THE GARDEN OF EDEN.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1215, 20 January 1886, Page 5

THE GARDEN OF EDEN.

The late New Guinea expedition appears in some danger of being overshadowed by larger and more important explorations now being carried on in the East. A wealthy New York lady some time ago despatched a party to seek for the original site of the Garden of Eden, and to judge from a report published by the commander, great results may shortly be expected. When we say they are endeavoring to find the " original site " we speak advisedly, for the Garden has been moved round to so many different places by geographers and commentators, that its exact position has become a matter of grave uncertainty. The American expedition, however, have discovered traces on the banks of the Euphrates, which lead them to believe that they have settled this doubtful question at last. Having camped one night in the midst of a desolate plain close to the side of ancient Babylon they were compelled, owing to the scarcity of timber, to cut down the original Tree of Knowledge in order to boil the billy. This, however, was no great misfortune, as owing to neglect it had become withered and stunted, and the last crop of apples was a decided failure. A little further south they found the ruins of the city of Sippora, where, as reported by tradition, Noah concealed the records of the ancient world before embarking in the Ark, and according to latest advices they are digging up the ruins in every direction in search of the buried library. One of the party, formerly a Californian miner, also reports traces of mundic in one of the sinkings.and expresses his belief that a reef will shortly be met with, so it would appear that some result is certain to accrue, even if the main object of the expedition should not be attained. Possibly the search may not, after all, be so absurd as it would appear. A few months ago a Turkish officer and two companions, while ascending Mount Ararat discovered the Ark itself buried beneath the perpetual snows of the Caucasus, and on making an entrance found the huge vessel in a good state of preservation. An examination of the interior, moreover, proved beyond a doubt that Noah's records were not there, from which we may naturally conclude they must be somewhere else, and it is quite as reasonable to suppose they will be found at Sippora as at any other place. Western Asia, too, has always been a favourite hunting ground for the antiquarian, and the treasures which have been unearthed there have been endless in their variety. Hitherto the most startling discovery has been that of a Russian expedition, which penetrated Arabia and brought back, with other curiosities, a bottle with the darkness that Moses spread over the land of Egypt, and the identi- 1 cal book which Job in a moment of extreme irritation wished that his enemy had written. With such facts as these before us, we admit that nothing is impossible, and we wait with j anxious interest the results of the excavations at Sippora on the Eu- j phrates. i