The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-06-23

: > - I & - 1Iff aat
e. 0ApSa Progress. 53 ~ ~
A correspondent of the Lond0r
Times gives some interesting facts IL
relation; to the recent burning Of thu
great mosque Of Damascus, once, the
ancient cathedral Of St. John the Bap
tist. The Turkish government has ex
erted every effort since the calamity
to prevent any report Of it from being
published. Hesays: ''The Christian
tNere accused by some at the time o1
,SetnQg the building on FIRE; but, Z.
the .fte broke out in the high roof Of
the building . little before noon. the
accusation was so .manifestly absurd
thst it hid q little influence on the Mos
lem mind1 Had it occurred at night
when the facts might not have been &c
manifest, the reports Auld have met
with reader acceptance, and it is inn
possible I'd say what. In that, case
might have been the consequences
to the Christians. Moreover, as there
was a high wind blowing toward the
Christian quarter. If it hsd been
at night. when people were ssleep
the destruction !, must have been
much more extensive. The work
of rebuilding seems to have
been, taken in hand with vigor.
Aeehtieman in the city recently TAX
Ag = ride with his wifc and son out.
side, the gates, met hundreds Of men
bringing, in the large poplar beams
for the work, which they were draw
ing in carts by ropes, with loud sing.
ing and clapping Of hands. The riders
at once turned away by another road,
giving them IS wide a berth as posi-
ble,l for! it is hardly safe tor . Chris
tian to get among. them in their pres
ent mood. The library. containing
books and manu- scripts of priceless
value, was saved from the flames; and
nothing of value was lost, excepting
the most precious gem of all-namely:
'Othman's Koran, which was deposited
in place apart, and was not thought
of until too late. This is said to have
been land probably really was) one Of
the very four exemplars deposited by
the Caliph Gilman, A. Fl. 80, in the
four great mosques Of Mecca, Medina,
Kufa and Damascus-the, only surviv-
ing COPY. These were to- be kept
there as the sole authoritative copies
after, all others had been called in
from every quarter of the Moslem em-
pire and, committed to the. flames. 1t
is matter of congratulation that the
ancient inscription in Greek on the
cathedral wall-over the silversmiths'
and sandal-malzers' bazar--has not
been injured. It is the thirteenth
verse OF Psalm cxlv., the name of
Christ being added thus: Thy king
dom, o Christ, is an everlasting king
dom, and thy dominion is from gener-
alton to generation.," SIS 81
THE WILDERNESS OF cEYLoN.
a Deaf Elephant suppossd to Bs saored
1861 81 co B1ddha. SO = u
We were in the absolute wilderness
of upland .Ceylon, where the virgin
beauty and freshness of nature un-
spoiled by man instills new sensation
INTO every soul which vibratcs to
her mysterious voice, says Cornhill
The rolling green patenas
IRE cut OFF sheer and straight from the
belts of jungle as though
measured off by human hands, strik-
ng feature of these elevated regions
which has never been satisfactorily
explained. The mountain ranges which
nclose the grassy plains are clothed
rom base to summit with primeval for
st. heavily draped with moss which
'orms q green fringe, hanging from
very bough. p-zs,s1,ss--ss ,-.s-e-,s-.s-.
An appalling loneliness broods over
he scene, no song of bird stirs the
ilence, and the deathlike hush which
'eigns over the gloomy forest is un-
'roken even by the rustic Of . leaf, forI
,oon is the midnight of the tropics and
he black depths of the haunted jun-
.le are wrapped in spellbound sleep. At !
lightfan the. 1.-THE cheetah giides
through the shadows and
rouches for his prey among the crowd |
nR trees The bra nching antlers Of
he elk rise abov We the tangled under
,rowth and the moose deer browses in |
he shade of the mossy bouRhs along
which the wildcat creeps, while the |
avage boar roots among the fallen
caves. .ss -
When the rising moon Eliminates
he lonely landscape, herds Of wild
lephants emerge from the dark jungle
nd roam over the vast expanse Of
isolate country which still renders
he interior of Ceylon almost an un-
nown land. The, elephant grass,
'hich breaks the uniformity Of the un-
ulating plain with r,istling sheaves
long greet spears, is the forage for
1hich the stragElers of the herd scour
1e patenas, and many Cingalese SUI
erstitions linger round this elevated
ableland.
The recent spoor Of an elephant
'arks our track and ceases at a deep
ool known to be favorite drinking
lace of the wild animals which haunt
le jungle. A deaf elephant frequent
! perambulates. the Elk plains. He is
opposed to be sacred to Buddha, and,
lerefore, invulnerable, no sportsman
sving hitherto succeeded in piercing
10 hides fact probably due 10 TIE
reat age Of the animal.
He MlkADo.s MoTAeR-IN-LAw.
- lllneas Wa Due - The lat<Sdus.
sioa af Ra,lresds.
The mikado Of Japan has mother
law, and that mother-in-law vas
tely attacked BY : serious. illness.
, grave were the symptoms that four
lndrcd aud twenty-three specialists
ere at once summoned to the sicle
dys bedside. This, however,, II not
.ite the right way Of putting It
lc doctors being 60 NUMEROUS, tho
Itient had to DO to them. and. though