. The science of railways . ted civic functions with theirecclesiastical duties, thus becoming progressive steps occupied vast cycles oftime that no one can now estimate. Their cul-mination, however, is to be found in the religionsof our day. We partake of the communion; itis the highest form of adoration of which wehave knowledge. Primeval man performed alike office by getting drunk. Our offering isidealized; his was literal. He worshiped matter,believing it to be intelligent. We have discov- OF TRANSPORTATION. 79 ered that it is governed by a higher power; thispower we wor
. The science of railways . ted civic functions with theirecclesiastical duties, thus becoming progressive steps occupied vast cycles oftime that no one can now estimate. Their cul-mination, however, is to be found in the religionsof our day. We partake of the communion; itis the highest form of adoration of which wehave knowledge. Primeval man performed alike office by getting drunk. Our offering isidealized; his was literal. He worshiped matter,believing it to be intelligent. We have discov- OF TRANSPORTATION. 79 ered that it is governed by a higher power; thispower we worship. The Chaldeans were an exceedingly interestingpeople aside from their peculiar religious inhabited the country about the mouth ofthe Tigris and Euphrates at the head of the Per-sian Gulf. They were supposed to belong, in thefirst instance, to the Yellow or Turanian used the land but little for transportationpurposes, and the water much. Men and womenwere the principal carriers as they are among all. primitive people. The country of Chaldea, whenirrigated, yielded three and four abundant cropsa year. In order to facilitate this, irrigating can-als traversed it in every direction. These withthe great rivers which flowed through the Meso-potamian valley afforded the principal means ofcarriage. The boats used, while having somelittle diversity, were still exceedingly , however, answered the simple needs of theinhabitants. In the time of Herodotus he tells us that raftsbuoyed upon inflated skins were a favorite form m ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION of carriage in Chaldea. They are still in usethere to-day. This simple device seems to havebeen one of the first that suggested itself to manfor w^ater transportation. It consisted of a raftmade of cane or willovv^, buoyed upon inflatedskins. These skins were filled with air by thelungs, just as we see children inflate toy balloons
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectrailroa, bookyear1900
