aN curse, according to the
dictionary,. is a prayer or
invocation to cause harm,

injury or torment. It is *a

very malevolent word that
lives up to its reputation; a
powerful curse can bring
death.

Probably the most familiar
‘curse-story’ is that connect-

_ed with the discovery of the

tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen, the

18-year-old Pharoah who.

died around 1350B.C.. Many
of the people involved with
the opening and desecration
of the tomb and its. treasures

died within a very short time. .

of the event.

Blinded by the excitement
of the discovery, they didn’t
notice several omens which
indicated that they were
bringing the curse of the
Pharaohs down upon their
heads.

On an absolutely calm day
with no wind whatever, a
miniature sandstorm arose
sweeping across the desert
right up to the mouth of the
tomb. Almost immediately
afterward, a hawk, the
ancient emblem of royalty,
flew up from the east and
then swept away. And on the
day that Howard Carter
finally broke into the sacred
chamber, his pet canary was
swallowed by a snake.... the
emblem of the young
Pharaoh.

The Inspector General of
Antiquities in Egypt, a Dr.
Weigall, was alarmed at the
light-hearted way in which
the discoverers conducted
the tomb opening, especially
when Lord Carnovan, the
expedition’s sponsor, set up
tables loaded with wine and
food to give a party for his
guests.

“If that is the spirit in
which he is going down,"
Weigall commented, ‘‘he
will not live six weeks."’

~

And he didn’t.

Dr. Weigall himself ex-
perienced a frightening oc-

currence in connection with a

‘relic taken from a tomb. This

relic ‘was a porcelain cat
which, he thought, might
contain the mummy of an
actual animal, sacred to

-Bubastis, the cat-headed god

of love.

Weigall took the find home
with him for examination but
could not détect any joint to
separate the two porcelain
halves. He put the problem
aside and went to bed but
was unable to sleep, being
assailed with strange fan-
tasies in which the cat
seemed to be glaring at him.
Finally he fell asleep but was
suddenly aroused by a loud
report.

He jumped out of bed and
found himself attacked by a
huge grey cat which clawed
at his hands and face before
escaping through a window.
Weigall rushed to follow it
and saw his own cat in the
garden, arched and bristling

at an intruder that disappear- .

ed into the bushes:

On turning back to his

-room, Dr. Weigall found the

porcelain cat split wide open.
Exposed and standing per-
fectly upright, a mummified
cat was staring at him!

Places, as well as things,
can be under the malignant
influences of a curse which
could be due to the after
effects of some terrible event

_ that took place there.

Such a place is in India,
called the ‘Valley of the
seven Dead Men’.

In search of treasure,
Graham Dickford and a
group of adventurers were in
India to track down rumors
regarding a valley where a
great treasure was to be had.

The British authorities in
India heard about Dickford
when, in 1892, he was found
in a state of collapse and
taken to a hospital in a small
town. He told a frightening
tale.

Too much bench time slows
you down. Get active. Get in
shape and put yourself

in the clear

Fitness is fun.
Try some.

pannapacnon

our mysterious world

-b y George Cunningham-T. ee

nome oy

hand elrsos.

He and his companions
had discovered a mysterious
valley in the middle of a

dense jungle area-:where the:
natives had told him of a

temple filled with fantastic
treasures. Instead of finding

heaps of gold and jewels,
however, his party had
stumbled into a ‘place of
horror. He had been the only
one to escape alive, racked
, with fever, with burns_ all
over his body, and_totally
bald.

He lapsed into delirious

nightmares punctuated with

strangled screams, burbling
about ‘a great flying fire’,
‘shadows ‘in the night’ and
‘ghosts that kill by looking at
you’.

For three days and nights
Dickford’s torment continued
until finally he diéd_in such
agony that the Indian hospi-
tal attendants fied in terror.

In 1906 the. Indian: Govern-
ment sent’ an expedition to

this ‘death valley’. which was

discovered to be infested by
all the most.-. ‘poisonous
snakes and plants in. India.

_ The expedition’s leader also

reported that if a match was

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Page 57, April 18, 1979 - North Shore News

struck, there was a terrific
roar, and flames shot from

one énd of the valley to the.

™~

expedition died and the men’

who went to retrieve. the
bodies. later suffeted from
nightmares
dreadful sense of depression.

‘A ‘second expedition was

and:

-mounted five years later,-

composed of experienced

jungle - explorers. Of the —
seven men, only two

returned.

This setback squelched the
government’s zeal for a time
but in 1919 another group of
explorers’ was sent. out. Sure

enough ' they. located. the’

valley and found the skele-

tons.of 17 men, But they paid ©

the price for their trouble.

On the second day in the
area, three of the group who
had been laughing and
the others,

‘addenly and for no apparent
reason turned and’ jumped

from a. rocky: cliff. They were
other, Two members of this;

dashed to Pieces. on 1 the: rocks
below.’

That was’ the last official
expedition. o
If there ever. iwas’ a
treasure, the curse to protect -

it had certainly done its job.

The location of. the Valley of
the Seven Dead Men is now a
well kept government. secret.

Enough, they say; ‘is
enough! - me
{GEORGE. . _ CUNNING.

HAM-TEE is interested: in
any and all experiences with

Our Mysterious: World, and

‘awaits your letters with great

interest. Please write him
c/o Box 345, Station A, |
Toronto, Ontario, MSA 3X5.)

Copyright 1979. Toronto.
Sun Syndicate

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