PRINCETON, N. J. 'A Division . Section . Shelf. Number.. SCxZ^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/eastofjordanOOmerr EAST OF THE JORDAN A RECOED OF TEAVEL AND OBSEEVATION W THE COUiXTRIES OF MOAB GILEAD AM) BASHAW DURING THE YEARS 1875-1877 SELAH MEERILL AUCHjEOLOGIST of the AMEUICAN PALESTINE EXPLORATION SOCIETY (Itailiti) 3inu3tration^ ana a i^ap WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY PEOFESSOR ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK D. D. PUESIUENT OF UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEWYORK NEW-YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 743 & 745 BROADWAY 1881 ^OPYKIGHT, 1881, BY CHAKLES SCRIBNEK'S SONS. TO Professor JOSEPH HENRY THAYER, D. D., "WHOSE STEADFAST FRIENDSHIP I HAVE FOE MANY YEARS ENJOYED, THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED. PKIHGJETOIT INTRODUCTION. The name Palestine occurs for the first time in Herodo- tus. Like its Hebrew equivalent, " Pelesheth,^' or " land of wanderers,^' it meant only Philistia. In the later GreeJc and Boman period it was applied, as we apply it, to the whole country occupied by the Israelites on both sides of the Jordan. But as Canaan, the oldest of all the names, meant only the " lowland,'"' or country west of the Jordan, so now most people, when they think of Palestine, give it the same narrow bound- aries. Eastern Palestine hardly comes into the account. And yet the historic associations belonging to the country east of the Jordan are rich and various. Two and a half of the twelve tribes that came out of Egypt under Moses chose that side of the river for their home. Syrian, Assyrian, and Chaldean armies marched in and out there. Some of the dis- banded veterans of Alexander settled there. It ivas beyond the Jordan that John the Baptist began and ended his official career. Nearly six months of our Lord^s brief ministry were spent on the same side of the river. The Christian Church itself sought refuge there when the Roman legions began to vi INTEODUCTION. close in upon Jerusalem. In the time of the Antonines the country was fall of cities, with their temples, theatres, and baths. In the fifth century Christian churches, well organ- ized, were numerous and flourishing. The Biblical sites, to be sure, are not very many, as com- pared with the multitude on the western side of the river. But they are of peculiar interest. The five cities of the plain were trans-Jordanic. Penuel, Mahanaim, and Succoth are suggestive names. Nebo and Pisgah are like Jiousehold words. Bethabara, ivherever it was beyond the Jordan, ivitnessed the descent of the Spirit upon the Founder of our religion. And somewhere in the wilderness beyond occurred what Milton calls the " great duel, not of armsP This whole section of country, though nominally a part of the Turkish Umpire, is now, and has been for centuries, in the hands of Bedatveen. Travelling there is alivays difficult, if not always actually dangerous. Till quite recently very little was known either about the country, its ruins, or its inhabitants. The work of exploration, however, is now fairly begun. And the author of the book here offered to the public has done con- spicuous and excellent service in the field. He ivas no ordi- nary traveller. As Archceologist of the American Palestine Exploration Society, his opportunities were exceptionally good, and these opportunities were well improved. He showed ad- mirable tact, and had rare good luck, in dealing with the Bedaween, whose habits he studied carefully, and among whom he dwelt as securely as in Andover. He has the credit of several important identifications. His " Topographical Notes INTRODUCTION. ' vii on Eastern Palestine,^' in wJiicJi he gires^ in a concise and scholarly manner, the results of the explorations already made, ivithheld from puhlication for the present for reasons which need not he detailed, tvill appear in due time. The present volume has assumed a popular form. Personal incidents enliven the narrative. The illustrations are fresh and original, many of them from the author's oivn drawings. The hooTi contains a large amount of matter ivholly new. The author was careful and patient in Ms investigations, and now tells the story of his life beyond the Jordan in a manner equally entertaining and instructive. ROSWELL B. HITCHCOCK. Union Theological Seminary, New York, August 15, 1881. PREFACE. On the 20th of October, 1874, I ivas appointed the archceologist of the American Palestine Exploration 80- ciety, and sailed from New York on the IWi of June., 1875, arriving at Beirut, our head-quarters in Syria, on Monday, the 9th day of August. During 1875-77 I made four different expeditions, of which the journal of hut two is gicen at length i)t the following pages. On Thursday, December 23, 1875, / ivas placed in charge of the exploration ivorh, ivhich I carried on until the summer of 1877, ivhen I returned to America. I have since been retained by the Society to write reports and to assist Mr. Meyer in the prep- aration of our maps. During the two years that I ivas in the field, I labored under the immediate advice and direction of the Advisory Gommittee in Beirfit. This committee is composed of gentlemen ivho are familiar with many parts of Syria and Palestine, and who, in every way, are deserving of the highest respect and honor, and my relations with them were always exceedingly pleasant. Special mention should here be made of Professor Bosivell D. mtchcocJc, D. D., of Union Theological Seminary, New York, tvho, as president of the Exploration Society, has labored indefatigably for its interests, and also of Mr. Rudolph Meyer, the Society^s faithful engineer, by ivhose X PREFACE. shilful hand its map has been prepared. I desire to ae- hnowledfje my ohlifjation to J. Henry Thayer, Professor in the Theological Seminary, Andover, Mass., and Timothy Otis Paine, Professor in the New Church Theological Seminary, Boston, Mass., likewise to Charles L. Merriam and George W. Stearns, for valuable services rendered while carrying this tvorJc through the press. It may not he out of place for me to add, that of the large amotmt of archae- ological and other material in my possession connected, with Palestine, it has been found possible to introduce only a limited portion in the present volume. SELAH MEBMILL. Andover, Mass., May 2, 1881. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. Preparations 1 n. Among the Cities of Bashan .... 10 m. " " " " 24 rV. " " " " 43 V. Hauran Architecture 60 VI. Um el Jemal, the Mother of the Camel . 78 Vn. Personal Experiences 88 Vin. Sick in the Desert 100 IX. On the Way to the Field 112 X. Around the Sea of Galilee . . . . 125 XI. El Hamma, an Ancient Watering-Place . . 137 Xn. Gadara- 145 Xm. Aphek, the Grave of a Syrian Army (I. Kings XX., 30) 159 Xrv. The Jordan Valley 172 XV. " " 177 XVI. " " ...... 191 XVn. Lower Jordan Valley. — The Shittim Plain . 206 XVni. " " " " " . . 222 XIX. Mount Nebo „ . . 240 XX, On the Upper Zerka, or Jabbok . , . 253 XXL GiLEAD ..,...,,. 273 XXn. The Decapolis , 291 xii CONTENTS. XXIII. Return ......... 303 XXrV. On the March 313 XXV. Golan and Ashteroth Karnaim .... 320 XXVI. Pilgrim Caravans 333 XXVn. An Underground City 348 XX^TEE. The Watch-Tower of Gilead . . . . 359 XXIX. On the Lower Zerka, or Jabbok . . . 372 XXX. Exploration of the Jabbok . . . . 381 ■ XXXI. A War-Cloud 404 XXXp. Condition or the Country . . . . 411 XXXm. A Surprise Party 419 XXXIV. Mahanaim and Pell a . . . . , . 425 XXXV. Our Lord at Capernaum and in Perea . .448 XXXVE. Arab Life in the Desert 467 XXXVn. " '' " 488 XXXVm. '' " " 503 XXXIX. Conclusion 516 LSTDEX 533 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOIN^S. Where not otherwise stated, the illustrations are from photographs taken by the American Palestine Exploration Society, or fi-om original drawings. PAGE Amman on the Upper Jabbok. Looking up the Valley to THE South-west Frontispiece The Lava Bed in the Lejah . . From Wetzstein . 12 Tell Shaihan, in the Lejah . . From Burton and Drake 15 Temple at Musmieh = 17 Interior of Temple at Musmieh . From De Vogue . 18 Peripteral Temple at Kunawat 24 Plan op the Church at Edhr'a . From De Vogii-e . . 29 Cyclopean Structure in the Lejah, near Kirateh . 31 Temple at Suleim 32 Ancient Castle at Kunawat. Roman Eound-Tower in the Distance 36 Temple at Kunawat. Antique Head at the Eight . . 38 Heads op Baal and Astarte . Fro?n '^Unexplored Syria" 40 Colossal Head at Kunawat 41 Bullock's Head on an Altar op Basalt, from Kunawat . 42 Specimens of Ornamental "Work in the ^ Hauran Architecture. From Si'aS ^'■'^'"^^^'^i'"^' • ^=^ Specimens of Hauran Architecture. ^ From Si'A .... ^ From De Vogiie . . 44 Temple at 'Atil 47 Siv LIST OF ILLUSTBATI0N8. PAGE Ancient Sculpture found at 'Art. Possibly a Represen- tation OP THE Deity Dusares, or Bacchus . . .49 Lions and Palm-Tree. From the Castle at Salchad . 51 Castle at Salchad. In the Mouth of an Extinct Crater 52 Cathedral at Bozrah .... From De Vogiie . . 54 Mosque AND Eesertoir at BozRAH . . To face page 55 Anteroom Connected with the Theatre at Bozrah . 56 Remains of two Large Public Buildings, perhaps Tem- ples, AT Bozrah 57 Windows prom the Hauran . . From De Vogiie . 64 Windows and Doors from the Hauran From De Vogiie . . 65 Stone House in the Hauran . . From De Vogiie . 67 Windows prom the Hauran . . From De Vogiie . . 69 Church and Houses at Um el Jemal 82 Es Salt To face page 90 Hyrcanus's Palace at 'Arak el EmIr 107 Assyrian Sculpture in the Rock. Near Tyre . . .118 Section of Rock, showing Assyrian Sculpture. Near Tyre 119 Syrian Horseshoe and Nails 135 Seats in the Bath at El Ha mm a 150 Twenty-three Varieties op Masons' Marks, from the Stones in the Roman Bath at El Hamma, or Hot Springs op Gadara 151 Roman Road at Gadara 154 Door of a Tomb at Gadara 155 Candlestick (?) on a Lintel at FIk 162 Castle op Kaukab el Hauwa, as seen Across the Jordan Valley prom the Hills South of Gadara . . .174 Natural Bridge and Hot Spring North of Pella . . 183 Mill-Stone in a Quarry in Jebel 'AjliTn . . . .190 Ancient Mill-Stone, Shittim Plain 231 Tombstone of a Bedawin Sheikh. From near Hasban . 240 'Ay^tn MtrsA, or Fountains'of Moses From Due de Luynes 242 Ruins on Jebel MOsa . . . From Due de Luynes 246 Plan op the M'Shita Ruin . . . From Dr. Tristram 256 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xv PAGE GrATE AT M'SHITA . o ...... . 257 M'Shita. Interior View . . , . . , , .261 Tower at M'Shita ......... 263 Plan of a Temple at Amman . . , . . . .264 Theatre at Gerash . . . . . , . . 272 Triumphal Arch at Gerash . . From Due de Lmjnes . 281 Temple op the Sun at Gerash 283 Niche in the Remains op an Elegant Edifice on the Long Street at Gerash 285 Temple at Gerash. Near the South Gate . , . 288 Jab prom Irbid '. . . 295 Plan op Mahneh 355 Plan op Tell Deir 'Alla and Tulul edh Dhahab, or Suc- COTH AND PeNUEL 390 Large Theatre at Amman, and Small Theatre at the Left 399 Ruin at Amman, Showing Holes in the Lstterior of the Walls 401 Ruined Bridge on the Jordan, near ^ THE Mouth of the Jabbok . I ' To face page 423 Bedawin Skull, prom Khurbet Sar, the Old Testament- Jazer 486 Inscribed Stones prom Ancient Tombs at Sidon . 520, 521 Fragment op Ancient Lead Sarcophagus .... 522 A PncENiciAN Idol, prom Beir^tt. Front View . . 523 " '' " " Side View . . . 523 Stone Projectile. From Banias 524 Figures on an Ancient Altar pound at Jebail . . . 525 EAST OF THE JORDAN. CHAPTER I. Preparations. AiTival in Beirut. City stricken with cholera. Difficulty in finding, quarters. Places revisited. Rapid growth. Importance given to schools and education. Wide influence of the Mission press. Com- mercial prospects. American petroleum trade. Imports and exports. Sponge fisheries. Historical notices of Beirut. The Christian strong- hold in Sjrria. Advisory Committee of the American Palestine Exploration Society. Camp pitched at 'Abeih. Kindness of the American residents. Party made up. Route marked out. BeirCtt, Syria, Monday, August 23, 1875. OUR party, consisting of four Americans, has arrived on the Syi'ian coast at an unfortunate time, so far as undertaking any important work is concerned. The country is visited now by the dread disease of cholera, which has more terrors for the Oriental mind than the plague, famine or war. Forty thousand people have fled from this city alone, and I have walked about these streets for two miles without seeing man, woman or child, an open dooi', or any sign of life except a few starving dogs — and these ought rather to be classed among the signs of misery and death. StHl, the epidemic does not seem to be a very fatal one; for, if I am correctly informed by physicians here, the highest number of 1 2 EAST OF THE JOBDAN. deaths a day is ouly tliirteen. This, it must be remem- bered, however, is among the few people that have been obliged to stay at home, so that no one can teU what the condition of things might have been had all the inhabi- tants remained. The ports about the Mediterranean are guarded now by a strict quarantine, and we were detained at Alex- andi'ia for twelve days before we could get a steamer to Beii'ut. We left Liverpool on Monday, July 12, 1875, in the steamer Magdala, Captain Greig, staying a part of a day at Gibraltar and an entire day and two nights at Malta, and arrived at Alexandria on Monday, July 2G. We sailed thence on Saturday, August 7, and reached Beirut on Monday, August 9. We found that the hotels were closed, and likewise the private houses and most of the stores and shops. Americans and other foreign residents were in the moun- tains, the irrepressible dragoman had for once ceased to annoy the new-comer, and it appeared for a time as though we should not be able to get a tent pitched or find a roof beneath which we could obtain shelter. Fort- unately for us, our Consul, Hon. J. T. Edgar, was at his post, and through his influence one of the hotels was opened, where we spent the remainder of that day and the following night. Meantime Rev. George E. Post, M. D., one of the Advisory Committee of the Palestine Exploration Society, arrived from the mountains, and gave us our present quarters in the Syrian Protestant College. This commodious building is on a bluff one mile or more west of the city, and commands a fine view of the Mediterranean on one side and of the town and the Lebanon Mountains on the other. We enjoy here what- ever fresh breezes the sea affords, and are probably as PBEPABATIONS. 3 exempt from the cholera as we shoiikl be in one of the mountain \Tllages. Early in the year 1869, after an extended tour in Egypt and the Holy Land, I spent six or eight days in Beirut, and paid considerable attention to its history and places of interest. Some of these points I have revisited during the past two weeks, and, although the city has now so deserted an appearance, I see on every hand the signs of growth and of an increased degree of pros- perity. The suburbs appear to be better cultivated than formerly, and in some sections of the town many fine houses have been built. The missions under the care of the different Protestant nationalities have a firmer hold on the attention of the people, and they have been aggres- sive on the side of popular education to a degree that would have been surprising even under far more favor- able circumstances. The substantial edifice in which we have found a temporary home is but one of the evidences that the native popidation of Syria are heartily desirous of improvement, while the adjoining medical college is bringing about a great transformation in the minds of the people with regard to a noble science which has hitherto ranked, among them, only with the magic arts. One of the most hopeful features connected with the work of education in Syria is the progress that has been made among the native women. It is a noticeable but interesting fact that many Moslem parents have so far overcome their prejudices as to send their girls to Christian schools. In the present condition of affau^s, it is inevitable that the educational work among women shoidd be for the most part elementary in character. But, besides excellent schools of that grade, there are others, like the American Young Ladies' Seminary (to mention but one), where higher advantages are afforded, and the increasing num- 4 EAST OF THE J OB DAN. ber of trained young women who graduate every year from these advanced schools is an evidence that very many have got beyond the rudiments of learning and are anxious to become teachers, or to fit themselves for those positions of usefulness which only educated and intelligent women can fill with success. Further, the influence of the Mission press here is already of incalculable extent, and it is increasing year by year. The buildings themselves are small; but in all the East civilization has not a stronger ally than this humble establishment on the sea-shore at the foot of Lebanon. Eight millions or ten millions of pages, printed in the Arabic language, are sent forth from this press every year, supplying the Arabic-speaking people of "Western Asia and Egypt with a pure and Christian literature, and providing for them, by means of translations from Euro- pean languages, the best educational and scientific works which their progress in knowledge demands. Ten cen- turies before Christ this place was the seat of a depraved idolatrous worship. Five centuries after Christ it had the finest law school in the Roman empire; and nineteen centuries after Christ it has already become the strong centre of Christianity and education — the forces which, I believe, are destined to accomplish the moral and political and, consequently, the physical redemption of this long- oppressed but glorious land. This city cannot be compared with Alexandria as respects circumstances favorable for material growth At the same time Beirut enjoys unusual advantages in its climate, beautiful situation and scenery, in the fer- tility of its soil, and its almndant supply of water. Unlike any city of Egypt, this has a range of mountains so near as to furnish a retreat for the inhabitants during the long Syrian siimmer. When people here are exhausted PBEPABATIONS. 5 wdth the tropical lieat they can, in three or four hours on horseback, reach the higher parts of Lebanon, where the water is cool and the air fresh and bracing. Jebel Sunnin, which is in sight from this college, and is one of the highest peaks of the range, preserves, in its deep ravines and gorges, snow and ice duiing the entire year, and from this source the inhabitants of Beirut are supplied with these luxuries at a very reasonable cost. Although not equal to Alexandria, Beirut is the most important commercial port on the Syrian coast, and among the facts of special interest which I have learned is, that most of the vessels which bear the United States flag, arri\ang here, come with cargoes of petroleum. Foreigners shorten this word into "petrole," while the natives call the article "gas." It began to be imported directly about 1867, and during that year 50,000 gallons arrived at Beirut. But the trade has so increased that last year nearly 1,000,000 gallons arrived in American ships alone. This oil is not all consumed in Beirut, but is distributed over the whole of Syria. SmaU native craft take it to other ports along the coast, and it is carried inland to Damascus and the other towns throughout the central and northern portions of the country, and finds its way even to the cities and villages along the Euphrates. Among the other articles of import here I may specify, without going too deeply into details, hardware, crockery and glass ware, furniture, sewing-machines, boots, shoes, and leather, wines and spirits, drugs and medicines, rice, coffee, sugar and flour, stationery, fancy goods, woollen and silk goods, cotton goods and prints, matches, cigars, marble, and lumber, including boards, planks, and heavy beams. The want of native timber is a great drawback to the prosperity of this' countrj^, and that which is im- ported is, of coiu'se, very expensive. The fancy goods D EAST OF THE JORDAN. come chiefly from Austria and Germany ; hardware, boots, and shoes, from England and France. Within a few years past, Russia has sent considerable floiir to Syria. In cotton goods and prints, the last of which must be of the most gaudy and flaming colors to please the Oriental taste, Manchester has taken the lead of all other cities in supplying this market; but the business being known to be profitable was soon overdone, and there is now a depression. Great quantities of rice are brought to this country, for the natives are very fond of it. Sugar comes principally from Egypt and France. But few cigars are imported, for the natives do not use them, partly because they are too expensive, and partly because they are too strong, and contain more tobacco than a Syrian or an Arab wishes to smoke at once. Furthermore, foreigners soon give up the practice of smoking cigars, and adopt instead the cigarette, which, together with the nargUeh for leisure hours, takes the place of the pipes and cigars of the West- ern world. Considerable produce of various kinds is also shipped yearly from this port, and among the articles are dried apricots, raisins and nuts, wine and ohve oil, wheat, barley, sesame and beans, madder root and other sub- stances that are used for dyeing materials, rags, skins, wool, bitumen, sponges, raw cotton, silk, and tobacco. Formerly a great many horses, cattle, and sheep were shipped from Syria to Egypt and elsewhere, and from this source the country derived a very important income. But for some reason strict orders have been issued from Constantinople prohibiting the export of cattle and horses, and this business has nearly ceased. The bitmnen comes from the mines at Hasbeiya, near the most northern source of the Jordan. It is found in a very pure state, is worth about one hundred and thirty dollars a ton, and PEEPABATIOXS. 7 is used principally by the Continental varnish makers. A large part of the silk is shipped to France; the value of that sent in 1872 amounting- to £500,000. Since the Suez Canal was opened, the silk industry of Syi'ia has been ahnost ruined. The raw article can be produced much cheaper in the far East, where also the crop is more certain, and the present means of rapid transit enable the growers and shippers there to supply quickly the Eui'opean market, so that the producers here find it impossible to hold their own with such odds against them, and many have in consequence been driven to poverty and real distress. One of the important industries of Syria is the sponge fisheries, of which the average value of the yearly pro- duction is from $100,000 to $125,000. In 1872, nearly $60,000 worth were shipped from Beirut alone. At present not a great deal of cotton is produced, and the Govern- ment has made tobacco a contraband article, so that the production of this staple has well-nigh ceased. In ancient Hebrew times, cotton was raised and manufactured in Syria, and in the Middle Ages the cotton fabrics of this country were widely celebrated; but its production has fallen almost to nothing in recent years, chiefly owing to the fact that the Government neither aids nor encourages any industry that can possibly be made a source of wealth to the impoverished and wi'etched inhabitants. Among the historical notices of this city, connected chiefly with its commercial character, we find Pliny (died A. D. 79) praising the sweetness of the Beirut grapes, and declaring that its native wine was, with that of Tripoli, Tyre, and Byblos, the best in Syria. Ammianus MarceUinus (fourth century) describes Beirut, Tyi-e, and Sidon as the most important cities of Phoenicia. Procopius (died A. D. 565) speaks of its extensive silk trade and manufactories 8 EAST OF THE JOBDAN. whence the whole Roman empire was supplied with th(3 most elegant and costly fabrics of this kind. In the time of Justinian its only rival in this trade was the city of Tyre. Agathios (sixth century) speaks of Beirut, at the period previous to the great earthquake in A. D. 529, as one of the most beautiful cities of the Phoenician coast, adorned with elegant palaces and presenting the appeai'- ance of a Roman city of wealth and splendor. Amid the luxury and the powerful heathen influence which prevailed here at that time, Christianity also had a foothold, and its teachers and churches existed side by side with Roman schools and Pagan temples. It was here that Constantine, in 325, issued his law prohibiting gladiatorial combats. We have had a number of interview^ with the Advisoiy Committee, composed, besides Dr. Post ah*eady mentioned, of Rev. Wm. M. Thomson, D. D., Rev. Henry H. Jessup, D. D., and C. V. A. Van Dyck, M. D., D. D., and, mth theii- cooperation, oui- preparations are nearly complete. It is proposed by the committee that we go on Wednesday, August 25, to 'Abeih, a village in the mountains, five hours south of Beirut, pitch our camp there, and see if everything is in order. 'Abeih, Syria, Wednesday, September 1, 1875. As every member of the party has been more or less indisposed, our departure for our field of labor has been delayed beyond our expectations. But all our forces are now on hand and in readiness, and we propose to start in the morning. Since coming here I have spent parts of two days in planning with Dr. Thomson about our route. We have decided to camp to-morrow night at Kefr Nebrakh ; go thence to Jubb Jenin, and on our way take photographs PBEPABATIONS. 9 of the recently discovered grove of cedars above Bamk ; on Saturday to go past and photogTapli the temple at Thelthatha, and spend Sunday at Rasheiya; to visit Rukhleh and some of the temples about the base of Mount Hermon; also the summit of Hermon, and go thence by way of Mejdel esh Shems to Banias. Thence visit and photograph the castle, the grove of Hazuri, the lake Phiala, and go on by way of S'as'a to the north end of the Lejah. The country east of the Jordan which it is proposed to survey embraces 6000 square miles, being about the size of that contemplated in the English survey of Western Palestine. The region assigned to us is a vast table-land, averaging about 2500 feet above the level of the Mediterranean, on which there is but a single group of hills, called the Hauran Mountains. It is said to be full of ruins which are of great historical interest. Besides the four members of the exploring party, Prof. E, R. Lewis, M. D., of the SjT-ian Protestant College in Beirut, and Mr. Henry L. Van Dyck, are to accompany us; we have also ]Mr. T. R. Dumas, of Beirut, as our photographer. We have twenty-three baggage animals and nine horses, eight muleteers, six servants, — including two cooks and a table boy, — and two native assistants and interpreters from the college just mentioned. The Americans whom we have met since coming here have received us most cordially and rendered us all the assistance in their power. To some of them I am person- ally indebted for many kind attentions. They all express themselves as deeply interested in the work which the American Society has undertaken, but seem to regret that we should be sent out to our field while the heat is so oppressive. CHAPTER II. Among the Cities op Bashan. Route followed. S'as'a. Beautiful camijing-gi'ouutl. Extinct crater. The Lejah, the ancient "Argob." Vast bed of lava. Freaks of the cooling lava. Great caves, the lurking-places of robbers. Testimony of Strabo and Josephus. The Haiiran Momitains, once a region full of active volcanoes. Strange appearance of the Lejah. Musniieh, the Phaena of the Greeks. Fine temple. Inscriptions. Palace of the Governor. Public hotel. Camp of the Sixteenth Legion. Our camping-place. Burak. An episcopal city. Old foundations. Aqueduct and water supply. WE followed pretty nearly tlie plan of our route, which, as I have mentioned, was arranged with Dr. Thomson, and reached the border of the Trachonitis on Wednesday, September 15, 1875. S'as'a appears to oecnpy the mouth of an extinct crater, and the khan belonging to the town is of great size. Our camp was on the bank of the Jennani, or rather between two branches of that stream, where was a patch of inviting gi'eensward, an unusual sight in this parched land. A flock of fine-looking geese shared with us one end of this smaU island, but the}^ did not disturb our slumbers. In order to confine my material within the compass of a single volume, I must omit for the most part my journal AMONG THE CITIES OF B A SHAN. 11 of our work and travels for two mouths from the date last mentioned, and select only such matters as appear to me to be of chief importance, and which I trust will prove of general interest. There are many points about the Lejah from which one can overlook its entire siu"face. The views from the roof of the temple at Musmieh, and from the buildings at Khubab some distance to the south, are particularly fine. It would be difficult to mention a spot iu civilized lands which could be compared to this ancient region in regard to its wild and savage aspect. When one reads of '' Argob," or the " region of Argob," in Deut. iii., and elsewhere, the name and phrase have little signifi- cance ; but when one is actually on the ground, and, from the walls of the temple at Musmieh, looks south-east over the very district referred to, or, from some point in Jebel Haurari, looks north over this great sea of lava, one realizes that the Hebrew words are expressive to a degree that one had never before imagined. The lava bed proper embraces about three hundred and fifty square miles, and its average height above the sur- rounding plain is perhaps twenty feet. The bed in its out- line or edge is far from being regular, but sends out at a multitude of points black promontories of rock into the surrounding plain. Through this rugged shore there are a few openings into the interior, but for the most part it is impassable, and roads had to be excavated to the towns situated within it. Argob, or the Lejah itself, is a great plain, and one of the strangest on earth. The surface is black, and has the appearance of the sea when it is in motion beneath a dark, cloudy sky, and when the waves are of good size but without any white crests of foam. But this sea of lava is motionless, and its great waves are 12 EAST OF THE JORDAN. petrified. In the process of cooling, the lava cracked, and in some (^ases the layers of great basalt blocks look as if they had been prepared and placed where they are by The Lava Bed in the Lejah. [From Wetzstein.] artificial means. In other cases, the hillocks have split lengthwise, or sometimes into several portions, and thus seams have been opened, forming great fissures and chasms which cannot be crossed. In some sections the lava bed has not been broken into such small hillocks, but has more the appearance of what we call a rolling prairie. There are between the hillocks, and also in the rolling parts, many intervals of soil which is of surprising fertility. AMONG THE CITIES OF BASH AN. 13 BurcMiardt says: "In the interior parts of tlie Lejali the rocks are in many places cleft asunder, so that the whole hiU appears shivered and in the act of falling down. The layers are generally horizontal, from six to eight feet or more in tliickness, sometimes covering the hills, and inclining to their curve, as appears from the fissures which often traverse the rock from top to bottom" (p. 112). There are places where the lava was congealed while the cmTcnt was still strong, for the eddies are distinctly marked, like a path that one might suppose to have been covered with coiled ropes. Besides the seams and fissures, there are also numerous caves, which have been occupied as dwell- ings. Bands of robbers lurk in them at the present day. Outlaws from the settled portions of the country flee hither, and are comparatively safe. There is good evidence for believing that these eaves were occupied in the remotest antiquity, and that they are the veritable abodes of Trog- lodytes. Speaking of the Trachonitis, Strabo says : " Towards the parts occupied by Arabians and Itureans are mountains of difficult access, in which are caves extending to a great depth. One of these was capable of containing four thousand robbers" (book xvi., 2, 20). William of T}Te also reports that there was a cave sixteen miles fi-oni Tiberias wliich was three stories high. It had a lower, a middle, and an upper dining-room. It was fortified, and held a garrison of sohliers (chapter xxii.)- The old Jewish writers speak of a cave of Zedekiah, wliich was many miles in extent, though we are not certain that this was east of the Jordan (Lightfoot, x., pp. 179, 288). But the underground apartments at 'Arak el Emir are well known and remarkable, and the extensive caves at Dra'a will be spoken of elsewhere. Josephus's account of these caves, as being the dens of robbers, is also well worth quoting. He says: "These rob- 14 EAST OF THE JOBDAN. bers had no cities of their own, but only some receptacles and dens in the earth, and there they and their cattle lived in common together. However, they had made contrivances to get pools of water, and laid np corn in granaries for them- selves, and were able to make great resistance by issuing out on the sudden against any that attacked them; for the entrances of their caves were narrow, in which but one could come in at a time, and the places within incred- ibly large, and made very wide ; but the ground over their habitations was not very high, but rather on a plain, while the rocks are altogether hard and difficult to be entered upon, unless any one gets into the plain road by the guidance of another, for these roads are not straight, but have several revolutions" (''Antiquities," xv., 10, 1). Zeno- dorus, who had been appointed governor of this region, was in league with these outlaws, and to Herod the Great was assigned the task of subduing them. What are called the Druze or Hauran Mountains contain numerous extinct craters. The exact number has never been estimated; but the lava floods extended north-east as well as north-west, so that the lava region must embrace altogether several thousand square miles. South of Mount Hermon there is likewise a group of extinct craters, begin- ning with Birket er Ram, or Lake Phiala, and Tell el Akhmar, and continuing some distance below into Gau- lanitis. Wetzstein has given a striking sketch of one of the extinct craters in the Lejah; but I have selected from another source an illustration which I think will convey a still more vivid impression of these strange monuments of the condition of the physical earth in this region at some remote period. The Lejah is not a waterless region; but on the contrary there are, at many points, copious liAdng fountains in which the water is not only abundant, but cool and sweet. A3I0NG THE CITIES OF B A SHAN. 15 As the eye sweeps over this sea of black rock, not the least interesting feature is the number cf ruins that can be counted. Among these, a dozen or more round towers can be seen from Khubab alone. Some of them, no doubt, guarded the Roman road running north and soutli through the Lejah, while others were needed in the vicinity of cultivated fields and fountains. One of these, situated not far from Khubab, Rev. W. Wright visited and meas- Tell Shaihan, In the Lejah. [From Burton and Drake.] ured : " The circumference, one yard from the base, is sixty- eight feet. It has thirty-seven layers of stone in it; the one with the other would be about a foot high each. The walls are four feet thick; the height of the door is five feet five inches, and its width three feet three inches. A central column of cylindrical stones supports a. stone loft of the height of fourteen feet, and a spiral 16 EAST OF THE JORDAN. staircase, the stones of which project from the wall, and are much worn by use, ascends to the loft." His conclu- sion— the only natural one — is that they were used as watch-towers (p. 522). We shall present under Kunawat an illustration of one of these Roman towers. As the number of craters in this region has never been ascertained, neither has the nmnber of ruined cities been counted, but the Ai'abs make it as high as one thousand. This refers to the Hauran, which, with them, includes the Lejah. I shall give a brief account, with illustrations, of a few of the more important of these Hauran cities, omitting, from necessity as I have said, any detailed account of my labors and experiences in this strange but interesting- country of Bashan. The ruins of Musmieh, which are about three miles in circumference, are situated within the Lejah, so that it was necessary to cut a road through the lava bed in order to reach the city, which, no doubt, enjoyed immu- nity from attack, since the rock-fields about it are almost impassable. This road is paved, and likewise the large area in front of the temple, which has justly been re- garded as one of the finest monuments in Bashan, This area was originally siuTOunded by columns. The temple is approached by a flight of six steps, running r.cross its entire front, and on the upj^er platform, which is that of the portico, stood six Doric columns, three of which are stiU in position. On the pedestals of each of these columns, and also on the architrave above them, there were inscriptions. The width of the temple was fifty feet, the depth seventy-four feet, while the height was about forty feet. The main entrance was large, and on each side of it was a smaller one. These have been AMONG THE CITIES OF B A SEAN. 17 ■walled lip, doubtless that the ruin might afford a better protection from storms after it came to be occupied as Temple at Musmieh. a dwelling. On the right of the main entrance there is a long inscription of forty lines, which I blacked care- fully with charcoal, that it might 1)e more distinct in oui* photograph. There is another long inscription on the lintel above the entrance, and others in other parts of the building. Over the two small side-doors there are niches with columns and triangular roofs. The niches terminate above in shell- shaped coverings. The interior of the temple is forty-six by forty-two feet, with a large apse, fourteen feet nine inches in diameter, opposite the entrance, above which is a shell-shaped roof of great beauty. The roof of the temple rested on four large 18 EAST OF THE JORDAN. arches, which were supported by foui* Corinthian columns. The roof has fallen, hut the columns remain, and are ornamented mth nicely carved wreaths extending around each about two feet below the capitals. These columns are about thirty feet high, and on the walls there are corresponding pilasters. On the walls there are also brackets or pedestals for statues. Interior of Temple at Musmieh. [From De Vogue.] 1 give De Vogiie's illustration in preference to our own photograph, because it shows the interior of this temple to much better advantage. Other pubhc buildings exist among the ruins, but, together with the private houses, they have long since been destroyed by earthquakes and other causes. To this AMONG THE CITIES OF B A SHAN. 19 statement exception should be made of a large building which belonged apparentl}^ to a group, and which may have been a palace, or the residence of the legate or governor of this capital city of Trachonitis. This building is three stories high. The stones of which it is built are not large,, and the roof is formed in the usual manner, i. e., of long, weU-hewn stone slabs, that are jointed closely, resting on corbels, and supported in the interior of the rooms by means of arches. Here, and in the surrounding buildings, the doors and windows and the other architect- ural features show them to have been costly and elegant structures. Most of the inscriptions found here belong to the Emperors Marcus Am-elius, Lucius Aurelius Verus, Corn- modus, Septimius Severus, and Alexander Severus, A. D. 151-235. Parts of two legions were stationed here, and Gr. Egnatius Fuscus and G-. Helvius Marianus, two centurions of the Third Gallic Legion, are mentioned, and also Petusius Eudemus and L. Aurelius Maximus, two centurions belong- ing to the Sixteenth Legion, which bore the name of Flavia Firma. Two consular legates of Syria are mentioned, one Avidius Cassius, celebrated in connection with a great revolt in this region, whose name has been effaced or mutilated on many monuments in the Hauran; and the other Julius Saturninus, who addressed a letter or decree to the inhabitants of Phaena with regard to the entertain- ment by the citizens of soldiers and travellers. This in- scription is the one referred to as written on the right of the entrance, while that pertaining to Avidius Cassius is on the lintel over it. As L. A. Verus died in January, A. D. 169, this inscription of A. Cassius woiUd precede that date. The name of the Third Gallic Legion has been par- tially effaced here, and on some other monuments entirely, because of the disgrace it incurred by its connection with 20 EAST OF THE JOBDAN. one or more famous and serious revolts. The interesting decree of Saturninus deserves to be translated entire : "Julius Saturninus to the people of Phaena, in the metropolis of Trachon, greeting: If any one, soldier or private person, forcibly quarter himself on you, let me know it and you shall have justice done you ; for neither do you owe any contribution to strangers, nor, since you have a public house, can you be compelled to receive strangers into your dwellings. This, my decree, put up in a public place within your metropolis, that no one may jilead ignorance." This inscription is important, as showing that what is now called the Lejah corresponds to the Trachonitis of the New Testament times, one of the provinces over which Herod Philip ruled. In Luke iii., 1, he is called " Philip the tetrareh." The fact of the estaljlishment of public lodging houses or hotels, where soldiers and travellers could be entertained, is also interesting. The word which I have rendered " metropolis " is mefro- Jconiia and means " important place " or " chief town." There appear to have been in the Trachonitis one or two other places of the same rank. The Sixteenth Legion here mentioned was for a long tune stationed in Germany. It suffered severely in the civil war which preceded the accession of Vespasian. This prince reorganized it, and gave it the surname of Flavia, to which was added subsequently that of Firma. It is not definitely known at what period this legion passed to the East, but it took part in the Parthian war of Trajan, and it was in Syria during aU the reign of Mar- cus Aurelius, as is shown by several inscriptions found at Abila, Phaena, and Philippopolis. Under Alexander Severus it remained in Sjrria, and at the end of the fourth century it was stationed at Sura, near the Eu- phrates. During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, its jjer- manent camp appears to have been in the neighborhood AMONG THE CITIES OF B A SHAN. 21 of Damascus, and the same is true of the Thii-d Gfillic Legion (Waddington, No. 2071). Waddington thinks he has shown that the proper name of this phice was Phaena, _1j\c)J>). See also 'Edrisi,' par Jaubert, i., pp. 354, 361. * * * Probably Edrei, Josh, xiii., 31 " (Robinson, vol. iii., Appendix, pp. 152, 155). It is evident that, in Mr. Smith's judgment, the Edi-ei of the Bible corresponds to the modern Edhr'a, rather than to Dra'a. Waddington, on the other hand (No. 2479), is certain that Edhr'a or Ezr'a bore in the Roman times the name of Zorava, and that it is not the city of Adraa or Edi"ei. In No. 2070?. he is equally confident that Adraa is the Edrei of the Bible. He says that the Arab geographers write the name o\c)3i, but that the modern orthography is, uIjW)^. He refers to Wetzstein, " Reisebericht," page 77, who gives the same orthography, and adds, with regard to the other place mentioned, that the Bedawin call it 9- j\, Zor'a, while the Damascenes call it 9'j\\ Ezr'a. We may admit that the Roman name was Zorava; but what older name did this represent? The Arabs, in reproducing it, have introduced an ain, ^ from which it is to be inferred that this letter existed in the original name, and hence this could easily have been the Biblical Edrei. In Abulfeda "Tab. S}t.," page 106, there is the foUowiug statement: "and between Sarchod and the city of Zor'a, ?\jj, chief of the cities of the Hauran, about a day." The distance is two good days ; but it is the spelling which is now in point. The writer can only mean Ezr'a or Edhr'a, and the importance which he gives to the place must be noticed. In the list of ecclesiastical cities belonging to the province of Arabia, which had Bostra for its metropolis, Adraa is AMONG THE CITIES OF BA8HAN. 29 mentioned, with no other name resembling it in the least. There is no indication whether this refers to Dra'a or Edlir'a. In the ecclesiastical province of Palestine III., of which Petra was the metropolis, there is another Adraa mentioned. 'Hierocles, in his " Synecdemus," mentions, in the province of Arabia, an Adra and an Adrassus. Ptolemy, among- the towns of Coele Syria, mentions Adra. Among the towns of Arabia PetrtBa, he mentions Adrou and Adra. His Adra of Coele Syria has 68|° longitude and 32^° latitude, while his Adi'a of Arabia Petraea has 69§° longitude and 31f° latitude. His longitude and lati- tude for Bostra are respectively 68i|° and 31. p. This would bring his Adra of Coele Syria slightly to the west of Bostra, and a good distance to the north of it, which would correspond better with Edhr'a than with Dra'a. The I'uins, as well as aU the other hints that can be gathered, seem to point out Edhr'a as the more important of these two places. One of the oldest Plan of the Church at as wcU as ouc of the most remarkable [ rom e ogue.j Qj^^istiau mouumeuts, the church built by John, the son of Diomed, on the site of a heathen tem- ple, and dedicated to Saint George, still exists at Edhr'a. May not Edhr'a 1)e, after all, the ecclesiastical Adraa which was subject to Bostra, and may not the theory of two Edreis be the correct one? An Arabic scholar in Beirut gives it as his opinion that there may have been two places of this name, and adds : " In pronunciation, the Arabs often make dh, j, to sound like d, .i, and then again like z, \, so that one can hardly tell whether they mean (as in this case) \cjJ> or p j j/' *• ^v Dhra'a or Zor'a. 30 EAST OF THE JORDAN. Waddington (No. 2498) thinks that the temple which this chui'ch replaced was dedicated to the god Theau- drites. It seems that John was one of the principal citizens of Zorava, and that Saint George appeared to him, not in a dream but in reality, and as a result of this actual vision the son of Diomed was led to build this church. " Like the cathedral of Bozrah, which was built at the same epoch, it has the form of an octagon inscribed in a square plan. Eight columns, bound by- arches, support the cupola, which is surrounded on the outside by an open gallery. In the four corners of the church there are smaU chapels, and on one side a large chapel projected on the square, and here is the tomb of Saint George, an object of veneration to both Christians and Mohammedans " ("Waddington, No. 2498). About three hoiu*s from Edhr'a in a south-easterly direction, and on the border of the Lejah, there is a small ruined town called Kirateh, where we camped from Sat- urday, September 18, to Monday, September 20, 1875. The place has no inhabitants. It has a large fountain of excellent water, which is fuU of fish. Some of the houses in the town are weU preserved. North-west of these ruins, and within the Lejah, I found some singular structures, of one of which a sketch is presented. The region here is the solid lava-bed, broken into hillocks, which are ofteii divided into many sections by gaping seams. The struct- ures to which reference is made were all built of large, unhewn stones, and were from twenty-five to thirtj-five feet in length; i. p., that was the length of the front wall or eastern face, which was in every case exactly north and south, while the western outline was circular, generally much larger than a semicircle. They occupied the sum- mits of the low rock-knolls, with which the Lejah abounds. AMONG THE CITIES OF BASHAN. 31 one on each summit. I counted fifteen of these structures in the region which I examined. In the centre of each is a rectangular pit or hole, eight, nine, and sometimes Cyclopean Structure in the Lejah, near Kirateh. twelve feet long, and six to eight feet wide. As the whole structure is built on the top of the rock, the bot- tom of these pits does not probably extend below that surface. Generally only the bottom layer remains, but this is made, in some cases, of stones that are four, five, and even six feet high. The platform of great unhewn stones into which the pit appears to be sunk, was built with striking regu- larity and solidity. Considering the size of the stones employed, as well as of the structures themselves, they seem far too elaborate and costly for tombs. In that case, why should the east side be exactly north and south ? and why should the other side be circular ? The condition of these ruins leads me to think that there has been more to 32 EAST OF THE JORDAN. them than appears at present. There may have been above the platform some kind of rude pyi-amid. The outer wall of the circular portion of the platform has been removed, ■^' Temple at Suieim. and, indeed, the larger portion of the platform has, in some cases, been carried away. This would indicate that the structures are of great age. Suieim, about one hour north-west of Kunawat, is inter- esting because it contains one of the most beautiful temples which stiU exist in the Hauran. The waUs have fallen into the temple itself, and nearly fill it; in most AMONG THE CITIES OF B A SHAN. 33 cases elsewhere the fallen stones have, to a great extent, been taken away and used for other purposes. In 1812, Burckhardt found this place deserted. In 1820, G-eorge Robinson found it occupied by a number of fam- *ilies. At present it is inhabited by Druzes, and is quite a flourishing although not a large town. Mr. Robinson speaks of seeing many Greek inscriptions here, but I found none except those given by Waddington, which I verified. Nearly in front of the temple is a cistern of great size. The roof is supported by three substantial arches. The foiu" sections of the roof itself are formed of stone slabs, which rest at each end on corbels or stones bound into the walls and projecting twenty inches or two feet on each side. The cistern was twenty-four by twenty-six feet, and thirty feet deep. The entire surface of the inside appears to have been covered originally with cement. A portion of the roof has fallen in, and below that place a good deal of debris has accumulated on the bottom of the cistern. It has been thought by some that this place, in the Christian period, bore the name of Neapolis, and hence was one of the episcopal cities of this region and the seat of a bishop. There is among the stones in front of the temple, one on which is a well-preserved inscription of eight lines in Greek hexameters. The last line contains the name of the architect or builder, Sadus, according to Wadding- ton, and the statement that he was from the city of Neapolis. The existence of this name here is the ground on which it is claimed that the place must be the episcopal city refen'ed to. On the other hand, M. Waddington is of the opinion that when an architect or builder resided in the place where his work was done, only his name was given, and the place of his residence was not added, simply because it was not necessary to do so. Hence he concludes 9* . 34 EAST OF THE JORDAN. that tnis cannot be the site of Neapolis. In his judgment, the modern names of places in the Hauran are in general only the ancient names slightly altered. He proposes Selaema as the ancient name of Suleim, and bases his con- clusion upon a fragment of an inscription, as follows:' **** XaiiiTjvoi^ which he restores thus: **** 2fc]Aalace, and during my visit I found seven others which he has not given, besides several in the Nabathean language. Among those which M. Waddington has given, I find that one is in honor of M. Aiu'elius Antoninus. Another shows that the troops or garrison stationed here were cavalry, belonging to the Ninth Dalmatian Horse, who were under the command of one Julius, an officer attached to the court of the prince. They formed a section of the body of troops known as YexiUarii — veterans upon whom was conferred special honor. Possibly a hint may be obtained as to the character of the place by the land and rank of the soldiers that were assigned to it. This inscription belongs, probably, to A. D. 371. UM EL JEMAL. 85 On the. four faces of a square tower, seen in tlie illustra- tion, belonging to a large building wMcli may have been a monastery, are several inscriptions in Greek, chiefly of a religious nature. One is a fragment taken from the Twenty- first Psalm. Others contain the names of Uriel, Gabriel, and Emmanuel. Waddington refers to the use of the names Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael, in the early Jewish %vritings. Four angels were placed at the corners of the throne of God, who were the genii of the four cardinal points. Uriel was the angel of the north ; conse- quently his name appears on the north face of this tower. Gabriel is the name on the east face, and the edifice is put under the protection of these two angels. Among the Nabathean inscriptions is one from a monu- ment dedicated to the god Dusares, who was extensively worshipped in these regions. I am sorry to state that the Arabs are every year carry- ing off the stones of this city to other places. As many as six men were at work while we were there, throwing down the walls and getting the long roof-stones, which were to be taken away on camels. Just before we reached the place, we met thirty or forty camels that had started with loads of stone from these ruins. It is easy to see how important inscriptions may be carried off, and thus val- uable historical material forever lost. This practice of removing stones from one place to another has gone on for centuries. Indeed, it prevailed in Bible times ; and we may be justified in concluding that the citizens of the Hauran possessed, in their day, much finer private houses than any which now appear among the ruins. It was on account of this plundering which I saw going on that I regretted so deeply I coidd not remain and complete a thorough arch^- ological examination of the ruins at once. We took two photographs of the city, and made some measurements. 86 EAST OF THE JOBBAN. The place appears to have been deserted for centuries. I should judge that the desertion was sudden and complete. There are no traces of there having been any lingering, deteriorating remnant of people, or of any wretched subse- quent inhabitants, to mutilate it, as is frequently the case in these large ruined cities. I noticed an interesting fact in regard to the pieces of pottery with which the surface of the ground here, as in all these ruined towns, is covered. In most cases one sees only the red pottery, but in Um el Jemal, the black was the prevailing kind, and the red decidedly the exception. There are but few places in SjTia where the black pottery is made. In the first century, according to the Talmud, the black kind was considered superior to the red, and brought a much higher price in the markets ; and, what is also interesting in this connection, a certain town in Galilee had a monopoly of its manufacture. So far as I am at present aware, there are no means of knowing what the ancient name of this place was, or whether it corresponds to the " Beth Gamul " of Jeremiah xlviii., 23. This last supposition is suggested, I think, by both Dr. Porter and Mr. Graham, and, on the other hand, it is doubted or disputed by M. Waddington, Dr. Grove, and others. In the passage referred to, it is stated that "judgment is come upon the plain country," and in the list of eleven cities there specified, " Beth Gamul, Beth Meon, Kenath, and Bozrah" are mentioned. "Judgment is come," it is said, " upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near." The word for " plain " here is niisJio); and the word for "far" is raJioJc, meaning '^remote," "far away." But it is not known how far the country desig- nated by misJior extended. If this word and Moab were used in Jeremiah's time with anything like the latitude with which such general names were used in later times, they could easily have embraced the country as far north as Um U3I EL JEMAL. 87 el Jemal, and even Bozrah. If Bozrali, in the passage in question, corresponds to the place where we now are, which is doubtful, or at least has not yet been proved, then there would be no difficulty in making Um el Jemal, or " Mother of the Camel," correspond to the Beth Gramul, or " House of the Camel," of Jeremiah. On our way home, as we had no guide, and paths do not exist, we took the Y.T7ong direction, and when we had ridden five hours we did not find our camp. We ascended a slight elevation, which commanded a \dew of a wide region. We had a choice of seven ruined cities which were in sight from where we stood ; but, as night was rapidly approach- ing, even our effendi could not tell which was Bozrah. We made a guess, which proved a lucky one, and, after one hour and a half hard riding in the dark, we reached our tents in safety. I have already said that the day was quite cool, com- pared with some weather that we have experienced, and I was glad that, in addition to my ordinary clothing, I had worn a thick worsted jacket under my coat. As we approached the ruins, the black, broken walls reminded me of the burnt portion of Boston, after the great fire of 1872. The color of the basalt rock of which these Hauran ruins are constructed gives one at first the impression that they have been blackened by fire. CHAPTER VII. Personal Experiences. Camp at Es Salt. Situation. Ancient remains. Church of England mission school. Jesuits. Left alone with the care of the camp and two sick men. Friendly assistance of a native. Bleeding proposed for one of the sick. Difficulty in preventing it. Presents. Arab proverb. Native boy wishes to go to Beirut to school. The Hauran "desert" a fertile region. Former vine culture. Visit to Moimt Hermon. My work in the desert. No rain. Our meals in tent life. Peculiarities of om* cook. Partridges for our table. The process of " bagging " these game birds. The heat and its effect on our skin. Our baggage. Packing. Our muleteers and mules. The transporta- tion business in Syi-ia. Difficulty in copying inscriptions. Es Salt, Tuesday, October 12, 1875. SINCE we reached this place, late Wednesday night of last week, I have tried to work up my notes, but have been so constantly occupied with the care of the sick, and with camp duty, that I liave not made much progress. On Thursday I went with Dr. Lewis of our party, to see if we could not get a room for Mr. T., in some building connected with the Protestant school, but found none that was suit- able. It is impossible to make him comfortable in his tent ; still it is the best place for him. There are about seventy pupils in this mission school, which is under the care of the Church of England, and there PERSONAL EXPEBIENCES. 89 is also a Catholic school here and a convent. Just now our photographer, Mr. Dumas, is sick in this convent, where I visit him once or twice a day. He is a Catholic, and prefers the convent to his tent. Yet he sends to me to furnish him with chickens and such other luximes as the town affords. On Friday morning early, Dr. Lewis and Mr. Van Dyck, with the two engineers, left for Jerusalem. The latter will return Wednesday, i. e., to-morrow night, while the others will proceed to Jaffa, and thence by steamer to Beirut. Consequently I am left alone with a large camp to look after, and two sick men to care for, with one of whom I have to watch day and night. Mr. Dumas does not speak English, but speaks several other languages, while the ser- vant left with me speaks English only to a very limited extent. But from a merchant in the place, who was for- merly a teacher in this school, and who speaks our language well, I have received assistance for which I am very grate- ful^ From him I have learned many facts about Es Salt, and among them, that the place is not destitute of antiq- uities, although but few of these appear above ground. When digging for the foundation of theii* chapel, they came, ten or more feet below the surface, upon a perfect bath. This gentleman represented it to be as perfect as if new, with a fine, spacious room. He says that below other houses large stones have been foimd, and, as from his description they are faced and are without the l)evel, I judge them to be Roman work. Also, about twenty min- utes from the town, a workman who was digging in the side of the hill came upon columns, a section of mosaic floor, and other ruins, which indicated that the structure must have been quite elegant. The present town lies in a narrow valley, and on the steep banks of the hills on both sides of it. Indeed, the houses rise one above another in such a way that they 90 EAST OF THE JORDAN. appear to overhang the valley. On the north side, they extend nearly up to the castle, while on the opposite side, they go up about two-thirds of the distance, and the last thu'd or the brow of the hill is covered wdth rows of old but very thrifty olive-trees. In the valley is the large spring or fountain, from which the inhabitants obtain their supply of water. The water i§ sweet, cool, and abundant. On Sunday, Mr. Dumas sent up a messenger — a kind of village doctor — for the purpose of bleeding Mr. T. I told him that Mr. T. was very nearly dead now, and I did not think either his or Mr. Dumas' advice was good. Later in the day he came again and insisted upon doing what he had before proposed, and I had great difficulty in preventing him from accomplishing his object. On Monday, two men came with a quantity of grapes, which they wished me to accept as a present. My servant had already purchased an ample supply, and besides, I could not make them the return which they would certainly expect, and hence I refused their offer. Obtained in this way, the grapes, or any fruit, would cost much more than if bought in the market. The natives and Arabs under- stand this, and, in fact, it is expressed in a proverb : •" Ask a present where it is going, it replies, ' I am going to bring double.' " The day before Dr. Lewis left, a young man came to see him several times about going to Beiriit to enter the Protestant college there. He decided to go, and made his preparations; but in the evening l>efore he was to start with the Doctor, his parents felt so badly, and their friends made the distance and the danger seem so great, that he decided to abandon the project. Sheikh FeUah, of the Adwan Arabs, and one or two of his friends, are here to negotiate alwut taking us into theii' country, farther south. They have long smooth-bore flint- ^ ' * % '■^ PEBSONAL EXPEBIENCES. 91 lock guns ; in fact all the Druzes, shepherds, village people, and Bedawin have this kind of weapon, and it is a wonder to me where such numbers of them were made or came from. While watching with my sick friend, I have been making some retrospective notes on our camp life and experiences in the country through which we have just passed. Since leaving cholera-stricken Beirut in August, we have crossed Mount Lebanon, snowballed each other on the summit of Hermon, and been scorched and half famished with thirst on the great plain of Bashan. I hardly know which has surprised me most, the exceed- ing fertility of the country east of the Jordan, or the wonderful ruins which dot its surface. These plains burn up in summer, and in one sense the phrase " Hauran desert " is appropriate ; at the same time, as generally used, it would mislead almost any one who has not visited the region itseK. The finest wheat in Syria is said to come from the Hauran, while in the northern portions, where there are villages, the productions are varied and abundant. In the fields near the foot of Hermon, on the plains towards Damascus, in Jebel 'Ajlun, and about Es Salt, the grape crop is a perfect marvel, both in regard to the amount pro- duced and the quality of the fruit. Farther east, about Bozrah, Salchad, and on the slopes of the Hauran Mountains, are traces of ancient vineyards, which show the suitable- ness of the entire Bashan country for vine-culture. Neither in Eiu-ope nor California have I ever tasted sweeter or more delicately flavored fruit of this kind, nor seen clusters of such immense size as I have seen and tasted in Eastern Palestine. On our way to the Hauran, I went with our photographer to Thelthatha, where there is a beautiful Greek temple in ruins, and besides two pictures of the temple itself, we took 92 EAST OF THE JORDAN. one of Mount Hermon, wliich must be at least fifteen miles distant. Thelthatlia is about three hours south-west from Rasheiya. On the summit of Hermon there appeared to be white patches, which, when visiting that point three days later, on Tuesday, September 7, we found to be large banks and fields of snow, from which smaU streams were issuing in many du'cctions. The thermometer showed 72°, although there was snow all about us. Last winter but little snow fell, consequently the head of this noble mountain is not so white as usual. Besides these banks and fields of snow, the ravines are also fuU, and when one considers that prob- ably these hills are honey-combed with vast caverns, one ceases to wonder that so many full-grown, icy-cold streams should burst forth from the foot of this mountain. In addition to inscriptions, plans of ancient buildings, and drawings, we have secured a large number of excellent pho- tographs of temples, churches, theatres, castles, columns, and other ruins, some of which have never before been visited by a photographer. These we consider an important trophy to have secured from the desert. Our small plates are nine by eleven inches, and our large ones eleven by fifteen inches. One curious fact in oiu' experience as Americans is that since Thursday, July 15, we have seen no rain nor even showers. That day, as we were entering the Bay of Biscay, we had rain ; but on the Mediterranean, in Egypt, and in Syi'ia thus far we have had none. At some points, how- ever, there have been heavy dews, and our tents in the morning would be quite wet. With regard to our camp experience, we had our breakfast anywhere between four and eight o'clock, to suit our con- venience, according as we wished to travel far or not. Our dinner-hour was between six and ten o'clock at night, or as soon as our cook could get the food ready after the camp PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. 93 was pitched. Our mid-day meal was a cold lunch, com- posed (counting aU the different dishes we ever had) of water, bread, cold mutton, cold chicken, hard-boiled eggs, and sardines. But we never experienced such a state of luxury as to have all these at one time. Both the variety and cj[uantity of our food were often extremely limited. Very seldom were we able to take our lunch under any shade. As a rule, we took it in the open field, sitting on a rock or on the ground. When we could find a fountain of fresh water by which to take it, we considered oiu'selves very fortunate. We not only sat on the ground, but we ate with our fingers. This is the easiest and most success- ful way in the world to cope with a chicken bone. But after riding a half or an entire day we never knew such a thing as a poor appetite. The driest crust of bread, the toughest old hen that ever lived beyond her time, or the most leathery piece of mutton that our cook ever pro"vdded for us, was eaten with the keenest rehsh. It is astonishing how a sharp appetite will flavor and sweeten and make palatable in every way the poorest food. We had with us a native cook, whose peculiar doings it would require pages to describe, but one or two of his habits I must not fail to mention. Oui* food tasted, at first, of allspice. Every dish that he prepared tasted of it. We asked him if he used pepper, and he said yes. Then we asked him why everything tasted of allspice, and he repUed that he did not know. We had him clean out our pepper box and can, and pound some fresh pepper, which he did. StOl the taste of allspice remained. When we came to examine the box which contained what he assured us wa.s ungi-ound pepper, we found that it was allspice, and not pepper at aU. and we learned that our native friend who was directed to buy pepper for us at Beirut, thinking to do us a special favor, got allspice instead, which is entirely in accordance with 94 EAST OF THE JORDAN. Arab taste. Where we would use pepper a native ^^dll use allspice, if he can get it. Then we had what I will call a tomato episode, which illustrates another of his peculiar habits. Our cook, like the people of tliis country in gen- eral, seemed to go on the principle that he could not have too much of a good thing, and hence he flavored every pos- sible dish with tomato. Tomatoes were cooked with our mutton, mixed with sauce for the meat, stewed into the boiled rice, mixed with the l^atter in which the cutlets were fried, chopped up with the hash, put into the soup, stewed and poured over the mashed potatoes, and, if there was any other ordinary dish with which tomato could be mixed, it was sure to be done. These habits we found it almost impossible to correct in our cook, although he had pre- viously had a little experience as a servant in the family of an American missionary. Our genial friend and companion, Mr. Henry L. Van Dyck, — not being obliged to measure ruins, to take photo- graphs, or to copy inscriptions, — has made himself very serviceable with his gun, in furnishing us, two or three times a week at least, with a dish of game. Tliis consists usually of partridges. As the process of bagging them in this region, and in Syria in general, is peculiar, I will describe it in the language of Mr. Wright, who has had con- siderable experience in sport of that kind : " Tlie partridge is a larger and stronger bird than the common partridge fPerdix cinereaj at home, and as game-laws are here unknown, the birds look sharply after partridge preserva- tion themselves. An old cock, with good eye and voice, is generally stationed on a prominent rock, and, when danger ;ipproaches, he gives a peculiar cry of warning, and then slips down off the stone and runs from the danger, and all the partridges in the neighborhood follow the sentinel's example. They run about as fast as a common dog. and PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. 95 the sportsman must go at the speed of a greyhound to overtake them. The usual and most successful method is to walk slowly towards the partridge till it disappears behind the rocks, then rush with aU your might to the spot where you last saw it, and continue running till the bird rises. This it does with a tremendous screech and whii', and you must fire quickly or the bird is gone hke a rocket. The natives conceal themselves about wells and springs, and slaughter the poor bu-ds when they come to drink, and they sometimes employ a decoy partridge, in a cage, to call its free friends to their doom" (p. 382). Our friends at home ought to see our hands and faces. After we had been in the desert a few weeks, we were of almost precisely the same color as the Arabs about us. The skin on the hands and faces of some of the party woidd bm-n and blister and peel off. Others of us would tan. I saw that my own hands were getting blacker and blacker. I had no looking-giass and hence could not teU about my face, but my companions would say now and then, " "Well, you are about black enough ! " The difference in the color between my hands and my amis was so great that I could scarcely recognize my own flesh. This is not an exaggeration. If a person wants to know what the word tan means, or may mean, let him not look in a dictionary, but expose himself for two or three months to a SjTian sun. In some books relating to the East, much is said of " sun- dried bricks." I can now appreciate this phrase better than ever before. The heat here is so powerful and so long con- tinued that bricks prepared in this way would seem to be almost as durable as those that are kiln -burned. All oui- tents and baggage — including bedding and bed- steads, dining-room and kitchen furniture, pro\dsions, skins of water, bags and boxes of various kinds, photographic apparatus and engineers' instruments, and frequently one 96 'EAST OF THE JORDAN. to three days' supply of barley for the animals — had to be packed every time we moved, and unpacked and everj-thing put in its place whenever we camped. All these articles, so numerous and of such a strange variety, are always packed in a certain way, tied with ropes in a certain way, and at last loaded on mules and fastened there mtli ropes in a certain way; for, unless everything is done according to rule and done thoroughly, the load will get loose and fall off; but when the goods are properly packed and loaded, there is then but little danger of this happening, even when passing over the roughest mountain roads. After all the packages were properly arranged and tied up into suitable bundles, it was no small task to load these upon the mules. It ordinarily took our men two houi'S to pack up and load, ready to start. This kind of work is a special art. Men have to be trained for it, and a good mule- teer W'ill always command good wages. A gi'eat deal of the merchandise which passes between Beirut and Damas- cus is stOl carried in this way, although freight wagons are run between these two cities. In general, however, alT the transportation in Syria is done by means of mules, donkeys, and camels. Strong pack-horses are sometimes used in place of mules. That all the business of this kind in the country should be done with pack-animals is a fact of no- small interest. Such freight trains or caravans are often made up in Beirut or Damascus and sent far away to Mosul and Bagdad in the Euphrates vaUey, a distance of two months or more across the desert. In tho settled portions of the country, the surplus product of apricots, raisins, wine, nuts, olives and olive oil, barley, wheat, tobacco, pot- ash, and wool, not to mention vast quantities of raw silk, amounts to several million pounds' weight a year for each of these articles, except the silk. All this is taken to the seaport markets on the backs of animals. There is PERSONAL EXPEBIENCES. 97 enough carrying trade to make the business very profitable so long as animals are the only means of transportation, bnt there is not enough, and probably there will not be for generations to come, to justify th6 building of railroads. In regard to my own special duties, I speak from experience when I say that the work of an archaeologist in this country is by no means easy. In towns that are inhabited, one niiist first be sure of protection. If the good- will of the sheikh is obtained at the outset, there is then but little danger. This could generally be accomplished by patience, and especially when we were able to render him, liis family or friends any medical assistance. Yet in some places the people are very fanatical, and put aU sorts of obstacles in one's way, even if they do not dare resort to violence. It may happen that the sheikh will attempt to protect the explorei', and at the same time connive at his people while they steal from him and hinder him in his work. Usually, however, after waiting a little, all parties become conciliated, and the explorer is taken wherever he wishes to go. In ruins that are not inhabited, no obstacles of this kind are met with. The mutilating and rebuilding, whicJi have gone on for centui'ies in these old cities, have mixed up and scattered in the strangest way the relics of antiquity. I have had to go into dark holes, crawl about filthy underground goat-pens, search the rooms of private houses that were equally filthy, climb up towers that threatened to fall, or over great piles of stones where a tumlile and bruises were not the exception ; hang by my legs with head down from some window in order to copy an inscription that had been built into a wall, lie at full length on my face among thistles and thorns and in the dirt, with the sun at 95° or 100° Fahrenheit in the shade pouring down upon my back; and finally to search carefully the graveyards, for the Arabs take inscribed stones wherever 5 98 JfAST OF THE JORDAN. they can find them, without any reference to what their inscriptions may be, to mark the resting-places of their friends. Indeed, I have found several interesting Grreek and Latin inscriptions still doing service as monuments at the head of some Arab's grave. Inscriptions on the head- stones of such graves are, however, the exception in the country east of the Jordan, but the headstone is generally different from the common ones used for curl>ing the grave itself. Sometimes a piece of plain marble, a small* section of a fluted column, or a fragment of a sculptiu'ed stone serves instead of one that is inscribed. Cufic and Nabathean inscriptions are frequently found in connection with the stones about some of these graves. On the whole, this work in many respects is not very neat, nor is it always safe, and often it is unpleasant on account of filth. Yet there is sufficient excitement about it to stimulate one to persevere, and gather as far as possible all facts and records, whether inscriptions, sculptures, ineasm'ements of massive stones or styles of architecture, wliich throw light on the origin and history of these numerous ancient cities. As a partial compensation, one gets, by thus going about in towns that are inhabited, a good idea of what Arab homes and houses are, and also some little insight into Arab life. With regard to inscriptions, no matter how thoroughly an explorer may glean, new ones are likely to be brought to light every year. Some old ruin will fall down, a house or fountain tvtII be repaired, perhaps a mill built, so that new stones are dug up, and thus inscriptions not before known appear. Hence it happened that in a number of places where M. Waddington had been and made very thorough work in collecting inscriptions, I found from two to ten additional ones in each place, which he had not seen. For instance, at Gerash, one long, beau- PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. 99 tiful Greek inscrij)tion of seventeen lines, in excellent preservation, was dug- out of the ground only last year by a man who was making a race-way for his mill. I copied it, and also took a good paper impression of it. These impressions, or " squeezes," as they are sometimes called, are made by means of paper, which is moistened and laid upon the stone, after it has fitst been cleaned, and then pressed with a cloth until the impression is perfect. It is then allowed to remain a few minutes, when it is taken off and carefully dried in the sun. It can afterwards be packed and transported without injury. CHAPTER VIII. Sick in the Desert. HardsMps. Great heat. Gruarding camp unnecessarily. One member of our party taken sick. Poor water. EusMng of OTir animals to quench their thirst. No comforts for the sick in the desert. Sending to Jerusalem for a palanquin. Terrible sirocco. Travelling aii night. Jordan lined on both banks mth Arabs. Amusing inci- dents in crossing. Friendly aid of the Arabs. Going up to Jerusalem. Painful journey. Quarters for my sick fi'iend at the Mediterranean Hotel. Kindness of Mr. Hornstein and Dr. Thomas Chaplin. Palanquins costly vehicles. Fevers very dangerous. 'Arak el Emir. Hyrcanus's palace. Caverns, large apartments, and stables excavated in the rock. Great reservoir. Josephus's descrip- tion. Traces of battering-rams. Points where excavations should be made. At Jerusalem. Incidents of my all-night ride when returning to Moab. Mediterranean Hotel, Jerusalem, Tuesday, October 19, 1875. LAST night I slept finely, and a soft, clean bed seemed a greater luxury, I believe, than it ever did before. There are only a few j)eople in the hotel at present, and the quiet of this house is in striking contrast to the noise and confusion of camp life, where dogs, donkeys, Arabs, and muleteers appear to combine to prevent sleep as far as possible. The last few days have been exceedingly try- ing, and I am here on a strange errand. From Bozrah, SICK IN THE DESEET. 101 through Dra'a, Remtheh, Gerash, to Es Salt, the heat was very oppressive, the thermometer showing on different days as high as 85°, 87°, 90°, and 93° in the shade. The nights, however, have been quite cool. Owing to the unwise arrangement of one member of the party, who obstinately insisted that we ourselves should guard our camp at night when it could have been done for a few dimes by the Arabs, one gentleman, Mr. T., while performing this duty, took a severe cold which produced serious and almost fatal results. The water at Remtheh was very poor, and had it not been for some friendly Turkish soldiers, who aided us in obtain- ing it, we should have had none at all. The morning of the day that we left this place for Gerash, our animals had no water, nor did they, or we ourselves, have any until near sunset, although our march was about eight hours for ourselves and about ten for our mules, and the thermometer was 87° in the shade. When at last we found water, it was a dirty, stagnant pool, hardly eight feet in diameter. Our dog Jack plunged in, and was the first to take a draught of it. Om' animals were frantic and entirely unmanageable until, having crowded and almost tumbled over each other in their efforts to reach the water, they had quenched what must have been their burning thirst. Then came our turn. We aU drank freely. I fancied I never before was so heartily thankful for any blessing as for the two or three glasses of the muddy, dirty stuff which I drank here. But half an hour beyond this place, and only a few minutes from Gerash, we found a small spring of cool, fresh, deUcious water, where, of course, we drank again. That night our friend could not sleep on account of the pain in his body and hml^s, and the next day he was down with fever. Then came delirium, which lasted two weeks. The fever raged with great violence. The tongue and throat became so swollen and parched that we could not under- 102 EAST OF THE JORDAN. stand what the sufferer said. As Gerash was uninhabited, and our camp supplies were very limited and not at all suited to the wants of a sick person, we must push on or our friend would die. By slow marches, with long intervals of rest, we reached Es Salt, thankful that our friend had survived the fatiguing journey. Although Es Salt is quite a large place, with a Turkish garrison, it affords, after all, but few comforts such as a very sick person needs. Milk was almost the only thing that we could get for our friend, and sometimes our mule- teers had to take it from the shepherds by force, because they would neither give nor sell us any, clauning that as they were keeping the fast of Ramadan, they needed it all for themselves. Besides, it became necessary for our camp to move on, and the sick man must in some way be con- veyed to Jerusalem, where he could have proper treatment and care. We sent to Jerusalem for a palanquin, in which he niight be carried. The one we hoped to get was in Jaffa, and a new one had to be constructed. Those in charge of it left on Saturday afternoon, and by travelling all the time, including the night, reached Es Salt at six o'clock on Sunday evening, October 17. As soon as the men and animals had rested a little, we put our friend into his box, on as com- fortable a bed as we could make, and at nine o'clock started on om* long, tedious journey for Jerusalem. For two days and nights previously we had had a terrible sirocco, and on the day we left Es Salt the thermometer was 93° in the shade, and that night, as we passed down Wady Sh'aib, the air was like that from a heated furnace. Besides the sick man and myseK, I had a sheikh of the Adwan tribe as guide, a muleteer, one servant, and the three men who came with the palanquin. A palanquin for a sick person is a box in which a bed can be made. One side is opened when the person is laid in, SICK IN THE BESEBT. 103 and is closed again and fastened. The box has a roof and a window, sometimes one at each end, for light and ventila- tion. It is fastened to two poles, which project both in front and in the rear of the box, and between these projecting poles, at each end, a mnle is made to walk, to whose saddle the poles are attached. The mule in front can see well enough, but the one behind has a hard time, because his face is close to the rear end of the box, and only the best and most sure-footed animals are. selected for that difficult posi- tion. Even then he is liable to stumble a good deal, to bruise his legs, and, what is worse, to shake and jar the sick person. The sick man would roll from side to side, which would cause the palanquin to turn, so that often two men, and always one, had to walk by the side of the box to keep it steady. Sometimes it would strike against a projecting rock or the branches of a tree, and be abnost upset. The path, which was an unusuaRy good one for Syria, often went along the edge of a precipice, with ragged rocks above, and the wady, now become a frightful gorge, hun- dreds of feet beneath. What if the mules should make a misstep here ! Such was always my thought as I watched the palanquin and the men steadying it while passing those dangerous places. We were, however, providentially spared from any such accident and its consequent calamity. We stopped but once during the night, except to give our friend water, and that was only for twenty or thirty minutes, in a narrow place, to let a long procession of camels and mules pass. The moon was bright, and giant hills, massive rocks, and deep, dark gorges with the water rushing at the bottom, dense patches of oleanders along the banks of the stream, with here and there the fire of a Bedawin encampment, made up the scenery along the route of oui* night-march, until we reached the Jordan, at half- past six in the morning. It had been a long, anxious night. 104 EAST OF THE JOED AN. Here a strange scene presented itself. Hundreds of camels, mules, donkeys, men, women, ehildi-en, and dogs were cross- ing the river, and both banks were covered Avith people, animals, and baggage. The current is quite rapid, and the water came within a few inches of the back of the horse which I rode. The Ai-abs strip naked and carry over the most of their goods on their heads. Camels generally carry their own loads; as, however, they are not sure-footed, several men usually go with them on each side to steady them and prevent their falling. I saw one poor camel, for which the current was too strong, lose his footing and go down, and as his load was heavy and strapped tightly to him, it went to the bottom and his feet stuck up out of the water. Then there was a commotion ; men and women screamed, and twenty naked Arabs, yelling with all their might, plunged in for his rescue. His load was cut loose and the frightened animal saved from drowning. "We made a litter on which we put a bed, and on that tied our friend. A dozen naked Arabs took the load, and, holding it above theii' heads, bore it safely across. It was a strange sight, both comical and interesting. The Arabs shouted and sang, but they kept fast hold of their precious burden. Here were wild men of one race, taking the kindest care in their power of a helpless fever patient, a stranger, belonging to another race. There were no civilized comforts to be had ; but these Bedawin offered the best of their rude comforts to help the sufferer, and did it with a heartiness that would have been commendable to persons in any Christian land. The sick man, although half dead, could not help laughing as the men laid him down on the western bank. The Arabs rejoiced with the rest of us when the difficult task had been safely accomplished, and expressed their delight by many emphatic exclamations of thanks to God. About us in the bushes were many Ai-ab SICK IN THE DESERT. 105 men and women, most of whom appeared to be trying to dry theii" clothes which had become wet wliile crossing the river. It took us one houi' to get across the Jordan, and we rested in addition half an hour more. In Jericho, one horn- and a half from the Jordan, we rested two hours. Then we came up to Jerusalem, where we arrived at seven o'clock on Monday night, having been twenty-two hours on the way, during eighteen of which we were actually travelling. The men with the palanquin had no rest, except the two hours or so at Es Salt on Sunday night, for more than forty-eight hours ; and, as they had no covering for their limbs and were obliged to walk beside the palanquin to keep it from upsetting, theu' legs were often bruised and torn l^y the rocks and thorns. Oui' jom*ney from Jericho to Jerusalem was really the most fatiguing of the whole, on account of the oppres- sive heat. The thermometer showed 110°. For miles the road is cut tlu'ough limestone rock, and the reflection of the sun's rays upon this white surface would almost blister my face. Often I was obliged to close my eyes for two or three minutes at a time, because the glare was so painful to them. Both men and animals suffered very much. But my anxiety for the poor sick man in his box surpassed anything that I suffered physically. Sometimes I hardly dared look into his box, fearing that I might find him dead. He told me, after we arrived in Jerusalem, that he had suffered terribly that day, and yet he never com- plained. I wonder that he survived the journey. Here in Jerusalem I found him comfortable quarters in the Mediterranean Hotel, and placed him under the care of Dr. Chaplin, who is well known, .not only in Syria and England but in America also, for liis kindness as weU as his medical skiU. 5* 106 EAST OF THE JORDAN. Fevers in this country are ugly things for the system to grapple with. They hold on persistenth^ and leave the body weakened for a long time. Dr. Chaplin tells me that the great danger in cases of Syrian fever is of a relapse. A patient will appear to be gaining, when a relapse will occur suddenly and the patient die. He says this is true of a majority of cases of this kind, and hence the disease is considered very fatal. The gentleman just referred to, and Mr. Hornstein, of the Mediterranean Hotel, have told me something about the cost of palanquins, in addition to the personal experience I have just had. The palanquin and men to bring the sick man from Es Salt to Jerusalem, together with the fees, cost seventeen napoleons, which is equal to sixty-eight dollars, gold. Physicians' charges, when the full charge is made, in Jerusalem, are two dollars, gold, for each visit. On one occasion, a person was taken sick in the Jordan valley, and fifty napoleons, that is, two hundred dollars, gold, were jiaid for men and a palanquin to bring him to Jerusalem. Sick people are sometimes taken in palanquins from Jerusalem to Jaffa, that they may there take the steamer, and the usual charge for such service is about thirty dollars, gold. Hence to be sick in this country, especially in the desert, is not only attended with unusual danger, but also with great pecuniary expense. Jerusalem, Sunday, October 31, 1875. On Wednesday, October 20, I made preparations to return, and towards night started with my Ai-ab sheikh and one servant for Hasban. It was a long and tedious ride, but I reached our camp early Thursday morning. On Saturday, October 23, having come up from M'ain, Nebo, and Hasban, we camped at 'Arak el Emir, where we spent Sunday, the 24th. In "Wady Sir, which runs past SICK IN THE DESEBT. 107 these riiins, there is an abundance of water, and a wealth of oleanders along its banks. The ancient name of this place was Tyi-e, and the account which Josephus ("Antiquities," xii., -4, 11) gives of the building of this castle is interesting, Hyrcanus's Palace at 'Arak el Emtr. and his description is, so far as it goes, very accurate. These ruins are among the most interesting in S}Tia. Here are some of the largest stones that I have seen east of the Jordan, outside of Baalbec and Bozrah. Here was also one of the largest reservoirs in the country; it was almost a lake, and when full of water, ships could easily have floated in it. Nowhere else have I seen a wall of such strength as the one to the south and east of this reservoir. At several points on the north and west sides there appear to have been small houses, places with columns and open sides and roofs, where a few persons at a time could sit and enjoy a 108 EAST OF THE JORDAN. view of the water and castle. This building, or palace, which faces the east, was remarkable for its strength and beauty, and likewise for its unique situation. It measures from north to south one hundred and twenty-four feet, and sixtj^-f our feet from east to west. Some excavations ought to be made here, and the neces- sary ones could be conducted without any very great expense. Shafts should be sunk at various places to find the bottom of the reservoir, and especially at the south- west corner, by the wall which there supports the hill ; two or three cross-sections should be cut through the causeway leading from the castle to the stables in the rock, to the north of the town. The ruins of the public buildings and private houses, on the high terrace in the north-east quar- ter, should be thoroughly examined. There is here a flight of steps, cut in the rock, leading down on the east side of the terrace, towards the wady. At this point I noticed ornamental work on many of the stones. The caverns, reser- vou's, stables, and all the rooms that have been excavated in the rock, should be measured and plotted. Some of them are half full of goat-dung, and in others the Arabs store theu" tihn, or chopped straw. The aqueduct by which the reservoir was filled should also be traced. This, at points where I found it, is of stone, each stone or section of the trench having a bottom and two sides, with ends nicely fitting each other. I am in doubt whether the causeway leading from the castle to the upper terrace in front of the stables w^as used as a road, or whether it served in some way to bring down the water from above. It may have served both purposes ; and by cutting cross-sections, as I have proposed, this ques- tion could, no doubt, be determined. Along this causeway there runs a line of stone posts, in each of which, near the top, there is a hole as if for a railing. The place is one of SICK IN THE DESERT. 109 unusual interest, and 1 can do no better than supplement this meagre account of it by quoting from the description of Josephus, to which I have already referred. He says : " Hyreanus erected a strong castle, and built it entirely of white stone to the very roof, and had animals of prodig- ious magnitude engraven upon it ; he also di'ew around it a great and deep canal of water ; he also made caves of many furlongs in length, l^y hollowing a rock that was over against him, and then he made large rooms in it, some for feasting, and some for sleeping and living iu. He introduced, also, a vast quantity of water, which ran along it, and which was very delightful and ornamental in the court. But still, he made the entrances at the mouth of the caves so narrow that no more than one person could enter by them at once. And the reason why he built them after that manner was a good one : it was for his own preservation, lest he should be besieged by his brethren, and run the hazard of being caught by them. Moreover, he built eoirrts of greater magnitude than ordinary, which he adorned with vastly large gardens ; and when he had brought the place to this state he named it Tyre, This place is between Arabia and Judea, beyond Jordan, not far from the country of Heshbon." The figures of which Josephus speaks are still visible on the stones, both those that remain in position, and those that have fallen. They all appear to have been bruised, and this, no doubt, was done by battering-rams. The illustration is of the front or east wall, at the north-east corner. The stones are from fifteen to twenty-five feet long, seven to ten wide, and about three feet thick. It is hardly probable that the caves which exist here were excavated by Hyreanus. There can be little dou])t that, for the most part, they were natural, since they are common in limestone regions, and that they had always 110 EAST OF THE JOBDAN. been oecnpied, either by peaceable inhabitants or by rob- bers. Hyrcanus may have enlarged them in fitting them up for his residence. One of the most interesting features of these caves at present is the long stable, lined with mangers dug in the rock, with a hole by the side of each, through which the rope that fastened the animal was put and tied. I did not count these mangers, but Dr. Tristram says there is stabling here for one hundred horses (" Land of Israel," p. 520). On Monday, the 25th, by an unusually long and hard ride, we came through from 'Arak el Emir to this city ; but our camp did not arrive till after nine o'clock at night, and we did not get our supper so as to go to bed before twelve o'clock. As Dumas' special work was done, he decided to leave the party, and went yesterday to Jaffa, intending to sail thence to-day or to-morrow for Beirut. On Thursday forenoon, the 28th, our camp with the two engineers started north on its way home, while I expect to remain here a few days with our sick friend, and, as soon as he is able to endure the journey, to go with him to Beirut by steamer. The fast of Ramadan is at an end now, and a number of guns have been fii'cd from the old fort near the Jaffa gate. But the dogs in the streets form the most effectual nuisance for disturbing one's slumbers; and I judge that they must sleep all day, since they bark and howl all night. Pastor Weser, of the Lutheran church here, I find a very pleasant man, and well informed on the antiquities of Jerusalem. Dr. Chaplin also is exceedingly cordial and friendly, and his interest in the excavations which Captain Warren carried on here, and also in the English survey of Western Palestine, makes his acquaintance par- SICK IN THE DESERT. Ill ticiilai'ly valuable. Speaking of the dangers from highway- men he said that on the second night after I left Jerusalem for Moab week before last, the keeper of the ferry on the Jordan near Jericho was murdered. This would have been on Thiu-sday night, for it was on Wednesday night, as I have before stated, that I crossed the river about mid- night, with my servant and Arab sheikh. "When we reached Jericho, we delayed two hours or more waiting for the moon to rise, for my men and the people at the khan said it would be very dangerous trying to cross the river in the dark. Dr. Chaplin says that the work I have done dm*ing the past fortnight, including the all-night rides, is enough to kiU any man, and he wonders that I am aiive. CHAPTER IX. On the Way to the Field. Preparations and outfit for the expedition. My companion. Leave- taking of friends in Beirut. Tlie Phcenieian coast. Ancient ruins. Dr. Eddy and family in Sidon. Old tombs and iridescent glass. No Roman roads in Western Palestine. Soldiers, guns, and cattle. Ras el 'Arn. Hiram's tomb. Route to Tibnin and Hunin. Dark- ness and storm. Goat-pen a luxury. Wheat-fields. Assyrian sculpture. Fine old castle at Hunin. Route to Safed. Violent storm. Suffering of men and animals. In a coffee-shop at Safed. Camp arrives at midnight. Loads lost. Two hours' sleep in a khan. Sxamining the place with an officer. The attack on Lieutenant Conder's party. Down the moimtain to Gemiesaret. Camp at Tiberias. Camp at Tiberias, Sunday, February 20, 1876. IT is no small task to prepare for an expedition that is to occupy several months, and is intended to operate in a desert country where are only wandering inhabitants, who have little or nothing to sell that civilized men wish to buy ; but, after a week or more devoted to this work, our preparations were complete, and we left Beirut on the morning of Tuesday, February 15, 1876. Drs. Post and Van Dyck, Professor Le"v\Ts, the Rev. Dr. Thomson, also Mr. Edgar, our Consul, and others, bade us good-1)y, and said they confidently expected that our expedition would be ON THE WAY TO THE FIELD. 113 productive of valuable results as regarded the special work of our society. Mr. Henry L. Van Dyck is my interpreter and companion, and we have three muleteers, Bishara, Abdullah, and Faris, besides Halil, our cook, and Tannus, our servant and general assistant. We have in all thirteen animals, but three of these belong to our muleteers, and are brought along by them at no expense to us. We have also two dogs, Jack and Shag. Of these. Jack is an old trav- eller, having been through the Hauran with us in 1875. He is, however, rather delicate, with tender feet, a kind of gentleman dog, by which hardships are not easily borne. Shag is younger, has a happy disposition, and does not show fatigue like his mate. We have one large tent for sleeping and work, and one cooking-tent, besides a small shelter-tent for our men in case of storms. For the most part, however, the muleteers prefer to roll up in their blankets and lie down among the animals. Mr. Henry W. Thomson accompanied us as far as the river Ghadir, one hour and thirty minutes from Beirut, regretting that he could not accompany us on our expe- dition. On the hills north of the Damur, the village Mu'allakat ed Damur appears to good advantage. It is a prosperous Christian town, and its wealth consists chiefly in mulberry trees, which cover a good many square miles. The sHk crop is by no means a certain one, and sometimes is wholly lost, for, just as the tender leaves begin to shoot forth, a sirocco comes, and the leaves aU turn black, which ruins the crop for that year. Siroccos, severe enough any- where, are said to be unusually so at this point of the coast. After crossing the Damur, we lunched on a beautiful grass- plot, exactly where I had lunched with a party in 1869. About Khan Khulda, two hours from Beirut, are some old foundations, and there are traces of important remains below the surface, as, for instance, where a winter 114 EAST OF THE JORDAN. torrent has left one side of a liigh bank exposed, in which are columns, squared stones, and a number of sarcophagi. This place is supposed to be the one mentioned in the " Jerusalem Itinerary V as the Mutatio Heldua. In the hills at oui' left were some wheat-fields, beginning to be green, and some groves of pine. If these mountains could be covered with forests, as, no doubt, they once were, they would be remarkably picturesque and attractive. This coast is fertile, and even the sand clear to the water's edge is capable of bearing trees. Along the coast, near the water, are numerous quan'ies whence stones have been taken to Beirut. The rock is a coarse sandstone, and is very soft. It is easily cut, but, upon exposure, hardens and becomes very durable, and will then also resist the action of rain, which is not true of the stones in a new house. Just north of Sidon is a stream called El Kamlet, and on the south of the city, near where we camped, is another called Barghut, the first meaning "louse," and the second "flea," — significant names! We had a pleasant caU in Sidon on the Eddys, all of whom were at home. From the top of their house, where we were about sunset, the view over the Mediterranean was fine, and, indeed, the sea has been calm all day, and its surface beautiful, dotted at intervals with boats and the larger native craft. We visited the school and church belonging to the mission, and saw something of what these noble workers are doing towards redeeming this city and the region about it to ci\dlization and Christianity. Near our camp there had been a good deal of digging among the ancient tombs. New sarcophagi are frequently brought to hght at a depth of ten or fifteen feet below the surface of the ground. It is near here that the sar- cophagus of Ashmanezer, with its valuable inscriptions, was discovered in 1855. A good deal of iridescent glass, ON THE WAY TO THE FIELD. 115 and some copper implements of various kinds, are fre- quently found in connection with these tombs. One hour north of Tyre, we crossed the Litany, which in its lower portion is called, however, Nalrr el Kasimiyeh. It is the third river in Syi'ia, the Jordan being first in size and the Orontes second. At the mouth of this river is a broad, fertile plain, where rich crops will almost grow of themselves wlien the seed is once planted. The air was delightful, and the fresh, light breeze from the sea very invigorating. The sunset was aU that painter or poet could desire — gorgeous pictures of amber and gold along and above the horizon. Over the stream Abu el Aswad, two hours north of Tyre, is a perfect Roman arch spanning the channel. It is a surprising monument of ancient engi- neering skiU. To the north and south of it for a con- siderable distance, and, in fact, at various points along the coast, are traces of a Roman road, of which, as far as I am aware, there is not a single perfect section remaining. The ancient curbstones appear at some points, but the stones of the road-bed which one sees to-day are modern work. A good Arab or Turkish road is almost impassable in its best condition, while a Roman road was paved with flat blocks, along which horses could trot. On an Arab road, it is a feat for a horse to go along at a slow pace without breaking Ijis legs. What an active scene this road must have presented twenty centuries ago, when it was thronged Avith chariots, carriages of travellers or pleasure parties, trains of merchandise, and companies of Roman soldiers ! "We passed one drove of cattle, numbering about fifty. Cattle here are smaller than with us in America, but these were in fine condition, and, I am sure, would receive a premium, even if they were to be driven into Brighton market. Along the road was a small company of soldiers 116 EAST OF THE JORDAN. making their way to the garrison at Acre. We passed them half a dozen times. They wonld pnsh ahead and lie off in the shade, and when we passed would overtake us again. They did not seem to be in a hurry. I judge they do not intend to kill themselves for a government from which they receive almost nothing. They were armed with "Winchester rifles, and took considerable inter- est in our weapons, of which we have a variety. El Khudr, the name of a tvely near the shore, and an old klian beside it, occupy the site of the ancient Zarephath or Sar- epta, but the modern village Surafend is in the hiUs back of the plain. It was removed from the sea-coast for the sake of defence. Near here are some ancient remains. Three hours before reaching Tyre, we turned aside to the hills, in order to examine some very interesting tombs, which, no doubt, date from an early period. Near them I found a fragment of a Greek inscription, of which the letters were finely carved. 1 have made one interesting discovery, namely, that my horse will allow me to fii'c from his back. This is a great convenience, for by this means I can get much nearer to large wild birds than I possibly could on foot. We examined Ras el 'Ain, the tomb of Hiram, and passed the village of Kana on our way to Tibnin, which we reached in three hours and twenty -five minutes from Hiram's tomb. Towards night, after leaving Tibnin, it began to rain, and by six P. M. it was perfectly dark. Our servant who was with us had been over the road and thought he knew it. Doubtless he did so in fair weather and in the day-time, but we soon got out of our way in the darkness and blinding rain, and it would be difficult to say how far we wandered. At length, we saw a light in a valley below us, and, after a rough scramble down ON THE WAY TO THE FIELD. 117 over rocks and bushes, Tannus reached the place, which proved to be a small camp of Arabs, and a man came who guided us to Hunin, the point which we wished to reach. I wonder we did not break our necks and limbs and the legs of our horses in trying to reach the castle, but the feat was accomplished without serious accident. Our camp was not there, and, had it not been for a friendly- shepherd whom we roused from among the ruins, our ease would have been desperate. His goats were in one of the best preserved apartments of the castle, and these he removed to another and gave up the first for our use. It was open at one end, and the other end had a hole in it six or eight feet square, through which the rain and wind poured. But here, in this goat-pen, we were not exposed entirely to the mercy of the elements, although the prospect for the night was dubious. Towards mid- night our camp arrived, and, with our lights, we found a sheltered place where one tent could be pitched. As, fortunately, our mattresses were not wet, we made oui* beds, and had a plain supper, so that we lay down to sleep about one o'clock. Our animals and men found shelter in the goat-pen ah-eady referred to, and where for some time we ourselves expected to spend the night, wet, cold, and supperless. The fountains at Ras el 'Ain are some of the most remarkable in the country. There are no springs or streams in the plain behind them, and the water is raised to the necessary level by artificial embankments or walls. These are very massive, and are thickly over- grown with \'ines and bushes, which give them the appearance from a distance of natui-al mounds. The water bm-sts directly from the ground, and must come from natural but concealed reservoirs at some distance among the hills. The top of one of these fountains is 118 EAST OF THE JORDAN. twenty-five feet above the plain and is sixty-six feet in diameter, and the copious stream flowing fi-om it affords an excellent water-power. Two mills stand on this stream. .,1; iiilfiiliiSiillB^ Assyrian Sculpture in the Rock. Near Tyre. while the stream from one of the other fountains is con- veyed in aqueducts to the plain. It is not known when these fountains were built, nor is the depth of water in them ascertained. The natives, in reply to our question, said, " God only knows how deep it is." The most forward wheat I have yet seen we passed just east of these fountains. It was about knee-high, but aU this vast plain is covered with evidences of the marveUous fertility of the soil about this ancient and beautiful city. ON THE WAY TO THE FIELD. 119 At Hiram's tomb there appears to have beeu an old Phoenician burying- ground, and many sarcophagi contain- ing treasures and relics of antiquity are found also about Kana, a Christian village two hours farther to the east. HaK an hour beyond Kana, at the entrance of the gorge through wliich the road to Tibnin winds, I observed a hole in the face of the rock two hundred or more feet above the road, and climbed to it. The hole proved to be an artificial one, five feet seven inches by four feet seven inches square, and thirty-two inches deep. It is of singular form, consisting of no less than five different recesses let into each other, like a nest of boxes. The last, or inmost and smallest, is thirty- three by thirty-two inches in size and twenty-six inches deep. I found no trace of an inscription, but on the back wall of the chamber is a sculpture, con- sisting of a sitting figure with one person standing behind it and two standing before it. The one behind is holding over the head of the sitting figure a fan. These figures stand on a platform which is raised two inches above the floor of the chamber, and above their heads is the common Assyrian winged circle or globe. This, however, was imperfectly carved, or else it has been defaced, hence no attempt has been made to re- store it in the accompanying illustration. It is quite a problem how these could have been carved in this hole, for a workman could do no more than get his head and shoulders in, to say nothing of cutting figures witli Section of Rock, show- ing Assyrian Sculpt- ure. Near Tyre. 120 EAST OF THE JOBBAN. chisels. Tools at least three feet long would have been required, which one person must have held while the other applied the hammer. But with aU the inconvenience of working in such a place, the sculpture bears traces of having been well executed. The Assp'ian origin of this sculpture is undoubted, and as such it is a monument of great interest as indicating one of the routes pursued by the Assyi'ians on their way to the sea-coast, when they came from Damascus past the great fortress at Banias. Another route would be the great thorouglifare fi'om Banias to Sidon. The only notice which I have seen of figures in this vicinity is that of Porter's " Hand-book," in his route from Saf ed to Tyre, and again under Tyre and the tomb of Hiram. Dr. Porter quotes from Hon. Roden Noel, "Vacation Tourists," 1860, who found somewhere in this region figures which he considers to be Egyptian, and states as follows : " The agathodaemon over the whole group is unmistakable ; there is Disk, Uranus, and wings." But the distance from Kana and the dii*ection, as well as its proximity to a village, Mera'ah, make it doubtful whether these are the figures which Mr. Noel saw. There may be others in these walls of rock, and, indeed, Dr. Thomson has given representations of some sculptured human figures from this immediate vicinity, which " were probably cut by Phoenician artists" at a very early period- (Vol. I., p. 288). The Wady 'Ashur, which we followed up, is wild and picturesque, containing traces at many points of an ancient road, and the ascent, for the most part, is gradual and easy. Fifteen minutes before we reached Tibnin, we could look back down Wady 'Ashur, and see Tyre in the distance on the sea-coast, and much of the plain back of it. Before reaching Tibnin, there is a rectangular castle, or khan, with round towers at the four angles. It is called El ON THE WAY TO THE FIELD. 121 Hiisn, which means simply " the fortification/' or " the castle," or something equivalent. The village, which is large, lies between this khan and the castle proper. The latter stands on a sharp hill several hundred feet above the village, and commands, from its summit, a fine view of a wide and rich country, which possesses numerous villages. Except that the hills are not covered with forests, one might easily imagine this region a part of New England. The hills, the fertility, the cultivated fields, and the fine herds of cattle and horses and flocks of sheep, indicate unusual prosperity. Oiu" sleep at Hunin was sound, although we got at it rather late, and under cii'cumstanees very unfavorable to rest. We had the satisfaction of knowing that oui- faithful animals, although a httle cramped for room, were comfort- able in the goat-pen that I have described. I spent two or three hoiu-s in examining the ruins of this place, and especially of this famous castle, and my regret is that the cold and wet prevented my doing the work more thoroughly. We left at half-past ten, passed Mes (or Mas) in one hour and fifty-five minutes, and in one hour and thirty-five minutes more were at Kedes. From some points along our route we had a splendid view of the Huleh plain and the country to the east of it, but a good deal of the time heavy clouds hung in that direction, cutting off our prospect, and, after passing Kedes, these clouds thickened into a violent and blinding storm of rain and sleet. On Wady 'Uba, where is an Algerine village, our path led along the brow of the ravine, whose sides were almost perpendieidar, and dropped down to a depth of several hundred feet. As the path was clay, our position was dangerous, for the slightest misstep would have carried us to the bottom. No such thing as recovering ourselves would have been pos- 6 122 EAST OF THE JORDAN. sible after once being started. Fortunately, we escaped on tliat side ; but on the other, where the bank was only thirty feet high, two mules went down before my eyes. I did not expect they would breathe or kick again ; but the ground was soft, and they were not injured. It took a long time to get them righted. The loads had to be brought up the hill to the path by our men, and the animals reloaded, and this in a cold, driving storm, and with only wet clay earth to stand on, was no easy task. The storm came in gusts, at intervals of twenty minutes, all the afternoon and evening, and sometimes they were so severe that our horses would turn around with then- heads away from the storm, and we could not possibly urge them on. Our men, thinly clad at best, as muleteers always are, were half frozen, and I did not know but they would perish. My hiba paid for itself during that one storm. This is a native cloak, for which I paid five dollars, and, while it did not keep me warm, it kept my person dry above my knees. I put on extra clothing in the morning, but, protected as I was, I have seldom suffered so much, even when I have been exposed to our violent winter storms in New England. After some hours, which seemed as long as weeks, were spent in stumbUng and slipping over the rough, clayey, and unknown roads, we saw some lights, and with a good deal of difficulty made our way to them. Here we could not find shelter, but were told to go a long distance in the opposite direction, where shelter for ourselves and animals could be obtained. After half an hour or more we saw a light in the road, and, to our sur- prise, found ourselves very near the town of Safed. The light was from a lantern carried by a police officer whcm we overtook, and who proved a friend in our need. He conducted us to a coffee-shop, which was still open, although it was at such a late hour of the night ; and the ON THE WAY TO THE FIELD. 123 proprietor made a large fii'e of bushes and roots, for which we were exceedingiy thankful. Meantime, the officer and our servant went back to see if they could find any traces of our camp, as we had become separated in the dai'kness and storm. The keeper of the coffee-shop made gi*eat quan- tities of strong black coffee for us, and our lunch, which we had had no time during the day to eat, we devoured now with a keen relish. With the hot coffee, our blankets, and the fire on the ground in the middle of the shop, we began to get warm and to realize that our condition was not quite so hopeless as we had thought. Our camp was heai"d from about midnight ; but as two loads had been lost, and the men with the officer had to go back for them, it was not till three o'clock that we got our expedition together in a large khan at Safed. Every- thing was wet, but as our mattresses were not soaked, we placed them on the stones by the wall of the khan where oiu* animals were, and lay down on them. The men made a fire near the entrance of the khan, and it was soon proved that they were not dead, although their exposure and suffering had been great duiing all the after- noon and night, to say nothing of theu* exposure during the night previous. I put a table between myself and the mules, to prevent their stepping on me, and was soon fast asleep. When I opened my eyes it was light ; and I was awakened by a mule that had been fed, dropping his barley- bag down upon me in order to get the barley at the bottom of the bag. On the morning of the 19th, the sun rose bright and wai'm, and we were happier men than we were the preceding night. With a soldier belonging to the place, we went about the town, and examined the old castle, which has been very much injured by earthquakes, espec- ially the severe one of 1837. It is situated on a conical 124 EAST OF THE JORDAN. hill, which in turn is surrounded by a moat, and must have been a strong and imposing fortress. The view from it is wonderful, overlooking the entire Sea of Galilee, a large portion of the Jordan valley, and a wide range of hills in both Eastern and Western Palestine. This officer gave us details of the attack on Lieutenant Conder's party last year. He thought that some of the men in Conder's employ were overbearing, and that their conduct provoked the quarrel which came near producing very fatal residts, I learned that the great khan where we stayed was really crowded that night. It seems that a large party of natives, with their mules, which we had seen on our way from Beirut to Sidon, were sheltered there, as well as ourselves and our animals. In all, there were no less than thirty animals in that one building, and how many men I do not know. We left Safed at 10.30 A. M., and went down a long hill, descending quite rapidly to a plateau thickly covered with boidders, over which it was not easy to make our way. After passing this and descending again, we crossed Wady 'Amud, and soon reached Abu Shusheh, at the west side of the plain of Gennesaret. The change from the rough experience of the day before to the June-like weather which we found on this plain, and the June-like grass and flowers which covered it, was most welcome to our animals as weU as to onrselves. At six P. M., we were at our camp, ten minutes south of the modern city of Tiberias. We had canned out the programme marked out for us before leaving Beirut, of which the violent storm was not, however, a part. All the eastern shore of the lake, and the waU of hills back of it, stood out clear and distinct at sunset, and Hermon appeared so grand that one ignorant of the true God might easily be led to look up to it with feelings of adoration. CHAPTER X. Around the Sea of Galilee. Work accomplished. Caves in the hill behind the old city. A hot-air cave near the summit of this hill, and a steam-bath in the same. Ancient citadel. Lines of . walls. Extent of the old town. The building material all about the lake is basalt rock. Jewish tombs. Reservoirs on the Batiha plain. Arabs on the east side of the lake. More interested in powder and shot than in antiquities. Wild boars. Crossing the lake in boats. Visit to Mr. Zellei', in Nazai'eth. Hattin. Plain El Buttauf. Sefm-iyeh or Sepphoris. View from the hill at Nazareth. " Galilee in the time of Chi-ist." Haj 'All. His visit to Mecca. Collection of birds. Jews. Suffering of the people dui'ing the cholera season last year. Our table. Teaching our cook his art. Eastern customs. Loading mules. Water-proof cloaks. Sad- dles. The horseshoe. Tribes quiet east of the Jordan. Eecord of thermometer. Camp at Tiberias, Monday, February 28, 1876. DURING our stay of a week at Tiberias, every point of interest abopt the lake and in the adjoining hills has been visited. I have been greatly interested in the old city of Tiberias, the ruins of which line the shore for a distance of two miles, and extend to the mountain on the west. In this mountain, which rises one thousand feet above the city, almost overhanging it, are numerous large caves, where people have lived in the past, and which, with a httle trouble, could again be made comfort- 126 EAST OF THE JORDAN. able abodes. One of these is sixty feet long, twelve feet high, and fifteen feet wide. The face of the rock in front of it is terraced so as to give twenty -four feet level extension outside the mouth of the cave. Another is seventy-five feet long, — that is, it extends horizontally into the mountain to that depth, — and is ten to thirty feet high. The entrance has been partly filled and in it a great fig-tree is growing. Along one side of the inte- rior, a platform five feet wide has been raised, extending the entire length of the cave, and near the front part the roof rises up to a kind of natural dome, at the very top of which the light appears. In another part, there is, near the roof, the opening to another large cave, going off at right angles to the one just described. This cave has been lined with plaster or very thick cement, a good deal of which has fallen off. On that which remains there are herring-bone and other styles of ornamentation. Still another cave, of similar character, was over one hundred feet long. The inaccessibility of these caves was a fact that I noticed about them. I reached the entrance of one at the risk of my life. It is possible that, when used, they could be reached by some easier method than by climbing to the mouth. The entire hill appears to be perforated with them, and there is no reason why they may not have been ver^^ extensive, and utilized in ancient times, like those farther north, in Wady Hammam, which in Herod's day were the resort of robbers. Among the smaller caves, one near the summit of the mountain deserves notice from the fact of the current of steam and hot air which proceeds from it. When I found it I was attracted by the grass and bushes which were in motion, although there was not a breath of air stirring. I supposed some shepherds or perhaps robbers were inside, and hesitated about venturing into it. I came to the ABOUND THE SEA OF GALILEE. 127 month on the upper side and shouted into the cave, but heard no sound. The grass and flowers were in motion, as I said, and the rocks were dripping with moisture, and when I had passed through the narrow entrance to the inside, I was thrown into a perspiration at once. It was a natural steam-bath. I saw openings on all sides, but did not venture far. The rocks were too slippery for me to move about much on them with safety. On my next visit I took with me a strong muleteer, and a long rope which I tied about my body when I entered the cave. I took with me lights, but it was impossible to keep them burning, and when extinguished the matches which I carried with me were useless, being completely soaked by the steam. The thermometer showed 61° outside the cave, and inside, a few feet from the entrance, 86°. I did not go far, for the rocks were slippery and the pits were too dangerous. This cave is on the north side of the citadel-hill of old Tiberias, and near the top ; fully a mile and a half, I should judge, from the hot springs on the shore below. Its position, as well as the steam and strong draft, are interesting phenomena. This point to which I have referred as the citadel-hill is approached on both sides by a zigzag wall, that on the south being most easily traced. At some of the angles of this waU there were towers, and in the rear of each of these was a cistern. Of the three cisterns which I measured, the dimensions were, respectively, nine feet by nine feet, twelve feet by twelve feet, and twelve feet by fourteen feet. This wall, or portions of it; at least, was laid in mortar, and large masses of it, have fallen to the valley below without being broken to fragments. Among the ruins of the old city I foimd a good many cisterns, showing that the inhabitants in former times did not de- pend entirely upon the lake for their supply of water. The numerous columns, and the abundance of carved work that 128 EAST OF THE JORDAN. may be found among the ruins, I regard as indicative of the former elegance of the city. It was no doubt larger and more densely inhabited than is generally thought by those who have not given the subject special attention. I should say that the city coidd easily have had a population of fifty thousand, or perhaps eighty thousand, souls. Another feature worthy of notice is, that the material of the ruins is for the most part basalt rock. This, indeed, is the general character of the ruins all about the lake, and largely so of the hills themselves. At Tel Hum, at Abu Shusheh, at Kersa on the eastern shore, with which should be included Fik, Gamala, and Kefr Harib, and at all other points, hardly any other building material is seen. 1 have noticed that the basalt formation commences a little to the east of Mount Tabor and continues to Tiberias. Also, the ruins at Hattin, and the rock in all that section, and for some distance to the west, are basalt. On the shore of the great plain of Batiha at the north-west corner of the lake, the sand is black, having been formed by the grinding up of basalt boulders and rock. This sand is also fvdl of minute shells. Among the ruins there are in the rock, behind and to the north of the hot springs, some interesting tombs. The entrance to one of them was three feet square. Over it is a molding, of which the top is beautiful. The interior is ten feet square, and in the centre of the floor is a i)it, now nearly filled with goat-dung. On the side opposite the entrance there are no loculi, but on the right and left sides, as one looks into the tomb, are three loadi, or six in all. This, which is a Jewish tomb, is in excellent preservation. From my observations, and from all the facts I can learn of the natives, I judge that the water in the lake is at least six feet lower than it is sometimes ; and furthermore, on reading Dr. Tristram's notes of his visit here the last of AROUND THE SEA OF GALILEE. 129 February and the first of March, 1864, and what he says of the flowers and birds he saw, and the heat he experienced, I think the present season must be much later. But while climbing along the face of the cliff above the old city, trying to examine some of the caves, I found a fig-tree which had new shoots on it, and also some old figs which Avere still green. It was loaded, besides, with small figs about the size of walnuts. This was on the 20th of February. On the plain of Batiha, which is a counterpart of that of Gennesaret on the west shore, are large reservoirs, designed, no doubt, to retain the water from the streams that descend from the hills, until it was needed to be led thence, by canals, for the purpose of irrigating the crops on the plain. These were built of basalt rock laid in cement, and the only one I measured was forty feet square. An important fact, which the traveller who visits only the western shore of the lake cannot appreciate, is the extent of plain country on the east side of the Sea of Gralilee, from the entrance of the Jordan at the north, clear around to its exit from the south end. A por- tion of this land is under cultivation, but where it is neglected or lies idle for any length of time, weeds and thistles take possession of the soil, and in some places the sidr bush plants itself and stands ready to thrust its cruel thorns into men, beasts, or birds that are so unfortunate as to come in contact with it. We found a good many Arabs on that side of the lake, among them the Diab and the Gaibat. They did not molest us. At the same time, they appeared like a vaga- bond set, and not like the nobler Bedawin of the deserts. Some of them were not very willing to answer our ques- tions, and looked with suspicion upon me when I was taking notes and angles. They were interested in guns, 6* 130 EAST OF THE JORDAN. however, and wanted ammunition, and, of course, did not refuse to share our nuts and oranges, which we brought with us for a hmch. They tokl us there were plenty of boars in the bushes along Wady Semakli, and offered to beat the bush for them, and if they found any, we should pay, otherwise not. As our special work was of more importance than boar-hunting, we declined then* offer. When these men beg for powder, it is con- venient to say that oirrs is made up into cartridges which would be of little use to them. But for this fact, they might be very troublesome in their demands. We crossed the lake several times in boats, but found it rather tedious whenever we had to depend solely on our oarsmen. The boats are not made for speed, and the natives will not exert themselves without special cause, under which head our strong desire to get over the lake in the shortest possible time woidd not be reckoned by them. But whenever a breeze came up, and we could hoist a sail, monotony and tediousness would vanish, and the trip would become dehghtful. The traditional '' one boat " on the lake has multiplied of late into a half-dozen or more, and sometimes I have seen several sail at once. These boats are made in Beiriit or some of the seaport towns, and brought here on the backs of camels. Wishing to consult Mr. Zeller, the missionary long resi- dent in Nazareth, concerning the villages and the tribes east of the Jordan, with some of which he has connection, I went to Nazareth one day, and returned the next morning. I visited Hattin, crossed the Buttauf plain, visited Sef urij-eh, and went thence to Nazareth. Some of the way the fields were carpeted mth red and white anemones, and a portion of El Buttauf is covered with fine old olive-groves. This plain is broad, free from stone and exceedingly fer- tile, and could be cut up into several hundred large, fine AROUND THE SEA OF GALILEE. 131 farms. It is said, however, to be very unhealthy, and the village of Kana el Jelil, on the north side of it, is — so Mr. ZeUer informed me — nearly or qnite deserted on this ac- count. The situation of Sefuriyeh is a charming one, and the country al>out it is rich. Its distance from Nazareth is only about three miles, and the road is easy. With Mr. Zeller I went to the hill back of Nazareth, and noted carefully the places that can be seen from that elevated position, as I had done on a former \'isit. Naza- reth has improved greatly in the ten years since I last vis- ited the place, and not only new mission buildings, but the general enterprise and thrift manifested in the people, are evidences that the labors of these patient workers in the Master's cause have brought forth their legitimate fruit. On my return, I visited the Greek and Latin convents on Mount Tabor. The people in them have fine vegetable- gardens and a good many fruit-trees, and appear to live in a comfortable way. Among the fruit-trees the almond was in full bloom, presenting an attractive and lovely sight. The chapel of the Latin convent is new ; indeed, it has but just been completed, and the walls are hardly dry. The friends here also went with me to the old church which has recently been unearthed on the summit of Tabor. One would not think it possible, but it was covered to a depth of ten feet. It has twelve steps at the entrance, by which one descends to the proper floor of the church, and the apse at the east end is still perfect, as are also the walls. Tabor was once fortified. In fact, it was always one of the strong fortresses of the country. Its wall, which remains in ruins, was surrounded by a trench, and many bevelled stones appear. In 1874 I published in the "Bibliotheca Sacra" some arti- cles on " Galilee in the Time of Christ," in which I had occa- sion to treat of its ancient populousness and its natural 132 EAST OF THE JORDAN. fertility. To some who read this essay, it seemed that I had exaggerated these matters beyoud what the absolute facts would justif;y . Mr. ZeUer had read the articles, and I asked his opinion of my statements on these points. He replied at once: "With regard to the natural fertility of Galilee, you have understated the facts." This gentleman has had eighteen years' experience in this province, and is a careful observer of all facts which would throw light on the former condition of this favored region. What a multitude of historical sites can be brought under the eye during a few hours' travel in this ancient land ! Hattin, where the Crusaders' cause was lost ; Cana of Galilee, where our Lord's first miracle was wrought ; Sepphoris, the capital of this province during all the early part of Christ's life ; Nazareth, the home of Jesus ; Tabor, the plain of Ezdraelon, the Mediterranean and some of its seaports, Carmel and the hills of Samaria, Gilboa and Nain, the lake of Tiberias, the valley of the Jordan, the moun- tains of Gilead, the great plains of Bashan, and Heimon's lofty dome, — these and a large number of other places of sacred or historical interest one can look down upon frcm two or three of the lofty heights in northern Palestine. We found a man here who has served us as a guide and hunter, and in whom I am greatly interested. His name is Haj 'Ali. He is tall, erect, thin, with gray mustache and chin unshaven, and appears to be about sixty years of age, although if he were an American I should say he was sev- enty. In manner he is dignified, calm, and patient ; a capi- tal specimen of a hunter ; is very respectful, and minds his own business. He came from Africa, was an Algerine by birth, and as some of his people quarrelled, tlie family was obliged to flee. He had been a great friend of Aghyle Aghn, a former famous sheikh in the region south of Tiberias, and he told us many of his experiences in the wars which took ABOUND THE SEA OF GALILEE. 133 place in his early and middle life. He agrees to go with us as far as Um Keis, but does not think it best for him to go below that point, for he "has blood on his hands/' — so he himself says, — from the time of the sheikh just mentioned. As to his wife and children, he says they are all buried on the hill-side above the town. He is intelligent, but has no regrets for what is past so far as I could learn, no plans for the present and no hopes for the future. He prays often, and looks towards Mecca ; but I wonder if he knows anything of God, or if his heart is light when he looks up to the sky, towards the Fathei*'s house. Besides Haj 'Ali, there are men and boys who come around our tents with guns, and who, if we offer them a few pennies, will hunt for us all day. Sometimes they bring us valuable birds. Among the birds which we have secured are harriers, quail, Greek partridges, spar- rows, larks, bulbuls (the nightingale of Palestine), star- lings, the red-headed woodpecker, great gray shrikes and two other species, wheat-ear, cormorant, the gorgeous Smyrna kingfisher, black and white kingfisher and the small kingfisher or Alcedo ispida, the great crested grebe, the little grebe or dab-chick, the common gull, and one eagle- guU which spreads five feet eleven inches. The last bird the natives call the " donkey of the sea," because, they say, it brays like a donkey, and they are certainly correct in their description of this bird's strange, strong eaU. We have a few birds besides, of which we do not know the proper names. Archaeology and topography have the first claim upon our attention, and after them, natural his- tory. On this account, our collection is smaHer than it would otherwise be. While about our work we have seen many other birds — ducks, herons, griffon vultures, which are abundant in Wady Hammam ; also foxes, gazelles, wolves, wild boars, and jackals. The last come near us 134 EAST OF THE JORDAN. every night, and their number is not small. Hyenas exist in the caves in the mountain behind the old city, and they have their hiding-places also among its ruins. I have had a long conversation with a few of the Jews here, and learned something of their life in the differ- ent countries from wliich these particular ones came. They come hither to be healed by the water; at all events, to rest and to die. With these men I visited the graves of the famous rabbis who have been buried at Tiberias. During the year just past the place suffered a good deal from cholera. Such of the inhabitants as could get away fled. Still, one hundi'ed and fifty people died, and as the entire population is small at any time, the mor- tality must have been great in proportion to the number of people left in the town. The situation of the modern city is very low, the houses are small, the streets nar- row and filthy, and the wonder is that the residents do not all j)erish. While here we have been able to supply our table with birds and fish, and our living has consequently been far better than the average in our tent life. We obtained also some nice mutton, and I have succeeded in teaching our cook how to prepare a chop with which even an Englishman would be delighted. This is quite a point gained, so far as our future is concerned, for the natives do not depend for food on beef or mutton, and their meats are generally ruined hy their strange methods of cooking ; but, on the other hand, in all that legitimately pertains to the country and life of the people, their own methods are, no doubt, the best. Set Americans or English- men at loading and driving camels, and they woidd kill the animals in less than a week. The natives, however, not only know how to spare the lives of these beasts of bm-- den, but also how to get out of them the most work. The saddles for the camels and mides look awkward and clumsy. ABOUND THE SEA OF GALILEE. 135 yet tliey are the result of long experience, and are the most comfortable for the backs of the animals that could be devised. It takes Europeans a good while to learn this. Arranging and tying bundles or the loads for the pack- animals is a special art, with which Yankees, with all their ingenuity, would make wretched work. The 'ada, or water-proof of the country, is not only made by the natives, but is superior to any mackintosh ever worn. Native cloaks of this kind are warm, protect from the rain equally well, and will serve as a comfortable blanket at night, which is not true of a rubber cloak. Again, the horseshoe is adapted to the needs of the animals on such roads as exist here. A horse shod as they are in England or Amer- ica would have his hoofs and feet ruined in one hour on any Syrian road. This enumeration of facts, in illustration of the statement I have made, could be carried much far- ther,— to their method of plough- ing and irrigating, their vessels for holding water, their clothing, and some other things. The horses are perfectly acquainted with the roads, and know how to manage them- selves on the same ; but I have seen travellers get into trouble by trying to dictate to the horses or to show them what to do on a broken or dangerous path. Our exploration, which has been largely confined to the east side of the lake, is completed, and likewise our preparations for our work in the Jordan valley and beyond. So far as I could learn from Mr. Zeller, or from, Haj 'Ali and our horsemen, who are going with us Syrian Horseshoe and Nails. 136 EAST OF THE JORDAN. for a few days at least, the people and tribes in the region where we propose to operate are all quiet, and I hope no obstacle of any kind will arise to impede us in our duties. Record of Thermometer From February 15 to February 29, 1876. F. at 15 14^ C. 57 15i 60 15i 60 16 lOi 51 21 70 20i 69 17 15 59 18 65 18 9 48 12 54 19 7 45 20 68 151 60 20 101 51 18 65 151 60 21 91 49 21 70 16 61 23 12 54 161 62 16 61 25 151 60 26 161 62 14 57 27 111 53 17 63 14 57 28 12 54 211 71 29 11 52 22 72 211 71 131 56 8 a. m. at Beirut. 1 p. m. Mouth of the Damur. 8 p. m. Sidou. 8 a. m. 1 p. m. 'Ain el Kantara. 7 p. m. Tyi-e. 7 a. m. 2 p. m. Tibnin. 8 a. m. Huuin. 12.30 p. m. Mes. 8 a. m. Safed. 3.15 p. m. Abu Shusheh, on the edge of the plain of Gennesaret. 6.15 13. m. Camp at Tiberias. 7 a. m. 12.30 p. m. 6.30 p. m. 6.30 a. m. 2 p. m. Wady Fik 6.30 p. m. in camp. 7 a. m. 1 p. m. 6.30 p. m. 6.30 p. m. 8 a. m. 6 p. m. 7 a. m; 12.30 p. m. 5.30 p. m. 7 a. m. 1 p. m. at Tell HAm. 7 a. m. 11.30 a. m. at foot of the hills on the east side of the Ghor, on the road to Gadara. 12.30 p. m. El Hamma. 6.30 p. m. our camp at the hot spring's of El Hamma. CHAPTER XI. El Hamma, an Ancient Watering-Place. Loaving Tiberias. Arabs are eai'ly risers. Feelings of Christian and Jew by this hallowed lake. A volunteer hunter frightens the birds. View of the Jordan valley from the ancient mound at Kerak. Eieh fields, inviting to the cultivator. Arabs and their flocks. Euined bridge. Semaldi and its earth-granaries. Hills of the Foxes. Du- weir, or the Little Convent. The Menadireh and its wild gorge. Layers of basalt and limestone. Eoman road. Sheltered nooks in the valley. El Hamma, or the hot springs of Gadara. Bathing. Floating island. Reports of pa.lms and pomegi'anates up the valley. The retem shrub. Ai'ab superstition. Writing letters and jom-nals difficult for a busy explorer. Camp at El Hamma, or the Hot Springs of Gadara, Tuesday, February 29, 1876. THE morning was fresh and beautiful. Hermon appeared in all its massive grandeur, and in the clear hght all the smaller mountains and hills were sharply- defined. The Arabs are early risers, and if they had a taste for such things they might enjoy the splendid scenery of the early morning ; but probably other motives call them from their beds. It was with a good deal of regret that I left the Sea of Galilee. Even in its desolation, I can enjoy the Sabbath on its quiet, sacred shores better than in the finest church or 138 EAST OF THE JORDAN. catliedral in any civilized land. To the Jew it means less than to the Chi-istian, yet I can sympathize with the feel- ings which lead the Israelites of to-day to seek Tiberias and the shores of its charming lake as a place of residence and bnrial. In fifty minntes after leaving camp, we were out of sight of Tiberias, and in one hour and forty minutes we were at the point where the river leaves the lake, near the mound called Kerak, which represents the ancient Tarichea. Birds and water-fowl could be seen in flocks at the south end of the lake, and very near the shore. Among them were a large number of cormorants, of which species we had hereto- fore secured but one, and were anxious to obtain more. One of our native hunters — not Haj 'Al'i, ah-eady referred to — crept up within easy range and fli^ed a double shot at them, but without effect. We learned hj experience, on more than one occasion, that this man could fii-e his gun as bravely as the best hunter in the world, and succeed in frightening the game equally with the very poorest. Hence, after an experience of a few days, we found we coiild dis- pense with his services, although by his own account his reputation as a " good shot" was "very good." The bank of the lake at the south end is thirty to forty feet in height, and perpendicular. The soil is alluvial, and in it animals and bii'ds burrow and make their nests. Between this bank and the water's edge there is a narrow margin of shore, along which one may ride or walk. The exit of the river from the lake is winding and gradual, and it lies quite low in its narrow bed. The banks, except on the north side near the point of exit, are not lined with reeds or bushes, and the departure of the famous river from the Sea of Galilee is by no means imposing. But if the river is insignificant, the opening of the valley itself is grand. A great plain stretches to the EL HAMMA. 139 east as far as the hills, and to the south as far as the eye can reach. The valley is spread out like a prauie, and the walls of mountains which line it on either side rise at certain points into bold peaks, and stretch away to the south until lost in the distance. Some miles below us, several large herds of cattle and camels were seen, and half a dozen groups of black tents. The American farmer would look with envious eyes upon any of the fertile portions of this valley ; and one has but to see them to account for the interest which Lot felt in the rich plains far to the south. About twenty minutes south of the exit of the river is a ruined bridge, to which reference has often been made in books of travel. The people of the region call it Um Kanatir, and say it was used as an aqueduct. It has ten piers, besides the abutments at each end, and was once a fine structure on the great thoroughfare from Tiberias to Gadara and the east. The river at this point is quite wide, and we forded it with ease, the water coming only to the saddles. Thii'ty minutes from the ruined bridge is a place called Semakh, situated at the very edge of the bank of the lake. I should judge that in a few years all that is left of it will be washed away. From Kerak, at the south end of the lake on the west side, Semakh looked like an important place. It is, however, merely a small col- lection of mud houses. But it has also a few ruins, — fragments of basalt columns, capitals, doors, and squared stones, which were doubtless brought from the east, or from some ruined city about the lake itself. The place has many pits or holes, ten to fifteen feet in depth, dug in the soft earth, and lined with straw or canes in such a way as to protect the grain which was designed to be stored in them. They appear now to be mostly in a ruined condition, 140 EAST OF THE JORDAN. and were so numerous that it was exceedingly dangerous riding among them. I expressed my surprise that grain should be put into such receptacles in such a soil as this, but was assured that it kept perfectly well. But if it was in no danger from the moisture, I should think it would be injured by the burrowing of animals, which would have no trouble in getting at it. The plain immediately about the ruin just described bears the same name, or Ard es Semakh. From this point one sees, to the eastward, a small ruin on the shore, about thirty minutes distant, called Khurbet es Sumrah, and also what appear to be foot-hills, but which are really separate from them, being situated in the plain, about half a mile from the mountains, and which are called Hills of the Foxes. As we crossed the plain, the black tents of the Arabs, which we had seen in the distance from Kerak, increased in nmnber; and, besides the cattle and camels, there were a great many sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, and mules, together with the men who were guarding them. The great plain before us — and, in fact, all the north end of the Cxhor — is entirely free from stones. This is a remarkable statement to be made with regard to any por- tion of rough, rocky Palestine. In a little over one hour from the ruined bridge, going at a brisk walk, we began to enter the hills on the road leading to Um Keis, or Gadara. On our right was the ruin called Duweir, or the Little Con- vent. The budding material is basalt, and the stones are large and well cut. The tell on which this convent stands is covered with squared blocks of the same material. Two miles down the valley is another ruin, called Yugana, or Yukna, and also a fountain of the same name. The great wady which we entered here is called 'Adasiyeh below, and Menadireh in the upper portion. The stream is a large one, and has borne in the past the names Hieromax and Yarmuk. The river is larger than the Jordan above EL HAMMA. 141 Lake Tiberias. Between Duweii- and El Hamma, or the Hot Springs, we find traces of the old Roman road, which is now, for the most part, in ruins. The Romans were a people who would have, at any cost, a comfortable and easy road by which to reach the beautiful pleasure and health resort where our tents are now pitched. As we began to wind up the gorge of the river, new scenes of gi'andeur burst upon us at every turn. One great bend in the stream was a mUe in extent, and we conld see the entire distance at a single glance, — the water dashing at the bottom of the perpendicular cliff which rose three hun- dred feet above it, and still above that could be traced the narrow path along which we were to go. A singular effect, by contrast, was presented by the rock formation, as exposed on the face of the cliff just referred to, where a stratum of fifty or one hundred feet in thickness, of pure white lime- stone, was overlaid by one of black basalt, for a hundred feet more. At some points one's head would swim, on look- ing down several hundred feet, to the bottom of the gorge. Just before reaching El Hamma, the mountains come close together, forming a nari-ow pass. Before that, however, was a small valley, in which was an encampment of Arabs, and theii' cattle and black tents looked from our high road like mere specks on the green gi'ass. Their position seemed a very secure one, and how the place was reached we could not discover ; but doubtless there is some mountain path leading to this secluded valley. There they enjoy water, warmth, and grass, and freedom from molestation, which are all the blessings they can ask of Nature. Just above this narrow place is the plain or valley of El Hamma. Next east of that is M'Khaibeh. Thus the valley is formed of a succession of wild gorges, high mountains on either side, perpendicular cliffs, bold, rugged headlands project- ing into the valley, and small, quiet plains, far down out of 142 HJAST OF THE JORDAN. the reach of mountain storms, fertile, sheltered, and peace- ful. A little farther along we saw a trail on the mountain- side opposite, and animals and men passing. They seemed very small from where we were ; and doubtless the path or trail which they were following led down to the sheltered nook in the valley below El Hamma, which I have just described. We wound around the head of a great chasm, and then descended rapidly over the rugged basaltic rocks, and in five minutes were at our camping-place, near the remains of the Roman baths, at some of the most famous hot springs of antiquity. From our elevated path on the moun- tain-side we had seen the river far below us, also the hot springs, and the two large streams which flowed from the same into the river itself. At the distance of two miles, the water in these springs and streams leading fi'om them had a most intense green color, and the effect on the land- scape, from the distance just mentioned, was very striking. When, however, we reached the springs, the water was as clear as crystal. Doubtless the incrustations on the stones at the bottom of the spi-ings gave the water this peculiar appearance. On reaching our tents, we went at once to the hottest of this group of springs, which are all on the north side of the river, where the water is 115° in temperature, and bathed our hands and faces, and promised ourselves a warm bath just as soon as we could get time for it. We had our lunch under a great sidr or dom tree, close by which were two fine palms ; but scattered over the small plain were the remains of many more of these noble trees, and doubtless in former times they existed here in abun- dance. About us were columns, capitals, and other ruins of former elegant buildings, and just behind our tents were the remains of the theatre, where the frequenters of this ancient and delightful watering-place were once enter- EL HAMMA. 143 tained. "WTien I came to batlie iu the hot spring just referred to, I found it was ahnost too much of a good thing. Van Dyck, however, could bear it, which is one evidence that he is more of a native than I am. The Ai-ahs strip and plunge in, and even sit in the water. People passing by also stop and bathe, and the place is visited by many persons from a distance, as the waters are supposed to have heahng efficacy for many complaints. The largest spring- is 103° in temperature, and in my judgment is by far the pleasantest of all these bathing-places. The water is not too warm, and is deep enough to swim in. This evening I swam in it over fifty strokes in a straight line, the water all the way being about six feet in depth. At lunch-time I noticed in this spring a beautiful island, several yards in diameter, covered with tall reeds ; but this evening, when 1 bathed there, I was surprised to find that this island was on the opposite side of the pond. It was, in fact, a floating island. At M'Khaibeh, up the valley, our Arabs say that there are plenty of fine j)abns and pomegranates, and they are enthusiastic in their descriptions of the beautiful locality. Just there, also, the stream is said to be called the M'Khai- beh River. On the route up the valley we saw a very pretty shrub, with long green twigs rising, tall and slender, fi'om a single base, hke a cluster of willows. This is the reteni bush, which grows so abundantly along the Zerka, and farther south, in the region east of the Dead Sea. The flower is small, but very fragrant. The blossoms are pro- fuse, and resemble the arbutus in color and smell. There is one kidney-shaped seed in each pod. This shrub does not gi'ow very high, and on the Hnibs are long twigs, which are loaded with blossoms. The twigs of some of these, I observed, had been tied in knots. The Arabs have a super- stition about it, which is that if a man can tie a knot in a 144 EAST OF THE JORDAN. twig with one hand, he will marry two wives; but if he has to use both hands, he will not be married at all. This superstition comes the nearest to romance of anything that I have seen in Arab or Bedawin life. Our Arabs told us, further, that if the goats ate of this shrub, and a person afterwards drank their milk, it would make his head giddy. One of our men attempted to tie a knot in the twigs "vvith one hand, and failed, whereupon all the rest who saw him laughed at his failure. I believe that writing letters and journals is one of the most difficult of the tasks which fall to the lot of an explorer. One's duties here are such that one soon gets out of the literary mood. Other matters are too urgent to allow of writing well, and sometimes they prevent one from wi'itiug at all. At the same time, a great deal of wi-iting must be done. The work of the day is not ended, however late it may be, until the journal has been written ; and this is a tedious task, after ten, eleven, or twelve o'clock at night, when one is almost exhausted. Angles and distances have to be measured, flowers collected, natural history attended to, geological formations noted, inscriptions copied, sketches made ; and when these things are done, the time left for writing is very limited. If it had not been for a kind of shorthand which 1 have adopted, I coidd never have written my journal at all. And when letters are writ- ten, the work must be done hurriedly, and my penmanship often bears a striking resemblance to that of Rufus Choate, or of some spiritualistic medium. In fact, Rufus Choate's writing would be beautifid copperplate, compared mth what might be found in my daily note-books. But there is one satisfactory thing about it : I can read my notes, while Rufus Choate could not read his. This work, however, of collecting facts is interesting, and even exciting. CHAPTER XII. Gadaea. Exploration work. M'Khaibeh. Hot spring. Dense jungle. A tropical paradise. Women weaving reed-mats. Severe storm. Griffon vultiu'es. Our trap for wild animals a failure. Jackals. Insects. Sulphur springs. Mills run by hot water. Size and temperatiire of the springs. Beautiful remains of former luxury. Baths. Stone chairs. Masons' marks. Theatre. Possibility of rebuilding this ancient pleasure resort. Birket el 'Araies, or Fountain of the Brides. Eoman road to Gadara. Situation of the city. Two theatres. Glo- rious view. Extensive ruins. Tombs. City of the dead. Grounds laid out and ornamented. Roman villa. Great temple at El Kabu. Hot Springs of Gadara, March 6, 1876. DURING the week past, we have visited Um Keis, or Gadara, several times. The distance from our camp is almost three miles. Gadara is cut off from the plateau east of the Jordan, to which it properly belongs, by Wady Menadireh on the north, and Wady 'Arab on the south. The country east of it we have pretty thoroughly explored, and also the great plateau east of the Sea of Galilee, about Kefr Harib, El Husn, or Gamala, and Fik. We have also explored the valley of the Menadireh some distance to the east of El Hamma, including Birket el 'Ai-aies, or the Foun- tain of the Brides, and the famous jungle at M'Khaibeh. 7 146 EAST OF THE JORDAN. The latter is three miles up the valley to the east, and pos- sesses one large hot spring, which is about the size, so far as the volume of water is concerned, of the three hottest springs at El Hamma. The jungle of thorn -bushes, canes, and trees was so thick that it was very difficult to get about. M'Khaibeh is a plain between the mountains, with the river running at the north side of it ; while here the river is on the south side of the plain. Another name given by the Arabs to the river at M'Khaibeh is Abu Kharuf. The plain is about one mile long, by haK a mile wide. The water from the sulphur sj)ring already men- tioned flows over it in many streams, and makes it a tropical paradise. I counted eighteen tropical trees grow- ing there, while of the different shrubs, flowers, and plants I do not know the number ; nor do I know that I observed all the trees. The most striking feature, however, is a grove of two hundred fine palms, lifting their gi'aeeful heads above the plain and jungle below. Such a sight is not to be seen elsewhere in Syria. Everything which grows here grows to perfection. Nothing is stunted or dwarfed. I never before made — or tried to make — my way through such a thicket as this. Indeed, in most places it is impossi- ble to find a way through it, unless one should cut a path \AW\ axes. It is literally one mass of vegetation, — a jungle, festooned, intertwined, tangled, and dense as a solid wall. Wild boars live here, and have a secure retreat. Near the upper end of the plain, not far from the spring, is a mill, which is run by hot water of over 100° temperature. The temperature of the water in the spring itself is 112°. Here and there a small clearing has been made, and black tents pitched, or a hut of reeds has been set up. The location must be unhealthy in the summer. At this season, how- ever, it is one of the most beautiful and attractive places I have seen, and is not surpassed by any other in aU Palestine. GADARA. 147 The names of a few of the trees and shrubs referred to are as follows : the palm, acacia, mulberry, sidr, the olean- der,— which reaches such a size here as to deserve to be called a large tree, — the pomegranate, kharub, Seville orange, sweet lemon, fig, prickly pear, briers of gigantic size, grape-vines ; a large, fine tree called gharam ; the zamzariJc, which is covered with beautiful pink blossoms ; the butm, noticed on the borders of the jungle only ; a small tree called the Jiauz ; and the gasaih, or Jcasaih, which means cane. The canes reach a height of twenty- five feet. Women were weaving the slender reeds into large mats, which, here and elsewhere, are also used as walls for their reed-houses. They — /. e., the few women whom we saw here — could make a mat which would answer for one side of a house, in one or two days. Such a piece, when done, would be worth four piastres, or sixteen cents. Saturday night and yesterday we had a hard storm. It was foggy and dark, and rained most of the time, and was very disagreeable. The wind blew and the rain beat so that I could not have much light in my tent, and the next day was endured, rather than enjoyed or improved. Besides, our tent was made unusually disagreeable by a bad smell. Van Dyck was fortunate enough to shoot a pair (male and female) of griffon vultures. Each measured three feet and six inches from tip of beak to tip of tail ; and one spread eight feet three inches, and the other eight feet''four inches. While they were exactly the same length, the female made a bigger spread, by one inch, than the male. But I could not say which smelled the worse. They were the foules-t birds I ever saw. I thought that we should be sick. Now, however, that they are skinned and packed away, the atmos- phere about our camp is becoming somewhat purified. I told Van Dyck this morning I hoped he would not shoot 148 EAST OF THE JORDAN. any more griffon vultures ; for in skinning and preparing them it seemed to me we were called upon for a greater sac- lifice of comfort than even explorers who are roughing it should be expected to make. Still, it is not easy to get these birds, and I suppose we must endure all this for science. Our natural history collection is growing daily. At present, it consists chiefly of birds. We have not had much success, hitherto, with four-footed beasts. We have seen wolves, foxes, jackals, gazelles, ichneumons, otters, and wild boars ; but they have all escaped our rifles. Before leaving Bei- rut, I tried to get a trap, such as I had used to catch game with in America ; but could find none. No one had ever seen, such as I wanted, and a blacksmith whom I consulted thought one could not easily be made. I found, however, a French contrivance called a trap, which was very rude and unwieldy, and which has rendered us no service thus far. With suitable traps, I believe some of these wild beasts could easily be taken. Jackals are, of course, very a})un- dant. Just about sunset, they break out in aU directions with their peculiar howl, and often come very near om* camp. As for insects, our time is too much occupied to pay attention to them. They, however, have abundant leisure to devote to us, and are constantly and everywhere annoy- ing. For myself, I am never persecuted by fleas, as many travellers are. In fact, they usually give me a wide berth, for which I am thankfiil. At Tiberias they were more troublesome than they are here; and possibly something is to be attributed to the fact that, with these delightful facil- ities for bathing, we keep almost too clean for them. This place, although entirely without inhabitants, is never without people, either gathered about the sjirings, or com- ing and going in different directions. There are, however, the families of two millers, who remain here all the time. GABABA. 149 The town at this place must have been, in ancient times, one of importance, and probably of wealth. The plain is about one mile long, and nearly three-quarters of a mile wide ; and one-half or two-thirds of the entire surface is covered with ruins of once elegant buildings. The number of springs here is given, in all the books that I have exam- ined, as high as eight or ten, which is not correct. There are but four, of which the temperature of the two hottest has already been mentioned, namely, 115° and 103°, The third has a temperature of 92°, and the last of 83°. They are all sulphur springs. The whole region is filled with the odor. The first night we spent here, I awoke, and, not remembering for an instant exactly where I was, but per- ceiving the strong odor which filled the vaUey, I exclaimed: " What is it ? " But a few days' experience accustomed me to the smell, and I either like it, or else have persuaded my- self that I do, for I really enjoy being here. If I lived in Syria, I should wish a house at these hot springs. Drinking this sulphur water, combined with our hard work, has given us excellent appetites. Further, these springs are not mere puddles, of a few pailf uls each, as is the case with some of the famous sulphur springs of Europe or America ; but they are all of generous size. One is fifteen by twenty feet ; another, forty-five feet in diameter ; and the third is sixty yards long by forty yards wide. The streams flowing from them are large and rapidi The mill near our camp, on one of these streams, is, like that already mentioned at M'Khaibeh, run by hot water at 100° Fahrenheit. There can be no freezing in winter ! The spring, which has 83° temperature, bursts from the foot of a basaltic cliff ; and the stream from it runs across the plain, turns a mill, and then flows over rocks into the river. But, before it reaches the mill, it forms on the plain a large marsh, which is several acres in extent, about one acre of which 1.30 EAST OF THE JOBDAN. is a pond, clear of weeds, and from three to six feet in depth. The water in this pond, and in the stream above and below it, is clear and sweet, and abounds with fish. From the spring which has 103° temperature, there flows a large stream. Soon after leaving the spring, it is divided Seats in the Bath at El Hamma. into two or three channels, in order to feed a mill ; but these unite again before reaching the river. At the bank of the river, the water has dug out a large reservoir, a hun- dred yards in length and ten or fifteen in width, in which the water is ten feet deep. The water in this pond, which has a temperature of 98°, flows over the rocks into the river below, forming a beautiful cascade. The volume of water flowing from all these springs combined, I estimate to be equal to a stream twenty-five feet wide by twenty inches, or two feet, in depth, with a rapid, foaming current. I have already referred to the intense green appearance of these springs and streams, as seen from a distanc«^ when we were approaching them from Tiberias. This GADABA. 151 phenomenon I have since observed on several occasions, both from the summit of the hill at Um Keis, and again on the brow of the mountain to the north, at a point two 4>.v.n.fin.6. ^1 / q A.X. K.