Morris tribune., 1906-05-12
Up THE NILE
IN LOWER EGYPT
THE LAND OF RUINED TOMBS.
TEMPLES AND PYRAMIDS.
Rev. Fred B. Hill Writes Entertain
ingiy of the rlotley Mixture of
Ancient and VI Modern-The Streets
of CairO-A Mohammedan We'd
ding.
SIS. Persia, enroute to Bombay,
India. March 10, 1906.

S. S. Persia, enroute to Bombay,
India. March 10, 1906.
To the Editor of the Tribune:
We have been fitting about so con-
tinuously and rapidly that despair of
telling even a little of the sights and
scenes and events of our travels. I
think however that the latest install
ment of my letters was dated on board
Cooks steamer 'fRameses." | be-
lieve did not tell anything about the
steamer on the river, so will write
somewhat of them now.
Cook steamers which carry tourists up
and down the Nile from Cairo to AS
suan. 1t is about two hundred and
fifty feet long should say, is ''side
wheeler,n has three decks for passen-
gers and is very commodious and
comfortable. The servants are all
natives Of Africa, but some are Arabs,
some Sudanese, some real Egyptian.
They were fully as interesting at times
as the scenery and at other times were
even more III evidence, say for ex-
ample when they gave concert on
deck, or when we left the boat and
they lined up for "Bakhsheesh." If
you have never listened to an Egyp-
tian concert at the Worlds Fair or at
-ck,o r cbn
to seek for some such entertainment.
1t is the most ear splitting mon
strous sound that ever fellf rom the lips
of mortal man. The music CID was
all an accompaniment to a muscle
dance done by man. We had to en-
dure the racket for an hour and
think they would have been going
vet. had not the manager of the ship
come to our rescue. There were
about eighty passengers aboard.
Some were English, some Italian,
some Germrn and many were Amer
leans. There were Counts and Barons
and Ladies galore. [ can now under
stand why a kind Providence has
granted to some, the privilege OF
wearing titles-it is according to the
great law of compensation; they must
have something to pay them for being
heavy and stupid and generally unin-
teresting. The numbers of English
and Americans were about equal. At
one time it seemed as though the great
Anglo American ''tacit understand
ing'' was to be forever shattered for
their grew up feud among certain
representatives We left the boat
when it was at the highest pitch-so
cannot tell how it will end. People on
board ship such as that, are equal to
any country village in the amount OF
gossip they can consume We were
fortunate in being on equally friendly
terms with several sensible English
and Americans and were spared the
worry and vexation Of diplomatic
massage -at-arms.
To fully understand the 'yhy fore"
of Nile trip, you must be aware OF
the fact, which I think | intlmated in
nv last letter that the Nile is Egypt.
Look at the subject from whatever
viewpoint, one is convinced that the
great country Of Egypt is distinctly
due to the Nile At one time the river
was deifed as the great god of gener-
alton, for all vegetable life, all that
went to make animal life possible,
came thru the influence Of the Nile.
SO it is that the great wastes OF desert
on either side have been partially con-
yerted into cultivated and Fcultivat-
able'' land Aad SO it came about
that from time immemorial, temples
were erected along the banks and de-
d ca ed to vari 5us deities OF the Egyp- J
tan pantheon. And 50 too it came
about shat the great kings all desired
to be en5ombed within ''eye shot OF
tha great river. So it is that all great
national movements, struggles and
victories are eolnmemorated some
how along the Nile valley. Now IN
lata.. DAYS when explorers have re- /
moved the sand deb is Of ages and re !
y,lIed marvellous temples and strange
tom5s and colossal nlolanl 7nts, dhat
the curious tourist is pronpaed to /
journey up the self sa ne, (hoev4r
diff srent Nile, 20 see the wonders OF |
an almost forgotten age. So journey /
with as an / see for yourselves some /
O. the wonders. The greatest wonder
of cou Sc IS the people. The farmers |