WitcuR DHesbit.
Mos
i f l
IIE Damascus to Mecca railroad has
many romarkablo features which dlslln
tlngulsh It from other lines. Its prln,
clpal object Is to provldo n means for
faithful Mosloms to perform their pll
grlmago to tho holy places of Mecca nnd
Medina with a greater degreo of coin
fort than formerly.
Its Inception la duo to tho Initiative of
tho present sultan, and tho enthusiasm
creattt? by Its first announcement brought In subscrip
tions from tho faithful In all parts of tho Islamic world. A
cpeclai stamp-tax forms a solid annual contribution to tho
expenses, somewhat loss evanescent than other contribu
tions mny rovo to bo.
-Geographically, tho lino has provided a means of travel
in a country with a fascination of scenery quite peculiar to
. Itself and unlike any other part of tho world. Instead of
traversing populous countries and great cities, It seems to
delight In passing through Immense solitudes through a
country peopled mainly by tho spirits of tho "Arabian
Nights," whero llttlourpriso would bo occasioned In find
ing n roc's egg In some lnhospltablo, rocky vnlloy, or In
seeing n genlo floating In a stream of thin vapor out or
o magic bottle.
Tho lino com-
mences at tho tra
ditional parting,
placo of tho great
pllgrltnago. tho Da
waubet Allah, or
'Gato of Allah, In
Damascus. For tho
first few rallos tho
lino traverses tho
Hauran, running
parallel to tho
French Hauran
railroad. From an
cient times this
district has boon
an extremely rich
one, and tho Ro
mans used it aa a
granary.
Tho deep, narrow
ravines of tho Yar
nuk, tho ancient
Hloroymax, which
tho lino follows in
Us dcsc6nt to tho
Jordan, present
sovoral difficulties
of engineering sue
tessfully overcome.
Largo numbers of
Italian, Montene
grin, Croatian,
Greek, and other
European work
men had to bo em
ployed on the diffi
cult rock cuttings,
tunnels, and via
ducts of this sec
tion. Tno Jordan val
ley, where tho lino
crosses it, is 800
feet below Mediter
ranean level; but
tho difficulties of
tonstructlon ceaso
when tho Ynrmuk
valley has been
mccessfully tra
versed, and tho as
cent to the sea Is
mado by easy gra
dients. South of Doraa
tho main lino soon
leaves tho richer
corn land and on-
M ' l
:WHlBi anSTfomm InirSprto0"1 V
iaHf LBMH outpost ot An endless se- l-VSSSSm
1 1 WmmBMwBSBm 'hKK 1 1 cm clvlllzntloa mirages unfold
From the cage; there
comes & Btrnln
Full of mingled joy
nnd pain
Tcnrs nnd laughter,
sighs nnd smiles,
Echoing tho bygone
whiles;
And tho eong goes
on until
Wo catch wordi
that softly thrill
Through tho muslo
of the bird
Aa a ahndow of each
word.
Listen 1 Hear It sing
of trees,
And of drifting
winds that scire
Nodding blossoms ns
they rUn
Heralding the rising
sun;
Hear ' It sing of
winds that shako
Jowcled waves upon
tho lnkc,
And of wondrous
blossom-tang
Whero tho wild
gropes clutch and
hang.
And It tells us mSta
nnd moro
In Its notes that rite
nnd soar
Ab though tlioy would find tlio goal
Kept from this Imprisoned soul.
Knlnt nnd lino tho muslo now,
IMftlng. falling, aa n bough
Hocked upon a zephyr's breast,
Swinging thus n qrndlo-ncst.
Bo It sings of night nnd morni
Ot tho berry nnd tho thorn,
Of tho wild, Wild sweeps of boo.
Of tho clovor nnd tho bco,
Of tho mystic woodland hush
Whero tho fnlrlos romp nnd rush
Through tho mates of their dance
In their oldon necromanco.
Whnt? You henr It notT Ah, well.
Thus wo break tho dreaming spell
That mado It both awoot nnd strong
Sunshlno eparkllng Into song.
And so dies each lilting noto
In tho Uttlo songster's thrdnt.
Thts, assuredly this I heard:
"I remember!" sang tho bird.
ters an upland, undulating country, tho lnnd ot
Dashan, producing abundant grazing In tho
spring. At thnt season troops of gazelle roam
about tho country, nnd tho Dedouln, with vast
herds of camels, aro found closo to tho line.
The landscape gets bleaker as tho train
moves south. Tho mountains of Moab aro
passed some distance to the west, and tho
trnck is laid far out in tho desert, whero the
valleys aro wide and easy to cross, and beforo
they deepen into narrow ravines as they enter
tho mountains.
The old pilgrim routo Is followed very close
ly throughout, and nt tho stations tho stono
cisterns and reservoirs, to provldo'a supply of
water to tho pilgrims aro noticed. Water bo
comes very scarcoj In a few placos "wells havo
been dug nnd water Is rnlsed by wind-pumps.
For Bomo reason boring for artesian wolls
docs not seem to have been tried. Ono at
tempt was mado In rocky ground, and whon
tho drills broko no furthor attempts wero
made.
As tho line approaches Maan an extromoly
desolate-country Is traversed. Low ranges np'
pear to tho east, apparently of snndstono or
limestone formation, although tho ground Is
strewn thickly with black fragments of obsi
dian along somo sections of tho lino. Tho ra
vines now trend eastward, to lose thomsolves
In a wldo doprosslon In that direction, as
shown In tho recent maps of this country by
Prof. Alois Musll. Maan Is tho first point slnco
Amman whero water Is procurable In any
quantity, elthor from Bprlngs In tho' small town
Itself or from woIIb at tho railroad station.
Tho placo Is a large railroad center, with sov
eral stono buildings for officials, a small shop
for temporary repairs, a hospital, and qulto a
good hotel a substantial building, rather dinnll
In size. The small town, containing somo good
gtono and mud houses, Is not visible from tho
railroad, but lies boyond a hill nearly a mllo
off. Two copious springs supply tho necessary
water.
Date palms nro reared; small gardons with
various kinds of fruit trees and n fow Holds of
corn aro vlslblo, but from a llttlo dlstanco tho
placo. la little else than a drab patch on a gray
landscape. Its principal distinction Is Us prox
Imlty to tho rocky city of Potra, u rldo ot somo
eight hours to tho wost among tho Moab hills.
Tho climate of Maan Is Invigorating, both In
winter and summer, as tho placo Btands 3,625
feet above sea-lovol, Burroundod by tho dry, In
vigorating air of tho dosert.
Tho principal drawbacks aro tho sovoro
dust Btorras, Rain Is not uncommon In thu
spring, and then a tinge of green sproads over
tho landscape.
Tho ancient'
fortress of Po
tra nnd now
Maan owo their
Importance as
standing nt tho
gato of Arabia,
nnd forming tho
last outpost of
Syria and west
ern clvlllzntloa
beforo tho long,
dreary Btages of
tho n o r t h o in
Arabian Jour
ney. For countless
ages long be
fore tho present pilgrimages this was tho
routo by which tho gold, frankincense, and
Arabian products found their way into Syria;
but tho Suez canal and stenmer transport by
tho Red sea seem to havo abolished all, or
almost nil, trado prospects, and only tho pil
grims remain.
On leaving Maan It mny Inded bo snld that
all hopo of dividend Is left behind and tho lino
enters a spirit world without towns or oven
Inhabitants. Tho stages south of Maan, tho old
pilgrim routo, wero tho most desolate of all,
and tho way wob always strown by dead and
dying cnmcl3 aa tho caravan tolled along. Tho
lino crosses a constant succession of small wa
dls. Somo SO miles south of Maan comes tho most
remnrkablo chango In tho landscape and the
verltablo gato of Arabia and tho homo of tho
genlo Is at last reached. Tho lino arrives qulto
suddenly nt tho edge of tho curious escarpment
known as tho Uatn-ol-Ghrul, or tho Hollow of
tho Genlo.
From tho station of Datn-ol Ghrul, at tho top
of tho descent, tho traveler can walk to tho
edge of tho cliff nnd take In tho Immense ex
tent of view which unfolds itself to the south.
The escarpment Is vlslblo for somo 20 miles to
tho east, and Is n sheer cliff without, It Is said,
a slnglo pnssago of descent. For somo 15 miles
to the west, also, tho escarpment Is fairly well
defined, until It mergeB In tho high rnnges ov
erlooking the Gulf of Akaba. Tho pilgrim routo
follows tho descent closo alongside the lino
nnd Is from 3,207 foot at tho summit to 3,278 at
tho foot of tho escarpment, or 329 feet alto
gether. Tho vlow from the summit Is oxtremely stri
king nnd comprises n great inland depression,
walled in by a continuation of tho escarpment
on the east, and glowing throughout in tho
most brilliant and striking colors. Tho prevail
ing noto Is bright red and yellow, changing to
violet, purplo and blnck, bo that ovory tint ox
cept green Boems to bo supplied, Tho escarp
ment Is of sandstone, which seems to hnvo
worn away In somo places to sand-drift of all
colors, but principally red nnd yellow. Tho
npurs of tho Tolesh-Shnhlm, which run out par
allel to tho lino, nro covered with glistening
black rocks, at first sight volcanic, but, as 1
was told by an engineer, thoy wero really of
sandstone blackened by tho Intense hent of tho
sun. Tho depression extends south for a dls
tanco of about 120 miles. In this clear, dry air
ovory featuro is vlslblo. Inquiries regarding
tho country to tho cast gave It as an almost
waterless region, although a routo doos exist
from Moan to Jnuf along which somo scanty
ctrr
themselves as tho train tolls slowly along thoso
two lines of Btccl lending through an ondless
oxpnnso of sand and rocks, varied with an oc
casional volcanic outcrop raising blnck-topped
hills.
At Tcbuk, 430 miles from Damascus, is tho
first oasis of any sizo, and hero n depot has
been formed, at which tho railroad can re
coup Itself beforo another long strontch of
nenrly waterless desert Is ontercd nnd the next
depot at El Uln reached. A group of buildings
for tho employes, a small repairing flhop, nnd a
hospital with CO beds form tho principal part
of tho dopot.
Tebuk consists of a group ot dale palms
about a half n mllo squnrc, deriving vater from
mi large spring and watched over by another
of tho masonry forts which mark n pilgrim Bta
tlon. Altogether thero wero about CO mud
houses, with a few walled gardons belonging
to tho permanent! Inhabitants of Tebuk. All
thnt wero seen wero of n distinct'" nogrold
typo, different from tho nomnd Hcdouin lb
surrounding country is but Bparsely Inhabited
by Arabs.
Desidcs date palms, thoro aro In tho gardens
a few lemon trees and pomegranates, nnd out
Bldo nro somo few Holds of wheat, cultivated
principally ns green fodder. The Italian en
gineer in chargo of this section nnd managed
to make a garden In tho Band, where by moans
ot irrigation ho grow most kinds of European
vegetables, but none of tho inhabitants seemed
inclined to copy his example.
It seems certain that Mohammed visited Te
buk In his earlier wandorlngB, nnd tradition
refers to Jobol Sherora ns tho Pulpit of tho
Prophet, probably from its commanding posi?
tlon overlooking all tho surrounding country.
Tho rainfall In this country is extremely ca
pricious, and perhaps two or even three years
may elapse boforo thero Is nny appreciable fall
here, although nt Maan thero appears to bo
nlwaya some rain In tho spring.
Of animal llfo thoro appears to bo very lit
tle. An nntelopo, which tho Turks call a wild
cow, but which looks to bo oryx beatrlx, Is to
bo found In this district, but only In small
numbers. Tho largo troops of gazollo soon
north of Maan do not roam horo, It Is said that
tho ostrich Is occasionally found, and tho skin
of ono specimen Is preserved In Mnan station.
The desort nlr Is oxtromoly dry and clear,
always Invigorating, and even tho great heat
In summer is not as insupportable as In a
damper cllmato, whero tho thormometor la
probably lower. Cllmato Iiub without doubt ft
groat effect on the human chnractor nnd In
tellect, nnd tho norvous, high-strung tempora
mont of tho Arab is to a great oxtont tho cro
ntlon of his onvlronmont of dosort, with Its
splendid mlrngos to Ilro tho Imagination nnd
sparkling nlr to koop tho norvos nlwaya alert.
South of Tebuk want of water Is again a
great difficulty, and tho small posts havo to bo
throughout by Turkish BoldlorB, but tho statlo
buildings, all of very Bolld masonry, ns woll r
bridges nnd culverts, of which thoro nro
great number, havo been constructed most!
by Italian workmen, with eomo Greeks an
Montenegrins. As many ns three or four hut
dred Italian workmen wore employed nt on
tlmo on tho works nenr Tebuk, and so llttl
did fanaticism como Into piny that thoy bull
tho lino now mosquo at Tobuk. Subsequentl
thoy Instructed somo Turkish engineers, wh
continued the work from El Ula to the Hot:
Clty.ltBolf.
It ia difficult to think or this railroad be
coming a great highway or dovoloplng rti
grent trado with Contral Arabia, as tho boo
tlon from Maan to Medina traverses an unprc
ductlvo country without possibility of dovolvp
mont, and tho Interior of Arabia has no sui
plus products to dispose of. In nny case, vilv.u
tho lino reaches tho sea, at Bherm Rnblgh, i
Is probable that any trade, cither oxport or Jm
port, to Medina or Mecca will puss througl
thnt port In preforenco to tho long lnnd Jcmi
noy. The following summary of dlstnmicj
eIiowb tho extent of tho line:
Damascus to Maan ....285 m.M
Damascus to Tebuk 430 milci
Damnscus to El Ula GOO mllct
Damnscus to Medina 820 mllei
DnmnscuB to Mecca 1097 mllei
Tho gauge of tho lino is tho somewhat curl
ouh one of 1.0S meter (3 feet V4 lnchos)
which wnu necessary, whon tho lino was first
commenced, to correspond with tho gnugo ot
tho Hclrut-DamaBcus line, over which tho roll
lng stock had to be brought. Tho branch tc
tho Mediterranean, at Haifa, was construecd
subsequently. Tlio rails wero supplied by:ht
Americun steel Trust, by a French firm dom
idled in Russia, and by the firm of Cockcrlll.
In Iielgluni,
Tho engineers In chargo of sections wen
also of various nationalities French. Polos
Hungarians, otc whllo tho guiding spirit in
tho construction has boon Mclssnor Pasha, a
very ablo German engineer. Hut besides thcs
tho gonoral direction hns been under Marsha)
Klazlm Pasha, to whom tho greatest credit It
duo in bringing tho lino successfully Into Me
dina, and to Hnjjl Mukhtar Roy, a brilliant
TurKIsh engineer, who has absorbed all mod
orn motnoUB or construction, nnd completed
tho Inst section Into Medina without European
assistnncp.
In conclusion, It Is difficult which to admire
tho most, this far-reaching conception of his
ronJeBty tho sultan to build tho lino and thus
to furthor tho Interests of his rollglon and blud
together tho outlying portions of his omplro
or tno silent, unswerving dovotlon of tho Turk
isn soldier who has carried tho mattor to a
conclusion, and who watches without com
plaint ovor miles of lino through n country al
most without wator or Inhabitants,
XJ1
If It isn't a man
who wants to tell
you thnt ho tnkes
n cold bath ovory
morning it Is ono
who Insists on
tolling you ho
ents two npplca
every night at
bcdtlmer '
Most of us ex
pect our friends
to bo honest, except when It comes to
our personal characteristics,
Ezra TlmmonB calls himself n pat
riot, but that Isn't any excuse for his
waking pcoplo up In tho middle of the
night to toll thorn whnt ho would do
with Cuba.
Mrs. Luko Podmoro has ordered hor
winter dress mado with short sloovos,
but Hlio Is worried to doath bocauso
Luko won't begin wearing his fall
overcoat already.
Thoro aro men who brag about their
poor memories.
I read n mngazino clear through tho
othor night, advertisements and all,
and then sat for an hodr trying to
think what was pocullar nbout it. At
last I figured It out; nothing had been
exposed In that Issuo.
Whon n woman mnrrlcB a man to
reform him sho mny as well count on
being a reformer tho rest ot her llfo.
Whon n woman who doos hor own
cooking reads u story in which tho
herolno bosses four or ,flvo maids
about she begins to think that her
husband doesn't love her as ha
should.
Drawing tho Line.
"Doctor," says tho lawyor, "will you
kindly examine tho defendant, who is
seated within two feet of you, nnd toll
tho Jury whother In your oplnlon ho "
"Sir!" haughtily Interrupts the emi
nent expert. "I will examine nny and
all hypothetical questions you mny
wish to ask, but I wish to Inform you
that what you suggest Is in tho high
est degree unethical. No, sir! 1
cannot do It."
A Spree In the Cooperage.
The keg was gayly rolling ucross the
coopor's floor, tho cask was trying
vainly to odgo In through tho door,
Tho hogshead vowed 'twns easy to do tho
loop-thn.loop, tho barrel sang n
merry Ktuvu that ended with a hoop;
Tho crowd was soon arrested and llunn
Into tho Jail their friend, tho water
bucket wuu shortly giving ball.
The Wretch.
"You havo deceived mo!" sighs thu
trusting wlfo.
"I? Docelved you? How?" do
mnnds tho surprised husband.
"You havo been tolling mo tlw
truth nbout whero you spend yout
evenings."