Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1908-04-01
e IN THE HOLY LAND

EDITOR CENSOR: When | wrote yor
last told you to meet me at the foru
of the Jordan, following the route via
Exodus, while would go via Yafa to
Jerusalem, to Jericho and meet Joshua
We will leave Jerusalem for future
letter and go down to the Jordan. We
go out by the north wall of Jerusalem
and descend into the valley of Jehosa-
phat, cross Kidron, pass Gethsemane
along the foot of Mt. Olivet. We pass
into the Jehosaphat valley, the old jew
ieh burial ground of great antiquity,
then the village of Sloan. AS we
pass around the bend it is said at this
place 'He beheld the city and wept. /"
The road winds near the foot of
Olvet and in few minutes we reach
the squalid, filthy village of Bethany
We halt to inspect this filthy place. dis
gustingly nasty. The streets, narrow
and dark, are the cloak for all filth,
human and animal. For small fee we
are conducted up a narrow, vile and
nasty street and are shown the founda-
tion of the home of Elizabeth and Mary,
where Christ came to sleep nights dur
ing the week of his last work in Jeru-
salem. A foundation only, with semitic
inscription is to be seen. Across the
nasty way is another ruin, the home of
leper Simon, who entertained Christ at
poor mans banquet. We continue
the journey and down to the right, more
disgusting nastiness, where a filthy man
lights a taper and offers to guide us in
to hole in the rock, the tomb of Laza-
rus. A small fee was he mans sup
port. | asked if Lazarus was still in
side and he replied that he was. ! sid
let him sleep; do not disturb him, for
fresh air might awaken him. | refused
to go into the hole in the rock, my
nostrils filled with all the impurities of
nastiness.
entered the carriage and drove on
towards Jericho. Inhabitants of that
Christian settlement are dirty beggars,
and this is the city of Bethany. We
stop at a Greek chapel and convent
where Martha met Jesus. Much inter
est to the Greek, but quickened no
emotion in my rauseated stomach. We
cross the boundary of Judah and enter
Benjamin, by the Apostle spring, and
continue down the way. The hills are
bare rock, the road rocky, and we ar
rive at the inn of the good Samaritan,
d place to feed horses and eat lunch.
(See Luke X-34). Near by is the ruin
of medivael castle. We note much
evidence of the time when people lived
in caves, long before Joshua, the stone
age. Farther down a Greek monster
on the face of the cliff, where Elijah
came and rested. The descent is steep,
and we have passed the level of the sea,
and still going down. Here we see
some Roman ruins of an aqueduct, and
are at the site of the Jericho of Herod s
time. A few houses and three poorly
kept inns is all there is, excepting a
Russian hospice. The Jericho of Josh
ua rams horn incident is two miles
away, and after sleeping beneath the
ruins and dust three thousand years,
the Palestine Exploration society has
received permission from the Sultan to
dig up the old town. Two miles far
ther on we are where the Jordan rolls,
and short distance to the right flows
into the Dead Sea. Across are the
mountains of Moab, still beyond and
high up is Mt Neho. Were the season
favorable we would go in search of the
place of Moses that no one knoweth
whereof. We lunch by the Jordan, the
lowest place on the earth, 1900 feet be.
low sea level. find on looking up old
records that the American Geographi-
cal society at the beginning of Pierce 3
administration, sent commission to
take the level, and that measurement
has stood-in what is called by the geo
logist the 'fmightiest fault on the globe, +"
and probably was the cause of destruc-
ton of Soden and Gomorrah, as Sodom
is located at the upper end of the sea,
and GDmorrah at lower end. | look for
a. all Of bf1f
dragoman has no intimation of its ex-
istence, himself biblical scholar. At
this time the highway is thronged with
Greek and Russian pilgrims, dirty,
yiscous, unshaVen lot of men and wo-
men, with pack on backs, staff in hands,
have come all the way IN steerage to
Yafa, rail to Jerusalem, walked down
here to be baptized in the Jordan,
where Christ and st. John were bap-
tized. The priest in boat was rowed a
few yards out, dipped the cross in the
river. blessed the water; then the pill
prims walked into the water, dipped
themselves three times and returned on
foot to Jerusalem, where they remained
a few DAYS at the Greek and Russian
hospiees. learned that many died of
the exposure. | thought if that lot sof
prepared for heaven that | would take
TO the woods, fearful that should meet
them. You will note that Joshua was
a strategist. That TO hold the ford of
Jordan, he located two tribes and one
half of Manasseh. He then sent the
priest to the Jordan which rolled back
when Joshua marched the people across
into Canaan, the promised land; then
surrounding Jericho, the ruin where |
now stand, it did not surrender. When
the priests circled the wall, which we
traced. blowing the horns, the wall fell.
and Joshua had won q great victory.
He marched his people after this
victory TO Al, where we next go; more
fruits Of conquest. They fought hard
at Gilgal, of which no ruins are visible.
We follow his route up Il poor highway,
when we turn towards Jerusalem and
left Joshua g trail which led 10 Shiloh,
where the Ark rested 300 years, says
chronicler. note that Anthony gave
tits country TO Cleopatra, who in turn
sold il to Herod, says another writer.
Shiloh, but short distance away, was
the scene Of many battles by the Per
SLAMS and Egyptians in their invasions,
and notably as the death and defeat Of
Josiah's army by the king Of Egypt.
Travelling towards Jerusalem we
stopped on high plain, and here we