Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-06-26
THE HOLY LAND or TODAY.
A"'oie'"S review Of ExplOrat ion
NOW tn Progress.

lcvrW Of ExplOrat ions
NOW ia Progress.
From tho New York World Of Monday
A meeting in behalf of tho Palestine
Exploration Society was held last
night IN tho Central Methodist Church.
Seventh avenue, near Fourteenth
street. tcv. Professor Hitchcock was
tho first speaker. He said that cxp!ur-
ers were every week identifying new
spots near the Jordan. Rev. DIR. Rob-
lnSoll ana not make very wide explor-
alton. Countless ruins exist, the cx-
p'"rat'on OF which will produce great
results III he interest Of the Bible. In
1860 the English began to examine the
west sl'c Of Jordan They invited the
corporation of Americans. Tho result
was, tn" English concluded to leave to
the American Society tho cast si.lo of
;,,l while they took tho west side
IN" l1'G!iSl have surveyed |, $50 square
miles. The Americans Will use the
same scales, so that uniform map
may be made. The English arc spend
ing S25, 600 a year, the American Socie-
W VIII Keep within $50, 900. The whole
work Will require five years. A frank
appear Will be made to the Christians
OF tins country to furnish The money
Tor tins enterprise. A number of
Americans IRE now on tue ground, and
nave surveyed their base-line of five
miles. The expenses have been met,
SO lar, by gentlemen of New York, who
have subscribed $500 to 500 apiece.
The desire is now to obtain $40 sub
scrlptions. If tho Bcdouins ,.re too
troublesome tho enterprise will be Civ.
Ell up. 1t is desired that this bible
loving earnest Methodist Church shall
have the first chance to subscribe. The
speaker said he would now introduce
an explorer, who is the son of mis-
sionary, and was born in Palestine.
Rev. w. II. Thompson said that the
longer he stayed in Palestine the more
he realized how little is known about
the country. There is no site except
Jerusalem that seems so easy to ex-
plorc as Tyre. He had been there
some forty times. Beyrout is now
using old Tyre as stone quarry.
Ccserea was evidently built from the
stones of an old Phmnician town.
Most modern cities in that region arc
built in this way. An Arab once took
him to see a tcsselated pavement in
Tyre. Near it was hole that led to q
causeway just discovered. This was
evidently the causeway that was made
of the ruins Of most ancient Tyre, taken
by Alexander; by it he connected the
island on which the city stood with the
mainland. 1t was made of mass of
old Ph@nician columns. All the
waters near Tyre are strewn with the
ruins Of some Of the finest
buildings ever erected. Columns OF all
sorts arc found, and the Oldest are
the most massive. He thought the
exploration of such waters was a far
more important work than the search
for an open polar sea. Some peasants
of Sidon lately struck upon four leaden
boxes full of gold pieces. They quar-
relied, and the news coming to the
Governor, he tortured them until they
disgorgcd the whole sum. Such treas
ures have been often found there. as
such burials have been going on for
5000 years. He had been much struck
by a castle near Tyre. Found it Sara
Genie, with Can ,anite base. From
that castle he and his father counted
scventy-two ruins of towns and castles.
| IL OA"SCAHs5 OuAOuSu OAu1cC liz lOlNu
that Joscphus was right in saying that
there were !, 500 towns there. These
ruins stand SO close that they almost
touch. This land has been conquered,
rs far as the west of Jordan is concern
ed, by all great nations. But Jordan
| Valley, 1900 feet below the seq, has
acted us a barrier. and the east side is
remarkably unchanged from the times
Of Job. An architecture is found there
that seems likely to last as long as the
earth. Every particle of the houses
even to the ceilings, is of stone. There
is Il sort of lava bed there which it cos
AIehemet Ali $4,000 men to capture
from 1900 Druses. In this very place
was the stronghold of cog, King O.
Bashan." That land has treasures O
immense value, because it has been sc
little disturbed. There are incriptlon.
there which will certainly explain til.
original dispersion of the race from
the plateaus of Asia, and also why til,
Egyptians had hieroglyphic while til,
Asiatics had phonetic language. A
the close OF this speech tho names O
those who would pay $40 a year for fiv,
years were taken.