"Somebody got the money, and then they made signs for trying it again. Another copper was thrown, and then another, and the children evidently enjoyed the fun, and wanted it kept up as long as the boat remained.
"While they were in the midst of the sport two or three men, who appeared to be elders of the village, came with whips and ordered the boys away. The passengers sent the conductor to argue with them to let the sport go on; his argument was very short, and consisted in giving each man a franc to go away. They accepted the money and walked off. The instant they were out of sight the performance was renewed, and it continued till the boat swung out and moved up the river. We had several swimming matches, like those we had farther down the Nile. Some of the boys were very expert swimmers, and seemed as much adapted for the water as for the land."
From Bellianeh the steamer proceeded to Keneh, an important town on the east bank of the Nile, and the terminus of a caravan road from Kosseir, on the Red Sea. Formerly it had a considerable trade with the Red Sea, but since the opening of the Suez Canal, and the facilities it affords for steam communication with Alexandria, the business has declined very greatly. At one time it supplied a large part of the Arabian coast with corn, which was carried on camels to Kosseir, and then shipped to the points where it was wanted.
The town stands a couple of miles back from the river, and is on the site of an ancient city, though it contains no ruins of any consequence. At the landing-place Frank saw a large pile of jars or water-bottles made of porous clay, and, on asking about them, he learned that a considerable trade in these articles was carried on from Keneh, which had the reputation of making them better than any other place on the Nile.
Of course this assertion excited his curiosity, and led him to wonder why the potters of Keneh should be more expert than other men in the same occupation.
"It is not the potters, but the material they work with," replied the Doctor, "that makes the superiority of the water-bottles of Keneh."
"How is that?"
"Close to the town there is a bed of clay," was the response, "which is said to be peculiarly adapted to the manufacture of these bottles. It is mixed with the ashes of halfa grass in certain proportions, and must be well mixed while both substances are in a dry state. Then the mixture is moistened, and is ready for the potter. We will see one of the establishments where the work is performed."
On their way to the town our friends visited a shed where several potters were engaged at their trade. The soft clay was placed on a horizontal wheel, which was turned rapidly either by the hand or the foot of the workman; while it revolved with its plastic burden the fingers of the potter gave the bottle its shape, and the whole operation was very quickly accomplished. Then the bottle was carefully removed, and placed where it could dry in the open air, and the wheel was ready for fashioning another.