The Arizona sentinel., 1888-08-25
ON TOP OF SINAI
The Awful, Stately Grandeur of the Mount
 ain of Moses.

The Awful, Stately Grandeur of the Mount
 ain of Moses.
 1t does not seem high, because it was
 yet half hidden from our view by the
 intervening hill. As soon as this hill
 was mastered the plain of Er Raha, or
 ''Plain of Assemblage;" came into full
 view, with the Sinai range at it's s0uth- ern extreme The combination was
 satisfying ng-convincing, Here was the one great feature the want of which
 prevented Mount Serbal from contest
 ing for the h0nors of Sinai. There is no plain in the vicinity of Serba1 ex.
 tensive enough to accommodate an as-
 semblage as large as Moses led. But here is vast plateau of sufficient eX- tent, and, as we shall presently see when we view it from Mount Sinai summit, so located that Moses could overlook it all when he read the Law. This must be the ''true Sinia''-the very mountain upon which the glory of the Lord rested in the sight of the people. When facing its awful, stately grandeur, I felt as if had come to the end of the world. How many pilgrims had come from all parts of the earth to this very spot to reverence, to sacri-t flee, and to worship! ",
 I dismounted to contemplate the sublime panorama, and Elihuel, my camel driver, sat down beside me. He hardly seemed to understand my actions, and at last interrupted my reverie by exclaiming, as he pointed to the lofty group: ''Jebel Mousa- Tayeeb!' ("Mountain of Moses goodI') He. also reverenced it, for he was Mohammedan.
 What impresses the American travel CT most sensibly here is the fact that although mountains abound, and stream-beds are more plenty than in our own White hills, cascade or waterfall is never heard. When the rains fall, the water rolls down these bare, rough diagonals uninterrupted, and empties into the wadies, which in turn impetuously roll the torrents into the sea with great speed, before the parched earth has time to absorb more than mere surface supply.
 What a surprise, then, when arrived at the highest ridge of the vast plateau of Fl Raha, to see bright oasis full of trees laden with the rich blossoms of spring, backed by the strange, con- trasting, gloomy walls of the Convent of Saint Catherine. No location could be more charming-in the narrowing valley, nestled atethe feet of the close ly protecting mountains. Upon the highest ramparts are set both the can- non and the cross. It was both castle and convent we were approaching. More than once the inmates have been obliged to defend themselves against the marauder. At one time every | monk was massacre. Since then more | care has been exercised. We were | obliged to prove our friendship before we could gain admittance. We could not even encamp in the neighborhood | until our credentials were examined and approved.
 Arriving at the convent wall we sent up shout to the top. In the course | of time the voice of a monk sent down | a squeaky response, To point near the top of the wall tiny structure shaped like dog-kennel is attached. From this small rope was let down, to which we attach our firman, or let | ter of introduction, obtained at the branch institution at Suez. This was hauled up slowly and soon answered by great noise in the aerial kennel! Then thick cable was lowered to us and we were asked to "Get in and come up." But the low gate in the wall was swung open at that moment, and we chose to enter the convent by it rather than go up by cable.
 When we arrived at the quarters of the superior we saw that the cable was not let down hand oyer hand, but that B clumsy windlass, worked and turned by Bedouin serfs, was the power be- hind the throne. The combination is believed to be the first passenger ele. vator in the world.
 It seems as though no semblance of humanity should remain in a place made sacred by so many holy associa- lions, but the convent is inhabited by about sixty monks varying in grades of sanctity. Nine of them yielded to our camera A beardless youth af- 'orded us considerable amusement. he came to me, with tears n his eyes, and begged for some recipe to make his beard grow. He said that ne would not be allowed to read chapel service until he had a beard; that nearly all the monks but him had boards. s.-EdaUard t. Wilson, % Cent try.