The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-09-20
EGYPTS GREAT PYRAMID.
Years Of Surveying and Digging Finally
Reveal Its True InWardness.
The Tools Used in Working the Granite-Dia-
mond Drills and Circular Saws Known
5000 Years Before Christ.
Correspondence of the Indianapolis Journal.


LA CAvA thirty miles from Naples Italy,
Sept. 4.-From my perch in the Apennines / can
look of at the surrounding mountains and the
distant sea, and / can look down on chair
filed with Indianapolis Journals Of a recent
GATE. They are full of interest to me, and to
them have devoted my morning in the over
hanging terrace set in the green Of loaded fig
trees and trailing grape-vines. Now / go into
my room, fitted up as study, and the rest of
my day win be devoted to the Journal.
One of the first things read was the report Of
The lecture of Rev. DR.. Bayliss, at the Acton
camp meeting on Rome and Pompeii. I compli-
ment Brother Bayliss on this, that have rarely
heard or read the report of, a lecture on these
two subjects, delivered by those who have paid
only flying visit but that the lecturer stopped
over or made host of mistakes. The Doctor
cid neither of these things, and, as / read, l
constantly wondered show in the mischief did
Brother Bayliss get much into single lee
tnrew
There is one thing that the Doctor called at
tention to in which there was slip either by
him or the reporter, viz: in regard to the bank
ers house and his motto, which latter
the Doctor translated: Save your
money" Now, Brother Bayliss Tor
the reporter) has made better Latin than appears
at Pompeii, but he has not given the right trans
lation. Salve lucru is the Latin in mosaic at the
entrance of the Pompeiian house of one Mr.
Syeicus (opened in 1862 Some modern Latin
scholars have said it ought to be salve lucrum
as did DR.. B. How to settle the question I do
not know, unless you admit that the old Romans
either knew what they were about and wrote cor
rectly ''salve lucru," or made mistake las sign
painters sometimes do nowadays) and wrote
it ''salve lucru." Now, Brother Bay
hss translates the phrase Save your
money" The most literal translation is ''Wel-
come profit" liberal and justifable translation
would be, "Hale to good luck" or Heres to
good luck" The house, however, where this in
scription is found is not that of banker A
bankers house was found in 1875. He took
only "a per cent. per annum.
The next thing read in the Journal was my
own letter, entitled ION the Way to Upper
Egypt" Of course, a man always reads his own
letters at least once, and he oftentimes wishes
he had been on hand to read the proof. Right
here I would like to say that in my letter pub
ashed in the Journal of Aug. 2, in describing the
hrst part of my journey to upper Egypt, by
some accident whether of mine or
Of the composition I do not know,
there was one word too many, which either left
things in doubt or conveyed just the opposite of
what meant. l refer to the fact that recent
discoveries show that the Great Pyramid as
well as the seventy three other pyramids,
tombs for the departed great ones of Egypt,
save of them-the step pyramid at Sahara
having been the tomb of the sacred bulls AS
], by the accidental addingof one word, was not
so lucid as ( meant to have been, I
will rectify matters some by stating that the
theory of Piazza Smyth, astronomer royal of
Scotland. has been completely upset by the more
careful study and survey of the exterior of the
Great Pyramid and it's inner tombs of M. w.
Flinders Petrie. Professor Smyth, among other
things, boldly took the position that the sarco-
phagus of red granite in the so-called 'King's
Chamber" was no sarcophagus at all-never had
been intended for the dead body of the king,
or any one else, but it was standard for all the
pyramid dimensions; and not only So but he
holds that this standard measure is the same as
that of the Bible. 1 cannot now enter into
other details of this wonderful theory. which
still exercises. as was recently said, an Eek
traordinary fascination over many minds" That
twas tomb, every other pyramid proves-that
it was the tomb of King Khufu (Cheops) witness
his cartouch. or tablet, found in the topmost
chamber discovered by COL Howard Vyse and
Mr.. Perring in 1888 History centuries before
Christ always steadily and unvaryingly stated
that the Great Pyramid was the tomb of
I<hufu (Cheops). No less that ten Greek histo-
rlans before Christ beginning with Herodotus,
assert that it was Cheops's burial place."
and these men, in different centuries, all con-
versed with Egyptian priests and learned men
who gave them, from hieroglyphics on enduring
stone and on fragile but ancient papyrus rolls,
the data for their statements. What makes the
matter worse is that Piazzi Smyth would have
us believe that the purpose for which this pyra-
mid was erected was almost matter of nspi-
ration, when the fact is old heather Cheops like
his brother Chephren, his successor), was about
as bad piece of humanity as could we'll
be found in the worlds history Piazzi
Smyth has the credit of being the first to take
measures of the Great Pyramid which had any
pretentions to scientific exactness. but those
measures are now laid aside by the science and
devotion of younger man, Mr.. Petrie, who as
has been said, brought to the work more deli
cate instruments of measurement than
had ever been used on the pyramid
measurements, he uncovered parts of the build
ing which had been covered for ages by the sands
of the desert or by the debris of Persian, Greek,
Roman and Arabian vandalism"
Last February. in Cairo. sat up for nights
reading the large volumes of MIR. Petre on his
Rrduou,, patient and long-continued labors in
accurately day after day. year after year, sur
veying the great pyramid outside inside and
under He always worked eight hours
every day in the blazing sun. and, at
nights. after he completed his domestic work, for
he lived in tomb and cooked his own dinners
he labored on till midnight reducing his observa-
ton and committing the results to paper
Often he would spend twenty four continuous
hours in his work. ''for as measurements inside
could not be carried until the
days tide of visitors had ebbed
he worked outside until dusk, and then after
dinner, spent the night within the Great Pyra-
mid. measuring and observing till o'clock In
the morning With what interest did | pore
over that large work, although the original
two volumes are loaded down with pages OF most
painstaking and accurate figures, and then. too,
with what delight did / look upon his excava-