
ing cattle and sheep. With only enough
agricultural products to sustain them
selves.
| Bagdad is the commercial center
and has foreign trade OF about Sl2,.
| 100000, almost equally divided be
tween imports and exports. The
| chief exports are wool, carpets, hides,
skins. licorice root and mohs,r: and
the imports are cotton goods, refined
petroleum, hardware and other pecee.
sarles of life.
In ancient times the plains and val
leys of Mesopotamis produced enor-
nous crops, and are still capable Of
yielding cotton, rice. maize aud other
staples 10 almost any amount. The
soil has wonderful fertility. and has
lain idle, accommodating plant nourish-
ment, for nearly 1000 years. Before
its development is possible. however,
irrigation systems must be introdue-
ed, and the population is so scanty
that all forms Of labor.saying macnin.
cry Will be necessary to utilize the
productive area to any extent Last
fall the sultan OF Turkey issued an
trade authorizing Sir William VII.
cocks, late director general of irrisa.
ton in Egypt, to examine into the an.
cient irrigation system along the Tig-
ris and Euphrates rivers in order to
ascertain the cost OF their restoration
and report upon general irrigation
project for the valleys Of both rivers.
Sir William has been engaged in
this work all winter, witn a party of
engineers, and report Is expected
from him some time during the com.
ing summer. He discussed this sub
ject in paper read before the Geo
graphical Society at Cairo two yeara
ago. when ne declared that the deItas
of the Tigris and the Euphrates, con-
tanning over 100000 acres of land,
now part SWAMP. --.i s~'I ueeeit'
were of all the regions OF the earth
more favored by nature for the pro
duction of cereals. Cotton, sugar
cane. Indian corn and all the summer
products Of Egypt" he said. will
flourish there as on the Nile, while
the winter products Of cereals. leg
luminous plants. Egyptian clover,
opium and tobacco will nnd them.
selves at home as they do In Egypt.
OF the historic gardens of Babylon
and Bagdad it Is not necessary for me
to speak" continued Sir William Will
cocks; "a land whose climate allows
her to produce such crops In tropical
profision, and whose snow-fed rivers
permit of perennial irrigation over
millions of acres, cannot lie barren and
desolate when the Basdad railway is
traversing her fields and European
capital is seeking remunerative out
let"
One has a queer sensation when he
hears the land OF Abraham and Nebu-
chadnezzar and Zenobia discussed In
this manner. But the railway through
Chaldea is already an actual thing.
and Mesopotamia and the other lands
east OF the Jordan are almost certain
to be reclaimed within . few years:
and they will offer q new and extsu'
sive field for investment and com
merce. The lands are held cniehy
by tribes OF nomadic Bedouins. They
are used only for grazing and now sus-
tain several million cattle. sheep and
goats. From these focks and herds
comes the wool from which the Turk
lsh and Persian rugs you buy at the
auctions are made. Many OF the rugs
on the floors OF Chicago residences
we're woven in the mud huts Of these
regions and shipped to Smyrna and
Constantipople by camel caravans.
Visitors TO Smyrna have seen the car
avans coming into that city every
morning, each camel carrying two
bales of $50 pounds each. When the
irrigation system is completed and as,
| riculture is resumed there will be an
immense field for the Introduction oi
| agricultural machinery and imple-
ments. The present population know
| nothing OF such things. and 1t Will be
necessary to obtain foreign laborers
who are familiar with the use OF IL
bor saving machinery. The hausht,
Bedouin will not work with his nands
He is a good deal like the Nortf
American Indian. He will not piow
neither will ne SOW nor reap. Amoni
the Arab race nearly all Of the vege
table food is raised by women. Th'
men folks do their farming on horse
back and follow the nocks and herds
II you will take map OF syria 10
a moment II will make tnings clesf
A railway owned by Frenchmen nov
runs from Beirut to Damascus. Ther
II turns southward and runs dis