The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-06-01

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HArYA, April S0.--In my last letter I de-
scribed the little known hot sulphur springs Of
Amatha. with their extensive ruins, which In
dictate the celebrity they must have acquired
In tho days Of the Romans AZ the river Var
muk above this point had. 20 far - know.
shs sorsss throssh which II olesvss ~ wsy
from the hishlaads Of the Hauran 70 the valley
Of the Jordan.
Some ysars $50 he'd crossed II about thirty
miles higher up. whore II flows across plateau
1t an elevation Of eighteen hundred feet above
the SEQ. ! Was now standing on it, margin. hve
hundred and nity feet below the plateau. In the
COARSE Of this thirty miles. therefore. It has
fell OF 2.86O feet In other words. II was fair
presum ption that there was . waterfall some
where between these two points which had
never besn visited. The inquiries which
made from the natives on tho point were I'M
satisfactory. They seemed unable to dis
between . rapid and . waterfall.
and although they told mo Of many places
where tho water rushed with great Violence
they seemed TO know Of none whore IL was
precipitous. Upon one point they wsre. unfor.
eli agreed. which was that there
wss no path up the river side. and that II
would DO found i'm possible at this time OF year.
when the stream was flooded. to forca way
up. However. We determined to try. We
thought We should be more free In our movo-
ments II We wero unham pered BY guide and
directed only BY our Typographical instincts.
We therefore left our fonts standing 40 sort
Of home on which to retreat In case Of need.
and struck scrosa the small plain upon which
A. ga .tntH HNsrR
days previously had bsen impracticable. but
which We were assured We might now risk with
safety. The stream was here hundred yards
broad. full Of large rooks, and with . swift.
turbid current. that was By no means reas-
surfing. Tho water came high up on our
saddle flaps. but We reached the other
bank without mishap. and found ourselves
skirting dense thicket Of tropical underwood.
shove which grove OF at least 800 date trees
reared their tufted crests. It was o spot un-
like any other to bs found In Palestine. for
although the heat in tho valley OF tho Jordan.
owing to Its depression below the sea. 10 -
great a. this. and at Its southern extremity
greater. nowhere throughout its length is to
DO found . spot where tho vegetation Is 50
dense and luxuriAnt Here were wild orange
lemon. hg, almond. and mulberry trees. olean-
ders growing to Q gigantic sizo. besides butm.
fse
ioIming a splendid cove, ior me wind boar with
which We wore assured this jungle abounds: j..
gather the DATES. weave mats from the rsed..
and harvest the crops Of the slopes behind.
During that tims they live in mud novels.
partly excnyated In the ground. which were
any Sns
under some date trees. which was turned by
stream Of hot sulphur water issuing from .
The Yarmuk which flows beneath a cliff OF
black basalt 800 feet high. half sncircles this
sms sns hd
was so impenetrable that 1t was impossible to
make any impression upon It without an axe;
the FLYER HST bsnE Ths hs % e@ our
sheer lace OF tie ciiiI opposite we saw here and
there caves, which. from their regular shane.
nppsa r. At one time to have peep inhSsied but
above by baskets lowered to the mouths, SINH
lar to the method used by the robbers who In
Gennesareth in days Of old. Now. instead Of
81 i With e .J q b.a d. s s in hs s nsss
ne river from the mountsins on our risht. and
miles. To our left were basalt and limestone
a HHfR S
FIN which marked the edge q The a S.
By Wild rocky valleys. while their SUBMITS wsre
river foamed between prec lpices on both sides.
and We began 70 perceive that the task Of ex-
Tis ny no sss
base ss Sssf
tSs snd rdel
should separsts. and each be responsible for his
srousS tangled tSieksss Of oWsrns o shrubs w
les steep ana now .1 utterly banned diysrs
4 sssin - ths o.hsr side 50 as to regain tho
owing to the natural obstacles We encountered.
ns sa s the
hurried over. and too .interesting from it's nov
% point whsrs sSsrs had Sssn
land slide. leaving bare one precipioe thousepd
stream, which It had displaced. Nothing re-
NAMED for II but to attempt another ford and
our 1ss on the SsSa This
wo succeeded in accomplishing. not without
Who eas sntaneied among the rocks and ed.
dtes; We were cordially welcomed by an Arab
x. u Ss, Invited to Ss tsn;s
which we're pitched 3 lev hundred yards back
wore spread for Us. coffee roasted pounded.
sroInd We proceeded under the Influence Of
90 nr n dstrioIs0n OF III on my
belonEsd e 9 viilsxe two and Q half hours
their herds and look after their crops. hardly
like to report the conversation Of these poor
| people as they came to confide their grievances
| to us, without our In any way inviting their
confidence: sufIlee It to say that the recent
| measure OF the Government by which It has
been decided 70 substitute for the dime. which
has heretofore been the share OF the Govern
| ment in the entire produce OF every village for
| an assessment based on the highest Ave years
average has produced the greatest discomfort
among the rural population. whose poverty
and distress. already extreme. owing to tho
extortion Of the tax gntherers even under the
sinsw OF IA. tho country b consSrrtion. especially
thus be intensified; In fact, these poor people
most unreserved In their language and al
though they are the most long-suiiering and
much-enduring OF races. there IL point whore
the crushed worm will turn. However great
the financial exfgencies OF the empire may be,
they would better be served by thorough re-