Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1881-09-01
THE DEAD SEA.
TheWelrd and Wonderful Beauty OF a
Mueh-MalIgned Region.
tThsO. cuyier. In New York Evangelical

tThso. cuyler, In New York Evangelical
Our afternoons march over the
bleak, treeless and brown mountains
of the wilderness was inexpressibly
tiresome until we came In sight of the
Dead Sea. 1t lay 1000 feet below us
"a mirror of silver, set among the vi
olet mountains of Moab. More pre-
clpitous descents over the rocks and
sand brought us, by sun-down, to the
two towers of the most unique monas-
terry on the globe. The famous con-
vent of Mar Saba Is worth a journey
to Palestine. For thirteen centuries
that wonderful cstructure has hung
against the walls OF the deep, awful
gorge of the Kidron.
1t is a colossal swallows nest of
stone, built to the heigh of 300 feet
against the precipice, and inhabited by
sixty monks of the Greek church.
genuine Manicheans, and followers of
st. Saba and st. John of Damascus.
No woman's foot has ever entered the
convent walls. Iustead of woman's
society they make love to the birds,
who come and feed off the monks
hands. Every evening theyl toss meat
down to the wild jackals in the gorge
below. At sunset | climed over the
extraordinary building-was shown
into the rather handsome church, and
into the chapel or cave of st. Nitcho-
las, which contains the gastly skulls of
the monks who were slaughterered
by the Chosroes and his Persian sol
diers-and gazed down into the awful
ravine beneath the convent walls.
Some monks in black gowns were
perched as watchmen on the lofty
towers; others wandered over the stone
pavements in sort Of aimless vacuity.
What an attempt to live in an exhaust.
ed receiver
The monks gave us hospitable well
come, sold US canes and wood work,
and furnised US lodgings on the di-
vans of two large stone parlors. One
of the religious duties of the brother
hood is to keep vigils, and through the
night, bells were ringing and changing
to call them to their devotions. The
vermin in the lodging rooms have
learned to keep up their vigils also;
and as result our party-with one
exception--a sleepless night. have
such talent for sleeping, and like Pat,
pay attention to it so closely, that |
was able to defy even the feas and
mosquitoes of Mar Saba. By daylight
the next morning we heard the great
iron door of the convent clang behind
us like the gate of Bunyan's Doubling
castle, and for five hours we made
tollsome descent of the desolate cliffs
to the shore of the Dead Sea. That
much maligned sea has weird and
wonderful beauty.
We took cool bath in its cool clear
waters, and detected no difference
from a bath at Coney island, except
that the water has such density that
we floated on it like pine shingles. No
fish from the salt ocean can live in it;
but it is very attractive to the eye on a
hot monday. A scorhing ride we
had across the barren plain of the sac
red Jordan-whch disappointed me
sadly. At the place where the Israe-
lites crossed and our Lord was baptiz.
ed it was 100 feet wide; it flows rapid
ly, and in turbid current of light
stone color. In size and appearance it
is the perfect counterpart of the Mus
kingum, few miles above GAINESVILLE
Its useless waters ought to be turned
off to irrgate its barren valley, which
might be changed into a garden. For
beauty the Jorden will not compare
with Elijah's brook Cherith, whose
bright, sparkling stream went flowing
passed our lodging place at Jericho. We
lodged over night in Greek convent
(very smalD, and rode next morningto
see the ruins of the town made famous
by Joshua, Elijah. Zaccheus, and the
restoration of Bartimeus to sight.
Squalid Arabs haunt the sacred spot.