Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-12-04
.1Ag EINpINe o. 1Al p4AaAo4s.

/ ''f- ~ fAANa EANFNtAfNSt To-
How the Tomb Of the An-,rat Kings Of
Egypt Was i,iscov, red.
The most generally interesting among
the recent discoveries in Egypt was the
finding of the Pharaohs. Ia 1881. The
story has been given to the world in
print, therefore it viii be only outlined
here. But by far the most fortunate
way is to hear It directly from the lips
of the keeper of the museum, Emil
Brugsch himself, his vivid. briefly di-
rect narration adding the last charm
to the striking facts. BY the museum
authorities It had been for several years
suspected that some one at Luxor
(Thebes) had discovered hitherto un.
opened tomb; for funeral statuettes,
papyri and other objects, all of i'm
portance, were offered for sale there.
one by one, and bought by travellers,
who, upon their return to Cairo, dis
played the treasures without compre-
hending their value.
Watch was kept, and suspicion finally
centered upon a family of brothers;
these Arabs at last confessed, and one
OF them led the way to a place not far
from the temple called Deir-el- -Bahari,
which all visitors to Thebes will re-
member. Here, filed with sand, there
was shaft not unlike well, which
the man had discovered by chance.
When the sand was removed the open
ing of a lateral tunnel was visible be-
low, and this tunnel led into the heart
OF the hill, where, in rude chamber
twenty feet high, were piled thirty or
more mummy cases, most of them
decorated with the royal asp.
The mummies proved to be those of
Seth |, the conqueror who carried his
armies as far into Asia as the Orontes;
and of Rameses the Great (called Sc
sostris by the Greeks) the Pharaoh who
oppressed the Israelities; and of Seth
Ill, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, to-
gether with other sovereigns and mem
bers of their families, princes, prin-
cesses and priests. At some unknown
period these mummies had been taken
from the magnificent rock tombs in
that terrible Apocalyptic valley of
the kings, not far distant, and hidden
in this rough chamber. No one knows
why this was done; a record of IL may
yet be discovered. But In time ell
knowledge of the hiding place was lost.
and here the Pharaohs remained until
that July day in 1881.
They were all transported across the
burning plain and down the Nile TO
Cairo Now at last they repose in state
in an apartment which might well be
called throne room. You reach this
great cruciform hall by handsome
double stairway. Upon entering, you
see the Pharaohs ranged in majestic |
circle, and careless though you may be,
unhistorical, practical, you are inn !
pressed. The features are distinct.
Some of the dark faces have dignity;
Others show marked resolution and |
power. Curiously enough, one of them
resembles Voltaire. This, however, Is
probably due to the fact that Voltaire
closely resembled a mummy while liv.
ing. How would it seem, the thought |
that beings who are to come into exist |
ence A. d. 5000 should be able, in the |
land which we now call the United |
States of America (what will it be called |
thenO, to gaze upon the features of
some of our presidents-for instance,
George Washington and Abraham Lin
coln2
l am afraid that the fancy is not as
striking as it should be, for New World
grasps without difficulty all
futures even A. ID. 25000. 1t is only
when our eyes are turned toward the
past, where we have no importance
and represent nothing, that an emu
of centuries overpowers us a
little. But in any case, after visiting
Egypt, we all learn to hate the art of
the embalmer Those who have been
mp the Nile, and beheld the poor relics
Of mortality offered for sale on the
shores, become, as it were, by force
advocates of cremation. .--Constanc
Fenimore Woolson in Harper's