The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-05-03
RIRTHPLAcE Of RELIGIONS.

The ancient city OF Acre. which during
/ the crusades was one OF the most famous
ard most talked OF places in the world.
\ and where for two centuries the com
raerce OF the sea and the products OF the
/ PLANES CT Palestine net, Hes across the
bay from Faifa in state OF abject hope
less and slUmber. kritss ". L. Curtis 10
the Chicago Herald from Syria.
! Il has q population Of soc people. most
/ y soldiers and Moslems, and is said 70
/ be more Turkish than any other town in
Syria The Inhabitants are fiercely fanat-
/ zeal, even more so than II Arabia or other
parts Of Turkey. And during the feast OF
Bamazan. the holy week Of the NOLAN
uaedaus. IL is rot safe for Christians TO 20
about the streets. A large part OF them
are there involuntarily. either as prison
ers or members Of the garrison.
The sultan uses the venerable fortrssses
or the crusaders as prisons. and sends
Down from Constantinople and other
parts Of the Ottoman empire for tempo
rary or permanent detention in Acre peo-
PIE whom he does not trust The hotels
and boarding houses are full OF suspects
who can easily be watched by the soldiers
! for there is no way TO escape except by
sea CT across sOul-chilline Quicksands and
pitfalls. The climate Is nos very health =
ful owing 10 the miastna that rises from
4 neighboring marsh, bit otherwise Acre
- a At-iAAtf- "a VIC tiidSt 10 i've Atl II -
question whether the soldiers are more
wretched than the prisoners they guard.
but fortunately Jhey GO not know it, The
Turks make good soldiers. They are east
y susceptible TO discipline, and the doc
trire of fatalism makes them fierce Aght-
ers. Any man who is killed while defend
ing the sultan or the doctrines Of Islam
goes straight to paradise on q through
limited ticket.
The army is filed by CONSUMPTION. but
Christians are not impressed. This is be-
cause the sultan does not trust them.
and not for any consideration OF their
faith or prejCdices. Every Jew. Greek,
Armenian, Maronite Druse and other IN
believer Of military age has TO pay tax
amounting 10 about s. a year in lieu Of
military service, which ough to make him
very happy for although under the law
conscripJs are not supposed 10 serve mora
than three years, man who once gets
into the Turkish army finds it difficult TO
get out.
You can sail across the bay from Haifa
u Acre. six miles or drive around nine
miles upon q solid beach as good as those
OF Atlantic City or Cape May. except
here and there are Quicksands which now
and then change their location in q most
mysterious manner and can only be de-
tected by experienced eyes. Fringing the
beach are groups of stately palms TO adj
mire, ana wrecks are StreWn upon the
shore 70 excite wonder and curiosity.
Acre used TO have d harbor En- the cru
saders period Of its glory. and it was v.s-
tied by ships from all over the world, but
now it is filed with sand and soil brought
down from the mountains during the
rainy season by the river IIishon. The
Insecurity of the roadstead is due 10 its
hard stone bottom. which leaves the an
Choir nothing to cling TO, and winter gales
sweep across the headland of Mount Car
mel with great force. There is no possi-
bility OF a ship beating it out 70 sea, and
IL its anchor drags or gives way it must
inevitably go ashore.
Upon this beach, according TO Pliny. the
art Of glassmakiug was discovered by
Phoenician sailors. While cooking their
dinner the sand melted into Jumps OF a
Nitrous appearance, which led to an in
vestigatiOn. There is no reason to doubt
the story II is as ancient as the town
itself, and according TO history the first
glass factories were at the neighboring
towns of Tyre and Sidon, while yet the
Israelitos We're in Egypt. The town of
\ ere was of no importance then. but you
viii remember that Sidon was a consid-
cradle city while Jaco was working seven
years for his wife,