The Mountaineer. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1859-1861, 1860-02-11

Il iANt lMtGtCohuS pthCot winch IL HlLuate0
1 on the eastern decliyity Of Mount Oliyet,
/ looking down into a dark, deep rayine.
4 had already seen IN the distance the
Dead Sea, which was twenty seven miles
destant--now the Intervening mountains
closed the prospect suddenly. Bethany
/ Is a ruin. Some twenty dilapidated
houses are occupied By Bedouin Arabs.
I Nothing Of culture Or comfort was seen
s---Onlys q tomb and q burying- ground
around il showed any accord with the
existing habits Of society. Here the
Sheik, or chief Of the tribe Of Bedouins
/ who possess the land below Jerusalem
and the Dead Sea, Joined us on horse
back with five Of his mounted and armed
men, and with this force We proceed.
ed down one, mountain, up another, by.
+ the most intolerable road ever travelled.
oil day long seeing no fields mo houses,
nd man. no trees. nothing but barren
rocks with dried tufts Of grass and shrubs,
until. AZ depth Of $500 feet below the
leyelo Of Jerusalem, stood on tile beach
Eof the Dead Sea, near TO where it re-.
Iceiyes the waters or Jordan. On its east.
srn side tie mountain rises as abruptly
as on its western shore. The western
shore was Judea, the eastern the land Of
Moab. The western shore the land of
Canaan, the eastern the land always Of
savage enemies.
b The sun was shining brightly upon the
mysterious lake, but wholesome andt
genial breeze came from its surface,
and il looked for all the world ike Cayuga
or Seneca Lake. But its waters were
acrid and bitter to the taste; and painful
TO the touch. Two absolutely naked
Arabs were carrying skins of the Dead
Sea water 10 some cabins of theirs in the |
rocks, and they were the only human
beings WhomI saw during the whole day,
from Bethany 10 the Dead Sea. .s 8 .GI
The; sailors bathed in the lake and
found its waters buoyant. The Land Of
Moab was as desolate as the land of Judea;
its mountains even higher We gath
sl0sii ps1sI sparty togetner amer M hour 81
rest, and rode across the dry sandy, des-
olate white plain, two hours, until we
found ourselves in front of long rows OF
trees aud shrubbery refreshing 10 the
sight, and heard the rushing Of waters
beneath them. Following the path along
this pleasant shade. we came 10 q place
where the banks were low, and We all
rushed incontinently into the River Jor-
dan. Il was the only drumming stream we
had seen in Judea, and it was the second
place where we found water for our an
imals in our whole march. i thought it
both natural and inevitable that the in
habitants of Syria should deem their only
river a sacred one. We drank Of is
Gwaters--we bathed in them---we felt that
they were not only refreshing, but heal
ing. But the Jordan, like Jerusalem, is
q mourner. We could see the valley
through which il flowed for many miles
flat intervale land, covered with white I
sands. 49,: ". !
d. AT 2 o clock in the morning the Sheik
called us up, we mounted and proceeded
on our way backward toward Jerusalem
by starlight, up and down all kinds Of
stair-cases. The sun rose and the days
heat began before we reached the Mount
of Olives. At II we entered Jerusalem,
after ride oil twenty.one hours out of
twenty,eight in the saddle. 1, >>. .