The native American. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1840, 1837-12-16
ABoUGosH, THE CHIEF OF THE ARABS OF
THE MOUNTAINS OF JUDEA.

a. i ~ -
Translated for the Native American, from De Lamar
tines Voyage in the East.-By J. c. b.
We set out before the break of day we fol-
lowed, for two hours, narrow valley, sterile and
rocky, celebrated for Arab depredations. 1t is
the spot which is the most exposed to their m
roads in the vicinity they reach it through al
number of winding valleys, hidden by the backs
of inhabited hills, in order to lay In wait Dehnd
the rocks and bushes, and burst forth suddenly on
the caravans The celebrated Abougosh, Chief OF
the Arab tribes of these mountains, holds the Key
of these defiles which lead to Jerusalem; he
"OPENS and closes them at will, and receives RAM
| som for travellers His head quarters are some
leagues distant, at the village of jeremiah. WEI
expected every instant to encounter these caya-
lliers but met no one, except young aga, mount
ed on mare Of great beauty, and attended by
seven or eight horsemen. He sauted us polite
lly and ranged himself, with his suite, to let us
pass, without touching our horses or garments.
About mile from Jeremiah, the valley becomes
more confined, and the trees cover the road with
their branches. There in this spot, an an
cient fountain and the remains of ruined kios-
que. We climbed upwards for an hour, by a
narrow and uneven track, dug in the rocks, in the
midst of the woods; and we discovered, suddenly,
the village and church of Jeremiah at our feet, on
the opposite side of the hill. The church, now
a mosque, appears to have been constructed on a
magnificent scale, at the epoch OF the kingdom of
Jerusalem, under the Lusignans. The village is
composed Of forty or fifty houses tolerably large,
suspended on the declivity of the two hills which
embrace the valley. Some scattered fg-trees and
vineyards, announce a kind Of cultivation. We
saw focks about the houses; several Arabs, dress
| ed in magnificent caftans, smoked their pipes on
the terrace Of the principal house, about hum
e. AZ ~lol
Fifteen twenty horses, sadded and bridled,
perceived us, they descended from the terrace,
mounted their horses, and advanced slowly to-
wards MS. We met in a large uncultvated
square, which fronts the village, and to which
five or six noble fg-trees afford a shade. 1t was
the famous Abougosh and his family. He adj
vanced alone, with his brother, to meet us his
suite remained behind. j halted mine also imme-
diately, and drew near with my interpreter. AT
ter the customary sautations, and the endless
compliments which precede every conversation
with the Arabs, Abougosh asked me if | was the
Frank Emir, whom his friend, Lady Stanhope,
!, the Queen of Palmyra, recommended to his pro-
= lection, and in whose name she had sent him
ri the superb vest of gold cloth which he wore,
! and showed me with pride and gratitude? | was
ignorant of this gift having been made so obi
gingly by Lady Stanhope in my name; but an
swered that was, in fact the stranger whom that
!, lustrious woman had entrusted to the generosity
i of her friends at jeremiah; that l was on my
way to visit all Palestine, where the power OF
Abougosh was recognized; and that | begged
him to give the necessary directions, in order that
/ Lady Stnhope might have no cause for complaint.
/ At these words, he dsmounted, as also did his
brother He called several of his attendants, and
ordered them to bring mats, carpets and cushens,
:, which were spread out beneath the shade of a
large fg-ree, in the field where we stood; and he
0 begged us SO pressingly to dismount ourselves,
, and to sit his rustic divan that it was impossi-
! BILE for us to decline. As the plague prevailed at
Jeremiah, Abougosh, who knew that Europeans
: were in quarantine, took care not to touch our
a garments, and fixed his divan, and that of his
brothers, in face of us, at certain distance. As
to ourselves, we only accepted the mats of straw
and rushes, because it is thought they do not COM
mnnicate the contagion Coffee and sherbets
were then brought. We entered into long and
general conversation; and Abougosh asked me to
send away my suite, as he did also his, to
communicate some secret information, which I
cannot here disclose. After having converscd to-
lgether some minutes, we called back his brother
and my friends. Is my name known in Europe!
he asked me. Yes, answered. Some say that
e you are robber, pillaging and masacreing the
caravans, carrying the Franks into slavery, and
ferocious foe to Christians others assert that you
: are brave and generous Prince, depressing the
: robberies of the mountain Arabs, protecting the
roads and caravans, the friend of all the Franks
: who worthy of your esteem. And you
said he to me, smiling-what will you say of me?
: will tell what have seen, answered. that you
r are as powerful and hospitable as Prince Of the
: Franks that you have been slandered, and that
! you deserve to have, as friends, all Europeans
! who, like myself, have experienced your benef-
I cence, and the protection of your sabre. Abou-
: gosh seemed delighted. His brother and himself
asked me great number of questions relative to
} European customs, about our habits, and our
arms, which he admired extremely. We then
separated. On leaving us, he ordered one of his
|nephews and several cavaliers, to put themselves
at the head of our caravan, and not to leave us du-
ring the whole time that l should remain, either
at Jerusalem or the environs. thanked him,
and we parted.
! Abougosh reigns actually over about forty
j thousand Arabs of the mountains of Judea from
Ramla to jerusalem from Hebron to the noun
tains of Jericho This sway, which has been
transmitted in his family for several generations,
has other title than his power itself. In Ara
bia, the origin or legitimacy of power, is not dis