CHAPTER XXXII
THE AGENT OF THE PARSEE MERCHANTS
The ancient kingdoms of the world had been disposed of by the professor,and all the countries of the Red Sea had been treated historically andgeographically; and though the passengers still occupied the promenade,no more conferences were needed for the present. But it became a placefor conversation, and all kinds of subjects were discussed there.
The commander pointed out the location of all the important places, orwhere any notable event had occurred; but none of them were of any greatconsequence, and they were too far off to be seen distinctly. The shiphad reached the widest part of the sea, and all the rest of the courseto the entrance was through the deep water in the middle; for the shoreswere studded with reefs, reaching out from forty to sixty miles from theland.
"How deep is the water here, Captain Ringgold?" asked Dr. Hawkes, at oneof these conversation parties on the third day from Suez.
"The last time I looked at the chart, just on the parallel of 20 deg. ofnorth latitude, the sounding was 500 fathoms," replied the commander.
"Indeed? That is 3,000 feet; I did not suppose it was so deep as that,"added the doctor.
"The bottom is very irregular in all parts of the Red Sea; and in someplaces it is more than double the figure just mentioned. When we wereabout sixty miles north of Jiddah, the sounding was 1,054 fathoms, or6,234 feet."
"How deep has the water been found to be in the ocean?"
"As much as 4,000 fathoms of line have been paid out, with no bottom asthe result. Soundings of 3,000 fathoms have been obtained. In thelibrary you will find the 'Cruise of the Challenger,' which is thelatest authority on this subject."
"I shall refer to it; thank you, Captain."
"On a little rocky island on our right," continued the commander,pointing to the location, "is the town of Suakin, as it is generallycalled, though the proper word is Sawakin. It is a town of ten thousandinhabitants. It is abreast of Nubia, the Soudan, and is the outlet ofits commerce. When the Mahdi War became a serious matter, England tookpossession of this port; and several battles were fought in the vicinitywith the followers of the Mahdi, who seemed to imitate the example ofMohammed to some extent in his crusade. The place is still held by aBritish garrison, and about seven thousand pilgrims embark here everyyear for Mecca by the way of Jiddah."
"We all remember the war in the Soudan in which the Mahdi figured solargely," said Uncle Moses. "I should like to know something more abouthim."
"The meaning of the word is the guide, 'the well-directed one.' Therehave been at least half a dozen Mahdis in the history of Mohammedans,just as there have been Messiahs in Christian lands, all of themimpostors of course. One appeared in Arabia, who claimed to be asuccessor of Mohammed who had disappeared; another presented himself inthe northern part of Africa. One appeared in Egypt during the Frenchinvasion, and was killed in battle.
"The last one was Mohammed Ahmed; and like the rest of them he claimedto be a lineal descendant of the Prophet, divinely commissioned toextend his religion, and especially to drive the Christians out of theSoudan. He was in his earlier life an employe of the Egyptiangovernment, but quarrelled with the governor of his province, and becamea trader and a slave-dealer. At the age of forty he assumed the _role_of the Mahdi; and in that capacity he did a great deal of mischief. Hecaptured the chief city of Kordofan, and made it the capital; heoverwhelmed the army of Hicks Pacha, and finally shut up General Gordonin Khartoom, as has been related before. He died in 1885, and wassucceeded by Abdallah. But he had deprived Egypt of even the nominalpossession of the Soudan."
"He was a terrible fighter," added Uncle Moses.
"Fanatics usually are."
The voyage continued without any unusual incident till the ship wasapproaching the entrance to the sea. The shores on both sides becamemore precipitous, and heights of two thousand feet were to be seen. Thecommander pointed out Mocha, which has the reputation of sending out thefinest coffee in the world; but this is said to come from Hodeida, aport north of it.
"Those hills on the left indicate the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, which waswritten Babelmandel in the old geographies when I went to school. Babmeans a gate wherever you find it; and this is the 'Gate of Tears,' socalled from the perils it presented to the small craft of the Arabians;and many of them were wrecked here," said the commander when the partywere gathered on the promenade as usual if anything was to be seen. "Weare now in latitude 12 deg. 30', and I notice that some of the ladies arebecoming tolerably diligent in the use of their fans."
"It is time for us to begin to reduce our clothing," suggested Mrs.Belgrave.
"Be prudent about that, ladies; for I think we shall have some coolweather again when we get out from the land, though it has been growingwarmer since yesterday," added the doctor.
"There is a strong current here, and some of the water comes up from theregion of the equator; and, as you have been informed before, thetemperature of it runs up to a hundred degrees," said the captain. "Hereis the Island of Perim, a barren rock, three miles and a half long bytwo and a half wide, shaped like a crescent, with a good harbor betweenthe two horns. The English took possession of it and held it for a yearin 1799, and again occupied it in 1857, and later it was made into acoaling-station.
"As you perceive, it is fortified, and it has a British garrison. It hashardly any other population than coolie coal-heavers. It is adesolate-looking place, and there does not appear to be even a blade ofgrass growing upon it."
"Is it still Egypt on the other side of the strait?" asked Mrs.Belgrave.
"No; it is Abyssinia," replied the captain. "It is a country containing200,000 square miles, nearly three-fourths of the size of Texas. Itconsists of tableland about 7,000 feet high, and there are peaks withinits borders 15,000 feet high. It has a lake sixty miles long, and youhave been told something about its rivers in connection with the sourcesof the Nile. It is rich in minerals, but the mines are hardly worked atall.
"There has been the usual amount of quarrelling as in former times amongthe chiefs of the various tribes in Abyssinia; but finally an adventurernamed Kassa, after defeating various chiefs, caused himself to becrowned as King Theodore. He tried to form an active alliance withEngland and France; but no notice was taken of his propositions. He wasso enraged at this neglect on the part of England, that he began tomaltreat the missionaries and consuls of that country. The British sentagents to treat for the release of the prisoners; but the king shut themup in the fortress of Magdala, though they brought a royal letter andpresents.
"Of course England could not stand this, and she sent an army of 16,000men to attend to the matter. They landed on the coast, and marched toMagdala. Theodore occupied a fort on a height with 6,000 men, and hehurled nearly the whole of his force upon a detachment of 1,700 Britishencamped on the plain below. The repeated attacks were repulsed everytime, and the king was beaten. Then he sued for peace, and released theprisoners he held in the castle; but as he refused to surrender, thefortress was stormed and captured. Theodore was found dead where he hadshot himself. The fort was demolished, and the British retired from thecountry. The expedition cost 45,000,000 dollars; but England alwaysprotects her citizens, wherever they are."
"Is it a Mohammedan country, like Egypt?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.
"It is not; it is nominally a Christian country, though its religion isof the very lowest type that ever was called by that name, whollyexternal, and morals are at a very low ebb. After the British left, aprince defeated his rival, and was crowned as Emperor John; but it is asingle-horse monarchy. It has been at war with Egypt, which never gotpossession of the country as it desired. In 1885 Italy occupiedMassowah, though for what purpose was never definitely stated. Threecompanies of its army were attacked by the Abyssinians, and nearly thewhole of them were massacred; but the Italians did not avenge thisassault."
The ship continued on her course along the coast of Yemen ninety milesto Aden, which the commander had before given out as his
firststopping-place. Steam had been reduced so that the arrival should not bein the night. The passage had been made in about four days. The pilotcame on board at six o'clock in the morning, and the passengers werealready on the promenade. Two large steamers were at anchor in theroads, and were engaged in coaling and watering. A boat came off as soonas the ship anchored, containing an agent of the great Parsee merchants,who do most of the business of the town. He wished to see the captain,who was in his cabin.
"Good-morning, Captain," said the man, speaking very good English. "Ihave taken the liberty to bring off some newspapers."
"I am greatly obliged to you, for we are getting hungry for newspapers,"replied Captain Ringgold as he took the package. "Excuse me for a momentand I will send them to the passengers, for I have not time to look atthem now."
He tossed the bundle of papers up to Dr. Hawkes, and returned to hiscabin.
"I shall be happy to take your orders for whatever you may need at thisport, including coal and water, as well as provisions and othersupplies," continued the agent.
The commander ordered both coal and water; for he knew about the Parseemerchants, and referred Mr. Gaskill, as he gave his name, to Mr.Melancthon Sage, the chief steward.
"What sort of goods do you furnish here, Mr. Gaskill?" asked thecommander.
"Every sort, Captain Ringgold. This steamer does not belong to anyregular line, I think," said the agent.
"It does not to any line, regular or irregular; and yet she is not atramp," replied the commander with a smile.
"Is she a man-of-war?" inquired the visitor, opening wide his big eyes.
"She is not; she is a yacht, with a pleasure party on board who aremaking a voyage around the world."
"Ah, yes, Captain; I understand. There is another steam-yacht in theroads, over beyond the P. & O. steamer nearest to you. Perhaps you haveseen her; she is painted white all over."
"I did not notice her. What flag does she carry?"
"She sails under the British flag. But you suggested that you might needother supplies. We can furnish your party with all the English goodsthey want, and there are first-class tailors and dressmakers here."
"My passengers must speak for themselves," answered the captain. "I fearyou cannot furnish the supplies I need."
"We can furnish everything that can be named," persisted the agent ofthe Parsee merchants. "What do you require?"
"Two twenty-four pounders, brass, naval carriages, and all theammunition needed for their use," replied the commander; and he felt asthough he had made an impossible demand.
"We can furnish anything and everything you may desire in this line; infact, we can fit out your ship as a man-of-war. But do you need only twosuch guns as you describe, Captain Ringgold?" asked the business-drivingMr. Gaskill. "We have a lot of four of them, and we should like todispose of them together."
"I will see the guns before I say anything more about the matter. Whencan you fill our water-tanks and coal-bunkers?" inquired the commander.
"We are very busy to-day, for we have several steamers to supply; but itshall be done before to-morrow noon."
"Now I will introduce you to our chief steward."
Mr. Sage insisted upon seeing his supplies before he named the quantityneeded, and made an appointment on shore.