The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-06-22

OF Galllee is very rapid That village
les at an altitude Of about LOO feet
above the Mediterranean, and the hills
around IL are from 1000 TO 1000 feet
nigh, while the sacred lake is $50 feet
below tide water. Few people realize
/ that the greater part of our Lord s
ministry was performed in a natural
/ trench washed out by the River Jordan
at some remote period of geological
+ history. It is a curious formation Of
nature
As the carriage descends along the
/ rough road, which in wet weather is
almost impossible, we pass from spring
/ 10 summer. Travellers who visit the
/ Sea OF Galilee later than April must
I expect oppressive heat, and the con-
/ trast between the heavy and humid
4 atmosphere Of the lake basin and the
pure and celebrating ozone Of the hill
country around Nazareth is keenly felt
/ by people who are sensitive to climatic
changes. The vegetation becomes tr0p-
zeal as we approach the water Trees
! which are never seen on the hills grow
In thick 1ungles and groups of palms
decorate the scene in every direction.
The lake has the shape Of a heart,
| thirteen miles long and eight miles
wide. A Jewish rabbi once said: "Je-
hoyah hath created many lakes, but
/ the Sea Of Gennesaret is his delight"
1T resembles the lochs of Scotland, and
It's resemblance to the lakes Of north
ern Italy is often pointed out, although
the foliage is more scanty and by no
means 50 beautiful and the villas and
towns cannot be compared for a mo-
ment.
The lake is encircled by a white strip
Of beach. At the northern end ii is
formed Of smooth, white sand, shells
and pebbles, and the southern end of
gravel and black and white powders.
Evidences of volcanic agencies appear
frequently, and on the southern banks
are the famous hot baths of Herod,
who utilized a group Of sulphurous
springs and built and fitted in great
luxury, in imitation Of the Romans,
collection Of bath houses that have
never been surpassed in the east. The
water OF the springs has bitter and
nauseous taste and smells like anti
quated eggs, but amid all the wrecks
of fortune with which the locality is
Strewn they still minister to the ills
OF humanity with great relief. Rheu-
matism, govt and other diseases can
be cured by using them, and invalids
come here from all parts Of Syria. The
springs were famous throughout the
ancient world, but the present accom-
mOdatiOns cannot be recommended.
The bath houses are dirty and incOn-
venient, and the surroundings are re-
pulsive. There is a Protestant hospital
and a missionary medical station near
by, both of which are supported by
the Free church OF Scotland, and fur
nish neat but limited quarters.
The baths were called Klamath in
the Old Testament, but are known as
Hummon now The springs are four ing
number. The water has a normal tenn
perature of IA degrees Fahrenheit,
and it's chief properties, as shown by
analysis, are carbonite of lime, muri-
attic salts and chloride of magnesium.
There is a. cave in the hill upon which
an old castle stands, which is supposed
to be connected by subterranean pas
sages with the springs, for it has a
high temperature and is continually
filled with steam. Persons afflicted
with govt or rheumatism receive al
most immediate relief by sitting in this
cave and submitting TO the continuous
and profuse berspiration which its high
temperature eXCttes.&
Down in this pit. in the days Of the
crusaders. the Ambition of christendom
was. scotehed to the heart. Tempted by
treachery, the knights Of the cross at
tackled Saladin The dust and heat were
intense. z for there had been long
drouth and the earth was parched. The
Arabs set fire to the trees and shrub
berry. The knights choked in their ar
NOR. The foot soldiers, blinded by
smoke and dust, were trampled down
by the BedOuins. Although they fought
sun, fire. heat and sword with terrible
desperation, their defeat was utter. The
entire force was annihilated, and nearly
every man WHO escaped death was cap
tured and taken into the desert as a
slave.
Above the beach, around the lake. is
a succession Of grassy slopes and rocky
cliffs with groups Of Oleanders, whose
blossoms are more brilliant than can
be found elsewhere. At the head OF
the lake the entrance to the River JOr-
dan is marked by a rich green plain. /
The river comes down through rocky
gorges with a succession Of foaming
rapids, passes through jungle of lux
uriant Oleanders and then bursts into |
the clear waters of Galilee. A group Of |
five palms and a clump of thorn trees /
mark its mouth On the south, where /
the Jordan leaves the lake, il enters a /
muddy plain, and silently cuts its way /
the banks, gathering clay and |
other earth in solution until it becomes !
very turbid Upon the eastern side Of /
the lake the desert sands come almost /
to the water. Vegetation and fertility 1
is found almost exclusively upon the /
western side, and it has always been !
so. It is believed that the soil of the /
eastern shores is just as rich and might I
bta a & easily irrigated huf through all 4
the centuries, and until recently. il has /
been exposed to the forays of the Be /
dOuins. who do not hesitate to harvest /
other mems fields.
At present there are no farms and /
few houses, and the only lights to be /
seen are the camp fires Of the Bedou- /
ms
The most sacred region Of the lake, /
and to one Of religious sentiment, q re- 4
gion invested with unparalleled inter !
est, is the northwestern shore, where /
our Lord dwelt with men. where he \
preached from a ship. walked on the 4
waves slept in the storm, rebuked the
winds, Gained the sea, performed the J
miracles of the fishes, cast out devils 4
and preached the gospel of love and {
peace for three years. These shores, |
are desOlate now OF all the
numerous cities and towns in what
must have been in his day the most ,
thickly peopled district of Palestine.
but one toWn-TiberiuS- and a
collection of few novels called MejdeI,
which IS supposed to have been the
ancient Magdala. the home Of Mary the
JOsephus. who governed
this province thirty-four years after
the erucihXion, tells US that there were