Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 75, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 March 1910 — OVERBOARD IN THE TIGRIS. [ARTICLE]

OVERBOARD IN THE TIGRIS.

From Dlarbekr 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 the kelek and of his Journey. The kelek is easily constructed. Take any number of inflated goatskins from 6ne hundred up to eight hundred, and tie them In rows underneath a framework of light poplar poles. One of 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 tbe 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 tbe desire of the occupy®*- In addition, the roof has a thick grhu mat to keep out the sun. The traveler enjoys entire privacy as regards the people on his own kelek, for he gives orders (hat nobody is to come abaft hti gable. At tbe end of his little house, and projecting astern of the. raft, 5 is a tiny bathroom protected from public gaze fey 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. We tailed one morning at 10 p’slock, ITtCli 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 ths mountain snows of Kurdistan, and its flood was like ice compared with the firs of ths air.

. For a man ,who could not put on his owi( 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 I leaped, thinking the while that although 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, and I swam frantically after the kelek. Just as I caught up with It, the river shallowed again. I tried to Jump aborfrd, ■but the Jagged projecting poles of the framework made throwing oneself forward moßt 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 6t the water resulted ln rescue from a ridiculous and uncomfortable position.