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We spent only one day in Alexandria upon returning to it and took the opportunity of visiting an entrenched Roman camp which had lately been exhumed in the neighborhood. Its preservation from having been so long covered by superincumbent earth was almost entire, and I have often thought of it since as illustrating the complete military system which had been elaborated by the Roman soldier, as it was found necessary for his garrisons in conquered provinces to be always prepared for uprisings of the subjected nationalities. An interesting feature in the intrenchment was a Roman eagle in mosaic on the pavement in front of the entrance to the quarters of the officer in command. X
The little Austrian Lloyd’s steamer landed Hayes and myself at Jaffa in about 36 hours, Mr Stewart and the two Heywards going on along the coast of Syria and Asia Minor until they reached Constantinople, from which they made a visit to Sebastopol. The armistice which preceded the peace was in existence then so that there was less difficulty in accomplishing this than when I was there. Jaffa is a miserable little Turkish town situated immediately on the waters of the Mediterranean, with no protection for vessels in the shape of a breakwater in front of it. We were landed by means of the steamer’s yawl or launch, and had to climb up to a platform which projected a few feet over the water, where a number of idlers and other persons interested in securing travellers for different lodging houses were collected.
Some one had given Hayes a sort of letter to an American missionary living a little out of the town who, we were told, would take us in, and we proceeded in that direction. The poor man received us very hospitably and we spent a night there, his wife and daughter doing their best to make us comfortable. We made our arrangements the next morning for our ride to Jerusalem which was a journey of about sixteen hours, and at an early hour in the afternoon three horses awaited us at the missionary’s house, with an extra one for our baggage - the third animal being for our dragoman or guide. On leaving our friend we begged him to spend a guinea which we handed him for some charitable purpose
Distances in the East are measured by the length of time it takes a horse to accomplish them at a walk, and it is surprising what an accurate mode of measurement it is. Our journey in this case was divided into two stages, one of four hours and the other of twelve. The ride during the first stage was along a sort of path bordered on each side by soil that appeared rich but which exhibited few traces of cultivation. A few wild flowers were occasionally visible and perhaps a dozen or more country laborers were passed. Our ride ended at a village called Remley where we were received for the night at the house of a worthy looking old turbaned gentleman who rejoiced in the two dignities of Persian and American vice-consul or consular agent. The country through which we were passing is known as the vale of Sharon, and its limits inland are where the rocky and sterile region upon which Jerusalem stands commences.
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Before leaving Egypt I ought to say something of Mehemet Ali the founder of the reigning family and the changes and reforms which he accomplished. He was born at Kavala in Macedonia in 1769, where he remained as a collector of taxes, and afterwards as a tobacco merchant until 1799, when he was sent to Egypt in command of a contingent of 300 men sent by his native place to the Turkish Army operating against Bonaparte. Being a man of ability he soon rose to higher command and ended by becoming in 1805 the viceroy of the province, which was one of the pashalics of the Turkish empire. His first undertaking after being invested with supreme authority was to crush the Mameluke Beys who were in open revolt. This he did by means of two massacres and several battles which resulted in their total destruction. He then quelled an insurrection in Arabia, restoring that country to his sway, and conquered several outlying provinces to the south of Egypt.
Having employed European officers to discipline his levies and having equipped a powerful fleet, he felt strong enough in 1827 to measure himself with the allied fleets of England France and Russia at Navarino, where he was defeated. He there acted in the interests of the Sultan who tried to prevent the independence of Greece. In 1831 however he sent an army into Syria in command of his eldest son, Ibrahim, who had also commanded in the naval battle, and in the following year, as well as in 1839 he there completely defeated the Turkish armies opposed to him. Constantinople was twice during this time within his grasp, but its occupation was prevented by the same European powers who had already thwarted him. By the peace which he was eventually obliged to accept he was permitted for the time being to retain his Syrian conquests, and the pashalic of Egypt was made hereditary in his family, on condition of a specified annual tribute to be paid to the Sultan.
Mehemet Ali’s rule in Egypt and his rapid transformation of that province into a government which was almost that of a kingdom are an illustration not only of his great ability, but also of the never ending fertility of the Nile valley, as well as of the large population which it still maintains. He found the country torn up by intestine wars but he soon consolidated it under his own sway, and before long was able to send his armies in search of foreign conquests. The drain upon the population which these expeditions caused was a source of constant misery and unhappiness to the peace loving fellah or tiller of the soil, a being averse to war, and who dreaded the despotic methods of the victory for filling the depleted ranks of his soldiery.
The usual manner of obtaining new recruits for the army was to surround a village at night with a detachment of troops, and at day break enter the various dwellings and seize as many ablebodied men as were wanted. But few of these ever returned to their homes. They were kept in the ranks for an unlimited time either in foreign wars or in the garrisons which the conquered
provinces required, and when the seizures were made their families gave them up as forever lost to them.
On my return from Cairo to Alexandria I witnessed a scene at one of the stations which proved the grief and despair produced by one of these nightly raids. On a siding from the main track stood a train consisting of several open cars containing a large number of men in the garb of agricultural laborers, who had been seized in a neighboring village, and were destined for the army. Near them were an equal number of native women who were permitted to approach and who had come to bid them a last farewell. They were all unveiled so as to be easily recognised and their loud lamentations and exhibitions of grief while we remained at the station were painful to witness.
Many were the expedients resorted to by the Egyptian mothers to save their sons from such tyrannical impressments. One of these I was told had been repeatedly practised, namely, the cutting off of the last joint of the right forefinger, which would prevent the pulling of the trigger of the musket.
The digging of the Mahmoudi canal, to connect Alexandria with the Nile, and which, from having been hastily planned was not completed, was another instance of the recklessness with which Mehemet sacrificed the lives of his people. They were collected in large numbers for the work without proper preparations having been made in the way of shelter, food, medical attendance or the necessary implements, and, while in this state, an epidemic of cholera broke out among them and they died by the thousands.
His rule was almost exclusively for his own personal aggrandisement and that of his family and in many respects was as arbitrary and inhuman as that of the Pharaoh’s who built the pyramids. At the same time he saw the necessity for reform in the administration of government which was instituted by his orders, and certain matters of internal improvement, such as the attempted barrage of the Nile, a greater diversity of crops and the establishment of a few manufactures should be placed to his credit.
In November 1847, during a visit to Cairo, my father and three of my brothers, with other Americans to the number of ten or more were presented by the American consul to the Viceroy or Pasha at his little palace on the hill overlooking the city. It was in the evening and the entire party were mounted on donkeys who proceeded single file through the narrow streets. Upon entering the room where they were received they found the old man seated Turkish fashion on a divan or cushioned seat about three feet above the floor, the only other person present being Sheriff Pasha, an ex-governor of Syria. Mehemet was then approaching eighty, and was a wrinkled old man with a full white beard neatly trimmed and rounded below. His dress consisted of a jacket and Turkish trousers of light blue cloth and on his head was the red Turkish fez. The visitors were all provided with chairs and sat in a semicircle facing him with the Consul and interpreter on one side. Coffee and pipes were soon brought and each guest was waited on by a separate servant who passed the refreshments over the shoulder from behind. The pasha was fond of seeing foreigners and had a good deal to say but it was unsatisfactory in consequence of being through an interpreter. He seemed well informed about America and remarked that, although she was the child of England, she would soon outstrip her parent. He asked about the war with Mexico and, when told that it was going against the Mexicans, he added that he presumed the Americans
would take a piece of their territory in part payment of the expenses of the war. He alluded to the importance of the American cotton crop, and then said something about cannon balls and cotton bales, the point of which was not clearly understood. Upon inquiring whether his visitors had seen the pyramids, an excursion which they had already made, he stated that early in the century, before his successful pacification of the country, he had considered it necessary to provide an escort of 600 cavalry to a Governor General of India who wished to make the trip. One of my brothers was a small boy of six years and as he sat with the others the Pasha noticed him and inquired whose child he was. He was much addicted to snuff and took large quantities during the interview, using the meanwhile a white pocket handkerchief which he held in the left hand.
The impression he made was that, notwithstanding his advanced age and approaching infirmities, his mind was still sufficiently clear for him to continue to hold the reins of power. His eventful life was however approaching its end then, for he died eighteen months afterwards at the age of eighty - one of the remarkable men of the century.
Louis Manigault Jr