The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-04-05
FORM JAFTA TO JERUSALEM.
Editor Howes Pilgrimage of the Holy
 Land.

The railroad from Jaffa to Jerusa-
 lem is a railroad gauge owned by
 French company; it's length is 59
 miles, owing to the tortuous rout in l getting over the mountains of Judea, i but the actual distance between the
 two points is not more than S5 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 38 each, but were not crowded ! The time Is slow; we were four hours i in making the 53 miles. The rout runs
 through the plain of sharon for F or I 14 miles, and then begins climbing the
 mountain of Judea, which would be
 called foothills in any other country
 From Jaffa to Jersualem, there Is quite 1 a stiff grade all the way, as Jerusalem l is located on top of the mountains, and I resembles a summer resort, Jerusalem
 was built as a fortress, in the noun tains, and would not have 5000 people
 were 1t not for it's religious history;
 there is no fruitful country near it. I Jaffa is much better located, with the
 plain of Sharon, hundred miles long
 and IS broad at it's front door, Nazar-
 eth is also better located, as it has
 near it the plain of Esdralon, which l Mr Bigger declares is as fine as any 1 part of Kansas. Jerusalem lives off
 of tourists, and is growing; 30 years
 ago it had only 10000 people, but the
 building of railroad helped 1t, and
 now it has 7O,0O0
 1 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,
 extensive olive groves. The scene at
 the station was of course exciting
 with the 30 tourists rushing about, all
 talking at once. Two Turkish caval-
 rymen stood on the station platform
 when the train pulled out (The
 train was started by the guard blow
 ing a cows horn. The the station
 master rang dinner bell, ands then
 the enginner blew the locomotive
 whistle. This was the rule at every
 station at which we stopped9 The
 country between Jaffa and the coun-
 tains of Judea looked good deal
 like America; but the sand hills are
 gradually encroached upon the plain
 of Sharon, and many in time cover it
 up. The mountains of Judea are
 desolate and barren foothills, and we
 saw almost no villages after leaving
 the valley" The hedges sur rounding the orange and olive groves are of cactus, and everywhere 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 Jul
 dea which are about like the foot
 hills of the Rocky Mountains. It is said the mountains of Judea were once densely populated, the noun tains being terraeed and crops raised on the terraces. The remains of tho miles no villages are seen. The moun tains are not as bare of vegetation ai the hills of Egypt. but they are pretty worthless, for the promised land. NJ water ran in the gullies in the noun tains, although there was a heav! rain two days ago, Tn, guide pointed out the place wher, Samson was born; also riverlet dowl which rain in a stream to the Mediter reanean when Titus killed 12O,O0O peo pie. The train stopped at Ramleh spoken of in the Bible as the home O Nieodemus; also at Bitter mentioned in the Songs of Solomon-the last named villages near Jersusalem, anC perches on the side of cliff A little before o'clock, we arrived a Jerusalem. Our guide hurried us int carriages, and we were driven rapidl. to very good hotel inside the walls and near the tower of David. Tn hotel. the New Grand, is modern il every respect, except that it is lighte, with coal oil lamps, As soon as tn clerk assigned me a room, 1 went ou ! to get shaved. Fakirs and merchant l surrounded me as soon as 1 reaches ! the street. I said I was looking fo barber Two men started to shoy ! me the way, hoping to receive a ti ! for the service. These two men quar
 reled, and while they were fighting
 found the barber shop without as
 sistance Here, after I was shaved
 the barber washed my face as I sat i
 the chair, using a pan with a piec
 cut out of the rim, to fit around m