Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-08
Copyright. 1907. by Frank G. Carpenter.)

Copyright. 1907. by Frank G. Carpenter)
TUNIS, 1907.
I have spent the whole of today among
the ruins of Carthage. The French have
been excavating there. and are making
many discoveries. The ruins lie on the
shore of the Mediterranean sea beyond the
lake on which Tunis is situated and cover
some thousands OF acres. The center
OF old Carthage was about twelve miles
from this city, and the Phoenician capital
reached even to Tunis itself. The city had
n wall twenty-three miles long to efend
that part of it which was back from the
sea; and il is said to have had more than
q million inhabitants in the height of its
glory When it was destroyed, after its
long war with Rome, it contained more
than seven hundred thousand people, and
during that war it furnished armies OF
enormous size. When Hannibal went from
Spain 70 invade Italy he took 5000 men
and forty elephants with him over the
Iyrcnees and the Alps; and during the first
Pun,c war a fleet started out from Car
thage with so ships of q capacity of lJo,-
,.a troops Each of the ships had an iron
beak to ram the boats of the enemy, and
the sailors were the best OF the then
world.
Carthage the Mighty.
That during the closing days of Car
thage the Mighty. A short time later the
Roman destroyed and plowed up the
ground upon which it stood Later still
they founded city upon its site, and made
II their capital Of Africa, and it was for
a long time the third city OF the world
Farther on in this letter / shall tell you
how the ruins of Roman Carthage are
still to be here.
lar more interesting to me is Carthage
the Mighty. that famous city which was
favored by Juno. Jupiter's henI ecking wife.
4
Tyre D.dU's husband had been assassi-
mated by her own brother. Pygmalion. and
Dido had fled and come to this part OF
North Africa. Like that other JeWeSs of
fiction. Jessica. old Shylock's daughter she
did not 80 away empty handed. but loaded
her ship Win tN" treasures OF the royal
palaces Of L.rs.lf aud brother and took
enough people along with her to start
Ie" empire.
Queen Dido's Big Bargain.
When she first set foot on Afr can soil
Queen Dido bought some land Of the ma
tyes and by Il real estate trick obtained
THIS big tract upon which Carthage
stood for song. When our forcfathers
purchased the site of New York Of the
Indians the price was peck OF glass
Leads and brass buttons; it is said that all
Chicago was once offered for pair OF old
Melbourne. one OF the richest cit es o:
Australia. stands was sold for two
old wooden blankets. The thrifty Dido
bought the location OF this greatest city
u antiquity at a somewhat similar price.
According to tradition. she told the ma
t-ves that she only wanted patch OF
land big enough TO be inciosed in bulls
hide and they made contract of sale on
those terms But Queen Dido cut the bulls
hide into leather shoestrings and tying
them together. took in what seemed to
the natives all out Of doors. The tract
ran around beautiful harbor inclosing
The whole peninsula between the lake and
the sea. 1t was gently sloping. with a lit
tl@ hill here and there and with great
rocky mountains in sight in the rear The
land itself was exceedingly rich and the
country about ii produced abundantly
that II was for centuries one OF the
SranaTies OF ths world
Carthage in B. C. 500.
Lying before me as l write is picture
Of old Carthage as 1t was recently repro
duced by French antiquarian. The city
was OF vast extent. and its character was
somewhat Ike that OF the great oriental
capitals of today Its buildings were white
and fat-roofed. 1t had wall about it,
and this wall higher than the great
wall of China. 1t was over ffty-iive feet
ltEh. and the towers. which were found at
regular intervals upon the wall. were many
feet higher. The walls Were used for a de-
Tense and for a barracks to contain the
army well. In them were stalls for 300
war elephants. 1900 war horses. and stor-
age places sufficient to supply all with food
There were quarters in the walls for a
larger army than the United States had at
the breaking out OF the Spanish war, and
this wall. as | have said. was over twenty
miles long.
Old Carthage had forum a market place
and magnificent public buildings. 1t had
artificial harbor. which the French have
restored In miniature, and this was ar
ranged that the entrance could be shut Ut
by chains at night. The door leading into
# was only sixty feet wide. but this admitted
the ships to two ports. so connected that
the vessels could sail from one to the other
Old Carthage was a city Of fine houses