We stopped on this occasion only to take a glance at the Barage, for so this place is called; but on our return from Cairo gave it a careful examination, and, by the politeness of the chief engineer, M. Lenon, were furnished with plans and explanations.
The traveller along the Nile is everywhere struck with the great value of irrigation to these lands. Water is frequently raised from the river by wheels turned by oxen or camels, and sometimes by buckets swung at the end of a pole and worked by men; and wherever this is done, we found, even at midsummer, gardens of the most intense verdure and of extreme luxuriance. It may be doubted, indeed, whether the annual floods do not benefit the country quite as much by the irrigation as by their muddy deposites. The object of the Pasha is, by means of dams, to raise the waters of the river to the surface of the adjoining country, and enable the cultivators to carry it by canals to any part, and to irrigate the whole region freely, wherever they may choose, and the place we were now at is the one which he has selected for this great undertaking. The idea of this is not quite a novel one, but was first grasped by the capacious mind of Buonaparte, between whose character and that of the Egyptian monarch, there is, by the way, quite a strong resemblance.
The reader will remember, that of the seven mouths by which the Nile formerly discharged itself, only two remain; one, the eastern, passing into the sea at Damietta; while the other, or western, discharges itself in a similar way near Rosetta. The Delta, lying between them, is of extreme fertility. Should he succeed, not only will the productions of this be greatly increased, but, by leading the waters off east and west of it, he will be able to redeem from the encroaching deserts an immense extent of country now quite abandoned. But difficulties of an alarming kind present themselves. The bottom of the river is loose and unstable; and the shores are so friable, that if an attempt is made to build a dam across it at once, the water will, in the mean time, be working out for itself new channels along the sides. Minds like that of Mohammed Ali, however, are only stimulated, not discouraged, by serious obstacles. He has employed M. Lenon, a French gentleman, and self-taught, but an engineer of superior abilities; and trusting the whole matter to him, has given him, as a nominal superior, Mahmoud Bey, the late governor of Cairo, one of the most wealthy men of the country, and apparently an agreeable coadjutor in this great undertaking. The [subjoined plan] is copied from one drawn for us by M. Lenon, and the measurements were also furnished by him.
In this A represents the river before branching, B B the Rosetta, and C C the Damietta branch. It is proposed to build a dam across at E and e, sufficiently high to elevate the waters nearly to the level of the banks, which are here about thirty feet above the usual surface of the river. The engineer commences with cutting the canals F F and f f, each thirteen hundred feet wide and thirty-two in depth, leaving cross strips at L and l, until the canal is ready for use. Across these canals at G and g dams are to be constructed forty-one feet in height, including the foundation, and a hundred and twenty-eight in thickness; and in them are to be left sluices of sufficient capacity to allow the passage of the entire river. When these are completed, the sluices are left open, and the cross slips at L and l being cut away, the river seeks the more direct passage, and leaves the old channels M and m nearly dry. Piles are now to be driven into the bottom of the river, and in these the dams E and e are to be constructed; the former one thousand, and the latter eight hundred and twenty feet in length, each thirty-four feet in height. These being completed, the sluices are to be closed, and the water is thus carried to the required height. By means of the canals I, I and K, it is to be carried over the Delta, and in a similar manner is also led off to the east and west, as far as they may desire. In this latter operation they will be assisted by the nature of the ground; for here, as along the Mississippi and the Ganges, the ground immediately adjoining the stream is higher than at places more remote. At K will be a gate for checking the flow of water, and at H and h small canals, with locks, for boats passing up and down the river. An immense water power will be thus created at the Barage; and it is in contemplation to erect there mills and manufactories of every species; and also to lay out a city after the European plan. Cairo will probably find here a formidable rival.
This is a great undertaking, whether we consider the advantages which it promises or the startling boldness of the design; for in our country we can scarcely form an idea of the difficulties that beset it on every side. Every thing, even the most trifling kind of tool necessary in the operation, has first to be made. Mons. Lenon informed us that he could not have found things less prepared for his hands, if he had commenced operations in the midst of the African deserts. And, in addition, both he and the sovereign have to encounter the ignorance and the prejudices of the jealous officers of the court. They came once to Mohammed Ali, complaining that the engineer was going to needless expense in importing wood for piles when they had trees enough at home, which, if spliced, would answer just as well. “Say you so,” replied the Pasha, “the experiment shall be made forthwith;” and looking out into his garden, he ordered trees at once to be cut down, and sent the complainants to see them spliced and arranged to their own satisfaction. This was done; the pile-driver was applied to them, and at the first stroke they flew into shivers. Since that time they have been more cautious in making complaints.
We found 10,000 men at work digging the canals; 6,000 on the Rosetta side and the balance on the Darietta branch. Mons. Lenon says, that if he can get men enough, he will finish it in three years: but at the present mode of working, it will require six or seven. They broke ground three months previous to our visit. One hundred great dredging machines are to be employed, thirty of which are already on the ground. These, as well as most of the tools, have to be imported from Europe. In the latter they are yet very badly provided. The ground is broken by hoes, and worked into baskets with shovels or fingers, as the case may be: these are carried on the head to the side of the river, and there emptied down its banks. The men are divided into companies of from thirty to fifty each, with one or two drivers, who hasten their operations by a free use of whips.
This inhumanity must not be laid to the charge of the engineer, who has in several ways endeavored to soften the hardships of their condition. We found him erecting hospitals, and conveniences for grinding corn and cooking; and he has prevailed on the Pasha to allow them wages, a thing heretofore quite unknown. They receive each thirty-six paras, or four and a half cents per day, from which six paras are deducted for their board. This in Egypt may be considered pretty handsome wages.
At our second visit we stopped at the tent of Mahmoud Bey, whom we found to be a fine specimen of the Turkish gentleman. He is a venerable looking man, with a splendid white beard falling over his breast. The tent was of mammoth dimensions, carpeted, and ornamented within with stripes of cotton or silken stuffs of gay colors, producing a rich and pleasing effect. His attendants brought fruits, coffee, and pipes with mouth-pieces set in diamonds. At Mons. Lenon’s tent we found the chief of the St. Simonians, who had lately been banished from France, and had taken refuge in this country.
Before dismissing the Barage, I should add a fact mentioned to us by Mons. Lenon, that in digging here they have come to bricks at the depth of sixty feet from the present surface of the ground.