The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-04
ALABAMA MAN WRITES OF
 HIS TRIP UP NILE RIVER

, umns and obelisks. Much trouble was ex- perienced in getting the people to move in order that the wonders and beauties of this remarkable work might be exca- vated and shown to the world. The tombs of the kings hewn in the mountain sides and in solid rock were seen. Near the site of Memphis we were taken out in the
 desert where the tombs of the mummi- fled bulls were visited. We took lights and went down steps hundreds of feet,
 when we came to "A immense granite caskets, each of which originally con-
 tained the body of a bull which they worshiped. It has been decided by stu dents of this country that this work dates back more than 5000 years. We also saw the immense statue of Rameses the Great. Our dragoman informed us that Rameses had 67 sons and P daughters. Some one asked him how many wives. The drago- man, being a Mohammedan, replied, Al lah (God) only knows" The famous temp pie of Denderah closely associated with Cleopatra; the temple of "Seti,' which has the most beautiful sculpture in Egypt; the temple of Koorneh, and many others were visited At Cairo, we of course visited all the pyramids. The pyr- amids have long been considered of the wonders of the world. There is no mystery as to why they were built-they were simply the tombs of the kings 1t seems that when a king ascended the throne he immediately began work on his tomb. It has been decided that the larg- est of all the pyramids was built first and by King Cheops. It happened that Cheops lived long time and kept adding to this immense pile of stone It is be- lieved that he had the children of Israel in bondage and most of the work was done by them. In one side there is an opening which leads to the center of the ar,af1 and hara hh l. xff1o md queen were buried. It is estimated that there is enough stone in the largest to build the capital at Washington and ev- cry other state capital in the union. It is said that 1t took 100000 men, working constantly for 20 years, to build 1t. I could not regard it as work of art but the prodigius labor involved in its con struction, and for no use but to receive the mummified bodies of king and queen is something past comprehension. There are a number of these pyramids, but all on the same plan.
 As I have said before, to comment on all these works of the past would become tiresome and not of special interest Th9 customs and conditions of the restless, impressionable living monuments of to- day is of more concern than the hiero- glyphics on the granite obelisks of people who lived coco years ago.
 Time after time the Egyptians have been overrun by other nations, but not withstanding this the Egyptian type has prevailed with unerring uniformity. Sun baked bricks of Nile mud, with matched roofs of straw, still form the miserable huts in which they live. Along the river we still see the half and oftentimes naked natives drawing water in great skin buck cts on the old-fashioned well sweep, and pouring it in the ditches to water their crops. Wooden blows drawn by oxen or camels are still in use. The majority go barefooted and many sleep where night overtakes them. The climate is all sum shine Rain rarely ever falls. There is no fuel of any description. No trees ex-