The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1864-05-17

high and two feet thick, IL would reach
| I 1851 miles, or from Maine to Minnesota
| in straight line. Were it built into a
wall around the whole lower peninsula
of Michigan, the wall could be ten or
twelve feet high. s'-f o. asstr. sstcs
The ascent of the pyramids is diff
cult. but of course it must be accom-
plished; and even ladies sometimes
achieve it. "A host of Arabs are at
hand to help. you, but they are a set of
unmitigated villains; and this UNDER
stood from report long before had a
personal experience of itmdThere is a
regular charge of 81 for each person.;
and this certainly is adequate pay for
the hours help two men may render
you. This is paid to the ,Sheikh on
your return; and the scheme OF those
who go up with you is. to, o,extort '.6nek,
shsesh" at every point they can, inside
or out. I had determined not to be
frightened, nor worried, nor coaxed in
to .compliance,awith their demands !:
even in any way to be victimized by
their rapacity. -Four of them started
up with me, and / made no objection:
for if YOU evince any sign of fear they
will be more likely to. assail you. Z.
So we started. The distance up the
inclined side is almost forty rods--the
perpendicular height, 400 feet, is to be
made by about 2S0 steps, many of
which are like steppingup onto com
mon table. 1t is laborious climbing
Up we went, the willy Arabs chanting
their song-"Allah-up we go!-yery
gnod gentleman; bucksheesh; allah haIl!
--monic (money)--make poor Arab
satisfied: bucksheeshw / cannot put
on paper the measure and time of this
chant, but learned it well, and knew
what it meant. Inwardly, / smiled at
what was coming, III
Stopping to rest for the third or
fourth time, one of them said--"Cus-
tom to give bucksheesh here!' / said
nothing. "Gemman, monsieur, always
give bucksheesh here!" s.Let US go
on now!7 l said. Monsieur, buck
sheesh here !" came out very firmly
1t was frightful place: little person
al violence from either of the men, and
| should tumble down just once! The
rest of the party were out of sight and
hearing: but looking them straight in
the eye, / said still more firmly, Not
one penny! not one" !" 1t was enough;
and had the measure of my men, and
felt perfectly safe, inside or out They
said patrohizingly-" You'll give us
bucksheesh when we get up. You
come here only once in your life-yo,l
would want to make us satisfied, of
course you wouldr'
SeveIr times. came. the same demand
and entr'eaty. Silence, in general, and
once more very emphatic refusal was
my reply On the summit they want
ell money changed. This was trans
parent device; they wished to ascertain
in which pocket | kept mine. In the
inside OF the pyramid, one of the party,
being for 4 moment without a light; felt
"a land in one. of his pockets; his mon
ey was in the other. Had it been ta-
ken, recovery would have been impos-
sible, and identification of the thief
equally so. Sometimes they blew out
our candles, q insisted upon carrying
my own candle, and put n box of
matches in my pocket. L found my
matchbox gone when | came out
They had taken that, but gone no fur
ther; for |. had taken the additional
precaution to keep near the other, can
dies, in case mine was accidentally ex-
tingllished. ,stH
This is nuisance that ought to be
abated. The Pyramids belong to the
world; not to these thievish Arabs.
i must postpone Indefinitely any ac-
count of the internal construction Of
this amazing pile. A word of reference
to its near neighbor and to the great
Pyramid of Dashoor, and my sheet is
full. Both of these are but little inferi-
or to Cheops--over 800 feet square on
the ground, and the one at Gazeh over
400 feet high. That at Dashoor j. be-
tween three and four hundred. Bear
ing in mind that thereare still little less
than half score of smaller ones, which
are 800 feet square on the average, and
$50 to 200 feet high, the sum total is
beyond comprehension.
That the Pyramids were monumen-
tai there can be but little doubt. They
are in the midst of tombs; and wher-
ever there has been any successful ex-
.ploration of the interior, sarcophagi
have been found. .aNt&W M
Trusting ere long to meet you in our
old College, withmy health and strength
largely recruited, / am, very truly,
Your old Teacher, +. Il. +.