The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-05-18
ALONG FAMOUS
ANCIENT ROAD
Sights in HoIyIand Described
by William Curtis.
GREAT PATH IN HISTORY
ChariOts OfROmanS, Horses of.
Arabs and Feet of Apostles
Have Pressed 1t.
GREAT PATH IN HISTORY
ChariOtS OfROmanS, Horses of

William E. Curtis in his special cores
pondence 10 the CT icago Herald
from the holy land writes from NabIus
From Nazareth to Jerusalem. by way
Of Mount Tabor. Main. Endor, across the
foot Of the plain of ,Tezreel, skirting tho
base Of Mount Glboa. along the sources
OF the. river Kishon, bs% TeI-Dothan
where Joseph was put into the PIT. thence
via Samaria Shechem, Gllgal, Bethel and
Shiloh, the distance, as tine crow flies is
about sixty-five miles. ny the camel
trail. avoiding the steep grades and the
unfordable brooks and swampy places,
II is eighty miles There are no roads,
which seems strange to Us, for the his
tory Of Samaria is fun OF chariots and
horsemen- We seldom read of them in
connection with JUdea, wllich is 4 country
OF barren mountains. rocky and tortuOus
ravines. but Samaria has long. level
stretches and easy grades. At the same
time the present population Of Samaria
needs no highway. for it has no wheels.
I do not believe there is a carriage in
the whole province There may be a cart
or two. hauled by oxen. but all the trans
portation and travel IS done upon the
back Of the ship of the desert" whose
long swinging stride can cover the dis
tance between Nazareth and Jerusalem
IN about thirty-fve hours il he is kept in
motion. It would be n very tedious
journey. however. to one unaccustomed
20 camel riding. Tourists make il on
horseback. sometimes in two days. but
generally il three. stopping over night
at Nablus. al Bethel or at some other
point upon the journey and visiting the
various points of interest on the way.
There IS nothing TO stop for except rest
and ruins. for. with the exception Of Ma
blue. which occupies the site of ancient
Shechem. everything has gone to dilapi-
dalton and decay There are no hotels,
but only khans for the accommodation Of
camel trains. which a foreigner could
scarcely endure even with the most lib
eral supply Of insect powder and anti
septics. geological gardens are vacuums
compared with them. It's not possible
for a man accustomed to clean surround
ings TO sleep and eat in these places or
accept any Of the accommodations TO
which an Arab is accustomed. He could
not eat the food, in the first place, even
Il he were blind and deaf and his olfac-
tory nerves were paralyzed. I have trav-
eled over a good many primitive coun-
tries, In the mountains of Central and
South America, on the pampas of the Ar
gentne Republic and in the jungles Of
the tropics. but have never seen such
filth and such defiance Of decency and
sanitary law as may be seen daily in
Palestine
There are several agencies that make
It their business TO soften the way for
travellers. They viii provide at a reason
able expense. from $50 TO SO a day, ac-
cording to the number Of the party. sad
die horses or camels tents cooks and
every other necessity for the journey and
a good many comforts By long expert
ence they have reduced things to a
system. and the traveller has nothing TO
do but 20 pay his money i'm advance. fol-
low Instructions and enjoy the journey as
much rs he can. 1t is not pleasant
Journey. People who come here or
pleasure VIII be disappointed. At the
same time the hsrdships are no greater
than one has to endure while travelling
IN an civilized countries. The food
and cooking are excellent the tents and
beds are comfortable and afford sufficient
protection against storm and cold. The
saddles are easy and the animals are SO
accustomed to the road and $50 melan-
choly Of disposition that they viii t,sile
rare Of themselves and their riders at
the same time. The climate mt this sea-
son of the year. from the 1st Of March 10
the first ~ June and frcIa the first Of
October 70 the first 81 December is very
agreeable. neither too hot nor too cold.
The san may be a little oppressive in
tha middle II the DAY and the nights may
be chilly tn the higher attitudes. bat it is
customary To stop for couple Of hours
rest and luncheon AZ noon and an extra
basket is easily carried
Nowhere else In the world have expo
nence and ingenuity done so much 10
make il easy and agreeable for tourists.
took q sons are the pioneers. and. hav-
Ing the largest capital. control the best
animals. the best guides and the best
stopping places. Their equipment is
frst-class. and they are as reliable as
The Bank Of England. Their charges are
little higher than those OF some Other
agencies. but it always pays 10 have the
best
The Lord and His disciples went over
this trail several times on their way he
tween Gaunee and Jerusalem. They
Travelled on foot or upon the backs of
donkeys With a loaf az bread and Few
fEs and olives In their pouches They
slept in the caves in the rocks and drank
The water Of the wells along the way.
which we are strictly prohibited from
drinking because II IS polluted with an
kinds ~ microbes ard other enemies 20
the hannah race More tourists have a,,-
pured fevcrs hv drinking out Of these
holy walls. sacred a. The memory ~ the
patrarchs than from any other cause.
and when you hear 90 people having
typhoid fever after visiting the holy
land you may know that they have vio-
lated Jhs rules of the road and have
neglected the ordinary precautions which
every traveller should observe in
strange country. Cook X sons and other
tourist aeencies provide plenty 0f bot
ted watsr ~ a traveller may take his
own supply, bar the water in the Pool ~
Eamaria.. Jacobs wen and other places
should DE avoided as II il were arsenic
Or cyaride ~ potassium
The t-aG you follow is the great cara
van road between Damascus and Egypt Z
snd was known rs the Vlt Maris-tse
way ~ the sea. The Romans moved il