Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1904-05-19
SCENE > IN THE
HOLY LAND

office. 1t is no doubt the last letter
that viii come to light from Mr.. Lau-
master as he is expected to land at
New YORK today on his return home
from his long trip The letter reads
Cairo, April Both, 1904.
To the Morning News-My last let
ter to you contained some facts con.
corning our start on the overland trip
through Galllee and Samaria, and gave
a few suggestions of the first few days
travel After visiting the sites of cities
that once tlOuTished on the shores of
the Sea of Galilee, our party returned
by way of Nazareth, passing through
Cana of Galilee, where we visited the
Greek church, and were shown what
the priests claimed to be the water
pots used by Christ at the time the
water was turned into wine There
is we'll here, which is used by the
people, but the water is not good. The
people and the town are very dirty and
have many peculiar habits-that of
tattooing the arms and face and paint
lug the finger nails, being common to
many especially the women.
At Nazareth we saw women grind
ing at the mill and some measuring
grain, giving good measure, pressed
down and running over" From Naz-
areth we came to Shuman, the place
where the Shumanite woman dwelt,
passing through the Valley of Jezreel,
stopping at Main. At Shuman we went
through one of the homes. which wa $
not as good as some of our stables.
Donkeys, cows, dogs colts and people
all dwell under one roof The houses
are built of mud and are upinviting
and uncomfortable. Everything is done
in the way it was done thousands of
years ago, and the people seem satisfi-
ed, because they do not know any bet
ter. One is touched at the sight of it
all, and moved with pity on account
of the ignorance and superstition that
abounds. Making flour, baking bread
churning butter, farming and all sorts
of work is carried ON in the mos
primitive way. The loading and un-
loading of Camels at this town was an
interesting sight. These great burden
bearers kneel down to be loaded and
again to be unloaded They carry
great bundles upon their backs, and
move, in long caravans, for many miles
without any rest whatever. Donkeys,
too, are taxed to the utmost in carry
ing burdens. Men are also used for
the same purpose, aud in many places
men carry as much as horse l saw
one man carry box that took two
men to lift upon his back When prop
erly adjusted, he walked off with it as
if it was an every day matter
Continuing our journey, we came
to Jennin, where we spent the night.
After pitching our tents, we made a
visit to the town, and were pleasant
ly entertained, in real oriental style,
by the Governor of the section OF
country surrounding. He set before
his guests, through servants, a very
delicious cup of coffee, which was rel
ished by all. There were speeches
and greetings from the Governor and
our party, and the meeting closed.
From Jennin we came to Schecum.
through beautiful valleys, stopping al
Joseph's Pit, in the Valley OF Dothan,
visiting the ruins of Samaria We also
passed the site of home of the Witch
of Endor Sunday April 10th, was
spent in Schecum, most marvelously
built city. and very ancient. Here we
visited the Samaritan's church and
saw the scrolls written $500 years
ago, by the son of Eleazer
We also visited the church Mission =
airy Hospital, attended service i'll the
church of England, and held Sunday
school service on site of Jothan's
mum rum DCItIutu VIC ChIIle "
Singil, passing Joseph's Tomb and
| Jacobs Well, and lunched at the
place where the Benjamites stole theil
wives, going on through the country
| by the ruins of Shiloh, to Bethel anC
thence to Jerusalem, the end Of oul
trip overland Here we were all com
fortably domiciled in the best hotels,
during the days of the Worlds 4th
Sunday School Convention.
From Jerusalem, aside from attend
ing sessions of Convention, we visited
Jericho, the Dead Sea and the Jordan
River. The writer had the pleasure
of bathing in both these bodies OF
waters, and enjoyed it very much.
Jerusalem is full of sacred places,
which we visited, and is "a truly wond
erful city. 1t would be great plea.
sure to give accounts of places and
people and habits and customs, but
this Will be impossible at this time
and | must reserve it for another oC-
casion for want of time. Leaving
Jerusalem we came to Jaffa, by rail,
where we embarked on our ship, which
was waiting to receive Us, and sailed
to Alexandria, and from there to Cairo.
We leave Cairo in few days for
Naples and Rome and then to Villa
FTanche and home. | Will endeavoI
to send line from Rome if possible.
With best wishes
WM ID. LAUMASTER.
Death of John B. Kim.