El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-11-19

or Jerusalem, and also a magnificent
church on the top of the count of
olives 1t has similar institutions else
where, and is a live factor in the re-
ligious conditions of the Holy Land.
A Hotel Which Sleeps Ten Thousand.
The Russians have here what is per-
haps the largest hotel of the world 1t
can sleep 10000 at time and in addi-
ton has buildings for families It is
known as the Russian nospice and. it
lies at the west outside Jerusalem
proper 1t covers a space OF &c acres
or more and has high wall about it.
Entering the, gates of this nospice,
one finds himself surrounded by Rus
, slams and Russian scenes. 1t is a slice
of the land Of the car dropped down
in Judea and there is nothing Syrian
in sight. The men dress in caps long
coats and trousers. the last being tucked
into high boots. They are long-beard-
ed, long-haired and fair-faced. There
are many red heads among them and
none seems TO know the razor. The
women are clad in coarse gowns which
end at six inches or more from the
ankle. They wear boots or straw shoes
and in the latter case their legs are
wrapped around with cloths which
take the place Of stockings. They nave
handkerchiefs tied about their heads
and their features are usually as hard
anu IOuSH DIS those OF the men.
But suppose We go into the woman's
quarters of this mighty hotel The
building is cut up into cave like vaults.
which run from one side of it to the
other. These vaults are lighted at the
end, and standing in a central hall it
seems as though the windows were
at least zoo feet distant. Each vault is
eight feet wide and Is feet high, and
1T is filled from end to end with rough
nm ha h0a dc
is straw mating, and a space six feet
square forms the bed and home of each
woman. At the back of this she piles
up her bread tea and other belongings.
which she has brought with her from
Russia. She sleeps stretched out on
the boards on the front in the clothing
she wears in the daytime.
The quarters devoted to the men are
of similar nature, and those to the
families differ only in that the space
for each holding is larger
Bring Bread From Russia.
These pilgrims bring their bread and
tea with them from Russia. In addi-
ton to this they have a few vegetables
which they buy of the natives They
cook with oil stoves. When on the
march each carries some bread along |
with her and a pan out of which she |
drinks and in which she makes tea.
In some parts of the Enclosure we
can see families at their meals. The |
men, women and children SIT on the |
ground around a pot of soup. Each |
has his own piece of bread and a spoon
which he uses to dip up the soup and |
carry 1t to his mouth. They wash their |
own clothes. using dishpans as tubs. |
The tubs are as big as bicycle wheel |
and four inches deep. The washing is |
done with cold water which is free in |
the hOspice, but which outside would |
cost cents a gallon
Pious People.
These Russian pilgrims are very re-
ligious- They are mostly poor and |
many have been saving lifetime in |
order that they might make this tour !
to the Holy Land They undergo all |
sorts of hardsnips and spend their time !
in fasting and prayer. They nave a
church inside the hospice and services
are held there twice a day. 1 have |
attended the church several times. 1t !
is always full of people standing or
kneeling. They cross themselves again
and again as the service goes on, and
now and then get down and bow their
heads to the floor. There are similar
services in the other Greek churches.
l attended one on the Mount of Olives
where the reading of the scriptures
and the singing were done by Russian
nuns dressed in black with scovepipe
hats without brims browning their
heads. The hats end in a cape or veil
which falls down the back. The faces
of the nuns were bare and spiritual
looking. Their singing was exceeding
~ sweet, and the service impressive.
The pilgrims who listened now and
then knelt and kissed the bare floor.
The American Colony.
There have been several American
colonies in the Holy Land but the only
one that has made any impression or
lasted for any length of time is that
known as the Spaffordite. This was
founded about 80 years ago by DIR. and
Mrs Spafford, who belonged to Pres