HOW I WILL CONQUER THE NILE, 



BY SIR JOHN AIRD, ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF. 



Within a short time "the uprising of the Nile," the yearly over- 

 flow which from time immemorial has inundated the country bordering 

 on the patriarch of rivers, will be a thing of the past. Modern engin- 

 eering skill has overthrown nature and the tradition of centuries, and 

 in the future, no matter how great the freshets of water, the Nile will 

 never flood its banks; two great dams, Assuan and Assiut, stand as 

 impregnable barriers. 



The damming of the Nile, now successfully approaching comple- 

 tion, is one of the most stupendous engineering feats of modern times. 

 So far over twenty millions of dollars have been expended in pushing 

 the work, and fully five millions moro will be needed to complete it. 

 An army of workmen representing all nationalities has been busily 

 engaged, and like magic a city has sprung up at the site of the opera- 

 tion. It is difficult to convey a clear conception of the magnitude of 

 the work. It must be seen to be appreciated in its immensity. 



Thousands of workmen are busily engaged making mortar, mov- 

 ing the blocks of granite or placing them in their proper positions. 

 Steam engines are continually passing along the line of railway, which 

 covers ten miles, bringing men and materials. Steam cranes and trav- 

 elling trolleys are hard at work in every direction; and a feeling of 

 admiration comes over one at sight of this toiling mass of humanity, 

 so perfectly drilled and directed that by no chance does one man inter- 

 fere with or retard the work of another. It seems like one huge loom 

 working out some great piece of tapestry, which is gradually approach- 

 ing its completion. Scotchmen are very numerous at the barrage, as 

 somehow they always are in undertakings of this kind in all parts of 

 the world, their sterling qualities being especially valuable when deal- 

 ing with native races. 



A great army of masons is constantly busy cutting and dressing 

 the blocks, each one of which is measured and surveyed by competent 

 pspectors, who initial it before it is passed as fit to be used. In the 

 early days expensive machinery was sent out from England to expe- 

 dite the cutting of these blocks, but it was subsequently found that 

 the old way of splitting the stone by means of wedges was, after all, 

 the best and easiest, and a great deal of the machinery has not even 

 been unpacked. Our best masons are Italians, but there are mechan- 

 ics of many nationalities, all working together in perfect accord. 



In the matter of stone we were very fortunate; -in fact, but for a 

 ieat piece of luck the work would not be anywhere near completion. 



