The Washington herald., 1909-06-07

N~ANs ~~5-ENs --t4- Aar--@AlA 4AAAtN-AN A-o-E \
tian proverb says: The Nile Is Egypt |
ead Egypt is the Nile" Standing by the /
pyramids OF Gizeh and looking across !
the Nile Valley one realizes the signih- |
cance OF the proverb. A narrow strip Of
dark green runs Ike ribbon between |
the brown slopes OF the desert. From |
the heart OF Africa comes the life blood |
OF tillable and tenantable Egypt II the !
river should cease TO flow the encroach- /
ing sands Of Sahara would soon blot out
from the map the 1900 square miles OF
alluvial land that. from a practical :
standpoint. constitute the whole OF Egypt /
That there is no danger OF such a catas-
trophe Is due 10 the fact that the Nile is
supplied at its sources from equatorial
lakes fed by Abyssinian rivers. Unlike
a number OF American rivers whose vol
ume is important 10 agriculture and nav
igation, the Nile rises in a region where
the forests have not been cut FOR lumber
Geologists say that a prehistoric hssure
in the earth extending from the southern
shore OF the Mediterranean 20 what IS
now the first cataract OF the Nile.
brought iow OF salt water into what is
now Egypt. Sediment from rivers fiow-
Ing from higher ground into this fssure
gradually filed its bottom, raising it TO
a higher level Volcanic disturbances in
Central Africa so changed the surface OF
the earth that the courses OF tropical
streams we're changed, and an enormous
head Of water found an outlet toward
the north from the lakes and swamps OF
the south. The high plateaus have been.
since that time. drained toward the Med
iterranean and fresh water has flowed
for thousands OF years through the trough
once filed with a salty flood. All OF this
took place before the beginning Of the
history OF the human race. The marvel
ously fertile soil Of Egypt has yielded
crops since the beginning OF agriculture.
AS far back as the reign OF the earliest
Egyptian King Menes, irrigation has
been employed TO lead the water 10 the
fields, II tradition speaks the truth.
Upon the Island Of Rhoda, upon the
shores OF which Moses was found by
Phsroahs daughter, the Egyptian Of to-
day shows the traveller the NlometeT
which registers the daily stages Of the
river at Cairo. These records have been
kept for 1000 years He is rising or
he IS falling say the Arabs. Although
the explorations OF its sources have re-
vealed the causes OF the rising and falling
OF :he Nile, the stream is still spoken OF
by the Arabs almost as Il II were a deity.
The year. divided in other countries
into seasons, is divided here by the fuc-
tuations Of the Nile The months OF in
nundation, or Nili, are from August 20
November. The winter. or Shitwi. is De
cember 70 March The lowest season IS
the summer, called Sen. from April 70 the
end OF July. In the Nile Valley there is
no occa sion for the cartoOnist or humor-
ist 20 discuss the lingering of winter in
the lap Of spring Nor does Self Inger in
the lap Of Mil The rising and falling
OF the Nile IS much more regular than
the coming and going OF the seasons
where they are reckoned according 10 the
position OF the sun and the temperature.
or according 10 the rainfall
In America the rivers rise in the late
winter or early spring. as a rule. and
always during a period Of heavy raiEs.
When the Ohio or Mississippi is OUT Of
It's banks, the cause OF the food IS evil
dent. Father Nile rises at the time when
other rivers are depleted. and comes pour
ing out OF a burning desert, under blaz-
ing sun. 20 fertilize the fields Of Upper
Egypt. II IS easy 10 understand why the
Egyptians who had never penetrated the
interior beyond the desert regarded the
=
The fellah stops upon the shores OF
the river, the banks Of canal. OF an ir-
rigation ditch. and scoops up a drink
from the Nile In his followed hands. The
tourist who dresses for dinner at his
hotel drinks filtered Nile water. unless
he prefers wine or bottled water from
Europe Every animal and every plant
in the Nile Valley is dependent upon the
same source for its supply Of moisture.
There are no wells or springs. The great
river. three-hfths OF mile wide at Cairo,
where il Is fecked By the white sails ot
boats that suggest the pattern OF the
barges Of the PharOahs. has no afHuents
below the mouth Of the Atabara, which
IS 1900 miles from the sea
Throughout this much OF its entire
length. which is 4062 miles, or but fifty
miles less than that OF the Mississippi.
the river flows through a desert trans
formed into a garden by water diverted
from the stream. For thousands OF years
Egypt has blossOmed as the rose because
volcanic upheavals sent the torrents OF
Central Africa toward the Mediterranean
Sea. The practically Of irrigation IN the
arid areas of the American West was.
singuIarIy enough, doubted by many
Americans some years ago, although the
pyramids were builded by a race whose
antecedents lived by converting dry sand
into farming land.
Advocates Of reforesting denuded areas
about the sources of American rivers,
now more or less reduced during the sum-
ner as 4 result OF a depletion Of storage
reservoirs, say Il Is possible to regulate
the variation OF the volume of a river by
regulating its source Of supply They be-
lieve that the area Of forests so directly
affects the volume OF a stream that il
might be possible 70 create a river in an
arid nil country by clothing the hfllr
with timber. II Is interesting 20 reflect
that the sources of the Nile are IN a re-
gion wnere there has been no civilization
and no deforestation It's rising and fall.
ing remain as regular to-day as they were
many centuries ago.
From the bridge that connects Cairo
proper with the island OF Ghfzereh, OF
from the dock OF a dahabeah, the Nile
looks yellow. causing the American OF
European 10 whom mile green has been
a familiar phrase since his childhood. q
express surprise. The water IS green al
one tine IN the year. Just before the an.
nual innundation green water" arrives
Il is offensive 20 the taste and has q bad
odor. It IS welcomed only because of its
significance. High Nile is preceded by
heavy rains along the tributaries. II was
formerly believed that the appearance
Of green water IN Egypt meant that de.
cayfng vegetable matter from the svamps
Of Uganda was swept down the river
ahead OF the flood Now 1t has been de-