AN ANCIENT WELL

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 65, 8 June 1927, Page 14

AN ANCIENT WELL

In every land there is a story of a fine city which now lies beneath the sea, and it is sometimes said that fishermen have seen the towers deep down in the green water, or heard the bells jangled by the tide. There are not so many stories about towns stolen by the desert. Yet the sand has buried streets and temples like the sea. When a traveller was exploring that part of the Sahara desert which is called Air, he came upon a well. It was sunk, he says, through the solid rock of some low, stony hills, and must have been old beyond calculation. There is no grazing ground near by. No men could live in the neighbourhood long enough to drill a 70ft. well to-day. Besides, the natives have no rock-drilling instruments. It was not made for chance travellers; it was used daily by many people for countless years, the rock walls of the well having been cut into channels by ropes. That well is proof of fields and gardens, homes and temples, men and women who have vanished from history. There is no other trace of them left, either in stone or on paper. Probably it was before historic times that the brown-skinned maidens in their gay-coloured robes brought their water pots to this well. Not far off, under the palm tree, young herdsmen would be gathering their beasts. The sun would be setting, the day’s toil would be done. The time for gossip, jest, and love-making had come. Now the desert has wiped it all out. Only the old well remains for their memorial. The Sahara Desert is eighteen times larger than Great Britain and Ireland, and is believed to be still growing. The rocks are crumbling into yet more sand. The old surface of the ground is a foot or more below the new. The population of Agades has fallen from the 50,000, which it was supposed to have, to a mere 2,000 to-day. And ryo human power can stop the spread of this greedy, life-destroying sand.

AT NIGHT Home, home from the horizon, far and clear, Hither the soft wings sweep; Flocks of memories of the day draw near The dovecote doors of sleep. Oh, which are they that come through sweetest light Of all these homing birds? Which with the straightest and the swiftest flight? Your -words to me, your words! —Alice Meynell. THE ANT WORLD An English scientist wished to discover whether ants can communicate with each other and devised a novel plan. On one of his excursions into the country he took with him some honey and a small tin of red powder and placed some of the former on a clean white stone not far from an antbed. An ant soon discovered it, but instead of waiting to have some it went off and tapped lightly on a number of other ants. These returned with it and quickly they devoured the honey. It should be mentioned that the scientist had sprinkled some of the red powder on the first ant to find the honey. Next day he again visited the place and renewed his bait, marking as before the first ant to find it. This went off with its information as expected. Before the others could return he wiped the stone clear. When the eager insects reached the spot and found no reward, they were so incensed that they attacked and killed their informant, doubtless for his apparently false news. THE SEA-FISHER’S LIFE What joys attend the fisher’s life— Blow, winds, blow! The fisher and his faithful wife— Row, boys, row! He drives no plough on stubborn land; His fields are ready to his hand; No nipping frost his orchards fear; He has his autumn all the year— Blow, winds, blow! The husbandman has rent to pay— Blow, winds, blow! And seed to purchase every day— Row, boys, row! But he who farms the rolling deeps, Though never sowing always reaps; The ocean’s fields are fair and free, There are no rent-days on the sea— Blow, winds, blow! Little people Dutch New Guinea is one of the most fascinating countries in the world, chiefly because the glamour of mystery still clings to her vast belts of steaming jungle. Her secrets are yielded reluctantly and a myriad loathsome insects and the perils of impenetrable bush and hostile natives aid in her conspiracy of silence. Men have left the populated seaboard for the interior, and have never returned. Strange tales have filtered through of mysterious people hidden away in the innermost depths of the jungle, but many of tnese were accepted as fables. Recently, however, a corner of the veil was lifted. An expedition led by Professor Stirling, an American, penetrated a portion of this country, reaching territory never before visited by white men. Here they found that once more truth could prove stranger than fiction, for the mysterious pygmy tribes of the interior actually existed. Rumour, however, had vested them with imaginary terrors, for these people -were friendly enough and it was possible to secure valuable photographs and details of their tribal life and customs. One picture showed a pygmy warrior in armour. It was something in the shape of a breastplate made from rattan. This valuable and very strong creeper seems to play an important part in the lives of the tiny people. A bridge across the Lake Plain river is made entirely of rattan, and it appears in many other glimpses of their daily activities. Their principal tool is a stone axe, . nd most of them use it with remarkable skill. Bows and arrows, the inevitable weapons of primitive people, are carried by the diminutive warriors. The rifles of the explorers found great disfavour with the magician of the tribe. These potent weapons, together with typewriters, and other modern devices carried by the party had him completely baffled. One can imagine this dwarf, hideous in his trappings of office, squatting in the village clearing, watching fragments of his own power crumbling away with every demonstration of the white man’s weapons

The pygmies are most interesting little people. They average about 2ft. 6in. in height, and red hair is not uncommon. Shaving is by no means a pleasant operation. The native barber plucks out each hair between the thumb nail and the edge of a sham stone. It is significant that the barber grows a beard.