The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-06-13

SAA
Mesopotamia to this day. The flat
country to the south, towards the
Persian Gulf, was once covered by
the sea, some scientists say, so it
might then have been easy for Jonah
to have landed at Nineveh.'
Of Nineveh itself, little is left but
mounds, broken glass and scattered
bricks, with here and there the frag-
ment of written stone" to remind
the lonesome traveller that he Is
walking through the old haunts of
Sennacherib, Shalmaneser, etc.
But from these low, strange look
ing mounds modern men have drawn
the secrets of centuries before Christ.
Layard, the great English explorer,
digging here some years ago, un-
earthei tablets which told in terse,
graphic cuneiform text the wonderful
tale of the Creation, the Fall of Man
and the Deluge.
Winged bulls, wierd creature half
man and half lion, two mysterious
sphinx-like creatures, and numerous
slabs covered with strange drawings,
all done in hard, white marble, were
unearthed. King Esarhaddon, men
toned in 2 Kings, 1887, is frequent
" referred to on these inscribed
slabs which the inquisitive English
man discovered. In the same way,
this cuneiform writing which Layard
discovered on the exhumed palace
of old King Sennacherib comedies in
striking manner with the events de-
scribed in the End book of Kings,
S:13. Sometimes the same persons
mentioned, and the same things re-
ferred to in the Old Bible are de-
scribed on these slabs.
It's 800 long, hot lonesome-and
often dangerous-miles from Bagdad
to ancient Nineveh Tourists go to
Jerusalem on a train, and ride out
to the pyramids on trolley car. But
Nineveh, most interesting and impor-
tant-from the students viewpoint
of all biblical ruins, is as remote and
inaccessible as Lhassa. So l felt
happy that fortune let me pass that
way.
Even the trip from Bagdad north
carries one. by donkey-back, through
scenes of former grandeur and rare
historical interest.
On a Mule to Nineveh.
Jonah is reputed to have made this
trip in whales belly; no one knows
Just where he started from, but it
took him three days to get there,
according to Holy Writ. I was near
ly two weeks on the road, starting
from Bagdad-but, of course, a dom
key is slower than a frisky whale
that has just swallowed a prophet!
From Bagdad northward l followed
the ancient caravan route, up the
east bank of the Tigris. Steamboats,
run up this historic old river only
to Bagdad; from Bagdad on up to
Mossoul, a modern town built near
the ruins Of Nineveh, the Tigris is
not navigable by reason of sub
merged ruins of old stone bridges of
ago.
Ten Persian mules-five Of them
piled high with tents and camp trap
others carrying me and
my servant, with three guards, made
up our caravan. Before daylight on
a cool April morning we filed noisily
across the rude bridge of boats that
new" from odd Bagdad.
The so-called New Bagdad was built
recently" according to the judg-
ment of this old, old East-that is,
it was founded about A. D. 1874. Old
Bsgdad is so old that no one worries
about tit was on old town when
Methusaleh was a small boy
The first town we passed through
was the Persian settlement called
Zazemain; a monster shrine is locat-
ed here, with a dome and minarets
whose roofs are solid gol1. A fam
aticat sect called "Shias" make the
pilgrimage to this holy place, and so
suspicious and jealous are they or
all so-called "Infidels" that when we
stopped, for a brief rest, in the ba-
zaar of the town, / met with a chilly
reception. They offered me no overt
act of hostility, but when l tried to
buy-for three times the regular
price-even a cup of tea, they refused
to sell it to me. This was supreme
test of their dislike for Christians,
for nobody takes any more interest
in money than Persians. | tried IN
vain TO get even a glass of water
or permission to fill my waterskin
from one of their shallow, filthy
wells. The guards were nervous,
and my servant Naomi was plainly
in what our British cousins call
sbig funk" so l took their advice
and moved on. A mile beyond the
city walls we stopped in fig orchar1
belonging to a Jew, who gave us
fruit and water to drink.