El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-12-10

Of Christ's time, but the one of Joshua
and Rahab- You remember Rahab, the
fair lady who was not so good as she
should be, who lived upon the walls of
Jericho, and who hid Joshua's spies un-
der the stalks of flax, which she had
stored up on her roof. She told them of
the terror which prevailed in the city
over the possible invasion of Joshua
and made them promise to save her
when Jericho was taken. The spies ar
ranged with her that she should tie
some red thread to the bars of her win
dows, when her house would be spared
She then let them down by a cord
through the window and they escaped
and reported to Joshua. That was a
g5od days work for Rahab. The prom
Use Of the spies was carried out by
the Israelites, and Rahab was not only
preserved, but she married one of the
princes of judah, a man named Sal
mon, and thereby became one of the
most famous women of the ancestral
tree Of the Israelites. She was the
mother Of Boaz, who was the husband
of Ruth, and King David was one of
her great great grandchildren. On the
next step Of her genealogical ladder we
find king Solomon, and away down the
centuries comes the name of Joseph, the
husband of Mary, and of the family of
Christ. In the first chapter of Mat
thew you will find the genera tons from
Abraham to the birth of our Savior
and in them are mentioned the names
of only four women, namely, Thamar,
Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba, the moth
er Of Solomon, who had been the swife
Of Uriah
At the Fountain of Elisha.
Right under old Jericho where these
people are working is the fountain Of
E1icha which he q
by throwing salt into it. 1t is not far
from the spot where he was Knocked by
the children who cried after him: GO
up. thou old baldhead" ''Thereupon."
says the scriptures, +the prophet turn
ed and cursed them in the name of the
Lord And there came forth two she
bears out of the woods and tare forty
and two children of them"
1t is said that the place where Elijah
was carried up in whirlwind to heav
en- was not far from Jericho. and on my
way down here from Jerusalem 1 saw
the cave in which that prophet is said
to have been fed by the ravens. It is in
the Wady Kelt. a great dry rocky can
yon with walls many feet high. The
cave is a few miles from Jericho, half
way up the side of the gorge, and is
partly hidden by a monastery which
the Greeks have built at that place.
But let me tell you how l came dowE
TO Jericho. The way from Jerusalem is
through the wilderness of Judea; one
of the toughest and stoniest lands of
the world There is but little green 10
be seen and the glare is intense. The
dust Of the road is Of limestone and
chalk, and It is so thick that it gets
into your eyes, mouth and nostrils. The
road is the chief highway from the Jor-
Il ILL ia t. Id
by thousands. The traffic was even
greater in the time OF Christ for the
jordan valley was then covered with
irrigated farms and the rich men of Je
rusalem had their winter homes here.
/ left Jerusalem in a carriage, going
out through the Damascus gate, cross
ing the valley of JeEosophat and skirt
ing the Garden Of Gethsemane at the
foot OF the Mount of Olives. A little
farther on we passed a slaughter house,
in which all the animals eaten in Jeru-
salem are Killed, and then, mounting the
hills came to the village of Bethany.
My carriage was an easy Victoria,
drawn by three Arabian horses, and the
coachman was Syrian Jehu, with hair
as red and face as fair as mine own.
/ had q Turkish soldier with me to keep
off the robbers He was furnished by
the government at Jerusalem al cost
VI go anu - the ulI SCl COIDIldnQ
Of the she.k here at Jericho. This SOL
der carries a gun and sword, and he
goes ahead, nominaIly to clear the road.
Every party met on the way had SINH
lar soldiers, and this included the Rus
sian pilgrims as well as hunters from
Jerusalem on their way for game in
the lands beyond the Jordan.
At the Tomb of Lazarus
/ stopped at Bethany TO look at Laz-
arus' tomb and as I did so was remind
ed of what Mark Twain said, namely:
That he would rather sleep in the
tomb than in any other house in the
place. The Bethany Of today is dir
ty, ragged village of 40 or SO stone huts
inhabited by perhaps 900 people. The
houses stand on the side of the hill
being built one over the other. The peo-
pie are small farmers who have patches
of stony land and little orchards of OIL
ives and figs They have cows and
make butter for Jerusalem. They are
all Mohammedans and all beggars, cry
ing for backsheesh.
Entering the town, I took a look at
the tomb. It is a sort of cavern cut out
of limestone and entered by steep steps.
1t belongs to the Franciscan monks
VINO often say mass there
The house Of Mary and Martha. in
which Christ stopped. is said to have
been in an Enclosure which is now full
l. L.