Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1857-02-05

cavalry and chariots of war. In the cen
ire Of the old battlefield of Arbela rise
hill of colossal dimensions, whose oh
jec. the party vainly coujectured. think
ing ii might be q tomb. or a triumpha
monument, or more likely both. Unfor
tunately they had not time to examin
| it, nor the appliances, necessary for ex
| ploring it. s- - sae'f
! Passing on. Mr.. Place and his party a
length discovered what they believed Il
be nothing less than the verilable re
mains Of the Tower of Babsl-ths voE.
der of wonders. and The grandest specta
Gle which the eyes Of men can contem.
plato in this age of the world. This
proud tower, which was built in defiance
Of Heaven. ard aimed to pierce The very
skies. has lost. in the course Of ages its
cloud reaching elevation. Six Of its
eight stories have fallen and crumbled in
to dust; but The two which remain are so
high that they may be seen for Fl fly or six.
sy miles around. The base of the tower
is quadrangular, and each side about six
hundred feet long. The tower is made
Of bricks of the purest clay, and of q
white color. which is a little shaded
with yellow tint. Under a clear sun.
and ss whole, this ancient monumen,
OF human skill and daring presents fine
blending Of colors which sets the pain
ter's pallet at defiance. Before being
baked, the bricks had been covered with
characters. traced with the accuracy Of
the hand Of writing -naster. Near the
top of the letters the straight. strokes
zero adorned with hourishes resembling
the heads of nails. All was neat. regu-
lar and severe; and, indeed, those who
saw these specimens of ancient CALI
grapy affirm that the fathers of the hu
man race wrote batter hand than thsir
children. t.-
Another curious fact arrested the at
'ention Of the exploring party. The ss-
cred record runs thus: "And il came to
pass as they journeycd from the East that
they found plain in the valley Of Shi
mar. and they dwels there. And they
said one to snother--Go to. let US make
brick, and burn them thoroughly; and
they had brick for stone. Tor instead of
stone.) and slime had they for mortar"
Modern skeptics may ask: Where
could theso builders obtain all this bitu-
men? for vas. quantity must have been
demanded to meet the wants of so many
trowels. II is singular coincidence
that Mr.. Place discovered fountain at
small distance from the tower, whose
waters flow in such abundance as almost
to form river. The stream forces its
way into river in The vicinity, did not |
the people hasten 20 stop it by setting
the bituminous flood on fire, when they |!
TRANQUILITY wal, till the FIRE is extin.
guished for the want of aliment. Thus
the old fountain still pours out ine 4 haus-
tible quantities of bi,umen, of slime.
which supplied these old builders in their
vast enterprise. Bitumen also adds TO
the durability of bricks. as well as frmIy
consolidates them in masonry. Could
anything be added to the marvel Of the
coincidence7 Thus travels and expedi-
tions in Assyria become Biblical corrola.
ries, and new proofs are never wanting of
old truths. ,a s@...s.
Among the interesting discoveries of
Mr.. Place were certain inscriptions on
ills!s Of gold, silver and copper, and also
upon metal unknown. and which has
the appearance Of ivory. Il
has been submitted 20 the experiments OF
! celebrated metullurgist. and its quail.
les will soon be ascertained. '
Some very curious photogrsrs. taken
BY the expedition, completed ous labors,
me Of which wss of the ruins of the pal
zee Of the celebrated Queen Semiramis.
This ancient monument, situated on the I
leishts Of > mountain raised by the
lands Of men. aoverlooks the awful soli- II
u1es whichsurrounds Lake vsn-a body II
IL or SEVEN times larger than Lake &C.
Ieya. 'S.iFs77s7 Eaas l.
IL is not strange that a gentleman
rho had seen and handled some Of the :
rlicIes brought from the Tower of b. :
el by Place, should be excited as he says |
e was. "Ir relation to archaeological |,
sws. Istake the liberty, to inform You Is
hat have just seen the oldest things Of 10
ne old world. Indeed. do not know Ii
lat, ] should be more surprised a, seeing q
he fragments Of the Ark itself. Fancy y
, yourself that have just touched and Il
BID 10 my hand and turned and turned A
! every way. a little aorcsou of the .,
'oYsr Of Babel. ss sissseo - o q Ic
This trinket OF moulded clay. illus. h,
ssed and baked by the sons Of Noah, al
. passed from the plain 81 Shinsr to the Il