The times., 1899-04-08
THE SITE OF EDEN.
Located in the Indian Ocean East
of Africa.
(From the Strand Magazine.)

NFIOH LLe StTdnu Magazine
The following are the reasons for the
/ theory that the Garden OF Eden is at or
near Seychelles. l could even put It Ut
Praslin, a small isle twenty miles north
of Maize Allow that Genesis is not aue-
gorical, that Eden, its garden, its two
trees, did exist on this earth. Eden is a
district, the garden is a spot chosen in that
district, the trees were actual tIees i'm
bued for time with spiritual qualities;
these trees, the bush, the ark, the tabsr-
nacle and temple differed nothing from the
same things IN the world except for the
time during which they were spiritually
conseerated or set apart for manifesto
tions of God, or Satan. Gods conservation
made things which were equally clean,
clean and unclean; therefore / see no rsa-
son for doubling that God did set apart
the two trees to be one of Life, the other
OF knowledge; or that God, when these
two trees had fulfilled their purpose,
should have relegated them back 10 their
former ordinary tree position.
/ thought there were two trees-actual
trees-which had been sacramentaI, and
had ceased to be so, and in Prasiin near
Seychelles, and only there in the wnoie
world, is magnificent tree, curious be-
yond description, called the Prince of the
Vegetable hingdom; it is unique in It's
species, and on earth-the LaodIcsan Sey-
cheilarum, or Coco di Mir. This, | believe,
was the Tree of knowledge. l then
thought if the one tree is to be found, so
is the other, and this / think is the Arto-
carpus incisa, or bread fruit; it is hum
BILE tree, of no great distinction, yet to an
observer it is as unique in its kind and
among trees as the other. This last tree is
only found in the Indian Ocean. 1t is a
fe-sustaining tree, and. like the other,
IL is full OF Scriptural tyDes
Having thought that these were the two
trees, then the question arose: Where was
the Garden of Eden? And first came the
information that Seychelles is of granite
and all other isles out here are volcanic,
granite being the more ancient formation.
Then the Rev. ID. Bury mentioned casually
that the verse Genesis lilo, could be read
that the four rivers flowed into Eden, not
out OF it,. l have been at the source of
the Euphrates Tigris, etc, and unless the
rivers were forced to flow backward, no
spot could agree to a central basin in those
lands while a food does not change fea-
lures OF 10000 feet high. So, l took the
rivers Euphrates-as Euphrates, on which
is Babylon; Hiddekel-as Tigris, on which
is Nineveh wide DanieD. They meet
and flow into the Persian Gulf. Babylon
oppressed lsrael-Nineveh oppressed Isra-
ell. Required two other rivers connected
with oppression of israel-Nineveh op-
pressed Israel. The question of whether
ever river came down the Valley of Jor-
dan into the Red Sea is one which has
been much discussed. That an immense
crevasse exists from the source of the
Jordan to the Red Sea is the case: the
depression of the Dead Sea is the difficulty;
the ravines of Kedron and Gihon are very
deep. Taking my ground spiritually. and
the similarity of the name GihOn, with the !
brook of Jerusalem. | think that they are ,
the same. The Pison, or Nile, flowed into /
the Red Sea, the Gihon. or Gihon Brook !
flowed into the Red Sea, joined flowed {
down. met the Euphrates and Tigris. /
united near Socotra, and the soundings /
shown end in a deep basin $500 fathoms /
deep which is close to Seychelles. Cush is
written in margin for Ethiopia. Cush was |
son OF Nimrod his land was probably near
Babylon. now Bah el Mandeb. Perrin /
means Bah (gate) ell (of) Mandeb (the !
world. PisOn means overilowing-the !
Nile overtlows. Egypt oppressed Israel. |
The Nile is believed now to flow into the |
Re dSea; the Blue Nile encompasses God |
jam a province of Abyssinia, in which |
there is gold. Havilah, son OF Joktan. son |
of Shem went with Sheba and ophir TO :,
Mesha (Sale's Koran says) and spread |
along the Red Sea. The Sea of Zugla op- ,
posite Alden, is called Sirius Havilah She |
ba, and Ophir is generally connected yith !
Abyssinia, so think Pson is Nile. Gihon
means bursting forth" the brook Gihon I
is southern side OF Jerusalem; ii meets |
Kedron and flows. when IL does flow, to !
the Salt Sea dead Seal, by the Valley of !
Fire; it is Tophet. Hinnom. the Valley OF
Slaughter the sewer of Jerusalem, the site /;
OF all abominable sacrifices; II is connected
same name as Genesis.