Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1922-06-14

pies still standing with hundreds of
columns each sixty to seventy feet in
height and ten to twelve feet in
diameter all covered with stories of
the accomplishments of dynasties told
in symbols in imperishable color and
lavish ornamentation, to visit tombs
of Kings one hundred and twenty feet
below the surface and behold in one
of them the mummy Of Amenophis the
third in its original sarcophagus,
where he was laid away sixteen hun
dred years before the birth of our
Saviour and to survey series of tenn
plies covering an area of a thousand
acre field, fills one with awe and ad-
miration for the ancient Egyptians.
One could spend weeks in studying
these ruins but we have had to do
them during q period Of a few days.
The story of their discovery and ex-
cavation has been published many
times and is familiar to to readers of
The Gazette. The records show that
prior to the war, from ten to twenty
thousand tourists visited these ruins
annually paying fees amounting to
from five to six dollars to the Egyp-
tan government for the privilege.
The government continues to carry on
its work of uncOvering tombs and
temples. We watched natives carry
ing away earth and stones in small
baskets and although a large number
are employed, it will require decades
to complete the work. Hundreds of
temples were erected. Many were
completely destroyed by the Persians
and Romans in their conquests. OF
what remained Turkey when in con-
troll. England and Cairo, as we'll as
the U. S. A. Through the generosity
of Commodore Vanderbilt) k
columns, statues, sarcophagi and con-
tents, inscriptions and obelisks, and
yet what has been left is sufficient in
magnitude to justify a journey from
the ends of the earth to behold. The
temple of Edfow is in the best state
of preservation. 1t required one hun
dred and eighty-five years for it's con-
struction. We saw it at night, and in
connection with our visit to it, had
our first experience with the donkey
boys, who are the pests of Egypt.
Word had been sent that the Ameri-
can tourists were to arrive after sup
per that night and on landing we
were greeted by an assemblage of all
the donkey boys and donkey drivers
OF the town, each owner importuning
us for patronage. We mounted and
rode through dark and narrow walled
| inlanes and streets for a mile or more
to the Temple. The donkey boys be-
labored their animals into the fastest
PAGES OF which they were capable and
! in the mad race we were brushed
against walls and had the skin taken
off Of our knees. On returning to the
boat the entire younger population
was in evidence, loudly demanding
b2ckshish. They kept Up their solici-
tations with increasing volume until
our steamer moved away. For several
years few visitors have gone to Edfow
and the inhabitants have thus had an
| important source of revenue cut off
from them and the news that the
Americans were coming filled the
place with excitement and anticipa-
ton of large donations.
The Egyptians are the most persis
tent and incorrigble merchants in eX
istence. They are omnipresent They
accompany the tourist on all his
travels. They carry their wares on
the Nile steamers and bring them to
landings in every port. They run for
miles along your carriage offering
trinkets, chains, scarabs, baskets,
shawls, beads, rings, canes and all
sorts of merchandise. They will not
take no for an answer and in the end
the tourist finds himself loaded down
with lot of things for which he has
no use. His sympathy for the poor
vendors gets the better of his judg
ment, and in this connection it may
L ,l,SJ .
cruise of this kind, where the cost is
presumed to be paid before leaving
home, the fees and contributions that
are unavoidable amount to a large
sum. Besides the levy made by beg
CARS and by institutions such as
churches and museums, purses are
made up almost daily for guides and
dragonmen, officers and crew and
others whose services have been lib
orally paid for by the cruise director,
but who expect to be again literally
rewarded Coming back from the big
dam at Assuan the rowers of the boat
demanded a contribution when about
halfway to the steamer and bargain
was made with the skipper that if
money was paid them then and there
we would not be taxed again. This
over, but before landing US the Su
danese stopped the boat and made
further demands to which we were
obliged to accede.
The great dam at the first cataract
is one of the engineering triumphs of
the age 1t is a mile and a quarter
long, about one hundred and thirty
feet high and one hundred feed wide
at it's base. 1t presents fine exam
pie of wall building. The entire work
was completed in three years. There
are $50 sluice-ways, each with ca
pacity Of "a tons of water per second.
Just as much water at this season is
permitted to pass as is delivered to
the impounded area about the dam
and today only eleven gates were
open. In the reservoir there are
around one billion and one hundred
thousand tons of water covering sew
eral square miles, seventy-eight feet
deep. AS the dry season advances
more water is liberated and thus ir
rigation and navigation continues
which was not possible before the
dam was built The cost was thirteen
apd If million dollars and If OaVS