Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1900-06-02
THE FULL SET OF PHARAOHs.
Modern Research Has Unearthed In
terestiu2 Thing. Concerning Them.

A brief dispatch from Cairo to Lon
don announced on Wednesday the dis
covery of the mummy of Thothmes L.
of the eighteenth dynasty. This
Thothmes was the eminent parent of
the still more illustrious Queen Ha-
tasu. and also of the great Thothmes
Ill, the original Egyptian expansion
ist, and undoubtedly bigger man
than old Rameses- If the Cairo re
port is true, Thothmes /. will take
his place along with Rameses and the
other royal mumnies in the Ghizeh
Museum, to be an object of historical
and sentimental interest to all be-
holders for many centuries to come,
or at least as long as Thothmes' en-
balmment lasts
The process of recovering, identity
ing, cataloguing and exhibiting the
actual physical remnants of The Pha-
raohs, from the first dynasty down, is
proceeding SO rapidly that outside of
Psychological circles u find of this
sort has ceased to be matter of SEN
sational interest. 1t is not what it
was when Emil Brugsch stood for the
first time in the presence of the
mightiest of the Ramesides, and had
to sit down on the coffin of a second
rate princess in order to master his
emotions. Now it is merely another
Pharaoh added to the collection.
1t is quite true that extraordinary
interest was excited about year ago
by the report that Menes had been
discovered and identified. But from
the collectors point of view Menes
held an exceptional position as de-
Slderatum- He was the first item in
Manetho's catalogue, holding a place
corresponding to that of William the
Conqueror in the list of English Kings
or of George Washington among
ton of a collection of Pharaohs he
was as important a prize as an 1904
dollar in the United States silver
series The acquisition of Menes at
so early stage was justly regarded
by everybody with the collectors in
sllnct as most encouraging circum-
stance.
As time goes on and the Pharaoh
department of Ghizeh becomes crowd
ed with the ajestic dead of three,
four and five thousand years ago. we
expect to see the strictly archaeology
cal interest in these recoveries sur
passed and superseded by the fascina-
lions of the hunt. The loy over a re-
covered monarch will be measured
not SO much by his historical impor-
lance by the objects of art and
helroglyphIc records accompanying
his corpse, as by the eagerness with
which he has been wanted and sought
for IN order to fill gap An easily
found IhOthmeS may be less priced
than some obscure Hyksos. or some
minor but long pursued HeliopoIite
King Themain thing will be TO COM
plete the set. and the quest will grow
more exciting as the missing Pha-
rohs become fewer and fewer.
Thus the ground floor of the Ghizeh
establishment will resemble in time
the pages of postage stamp album,
with room for each dynasty, and in
each dynasty some spaces filled and
some vacant awaiting the acquisition
of the monarchs to which they are
assigned in the general scheme. There
will be easily acquired Pharaohs, and,
perhaps, alast here and there a per
manent vacuum in the royal collec-
ton, representing a Pharaoh abso-
lutely introuvable.