Herald of the times, and Rhode Islander. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1846-1849, 1848-10-19
United States Expedition TO the
Dead Sea

According to an account of Lieutenan
Murry in the Southern Literary Messen
ger, this expedition was planned by Lieu
tenant Lynch, and assented to by thu
Secretary ofthe navy in the spring Of 10
47. The store ship Supply" took ou
Lieutenant Lynch and two metallic boats
as transports. These boats were carried
over mountain gorges and precipices by
the party appointed for the expedition
and on the Sth Of April, lS4S they were
launched upon the sea Of Galilee. The
Richmond Republican has condensed
the interesting article Of Lieut.. Murry as
follows;
The navigation ofthe Jordan was found
to be most difficult and dangerous, from
its frequent and fearful rapids. Lieut.
Lynch solves the secret of depression be
tween Lake Tiberias and the Dead Sea
by the tortuous course of the Jordan
which in distance of sixty miles winds
through course of two hundred miles
Within this distance Lieut.. Lynch and
his party plunged down no less than
twenty-seven threatening rapids, besides
many others Of less descent. The differ.
ence Of lspp' between the two seas is over
thousand feet.
| The water Of the Jordan was sweet TO
within a few hundred yards Of its mouth
The waters Of the seas were devoid OF
smell, but bitter, salt and nauseous.-
Upon entering it, the boats were encoun-
tered by gale, and it seemed as il the
bows, so dense was the water, were en-
countering the sledge hammers Of the
Titans instead the opposing waves Of an
angry sea.
The party proceeded taily with their
experiments making typographical sketch
es as they went, until they reached the
Southern extremity of the sea, where
the most wonderful part that they had
yet seen awaited them.
In passing the mountain Of Sodom we
unexpectedly, and much to oM astonish-
ment, says Lieut. Lynch, "saw large
rounded, turret-shaped column, facing
SOUTHEAST, which proved to be of solid
rock salt, capped with carbonate of lime,
one mass Of chrystalization. Mr.. Dale
took a sketch of it, and DR.. Anderson
and l landed with much difficulty, and
procured specimens from it,"
The party circumnavigated the lake,
returned to their places of departure, and
brought back their boats in as complete
order as they received them at New York
They were all in fine health. This is a
specimen Of the skill, system and disci-
plne ofthe American navy. No nation
in the world has such service. The
time is coming when it will give proof Of
that fact palpable to the most dull under
standing.
Thanks to the good management Of
Lieut.. Lynch, the whole cost of this SCI
entic exploration of the Dead Sea (ex-
cept, of course, the cost Of eqnipage and
maintenance fthe crew of the ship was
but seven hundred dollars.
From the letters of Lieutenant Lynch,
quoted by Lieutenant Murry, we tran
scribe the following interesting facts elic-
tied by the exploration -
"The bottom Of the Northern half of
this sea is almost an entire plain. Its
meridianal lines at a short distance from
the shore scarce vary in depth. The
deepest soundngs thus far, lSS fathoms,
or 1913 feet. Near the shore the bot
tom is generally an incrustation of salt,
but the intermediate one is soft mud with
many rectangular crystals - mostly cubes
of pure salt. AT one time S,ellwager's 5
lead brought up nothing but crystals.
1.-The Southern half of the sea is as
shallow as the Northern one is deep, and
for about one-fourth Of its entire length
the depth does not exceed eighteen feet.
Its Southern bed has presented no crys-
tails, but the shores are lined with incrus-
tations Of salt, and when we lan!ed at
Uzdom, in the space of an hour, our foot
prints were coated with crystaIiza,ion."
"The opposite shores ofthe peninsular
and the West coast present evident marks
of disruption"
"There are unquestionably birds and
insects upon the shores, and ducks are
sometimes upon the sea, for we have seen
but cannot delec, any living thing beneath
it although the salt streams flowing into
it contain salt fish. feel sure that the
results of this survey will fully sustain
the scrptural accoun, of the citizens Of
the plain"
lie thus speaks of Jordan: 'the Jor-
dan, although rapid and impe'nous, is
graceful in its windings and frlnged with
while its waters are sweet,
clear, cool and refreshing.
After the survey Of the sea, the party
proceeded to determine the hei ht Of the
on the shore and to run lev
el thence, via Jerusalem to the Mel
ranean. They found the summit OF the
West bank Of the Dead Sea more than
900 feet above its surface, and very
nearly on a level with the Mediterranean.
"It is a curious fact" says Lieut.. Muir
ry, that the distance from the top to
the bottom Of the Dead Sea should meas
ure the heights of its banks, the elevation
of the Mediterranean, and the difference
of the level between the bottom Of the
two seas, and that the depths ofthe Dead
Sea should be also an exact multiple of
the height of Jerusalem above it,"
Another not less singular fact, in the
oninion of I.ieut. Lynch is that the bot