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SALVATORPANSWHANGBERG Challenges Assertions of Egyptol ¬ ogist in Barrier Controversy CiU s Herodotus as Authority for Account of ofDestruction Destruction of Egyptian Racing by the theWicked Wicked Shcllabitcs While Daily Racing Form does not intend j to lend itself to a contentious exchange ofL controversial opinions in regard to the much j mooted question of starting gate origins it is only fair that these columns should be j open to Salvator for a reply to the recent letter of 1rofessor Albert E Whangberg Professor Whangberg it will be recalled challenged Salvators statements crediting the invention of the barrier to Cleoetas and Aristides and declared that Antoken in the reign of Ramses II really originated this device Salvators reply follows Editor Daily Racing Form I anticipated when I disclosed the identity of the trucw originator of the starting gate that there would be immediate counter claims registered with you Hence I am not at all surprised at the communication from Pro fessor Albert K Whangberg printed in your issue of January 23 j1The The eminence and erudition of Professor Whangberg I have no desire for a moment j to dispute This would be foolish in truth 1 seeing that he Jias been chosen by the in i trepid explorer Dr Walter 12 Traprock to accompany the next cruise of the Kawa which will be up the Nile far above its source into unknown Upper Egypt for the purpose of ascertaining the origin and pedi ¬ gree of the Sphinx Professor Whangberg as I understand it was chosen for this coveted position over a lot of other aspirants including many members of the staff of the University of Scranton Pa which as is well known conducts the largest correspond ¬ ence school in Egyptology in the world and grants degrees only after subjecting all can ¬ didates to the most severe tests ILKLLKXISU AXD EGYPTOLOGY As an Egyptologist however Professor Whangbergs researches for the purpose of discrediting the claims of Cleoetas Aris ¬ tides Co the originators and patentees of the starting gate must I fear be in a measure offset because of the wellknown feud between specialists in his line ana those who delve into Greek antiquity and are known as Hellenists Everybody knows that all modern culture stems from the Greeks but in late years the Egyptologists have developed a propaganda quite contra ¬ dictory and sought to prove that on the other hand everything worth while origi ¬ nated on the banks of the Kile It pains me to observe that Professor Whangberg whose eminence one would have thought would preserve him from such factional con ¬ troversies has now injected hjmself into them themProfessor Professor AVhangbergs version of the inci ¬ dents which marked the race meeting al ¬ leged to have been held by Ramses II Pro ¬ fessor Whangberg uses the oldfashioned form of Rameses a faux pas which sur ¬ prises me about 1312 B C indicate that either his papyrus whence he derived these details is spurious or else he has erred in his interpretation of the hieroglyphics The ancient Egyptians as all are aware who have visited the Metropolitan Museum used sym ¬ bols instead of script in their writings and it was one of their peculiarities to use the same symbol to represent many different things The horse was not native to Egypt but was imported into it at a comparatively late date Previously all racing on the bank of the Nile was by crocodiles and other saurians which were specially trained for the purpose see the monograph on Sport in Ancient Egypt published in 1837 by the distinguished savant ErmanBudge ErmanBudgeINTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION OF TIIK HOUSE HOUSELater Later on the horse was introduced into Egypt from Asia and horse racing soon entirely supplanted the indigenous crocodile contests The Egyptians a very adaptive race then simply transferred the symbol which they previously had used for the crocodile to the horse This has caused much confusion among modern transliterators of the hieroglyphs who are perpetually mix ¬ ing up the two This confusion has extended in many directions and the derivation of many modern phrases is by scholars ascribed to it AVhen for instance that famous American sportsman of a hundred years ago Davy Crockett described himself as half hoss halfalligator he was unconsciously harking back to it Again the modern turf term lizard for a thoroughbred not of stake class unmistakably traces to the same source a lizard being merely a small species ot crocodile crocodileThis This however is an aside If Professor Whangberg who in his zeal as an Egyptolo ¬ gist has overlooked the Greek authorities will consult Herodotus the father of his ¬ tory he will there hid an account of the expedition of Ramses II against the Sheila bites circa 1311 B C gathered at first ¬ hand by that tireless investigator when he personally visited Egypt for the purpose of writing its history The inside facts of the Shellabite expedition are really as follovs I I3EPJIEIATIOXS 3EPJIEIATIOXS OF TJIK SIIELLAUITIIS j jThe The crocodile races held on the banks of j the Nile under the auspices of the Pharaonic i Jockey Club of Thebes of which the reigning sovereign was always the honorary presi ¬ dent reach the height of their fame and popularity under Ramses II about the date mentioned However they vere marked by I some abuses as is usually the case in all j great public celebrations The Shcllabites wandering tribes from the Egyptian hinter ¬ land always Hocked to them in great num 1 beiTi and there plied what was known as the i shell game This proved irresistibly attract ive to a large part of the populace which instead of betting on the races invested all j thttr spare cash in playing the fascinating game of the Shellabites Xow this game was not under the control of the Egyptian Racing Commission and the Pharaonie Jockey Club ignored it But as Ramses II imposed for his privy purse a tax of 9J per cent on the gross receipts of all regular speculation upon the races he became much j incensed at the great loss of revenue which the addiction of the Thebans to the shell j game was causing him it being impossible j either to impose cr collect a tax thereupon Many efforts Je made to expel the Shel ¬ labites from the grounds of Nilotic Park where the races were held but as these al ¬ ways caused popular uprisings much trouble resulted Ramses II therefore decided to undertake a military expedition to penetrate their fastnesses and wipe them out In this however his success was not complete He succeeded in dislodging them from their na ¬ tive settlements but as a result they scat ¬ tered througnout Egypt and plied their un ¬ holy game by hook or crook everywhere This condition continued for centuries until America having been discovered and a long drought in the Valley of the Nile causing terrible distress there the Shellabites de ¬ cided to migrate to the New World Accord ¬ ing to the learned antiquarian Hezekiah llepworth the leading authority upon the early history of Coney Island they irst landed near what was later known as Man ¬ hattan Beach and this locality has ever since remained their favorite habitat on the Occidental continent though large colonies of them have been discovered along the Bowery and in adjacent localities localitiesThis This is the true history of these occur ¬ rences and while at variance with the con ¬ clusions drawn from his papyri by Prof Whangberg of its correctness there can be no dispute in informed quarters No doubt when Prof Whangberg learns of these facts which he has overlooked he will readily re ¬ tract his doubts regarding the Hellenic ori ¬ gin of the starting gate gateYours Yours very truly trulySALVATOR SALVATOR
