The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-07-29
BILKINs In SYRIA.
Continued from Page ID

which wuz dedicated to Bacchus,
stands not far from the other one.
1t ia 225 feet long and 10 feet wide.
The stone columns GROUND the walls
ov this temple air so feet long an
six feet in diameter-nothingl like as
heavy az those found In the older
temple. Clusters Of grapes carved on
the stone walls air perfect In appear
ance. though the clusters are not
more than two inches In length.
am told that Emperor William,
ov Germany. visited Baalbek In 1898,
an wuz SO taken with the wonderful
ruins that he got permission to clear
away much ov the rubbish 80 that
visitors could see the sights better.
But Baalbek liz only one ov the
interestin' places In this land ov old
stuff. There air dozens ov buried
cities ov greater an lesser import
ance. an Ii they air ever opened up
hit liz possible that the world will be
even more astonished at what may
be found.
AAA$ AZ IA6AAACu lAak kuC hluk GI
glass wuz started in this part ov the
world. The discovery wuz accident
al. az liz often the case. The story
goes that some sailors landed at the
mouth ov the river Belos and stayed
fer sometime, dom their cookin' on
the shore. Stones not being plentiful
there they used blocks of saltpetre
to set their cooking pots upon. The
heat Of the campf1res fused the sand
an the saltpetre and the result wuz
a transparent mass, similar to, or ac-
tually, glass. Thus a great and USE
full industry wuz started, and now.
though glass an glassware air among
the cheaper articles in everyday use,
millions ov dollars hev bin invested
in glass an in articles made from
that material.
In passin' through old an famous
buildin's in Egypt and in Syria I hev
often noticed representations or carv-
ms ov the scarab, or the old-fashion-
ed bug known In most parts ov the
United States az the tumble-bug. In
books hit IL called the beetle. You
often see them rollin' little ball ov
manure erlong in the publick road
Hit liz hard ter believe, but hit is
true, the people oy Egypt an ov
Syria, az intelligent az they were an
az they air now, once regarded the
dung-beetle az sacred insect, az a
symbol ov the Creator and they ac-
tually worshipped the thing. If you
don't believe hit, go with me through
this country an see for yourself. In
nearly anvil ov the old towns images
of the dung-beetle air very promi-
nent. Some ov these old images bear
the seal ov ancient rulers, thus veri-
fyin' my statement. In some cases
the heart ov a dead person wuz re-
moved an scarab wuz put in hits
place. The population ov the world
liz fourteen hundred millions-"most-
ly FOOLS"
Damascus, the ancient city so often
mentioned in the Scriptures, is built
at the edge of the Arabian Desert.
But for the river which leaps from
the mountain source near Damascus
an renders the Arabian Desert green
fer long distance, until the power
full river itself is absorbed, swallow
ed up by the burning sands, Damas-
Gus would never hev bin upon map
ov the world, not in that portion ov
Syria, at any rate, for the land would
hev bin treeless an grassless. Da-
| mascus is still an oriental city an
knows but little ov the Western
world an hits ways. The govern
ment il putin up buildin's that air
| modern, that air fine. But the city
hitself, the people who live in hit,
an the customs, air az old az the
world itself, when hit comes to style.
In Damascus the streets air narrow
an air covered SO as ter keep out the
rain an the sunshine. II the city
wuz located in many other sections
| hit would be too unhealthy ter
live in.
Az in Cairo, Egypt, the stores or
shops air divided into sections. Gro
Gerry stores one place, jewelry stores
another, an si1versmiths another
Here wool an cotton an silk take
the place ov leather, even saddles an
brides bein' made ov these materials
But they air guide articles ov the
kind. In fact, the Syrians in Damas.
Gus air noted fer their fine work, NOT
only in Persian rugs, but in every
thing that IL in general use by the
people, or that can be used in trade
Probably no country can make bet
ter metal than goes into the genuine
Damascus swords, famous since time
began. They air skilled at inlayin
wood with mother-of-pearl, an brass
work, an Damascene ware. Like the
Athenians the Syrians air smart in
a way.
1 noticed two peculiar-lookin' ami
mails on the streets ov the city-ths
L