GEOGRAPHY, OR THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume I, Issue 3, 1 March 1855, Page 39

GEOGRAPHY, OR THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

Chapter 11. We begin our history of the world with the country in which Noah and his family lived, because from thence men have spread all over the earth. The mountain on which the ark rested is in Asia. From Ararat rise the two great rivers, Euphrates and Tigris, which run southward to the sea. Between these rivers lies a very fertile plain. This was called Shinar, at the time Noah's sons lived there. Afterwards it was called Mesopotamia. There stood the tower of Babel. Long afterwards two great cities were built, on the banks of the Euphrates, and Ninevah, on the banks of the Tigris. When Noah's sons were scattered abroad, Japhet went to the west—to Europe. Sham and his people dwelt still in Asia. Ham crossed to Africa. One of Ham's sons went to the westward, till he reached the sea. He found there a very fruitful land and dwelt there, and it was called by his name, Canaan. This is the land the Jews afterwards dwelt in. Therefore it got the name of Judea. It is also called the Holy Land. The whole length of Canaan is not more than from Waitemata to Kaitaia. It is bounded on the West by the great desert which stretches as far as the Euphrates. On the North it is bounded by high mountains. The mountains of Lebanon ; the two great peaks of Lebanon are always covered with snow. On the south is the sandy desert. There is one great river which rises in the North, in Mount Lebanon, and runs from North to South, through the land. This is the River Jordan. It runs into the Lake of Genesa-

ereth, flows out again, and at last runs into tlie Dead Sea, and is lost there. The Lake of Gennesereth is also called the Sea of Galilee, and sometimes the Sea of Tiberias. The Dead Sea is so called because its water is stagnant. The water is black and slimy. No fish can live in it. Here the wicked cities once stood, Sodom and Gomorrah. All around nothing will grow, because of the brimstone and salt. The land of Judea used to be very fruitful. "Wheat and barley grew there in large quantities, and vines were planted up the sides of all the hills and olive trees, which throw out their long green branches. The fruit of the olive is good to eat, and out of it oil is pressed. There was plenty ofi honey, too, in J udea, and large herds of cattle and sheep. But now the land of Judea lies desolate. The Jews have been all scattered, only verv few are living there now. To the southeast of Canaan is Arabia. In this land the children of Ishmael still dwell. They live in tents and travel up and down the land in search of food for their camels and sheep and horses. To the East of Arabia is the Persian Gulf. Beyond that lies Persia. To the South is the open sea. To the West is the Red Sea. On the other side of the Bed Sea is Egypt. The name of the whole country is Africa. This land of Egypt is very fruitful. It is a long narrowvalley between high mountains. Far away to the South are great snow mountains. In these rise the river Nile which runs through the land. Now, this river is the cause of the abundance of food there. The soil is sandy and no rain falls! there. But every summer when the snow melts! on the mountains, the river overspreads its banks. The people build their villages on the top of raised mounds. The water rushes all round them. The villages stand like little islands in the midst. When summer is near they sow wheat and barley and other seeds. When the water dries up, the fields are covered with the mud left behind. This makes the soil good. The crops are very plentiful, corn, and wheat, and barley, and melons, and onions, and cucumbers. In the river Nile are great lizards called crocodiles. The crocodile is or sometimes 80 feet long. His back is covered

with hard scales. No sword or spear can pierce through it. He can live either in the water or on land. This creature sometimes kills men. It likes to lie basking by the river side. The crocodile lays her eggs in the mud. The sun hatches them. "When they are hatched, she carries the young ones on her back down into the water. There is a little animal in Egypt which eats the crocodile's eggs. Bat for him they would swarm in the land. On the banks of Jshe river there is another great creature, like a pig in shape, only much bigger. It k is *as big as a horse. It lives sometimes on land, sometimes in the water. It is called the river horse. The boatmen are afraid of this creature. If it is angry it will follow the boat and bite great pieces out. The Egyptians were a powerful and learned people in old time. They built cities; wove beautiful garments, and were in many of their works and trades as skilful as the people of Europe are. There are great buildings still standing which the Egyptians built for burying places for their kings—for the Pharoahs. They stand in a great sandy plain, and rise up like high hills. These buildings are called the Pyramids. They are wide at the bottom and narrow as they get towards the top- Each stone is four feet high. The stones are piled one upon another, getting narrower and narrower as they reach the top. One of these Pyramids covered 13 acres of land. 100,000 men were twenty years building it. Great numbers died in the work. Travellers from Europe often go there now to look and to wonder at these buildings. There is no such work going on nowadays. There are many rooms inside the Pyramids. The passages leading to them are very narrow. You must crawl on your hands and knees to get to them. There are only coffins inside these rooms. The Egyptians used to embalm the bodies of the dead. They put sweet spices inside and then wound the body round and round in linen and put it into tbe coffin. There were three coffins, one inside the other. The outside one was ornamented. • These bodies are still to be seen. Though they have lain thr#e thousand years in the grave, they are

still perfect There were many pictures painted on the coffins and on tlie grave clothes and on the sides of the tombs. Figures of men j some working, and some eating. From these pictures we learn the customs of that old people. The Egyptians worshipped false gods, and were idolaters. The bull, the cat, and the hawk were held sacrcd. The most sacred of all was the bull, when quite white. They thought the power of one of the gods dwelt within hiua. lie was kept in the temple, and grazed in a large field. In the temples there were sacred cats and hawks. When any of these died, their bodies were embalmed, just as mens bodies were. The capital of Egypt now is Cairo. The old cities are all in ruins. To the west of Egypt lies the great sandy desert. But on the north of Africa, all along the sea coast the land is very good. There wera 111 any great cities formerly and they swarmed with people. It is only a strip of land there that is good; beyond is a great chain of mountains, and beyond the mountains is the great desert. There are no rivers, no trees, no grass, as in a New Zealand bush, Travellers there grow weary as they go on day by day and see nothing but bare land every where. It is like a great smooth sea. The people who live near these parts call the camel the ship of the desert. There are here and there little islands in this sea of sand. These are bright spots caused by a spring of water. Trees, grass, and shrubs grow up round the water and make a shady place for travellers to rest in. Bad as this desert is people travel across it. They are led thither by the desire to get gold and ivory. Ivory is made from the elephants long tusks.