Cañon City record., 1906-12-13
EDWARD A. SWElTzER
MAKES GOOD IN NAVY
u. 8. Battleship Ohio.
Port Said. Nov. 4, 1906

i
Probably before you get this letter
you will receive my diploma for the
electrical and mechanical engineering
course from the International Cores
pondence School at Scranton, Pa. 1
began my course in 1901. 1t has been
a lot of work, but am very glad that
completed the course, as l am now
a first class electrician, which pays
better than my former work.
You have read about the tower of
Babel. How the people were scattered
over the world, but 1 hardly think it
worse than the events which took
place on board the Asiatic feet before
we left Chez Foo, China.
Both the Battleships Wisconsin and
the Ohio were ordered home The
Wisconsin to San Francisco and the
Ohio to New York. So all of the
short time men of the feet we're
transferred to the battleships and al
most all of the long time men were
transferred from the battleships to the
cruisers. Then. too, they were care
full not to send men belonging on the
Pacific coast to the Atlantic shore and
vice versa
1t makes one feel rather queer to
be working with a shipmate whom
you have known, messed and bunked
with for two years to have a messen-
ger come along and tell him to pack
his bag and hammock and be ready
to leave the ship in two hours.
At that time there were about $50
men on board the Ohio, but a number
were transferred at Cavite to other
vessels.
We left Cavite. P. T.. September 80,
steamed southwest toward the equa-
toi, being only about rs miles from
the equator. then pessed Singapore,
northwest through the Strait of NAL
akka, then almost due west to Colom-
bo, Ceylon, which point we reached
October 10.
We went on liberty at Colombo. The
whole country is covered with palms,
ferns, banana, pineapple and other
tropical plants.
Although Ceylon is an English pos
session the stores and hotels of Col
ombo are run by Egyptians and ma
tives, who belong to about half a
dozen different tribes.
Leaving Colombo we steamed west
ward, then into the Gulf of Alden and
through the Strait of Babel Mandeb.
This strait, which separates Arabia
from Africa, in its narrowest place is
only about ten miles wide.
Coming through the Red Sea we
passed by the monuments marking the
place where the waters parted letting
the Children of Israel escape from
Pharoah. In the distance we could
see Mount Sinai, but we're unable to
distinguish Moses.
We now entered the Suez Canal.
This canal looks just like a big irrl-
eating ditch. about 200 or 300 feet
wide. Part of the banks are built of
masonry, but the greater part of the
way they are OF the natural soil, sand
and adobe. The Suez Canal Is 81
miles long, and as vessels are only al
lowed to travel three to five miles an
hour on account of washing the banks
away, 1t took about ten days to pass
through. We would run until $3.50
p. m. by the aid of our own search
| lights, then anchor and proceed on
our way the next day.
The country along the canal re-
minds me of the sandhills OF Colorado.
We could see lots of camels from the
ship. One caravan of $50 camels and
donkeys passed along the banks. Some
of the loads carried by the camels
were 80 large that we could scarcely
see the camels
| We reached Port Said November /
Here we received mail, the first since
we left Chez Foo, China, which was
about September 1.
We have been here four days. but
were allowed no liberty, as we are
under rush orders to get home. We
leave tomorrow for Gibraltar. Our
vessel lays about in the center of the
town.
The country here is very low, so
that the passageway for vessels has
been dredged out. The houses are
built on made ground. so that most OF
the streets are canals, resembling the
pictures one sees of Venice, Italy.
A quotation from Gray's poem,