Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-09

the tower, and it appears to be solid
throughout.
Huge trees and dense bush have grown up
IN the interior of these ruins, so that it
would require considerable time TO clear it
in order to get an accurate plot of the build
ing. 1t is very likely that if excavations
were made in and about these ruins various
articles would be found which might throw
light upon the mystery surrounding them.
1 regret that it was not possible for me to
| spend more than a single day in making a
return journey of 80 miles to visit these
ruins, but was much pleased to be able to
secure half dozen good photographs
The old gold workings and the ruins
found in Mashonaland have led many to be-
lieve that Ophir, the kingdom of the Queen
Of Sheba, whence Solomon is said to have
obtained his gold, was situated in Mashona-
land and in the ruins described above. A
number of great writers inclined to this be-
lief and among them Josephus, the historian,
the author Of the Koran and even Milton, I
believe, somewhere speaks of this region as
that of the seat of ancient Ophir. Sofala, a
very old town on the east coast of Africa, is
mentioned by all these writers as being in
the land of Ophir. The Arabs have a very
ancient tradition to this effect and those at
Sotala to-day are said to hold to this ira
dition. The Zimbali ruins are west of the
District of Sofala and they are thought to
have been the palace of the Queen of Sheba.
NOT BUILT so LONG AGO
/ an at a loss to un nderstand how any one
who has ever seen these ruins can incline to
such belief. Though they seem to be very
old indeed, they do not by any means have
the appearance of having been built hun
dreds of centuries ago. Very few white
men have ever visited the ruins, but as
Mashonaland is thrown open to the civil
lied world, archaologists will perhaps e1-
anime the famous Zimbali ruins and may be
able to tell us to what age they belong
The history of the present natives of
Mashonaland is just as dense as that of the
country itself The population is by no
means large. The natives live in ''kraals,"
or villages, scattered about the country.
Nearly every kraal is independent in gov
ernment, having its own chief There are.
however, several chiefs who rule a number
of villages. But by far the greatest number
of villages have small population which
lives by cultiyating the ground in close
proximity to the village. Most of the vii
lagos are built upon rugged granite hills,
inaccessible except by one or two narrow
passages. This is especially true of those
villages just across the Matabeleland bor-
der. remember that three or four of the
first villages we passed after leaving Mata-
beleland, in July last year, were built upon
hills 800 or 600 feet high, so steep and pre-,
cipitous that it was really impossible, for
us, at any rate, to get to the villages with
out a guide, and even then it was most
difficult to reach them. At one of the
villages the chief told us that less than
year before the Matabeles had made raid.
captured his father, who was, of course, the
chief, together with all natives, and carried
them to Gubuluwazo, the Ofatabele capi-
tai Here the father was skinned alive.
THEY WELCOMED THE WHITE MAN.
These Matabele raids which have been SO