Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-05-31


s siI res however, are desolate now. OF
an tne numerous cities and towns in what
!nuSt nave been in His day the most
e,Iichy peoPied district of Palestine. bur
1ne -Tiberius-remains and a COL
, ,,b;nb OF a few novels called Mejdel.
MnI.h Is supposed to have been the an
vent Masdala, the home of Mary the
M Josephus. who governed
o,iis province thirty-four years after the
cit uietiiAioh, tells us that there were nine
bai Oh the lake in his time. but they
nave all disappeared and few of their
s ,us can be Identified. In some part Of
. ,,na associated region the home of Christ
was situated. but there is nothing to en-
able us to establish its location with con-
huchce. 1t would seem as if the curse He
pIohounced upon Capernaeum had been
Iterally fulfilled. and as If lit had been
more tolerable for the land of Sodom in
TIE day of judgment than for Capernae-
UNI The name and the remains Of So
don are still to be found upon the shores
OF the Dead Sea. while the site of Caper-
naeum is in doubt
There has been more discussion upon
this than over the site of any other of
the sacred places, and the Palestine Ex-
ptoratlon society has shown good deal
OF interest ana zeal in making eXcaVa-
lions to determine the question. The only
| tdnSlDle evidence one way or the other
| Is furnished by the supposed ruin of a
IsynasoGue which was built at Caper-
| haeum by a Roman centurion, evidently
OF great riches, high rank and liberal
mind. He was the commander of the Ro-
man garrison and built a splendid temple
Tor the Jews upon the hill top. This good
man, as we know. had a servant whom
ne loved, ana that servant, being at the
| point of death. the elders of the town
| DesouSht Jesus to heal him. Jesus wen.
win them toward the centurion's house.
and in the street net friends coming to
| meet him, with Il request from that gem
tl6man that the Lord should not come
INTO the sickroom, but should Speak the
4 ant IL III
| Turning TO his disciples, Jesus said: II
nave not found 50 great faith, no, not in
Israel"
At Tell Hum. d hamlet of shepherd
nuts, half buried among the underbrush,
are the ruins of what was once an elab-
crate building, ninety feet long. The
walls were of fine white marble and it
was adorned by Greek portico a colon
made a noble cornice and finely wrought
Corinthian pillars. The snapeless neap
| of ruins are supposed to have been the
synagogue built by the Roman centurion.
and If so they mark one of the most sa .
Jesus delivered the discourse reported in
the sixth chapter of the gospel of St.
John when his text was II am the Bread
of Life"
1t is quite remarkable that both the
great churches of the East which have
fought SO 1iercely for the possession OF
other sacred sites IN Palestine, should
have entirely ignored this place one OF
the most memordble of all those associat-
ed with the Savior. For here He not
only healed the centurion's servant, but
raised the daughter of Jairus from the
dead. He lived in Capernaeum almost
continually after His baptism by John.
There He healed the mother-in-law of
Peter and the man sick of palsy, restored
the withered hand and spoke the most
striking of His parallels and the most elo-
quent of His discourses
From this neighborhood also He called
together those men whom He had chosen
nTalrh al Oh
Kingdom upon the earth. Several of them
were fishermen and made their living
with nets in the Sea of Galilee. The
picked fish of this lake were once shipped
to Rome, Greece, Spain and all the great
markets of the world, and long caravans
of camels loaded with them were driven
TO Jerusalem at the yearly feasts, t.
iced the multitude. Fishing was the
occupation of thousands in those day;
and was very profitable, but very little
is done nowadays. There are only two
boats upon the lake and they belong u
Germans, and fish is seldom served al
the Tiberius Hotel. This is attributed to
the character and habits of the Arabs
who make up the greater part of the
present population. They do not like the
water and will seldom trust themselves
upon its treacherous surface. If the
lake was covered with boats. people say,
they would prefer to travel all around its
shores upon the slOW-paced camel. As
there is no demand for boats, the very
art Of building them is lost. [ am told
that there is not u carpenter upon tn"
whole coast who has either the tools or
the materials or the experience TO con
struct one. The two boats now used by
tourists are said to have been brought
over from Haifa by wagon. Occasionally
some of the inhabitants of the lake re-
gion fish, but they have no taste for it.
Placid the surface of the lake seems
furious squalls are frequent. This phe-
nomenOn seems all the more remarkable
because it is surrounded by high hills.
and the pit in which it lies is nearly 9Gn
feet below the sea. But these are said
to be the very causes of sudden and vio-
lent tempests. Meteorologists explain
that the hot, moist air from the surface
of the lake rise steward the sky and that
whenever the wind blows from certain
directions the ravines through the noun
tains which converge upon the lake act
like tunnels and suck down the cold air
which causes the atmospheric commO-
tons. Such tempests are not only vio-
lent. but often come suddenly with Il
change in the wind, and when the sky is
perfectly clear. These phenomena oc-
CURED in the time of the Savior. You
will remember when Jesus was asleep on
pillow IN the hinder part of the ship
His disciples aroused Him with a cry:
Master, Carcst Thou not that we per-
ish?" and He arose and rebuked the wind
and said unto the sea. Peace, be still.