The Portland daily press., 1900-01-11

(From the Lordon DVily News
Ihsve this summer explorsd the country
between the Zimbesi and the Pungue,
In Portuguese E1t AfIi,a and Eastern
Mashonaland. Ee.ore l started frnm
England had acquired geograp hicsl iG-
form ition which led ne to believe that
Fura vas near tEe eastern entrance OF
tie Lupata Gorge. There l have found
it, II is situated on the banks of the
Muirn River, about fifteen miles south
of the Zamtesi and hallway between
Sera and Tete. At the time OF my dis
coveIy j had with me Mr.. Puzy and two
mining engineers. Nessrs Grammar and
Napolski. skould perhaps explain here
that Fura Ia the native corruption OF the
wori Afur. by which name the Arabs Of
TIE tixteontb century knew the district OF
which / am speaking, Afur Is tho
Sabsesn or South Arabian form Of the
Hebrew name 0phir. / have ample proof
that the Furawe discovered and explored
this summer Is the Oph!r of the Old
Ie,tanent.. Afrr, or Ophir in the Semi
tic language, means mine. Fura In the
language Of TIE PEOPLE who now inhabit
the district also means nina.
Tie NATIVES. who are under the power
full ch isf Mac ombec. call them sslses Maka
hrga, which means people CT the sun.
Unlike any othsr Africans l know,
they ara to this day sun md fiie woi up
eIs They are Quite unlike the ordinary
African, aud have dis ilot Jewish ty pc
of face, and in my opinion they ars q
mixture Of tee Asiatio conuuerors with
the oris inBl inhabit ants of the country.
On arriving in the district, / soon
found that the natives had some idea of
the existence Of tie ancient Opbir. In
fact, they wash gold themselves after. the
rainy season, aud after storing IL In
quilts, do a fairly large trade in it with
Beira and Tete.
At IIsi had great difficulties with
thts, people. For five weeks they refused
10 cell me food and peri r II ell war dance
TO frjRhten Ire. Macombe, thu chief, then
sent his brother Cuntete to me, demand
ing what meant by entering his ooun.
try. By this time, however, as l had
succeeded In getting food from other
sources. Cuntete seemed inclined to he
friendly. j made friends with him and
/ have brought him to England. Up to
the PR s MT his greatfsi surprise is that
he has not seen the sun. This chief suh-
sequentIy gave me valuable Information
regarding the position of the ancient
ruins anu workings, which l at once In
vestigated. Going to the SPOT indicated.
i found ancient ruins of undoubtedly
Semitic type. l discovered phaliic en-
b)ems, which have always been CONNECTED
with the ancient Semitic sun worship.
Eura itsslf found to possess formation
of quartz to slate and and diorite, be-
tween wb ion gold reefs were running.
Under the ruins found a large alluvial
tract, In which we discovered gold ana
near 1t N agnificent quartz reefs. The an
cient workings which found wers not
only surface workings, but there were
alto shsfas and roads hewn into the rock,
j htve built u station in this district and
also one In Inyauga, both Of which are In
charge of trustworty Europeans. in
tend next summer to further investigate
the traces of diamonds. coal, white mica
and saltpetre which we found.
''My theory with regard to Ophir,"
said the doctor In conclusion. ISIS this:
The ancient conouerors heard 1t the
mouth OF the Zambesi of rich alluvial golJ
up river and sailed up to the eastern en-
trance OF the LUpate, teyond which
rapids made nav gatlcn difficult. They
then prcte ee ed Overland and found under
the very walls OF the fol tlfoltions (ruius
of which We ave discovered,) alluvial
and also reef sod. They then settled
for considerable period, and afterward
migi ate1 to the wesi toward the Ruenys.
They eventually settled In the cool
climate of Inyange, conquered all the
distr OTIS west and southwest "a as the
Sanayte River and Tetr, and luilt great
empire along the Zambesi ami Sabi
rivers. The ancient SabHean empire
probably lasted for thousaI DIS of years.
It's existence was well known among the
Semitic nations. and 1t is int resting to
note that Ophir is always mentioned In
ths Old Testament without any ext lara
ton as to its locality. have ssen enough
to be assrrsd that all the products Of the
ancient Ophir are to be found on the
u .mtesi.
''As q result OF my Investigation, the
Arabian and Indian theories regarding
Optir f6li 10 pieces, and claim anhesi.
tatin2'y to have located this year the
Golden Ophir OF K ng So.onon ard King
L