The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1894-06-08
Letter from Rev. ]. R. Reitzel.

me fourth letter from Mr.. II. to his Catechet'
teal class was written from Damas, Syria, April
.2s nj .; IS p. m. as follows:
Notice the hour of this writing and then
ne sure that nervous clergyman, just In
from campaign of twelve successive days In
she saddle, with one day of standardization
at the hotel, will not write just such a letter
as deserves safe voyage to America to be read
in the company of intelligent and inquiring
young minds. Flattery usually lacks back
bone and couldnot stand such long jour-
s1ley as this letter expects to make, so IL this
reaches you, it must not be regarded as
ERattery when say that so far in my travels,
have not met the place nor conditions
where such company of young people as l
HeGt at Owosso, could be found.
To me nothing is quite so interesting as
sluman beings. Day after day in all this
strange and fascinating Orient, have been
looking upon the masses Of the cities, the
Zone Beduoln on the desert and plain, the
Arab vilager, the Turkish trader in his ba-
Eaar and the forlorn looking pilgrims around
the shrines, until at times sort of human
desert rose before me out of which little can
come to add to the brightness and well being
of this world nor to the sacred life with
(which God has endowed man.
Since wrote you last, my time has been
spent in a lard and amidst scenes where
melancholy fragments of past glory arc
seen on every hand. Two weeks ago, at
Jerusalem, four cergymen all younger than
'1nyself, met and concluded to ride from Je-
irusalem to Beyrout via Nazareth, Mt. Car
mel, Sea of Galilee, Damascus and Baalbec.
So for the last twelve days, over Judean
mills, Jordan gorges, Ante-l.ebanOn noun
'tains. across plains, from the head waters of
the Jordan, past the fountains of Dan, to
ntle head waters of the Pharpar and Arbana,
into this coolest city of the world" could be
seen four seedy looking white men. three
Arabs, one Beduoin and one Greek with ten
Arabian horses, plodding along, carrying
baggage, provisions and horse feed ON pack
SIorses-sometimes in the low and beautiful
valleys and plains like Dorthan and Esdrae-
Con, and then up from 5000 to 5000 feet ON
the rocky lodges of the Snow mountains of
Gebanon--at times royalty entertained by
che Latin or Greek monks at monasterles,
then again mlngling in the Arab villages
with donkeys, goats, sheep, cats, dogs, flies,
dees and flowers, eating such food as we
could get from the natives. Our dragoman,
rauleteers and servants becoming trouble
some and obstinate at times, the hills, noun
&ains and valleys would reecho with mans
inglorious wrangling all in an unknown
99ngue to us. What we did learn very soon
without statement in words from any one,
was that the Arab can get on regardless of
erHth and all the other Arabs soon agree to
get on with him in the same manner. Usu-
q have seen miles of falsehoods scattered
along the road by our Arabs and everyone
af them go on in gleeful assurance that he
was the one soul in innocence. Singular,
they will betray, cheat and curse man, but
they hold sacred the name and fear Of God.
To them, God is a Judge whom they cannot
escape and whose helpless subjects they are
'aut to them man and mans well being is a
CHATTER of little concern, especially If that
IMAM is not Mohammedan.
Among the most impressive scenes to me,
IN our ride was the indescribable desolation
of the foot hills of Lebanon. In deep
vacl1y gorge we came to a three arched
stone bridge crossing the upper Jordan,
asuilt before Christ's time. On this bridge
Ct1rIst and his disciples crossed on their way
3rOm Capernaum to Caesarea-Phillippi.
Over it Saul of Tarsus crossed on his way
-O Damascus, a massive Roman structure.
On leaving it, Christ and Saul passed to
II tlIickly settled upland-farms enclosed
with stone fences, gardens, villages, cities
sand castles, we passed into an almost track
less wilderness of basaltic rock, black and
over the hills; not an inhabitant for miles;
,1IEe old volcanic cratar after another Here
is desolation, the awful work of both the
earthquake and the volcano. made doubtless
thousands of years ago. We passed over
9 this field of desolaton until we reached an
altitude of 1000 feet above the sea and be-
sSWre us lay snow mountain, bright and
giistening in the clear Syrian sun while the
cold water in cascades leaped down the
g0rges. In one of these ravines we took
moon lunch on the green turf. Our horses
led on the grass. flowers in profusion on all
sides and yet twenty minutes climb would
SzAve taken us to fields Of snow, while below
ms half hours walk, the villagers from a
sElHese village were working in their Or
: .i1ards and vineyards but my eyes aud mind
would constantly turn to these fields of black
t5assltic rocks covering miles and miles of
upland where once human beings lived in
[ Happiness and comfort
Speaking of the snow on the Lebanon
srange, leads me to recall conversation l
: had with Russian Jew in the Baron Roth
child colony at Juani where we passed one
might just west of the Waters of Merom.
Looking over to the snow mountain he said it