Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-03-01
THE GREAT PYRAMID.


nVW H WAS ny OAAhPh "a nAesAAS~>s
and His Saracen Followers.
Though mcrcilessly hacked and
quarried and dilapidated, the mouth
of the entrance-passage gives one a
most impressive example of the stu
pendous construction plan of the whole
grand pile. 1t held its secret within
lis great throat for manv long thou
sand years. until A. d. S20. when
Caliph AL Mamoun discovered it In
most unexpected manner. The dis
tinguished Arab of Fostat. the son of
Haroun AL Raschid of the Arabian
Nights" with inquiring mind, made a
journey 10 Gizeh and proceeded 10
effect an entrance into the Great Pyra.
mid, wherein. he hsd been led 10 be-
lieve, great treasures were to be found
A large staff of quarrymen was en-
gagged for the work. At which side to
make the attack. and at what
point, was q puzzle. A trifling
hint caused the north face to
be chosen, near the base and at
the center. Two blunders were m ade
at the beginning. The forced entrance
was started 800 inches below the
proper one, and $50 inches west of it.
Night and day, week after week. for
months. the labor of tunn cling went
on. until quite one hundred feet of the
antique masonry had been broken up
and brought to the light. One day,
as some OF them wrought despairingly
at the inner end of their excavation,
they heard strange noise beyond
them. which resembled the falling of a
great stone in II hollow space. Ham,
mers fire and vinegar were employed
with rem newed vigor again and again
until walled surface yielding to their
efforts, the way opened 10 n low, mar
row, descending passage Lcaping
into the dark avehue with lighted
torch, they discovered at once the
fallen stone which had led them
on. 1t had dropped from the
roof to the floor, and re-
vealed the fact tha at there was just be-
yond it another passage, following
southwark like the other, ascending
instead of descending; but alas! it was
closed by q series of huge granite
plugs, placed there by the builder for
the very purpose of heading off such
enterprises as that of the adventurous
Caliph.
Nothing daunted, however, the
plucky Saracens broke q side pass age
through the western wall of limestone,
cut huge chasm upward. and made
O junction with the wall of the ascend
ing passage where the granite did not
oppose. They cut through the lime
stone wall with comparative ease, but
as fast as they removed the pieces Of
the well-formed blocks others came
down from above and continued to
bar their advance. Finally the last one
made its appearan Like its pre-
decessors, it was broken and removed,
and the passage was clear. With
lighted Aambeaux the eager Arabs
assembled, first on hands and knees,
and then, after reaching the Grand
Gallery, fastened. with might and
main, upward and onward into the
very heart of the mountain of stone.
Visions of wealth grew before them
there where a ray of sunshine never
gave ray of hope-until they came
to the end of the passage. Then a
step at the left, three feet high, ar
rested their attention. Climbing to
its top, a low doorway was found,
with a splendidly quarried granite
portcullis hanging over it. Passing
under this on hands and knees, they
crept into small ante-cham-
ber; through this to another
low doorway leading into a
further low passage, which again
caused them, nonplussed. to bend
Thus they were led into the large
apartment known as the King s
chamber. There, on the west side,
stood the ,rd gained stone "treas-
ure-boxr' { seemed too good to be
true 1t Was without cover to pro-
tect its expected contents. and it was
entirely empty!
Caliph AL Mamouu was dunn
founded, and his workmen were about
to murder him. But he was a COM
mander of the faithful and under
stood human nature. During the
night he caused to be hidden near the
empty Golfer sufficient store of gold
TO pay the men. Tho next day, being
hidden to dig again, they found the
gold and received their wages. As
for the Caliph, he returned to Fostat
wiser as to the clear-headedness OF
the Egyp tians who preceded him some
thousands of years, but no better in
purse. Scribner's Magasine.