Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-06-14
By Edgar
E. Folk,
d. d.

| Second pyramid in ten minutes-for a
| consideration, of course. We made up
| the requisite purse 1 was glad to con-
! tribute to it, because 1 had read of the
! experiment and 1 wanted to see it tried.
He skipped down the side of the big
| pyramid like a goat bounding down a
| hill, dashed across the space interven-
| ing between the two pyramids, climbed
the other like a sairrel climbs a tree,
up and up, and appeared at the top in
] exactly ten minutes by my watch The
| Arabs on our pyramid, who seemed to
/ be very much interested in the per-
Torrance, exclaimed that he did it in
seven minutes. But 1 timed him.
Anyway il was a wonderful perform
ance. My own descent was not so rapid
In fact, I found the descent, if any
thing, more difficult than the ascent.
because the constant downward look
had a tendency to cause dizziness. But
the Arabs kept firm grip upon me,
much to my qualification.
THE INTERIOR.
stated that the pyramids were erected
by the ancient kings as their tombs. as
, well as monuments. The tomb of
Cheops, or Khufu, was far in the interior
Of the great pyramid. The writer's usual
ly advise tourists not to visit the inte-
! riOr-that ii is difficult of access, dark,
damp, the passages narrow, the walks
| slippery and the whole uninteresting and
| altogether not worth a visit. But 1 was
| anxious to see II, for one thing because
| SO few do. And then l confess to nat
| ural curiosity to see what is to be seen,
| If it can be seen. Some other members
| of the party had agreed to go in with
ME. But when the time came they all
with one accord began to back out. de-
| termined, though, to go anyhow, and did.
| The older of the two Arabs who accom-
panied me to the top of the pyramid
| linquished his place to a younger one;
| who, with the other Arab, carried me
through the pyramid. 1t was rather
| risky thing to do, perhaps penetrating
| the dark recesses of a tomb with two
| strange men, and those men Arabs. The
tomb of Cheops might easily have be-
| come my tomb, and my Ka or double,
back at home might never have been able
| to find me-but it did not. At least, and
| what was more probable, I might have
teen robbed of all 1 had on my person
but 1 was not The Arabs very con-
siderately only took part. This l gladly
gave in the way of backsheesh. and as
| compensation for having the different
| chambers to which we came lighted up
for me, which was done with a platinum
wire. Old Cheops evidently intended to
|
one except his Ka would be able to find
it, and 1 hardly see how even Ka could
/ have been expected to do so. The en-
| trance to the tomb is As feet from the
base Entering a small door at that
| height, you go through a narrow passage
| way 400 feet long, sloping first down
| ward then upward at an angle of per-
| haps so degrees, as 1t seemed to me, and
leading into a great hall 155 feet long
L TIL AlNa
! chamber, then the kings chamber "a
feet long, II feet wide and 10 feet high.
1t is 1879 feet above the base, and is roof
| ed by five granite slabs Is 1-2 feet long
This was the place selected by Cheops for
the resting place of his body. He thought
it was secure. No one could ever disturb
! it here. When the Ka got ready to enter
1t, it would find the body ready. But
alas! for human calculations.
Full many a plan O. mice and men
| Gang aft agley."
And so did the plan of Cheops. No body
[ is now to be found in the tomb Moth
ing in fact remains but an empty. lid
! less, black granite sarcophagus, which
| rings hollow when struck. What be-
| came of the body? Solomon says-I mean
! Solomon Moses, not the author OF Pro-
/ verbs-that on account Of his oppres-
| sions of the people in order to build the
| pyramids, they were so incensed against
] him that soon after his death they broke
| into the pyramid, took his body out,
burned it. and scattered the ashes on the
! Nile. If this be true-and 1t sounds very
plausible to me-then what was the great
I est material monument ever erected by
/ any man and intended as a monument In
bis honor to preserve his memory to fu-
! ture generations, as well as to preserve
! his body for all time, has become the
| greatest monument to the selfishness, the
| cruelty of that man and the most power
| full Illustration in all the world OF the
vanity of human ambition and the stupen-
dous folly of grasping after earthly i'm
mortality. There the pyramid stands and
has stood through the ages past and VIII
stand through the ages to come, as ex-
pressive of these things. not of the things
| for which 1t was intended and was erect
| ed at so much expense of money, of labor
and of lives. Was ever the irony of fate
( more bitter?
The queens tomb, above that of the,
king. and reached in a roundabout and
difficult way, is entirely empty. Either
| she was never buried there, or her body
was destroyed by an enraged people
along with that of the king, or was aft
| erwards taken away, nobody knows.
THE SPHYNX-
I mentioned the fact that near the
| pyramid Of Cheops are two other pyra-
mids supposed have been eercted by
| his sons, now known as Pyramids and
Ia. In the same vicinity, only short
distance from the great pyramid, Is the
sphynx. 1t Is within easy walking dis
lance of the pyramid, but just for the
fun of 1t nearly every one rides either
on a camel or donkey. chose the
latter because he Is much easier to get
on-and of.
The sphynx was for many years quite
a mystery. 1t Is generally considered as
even older than the pyramid. 1t is cut
out of the natural rock. 1t has the head
of a man and the body of recumbent
lion. The body is 40 feet long and 66
feet high. The head is 30 feet from the
top of the forehead to the bottom of the
chin, and IA feet across. Who was the
designer and who was the sculptor of
such a monster of the desert no one
knows A question of greater Importance
is as to it's design. Why should 1t have
been created? What does 1t represent?
This question is easily answered. In
scriptions and hieroglyphics inform US
that the sphvnx was intended As a solar