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THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: 0( TOREK 16. 1010.
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Present Day Sights in thfe Holy Land a ad Its Past Glories
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I 1 spondcnce of Tlia live.) Take
V'l I I a Kent with me this bright Hun
VJ4 ,la morning in tho i ui 1 1 u I ac
UhlC 1 IB lllMf H I II ) 1 1 1 li-;i'lliif III
Htaiioit of Jaffa tu K" tu
Jriis lin. The illstame by rail I-flfrv-four
iiiilt-M,' ami wo hha I nuiue It
In lPmi than four houix. The iai cihks
the rlili iila.na of (Sharon and linn windM
Ha way up tht hllla of Judca until it lt-ave1
U at tlm Holy City, about 'l,j f.et
hlfther than where we now are.
tCopyj-lsht, 1M10, by Frank (J. Carppnter.)
TImi cam are comfortiibln, but w hav
had to flsht wltn the tourists and inlKntnH
for our feats near the windows. A Uerman
and a tirevk on the oiiiioaite side of the
car are xtlll (luarrelinn for iiliu cs, und their
languiiKe la not that of brotherly love. The
tSerman has Jut callpJ the Greek a swine
and the Ureck has retaliated by naytnK that
the Orman is of the canine persuasion.
Now they are quiet and we can enjoy the
scenery aa (o onward.
On the Plains of "baron.
Leaving Jaffa, we ride for some miles by
nothing but orchards.. There are orange
groves loaded with blossoms and fruit.
TJiere are orchards of olives, pomegran
Ites and fins, and many gardens sur
rounded by cactus hedges twice as hlsh as
our heads. Leaving the orchards, we enter
the rich plains upon which the Philistines
lived. The soil la brown and so fat that
you have only to tickle It with the plow
and It laughs with the harvent.
Hei is a green field of wheat. The stalks
stand as thick as grass in the ground and
rise and fall with the winds from the sea.
A'here a native la plowing with a bullock
Aai
cava dwellers practiced cremation. In on
of the six other cities, higher up, bronie
tool were dus; out an1 higher still th
ri niiiinii of the ancient Egyptians. In one.
of I lie tavp.i m hs found larae Jars contain
ing the skeletons of infant.", who had been
acii;icid as a matter of worship, prob
Huiy ilurinK the t'anaanlte period, and in
another a.i u cistern, the mouth of which
wa.-. tuarded by the skulls of two young
Kills, und inside which were fourteen
skeletons, one being that of a girl of
sixteen who hud been sawn asunder.
llelongeil tu
The king of Uezer
Joshua, and Inter the
by a king of Egypt,
Solomon.
was defeated by
city Vius captured
who was one of
.Solomon a three hundred odd fathers-in-law.
The istorv is that 1'haraoh gave
Uezer to Solomon as a dowry with his
daughter, and that -Solomon rebuilt the
city.. At the time of the crusades Richard
Coeur de Lion and Saladln fought over it,
and it was an important fortress at the
time of the Maccabees.
The archaeologists of the Palestine ex
ploration tuiid have been excavating here
for five years, and they say there is much
yet to be found. They aie about to publish
a book Riving a full statement of their
work. They have discovered bionxe pots,
ivory tablets, statues, Jewels and other
treasures of a half dozen different periods
of history. In one of the cities a complete
olive press, made or stoua. was unearthed,
and in another an Egyptian statuette about
i.uuu years old. The statue was that of a
man with a beard and a wig. llronze
tweezers were found and ulso many arti
cles of Greek and Roman times. One of
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COGZfTRY WZi SA?2SaV" Z.ZVjKZ?
Cnd donkey harnessed togeUior. The plow t'" ,no" lntereUnB discoveries was a rea
ls the rude, old-faaldoned one of the volr u' capacity of 4.0U0.0UU gallon, and
...i.,v. Un,t th rirk-sklnned farmer another was a palace supposed to belong
railroad up to Jerusalem. It baa been In through and now own It. There la absolutely no trasnaa or groves.
belong operation mora than eighteen years and Thla waa the first railroad built tn Palestine Ja a treeleaa land. Thera ar
its rates are so high that It ought to pay Syria, and it is the father or a raliroaa no rorests of any description and the only
well. The cost of our passage la about 8 stvstem which is now opening up a great trees are fruit trees, with now and then
New Llaht on Palestine. cents a mlle, Freight rate on coal Is It part of the country. One section of the a funereal cypress, perhaps, In a garden.
This Is only one of a number of cities per ton and all express ia proportionately system is the line which runs from ta- Our consul, Mr. Wallace, tells me the
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Dass a vlllaae of white- "" cuimioi ueiweeu mo u. nnm enc "u mascus to Mecca, ana connected wun n country nas two groves wnicn tne peopia
Bcriotures. and Ute dark-skinned farmer "-"uier was a paiace supposea
toadies it with one hand while he oarrtes W Maccabees,
a goad In Ute otlier. Further on are cam
els dragging the plows. In places we see
flocks of fat sheep, herded by boys, and
tiinf n i thon
'.w n,.i,.h Jencno ana the Mediterranean sea. In ad- tne cars are much like street cars, with .... others which will eventually Join the call Horests. One of these contains forty
wKih .hT JL. Trnwa. Nearlv every dlUon to thoe wnJcn nav tately bn du llttle rack8 for baBBaBe lonK eac eld8 Holy Land to the valley of the Euphrates, scrub oaks, and the other is not quite so
house has a roof of sod about a foot deep,
ind as we neaj the hills the towns on their
sides rise up in green terraces.
The landscape here is far different from
that of the United States. There are no
houses nor barns standing alone In the
fields. There are no outbuildings of any
description, and no haystacks or straw
stacks. The peopia live in villages and
go out to work in the fields. The only
finncea are hedges of cactus, and the most
of the holdings are not fenced at all.
up east of the Jordan. The Germans, Rus- under the roof. Each carriage is divided
slans and Austrian are excavating in dlf- UP Into compartments, the sides of which
ferent places, but the most of the work is ar walled with windows, so that one can
that of this exploration fund, which waa out as he goes. The road has no tun
founded more than forty-five years ago, ela and it winds its way In and out
and is supported by voluntary conuibu- ' rises the hills. There are five stations
Hons. between Jaffa and Jerusalem at which the
The 1810811116 exploration fund is not a trains stop and fairly good depots at the
religious body, but rather a sclentlfto and terminal points,
historical one. It is now spending about
S14.0UU a year on such work, the most of
the sums being collected In amounts of 6
or less from English and Americans ail
over the world. The association has made
as well as to Asia Minor and Turkey.
. .1 a 4H, 1 .1 a lnnnl.lnl
. , . . . great discoveries in Jerusalem. It has sur-
The land remains fertile dear to the ,.., , i.,..
mountains, a distance of perhaps twenty
miles. In the foot hills are patches of
green, and higher on up fields cut here
and thre out of the rocks, which are
built up to hold In the earth. I have never
seen a country more rocky. Tho rough
lands fit the Blue Ridge are Nile farms
compared to the hills through which we
go on our way to Jerusalem. In many
places there is nothing but rocks, which
are laid up in such ways as to make one
think they were constructed by man. The
limestone strata are piled stone upon stone,
looking like mighty monuments rising the
hills. In some places whole mountains are
steps, forming pyramids of white lime
stone, sparsely sprinkled with patches of
grass and red popples.
In the Footsteps of Samson.
The railway winds its way In and out. It
crawls along the 'sides of the mountains
with horseshoe curves here and there. The
whole Journey is over historic ground.
Much of it Is in the footsteps of bamfcon.
We cross the plains where he fought with
the Philistines, slaying a thousand of them
with the Jawbone of an ais. We see the
place where lie tied the firebrands to
the tails of 300 foxes and let them loose
to burn up the harvest. A little farther on
we enter the valley of Sorek, where the
wicked Ielllah cut off the hair of the
strong man as lie lay asleep In her lap,
and away up on the side of the hill we
can see the town of Zorah, where Samson
was born. At the station of lHir Aban,
where Samuel raistd his Ebenezer, a
crowd of children come to the trains with
bouquets of wild flowers. The boys whine
for baksheesh, and we wonder v. hether
there may not be an intent Bam.-on
amongst them. i
It was In Zorah that S.unson was buried,
ind the guides 'here will show you his
lomb. Farther along the road we pas
through a great gorge In the cllfli, on the
Korth side of which, near the top, 1 a cave
in which Samson lived. And I verily be
lieve that if we should offer our guides
luffiolent reward they would find us his
Bones or some pieces of brass from the
tales of the city of Uaza, which, you .-e-niember.
he carried away oa his shoul
ders. the Kxcavat Ions of Ceser.
In our ride up to Jerusalem we go by
'.he ancient city of Gezer. It is marked
by a mound which has several buildings
upon It, including the dome of a Moham
medan mosiiue. The ground about it hus
been dug over and over, and the ruins
discovered have excited tne religious and
scientific world.
veyed and mapped the most of Palestine
and has added about VJ) Hlble sites to those
already known, louring iny stay here X
have met its secretary, Dr. Percy D.
Wheeler, and have learned much concern
ing its work.
But let me tell you something about the
The Jerusalem Railroad.
The total cost of the railway was fc!,
000.000, or a little less than $40,000 per
mile. The road was originated by an
American, a civil engineer named Zlmpel,
who came to Palestine as a peddler of a
patent medicine which he called "sun
light pills.'.' lie brought the railway
scheme before the sultan at Constanti
nople, but failed to get the concession to
build It. After his death the matter was
taken up by the French, who put the road
The Hills of Jndeaw
The trip from Jaffa to Jerusalem gives
one a fair Idea of the character of Pales
tine. The coastal plain ia typical of the
richest part of the country. Its soil Is a
chocolate brown, the grass is as green as
that of Egypt, and there are big orchards
of olives and fruits of all kinds. The roads
are carpeted with rich red popples and
wild flowers are everywhere.
Climbing the hills Is like JumpInK from
the Nile valley Into the desert. There Is
nothing but rocks with a sparse vegeta
tion scattered here and there through
them. The limestone crops out every
where, and In places mountains of stones
have been picked up In clearing the fields.
Such fields are fenced with stone walls.
There are also corrals for the
walled with stone.
large. He says that a few years ago
there was some brush on the hillside, but
that the people have even dug up the roots
and sold them for fuel.
Indeed, fuel Is one of the most costly
things In this country It is so expensive
that It Is seldom used except for cooking,
and that notwithstanding the climate Is
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HEBREW TABLET QVOO YEARS OLD
Jerusalem.
A common ' fueT here Is charcoal, which
is made -mostly of olive wood. The chief
manufacturers of It are at Hebron, about
twenty-three miles south of Jerusalem, near
cold. Wood is so valuable that the older the weave In which Abraham, Isaac and
olive trees are being cut down, and it is Jacob are buried and where tradition says
feared that the groves will gradually dls- Adam died. Hebron Is about 600 feet
appear. These old trees are often of con- higher than Jerusalem, but it has big
sliierable thickness, but they are yonly orchards of olives, almonds and apples, and
twenty or thirty feet tall and one will sup- the brush and the dead wood of these are
ply but a small amount of firewood. The used to uiake charcoal.
olive tree Is as hard as the apple tree and As to the use of coal Itself, that Is almost
far raore knotty and gnarly. Its wood Is
heavy and Is sold by the ton, the price
now being about 16 for 2,000 pounds. The
wood is brought In on the backs of donkeys
sheep and camels and every stick has to pay
a tax before it gets Inside the gates of
prohibitive on account of the high rates
over the railroads. The Bame charge Is
made for carrying coal as for carrying
fllk, the rate being $4 a ton, or about 8
cents a ton per mile. Such coal as comes
here Is in the shape of briquettes. It sells
Japanese Express Appreciation of, Omaha's Courtesy
F
RAM EU and hung In the reading
room of the Commercial club
Is a resolution of style unique
In Omaha except for a dupli
cate which hangs x( the private;
office of the city's mayor.
The resolution embodies the thanks of the
honorary commercial commissioners of
Japan to the Commercial club of Omaha
for courtesies extended to their party on
the occasion of their visit here November
13, last year.
The resolution is unique because It IS)
not written or printed, but woven Into the
finest silk. The work . done upon the
looms of Nlshijln, Kyoto and nus for
wardeu to the club by K. Yania&uki, im
perial Japanese consul at Chicago.
The resolution translated Is as follows:
"At tho Invitation of various chambers
of commerce In the Cnlted States, our
commission went to America -In the
autumn of 190s, and traveled through the
country for thiee months. In the course
of our Journey we visited fifty-three
cities and covered ll.Uw) miles. We heartliy
appreciute tne courtesies which w-re
every here extended to us by tne Ameri
can authorities and people. We humbly
trust that the friendly intercourse be
tween us and our hosts during our so
journ has contributed largely to the pro
motion of International commerce and
good will.
"May the L'nited States and Japan en
Joy perpetual peace and prosperity."
tSiKiied by all members of ihe commis
sion.) January 1, iad year of Meljl tlSlO).'
The Japanese numbered fitty In their
Party, which was headed by liaron Eilcht
Sh.busawa. The parly was in the United
States three months to study trade, com-,
merc.al, industrial and financial conditions
fceneialiy.
Recognition of their visit was made by
President Taft. who appointed several men
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CUT TEESHVTED TO
COMMHR&IAL CZI&
the Stroud plant and a number of smallir
mannfartorles, besides the I'nfrm Parlfte
shois and the parking: bouse.
In the evening the com m sal oners were
guests at an elaborate dinner at the Cont
msrclal club, at which W. .1. Bryan. F. U
Haer and General C. F. Manderson were
the principal speakem for Omaha.
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TESTIMONIAL OS AEFXJECZATIOy
snwBaf I
snmoasasal
to accompany the commission, by the
AUA..lutu . ...
The excavations which have been mad " u4 v oiumerce oi tne
by the Palestine exploration fund show 1 atM',c Co"1' l,Uh had Beneral charge
Jezer to be one of the oldest. If not th. ol ,he il'nv"y- and by various commer- JJST
oldest, city of history. The scientists hate Clal ulub" alon '"" route- A Omaha s
one down into the earth flndln one city " "irrseniauve ana trade exp.rt
built upon the ruins of another, down to ,rom th m'Jd' t. 1. M. Guild met the
he seventh city or settlement, which p"ty at 8t- uula and accompanied them
Mml to have been occupoed by the cave lhrouh -Missouri and to Omaha, The
dweller of the flint or stone age. a period Jl'ane sent along with the resolution a
before history began to be written. In i,"clal sllv.r cup to Mr. Guild, and a "ere is the real romance or a little girl,
these cave dwellings pottery and filnt nial'r on to Gould Diet, chairman of the and it shows that all the fairy godmothers
instruments were discovered. A burial committee on arrangements. who look out for little giris are not dead
place of that ancient race was opened up While in Omaha the Japanese com mis- y,t. Twelve years ago Lillie Coulby was
au4 rualn found which show that the a oners visited th McKeen Motor shops, born In a squalid home on one of the
BY WAY OF ROMANCE
TaJeat Leaps the Sosst of Poverty
ad Fine's Fairy Ooa-mother.
poorest streets of St. Joseph. Mo. When
she was t year old tu authorities took
her from evil surrounding and placed her
in the state industrial school at ChlUi
cothe. Lt year John H. Burren. Immigration
commissioner, offered two prises for the
best and Second best essay on "Missouri
and It Resource." to be written by school
children. Lillie Coulby took tb second
prize a fine, fat Holsteln cow.
Now In an Industrial school a cow will
always come In handy
much more than supply a bunch of test
proof milk for th children. It brought It
llttle owner the best kind of luck. Mrs.
John Harding of St. Joseph read about
UUte Coulby s prize say and oalled to
see her, and, a no one could help liking
IJIlle. she Is going to be Mrs. Harding's
daughter, to grow up amid refinements,
to go' to college when the time comes,
and finally to take her rightful place In
th world. For we are not the children
of our parent entirely
but this cow did dreu of God and He looks out for u in
the most surprising ways.
lid you ask about the cow? Lillie gen
erously decided to leave it for her girl
friends at th industrial school Minne
apolis Journal.
Time Will Tell.
Teacher What's your name, llttle girl?
little Girl Dorothy.
Teacher But what your last name?
little .irl I don't know what it will be.
We ar th chil- m not married yet.
for H5 a ton.
Another want from which the Holy Land
suffers Is water. The rainfall In the
southern sections is something like six
Inches and upward a year, the amount
gradually Increasing as one goes northward
toward Galilee. The country has always
been one of pools and wells, and today
every house In Jerusalem has Its roofs so'
made that they drain Into cisterns placed
In the courts. In dry seasons water la
sold, and the man who has a spare cistern
gets a big Hrlce for his surplus. I.ast sum
mer the American consul received $:W.for
the water he sold, and the American colony
outside the city paid $40 for a cistern half
full.
Nearly all tho wells of the olden tlmea
remain, and are pointed out by the drago
men. One can drink from tho well where
Christ met the Samaritan woman, and
from that at which Jacob met and kissed
Kachael. There are many cisterns scat
tered over the country, the most of them
shaped like great pears. '
' The pools of .Solomon were connected by
pipes with Jerusalem a few years ago, and
for a time It was thought that they would
supply the city with water. These pool
are on the highlands between Bethlehem
and Hebron. They are cut out of the
solid rock, and it Is said that they origi
nally held about 40,0nu,uUI gallons. There
are three of them, ranging In height front
3MJ to t' feet. They He In terraces, one
above the other, being of varying widtha
The depths are from twenty-five to fifty
feet. If they were In good condition they
could supply a vast deal of water; but as
it Is, the aqueducts which Solomon built
to Jerusalem have gone to ruin, and there
I now only a four-inch Iron pipe running
from them to this city. The pipe comes in
near the Dung gate and (joes from there
to the Temple platform. 1 stumbled over
It the other day. 1 am told the water Is
used almost altogether for the mosque of
Omar, although it Is connected with th
fountains of the city and Is occasionally
allowed to spurt there.
In addition to these pools there ure many
Others In and about JeruraUni. The pool
of Hezeklah Is rit,'ht In the heart of t lie
city, not far from the Church of the Holy
.Sepulcher, and the pool of Siloaiil, wheie
our Lord sent the blind man K,wash, Is in
tho valley of Ji hosopha;, outside the walls.
Ralu la Jerusalem.
Just now the Holy Laud Is suffering
from drought and the people are praying
for rain. We have had one or two show
ers in the past few days, but more is
needed or the crops will fall. The most
of the Inhabitants here are rellKlous. They
believe In prayer, and Mohammedans,
Christiana and Jews are now all holdl:,
services at which they ask the Lord to
send water.
We had a slight rain yesterday and mule
is expected. The people evidently thinU
their prayers will be answered. As I
walked through Datid Bluet 1 heard twu
Mohammedans talking. Their language
was Arabic, but my dragoman told me that
one had Just said tu the other:
"How good God Is. ufler all. We have
prayed for the rain and, lo, It has Come."
When the first shower began to fall I
was standing at the door of my hotel. A
little girl passed. 8he had a platter of
bread on her head and the rain waa pour
ing down upon It. Uhe was wet to th skin,
but nevertheless sh was singing. I asked
my guide th word of her song. 11 re
piled: "Sh cries: 'Praise Cod for th
rain'. Praise God for the rain! Praise God
for the rain!'
This little girl was perhaps eight yrei
of age. FItA.NK G. CAKl'h-NTEtt.
i