Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-07-14

and certain boundaries of fire. 1t Is NOR
likely that actual TarshisLian VOYAGE
from Tyre had been so famously profitabl
that any voyage of great treasure wa
sometimes given that name
The richest product gained by their voy
ages was silver from the then prolii,
mines Of Spain. This metal had been o.
greater value than gold and when found il
such abundance by these early voyagers il
meant fabulous profits and riches almos
beyond compute. They worked the mine.
by the hands Of enslaved natives In ths
same way that the people of that very
land became the overbearing tsskmasters
of the native Mexicans in working the
mines of Mexico some 25O0 years later.
The Tyrians made voyages up and dowr
the Atlantic as early as the time Of Solo
mon-bringing tin and lead from England
and amber from the Baltic
At thought 1t might seem strange to us
that they could peaceably plan, their colo.
nies on so many strange shores; but that
Is explained when we consider that In
many of those places (Span for instance)
there was yet no government. and the
colonization was similar to the way Euro
peans, at a later date, came and formed
settlements in America The Egyptians,
a somewhat enlightened people, with a
strong government, jealous Of strangers,
would not harbor them nor allow them
entry TO the Nile for many centuries
The Tyrians were very friendly with
the kings David and Solomon. and when
the temple and other great buildings were
erected, the timber was brought from Tyre
| TO Joppa in Hiram's ships and must have
made an immense traffic. The Israeltes
were not sailors and never became such
After the great buildings were completed
the king turned his ambitious attention to
| lifting out the ships, before mentioned,
| and 1t needed Hram's servants. "shipmen
| that had knowledge of the sea" TO 20
| with Solomon's servants Kings, 9:27.
| And from Chron. 9:2l we might sup
( pose that the kings ships were entirely or
| principally managed by men OF Tyre
AT the present day go where you will
over the maritime edges of the earth
| more particularly outside Of the United
Sta,es-snd you will fnd Jews more or
less directly connected with maritime trade
and shipping affairs; but a. sailors, never.
As Tyre and Lidon became fabulously
rich they so increased in wickednes. and
/ ltpiafrv tha. h.rsr,a n
nation TO the Lord and none OF His prom
ises OF destruction were more faithfully
carried out 10 the letter than those regard
Ing Tyre. Nebuchadnczzar completely
destroyed the Old city little before COO.
b. C.. and when the ships came home from
sea they found their city in ashes. What
wre,ched homecoming that must have
been With their usual perseverance they
quilt new city on an island opposite the
old site and this prospcred and became
SO strong that about 800 wears later II
deied Alexander for siege of seven
months; and was only taken by his build
ing caG>eway, from the stones OF the old
city, over the water, across which he
entered the new And they shall lay thy
stones and thy timber and thy dus. In the
,',ii-, - the var..r." !. aa~s.. rrs-r~.".i
tir-efcr tine ncuaus, uut now under the
Turks, Il Is only poor hshipg village,
called Tsur, with q choked AMI shallow
harbor. and quite fulfils the prophecy.
"Thou shalt be a place to spread nets
upon"
With all the wickeduess of the lido
mans we must admire the daring, the en-
terprise and the perseverance of that hr.t
and well punished sailor people. We can
scarce help feeling enyious of the bright
part Of their history and have profane
desire for as many years of maritime pros
perity as they enjoyed centuries; and
would trust in God and these more en-
lightened days to hold Us above the evils
that might merit our destruction.
The first great rival of the Phpncians
In maritime trade was their own sons, the
Carthaginians. Soon after 800 b. G., the
Tyrian government fell into considerable
domestic trouble and within that century
large company of the people fed from
home and settled Carthage in. what is
Africa and near the central meridian Of the
Mediterranean. They did not settle as
conquerors but paid tribute to the less civ
! ilized and nomadic tribes Of the land True
to inherited instincts. they became s-ilors
and their ruling passion was love OF gain.
| As the empire of trade rolled westward,
! their position became superior to that Of
/ Tyre. They introduced the use Of bills Of e1-
change, letters of credit and the system
of bottomry-a mortgage that may be Civ
en- by the master, on the whole vessel, As
security for money advanced in strange
ports for repairs or other ueeds. They
prospeIed and from tenants they became
the masters and the neighboring races
their slaves. They became the most in
genious manufacturers, making fine white
and colored feathers [morocco), beautiful
dyes furniture, fine cloths and many trink-
cts. Punic work (Which their wares were
called) became much desired in other
countries and among the aborigines Of
other parts. 1t is related of them that
they even traded with people on the west
of Africa, who dared not meet them. The
merchant would go on shore and, as a sig
nal, build trade fire." near which he
laid out such articles as might delight the
savage heart, and retired to his ship. The
natives then came down and laid elephants
tusks, skins of wild beasts, gold, etc, be.
side of the foreign wares and silently re
tired. The merchant again landed and il
not satisfied with the exchange thus Of.
fered he returned to the ship, leaving the
whole untouched, until the natives addeC
more, when he took away the aborigna
offerings leaving his wares for the native.
to claim. Good faith was always main
tanned, but no doubt the white man go
the best of the trade This kind of barte
r is said to have been practiced in man,
parts Of the world. 1t seems an odd mix
ture of fear and trust. l once told thi
4 story, IN a fancy form, to little child an,
8 she called for it again and agsin-seemin.
s to remember it longer than any other tai
: Of fable or fact. Times have changed
r and the footsteps of civilization have large
t ly oblIteratcd all such primitive marks o
d romantic honesty. l often meet foreig