became of practical use in our day.
"Look on this map," said the Doctor, as he drew one from his pocket and handed it to the youths, "and you will see the various points I have indicated, together with the line of the Maritime Canal, and of the Fresh-Water Canal which supplies this part of Egypt with water."
Several minutes were passed in the study of the map. Before it was finished the train started, and in a short time our friends were busily contemplating the strange scene presented from the windows of their carriage.
The railway followed very nearly the bank of the Fresh-Water Canal, which varied from twenty to fifty feet in width, and appeared to be five or six feet deep. Beyond it was the Maritime Canal, a narrow channel, where steamers were slowly making their way, the distances between them being regulated by the pilots, so as to give the least possible chance of collision. Considering the number of steamers passing through the Canal, the number of accidents is very small. Frank could not understand how steamers could meet and pass each other, till the Doctor explained that there were "turnouts" every few miles, where a steamer proceeding in one direction could wait till another had gone by, in the same way that railway-trains pass each other by means of "sidings." Then there was plenty of space in Lake Timsah and the Bitter Lake, not only for ships to move, but to anchor in case of any derangement of their machinery.
From the information derived from the Doctor, and from the books and papers which he supplied, Frank and Fred made up the following account of the Suez Canal for the benefit of their friends at home:
"The Canal is one hundred miles long, from Suez, on the Red Sea, to Port Said, on the Mediterranean. Advantage was taken of depressions in the desert below the level of the sea, and when the water was let in, these depressions were filled up and became lakes (Timsah and Bitter Lakes), as you see on the map. There were thirty miles of these depressions; and then there was a marsh or swamp (thirty miles across), called Lake Menzaleh, which was covered during the flood of the Nile, and only needed a channel to be dug or dredged sufficiently deep for the passage of ships. The first spadeful of earth was dug by Ferdinand de Lesseps at Port Said on the 25th of April, 1868, and the completed Canal was opened for the passage of ships on the 16th of November, 1869. About forty steamers entered it at Port Said on that day, anchored in Lake Timsah for the night, and passed to the Red Sea on the 17th. M. de Lesseps projected the Canal while he was serving in Egypt as French Consul, and it was through his great energy and perseverance that the plan was finally carried out. The Canal was distinctively a French enterprise, and was opposed by England, but as soon as it was completed the English Government saw its great importance, and bought a large amount of stock that had hitherto been held by the Egyptian Government.
"The line of the Canal where digging was necessary was through sand, but in many places it was packed very hard, so that pickaxes were needed to break it up. Much of the sand was removed by native laborers with shovels and baskets; but after the first two years it was necessary to substitute machinery for hand labor. Excavating and dredging machines driven by steam were put in operation, and the work was pushed along very rapidly; the channel through Lake Menzaleh was made by floating dredges equipped with long spouts that deposited the sand two or three hundred feet from where they were at work, and the dry cuttings at higher points were made by similar excavators mounted on wheels. At one place, just south of Lake Timsah, there was a bed of solid rock, where it was necessary to do a great deal of blasting, and the last blast in this rock was made only a few hours before the opening of the Canal.
"The cost of the work was nearly $100,000,000, of which about one-third[Pg 35]
[Pg 36] was paid by Egypt, under the mistaken impression that the Canal would be beneficial to the country. The Khedive, or Viceroy of Egypt, spent nearly $10,000,000 on the festivities at the opening of the Canal, and this foolish outlay is one of the causes of the present bankruptcy of the country. Palaces and theatres were built for this occasion, roads were opened that were of no use afterward, and an enormous amount of money was spent for fireworks, music, banquets, and presents of various kinds to all the guests. The Empress of France was present at the opening of the Canal, and distinguished persons from all parts of the world were invited and entertained in princely style.
"In 1870, the first year the Canal was in operation, 486 vessels passed through it; in the next year the number was 765, and it steadily increased till it became 1264 vessels in 1874, 1457 in 1876, and 2026 in 1880. More than two-thirds of the entire number of ships passing the Canal are English, and in some years they have been fully three-fourths, while the French are less than one-thirteenth of the total number. France, which expected much from the Canal, has realized very little; while England, which opposed its construction, has reaped nearly all the benefit therefrom.[2]
"By the original charter the company was allowed to charge ten francs (two dollars) a ton on the measurement of each ship going through the Canal, and ten francs for each passenger. The revenue, after deducting the expenses of operating, amounts to about five per cent. on the capital of the company, and the officers think it will be seven or eight per cent. before many years.
"The following figures show the dimensions of the Canal:
| Feet | |
| Width at water-line, where the banks are low | 328 |
| Width at water-line in deep cuttings, where the banks are high | 190 |
| Width at bottom of the Canal | 72 |
| Depth of water in the Canal | 26 |
"The scenery on the Canal is not particularly interesting, as one soon gets tired of looking at the desert, with its apparently endless stretch of sand. At Ismailia and Kantara there has been an attempt at cultivation, and there are some pretty gardens which have been created since the opening of the Fresh-Water Canal, and are kept up by irrigation. But nearly all the rest is a waste, especially on the last twenty-seven miles, through Lake Menzaleh to Port Said. If you make this ride on one of the small steamers maintained by the Canal Company you find that one mile is exactly like any other, and you are soon glad enough to seek the cabin and go to sleep.
"Here are some figures showing the saving in distances (in nautical miles) by the Canal:"
| Via Cape of Good Hope. | Via Canal. | Saving. | |
| England to Bombay | 10,860 | 6020 | 4840 |
| New York to Bombay | 11,520 | 7920 | 3600 |
| St. Petersburg to Bombay | 11,610 |
6770
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