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[Page 160]
The banks are low along the canal, and except where there are stations no signs of vegetable life. A greater contrast to Panama, could not be imagined. Suez is nothing but a great gutter dug through country, which cannot be at any point more than 30 feet above sea level. To build Panama the great difficulty was turning the water aside, but to build Suez water had to be brought for miles to enable the work to carry on. On the ledt bank of the canal can be seen the old trenches and barb wire of 2 years ago, when Jacky Turk was able to try and take the offensive; things have changed now a bit. Along the canal we saw 2 foxes sneaking away, the only other animals seen were goats and camels and donkeys 4 legged ones of course. Near Suez the canal opens out into the Gulf of Suez, a place that looks full of shoals at first, but deepens further on. On the West Bank is the town of Suez, and behind a dry looking range of hills known as the Mountain of Tombs.
We pulled up here for an hour or two and the Arab feluccas crowded around with oranges on for sale cheap. After buying a little, the fellows, who had got tired of paying exorbitant prices, for a joke tied the mast of the Arab boat to the ships rail. Then they yelled "buckshee" and lowered the basket , Abdul shoved 3 oranges in and demanded to be freed, but they only yelled buckshee again and lowered the basket once more, he shoved 3 more in and still they were obdurate. One of his crew tried to climb up the mast to free it but was frightened down with a broom. Then the worthy sons of Mahomet became angry, they talked loudly in their own language. The skipper entreated, threatened implored and when they refused, he clenched his fists and yelled Ahh, like a