The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-06-07
BATTLE GROUND
OF THE HEBREWS
Rev. Peters Visits Low Plain
of Sharon
SITES FOR EXCAVATION
Numerous Ruined Mounds
Along Edges of Plain
SITES FOR EXCAVATION

the New York Post says:
1t was about the middle Of September
when 1 left Jerusalem, somewhat hur-
riedly altering my plans on account Of
quarantine due to the outbreak of plague
or cholera at diherent places, and the
consequent changes of sailing OF the
steamers. II was at the beginning OF an
unusually prolonged sirocco with the
Thermometer Jos degrees in the shade
something very uncommon, that l left.
BUT although I travelled for five or SIX
days in this heat, often descending at
midday into deep wadys and spending
much Of my time on the low plain OF
Sharon. took no harm, evidence Of the
dryness and heaIthfulness Of the atmos-
phere. I remember one beautiful lunch
ing spot on my second day, just between
Retur the upper and Betur the lower,
that is, Beth Haron the upper and Beth
Horon the lower under ar olive tree,
with the whole plain Of Sharon spread
out before me. ard the blue Mediterra-
mean as q background. That particular
locality is also connected in my mind with
the strange little stones OF memorial
which one meets everywhere on the roads
in Palestine and Syria. When pious
Noslem first catches sight of a wely or
sacred place he sets up one of these stone
plies o. sets a stone on a pile already
existing. saying: oh, so-and-so.' nam
ing the one TO whom it belongs, as l
bear testimony TO you know, so hear
testimony for me in the day of judg-
ment" The place. too, was of singular
historic interest 1t was the ancient bat
tleground Of the Hebrews al the conquest
Of the country, and later in the Philis-
tine period, ana again in the Maccabean
period Down below was the valley of
Ajaloh. over the edge of the hills above
Cibeon, and eli around were some OF
the best-lnown sites OF Israelite history.
l went out of Palestine by way of
Haifa. one of my objects being to explore
with Dr. Schumacher, the American Vice
Consul at Haifa, and perhaps the man
most thoroughly acquainted with the to-
Biography Of Palestine. sites available for
excavation on the old plain of Esdraelon
and the plain behind Haifa. Both these
plains are practically uninhabited today
the villagers having. for reasons of
health. migrated TO the hills; but on the
plains themselves and along the edges of
those plains stand numerous ruined
mounds. among the largest and most
promising looking in Palestine. Some of
these are the remains OF cities of con-
siderable importance much older than
the Hebrew occupation of the country,
like Taauach AIegiddo and Jokneam The
last named seems to be represented by
the Mount of Eaimon. just below Mount
Carmel. Here. even after the Moslem
conquest. there was an important town
famed in story as the place where two
hundred mares foaled nightly. and where
there were eighty weddings a day.
The fertile plain of Esdraelon belongs
today for the most part to a family OF
Greek bankers in Beirut. One part. how
ever. belongs to a Turkoman tribe which
wandered down from Asia Minor. fought
and dispossesscd the Bedawin. and now
roams over the plain. They till the land
but still live i'm tents. building houses
only for storage OF their grain; nor have
they yet altogether exchanged their
Turkish dialect for the Arabic Of the
country.
Although it was approaching the end of
September and rain might fan any day,
The lazy fsIlaheen who haO reaped an
unusually rich harvest. had not yet fin
ishcd threshng and winnowing their
crops. Sometimes you would see a flag
flying over "a heap of grain. The owner
had taken the lag to some wely and
paid a Ice 10 have it consecrated to
guard his crops This was an easier and
pIeasanter method than working hard TO
harvest them properly. TWO days later.
some weeks ahead of the ordinary time.
the rains began and great part of
the crops of the improvidcnt peasants
was utterly destroyed. 1 might say that
&c the month Of August as / was riding
down the fhocnieiau coast between Tyre
ard Siaon I was caught some three
times IN violent showers. most unusual at
this time Of the year. and these showers.
with less violence Of course. spread over
almost the whole Of Gamee. where, with
in the memory OF "a man and of tradi-
tion. rain had never been known in the
summer.
lily course from Haifa was first along
tho coast 20 BerUit in the most impossible
small native steamer in which ] have
ever Travelled. 50 uncomfortable that it
was difficult 10 appreciate the wonderful
beauty of the journey. From BEIRUT 1
had already made "a fying trip To Baal-
bek TO see what progress had been made
IN excavations at that point. a railroad
had taken the place of the diligence h.
which one formerly travelled and at the
time OF my visit Ia Baalhek "a second
railroad running uorjhwards through the
EeSla-that is. the valley between the
Lebanon and the anti-Leh3non-to Hons.
VS. almost built BaaIhek was one of
these ruins Whic4 particularly attracted
the attention OF the German Emperor.
Iis visit a. the East aroused i'm him a
great zeal fer archaeology. and the Sui
tan has presented him with a number az
valuable ruins some 20 he explored and
Others TO De removed bodily to grace the
new Friedrich Museum at Berlin. An
architectural and archaeological expedi-
ton under Dr. Puchstein has been en-
Eased In the excavation and restoration
OF the ruins OF the BaaIbeIS during the
last tvo years. The change in the ancient
site as "a result II their work is remark
abe
Il Is now possible 70 study the old tern
pie. or rather temples. with a much
greater degree Of Intelligence than here
tofore. The excavations have revealed
little - The way az Inscriptions and in
decd that was net expected. but il is
hoped that they VIII throw much new
light OF the architecture of not wen IN
derstooj period-the Roman Syrian. These
was possible q know beforre-that in