William Francis Lynch

“ And when the sheaves are bound with the wither, and the unmuzzled ox has trodden out the golden grain, or the threshing sledge has been trailed round the slippery croft, and the light wind has winnowed the up-tossed wheat, then, all their wealth close reaped and gleaned, once more, upon their waste, unsheltered fields, will settle silence and the desert heat. ”

“ There is nothing more vivid than the impression made by such scenes-the stillness of an untrodden wilderness, when “the slightest sound makes an onslaught upon silence,” — a silence rarely broken, except by the noise of the far-distant rapid, which comes upon the ear like the wind when it sweeps the dry leaves of autumn before it. ”

“ The elder Sherîf (who by way of distinction we call the Sherîf ) and ’Akil frequently visited us in our tent. The former was our counsellor, sagacious and prudent; the latter was the bold warrior and the admirable scout. On the march, it was said that he contrived to get a sight of the boats when no one else could. We never tired of the company of this graceful savage. Altogether, he was the most perfect specimen of manhood we had seen. ”

“ Upon the left bank, which is about sixty feet above the river, a short distance up, were twenty or thirty black Bedouin tents, with a number of camels grazing around, — the men seated in groups — the women, the drudges of each tribe, passing to and fro, busied apparently in culinary preparations, and near them some children playing. ”

“ A large wooden bowl of pilau (boiled rice, liberally larded with rancid butter) constituted this pastoral banquet; the enjoyment of which could not be attained through the medium of fork or spoon, but demanded a kind of scientific conversion of the hands and fingers into these civilized conveniences.
An hour’s ride thence brought them to the end of the plain, or tabular summit of the low range of sand-hills upon which the encampment they had visited was situated. ”

“ Along the higher hills, far inwardly, might be seen two or three clusters of black tents, belonging to the Bedouin of Es Seru. Down the Ghor, as far as the eye could reach, a forest of weeds and thistles draw from the teeming soil a sustenance that might have fed the half of Palestine. It was too plain that we had reached a land where property was a crime.
“6 P.M. The descent from the upper terrace of the Ghor to the present valley of the Jordan is here a gradual one. ”

“ On the summit was a large fortress-looking building, the court now converted into a cow-yard by the Arabs, who have formed a village round it. He then descended to the plains, passing through two or three collections of black tents, the possessions of the Emir Nassir. ”

“ Some of the young men of the tribe were cast in as soft and delicate a mould as manhood is susceptible of, without leaning to effeminacy. The brother of the Emir was a perfect Antinous, with Hyperian locks and Apollonian limbs, who, however, thought more of his personal beauty than became a brave, and the brother of a warlike sheikh.
A PASTORAL ENTERTAINMENT
The encampment consisted of some thirty or forty of those peculiarly constructed tents, made of coarse cloth of goats’ hair. ”

“ A small rapid, the river running from left to right, across the valley. On the right, a round point with an Arab encampment upon it, the population in an uproar; men, women, and children shouting, and running down to the landing-place; passed a small island just below.
At 3:15, a long reach in the river; the first straight line we have seen in its entire course, thus far. Passed the territory of the tribe Es Sukr el Ghor, 500 fighting men. ”

“ Took everything out of the boats and proceeded with the crews to the camp, about a quarter of a mile below. Our main course had been S.S.W., but the river was very serpentine. We descended three very threatening and four less difficult rapids. The only tributary passed was the Yermak, coming in from the east, as wide and as deep nearly as the Jordan. The current was very rapid, averaging eight miles per hour.
Our tents were pitched upon a small promontory, commanding a fine view of the ruined khan and the bridge, with the river dashing and foaming through its arch. ”

“ They are like the aspen, and are said to bear a juicy, sweet-flavoured fruit. There were many birds on shore, and several fish-hawk (hedda) flying about. At 6:10, a cluster of small islands; and at 6:30, a number of short turns in the river. Saw ’Akil, our tutelary genius, on the summit of a high bank. Brought-to for the night, and secured the boats. The banks were high and precipitous, but guarded in some measure from the erosive action of the swift current by the gnarled roots of the trees and the thicket growth along the bluff. ”

“ The banks of the Jordan, he reports, are divided into two regular steps or terraces, one on each side, before reaching the mountains: 1st, a flat through which the river winds, and 2d, an elevated plain. After passing a deep ravine, he came upon the Emir’s wheat fields, which covered the sloping plain to Beisan; the soil a rich marl. ”

“ Built of wood, she was less elastic than our metallic boats, and the thumps upon the rocks which only indented the last, shattered her. Thus ended all our hopes of transporting the tents from place to place along the Dead Sea, and thereby protect the party from the dews of night. In every evil, however, there is an antidote, and we now had conclusive proof of the superior qualities of metallic boats for such service. Frame boats, constructed even in the strongest manner, would sooner or later have shared the fate of the Uncle Sam. ”

“ This was reasonable; and the Emir received anabaand a koofeeyah. Among other things, we had provided ourselves in Acre with articles of Arab wearing apparel for occasions like the present. In this country, it is usual to pay the followers of a sheikh for services in money; but to the sheikh himself, a present is made. With much other judicious advice, the Rev. Mr. Smith had in Beïrût cautioned me not to employ the Arabs of one tribe as guides through the territories of another. ”

“ After much labour we succeeded in getting the boats down the rapids uninjured, except a few indentations in the bilge, and got on board the arms and instruments. At 9:30, started at the same time with the caravan. As we would to-day reach the utmost limits of cultivation, and approach the lower Ghor — a perfect desert, traversed by warlike tribes, — Sherîf warned me to be prepared. ”

“ At 11:25, Castle Kaukab (star) , the Belvoir of the crusaders, bore W. by N. Soon after reached Zor el Basha, the territories of the tribe el Gaurineh (Emir Nassir’s) , occupying two hours on the banks of the river, and numbering three hundred fighting men. 11:40, stopped to take observations for the latitude.
There were many wild pigeons flying about, some of them very large. At 12:09, started again; passed two successive but slight rapids, with many trees in the stream. 12:30, stopped to rest in a grove of tamarisk; the weather becoming warmer every day. ”

“ The ruins here are so buried in weeds and brambles, that it is not easy to make them out.
“The theatre has the form of a half-oval, the longer semi-axis running nearly east and west, — opening on the west. ”

“ A great many Arabs on the shore, who ran after us, shouting loudly. They were the subjects of the Emir. Some Arab women on a high hill to the left. The river thirty-five yards wide, six feet deep, gravelly bottom; current, five knots. 2:18, four Arabs in sight; current strong but nobstructed. 2:39, remarkably smooth but rapid descent. 2:41, river very serpentine, five feet deep; a beautiful strip of variegated sands and marls; passed a wady, or dry ravine, on the right. 2:46, course S.W. to W. by N., thick canes and thistles ”

“ There is no road; — in other words, no camel or mule track.
At 3:50, the Fanny Skinner came down, and we descended the fourth rapid, rounding back from W.S.W. to S.E. by S. in a distance of ninety yards. 4 P.M., shot the equally circuitous but less difficult rapid below.
At 4:20, passed the mouth of the Yermak [Yarmouk; (Hieromax [Greek] ) , forty yards wide, with moderate current, its centre bearing E. 1/2 S. 4:22, passed an island twelve feet high, covered with grass and weeds. ”

“ Fairly on the summit-plain, which extends horizontally for miles around. The rock is trap, the soil good. Our course was here, E. 15° N. Cultivated fields of barley.
“11:56: Um Keis in sight, east of us, a mile or more distant.
“12:10. The road runs east; then, 12:12, E.S.E. for seven minutes; then east again.
“12:20. A number of broken and fallen columns on the right of the road. Some of conglomerate, some of trap.
“ Before us, a descent of no great depth, and the ruins on the slope east of it.
“12:26: Um Keis. No inhabitants — no habitable buildings. ”