The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-01-01

people continue to pray as It cooks.
and keep on praying until the sunset
approaches. AT ten minutes after sun
set they begin to eat the meat throw
ing The bones into the fire without
breaking them.
In my talk with the high priest he
contcnded that tho Samaritans were
the only true lsraelitics. and spoke OF
tho prophet samuel as a sorcercr He
paid his respects 10 the Jews In no
measured stones. He gave me a little
book he had written concerning the
religion of the Samaritans, and at the
closc was by 10 means adverse to
present OF silver. for which he thank
Cd me In a dignifed way After |
returned to my camp. which is on the
o-tside of Nnblous, some of his fol-
lowers brought mo his photograph and
n model of the five books OF Moses
which they offered 10 sell for song
The Samarltans are exceedingly poor
and are despised by both Moslems and
Jews.
81 Jacobs Well.
I, was at Jacobs we'll not far from
Nablous. that Christ met the Samari-
tan woman and told her of the water
of which II one drinketh he shall
never thirst. but there shall be in
him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life" You will md the
John, This we'll is one of the holy
sites Of Palestine, about which there
can be no doubt. The village of Sychar
corresponds 10 the village of Askar
which stands on Mount Ebal, psrhap
thousand feet away from the we'll
where the Samaritan woman lived.
The well itself lies just below tho new
carriage road from Jerusalem went
through an olive orchard to reach 1t.
Ii is surrounded by wall, and is In
the heart Of garden now owned by
the Greek Church. which has made il
resting place for pilgrims. They
have hunt n stone chapel over The
We'll, and services are held there sew
cral hours every day.
Some of the priests went With us
down the steps to the well. 1T lies
right in the floor of the chapel IL Is
about three feet in diameter, built IN
with stones which are laid in the shane
Of tube, being smoothly cut. One of
the monks brought Stsan which was
tied to rope in such way that il
remained level. Upon this he placed a
lighted candle and then slowly lowered
IL down into the we'll. II descended
perhaps sixty feet before II came 10 the
water. The sill of the well is OF mar
BILE. and shows the marks OF the ropes
which for ages have been lowered into
It. The sill is some distance above the
stone upon which Christ sat at that
weary hour of noon.
Jacobs well has been known and
visited by pilgrims for many years 1t
was probably once even with the sur
face Of the earth, but the debris and
earth-washings from the mountains
nearby have filed up the valley. and it
is now considerably below the country
. abont. Within the past year eXcava-
| tons have been made in the garden,
and the remains of a church which was
built over the well some fifteen hun
dred years ago have been discovered. |
found immense granite columns and
also many pieces of the stone walls OF
the church. I persuaded tho Greek
priest who lowered the pie pan with
he candle upon IL into the we'll to
come into the sun and he photographed
The UnsRtisflcd American.
While I was al the well a party OF
travellers. conducted by one of the
great tourist agencies, -arrived. They
were Americans. doing the Holy Land
at SO much per day, and they were
bound to get tho worth of their money.
One shall never forget. His gigantic
franc was such that I shall call him
Goliath. When the party went down
to tho well the services in the chapel
had Just begun. and after pointing out
the hole in the floor. the guide brought
them out. AS they came into the
churchyard I heard Goliath remark:
IT amt satished'b
"About what?" said the guido.
! II Amt satisfied about that well.
g. . II