Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-09-04
WAR CORRESPONDENCE.

uG ahCttub Ky WGEC DIO.I
trious with the pen. In many of the HERO
glyphics the scribe is represented at work
making notes of the proceedings. In wars
ne is seen taking down the number OF pris.
oners and other details Thoth, the god
of letters, is the celestial scribe, and is
often figured as writing the names and &C.
tions of those in the next world. Among
the many documents which have been pre-
served of this literary race is one contain.
ing history of war carried on by Ram.
eses H., and which is supposed by arch
biologists to have been written at the time.
As the author is described as 'royal
scribe" he in all probability accompanied
the army, and describes what he saw on
the spot There is no hint as to the exist
ence of rules" still less Of revised
rules, in relation to correspondents at that
date. Royal scribes no doubt did their
work on certain conditions, and the result,
if We may judge by this particular pspyrus,
is certainly such that it is not likely to
prejudice anyone in favor of dictation be-
ing used toward those who make records
of history. From this point of view the
ancient document possesses an interest at
the moment, and the horse guards and the
public will be none the worse for hearing
what results when those who make the
battles are the only ones TO write"
The royal scribe IN this case was named
Pentaur = and the war was one against
the g X hita, or Cheta, the Hittites, whose
alphabet and language has been subject
OF SO mnch interest among areh9ologlsts
lately. The field of action was at Kadesh,
on the 0rcntes. Rameses had led his army
from Egypt, aud the "vile chief of Cheta,
with many allies accompanying him, lay
ambushed to northwest" The Hittites
must have formed large army, for they
had drawn troops from the whole country,
as far as Naharina, or Mesopotamia. The
Egyptian army was in brigades, and the
names of them are stated. There was the
brigade of Ammon, the brigades of Ptah
and Set-all names of gods in the Egyptian
Pantheon. The brigade of Ra. Harmachis
was IN the center, land feared not to
| fight" SO they marched right into the am
bush on the northwest, which the Chetas
had planned. The brigade was beaten
back by the enemy foot and horse of
King Rameses gave way before them. +"
Rameses was equal to the occasion.
Mounted on his "great horse" called
Victory in Thebes," he rushed to the
| front, she pierced the line of the foe, the
vile Cheta ; he was all alone, no other with
! him. When he advanced to survey behind
him he found there ercircled him 9, 500
chariots. Stopping his way out, every
champion of the vile Cheta." There
were three men in each chariot, and Rs-
meses had no chief, no marshal, no captain
of the archers fed were his troops and
horse; he was left alone to fight the foe
He had no fear he put confidence in his
| god Ammon, whom he reminds OF all the
temples and obelisks he had erected to him
of all the sacrifices he had offered-ard
fixing his trust in this deity, with his
"strong sword of Ra," he went in for the
vile Khita, and there follows splendid
description of mis- deeds, which leaves the
most fertile of our coiners of words among
specials of the day far behind. Pentaur
writes with an unhesitating pen, or else
the staff officer appointed by Rameses to
supervise the kilograms must have seen to
it. King Rameses prevailed, of course,
over the vast host opposed to him. Not
one escaped. The absence of any one
except his squire Menna, to assist Rameses,
is repeatedly insisted on. He did it all
himself; he faced the . 500 with his sword
of might, and the exact number of killed
is stated as 100000 by this veracious cor.
respondent. The Khita were subdued and
their chief made mis- homage, and the story
winds up with some big words about the
greatness and glory of Rameses. This
campaign took place, according to Lepsius,
some time between 1883 and 1922 B. c.,
and the whole account, as written by Pen.
taur, will be found in the " Records of the
Past, " Vol. IL, p. 70.
1t need scarcely be pointed out that a
story like this throws a doubt about all
l L IL
ments connected with the history of Egypt,
to which it may be limited that it also
leads to scepticism in regard to most his
tory. 1t may be said such stuff could NOT
have been written in our time. Well, per-
: haps not =; yet Arab has had his doings re,
corded in the present war, and, according
to his scribes, he has sunk our ironclads
killed great numbers of our soldiers and
sailors, and has our Admiral at this mo-
ment safe as prisoner in Cairo. In writing
history, the modern Egyptian here bears
very strong resemblance to the ancient one
1t is very simple case so far as the mora
is coucerned. 1t is human nature, like
Rameses and Arab, to desire greatness anG
glory, and that desire will have tendency
to manifest itself wherever it can manage
to DO so. Although we are not likely t.
have such exaggerations as above quoted
sent home TO US, still there is always thu
power of telling story in more ways thar
one, and as we at home only wish for thu
truth, the less our correspondents are tam
pered with the better. The new rules anc
revised rules will undoubtedly have the ten
| dency TO make "Pentaurs of them, anC
, more or less to render doubtful the import
ant parts of our own history. LondoI
! Daily News.