The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-02-25

Lahleh, Jan 10Th, 1899.
My dear Friends: This letter should
I've gone to the United States in No
Fember but was unavoidably delayed.
November 10. returned from a
| twenty-five day trip which was to me
\one e 'ha most interesting of my life
even ugh it involved not "a little
{exp' sc, considerable danger and an
"enol nus expenditure Of nerve and
mus IT,. 1t was into the country east
of the Jordan. rarely visited by any
one but antiquarians and archaeolo-
gigsts and now almost closed to these
by reason of the suspicion attitude of
both the government and the people.
To name the regions is To call up
Visions of history. In very ancient
times it was the land of Bashaw and
Gilead, then the territories of Naph-
tall, Dan, Cad and Manasseh In the
time Of Christ it was Peraea, where
were the cities Of the Decapolis in
which our Saviour preached and five
of which we had the privilege Of visit
ing. In modern times it is known
as the Jaulan, the Haurau. Ajlun and
the Belka. Our party was three. Mr..
w. X. Eddy, of Sidon; Mr.. G. {. Doo-
'i''iN, VI <Nbtll' anu llly Sill. OuI OBJECT
was first of all a little recreation after
the long hot summer, in which none
of us had taken any rest: then to study
some of the diseases of this Turkish
political system as seen in the eXtrem-
tiles of the kingdom, a desire to see
those remote regions out of a keen
interest in Old and New Testament
history. so that the trip accomplished
10 Inn III
hope. 1t will not be possible to give
the days and hours of our journey but
an outline which will serve as a side
light on what has been done in Syria
and what yet remains to be done.
DANGEROUS NATIVES.
We went heavily armed because the
whole region is a lawless one and
great part of the people given to
pilfery and robbery. The modern in
habitants are the roaming Bedawin
who live by nocks and plunder. and
the very bigoted and suspicious Mos
lens who treat the few Christians
among them like so many dogs. Since
the troubles in Bulgaria GS76) colonies
of CircaSsians are taking up the waste
places, and since the expulsion of the
Jews from Russia and other European
countries; colonies of Jews are at
tempting to buy up land and found
new homes in the ancient possessions
of the tribes of Israel. Add to these
the Druses against whom the govern
ment waged recent relentless war
and the Turks themselves in the ca
pacity of harUiSs and YOU have a sad
and dangerous combination. Around
Kuneitereh are twelve Circassian
towns and their clean villages and
hay ricks and creakng tw1- wheeled
carts are strange sight in this an
, eient land. The Jews where they have
chance, do good work and make the
desert blossom as the rose. but alas
they are prosecuted and driven away
by the wretched MOSlems of these re-
Gions. The latter are more suspicious
than ever They dwell in and around
ruined cities which are plainly of
; Christian and Jewish origin: they have
vague fears and reports of the Chris
tians and Jews coming back to regain
their ancient possessions, so that we
were everywhere looked upon as Jews,
or their champions, or as spies in the
interest of some foreign government.
Many time on this trip as also in
other trips elsewhere we heard that
purpose eXpressed-"even though the
foreigners may take the seaport towns
We mean to hold the interior Of the
country for Moslems'
The government also refuses all per-
mission To strangers who would visit
. these pa s. We tried through our
consulate 4 permission but the ans
wer from Damascus was a polite sug-
gestion to secure an imperial Trade
from CosstantinOple. So we decided tO
run the risk of being intercepted at
some pOiE' and being sent back ~
Damascus. We broke no law in do
ing so for international treaties guar
antee us safe and free passage every
where except into the .Ieojar and Mec-
ca. Our plan was to make use of our
friends in the local centers and to
avoid all centers where we had none
and feared mOlestation. once they
We're on our track but by changing
guides twice, by fording an almost
impossible river and by sieeping in a