Omaha daily bee., 1911-03-12
TRAVELS THRO' BIBLE LANDS
Ruth Bryan Owens Tells Of Trip
From Jerusalem to Jaffa.
JUDEAE HILLS AND JERICHO
Excavation In Charnr 90 German
student--Dreary saeeea-fon 81
waste Places Frame the
Dead Sea.

crowd q Syrian Efris returning q,
their mission school. were cur fellow mas
sengers on the train from Jerusalem. "a
miliar hymns sung In their clear. young
voices seemed TO recsiva a new meaning.
The children were pretty With a very gen
te. dark beauty. a very sweet seriousness.
The experience Of that Biblical character
Who. going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, fell among th..---- r- -r
means unique We went down from
jerusalem 20 Jericho. and ... ON
among thieves. A conpla cent r1bbar drove
the three-horss vehicle vaich co1seye Ell Us.
a veritable band Of robbers conducted the
Jericho hotel and our m.
ing calamity before. Was the hardest vie
Ian Of them all. We wondered much az the
necessity Of such = guard Tor the land had
no apparent danger. and the guard rode
too far IN advance Of as to be OF a. St
ance should unsuspected danger APP ar.
1T r. the land q Bedor. ns.~ We were in
formed These bare J1dean hills are the
property OF wandering tribes II a traveller
hires one OF their number TO guard him he
u safe II not-he is liable 90 end his har-
ness cut or his horse stolen.
Our guard did not seem % appreciate the
humorous side o. his calling however, and
rode before witL great show OF saber
and firearms At least he was a pictur-
ssqus r1zffian. We Icft the city at day
break. a. the t-if. ll Jericho
enc. Our road led out around the old city
wall and past Damascus gate, where
camel caravan was unlCaii-g. Jerusalem.
AZ a little distance f. beautiful vith
unique charm.
DtsappoIntiHE Scenery.
Many travellers express disappointment
IN Paiestine's scenery. but it would be
difficult 20 imagine q prospect more era
cious than that which is spread before the
Jericho road in earl ro--.1E. Je-l-1i- u
low. haphazard buildings Of yellow and
white cover the summit II sevs az hills.
and on ali sides down from this pile 81
pale mAsourythe slopes are gently green
Nearby. in the valley. a small mosque
rninarst marks the pool OF SLOAN. and far
Their on is the cuTiously funnel shaped
monument OF Absalom. erected By the IN
dutiful son 10 his own memory.
After and hours ride Tire orchards ard
fertile around are left behind and Jericho
road follows rRvines through more barren
hills. Here the soil Is too rocky ami IN
even for cultivation Only the Bedouin
tribes ana shepherds wander here. As
In an barren lands the SKY SEEM -rrs
near. These are lonely reaches Of hills
with the hIus arch near above them. In
this silent country q was that the shep-
herds. watching their flocks By night
saw the Christmas star in the west over
Bethiehem. The Bible narratives seem N
this land a chronicle Of history not too
remota Nineteen hundred years seems
comparatively short epoch.
The road follows the natural draws OF
the land. So long as the hills have been
49, q hfuhM-QW
between the Jericho valley and Jerusalem
Hero vaa the road Of the pstriarchs. Here
Ruth the Moahitess. must have crossed
ever into her new country. On this way
che rood Samaritan found the traveller
aorely wounded and cared for him.
Ssrdan'a Green Fringe.
Ths yuaean hius grow more PERCEPTIONS
a. they near jericho and drop in an abrupt
decIsyfey to the valley below the nrst
viewpoint. Far below Hes the Jordan val
lev. level and fertile. The muddy Jordan
between its swampy undergrowths. ereeps
through the valleys heart. This was the
vista az tropicaI fruitfulness which first
s-restsd the eager eyes OF the children OF
Israel after their sojourn in the desert
rhere Ia no modern CITY OF jericho a ~
Eedouin women. their faces tatooed Win
ANAL green polka dots. two OF three very
indifferent hotels, a few native inns be
fora which ksen-eyed sons OF the desert
regime 70 their water pipes-little more
would be needed 70 reproduce modern
jericho.
More interesting are the EXCAVATIONS
undar the charge Of German scientists
Who have located the ancient city anu
are nov laying bare. This "orA PRIV
cesds slowly. AL the digging - done Ds
native women ana children. VINO serApe
81 tha earth with their hands and til
small baskets. which they carry on their
heaas 70 the dumping places They work
Win oriental leisure and sing a. theS
stroll 10 ana from the ruins. Only the
C,ermans in charge seem 70 feel any IN
ter.at in the city they are uncoverinE-
Every bat OF pottery and earth IL en-
thuaiasticany seized and inspected by them
on. BY one the walls Of old lerieho ,
house. appear, and history allows peep
bach into her hidden pages
Dad sea DesoIHtioH-
Beyond Jericho are the strange waste
lanaa thar border the Dead sea- where
Ierepd places the sites Of Sodom and Co
rnorrah and their sister cities in wicked
ness and destruction. The sun became
obsclfred and the rain that fell Al even
Ing was imminent as we toiled over the
heavy roads. Desert implies only
Inak q Iite. but that plain before the
Dead SEA had an additional suggestion
enc OF malgnity. The land looked dis
eassd-rising in ugly eruptions It's sur
face was nakey and seemed 20 emit a
fetid odor It's stiffness was not one Of
peace Il vas an ominOGs lack OF sound
The burrows on the lands face sls-
,--ufad a sinister froWn- Among its dunes
Jericho Vas lost to sight one seemed
aesoanding into an accursed desoiation-
ssseh : place as Victar Huge might have
descr4bed. and Dors peopled with imaginary
hoatz-
The Dead sea vas almost refreshing
after this prelude. but its bitterness re-
sailed the prem0nition OF the plain. Nc
ish aSide in its waters and NO bard flies
abOge a.
dsmantled wreck on the shore vas
ehs only tragic evidence here Of human
hnE
ne day ne passed the JaffA reef VA
ne maddssr day Of the winters trip II
- n utterly mad daF. even from Lhg