The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-05-11
VISIT TO THE PYRAMIDS

VIM. &. Bryant, Esq, Of the Evening Post
is journeying in the East. From an exceeding
ly interesting letter published in tnat paper, We
copy the following account Of Mr.. Bry ants Wis
it to the Pyramids.
1t is almost the first business Of the travellers
in Egypt to visit the pyramids Of Ghizeh, and
We made it ours; but do not suppose that am
going to weary you with description Of them.
We set out on one OF the glorious winter days
of Egypt, with one-eyed dragoman at the head
of our train, brandishng long stick and attired
in costume, which, though considerably the
worse for wear, was very snowy at little dis
lance. Three brown Arab boys in blue shirts,
and close-ftting dirty white caps, came trot-
ting and screaming after US TO urge on the don.
keys we rode.-For two or three miles we KEEP,
along the Nile, among trees and gardens, and
then crossed to the west bank in boat manned
by three men, one OF whom, fine looking Arab
in single garment Of coarse white linen hand.
led the sail, and his two com panions the oars
AS they rowed, one sang. "God is great" to
which the other responded, "God give me
strength" Arriving on the other side, we
rode through village, where the dogs barked
at us fiercely from the tops Of the mud cottages,
aud the dirty Inhabitants, squattins by the way,
clamored for 6achstish, as we appeared the chill
dren running after us.
We passed through palm grove, where
turtle doves were flying about, and the hoepee,
bird Of beautifully spelled plumage, descend
ed in search Of its food close to our path, and
then struck upon the fields where the peasant
women and children were watching their cam
els and buffaloes, tethered and grazing among
the clover and nerva helvagrass. We came at
length to where an ancient canal, now broad
hollow with little water in it, wound along not
far from the western edge of the fertile country
A of A rahs n ra;r
village, came about us, prepared to carry Us ov-
er on their shoulders. l could not but admire
the fine figures Of these men, with their muscu-
lar, shapely limbs, uniting strength with light
ness, and their striking counteDances. A scup.
tor could not find better model, as it seems to
me for the perfection of the human form
Throwing off their upper garments, and fasten-
ing their lower ones, considerably above the
waist, two of these strapping fellow lifted me
up by the legs, and while supported myselfby
the hands on their shoulders,& in this way wad
ed with us through the mud aud water. The 9th
ers were carried in the same manner, as well as
a gentleman and lady who had come up with US
just as we were about to cross.
We were soon on the bare sands, gradually
to the range of rocks skirting the desert, on the
brow of which the pyramids are placed OF
course we cimed to the top of the great pyra
mid. "lf you no 60 up, what for you come to
pyramid ?" asked one Of the Arabs, who spoke
a little English and the question seeming to me
to be very pertinent one. From the summit
of this vast pile Of hewn stones, which would
cover all Washington Park with its base, we
looked over the green Delta, stretching forth
with dark groves spot,ing it like broad shadows
of clouds To the west Of Us was the Lybian
desert, vast Of rocky hill tops and sandy ho.
lows; to the north rose the SUBMITS Of pyramid
after pyramid, and eastward lay Cairo, below the
pinnacies of the mosque Of Mehemet Ali, be-
yond which CLEANS the white edge Of another
esert.
around the skirts of the desert are one vast ce-
metry, full of tombs and mummy pits, and re-
mains Of py ramids of small size, could not but
wonder that there should ever have arisen any
doubt as to the design Of these immense struct-
ures They were meant as monuments of the dead,
and in my opinion nothing more. They are
the same in shape as some of the smaller mon-
uments, and no more exceed them in size than
the kings to whose bones they were erected,
exceled in power and riches the most distmg-
uished of their subjects
A day or two afterwards we visited the pyra,
mids Of Sakkara, lying 10 the North of those Of
Ghnzeh. We had letter TO NJ. Mariette, who
is here, employed by the French Government in
UldhiuH tACuVduOuS uiuOuS toiuUS dHu OtuCt
remains of the ancient cemetry Of Memphis.
He received US very politely, and ordered the
tomb of Apis to be lighted up for us. We de
scended into the rocks by an inclined passage
leading from portal graphen with numerous
hierogyphics. gallery of about 400 feet in
length lay before US, regularly arched overhead
with chambers contained its sarcophagus Of
black or gray granite, exclusively polished,
about twelve feet in length, ten in height, and
several in width. They were covered with
hieroglyphic characters. On each lay mas
sive lid Of the same material, weighing tones
which had been showed aside by iron levers, the
marks of which are yet visible, giving US an OPP
porunity Of looking into the interior. 1t was
empty. "This, said M. Mariette, "was done
by the Persians, by order Of the King of Candy.
ses, to show his contempt for the worship Of the
Egyptians"
One ofthe Sarcophagi wns found which had
escaped the general deseration. M. Mariette
had ordered it to be opened, and it's contents
were lying on the lid when saw it. They
were the bones Of the sacred bull of the ancient
Egyptians, the Apis, for which this tomb was
destined. Every one Of these enormous chests
of stone had formerly contained similar remains,
which thousands Of years since, had been dragg-
ed forth and scattered and trampled upon by a
foreign soldiery from the North