Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1908-03-18
IN THE HOLY LAND

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ruled and raised corn for the people
Ruins of the store houses are visible,
piles of brick made with stubbles anC
without straw. A more pleasing
country then the Delta, a more fertile
and more fruitful country does not ex-
| ist. Science of farming is unknown
Cotton grows twice the height of Texas
cotton sugar cane fine crop. Whea,
good and the vegetable growth wonder.
| full; cotton gins, sugar mills and thresh-
| ing floors are seen. We see the people
of the dried brick villages busy on the
! field, working the buffalo, camel and
ass, as in the days of the early Pharoah.
We note people as we pass by in ceme-
teries burying the dead, the men and
women separated. Are now on the
trail of Moses, Dan leading, hon the
banners. We turn to the east towards
lsmailia on the Suez Canal. We travel
few miles over the desert; we halt at
a small station, where we enquired if
we were on the trail of the Hebrew
pilgrims, affirmative answer. This fair
land of blue sky, of genial climate, is
where the plGgue, lice, frogs, grass
hoppers, darkness, death, and other
things happened before Moses could
break camp with his two million people
We are the historic point, says a writer,
where Moses came to the waters that
divided for his people, and then closed
over the army of Pharoah, historic
spot truly. We leave Moses trail at
this place, for he took the direction of
Sinai, which is one hundred and twenty
five miles southeast. Now if you will
read Exodus it will take YOU to Sinai,
where was written that great law,
where Moses was inspired by Jehovah,
If ever man was inspired; if ever a
man did talk to the creator of the
deserts. 1t will take you to the noun
tains of Moab, to Nebo, where we leave
Moses near the Jordan east ard hard
by the Dead Sea; then | will meet you
there by the ford of Jordan and we will
follow Joshua in his campaign and bat
ties and sequestratioh. Our route is
up the canal; we meet boats going to
the east ladened with passengers and
freight from the west; we pass great
ocean steamers, passengers and freight
from the east destined for the west.
This little waterway of ninety miles
through the sand connects the, Mediter-
ranean and Red Sea, short route to
the east. We arrive at Port Said, the
entrance to the canal, and see many of
the great ships of the Orient trade,
ships of great tonnage waiting their
turn for the flag ''to go''. Ships COM
ing are detained to coal, take passeng-
ers from Cairo, and the export pro-
ducts of the Nile. Port Said is an in
teresting place of great shipping in
terest. Here De Lesseps commenced
his great engineering problem of shovel
ing sand on dead line and make en-
bankments, that turned the trade from
the long trip around Africa to the Red
Sea. Any engineer with financial back
ing could have done the same History
tells US a canal existed here centuries
before this era. AS we pass out of the
canal into the sea, on break water,
we see colossal statute of DeLesseps,
arm out stretched, pointing the way to
the east.
We are enroute to the Holy City,
Mt. Zion, Jerusalem, and take pas
sage for Jaffa on Russian boat, the
filthiest thing that floats; the hunks
poor. blankets are dirty; but we endure
it to see the foundation of the temple
where Solomon so automatically ruled
the temple with regiment Of wives
and a brigade of concubines, and a
division of eunichs. To the ship-we
tossed on a rough sea all night and
morning came, storm was on the sea
running high, and the shore white with
dashing waves; we were one mile out
from the shore in front of Jaffa, which
is said to be the worst landing in the
world and has the best / Jatmen to land
passengers on the globe. In front is
the old town, located on a point of rock
sticking out in the sea, and the front
ragged with volcanic rocks thrown
there by an ancient upheaval. The sea
would not calm itself, therefore we in
dured another night of horrors, all sick.
At 10 q. m. the next day, the sea still
sava age, the harbor master told the
boatmen to go. They came bounding
over the pillows, riding through the
splashing spray, scampering over the
pillows and reached the ship. Such a
sers, light of heart, gay in the song of
Allah, they passed grips, suit cases and
bundles into the boats; they took the
passengers down the steps, carried US
into the boats and rowed the mile to
shore over surging waves, through
dashing spray, between rocks where
seethed and foamed the huge waves of
mad Medterradean sea. Great
Cod" We are thankful that we are
in the hands of men who love the sea,
whose song of Allah kept the oars in
time. Mohamedans all of TEEN, carry
ing Christians and in whose hands we
gave our hopes of landing. On shore
we rejoiced This place before us is
the rock where NEUROLOGICAL religion
places Pronetheus bound. That repaid
for part of the trials Of landing at the
worst place on the globe. | admired
the boatmen for their skill, was pleased
at the song of Allah, that kept the oars
in regular stroke We lunched at the
Du Pare hotel, rested for a short time,
took small walk through the old town
that had been washed by the sea far
beyond history. This is Philistine
city in the land of the Philistine. In
the back country, and here too, were
enacted some mighty history and some
of the tragic events of those days when
human sacrifices were made, where
there was no consideration for human
life; in the stone age and the people
carved rude homes out of the rocks.
We board a good narrow gauge car,
scheduled for the Holy City on the
mountains 55 miles away. We pass
through a district of oranges, where
trees are ladened with delicious fruit;
then figs, then olives and we are out on
the plain Of Sharon. A beautiful plain
far 10 the right and left; one vast field
of wheat. villages far away on the sites
| of the old cities demolished by Joshua
| We pass the site Of Sampson exploits,
[ do..y,, rf tEa tya. -.