The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, October 19, 1919, Magazine Section, Page 7, Image 89

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    THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 10, 1919.
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Priceless Jewels and Carvings Discovered
Africa, and Held Awaiting the
War's End, Now on Their Way to the
Peabody Museum at Harvard
University How the Revelations Were Made
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An Ethiopian Prlaeeu Carved la Irory. Oao of the Moat Valuable "Find" at Gimmil.
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Vtamrea of Aaelent Afrieam Warriors Shews Im One of the Tablets.
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TrihOil Chief, with the Tribal Slarfca Showlas
Over the Efca.
Broue Jewel Boxi Contalalna; Goll Rlasra, Beloasrla
to the Third Century.
HtTKTREDS of boxes of prtcelesa
relics, which reve.l the might
and glory of a civilization which
previously has been but partially
Identified, symbols of a civilization of
the Libyan desert, which long- bad I
been held in heavily guarded storage
In Cairo. Egypt, pending the end of
the war, have been released by the
coming of peace, and are at last on
their way to their final resting place
in the Peabody museum of Harvard
university.
At the time this unexpected an
nouncement was made decently to
the old graduates of Harvard suc
cessful business and professional men
of every part of America and of other
distant lands, who are conducting a
campaign to raise $11,000,000 for the
Harvard endowment fund regretful
announcement was made that the dis
coverer of these ancient examples of
African culture. Dr. Oric Bates, will
not be at Harvard to receive them.
A Kew I. ink. With Prehistoric Past.
War on the modern eivilirationa
represented on the battle fields of
yesterday interfered and delayed in
various ways this long hoped-for link
ing of the prehistoric past with his
toric Egypt, and. in a way, also as
sisted toward the discovery.
Oric Bates, before he became cura
tor of African archaeology and eth
nology of Harvard, had begun excava
tions in the Libyan desert near the
Tripolitan frontier Of Egypt. When,
in 1914, he returned to continue his
work for Harvard, fighting in this
refcion in October, 1914, caused him to
shift the scene of his activities and
discover, in the mounds near the ham
let of Garomai, five leagues south of
tha Wady Haifa, the first confirma
tions of previous conjectures con
nected with the prehistorio culture of
ine rs lie valley.
However. when the excavations
.were completed with the finding of
priceless jewels, weapons and uten
sils and a great amount of historic
ally invaluable material in the sep
ulchres, submarine warfare, then at
its height, precluded the transfer of
single relic, with the result that
they were stored in Cairo. The noted
ethnologist, declined, to remain with
his treasure in such stressful times, i
and, leaving them with his associates, !
he returned to the United States.
Then, although he had a family, he
went into training for active service
at Camp Zachary Taylor at Louis
ville, Ky., where he died October 8.
1918, only shortly before the signing
of the armistice which was to release,
eventually, the treasure boxes for
transportation to the United States.
Modern archaeologists long had
sought substantiation for the con
jectural recordings relative to a fierce
and predatory people called Blem
myes, of wild, mauraudlng habits,
which before the division of the Ro
man empire and thereafter to an even
greater extent, constantly plundered
and laid waste the lands of the peace
ful Egyptians on their southern fron
tier, coming from the desert to the
south and east.
- Strange Nnbiaa Graves.
In the finding of a few nnnsnal
Nubian graves of no great richness,
these archaeologists had sought to
recognise and identify the remains of
these troublesome nomads, but their
identification through this medium
remained doubtful and the Blemmyes
remained more or less mythological
in the historical clouds. Dr. Bates,
however, believed that the mounds at
Gamznai would prove fruitful because
mound burials were unknown among
the historic Egyptians and he consid
ered it reasonable to believe that
these barrows were monuments be
longing to foreign Intruders of the
Nubian Nile.
Accordingly, Dr. Bates went to this
region, and through the courtesy of
officials of the Sudanese government
was allowed to use as his headquar
ters an old fort, which, in November,
1914, when he arrived there, was nsed
as a rest-house. The old fort was
situated ona lofty spur of the des
ert hills which at that point ran al
most to the river's edge. The loca
tion was ideal, the islet&v ledges and
the sandbars of the second cataract
being in clear view for miles and the
small, dusty plain with its cluster of
mounds, scattered mud dwellings of
a small Nubian village and the for
bidding hills covered with sanded
rocks and boulders stretching out In
view as on a map.
There was difficulty in securing
ample labor in the sparsely settled
district which never was fully over
come, but, nevertheless, work was
begun at once in lifting the mounds
and clearing the recent surface of the
surrounding area, Dr. Bates judg
merit soon was substantiated, for
with the lifting of the deposits of
centuries the mounds were revealed
as graves, rich in relics and revela
tions of the distant past when the
Blemmyes came from the desert, laid
waste and carried off that which they
wanted from the possessions of the
peaceful people of the quiet NU
valley.
The storehouse of history the an
cient graves -were covered by mounds
which varied from 5 to SO meters in
diameter and between one and five
meters high. These bad been erected
over burial chambers cut in the hard
alluvium of the plain. As usual, it
was found, as in practically all graves
of the desert region, that they had
been anciently plundered. The care
lessness and Indifference of the rob
bers, however, had left a mass of ma
terial from which the nature and age
of the tombs was established quickly
and without doubt as those of chief.
tains of the fierce Blemmyes.
Rare Treasures Are Found.
Thus at a single stroae Dr. Bates
mad an addition to the knowledge of
the ethnography of northeast Africa
during the first century of the Chris
tian era and the internal history of
the great and opulent- kingdom which
for centuries anciently dominated
what Is now Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
Almost dally. It seemed to the ar
chaeologists, new chapters were added
and aoon after the opening of the
graves tbfe explorers were assured
that the finds would exceed their
greatest hopes. Details of the many
discoveries are too numerous to be
recorded except In great volumes, but
few outstanding examples of the
good fortune attending the expedi
tion may be revealed.
The Blemmyes. nomadic, fierce and
predatory though they were, un
doubtedly lived in splendor and en
joyed a wealth of things artistic and
oeauttruL Their age evidently was
one of grandeur. One cannot tell un
til the treasure of relics has arrived
and maybe not in detail then, what
was their religion. The gorgeousness
of the courts of the chieftains, how
ever. Is revealed. The Blemmyes un
doubtedly were a valorous people,
traveling far from their centers of
habitation to plunder other peoples.
because the graves themselves appar-
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Mound C nt
Ml, While It Was Being Cleared.
entry are far distant from the desert
"cities." Certain it Is that their life
was romantlo and that they bedecked
their persons with rich jewels of ex
quisite design and cuttings is shown
by one find made by Dows Dunham,
a friend of Dr. aBtea. who carried the
latter'a work to its conclusion when
be left for the service of his country
in which he was to die.
Working In one of the largest
mounds with the lightly-clad Nubians.
Mr. Dunham happened upon one of
the rarest treasures secured by the
expedition. This was a wonderful re
pousee brense jewel box. and Its con
nection with the far-distant Mediter
ranean through its Hellenistic design
based on an Alexandrian model is
.so striking as to deserve emphasis.
When the explorer unlocked the box
he found Its lid firmly rusted home,
but when it finally was opened it re
vealed a veritable treasure of gold
rings, plain and jeweled, and, among
these, a solid gold scepter head of a
design sometimes portrayed in the
famous Meroitlc sculptures.
Four of the rings were of plain gold
and four had uninscrlbed bezels. One
gold ring mounted a glowing, green,
table-cut jewel. Four other gold
rings were-heavler and had been made
with very large besets en which were
exquisitely-cut intaglios. Lastly was
revealed the solid gold ecepter head.
All gave token of the one-time splen
dor and grandeur of the buried Blem
my chieftains and their courts.
Tokens of a Great Splmdor.
In addition to the Blemmy mound
graves other remains were discovered.
These Included a Meroitlc cemetery of
the first century B. C and a ceme
tery which embraced one of those
rare finds, an unplundered grave rich
in pottery and bronses.
North of this site were several
Egyptian graves of the new empire
and. in turn. 15 burials of the archaic
period were discovered. These were
contemporary with the early dynastlo
times In Egypt. This later revelation
proved of rare interest to the archae
ologists, as no such remains had been
found before so far south.
In the latter graves the excavators
found evidence of another medium of
splendor other than jewels and gold.
These were capes and caps of bril
liant feathers. About the shoulders
of one skeleton had been thrown a
rich, cape, the feathers having been
Imbedded in a resinous gum spread
thinly over a surface of cloth. The
head of a second skeleton once had
been covered with a cap of feathers
similarly made.
Part of the big $11, 000. COO endow,
ment fund to be raised for Harvard
university will be used to record and
diffuse knowledge of the Blemmyes
and other-day civilizations and make
them available for all.
PRINCESS DAHLIA IS RIVAL OF QUEEN
ROSE IN PORTLANDS FLORAL COURT
Local Gardens Show Astounding Selection of Gorgeous Flowers and New Varieties Are Yearly Being Origi
x nated in Commercial Gardens in the City.
(Continued From Flnt Pare.)
simplest of experiments of this kind
are crowned with amazing blooms.
Dahlia Lore Rivals r 1 ry Ttole.
Delvera Into dahlia lore have ma
terial at their disposal rivaling the
most imaginative of fairy tales. One
hundred and twenty-seven years ago
the dahlia waa practically unknown
as a garden flower. The first mention
of the flower was in the work by
Franciscan Hernandez, physician to
I hllip II of Spain, on the plants and
animals of New Spain, or Mexico, pub
lished In 1615. The -single yellow
dahlia of the sandy Mexican plains of
that day would be extremely out of
place among today's aristocracy, for
great changes have happened In the
family since they started their wan
derings from their native home more
than a century ago.
When the dahlia first went to En
rope . in 1779 it Immediately began
changing shape. It liked tha new
climate and by 1814 had actually
doubled in else, and Its name was
changed from the Mexican one of
aeoctii to dahlia In honor of Andrew
W. Dahl, a Swedish botanist who was
a friend of Linnaeus. France enjoyed
the first fruits of dahlia development,
for as soon as the flower became dou
ble it was planted In the gardens at
Iouvaln. Here it attracted the at
tention of great ladies and tha Em
press Josephine declared that it waa
her favorite flower and planted them
It. the Malmaison with her own hands
Flower Had Noble Admirers.
The empress was selfish in her ad
miration for the new flower and
would allow no one to have either
root, flower 'or seed of her favorite.
A foolish prince determined to out
wlth the express and he hired some one
to steal 100 varieties from her garden.
This ended the empress interest In
the flower, but her loss was the gain
of the world.
The Marchioness of Bute Introduced
It from Spain to England and by ltH
the Royal Horticultural society had
developed 60 varieties. As early as
1841 the English had created 1200
kinds and now there are thousands
of varieties. The city which can at
tain for itself the enviable name that
Portland has in the world of the
dahlia is destined for a great deal of
advertising publicity and also busi
ness in this respect, for the lovers of
that flower will come from all over
the world to see the flower in Its
nltlmate perfection as reached here.
True lovers of the flower have ample
precedent for their affection.
. Varieties Are In "Vast JV ambers.
Just a few of the varieties rooghly
enumerated will serve to give a faint
idea of the great selection possible.
They come in all shapes and sixes
and In almost every possible type of
petal formation, ranging from the tiny
pompoms and single varieties to the
huge cactus, fancy and show flowers
as well as the peony-flowered types.
There seems to be no limit in the
cross - flowers and colors, though
nearly all of the clan seem to have
ray-shaped flowers and It has been
proven that their relations, are sun
flowers, zinnias, marigolds, gallardias,
dandelions and ageratum.
Though the dahlia has at present
been brought up to a high state of de
velopment it does not seem to have
evoked that degree of enthusiasm pro
portionate to its merits. It does not
appear to have appealed very strongly
to the poets and the literature of the
flower has suffered somewhat from
the fact that the writers have In the
past overlooked Its historical aspect
and confined their attention almost
exclusively to cultural details. While
such practical information is certainly
of great value it should by no means
be regarded as all that the cultivator
needs to know. Anyone will take a
greater Interest In their work when
they are familiar with the past his
tory, the romance of it and the devel
opment to present-day perfection.
Legion of Lovers Are True.
In one sense the dahlia lovers seem
to differ from the fervid advocate of
many other flowers in that their en
thusiasm seems to be of a quiet kind,
though they are as f'rm in their love
for their favorite as any other culti
vators. Tbe first discovery of the dahlia
seems to have been connected with the
search for the cochineal Insect, when
it was found that this little bug. in
such great demand for dyes. Inhabited
the dahlia plants. The legend is that
tha little insects, attracted by the
brilliant blooms, made the plants their
home and thus took on somewhat of
the character of the blossom In their
coloring for dyes. How much truth
there is in this aspect Is a matter for
conjecture.
Predictions of a great future for
the dahlia are not necessary, for it
stands to reason that a flower ao
favored will certainly enjoy a vogue
when its, manifest attractions begin
to be realized. That the development
will continue for years to come and
that the last word in dahlia culture
Is far from attained as yet, is the
opinion of all those engaged in prop
agating the flower.
Fall of Year Is Season.
Possibly it might be well to state
that now Is the most satisfactory
time for the choosing of a selection
of these flowers. . Visit the gardens
i where they are In bloom and choose
the plants and flowers that will meet
with the requirements of the garden
where it is intended they shall make
their future home. Some of the new
varieties will be found quite expen
sive, but when it is considered that
one tuber will multiply in one season
from three to six times it. is readily
seen tiiat the original cost really
matters but very little. This aspect
makes the initial outlay seem small
and should give the thinking grower
the chance to purchase the best of
stock. Many of the new creations
are greatly superior to the old ones
and have supplanted them in the pop
ular favor. One local dealer alone
during the past three years has cast
some 1200 varieties trom his gardens.
Justly entitled to their full share
of consideration on account of the
sheer merit of their varied cultural
value, the dahlia seems destined to be
the flavored fall flower in the world's
gardens and Portland possesees a
wonderful chance to become well and
favorably known as a center of dahlia
culture, just as she has reaped such
widespread fame as the home of the
rose.
Loss of Teeth Is Largely
Due to Neglect.
Therouah Cleanatag ef Month Fre
quently Held Good PraetJee.
MnR.g,
ORE people lose their teeth from
ecting thorough cleansing
than from any other causa. If the teeth
are to be kept in good condition they
should be cleaned after every meal
and always before going 'to bed. It
is a good plan to rinse the mouth
with a little salt in water morning
and evening. This helps to keep the
gums healthy and healthy gums aa a
rule mean healthy teeth.
The proper way to clean the teeth
is not from side to side, as most per
sona imagine, but up and down. The
upper teeth should be brushed from
the gums downward and the lower
teeth from the gums upward. Then
particular attention should be given
to the back or inside of the teeth, as
it is there that foreign substances
are apt to accumulate.
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