The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-05-06
JORDAu'S DUSTY ROAD.
The Rev. DR.. Seudder's Fourth
Lecture on His Pilgrimage
to the Holy Land.

to the Holy Land.
The Rev. DR.. Scudder in the Tabernacle
last night delivered the fourth of his
lectures on the Holy land. Among other
things lie said
"One of the most popular trips from
Jerusalem is to the Jordan and the Dead
Sea. THIS done on horseback. AS we
crossed Kedron We were besieged by the
~nois.est collection of beggars it has yer
been my misfortune to meet. They regard
the tourist as a travelling bonanza, and
commence to tap the mine at once. They
were of all descriptions, blind, halt,
manned and leprous. Some of their con-
oris Ut maa ears We're as aaarge as IS a Two
nitude of their expectations. We visited
the Garden of Gethsemane, where a.
spot where Jesus knelt and the apostle
slept. It contains some very ancient olive
trees: We climbed to the top of the Mount
above Jerusalem. and on the other side
we discovered the blue waters of the
Dead Sea. a dozen miles away. Passing
the Jordan Valley, which was $500 feet
below US. The latter portion of the jour
ney was exceedingly rough. We found
"For SIX hours we Went down. down.
down into the lowest valley in the world
some. 1900 feet below sea level, and
through d. Wllu9Tu0SS Oh SuIlDdhGu IlOuu-
tains. The deeper you so, the hotter it
becomes, and you do not doubt at all
that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed
by fire. None but plundering Bedouins in
eller carries a gun. We stopped at the
inn where the Good Samaritan carried the
his way from Jerusalem to Jericho, and
on its walls we found the names of vari-
Gus Americans. including some Jersey
people, who had inscribed their auto
grams TnArH11 nor. aE
A DILNPTDATED STRUCTURE.
ut is a rather dilapidated structure.
kerosene Sans e can Of fA tie lar larger size. As we
approached Jericho, the road became in
tolerably rough, and resolved itself into
rocks and small stones. Beside the road.
in hoiiows or caves, we saw natives rest
ing IN the shade during the excessive
ed the pictures Of wretehedness outside
in the sscorching sun. Across a yawning
gorge they pointed out the cave where
Elijah was fed by. the ravens, and where
to this day herInits are wont to starve
themselves into a condition of holiness.
On one side of the road was a deep preci,,
on walking along the edge. They were
just vicious enough to enjoy the hysteri-
cal shouts of the women they carried;
an awful thing. They rode astride. 1t
was IN Palestine, far away from home
and they thought, no one would ever find
Out, OGttlkfWGo Z ,ollo saw Z L
was awfully shocked. If they should ride
be a sight to behold. Some Of those
theyg That's teilingi
AT last we reach Jericho, a collection
Of about sixty Arab hovels and a couple
the so-ca1led house of zacheus and the
Mt. of Temptation, where our Lord was
tempted tempt forty 35s T LAYS a ns m nights. an To The
Dead Sea. 46 miles by 10. in which no
fish swims, and no bather can wash in
the southern portion Of It without Itch
body floats on 1t like a cork, and 1t
is hard to keep your feet under water
when you are swimming. Into it runs
a distance, as. it Is hernmed in by rushes,
tamarisks and willows. At the celebrat-
ed ferding and bathing places near by
the current Is very swift, Astounding i'll
THEY WE'RE DISAPPOINTED.
pebbly Banks, but We were disappoint-
compared With which .Passaic water is
If / needed d bath. Its banks are ex-
cessively muddy, and the mud is of a
Shiny sort and very disagreeable to the
feet. e
part Of tourists to swim across Jordan.
Two Of our party had It badly was
OlS I'll = y IiYoCA1. ~ ~ Z SLdl leu Oot
bravely enough but / was obliged to
stem the Hood alone, as my companion
became frightened, got tangled up in
his bathing suit, which he finally kicked
off entirely, and put back to the shore,
where he. stood shivering in Adamic
SIMPLICITY b~eseeching members of our
party to bring him his clothing.
"He is q good type of some others in
the last day who will try to cross Jor-
dam and will not be able. I was fortu-
nate enough tex reach the other side in
safety. but / Ndid not stop long. The
water was cold, and being alone and
fearing cramps on the return trip, I
made for the land of Canaan as quickly
as l knew how. The day after we were
there a man from New York was drown
ed, although not of our party. From
thirty to forty pilgrims lose their lives
every year in these treacherous waters.
They go in in great numbers, founder
in the mud and are carried off by the
hurrying tide.
Following up the Jordan you come to
water. which Jesus loved, surrounded by
mountains As we sailed upon its waters
we read all these passages in the Bible
pertaining to 1t and what our Lord said
and did IN Ats vicinity. The LAX is as
rich in spiritual suggestion as the coun-
try is rich In milk and honey. Pass
ing through fhe fertile country we came
to Cana of Galilee, and they showed us
the very stone jar in which the water
was turned into Wine. Coming to Naz-
areth we saw the cave where the Virgin
Joseph's Workshop. Next Sunday night
we shall pass to Egypt and | Will tell
you many OF the wonders of that in
tereStinG country"