Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1847-11-27
EXPEDITION TO THE DEAD SEA.

A paragraph, published few days since in the
New York Herald, stated that party of naval Of
fcers, under the command of Lieut. w. f. LYNCH,
would shortly sail from that port in the United
States storeship Supply to the Mediterranean, for
the purpose of making an exploration and survey
of the Dead Sea. The Herald has since received
the following communication relative the expedition:
To the Editor Of The Herald:
In reference to the proposed survey the Dead Sea
raj of the newspapers have asked " Cui Jon0?"
As the first public ntimaon given without my know
ledge through your columns, ask permission to avail myself
of The same medium briefly the point of abrupt
ness questions at natural and SO reasonable.
Although most reluctant to parade my insignificant
in print take this step without nstants hesitation in
Justice to the enlightened statesman whose mind instant
grasped the importance of the questions ISSUE and oresaw
the credit to be acquired by his country in their solution.
For upwards Of four thousand years the Dead Sea has laid
in its deep and wondrous chasm whitening record of the
visitation Of Gods wrath upon his sinful Itself
once fertile vale, teemng with population and redundant
with the products of favored cme il lies inert and
sluggish mass of dark and bitter waters with living
thing upon shore, above or beneath its surface. Recev
ing extreme the mighty volume Of swift and un-
failing river and the numerous torrents that plunge into 1t
through the ces in its Sides slowly rises and falls in its
own solitary bed with visible outlet tributary waters.
Its lofty and feed Sides ven by earthquakes here banched
by the ran blackened by the tempest rise pependcu
larry fifteen hundred feet side and two thousand feet
on the other while from the summit the spectator
behods floating upon its surface huge Of btumen,
thrown up from its mysterious Mount Lebanon is
900 feet above the Mediterranean and 10000 above the
Dead Sea- which is little than hundred miles dis
tant from it. The sc Corra in the Island of Madeira is
wonderful for it is the bed of nearly level with the
but here sea, forty miles distant from another
sea- and upwards of thirteen hundred feet below it, The
unhappy Cosgan the only who has undertaken to cir
cmnavgae this sea- and who persisted in the attempt could
in place find bottom, and it indicated by incessant
bubbles and agated surface Whether or not this be the
of a submerged volcano, forming subterraneous
aqueduct with the ocean, who tell This unahomable
spot whether through extinct Volcano in connexon
with the depression of surface and the height of contgu-
mountain forms the most extraordinary fault or insure In
the known world.
One great object OF investigation will be to ascertain whe
Their this and its shores of volcanic nonvocanc
origin and to eue the position of nde philosophers with
regard its formson The calculation of this subject
desdeatum sence and would be most gratifying to the
whole Christian world 1t is mystery which has remained
mpenetrabe since the awful moment when waters OF that
wondous first above the smoudern ruins OF the vale
Of Sddom The confguraon of oneha of its shores, and
its very extent unknown Its waters of peyng quail
y and lnpid mountain stream doubtless hold within
their bosom, and holding will reveal those ruins upon the
of which the unbeeve states his Incredibly
Sabo Diodoos Pny, and Josphus, among the ancients
and Maundre Pocockc Able MARITIME, Chateaubrand, La
MARITIME, Stephens, and Robinson, among the modens all
differ to the extent and many of the peculares OF this
Considerable streams said to empty into it, the very
of which unknown. Some have heard the gam
boings of fish upon surface, while others deny that
any animated thing whatever exist within It's dense and
bitter Fruits luscious to the eye but OF nauseous
tase and cumbng in the grasp said to be found upon
its shores Many travellers deny the existence oil all yegea-
on and Chaeauand that he found branches OF the
tamand srewn upon the beac Its southern coast is
said consist of of solid salt while far the
reach from its northern extreme behods only the wash
ed and barren hills of Judea on side and those of Arabia
Peea the other All vague, unceraD and mysterious
Are the questions answered shall small pecuniary
consideration withhold country such as this from such an
undertaking
admit that il is not summers excursion, and that Bn
fish officers said to have twice failed in like attempt
Should that circumstance deter US venture to say that
within the broad periphery Of this land which, Graded be-
tween oceans stretches from the gd to the tropics
there native born hearted adopted citizen who
will answer in the affirmative We something to the
scientific and the Christian word and while extending the
blessings of civil liberty in the South and West may well al
ford foster and strengthen the buwarks of Chris
tianity in the East. w. F. LYNCH, U. S. N.
We shall look forward to the result of this expe
dition with no little interest.