Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-02-20
LAND OF GOLD.
ABYsSINiA THE CRADLE OF EcYP.
TAN CIVILIZATION.

Tke war between King HuInbert Of
italy and King Menelek OF Abyssinia,
will, In time. prove Il political shibbo-
leth In spite OF the fact that diplomats
minds are too busy with other matters
now to give II the attention II deserves.
There will come time when European
diplomats will find themselves con-
fronted with this most serious ques-
ton, which may threaten to shake Eu-
ropean diplomacy to Its foundation.
Abyssinia has an area OF more than
$4,000 square miles. with more than
1900 population. Its coast runs par
allel with that of Arabia. along the Red
Sea. Its capital IL Gondar. The pres
| ent ruler IN King Menelek, formerly
King Of ShOa, who, after the death Of
King John. united the two kingdoms
under one sceptre. The country Is very
rich. The plain Is especially fertile,
| and cotton. coffee and tobacco can be
produced AT more profitable rate than
In almost any other country. There are
| many tracts Of virgin land. as well as
virgin forest. which have neither seen
| the pillow nor the axe. The mountains,
which run like Il chain between Abys-
ShOa. are rich I'm minerals and some
| Bible students are inclined to the be-
lief that Abyssinia is the Ophir Of Scrip
ture.
The country has glorious past. and
| Is rich In song and folklore. In the
| Scripture the land IN called Kush or
Saba. the latter term meaning seven,
as the people We're star-worshippers
and venerated the seven planets. The
Abyssinians are mentioned in the book
of Kings as having invaded Palestine
| with an army Of 100000 soldiers and
300 fighting chariots. under their king,
SOrach. during the reign OF Asa. King
of Judea.
General Gordon. whose acquaintance
| ! made ut the home Of the late Law
renee Oliphant. told me. writes con-
tributor to The Chicago Record, that
in his opinion Abyssinia was the era
die of Egyptian civilization. as Abys-
| sinia had. by virtue of its religion. n
better knowledge of the Cosmos than
had Egypt. Taking into account the
| fact that the whole SOudan, including
Chartum, where the same famous Cen
eial fell. was under the Abyssinian rule
| marched into the hermit kingdom OF
| the Nile.
In the middle ages the King of Abys-
sina was appealed to by the Patriarchs
of Constantinople TO make war with
| the Jewish Kingdom of Jcmcn. and the
Abyssinians crossed the Red Sea. wip-
| ing Jemen out of existence The de-
cline Of the country began when it was
divided into two kingdoms governed by
two chiefs under Il feudal system.
The people of Abyss!nia are of n
| brownish color stout and warlike. They
may be regarded as the missing link
| between the negro and the Caucasian
| They have the physical strength of the
| black and the common sense of the
white. Their women might be called
| the beauties OF Africa. but should they
cease their habit of bcsmearing their
bodies with butter they would he re-
| garded as the new women of Africa.
| Their religion Is. i'm outside appearance,
| Oriental Christianity as IL was before
| the schism; i'm fact. it IL n mixture of
| paganism. Judaism and Christianity
| They possess Il very rich literature.
remnant of their ancicpt civilization.
written I'M the Anna harit language. The
| Kings family and some of the chiefs
assert that they are the descendants of
King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
| Strange rs this may sound. ii finds Il
confirmation in the Talmud. which so
| interprets Il passage I'm the Kings.
| The King Of Abyssinia boasts of the
great title negus negista. which means
King Of Kings. The King is said TO
| possess the royal seal Of King Solomon.
with which he seals his DEGREES. The
King. although he has n fine capital.
| is always on the move. holding his
court and executing justice while trav-
cling from place to place. II reminds
| one of the manner in which Alfred the
Great conducted his affairs, with the
distinction that Britain's King sur
rounded himself with the learned of
his age, while the Abyssinian King has
always forty thousand soldiers who
march with him through the country.
The payment to the soldiery Is I'm rice
and other cereals. The coin in use is
the old Maria Theresa dollar.
| There are two peculiar tribes Of Jews
living in the mountain regions who are
collectively called Palashes. which
means people from Palestine" These
Jews are divided into two bOdics-rhe
laity and the priests. They are the
descendants Of those Jews whom King
Solomon designated as q guard of honor
| of the Queen Of Sheba when she re-
turned to her native land Of Abyssinia.
| The only books which they have con-
sist of the five hooks OF Moses and the
first book Of Joshua. all OF which are
| in the Anal arit tongue. Ii IL possible
that there might he found among them
the original Scripture text as ii existed
I'm the time of King Solomon. They
have no idea of the prophets, nor have
they any rabbini,nl law.
The Jews who dwell there are much
respected by the natives. and they were
| the indirect i;luse Of the war between
England and Abyssinia. II happened
that the English Society for the Con-
version of the Jews sent some mission
aries under the head Of DR. Stern to
convert those Jews. The latter com
planned to the Negus, the famous Theo-
dorc. The King summoned the mis-
| sionaries and asked them what they