Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-08-15
Old Legends Proved True.


cred of late that some of the state
/, ments OF ancient writer's, which we
have regarded in our iuncied wisdom
as too marvellous to he believed. are
nevertheless true. Tho geographer
Ptoicmy: for instance, wrote that tho
eource of the Nile was in mountain
range, known as the Mountains Of tho
Moon, because OF the snow npon them.
Modern gcographers scoffed at the
idea that there could be such lofty
mountains under tho equator, but
Stanley, i'll his now famous march to
the sea, skirted the foot of range OF
snow-cla0 mountains, called by him
kuwenzori, from whose streams is
formed the newly discovered Lake Al
bert Edward, the EXTREMIST source of
the Nile .h.
So Herodotus, the Father of History,
repeatedly asserted that the Phrni-
clans thought that they originally camo
, from tho Erythrpan Sea or Persian
Gulf This statement modern schol-
ars have found very difficult to believe
tho writer's of the article phmnicia
in the last edition Of the Encyclopaedia
britannica style ii "a mere blundcr."
An English traveller, however, has very
recently made discoveries in tho BAH
rein Islands i'll the Persian Gulf which
;; render it almost certain that the great
; historian was right,
These islands are small group "
ing about twenty miles off the Arabian
coast, md were formerly of great com.
mcrcial importance. The inhabitants,
besides possessing rearl fishery
which was noted in the days of Alex
ander the Great, and now produces
tho finest pearls in The world. cnrricd
on an important trade with Arnbin and
! Persia. This they have almost entirely
lost. but with the construction of tho
Enphratcs Hallway it will doubtless
| spring up again,
One Of the two principal towns has
singular wnicr-s,ipply in n spring
which nj high water is six fee. below
| the surface Of the sea. "Wntor il
brought up either by divers who 20
/ down with skins, or by pushing hol-
, low bamboo down into il. At low lido
: there is very little water over il. and
women with large amphor:r and goat
| skins, which look very rcul aud life
| like, though hcadlcss, waldo out and
: fetch what water they require The
| Arabs believe that this and several
! other similar springs on tho coast come
from The Euphrntes, which they think
! flows beneath the Persian Gulf in an
underground channel, II legend ns old
rs the days Of pliny.
, In he northefn part Of the largest
: island, which * twcnty-sevcn miles
| long by ten broad there is very re.
markablo collection of scpulchral
mounds covering an area of mnny
miles. Some OF those nro elevated
only few .foot above the level of tho
! desert. Others are moro than forty
| feet lnge. and about fopr hundred feet
/ III circumference. Several of these
have recently boon cxcavated by Mr..
j. Theodore Bent, II wcll-known Enr-
lish traveller, Who has given an account
Of his discoveries to tho Royal Geo.
| graphical Society
He says that they consist of two
, chambers, the one above the other ns
/ Is the ease with some phWnician tombs
! Just uncovered in ancient Cnrthnrgc.
In the upper chamber of one which llo
! eXimined were the bones of mn animal.
| presumably n horse and innumerablo
| fragments of lvory-boxcs, ornaments,
bits OF small statues. Many Of ihese
fragments were ornamcnlcd with nat
terms which BEAR n close md lnimis.
! N able. re- Guidance to worries found
/ IL. cilcihii tuinhS or Tho Mcuitcr.
/ iancani. Our readers will doubtless
rememher tint King SOLOMON got ivory
10y mems of the ships of Hiram, The
l'l.rnician king of Tyre.
The lower chamber wns moro care
fully constructed lan the upper. and
contained human homes together with
the remains Of drapcry which had been
hung momd the walls. another Phm.
nician custom. The ivory fragments
! have been deposited III tho British
| Museum, and one Of the officials has
recently publicly said That "as far rs
The evidence went Mt present, lac
though. the Museum authorities we're
prepared 10 admit tina. The i;alirci. ISL
ands probably represented primitive
site OF the Phunician rice"
This probable confirmation of the
statement OF ilcrodotus il certainly
more satisfactory than the fnyoiite oc
cupa.iom of some modern writer's. tho
proving the falsity of stories which
have always been confidently believed
-Snch stories, for instance as that OF
| 'hc Swiss hero William Toll