CHAPTER IX. NATURAL FERTILITY OF THE COUNTRIES EAST OF THE DEAD SEA To break in a little upon the sad and monotonous description of desolate or deserted cities, it may be well, before passing that river, which was consecrated more by the baptism of Jesus than by the miraculous passage of the Israelites, even though it dared not then to wet the soles of their feet,-to look on the country beyond Jordan, in order to see if there be any lingering beauty there, even a faint trace of what the land of Gilead and of Bashan was, or if there be yet any substance in it sufficient, as of old, to sustain many of the thousands of Israel. In vain, in the highest sense, would we look for balm in Gilead or fruit in Bashan, while yet there is no physician there, and while the covenanted and only rightful inheritors of the land are yet wanderers throughout the world, as the inhabitants of their own land are wanderers in their patrimonial territories. But anticipating the time when the Holy One of Israel shall fulfil his word and bring his people to the land of Gilead and Bashan and feed them there and their soul shall there be satisfied, we may interrogate the land, by another category than that of Volney, and ask, whether, while many cities might be raised from their ruins and others be repaired to dwell in, it could repay cultivation now, and yield such fruit to Israel as to merit at last the choice which at first was made of it. In the sneering language of Voltaire, it might be accounted "a goodly land" by those who had wandered forty years in the wilderness! And were the question now put to kindred scoffers, they might say that any land, however poorly enriched with nature's bounties, might be the welcome asylum of a hapless race, who for many ages have had no land to dwell in as their own, and who have wandered generation after generation without finding a place whereon to rest the sole of their feet. But it is not thus that our interrogatory is put. Our enemies being judges, we would raise the question, whether, when looked at again, that portion of Israel's inheritance over which we have glanced, is not capable of being what the prophetic Scriptures have declared that it shall be,-no mean or despicable portion of a "goodly heritage," and "everlasting possession" worthy of being esteemed "the glory of all lands." In the beginning of the present century, appeals could not be made to existing facts; and Christians held the problem unresolved, if not unresolveable, how a land, long reckoned as a desert, and a blank in every modern map, could have sustained the multitudinous cities and towns, which, according to the historical Scriptures, were once planted there. The increase of knowledge' has caused the mystery to cease, and to the lack of that alone can it owe its unduly protracted existence. Rather than that the land should have been plenteously tenanted in ancient times, where the most ancient towns assuredly on the face of all the earth are still standing, and have in many instances the seeming freshness of novelty in the tinge which age has given 1 Dan. xii. 4. them, the wonder might reasonably arise, how many cities should thus be desolate without man; and how hundreds of houses that give good promise of lasting for ages, should, in town neighbouring with town, be left without man, without possessors, without claimants, without tenants, or any to dwell therein, while wandering herdsmen around them have no better shelter than a tent, while many walls, and gates, and bars in Bashan are as strong as ever, and the palaces, and temples, and castles of Ammon are a stable for camels, and a couching place for flocks. These facts are not without an assignable reason; for the manner in which God has wrought out his judg ments may be seen. The mode in which his promised blessing to Israel shall be accomplished is yet, save as revealed, a mystery to man. But the fact that these lands did sustain such numerous cities, is not less clear than that it could still sustain them again, were the tenantless dwellings crowded with inhabitants, and all the cities raised from their foundations, and peopled anew, without walls, because of the multitude of men, even as the Israelites shall dwell in them on their return. On the extremity of the Dead Sea, Captains Irby and Mangles, passing by a route previously untrodden by any modern traveller, except perhaps Seetzen, entered into a very prettily wooded country, with high rushes, and marshes; on their advancing farther, the variety of bushes and wild plants became very great; some of the latter being rare and of remarkable appearance, presenting a fine field for the botanist. Among the trees and plants were various species of the acacia, the dwarf mimosa, the doom, the tamarisk, a plant they had seen in Nubia called the oscar, the wild cotton plant, amongst an infinity of others, that they The banks of neither knew how to name or describe.1 the river El Dara, which waters a beautiful shady ravine, were covered in profusion with the palm, acacia, aspen, and oleander in full flower and beauty. As they advanced towards Kerek they found themselves in corn fields, with cattle grazing in the valley through which the river Souf Saffa runs towards the Dead Sea; the ancient mill-courses are still to be seen, but the river itself was hid by the richness of the vegetation on its banks, especially the purple oleander in full blossom.2 In the narrow valley at the foot of the castle hill of Kerek, there runs a stream with a narrow line of gardens on its banks, in which they observed olives, pomegranates, and figs, with some vegetables.3 Southward of Kerek they ascended into a country of downs, with verdure so close as to appear almost turf, and with corn fields at intervals. In short, the whole of the plains in this quarter, now so deserted, are capable of rich cultivation.4 Ghoeyr, immediately south of the Dead Sea, is famous for the excellent pasturage produced by its numerous springs, and it has, in consequence, become a favourite place of encampment for all the Bedouins of Djebal and Shera. The borders of the rivulets are overgrown with defle and the shrub rethem. The extensive plain near Kara consists of a fertile soil. The broad valley called El Bekka is extremely fertile, and is (was) in part cultivated by the people of Szalt and the Arabs of the Belka. The Bedouins, from the superiority of its pasturage, have this saying, "thou canst not find a country like the Belka." The beef and mutton of this district are preferable to those of all others. The herds of cows, sheep, and goats of the Arabs of the Belka are Irby and Mangles' Travels, pp. 334, 335. 3 Ibid. p. 362. 2 Ibid. p. 361. 4 Ibid. p. 370. large; and wherever they have the prospect of being able to secure the harvest against the incursions of enemies, they cultivate patches of the best soil in their territory. The rivulet of Mayn flows through a wood of defle trees, which form a canopy over the rivulet impenetrable to the meridian sun.1 The red flowers of these trees reflected in the water gave it the appearance of a bed of roses, &c.2 "From Jerash to Ammon," says Lord Lindsay, "the whole country is one whole pasturage overspread with the flocks and herds of the Bedouins."3 The hills that enclose the valley of Azalt are laid out in vine beds on the eastern side of the town. Farther to the south the valley becomes more fertile, is well wooded, and watered throughout its extent, and capable of sustaining five times the population that (in 1816) inhabited the town and neighbourhood. "On the summit of a hill near Fahaes, the wood scenery is beautiful; and the fresh and full foliage of evergreen trees contrasted with the snowy beds (February) out of which their trunks sprung was at once new and striking. The ground, covered with a fine red soil, exhibited every where traces of former cultivation and great fertility. From Deer-el-Nassara we soon entered a thick forest of large trees, the greatest number of which were evergreens; one of these, the most numerous of the whole, was as tall as English elm, of equal girth to full grown trees of that kind. A variety of trees and shrubs in great abundance, present every shade of colour and hue, from the palest yellow to the deepest green." On advancing farther, "the country, though bare of wood, presented a great extent of fertile soil lying entirely waste, though it was equal to any of the 2 Ibid. p. 369. 1 Burckhardt, p. 362. 3 Lord Lindsay's Travels, vol. ii. p. 110. Buckingham. Q |