Year: 1869

BEpoUINs.-At nine in the morning
the caravan was before the hotel door
and we were at breakfast. There was a
commotion about the place. Rumors of
war and bloodshed were flying every
where. The lawless Bedouins in the val
ley of the Jordan and the deserts down
by the Red Sea were up in arms, and
were going to destroy all comers. They
had had battle with a troop of Turk
ish cavalry and defeated them several
men were killed. Theyhad shut up the
inhabitants of village and Turkish
garrison in Turkish fort near Jericho,
and were beseiging them. They had
marched upon camp of our excursion
lists by the Jordan, and the pilgrims only
saved their lives by stealing away and
flying to Jerusalem under whip and spur
in the darkness Of the night. 1t was re-
ported that the Consul had requested
that no more of our pilgrims should 60
to the Jordan while this state of things
lasted and, further, that he was unwil-
ling that any more should go, at least
without an unusually strong military
guard. Here was trouble. But, with
the horses at the door, and everybody
aware of what they were there for, what
would you have done Acknowledged
that you were afraid. and backed shame
fully out Hardly. 1t would not be hui
man nature, where there were so many
women. You would have done as we
did; said that you were not afraid of a
million of Bedouins- made your
will and proposed quietly to yourself to
take up an unostentatious position in the
rear of the procession.


| think we must all have determined
upon the same line of tactics for it did
seem as if we never would get to Jericho.
/ had notoriously slow horse but
somehow l could not keep him in the
rear, to save my neck. He was forever
turning up in the lead. In such cases l
trembled little, and got down to fix my
saddle. But it was not of any use. The
others all got down to fix their saddles
too. | never saw such time with sad
dies. 1t was the first time any of them
had got out of order in three weeks, and
now they had all broken down at once.
l tried walking, for exercise had not
had enough in Jerusalem, searching for
holy places But it was a failure. The
whole mob were suffering for exercise,
and it was not fifteen minutes till they
were all on foot and l had the lead again.
1t was very discouraging.


We had glimpse from a mountain
top, of the Dead Sea, lying like blue
shield in the plain of the Jordan, and
now we were marching down a close,
flaming, rugged, desolate defile, where
no living creature could enjoy life, ex-
cept, perhaps, a salamander. 1t was
such dreary, repulsive, horrible soli-
tude 1t was the wilderness +" where
John preached, with cameI's hair about
his loins-raiment enough-but he never
could have got his locusts and wild hon.
ey here. We were moping along down
this dreadful place, every man in the
rear. Our guards-two gorgeous young
Arb sheiks, with cargoes of swords,
gunr, pistols, and daggers on board
were loafng ahead.


"Bedouins


Every man shrunk up and disappear
ed in his clothes like a mud-turtle. My
first impulse was to dash forward and
destroy the Bedouins. My second was
to dash to the rear to see if there were
any coming in that direction. l acted
on the latter impulse. So did all the
others. If any Bedouins had approach
ed us, then, from that point of the COM
pass, they would have paid dearly for
their rashness. We all remarked, that,
afterwards. There would have been
scenes of riot and bloodshed there that
no pen could describe. / know that, be-
cause each man told what he would have
done, individually !; and such medley
of strange and unheard of inventions of
cruelty you could not conceive of. One
man said he had calmly made up his
mind to perish where he stood, if need
be, but never yield an inch; be was 90
ing to wait, with steady patience, till he
could count the stripes upon the first Be
douin's jacket, and then count them and
let him have it. Another was going to
sit still till the first lance reached within
an inch of his breast, and then dodge it
aud seize it. / forbear to tell what he
was going to do to that Bedouin that
owned it. 1t makes my blood run cold
to think of it. Another was going to
scalp such Bedouins as fell to his share,
and take his bald-headed sons of the des-
ert home with him alive for trophies.
But the wild-eyed pilgrim rhapsodist was
silent His orbs cleaned with deadly
light, but his lips moved not. Anxiety
grew. and he was questioned. If he had


D.