The Mountaineer. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1859-1861, 1860-02-11
JnRuaAlEM. Sept. a6.l 1853. !.

JERUsALEM, Sept. a6, 1859. III
\ ! have mentioned already one mon
astery or more In the Holy Land. 4 The
early European Christians conceived that
there was great merit in visiting, BY way
Eof pilgrimage, Che scenes Of the sufferings
Eofthe Savior but they found the whole
country in the hands Of farocious and
savage enemies to the religion Of the
Cross. Travel could not be safely per-
formed there, nor could entertainment be
found. Ehropean strangers andreIgious
men founded monasteries eyeryWhere
often strongly forti6ed--as places Of
safety for the pilgrims, and Of hospitality,
and these yet remain. They are Catho.
lie Greek, Protestant Greek, Armenian
and Abyssipian;3 and, inasmuch as the
dangers Of travel still remain in large
districts, and there are few taverns for the
accommodation OF Europeans, they are
the resort of the traveller Of the present
day. 5sa I'll b Ii sb.i.s
ltsisss& Ssgjs ,s(e +. E5il. n Il
But Palestine in its social condition
presents other and more reliable monu.
tnents of the same character. You see
alpaSty Of Syriansa or Arabs at rest in
their camp, or on. their march, and you
have exactly before you the rest Of the
progress Of q party Of persons in the
same country two thousand years ago.
Patfiatchs, women, children, maidens,
amid swarms Of Gameis, asses and goats
Loathsome lepers meet You as you enter
or depart from the gates of the city, beg
ging bread, but there is no divine person
here now to heal them. The blind, the
lame. the epiIeptic. are always in your
way, soliciting relief. Medical. aid, or
medicine that will afford relief is expected
by the sick at the hands Of any person Of
condition who passes BY. You see two
intimate friends meet or depart. They
cover each other with kisses. You see a
party at dinner or supper, There is one
dish, which always is liquid. Each eats
BY dipping sop into the common dish:
So you see how rational and probable are
the histories OF the betrayal Of orr Lord,
by Judas. 81 4... t.s i5.9 & I'd 4.
But / must on with my Journal
4 We left the good monks of Kamlah at
FIVE o'clock on, Thursday morning, and J.
through inconceivably crooked and mar.
row pathways, emerged upon the plain Of
Sharon. An hour or two sufiiced To-
bring us into the mountains of Judea,
which separate that plain from the valley
of Jordan and Che Dead Sea. The ascent
Is steep, the mountains are a mass or
system irregular and almost unrelieved
by valleys. In fact, all of Palestine. in
cluding the site Of Jerusalem and the
scenes of Scripture history, consists Of
these mountains, except the beautiful
plain Of Sharon, which lies between them
and the Mediterranean Sea. Ten weary
hours we toiled in making our way up
these mountains to find the Holy City.
Reaching the summit Of one I'VE descended
it only to ascend another still higher,
and the roads often, sharp, steep, stone
stairways, which; only a trained animal
can ascend or descend safely. Nor have,
you ever seen any such mountain scenes.
Gardens, fields, trees, plants and shrubs
disappear, chalky rocks lie heaped on.
heaps1 no house or ,habitation Of man or
beast, no yerdnre, except here and there.
a tuft Of brown dead bushes or grass,
.withered for want Of water or spade---no
sign Of life, except here and there a.
shepherd, armed, with his reed, and his
dog and his flock of sheep and goats,
WHICH li,i extract sons Juices from the roots
q tnls dwlnaled and stunted vegetation
men once y : iong way We ma ravinel
We "s 81 7. uesalneu uur,ng me dry
se" sah. anu hs, sls w sinai nslds ana
pas 's y y :. ahu sa,ess -
y. M ~ = 'i'e 4ss''s Y y usssi
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