Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-05-24
BEAUTY AND DIRT
MIXED IN ABOUT EQUAL PROPORTIONS IN
DAMASCUS

Interesting Letter from Rev. c. c. Hays-Ihe
Journey From Jerusalem q Damascus-Rou-
TIE Of Traysl-A Dag On lie
Shores Of Galilee.
Sp,oial Fo,,iga Corrsspoad,"es ofne Register.
DAMASCUS, SYRIA, April 2G.-Damas-
Gus is about seven days journey from
Jerusalem. We allowed ourselves ten
DAYS for the trip, making it by easy
stages, resting on Sunday at Nazareth,
and spending q day on the sea Of Gal
lice. All distances in this country are
estimated in hours or days. An hours
distance is what horse travels in that
time AT good walk Much of the way
is exceedingly rough, and the horses
are trained TO mount rocks and climb
steep heights. We travelled by the old
Caravan route and met long trains Of
camelS bearing their burdens southwark.
In one company we counted over one
hundren and fifty cameS meandering
along single file.
Camping In Palestine is well system
atized. The ''tOm-tOm,' or clattcr Of
tin pans SoundSa five o'clock, breakfast
at half-paSt five, mount horses NJ SIN.
While eating breakfast, the sleeping
tents are struck, and by the time we are
mounted the baggage train IS about
ready to move also. Most Of the day ;
Journey is made before lunching NJ noon.
Al lunch We rest long enough to allow
the baggage section To OVcrtake and
pass Us. and We find our tents pitched
and everything ready for us when we
reach our camping place in the evening.
An ordinary days ride is seven hours,
but on some days we have spent nine
hours I'm the saddle. One of the ladies
wcarying Of horseback riding secured
a palanquin at Jerusalem, and made the
Journey very comfortably suspended be
tween two mules.
We were all delighted with the beauty
and fertility OF central and northern
Palestine Tho waySideS and hills are
adorned with flowers of the richest hucS
and of the greatest variety. The val
leyS are for the most part well watercd
and very productive. There are no
fences. and boundary lines are only
marked by piles Of stones. The farm
ers live IN villages for mutual protection
against BedOun invaders.
THE PLAIN OF E>DR.ELON,
the great battle ground OF the country.
is now delightful garden spot. 1t re-
QuireS a day To cross il and visit the
places of interest ON its border, such as
Gidc0n'S Fountain, Shunem, Main and
the cave where Saul went TO
interview the Witch of EndOr.
The plain extends eastward
10 the Jordan, and westward to the
Mediterranean. II is covered now with
"a splendid crop of ripening grain.
About half of it belongs to one man. 4
very wealthy citizen of BeyrOut, and
the rest is divided among the natives
and the Government. The grain is
taken 10 the seaport of llaifa. on cam
els. and marketed there. All the farm
ing implements are of the crudcSt sort.
and the natives grind their grain be-
tween two stones revolving one upon
the other, and propelled by horizontal
water wheel
Everywhere We have heard of the
outrageous eXtortion OF the Turkish
Government, and the whole land shows
il. The farmer is required To pay a
tenth of his crop in taxes, and the Gov
eminent official is the Judge Of what the
crop is. Usually il is estimated at far
above its real value, and often half of
the actual product Is eXtOrted in taxes
and ''backSheesh" to officials. If
taxes are not paid promptly
Turkish soldiers are sent TO squat
on the land, and eat fruit aud poultry
until the farmer i'm sheer despair pays
every demand. All fruit trees are taxed
Qucncc nearly al trees, have been cut
down except the never failing olive and
liz. On the hill back of Nazareth is 4
beautiful home which belonged to an
English physician. The place cost him
three thousand pounds, and when he
was nicely settled the Government de-
dided that it was crown land, compelling
him 20 abdicate, and only allowing him
about one-fourth its cost. There is Il
large English Mission School for or
phanS az Nazareth, and the Government
imposes a tax on every orphan in the in
StitutiOn. The whole system is a shame
ful imposition on an already impoyeriSh-
ed people. There l. no hope for PalcS-
time until some other power than Tur-
key gets control.
on TIE SHORE OF GALIIEE.
We campcd one night on the shore of
Galilcc. near Liberals, the only town re-
naming thcfe of the many of ancient
days IL IS a lake OF beautiful, clear.
fresh water and would bee a. valuable a.
Chautauqua or Minnetonka il We had il
at home. There were hot springs near
our camp which in America would UNI
doubtedly have wonderful medicinal
properties, and the scenery is fine; but
with all IL natural attractiyencSS fewer
people live near il now than ever before.
and IL is seldom visited except by lovers
Of the Bible. So many OF the Scriptural
scenes are located there that il
has been more written about and
thought about than any other similar
body Of water in the world. We en-
joyed a sail on its smooth waters in one
of the Old-time fishing boats. We could
see great shoals Of the filmed beauties,
and tried hard 10 hook them. but even
our best fisherman failed to get bite.
They are not TO be caught i'm that way,
but wait for Simon and Andrew with
their nets. Our cook managed To secure
a mess from the Arabs, and We can ties
tify % their delicious flavor. Galilec
was filled with fish in the first century
when the shores were thickly populated
with fishermen. What must it be- to-day
with only four or five fishing boats ON
the whole lake,
ACROSS SNOWY IIERMON.
We crossed the bleak snowy Hermon
range. where DIR. Talmage had such a
hard time. without meeting a storm,
and after days ride further reached
Damascus Friday evening, day in adj
vance ~ our programme. Finding that
other parties were calculating To spend
sunday here. we stole days march on
them and secured comfortable quarters
in the Hotel DemetrI, the only good
hosiery In the city. Our camping
equipment is retained for our trip into
the Lebanon mountains and Syria next
week. but We rest here for three days.
Damascus is said to have 1900 in
I habitantS. but the Turkish government
takes no reliable census. IL is a beauti-
I iful city and is called by its admirer:
The Pearl of the East" and The
Eye Of the Desert" 1t is surround
ed by luNuriant gardens watered
I 10y the ALBANIA garden:
of olives, apricotS. pOmmegranateS
pOplarS, expresses and palms. The
DamaSceneS believe that the Garden OF
Eden was located here, and that Adam
was formed out of clay from the bank:
Of the ALBANIA. There is tradition thai
| Mohamet came to the brow of the hill