The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1837-08-15

p.ssAer OF THE RED SEA. The route OF
tbe Isroelies. and the place where they crossed
the Red Sea, are thus described III inc i'0''
dents of Travel, by an American"
81 ate in the afternoon, we landed on the OPP
nosite side, on the most sacred spot connected
with the wanderngs of the lsraeltes' "iiere
thev rose from the dry bed OF the sea, ano' al
the command of Moses, the divided waters rush
ed together, overwhelming Pharaoh and his
cbariots. and the whole host of Egypt With
the devotion of pious pilgrim, picked up a
shell and put it in my pocket as memorial OF
the place; and then Paul and j, mounting the
dromedaries which my guide had brought down
to the shore in readiness, rode to grove OF
palm trees, shading fountain of bad water call
ed young Moussa, or the fountain OF Moses
was riding careessly along, looking behind me
towards the sea, ,and had almost reached the
grove of palm trees, when large flock of crows
flew out and my dromedary, frightened with
their sudden whizzing, started back and threw
me twenty feet over his head, completely clear
of his neck, and left me sprawng in the sand
1t was mercy did not finish my wanderngs
where the children of Israel began theirs; but
saved my head at the expense of my hands,
which sank in the loose soil up to the wrist, and
bore the marks for more than two months after
wards. I seated myself where fell and, as the
sun was just dipping below the horizon, told
Paul to pitch the tent with the door towards the
place of the miraculous. shall never forget
the sunset scene, and it is the last shall infict
upon the reader was setting on the sand on
the very spot where the chosen people of God,
after walking over the dry bed of the sea, stop
ped to behold the divided waters returning to
their place, and swallowing up the host of pur-
suers. The mountains on the other side looked
dark and portentous, as if proud and conscious
witnesses of the mighty miracle; while the sum-
descending behind them long after it had disap-
peared, left reflected brightness which illumin
ed with an almost supernatural light the dark
surface of the water.
"But TO return to the fountain of Moses. ]
am aware that there is some dispute as to the
precise spot where Moses crossed; but having no
time for skeptcism on such matters, l begin by
making up my mind that this was the place, and
then looked round to see whether, according to
the account given in the Bible, the face of the
country and the natural land marks did not sus-
tain me in my opinion. l remember looked
up to the head of the gulf where Suez or Kol-
sum now stand, and saw that, almost to the very
head of the gulf there was high range of
mountains which it would he necessary to cross
an undertaking, which it would be physically
impossible for 100000 people, men, women and
children, to accomplish, with hostile army
pursuing them. AT Suez, Moses could not have
been hemmed in as he was; he could go off in
to the Syrian desert, or, unless the sea has great
ly changed since that time, round the head of
the gulf But here, directly opposite where /
sat, was an opening in tho mountains, making
clear passage from the desert to the shore of the
sea-"