Amador ledger., 1906-09-21
STORY OF THE FLOOD
THERE ARE MANY AND VARIED YER
SlONS OF THE DELUGE.


OA1y In the Talmud and Koran, but
In the Legends of Almost Every
Race That Ever Lived on Earth.
One of the most powerful and vivid
descriptive portions of the book of
Genesis is that devoted to the wonder
full story of the deluge. Together with
the accounts of Adams fall, the STAY
ing of Abel and the turning of Lots
wife into a pillar of salt, every one
remembers from childhood how Noah
was warned of the doom impending
over the children of men and how he
constructed huge ark in which he did
live, himself and his family and two
of every beast Of the field and fowl Of
the air, for the space of 100 days, or
until the waters subsidized and the dry
land appeared. But the Biblical recital
of this terrible visitation of divine
wrath is by no means the only one.
In fact, the most skeptically inclined
must believe that something of the sort
actually occurred long ago, for it has
been perpetuated not only in the Tai
mud and Koran, but in the legends Of
almost every nation and race that ever
lived on the face of the earth, including
the Chinese, the ancient AZtecs Of
Mexico, the Indian tribes of North and
South America and even the savages
of Africa.
The story, of course, varies material
ly in the multitudinous traditions, but
the gist of it remains substantially the
same-namely, that the earth was once
visited by great flood in which nearly
every living thing was overwhelmed
and lost. Thus in the Koran we read
that Noah constructed the ark with
divine assistance and was rallied at for
his pains by the wicked. When the
time prescribed for the punishment of
mankind arrived, water was seen to
flow from the burning oven of Noah's
wife, and Immediately all the veins
and arteries of the earth broke and
spurted out water.
Noah was then admonished in these
words: "Take and bring into the ark
two couples Of every kind of animal,
male and female, with all your family,
except him who has been condemned
by your mouth, and receive the faith
full and even the unbelieving, but few
only will enter" The Koran also says
and that it contained three stories, the
upper one for the birds, the middle one
for the men and the provisions and the
hold for the beasts. Canaan, the son
Of Ham, refused to be saved. There
fore Noah cursed him, and his posteri-
ty became black and were enslaved.
The Persians assert that Ham incurred
his fathers malediction as well. When
six months had passed the ark rested
on the top of Mount Djondi (Ararat),
after having made the circuit Of the
world. Tabari says that two sorts Of
tered 1.-THE pig and the cat. Concern
ing the latter we have this interesting
piece of information: When the rats be-
gan to make trouble the voyagers COM
planned to Noah. Whereupon the patri-
arch ''passed his hand down the back
leaped out Of its nose. And the cat ate
the rats
According to the Talmud, Noah and
his family and one pair of each kind of
beast were to be saved in the ark, but
Of every clean beast seven We're to en-
ter in. The rhinoceros, however, had
to be left out, for the simple but suffi-
eient reason that its neck alone was
three miles long. Nevertheless all the
rabbinic writer's agree that the rhi-
noceros survived the flood; hence it is
reasonable to suppose that the huge
beast was taken in tow by rope at
tached to its horn Some authorities
likewise declare that Noah extended
his hospitality to another outsider in
the shape of Og, the giant, who climb
ed on the roof of the ark and received
his daily food through a hole bored in
the side of the vessel.
Ararat has been known under this
name for 5000 years, and an Armenian
writer declares that an entire country
was so called after Arai the Fair, an
ancient Armenian king, who lived
about 1850 B. G. He fell in a bloody
battle with the Babylonians, and the
scene Of his death was thenceforth
known as Arai-Arat, or the Fall Of
Arai. Josephus refers to the mountain
as Nazuana and declares that the re-
mains of the ark were there to be seen
carefully preserved.
4 oil h.
closely resemble the Biblical account.
Berosus in his Chaldee history (B. G.
260) speaks Of ten kings, who appear
to correspond to the ten patriarchs in
Genesis before the flood. The last of
these kings was called Xisuthrus. Be
rosus relates that "Kronos appeared to
Xisuthrus in dream and warned him
that all men would be destroyed by a
deluge on the 10Th of the month Dae-
sios and commanded him to write
down all the learning and science Of
men and to hide it In the sun city
Siparis and then to build a ship and
enter it along with his family and rela-
tives and nearest friends and to take
into it with him food and drink and
beasts and winged fowl When he was
asked whittier he was about to sail, he
was hidden to reply, TO the gods to
pray them that men. may prosper 4"
Xisuthrus did as he was commanded,
and when the flood showed signs of
abating he sent out three birds in sue
cession. The first and second came
back, the latter with mud on its feet.
but the third returned not Soon after
this the ship was stranded on a noun