The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-11-17

he lower, b4uS uIluB Ou1y TIC upper
1arrel, or by drawing it back, both
pans were exposed to the sparks
rom the flint and would go off stimuli
.aneously.
A horse bazaar, or market, is held |
every morning. Wild horses are |
brought in and sold at a very low rate,
but fine Arabian horses can be Sc
cured here more readily than else
where. They seldom run higher than
So 900, but a good Syrian horse can
be secured for from $500 to $400. At
the butchers stalls we were astonished
at the size and weight of the Sleeps
tails, so noted for their fat; and after
inspecting them on the living animal,
and also hung up, slaughtered, we
saw no reason to doubt the assertion
of the butcher that the tails, meas
uring eighteen inches around, often
weighed as high thirty pounds, and
seldom less than twenty pounds.
Some Of the work in the jewelers.
Bazaar was quite creditable, but the
fact that they manufacture antiquities
for sale, is not so much to their cred
it, and renders strangers very suspi-
cious regarding the numerous coins,
&C., so zealously prOfered. One man
who brought his valuables to the
hotel for our inspection, disgorged
from his shirt. bosom as many tTinkets
and antiquities as could be readily
slowed away in peddler's box.
In the great Khan, apparently
kind of public warehouse for the gen.
eral deposit of goods arriving, we saw
Ihonolite oil, +" from America, in tin
cases; also sugar, tobacco, carpets,
mating and hemp. Above was the
silk department. In a similar Khan,
further on, with a fountain in the
center, the upper part was occupied
by slaves, bought in Africa and
brought here for sale. Wealthy families
seem usually to have considerable
number, and as far as we could judge or
hear, do not treat them cruelty. All
we saw were very black. They can
be bought for three or four hundred
dollars, not much more than the cost
of good camel, although an indif-
ferent one can be had for half that
sum. Some fine book holders, shaped
like q camp-stool, but richly inlaid
with mother of pearl, we learned were
used for holding the Koran while
reaaing. because Mahomedans are for
hidden ever to hold it lower than
their waist belt or sash.
TELEGRAPH AND MISCELLANEOUS
ITEMS IN DAMASCUS.
The diligeuces. run by the French
company, who constructed the turn
pike of seventy-f five miles. chiefly over
Mt. Lebanon and the gorge Of
Anti-Lebanon, is usually crowded
with passengers, and we found it sc
when we asked, on arriving from
Beirut, If we could secure return
places for the following Monday
However, by taking outside places
we were enabled to obtain them FOL
Tuesday, and in the meantime de
cided to telegraph to our dragomRn tht
cause for non-arriVal, as promised
to commence our pilgrimage to Je
rusalem. The director spoke French
and had condensed the message al
much as possible, which he said wa
unnecessary, as we would pay tive
Turkish shillings, or about 80 cents
whatever the length. He then, hold
ing the paper in his left hand, as i
customary, wrote an Arabic message
which l had to sign, and he gave me
an Arabic writing attesting the fact
His pen was a pointed cane, or Joint
ed reed, cut like a quill, but ribbed
diagonally, and the ink--lampblacl
and oil-Was contained In a sponge
A common quill or gold pen would
be quite unsuited for the movements
from right to left, and the Erequen
broad, upward strokes.
At our hotel we met the noted trav
eler. Captain Burton, now English
Consul at Damascus. l enquired oil
him if the Mohammedans seemed Il
entertain any luminosity toward hin
for having penetrated under the dis
guise of Mussulman &c Mecca. HI
replied, not in the least; and when
made some remarks about the howl
ing Dirvishes, found he had otter
participated in their exercises, AIT
was familiar with all their ceremo.
MES. He was about to ascend Anti
Libanus with Lieutenant Warren
(the Jerusalem explorer whom we af
forwards met at BEIRUT, their design
being to secure a remarkable In scrip
ton on slab discovered in the noun
tain.
While with our dragoman we passe,
| SOAOOla anu 65AG0 II VIC u4AkAN 6A
ter; the reply, was certainly" Tn
sohoolmaster; and, as l learned, prac
tice Arabic writing on sheets of tin
just as our scholars use slate, befor
venturing to begin on paper. Th
writing In ink readily rubs cut.
asked him also to take us into Turk
ish bath, if admissible. He lmmedi
ately conducted us through success
sion of rooms, where numerous mel
were submitting themselves to tn
action Of steam and the friction o
manipulation; but the last and inner
most room we entered was 81
oppressive that rushed back, mucl
to the amusement of the bathers ant
servants, never stopping until
reached the fresh air. It seems t.
me that long habit only, could max
such an atmosphere supportable, an,
still longer practice would he necessa
~ to render it agreeable.
The guide had told us, when W
rather objected to entering the Laza
house, that no one in Damascus eve
caught the leprosy there, althougl
they would in Beirut. / could not
on enquiry, find any positive founda
. ton for this, but Captain Burton re
marked that in his long travels he ha
, only known one European leprous
An English Clergyman, with whor
We have agreed to make the Pales
tine journey, informs us that abou
, the twelfth century an English lad
who was leprous had left her forum
as an endowment for . Lazar hous
in Kidderminster, England, and tn
arrangement continued until the re
formation ; but whether any cases ex
listed when the Convent thus used wa
suppressed, l could not learn.
We regretted much that the absenc
OF Abdel Kadir, in Egypt. prevente'