The Dickinson press., 1899-06-17
A PRICELESS RELIC.
THE FAMOUS BLACK STONE OF THE
-z. TEMPLE OF MECCA.

How This Treasure of lslam Appears
at the Present nay and tho Various
Theories of Its Origin-0uarded By
Mohammedans.
So carefully is the black stone Of the
temple Of Mecca guarded, even to this
day, that the accounts given by different
writer's as to the nature and appearance
Of the black stone exhibit some consid-
cradle variations, for orthodox Mussul-
mans cannot be prevailed upon to give
o straightforward description of it, and
mere Adventures. like the several Eu-
ropean hadjis (Burckhardt, Burton and
the others) could only crafty their in
telligent curiosity by stealthy ~investi-
cations. Detection in the act Of pursu-
ing such investigation would have cost
the travellers their lives, in pursuance
las Mohammedans suppose) of the law
Of the prophet. Your faithful Mussul-
man cannot understand that any other
motive than worship should lead any
n to visit Mecca.
The Mohammedans believe that this
famous stone vas brought down from
heaven by angels. It is set in the wall
of the Caaba, which stands within the
great colonnade. The stone is four feet
nine inches from the ground and is
kissed and touched with great veneer
alton by every pilgrim to Mecca.
MI. Bate mentions what intelligent
travellers have recorded concerning the
nature of the black stone. One of them
tells us that it is undoubtedly a large
aerolite-an opinion which scarcely
harmonizes with its reputed quality of
floating in water, since aerolites usually
contain a large percentage of heavy.
metallic matter, such as iron pyrites.
Another traveller reports that it looks
like a piece of lava. containing small
e%xtraneous particles of some white and
yellowish substance.
Still another of these authorities
afirms that it is a fragment of volcanic
basalt, sprinkled throughout its surface
with small, pointed. colored crystals and
varied with felspar upon Il dark ground.
like coal, excepting one of It's protuber-
ances. which happens to be a little red.
dish.
Others, again, claiming an equal title
to exact knowledge, give it as their
opinion that it is nothing else thar an
ordinary piece Of stone from quarries in
which the Meccan territory abounds.
These last mentioned travellers, how
ever. appear to overlook the circum
stance that this opinion of theirs does
not take due cognizance of that proper
ty of the stone to which we have Just
alluded and also the circumstance that
the only kind of stone yielded by the
Meccan quarries is a sort of gray gran.
lite.
Not SO difficult is it to form an idea
as to its size and present appearance.
In form it is an irregular oval, the in
equality Of its two longer sides impart-
ing to it a somewhat semicircular ap-
pearance. 1t measures about 6 inches
in height and 8 in breadth, the dame
ter on its lower and wider side being
SR inches. The surface is protuberant
and somewhat knobby or undulating
and has the appearance of being com
posed of a number of smaller stones Of
different sizes and shapes, securely fit
ted together with cement and perfectly
smooth.
Its appearance is as though the orig
inal piece of stone had been broken to
pieces by a violent blow and then re-
paired. And, as a matter of fact, this
appears to be the true explanation of
this irregularity Of the surface, for it is
recorded by the Arabian historians of
the Caaba that in the year 413 of the
Hajira an emissary of a certain Egyp-
tian khalifa, known as ''the Mad Khali-
ia Hakim,' shattered it to pieces by a
stroke Of a club, and they relate that
after this event the pieces and even the
dust also were carefully restored and
the fragments cemented together.
The ~protu<erances mentioned are 10
or is in number and are such as to i'm
part to the surface Of the stone a mus
cular or pebbly appearance. Near the
middle there is a hollow which reaches
to about as much as two inches below
the outer edge Of the stone and is Of a
kind to suggest to the visitor the sur
mise that n of the protuberances may
have been removed.
The color of the surface of the relic is
at the present time a deep reddish
brown, or, as some have described it, a
metallic black, and, Notwithstanding
the polished appearance impaired to it
by the constant touching of unnumber-
ed myriads of devotees, it yet bears on
its undulating surface what appear to
be evident marks of volcanic origin.
These muscular protuberances, how
ever, are attributed by the Moslem au-
thorities to the incessant oscillations
and rubbings of the faithful. The
smoothness may perhaps be attributable
to this cause, but the obviously frac-
tured and pebbly appearance is not ac-
counted for in this way.-Asiatic Quar-
terly.