valley adjacent to that of Beban el Malook. I had seen all the tombs of
the kings: as I did not go there, however, with any intention of making
researches, my curiosity must have been greater than that of many who
had been there before, as I went into every little recess of these
valleys. It was in the western valley that one of the French savans
discovered a large tomb, which he found open, but was quite unknown
before his time. I went to visit this tomb, and found it very extensive,
and in pretty good preservation. My curiosity did not end here. I went
farther on in the valley; and in one of the most remote spots saw a heap
of stones, which appeared to me detached from the mass. The vacancies
between these stones were filled up with sand and rubbish. I happened to
have a stick with me, and on thrusting it into the holes among the
stones, I found it penetrate very deep. I returned immediately to
Gournou, and procured a few men, to open these places. Unfortunately,
both Mrs. Belzoni and myself had been much afflicted for some time with
the ophthalmia, which was so severe on me at this time, that I could
scarcely see any thing before me.
I took the men into the same valley the next morning; but in consequence
of my eyes being so bad, it was some time before I could find the spot
again. On removing a few stones, we perceived that the sand ran inwards;
and, in fact, we were so near the entrance into a tomb, that in less
than two hours all the stones were taken away. I had caused some candles
to be brought, and I went in, followed by the Arabs. I cannot boast of
having made a great discovery in this tomb, though it contains several
curious and singular painted figures on the walls; and from its extent,
and part of a sarcophagus remaining in the centre of a large chamber,
have reason to suppose, that it was the burial-place of some person of
distinction. The tomb consists of three chambers, two corridors, and a
staircase; but the remote situation in which it was found renders it
remarkable: and I declare, that I owe this discovery merely to fortune,
not to any premeditated research, as I went into these mountains only to
examine the various places, where the water descends from the desert
into the valleys after rain. It is singular to observe, that though rain
falls very seldom, perhaps not more than once or twice a year, yet such
is the effect of the climate and the sun on the spots where the water
passes, that they are as strongly marked, as if it were continually
running over them, and much harder than the rest of the masses.
The higher part of the mountain on the west of Thebes extends in wide
plains, which rise gradually towards the west; and when rain falls upon
them, the water takes its course towards the Nile, descending into the
valleys of Egypt. There are very few places in these mountains where
water gathers in such quantities, as in the valley of Beban el Malook,
and its adjoining branch on the west side. For some time the water forms
a small torrent, that carries every thing before it. Mr. Salt
superintended the making of a road from the tombs of the kings to the
Nile, for the purpose of transporting a large sarcophagus, and one of
these falls of water from the desert destroyed the whole road. For the
present, however, I shall leave this valley, as I shall have to speak of
it in another part of this work, on my second journey to Thebes and
Nubia.
The time having elapsed, in which I expected to receive letters from
Cairo, I was rather uneasy, and resolved to return to Kenneh. On my
arrival at this place, I found the courier had just entered it. He
brought me letters from Mr. Salt, with an order for money on the Seraf,
or banker, of Kenneh. I quickly finished my business there, and speeded
to Luxor, where I was pleased to find the boat returned from Assouan, to
take the colossal bust on board: but I was soon informed by the
proprietor, that it was loaded with dates, and that he was come himself
from Esne, to return the money I had paid as earnest; for they could not
think of taking that large stone into the boat, as it would crush it to
pieces. All my persuasions were useless; and though I had a written
agreement in my hands, they signified to me, that it was of no use, they
never would take the stone on board. I had much to say to them, as may
be imagined in such a case; for I was so circumstanced, that if the
present opportunity of transporting the bust were lost, the water in the
Nile would have become much too low, and the conveyance could not have
been effected till the next season. At the same time I was informed by
my Janizary, whom I sent to Assouan in the same boat with the two agents
of Mr. D., that it was owing to them the owner would not take the stone
on board: for they told him he would lose his boat, and never receive
any recompense for it; and that the agreement I made with them was good
for nothing when in Cairo. In fact, these gentlemen had so much warped
the minds of the crew, that they were resolved not to perform their
contract.
The twelve stones I had left in the island of Philoe, and which were to
have been conveyed in the same boat, in like manner could not be
embarked, as the Reis said there were no small boats to take them down
the cataract: and I afterwards learned, that this also was owing to the
same influence. The unfortunate history of these stones will not be read
without exciting sentiments of detestation towards the parties
concerned: they had been mutilated, and rendered useless; how, and by
whom, I shall mention hereafter. My situation with regard to the boat
was far from pleasant, and I had no resource, but to take the owner to
Esne and lay the case before Khalil Bey, who by this time must have
arrived at that place: but even then I did not know how far he would
interfere in compelling these people to keep to their agreement, as he
had himself observed, that he thought the stone would break the boat.
This, however, was the only step I could take.
Fortune sometimes brings troubles on mankind merely that they may taste
the fickleness of her nature and uncertainty of the favours she
condescends to bestow on them. My vexation was great, thinking all my
efforts and exertion in bringing the bust to the Nile were to no
purpose, and that very probably it would never reach England, as the
underhand machinations against it were so powerful. At that moment,
however, a soldier arrived from Erments, acquainting me that the Cacheff
was returned from Cairo; and he gave me at the same time a letter from
him, with a present which he had sent of two small bottles of anchovies
and two of olives. Strange as it may appear, it will be seen that the
effects of a few salted little fish contributed the greatest share
towards the removal of the colossus, which I had so much at heart, and
which, in all probability, but for them, would not have been in the
British Museum to this day. The letter contained a very gratifying
invitation to a feast to be given by the Cacheff, and the present was in
token of a friendly disposition towards me. I was not a little surprised
at this change, but I soon discovered the reason. The soldier acquainted
me, that the Cacheff was in a terrible rage with a certain correspondent
and friend of his, a Frank, who for some time had raised his expectation
of having some valuable presents sent him; but, instead of this, he
received at last only a few bottles of insignificant fish, which may be
had in plenty from the Nile, and a few olives, not worth a pipe of
tobacco. I took care, that this should not be told to the owner of the
boats; and, as it was arranged that we should go to Esne for the
decision of the affair, I took them on board the little boat which I had
hired, and we set off for that place, leaving the large one at Luxor.
Knowing in what humour the Cacheff must be in from his disappointment, I
thought to strike while his mind was hot.
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.