The Mississippi Creole. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1841-1851, 1847-07-03
The Dead sea.

feet deeper during the past winter, than
at the time Of our visit, though then much
deeper than it has been in some preceding
years. observed at the N. w. angle Of the {
lake, near the mouth Of a winter torrent, some
shrubs standing in the water at the depth Of
six feet, indicating that the sea must have been
lower, during series of years than at present,
as the shrubs are four inches or more in dame
ter, and must have grown where the water did
not cover the soil. They are now all dead.
rode in the edge of the sea perhaps a mile, 10
see if / could discover anything with life, bat
to no purpose; not the least living creature
met my sight; and it is probable that nothing
lives in its poisonous waters but a small spiral
shell-fsh. A Bedouin. gave me six or eight
shells of this character, which l saw him pick
up on the beach. They are about ten lines in
length, and four or five in width, and are UNI
questionably the production Of this sea. Other
travellers have occasionally found shells on the
a coast, but the general opinion has been
that they were washed down by the Jordan
from the lake of Tiberias. These | have were
found more than three miles from the mouth
of the river, and at right angles with its cur
rent, and this distance, their specific gravity,
and their great numbers, preclude this theory
Besides, they are very different from the shells
found in the upper lake, OF which | have a
large number in my possession. The Jordan,
itself, has only a small bivalVe muscle in its
waters. l intend sending some of these shells,
and also a bottle of the water, as soon as prac-
ticable, to my frind, DR.. Locke, Of the Medi-
cal College of Ohio, for his examination and
analysis.
Independent of all associations connected
with the ancient history of this "sea of the
plain,' one cannot look upon it, and its sur
rounding scenery, without a feeling bordering
on horror. The water is not clear, but has a
dark tinge, and the bottom being covered with
pebbles of black flint, gives it an almost inky
hue-uo object can be seen in the water at the
depth of 80 inches, and the specific gravity is
so great, that the breeze scarcely produces a
ripple on its shores. On the east, rises the
naked and almost inaccessible mountains of
Moab and Ammon; on the north, the desert
plain of the Jordan, and on the west, the ster-
lie mountains Of India, All is desOlation-no
a tree nor shrub, nor solitary spot of verdure,
except the little that fringes the Jordan, in all
the vast range of vision. No smiling villages
stand upon its shores, nor peaceful herds Craze
along its borders. The deep silence OF death
p6rvaded the whole region, and not a living
thing was to be seen or heard, except our htue
company. Being anxious to test the buoyan-
cy Of the water, | went to battle could mo-
wade deeper than my waist, before my feet
in spite of all my efforts, would rise towards
the surface. / could lie upon the water, will
nv hands under my head, as p~assively as upOT
u a mattress, and found great difficulty, whel
y thus resting on the surface, even when tn
i depth was quite superficial, in getting my fee
to the, bottom, so as to regain a standing posi-
. ton, The water is most intolerably salt an
bitter. and for two hours after coming out o
il, my face smarted as if it had been washe
with a strong infusion of Cayenne. My hal
was whitened with a thick crust of salt. TIL
water was cool, and notwithstanding thes
} triAing inconvenience, the bath was exceed
lngly refreshing. Cincinnati Chronicle
10 THE BEAUTIES OF ABoLITIoN.-The Anti-Slo
lie very Convention, at Boston, closed in uproa'
Iy A Boston paper says:
ir "That during the whole of the closing ever