The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-11-04
THE GREAT DELUGE.
ZONE or THE MANY AND VARIED
VERSIONS OF THE FLOOD.

fie Most skeptioaliy Inclined Must Be-
lieve That Something Of tho Sort Aotu-
ally Occurred, For 1t Has Been Perpct.
uated by Almost Every Nation and Race.
Ono Of tho most powerful and vivid de-
scriptiye portions OF the book OF Genesis IN
that devoted TO the wonderful story of the
deluRe. Together with tho accounts of
Adams fall the Staying of Abel and the
turning of Lots wife into pillar of salt,
svery one remembers from childhood how
Noah was wagied Of tho doom impendine
over tho chilfcn Of men and how be con.
structed a huge ark IN which no did live,
himself and his family and two of every
benst Of tho Geld and fowl of the air, for
the space Of 100 days, or until the waters
subsidized and the dry land appeared. But
the biblical recital Of this terrible visitn.
ton Of divine wrath Is by no means the
only enc. In faot, the most specifically in
cfined must believe that something of the
sort actually occurred long ago for 1t has
been perpetuated not only in the Talmud
and Koran, but In the legends of almost
every nation and rncs that ever lived on
the face Of the earth, including the Chi
nese, the ancient Aztecs Of Mexico, tho
Indian tribes Of North and South America
and even tho savages Of Africa.
Tho story, of course, varies materially
In the multitudinous traditions, but the
gist of 1t remains substantially the same
namely, that the earth was once visited by
great flood In which nearly every living
thing was overwhelmed and lost. Thus in
tho Koran we road that Noah constructed
tho ark with divine assistance and was
rallied at for his pains by the wicked
When the time prescribed for the punish
'ment of mankind arrived, water was seen
TO flow from the burning oven Of Noah's
wife, and immediately all the veins and
arteries OF the earth broke and spurted out
water.
Noah was then admonished in those
words: take and bring into the ark two
couples of every kind of animal male and
female, with all your family, except him
who has been condemned by your mouth,
and receive the faithful and even the un-
believing, but few only will enter" Tho
Koran also says that the ark was built In
two yoare, and that 1t contained three
stories, the upper one for tho birds, the
middle one for the men and the provisions
and tho hold for the beasts. Canaan, the
son of Ham, refused to DO saved. There
fore Noah CURSED him, and his postority
DlACh uuu Wbf6 buhlANe0. Inc
Persians assert that Ham incurred his ia
theirs malediotion as wol. Whom six
months had passed, the ark rested on the
top of Mount Djondi (Ararat>, after having
made the circuit OF the world Tabari
says that two sorts of animals left the ark
which had not entered 1.-THE pig and tho
cat Concerning the latter we have this
interesting piece Of information: When the
rats began to make trouble the voyagers
complained to Noah. Mhereupon the pa
triarch 'pas7ed his hand down the bisok Of
tho lion, vi ,neezed, and tho cat leaped
out OF its noso And the cat ato the rats"
According TO tho Talmud, Noah and his
family and one pair Of each kind of beast
were to BIO saved in the ark, but of every
clean beast seven were to enter in The
rhinoccros, however, had to be left out, for
tho simple but sufficient reason that its
neck alone WAS three miles long. Never
thclcs3 all the rAbbinic writers agree that
the rhtnoceroa survived tile flood; hence it
Is reasonable to suppose that the huge
beast was taken In tow by IL rope attached
to its horn. Come authorities likowiso de-
clare that Noah extended his hospitality TO
another outsider In the shape OF Og tho
giant, who climbed on the roof of tho ark
and received his daily food through hole
bored in the side OF The vessel
Ararat has been Known under this name
for 5000 years, md an Armenian writor
declares that an entire country was so
called after ATal the Fair, an ancient Ar
monian king, who lived about 1850 b. @,
Ho fell in a bloody battle with the Baby
lonians and the scene of bis death was
thanoeforth known as Aral-Arat or the
Fall of Arai. Josephus refers 10 the noun
tain as Nazuana and declares that the ro-
mains OF the ark were there to be seen
carefully preserved,
Almost nil tho Asiatic traditions closely
resemble the Biblical account. Berosus In
his Chaldee history (D. G. 260) speaks of
ten kings, who appear to correspond to the
ten patriar0hs in Genesis before the food
The last of these kings was called Xisuth-
rus. Befosns relAtoa that "Kronos up
pearod to Xisuthrus in dream and wnrned
him that all men would be destroyed by a
deluge ON tho 18th OF tho month Daesios
and commanded him to write down all
the learning and science Of men and to
hido 1t in tho sun city Slpaifs, and then to
build ship and enter it along with his
family and relatives and nearest friends,
and to take into 1t with him food and
drink and beasts and winged fowl When
he was asked whittier he was about to sail,
no was hidden to reply, To the gods to
pray them that mon may prosper. /" Xis-
uthrus did IA he WAS commanded, and
when the flood showed signs Of aba.ipg he
sent out three birds In succession. Tho
first and second came back, the latter with
mud ON its feot, but the third returned
not. Coon after this tho ship was stranded
on mountain, and Xlsuthrus disem-
barked with his family, offered thanks 10
the gods and vanished. Subsequently, the
remaining survivors heard his voice In the
heavens, bidding them fear God and to
tpke his writings out Of Slparis and from
them instruct inen.-Sew York Post,