The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1884-01-17
Something About Petra.

''Yos," continued Mr.. Wilson, 81 am
glad to get to Cincinnati But you
wanted to hear about my trip. 1 first
went to Egypt and sailed up the Nile.
Then / crossed over to Arabia, and
visited Mt. Sinai and the rock city, Pc
ira"
"When was this?"
''Only last year, at the time of the
Egyptian war;"
"Then, perhaps, you know something
about FL Mah6i, the False Prophet"
only in a general way, but | know
good deal about the Arab soldiers.
They are wild set of fellows, not very
much better than barbarians and be-
fore disciplined army they would melt
like snow. Their weapons are of the
poorest, and they have no great incen-
tive, EXCEPT the hope of plumber. The
great majority of the Bedouins in the
desert carry old flint locks, which are
merely ornaments, as they are never
ready to shoot. Indeed, they make a
practice of tying up the locks with COL
ored bandkerchefs. The Arab of to-
day is a very different creature from
the chivalrous horseman of the reading
books
''Did you find any great difficulty
travelling in making yourself under
stoodp'
.'No. English interpreters are every.
where, and when | crossed into Arabia
my servant was able to speak the Ian
guageS of all the people that we met.
He was a very clever fellow, and it was
mainly owing to his efforts that l got in
PETRA
.Is it difficult of access?"
ayes; it can only be reached after n
journey across the desert of nine days,
and then it is almost impossible to get
into it. 1t lies in a deep hole in the
mountains, and itisapproached through
narrow gorge over mile in length.
At TIE entrance to this gorge is the little
village of Ely. and the Arabs living
there believe that immense treasures
are concealed in Petra, and conSe-
quently they keep strangers out of the
wonderful city with jealous care. Some
time ago an English lord, armed with
a iirman from the khcdlve and a letter
from the Sultan. attempted to visit the
place, but the village Sheik merely
took his letters and flung them back in
to his face, telling him that he was
j
tried 10 buy his way in, but their de-
mands were so exorbitant that he was
obliged to turn back. For nine years
Cook has in vain attempted to get u
party into the place"
"!ow d you get in?"
"By strategy. The guide was sent
on ahead TO the village and he gathered
all the Bedoujn and ellahn, that is the
horsamen and the tillers of the soil, to
greaSt feast in the village Mean
while we rode around a mountain path
and entered the gorge unperceiyed. In
some places it was so narrow that our
tamelS found difficulty in squeezing
through, but we finally reached the
marvellous pla e. which in the Bible is
called the rock city of Edom.' 1t is an
Arab rule when stranger is in his
house or tent TO treat him with
some show of hospitality, SO when we
were once in Petra they would not drive
us ont, but before we left we were back
sheeshed out of nearly everything we
had.n
TELL me about Petra"
"Ihe mountains rise around Petra
ina scmi-circ,e. and from their precipit-
Gus sides are carved the facadeS of tenn
pies and public bui dings. Within tae
rock are hewn great chambers some
times hundred feet in height, and
these receive no light except which en-
te,s at the door. just opposite the end
of the gorge is u magnificent Corinthian
temple OF a delicate pink color and in
perfect repair, except that one pillar
was Ill ssing. Some vandal has battered
it down in sheer CussednesS, but other
wise the facade is as complete as on the
day that the last chisel gave the fin sh-
ing touch. But there are hundreds of
these rock-hewn temples, and all are
beautiful. Then there is an amphi-
theater whose tiers are cut from the liv-
ing rock, No less interesting is the al
tar of Raal, with the channel where
flowed the blood of the human victims
still perfect. 1t is in fact the must curl
Gus place in the world, and none the
less SO because of the eternal silence
which reigns everywhere. 1t is city
built by the dead, and the living are out
of place within it. The Arabs believe
it to be the worst of the genii, and will
not pass the night among its mysterious
structures. When we left, the Arabs
saw us half a days journey away, and,
on parting, there was universal de-
mand for backsheese. They wanted
corn for the horses, barley for the wom-
en-, the chief wanted new suit of
clothes, and one fellow asked ten
pounds, because he said he had thrown
Dit of paper into the tent which had
been blessed by Mahomet. - Cincin.
matt IimeS-Stdr.