Part 13

On our arrival before Erments I begged the two owners of the boat to wait a little, as I had business with the Cacheff of the village. It was already an hour after sunset, and the village is about a mile from the Nile. I took my interpreter and Janizary with me, and set off alertly to my anchovy and olive man. I found him seated on a mat in the middle of a field, a stick fastened in the ground with a lantern attached to it, and all his attendants standing before him. On seeing me, he made a great parade of compliments; I suppose because he thought, that, as he was disappointed of presents from one quarter, he would make the best market he could by trying the other. Pipes and coffee were brought as usual; and an offer was made me, to send as many men as I liked to have to work, that I might take away the great head early the next morning, and the cover of the sarcophagus, or any thing else I pleased. Had I requested him to let me take the two large colossi of Thebes, Tommy and Dummy, as the Arabs call them, he would have had no objection to my putting them on board my little boat that night. I then introduced the affair of the boat, produced the written agreement I had drawn up at Esne with the two owners, and mentioned the money I had paid, which amounted to half the sum of what they were eventually to receive. He immediately said, I need not go to Esne for the decision, the affair belonging to himself, as the boat was to be loaded on a bank in his province. The two gentlemen from Esne were sent for, and when they heard, that the cause was to be tried at Erments, they were thunderstruck. They considered the boat lost to them, though I repeatedly told them, that I would be answerable for any damage that might be incurred in the embarkation or landing; but it was all to no purpose. The Cacheff, however, insisted that they should keep their agreement with me; and still more to accommodate matters, as they were at a loss what to do with the dates, offered them his canja, which would contain as much as was necessary to be taken out of the boat, as I did not wish to unload it entirely. Meanwhile, as he did not like to appear too openly decided in my favour, he proposed that in the morning the owners should be summoned, and the case brought to a fair hearing. They then retired to pass the night on board. In continuing his civilities and protestations of friendship, the Cacheff came to an explanation of his former conduct, and, in particular, of the letter he sent to his brother respecting the sarcophagus. It was written, he said, before he saw Mr. D.; but now that he found how things were, I might have the sarcophagus, or any thing else; that he would guard it for me as long as I desired; that no one else should have it; and added a thousand other obliging things.

So extraordinary a change led me to suppose, that Mr. Salt had made him some handsome present when in Cairo; but I was mistaken, for, a little after, asking him what he thought of the consul, to my surprise he told me, that he did not see him. The consul invited him, he said, to his house, and prepared a dinner for him; but that, on the day he was to go, news arrived of the death of Tusoon Bashaw, the eldest son of Mahomet Ali; and he was ordered to come away immediately, which put an end to the pleasure of seeing the consul, for he loved him like his right eye. The story was equally well invented, and well told; and I saw plainly he was so ashamed of his late conduct towards me, that he could not face the consul. He caused dinner to be brought, and carried his civilities to such a height, that I began to be alarmed, suspecting him of some diabolical trick. On my thanking him for the bottles of anchovies and olives, he said, they were the whole of the French consul’s present to him while he was in Cairo. I took the opportunity of observing, that it would have been well for him, if, while he was there, he had called on the English consul. To which he replied, that he had been told the consul had a fine brace of pistols for him; but that unfortunately it was out of his power to go to see him. I answered, I had no doubt he would make him some present when the stone should reach Cairo; on which he immediately rejoined, that there was nothing he would not do either for him or for me; but I must not think that what he did was with any view of interest. I said, I was quite persuaded of the contrary; and should trouble him for an order to be given to the people at Gournou to come to work. He protested he would comply with all I wished; but added, with a smile, “What will you do, if the trial should go against you?” I told him I should proceed to Esne, where the agreement was made in the presence of the Sharif, and show that I was in the right. He laughed, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, “You may sleep in peace, for to-morrow I will myself see the boat unloaded of every date that is in it, and you may re-load it at your pleasure.” I answered, that I had no doubt he would do what was just, and, taking leave, I returned on board the little boat for the night.

13th.—In the morning I found him in his chamber of audience, surrounded by several Arabs, Sheiks of the village. He made me sit down on his right hand, and coffee and pipes were brought; for no judgment could be pronounced without these luxuries. He had explained the cause to the gentlemen of the jury, who said, without hearing the other side, that what he intended to do was perfectly equitable, and they would have said the same whether I had been right or wrong; for these juries are not so deficient in politeness as to contradict the judge. The other parties came, and he received them politely, but with a frown on his brow, from which I have no doubt they sufficiently augured their fate. However, not to keep them in suspense, they were soon plainly told, that the bark, except only eighty ardeps, an indulgence to which I had agreed, must be unloaded; and he saw no other way of settling the business. He then referred to the gentlemen of the jury, to know whether they had any thing to say. To my astonishment they answered, that, as the other parties made no defence, they of course acknowledged themselves wrong; and, having nothing more to do, they all instantly rose and walked off. The defendants then partook of what was before them; but I believe never made a worse breakfast in their lives. They began to talk about where to find a boat, though they were obliged of necessity to hire one of the Cacheff, being fully aware of his design, which was to get the best part of the money for himself. The contract was soon made, and they paid him two-thirds of what they were to receive from me, which, indeed, they were glad to do, lest he should scrutinise the business, and, finding the freight to be double what was mentioned in the bill of lading, they should thus lose still more. I then took leave of the Cacheff, that I might hasten to Gournou, to settle what business was to be done there. He had given me a tiscary for the soldier to furnish me with what I wanted, gave orders to the Fellahs to do all I desired, and take out the sarcophagus; and on going on board, I found that he had sent me two sheep, a jar of cheese, and some bread. We set off immediately. One of the sheep died in the evening, the other next day, and the cheese was full of vermin. We arrived at Luxor in the afternoon, and a few hours after went to Gournou, and saw the Sheik el bellad of that place. I sent my Janizary to the soldier, and it was concerted, that the Fellahs I wanted should be ready for me in the morning.

Early on the 14th, I went again to Gournou to begin the work, and was not a little surprised when I saw no Fellahs assembled. By one whom I met, I was told, that they were afraid, being ordered not to work for the English. I applied as before to the soldier, who sent a man to collect the Fellahs; but it was too late: they were all dispersed. Accordingly, I contented myself this day with only having the apparatus, necessary to embark the head, conveyed over from Luxor. The Cacheff’s boat from Erments arrived, and that at Luxor came also to Gournou to unload.

15th.—The next day we collected, though not without trouble, a hundred and thirty men; and I begun to make a causeway, by which to convey the head down to the river side; for the bank was more than fifteen feet above the level of the water, which had retired at least a hundred feet from it.

Next morning a soldier came from the Cacheff, to say that I was not to pay the Fellahs any thing, as they were ordered to work for me for nothing as long as I required, and that he made me a present of their labour. I thanked him, but desired the soldier to tell him, at the same time, that it was not my custom to have the labour of men for nothing, nor would the consul of England accept of such a present. I this day finished the causeway down the bank, and had the head brought to the edge of the slope, ready to be embarked.

On the 17th of November, I succeeded in my attempt, and the head of the younger Memnon was actually embarked. I cannot help observing, that it was no easy undertaking to put a piece of granite, of such bulk and weight, on board a boat, that, if it received the weight on one side, would immediately upset; and this was to be done without the smallest help of any mechanical contrivance, even a single tackle, and only with four poles and ropes: the water was about eighteen feet below the bank where the head was to descend. The causeway I had made gradually sloped to the edge of the water close to the boat, and with the four poles I formed a bridge from the bank into the centre of the boat, so that when the weight bore on the bridge, it pressed only on the centre of the boat. The bridge rested partly on the causeway, partly on the side of the boat, and partly on the centre of it. On the opposite side of the boat I put some mats well filled with straw. I necessarily stationed a few Arabs in the boat, and some at each side, with a lever of palm wood, as I had nothing else. At the middle of the bridge I put a sack filled with sand, that, if the colossus should run too fast into the boat, it might be stopped. In the ground behind the colossus I had a piece of a palm-tree firmly planted, round which a rope was twisted, and then fastened to its car, to let it descend gradually. I set a lever at work on each side, and at the same time that the men in the boat were pulling, others were slackening the ropes, and others shifting the rollers as the colossus advanced.

Thus it descended gradually from the mainland to the causeway, when it sunk a good deal, as the causeway was made of fresh earth. This, however, I did not regret, as it was better it should be so, than that it should run too fast towards the water; for I had to consider, that, if this piece of antiquity should fall into the Nile, my return to Europe would not be very welcome, particularly to the antiquaries; though I have reason to believe, that some among the great body of its scientific men would rather have seen it sunk in the Nile, than where it is now deposited. However, it went smoothly on board. The Arabs, who were unanimously of opinion that it would go the bottom of the river, or crush the boat, were all attention, as if anxious to know the result, as well as to learn how the operation was to be performed; and when the owner of the boat, who considered it as consigned to perdition, witnessed my success, and saw the huge piece of stone, as he called it, safely on board, he came and squeezed me heartily by the hand. “Thank Heaven!” I exclaimed, and I had reason to be thankful; for I will leave it to the judgment of any engineer, whether it would not be easier to embark a mass ten times larger on board a competent vessel, where all sorts of mechanical powers can be procured, instead of being destitute, as I was, of every thing necessary.

The boat then crossed the water to Luxor, for what was to be taken in there, which was done in three days, and on the 21st we left Thebes on our return to Cairo.

I had just finished my business, when I was again so affected with ophthalmia, that for twelve days I kept myself shut up in the cabin of the boat, so that I can give no account of this voyage, till we reached Siout. I could then just peep at the light; but it gave me great pain whenever I attempted to open my eyes. At Siout I went to see the Deftardar Bey, to return him thanks for the firman he had given me when I ascended the Nile. I found him in his tent in the middle of a field of high clover, which had nearly reached its growth, and his horses were all out at grass. He was pleased to hear that I had succeeded in my undertaking, and requested to be remembered to the English consul, to whom he sent a letter by me.

Next morning we set off for Cairo, and reached it on the 15th of December, having been twenty-four days from Thebes. Thus I had been five months and a half in continual activity and exertion; but I must not let pass the unjust observation made by the ever veracious Count de Forbin, who asserted, that I employed six months solely in taking the colossal bust on board the boat. It is true, I was absent five months and a half from Cairo, and six months had elapsed before I reached Alexandria; but this time was not all devoted to the removal of the bust, as I employed only eighteen days in that operation, and but a single day in embarking it: the greater part of the time was spent in more arduous researches; and the various pieces of antiquity which I brought down the Nile will bear infallible testimony to my labour.

At Cairo I found that the consul was gone to Alexandria, but had left with Mr. Beechey, his secretary, instructions and letters for me. He requested, that every thing might be landed and lodged in the consulate except the bust. I could not conceive the reason of this distinction, as I thought that all the articles I collected were to go to the British Museum. However, I made no inquiry into the business, and every thing was deposited as desired. The first hour of my arrival I had the pleasure of seeing my good and much lamented friend, Burckhardt, whose death has been a great loss to me. He was the most candid, disinterested, and sincere being I have ever met with; totally free from that invidious and selfish disposition, which is so often to be found in travellers, who wish to be alone in one quarter of the world, to relate their story agreeably to the suggestions of their own imagination to the people of another. But Burckhardt had none of that littleness of mind: he was a true explorer, and a hardy one, without pride, or the ambition to be thought more than he was. He made no parade of his knowledge, as his works plainly evince.

Having prepared for my departure for Alexandria, we left Boolak on the 3d of January, 1817, and arrived in Raschid, or Rosetta, on the 10th. There I had to land the colossus, and embark it again on board a djerm; but as I had now some tackle, of which I was destitute before, and proper people to work, I found it quite an easy operation. Besides, I took care to land it in a situation, that was advantageous for embarking it again. Having done so, I set off on board the same djerm, with the bust, and was fortunate enough to reach Alexandria two hours after sunset of the same day, which was the fourth after our arrival in Rosetta. That very day, above two hundred djerms came out of the Nile, some of which had been waiting for an opportunity of passing the bar above eighty days. Mrs. Belzoni went by land, accompanied by the Irish lad, and arrived the next day. I will not mention the kind reception of the consul-general, and the under-consul, Mr. Lee. I was fortunate enough to become acquainted with a gentleman, Mr. Briggs, who received me into his house in the most hospitable manner, and was as much concerned for the success of my affairs as it was possible to be; for he felt the pleasure of a true Englishman, in seeing one of the most finished monuments of Egyptian art ready to be embarked for his native country.

The next and final operation with respect to the bust, on my part, was to land it, and have it conveyed in safety to the Bashaw’s magazine, there to await its embarkation for England. I had some difficulty in landing it, as the pier was much higher than the djerm, and the motion of the sea did not permit me to erect any bridge. I was so fortunate as to procure the crew of a British transport, which was there at the time; and with their help, with proper tackle, and a hundred men besides, it was landed safely.

Having finished my operations, and whatever was necessary respecting the head, I proposed to the consul, to make another trip into Upper Egypt and Nubia, to open the temple at Ybsambul. Nothing could be more pleasing to me than to find, that my proposal was accepted; as I thought I might have an opportunity of accomplishing the wishes I had formed, which, to a certain extent, were with particular views; though, as the consul has proved, no interested motives governed my mind. The only stipulation I made was, that, if I were successful, he should give me an official letter of introduction to the Society of Antiquaries, when I should return to England; with which he promised to comply. Thinking, however, I might be indulging hopes that would not be realized, he cautioned me against any expectations from that quarter. I told him, I was not rich; but as I had no other view than to serve the nation at large, I intended to make certain proposals to the members of that honourable society. On this he again promised me the letter requested, and in a few days we all set off for Cairo. There the worthy Burckhardt would insist, that I should receive a present, half of which he obtained from the consul, as an acknowledgment for my success with regard to the colossus; of the general expenses attending which he paid a moiety.

It was at this period that Captain Cabillia had ventured into the well of the first pyramid of Gaza. His enterprise was hazardous and bold, and nothing but an enthusiasm for discovery could induce a man to take such a step. The consul, with Mr. Briggs, Mr. Beechey, and myself, went to see the operations that were going on. Captain Cabillia’s circumstances were much better than mine; but he had no superfluous wealth at command, to continue what he had begun, which required a supply beyond his means. Mr. Briggs was the first who generously offered to furnish money for this purpose; and, after a consultation with Mr. Salt, they agreed to support the work to any extent that might be required. This gentleman not only encouraged the undertaking at the pyramid, but has exerted his influence with Mahomed Ali for the general advantage of the commerce of Europe, as I shall have occasion to mention hereafter. The enterprise of Captain Cabillia is worthy the attention of every one interested in antiquities, as he has solved a question, by which the learned world has been puzzled for many centuries. The famous well, which has given rise to so much conjecture, turns out to be a communication with a lower passage leading into an inferior chamber, discovered and opened by himself. He first descended the well to the depth of thirty-eight feet, where his progress was stopped by four large stones. Three of these being removed, there was space enough for a man to pass through; but the fourth he could not stir, though he had the help of Mr. Kabitsch, a young man in the employment of Mr. Baghos, who bore a share of the expense with the captain. Twenty-one feet below this place they found a grotto, seventeen feet long and four high; and seven feet below this, a platform, from which the well descended two hundred feet lower. The captain went down, and at the bottom found earth and sand: but from the hollow sound under his feet, he judged, that the passage must communicate with some other apartment below. He then set some Arabs at work, to remove the sand; but the heat was so great, and the candles so incapable of burning, for want of oxygen, that they were compelled to desist. The captain then turned his researches to another quarter, and began to enlarge the entrance into the first passage of the pyramid. For this operation he was well rewarded; for by it he found, that the passage continued downward; and having employed several men, and taken out a great deal of earth and rubbish, at last, after a long and arduous toil, he came in contact with the bottom of the well, where he found the baskets and rope which had been left there. The same day that this occurred was that on which we had agreed to visit the pyramids, and I had the pleasure to be an eye-witness of the arduous task of Captain Cabillia. Proceeding in his laborious researches, he found, that the passage led into a chamber cut out of the rock, under the centre of the pyramid.

Captain C. made several researches round the pyramids also, but none exceeded his toil in uncovering the front of the great sphinx. He found a small temple between the two paws, and a large tablet of granite on its breast. The tablet is adorned with several figures and hieroglyphics, and two representations of sphinxes are sculptured on it. Before the entrance into the small temple was a lion, placed as if to guard the approach. Farther on from this front of the sphinx is a staircase of thirty-two steps, at the bottom of which is an altar, with a Greek inscription, of the time of the Ptolemies. At each side of the altar was a sphinx of calcareous stone, much mutilated. From the base of the temple to the summit of the head is sixty-five feet: the legs of the sphinx are fifty-seven feet long from the breast to the extremity of the paws, which are eight feet high. Forty-five feet from the first altar, he found another, with an inscription, alluding to the emperor Septimius Severus; and near to the first step was a stone, with another Greek inscription, alluding to Antoninus. Notwithstanding his own occupation about the sphinx, Captain Cabillia employed other people to carry on other researches. He opened some of the mausoleums which were choked up with sand, and found several small chambers, with hieroglyphics and figures, some of them pretty well executed, and in good preservation. In one of the pits he found some mummies, in their linen envelopes, and various fragments of Egyptian antiquity. He also opened some of the smaller pyramids, and from the suggestion of Mr. Briggs to follow a certain direction, he succeeded in finding the entrance into one of them: but it appears, that it was so decayed in the interior, he could advance only a few feet in it. No doubt this led into some chamber, or apartment, containing, perhaps, a sarcophagus, &c.