Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-10-25
SOUTHERN PILGRIM
IN EASTERN LANDS

AS have stated, we camped all
through Palestine. A camp has some adj
vantages over a hotel. Life is freer.
The members of the party get thoroughly
acquainted with one another, and be-
/ come like one large family. They have
their own servants to do the cooking
and wait on the table. Within limits of
the market. they can have their own
! fare. In good weather the tents are
very comforta BILE. But when il rains
| well, then II is not so pleasant, to say
the least. But ii does not rain very
often in Palestine from April to October.
| The tents are well furnished. with cots,
| chairs. rugs, bowl and pitcher, mirror,
etc. They are lined with striped cloth,
giving them very pretty effect. over
each of our tents floated United States
flag, guaranteeing protection. Whoever
touched US, with that flag floating over
| us. would have touched 90,G000OO Amerl-
cans. We never felt 80 proud and at
the same time so glad that we were
Americans as when we were abroad,
and YET under the protection of the old
| flag.
Our camp while at Jerusalem was
pitched in a beautiful olive grove jus;
north of the city. a short distance from
| the Damascus gate. The tents were ar
/ idHSSu Ill a. ClINlcs "iAiIH ACAN q NSNAi III
the center as a common meeting place,
Here we would have conversations,
songs, prayers, and frequently games
Iold-fashioned southern games, such as
| "Dlind mans buff fox in the wall"
dropping the handkerchief" etc. Did
| you ever play them? Didn't youS enjoy
them? We did. The games themselves
were pleasant. And then they reminded
| us so much Of home and friends. Oh!
4, -
"a had together tenting, not ION the
old camp ground" but in the Holy Land.
! and especially in that olive grove just
outside of the Holy CITY. Those days
VIII linger with US like sweet dream
! as long as memory shall last. 1t was
| what DIR. H. NJ. Wharton called "a pic
mic in Palestine" 1t was like the Feast
OF Tabernacles of the old Jews. After
ten days stay in and around Jerusalem,
which we had greatly enjoyed, we were
sorry when the time came to break camp
and move from Jerusalem. We had come
! TO feel toward the camp there very much
like nome. And though we were to spend
nearly two weeks more in the tents,
| still 1t was to be for not more than one
or two nights at any place.
| BREAKING CAMP.
This is more Of an act than a process.
1t is not q slow and tedious process. 1t
| is almost an instantaneous act. You
are told to have all your baggage packed
before going to breakfast You may
wonder at this request, but you will not
neglect to obey it but once. When break
fast Is overland ii does not take long
to eat an eastern breakfast, consisting
as 1t does simply of coffee, tea or choco
late. bread and butter, sometimes jam
or honey. occasionally eggs, never any
meat-look for your baggage in your
tent. Behold the baggage is gone-and
so is the tent AS soon as you left it
for breakfast, the Arab servants fell
upon it like wolf on the fold" and
demolished II almost in the twinkiing of
an eye. And sometimes they would
hardly wait for you to get out. More
than once screams could be heard pro-
ceeding from a tent which was In the
act OF being demolished before it's femin
inc occupants had quite completed their
toilet AS soon as the tent is demol-
Ishe6, then canvas, furniture and all are
piled on the back of a waiting and pa
tient mule and tied together with the.
tent cords. For our party of "a Ameri-
cans II required about 40 servants of all
kinds cooks walters, drivers, muleteers,
etc, and about 30 animals. 81,
Long fellow wrote: '-
"And the night shall be filed with music.
! And the cares that infest the day
| Shall fold their tents like the Arabs.
! And silently steal away"
We folded our tents like the Arabs.
| But we did not steal away very silent
| ly. On the contrary, we went, mos; Of
us in carriages, some on horseback, amid
the greatest din and confusion-the ie-
| struction Of our tent houses the pack
| ing them on mules, the moving OF bag
gage, the bustling of the servants, the
| neighlng Of horses. the jingling of bells
| on the lead mules. the calls OF the mem
bers of the party, one to another, or to
some servant about their baggage, etc.
And this. mind you. had to be repeated
, almost every morning for about two
weeks. We got used to II after awhile.
But on this first moving day. as we
were leaving Jerusalem, 1t was all novel
to us. and was quite interesting.
But at last we got started. early on
the morning of April Is, 1910. 1t was
beautiful spring morning. The sun shone
bright. The air was balmy. The earth
was covered in spots. though not every
where, with a carpet of green velvet.
Gentle breezes famed the cheeks and
filed the lungs with the ozone of the
mountains round about Jerusalem" g..
600 feet high. All nature seemed happy.
The very branches OF the old olive trees
under which we had spent ten busy but
pleasant days nodded their farewell to
US and waved their arms as II say
ing, "Good-by. Come. again." And we
felt, II we did not say out loud, Good
by, old olive trees. We are much obliged
to you for sheltering us here amid all
these sacred association. God bless you.
We are coming again some time" And
thus, party, servants, carriages, or per-
haps more properly hacks, horses. pack
mules and all, we were of. making a
caravan stretching out over the road per-
haps a mile in length, all headed north.
Starting from a point near the Damascus
gate and passing through the outskirts
of the city on the northern side, fol-
lowing the route often taken by our
Saviour on his journeys to and from
Galilee, and the route taken by Saul OF
Tarsus as he journeyed from Jerusalem
to Damascus, breathing threatening and
slaughter against the disciples of the
Lord" in the latter city, and intending
that II he found any that were of the
way, whether men or women, he might
bring them bound to Jerusalem" 1t was