The Cairo bulletin., 1912-01-02
DEAD SEA TO
Be EXPLORED
BY SCIENTISTS
Party OF Germans Make Arrange
ments To Begin Work
Soon
zIONISTS FURNISH FUNDS
Soundings viii Be Taken In All
Parts OF Huge
Lake
zIONISTS FURNISH FUNDS

expedition. the purpose Of which is
to thoroughly explore the Dead Sea
and it's environs under the leader
ship of DR.. Bruhl Of the University
Of Berlin, has just arrived from Eu-
rope and continued to the scene OF
its future operations.
The motives of the expedition, SO
t is emphatically ayerred by Dr..
3ruhl, are purely scientific, with abb
soluteIy no elements of commercial
SIN entering into its ultimate OBJ
iect. It's members are, with the ex-
option of a man from Copenhagen
nd possibly another from Sweden
all Germans scientists and engineers.
The expedition was organized in
Germany several months ago ana
Gems to be most thoroughly equip
ped, scientifically and otherwise. 1t
IS financed by private subscriptions,
a few members defraying their share
Of the expense while among the con-
tributors several leading Zionists
figure very prominently.
The work of exploration will con-
sist in the major part of sounding
the depth of various sections Of the
lake as we'll as analying the unique
and complex composition of It's
waters, studying It's shores, investi-
eating the nature of the different
minerals that are said to abound In
that region, exploring as far as is
possible, the channel of the many
rivers and hot water streams, apart
from the Jordan, which flow into
the sea from both the eastern and
western mountain ranges that hem
it's shores, examining and classifying
the varieties OF fish that exist in
large numbers only in the extreme
StClloh VI bWS AuhNt
which consists mainly of shadows
and marshes. II must be remem-
bered in this connection that 1t has
always been firmly maintained by
those who visited the Dead Sea and
wrote treaties about 1t long ago that
no fish of any kind can make their
habitat in any part OF it and this
long-established belief was given the
death blow only recently by a pleas
ure party of Americans long resident
in the country who visited the south
ern end of the lake and discovered
fish.
So 1t remains for the members Of
the German expedition TO arrive at
the auses which undoubtedly mus,
be due to varying conditions of
chemical composition of the water
that make 1t possible for fish to live
In certain sections Of the lake and
not in others: and, in short, TO find
out everything about this strange
body OF water from scientific stand
points that is worth knowing.
In order the better to facilitate
its operations the expedition has
chartered a little steam vessel for the
space Of three months with the pro-
viso that at the option Of Or. Bruhl
the lease may be extended for an In
definite period.
What ultimate political or COM
merciar motives, If any, underlie the
surface OF the enterprise time only
car show.
This is by no means the first at
made to explore the Dead Sea
region. Indeed the honor of priority
In this direction belongs. to the
doughty Lieutenant w. r. Lynch Of
the American navy, who, as early as
the year 1S4S spent considerable
time in research and exploration OF
that region at the expense of the
American government and at great
risk to his person, for 10 those days.
facilities for travel we're Of the crud-
est and people did not know how to
guard against the ravages Of ma