The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1944-06-22


pleasant sort of thing. the Arm
ed Guard has its advantages; l
major one is the fact that we &c
around TO see things, usually
followed by necessary anC
4 welcome trip back to tn,
States for more cargo.
But, seeing the United Statei
again was no more a thrill thar
/ that we experienced one brigh
morning on the blue Mediter
ranean when out of the horizon
there arose the lighthouse anc
colorful buildings of Port Said
Egypt, at the northern end o.
the Suez Canal. a waterway
famed in history, and city
which once, we are told, had the
reputation of being the wick
eldest city in the world"
Port Said didn't look so wick
ed that morning; in fact, it wa:
in vivid contrast 10 the cold anc
dull port we left in the States
Brightly painted fishing boats
were anchored in the harbor
there were sWarmS Of small
craft being roWed everywhere
in seeing confusion by swarthy
fellows in tattered garments re.
sembling the old fashioned night
shirt. Great ships, little motor
/ launches, putting tugboatS were
straining at heavy barges sur
rounded us. while wheeling sea
birds overhead completed the
picture Beyond, lay the busy
city, with its palm trees, clut'
tered streets, and oriental-styleC
buildings of many hues, the
most imposing of which, aloni
the quay, was the office Of the
Suez Canal Company with it!
three Dubious domes. AT the en-
trance of the canal stood a biz
bronze statue of Ferdinand dt
Lesseps. who, in 1869, complet
ed the 104-mlle waterway
which. before the war, at least
carried more tonnage than oul
own Panama Canal, making /
the busiest such salt water thor
oughfare in the world. (Oul
Great Lakes canals are three o.
four times as active)
VERA CHEAP
| The morning we entered Suez
il wasn't long before the mer
who operate the bumboats were
alongside, grabbing one of oul
lines, and proceeding to wheed
lie cigarets. Bumboat men pro
vide water taxi service; or, they
will sell you all kinds of genu
inc Egyptian curios (made IL
| Czechoslovakia) with the cry
"Effendi, thees is vera cheal
but vera good.
AS soon as we anchored, thu
bad news came. Port Said hac
been restricted because of small
pox, no one could 60 ashore
What a collection of sad faces
After weeks at sea--to get {
bum break like that, the crew
mourned. This place stinks,
was their immediate reaction, a.
though 10 prove al once tha
they didn't want 10 hit the
beach anyway.
Meanwhile, Abdullah, Achm
ed, Ali, Mohammed and all theil
uncles and brothers and cousin!
were sWarming aboard TO star
at work on the cargo. A nativ,
barber showed up, ready TO Gu
hair. The Stevedores, dressed il
night shirts, and ragged pant!
and shirts, tolled seriously, des
plte the fact that their way fol
"a hours continuous labor wa
but 50 piastres (S220). After ..
hours, another gang appeared {
take the place Of the first one
They brought their lunches wit!
them, and sometimes built littl,
fires right on the barge bot
toms in order to boil water fol
tea.
VISIT CAIRO
| AS soon as the captain and
got ashore TO report our arriva
officially, we found that the re
strlctlon was not so bad as frs
feared, trips TO Cairo could b,
arranged. So a couple of day!
later, We were buzzing along
good road parallel 10 the canal
on our way TO that ancient me
tropols on the River Nile, abou
100 miles southwest Of Por
Said. AT first, the country wa
nothing but A waste of sand.
continuation OF the great deser
OF North Africa, but soon, w,
got into the irrigated section
which, with their bright greer
fields and waving palms, wer,
a welcome relief from the dus
and monotony of the desert.
| Egypt owes everything TO tn,
! Nile. A system of canals carrie
fresh water over the delta. ant
also provides flotation for barg
es, making a valuable transpor
tation system. This barge work
| | made mental note. is some
thing TO be avoided as a voca