The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-03-12

owing to the tortUous route in getting
over the mountains OF Judaa, but the
actual distance between the two points
IS not more than thirty-ffve miles. The
/ train today consisted Of two first class
coaches, two second class coaches, a
baggage car, and two freight cars. The
first class coaches were built to seat
th1rty-eight each, but were not crowd
ed The time IS slow; We were four
hours in making the ffty-three miles.
The route runs through the Plain of
Sharon for twelve or fourteen miles,
and then begins climbing the noun
tains Of Judea, which would be called
foothills in any other country. From
Jaffa to Jerusalem, there is quite q stiif
grade all the way, as Jerusalem is 10
Gated on top Of the mountains, and re-
sembles a summer resort Jerusalem
was built as q fortress, IN the noun
tains, and would not have five thousand
people were 1t not for its religious his
tory; there Is no fruitful country near
it. Jaffa- is much better located, with
the Plain of Sharon, a hundred miles
Nazareth is also better located, as It
has near it the Plain of EsdraIon,
which ME- Bigger declares is as fine as
any part Of Kansas. Jerusalem lives
of Of tourists, and IS growing: thirty
years ago It had only ten thousand peo-
pie, but the building Of a railroad help
ed it, and now it has seventy thousand
For the first few miles out of Jaffa,
the train runs through orange groves.
Then it runs through wheat fields, and
as the higher country is reached, extern
sive olive groves 'The scene at the sta
ton was of course exciting, with the
fifty tourists rushing about, all talking
at once. Two Turkish cavalTymen
stood on the station platform when the
train pulled out. (The train was start
ed by the guard blowing a cows horn.
Then the station master rang dinner
bell, and then the engineer blew the
locomotive whistle This was the rule
at every station at which we stopped.)
The country between Jaffa and the
Mountains Of Judea looked q good deal
like America; but the sand hills are
gradually encroaching upon the Plain
Of Sharon and may in time cover It
up. The Mountains Of Judea are desc
late and barren foothills, and we saw
almost no villages after leaving the
valley.
The hedges surrounding the orange and
olive groves are of cactus and every
where along the road we saw millions OF
yellow and red flowers-acres and acres
of them.
From the Plain Of Sharon to Jerusalem
the railroad winds through the Mountains
Of Judea, which are about like the foot
hills Of the Rocky Mountains It is said
the Mountains of Judea were once defIsely
populated, the mountains being terraced
and crops raised on the terraces The re-
mains Of the terraces may be seen, but
for MANY miles no villages are seen. The
mountains are not as bare of vegetation
as the hills Of Egypt but they are pretty
worthless for the Promised Land. No wa
ter ran In the gullies in the mountains,
although there was heavy rain two days
The guide pointed out the place where
Samson was born; also a rfvulet down
which blood ran in stream to the Med
iterranean when Titus killed 130, 900 people,
The train stopped at RamIeh. spoken of
/ in the Bible as the home of Nicodemus;
also at Bitttr mentioned in the Songs Of
Solomon. The last named village is near
Jerusalem and perches on the side Of a
cliff.
A little before 5 o'clock we arrived at
Jerusalem. Our guide hurried us Into car
riages and we were driven rapidly TO a
the Tower of David. The hotel. the New
Grand. is modern in every respect except
that It is lighted with coal oil lamps. As
soon as the clerk assigned me TO q room
went out to get shaved. Fatfirs and
merchants surrounded me as soon as I
reached the street. said / was looking
/ for barber TWO men started to show
me the way hoping to receive a tip for
the service These two men ouarreled
and while they were fighting I found the
barber shop without assistance. Here.
after 1 was shaved the barber washed
my face as / sat in the chair. using a pan
with piece cut out Of the rim to fit my
neck. After being shaved I asked the
street wolves. who surrounded me for a
cigar store Two Of them started to point
on the way, quarreled and fought, and
found the cigar store without assist
ance.
The street wolves of Cairo are not as
fierce as those Of India but I think the
street wolves Of Jerusalem are almost as
bad as the worst have seen.
A passenger on the ship from Port said
to Jaffa was Don Carlos, pretender to the
throne OF Spain He addressed a remark
to me on deck, but I did not understand
what he said. At Jerusalem he was met
by a lot Of Spanish monks and taken to
/ monastery The arrival of train Gre
ates as much excitement in Jerusalem as
in Nortonville; One train daily arrives and
one departs. A great crowd met US at the
station and hundreds Of people stared at
US as We rode along toward the hotel
From the railroad station to the old wall
Jerusalem looks like q pretty good mod
ern town IN the mountains. but once in
side the walls, the scene changes and the
traveller finds the queerest city and people
on the face OF the earth z. " H
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