The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1884-08-12
from Monday morning till Washing
toms birthday, without food or water.
JERUSALEM.
Christianity's Capital, The Home Of
Disease, Filth and Ignorance.

While modern civilization eXpends
its thought and wealth in the preser-
walton of pagan and medi@val art,
pays tribute to the architectural con-
quests of the Moors, and treasures
the very lachrymateries of the ancient
races, it leaves Jerusalem, in senti-
ment, the capital of christianity, to
crumble away under the hands of
Mussulmen. Disease, filth, ignorance,
bigotry, human degradation and
povetry are the words one encounters
most frequently in reading accounts
of visits to Palestine. A writer in
The New Haven Journal and & ,u Ter
saws of the holy city:
Jerusalem is hardly a disappuint-
ment. because had my idea rather
low d W May of the streets in re-
mote quarters are abomina0iy I'll by,
and / would not advise anyone tn ven-
ture about in them without a clothes
pin on his nose. Dead cats, rats, and
dogs are plentiful. l even ran scross
one or two dead donkeys just outside
one Of the city gates. There are
many sacred CD pools, which have
stagnated from disuse, and would b!
rooted out by the health board of any
we'll regulated city. Walking is diff
cult, as the narrow streets are paved
with ugly cobble-stones. which have
become very slippery and are exec d
inglv hard on shoe leather. Night
is made hideous by the bowling Of
hundreds of hairless dogs, that seem
to have nothing else to do. The bray
ing of the donkeys is also something
awful. A single bray can be heard
quarter of mile, and there is no
limit TO the possibilities of a well
trained chorus.
The Mount of Olives is the greatet,
disappointment of all. In the first
place it is hardly a mountain at all,
and III the second place it is painfully
conspicuous by reason of a paucity
of olives. There are plenty OF other
hills hereabouts that much more
thickly wooded. In the third place
the top is disfgured by large number
of tawdry mosques, dirty huts and
manure piles. This may seem like a
savage arraignment, but it is sincere
/ doubt not that in the days of Christ
the mountain was all covered with
olive trees. and altogether a more
attractive place than it is now. The
valley of Jehoshaphat, otherwise
known as the valley Of the brook
Kidron, separates Olive from Noun,
Moriah and Bezeth. AS this valley
is quite deep, Olive is made to assume
the proportions of quite a hill when
you stand at the bottom of the ravinc,
but looking toward the mount from
point in Jerusalem where the valley
is not seen, Olivet shrinks into painful
insignifcance. The popular path by
which Olivet is assembled is believed
to be the same which David pursued
when he fled barefoot and weeping
from his son Absalom, accompanied
by band of faithful subjects, who
heaped earth upon their heads in token
of grief at the disobedience of the
usurping prince. Up this path l have
toiled in order to familiarize myself
with the country round about, pausing
anon to look back at the city which
has played so important role in the
drama of the nations. From near
the summit of the mount in the view
of Jerusalem is really satisfactory, all
that one could wish. The extreme
top is. as / have said, clustered up
with unattractive buildings, but one
can hardly resist the temptation to
reach the summit in order to COM
mand at once Inc view of the Jordan
valley. ircluding the Dead sea on the
one hand and a view of Jerusalem
and IFS envirOns on the other. !;
In order to get more detailed view
| paid siXpence and assembled the
minarct of mosque, and there, high
above the offensive sights, sounds and
smells of the place, viewed the re-
markahle natural panorama to which
[ have alluded. One could stand
there for hours pointing out sacred
sites. The serpentine ribbon of green
which marks the course of the Jor-
dan is distinctly visible. The water
can not be seen. and indeed is not Wis
ible until you are within rod or so
of the river bank. At its southern
extremity stretches the Dead sea, its
waters bright and beautiful to the eye
but deadly and nauseous to the pal
ate. Between lies a bleak, horrid
wilderness with nothing to relieve the
awful desolation. Toward the south
is the chill country Of Judia." With
glass the ruined castle of Macherus
may be discerned on the mountains of
Moab, where Josephus tells us that !