The Pen of Charlie Senn contributed by Edith Greisser

The Arc of the Covenant In the arid step-lands of the Megeb and of the Sinai Peninsula the twelve tribes of Israel were wandering with their flocks and herds and endeavoring to wrest a livelihood from the harsh and inhospitable environment. The prophet Moses, who was already an old man, was endeavoring to lead his people to the promised land of Canaan. But he was also trying to teach his people the nature of the Heavenly Father, the Great creator God. The various nations of the world all had their own national gods. Most of these people believed in many gods. Some of these gods were much like human beings. Often they were immoral, selfish and cruel. But the Great Creator God whom Moses worshipped desired that His earthly children lead a highly moral way of life. He taught kindness and helpfulness. The essentials of this life were represented in the Ten Great Commandments. These commandments had been graven on tablets of stone and given to Moses. Now Moses needed a sacred repository in which the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments could be permanently preserved. At the command of God the necessary construction efforts were made the responsibility of two skilled workmen, Bozaleol, of the tribe of Judah, and Ahishmach, of the tribe of Dan. These men, assisted by many other craftsmen, made a large sacred tent, or tabernacle, in which could be stored precious objects consecrated to the service of God. This included necessary furniture, a portable altar of incense, a laver and a seven-branched menorah. In this tabernacle, behind a curtain, was to be stored the sacred chest, or Ark of the Covenant, in which the sacred tablets of the Ten Commandments, were to be stored. The making of the ark itself was a process that required much skill and patience. The material of which the ark was constructed was the very strong, tough wood of the Shittim tree, a member of the Acacia family. Such trees grew under very adverse conditions in the arid wilderness of Sinai. This wood would take a high polish and was very durable. The ark was basically a chest two cubits and a half in length, a cubit and a half in width, and a cubit[1] and a half in height. It was overlaid with pure gold within and without. A crown of gold encircled it. Four golden rings were fixed at the corners of the chest to aid in carrying. Fitted into these rings were strong staves of Shittim wood. These carrying staves were overlaid with gold. On top of the Arc was a golden mercy seat that covered the length of the sacred chest. On each end of the mercy seat was a golden cherub with outstretched wings. Each cherub was beaten out of one massive piece of gold. The two cherubs faced each other, and their out-stretched wings covered the mercy seat. Inside the ark were stored the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments which had been given to Moses and to the nation of Israel. At a later time a pot of manna, the staple food of the wilderness wandering and also a bottle of sacred anointing oil, were stored beside the ark. When the Israelites were in camp the ark was always placed in the tabernacle and screened by a curtain. When it was necessary to move, the transportation of the ark was the responsibility of the Levites, the descendants of Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. For a long time, during the forty years of wilderness wanderings, the tabernacle seems to have remained at Kadesh Barnes, a desert oasis with some large springs and some ancient trees. After forty years had passed the tribes of Israel began to move from the wilderness and to migrate eastward to the borders of the kingdom of Edom, the domain of the descendants of Esau. When the king of Edom rebuffed his cousins and denied them passage through his country, the tribes moved southward to the gulf of Aquaba. There, they followed the beach eastward and by­ passed the land of Edom. Then they migrated northward into the Trans-Jordan country. There they soon clashed with the Amorites, a strong and war-like people who had seized the land from the aboriginal inhabitants. Ogg the gigantic Amorite king of Bashan denied passage to the migrating tribes. He was soon defeated by them and slain. In a few weeks the tribes halted in the plains of Northern Moab. The tabernacle was pitched and the Ark of the Covenant was in enshrined behind its sacred curtain. This site was only a few miles east of the River Jordan, the border of the promised land. The prophet Moses realized that he was in his final days on earth. It had been revealed to him that he would not cross the River Jordan. There is a legend that one night the great prophet had a dream. He felt that he was taken up to heaven. There he saw a magnificent temple. Seated outside the temple was a man wearing the splendid vestments of a high priest of Israel. Moses recognized the man as his own brother Aaron, who had died a few months earlier. Aaron told Moses that the long-promised Messiah, the Holy one of Israel, was inside the temple. Moses awakened and found that he was in the camp of Israel in the plains of Northern Moab. Next day Moses took leave of his people and ascended to the top of Mount Nebo to look over the promised land. He was never seen again. The Israelis believed that their great leader died on Mount Nebo and that God buried him. Moses had consecrated his servant Joshua as the future leader of Israel. Joshua and his friend Caleb were the only two survivors of the generation that had marched out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus. All the others had died during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness of Sinai and the Negeb. Preparations for the invasion of the land of Canaan, beyond the River Jordan, were now almost complete, but the leaders of two tribes and of half of another tribe now made known their desire to remain in the Trans-Jordan region and settle on the lands that had been the territory ruled by Ogg, that gigantic king of Bashan. Permission to occupy Bashan was readily granted to these tribes. These eastern tribe promised to send their armed forces to help conquer the land west of the Jordan. At last came the day of the great river crossing. Household possessions were packed and all tents were struck. The tabernacle too was struck, and all its furniture was packed. Several strong priests took the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders, carrying it by means of the staves thrust through the golden rings at the corners of the Ark. The entire nation of Israel formed into one vast procession. In the van went the armed forces of the eastern tribes, the people of Bashan and the Trans-Jordan. After these armed men went the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant. After the Ark came the other tribes of Israel, with all their household possessions and all their flocks and herds. The river crossing promised to be a truly formidable undertaking. It was harvest time and the hot eastern sun was melting the lower snow fields on the sides of majestic Mount Hermon, in the Lebanon mountains, north of the lake of Galilee, The flood waters from the mountains were swelling the river Jordan and sending turgid waters far out into the thickets and the forests along the river banks. Led by the armed men of the eastern tribes, the nation of Israel advanced to the river. The men of the advance guard splashed through the shallow water that was rushing through the out-lying thickets. As soon as the priests carrying the ark stepped into the water, the current slackened and ceased to flow. The water on the left, or down-river side, drained away rapidly toward the Dead Sea. The priests advanced to the middle of the river bed and stood still. Around the little group of priests bearing the Ark, the people of Israel, tribe after tribe and clan and after clan, hurried across the river by tens of thousands, carrying their possessions and driving their flocks and herds. Twelve strong men, sent by Joshua came hurrying to take large stones, from the river bed so that they could later be used in building a memorial cairn, or monument. Another group of workers came to build a cairn, or mound of stones, in the river itself. This mound was destined to be still visible many generations later. When the last of the rear guard of Israel had crossed, the priests carrying the Ark advanced to the western bank of the river. Soon thereafter, the current began to flow again. Within a short time turgid waters were once more overflowing the river banks and flooding the adjacent forest and thickets. This is one of several times in history that the river Jordan is known to have ceased to flow. The dates of many of these stoppages are known. It is also recorded that many of these current stoppages were caused by massive landslides that temporarily blocked the river channel. Beyond the River Jordan, the vanguard of armed men led the tribes of Israel into the plains of Jericho. This ancient Canaanite city was probable the oldest inhabited place on earth. It stood upon top of a vast mound in which the ruins of still older cites were stacked upon one another like saucers. A masonry wall surrounded the city. From the top of this wall, the defenders of Jericho looked down fearfully upon the Israelites below them. Soon Jericho was under siege. Every day, for six days, the tribes of Israel marched in one enormous procession around the vast mound on which the city stood. First went a large vanguard of armed men, then came seven priests blowing ram-horn trumpets. Following them were the bearers with the Ark and  the remaining Israelites. On the seventh day, the hosts of Israel marched around Jericho seven times. Then the march was halted. Everyone turned to face the city. Then the silent host gave a great shout. The walls of Jericho suddenly fell flat with a tremendous crash, carrying with them the armed men upon the battlements. There has been a suggestion that God sent an earthquake to fell the walls of Jericho. This is quite probable, but the Bible does not mention an earthquake on this occasion. As soon as the walls fell, the armed men of Israel all rushed straight forward. Almost every living being in Jericho perished in the struggle that followed. Spared, however, was the family of Rahab, a woman who had concealed two Israeli spies a short time earlier. Jericho, probable the oldest city of earth, had fallen to Israel. Many years later, when archaeologists came to excavate the great mound of Jericho, they could not find the ruins of the city of Joshua's time. It was found that the local brick-makers and house builder; in their search for building material had quarried out the ruins of several cities on top of the great mound. One of these was the city of Joshua's time. But proof was found that this city had existed. Many artifacts of the types used by cantinas in the   time of Joshua were found around the base of the great mound on which Jericho had stood. These artifacts had been uncovered during the quarrying operations and had rolled down the side of the mound. Soon the vast camp of Israel was set up at Gilgal, near Jericho. There the tabernacle was set up and the Ark of the Covenant was once more enshrined behind its sacred curtain. Here, at Gilgal, a memorial cairn was set up; it was built of the twelve stones taken from the bed of the Jordan. As the conquest of the land of Canaan continued, the tabernacle and the Ark were moved to Shiloh, in the eastern part of the highland area. There it remained a long time, during the period of the Judges of Israel. In those days, Israel was normally a theocracy, with rule by God Himself through prophets and leaders who were called "Judges." A time came when the nominal head of the nation was an aged high priest, Eli. Although he himself was a good man, Eli had the misfortune to have two evil sons, Phineas and Hophni. These selfish, greedy, and immoral men were their father's chief assistants. They soon disgraced their sacred office and became notorious oppressors of the people. At this time the warlike Philistines dominated the land of Canaan. These people had apparently come from Crete. They had entered the land partly as colonists and partly as mercenary soldiers in Egyptian service. This was part of the invasion of western Asia by the mysterious "Sea People" and it occurred shortly before Israel entered the land. The Philistines were the heirs of a highly developed civilization in the mysterious land of their origin. As a result, they were already a highly civilized nation with many skilled craftsmen, blacksmiths, metal workers. One valley in the Philistine country contained so many forges and metal-working industries that it was called. "The valley of Smiths." As a result of such skills, the Philistines were able to manufacture tools, vehicles, armor and weapons superior to anything that the Israelis possessed. With their efficient use of war chariots and horses, their superior weapons, and their excellent military organization, the Philistines were soon able to seize portions of the land of Canaan that had already been settled by the tribes of Israel. They also were able to force some of the Israeli tribes to pay tribute to the kings of Philistine. These kings ruled in the five city-states of Ashdood, Gath, Ekron, Gaza and Askalon. During the latter part of the life of the old high priest, Eli, a powerful Philistine army advanced eastward into Israel. At a place in the central highlands, which later was known as "Ebenezer," an army of Israeli militia met the superior forces of Philistia. The result was easily predictable. About 4,000 Israelis were killed in action in the first day's fight. The demoralized survivors were forced to retreat to their camp. A message was hurriedly sent to the tabernacle at Shiloh asking that the Ark of the Covenant be sent at once to the battlefield. reluctantly the old high priest, Eli, allowed his sons, Phineas and Hophni, with a group of Levites, to remove the sacred Ark from its place behind the curtain in the tabernacle. Sadly, the old priest watched the little group as they started along an old caravan trail that led westward to the camp of the Israeli army. When the Ark of the Covenant appeared in the Israeli camp, it was greeted with a mighty shout by the tens of thousands of tribal militia who were assembled there. That shout was also heard in the nearby camp for the Philistines. Apparently the arrival of the Ark at the Israeli camp had been observed by Philistine sentries or scouts. The Philistines immediately assumed that the powerful gods of the twelve tribes of Israel had been summoned to the Israeli camp. Men immediately remembered stories of the plaques inflicted on the Egyptians at the time of the Exodus. Then the Philistine leaders urged their warriors to fight especially hard, lest they be over thrown by the powerful Gods of their enemies. Soon the two armies marched forth formed into a battle line. Several tens of thousands of Israeli militiamen, poorly armed, undisciplined, and over-confident, went forward against a disciplined force of well-armed and grimly determined fighting mean of Philistia. Forty thousand Israeli infantrymen fell fighting that day and the survivors fled in route. The priests who carried the Ark were slain and the Ark itself was captured by the enemy. A messenger from the battlefield hurried to Shiloh with tidings of the disaster. When he heard of the death of his two sons, Phineas and Hophni, and of the capture of the Ark of God, the pathetic old high priest, Eli, fainted. He was fatally injured by his fall. The people about the tabernacle and the citizens of Shilon abandoned their homes and fled. Apparently, the victorious enemy arrived at Shiloh within hours. More than 2800 years later, when scientists excavated the site of Shiloh, they found that the place had been destroyed by a great conflagration. After capturing the Ark, the Philistines treated it with reverence and respect. They carried it home with them to Philistia. There, they took it to Ashodod, the capital of one of their five city-states. There it was decided that the most appropriate place for this representative of the powerful God of Israel was in the Temple of Dagon, the national god of Philistia. In this temple the Ark was enshrined in a place of honor, beside the statue of the god Dagon himself. Next morning, when the priests went to perform their duties, they found the statue of Dagon lying on the floor before the Ark. The heavy statue of Dagon was raised and replaced on its pedestal. On the following morning Dagon's statue was again found on the floor before the Ark. To their horror the priests saw that Dagon's head and his hands had been cut off and laid on the threshold of the temple. For generations there after priests and worshippers, when entering the temple of Dagon at Ashodod, carefully avoided stepping on the threshold. Soon a series of disasters struck the people of Ashdod and of all the surrounding region. Farmers found that a plague of mice was ravaging crops in the fertile fields. Then people began to suffer from an epidemic of some kind that caused very painful type of boils, or emerods. Many people became very ill, and the death toll was heavy. In alarm the men of Ashdod sent to the five kings and requested that the Ark be removed to Gath. In Gath, once more, the Ark was enshrined in a place of honor. But soon a series of disasters struck the people of Gath. A plague of mice began to ravage the crops and also the food in storage. A severe epidemic caused very painful boils, or emerods. Many people died. Again the five kings received a storm of requests that the Ark of God be removed from Gath. The kings ordered that the Ark be sent to Ekron. However, news of what had happened at Ashdod and at Gath had already reached Ekron. The people of Ekron greeted the arrival of the Ark with loud protests. Never the less ­the five kings had ordered the ark sent to Ekron; so the Ark was brought into the city and set up in place of honor. Very soon a plague of mice began to ravage the fields of Ekron and an epidemic of disease killed many people. Those who survived were rendered miserable by boils and emerods. A great outcry rose among the frightened people. They began calling the five kings to send the Ark of God back to Israel. The rulers of Philistia called for their priests and diviners and asked their counsel. The priests and diviners favored returning the Ark of the God of Israel. But they said "If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send to away empty, but in any wise send a trespass offering. Then shall you be healed." The trespass offering consisted of five golden mice and five golden emerods. These were placed in a handsome coffer and placed beside the Ark. The Philistine craftsmen built a new cart. Then instead of yoking oxen to the cart, as was customary. They chose two young kine, or milk cows, which had never borne a yoke. These cows had young calves. The calves were taken home and shut up. The Diviners told the Philistine lords to notice whether the cows tried to go home to their calves. If they did so, this would indicate that the God of Israel had nothing to do with the recent disasters in Philistia and that all recent misfortunes were merely events that happened by chance. However, if the kine turned northward and followed the road that led to Bethshemesh, in Israel, this would indicate that recent events were indeed the work of the God of Israel. A suitable escort was prepared for the Ark. The five kings of Philistia were present when the two young kine were yoked to the new cart. The Ark was carefully and ceremoniously placed aboard the cart and the handsome coffer containing the trespass offering was place beside it. The kine were then loosed so that they could go wherever they wished. The two kine drew the cart out to the old caravan trail that ran from the coast to the interior highlands. Then disregarding their calves at home, the kine turned eastward and followed the road toward Bethshemesh, in Israel. The five lords of the Philistines followed closely behind the Ark. Past the traditional border of Israel went the two kine, lowing as they went. They came to a large valley on the right side of the road. In the broad fields of this valley many of the men of Bethshemesh were busy harvesting the ripened wheat. Many women were also in the fields, following the reapers and binding the grain into sheaves. As the Philistine kings watched, the two kine veered from the road and entered the field of a man named Joshua, of Bethshemesh. There the kine stopped beside a great stone, which the local people called "Able." The many harvesters in the fields of Bethshemesh rejoiced when they saw the Ark. The incredible news spread rapidly from field to field. Several Levites among the workers came forward, lifted the Ark from the cart and set it upon the great stone of Able. The handsome coffer contained the golden gifts from the Philistines was also removed form the cart and carefully set beside the Ark on the great rock. Some of the workers broke up the cart so that the wood could be used as fue1. Other workers killed the two kine and cut up their bodies. Then amid great rejoicing, the Levites offered up a burnt offering to the God of Israel. The five Philistine kings stood watching the ceremony. Later the same day, they returned to Ekron. Some of the people of Bethshemesh looked into the Ark. They saw nothing there except two stone tablets covered with ancient writing. Rejoicing at Bethshemesh was short-lived. A fearful epidemic broke out and took many lives. The people believed that this was a punishment sent by God because some of the people had looked into the Ark. The men of Bethshemesh were now as anxious to get rid of the Ark as the Philistines had been. They said, "Who is able to  stand before the Holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?" They sent a message to the men of Kir-Jath-jea-rim saying, "The Philistines have brought again the Ark of the Lord: come ye down and fetch it up to you." The men of Kir-Jath-Jea-Rim sent and fetched the Ark of the Lord an brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill. They sanctified Eleazer, a son of Abinadab the keep the Ark of the Lord. The Ark had remained in the land of the Philistines about seven month. It had remained at Bethshemesh only a very short time. Now, in the house of Abinadal it was destined to remain twenty years.  During this period of twenty years many changes occurred in the land of Israel. There was a religious reform under the prophet Samuel and some of the heathen practices into which the people so easily fell were eliminated. During this time the twelve tribes waged a successful war with the Philistines and recovered some of the lost borders areas. Israel ceased to be a theocracy ruled by God through prophets and judges. She became a kingdom, like the heathen nations around her. Saul her first king stumbled through his brief, erratic, and tragic reign, only to lose his life in yet another war with the Philistines. A former shepherd boy, David, the son of Jesse of Bethlehem became the second king. He captured Jebus, or Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made it the capital of the newly unified nation. After David became well established as king of Israel, he decided to move the Ark of God to the new capitol, Jerusalem. A new tabernacle similar to the one used in the days of Moses, was prepared and set up in a place of honor in Jerusalem. A throng of abut 30,000 people, including the leading men of Israel assembled. A vast procession went to the house of Abinadab to remove the Ark. It is said that at this time Abinadab resided in Gibeah. The Ark was brought forth and set on a cart drawn by oxen, Uzzah and Ahio, two sons of Abinadab were given the honor of driving the oxen. There was great rejoicing that day, and many musicians played harps, timbrels, cornets and cymbals. All went well until the threshing floor of Nachon was reached. Here, at a rough place in the road, the Ark swayed, Uzzah put out his arm to steady the Ark and promptly fell dead. King David was so upset by this tragedy that he halted the procession and deposited the Ark in the House of Obed-Edom, a Gittite. Here the Ark remained four months. During this time it became apparent that the Lord had blessed the family of Obed-Edom. All that was possessed by the family prospered exceedingly. David again assembled the leading men of all the tribes of Israel. A vast procession of honor went to the house of Obed-Edom and amid great rejoicing removed the Ark to the new tabernacle in Jerusalem. There, in the tabernacle, the sacred Ark was enshrined behind a curtain. Many sacrifices were made to the God of Israel and presents were distributed to the people. It is believed that only once during the remainder of King David's reign was the Ark ever removed from the tabernacle in Jerusalem. In the latter period of King David's life, one of the favorite sons of the royal family, a handsome and highly gifted young man named Absalom, rebelled against his father and took over the city of Jerusalem. At this time King David and his principal supporters fled from the city and sought temporary refuge in the Trans-Jordan. During the retreat of his forces from Jerusalem David saw several priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant along with the retreating troops David immediately stopped the faithful priests and sent them back into the city to replace the Ark in the tabernacle. Many years later, David's son and successor, King Solomon, built a splendid temple in honor of the God of Israel. In the innermost shrine of this temple, a special room was prepared for the Ark. This room was called "The Holy of Holies." It was screened from an outer shrine, or anteroom by a thick curtain. In the Holy of Holies, behind this great curtain, a row of golden cherubim were placed in such a manner that their outstretched wings would overshadow the Ark of God. When all was ready the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel assembled in Jerusalem. The principal leaders of the nation of tens of thousands of common citizens gathered in the capital. Musicians and singers made the streets joyful. Accompanied by a great procession, the priests went into the tabernacle, took up the Ark of God, carried it into the new temple, and placed it on a pedestal in the Holy of Holies, beneath the wings of the cherubim, behind the thick curtain. The priests then drew out the carrying staves so that the ends of the staves could be seen from without, by worshippers in the anteroom or outer shrine. But the Ark itself could not be seen from without. After that day no one was ever supposed to see the Ark except the high priest, who was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies only once annually. It is said that there was nothing in the Ark except the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, which had been given to Moses at Mount Sinai- but it is believed that deposited on the Ark's pedestal, was a bowl of manna, the staple food of the people of Israel during the wilderness wandering. Next to the bowl of manna was a bottle of the sacred anointing oil. There too, was a coffer containing the golden gifts of the Philistines. There are various legends as to what became of the Ark in later years. Apparently it mysteriously disappeared from the Holy of Holies and the common people of the land were unaware that it was missing for a long time. There is a legend that when the new temple was dedicated, a prophet told King Solomon that at some unknown time in the years to come, the people of Israel would become unfaithful and turn away from God. As a punishment, the beautiful temple and the city of Jerusalem alike would be destroyed. Solomon, therefore, decided to prepare a hiding place for the Ark. Where that hiding place was in unknown. However, other legends point uncertainly to the beautiful Moslem mosque which is often called, "The Dome on the Rock." In this magnificent and beautiful building is a huge, rough stone. It was upon this big stone that the great altar of burnt offerings of Solomon's temple once stood. But long before Solomon's temple was built the later temple site was the property of the king of the Jebusites, the original owners of Jerusalem. The temple site was the  king's threshing floor. As a granary for the storage of his threshed grain. The king cut an underground room beneath the great rock, which at a later time would support the Great Altar of Burnt Offerings. A funnel-shaped opening was drilled in the top of the rock. Through this opening the threshed grain was poured into the granary beneath the rock. This underground room was entered by means of a short stairway. Legend indicates that King Solomon's workmen went down into the Jebusite king's granary and, in the center of the floor, drilled and chiseled a huge vertical shaft, much like a well. How deep this shaft penetrated into the rock, the legend does not say. However, far beneath the surface a storage place for the Ark of God was prepared. Whether this hiding place consists of a single room or of an extensive tunnel complex is unknown. Another legend says that in the time of Josiah, the last good king of Judaea, a prophet warned the king that the kingdom of Judaea was already in its final years and that destruction of both the temple and the city was close at hand. After a consultation with the high priest, Josiah sent workmen down into the room beneath the great rock and removed the floor. In the center of the floor yawned a deep, black shaft. Then the priests secretly removed the Ark from the Holy of Holies and brought it to the room beneath the rock. There Ark was lowered deep into the earth and installed on a pedestal in the hiding place prepared by the workmen of King Solomon. The floor in the old granary room was replaced to hid the entrance to the shaft. Many years ago, a great scientist, Sir Flinders Petrie, when visiting Jerusalem went into the underground granary room. He noticed that when the floor in the center of the room was stomped, it rang hollow, as if a cavern were beneath. Numbers of other visitors have made the same observation. There is still another legend that dates from the period of the second temple. This story says that an aged priest, one of the saints of God, was performing his duties one day when it became necessary for him to perform an errand in the wood house, where the necessary fuel for the burnt offerings was stored. While in this building, the priest noticed that one stone in the floor differed from all the others. A close examination convinced the old man that this difference was not accidental. This stone had been carefully cut and fitted. Apparently this peculiar stone covered the entrance of a shaft or tunnel. The old man went to tell several other priests of his discovery. He was on his way to show this stone to several brother priests when he suddenly fell dead. The other priests believed that God called His venerable servant home to glory to prevent him from giving information that might have led to the discovery of the hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant. Perhaps today, deep in the living rock beneath Jerusalem, the Ark of The Covenant still rests in eternal darkness. Probably on the pedestal on which the Ark rests still sits a bottle of precious anointing oil, a bowl of manna, from I rael's days in the wilderness, and a handsome coffer containing the golden gifts of the Philistines. Perhaps there too is preserved an ancient staff of almond wood, Aaron’s staff that budded. The Mysterious Carolina Bays In the coastal plain, or "Low Country," of South Carolina there are many egg-shaped or elliptical lakes which the local people call "bays." Many of the smaller lakes are nearly round, but in aerial photographs the elliptical shape of the larger lakes is quite apparent. In every case the long axis of these lakes is from northwest to southeast. In every case, too, there is a large rim, or terrace, of earth bordering the southeastern end of the lake. In most cases lower terraces extend for some distance along the sides of the lakes. Shortly before the Second World War two geologists from the University of Oklahoma visited South Carolina and examined these strange lakes. Using an instrument known as a "magnetometer" the scientists discovered that deposits of magnetic iron ore existed deep beneath some of these elliptical lakes. The scientists expressed the opinion that iron deposits lie at great depths beneath all the Carolina "bays". In most cases, the iron ore has become so thoroughly oxidized that it can not now be detected with even such a delicate instrument as a magnetometer. It has been know that stony meteorites from outer space often contain iron ore. Today many scientists believe that about 50,000 years ago a meteorite of tremendous size came from outer space and wandered into the earth's gravitational field. Coming from the northwest and heading toward the southeast, this strange visitor from another world fell at tremendous speed straight toward the Carolina coastal plain. To the creatures on the earth it must have seemed that the sky suddenly exploded in a fearful burst of light as this monstrous intruder from outer space became white-hot from friction with the earth's atmosphere. Only seconds later, while the falling meteorite was still more than a hundred miles about the ground, tremendous flashes of light were seen as the force of compressed air in front of the missile tore the monstrous meteorite apart and sent gigantic, white-hot fragments plunging to earth with a roar that was heard thousands of miles away. That sound was probably heard around the globe. Many fragments plunged into the nearby sea and created great waves on the Atlantic coast of Europe. The shock waves created by the original explosion were followed by other shock waves, as well as by earth tremors as the dozens of major fragments landed. A vast number of small fragments burned up in the air. The larger fragments of the destroyed meteorite, struck the earth's surface with such force that they went thousands of feet into the ground. Huge, elliptical craters were formed, with a rim of earth hundreds of feet high at the southeastern end of the crater and with smaller rims along the sides. Every living creature within a vast area was killed by the explosion. Over an area of hundreds of square miles every forest tree was destroyed. The timber near the center of the devastated area was probably incinerated. Farther away from the center all the trees lay flat, with their tops pointed away from the explosion and with their branches blown off. In the many thousands of years since that fearful catastrophe erosion has worn down the lofty rims of earth which had been pushed up by the impact of the landing. At the same time erosion has almost filled the once enormous craters. When the first white settlers came to South Carolina coastal plain most of these elliptical craters were occupied by lakes. Many of these lakes have recently been drained and their dry beds have become pasture lands or cultivated fields. Some of the remaining lakes, however, are good fish ponds. Other such lakes are in areas of scenic beauty that could readily be converted into parks, places of recreation, and tourist attractions. Woods Bay State Park, near Florence, in northeastern South Carolinas, is a good example of what could be done with other lakes. In Bamberg County, in southern South Carolina lies and elliptical lake known as "Clear Pond." This lake deserves a place in history. It was here during the tragic War Between the States that the Confederate Navy carried out submarine experiments. After the war Clear Pond was a popular recreational area, but sometimes swimmers were terrified when big alligators appeared. In the many thousands of years since that monstrous meteorite suddenly split the sky with a dreadful burst of light most of the huge, buried fragments of the destroyed meteorite have become so thoroughly oxidized that they cannot now be detected. But the presence of the Carolina Bays suggest an interesting question: what will happen if another gigantic meteorite hits a heavily populated area of the modem world? THE DEVIL’ S CANDLE THE ERUPTION OF TIMBORA For unknown ages the great volcano of Tambora.13,000 feet high, had towered above a range of rugged mountains on a large green island south of the Equator. The island was Sumbawa, one of the Lesser Sundas, in the East Indies. The tall, conical, jungle-covered volcano which rose majestically above the northern mountains of the island was Tambora, one of the most beautiful mountains of the world. This great peak could be seen far out to sea. It was on many charts and it was a well known landmark and navigational aid in the time of the old fashioned sailing ships. Legend said that ages ago, before the brown Malay people came to the islands, a great dragon lived deep beneath Tambora. Whenever the dragon stamped his feet, or when he prowled in the darkness of the cavern that was his home, the whole mountain rumbled and trembled and sometimes smoke came from the crater on the summit. But the old dragon had apparently been asleep for many centuries. The long slopes of the mountain were covered with rain forest and greenery to the very top. Occasionally some adventurous explorer struggled up an ancient pathway through the jungle and reached the rim of the old crater. From that lofty, wind-swept summit, a visitor could look northward a short distance and see the Sea of Flores, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. Southward could be seen several successive ranges of lower mountains. In the distance the Indian Ocean stretched away to the dim horizon. Westward, beyond the range of vision, several volcanic peaks rose above the large populous island of Lombok and beyond that the sea lanes led to Java, the most fabulous and most densely populated land of all the East Indies. Eastward, from Tombora's summit lay the island of Komodo where roamed many fearsome twelve foot dragons or gigantic flesh eating lizards. Near at hand, in the many valleys, tiny villages of thatch-roofed houses nestled among palm trees and groves of tropical fruit trees. From these villages handsome, brown Malay people went forth to toil in the nearby rice paddies, work the hillside gardens, or drive buffalo carts along the narrow roads. Sometimes Malay hunters came into the jungle on the slopes of the great mountain. They searched for bird  nests, sought the elusive wild pig, the many monkeys, or the colorful and noisy parrots. Sometimes, too, they harvested the wild nutmeg and mace, which they could sell to Chinese traders in the coastal villages. Occasionally gangs of men came to cut timber in the dense forest on the lower slopes of the old volcano. They cut great logs of  teak and saponwood which they dragged away with teams of water buffalo. But a day came when a messenger brought strange news to the little villages in the emerald valleys near the foot of the mountain. The villagers did not quite understand all that they heard, nor did they think that it greatly mattered. The Napoleonic wars were raging in distant Europe. The French had conquered Holland. French troops, aboard Dutch ships, were filtering into the Dutch colonies in the Indies. British troops were landing in the Indies to drive out the French invaders. Already the British were occupying Java, the most important and most populous of the great islands of the Indies. Soon, very likely, the redcoats would come to Sumbawa. To the sturdy brown people in the villages near Tambora, it mattered but little what foreign invader ruled them. Others had come and gone in the long ago. Someday, if it were the will of Allah, all the Europeans would go away also. Of much more immediate concern were some slight earth tremors that were beginning, even though earthquakes were frequent in these islands, which were studded with volcanoes. A little later, in 1814,the earth shocks increased in intensity. For the first time in many generations, light plumes of ashes were occasionally seen high above Tambora. The earth shocks became more frequent and more violent. Then deep, rumbling sounds began coming from the depths of the volcano. After a sleep of ages, the great dragon was awakening. Then, on the evening of Wednesday, April 5,1815,the volcano suddenly roared into violent eruption. Some of the loudest thunder ever heard came from the depths of the great mountain. Some of those thunderous sounds were heard eleven hundred miles away. The crews of ships at sea thought that they were hearing the sound of great naval guns. Entries were made in log books that a great sea battle was raging somewhere beyond the horizon. Armed ships put hastily to sea to look for pirates. Pagan tribesmen seized their weapons and fled from their jungle villages because they thought that they were being attacked. In the villages of northern Sumbawa, it seemed that the end of the World was coming. With one tremendous roar after another, the volcano hurled great, incandescent rocks weighing tons from its crater, or from fissures that were opening on the upper slopes. These huge, glowing stones fell in great circles near the foot of the mountain. Stones as large as two fists were hurled twenty-five miles or more. Other hot rocks, as big as walnuts, fell in lethal showers still further away. High into the air, above the seething crater ,rose an enormous cloud shaped like a great tree. The cloud continued to spread until it shut out the light of the fierce tropical sun. Over an area of the Earth's surface 600 miles in diameter, there fell a blackness as if of midnight. Because this darkness was caused by clouds of minute particles of pumice from the Earth’s interior, the blackness could literally be felt like the storied darkness which was one of the seven plagues of Egypt ,in the time of Moses. The falling ashes burned the eyes of people and animals, clogged nostrils, filtered into houses and contaminated every source of drinking water that was not covered. Chickens huddled on their roosts until the ashes rose high enough to engulf them. Water buffalo, horses, and other farm animals, almost mad with thirst, huddled in terror while hot rocks fell among them. In the scattered villages people huddled in their houses until the roofs collapsed beneath their burden of ashes and hot rocks. Then they stumbled blindly into the total darkness, where roads and fields were already deeply covered with masses of wet ash, while more ash and hot rocks continued to fall. Already the precious rice paddies and the gardens were ruined and the future food supply was destroyed. In some areas temperatures began to drop to unprecedented lows as the ash cloud reflected much of the Sun’s heat back into space. For five days the volcano roared and thundered as if all the fabled demons of the underworld were beating the fiery drums of the inferno. Titanic explosions that could be heard eleven hundred miles were tearing apart the great volcano. Then came the tragic tenth of April. It was the last day that many of the terrified people of Sumbawa would ever see. A courageous, local rajah, watching cautiously from the remnants of his crumbling palace, saw a fierce electrical storm raging over the mountain. As successive bolts of lightning stabbed through the darkness, tremendous peals of thunder mingled with the roar of the volcano. Glancing at his Dutch clock, the rajah saw that the time was 7 P. M. Then a tall column of flame suddenly burst forth from the top of the mountain near the edge of the crater. Within moments, in succession, two other columns of flame burst forth, at points near the crater's edge. Higher and ever higher rose those three enormous pillars of leaping fire. At last, at a very great height, the columns of fire mingled together and rose still higher, the flames leaping and swaying amid the winds from the crater. Miles high, in midnight darkness, above Tambora, that terrible flame swayed and glowed like an immense candle in the hands of some monstrous demon above the glowing, smoking entrance of a seething inferno. Then a demon's caldron seemed to begin boiling over. From the rim of the lofty crater, and from fissures on the mountainside, a flood of liquid fire began pouring. The burning mass rushed swiftly down the long slopes until the entire mountain appeared to be completely engulfed in flame. Then the fiery, glowing flood, gradually slowing as it advanced, pushed on for a vast distance through the lower hills, forests, rice paddies and villages. An hour passed while the rajah arid his few remaining servants stared in horror at that seething mountain, overflowing with liquid fire, while the surging masses of flame in the valleys below came ever nearer in the darkness. Far above the burning mountain, the tall flames of the Devil's Candle, miles high, roared and swayed in the volcanic winds coming from the boiling crater . This was the last time that human eyes would ever see the tall, conical peak of once beautiful Tambora. Suddenly the ash fall began increasing until it was like a vast curtain hiding the burning mountain from view. As the rajah glanced at his clock, he realized that about an hour had passed since the tall flames appeared. The barrage of hot rocks was also increasing. Heavy ,incandescent missiles fell many miles away. But now a new terror was beginning. In the intervals between the explosions of the volcano could be heard the roaring sound of mighty winds. The night became even blacker as a monstrous tornado, whirling a colossal cloud of volcanic dust ,swooped down from the heights above. Indeed, there seemed to be several tornadoes. The great winds knocked down many of the strongest houses still remaining on the island. Huge trees were uprooted. Then trees, houses, boats, stones, water buffalo, and people were swept high into the air and dropped upon the mountainsides or into the sea. Already new dangers had arisen along the coast. The earthquakes that accompanied the eruption were creating a series of destructive tsunamis, or tidal waves, which were hammering the coasts of Sumbawa and all the neighboring islands. Again and again the sea withdrew far from the shore in the darkness. Then it rushed forward in great waves that became still higher as they reached the shallows. Coastal villages were smashed, houses and trees were swept away. Boats were carried inland, and people and animals were swept out to sea. As the great waves continued, the sea swept far up the many valleys, flooding and ruining with salt water the precious agricultural lands, most of which were located near the rivers. Weary and frightened refugees, fleeing inland to escape the tsunamis, sloshed and stumbled through a heavy slush of wet pumice, or volcanic ashes. In the darkness more ashes and hot rocks fell continuously. Shortly before noon, on April 15th, the ash-fall began to diminish somewhat. In areas as much as 300 miles from the still flaming volcano, midnight-darkness slowly gave way to dim light like that of dawn. People ate their noon meals by the light of candles, or torches, while a few birds began to chirp and twitter outside. But no birds chirped on ruined Sumbawa, and few people had anything to eat for many days. The sea had driven all the fishermen inland. The fishing boats had been smashed by the great tsunamis, and the water was so covered with masses of floating pumice, or volcanic ash, that fishing was impossible. All the gardens and rice paddies were deeply covered with soggy ashes. The food that had been stored for future use had largely been ruined by wet ash. Houses collapsed, or had been destroyed by tornado winds, liquid fire, or the inrushing sea. In desperation forlorn survivors wandered in the rugged interior of the island. When they reached a village that had not been completely destroyed, they would offer their most precious possessions for a handful of rice. Sometimes the refugees would find a few battered palm trees or plantains still standing in sheltered places. Then the people would salvage a few tools from a ruined house and chop down the trees. They ate the big, terminal buds of the palms and gnawed the fleshy stalks of the plantains. But there were not enough palms and plantains. Tambora was still rumbling and steam and gases were still rising from the crater when a few people on hills near the coast saw the sails of a big ship slowly approaching from the west. Stumbling through the wet ash the starving survivors began hurrying down toward the sea. Several times the approaching rescue ship was stopped by tangled masses of forest trees, which covered large areas of the inshore water and formed an impenetrable barrier. Thick masses of floating pumice, or volcanic ash, stopped the ship several times. The pumice was so thick that the sailors could walk upon it. The rescue ship's master brought his vessel as close inshore as he dared before dropping anchor. The Union Jack of Great Britain fluttered in the breeze. White sailors thronged to the rail and looked in amazement at the ash-covered, devastated land and the little group of starving scarecrows who awaited them ashore. Lieutenant Owen Phillips of the Royal Navy hurried ashore, with several of his men. After a consultation with some of the survivors the Lieutenant ordered his men to begin unloading the ship’s cargo of rice. This food would save many people from starvation. But thousands were already dead. Still more thousands would starve before the precious food could reach them. The roads were ruined and the bridges had been destroyed. The horses and water buffalo were dead. The precious bags of rice would have to be carried to the refugees in the interior by men already weakened by famine. Food distribution, unavoidably, would be dreadfully slow. But other relief ships and more food would follow. As the crewmen unloaded the ship, Lieutenant Phillips made a hasty inspection of the area near the coast. A deep layer of wet volcanic ash covered every thing. Lumps beneath the ashes were the corpses of men and water buffalo. Fishing villages and homes were wrecked. Most of the people had fled inland to escape the tidal waves. But the Lieutenant succeeded in finding a local rajah, an educated man, who helped him prepare a report for Lieutenant Governor Sir Stamford Raffles, in Batavia. As the rescue ship set sail and began threading its way cautiously through the floating rafts of forest trees and drifting masses of pumice, the rajah and his people ashore were already beginning to carry the rice inland where the starving refugees waited. Tambora was still rumbling and smoking as Lieutenant Phillips and his men sailed away. It would be three months before the volcano became quiet. Thirty-two years later, when the Swiss scientists Heinrich Zollinger, visited the area, the mountain was still smoking. Layers of sulphur on the slopes were still warm beneath a thin, outer crust. Almost a mile of the great mountain peak had been blasted into the air. The great, symmetrical cone, which had once been so beautiful was gone. The mountain had been reduced to a flattened plateau 9,000 feet high. In Batavia, Sir Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant Governor in the service of King George the Third of Great Britain, received the report from Sumbawa promptly and with great interest. Reading the account of the eruption brought by Lieutenant Phillips, Raffles regretted that he had been unable to send help sooner. On that tragic Wednesday evening, when the volcano erupted, the boom of the explosions could be plainly heard in the administration offices in the old Dutch mansion that had once been the headquarters of the Governor General of the East Indies. Raffles had hurried out into the streets to listen. But, like almost everyone else, he had thought that he was hearing the roar of distant cannon. It seemed quite likely that, somewhere beyond the horizon a ship in distress was firing her guns in an effort to summon aid. It was also quite likely that Malay pirates, who were always a menace in those waters, were attacking one or more merchant ships. Raffles had quickly ordered armed ships to put to sea at  once and attempt a rescue. However, it was also possible that native rebels, perhaps stirred up by French agents, were attacking a distant outpost. So, as a precaution against surprise attack or insurrection, Raffles ordered troops marched into the city immediately. Not until next day, when ash began to fall upon Batavia, was it known that a volcano was in eruption. But even then the explosions were so loud that the native Javanese and the people in the streets insisted that the eruption was taking place in the mountains south of Batavia, where several volcanoes were located. Several days of constant effort failed to find a volcano in eruption on Java. But the ash-fall increased. At times there was a heavy overcast. Occasional breaks in the overcast at night showed thin, light-colored clouds very high in the atmosphere. The temperature dropped into the sixties, which was unprecedented in this mild, tropical land only seven degrees south of the Equator. Apparently volcanic dust in the air was reflecting the Sun’s heat back into space. In a few days merchant ships began to put into port with stories of hearing the roar of heavy naval guns as desperate sea fights took place somewhere beyond the horizon. Others told of great waves crashing against island shores. Then a little later, there came reports of an eastern sea covered by thick darkness at midday, while ash fell in such quantities that the sailors toiled almost continuously to shovel them from the decks. As the seamen cleared their decks of ashes in the darkness, birds fell dying from the air. At times intense lightning storms raged and St. Elmo’s fire was frequently seen, at the mast tops and on the tips of the spars. In that intense darkness, in tortuous channels among many islands, navigation was carried on with extreme difficulty in waters almost choked by ever growing masses of floating ashes. Soon it became known that eastern Java, for several days, had been enveloped in continuous darkness, but no volcano was in eruption in that area. Raffles became convinced that the eruption was taking place somewhere in the many islands of the Lesser Sundas, to the east of Java. It was apparent that a relief expedition ought to be sent out as soon as possible. But Raffles did not feel that he was justified in risking the loss of a ship and the lives of its crew by ordering them into a sea of night, blocked by masses of floating ashes, with no knowledge of their destination. It was only on the eighteenth, as skies cleared in eastern Java, that the officials in Batavia decided that they were justified in risking the lives of their seamen by sending them on a relief expedition to some unknown island in the Lesser Sundas. Thus it was that gallant Lieutenant Owen Phillips was sent to lead, with so much difficulty, that first relief expedition to devastated Sumbawa. Sir Stamford Raffles would be remembered with honor as one of the best and must humane colonial administrators that the British Empire ever had. He always strove to better the condition of the natives and to encourage education in the colonies. History would say that the greatest achievement of this eminent man was the founding of Singapore. But it is ironical that the achievement of which Raffles could have been most justly proud has been forgotten. This was the relief work that saved the lives of tens of thousands of refugees in devastated Sumbawa and other islands of the Lesser Sundas, after the eruption of Tambora. Even so, the casualties were very severe. It was never known how many people were swept away by the sea, who vanished in liquid fire, who were killed by flying rocks, or who starved to death and were never reported. On Sumbawa alone, more than 10,000 died during the eruption and many thousands of others starved before help could arrive. Including the casualties on other islands, probably as many as 80,000 died. For four years after the eruption of Tambora, navigation on the Sea of Flores was badly hindered by large floating islands of pumice, many feet in thickness. ­Brilliant red and orange sunsets, more colorful than any ever seen previously, were seen in the East Indies immediately after the eruption. Apparently these were caused by thin clouds of very fine dust which the volcano had hurled high into the stratosphere. Later, as the upper air currents carried these dust clouds around the globe, such brilliant sunsets were seen everywhere for more than a year. Sometimes, too, the sunlight appeared yellow and the moonlight had a misty and ghostly quality. But denser clouds of Tambora’s ashes, very high in the atmosphere, soon began to have an adverse effect on the weather. So much of the Sun’s heat was reflected back into space that the temperature was measurably lowered. About a year after the eruption, temperature changes had drastic results in countries on the opposite side of the globe. In several countries late frosts seriously delayed the planting of crops. Still later, frosts killed crops and destroyed almost all the fruit. In some regions frost occurred every month of the year. Snow fell almost everywhere in southern Canada and in New England in June. In July men wore overcoats Killing frosts destroyed most of the corn crop in August. Very little winter feed for the cattle could be saved. In relatively mild South Carolina, Bishop Francis Asbury, a famed pioneer Methodist leader, reported  that the corn crop was woefully inadequate to fill the needs. Much of what corn was available was being purchased by the whiskey distillers and was being used to make strong drink. The same thing was happening in other states and in other countries. Even with famine threatening, men would use their precious food supply to make soul-destroying alcoholic beverages of various types. Only the fact that a surplus of food existed because of a good harvest the previous year, together with a fairly good harvest of wheat and barley, made it possible to avoid famine in America in 1816. In Europe there was no surplus of food from the preceding year. The Napoleonic wars, which had just ended, had consumed too much of the continent’s resources, including the flower of the manpower and of the working force. In this setting, the almost universal crop failures caused by late frosts resulted in actual famine in many countries. Thousands of people starved to death in various central European lands. Even in western Europe, there were serious political upheavals, ,as desperate people blamed their governments for the food shortages. In some areas soldiers had to protect farmers trying to take scarce farm produce to market. Many people were killed as troops fought pitched battles with mobs of starving people who were trying to seize what food was available. Long afterward that cold, starvation year of 1816 was remembered as ‘the year without a summer’. But few people realized that this climatic change and these crop failures were caused by the volcanic dust of Tambora, high in the stratosphere, where it reflected much of the sun’s heat back into space. Scientists throughout the world dread to contemplate the possible results if several such titanic eruptions ever occur within a short period of time. Today the greenery of eternal springtime once more festoons the beautiful island of Sumbawa. In the mountain valleys the brown people toil in their rice paddies and drive buffalo carts along the narrow roads. But in remote villages there are still aged men and women who recall old stories of a time of terror and catastrophe, six generations ago. This was a time of death and ruin which, in the legends of the Lesser Sundas, are comparable to the stories of Noah's flood. In these stories there is a fearsome night with intense darkness which could be felt and which lasted many days. Once more the Devil’s candle flares high above Tambora, while the demons of the underworld tear the great peak apart and the titanic thunder of its passing can be heard a thousand miles. Roses of China As the twentieth century was nearing its end the Historical Society of Saluda County, in upper South Carolina began preparations for their county's Centennial. Saluda County, like lower Greenwood County, had once been part of Edgefield County. But the area which is now Saluda County has a history that goes far back into colonial times, and even earlier. Long before Columbus came an Indian village stood near a great mound on the southern side of Saluda River. This village had several names, and it stood on several sites as tribal wars and migrations occurred. The last site of this village was on the northern side of Saluda River, and its last name was "Saluda Old Town." White traders and other settlers moved in during colonial times and gradually took over the village and the surrounding area from its owners, the Cherokee Indians. As preparations for Saluda County's Centennial proceeded, various groups of curiosity seekers came to explore the forest which had sprung up around the desolate site of the long vanished village of Saluda Old Town. In this forest, and especially in a long-neglected woods road, masses of blue violets were found. Occasionally yellow violets were found growing amid the blue. Other wild flowers were also found. Most noticeable were four kinds of wild roses. One of these was a climbing rose which was well protected by an abundance of sharp, cruel thorns. This plant is usually called, "The Cherokee Rose," but this is a mistake. This climbing rose is really "The Texas Hedge Rose" and it was brought back to South Carolina by returning pioneers who had migrated to the "Lone Star State." Another rose was the real Cherokee rose, modest, pink, and beautiful, which becomes about two feet in height. When the two wild roses were examined, a startling discovery was made; one of these roses was a South China rose, and its presence in upper South Carolina is indeed almost incredible. The story of this exotic rose had its beginning centuries ago in Southern China. In the Chinese Empire, in the days of the Ming emperors, conditions were often chaotic. Sometimes strong rulers occupied the throne of "The Middle Kingdom". Then, Chinese armies would drive all hostile barbarian tribes far away into Central Asia. At the same time the Chinese Navy would clear the sea of pirates. The pirate nests would be broken up and the rulers of the Philippine Islands and of many other countries would be forced to pay tribute to the Emperor of China. But sometimes weak emperors occupied the Dragon Throne of China. The seas would swarm with Japanese and Malay pirates. Villages along the South China coast were raided and pillaged and captives were carried away into slavery. When the Spaniards conquered the Philippine Islands and founded Manila, thousands of people from South China began migrating to Luzon, as well as to other Philippine Islands. Slant-eyed, olive-hued women wept as they left their beloved homes, flower beds, and gardens. Then, sadly, they took their places aboard crowded sailing vessels or "junks" for the perilous voyage to the Philippines. But these women did not forget to carry with them seeds, bulbs, and roots of their favorite vegetables and flowers. Soon, in newly established Chinese villages near Manila, on the island of Luzon, the roses and other flowers of South China were thriving and blooming in loveliness and glory. Every year the Spaniards in Manila loaded a huge galleon (big sailing vessel) with the choice products of the Philippines and sent her to the port of Acapulco, on the western coast of Mexico. Occasionally two galleons made this long voyage across the Pacific Ocean. It was by means of such voyages from Manila to Acapulco that the roses of South China came to Mexico. Apparently several varieties of roses made this voyage. It is very likely that one of these newly-introduced roses was a monthly rose. It is recorded that, about this time, some roses in Mexico began to bloom out of season; this marvelous event was considered miraculous, and special prayers were said to the Virgin Mary. Gradually China roses and other plants from Eastern Asia were carried from Acapulco to Vera Cruz, on Mexico's Gulf Coast. It was quite easy for this to happen. Spanish merchants frequently sent pack trains of burros (donkeys) from Acapulco to the Gulf Coast. So it was that, eventually, Spaniards in Mexico began to send the roots of South China Roses to Cuba and to Florida. In the harbor of Vera Cruz, on Mexico's Gulf Coast, a great treasure fleet would assemble once annually. By ox cart and burro train a wide range of agricultural products and merchandise, as well as gold and silver, would arrive at Vera Cruz. Other freight would arrive aboard small sailing vessels from various ports of Central America. On the castle walls of the grim fortress of San Juan De Ulloa alert gentries watched for pirate ships while the treasure fleet assembled. Then units of the Spanish Navy would arrive to escort the merchant ships. At last, when all was ready, a signal would be given. Mooring lines would be cast off. Anchors would be weighed, (hoisted) sails would be raised. The big guns of the fortress of San Juan De Ulloa would thunder in farewell. Then, followed by flocks of gulls in the air, and by schools of big, shiny porpoises in the sea, the fleet would set sail across the Gulf of Mexico. Several days later the shores of Cuba would be seen ahead. The fleet would enter the harbor of Havana, Cuba, and drop anchor there. Here several additional galleons would join the fleet. A few days later, with a strong escort of Spanish naval vessels, the ships would weigh anchor and put out to sea again. Aided by the strong current of the Gulf Stream, the fleet would sail northward. Behind the departing ships the guns of the fortress of  El Morro thundered in a farewell salute. Several days later the fleet would stop at the recently founded port of St. Augustine, the capital of the Spanish colony of Florida. Part of the cargo was unloaded. Among the items landed at St. Augustine were manufactured products from Spain and Mexico and roots and bulbs of exotic and ornamental plants such as roses which, years earlier, had come from South China. Many of the sailors gladly availed themselves of the opportunity to go ashore and visit this pretty, little town which was the capital of Spain's most recent colony in North America. As the Spanish sailors wandered through the streets of this little colonial town they sometimes saw groups of sturdy, copper-colored men, with black hair, dark eyes, and high cheek bones. These men were dressed in garments made of deerskin. They were accompanied by Indian women their wives, attractively garbed in well-made and beautifully decorated garments made of deer skins. These people were Cherokee Indians. The Cherokees belonged to the Iroquoian family of American Indians. For centuries, these people had lived near the Great Lakes of North America. Tribal wars had caused five Iroquois tribes to move far southward. These five tribes had settled in the Southern Highlands, where they formed the Cherokee Confederation. Much later, after the coming of the Spaniards to Florida, the Cherokees began making annual trading expeditions to St. Augustine. With them the Indians carried bundles of deerskins, elk hides, beaver pelts and perhaps, occasionally, bear skins or buffalo robes. Indian women gladly volunteered to accompany their husbands on these long journeys of hundreds of miles. Such journeys broke the monotony of daily existence; it also gave a glimpse of the outer world. In addition, the wives were usually able to influence their husbands in their purchases. A warrior accompanied by his wife or daughter was not likely to become intoxicated and throw away everything he had in one night. The women usually persuaded their men to buy such useful items as cloth, steel needles, scissors, cooking utensils, and iron gardening tools. On these annual visits to St. Augustine, the Cherokee women sometimes had opportunities to form friendships with Spanish women; an exchange of small gifts often resulted because of these friendships. In this way the Indian women received gifts of flower seeds, the seed of European vegetables, peach seeds, apple seeds, and various roots and bulbs. Thus it was that the roots of the roses from China, carefully packed in little jars, were brought from Florida to the hills of the Carolinas. As the Cherokees made the long return trip with their newly purchased treasures, gentries stood guard at night, wolves howled in the darkness, buffalo, elk and white-tailed deer took fright and fled during the day, and gorgeous Carolina parakeets scolded from the trees. Years later English explorers and traders made their way up from Charles Town and followed wilderness trails into the Cherokee country. Already the Cherokees had developed the rudiments of civilization; they lived in villages of well-built, log houses which were roofed with overlapping sheets of bark. The Indians wrapped themselves with Spanish blankets in cold weather. Carefully tended fields of com and potatoes, surrounded the villages. There were also splendid orchards of apples and peaches. If the white explorers and travelers happened to accept the hospitality of some friendly Cherokee family, they were quite likely to find the house decorated with roses from the nearby flower beds. Quite often these were South China roses. These roses had come to the Carolina hills from South China aboard Chinese junks, Spanish galleons, burro trains, and the strong, muscular shoulders of sturdy Cherokee women. The Cherokees moved to Oklahoma long ago. Their once beautiful, and well-tended peach and apple orchards have been destroyed. But, in remote spots in the forests of Newberry and Saluda counties, as well as other areas of the Carolinas and northern Georgia, the roses of South China still grow wild and flourish in the wilderness. The Cherokees Very early in the 17th century a French explorer, Samuel Champlain, while exploring the upper valley of the St. Lawrence River, met a war party which had come northwards from The Great Lakes region. These hostile warriors were Iroquois. Champlain learned that there were many Iroquois tribes. These tribesmen all spoke a common language. But there were many varying dialects of that common language. Among the Iroquoian tribes near The Great Lakes were the Mohawks, Senecas, Oneidas, Onondagas, Eries, Hurons and others. Generations earlier a great chieftain, Hiawatha, had persuaded five great tribes of the Iroquois to unit in a powerful confederacy. The confederated tribes were the Mohawks, Senecas, Onondagas, and Oneidas. This Iroquois confederacy was often called "The Long House." This was a reference to the custom of having several families living in one long, barracks-like building. Such communal houses were well-built of logs. Large sheets of bark, over-lapping like shingles and tied firmly to a framework of poles, formed the roofs. There were several fireplaces of stone at intervals in the center of the building and apertures in the roof allowed smoke to escape. Several such long houses, surrounded by log stockades, formed an Iroquois Village. Sometimes Iroquois tribes had disputes with one another. As a result of one serious dispute, five Iroquois tribes had moved far southwards and had settled in a vast region of hills, mountains, and forests. This migration occurred long before white men came to America. The Iroquoian tribes of the south had formed a confederation of their own. They were called "Cherokees". It is thought that the name "Cherokee" originally meant "cave people". Perhaps this name indicated that these tribesmen settled in a region where there were many caves and that they originally lived in caves. It is uncertain when Europeans first met the Cherokees. A few archaeological discoveries and ancient legends indicate that white men from beyond the seas made short-term contacts of which there is no historical record. French settlers, in a short-lived colony on Parris Island, S.C., were probably the first Europeans to meet the Cherokees in modem times. This was about 1562. The Cherokees encountered were a few traders who had come from the mountains to secure medicinal plants from the coast. The first recorded meeting of Spanish explorers and Cherokees was between 1539 and 1543, when the explorer Hernando De Soto landed in Florida and moved northward into the Cherokee country, making extensive explorations. After 1565 there were many contacts between Spaniards and Cherokees. In that year, (1565) a Spanish explorer Pedro De Menendez De Aviles founded St. Augustine, Florida. After this time Cherokee trading parties began making annual trips to St. Augustine. Cherokee women accompanied the warriors to help carry the trade goods. The Cherokees traded deer-skins, buffalo robes, and beaver pelts for Spanish goods. Especially coveted by the Cherokees were Spanish muskets, axes, knives, hoes, blankets, and textiles. But Cherokee women made friends of Spanish women and obtained flower seed, European vegetable seed, peach seeds, apple deeds, and various roots and bulbs. Among the ornamental plants that the Indian women brought from St. Augustine was a beautiful and fragrant rose that the Spaniards had obtained form Chinese settlers in the Philippines. This Chinese rose still grows wild in the woods of South Carolina and Georgia, in regions where the Cherokees once lived. The travel record of this Chinese Rose includes South China, the Philippine Islands, Mexico, Florida, and South Carolina. After the foundation of Charles Town, (Charleston) S.C. in 1670, English traders came into the Cherokee country and English trade goods supplanted those of Spain. However, the English found splendid peach orchards and apple orchards in the Cherokee country as the result of previous trade between the Spaniards and Indians. Also, the Indians had apparently obtained horses from the Spaniards. The number of horses in the Cherokee country was gradually increasing. Far-sighted colonial governors of South Carolina encouraged trade with the Cherokees and tried to cultivate peaceful relations with the Cherokee Confederacy. In early times the Indian town of Keowee, in upper South Carolina, was the capital of the eastern, or "under-hill" Cherokees. The sacred area of Tellico Plains, in eastern Tennessee, was the capital of the western, or "over-hill" Cherokees. On Saluda River, just outside Cherokee territory in South Carolina stood the Centuries-old village of Saluda Old Town. Here on July 2, 1755, Governor Glenn of the colony of South Carolina met the great chiefs of the Cherokee Confederacy and made a treaty of peace and friendship. On this occasion the Cherokees recognized the King of England as their sovereign. They also opened up a large area of their country to white settlement. In the early colonial wars the Cherokees sided with England against France. But good relations were eventually ruined by liquor  supplied to the young, irresponsible, teen-aged "red-sticks" by English traders. Mistakes made by a young, newly-arrived and inexperienced English colonial governor made a bad situation much worse. Astute and experienced French secret agents took advantage of the situation and secretly stirred up the young Indians. A time came when France and England fought for 7 years. This war, in the American colonies, was called, "The French and Indian War." During this struggle some Cherokee warriors volunteered to go to Virginia and fight under George Washington against the French in the Ohio Valley. As this long struggle continued many of the Cherokees became homesick; a number of the Indians deserted and started homeward on horseback to see their families. Somewhere in North Carolina, probably while intoxicated, several warriors lost their horses. Rather than walk a few hundred miles, these warriors stole horses from North Carolina settlers. But the settlers pursued the thieves and shot several of them. When this story reached the Cherokee country the speaker told the tale in such a way as to throw the blame on white men. The young, impressionable "Red Sticks" quickly fueled their courage with fire-water (whisky) and began making trouble. Badly worried about what was happening a group of elderly Cherokee chiefs went to Charles Town (Charleston) to discuss the situation with the Governor of the Province of South Carolina. Unfortunately the chiefs arrived at a very inappropriate time. A young, brash, and inexperienced Governor had just arrived from England. This young scion of the high society of London did not realize that he was dealing with noblemen of as high rank as he himself was. The Governor was rude to these great chieftains. He called a few hundred militiamen to arms, mounted a horse and started toward the Cherokee country, taking the chieftains with him. A few days later, at Fort Prince George, in the "Back Country," the Governor brusquely ordered about 20 Cherokee chiefs to be imprisoned in a dirty, little room only large enough to lodge about a dozen people comfortably. A few days later, the Governor released one chieftain, "Great Warrior," and ordered him to go out, find the troublesome "Red-Sticks" and bring them to the fort. Soon afterward the Governor, badly bored, abruptly mounted his horse and rode away toward distant Charles Town with his escort. Far ahead, in the city by the sea, were fair women, banquet halls, goblets of wine, and fashionable balls. Meanwhile, at Fort Prince George, Captain Cottymore, the fort's commander, could take charge of the situation that threatened the peace of the province. A few days later, Great Warrior, the chief who had been released, sent in two half-drunken "Red-Sticks" who, by their misconduct had made themselves nuisances to their own people. Several days later the chieftain, Great Warrior, himself appeared before Fort Prince George with about 2000 followers. The Chieftain sent a messenger to ask permission for himself and his people to be admitted to the fort for a conference. Captain Cottymore looked out at the assembled crowd. No trace of weapons was to be seen. But a well-known Cherokee half-breed silently and furtively gave a negative signal. The captain sent word that he could not admit that throng of people into the fort, but he would meet them under a great tree outside. Unfortunately, the commander of Fort Prince George had not always acted like a gentleman. He had yielded to temptation and had taken immoral liberties with the wife of a Cherokee warrior who lived near the fort. As the captain and his escort walked toward the place of meeting, they passed a group of Indians, who appeared to be unarmed. But hidden in that group was an aggrieved husband, with a loaded musket. Suddenly a shot rang out. Captain Cottymore fell, mortally wounded. The members of the escort escaped, wounded and under fire into the fort. The gate crashed shut. The call to arms was sounded. Inside the fort the soldiers decided to open the prison and bring out the imprisoned chiefs, hoping that these venerable men would quell the disturbance. But the imprisoned chiefs were enraged by their brutal mistreatment. Also, they thought that they were being taken out to be killed. The chiefs resisted strenuously when the soldiers tried to remove them from the prison. In the fight two soldiers were stabbed. The troops were already upset because of the loss of their commander. Now they went into a fury and could not be restrained. Within minutes the infuriated garrison of Fort Prince George murdered every one of the imprisoned Cherokee chiefs. This terrible event was equivalent to a massacre of every nobleman in the House of Lords in London. Few families in all the Cherokee nation escaped the loss of a relative in that bloody massacre of the imprisoned chiefs. The thousands of warriors outside the fort went to the places where they had hidden their muskets and other weapons. Then, within hours they hunted down and killed every white person within reach. They also slaughtered most of the half-breeds. The half-breed boy who had tried to warn Captain Cottymore hurried to his mother's home and took her to a place of safety. Then he mounted a horse and rode toward distant Charles Town as fast as possible. Within days the Indians raided as far as Orangeburg. In the back country almost every isolated house of white settlers was burning. In the few forts armed guards held defense posts at all hours. The long, horrific war that followed was very tragic and very costly both to the whites and to the Cherokees. Twice, white armies entered the Cherokee country. Almost every village of the Cherokees was burned. Food supplies were destroyed and families with young children were left homeless. Francis Marion, a soldier who was later to become an American General during the Revolutionary War, saw this destruction with sadness and heartache. He said that when the fugitive Indian families returned and saw their ruined homes the children would ask, "Mother, who did this?" And the mothers would say, "White men did this. The Christians did this". The post-war settlement left the Cherokees impoverished and in despair. Lost to them were most of their lands in South Carolina, including Keowee, the Indian town near Fort Prince George which had been the capital of the eastern, or under-hill Cherokees. When the American Revolution took place, (1775-1783) the Cherokees were persuaded to support the British; and again they found themselves on the losing side. After the revolution Cherokee power was largely centered in Northern Georgia. But many Cherokees still lived in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Ruined villages were repaired, and soon these thrifty, industrious people were operating hundreds of farms. Large quantities of corn and sweet potatoes were produced. The potatoes were preserved in "banks". These consisted of conical mounds of potatoes sheltered beneath pine straw beneath a conical covering of com-stalks, straw and dirt. Wild bees in the forest produced honey in trees. Domestic animals, cattle and hogs produced meat that was supplemented by wild game, rabbits, opossums, coons, and white-tail deer. In springtime and in the fall of the year vast swarms of passenger pigeons passed over the land in their annual migrations. These pigeons were so numerous that they often broke down the branches of forest trees when they went to roost at night. Migrating geese were also a popular source of food. The numerous wild turkeys were easily called by skilled hunters and enticed to within shooting range. At night, before blazing fires, old men told the young Cherokees of times long ago when elk and buffalo roamed the southern highlands, along with the white-tail deer. Relations with the white people improved during this time. Christian missionaries came among the Indians and founded thriving missions. Sometimes white people came to the church services and worshipped together with the Indians. . In the years just before the War of 1812 the famous Shawnee Indian leader Tecumseh made a conspiracy by which all the Indian tribes of eastern North America would combine and make a massive effort to drive the white men from America. But when Tecumseh came to visit the Cherokees they emphatically refused to join the conspiracy. Tecumseh was later killed in battle in Canada during the War of 1812. When the Creek Indian War took place the Cherokees sent a regiment of their warriors to fight beside the United States troops in Alabama. During this conflict a Cherokee chieftain saved the life of the American General, Andrew S. Jackson, at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814). One of the most important events in Cherokee history was the development of a Cherokee alphabet. This occurred in northern Georgia. The scholar who developed this alphabet was a Cherokee named Sequoyah. It is said that an adult Cherokee, using this alphabet, could learn to read and write in a few weeks. A printing press was obtained and a Cherokee newspaper was started. Long afterward, in northern Liberia, Africa, white men found a small African tribe that had a very efficient system of writing. Nothing like this had ever before been found in Africa. An investigator found that, years previously, a Cherokee Indian had visited this part of Africa and had spent his final years there. This Indian had taught his African friends the Cherokee alphabet and had inspired them to develop many other sound symbols suitable for their native speech. Thus, with the aid of an unknown Cherokee visitor, Africa's first native alphabet was developed. It is very sad to record an event which sullies the pages of American history and which deeply stains the record of President Andrew Jackson. For a long time some people in Georgia had coveted some lands that belonged to the Cherokee Indians. There was a popular song with a stanza, "All I want in the whole creation is a pretty little wife and a big plantation, away up yonder in the Cherokee nation." Eventually a controversy developed between the state government of Georgia and the Cherokee Indians. The dispute was carried to the halls of the United States congress. Finally, on March 10, 1830, an act was passed authorizing the president to relocate the eastern tribes on lands west of the Mississippi. Pressure was then put on the Cherokees, Creeks, and other tribes to make them give up their lands. Andrew Jackson, who was then the seventh president of the United States, sent federal troops to force the eastern tribes to abandon their ancestral lands and to escort them to the west. It had been 19 years since a Cherokee chief had saved Jackson's life at the Battle of Horse Shoe Bend in Alabama. But, Jackson seemed to have forgotten that when, in 1833, he sent federal troops to force the Cherokees from their homes in northern Georgia and western North Carolina. The wealthier Cherokees were able to load their household possessions on covered wagons drawn by horses. But hundreds of the poorer families had to abandon everything except what they could carry on their backs and shoulders. Much of the journey had to be made in bad weather. There were many women, children, and elderly people among the refugees. Suffering was terrible and many people died. This long, sad journey was later remembered as "The Trail of Tears". The Christian mission workers among the Indians went with their Indian friends and parishioners on that long journey to the west. Occasionally, in the rare intervals of good weather during the journey, church services were held at night. On such occasions white settlers along the way attended worship services together with the Indians. The white soldiers of the military escort did not enjoy this duty. Relationships between the soldiers and the Indians were good. The Mississippi, the great "Father of Waters", was reached at last. Big rowboats, manned by Indian oarsmen, ferried the multitudes and their possessions across the great river. But there still remained a weary and grueling trek of hundreds of miles beyond the river. This latter part of the journey was also part of "The Trail of Tears". At last the vast territory of Oklahoma ("Beautiful Land") was reached. But the troubles of the refugees were not ended. The Indian tribes that already lived in Oklahoma gave a hostile reception to these refugees from the east and treated the new-comers as enemies. It was quite evident that the federal government had not made proper arrangements when it arbitrarily assigned lands in the west to the tribes that were forced to give up their lands in the east. But not all the eastern Cherokees went to Oklahoma. Many tribesmen and their families hid out in rugged mountain forests and evaded the search parties sent by the military to find them. In addition many homesick Indians slipped away from Oklahoma and returned to the mountains of western North Carolina. Eventually, partly by their own efforts and partly with the help of white friends, the Cherokees in western North Carolina succeeded in buying back a considerable part of the land that they had been forced to turn over the federal government. Today there is a thriving Cherokee Indian community in and around the town of Cherokee, in the mountains of western North Carolina. Cherokee, North Carolina is famous today as the site where a great drama, ""Unto These Hills" is performed in an outdoor theater in the summer months every year. This drama is the story of the Cherokee nation. In their new country in Oklahoma the Cherokees proved themselves to be good farmers and good cattle raisers. During the Great War Between the States the Cherokees fought on the side of the Southern Confederacy. Several Cherokee military units fought for the South. The best known such unit was the famous Stan Waite Regiment, which was named for its commander, a talented young Cherokee chieftain. Nearly all the non-Cherokee tribesmen fought on the Union side in the War Between the States. But the Cherokees defeated all the other tribes and drove them northward into Kansas. After the War Between the States, for a long time, Indian churches in Oklahoma had partitions in the middle; the Cherokees worshipped on one side of the partition and the other tribes on the other side. The famous Will Rogers, a talented movie star and humorist, was proud of his Cherokee ancestry. Rogers liked to tell about a Cherokee grandfather who had fought in the famous Stan Waite Regiment for the Confederacy. Descendants of the Cherokees tribe have every right to be proud of their ancestry. Addenda It should be added that the Cherokees of Oklahoma today are good farmers and ranchers. The town of Cherokee, in western North Carolina, is a tourist Mecca, largely because of the drama "Unto These Hills," performed annually. In Oklahoma literacy and church membership levels among the Cherokees are high. Many Cherokees still enjoy taking part in the "Green-com Dance" and other rituals handed down from past ages. During the California Gold Rush, which began in 1848, many young Cherokees went westward to the Gold Fields. During the terrible world-wide economic depression of the 1930's a severe and long-continued drought in the mid-west resulted in "dust bowl" conditions. During this time many "Oakies," including Cherokees, again proved themselves to be the good farmers and the good workers that they had always been. It was a great boost to the economy of the state of Oklahoma when oil was discovered there. Unfortunately, however, no oil was found on Cherokee lands. The Cherokees were justly proud of the movie star and humorist, Will Rogers, who was of Cherokee descent. Will Rogers conducted a nice, clean show of high quality. The entire nation sorrowed when he and a friend, Wiley Post, were killed in a plane crash at Point Barrow, Alaska. One of the best friends that this writer ever had was Tommie Backward, a ­Cherokee Indian Bugler in the 158th infantry during World War II. Dr. Henry Woodward (1646 - 1686) The Kingdom of England was crumbling in the year 1646. The British Isles were racked by confusion, disorder, war and the Puritan Revolution. King Charles I was a prisoner in Scotland. After being defeated in a civil war in England. In this time of trouble and sorrow a good Quaker family in a small town of England was gladdened by the birth of a little son. The child was christened as Henry Woodward, Jr., in honor of his father. The Woodward Family, for several years, had belonged to the newly created Society of Friends. These good people, who were generally known as "Quakers", were strict pacifists. Conditions in England at that time so distressed the Quakers that some of them decided to migrate. A number of Quaker families assembled in Newgate to await transportation. It was their intention to go to America, the strange New World that had been discovered by Columbus only 144 years earlier. In Newgate, before transportation arrived, Henry Woodward, Sr. died but a Quaker cousin took the little son and treated him as a member of his own family. Soon transportation arrived at Newgate, and the little group of Quakers went aboard. For forty days little Henry Woodward and other children watched in wide-eyed admiration as the handsome young sailors went about their duties and the big ship sailed westward beneath a billowing cloud of white canvas sails. But in bad weather, surging seas sometimes swept aboard and the children had to remain below, beneath hatches. At long last, with good weather favoring them, a lookout on a mast overhead gave the exciting cry, " Land ho!" In the distance was a beautiful land with palms and other trees just back of the beaches. This beautiful and pleasant land was the Island of Barbados, in the West Indies. In this lush, tropical land young Henry Woodward was destined to grow up. The boy had a great fondness for outdoor life. He loved to wander with other boys through the sugar cane fields and swim in the waters along the beaches. Sometimes the boys went out in boats with older friends and fished in the waters beyond the offshore reefs. Little is known of Henry Woodward's education, but someone taught him to read and write exceedingly well. He learned to express himself quite well in his writings. When he was in his teens, Woodward was apprenticed to a local physician and as such, the youth was at the same time both a helper and a student. He learned to set broken arms and legs and how to deal with cuts and bruises. The most valuable information learned was a splendid knowledge of medicinal herbs and plants. The most useful of such materials was "Peruvian Bark" (Cinchona), which was used in fighting the malaria that was so prevalent in these tropical lands. From time to time incoming ships brought news from Europe and the outer world. In England the republic which the victorious revolutionists had established had been a failure. The kingdom had been re-established. Charles II, the new king, had entered London May 29, 1660. King Charles decided to reward eight of his favorite noblemen, who had been among his chief supporters. On March 24, 1663 King Charles issued the famous Charter to Carolina to the eight Lords Proprietors. This charter gave to the eight Lords the possession of a vast area reaching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and from Virginia southward into Florida. A group of New Englanders quickly made a settlement in this new land. But, to the disappointment of the proprietors, hostile Indians caused the New Englanders to withdraw after only five months. The eight Lords Proprietors soon began trying to encourage colonization of their vast new land. In Barbados these efforts met with considerable success. Barbados was becoming crowded. The rich sugar cane planters had gotten possession of so much land that the younger people and the poor people could no longer find land on which to begin farming. As a result a few people were leaving Barbados and going to other West Indian Islands, or even to Surinam (British Guiana) in South America. Now, at the invitation of the eight Lords Proprietors, hundreds of Barbadians began to leave their island homes and migrate to lands along the Cape Fear River, in North America. Along the Cape Fear (NC) the proprietors laid out a vast area in what was later both the Carolinas, and called it "Clarendon County". The name "Clarendon County" came from Sir Edward Hype, Earl of Clarendon, one of the Lords Proprietors, who was Prime Minister under King Charles II. Among those who migrated from Barbados to Cape Fear was Henry Woodward, who must have been about eighteen years of age. Almost certainly this young man paid for his passage by signing a contract as ship's surgeon, or "Chirurgeon". Woodward found that the Cape Fear Colony was apparently flourishing. Already the population was 800 strong. Soon the people of the Cape Fear Colony began to realize that this young Englishman had knowledge of medicinal herbs that made him a competent physician. People soon began referring to the young Chirurgeon as "Dr. Henry Woodward". Dr. Woodward soon had plenty of patients. Trouble was brewing. Several warlike Indian tribes were becoming hostile. In Barbados, a group of planters formed an organization called" The Barbados Adventurers". These people wrote to the officials of Clarendon County, in the Cape Fear Country, and suggested that an exploratory expedition be sent southward from Cape Fear to search for a possible place of settlement on what would later be the South Carolina Coast. The Barbados Adventurers agreed to pay the cost of such an expedition. One of the principal officials of Clarendon County was a very remarkable individual, Robert Sanford, who had already been a sugar cane planter in Barbados, and also in Surinam, in South America. Sanford was now Secretary and Chief Registrar of Clarendon County. This letter from the Barbadian Adventurers appealed to Sanford's love of adventure. Very soon he secured a ship and began assembling a crew for an exploratory expedition. Dr. Henry Woodward joined the expedition as a ship's surgeon of "Chirurgeon". Sanford's expedition sailed slowly southward along the South Carolina Coast, making soundings to determine the depth of channels, making frequent landings, exploring coastal islands and the mouths of rivers, and observing the quality of the soil. The abundant wildlife, the quality of the timber were also of great interest. All the Indians whom the explorers encountered appeared to be friendly. Finally the expedition arrived at what would later become known as the Port Royal Area, not far north of the Savannah River, in what at a later time would be Southeastern South Carolina. The English were very favorably impressed with the Port Royal area, but Sanford decided not to go any further southward with his explorations. It was known that the Spaniards had a chain of missions that extended northward from Florida an unknown distance. For the English to explore further southward at this time would be to invite needless trouble. Just as Sanford was about to cut short his explorations and set sail again, Dr. Henry Woodward came forward and asked permission to remain behind among the Indians.  Woodward said that id he were allowed to remain behind and live among the friendly Indians of this area he could learn the language and the customs of the Aborigines. Then, he could serve both as an interpreter and as a diplomat. Sanford was reluctant to leave this nineteen-year­ old youth behind amid a tribe of savage Indians, but Dr. Woodward was persistent in his plea for permission to remain. The chief of the nearest Indian village was consulted. The chieftain took Woodward for a walk and showed him a large field of maize (Indian Corn). Then the chief said that this field would belong to Woodward and that the corn would be for his maintenance. A young Indian prince, the son of a chieftain, was brought forward. It was agreed that the prince would depart with Sanford; when the English returned with the prince safe and sound, they expected to find Dr. Woodward safe and sound. The chief then brought forward a sister of the Indian youth who was departing. He said that this maiden would look after Sanford and prepare his food. Sanford then said a reluctant "farewell", after which he returned to his ship, weighed anchor and sailed away to Barbados. In the Port Royal area Dr. Henry Woodward spent several very pleasant and very busy months among the Indians. The year was 1666 and Woodward was nineteen or twenty years of age. There must have been a few problems with the Indians occasionally, but the young Englishman survived them. Woodward learned the local language. He became familiar with the local customs and the native religious beliefs. He learned how to grow maize and native vegetables. He learned to identify and use native medicinal plants. He collected some of the herbs used by the native medicine men and added them to the assortment of dried medicinal herbs that he had brought from Barbados. The Indian friends taught their guest to build traps for animals and fish. They told Woodward that most of their hunting was done by family groups late in the year after the maize and other crops had been harvested. Bears and wolves were hunted with bows, spears and arrows. Smoked bear meat was a favorite food in winter. The people of the Port Royal area built good houses on sturdy, wooden platforms set on posts, which were firmly fixed in the ground. This helped the sleeping occupants avoid many wild animals, as well as snakes and crawling insects. Clothing was made of animal skins, but many of the women wore skirts made of the long, gray streamers of Spanish moss that dangled from all the trees. These people were sun-worshippers and their folklore intrigued Woodward.. They believed that the sun could bless those who worshipped him and he could also punish people severely. The Indians had a legend that, long ago, a great flood had swept over all the Earth. All the people of the Earth were drowned except one man and a woman, who were saved by a canoe. Finally the floodwaters ebbed away and dry land began to appear. The two survivors found the body of a red bird and began to pluck away its feathers. These feathers turned into human beings and became all the tribes and nations of the Earth. The richly varied wildlife of the Port Royal area intrigued the young Englishman. Big schools of manatees, each of which had two big flippers and were several feet long, came in from the open sea and played, frolicked, and fed in the inshore water. Often these creatures would leap several feet into the air and would turn over as they fell back into the water. More than a dozen huge alligators were visible at any one time. Snow-white, long legged, long-necked wading birds were visible in the shallow waters. In the great cypress and gum trees hung long streamers of gray Spanish moss. Flocks of Carolina parakeets perched, screamed and scolded. Passenger pigeons, in flocks of millions, shut out the light of the sun as they flew past. White-tailed deer were numerous. Red wolves, black bears and big members of the cat family were often seen. Big sea turtles, weighing hundreds of pounds, came ashore to lay their eggs in holes scratched in the beach sand. Dr. Henry Woodward was happy at Port Royal, increasing his knowledge of the Indians and of the local wild life. But trouble was on its way. One of the Indians carried word to a Spanish mission in Eastern Georgia that a lone Englishman was living among the Indians of the Port Royal area. A Spanish priest sent a message to St. Augustine, in eastern Florida. There, quietly, a small Spanish galley put to sea and headed northward. One afternoon Henry Woodward was sitting in front of his house, chatting with some Indian friends. A palisade surrounded the tiny village. This was a primitive defensive barrier formed of small logs, set solidly in the ground, placed close together, and sharpened at the top. Suddenly, without warning, several Spanish soldiers appeared. Within moments the intruders had passed through the one opening in the palisade and were rushing toward the lone Englishman in front of the house. The few Indian friends scattered like frightened chickens. For Dr. Woodward, no escape was possible and it was useless to fight. The Spanish soldiers seized Dr. Woodward and hurried with him along a shadowy forest path. In a hidden inlet not far away a small galley was waiting. Before the doctor's Indian friends could organize a rescue party the galley was already putting out to sea. The voyage to St. Augustine was uneventful. And on arriving there the Spaniards treated their captive quite well. Sometimes it seemed as if Dr. Woodward were an honored guest instead of being a prisoner. The Spaniards gladly allowed Woodward to make use of his skill as a physician. He was proclaimed official doctor of St. Augustine. Woodward lived in the house of the parish priest. This young man, who had been raised as a Quaker, was so well treated that he decided to profess Catholicism. There is little doubt that some of the lovely, dark-eyed senoritas of the town thought that this young Englishman was handsome. St. Augustine at that time was little more than a military post. The Spaniards had not yet built a stone wall around the town and constructed their strong, medieval - like castle of San Marc. The town was now about to pay for the lack of such defensive facilities. A well-known English Buccaneer, Robert Searles, was cruising in the West Indies. One night in 1667, Searles took his ship into an Inlet near St. Augustine and landed several hundred armed men. The Buccaneers succeeded in surprising St. Augustine as completely as the Spaniards had done when they captured Dr. Woodward near Port Royal. Fighting and confusion raged through the few streets of the tiny town. Woodward had been well treated by the Spaniards and had enjoyed a good life in St. Augustine, but now, as he heard the shouts of the English in the streets, the captive remembered that he himself was an Englishman. Quietly Woodward slipped away from the Spaniards and joined the invaders on the streets. Soon he was aboard the Buccaneer ship, which was headed for an English­ held island of the West Indies. Dr. Woodward realized that he ought to return to England and make a report to the Lords Proprietors of the things he had learned in the Port Royal area, and also at St. Augustine. He did not have money with which to pay for his passage to England. In order to earn passage money, he shipped aboard an English privateer after signing a contract as "Chirorgeon", or ship­ surgeon. The voyage was soon ended by a hurricane that wrecked the vessel off the English-held island of Nevis, in the Leeward Island Group. The surviving members of the ship's crew, with some difficulty, made their way ashore on the island of Nevis. This lonely volcanic peak, pounded forever by the sea, was only a tiny place. The thrifty farmers and fishermen of Nevis worked a few fields and gardens around the base of the extinct volcano. Higher up the long slopes were planted thriving orchards of various kinds of trees. One day in the spring of 1670 farm workers on the upper slopes of Nevis saw three ships under sail and approaching the island from the southeast. These three vessels had been sent by the Lords Proprietors to transport a colony from England to South Carolina. Aboard the largest ship, the Carolina, which was the Flagship of the Fleet, was the Venerable Governor Sayle, and Captain Joseph West, the commander of the fleet. Also, aboard the Carolina, which was a vessel of 200 tons, were most of the colonists. The other two ships, the Three Brothers and the Port Royal, carried additional colonists and quantities of supplies. All three of these ships had been slightly damaged in a recent storm. The commander, Captain Joseph West, desired to make repairs to his ships and also to take on some additional supplies. This was the Carolina Colony for which Dr. Woodward had been waiting. Woodward now forgot about his plans to go to England. He immediately boarded the Carolina and joined the new colony. One family from Nevis also joined the colony. In a few days all repairs had been made, and the supplies had been taken aboard. Then sail was raised, anchors were weighed (hoisted) and the fleet got under way for the voyage to South Carolina. A few days later a storm forced the Port Royal to run aground on a coral reef in the Bahamas Islands. The ship was fatally damaged and a quantity of supplies was lost. The other two ships, the Carolina and the Three Brothers, were also badly battered by the storm. Both ships then sailed to Bermuda. Off the coast of Bermuda another storm separated the other two ships. The Three Brothers, still fiercely driven by contrary winds, then sailed to Virginia. It would be a long time before this ship would be able to rejoin the rest of the expedition. The Flagship, the Carolina sailed westward. On March 15, 1670 a landfall was made at Bull's Bay on the South Carolina coast. This was about 30 miles north of the later city of Charleston. The Carolina then sailed southwards probably making occasional stops, until it reached the Port Royal area. It was here that the Lords Proprietors had planned to make the settlement. As the landing party went ashore to choose a suitable place for the settlement, they met a small band of Indians from the island of Kiawah, in the area of the later Charleston. Among these visitors to the Port Royal area was the cacique of Kiawah. The great chieftain, a landing party, including Dr. Woodward and the leaders of the expedition went ashore. These men immediately had a very disconcerting experience. Among the Indian tribesmen who greeted the landing party were some guests from small tribes living further north along the coast. Among these guests was the cacique of Kiawah. This chieftain greeted the English visitors courteously; then he urged them to come to his country to set up their colony. He said that the Kiawah Country was more suitable and far safer than was the Port Royal area. In recent months the Port Royal area had suffered a series of devastating and murderous raids by a powerful west tribe of cannibals. These fierce and savage warriors came down the River Savannah at night in a great fleet of canoes. In the darkness they launched overwhelming surprise attacks that wiped out entire villages. Dr. Woodward had pleasant memories of his days among the Indians of the Port Royal area. But when he went to see the village where he had once lived, he found the scene almost unrecognizable. Entire villages had disappeared. Other villages had been badly damaged. Cannibals had probably eaten the little Indian lady who had once cooked for Woodward. Her brother, who had gone away with the white men, would find no home awaiting him when he returned. The men of the new English colony liked the Port Royal area, but they agreed that the new settlement ought to be established in the land of the cacique of Kiawah. It would be safer there than in this beautiful Port Royal country, which was so often raided by the warlike and aggressive Westos. The landing party then returned to their ship and sailed northward to a large bay into which two rivers flowed from the west. At a later time this bay would become known as Charleston Harbor. The more southern of the two rivers flowing into the harbor was named "The Ashley". The northern river was called "The Cooper". Both these names honored the same man, Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, who would soon become know as the Earl of Shaftesbury. The point of land between the mouths of the two rivers was called "Albermarle Point". This name honored another member of the Lords Proprietors, the Earl of Albermarle, who was an admiral in the Royal Navy. In searching for a suitable site for their new settlement the colonists went several miles up the river. Then found a good site at the point where Old Town Creek entered the river. At this place a large spit of land projected into the river. This land spit was almost an island, connected to the mainland by an isthmus so narrow that, at high tide, it was only 150 feet in width. This made defense of the area very easy. Beyond this isthmus the land-spit rose in a bluff, which was a good town site. Here the settlers began cutting timber and building Charles Town. This name, of course, honored King Charles II of England. When the town was completed and the people had good roofs over their heads they began clearing fields and planting crops. An unexpected food shortage loomed. Much of the food brought from Barbados had been lost, or ruined, when a storm drove the ship aground in the Bahamas. Even after the newly cleared fields were planted it would be several months before the first harvest. The food brought from Barbados was becoming rapidly exhausted. If the food supply failed, the people would certainly go aboard any ships that happened to be in the harbor and sail away to Virginia, Bermuda, or Barbados. The South Carolina colony would be abandoned. Dr. Henry Woodward came to the rescue by visiting his Indian friends in village after village. He told of the plight of the white settlers and asked for their help. Among most of these Indian tribes of the Carolina coast not much hunting was done until late in the year, but after hearing Dr. Woodward's appeal for aid many Indians began to visit the white settlement, bringing smoked bear meat, pumpkins, shelled com, ground com, and sometimes freshly killed game or fish. Charles Town settlers began writing to the Lords Proprietors and saying that Dr. Henry Woodward and Indian allies had saved Charles Town. Some of these letters came to the attention of Lord Ashley. Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper was the most prominent, as well as the most active member of the Lord's Proprietors. This eminent nobleman had been hampered by ill health all his life. In his right side he wore a golden tube that drained a cyst on his liver. Now this scion of nobility, who was so badly handicapped, seemed to feel that Dr. Henry Woodward was a kindred spirit. Lord Ashley often wrote to Dr. Woodward and made suggestions concerning things that he thought should be done. He asked for samples of Carolina forest timber that was suitable for cabinetwork and the furniture trade. He also inquired about timber that would make good masts for ships and medical plants. The fur trade and mineral deposits also claimed Lord's Ashley's attention. Dr. Woodward was often very busy as he attempted to carry out his Lordship's suggestions. Late in 1670 Dr. Woodward made a 14-day, one-way journey northwestward, through unknown wilderness, to a place known as Chufytachyque, where he made a very successful visit to one of the greatest chieftains of the area. Someone wrote to the Lord's Proprietors and said, " A very pleased delicious, fruitful council traveled 14 days from Charles Town. Woodward has made a league with the Emperor thereof and all the petty caciques in the way. On another occasion, Sir John Yeamans, one of the leading planters suggested that Woodward make a journey to Virginia and search for valuable mineral deposits on the way. Woodward made the journey but was not successful in his search for gold, silver, and precious stones. In May 1674, Lord Woodward had become Earl of Shatesbury. The Earl sent Dr. Woodward a long list of  things that needed attention among these many items was a suggestion that an attempt be made to establish a peace treaty and a trade agreement with the hostile and dangerous West tribe. These warlike people, who lived in the upper valley of the Savannah River, were said to be Cannibals and their very name inspired fear and terror among the other Indian tribes. Dr. Woodward set out  in 1674 to visit the dreaded and fearsome Westo Nation. Since this was obviously an exceedingly dangerous mission, Woodward resolved that he would risk no English life other than his own. Two Indian guides conducted him to the principal Westo Town, located on the upper reaches of the Savannah River that was later called. As the party was entering the town Woodward noticed about 100 big, well-made dugout canoes. These canoes were the fleet that was used to transport the raiding war parties that had done such colossal damage among the small coastal tribes. Hundreds of warriors, all attired in their fighting garb, greeted Woodward and his two guides. Intense excitement prevailed. It was apparent that many of these people had never before seen a white man. However, as Dr. Woodward looked around he saw that many of the warriors were armed with muskets of English manufacture . The tribesmen had been making trading expeditions to distant Virginia, and perhaps to other English colonies further north. The Indians gave their visitors a truly noisy and tumultuous welcome, but they made way for their white guest and conducted him to the house of their principal cacique. This building was not large enough to contain the great throng of people who tried to crowd into it. Dozens of the children and young people climbed upon the building and proceeded to remove the roof covering so that they could see and hear what was going on inside. This story reminds modem Christians of a story in the New Testament of several men who brought a crippled man to be healed by Jesus. When the group could not get through the dense crowd hat filled the area, they climbed to the top of the building, removed part of the roof, and lowered their crippled friend into the presence of Jesus. The leading chieftains and elders of the Westo Tribe greeted their English guest inside that crowded room. These men made long speeches in which they glorified the power or the Westos and showed a willingness to establish a peace agreement and good trade relations with the English Colony of South Carolina. After the meeting broke up an Indian medicine man presented Dr. Woodward with some bear grease with which to rub his joints. Other Indians came with gifts of deerskins, well rubbed with oil. Next day, as the guest was taking his departure, several husky young warriors came forward and volunteered to carry the deerskins and other gifts to the white settlements. After a journey of several days the party reached the headwaters of the Ashley River on which was located a plantation that was the personal property of Lord Ashley. The plantation bore the name of St. Giles, the same name as Lord Ashley's home in Dorset, England. Mateebe Gardens occupies that site today. At the entrance of St. Giles Plantation, Dr. Woodward told his new Indian friends to drop their loads of deerskins. Then he thanked them, presented them with a token of appreciation and sent them homeward with an invitation for future trading at St. Giles Plantation. It was too much to expect a host of savage warriors to swarm into a white settlement and not have trouble. For a time everything went well. The Westo Indian trade greatly increased the quantity of deerskins and animal pelts that were shipped from Charles Town. But several planters had learned that the Lords Proprietors had promised to give Dr. Woodward 1/5 of the profits resulting from the Indian trade. These men also resented the fact that the proprietors had established a monopoly of the fur trade. Few of these envious men would have been willing to take the physical risks, endure the hardships, or make the long, dangerous journeys that Dr. Woodward took. Even if these envious men had been willing to do the things that Dr. Woodward did, they did not have the doctor's knowledge of Indian languages or his talents as a diplomat. But envy and jealousy, when augmented by greed, can lead people to do some very foolish things. This little group of jealous planters found an old man of the Westo nation and brought him to Charles Town. Then they called a meeting of the Grand Council of the Colony. At this meeting the aged Westo, whose name was Ariano, was introduced and was goaded, and probably bribed, into making ridiculous charges against Dr. Henry Woodward. The main charge was that Dr. Woodward was trying to stir up trouble between the English and the Westos. Success was achieved in persuading a majority of the Grand Council to believe Ariano's absurd charges. The council fined Dr. Woodward 100 pounds and ordered him to cease trading with the Indians. Dr. Woodward went down to the Charles Town waterfront and took passage on a ship that was about to sail to England. This was Dr. Woodward's first return visit to the land of his birth. In London the doctor met the Lords Proprietors who made a lengthy report. This report, written in beautiful script, is recorded in the public records of England. Included in the report of the proprietors was a pardon for Dr. Henry Woodward for any errors he might have committed from the beginning of the world until the present day. The proprietors also wrote for Dr. Woodward a commission to explore the country beyond the Savannah River. Dr. Woodward was also formally reinstated as Lord Ashley's agent. However, Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper had received a promotion among the nobility of England. He was now the Earl of Shaftsbury. With his name cleared Dr. Woodward took a ship for Charles Town. He was never to see England, his native land again. In South Carolina a big disappointment awaited Woodward. During his absence the Westo had made the mistake of raiding a small coastal tribe. This event gave the hostile planters the excuse they needed. Recently the Savannah Indians, an Algonquin tribe, had moved into Central South Carolina. These people had come from the region, which was later known as Tennessee. The hostile planters sent agents to bribe the Savannah tribe to attack the Westos. Other secret agents were also sent to bribe the Musk or Crete tribes of Central and Western Georgia to join in the attack on the Westos. Taken by surprise, the war-like Westo tribesmen fought desperately; but superior numbers overwhelmed them. The Westo nation was destroyed. The surviving Westos fled to Western New York and joined the Iroquois. No longer would hunters bring deerskins and animal pelts to St. Giles on the upper Ashley and trade for goods brought from England. The Lords Proprietors had permitted a Scotch nobleman, Lord Cardross, to establish a Scotch colony in the Port Royal area in southeastern South Carolina. There was already many Scots and Scotch - Irish in South Carolina and these people were good, useful citizens. But Lord Cardross and the Scots whom he brought with him were very uncooperative with the Colony of South Carolina. As soon as the newly- arrived Scots arrived they began building Stuart Town, near the later Beaufort. The Scots learned what animal pelts were worth in America and also what these same pelts were worth in Europe. As these people finished building their homes and had completed the construction of Stuart Town, they began trying to take over the Indian trade. In May 1685 Lord Cardross arrested Dr. Henry Woodward and five friends through the lands of the new settlement. Cardross said that no Englishman had any right to come into the precinct of the Stuart town Colony. He said that the Scotch government was independent of the English government. Dr. Woodward replied that he had a commission to explore the lands to the south and west. Cardross replied that he placed no value on such a commission. It was meant only to promote the Indian trade, to which Cardross had as much right as did any other. After a few days a compromise was reached. Dr. Woodward and his friends were released with orders to avoid the precinct of the Stuart Town Colony and also to avoid and cease future exploration ventures. Dr. Woodward and his men soon renewed their exploring ventures. Meanwhile Cardross and his men were sending secret agents among the Indians of Florida and elsewhere. These agents easily persuaded the Yemassee Indian tribe to abandon Florida and move northward to South Carolina. The Yemassees had become dis-satisfied about their treatment by the Spaniards and they gladly moved to South Carolina. Eventually about 1000 Yemassees settled in 10 villages between the Combahee and the Savannah River, in southeastern South Carolina. But the Scots later encouraged the Yemassees to begin raiding other Indian tribes that were still faithful to the Spaniards in Florida. These actions aroused much resentment among the Spanish rulers of Florida. In the harbor of St. Augustine a Spanish fleet assembled. Several thousand armored Spanish soldiers went aboard the ships. When all was ready anchors were weighed, sail was raised and the fleet sailed northward along the Georgia coast. The intention of the Spanish commander was to destroy the Scotch settlement at Stuart's Town and later continue northward and attack Charles Town. One morning in 1686 Henry Lord Cardross stood near the shore in Stuart Town and watched in surprise and dismay as a fleet of warships sailed into the harbor. From every ship flew the flag of Spain and many heavy guns were trained on the settlement ashore. In a short time many boats were busily ferrying troops. The valiant Scots fought desperately, but within a short time every house in Stuart's Town was burning. The Scots who escaped death fled into the forest and made their way to various plantations and small settlements of South Carolina. The Spaniards then made a mistake of moving leisurely along the coast, stopping to make plundering and burning plantations. They should have abided by the initial plan of sailing northward immediately and making a strong attack on Charles Town. Before the invaders reached Charles Town a hurricane came sweeping and roaring up from the Caribbean Sea. Fierce winds and raging seas so badly battered the Spanish ships that the fleet turned back. The hurricane damaged crops in South Carolina, but it saved Charles Town. Stuart's Town was never rebuilt. Lord Henry Cardross returned to his native Scotland. Dr. Woodward continued his explorations and his trading ventures among the Indian tribes of the interior. In the summer of 1685 Woodward, with a dozen other traders, set up a temporary trading post in a Coweta Town, in the Southern uplands. There, Woodward negotiated successfully with a great Muskogean ("Creek") Chieftain, whom the whites called "Emperor Brims". Among the items purchased from the Indians were beaver skins, deerskins, gray fox, otter, cat, muskrats, raccoons, bear, elk and buffalo hides. Among the English goods sold to the Indians were brass finger rings, looking glasses, bells, Jew's harps, brass kettles, knives, white beads, fowling pieces, gun powder, musket shot. But the items most coveted by the Indians were large pieces of coarse woolen cloth, either red or blue. Such cloth was the most expensive item offered by the traders. Dr. Woodward led a dozen English traders far into the western wilderness, the Southern Appalachians. Some of the trade items sold to the Indians in this area apparently were carried to tribes as far west as the Mississippi River. Several times Spanish troops and armed mission Indians came up from Garrisons near the Gulf Coast and tried to capture the English. But on all such occasions Indian scouts gave warning of the approach of the enemy. On every such occasion the English traders simply went into hiding with the help of Indian friends. After the Spaniards departed the English would emerge from hiding and resume trading operations. But, on one occasion a Spanish officer Lieutenant Antonio Mathos, struck his English competitors a very hard blow Lt. Mathos, the commander of the Spanish Garrison at Apalache, succeeded in finding a blockhouse, which the English had built, near the Apalachicola River and seized about 500 deerskins that belonged to the traders. When an Indian scout warned the English that Lt. Mathos was close at hand with over 300 armed mission Indian and some Spanish troops Dr. Woodward took time to write a message and leave it for the Spaniards to Find. This note read, "I am very sorry that I came with so small a following that I cannot await your arrival. Be informed that I came to get acquainted with the country, its mountains, the seacoast, and Apalachee. I trust in God that I shall meet you gentleman later when I have a larger following. September 2, 1685, Vale. Occasionally Dr. Woodward would return to the Charles Town area and spend some time with his family. Little is known of Dr. Woodward's first wife. Her name was "Margaret." The second wife was a widow lady, Mary Brown, a daughter of Col. John Godfrey, a leading South Carolina planter. By the second marriage there were two sons. The oldest child, John Woodward, was born February 14, 1681. A second son, Richard, was born June 9, 1683. By these two sons there were many descendants, some of whom became truly outstanding people. The Lords Proprietors gave Dr. Woodward 2000 acres of land on John's Island about 15 miles from Charles Town. The site of this land was on Abapoola Creek, near the beautiful Stono River. However, two terrible wars, The American Revolution and The War Between the States, have ravaged John's Island since colonial time. At the site of Dr. Woodward's land grant not a single gravestone or foundation pillar can now be found. Dr. Henry Woodward was only about forty years of age when he made his last trading and exploration into the southwestern wilderness. He remained in the wilderness too long. Apparently he ran out of "Peruvian Bark" (Chincona) and developed Malaria. At the Indian town of Casista, an English trader built a litter for the sick man. Indian friends carried this litter to the doctor's home on John's Island, near Charles Town. There, in the bosom of his family, Dr. Henry Woodward passed away. The year was 1686. Dr. Woodward had always avoided public office and any ties that would interfere with his ability to undertake trading and exploring expeditions.. As a result the name of this pioneer explored is seldom found in public records. This man, who should be remembered together with such individuals as David Crockett, Daniel Boone, John Smith, Myles Standish, and Captain John Smith, is one of the forgotten men of history. KING DAVID'S TOMB When visiting the Holy Land, tourists and Christian pilgrims usually wish to visit the famed Upper Room in old Jerusalem. Upon arriving at this point, the visitor finds a handsome building of white stone. On the western side of this structure is the main entrance. A round Roman arch shelters a doorway that gives access to a hallway extending the width of the building. A doorway on the left side of this corridor leads to a small chapel often disregarded by hurrying visitors. A small sign says "King David's Tomb." The pilgrim who traverses the full length of the corridor emerges through another doorway into a large courtyard surrounded by a high stone wall. This courtyard is shaded by a vine growing on a large overhead arbor. From this courtyard, an outside stairway leads up one side of the building to a doorway that gives access to a second floor. The stone treads of this stairway are badly worn by the feet of multitudes of pilgrims during past centuries. At the top of the stairway, a visitor enters a beautiful upper chapel, with exquisite Gothic architecture. This was the work of skilled Franciscan monks during the middle ages. In one comer of the chapel is a handsome Moslem pulpit, a relic of a time during Turkish rule when this room was used as a Moslem mosque. A small Moslem minaret on the roof was also erected during the time of Turkish rule. Christian pilgrims often visit this upper chapel and hold special church services. Referring to this beautiful sanctuary as "The Upper Room," many of these visitors think that they are worshipping in the same upper room in which Christ partook of the Last Supper with the apostles. Actually, however, the site of that original upper room is unknown today. The building in which it existed was destroyed when both the city and the temple were ruined by the victorious Romans in the days of Titus. Gothic architecture like that of this ornate room did not exist in the Holy Land in Biblical times. The often-disregarded lower chapel, on the first floor, is considered as a sacred place by many Christians, Jews, and Moslems. The chapel is called "King David's Tomb" and it is here that a large carved stone, which is said to cover the entrance of a shaft that leads deep into the solid rock beneath Jerusalem. This stone is partly covered by an exquisite tapestry adorned with an inscription in beautiful Hebrew characters. Beginning on the right and reading toward the left, a scholar can read, "David, King of Israel." On the top of this carved stone rests twelve silver crowns, all of which are different. These crowns represent the twelve tribes of ancient Israel. There is much mystery about this lower chapel and also about the handsome building which contains it. This structure was built by the European Crusaders, after they captured Jerusalem and established a short-lived Christian kingdom there during the middle ages. During much of this period, Jews were not allowed to enter Jerusalem, the fabulous Holy City of their ancestors. Nevertheless, Benjamin of Todela, a famed Jewish scholar and traveler from northern Spain, was able to visit the Holy City. Here he was shown a large stone which was said to cover the entrance to the hidden tomb of King David of Israel. It was said that Solomon, King David's son and successor, the famed "Wise King" of Israel, was also buried there. Benjamin of Todela came to believe that this place was the actual site of the burial to these two early Hebrew kings. The Crusaders decided to build a Christian church over this site. As the workmen were excavating for the foundation of the new structure, they uncovered the ruins of a very early Christian church or a sacred site of many centuries earlier. The skilled workmen employed by the Crusaders and the later efforts of devoted Franciscan monks resulted in the impressive building of white stone which stands there today, with a lower chapel, or "King David's Tomb" and an upper chapel, or "Upper Room". To Christians, it should matter very little whether or not the famed "Upper Room" is the actual site of the Last Supper which Christ celebrated with His apostles. After all, devout Christians should celebrate the occasion of the Last Supper, rather than the place. The lower chapel, which is said to house King David's Tomb, has been the subject of many interesting stories, as well as of legitimate doubt and controversy. The various stories about this chapel had their beginning almost nine centuries before Christ, when King David, the son of Jesse, was the second king of Israel. When David was a young man, Jebus, or Jerusalem, was a strongly fortified city, the capital of a small city state. The inhabitants were the Jebusites, a remnant of the inhabitants of the land when the twelve tribes of Israel crossed the river Jordan. Jerusalem was virtually a Jebusite island surrounded by the territory of Israel. The original Jebusite city was strongly fortified and stood on the crest of a rocky ridge between two valleys. The eastern valley was that of the Brook Kidren, separating Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. The deep valley west of the rocky ridge of Jebus, or Jerusalem, has possessed many names. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus called this western valley area, "The Tyno Valley". In modem times, the name "Central Valley" has sometimes been given to this area. In early new testament times, a Christian settlement developed there, and this area was called, "The Valley of Cheesemakers". After capturing this central ridge and its fortified city, King David tried to change the name of the Jebusite to Wn. He called his new capital "The City of David." In modern America this would have been "Davidsburg." The conquering king of Israel lived in his cherished "City of David" until he died. In a hidden tomb, deep in the solid rock beneath the fortified city, King David was buried. But his new capital city had been called Jerusalem for many centuries, and despite all efforts to change it, the old name of Jerusalem still remained. Many years later, when Solomon, the wise king, died, he was buried in the sepulcher of his father. On this occasion, a vast amount of treasure was deposited in the tomb of the two kings. More than seven centuries passed. The national life of Israel flickered. The empires of Babylon, Persia, and of Alexander the Great passed into history. Then almost two centuries before Christ, the Holy Land was seized by the Greek-speaking Seleucid kings of Syria, who were descended from one of Alexander's generals. One of these Seleucid kings rulers was Antiochus Epithanes, an able but cruel ruler who determined that all his subjects should worship the Gods of Greece. With pagan subjects, this policy caused but few problems, but to strict Jews of the old school, the idea of polytheism, the worship of many gods was abhorrent. This opposition to foreign gods was intensified by the fact that the heathen gods were said to be much like human beings, with human faults and failings. Some of the pagan divinities were very immoral and others were often very cruel. To the people of Judea, still loyal to the Biblical teachings of a Holy Creator God who taught a religion marked by high standards of morality and human decency and helpfulness. The king's policy of enforced conformity to paganism was very abhorrent and unacceptable. Antiochus Epithanes had no patience with people so conservative and so stubborn that they refused to worship the Greek pagan gods. The Syrian ruler seized Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, threw down part of the walls, and sent troops to desecrate the temple. These men killed a large sow and burnt part of the carcass as a sacrifice on the great altar of burnt offerings. Then they made broth of the remainder of the sow and sprinkled this broth throughout the temple so as to pollute it and render it ritually unclean according to the laws of Moses. After this, heathen altars were erected in towns and villages throughout the land. Syrian officials, escorted by armed soldiers, were sent to persuade, or force, the Jews to sacrifice to the pagan gods. Very soon, the persecution of the people of God by the pagans became unendurable. A young Jewish hero, who is remembered as Judas Maccabaeus, came forward and led his people in a desperate revolt against the heathen king and the persecutors. After gaining many great victories, Judas finally lost his life in this war. But the rebellion continued. Meanwhile, civil war broke out in Syria. With several families of Grecian nobles leading rival factions and struggling for the royal crown, the vast Syrian kingdom began to crumble. The rival factions could not spare enough troops to subdue the courageous and rebellious Jews. As a result, led by the priestly family of the Asmoneans, or Maccabees ("Hammen"), the Jews slowly drove out most of the Syrian forces. It seemed as if complete independence would soon be attained. A vigorous young Greek nobleman who is remembered as Antiochus VIII (the Pious) became king of Syria at this time. Showing great courage and military skill, this gallant, young ruler defeated one strong rival after another. As he tried to hold his vast, crumbling domain together, Antiochus decided to march into Judea with a strong army and force the Jews once more to recognize the king of Syria as their ruler. The great host of well trained and splendidly led fighting men who now invaded Judea soon defeated the Jews in the field and drove them into their fortified cities. Soon Jerusalem itself was under siege. Day after day the despondent defenders beat off enemy attacks, prayed to God for help, and watched from the walls as thousands of well-fed, splendidly equipped Syrian troops paraded, trained, and cooked their abundant food in the many camps that encircled the city. In Jerusalem, the food stocks were steadily decreasing. If the siege were to continue much longer, starvation or surrender would determine the issue. But the defenders stubbornly tried to carry on the ancient ceremonial rites of their faith. Now, as the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the Hebrew festivals, was approaching, the young high priest, Hyrcanus, the Jewish leader, held a council of the principal officers and the elders of the people. It was decided to send out a messenger and ask the Syrian king for an armistice of one week. The messenger was to explain that one of the sacred festivals of the Jewish religion was at hand. The people of the city needed one week of peace so that they could serve their God in the ancient manner prescribed by their religion. Probably few of the Jews really believed that the Syrian commander would accede to their request. The previous Syrian rulers had persecuted the Jews because of their faith. It was probable that the Syrians would rudely rebuff the courier and send him back into the city with some insulting message. When, a few hours later, the messenger returned into the city, he reported that the incredible had happened. The Syrian guards had received the courier with courtesy and had escorted him safely to the great headquarters tent of their ruler. Antiochus VIII, King of Syria, handsome and very manly in appearance, had received the message very courteously and had conferred with his officers. Then the young king had sent word that he would grant an armistice of one week. During that time, all warlike activity must cease. The king also said that he himself would like to take part in honoring the God of Israel. In a few hours, a detachment of Syrian soldiers would appear at one of the gates of Jerusalem. These men would bring a herd of cattle which the high priest could slaughter and sacrifice to his God. The high priest was asked, however, to make a few sacrifices for the king of Syria and to offer prayers for him. A few hours later, some Syrian soldiers came to one of the city gates with a herd of fat cattle. The hair seemed to have been combed and curried. Even the horns had been gilded. Thankfully, the young high priest of the Jews received this welcome gift from his courteous enemy. Soon afterward, as the priests in the Holy temple sacrificed in the ancient manner to the God of Israel, they offered burnt offerings for the King of Syria and prayed sincerely for his welfare. As the week of the armistice drew toward its close, the young high priest conferred again with his advisers. What had recently happened was almost incredible. The predecessors of this young Syrian ruler had tried to destroy the Jewish religion. But this ruler was a courteous gentleman who respected the God of Israel. Perhaps it would be possible to get from this charismatic young king a peace treaty with which the people of Judea could live. Once more a courier was sent out with a message to the leader of the besieging host. This time a conference between the two rulers was suggested. At the conference which followed, Antiochus presented his terms. The Jews must recognize the King of Syria as their overlord. Judea must pay an annual tribute. If called upon to do so, the Jews must send a strong armed contingent of troops to fight for the King of Syria. A ransom must be paid before the Syrians would raise the siege of Jerusalem. Not all this ransom need be paid at once, but a large installment must be paid before the besiegers would withdraw. The young high priest and his advisers returned into the city rejoicing. The terms granted by their charismatic, young enemy were far more favorable than had been expected. But one problem was quite vexatious. How, in besieged and half-starved Jerusalem, could the ransom money be raised? An old man, one of the most respected elders of Israel, came to see the high priest. This old gentleman said that his grandfather had shown him a stone which was believed to cover an entrance to the hidden tomb of King David of Israel and his son, Solomon. It was believed that a vast treasure had been deposited in this tomb at the time of Solomon's funeral. Apparently, the debris of destroyed or burning buildings had covered this spot and had hidden the tomb entrance from the victorious Babylonians. Perhaps the tomb and its contents were still intact. Accompanied by armed men and carrying iron bars, the high priest and the old man went to the great rock. When the soldiers moved the rock away, a sealed shaft became visible. The soldiers broke the seal and began to enter a passage that led below. Far beneath the surface, this tunnel led to a large room, cut into the solid rock beneath Jerusalem. Here, in various containers, a vast amount of golden and silver treasure was found. There was enough gold here to pay the entire amount of the ransom at once. However, it was decided to pay immediately only the installment that was due. After all, the obvious possession of much treasure might tempt this Gentile ruler to increase the amount of the ransom demanded. Once more, a messenger went out to the great headquarters tent of the besieging army. Accompanied by armed guards and several husky porters, the messenger presented to the young Syrian king the first installment of the required ransom of Jerusalem. Within hours, the Syrians were striking their tents, breaking camp, and marching away northward. Two years later, armed Syrian soldiers, escorting a royal envoy, galloped up to the gates of Jerusalem. Antiochus VIII, King of Syria, directed the ruler of the Jews to send a force of 10,000 men to aid in a campaign against the powerful Parthian Empire, which ruled Persia and other countries east of the Euphrates. Determined to carry out the terms of the recent peace treaty, the young high priest (Hyrcanus) himself marched with 10,000 picked and well-armed soldiers to aid the Syrian overlord. Across the deserts and lands of eastern Syria, the ancient Aram, marched the army of the young Antiochus. Contingents of fighting men from many nations stirred up clouds of dust along the old caravan trails. As the weary troops plodded eastward, they came to a broad, shallow wall, which for a long distance bordered the trail on its northern side. This place showed signs of having been under partial cultivation in past ages. At a point where the wall became broader, thickets of firebush alternated with tiny gardens around a half-ruined village that was evidently very old. This was Pethor, which a thousand years earlier had been the home of a truly fabulous figure, Balaam, the son of Beor, who had been famed in many lands as a holy man and a prophet. In the days when the twelve tribes of Israel were camped in northern Moab and were preparing to invade the land of Canaan, Balak, King of Moab, had attempted to bribe Balaam to curse the people of Israel. But on three successive occasions, at the command of God, the prophet had blessed Israel in the presence of the infuriated Moabite king. Following the final blessing, the prophet had added some predictions concerning the distant future. This prophecy had ended with the words, "Ships will come forth from Chittim and bring people who will invade Asshur and Eber. But finally Chittim itself will be ruined." As Hyrcanus, the high priest, rode past the ruined town that had once been Balaam's flourishing birthplace, he must have remembered the old prophecy. Ships had indeed come from the land of Chittim and had brought a host that had afflicted Asshur and Eber. The army of Alexander the Great, of Macedonia and Greece, had conquered all the middle east, as well as Persia, or Iran. Now, a few generations later, a young king, who was descended from one of Alexander's generals, was coming with another host to seize the far lands of Iran, beyond the two great rivers and defeat the warlike Parthians. The broad and fabulous river Euphrates was crossed, and the vast host pressed forward across the lands where Abraham, the ancestor of the Hebrew nation, had wandered with his flocks as he and his father Terah migrated northward from Dr of the Chaldees to Haran. At last the swiftly flowing river Tigris was reached. As ships were requisitioned and used to ferry the army across, men must have told stories of once mighty Assria, whose great capital once flourished beside this great stream. Beyond the Tigris rose the lofty peaks of the Zagros Mountains. There were old stories that once, from these heights, the ancient inhabitants had looked down in terror at the rising waters of Noah's flood. With scouts and combat patrols out on both sides, to avoid ambush by dangerous mountain tribes, the army cautiously threaded its way through the lofty and difficult passes. Beyond the mountains lay the hills of Media. There were many Jews in the towns and villages of this land. There people were descended from the ten lost tribes of Israel. The ancestors of these people had been carried away into captivity by Shalmanesser, emperor of Assyria and had been resettled in Media and other countries. Here they were gradually being assimilated by the heathen people about them. Across the hills and valleys of Media rode the daring scouts, while behind them, amid vast clouds of dust came the great army of the Syrians and their allies. Ahead lay Ecbazana (Hamodan) which, in the days of Queen Esther, had been one of the four capitals of the Persian empire. Now, on a hill near Ecbazana, King Antiochus saw some of his scouts come galloping back. The message which they brought was disquieting. Far ahead, in several directions, tremendous clouds of dust could be seen approaching. Evidently, a great hostile army was coming to resist the advance of the Syrians and to attack. King Antiochus ordered his advance guard to halt and take up defensive positions. This was to allow the long columns of troops behind to come up. It was also to allow the long, heavily laden camel caravans, with their precious supplies, to arrive and find safety within the lines of the army. In the distance, those great, sinister dust clouds approached steadily. Then they began to branch off to right and left, like the writhing of a great serpent. Presently the roll of distant drums was heard, and the sound became even louder until it struck terror into men's hearts. Out of the dust clouds galloped squadron after squadron of armored horsemen brandishing great bows of antelope horn. These were the dreaded compound bows of Central Asia, which could send arrows through bronze armor. Then, in long lines and in successive squadrons, the horse-archers began riding in vast circles around the Syrian host, shooting arrows with great deadly accuracy. The deadly bronze-tipped, or iron-headed arrows made a terrifying, singing sound. Fired with great force and deadly accuracy, they soon caused heavy casualties. The king gave an order and thousands of Slingers, Syrians, Jews, and Rhodians rushed forward. Quickly the Slingers began forming a skirmish line ahead of the army. Within moments volleys of well-aimed, round stones began decimating the ranks of the horse-archers. Soon it became evident that the stones of the Slingers were lethal at twice the range of the deadly singing arrows of the Horse Archers. The Archers began to fall back out of range of the Slingers. Hour after hour, the grim struggle continued. Hundreds of Archers and their mounts lay struggling on the ground. Many loose horses galloped riderless across the field. But there were not nearly enough of the gallant Slingers. At many points the masses of Horse Archers were able to close to within effective range with their powerful compound bows and inflict very heavy casualties with their singing arrows. Upon a little hill, King Antiochus sat upon his prancing charger and watched the swiftly maneuvering squadrons of the enemy. Nearby, Hyrcanus, the high priest, and several generals watched and waited for orders. At last the king turned to have a brief consultation with his commanders. Then he gave a visual signal. Immediately the peal of many brazen or ram's horn trumpets rang over the field and echoed among the surrounding hills. Instantly, with ringing cheers, thousands of fighting men, Syrians, Jews and men from Asia Minor rushed forward. The roll of the Parthian kettle drums was drowned out by the rumble of tens of thousands of charging hoofs. Behind the horsemen came the serried ranks of the infantry; with moving walls of shields and bristling hedges of spears. Far ahead galloped the rampaging horsemen, led by King Antiochus himself, glittering in armor and apparently heedless of his own safety. Slicing through the crumbling lines of the Parthians, the king's men captured a long caravan of heavily laden camels. Their cargoes were bundles of the dreaded metal-tipped singing arrows that caused such terrible casualties when shot from the powerful compound bows of the enemy's horse­ archers. Still the rampaging horsemen galloped onward through the crumbling Parthian host, with the king still leading. But casualties were mounting swiftly now. The gallant, supporting slingers had been left far behind and the hostile mounted archers could not strike much more effectively. Then a Parthian horseman, noticing that his uniform and equipment were much like those of some of the king's men, rode aside until the charging Syrian vanguard had passed. Then riding through a dust cloud, this man fell in with the rear ranks of the vanguard, and then pushing his good steed to the limits of endurance, this man gradually worked his way forward until he was directly behind the young king. Antiochus, the Pious king of Syria, reeled in his saddle and fell dying as the daring Parthian trooper stabbed him from behind. There was mourning in the vast encampment of the Syrians and their allies that night. Strong guards of armed men held the outer perimeter. Campfires burned late, and by their light, the physicians attended many thousands of wounded. Everyone knew that, although the army had gained a great victory, it had lost the war. A few days later, the Syrian host, badly crippled, was filing back through the perilous gorges and passes of the Zagnes mountains, in full retreat. As Hyrsanus and his men began their march homeward, they must have felt both disappointment and sadness. They knew that they were leaving behind in Media forever their kindred, the people of the lost tribes of Israel. After a long, grueling march across the valleys of the two rivers and the stoppe­ lands of Eastern Syria, the great host began to. break up, the various contingents from Asia Minor marched away northward, and the Jews took an old caravan trail that led southward. In the generations that followed, the descendants of Hyrcanus became the ruling dynasty of the kingdom of Judea. This was the famed royal and priestly house of the Asmoneans, or Maccabees. However, success helped breed corruption. A serious moral degeneration of the royal house led to civil war. Then the dreaded Romans came to the Middle East and annexed the kingdom of Judea. A few years later, with the aid and support of the Romans, Herod the Great became king of Judea. Herod did much for his subjects. He restored order and constructed an aqueduct to bring water to Jerusalem from the hills near Hebron. Best of all, the king rebuilt the Holy temple, making it larger and more beautiful than ever. But these projects, and many others as well, were very expensive. Then, in the grim irony of fate, drought and famine came to the Middle East. Soon many families in Judea were suffering great hardships. Like Jacob, an early ancestor of the Jewish people, King Herod decided to import grain from Egypt. But the famine continued a long time. The heavy outlays of money necessary for grain imports gradually sapped the royal treasury. Then, as the king's fiscal problems mounted, an aged adviser told Herod the story of King David's tomb. The high priest, Hyrcanus, generations earlier, had taken treasure from that tomb to bribe a besieging army to withdraw from Jerusalem. Perhaps some of the treasure still remained in the tomb. In the night, the king assembled some of his trusted courtiers and guards. Led by a guide, the little party quietly made its way along Jerusalem's dark streets to the big stone that was said to block the entrance to the hidden tomb of the two Hebrew kings. With crowbars, the soldiers pried the stone aside. After lighting olive oil lamps, the party descended into the earth. Deep in the solid rock beneath Jerusalem, a large artificial cavern was found. But, to everyone's bitter disappointment, the room was empty. Generations earlier the high priest, Hyrcanus, and his men had cleaned out all treasure. King Herod ordered his men to sound the walls with hammers. It was found that one wall sounded hollow. At the king's command, the soldiers, using iron tools, broke through this wall. Within was a second room. Anxiously the explorers entered with their olive oil lamps. The place was filled with costly furniture from a time centuries earlier. But no gold or silver ornaments or coins were found. Before the sun rose next morning, King Herod and his men removed all the contents of this second room to the royal palace. As they left the tomb, the soldiers carefully replaced the great stone over the entrance. Later, in his splendid palace near the Jaffa gate in western Jerusalem, the king found it difficult to sleep. The tomb which he and his men had visited was reputed to be that of two early Hebrew kings, David and Solomon. But no coffins and no skeletons had been found. Perhaps there was still another room. A few nights later, King Herod quietly returned to the mysterious tomb with several trusted guards. After removing the entrance stone, the party descended into the earth. Using the light of olive oil lamps, the king and his men carefully explored the second room. Then they began pounding the walls. One wall sounded hollow. With heavy hammers and iron tools, an attempt was made to break through this wall. Then, at last, a crack appeared. Suddenly the workers became aware that something invisible was seeping through the slowly widening crack. A strange odor permeated the air. Then the unbelievable happened. There was a terrible flash as brilliant as a bolt of lightening during a summer storm. A sound as loud as thunder roared through the two subterranean rooms. Men were knocked flat by a powerful force that they could not see. Other terrible flashes followed and successive dreadful explosions and shock waves extinguished olive oil lamps and blasted fleeing humans against the stone walls. King Herod the Great was a brave man, but he led his party out of that underground tomb in extreme haste. But not all the soldiers emerged from the entrance tunnel. Several of the trusted guards still remained below, blasted to death by this mysterious force that had beset them in the underground darkness. Hastily, the king and the surviving guards replaced the great stone. Then, scarcely speaking, they made their way through the dark streets to the western palace. Next day, some of the guards made the mistake of telling the palace servants what had happened. Within hours this story was known in all Jerusalem. As a result, many Jews, for along time, were bitter toward their king because he had entered the Tomb of Kings David and Solomon. Many centuries passed after King Herod's reign. During this time both the city and the golden temple were thoroughly destroyed during the wars of the Roman empire. The followers of Islam came to conquer the Holy Land. Still later, the European crusaders came to conquer Palestine and set up a short-lived Christian kingdom. Then a great Jewish scholar and traveler, Benjamin of Todela, came to visit the city of his ancestors. In the western and most recently constructed part of the old walled city of Jerusalem, an old man showed Benjamin a large stone of unusual type and said that it covered the entrance to the hidden tomb of David and Solomon. Benjamin investigated and decided that this was indeed the correct site of the tomb of those two early Hebrew kings. The European crusaders, who held Jerusalem, decided to build a church over this site. The present handsome building of white stone was the work of the crusaders. Today, the lower chapel is often called "King David's Tomb," and the upper chapel, with no intention of deception, is usually called the "Upper Room". Christian pilgrims from many lands often assemble in the upper chapel and hold special religious services. The lower chapel is considered a sacred place by many Christians, Jews and Moslems alike. However, there is doubt that this handsome building actually shelters the tomb of the two early Hebrew kings. A Biblical account says that King David was buried beneath the City of David. This was the name which this conquering hero of ancient Israel gave to the old Jebusite which he had captured. This Jebusite city stood on the Rocky Ridge that towered above the western side of the Kidren Valley. It is possible that the name "City of David" was later sometimes applied to the more recently constructed part of the old walled city, west of the valley of the Cheesemakers. However, it is doubtful that this area became part of Jerusalem until several generations after the death of King David. Living within old Jerusalem there are still aged people who believe that the church containing the lower chapel and the supposed tomb of King David stands on the wrong site. In the extreme western side of the Kidren Valley, the famed Gillon Spring, or Virgin's Fountain, springs up from its subterranean sources in a great cleft in the side of a lofty cliff. ­In the reign of good King Hezchian Josiah, when the army of mighty Assyria was approaching Jerusalem, the engineers sent by the king cut a tunnel from the Gillon Spring and conducted the water beneath the city and led it to the pool of Silo, within the city. This tunnel is exceedingly crooked. One of its loops, in solid rock, is actually outside the city wall and lies beneath the Kidren Valley. It is quite probable that the ancient workmen were merely trying to save time by following a fault in the rock. But an old man long ago told a visiting archaeologist that the tunnel was purposely made crooked by engineers who were trying to avoid hitting some very old tombs hidden in the rock. This old man also said that one of these hidden tombs was that of Kings David and Solomon. Archaeologists entered the tunnel with hammers and tested the walls and ceiling of the tunnel throughout its length. But at no point did the hammer strikes indicate that a hollow place lay within. Even now, however, there is reason to believe that, somewhere in the Rocky Ridge of the oldest part of Jerusalem, the Tomb of David and Solomon still lies undiscovered. [1] A cubit was about 18 inches

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