CAMPING LIFE
At the close of a tour one spring, Mrs. Nelson and I were compelled to
reach home on a fixed date, because of the expected arrival of guests.
The weather had been unpropitious and the rains heavy for the season of
the year. At one point we had been shut in for several days by a
snowstorm, and all the rivers were unusually high. We had a broad plain
to cross, intersected by three rivers which must be forded. The rain had
been persistent, but ceased on the day we were obliged to start for
home. We reached the first river after about an hour's ride, and crossed
it successfully, the water coming near to the girths of the saddles. The
second river was reached and crossed without serious difficulty, but
from there onward the entire plain seemed to be under water, and our
horses splashed along through water and mud without interruption. Toward
sundown we neared the last stream, and congratulated ourselves that just
beyond it we should find the carriage road and a dry place for the
night. Our road lay through a wretched little Nusairiyeh village, just
before reaching the river, and as we passed the houses we were hailed by
many voices assuring us that the river could not be forded with safety.
I did not believe this at first, thinking it merely a ruse to compel us
to spend the night in their village. Such an event would be more or less
profitable to the people who would provide our necessities for a
consideration, even if there was no thought of robbery, which was quite
possible also. We waited for our muleteers, as they were familiar with
the stream and would be able to decide whether we could cross or not.
Their verdict agreed with the statement of the villagers and so we were
obliged to negotiate for a lodging place.
After some parley we were allowed to stop in the sheik's public room.
There was not a dry spot about the town, but by riding up close to the
door, we were able to dismount on a large log, and then jump across a
mud puddle to the doorsill, and so enter the room assigned to us. It
would be hard to make anyone who has not seen such houses realize what
this room was like. It was about twenty feet square, with one door and
no window. The lack of this latter was partly supplied by the fact that
the wall of the house had tumbled in at one corner, leaving a ragged
hole through which light and air entered freely. The floor was of dirt
and at two levels. One half, which was used to accommodate people, was
reached by a high step and was comparatively dry. In the middle of this
higher floor was a smoldering wood fire, from which the smoke had
colored the roof timbers a shiny black. The lower half of the floor was
on a level with the ground outside or even a little lower, and was
decidedly muddy. This section was for the accommodation of horses and
cattle. When our party was all inside, so that we could take a census,
we found that the occupants of the room for the night were to be,
besides myself and my wife, the three muleteers, a cook and a Syrian
maid accompanying us to the city. We were in the higher part of the
room. In the other part were two horses, four mules, a goat and a calf.
These were the visible animals, and anyone who has traveled under
similar conditions will appreciate what is meant when I say there were
myriads of other creatures which made themselves known through other
senses than sight.
The sheik was seated by the fire, warming himself, and gave us a scant
welcome. We took such a supper as we were able to provide in the
circumstances, and prepared to be as comfortable as possible for the
night. One of the men had been suffering from malaria and so I prepared
for him, and others in the party, a dose of quinine, after the fatigue
and exposure of the day. The sheik immediately asked what it was, and
desired a dose for himself and the other men present. It was the same
principle as that which makes bargain sales attractive. Something is
going cheap or gratis, and so I must have it, whether I need it or not.
Doses were given out to all who wished for it, for a few grains of
quinine seldom go amiss in this country. Conversation was not very
lively, about that smoky fire, as we were tired and there were not many
topics of common interest. At length our cook thought he would
facilitate matters a little. He had lived with foreigners long enough to
know the advantage of appealing to the gallantry of men toward the
ladies, so he said in his most ingratiating tone to the sheik, "The lady
is tired and would like to go to sleep." "Well, let her do so, there is
no objection." With a scarcely restrained chuckle, the cook subsided for
a time and then tried again, saying this time, "The Effendi (gentleman)
is tired and would be much obliged if you would leave so that he may
sleep." This was a different proposition and seemed to meet something of
a response. Shortly, one of those present got up and went over into the
corner of the room where he spread out his cloak and proceeded to his
Moslem devotions. When he was through, another followed him with equal
deliberation, and we began to doubt whether we should sleep before
morning. At length the last one withdrew and we were left to ourselves,
including the attendants and animals mentioned before. We spread our
camp bedsteads in the driest part of the room and made ready to sleep.
It was not long, however, before the rain began to fall, and very soon
the roof began to leak over our heads. We spread rubber coats over
ourselves and raised our umbrellas over our heads and tried to see the
humor of the situation. At early dawn we were up and packed our goods
for a new start. The river had fallen sufficiently in the night to
permit our crossing, though with some difficulty. On the farther bank we
found a party of people waiting until the stream should subside
sufficiently to allow them to cross with their small donkeys.
Every summer it is necessary to make a change from the heat of the plain
to the more bracing air of the mountains. This is not a vacation, for
the missionary's work goes on with little variation, wherever he may be,
but it involves a change of base and the setting up of a simple
household in different surroundings. In those earlier years the mountain
life was exceedingly simple and the means of transportation most crude.
The village of Hadeth is accessible from Tripoli and in a beautiful
situation, directly opposite the famous grove of Cedars of Lebanon. It
lies on a ridge in the mountains at an elevation of some forty-five
hundred feet above the sea. More than one season have we spent in the
house of old Abu Maroon, the village carpenter. The house consisted of
four large rooms, opening on a long, arched porch which extended the
full length of the house. The floors were of dirt and the walls roughly
plastered with mud. We rented three of these rooms, the owners occupying
the fourth. The partitions between the rooms were made of brushwood,
plastered on both sides with mud. These partitions extended only about
three fourths of the way to the roof, leaving ample space above for
ventilation and conversation. The uncovered twigs and small branches at
the top of these partitions made an attractive, artistic feature, very
pleasing to many of our visitors. One of the regular household duties in
those mountain houses was the renewing of the mud on the floors. Every
week or two it was necessary to remove everything from the rooms, spread
a fresh coat of watery mud over the floor, and polish it off with a
smooth, round stone kept for the purpose. We could then anticipate
reasonable freedom from fleas for another period.
The only way to reach a summer resort was on horseback, over very rough
bridle paths. All furniture had to be transported by mules in like
manner; folding chairs and tables, camping utensils and necessary
bedding had to be made into suitable bundles; indispensable supplies had
to be provided and mules secured to carry all to the mountains. It was a
long, hard day's ride and the party was sure to be pretty tired the
first night of arrival, but the renewed vigor in the fresh mountain air
gave new strength for the resumption of life on the hotter plain in the
fall and it was well worth all the trouble it cost.
When it is possible to secure a week or two for real rest, there is no
more delightful way to accomplish the purpose than to make a camp in the
cedar grove. This clump of trees lies in a basin in the higher
mountains, about six thousand feet above sea level. On the east and
north, and somewhat on the south, the mountains rise about this great
amphitheater to about four thousand feet more, being the highest
mountains anywhere in Syria. Large patches of snow lie perpetually on
these highest mountains, but the slopes are bare, having no trees nor
shrubs beyond clumps of thorns and scanty grass where the melting snows
afford some moisture. Flocks of goats range over these barren slopes,
gaining a scanty subsistence. In the days of Solomon and Hiram of Tyre
these mountains were probably covered with cedar forests. Nowadays only
small sections are so covered, though on many of the bare heights the
people still dig up the old stumps of great cedar trees, which they sell
for fuel in the cities.
On the entire mountain range there is left no single grove of really
ancient cedars, except the one of which I have spoken, known among the
people as the "Cedars of the Lord" or simply as "The Cedars." It is
impossible to speak with certainty of the age of these great trees, but
from what we know of their slow growth and the size of many of the
trunks, it is safe to place their age in the thousands of years. There
are more than four hundred trees in the grove and their reputed sanctity
has protected them from destruction. Some forty years ago one of the
governors of Mount Lebanon had a wall built inclosing the grove and a
guardian appointed. This affords protection from goats, and now a number
of small trees are growing up to perpetuate the grove in generations to
come. If proper steps were taken for reforesting the whole of Lebanon,
there would be a great improvement in many ways, and the agricultural
wealth of the country would be greatly increased.
To establish a camp among these grand old trees is a most delightful way
to spend a short vacation. The silence of the nights under the spreading
branches; the fragrance of the foliage; the soothing sigh of the breeze
among the tree tops; the beautiful and ever-changing colors on the
higher mountain slopes; the beautiful outlook to the west over the
narrow valley out to the distant Mediterranean; all these influences
tend to quiet the tired nerves, refresh the exhausted brain and draw the
discouraged heart back to quiet and rest in the hand of the Master.