Daily American telegraph., 1852-02-02
JERUSALEM. PALESTINE, AND SYRIA.
BY DR.. J. v. c. SMITH,

tion on steep side hill, and not because the
are disposed to keep it in good con-
dition. Filth appertains to Arabs wherever
they are. Deep cisterns abound, cut into the
solid rock in which rain water is carefully col
lected which is used for all domestic purposes
Water carriers bring some in skins on donkeys
from the pool Of Sloan, but only few are able
or desirous of supply without the walls A
line stream is conducted to the city from Beth
lehem, winding about the mountains, which is
exclusively devoted to the purposes of the cele-
brated mosque Of Omar on the very plot once
occupied by the temple of Solomon
Wood for fuel is always dcar-being sold by
weight, and is principally roots of olive trees,
brought from distance on camels. IL trees
were planted as suggested in this communica-
ton, fuel would be abundant and reasonable
No house has fireplace or chimney. lit
tie charcoal in a copper dish, placed in the Gen.
tire Of Il room, is the extent OF an attempt at
social fire. At Bishop Gobats and one other
house, stoves were noticed At Dr. Spaulding's
missionary room at Damascus, regular Bos-
ton stove diffused comfort that could no
where else be found in the town.
Old rs Palestine is as the residence of civil
zed man, there is not one decent road, five rods
long, in the whole territory. Paths are struck
out where there are the fewest stones or the
least mud over any ones field, and through any
premises the rider chooses to 60 If Herod the
Great whose passion for building magnificent
cities was equal to Abba Pasha's in Egypt for
creating palaces, had made five miles Of good
road from Jerusalem towards Jaffa, he would
have conferred a blessing on his abused and de-
graded country. have roamed over the stupen-
dous ruins which mark the ambition of that en-
ergetic but wicked wretch, with feelings that
were never called into activity in stepping from
one fallen column to another in any province.
With all his determined ambition to leave en-
during monuments in granite that would with
stand the assaults of the elements or the de-
structlve agencies of conquerors in after years,
the besom of destruction has swept them all,
all away, and Casarea the magnificent capital
of Judea, has not one human being within its
boundaries. The only living thing in sight,
where there were the finest specimens of archi-
tccture-palaces beyond palaces, and marble,
and an exhibition Of wealth and refinement,
while he was in the meridian of his glory
was one solitary horse feeding among crushed
fragments of scupturcd stone, as passed over
the lonely site Of Il once grand and beautiful
residence or splendid court
From the days Of the Jebusites whose capi-
tai was the present rock on which Jerusalem
stands, every successive people who have had
possession of Palestine have fixed their habita-
tions on the very pinnacles of the mountains.
Every town and village, therefore, is up some
where. No one resides ia valley. From
some hill tops the spectator has an admirable
view of many distant places that appear quite
near but to reach any of them he must de-
scend mile or so, and cross a horrible ravine
or yawning gorge and subsequently wind up
and onward like the gyrations of a corkscrew,
for ten or twenty hours, to get at the pro-
posed settlement. Miles are unheard-of things
in Palestine Everybody speaks of hours who
designs movement. 1t is seven hours to one
place, for example, two to somewhere else, and
forty to another. The making of a jaunt
through the Holy Land of Syria is an expen-
sive affair indeed. There must be pack mules
for carrying beds, food. and all that may be re-
qured from day to day. Three persons could
not do we'll without two; and there must be
cook. a muleteer, dragoman, who does all the
talking and answers all your questions, for the
Arabic is difficult to acquire, and, without an
interpreter, it is impossible to know where you
are or what you see. Finally, each rider is
mounted on horse who is followed by groom
and he must have mule to carry the proven
der. All this makes kind of caravan
long string of animals, slowly winding up and
down the horrible trails of the land single file,
at the rate Of two or three miles only an hour.
In the course of the day, many places Of pecu-
liar interest, mentioned in the Old Testament
are distinctly seen, which are not approached
When | stood Mt Bethel Ramah was in full
| sight and the mosque over the tomb of Sam
| uel. the prophet Both HOran the Upper, and
Gideon also, where Joshua took position when
he said Sun, stand thou still upon Gideon,
and thou Moon in the valley Of Ajalon,' and
other localities of immcnce interest to the bibli-
cal scholar and sacred geographer. At night,
it i necessary to seek stopping place in a vii
lage for security. Beyond q town or hamlet
there is not a single habitation.
All lodge in the same apartment, on the
ground, on your own beds, surrounded by ar
mics Of insects eager for your blood Poor
things if it were not for strangers, feas would
soon hc extinct, for they seem to despise an
Arab, who sleeps sound in defiance of their nip
pcrs Horses cows, camcls, goats, dogs, and
the family. are not unfrequently congregated
in ono room. The night before reaching Da-
mascus. we suffered exceedingly on account of
the multitude of dodgers in one room-for the
landlord had in addition to all the beasts and
creeping things of Noahs ark three wives
with their restless children.
The reason for taking hill tops for towns has
reference in the first place, to security they
can discover the approach Of visiters, and, IT
they don't like them, keep them at bay with
the balls always at hand-grcat stones-which
once put in motion, would sweep through all
opposition. Secondly when the winter rains
set in. the gorges are filed with angry torrents
that gorge out Of the side hills, SO that not
resting place for house could be found An
air of desolation reigns everywhere, and every
person you meet is armed to the teeth with pis-
tolls. blunderbusses, long guns dirks spears,
down to simple club.
Although an advocate for peace, and almost
a non-resstant in sentiment have been lug