The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-08-05
LANDMARKS OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST GAEE DESCRIBED BY W BRYAl

it may have suggested to his mind on q hill cannot be hid"
 The Sea of Gaiilees beautiful aS it is, with It's clear water and its treach- erous body of water. Its surface Is swept by sudden gusts of wind and tempeats often lash 1t until its waves beat high upon the shore A resident of Tiberias told us that he had seen it when 1t might be mistaken for an ocean, 90 violently was 1t agitated, and he bore testimony also to the unex- pected squalls that visit it.
 We spent two days on the sea. and in crossing 1t found the wind so vari- able that probably half dozen times the sail became useless and t was necessary to resort to the oars. There was no great tempest while we were there, and the waves did not beat into the ship.s but the wind was at times contrary. The uncertainty of the weather has been attributed to the numerous ravines or canyons which run down from tho mountains round about the sea, and as these are the same now that thoy were eeoe years ago, travel upon the lake Is at tended with the same risk that 1t was then.
 In the time of Christ the Sea of oai- flee was the scene of busy life. The population of the country described as Galiiee has been estimated to have been at that time about 2,b00,00o. The sea was covered with boats, built for fishing, for traffic, for war CT for pleasure. Josephus collected 3So ships upon one of his expeditions upon the sea, and in a sea fight that took place there the number killed on one side alone was given at from 4.OOO to 5000.
 The sea was full of fish. and the Cos pels furnish abundant proof of the im- portance of fishing as an industry. a fact also established by outside evi- dence. Dr. Merrill. in the book above referred to. says that the fish taken were not only sufficient to satisfy the local demands. but that they were packed and shipped to Jerusalem and even' to cities along the Med- iterranean. The supply of hah has not yet beensexhausted. Salim M0ussa. of Jaffa, the very efficient Arab drago- man, furnished us by Cook, supplied us with a net when we visited the sites of Capernaum and Bethsaida and our son caught enough fish for our we had that day, gathering water worn pebbles from the beach, picking up shells, of which there are many varieties, and feasting on fish from the sea and on a lamb bought from a Bedouin who was tending his flock near by.
 The visit to the Horns of Hattin was reserved for the return trip, the road from Nazareth to Tiberias passes near the hill which bears this name. It was in 1157 the scene of cele- brated battle in which Saladin won a victory over the Crusaders. This hfll, by a tradition which. has come down from the time of the Crusaders. Is styled the Mount of Beatitudes. There Is nothing to determnie just where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered, but because the Horns of Hattin have been associated with that wonderful discourse, was anxious to visit the place. There Is no road leading to this eminence, and the bride paths can scarcely be followed. |. The ground Is covered by boulders and broken stones. half concealed by grass and missiles and flowers. The guide stepped over a large snake be- fore we had gone far, and as 1t was of a very poisonous variety. he felt that he had had a very narrow escapas From a distance the top of the hill is saddle-shaped. and the two horns have given 1t It's name, but on the top there Is very large circular basin, probably 200 yards in diame- ter ana LUG ElIi oE lnlN DdSln Wd1 once walled and a citadel built there.
 The view from this mount is one of the most beautiful 1 have ever seen. To the north, Hermon rises in grandeur, his summit covered with snow; the intervening space Is filled with hills. except in the immediate foreground, where the sea of Galilee sparklas In the sun. At the foot of tho mount stretches verdant valley; and from. the valley a dehle runs down to the sea. This opening gives view of the shore where Caper- naum and Bethsaida are supposed to have stood, and one of the roads from the sea to Nazareth follows the stream which flows through this dehle On the opposite side of the mount. Ta- hor can be seen, and beyond, the hills. of samarIa. There is inspira- tlon in this commingling of hln and vale and sky.
 Whether. as matter of fact. Christ. seeing the multitude" ascend ed to this place. I know not. but tt furnishes an environment fit for the sublime code of morality presented in the Sermon on the Mount No other philosophy had ever touched so high a point or presented SO noble conception of human life. In It