The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1894-05-25

horse back served me we'll. At high
point on the mountain, late in the afternoon
l turned my horse up over cliff and looking
down, some 600 feet below was a beautiful
cascade playing in narrow rocky channel.
This. said the guide as he came up. is the
place where Elijah hid when he fled from
Jezebel and where he was fed by the raven
For the name of this brook in the actual
wilderness Of Judea you may look i'm your
Bibles. We reached Jericho that same
evening without falling among thieves as
did our ancient predecessor but 1t may be
said we rode among them all day, the terri
BILE bakseesh leeches.
Next morning wished for some of the
| jolly boys of our class, for we really got up
at five and FASTENED away to go swimming,
ever did; the trouble was not to swim but
to quit swimming, not, to keep up" as we
used 10 say when we tried it first without
plank, but to get down. When once hori-
zontal you could not regain the perpendicu-
lar, and you simply had to head for the
shore to get righted. This was real live
swimming in the Dead sea. To me it was
rare treat.
On our way home from the Jordan and
the Dead Sea our two escorts took occasion
as we crossed the sand plains, to give us
some genuine Beduoin riding, armed with
guns and Moorish sabers, they gave us a
sham battle. Circling about us on the level
plains of Jericho it was certainly fine
sight. From the Dead Sea to Jerusalem we
must make rise of more than 5000 feet,
and often quite steep. At times l rode as
much as half mile in advance of the COM
pany to get time to make observations and
to be alone for reflection. In one turn of a
mountain pass a strange sound came from
seemingly far down the valley. Unable to
tell what it was l began to descend slowly;
finally saw large herd of camels coming
out of canon, some rs perhaps and num-
bers of young camel calves, and the doleful
grief-stricken cry of some forty camel calves
is worth trip across the ocean to hear.
Nothing like it can be imagined. IL all the
grief incarnate and articulate for the last
5000 years had been gathered from all
Judea and bottled in these four-legged walk
ing jugs, and the cork suddenly drawn and
this long-stored grief give one long I'M
broken moan, this would simply approach
the noise that came from these camel calves.
/ turned my horse toward this noise when
saw where it came from, and when in their
midst these camel calves seemed novel and
pretty. Stupid as they may seem at a
glance, when closely examined they show
depth of wisdom and skill. In Egypt on
the Theban plains | saw two fine dogs chase
young camel and when he collected him
self the dogs were left behind.
If anything in this old world is proof of
the low state of religion it is the testimony
borne by the donkeys and the camel. All
seem sadly neglected, abused and absolutely |
tortured; so you can see very few. animals !
that are sound and whole, and one Is often |
distressed by being obliged to see the |
cruelty. All this seems strange in this land |
where dwell the people who lay claim to be |
in special sense the people of God, and |
here in this land of early light through the |
life and teachings of Christ and his immedi-
ate disciples.
This letter will turn on its way across the
ocean tomorrow and 1 will turn toward the
north on a long, long horseback journey
from here to Damascus, from there to Baal-
bee, then on to Beyrout. On our way we
visit Nazareth, Mt. Carmel and Sea of
Tiberias. 1t will be journey of twenty
days, and by the time this is read to my
friends in the Sunday evening meeting l
hope to be sailing from Beyrout to Constan-
tinOple.