Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-09-28

or e farm, or fence or hedge. or a
house or hut outside of the squalid little
villages, or hardly "a tree or green thing.
/ wonder If the Old Testament enunera-
ton II the population IS strictly accu-
rate. According 70 Numbers, lac, not
less than 5000. coo Jews came into Pal
estine-five times as many Is the pres
ent entire population, and according TO
Second Samuel, 2e.9, they had in
creased to 5000, 0o0-ten times the
present population. This would give
an average Of coo TO the square mile
surprising that of the most fertile coun-
tries of Europe. But we are told In the
Old Testament that the Hebrews from
seventy-tive all told increased 70 3,oo0.-
600 in about 500 years, which implies
that each woman had more than eighty
children. | am afraid there was some
mistake in the Hebraic method of emu
meration. How could such dense null
titudes have been nourished on these
parched and dismal hills?
asked a wen-inforIned Englishman
in Jerusalem how the farmers got
along.
"Fauners?- he said, with surprised
rising infection. There are none or
next TO none. All the people live in
huts in the little villages. They go
hungry the most of the time. They all
try TO get away and some succeed"
1t is not easy travelling here. There
are only two roads in all these thou
sands OF miles: the rest of the thor
oughfares are mere camel tracks. We
went on horseback down to the Dead
sea and back. twenty-five miles, via
Jericho. Didwe fall among thieves?"
No, verify, for the reason that the
thieves fell among us-at least the
chief of them. The wild Bedouins
claim to own all of that country, be-
cause nobody but themselves live there,
and they exact tribute. So when we de-
eided to go il was necessary 10 do two
Yankee who dwells here in Jerusalem
down 70 Jericho TO open his hotel there
the only building in the town except
mud huts; and second, we must hire
the sheik OF the Bedouins To be cur
guide TO keep his tribe from robbing
and killing US. We paid him five dol
lars n day TO ride at our head with a
tremendously long rifle and secure our
safety. Ii was blaclunail. But he was
a picturesque creature, with loose
baggy rod trousers and an embroidered
green cloak from Bagdad-he said he
paid six dollars for it--surmOunte by a
scarlet tarboosh with a big pugperv
around il that looked like the stars and
stripes
One of the oldest things encountered
I'm Palestine Is q woman at a churn.
The cturn Of this region was once ami
mated, having been goat in its better
days Now the goat has vanished from
n. flesh and bone, for the table Of the
epicurc. and the good wife hangs up 10
q spike on the ceiling his skin By the
neck and pours into the uucanny vessel
her wooden trays of milk Then she
churus. b. seizing the ghastly thing by
the dropsical hind legs and swinging
II half round her aud back again in tare-
some oscillation. as monotouous "a any
old wooden churn In Yankee kitchen.
When The butter sets she rests her
weary arms and rejoices. and then she
carefully unties hind foot which has
served for handle. and draws out the
butternilk, afterwards removing the
butter by the way of slitted brislSet
This seems % be the universal churn If
the Orient
Whose milk IS itS A goats probably.
A Sleeps. perhaps, \ canel's occas-
ionallv. I am tired = goats cheese.
sleeps milk and carnel's butter. and
when I get home shall buE the first
cow 7 sea " 4 tpoFrr-r