The sun. [volume], January 25, 1920, Section 7 Magazine Section, Page 4, Image 74

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THE SUN, SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 1920.
''. Dwarf Indian Tribe
Sumerian Tiles Tell
OfLifein210C B.C.
Revival of Adam and Eve Translation
Draws Attention to Other Interesting
Facts About Cultured Race
-9
In Venezuela Wilds
Explorer Tells of Strange People Who
. Uve in Region of Eternal Fog and
Get Drunk Once a Month
ESPLORATOINS into hitherto un
unknown forests of Venezuela by
Theodore Do Booy of tho American
Geographical Society and tho Museum
of tho University of Pennsylvania
fcavo brought to tho knowlcdgo of eth
nologists a raco of dwarf Italians that
livo in an eternal fog, far raoro impene
trable than that of London, and whoso
inombors get drunk regularly once a month.
Mr. Do I3ooy also has located a treas
ure eavo that will bo of eoual interest
to tho archaeologist and to tho seeker of
jjold, deep in a wilderness that not oven
tho Indians will penetrate.
In full sight of tho mountain at tho
bnso of which tho cavo is located the ex
plorer was forced to turn back becauso
his Indian guides and carriers' refused to
continuo tho journey. Ono of their rea
sons was a lack of food, but tho principal
objection apparently was a suporstitious
fear of tho spirits of warriors buried in
tho cave after a great battle told about
in their traditions. Tho mountain is near
tho border of Venezuela and Colombia.
Cave Holds Treasures.
"It is quito probable, almost certain, in
fact," says Mr. Do Booy in a recent issuo
of the museum Journal, "that this burial
cavo contains archaeological treasures of
tho highest value. Our archaeological re
searches proved without a doubt that the
cutiro region had at ono time been in
habited by tho Arhuocos, a tribo of which
a small remnant still lives in the Sierra
Nevada of Santa Marta. Tho Motiloues,
which includes tho Macoas, were evidently
comparative newcomers to the region and
had either driven out the Arhuacos or had
killed them off, probably only a short
while beforo the Conquest. Researches
by other archaeologists havo proven that
a similar occurence took place in tho
Goajira Peninsula directly to tha .north
ward, and that tbo Gxmjiras superseded
the Arhuacos in this latter region.
"Tho burial cave, therefore, probably
contains Arhuacan specimens, and as tho
Arhuacans were excellent workers in gold
and had quantities of gold ornaments it
will be. seen that tho clmnce3 of this cavo
containing gold ornaments as well ns
burial objects of other kinds nro very
good. Two days beforo coming within
eight of the peak in which tho, cave was'
to bo found, the,' Indians bad shawn me
certain regions where evidence could still
be seen of former clearings. Theso clear
ings were of considerable age and wero
only distinguished from tho surrounding
woods by tho fact that the trec3 were
not quite as largo and (ho undergrowth
of lesser density."
Mr. TJe Booy landed at Maracaibound
spent two days on horseback crossing the
plain to La Horqucta, one of tho last
outposts of civilization in Venezuela. Ho
had to pass part of this time over a nar
row and gloomy trail through n wilder
ness abounding with .tigers, jaguara, wild
cats, monkeys and deer.Beyond this for
est is a great plain and back of that the
mountains with their heads lost in the
fog. "Whilo the altitudo of theso moun
tains is not sufficiently high to make them
enow covered," gays tho explorer, "tho
fog and mists at times would almost make
American
Paris, Jan. 10,
TRANCE has jnst missed being taken
; 1 by tho enemy in feat of arm3,
but by Jove she is being pcace-
fully invuded by foreign business
men in a way that would alarm
any other nationality but tho French.
They do not seem to care, tho moro tho
merrier, so long as any human being or
. combination of beings have something
good to .offer. And in the matter of
' films tho Americans have tho centro of ' tho
stage, tho Parisians themselves say so.
American films occupy moro than ono
half of every programme at every cinema
palace in the French capital, and every
where one hears nothing hut praiso of
! them.
It took tho American films to educato
the French into tho belief that movie
shows nro not the vulgar and uninteresting
thing they first conceived and that a
first class actor or actress might act for
a cinema piny without falling into dis
grace and .becoming wholly diclasse
(unclassed). So much for our educational
; lystem.
Americans Spend Money.'
"The Americans are not afraid to spend
money in order to procure perfectly acted
films," that is what tho French profes
sional people say. While the French
firms, they say it themselves, nro so afraid
to havo 20 francs' worth of. film spoiled
1 they hurry the artists through their roles
. and aro not willing to have an imperfect
scene acted over again for fear of the
extra expense. Also, they criticise them
salves und their own. French actors and
actresses overdo their parts, so thoy say,
they niako grimaces and go into all sorts
of extraordinary contortions, under tho
impression that they mu3t exnggerato
ono think that tho summits wero covered
with snow."
In the days of tho Conquisladores La
Villa, a littlo town along tho routo to La
Horqucta, was tho storting point for raid
ing expeditions into tho Indian territory
to tho south of tho Rio NegrQ, Tho
town is filled with ruined foundations of
houses and a quaint old church etill
stnnds. It is said to bo tho oldest in that
part of tho country.
Nino hours' travel through tho jungle
from La Horqucta Do Rooy came to tlin
settlement of Macliiques, outside of which
bo found members of the Tucucus Indians,
who cbrac down to the mountains to work
occasionally in exchange for hoop iron,
cutlasses, beads, iron'' cooking pots and
axes. "The Tucucus aro a very shy race,"
the explorer observes, "and only canie
when they were in need of ironmongery.
"The researches of this expedition
proved that the Tucucus, the Irapcnos, the
Pariris, tho Macoas, the Rio Negro and
the Rio Yasa Indians all belong to tho
great Motilono family. The various sub-
i- 41 c nr. !.... it 1 1 i "1
of which they frequent. For many cen-'
turics tho Montiloncs have proved to bo a
mystery and the" information we have of
them, in ancient and contemporary litera
ture, is very s.cant and for tho greater part
untrustworthy. .
"They aro to-day regarded with great
dread by the Venezuelans, who aro unwill-
ing to penctratf"int6 their mountain re
treats, a fact which" 'is perhaps not to bo
wondered at wben'one considers tho sav
age reputation, that was given to tho In
dians by the early settlers. Perhaps the
clearest proof -of this' fear can be found
in the mention of ,the Motilones by A.
Ernst, who states:
" 'Tho-Motiloncs arc an almost unknown
tribe, which, sinco the time of tho Con
quest, havo remained in n completely sav
age state, living on the humid mountain
slopes of tho frontier between Venezuela
Films Take
"Disregard for Expense and Superiority of Screen Drama Give
Yankees Great Advantage Over French Producers
because of the absence of speaking parts.
That i3 their mistako and causes their
downfall and their ruin.
Another thing. Up to very recently
such namby-pamby plays were chosen
that they wero nauseating to tho intelli
gent public, being only fit to amuse school
children and their governesses. It is true
that for a loug timo only American films
showing all sorts of horse-play and low
comedy acts wero turned in tho Paris
cinemas.
But now that the good films arq boing
produced, films that cost money, those
with a purpose, and those showing some
of our magnificent scenery, tho fame of
the American film is growing from day to
day. The home production on tho con
trary has fallen so into disgraco, not only
for its mechanical defects, but for its pur
pose as well, that the big film companies
aro beginning to realizo they will havo to
"get a movo on," or else sink down to
oblivion and tho disaster consequent.
Not content with sending their films
broadcast all over Europe, tho American
movio companies havo now descended
upon tho country cn masse. They say
thoy havo filmed all tho scenery thero is
to film in America, and they aro at their
wits' ends for hew subjects as well as for
new scenery. S here they are, as Paris is
unquestionably the intellectual as well as
the geographical centro of this world's
activities, moro so than over iinco the war.
If a man wants to see anothor on no mat
ter what kind of business ho has only to
come to Paris and sit down at a cafe, and
ho will surely sco his man go by sooner
or late-.
and Colombia. There are no means to
make them givo up tho life of savage
thieves to which they aro accustomed. No
ono has, up to tho present time, seen tho
plantations of the Montiloncs, or known
with certainty if they have any fixed
abode. Lopez on his map of Venezuela,
Madrid, 1787, adds to their names the no
tice "tho worst Indians that exist," which
even in our days is' tho current opinion of
the inhabitants of tho neighboring re
gions.' "
Tucucu, runners were sent out to re
fluest.ifornDo Booy; the .privilege of visit
ing tho -Macoas. , Most of the Tucucus
thought he was crazy and predicted that
"ho would, never rpturn, but finnlly tho
permission was obtained. Carrying only
a camera, an aneroid barometer and a
compass, and finding even that very much
of a load, Do Booy spent two days climb
ing up and down nn almost invisible
mountain trail, with eight Tucucus carry
ing his baggage. At tho end of the first
day of travel ho ran into tho fog country.
"Practically every' day the mists roll
down tho mountains at about midday,"
bo says, "and one spends tho balance of
the day in nn enveloping fog which makes
one forget that the equator is but ten de
grees distant." Weather was so cold that
at night the explorer was foijccd to use
two blankets. Describing the settlements "
of the Macoas, he says :
"No two huts arc found in cjoso prox
anity. In fact, these Indians appear to
the Parisian
This is tho gist of a conversation heard
between two film men here the other day.
They hail from California (the Universal
Film Company, Universal City). "Wo
havo been in Berlin," they said, "to Buda
pest and to Vienna, and what do you
think; tho very men wo wero looking for
wero right here in Paris allelic time, and
wo had to go to Germany and Austria to
find it out.
'Talk about stalking gamel When it is
a quostiori'of unearthing a man, men of
talent nnd reputation, you may trust tho
American every time. Ho hn3 a noso for
news and tho unerring instinct for h
"good thing" that is not equalled by thoso
of any other nationality, and he has also
what Talleyrand recommended audace,
de I'audacc, et encore dc I'audacef
Cheek, we call it. Ho will ask a pope or a
king to do a stunt for his film as easily
as he would ask a beggar to poso before
bis implacablo camera.
Californians Make a Hit.
Theso California men havo hit the hulls
eye several times already sinco their ar
rival in Puria. Thero are two of them,
tho business manager and tho artistic di
rector, and between them pretty much
everything ' is gamo that comes within
reacfi of their dragnet. While tho busi
ness manager corrals n Paris film con-
earn and sells him a few dozen films, or
rushes off to Brussels whero ho performs
ditto, the artistic director, who speaks
fivo languages as to tho manner horn, has
landed Bricuxuthe sons of Leon Tolstoy,
Anatolo France, the son of Sardou, tho
son of Jules Verne, r lammarion, tho
take pleasuro in living as far removed
from each other as possible, which may
bo duo to tho eternal lights they wage
among themselves. Each hut is on a
geparato hilltop, so that whilo the entiro
villago is 'ithin hailing distance, it often
takes as much as half an hour to go from
ono nbodo to another, uy first descend
ing ono slopo and then ascending tho
other. Their clearings and plantations,
on which they grow yucca, sweet pota
toes, corn, bananas, plantains and yams,
aro also far removed from their huts, so
that it frequently takes a man tho half
of n day almost to walk to his farm.
Why this is so, when tho hill slopes di
rectly underneath the Indian's nbodo ore
just as well adapted to agricultural pur
poses, I cannot state, and inquiries failed,
to givo a logical explanation."
Offered All the Booty.
In a long stay 'with this tribc.-'during
'which ho studied their manners, customs
and language, Do Booy's chief difficulty
was in avoiding tho invitation of tho
chief to join in an expedition against the
Rio Negro .Indians. The Mncoa chief of
fered to givo him all tho booty taken in
tho shape of bows and arrows. The Ma
coas really arc a race of dwarfs, thp av
erage height of the men being five feet one"
inch, and that of tho women four feet
eight inches. The first thing they did for
Do Booy, who is more than six "feet tall,
was to build him a hut about four times
as large as their own.
Do Booy found the Indians so curious
and 60 persistent that he had to ask the
chief to build a stockado to "keep out tho
children," In this he did his photographic
work. The natives had never beforo seen
a white man of light complexion nnd Do
Booy wns a constant source of wonder to
them. In spite of their warlike tenden
cies ho wns never in danger except at tho
second "Chica feast," concerning which
ho says :
"Perhaps one of the most interesting
customs of tho Macoas is tho Chica feast.
They indulge in this feast almost every
month when tho moon is full, and it was
my good fortuuo to attend one of these
feasts and my bad fortune to attend a sec
ond one afterward. Tho first prepara
tion of tho feast is the blowing of conch
shells. This is done with great persever
ance and monotony for an entiro after
noon. That samo night the wife of the
giver of the feast grinds the maize from'
which tho chica is propnrcd.
"Tho following morning tho crushed
Movie Fans
world renowned astronomer, to say noth
ing of half a dozen of the most noted
French actresses and actors, and now all
these aro working liko beavers for tho
Universal Film Company, nnd it would
notho astonishing if between now and
next summer these managers chartered a
ship and carried off tho whole brains of
Franco to Universal City, California.
Writers Are in Demand.
Nor is this all. American writers and
artists of talent over hero are not being
overlooked, and thero arc a number. Mrs.
John Van Vorst, in private lifo Mrs.
Huguo Lo Roux, is working on something
mysterious. Mrs. Anna Bowman Dodd,
who has just escaped to New York to
look after the proofs of her new book, "Up
the Scino to the Battle Fields"(Harper's),
was seduced beforo leaving into consider
ing a proposition for her book "On the
Knees of the Gods," a book on'heroie
Greece. Whether theso men finally suc
ceeded in invading the sanctum of Mrs.
Edith Wharton in Rue de Vnrenncs thoy
would neither affirm nor deny. K man
never likes to admit that he has been
beaten, even once.
Eugene Brieux, the famous perpetrator
of "La Fcmmo Seule" (Woman Alono)
nnd other similar "outrages," is said to
bo surpassing himself. He has cot his
play, "Les Amcricains chcz Nous" (The
Americans in France), under way, and
now ho is filming a scenario for these two
California sleuths, who simply stood
guard on his door stop with drawn
revolvers, so to speak, until on'tho tempta-
turn of the dollars he
he too succumbed.
maize is tied up in small bundles, envel
oped in leaves and cooked for about an
hour. Tho inuizc pellets arc then laid in
tho sun to dry, after tho wrapping has
been removed, und they dcvcldp a cover
ing, of fungi through partial fermentation.
The' day previous to tho feast theso pellets
are placed in a hollowed out log, with
crushed ripo bananas and crushed sweet
fiotatocs. Water is poured on this mix
uro and fermentation commences imme
Drink Four Hours.
"Tho following day, amid frantic blow
- ing of conch shells, tho feast commences.
At first, tho merry making is mild. Some
monotonous singing takes place, but. the
participants pny moro attention to the
imbibing of the liquor than to tho dancing
and tho singing. After drinking for about
four hours, the Indians generally become
quarrelsomo and' want to fight among
themselves. It is a point of etiquette
among tho Macoas to finish tho entire
brew of chica and by dawn one would see
tho few members of tho tribo that were
still nblo to walk making a weary attempt
to empty tho wooden troughs.
"The second chica feast which I wit
nessed proved to be a tritle more thrilling
" than tho first. Two of the Indians had
harbored a grudgo against their wives
and declared at tho outset that they were
going to kill them. As the Macoas hnd
not yet imbibed enough chica to make
fiein unreasonable, I interfered and ar
gued witbdhoomon, telling them that there
were buE'fcw women in the tribe and tliat
thero would he a serious shortage if they
killed tho two. My arguments finnlly pre
vailed. "Shortly after this, two youths began
a fight with their bows, used as a quarter
staff, and succeeded in giving each other
several gashes. Somo of the Indians, by
now. very much excited, brought up the
subject of a fight at the previous feast
when two brothers attempted to kill their
brother,' the chief. Somo time beforo tho
fight I had been doctoring the chief, a fee
ble old man, for dyspepsia and had suc
ceeded in improving his condition. Tho
Macoas now claimed that it was duo to
this improvement that the chief had be
come belligerent and had started the
fight with his two brothers, as previous
to my coming he had always been con
tent to allow his brothers to have their
way. I had littlo difficulty in persuading
them that I really had no part in the
quarrel."
by Storm
No, that is not quite fair to say of
Brieux. Ho may think of the dollars, to
be sure, but he dearly loves these problem
plays and things for the uplifting of
humanity, and ho has gone mad with en
thusiasm over this ' scenario for. the
American film company. It is to bo
something magnificent, nnd will entail a
visit to Greece, and incidentally n com
pany of French players is being specially
engaged for this utoplnn dream, what
ever it is. Nothing is being overlooked,
nud n jury is being formed with Sarah
Bernhardt as chief to select the actors
and actresses best suited lo the, various
roles. Theso aro to bo used over here, and
naturally will find their way to California,
to Universal City, later on. A number of
other companies aro already in active,
operation for this gigantic concern in ,
other parts of tho country, notably in
Italy and in Hungaria. Whew I
Daly at Work Already.
, Arnold Daly, tho Beau Brumrael of
New York I believe, is actively at work
"educating" a French film company up to
American ways out in tho suburbs of
Paris somewhere. Mr. Daly is doing
"When Wo Love," a film by Pierre Dc-'
coursellcs, in ten instalments, and ho
expects this to go big in America. Inci
dentally he is perfectly crazy about Minn,
Desclos-Guitry's "play," the play of
course, but Cupid is standing out there
near his place behind n tree, his fat sides
shaking with laughter, and lie has not nn
nrrow left in his quiver. They nro all
in Mr. Daly's breast. "L'Hcuro Exquisc,"
it is a taking title, nnd "When Wo Love"
is nnothcr. Mr. Dnly would liko to re
place the French artist in "L'Hcuro Ex-
quise" in tho New York production, if
Mme. Guitry gets away from Madrid and
as far as America with it.
ttt3EN Stophen Herbert Langdon,
W M. A., B. D., Ph. D., succeeded
Dr A. II. Sayco in tho, chair of As-
syriology at Oxford his appointment
wns considered to bo a recognition of
American scholarship. Prof. Langdon
was born at Monroe, Mich., on May 8,
1870, studied at tho Monroe public school,
was graduated as B. A. nt Michigan Uni
vcrsityjn 1808, and as M. A. n year later.
Other titles camo to him, such as B. D.
from tho Union ' Theological Seminary of
New York city, 1003, and Ph. D. in
1004 from Columbia University. Ho ns
suracd his duties at Oxford in 1D08.
Four years wero occupied by him whilo
in chargo of tho Babylonian section of
tho University of Pennsylvania in trans
lating the Sumerian tablets discovered in
excavations near Nippur in ancient Baby
Ionia. The first of these held tho "Epic
of Paradise, the story of tlio Flood and
tho Full of Man," tho second comprised
the Sumerian liturgical texts, No. 3 is the
"Epic of Gilgamish," a sort of Semitic
Siegfried, and tho fourth, just translated,
covers tho liturgies and psalms of that
ancient people. Whilo most of tiio 30,
000 tablets which form tho -magnificent
collection of tho Pennsylvania University
date from nbout 2,100 years before Christ,
certain of them go back to 4,000 years
beforo Christ.
Except that thoy wero a subject people
of tho Babylonian kings, nothing -historical
is knoyn of the Sumcrians, or of
their' origin, or of the event which car
ried them to Nippur. Tho Babylonian
' was a Semitic race, tho Sumerian wasn't,
nnd tho doctors do not know how to class
tho race. "Jt reveals in tho tablets a very
high degrco of culture.
"Ttericw'cd 'interest in tho 'tablets came
last week in "stories printed in tho news
columns concerning Uie story of Adam
and Eve nnd tho Garden of Eden. The
exoneration of Eve from blame in the
tablet story stirred much comment, though
a translation of this feature was made
public several years ago.
Tho jSumerian "Epic of Paradise" tells
of the creation of man by n woman
deity out St clay, perhaps the very clay
of the tablets. The existence of Paradise
with the first man to enjoy it was a
lonely one, as no helpmeet was made for
him. In other words there was no Eve
until after tho fall.
Ziugiddu, who seems to correspond to
the Biblical Noah, was saved from the
Hood by his feminine creator, and after
tilt- recession of the waters ho was given
another chance in Paradise. lie couldn't
behave himself, ato of the fruit of the
forbidden tree and was expelled from
Eden. Later, when he went to work, a
wife wns supplied hiin. If this was
Evs she was utterly without blemish in
her character.
Might Have Lived Long.
If Noah had not transgressed the law
nnd eaten of the cassia treo (in this
legend the tree of life), he would have
livd 50,000 years like his ancestors. The
story nf the tablet of Paradise is told
much like Genesis in form and might
bo described as a hymn. Ninelln, wife of
Enki, first mado a man whom she placed
in Paradise, hero called Dilmun, on th'!
east coast of the Arabian Gulf, about
a hundred miles from the mouth of the
Tigris-Euphrates system.
A mistaken idea seems to be the pre
vailing one about theso treasures of tho
Pennsylvania' University by tho persons
wl o have only read of them. They think
the tablets arc sizable affairs. In fact,
they arc very small, most of them being
about 3 by 4 inches, while there are a
few 5 by 7. It is not tho least wonder
nbout them that so much luis been
crowded on these small surfaces by the
antique gravers. A tablet 5 by 7 inches
holds tho legends of tho creation, tho
fall, the flood and the saving of Noah
and his family, who were to multiply
into n new world. Other tablets, no
larger, hold even moro writing when tho
liturgical hymns and religious customs
were tho subject.
Certain tablets havo suffered terribly
at tho teeth of time, and many were
broken and parts lost in tho process of
excavation. There is accordingly n lack
of continuity about many, and in the case
of tho liturgical codo of Hammurabi,
King of Babylon about 2000 B. C, part
of tho origial record was cut away by the
conquerora of that king, who then added
the acccount of their own triumph. This
is n big stono nine feet or so in height,
of dioritc a mctamorphic rock.
Eliminating obvious legendary lore and
the lies that arc poetic in most histories,
tlu tablets on view at tho Pennsylvania
University under Curator George Byron
Gordon, Ph. D., provides a history of tho
human race as it existed in this valley
to 1400 B. C. Tho later tablets wero
discovered forty years after tho Baby
lonian tablets, and it i3 theso which Prof.
Langdon has added to our curious store.
Whoever the Sumcriaii3 were, in religious
matters they had a great influence, Ret
ting an example of form of worship,
prayer and song that influenced even
the Jews, and is said to ho the beginning
of ovcry antique form of worship.
Interesting ns Jheso records of religious
ceremony arc, thty nro surpassed in vital
interest by tho accounts of everyday lifo
ns it was lived thus anciently in the
Euphrates volley. Thero is hardly a
small item of tho daily life of theso pcoplo
that isn't pictured on theso tablets. And
thoy show all sorts of writing of the
Sumerian characters, from tho incomplete
or badly formed to tho highest art, which
gives a rescmblanco of a jowcllcd deco
ration to tho tablet on which a master
worked.
At this period thero wus n, mall ser
vice and in tho collection are a nifmber
of intimato letters, somo of them love
letters, others dunning letters, and still
others that aro orders for food supplies
and giods sent to merchants. The letters,
although written on soft yellow stone,
wero placed in a stono envelope, so thin
as to bo almost, but not quite, transparent
nnd attached to tho missive was a postage
stamp which resembled a hickorynut in
size nnd shape. Ono of these letters is
from a young man to his sweetheart up
braiding l(cr for not writing to him, nnd
adding:
"If I am no longer in control of you
pleaso send back the money I advanced
to you nnd wo will cnll it off."
' Tho money that this provident lover
sought to recover amounted, so it was
said, to $2.
Inns at this epoch wero conducted by
women of a certain class and theso
women wero frequently hauled up beforo
magistrates on tho complaint of trav
ellers. So it seems that Dame Quickly
existed as a typo ages beforo Shako-spenre.
Also Used in Schools.
The same littlo soft stone tablets wero
used as slates in tho schools, nnd the col
lection shows a number of theso where
the pupils were of various grades of cul
ture. On ono half of tho tablet tho
teacher set her copy of verses or an arith
metical problem, and on the other hnlf
the pupil did his lesson. Ono of theso
school tnblets exhibits tho mark of tho
Scholar's thumb, lines on the skin, &c,
whero ho had rubbed out his work.
There are wedding contracts galore in
which tho brido gives nn exhaustive inven
tory of her jewels, dresses, silver, vessels,
slaves, &c. Tho "Specification is mado that
if her husband repudiates her after the
wedding she is to havo all her goods back
and he in addition is to pay her alimony.
One young person who married a son of
a priest pf tho Goddess Ishbnr demanded
a guarantee of her future from the
father-in-law as well as her spouse to be.
The inhabitants of the town of Scppar
memorialized a King of Babylon about
their taxes, claiming that theso were so
heavy that they could not livo and pay
them. Various suits at law aro preserved
in tho same way, ono being a petition of a
group of persona that a certain city should
not bo permitted to cut a highway through
their property. This suit was carried to
the Supremo Court and decided in favor
of the town.
On one tablet is the advertisement of a
purse of money which had been found by
an honest man in tho year 2000 B. C.
Maps of various kinds nnd sizes showing
the location of roads, wells and canals are
common. These were for the convenience
of trade, which was of course entirely car
ried on by caravan. And when n cara
vaneer lost the goods consigned to him by
no fnult of his own, although this loss
may havo thrown him into bankruptcy,
there was a law almost precisely like the
one in use to-day to declare him free of
these debts. If on the other hand it was
proved that he had stolen or by negligence
lost his consignors' goods, then he was
sold as a slave.
The Sumerian language wns a real lan
guage, nnd in tho records are tablets ex
planatory of vowels and consonants, tables
of weights and measures, &c. There' is a
book dealing entirely with tho verb, nnd
another whoso subject matter is tho prep
osition. Prayer books and hymn books
aro nlmost one-half of the collection.
Many Libraries Existed.
It may surpriso some people to learn
that in Mesopotamia in that far off time
there existed libraries liko the Carnegie
Libraries, that is in point of number.
For every quarter of a city there appears
to havo been a library and there wero
numerous circulating libraries. Lists of
books nro given that wero loaned nnd
had to bo returned with tho payment of a
small fee. If these books wero kept out
over a certain specified timo then tho
borrower must pay n fine. Ono such list
is dated 2400 B. C. I
An inheritance law, probably tho oldest t
in tho history of tho world, is clearly
ghen. It shows thnt the child who re
nounces his sonship nnd takes his sharo
is legally separated by his parents nnd
hns no further claim upon them. Strict
laws were passed in regard to orphans
nud their adoption.
In his introduction to the volumes re
ferred to, Dr. Langdon said:
"Wo aro on safe ground in assuming
that tho sages who wrote our epics of
the fall of man knew of tho deeply rooted
tradition in Babylonia. This was that
man by a sin had brought on himself
tlio grentct catastrophe, tho loss of lonr
life. I believe thnt the priestly scribe
who told the narrative in Hebrew pursued
hU investigation beyond Semitic poems
of Babylonia, rehearsed by tho Canajnitcs
beforo tho Hebrew captivity."