The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-22

he Original That Contained the Water arpenter at the Right.
 | From the boat we, can see no signs that a city once stood on the spot. The only evidence of life Is a low, gray. one-story monastery belonging to the Franciscans who are excavating the ruins and digging temples and synagogues out of the soil They own several hundred acres. running east and west along the beach and ex- tending for a mile perhaps up the hills Some of their lands are under cultivation and there are orchards of lemons, oranges and almonds to the east of their build ings.
 We land at wharf and enter door in the walls which surround the excava- tions I make myself acquainted with Father Wandefn, an austere looking criest. who speaks German He takes me around and shows me the results of the work. He says they are digging up what is believed to be the actual synagogue in which Jesus Christ taught, when he came here from Nazareth. As you must remember, Capernaum was His home, and it was from here that He took the most of His disciples. Here He cured Smons wife's mother, who lay sick of the fever, and here saddened with the wickedness of the city, He said:
 And thou, Capernaum, which are ex- alted unto Heaven, shall be brought down to he'll for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom it would have remained unto this day.
 The prophecy, then uttered, has long s'nce come to pass. The city of Caper- naum is not. And it is only now that the excavation of these monks is showing it's ruins.
 A Church Where Christ Preached
 The synagogue which is being dug up shows the splendor of the ancient city. walked around it's boundaries. It was 5i feet long and 72 feet wide, facing the sea. It's front was a mass of marble columns, and it was built in two stories, the upper of which was for the women Many of the columns have been entirely dug out and the walls have been exca- vated to the height of my head. The columns are three feet thick, smoothly finished and exquisitely carved. The mar hle work Is that which was common in Rome shortly before the time of Christ, and much of it is uninjured
 So far only small portion of the ground on which the city has stood has been explored There are thousand acres or so left that in all probability contain valuable ruins. which. when ex- posed, may cast new light upon the days and time of the Savior. At present the work is managed by close corporation. The Franciscan monks will not permit relics to be taken away, and they forbid the use of cameras. Father Wendelin carries a long, black snake whip with him, and I am told that he uses 1t if he is not obeyed. The other day woman tourist brought in a camera under her coo hot al ing his objections, whereupon he laid hold of her and threw her out of the place.
 The City of HcrOd
 I am stopping at Tiberias in little German hotel, where I have a comforta- ble room at cost of S2 a day. Tiberias is the largest settlement on the sea. It lies on the western shore, at the south ern end within Q mile or so of the Horns of IIattin. where It is said Christ deliv- erel the Sermon on the Mount. It is only a short ride by boat from where the Jordan flows out to the Dead sea, and from Sernak. where the railroad now goes north on Its way from Haifa to Damascus. -
 The city was the capital of Galilee. and it was at the height of it's prosperity when Christ was living a Capernaum. It was founded by IIerod Antipas, the son of Herod, the baby killer, and was named after the Roman emperor Tiberius. It was constructed while Christ was liv- ing in Nazareth, and was a new and thriving city during His residence at Capernaum. It is doubtful that He ever visited it, for the Bible does not mention His doing so.
 Tiberias had palace and a race course in those days and after the de- struction of Jerusalem it became the chief seat of the Jewish nation. It is still one of the three holy cities of the Jews and it has many Israelites among it's citizens They go about in long coats and caps bound with fur, and are noted for their piety and for their Knowledge of the Talmud. Many of the Jews are Spaniards who have come here to live on Account of the holiness of the city. ls
 Tibcrias in 1910
 The Tiberias of 1910 is not attractive. It is a mass of gray stone and brick buildings, with flat roofs painted white. The streets are narrow. dirty and filthy, and the Arabs lave saying that the king of the fles.s lives here. The human population Is something like 5000, of whom about two thirds are Jews and the remainder Mohamnledans and Christians. The Jews have ten syna- : gogues, and there is also Mohamme- dan mosque. The northern limits of the place are marked by the ruins of the Roman town, and the remains of it's walls and a gate are still standing.
 There are hot springs on the shores of the lake alf mile from the city which are still used and which were fla nous in the tines of the Romans They arc in many respects similar to those of Carlsbad, the waters containing sul- plur, chloride of magnesia and iron. They are good for skin diseases, and if they were under -Ar,erican management might be made to pay well. One of the most interesting and valuable institu- tions in this city is the hospital belong ing to the Scottish missionaries, and managed by Dr. Torrence of Edinburgh. It has thousands of patients year and Is doing great good.
 Cana of Galilee
 l came here from Nazareth, riding over the mountains of Ga1ilee in a carriage. The road is fairly good, although it is up or down hill all the way. About six miles from Nazareth stopped at the village of Cana, where our Lord visited the we'd ding feast and turned the water into wine. [ even saw the atone iars or tubs