"The canal has been dug out of loose sand for the most part, and it would have been impossible to make it of uniform depth. Some of the largest steamers in the world pass through the canal on their way to India, China, and Australia. The Orient Line has the Ophir, a twin-screw ship, about five hundred feet long, and others nearly as large.
"This big ditch across the isthmus has an average width of three hundred feet, or two hundred less than the length of the Ophir. She could not, therefore, get across the channel. There is a current in this water, and fierce winds sometimes blow across it, and both of these affect the inertia of the vessels. A comparatively small steamer like the Guardian-Mother can be twisted about by these causes, and her bow or her stern may catch on the sloping sides."
"You have made out your case, Captain Ringgold; and the moral is that general truths are not invariably true," said Uncle Moses good-naturedly.
"I only hope we shall not get aground," added Mrs. Belgrave.
"We are fairly started now, and we have Lake Menzaleh on one side, and a low sandy plain, once covered with water, on the other," continued the commander. "It is difficult to believe that the swamp and lagoon on the starboard were once covered with fertile fields, watered by two of the branches of the Nile, where wheat was raised in abundance, from which Rome and other countries were supplied with food."
"What vast flocks of birds!" exclaimed Mrs. Woolridge.
"Those are flamingoes, just rising from their resting-place," added the captain. "They were white just now as we looked at them; notice the color of the inside of their wings, which are of a rose-tinted pink."
"But what became of the wheat-fields that were here?" asked Mrs. Blossom, after they had observed the wild birds for a time.
"The sea broke in and covered the rich lands with sand and salt; and there are towns buried there now."
"Goodness, gracious!" almost screamed Mrs. Blossom. "There's another steamer sailing on the land!"