Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-12-14
Let Them See the Pyramids.

BY the last of the month several regi-
ments of United States regulars will be
en- route across the Atlantic in the di-
rection of the Suez canal, bound for Ma
Mia. This trip will be a most novel eX-
perience for the boys. and they will be
sure to note with great interest the diff
erent objects of historic moment that
they sail. There should by all means be
a three days rest in Egypt, ere the
expedition enters the Suez canal at Port
Said. And moreover the troops should
be given an opportunity to visit the py-
ramids. 1t would be to them one of the
greatest events in their lives. to say
nothing of the eclat given to the visit
from a national standpoint, the peace
full conquest of the pyramids by United
States troops. Then the spectacle of an
American army band perched on the
summit of the pyramid of Cheops play
ing yankee Doodle" Dixie johnny
Git Your Gun" and "There'll be a Hot
Time in Old Town Tonight" would fur
nish food for more than casual intellect
ual comment by the press, not only of
the United States, but of the civilized
world. And no doubt spice would be
added to.the occasion by some members
of the regimental commands leaving be-
hind on the pyramidal tops, precious
mementos of their visit, such sentimen-
tai notices in placard form as "Please
keep off the grass" do not give the
elephant tobacco "Ofice hours from Q
to 10 a. M, and from 2 to 3 p. M" Hair
restorer, 5 cents EXTRA etc. Such clas-
steal illusions left in the printed plac-
ard form might occasion a marked and
Arabian magi as they gathered from all
quarters of the lane of the PharaOs to
vainly attempt to decipher these cabal-
istic characters. or they might cause a
report among the wild children of the
desert that the pyramids We're hooded,
and forever after the hapless tourists
would be left to wriggle themselves up
those stupendous artificial sleeps as
best they could without native assist
ance
Yes. by all means let the troops visit
the pyramids, let them scramble up
that most remarkable concentration of
jagged, ragged steps in wild American
fashion, let them fire off their six-shoot-
ers from those most ancient tops, as the
Rough Riders did on the Brooklyn
bridge; let them rouse the musty, slum-
bering dust laden memories of the dim
and misty past with the Star Spangled
Banner" and MY Mary Ann" Lei the
soldiers penetrate into the granite bow
els of those magnificent mausoleums
and see by the light Of the Pickering
torch where once lay the mummy of the
great Cheops until ruthless hands tore
him away from his resting place undis-
turbed for countless centuries, to be-
come a dime museum show. Let them
gaze at the mural paintings and fres-
Goes in those most ancient of tombs,
whose colors have laughed at time, and
in their freshness mock the best efforts
and inventive genius of the modern
ages.
Yes, let the general commanding the
expedition call his cohorts around the
foot of these pyramids, and repeat the
injunction of Napoleon, Soldiers, 40
centuries look down upon you!' Let
the regimental musicians ascend the
head of the half buried sphynx and
from the apex of her Uranium. play
"Just tell them that you saw me" until
the ancient stone enigma shall In as
constituent consent to speak at last and
tell the riddle of her existence.
Let the troops parade through Alex
andria and Cairo, and enjoy a sail up
the Nile, and inspect that collection of
mummies at Boulak, the greatest the
world ever saw; and take in the won
ders of the Egyptian dynasties that
blossomed, bloomed, withered and were