The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-05-18

erous villages are filed with picturesque
and dirty natives. Dozens OF dogs viii
come out and bark at you as you pass
by. Groups Of half-naked urchins will
scream all manner of insults and obscene
epithets. and maybe they viii throw
stones. The women. who are usually
washing at the wells or working in the
fields. or sitting by the Threshold Of their
cabin, hunting for the wild beasts in the
hair Of their children. will smile pleas
ntly, and If you draw your kodak will
follow you and clamor for backsheesh.
The men folks are digniaed. reserved and
reticent. 'They are generally on horse
| back. curtains Of white flowing from their
the backs of their bans and long robes OF
| reddish brown cotton falling from their
shoulders and covering the launches OF
their horses At their girdles are small
arsenals. reviewers and knives galore,
and shotguns are generally swung over
! the pommels OF their saddles. for every
! body goes armed, not so much for often
sive and defensive purposes. but because
It is the custom Of the country.
There is good deal Of shooting. how
ever. The Arabs are quick TO take Of
| Tense; they are vindictive and violent in
their passions, the law OF personal ven
geance still prevails. a woman sat weep
ing at the door Of mill as we rode by
yesterday. and supposing that she was
I'll or had been badly treated. we inquired
the cause ef her distress. We found that
it was only a case Of murder. Her hus-
band had been shot the night before for
being 100 familiar with some body else's
property.
You seldom hear Of an arrest of po-
lice court The Turkish government ex-
ercises a general supervision over the
country. brat the Arab sheikhs are held
responsible for the behavior of their
tribesmen, end administer law and jus
tice in their own way. The other day we
saw couple Of prisoners handcuffed to-
gether and accompanied by two mounted
soldiers passing along the road to Halfa
They were deSerters from the army. If
they had ben ordinary thieves or muir
derers they would have been punished by
the sheikh Of their. tribe instead of by
The government
There is very little disorder in Pales-
tine, very little crime and none of the
vices known to civilized countries. No
man ever gets drunk unless he is a Chris
tian, for Mohammedans abstain from
wine and all other intoxicating liquors.
They do not steal from each other, ex-
cept cattle and goats, and that is cap
ital offense. punishable by death on sight.
Ordinary stealing is practically unknown.
There are no locks on the doors of any
Of the houses and the curtains Of the
for.
sons. the chief of which is that the peo-
pie haven't anything worth stealing.
They never have money and carry on
their backs everything of value. Millions
of dollars worth Of merchandise is car
ried over this trail by camel caravans
every year, yet nothing is never lost.
The same is true in South America,
where the transportation is done by mules
and llamas over the mountains. Cargocs
Of blllion are carried regularly every
day, yet guards are unnecessary and
burglar proof safes could not be used.
The mule drivers are perfectly trust
worthy. and occasionally when some for
eign adventureI organizes raid. like
one of the train robberies in the United
States. they viii die in defense of their
cargoes.
The construction of the railways to
Damascus and Jerusalem has diverted
much Of the commerce from this old
road, but formerly all the products of
India and Egypt went this way to the
sea coast for shipment TO Genoa, Vnice
and Marseins where they were distribut-
ed through Europe and the rest of the
world.
Abraham went over this trail when he
came from the north toward Hebron and |
he halted at Shechem. under the noble !
groves. the terebinths of Moreh." which |
have since been displaced by more use |
full and quite as beautiful olive trees. |
From this time caravans of camels have !
passed along this highway daily. The |
earth has trembled under the hoofs Of |
SaIadin's stations. and the chariots Of |
the Assyrians and the Romans have cut |
this turf with their wheels. The prodigal !
son followed the same trail when he came /
home from the far country. and many |
of Christ's parallels were told here.
Historical memories surround every
name upon the map, scenes identified /
with the lives OF patriarchs the proph-
cts. the kings. are in range Of the vision
on every side; Deborah. one of the great
est women in history, reigned over this
country. which caused so much trouble
to several people, was just a little els
lance 10 the west Of us as we passed
along. Elijah and Elisha dragged their
weary feet along this road often and
again. II was the scene OF Jehu's furious
driving. and every mile is connected in
some way or another with the lives Of