will occasionally see a bicycle, have seen one steam-roller for making
roads. A part of the streets have on them the water-cart sprinklers.
In other parts of the city what is done in that line is done with the
leather water-bottle that we read of in ancient Bible history. It is
the skin of the goat, many of them with the hair on, and being sewed
up, from appearance, will hold two or three pailfuls. They are filled
and emptied at the neck, which has a small opening. You will see
thousands of the natives at the Nile filling these bottles. I should
say they would weigh, when filled, one hundred pounds. They are carried
on the side with a strap over the shoulder. They will go on the street,
partly close the outlet with one hand, giving a swaying motion, and
will thus sprinkle the streets quite rapidly and very acceptably to the
dusty traveller; yet, when you have summed up the whole country, you
will be obliged to write the word _passé_. They are ploughing with
the same plough that Elisha used, treading out the grain with oxen. The
camels are the burden-bearers. Everything about as it was four thousand
years ago. Whether Jonah’s experience, as related by Dudley Warner,
had any effect upon them, I am not prepared to say. When the whale
landed Jonah on shore, his skin tender as a parboiled chicken, he saw a
blind man eating dates. Jonah with his tender heart restored the man’s
eyesight. As soon as this was done, he began to snap the seed at Jonah,
and, he being in a tender condition, it hurt him prodigiously, and he
complained to the Lord; but word soon came back to let things be as he
had fixed them or take the consequences.
[Illustration: WATER BOTTLES AND FILTERS OF EGYPT.]
The Egyptians have let things be about as they were, and when they
are going to have courage to change them no one can tell. A new
civilization will have to be introduced, woman elevated, Mohammedanism
exchanged for a pure religion.
LETTERS FROM THE HOLY LAND.
I.
JAFFA, SYRIA, April 15, 1895.
We left Cairo the 13th at 11.30, ran out on the main line to
Alexandria, some twenty miles, then branched off, running due north
through the land of Goshen, a beautiful, rich farming country of broad
plains, as fine as anything we have seen in Egypt. This was where
Pharaoh told Joseph to locate his kindred, and where the Israelites
grew and multiplied, and afterwards became slaves, and were at last
obliged to make bricks without straw; and then Moses came, and led them
out to the land of Canaan.
We passed through some of the treasure cities they built for Pharaoh.
One of the places is now named Zakayik. After leaving this, we passed
along the edge of the great desert with nothing but sand and sage brush.
We also passed Tel-el-Kiber, where the battle between the English
and Egyptians was fought in 1882. The English soldiers being so far
superior, much better drilled and equipped, they made quick work of the
affair, the battle lasting only twenty-five minutes, the English losing
only twenty-six men. We saw the little plat of ground where they were
buried, which was fenced in and neatly cared for. As soon as the battle
was over, the cavalry proceeded at once to Cairo, and made their
demands, which were granted without further resistance.
About five o’clock we reached Ismalia, where we changed cars, taking a
narrow-gauge road to Port Saïd, forty miles distant. Ismalia is noted
for its baggage thieves; for, if a piece of baggage is lost there, it
is never found again. So we held on to our grips, and kept our eyes on
the trunks, which had to be transferred about ten rods from one depot
to another. This was done by Arabs taking them on their backs, which
was a marvel to us. I saw one Arab with four steamer trunks on his back
at once. I would not have believed such a story, had I not seen it with
my own eyes, and shall not insist on any of my friends taking any stock
in this transportation company unless they choose to do so.
Ismalia is where we strike the Suez Canal, and is about half-way
between Port Saïd and Suez. Our train follows the canal all the way to
Port Saïd.
The earth that was taken out of the canal was largely taken out with
baskets by the natives, and left on the banks. This seems queer to a
Yankee, but labor at ten cents a day changes the operation wonderfully.
Much of the way we could not see the water in the canal, and it was a
peculiar sight to see steamers of all sizes sailing through the sandy
desert. At times we could only see the upper part of the vessel.
This great water-way cost nineteen million pounds sterling, some over
twelve million being taken by the stockholders, and the rest by the
khedive. The income is getting to be enormous. The first year, 1871,
the receipts were three hundred and forty thousand pounds. In 1890 they
were two million six hundred and eighty-nine thousand pounds. The canal
has a depth of twenty-six feet, and at the bottom is some seventy feet
wide. Within a few years the electric search-light has been introduced,
which enables the vessels to run nights.
We reached Port Saïd at eight o’clock in the evening, and such a motley
crowd you never saw. From the chatter and clamor that was going on
we thought that the Tower of Babel must be somewhere near. We took
carriages, and went to the Eastern Exchange, a hotel seven stories
high, fireproof, with a twenty-foot wide veranda running all around the
building. This was carried up the seven stories; and most of the rooms
opened on to those verandas, and in this climate, and standing on the
seashore, was very pleasant.
Port Saïd has some twenty-three thousand inhabitants, and is said to
be one of the wicked places of Egypt. The next day after our arrival
was Easter Sunday, and you would have thought it was the Fourth of
July,--bands of music, firing of cannon, and a general holiday. We
remained in our hotel until about four o’clock, then went aboard a
large French steamer that lay in front of the hotel, and at about 6
P.M. steamed out of the bay for Jaffa, reaching this place about eight
o’clock in the morning.
To-morrow morning at six we start for Jerusalem. Some of our company
are going by carriages, others on horseback.
Jaffa, or the Bible name Joppa, is where Jonah started from, when he
came in contact with the whale.
As you come up the bay, you see the city commencing at the water’s
edge, towering up as it recedes, one tier of buildings above another.
Follow this up some ten minutes’ walk, and you come up on a broad
plain, a place of some twenty thousand people, about one-half
Mohammedans, the other half from all creation, nearly all kinds of
dress but American. Most of that is seen on the tourist. The bazaars
are fearful; that is, as far as dirt is concerned. Jaffa is the
shipping port for Jerusalem. Here was landed the material in the time
of Solomon for the building of the temple.
Our hotel is located on the east side of the city, and is a very
comfortable place to stop at. On the upper veranda you can look over
hundreds of acres of orange-trees, and far in the distance can be seen
the hills of Judea.
We have visited the house where Dorcas made so many garments, also the
house of Simon the tanner, where Peter had his vision when praying on
the house-top. Have driven out some two miles to a German settlement,
and found a beautiful country, more variety than in Egypt.
Jaffa has no harbor for large steamers, so we had to be landed in
small boats. There are times when the surf is so high that they cannot
land the passengers, and they carry them by to Beyrout; but we were
fortunate, and were landed very nicely, although some of our party were
fearful that they should go to the bottom of the sea. But after we were
in the little boats, and went tossing up and down over the waves, we
rather enjoyed it.
One peculiarity of this country, there is no wharfage. We find the
climate a little cooler than on the Nile, and more variety of scenery.
Here we first placed our feet on the land of Palestine. This was the
section of country allotted to the tribe of Dan.
II.
JERUSALEM, April 17, 1895.
Monday evening, the 15th, at Jaffa, our managers gave notice that we
should be called the next morning at 4.30, to have our trunks and
grips packed and be ready for breakfast at 5.30, and we would start
at 6 for Jerusalem, forty miles, over one of the best roads to be
found in any country. The party had the privilege of choosing, go by
carriage and make the journey in one day, or on horseback, taking
two days for the trip. There were fourteen that chose carriages, the
members from Springfield being among the number. Prompt on time, with
four carriages and our dragoman, we bade good-by to Jaffa, one of the
oldest cities in the world, and headed our horses eastward toward Mount
Zion, driving several miles through orange and lemon groves, until we
struck the plains of Sharon. (See Song of Solomon ii. 1.) We found a
beautiful country, with a profusion of roses and flowers as far as the
eye could reach. We passed at our right a Jewish agricultural college,
established by Charles Netter, of Paris. A little farther on at the
left a modern village, said to be on the site of ancient Hazar-shual,
where Samson caught the three hundred foxes (Judges xv. 4); and by the
way we met a young Rev. Mr. Green, who used to preach at Hartford, Vt.
He has been in this region a few weeks, roaming the country, gathering
flowers. He thinks there would be no trouble now in catching that
number of foxes, as in many places you can almost knock them over with
a club. They are called jackals. They were about our hotel at Jaffa,
and stirred up the dogs, so that between the dogs and jackals we were
kept awake half the night.
The next place of importance was Ramleh, the traditional Aramathea.
(See Matt. xxvii. 57.) Here is a stone tower, said to have been built
by the Crusaders. It is some one hundred feet high. We went to the
top, and had a grand view from Gaza on the south, to Mount Carmel
on the north, eastward the land of Judah and Benjamin, westward the
Mediterranean. Looking south-west, you see Ashdod Gath, the home of
Goliath. Farther to the east you see Gezer, a Canaanitish town taken by
Pharaoh and presented to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
After leaving Ramleh, we pass at our left Gimzo, which was taken from
the Israelites by the Philistines. Six miles from Ramleh we go down
into the valley of Ajalon, where Joshua commanded the moon to stand
still. (See Joshua x. 12.) This valley runs north and south, and is
perhaps one mile across, with a depth of one hundred feet or more below
the plains. Each side beyond this valley we pass the village of Latron,
said to be the home of the penitent thief. Latron is about half-way
from Jaffa to Jerusalem. In leaving this, we go down into the Wady Ali,
and then begin to climb the hills of Judah, and soon enter the land of
Benjamin and pass the old site of Kirjath-jearim, where the ark of God
rested for twenty years. If you will cast your eye to the left, you
will see in the distance, upon the top of a conical hill, Mizpah, the
highest land in this part of Palestine. This was where Saul was chosen
king. (See I Samuel x. 17-24.) Gibeah of Saul is in sight, also the
home of John the Baptist. From this place we pass down through another
valley and around the brow of the hill. Beyond we come in sight of
Jerusalem, only about one mile distant.
The last ten miles was a continual climb most of the way, and I have
never been so impressed with the Scripture where it speaks of the
tribes going up to the Holy City to attend their great religious
festivals. Last Sunday was Easter, and there was a great celebration
in Jerusalem. We were on the road Tuesday, and it was full of people
returning from that festival. We met one company of about one hundred.
Some were walking, and others riding on horses, donkeys, or camels. We
were told that the party would be away from home sixty days, thirty
days each way.
You would see horses with a pillion on them, straps going over the
horse’s back holding boxes on each side, perhaps a little canopy over
the boxes. In these boxes were the little children, and the mother
sitting on the pillion, the husband walking behind. Then would come a
camel, with the mother riding, and the children in front of her. There
were all kinds and ways, nags and Arabs, a motley crowd.
The country about Jerusalem is different from what I had pictured it.
It is very mountainous for a long distance westward, and the hills have
a very peculiar appearance. The sides of these hills and mountains look
as though human agencies had been at work on them, and terraced them
from bottom to top. They will show a line of stone from two to four
feet high running along the side of the hill, as straight as a line,
then grass or trees for several rods, then another layer of stones,
so on up to the top. The olive orchards many times extend clear to
the tops of the mountains. The gray stone and the green give in the
distance a mottled appearance.
It seems to be a great field for goats. We saw hundreds of them as we
came up the mountain, every flock having a shepherd.
As we near Jerusalem, and are near the top of the mountain, our eyes
behold wonderful beauty in the landscape in all directions. Jerusalem
is an elevated city. “And as the mountains are around about Jerusalem,”
etc.,--the saying is a true one; but the mountains are not high ones,
for the city itself towers toward heaven, and you have to descend into
a valley before you can climb any of the surrounding mountains.
On our arrival at Jerusalem we went to the Jerusalem hotel which is in
the new part of the city, outside of the city walls of old Jerusalem,
and is beautiful for situation.
The horseback party arrived the next day after our arrival, and
pitched their tents not far from our hotel, but near the Jaffa gate.
We were to have two camping tours, the short one from this place and
return, occupying three days, going to Jericho, the Jordan and Dead
Sea, distance thirty miles. This is considered the most dangerous
travelling we shall have. As it was in the time of Christ, so it is
now, full of Bedouins and robbers. Being entirely an unsettled country,
our orders were to keep together. If any one went ahead or lagged
behind, he would do so at his own risk.
It is necessary to have some official on this trip. So we had a son of
one of the sheiks, mounted on his gray charger, armed to the teeth;
and our dragomen all had their short swords. This camping business
is a regular circus, a picnic every day. It takes about one hundred
horses, mules, and forty men to move us. Those at the hotel were to
take horses, and partake of the luncheon, in tent, with the others; but
at night we were to be at the hotel in Jericho. There are two hotels,
the Jordan and the Bellevue. We went to the latter, a small house, but
very neat, and Oriental from the word go. We were there two nights; and
I, for one, should have been glad to have stayed longer. The only out
was that the dogs and jackals made things lively nights. One gentleman
of our party got up, and shouted out of the window for them to get out
of the way and stop their noise, but the effect, seemingly, was to wake
up more dogs, and the music was increased instead of being diminished;
but I am rather a friend of the canines, and those troubles rest very
lightly on my shoulders.
[Illustration: SON OF A SHEIK.]
Now, if you would like a dim picture of this first camping tour, you
had better meet me at the Jerusalem hotel early Thursday morning,
April 19. First there was an array of saddle horses brought into the
yard for us to select from, grays, bays, and blacks. The members
from Springfield chose a pair of bay geldings that had been used
to following each other. We have two ladies that cannot endure the
horseback riding, and have palanquins.
About 6.30 A.M. the straps were all buckled, and we were on our horses,
moving down toward the Jaffa gate, where we met the rest of the party;
and then we moved north outside the old walls, passing the Damascus
gate, then turning east, which brings us into the valley of Kedron
or Jehosaphat, as it is sometimes called. Passing along the edge of
Gethsemane, look up at the right, and you have a fine view of the
eastern wall of Jerusalem. At the left you look up Mount Olivet, and
see the road David went barefooted, when he fled the city in time of
Absalom’s rebellion. We passed the place where Stephen was stoned, the
pool of Siloam, Absalom’s tomb, also the tomb of Zechariah.
Through this section we encountered the greatest number of lepers and
beggars in the most pitiable condition, sitting beside the roadway,
pouring forth their cries and lamentations. But we are soon past all
this, and begin to wind our way around the brow of Olivet. In less than
an hour from starting we are at the little village of Bethany, which
is located the other side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. Here
seems to be a valley coming up from the south; and at the head of
this valley, in a semicircle, lies nestled the little town of Bethany,
at the foot of Mount Olivet. We saw the spot where Martha, Mary, and
Lazarus lived, saw the tomb of the latter, could almost feel on our
brow the warm Christian atmosphere that pervaded that place more than
eighteen hundred years ago, that made it so attractive to the Saviour
of mankind. We were pointed out the place where Simon the leper lived.
From this place to Jericho, some eighteen miles, we pass only one place
where anybody lives. Jericho, located on the plains of the Jordan, is
four thousand feet lower than Jerusalem, hence the expression “going
down to Jericho.”
The plains of the Dead Sea are thirteen hundred feet lower than the
ocean, and is the lowest land in the world. As we pass on from Bethany,
we go winding our way down those narrow ravines, hills and mountains
each side, with many caves for the robbers. On the side of these
mountains are the shepherds, with their flocks of goats and sheep.
About half-past ten we come to the only residence on the road, being on
a somewhat elevated spot. Here we stop for lunch. Tradition says here
was the inn where the Samaritan left the wounded man. We took little
stock in that. However, we laid a man across a donkey’s back, with a
good Samaritan standing beside him, and got a snap shot at them with a
kodak. With our lunch we had water taken from the brook Cherith.
Soon after we started, we visited the spot where Elijah was fed by the
ravens.
From this time to the Jordan valley the mountains and hills looked arid
and barren, having a chalky appearance; and the gorges along which we
passed were fearfully deep, and had, no doubt, been cut down by the
water.
About four o’clock we reached the plain, turned to the left, and went
up to the fountain of Elisha, that he healed of its bitter qualities.
This is near the mountains, boils up from the ground, running away
quite a large stream. We were thirsty, and drank heartily, finding a
good quality of water. Here is supposed to be the old site of Jericho,
which was shaken down, and a curse pronounced on any one that should
attempt to rebuild. There was any amount of stones and rubbish about
there, but we saw nothing of any rams’ horns.
About a mile south of this place is the Jericho of Christ’s day, with
some new buildings added. We were shown an old stone house, or the
ruins of one, that is claimed to be the house of Zaccheus. They also
pointed out the tree he climbed to see the Lord. It might have been a
descendant from the original one, but that is as far as we should care
to go.
At Jericho we stopped for the night, some in hotels, others in tents.
Friday our day’s work was to go to the shore of the Dead Sea, and from
there to the banks of the river Jordan, where the children of Israel
crossed, and Elijah divided up the waters as he went up in his chariot,
also where Christ was baptized. We found the Dead Sea a beautiful sheet
of water, clear as crystal. Some of the party went in bathing. It is
said to contain some fifteen per cent. more salt than the ocean, and is
heavier per cubic foot than the human body. From these plains you can
see across the sea and river the hills of Moab, Mount Nebo and Pisgah,
where Moses was allowed to go to look into the promised land. We took
our lunch on the banks of the Jordan, had the water from the river to
drink. Some crossed the river, which is about a hundred feet wide and
quite swift in its current, in boats. On our return to Jericho for the
night we crossed the old site of Gilgal, where the children of Israel
first camped, also the valley of Achor, where Achan and family were
stoned. If the deed had to be done, they could not have found a better
place; for there is plenty of material close at hand.
[Illustration: CROSSING THE JORDAN.]
The plains of the Jordan are not as fertile as we expected to find
them, not like the Nile valley. They are probably worn out, and were
more fertile in the days of Abraham and Lot; for here was the place
where Abraham told Lot to choose which way he would go, and he, seeing
the well-watered plains of Jordan, pitched his tent toward Sodom, the
location of which was where the Dead Sea now is, or plains this side.
If it were sunk, then the sea is the place; but there is an appearance
of a ruined city this side on the plain, and I think we had better call
that the spot. In either case the mountains are near at hand where Lot
went for safety.
Saturday we were in the saddle early, and continued our return until
we reached Bethany. Met on our way the Prince and Princess of Germany.
They were going over the same route we had just taken. We stopped
some two hours for lunch at Bethany. Then, instead of going around the
brow of the Mount of Olives as we came, we went over the old road,
over the top, and came down the same pathway the Saviour came on
his triumphal entry, and where he wept as he beheld the city in its
wickedness, from the Mount of Olives. You get a fine view of the city.
There has been a church built within a few years, beside it a very high
tower. Up this tower we went, giving us a view of the whole surrounding
country. At the base of Olivet we visited the Garden of Gethsemane,
then followed down the valley of Kedron, to where the valley of Hinnom
intercepts it, then up the Gihon valley to our hotel. This took us
entirely around the walled part of the city. While at lunch at Bethany,
some soldiers went by with some robbers that had been captured, that
were chained together, walking. The soldiers were on horseback, taking
them to prison.
Sunday, the 21st, has been a day of rest. The Congregational party held
service at 9.30 on Mount Calvary, a small elevation just outside the
city walls. Rev. Mr. Clark, of Salem, Mass., conducted the services,
which were very impressive. The American consul, Mr. Wallace, a young
gentleman, and his wife were there, and at the close spoke beautifully.
At the foot of Mount Calvary is a plot of ground that evidently was
at one time used for a garden. By excavating an embankment at the end
of this garden, some two years ago, General Gordon discovered a tomb
that has every evidence of being the tomb where Christ was laid. While
there was room for four, there never had been but one of the niches
occupied; and the top or stone cover of this had never been sealed.
Christ, you know, was anointed for burial. Had he not risen, this
covering stone would have been sealed. While the Mohammedans have his
tomb in the city, yet we know the Scriptures do not warrant any such
thing. Jerusalem has nothing that will impress the Bible scholar as
Calvary and the tomb at the head of this garden. We remain here until
Wednesday, going to Bethlehem, and return Tuesday.
About one year ago there was much in the daily papers in America about
a strange young man from the West that had made a wager of $10,000
that he would go to Jerusalem in twelve months’ time, starting without
a cent of money, and would not ask for money the whole distance. He
started from Galveston, Tex. I never even dreamed of seeing this
strange young man, as he was called; but, strange as it may seem, he
put in an appearance at the Jerusalem Hotel last Saturday. He has been
on the road ten months and twenty days. His name is P. P. Killiner, is
a regular cow-boy, has leather suit of clothes, made by the Indians out
of antelope skins, with fringes of leather on all the seams. He has
walked thirty-five hundred miles, sold his photograph, letting people
pay him whatever they pleased. They got up quite an excitement over
him in New York, and gave him money enough to cross the ocean. When he
went down to take the boat, they crowded the street so full it was
impossible to move. He attended services with the Congregational party
Sunday, and went with them over Mount Moriah Monday.
III.
JERUSALEM, April 22, 1895.