The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1890-02-08
'W0NDROUS SIGHTS.
Letter of Salvation from the
Eloquent Brooklyn
Preacher.
The Many Things Witnessed
by Him on His
Trip.

- SNAo = ~ @AS
well to my sermonic readers, and now, on
my way home. I write this letter OF saluta-
zion, which will probably reach you about
the Monday that will find me on the Atlantic
ocean, from which I cannot reach you with
the usual sermon. l have completed the
Journey of inspection for which l came. 9th
ers may write a life of Christ without seeing
the Holy and. I did not feel competent for
such work until | had seen with my own eyes
the sacred places; and SO / lett home and
church and native country for a m lost arduous
undertaking. ] have visited all the scenery
connected with our Lords history. The whole
journey has been to me a surprise, an amazeI
ment, grand rapture or q deep
solennity. l W. already sent to America
my Holy Land observations for my Life of
Christ, : and they were written on horseback,
on muleback, oncamelback, ON ships deck, by
dim candle in tent, in mud hovel Arab village,
amid the ruins of old cities, on Mount OF
Beatitudes, on beach Of Ge~nesareth, but it
Will take twenty years of sermons to tell
what | have seen and felt on this journey
through Palestine and Syria. -,
All things nave combined to make our tour
Instructive and advantageous. The Atlantic
and Mediterranean and Adriatic and Egean
and Dardanelles and Marmoru seas have
treated us well. Since w left New York we
nave had but half q day and one night of
storm, and that while crossing Mount Her.
9 But let. only those in robusthealth at,
tempt to go the length Of Palestine and Syria
onhorsehaek. l do not think it is because Of
the, unhealth of the climate in Holy Land
that SO many have sickened and died here or
afterwards as a result of visiting these lands,
but because of the fatigues of travel. The
1na OF miles gives no indication Of
and i'm miles in Palestine and Syria on
horseback demand as much physical
strength Oh 400 miles on horseback in re-
gions of easy journey. Because of the near
two months Of bright sunlight by day, and
bright moonlight or starlight by night, the
hall day of storm was to us the more memoir
able. 1t was about noon of December Is
that the tempest struck us and drenched the
mountains. One of the horses falls and we
halt amid q binding rain.
1t is freezing cold. Fingers and feet are
like ice. Two hours and t~hree-quarters be-
fore encampment. We ride ON in silence.
longing for the terminus of today's pilgrim.
nge. 1t is, through the awful inclemency Of
the weather, the only dangerous day OF the
journey. Slip and slide and tumble anu climb
and descend we must, sometimes on the
horse and sometimes off, until at last we
halt in the howell OF village. and instead of
entering camp for the night we are glad to
find this retreat from the storm. 1t ia a
house of one story built out of. mud. My
room is covered with q roo of goats hair.
Afeeble fire mid-foor, butn chimney. 1t is
the best house OF the village. Arabs, young
and old stand around in wonderment as to
why We come. There is no window in the
room, but two little openings, one over the
door and the other in the wall, through
which latter opening I occasionally find On
Arab face thrust to see how l am progressing.
But thedoor ia open, SO I nave some light.
This is an afternoon and night never to be
forgotten for its exposures and acquaintance
with the hardships of what an Arab consid-
ers luxurious apartment. t
sat that night by fire, the smoke of which,
hiding no appropriate place of exit, tool
lodging in my ~nostrils and eyes. For the
first time in my life / realized that chimneys
We're o luxury but not a necessity. The only
~adornments in this room were representa-
tions OF two tree branches in the mud of the
wall, q circle supposed to mean a star, a bot
tie hung from the ceiling, and about twelve
indentations in the wall to be used as man.
ties for anything that may be placed there.
This storm was not q. surprise. Through
pessimistic prophets we had expected that
at this season We should rave rain and snow
and hail throughout our journey. For the
most part it has been sunshine and tonic at
mosphere. and not @ moment has our jour-
ney been hindered. Gratitude to God is with
us the dominant emotion.
Having visited the. scenery connected with
Christ's lie | was glad to close my Journey
by passing through the apostolic lands and
seas. You can hardly imagine our feelings
ass To- came III sight OF Damascus, and on the
very road where Saul was endorsed at the
flash Of the supernal light. We did not
want. like him, to be flung to the earth, but
We did hope for some great spiritual blessing
brighter than any monday sum-; and a new
preparation for usefulness. Our long horse
back ride, was ended, for a carriage met US
some miles out and took US to the city.
The impression one receives as he rides
along the walled gardens of the place
are different from those produced by
any other city. But we cannot describe our
feelings as wo enter the city about which
We have heard and read so much, the Oldest
city under the sun, and founded by the
grandson OF Noah, nor our emotions as. We
pass through the street called straight, along
which good Ananias went to meet Saul; and
by the site OF the palace OF Naaman, the lep-
er, and saw the river ALBANIA, Us yesterday Ne
saw Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus that
Naaman preferred to wash in rather. than the
Jordan. Strange and unique Damascusl 1t
is worth while to cross the Atlantic aud Eu-
rope to ser it. Though it has been the place
of battle and massacre, md of ancient Of
fuence and s~plendoras well as it is Of present
prosperity, to me it's chief attraction arises
from the fact that here the scales fell from
Pauls eyes, md that chief of apostles here
began that mission which will not end until.
heaven is peopled with ransomeds pirits. So
also / saw Patmos, where John heard the
" 0ah pS " = 0AAA AAAO We vi wv wa 10
hi, feet, reminding him OF the songs of heav-
On, like the voice of many waters"
But this letter can only give you O hint OF
the things " mean to tell you about when we
get home. where we expect to be before this
month is ended. ! baptized by immersion In
the Jordan an American whom we met, and
who desired the solemn ordinance admins.
tered to- hun in the sacred waters.
rolled down from Mt. Calvary or "place
Of q akulll'' a stone. for the corner stone OF
our new Brooklyn tabernacle. We bathed in
the 1.Dead Sea- and in ..Gideon's Fountain
we sailed on Lake Galilee and stood on Mt.
zion and Mt. Moriah and Mt. Hermon, and
81 saw the place where the shepherds heard
the Christmas anthem the night Christ was
born; and have been at Nazareth, and
C~apernaum. and sat by Jacobs Well" and
eaw Tel,eEK ebir of modern battle, and Me
giddo Of ancient battle, and where the Israel.
sites crossed the desert, and slept at Bethel,
where one ladder was let down into Jacobs
,dream, but the night | slept there the. heav-
ems were full of first aladder ofclouds,
then q ladder OF stars, and NIL up and down
a he heavens were angels 81 beauty. angels OF
consolation, angels Of God ascending and
descending; and / was OF nearly all the fields
OF Herodic, Solmonic, and Davidic, and Mos
aic, and Abrahamic history. i took Rome
and Naples. and Athens, and Alsxandris,
md Carlo on the way out, and take the
Greek Archipelago, and Cunstantinople, and
Vienna on the way back. What more can
God in his goodness grant me in the way OF
natural scenery, and classic association, and
spiritual opportunity? All, yes! I can
think Of something gladder than that he can
grant me. Safe return to the people of my
beloved flock, tho field OF my work, and the
land where my fathers died, and in the dust
q whose valleys / pray God ! may be buried.
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