Daliet-el-Carmel, Aug. 15.—About this time last year, when I was at
Esfia, we were suddenly disturbed by the intelligence that a German
teamster, whom I have been in the habit of employing, had been attacked
in the night at the bridge over the Kishon, distant about three miles
from my camp, while on his way from Haifa to Nazareth, by four
Circassians, who, suddenly surrounding him, pointed their guns at his
head, thus preventing him from using his revolver, which they stole from
him, at the same time cutting the traces of his team and carrying off a
valuable pair of horses, leaving the poor man helpless with his wagon at
about one o'clock in the morning, far from any help, but thankful to
have escaped with his life.
The whole machinery of the local police was put in motion, and the
authorities professed to take up the matter in earnest. Some of the
German colonists scoured the country in pursuit of the robbers, who
appear to have fled to some Circassian colonies which were established
about five years ago on the plains of Iturea, near the foot of Hermon,
beyond the Jordan, and there all trace of them was lost. They had got
among friends, who covered their tracks, and the horses were never
recovered.^[1]
Since this time the colonists, who are constantly travelling in their
wagons between Haifa and Nazareth, and in the hottest weather generally
make the journey by night, always go two or three together, and had not
been molested until a few nights ago, when two of them started for
Nazareth, one of them the victim of last year. His companion, who had
left Haifa a little before him, expecting to be shortly overtaken, was
jogging along at about 8 P.M., and was not above four miles distant from
Haifa, when a Circassian rode past him, wishing him good-evening. The
German returned the salute, but his suspicions were roused by the man's
manner, and he got his revolver ready. Almost immediately after he heard
a whistle, the man who had passed him turned sharply back, and two
others sprang upon him from an ambush, where they had been concealed, by
the roadside. One of them seized his horses' heads, while the others
began cutting the traces. The teamster instantly jumped from the box,
and, unwilling to shoot before it was absolutely necessary, closed with
one of the robbers, striking at him with the butt of his pistol. He was,
however, nearly overpowered, and had just time, as he saw his adversary
draw a knife, to send a bullet through him. At this moment he received a
severe blow on the back from one of the other men, who rushed to the
assistance of his comrade, but the German, who was an old soldier and
had been through the Franco-German campaign, was a quick shot, and
knocked this man over with a second barrel. At this moment a fourth
Circassian appeared upon the scene. Fortunately, the attacking party
were only armed with knives. The two remaining Circassians now, seeing
that two of their number had been disposed of, began to draw off their
bodies, it being a first principle of their warfare to carry away their
dead. This gave the German, who was scarcely able to raise himself from
the ground, a chance to fire two more shots, but, as it seemed at the
time, without effect, and the two Circassians, throwing the bodies of
their companions over their horses, made off.
By this time the other German teamster, who had been a quarter of a mile
behind, but had pushed on on hearing the shots, came up and helped his
wounded friend. He, however, was able to continue his journey to
Nazareth, and in a few days recovered from the effects of his bruises.
Meantime information has been received from a peasant where the
Circassians passed the night, that one of them had been killed on the
spot, that another died of his wound shortly after he was brought to his
cottage, and that the third had a ball through his leg, but that his
wound had not been sufficiently serious to prevent his continuing his
journey the following night with the corpses of his companions. One
would think, under these circumstances, that if the authorities chose
there could be no great difficulty in tracing the miscreants; but no
steps whatever have been taken in the matter, which is, perhaps, the
best solution of it, for whenever a foreigner is unhappily obliged to
kill a native in self-defence in this country the chance is that he has
to stand his trial on a counter charge of murder. Now, thanks to the
precautions taken by the Circassians, and the apathy of the government,
there is no proof of any one having been killed, and the Circassians
have received a much severer punishment than any that would have been
inflicted upon them for horse-stealing by the authorities, and they are
likely to be careful how they meddle again with the Germans.
Opinions are divided as to whether they will seek their revenge or not.
The Germans still continue to team by night to Nazareth, but they go in
parties of never less than three wagons together, and well armed. Had
the robbers been Bedouins or native Arabs, this encounter would mean a
blood feud, and sooner or later revenge would be taken; but I once spent
some weeks with the Circassians in their own country, and I do not think
that they have the same custom of vendetta. Indeed, notwithstanding the
fact that they are a most lawless and thieving set as colonists, I found
them a very safe and pleasant people to travel among in their own
mountains, where they have their code of honour and hospitality, and I
have spent a day with them in one of their colonies beyond Jordan, and
received nothing but civility. It would, however, be better to keep them
in those wild and half-savage regions than bring them within range of
the temptations which civilization offers to them.
I have just seen a man who has been paying them a visit at the old city
of Jerash, which, with the exception of Palmyra, is the most perfect
Greco-Roman ruin which exists to the east of Baalbec. My informant tells
me that in the course of their excavations for stone for their
habitations they are making great discoveries. They have unearthed a
heretofore undiscovered and unsuspected temple, with a subterranean
conduit of flowing water, and many fragments of statues and coins. One
large jar of gold coins, worth $50 each, was an immense prize, which
they only succeeded in keeping by paying a bribe to the government
official of $2500. My informant saw one of these coins, but, as he was a
native, and ignorant of such matters, his description was too vague to
convey any definite idea of their date. I should feel much tempted to
pay these ruins, which I have already examined once, another visit, but
of late years the government throws so many obstacles in the way of
travellers to the east of the Jordan that such a journey now may expose
one to annoyances.
Meantime, there are many objects of interest in this immediate
neighbourhood; within a distance of three miles I have found the
extensive remains of what have been undoubtedly iron and copper mines.
The former ore was present in large quantities, and the day may come
when this discovery may prove of considerable value to this part of the
country, though it would be useless, under existing conditions, to take
any steps towards its exploration now. It is probable that the old iron
rings which I found in digging the foundations of my house were made
from this ore.
I have also found a curious square structure, fourteen feet in height,
twelve feet square, composed of stones averaging three feet by two, by
about one in thickness, all carefully squared, and laid one upon another
without cement, the whole forming a perfectly solid erection of great
antiquity. It may possibly have been a vineyard watch-tower. It is on
the way from here to the “Place of Burning,” or Elijah's sacrifice, and
is the second I have found in that neighbourhood, the other being
considerably smaller. I came upon it accidentally on the occasion of a
Druse picnic to which I was invited, and which took place at the “Place
of Burning,” in celebration of the last day of the feast of Ramadan,
which the Druses seem to observe as well as the Moslems, though on a
different day.
The female population of the village, in their gayest dresses, had
preceded us on donkeys. I accompanied the sheik, who had drawn up on a
little plain outside the town about a dozen horsemen as an escort, and
thus, after a little of the usual imitation of the equestrian game of
the djerrid, at which, in default of the real thing, the horsemen
delight to exercise their horses by a mock encounter, we formed in a
sort of procession, the young men of the village on foot, armed with
great clubs, chanting songs of love and war, as they marched in front.
There were from two to three hundred persons collected on the flat space
in front of the church which the Carmelite monks have recently erected
on the supposed site of Elijah's altar. And here the usual
dancing-circles were formed, and the fun of the day commenced. But it
was melancholy fun. How could it be otherwise, when the young men and
women are not allowed to dance together, scarcely even to speak to one
another? It was quite pitiful to see half a dozen of the prettiest girls
that could be found in Syria sitting under the shade of a tree,
gossiping, and looking at half a dozen fine, stalwart, handsome young
fellows prancing about on their horses, or singing and dancing, without
there being the ghost of a chance of a flirtation. The girls cooked
together and ate together and danced together and sang together, and the
young men amused themselves apart as best they could. As the delights of
flirting are unknown to them, I suppose they did not miss them; but as I
looked at the young people of both sexes thus divided, I wondered what
would be the result of a similar experiment if it were tried at an
American picnic.
It was a curious sight to see a bevy of at least fifty women and girls
rush into the Carmelite chapel, which during the week is left in charge
of a Druse, who on this occasion did the honours of it to his
coreligionists, who scampered all over the premises, gazing wonderingly
at the altar ornaments, and forming large dancing-circles on the flat
roof. I could not exactly find out why the Druses chose the place of
Elijah's sacrifice as the scene of their festivity, but there is no
doubt that the traditions of a special sanctity are attached to it in
their religion as well as in that of the Roman Catholics, and that the
slaughter of the eight hundred false prophets by the holy man whose
prayers for rain were heard on this spot, and upon whom the divine
vengeance was invoked, appeals to a sentiment which is common to the
Christian, the Moslem, and the Druse religions.
[1] A year later the thieves were found, and the Circassian colony to
which they belonged was compelled by the government to refund the
Germans the value of the horses.