The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-08

u..,,. .. "a therefore. az it.st possible that
m. country around Zimbabye may haye
formed one Of tho spots from which the SIhe-
sa,yra drabum came. Egyptian monuments
beionpinp. in respect to data 10 the middle
eppire. aliude to the wealth OF the peopie Oh
Punt. and the ipgots OF gold which thev sent
"A tribute to Queen Hatasou. NO one Oh
course. is as yet prepared 70 say prec'sev
WHARF the kingdom OF Punt was; the prevail
inc oninion IA that It was Yemen. in the
sopth OF Arabia But whether we suppose
n 20 be there or on the coast OF Az
RIGA opposite Arabia. which was ut one time
coIonized by the Inhabitants OF Yemen. the
question remains the same: whence nlu tne
neon,e Of Punt get the large supply OF gold
which they poured into Egypt and over the
then known world2 In Newfoundland we
seem to have an answer to the question. ~
seems probable that a prehistoric race puiit
the ruins in this country race nKe tho
mythical Pelasgi. who inhabited the shores OF
Greece and Asia Minor: II race like the mythi-
cal inhabitants OF Great Britain and France
who built Stonehenge and Garnac:' q race
which continued in possession down to the
faintest dawn OF history. which provided gold
for the merchants Of Arabia and PhPnicia.
and eventually became absorbed In more
powerful Semitic equalization -,
What evidence does classic literature afford
with regard to the Identification OF Mashona.
land with the land Of Ophir and the land OF
Puntp What the Greeks and Romans knew OF
East Africa was filtered through PhPnician
and Arabian channels. The ANONYMOUS Peril
plus OF tho Red Sea recounts thnt in A. d. 30
the sabnan King Kharabit was in possession
OF the east coast OF Africa to an indefinite ex-
tent and the report ia confirmed by n Greek
inscription copied by Mr.. Salt ut Axum In
Abyssinia. The Peripus enters into details
and tells now Muza. Alden and other points
near the mouth Of the Red Sea were emporia
for the goods brought from outside by the
Arabians, and there transferred to Egyptian
and Phnnician trading vessels. Further south
the Periplus mentions Trasum as the furthest
point known to the author: here. ne says.
IAN ocean curves toward sunset. and
stretching along the southern extremity
OF Ethiopia. Lydia. and Africa. nmalgn-
mates with the western sea-" AL this
the author OF the Periplus naturally got
from the Arabs. from whom the Portuguese
got all their information fourteen centuries
later and from whom, no doubt. Herodotus
got his story OF the decentralization OF Africa
six centuries before. when herelates how the
Phnnicians in tho service Of Pharaoh Necho.
B. c. 900. "as they sailed around Africa. came
to point where they had the rising sun on
their right hand" We may add that Agathar-
cides. in Is. G. 10. speaks in glowlnG terms OF
the wealth OF the Sabnans. Now this wealth.
SO far as 1t consiste ed in precious metal. could
not have been native. and 1t would have been
much easier to bring 1t from Ximbabwe than
from India or China Another testimony to
the wealth Of gold possessed by the southern
Arabians. although there was little IL any. gold
to be found in their country. Is furnished by
an Assyrian inscription. which makes TiG-
lath Pileser IL. b. C. 1885, receive tribute
from Arabia In gold. silveg. and much in
cense. Sargon. In his ann lis. also mentions
the tribute OF Shamsi. Queen OF Arabia. as pnid
In gold and spices. Finally an inscription be-
longing to the reign OF Queen Hatasou OF tho
eighteenth dynasty. in the seventeenth century
BIC, records that the land OF Punt was con-
quered by an Egyptian expedition. and on tho
monuments OF Deir-el- Bahari the conquered
people OF Punt are depicted as sending tributes.
which included ebony. ostrich feathers. leopard
Skins CRATES. lions. living leopnrds. cyno-
cephalous apes. elephants tusks. and ingots
Of gold every ono of which commodities was
product of southeastern Africa When COM
pared with the Biblical account OF King Solo
mons expedition to the land Of Ophir seven
centuries later. the productions here enumer-
ated exhibit a remarkable resemblance.