Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 April 1894 — IT FELL FROM HEAVEN. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

IT FELL FROM HEAVEN.

Tka Sacred Black Stoae WAtah AU Mahometan* Won hip. The Holy Well of the Mahometans is at Mecca, Arabia. To them it is known as Zem Zem, and in their eyes ita waters are sacred and a few drops of it, drunk or sprinkled over their

bodies, are sufficient to wash away their sins. The Holy Well is part of the great temple of Kaabah, sacred to Allah, and the rendezvous once a year of every pious follower of Islam. Here is the ancient Black Stone venerated by the Mahometans. This wondrous stone dropped from heaven on the day that Allah entered into compact with the sons of men, and containing the celestial contract neatly folded in its center, to be read, and to testify, at the final judgment, to all who have performed their duty by kissing its mottled covering, has always created a singular curiosity in the minds of unbelieving Christiana From time to time a few daring infidels have shaved their heads and donned the pilgrim’s garb, and, thus djsguised, have taken life in hand and sought the jealously guarded treasure. In this way a few stolen pictures of the Kaabah have been smuggled out of Arabia. The Black Stone is described as smooth, oblong in shape, and with a glassy, red-black, Irregular surface, which suggests the idea of having once been broken into fragments and afterward cemented together. It is seven inches in diameter and some five feet above the ground, and projects from the angle of the northeast corner of the building. The stone and the aperture where it enters the wall are bordered by a band of gold.

THE SACRED BLACK STONE IN MECCA.