Asiatic Breezes Part 29

"To be sure it is, and we all went over there from Constantinople,"

replied the commander. "I had forgotten that, and you are not so innocent as I began to make it appear. But you have Asia on one side and Europe on the other."

"Well, we had that on the Bosporus, when we made that trip to the Black Sea in the Maud," added the lady, who seemed to be pleased because she had caught the captain in a blunder.

"Then you have been in all the grand divisions of the earth except South America, and I have no doubt you will go there before we come to the finish of this voyage. Here is the station; and you observe that there is a bridge across the ca.n.a.l by which the traveller can proceed to Suez, which you can see upon the point on the other side. The donkeys and donkey-boys abound here as everywhere in Egypt, and boats can be obtained to ferry you over to the town. But as we shall remain here a day or two, I think we had better go into the basin. We can then go where we please in the Maud."

It was lunch time when the two vessels had been secured, and the party adjourned to the cabin. As soon as the meal was disposed of they returned to the upper deck, and seated themselves in the arm-chairs, for there was much to be seen. Port Tewfik is the proper name of the place at the station, but most of the people are Frenchmen, and they all call it Terreplein.

"At this station the office of the ca.n.a.l company, which you can see from the deck, is located. It has a garden in front of it, on an avenue adorned with lebbec trees. You see that tall tower with b.a.l.l.s and flags on it; and it is from this point that all the movements of vessels in the ca.n.a.l are controlled. But I think we had better land, and see it for ourselves."

The company went on sh.o.r.e, and proceeded to promenade the environs. One of the first things that attracted their attention was a colossal bronze bust of Lieutenant Waghorn, who had been presented to them by Captain Ringgold in one of his talks. It was erected to his memory by the ca.n.a.l company, and is a graceful tribute of the French to the originator of the overland route. The inscription was in French, and Louis translated it for the benefit of the observers.

"But I cannot translate the ba.s.s-relief on the bronze," he added.

"That represents Lieutenant Waghorn embarking with the mails in an open boat at Suez, an incident that actually occurred. It is said that this gentleman, after spending the best years of his life in his efforts to establish a quicker route between England and her vast colonies, died in poverty in London in 1850; but I hope it is not true," the commander explained. "We will now apply for admission to the office of the manager."

The permission was obtained, and the party ascended to the upper room of the building. Monsieur Chartrey, the superintendent of the transit department of the ca.n.a.l, was very polite to them, and explained everything to them in English. On a low table which occupied all one side of the apartment was what looked like a metal trough about fifteen feet long. A model of this apparatus was exhibited in England, and there it was called "the toy," a name which is still retained.

On a shelf above the table are about fifty models of s.h.i.+ps, each bearing the flag of some nation. The toy is a model of the ca.n.a.l, with its sidings, stations, and the lakes. When a s.h.i.+p enters the ca.n.a.l at either end, a little s.h.i.+p is placed in the relative position it occupies; and when one sails out of it, its representative in the trough is removed. All the stations are connected with this office by telegraph, just as the railroads are controlled in modern times; and when a vessel pa.s.ses from one section, or block, it is reported to the manager. A man is always watching; and as news comes in, he makes the proper changes in the model s.h.i.+ps. Where a steamer is to tie up for the night is ordered from this office.

Monsieur Chartrey was very heartily thanked for his courtesy and kindness, and the party left to look at the docks, quays, and basins of Terreplein; but they were precisely the same as they had seen in various ports of Europe, especially at Havre. The commander had ordered the Maud to be in readiness for a trip, and it was decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at Suez.

The first question the captain put on his return to the s.h.i.+p was as to whether anything had been seen of the mysterious Arab stranger; for the officers had been cautioned not to admit any person on board. Mr.

Gaskette had remained on board of the Maud, and made the same report.

With the four seamen who had attended the company up the Nile on board, and with the second officer and Don, the little steamer left her landing-place, provided with a pilot, and steamed by the channel over to the city of the desert, as it has been called.

CHAPTER XXV

A VISIT TO THE SPRINGS OF MOSES

The utility of the Maud was fully demonstrated at Suez, if there had been any doubt of it before, as a tender, and Captain Ringgold recognized it especially at this time; for the question of taking her out of the water, and giving her a place on the upper deck, had been referred to this point in the voyage, and it was yet to be settled.

Port Ibrahim is the walled basin south-west of Port Tewfik, or Terreplein as the French call it, extending out to the deep water of the Gulf of Suez. The sh.o.r.es are bordered with a shoal in every part. To a practical person the motive of De Lesseps in avoiding the city of Suez was probably to strike the water at the deepest point, rather than political.

The party took their places in the standing-room of the Maud, which had been prepared for their reception. The "Big Four" were again in their element, though the pilot had everything his own way. A channel describes about a quarter of a circle from the deep water and the very end of the ca.n.a.l to the north side of the city, in which there is depth enough for the smaller cla.s.s of vessels engaged in its commerce.

Most of these crafts were dhows, similar to the felucca with which the party had become familiar in the Archipelago, and the boys observed one just astern of them with great interest. They are used on the Malabar Coast in the East Indies as well as in the Red Sea, where it is called a _baggala_, though dhow is the more common name in the far East. They are over two hundred tons burden, and of all sizes below that. They have been used for commerce and piracy, which is also true of the felucca of the Mediterranean.

"She sails like the wind," said Captain Scott, after they had looked the craft over.

"She is bigger than the Samothraki, whose acquaintance we made in Pournea Bay," added Morris.

"I have read something of the craft in stories about the Malays; and a craft of that sort suggests piracy to me every time, especially since our experience in the Archipelago," replied Scott.

"There are no pirates up here," said the pilot with a laugh, for he spoke English and understood all that was said.

"What do those dhows bring up here?" asked Louis.

"Coffee from the ports of Arabia, spices, gums, senna, rose-leaves, and other drugs and perfumes," replied the pilot.

"What becomes of these articles then?"

"Some of them are used in Suez; but most of them go by the railroad to Cairo, or other parts of Egypt, and I suppose some of them get to Europe and America."

"They are all rather costly merchandise, and one of those dhows can carry a big freight of them," added Louis, as he went aft, for Miss Blanche was there.

The pilot brought the Maud up to the custom-house quay; and the dhow, which was not far behind the little steamer, came alongside the pier near her. The company landed, and proceeded to do the town. The pilot appeared to be a Frenchman, and he volunteered to act as a guide for the strangers. They found the streets very narrow, and not in the best condition. They pa.s.sed over to the south side of the city, where they obtained a fine view of the Gulf of Suez.

"Across the water you see the Ataka Mountains, about 2,700 feet high; and sometimes they show the colors of the garnet and amethyst. A fine view is obtained from the top of them, but it would give you a hard climb," said the guide. "On the other side of the bay it is Asia, Arabia Petraea."

"We shall go down to the Springs of Moses to-morrow," added the commander. "Are you a pilot in that direction?"

"In all directions, Captain," answered the pilot. "Here is the Hotel Suez quite near us, if you wish to visit it."

"We have no occasion to do so."

"It is a first-cla.s.s house, fitted up in English style, and kept by a German."

"What is the price there by the day?" asked the captain from curiosity.

"Sixteen s.h.i.+llings for the best fare."

"Four dollars a day."

"But they have two prices. I have been to New York, and over some of America, as I have over the rest of the world, and I know your money.

For people like yourself, who want the best, breakfast or tiffin is one dollar."

"Breakfast or what?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

"Tiffin," the commander explained. "It means luncheon, and is used by English people in India."

"Dinner a dollar and a half. The rooms are at different prices. For the second-cla.s.s fare the prices are just half as much as the first."

"There are a couple of the waiters," said Mrs. Woolridge. "They are nice-looking men, not very black."

"They come from India, and make better servants than Arabs," added the guide.

"How slender their forms, and what delicate features they have!"

exclaimed the New York lady.

"You are likely to see a good many of them in the course of the next month or two," suggested the captain, as the walk was continued in the town. "The houses are about the same as they were in other parts of Egypt, and they have the same ornamented lattices behind which the ladies inside can see you without being seen."

The party looked into the quarters of the Arabian sailors, consisting of low hovels, but did not enter. The population of the town is now about 15,000. Before the time of the ca.n.a.l, it was an Arab village of 1,500, with low mud shanties. It was like the desert around it; for no water was there to brighten the foliage, if there was any, for not a tree or a plant was to be seen. The water used was of poor quality, brought from the Springs of Moses by camels and donkeys. It was a poverty-stricken place. But the opening of the fresh-water ca.n.a.l from the Nile vivified everything, and vegetation has come into being since this event.

The party examined this ca.n.a.l, to which the place is so much indebted for its present appearance, as well as no little of its prosperity. It is six and a half feet above the level of the Red Sea, and its flow into the conduits for the supply of the city, as well as the waste into the sea, is regulated by a large lock, with gates. Near this they found the camel-camp, and not less than five hundred of these animals were there at the time; and the pilot said he had seen as many as a thousand of them there at once. They form the caravans to and from Arabia and Egypt, as well as into Syria.