Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 73, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 March 1910 — OVERBOARD IN THE TIGRIS. [ARTICLE]

OVERBOARD IN THE TIGRIS.

From Diarbekr to Baghdad, as a crow might do it, the distance is about four hundred miles. As the kelek goes—a contrivance sacred to the river Tigris since the days of Adam and Eve —the distance is nigh upon a thousand miles; and the time occupied anywhere between eight and. twenty days. In “The Short. Cut to India,” David Fraser tells of ttie kelek and of his journey. . 'The kelek is easily constructed. Take any number of Inflated goatskins from one hundred up to eight hundred, and tie them in rows underneath a framework of light poplar poles. One at two pairs of great oars complete the ship, and it is ready for crew, cargo and passengers. When a “globe-trotter’’ ships aboard a kelek some of the cargo is left behind. and upon the space thus left, vacant \ a hut is erected. A light wooden framework is hung round with cotton walls that roll up or let down, according to the desire of the occupant. . In addition, the roof has a thick grass mat to keep out the sun. The traveler enjoys entire privacy as regards the people on his own kelek, for he gives orders that nobody is to come abaft his gable. At the end of bis little house, and projecting astern of the raft, is a tiny bathroom protected from public gaze by cloth walls. Thus the .kelek combines all the advantages of a modern mansion, living room, kitchen, sanitary arrangements, abundant light and air, and panoramic scenery that is an eternal feast for the eye. y :.. ' We sailed one morning at 10 owiock, with the temperature over a hundred in the shade. But heat may be corrected by a minimum of clothes and a maximum of cold water. The Tigris comes straight from the mountain snows of Kuirdlstan, and its flood was like ice compared with the Are of the air.

For a man who could not put on his own socks or tie the buttons of his waistcoat, and doubled up, moreover, with a chronic lumbago, that first plunge overboard was rather a venture. I looked for a long time before * leaped,-thinking the while that al-’ though a. man may forget how to sing, or dance, or pray, he can never forget how to swim, and then I shut my eyes and jumped. For my faith I was magnificently rewarded, and that first swim In- the brimming Tigris was absolutely and completely glorious. There was a mild adventure, too. Suddenly the water deepened, arid I swam frantically after the kelek. Just as I caught up with it, the river shallowed again. I tried to jump aboard, but the jagged projecting poles of the framework made throwing oneself forward most difficult. The pace was so great that no sooner had I lifted a foot than the kelek slipped away from it, and with my weak hands I could not help the situation. A deepening of the water resulted in rescue from a ridiculous and uncomfortable position.