The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1857-1858, 1857-07-22
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gYestsraav waa an eventful day in ny life
INVENT 20 he Pyransids, and gra&i6ed the
hing cheriahed desire Of gazing upon these
mysterious momuments Of % 1t greatness
They are situated on the west bdhk Of the
Nile, about twelve miles from Cairo, and Eve
se ok niles apparently from the river itself,
d tho edge Of tho great desert We left
Cairo on donkeys, just - the sun was rising,
b pheasant c0npany Of six gentlemen. atten-
del BY large number Of servants, donkey
koys and guides. We met also. many Arabs
on our way, who were clamorous for en-
ployment, 20 thatby the time We reached the
sneighborhood Of the Pyramids, We we're sur
rounded by a little army Of ragamufhns, or
more correctly. by naked men, with scarcely
. rag To cover them-Our route led us NJ
the east bank of the Nile, . mile or two, t.
old Cairo. Here wc crossed the river in very
primitive boats Immediately above the island
az Rhoda. on which il built the Nilometey
Til, too. is the spot, which tradition declares
to be the one where Moses was exposed
among the bulrashcs The.lsland 10 covered
with the richest cultivation, and, with it's or
ange groves, and acacias, and beautiful gar
dens, might well remind one of the iuxuries
Of that Eastern Court, when Pharaoh's
daughter, with her maidens walked by the
riyer's side and saw the ark among the flags
and looked upon the weeping babe, who was
destined to be the worlds lawgiyer. The lit
tie village on the west bank, where our boats
finally landed us, after quite . struggle with
the rapid current, seemed to be q grain
market large quantities Of corn and wheat
lying exposed in the open air, in the public
thor0ughfare There seems to be as little
fear Of robbers in this land Of summary
punishment, without judge or jury, as Of
rain when the heavens are not darkencd by
clouds A mans property is in less danger
in Egypt it 10 said. than his life. Winding
our way through the mud novels and filthy
crowds Of this Arab village, we passed
out into beautiful grove of palm trees, and
were soon upon q canseway six or eight feet
in height, and twelve or fifteen in width
Fields Of green wheat and rice, ard Indian
corn, interpreted here and there with groves
or palm, were extending as far as the eye
could reach, up and down the Nile, and far
out the desert Of sand beyond which the ev-
erlasting mountains Of rock were propping
up the sky. The fields Of yerdure appear
the richest in the world partly, doubtless.
from the contrast Of illimitable sandy des-
erts, but more from the unequalled fertility
Of the fresh black loan deposited by the over
flowing Of the Nile. The scene is enlivened
too by innumerable birds Of every variety
Of gay plumage, starting up from their rest
ing places at your approach, not to fly away
from their foes, az with las, (for it is contra
~ u a Mussulmans religion to destroy these
han Il &C \ 1,,% 40
Gle round your head and welcome your com
ins bikes, canals and reservoirs INTO which
the river : admitted during the annual over
flows of tie Nile are on every side, and from
some Of them, the laborers are letting out
the bright streams upon their lands. And
now, after riding full hour on a rapid trot,
ytu seem to be as far as ever from the pyra
nids. You are certain when you leave the
bank Of the Nile that they are close at hand
but two hours pass away, and still there they
are almost as distant as at first.
At the close of the third hour from Cairo,
We reached the edge Of the desert, and in
fifteen minutes more, | was standing in the
shadow oe the great Pyramid Of Cheops.-
The first impression was one Of disappoint-
ment Ii did not look as large and magnIti-
cent as my Imagination had pictured it, 1t
seemed indeed but small object in the midst
of the boundless desert, and under the deep
blue vault of heaven But | soon found
that its littleness grew out of those il,imita-
BILE objects with which was unwittinsly com
parin. il. Several Of our company began to
ascend its sides. climbing up over the mighty
stores with the all of strong Arabs accus-
toned to such work. To free myself from
the annoyance of my own guide, who was
incessantlv Cabling of facts which had no
desire TO Iuow, | feed him to ascend to the
tor, Away he spran- with the lightness oi
deer, passing from stone to stone with the
agility and suppleness Of cat, never rest
in. CIR 4 moment till he stood upon the apex.
Ii was then. when saw his diminished form
AMI the apparent size of many of our com
PAW scattered over the sides uf the immense
structure, and looked upon friend standing.
near the base, that began to comprehend
something Of its greatness. ] then walked
around it, examining the huge blocks which
lie in their places almost as frmly as the
granite in the old mountains wading in the
deep sand fourteen hundred feet before l
had passed one of its sides, and between five
and six thousand feet, by the time | had
reached the point of departure. Take a
hundred New York churches of the ordina-
nv width. and arrange them in a hollow
square, twenty five on side and you would
have scarcely the basement Of this Pyramid.
Take another hundred and throw in their
materials into the hollow square, and it
would not he full Pile ON all the stone and
bri:k of Philadelphia and Boston, and You
would not have raised structure as high
o. as solid as the king of Old Egypt raised
here as his tomb l understand that
il is q solid mass OF stone, with the exception
of a few harrow passages, and two compare
tivelv small rooms. One layer OF blocks has
been removed from the outer side and trans
ported. long since, to Cairo, for building par-
poses; ar.i you are convinced, as YOU stand
before it, that it would supply the demand
of a city OF half a million Of people for a
century, if they were permitted freely to use
IL Ii would make thousand colseums,
such as old Rome gloried in, and the rains
which constitute the grandest object in the
modern city There is no work Of man to
he compared with it in vastness, except il be
another pyramid within a stones throw Of
Cheops, and perhaps one or two Of sixteen,
which are towering in sublime majesty in
this vicinity.
By the time had completed my examn-
alton Of the exterior most of my companions
had returned from their explorations OF the
interior ] met them at the entrance drip
ping with perspiration, but full of wonder at
tire spectacle they had seen. Committing
myself to the guidance of the three Arabs,
holding torches in their hands, ! began the
descent into the tomb The entrance is on
the side, twenty or tlarty feet from the ground
and for long distance you gradually de-
seeni through dark passage scarcely high
enough Il. permit you to stand erect, the floor
afsl s,jes and ceiling being Of Egyptian
granite, and the pavement smooth and slip.
perry, from the muititudes from all parts .ot
the world, who pass over it. 1t would he
scarcely possible to make the descent, haa
not foot-ho:cs been cut in the rock Tor our
aid Having reached depth corresponding
apparently, with the rock on which the inn
nense mass stands, you begin to ascend, the
sane narrow passage leading gradually up,
till YOU come to dark and narrow chasm,
snnk BIZ the side of the dark path Here
we rested far d few moments to take breath
The ascent was now more preoipitous, on a
narrow path OF stones cropping out over a
FRI r;,.ta,i chasm the darkness OF which was