________________
212
THE JAINA GAZETTE
the Nelson and Westland Provinces in south Island. The township of Murchison in the valley of the Buffer River, where the shock was most severe was evacuated. Landslides blocked roads and communications and damined rivers. Fifteen persons were killed.
*
City Buried in Jungle.
The veil of centuries of oblivion is at last to be torn from the ancient city of Gedi, which for 300 years has lain crumbling to ruin in the dense African jungle only fifty miles from modern Mombass.
Professor Fleure, of the University College of Wales, who has been visiting Kenya Colony with the members of the British Association, believes that Gedi, known in Kenya as the "buried city", is of Persian origin and at least 600 years old. The ruins disclose a fine Arabic writing, especially in the mosques and tombs.
Professor Fleure thinks that Gedi would well repay investigations by archaeological and ethnological experts. He does not believe these would be difficult in view of the profusion of evidence provided by the ruins. The town was known to the tribes on the coast for many years, but it was shunned by them, because they regarded it as being haunted by the spirits of the dead, who wreak special vengeance on intruders. The lighting of a fire in the precincts of the ruins was considered particularly dangerous by the negroes, even if the fire was only a cigarette.
*
*
*
Museum for Watches.
Herologists will be interested in the new building, which is being considered by the Herological Institute of America as the educational centre of the craft of watchmaking. It is to contain, a vast technical library and the finest masterpieces of the art. The estate of James Ward Packard, engineer and inventor, includes thirty watches of a value of $30,000 has provided the nucleus for this venture. Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
