The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-01-13
A Yankee in Syria.

The Damascus correspondent of the
american Traveller sketches thus q
unique specimen of those few Americans
who have voluntarily gone into perma-
nent exile abroad:
"Then he'll do it !" exclaimed the
man to whom / had said that we had en-
gagged Rolla Floyd to accompany us
from Damascus to Jaffa. "You have
been fortunate in securing that mysteri-
Gus man. His name is worth hundred
rifles against any tribe in Syria"
Floyd was one of a colony of Ameri-
cans who left the pine forests of Maine,
in the United States, some ten or dozen
years ago, to settle in the Holy Land.
But dissensions, bitter and irreconcila-
BILE, arose among them in Jaffa; they
were looked upon with hate and suspi-
cion by Jews, Arabs and Mohammedans
their crops were stolen as fast as they
ripened, and many of the men, falling
out of work, took to drink. They lost
their lands, bordering the plains of
Sharon, near Jaffa, by fine point of
Turkish law, and, through the combined
effects of death, ill-luck and licentious-
ness, the members became mad, drunk
praying band, every member of which,
when leaving America, was justly famed
for purity, piety, faith and virtue, there
only remains in Palestine, as far as 1
could ascertain, Rolla Floyd and his
worthy and amiable wife.
Mrs. Floyd made friends among the
natives by her needle, her medicine and
her patient tenderness with all who
were afflicted, while Mr.. Floyd started
the pioneer express of Syria by carrying
letters and packages between Jatfa and
Jerusalem, on week days.
His fine athl. tic form, and his wonder
full strength, coupled with his invariable
kindness of heart and mildness of tenn
per, soon created marked sensation
among the natives, for, when finding
them in personal quarrel, and rolling
in the dust like fierce mastiffs, he fire.
quently rushed into the crowd, and,
grasping the two combatants by the
napes of their necks-one in each hand
slowly walked down to the sandy
shores of the Mediterranean and soused
them into the briny surf until promise
of peace aad reconciliation had been
given. Frequent attempts were made
to rob his express of valuable packages,
but he always managed to capture one
or both of the bandits, and, compelling
them to listen to an impressive sermon
on honesty, he always let them off on
receiving promises of reformation. By
this kindness, in not turning his prison
ers over to Turkish vengeance, and his
entire fearlessness, he in time became as
great anidol among the desperate thieves
and cutthroats as. he was among the
most upright.
With memory that seems to be with
out limit, he shortly became entire mas
ter of the Arabic, so that he speaks il
with an accurate fuency acquired by
few not born on the desert. In his
familiarity with the Bible, he surpasses
all men l have ever seen, quoting from
memory almost any verse that may be
called for between Genesis and Revela-
tions. 1t is asserted by those who have
known him intimately for years, that
they have never seen him display anger,
surprise or boisterous mirth. Travelling
as missionary throughout the entire
length and breadth of Palestine, and be-
coming familiar with every lake, hill,
valley, cave, stream and mountain men,
toned in the Bible, he is to day the best
informed in biblical history and typog-
raphy of any man living. The American
government has twice offered him con-
sulship but his reply has been: 81
shall make less money, but perform more
labor among the poor children of God,
by remaining in the field"
Once every mouth ne regularly makes
his appearance in Jerusalem, and takes
his seat in the East as the w. M. of the
Royal Solomon Mother Lodge, F. A. M.
which position ho has long held by the
unanimous vote of the members.