Durango semi-weekly herald., 1906-01-22


planned along the Nile. His entire
reign was marked by extensive Oper-
atoms. including the completion OF
what Is known as the Ibranimieh ca
nal. over 200 miles in length. This
remarkable piece of engineering still
waters Mt all times of the year an
area embracing a quarter of a million
acres, which support today a populA-
ton nearly equal to that of st. Louis.
With the passing OF Ismail Pasha
and the brilliant achievements of his
time, we come to the tnird. or Mol
ern period in which the English gov
ernment in cooperation with the
In 1880 broad reclamation policy
and began active operations along the
Nile.
Thus far the work has had princi-
pally to do with the elimination OF the
old mechanical contrivances for rails
ing water out of the canals and grad
ually changing to the more practica-
BILE gravity system"
The Great Assouan Dam.
In 1902 the great Assouan dam, con-
structed across the Nile at the First
cataract, was completed. This huge
piece of masonry is nearly mile AM
a quarter in length (6,7S6 feet; about
so feet thick at the base and towers
TO height in some places of 120 feet
above its foundations.
1t Is constructed of roughly newn
granite blocks taken from the orig
inal quarries which have supplied the
builders of Egypt with their material
'or 5000 years. These blocks are laid
n cement and the whole rests upon =
bed of solid granite. Besides l.25O,'
100 tons of mansory there was used
no less than 5000 tons of steel in
The dams construction.
The crest of the dam Is walled on
both sides. furnishing an excellent 26-
DOT roadway or bridge across the
river at a point where 1t Is much need
3D. More than 10000 natives were
employed in the work. and a thous-
| and Italian stonemasons and other
skilled European workmen. With this
| vast force an average of 5000 tons OF
masonry was laid each working day
Above the dam is imprisoned at
| times several billion tons OF water
which forms great lake $50 miles
| ong Not being an Overflow dam
| he escape of flood water and the pre-
yention of the dreaded sedimentary
| deposits in reservoirs is accomplished
| by means of 1S0 sluiceways with
steel gates operated by electricity
Formerly boats were tOwed up the
rapids by a regiment of giant Nh
bans BY constructing four great i0d
| foot locks. however, the former ey
pensive method of reaching the head
waters of the Nile has been elimina:
ed.
| The dam was dedicated in Decem
| her, 1902, at which time Egypt addet
| 100000 acres to her cultivatablt
lands and nearly s2,000,000 to her an
nual tax revenues. AS the origina
cost was about slO.0OO.OOO the dan
will have paid for itself in about fiv'
years. More than $4,000 peasants
have contracted for land. some o
which averages s175 per acre, and t'
| encourage and assist settlement thu
National Bank of Egypt loans the ne
cessary funds to prospective farmer
1 at rate of 3 per cent per annum.
Another Gigantic Project.
| Following close upon the heels o
this gigantic project are the plans 70
another which far eclipses in magni
tude anything of the kind yet contem
| plated in modern times, In its crud
est form the proposition is to utiliz,
the waters of the White Nile and Blu,
Nile for stupendous extensions il
Egypt and the Soudan. Including tn
plans for railway construction. whicl
form part of it, the project will prob
ably cost in the vicinity of s105, 900
600, and when completed will provid
a tax revenue to the national treas
ury of more than $S,000,000 ever.
twelve months. The first task will b,
the completion of the Suakim-Berge
railroad at an estimated cost of SIS,
| 100000. Then will follow the remod
cling of the Nile channel at Rosetti
and Damietta. to cost $4,000. 900; rails
ing the Assouan dam, $2,500.00O. ant
additional railways and canals to cos
about $2O.0OO,O0O.