The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-09-10
Boats That Crossed the Desert

In writing or a recent Trip lhrousn
the Suez canal in Harpers Magazine
| William Ashley Anderson tells the
story of how the Turks brought pom
toon boats across the desert in their
effort to force a crossing of the canal,
| as an English officer told him.
"'WeIl be at Kantarah SOON said
| a young, gray-eyed officer of the In
| dian marine.
gracefully away to the southwark,
| fringed on the Egyptian side by re-
freshing growth of green palms ana
drab acacias, broken at long inter-
, walls by tiny bungalows, where en-
ployes of the canal company Kept
| eternal watch over the companys In
terests much as the armed sentries
across the way stood guard for the
| empire On the Arabian side was hoth :
| ing but the billowing sand, crowding
| itself to the very waters edge, and
seeping into the channel itself, despite
| the reyetments of stone brought in ball
| last from far countries to hold the
| tiny particles in check despite the
great dredges that prowl up ana down,
sucking at the invading streams like
monstrous ant eaters facing miera-
, tory tide Of insects.
| Kantarah?
| eyes. There 1t Is now His face be-
| came animated. Leaning far forward,
he fixed his gaze on the approaching
spot; and there, sure enough. was Kan
| tarah, the point nearest Port. SAID,
where the Turks had attempted to
| cross.
| ".How far did they getY I asked.
| "Not far He grinned. was In
| charge of couple of armed tugs. We
kept running UP and down from here
| to Ishmailieh, banging away in the
dark
"'But they reached the canal?
"'Oh, yes. They launched some pom
| toons-two. There's one now. The oth-
er's down at Ishmailieh.'
There, just swinging into the Kan
| tarah bank at the end of cable. for
all the world like Chinese ferry on
| the Grand canal, loaded with Indian
| troops horses, and fodder, was a
| barge-like iron pontoon. l recognized
! its German origin for had seen such
before But this was the first vessel
| I had ever known to cross desert
| that tries the stamina OF Bedouins and
| the endurance of dromedaries. IT was
not the last. There was another at
Ishmailieh And at Port Tewfik there
was long row of them, punctuated by
| shrapnel and bullets, filled with sand,
| and used as a causeway.
| ut was in my heart to feel sympathy
| for the wasted efforts of these surpris-
| ing Turks. IL Will De d lOHB WHlic DS-
| fore we understand the organization
| of the army that crossed the desert
| dragging pontoons and heavy guns. ef-
| fecting simultaneous attacks at three
main points on front extending
| hundred miles along barren shore
i with a salt desert as base and per-
Isisting in the attacks to the point OF
launching several pontoons-siX 81
which, probably, could have supported
a bridge and afforded sufficient &C
commodation for a strong advance
guard There was one thing. however
that aroused equal admiration; 1t wal
the appalling neatness with which the
attack was smashed 1t was as though
three serpents, having crawled acros!
the desert, reared their heads stimuli
taneously, only to have them complete
/ ly crushed by several very large anc
] very determined hob-nailed boots.
1T was all explained to me In de-
tail. but I cannot explain it to you.
Nevertheless, should like to have
picked Kantarah camp up bodily and
deposited it somewhere near Platts
burg"