San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-05
AN ANCIENT dry.
1t is Located in Southeast Africa
.sSxslE Something About IL. -

the story of Mauch, well-known
German explorer, of the existence of
the ruins of what must have been
an extensive city on the Mashona-
land plateau, some twelve or fourteen
miles southeast of the company's
camp.
When Mauch reported his discov cry,
and had drawings made of the ruins
from his description of them, it was
believed that he had good deal ex-
aggerated what he had seen and had
drawn considerably upon his imagi-
nation for his facts. 1t turns out
now, from the report made to the
London Times, that Mauch's descrip-
ton of these marvellous remains, was
not exaggerated at all. One of the
members of the expedition to Zin-
babye from the South Africa Com
pany's camp gives brief but
accurate description of what
they had actually seen. The
ruins themselves, he says, are at the
base of a precipitous granite "kopje,n
or hill. The first feature noticed on
approaching the hill was the exist
ence of an outer wall, about A feet
high, running apparently right
around the entire hill, but while
owing to the dense jungle, could not
be traced more than half mile.
Next came traces Of an inner wall,
which it was impossible to follow on
account of the jungle. Then, amid
perfect labyrinth of remains OF
third wall of circular shape from So
to SO feet high, forming complete in
closure of and area so yards In dia-
Tho rama Dol lo thinn hnnf
this wall, which is 10 feet thick at the
base, tapering off to feet at the top.
is that 1t is "built of granite blocks
about twice the size of an ordinary
brick, beautifully hewn and dressed,
laid in perfectly even courses, and put
together without the use of either
mortar or cement. Inside the inclos-
ure, which is entered by narrow slit
in the wall, were quantities of trees,
hundreds of years old, springing out
of the Jungle, which conceals traces of
other circular walls, and close to the
entrance and outer wall, at q point
where 1t is still 80 feet high, stands q
conical-shaped tower 35 feet high
| and Is feet In diameter, built
solidly throughout of the same
dressed granite masonry. On the
hill and the hillside itself are numer-
GUS traces of remains of similar
character, circular buildings wedged
! in among boulders of rock and at
| least nine walled terraces, while on
| the very summit of the hill was an
enormous mass of granite blocks, in
tended, apparently. to be used as q
fort.n
By whom this fortified city in
Southeast Africa was built is alto
gether a matter of speculation. The
writer describing it seems inclined to
ascribe 1t to prehistoric times, but the
dressed and perfectly fitted granite
| blocks and the height and solidity Of
the walls preclude the entertaining
of such an idea. Most of the re-
mains of prehistoric walls that
have come down to US are 3
rough, massive, unhewn blocks, to-
which the name Cyclopean has been
given. Whether prehistoric or not,
says the writer: cit Is certain that
the area covered by the numerous
walls and circular buildings points
clearly to the existence at some time
of large and semi-civilized popula-
| tion at the time when slave labor was
| procurable to an unlimited extent.n
All this, however, Is mere conjecture,
and the story of this city buried in
the Jungle of an African wilderness
may admit of another explanation,
of which we are already getting
glimpses. From the natives Moth
ing can be learned of these
ruins of Tin baybe. A remote native
tradition gives the Interpretation OF
Tin baybe as meaning royal resi-
dence, and the Portuguese have sug-
gested shat these ruins form por-
lions of the remains of the city and
palace of the Queen of Sheba in the
land of Ophir. That they are in the,
rich gold beds of Southeastern Africa
has been demonstrated. and at the
time when the earlier explorations of
this portion of Africa were made by
Portuguese adventures ancient Por-
tuguese records refer to people whom
they found to be established there,
and whom they represent to be
working for gold in the far interior,
That the Portuguese should thus have
been melted to prospect for gold in
that region follows naturally, and o.
matter-of.fact En- glishman, Maj.
Erskine, formerly Colonial Secretary
of Natal, points out that the Portu-
guese did 60 there and extracted from
the mines in Manica four millions of
gold annually until they were drivdn
out by the natives. His theory is
that Tin babye was one of the places
ortified by the Portuguese to protect
them while working for gold from
the more warlike tribes by whom
they were ultimately driven out, and
that L., Iansa of panfuYfaa the