Iditarod pioneer., 1916-08-05
SECRETS OF MESOPOTANllA
 ARE UNVEILED TO WORLD

sisting Turks northwest of Bagd&d has awakened a world wide interest in this whole reglon of Mesopotamia, and particularly in the ruins of the great city of NInevah, lylng iust acrcss the Tigrs from Moaul, and probable battlefield during the Nuscovite 1 assault upon this Mosem key to the upper | valley of the historic river. Concerning the | ancient capitai of .Assyrla apd the manner | in which its buried secrets have been | brought to light within very recent times, 1 Albert T. Cary, professor of AsSyio!ogy and | Babylanan literature at Yale University, ! has sent communication to the National 1 Geographic Society, part ot which was re leased frora the scciety's Washington head quarters as a wa geography bulletin Prof. Cary writes
 "Gne of the romaDces of the last seventy five years has been the Eearthlng of the remains of forgotten empires and the de ciphcrment oi their ancient records 4 lHtle more than a half century ago what was known concerning the ancient people Of the nearer East, besides that which is contained in the Old Testament, could be written in very brief form.
 'Israel was then regarded as one Of the great nations of antiquity. Abraham De lCngcd to the dawn of civilization. The references to other peoples in the Cli les tament had little meaning, for few appre- ciated the fact that the history of many pre- sTacIitish nations had practically faded from the knowledge of man. The pick and spade of the explorer, however, and the pa tent toiI of the decinherer have thrown flood of light upon the situation; ruin hills of the past have been opened up to the light of day out of which emerge marvellous revelations in the form of written records and other remains.
 Those, although written in languages and script, the very existence of which was un- known to men for 2,0DG years or more, are now forced to reveal theIr story of religion, politics science and life of not few of the ancient and forgotten peoples
 "These researches have resulted in astounding revelations Israel, instead of being enc of the foremost nations oI an tiQIity. is now found to have b2Cn q small power which thrived in the late pre-Chri>- tlan centuries, and had occupied 8 compar atively insignificant position among the great nations of the age. Abraham, instead of belonging to the beginning of time Is now found to have occunicd a middle chapter in the story of mankind
 Professor Cary tells of some remarkable documents found in the ruins of Ninevahs "congrpssional library' where manuscripts were catslogued and arranged according to subject matter much as in our libraries of
 today One clay tablet disclosed the fact that the 'sWeete>t story ever told' was told with the same naive fervor 5,0J0 years ago as it is today l. is lovers plaint thus expressed: "To Blbea, thus says Gin,iI Mar duk May the gods permit thee to live for ever for my sake write to inquire con- corning thy health. Tell me how thou art went to Babylon but did not see thee l was greatly disappointed. Send the reason for thy leaving, that l may be happy. Do come in the month of MarcheSvan. Keep well always for my Sake.'
 Whether Bibca received this missive from her sohcitous GimiI is not known but she should have. for there was an elaborate postal system in that day and it is known that there were regular dispatches between some of the principal cities. Among the large amount of material unearthed have been many shipping tags made of clay. These have upon them the name and address of the party to whom the merchandise was sent.
 If all the atrocity charges made against the various be'ligerentS during the present war were true and were multiplied a hun dredfold they would not reach the limits Of cruelty attained by the famous king of Nine yah, Ashur -natsirpal IT. whose own ac counts of his refinement oi the art of tor turc have been uncarthcd recently beneath the very plsn where Turk and MuScoyite are now battling for possession of the cradle land of civilization This king wrote con corning one of his campaigns:
 To the city of Tela approached. The city was very strong; three fortresses sur rounded it. The inhabitants trusted in their strong walls and their numerous army; they did not come down or embrace my feet. With battle and slaughter I attacked the city and captured it. Three thousand of their fighting men 1 slew with the sword; their spoil the goods. their oxen and their sheep l carried away; many captives l burned alive. 1 captured many of their sol diers alive; cut off the hands and feet of some: of others 1 cut off the ears noses and fingers l put out the eyes of many soldiers built pyramid of the living and a pyramid of heads On high l strung up their heads on trees in the neighborhood of the city. Their young men and maidens 1 burned with fire The city l overthrow and dug it up and burned it with fire; an initiated it."
 A correspondent of the Geographical So cjety adds:
 "The imagination is staggered at the very thought of the pyramid of the living human beings piled one upon another, sui locating, strangling, pershing slowly and miserably before that other pyramid of their more fortunate friends, to whom death had come swiftly; and at the thought of the monster who not only did this, but gloried in it and caused the story of his brutality 10 be written indel:oly upon the walls of his house"
 Job Printing at The Pioneer office.