Show I An An r Oriental Journey I t I j BEING THE PLAIN NARRATIVE OF SIMPLE THINGS BY A PROSAIC MAN MANBY M Ai I BY y CHARLES C ROOD It Is Ja almost axiomatic that travelers upon returning home experience an uncontrollable desire to work off the th burden of their thoughts and observations observations observations upon their esteemed fellow citi citizens citizens citizens zens The Herald having kindly of br offered to facilitate the operation of this natural law In my case I hope its readers will receive some compensation compensation a tion while accompanying me over the route our party traversed In so however they will not encounter much history or many statistics Oc Oe Occasionally a traveler may Set get et a it point of ot view not set down in the books And as a to those things ti usually writ written written written ten about I will undertake to lo hoose only what made the thee greatest great st Impre impression impression sion confining my account mainly to the Sound hi to countries now nov no Mohammedan Early Euly In January we left New York Tork In a blinding rainstorm much to our disappointment as we were very anxious anxious anxIous ious to see the city and anI harbo from fron the decks de ks of a disappearing t Our r aln objective point bein CaIn Calr this trip trl was timed to arrive there 1 I e fore the close of ot the winter whiter season which for purposes of ascending the Nile lasts from about the first of or No November November November vember to the first of ot March Our boat at soon oon got Into the gulf stream and the weather wea ler was fine for f r one or two days uncomfortably warm arm with ordinary winter clothing To some of c up us this was the first transAtlantic trip trI and m I ceased not to wonder at the present pr s nt day of ot oceanic travel Could Christopher Columbus have been placed p d blindfolded in the midst there thereof of ot when be he opened his eyes to the thema magnificence ma speed and size of this floating palace I think it w uli hive have been b to him the transcendent marvel of ot modern Invention The Azores On this southern route we tOm to the S Islands off the coast cf f Africa and miles from Portugal P by which country they the are owned They consist of nine nino Islands contain jag square miles mlles with population population population lation The climate Is mild and trop tropical tropIcal tropical ical and Eun European plants grow in such profusion that the only problem is to restrain them from froni becoming too to rank and luxuriant The portions visible vis visible ible from the tho sea are very Tery attractive Ix Long n lines of cliffs are arc broken at In Interval Intervals tenal with Moping eloping lands leading from the waters edge to the tops toos to of oC b hills In the th distance Thes Thesa are losely cultivated and the different personal possessions poss are separated by bs green hedges the plots being very Ir It Irregular regular in shape The ground levelled and terraced was beginning lo 1 show the green of the crops caps er ps and shrubs shruM is s swell well as a the blossoms of orange trees tree The houses bouses are quaint Jua nt mostly painted J white with green window blinds bUnds At AL a distance there was an appearance cf d neatness amess that forcibly reminded me of Spotless Town Ponta Delgado Delga on the Island of ot San Miguel Is the prin principal principal cipal city Is modernized modernised and an pos possesses po pose possesses se SeB many periodicals much devoted to 10 politics of which they the have havo as much to tie te tIm the square Quae inch as in our ur own beautiful u 1 city The are said saM to be b rabid politicians who await with impatience the arrival of the tho th mall mail boats from the parent rent country Gibraltar On the eighth day out we arrive at atthe the fhe tiny harbor harber of in Cata Catalan I Catalan ta lan Ian bay By B the tile way it must seem strange stran e to observant Europeans Euro ans to tJ find In America Am ca the large I e safe harbor that thit abound on our coasts as us they have hav a f t w vr that can caD be favorably compa compared ed By means of a tender we land at a this the most important and the t fort fortT fortress T ress SS in the world Along Alone the shore shori at atthe attile atthe the tile base baBe of the mountain lies the city Here we get et the first glimpse of that th t mixture of eastern and western civilization civil chI civilization ef of which we shall see ee a good deal d l before bEfore ore the trip is Ig ended The Tb En English Klish glish lIah occupy the extreme end of the peninsula then comes a small strip of oC unoccupied land called the zone and then the old Spanish town These Th e reveal a sharp contrast even be 00 between between tween European methods The English Englishtown Englishtown Englishtown town Is well kept mart in its appear appearance appearance ance with modern and ways was The Spanish town is composed loo ed of small streets of low ramshackle houses dir dirty dirty dirty ty and bad smelling sm to which the pop population population contributes its full fun quota of odors There is somewhere where in ish iEh publications the statement t that Gibraltar is temporarily occupied O eu euIl pied Il d by the British This little tittle friendly visit has lasted now about years and there appears a to be no rival in m sight to knock this Gibraltar chip ff the shoulders It is essentially f a fortress town maintained main maln maintained by the soldiers their purveyors and the tourists The curious shops the narrow streets the variety of strange costumes and wearers the om omnipresence of the Tommy Atkins and just over the line Jine the Spaniard swelled out in blue blu and green regalia all presented a very lively pic picture picture picture ture Over all frown tho the big sans urs ens and concealed fortifications probably pome Fome time to engage in one of the greatest gre test naval battles of history for the control con control control of th f gateway of the important Mediterranean We TO went through some me of ot the underground passages ex excavated 12 years ago a In which are planted some old guns mostly used u l for firing salutes Visitors even In Jn this comparatively innocuous section are Ire checked off oJ and carefully accounted for The accompanying sentry entry herds the people like sheep One can scarce scarcely scarcely scarcely ly loiter and certainly will not riot be oe loft left behind From the open oum holes in the lower face of this big bl sheer rock we were able abIe to look out and down upon tho the town and ships which In the indo inde lent tropical air look took on a peaceful aspect aspet t t greatly great yo at variance from the purpose e of their creation Everywhere there were plenty of if idle hUe men and for lor forthe forthe the first time in ny ray life I t looked upon a population of which no one was in a al l 1 burry The Th ock ruck To k of Gibraltar is majestic tic tie in itself but it loses nothing in its appeal to 10 th imagination when we ve wense vense nse the fact that thai deep leep In Jn the inner innermost Innermost innermost most recesses of its It upper half are the most potential weapons of ot destruction the hadd hand of mar ran an devise levise To ro re relieve relieve the lieve leve the te anxiety of ne 0 numerous inquirers ers elS I will state that the name Prudential Pru Prudential Prudential does not appear on the face ci this gigantic rock reek i 1 Naples Everyone on the steamboat I presume pre presume presume sume had been b looking forward to the voyage through the Mediterranean having heard much about its blue wa waters waters waters clear skies and balmy air Alas the disappointment to human hopes No part of the trip was more disagree disagreeable able nowhere more tempestuous wa waters waters waters blacker clouds or colder winds Seasickness came to half halt the passengers passengers gers one day out from Naples and the I captains dinner was wa not a joyful oc occasion occasion occasion casion But as we sailed nil d into the bay baythe baythe the tIle sun shone brightly and the exquisite site sUe scene before us charmed our senses Yet I have but one distinct im impression Impression impression of Naples Kaples and that Is la not of oC Vesuvius whose smoke could be dimly seen en in the distance nor yet of its his historic historic tone streets and environs but the rec recollection recollection recollection of the Neapolitan hack driver will be mine forever I am assured that of all the artistic possessions of that part of Italy nothing comes nearer perfection each In its own way than the picturesque repellent citizen who sits on on his carriage box ox and brutally mauls his horse Tse T se drivers have an international reputation and main maintain maintain maintain tain it They are mostly escaped or discharged convicts and look like vil villains villains villains lains who would willingly stab you In Inthe Inthe inthe the dark I was reminded of the young woman who in discussing murderous weapons of or the Italians said she would not mind being shot but want to tobe tobe tobe be Our passage had been booked hooked for Alexandria before leaving New York so that we could stay in Naples only over night This gave but buta a few brief hours for a drive around the outside of things and of course no notime notime notime time for any side trips We had to pass by all the beauties of Naples proper the tho attractiveness of Vesuvius Pompeii Sorrento and Capri and embark on the final stage of the Journey to the land landof landof of oC the Nile Our boat sailed through the straits of Messina passing Strom boli and the Sicilian mountains in the distance Neither Scylla nor dis seemed to have any terrors for tor our pilot and we drew near Alexandria on the evening of the fourth day da Alexandria First we perceive in the dim horizon a white lighthouse then two solitary factory chimneys appear then others spring up as if by magic then all an at once this great ancient city brought up to date comes into view The palaces are in the foreground close to the sea We pass around a point and enter the sea canal when we are at last face to face with the domes and minarets of an Oriental city When the boat has been made fast hordes of col colored colored colored ored men In fez and turban swarm on onboard onboard onboard board to carry the baggage from the boat Blocking up the passage pas ge ways and Jabbering in their unknown tongue they ey add much to the natural confusion Our party not wishing to remain in Alexandria all night make frantic efforts to reach the station In time for the 6 Cairo train But the delays at the custom house and the long Iong drive for the drays cause us to stand in impotent despair and see our train roll away while the trunks are arc being dumped on the platform Procuring an guide we finally were established in a poor hotel for the night The good ones were all full this being the busy season for tourist travel There Is IB not much to Interest one in Alexandria unless he stops long enough to Investigate its rooks nooks and old quarters with reference to their historical associations We visited Pompeys Pillar erected about A D to commemorate the capture of Alexandria A andria by b Emperor I Iby Two large arge columns were brought here hereby hereby by Caesar C esar or Cleopatra to adorn the One was removed to London Lon London don its counterpart to New Kew York where it is known as Nee Kee Needle Keedie Needle dle die We drove over oer the city getting a view of its fine streets and business blocks its palaces public squares and statuary st tua We entered a temple and ancient tomb from the Egyptian period but these things pale into insignificance before the treasures subsequently revealed Nearly 90 per percent percent percent cent of the foreign commerce comprising ing about all aU the export trade passes through Alexandria Here also are the chief offices of the customs The Tho market at Cairo deals only with the produce from the Sudan such as India rubber skins senna leaves ostrich feathers and ivory Ivo but the great sta staple staple staple crops of cotton cotton seed sugar onions lentils and similar products are dealt in almost entirely at Alexandria The Delta A four hours ride on a good train brings us to Cairo as the distance Is only u a little over miles We have now traveled through the famous Delta of the Nile embracing within and ad adjacent adjacent jacent thereto about acres of land It opens out from Cairo north northward northward ward vard like a fan the river having di divided divided divided vided into two parts one emptying near Alexandria the other sixty miles east This latter branch runs through the fertile ferUle region which however rte e did not have an opportunity opportunity opportunity to visit The country is very flat fiat presenting no scenic features no more i than do our own boundless prairies But It is diversified by big canals for irrigation and in general aspects is said to resemble the outlook when riding through Holland The fields were green where the last crop had not been gath gathered gathered gathered ered and brown where the farmers were plowing for the next one Agri Agriculture Agriculture Agriculture culture seems to be one continual round of pleasure in Egypt for they manage to keep busy in planting Irrigating and harvesting four crops each year I was told that land is worth in that section 1000 per acre but could scarcely be believe believe lieve it After allowing for the four fourfold fourfold fourfold fold productively this sum is still out of proportion to the price for the best agricultural land elsewhere always ex tx excepting excepting of course land used for truck farming near large cities Farm wages are so low throughout Egypt about 16 15 to 25 2 cents per day there has been less inducement for capital investment in laborsaving machinery This Is es EE especially especially true above Cairo where very ve seldom do we find any but the most primitive methods in agriculture or 4 tC even In raising water from the Nile i ifor for Irrigation j I IThe The Pyramids At Cairo our passage pa sage had been Jeen en engaged gag d on the Victoria ri a boat of the I Hamburg Nile j i company for a three weeks trip tria up i ithe Ithe the Nile Since It was to sail the sec second second ond end day after our arrival we had butone but butone butone one day for Cairo at this time and wisely chose to spend it In visiting I the renowned site of the Pyramids at Taking carriages and street streetcars streetcars cars ears to the hotel resort Mena rena House we crossed the large bridge through which at certain hours I of the day all kinds of ot river craft area are I permitted to pass pa s Here for the first I time we obtained ocular evidence of another case of temporary occupancy I ICy cy by b the British nation At each end of the bridge are two mammoth lions seeing which we real realized realIzed zed we WI were under the sure but un unostentatious I ostentatious protection of British I I power We had an Idea that Egypt is j i under the suzerainty of the Ottoman empire we knew that there is a Mo Mohammedan Mohammedan khedive and we had seen i his extensive palaces but now we learn that when Lord Cromer whispers I his suggestions and advice Into the ears of ot this ruler they are uni uniformly uniformly found good and straightway j put Into execution Apropos I am sorry to learn recently that this ac accomplished accomplished British minister has been J forced to resign on account of ill health His work in the last latt quarter I of a century c has been so admirable so se tactful but withal so forceful ul that he has received that sel sei seldom seldom I dom come to a man until he is so dead they the can do him no good I From the Mena House we proceeded on our way mounted upon the promenade promenade promenade I nade deck of the camel Hanging on to a camel while he y 1 I rising |