The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-05-16
rHr ISLAND OF SARDINIA.

H1 ,a,s the pyramids. Garibaldi's Home in
Exile.
,oisI correspondence of The Journal.
rrRfRA, SARDINIA, April 3d. 1901.
49,. an unaccountable fact that while
,sntists and antiquarians have for
..rries been searching far and dig
sna leep for curious things, they have
',.s.d almost unnoticed this easily &C
F..,ble island with it's prehistoric
,uaeuts and ''Tombs of the Giants"
catered all over Sardinia are thous-
,5s of Nuraghi, or aboriginal sepul-
tr4s which are unquestionably among
.s.tst structures in the world-the
ark of races which vanished from the
,,. ,o Iong ago that even their names
A., forgotten. That this insignificant
,..iud IN the Mediterranean should pos
,s.. lass of monuments peculiar to
,.gf 4, au illustration of the fragmen-
..- manure of society in the ancient
.ea THE Talyots of the near by
pe. sands, the aboriginal monu-
m,-. 81 nearer Malta, Sicily, Italy,
.- t-tc remains at Stonehenge and
,r4N.-. and Other relics of early Eu-
.,e,sa Lees all differing from each
u.i j bearing some points of re-
.-n...I,c are none of them in the
.s,,- ike the NuragS of Sardinia. They
aavl ,ummits of natural hills and
.ri# hounds, hundreds upon hun
f,.I. u them: and to describe one is to
tr.r., them all, as, except in size,
,a4 yay III no single particular. A
yae always round tower, in the
sp4at III immense beehive, or trun-
ms tuue, with sides sloping at an
ac.o tcudegreeS to the horizon. Its
5mruSJus vary from twenty to one
rn..~I feet in height, with precisely
ae.Ir4, measurement in diameter. 1t
,.Quu1sed of rough masses of the
,r1- stones peculiar to the locality,
RACED iu regular horizontal layers at
,t bottom, and gradually diminishing
81. we IS they mount upward. The
,-fe. bear no marks of the chisel, but
ter appear to. have been rudely
eya5 by some heavy blunt instru-
na4. perhaps another stone, which
.-r-I ancients for hammer. The
ra-e is always occupied by circular
amb-rs. one above another, accord
gslu JU- number of stories, construct
I'd of ptojecting stones, forming a
.anc with the section of an arch. The
gamblers occupy only one third of the
r'-. space, the rest being taken up
VT double walls, between which a
ru 81 lcase ascends to the top of the
ug >Jrang was originally sorround |
4H gh wall, of which now only |
-. remain. Generally it stands !
'li occasionally they are found |
4-..fs in which case they are at
al- 'o-ether under one platform, to !
.ass is gained by doorway in |
,r tower They are absolutely |
VIII Iy ARCHITECTURAL ornament, or
a inscription, to indicate their |
m4u i purpose. Unlike the Pyra-
las .usc mysteries are partially I'M
I5... Gin, Nuraghi furnish not single
r which their age or history may
red 1t is certain, however,
.a icy are Of great antiquity, be-
4 several places the piers of
A4 agutducts and bridges, them
Selves AoW in ruins, rest upon the
1lH- Qt desecrated Nuraghi and the
sss Jssical writer's allude to them
Is essable mysteries even in their
i3! some of the stones in the lower
@u,rs weigh many tons each, yet are
al -ed with perfect accuracy. Sar
l 0eieye them to have been the
fHA giants, who are said to have
Q" labited the island; but more
l'lN cilC ullc lcSulUS
Of aaHdm labor, exacted by despotic
a1t, or lnstigated by religious devo-
Nl vt any rate, their rude but mas
str cones have survived those shocks
ut ime and vicissitudes of empire
'leN aeStroyed the magnificent edit
US VI Babylon and Nineveh, Tyre and
l4tles
There are a good many of these
A-aJ.I il the neighborhood of Sassari,
add We prolonged our visit another day
oder to explore the most perfect
lrameu which stands, a mute and
solitary sentinel, ON it's mound about
Na niles from the city. The method
lmnslt was a Sandman carriage,
glaepous sort Of Black Maria, drawn
4 Utt mules harnesSed abreast and
"QAdrrtuLly bedizZened with gaudy
data and jingling bells. The we'll
AtlF road winds between olive groves
d11 4e best cultivated fields of the is
@a2 Nowhere in Sardinia are the ma
@r Costumes seen in all their original
Consequences as in the suburbs of
asan The corsets of the women are
might with rainbow colors, gold en-
''.argy and silver buttons; and the
~ei' wear black jacket over long
Nt|si-ttu4 To Ia